African VC LoftyInc Capital launches third fund for seed and Series A, reaches $43M first close

One of Africa’s most active investors, known for early bets on unicorns like Flutterwave, Andela, and Wave, has secured fresh capital to invest in startups across the continent. This comes as funding deals and volumes in Africa saw only a slight dip last year, according to a report by VC firm Partech. LoftyInc Capital, which primarily backed startups at the pre-seed and seed stages for over a decade, has reached the first close of its third fund, LoftyInc Alpha, at $43 million. Unlike its earlier focus, this fund will target late-seed and Series A startups while retaining its geographical focus across Nigeria, Egypt, Kenya, and Francophone Africa, founder and managing partner Idris Ayo Bello told TechCrunch. The first close attracted a diverse group of limited partners, including sovereign wealth funds from the Middle East and Africa, such as Egypt’s MSMEDA and Tunisia’s Anava Fund of Funds. Development finance institutions like FMO, Proparco (FISEA), AfricaGrow, IFC, and the U.S.-b ... Read full article.