Future Africa has invested $3m in 13 startups, increased portfolio to 47 startups in 2021

With 2021 just nearing the halfway mark, Iyin Aboyeji’s Future Africa has invested $3 million already in 13 different startups on the African continent. This was revealed by the venture capital (VC) firm in a statement on Monday.

The startups include Termii, Lami, Stitch and Ongair. Recall that Termii announced a $1.4 million raise in March in a round that was co-led by Future Africa and Japan’S Kepple Africa Ventures. It is solving customer retention challenges for businesses through its online messaging platform. It provides multi-channel real-time messaging which drives interaction between customers and brands.

Lami is a Nairobi-based insuretech startup. It helps insurance providers employ artificial intelligence to provide better services to their insured customers as well as reach more of the uninsured faster. It raised $1.8 million in a round that was led by Accion Ventures and participated in by Future Africa as well as Consonance, P1 Ventures, Acuity Ventures and others.

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Ongair is similar to Termii in its service. It also provides an easy way for businesses to reach their customers on different platforms such as WeChat, Whatsapp, Facebook Messenger and Telegram. The funding raised by Ongair is undisclosed, however.

Stitch is the last of the disclosed startups to have received an investment from Future Africa in 2021. The South African fintech startup makes it possible for businesses to render services in the area of personal finance, lending, insurance, payments and wealth management.

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Using its API, developers can connect apps to financial accounts within minutes and access users’ transaction histories and balances, confirm their identities, and initiate payments, all with the user’s permission.

There are 9 other startups that have received funding from Future Africa, however, only the 4 mentioned earlier have publicly announced the funding.

The figure is an improvement over the 9 startups that were announced in Q3 2020. The funding amount increased to $3 million in 13 startups compared to the $1 million that was shared among the 9 startups in the afore-mentioned quarter.

The total number of startups backed by the VC is now 47 and they are spread across Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, Tanzania and South Africa, according to Olabinjo Adeniran, a co-founder of the firm.

Remarking about the funding target for women-led startups, Olabinjo said Future Africa “surpassed our $1million commitment to women-led startups and are currently evaluating more women-led startups in our pipeline to increase this number.”

Investors join the Future Africa Collective with an annual subscription of $1000 and are allowed to invest a minimum of $5,000 in up to 20 African startups yearly.