LoftyInc Capital Management has announced the first close of $43m for its new LoftyInc Alpha Fund, a late-seed focused investment vehicle that will drive growth for Africa’s most promising tech startups across key geographies, including Nigeria, Egypt, Kenya, and Francophone Africa.
African VC
Operating out of Nigeria, Egypt, and Kenya, LoftyInc is one of the African VC ecosystem’s earliest and most successful investors, with early investments in prominent startups such as Flutterwave, Andela, Wave Mobile Money, RelianceHealth, Thndr, OmniRetail, and Moove. With over a decade of venture capital experience, LoftyInc has consistently delivered strong returns to its investors while advancing Africa’s position as a growing hub for tech innovation.
The Alpha Fund
The Alpha Fund is designed to build on insights from previous funds. It will focus on seed investments that enable entrepreneurs to build resilient companies and achieve scalable growth. The Fund will prioritize sectors such as financial services, retail enablement, logistics, healthcare, climate tech, and artificial intelligence, reflecting the diverse opportunities across the African continent.
The first close of the Alpha Fund attracted a diverse and strategic investor base, including commitments from Middle Eastern and African sovereign wealth funds such as Egypt’s Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises Development Agency (MSMEDA), Tunisia’s Anava Fund of Funds, and others.
Development Financial Institutions (DFI) investors include FMO (the Dutch Entrepreneurial Development Bank), the Dutch Good Growth Fund (DGGF), Proparco with FISEA, and AfricaGrow, a Fund of Funds managed by Allianz Global Investors and advised by DEG Impact GmbH, as well as the International Finance Corporation (IFC).
The Fund also benefits from commitments by returning limited partners such as First Close Partners, a U.S.-based family office that invests in top-performing venture funds led by underrepresented managers globally. Furthermore, several African high-net-worth individuals (HNIs) and European family offices joined, showcasing a strong alignment of regional and global investors who share a vision of accelerating Africa’s tech ecosystem.
LoftyInc’s team
LoftyInc’s team brings decades of operational and investing expertise and regional insights to the Fund. Managing Partner Idris Ayodeji Bello, has backed over 100 startups across 25 markets, with over 14 exits. General Partner Mariam Kamel, brings years of investment banking, founder experience, and startup advisory in the MENA region. General Partner Kevin Simmons draws on experience as a founder, operator, and investor across 15 markets on three continents. Having invested together for years, they combine deep venture capital expertise with strong operator acumen to drive growth in companies across the continent. They are supported by investment and operations personnel teams based across the major African tech markets, including the emerging hub in Francophone Africa.
African professionals and experienced entrepreneurs
Managing Partner Idris Ayodeji Bello commented on the new Fund: “Our previous funds were backed primarily by African professionals and experienced entrepreneurs who not only provided capital but also leveraged their networks and industry expertise to help startups thrive—establishing the foundation for institutionalizing our investment approach. In an exceptionally challenging fundraising climate, we are thrilled to have surpassed our first-close target, attracting new institutional investors while reaffirming the commitment of our existing backers. This latest raise positions us to scale our vision: empowering Afropreneurs who build transformative, tech-driven solutions for Africa’s everyday economy.”
