In 2019, Casablanca-based 212Founders set out with an ambitious goal: to catalyse Morocco’s fledgling tech ecosystem by backing high-potential local founders from idea to scale. The venture programme, launched by state-owned CDG Invest, positioned itself as a pioneering early-stage investor in a market where tech startups were rare, venture capital was sparse, and structured support nearly nonexistent.
Five years later, 212Founders is pivoting. No longer content with its role as an early-stage enabler, the firm is now turning its attention to late-seed and Series A startups across the Maghreb and Europe — in what it calls a “new chapter” of strategic capital deployment, global scaling ambitions, and long-term founder support.
“We’ve evolved alongside the ecosystem we helped shape,” 212Founders said in a statement announcing the shift. “Same ambition. New role. More committed than ever.”
From Local Pioneer to International Player
Between 2019 and 2024, 212Founders played a central role in nurturing Morocco’s emerging startup ecosystem. The programme claims to have supported over 135 startups, with 24 equity investments, two exits, and more than 12 companies achieving international expansion. Its cross-continental footprint, anchored in Morocco and Paris’ Station F, helped attract diaspora talent and global co-investors alike — with over 40 investment partners from Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.
These figures are impressive for a fund born into an ecosystem with no clear path to scale at the time. “When we launched 212Founders, Morocco’s tech ecosystem was in its infancy — few funds, fewer startups, and no playbook,” said the firm.
But not all ventures bore fruit. High-profile failures such as GOA Commerce and Vigon Systems have shaken investor confidence in the local market. With some Moroccan startups collapsing after raising millions, 212Founders and other regional VCs have been forced to reassess risk and portfolio concentration.
This context is essential to understanding 212Founders’ recent tilt toward foreign deals. The firm’s latest portfolio additions — including UserGuest in the Netherlands and France-based ventures like VelyVelo, Gokaden, Estaly, and Entroview — suggest a diversification strategy designed to balance regional impact with global resilience.
A Broader Pattern in the Maghreb
212Founders’ shift reflects a broader trend across the Maghreb, a region comprising Morocco, Tunisia, and Algeria. Though the area has seen a surge of entrepreneurial energy in recent years — fuelled by digital adoption, state initiatives, and a young, tech-savvy population — the investment climate remains volatile. VC firms are increasingly hedging their bets by looking abroad, wary of the operational and regulatory pitfalls that have tripped up even the most promising local ventures.
In Tunisia, for instance, investors have become more cautious after a handful of early-stage bets fizzled. With limited exit pathways and a nascent capital market, scaling startups beyond national borders remains a persistent challenge. Algeria faces similar hurdles, compounded by bureaucratic constraints and limited international exposure.
Against this backdrop, 212Founders’ new focus on late-seed and Series A rounds — especially for startups already showing traction and readiness for cross-border expansion — is a logical, if not inevitable, evolution.
Still Betting on Scale
Despite moving up the investment chain and widening its geographic lens, 212Founders insists its core mission remains unchanged: backing ambitious entrepreneurs capable of building global champions from the region. The firm’s updated approach involves not just capital, but long-term partnerships — strategic guidance, follow-on funding, and international connections to help founders move beyond MVPs and local proof-of-concept into mature, globally relevant companies.
“We’ve moved past early-stage support,” the firm says. “Now it’s all about scaling, regional expansion, and sustained funding.”
Whether 212Founders’ new chapter will pay off remains to be seen. But its story is emblematic of the tension confronting many Maghreb investors: how to remain rooted in local ecosystems while building portfolios that can withstand — and thrive in — global headwinds.
One thing is clear: for Tunisia, Morocco, and the wider region, the next five years will be as defining as the last.