First Circle Capital, a venture capital firm run by women, has raised $10.9m for its debut fund, which launched in 2022. The fund is dedicated to investing in early-stage fintech startups across Africa.
A recent commitment of up to $6m from the International Finance Corporation (IFC) is a cornerstone of the new capital. This investment includes $4m from IFC’s Startup Catalyst Platform and an additional $2m from the Women’s Entrepreneurs Finance Initiative (We-Fi).
This institutional backing is a significant step for First Circle Capital’s Africa Fund I, which has a target of $25m and a hard cap of $30m.
A specialised fintech focus
First Circle Capital is managed by co-founders Selma Ribica, a former M-Pesa executive, and Agnes Aistleitner Kisuule, an entrepreneur with a background in building companies in frontier markets. The firm operates from offices in Casablanca and Kampala, though its fund is registered in Delaware.
The fund’s strategy is to invest in pre-seed and seed-stage fintech companies, deliberately looking beyond the crowded payments sector. It targets startups in less saturated verticals, including:
- Financial infrastructure
- Insurtech
- Alternative lending
- Regtech and interoperability
- Climate fintech
The firm has already built a portfolio of 13 investments in seven African countries. Recent examples include backing South African travel fintech TurnStay’s $2m seed round, co-leading the $700k pre-seed round for card-issuing infrastructure startup Scale, and investing in Pumpkn, an agritech platform connecting farmers to lenders.
Gender-lens investing and institutional backing
The investment from the IFC and We-Fi is aimed at catalysing more institutional capital into what is currently a very small pool of women-led VC funds operating in Africa. According to the IFC, the investments are being made on a pari-passu basis, meaning on equal footing with other investors without special concessional terms.
The involvement of We-Fi is intended to embed a gender-smart investing approach into the fund’s strategy, setting targets for investing in women-founded or women-led fintech startups.
This strategy has attracted other institutional players. Earlier this year, the FSDAi Nyala Facility, backed by the UK government, committed $1m to the fund.
“First Circle stands out as a thesis-led, specialized fund with exceptional expertise in the fintech sector,” said Anne-Marie Chidzero, Chief Investment Officer at FSD Africa Investments (FSDAi). “We believe our support will catalyze further institutional LP investment.”
The fund will also participate in IFC’s Startup Catalyst Booster Program, which provides capacity-building and support services to emerging fund managers.
This institutional support comes as Africa’s fintech market continues to show rapid growth, with a Boston Consulting Group report projecting its revenues to increase 13-fold by 2030. However, significant funding gaps remain, particularly for early-stage companies and female founders, a niche First Circle Capital is positioned to fill.
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