Hilda Moraa, founder and CEO of Kenyan fintech Pezesha, has joined Equitable Ventures as a venture partner while continuing to lead her startup, becoming the latest African founder to straddle both operational and investment roles.
The appointment, announced this week alongside Wesley Billett, CEO of South African fintech Happy Pay, adds to a growing roster of active founders who are simultaneously deploying capital and building their own companies across Africa’s technology sector.
Equitable Ventures, a boutique venture capital firm established in 2020, focuses on early-stage fintech investments across the continent. The firm recently participated in Liquify’s $1.5m oversubscribed seed round. The Ghana-based startup, which aims to address Africa’s estimated $120bn annual trade finance gap for SMEs, raised equity funding led by Future Africa, with participation from Launch Africa, 54 Collective, and Digital Africa, alongside debt financing from impact lender Emerald Africa.
The dual role reflects an emerging pattern in African venture capital, where founders leverage operational expertise whilst pursuing investment opportunities. This model has gained momentum since 2020, when multiple founder-led VC firms emerged across the continent.
E4E Africa, founded in 2020 by Bas Hochstenbach and Aisha Pandor, exemplifies this approach. Hochstenbach previously co-founded Asilia Africa, an eco-tourism business, whilst Pandor built SweepSouth, an online platform for domestic services, before transitioning into venture capital.
The model has spread across Africa’s major tech hubs. In Egypt, Mohamed Okasha of Fawry established DisrupTech Ventures in 2020, investing in companies including Sprints.ai and MNT-Halan. Ahmed Barakat, formerly of Sotech Technologies, launched Innlife Investment the same year, backing Sigma Fit among others.
Ghana’s Sangu Delle founded Golden Palm Investments in 2006 after establishing CarePoint (formerly Africa Health Holdings). His portfolio includes notable names such as Flutterwave, Mono, Chaka, and Autochek.
In Kenya, Darshan Chandaria of Darshan Industries created Chandaria Capital in 2017, investing in Ilara Health, Carry1st, and Kobo360. Egypt’s Ziad Mokhtar, with experience at eSpace and oliv, co-founded Algebra Ventures in 2015, building a portfolio spanning Dsquares, GoodsMart, Elmenus, and Halan.
Nigeria has produced several founder-investors, including Bunmi Akinyemiju of Venture Gardens Group, who established GreenHouse Capital in 2014. The firm has backed CredPal, Helium Health, Lipa Later, and Yellow Card.
Proponents argue that founder-investors bring operational insight that purely financial investors may lack. Their networks and experience navigating regulatory environments, hiring challenges, and go-to-market strategies can prove valuable to portfolio companies.
However, the model raises questions about time allocation and potential conflicts of interest. Founders must balance demanding operational roles with investment responsibilities, whilst ensuring their own ventures don’t compete directly with portfolio companies.
For Moraa and Billett, the venture partner structure at Equitable Ventures may offer flexibility. Venture partners typically commit less time than full partners, focusing on deal sourcing and due diligence within their areas of expertise — in this case, East African and South African fintech respectively.
The appointments signal Equitable Ventures’ intent to deepen its presence across Africa’s diverse markets, leveraging local knowledge as competition for deals intensifies and international investors increase their focus on the continent’s technology sector.