The Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) has approved up to $100 million in funding aimed at strengthening Africa-focused technology fund managers and expanding long-term institutional capital for the continent’s digital economy.
In a statement on Monday, the corporation said the investment will target leading technology funds, with a strong focus on African-owned fund managers, to support high-growth startups and deepen local participation in the venture capital ecosystem.
The initiative comes as Africa’s digital economy continues to expand rapidly, with projections indicating it could contribute over $700 billion to the continent’s gross domestic product (GDP) by 2050.
According to AFC, the funding is also designed to address the low participation of African institutional investors in venture capital financing, a space still largely dominated by foreign investors despite increasing startup activity across the continent.
“Africa’s venture capital ecosystem has demonstrated real potential — the continent has produced nine unicorns, some of its leading fund managers have generated returns of up to 128 times the capital originally invested, and African start-ups raised $3.8 billion in 2025 alone,” the statement read.
AFC President and Chief Executive Officer, Samaila Zubairu, said digital infrastructure has become central to Africa’s economic transformation, noting that young Africans are already driving innovation across markets.
“Across the continent, young Africans are not waiting for the digital economy to arrive; they are seizing the moment — adopting technology, creating markets and solving real economic problems faster than infrastructure has kept pace,” Zubairu said.
“Digital infrastructure is now as fundamental to Africa’s transformation as roads, rail, ports and power.”
As part of the first phase of the initiative, AFC said it has made anchor investments in Lightrock Africa Fund II and Future Africa Fund III.
It noted that Lightrock supports companies such as Moniepoint, M-KOPA and Lula, while Future Africa backs startups focused on financial inclusion, digital infrastructure, consumer technology, and education.
Founding partner of Future Africa, Iyinoluwa Aboyeji, described the commitment as a strong signal of confidence in Africa’s digital future.
“AFC’s $100 million commitment is the anchor this moment demands,” Aboyeji said.
“As our first multilateral development bank partner, AFC is sending a clear signal that digital is as fundamental to Africa’s transformation as agriculture, manufacturing and physical infrastructure.”
Since its establishment in 2007, AFC said it has invested more than $19 billion across 36 African countries.
