Africa’s Own: Al Mada Ventures Raises $110M for African Entrepreneurs

Al Mada Holding Group is among Africa’s largest private investment funds. The Casablanca-based private holding operates in sectors like banking, telecommunications, renewable energy and the food industry. Over time, Al Mada’s approach has focused on acquiring majority shareholdings in some of Morocco’s largest private companies, with its portfolio spanning 27 markets, 25 in Africa. As part of its strategy to remain relevant and foster innovation within its portfolio, the firm has had to think through how to help these businesses scale with its influence, and increase market share across different fields. Al Mada patiently observed the growth of the venture capital asset class. Funding in African startups was $366 million in 2016, and reached $5-6 billion in 2022. When examining the funding distribution, there’s a dearth of capital at the Series A and B stages, usually backed by development financial institutions (DFIs). Last March, Al Mada launched its venture capital firm spin-out, Al Mada Ventures (AMV), which has a capital pool of $110 million. Its objective is to establish an Africa-focused firm to address the gap in growth-stage investing. Aside from the anchor, limited partners in the evergreen fund include top-tier corporate and institutional investors based in Africa. Al Mada Ventures seeks to change the narrative in venture capital funding and aims to build a portfolio of about 20 companies. Al Mada Ventures also aims to tackle the communication and feedback gap between corporates and startups. It plans to invest in the most mature seed startups and be proactive about doubling down on the ones it thinks will succeed.