Proparco, a subsidiary of the French Development Agency, has announced a significant investment in DisrupTech Ventures, an early-stage venture capital fund. The $5 million investment will support the development of Egypt’s fintech sector and expand access to financial services in the country. DisrupTech Ventures aims to provide seed capital to up to 28 startups with a prime focus on financial technology services, and it has already raised $36 million from several investors, including Development Finance Institutions, Funds-of-funds, and Family offices.
This funding will be an essential source for Egyptian tech companies, which often struggle to raise capital to bring their innovations to the market. Moreover, with the current state of digital transformation and financial inclusion in Egypt, expanding access to financial services is of utmost importance. Despite the growth in the past few years, the amount of venture capital available in Egypt is just a quarter of the emerging market average.
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DisrupTech will not only provide capital but also advice and mentorship to the businesses it supports. The team at DisrupTech adopts a hands-on approach from the very beginning, partnering with talented entrepreneurs to transform their vision into reality. DisrupTech Ventures has already become one of the leading early-stage investors in Egypt, and its company-building track record and domain-specific expertise bring much-needed support to young companies in the region.
Proparco’s investment in DisrupTech is part of its Venture Capital program, which has invested over €120m in African early-stage companies and venture capital funds since 2020. The investment will support the emergence of a dynamic venture capital industry to back African entrepreneurs, aligning with Proparco’s strategy to maximize impacts and finance innovation.
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Françoise Lombard, Chief Executive Officer at Proparco, said that partnering with DisrupTech Ventures is in line with Proparco’s strategy to maximize impacts and finance innovation, fostering the emergence of a dynamic venture capital industry to back African entrepreneurs. Mohamed Okasha, Managing Partner from DisrupTech Ventures, said that Egypt is full of bright, talented founders who often cannot secure the capital they need to expand their businesses, adding that the investment will contribute to Egypt’s growth by supporting entrepreneurs and increasing access to financial services.
DisrupTech Ventures fintech DisrupTech Ventures fintech
Charles Rapulu Udoh
Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based lawyer, who has several years of experience working in Africa’s burgeoning tech startup industry. He has closed multi-million dollar deals bordering on venture capital, private equity, intellectual property (trademark, patent or design, etc.), mergers and acquisitions, in countries such as in the Delaware, New York, UK, Singapore, British Virgin Islands, South Africa, Nigeria etc. He’s also a corporate governance and cross-border data privacy and tax expert.
As an award-winning writer and researcher, he is passionate about telling the African startup story, and is one of the continent’s pioneers in this regard