Madica secures $6M from Flourish Ventures for African startups

Madica, a pre-seed investment programme focused on Africa, has secured an additional $6 million from Flourish Ventures. The money extends its investment pilot by three years and will fund 25 to 30 more early-stage companies across the continent.

Launched in 2022 and led by Emmanuel Adegboye, Madica is sector-agnostic. It pairs early capital with hands-on company-building support for founders that traditional venture capital networks tend to underserve.

Early results

So far Madica has invested in 18 startups across 10 African countries and 12 sectors, including AI, climate technology, semiconductors and biotechnology. According to the programme, these companies have raised on average twice Madica's initial investment in follow-on funding. Every portfolio company is majority African-owned, more than half have at least one female co-founder, and 39% are led by female CEOs.

Demand is broad: applications have come from 28 sectors and 78 countries, and 40% of them originated outside Africa's four largest venture capital markets.

What the new capital pays for

The fresh funding will support new pre-seed investments, expanded company-building assistance and a longer evaluation window. That window will let Madica track how early traction turns into lasting growth and assess whether the portfolio can generate venture returns through exits.

"Three years have given us valuable lessons and encouraging early signals, but building enduring companies and assessing venture outcomes takes longer," Adegboye said. He added that the resulting evidence should give other investors a model they can apply across Africa. Efayomi Carr, Investment Partner at Flourish Ventures and Madica co-founder, said the first three years strengthened the backers' belief in African talent.

Madica is accepting pitches. Eligible startups must be headquartered in Africa, have a minimum viable product with a few paying customers, have full-time founders and have received little or no institutional funding.