Emmanuel Adegboye, head of Madica, has spent three years making a bet that is unusual even by African standards.
Madica, an Africa-focused investment programme launched by global venture firm Flourish Ventures, writes $200,000 cheques and has backed over a dozen startups on a thesis most African investors do not follow: some of the best early-stage companies on the continent are in markets nobody is watching.
As head of Madica, Adegboye has deployed capital into 10 African markets. He argues that this is neither charity nor exoticism, but where the opportunity actually sits. Most African venture investments are concentrated in the same four markets (Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa, and Egypt), which Adegboye says reflects proximity to investors rather than merit.
For a Silicon Valley investor with no physical footprint on the continent, Africa is rarely top of mind, leaving high-potential startups unfunded for reasons entirely unrelated to their business fundamentals. Madica was built to address that market failure and is backed by Flourish Ventures.
Originally published by TechCabal.