Six million dollars is heading back into African pre-seed territory. Flourish Ventures, the US-based venture firm that launched Madica in October 2022, has committed a fresh $6 million to the programme to back between 25 and 30 African startups over the next three years. Every dollar of that capital goes directly into new pre-seed and seed deals, with no portion reserved for follow-on rounds. Founder support costs are covered through a separate budget, though Madica has not disclosed those figures.
Each startup in the programme receives up to $200,000, alongside 18 months of mentorship, executive coaching, and investor-readiness support. Since its first investments in 2024, Madica has backed 18 startups across 10 countries. According to Emmanuel Adegboye, Head of Madica, the programme's early signals are encouraging, but the team believes building lasting companies and reading venture outcomes properly takes more time than three years allows.
That patience feels pointed given the current climate. African startups raising between $100,000 and $1 million dropped from 179 deals in the second half of 2025 to just 100 in the first half of 2026, a 44 percent decline tracked by Africa: The Big Deal. Madica is writing cheques in exactly the range where investors are pulling back most sharply.
Geography matters here too. Nigeria, Kenya, Egypt, and South Africa captured 82 percent of African startup funding in 2025, despite being home to roughly 30 percent of the continent's population. Madica explicitly goes looking for founders outside those four dominant markets, which positions it differently from most capital flowing into the ecosystem right now.
On returns, Madica says its portfolio companies have on average raised twice its initial investment from other investors, working out to around $400,000 in follow-on funding per company on a $200,000 cheque. The programme notes this is a portfolio average and says nothing yet about actual investment returns. Still, for pre-seed founders in overlooked markets who typically struggle to attract follow-on capital, that average is worth watching.
Originally published by TechCabal.