FirstCheck Africa

www.firstcheck.africa

FirstCheck Africa invests in pre-seed and seed-stage technology-driven startups in Africa with at least one female founder or co-founder, providing 'high conviction first checks' for diverse teams building for scale and sustainability across all sectors.

Check Size

$25K - $250K

Stages

Pre Seed, Seed

Focus Areas

Fintech, Enterprise Saas, Healthtech

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Investment Thesis

FirstCheck Africa is a mission-driven, returns-focused early-stage VC fund that invests in technology-enabled startups in Africa founded or co-founded by women. Their core thesis is that ‘the most successful scale companies of the continent’s future will be technology-enabled and have more diverse leadership, including significantly more women, at their helm.’ They believe diversity improves financial results and see backing female founders as both an opportunity to drive solid returns and address Africa’s significant VC gender funding gap. As stated: ‘Where other investors might see risk, we see an opportunity to drive solid returns by backing the continent’s female founders — exceptional leadership talent driving startups built for long-term success.’

What Sets Them Apart

Female-led fund focused explicitly on backing female founders, not treating it as a social impact play but as a returns-focused investment strategy
Early-stage conviction: willing to invest 'ridiculously early' from idea stage through seed, with initial check sizes ranging from $50K-$250K
Founder-centric approach: 'pull, not push' support model that respects founder time while offering leverage through co-founder expertise, capital raising assistance, expert networks, and peer learning
Hands-on partnership: founders describe them as 'willing to dive-in' and 'in the trenches' with portfolio companies
Fast, efficient process: target 4-6 weeks from first pitch to signing and wires
African-focused with deep regional networks in Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa, Egypt, and Ghana
Commitment to removing angels/friends & family friction for African female founders by providing meaningful launch capital from institutional investors
Building majority-female angel investor community to democratize early-stage investing