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Africa’s tech startups to receive major financing boost — article includes a paywall

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Impact Investor originally published this story on March 18, 2026.

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African Startups, African Technology, Arts & Culture, South Africa News

March 18, 2026

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The EIB has invested in venture capital firm Speedinvest to support digital transformation, and promote inclusive economic growth across Africa.

EIB Global, the development arm of the European Investment Bank (EIB), has made a €40m commitment to Speedinvest, a venture capital firm investing across the EMEA region, to support African tech startups.

The investment will be directed towards the firm’s first Africa-focused investment fund designed to improve digital and financial inclusion and strengthen commercial and capital linkages between Africa and Europe. It aims to enable African startups to scale across borders, according to the EIB.

The fund focuses on technology-enabled and mobile-based services across payments, healthcare, mobility, and education and will invest into technology companies operating in innovation hubs across Egypt, Morocco, Nigeria, Kenya, and South Africa and into what it describes as ‘high-potential markets’ in countries such as Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire, Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Tunisia, Tanzania, and Uganda.

Commenting on the investment, EIB vice-president Karl Nehammer highlighted the power of technology “to turn good ideas into real impact”.

“By backing this vehicle, we are enabling African innovators to scale, access new markets, and build sustainable businesses creating shared opportunities for both Africa and Europe. In a world of fragmentation, we are building bridges,” he added.

At least 30% of the fund’s capital will be channelled towards companies advancing gender equality, including those with female founders, employees, or consumers.

EIB Global said the investment qualifies under the 2X Challenge initiative, a global benchmark for gender-smart investing, which aims to direct more investment towards empowering women as entrepreneurs and within the workforce in developing countries.

The bank said it expects its investment to deliver broad social benefits, including job creation, particularly for young people, and expanded access to digital banking and essential services for underserved communities.

Africa focus

Speedinvest has been investing in African growth-stage companies for several years and has backed several startups such as Moove in Nigeria, a mobility fintech democratising access to vehicle ownership in Africa, Khazna, a financial benefits platform providing easy-to-use, technology-driven financial services to underserved segments of the Egyptian workforce, and Oze, a business app for SMEs helping small businesses access loans and grow with tools for selling online, and managing inventory, among others.

“With EIB Global support, we are deepening our long-term commitment to backing exceptional founders across Africa while strengthening enduring bridges between Africa and Europe,” said Oliver Holle, Speedinvest’s CEO and managing partner.

The fund is managed by Deepali Nangia and Rana Abdel Latif and the company said it plans to open an office in Africa to strengthen its local presence and ‘hands-on’ support for founders.

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