AFRICA – FirstCheck Africa has received a US$2 million investment from TLcom Capital, one of the most notable Africa-focused seed to series B venture capital firms.
The most recent commitment will enable FirstCheck Africa to support even more female-led startups by providing access to more finance.
FirstCheck Africa will invest US$12 million as a single pool of capital in high-growth, technology-driven firms with at least one female founder or co-founder, including its US$10 million debut fund.
Eloho Omame, one of FirstCheck Africa’s founders, has joined TLcom Capital as a Partner, in addition to her current day-to-day work as Co-Managing Partner at FirstCheck Africa.
FirstCheck Africa will now invest up to US$250,000 in early-stage rounds for female-led firms as high-conviction first checks.
“We remain sector-agnostic and focused on technology-enabled companies that are solving important problems in large markets,” FirstCheck Africa noted in a statement.
“Our strategy is to invest in female-led companies with category-leadership potential while throwing the weight of FirstCheck Africa’s networks and platform behind the founders that will be the next generation of entrepreneurial role models for Africa.”
Africa’s digital and venture capital ecosystem is at an exciting crossroads in terms of talent, capital access, firm formation, and diversity. FirstCheck Africa has invested over the past 18 months, honing its theory and putting its investment method to the test.
Eloho and Odun created FirstCheck Africa as an angel fund in January 2021 to solve finance access for female digital entrepreneurs in Africa.
“We’re excited that what started as personal commitments to invest up to $25k each in six female-led companies has evolved into an institutional fund with millions of dollars under management.
“In the last 18 months, FirstCheck Africa has invested in 10 female-led startups in four countries. Our portfolio companies have been accepted into three global accelerators (including Y Combinator), and a number have raised sizeable follow-on rounds, with FirstCheck Africa as the first or second institutional investor on their cap tables.
We’ve opened doors for female-led companies, helping them close their rounds faster and on founder-friendlier terms,” the venture capital firm further noted.
Only five female-led startups in Africa received US$1 million or more in early-stage funding from FirstCheck Africa three years ago.
Last year, there were 33, and so far this year, there have been 19, including 6 startups this month, three of which FirstCheck Africa is an investor in.
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