How to apply to Lateral Frontiers as an African founder

TL;DR

Lateral Frontiers invests in sector-agnostic companies at Seed and Series A, writes cheques of $100K -- $1M, and takes applications through a form on their website.

Who Lateral Frontiers is

Lateral Frontiers is a Pan-African / Global South investor headquartered in New York, with presence in Nairobi and Lagos. The fund describes its mandate as sector-agnostic. The thesis, in the fund's own words: Building digital infrastructure for the next 3 billion users through fintech rails and cleantech across the Global South.

On the ground, Lateral Frontiers operates as a Seed and Series A investor with an Africa focus described as "pan-African with primary hubs in Lagos, Nairobi, Cape Town, Cairo". The fund's managing partner is Rob Eloff, alongside Steven Grin (Managing Partner) and Samakab Hashi (Partner).

What they invest in

Stages: Seed and Series A
Sectors: Sector-agnostic. The fund calls itself sector-agnostic, but its actual portfolio tells a more concentrated story: 43% of classified portfolio companies are in Fintech, and 15% are in Consumer.
Cheque size: $100K -- $1M
Geography focus: Pan-African / Global South / Yes -- pan-African with primary hubs in Lagos, Nairobi, Cape Town, Cairo

How to apply

Lateral Frontiers takes applications through a form on https://www.lateralfrontiers.com/. The apply field in their Trampoline entry describes it as "Via the website or direct outreach to the team". Go to the site, find the apply or contact path, and submit through that channel rather than emailing partners cold, since a fund that has built a form generally routes everything through it first.

Portfolio pattern

Lateral Frontiers's portfolio, as listed in their Trampoline fund page, includes:

Carry1st (South Africa): Gaming and digital content platform
SeamlessHR (Nigeria): Enterprise HR and payroll SaaS
Mono (Nigeria): Financial data API infrastructure
Autocheck Africa (Nigeria): Automotive marketplace and financing
Lipa Later (Kenya): Buy now, pay later platform

That spread gives you a sense of what a real check from Lateral Frontiers has funded, not just what the thesis claims it funds.

Before you apply

Have these ready before you reach out:

Deck: Check your readiness first so you know where the gaps are
Metrics dashboard: Set up your metrics dashboard so you can show real traction, not slides
Cap table
A one-line description of what your company does

FAQ

Does Lateral Frontiers have a sector focus?

Lateral Frontiers describes its mandate as sector-agnostic, meaning it does not restrict itself to a fixed list of sectors.

What stage does Lateral Frontiers typically write cheques at?

Lateral Frontiers invests at Seed and Series A, with cheque sizes of $100K -- $1M.

Do you need a warm intro to apply to Lateral Frontiers?

No. Lateral Frontiers takes applications through a form on their website, so a warm intro is not required to apply, though it can still help your submission stand out.

Does Lateral Frontiers invest outside Pan-African / Global South?

Lateral Frontiers's Africa focus is described as "pan-African with primary hubs in Lagos, Nairobi, Cape Town, Cairo". Check the full fund profile for the exact geographic boundaries before you apply.

Is Lateral Frontiers a remote or in-person fund?

Lateral Frontiers's format is listed as Hybrid.