TL;DR
Seedstars Africa Ventures invests in sector-agnostic companies at Seed, Series A, and Series B+, writes cheques of $250K - $2M initial; up to $5M follow-on per company, and takes applications through a direct online application.
Who Seedstars Africa Ventures is
Seedstars Africa Ventures is a Pan-African investor headquartered in Zurich; fund offices in Nairobi, Dakar, Paris. The fund describes its mandate as sector-agnostic. The thesis, in the fund's own words: Investing in early-stage companies using digital technologies to address basic needs across Sub-Saharan Africa.
On the ground, Seedstars Africa Ventures operates as a Seed, Series A, and Series B+ investor with an Africa focus described as "Yes, Sub-Saharan Africa with 30-50% allocated to Francophone Africa". The fund's co-founder and general partner is Maxime Bouan, alongside Tamim El Zein (Co-Founder and General Partner) and Bruce Nsereko-Lule (General Partner).
What they invest in
- Stages: Seed, Series A, and Series B+
- Sectors: Sector-agnostic. The fund calls itself sector-agnostic, but its actual portfolio tells a more concentrated story: 29% of classified portfolio companies are in Infrastructure, and 29% are in Fintech.
- Cheque size: $250K - $2M initial; up to $5M follow-on per company
- Geography focus: Pan-African / Yes, Sub-Saharan Africa with 30-50% allocated to Francophone Africa
How to apply
Apply directly at https://seedstars-africa.vc/. That link is the fund's own application channel, listed in their Trampoline entry as of 2026-07-27. Fill out whatever the form asks for completely: skipped fields read as a rushed application, and a rushed application is an easy first-pass reject at any fund fielding more submissions than it can meaningfully review.
Portfolio pattern
Seedstars Africa Ventures's portfolio, as listed in their Trampoline fund page, includes:
- Beacon Power Services (Nigeria): Grid management software and data solutions for power distribution utilities, Seed (led, $2.7M round)
- Poa! Internet (Kenya): Affordable home broadband at ~$10/month, 60,000+ households connected, Seed
- Xeno (Uganda): Goal-based investment platform for sustainable savings, $19M+ in deposits, Seed
- Bizao (Cote d'Ivoire / Senegal): Pan-African payment aggregation processing 350M+ payment requests/month across 10 countries, Series A (co-invested with AfricInvest, EUR 8M round)
- Shamba Pride (Kenya): Franchise network of ~300 agro-dealer shops for smallholder farmers, Pre-Series A (led, $3.7M round)
That spread gives you a sense of what a real check from Seedstars Africa Ventures 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 Seedstars Africa Ventures have a sector focus?
Seedstars Africa Ventures describes its mandate as sector-agnostic, meaning it does not restrict itself to a fixed list of sectors.
What stage does Seedstars Africa Ventures typically write cheques at?
Seedstars Africa Ventures invests at Seed, Series A, and Series B+, with cheque sizes of $250K - $2M initial; up to $5M follow-on per company.
Do you need a warm intro to apply to Seedstars Africa Ventures?
No. Seedstars Africa Ventures 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 Seedstars Africa Ventures invest outside Pan-African?
Seedstars Africa Ventures's Africa focus is described as "Yes, Sub-Saharan Africa with 30-50% allocated to Francophone Africa". Check the full fund profile for the exact geographic boundaries before you apply.
Is Seedstars Africa Ventures a remote or in-person fund?
Seedstars Africa Ventures's format is listed as Remote (no accelerator program required).