The fund, which has a target size of $90 million, will have a special focus on women-led businesses and those serving rural communities, according to the IFC
Working to improve support for tech startups in Egypt, aiming to provide them with access to finance and drive innovation and job creation, the International Finance Corporation (IFC) — a World Bank Group member — is set to invest $15 million in venture capital firm Algebra Ventures.
Part of the IFC’s strategy to support Africa’s start-ups and entrepreneurship ecosystem, and its second investment in Algebra Ventures, it noted that the investment will help back the growth of roughly 20 technology start-ups in Egypt and Africa.
“With its young, tech-savvy population and large market, Egypt’s entrepreneurs are perfectly poised to drive change in the country’s economy with the right support,” said Yasmine El-Hini, the IFC’s country officer and acting country manager for Egypt and Libya.
The fund, which has a target size of $90 million, will have a special focus on women-led businesses and those serving rural communities, according to the IFC.
“We are delighted to see the IFC return as a limited partner in our second fund, having invested in our first fund five years ago as well as directly into our portfolio. The IFC has been one of our strongest partners since day one and believed in our vision when there was no venture capital to speak of in Egypt. We look forward to continuing to strengthen our partnership going forward,” said Tarek Assaad, managing partner at Algebra Ventures.
Assaad added that the IFC, through this investment, is helping to push Egypt’s start-up scene forward and encourage innovation.
According to Algebra Ventures, VC investments in Egypt represent around 25% of VC investments in all emerging markets.
This will be the second time the IFC is investing in the VC, having invested $10 million to co-anchor Algebra’s inaugural $54 million fund, which also attracted investments from Cisco Investments, the Egyptian-American Enterprise Fund, and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. Algebra Fund I was the first Egypt-dedicated VC fund and has supported 21 tech start-ups and created over 3,500 direct and 28,000 indirect jobs.
