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Key people at Madica.
Madica was founded in 2022 by Efayomi Carr (Co-Founder and Board Observer).
Madica operates as a structured investment and venture-building program designed for pre-seed stage companies across Africa. The initiative provides capital and comprehensive support to early-stage African startups, focusing on enabling their growth and market penetration. It integrates financial backing with strategic guidance to address critical needs often faced by nascent businesses on the continent.
The program was launched in 2022, with Emmanuel Adegboye playing a key role in its development and execution. The foundational insight behind Madica stems from the recognition of significant structural challenges that hinder underrepresented and underfunded founders in Africa from securing essential venture capital. This led to the creation of a dedicated platform to bridge this funding gap.
Madica primarily serves mission-driven African founders who are developing solutions within their local ecosystems. The program's vision is to cultivate a robust and equitable startup landscape by empowering these founders, ensuring they have the necessary resources to scale their ventures. It aims to foster long-term innovation and economic development across the African continent.
Madica was founded in 2022 by Efayomi Carr (Co-Founder and Board Observer).
Key people at Madica.
Madica Ventures is a structured pre-seed investment program launched in 2022 as an affiliate of global VC firm Flourish Ventures, targeting underrepresented African founders such as women-led teams, locally educated CEOs, and startups outside major hubs like Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa, and Egypt[1][3][4]. Its mission is to democratize access to capital, mentorship, and resources, addressing structural gaps in African entrepreneurship by investing up to $200,000 per company over 12-18 months of tailored support, including executive coaching, peer learning, immersion trips, and global networks[2][3][6]. Madica's investment philosophy emphasizes mission-driven founders and humility in diligence, leaning on Flourish expertise to counter herd behavior in sectors while prioritizing follow-on funding as a key KPI[4]. It impacts the startup ecosystem by lowering risk perception for African ventures, having deployed $800,000 across four startups in one year and eight total, fostering innovation beyond "Big Four" markets[1][4].
Madica was founded in 2022 in Nairobi, Kenya, by an African team bridging local insights with Flourish Ventures' global network, explicitly standing for "Made-in-Africa" to challenge Silicon Valley models ill-suited for the continent[1][3][4][7]. Emmanuel Adegboye serves as Head, bringing experience from overseeing Africa strategy at Utopia (an urbantech platform), where he launched innovation challenges and accelerators in Lagos[3][7]. Key team members include Brenda Wangari (Head of Portfolio Success, focused on youth opportunities), Francis Vesta (Investment Associate with VC/PE background), and Arjuna (co-founder of a $120M African bank turnaround PE fund and early US-Africa trade programs)[3][7]. The idea emerged to empower overlooked founders amid persistent funding gaps—e.g., women founders generate $0.78 revenue per dollar raised vs. $0.31 for all-male teams—evolving from a focus on pre-seed support to a flexible, non-cohort program with year-round applications[1][2][6].
Madica rides the wave of pan-African innovation beyond overfunded hubs, capitalizing on Africa's structural gaps where underrepresented founders drive higher returns but face funding disparities[1][4]. Timing aligns with maturing ecosystems in emerging markets, as global VCs like Flourish seek localized strategies to de-risk pre-seed bets amid Silicon Valley model failures in Africa[4]. Market forces favoring Madica include rising demand for mission-driven tech in underserved regions, government reforms, and AGOA-like trade programs, enabling it to attract capital by proving viability outside "Big Four" countries[4][7]. It influences the ecosystem as investor, support program, and builder—lowering risk perceptions, inspiring founders, and normalizing investments in overlooked areas, potentially unlocking billions in follow-on funding[2][3][4].
Madica's flexible, founder-centric model positions it to scale influence as Africa's pre-seed gaps persist, with full deployment over three years likely yielding more portfolio successes and LP interest[4]. Trends like AI-driven local solutions, climate tech, and youth-led ventures outside hubs will shape its path, amplified by Flourish ties amid global interest in African returns[3][4]. Its role may evolve from niche pioneer to ecosystem catalyst, drawing capital to underrepresented founders and redefining "Made-in-Africa" success—echoing its launch promise to empower those changing the continent's startup narrative[2][3].
