Capria VC, a worldwide enterprise agency with $207 million in property below administration, runs a singular mannequin for investing in rising markets by backing startups and native fund managers. Globally, it has invested in 17 fund managers, giving it oblique publicity to just about 400 portfolio corporations, whereas instantly investing in solely 41 startups.
Capria’s African accomplice companies are World Ventures, Lateral Frontiers and Atlantica Ventures. “This mannequin is highly effective as a result of it provides us broad entry to market insights. It’s an enormous knowledge set, which advantages each us and our portfolio corporations,” Mobola da Silva, the Africa accomplice at Capria, informed TechCabal.
She joined Capria in 2023 initially as a enterprise accomplice earlier than transitioning to a accomplice in 2024 and relocating from Lagos to Nairobi to strengthen Capria’s on-ground presence on the continent.
Earlier than becoming a member of Capria, she spent 14 years working on the intersection of enterprise capital and rising markets and held senior roles on the Draper Richards Kaplan Basis, the uMunthu Fund, and Alitheia Capital.
“The frequent theme (of my profession) is deploying capital into essentially the most promising alternatives and backing founders greatest positioned to scale transformative companies,” da Silva stated.
Capria invests $1-3 million in startups with capital additionally reserved for follow-on investments. The agency has instantly invested in six African startups, specializing in sectors driving large-scale influence and innovation, like fintech, agtech, HRtech/jobtech, edtech, healthtech, and B2B SaaS.
“These industries symbolize key areas the place expertise and entrepreneurship can create transformative options in rising markets,” da Silva defined.
It counts Moniepoint, Paymob, and Seamless HR in its direct portfolio. In MAX, it invested alongside World Ventures, one among its accomplice companies. In its oblique portfolio, it’s uncovered to LipaLater, Klasha, and Figorr, amongst others in Africa.
Enterprise capital companies are sometimes break up between investing groups and assist groups that information portfolio startups. Moreover its distinctive investing mannequin, Capria additionally has a singular assist strategy. It has an in-house AI workforce comprising 4 builders, founding accomplice Will Poole—an ex-tech entrepreneur with sector experience—and a member of its assist workforce.
“The AI workforce is a useful resource obtainable to all our portfolio corporations. Any firm can strategy us and say, “We’re pondering of implementing AI on this means, however we now have challenges—how are you going to assist?” They don’t have to make use of the AI workforce, nevertheless it’s an choice. After all, there’s some prioritisation. The workforce can’t work with all corporations concurrently, so that they section initiatives relying on workload,” da Silva stated.
TechCabal spoke to da Silva to grasp the agency’s funding thesis and plans for Africa.
This interview has been edited for size and readability.
How do you supply and determine promising alternatives in such a fragmented market?
At Capria, we prioritise a set of core components when evaluating startups. We search for distinctive groups, robust income traction, and compelling unit economics that display long-term viability. A startup’s ‘proper to win’ in its market is crucial, together with an asset-light mannequin that leverages expertise—significantly utilized AI—to drive scale and effectivity. Moreover, we deal with corporations working in giant and rising markets, guaranteeing they’ve the potential for important market influence.
Which qualities do you search for in founding groups past their services or products, significantly relating to resilience and cultural match for African markets?
At Capria, we consider founders and founding groups based mostly on a number of key elements like founder-market match. We prioritise alignment between a founder’s abilities, expertise, and private qualities with the market’s wants. Whereas this can be a robust desire, we could make exceptions for serial entrepreneurs with a confirmed monitor document.
We additionally take a look at their tender abilities and coachability. Founders should display humility and the power to just accept suggestions, as that is crucial for long-term success. For youthful founders, we assess strategic pondering, area data, ardour, and grit—usually validated by third-party references early in our diligence course of.
We additionally favor various founding groups however, at a minimal, count on founders to be deeply related inside their trade ecosystem.
What’s your due diligence course of, from preliminary pitch evaluate to deeper market and workforce assessments?
We’ve a multi-step course of that features preliminary screening after the primary dialog with the founder, first-level funding committee (IC) approval, due diligence (industrial, monetary, authorized, and expertise), ultimate IC approval, funding documentation, signing, and deal execution. Every step has particular duties we observe to make sure we run a complete and thorough course of.
How do you construction investments in Africa?
We use a number of methods to construction investments in Africa to mitigate the consequences of macro dangers like portfolio diversification. Capria diversifies investments throughout completely different sectors, phases, and areas inside Africa, serving to unfold danger and cut back the influence of volatility in anyone space.
We additionally collaborate with native companions who’ve deep market data and expertise is invaluable. They supply insights into navigating the particular challenges and alternatives of the native market.
Capria emphasises that robust company governance and monetary controls inside portfolio corporations are essential. This helps guarantee transparency, accountability, and environment friendly use of capital, that are important in unsure environments. In some situations, mechanisms comparable to liquidation preferences or anti-dilution clauses shield towards unfavourable market situations or firm efficiency.
You deal with Collection A and past, avoiding seed-stage startups. Why is that?
Our candy spot is Collection A. We not often make investments at seed—positively not pre-seed—however we’ve made some exceptions.
Is it as a result of seed-stage startups are riskier, particularly in Africa?
Sure, largely. At Collection A, whereas a startup isn’t fully de-risked, sure dangers are diminished. By then, an organization ought to have demonstrated product-market match and a scalable, repeatable enterprise mannequin. Seed-stage startups are nonetheless figuring these issues out. Collection A funding is supposed to scale a confirmed mannequin. That stated, we do spend money on seed by a few of our India-focused funds, so we’re not fully unfamiliar with it. However for our Africa fund, that is our technique.
What’s your best startup?
Our technique is Collection A tech-enabled corporations in key sectors like fintech (which makes up ~50% of our Africa portfolio), agtech, jobtech and B2B SaaS. We additionally search for a powerful founding workforce, a sturdy enterprise mannequin and a big, rising whole addressable market.
Moreover, we deal with startups making use of AI in significant methods. To make clear, we don’t spend money on AI corporations constructing giant language fashions (LLMs) or AI-native apps. We spend money on tech corporations—like fintech or jobtech—that use AI to reinforce their companies. We consider utilized AI may be transformative in rising markets.
To what extent do LPs affect your funding technique relating to sectors or geographies?
The funding technique is outlined by the fund supervisor. LP affect is minimal.
How do you determine which native companions to spend money on, and the way do these partnerships work?
Capria has a community of fund managers throughout the 4 areas the place we make investments. These are our core funding companions—the funds we make investments alongside when backing corporations. Past that, we even have relationships with different traders within the ecosystem whom we belief and whose methods align with ours. We co-invest with them sometimes, even when we haven’t instantly invested of their funds.
We take this co-investment strategy as a result of native fund managers have key benefits. They’re on the bottom, current within the markets. They’ve a deeper understanding of the ecosystem. They’ve robust networks. So, investing alongside them is smart for these causes.
Moreover, I lead our Africa workforce, which sources and executes offers independently. We don’t rely solely on co-investments.
Which nations do you prioritise, and why?
We deal with key tech hubs the place startup exercise is concentrated. In Africa, which means Nigeria in West Africa, Kenya in East Africa, and Egypt in North Africa. We don’t spend money on Southern Africa in any respect.
Why not?
It’s merely a strategic choice. South Africa has a unique market construction in comparison with East and West Africa. Its VC ecosystem can be extra mature. We determined our capabilities and experience have been higher suited to East and West Africa.
How have forex devaluations and rising rates of interest affected deal movement and valuations in African tech?
Forex volatility has elevated FX danger, making geo-diversification, overseas forex revenue, and localised bills important for startups. Increased borrowing prices have made debt financing much less accessible, resulting in longer deal cycles and extra stringent funding standards.
Rising rates of interest have weakened debt affordability, decreasing investor urge for food for high-risk early-stage investments.
Whereas these macroeconomic elements current challenges, startups with sturdy monetary methods, operational resilience, and powerful management groups proceed to draw funding and place themselves for sustainable development.
What’s your general outlook on investor sentiment in Africa, given present international financial situations?
The 2025 enterprise capital outlook in Africa stays optimistic regardless of international financial challenges. Each start-ups and traders have grow to be extra disciplined, specializing in robust enterprise fundamentals and a practical path to development and profitability. The African startup ecosystem is maturing, with growing capital deployment supported by repeat entrepreneurs, native funding funds, and rising international investor curiosity.
Utilized AI and agentic AI will probably be game-changing for startups in resource-constrained environments like Africa. Whereas challenges exist, Africa stays a viable vacation spot for VC funding as a consequence of its demographics, technological innovation, and unmet alternatives.
Might you share an instance of a startup the place your fund performed a key function in catalysing development or reaching a notable milestone or exit?
Particular examples of how we now have supported our portfolio corporations in Africa embrace:
Fundraising Help: We’ve helped a number of portfolio corporations safe follow-on funding from different traders, leveraging {our relationships} each inside and out of doors Africa
AppliedAI Help: Our in-house AI workforce has labored with our portfolio corporations to develop and check AI use instances, which embrace creating new merchandise that contribute to income development and considerably enhance an operational perform, resulting in decrease operational bills.
Sourcing Expertise: We leverage our deep networks within the area to assist a portfolio firm supply high-quality expertise for key roles.
Which regulatory hurdles have you ever encountered in numerous African markets, and the way did you navigate them?
Whereas we principally keep away from extremely regulated sectors, regulation is just not fully avoidable. We attempt to minimise the dangers wherever doable by deal structuring, co-investing with skilled/native traders, and investing in resilient founders/enterprise fashions.
How do market fragmentation and infrastructural deficits have an effect on your funding choices?
We search for corporations with sturdy enterprise fashions that may thrive regardless of these challenges. Know-how performs an enormous function in overcoming infrastructural deficits. We additionally spend money on markets with the biggest start-up ecosystems, which are typically the bigger, extra superior markets within the continent.
How do you adapt your funding strategy to numerous cultural, linguistic, and financial contexts?
We’ve workforce members on the bottom in many of the markets the place we make investments and nearly all of our workforce are additionally native to these nations. We additionally make investments alongside different native fund managers.
How do you measure and monitor the efficiency of portfolio corporations?
We monitor a variety of economic and non-financial metrics which might be particular to every firm, sector and/or area. We get metrics from portfolio corporations month-to-month, and we do portfolio reporting on a quarterly foundation.
How do you steadiness offering steering with permitting founders to train autonomy?
We provide steering and assist in areas the place we now have experience, set up clear communication channels, and set expectations upfront about our involvement and assist. We respect the founders’ decision-making authority and don’t get entangled within the operational facets of the enterprise.
How do macroeconomic elements and comparatively nascent capital markets affect the likelihood and timing of exits?
World financial uncertainties, together with geopolitical tensions and commerce coverage shifts, have led to cautious investor sentiment. This atmosphere has resulted in prolonged holding intervals for investments, as appropriate exit alternatives grow to be scarce.
Excessive international rates of interest and a powerful US greenback have intensified fiscal pressures, significantly in rising markets. These situations have elevated the price of dollar-denominated debt, limiting fiscal growth and affecting the attractiveness of exits.
In areas with underdeveloped capital markets, the dearth of maturity hampers large-scale tech IPOs. This limitation restricts exit choices for traders, usually resulting in extended funding durations.
What can founders do early of their development to place themselves for profitable exits?
Given longer timelines to profitability, founders ought to prioritise sustainable unit economics and disciplined monetary administration from the beginning. Navigating complicated rules is crucial. Participating with policymakers early and guaranteeing compliance can cut back roadblocks that deter potential acquirers or traders.
Political and financial instability can influence valuations and exit alternatives. Founders ought to construct adaptable enterprise fashions that may face up to exterior shocks and stay engaging to traders.
Strengthening inside capabilities in key areas like software program growth and tech administration is essential. Investing in expertise growth and attracting skilled management can speed up development and enhance scalability.
Founders ought to proactively have interaction with potential acquirers, strategic companions, and later-stage traders to align on long-term exit pathways, whether or not by M&A, secondary gross sales, or public markets.
