With an initial $2.5 million rollout, Innovate Africa Fund, an angel investment fund, assists early-stage creators who are moving their firms from conception to product.

The sector-agnostic fund, co-founded by Kristin Wilson and Christian Idiodi, intends to assist up to 20 entrepreneurs in its first year of operation to use purpose-driven technology to address identified, complicated issues like poverty, unemployment, and insecurity. The Innovate Africa Fund will give entrepreneurs access to insight-driven funding to hasten the transition from Minimum Viable Product (MVP) to Product-Market Fit (PMF). The objective is to enable founders to unleash development by bold problem-solving and the provision of an extensive ecosystem of resources by facilitating the infrastructure that supports them.

In addition to providing professional advice in the areas of strategy, public relations, finance, and governance, the fund will invest an average of $50,000. A Product Leadership Accelerator is part of the offering to help entrepreneurs fine-tune their solutions and attain product-market fit. Additionally, it makes talent sourcing easier by linking entrepreneurs with highly qualified individuals in a range of industries through a vast partner network.

Kristin, the managing partner, holds additional positions as chief strategy officer at Spurt!, general partner at the Bold Angel Fund, venture partner at Oui Capital, and investment lead for the Rising Tide Africa Angel Network. 34 African businesses are in her portfolio, 26 of which are in the technology sector and include Hoaq, Clafiya, Shuttlers, and OmniRetail—which the Financial Times named Africa’s Fastest Growing Company for 2024.

“As a founder-first catalyst fund, we support founders in expediting their transition from MVP to PMF by offering insight-driven finance. Innovators may concentrate their energies on creating revolutionary, long-lasting companies that address difficult issues and generate profits for investors by giving themthe support and capital they need, according to Kristin.

Christian Idiodi is a partner in the Silicon Valley Product Group (SVPG) and the founder of Firtsi and Work Nigeria.

“We make sure our portfolio companies receive the necessary expertise by connecting them with experienced operators and advisors in Africa and around the world through the Innovate ecosystem,” stated Christian.

Applications are being accepted from African founders who satisfy the following six screening requirements:

• Character
• Credibility
• Capacity
• Courage
• Competence, and
• Context