Madica, a pre-seed investment program for African startups, has committed $600,000 in investments to three companies across the continent, expanding its portfolio with a focus on foundational technology and financial services. The program, which announced the deals on April 8, 2026, is backing Kenyan logistics platform Tushop, Nigerian financial infrastructure provider Newform Foods, and Ivorian business-to-business commerce venture Kola Market.
Each company will receive $200,000 in funding alongside a structured six-month program designed to provide mentorship and operational support. Emmanuel Adegboye, Madica’s head, described the program’s philosophy as targeting founders who are often overlooked by traditional venture capital. “We are looking for mission-driven founders building foundational technology companies in Africa,” Adegboye said. “Our goal is to de-risk these businesses for follow-on investors.”
The investments reflect a targeted approach to sectors with deep regional needs. Tushop, based in Nairobi, operates a community group-buying model for household goods, aiming to reduce costs for consumers through aggregated purchasing. Its model taps into Kenya’s established digital payments ecosystem while addressing persistent challenges in retail logistics and affordability.
Newform Foods, operating from Lagos, is developing financial technology infrastructure aimed at streamlining operations for small and medium-sized enterprises. The Nigerian fintech landscape is one of the continent’s most active, characterized by rapid innovation in payments and business tools, but also by increasing regulatory scrutiny from the Central Bank of Nigeria, which has heightened demands for corporate governance and operational clarity from financial service providers.
The third beneficiary, Abidjan-based Kola Market, is building a platform to digitize ordering and inventory management for informal retailers, connecting them directly to manufacturers and wholesalers. The venture enters a competitive space in West Africa, where multiple platforms are attempting to formalize the region’s vast informal trade networks, a critical step toward improving efficiency and access to credit for small businesses.
Madica, which is backed by global investment firms, operates with a thesis that significant gaps exist in very early-stage funding for African tech entrepreneurs, particularly outside of a few well-known hubs. The program’s structured support aims to prepare companies for subsequent seed funding rounds by helping them refine product-market fit, establish governance frameworks, and develop clear financial metrics.
The move comes amid a broader reassessment of venture investment strategies in African tech, where investors are increasingly emphasizing sustainable unit economics and paths to profitability over rapid, growth-at-all-costs expansion. Madica’s focus on pre-seed foundational businesses aligns with this shift, seeking to build resilience from the earliest stages of a company’s development.