Top 15 Publishing Startup Investors in Africa in May 2025
A list of 15 angel investors and VC (Venture Capital) funds that invest in Publishing startups based in Africa. We rank investors based on the number of investments they made in Publishing companies from Africa. We update this investor list every month.Top 15 Publishing Startup Investors in Africa in May 2025
Investor | Publishing Africa investments |
---|---|
Miles Morland | 5 |
Grenfell Holdings | 2 |
SOSV | 2 |
Artha Group | 2 |
Vinny Lingham | 1 |
Inflection Point Ventures | 1 |
E3 Capital | 1 |
Tom Berckt | 1 |
CDG Invest | 1 |
Niche Capital | 1 |
Rajesh Sawhney | 1 |
Orbit Startups | 1 |
Dr Ritesh Malik | 1 |
Renew Capital | 1 |
Michael Leeman | 1 |
Miles co-founded DPI in 2007 after having become non-executive Chairman of Blakeney Management (Blakeney) in July 2006 by which time the firm was considered to be one of the largest portfolio investors in many African stock markets. Blakeney was set up by Miles in 1990, first as a consultancy and, since 1994, as an asset management firm, investingin Africa and the Middle East. Blakeney was one of the first investors in many African markets and Miles played an active role in the development of markets in countries such as Ghana, Morocco, Egypt, Kenya and Tunisia.Before starting Blakeney, Miles spent 22 years in money management and investment banking in London and on Wall Street.Miles is also on the boards of SABMiller plc, the world’s second largest brewer and SouthWest Energy (BVI) Ltd, an Ethiopian oil exploration company. He was the founder and chairman for five years of the London Business School’s Africa Board. He read Law at the University of Oxford. Miles is a British citizen.
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Investment focus
- Internet, Education, Publishing
- Pre-Seed
- Mozambique
Portfolio highlights
- Ethale Books App — The Ethale Books App by Ethale Publishing is the first-ever East African multilingual book app featuring local content. It is one of the first in the developing world to be specifically designed for android mobile phones and not e-readers. The trilingual app will make books available in Portuguese, Swahili and English for free, with revenuesustained via a mobile advertising strategy.
Grenfell Holdings is an investment company based in Hong Kong.
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Investment focus
- Internet, Logistics, Consulting
- Seed, Pre-Seed, Series A
- Kenya, Uganda, Senegal
Portfolio highlights
- Badili — Badili is a one-stop shop for buying and selling used and refurbished phones. Founded in 2021 and is based in Nairobi.
- Yobante Express — Yobante Express offers a web & mobile platform that connects retailers, businesses & individuals with carriers for point-to-point delivery.
- Rocket Health Africa — Rocket Health is a bundled service of The Medical Concierge Group, a licensed and registered clinic, laboratory, and pharmacy. Rocket Health offers telemedicine healthcare services such as doctor consultations, laboratory sample pickups, and medicine delivery.
SOSV is a global, deep tech venture capital firm that operates the HAX and IndieBio startup development programs focused on human and planetary health. SOSV invests $500,000 in startups at their inception as they onboard either HAX or IndieBio for a 4-6 month period designed to accelerate the raise of their next institutional round. SOSV joins thelater rounds of HAX and IndieBio graduates.
HAX, based in a 35,000 sq ft facility in Newark, NJ, is equipped with machine tools, 3D printers, chemical, electrical and mechanical engineering labs, as well as on-staff engineering and design experts. SOSV's IndieBio has locations in NYC and San Francisco, both of which offer extensive services and facilities to founders including on-site BSL-2 labs, well equipped lab benches and hoods, and advanced lab equipment, such as chromatography equipment.
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Investment focus
- Biotechnology, Health Care, Software
- Seed, Convertible Note, Pre-Seed
- United States, India, United Kingdom
Portfolio highlights
- MixRift — MIXRIFT - game developers specialized in Mixed Reality
- unspun — From 3D scan to perfect fitting custom jeans. unspun makes each pair of jeans unique to your actual body and design. On a mission to reduce global carbon emissions by 1%. As seen in Fast Company's World Changing Ideas, Time's Best Inventions, and PopSci's Best of What's New. Welcome to the future of apparel.
- Mesa Quantum — Unlock the potential of chip-scale quantum sensing for enhanced Position, Navigation, And Timing capabilities. Explore Mesa Quantum's practical solutions.
Artha India Ventures' league of member Angel Investors mentor and invest in nascent ventures with business ideas that create value by participating in the entrepreneurial process. AIV have invested in more than 47 start-ups and has diversified portfolio ranging from last minute hotel bookings (HotelsAroundYou.com), to classes aggregators(FindUrClass.com), cosmetic ecommerce (Purplle.com) and at home salon services (The Home Salon). From microfinance credit rating platforms (Inventure) to online interview platforms (Talview), electronic repair & insurance companies (PickMeIndia.com), Cloud Telephone (Exotel.com) and Cab Aggregators (BookMyCab.com) the portfolio has it all.
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Investment focus
- Information Technology, Internet, E-Commerce
- Seed, Angel, Funding Round
- India, United States, Kenya
Portfolio highlights
- Futwork — With Futwork, learn for free and get a telecaller job. Find Work from Home jobs in India. Flexi hours & work suitable for freshers and women. Earn from home now!
- GetWork — Looking to hire top talent for your organization? GetWork is the platform for you! With a candidate pool of 1.9M+ job seekers, you can easily post your job and find the perfect candidate for your needs. Sign up today and start hiring with GetWork.
- KarmaLifeAI — KarmaLifeAI is an AI-powered digital solution for the financial well being of blue-collar gig workers and micro-business. The company allows the user to pay directly for key expenditures and smoothen their consumption patterns. It offers real-time access to credit for gig workers, based on their payroll account, through partnerships with thedigital platforms they work for. It operates an interest-free subscription model in which the platform or the gig worker can pay a flat fee and access credit equalling up to one-third of their monthly income. The company analyzes alternative data points and payment behavior over time to unlock higher credit lines for the workers.
Vinny Lingham is the Co-Founder and CEO of Rumi.ai(Waitroom). He previously worked at YPO as a Member. Vinny Lingham attended Harvard Business School Executive Education.
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Investment focus
- Blockchain, Internet, Cryptocurrency
- Seed, Funding Round, Angel
- United States, South Africa, United Kingdom
Portfolio highlights
- Glif — Interoperable tools for the Filecoin network
- Afterparty — Afterparty is a technology company behind the new Web3 platform enabling creators to directly monetize and manage NFT collector relationships
- Collectibles.com — Collectibles is the Home of Collectors: Cards, Comics, Coins, Stamps and more. Connect with Likeminds, Trade and Showoff your Collection for free
Inflection Point Ventures, with over 3300 CXOs and professionals, HNIs and Family Offices, is India’s leading angel network investing in early-to-mid stage startups. IPV supports new-age entrepreneurs with not just capital but also uses its wide network of investors to provide startups with access to new markets, customers, guidance and mentorship.Inflection Point Ventures is democratizing angel investing with low membership fee, lowest investment ticket size (per investor), transparent investment process and extensive upfront due-diligence led by industry experts. IPV is industry agnostic, with a focus on committed and competent founders.
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Investment focus
- Artificial Intelligence, E-Commerce, Health Care
- Seed, Pre-Seed, Series A
- India, United States, Singapore
Portfolio highlights
- NAPTAPGO — The Indian Travel industry is changing rapidly and traditional budget hotel accommodations fail to meet the demands of a modern Indian traveller. The budget hotel sector in India has long been plagued by dismal conditions, encompassing shoddy facilities, questionable hygiene standards, persistently poor customer service, and antiquated amenities,collectively culminating in a thoroughly disappointing and disheartening stay experience for travellers.Introducing Naptapgo, the innovative capsule hotel revolutionizing the hospitality industry with its mission to deliver unparalleled quality at the lowest cost, fostering a paradigm shift in affordable lodging. With a pioneering asset-light approach, Naptapgo redefines micro hotels, offering a compelling stay experience that resonates with the masses, especially the tech-savvy younger generation and business travellers. Harnessing AI-driven cleaning systems, seamless self-check-in facilities, and cutting-edge technological advancements, Naptapgo entices users seeking convenience and sophistication while strategically maintaining lower operational costs, creating an enticing and magnetizing investment prospect for forward-thinking franchises.
- Vividobots — Vividobots offers automation solutions for challenging industrial issues. Vividobots want to reduce the human labor and risks associated with the industrial sector.
- Feline Spirits — Feline Spirits specializes in producing craft alcoholic beverages.
E3 Capital invests in growing, entrepreneurial businesses in Sub-Saharan Africa addressing the lack of electrification in the region with new technology and innovative business models. The fund is backed by Schneider Electric, the leading energy management multinational, and a number of public-sector investors.
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Investment focus
- Solar, Energy, Financial Services
- Seed, Series A, Series B
- Kenya, United States, Mali
Portfolio highlights
- Plentify — Plentify connects home appliances with cheaper cleaner energy. It does this with an intelligent residential load management platform which matches demand with clean energy supply for 75% cheaper than batteries. Plentify combines advanced hardware, AI, and user-centric design to create smart home products that delight customers while alsostrengthening electricity systems.
- YoLa Fresh — At YoLaFresh, our mission is to revolutionize the fresh produce supply chain in Africa by leveraging technology and data to disrupt traditional distribution models. We strive to create a more efficient and transparent system that benefits all stakeholders, from farmers to retailers and consumers. Our vision is to create a world where access tofresh, high-quality produce is a universal right. We believe that by empowering farmers and retailers with innovative technology solutions, we will improve their livelihoods and make a positive impact on their communities.
- Insight Terra — Insight Terra supports data driven risk management in critical situations where business operations, people and the environment all come together.
Tom is currently a commercial executive at Clicks2customers.com, a global Search Engine Marketing company. His background is in (bio-) engineering but he has been involved in online companies for the past 10 years. Besides working at Clicks2customers, Tom is a part time lecturer at TSIBA (http://www.tsiba.org.za/) a South AfricanNGO providing tertiary education to economically disadvantaged children. He is also an angel investor in a number is technology startups and is an active member of the Silicon Cape initiative (www.siliconcape.com)
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Investment focus
- Apps, Events, Printing
- Angel
- South Africa
Portfolio highlights
- Personera — Personera is a technology company focused on the development of Facebook applications and personalized products. Personera's unique platform allows brands to offer their communities a variety of branded print products or digital downloads, easily ordered directly from the brand's Facebook fan page and fully personalized with their socialnetwork content. Personera's platform is white-labeled and completely customizable for any unique brand identity. Products include calendars, photobooks, cards, and posters, and are available in professional print versions or digital downloads. All of their products include shared content between the brand and the individual consumer, creating a one of a kind keepsake or merchandise piece for every customer. Implementing Personera on websites or Facebook fan pages (or both) is easy. All it requires is installation of an app by adding a new tab to a fan page or embedding a line of code onto a website. Personera handles payments, printing and delivery via their global network.Personera's business model works on a per-sale revenue share basis, so there are zero setup fees for clients. They have a global network of commercial print partners that manage physical production and delivery of the products, ensuring high quality, fast and reliable service worldwide. Personera makes it easy for brands to monetize their Facebook page while engaging their fans with personalized product offerings. The Personera personalized products platform has been used by a variety of brands including leading magazines, musicians, celebrities and consumer focused companies.
CDG Invest is the investment branch of the CDG group. CDG Invest acts both as an investment manager for its own account following both financial and strategic logic, as well as as a fund manager for third parties. CDG Invest intervenes in various key sectors of the Moroccan economy: industry, agro-food, digital/digital, renewable energy, andterritorial PPP and with various segments of companies.
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Investment focus
- Apps, Software, Internet
- Pre-Seed, Seed, Funding Round
- Morocco, France, Switzerland
Portfolio highlights
- VelyVelo — Discover VelyVelo, the specialist in the rental, servicing and maintenance of electric bicycles for professionals in Paris, Lyon, Bordeaux and Marseille.
- Userguest.com — Userguest is a Travel SaaS company that provides technology to hotels in order to improve their online revenue. Our smart tool applies RevMarketing Automation to hotel website, by matching a user’s booking intent with the hotel’s inventory priorities. We display personalized incentives to boost hotel revenue where it counts.
- Strapack Morocco — Strapack Morocco offers packaging and industrial packaging solutions. It provides an extensive range of machinery, materials, and consumables to ensure efficiency in packaging activities.
Venture Capital firm
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Investment focus
- Software, Financial Services, E-Commerce
- Pre-Seed, Seed, Angel
- United States, Nigeria, Kenya
Portfolio highlights
- Bemi — Bemi is an automatic audit trail for Postgres that tracks data changes reliably without the engineering complexity and costly infrastructure: Bemi Captures and stores data changes with 100% reliability and accuracy.
- Anchor — Anchor is building the infrastructure needed for businesses to build, launch, and scale banking and payment solutions.
- Blossom.team — Powered by AI, Blossom's science-backed professional coaching brings together experienced coaches & ML to show actual growth on key topics: productivity, communications, leadership, stress management, career development, interpersonal skills, and more. Subscribe and see why it's the successful professional's secret superpower!
Rajesh is the co-founder and CEO of InnerChef and Super Angels.
He holds a bachelor's degree in electronic engineering from Delhi University, and a master's degree in management from Mumbai University.
He has also done a fellowship in 'Globalisation and Leadership' from the London School of Economics and Social Sciences.
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Investment focus
- Software, Artificial Intelligence, E-Commerce
- Seed, Pre-Seed, Angel
- India, United States, Singapore
Portfolio highlights
- Fambo — Fambo is a technology-based food service company that offers semi-processed foodstuffs to restaurants and cloud kitchens.
- CargoFL — CargoFL is a B2B logistics technology platform that offers transport management software for enterprises in retail, pharma, and manufacturing sectors. It provides a cloud-based enterprise resource planning platform that focuses on capturing the logistics market by digital technology, automates dispatches, consolidates truckers, and provides supplychain visibility and vehicle tracking.
- ProcureYard — ProcureYard aims to revolutionize B2B raw materials procurement by modernizing traditional processes with cutting-edge AI technology, creating a transparent and reliable marketplace that reduces costs and simplifies sourcing for businesses.
Orbit Startups helps companies scaling breakthrough technologies across emerging and frontier markets to the regions with the most aggressive growth.
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Investment focus
- E-Commerce, Information Technology, Software
- Seed, Pre-Seed, Convertible Note
- India, Singapore, Pakistan
Portfolio highlights
- TAPPI — TAPPI is the leading association for the worldwide pulp, paper, packaging, and converting industries and publisher of Paper360º.
- Braingaze — Braingaze solves major challenges around cognitive disorders of the brain. We use a patented neuro-biomarker based on small involuntary eye movements. These are triggered by functional games, the resulting signal is analysed using algorithms trained by Deep Learning based on actual real patient / control cases. We adress pre-symptomatic stagesof Alzheimer's disease and the most common child cognitive disorder ADHD. Our tools are on the market and covered by a CE Mark as a medical device. Our pipeline includes detection / diagnostic tools as well as digital therapy solutions that have shown to reduce symtoms by over 50%.
- Tappi — Convert one-time customers into loyal ones by getting discovered, growing leads and building your business reputation.
Doctor turned Entrepreneur, Investor, Speaker & Philanthropist.
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Investment focus
- Software, Information Technology, SaaS
- Seed, Pre-Seed, Funding Round
- India, United States, Kenya
Portfolio highlights
- BiteSpeed — Drive 10% of your Shopify store's revenue from WhatsApp & FB Messenger. Recover abandoned carts, send promotional & shipping messages. Trusted by 1500+ brands!
- SaveSage Club — SaveSage helps you maximise rewards and discounts from your credit cards and loyalty programs.
- First Coffee — Discover the best specialty coffee in India with our range of single origin Arabica beans and exclusive merchandise. Shop online at First Coffee for freshly roasted, quality blends.
Renew Capital is an Africa-focused investment firm that addresses critical gaps for Africa’s growing businesses and connects them to a global network of impact investors.
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Investment focus
- Mobile Apps, Financial Services, Finance
- Pre-Seed, Funding Round, Seed
- Uganda, Kenya, Ethiopia
Portfolio highlights
- Bosso — Bosso projects and realizes automation and robotic solutions for the growth of your business.
- Chpter — Chpter is a software development company that offers fast billing and checkout to help start, run, and grow a business.
- Level Africa — Digital Investment Marketplace for Africa
Michael is the San Diego based Senior VP Business Development for Cognician, a self coaching and behavior change platform based in San Francisco. He is also a shareholder and director.
Michael also has array of investments in and advisory roles with a number of other start ups, including Gyft, Yola, ChessCube and Skyrove.
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Investment focus
- Apps, Publishing, Software
- Angel, Seed, Funding Round
- United States, South Africa
Portfolio highlights
- Personera — Personera is a technology company focused on the development of Facebook applications and personalized products. Personera's unique platform allows brands to offer their communities a variety of branded print products or digital downloads, easily ordered directly from the brand's Facebook fan page and fully personalized with their socialnetwork content. Personera's platform is white-labeled and completely customizable for any unique brand identity. Products include calendars, photobooks, cards, and posters, and are available in professional print versions or digital downloads. All of their products include shared content between the brand and the individual consumer, creating a one of a kind keepsake or merchandise piece for every customer. Implementing Personera on websites or Facebook fan pages (or both) is easy. All it requires is installation of an app by adding a new tab to a fan page or embedding a line of code onto a website. Personera handles payments, printing and delivery via their global network.Personera's business model works on a per-sale revenue share basis, so there are zero setup fees for clients. They have a global network of commercial print partners that manage physical production and delivery of the products, ensuring high quality, fast and reliable service worldwide. Personera makes it easy for brands to monetize their Facebook page while engaging their fans with personalized product offerings. The Personera personalized products platform has been used by a variety of brands including leading magazines, musicians, celebrities and consumer focused companies.
- Swiftly — Harness your public transit data with Swiftly's urban mobility solutions to make your city's mass transportation move more efficiently.
- Appstores.com — Appstores is making it easier for consumers to find apps by giving small and large niche publishers and API/platform companies the tools to showcase apps most relevant to their users.
Investors by industry
Impact
Biotech
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FinTech
Google
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Venture Capital
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Video Games
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Investors by country
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Investors in Africa by industry
Venture Capital
Real Estate
Beauty
Retail
Web3
B2B
Renewable Energy
Infrastructure
Cryptocurrency
Payments
Finance
Food and Beverage
Medical
Email
Medical Device
Social Media
Internet
Crowdfunding
Manufacturing
Digital Media
Blockchain
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Enterprise Software
Sports
Travel
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InsurTech
CleanTech
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FinTech
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Biotechnology
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Health Care
Biotech
Climate
EdTech
Mobile
Energy
Impact
Sustainability
Proptech
SaaS
Marketplace
Video Games
Hardware
Artificial intelligence
Community
Gaming
Transportation
Big Data
Fashion
Publishing
Education
Clean Energy
Wellness
Oil and Gas
Facebook
Platforms
Organic Food
Agriculture (agtech)
Financial Services
Music
Restaurants
Social
Media (entertainment)
Machine Learning
Mobile Apps