Top 5 Travel Angel Investors in Africa in January 2026

Last updated: Jan 2026 A list of 5 angel investors that invest in Travel startups based in Africa. We rank investors based on the number of investments they made in Travel companies from Africa. We update this investor list every month.

Top 5 Travel Angel Investors in Africa in January 2026

Investor	Travel Africa investments
Federico Pirzio-Biroli	2
Axel Peyriere	1
Helena Riese Harstad	1
Darshan Chandaria	1
Jim Villanueva	1

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Investor list

Fede started out as an angel investor in 2010. His portfolio quickly grew, so he built a team around him and thus Playfair Capital was born. We have since gone on to become one of Europe’s most active and well-known early-stage VC funds. Before becoming a technology investor Fede worked for several NGOs in Africa, with a particular focus on aidtransparency. He recently renewed his focus on Africa by relocating to Kenya and becoming an angel investor in East Africa’s burgeoning startup ecosystem. He maintains an active role at Playfair and continues to lead our investment team.

Investment focus

Software, Venture Capital, Non Profit
Seed, Angel, Pre-Seed
United Kingdom, Kenya, Sweden

Portfolio highlights

Bibblio — Conversion optimization, powered by AI. Increase user engagement, grow revenues and drive new audiences, for stronger site metrics and ROI.
Brewbot — Brewbot is a multidisciplinary team of designers and developers based in Belfast, N. Ireland. They come from different backgrounds and experiences — music, design, code, and fine art — but they all share a common passion for brewing.
CRE Venture Capital — Founded in 2015, CRE Venture Capital invests in early stage tech companies that are levered to Africa. CRE is headquartered in the New York metro area, with a regional office in Lagos, Nigeria.

Startups - Mentoring - Advising - Emerging Markets. I am a enthusiastic entrepreneur and angel investor working with startups all around the world. Have worked / mentored / coached / partnered / invested in more than 200 startups around the world. Specially keen on online marketplaces and emerging and frontier markets.

Investment focus

Delivery, E-Commerce, Retail
Seed, Series A
Egypt, Nepal, Myanmar

Portfolio highlights

Appetito — Buy all your groceries and household essentials from your online supermarket. Order from the comfort of your home at your finger tips.
FreshGora — Food and Grocery delivery in Yangon, Myanmar.
Treepz — Treepz Inc. (formerly Plentywaka) is building the largest shared mobility platform in West Africa with over 500,000 satisfied customers.

Helena Riese Harstad is the Co-Founder and Chairman of Optimizer Foundation. She previously worked at SBAB Bank as a Project Specialist. Helena Riese attended Stockholm University.

Investment focus

Travel, Tourism, Venture Capital
Pre-Seed
Kenya

Portfolio highlights

Purple Elephant Ventures — We are Africa's first venture studio focusing on the travel & tourism sector. Our aim is to build businesses that will lead Africa's tourism industry to a greener future

Darshan Chandaria is the Group CEO and Director of Chandaria Industries. He previously worked at Pentland Brands Plc as a Graduate Trainee. Darshan Chandaria attended Harvard Business School.