Tide Africa Fund: An equity investment to support the growth of innovative start-ups in Africa

TLcom TIDE Africa Fund is a fund dedicated to supporting innovative African start-ups whose economic model focuses on the use of a digital technology and meets a need of the traditional market to access a basic service (food security, energy, health, education, financial services, everyday consumption).

The assumption behind the TIDE project is the fact that mobile phones and digital applications are new drivers for growth and development in Africa, and that they can be used to provide access to essential services for populations.

TIDE will support a dozen or so companies which are less than 5 years old and have got through the stages of the idea (prototyping) and creation (market test) in order to finance their growth and scaling up, with several financing rounds and for total financing needs ranging between EUR 500 K and EUR 10m.

PROPARCO’s investment has allowed the fund to complete its first financing round for EUR 40m, with investors including EIB, AfDB and First Bank of Nigeria.

The project’s main expected impacts on development are:

- The diversification of capital markets, as the sources of financing of financing for start-ups are still practically non-existent in the area,

- The diversification of capital allocation, as the services offered by the companies supported will integrate peri-urban and rural areas,

- Social and societal impacts, by opening up access (financial and geographical) to certain essential services via the use of mobile phones,

- Training (structuring of a venture capital industry, advice to start-uppers, student mentorship on innovation subjects and entrepreneurship).

The project will thereby contribute to SDGs 8 (Decent work and economic growth), 10 (Reduced inequalities) and 9 (Innovation, industry and infrastructure).