DisrupTech Ventures, an Egypt-based venture capital firm focused on fintech, has received a US$5 million investment from Proparco, a subsidiary of the Agence Française de Développement (AFD) devoted to private sector funding.

The early-stage venture capital fund aims to provide seed capital to up to 28 startups with prime focus on financial technology services.

The fund raised US$36 million from several investors, including development finance institutions, funds-of-funds and family offices.

Proparco said that this will be an important financing source for Egyptian tech companies, which often struggle to raise capital to bring their innovations to market.

Additionally, DisrupTech will also provide advice and mentorship to the businesses that it supports.

Launched 24 months ago, DisrupTech has invested 40% of its fund size in technology startups to date.

DisrupTech was founded by a diverse team of financial technology veterans and entrepreneurial investment professionals with experience in Egypt and internationally.

“Egypt is full of bright, talented founders but too often, they cannot secure the capital they need to expand their businesses, we are always excited about supporting entrepreneurs, increasing access to financial services and contributing to Egypt’s growth,”

said Mohamed Okasha, Managing Partner at DisrupTech Ventures.

“We are pleased to partner with DisrupTech Ventures, which has already become one of the leading early-stage investors in Egypt. Thanks to its company-building track record and domain-specific expertise, DisrupTech is bringing much needed support to young companies in the region.

 

This is in line with Proparco’s strategy to maximize impacts and to finance innovation, by fostering the emergence of a dynamic venture capital industry to back African entrepreneurs”

added Françoise Lombard, Chief Executive Officer of Proparco.

This article first appeared on Fintech News Africa.

Featured image credit: Edited from Unsplash