The International Finance Corporation (IFC) announced an investment in the second fund from venture capital firm Algebra Ventures on Sunday to support tech start-ups with access to finance and drive innovation and job creation primarily in Egypt.<\/p>\n
The IFC\u2019s $15m investment in Algebra Fund II will help support the growth of roughly 20 tech start-ups primarily in Egypt but also in Africa more broadly. The fund, which has a target size of $90m, will have a special focus on women-led businesses and those serving rural communities.<\/p>\n
Access to financial capital helps drive economic and job growth, and entrepreneurship is a key contributor. However, the amount of venture capital available in Egypt is just a quarter of the emerging market average, though it has grown more than 10-fold since 2016.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are delighted to see the IFC return as a limited partner in our second fund, having invested in our first fund five years ago as well as directly into our portfolio. The IFC has been one of our strongest partners since day one and believed in our vision when there was no venture capital to speak of in Egypt. We look forward to continuing to strengthen our partnership going forward,\u201d said Tarek Assaad \u2014 Managing Partner at Algebra Ventures.<\/p>\n
\u201cWith its young, tech-savvy population and large market, Egypt\u2019s entrepreneurs are perfectly poised to drive change in the country\u2019s economy with the right support,\u201d said Yasmine Al-Hini \u2014 IFC Egypt\u2019s Country Officer and Acting Country Manager for Egypt and Libya.<\/p>\n
\u201cWith this investment, we are helping to push the country\u2019s start-up scene forward and encourage innovation.\u201d<\/p>\n
The investment is part of the IFC\u2019s strategy to support Africa\u2019s blossoming start-up and entrepreneurship ecosystem.<\/p>\n
In 2016, the IFC invested $10m to co-anchor Algebra Venture\u2019s inaugural $54m fund, which also attracted investments from Cisco Investments, the Egyptian-American Enterprise Fund, and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. Algebra Fund I was the first Egypt-dedicated VC fund and has supported 21 tech start-ups and created over 3,500 direct and 28,000 indirect jobs.<\/p>\n
Earlier this year, the IFC directly invested $5m in Brimore \u2014 an Algebra Ventures portfolio company and social commerce business \u2014 and $20m in the Ezdehar Fund to help smaller businesses access finance.<\/p>\n
As of June 2021, the IFC\u2019s global VC investments reached $1.6bn in over 100 companies and VC funds, supporting nearly 1,700 companies and helping to drive innovation and growth.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The IFC\u2019s $15mln investment in Algebra Fund II will help support the growth of roughly 20 tech start-ups primarily in Egypt but also in Africa more broadly<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12963,"featured_media":5662,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16,21],"tags":[7,26,22],"class_list":{"0":"post-5665","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-news","8":"category-technology","9":"tag-apie-project","10":"tag-news","11":"tag-technology"},"yoast_head":"\n