FINCA Ventures
Impact investorWashington DC · Pre-Seed–Series A · 4 people tracked
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5,451 people in our graph share verified history with the FINCA Ventures team — schools, employers, funds. One of them is your warm intro.
Investment thesis
FINCA Ventures backs early-stage, high-impact businesses solving challenges faced by communities across Sub-Saharan Africa. It partners with entrepreneurs whose innovative technologies and business models meaningfully grow income and social resilience for smallholder farmers, microbusinesses, and families. Since 2018 it has invested in 32 companies across critical resilience sectors including agriculture, financial inclusion, health, education, energy, and water/sanitation. The team provides capital plus hands-on support to help startups scale, reach low-income populations responsibly, and deliver inclusive growth. It also runs an annual prize competition to identify and support rising African entrepreneurs driving impact in their communities.
Source: firm website, verified Aug 3, 2026.
Team · 4 people
from the firm's website & curated
What they invest in
from 18 of 27 portfolio companiesImpact & Social Good ×13AgTech ×6Fintech ×5FoodTech ×5SaaS ×5Cleantech ×3Climate Tech ×3Digital Health ×3
HQs:United States×5Kenya×4South Africa×2Canada×1Nigeria×1Sierra Leone×1
Who they back
founder profiles across 9 portfolio companiesFounding team size:solo founder×52 founders×33 founders×1
Where their founders studiedfrom 10 founders with education data
Massachusetts Institute of Technology ×3Georgia Institute of Technology ×2
Investments · 27 tracked
founders shown can be your intro pathBy year:2024 · 12022 · 12021 · 12019 · 14 dated
Digitally-driven financial institution providing banking products to the underserved and unbanked in Ghana.
Amped Innovation designs and manufactures off-grid solar systems and appliances aimed at solar-rich markets, selling through distribution partners to households and small businesses.
CleantechEnergyHardwareImpact & Social GoodPalo Alto, US
Kurt Kuhlmann(Executive Officer, Director)inWhitney Goodwin(Executive Officer, Director)Andrea Kleissner(Executive Officer, Director)
Co-investorsAutodesk FoundationGlobal PartnershipsSilicon Valley
Bankingly provides a SaaS digital banking platform for banks, credit unions, and regulated financial institutions, offering digital channels, onboarding, payments, AI-based fraud prevention, and compliance tools on an API-first architecture.
AI & Machine LearningFintechSaaSMontevideo, UY
Martin Naor(Founder)in
Co-investors2080 VenturesDalus CapitalKube VCElevar EquityFirst Check VenturesSixThirty Ventures
CassVita uses a process to extend the shelf-life of cassava from 3 days to 18 months and processes the crop in automated facilities into fufu, flour, starch, and animal feed, which it sells to multinationals including Nestle.
AgTechFoodTechImpact & Social Good
Pelkins Ajanoh(Cofounder)in
Co-investorsDorm RoomMulago FoundationSBXi
Converts food waste into protein feed additive using Black Soldier Fly larvae, sold to poultry and fish farmers across Tanzania and Kenya.
Aggregates smallholder farmers into larger 'mosaic' farms with professional agronomy and guaranteed income.
Builds cold-chain infrastructure linking rural farmers to urban vendors in East Africa.
Elucid improves healthcare access and outcomes for farming communities in sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America, integrating health programs with agricultural development initiatives.
AgTechDigital HealthHealthtechImpact & Social Good
Samuel Knauss(Managing Director (Product) & Co-Founder)inJulius(Managing Director (Operations) & Co-Founder)
Co-investorsIBB VenturesPAI PartnersElea Foundation for Ethics in Globalization
FloatPays is a financial services provider offering credit and payments solutions, regulated in South Africa as a financial intermediary and payments provider.
FintechHR TechSaaSCape Town, ZA
Simon Ward(Founder)in
Co-investors4DX VenturesFounders Factory AfricaThe Raba PartnershipY CombinatorBase CapitalClass 5 Global+1 more
Helps financial institutions invest in smallholder farmers in Ghana via cashless input loans and digital loan management.
National Geographic is an educational and media organization that produces content exploring science, geography, nature, and conservation.
Climate TechEdTechImpact & Social GoodMedia & EntertainmentWashington, US
National Geographic Society (established by 33 prominent scholars and scientists)
Goodnature Agro works with smallholder farmers to grow legume seed and commodities, providing training, input loans, and a guaranteed market for their produce.
AgTechFoodTechImpact & Social GoodLusaka, ZM
Co-investorsCeniarthGlobal PartnershipsGoodwell Investments
Provides hyper-local tropical weather forecasts via SMS to help farmers make smarter planting decisions.
Jibu is a for-profit social enterprise that finances, equips, and trains entrepreneurs in emerging markets to run franchises producing safe drinking water through multi-step filtration, along with other essential products such as LPG and fortified porridge.
CleantechFoodTechImpact & Social GoodMarketplacesColorado Springs, US
Randall Scot Welsch(Executive Officer)Galen Michael Welsch(Executive Officer)
Kentaste processes coconut from smallholder farmers in Kenya, adding value to a previously neglected crop and enabling farmers to generate reliable household income through formal market channels.
Advanced ManufacturingAgTechConsumerFoodTechImpact & Social GoodKenya, KE
Co-investorsAHL Venture Partners
Kuunda provides liquidity solutions and credit access for agents, small businesses, and consumers in emerging economies across Africa and Asia.
B2B MarketplacesFintechImpact & Social GoodSaaS
Andy Milne(Founding team member)inSam Brawerman(Founding team member)Morne van der Westhuizen(Founding team member)
Co-investorsAccion Venture Lab4Di CapitalAccionE4E AfricaSeedstarsFuture Africa
Kwara provides modern banking software for credit unions (SACCOs), enabling staff to manage operations and members to save, borrow, and earn returns.
Cloud ComputingFintechImpact & Social GoodSaaSNairobi, KE
Cynthia(Founder & Chairperson of the Board)inEmilie(COO & CPO)in
Co-investorsE4E AfricaHoaQSoftBank Investment Advisers’ Emerge ProgramThe Raba Partnership
Pan-African eyewear brand expanding access to affordable eye care across 10 countries with 134+ stores.
Co-investorsAsia Africa Investment & Consulting (AAIC)Beyond Capital VenturesEQ2 VenturesSaviu VenturesAfricInvestProparco
MDaaS builds digital health infrastructure and services for healthcare providers across Africa.
Digital HealthHealthtechLogistics & Supply ChainMarketing TechSaaSBoston, US
Oluwasoga Oni(CEO)inGenevieve Barnard Oni(Founder)inJoe McCord(Founder)in
BoardMobolaji Adeoye(Director)
Co-investorsConsonance Investment ManagersNewtown PartnersTechstarsAruwa CapitalVentures Platform
Provides mapping and land documentation services to smallholder farmers, unlocking land value.
Penda Health operates a network of medical centers in Nairobi providing outpatient, home-based, specialist, and diagnostic care, along with telemedicine, to patients and corporate partners.
Digital HealthHealthtechNairobi, KE
Co-investorsGlobal PartnershipsNovastar Ventures
Releaf builds tools to enhance climate resilience for smallholder farmers in Africa, drawing on expertise in supply chain management, agronomy, and agricultural technology.
AgTechCircular EconomyClimate TechImpact & Social Good
Co-investorsAngaza CapitalConsonance Investment ManagersFlori Ventures
Rising Academies develops evidence-based educational solutions to strengthen teaching and learning within public education systems.
AI & Machine LearningEdTechImpact & Social Good
Co-investorsMulago Foundation
Sanivation provides hands-on consulting and support to help water utilities in secondary cities build sustainable, safely managed sanitation systems.
Circular EconomyCleantechClimate TechImpact & Social Good
Emily Woods(Cofounder)inAndrew Foote(Cofounder)in
Co-investorsCool Climate CollectiveSilicon Valley
Designed Hemafuse, a manual autotransfusion device that recycles blood during internal bleeding without electricity.
YYTZ Agro-Processing operates a mechanized cashew processing facility in Tanzania that sources raw cashews locally and processes them for export.
Advanced ManufacturingAgTechFoodTechToronto, CA
Co-investorsGlobal Partnerships
Portfolio news
latest coverage across their companies
Kwara · von.gov.ng · Aug 13, 2026
MDaaS Global · thecondia.com · Feb 5, 2026
Sanivation · techmoran.com · Jan 16, 2026
Kuunda · lucidityinsights.com · Oct 19, 2025
Frequently asked questions
- How many investments has FINCA Ventures made?
- FINCA Ventures has 26 tracked investments.
- What stage does FINCA Ventures invest at?
- FINCA Ventures invests at the Pre-Seed, Seed, Series A stages.
- What sectors does FINCA Ventures focus on?
- FINCA Ventures focuses on AgTech, Crypto & Web3, EdTech, Energy, Fintech, Healthtech, Impact & Social Good.
- Where is FINCA Ventures located?
- FINCA Ventures is headquartered in Washington DC, US.
- Who does FINCA Ventures co-invest with?
- FINCA Ventures most often shares deals with Global Partnerships, Consonance Investment Managers, Mulago Foundation, among 29 tracked co-investors.
Media · Podcasts & interviews
featuring the teamMelissa Tickle, Investment Manager at FINCA Ventures
Africa Fintech Summit · Melissa Tickle
International Women's Day 2026 Webinar
FINCA
FINCA Ventures Prize Competition 2025 Finalists Panel
FINCA
FINCA Ventures Prize Competition 2025 - Opening Remarks
FINCA
Empowering Education and Economic Opportunity for Refugees in Uganda
FINCA
FINCA Speaker Series Livestream Event with Charu Adesnik
FINCA
Images
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