Botswana Tech Fund 1 has reached a $6.7 million first close. The milestone brings fresh venture capital to technology startups across Southern Africa. It also adds momentum to efforts to spread investment beyond the continent’s largest funding hubs.
The multi-stage fund is targeting a total of $67 million. So far, it has appointed Launch Africa Ventures as investment adviser for its first phase. This move extends the pan-African firm’s growing business of managing specialised accounts for third-party investors, according to Disrupt Africa.
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Pula Investments anchors Botswana Tech Fund. Pula is the Guernsey-based family office of Stephen Lansdown, the British billionaire who co-founded Hargreaves Lansdown. Lansdown has held investment ties to Botswana since 2007 through his Tuli Conservation Trust. As a result, his backing gives the new vehicle a well-capitalised foundation to build on.
Martin Davis leads the fund as Managing Partner. He previously served as chief executive of FTSE 250-listed Molten Ventures, where he oversaw a portfolio that grew to roughly £2 billion in net asset value. That portfolio included stakes in Revolut, Trustpilot, UiPath and Ledger. Joining him is General Partner Florence Bavanandan, who also serves as Head of Platform and Operations at Launch Africa Ventures.
The fund blends two strategies. First, an accelerator arm will write smaller cheques to early founders. Second, a growth capital programme will target more established, revenue generating companies from seed through to Series C. This growth tranche will also cover the purchase of existing shares in later stage deals.
Botswana now serves as the fund’s operational base. Its leadership points to several reasons for this choice: the country’s governance record, its comparatively strong internet penetration, and its location within the Southern African Development Community. Together, these factors support building a regional platform there rather than in one of the continent’s established startup capitals.
This first close arrives at an important moment. Currently, South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya and Egypt absorb most of the venture capital flowing into Africa. Meanwhile, neighbouring markets like Zambia, Namibia and Botswana itself remain largely overlooked, despite rising digital adoption and entrepreneurial activity.
In a statement announcing the milestone, the fund said the real work is only just starting. It added that a significant opportunity exists to close the digital gap between its target markets and more established technology ecosystems on the continent. The fund also said it looks forward to backing ambitious founders building solutions capable of driving that change.
Launch Africa brings a strong pipeline to the partnership. The firm has screened more than 8,000 startups and invested in over 160 ventures across 25 African countries. Because of this network, Botswana Tech Fund gains an established support system as it begins deploying capital into the region’s underserved technology economy.
