A multi-stage venture capital initiative, The Botswana Tech Fund (BTF), is set to invest US$64 million to support tech startups across Southern Africa.
BTF is designed to back founders from pre-seed through to the growth stage, with an initial US$6.4 million deployment phase. It aims to leverage Botswana’s relatively stable macroeconomic environment, strong governance framework, and high internet penetration to back scalable technology-enabled businesses within the wider Southern African Development Community (SADC).
It is being established as a strategic partnership between venture capital operators and family office investors. Launch Africa Ventures will act as investment adviser for phase one, while Pula Investments is the anchor investor.
Though phase one will deploy about US$6.4 million, including US$1.3 million dedicated to pre-seed founders, the long-term objective is the full $64 million commitment target, which would position BTF as a significant source of early- and growth-stage capital for the region.
To strengthen deal flow and ecosystem integration, BTF has also partnered with the Botswana Innovation Hub, which will provide portfolio companies with physical infrastructure, access to local deal pipelines, and integration into the national innovation ecosystem.
