Venture capital firm Flat6Labs has finished raising $10 million for its seed fund targeted at Tunisian startups. The seed fund, called Anava Seed Fund (ASF), at first sought a close of $3 million but instead closed 3.3x of the initial figure. The fund represents the increasing investments in early-stage African startups, mainly North African ones. Flat6Labs launched in 2011 with offices in Egypt and Tunisia, establishing its Cairo programme and the ASF in 2017. The latter was affected in partnership with the Tunisian American Enterprise Fund, BIAT Bank and Meninx Holding. The plan was to invest in up to 90 Tunisian early-stage startups within five years.
One such investor is the accelerator’s longstanding partner Sawari Ventures. In April, the MENA-focused venture capital firm closed a $71 million fund — one of the largest indigenous funds in the region (and Africa). In addition to setting aside one-tenth of its fund for Flat6Labs seed-stage companies in Egypt and Tunisia, it supported ASF with $1.6 million, according to the Tunis-based fund. Across North Africa, Flat6Labs has backed numerous startups, with more than $10.5 million via both seed funds. They have gone on to raise over $37 million in follow-on funding. While several funds have launched to back North African startups this year, other funds have been targeted at micro funds, as well. For instance, with Flat6Labs, Sawari Ventures and Algebra Ventures raising impressive sums for startups at various stages, GIZ Egypt launched a €100 million funding programme for fund managers based in the MENA region back in May.