BOTSWANA RAISES $64 MILLION TO SUPPORT DIGITAL EXPANSION ACROSS SOUTHERN AFRICA MARKETS

The Botswana Tech Fund is structured as a multi-stage vehicle with a total target commitment of £50 million, the equivalent of approximately $64 million. Phase One will deploy up to £5 million, including £1 million ring-fenced specifically for pre-seed founders, alongside two to four growth-stage investments in primary and secondary opportunities. The remaining capital will be deployed in subsequent phases as the fund scales. The fund is anchored by Pula Investments, a Guernsey-based family office controlled by Stephen Lansdown CBE, who co-founded Hargreaves Lansdown, one of the UK's largest wealth management platforms.

Launch Africa Ventures, which has deployed $65 million across more than 170 startups in 25 African countries since 2020, has been appointed Investment Advisor for Phase One. Managing Partner Martin Davis, former CEO of FTSE 250-listed Molten Ventures, leads the fund alongside General Partner Florence Bavanandan of Launch Africa. The combination brings European institutional investment credibility together with deep African startup market knowledge at a moment when Southern Africa is being increasingly identified as the continent's next digital frontier.

The fund operates a dual investment strategy designed to meet founders at their exact stage of development. The accelerator arm backs pre-seed startups based in Southern Africa with cheques of £25,000 to £100,000 per cohort company, alongside structured support, market access and hands-on operational guidance. The growth arm targets revenue-generating companies from seed through to Series C, deploying between £500,000 and £2 million per investment across both primary rounds and secondary opportunities. The secondary mandate directly addresses one of Africa's most persistent venture capital problems: long liquidity timelines that frustrate early investors and slow capital recycling back into the ecosystem.

Botswana's strategic logic as the fund's base is compelling. With 80% internet penetration, one of Sub-Saharan Africa's highest rates, and a ranking in the top five of the Ibrahim Index of African Governance, the country offers what few African markets can: regulatory stability, a clean investment environment and a gateway into the 16-nation SADC bloc serving over 370 million people. The BTF's formal partnership with the Botswana Innovation Hub provides portfolio companies with a physical base, deal flow connections and direct links to the government's post-diamond economic diversification agenda.

The fund's launch lands at a critical moment for Southern Africa's startup ecosystem. According to Partech Africa's 2024 data, South Africa captured the overwhelming majority of Southern African venture funding, while Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Mozambique collectively accounted for a fraction of disclosed rounds. The BTF is explicitly designed to address that gap. 

Zachariah George, co-founder and managing partner of Launch Africa Ventures, framed it plainly: "The founders building in Southern Africa's frontier markets are operating in one of the most