Madica, a structured investment program for pre-seed African startups, has announced new investments in two AI-powered companies: Anavid and Hypeo AI.
Each company has secured up to $200,000 in funding and will join Madica’s 18-month program, which offers a tailored curriculum, hands-on mentorship, executive coaching, and two fully-funded immersion trips to key technology ecosystems, both locally and internationally. Beyond funding, the startups will also be connected to Madica’s global investor network, positioning them for growth and long-term success.
This round of investments reinforces Madica’s commitment to supporting founders and startups often excluded from traditional venture funding. By backing a mix of underrepresented founders, startups from underserved regions, and innovators in overlooked sectors, the program seeks to counter the concentration of Africa’s tech funding in a few markets, verticals, and well-networked entrepreneurs and instead drive more equitable growth across the continent.
Launched in 2022 and affiliated with Flourish Ventures, an early-stage fintech venture investor backing the architects of a better financial future, Madica is a sector-agnostic investment program designed to address structural gaps in Africa’s startup ecosystem.
The program tackles key challenges startups face, such as limited access to capital, a scarcity of investors, and insufficient mentorship. It also provides the structured support necessary for startups to resolve critical issues and foster innovation, entrepreneurship, and wealth creation across the continent.
The selected startups are powered by AI and chosen from applications across Africa, providing tech-driven solutions in some of Africa’s biggest industries. They include:
- Anavid (Tunisia), co-founded by Ahmed Chaari and David Nilsson, is an AI-powered solution that seamlessly integrates with existing retail cameras to reduce shoplifting losses and enhance the overall customer experience.
- Hypeo AI (Morocco), founded by Meriam Bessa and Salah Eddine Mimouni, is an AI-driven SAAS that automates every step of influencer marketing, from brand matching and content validation to payments.
Commenting on the new portfolio companies, Emmanuel Adegboye, Head of Madica, said, “At Madica, we believe and continue to prove that some of the world’s most transformative ideas come from places that are too often ignored. The founders we’ve just welcomed are visionaries, building solutions with the power to uplift communities and shape industries. We’re proud to stand with them as they take on the next stage of their journey.”
“Our region is rapidly growing with creative energy, but without the right digital backbone, it often goes untapped,” said Meriam Bessa, co-founder and CEO of Hypeo AI. “We’re changing that by using AI to reimagine how brands and creators find each other, collaborate, and thrive. Backing by Madica will help us strengthen our AI capabilities to achieve this goal.”
To expand investment flow and ecosystem networks for portfolio companies, Madica has announced a strategic partnership with the African Business Angel Network (ABAN) during the annual ABAN Congress in Lagos. The collaboration enables ABAN-affiliated angels across the continent and Madica to share deal flow and explore co-investment opportunities and future fundraises by portfolio companies, broadening access to capital and support for African startups.
“The future of Africa’s innovation economy depends on how effectively we can mobilise local capital and empower local investors. Our collaboration with Madica helps bridge the gap between angel investors and institutional capital, ensuring that more funding comes from within the continent, and that startups everywhere in Africa can access the right type of support to scale,” said Yemi Keri, President of ABAN.
Madica began the year by investing in category-defining startups, including Medikea, Daleela, Pixii Motors, and ToumAI, while reinforcing its commitment to gender diversity in the African tech ecosystem. As part of its support, portfolio companies will attend one-week-long, fully-funded immersion trips where they will gain access to expert training, investor connections, and workshops on key Madica pillars: growth, governance, founder well-being and fundraising.
Madica is welcoming new investment opportunities across the continent to strengthen its pan-African reach. Startups can pitch via the Madica website, provided they have an MVP, ideally with paying customers, a full-time founder commitment, limited prior institutional funding, and are led by African Founders. The Madica team attended Moonshot by TechCabal Conference in Lagos, Nigeria, and will be at Big Angels Day Africa in Dakar, Senegal, this October for in-person meet-ups and potential investment commitment with founders in these regions.
