Seed-stage · African fintech
Seed capital for Africa’s financial infrastructure.
An early-stage venture firm backing the best African founders.
Approach
The art and science of precision capital
Equitable Ventures brings a disciplined lens to early-stage African fintech, identifying opportunities with precision and conviction.
We back founders building the digital infrastructure for 1.3 billion Africans, where technology, resilience and market need converge.
We combine technical rigour with qualitative judgement, using a proprietary matrix to assess founder future fit, market trend and timing, and deal mechanics .
Our portfolio construction is intentional: sectoral and geographical exposure, complementary founders’ profile and risk-reward dynamics are composed in balance rather than collected at random.
With a long-exposure mindset, we partner actively through fundraising support, network access and CFO monitoring, helping our portfolio companies become category leaders.
Portfolio
Equitable Ventures’ track record spans pre-seed and seed investments across the continent, alongside a trusted community of co-investors.
| Company | Sector | Founder | Stage / first investment | Co-investors |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| HappyPay | BNPL | Wesley Billett | Pre-Seed · 2024 | Partech, EdgeGrowth, 4Di, E4E, DotExe |
| Digitax | Regtech / tax compliance | Caine Wanjau | Pre-Seed · 2024 | CRE, Front End |
| VantagePay | Payment infrastructure | Barry Lobel, Paul Edwards | Seed · 2024 | CrossFin, African Alpha FinTech, Imara, Black Investment Holdings |
| Turnstay | Vertical Borderless payment | Alon Stern, James Hedley | Seed · 2024 | DFS Labs, Enza Capital, First Circle, TLcom |
| Startbutton | Merchant of Records / Payments | Malick Bolakale | Seed · Jul 2025 | DCG, Ingressive, Musha, Norrsken |
| Sava | BaaS | Yoeal Haile | Seed extension · Sep 2025 | Quona Capital, Breega, CRE |
| CrossFX | Stablecoin liquidity infrastructure | Martin Ijaha & Maz Chaponda | Pre-Seed · Mar 2026 | Janngo Capital, LoftyInc Capital, Seedstars |
| Undisclosed | Digital SME lending | — | Pre-Series A · July 2026 | To be disclosed |
| Undisclosed | Closed Loop Tokenisation / Remittance | — | Pre-Seed · Jun 2026 | To be disclosed |
| Undisclosed | Embedded fintech into Mobility | — | Seed · July 2026 | To be disclosed |
-
HappyPaySectorBNPLFounderWesley BillettStage / first investmentPre-Seed · 2024Co-investorsPartech, EdgeGrowth, 4Di, E4E, DotExe
-
DigitaxSectorRegtech / tax complianceFounderCaine WanjauStage / first investmentPre-Seed · 2024Co-investorsCRE, Front End
-
VantagePaySectorPayment infrastructureFounderBarry Lobel, Paul EdwardsStage / first investmentSeed · 2024Co-investorsCrossFin, African Alpha FinTech, Imara, Black Investment Holdings
-
TurnstaySectorVertical Borderless paymentFounderAlon Stern, James HedleyStage / first investmentSeed · 2024Co-investorsDFS Labs, Enza Capital, First Circle, TLcom
-
StartbuttonSectorMerchant of Records / PaymentsFounderMalick BolakaleStage / first investmentSeed · Jul 2025Co-investorsDCG, Ingressive, Musha, Norrsken
-
SavaSectorBaaSFounderYoeal HaileStage / first investmentSeed extension · Sep 2025Co-investorsQuona Capital, Breega, CRE
-
CrossFXSectorStablecoin liquidity infrastructureFounderMartin Ijaha & Maz ChapondaStage / first investmentPre-Seed · Mar 2026Co-investorsJanngo Capital, LoftyInc Capital, Seedstars
-
UndisclosedSectorDigital SME lendingFounder—Stage / first investmentPre-Series A · July 2026Co-investorsTo be disclosed
-
UndisclosedSectorClosed Loop Tokenisation / RemittanceFounder—Stage / first investmentPre-Seed · Jun 2026Co-investorsTo be disclosed
-
UndisclosedSectorEmbedded fintech into MobilityFounder—Stage / first investmentSeed · July 2026Co-investorsTo be disclosed
Other portfolio mandate · selected companies
| Company | Sector | Founder | Stage / first investment | Co-investors |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hub2 | Payments infrastructure | Ashley Gaüzère | Pre-Seed · 2018 | TLcom, FMO, Enza |
| Omnisient | Credit & data | Jon Jacobson & Anton Grutzmacher | Pre-Seed · 2020 | Arise, TransUnion, Nedbank, Shoprite |
| Complete Farmer | Agri-fintech | Desmond Koney | Seed · 2022 | Proparco, Araf, Goodwell, EchoVC, Ingressive |
| Elucid | Agri-health insurtech | Samuel Knauss & Julius Emmrich | Pre-Seed · 2023 | FINCA Ventures, elea Foundation, Satrana Ventures, Mana Impact |
-
Hub2SectorPayments infrastructureFounderAshley GaüzèreStage / first investmentPre-Seed · 2018Co-investorsTLcom, FMO, Enza
-
OmnisientSectorCredit & dataFounderJon Jacobson & Anton GrutzmacherStage / first investmentPre-Seed · 2020Co-investorsArise, TransUnion, Nedbank, Shoprite
-
Complete FarmerSectorAgri-fintechFounderDesmond KoneyStage / first investmentSeed · 2022Co-investorsProparco, Araf, Goodwell, EchoVC, Ingressive
-
ElucidSectorAgri-health insurtechFounderSamuel Knauss & Julius EmmrichStage / first investmentPre-Seed · 2023Co-investorsFINCA Ventures, elea Foundation, Satrana Ventures, Mana Impact
African fintech revenue is forecast to grow thirteenfold by 2030, outpacing every other global benchmark.1
Equitable Ventures stands at the intersection of this momentum, deploying active capital and disciplined diversification to identify the winners before they become consensus.
We do not just follow the light; we control it.
1 · Source: BCG and QED Investors, Global Fintech 2023.
Team
The people behind the firm.
Fabrice Boullé
Managing Partner
Leads the firm and its investment strategy, with over a decade investing across African technology.
Marc Deslondes
Senior Associate
Focuses on Value Addition and portfolio support, oversees assessment and diligence, following studies at ESSEC and Berkeley.
Gaurav Hurnaum
Senior Analyst
Focuses on Sourcing and monitoring, ACCA-qualified, with experience across funds, digital assets and compliance; completing an MBA in AI analytics.
Venture Partners
Hilda Moraa
Venture Partner
Founder and chief executive of Pezesha, and a two-time founder with a prior exit.
Wesley Billett
Venture Partner
Founder and operator at HappyPay, with over a decade building and exiting African technology businesses.
The fund
Introducing our next fund
Scaling the financial infrastructure that empowers African enterprises.
An aperture balances four choices: focus, speed, light and composition. We bring the same to early-stage African fintech: focused thesis; deployment velocity; illuminating diligence; balanced portfolio construction across stage, technology, sector and geography.
Contact
Equitable Ventures deploys active capital with methodology, purpose and conviction, alongside a trusted community of pioneering investors. Further information is available on request.