Investable.Africa Launches Platform Connecting African Startups with Investors

Investable.Africa has launched in open beta, giving African founders access to a database of more than 4,000 investment firms while allowing investors to browse startup deal flow from all 54 African countries for free.

The platform grew out of a WhatsApp group founded by Craig McLeod, who also runs online store builder BoxCommerce. For the past decade, McLeod has used the group to connect African founders with venture capitalists, with the aim of increasing investment into African businesses, helping founders avoid unfavourable term sheets and building stronger networks between entrepreneurs and investors.

“For 10 years I’ve watched great African founders struggle to reach the right investors, and sign terms they didn’t need to accept,” McLeod said. “The group showed what happens when founders and investors talk openly. Investable.Africa takes that to every founder on the continent, not just the ones who already have the right phone numbers.”

How Founders Use the Platform

Founders can create profiles outlining their business problem, solution, traction, team and current funding round. The Investable.Africa team reviews each profile before publishing it.

They can also upload pitch decks, which only approved investors can access, and create data rooms containing files they can share with selected investors. Founders control access to individual folders within those data rooms.

The investor database allows founders to search for firms by investment stage, cheque size, sector, location, ownership targets, and whether they lead or follow funding rounds. Profiles also list partners and contact routes. Investable.Africa says it compiles the database from public lists and credits those sources.

Founders can connect AI assistants such as Claude and ChatGPT to help identify investors that match their funding requirements and prepare personalised outreach messages for review.

The platform also provides visibility into investor activity. Founders can see who has viewed their profile, opened their pitch deck or read files in their data room. They can post updates for investors following their businesses and receive messages addressed to the entire founding team.

Free Access for Investors

Investors can use Investable.Africa without paying, although they must undergo vetting before accessing full startup profiles and pitch decks.

They can filter companies by region, country, sector, funding stage, round type and fundraising amount. Investors can also narrow their search to startups that are actively raising capital.

A deal flow dashboard brings together matching startups, access requests, data rooms and company updates. Investors can request access to a startup’s data room by submitting a short note explaining their interest, then follow companies to receive updates by email.

Investors can also add their firms to the platform’s database. Those who want to support a founder’s visibility can purchase vouchers to sponsor a listing for one year, with their contribution acknowledged on the sponsored profile.

Pricing for Founders

Founders can create a profile for free, but publishing a listing costs US$99 per month or US$299 per year.

Investable.Africa does not take a percentage of funds raised and does not handle investment money. Its model centres on connecting startups with relevant investors and giving founders tools to manage fundraising information and investor engagement.

The platform's database, search filters and profile-access controls are designed to help founders identify potential investors and share fundraising materials without relying solely on personal introductions.