Africa: Africa Is Not Short of Money - It Is Short of Risk Capital

What the report says

AllAfrica reports that a RootsToFoods Capital Series interview brought together Kanini Mutooni of the Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation and Dr. Frank Aswani of the African Venture Philanthropy Alliance to discuss why African startups often lack risk capital rather than money overall. The conversation, hosted by OviBees Ventures, was framed around how catalytic investors can help early-stage companies move from first backing to financial sustainability.

Mutooni used DRK’s investment in Kenyan cold-chain company Keep IT Cool as an example. According to the interview, the company was still early, capital-intensive and missing key structures such as a board and clear unit economics when DRK first invested. DRK then supported the founders with hands-on help on financial modeling, hiring, governance and performance targets. The article says the company later attracted additional catalytic investors, reached the stage of financial sustainability, and was among the winners of the 2024 Earthshot Prize.

Aswani argued that Africa has substantial domestic assets but still lacks the kind of risk capital that can crowd in private investment for harder-to-fund sectors and communities. He said AVPA works with investors rather than entrepreneurs directly, building pipelines, capabilities and tools to channel capital toward overlooked markets, including rural areas, women, young people and lower-income consumers.

Both speakers said more practical collaboration among funders is needed, including shared diligence and smaller, lower-cost experiments. The piece presents their views as part of a broader push in African impact investing toward locally led founders, more domestic capital and more scalable support for businesses serving underserved markets.