Onome Amuge
Six African startups have been awarded $400,000 through the 2025 FINCA Ventures Prize, a rare injection of early-stage funding at a time when venture capital flows to the continent have slowed to a trickle.
The prize, split across winners in climate-smart agriculture and fintech for financial inclusion, comes as Africa’s once-celebrated startup ecosystem faces its harshest fundraising environment in a decade. Overall venture funding to African companies fell by more than half in 2024, according to industry data, with women-led teams receiving less than 10 per cent of the total.
By contrast, this year’s FINCA Ventures competition was dominated by women founders, with five of the six finalists either founded or co-founded by women, a reversal of the typical funding imbalance.
“African entrepreneurs are designing bold, locally grounded solutions to complex challenges. They deserve support that matches their ambition: resources that accelerate growth, open doors, and amplify their impact,” said Andrée Simon, global chief executive of FINCA.
The two top prizes of $100,000 went to Esther Kimani, founder of Farmer Lifeline Technologies, and Foluso Ojo, founder of truQ. Kimani’s company deploys solar-powered devices and artificial intelligence to detect crop pests before infestations spread, while Ojo’s logistics fintech connects small-scale transporters to credit, operational tools and better-paying jobs.
Kimani described the award as patient capital that will allow her to build out research and development and scale into new markets. Ojo called the recognition a major booster that would help her expand access to transport finance and digital tools.
The other winners including Silo Africa, Cladfy, Karpolax, and 10mg Health, span fields from digital crop storage to healthcare payments. Second- and third-place prizes of $60,000 and $40,000 were allocated across the four.
Beyond the cheque
What distinguishes FINCA’s approach, analysts say, is not just the size of the awards but the ancillary support, expert mentorship, introductions to investors, and international visibility. “This is about building an ecosystem that works for African entrepreneurs. The funding is catalytic, but the networks are often what open doors that would otherwise stay closed,”said Winnie Mwangi, managing director of FINCA Ventures.
That model is increasingly seen as necessary in a market where private capital has pulled back. Global risk appetite has shifted away from frontier markets amid high interest rates, and African startups, many of them pre-revenue or operating in thin-margin sectors,have borne the brunt.
The prize comes at a moment when Africa’s growth narrative is being tested. While the continent has one of the youngest and fastest-growing populations in the world, its innovation economy remains fragile. Infrastructure bottlenecks, regulatory uncertainty, and currency volatility all weigh on expansion.
Climate change further compounds the challenge, threatening crop yields and food security, while financial exclusion remains entrenched, with more than half of adults in sub-Saharan Africa lacking access to formal financial services. The startups recognised by FINCA are tackling precisely these vulnerabilities, Business A.M gathered.
“Agriculture and financial inclusion are not just sectors. They are the foundations of resilience for African communities,” Simon noted.
The San Francisco award ceremony, where the winners were unveiled after pitching to a panel of global investors and sector specialists, also served as a showcase to international capital. Panellists included board members from FINCA International and FINCA UK, as well as investors from Better Food Ventures, The Mixing Bowl and ResilienceVC.
By putting African startups in front of global investors, FINCA hopes to crowd in further capital. “We need to shine a spotlight on these opportunities and attract investors who are interested in innovation, in social change, and in building a more prosperous world,” Simon added.
