News
Small Foundation is pleased to announce a new investment in African Renaissance Ventures (ARV) through our General Partner Working Capital Facility. ARV is the fourth fund manager supported under the facility, reflecting our continued commitment to strengthening emerging fund managers across Africa.
ARV is an early-stage venture fund focused on East Africa, targeting tech-enabled post-revenue startups in Rwanda, Uganda, Ethiopia, and Tanzania. The fund invests across key sectors including agriculture, health, climate resilience, logistics, and digital finance. ARV takes an active investment approach, serving on boards and working closely with founders to support governance, strategy, and institutional development.
“Fund managers in Africa face extended and complex fundraising processes. During this period, access to affordable working capital is critical to sustaining operations. The GP Working Capital Facility is designed to extend runway and strengthen institutional foundations while managers progress toward close.”
Karina Wong, Head of Investments at Small Foundation
While entrepreneurial activity across East Africa continues to grow rapidly, access to institutional seed capital remains limited. Local fund managers like ARV are working to meet this need. The General Partner Working Capital Facility helps address these gaps.
For ARV, the facility will support core operating costs, enabling the team to maintain momentum as they advance both fundraising and investment activity.
By backing ARV, Small Foundation continues to support the emergence of fund managers who play a catalytic role in channelling capital to early-stage businesses in underserved markets.
Magdi M. Amin, Founder and Managing Partner at African Renaissance Ventures
