The multi-stage fund has also appointed Launch Africa Ventures as investment advisor for its first phase, marking another step in the firm’s strategy of managing third-party investment mandates.

The fund is anchored by Pula Investments, the Guernsey-based family office of Stephen Lansdown, co-founder of UK investment platform Hargreaves Lansdown.

It is led by Managing Partner Martin Davis, the former Chief Executive Officer of FTSE 250-listed Molten Ventures, alongside General Partner Florence Bavanandan, Head of Platform and Operations at Launch Africa Ventures.

Botswana Tech Fund combines an accelerator-led pre-seed investment strategy with a growth capital program that includes both primary and secondary investments.

The fund will focus on technology businesses developing digital solutions for the region’s micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), a segment that remains central to Southern Africa’s economy but continues to face limited access to digital tools and venture capital.

The appointment expands Launch Africa Ventures’ role beyond investing from its own funds into managing capital on behalf of third-party investors.

Since its launch, the pan-African venture capital firm has built one of the continent’s most active early-stage investment portfolios, backing startups across multiple African markets.

The Botswana Tech Fund is ultimately targeting a $67 million fund size.

Its broader investment strategy is designed to support founders from pre-seed through growth stages, helping businesses scale while addressing the funding gap that has historically limited startup growth across Southern Africa.

Although countries such as South Africa continue to attract most of the region’s venture funding, neighboring markets have received comparatively little institutional capital despite growing digital adoption and entrepreneurial activity.

In a statement announcing the first close, the fund said:

“Now the work begins. There is a significant opportunity to help close the digital gap between our target markets and more established technology ecosystems such as South Africa, Nigeria and Kenya. We look forward to backing ambitious founders who are building solutions capable of driving that change.”

The first close signals growing investor confidence in Southern Africa’s technology ecosystem at a time when venture capital is becoming increasingly concentrated in a handful of African markets.