Founded and managed by a female-led executive team, First Circle operates from offices in Kampala (Uganda) and Casablanca (Morocco) and is registered as a limited partnership in Delaware.

The fund focuses on pre-seed and seed-stage investments in fintech ventures that address underserved segments, including embedded finance, alternative lending, insurtech, regulatory technology (regtech), interoperability, and climate fintech—moving beyond more saturated payments verticals.

With the new commitment from IFC, whose backing includes US$4 million via its Startup Catalyst platform and US$2 million via the Women Entrepreneurs Finance Initiative (We-Fi) co-investment programme, the fund is now better placed to deploy capital and operational support (such as business-development assistance) to prepare its portfolio companies for Series A readiness.

First Circle’s debut fund has already made around 15 investments across eight African countries, with approximately 30 % of its investee companies led or co-founded by women, and around half operating in more than one country.

The fund targets a total portfolio size of 24 companies, concentrating follow-on capital on high-conviction bets.

Beyond IFC’s US$6 million anchoring commitment, the fund has secured additional backing, including US$2 million from We-Fi and approval for a further US$3 million from the Dutch Good Growth Fund (DGGF).

Other limited partners include FSD Africa Investments (FSDAi), MSMEDA, the Axian Group, as well as individual family offices and tech entrepreneurs such as Jens Hilgers, Tim Schumacher, Peter Steinberger, and Steve Anavi.

The move by IFC underscores a growing emphasis on mobilising private capital into early-stage African fintech, especially via funds led by women and targeting underrepresented segments of the market. With African fintech revenues projected to expand rapidly, such specialist funds aim to help build investable companies from very early stages and narrow critical funding gaps.

First Circle Capital’s fundraise now moves it closer to its target size of between US$25 million and US$30 million, positioning the firm to back a new generation of fintech startups across the continent with both capital and hands-on support.