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Key Points
- Backed by Mohamed Mansour and IFC, P1 Ventures raised its first institutional fund to boost tech investments across Africa, focusing on Francophone regions.
- The firm uses data science to track over 10,000 startups, investing in high-growth sectors across key African markets, including Nigeria, Egypt, and Kenya.
- Billionaire Mohamed Mansour, an early P1 Ventures backer, reinvested alongside Axian Group and venture capital veterans to expand Africa’s startup funding.
P1 Ventures, a venture capital firm backed by Egyptian billionaire Mohamed Mansour and the International Finance Corporation (IFC), has raised its first $50 million institutional fund. The funding marks a significant step in expanding tech investment across Africa, with a particular focus on Francophone regions and major startup hubs.
With Africa’s startup ecosystem still facing a capital gap, P1 Ventures is looking to change that. The firm is targeting high-potential companies in artificial intelligence, enterprise software, and fintech, using its proprietary data science tool to track over 10,000 startups. It has a strong presence in Francophone Africa, as well as key markets like Nigeria, South Africa, Egypt, and Kenya.
According to co-founders and managing partners Hisham Halbouny and Mikael Hajjar, half of the fund will go to startups in North, West, and Central Africa’s French-speaking regions. The remaining half will support Africa’s primary venture hotspots, which accounted for 67 percent of the continent’s $2.2 billion in equity funding in 2024, according to Partech Partners.
Backing promising startups
P1 Ventures has already built an impressive portfolio. It took part in a $48 million Series A round for Nuitée, a Moroccan travel-tech company backed by Accel. Other investments include Yassir, an Algerian super app offering ride-hailing, banking, and food delivery, as well as Djamo, an Ivorian fintech startup.
The firm’s latest fundraising round attracted a roster of high-profile investors. Mohamed Mansour, one of its early backers, reinvested in this round. Other key investors include Axian Group, a pan-African telecommunications and financial services conglomerate, as well as Anish Acharya of Andreessen Horowitz and Bernard Dalle, a former partner at Index Ventures.
Mansour’s continued bet on tech
Mohamed Mansour, whose net worth is estimated at $3.3 billion according to Forbes, chairs the Mansour Group, a family-run conglomerate that ranks among the world's largest automotive dealers. The group operates over 125 sales and service outlets across Africa and the Middle East, and owns McDonald’s franchises and General Motors dealerships.
Beyond his success in the automotive and retail industries, Mansour has a strong track record of backing tech companies. He has invested in major players like Airbnb and Spotify, showing a keen interest in innovation. His commitment to the sector is also evident in his ongoing support for P1 Ventures, an investment firm managing over $60 million in assets and focused on AI, enterprise software, and fintech.
With its latest fund, P1 Ventures aims to fill the capital gap and drive innovation across Africa’s growing tech landscape. The firm remains guided by the belief that “talent is distributed, but capital is not.”
