The partnership brings long-term capital and operational depth to one of the continent’s most impactful female-focused, early-stage investment funds.
Five35 Ventures’ investments have already generated more than 1,400 jobs across Africa and attracted over USD $75 million in follow-on capital. Building on this momentum, in October 2025, the Pan-African, female-focused venture capital fund secured an anchor investment from the Mennonite Economic Development Associates (MEDA) Mauritius Foundation, Fund Manager of the Mastercard Foundation Africa Growth Fund. The anchor investment strengthens a fast-growing, female-focused fund already delivering jobs, capital attraction, and scalable impact across Africa.
Five35 invests in early-stage, tech-enabled, female-focused startups. Its sixteen-company portfolio spans fintech, agriculture, health, logistics, and climate innovation. Over and above capital deployment, the fund has played a catalytic role in scaling businesses, strengthening governance, and accelerating market access.
“From the outset, our goal has been to build an investment firm defined by integrity, rigour, and results,” said Hema Vallabh, Founding Partner at Five35 Ventures. “We take a measured approach, backing ventures that demonstrate both traction and transparency, and holding ourselves to the same standards. This consistency and governance discipline continue to strengthen investor confidence and set the foundation for long-term performance.” She adds that having this backing from a values-aligned investor like the Mastercard Foundation Africa Growth Fund reinforces that disciplined, impact-driven investing can deliver both commercial returns and systemic change when results and mission move together.
Five35 Ventures acts as both investor and connector, pairing capital with capacity to strengthen the continuum between founders and investors. The firm operates through a connected ecosystem that offers acceleration, capability development, and access to strategic networks that help early-stage companies move from pre-seed or seed to scale.
“What excites us about Five35 is how clearly it unites purpose and performance,” said Dr. Dorothy Nyambi, President and CEO of MEDA. “It’s rewriting the story of women entrepreneurs in Africa by backing them early, strengthening governance, and turning that conviction into real outcomes – growing companies, attracting follow-on capital, and creating jobs at scale.”
This anchor investment aligns with the Mastercard Foundation Africa Growth Fund’s mission to expand gender-lens investing by supporting Africa-based fund managers who combine sector expertise with local market knowledge. It builds on early commitments raised through the 35’er Club, a Five35 initiative that opened the door for first-time female investors to participate in the fund with lower entry barriers.
Additional Cisco capital strengthened Five35’s mission to expand operational capacity. Together, these milestones reinforce Five35’s focus on early-stage ventures, founder engagement, and governance discipline, exemplifying sustainable African venture activity. The partnership also lets Five35 stand out among funds, demonstrating that locally managed capital can meet global performance standards. “Measured execution is at the heart of Five35 Ventures, ensuring every investment decision is both strategic and maintains a deep understanding of Africa’s entrepreneurial landscape,” Fatou Touré, General Partner at Five35 Ventures said. “Our partnership with the Mastercard Foundation Africa Growth Fund builds on this and goes beyond capital. It represents the belief in the possibility that when African fund managers, global partners, and female founders purposefully work together. We create pathways for early-stage ventures to thrive, growing opportunities for women entrepreneurs, and shaping a more inclusive and resilient African venture ecosystem.”
Five35 will deepen its reach across East, West, and Southern Africa, scale its portfolio, and broaden collaboration with accelerators, ecosystem partners, and policymakers. Its focus is on early-stage investing, where the firm’s expertise in backing ventures is proven to operate just beyond mainstream funding channels.
The collaboration brings steady, patient capital to a fund already recognized for deliberate growth. The alignment offers a practical model of how disciplined investment and local insight can move in tandem, quietly setting a benchmark for the evolution of sustainable venture capital across the continent. With greater strength, Five35 Ventures enters a new phase of scaling impact, expanding capital access and confirms its mandate to transform African investment and unlock the full potential of female founders there.
For more information, visit five35.ventures.
About Five35 Ventures
Five35 Ventures is a Pan-African venture capital firm investing in early-stage, tech-enabled, female-focused businesses. Five35’s mission is to catalyze up to 5 percent additional GDP growth for Africa by encouraging sustained investment in female-focused enterprises.
Its investment thesis is grounded in research showing that female-focused startups can deliver up to 35 percent higher ROI when given equitable access to capital, networks, and partnerships. Five35 combines commercial performance with measurable impact, backing ventures that can scale across markets, create jobs, and expand economic participation on the continent.
