TLcom Capital, a venture capital firm focused on Africa, has announced that it has already invested half of its $5 million pre-seed fund, known as the TIDE Africa Pre-Seed Investments (TAPSI). The most recent beneficiary of this fund is TurnStay, a South African travel payment platform that recently raised $2 million in a seed funding round.
TAPSI, launched in 2022, was created to help TLcom reach African startups at the earliest stages, providing up to $200,000 in funding to each company. Beyond financial support, the fund connects entrepreneurs to TLcom’s international network and operational expertise. It also acts as a pipeline into the larger $154 million TIDE Africa Fund II, which can support promising companies with bigger investments as they grow.
In a statement released on Thursday, TLcom Capital revealed that the TAPSI portfolio already includes several innovative startups. These include Talstack from Nigeria, Bright Financial operating in Sudan and Ethiopia, Tradehub from Egypt, Agrails from Kenya, and a number of female-led startups supported through a partnership with First Check Africa. The firm also plans to invest in as many as ten more early-stage startups before the end of 2026.
Eloho Omame, Partner at TLcom Capital, explained the importance of starting early with founders in Africa’s challenging business environment. She said, “Pre-seed investments allow us to expand our portfolio and allocate capital across multiple stages of a company’s lifecycle. Our goal is to create massive value in underserved markets and collaborate with African founders to build from the start all the way to exit, be it an acquisition or in the form of an IPO. Building in Africa is not for the faint-hearted. However, the likelihood of success significantly increases if we support and work with founders earlier on in their journeys and we grow alongside them.”
With about $250 million currently under management, TLcom Capital continues to focus on empowering African entrepreneurs who are solving key problems in underserved markets. The firm says TAPSI is becoming an important vehicle for delivering the first crucial funding many startups need to survive, scale, and eventually secure larger rounds.
