Kenyan venture capital (VC) firm Delta40 has secured $20 million (Sh2.6 billion) to expand its financing for startups in the country and across Africa.

The round drew 54 investors from 13 countries, the investment firm said in a statement. Backers include US tycoon and philanthropist George Soros’s Soros Economic Development Fund, Dutch development bank FMO, GIZ, Autodesk Foundation and The Rockefeller Foundation.

Delta40 will invest the money in startup founders scaling across energy and mobility, agriculture and fintech, with artificial intelligence integrated across sectors.

The VC firm launched its venture studio in Kenya in 2023 before expanding to Nigeria. It operates a hybrid model that combines early-stage capital with embedded operational support across product development, fundraising, commercial strategy, finance, legal, growth and exits.

The company makes initial investments of between $100,000 (Sh12.9 million) and $500,000 (Sh64.5 million) to startups at the idea-to-seed stage, with the option for follow-on funding.

The venture firm pools capital from development finance institutions, foundations, family offices, high-net-worth individuals and 25 startup founders, creating what it calls a “founders backing founders” ecosystem.

“What sets this model apart is our community of innovators, investors, and business leaders who provide hands-on support from idea to pan-African scale and impactful exits,” Delta40 founder and chief executive Lyndsay Holley Handler said.

“Over 75 percent of our investors and team have built ventures in Africa, bringing deep experience, networks, and lessons from successful exits across the continent and beyond.”

To date, Delta40 says it has backed 16 firms, including five ventures built directly within its studio. The portfolio spans clean energy, agriculture and fintech businesses across 30 African countries, and includes the Kenya-based bitcoin mining firm Gridless and the logistics startup Lori Systems.

Investment in African ventures has been regaining momentum since a slowdown in 2023, attributed to rising inflation, weakening local currencies and unfavourable interest rates, which prompted foreign investors to shift capital away from the continent.

Last year, Kenya was Africa’s top destination for venture capital, accounting for nearly a third of all startup funding raised, according to the startup funding tracker Africa: The Big Deal.

Read: Kenya remains on top with Sh127bn startup funding in 2025

Kenya-based start-ups raised $984 million (Sh127 billion) in 2025, the highest amount attracted by any African market since the 2022 funding boom. It was driven largely by large-ticket deals in the energy sector, and was 32 percent of the $3.2 billion (Sh412.8 billion) raised across the continent.

Kenya’s strong overall performance helped Eastern Africa emerge as the leading region for venture funding in 2025, attracting 34 percent of total capital raised on the continent, the report said.

The region was followed by Western Africa (24 percent), Northern Africa (23 percent) and Southern Africa (19 percent).

→ dmusau@ke.nationmedia.com

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