Enza Capital launches dedicated Africa AI fund, builds on $58M portfolio
What's the deal? Enza CapitalDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → has launched a dedicated fund to back artificial intelligence startups and AI-enabled companies in Africa. The Nairobi-based firm, which has raised $58 million across its first two funds, has not disclosed the new fund's size.
Where it invests: Enza will not fund companies building frontier models. Instead, it will back startups that adapt AI to African languages, data, and infrastructure.
What it looks for: The firm targets AI-native and AI-enabled companies with proprietary data, distribution, or workflow integration. It also screens for strong margins, since AI inference costs can squeeze profits.
Firm background: Founded in 2019 by Mike Mompi, Sir John Lazar, and David Cohen, Enza has made 75 investments in 47 companies across nine African countries. Lazar previously ran MetaswitchDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, which Microsoft acquired in 2020. The firm runs AI Tinkerers chapters in Nairobi, Lagos, Cairo, and Johannesburg, and is working on its 12th AI investment.
Why now? Dedicated capital for African AI remains scarce. AI-native startups received less than 2% of the $1.36 billion African startups raised in the first half of 2026, according to figures cited by Semafor.
What could go wrong? The announcement provides no fund size, so Enza's potential scale is unclear. Demand is steep: Askya's new AI growth programme reported more than $300 million in immediate funding needs among applicants.
The signal: Broader tech funds are folding AI into existing mandates — DPIDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →'s recently closed $112 million Nclude FundDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → says AI is reshaping its investments without making it a dedicated focus. Enza's move stands out as a specialist bet on locally adapted, AI-enabled businesses.
Read more: startupresearcher.com
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