DPI Venture Capital Reaches Final Close Above $112M for Nclude Fund with 93% African Capital

LONDON & CAIRO — DPI Venture Capital, the early-stage investment arm of pan-African private equity manager Development Partners International (DPI), which holds more than $3.0 billion in assets under management (AUM), has achieved a final close of over $112.0 million for its Nclude Fund.

Managing Partner and Head of DPI Venture Capital Ashley Lewis confirmed that nearly 100% of the committed capital originated from financial services corporations, with 93% of LPs based in Africa. The close represents a structural pivot from traditional African venture capital architectures, which historically rely on Development Finance Institutions (DFIs) and Western limited partners.

Fund Origin, Restructuring, & Mandate Evolution

Initially launched in March 2022 under the oversight of the Central Bank of Egypt, the Nclude Fund was anchored by Banque Misr, alongside strategic commitments from National Bank of Egypt, Banque du Caire, Egyptian Banks Company, e-Finance, and Mastercard. Originally managed by Global Ventures, DPI assumed leadership of the fund as adviser in 2025, establishing DPI Venture Capital as its operational manager:

• Asset Scale vs Target: When DPI assumed management in 2025, the fund held $105.0 million in assets against its initial $150.0 million target. DPI selected a commercial institutional LP strategy rather than setting a rigid fundraising cap.
• Investment Stages & Cheque Sizes: Under DPI, the investment mandate expanded from seed through Series C.Equity cheque sizes range from $500,000 to $10.0 million, with at least 10% allocated specifically for seed-stage investments.
• Geographic Flexibility: While maintaining an operational focus on Egypt, up to 30% of the fund's capital is earmarked for cross-border investments across wider African and Middle Eastern markets.
• Sector Focus & AI Integration: Focuses on core fintech, embedded finance, and AI-native applications that enhance financial inclusion, workplace productivity, and audit efficiency.

Portfolio Deployment & Active Positions

The fund has backed 15 companies to date, with DPI targeting a fully built-out portfolio of 22 to 24 companies:

• Nawy: Egyptian proptech and real estate mortgage distribution platform ($52M Series A).
• Paymob: Egyptian digital payments infrastructure provider ($35M pre-Series C led by Mubadala and EBRD).
• FlapKap: UAE-based revenue-based financing platform for SMEs ($34M raise).
• Money Fellows: Egyptian digitized Rotating Savings and Credit Association (ROSCA) platform ($13M raise).
• Kera: Healthcare AI infrastructure provider operating across Senegal and Côte d’Ivoire.
• Accord Partners: AI-driven corporate audit and accounting consolidation aggregator operating in Saudi Arabia.

Executive Insights

"There is a lot of discussion about how funds can move beyond the DFI-backed model to more commercial funding, and I think Nclude and DPI Venture Capital show that there are working paths to capital from unusual sources," stated Ashley Lewis, Managing Partner and Head of DPI Venture Capital. "Nearly 100% of the funding came from financial services organisations, and 93% of the capital came from Africa. That 93% matters: sourcing capital directly from Africa to back African founders and solutions."

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