Dutch development bank FMO has pledged USD 10 mn to Algebra Ventures’ second tech fund, the bank and our friends at Algebra said in separate statements (here and here, pdf). The money is coming from FMO’s EUR 200 mn investment program, which is co-financed by the Dutch foreign ministry and the European Commission.

Algebra Ventures II: Launched in April 2021, the fund will focus on Egyptian startups “with an allocation for the wider Middle East and Africa region,” according to Algebra’s statement. It will pursue early-stage investment opportunities, particularly in fintech, agritech, edutech, logistics, e-commerce and healthcare. Algebra has said the fund will eventually be worth USD 90 mn.

Development finance institutions (DFIs to insiders) like Algebra: FMO joins the International Finance Corporation, which signed on in April for USD 15 mn, matching an earlier commitment from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). The Egyptian American Enterprise Fund and Cisco Investments were also limited partners in Algebra’s first fund.

FMO is no stranger to the region’s tech scene and has invested in local fintechs Paymob and Dopay as well as Jordan-based SME fintech Liwwa in recent years. ​​”[The investment] aligns with the bank’s ambition to enable innovative business models for impact across Africa, the Middle East and parts of Asia,” FMO said in its statement. FMO has also invested in refining and solar power assets, among others, in Egypt.