Sabou Capital targets Africa’s financing gap with funding to scale SMEs

Sabou Capital, a Nigeria-based impact fund investing in tech-enabled SMEs in secondary regions, is positioning itself to address financing gaps that limit business expansion across West and Central Africa.

The fund has secured an anchor investment from the Mastercard Foundation Africa Growth Fund, a $200 million vehicle backing African-led investment firms focused on inclusive growth.

Sabou Capital partners Surayyah Ahmad and Christian Amouo said the fund targets businesses with proven models and revenues but limited access to capital due to structural constraints.

“We target secondary cities and regions that mainstream capital bypass,” Ahmad said. “Many of these businesses are investment-ready: the revenues are there, the model works, and the market is real. Yet they are excluded because they lack the investor-readiness infrastructure required by conventional capital.”

Amouo added: “What we see across markets is not a lack of viable businesses, but a mismatch between how capital is structured and how these companies actually grow. Our role is to bridge that disconnect so businesses can move forward on terms that reflect their realities.”

The firm plans to reach final close by Q3 2027, investing between $300,000 and $2 million in early-growth companies across agriculture, healthcare, logistics and mobility, fintech, and climate tech in Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Senegal, and Nigeria.

Beyond funding, the firm provides pre-investment technical

support to improve financial reporting, governance, and documentation, alongside post-investment operational and climate resilience support.

Its portfolio includes companies such as Tomato Jos, which focuses on rebuilding Nigeria’s tomato value chain, as well as a dried fruit producer in Ogun State and a Douala-based clothing manufacturer employing mostly women, including displaced persons.

Sabou Capital projects the creation of about 4,200 direct jobs and 50,000 indirect jobs across its value chains, with a focus on women and youth.

“Job creation in Africa will be won in secondary markets, not just capital cities,” said Dorothy Nyambi, president and ceo of MEDA. “Through the Mastercard Foundation Africa Growth Fund, MEDA is backing this shift, investing where businesses are growing.”