Five35 Ventures raises funding to back female-led and women-focused startups
Five35 Ventures, a pan-African venture fund that invests in seed and series A female-focused tech startups, has secured an undisclosed anchor investment from the Mennonite Economic Development Associates (MEDA) Mauritius Foundation, the fund manager of the Mastercard Foundation Africa Growth Fund (MFAGF). The firm was reportedly seeking to raise $30 million in 2022.
The funding will enable Five35 to expand its women-focused portfolio across East, West, and Southern Africa, deepen its partnerships with accelerators and ecosystem builders, and intensify its focus on the underfunded space between pre-seed and scale, where it claims many female founders continue to face barriers accessing capital.
Five35 joins a small group of venture funds, including Sahel Capital, that have raised capital from the MFAGF, managed by the MEDA Mauritius Foundation. The MFAGF is a $200 million fund-of-funds that backs various investment vehicles that finance SMEs and early-stage startups in Sub-Saharan Africa.
“From the outset, our goal has been to build an investment firm defined by integrity, rigour, and results,” said Hema Vallabh, founding partner at Five35 Ventures. “We take a measured approach, backing ventures that demonstrate both traction and transparency, and holding ourselves to the same standards. This consistency and governance discipline continue to strengthen investor confidence and set the foundation for long-term performance.”
Since its 2022 launch, Five35 has backed several African startups, such as Rwandan e-commerce startup Kasha, Kenyan e-transport startup BuuPass, Nigerian medical-tech startup RxAll, and South African talent marketplace Zindi. The firm has backed 16 portfolio startups, which it says have generated more than 1,400 jobs and raised a combined $75 million in follow-on funding.
Five35 provides early-stage startups with seed investments of up to $500,000 through Simple Agreements for Future Equity (SAFEs), which convert into shares at the next funding round either at a discounted price or based on a maximum valuation, and up to $2 million at Series A. Startups also benefit from access to a global advisory network, a wide African and international mentor and partner network, and introductions to institutional investors as they grow.
Its model blends capital with capacity-building with linking early-stage founders to strategic networks that help them move from pre-seed or seed to scale. The firm also prioritises support for female founders and first-time female investors through initiatives such as the 35’er Club, which lowers barriers to entry for women looking to participate in venture investing.
It previously secured investment support from Cisco, the US tech firm. Cisco deepened its ecosystem engagement in 2023 through a partnership with WomHub, an organisation affiliated with Five35’s co-founder Vallabh, to launch incubation hubs and innovation spaces for women-led STEM and tech businesses. This support helped strengthen Five35’s operational capacity, allowing the firm to deepen its work with early-stage startups and expand the resources available to its portfolio.
For the MFAGF, the move aligns with its broader thesis: supporting Africa-based fund managers who can blend sector expertise with local context, while expanding the pipeline for women-led ventures. Dr Dorothy Nyambi, MEDA’s president and CEO, said the partnership underscores how purpose-led investing can deliver hard outcomes.
“What excites us about Five35 is how clearly it unites purpose and performance,” Nyambi said. “It is rewriting the story of women entrepreneurs in Africa by backing them early, strengthening governance, and turning that conviction into real outcomes, growing companies, attracting follow-on capital, and creating jobs at scale.”
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