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Pacer Ventures partners Founder Institute, Doles Out $3M Fund for Early-Stage African Startups
Pacer Ventures has announced a $3M fund for early-stage African startups that are solving some of the most critical problems on the continent.
The focus will be on verticals expedient to the African continent including healthcare, financial inclusion, education and agriculture.
The United Nations has projected that Africa will have a population of 1.68 billion people by 2030, while the GSMA Mobile Economy Report states that 84% of Africa’s population will have access to a sim connection by 2025.
This high mobile penetration has and will continue to enable the continent to leapfrog technology consumption, as Africa is expected to account for up to 30% of global consumption of technology and technology-driven solutions within the same period.
Gbemi Akande, managing general Partner at Pacer Ventures, said “We see a huge opportunity to support early-stage founders making meaningful contributions to their local economies and communities.
“We are providing much-needed funds to founders leveraging mobile penetration to solve problems at the ‘bottom of the pyramid’ across the continent,” he concluded.
Pacer Ventures has already begun to support early-stage founders by participating in seed rounds, including VPD.Money and others.
With an average cheque size of $100k, Pacer VC is positioned to add substantial value to its portfolio companies.
According to Antoinia Norman, Pacer General Partner in charge of Southern Africa, “we won’t just write a cheque, we will enable founders to work in and on their business, by supporting them every step of their journey, with technical and financial skills, team building, access to markets, resources, and our networks.”
The General Partners of Pacer VC have over 40 years of combined experience in consulting, marketing, entrepreneurship, deal flow sourcing and ecosystem development.
Pacer VC’s differentiator is the fund’s focus on sourcing high potential early-stage African startups, while leveraging its strategic partnership with Founder Institute chapters all over Africa to identify and recommend winning teams with solutions that meet market needs.
“Our partnership with Founder Institute gives us an undeniable edge particularly with quality deal-flow at an early stage, which we will leverage to strategically expand Pacer VC’s footprint across multiple African Markets,” said Chukwuemeka Agbata, Regional Director of Founder Institute in Africa, Co-founder, techbuild.africa
Speaking on the Pacer VC Investment thesis, Geoffrey Weli-Wosu, a General Partner at Pacer VC and Co-Founder at VoguePay and Domineum, stated, “We are leveraging our in-depth experience in startups, deal flow sourcing and ecosystem development to take advantage of the early-stage funding gap in Africa.
Our target is seed-stage founders and companies who are usually under the radar of a lot of investors. We know the markets, have access to the founders and our investment team is well qualified to execute this thesis.”
MTN Group has committed $2 billion to the International Telecommunications Union’s (ITU) Partner2Connect initiative, bringing the total funds pledged to $73 billion.
The announcement was made during the ongoing Mobile World Congress (MWC 2025) in Barcelona, Spain.
Partner2Connect, spearheaded by the ITU, is a global initiative aimed at enhancing universal digital access, strengthening infrastructure, and fostering meaningful connectivity.
Doreen Bogdan-Martin, secretary-general, ITU, highlighted the significance of these commitments, stating, “Expansive digital infrastructure highlights how much humanity values and depends on meaningful connectivity. These new pledges bring us closer to delivering sustainable digital transformation to everyone, everywhere.”
According to the ITU, MTN Group has shown a strong commitment to investing in Africa’s digital future, spending approximately $2 billion annually on capital expenditures across its markets over the past five years.
Similar investments are planned over the next five years, focusing on expanding and improving voice and data networks to bolster connectivity and drive digital inclusion.
The ITU also announced a $2 billion pledge from Globalstar to expand its low-Earth orbit satellite network, providing seamless, energy-efficient connectivity solutions for remote regions and underserved areas.
These efforts will include direct-to-device (D2D) and IoT connectivity solutions.
As ITU celebrates its 160th anniversary, the UN agency has emphasised its dedication to bridging the global digital divide.
An estimated 2.6 billion people worldwide remain offline, according to ITU data.
The agency has called for $100 billion in commitments by 2026 to fund projects supporting global digital transformation, particularly in hard-to-reach communities.
With over 1,000 pledges spanning 147 countries, Partner2Connect is working toward ITU’s vision of a digitally connected and inclusive future.
Current estimates suggest $1.6 trillion is required for global connectivity hardware alone, with the majority of resources needed in developing nations.
The funds pledged by MTN Group and other partners are set to strengthen digital infrastructure, enhance connectivity in underserved areas, and accelerate digital innovations to support economic and social growth worldwide.
Telegram has rolled out a new feature aimed at enhancing user safety by flagging messages from unknown contacts.
When users receive messages from individuals outside their contact list for the first time, a detailed information page now appears.
This page includes details such as the sender’s country (determined by their phone number), their joining date on Telegram, any shared groups, and whether their account is verified.
The goal is to help users identify potential scams and impersonators more effectively.
In addition, Telegram now provides insight into when the sender last updated their username or profile picture, offering another way to detect compromised or hacked accounts.
The company has emphasised its commitment to transparency, promising “clear indicators” to distinguish official accounts, third-party verified profiles, and regular users.
Telegram Premium subscribers can now charge fees for messages received from users outside their contact list, a feature designed to reduce spam while allowing group administrators to monetise their communities.
Dubbed “Star Messages,” this new option enables users to set customisable fees for unsolicited messages.
The feature also provides flexibility, allowing certain users or members of specific groups to send messages for free.
Telegram’s Star Messages come with convenient options, such as single-tap refunds for payments, ensuring a seamless user experience.
By offering advanced controls and monetisation opportunities, the platform continues to prioritise user safety and satisfaction.
With these updates, Telegram strengthens its position as a platform focused on both user protection and innovative monetisation tools.
MTN Nigeria has strengthened its commitment to grassroots sports development following a visit to Edo State Governor, Monday Okpebholo, at the Government House in Benin City on March 5.
The visit coincided with the upcoming launch of Season 3 of MTN Champs, an athletics competition that will commence in Edo State from March 13 to 15.
The initiative highlights MTN’s dedication to nurturing young athletic talent and aligns seamlessly with Edo State’s focus on sports development.
Idowu Adesokan, General Manager of Consumer Marketing at MTN Nigeria, expressed appreciation for Edo State’s contributions to previous editions of MTN Champs and emphasized the importance of collaboration to ensure this season’s success.
Governor Okpebholo reciprocated by pledging full logistical and administrative support to make the event impactful.
Season 3 of MTN Champs is set to engage thousands of secondary school students across Nigeria, kicking off in Edo State before moving to Lagos and Uyo in subsequent weeks.
This initiative reflects MTN Nigeria’s broader vision of fostering youth empowerment and revitalizing athletics at the grassroots level.
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