Marula Square runs an Africa-focused venture capital fund investing in innovative tech-ventures across agriculture, health, and education.
Marula Square
As we are currently in the process of building pipeline for our next fund, we are keen to get in touch with entrepreneurs that match the investment criteria as described below.
Our vision
The Marula Tree (sclerocarya birrea) is a tree indigenous to Sub-Saharan Africa and for us symbolises the growth of the Sub-Saharan African continent. We aim to catalyse Africa's immense potential by investing in sustainable enterprises that leverage the continent's dynamic population growth and entrepreneurial drive.
We are dedicated to driving positive change, generating financial returns and empowering local communities. Specifically, we are investing in visionary entrepreneurs in education technology, quality healthcare, and agricultural productivity in Africa.
We are dedicated to driving positive change, generating financial returns and empowering local communities. Specifically, we are investing in visionary entrepreneurs in education technology, quality healthcare, and agricultural productivity in Africa.
With the sincerest respect for local cultures and ways of working, we enter into partnerships with high-potential Sub-Saharan African entrepreneurs, as well as incubators and accelerators that connect us to such entrepreneurs. On the other side, we are building a network of experienced investors with the right attitude and values, to unlock mind-opening and exciting opportunities for them. As our first fund is fully deployed, and we are now building pipeline for our next fund, we are actively looking for investment opportunities that fit the below-mentioned criteria.
Our approach
The kind of ventures we are looking for
A highly motivated founding team with complementary expertise across critical functions
The business idea has growth potential and addresses a genuine problem
The top management team consists of at least two people culturally Sub-Saharan African
The business is active in education-technology, private healthcare and/or agri-processing
Operations predominantly in South Africa, Nigeria, and/or Kenya
The team is gender diverse and/or has clear targets in this regard
I am an entrepreneur
Get your pitch deck ready and invest five minutes of your time to let us know how we can help you advance
I am an investor
As we are trying to understand investor appetite more, it would be greatly appreciated if you could allow us three minutes of your time to register your investment preferences
I am an entrepreneur
We would like to get to know you
I am an entrepreneur
We would like to get to know you
I am an entrepreneur
We would like to get to know you
I am an investor
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Our investments
Facilitating seamless placement of verified locums (temporary workers) to practices, pharmacies, hospitals, and clinics across South Africa.
Providing commerce infrastructure and embedded finance solutions for
Nigeria's informal processors and retailers of agricultural produce.
Nigeria's informal processors and retailers of agricultural produce.
Democratising access to healthcare by leveraging tech solutions including SMS, Telehealth and Web.
Preparing Africas youth for the future labour market by transforming education for K-12 and tertiary institutions with immersive coding and robotics programs.
Solving legacy inefficiencies in Africa's agricultural supply chain, providing crop processing, financial services, and critical micro-insurance products to farmers via an integrated delivery model in Nigeria.
Delivering banking services directly to farmers' mobile phones, giving them easy access to farming inputs like fertilisers, seeds, tractors, weather services, crop insurance, and more.
Revolutionising the Nigerian healthcare industry by leveraging advanced digital tools to enhance accessibility, efficiency, and effectiveness in healthcare services.
Leveraging the power of real-world healthcare data, technology, and people to unleash success for the benefit of patients and organisations.
Reshaping how people in Africa access healthcare through an omnichannel platform on which treatments, laboratory tests and vaccinations can be purchased.
Solving for food waste in Kenya one different-looking veggie at a time.
Simple, fast and flexible business loans for agriculture and food SMEs in South Africa.
Improving access to education by offering affordable finance, high-quality products, and learning materials to private schools in East-Africa.
Disrupting the conventional supply chain by establishing a cohesive ecosystem that provides mid-sized farms and thousands of smallholder farmers with essential training, modern inputs, and, crucially, access to markets for their produce.
Making the pregnancy journey safe and affordable for millions through an antanatal clinic, normal and c-section deliveries, postnatal care and a wellbaby clinic.
Delivering best-in-class speech recognition and text-to-speech AI optimised for African accents, reducing clinician workload and errors, shortening wait times, and elevating patient experience.
Team
Elvira de Jong | Co-Founder and General Partner
As we prepare for Fund II and the next phase of growth, the platform continues to be led by Elvira de Jong.
We are selectively expanding our network of investment and operating professionals across Africa, with a particular focus on agriculture, healthcare, and education technologies. We welcome conversations with exceptional African professionals who combine strong investing experience with deep local insight.
For investor, partnership, or talent inquiries, please contact:
Elvira de Jong
elvira.dejong@marulasquare.com
We are selectively expanding our network of investment and operating professionals across Africa, with a particular focus on agriculture, healthcare, and education technologies. We welcome conversations with exceptional African professionals who combine strong investing experience with deep local insight.
For investor, partnership, or talent inquiries, please contact:
Elvira de Jong
elvira.dejong@marulasquare.com
Frequently asked questions
A: There's many ways to do this, but we particularly like the approach of Guy Kawasaki: The only 10 slides you need in your pitch
A: Given the quality of our respective networks in these countries and the appetite of our investors, we have an initial focus on South Africa, Kenya, and Nigeria.
A: We focus on ventures offering education-technology, private healthcare and agri-processing solutions.
A: We make investments up to USD 1.000.000 each, and we have a solid network of partners ready to invest alongside us.
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