Economy
TLcom Closes Africa’s Largest Early-Stage VC Fund Worth $154m
By Adedapo Adesanya
Africa-focused venture capital firm, TLcom Capital, has announced the final close of TIDE Africa Fund II, its second fund for technology in Africa, valued at $154 million.
The oversubscribed round confirms the firm’s status as Africa’s largest Seed and Series A investor and accelerates the firm’s mission to partner with elite founders to tackle Africa’s biggest and most complex challenges with innovative solutions that will unlock massive value in the continent’s critical sectors.
The fund at more than twice the size of TLcom Capital’s first fund saw participation from several new, high-profile LPs alongside returning LPs from the firm’s first Africa- focused fund, TIDE Africa Fund I, closed in 2020. These include the European Investment Bank (EIB), Allianz and DEG Impact’s joint venture, AfricaGrow, Visa Foundation and Bertelsmann.
TLcom Capital will also maintain its early-stage, multi-sector focus and expand its mandate beyond Sub-Saharan Africa to Egypt.
With its new fund, TLcom Capital plans to deploy significant additional capital into female-founded African tech startups, building on the firm’s June 2022 co-investment commitment of $2 million to FirstCheck Africa, a female-focused pre-seed fund. TLcom Capital’s commitment to gender balance is reflected in its majority-female partnership and investment committee.
According to a statement shared with Business Post, the fund has already made its first investments in South Africa and Egypt with LittleFish, a software company enabling payments and banking products for retail-focused SMBs, headquartered in Cape Town, and ILLA, a middle-mile logistics platform headquartered in Cairo.
Speaking on the development, Mr Maurizio Caio, Founder and Managing Partner at TLcom Capital, said there will be no core changes to its investment strategy as it will make initial investments of $1 million to $3 million, maintaining significant follow-on capacity to support strong portfolio performers into their growth stages, where the fund continues to see massive upside potential.
“We are maintaining the same investment strategy for TIDE Africa Fund II as we had for our first fund, which made over 80 per cent of its investments at Seed or Series A. With this final close, we’re thrilled that TLcom is in an even stronger position to continue to partner with Africa’s most talented entrepreneurs from early in their company-building journeys. We’re also excited to spend more time in the Egyptian ecosystem, co-investing alongside the most active local funds. TLcom is well on its way to realising our ambition of becoming Africa’s most sought-after early-stage VC and a truly pan-African firm.”
Since TLcom Capital announced TIDE Africa Fund II’s first close in January 2022, the firm has also significantly expanded its team, adding investment and operational capacity by doubling its headcount to 15 employees, including new investment professionals in Nigeria and Kenya.
“Across Africa, access to capital remains limited, especially for early-stage startups,” said Mr Ambroise Fayolle, Vice President and Head of Investments at the European Investment Bank. “At the same time, a young, technology-savvy population provides fertile ground for young companies. Africa’s startup ecosystem has the potential to drive inclusive economic growth and foster positive social change, which the EIB is happy to support. Through our investment in TLcom’s TIDE Africa II Fund, we expect to build and expand on the success and impact of the first TIDE Africa Fund, delivering much-needed capital to the most promising high-growth companies.”
Adding her input for Visa Foundation, Ms Najada Kumbuli, Vice President & Head of Investments, Visa Foundation said, “Our investment in TIDE Africa Fund II demonstrates our dedication to helping build strong economies where businesses can prosper and generate substantial financial and impact returns. We are impressed by TLcom’s track record of supporting visionary entrepreneurs in developing high-growth business models that can capitalise on Africa’s considerable economic potential.
“The firm’s alignment with Visa Foundation’s mission reinforces our confidence that, through this partnership, our capital will help create the next generation of successful and diverse entrepreneurs that will shape the future of the continent.”
Economy
All On Invests $1m in Eja-Ice Nigeria Limited to Strengthen Cold-Chain Infrastructure in Off-Grid Markets
All On, an impact investing company focused on expanding access to renewable energy solutions in Nigeria, has announced a $1 million investment in Eja-Ice Nigeria Limited, a provider of solar-powered refrigeration and cold chain infrastructure.
The investment will support Eja-Ice’s manufacturing and operational scale-up as the company enters its next phase of growth. It is expected to enable the expansion of its cold-chain solutions and improve access to reliable cooling services for households, small businesses, and institutions operating in off-grid and weak-grid environments.
Access to dependable cold storage remains a significant constraint across Nigeria, particularly in coastal and rural communities where limited energy infrastructure contributes to post-harvest losses and income instability for small-scale agro-producers.
By delivering energy-efficient refrigeration systems, Eja-Ice is helping to address these challenges while supporting the preservation of perishable goods and strengthening local value chains.
“All On’s investment in Eja-Ice reflects our approach of supporting solutions that improve energy access while enhancing livelihoods, reducing costs, and enabling businesses to grow. Strengthening cold-chain infrastructure is an important step towards building more resilient local economies and expanding opportunities in underserved markets,” the chief executive of All On, Ms Caroline Eboumbou, commented on the investment.
Eja-Ice’s integrated cold-chain model allows for greater control over product design, operational efficiency, and service delivery, ensuring that its solutions are tailored to the needs of underserved markets. The company’s systems are already supporting micro enterprises, cooperatives, and community-level infrastructure, particularly in areas where reliable electricity remains limited.
Also commenting, the founder and chief executive of Eja-Ice Nigeria Limited, Mr Yusuf Bilesanmi, said, “This capital raise is a huge step forward in our vision to power homes and businesses with products designed, assembled, and optimised right here on the continent. It’s not just about access to electricity—it’s about dignity, productivity, and opportunity for the over 600 million people across sub-Saharan Africa who are still off-grid.”
Through this investment, All On continues to advance its mission of closing Nigeria’s energy access gap by supporting the renewable energy ecosystem and businesses that deliver sustainable, market-driven solutions.

Economy
First Holdco Lists N45bn Private Placement Shares on Stock Exchange
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
Shares of First Holdco Plc worth N45.0 billion issued through a private placement have been listed on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited.
A circular issued by the Head of Issuer Regulation Department of the NGX Regulation Limited, Mr Godstime Iwenekhai, disclosed that the equities were admitted for trading at the stock market on Monday.
According to the notice, the additional shares brought for listing to rank pari passu with existing shares of the organisation were 1,021,334,544 units.
These stocks were sold to one of the company’s major shareholders at a unit price of N44.06, amounting to N45.0 billion.
The total issued and fully paid-up shares of First Holdco, as a result of this listing, are now 45,475,027,677 ordinary shares of 50 Kobo each.
“Trading licence holders are hereby notified that an additional 1,021,334,544 ordinary shares of 50 Kobo each of First Holdco Plc were on Monday, June 22, 2026, listed on the daily official list of Nigerian Exchange Limited.
“The additional shares listed on NGX arose from the company’s private placement of 1,021,334,544 ordinary shares of 50 Kobo each at N44.06 per share.
“With the listing of the additional shares, the total issued and fully paid-up shares of First Holdco Plc have now increased to 45,475,027,677 ordinary shares of 50 Kobo each from 44,453,693,133 ordinary shares of 50 Kobo each,” the disclosure stated.
Economy
AA Rano, Nipco, Matrix, Others Secure Q3 Petrol Import Permits
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) has approved fresh import licences for petrol and diesel for the third quarter of 2026 (July – September) to prevent potential supply shortages in the domestic market.
According to a report by global energy intelligence firm, Argus Media, the latest approvals were issued to major downstream operators amid declining fuel stock levels and concerns over reduced petrol production at the 700,000 barrels per day Dangote Petroleum Refinery in Lagos.
The move comes as Nigeria continues to balance increasing local refining capacity with the need to guarantee adequate supplies of petroleum products across the country.
According to the Argus report, domestic firms, including AA Rano, AYM Shafa, Bono Energy, Nipco, Matrix Energy and Pinnacle Oil, received permits to import Premium Motor Spirit, popularly known as petrol, during the July-September period.
The publication further reported that the same companies, with the exception of Nipco, were granted approvals to import Automotive Gas Oil, commonly known as diesel. The fresh approvals follow an earlier batch of petrol import permits issued by the regulator in May, covering about 720,000 metric tonnes.
Quoting a regulatory source, Argus noted that many of the companies granted the latest approvals were among those that had received permits in previous rounds. “These are some of the same ones that previously received the PMS permits,” the source was quoted as saying.
It was also claimed that AA Rano and Matrix Energy each received approvals to import 180,000 metric tonnes of petrol. AYM Shafa received approval for 120,000 metric tonnes, while Pinnacle Oil received a permit covering 150,000 metric tonnes.
For diesel imports, Argus reported that AYM Shafa obtained a permit for 60,000 metric tonnes, while Pinnacle secured approval for 45,000 metric tonnes. The report stated that the import approvals were issued only recently, after being delayed from an initial target date of June 15.
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