TLCOM is an Africa-focused venture capital firm. We find & fund tech startups with the highest return potential.
Africa
Joined February 2019
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“Credentials mean little without a deep understanding of the market and its customers.”
Cyril Shonibare sat down with @LaunchbAfrica to discuss how TLCOM is adapting to the changing VC climate across the continent—from liquidity expectations to sector diversification.
Swipe through for key insights ➡️
📖 Full read: tlcomcapital.com/perspective…
We are proud to announce our investment in Satlyt’s $8M Seed round, alongside @nonsibiventures @AntlerGlobal @SlausonAndCo @LaunchAfricaVC and others.
The @satlytai team, led by the founders @Rama Afullo & Dr Nelson Kigen Psenjen, are moving with the awareness that the next few years will decide who builds the rails of the space economy. Rather than adding new hardware, they have built software that lets satellites process data and run AI onboard, using the computers already in orbit. Satlyt already has software operating in orbit, and its next planned deployment, on SpaceX’s Transporter-18 mission, will support two applications on one spacecraft.
We are proud to fund African founders building infrastructure that matters globally. Rama and Nelson combine rare commercial and technical depth, and they have moved remarkably fast with a lean team across the US and Nairobi. Satlyt is exactly the kind of company we exist to find and fund.
“We look forward to helping the team build its commercial function and deepen partnerships with space agencies in Africa and beyond.” Maurizio Caio, Managing Partner at TLCOM shares.
Read more about why we invested here:
tlcomcapital.com/perspective…
What does your social media say about you when you’re not in the room?
For founders, it can say a lot more than you think.
In a small ecosystem like Africa’s tech space, due diligence doesn’t stop at your pitch deck, LinkedIn or press releases. The way you communicate, engage and show up can all become part of the picture.
As Dr. Omobola Johnson shares, even WhatsApp groups can become part of that due diligence process.
Watch the full conversation, The New Rules of African Tech: Storytelling, Trust & Due Diligence with Dr Omobola Johnson, on The Wimbart Way via YouTube. Link in bio.
We are incredibly proud of our Partner, @AMuforo who was honoured with the 2026 Venture Capital Lifetime Achievement Award delivered by @EIB Director General @AMcDowell on behalf of the Boost Africa Technical Asssitance Facility, at the 5th annual Africa Venture Capital Finance Program (AVFP) in @OxfordSBS University of Oxford.
Andreata has been a pioneer in African venture capital, from helping raise our first Africa-focused fund in 2014 to building the institutional platform TLCOM is today and funding some of the continent’s most exceptional founders along the way.
This recognition celebrates Andreata’s remarkable contribution, but also reflects just how far the African venture ecosystem has come over the past decade.
We are proud to have shared that journey with her and even more excited about what lies ahead.
Congratulations, Andreata! 🎉
A huge appreciation to our LPs @EIB @deginvest_int and the @EU_Commission for your continued collaboration through the Boost initiative.
TLCOM retweeted
An audience member at Silicon Xchange asked a panel of investors about failure.
Philippe Griffiths of @TLCOMCapital answered with a question. How are you defining failure?
Then he said the part that does not usually get said on a stage.
Many of the companies his fund backs become write-offs, and that is after building a case for each one returning the fund on its own. Most founders will not reach the ambition they started with.
“We are in a space of failure. That is a description of the sector, not a verdict on anyone working in it.”
He drew one line, and it was around behaviour rather than outcomes. Egregious ethical issues, yes. Taking a big bet on high conviction and putting real money behind it, no.
What he does not count as failure is the person who comes back. He said he loves second-time founders, and third-time founders, and he said it as a preference rather than a consolation. The experience is the asset. It only stays in the ecosystem if the person does.
So if the last one did not work, the thing that would make it a failure is not starting the next one.
Tag someone who needs to hear it from an investor rather than from a founder/friend.
Video credit: Silicon Xchange
TLCOM retweeted
Brilliant piece from @MobilePunch on Tomiwa Aladekomo's (@TechCabal) letter: "Africa Tech: From Survival to Scale."
He pulled in sharp minds like @pawapay's Nikolai Barnwell, @vp_fund's Kola Aina, @Communique_HQ's David Adeleke, @TBRAfrica’s Marcia Ashong-Sam & @TLCOMCapital’s Omobola Johnson to ask: what must African tech do by 2030 to win the next decade?
Worth the read: punchng.com/african-tech-fro…
Sim Shagaya spotted a gap most people ignored — in parts of Nigeria, one teacher for 500 students. What he built to fix it is now closing in on 50,000 students.
Read her conversation with TechCabal:
techcabal.com/2026/08/31/elo…
TLCOM retweeted
Really enjoyed this conversation on Africa VC journey to date. The foundation has been laid for future growth. Take a listen :)
Watch the full conversation:
youtu.be/kPb4ijG4aRI?si=UuBK…
In this piece by Semafor Africa, Eloho Omame @ElohoVC, Partner at TLCOM, shares her perspective on why the shift toward later-stage investing doesn’t mean early-stage investing is going away.
Read the full article here↓
semafor.com/article/08/05/20…
