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DPI Venture Capital reached a final close on the Nclude Fund at more than USD 112 mn, it said in a statement (pdf) yesterday, four years after the fund launched in Cairo as a dedicated Egyptian fintech play. Nclude stood at USD 105 mn after its second close in 2022, the size it was still running at when Development Partners International (DPI) took over its management last year. That makes the final close a net gain of some USD 7 mn, by our math, though the statement doesn’t say how much the new investors put in. “At over USD 112 mn, we believe Nclude is appropriately sized for today’s market,” Ashley Lewis, managing partner and head of DPI Venture Capital, said in the statement.
DPI became Nclude’s investment advisor in 2025 through a restructuring of the fund. The London-based investment firm is focused on Africa and has some USD 4 bn in assets under management and co-investments. It replaced Global Ventures, the Dubai-based firm that set the fund up. DPI has since brought in more LPs and widened the fund’s range. Nclude now writes checks of USD 500k to USD 10 mn from seed through Series C, against seed to Series B when it launched.
The portfolio spans 15 companies, featuring co-investments in Nawy (USD 52 mn), Paymob (USD 35 mn), and Money Fellows (USD 13 mn). They’re joined by names from outside Egypt, such as UAE-based SME lender FlapKap, health-access AI firm Kera, which operates in Senegal and Ivory Coast, and Accord Partners, an AI-driven accounting roll-up focused on Saudi Arabia.
Egypt remains Nclude’s core market, but up to 30% of the fund can go to companies elsewhere in Africa and the Middle East, according to the statement. DPI is looking for businesses that can grow across markets, whether that means expanding from Egypt into the Gulf and North Africa, or moving into Egypt from elsewhere in the region, the statement adds.
REFRESHER- Nclude launched in March 2022 at USD 85 mn under Global Ventures, with Banque Misr as anchor investor, the National Bank of Egypt in for USD 30 mn, and Banque du Caire in for USD 25 mn. eFinance Investment Group committed USD 10 mn, and the Egyptian Banks Company took an undisclosed stake. Mastercard came in later that year.
