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DPI Venture Capital, the early-stage arm of Development Partners International (DPI), has reached a final close of over $112 million for its Nclude Fund. DPI is a private equity firm that manages more than $3 billion in assets across Africa.
DPI sees Egypt as a key market for Nclude, serving as a starting point for businesses that can grow throughout Africa and the Middle East.
The fund also invests in other countries in Africa and the Middle East, with 30% of its funds available for opportunities outside Egypt, supporting businesses that can expand regionally.
Sofiane Lahmar, Chief Executive Officer of Development Partners International, said, “As one of Africa’s leading investment firms, DPI has a long track record of backing high-growth African businesses through different stages of growth. By institutionalising venture capital as a core part of our platform, we can combine DPI Venture Capital’s specialist expertise with the networks, capabilities and investment experience of the wider firm. This strengthens our ability to support ambitious technology businesses as they scale across Africa and the Middle East and deliver strong returns for our investors while advancing financial inclusion across the region.”
Development Partners International (DPI) is an investment firm focused on Africa, established in 2007. It manages around $4 billion in assets, including its main African Development Partners (ADP) private equity funds.
In 2025, DPI launched DPI Venture Capital and became the investment adviser for the Nclude Fund, aiming to support ambitious entrepreneurs and technology-driven businesses in Africa and the Middle East.
Mohamed Aladdin, General Partner at DPI Venture Capital, said, “Across our portfolio, we are seeing ambitious technology businesses increasingly look beyond their home markets as they scale. The growing links between Africa and the Middle East create opportunities for companies to access new customers and markets, whether expanding from Egypt into the Gulf, across North Africa or into Egypt from elsewhere in the region. Companies including Nawy, Paymob, Money Fellows, and FlapKap demonstrate the potential to build regional technology leaders from these markets.”
Nclude is a FinTech fund in Egypt that started in March 2022 after receiving approval from the Central Bank of Egypt.
It was initially backed by Banque Misr, with other banks like the National Bank of Egypt and Banque du Caire joining later. Global Ventures managed the fund at first, but in 2025, DPI took over as the adviser and created DPI Venture Capital to operate it.
Ashley Lewis, Managing Partner and Head of DPI Venture Capital, said: “When we became adviser to Nclude, we took stewardship of an existing fund with a strong investment thesis, rooted in improving financial inclusion across Africa and the Middle East. We have grown a portfolio aligned with that central thesis and have built on those foundations by activating more of the fund’s mandate across the region. This has included expansion into themes such as affordable insurance and healthcare access, unlocking credit access for SMEs, and helping individuals save and invest for the future.”
When DPI took over, the fund had $105 million in assets, falling short of an original goal of $150 million. They aimed for a total of $112 million, but DPI kept flexible targets.
Some of the funds were still available, so the team spent about a year finding a select group of institutional investors that aligned with the fund’s focus on financial services. The fund supports FinTech companies and embedded finance providers, including those in real estate.
Under DPI’s management, the fund expanded to invest in companies at various stages, from seed to Series C, with 10% reserved for seed-stage investments and up to 30% allocated for markets outside Egypt.
It typically invests between $500,000 and $10 million and has supported 15 companies in 18 months, with plans to grow the portfolio to 22 to 24 companies. The portfolio includes Nawy, Paymob, FlapKap, Money Fellows, Kera and Accord Partners.
