We use cookies to enhance your experience and analyze site performance. By continuing to use this site, you agree to our use of cookies. Read our Privacy Policy to learn more.

For Entrepreneurs

The Opportunity

ThirdWay invests and partners with high-scale-potential companies operating at the convergence of significant trends in Africa: accelerating formalization, a growing labour pool, and increasing consumer demand.

THE MARKET MOMENT

Africa is a continent of opportunity, with expanding markets world-leading innovation, and a young population.

  • The top 11 fastest growing economies in the world are in Africa. The economic growth rate in Sub-Saharan Africa is 50% higher than the world average.

  • Africa has one of the fastest growing consumer markets in the world, clustered around increasingly stable centres of growth ($2.5T consumer spending by 2030).

  • The continent delivers innovations that bypass legacy systems still used elsewhere, e.g. in fintech, biotech, renewable energy, etc. (mobile money is a $1T industry in Africa).

  • Economic growth in Africa is backed by our large, young workforce (40% of the world’s youth are here). Capital markets are maturing with above global average increases in deal volume (8% in 2025) and secondaries (27% in 2025) in the VC and PE space.

ThirdWay Capital operates in a pivotal moment of impactful growth hard to find anywhere else in the world, right where the action is at: emerging high-potential companies.

WHERE THIRDWAY CAPITAL OPERATES

Poised for growth but under-capitalized.

ThirdWay Capital invests in the early-growth niche where the capital needs in Africa are critical while the opportunity is immense. Capital is generally easier to access before and after this formative stage.

ThirdWay Capital enters portfolio companies at the stage when they are revenue-generating, with demonstrated business models, but not yet priced by institutional capital. As companies scale, they typically become eligible for larger-ticket institutional investment at higher valuations, creating the conditions for exit.

  • Early-Stage Venture Building

    Accelerators, DFI grant schemes & foundations

    $10K–$300K
  • Proof of Scale Early Growth

    ThirdWay Capital

    $300K–$1M
  • Budding Growth

    Regional growth equity managers & sector VC

    $1M–$5M
  • Mature

    Institutional PE & late-stage growth funds

    $5M+

Investment Framework

Two tiers of impact.

TIER 01

Systems Impact Themes - Macro / Sector-Level (5 Years +)

  • Exporting Africa

    Increasing global demand for African value-added products — not raw materials.

  • Industrialisation & Import Substitution

    Localised production, reduced import dependency, and stronger supply chains.

  • Tech-Enabled Inclusion

    Economic participation for Africa's large informal sectors — finance, retail, agriculture.

  • Food Security

    Increasing yield, resilience, and productivity across Africa's agricultural sector.

  • Climate Resilience

    Climate mitigation, plastics recycling, and sustainable agriculture for the environment.

TIER 02

Company Impact Traits — Company-level Outcomes (3–5 Years)

  • Good Jobs

    Permanent employment with fair wages and good treatment — driving multiple dimensions of family and community well-being.

  • Economic Inclusion & Agency

    Enabling once-marginalised individuals and communities to exercise economic agency — breaking the poverty cycle.

  • Strategic Value Chain Effect

    Generating or accelerating a scalable business ecosystem that contributes to a vibrant, sustainable economy.

  • Consumer & Societal Value

    Innovation of products and services that contribute to human flourishing in a healthy environment.

  • Resource Sustainability

    Business operations characterised by disciplined resource management — minimising environmental footprint.