From Nigeria to Egypt: Investor Eliot Pence on backing frontier market startups

Eliot Pence is the co-founder of Tofino Capital, a $10 million venture capital fund that invests in early-stage businesses in frontier markets. Tofino’s investments in Africa include Seamless HR, a human resources and payroll solution; Sabi, a digital commerce infrastructure provider; Eksab!, a fantasy football service; Lucky, a cashback rewards app; Caafisom, a medtech company in Somaliland; Adbot, an automated advertising solution in South Africa; and NiceDeer, an Egyptian health insurtech firm.

In this interview with Betsy Henderson, Pence shares his insights on investing in African startups, highlighting the distinct approach required compared to investing in US-based ventures. He also discusses his bullish outlook on the continent's construction industry and reveals why he considers Egypt a particularly interesting market.