First Circle
Casablanca, Morocco · Invests in Africa · Website
Check size
🔒 $•• – $••Thesis
Build transformational fintech companies addressing financial inclusion across Africa. Support founders with capital, operational expertise, and network access. Increase women's participation in tech investing and founding.
Likely not a fit for
Non-fintech companies, companies outside Africa, founders without demonstrated execution capability
How they invest
- Lead or follow
- Usually leads
- Typical decision
- ~2 weeks
- Warm intro
- Not required
- Involvement
- Takes a board seat
- Fund status
- Actively deploying
- Assets under mgmt
- $30M
- Decision process
- Partnership vote
Partners & team
3 contacts on file
Portfolio
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TurnStay is a fintech company designed for the travel industry, providing an all-in-one finance toolkit for African travel businesses to handle their global finance operations, reduce payment fees, and optimize payment processes.
Opareta is building digital infrastructure for analog agent networks. With our mobile app, mobile money agents not only digitize their operations but also get access to the data analytics and working capital they need to sustainably grow their businesses.
Scale delivers proven data, evaluations, and outcomes to AI labs, governments, and the Fortune 500, focusing on AI-powered intelligence platforms for innovation execution.
E-Doc Online provides an open banking infrastructure that connects financial institutions to millions of bank accounts, enabling secure data access and processing of payments through a single API.
Orca is a decentralized exchange (DEX) on the Solana blockchain that allows users to provide liquidity and earn trading fees. It features concentrated liquidity pools and offers tools for managing positions and optimizing returns.
Credify is an all-in-one platform that provides seamless global trade solutions for African importers, offering services such as invoice financing, cross-border payments, and end-to-end logistics.
Pumpkn provides fast and flexible business funding solutions specifically tailored for the agriculture and food sectors in South Africa, aiming to empower SMEs to grow and succeed.
Terminal is a platform that connects companies with elite remote software engineers, offering flexible hiring solutions including full-time, contract, and employment options.
Balad specializes in providing seamless cross-border payment solutions to businesses worldwide, ensuring efficiency, security, and reliability in transactions.
Oola is an innovative insurance distribution platform dedicated to transforming the insurance industry through technology, offering insurers, brokers, and consumers a simplified, efficient, and accessible insurance journey.
WiASSUR is an insurance brokerage firm based in Côte d'Ivoire that simplifies the insurance process by comparing offers from all market insurers to help clients find the best coverage at competitive prices.
Recent activity
- Sep 2025
Terminal Africa
Seed · Lead
- Aug 2025
TurnStay
Seed · Lead
- Jun 2025
Talk360
Seed · Lead
- Apr 2025
Credpal
Seed · Lead
First Circle in the news
BusinessWorld Online
DTI renews MSME financing partnership with First Circle
1 month ago
BackScoop
$4.87M for First Circle to help more Pinoys access loans
3 months ago
mb.com.ph
IFC eyes landmark $110-million Philippine SME securitization deal
3 months ago
- Disrupt Africa
Moroccan retail-tech startup WafR raises $4m seed round
6 months ago
africaprivateequitynews.com
LoftyInc co-leads $4m seed round in Morocco’s WafR
6 months ago
- Disrupt Africa
Meet the Investor: Selma Ribica, First Circle Capital
6 months ago
entARABI
Morocco’s WafR Raises $4 Million in Seed Funding Led by LoftyInc Alpha
6 months ago
TechAfrica News
Dutch Good Growth Fund Partners with First Circle Capital to Boost Early-Stage African Fintech
6 months ago
Tech In Africa
First Circle Capital, backed by the IFC, launches $30M venture fund for Africa's FinTech startups
9 months ago
Billionaires.Africa
Agnes Kisuule’s First Circle Capital raises $6m
9 months ago
africaprivateequitynews.com
First Circle Capital raises $6m from IFC
9 months ago
triodos-im.com
Triodos Fair Share Fund provides USD 3 million loan to fintech player Kaleidofin
9 months ago
TechCabal
👨🏿🚀TechCabal Daily – Chery EVs hit Kenya
10 months ago
Dabafinance
IFC Invests $6M in First Circle to Back Early-Stage African Fintechs
10 months ago
Arab News
MENA startup funding drops to $784.9m in October
10 months ago
Wamda
First Circle Capital secures $6 million investment from IFC
10 months ago
techafricanews.com
First Circle Capital Secures $6 Million from IFC to Scale Early-Stage Fintech Innovation in Africa
10 months ago
- Disrupt Africa
VC firm First Circle Capital secures $6m from IFC to back high-growth fintech across Africa
10 months ago
Ventureburn
Moroccan retail-tech start-up WafR now valued at $10m
11 months ago
PhocusWire
Fintech startup TurnStay secures $2M
Aug 2025
FinTech Futures
Philippine lending platform First Circle raises $26m
Mar 2025
The Irish Times
Irish-founded First Circle raises $7m to fund growth
Oct 2024
Inquirer.net
2 Philippine fintech firms get fresh funds from IFC
Oct 2024
InsiderPH
IFC leads P400-M investment in SEC-registered fintech First Circle
Oct 2024
africaprivateequitynews.com
FSD Africa Investments backs VC fund First Circle Capital
Sep 2024
DealStreetAsia
PH fintech startup First Circle raises $8.6m in IFC-backed Series B round
Aug 2024
ImpactAlpha
Uganda’s Credify raises early funding to address Africa’s trade finance gap
Apr 2024
TechCrunch
African product, global market: Expensya employees cashed out $10M from 2023 acquisition
Feb 2024
ICTworks
5 Southeast Asian Startup Companies Using Generative AI for Social Impact
Mar 2023
waya.media
WafR, Morocco’s FinTech startup, raises $120k in a funding round
Nov 2022
Business Insider
How VC Ben Ling raised his first $60 million venture fund in just four months
Jan 2021
KrASIA
Fintech startup First Circle secures $26m as it eyes regional SME market
Oct 2018
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Research briefRead more
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