New $69m fund launched to support innovative deep tech in Francophone Africa

The African Intellectual Property Organization (OAPI) and the African Guarantee Fund (AGF) have announced the launch of a $69 million innovation fund to support DeepTech ventures in Francophone Africa. Announced May 6 2025 at the OAPI headquarters in Yaoundé, Cameroon, the fund aims to finance 1,000 innovation-driven projects over the next five years across OAPI’s 17 member countries.

The launch was the culmination of a project began in 2020, intended to breathe new life into entrepreneurship and innovation on the continent.

As part of the partnership, OAPI will be investing $8.6 million in the AGF, becoming its second African shareholder after the African Development Bank (AfDB).

The fund will provide financial and technical support to startups and SMEs in sectors such as artificial intelligence, biotechnology, clean energy, and advanced manufacturing. AGF will offer credit guarantees to improve access to bank financing, while startups will receive mentorship and commercialization assistance tailored to patented innovations.

In concrete terms, according to a statement from the OAPI and the AGF, mechanisms to reduce the structural barriers faced by innovators in accessing financing will include:

• The creation of a dedicated guarantee facilitating bank loans for innovative project leaders and SMEs whose inventions are protected by a patent in member states – media reports suggest the AGF will guarantee 75% of loans made to such companies;

• Technical support at each stage of the project life cycle (seed, growth, expansion);

• Connections with industrial partners;

• Support for the commercial development of industrial property rights, particularly patents

The initiative is part of OAPI's 2018–2022 and 2023–2027 strategic plans, which make innovation financing a central lever for technological development. A 2020 study on innovation financing in Africa highlighted the lack of tools adapted to the context of innovative SMEs. OAPI therefore developed a tailor-made mechanism.

The first calls for projects will be launched in the third quarter of 2025, with the objective of supporting 200 projects in the first year of implementation.

Denis Bohoussou, OAPI’s Director General, explained that the fund tackles long-standing issues in scaling African innovation. “Previous initiatives, such as the African Innovation Fund, had limitations. This new approach is comprehensive, combining financing, technical assistance, and industrial partnerships to create a sustainable ecosystem,” he told the media.

AGF’s CEO, Jules Ngankam, welcomed the project and the investment by AOPI in AGF, pointing out that most of the fund’s current backers are non-African entities, including Denmark, France, Germany, and the U.S.