Bellatrix Investment Managers, a Namibia-based alternative investment firm, has launched the Ndjaba Seed Fund, a $10 million venture capital vehicle to support early-stage startups across Southern Africa.
Named after the Oshiwambo word for “elephant,” the Ndjaba Seed Fund, launched on Wednesday, will target a diversified portfolio of between 35 and 50 startups over a ten-year investment horizon. The fund will focus on sectors including fintech, agritech, healthtech, education, clean energy, e-commerce, and enterprise software.
The fund’s launch comes at a time when early-stage funding remains one of the biggest challenges for entrepreneurs in Southern Africa. According to TechCabal Insight’s State of Tech in Africa 2025 report, startups raising below $1 million attracted just 2% of total capital deployed on the continent in 2025.
The challenge is more pronounced in Southern Africa, where most of the region’s $933 million in startup funding was concentrated in South Africa, leaving founders in Namibia and neighbouring markets with limited access to early-stage capital. Bellatrix said the fund aims to help close that gap while supporting startups with the potential to scale across the region.
