216 Capital

What 216 Capital does

216 Capital is a Tunis-headquartered venture capital firm founded in 2021 that invests at the pre-seed and seed stages in technology companies across Africa and MENA. The firm launched its inaugural €10M fund in August 2022 under Tunisia's Startup Act, which permits foreign-currency investment vehicles, and deploys capital via an average ticket of approximately €250,000. As of the most recent reporting, it has invested roughly €3M across 15+ startups spanning fintech (ProXalys, My Easy Transfer, Cynoia), insurtech (EYST, AVIDEA), agritech (RoboCare, Wattnow, Beekeeper Tech), healthtech (eSteps), legaltech (Juridoc), EdTech (Deplike/Chordie AI), retail SaaS (Winshot, Talenteo), logistics (Logidoo), travel-tech (Arcube), and AI/media (Imaginario AI). The team — Partner and founder Dhekra Khelifi and Principal/Investment Manager Hassen Arfaoui — provides not only capital but also fundraising support via partner networks, strategic advice toward milestones, and introductions to customers, suppliers, and product partners.

The firm operates an enterprise-style direct-investment GTM targeting startup founders, with deal sourcing via an in-house network that has scouted 1,000+ startups across four continents and an investment footprint spanning Tunis, Paris, London, Marseille, and Dakar. Its core technology is the venture investment platform itself; revenue derives from management fees on the €10M fund and (when realized) carried interest from exits — typical VC economics, with no disclosed per-deal pricing to founders beyond equity terms. Co-investment partners include Plug and Play (co-branded 216 Capital Venture Accelerator), Bpifrance, Techstars, Comcast NBCUniversal, Katapult Climate, Maroc Numeric Fund II, Gullit VC, Founder Factory Africa, Oman Technology Fund, Digital Africa, and ANAVA Fund of Funds, among others.

The firm is currently raising a second fund to support startups in more advanced funding stages, signaling AUM expansion beyond Fund I. Strategic positioning emphasizes Africa/MENA tech with a development-finance and diaspora-founder lens, partnerships with development institutions (GIZ, Westerwelle Foundation, Digital Africa), and integration into global VC infrastructure through the Plug and Play co-branded accelerator. The narrow concentration of leadership (1–10 employees) and the early stage of Fund I deployment (~30% of €10M AUM) point to a still-formation-stage asset manager scaling its platform.

Name

216 Capital

Legal name

216 Capital

Website

https://216capital.vc

Company type

Private

Founded year

2021

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

216 Capital is a Tunis-based pre-seed and seed venture capital firm investing in early-stage technology companies across Africa and MENA, deploying a €10M fund across 15+ startups in fintech, insurtech, agritech, healthtech, legaltech, SaaS, and logistics, with co-investment partnerships spanning Plug and Play, Bpifrance, and pan-African funds.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Venture Capital

NAICS

Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (523940), Other Financial Investment Activities (5239)

SIC

Investment Advice (6282)

akta.pro primary industry

Early-Stage Venture Capital (Series A/B) (FSANAAAB)

Keywords

• Venture capital investing
• Seed stage funding
• Early-stage startups
• Tech startup investment
• Pre-seed financing

Headquarters

HQ city

Tunis

HQ country

Tunisia

HQ region

Africa

Offices6 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Venture Capital Fund Management: 216 Capital operates as a seed/pre-seed VC firm. Started investing in August 2022 through a fund of 10 million euros. Average ticket size is around 250,000 euros. As of the article, invested 3 million euros in 15 startups from different countries.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

216 Capital is a Tunis-based venture capital firm that invests pre-seed and seed equity (average ticket ~€250,000) into early-stage technology companies across Africa and MENA. The firm operates a €10 million inaugural fund (launched August 2022) and supplements its capital deployment with fundraising support, strategic advice, partnership introductions, and a six-month accelerator program co-run with Plug and Play. Beyond capital, 216 Capital helps portfolio companies scale regionally and globally through partner networks and ecosystem access.

Product overview

216 Capital is a Tunis-based venture capital firm investing across sectors in early-stage technology companies across Africa. The firm's portfolio encompasses a diverse range of AI-powered and technology-driven products and services. Key offerings include: Chordie AI for gamified music education; Addvocate.AI for sales intelligence; Talenteo for HR/payroll management; Winshot for retail execution; Avidea's DigiClaim/DigiFraud for insurance; Youree for EV charging; Wattnow for energy management; Drest.tn for e-commerce; Actum Group for private equity analytics; My Easy Transfer for diaspora payments; Cynoia for business collaboration; Imaginario AI for video content processing; Logidoo for logistics; ProBoutiK for informal commerce invoicing; eSteps for health monitoring; Arcube for airline loyalty; Juridoc for legal research; SmartBee for beekeeping; EYST for instant insurance claims; and RoboCare for precision agriculture. The portfolio demonstrates 216 Capital's focus on transformative technology companies addressing African market needs.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• 216 Capital Venture Accelerator: Six-month accelerator program in partnership with Plug and Play supporting pre-seed tech companies in Tunisia with €50,000 funding, mentorship, and investor access.

Products and services

• 216 Capital Pre-Seed and Seed Investment Fund Equity capital fund of €10 million providing pre-seed and seed-stage investments averaging ~€250,000 per deal (range €100,000–€1.5M) into early-stage technology startups across Africa and MENA. Designed to solve the foreign-currency funding gap for startups under the Tunisian Startup Act. Includes co-investment support and hands-on venture assistance (fundraising, strategic advice, partner introductions, expansion support). For pre-seed and seed-stage tech startup founders building transformational businesses.
• 216 Capital Venture Accelerator by Plug and Play Six-month accelerator program co-run with Plug and Play (Silicon Valley) supporting up to 20 Tunisian startups per cohort. Each participating startup receives €50,000 in initial funding, customized mentoring, investor meetings, and direct access to Plug and Play's global innovation network. Backed by Smart Capital / ANAVA Fund of Funds. For pre-seed Tunisian tech startups seeking to become investment-ready and scale to regional and global markets.

Named customers1 record

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability25 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Plug and PlaycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with Silicon Valley innovation powerhouse to create the '216 Capital Venture Accelerator by Plug and Play', a six-month program supporting up to 20 Tunisian startups with €50,000 initial funding, mentoring, and access to Plug and Play's global network.
• GIZminorOthersListed as a partner organization in 216 Capital's ecosystem.
• AntlerminorOthersListed as a partner organization in 216 Capital's ecosystem.
• GreenTec CapitalminorOthersListed as a partner organization in 216 Capital's ecosystem.
• Lionstech (Lionstechinvest)minorOthersListed as a partner organization in 216 Capital's ecosystem.
• Westerwelle FoundationminorOthersListed as a partner organization in 216 Capital's ecosystem.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Partech: Global VC with a dedicated Africa fund (Partech Africa) investing from seed to growth. Larger and broader incumbent competing for the same African founder pipeline.
• Plug and Play: Silicon Valley-based accelerator and CVC platform. 216 Capital's co-branded accelerator is built on Plug and Play's platform, and the firm sits adjacent in the global accelerator-plus-investment ecosystem.
• 500 Global (500 Startups): US-based global seed VC and accelerator program. 500 Global co-runs the Stanford VC Unlocked program where 216 Capital's Principal was a 2026 scholar, indicating direct ecosystem overlap.

Direct peers

• Antler: Global early-stage VC that runs cohort-based residencies and invests at pre-seed/seed. Antler is a listed 216 Capital ecosystem partner and shares the same day-zero founder-investing playbook across multiple geographies.
• Wamda Capital: MENA-focused early- and growth-stage VC. Comparable through geographic focus and pre-seed-to-Series A investment mandate across the region.
• Seedstars: Swiss-headquartered emerging-markets VC and accelerator active across Africa, MENA, and Asia. Comparable through its seed-stage accelerator programs and pan-emerging-market investment thesis.
• Flat6Labs: MENA's leading early-stage seed VC and accelerator. Flat6Labs runs multi-week seed programs and invests pre-seed/seed across the region — directly comparable to 216 Capital's stage, geographic focus, and accelerator-plus-fund model.
• Sawari Ventures: Egypt- and North Africa-focused early- and growth-stage VC investing in tech-enabled startups. Shares 216 Capital's North African focus and pre-seed-to-Series A ticket range.

Regional players

• Novastar Ventures: East Africa-focused early- and growth-stage VC. Operates in a complementary African geography with similar sector-agnostic technology investing.
• Algebra Ventures: Egypt-focused early-stage VC. Operates in an adjacent MENA geography with similar stage and sector orientation to 216 Capital's portfolio companies.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/216Capital
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/216capital

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments25 records

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about 216 Capital