Where Africa’s founders meet their first believers

A curated community for pre-seed founders and the angels who back them early. Free for founders.

Our belief

Conviction is built before the check.

We connect Africa’s most ambitious founders with operators and angels who understand the real journey, building the trust that shapes exceptional companies before institutional capital arrives.

01
Trust, not transactions
Deep relationships where honest feedback and genuine support come first.
02
Built by builders
Guidance from people who have navigated the realities of building in Africa.
03
Global reach, local roots
A worldwide network of expertise and capital, grounded in local markets.

What we do

A platform for the pre-seed years

Relationships and learning at the earliest stage, creating the conviction early investment needs.

Curated founder events

Intimate, high-signal gatherings across Africa and online, where founders meet peers, mentors and angels who take the time to know them.

Operator conversations

Lessons from builders who scaled in emerging markets.

Peer learning

A confidential circle to share challenges and benchmark progress.

Angel engagement

Angels who engage early and co-invest selectively.

Pan-African by design

Africa is our proving ground

From Dakar to Nairobi, from Lagos to Johannesburg, we build for founders across the continent’s tech hubs, in English and in French.

54: countries, one continent
2: working languages
0 $: to join as a founder

How capital works at Luma

Relationships first. Capital follows.

Investment emerges organically, from trust built over time, never the other way around.

1
Founders join
Ambitious founders join a curated, pan-African community.
2
Angels engage early
Angels take part in events and get to know founders over time.
3
Conviction forms
Repeated interaction builds mutual trust on both sides.
4
First checks
Small angel checks or syndicates provide first critical capital.
5
An engine for the future
Over time, it grows into institutional Africa-focused capital.

A note from our founder

Africa’s best founders rarely lack ideas or drive. What they lack, early on, are people who believe in them before the numbers do. Luma exists to build that circle of trust: founders, operators and angels who show up long before the first institutional check.

Gautier TonongbeFounder & Managing PartnerMeet the team →