Key Takeaways
- • Aries Media Ventures has launched Fund I, its first venture fund, targeting media-technology startups serving Sub-Saharan Africa, investing at the angel, pre-seed, and seed stages; the fund size was not disclosed.
- • The fund has deployed capital in three companies: Aktivate (creator marketing platform), HustleSasa (events commerce platform), and Book Mahali (venue booking and hospitality platform).
- • Per the article, Africa's media and creative sector is estimated at $59 billion yet receives less than 1% of regional venture capital, with digital media ventures capturing under 1% of funding in 2022 while fintech took nearly 40%.
- • Founding general partner Alykhan Kaba, a former media executive at Live Nation, Entertainment One, Activision Blizzard, and NBCUniversal, leads the firm, which began in 2023 as a network linking African media startups with investors before shifting to direct investment.
- • African startup funding was broadly flat in H1 2026 at about $1.4 billion across fewer deals, and disclosed media and entertainment funding was roughly $93 million according to one tracker.
Summary
Aries Media Ventures has launched Fund I, its first venture fund, targeting media-technology startups that serve Sub-Saharan Africa, according to Dealroom. The firm, formerly known as Aries Media Project, invests at the angel, pre-seed, and seed stages. The fund size has not been disclosed.
The firm argues that Africa's creative and media sector remains one of the continent's most underfunded startup segments despite its scale. A 2026 analysis estimated the sector at $59 billion and noted it receives less than 1% of regional venture capital. In 2022, when African startups raised over $6.5 billion, digital media ventures captured under 1% of funding while fintech took nearly 40%.
Aries targets tech-enabled businesses at the intersection of media, entertainment, and commerce. It excludes record labels, production companies, and film or TV content, focusing instead on startups with a scalable technology component. Deal sourcing relies on identifying founders pursuing large market opportunities and on partnerships with media companies facing international expansion challenges.
The fund has already invested in three companies. Aktivate, founded by Akinbola Asalu, is a creator marketing platform that has onboarded more than 50,000 verified creators across Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana, and South Africa and served over 800 businesses. HustleSasa operates an events commerce platform, and Book Mahali runs a venue booking and hospitality platform.
Founding general partner Alykhan Kaba spent more than a decade in media and entertainment at Live Nation, Entertainment One, Activision Blizzard, and NBCUniversal, where he is vice president of content strategy for unscripted content. Kaba, a Canadian of Indian heritage whose parents grew up in Tanzania, said that background shaped the fund's thesis. Aries began in 2023 as a professional network connecting media startups in emerging markets with investors in Los Angeles, New York, and London before moving into direct investment. Kaba said: "The investors who understand media don't understand these markets, and the investors who understand these markets don't invest in media."
The broader backdrop is subdued. African startup funding was broadly flat in H1 2026 at about $1.4 billion, spread across fewer deals, which the article characterizes as a sign of more selective investment. Media and entertainment remains a small share, with one tracker putting disclosed sector funding at about $93 million. The article notes that without a disclosed fund size or deployment plans, the fund's impact on the financing gap is hard to judge.
The firm argues that Africa's creative and media sector remains one of the continent's most underfunded startup segments despite its scale. A 2026 analysis estimated the sector at $59 billion and noted it receives less than 1% of regional venture capital. In 2022, when African startups raised over $6.5 billion, digital media ventures captured under 1% of funding while fintech took nearly 40%.
Aries targets tech-enabled businesses at the intersection of media, entertainment, and commerce. It excludes record labels, production companies, and film or TV content, focusing instead on startups with a scalable technology component. Deal sourcing relies on identifying founders pursuing large market opportunities and on partnerships with media companies facing international expansion challenges.
The fund has already invested in three companies. Aktivate, founded by Akinbola Asalu, is a creator marketing platform that has onboarded more than 50,000 verified creators across Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana, and South Africa and served over 800 businesses. HustleSasa operates an events commerce platform, and Book Mahali runs a venue booking and hospitality platform.
Founding general partner Alykhan Kaba spent more than a decade in media and entertainment at Live Nation, Entertainment One, Activision Blizzard, and NBCUniversal, where he is vice president of content strategy for unscripted content. Kaba, a Canadian of Indian heritage whose parents grew up in Tanzania, said that background shaped the fund's thesis. Aries began in 2023 as a professional network connecting media startups in emerging markets with investors in Los Angeles, New York, and London before moving into direct investment. Kaba said: "The investors who understand media don't understand these markets, and the investors who understand these markets don't invest in media."
The broader backdrop is subdued. African startup funding was broadly flat in H1 2026 at about $1.4 billion, spread across fewer deals, which the article characterizes as a sign of more selective investment. Media and entertainment remains a small share, with one tracker putting disclosed sector funding at about $93 million. The article notes that without a disclosed fund size or deployment plans, the fund's impact on the financing gap is hard to judge.
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