NAIROBI, Kenya,June 3– Treadway Investment Bank and Invasion Limited have unveiled a new startup incubation platform targeting African entrepreneurs, backed by a $1.25 billion (Sh161 billion) funding commitment over the next five years as the partners seek to address persistent financing gaps facing early-stage businesses across the continent.
Dubbed Project Falcon, the initiative will provide funding, mentorship, business development support and incubation services to entrepreneurs at the pre-seed stage, with a focus on transforming innovative ideas into commercially viable enterprises.
The program comes amid growing investor interest in Africa’s startup ecosystem, which continues to face challenges including limited access to capital, high business setup costs and market-entry barriers.
Under the arrangement, Treadway Investment Bank will be responsible for sourcing entrepreneurs from across Africa and supporting them with business planning, investor presentations, product development, market launches and strategic partnerships with Chinese manufacturers and investors.
Invasion Limited, meanwhile, will provide what it terms as “smart capital” funding, combining financial support with strategic guidance aimed at helping startups scale sustainably.
The first incubation hub is scheduled to open in Sandton, South Africa, on July 1, offering participating startups access to fully serviced office space.
The partners said additional incubation centres will be established in other African markets based on demand, including a planned facility in Nairobi.
Project Falcon will target a broad range of consumer-focused sectors including fashion, beauty products, consumer electronics, green technology, artificial intelligence, pharmaceuticals, gaming, renewable energy, agriculture and food processing.
To finance the initiative, Invasion Limited has committed $250 million (about Sh32 billion) annually over the next five years, amounting to a total investment of $1.25 billion (Sh161 billion).
Speaking during the launch, Treadway Chairman Wen Liu linked the project to broader efforts aimed at strengthening trade and investment relations between Africa and China.
“As we are busy preparing for the first Annual Africa-China Investment & Trade Conference (ACICT) to be held in Guangzhou in September, Project Falcon is by far the best investment extension of our efforts to bolster trade relations between Chinese manufacturers, investors and traders and African businesses,” said Liu.
According to Liu,the initiative differs from traditional startup accelerators by providing support at the idea stage.
“African entrepreneurs must take this opportunity seriously because this is a different kind of incubation platform. Project Falcon comes with guaranteed funding for winning ideas, and it is one of a kind because it invests at the idea stage.”
Liu noted that the company’s leadership appointments and investments underscore its long-term interest in Africa’s economic development.
The launch highlights growing efforts by international investors to deepen engagement with Africa’s entrepreneurial sector, particularly through programs that combine capital with technical and operational support.
For Kenya, the planned Nairobi incubation hub could strengthen the country’s position as a regional innovation centre by providing local entrepreneurs with access to funding, manufacturing networks and international investors at the earliest stages of business development.
Industry data shows that while African startups continue to attract global investor attention, access to seed and pre-seed financing remains one of the biggest hurdles facing entrepreneurs.
