Mbwana Ailly

Mbwana Alliy is the Founder and Managing Partner of Savannah Fund, one of the earliest Africa-focused technology venture capital funds. He holds a bachelor's degree in Electrical & Communications Engineering from the University of Bristol (UK) and an MBA from Stanford Graduate School of Business (2007). Before moving into venture capital, he worked as a software and aerospace systems engineer for technology companies in Silicon Valley and the United Kingdom, including Microsoft and the UK's Defence Evaluation and Research Agency (DERA).

Prior to founding Savannah Fund, Alliy was an associate at i/o Ventures, a San Francisco early-stage seed fund and accelerator, where he sourced deals and mentored founders. That experience shaped his decision to bring a Silicon Valley–style accelerator and seed model to Africa as a "homegrown" investor.

He co-founded Savannah Fund in 2012 with Paul Bragiel (co-founder of i/o Ventures and a partner at Golden Gate Ventures in Singapore). The firm launched as a three-month accelerator writing ~$30,000 checks into mobile and internet startups across sub-Saharan Africa, before transitioning fully into a venture capital model in 2016. In March 2021, Savannah Fund announced a new ~$25 million fund to back startups at seed and Series A, roughly doubling its check sizes. The firm has since raised Savannah Fund II, whose first close drew institutional backers including the IFC ($3 million) and the Women Entrepreneurs Finance Initiative (WeFi, $500,000).

• Invests at pre-seed through Series A, with checks ranging from ~$50,000 up to $1 million and typical first checks of $150,000–$250,000.
• Requires at least one technically strong co-founder on the team.
• Looks for large addressable markets, particularly in frontier/emerging regions, and companies that can scale regionally and globally.
• Strong emphasis on founder ambition: *"I know it might sound cliché, but we really want founders in our portfolio to think big enough, and we will help them get there."*
• Believes focus beats over-expansion: *"Focus is vital for startups, especially early on… too many attempt excessive expansion too rapidly."*
• Notable emphasis on diversity and impact — Savannah Fund reports roughly 46% female-founder representation in its portfolio and an ESG focus.
• Sector-agnostic within tech, with concentration in fintech, edtech, logistics, e-commerce, SaaS, health tech, and agritech.