“I was building something I believed in, but I didn’t know if my business would survive long enough to prove it.”
That’s how Cladfy Founder Ebby Gatamu described the early days of her startup journey. Like many entrepreneurs across Africa, she wasn’t just launching a business — she was challenging entrenched systems, introducing unfamiliar technologies, and trying to solve problems no one else had dared to tackle. But belief alone doesn’t pay the bills. Without flexible, patient funding, even the most promising ventures risk stalling before they ever take flight.
The FINCA Ventures Prize Competition was launched to meet this need head-on, providing promising African founders a platform to compete for catalytic funding and essential visibility and support. It’s designed to give entrepreneurs the breathing room to experiment, learn, and build momentum toward scalable impact.
At the 2025 award ceremony in September, two of the finalists from this year’s competition — Ebby and Esther Kimani of Farmer Lifeline Technologies — shared perspectives on their entrepreneurial journeys and explained how early-stage funding can make or break a venture. Ebby described the emotional and strategic weight of patient capital as not only a financial tool but a vote of confidence that allows founders to lay the groundwork for long-term success.
Esther reflected on the structural barriers faced by young entrepreneurs, including limited access to credit and collateral. Both women emphasized how catalytic support from initiatives like the FINCA Ventures Prize gives founders a window of opportunity to sharpen their models and explore new possibilities as their businesses grow.
The panel, moderated by FINCA Ventures Investment Committee member Tahira Dosani, was one of many moments during the event that showcased its spirit as both a launchpad for emerging ventures competing to win $400,000 in funding and a platform for dialogue and connection. By bringing together founders, investors, and thought leaders, the competition creates space for honest conversations about what it takes to build resilient businesses in complex environments.
Watch the clip below to hear firsthand about the importance of patient capital from these two FVPC finalists working on the frontlines of inclusive innovation.
Ebby Gatamu of Cladfy won second place in the Fintech for Financial Inclusion category, and Esther Kimani of Farmer Lifeline Technologies won first place in the Climate-Smart Agriculture category. To learn more about their winning ventures, check out these videos: Cladfy and Farmer Lifeline Technologies.
