Six Degrees Fund I — Cohort 1
128 African SMEs. Four countries. One emerging investment pipeline.
Every figure below comes from the Cohort 1 application data — submissions received between 19 May and 7 July 2026.
128
Applications
Unique enterprise submissions
4
Countries
Kenya, South Africa, Nigeria, Cameroon
~$7.2M
Total funding ask
Requested by all 128 applicants
1,158
Jobs supported
By the 128 businesses today
Raise progress against the cohort ask
The 128 applicants collectively requested approximately $7.2 million. Of that total ask, $3.1 million has been raised so far — the figure below is progress against the ask, not a fund size or a committed target.
Median ask $40,000 · Average ask $56,250 · 52 applicants (41%) requested $25K–$50K.
$3,100,000
Raised to date
of $7,200,000 total ask
43% of the cohort funding ask · remaining ask $4,100,000
Where the applicants are
- Kenya92 · 72%
- South Africa22 · 17%
- Nigeria12 · 9%
- Cameroon1 · 1%
- Unspecified1 · 1%
100% of applicants operate in sub-Saharan Africa. 62 of the 128 applications (48%) arrived on the 3 July deadline day.
Funding requested
- < $25K29 · 23%
- $25K – $50K52 · 41%
- $50K – $100K19 · 15%
- $100K – $250K16 · 13%
- $250K – $500K6 · 5%
- > $500K3 · 2%
2 applicants (2%) were unsure of their ask; 1 (1%) unspecified.
Quality of the pipeline
72%
Revenue generating
Annual revenue above zero
44%
Investment ready
Rated 5/5 on readiness score
76/100
Business health score
Average across applicants
30%
Female founders
Plus 8% mixed founding teams
Business health score — average 76/100
- Governance & compliance83
- Leadership & team81
- Financial management72
- Sales & market access69
- Operations efficiency61
- Technology & digital maturity58
The capital gap
Average funding need against average availability, by ticket band. Based on applicant estimates.
| Band | Need | Available | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| < $25K | $17,000 | $7,000 | $10,000 |
| $25K – $50K | $37,000 | $12,000 | $25,000 |
| $50K – $100K | $72,000 | $20,000 | $52,000 |
| $100K – $250K | $152,000 | $35,000 | $117,000 |
| $250K+ | $612,000 | $78,000 | $534,000 |
Biggest challenges reported
Top reasons selected by applicants.
- Access to capital / financing88%
- Market access / sales41%
- Technology / digital tools34%
- Operations / supply chain23%
- Finding & retaining talent19%
- Financial management17%
- Regulatory & compliance12%
Progress since the cohort closed
Loading live platform data…
The application snapshot above is fixed to Cohort 1. These figures keep moving as more founders apply, complete readiness work and convert reviews into mandates, data rooms and financial reconstructions.
—
Applications to date
Across — countries
—
Average readiness now
Current platform average
—
Businesses that improved
Score increased after support
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Advisory mandates
— active engagements
—
Data rooms in build
— documents filed
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Reviews shared
Assessment reports issued to founders
Where your business fits
Cohort 1 showed the pattern clearly: capital follows evidence. If your numbers, governance and documentation are not yet assessable, start with a readiness review.