We catalyze early stage investments to unlock innovation in Congo’s nascent startup ecosystem

A venture builder

Congo River Capital backs exceptional founders building the financial and market infrastructure powering the DRC's next decade of growth.

We invest early, with conviction, in one of Africa's largest and most undercapitalized economies.

Our thesis

We prioritize companies that grow through partnerships, disciplined capital use, and clear pathways to commercial sustainability.

Financial infrastructure

Companies that improve how money moves, gets stored, and gets deployed across the economy.

Payments infrastructure
Credit and lending tools
Financial infrastructure layers

Market infrastructure

Companies that digitize commerce, services, and capital flows that drive everyday economic life.

Critical metals supply chain digitization
SME enablement and operations
Market access and distribution

How we build

We embed deeply with founding teams and build every company using MIT's 24-step Disciplined Entrepreneurship methodology, turning early conviction into a structured path to scale.

Social capital

Connect founders and startups to relevant stakeholders

Technical capital

Provide teams with the human capital needed to develop their ideas

Financial capital

Unlock access to the funding necessary for growth

Market intel

Highlight opportunities and map out the ecosystem with real‑time data

Our portfolio

Compliant invoicing and payment operating system for businesses.
Digital bookkeeping and POS for the merchant economy.
Corporate card and expense management for enterprises.
Traceability infrastructure for critical metals supply chain.
Stablecoins settlement for importers.

Partners

Our team

Colette Bishogo
Principal
Colette leads compliance, financial controls, and institutional engagement. She previously led cash-distribution and mobile money programs for GiveDirectly in rural DRC, after beginning her career at Citigroup.
Milain Fayulu
Principal
Milain leads venture building, strategy, and operations. He has built several companies and his graduate research quantifies how social capital concentrates venture capital in a handful of African countries.
Ed-Martin Fayulu
Principal
Ed-Martin leads partnerships and relationship-building across the DRC. He is a serial entrepreneur with operating experience across agriculture, food, and hospitality in the DRC and Republic of Congo.