For founders. For the diaspora. For serious capital.
A structured way to invest in Africa.
Built through real on-the-ground execution across African markets — connecting diaspora and global capital to vetted opportunities, trusted operators, and long-term value.
Our team is already on the ground across African markets — and available for paid advisory engagements today.
Welcome — wherever you're reading this from. Built for the African diaspora across 15+ countries.
Where we work today · Tap a country to see its projects
Where We've Been. Where We're Going.
Two tracks across one continent — our active deal pipeline today in Ghana, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Kenya and Rwanda, and this July's Investment Deal Tour across Namibia, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Mozambique and Tanzania.
Where we've been
- Founded as the diaspora bridge to African opportunity
- Partnered with Altura for deal-sourcing & diligence
- Built a vetted pipeline of African factories & founders
Where we're going
- Investment Deal Tour 2026 — commencing July across 5 markets
- Cameras to the factory floor: founder stories, broadcast worldwide
- Connecting vetted operators with global diaspora capital
Active Pipeline
Deal Tour 2026
Back real businesses across Africa.
Africa's farms and factories are ready to grow, but they struggle to get funding. At the same time, many people in the diaspora want a meaningful way to invest back home. Afrikey is being built to connect the two.
Hold equity in a single business (planned)
We're building a way for verified accredited investors to hold equity in one vetted business through a dedicated SPV — without acquiring the whole company. Any future offering would be made only through formal documents.
See where things stand
You'll be able to follow each business's progress and reporting clearly and openly.
Follows U.S. rules
Any future investment will follow U.S. securities law and be open only to verified accredited investors, with proper paperwork.
Our focus
The Daily Wire.
Live headlines from across Africa's agro-industrial economy — agribusiness, processing, manufacturing, and the capital flowing into them. Refreshed throughout the day from independent sources.
How it works.
From a farm or factory in Africa to your account — here's how it works, step by step.
We find and check
Our local team finds promising farms and factories and checks them carefully before we ever consider them.
We divide it into shares
We turn each business into digital shares, so you can own a small, clearly-defined part of it.
You invest and follow along
Once we launch, verified investors will be able to invest with the proper paperwork and follow how their project is doing.
"Each business sits in its own dedicated SPV, with independent oversight and clear reporting at every step — so investors always know how things stand."
African Manufacturers — Building Africa's Future
An invitation to African factory owners & founders. We bring our cameras to your factory and share your story with a wide audience — helping connect you with investors across the diaspora. Starting July 2026.
We're looking for
- Agro-Processing
- Plastic & Packaging Manufacturing
- Construction Materials Manufacturing
- Mineral Value Addition & Industrial Processing
- FMCG & Consumer Goods Manufacturing
Selected companies will
- Host Afrikey-led factory visits & livestreams
- Be featured in our documentary series
- Founder spotlight reels across TikTok, Reels & YouTube
- Connect with investors across the diaspora
- Reach audiences across Africa and the diaspora
- Meet potential partners for growth
Send us a video (under 2 minutes): why we should showcase your factory and why you want to partner with Afrikey. Filmed on your phone is fine — strong submissions may be featured ahead of the tour. Apply below, then email your video to maria@iafrikey.com.
Sectors Under Evaluation
Edible-Oil Processing Facility
Ethiopia
Cocoa Processing Plant
Ghana
Shea Butter Production
Ghana
Cold Storage & Dried Fruit
Rwanda
Opportunities are first evaluated on the ground by our senior advisor Sintayehu Gochel Birru in Addis Ababa — 28+ years across project finance, international trade, and agro-processing — before being handed to our due-diligence team for full underwriting.
Engage Us Directly — Today
The platform is still being built. Our operating team is already at work.
While the investment platform is still in development, our team is already in seven African markets — sourcing acquisitions, overseeing portfolios, and structuring capital for diaspora investors and family offices who want to move now.
We don't write reports. We make decisions and execute them with you.
Strategy Session
Starts with a free 20-min qualifying call. The paid 60-min session with Jesse is $350 — credited toward any engagement signed within 60 days.
Acquisitions
We find, vet, structure, and close African business acquisitions for diaspora buyers.
Learn MoreCapital Advisory
Deal structuring and capital placement for African operators and diaspora investors.
Learn MoreReal equity in real businesses
Here's the model we're building: a regulated equity stake in a single, vetted African business, held through a dedicated SPV and structured to follow U.S. securities law. Any future offering would be made only to verified accredited investors through formal documents.
The idea
Equity in a single, vetted business — not the whole company
The rules
Would follow U.S. securities law, with verification for every investor
What it represents
A defined ownership stake, with rights set out in formal documents
Oversight
Independent third-party audits (planned)
For the first time, someone in Atlanta can hold a verified equity stake in a real African business — structured, vetted, and built for the long term.
— Jesse Lesuer, Founder
Built on structure,
not promises
A regulated framework designed for transparency and oversight at every step. It is not a guarantee of returns or protection against loss — investing always carries risk, including the possible loss of capital.
Our long-term goal is to help mobilize $250 million of diaspora capital into vetted African businesses.
This is our long-term goal for the company — not an offer to invest, a forecast of returns, or a description of anything available today.
Our partnership with Altura
Afrikey is backed by Altura, an experienced private-equity firm. Altura finds and checks the businesses — today in Ghana, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Kenya, and Rwanda — and helps manage them. Afrikey handles the technology, sign-ups, and following the rules.
Independent custody & SPV structure
Each business would sit in its own dedicated SPV, so it stands on its own. For any future offering, investor funds are planned to be held by established third-party custodians and administrators — not by Afrikey directly.
This structure is designed for transparency and clear segregation of assets. It does not eliminate investment risk or guarantee any outcome.
Commitment
Via formal offering documents
Dedicated SPV
One company per business
Independent custody
Third-party administrators (planned)
African businesses
Vetted farms & factories
Our plan ahead.
A simple timeline of what we're building and when — step by step.
Launch the platform
Open our secure investor portal where you can sign up and follow your investments.
Our first investment (targeted)
We aim to back our first food-processing business — an established operation with proven buyers for its products — while reviewing others in Ghana, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Kenya, and Rwanda. Subject to regulatory approval and investor verification.
Grow and add a way to sell
Back more food-processing businesses, grow to five active projects, and add a marketplace where investors can buy and sell their shares.
Leadership Team
The founder and in-country advisors behind every deal — bridging two continents.
Jesse Lesuer
CEO & Founder — Afrikey · Founder — Altura PE
Jesse Lesuer has spent more than 20 years building, buying, and growing companies. He began his career helping run one of the era's largest corporate technology projects — The Vanguard Group's $50 million Y2K program — coordinating budgets, vendors, and deadlines across a huge, high-stakes operation. Keeping complex projects on track has shaped how he has worked ever since.
By age 27 he was developing and investing in real estate across several U.S. states. Over the next two decades he bought, improved, and sold businesses in a range of industries — learning each one from the inside. He founded Altura PE to invest with that same hands-on approach, and created Afrikey to bring it to carefully vetted farms and factories across Africa, opening up a market most U.S. investors cannot reach on their own.
KPMG will serve as our auditor.
Bringing Big Four audit and assurance standards to Afrikey's reporting as we scale.
Advisors
Seasoned operators on the ground informing every deal we underwrite.
Sintayehu Gochel Birru
Senior Advisor — Business Evaluation & Origination, Ethiopia
Our in-country advisor responsible for the first-pass evaluation of opportunities in Ethiopia and the wider African pipeline. Sintayehu visits operators, reviews feasibility, and qualifies deals on the ground before handing vetted candidates to our due-diligence team for full underwriting. Addis Ababa–based finance and trade veteran with 28+ years across banking, project finance, manufacturing, and agro-processing. Formerly Project & Relationship Manager at Commercial Bank of Ethiopia, Branch Manager at NIB International and Wegagen Bank (overseeing 105+ staff and ETB 32M+ in branch profits), and Manager of Project Finance & Trade at Kerchanshe — Ethiopia's largest coffee exporter. Currently General Manager at GDSG Import Export P.L.C., leading industrial and agro-processing projects with teams of up to 200.
MBA, Project Management — Indian Institute of Business Management · B.A. Economics — Addis Ababa University
Additional advisory appointments across Ghana, Nigeria, Kenya, and Rwanda to be announced as deal flow opens in each market.
Frequently Asked Questions
Not sure where to start?
Tell us what you're looking for.
Pick what brings you here and we'll point you the right way — and you can add any specific questions in the form. It goes straight to the right person on our team.
Which One Are You?
Read carefully — these are very different roles. Pick the one that describes you, not the one that sounds closest. Each path goes to a different team.
Important: All submissions are confidential. By submitting you consent to be contacted by Afrikey regarding your inquiry. This website is informational only and does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation to buy any security. Any future offerings will be made solely under SEC Regulation D Rule 506(c) via formal offering documents to verified accredited investors.
Please read before going further
Afrikey is committed to clear, compliant communication. The following applies to everything on this site.
No offer or solicitation
This website is for general informational and educational purposes only. Nothing on it is an offer to sell, or a solicitation of an offer to buy, any security, and it should not be relied upon in connection with any investment decision. Any securities offering by Afrikey would be made only to verified accredited investors under Rule 506(c) of Regulation D, and only through formal offering documents.
Risk of loss
Investing involves risk, including the possible loss of the entire amount invested. The opportunities and strategies described may not be suitable for every investor and are not guaranteed by Afrikey, Altura, or any affiliate. There is no assurance that any objective will be achieved.
Not advice
Nothing on this website is investment, legal, tax, or accounting advice. You should consult your own professional advisors about your particular circumstances before making any decision.
No performance promises
Past performance is not indicative of future results. Any figures, targets, or timelines shown — including the $250M long-term goal — are aspirational, describe the company's long-term plans, and do not describe anything available today.
Forward-looking statements
Statements about plans, expectations, or future performance are forward-looking and subject to risks and uncertainties; actual results may differ materially. Afrikey undertakes no obligation to update them.
Representative information
Any businesses, pipeline, or transactions shown are illustrative of the type of opportunities Afrikey pursues and may not reflect actual or future holdings.
Afrikey, Inc. — informational purposes only. This is not an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any security. Securities, if offered, are offered only to verified accredited investors pursuant to Rule 506(c) of Regulation D under the Securities Act of 1933, and only by means of formal offering documents that contain complete information about risks, fees, and terms.