When David Lanre Messan and Samuel Kemeshi launched FirstFounders, they set out to deviate from the standard startup accelerator model. Operating as a venture studio, the firm’s mandate is centred on the “pre-idea” and earliest R&D stages. For this bootstrapped VC firm, the mission goes beyond immediate returns; it is about equipping dreamers with the physical and intellectual resources to build lasting solutions to Africa’s most pressing challenges.
Over the past five years, FirstFounders has supported more than 1,000 builders through its studio and the F2Nation community. With a current portfolio of six startups—including PocketLawyers and KorinAI, Africa’s first AI music lab—the studio has deployed over $1 million in value to support founders building category-defining solutions. However, its most definitive success story to date lies in its early backing of Maxwell Maduka and Nathan Nwachuku, the minds behind what is now the defense-tech giant, Terra Industries.
Terra Industries’ First Believer: Supporting the R&D Phase
In 2023, Maxwell Maduka (CTO) and Nathan Nwachuku (CEO) co-founded TerraHaptix (now Terra Industries) with an ambitious mission: to develop affordable bionic solutions for people with disabilities. Hardware is notoriously difficult in Africa due to infrastructure gaps, and during this high-risk prototyping phase, FirstFounders acted as a critical launchpad.
Rather than a simple capital injection, the studio provided the essential physical and strategic infrastructure necessary to move a hardware concept toward reality. Operating out of the FirstFounders studio in Yaba, Lagos, the team was given the space to fail, iterate, and succeed.
Within eight months, the Terra team achieved significant milestones:
- Rapid Prototyping: They designed custom PCBs and secured 40 pre-orders valued at $80,000.
- Strategic Partnerships: They secured a partnership with Igbobi Orthopaedic Hospital to supply 300–500 units annually.
- Real-World Testing: FirstFounders Partner Samuel Kemeshi leveraged his network to connect the team with an amputee volunteer for critical bionic prototype trials.
- Mentorship: CEO David Lanre Messan provided the high-level mentorship required to navigate the complex early-stage business landscape.
The Pivot: From Bionics to Autonomous Defense
The venture studio environment often serves as a laboratory for business model evolution. To support their early prototyping, FirstFounders embedded the Terra team within its dedicated R&D space in Alagomeji, Yaba.
It was here that the founders made their strategic pivot. Recognizing the urgent need for security infrastructure in Nigeria and across the continent, the team shifted focus from bionics to autonomous drone surveillance. Leveraging the studio’s resources to refine their new intelligence monitoring model, they transformed from TerraHaptix into Terra Industries, focusing on developing the ArtemisOS software and indigenous hardware for defense.
Onwards and Forwards: The $11.75M Seed Round
Today, Maduka and Nwachuku have built one of the most significant defense startups in Africa, shattering the narrative that African startups are incapable of developing globally competitive hardware.
This success was cemented by their recent announcement of an $11.75 million seed round—one of the largest seed rounds in African tech history. The round was led by 8VC, a prominent US venture capital firm founded by Palantir co-founder Joe Lonsdale. The raise also saw participation from top-tier global investors, including:
- Valor Equity Partners
- Lux Capital
- Silent Ventures
- Leblon Capital
- Nova Global
- Angel investors Alex Moore (8VC) and Meyer “Micky” Malka.
For FirstFounders, the success of Terra Industries serves as a definitive proof of concept for the venture studio model in Africa. By providing R&D space, technical support, and advisory services when a startup is little more than a sketch on a napkin, the studio bridges the gap between raw talent and global venture readiness.
True to its name, FirstFounders remains committed to being the ‘first believer’ in entrepreneurs who are intentional about solving Africa’s biggest challenges.
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