Who financed the Age of Exploration intially?

Portugal was the first nation to begin the process during the Age of Exploration. Portuguese began by exploring the Atlantic coast of Africa from 1418 under the sponsorship of Prince Henry.

During the Age of exploration, Rulers were mostly the sponsors of voyages. They saw this as a medium to make more wealth for themselves, to acquire more lands, to gain power in the territory they discovered and conquered, they also use the opportunity to spread Christianity across the globe as this was and still is the primary religion in Europe.