Partech Ventures has just launched the Partech Africa fund, which aims for an investment capacity of 100 million euros. It is the first of its size dedicated solely to financing African digital start-ups.
The Partech Africa fund which will put down its suitcases in Dakar. The fund has raised more than 57 million in commitments from numerous investors including IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, the European Investment Bank, Proparco and Bpifrance.
The fund will be dedicated to the financing of early stage technology companies, with initial tickets ranging from 500.000 euros to 5 million euros. In total, between 20 and 30 start-ups will constitute Partech Africa’s portfolio.
Its goal is to support founders of agile companies that use technology and innovative business models to solve fundamental problems in Africa, in sectors ranging from financial inclusion (Fintech, InsurTech, new distribution models) to services mobile and online (commerce, leisure, education, health, digital services), as well as the mobility, supply chain and digitization of the informal economy.
Indeed, from year to year, these sectors are attracting a growing amount of capital recalls Cyril Collon, former vice president of sales for Europe and Africa of Verscom Solutions and today General Partner of Partech Africa the same title as his Senegalese partner Tidjane Deme, himself former director of Google in French-speaking Africa during 7 years.
For Cyril Collon the maturity reached in a few years by the African tech market reassures and attracts a growing number of investors.
“Early stage investments in Africa, with 200.000 tickets running at 40 millions of dollars, have almost been multiplied by 10, from 40 in 2012 to 367 in 2016,” he said.
