Europe-based VC firm expands to Africa to help develop talents and businesses in the region
$850 million Europe-based VC firm Partech Ventures has launched Partech Africa, a $120 million seed fund to invest $.6m to $6.1m in promising African teams using technology to solve massive problems in emerging markets.
The Africa fund will target industries ranging from Financial Inclusion (Fintech, InsurTech, new distribution models) to online and mobile consumer services (commerce, entertainment, education, digital services), as well as mobility, supply chain services and digitization of the informal economy.
Partech Ventures announced in an official statement that the Africa fund has successfully closed $70 million in commitments so far from institutional investment partners led by International Finance Corporation (IFC) the development arm of the World Bank, European Investment Bank (EIB) and corporate partners such as telecoms giant Orange. The VC firm said it is still raising and plans to reach its $120 million mark.
Though investments in African start-ups have continued to increase over the years culminating in $195 million last year according to tech news Disrupt Africa, there still exists a gulf in seed funding for young entrepreneurs and technology up starts. According to polls gathered last year by tech news site Enterprise54 and entrepreneurship training firm Leap Africa, lack of funding ranks first on the list of challenges of entrepreneurs in Nigeria.
Commenting on the launch of Partech Africa, Chief Executive Officer of IFC, Philippe Le Houérou said: “Africa’s population is overwhelmingly young. It has lots of people with strong tech skills and innovative ideas that could improve lives. But they lack the necessary funding. We think the Partech Africa fund will make an important contribution to closing this funding gap and driving entrepreneurship and growth.”
Partech Africa opened offices in Dakar, Senegal and has begun operations seeking promising technology teams to invest in.
Two African technology veterans, Cyril Collon who held various executive positions at global mobile & internet solution companies, with a consistent focus on Africa & the Middle East, and Tidjane Dème who spent 7+ years in executive roles at Google in Africa and led YouTube’s strategy in the region, have also been appointed to manage the Africa fund.
Partech Africa Fund: VC firm launches 0 million seed fund for African tech start-ups
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