Partech Closes $263 Million For its Second Africa Tech Fund

Global investor, Partech, has successfully raised €245 million ($263 million) in their first close for their second AfricaTech Fund, exceeding their goal of €230 million.

The partners at Partech initially aimed to raise a maximum of €230 million for their second fund, with a hard cap set at €280 million. However, the initial close of €245 million has exceeded these expectations.

“This would not have been possible without the trust and the support from our major existing investors. We are honoured that top-tier global institutions and strategic commercial investors have decided to back Partech Africa II,” said Partech Africa’s general manager, Cyril Collon.

Investors contributing to the fund so far are as follows:

• Bertelsmann
• South Suez Capital
• KfW
• European Investment Bank
• International Finance Corporation (IFC)
• Dutch Development Bank (FMO)
• British International Investment
• Bpifrance Investissement
• Proparco
• DEG – Deutsche Investitions – und Entwicklungsgesellschaft

The fund’s general partner, Tidjane Dème, added “With Partech Africa II, our investment thesis is actually to pursue the successful strategy of our first fund. We launched this strategy when less than $400M were invested annually in equity on the continent.”

The Partech Africa II fund aims to invest between $1 million to $15 million per startup, providing capital support ranging from seed to growth stage.

It’s worth mentioning that the investment range for Partech Africa II is larger compared to the first fund which invested €0.5 million to €5 million ($418,000 – $4.2 million based on current exchange rates) per startup.

The first Partech Africa fund, which launched in 2018 with €125 million, has supported 17 African startups in 9 different countries. Given that the successor fund has exceeded its funding goal, it appears that African venture capital is attracting more global attention compared to previous years.

Some of the African startups that Partech has previously invested in are:

• Tugende
• TerraPay
• Freterium
• Gebeya
• Nomba
• Vendease
• TradeDepot
• Wave
• Yoco
• Djamo
• MoneyFellows
• Almentornet
• Reliance Health

The Partech Africa fund portfolio played a significant role in attracting 10% of Africa’s total venture capital investment in 2021 and 2022. To maintain its reputation and provide valuable insights into the African market, the fund has released in-depth reports on Africa’s venture capital and technology ecosystem.

“African tech companies are now raising $6 billion annually validating our early commitment beyond any expectations. Still, we know there are many more champions to build in Africa and we are ready to support them,” said Dème.