The first closing was announced in February 2024 for a value of €245 million, now Partech, a technology investment company, announces the final closing of its second fund for Africa, Partech Africa II, with a hard cap of €280 million (over $300 million), the opening of a new office in Lagos and the hiring of additional team members. Partech Africa II thus reaches the final close at €280 million (over $300 million) with all the major investors of the previous fund, but also with top-tier investors who have committed to the Partech Africa platform and the African VC ecosystem for the first time. This final close, which saw oversubscriptions, provided an opportunity to attract new categories of global institutions, particularly US and Middle Eastern pension funds and sovereign wealth funds. In addition, new strategic investors Africa Re and Dubai Future District Fund (DFDF) join Partech Africa’s early backers: Orange, AXIAN Investment and the African Development Bank Group (AFDB).
International Investors
Overall, the fund has attracted the support of a diverse group of more than 40 international investors, from commercial investors such as South Suez and Bertelsmann to family offices and major development finance institutions (DFIs). The DFIs together include anchor investor KfW, the German Development Bank, the European Investment Bank (EIB), the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, FMO, the Dutch bank for business development, Bpifrance Investissement, British International Investment (BII), the British institution for development finance and impact investor, DEG – Deutsche Investitions – und Entwicklungsgesellschaft mbH and Proparco. “We are grateful for the support and commitment of our investors: almost all Fund I investors have reinvested and some have more than doubled their commitment,” Cyril Collon, general partner at Partech, said in a statement . We are also honored to receive support from a new set of strategic investors from the U.S., the Middle East and Africa, and for some of whom this represents their first engagement in African-tech.” Partech Africa II will double its investment strategy across Africa with initial fees ranging from $1 million to $15 million for seed to Series C rounds, to support African companies and founders on their growth journey in both local and international markets. The Fund already has three investments in its portfolio: a real estate platform in Egypt, a payment orchestration startup in South Africa and an e-commerce platform in Senegal. The team plans to build a portfolio of more than 20 companies across the continent. “We are also expanding our team and our presence on the continent. We are thrilled that senior investment officer Tito Cookey-Gam has joined the team, to open our office in Lagos, home to nearly a third of our portfolio – adds Tidjane Deme, general partner at Partech -. With our presence in Dakar, Nairobi, Dubai and now in Lagos, we are strengthening our support for entrepreneurs on the ground.” In addition to this expansion, Partech Africa is actively recruiting a senior portfolio strategy & operations profile to lead value creation and exit construction, and a Lagos-based investment analyst. The announcement of Partech Africa II’s permanent closure comes in the context of a 50% decrease in the number of active investors in Africa’s tech ecosystem, as highlighted in Partech’s recent 2023 Africa Tech Venture Capital report. “In this context,” comments Collon. – , the ability to anchor rounds at all stages, from seed to early growth, is more critical than ever. This reinforces our mission to enable the emergence of technology companies that will create transformative value for African economies and shape the future of innovation globally.”
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