Partech’s Historic $300M Fund Offers A New Era For African Tech Startups

Partech, a global technology investment firm, has closed its second Africa-focused fund, Partech Africa, at over €280 million ($300 million).

Partech Africa 

The achievement surpasses its initial target of €230 million, marking Partech Africa as the largest fund dedicated to African startups​​​​​​.

Partech Africa partners with entrepreneurs who combine technology and operational excellence to address large opportunities across the continent.

The African startup landscape experienced a downturn in investment activities in 2023, with venture capital inflows decreasing to between $2.9 billion and $4.1 billion.

This contrasted the $4.6 billion to $6.5 billion in the previous year. 

This reduction in investments affected all funding stages, with seed and growth stage deals seeing major declines.

The $300M Fund

Partech Africa II, under the leadership of General Partners Cyril Collon and Tidjane Deme, aims to counter these trends by offering support to startups across the continent. 

The fund will invest in over 20 companies, with initial investments ranging from $1 million to $15 million.

Partech Africa wants to support founders at various stages of their journey, from early to later rounds.

“The capacity to anchor rounds at all stages, from seed to early growth, is more critical than ever,” Collon said in a statement.

It will target sectors crucial to Africa’s economic activity, such as fintech, agritech, health tech, retail, and Fast-Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG). 

In an email to Tech Crunch, Deme stated that the VC firm’s expanding team will enable it to effectively deploy capital and offer assistance to portfolio companies across these stages.

However, he confirmed that the firm will deploy most of its second fund between Series A and B rounds.

A Diverse Team Of Investors

The investor base for Partech Africa II includes the KfW German Development Bank, European Investment Bank (EIB), International Finance Corporation (IFC), and Bpifrance Investissement​​​​.

“We are grateful for the support and commitment of our investors: almost all Fund I investors reinvested, and some more than doubled their commitment,” said Collon.

“We are also honored to get the support from a new set of strategic investors from the US, the Middle East and Africa, and for some of whom, this marks their first commitment in African tech.”