France-based education-focused venture capital fund Educapital has reached the €45m ($53.1m) first close of a fund that includes several corporate limited partners.
Children’s retailer IdKids, business-to-business services provider Econocom and publishers Bayard and Hachette Livre joined French state-owned investment bank Bpifrance and investment fund Education for the Many as well as undisclosed other LPs in backing the fund.
Educapital will invest in 15 education technology developers, primarily across Europe, and will focus on opportunities in France and Israel. It will consider startups in a wide range of fields, from primary school education to corporate training.
The firm is managed by partners Litzie Maarek, who has been investment director of Bpifrance’s Large Venture Fund since 2013, and Marine-Christine Levet, founder and former CEO of search engine provider Lycos.
– The original version of this article appeared on our sister site, Global Government Venturing.