US-based VC firm Partech Ventures launched a €100m ($123m) fund on Thursday targeting the pan-African ecosystem, with backers including telecoms firm Orange, corporate services provider Edenred and outdoor advertising firm JCDecaux.
The fund, Partech Africa, has achieved an initial close of more than $70m. Its limited partners also include International Finance Corporation, the private sector investment arm of the multilateral World Bank and the EU-owned financial institution European Investment Bank.
Averroès Finance III, a fund of funds managed by French state-owned investment bank Bpifrance and backed by Proparco, a development financial institution partly owned by the government’s French Development Agency, has also committed cash to the fund.
Partech Africa will focus on early-stage companies, supplying between €500,000 and €5m to startups in a wide range of sectors, including fintech and insurance technology, mobile consumers services such as entertainment and e-commerce, supply chain services and mobility.
Partech Africa will be headed by Cyril Collon and Tidjane Dème, who have both been promoted to general partners. The fund will operate out of newly opened offices in Dakar, Senegal.
Pierre Louette, deputy chief executive of Orange and chairman of its corporate venturing arm Orange Digital Investment, said: “As a leading enabler of the African tech Industry, Orange is strongly pushing for next pan-African digital champions to emerge and grow.
“Our commitment to Partech Africa is a critical component of our larger Orange Digital Ventures Africa initiative which aims to accelerate the growth and scalability of innovative tech-enabled businesses.”