Partech, a Paris-based investment firm specializing in digital and tech companies across various growth stages, has expanded its reach to Dakar, Nairobi, Dubai, Berlin, and Lagos.
Partech Africa focuses on nurturing African startups from seed to early stages, providing crucial support to struggling ventures.
Partech Africa II marks one of the VC’s three funds launched within the past two years, succeeding Partech Africa I, which concluded in 2018 with $143 million. The VC’s portfolio reportedly serves over 1 million merchants and 20 million end users in Africa.
The first close of Partech Africa II saw contributions from limited partners such as the German Development Bank, anchor investor KfW, and the International Finance Corporation (IFC). Tidjane Deme, Partech’s general partner, outlined plans to primarily allocate the second fund towards Series A and B rounds, with potential Series C funding ranging from $1 million to $15 million.
Deme highlighted the expanded team’s ability to effectively deploy capital and provide support to portfolio companies at various stages of their growth journey.
Furthermore, Deme clarified that companies from the first fund may receive follow-on capital from that fund but not from the second one.
Partech Africa I’s investments spanned 17 Series A and B startups across nine countries, aiming for 20–25 investments in approximately ten countries. Notable startups include TradeDepot, Wave, Yoco, Reliance, and Nomba, operating in sectors like fintech, retail and FMCG, agency banking, and health tech.
According to a Partech survey, Africa’s investor activity is expected to decline by 50% in 2023 due to global economic and local challenges, dropping from $4.6 billion to $6.5 billion in 2022 to a projected $2.9 billion to $4.1 billion.
Source: Techpoint