The famous global venture capital (VC) firm, Partech, which focuses on startup businesses worldwide, has closed its Africa II fund. The fund closes at an estimated $263 million, making it the largest global African-focused fund.
The first-ever Partech investment in Africa had focused on 17 early-stage businesses across nine countries in Series A and B stages. These 17 businesses functioned in 27 African countries. The firm said it got more than 10 % investment attracted by its African startups within 2021 and 2022.
The general partner at Partech, Tidjane Deme, said “Last year, we went out to raise fund two, and we did it in a very different market. Everything has changed; the deal flow in Africa, especially for Series A and B, has been multiplied by 14 over the last five years.”
The Partech African II fund was estimated to raise $250 million, but it eventually surpassed the intended limit because of interest from limited partners (LPs). Partech claimed that more than 20 million people and 1 million merchants now use its portfolio.
Partech’s fund II goal is to help more than 20 African startups. It aims to double the strategy used for the former fund (fund I); this is contained in Deme’s statement; “The average Series A ticket sizes have grown from $4 million to almost $9 million, and Series B has gone from about $10 million to $25 million. So the market has changed, and we embarked on raising fund II; the strategy is to double down on what we did with the fund I because the market has validated it.”
Partech’s team is across Africa, with offices in Nairobi (Kenya) and Dakar (Senegal). It intends to expand into new territories like Lagos (Nigeria).
