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Mubadala Investment Company, an Abu Dhabi-based sovereign investor, and Bpifrance, the French public investment bank, are jointly investing in global technology investment firm Partech’s latest Africa-focused venture capital fund, Partech Africa II.
This fund commitment is the first investment made by the two entities through their Africa co-investment partnership. Bpifrance is also an investor in Partech’s first Africa fund, which achieved a final close of 125 million Euros ($135.9 million) in January 2019.
Partech Africa II has now reached its hard cap of €280 million, with an official release describing it as the largest venture capital fund dedicated to technology startups in Africa.
The fund will provide $1 million to $15 million initial tickets from Seed to Series C rounds, to support African companies and founders on their growth journey, in both local and international markets, across all sectors.
Andres Rodenas de la Vega, Head of the France Investment Program at Mubadala, said: “Africa is one of the world’s fastest growing markets for venture capital, and we are delighted to announce our first investment through the €350 million Africa co-investment partnership with Bpifrance.”
First announced in 2021, the partnership aimed to deploy up through fund and direct investments in private equity and venture capital, with a focus on high-growth African startups, SMEs, and mid-caps.
Partech Africa I currently comprises a portfolio that operates in 27 countries on the continent, across a large set of sectors from fintech to healthtech, logistics and edtech. This portfolio has attracted more than 10% of the venture capital investments in Africa in 2021 and 2022, a release stated.
(Writing by Bindu Rai, editing by Daniel Luiz)
