Partech’s second Africa fund hits hard cap: Global tech investment firm Partech hasclosed its second Africa-focused fund — dubbed Africa II fund — at over USD 300 mn, it said in a statement(pdf). The close was oversubscribed, hitting the fund’s hard cap — i.e., the maximum capital that it aims to raise.

Where’s the money going? Africa II will invest in tech startups across Africa with initial tickets of USD 1 mn-15 mn in seed to series C funding. The fund will target startups that “use a combination of technology and excellent operations to address some of the hard-to-solve but very large opportunities the continent offers across all sectors,” Partech General Partner Tidjane Deme told Enterprise. “We do not do allocations by country. We will invest across the continent,” he added, explaining that Egypt was the second investment destination for the firm’s first Africa fund.

Who’s on board? The fund’s total 40+ investors include commercial investors as well as a slewof development finance institutions — such as the European Investment Bank, the International Finance Corporation, and British International Investment. The fund also received investments from “all major investors” from Partech’s first Africa fund and attracted US and Middle East pension and sovereign funds.

A good omen for Africa’s tech VC slump: Africa witnessed a sharp decline in VC investmentsin 2023, with total funding falling 46% y-o-y and transaction count dropping 28% y-o-y, according to a recent Partech report. Egypt was no exception, with funding volume declining 45% y-o-y to USD 432 mn, while the number of transactions dropped 58% y-o-y to 60.

Partech is no stranger to Egypt: The VC has invested in a number of Egyptian companiesover the years, including edtech platform Almentor, fintech startup MoneyFellows, and online grocery shopping service GoodsMart. The statement also lists an unnamed Egyptian real estate platform amongst the three companies in Africa II’s portfolio.

Tags: