Savio projectsThe venture capital firm targeting startups in French-speaking Africa has made a €12 million soft close on its second fund with backing from private investors, including French and Kenyan family offices.
The venture capital firm aims to close the fund with between €30 million and €50 million to invest primarily in startups within French-speaking Africa. It is said to be in talks with other stakeholders including institutional investors to achieve the target.
Found it Benoit Delistre And Samuel drumsSaviu Ventures has been active in the startup ecosystem in French-speaking Africa since 2018, when it began deploying its first €10 million fund.
The venture capital firm invests in seed-stage startups and is sector agnostic, but with the current fund, it is keen on fintech, healthtech and climate tech, with e-mobility, e-commerce and e-logistics slowing down. .
“We will follow the same strategy as our first fund, where the majority of our investments will go to startups in the Francophone region, but we still reserve the opportunity to invest in startups in East, South and North Africa that are keen to expand to French-speaking Africa,” Delistre told TechCrunch.
Saviu plans to invest between €500,000 and €3 million in 15 to 20 startups after generating revenue through its second fund. The venture capital firm targets “sustainable companies” and expands business development support for these companies in addition to financial investment, Delister and Topol said. The second fund has already supported Waspeto, a Cameroonian health technology company; Rubyx, a Senegalese digital lending SaaS provider; and Workpay, an HR payroll provider.
“We are looking for sustainable businesses. We do not want to target startups because we are not interested in businesses or business models that insist on burning cash. Our belief is to support talented entrepreneurs in building sustainable businesses,” Topol said.
Savio’s first fund has invested between €250,000 and €500,000 in 12 startups, 82% of which are from the Francophone region. Its portfolio includes Anka (Afrikrea), an e-commerce platform; Golaya, one of the new Ivorian banks; Zanifu, the Kenyan digital lender; Lapaire, an eyewear retailer with operations in Ivory Coast, Mali, Burkina Faso, Benin and Togo; and Paps, a Senegalese e-logistics startup.
Saviu is among the first venture capital firms to look specifically at the Francophone region, an ecosystem that continues to attract venture capital due to its lack of competition, huge market opportunities, and higher quality and better-priced deals, compared to more mature English-speaking regions.
With the exception of the Big Four (Egypt, Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa), the Francophone region is still the next investment destination for venture capital. According to the 2022 Partek report, the region accounted for 49% and 38% of the rest of the deals and financing in Africa, respectively, last year. Notably, equity financing in the region remained almost flat last year, after growing 2% to US$527 million since 2021 when it recorded a whopping 695% year-on-year growth.
“The ecosystem in French-speaking Africa is now more developed than it was in 2018, when there were fewer founders and there were no incubators. The situation is still a long way from what you see in Kenya or South Africa, but it is much better,” said Delistre. now”.