Saviu Ventures, a leading VC firm that exclusively backs businesses in Francophone Africa, has raised €12 million for its second fund. Notable French and Kenyan family offices were among the prominent private investors who contributed to this round of finance. Saviu Ventures, formed by Benoit Delestre and Samuel Touboul, is well-positioned to foster growth and innovation within the Francophone startup community.
The firm’s first fund, totalling €10 million, was deployed in 2018, marking its entry into the Francophone African startup scene. Saviu Ventures expects to increase its investment largely in fintechs, health-techs, and climate-techs with the present capital. Notably, the company’s efforts in the areas of e-mobility, e-commerce, and e-logistics will be scaled back somewhat.
In an exclusive interview with TechCrunch, Benoit Delestre noted, “We will follow the same approach as our first fund, where the majority of our investment will go to entrepreneurs in the Francophone region. However, we will continue to look for opportunities to invest in East African, Southern African, and Northern African firms with an eye toward growth in Francophone Africa.
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Saviu Venture Intention to fund Post-Revenue Startups
Saviu Ventures plans to invest between €500,000 and €3,000,000 in 15 to 20 companies that have already begun to generate income. The focus remains on sustainable firms, and the venture capital firm goes beyond financial investment by offering comprehensive business development support to its portfolio businesses.
Waspito, a health-tech firm in Cameroon, Rubyx, a digital lending SaaS provider in Senegal, and Workpay, a provider of human resources and payroll solutions, are just some of the bright startups that have already received significant investments from the second fund.
According to Samuel Touboul, Managing Director of Saviu Ventures, “We are searching for sustainable enterprises. Unicorns aren’t our target market because we’re not looking to invest in companies or models that constantly waste money. We believe in investing in creative individuals who are creating lasting enterprises.
Twelve firms, 82% of which were based in the Francophone area, received investments from Saviu Ventures’ first fund, which totaled between €250,000 and €500,000. Anka (Afrikrea), an e-commerce platform; Julaya, an Ivorian neobank; Zanifu, a Kenyan digital lender; Lapaire, a retailer of eyewear with locations in the Ivory Coast, Mali, Burkina Faso, Benin, and Togo; and Paps, a Senegalese e-logistics startup, are just a few of the many companies represented.
Saviu Ventures stands out among its competitors as one of the first venture capital firms to concentrate on the Francophone market. The Francophone region is attracting significant attention from investors due to reasons such as decreased competition, a big market opportunity, and high-quality, attractively priced investments compared to more mature Anglophone countries.
A total of 49% of all deals and 38% of all funding in the rest of Africa occurred in the Francophone region in 2018, per the 2022 Partech report. Despite setbacks, the area is still an attractive investment location. After a meteoric increase of 695% from 2020 to 2021, regional equity funding almost flatlined in 2022.
Benoit Delestre reflected on the changing situation, saying, “The ecosystem in francophone Africa is now much more developed than it was in 2018 when there were fewer founders and no incubators.” It’s still very distant from what you see in Kenya or South Africa, but it is much better now.”
Saviu Ventures is well positioned to continue its aim of building sustainable businesses, supporting outstanding entrepreneurs, and contributing to the growth and development of the thriving startup ecosystem in Francophone Africa, thanks to its successful initial closing of €12 million. Ongoing discussions with other parties, such as institutional investors, are designed to push the fund closer to its final goal of €30 million to €50 million, further solidifying Saviu Ventures’ central role in the region’s startup ecosystem.
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About Saviu Ventures And Francophone Africa
Saviu is a venture capital fund that was established in 2018 and mostly focuses on Francophone Africa. It supports early-stage African tech or tech-enabled firms. From seed to Series A stages, we make early investments and collaborate closely with our entrepreneurs to support them through the challenging early years as they expand and grow their companies.
As a term, “Francophone Africa” describes the area of Africa where French is recognized as a national language. According to 1, French is spoken as a first or second language in 34 different countries and territories in Africa. French speakers in these 34 African countries and territories are counted here, but French speakers in any other African country are not. This means that the majority of French speakers are found in Africa.
