ABU DHABI: Mubadala Investment Company (Mubadala), an Abu Dhabi-based global sovereign investor, and Bpifrance, the French public investment bank, today announced a joint investment in global technology investment firm Partech’s latest Africa-focused venture capital (VC) fund, Partech Africa II.
This fund commitment by Mubadala and Bpifrance is the first investment made through their Africa co-investment partnership. Bpifrance is also an investor in Partech’s first Africa fund, which achieved a final close of pound 125 million in January 2019.
Today, Partech Africa I 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 percent of the VC investments in Africa in 2021 and 2022.
Partech Africa II has now reached its hard cap of pound 280 million, making it the largest venture capital fund dedicated to technology startups in Africa. The Fund will provide US$1 million to $15
million initial tickets from Seed to Series C rounds, to support African companies and founders on their growth journey in domestic and international markets and to address some of the hard-to-solve but very broad opportunities the continent offers across all sectors.
Andres Rodenas de la Vega, Head of the France Investment Programme 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 pound 350 million Africa co-investment partnership with Bpifrance. Over the years, we have developed a strong working relationship with Bpifrance through our France Investment Programme, and we look forward to continuing our close collaboration on a number of investments going forward.’
Bpifrance’s Head of European and International Affairs, Isabelle Bébéar, said, ‘Bpifrance has been a long-standing supporter of Partech, in France for several decades and in Africa since the launch of Partech Africa I in 2018. We are plea
sed and proud not only to renew our support to Partech for this second pan-African fund that will address the continent’s growing technological challenges, but to do so alongside, Mubadala, another historical partner.’
Source: Emirates News Agency