Savio Ventures Fund, a venture capital fund targeting startups in Francophone Africa, closed its first closing of its second fund with €12 million, supported by private investors including French and Kenyan family offices.
Introduction
The venture capital fund aims to close the fund between €30 million and €50 million to primarily invest in startups in Francophone Africa. It is said to be in talks with other parties, including institutional investors, to reach the target.
Foundation of Savio Ventures
Savio Ventures was founded by Benoit Delister and Samuel Topol and has been active in the startup ecosystem in Francophone Africa since 2018 when it began investing from its first fund of €10 million.
Investment Strategy
The venture capital fund invests in seed-stage startups and is not specialized in a particular sector, but with the current fund, it is focusing specifically on fintech, health tech, and climate tech, while reducing its investments in electric mobility, e-commerce, and e-logistics sectors.
Investment Plans
Savio plans to invest between €500,000 and €3 million in 15 to 20 revenue-generating startups with its second fund. Delister and Topol stated that the venture capital fund targets “sustainable companies” and provides business development support to these companies in addition to financial investment. The second fund has already invested in companies like Waspito, a Cameroonian health tech company; Rubis, a Senegalese digital lending service; and Workpay, a human resources and payroll service provider.
Investments of the First Savio Ventures Fund
The first Savio Ventures Fund invested between €250,000 and €500,000 in 12 startups, of which 82% were from the Francophone area. Portfolio companies include Anka (Afrikrea), an e-commerce platform; Julaya, a digital bank in Côte d’Ivoire; Zanifu, a Kenyan digital lending company; Lapaire, a glasses retailer operating in Côte d’Ivoire, Mali, Burkina Faso, Benin, and Togo; and Paps, a Senegalese e-logistics company.
Investments in the Francophone Region
Savio is among the first venture capital firms specifically targeting the Francophone region, which continues to attract venture capital due to a lack of competition, huge market opportunities, high-quality deals, and better pricing compared to the more mature Anglophone regions.
Investment in the Francophone Region
The Francophone region continues to be the next investment destination for venture capital outside the big four (Egypt, Kenya, Nigeria, and South Africa). According to the Partech report for 2022, the region accounted for 49% and 38% of investment and financing deals in the rest of Africa, respectively, last year. It was noted that equity financing in the region remained almost flat last year, having grown by 2% to $527 million from 2021 when it recorded a staggering annual growth of 695%.
Evolution of the Startup Ecosystem in Francophone Africa
Delister said: “The startup ecosystem in Francophone Africa has become much more developed than it was in 2018 when there were the fewest founders and no incubators. It is still very far from what you see in Kenya or South Africa, but it is much better now.”
Source: https://techcrunch.com/2023/11/24/saviu-second-fund/
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