Saviu Venturesa VC firm targeting startups in Francophone Africa, has made an initial close of €12 million for its second fund backed by private investors, including the family’s offices in France and Kenya.
The VC firm aims to close the fund between €30m and €50m to invest mainly in start-ups in Francophone Africa. It is said to be in talks with other interested parties, including institutional investors, to achieve the target.
Founded by Benoit Nelestre and Samuel TubullSaviu Ventures has been active in the francophone startup ecosystem of Africa since 2018, when it started to raise its first capital of 10 million euros.
The VC firm invests in startups and is industry agnostic but, with the current fund, is interested in fintechs, health and climate technologies, while slowing e-mobility, e-commerce and e-logistics.
“We will follow the same strategy of our first fund, where the majority of our investment will go to startups in the Francophone region, but we still retain the opportunity to invest in East, Southern and North African startups that want to expand into Francophone Africa,” Delestre told TechCrunch.
Saviu plans to invest between €500,000 and €3 million in 15 to 20 startups after the proceeds with its second fund. Delestre and Touboul said the VC firm targets “viable companies” and extends business development support to those businesses in addition to financial investment. The second fund has already supported Waspito, a health technology from Cameroon. Rubyx, Senegalese SaaS digital lending provider. and Workpay, an HR payroll provider.
“We are looking for sustainable businesses. We don’t want to target unicorns because we’re not interested in businesses or business models that insist on burning cash. Our belief is to support talented entrepreneurs who build sustainable businesses,” said Touboul.
Saviu’s first fund invested between 250,000 and 500,000 euros in 12 start-ups, 82% of them from Francophonie. Its portfolio companies include Anka (Afrikrea), an e-commerce platform. Julaya, an Ivorian neobank. Zanifu, a Kenyan digital lender. Lapaire, an eyewear retailer with operations in Cote d’Ivoire, Mali, Burkina Faso, Benin and Togo. and Paps, a Senegalese e-logistics startup.
Saviu is among the first VC firms to set their sights on the French-speaking region, an ecosystem that continues to attract VCs due to less competition, huge market opportunities and high-quality and better-priced offerings compared to more mature English-speaking regions.
Outside of the big four (Egypt, Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa), the French-speaking region continues to be the next investment destination for VCs. According to the 2022 Partech report, the region accounted for 49% and 38% of the rest of Africa’s deals and financing, respectively, last year. In particular, equity funding in the region remained almost flat last year, after rising 2% to $527 million from 2021, when it recorded a mammoth 695% year-over-year increase.
“The ecosystem in French-speaking Africa is now much more developed than it was in 2018, when there were fewer founders and no incubators. It’s still a long way from what you see in Kenya or South Africa, but it’s much better now,” Delestre said.
