French-African venture capital firm Saviu Ventures closes its first fund at $13 M
Leading Francophone African venture capital firm Saviu Ventures has reached the first close of Saviu II, its second fund, with support from family offices and individual investors, to keep funding the most promising entrepreneurs in the region.
One of the pioneers in the Francophone African venture capital scene, Saviu Ventures was founded in 2018 and is currently directed by Benoit Delestre, Samuel Touboul, and Cynthia Mandjek. The team comprises seven investors and operators who are dispersed between Abidjan, Dakar, and Paris.
It has invested in 12 businesses so far, the majority of which are from Francophone Africa. These include Anka, Julaya, Zanifu, Lapaire, and Paps. After closing the first closure of its second fund, which is valued at EUR12 million (US $13 million), it will make more investments.
Similar to Saviu I, Saviu Ventures’ second fund will invest in early-stage African firms from seed to Series A, with a particular emphasis on Francophone Africa. Though they are not limited to any one industry, Saviu funds generally invest in tech or tech-enabled businesses in industries like fintech, e-commerce, e-health, edtech, and climate-tech.
Saviu II has already made a few investments since its first close, notably in Waspito in Cameroon, Rubyx in Senegal, and Workpay in Kenya.
One of the few independent and fully regulated venture capital fund management companies in the Francophone West African region is Saviu Ventures, having obtained a license from the Mauritius Financial Markets Authority (FSC) concurrent with this first closing.
“Reaching the first close of Saviu II and obtaining our license from regulatory authorities is a recognition of all the work that has been done in the past five years, building the track record of Saviu I and the brand name of Saviu Ventures in the Francophone Africa region. We are now ready to support a new generation of talented entrepreneurs within the tech industry, side by side as we’ve always done,” said Delestre.
