Investment firm Partech has closed its Africa II fund at €245 million (~$263 million), according to reports from TechCrunch. The Africa II fund is the largest Africa-focused fund in the world.
The fund, which was initially intended to raise about €230 million (~$250 million), reached a first close of €150 million. Interest from limited partners (LPs) eventually surpassed the initial set amount for the entire fund at first close, and the fund will now seek to reach a final close of a €280 million (~$300 million) maximum.
“Last year, we went out to raise fund two, and we did it in a very different market. Everything has changed; the deal flow in Africa, especially for Series A and B, has been multiplied by 14 over the last five years,” said general partner at Partech, Tidjane Deme.
“The average Series A ticket sizes have grown from $4 million to almost $9 million, and Series B has gone from about $10 million to $25 million. So the market has changed, and we embarked on raising fund two; the strategy is to double down on what we did with fund one because the market has validated it.”
According to TechCrunch, Partech’s first African fund invested in 17 startups at Series A and B stages across nine countries. The 17 startups combined operated in 27 African countries. The firm also claims that its startups have attracted more than 10% of the investment that has flowed into the continent between 2021 and 2022.
The firm, which invests in early stage and growth startups (Series A and B) further claimed that its portfolio has brought value to over a million merchants and 20 million end users across the continent.
Through the fund, Partech intends to invest in more than 20 African startups and also double the upper end of its ticket size to $15 million.
