Seedstars Africa Ventures has received a commitment from French private equity firm LBO France towards its US$100 million fund for early-stage African tech startups.
Disrupt Africa reported back in 2019 Seedstars – a Switzerland-based company focused on entrepreneurial development in emerging markets – had partnered the Paris-based VC firm First Growth Ventures to launch the fund.
The fund focuses on financing innovative companies operating in Sub-Saharan Africa in seed and Series A rounds. It is just closing its third investment, in an agri-tech company after previous deals in education and connectivity, invests up to US$2 million, and has the capacity to reinvest. Seedstars say it acts as the missing link between accelerators and later-stage funds.
It has now partnered another French investment firm, LBO France, which has provided an undisclosed amount of capital for the fund. Maxime Bouan, managing partner of Seedstars Africa Ventures, said bringing on board LBO France was a major milestone for African entrepreneurship.
“It shows the attractivity of the venture capital segment and the increasing comfort international investors have in investing in early-stage African innovation,” he said.
Robert Daussun, chief executive officer (CEO) of LBO France, said Africa was the firm’s “new frontier” with venture capital one of the strategies it was implementing on the continent as part of a overall programme valued at EUR6.3 million (US$7.5 million).
“Innovation is buoyant there, the mood is incredibly positive, and demography and economy are powerful drivers. Partnering with Seedstars is a terrific opportunity to address this new market,” he said.
