African Development Bank invests $7.6M to back African tech start-ups

The African Development Bank Group approved a EUR 6.5 million ($7.6 million) investment in the Saviu II fund to support early-stage technology start-ups, fostering innovation, jobs and economic growth in West and Central Africa.

The Bank Group will invest EUR 4.5 million ($5.2 million) as equity and EUR 2 million ($2.3 million) as a first-loss hedging tranche on behalf of the European Commission, under the Boost Africa Programme. This participation of the Bank Group will enable the Saviu II fund to give priority to companies with a strong technological or digital component.

Saviu II, the second investment vehicle of Saviu Partners, plans to invest between EUR 500,000 ($584,697) and EUR 3 million ($3.5 million) in about 20 technology or technology-oriented business-to-business (B2B) start-ups in the seed phase or carrying out first institutional fundraising.

The Saviu II venture capital fund aims to make at least 60% of its commitments in the French-speaking countries of West and Central Africa: Côte d 'Ivoire, Cameroon, Benin, Senegal, Togo, Burkina Faso and Mali. It can also co-invest in promising technology companies in East Africa that have a strong team and business model, and whose strategy includes entering the market in French-speaking West African countries and establishing a strong presence there.

In addition, the fund will devote a dedicated envelope to pre-seed investments, focusing on minority equity investments, usually in co-investment with studios, incubators or other ecosystem partners.

Re-disseminated by Wealth and Society