The second fund comes four years after the close of the first. Like the first, it is also focused on African startups but the envelope raised is larger.

US VC firm Partech announced, Tuesday (Feb 7), the first closing of Partech Africa II, its second investment fund focused on Africa.  The EUR245 million  raised will "support entrepreneurs who use a combination of technology and excellent operations to address some of the hard-to-solve but very large opportunities the continent offers across all sectors."

“We had set an ambitious goal for Partech Africa II at €230M, with a hard cap at €280M, essentially doubling the size of our first fund. We overreached it with a closed amount already above the target fund size," said Cyril Collon (photo, left), General Partner at Partech Africa.

The second fund is backed by leading development finance institutions, as well as institutional and commercial investors. It will pursue the first fund's strategy, which is to identify and support early-stage and growth-stage start-ups on the continent. It will invest between US$1 million and 15 million to support the targeted entrepreneurs.

To date, Partech's portfolio includes 17 startups in 9 African countries now operating in 27 countries across the continent. They include TradeDepot, Yoco, Wave, Nomba (formerly Kudi), Gebeya, ChatDesk, Reliance Health, MoneyFellows, TerraPay, Tugende, and Almentor.

Samira Njoya