There are officially French-speaking countries in 21 of Africa’s 54 countries. Africa accounts for more than 70% of the world’s French-speaking population. However, it is unclear how healthy the startup ecosystem is. In the last three or more years, just around three sub-Saharan French-speaking African countries — Cameroon, Senegal, and Cote d’Ivoire — have been at the vanguard of all investment into the African startup ecosystem.
It is therefore critical to identify the investors behind investments in these nations in order to help entrepreneurs in these countries gain greater access to capital.
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Some of the investors and their investment patterns are presented below:
| S/N | NAME OF INVESTOR | HEADQUARTERS | FRANCOPHONE COUNTRY INVESTED IN | YEAR OF INVESTMENT | NOTABLE STARTUPS INVESTED INTO | SECTORS/STAGE OF FOCUS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Toyota Tsusho (Mobility54) | Japan | Senegal; Ivory Coast | 2021; | Kai Senegal; InTouch; MojaRide | Mobility; Fintech |
| 2 | CFAO | France | Senegal | 2021 | Kai Senegal; InTouch | Mobility; Fintech |
| 3 | WIC Capital | Senegal | Senegal | 2020; 2021 | Les Ateliers de Corinne; Mburu; E-cover | Women-focused; foodtech; cleantech |
| 4 | Sequoia Heritage (Sequoia) | USA | Senegal | 2021 | Wave | Fintech |
| 5 | Founders Fund | San Francisco, USA | Senegal | 2021 | Wave | Fintech |
| 6 | Stripe | California, USA | Senegal | 2021 | Wave | Fintech |
| 7 | Ribbit Capital | San Francisco, USA | Senegal | 2021 | Wave | Fintech |
| 8 | Partech Africa | Dakar, Senegal | Senegal | 2021 | Wave | Fintech |
| 9 | Angel investors: Sam Altman (ex-CEO Y Combinator; CEO OpenAI) | USA; | Senegal | 2021 | Wave | Fintech |
| 10 | USAID | USA | Senegal | 2021 | Club Tiosanne; Biosene | Ecommerce; cleantech; |
| 11 | MFS Africa Frontiers | South Africa | Ivory Coast; Cameroon | 2021 | Maviance; Julaya; | Fintech; |
| 12 | Orange Ventures | Paris, France; Dakar, Senegal | Ivory Coast | 2021 | Julaya | Fintech |
| 13 | Saviu Ventures | Paris, France | Ivory Coast | 2018; 2020; 2021 | Julaya; Afrikrea | Early stage (mostly French-speaking Africa) logistics, fashion ecommerce, HR, transport, fintech, etc |
| 14 | Launch Africa Ventures | Mauritius | Ivory Coast | 2021 | Julaya | Fintech |
| 15 | 50 Capital Partners | Paris, France | Ivory Coast | 2021 | Julaya | Fintech |
| 16 | APICAP | Paris, France | Ivory Coast | 2021 | HUB2 | Fintech |
| 17 | COMPASS | Ile de France | Ivory Coast | 2021 | HUB2 | Fintech |
| 18 | BPI Reunion | Reunion | Ivory Coast | 2021 | HUB2 | Fintech |
| 19 | Maroc Numeric Fund | Morocco | Morocco | 2020; 2021 | Damanesign; OnePay; Atlan Space; Yalla Xash; KoolSkools; | Morocco-based startups; Digital Trust; Fintech; edtech |
| 20 | SEAF Morocco Growth Fund | Morocco | Morocco | 2016 | SOS Credit IMMO; | Fintech |
| 21 | The Lundin Foundation | Vancouver, Canada | Cameroon | 2021 | Diool | Fintech |
| 22 | Seedstars | Switzerland | Cameroon | 2018 | Diool | Fintech |
| 23 | MAIF Avenir Fund | Niort, France | Tunisia | 2021 | Expensya | Spend management |
| 24 | Silicon Badia | Aman, Jordan | Tunisia | 2021 | Expensya | Spend management |
| 25 | ISAI | Paris, France | Tunisia | 2018 | Expensya | Spend management |
| 26 | Seventure | Paris, France | Tunisia | 2018 | Expensya | Spend management |
| 27 | Emerging Markets Property Group | Morocco | Morocco | 2021 | Mubawab | Proptech |
| 28 | Maxula Seed Fund | Tunis, Tunisia | Tunisia | 2021 | Moome | Seed |
| 29 | AfricInvest | Tunisia | Tunisia | 2019 | Instadeep | Entreprise; Agritech; Investments |
| 30 | Investisseurs & Partenaires | Paris; Burkina Faso; Cameroon, French-speaking Africa. | Cameroon; Senegal; Ivory Coast, Mali | 2017 | StarNews; PEG Africa; CoinAfrique; | Impact investing |
| 31 | Energy Access Ventures | Paris, France | Ivory Coast, Senegal, Mali | 2017; 2020 | PEG Africa; SolarX; SunCulture | Off-grid/energy; impact investing. |
| 32 | Acumen Capital Partners | Paris, France | Ivory Coast, Senegal, Mali | 2017 | PEG Africa; SunCulture | Energy/Off-grid, impact investing |
| 33 | Blue Heaven Initiative | Massachusetts, United States | Ivory Coast, Senegal, Mali | 2017 | PEG Africa | Impact investing; Off-grid/energy |
| 34 | ENGIE Rassembleurs d’Energies | Paris, France | Ivory Coast, Senegal, Mali | 2017 | PEG Africa | Impact investing, energy, early growth stage, late growth Stage |
| 35 | PCG Investments | Loosdrecht, Netherlands | Ivory Coast, Senegal, Mali | 2017 | PEG Africa | Impact investing; Off-grid/energy; fintech |
| 36 | Y Combinator | USA | Morocco, Ivory Coast, Algeria, Tunisia, Senegal | 2015; 2020; 2021 | Oolu; Djamo; Freterium | Early stage |
| 37 | Groupe Cofina | Côte d’Ivoire, Burkina Faso, Mali, Guinea-Conakry, Congo-Brazzaville, Gabon and Senegal. | Gabon | 2020 | Ogooue Labs | Mesofinance |
| 38 | 500 Startups | USA | Tunisia | 2019 | Dabchy | Early stage; ecommerce |
| 39 | Daal VC | Dubai, UAE | Tunisia | 2019 | Dabchy | Early stage, North Africa, ecommerce |
| 40 | Wamda Capital | Dubai, UAE | Tunisia | 2020 | GoMyCode | Multi stage, agnostic, North Africa, Africa |
| 41 | Jasminium Capital | Tunisia | Tunisia | 2020 | GoMyCode | Early stage, Tunisia, edtech, etc |
| 42 | Meninx Holding | Tunisia | Tunisia | 2020 | GoMyCode | Early stage; edtech |
| 43 | Anava Seed Fund | Tunisia | Tunisia | 2020 | GoMyCode | Early stage; edtech |
| 44 | Social Venture Fund (Global Partnerships) | USA | Ivory Coast, Senegal, Mali | 2017 | PEG Africa | Impact investing |
| 45 | ResponsAbility | Switzerland | Ivory Coast, Senegal, Mali | 2017 | PEG Africa | Impact investing |
| 46 | CDC Group | UK | Ivory Coast, Senegal, Mali | 2019; 2020 | PEG Africa; SolarX | Multi stage, debt, equity. |
| 47 | Endeavour Catalyst | USA | Tunisia | 2019 | InstaDeep | Investment only in the companies of Endeavor Entrepreneurs |
| 48 | Digital Horizon | London, UK | Cameroon | 2020 | Healthlane | Early stage, enterprise software, fintech, edtech, ecommerce, healthtech |
| 49 | Silicon Valley Bank | Silicon Valley, USA | Cameroon | 2020 | Healthlane | Early stage |
| 50 | TSVC (formerly TEEC Angel Fund) | Silicon Valley, USA | Cameroon | 2020 | Healthlane | Early stage |
| 51 | Supernode Ventures | New York, USA | Cameroon | 2020 | Healthlane | Early stage |
| 52 | Capitoria | Cayman Islands | Cameroon | 2020 | Healthlane | Early stage, fintech, ecommerce, healthtech, biotech |
| 53 | Ping An Good Doctor | China | Cameroon | 2020 | Healthlane | Health-tech |
| 54 | VC4A | Netherlands | Togo; Ivory Coast | 2020 | Afrikrea; Gozem | Early stage |
| 55 | Capsa Capital Partners | Tunisia | Tunisia | 2018; 2020 | Enova Robotics; Intigo | Early stage, Tunisia, transport, robotics |
| 56 | Blue Ocean Partners | Paris, France | Tunisia | 2020 | NextProtein | Early stage, cleantech |
| 57 | Telos Impact | Belgium | Tunisia | 2020 | NextProtein | Early stage, Impact investing, cleantech |
| 58 | Raise Impact | France | Tunisia | 2020 | NextProtein | Impact investing |
| 59 | Althelia Sustainable Ocean Fund (Mirova) | UK | Tunisia | 2020 | NextProtein | ESG investing, Seed, Series A, Series B. |
| 60 | Aucfan Incubate Inc. | Japan | Tunisia | 2020 | NextProtein | Early stage, AI, fintech, etc |
| 61 | Kima Ventures | Paris, France | Tunisia | 2020 | NextProtein | Early stage |
| 62 | Showroomprive | France | Ivory Coast | 2020 | Afrikrea | Ecommerce |
| 63 | iD4 Ventures | Paris, France | Ivory Coast | 2020 | Afrikrea | Early stage |
| 64 | Persistent Energy | Zurich, Switzerland | Cameroon | 2019 | upOwa | Growth, fintech, energy, impact investing |
| 65 | LITA.co | Paris, France | Cameroon | 2019 | upOwa | Impact investing, energy, environment, ESG |
| 66 | Colam Impact | Paris, France | Cameroon | 2019 | upOwa | impact investing, ESG, energy, family office |
| 67 | Renewable Energy Performance Platform (REPP) | UK | Cameroon | 2019 | upOwa | Energy/Off-grid solar |
| 68 | Tell Venture Automotive | Dubai, UAE | Algeria | 2019 | TemTem | Mobility, investment |
| 69 | Electrification Financing Initiative (ElectriFI) | EU | Cameroon; Senegal; Ivory Coast, Mali; Benin | 2019 | PEG Africa; MyJouleBox | Off-grid/Renewables |
| 70 | UNCOVERED Fund | Japan | Togo | 2021 | Gozem | Early stage; mobility |
| 71 | Expert Dojo | California, USA | Cameroon | 2021 | StarNews | Pre-seed; Seed |
| 72 | Dream Project Incubators (DPI) | Singapore | Senegal; Togo; Cote D’ivoire | 2021 | Sunculture | Develops and invests in renewable energy projects |
| 73 | Orange Ventures | Paris, France; Dakar, Senegal | Morocco; Tunisia; Ivory Coast; Cameroon; Senegal | 2021 | Dabchy; Chari.ma; MojaRide; Waspito; Sudpay | Early stage |
| 74 | Mediterrania Capital Partners | Malta; Morocco; Algeria; Ivory Coast | Tunisia; Ivory Coast | 2021 | Cofina Group | Private Equity |
| 75 | Crowdcube | UK | Togo; Cameroon | 2020 | MPower | Crowdfunding; Resident of the UK. |
| 76 | Proparco | France | Congo; Cameroon; Morocco | 2020; 2021 | Nuru; Humania | Impact investing |
| 77 | IFC | US | Morocco | 2020 | Humania | Multi-stage investing |
| 78 | CDG Invest | Morocco | Morocco | 2021 | LYNKO; Lacaisse.ma; Saweblia; GOAcommerce; Kifal Auto; Invyad, Weego and Freterium | Early stage; Invests through 212Founders; invests in Moroccan startups |
| 79 | Witamax One (Owned by Southbridge A&I and AXXAM Family Office) | Morocco | Morocco | 2021 | Kezakoo; DataPathology; Konta | Early stage; invests in Moroccan startups |
| 80 | Azur Innovation Fund | Morocco | Morocco | 2021 | Epicerie Verte | Early stage; invests in Moroccan startups |
| 81 | INNOV INVEST Fund | Morocco | Morocco | 2021 | “Hob Feel Good” | Early stage; invests in Moroccan startups |
| 82 | Dislog Group | Morocco | Morocco | 2020 | – | Logistics startup |
| 83 | Greentec Partners | Frankfurt, Germany | Ivory Coast; Cameroon | 2020 | Coliba; Freshbag | Cleantech; Early stage |
| 84 | Hseven | Morocco | Morocco | 2020 | – | Debt financing; Early stage. |
| 85 | Outlierz Ventures | Morocco | Morocco; Cameroon | 2020 | Waystocap; Healthlane | Early stage; healthcare; retail logistics. |
| 86 | Algeria Startup Fund | Algeria | Algeria | 2021 | – | Early stage |
| 87 | Newfund Capital | Paris, France | Mali; Uganda | 2021 | Oko Finance | Early stage |
| 88 | Mercy Corps Ventures | USA | Mali | 2021 | Oko Finance | Impact investing |
| 89 | Techstars | Colorado, USA | Mali | 2021 | Oko Finance | Early stage |
| 90 | ImpactAssets | Maryland, USA | Mali | 2021 | Oko Finance | Syndicate investments |
| 91 | RaSa | San Francisco, USA | Mali | 2021 | Oko Finance | AI |
| 90 | Atlantica Ventures | Washington, USA | Morocco | – | WaystoCap | Early stage |
| 91 | INCO | Ile De France | Cameroon | 2019 | upOwa | Impact investing |
| 92 | Renewable Energy Performance Platform (REPP)- UK Gov-funded | UK | Cameroon | 2019 | upOwa | Energy |
| 93 | Gaia Impact Fund | France | Cameroon | 2019 | upOwa | Impact investing |
Investment Patterns
Anchoring In Anglophone Countries
The continued preference for early stage enterprises that anchor their operations in English-speaking Africa while targeting the francophone areas is one pattern connected with investments in the francophone Africa startup ecosystem.
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This is especially the case, for instance, of PEG Africa, a solar energy startup that is headquartered in Accra, Ghana. Although Ghana is the company’s major area of operations, the startup has strong presence in Cote d’ivoire, Senegal and Mali.
Even Cameroon’s Healthlane maintains its headquarters in San Jose, California, United States, further creating doubts as to whether a startup fully structured, both legally and operationally, in a Francophone African country can secure sizeable investments from investors increasingly targeting the continent’s booming startup ecosystem.
This trend is however different if the investing firm is located locally in the countries. This is the case of Senegal’s WIC Capital which targets women entrepreneurs from French-speaking West African countries; Morocco’s CDG Invest; Partech Africa which maintains a branch in Dakar in Senegal and has gone on to invest in local startups such as Wave, among others.
Large Presence Of Expat Founders
The strong presence of foreign founders is another key early stage investment pattern in Francophone African countries. Indeed, with the exception of French-speaking North Africa, investments in Sub-Saharan French-speaking African countries have largely gone to startups started or co-founded by expats.
A notable story in this dimension is that of MyJouleBox, which has been operational in the Republic of Benin since its launch in 2016. The solar energy startup founded by a Beninois Léonide Michael Sinsin, and a French man Paul Berthomieu, represents the reality of raising startup funds in cash-starved Benin.
The startup recently secured $1.8m from Electrification Financing Initiative (ElectriFi), a European Union initiative supporting investments in electrification. Investment from ElectriFi is a lone one in a long time for a country which does not feature frequently on African startup funding lists.
MyBouleBox is one story out of many. Notable startup founders/co-founders , including those of Gozem, upOwa, Oko Finance, Julaya, Hub2, all have foreign backgrounds.
The degree of investments going to startups founded by expatriates, therefore, increases if the investing firm is not located locally in any of the Francophone African countries.
Again, in most cases, startups founded by local founders secure funding relatively easily from investors if their backgrounds, such as previous experiences, education, etc., have a foreign touch.
More Preference For Fintechs And Off-grid Energy Over Others
It appears as though there aren’t other sectors attracting the attention of investors targeting startups in Francophone Africa, apart from fintech and renewable energies. Investments in other sectors such health-tech, edutech, etc., are few and scattered.
More Presence Of France-based Investors
A majority of investors in French-speaking African countries also have their headquarters in France.
Francophone African startups investors Francophone African startups investors Francophone African startups investors Francophone African startups investors Francophone African startups investors
Charles Rapulu Udoh
Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based lawyer who has advised startups across Africa on issues such as startup funding (Venture Capital, Debt financing, private equity, angel investing etc), taxation, strategies, etc. He also has special focus on the protection of business or brands’ intellectual property rights ( such as trademark, patent or design) across Africa and other foreign jurisdictions.
He is well versed on issues of ESG (sustainability), media and entertainment law, corporate finance and governance.
He is also an award-winning writer