Saviu Ventures, a historical player in Francophone Africa’s Venture Capital industry, recently achieved a second close of €25 million for its second vintage fund Saviu II, with participation from recognized Development Finance Institutions such as the Dutch Good Growth Fund (DGGF) and Proparco, as well as AXIAN Investment, the investment arm of AXIAN Group.
With this second close, Saviu II will continue backing talented African founders, while onboarding additional investors to reach its final closing target of €30 – 50 million.
Saviu II is the successor fund to Saviu I (€10 million), which was fully invested in some of Francophone Africa’s most promising startups.
Saviu II completed its first close in 2023 at €12 million, supported by a diverse group of private investors including European and African entrepreneurs, HNWIs and family offices. During this time, Saviu II and its management company also obtained their license from the Mauritius Financial Markets Authority (FSC), making Saviu Ventures, one of the few independent and fully regulated Venture Capital fund management companies in the Francophone West African region.
Founded in 2018, Saviu Ventures is led by Benoit Delestre (Managing Partner), a former entrepreneur bringing more than 15 years of experience building and selling companies, including two fintechs; Samuel Touboul (Managing Partner), an investment professional with 15 years of Venture Capital and Private Equity experience; and Cynthia Mandjek (Principal), a former investor at Eurazeo and Orange Ventures. Their team now comprises six investors and operators, spread across Abidjan, Dakar and Paris.
In line with Saviu I, Saviu Ventures’ second fund will invest from Seed to Series A in African early-stage startups, with a strong focus on Francophone Africa. Saviu funds are sector-agnostic but typically invest in tech or tech-enabled companies in sectors such as Fintech, Healthtech, Edtech, ClimateTech and E-commerce.
Saviu II’s investment ticket sizes will range from €500,000 to €3 million, serving as a lead or reference minority shareholder, with a hands-on approach that defines the Saviu Ventures DNA. Unlike most Seed funds, Saviu Ventures focuses on a limited number of high-potential startups, supporting them in various topics including business development, recruitment, international expansion, and fundraising.
Existing beneficiaries of the Saviu II fund
Saviu II has already made a few investments, including:
- Julaya (Ivory Coast): A B2B neobank offering virtual accounts, batch mobile money transfers, wire transfers, card management, accounting features and working capital solutions in Ivory Coast, Senegal and Benin.
- Rubyx (Senegal): A Lending-as-a-Service Fintech platform enabling financial and non-financial lenders (e.g. fintechs, microfinance institutions, e-commerce platforms) to identify creditworthy SMEs, manage loans, and track performance using service design and behavioral analytics. Active in 10+ countries, it has processed data from over 2m SMEs.
- Waspito (Cameroon): A leading digital health platform providing online consultations, at-home laboratory services and a health-focused social network. Active in Cameroon and Ivory Coast, it has onboarded over 1,300 doctors and reached around 1m users.
- Workpay (Kenya): A SaaS HR and payroll solution operating in Kenya and Nigeria, which recently raised a $5m Series A led by Norrsken22 with prominent financial and strategic investors such as Y Combinator and Visa.
- Userguest (Morocco): A revenue and marketing automation software enabling hotels to boost direct revenue from their website and maximize occupancy through personalized messages and incentives for visitors. It operates in 30+ countries and has generated over 100m of direct revenue for its hotel clients.
- Resolute (South Africa): A coding and robotics learning platform combining software, physical kits and teacher training, implemented in over 330 K-12 schools to help young students develop the skills they need to succeed in the digital age.
Portfolio companies from the first fund
Saviu I, the predecessor fund to Saviu II, exemplifies Saviu’s “Seed and Build” investment strategy. Raised in 2018, it invested in a dozen of start-ups, primarily in Francophone Africa (82%):
- Anka – formerly Afrikrea (Ivory Coast): A leading SaaS and e-commerce platform offering sales, payment and logistics tools for African vendors, which secured a $3.4m investment from the IFC (World Bank) in 2023. The platform supports over 23,000 vendors and artisans selling clothing, jewelry and accessories.
- Lapaire (Ivory Coast): A tech-enabled, affordable eyewear retailer providing stylish quality eyeglasses. It operates close to 90 branches across 6 African countries (Ivory Coast, Mali, Burkina Faso, Benin, Togo and Uganda), and has tested the eyesight of more than 300,000 people.
- Zanifu (Kenya): An inventory financing platform enabling small retailers to purchase inventory from their suppliers using working capital loans, without the need for collateral or credit history, which raised $11.2m in 2023 through a mix of equity and debt. Since its inception, the platform has disbursed $45m in credit to over 12,500 SMEs.
- Paps (Senegal): An e-logistics startup operating in Senegal, Ivory Coast and Benin, offering messaging, warehousing, delivery and freight solutions, which raised over $6m with financial and strategic investors including 4DX Ventures, Enza Capital, Yamaha motor and Orange.
The commitment in Saviu II of leading Development Finance Institutions such as DGGF and Proparco; and from leading corporate actors such as Axian, is a major step for Saviu Ventures.
This new fundraising will not only provide further funds to select, identify and support the most promising startups in the Africa ecosystem, it will also provide the team with strengthened institutional support, and opportunities to create material synergies between portfolio companies and corporate investors.
With a combined portfolio of more than 20 supported start-ups, and now 3 investments exited in the past few months, Saviu Ventures aims at providing both private and institutional investors with significant returns from a Tech investment strategy, co-investment opportunities, and exposure to the African continent’s growth, while generating material impacts on the ground through job creation, financial inclusion and gender equity.
This second closing of Saviu II at €25m will provide the Saviu Ventures team with the means to continue achieving this objective of generating both impact and positive returns.
Benoit Delestre, Managing Partner at Saviu Ventures: “We are grateful to welcome our first institutional investors as well as a new strategic investor. Their involvement not only validates our investment approach in Francophone Africa but also strengthens our ability to deliver greater value to our portfolio, by fostering impactful connections with corporate partners and international organizations. This milestone marks an exciting new chapter in our mission to support talented African founders building innovative and sustainable companies across the continent.”
Samuel Touboul, Managing Partner at Saviu Ventures: “This first support of institutional investors to our funds and strategy demonstrates that Saviu Ventures now counts as one of the few leading Venture Capital funds in the region, operating and investing with the highest standards. We are committed to capitalising on our strong presence in the Francophone Africa region, an expanded team, and a new institutional framework to further invest in the African tech ecosystem and provide returns to our investors.”
Orsolya Farkas, Head of Funds and Equity at Triple Jump, consortium partner managing DGGF: “We are very pleased to partner with the Saviu team to support African entrepreneurs and create jobs, in line with the key objectives of DGGF. ”
Fabrice Perez, Head of Venture Capital at Proparco: “We are absolutely delighted to invest in Saviu Ventures, alongside our trusted partners, DGGF and Axian, to further our commitment to innovative African startups that make a difference to the people, in line with our strategy: Acting Together for Greater Impact.”
Agnès Beri-Jousselin, Head of Private Equity & VC at AXIAN Investment: “At AXIAN Investment, we are committed to supporting visionary entrepreneurs who are driving innovation and creating sustainable impact across Africa. Our partnership with Saviu Ventures aligns with our mission to foster the growth of high-potential startups, particularly in Francophone Africa, and contribute to the continent’s dynamic tech ecosystem.”
This is communication straight from Saviu Ventures with very light editing from Condia’s editorial team.
