Climate-tech VC Satgana has disclosed reaching a final close of £8 million ($8.6 million) following commitments from family offices and high-net-worth individuals.
Satgana founder and General Partner Romain Diaz disclosed the development in a statement on Thursday.
News.ng gathered that Maurice Lévy of the Publicis Groupe and Back Market co-founder Thibaud Hug de Larauze also committed to the first fund targets, which will boost up to 30 early-stage startups in Africa and Europe.
The Luxembourg-based Micro VC Venture Capital was founded in 2020 by Anil Maguru and Romain Diaz.
Described as a Climate Tech Venture Capital firm, Satgana invests in the next wave of entrepreneurs to create a more equitable, regenerative, and sustainable future.
In the statement, Diaz said that the firm’s decision to concentrate on investing in and supporting portfolio firms was made in response to the challenging fundraising climate, which is particularly harsh for inexperienced fund managers. The fund was closed earlier than planned and below target.
“We launched the fund in mid-2022, and we have raised in the most challenging time since 2015. We have managed to make 13 investments and we know that with the current capital commitments, we can execute upon our strategy of investing in 30 companies in this first fund, including follow-on investments,” said Diaz.
“This also paves the way for a new fund in a few years, and it’s likely that we launch different funds with different strategies, maybe one for Europe and another for Africa – but that will come in later; for now, we are really focused on getting this fund right,” he said.
Amini, a startup that closes the environmental data gap in Africa; Mazi Mobility, a Kenyan mobility-as-a-service startup developing a network of battery-swapping infrastructure; Kubik, an Ethiopian company that upcycles plastic, and Revivo, a B2B marketplace that sells electronic spare parts that give products like phones a new lease on life, are some of its investees in Africa.
Satgana is an investor in Yeasty, Arda, Fullsoon, Fermify, Orbio Earth, Rebel Tech, and Loewi in Europe.
Mobile operator in South Africa, Telkom, earlier announced that it has sold its tower company, Swiftnet, to Towerco Bidco Proprietary Limited, a group of equity investors headed and managed by Actis.
