Breega, a Paris-based venture capital firm, has announced the launch of a $75 million fund to invest in early-stage entrepreneurs in Africa.
Ben Marrel, CEO and co-founder of Breega, confirmed the development in a statement on Thursday.
The “Breega Africa Seed I” program aims to support early-stage entrepreneurs in Nigeria, Egypt, South Africa, Kenya, Morocco, Senegal, Ivory Coast, Cameroon, and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Melvyn Lubega, entrepreneur and angel investor who co-founded African digital education unicorn Go1, and Tosin Faniro-Dada, former CEO of Endeavor Nigeria and founding executive of startup incubator Lagos Innovates, will lead the new fund.
Newsng gathered that since its inception in 2015, Breega has successfully raised four funds: a first seed fund (€45 million), a second seed fund (€110 million), a first venture fund (€106 million), and a second venture fund (€250 million).
In less than a decade, the French investor has grown his portfolio of over 100 businesses across 15 countries to $700 million in assets under management.
The “Africa Seed I” fund is Breega’s sixth fund in nine years (including a third European seed fund that is currently being raised), but the first with an international mandate.
“Startup ecosystems work like pyramids: they are only sustainable if the base, i.e. the early stage, is well financed,” said Marrel. “It is with this impact-driven mindset that Breega is positioning itself as the first investor to back and support entrepreneurs from idea to impact.”
“Breega invested when we didn’t have a product yet, so their early trust was key,” said Kolawole Olajide, CEO & co-founder of Sava, based in South Africa.
We earlier reported that OpenSeed Ventures (OpenSeed VC) has marked the first closure of its $10 million angel-style early-stage fund.
