The first African fund, “Breega Africa Seed I,” was launched by Breega and is one of the fastest-growing early-stage funds in Europe. Its goal is to become the premier early-stage investor in African Startups.
Breega, a Paris-based investment firm with offices in London and Barcelona, closed its first fund in 2015 and now manages $700 million in assets, investing in more than 100 businesses in 15 different countries.
Breega Expands to Africa with $75m Fund for Seed Investment
The Expansion of Breega has now led to the opening of two new offices, in Lagos, Nigeria, and Cape Town, South Africa, to manage its new pan-African fund, “Breega Africa Seed I”.
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Endowed with US$75 million, the fund will invest in ventures in Nigeria, Egypt, South Africa and Kenya, as well as several French-speaking African countries, such as Morocco, Senegal, Ivory Coast, Cameroon and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
Breega intends to invest the first $1 million to $2 million of this fund, with checks ranging between $100,000 and $2 million. It will invest in key industries like agri-tech, ed-tech, e-health, fintech, insurtech, prop-tech, and logistics, focusing on high-impact and sustainable solutions that address the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Breega’s internal scaling team has already provided initial funding and support to several of the top start-ups on the continent, including Numida, Socium, Klasha, Kwara, Coachbit, and Sava.
Tosin Faniro-Dada and Melvyn Lubega Lead Breega’s African Charge
Leading the new fund are Tosin Faniro-Dada, the former CEO of Endeavour in Nigeria, and Melvyn Lubega, co-founder of the unicorn in digital education, Go1. From the Breega office in Cape Town, Lubega will oversee operations throughout Eastern and Southern Africa.
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Lubega said that Africa currently receives one per cent of global funding for a region home to 18% of the planet’s population. This finding indicates a large funding gap to close across a continent at the dawn of its technological potential. Breega, an international fund for founders built by founders, has a unique role in bridging this gap.
As a notable board member of African fintech unicorn Flutterwave, Faniro-Dada is the partner in charge of West and North Africa, who will contribute her experience.
Faniro-Dada added that Africa is experiencing a boom in entrepreneurship, reflecting a surge of innovation and ambition across the continent. Their Startups are driven by the ambition to solve the continent’s challenges. It is truly inspiring and interesting to be able to support them regarding the unique model they developed at Breega.