French VC Firm, Breega, completes $75m Africa Seed I, opens offices in Lagos, Cape Town
Breega, a Paris-based venture capital firm, is investing $75 million in Africa.
This was confirmed on Thursday by Ben Marrel, CEO and co-founder of Breega.
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.
Since its inception in 2015, Breega has 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.
Earlier report stated that OpenSeed Ventures (OpenSeed VC) has marked the first closure of its $10 million angel-style early-stage fund.
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