Ring Capital launches new VC fund targeting francophone West Africa
TLDR
- French VC firm Ring Capital launches Ring Africa impact investment fund for French-speaking West Africa, targeting startups in pre-seed to Series A stages.
- Fund of €50 million focuses on climate change solutions, formal economy transition, and agricultural productivity enhancement.
- Partnership with Mstudio and plans for a local investment team in Abidjan to drive investments in the region.
French VC firm Ring Capital has set up an impact investment fund named Ring Africa, aimed at French-speaking West Africa. The fund's focus will be on startups demonstrating a strong commitment to social and environmental causes, targeting investments across the pre-seed to Series A stages.
Ring Africa is set to raise a €50 million ($54 million) fund earmarked for startups that offer solutions to address climate change challenges on the continent, promote the transition to a formal economy, and enhance agricultural productivity.
To navigate the complexities of investing in the francophone region, the fund will leverage a partnership with Mstudio. In addition, there are plans underway to establish a local investment team headquartered in Abidjan while former HP boss, Elisabeth Moreno, has been appointed president of its board.
Key Takeaways
For the better part of the last decade, much of the attention, and investments, have been skewed toward startups in predominantly English-speaking countries. For context, francophone Africa typically attracts less than 20% of Africa’s annual VC funding. But that isn’t for lack of exciting ventures. Far from that, the region has produced some of the most notable fintech and software startups in Africa. Senegal’s Wave (mobile money service), Tunisia’s InstaDeep (AI solutions provider recently acquired by BioNTech SE in a $684m deal), Morocco’s Chari (an e-commerce platform for small retailers), and Algeria’s Yassir (a super App for on-demand, ride-hailing, last-mile delivery, payment services, and more) are some shining examples. That explains why investors are increasingly looking to the region.
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