The Paris-based venture capital firm Breega has keenly observed the considerable maturation of Africa’s technology ecosystem over the past decade. The continent has evolved from receiving less than a billion dollars in annual venture capital to achieving a record-high of $6 billion in investment. This growth has coincided with a dramatic increase in high-growth companies, jumping from just one unicorn to seven within a mere three years.
In response to this evident potential, the VC firm is now committing its own capital to the region with a dedicated $75 million fund specifically created to invest in early-stage startups across Africa. Breega has already secured commitments for approximately 70% of the total capital in its initial first close, the firm disclosed to TechCrunch. This strong commitment demonstrates immediate investor confidence in Breega’s approach to the African market.
Since its entry into the venture capital scene in 2015, Breega has successfully raised and fully deployed four distinct 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 influential French investor has built a portfolio of over 100 startups spanning 15 countries and has grown its assets under management to approximately $700 million.
The new “Africa Seed I” fund represents Breega’s sixth fund overall in nine years (not including a third European seed fund the firm is currently raising), but it is the very first fund with a specific mandate outside of its European base. The launch of this fund is strategically timed to coincide with the opening of two brand new offices in Lagos, Nigeria, and Cape Town, South Africa. These locations are recognized as key hubs within Africa’s dynamic tech ecosystem. These new offices will operate alongside Breega’s existing locations in Paris, London, and Barcelona, significantly strengthening the firm’s comprehensive presence across the entire EMEA region.
Breega proudly promotes itself as a “founders-for-founders” fund, with an investment focus that spans from pre-seed all the way up to Series A funding stages. “Our DNA is all about backing founders where innovation thrives and opportunities are immense. We bring them our operational expertise because everyone on our team has been on the other side as founders or operators,” explained co-founder and CEO Ben Marrel in an interview with TechCrunch. Marrel noted that this founder-centric approach, combined with a dedicated team focused solely on portfolio support and scaling, has been the engine that has propelled Breega to become one of the fastest-growing VCs in Europe. The firm intends to meticulously replicate this successful model in Africa.
Accordingly, the decision to launch a fund dedicated to early-stage African startups was driven by a strong desire to tap directly into the continent’s abundant opportunities. The firm understands that the most effective way to achieve this is by having experienced local partners who possess a deep understanding of market dynamics and can make truly informed investment decisions. This specific strategy is also employed by other larger Africa-focused firms with European roots, such as Partech and Norrsken22.
The Africa fund is being jointly led by Melvyn Lubega and Tosin Faniro-Dada, and has already received crucial backing from institutional investors including Bpifrance and FMO, the Dutch entrepreneurial development bank. Both partners bring decades of valuable entrepreneurial and operational experience to the firm. Prior to joining Breega, Lubega co-founded the edtech unicorn Go1, while Faniro-Dada previously served as the CEO of Endeavor Nigeria, demonstrating their high-level experience.
Breega plans to deploy capital checks ranging from $100,000 to $2 million into startups across the established “Big Four” African markets—Nigeria, Egypt, South Africa, and Kenya—as well as expanding into various Francophone African markets, including Morocco, Senegal, Ivory Coast, Cameroon, and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The Africa-focused VC firm has already initiated investments in nine startups, including Numida, Hohm Energy, Socium, Klasha, Kwara, Coachbit, and Sava. It aims to make at least 40 total investments from this inaugural fund.
In an interview with TechCrunch, the partners elaborated on Breega’s interest in Africa, the firm’s specific investment strategies, how they view local market dynamics, and the immense potential of what they see as untapped markets on the continent. The interview was edited for clarity and brevity.
TC: Seventy-five million dollars represents a sizeable first fund in any market, and especially so in Africa. If we understand correctly, the fund is specifically for pre-seed and seed startups. But aside from the capital, what unique value does the firm provide that founders might not find at other firms?
Melvyn: Every single partner and investment team member at Breega is a former founder or operator. We possess firsthand knowledge of the entire journey: what it takes to successfully raise capital, the effort involved in building and scaling businesses, the inevitable face of failures, and how to endure tough economic times. Reflecting on my own experience, I struggled to find African investors who had built businesses without simply raising money themselves. Therefore, our primary goal is to be the type of investors we genuinely wished we had while we were building our own businesses. Many entrepreneurs highly value having a true sparring partner who has already navigated and overcome similar challenges. We want to be the first check into these promising startups, coming in with strong conviction and leading the rounds at both the pre-seed and seed stages. Over a quarter of our total team is dedicated exclusively to supporting our portfolio companies across various critical areas, such as go-to-market strategy, strategic talent management, corporate governance, brand building, and communications. This commitment allows us to offer much more than just financial capital; we provide our entrepreneurs with highly experienced sparring partners who bring crucial international exposure and deep ecosystem knowledge. We have found this to be not only vital to the success of our entrepreneurs but also allows us to achieve an outsized performance, drawing on our extensive European experience.
TC: What specific sectors is Breega keen on investing in across Africa? And what is the underlying rationale?
Tosin: Our core focus is on industries that can have a genuinely transformative impact by addressing both current and future challenges across the continent, particularly in light of the expected massive population growth. These sectors include fintech, health tech, proptech (property technology), logistics, and edtech (education technology).
Melvyn: You can visualize our strategy like a Venn diagram. We target areas that offer the most significant potential for social impact, aligning closely with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and where Breega already possesses substantial experience from backing over 100 companies globally. What’s particularly advantageous is that our operational insights gleaned from successful exits in Europe and the U.S. directly inform our strategic approach in Africa, helping us accurately pinpoint where truly impactful opportunities align perfectly with our core expertise.
TC: It’s insightful that you mention that. I am curious how Breega plans to strike a careful balance and avoid the common pitfall of simply backing companies that are just U.S.-style or Euro-styled clones in Africa.
Tosin: The answer comes down to the necessity of having highly experienced local partners on the ground who fundamentally understand the unique challenges of different African markets. With my extensive experience in Nigeria and Melvyn’s deep knowledge of South Africa, our investment mindset remains laser-focused. We will not invest in companies simply because they resemble successful U.S. or European counterparts. Our focus is solutions that solve specific, unique challenges inherent to Africa and its hugely diverse markets. While some conceptual similarities may exist in the technology, we are intentional about backing solutions that are precisely tailored to meet distinct local needs. One of Breega’s greatest advantages is the operational experience of our European team. They help us understand that the African market is, in many ways, traversing a path similar to where Europe was perhaps decades ago. They have witnessed this evolution unfold, and we recognize that Africa is following a comparable development journey. This long-term perspective helps us fully recognize that this is a gradual journey and an ongoing evolution while also remaining acutely mindful of the current state of the market and the highly specific solutions required today.
