Senegal’s government-funded Délégation de l’Entrepreneuriat Rapide (DER) has partnered German VC firm GreenTec Capital Partners to launch a regional venture building centre that will assist growth-stage startups in securing investment.
The DER, created in 2017 and operational since March 2018, has been provided with a budget of US$5 million per year to develop the Senegalese startup ecosystem, and last year invested US$2 million in 40 local companies.
This year, it aims to support more than 150 digital startups, and an additional 20 are set for backing through the partnership with GreenTec Capital, a German investment firm that has funded seven African startups so far, including Kenyan AI startup SuperFluid Labs, Nigerian logistics startup Parcel-it, Kenyan insurtech platform Bismart, and Zambian energy company WidEnergy.
The purpose of the partnership is the foundation of the first regional Venture Building Centre in Africa, which will provide investment tickets between EUR10,000 (US$11,000) and EUR500,000 (US$560,000) to entrepreneurs at the beginning of their growth stages. It will also help entrepreneurs access the personalised support they need to grow.
