AfricInvest (Cathay AfricInvest Innovation Fund)

AfricInvest is one of Africa's oldest and largest private investment platforms, founded in 1994 in Tunis by Ziad Oueslati and Skander Oueslati. The firm has raised $2 billion across 21 funds and invested in over 200 companies across 35+ African countries, which makes it one of the most experienced institutional investors on the continent by sheer volume and longevity.

For founders, the most relevant vehicle is the Cathay AfricInvest Innovation Fund (CAIF), a €110 million venture fund launched in partnership with Cathay Innovation (the Paris-based global venture firm) and closed in July 2022. CAIF targets seed to early-growth stage technology companies across Africa, with cheque sizes from $1M to $10M. The LP base includes the European Investment Bank (EIB), Proparco, BIO (Belgian Investment Company), Triodos, and other European DFIs, which gives portfolio companies access to institutional follow-on networks across Europe and Africa.

What makes AfricInvest distinctive from pure venture firms is the combination of venture-stage investing with a $2 billion private equity platform behind it. The firm operates from 11 offices with over 100 professionals, which means the team has on-the-ground presence in markets that most venture funds cover remotely. The CAIF portfolio already includes breakout names like InstaDeep (AI, acquired by BioNTech for $682M), PalmPay (mobile payments), Boomplay (music streaming), Heetch (ride-sharing), GoMyCode (coding education), Aerobotics (precision agriculture), and Turaco (embedded insurance), so the caliber of companies the team backs is proven.

The firm also manages several other vehicles relevant to growth-stage founders, including AfricInvest Fund IV (targeting $400M), the Maghreb Private Equity Fund III (€120M), and FIVE (a financial inclusion evergreen vehicle), which means the team can support portfolio companies from seed through growth with follow-on capital across different vehicles.