Teranga Capital

Teranga Capital is the first impact investment fund dedicated to SMEs in Senegal, and it was born out of a real gap. Senegal has around 17 million people and a growing startup scene, but the country has historically captured only about 6% of West African private capital while Nigeria takes nearly 60%. That leaves a massive financing desert for small and mid-sized businesses that are too big for microfinance but too small for traditional private equity.

Co-founded by Olivier Furdelle (a former VP at Belgacom with deep experience leading investment transactions across sub-Saharan Africa since 2009) and Omar Cissé (a prominent Senegalese tech entrepreneur), Teranga Capital was designed specifically to serve this "missing middle." The name itself -- "Teranga" -- is the Wolof word for hospitality, and the fund's approach reflects that: they take minority equity stakes so founders keep control, and then wrap capital with coaching, technical assistance, and access to a pan-African network of sister funds spanning Côte d'Ivoire, Niger, Burkina Faso, Mali, Uganda, and Madagascar through the I&P ecosystem.

Their first fund of roughly $7 million has been 70%+ deployed across 27+ portfolio companies spanning everything from solar-powered refrigeration (Senfrais) to digital agricultural marketplaces (Afrikamart) to children's education programs (Atelier des Génies). This breadth is deliberate -- as Furdelle puts it, "We're a provider of early-stage capital no matter the ticket size, whether it's seed, acceleration or growth."

What sets Teranga apart from most Africa-focused funds is their willingness to back traditional businesses alongside tech startups. You will find a dental clinic, a rice processor, a catering company, and an ice cream manufacturer in the same portfolio as a digital logistics platform and a mobile marketing company. If your business creates local jobs and drives economic inclusion in Senegal or the broader region, Teranga is interested -- regardless of whether you have a tech angle.

The fund has also secured backing from serious institutional players including Senegal's sovereign wealth fund (FONSIS), Proparco (the French development finance institution, which provided a €1.5M portfolio guarantee), the European Union, USAID, Mastercard Foundation, and Orange. Their second fund is targeting $10 -- $15M and will expand the geographic footprint into Mauritania, Guinea-Bissau, and Cape Verde.