Partech Shaker, the innovation arm of the Paris-based venture capital firm Partech, has established Chapter54, an accelerator program to help European businesses enter African markets. Over the following four years, the accelerator will accept ten technology scaleups for the Chapter54 program, which will run up to eight months. The first cohort’s application period will open next month, and successful firms will begin their accelerated journey in April.
The KfW Development Bank will provide $5.7 million (€5 million) on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development to Chapter54 (BMZ). “Companies from all sectors are invited,” KfW added. “However, they must have commercial experience, be registered in a European country and operating in two European countries, and have a sound financial base and consistent income.”
According to Vincent Previ, managing director of Chapter54, startups will go through many levels of preparation, including mentorship programs with successful entrepreneurs throughout the continent and C-suite tech or startup leaders. “As one of the most famous investors in European technology, we have a deep understanding of the ecosystem.” We have the potential to operate new projects through Partech Shaker, and we are already a big investor in African technology…
“We were a good player in KfW’s eyes to run this acceleration program,” Previ remarked. Chapter54 will pair mentors with companies depending on their business models, provide webinars with a variety of speakers, and analyze businesses’ operational roadmaps “to see if what they’ve developed is compatible with reality on the ground.”
They would “verify that the participating companies have the right level of expertise of what it means to run a tech business in Africa, and have what it takes to hire tech professionals,” according to Previ. “We’ll have a session where we compare the gig economies in Europe and Africa, and another where we’ll assist them sizes the B2C market in Africa (which is different from Europe).”
“If you want to enter Africa, you must do so properly and in accordance with the law. You will need to change the way you work. We’ll assist them in reinventing their business models (in order to penetrate African markets).” Chapter54 is looking for startups that are in the growth stage and have a lot of traction in the countries where they operate.
Wave, a U.S. and Senegal-based mobile money service provider, Tugende, a Ugandan mobility-tech business, and Trade Depot, a Nigerian and U.S.-based company that connects consumer goods brands to retailers, are among Partech’s 15 investments in nine African countries. Africa has become the next development frontier due to its rising young and tech-savvy population, deepening internet penetration, developing digital infrastructure, and rapid adoption of contemporary technologies by its people. KfW has stated that it supports Chapter54 in order to foster growth and job creation.
