France’s Orange Digital Ventures launches €50 million fund to invest in Africa

Orange Digital Ventures, the early stage investment fund of French telco giant Orange, is launching a new €50 million Africa-focused investment program for startups.

The investment division, which will be led by a team in Dakar to be set up in September, is dedicated to verticals like fintech, IoT, energy, and e-health. It will invest in both Africa-based startups and startups that are tackling issues in Africa.

According to Orange, one in 10 African inhabitants is an Orange customer. The operator currently runs a number of innovation programs and incubators in African countries, including Côte d’Ivoire, Cameroon, Senegal, and Jordan.

“Since the beginning of Orange Digital Ventures, the new services and business models in Africa have been one of the priority investment themes of our corporate venture business,” said Pierre Louette, chairman of Orange Digital Ventures. “With this announcement, we are engaging a bit further alongside the African digital ecosystem, which like everywhere else and maybe even more than elsewhere carries with it a development challenge.”

The Paris-based firm has previously invested in Actility, Monzo, and Wynd.

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