The Board of Directors of the African Development Bank Group has approved a €7.5 million investment in the Breega Africa Seed I Fund to support some of Africa’s most promising early-stage technology start-ups. The financing is designed to help innovative young businesses grow during their critical early phases and strengthen the continent’s entrepreneurial ecosystem.
The Bank Group’s contribution includes €5 million in equity capital and an additional €2.5 million in the form of a junior tranche on behalf of the European Commission. This support is being provided under the Boost Africa Initiative, which aims to promote entrepreneurship and expand financing opportunities for young innovators and start-up founders across Africa.
The fund will invest in early-stage companies operating in a range of technology sectors, including fintech, insurtech, agritech, healthtech, logistics, diversity and inclusion, edtech, and climate tech. These investments are intended to improve access to essential services such as healthcare, finance, and education, especially for underserved communities. The fund will concentrate on five major African start-up hubs: Nigeria, South Africa, Kenya, Egypt, and Francophone Africa.
The investment is aligned with the African Development Bank’s Four Cardinal Points strategic framework. It supports the mobilization of Africa’s financial resources by increasing development financing for start-ups and helping close private-sector funding gaps. It also advances the goal of leveraging Africa’s demographic dividend by placing job creation, particularly for women and youth, at the center of its investment model. In addition, its focus on climate tech and agritech contributes to building resilience, promoting sustainable value chains, and encouraging green innovation across the continent.
Breega, the fund manager, is a venture capital firm that supports founders working in digital, climate, and deep tech across Europe and Africa, from pre-seed to Series A and beyond. Since 2015, the firm has grown to €700 million in assets under management and operates from offices in Paris, London, and Lagos. With more than 110 portfolio companies, Breega combines investment capital with hands-on operational support in areas such as hiring, sales, marketing, and business strategy.
