Proparco, the French development finance institution, has made a rare cornerstone investment in a Moroccan-led early-stage venture capital fund, backing EmergingTech Ventures Fund II (EmTech II) as a limited partner. The commitment — routed through FISEA, an AFD Group facility managed by Proparco — sees the DFI throw its weight behind a $60m vehicle targeting pre-Series A and Series A startups across Morocco, Tunisia, Senegal and Côte d’Ivoire.

The move is an unusual one for Proparco. While it has backed larger pan-African VC funds such as Partech Africa and TLcom Capital, it seldom anchors a sub-$100m fund managed by an independent regional team — and even more rarely in Morocco. The deal underscores a growing institutional appetite for Francophone Africa’s underserved early-stage market and signals confidence in the local management team.

“We are delighted to support EmTech in launching its second fund, led by an experienced and committed local team,” said Fabrice Perez, head of the financial institutions and innovation division at Proparco. “This partnership reflects our ambition to support the next generation of digital entrepreneurs in Francophone Africa, particularly in Morocco, a highly dynamic market, and to contribute to the development of a vibrant and inclusive technology ecosystem, in line with the many public initiatives launched by Morocco.”

Local roots, regional ambitions

EmTech Capital, the fund’s manager, was founded by Meriem Zairi Tlemçani, Abdelouahid Benlamlih and Sidi Mohammed Zakraoui. The trio cut their teeth managing a $22m predecessor fund, then operating under the name Seaf Morocco Capital Partners, which deployed capital almost exclusively in Morocco. In 2022 they bought out the firm’s shareholders and rebranded to EmergingTech Ventures, sharpening their focus on technology-driven businesses.

EmTech II, with a target of $60m (expandable to $80m), represents a significant scale-up. The fund plans to invest in around 20 startups, writing cheques of between $500,000 and $3m in pre-Series A and Series A rounds, with reserves for follow-on investments. Sectors in its crosshairs include fintech, deeptech, healthtech, edtech, agritech, cleantech and digital services.

“This partnership with Proparco and FISEA represents a major milestone for EmTech and for the Moroccan and African technology ecosystem as a whole,” Zairi Tlemçani told Sifted. “The support of a leading development finance institution validates our investment thesis and strengthens our ability to back the most ambitious entrepreneurs in Francophone Africa. We are proud to build this new chapter alongside partners who share our conviction that Africa is home to a new generation of talented entrepreneurs capable of creating high-impact companies with global reach.”

DFI tag-team

Proparco isn’t the only development financier circling EmTech II. As Launch Base Africa reported in 2024, the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the World Bank’s private sector arm, is planning a $4m equity investment in the fund. The vehicle has a target first close of $40m, and having two heavyweight DFIs on the cap table is expected to catalyse commitments from other institutional investors, family offices and potentially corporate LPs.

“Developing local fund managers, backed by institutional capital, capable of supporting pre-Series A and Series A activities, will be crucial to deepening the venture capital ecosystem in the region and boosting funding for growing startups,” the IFC stated at the time.

The presence of DFIs brings more than money. Both Proparco and IFC are known to push for robust environmental, social and governance (ESG) standards, gender-lens investing and rigorous impact measurement — requirements that can make portfolio companies more attractive to international co-investors and acquirers later on.

A gap to fill

EmTech II’s launch comes as Francophone Africa remains a minnow in African venture capital. According to Partech’s 2023 Africa Tech Venture Capital report, startups in Francophone countries attracted just 8% of the continent’s total equity funding, with the lion’s share going to Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa and Egypt. Morocco itself punches below its weight relative to its GDP, though it has seen a recent uptick in deal activity, boosted by government incentives.

A cornerstone of that public push is the Mohammed VI Fund for Investment and Innovation, a multibillion-dirham state initiative designed to catalyse private capital into startups and SMEs. New technology parks, regulatory sandboxes and a reformed startup act are all aimed at positioning Morocco as a digital gateway to West and Central Africa.

Proparco’s Perez explicitly nodded to that momentum. By anchoring EmTech II, the DFI wants to help translate political will into tangible financing for entrepreneurs. “This partnership is part of that dynamic and aims to support the emergence of African technology champions,” he said.

Building the venture asset class

For Proparco, the investment is as much about development impact as it is about financial return. The fund is expected to improve access to seed and Series A capital in markets where it is sorely lacking, strengthen local VC capabilities, and demonstrate that early-stage tech investing can be commercially viable in the region. Success, the thinking goes, will attract more institutional LPs and pave the way for future fund managers.

FISEA, the specific facility used by Proparco, was established with a mandate to invest equity and quasi-equity in African small businesses and microfinance institutions. Its move into a tech VC fund LP is an evolution of that strategy, acknowledging that fast-growing digital startups are key job creators and innovation engines.

Moroccan VC, however, remains a nascent asset class. Exits are infrequent, currency risk in countries like Tunisia can erode returns, and the lack of a deep local institutional investor base means many funds struggle to reach meaningful scale. EmTech II’s ability to deliver top-quartile returns will depend on its skill in picking winners and managing exits, possibly through secondary sales or trade buyers in a region where IPOs are rare.

Still, the very act of securing a cornerstone commitment from a name like Proparco — alongside the IFC — gives EmTech a stamp of credibility that few North African fund managers have achieved. It also signals that the international development finance community is willing to make bets on local, independent teams rather than solely backing large, foreign-headquartered fund platforms.

“Africa is home to a new generation of talented entrepreneurs capable of creating high-impact companies with global reach,” Zairi Tlemçani said. With Proparco’s backing, EmTech II now has the firepower to go and find them — and the pressure to prove that Francophone Africa can be more than a footnote in the continent’s venture story.