Senegalese private equity firm Teranga Capital has secured an initial CFA 2 billion (USD3.4 million) in new funding as it prepares to scale its investment activities beyond Senegal, targeting selected opportunities in Mauritania, Guinea-Bissau, and Cape Verde.
The new capital marks the first close of a planned CFA 5–6 billion fundraise. The round was led by a mix of returning and new investors, including Senegal’s sovereign wealth fund FONSIS, pan-African investor Investisseurs & Partenaires (I&P) through its IPDEV2 fund, and the firm’s co-founders, Olivier Furdelle and Omar Cissé. Additional backers include the Dutch government’s Challenge Fund for Youth Employment (CFYE) and individual investors such as Julie Dumortier through her investment vehicle Aceblue.
The capital increase follows a general assembly held in late March, where shareholders approved a series of resolutions to expand Teranga Capital’s mandate both in terms of investment size and geographic coverage. The firm said it plans to increase its maximum ticket size to CFA 1 billion (€1.5 million), up from previous levels, allowing it to respond to growing demand from small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the region. It also plans to reinvest selectively in its most successful portfolio companies.
Founded in 2016, Teranga Capital positions itself as an early-stage investor focused on SMEs and startups in Senegal with a stated emphasis on local value creation. Its portfolio includes a dozen companies in sectors such as agribusiness, health, and logistics. The firm typically provides equity and quasi-equity investments, coupled with hands-on operational support.
The decision to widen its geographic reach comes amid growing appetite for risk capital in West Africa’s underserved frontier markets. Mauritania, Guinea-Bissau, and Cape Verde remain largely off the radar for international private equity firms, but Teranga Capital sees them as natural extensions of its regional network.
“We believe there is meaningful potential in these markets to apply the same model of proximity investing anchored in local realities,” said one person close to the company, speaking on condition of anonymity as they were not authorised to speak publicly.
The firm’s strategy mirrors broader trends in African private equity, where investors are increasingly pursuing smaller, more targeted deals in secondary cities and across Francophone countries. While headline fundraising figures for African funds have fallen since their 2021 peak, smaller funds with a regional focus continue to attract institutional and development finance interest.
However, Teranga’s expansion also comes with risks. Venture and growth-stage investors operating in fragile or thinly capitalised ecosystems must often contend with weak infrastructure, limited exit options, and opaque regulatory environments. Guinea-Bissau and Mauritania, in particular, rank low on global ease-of-doing-business indices.
Still, proponents of Teranga’s model argue that deep local knowledge and close working relationships with founders can mitigate some of these risks. The firm remains one of the few locally headquartered private equity players in Senegal with a focus on early-stage businesses and blended finance.
With the fresh injection of capital, Teranga Capital is expected to begin scouting opportunities in the newly added geographies by the end of 2025. The firm’s leadership has not announced a timeline for the second close of its fundraise but said it continues to engage additional investors.
If successful, the move could set a precedent for more regionally focused investment firms to extend their reach across West Africa’s overlooked corridors — markets often bypassed by larger funds in favour of more established economies such as Nigeria, Ghana, or Côte d’Ivoire.
Teranga Capital is a Senegalese private equity firm focused on supporting SMEs and early-stage ventures with equity and quasi-equity financing. It is affiliated with the I&P network and seeks to promote inclusive and sustainable economic growth in Francophone West Africa.