Grace Ashiru
Development finance institution Proparco, through its FISEA vehicle managed under the AFD Group, has come on board as a key backer of EmergingTech Ventures Fund II, a new early-stage venture capital vehicle focused on promising tech startups in Morocco, Tunisia, Senegal, and Côte d’Ivoire. The fund is run by EmTech Capital, an independent Moroccan investment firm founded by Meriem Zairi, Abdelouahid Benlamlih, and Sidi Mohammed Zakraoui. It is targeting a close of $60 million, with room to grow to $80 million, and will focus on pre-Series A and Series A companies working in deep tech, fintech, digital services, healthtech, edtech, agritech, and clean energy.
The new vehicle follows EmTech’s debut fund, a $22 million pool that was deployed mostly within Morocco. With this larger fund, the firm plans to widen its geographic footprint and back more startups with strong social and environmental value. Proparco’s Fabrice Perez framed the deal as part of a broader push to support Francophone Africa’s next generation of entrepreneurs, particularly given Morocco’s fast-moving tech scene and the country’s various public-sector digital initiatives. EmTech CEO Meriem Zairi Tlemçani described the partnership as validation of the firm’s investment approach and a boost to its ability to support ambitious founders across the region.
The deal comes amid a period of strong momentum for Morocco’s tech ecosystem, partly fueled by the Mohammed VI Fund. Proparco says the investment should help close the seed and Series A funding gap that many African startups face, while also helping prove out the venture capital model in the region — a step that could pave the way for future funds and attract more institutional money.
