NewAlpha Asset Management has closed a ?56m vehicle, which it claims?is the first?venture capital fund solely dedicated to French FinTech investments.
The Bpifrance-managed French Tech Acceleration Fund agreed to invest ?15m in the vehicle, which also picked up commitments from French banks, insurers and pension funds.
The firm said NewAlpha FinTech was the most active French venture capital fund dedicated to the sector last year, making deals in startups including Heoh, iTrust, Unilend, Lydia, and TrackInsight.
NewAlpha private equity director Lior Derhy, “With our NewAlpha FinTech fund, we wanted to combine our expertise in the financial industry with the best practices of Venture Capital and incubation.
“We met with several hundred startups since the end of 2015, which confirms the depth and dynamic of FinTech opportunities in France and Europe.
“The constructive evolution of the relationships between the industry established players and startups should lead to a strong democratization of FinTech innovations and offer attractive investment opportunities.”
FTAF, which was launched in 2014, has made nearly ?70m of commitments across more than 10 investments, with the aim of accelerating French tech startups.
Previous investments have included?backing French?venture capital firm Sofinnova Partners.
Copyright ? 2017?FinTech Global
