5-Minute Interview with Fabrice Boullé, Equitable Ventures

In this series of 5-minute interviews, I shine the spotlight on up-and-coming fund managers in private markets across the globe. All geographies. All strategies. All sectors.

Here's my conversation with Fabrice Boullé, Partner at Equitable Ventures.

Quick facts about Equitable Ventures:

• Market segment: Venture Capital
• Sector/thematic focus: Fintech
• Investment stage: Early Stage
• Geo focus: Sub-Saharan Africa
• Year established: 2020
• Location: Mauritius
• AUM: $14m
• Number of funds closed: 0
• Current fund size: $7.5m
• Current fund life:10+1+1?
• Equity size invested in companies: $200k

Q: What is Equitable Ventures’ investment strategy?

A: We foresee African financial institutions transforming into platforms, collaborating with startups to develop digital customer and corporate solutions. We focus on models integrating into those fragmented value chains to drive financial inclusion.

Q: What is driving growth of the investment opportunity in African fintech?

A: Africa’s fintech market is being driven by key factors: rapid population growth, strong mobile penetration, and a young, tech-savvy population that adopts digital services.

As regulations improve, the environment becomes more conducive for fintech to grow. Early players have already laid the mobile payments infrastructure, making it conducive for newer innovators.

Now, banks and telcos are partnering with fintechs, focusing less on competition and more on collaboration to address the 800m underbanked population and the $300bn MSME (micro, small and medium enterprises) credit gap.

Q: What fintech sector experience do you have?

A: After14 years of PE and VC investment across different sectors, and evaluating my portfolio leaders, I chose to focus on fintech due to the exceptional demand for accessible financial services, critical for inclusion and meeting basic needs.

The immaterial nature of fintech allows for exponential growth, while its resilience against economic downturns and political instability makes it attractive to growth investors, offering higher exit potential.

By specializing only in fintech, we refine our selection process, enhance due diligence and add more value to startups through our network and strategic insights.

Q: How do you source deals?

A: Through my work with Compass, Katapult and Equitable, I’ve directed over 30 investments in African tech startups. Today, many opportunities come through this network of founders and co-investors.

We take a thorough, three-dimensional approach, assessing each opportunity by Investment, Deal and Business criteria. This process ensures well-rounded decisions, particularly in fintech.

Q: What hands-on expertise do you have?

A: I don’t have hands-on expertise in building a startup as I’ve always been focused on becoming a private equity investor. Because of this, I take a more factual and structured approach to investments. My value to startups lies in areas like fundraising strategy, governance and financial planning, where I can provide clear guidance based on my investment experience.

Q: How are you building your team?

A: Right now, we’re a team of two, with support in the middle and back office from ENL and Katapult. The plan is to grow to a four-person team for premier fund deployment, with two of those based in Africa covering key markets. Additionally, we have a group of experienced advisors with deep backgrounds in entrepreneurship, investment and leadership which helps shape our vision, strategy, and actions.

Q: How do you see your business scaling?

A: I’ve been in this space for long and I am committed for the long haul. Our current portfolio of startups are developing well, achieving key milestones and are positioned to deliver solid exits.

This premier fund under Equitable’s brand offers investors accessible exposure to our strategy of investing in high-potential African B2B fintech startups.

The next funds will be larger and will adapt this thematic to the market’s dynamics, with an ambition to transpose across emerging markets.

Q: What is your secret sauce?

A: The key to my success lies in staying true to my principles and applying PE standards to early-stage investments. I prefer to invest in teams that are pragmatic and balanced, focused on sustainable growth. While I build strong relationships with founders, I maintain a clear distinction between friendship and my duty to the company and LPs, ensuring all decisions are grounded in fact.

Our curiosity drives us to consistently challenge the status quo, getting back to the core essence of initial value proposal and helping founders solidify their product market fit. This disciplined approach supports steady performance over time, alongside clear and transparent communication with LPs.

My experience with HUB2 illustrates my investment philosophy. We invested from the ideation stage and remained committed through both highs and lows, focusing not only on financial metrics but also on diverse milestones for follow-on decisions. This ongoing support was built on a collaborative partnership with the founders, in whom we placed confidence and trust.

Q: What’s the biggest challenge you have had to overcome?

A: In 2019, I had developed a strong corporate venture capital (CVC) strategy with Compass and ENL, building solid portfolio foundations and planning to raise additional funds. However, covid severely impacted Mauritius' economy, causing the CVC to be de-prioritized. To maintain momentum, I spun off the GP in collaboration with ENL, confident in the portfolio's potential and my ability to lead successful venture capital operations. The last four years have been challenging (due to the global downturn and specifically the African context) but also rewarding, with a promising outlook ahead.

Q: What valuable lesson have you learnt that helps drive your approach?

A: Solid relationships should always come before short-term gains. Focusing on trust, respect and long-term collaboration creates sustainable value and stronger partnerships. Prioritizing lasting connections over immediate rewards ensures greater success and mutual growth.

Q: What advice would you like to share with our readers?

A: Don’t view Africa as a single continent or merely 54 countries. Instead, focus on specific challenges within key sectors. Solving these problems with digital solutions presents immense opportunities for growth and impact.

Fabrice Boullé Equitable Ventures

#privatequity #venturecapital #innovation #investing #entrepreneurship #fintech #africa #mauritius