A team of seasoned entrepreneurs

Benoit Delestre

Managing Partner

After creating and selling two Fintech companies in Europe, Benoit founded Saviu to invest in ambitious startups on the African continent. Benoit is a long-standing entrepreneur with deep knowledge on how to develop start-ups from seed to growth. He sits on the board of several tech companies, which he advises on a day-to-day basis. Benoit holds a Master's degree from the European Business School (France).

Samuel Touboul

Managing Partner

Samuel has been working for more than 10 years within the Private Equity industry, with a strong focus on Impact Investments and Emerging markets. He started his career at Newfund (Venture Capital, France), Argos (LBO, Europe) and Proparco (Growth Capital & Impact, Africa), before joining Saviu as a Partner. Samuel holds a Master from ESSEC Business School, a Master from Sciences Po Paris, and a PhD from HEC Paris, where he still teaches Finance classes.

Cynthia Mandjek

Principal

Before joining Saviu, Cynthia worked within the growth team of Eurazeo (Venture Capital, Europe), and Orange Digital Ventures (Corporate VC, Europe and Africa). She also has experience as a consultant at Founders Intelligence, advising corporates on their digital transformation strategies, and as Chief of Staff at Aqemia, a biotech startup. Cynthia holds a Master from ESCP Business School.

Mouhammad Sene

Analyst

Before joining Saviu, Mouhammad worked as an analyst in investment banking at Impaxis Capital (West Africa) and at Dakar Network Angels, which invest in early-stage African startups. Mouhammad holds a Master from Toulouse Business School.

Victoria Habar

Analyst

Before joining Saviu, Victoria worked as an analyst in the Strategy department of Generali, one of France's largest insurance companies, and as an advisor for several start-ups. Victoria is a future graduate of EM Lyon.

Papa Mady Sidibé

Head of Portfolio Management

A graduate of the Ecole Polytechnique and CESAG (Senegal) in corporate finance, Mady worked for banks for 3 years. He then joined a Senegalese government agency for 3 years to support and finance start-ups in the early stages of their development.

Karim Fakhry

Portfolio Manager

As a Venture Partner, Karim works part-time for Saviu, and part-time as an Investment Officer at SARCI (African refinery). Karim holds a Master from ESSEC Business School.

Mohammed Diabi

Tech Investor in Ivory Coast, Former Chief Enterprise Architect at Criteo, graduated from Telecom Paris and INSEAD.

Arthur Thuet

Former investor at Saviu and co-founder / former CEO at Kamtar (a Logistics startup in Ivory Coast), graduated from ESSEC Business School.

Team