Now is the time. Now is the time to be investing in Africa. A billion consumers, improving political stability, a rising middle class, continued penetration of mobile and Internet, these are just a few of the underlining trends that continue to introduce an increasing number of opportunities. Most important… Africa is exploding with talent and a rising generation of entrepreneurs are determined to build great businesses that transform their countries, quickly finding markets across the continent and around the world.
We are well passed idea stage now.
64% of the ventures on the Venture Capital for Africa platform generated revenue by their second year. On average, startups secured USD 80,000 in funding vs. expansion companies that secured USD 237,000. When we asked 90 companies about their progress, 70 had secured more than USD 12 million in funding. Take for example Vivify in Egypt that closed USD 70K and is now raising 1.2 million, Njorku in Cameroon that secured Angel investment from the US, or UpEnergy in Uganda that closed USD 1 million and is seeking the same amount in debt. We are talking about a new brand of entrepreneur building exciting businesses in some of Africa’s greatest markets. Scalable enterprises that have significant social implications. See a break down of the ventures on VC4Africa.
There is so much more beyond the surface of the tech blogs and the headline conferences. Thousands of companies are building real tangible traction, forced to show their potential in hard numbers needed to compete in otherwise uncompromising markets. They deserve a closer look and we are inviting the world’s top investors to get involved.
VC4Africa makes this easy. Just log in to your VC4Africa account and gain access to thousands of ventures our team has selected for you. Find out who is in the team or connect with one of their advisors. See if the entrepreneur has participated in a business plan challenge or graduated from an acceleration program. Find out if they have paying customers and get a sense of their growth. Check if they are raising capital, who has invested previously, and what their ideal terms are. Check to see if there is a chamber of commerce registration or drill down into the financials. Connect with the VC4Africa team for introductions or connect with one of our many partners when conducting due diligence or working to close the deal. Really, it doesn’t get much easier than this. And what do you have to lose? If anything, you will connect with the continent’s brightest innovators and be inspired by their relentless drive to do great things.
Dariu Trueb, Partner at Kitendo Capital explains, “VC4Africa is an ecosystem booster. A platform like this works to mobilize community and gives impact investors like Kitendo better access to promising entrepreneurs. We have the ability to seek out new partnerships and co-invest with others. But more than discovery and networking, VC4Africa creates a supporting foundation for the entrepreneurs. To succeed in tough markets it is important we invest in system level infrastructure like this.”
The VC4Africa community has grown organically over time. The community did not emerge out of some ‘grand design’ but rather formed itself as a collection of like minded individuals. As a volunteer effort, VC4Africa has grown over the years into the leading network of founders, and then increasingly the community of business professionals that seek to support their growth and development. The VC4Africa organization only exists to serve the needs of its members, and we build the programs, services and tools in response to what members tell us they need. Its an open collaborative space where people come together to build great companies. So again, we invite the world’s top investors to get involved and engage our members.
Long time member and entrepreneur Teddy Ruge adds, “I like what I see so far and I like where VC4Africa has come from. This is what the future of development and investment on the continent looks like. We need to build a culture of supporting entrepreneurs building market solutions on the ground.”
Get involved. Join our investor network today and become part of Africa’s next great success story!
Also read: “Startup investors: Be part of Africa’s next great success story!”