Meltwater Entrepreneurial School of Technology (MEST), based in Accra, Ghana, is one of the partners in VC4Africa’s partnership network, bringing in various ventures to VC4Africa, including Dropifi, ClaimSync, Saya Mobile and RetailTower. MEST offers a three-phase entrepreneurial program designed to foster the growth of globally successful software companies from Africa through training, funding, and incubation. Since 2008 MEST has trained over 100 tech entrepreneurs and has invested over $1.5M in 13 tech start-ups in Accra. Below Benjamin Bertenbreiter interviews Michael Szymanski, Director of Business Development at MEST, and manager of the MEST seed fund. “I think there will be big success stories out of Africa.”

What is the central goal of MEST, what are you all striving for?  

“One of the driving ideas behind MEST is [...]

Tags: africa, capital, community, continent, entrepreneurs, equity, finance, funding, ghana, investor, mest, silicon valley, startups, tech, venture capital for africa
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This article by Michelle Atagana originally appeared on Ventureburn, a VC4Africa publishing partner.

Let’s forget building the next Facebook, Google or Apple, writes Michelle Atagana. Instead African entrepreneurs should build “boring companies” that simply make money and provide useful services. “Wouldn’t that crazy idea work and wouldn’t that profitability attract foreign investment?”…

You will be hard pressed to find anyone in Africa who doesn’t agree that a wave of something big and game-changing is coming. In fact, the way the world is turning, it’s a school of thought that seems to be a soaring fire bird — it is starting to feel like everyone is thinking it.

Innovation is the key energiser. Having leapfrogged with wicked-smart and insanely useful mobile solutions, it seems the continent has no choice [...]

Tags: africa, business, capital, continent, entrepreneurs, focus, innovation, investment, investors, profitability, venture capital
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What needs to be done, by policy-makers of African governments and others, to create a thriving economic environment for emerging entrepreneurs in Africa? Lerato Nage, an independent finance professional based in South Africa, will share results of his research on this question in a series on VC4Africa on venture capital and IPOs in African markets. 

For the economic development of African economies, a vibrant venture capital sector is critical. For any economy to thrive; to create employment and combat poverty, whilst contributing positively to economic growth, the creation of new ventures is important.
The current economic environment in African economies needs to improve if the venture capital sector is to thrive. The lack of relevant and appropriate legislation hampers the rapid establishment of new enterprises. [...]

Tags: africa, business, capital, community, continent, equity, finance, funding, investors, IPO, research, sector, startup, venture capital, venture capital for africa
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Last Thursday, members of VC4Africa came together for a VC4Africa meetup in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. We had a chance to catch up with VC4Africa’s Head of Investor relations Saskia Reus-Makkink, and with one of the entrepreneurs who visited the meetup.

Saskia Reus-Makkink: “It was great meeting such a diverse group of people who do or want to contribute to the African entrepreneurship place. We met with mentors, entrepreneurs and investors. PUM, with an expertise network of 3200 retired professionals offered support for entrepreneurs with established companies. A media expert who expands activities to Kenya offered his support to startups. Two energy companies shared their high level expansion plans and we met with experienced as well as a new investor to the scene. It was [...]

Tags: africa, business, capital, community, continent, entrepreneurs, ghana, meetup, networking, vc4africa meetup, venture capital for africa
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At VC4Africa our mission is to support the continent’s most promising entrepreneurs and to connect them with the resources (network, knowledge and capital) they require to realize their potential. Specifically, we focus on the less than 1 million range currently underserved by the market. We do everything we can to help entrepreneurs tackle both their non-financial and financial needs. Launching the VC4Africa investor network in May of 2012, entrepreneurs with venture profiles listed on VC4Africa now have exclusive access to the continent’s largest and most dedicated network of Africa focused investors actually interested in early stage companies.

We selected 40 investors from the VC4A network and profile them here:

4Di Capital is an [...] Continue reading Connecting innovators with capital, meet 40 investors from the VC4Africa investor network » Tags: africa, angel, community, continent, debt, due diligence, entrepreneurs, equity, finance, funding, growth finance, investing, Investor Network, investors, matches, matchmaking, networking, platform, private equity, seed, SME, social, startup, VC, VC4Africa, venture capital Comments | Permalink 10 African startups offering green energy solutions By Miguel Heilbron on March 8, 2013 The energy crisis in Africa is immense. Around three quarters of the population in Sub Saharan Africa have no access to electricity, and also companies express access to power as their biggest obstacle. At Venture Capital for Africa, the biggest online community connecting African entrepreneurs and investors, many startups are focused on offering (green) energy solutions. See the selection below, and follow the ones you like!  GreenEnergyPark™ – South Africa – Philipp Steiner GreenEnergyPark™s are small commercial developments in rural areas that convert biomass (agricultural residues) into energy, chemicals and commercial products. They’ll provide rural jobs, contribute to food security (additional farming revenue) and its goods replace fossil based products. See their VC4Africa profile >>  Solarkiosk Solutions PLC – Ethiopia – Sasha Kolopic Continue reading 10 African startups offering green energy solutions » Tags: africa, business, community, continent, energy, entrepreneurship, green, history, solutions, startups, venture capital for africa Comments | Permalink TMS Ruge: “Our Silicon Valley moment is right now” By Miguel Heilbron on February 18, 2013 On the threshold of Mobile Web East Africa 2013, held in Nairobi this week, we ask TMS Ruge – ‘African Futurist’ and VC4Africa member, who will give the opening address at Mobile Web East Africa 2013 – to share his thoughts on mobile technology and entrepreneurship developments in Uganda and Africa. TMS Ruge is an entrepreneur, writer, speaker, co-founder of Uganda’s technology incubator Hive Colab, online platform Project Diaspora, and many other initiatives.  What do you hope will come out of Mobile Web East Africa 2013? “A renewed solidarity to push the envelope of innovation even further. Lots has happened since Mobile Web East Africa 2010 and I think it’s time to kick things into higher gear: more innovation, more local content creation and [...] Continue reading TMS Ruge: “Our Silicon Valley moment is right now” » Tags: 2013, africa, community, continent, entrepreneurs, history, mobile, mobile web east africa, MWEA2013, networking, silicon valley, technology, TMS Ruge, venture capital for africa, web Comments | Permalink Sharing a 2 minute video introducing VC4Africa By Miguel Heilbron on January 7, 2013 Venture Capital for Africa is the biggest and fastest growing online community connecting African entrepreneurs and investors. Today we’re sharing a video that introduces the community in 2 minutes. Check it out and help us spread the word! The video introduces the different aspects of the Venture Capital for Africa community. How you can join in just a few minutes, after which you can build a free profile and connect with other entrepreneurs. Presently, nearly five hundred venture profiles have been published online from over thirty-five African countries. The video shows how through VC4Africa you can get noticed by angels and VC investors from the VC4Africa Investors network. Do you need capital to grow your business? See the 5 steps of fundraising [...] Continue reading Sharing a 2 minute video introducing VC4Africa » Tags: africa, business, capital, community, continent, entrepreneur, entrepreneurship, History, investors, network, networking, social, startup, VC4Africa Updates, venture capital for africa, video, web, youtube Comments | Permalink Brain gain: 70% of African Diasporan MBAs will return to work in Africa post-graduation By Ben on December 13, 2012 African Diasporan MBA students from leading Western business schools have affirmed their conviction in Africa’s potential for fostering small-to- medium sized enterprises (SMEs). 70 percent will work in Africa after graduation, according to a new survey by Jacana Partners, the pan-African private equity firm that invests in SMEs to deliver social and financial returns. Of that 70 percent, half plan to become entrepreneurs and start their own company, as opposed to working for an existing business. 89 percent of all African respondents selected the growing consumer story as presenting the greatest opportunity in Africa, above both natural resources and advancing technologies. As a result, more than a third selected consumer goods and financial services as sectors that offer the most attractive opportunity for starting a [...] Continue reading Brain gain: 70% of African Diasporan MBAs will return to work in Africa post-graduation » Tags: africa, brain drain, brain gain, business, continent, diaspora, expert, jacana, MBA, ventures Comments | Permalink World Bank Research: Technology entrepreneurship is increasingly seen as a driver for development By Ben on December 11, 2012 eTransform Africa: The Transformational Use of Information and Communication Technologies in Africa, is a joint report by the World Bank and African Development Bank, with support from the African Union. The authors follow the growth of the continent’s technology sector, documenting innovations in ICTs and advances in access for Africa’s population at large. In just the past five years, Africa’s mobile phone market has rapidly expanded to become larger than either the EU or the United States with some 650 million subscribers. At the same time, Internet bandwidth has grown 20-fold as hundreds of thousands of kilometers of new cables have been laid across the continent to serve an increasing number of its 1 billion citizens. The new access is quickly changing lives, driving entrepreneurship fueled in [...] Continue reading World Bank Research: Technology entrepreneurship is increasingly seen as a driver for development » Tags: africa, continent, entrepreneurship, ict, infodev, research, technology, world bank Comments | Permalink Next Page Partners 1%CLUB ActivSpaces AVCA CTIC Dakar DEMO Africa District Egypt DOEN Foundation EMRC Enviu ExtendedBits GrowthHub Nairobi Hivos iceaddis icecairo iHub Nairobi Innoventures Lunatech Ventures Lions Africa Mara Launchpad MEST Ghana Mobile Web Africa NaiLab VentureBurn Wennovation Hub WEBclusive Zinger Systems Members All Members Officers Program Ventures Latest Business Ventures Popular Business Ideas Top In 24 hours Top In 7 days Top in 30 days Investors Featured Entrepreneurs Register as an Investor Events All Events Organize Your Own LOGIN About The Team Partners Blog Contact © VC4A 2013 Terms Disclaimer