Circle
How to Untap the African Venture Market
Experience Exchange & Best Practices for (Co-)Investments
Circle: How to Untap the African Venture Market
March 23, 2023
Château Royal, Berlin
The African start-up sector is booming, and the continent, as well as its ventures, are more than promising. Especially young entrepreneurs contribute to the development of the private sector in Africa and are on the rise, particularly in the tech industry. However, European and German investors show reluctance and scepticism when it comes to investments in African ventures. The current image of the continent, uncertainty and a lack of knowledge about the potential in many African countries may be the reason.
Zu Tisch während des Salon "How to Untap the African Venture Market"
Austausch beim Abendessen mit Investor:innen und Gründer:innen auf dem afrikanischen Markt
We aimed to strengthen the exchange of experiences among targeted investors who are already active in African markets and those who are not (yet) while presenting the two success stories of Mobile Afya and Tanél Health. Therefore, we offered a platform for a dialogue on opportunities, best practices, challenges and risks and to promote investment in Africa, notably through co-investment with local funds.
Action Recommendations
White Spot
The African venture market is still a white spot for many investors and is often perceived as too risky; therefore, more public money is needed to de-risk investments and attract more commercial money. The exchange between public financing institutions and private investors may also be strengthened to recommend and ensure follow-on investments.
Exit Strategies
The exit strategies are not always clear and need to be developed to sustain the venture world; therefore, financial institutions and corporations need to grow and be built up in parallel.
Organic Growth
A fast exit is not always the only way to go, and investors should at the same time have a look at companies and investment cases with no specific exit strategy, but that intends to grow organically to foster sustainable development of given sectors on the African continent.
Storytelling
The start-up sector on the African continent is booming, and hundreds of companies are generating substantial revenues, but these success stories only rarely reach Germany and its investor scene; therefore, more stories need to be told, and the information and knowledge exchange to be strengthened to make the African venture market more attractive.
Contact Persons
Rhoda Berger, r.berger@globalperspectives.org
Circle
We believe in proximity building trust. Our most personal format therefore offers the opportunity to deepen the knowledge of our high-ranking guests in a small circle, together with an exchange of experiences, in dialogue.
Related Program
Africa is experiencing an AI boom, but challenges persist. In our webinar, we explore the transformative potential of digital sovereignty together with AI experts.
What will sustainable economic cooperation between Europe and Africa look like in the future? We discussed this with stakeholders from the private sector and tomorrow's leaders.
With a new space agency and an upcoming space port on the continent, the African space industry is capturing global attention. What does this mean for European-African cooperation?
Our roundtable during Berlin Global Dialogue discusses opportunities and drivers of economic growth on the African continent, while adressing the main roadblocks.
Together with the Agency for Business and Development, we shed light on what obstacles women face when starting their own business.
Africa is increasingly recognized as a source and role model of green energy generation. Sustainable and effective climate finance is therefore at the core of our discussion with Dr. Vera Songwe.
We discussed economic growth in Africa with high-level representatives from the public and private sectors and came up with three key ingredients needed for a sustainable upswing.
Geopolitics and the shortage of natural resources underline the necessity of sustainable and forward-thinking cooperation between the neighbouring continents Europe and Africa.
The start-up sector in Europe and Africa is booming and the chances and needs for further investments are enormous. However, many German investors still show reluctance.
Together with the Institut für Demoskopie Allensbach, we interviewed experts from the African continent on their perspectives on the German Africa Policy.
Program Archive
Together with experts from politics, academia and civil society, we discussed the need to reform the global financial architecture.
Africa is experiencing an AI boom, but challenges persist. In our webinar, we explore the transformative potential of digital sovereignty together with AI experts.
Fostering mobility is considered one of the most important solutions to the skills gap on the African continent. We discuss this at the follow-up to the fifth edition of The Africa Roundtable.
Strategies for education, skill building and the labor market of tomorrow. The action recommendations of the fifth conference.
In this episode we are joined by Taha Bawa, Co-founder and CEO of Goodwall, a social enterprise which connects youth to opportunities for skilling, working and social impact.
The research paper on education and training in Africa was issued on the occasion of The Africa Roundtable “The Path to Success: Education, Skills, and Leadership” 2023 in Berlin.
What will sustainable economic cooperation between Europe and Africa look like in the future? We discussed this with stakeholders from the private sector and tomorrow's leaders.
The fifth edition of The Africa Roundtable focussed on employability, skills and training and examine the possibilities of equal education and training for Africa's youth.
With a new space agency and an upcoming space port on the continent, the African space industry is capturing global attention. What does this mean for European-African cooperation?