21 startups across the Southern Africa region came to learn, network, and showcased their innovative Ideas to our ecosystem of Investors, Incubators, and Accelerators for a
chance to make it to the Grand summit taking place in Cape Town, South Africa in November 2022.
The summit, a side event to the South African President Investment Conference and supported by the Technology Innovation Agency and Edge Growth VC firm, was attended by 60+ high-level investors, 21 startups from the Southern Africa Region, as well as the elite of the continent’s ecosystem builders. 140+ In-person attendees and 1000+ virtual viewers joined us as we embarked on the journey of finding Africa's best disruptors.
During the Summit, major announcements took place, including the launch of the AfricArena State of Tech in Africa (SoTiA) Report, the presentation of the Vivatech AfricaTech challenge with IFC, and five startups winning awards - qualifying for the AfricArena Grand Summit taking place in Cape Town next November.
South African-based AfricArena, which has established itself as a leading ecosystem accelerator and deal flow platform across Africa has since its inception in 2017, built a platform dedicated to supporting the creation of market access and investment opportunities for its ever-increasing community of founders, angels, corporates and VC investors.
Over 20+ speakers attended the two-day summit and hosted an array of Panel discussions, Fireside chats, and Keynote speakers with the aim of accelerating startup participants' journey into scaling, by giving an overview of what's happening in the Africa tech ecosystem.
Amongst keynote speakers were Zach George, Clive Butkow, and Philip Kiracofe.
Zach is an early-stage investor and partner at Launch Africa Ventures holding the highest number of deals (65+) across the African continent in 2021. Zach spoke about the Exponential Growth and Impact of Venture Capital in Africa.
Clive Butkow the CEO of Kalon Venture Partners, a disruptive digital technology Venture Capital Fund (VCC) located in Johannesburg, gave an insightful keynote address that covered 10 lessons for entrepreneurs when raising venture capital.
Philip Kiracofe helped bring world-class accelerators to Africa and is the CEO and co-founder of Startupbootcamp Afritech. He has accelerated and/or invested in more than 50+ African startups since 2013. Philip spoke about the Corporate Startup Collaboration (CSC) in Africa.
The French Ambassador to South Africa Joining our Panel on Building bridges between Africa and Europe's Innovation Ecosystem
We had an array of Panel discussions featuring Investors, corporates, media and Ecosystem builders, bringing a diverse perspective to issues and hot topics on the African Continent.
AfricArena Launches its State of Tech in Africa Report 2022 at its second Southern Africa Summit in Johannesburg
Leveraging the knowledge of its community and complementing the great work of other key stakeholders, AfricArena produces annually a research report that provides insight into the opportunities, challenges and trends in tech innovation and investment in Africa, from the perspectives of startup founders, investors and corporates.
The focal point of the report is unpacking a number of analytical information on tech investment in Africa, most particularly from The Big Deal, and to tell the “stories behind the numbers” by focusing on a number of entrepreneurs, investors and ecosystem builders involved in building the future of the continent. Video interviews, podcast episodes and cuts from keynotes, panel discussions and pitches are embedded in the report, making it highly interactive.
The report also contains a section providing a forecast on the evolution of VC activity on the continent, with a view that investment in the continent's tech ecosystem will exceed $6 billion in 2022 and reach $10 billion by 2024.
Download and read the report here
The winner's circle
Most Innovative Startup: Lynkwise (Namibia) - CEO: Ryan Penderis
Best Emerging Entrepreneur: Cylone Accounting (Namibia) - CEO: Jessé Liula Schiceya
Best Seed Startup: Ejoobi (South Africa) - Founder: Simangele Mphala
Best Series A Startup: Kuisini Water (South Africa) - CEO: Murendeni Mafumo
Best Late Stage Startup: Flow Living (Southern Africa) - CEO: Gil Sperling
AfricArena to host VC Unconference & West African regional Summit in Dakar, Senegal on 23-27 April 2022 in partnership with AVCA VC Day (28 April)
AVCA & AfricArena have jointly announced a partnership around a week-long of complementary events between April 23rd and 28th, to help accelerate investment in the African PE and tech VC ecosystems.
AVCA is excited to announce the return of its Annual Conference taking place from 25th – 29th April in Dakar, Senegal. This year’s conference will dive deeper into the future of private capital and venture capital in Africa.
AfricArena, the leading African series of tech events, is thrilled to announce in partnership with DER, its first full VC Unconference to take place at Lamantin Hotel in the Dakar area on April 23-25th, and its second West Africa Summit in Dakar on April 26-27. The Five-day program will feature pitches from 20+ startups operating in the region, 30+
VC's co-creating the future of VC in Africa, as well as keynotes and panel discussions from the top minds in business, tech, and investment in West Africa.
Book your tickets today
VC Unconference, Summit & AVCA VC Day Delegate Pass - Get Your Ticket
Summit & AVCA VC Day Delegate Pass - Get Your Ticket
Tickets
Tickets for the West Africa Summit (in-person) can be purchased on our tickets page.
For any questions or clarification on this press release, reach out to the AfricArena team: Nathniel@africarena.com.
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About AfricArena:
Cape Town-based AfricArena is the highest impact tech ecosystem accelerator & deal flow platform in Africa. Going into its sixth year, AfricArena has operated in three key spheres that underpin Africa’s economic landscape: tech startups, corporates, and investors (i.e. angel investors, VCs, corporate VCs, and other institutional investors). Through open innovation challenges, in partnership with corporations, AfricArena has brought together these 3 spheres, to foster co-investment and collaboration that can move the economies and people of the continent forward. The 2022 AfricArena Grand Summit, preceded by 4 regional Summits in Johannesburg, Dakar, Tunis and Nairobi, will take place in Cape Town in November 2022. AfricArena aims at creating links and opportunities between start-ups, investors and established companies, but also between the African continent and the rest of the world. AfricArena stands as a bridge between the international and African tech innovation ecosystems. To find out more about AfricArena, please visit: https://africarena.com/