AfricArena, in partnership with DER/FJ (Délégation Générale à l’Entreprenariat Rapide des Femmes et des Jeunes, Senegal Government) and ITC United Nations #FastTrackTech Africa project, are proud to announce their West Africa Summit, set to take place on 22 and 23 June 2021, at Radisson Blu Hotel in Dakar, Senegal.
The two-day conference will feature pitches from 20+ startups operating in the region, as well as keynotes and panel discussions from the top minds in business, tech and investment in West Africa.
About AfricArena
AfricArena (https://www.africarena.com/) is an African tech ecosystem accelerator. Through a series of events (both live and digital), AfricArena accelerates the growth of tech startups and the ecosystems in which they operate by providing a platform where they can share their business model, gain valuable networks and attain funding.
A series of regional events
This year, AfricArena will organise four hybrid events across four regions in Africa, all building up to the annual AfricArena Summit in Cape Town at the end of the year. The regional events will bring together startups, investors and corporations operating in the region with 20+ startups from around West Africa being selected to pitch at the Dakar event. While bringing invaluable awareness and networking opportunities to the region’s ecosystem, the events will also act as a semi-final pitch session, used to select startups to pitch at the Grand Summit in Cape Town in December 2021.
West Africa Events
The West Africa Summit will take place in Dakar, Senegal (Radisson Blu Hotel) on 22 and 23 June 2021. The two-day Summit will feature the 20+ startup pitches as well as keynote presentations and panel discussions from ecosystem thought-leaders - speakers will be announced in the upcoming weeks.
The day before the two-day Summit, pitching startups will also be invited to take part in a day-long bootcamp facilitated by a local incubator, Impact Hub Dakar.
Over the two days, the Summit expects just over 20 startups to showcase their innovative solutions. The 20+ startups that will be pitching will mostly be pre-selected through a series of virtual pitch sessions that will take place from 25 May to 10 June 2021 (these digital events are free to attend, register here).
Parallel to the Founders Bootcamp will be the much anticipated, invite-only West Africa Investor Unconference - where Africa-focused startup investors and VCs will take part in discussions and workshops centred around co-investing and how to ease the process in investing in tech startups on the continent. Between 20 to 30 investors are expected to attend.
"West Africa is a solid, growing ecosystem - with incredibly innovative tech startups and an increasingly active investor community. This 3-day programme aims to bring together the key ecosystem stakeholders and promote collaboration that will take the region and the continent forward.” says Christophe Viarnaud, Founder of AfricArena.
“The AfricArena Summit is the place to be for a deep dive into African technology. For this West African regional edition, Senegal has the honour of being the host country thanks to the support of the DER/fj to this internationally recognized initiative. A way to allow West African startups, VCs, ESOs and other major actors of our technology and innovation scene to come together, share experiences and opportunities, co-create, stimulate our digital champions and strengthen our ecosystem global exposure.” statement from Papa Amadou Sarr, General Delegate of DER/fj.
“#FastTrackTech Africa supports tech entrepreneurs across West Africa with the environment, skills and resources to grow. These startups will create knowledge jobs and inclusive technology for the future. They are also contributing to the digital transformation of the continent and reaching the Sustainable Development Goals in Education, Health, Decent Work, Greening ICTs and many other areas. AfricArena is a great partner to support us in helping them generate business leads and investment in the region. We are looking forward to a successful event where we can all showcase and celebrate the West African tech ecosystem.” statement from Robert Skidmores, Chief of Sector and Enterprise Competitivenessat at ITC
Tickets
A Delegate Ticket for the Summit can be purchased here.
Startups wanting to pitch can register here.