By Iminza Keboge
Published November 22, 2018
Silicon Valley will not be replicated in Africa.
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A summit for early stage African investors held in Cape Town, South Africa, has concluded that though there may be lessons to be learned from the renowned US Valley of Technology, Africans face ‘unique constraints in scale, capital and exit opportunities. Rather than spend time ‘unicorn hunting,’ investors should push founders to build profitable, sustainable, and locally-adapted businesses’.
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The investors representing the mother continent’s early stage investing ecosystem at the two-day Africa Early Stage Investor Summit concurred that ‘collaboration is required to build a thriving industry’. They observed that investors must work like activists in attracting more capital and resources into African markets, especially from larger corporate bodies, growth equity investors and development finance institutions (DFIs). More collaboration is needed in designing instruments and financing structures tailored to African ventures, they observed.
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The event was organised by Venture Capital for Africa (VC4A), an organisation that focuses on start-up movement in Africa, and African Business Angel Network (ABAN) that says it supports the development of early-stage investor networks across Africa.
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