This year’s second VC4Africa meetup in Nairobi that was held last week turned out the be one of the most international editions so far. With over 60 people attending from all over the world it turned out to be exactly what a meetup should be: networking between investors and entrepreneurs from different backgrounds and sectors. One of the hot discussion points was the need for Angel investors in the African startup space. “We need to see some big exits in the African tech-space. Successfull entrepreneurs will re-invest their money as angels.”
With DEMO Africa on the agenda the two days after the meetup we welcomed people from Senegal, Ghana, Uganda, South Africa, Kenya, United States, Turkey, Denmark and The Netherlands. VC4Africa co-founder Ben White was also attending to meet all the people that have been a VC4Africa member for years without meeting in person.
It was interesting to see the interaction between the investors, entrepreneurs and people who are interested in the start-up scene in Kenya and Africa at large. Although the eco-system is growing, it is still in an early stage and everyone knows about each other.
One of the main topics that were discussed is the need for local Angel investors and we asked people to share their opinion about this in the video on the top of this page. Eric Osiakwan, one of the first internet entrepreneurs in Ghana, says: “One of my nightmares is that this culture that is building up over the continent will skyfall because their are no Angel investors. It is not just money, you also need mentoring and coaching in different elements of setting up a business.”
Yann Le Beux from CTIC Senegal added: “I think it is a slow process to build an Angel community and eco-system. If you look at the US it took years and years of successful entrepreneurs that did not want to invest in real-estate but invest in growing companies. We will see more successful entrepreneurs in Africa that want to re-invest in young ventures.”
Kevin Samuel (Kenya) concludes: “If you look at Angel investment in Kenya, one side of the argument is that Angel investors have not yet taken advantage of the situation. But I would say that it is up to the industry to make it attractive for Angel investors.” See more comments in the video above.
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