Looking back: This past year has been an incredible adventure for the VC4Africa community. Here are a few highlights:
– One thousand entrepreneurs registered their businesses via the VC4Africa website. Nearly five hundred venture profiles have been published online from over thirty-five African countries;
– Through the VC4Africa mentorship program, twenty-five entrepreneurs received mentorship support from fellow members of the community;
– Sixty entrepreneurs registered fundraising intentions, fifteen rounds were approved, and at least ten ventures secured funding. Two of these deals were closed using the new VC4Africa fundraising tool and more than USD 1 million was raised for entrepreneurs listed on the website;
– Through various collaborations, we saw coffee cooperative CESACOPA win the 2012 EMRC Incubator Award, Djoss.tv being recognized as the most promising startup at the Cameroon Startup Challenge, and 40 entrepreneurs being selected for the first ever DEMO Africa event;
– Fellow members of the community hosted 42 VC4Africa meetups across the world. This includes 26 events in Africa (Kampala, Nairobi, Kigali, Dar es Salaam, Johannesburg, Abuja, Lagos, Accra, Lusaka, Tunis, Dakar, Cairo, Alexandria, Aswan, Menia, Buea, Douala and Addis) and 16 across the world (Amsterdam, London, Leuven, Paris, Stockholm, New York, Boston, Richmond, Washington DC, Atlanta, Los Angeles and San Francisco);
– The VC4Africa Investor network launched in May 2012, and we have since welcomed many new investors to the community. They join the ranks of well established firms like Alitheia Capital, AltVest, Jacana Ventures, Chembe Ventures, DOB Foundation, DOEN, Hivos, eVentures Africa, i4A, Sovec, TLcom, GroFin, African Development Corporation, Matamba Anonaka, African Media Ventures Fund, Elea, Ringier, and Kitendo Capital among others.
Our wishes for the new year: The coming year holds a lot of promise as the community, network, and platform continue to grow. We have a number of new initiatives that we look forward to rolling out over the coming six months. We thank each and every one of you for your continued support. As always, we invite you to get involved. Join as a mentor, participate as an investor, or simply help us spread the word. Indeed, it is our combined knowledge, network and capital that can do great things!
Here is to an entrepreneurial 2013 ~
Your team at VC4Africa