The GreenTec Capital Africa Foundation (GCAF) and the Land of African Business (Le LAB) are pleased to announce the first edition of #EntrepreneursOnTheMove: Investing in Africa’s Future. #EOM will take place at the Chamber of Commerce and the Pullman Hotel in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire. The conference will serve as a platform to build capacity of entrepreneurs, investors and enablers.
What to expect at #EOM2019
The goal of #EOM is to catalyze actions towards supporting and investing in African entrepreneurs so that they can grow and scale their businesses. In doing so, #EOM looks beyond the borders of countries and regions and includes startups and supporters from all across Africa.
Day 1 on October 2 is focused on Africa’s Francophone regions. 60 selected startups will go through workshop sessions and masterclasses to prepare them for the upcoming pitches the following day during the African Rethink Awards. In parallel, the first part of the conference will take place. Investors will have the chance to participate in an ecosystem tour through Abidjan.
Day 2 on October 3 rd kicks off the pan-African part of the conference with intervention and discussions with key decision-makers from the policy and investment sector. The day will end with a prize ceremony for the start-ups competing in the African Rethink Awards.
On Day 3 on October 4, startups and supporters are invited to take part in interactive sector-specific sessions with inputs from successful startups and relevant ecosystem enablers. An evening reception themed “Celebrating African Ingenuity” with the nominees of the African Innovation Prize for Africa will close the three-day conference.
Collaboration between partners and regions
#EOM was born out of a collaboration between GCAF and Le LAB. This mindset of collaboration is underlying the whole conference.
The integration and collaboration between Francophone and Anglophone key players is an important aspect for African integration and thus also for #EOM. This is reflected in the selection of speakers and home regions of the participants ranging from Côte d’Ivoire to Kenya to South Africa. In the sessions and open discussion, it will be given the chance to foster new partnerships and business opportunities.
The GIZ (German Development Agency) and the World Bank will join the #EOM as key supporters and demonstrate their commitment towards supporting entrepreneurs.
On an ecosystem level, the French initiative Digital Africa and Jokkolabs teamed up with the #EOM organizers to support and help bringing the ecosystems together. Local structures such as IncubIvoir, iHUB and SeedSpace support #EOM on the ground and mobilize more than 100 entrepreneurs to benefit from the conference workshops and masterclasses.
Trip for investors looking at Francophone Africa
Francophone ecosystems are developing rapidly. In the past years, Francophone countries saw a higher economic growth than overall Africa. Two of the main Francophone hubs are Abidjan and Dakar. However, angel and VX-networks are still in early stages. For investors, it is a good time to get familiar with the market and relevant players. Following GCAF’s first investor trip to VivaTech in Paris, the investor trip to Abidjan, coinciding with #EOM, will give investors the opportunity to get to know the relevant structures, startups and people.
Join us at #EOM2019!
To get your ticket and for more information, please visit https://greentec-foundation.org/eom2019/ . For media requests, and partnership and sponsorship opportunities, or if you want to take part in the investors’ ecosystem tour, please contact the organizers by email: events@greentec-foundation.com
About GCAF
Founded in 2018, the GreenTec Capital Africa Foundation is a non-profit organization that promotes the development of investment in African entrepreneurship with the goal of driving the creation of local economic and social added-value. With offices in both continents – Africa and Europe – the foundation aims at creating synergies between different stakeholders to mutual benefit. In order to achieve its goals, the GreenTec Capital Africa Foundation collaborates with partners in the entrepreneurship ecosystem, investors and SMEs as well as public and private institutions.
More information on: https://greentec-foundation.org/
About Le LAB
Founded in 2014 by journalist Eric Bazin, Le LAB (Land of African Business) has supported more than 45 innovative African start-ups. Le LAB seeks to promote inclusive initiatives on the African continent, following the sustainable development goals, in promising sectors: fintech, agro-business, education, ICT, transport.
More information on: http://www.lelab.info