2020 was a crazy year with the global COVID-19 pandemic shaking up all plans, making our ability to connect virtually, collaborate and support one another more critical than ever.
Pushing efforts forward, VC4A has continued to support the entrepreneurs shaping tomorrow’s world by providing resources and facilitating connections to opportunities necessary for successfully starting a scaling startup businesses.
We invite you to take a look at what we have accomplished together in 2020.
VC4A in numbers
In 2020, we were able to share more startup programs and events with the VC4A community than ever before. ?
Top campaigns of VC4A partners
GoGettaz Agripreneur Prize 2020
Annual pan-African opportunity for agribusinesses to win USD 50K.
Visit campaign page – View winners
TechEmerge Health East Africa
A program providing healthtech startups with funding, pilot implementation support & more.
Visit campaign page
Mest Africa Challenge 20200
Virtual competition for tech startups, competing to receive USD 50K investment.
Visit campaign page – View cohort
Some of the other partners we worked with in 2020
Thanks to close collaboration with many partners and their feedback, we have again made great efforts to improve the application tools available to you.
Have a look at some opportunities open for applications now
Publishing your program on the VC4A platform and using the application form, smart management, and adjudication tools is for free! Reach out to us for a demo of the new features.
AESIS2020 – for investors, by investors
This year’s Africa Early Stage Investor Summit had to go down in a virtual format. But, while we love to get together in person, we were able to welcome more than twice as many attendees from all around the globe to an amazing AESIS2020 – by investors for investors.
The summit co-organized by ABAN and VC4A was made possible thanks to the support of the Work in Progress Alliance, the European Commission, Naspers Foundry, AWS Activate, the Catalyst Fund and Wesgro.
All session recordings are available for VC4A Pro Account members via this link.
VC4A Venture Showcase Seed & Series A
Like every year, the stage was set for the most exciting investment opportunities on the continent, this time featuring 10 Seed stage and 10 Series A stage startups. These 20 VC4A Venture Showcase companies were able to pitch their businesses and connect with investors in their virtual booths.
The VC4A venture Showcase Series A and Seed were supported by the European Commission and AWS Activate.
Many alumni of the VC4A Venture Showcases 2020, as well as previous years’ editions, have made significant progress on their entrepreneurial journeys. SeamlessHR and LetMeIn.to closed financing rounds while Gozem, Hypernova Space Technologies and many others have closed important deals since the event. 2018 alumni and founder of Egyptian startup Nawa Scientific, Omar Sakr, just secured USD 1 Mio. in funding to grow its scientific research platform.
VC4A goes Latam!
One of the most exciting developments in 2020 for the global VC4A community was the launch of ES2 Latam! Together with PES Latam, a global alliance between VC4A, Ashoka, Bridge for Billions, New Ventures, LeFil Consulting and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, new opportunities are being made available to entrepreneurs coming up across Latin America.
The ES2 Latam community of startups is rapidly growing, with already more than 3,000 members, over 600 venture profiles and many support organizations coming on board. Do you know of any startup opportunities in the Latam region that are not yet listed on the site? Reach out to Daniela Bolivar.
Mentorship
We did not sit still but continued the mentorship work, taking the challenge as an opportunity to experiment and go virtual. More than 100 aspiring mentors were trained in 9 Mentor-Driven Capital programs, aiming to sustainably strengthen local startup ecosystems.
To reach an even wider audience with useful insights on how to build and maintain mentorship relationships successfully, we recently launched the Mentorwise podcast series together with the International Trade Center.
You want to get involved as a mentor, sharing your knowledge, experience and time to help up-and-coming startup entrepreneurs? Visit the Mentorship Marketplace, sign up as a mentor, browse through the open mentorship requests and start connecting with founders.
Academy
Empowerment through knowledge – the guiding principle of the VC4A Startup Academy, offering a wealth of wisdom from more than 80 business experts and angel investors. Coupled with theoretical insights, methodologies, and further resources, entrepreneurs in any stage of their journey can benefit from the free, self-paced learning experience.
Inclusive innovation course
The new course by Bopinc is now available, providing a unique opportunity to discover the fundamentals of designing and delivering impactful business solutions for the base of the pyramid.
New podcast: The Founder Series
From founders, for founders – to provide even more insightful content and facilitate knowledge-sharing, we have recently launched the VC4A Founder Series. Each episode of the podcast features a successful startup founder, sharing their stories, do’s and don’ts they have learned through their own experiences on their exciting journeys as entrepreneurs.
Check out the first episodes and don’t hesitate to reach out to the host, David Coleman, if you want to recommend a founder or get on one of the next episodes yourself.
Are you ready to scale in 2021?
To leverage all benefits offered to entrepreneurs on VC4A, make sure to maintain a top-notch and up-to-date venture profile. That way, you are unlocking all the perks available and we can connect you with more tailored opportunities. Update or create your venture profile now.
We aim to strengthen the startup ecosystem
Are you an investor looking to stay up to date with the investment opportunities? Check out the benefits for investors.
You are part of an organization running startup support programs and events? Check out the benefits for organizations.
Last but not least: We are hiring
As our community is growing, we are looking for additional developers to join our team. Please check out our vacancies and share with your network.