VC4A & ABAN bring together the African Early Stage Investor Community at #AESIS2021

Welcoming investors to join the 8th edition of the Africa Early Stage Investor Summit #AESIS2021 online and offline on November 3-5 2021

VC4A and the African Business Angel Network (ABAN) are pleased to announce the 8th edition of the Africa Early Stage Investor Summit (#AESIS2021) which will take place online and offline from November 3 -5 2021. The annual event ‘for investors, by investors’ this year will shed light on new insights and trends taking over Africa’s startup space, share best practices, open the floor for powerful new deal-flows, celebrate successes and promote a culture of early stage investing on the African continent.

Africa is moving onward and upwards as startups on the continent are breaking records astronomically this year. By mid-July, the ecosystem had already raised as much as it had in the whole of 2019 through $1M+ deals such that even before the big OPay raise of $400M, the total amount raised by startups in Africa so far this year had just surpassed the total amount raised in 2020 overall ($1.6B) reaching a new milestone of $2B in 2021. Early stage investing in Africa is more set than ever to take off in 2021!

Coming up at #AESIS2021

The summit brings together the most notable speakers and guests from leading angel networks, venture capital (VC) funds, impact investors, accelerators, corporate venture divisions, industry associations, and the public sector over the power-packed two-day event with Day 1 focused on angel investors and Day 2 on VCs. Summit delegates will explore developments in Africa’s early stage investment space and will set the agenda for the coming years. 

The 2021 Venture Showcase
This year, 16 top companies representing the best investment opportunities on the continent made it into the portfolio of the 2021 VC4A Venture Showcase. The founders will showcase their businesses from the Seed and Series A tracks on Day 1 and 2 of the summit respectively, with fundraising rounds ranging from $400K to $20M. Following this, interested investors can get their seat at the table through the dedicated #AESIS2021 DealRooms organized in the week after the Summit.

Speakers
Speakers for #AESIS2021 feature industry giants such as Rebecca Enonchong, Tomi Davies, Eghosa Omoigui, David S Rose, Wale Ayeni, Lauren Cochran, Justin Norman, Zachariah George, Kola Aina, Idris Ayodeji Bello, Hannah Subayi Kamuanga, Yemi Keri, Dina El-Shenoufy and Aly El-Shakany with more still to come. 

Alberto Anton of Plug and Play Ventures added in anticipation of the event this year

“The summit provides great insights on trends in different industries like fintech, health, and enterprise in Africa, and showcases top investment opportunities”. 

You don’t want to miss another great chance to be a part of this story.

Investor Meetups

#AESIS2021 will be complemented by informal invite-only local physical networking meetups organized by the investor community members in 10 cities across the world on the evening of November 3rd. Confirmed cities include Abuja, Accra, Alexandria, Cairo, Cape Town, Dakar, Johannesburg, Lagos Nairobi and Washington DC. Spaces are limited so make sure to register on time or contact the team (mail:team@africainvestorsummit.com) and become a local host or find out about a local meetupnear you. To be able to register you need to be part of the investor community first: www.AfricaInvestorSummit.com.

Special thanks to our partners

VC4A and ABAN are excited to announce our longstanding partner Naspers who will be hosting the networking lounge at #AESIS2021 this year and with whom we will successfully deliver the Summit to the early-stage investor community once again.

Registrations now live

Register now onwww.AfricaInvestorSummit.com and make sure to block your agenda November 4-5.

Successful registration will give you exclusive access to our community of investors representing over 90% of capital being invested into startups on the African continent. As well as access to highly curated deal flow with the most investible ventures from emerging markers and the ability to relive #AESIS2020 and watch all recordingshere.

To ensure the investor community is able to connect and continue important discussions during these times, VC4A and ABAN are offering investors the opportunity to join free of charge. Feel free to invite your networks, but keep in mind the Summit isinvestor-only. For media requests, and partnership and sponsorship opportunities, please contact the organizers by email:team@AfricaInvestorSummit.com.

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About VC4A:

VC4A is an ecosystem builder that leverages its infrastructure, network and expertise for the programs that contribute to Africa’s startup movement. Since 2008, the organization designs, structures and implements successful entrepreneurship programs on the continent. VC4A runs an online platform featuring the world’s largest database of African startups and connecting local entrepreneurs to learning resources, mentors, investors and partner programs. VisitVC4A.com for more information.

About ABAN:

The African Business Angel Network (ABAN) is a Pan-African non-profit association. ABAN was founded in early 2015 to support the development of early stage investor networks across the continent and to grow the cohort of early stage investors excited about the opportunities in Africa. Visit ABANangels.org for more information.