FMO has entered a three-year partnership with the Africa Early-Stage Investor Summit (AESIS), one of Africa’s leading platforms for early-stage investors. The partnership aims to strengthen the networks, knowledge and market conditions that help capital reach innovative African businesses. Building stronger investment ecosystems Strong investment ecosystems are essential for entrepreneurship and private sector growth. Yet many early-stage investors continue to face challenges such as fragmented markets, limited opportunities to share knowledge, and unclear pathways for exits and capital recycling. Through FMO’s support, AESIS will expand its role to become a more consistent platform for ecosystem coordination, investor engagement and market creation. At FMO, we see Africa’s early-stage investment ecosystem as a critical foundation for long-term private sector development. Our partnership with AESIS reflects a shared ambition to move beyond one-off convening and support a more coordinated, institutionally grounded platform for investor learning, collaboration and capital mobilization. By strengthening dialogue across LPs, GPs, DFIs and ecosystem actors, we aim to help build the conditions for more resilient capital flows into African entrepreneurship,” said Marieke Roestenberg, Manager, FMO Ventures. A platform for investor collaboration Co-created by ABAN and VC4A, AESIS has been convening the continent’s leading early-stage investors since 2013 and has grown into Africa’s premier platform for investor learning, collaboration, and capital mobilization. “This partnership allows us to think beyond a single annual event. Together with FMO, we’re creating a long-term platform for investor learning, collaboration and market development. By strengthening dialogue around frontier markets, venture debt, governance and exits, we can help build a more connected and resilient investment ecosystem across Africa,” said Yaw Peprah, AESIS Director. The partnership will support structured investor engagement, year-round learning and practical dialogue on the market barriers that continue to limit capital formation, including fragmentation among capital providers, misalignment between LPs and GPs, limited transparency on exits and liquidity pathways, and weak capital recycling dynamics. Key areas of focus include: Strengthen AESIS as a credible, neutral and Africa-focused coordination platform where LPs, GPs, DFIs, angel investors, venture funds and ecosystem actors can engage in more candid, practice-oriented dialogue on how early-stage capital is deployed, governed and recycled. Deepen structured LP-only, LP–GP and cross-capital-stack engagement to improve alignment on governance, reporting discipline, risk-return expectations, portfolio management, exits, liquidity and capital mobilization. Introduce a more consistent year-round engagement rhythm through AESIS Talks, investor meetups, webinars, masterclasses, thematic roundtables, LP–GP office hours and curated partner sessions that reinforce learning beyond the annual summit. Elevate frontier and under-served markets as part of the core investor conversation, with a focus on practical ecosystem-building approaches that support stronger intermediaries, local capital mobilization and more investable early-stage pipelines. Generate and share practical learning outputs, including session summaries, investor learning memos, diagnostics, benchmarking insights and other knowledge products that translate convening discussions into actionable market intelligence. Support long-term ecosystem development by strengthening coordination, institutional quality, transparency and investor confidence across the full early-stage capital lifecycle: angel, seed, growth, exit and recycling. VC4A Media Contact Boye Abiodun-Adepoju support@vc4a.com About VC4A VC4A is an ecosystem builder that leverages its infrastructure, network, and expertise for the programs that contribute to the startup movement in emerging markets. Since 2007, the organization has designed, structured, and implemented successful entrepreneurship programs in these markets. VC4A runs an online platform featuring a database of startups across global regions and connects entrepreneurs to resources, networks, and funding needed to succeed. Visit the website at https://VC4A.com for more information. About ABAN The African Business Angel Network (ABAN) is the largest pan-African organisation of angel investors on the continent. Established in 2015, ABAN represents the growing number of business angel groups in Africa’s early-stage ecosystems, providing vital human and financial capital to African startups and creating jobs across the continent. Now active in 38 African countries and the diaspora, ABAN brings together 75+ member networks and more than 5,000 angel investors committed to fuelling early-stage innovation. To learn more about ABAN’s work and how you can be part of Africa’s thriving entrepreneurial future, visit https://abanangels.org/. About FMO FMO is the Dutch entrepreneurial development bank. As a leading impact investor, FMO supports sustainable private sector growth in developing countries and emerging markets by investing in ambitious projects and entrepreneurs. FMO believes that a strong private sector leads to economic and social development and has a 50-year proven track-record of empowering people to employ their skills and improve their quality of life. FMO focuses on three sectors that have high development impact: financial institutions, energy, and agribusiness, food & water. With a committed portfolio of EUR 9.7 billion spanning over 85 countries, FMO is one of the larger bilateral private sector developments banks globally. For more information: please visit fmo.nl. ABAN AESIS2026 Africa Early Stage Investor Summit fmo vc4a