2019 VC4A Venture Showcase – Series A

Africa's #1 showcase of disruptive scale-ups looking to raise Series A

Overview

Application deadline	Jul 31
Program dates	Sep 1 - Nov 16, 2019
Organizer	VC4A ^{Service Provider}
Website	Visit website
Targets	Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cabo Verde, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Congo, Congo, Democratic Republic of the, Côte d'Ivoire, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, South Sudan, Tanzania, United Republic of, Togo, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Northern Africa
Sectors ¹²⁵	Agribusiness, Business services, Clean technology and energy, Utilities, Construction and manufacturing, Creative, media and entertainment, Education, Financial services, Healthcare, ICT, Leisure and travel, Retail and wholesale, Consumer durables, Consumer non-durables, Transport and logistics, Water, sanitation and hygiene, Automotive, Clothing and textiles production, Computer hardware, Electronics, Food production, Furniture

CALLING FOR DISRUPTIVE SCALE-UPS LOOKING TO RAISE BETWEEN $250K AND $5M.

We’re looking for 10 innovative, high-growth scale-ups to showcase at Africa Early Stage Investor Summit on Nov 13-14 in Cape Town. Are you operating in Africa, generating revenue and looking to raise your Series A round in the range of $250K and $5M? This is the opportunity you’ve been looking for!

In 2017-2018, we showcased 30 scale-ups from across the continent as part of the Africa Early Stage Investor Summit, resulting in a number of Series A deals totaling over $15M. Building on this success, the ‘VC4A Venture Showcase – Series A’ is now a central component of our annual Summit. This is an exclusive opportunity to introduce your company at once to everyone who’s anyone in Africa’s early-stage investment space.

WHAT WE OFFER

All-expenses-paid trip to Cape Town on Nov 10-16, 2019
3 min pitch in front of 300+ investors at the Africa Early Stage Investor Summit
30 min deep-dive session with investors in a private room
Two days of networking with investors, including Speaker Cocktail and Industry Leaders dinner
Mentorship and pitch training by partner VC investors
Opportunity to attend and pitch at partner event AfricaCom

ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA

Your company is for-profit and registered as an independent legal entity;
You have a product or service available on the market and generate revenue;
Your product or service is clearly innovative and/or your business model is new, disruptive and designed for scale;
You have a very strong management team of at least 3 people;
Your team is based in one or more countries on the African continent;
At least one of the founders has an African nationality;
You are seeking Series A investment in the range of $250K – $5M;
While there will be exceptions, most likely your startup has already received external investment, structured as either debt or equity, or received grants from donor organizations.

OUR SELECTION CRITERIA

Commercial Value of your Product/Service (25%)

Your company addresses a real problem in the market. Your product or service is different from others in the industry. Your business model is new and designed for scale.

Strategy for Growth (25%)

The market size is significant and there is potential to expand locally and into new markets. Your startup is scalable and has a clear strategy for growth. You can show demonstrable progress.

Management Team (25%)

Your team has the qualifications needed to make the business successful.

Market Traction & Financials (25%)

We will evaluate your market traction, revenue streams, and unit economics. If any outside funding has been raised before, it’s a plus.

TIMELINE

Jun 1 – Jul 31	Application period
Aug 1 – Sep 15	Selection process / investor review / interviews
Sep 15	Showcase participants announced
Sep 15 – Nov 10	Working on presentations with mentors (VC investors)
Nov 12	Pitch practice with investor feedback
Nov 13	AfricaCom and AHUB participation
Nov 14	VC4A Venture Showcase – Series A at Africa Early Stage Investor Summit
Nov 15	Innovation tour

WHAT WE EXPECT FROM YOU

If you are selected for the Showcase, you are expected to:

Engage with assigned mentors (partner VC investors) and VC4A team to prepare your 3-minute and 20-minute presentations, as well as 2-pagers with investor data as part of the deal book;
Be prepared to travel to Cape Town in the period of November 10-16, 2019 to attend the Africa Early Stage Investor Summit and be part of the VC4A Venture Showcase.

2019 SELECTION COMMITTEE

Tishanya Naidoo

Public Investment Corporation

Ademidun Edosomwan

Total Carbon Neutrality Ventures

Nedbank

Enza Capital

Echo VC

Compass VC

Compass VC

Startupbootcamp Africa

Eline Blaauboer

Africa Tech Ventures

Aboubaker Benslimane

GreenTec Capital

Sarah Alexander

Blue Haven Initiative

Accion

Microtraction

Zephyr Acorn

Shell Foundation

Shell Foundation

Golden Palm Investments

Kalon Ventures

4Di Capital

Mercy Corps

AfricInvest

DiGAME

GreenTec Capital Partners

Outlierz Ventures

Ventures Platform

Hlayisani Capital

SilverTree Capital

GSMA

Goodwell Investments

Beta.Ventures

Beta.Ventures

Havaic

Teranga Capital

Proparco

2019 SHOWCASE PARTNER FUNDS