2020 VC4A Venture Showcase – Series A

Africa's Showcase of disruptive scale-ups looking to raise Series A: $500K-$10M

CALLING FOR DISRUPTIVE SCALE-UPS LOOKING TO RAISE BETWEEN $500K AND $10M.

We’re looking for 10 innovative, high-growth scale-ups to showcase their solutions to the world. Are you operating in Africa, generating revenue and looking to raise your Series A round in the range of $500K and $10M? This is the opportunity you’ve been looking for!

In 2017-2019, we selected 60 scale-ups from across the continent as part of 4 showcase programs, resulting in a number of Series A deals totalling over $100M. Building on this success, the ‘VC4A Venture Showcase – Series A’ – in collaboration with AWS Activate – is now a central component of our efforts to support investors connecting with high-quality deal flow. This is an exclusive opportunity to introduce your company at once to everyone who’s anyone in Africa’s early-stage investment space.

Overview

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August 14, 2020
Program dates Sep 15 - Dec 31, 2020
Organizer VC4A
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, Northern Africa, Rwanda, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, South Sudan, Tanzania, United Republic of, Togo, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe
Sectors Sector agnostic

Portfolio

Name Country Sector(s)
Chefaa
We Manage All Your Pharmacy Needs
Egypt Big data, Healthcare providers and services, Pharm…
Gozem
Africa's Super App - Transportation, Delivery, Payment & Lending
Togo E-commerce, Financial services, Transport and logi…
GLU Global (Pty) Ltd
Integration at Speed
South Africa Banking, Enterprise software, Software as a Servic…
Fulfillment Bridge
A cloud based global e-commerce logistic platform
Tunisia E-commerce, Logistics, Software as a Service
Aspire Power Solutions
A better energy experience starts here
Nigeria Clean technology and energy, Renewable energy, Sol…
Aura
Always Safe
South Africa Artificial intelligence, Cloud solutions, Smart ci…
QuickCheck
One-stop-platform for all your financial needs in Africa
Nigeria Artificial intelligence, Fintech
AFRIKREA
ANKA is saas to sell, ship and get paid for African products globally
Côte d'Ivoire Arts, Fashion, Retail and wholesale
SeamlessHR
Modern Payroll and HR technology for emerging markets
Nigeria Enterprise software, Fintech, Software as a Servic…
Wapi Pay PTE Ltd
Africa-Asia leading payment gateway
Kenya Financial services, Fintech, Information technolog…

Shortlist

Articles

POWERED BY

Work in Progress Alliance
European Union

IN PARTNERSHIP WITH

AWS Activate

WHAT WE OFFER

  • Being recognized as 2020 VC4A Venture Showcase entrepreneur
  • Participation in the VC4A Venture Showcase deal room, including 150+ early-stage investor organizations
  • Professional edited 3 minute virtual pitch
  • 30 min deep-dive session with investors in a private room
  • Mentorship and pitch training by partner VC investors
  • AWS Activate offers selected cohort AWS credits ranging from $10,000 to $25,000, tools, resources, and more to quickly get started on AWS.
  • Joining the alumni network and having exclusive access to fundraising opportunities

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 $500K – $10M*;
  • 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.

*Are you raising your Seed Round in between $150K – $1M? Consider applying to the 2020 VC4A Venture Showcase – Seed track. Deadline September 11th.

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.

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 pitch and engage with VC investors in the period of October – November 2020 and be part of the VC4A Venture Showcase.

TIMELINE 2020

Jun 16 – Aug 14 Application period
Aug 14 – Sep 14 Selection process / investor review / interviews
Sep 15 Showcase participants selection
Sep 15 – Oct 11 Mentorship program with VC investors
Oct 1 – Oct 11 Technical sessions with VC investors
Mid Oct Launch of VC4A Venture Showcase – Series A deal room to 300+ VC investors
Oct – Nov Ongoing showcase to VC4A investor network

AN OVERVIEW OF VENTURE SHOWCASE PARTNER FUNDS

4Di Capital
4DX Ventures
500Startups
Accion
Acumen
AfriTech Ventures
AfricInvest
AHL Ventures
Bamboo Capital
Beta Ventures
Blackpearl
Blue Haven Initiative
CAPRIA
Catalyst Fund
Compass VC
CRE Ventures
Creadev
CrossBoundary
DiGAME
DOB Equity
EAVCA
EchoVC
Edge Growth
EdVentures
elea Foundation
Energy Access Ventures
Entrepreneurial Solution Partners
Enza Capital
FactorE Ventures
FINCA Ventures
FutureHub
Global Innovation Fund
Global Partnerships
Golden Palm Investments
Goodwell Investments
Google Ventures
GreenHouse Capital
GreenTec Capital
Grey Elephant Ventures
Grofin
GSMA
Havaic
Hlayisani
Investisseurs&Partenaires
Invenfin
Kalon Ventures
Kappafrik Group
Kepple Africa Ventures
Lateral Capital
Leapfrog Investments
Maroc Numeric Fund
Mercy Corps Social Ventures
Microtraction
Naspers Ventures
Newtown Partners
Oikocredit
Orange Digital Ventures
Oui Capital
Outlierz Ventures
Paper Plane Ventures
Power Africa
Proparco
Saviu Ventures
Seedstars Ventures
Shell Foundation
Silvertree Holdings
Village Capital
Wangera Green Ventures

SERIES A SELECTION COMMITTEE

Anne Njuki
DOB Equity


Anton Gaylard
Crossfin Technology Holdings





Bitta Wycliffe
Goodwell Investments BV

Clive Butkow
Kalon Venture Partners

Dayo Koleowo
Microtraction

Dhanyal Davidson
Goodwell Investments

Eline Blaauboer
Africa tech Ventures, TBL Mirror Fund

Fabrice Boullé
Equitable Ventures

Gregoire de Padirac
Orange Ventures MEA


James Goddard
Crossfin Ventures

Jocelyn Cheng
Global Innovation Fund

Julio Mupemba
Investisseurs et Partenaires


Kenza Lahlou
Outlierz Ventures

Kumayl Karimjee
Energy Access Ventures


Laila Hassan
500 Startups

Laura Li
Future Hub

Manuel Koser
Silvertree Holdings

Maxime Bouan
Seedstars Africa Ventures


Nitin Nowjee
LeapFrog Investments






Shudhan Kohli
Grey Elephant Ventures


Temilade Denton
Alitheia Capital


Tim Rann
Mercy Corps Ventures


Wyclife Aketch
Energy Access Ventures


Yves Komaclo
Oikocredit

ALUMNI VENTURES

7Keema
Aerobotics
Agrocenta
AmA
Asoko Insight
Brimore
Buseet
CityTaps
Coinafrique
CredPal
CrowdForce
Diool
Exportunity
Eyone
Fibre
FinChatBot
FrireFly Media
FlexClub
Gebeya
Giftedmom
GoMetro
Jamii
LAfricaMobile
LifeBank
Lynk
MaTontine
Mobiz
Nawah Scientific
OgaVenue
Ongair
Oniriq
Optimetriks
Ouicarry
Paps
PayCentre
Pesabazaar
PiggyVest
Prepclass
Printivo
Rasello
Rensource
Sendy
SmartOne
SnapnSave
Snapplify
Sokowatch
Solaris Offgrid
Timbuktu
TripAfrique
VRapeutic
Yassir
Zande

70 SHORTLISTED VENTURES

In addition to the list of selected ventures we make the 70 shortlisted ventures curated by investors available to all VC4A Pro account users below.