What we offer Being recognized as 2022 VC4A Venture Showcase entrepreneur Participation in the VC4A Venture Showcase deal room, including 200+ early-stage investor organizations Professionally edited 3-minute virtual pitch featured at the Africa Early Stage Investor Summit (November 2-4, 2022) 30 min deep-dive session with investors in a private room Mentorship and technical support by partnering VC investors and corporates AWS Activate offers selected cohort credits, tools, resources, and more to quickly get started on AWS Paystack is offering selected cohort access to its APIs, products at discounted rates – including ‘$25K fee-free processing’, dedicated support, and other perks like Stripe Atlas and Africa-relevant SaaS products Joining the alumni network and having exclusive access to partner events and fundraising opportunities
Eligibility criteria You have a very strong management team of at least 3 people including one (or more) woman founder; 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; 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 Seed or Series A investment in the range of $250K – $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.
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. Management team members have complementary expertise. 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 – November & December and be part of the VC4A Venture Showcase and the Africa Early Stage Investor Summit 2023 (#AESIS2023).
What others have to say “Following my time as a mentor to Kais for the VC4A Venture Showcase Series A, we have concluded a transaction, and Newtown Partners is now an investor in Fulfilment Bridge. After I had spent a few thoroughly enjoyable weeks working with Kais, I just couldn’t pass up the opportunity not to invest myself.” , Newtown Partners “Newtown Partners was our lead investor and the first to join our pre-series A round. I would add that this relationship/transaction went 100% online from the beginning of the mentorship program until we closed the deal. I wanted to thank you guys for the opportunity knowing this was a direct result of the VC4A exposure and mentorship program. Thanks again for your support and proud to be VC4A alumni.” Kais Khadhraoui, Fulfillment Bridge
Timeline 2022 Apr 13 – June 1 Application period Jun 1 – Jul 22 Selection process / investor review / interviews Aug – Nov Mentorship program with VC investors Oct – Nov Technical sessions with VC investors Nov 2-4 Showcase at the Africa Early Stage Investor Summit
Selection committee Nitin Nowjee LeapFrog Investments Muthoni Wachira Independent Consultant with various funds Fabrice Boullé Equitable Ventures Tanya Martinez Carranza Gray Matters Capital Khaled Ismail HIMangel Mariam Kamel AUC Angels Janade du Plessis Launch Africa Ventures & Five35 Ventures Hema Vallabh Five35 Ventures Suleiman Tanko Yakasai Kenza Lahlou Outlierz Ventures Gregoire de Padirac Orange Ventures MEA Anshu Mandal Maxime Bouan Seedstars Africa Ventures Tamim El Zein Eva Stolz Persistent Nivesh Pather Norrsken22 Yemi Keri Rising Tide Africa Hector Bartlett One Day Yes Dan Block Mercy Corps Ventures Yves Komaclo Oikocredit Mobolaji Adeoye Consonance Investment Managers Melissa Tickle FINCA Ventures Ademidun Edosomwan Alexis Grosskopf Bade Aluko White Hibiscus Capital Egla Ntumba Newtown Partners Farah Miled OST Charles O Innocent Ndodyabike Iran Huffels HiiL Justice Accelerator Isaac Ewaleifoh Isabelle Lessedjina ANIZ Joel Patenaude J2 Partners, Inc. John Mark Bwanika Lelemba Phiri Africa Trust Group Marième Diop Orange Digital Ventures Nicole Dunn Ross Jenvey Rotimi Thomas Tracy-Lee Smith UK-South Africa Tech Hub Wadé Owojori GSMA Yuan-Ting Meng SOSV Robel Chiappini CRE Venture Capital Jill Curr Newtown Partners Olivier Munyeshyaka Angaza Capital Andre Ayotte Aquarius Africa Ventures Vianney Mathonnet Modus Capital
The selection committee Members of the early-stage investor community are involved in every step of the selection process. They refer companies to the program, they evaluate applications, they conduct interviews and ultimately define the portfolio.If you want to be part of the 2022 Venture Showcase Africa – Women founder edition as a jury, please register here before June 1st. In return your organization will be mentioned as one of the partners in all VC4A Venture Showcase communications and you will get early access to the pipeline. Please have a look at our Venture Showcase Alumni and their latest fund-raising activities.
Apply now to connect with the investor network Browse all investor organizations when you have your venture profile registered on the VC4A platform. Your investor organization not on the list? Join the VC4A investor network with other like-minded investors and get access to tailor-made content and curated deal flow.
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