Five startup from Nigeria, Kenya, Rwanda, Ghana will pitch at DEMO US following their selection out of the 40 startups that pitched at the just concluded DEMO Africa startup conference held in Lagos Nigeria.
Jifunza (Rwanda), Nerve (Nigeria), Paysail (Ghana), Chura (Kenya) and Spacepointe (Nigeria) are the startups to be sponsored by the US State Department through the LIONS@FRICA partnership for a 10 day trip to pitch at the DEMO US.
This is part of the department’s show of support for entrepreneurship in Africa.
In a video message to the participants, The US Secretary of State John Kerry emphasized the need to groom Africa’s young population to tap the entrepreneurial energy. He reminded Africans that places where people are free to trade and transform ideas are on the right track to growth and prosperity. “You can count on the United States support as you take on this journey to transformation through entrepreneurship.” He assured.
The interest around the business-technology scene In Africa is on the rise. Notable influencers including Baybars Altuntas, Vice President of the European Business Angel Network (EBAN), was present at the DEMO Africa forum representing the interest and views of over 20,000 angel investors across Europe. Baybars confirmed that indeed, the majority of EBAN members want to learn more about African startups and the ecosystem, this being their new source of investment pipeline.
“To fully engage European angel investors we seek our counterparts across Africa. This is key for co-investing into opportunities on the ground. The European Business Angel Network could support an African Business Angel Network with incubation.”
In line with this new found interest of the international community, VC4Africa Ben White confirmed that VC4Africa will rally a delegation of angel investors from African countries to participate in the European Business Angel Network will be held in Helsinki, Finland in November which will see among other things a roadmap developed for the way forward for Africa.
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