Africa's tech ecosystem is rapidly expanding, boasting over 640 tech hubs, according to a Statista report. This, it says, is the backbone of the continent's rapidly growing tech ecosystem, attracting investors worldwide. " There has been a huge influx of interest in the last few years from investors, angel investors, venture capitalists, venture funds, corporate funds, development finance and startups in what Africa’s tech ecosystem has to offer, and this interest shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon,” the report says.
To capitalize on this growth momentum, AfricArena and FMO Ventures have decided to expand their partnership to bring more value to Africa's tech ecosystem. Commenting on the partnership, Christophe Viarnaud, CEO of AfricArena, said, "AfricArena will contribute significantly to the development of the African VC industry through its VC Unconferences, and the development of open source investment tools for the African tech industry with the support of the Digital Collective Africa, a community for investors.” contribute significantly to the development of the African venture capital industry through its VC Unconferences and to the development of open source investment tools for the African technology industry with the support of Digital Collective Africa, a community of investors".
Pursuing a similar line of reasoning, FMO Ventures Program Manager, Marieke Roestenberg, believes that it is a thrilling time for investors to be looking at Africa as an investment destination, as many of the continent’s tech startups are coming forward with investment-worthy innovative solutions for global challenges. “Our partnership with AfricArena is a good fit with FMO Ventures Program’s broader strategy to support the development of entrepreneurial tech ecosystems across Africa. By bringing together tech startups, corporations, angel investors, venture capitalists and other institutional investors we aim to foster co-investment and collaboration that benefits the underserved on the African continent.”
Natural partnership
@AfricArena
Launched as a platform in 2017 to support the creation of market access and investment opportunities for its ever-increasing community of founders, angel investors, corporates and VC investors, AfricArena is designed with a digital approach in mind. It consists of a series of investment deal flow events and interventions and an open-source platform for all stakeholders, all based on principles of open innovation and entrepreneurship.
The FMO Ventures Program is a EUR 200 million investment program supported by contributions from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands and a guarantee from the European Union with a 4-year investment period. FMO Ventures empowers innovative business models for impact through its focus on early stage, tech-enabled direct investments alongside a lead investor and indirect investments with a more generalist focus in funds.
