VC4A and ABAN announce 7th and virtual edition of its Africa Early Stage Investor Summit (#AESIS2020)

3 & 4 November 2020 ONLINE www.AfricaInvestorSummit.com; Two VC4A Venture Showcases – Seed and Series A – in partnership with AWS Activate; The summit is FREE to attend this year – but for investors only please.

VC4A (https://VC4A.com) and ABAN are eager to announce the 7th and virtual edition of the Africa Early Stage Investor Summit (#AESIS2020). The Summit will take place on 3 & 4 November online. With a number of record-level deals making the headlines over the last year, Africa’s startup industry is ripe for investment. VC4A and ABAN are energized to build on that momentum during #AESIS2020. During the two-day virtual Summit, we will come together, interact and collaborate on deals – to invest in a resilient Africa.

Download document: https://bit.ly/2HuNoAA

What’s in store at #AESIS2020

• #AESIS2020 takes place over two half-days on Tuesday, 3 November and Wednesday, 4 November 14:00-19:00 (SAST/GMT+2)
• Both days will feature insightful keynotes, fireside chats, expert panel discussions, technical sessions and pitches from the most promising companies part of the VC4A Venture Showcases
• The first-ever VC4A Venture Showcase – Seed will take place on 3 November and the Series A companies will pitch on 4 November
• In accordance, the theme of the first day is 'Seed', and the second day is 'Series A'

We are happy to announce some of the investors that will be leading the conversations. Rebecca Enonchong will sit down with McKinsey Africa Chairman, Acha Leke, on 3 November to discuss macroeconomic and geopolitical forces that are shaping Africa. And we will host multiple expert panels, including on 'The Future Builders: Breaking new ground for Africa’s startup ecosystem', with Iyinoluwa Aboyeji, Erick Yong, Ola Brown, Sangu Delle and Zach George. There is also a 'Going Global' panel with reps from Kepple Africa Ventures, Orange Ventures and Dazzle Angels, and one on 'Building a Resilient Industry', with Wim van der Beek and Khaled Ismael, among others. Furthermore, there will be 4 interactive technical sessions, including 'The Fundamentals of Fund Management' by Eghosa Omoigui, and 'Remote Due Diligence' by Aaron Fu and the Catalyst Fund team.

VC4A Venture Showcases – Seed and Series A – in partnership with AWS Activate
For the first time in its history, VC4A is hosting a Venture Showcase for companies seeking seed funding. The VC4A Venture Showcase – Seed (https://bit.ly/3mbx5HP) will take place on 3 November with opportunities for deep dives with the entrepreneurs. Participants can then watch and engage with the Series A companies (https://bit.ly/37B8Qil) on 4 November. Companies in the two portfolios hail from Cote d’Ivoire, Togo, Egypt, Ghana, Tunisia and beyond, and offer services or products in e-commerce, finance, energy, AI, and even satellite propulsion. VC4A’s Venture Showcase companies have gone on to secure more than $100M in deals.

Ben White, Co-founder of VC4A: “The Venture Showcase has established itself as the premier platform for presenting the best companies ready for investment from across the continent. Given the current COVID-19 pandemic, the need to come together virtually as an industry and to collaborate on deals is more necessary than ever. Especially now, the world needs to recognize the quality of innovation and entrepreneurship taking up across the continent and the unique opportunity to be part of major success stories.”

Special thanks to our partners
We are pleased to announce that the cloud platform, Amazon Web Services, through its AWS Activate program, joins the VC4A Venture Showcase as a technical partner this year. Next to the AWS Activate partnership, VC4A and ABAN are proud to partner with the Work in Progress Alliance, Naspers Foundry, Wesgro, and the Catalyst Fund to bring the Summit to the early-stage investor community once again. We also thank Deloitte Afrique for their in-kind services to 20 of the VC4A Showcase ventures.

Calling all early-stage investors to join us at #AESIS2020
Register via: www.AfricaInvestorSummit.com. To ensure the investor community is able to connect and continue important discussions during these times, VC4A and ABAN are offering investors the opportunity to join free of charge. Feel free to invite your networks, but keep in mind the Summit is investor-only. For media requests, and partnership and sponsorship opportunities, please contact the organizers by email: team[at]AfricaInvestorSummit[dot]com.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Venture Capital for Africa (VC4A).

Media Contact:
Thomas van Halen
[email protected]

Melissa Ruggles
[email protected]
Website: www.AfricaInvestorSummit.com

About VC4A:
VC4A (https://VC4A.com) is an ecosystem builder that leverages its infrastructure, network and expertise for the programs that contribute to Africa’s startup movement. Since 2008, the organization designs, structures and implements successful entrepreneurship programs on the continent. VC4A runs an online platform featuring the world’s largest database of African startups and connecting local entrepreneurs to learning resources, mentors, investors and partner programs. Visit https://VC4A.com for more information.

About African Business Angel Network (ABAN):
The African Business Angel Network (ABAN) (https://ABANangels.org) is a Pan-African non-profit association. ABAN was founded in early 2015 to support the development of early stage investor networks across the continent and to grow the cohort of early stage investors excited about the opportunities in Africa. Visit https://ABANangels.org for more information.