“Many investors are looking for businesses to get involved with but have difficulties finding promise. At the same time many businesses seek knowledge, capital and practical support. Without matchmaking their potential is never realised, hindering economic growth,” says Ben White, its Amsterdam-based founder.
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White claims the VC4Africa community currently consists of 10 000 members worldwide and that business ideas have been registered through the website. He says entrepreneurs are seeing benefit.
The site works to visualise the continent’s business potential and has the ultimate goal to contribute to a “paradigm shift” focusing on transparency and entrepreneurship as a leading agents for development.
The site is a global initiative with teams working from Cameroon, Kenya, The Netherlands and the USA. Events or VC4Africa Meetups have been hosted in Kigali, Kampala, Nairobi, Johannesburg, Lagos, Tunis, San Francisco, Atlanta, Washington DC, New York, London and Amsterdam.
“Due diligence is a limitation factor for investors interested in Africa. It costs too much time and capital to find genuine entrepreneurs with a solid business idea and plan. As a result, most existing funds seek large deals and better margins. MicroCredit is limited in its ability to support high growth businesses, this results in entrepreneurs with potential, struggling on the sideline,” says White.
White believes that VC4Africa solves these issues by applying innovative technology that “leverages the power of the crowd”.
“Anyone anywhere in the world is able to positively contribute to the development of African businesses with their own competencies and interests,” he says.
