Isolation: a problem for current and future African entrepreneurs

Talking with African entrepreneurs, one of the recurring topics is the difficulty of sufficient funding in seed- or early-stage with internationally acknowledged and well-connected investors. The recently born African digital ecosystem has only a few established venture capital funds, and even these funds usually have limited available capital with a minimal international network.

Understandably, this limited available capital results in a serious constraint in the later stages of funding (Series A and Series B) for any aspiring start-up. The lack of the investors’ international network also means that the knowledge transfer between Africa and the developed tech communities (US, Europe and Asia) is minimal. Last but not least, this disconnect between Africa and the developed tech communities can also limit the exit opportunities of local start-ups by not having the necessary spotlight and the required connections that could lead to a successful exit (an acquisition or an IPO).

Read more on Ventureburn.