London-based lawyer Andrew Buisson outlines the Ghanaian government’s new wave…
Pictures: Angel Fair Africa 2015, Accra
Earlier this month, the third annual Angel Fair Africa (AfA) event took place at Labadi Beach Hotel in Ghana’s capital Accra, and saw a selection of innovative entrepreneurs pitch their businesses to African and foreign investors focused on ‘doing deals’ with startups on the continent.
AB2020 creator Akosua Annobil kicked off the programme hosting a keynote fireside chat with Vincent Kouwenhoven of eVa Fund, and Wim van der Beek of Goodwell Investments to discuss their recent deals with Dot Com Zambia and Nomanini, respectively.
The talk was followed by Akosua moderating an Investors Panel discussion featuring Chika Nwobi of L5Lab, Alison de Tonnac of Seedstars World, Anna Samake, Senior Portfolio Manager at the Lundin Foundation and Neal Hansch, Managing Director of MEST Incubator at Meltwater Group.
For the main event, up to 10 young entrepreneurs who’d received support from startup accelerator ServLed delivered exceptional pitches selling their businesses to a room of investors in Labadi’s Primavera Hall.
Some standout pitches came from Dziffa, Ego Tickets, Asoriba and True Moringa, while related deals announced recently are UK born Ghanaian financier Tutu Agyare’s investment in MoneyBoxx and Zeepay’s closed funding round of $200,000.
Other AfA features involved an exhibition of 15 innovative businesses; a networking lunch; and Entrepreneur, Entry and Exit panels.
AfA in Accra follows successful events held in Lagos, Nigeria last year, and Johannesburg, South Africa in 2013. Investment partners include the Angel Africa List (AAL), Ghana Angel Investor Network (GAIN), New Generation Angels (NGA), African Private Equity and Venture Capital Association (AVCA) and Angel Capital Association (ACA).
Watch AfA founder Eric Osiakwan below, and read his AB2020 interview here
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