Africa’s early stage investor community will convene on November 11th and 12th, 2018 for the 5th Africa Early Stage Investor Summit (#AESIS2018), hosted by Venture Capital for Africa (VC4A) and African Business Angel Network (ABAN).
This exclusive investor-only event unites key ecosystem stakeholders from across the continent and beyond to exchange best practices, learn from peers, and do deals. The Summit will kick off the Global Entrepreneurship Week in Cape Town and, for the second consecutive year, will be hosted at Workshop17 in the V&A Waterfront.
African founders and African investors operate in rapidly changing markets and are transforming the continent. In unlocking these opportunities, Africa-focused investors are developing unique approaches to investing.
The organizers have chosen “The African Way to Investing” as the theme for this year’s event. How do these pioneering investors operate and what is the “African way to investing”? How is the VC model being adapted to support innovation on the continent? How do African VCs structure funds, keep costs manageable in markets with limited liquidity and develop exit opportunities? What is being done to dramatically grow the number of local angel investors? What instruments allow diaspora investors to play an active role? This year’s Summit is the place where investors and industry leaders come together to debate these questions, share best practices and together set the roadmap for the future.
Programme
On Day 1, Sunday November 11th, the Summit offers its participants the Investing Academy, featuring a number of workshops and masterclasses for both aspiring and experienced investors. In the afternoon, participants are invited to join the official Summit Welcome Cocktails organized in partnership with Naspers.
On Day 2, Monday November 12th, the participants can expect a highly focused yet varied program consisting of keynotes, panels, workshops and masterclasses for investors by investors, rich networking experiences, exclusive co-investment opportunities, as well as the latest trends, insights and industry research. The day concludes with an exclusive investor networking dinner at the Radisson Red which is supported by Wesgro.
On Tuesday November 14th, all participants are then invited to take part in the Cape Town and Stellebosch Innovation Tour.
Speakers headlining the 2018 Summit are renowned investors, including Peter Cowley, the newly elected President of European Business Angel Network (EBAN), Ido Sum of TL Com Capital, Khaled Ismail of HIMangel, Wale Ayeni of the IFC, Sam Paddock of GetSmarter, Keet van Zijl of Knife Capital, Quinton Soper of Proparco, Manuel Koser of Silvertree Internet Holdings, Marieme Diop of Orange Digital Ventures, Amee Pharboo of Accion, Jocelyn Cheng of the Global Innovation Fund, Amr El Abd of Egypt Ventures, Lauren Cochran of Blue Haven Initiative and Llew Claasen of Newtown Partners.
Other speakers include CEO’s and investment managers of Africa Tech Ventures, Greentech Capital Partners, 4Di Capital, GSMA Fund, African Development Bank, Village Capital, AngelHub Ventures, Partech, Adlevo Capital, Village Capital, Compass VC, Goodwell Investments, MEST, Lagos Angels Network, Jozi Angels, South African Business Angels Network, Ventures Platform, MBC Africa, Innovation Edge, Compass Venture Capital, BidNetwork, IFV Venture Capital, and many many others.
The Summit will also encompass VC4A Venture Showcase – Series A, introducing selected and vetted by Africa’s leading VCs. These companies represent a new class of investment opportunity coming up across the African continent.
The selected ventures have strong revenues, are well positioned for regional and international expansion, and demonstrate important innovations that are disrupting industries like agriculture, healthcare, housing, transportation, and finance.
