AfricArena and FMO, the Dutch Entrepreneurial Development Bank, have announced that they are extending their partnership through the FMO Ventures Programme to support Africa’s fast-growing tech ecosystem.
FMO Ventures Programme is extending its partnership with AfricArena to support the following events from August 2023 to December 2024: the AfricArena VC Unconference, the AfricArena Founders’ Bootcamp, the AfricArena Learning Expedition, and the AfricArena Summit. This comes after an initial year of partnering in 2022 on AfricArena’s Tour across the continent.
The FMO Ventures Programme is supported by the FMO, the Dutch Entrepreneurial Development Bank, a leading impact investor that supports sustainable private sector growth in frontier and growth markets. The FMO ventures programme is a €200 million ($217 million) investment programme that supports early-stage, tech-enabled startups in Africa and the European neighbourhood. The programme also provides technical assistance to help startups improve their business operations and invest in inclusive business models, with a focus on fintech, energy access, and agriTech, and invests in direct investments and generic funds.
According to FMO Ventures’ programme manager, Marieke Roestenberg, this is a “thrilling time for investors to be looking at Africa as an investment destination, as many of the continent’s tech startups are coming forward with investment-worthy innovative solutions for global challenges”.
AfricArena is a platform that connects African startups with investors and partners. It was launched in 2017 and has helped its community raise over $500 million. The platform consists of a series of events, including an investor unconference, a founders’ boot camp, and a summit.
“We are very excited about this expanded partnership which supports the ecosystem development of AfricArena through its well-known events across Africa,” said AfricArena CEO Christophe Viarnaud, in a statement seen by TechCabal. “This partnership will contribute significantly to the development of the African VC industry through its VC unconferences, and the development of open source investment tools for the African tech industry, with the support of the Digital Collective Africa, a community for investors.”
Per a Statista report, Africa has over 640 technology hubs, forming the essential foundation of its swiftly expanding tech landscape. This ecosystem has become a magnet for investment, drawing both local and global investors, including angel investors, venture capitalists, venture funds, corporate funds, development finance institutions, and startups in what Africa’s tech ecosystem has to offer.
“Our partnership with AfricArena is a good fit with FMO Ventures Programme’s broader strategy to support the development of entrepreneurial tech ecosystems across Africa. By bringing together tech startups, corporations, angel investors, venture capitalists and other institutional investors we aim to foster co-investment and collaboration that benefits the underserved on the African continent,” Roestenberg concluded.
