AfricArena and FMO, the Dutch Entrepreneurial Development Bank, have announced the expansion of their relationship through the FMO Ventures programme. This expansion is intended to provide additional support to Africa’s rapidly growing technology ecosystem.
Building on their previous work together in 2022, which took place during AfricArena’s tour across the continent, this extended cooperation is going to help strengthen Africa’s technology industry through a series of events that will take place between August 2023 and December 2024.
The AfricArena Founders’ Bootcamp, the AfricArena Learning Expedition, and the AfricArena Summit are some of the events that will receive assistance from the FMO Ventures programe. The flagship event is the AfricArena Summit. It is anticipated that these activities will help greatly to the growth of the venture capital industry on the African continent as well as the technology sector more generally.
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Remark from AfricArena’s CEO
Christophe Viarnaud, the Chief Executive Officer of AfricArena, voiced his excitement about the relationship by saying, “We are very excited about this expanded partnership which supports the ecosystem development of AfricArena through its well-known events across Africa.”
He stressed that the development of open-source investment tools for the technology industry in Africa will benefit greatly from this partnership, which will not only help to strengthen the venture capital industry in Africa.
A recent analysis by Statista indicated that Africa is home to more than 640 tech hubs, which serve as the region’s rapidly expanding digital ecosystem’s primary support structure. Investors from across Africa and the rest of the world are showing a growing interest in the continent’s fledgling technology companies. There has been a tremendous increase in interest from a variety of investors over the past few years, indicating a continuous enthusiasm for the prospects afforded by Africa’s technology scene.
Marieke Roestenberg, who is the programme manager for FMO Ventures, spoke on the tremendous opportunities that Africa’s technology start-ups provide to the investing landscape. She pointed out, “It is a thrilling time for investors to be looking at Africa as an investment destination, as many of the continent’s tech start-ups are coming forward with investment-worthy innovative solutions for global challenges.”
The impact of the partnership
The revitalised collaboration between AfricArena and FMO is in line with the overarching objective of the FMO Ventures Programme, which aims to foster the growth of entrepreneurial technology ecosystems throughout Africa. The goal of the alliance is to encourage co-investment and cooperation that will, in the end, be to the benefit of underserved areas across the continent. This will be accomplished by promoting collaboration between tech start-ups, investors, and companies.
During the Viva AfricArena Summit that took place in Paris, France, one year ago, Robert Haynie, the ecosystem development lead for FMO Ventures, made the original announcement regarding the partnership. The partnership between AfricArena and FMO Ventures aims to strengthen Africa’s technology and venture capital scene even further, thereby providing the necessary support for the continent’s further expansion.
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How the partnership began
On June 14, 2022, AfricArena transformed Station F, the most well-known startup incubator in the world, into the arena for African digital startup companies. During the course of the day, more than sixty more African startups were able to participate in investment speed dating with more than one hundred more investors. These startups ranged from the seed stage to the growth stage. In addition, AfricArena recently announced a partnership with FMO to provide financial assistance to ten new businesses as part of the AfricArise programme in 2022.
FMO was a partner with the AfricArise Annual Programme of 2022. AfricArise is a virtual Pan-African start-up investor network platform that links more than 80 start-ups and investors from throughout the African continent. It is an annual programme with the goal of assisting start-up businesses in expanding their operations to other countries by providing mentoring, webinars, coaching, and support for investment deals.
The programme is geared specifically for AfricArena alums and provides three distinct packages designed to assist businesses in raising, raising, and scaling their operations.