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Research Outline
Prepared for Ed S. | Delivered November 17, 2020
Investor Funding in Africa
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Goals
To provide an understanding of how startups with a focus on information technology that are operating at the intersection of the sustainable energy and telecommunications industries can be optimally positioned to attract investment.
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Early Findings
Top Tech and Solar Investors in Africa
The African Angel Business Network (ABAN) is a network of
49 networks operating across 33
African countries. Each network sets its own investment terms.
Five
of the most active investors in tech in Africa are 500 Startups, Algebra Ventures, Goodwell, International Finance Corporation (IFC), and Partech Africa.
A
sample of investors
in Off-Grid Tech in 2019 in Africa include EDF Renewable Energy in Egypt, Energy Access Ventures and Total in Ghana, Mitsubishi Corporation and Bamboo Capital Partners in Kenya, CRE Venture Capital and Persistent Energy Capital in Nigeria, and Inspired Evolution in South Africa. Investors in companies operating in the connectivity vertical in Kenya include Orange, Google, Cathay Innovation, and TCL Group.
Africa50, Norfund, and Scatec Solar are among the
investors active
in the solar vertical in Africa.
Advice for Startups Seeking Funding from a Top Investor
Tomi Davies, president of ABAN,
advises startups
to consider their location, as that will dictate the angel network the startup can access.
Mr. Davies advised startups to clearly outline how the investor will get their money back, emphasizing the importance of the product service offering from the startup, the customers that place value on the product service offering, and "
the nature of the relationship in terms on channel and price offering."
To combat the impact of COVID-19, Mr. Davies noted the importance of "
referential integrity
," wherein the source of an investor reference is used as a vector to determine feasibility in the absence of being able to personally see and touch the target investments.
Solar Power/Connectivity and ISP Startups in Africa Successfully Accessing Funding
BBOXX
, African Renewable Energy Distributor (
ARED
),
Tizeti
, and a recently announced partnership between
Engie and OffGridBox
in Rwanda are examples of solar providers offering WiFi services.
SimpliConnect
in South Africa is a self-funded ISP startup in South Africa.
Venture Capital for "Tech" Startups on the African Continent
In its 2019 report on venture capital funding for technology on the African continent, Partech stated that funding for connectivity and hardware, included in the B2B & Tech Adoption category, totaled
US$52 million
. This represents:
A year-on-year increase of
344%
from
five
deals.
Two and a half percent
of the total funding (
US $2.02 billion
) for tech in Africa in 2019.
The same report stated that funding for Off-Grid Tech, which was included in the financial inclusion category, totaled US
$247 million
. This represents:
A year-on-year increase of
27%
, from a total of
21 deals
.
Twelve percent
of the total funding (
US$2.02 billion
) for tech in African in 2019.
The report can be accessed via a
link on this page
of the Partech website.
Summary
This initial hour of research was used to determine the availability of information regarding investing in tech and solar startups in Africa. The research sought to determine the top investors in the two verticals, provide information from a top investor regarding what is looked for from startups before making an investment, identify startups providing both solar and WiFi services, along with ISPs, that have successfully accessed funding, and providing an overview of the market for tech investments in Africa.
We propose to continue the research to delve further into the frameworks used by investors in Africa to make a decision on tech investments generally, and specifically, the factors that were successful along with the business model adopted by the successful startups identified in the early findings.
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