VC4A (https://www.VC4A.com) and ABAN hosted Africa’s investor community at the 9th Africa Early Stage Investor Summit (#AESIS2022) from 2-4 November 2022. 1000+ investors connected via the virtual summit, 3000+ attendees in total including Entrepreneur Support Organizations, incubators, accelerators and select high-impact startups. 30 cities unlocked for Investor Meetups in 25 countries worldwide. 12 organizations joined the partner list, boosting support for the theme Investing with a Gender Lens & Clean/Green Tech .14 women-led companies presented at the first Women Founder Edition of the VC4A Venture Showcase Africa.

On November 2nd, 3rd and 4th, VC4A and ABAN brought Africa’s investor community together for the 9th Africa Early Stage Investor Summit. The industry leading event, which successfully hosted 3000+ attendees from all over the world.

In a major milestone this edition, 1200+ investors attended the exclusive and in-person Investor Meetups in 30 cities worldwide, more than doubling from 13 cities in 2021. We witnessed many new bonds formed and celebrated the past year with one another as the community continues to grow. Experience moments from the Investor Meetups in the aftermovies (https://bit.ly/3hwYxmj) and look through the picture gallery (https://AESIS2022.myportfolio.com).

#AESIS2022 in highlights

- 89 speakers (55% female)
- 30 investor meetups hosted by partners in 25 different countries
- 60 virtual sessions featuring

• 8 fireside chats
• 6 investor panels
• 4 investor masterclasses as part of the AESIS Academy
• 3 keynotes
• 3 research presentations
• 2 interactive workshops
• 14 VC4A Venture Showcase companies pitching their Seed/Series A rounds and
• 6 DFIs joining the Office Hours resulting in 30 1-on-1 meetings

Shining the spotlight on gender inclusive investing

Jessica Espinoza of 2X Collaborative gave the keynote address on gender-smart investing, highlighting that “Gender balanced leadership teams in private equity generate 20% higher net IRR, yet, we don’t find good gender balance in leadership in early stage investing”, adding that “This is a missed opportunity that can be resolved by adopting a gender smart lens.”

In addition, two key research reports were presented by Briter Bridges (https://bit.ly/3NV6td1) and Africa: The Big Deal (https://bit.ly/3Toz4Zq), which highlighted record breaking angel and venture capital investments into Africa early stage businesses. Only $1 out of every $15 of this investment went to women founded and led startups.

14 women-led companies selected for the 2022 VC4A Venture Showcase Africa (https://VentureShowcase.VC4A.com) were invited to pitch as part of the first Women Founder Edition. These founders are all looking to raise their pre-seed to seed and Series A rounds of between USD 250K - 10M, as Venture Showcase alumni have raised USD 600M till date.

At #AESIS2022, the Ecosystem Side Event was launched with the aim to speak to the intersection between entrepreneurship development and early-stage investing. Industry leaders dug into different views around investment readiness and ESO sustainability. The segment was attended by more than 300 delegates, and was hosted thanks to the partnership with GIZ Make-IT in Africa. The panel on Hub Sustainability was powered by FMO Ventures.

AESIS2022 would not  have been possible without the support from our #AESIS2022 partner organizations. We would like to specially thank Strategic partners GIZ Make-IT in Africa and Work in Progress! Alliance, Knowledge partners FMO Ventures and the UNDP - Africa Sustainable Finance Hub (ASFH), and Friends of the Summit - UK South Africa Tech Hub, the Bestseller Foundation, Launch Africa Ventures, Dutch Good Growth Fund, AWS Activate, Flourish Ventures, Afrilabs and Next176 by Old Mutual.

Nine years ago when AESIS first launched, “there was approximately 120M USD in investment to around 30 early stage deals. Now in 2022 the ecosystem has crossed the 4B USD mark in investment in over 200 deals” said Hope Ditlhakanyane, who added that “#AESIS2022 is a good moment for us to reflect on how far we have come as an industry to grow venture investing across the continent”. All recordings of the virtual Summit remain available via www.AfricaInvestorSummit.com.

Looking ahead with great anticipation to the next edition. Join us again next year for the 10th anniversary of the Africa Early Stage Investor Summit at #AESIS2023.