Eight high-potential female founders captivated over 300 investors, ecosystem leaders, and delegates during Deal Morning at the 11th annual Africa Early Stage Investor Summit (AESIS2024). These bold founders, representing the VC4A Venture (http://VC4A.com) Showcase - She Wins Africa edition, pitched their inspiring solutions that address critical challenges in agriculture, fintech, e-commerce, and health in Africa. Their participation was the culmination of VC4A’s award-winning Technical Residency program, an investment-readiness intervention aimed at preparing early stage founders for scale and funding.

AESIS, cohosted by VC4A (http://VC4A.com) and ABAN (http://ABANAngels.org), showcased the growing collaboration among investors, startups, and support organizations across Africa. In the opening remarks, VC4A CEO - Vincent Hoogduijn set the tone for the two-day summit. “Why does VC4A organize AESIS every year? The answer is simple - we are here to unite the African early stage investment ecosystem". Through panels, pitches, networking sessions, and investor experiences, the summit reinforced the importance of ecosystem-wide cooperation.

VC4A Technical Residency

The She Wins Africa program, implemented by VC4A in collaboration with the International Finance Corporation (IFC), is dedicated to empowering women entrepreneurs with the tools, networks, and exposure needed to thrive. Each participant for the VC4A Technical Residency was handpicked from more than 100 founders in the program. The eight ‘She Winners’ received tailored training, and expert mentorship during the Technical Residency in Cape Town, enabling them to pitch confidently to the AESIS2024 audience.

Anne Kabugi, Regional Gender Lead at IFC opened the showcase pitches with a thought-provoking question: “What if I told you that Africa’s food crisis is going to be solved by women?”

At the Deal Morning, the following eight companies took to the stage:

1. Cladfy Inc (Kenya) (http://apo-opa.co/4gpvV7G): Fintech innovation enabling lending for the informal sector.
2. GoBEBA Everything Ltd (Kenya) (http://apo-opa.co/4g4FBVf): E-commerce utility platform expanding access to essential resources.
3. Paycard SA (Guinea) (http://apo-opa.co/4g8gKjm): Mobile money app advancing financial inclusion.
4. Agriarche Limited (Nigeria) (http://apo-opa.co/4g4FBVf): Digitized platform revolutionizing agricultural trade.
5. Eshandi (Zambia) (http://apo-opa.co/4g86g3z): Financial services platform empowering underserved populations.
6. Farmio (Ghana) (http://apo-opa.co/3Zw7hLS): Tech solutions addressing agricultural supply chain inefficiencies.
7. Yellow Factoring (Cameroon) (http://apo-opa.co/4gj3jgw): Invoice factoring platform for SMEs
8. Advantage Health Africa (Nigeria) (http://apo-opa.co/3BuYL7F): Providing access to genuine and affordable medicines

Each of the `She Winners’ pitched alongside 15 highly promising portfolio companies from 5 other organizations - DEG Impulse: develoPPP Ventures, Digital Africa: Fuzé, Ennovate Ventures: TheNextFund, Open Startup and the GIZ: SAIS program. The high caliber of startups and the strategic insights shared by the judging panel created a launchpad moment for the future of the African startup ecosystem, showcasing innovative and impactful solutions to real problems.

A statement that perfectly sums up the experience of co-hosting this edition: “AESIS2024 once again pointed out that collaboration is a must,” said Vincent Hoogduijn. “It's been a tough year and we all need to work together to overcome the challenges ahead. Persistence, resilience and adaptability will be key ingredients to see the ecosystem thrive - go fast alone, go far together”

After a year of planning, VC4A is grateful for the opportunity to serve the ecosystem as a platform to connect, inspire, and empower. Looking ahead, the collective efforts of investors, entrepreneurs, and policymakers will be essential to unlocking Africa’s full potential and driving its economic growth. VC4A's commitment is to continue to unite Africa’s startup ecosystems as we look forward to reconnecting with old and new friends at AESIS2025 next year.