Empowering African Entrepreneurship: Unveiling the Future of Pan-African Business

Article by Cheyenne Fernánda ??

Today, I am proud of what we've achieved. For the past few months, we have been working non-stop to craft, research, and build out the future of African Entrepreneurship and what the future of business in a Pan-African context looks like.

Uniting a Dream Team

My team and I are beyond excited to share what we've been building. The dream team, Daniel de Bruin , Nyasha Samhembere , Mxo Mathe , Karthie Padayachy , and myself, came together to execute and - from scratch, build out a multiple module Investor Readiness program as part of the MultiChoice Group Accelerator Program 2023.

Building as We Soar

When we first started, it truly felt as if we were building the plane while we were flying it, but in the end, everything came together. We worked with Africa's Top 29 Startups, spent tireless hours on team calls, unpacking and deep diving into each business, sat chatting at all hours with founders, and overall aimed to create a lasting impact on our brilliant cohort of SMME entrepreneurs.

Embarking on a Journey of Success

We've finally made it to the first leg of our event tour in Johannesburg, where our SMME's will pitch and go from 29 companies down to 11. Then head to Zambia and Dubai for the final round of Investment pitches where we aim to top our prior VC funding round to over $16 Million.

Learning and Growing Together

We've also learned so much throughout this journey alongside our partners, Multichoice and C3. Our 29 Startups are officially investor-ready, and I am honored to have played my part in this great success.

Gratitude to Remarkable Partners

A huge thank you also to our amazing partners throughout this journey, Multichoice has been instrumental in growing the scale of the project to what it currently is. It has been an absolute pleasure working alongside you. We can't wait for the televised pitches to broadcast throughout Africa.

Startup Pitch Week: An Exciting Chapter

This week is Startup Pitch Week, where we will be cutting from 29 to 11 SMME's that will be selected to go on to Zambia then head to complete our final round of investment pitches in Dubai.

Wishing Success to Phenomenal Candidates

The team, our partners, and I wish you the best of luck and regardless of the selection outcome, I have no doubt in my mind that each of our phenomenal candidates will have the utmost success in the future.

It's been a pleasure.