Top 4 Sessions Every African Founder Should Attend at Africa Tech Festival 2024

The Africa Tech Festival is back, and this year’s AfricaIgnite agenda is packed with powerful sessions tailored specifically for start-up founders eager to learn, connect, and grow.

Navigating the African start-up landscape is exciting and challenging in equal measure, and with the economic shifts impacting funding and growth, having the right strategies is essential.

Whether you’re aiming to secure funding, navigate exits, or drive ecosystem connections, the sessions below are hand-picked to provide founders with actionable insights and practical guidance to tackle today’s challenges and embrace future opportunities.

Panel: Overcoming the Funding Winter: Strategies for Early-Stage Start-Ups

Overall activity in the early-stage start-up ecosystem remained high despite the funding slowdown, with early-stage deals increasing in 2023 and involving deals above $1 million.

• Standout Strategies: Learn firsthand how successful startups differentiated themselves to capture investor attention and secure funding in a competitive landscape

• Ecosystem Drivers: Unpacking the impact of ecosystem drivers like accelerators and incubators in driving growth for African tech start-ups

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Panel: Founders' Focus: Securing Investor Confidence in Challenging Times

In 2023, African startups faced a tough funding landscape with nearly a 50% drop in venture capital investment compared to the previous year. Despite this, several founders successfully raised funds by focusing on capital efficiency, leveraging technology, and building strong relationships with investors.

• Fundraising Success: What factors contributed to these founders successfully raising funds during a challenging year?
• Building Investor Confidence: How did these founders cultivate strong relationships and trust with investors amidst economic uncertainties?

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Panel: The Search for Liquidity: Navigating African Startup Exits

While IPO remains a coveted goal for many startups, they are scarce in Africa prompting a shift towards mergers & acquisitions as the primary exit strategy. THis panel explores the dominance of M&A in the African startup landscape, examining its implications and underlying trends.

• M&A Momentum: Despite the limited overall number, M&A activity is on the rise across the African continent, with fintech companies leading the pack in terms of exit deals.
• M&A over IPO: Why are M&A transactions increasingly preferred by startups as an exit route? What factors contribute to the decline of IPOs within the African startup ecosystem?

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Masterclass: Startups, SMMES, and Job creation in Africa

This presentation delves into the critical need for a stronger pipeline of investable startups in Africa, highlighting how the scarcity of viable deals, combined with an increase in VC allocations, has led to inflated valuations and subsequent underperformance for investors as startups struggle to meet high expectations.

Challenges in Startup Investment: The current landscape presents significant challenges, where inflated valuations impact portfolio performance, underscoring the need for more robust and sustainable growth among startups.

Addressing the Gap: Our work addresses these issues by fostering a more investable startup ecosystem in Africa, creating a foundation for sustainable growth and long-term success.

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Secure your Free Start-Up Pass for Africa Tech Festival 2024

These sessions offer an unmissable chance to learn from industry leaders and innovators who have navigated similar paths and come out stronger.

Join us to gain strategies and connections that can shape your start-up journey in 2024 and beyond!

Apply for your free start-up pass now and immerse yourself in the knowledge, network, and inspiration that Africa Tech Festival has to offer.