Deadline: August 14, 2020
Applications are open for the VC4A Venture Showcase – Series A 2020. Venture Capital for Africa (VC4A) is looking for 10 innovative, high-growth scale-ups to showcase their solutions to the world. Are you operating in Africa, generating revenue and looking to raise your Series A round in the range of $500K and $10M? This is the opportunity you’ve been looking for!
In 2017-2019, they selected 60 scale-ups from across the continent as part of 4 showcase programs, resulting in a number of Series A deals totalling over $100M. Building on this success, the ‘VC4A Venture Showcase – Series A’ is now a central component of their efforts to support investors connecting with high-quality deal flow. This is an exclusive opportunity to introduce your company at once to everyone who’s anyone in Africa’s early-stage investment space.
If you are selected for the Showcase, you are expected to:
- Engage with assigned mentors (partner VC investors) and VC4A team to prepare your 3-minute and 20-minute presentations, as well as 2-pagers with investor data as part of the deal book;
- Be prepared to pitch and engage with VC investors in the period of October – November 2020 and be part of the VC4A Venture Showcase.
Benefits
- Being recognized as 2020 VC4A Venture Showcase entrepreneur
- Participation in the VC4A Venture Showcase deal room, including 150+ early-stage investor organizations
- Professional edited 3 minute virtual pitch
- 30 min deep-dive session with investors in a private room
- Mentorship and pitch training by partner VC investors
- AWS Activate offers selected cohort AWS credits ranging from $10,000 to $25,000, tools, resources, and more to quickly get started on AWS.
- Joining the alumni network and having exclusive access to fundraising opportunities
Eligibility
- Your company is for-profit and registered as an independent legal entity;
- You have a product or service available on the market and generate revenue;
- Your product or service is clearly innovative and/or your business model is new, disruptive and designed for scale;
- You have a very strong management team of at least 3 people;
- Your team is based in one or more countries on the African continent;
- At least one of the founders has an African nationality;
- You are seeking Series A investment in the range of $500K – $10M;
- While there will be exceptions, most likely your startup has already received external investment, structured as either debt or equity, or received grants from donor organizations.
Selection Criteria
- Commercial Value of your Product/Service (25%): Your company addresses a real problem in the market. Your product or service is different from others in the industry. Your business model is new and designed for scale.
- Strategy for Growth (25%): The market size is significant and there is potential to expand locally and into new markets. Your startup is scalable and has a clear strategy for growth. You can show demonstrable progress.
- Management Team (25%): Your team has the qualifications needed to make the business successful.
- Market Traction & Financials (25%): They will evaluate your market traction, revenue streams, and unit economics. If any outside funding has been raised before, it’s a plus.
Application
Are you operating in Africa, generating revenue and looking to raise your Series A round in the range of $500K and $10M?
For more information, visit VC4A Venture Showcase – Series A.
