Deadline: May 27, 2022
Applications for the VC4A Venture Showcase Africa 2022 are now open. VC4A is looking for up to 16 women founders leading innovative, high-growth scale-ups to showcase to the global network of Africa-focused investors. Are you operating in Africa, generating revenue, and looking to raise between $250K and $10M? This is the opportunity you’ve been looking for!
According to the Africa: The Big Deal report, in 2021 93% of the funding in Africa went to startups led by male CEOs. Looking at the makeup of founding teams, over 99% of the funding in 2021 was raised by a single male founder, or a founding team with at least one male co-founder.
Based on this knowledge and as a community member dedicated to supporting the startup ecosystem, VC4A now opens a call dedicated to women-led startups from across the African continent. If you are leading a fast growing startup with clear impact potential and you are in the process of scaling up your activities in the region, then apply.
Benefits
- Being recognized as 2022 VC4A Venture Showcase entrepreneur.
- Participation in the VC4A Venture Showcase deal room, including 200+ early-stage investor organizations.
- Professionally edited 3-minute virtual pitch featured at the Africa Early Stage Investor Summit (November 2-4, 2022).
- 30 min deep-dive session with investors in a private room.
- Mentorship and technical support by partnering VC investors and corporates.
- AWS Activate offers selected cohort credits, tools, resources, and more to quickly get started on AWS.
- Joining the alumni network and having exclusive access to partner events and fundraising opportunities.
Eligibility
- You have a very strong management team of at least 3 people including one (or more) woman founder;
- 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;
- 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 Seed or Series A investment in the range of $250K – $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. Management team members have complementary expertise.
- 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
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 2022 and be part of the VC4A Venture Showcase and the Africa Early Stage Investor Summit 2022 (#AESIS2022).
For more information, visit VC4A Venture Showcase.
