Over the past decade, we have watched Africa’s startup ecosystem develop positively with respect to funding. In 2020 investment into the continent’s startup ecosystem was valued at over $1 billion. Here at Ingressive, the last two years since we launched our first fund has been nothing but exploratory for us. It has been an exciting experience watching the success of our portfolio companies. They have not only raised but have expanded and continued to contribute significantly to the Tech ecosystem across the African continent.
While this indicates impressive growth, there’s the need to note that a significant financial gap still exists in funding requirements. Without the necessary capital, early-stage African startups will be unable to get off the ground, let alone sustain future growth. Now, this problem isn’t attributed to a lack of capital or a lack of investors, but rather because of a lack of awareness. Many African entrepreneurs who need capital are simply not aware of the range of options and possibilities available to them and vice versa where investors and VCs are often unaware of the opportunities that exist in Africa.
There is so much room for growth and expansion this year and we intend to continue to work with our comparative advantages; access to founders network, support for portfolio companies, access to business development and hiring to continue to be the most impactful VC on the cap table.
We started this year on a high note after being recognized by TechPoint as the most impactful VC of the year, 2021 and we are soo excited for the year 2022 and even more appreciative of a team with grit, dedication and excellence.
