For the final instalment of our Angel Connect series, we sat down with the latest ABAN African Angel Investment survey results to unpack the numbers and what they are telling us about the state of angel investing on the African continent.
The ABAN African Angel Investment Survey 2022 builds on the Angel Investing in Africa Landscape report, an exercise carried out in 2021 by Briter Bridges and ABAN. The 2022 edition is in collaboration with the African Angel Academy and is supported by the Dutch Good Growth Fund (DGGF).This virtual roundtable featured Dario Giuliani (Briter Bridges), Julia Kho (Dutch Good Growth Fund), Fadilah Tchoumba (ABAN), Alex Fraser, David van Dijk and moderator Stephen Gugu.
Attended by investors from across the continent, the conversation also featured ABAN president Tomi Davies who added rich insights to his interpretation of the data shared.
What were some key takeaways from the conversation? Too many to mention, but we’ll choose 6 key takeaways:
- “It’s about having that local capability, partnered with international support, that’s going to be critical going forward.” – Tomi Davies.
- “Angel investors are becoming more deliberate, and also disciplined. They now have a better appreciation of risk, and how dynamic the ecosystem is becoming.” – Fadillah Tchoumba.
- “We’re seeing more women leading and founding angel networks, across the continent,” says Fadillah. Being deliberate about training more women and recruiting them into investment groups, is showing in the increase of female investors now also active in the ecosystem.
- The largest portion of survey respondents (33%) are the “founder-turned-entrepreneur”, which also shows the trend Dario calls the “Rise of the Founder-Super Angel”. This showcases a significant motivation for many of Africa’s emerging investors: because they have an intimate knowledge of the needs of entrepreneurs, they know how to show up for them in ways that go beyond capital investment.
- The lines are getting a bit blurred between angel investing and venture capital. This is allowing more investors to create vehicles to get in earlier as well as allowing many more players in the ecosystem to support and co-invest with angels.
- Speaking of which, it seems angel investing is becoming more democratised, with syndicates and angel groups becoming key catalysts of the space.
The ecosystem has clearly matured and structured over the years. It is operating dynamically, and reassuringly there still is a sense of camaraderie and understanding that collaboration is a big driver in moving innovation to a growing scale on the continent.
“Being systematic in an approach to create synergies between capital drivers and as well as the capacitating bodies across the continent, enables momentum that is not only impactful but also highly beneficial for endeavouring and developing economies. Research of this nature helps us to see how we are contributing to the big picture of enabling, startups and entrepreneurs who are tackling local and critical solutions,” says Julia Kho.
Catch the rest of the discussion and replay below. A big thank you to all panelists, attendees, and everyone else who made this event and this eventful year a fruitful one. See you in 2023!
To access the report you can DOWNLOAD it here.
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