Key2investors at African Startup Conference: Investing in Africa’s future

Petra Wolkenstein was invited to speak on the entrepreneurship conference in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire in October 2019 named #EntrepreneursOnTheMove. #EOM was the first African startup conference organized and hosted by the German-Ivoirian-French collaboration between GreenTec Capital Africa Foundation and Land of African Business.

“Entrepreneurs in Africa are shaping the continent’s future. With passion, innovativeness and entrepreneurial spirit, they serve as examples for a new generation full of energy and ideas. We want to shed more light on these entrepreneurs.” Eric Bazin, Founder of le LAB.

The African startup conference was created to catalyze measures to support and invest in African entrepreneurs so that they can grow and develop their businesses. EOM thus serves as a linking point between enablers, startups, investors, and policymakers. Targeted actions could be derived from the discussions, masterclasses, and workshops.

Greentec-Capital Africa Foundation has invited us to join key players and discuss investment readiness support for startups in the region. We also had the opportunity to present GearUp – the collaboration platform to create the digital resource that will support African start-ups’ readiness for investments. We are proud to participate among African startup enablers, startups, and investors in inspiring meetings, valuable personal encounters, and important panels. A particular focus of the event was on young and female entrepreneurs, as they are highly motivated and environmentally aware when doing business.

In total, more than 70 startups will benefit directly from the African startup conference #EOM in the form of prize money, capacity building and international presence. The wonderful speakers represented high-level facilitators and opinion leaders who are taking bold steps to unlock the potential of #AfricanEntrepreneursOnTheMove.

It is a pleasure to be part of this vibrant community together with organizations such as

African Development Bank, Blue Octopus Investments, Bongo Hive, BriterBridges, Co-Creation Hub Nigeria, Digital Africa France, GiZ Germany, GreenTech Capital Africa Foundation, IncubIvoir, Jokkolabs, Kigali Impact Hub, Konsultori, Kumasi Hive, leLab, Loudhailer, makessense, myAfricanStartup, Open Value Foundation Spain, SAiS program, Seedspace, Suguba i-hub, Woelab and Women in Tech Africa.