VC4Africa, Africa’s venture capital community has selected the Top 14 entrepreneurs for its VC4Africa’s June 2013 Cohort to receive targeted coaching and introductions to the VC4Africa investor network.
The top 14 come from various countries in Africa and aim to raise investments between USD $10K and USD $1 million.
According to VC4Africa’s Head of Investor Relations Saskia Reus-Makkink, “It’s great to work with these entrepreneurs. They have passed a strict screening and we look forward to supporting these entrepreneurs as they move to take their ventures forward”
The founder(s) are backed by quality teams and are running established companies: post prototype stage and in many cases generating revenue. Many have already secured the backing of a lead investor and are now working to close their round of funding through VC4Africa. Over the next three months the VC4Africa team will be working with these individuals to further strengthen their business cases, help them complete their documentation, and facilitate introductions to VC4Africa’s Investor Network.
The selected ventures have their venture profile pages on the VC4Africa website and interested investors have to register on VC4Africa to access their private documents and more details.
The entrepreneurs include Tanzania’s David Elias with Arusha Women Entrepreneur – looking to raise US$ 10,000. Arusha Women Entrepreneur, a social enterprise operating in the Tanzanian cities of Arusha and Dar Es Salaam, is focused on processing natural peanut butter under the brand Mr. Peanut Butter. See their VC4Africa profile >>
Ethiopia’s Jens Groot with Basic Water Needs looking to raise US$ 100,000.
Basic Water Needs provides clean and safe drinking water for the Base of the Pyramid (BoP), its customers include Jica, Red Cross, USAID, Water Aid and Unicef. See their VC4Africa profile >>.
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Kenya’s Ken Griffith with Dinero Social Savings System (ChamaPesa) looking to raise US$ 500,000. ChamPesa gives savings clubs (chamas) the tools to issue and manage financial instruments which their members can access from their phones. See their VC4Africa profile >>
DUMA Works also from Kenya run by Arielle Sandor are raising US$ 250,000. DUMA Works is an SMS-based recruiting service that connects employers with the top qualified job seekers in the DUMA network. See their VC4Africa profile >>
EatOut – Kenya – Elaine Dang – raising US$800,000
EatOut is East Africa’s largest online restaurant guide and booking service, committed to promoting Africa’s dining and food culture. See their VC4Africa profile >>
GMobile – Kenya – Peter M. Maina – raising US$ 1,000,000
GMobile will bring very low calling rates to African Diaspora, providing VoIP on Mobile phones. See their VC4Africa profile >>
Karibu Solar Power – Tanzania – Adam Camenzuli – raising US$ 150,000
KARIBU Solar Power is an innovative solar social enterprise that makes high quality solar power affordable, producing a modular solar lamp and more. See their VC4Africa profile >>
M-changa – Kenya – David Mark – raising US$ 170,000
M-Changa is bringing mobile fundraising to the developing world, with M-changa already thousands of Kenyans fundraised for their nearest and dearest causes, including school fees, weddings, funerals, etc. See their VC4Africa profile >>
Mobiflock – South Africa – Vanessa Clark – raising US$ 400,000
Mobiflock makes cell phones safe for children by giving parents the visibility and tools to manage their children’s phone use, and so protect them from harm. See their VC4Africa profile >>
mPawa – Ghana – Maxwell Donkor – raising US$ 280,000
mPawa is a mobile job matching application developed for the blue collar recruitment sector of Africa, addressing this issue with the power of Web to SMS technology. See their VC4Africa profile >>
OTG Playa LLC – Nigeria – Kevin Simmons – raising US$ 1,000,000
OTGPlaya is an affordable platform solution that combines cutting edge networking technology, emerging market wisdom, and customer focused application to bring “accessibility” to critically underserved sectors like online media content. See their VC4Africa profile >>
Prowork – Nigeria – Francis Onwumere – raising US$ 1,000,000
Prowork empowers businesses bringing project management and collaboration together on one platform and putting this in the hands of team members via mobile. See their VC4Africa profile >>
Ruby Cup – Kenya – Maxie Matthiessen – raising US$ 250,000
Ruby Cup is a menstrual cup, an innovative menstrual hygiene product made of 100% medical grade silicone that can be re-used up to 10 years. See their VC4Africa profile >>
SleepOut.com – Kenya – Johann Jenson – raising US$ 1,000,000
SleepOut is East Africa’s most comprehensive hotel booking engine featuring 1,000+ options, listing all accommodation from beach huts to house rentals and all-inclusive resorts. See their VC4Africa profile >>
Considering investing in one of these entrepreneurs?
Accredited investors should register on VC4Africa to get access to full details of the selected ventures. Registered investors are also able to follow hundreds of other ventures gaining traction in over 35 African markets, and network and pool resources with fellow investors.
VC4Africa connects qualified investors from around the world with quality entrepreneurs all across Africa. Entrepreneurs have already raised more than $2 million in funding, and members have secured joint ventures and investments in countries all across Africa. VC4Africa’s investor network is the largest network of dedicated SME investors interested in supporting African based ventures. In addition to a growing number of informal investors, the network also includes many established firms.
Entrepreneurs not selected in the June 2013 Cohort?
The next cohort is scheduled for September. In the meantime, entrepreneurs can still apply to raise funds on VC4Africa. Entrepreneurs with published venture profiles on VC4Africa can register their funding needs. If the business plan and related documentation of the ventures meet the platform’s quality standards this is made visible to the investors registered as part of the VC4Africa investor network.
In addition to private deal rooms, entrepreneurs listed on VC4Africa have access to free online tools and mentorship opportunities. Entrepreneurs can make use of VC4Africa’s Mentorship Marketplace and progress on the 5 steps to fundraising on VC4Africa.
