VC4Africa’s DEMO Africa 2014 Begins Tomorrow

The all important DEMO Africa 2014 begins tomorrow in Lagos and VC4A Investor Summit at DEMO Africa in Lagos is expected to create opportunities for 14 Nigerian start-ups among 40 from Africa, to meet investors, among other interesting stories from the event.

Dr. (Mrs) Omobola Johnson will lead other guests at the opening of the event.

VC4Africa presents the Investor Summit the “Future of Angel Investing in Africa” the first time angel investors come together from across the continent to connect as a Pan-African network.

Speakers and panelists include Jason Njoku (iROKO, Spark), Tomi Davies (Lagos Angels Network), Baybars Altuntas (European Business Angel Network), Leonard Stiegeler (Ringier), Dipo Adebo (Angel investor), Dehab Ghebreab (US State Department), Collins Onuegbu (Lagos Angels Network), Sylvia Brune (88MPH), Viktor Okigbo (IDEA Nigeria), Dr. Inderpal Mumick (Kirusa), Tope Ajao (Leadpath), Ben White (VC4Africa) and others.

Over thirty investors have confirmed their attendance.

These investors, both local and international, include angel investors, impact investors, venture capital funds, and corporate venture capital actors; all focused on early stage SME investing in Africa.

The Wednesday afternoon Investor Summit will conclude with an exclusive (investor-only) cocktail on the evening of September 24.

After this, on Thursday and Friday, September 25 & 26, Africa’s Top 40 innovative entrepreneurs will launch their new products on stage at the DEMO Africa event. All this takes place at the Oriental Hotel in Lagos, Nigeria.

Entrepreneur and investor community VC4Africa initiates the Investor Summit at DEMO Africa following the Investor Roundtable VC4Africa organized & co-chaired at the 5th EU-Africa Business Forum earlier this year.

Ben White, VC4Africa’s CEO and Founder, said, “Going into the third year of DEMO Africa, we are excited to introduce a new exclusive investor-only event as part of the DEMO Africa 2014 event. This is the next step in making sure the leading innovators from across the continent are going to get the backing they need to achieve scale. At the same time, we see angel networks emerging across the continent. Now is the time to bring them together in a shared conversation about how best to move forward.”

The program of the Investor Summit focuses on knowledge exchange between the continent’s various angel investors and angel investor networks and focuses on the road-map of the future of angel investing in Africa.

The event is then followed by 40 demo presentations by the continent’s top up and coming entrepreneurs at DEMO Africa.

After a word of welcome by DEMO Africa’s executive producer Harry Hare (DEMO Africa), David van Dijk (VC4Africa) will set the scene for the Investor Summit afternoon, followed by Jason Njoku (iROKO, SPARK) who will deliver the key note “Lessons learned from investing in Africa”.

A case study of a recent angel investment deal will be presented by entrepreneur Tunji Owolabi (CEO of Hutbay) together with his lead investor Dipo Adebo (Nigerian angel investor).

This is an exciting opportunity to hear about the process of closing a deal both from the viewpoint of the involved investor and entrepreneur!

Two Sage Panels will focus on “The Current State of Angel Investing in Africa” and “Moving Forward – The Roadmap for the Future”. The panelists of the first panel are Collins Onuegbu (Lagos Angels Network), Sylvia Brune (88MPH), Dr. Inderpal Mumick (CEO Kirusa), Tope Ajao (Leadpath).

The panelists of the second panel are Viktor Okigbo (IDEA Nigeria), H. Tomi Davies (Lagos Angels Network), Baybars Altuntas (EBAN), Leonard Stiegeler (Ringier). Both panels are moderated by Ben White (VC4Africa).

Also part of the program is a presentation by Baybars Altuntas of the European Business Angel Network.

He will share best practices from European angels and present an exciting initiative to launch a Pan-African Business Angel Network, following the successful launch of similar regional networks in the Middle East and Eastern Europe.

After final conclusions the participants are invited to a closed (investor only) cocktail to talk more.