NextBillion - An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

By Annie Njanja

Pangea Trust, through its equity crowdfunding platform Connect, is unlocking diaspora remittance inflows as funding source for early and growth-stage startups in Africa.

Remittances to sub-Saharan Africa reached $45 billion last year, with Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, Senegal and Zimbabwe leading the list of recipient countries.

And as annual inflows grow, Anne Lawi, the country director and CEO of Pangea Trust — an East African accelerator and investment platform — told TechCrunch diaspora remittances can be tapped to increase the amount of funding injected into startups. Startups in Africa raised nearly $5 billion in funding last year but the amount remains meager when compared to the rest of the world.

Photo courtesy of Jürg Stuker.