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Africa Must Not Be a Spectator in its Own Economic Development: The Need for Pension-Backed Private Capital
Ghana’s startup ecosystem — like that of many African countries — is growing rapidly. But Amma Gyampo at Ghana Venture Capital and Private Equity Association points out that this growth is almost entirely funded by foreign capital. She argues that recent cuts in global development budgets have proven that over-reliance on foreign funding is not sustainable, and explains how tapping pension funds as a source of venture capital can provide a massive infusion of local funding into the continent's highest-growth businesses.
- Categories
- Investing, Technology
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Building a Better AgTech Funding Model in Africa: Three Key Challenges Behind the Ecosystem’s Loss of Momentum
Startups operating at the nexus of climate and agriculture in Africa have attracted over $1 billion in venture funding over the past decade. But as David Saunders and Ludovica Fioravanti at Briter and Harsha Vishnumolakala at CPI explain, despite the important role this funding can play in supporting innovative African AgTech startups, it has fallen to around $200 million a year — less than half the $500 million raised in 2022. They explore the risks this decline presents to the continent's AgTech ecosystem, and share three key priorities for building a better funding model in Africa and other emerging markets.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Investing, Technology
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European DFIs Commit $80 Million to BluePeak’s Pan-African Private Credit Fund
The fund is dedicated to providing growth capital to mid-sized businesses across Africa, prioritizing environmental, social, and governance (ESG) best practices and measurable impact.
- Categories
- Energy, Environment, Investing
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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AURA Raises €13.5 Million to Take African-Born Emergency Tech Global
"Founded in 2017 by Warren Myers, Ryan Green, and Adam Pantanowitz, AURA has emerged as one of the most innovative emergency tech platforms in the world."
- Categories
- Technology
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Africa Looks to Unleash Local Capital as US Drives Global Uncertainty
While private capital from angel investors has played a vital role in helping to build the foundation of Africa’s startup investment space, it has been heavily reliant on international funds once the startups need venture capital.
- Categories
- Investing
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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The Current Approach to Scaling Impact Capital isn’t Working: Why Addressing the Polycrisis Requires More ‘Impact-Native’ Capital
Impact investing must scale if it hopes to address the interconnected social and environmental problems that comprise the global polycrisis. Yet as Tripp Baird at Builders Fund explains, a substantial amount of "impact" capital flows to large asset aggregator financial institutions whose impact and ESG-branded funds include investments in unaligned or actively counter-productive assets — e.g., sustainability funds that invest in mining companies — making it virtually impossible to effect lasting change. He argues that purpose-driven investors should choose “impact-native” investment firms, which provide a real alternative to the extractive and short-term focus of traditional capital markets.
- Categories
- Investing, Social Enterprise
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Funding African Solutions to the Climate Crisis: Why Local Venture Capital Innovation Holds the Key to Climate Resilience
Africa contributes just 4% of global carbon emissions and faces the world’s most devastating climate impacts — yet it receives only 3.3% of global climate finance (as of 2021/22). Dotun Olowoporoku and Dolapo Morgan at Ventures Platform argue that this disparity presents an urgent need for locally-developed innovation driven by African venture capital. They explore how African VCs can leverage this opportunity to play a central role in the continent’s climate response.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Energy, Environment, Investing
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Cocoon Capital Announces First Close of USD 50 Million Fund III to Accelerate Southeast Asia’s Enterprise and Deep Tech Startups
"The fund will continue to target pre-seed and seed-stage investments in B2B software and deep tech startups across Southeast Asia, while selectively exploring opportunities across broader Asia and Australia."
- Categories
- Environment, Health Care, Investing, Technology
- Region
- South Asia
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