Apply for 2021 VC4A Venture Showcase – Seed. The program is looking for 8 innovative, seed stage startups to showcase to the global network of Africa-focused investors. Are you operating in Africa, have a highly scalable solution already in the market and showing traction, and looking to raise your seed round in the range of $250K and $1,5M? This is the opportunity you’ve been looking for!

Summary

VC4A Venture Showcase Seed is the sister program of the annual VC4A Venture Showcase Series A. As part of the program, companies get visibility with 200+ investors part of the curated VC4A investor network and interviews with the leading VC funds as part of the vetting process. The finalists receive mentorship and technical advice directly from the angel investors and VC fund managers and make a center-stage appearance at the Africa Early Stage Investor Summit.

In 2017-2020, the program selected 80 scale-ups from across the continent as part of 5 showcase programs, resulting in a number of Series A deals totaling over $150M. Building on this success, the ‘VC4A Venture Showcase – Series A’ is now a central component of our efforts to support investors connecting with high-quality deal flow. This is an exclusive opportunity to introduce your company at once to everyone who’s anyone in Africa’s early-stage investment space.

Benefits

• Being recognized as 2021 VC4A Venture Showcase entrepreneur.
• Participation in the VC4A Venture Showcase deal room, including 200+ early-stage investor organizations.
• Professionally edited 3-minute virtual pitch featured at the Africa Early Stage Investor Summit (November 4-5, 2021).
• 30 min deep-dive session with investors in a private room.
• Mentorship and technical support by partner VC investors.
• AWS Activate offers selected cohort AWS credits ranging from $5,000 to $10,000, tools, resources, and more to quickly get started on AWS.
• Joining the alumni network and having exclusive access to partner events and fundraising opportunities.

Eligibility Criteria

• The company is for-profit, registered as an independent legal entity with less than 3 years in operation.
• The company has a product or service already available on the market and serving its first customers.
• Product or service is clearly innovative and/or the business model is new and disruptive.
• Business model scalability is visible through a growing number of customers or transactions, your pipeline shows future contracts and potential sales.
• Have a good estimate of your addressable market > 1M+ people/year with potential plans to expand across borders.
• Have a strong management team of at least 2 people.
• Team is based in one or more countries on the African continent.
• At least one of the founders has an African nationality.
• Seeking Seed/pre-Series A investment in the range of $250K to $1,5M.
• While there will be exceptions, your company has received investment above 25K USD from “Founder, Family, Friends & Fans” but not exceeding 1M+ USD.
• Founder(s) who previously started a successful company is a plus.

Selection Criteria

• Commercial Value of your Product/Service (25%): Your company addresses a real problem in the market. Your product or service is different from others in the industry. Your business model is new and designed for scale.
• Strategy for Growth (25%): The market size is significant and there is potential to expand locally and into new markets. Your startup is scalable and has a clear strategy for growth. You can show demonstrable progress.
• Management Team (25%): Your team has the qualifications needed to make the business successful. Management team members have complementary expertise.
• Market Traction & Financials (25%): They will evaluate your market traction, revenue streams, and unit economics. If any outside funding has been raised before, it’s a plus.

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