AfrInform is a resource for Africa’s early-stage startups preparing to raise capital. 

We believe in technology’s huge potential to drive Africa’s socio-economic transformation. Home to much more than a celebrated fintech scene, the African tech ecosystem is a pioneering hub for innovation globally, and boasts the greatest percentage of entrepreneurs in the working-age population. Africa leads the world’s growth rate for new internet connections and smartphone penetration. The potential for broader technology adoption is unparalleled. 

Informing your raise means a deeper commitment to bridging the information gap between Africa’s most innovative companies, and the world’s most forward-looking angel investors, venture capital firms and development finance institutions (DFIs). The information gap is a huge challenge for African tech startups who want to raise capital and achieve their potential to scale. It also stops investors from recognising Africa’s tech talent and deploying capital where it is most needed. 

Start with “Why Not?” 

The early-stage investing gaps in Africa can partly be explained by startups’ lack of preparedness. The other side of this coin is the inadequate reach of incubator or accelerator programmes on the continent. Some of these information gaps even point to the deficiency of early-stage investors. 

It is a systemic problem, and one that demands ambitious solutions.

AfrInform addresses information gaps by providing essential context and guidance for tech founders on the route to funding. Not every founder finds the opportunity to join a prestigious accelerator. Not every founder in an accelerator is successful in scaling their business. 

But AfrInform is democratising fundraising insights for Africa’s most ambitious tech companies at the early stage. Today, we are still  experiencing an inflection point in Africa’s tech ecosystem, having seen a rapid growth in funding checked by the macroeconomic slowdown of the post-ZIRP (Zero Interest Rate Policy) era.  Despite this, the long-term growth story in Africa encourages one to take a long-term view through which tech enablement holds massive potential to improve access to goods, services, and employment for young, tech-savvy and rapidly-urbanisatising populations across the continent.