🇿🇦 This month's podcast was recorded at the Africa Early Stage Investor Summit 2023 (AESIS 2023), held in Cape Town between 30 November and 2 December 2023. Featuring sector heavyweights Aly El Shalakany (Advisory Board Member, AESIS), Eleni Gabre-Madhin (Chief Innovation Officer, UNDP Africa), Tracy Kimathi (Founder, BARIDI), Ben White (Director and Founder, VC4A) and Maxime Bayen (Operating Partner, Catalyst Fund) breaking down several themes they believe will strongly influence investor interactions with the ecosystem in 2024. Among them were:

• The importance of perspective within the tech ecosystem given the difficult raising environment in 2023.
• The increasing prominence of impact capital within the tech ecosystem.
• Investors playing a greater role in helping their portfolio startups become exit-ready.

💡 Top insights unpacked in the episode:

• UNDP launching the world's largest initiative to support the African innovation ecosystem [01:25]
• An African tech ecosystem trend forecast, current developments, and dashboard view of what's coming next [18:18]
• Fundraising, investor relations, mental health, and startup journey reflections from a founder's perspective [27:53]
• Africa The Big Deal and impact investing in 2024 [40:14]
• Tracking progress within the African tech ecosystem and priority themes in 2024, and beyond [57:10]

CONNECT VIA SOCIAL MEDIA:

• Connect with Aly El Shalakany on Linkedin.
• Connect with Eleni Gabre-Madhin on Linkedin.
• Connect with Tracy Kimathi on Linkedin.
• Connect with Maxime Bayen on Linkedin.
• Connect with Ben White on Linkedin.

Tell us...

• What was your favourite quote or lesson from this episode?
• What topic would you like for us to feature on a future podcast?

🔌 Let us know via the hashtag: #AfricanPreseedPodcast