Investing in African tech startups is rapidly gaining momentum, with more investors recognizing the massive untapped potential in the continent’s burgeoning tech ecosystem. Ventures Unknown, an organization whose mission is to build connections to and between emerging tech ecosystems and access to capital, recently made its first trip to Nairobi to explore the African tech ecosystem. I sat down with Ethan Appleby, the founder of Ventures Unknown, to explore some of the key lessons he learned during his visit.
About Ventures Unknown
According to Appleby, talent is distributed, but capital is not, and that is why he founded Ventures Unknown to provide access to capital for startups in emerging tech ecosystems. The organization fulfils its mission in three ways: through experiences, investments in a fund of funds, and direct investments.
During his visit to Nairobi, Appleby was impressed by the maturity of founders across the board. He also noted the eagerness of the government to support regulation and the strength of early-stage incubation accelerators. However, he observed that the hard part was the growth level capital and the early-stage capital. He believes that the flywheel needs to happen when founders who have had a couple of exits start companies, and more angel investors and operators invest at the early stages. That is when the African tech ecosystem will experience massive growth.
Appleby states that the hard part is always convincing investors to come. He noted that many large funds invest on the continent, but many members of their firm have never been. Therefore, it is always interesting to get investors on the ground, and Nairobi makes it easy because investors are always blown away by the opportunities they encounter.
As the African tech ecosystem matures, early-stage investments will become increasingly essential, and more angel investors and operators will come on board. The African continent is a treasure trove of untapped potential, and investors who are willing to explore it will discover opportunities that are truly transformative.
