In Africa, everyone knows the proverb: “He who pays the piper calls the tune.” For far too long, the tune of Africa’s innovation story has been played by foreign capital, commendable, but usually out of sync with the rhythm of local facts.
The result has been brilliant ideas birthed on the continent, frequently shaped to suit external expectations, while local investors watched from the sidelines. But things are changing.
In just a decade, the African Business Angel Network (ABAN) has proven that Africans are not only capable of calling the tune but of owning the entire orchestra.
Coming from a handful of angel investors in 2012, the network has grown to over 7,000 across 37 countries, mobilising more than $35 million in early-stage investments. Its impact includes over 2,000 jobs created, 500,000 women reached through inclusive innovations, and nearly half of all angel investors now engaging in cross-border deals.
These statistics reveal a maturing ecosystem where local and diaspora investors are beginning to write cheques that reflect their belief in Africa’s potential.
As the African Business Angel Network (ABAN) celebrates a decade of impacting the continent’s early-stage investment ecosystem, all eyes turn to Lagos for its 10th Anniversary Congress.
Themed “Accelerating Local Capital Participation,” the question is no longer whether Africa can fund Africa, but how fast, how courageous, and how collectively it can be done.
To speak on this journey and the road ahead, Techeconomy had an exclusive conversation with Fadilah Tchoumba, CEO of ABAN, who spoke on what it takes to build a trusted voice for angel investing on the continent, why Lagos is the perfect stage for this milestone, and how the next decade of African innovation will be enabled by local capital.
TE: Over the past decade, ABAN has mobilised over $35 million in early-stage investments across Africa. Looking back, what have been the defining moments that impacted this journey and established ABAN as the leading voice for angel investing on the continent?
Fadilah Tchoumba: The defining milestones for us from inception have been:
- Training and activating over 7,000 angel investors across sector-agnostic and sector-focused investments, up from just a few dozen in 2012.
- Maintaining engagement with a community of 75 active ABAN angel network members across 37 African countries and the diaspora.
- Achieved a 50% gender balance in all programs, leading to the activation of 200+ women angel investors across seven female-led angel networks.
- Mobilising and catalysing over $22.5 million in angel capital towards 408 innovative early-stage ventures.
- Supporting the creation of 2,000+ jobs directly through portfolio companies, and impacted 500,000 women through access to inclusive innovations and product value chains.
- Establishing five new thematic angel networks in Africa focused on: Digital Trade, Climate-Smart Agriculture, Clean Technology, Smart Cities, and Sports & Creative sectors.
- Approximately 48% of angel investors engaged in cross-border deals, underscoring a growing pan-African investment mindset.
- Releasing 3 ABAN Angel Investment Survey Reports since 2022, and this year, we will be releasing our 4th report at the 1st ABAN Annual Congress on 17-18 November in Lagos.
- De-risking investments in 21 startups across 15 African countries through the Catalytic Africa Matching Fund, with over $3.1 million deployed.
Each step was intentional, building capital and investor capacity, credibility, and cross-border syndication. Over time, these moves established ABAN as a trusted voice and convener of Africa’s early-stage investment ecosystem.
TE: The 2025 Congress theme, “Accelerating Local Capital Participation”, emphasises Africa funding Africa. What practical strategies is ABAN introducing to significantly boost local and diaspora participation in early-stage investing over the next five years?
Fadilah Tchoumba: We are doubling down on three investor-focused strategies:
- Catalytic Africa 2.0, which is a stronger co-investment mechanism designed to mobilise institutional, local, and diaspora capital into syndicates.
- Investor accreditation; we will be launching Africa Business Angel Accreditation to professionalise Business Angel investing and boost confidence among new entrants.
- Cross-border syndication vehicles, like Africa Business Angel Investment Vehicle (ABAIV), which provide structured, de-risked opportunities for diaspora investors to co-invest alongside local Business Angels.
These mechanisms are specifically designed to unlock larger ticket sizes, diversify deal flow, and strengthen Africa’s resilience against external capital shocks.
TE: Nigeria, and Lagos in particular, has been chosen as the host city for the Congress. Beyond its status as Africa’s fastest-growing startup ecosystem, what makes Lagos the ideal stage for this milestone gathering?
Fadilah Tchoumba: Lagos is more than just a startup hub. The city is Africa’s market getaway for innovation and scale. Lagos has produced unicorns, birthed thriving angel networks, and attracted global investors, while still reflecting the opportunities and challenges faced by entrepreneurs continent-wide. Hosting the ABAN Annual Congress in Lagos allows us to showcase Africa’s most dynamic ecosystem, while reinforcing the city as a model for how local capital and global ambition can intersect.
TE: Angel investing in Africa faces unique challenges, from policy gaps to risk perceptions. Which policy interventions or regulatory changes do you believe are most urgent to de-risk investments and build investor confidence?
Fadilah Tchoumba: Three interventions stand out:
- Tax incentives and reliefs for angel investors to encourage wider participation.
- Investor protection frameworks, particularly around shareholder rights and exit clarity.
- Capital market access reforms, making it easier to syndicate, structure, and exit investments.
We are actively engaging with policymakers to ensure these enablers are not only designed but executed at scale across multiple African markets.
TE: Catalytic Africa 2.0 is set to launch during the Congress as a new investment vehicle for diaspora-local syndication. How will this initiative work in practice, and what measurable impact do you expect it to have on deal flow and startup growth?
Fadilah Tchoumba: Catalytic Africa 2.0 will match every dollar invested by registered local angel groups with catalytic funds from partners, effectively multiplying deal sizes and de-risking investor entry. By enabling diaspora syndication into these vehicles, it ensures both patient and smart capital flows into Africa’s most promising startups. We anticipate this will not only grow deal volume but also increase successful cross-border investments by at least 40% over the next three years.
TE: As ABAN looks ahead to its next decade, what is your vision for the role African angel investors should play in driving innovation in high-growth sectors like AI, health-tech, cleantech, and the creative economy?
Fadilah Tchoumba: The next decade is about African Business Angels becoming market-makers, not just funders. By leveraging deep local knowledge and networks, African investors can de-risk frontier sectors like AI or health-tech where global capital remains cautious. Business Angels will also champion inclusive sectors the creative economy, sports, and climate-tech, which reflect Africa’s unique strengths. The vision is clear: Africa’s next wave of global solutions will be born from angel-backed startups, and ABAN’s role is to keep equipping investors to seize these opportunities because ultimately, Africa must fund Africa.
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