The two-day congress, held at the J. Randle Centre in Lagos, brought together over 6,000 investors from 37 countries to discuss strategies for increasing local capital participation in Africa’s innovation economy.

Omotayo Ojutalayo, general manager of Enterprise Business Development at MTN Nigeria, highlighted a critical challenge facing the continent’s startup ecosystem during a panel on co-investment strategies.

“I think when one of the speakers was presenting the lifecycle of the startups, we see that a number of them just drop off, and we don’t know what’s happening to them,” she said. “So it’s important that those soft skills are also invested into them.”

Ojutalayo explained that MTN’s recently launched Cloud Accelerator Program selected 20 startups from over 8,000 applicants for a 12-week program connecting them with experts in financial management, human resources, risk and compliance, and regulatory affairs.

“So it’s not just about putting in the capital, which everybody just thinks about, but it’s about the other softer skills that startups need to have,” she added.

Ms. Akintomide warned entrepreneurs about the complexity of scaling across African markets, despite technological advances.

“Technology has dissolved borders,” she noted, but cautioned that “some of the best business ideas have been sacrificed on the altar of regulation.” Her advice to startups was direct: “Don’t go in blindly, and don’t go in alone,” emphasising the importance of partnering with local players who understand market dynamics and regulatory landscapes.

Ojutalayo echoed concerns about startups limiting their ambition to single markets, stating:

“You need to think across borders. There’s a market for it, so there’s a lot of market research and insights you need to get, so that we don’t become a local champion.”

The panel also explored collaborative investment models, with Mr. Oti Ilentamhen, CPA Investment Principal at Alitheia Capital, describing co-investment as a key de-risking strategy when entering unfamiliar markets.

Speaking to Oti’s conversation Ojutalayo stressed the need for clear roles in investor partnerships: “When investors are coming together, you need to understand who has the expertise in these areas, and then we can collaborate together.”

With Africa’s venture funding reaching $4.5 billion in 2024 but only a small fraction originating from local investors, ABAN’s 10th anniversary congress underscored the urgent need for greater domestic capital participation and more strategic support systems for the continent’s growing startup ecosystem.

The companies will also join Madica’s intensive 18-month support programme, designed to help early-stage founders build scalable, investment-ready businesses.

Madica is seeking to close Africa’s funding gap by backing founders and startups usually overlooked by traditional venture capital. 

Since launching in 2022, the programme has focused on entrepreneurs from underrepresented regions and industries, providing capital and the kind of mentorship as well as structure that can make or break early ventures.

Both startups bring artificial intelligence into real-world African contexts. Anavid, founded by Ahmed Chaari and David Nilsson, uses AI to integrate with retail surveillance systems, reducing theft losses and improving in-store experience. 

Hypeo AI, led by Meriam Bessa and Salah Eddine Mimouni, provides a software solution that automates influencer marketing, from brand matching to campaign payments.

For Madica, these investments will help enhance innovation, which is also thriving across Africa, not just in a few well-known hubs.

“At Madica, we believe and continue to prove that some of the world’s most transformative ideas come from places that are too often ignored,” said Emmanuel Adegboye, head of Madica. “The founders we’ve just welcomed are visionaries, building solutions with the power to uplift communities and shape industries. We’re proud to stand with them as they take on the next stage of their journey.”

For the founders, the partnership provides access to Madica’s growing investor network, business coaching, and two fully funded immersion trips to leading tech ecosystems both within and outside Africa. 

These trips, part of Madica’s structured learning model, give founders a platform to engage directly with investors, mentors, and other founders solving similar challenges.

Speaking on Hypeo AI’s mission, Meriam Bessa, the company’s co-founder and CEO, said, “Our region is rapidly growing with creative energy, but without the right digital backbone, it often goes untapped. We’re changing that by using AI to reimagine how brands and creators find each other, collaborate, and thrive. Backing by Madica will help us strengthen our AI capabilities to achieve this goal.”

Madica has also partnered with the African Business Angel Network (ABAN) to expand deal flow and co-investment opportunities for its portfolio companies. The collaboration, unveiled at the ABAN Congress in Lagos, aims to improve access to local capital and connect angel investors with institutional partners.

According to Yemi Keri, President of ABAN, “The future of Africa’s innovation economy depends on how effectively we can mobilise local capital and empower local investors. Our collaboration with Madica helps bridge the gap between angel investors and institutional capital, ensuring that more funding comes from within the continent, and that startups everywhere in Africa can access the right type of support to scale.”

Madica’s portfolio already includes a mix of standout startups such as Medikea, Daleela, Pixii Motors, and ToumAI, with a strong focus on gender diversity and regional inclusion. 

Its model combines funding with hands-on learning, helping founders refine governance, growth strategy, and personal well-being, areas often neglected in early-stage business building.

To date, Madica has continued to scout for new investment opportunities across the continent. Eligible startups must have a minimum viable product (MVP), ideally with paying customers, and be led by full-time African founders with limited prior institutional backing.

The team recently participated in Moonshot by TechCabal in Lagos and is heading to Big Angels Day Africa in Dakar this October, part of its approach to meet founders where they are, and to bring early-stage capital closer to the people shaping Africa’s digital future.

Focused on strengthening local capital participation across the continent, the partnership is designed to bridge long-standing gaps between early-stage startups and local investors, focusing on three critical areas, including pipeline sharing, market knowledge exchange, and ecosystem development. 

Together, both organisations aim to build a stronger foundation for sustainable startup growth driven by African investors and African capital.

Speaking at the signing ceremony, Yemi Keri, president of ABAN, said, “The future of Africa’s innovation economy depends on how effectively we can mobilise local capital and empower local investors. Our collaboration with Madica helps bridge the gap between angel investors and institutional capital, ensuring that more funding comes from within the continent, and that startups everywhere in Africa can access the right type of support to scale.”

Under the new MoU, ABAN and Madica Ventures will share access to curated, investment-ready startups, focusing on underserved regions that usually fall outside major investment hubs. 

Both parties will also facilitate direct learning between African angel investors and Madica’s global investment experts, a move expected to boost investor trust and improve deal quality across the board.

Emmanuel Adegboye, head of Madica, reinforced the partnership’s mission to go beyond funding:

“Early-stage founders in Africa need more than just capital. They need a community of investors who understand their context and champion their growth. We have seen firsthand that remarkable founders exist in every corner of the continent, yet too many remain disconnected from the capital and networks they need to thrive. 

“Through this collaboration with ABAN, we are closing that gap, aligning angels and institutional investors to work in sync, expand early funding pathways, and ensure that high-potential startups, wherever they are in Africa, have a real shot at scale.”

The agreement, which will remain active for two years, sets a foundation for more collaborative initiatives aimed at aligning local wealth with Africa’s rapidly growing startup scene.

Fadilah Tchoumba, CEO of ABAN, noted, “This collaboration reinforces our belief that Africans must finance Africa’s growth. By working with Madica, we are amplifying local capital participation and creating new pathways for investors to engage more meaningfully with the continent’s most promising ventures.”

Beyond the signatures and formalities, the ABAN–Madica partnership goes beyond capital mobilisation, it focuses on ownership, influence, and redefining the flow of investment power back to the continent.

In merging ABAN’s extensive angel network with Madica’s venture-building expertise, both organisations are bolstering how Africa’s startup ecosystem can evolve, prioritising sustainability, inclusivity, and local empowerment over dependency on foreign capital.

Africa’s next wave of innovation will be financed by Africans themselves.

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:

1. Catalytic Africa 2.0, which is a stronger co-investment mechanism designed to mobilise institutional, local, and diaspora capital into syndicates.
2. Investor accreditation; we will be launching Africa Business Angel Accreditation to professionalise Business Angel investing and boost confidence among new entrants.
3. 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:

1. Tax incentives and reliefs for angel investors to encourage wider participation.
2. Investor protection frameworks, particularly around shareholder rights and exit clarity.
3. 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.

To celebrate 10 years of building the continent’s early-stage investment ecosystem, ABAN will host its Annual Congress 2025 in Lagos, Nigeria, the beating heart of Africa’s innovation capital.

Under the bold theme “Accelerating Local Capital Participation,” the two-day Congress will bring together a dynamic mix of investors, policymakers, startup founders, fund managers, and ecosystem enablers to chart a future where Africa funds Africa.

A Decade of Impact, A Future of Possibility

Since its inception in 2015, ABAN has mobilised over $35 million in early-stage investments and nurtured a pan-African community of more than 5,000 business angel investors spanning 37 African countries and the diaspora.

But the 2025 Congress is not just a celebration, it’s a strategic inflection point.

“Africa’s greatest resource is its people, and their willingness to invest in one another,” said Yemi Keri, president of ABAN. “This Congress is not about looking back. It’s about looking forward with boldness, intention, and action.”

Four Strategic Pillars Driving the 2025 Congress Agenda:

1. Scaling Local & Diaspora Participation: Unlocking domestic and diaspora capital to fuel inclusive innovation and keep value creation on the continent.
2. Sector-Focused Investment: Prioritising high-growth sectors like agritech, fintech, health-tech, cleantech, AI, edtech, sports, and the creative economy.
3. Policy Advocacy: Advancing enabling policies that de-risk early-stage investing and increase investor confidence.
4. Cross-Border Syndication: Strengthening pan-African investment networks to enable smarter syndication and shared deal flow across regions.

Why Lagos? Why Now?

As Africa’s fastest-growing startup ecosystem, Nigeria, and Lagos in particular, has shown the world what happens when local capital meets local ingenuity.

Hosting the Congress in Lagos sends a clear message: African investors must lead the charge in shaping Africa’s innovation economy.

Voices from the Vanguard

“We’ve seen how local capital transforms ecosystems by backing underrepresented founders and building solutions for local problems,” said Fadilah Tchoumba, CEO of ABAN.

“It’s time to scale what works—through smarter syndication, policy innovation, and investor education. This Congress is where that vision takes flight.”

What to Expect at ABAN Congress 2025

High-Level Keynotes & Fireside Chats
Startup Showcases & Pitch Rounds
Thematic Investment Panels (Health, AI, Climate Resilience, Digital Trade, etc.)
Roundtable Strategy Labs for policy and syndication innovation
Catalytic Africa 2.0 Launch – A new investment vehicle for diaspora-local syndication
Release of the ABAN Angel Investment Report 2025
ABAN Gala Awards Ceremony – Honouring trailblazers in Africa’s angel investing movement

A Call to Action: Africa Must Fund Africa

The 2025 Congress represents more than a milestone, it’s a catalytic platform to align capital with purpose, connect pan-African strategies, and activate the next generation of angel investors.

“This is not the time to sit on the sidelines,” said Keri. “Africa’s future will be built by Africans who believe in it, and who back that belief with capital, courage, and collaboration.”

Get Involved

• For partnerships and participation: secretariat@abanangels.org
• For media inquiries and interviews: amimo@abanangels.org

Visit ABAN’s Website to explore membership, networks, and investment opportunities.

HouseAfrica, a proptech Startup providing Real Estate digitalization and transparency tools for Property Developers and their Customers has announced the closing of Four Hundred Thousand Dollars ($400,000) in funding.

The company which was founded by Nnamdi Uba and Ndifreke Ikpoku also unveiled their flagship product sytemap.com.

Sytemap leverages proprietary Blockchain and map technology to create a private Land registry, digitizing real estate project sitemaps.

The product increases transparency and enhances trust by enabling instant land transaction authentication while growing sales for real estate companies.

Sytemap simplifies buying and paying for properties, enabling more people to become digital realtors effortlessly.

Over 100+ Real Estate companies already use sytemap – including major brands like  AlphaMead, Leadway Properties, Bamboo to mention a few.

HouseAfrica is backed by leading African & Global investors like Future Africa, SSE Angel Network (SSEAN), ARM Labs, CV VC, Startupbootcamp Afritech, Niche Capital, Rebel Seed Capital and others.

Speaking about the raise, HouseAfrica CEO & Co-founder, Nnamdi Uba said the funding will assist the Startup to deepen its Technology and grow adoption and its team. He opined that “Close to 95% of lands do not have verifiable titles which expose genuine retail investors to fraud.  Our solution enables buyers to make informed decisions when buying lands”.

In a statement, Iyinoluwa Aboyeji of Future Africa said, “ HouseAfrica is helping to create and digitize private land registries. I always thought it was only the public land registries that were slow, inefficient and murky until I heard about the experience of a friend who had to pay two different sets of people to buy land within a private estate. I’m super excited about how by helping private landowners and estates digitize their land records they can start to help create transparency and value that should hopefully soon inspire government land registries to follow suit.”

Similarly, Africa’s top Angel Investor & President of the African Business Angel Network (ABAN), Tomi Davies said, “By using innovative tech including block-chain to give land owners the capability to digitize their land records, land buyers begin to possess the ability to quickly verify and acquire properties privately from anywhere in the world, HouseAfrica presents a tremendous commercial opportunity with potentially significant social impact when adopted by the public sector.”