Three Nigerian companies have been selected as among the best in Africa in terms of investment opportunities and are set to participate in the Venture Capital for Africa’s (VC4A’s) Venture Showcase forum slated for Johannesburg, South Africa, next month.
A news report by Africa Press Organisation (APO) Group on behalf of the VC4A, the organizers of the Venture Showcase, listed the qualifying Nigerian entities as CredPal, CrowdForce and Life Bank.
While CredPal is a financial technology company that enables consumers to make purchases across online/offline merchants and pay in fixed monthly installments by providing them with instant access to credit at the point-of-sale and also on credit cards, CrowdForce is building an ecosystem of 1 million merchants that will render penetrative market research and financial inclusion services to the billions of consumers in Africa and other emerging markets.
Life Bank is a medical distribution company focused on transporting supply chain-sensitive medical products such as blood, vaccines, and oxygen in developing countries using high and low technologies as well as smart logistics.
Other qualifying entities for the 11 Serie A Venture Showcase are four Egyptian companies, namely 7keema, Brimore, Buseet and VRapeutics; four South African companies – ChatBot, FlexClub, Mobiz, Snapnsave; an Algerian company, Yassir for the Seed+ category
According to VC4A, these companies represent the best investment opportunities on the continent and their selection was based on their being vetted by 40 VC investors through a rigorous referral and selection process.
It stated further: “The companies demonstrate strong revenues and competitive edge, are well-positioned for regional and internal expansion, and are working on important innovations in the healthcare, finance, transport, commerce and advertising sectors.
“The founders will showcase their businesses in front of the investors at Africa Early Stage Investor Summit in Cape Town on 13-14 November 2019, with the aim of raising $250k-$5mln in Series A capital. All companies provide technology-intensive or innovation-based products or services that are currently available in one or more African markets” the group added.
The Venture Capital for Africa, an ecosystem builder that leverages its infrastructure, network and expertise for the programs that contribute to Africa’s startup movement, stated further that these 12 selected startups would be linked to top VC investors as mentors in the coming weeks and receive bespoke investor readiness training that culminates in a 1-week residency in Cape Town, South Africa.
It stated that during the residency, the startups will have the opportunity to interact with and learn from their mentors, peers, and partners, before delivering their pitches on the main stage of the African early Stage Investor Summit.
The group expatiated: “The programme offers two days of networking opportunities at the Summit, where entrepreneurs will also engage with interested investors during deep-dive sessions. Moreover, the participants will pitch to a wider audience of corporates, investors and tech professionals at VC4A’s partner event, AfricaCom.
“Investor participation has been outstanding this year, with 40 major VCs and multiple angel groups involved in the intensive vetting process. We believe initiatives like this help to build trust and foster collaboration between industry stakeholders, and importantly, create both co-investment opportunities and exit opportunities for our partners”, VC4A projected
