As the second half of 2021 approaches and Covid-19 vaccinations roll out across the globe, albeit at varying rates, Ian Lessem, Managing Partner at HAVAÍC, investors in early-stage, high-growth technology businesses, considers the trends making an impact on the African Venture Capital (VC) landscape.
Homegrown solutions take on the world
At HAVAÍC, our investment thesis is centred around investing in businesses that solve real-world challenges. With the world having adjusted to new ways of shopping, learning, and doing business as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, the appetite for solutions that solve real, tangible problems are without a doubt the best opportunities for growth.
Solutions that offer people and organizations better ways of living and working with less friction will reign supreme. In the African context, logistics, financial services, agri-businesses, and food security, health, as well as education are sectors benefitting most from rapid transformation.
Funding flows
With global interest rates at an all-time low and African tech hubs in Cape Town, Nairobi, Lagos and Cairo maturing to levels needed for a startup ecosystem to thrive, there is an ever-increasing demand from international investors to invest in African startups.
In the past this funding has often been skewed to non-Africans starting African businesses. From an international experience point of view, this is can be quite valuable, however as the biggest investment opportunities on the continent revolve around creating solutions for local challenges, it would be imprudent to ignore the importance in investing in the right local teams.
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