Today we tackle head-on the myths and misconceptions of investing in Africa. We invite two of the leading venture capitalists in Africa to field tough questions from a room full of experienced international investors. Our guests are Bongani Sithole, CEO of 54 Collective and the most active investor in Africa, and Lelemba Phiri, Founding Partner of ATG Samata, a leading African gender lens investor. This conversation was recorded live in November of 2024 at a Toniic gathering in Cape Town, South Africa. Toniic is a global community of individual, family office, and foundation asset owners seeking deeper impact with their investments and their lives. In This Episode * (2m46s) What is the Africa opportunity? * (8m19s) Myth: “Africa is a single market.” What does it mean to invest across 54 countries? * (13m28s) Myth: “There are no exits in Africa.” How do investors make a profit from putting capital into African businesses? * (18m57s) Myth: “Political instability makes it impossible to invest in Africa.” What trade agreements, regulatory environment, and political context enable private investments to succeed in Africa? * (22m15s) Myth: “There is a shortage of talent in Africa.” Where can investors find world-class founders? * (28m43s) How can you get started investing in Africa? * (30m12s) Recap Connect with Africa Health Ventures Africa Health Ventures invests in healthcare innovations that will dramatically improve access and quality of healthcare in Africa and around the world. 👍 Share your reaction to this podcast on LinkedIn 📰 Sign up for our newsletter to stay informed about deals, events, and opportunities about healthcare ventures in Africa 🎙️ Subscribe to this podcast wherever you get your podcasts 🪙 Nominate an African startup for seed funding 🤝🏻 Invest with us Show Notes About Bongani Sithole and 54 Collective As Chief Executive Officer of 54 Collective, Bongani Sithole is a tech-entrepreneur who over the last 18 years has built 3 technology businesses from the ground up. Before joining 54 Collective, Bongani’s last company — Black Beard — built tech businesses on behalf of corporates. As CEO, Bongani leads the early-stage investor as it seeks to invest in, collaborate, and support founders to go beyond borders and make a discernible impact through commercially-orientated innovations that can sustainably improve the lives of the continent’s people. 54 Collective is Africa’s most active, hands-on, early stage venture capital investor. About Lelemba Phiri and ATG Samata Lelemba is a Co-founder and Partner at ATG Samata, a gender-lens venture capital firm that is focused on investing in women-led businesses and gender diverse teams in key markets in Southern, East and West Africa. She is a seasoned development finance expert with 18+ years of experience working in both public and private sector, across 10 markets+. This includes having been a key part of scaling a Fintech start-up from one market to five before moving from entrepreneurship into venture capital. She is an expert in gender-lens investing, innovative finance, and entrepreneurship development with a key focus on advancing women. About Christophe de Montille and Beyond Capital Ventures Christophe de Montille is a Principal at Beyond Capital Ventures, a multi-asset firm investing in Seed to Series A companies across India and Africa in need-to-have sectors such as financial services, healthcare and climate. Prior to joining Beyond Capital, Christophe worked for a decade as a management consultant leading large tech transformations for corporate and federal clients. In addition to his work at Beyond Capital, Christophe led transaction advisory work for over 30 deals in the Global South and mobilizing over $54M in capital. About Toniic Toniic is a global community of private asset owners seeking to steward wealth and use influence to enable a thriving world. Its members — individuals, family offices and foundations from more than 25 countries — are active impact investors and philanthropists, for whom Toniic provides education, investment opportunities, impact support, events, and community. Toniic also seeks to build the field of deep impact investing, moving money and mindsets and leading by example. Get full access to Africa Health Ventures at rowenaluk.substack.com/subscribe
