Venture Capital for Africa (VC4Africa) has released a report which it intends to be a seminal resource for investors in African startups for the year 2015. The report is a product of research into the organizational advancements made by early stage startups across Africa in 2014. These advancements were measured in terms of revenue and the number of jobs created over this period.
The report breaks down insights across 5 indicators: employment, performance, investments, investors and ecosystem. It’s tone in general is upbeat about the opportunity
According to an emailed press release, the 2015 research report shows an increasing number of African businesses successfully growing their operations over time, generating an increasing amount of revenue and add new jobs to the African market place.
The research shows 49% of the ventures start generating revenue in their first year of operation. 44% of the ventures are successful in securing external capital investment. Compared to last year’s research “total invested capital more than doubled. And the average amount invested per venture increased by 70%.
The top investment categories reflected in the report are on startups related to technology, agriculture, health, finance and energy. The research also reveals that ventures that participate in sector events, or join an incubator or accelerator, secure on average 23% more than their counterparts who do not participate in such programs
“From the research we know that entrepreneurs have been able to secure an increasing amount of venture funding compared to last year. Despite considerable gains the ‘missing middle’ finance problem persists (mid-level financing for early stage growth entrepreneurs), although narrower than when VC4Africa started in 2007.” says VC4Africa Co-Founder Ben White.
VC4Africa’s stated is to be the world’s leading social network for entrepreneurs and investors in Africa, and currently counts over 17,000 members across 159 countries, including 600 investors.
A summary of the report is publicly accessible on the VC4Africa website. The full report is available exclusively to the VC4Africa pro members.
