A Debate on the Funding Gap in Africa

African entrepreneurs told the Guardian about humiliation, discrimination, stereotyping and sometimes racism that they endure in interactions with some of the world’s most prominent investors. North America-headquartered investors accounted for 42% of all African venture capital deals in the last five years, according to the African Private Equity and Venture Capital Association. Only 20% of venture cash came from Africa-based investors, forcing the continent’s entrepreneurs to seek support from westerners. Of the top 10 African-based startups that received the highest amount of venture capital in Africa last year, eight were led by foreigners, the Guardian’s analysis of public data revealed. In Kenya, for instance, only 6% of startups that received more than $1m in 2019 were led by locals, a Viktoria Ventures analysis found. In Nigeria, 55% of the big money deals went to local founders and 56% for South Africa. Global heavyweights such as Goldman Sachs, Stanford University, Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, Andreessen Horowitz and Sequoia Capital have all invested in startups started by white founders in Africa more frequently than they have invested in firms led by black Africans.

SOURCE: THE GUARDIAN