Transformative circular economy ventures that create jobs, foster economic growth, enhance climate resilience, and reduce emissions across Africa. Solutions should address critical gaps in agriculture, textiles, or renewable energy with scalable, locally adapted approaches.

Entrepreneurs across African innovation hubs

Festivals with established track records seeking to deepen international collaboration between Sub-Saharan Africa and the UK. Strong emphasis on artistic quality, cross-cultural exchange, community impact, and festival sustainability. Multidisciplinary and innovative festival programming is welcome.

Young leader and founder development

Pan-African human rights governance

Entrepreneurs across African sectors

Pan-African infrastructure projects

Creative industry infrastructure

Reinsurance for African insurers

Private sector mini-grid developers, operators, and suppliers operating in African markets. AMDA represents the full mini-grid value chain — from developers seeking investment to suppliers seeking market access.

Africa's leading private equity infrastructure fund manager. Founded by Macquarie and Old Mutual, now part of Old Mutual Group. $3.4B AUM across 8 African infrastructure funds. Invests long-term institutional equity in infrastructure projects — renewable energy, telecoms, transport, social infrastructure. NOT for early-stage startups. Targets established infrastructure assets and growth-stage infra companies. Key funds include IDEAS (SA's largest infra equity fund), SAIF (first 20-year SA infra fund), and AIFIV (pan-African). IFC invested in latest fund.

AfDB-China co-financing facility. $2B fund sponsored by the People's Bank of China and administered by AfDB. Co-finances AfDB sovereign and non-sovereign guaranteed development projects across Africa. Not a direct-application fund — AGTF resources are allocated to projects already in the AfDB pipeline. 50 projects ($1.73B) approved through Q4 2023. Top recipients: Nigeria, Tanzania, Egypt. Key sectors: transport, water/sanitation, agriculture.

Large-scale African infrastructure and energy projects with clear development impact. AFC is a pan-African multilateral DFI with 48 member country shareholders, HQ in Lagos, Nigeria. US$17 billion cumulative disbursement across 36 countries. Provides debt, equity, guarantees, project development, and financial advisory. Minimum ticket size typically $10M+. Not a startup or SME investor.

CANEX is Afreximbank's dedicated creative industries programme, launched in 2020 with $500M, expanded to $1B in 2022, and doubled to $2B in 2024. Operates through Afreximbank's impact equity arm FEDA. Provides finance, capacity building, and market access. The Africa Film Fund ($1B) is a landmark sub-initiative. Invests in studios, distribution hubs, and production infrastructure across the continent. Annual CANEX WKND event showcases African creative economy.

Afreximbank is Africa's premier multilateral trade finance institution, founded in 1993 under the auspices of the AfDB and headquartered in Cairo. Provides trade and project finance, guarantees, and equity across 52 member states. Total assets exceed $30B. Key programs include the AfCFTA Adjustment Fund, Afreximbank Accelerator, and CANEX (creative industries — tracked separately). Focus on intra-African trade enablement and industrialization.

Country-level rural water and sanitation programs aligned with national WASH strategies. RWSSI prioritizes programs that demonstrate sector-wide approaches, community engagement, sustainability planning, and alignment with AfDB country strategies. The initiative favors projects with strong government ownership and co-financing commitments.

France's primary development finance institution. €9.5B 2026 program with Africa as the largest region (43% of activity). Proparco handles private sector investments. Digital Africa handles tech startups. AFD direct handles government and institutional programs. Deep presence across Francophone Africa with growing Anglophone reach.

African scientists and researchers working on Africa's health and developmental challenges. AESA is the programmatic arm of the African Academy of Sciences (AAS), created in partnership with AUDA-NEPAD. It manages continent-wide STI programmes including Grand Challenges Africa, DELTAS Africa, ARISE, and AESA-RISE fellowships. The platform aims to shift the centre of gravity for African science to Africa by supporting the brightest minds and strongest research environments.

Ambitious professionals eager to break into or advance in venture capital — especially those focused on Africa. Dream VC values intellectual curiosity, collaborative spirit, and a genuine commitment to supporting Africa's entrepreneurial ecosystem. Prior finance background is helpful but not required.

Innovative and scalable East African businesses that blend profitability with social/environmental impact. DOB Equity looks for founders with strong vision and management capability who want an active, long-term investor aligned with impact goals. Sectors include agri, health, fintech, and more.

African digital entrepreneurs at ideation or seed stage with compelling products that address real market needs. Digital Africa (a French government initiative born from Macron's Élysée Summit for Africa) seeks founders who combine innovation with strong execution capacity. Priority given to digital solutions in agriculture, health, fintech, education, and logistics.