Apply: 2019 VC4A Venture Showcase – Series A for High-growth African Startups (Fully-funded to South Africa)

VC4A is looking for 10 innovative, high-growth scale-ups to showcase at Africa Early Stage Investor Summit on Nov 13-14 in Cape Town. Are you operating in Africa, generating revenue and looking to raise your Series A round in the range of $250K and $5M? This is the opportunity you’ve been looking for!

In 2017-2018, we showcased 30 scale-ups from across the continent as part of the Africa Early Stage Investor Summit, resulting in a number of Series A deals totaling over $15M. Building on this success, the ‘VC4A Venture Showcase – Series A’ is now a central component of our annual Summit. This is an exclusive opportunity to introduce your company at once to everyone who’s anyone in Africa’s early-stage investment space.

Eligibility:

To be eligible for the 2019 VC4A Venture Showcase – Series A:

Your company is for-profit and registered as an independent legal entity;
You have a product or service available on the market and generate revenue;
Your product or service is clearly innovative and/or your business model is new, disruptive and designed for scale;
You have a very strong management team of at least 3 people;Your team is based in one or more countries on the African continent;
At least one of the founders has an African nationality;
You are seeking Series A investment in the range of $250K – $5M;While there will be exceptions, most likely your startup has already received external investment, structured as either debt or equity, or received grants from donor organizations.

Benefits:

All-expenses-paid trip to Cape Town on Nov 10-16, 2019
3 min pitch in front of 300+ investors at the Africa Early Stage Investor Summit
30 min deep-dive session with investors in a private room
Two days of networking with investors, including Speaker Cocktail and Industry Leaders dinner
Mentorship and pitch training by partner VC investors
Opportunity to attend and pitch at partner event AfricaCom

Selection Criteria:

Commercial Value of your Product/Service (25%)

Your company addresses a real problem in the market. Your product or service is different from others in the industry. Your business model is new and designed for scale.

Strategy for Growth (25%)

The market size is significant and there is potential to expand locally and into new markets. Your startup is scalable and has a clear strategy for growth. You can show demonstrable progress.

Management Team (25%)

Your team has the qualifications needed to make the business successful.

Market Traction & Financials (25%)

We will evaluate your market traction, revenue streams, and unit economics. If any outside funding has been raised before, it’s a plus.

Timeline:

Jun 1 – Jul 31	Application period
Aug 1 – Sep 15	Selection process / investor review / interviews
Sep 15	Showcase participants announced
Sep 15 – Nov 10	Working on presentations with mentors (VC investors)
Nov 12	Pitch practice with investor feedback
Nov 13	AfricaCom and AHUB participation
Nov 14	VC4A Venture Showcase – Series A at Africa Early Stage Investor Summit
Nov 15	Innovation tour

Expectations:

If you are selected for the 2019 VC4A Venture Showcase – Series A, you are expected to:

Engage with assigned mentors (partner VC investors) and VC4A team to prepare your 3-minute and 20-minute presentations, as well as 2-pagers with investor data as part of the deal book;
Be prepared to travel to Cape Town in the period of November 10-16, 2019 to attend the Africa Early Stage Investor Summit and be part of the VC4A Venture Showcase.