Endeavor and FMO, the Dutch entrepreneurial development bank, are delighted to announce the continuation of their partnership aimed at empowering a second cohort of early-stage African agritech ventures. This exciting initiative, known as the ‘African Agritech Accelerator’ program, is scheduled to commence in January 2024, building upon the achievements and insights gained from the first cohort, which ran from February 2022 to February 2023.
The primary goal of this program is to address the growth challenges faced by agritech startups across the African continent. Furthermore, it seeks to expand the scope of the cohort to include agri-adjacent tech start-ups. Leveraging Endeavor’s customized mentoring approach and extensive network, entrepreneurs will have the opportunity to connect with subject-matter and industry experts, as well as potential investors. This support will help these entrepreneurs become “investment-ready” and, in turn, foster the development of a thriving agritech sector on the African continent.
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Reflecting on the impact of the initial program in 2022, Betrand Foffe, co-founder and CEO of Jangolo, shared his insights: “The most significant lesson from the program was the realization that we had the wrong business model. Thanks to this program, we were able to rebuild our foundation and realign our team. Today, our model has a 10x potential, our processes are well-documented, resilient, and optimized, our team is highly efficient, and within just six months, our sales have increased (and continue to grow) by over 200% month-on-month. We are deeply appreciative of FMO and Endeavor South Africa for the transformative impact this program has had on our business.”
Established in 1997, Endeavor is the world’s leading community dedicated to high-impact entrepreneurs. With a presence in over 40 offices worldwide, including six in Africa, Endeavor boasts a global network comprising more than 5,000 mentors, 500 growth investors, and 2,200 high-impact entrepreneurs. Rooted in the principle of paying it forward, Endeavor’s mission is to nurture thriving entrepreneurial ecosystems in emerging and underserved markets across the globe. It achieves this by inspiring high-growth entrepreneurs to dream big, supporting and investing in their growth, and providing a platform for them to give back to the network.
In addition to FMO’s support, AfricaGrow has joined as a co-funder for the program, underscoring their joint commitment to fortifying the agritech industry in Africa. This partnership aims to actively grow the pipeline of investable ventures and attract more local, regional, and global investors, which is essential for achieving scale.
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Alison Collier, Managing Director of Endeavor SA, expressed her enthusiasm: “It’s truly exciting for Endeavor to collaborate with FMO and AfricaGrow to drive growth in the Agritech sector of Africa, thereby enhancing food security and fostering local revenue and job growth across the continent. We are eager to continue our work with promising African agritech ventures, connecting them with founders, investors, and mentors in Endeavor’s global network to accelerate their growth.”
This project receives funding through the Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Building component of the FMO Ventures Program Technical Assistance Facility, which is co-funded by the Dutch Government and the European Union. This component is focused on advancing the maturity of the venture capital sector in specific emerging markets by enhancing the services of incubators, accelerators, and other entrepreneurial support organizations and facilitating greater early-stage financing for ventures.
Marieke Roestenberg, FMO Ventures Program Manager, emphasized the importance of providing tailored support to another cohort of promising ventures in one of their key sectors: “Offering more investment readiness services for scaling businesses is crucial in expanding the agritech sector across Africa, and we are excited to collaborate with Endeavor and AfricaGrow in this endeavor.”
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Endeavor SA is a non-profit organization dedicated to driving inclusive growth and job creation by supporting “high-growth entrepreneurs,” particularly in less developed markets. They leverage their extensive pro-bono global network of entrepreneurs, teams, mentors, and investors. For more information about Endeavor SA, please visit: https://endeavor.co.za.
AfricaGrow is a fund of funds based in Germany, with a mission to support small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and start-ups across the African continent. They achieve this by investing in pan-African regional and country-specific private equity and venture capital funds with proven track records and capacities. The Fund aims to have a catalytic effect on the emerging and dynamic African SME and start-up ecosystem, contributing to job creation, income generation, and sustainable economic growth. As a legally independent entity, AfricaGrow is a central instrument of the Compact with Africa (CwA) initiative, launched in 2017 during the German G20 presidency. The technical assistance facility is funded by the German Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), while the fund is managed by Allianz Global Investors and advised by DEG Impact GmbH.
African Agritech Accelerator African Agritech Accelerator
Charles Rapulu Udoh
Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based lawyer, who has several years of experience working in Africa’s burgeoning tech startup industry. He has closed multi-million dollar deals bordering on venture capital, private equity, intellectual property (trademark, patent or design, etc.), mergers and acquisitions, in countries such as in the Delaware, New York, UK, Singapore, British Virgin Islands, South Africa, Nigeria etc. He’s also a corporate governance and cross-border data privacy and tax expert.
As an award-winning writer and researcher, he is passionate about telling the African startup story, and is one of the continent’s pioneers in this regard