In a groundbreaking move, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) unveiled the ambitious “timbuktoo” initiative at the 24th Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. The initiative, presented by H.E. President Paul Kagame of Rwanda, H.E. President Nana Akufo-Addo of Ghana, the Secretary General of the African Continental Free Trade Area Secretariat, HE Wamkele Mene, and UNDP Administrator Mr Achim Steiner, aims to be the world’s largest financing facility, bringing catalytic and commercial capital together to bolster Africa’s startup ecosystem.

The launch ceremony, attended by global corporate leaders and African financial institutions, marked a pivotal moment in what is now considered the African Startup Revolution. The initiative seeks to leverage the momentum of Africa’s substantial youth demographic and abundance of innovative talent.

H.E. Paul Kagame expressed the urgency of providing tools for African youth to reach their full potential and announced an immediate contribution of US$3 million to kickstart the timbuktoo Africa Innovation Fund. This fund will be hosted in Kigali and aligns with timbuktoo’s billion-dollar target to create more opportunities for Africa’s youth.

“For many African countries, our foremost challenge now is to ensure we put in place the right structures to enable young Africans to create innovative and compelling businesses,” emphasized H.E. Nana Akufo-Addo. “I’m excited about the future of our continent. I look forward to seeing us create a future where innovation is encouraged, ingenuity is supported, and prosperity is shared.”

Promoted by the UNDP, timbuktoo aims to fill critical gaps in the African startup ecosystem by collaborating with governments, investors, corporates, and universities. UNDP Administrator Mr Achim Steiner stressed that timbuktoo represents a new model of development, simultaneously pushing for startup-friendly legislation, global-class startup building, de-risking capital, and introducing University Innovation Pods (UniPods) across Africa.

Currently, Africa’s share of the global startup value is only 0.2 percent, compared to 2 percent of global trade value. The majority of venture capital flowing into Africa is foreign, with 83 percent concentrated in four countries: Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa, and Egypt, and over 60 percent directed to the fintech sector.

“timbuktoo will turn ideas and nascent innovations into meaningful scaling and disruptive pan-African enterprises,” highlighted UNDP Africa Chief Innovation Officer Dr Eleni Gabre-Madhin. “This initiative will generate wealth and well-being for millions of people in Africa and beyond, focusing on innovative solutions for people and the planet.”

Africa’s tech landscape is on the rise, with private venture capital investments growing six times faster than the global average in 2022. With a vibrant youthful population and expanding tech startups, Africa is poised to become a future tech powerhouse. timbuktoo aims to mobilize and invest US$1 billion of catalytic and commercial capital to transform 100 million livelihoods and create 10 million dignified new jobs.

What sets timbuktoo apart is its unique design, blending commercial and catalytic capital to de-risk private investment. The initiative adopts a pan-African approach, engaging with the entire ecosystem, including government policy, universities, corporates, development partners, catalytic partners, and commercial investors. As timbuktoo unfolds, it promises to be a catalyst for positive change, propelling Africa’s startup landscape to new heights.

UNDP Timbuktoo Startup Initiative UNDP Timbuktoo Startup Initiative

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.