Panel: Through the Looking-Glass | TNW Conference 2017

THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS: OPPORTUNITIES IN THE AFRICAN INNOVATION & START UP ECOSYSTEM In June 2016 a Mark Zuckerberg led consortium invested 24 million dollars in Andela, a two-year-old Nigerian start-up that trains software developers and gives them full-time roles at international companies. During his visit to Africa Zuckerberg said: "There's this energy here, you feel it as soon as you get off the plane. The world needs to see that!" This is more or less the same statement President Obama made during his trip to Kenya: “This continent needs to be a future hub of global growth, not just African growth”. Silicon Valley is finally recognizing the market potential of and talent pool in emerging markets. There are many young people with innovative ideas to address societal challenges and the motivation to create their own jobs through entrepreneurship. However, they often lack the capital, network, and skills needed to build their businesses and expand it to the size where they can, in turn, create jobs for others. This is where ecosystems that support scale ups and innovations should play a role. During the panel session the panelists, all representing different ecosystem stakeholders, share their light on what’s going on in Africa, where the opportunities are for investors and companies, and what it takes to grow scalable, innovative enterprises in Africa. Joining this conversation will be Temie Giwa-Tubosun‬ (Founder LifeBank), Hans Docter (Director Sustainable Economic Development, Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs), Gitahi Githinji (CEO Amref Health Africa) and Els Boerhof (Partner Goodwell Investments), moderated by David van Dijk (Co-founder & Director, ABAN). David van Dijk David van Dijk is co-founder and Director General of ABAN, the African Business Angel Network, a non profit association founded early 2015 to catalyse early stage investing in Africa. He is also Managing Director of Stichting IGNITE, a non-profit organization supporting entrepreneurs in conflict affected countries and he is part of the Investment Committee of the IGNITE Fund. He is a member of the Impact Investment Committee of the European Business Angels Network (EBAN). In addition he manages the mentorship program of VC4Africa, the largest online community of entrepreneurs and investors dedicated to building game changing companies on the continent. Prior David worked for Dutch shipping company Nedlloyd and Danish shipping company Maersk managing and setting up (occasionally closing down) companies in Egypt, West Africa, Russia / former CIS, India and the US. David holds degrees from the University of Oregon, Nijenrode, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam & Clingendael, Netherlands institute of International Relations.