She Wins Africa: Female Founders Shine at AESIS2024, Showcasing Innovation Across the Continent

The 11th annual Africa Early Stage Investor Summit (AESIS2024) took center stage with an inspiring showcase of eight trailblazing female founders. These dynamic entrepreneurs, selected from the VC4A Venture Showcase - She Wins Africa edition, pitched transformative solutions addressing critical challenges in agriculture, fintech, e-commerce, and health to an audience of over 300 investors, ecosystem leaders, and delegates during the highly anticipated Deal Morning.

Their participation marked the culmination of the VC4A Technical Residency program, an investment-readiness initiative designed to prepare early-stage female founders for scale and funding. The program, a collaboration between VC4A and the International Finance Corporation (IFC), provided the founders with tailored training, expert mentorship, and a platform to showcase their ventures.

Elevating Women Entrepreneurs

The She Wins Africa program is committed to empowering women with the tools, networks, and exposure needed to thrive in Africa’s startup ecosystem. From a pool of more than 100 founders, eight ‘She Winners’ were selected for their innovative solutions and high-growth potential. 

“What if I told you that Africa’s food crisis is going to be solved by women?” asked Anne Kabugi, Regional Gender Lead at IFC, opening the showcase with a powerful message that underscored the importance of female-led innovation.

The featured companies included:

• Cladfy Inc (Kenya): Empowering informal sector lending through fintech innovation.
• GoBEBA Everything Ltd (Kenya): Expanding access to essential goods via e-commerce.
• Paycard SA (Guinea): Promoting financial inclusion with a mobile money platform.
• Agriarche Limited (Nigeria): Revolutionizing agricultural trade through digitization.
• Eshandi (Zambia): Financial services tailored for underserved communities.
• Farmio (Ghana): Tackling agricultural supply chain inefficiencies with tech solutions.
• Yellow Factoring (Cameroon): Supporting SMEs with invoice factoring services.
• Advantage Health Africa (Nigeria): Ensuring access to affordable and genuine medicines.
• A Collaborative Future for Africa’s Startup Ecosystem

AESIS2024, co-hosted by VC4A and ABAN, highlighted the collective momentum driving Africa’s early-stage investment ecosystem. From panels to networking sessions, the summit reinforced the value of collaboration in fostering innovation.

“AESIS2024 once again highlighted the need for collaboration,” said Vincent Hoogduijn, CEO of VC4A. “It’s been a challenging year, but persistence, resilience, and adaptability will help us thrive. Together, we can unlock Africa’s potential.”

The success of AESIS2024 underscores VC4A’s commitment to uniting Africa’s startup ecosystem. As the summit closed, the shared vision of investors, entrepreneurs, and policymakers promises to drive sustainable growth and innovation across the continent.

With eyes on the future, VC4A invites the ecosystem to reconnect at AESIS2025, continuing the mission to inspire, empower, and elevate African startups.