KUBATANA MAGAZINE | OCTOBER 2022
AFR I LABS
THE AFRILABS CAPACITY BUILDING PROGRAMME IMPACTS A LOCAL INNOVATION COMMUNITY IN TANZANIA BY AJUMA ABAH
AfriLabs Public Relations and Communications Manager
many achievements. It has been able to pilot its business model and restructure its activities as a venture builder. It supported eleven startups with top-level venture building support, two of which have received follow-up investments from other investors, while another four are in the accelerator stage. EV has also set up an angel network that invests and co-invests alongside other networks within the region, and is coordinating the creation of a Tanzania Eco-founders initiative with twenty-two hub members. Similarly, several other hubs across Africa have been beneficiaries of the ACBP. These include
Clean Tech Hub and TechQuest STEM – both in Nigeria; and Women’s Haven Africa in Ghana, among others. Indeed, the ACBP has become a must-have for every hub and startup in Africa’s entrepreneurship and innovation ecosystem.
“In all you do, always strive to acquire skills that make you stand out”, says Folorunsho Alakija, one of Africa’s richest women. A great example of the importance of building knowledge/skill is the Ennovate Ventures’ (EV) experience with the AfriLabs Capacity Building Programme (ACBP). EV Tanzania, a member hub in the AfriLabs network, is on a mission to enable underserved tech founders in Africa to succeed. The COVID-19 pandemic which caused unparalleled socio-economic disruption made a strong case for entrepreneurship in Africa. It revealed the need to seek for alternative solutions to society’s problems, one of which is entrepreneurship, as opposed
to relying solely on the government. The fact is that many entrepreneurs in Africa lack access to finance among other issues, and it is against this backdrop that EV works to support businesses. Before enrolling in the ACBP, EV needed information on how to evolve sustainably, adopt the right business model and decide on the key role to play within the ecosystem. While participating in the AfriLabs’ Hubs Learning Week (HWL) series, practical lessons were learnt on developing sustainable programmes and partnerships. Furthermore, EV received the Virtual Meetup Grant and the Capacity Building Award.
MANY ENTREPRENEURS IN AFRICA LACK ACCESS TO FINANCE AMONG OTHER ISSUES, AND IT IS AGAINST THIS BACKDROP THAT EV WORKS TO SUPPORT BUSINESSES.
Since participating in the ACBP, EV has recorded
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