2022 AfriLabs Annual Report

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2022: Connecting Africa’s ecosystem enablers to strengthen its innovation economy

Increasing the capacity of African hubs to support African startups

AfriLabs Capacity Building Programme in 2022

Funder: Agence Française de Développement (AFD) through the Digital Africa seed fund

Partners: AfriLabs, African Business Angel Network (ABAN), Strathmore University, Kenya

Innovation hubs are being equipped with the skills needed to improve their capacity to support the growing number of startups and MSMEs in their communities across Africa through the AfriLabs Capacity Building Programme (ACBP). Launched in 2019, the ACBP is funded by the Agence Française de Développement (AFD) through the Digital Africa seed fund.

The AfriLabs Capacity Building Programme (ACBP) has achieved a great feat in the past 3 years of implementation. Looking back on the goals and impact we aimed for based on the needs assessment in 2019, I can say we exceeded them. The program has had a positive impact on the management of hubs and startup support across the 54 African countries and diaspora. We cannot overstate the positive feedback we have received from hub managers, startup founders and other members of the African Innovation Ecosystem who have benefited from the programme activities such as Hub Learning Weeks, Physical Workshops, Hubs in Residence, Virtual Meetup Grants, Capacity Building Awards, and the AfriLabs Academy. These testimonials are proof of the program’s effectiveness, and justification for the work put in by the team in ensuring the success of the programme. Many thanks to the program’s funder, Agence Française de Développement (AFD), for their support to the African Innovation Ecosystem. We encourage our partners and other organizations to capitalize on the program’s impact and best practices to further contribute to the advancement of the African Innovation Ecosystem.

NANKO MADU Director of Programmes, AfriLabs

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