In the dynamic landscape of African entrepreneurship, the Innovate Africa Fund has emerged with a bold vision to empower early-stage startups. Earlier in the year, Innovate Africa launched an ambitious $2.5 million angel investment fund aimed at transforming the African startup landscape. The founders said this Angel Fund is more than just a financial investment; it aims to build a sustainable ecosystem that fosters innovation, leadership, and long-term success. We spoke with the co-founder Kristin Wilson, who is behind the initiative to explore their motivations and the unique resources they offer.
Their approach, rooted in the “Cash Plus” principle, extends beyond capital investment. Innovate Africa Fund provides practical resources, including governance, compliance, product development, and legal support, ensuring startups can successfully navigate their journey from concept to market success. This interview delves into how the fund is poised to transform Africa’s startup landscape, setting a new standard for supporting early-stage founders.
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Can you explain the motivations behind setting up the Angel Fund?
Our motivations are intentional. We see the incredible work being done by hubs, incubators, angels, and syndicates and recognise an opportunity to amplify these efforts by injecting capital at early stages. Our objective is to enhance the ecosystem, creating robust investment opportunities for venture capital (VC) funds, which are increasingly concerned about the quality of their deal pipelines. Despite talk of a “VC winter,” VCs are seeking higher-quality deals, and our goal is to address this need.
How does the Innovate Africa Fund plan to support early-stage African founders beyond financial investment? What unique resources do you offer?
The Innovate Africa Fund is part of the Innovate Africa Foundation, which also includes initiatives like workforce and job creation programs and a product leadership accelerator. The “Cash Plus” principle guides our work, meaning we provide not just capital but also practical resources like governance, compliance, PR, product development, and legal support.
Investing at the earliest stages, we don’t just provide capital; we bring together the right resources to help founders refine their value propositions, identify their customer base, and achieve product-market fit. This approach ensures a transformative impact on the continent.
With over 34 African startups under your belt, how does this experience inform your approach as the fund manager?
This role involves continuous learning and a great deal of humility. Having backed startups across continents, we’ve seen the mistakes made by investors, supporters, and founders alike. Both Christian and I are also founders, so we understand these challenges from multiple angles.
Our combined experiences enable us to guide founders in avoiding pitfalls, asking the right questions, and seeking the right resources within the ecosystem. This is the principle behind our approach.
How do the criteria for screening founders—character, credibility, capacity, courage, competence, and context—guide your selection process?
Our criteria help us quickly identify if a venture is a right fit. For example, we assess character by looking for grit, integrity, and humility. Credibility involves evaluating the founder’s track record, while capacity considers their energy and time commitment. Competence is measured by intelligence, experience, and skill set.
Context involves assessing market timing and the scope of the problem or opportunity. Courage is about the founder’s boldness and commitment to drive the venture forward, even when the vision is not yet fully realised.
How does your Angel Fund plan to address the gap in early-stage funding and foster sustainable growth?
Our positioning is intentional. While we have relationships with venture capital institutions eager to support founders, our goal is to play a critical role in the early stages, helping startups transition from MVP to product-market fit.
We also provide a “Cash Plus” strategy, equipping founders with networks, resources, and experts to navigate each stage of their journey. Our approach ensures that startups receive the support they need to grow sustainably.
What role do you see the African diaspora playing in supporting Innovate Africa?
The African diaspora is crucial to our success. Comprising some of the most accomplished and talented individuals globally, the diaspora can serve as mentors, advisors, investors, or even founders. Their expertise, networks, and exposure are invaluable to what we aim to achieve with Innovate Africa.
We believe the diaspora will be our partners throughout the ventures we back, raising visibility and extending our transformative impact beyond the continent.
Could you share a success story or example of the impact the Innovate Africa Fund has had on a startup?
Although we have just launched the fund and haven’t yet deployed capital, Christian’s work with companies like Amazon, the Merrill Group, and Interswitch demonstrates the high-level support we aim to replicate for early-stage companies. By addressing issues early, we aim to prevent significant challenges later and enhance startups’ chances of achieving product-market fit.
What are your goals for the fund over the next few years, and how do you envision fostering economic innovation across the continent?
Our goals are ambitious. We aim to create tens of thousands, eventually hundreds of thousands, and even millions of jobs through the ventures we back. We want to enhance the quality of life and create more opportunities for innovation and prosperity.
In the short term, our focus is on catalysing more early-stage capital. We hope to attract global attention and more angel investors to support this phase. By providing proactive support, we can help founders with unique visions and great ideas succeed, transforming the continent’s narrative over the next two to three decades.
