Democratizing Energy Access

As part of the conference, the Africa Business Club will be hosting the New Venture Competition which seeks to showcase the diversity of entrepreneurs making a difference on the continent today.

From the pool of over 380 applications, 10 finalists were  invited to pitch their business in front of over 1,000 attendees and receive feedback from a panel of experienced judges. The competition winner and runner-up, and third place will be awarded cash prizes of $30,000, 15,000, and $10,000, respectively.

From 0 to 1 Million+ Followers: How to Leverage Social Media to Build Your Business in 2023

Taught by Olivia Barnard, a former McKinsey consultant and social media influencer with 1.3 million followers

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Social media is the future. There were 50 million content creators in 2020. In 2022, the number jumped to more than 300 million (Adobe). As the creator economy continues to grow, so does the shift away from traditional forms of marketing to social media. In 2022, social media video ad spending grew by 20.1% to $24.35 billion (Hootsuite). Social media is the future; don't get left behind. 

In this lunch and learn, Olivia will share her personal experience growing her online brand to 1.3 million followers across 3 platforms - Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube.

Through social media, you can: 

💼 Generate new leads for your business (real estate, coaching, teaching, medical) and scale it to seven figures 

🍰 Create a side hustle (photography, baking, pottery) that makes multiple six figures

📲 Build a career as a digital marketer for small businesses or Fortune 500 companies

🎤 Establish yourself as a thought leader and receive invitations to speak at conferences 

🏑 Share your hobbies and build an audience of people with similar interests

💋 Become an influencer and get paid to talk about products you love 

The possibilities are endless! 

African agriculture is at once an immense challenge and opportunity. With proper investments, we could increase production by hundreds of billions of dollars annually, with equal potential in processing and retail. The continent closed 150 agtech funding deals for $482.3M in 2021, but much more is needed. Come join Africa’s foremost agri investors, agtech entrepreneurs, and downstream and upstream operators as they outline how to realize the sector’s potential via better business models, talent and investment.