Talk with Fred Swaniker

Although Entrepreneurship through Acquisition (ETA)— where entrepreneurs search for and acquire small, stable, cash-flow positive businesses with the intention to grow them over time—is becoming more popular, few “search funds” have been established in Africa. Indeed, there has been limited data to support the case for investing in African search funds and the benefits of this novel asset class. Still, ETA remains uniquely positioned to unlock value, find new talent, and accelerate the growth and development of SMEs—particularly family businesses—across the continent. This panel will focus on three key questions: (1) What makes Africa ripe for the growth of search funds? (2) How can the North American search fund model function on the continent? (3) What are the dynamics of operating and growing businesses under this model?

Real estate can be a vehicle to leap the African middle-class into financial prosperity. The challenges are recognizing the barriers, finding new opportunities, and enabling access. In this session, we will cover the needs for better planning, construction, and access through the lens of people involved in both the public and private spaces. We will conclude with practical guidelines for investing in affordable real estate from within and beyond the African borders at the personal and institutional level. Affordable does not mean low-quality; it means scalable and replicable for the masses. Innovators are making a difference through new construction-technologies, collaborating with government to minimize risks, and bringing unique means to connect capital for developers, buyers, and investors.

$8 billion dollars later, what have we learned in the past decade about the enduring lessons of investing in and building successful early stage companies in Africa? Africa has seen a complete market cycle of boom and bust in the VC ecosystem, its first few exits and IPO, and a flurry of founders and media coverage. This panel features insights from serial founders, early stage VCs and leading accelerators. Expect to hear riveting insights on key questions including - What early stage investors have gotten right and wrong in choosing winners? How founders are getting wiser on choosing investors and achieving PMF? How the ecosystem will evolve as it unlocks new types of capital like venture debt and new models like studios?