US Investors Meet ICT Entrepreneurs

An Entrepreneurial Finance Seminar in Nairobi engaged ICT entrepreneurs with a group of US investors.

The workshop was organised by Savanna East Africa, an investment group keen on investing in East Africa’s booming Information Communication and Technology (ICT) sector. The Kenya ICT Board, a body whose mandate is to promote Kenya as an ICT destination, was also involved in the event.

The target of the workshop was to link entrepreneurs with potential investors as well open a platform for entrepreneurs to discuss financing opportunities and tackle the challenges of access to capital. The ICT entrepreneurs were also given an opportunity to pitch their business ideas to the investment team.

Entrepreneurs were educated on how they can benefit through investments available on ‘over-the-counter’ markets in the United States such as reverse mergers and PIPEs (Private Investment in Public Equity).

The Chief Executive of Savanna East Africa, Philip Verges, said Kenya and other East Africa states have become attractive to investors due to the arrival of the fibre optic cables which has increased internet access and lowered bandwidth costs.

Verges said there is a huge growth potential in technology in East Africa, but that development is hampered by the lack of financing.

“Our team of investors is interested  in  investing  and building the capacity of entrepreneurs .We have witnessed a  technology leap frog in the region and believe this will be boosted by consistent and standardized access to capital,”  said  Verges.

One of the participants in the workshop, Joel Macharia, the founder of a tech start – up idea ‘The Money Academy’, said the session provided insights on how SMEs can access finance, grow their businesses and be listed on the capital market .

The Savanna East Africa team has been conducting the workshops in Asia, the US and South America. There are plans to conduct similar sessions in other parts of Africa like Tanzania, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Ivory Coast and Rwanda.

Photo by ActionPixs