Start-up funding in Africa is growing tremendously, from less than USD $2 billion reported in 2019, to well over USD $4 billion in 2021 (USD $1 million raised every two hours), and over $1 billion in the first two months of 2022 alone according to Briter Bridges. While this is an encouraging trend from a market capitalization standpoint, the fact that the bulk of these inflows are targeted at the FinTech sector alone (over 70%), and raised mostly by foreign-registered start-ups or those whose Founders or CEOs studied abroad raises questions about this capital’s effectiveness in realizing the long-term economic and social impact. This episode investigates these trends from the starting point. We interview Lavanya Anand, Principal at Vested World, a leading early-stage VC with a diversified portfolio covering East and West Africa. 

Among other topics, we discuss the kinds of opportunities that VestedWorld is interested in, their various sources of deal-flow, and their expectations of the companies they invest in. 

Lavanya argues that while FinTech is an important enabler of the African economy, there is also a need to invest in other areas like logistics, food security, education in order to create jobs and make everything else work. We also explore the critical role of local capital in driving growth in the African ecosystem, especially in the early stages. 

Finally, we conclude our conversation with some insights from her experience in investing, and why for the bold and daring, Africa is the future.