Ecosystem Evolution: how Africa’s early-stage tech VC scene is innovating market education
Andile Masuku
Africa's early-stage tech venture capital (VC) scene is sparking a dual evolution in ecosystem education—one driven by organisational strategy, the other by individual initiative.
Recent podcast conversations with investment professionals at two leading firms illuminate how these complementary approaches are reshaping knowledge transfer between international (predominantly) capital and local execution.
Systematic market development
"Market education is as important as market terms," notes London-based Ambar van der Wath, who leads investor relations at accelerator cum VC firm, Baobab Network.
This stance reflects a considered organisational response to friction points identified through nearly a decade of facilitating early-stage tech investments across Africa.
Baobab's introduction of a batch investment vehicle—allowing entry tickets from $20 000 (R363 369) —represents a systematic attempt to bridge the gap between international capital and local innovation.
Operating across 16 African markets with a portfolio of 60 companies (half added in the past two years), they've developed what Van der Wath terms a "trusted layer" between foreign investors and local founders.
This structured approach to market education stems from Baobab's extensive experience on both sides of the investment equation. Their investment vehicle tackles key barriers: international investors' scepticism towards traditional fund commitment timeframes, concerns over market and individual deal risks, and the necessity for broader market exposure before committing to deeper engagement.
Individual innovation, institutional support
Meanwhile, Accion Venture Lab’s Africa investment officer, Jasiel Martin-Odoom, exemplifies how individual initiative, when supported by forward-thinking organisations, can create new channels for ecosystem education.
Based in Nairobi, Martin-Odoom has developed a sophisticated system for scaling investor-founder engagement while executing his core investment role. His approach combines consistent social media content creation—maintained for 792 consecutive days (as per the date of our podcast recording)—with custom-built artificial intelligence tools that streamline distribution and engagement.
"I don't write content as my job," he emphasises, highlighting the practical challenges that drove his innovation.
What began as a four-hour process to draft and publish his bi-weekly newsletter has been refined to approximately one hour through automation. His toolkit includes bots handling SEO-optimised editing, title generation and multi-platform content distribution.
Ritual connectivity
Both approaches reflect a growing recognition that ecosystem development requires embedding connectivity into daily routines.
For Baobab Network, this means systematically creating touchpoints between international investors and African startups through structured investment vehicles and regular reporting frameworks.
For Martin-Odoom, it manifests in daily content creation supported by technology. "The opportunity to connect with people consistently has proven effective," he notes.
His system enables maintenance of authentic engagement across platforms while focusing on primary investment responsibilities.
Beyond traditional boundaries
These initiatives address a persistent reality: the majority of early-stage tech investment in Africa still originates from abroad. This creates particular need for what Van der Wath describes as "trusted layers" between foreign capital and local execution.
The challenge extends beyond simple market education to creating shared understanding of expectations, timelines and success metrics.
Martin-Odoom's technological leverage serves this purpose efficiently: "My ultimate goal is meeting founders where they are and providing information they might not have access to due to network constraints."
His automation focuses on distribution rather than content generation, ensuring authentic perspectives reach wider audiences while maintaining quality.
Cultural shift
These parallel approaches—organisational and individual—suggest a cultural shift in how African VC approaches ecosystem development. Rather than treating education as a separate function, it's becoming embedded in both institutional structures and individual practices.
Baobab's vehicle demonstrates how organisations can systematise market education through innovative investment structures. Meanwhile, Martin-Odoom's resourceful DIY approach shows how individuals, supported by their institutions, can scale impact through consistent, tech-enabled engagement.
Broader implications
For the African tech ecosystem, these experiments offer potential templates for addressing persistent gaps between international (mostly) capital allocation and local deployment.
The combination of systematic organisational approaches and innovative individual practices might provide framework for scaling impact while maintaining authenticity.
Success likely depends on continued evolution of both approaches. Organisational initiatives must remain responsive to market feedback, while individual innovations need institutional support to scale effectively.
Together, they represent promising attempts to create more efficient channels for knowledge transfer in African tech venture capital and startup entrepreneurship.
Measuring success
For Van der Wath and Baobab Network, success manifests in concrete metrics: the conversion of tentative investors into active participants in Africa's tech ecosystem. Their batch investment approach isn't merely about capital deployment—it's about nurturing a pipeline of informed, confident investors who graduate from initial $20 000 tickets to direct startup investments or larger LP (limited partner) commitments in African funds.
This strategic evolution of investor participation directly serves Baobab's commercial objectives while addressing the ecosystem's need for more diverse, educated capital sources.
Meanwhile, Martin-Odoom's metrics at Accion Venture Lab are equally tangible: the development of qualified deal flow through enhanced ecosystem connectivity. His systematic content creation has evolved from reaching 100 followers to engaging over 11 000 across platforms, translating into direct founder relationships and investment opportunities that align with Accion's fintech-focused impact investment thesis.
This approach simultaneously advances both the firm's portfolio development goals and his own career trajectory as an investment professional deeply embedded in Africa's tech ecosystem.
Both approaches ultimately serve to reduce friction in the flow of capital between investors and the continent’s most-promising founders—a crucial metric for their respective organisations' success and for broader ecosystem development.
Andile Masuku is Co-founder and Executive Producer at African Tech Roundup. Connect and engage with Andile on X (@MasukuAndile) and via LinkedIn.
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