Cape Town – It will be interesting to see if anything substantial will in the long run come out of a new venture to empower African enterprises.
Deal Source Africa, launched at the West Africa Deal Summit in Accra on Tuesday last week, is aimed at connecting African businesses with investors, transaction advisers, and African impact funds.
According to the organisers, the programme will help to bridge the $331-billion funding gap for African SMEs, especially those with high growth potential, by offering solutions that are tailor-made for their business needs.
Businesses and funds can sign up at DealSourceAfrica.co to access the platform, which was developed with funding from the Research and Innovation Systems for Africa Fund of UKAid and was piloted in 2022.
Source Africa comprises a digital platform that connects investors with businesses, in-person, virtual Deal Rooms where businesses can meet investors, and Impact Fund Showcases where investors can meet African venture funds and other local capital providers.
Experienced transaction advisers are linked with businesses to provide professional support.
Deal officers facilitate connection with investors.
CEO of Impact Investing Ghana, Amma Lartey, said: “The research is clear that growing SMEs can significantly accelerate the achievement of the sustainable development goals and that creating more efficient connections between businesses, local funds, and limited partners could help deploy more appropriate patient capital.
“Innovative platforms like Deal Source Africa, built and tested with its users, can therefore greatly accelerate the closing of the SME financing gap.”
Justina Mensah, who leads the Deal Source Africa programme, shared the successes achieved during the pilot phase: enabling 94 businesses to connect with 18 investors in Deal Rooms, and connecting 45 businesses to transaction advisers for one-on-one support, leading to three investments being finalised.
She called on African businesses who are looking to raise financing, venture funds, and other local capital providers to sign up at https://DealSourceAfrica.
CEO of the Nigeria National Advisory Board for Impact Investing, Etemore Glover, said: “Deal Source Africa has the potential to become a significant enabler of financing for businesses and local capital providers across Africa.
“We’re excited to be able to collaborate with the International Institute for Global Health on this initiative and to see it grow across Africa through our partners in other countries.
“Africa-wide platforms with strong local partners are essential to fill the financing gap facing our businesses.”
