About

Our Story

Enhancing MSME Growth Across Africa.

We are a not-for-profit social enterprise driven by a passion to support the development and growth of impact entrepreneurship on the continent.

Our passion is rooted in the belief that entrepreneurs are best positioned to solve social problems at scale, when provided the right environment to thrive.

By aligning our efforts with government, development partners and other stakeholders, we are on a mission to build an ecosystem that supports the growth of innovative enterprise.

Founded on the belief that people innovating is the key to building a better future, IDEA Africa partners with exceptional founders across the continents to launch and scale startups that address meaningful opportunities and challenges.

Our global community of partners, mentors, and organizations backs African entrepreneurs from the very start of their founder journey—pre-team or even pre-idea. Since inception, we have helped create and invested in more than 165+ startups across a wide range of industries and technologies, with the goal of backing more than 400 startups by 2025.

A better future will not happen automatically—Africa needs determined, ambitious, and resilient founders to build it. We are committed to supporting them and pursuing our vision of making progress inevitable.

Our Mission

We are on a mission to foster an enabling ecosystem for MSMEs to grow and scale their businesses, thereby empowering entrepreneurs to reach their full potential.

The Vision

To be recognized as the leading facilitator for the continent’s growth and prosperity through innovative entrepreneurship.

Our Work

We work with entrepreneurs and organizations across all development stages. Our approach is designed to facilitate quick and efficient access to the crucial resources needed for the sustainable growth of any business: support, training, mentoring and network development.

All our projects are founded on peer-to-peer knowledge exchange, connecting resources across ecosystems, and building global communities that support entrepreneurial activity. 

We collaborate with partner organizations around the world that share our vision for the sustainable development of the global entrepreneurship ecosystem. Together, we create projects tailored to the local needs of small businesses and organizations.

 
Together we can achieve more.

Get Involved

We are always looking for individuals and organizations that we can team up with to develop new and exciting initiatives to support the Africa’s entrepreneurship ecosystem. Here are three ways you can immediately get involved:

Support An Entrepreneur

Empower entrepreneurs directly with the financial support and expertise they need to build their businesses and create a wider impact.

 

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Join Our Community

Our network is strong and growing. Together, we can further network growth and development, and ensure wider access to opportunities for all entrepreneurs.

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Become A Mentor

Mentoring is where we started and horizontal learning remains at the core of everything we do. The success of our programs depends on impact-driven and motivated volunteer mentors and experts.

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