Called Africa House, the organization was created out of a partnership between investment firm Platform Capital and local social impact nonprofit Eshirya Africa. And earlier this year, it announced the launch of its Africa House Fund, awarding $1 million in funding and in-kind benefits to entrepreneurs across the country.
“We believe that innovators and entrepreneurs are critical; they are the carriers of the promise of socio-economic transformation Africa indeed deserves,” said Olakunle Soriyan, CEO of Africa House and founder of Eshirya, in a statement.
In addition to Plano, Africa house has a location in San Francisco and operations in African countries, including Kenya, Nigeria, Ghana, and South Africa.
NTX Inno reached out to Soriyan but did not receive a response.
Like other support organizations and incubators, Africa House provides training and mentorship to early-stage businesses. While Africa House’s main focus is on entrepreneurs of African Descent, it also looks to help other underrepresented founders. According to Platform Capital Chairman Akintoye Akindele, the organization fosters collaboration and innovation between entrepreneurs in the U.S. and Africa.
“To build the Africa we desire, we must collaborate, share ideas, innovate and build global partnerships and solutions that help solve our unique problems,” Akindele said in a statement.
According to a report by VC firm Partech Africa, venture capital investments have been increasing. It said that African startups pulled in around $2 billion in funding in 2019, up from near $400 million four years prior. The pandemic caused total funding amounts to lower to about $1.4 billion in 2020.
To fund entrepreneurs in the U.S., Africa House has selected 10 founders to join its first cohort. Businesses taking part in the inaugural cohort include SOPE (Philadelphia), Back2SchoolLA (Ardmore, Okla.), Vesti Official (Arlington), SAG Logistics, Surplus Farms (Washington, D.C.), LuxeButta (Roswell, Ga.), Blazing Ideas, Ment4Her (Bristol, Ct.), Amplify Africa (Los Angeles), and Liferithms Incorporated. Each of the companies will receive funding and in-kind benefits worth around $100,000.
Over the next five years, Africa House aims to provide support and funding to more than 1,000 entrepreneurs, according to the publication Vanguard.
