About Event

Pre-event

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1:35 pm

M&A is one tool among many for expansion. In this session, we’ll explore how to think about it: where it fits, where it doesn’t, and how geography and sector dynamics shape the call (for example, expanding from anglophone to francophone Africa, or navigating differences across various sectors). The session will outline key steps, knowledge areas, and practical insights founders need to approach M&A confidently. The aim is a candid and practical conversation that founders can adapt to their context.

Pre-event

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3:20 pm

Regulation can either accelerate or constrain how capital recycles through Africa’s innovation ecosystem. This panel explores the regulatory role in shaping exit options — from M&A and strategic acquisitions to local and global listings. It will examine how capital markets in Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa, and beyond are evolving, and what reforms could unlock more accessible pathways to liquidity. By bringing together regulators, stock exchange representatives, and ecosystem players, the conversation aims to surface candid perspectives on what’s working, what needs to change, and how regulation can actively support sustainable exits across the continent.

Pre-event

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12:25 pm

In a market with constrained equity financing, new models are emerging — from venture debt and revenue-based financing to blended capital structures. This session will explore how these instruments are being used, what investors and founders should understand about risk and returns, and how to ensure alignment between non-equity capital providers and long-term growth goals.

Pre-event

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1:10 pm

Launch of the Stears x Ventures Platform: Exit Index

Pre-event

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11:05 am

This panel unpacks the full continuum of capital and the critical role of liquidity in sustaining Africa’s venture cycle. It explores how exits can take multiple shapes — from M&A to IPOs, including the dynamics of local vs. global listings and the growing potential of dual listings. By examining where venture capital hands off to private equity, strategics, or institutional investors, the discussion will demystify what successful exits look like and who drives them — founders, boards, or investors. In highlighting exits, the panel reframes liquidity not as a single outcome but as leverage that fuels the next wave of growth.

Pre-event

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10:20 am

A data-backed reflection on capital flows into Africa’s innovation ecosystem — who is deploying, what LPs expect today, and how fund managers must adapt. Furthermore, rather than viewing Africa in isolation, this keynote will draw on comparative data from Latin America and India — highlighting trends in VC inflows, exits, fund sizes, and ecosystem maturity — to situate Africa’s trajectory within the broader evolution of emerging markets. By showing how peers navigated macro turbulence before scaling, the keynote frames Africa’s current challenges as part of a proven growth journey, setting the stage for deeper conversations on DPI, sustainability, and institutional readiness.