Africa’s leading builders and investors are set to gather in New York for the 12th edition of Angel Fair Africa (AFA@12), which will focus on the theme “Building and Investing in Africa.”
In a statement released on Tuesday, September 2, the organisers stated that the event will take place on September 19, at Google’s New York City office, and will bring together experienced entrepreneurs and investors to share their journeys, challenges, and lessons.
The builders’ panel will feature Iyinoluwa Aboyeji, Managing Partner of Accelerate Africa and co-founder of unicorns Andela and Flutterwave; Barbara Iyayi, co-founder of Liquid Credit and investor now based in New York; Benjamin Fernandes, CEO of Tanzanian fintech NALA and founding partner of P1 Ventures; and Alexandre N’djore, CEO of Digitech from Côte d’Ivoire. The session will be moderated by Ghana’s Otema Yirenkyi of Nviron Hive.
According to the organisers, the builders will “be sharing their experiences of building ventures, funds, accelerators and incubators on the continent from ground up,” offering valuable insights for the next generation of entrepreneurs.
The investors’ panel will feature Candice Morgan from Black Angel Group in the US, Steven Grin from Lateral Frontier, also in the US, Achumboro Ataande from Ataande & Advisors in Ghana, and Dr Ola Brown of HealthCap Africa in Nigeria. This session will be moderated by Tinyiko Valoyi of Chanzo Capital in South Africa.
Organisers say the investors will “be sharing their criteria and requirement for selecting founders as well as their experiences from their portfolio companies.” Their insights will be combined with live pitches from ten selected founders, giving participants a practical look at what attracts investment.
The day will open with a fireside keynote featuring Esther Dyson of Term Limits, USA, in conversation with Eric Osiakwan of Chanzo Capital, Ghana. Dyson, who has extensive investment experience across the US, Europe and Africa, will share lessons from her work and preview ideas from her forthcoming book Term Limit, due for release in 2027.