AFRICA’S LARGEST SHOWCASE OF STARTUPS​

Elisabeth Moreno is a French-Cape Verdean, born in Cape Verdein 1970 and moved to France in 1976. She has successively been anentrepreneur, senior executive, consular judge, minister, andbusinesswoman.

Holding a Master’s degree in Business Law in France and a dualExecutive MBA from ESSEC and Mannheim Business School inGermany, she completed her education and professional trainingat the National School of Magistracy to become a judge.

Elisabeth Moreno hasspent the majority of her career in the business world. In 1990,she co-founded acompany specializing in thermal rehabilitation, which she directed for about a decade. She then madea transition to the tech world and worked for several multinationals, including France Telecom, Dell,and Lenovo, where she was appointed CEO of the French subsidiary in 2017. Six years later, she joinedthe Hewlett Packard group to lead the group’ssubsidiary forthe African continent.

Ms. Moreno has also been a member of the AFD’s Investment Advisory Committee and a member ofthe ID Invest (Eurazeo)strategic committee.

In July 2020, Elisabeth Moreno was appointed by the French President, Emmanuel Macron, asMinister for Gender Equality, Diversity, and Equal Opportunities in Jean Castex’s government. Underher leadership, the French government passed a law aimed at protecting victims of domestic violence,another to promote women’s economic empowerment, and she successfully introduced a bill toprotect victims of conversion therapy. In 2021, she launched a platform to fight discriminationsupported by the Human Rights Defender. She also implemented a diversity and inclusion index forFrench and foreign companiesin partnership with non-profit actors.

In November 2022, Elisabeth Moreno created a governance strategy consulting firm - ElisabethMoreno & Partners- whose mission isto assist public institutions and private companies on social andenvironmentalresponsibility issues.

She also joined the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion board of the Sanofi group and committed toimpact financing issues with investment funds as an administrator.

In 2023, she founded “8 Mars - La Puissance du Lien.” This association aims to strengthen human ties(Women & Men, intergenerational and territorial) by transmitting, inspiring, and celebrating womenand men around institutional, associative actors, and companies.

In June 2023, she was elected President of the "Femmes@Numérique" Foundation, which works toaccelerate the feminization in digital professions.

 

 

 

Sara Sabry is an astronaut, activist, and advocate for change. As the first Egyptian astronaut, the first Arab woman in space, and the first woman from the African continent to go to space, Sabry has made history with her contributions to space exploration.

Sabry founded and serves as executive director of Deep Space Initiative (DSI), a non-profit organization dedicated to increasing accessibility and opportunity in the space field while enabling deep space exploration for all. Her leadership has enabled DSI to provide opportunities in research and education that are open to all audiences, regardless of nationality or resources.

As a PhD student in Aerospace Sciences, Sabry is currently conducting research at the NASA-funded Humanspaceflight lab. Along with her impressive contributions to the space field, Sabry has expertise in several areas including Mechatronics, Robotic Surgery, Stem Cell Development, Augmented Reality, Formula 3 Car design, and Bioastronautics.

Sabry, an acclaimed international speaker, is dedicated to amplifying the representation of Egyptians, Africans, and Arabs on global platforms. Through the lens of her remarkable journey to space, she inspires audiences to conquer life's challenges and to look beyond borders. Sabry shares insights on transitioning from engineering to entrepreneurship, recounts her journey to space and the Overview Effect, and emphasizes the pivotal role of Space Tech in addressing urgent climate issues on Earth.

A passionate advocate for equality and a staunch human rights activist, Sabry champions inclusivity on the world stage. She actively engages in humanitarian work, focusing on addressing human rights issues globally. Through her advocacy efforts, Sabry works to empower marginalized communities and promote social justice for all.

Her humanitarian efforts in the space industry earned her the prestigious IAF Emerging Space Leader award, STEAM Innovation award, Space Future award among many others and has been featured in major news outlets worldwide including CNN, Forbes, Vogue, BBC, CNBC, and France24. Sara Sabry's accomplishments as an astronaut, leader, entrepreneur, and advocate demonstrate her dedication to making a positive impact on the world, and she continues to inspire and motivate others to pursue their dreams.

 

With a background in Marketing, Brand Partnerships, and Business Development, Tega Oghenejobo leads the team at Mavin Global as Chief Operating Officer. Highly motivated, innovative and seasoned in Africa's emergent entertainment industry, Tega is one of the leading figures of the new school of Africa’s entertainment industry executives. 

Convinced about the industry’s potential, Africa’s rich culture, and its growing youth populace, Tega, in his role as the COO at Mavin Records, have collaborated with brands across various industries. From telecoms to banking, eCommerce, FMCG, and a host of others, he oversees the daily operations of the company and executes executive functions, business strategies, positioning plans, and procedures for unprecedented growth.

Tega Oghenejobo, together with a team of industry experts at Mavin secured a multimillion-dollar equity investment partnership deal with TPG-backed Kupanda Holdings in 2019. Leveraging on this growth opportunity and his passion for showcasing African talents to the world,Tega and his team have discovered and backed some of Africa’s biggest and most promising global stars, while creating commercial value for stakeholders.

Tega loves connecting with new people, researching global trends, and acquiring new expertise. He is open to fresh and innovative collaborations, ideas, and experiences.

With a vision to transform and redefine the creative space in Africa, Tega alongside the amazing team he has put together at Mavin Records will keep creating groundbreaking opportunities for growth, networking, and brand promotions within the continent and beyond. 

Sacha Michaud is a British-Canadian serial entrepreneur and business executive based in Spain who co-founded Glovo with Oscar Pierre in 2015. Glovo has since become the fastest growing multicategory player in Europe, Central Asia and Africa. After attracting ~1bn EUR of investments, expanding to 25 countries, 1,500+ cities, serving over 170,000 businesses and millions of monthly users, it was acquired by Delivery Hero (ETR: DHER) for 2.3bn EUR in 2022.  

Prior to Glovo, Sacha was an executive at Betfair (now Flutter (LON:FLTR)) for 9 years. Between 1997 and 2005 he founded and grew LatinRed, one of the largest providers of internet services in Spanish, (sold in 1999 to StarMedia (NAS:STRM)). He has also founded successful companies related to data centers (hosting), digital communication and online translations.

•       Head of Venture Capital at Proparco (currently)

•       Head of Credit and Equity Risks at Proparco

•       Director M&A at Mandel Partners

•       Deputy Head Structured Finance at Banco Espirito Santo

Ramez El-Serafy

CEO

Flat6Labs 

Ramez Mohamed El-Serafy accumulates more than 10 years of experience in technology, entrepreneurship and management. Ramez currently heads Flat6Labs and its regional expansion in the MENA region. Flat6Labs is a leading early stage investment entity that fosters and invests in bright and passionate entrepreneurs with cutting-edge ideas in the MENA region. Before managing Flat6Labs, Ramez was responsible for building and managing the mobile app unit at Sarmady - a Vodafone Company. Prior to that, he initiated and led the product design team at eSpace, the leading software house in Alexandria. Ramez also serves as an advisory board member at the Global Accelerator Network. He holds a B.Sc degree in Computer Engineering from Alexandria University. 

رامز الصيرفي

الرئيس التنفيذي 

 Flat6Labs 

يشغل رامز منصب الرئيس التنفيذي لشركة Flat6Labs، وهو  برنامج مسرعات أعمال إقليمي يرعى ويستثمر في رواد الأعمال ممن لديهم شغف لتحقيق أفكار متطورة. لدي رامز أكثر من عشر سنوات  من الخبرة في مجال التكنولوجيا، ريادة الأعمال و الإدارة. قبل عمله في Flat6Labs، كان رامز مسؤولاً عن بناء وإدارة قطاع تطبيقات الهواتف الذكية في شركة سرمدي - شركة تابعة لفودافون بالقاهرة - وقبل ذلك كان رامز قد بدأ فريق تصميم المنتجات في شركة eSpace، إحدي الشركات القيادية في مجال صناعة البرمجيات في مدينة الإسكندرية في مصر. يشغل رامز أيضاً منصب عضو مجلس إدارة  في الشبكة العالمية لمسرعات الأعمال (GAN).  يحمل رامز شهادة بكالوريوس في مجال هندسة الحاسب الآلي من جامعة الإسكندرية.

Maya Horgan Famodu is the Founder & MD at Ingressive Capital, a $10 Million VC Fund I and $50 Million Fund II targeting early-stage African tech. 

Ingressive Capital seeded some of Africa’s fastest-growing businesses, including Paystack (sold for $200M+ to Stripe); Mono (Series A led by Tiger and Y Combinator alum); Carry1st (Series A led by Andreessen Horowitz, Google, Riot Games & AET).  40% of the portfolio is female-founded and 50% are Y Combinator alumni.

Maya and her team are building a pipeline from when a student thinks “I want to be in tech” to the time they IPO. As such, she co-founded Ingressive for Good, a non-profit focused on cultivating technical talent and resources for the African start-up ecosystems; and founded Ingressive Advisory, a market entry/market operation that served 50+ international companies to enter and operate across Africa, and they’ve done a collective 50+ deals. She is a Kauffman Fellow, 2x Forbes 30under30, and UN MIPAD.

Michael Lints has over 20 years of experience helping innovative businesses obtain the resources, insights, and expertise they need to be successful.  Michael has been a startup operator, investor, and mentor and is currently a Partner at the Singapore-based venture capital firm Golden Gate Ventures.  He joined the firm in 2013 and focuses his time predominantly on institutional fundraising. Michael has helped support firm and portfolio-level priorities that have spanned fundraising, capital allocation, and corporate development.

 Michael’s entrepreneurial journey began in 2000 when he co-founded an IT-managed services startup in Europe that was acquired by a large data and telecom company six years later. In 2007, Michael founded a venture fund focused on Dutch small- and medium-sized enterprises to help them with capital financing, business development, and strategy. During the same period, he was invited to join the Economic Development Board Rotterdam as Vice Chairman. In that role, he launched the Young Economic Development Board, where he brought together a highly influential Dutch network to develop a sustainable framework for public-private relationships that increased local business investment while leveraging the public infrastructure.

Outside of work, sport is an essential part of Michael’s life. He is a former member of the Dutch karate team and actively participates in Ironman 70.3 races and marathons. He is also passionate about social justice and leverages his network to raise awareness for important issues such as civil rights, economic opportunity, and education. Michael is an active writer and a co-director of an award-winning social impact documentary called Broken Chains.

100 word short bio

Michael Lints has 20+ years of experience as a startup operator and investor. He is currently a partner at the Singapore-based VC Golden Gate Ventures. As a partner, he focuses on institutional fundraising. Michael supports the firm on portfolio-level priorities e.g., fundraising and capital allocation.

 In 2000 Michael co-founded an IT-managed services startup in Europe that was acquired in 2006. He joined the Economic Development Board Rotterdam as Vice Chairman in 2007. In that role, he launched the Young Economic Development Board,

Michael is an active writer and a co-director of an award-winning social impact documentary called Broken Chains.

 

Ameya Upadhyay is a Partner at Flourish Ventures, a Global Fintech Fund based out of Silicon Valley, with over USD 850M assets under management. Ameya invests in disruptive organizations creating economic opportunity for people in emerging markets with a focus on Africa. A venture partner, Ameya is based in London.

Previously, Ameya worked out of Omidyar Network’s Mumbai office, where he co-led several of the firms’ early Financial Inclusion investments in India. Prior to joining Omidyar Network in 2012, Ameya was a consultant at Bain&Company, where he worked with telecommunications and IT providers in India, improving their operational efficiency and developing acquisition strategies. As part of Bain’s private equity practice, he advised clients on potential investments in the tech, media, and telecom sectors.

Ameya received a B.S. in engineering from the Delhi College of Engineering and an MBA from the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad.

Tarek Assaad is Managing Partner at Algebra Ventures, Egypt’s leading VC firm. Algebra's $54M first fund invested in 21 companies including some of Egypt’s most prominent technology startups. Its new $100M fund is actively investing in Egypt and the region.

Prior to Algebra, Tarek was Managing Partner at Ideavelopers where he had been managing $50m of VC investments since 2009 and where he led the fund's investment in Fawry, the first venture-backed company to go public in Egypt and to become a unicorn. 

Tarek started his career as an engineer at Lucent Technologies then as a software developer at SAQQARA Systems, an internet startup in Silicon Valley. 

Tarek holds a B.Sc. in Electronics and Communication Engineering from Ain Shams University in Cairo and an MBA from Stanford Graduate School of Business.

Senior investment manager, European Innovation Council’s department at European Innovation Council and SMEs Executive Agency (EISMEA), established by the European Commission.

Ms Ferahtia currently manages EU funded initiatives over Business Acceleration Services within the European Innovation Council (EIC). Ms Ferahtia has a deep expertise in policy development at the European Commission, access to finance and program management to drive collaboration, foster innovation and leverage financial instruments with a dedication to enhancing the scale of the European Innovative companies.

Since over a decade, Ms Ferahtia has been working on establishing various programs and funds aimed at investing in Europe’s top innovators across key sectors over the world. She worked on the setting up of initiatives such as Breakthrough Energy Venture Europe and Catalyst fund, as well EU Bio Circular Economy fund and InnovFin funds. Ms Ferahtia’s expertise covers to public and private investments funds.

Director’s office, senior policy assistant to the Director. European Innovation Council and SMEs Executive Agency (EISMEA), established by the European Commission.

François Brizard acts as chief of staff overseeing the activities of the EISMEA Director’s office, works in the design and coordination of the activities of the Agency, for an efficient and impactful implementation of the programmes delegated to the Agency, in particular the European Innovation Council.

François Brizard benefits from 15 years of recognized experience in R&I programmes at European level gained in both the private and public sectors.

Before joining the European Commission services in 2014, François worked for 6 years at the Association Nationale Recherche et Technologie in Paris, France.

François holds a Master / L.L. M degree in International and European economic Law from the Universities of Strasbourg and Luxembourg.

Hangwi Muambadzi is the Head of Africa at CommerzVentures, a specialist growth-stage fintech venture capital fund. As a tech investor and strategic advisor, she has built a career that connects investment, innovation and technology, with significant experience across the African continent. She began her investment career as a mergers and acquisitions (M&A) specialist at Deutsche Bank, then went on to early-stage venture capital and impact investing in South Africa. Following that, she continued to build her investment portfolio across sub-Saharan Africa and joined the CDC Group (now British International Investment – “BII”) in London.

Most recently, Hangwi was Vice President at Barclays Africa (now Absa), driving the digital transformation and innovation strategy for the bank across its African markets, as well as leading various new business ventures within the bank, positioning it to seize growth opportunities across the continent. Hangwi sits on several boards in private equity, fintech, and agriculture across South Africa, Nigeria, Egypt and Zambia. She serves as an ambassador for One Young World, is a coach to young professionals and an honoured Desmond Tutu Fellow. Hangwi, a Saïd Scholar, holds an MBA from the University of Oxford and a Business Science degree from the University of Cape Town.

Mika is a business operator turned investor. He launched new products and scaled up ventures at early stage startups and Fortune 500 companies in the U.S., South Africa, China & France. He started angel investing in Africa in 2014 and founded P1 Ventures in 2020 that invested in the likes of Reliance Health and VertoFX in Nigeria, MoneyFellows in Egypt, Yassir in Algeria and Chari in Morocco. He was born in Dakar, Senegal and raised in Nouakchott, Mauritania. He grew empathy and inspiration for founders from a young age coming from an entrepreneurial family as his parents and grandparents-built businesses in West Africa for the past decades. He is a Berkeley engineer and Stanford MBA graduate.

Babs Ogundeyi is the Group CEO and founder of Kuda Technologies, a fintech company on a mission to make financial services more affordable, accessible and rewarding for every African.

Kuda’s money app for Africans is giving over 7 million people access to personal and business banking, free money transfers, investments, remittance and instant credit.

Before starting Kuda, Babs advised some of Africa's biggest banks whilst at PricewaterhouseCoopers and was a Special Adviser on Finance in the Nigerian government. He is also a founder of two other companies.

Art is a Managing Partner at Baobab Network, Africa’s #1 accelerator and early-stage investor. Art’s main focus is selecting and scaling the startups in Baobab Networks portfolio, helping them increase their traction, build partnerships and raise the capital they need to dominate their market. Art’s core expertise is in global investment banking, and the startup & venture capital landscape in emerging markets. Art is a Manchester United fan, amateur DJ, a lover of Afrobeats, and passionate about all things African.

Melvyn Lubega is an experienced technology entrepreneur and investor who has built businesses that serve customers on multiple continents. Most notably he built and scaled Go1, a leading technology platform used by 17,000 organisations and governments in over 60 countries. Go1 became the first South African unicorn (valued at +$2 billion) attracting over $450 million in investment from SoftBank, Salesforce Ventures and M12 (Microsoft Ventures) among other tier-1 international investors. Built through his passion for developing people, every 1.2 seconds someone somewhere in the world starts a course on Go1. Prior to Go1, he built, exited and invested in leading fintech companies in South Africa. He is a Partner at Breega, one of the fastest growing early stage venture capital investors in Europe and Africa, with over EUR600 million in assets under management, investing in disruptive technologies that solve significant economic and social challenges. He is also a referenced thought leader and invited speaker both abroad and locally on digital transformation, the future of work, venture capital, disruptive innovation, corporate governance as well as business strategy.

He has been recognized by Forbes and was the first-ever African recipient of The Lindas in 2021, Endeavor Global’s most prestigious accolade. The award is given by a community of 2,300 leaders from many of the fastest-growing companies in the world to the person to embodies the spirit of “dreaming big, scaling up, and paying it forward”. In 2023, given his success in building businesses from Africa that scale globally, Melvyn was recognized as a leading business person on the continent at the 11th All Africa Business Leadership Awards.

He began his career as one of Boston Consulting Group’s first consultants in Africa, where he worked in over 10 countries, advising forward thinking organizations on topics including financial inclusion and digital disruption. Today, he is a trusted advisor to governments and leading enterprises across Europe and Africa: serving on boards of listed companies as a non-executive director as well as on presidential and ministerial committees. His expertise are primarily focused on investments and the how to harnessthe global transition to both digital and green economies.

Giving back and paying it forward resonate strongly with Melvyn. He serves on the Council (Board of Governors) at St John’s College, where he is Deputy Chairperson of the St John’s College Foundation Board and its Investment Committee as well as Chairperson of the IT Committee leading the school’s digital transformation. An advocate for bolstering entrepreneur ecosystems, in South Africa he serves on the board of Endeavor where he remains one of its most active mentors, and is part of the team pioneering the Startup Act, which aims to create a policy framework conducive for ambitious tech entrepreneurs and high growth businesses.

An actuary by training, he holds an undergraduate degree from the University of Cape Town and postgraduate degrees from the University of Oxford where he was a Rhodes Scholar. At Oxford, Melvyn completed a double masters (MPP and MSc), receiving a distinction for his research into disruptive technologies in emerging markets.

Maelis Carraro is the Managing Partner of Catalyst Fund, a VC fund and venture builder dedicated to backing tech startups shaping a climate-resilient future in Africa. With a career spanning impact investing and tech, Maelis works closely with startups, investors, funders and ecosystem players to drive transformative solutions across emerging markets, benefiting people and the planet. She focuses on investing in and supporting early-stage entrepreneurs building tech-enabled solutions in areas such as fintech, agtech, insurtech, carbon finance, and energy and water access for underserved communities. Having backed over 80 startups across Africa, Asia, and Latin America, Maelis has played a vital role in nurturing the innovation ecosystem in emerging markets. Prior to Catalyst Fund, she also worked at the International Finance Corporation, the OECD, Grameen Bank, and impact fund Global Partnerships, where she supported impact investing strategies, inclusive finance product innovation and research on microfinance schemes to enable climate adaptation and resilience. Maelis also co-founded RemitMas, an inclusive fintech startup that empowers immigrants through cross-border remittances, enabling them to save for long-term goals in their home countries. She holds a dual MBA and Master's in International Affairs from Columbia Business School and the School of International and Public Affairs, and a BA Cum Laude in Political Science and Development Economics from University College London.

Mrs. Lam is the Director General of the Investment Promotion Agency of Mauritania (APIM), the Governmental entity in charge of National and Foreign Direct Investments, as well as the business climate of the country.

Through the Agency, Mrs. Lam promotes and implements the vision of Mauritania, led by H.E President Mohamed Cheikh Ould Ghazouani, for a sustainable and more inclusive development driven by stronger productive sectors.

Ms. Lam is passionate about youth and women economic empowerment matters on the continent, pertaining to access to finance for start-ups & SMES and enabling the ecosystem for women entrepreneurs. She is the co-founder of the Youth Chamber of Commerce of Mauritania, an organization created with the mission to bridge the gap for young Mauritanian Professionals and Entrepreneurs, mainly through the i-Lab, an Innovation Lab and Venture Fund - launched in partnership with the National Bank of Mauritania.

Moreover, Ms. Lam sits on the monitoring committee of the Covid-19 $290M fund established in 2020 by the Mauritanian President. She is also a member of the advisory councils of the G7 Gender Equality Council and the Middle East Institute and an ambassador for the Affirmative Finance Action for Women in Africa (AFAWA) initiative led by the African Development Bank.

Ms Lam is a Tutu fellow and a World Economic Forum Young Global Leader.

Tosin Eniolorunda is a leading innovator in the African Fintech space, with a passion for creating financial happiness and a track record of groundbreaking contributions to financial technology in Africa.

He is the founder and CEO of Moniepoint Inc., an all-in-one, digital payments and banking platform, and the second-fastest growing company in Africa.

With operations in Nigeria and an ongoing expansion into other emerging markets, Moniepoint has over 3 million users across its business and personal banking products. It aims to power the dreams of businesses and individuals by providing them with the financial technology tools they need to grow, no matter their digital literacy level.

He programmed the first point-of-sale software for Interswitch, on which the majority of POS terminals in Nigeria are being run, and is currently revolutionising payments for businesses in emerging markets. Moniepoint processes the majority of in-person payment transactions in Nigeria with over $12 billion processed monthly.

Tosin has been recognised by several leading institutions, among them The Central Bank of Nigeria, Financial Times, CB Insights, Endeavor, and PYMNTS, in appreciation for the impact of his work to create innovative solutions. He was listed among the 100 most influential people in Africa in 2022, and 100 Iconic African Leaders in 2023.

Romanna is PwC’s Head of Ventures with 17 years experience across Venture Capital, Investment Banking, and as an investor and serial entrepreneur across global markets. Romanna has managed global teams and scaled and exited Scaleups globally. An advisor to the largest Government and Corporate entities in the Middle East region, building innovation channels and the venture ecosystem. Romanna works directly with our clients to build unique venture propositions that accelerate time to market of new products and services and/ or that become greater catalysts for innovation. This may be through introducing a pipeline of disruptive startups, building Corporate Venture Capital Units, developing an internal investment thesis and structure around existing investments, making investments in companies we're convicted in and/or supporting startups to scale and access the best possible resources from our networks.

Renaud Glenisson joined Jumia Côte d'Ivoire in 2015 as CFO. He became CFO for West Africa (Côte d’Ivoire, Cameroon, Ghana and Senegal) from 2017 to 2020. Between 2020 and 2022, Renaud was head of Finance and Risk for JumiaPay. He was the CEO of Jumia Côte d’Ivoire from April 2022 to November 2023. In December 2023, Renaud became the Regional CEO leading a cluster of 5 countries: Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, Senegal, Tunisia and Algeria.

Before joining Jumia, Renaud worked in Paris (France) with Deloitte where he was an auditor from 2009 to 2012 (main clients: LVMH, Accor, and Orange) and then worked from 2012 to 2015 as Manager in the Transaction Services department focusing on Retail and Industry.

Renaud holds a MSc from HEC Paris Business School (France), a Master's degree in Business Law from La Sorbonne University (France), and is a Chartered Accountant.