Written by Ampion and Plutos Ventures launch new venture for Africa-focused start-ups
Focus of the new venture – on site development of digital business models
Call for Applications from founders and start-ups with an Africa focus start now!
Nairobi & Berlin, 12.03.19 – Africa-focused Ampion and Berlin-based Plutos Ventures Holding today announced the founding of Ampion Ventures. The goal of the new project is to build scalable digital business models in selected African countries by providing seed capital and strategic expertise support. Plutos Venture provides continuous and open-ended funding to Ampion Ventures.
Ampion Ventures is led by Fabian-Carlos Guhl, founder of the non-profit organization Ampion.org. Guhl has been working for years on the African continent with founders and early-stage start-ups. Through his very successful start-up bus, with which he has travelled through more than 16 African countries and coached and supported founders in the development of digital business models, Guhl has been able to build up a large network of founders and start-ups in different African countries. Together with Plutos, Ampion is now taking the next logical step to build digital business models in Africa.
“With Ampion it was our mission from the very beginning to initiate technological development in the African continent and thus contribute to the well-being of the African people and the continent’s economic development. Now is the right time to further develop our model and scale selected business models. With Plutos Ventures, we are pleased to have an experienced investor on board who will support us strategically in addition to providing capital”.
Fabian-Carlos Guhl, Managing Director Ampion Ventures GmbH
“With Ampion and the start-up bus, Fabian and his team have demonstrated how strong their network is on the African continent and how immensely the will to found start-ups is there. Now, it is a matter of establishing true digital business models to support the development of the African economy.”
Oliver Riebartsch, Managing Director Plutos Ventures GmbH
Years of hard work payoffs: Ampion supports over 80 start-ups in 16 African countries
Over the past six years, Ampion has supported over 80 start-ups in 16 African countries with the help of partners such as MTN, SAP, Merk, Microsoft and international development cooperation institutions. One of the many success stories, for example, is the Nigerian fintech start-up, Accounteer, a smart cloud accounting platform that is now one of the leading accounting software systems in Nigeria and recently secured investment from Meltwater, a US investor. The founder of Accounteer is Golden Emmanuel, an Ampion Alumnus who has turned his vision into reality and now leads one of Nigeria’s most successful tech start-ups.
Apply now! Founders with an industry focus in Agri-, Energy- and Fin-Tech in Africa
When it comes to establishing new tech start-ups in Africa, Ampion Ventures is increasingly focusing on start-ups in the agri-, energy- and fintech sectors. In addition to providing 6-digit start-up capital, the team offers local start-ups with operational and strategic support, a strong network, and international corporate partnership opportunities. Interested founders and start-ups from around the world with an African focus can now apply to Ampion Ventures for collaboration.
Link to application form: f6s.com/ampionventures/apply
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Press material for download
Link to presskit Ampion
Link to picture citation Investor
Press contact
Katharina Zegers PR
Phone 0170 – 3403284
Mail: [email protected]
Company contact
Fabian Guhl
Phone 030 – 403658430
Mail: [email protected]
About Plutos Ventures
Plutos Ventures invests capital and expertise in young, innovative companies, with a particular focus on PropTech start-ups. In addition to providing industry- leading insight into the market-defining trends in the real estate and digital industries, Plutos Ventures has a pioneering spirit and is prepared to seize opportunities and ready to take action. Plutos Ventures invests only in ideas that it believes in and supports them not only financially, but also with personal commitment, networking and know-how.
About Ampion Ventures
Ampion Ventures GmbH is an innovative company that specializes in Africa focused start-ups. Ampion Ventures supports scalable business models in the digital economy, with capital and operational support, through their internationally experienced operations partners and corporate partnerships. Ampion Ventures is always looking for founders, entrepreneurs and exciting business models in the African tech market. For further information please visit www.ampionventures.com
About Ampion.org
Since 2013, Ampion has been implementing programmes in the field of start-up support for digital entrepreneurs in Africa. Through cooperation with the public and private sectors, we promote innovation in Africa and establish strategic partnerships to promote the local tech ecosystem and its stakeholders. Further information can be found at www.ampion.org
Factsheet
Ampion – Amplifying Pioneership
Mission: We believe in the power of positive entrepreneurship and supporting entrepreneurs to drive change in their communities, hence our mission is to invest in and scale the use of technology solutions in emerging markets. We want to support the world’s strongest entrepreneurs by providing investment, operational and strategic support in order to disrupt the status quo on a global scale and impact the lives of millions of people.
Vision: In the future, we aspire to be one of the main go-to firms for investors and entrepreneurs that want to build and scale solutions that will foster sustainability and economic growth in underserved regions and achieve sustainable social impact.
Africa
Despite Africa’s impressive growth in past 25 years and its entry into the digital economy, its job market continues to be depressed with youth unemployment rising. Africa is the youngest continent in the world with almost 200 million people aged 15-24, and this number is expected to double by 2045. Yet youths account for 60% of all of Africa’s jobless, according to the World Bank. With a rising youth population and unemployment rate, young people are turning to entrepreneurship as both a means to generating income and jobs. The 2017 Africa Economic Outlook jointly published by the African Development Bank Group (AfDB), Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) says “The entrepreneurial culture is vibrant with about 80% of Africans viewing entrepreneurship as a good career opportunity. The continent has the highest share in the world of adults starting or running new businesses”[1] Besides providing employment for other youths and contributing to economic growth, young entrepreneurs play an essential role in bringing innovation to an economy, notably new technologies and production methods. For instance in East Africa, 79 of every 100 jobs created by young entrepreneurs have been for youth aged 18-34, however only 17% of entrepreneurs on the continent believe they will create a medium to high number of jobs over the next five years.
FinTech (Modern Banking)
Around 330 million adult Africans, approximately 80 percent of the continent’s population, lack access to formal financial services. Financial technology (fintech) startups in Africa have historically set their sights on mobile-banking (m-banking) solutions for the massive unbanked populations in the region due to the fact that mobile payment penetration is at 85 % adoption rate and leading globally. Development-finance organisation, Financial Sector Deepening Africa, has forecast that fintech will add $40 billion to sub-Saharan Africa’s output by 2022, and it is clear that mobile banking services continue to lead this charge.
AgriTech (Agriculture)
Agriculture has a significant role in Africa as it employs 65% of the work force and contributes 32% of GDP. Approximately 70% of Africa’s population depend directly on agriculture for their livelihood. However, the African agricultural industry is currently facing a number of problems with low productivity. This has been compounded by climate change, a lack of technical expertise and the migration of young people away from rural areas and into cities. Entrepreneurs in Africa are increasingly seeing opportunities in the agricultural sector and are developing solutions that enable farmers to increase their yields and access markets. Globally, agricultural tech start-ups raised $800 million in the last 5 years. Technological advancements in agriculture provide vast potential for farmers, entrepreneurs and investors to improve the productivity and efficiency of agriculture in Africa at a time when numerous factors, such as population growth and climate change, threaten food security.
EnergyTech (Renewable Energy)
Two out of every three people in sub-Saharan Africa live without electricity. Today most of the renewable energy in Africa is in the form of traditional biomass used in households for cooking and in the manufacturing industry for process heating. However, the potential for renewables in Africa is staggering. The International Renewable Energy Agency released a report in early October called “Africa 2030,” which highlighted some of the incredible growth the continent will see in the coming decade and a half. Renewable energy is expected to more than quadruple by 2030 to 22 percent, compared to today’s level of about 5 percent.
