Startup-focused news, research and podcasting company Disrupt Africa has released the first episode of “The month in VC”, a new monthly podcast series focused on all things venture capital and launched in partnership with leading investors.
Co-hosted by Gabriella Mulligan and Tom Jackson, Disrupt Podcast helps keep listeners in the loop on all that’s going on in the African tech startup ecosystem. Following on from the success of its “podumentary” series, “The essential guide to African VC”, released last year, it has just released episode one of “The month in VC”, a new regular deep-dive into the continent’s investment space.
Produced in partnership with Katapult Africa, Grindstone Ventures and Kalon Venture Partners, each episode of the series will wrap up the latest news in African VC, profile a leading investor, and dig into a key theme or trend in conversation with partner VCs. Episode one sees the Disrupt Africa team talk to Katapult Africa’s Philip Gasaatura, and dig into the key findings from the recently-released African Tech Startups Funding Report 2022, which tracked a record year in which 633 ventures raised over US$3 billion in investment.
“We are delighted to partner Katapult Africa, Grindstone Ventures and Kalon Venture Partners for this new Disrupt Podcast series, which will provide listeners with a better understanding of what venture in Africa actually is, how it works, and what its dynamics are. So whether you are startup founder, aspiring entrepreneur, angel investor, or someone considering a career in venture capital, we hope you find the content valuable,” said Tom Jackson, co-founder of Disrupt Africa.
“With more and more African tech startups raising funding from venture capitalists, or attempting to do so, we thought it was vital to demystify the process, as misconceptions founders have about investors can be damaging to their chances of securing capital, or to the startup-investor relationship post-raise. This podcast series is our attempt to do just that,” said Gabriella Mulligan, co-founder of Disrupt Africa.
“We’re excited to be part of this Disrupt Africa podcast series, and particularly excited to share what building an impact agriculture, food and climate accelerator and fund for Africa looks like and our learnings as Katapult Africa sets off investing wider on the continent while replicating our world class accelerator and adapting it for the continent,” said Philip Gasaatura, country director (Rwanda) at Katapult.
“We’re excited to be part of the latest Disrupt Africa podcast series. We are particularly excited to share what building an impact agriculture, food and climate accelerator and fund for Africa looks like, and our learnings as Katapult Africa sets off to investing wider on the continent while replicating our world class accelerator and adapting it for the continent,” said Philip Gasaatura, country director at Katapult.
“Over the last number of years the ecosystem has been more intentional in focusing on gender diversity across funding portfolios, however much is still to be done, and access to quantitative data will greatly help us identify quicker wins. This Disrupt Podcast series truly shines a spotlight on this issue, and other important trends and developments within the African venture capital space,” said Catherine Young, managing partner at Grindstone Ventures.
“Kalon Venture Partners is excited about the partnership with Disrupt Africa to share insights about how high performance venture capital companies operate in South Africa and the African continent alike,” said Clive Butkow, CEO of Kalon Venture Partners.
You can listen to episode one of “The month in VC” here.
About Disrupt Africa
Disrupt Africa is the one-stop-shop for all news, information and commentary pertaining to the continent’s tech startup – and investment – ecosystem. With journalists roaming the continent to find, meet, and interview the most innovative and disruptive tech startups, Disrupt Africa is a true showcase of Africa’s most promising businesses and business ideas. Its research arm releases in-depth reports on various aspects of the African tech startup ecosystem, and Disrupt Podcast is one of the leading Africa-focused business podcasts on the continent.
About Katapult Africa
The world’s increasing population means there is an increasing demand for food, along with an increasing environmental footprint from agriculture. New technologies in food production have the potential to revolutionise the way we produce and distribute food, as well as manage our food waste. Innovative startups from Africa are encouraged to take the leap and create solutions for the future. Katapult’s Africa Accelerator Programme will recruit the best companies and provide them the tools, network and the financial support for success. Together with our partners, Katapult aims to contribute to a transformative, structural change in the food chain. https://katapult.vc/africa/
About Grindstone Ventures
Grindstone Ventures Fund is a female-led post-seed / pre-Series A first-time fund that invests in early-stage African businesses, with a target of at least 50 per cent female-founded and led, and at least 50 per cent diverse businesses as part of the investment portfolio. The focus is on innovative companies that can grow and scale globally. Grindstone Ventures’ mandate is sector-agnostic, with a focus on highly innovative tech businesses with the ability to scale. Grindstone Accelerator cohorts feed the funding pipeline through Grindstone Ventures, whilst the full Grindstone growth engineering offer provides knowledge, networks and access to markets, as part of post-investment, to drive startups towards exponential growth. Seven investments have been made to date, covering health-tech, logistics, ed-tech, fintech and agri-tech. https://grindstonexl.com/gs-ventures/
About Kalon Venture Partners
Kalon Venture Partners is one of the leading South African venture capital funds set up to invest in digital disruptive technology. Kalon Venture Partners is led by the most dynamic and well-experienced team in the South African venture capital space, with a combined 200 years of experience. Kalon Venture Partners invests in post-revenue startups with high growth and high impact potential. The Kalon Venture Partners fund invests in entrepreneurs solving African problems with the potential for global application, focusing on providing smart capital as well as on delivering smart returns. https://www.kalonvp.com
