Africa : Towards a revolutionary startup with the launch of the Timbuktu initiative
In Davos, Switzerland, on Thursday, January 18, 2024, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) spectacularly launched the “Timbuktu” initiative in partnership with several African countries.
This significant announcement took place during a special session at the 24th annual meeting of the World Economic Forum, held from January 15 to 19, 2024, and aims to become the world’s largest financing facility. This innovative initiative combines catalytic and commercial capital to significantly strengthen the startup ecosystem in Africa.
Under the leadership of President Paul Kagame of Rwanda, President Nana Akufo-Addo of Ghana, Secretary-General of the Secretariat of the African Continental Free Trade Area, Wamkele Mene, and UNDP Administrator Achim Steiner, the “Timbuktu” initiative was presented to global business leaders and African financiers. This initiative aims to trigger a revolution in the African startup landscape by capitalizing on the continent’s demographic youth and innovative talents.
This ambitious initiative targets critical gaps in the African startup ecosystem by collaborating with governments, investors, businesses, and universities to foster innovation. President Paul Kagame immediately pledged a $3 million contribution to revitalize the Timbuktu Africa Innovation Fund, hosted in Kigali, with an overall goal of one billion dollars to create opportunities for African youth.
Emphasizing the importance of support structures, President Nana Akufo-Addo highlighted the need to enable young Africans to establish innovative businesses, thereby contributing to job creation and sustainable economic growth.
Administrator Steiner presented Timbuktu as a new development model, focused on startup-friendly legislation, creating world-class startups, reducing capital risks, and implementing UniPods (University Innovation Pods) across Africa.
Currently, Africa holds only 0.2% of the global startup value, with 89% of venture capital coming from foreign sources, concentrated at 83% in only four countries. The “Timbuktu” initiative seeks to revolutionize the African economy by transforming ideas into pan-African businesses, thus attracting global and local investments.
It is noteworthy that with a rapid increase in private venture capital investments in Africa, a young and dynamic population, as well as rapidly growing tech startups, Timbuktu aims to mobilize $1 billion to transform 100 million livelihoods and create 10 million new jobs.
This unique initiative judiciously combines commercial and catalytic capital to mitigate risks associated with private investments, fostering a pan-African approach to support startups and strengthen the entire ecosystem.
