The news:
- XA Network, an investment network founded by a group of former Google executives in Southeast Asia, has announced its expansion into Africa with the launch of XA Africa.
- This move marks a significant step for XA Network, as it seeks to foster innovation and support promising startups across the African continent.
- XA Africa was founded by three seasoned tech professionals: Nitin Gajria, former Managing Director of Google sub-Saharan Africa; Jason Scott, a venture capitalist and architect of the Black Founders Fund at Google; and Marek Dawidowicz, YouTube’s Marketing Director and a South African native.
Their combined expertise is expected to help African startups navigate the challenges of scaling and unlocking the continent’s vast economic opportunities.
“Founders of technology startups in Africa are uniquely placed to solve some of the continent’s most profound challenges and unlock its greatest opportunities,” Gajria stated.
“We see XA Africa’s launch as a natural progression, allowing us to connect amazing founders to experienced and expert operators from the tech industry.”
XA Africa’s unique approach focuses not just on providing capital but also on offering mentorship, guidance, and support from its vast network of global technology leaders. This hands-on assistance aims to help startups grow by navigating both operational and market-related challenges.
The investment firm says it sees this development as an opportunity to build a stronger bridge between ecosystems in Africa and Southeast Asia along the way.
“In fact, this investment hypothesis has already been proven across some of the African founders we are currently supporting,” Mr Gajria added
The network has already made several investments across Africa, including Nigerian agritech startup Crop2Cash, Kenyan mobility platform BuuPass, South African edtech startup Kaya, and Ghanaian healthtech company Talamus Health.
XA Network has already established itself as a leading player in Southeast Asia, where it has made nearly 100 investments in startups over the past six years.
The expansion into Africa aligns with the network’s vision to foster innovation on a global scale and build stronger connections between the African and Southeast Asian startup ecosystems.
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XA Africa’s first public Demo Day webinar is scheduled for November 7, 2024, where Africa-focused investors will have the opportunity to meet with four African startups and explore potential investment opportunities.
As the network builds bridges between ecosystems, it hopes to bring strategic support and significant capital to drive innovation in Africa’s tech landscape.