ABAN 2025 Congress Aims to Boost Local Angel Investment in Africa's Key Sectors

ABAN’s 2025 Annual Congress, set to be held in Lagos, Nigeria, from 17th to 18th October, marks a significant milestone—10 years of advancing angel investing across Africa. As a continent-wide network, the Africa Business Angel Network (ABAN) has mobilized over $35 million in early-stage investments and grown a community of more than 5,000 business angel investors across 37 African countries and the diaspora. This year’s event is centered on the theme “Accelerating Local Capital Participation,” aiming to align strategies for a self-sustaining investment landscape that supports innovation and economic self-reliance. The Congress will bring together early-stage investors, policymakers, entrepreneurs, and ecosystem builders to discuss actionable pathways for scaling impactful ventures [1].

Central to the Congress is the goal of enhancing local and diaspora participation in early-stage funding, ensuring that wealth generated through innovation remains within the continent. The event will also focus on sector-specific investments in areas such as agritech, fintech, health-tech, climate resilience, AI, edtech, digital trade, and the creative economy. These areas are seen as key drivers for sustainable development and targeted innovation. In addition, the Congress will advocate for enabling policies that make early-stage investing more transparent and accessible across Africa. Cross-border syndication networks will also be strengthened to facilitate collaborative deal-making and expand access to investment opportunities [1].

Yemi Keri, President of ABAN, emphasized the importance of collaboration among African and diaspora investors in fueling innovation and building resilient economies. He highlighted the organization’s focus on promoting investments in agriculture, cleantech, digital trade, health, AI, education, smart cities, sports, and the creative economy. Keri also underscored the need for policy execution that supports scalable and inclusive early-stage investing [1].

The event will feature a range of activities, including high-level networking, thought leadership panels, startup showcases, and strategic launches. Notable launches include Catalytic Africa 2.0, the Africa Business Angel Investment Vehicle (ABAIV), and the ABAN Angel Investment Report 2025. These initiatives aim to explore cross-border syndication models, policy frameworks, and thematic investments across key sectors such as climate-smart agriculture, cleantech, health, AI, education, digital trade, smart cities, sports, and the creative economy [1].

Fadilah Tchoumba, CEO of ABAN, noted the critical role of local capital in supporting overlooked founders and strengthening Africa’s early-stage investment ecosystems. She stressed the importance of smarter syndication, inclusive policy, and targeted investor education in building on existing progress. The Congress is guided by four strategic pillars: Local Capital Participation and Growth, Policy and Regulatory Frameworks for Early Stage Investing, Thematic and Sector Focused Investment, and Access to Follow-on Funding [1].

The event will also include curated roundtable strategy labs, live pitch sessions for angel networks, funds, and syndicates, and the ABAN Gala Awards Ceremony, which will recognize outstanding contributors to the early-stage investment movement. ABAN describes the 2025 Annual Congress as a catalytic platform for mobilizing local capital, aligning pan-African strategies, and activating the next wave of early-stage investors across Africa and the diaspora. With the vision of “Africa funding Africa,” the event aims to drive progress from the center, not the sidelines [1].

For partnership inquiries, contact secretariat@abanangels.org. For media inquiries, reach out to Amimo Achillah at amimo@abanangels.org.

Source: [1] ABAN Marks 10 Years with 2025 Annual Congress Focused on Accelerating Local Capital Participation Across Africa into Innovative Ventures (https://coinmarketcap.com/community/articles/688d02eb0974d212ab4c0937/)