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BFF Impact Report Highlights Success of Black-Led Startups Across Africa
Black Founders Fund Alumni Summit, held at iHub in Nairobi, showcased the unveiling of the BFF Impact Report, highlighting the significant progress and success of Black-led startups across Africa.
This annual event brought together 45-50 alumni from across the continent including Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, Uganda to celebrate their achievements and discuss the future of Africa’s digital economy, with a spotlight on the role of these startups in driving innovation, job creation, and scalable business growth.
The BFF Impact Report offers a comprehensive look at the remarkable impact that targeted support for Black entrepreneurs has had on the African tech ecosystem.
The report reveals that BFF-supported startups have collectively raised $379 million, created more than 6,000 jobs, and experienced 61% faster growth than their peers, underscoring the importance of strategic investment in fostering sustainable innovation.
Through non-dilutive funding, mentorship, and networking, the Black Founders Fund has empowered entrepreneurs to overcome barriers, scale their businesses, and contribute to Africa’s digital transformation.
The BFF Impact Report demonstrates the pivotal role of the program in strengthening the continent’s startup ecosystem, enabling businesses to compete globally and attract significant investment.
Olumide Balogun, Country Director, West Africa, Google for Startups, remarked, “The Black Founders Fund is not just about financial support—it’s about creating an ecosystem of innovation, job creation, and opportunity.
“The BFF Impact Report reflects the incredible progress Black entrepreneurs have made, and how the right resources can empower them to lead Africa’s digital future.
“The impact we are seeing today will set the stage for an even more vibrant African tech landscape tomorrow.”
Despite Africa’s growing recognition as a hub for innovation, Black entrepreneurs continue to face substantial barriers, with access to capital remaining a key challenge.
African startups raise less than 1% of global venture capital, and women-led and marginalised entrepreneurs are particularly underrepresented. Limited access to mentorship, networks, and markets exacerbates these difficulties, often hindering talented entrepreneurs from scaling their businesses.
However, initiatives like the Black Founders Fund are driving systemic change. Through non-dilutive funding, mentorship, and an expansive network, the BFF has empowered over 220 startups, enabling them to scale faster and break down these barriers.
Mariama Boumanjal, Black Founders Fund Manager Europe, Google for Startups, said, “The BFF Impact Report proves that with the right support, Black founders can not only overcome these challenges—they can lead the way in innovation, job creation, and economic development.”
Key Highlights from the BFF Impact Report:
6,000+ jobs created by BFF-supported startups, with 7x growth in employment since 2021.
$379 million raised collectively by BFF companies, including $61 million raised by 21 AI-first startups.
61% faster growth for BFF companies over a 3-year period compared to industry peers.
50.4% of leadership roles in African BFF companies are held by women, with 68% of startups being women-led or having a female co-founder.
Kenya leads in follow-on funding with 26 BFF-supported startups cumulatively raising nearly $100 million, employing 1,073 people.
The BFF Impact Report also highlights the diverse industries where BFF startups are making significant contributions, including Fintech, Healthtech, Agritech, and AI.
By providing entrepreneurs with the resources and connections they need, the Black Founders Fund is helping to nurture the next generation of tech leaders who are shaping Africa’s digital future.
Folarin Aiyegbusi said, “This report is a celebration of the incredible work being done by Black founders across Africa.
“The BFF Impact Report proves that, when we invest in these entrepreneurs, we’re not only helping individual startups, but we’re driving systemic change within the broader African tech ecosystem.”
The Black Founders Fund Alumni Summit also featured discussions with key industry leaders, investors, and policymakers about the ongoing opportunities and challenges facing African tech startups.
The event provided valuable networking and collaboration opportunities for attendees, helping to further build the connections that will drive future growth in the ecosystem.
The summit also included a gala dinner, highlighting the achievements of BFF alumni, and further strengthening the connections between investors, startups, and key ecosystem players.
Dr Bosun Tijani, Nigeria’s minister of communications, innovation, and digital economy, has revealed that the federal government’s 3 Million Technical Talent (3MTT) programme has trained over 135,000 citizens as it moves from pilot to national level.
Tijani announced this in an update on the program’s success, stating that the beneficiaries were trained in three batches.
He also stated that the initiative’s community-based learning tools had provided over 300,000 extra learners with access to digital skills training across the country.
According to the minister, the program has also enabled the creation of about 15,000 job, entrepreneurship, and career development in Nigeria’s developing digital economy.
He further revealed that more than 1.8 million Nigerians are currently in the 3MTT pipeline, as the government works toward its target of equipping three million citizens with in-demand digital skills aligned with local and global labour market needs.
As the programme enters its scale-up phase, Tijani said the government’s focus will shift toward deepening impact rather than just expanding numbers.
Key priorities, he explained, include strengthening the 3MTT alumni community, widening access to economic opportunities and ensuring that skills acquired through the programme translate into measurable outcomes such as jobs, business creation and innovation.
To support this phase, the federal government has introduced the #3MTTImpactChallenge, an initiative aimed at assessing the programme’s real-world impact
Through the challenge, fellows and partners are invited to share personal stories on how 3MTT has shaped their professional journeys as part of a National Impact Reflection exercise.
Participants are expected to share their experiences across social media platforms, with selected winners set to receive prizes including laptops, e-tablets, data bundles and other incentives.
Spacecoin, US-based, has announced the signing of recent agreements with local authorities and operators to launch satellite connectivity pilot projects in Africa.
The initiatives, focused on Kenya and Nigeria, aim to serve areas where terrestrial networks remain limited or unavailable.
n Kenya, Spacecoin has obtained a transmission license from the Communications Authority, allowing it to test satellite-based solutions for connectivity and Internet of Things (IoT) monitoring, particularly in rural and peri-urban areas with limited internet access.
According to the Kenyan regulator, internet penetration remains below 50% of the population, despite mobile penetration exceeding 130%.
In parallel, the company is continuing operations in Nigeria under an existing license issued by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC).
This authorization supports initiatives aimed at delivering affordable broadband connectivity to isolated and underserved communities.
Spacecoin’s approach is based on a decentralized satellite network using nanosatellites in low Earth orbit (LEO).
Combined with blockchain-based protocols, this architecture is intended to offer more flexible and cost-effective connectivity services than traditional networks, while also enabling the integration of IoT solutions for a range of uses, from smart agriculture to infrastructure monitoring.
These projects are part of a broader strategy to help narrow Africa’s digital divide, where a significant share of the population still lacks access to reliable internet services.
Satellite technology is increasingly viewed as a complement to terrestrial infrastructure, particularly in hard-to-reach areas where deployment costs and geographic constraints remain high.
Beyond Africa, Spacecoin is also running pilot projects in Asia, working with local partners to test the viability of its model across different regulatory and geographic environments.
According to the company’s management, growing interest from regulators reflects a shift toward solutions capable of reaching populations that have long been excluded from internet access.
AVEVA, a global leader in industrial software, driving digital transformation and sustainability, today announces the appointment of Khaled Salah, 37 years old, as Vice President of Africa.
Khaled Salah
In this new role, he will be responsible for about 30 employees to ensure the successful implementation of AVEVA’s growth strategy. Khaled Salah will report directly to Jesus Hernandez, SVP of the EMEA region.
A 15-years + career across different industries and domains
With a MBA in management from the Warwick business school, UK, and a master’s degree in engineering from Ain Shams university in Egypt, Khaled Salah is an active advocate for driving sustainable progress in the industrial sector. With Sustainability in mind, Khaled is keen on making a positive business impact, while fostering progress for people and the planet.
He started his career at Schneider Electric, in 2013 in the global supply chain and evolved through various roles such as Europe procurement and supply chain strategy Manager, and Global Commercial strategy Director for the industrial automation business. Khaled Salah has developed a strategic understanding of all those fields.
After 12 years in Schneider Electric, Khaled joined AVEVA in 2022 to lead AVEVA and Schneider Electric global strategic partnership, across all industries managing a team of 30 people.
He has led the introduction of new AVEVA software solutions to initiate and develop significant growth areas across all Schneider Electric verticals.
Ambitious plans for AVEVA in Africa
In addition to his current role as AVEVA and Schneider Electric partnership Vice-President, Khaled now takes over the management of AVEVA’s activities in Africa.
Jesus Hernandez, SVP of the EMEA region says: “Africa is a strategic region for AVEVA. In this major industrial market, customers, world leaders in the fields of Energy, Metal & Mining, Chemicals, and Water, are looking for AVEVA’s expertise to accelerate and drive their digital transformation and sustainability strategies, as well as their energy transition projects.
“Khaled Salah’s qualities of leadership in a global environment will benefit his team spread across 12 countries including Algeria, Morocco, Egypt, Kenya, Nigeria, and South Africa.”
Motivated by the prospect of capitalizing on the talent of his team to strengthen AVEVA’s presence in Africa in the years to come, Khaled Salah says: “Helping my team realize their professional potential is close to my heart.
“We will work together to support and accelerate the digital transformation of industries in Africa, in particular through CONNECT, our industrial intelligence platform, with the support of our ecosystem of partners. »
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