Launch of the Deal Source Africa platform aims to close the 331$ billion funding gap for African entrepreneurs.

At the West Africa Deal Summit, which was hosted in Accra yesterday, Deal Source Africa, a comprehensive platform to connect African firms with investors and transaction advisers and African Impact Funds with investors, made its official debut.

By providing them with solutions that are specifically suited to their company requirements, the program will assist in closing the $331 billion funding gap for African SMEs, particularly those with significant room for development. To access the platform, which was created with money from the Research and Innovation Systems for Africa (RISA) Fund of UKAid and will be piloted in 2022, companies and funds can register at https://DealSourceAfrica.co/.

“The research is clear that growing SMEs can significantly accelerate the achievement of the SDGs,” says Amma Lartey, CEO of Impact Investing Ghana, “and that creating more efficient connections between businesses, local funds, and limited partners could help deploy more appropriate patient capital. Therefore, the reduction of the SME finance gap can be significantly sped up with the help of cutting-edge platforms like Deal Source Africa, designed and tested with its customers.

Deal Source Africa consists of a digital platform that links investors with companies, physical and virtual Deal Rooms where companies can meet investors, and Impact Fund Showcases where investors can meet African venture funds and other local capital sources. Businesses are connected with seasoned transaction consultants to offer expert guidance throughout their fundraising journey. The platform’s Deal Officers facilitate connections with investors.

Deal Source Africa has the potential to play a big role in facilitating funding for companies and local capital providers across Africa, according to Etemore Glover, CEO of the Nigeria National Advisory Board for Impact Investing (Nigeria NABII). We are thrilled to work with IIGh on this project and watch as it spreads throughout Africa with the help of our international partners. To close the finance gap affecting our businesses, Africa-wide platforms with reliable local partners are crucial.

The leader of the Deal Source Africa program, Justina Mensah, shared the achievements of the program during the pilot phase, including enabling 94 businesses to connect with 18 investors in Deal Rooms and connecting 45 businesses to transaction advisors for individualized support, resulting in 3 investments being finalized. She urged African entrepreneurs seeking financing to sign up here together with venture capitalists and other local capital providers.