It’s been a few weeks since our London immersion trip, and the energy and insights still resonate. We find ourselves reflecting on the transformative power of shared experiences. At Madica, investment goes beyond capital injection — it’s about fostering an environment where African pre-seed startups can flourish and achieve exponential growth. Our structured 18-month program provides unparalleled company-building support, including a personalised curriculum, hands-on mentorship, executive coaching, and access to a global network of investors for follow-on funding. These resources ensure the long-term viability and success of our portfolio companies.

A core tenet of our approach is that exposure to diverse global and local ecosystems fuels growth. Our recent London immersion trip, from June 6th to 13th, exemplified this belief. These fully funded trips immerse our founders in structured, personalised support, networking, and collaboration, providing invaluable in-person time with mentors, peers, investors, and key ecosystem players. Through relationship building, leadership development, extensive mentorship, and exposure to new markets, our immersion trips significantly contribute to our founders’ and their ventures’ accelerated growth and success.

Immersion Trip to London: Building on Success from Cape Town

Building on the success of our inaugural trip to Cape Town, timed with the 10th anniversary of the Africa Early Stage Investor Summit (AESIS), this week-long London initiative held in conjunction with the Africa Tech Summit at the London Stock Exchange, was designed to fully immerse founders in the UK-Africa entrepreneurial ecosystem, opening up investment and partnership opportunities within the Afro-European corridors for our portfolio companies. They showcased their ventures to leading investors, corporations, and industry stakeholders, highlighting their hard work and Madica’s unwavering support. The resounding success of these trips underscores our commitment to empowering founders and fuels our excitement for the promising journey ahead.

Crafting an Agenda for Success

We tailor our agenda for sessions to address the specific needs of our founders and align with the ecosystem we visit. Focusing on themes including finance, fundraising, organisation design, team dynamics, and governance amongst others, we curate a program that delivers maximum impact. Our speakers are carefully selected based on their proven track records and industry expertise, ensuring our founders receive insights and advice from the best. Past speakers represent various organisations, including Flourish Ventures, Village Capital, Diligence Africa, London Business School, Yoco, Play Nicely, A.N.M & Company, Stitch, and Latham & Watkins.

Key Highlights from the Immersion Trip

From pitching to investors to strategic workshops, here’s what unfolded during our London trip:

The African Tech Summit at the London Stock Exchange

The trip kicked off with a visit to the London Stock Exchange, where founders gained insights into capital markets and the potential of an IPO as an exit strategy. Our founders took the centre stage at the Africa Tech Summit with Newform Foods founders’ Brett Thompson and Tasneem Karodia, who shared their vision of transforming the food landscape through technology. At the same time, Earthbond’s Chidalu Onyenso showcased her solution for empowering African businesses through real stories of solar success. Madica’s Head, Emmanuel Adegboye also joined a panel of investors where startups showcased their innovative solutions across the continent.

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Strategic Planning, Fundraising Masterclass, and Team Building

The following days were packed with intensive workshops and discussions designed to accelerate our founders’ growth. Our Mentors, Isis Nyong’o and Wendy Hoffman, led deep dives into strategic planning, helping founders refine their 2024 goals and maximise the impact of their 18-month program. Experts from Village Capital and Flourish Ventures shared tactical advice on fundraising and investment readiness, culminating in an interactive Q&A session.

Exploring London's Vibrant Startup Ecosystem

Throughout the trip, our founders immersed themselves in London’s vibrant startup ecosystem, participating in a diverse array of events and activities. They networked with investors at a Madica Investor Mixer hosted at Stride VC’s space,gaining valuable insights into the African tech landscape. The team also engaged with the broader community through events like Africa Ignite x London Africa Network, the Africa Tech Summit, and a London Startup Ecosystem mixer organised by HoaQ in partnership with Wimbart. These gatherings connected our founders with investors, founders, industry leaders, and stakeholders, fostering potential investments, corporate support, and strategic partnerships. Additionally, they attended an interactive discussion at London Business School, facilitated by Professor Luisa Alemany, focusing on navigating entrepreneurial journeys.

Madica is committed to bridging the gap between African continental stakeholders and the UK-Africa diaspora. By actively participating in and supporting these initiatives, we create opportunities for our founders to connect with a global network of industry players, driving innovation and growth across borders. We look forward to continuing our involvement in these enriching experiences.

Empowering Founders, Building the Future

The London immersion trip reinforced our commitment to empowering African founders with the tools, knowledge, and connections they need to succeed. The experience was a testament to the transformative power of shared experiences, mentorship, and exposure to new markets. As we look to the future, we’re excited to continue supporting our founders on their journey to build thriving businesses that will shape the future of Africa.

Voices from the Trip

“Our recent London immersion trip captured Madica’s commitment to fostering growth and innovation among African startups. We’ve heard from our founders how much they value these experiences, particularly the chance to connect with key ecosystem players. Collaborating and building strong ecosystems is central to Madica’s mission, and this trip served as a powerful testament to the impact of these partnerships,” said Emmanuel Adegboye, Head of Madica.

“The session on people and culture was one of the most intriguing part of the immersion trip . It helped me step back and examine my approach to hiring and people development as an entrepreneurial leader . I don’t think as entrepreneurs we always pay attention to how critical the evolution of the organisation due to growth and it’s parallel twin issue of whom to hire and how to organise their growth,” said Peter Ndiang’ui, CoFounder & CEO, GoBEBA.

“The London immersion trip was an enriching experience overall. I appreciated the in-person time with the growing Madica team and the founders as virtual meetings have their limitations in truly connecting with others. A key highlight for me was the external engagements as it gave the founders visibility with networks of potential investors, intermediaries, and partners that they otherwise may not get connected to,” said Isis Nyong’o, Madica Mentor

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Our London trip was a testament to the power of community in fuelling African innovation. It reinforced Madica’s commitment to providing holistic support to our portfolio companies. We extend our deepest gratitude to our partners, whose collaboration is essential in creating an ecosystem where founders thrive. Together, we’re not just investing in startups; we’re investing in the future of Africa. Spending quality in-person time with our founders is not just essential; it’s a privilege. The personal connections and shared experiences forged on this journey are invaluable, and we look forward to many more chapters of empowering underserved founders. Your continued support is what makes this mission possible.

About Madica

Launched in 2022, Madica is an Africa-focused pre-seed investment program empowering underrepresented and underfunded mission-driven founders on the continent. The sector-agnostic platform, affiliated with Flourish Ventures, aims to empower entrepreneurs with the provision of funding and also democratize access to world-class company-building support.