July 22, 2022/JNPR

Leading provider of investment and advisory services to global businesses, Platform Capital recently convened international investors and global companies in South Africa to host an investment fair for entrepreneurs in the second edition of its Africa Walk initiative.  

The Investment fair, held at the Maslow Hotel, brought local companies, investors, policy makers, and academia to share their unique stories with international investors and companies and collaborate on the best ways to build the Africa of the future, in which global best practices are fused with local to create a truly ‘glo-cal’ Africa.  

“At Platform Capital we are obsessed with changing the African continent’s narrative to one of possibilities that offer the opportunities for Africans to thrive and tell their own story.  This is why we embarked on 6 city tour of Africa this year to engage several entrepreneurs, investors various stakeholders to further expand our footprint and build on the case for investing in the continent”, says Platform Capital Chairman, Dr. Akintoye Akindele.  

To set the tone visiting global investors visited Platform Capital offices in Sandton to hear from industry and economic experts including Deloitte MD of Emerging markets Dr Martyn Davies, Business Unity South Africa CEO Cas Coovadia, President of South Africa Investment Envoy and former CEO of Standard Bank Jacko Maree.  

Participating global investors include: Solar-fi, Tuma, Elite Career Solutions, Goldman Sachs, MaC Ventures, NVIDIA, SA GOV Jobs, Send Off, Keto Kart, Meant to Bee, Angel Ventures, Summit Africa, Thuma Mina Online, Ubiquous and Zinhle Media amongst others.  

“Following a successful inaugural Africa Walk (Kenya and Nigeria) in 2021, we made the decision to hold this event annually. The Africa Walk creates an avenue for our international and African partners to meet, enabling us to drive the conversation and showcase the best of both worlds, thereby moving us towards the fulfilment of our mission” says Dr. Akindele, “As a global leader, Platform Capital is well-positioned to play a principal role in the expansion of African businesses to build sustainable and competitive companies that will contribute to the economic growth of Africa. 

Platform Capital launched its operations in South Africa in March 2022 to provide strategically driven investments with a focus on developing the untapped potential of the country’s SMME sector. In efforts to reiterate its commitment to supporting the start-up community in South Africa, Platform Capital’s Africa Walk Roadshow seeks to provide a unique understanding of the continent’s investment landscape and an unparalleled cultural experience to international investors. The next stop of Africa Walk Fair is Lagos Nigeria. Various South Africa entrepreneurs and small businesses were afforded the opportunity to exhibit, network and present the case for investing into their businesses to investors.  

Akindele noted that Africa’s burgeoning fintech ecosystem is only about a decade old but he has high hopes for its growth in the global marketplace. “I think an era is coming when African fintech companies will buy global financial institutions, forming a marriage, because by solving cash problems on the continent, they are also solving global cash problems,” Akindele said.  

Entrepreneurs looking to learn more about how Platform Capital can assist them to get access to investments can send their queries to info@theplatformcapital.com