1,500 businesses are set to benefit following the launch of a new initiative aimed at transforming the way early-stage businesses are supported across Africa. The initiative, named Conecta Africa, was officially launched on Thursday, May 29, in Nairobi.
Conecta Africa is led by the entrepreneurship platform Bridge for Billions and brings together Entrepreneur Support Organisations (ESOs), policymakers, funders, and corporate leaders from Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda, and South Africa to build stronger, more inclusive ecosystems for startups.
The launch, hosted at the Windsor Golf Hotel & Country Club, was the culmination of a three-day summit and retreat which brought over 300 key stakeholders.
In that period, 25 E50s worked together to come up with strategies for collaboration, long-term sustainability and inclusive growth.
The initiative seeks to dismantle systemic barriers that prevent underserved entrepreneurs, particularly women, youth, and rural innovators, from accessing critical support.
Conecta Africa
Through strategic collaboration, data-driven programming, and long-term partnerships, the initiative also aims to build resilient, inclusive startup ecosystems across the continent
“Entrepreneurs are resilient, resourceful people. But we should not expect them to take unnecessary risks just to succeed,” said Julie Murat, co-founder of Bridge for Billions.
“Just like education became a public right, we believe entrepreneurship support must become a public good which is accessible, equitable, and rooted in systems.”
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In her keynote address, Principal Secretary for MSME Development, Susan Mang’eni, endorsed the initiative, highlighting how it complements the government’s bottom-up economic transformation strategy.
PS Mang’eni shared updates on four national programs designed to support youth and small businesses and invited Bridge for Billions to partner with her ministry to develop digital learning content for small businesses across the country.
“Our youth reed more than just encouragement. They need tools and skills to create their jobs,” she said.
“Through this initiative, we see the promise of helping our MSMEs, many of which already have viable products, access what they need most, which is capital, markets, and technical expertise.”
In its first phase, the initiative aims to support 1,500 SMEs by helping ESOs work better together, share resources, and strengthen their capacity to support businesses.
The program will focus on healthcare entrepreneurship and youth and women’s enterprise development as entry points while continuing to build research, policy, and investment partnerships.
The initiative is supported by the International Development Research Centre (ORC), Strathmore University, the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDOJ, JP Morgan, and the Kenya National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KNCCI), among others.
Key challenges addressed
During the summit, key challenges faced by organizations that aim to support Africa’s startups were addressed.
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Research presented in partnership with the Aspen Network of Development Entrepreneurs (ANDE) revealed five major gaps limited funding for ESOs, poor infrastructure for collaboration, weak inclusion of vulnerable and excluded groups, a lack of data sharing, and fragmented support pipelines.
Despite these issues, there was strong optimism among the participants about what could be achieved through a more connected, continental approach.
“Too many organizations are doing great work in isolation. Through this initiative, we want to shift from short-term aid to lasting support models rooted in African realities,” said Canada’s International Development Research Centre’s Chaitali Sinha.
Senior Business Development Manager for Africa and Europe at Bridge for Billions Yann Huguenard, on his part, emphasised the importance of building up local support systems to achieve lasting impact.
“Conecta Africa is not just about startups It’s about strengthening the organisations that support them. By empowering E50s to collaborate, share resources, and scale their impact, we’re laying the foundation for a sustainable entrepreneurship ecosystem that can grow with and for Africa,” he said.
The summit also called for a reset in how entrepreneurship is funded. Funders were urged to look beyond flashy tech startups, and support sectors that directly impact lives such as health, agriculture, manufacturing, and housing.
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