ABAN marked a historic milestone in inclusive leadership with the appointment of Yemi Keri, Co-founder of Rising Tide Africa, as its first female Board President, and Rebecca Enonchong as Vice President. These leadership appointments, along with the inclusion of additional industry experts on the board, further strengthen ABAN’s position as a leading force in early-stage investment and innovation across Africa.

ABAN also launched its fifth thematic network, Africa’s Sports and Creative Early-Stage Investment Network, at the Inclusive Fintech Forum in Kigali, highlighting the organization's commitment to supporting diverse and emerging sectors.

ABAN to host its inaugural ABAN Annual Congress, an exclusive gathering aimed at accelerating local capital participation and helping achieve the ambitious goal of mobilizing $80 million in early-stage investments by 2027.

ABAN to launch the Africa Business Angel Accreditation, a program designed to professionalize and standardize angel investing across the continent.

ABAN’s investor community grew to span over 37 African countries.

Over $22.5 million was invested across 408 early-stage deals.

Partnered with SAIS to scale investments in digital agriculture innovations.

Launched the 3rd Angel Investment Survey Report, continuing its commitment to transparency and insight-driven growth.

ABAN launched the Climate-Smart Agriculture Investor Network during the AGRF Summit in Kigali.

The 1st ABAN Angel Investment Survey Report was published, offering valuable insights into investor behavior and ecosystem trends.

ABAN launched Catalytic Africa, a co-matching fund developed with AfriLabs to de-risk early-stage investments and unlock local capital.

A new wave of African startup success stories emerged, with six companies—including Flutterwave and Andela—reaching unicorn status, inspiring a new generation of angel investors.

ABAN launched several sector-specific angel networks, including those focused on smart cities, digital trade, clean technology, and climate-smart agriculture. Membership expanded to 60+ networks across 30 countries and the diaspora.

Deeper collaboration with development organizations and government agencies enhanced ecosystem support.

The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated ABAN’s digital strategy, enabling virtual networking and global participation.

ABAN’s network grew to include over 3,000 investors.

Partnership with Briter Bridges provided access to data-driven insights on Africa’s investment landscape. ABAN’s board expanded to include regional leaders and international angel investing experts.

Launched Africa Angel Academy (AAA)

ABAN extended its footprint to over 20 African countries, fostering the growth of angel networks in Central, Eastern, Western, Northern, and Southern Africa.

Regular summits brought focus to co-investment, scaling startups, and addressing regional startup challenges.

Signs of early-stage exits began to emerge, validating angel investing as a viable asset class on the continent.

ABAN expanded rapidly by recruiting and training new investors and helping launch angel networks across the continent.

Over 1,500 investors joined from diverse backgrounds and sectors, including tech, agriculture, finance, and energy.

The second wave of investments focused on emerging fintech ventures with high growth potential.

ABAN’s first elected board was formed, representing key African angel networks.

The 3rd African Angel Investor Summit was held in Lagos, connecting investors and startups across the region.

ABAN was officially launched at the EBAN (European Business Angels Network) Conference in Helsinki with six founding angel networks. Early global partnerships were established to share best practices and strengthen local investment capabilities.

The foundations of Africa’s angel investment ecosystem were laid with the emergence of pioneering networks such as the Cairo Angel Network, Lagos Angel Network (LAN), Ghana Angel Investor Network (GAIN), and Cameroon Angel Network (CAN).

These early efforts highlighted the need for a unified platform, leading to the conception of ABAN as a continent-wide connector of angel investors and entrepreneurial ecosystems.

In 2013, ABAN launched the inaugural Africa Early Stage Investor Summit (AESIS) in partnership with VC4A

Trained and activated over 7,000 angel investors across sector-agnostic and sector-focused investments, up from just a few dozen in 2012.

Maintained engagement with a community of 75 active ABAN angel network members across 37 African countries and the diaspora.

Achieved a 50% gender balance in all programs, leading to the activation of 200+ women angel investors across seven female-led angel networks.

Mobilized and catalyzed over USD 22.5 million in angel capital towards 408 innovative early-stage ventures.

Supported the creation of 2,000+ jobs directly through portfolio companies, and impacted 500,000 women through access to inclusive innovations and product value chains.

Established five new thematic angel networks in Africa focused on: Digital Trade, Climate-Smart Agriculture, Clean Technology, Smart Cities, and Sports & Creative sectors.

Approximately 48% of angel investors engaged in cross-border deals, underscoring a growing pan-African investment mindset.

Released 3 ABAN Angel Investment Survey Reports since 2022.

De-risked investments in 21 startups across 15 African countries through the Catalytic Africa Matching Fund, with over USD 3.1 million deployed.