The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has unveiled a groundbreaking initiative, the “timbuktoo Africa Innovation Fund,” with a commitment of $1 billion aimed at bolstering startups across the African continent. This landmark initiative was launched during a special session of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, in collaboration with African leaders.
The inauguration ceremony, attended by global corporate leaders and African financial institutions, signifies a pivotal step in catalysing the African Startup Revolution. The initiative, touted as the world’s largest financing facility, seeks to bring catalytic and commercial capital together to support Africa’s burgeoning startup ecosystem.
Ghana’s President Nana Akufo-Addo, Rwandan President Paul Kagame, the Secretary-General of the African Continental Free Trade Area Secretariat, Wamkele Mene, and UNDP Administrator Mr. Achim Steiner presented the “timbuktoo Africa Innovation Fund” during the event.
Rwandan President Paul Kagame announced an immediate contribution of $3 million to kickstart the fund, which will be hosted in Kigali. Kagame emphasised the importance of providing tools for African youth to reach their full potential, expressing the belief that the initiative’s billion-dollar target could create more opportunities for Africa’s youth.
President Nana Akufo-Addo of Ghana highlighted the challenge of creating structures that enable young Africans to establish innovative businesses, contributing significantly to job creation and sustainable economic growth. He expressed excitement about the continent’s future and the potential for encouraging innovation, supporting ingenuity, and sharing prosperity.
The UNDP’s timbuktoo initiative aims to address critical gaps in collaboration with African governments, investors, corporations, and universities to support the African startup ecosystem. UNDP Administrator Achim Steiner described timbuktoo as a new development model, gathering key actors to support the startup ecosystem through legislation, startup building, and capital de-risking.
Currently, Africa’s share of global startup value is a mere 0.2%, and timbuktoo’s ambition is to mobilise and invest $1 billion of catalytic and commercial capital to transform 100 million livelihoods and create 10 million dignified new jobs. The unique design of timbuktoo blends commercial and catalytic capital to de-risk private investment, focusing on the whole ecosystem and engaging various stakeholders in supporting startups across the continent.