Africa’s Green Economy Summit, taking place from 21-23 February 2024 in Cape Town, not only features the continent’s major sustainability thought leaders, but also provides a springboard for companies operating in the green sector to sell themselves to investors. 

The event brings together key African stakeholders – including investors, project leaders, and policymakers – with the aim of facilitating investments to propel the continent’s green economy transition. A key aspect of the three-day summit is the pitch platform, which will give project owners the opportunity to showcase their businesses to global and local investors and corporate representatives, build key relationships and secure funding. 

More than 30 projects will take to the Pitch Stage, presenting an investment pipeline of more than $1 billion to over 30 investment and financial companies. Potential investors at the event will be able to get a comprehensive overview of some of Africa’s green champions, take discussions further with pitch owners and download pitch decks. 

Elodie Delagneau, Project Manager: Startups & Partners, VUKA Group, explains that the selection process focused on companies making an impact in the green economy. 

“In Africa's green scene, our event division aims to add value by recruiting companies driving the shift towards net-zero goals. We've scoured industries for key sectors making strides in decarbonisation, seeking pioneers and established players committed to sustainable and bankable solutions. It's like a treasure hunt for a future where Africa shines in sustainability. Selected projects aren't just presentations; they light the way to a greener continent,” she says. 

“Teaming up with partners like WESGRO, Edge Growth Ventures, AP3 Capital and Advisory, Grindstone, Bell Crescent Partners, Circular Energy and Holocene[3] , we're on a mission to identify projects that can make a real difference with the right funding. Our event is a stage for these companies to showcase transformative power. Through research, sector spotting, out-of-the-box projects, and strong partnerships, we aim to create a pool of initiatives that get investors excited to support Africa's green heroes.” 

AP3 Capital and Advisory is a firm of professional advisors working with private and public clients to enable successful infrastructure projects across Africa. 

“The Africa Green Economy Summit, a timely follow-up to COP28, including the $700-million Loss & Damage Fund pledge, convenes in Cape Town to ignite green growth in the global south. At AP3 Capital, we are delighted to be supporting the summit as technical partners for the deal-room and look forward to working with the team to match climate and infrastructure finance providers to them across the summit's focus areas of agriculture, transport, energy, and water,” says Gori Olusina Daniel, Managing Partner, AP3. 

Impact investor Edge Growth will join the summit for the first time. Janice Johnston, CEO of Edge Growth Ventures, says: “Our experience of investing in innovative green tech SMEs, including our successful partnership with the Green Outcomes Fund over the last few years, has assisted in building our solid track record and we are proud to be sponsoring one of the sessions on the Pitch Stage.” 

The five finalists of the Milken institute / Motsepe Foundation prize in green energy – which rewards innovators who expand access to reliable, affordable, and sustainable electricity in Africa – will join the line-up of businesses presenting their credentials. The finalist teams are: 

· AfTrak Micro Electric Agriculture and Energy: an innovative system of using solar microgrids to power custom-designed tractors for deep-bed farming; 

· GEG – Geosleeve: thermoelectric geothermal power generation from low-temperature geothermal; 

· New Digit Technologies: creator of a compact, portable device to generate energy and purify water; 

· OMNIVAT: a containerised electricity generation and storage system for remote communities; and, 

· Smart Agri-Centres: solar-powered community hubs that provide affordable clean energy and services to farmers. 

A further two projects from Freetown and Accra municipalities through C40 Cities will also join the pitch process, while Kenyan company BasiGo – an e-mobility start-up looking to revolutionise the public transportation sector – is one of the African businesses that will present its investment opportunity at the summit. 

“BasiGo leads in breaking barriers for clean, electric public transport, tackling technological, infrastructure, and financing challenges,” says Co-Founder and CFO Jonathan Green. “The summit is an opportunity for everyone to discover BasiGo's journey, strategic growth plans, and explore partnerships in shaping the future of clean, electric transport in Africa. We hope to connect with like-minded individuals and organisations, fostering collaboration to drive a greener and more efficient transportation landscape on the continent.” 

Other start-ups pitching in the e-mobility space include eWAKA, which is redefining standards in green deliveries and sustainable commuting in Africa. The company’s participation in AGES underscores its commitment to leading the transition to sustainable, technology-driven mobility solutions. 

“Participating in AGES is pivotal for eWAKA,” comments the company’s Celeste Vogel. “It is key to scaling the transition of millions of last-mile delivery and commuting kilometers to green, with a goal to deploy at least 1 million electric cargo bicycles and motorcycles on African roads. This step is essential for expanding our data-driven solutions and establishing a sustainable future for transportation in Africa.” 

Besides energy and e-mobility the project pitch programme extends to other sectors of the green economy, including waste management. 4 Earth Global is joining the project line-up, providing an integrated approach that creates lasting positive impacts on the environment, the economy, and the overall prosperity of the communities involved. 

“Our manufacturing plants produce cost-effective green building materials at scale and in doing so, provide innovative solutions for housing shortages, inadequate education facilities, gender inequality, food insecurity and climate change. 4 Earth Global recycles all seven types of waste plastic packaging, which is a world-first,” says Cyle Varrie, Co-founder & COO, 4 Earth Global.[1] 

Africa’s Green Economy Summit consists of a two-day summit and connecting platform, a pitch programme and a project and innovation showcase, as well as an experiential day. It offers a showcase of investable African projects, access to investors, interaction with governmental and city officials, and the opportunity to obtain a deeper understanding of Africa’s green-economy landscape, its challenges, and opportunities. 

Africa's Green Economy Summit partners include: Sanlam Investments (title sponsor), African Union (partner organisation), City of Cape Town (host city), Western Cape government (host province), Nedbank CIB (gold sponsor), Milken Motsepe Prize (gold sponsor), Wesgro (investment promotion partner), USAID (empowerment partner), the Global Green Growth Institute (supporting partner) and ESI Africa (host media). The Summit is organised in partnership with e-Movement.