The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has unveiled the Timbuktoo Initiative, a groundbreaking $1 billion innovation fund dedicated to investing in African startups, marking it as arguably Africa’s largest innovation fund.
Timbuktoo aims to transform emerging ideas and innovations into impactful pan-African enterprises, catalyzing global and local investment to enhance prosperity and well-being for millions across Africa and beyond.
Ahunna Eziakonwa, UNDP Africa Bureau Director.
“Timbuktoo aims to transform emerging ideas and innovations into impactful pan-African enterprises, catalyzing global and local investment to enhance prosperity and well-being for millions across Africa and beyond. Our focus is on innovative solutions for people and the planet,” stated Ahunna Eziakonwa, UNDP Africa Bureau Director.
Launched at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, the fund received a significant commitment of $3 million from President Paul Kagame of Rwanda, and it will be headquartered in Kigali, Rwanda. President Kagame emphasized, “We cannot accept that another generation of African young people do not have the tools to reach their full potential.”
UNDP highlights that Africa’s startup value represents only 0.2% of the global total, despite contributing 2% to global trade value. A substantial 89% of venture capital in Africa originates from abroad, with 83% concentrated in Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa, and Egypt. Notably, over 60% of this capital targets fintech.
Eziakonwa emphasized, “A knowledge-driven African economy can transform the continent, surpassing even the wealth derived from its abundant natural resources. It is a true revolution.”
Over the next decade, timbuktoo will support startups in specific sectors across eight central African cities. This includes focusing on fintech in Lagos, trade, logistics, and e-commerce in Cairo, healthtech in Kigali, Cleantech in Nairobi, and the creative sector in Cape Town. Targeted efforts in smart city/mobility in Casablanca, edtech and traveltech in Dakar, and agritech in Ghana are also part of the initiative.
The investment is anticipated to impact 100 million livelihoods and generate 10 million new jobs on the continent. UNDP emphasized timbuktoo’s unique design, blending commercial and catalytic capital to de-risk private investment and adopting a pan-African approach to startup support. The initiative also aims to strengthen the entire ecosystem by fostering collaborations between government policy, universities, corporates, development partners, catalytic partners, and commercial investors, according to a statement from the UNDP seen by Techmoonshot.
