ICA: Zambia 2018, 2-3 October, Radisson Blu Hotel, Lusaka
Press Release – [Lusaka, Zambia, September 2018] Impact Capital Africa (ICA) presents Zambia’s first impact investment conference, in partnership with the Zambia Development Agency and the Private Enterprise Programme Zambia (PEPZ). ICA: Zambia 2018, a two-day event, brings local, regional and international investors together with ‘investment-ready’ SMEs and entrepreneurs from across Zambia, with the express intent to overcome the typical barriers faced when trying to source and make investments. At the Radisson Blu Hotel, Lusaka on 2nd & 3rd October, ICA: Zambia features high-level investment dialogue, sector deep-dives, SME pitching, networking & social functions, exhibition and, crucially, ICA’s secure SME platform ‘Impact Starter’.
Working with PEPZ throughout 2018, and investment advisors Kukula Capital, OCA and PwC, ICA has provided business development and mentored a pipeline of almost 30 investment-ready Zambian SMEs and entrepreneurs across a range of sectors including agriculture, energy, health, education, finance, infrastructure and technology. ICA: Zambia’s pipeline meets both the ‘angel’ investor ticket size ($50,000 – $150,000) and the typical ‘missing middle’ funding ($500,000 – $30m). Cumulatively, the SMEs are looking to raise more than $100m.
“Over the last few months, we have seen first-hand a surprising and very encouraging breadth and depth of quality investment opportunities. ICA Zambia won’t be your typical investment conference, it really is about opening the door to Zambia as an impact investment destination.” James Blewett, PEPZ Team Leader
ICA’s marketplace platform Impact Starter, launched on Monday 10th September with early access for event Sponsors, enables investor delegates to review the pipeline of SMEs ahead of the event itself. ICA: Zambia 2018 has the express aim to ‘get deals done’ as a direct result of the event – the Impact Starter platform provides SMEs the opportunity to showcase their company, while investors can review the pipeline and request to access supporting company documentation through a secure data room. Due diligence processes and direct communication with SMEs ahead of the conference are enabled through this platform.
Impact Capital Africa bridges the gap between SMEs in emerging markets and investors by putting boots on the ground to get SMEs ‘investment ready’, and provides a platform for investors to be introduced to these opportunities. ICA is comprised of the Musangu Foundation and conference experts Exigent Events. The UKaid funded PEPZ has provided SME business development services. Together, PEPZ and the Musangu Foundation have developed one of the leading SME pipelines in Zambia.
To find out more about ICA: Zambia 2018, and to get involved, please visit the website www.impactcapafrica.com and look for @impactcapafrica on Twitter. All delegates wishing to attend must register with ICA directly and complete an online registration form www.impactcapafrica.com/register.
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