Africa 2.0 (Mamadou Kwidjim Toure)

Africa 2.0 is a Pan-African Civil Society Organisation made up of a community of emerging and established African leaders who share a collective vision for Africa and a commitment to finding and implementing sustainable solutions that will drive forward the transformation of the continent. Africa 2.0 was founded around the belief that with a unifying vision and a focused “coalition of the willing”, Africans can accelerate the development of their continent.

They are often described as a D-ink Tank – a think tank that Does things. Africa 2.0 is more than a network – all of their 600+ members, from across Africa and the Diaspora, are visionary leaders in their own right and together they make up an unstoppable community dedicated to the transformation of Africa.

They are empowering Young African entrepreneurs with the skills, knowledge and financial resources to drive the development of the African continent is central to the mission of Africa 2.0. With Start Up Africa they promote a culture of innovation, freedom and creativity that will create impact and boost up the standard of living in Africa. The Start Up Africa competition gives the opportunity to entrepreneurs across Africa to be coached, mentored and funded so as to accelerate their growth and better met the development challenges of the continent.

Start Up Africa is a year round initiative, that is kicked off with a high profile pitching event – the three-day entrepreneurship competition – and providing entrepreneurs with access to capital, the network and media exposure, business incubation and investor – ready toolkits and mentorship needed to make their businesses a success.

Through a rigorous application process, 100 entrepreneurs and business ideas are selected to take part in the three-day competition. The competition, is then held (usually over a weekend) – as an intense and testing experience. Groups of entrepreneurs pitch their ideas to carefully selected judges (from our pool of business leaders and mentors) and attendees, and through the process of review and up-voting, the best five ideas are selected.

“A vision inviting all children of Africa from “Monrovia to Mombasa” to make a new contribution to the Universal Civilisation! A vision inviting all of us to raise our heads and look at the bigger picture! A vision designed and driven by the people from Africa for the people of Africa. A vision inviting our leaders to sit at the discussion table to identify and implement solutions together! A vision for our children. A vision for Africa.

A vision for Africa is necessary. A Road map or a long-term plan aimed at proposing a framework including joint solutions, that transcend borders and address common challenges. A vision based on cross-fertilisation of knowledge and experiences. A vision that rises from, lessons learned from our neighbours’ and from our elders’ previous mistakes and successes through deeper dialogue and insight.

A Road map that puts General Interest above individual interest! A vision that galvanises all Africans to become masters of their own destiny and enables them to push further the limits of their capabilities.” – Mamadou Kwidjim Toure

Empowering Young African entrepreneurs to take action in their lives is fundamental to the mission of Start Up Africa. Africa 2.0’s purpose with this initiative is to encourage and support their brand essence; We Are The Ones We Have Been Waiting For, in providing entrepreneurs with the opportunity to create their own jobs, provide them with the opportunity to be mentored and give them the platform to showcase their ideas to possible investors or venture capitalists who can facilitate the implementation process.

The event is aimed at both existing ventures in need of re-capitalisation for growth, as well as business ideas requiring start-up capital – common between all selected entrepreneurs, is that their business goals aim to solve Africa’s biggest problems.