BIC Africa Annual Gathering 2024

About the BIC Africa Annual Gathering

The BIC Africa Annual Gathering is BIC Africa’s flagship event- an unparalleled gathering – that brings together business incubation leaders, startup ecosystem experts, entrepreneurs, policymakers and other stakeholders from the 5 BIC Africa project countries (Angola, Comoros, Ethiopia, Madagascar and Somalia), and participants from other African countries and the European ecosystem. The annual gathering aims to connect incubation practitioners, exchange knowledge, bridge the African and the European ecosystems, and discuss how to overcome the challenges faced by the business incubator communities today to support current and future entrepreneurs, with a focus on youth and women.

BIC Africa Annual Gathering 2024 (#BICAfrica2024)

The BIC Africa Annual Gathering 2024 (#BICAfrica2024), co-hosted by INCUBOOST, will take place on Thursday the 24^th of October 2024 at the Radisson Blu hotel, Waterfront in Antananarivo, Madagascar and will be streamed online. This year’s edition, with a theme “Accelerating access to sustainable financing for young businesses in Africa”, will discuss the latest about access to finance for young African businesses, with emphasis on the Malagasy ecosystem, featuring key ecosystem actors across from Madagascar.

The BIC Africa Annual Gathering series has become an important annual event to discuss the latest development on the innovation and startup ecosystem in Africa, and to boost the African startup ecosystem potential. The first two editions of the gathering were held in 2022 and 2023 focusing on connecting African business incubators, and promoting shared learning and driving innovative startups. The two events brought together over 200 stakeholders to explore and connect the regional startup ecosystems. In addition to panel sessions and focused thematic discussions, the annual gathering enabled participants to network, visit local ecosystem, exchange knowledge, explore and foster partnerships, and participate in other side events.

This year’s meetings will be held in English and French. You can watch the live events in English or French, more information will be available soon.

We are thrilled to announce the third edition of the BIC Africa Annual Gathering 2024., which will take place in Antananarivo, Madagascar. Co-organized with INCUBOOST, this year’s event builds upon the success of previous editions and brings together stakeholders from BIC Africa country projects, actors from the European ecosystem and other key stakeholders in the innovation and startup ecosystem.

Our focus this year is on enhancing access to finance for young African businesses and we reaffirm BIC Africa’s commitment to supporting sustainable access to finance and empowering young entrepreneurs to scale their businesses. Additionally, by hosting the gathering in Antananarivo, this event serves as an opportunity to strengthen the local ecosystem by connecting it to other African hubs and European networks.

We’re looking forward to welcoming participants and engaging with stakeholders in the entrepreneurship and innovation ecosystem across Africa.

Robert Sanders, BIC Africa Team Leader at EBN

We are very pleased to partner with the EBN to co-organize the BIC Africa Annual Gathering 2024 in Antananarivo, Madagascar. The Annual Gathering is a unique opportunity for the recently established network of business support organizations in Madagascar, MADAGASCAR SAE, to network and share experiences with experts from EBN, the BIC programmes in Angola, Comoros, Ethiopia and Somalia as well as the BIC INCUBOOST programme in Madagascar implemented by People Power Inclusion and le Ceentre through the project SEEED (Support to the Entrepreneurial Ecosystem for Decent Employment in Madagascar), UNIDO and UNCDF.

This year’s event will focus on access to finance for entrepreneurs, a crucial factor for developing and scaling up businesses and creating jobs in the five BIC Africa countries. Sharing successes and experiences will support the entrepreneurial ecosystem, business development and innovation in Madagascar and beyond.

We thank the Malagasy government, EBN and the EU for their support of the BIC INCUBOOST programme and look forward to enriching discussions with participants, speakers and stakeholders.

Reinhard Wagner, UNIDO Technical Advisor for the BIC INCUBOOST Programme in Madagascar