US venture capitalist Tim Draper to speak at seventh Angel Fair Africa in Tanzania

Billionaire US venture capital (VC) investor Tim Draper — who has invested in big names such as Baidu, Hotmail, Skype, Tesla, SpaceX and Twitter — has been confirmed to speak at Angel Fair Africa in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania in October.

Draper (pictured above, right with The PIT Blockchain head Peter Smith) is the founder of Draper Fisher Jurvetson (DFJ), Draper University, Draper Venture Network, and Draper Associates.

The seventh edition of Angel Fair Africa — which will be held on 10 and 11 October — is part of a week of business events that will be held in the city under the theme “Africa 4.0 — African in the 4th Industrial Revolution”.

The week will start with workshops and an entrepreneurs bootcamp which will be followed by the two-day business networking event Sahara Sparks on 9 and 10 October at Mlimani City Conference hall, before Angel Fair Africa kicks off at the Double Tree by Hilton Hotel.

About 100 investors and entrepreneurs are expected to attend Angel Fair Africa.

Draper’s name is one of three confirmed keynote speakers that the organisers Chanzo Capital and Sahara Ventures confirmed in a statement last Thursday (22 August).

Angel Fair Africa will be held in Dar es Salaam on 10 and 11 October

Other confirmed speakers so far include Infotech Investment Group founder Ali Mufuruki and Andile Ngcaba, who is a commissioner of South Africa’s Presidential Commission on the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

The fair, which was first held in 2013, is a platform for stakeholders to not only discuss the role of technology and innovation, but also invest in the entrepreneurs fostering social and economic development on the continent.

Angel Fair Africa has previously been held in Johannesburg (2013), Lagos (2014), Accra (2015), Nairobi (2016), Abidjan (2017) and Maputo (2018).

The organisers claim that since inception, Angel Fair Africa has resulted in $23-million worth of deals and one exit.

Sahara Ventures CEO Jumanne Rajabu Mtambalike said the week is crafted to explore the “many levels of engagement” when it comes to Africa’s leadership of the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

Tanzania Angel Investor Network (Tain) founder Salum Awardh said Angel Fair Africa will help consolidate the various efforts locally and within the continent to boost investments in innovative ventures.

Editor’s note (28 August 2019): An earlier version of the article said Angel Fair Africa will take place at Mlimani City Conference hall. The event will instead be held at the Double Tree by Hilton Hotel in Dar es Salaam. The article has been updated to include this.

Featured image: Tim Draper with Blockchain co-founder and CEO as well as The PIT Blockchain head Peter Smith (Twitter)