On 19th September 2025, we will be welcoming the 12th Angel Fair Africa (aka AFA@12) to Google’s 9th Avenue offices in New York City. Angel Fair Africa is an event that brings entrepreneurs and investors together to do deals. This marks the first time the event is being hosted in the US, after eleven years of being staged in different African countries – such as South Africa, Nigeria, Ghana, Cote d’Ivoire, Kenya, Tanzania and Mozambique.
Prolific angel investor Esther Dyson will keynote the event – sharing her many years of investing experience from backing Netbeans in 1997 to Flickr, 23andMe, Abridge.ai, Ilara Health, Meetup, Oradian, Rasello, Square, SWVL, Trellaand others, and founding and working for nonprofit community-health project Wellville (2014 to 2024). She is also chair of The Commons Project Foundation, which among other things is working to train and employ youth to deliver health goods and digital health services in Africa, starting first in Rwanda. She is currently writing a book called “Term Limits: A design for living in the age of AI,” to appear in early 2027.
Esther Dyson returns for a keynote conversation eight years since she took that role at our 2017 event in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire. According to her, “The world has changed in so many ways, yet so many problems persist. Startups are not the solution, but they are part of changing the environment that will allow more Africans to prosper. In the age of AI, it’s easier to build process infrastructure more quickly, which can help startups to scale.”
The event will bring ten African startup founders from the continent to the US to pitch to a room of curated investors with the intent of doing deals. This follows the launch event held earlier this year in Nairobi, Kenya on March 25th and follows a roadshow held in Johannesburg, South Africa on June 19th. Hosted in partnership with the Afrishela Fund – which is sponsored by the Graca Machel Trust, these events were focused on diversity and inclusivity for syndicating deals across the two markets. The collaborative nature of these past events have laid the foundation for what will be an exciting AFA@12 event in NY during the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) week.
“We are excited to debut the annual AFA in NY as we have had significant participation from US investors over the years. It is also an opportunity to bring the event closer to the African diaspora in the US” said Eric Osiakwan, Co-Founder of Angel Fair Africa and Managing Partner, Chanzo Capital – moderator of the keynote.
“We are thrilled to welcome the 12th Angel Fair Africa in New York City this September! This landmark partnership will bring together phenomenal investors and founders from across the continent, marking a pivotal moment for collaboration and investment in Africa’s vibrant entrepreneurial ecosystem” adds Jason Scott – founder of Five Two Five, BAG Collective, and XA Network Africa.
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EDITOR’S NOTES
About Angel Fair Africa
Angel Fair Africa is an event that brings together accelerators, incubators and emerging businesses from across the African continent and investors to do deals. More @ www.angelfairafrica.com; contact – info@angelfairafrica.com
About Chanzo Capital
Chanzo Capital is an Africa focused tech VC firm, investing Capital, Capacity and Community into category defining Africa tech ventures through their KINGS (Kenya, Ivory Coast, Nigeria, Ghana and South Africa) Funds. More @ www.chanzocapital.com; contact – info@chanzocapital.com
About Five Two Five
Five Two Five invests globally in technology startups that use data, AI, and machine learning to support the movement of people, goods, and money. Our mission is to remove the biases of proximity within the startup ecosystem through increasing global access to capital, coaching, and community.
About BAG Collective
The BAG Collective (BAG) is a global powerhouse of 350+ tech operators, united in their passion for investing in groundbreaking startups. We bring a unique blend of intellectual, social, and financial capital to the table, giving founders the resources they need to scale their businesses.
