A Legacy of Five Summits
FIVE SUMMITS. TWO CONTINENTS. ONE BRIDGE.
Since 2019 the India Africa Entrepreneurship Forum has convened heads of state, cabinet ministers, principal secretaries, and the leading entrepreneurs and investors of both regions across five annual editions in Mauritius and Kenya. This page records each Summit’s government engagement, business leadership, partner ecosystem, and the concrete outcomes that have followed.
5
Summit Editions
730+
Delegates Convened
160+
Speakers & Panellists
25+
Government Dignitaries
60+
Partners & Sponsors
$5B+
Delegate Assets Represented
First Edition
2019
Connecting Indian and African Entrepreneurial Ecosystems
16–18 August 2019 • Mauritius
The inaugural IAEF Summit was hosted jointly with the Economic Development Board of Mauritius. By bringing on board the Indian Angel Network (IAN), the Africa Business Angels Network (ABAN) and The Indus Entrepreneurs (TiE) as partners — a combined community of approximately 15,000 entrepreneurs and investors — the Summit established the platform that has now run for five consecutive editions.
84
Foreign delegates
300
Local participants
$5B+
Assets represented by delegates
24
Speakers and panellists
Government Dignitaries
4 Listed
Eminent Business Leaders
4 Listed
Partners, Sponsors & Allies
13 Organisations
Breakthroughs & Outcomes
From the Summit Floor
Resolution to convert the Summit into an annual platform — a commitment now sustained across five editions.
Announcement of the India–Africa Opportunities Fund (US$2–5 million), Mauritius-domiciled, with contributions pledged by a major financial institution, a listed corporation and several Indian HNIs.
Launch of the TiE Africa Chapter in Kenya, with satellite chapters confirmed for Mauritius and South Africa.
Indian incubators, accelerators and mentors committed to launching Exchange Programmes for African entrepreneurs in Bangalore, Delhi and Hyderabad, partnering with institutions including IIT Kanpur.
Mauritian service providers and regulators committed to cost-effective corporate structures purpose-built for India–Africa entrepreneurial activity.
Stock Exchange of Mauritius opened dialogue on serving as a fundraising and technical-listing platform before assets move to AIM/LSE or NASDAQ.
More than 25,000 applications for IAEF membership received in the months that followed.
Second Edition
2022
Connecting Indian and African Entrepreneurial Ecosystems
1–2 July 2022 • Nairobi, Kenya
The first edition held on the African mainland, returning after a two-year pause during the COVID-19 crisis. Nairobi convened a focused mix of startup founders, angel and venture-capital investors, and established entrepreneurs to deepen the cross-border engagement framework set at the inaugural Summit.
162
Total delegates
51
Delegates from India
60
Delegates from Kenya
24+
Speakers and panellists
Government Dignitaries
3 Listed
Eminent Business Leaders
4 Listed
Partners, Sponsors & Allies
21 Organisations
Breakthroughs & Outcomes
From the Summit Floor
Artha Ventures publicly announced its intent to invest in 100 ventures in Africa over the next ten years.
Proposal tabled for an India–Africa Virtual Incubator to assist founders and investors across borders with the operational, regulatory and capital-formation steps that typically slow cross-continental ventures.
Revival of the Indian incubator–accelerator–mentor consortium for Exchange Programmes for African entrepreneurs, now extended to include IIT Kanpur and ISB Hyderabad.
Mauritian service providers committed to building cost-effective corporate vehicles tailored for India–Africa entrepreneurial flows.
Management companies and corporate-finance firms committed to assist first-time fund managers with active fundraising, leveraging their family-office and HNI networks.
Third Edition
2023
Catalysing the India–Africa Corridor: FinTech, GreenTech, AgriTech, EdTech, Telehealth, E-Commerce and AI
20–22 July 2023 • Le Méridien Hotel, Mauritius
The third edition was honoured by the keynote address of the President of Mauritius, signalling Mauritius’ positioning as a strategic bridge for India–Africa trade and investment. The Summit deepened sector specialisation with workshops examining future electronic payments, digital currencies, corporate venture capital, EdTech and Digital Public Infrastructure.
85+
International delegates
4
Sectoral workshops
7+
Technology sectors discussed
3
Days of programming
Government Dignitaries
4 Listed
Eminent Business Leaders
4 Listed
Partners, Sponsors & Allies
6 Organisations
Breakthroughs & Outcomes
From the Summit Floor
Keynote presence of the President of Mauritius, formally elevating Mauritius’ role as a connector between India and Africa for accelerated trade and investment.
Mauritian Startup Ecosystem Roundtable hosted by the Mauritius Research and Innovation Council (MRIC), framing actionable challenges and opportunities.
Workshop on Corporate Venture Capital strategies, advancing CVC adoption as a deal-flow channel for Indian and African startups.
EdTech for African Development workshop examining India’s direct contribution to enhancing African education at scale.
Digital Public Infrastructure for Smart Governance session — the precursor of today’s formal India-to-Africa DPI dialogue.
Strategic insights from Dr Rajiv Kumar on the India–Africa investment landscape for the decade ahead.
Fourth Edition
2024
Driving Entrepreneurial Synergy and Global Opportunities
18–19 July 2024 • University of Mauritius & Intercontinental Hotel, Balaclava
The fourth edition deepened the Summit’s engagement with the academic ecosystem — hosting a high-profile pitch session in which University of Mauritius students presented projects to a jury of investors from Mauritius, India and Africa. The programme spanned funding models, international networks and the role of technology as an enabler of rapid change across the corridor.
2
Days of programming
2
Host venues
30+
Speakers and panellists
6+
Panel discussions
Government Dignitaries
4 Listed
Eminent Business Leaders
6 Listed
Partners, Sponsors & Allies
8 Organisations
Breakthroughs & Outcomes
From the Summit Floor
University of Mauritius students pitched ventures to a distinguished cross-border jury — the first formal academic-to-investor pipeline activated through the Summit.
In-depth roundtable on assessing and internationalising the Mauritian startup ecosystem, with concrete recommendations for outbound scale.
Panel discussions across “Expanding Across Borders — Leveraging International Networks” and “Funding Enterprise & Innovation Across the India Africa Corridor” produced specific follow-up commitments.
“Investing for Impact: Technology as Enabler of Rapid Change” session opened sustained dialogue between impact investors and corridor entrepreneurs.
Expanded engagement of Indian and African development finance institutions — including the Trade and Development Bank — bringing institutional capital firmly into the corridor conversation.
Fifth Edition
2025
Building the India–Africa Business Bridge: Challenges, Opportunities & Way Forward
17–18 July 2025 • Trademark Hotel, Village Market, Nairobi
The fifth edition marked the Summit’s second appearance in Kenya and achieved an unprecedented level of governmental engagement — five Principal Secretaries of the Government of Kenya joined the programme as active panellists. Six sectoral roundtables structured the dialogue: Energy & Sustainability, AgriTech, Health & MedTech, EdTech & Skill Development, Smart Infrastructure, and Critical Minerals.
200+
Total delegates
70
Delegates from India
90
Delegates from Kenya
40+
Speakers and panellists
5
Principal Secretaries of Kenya
6
Sectoral roundtables
Highlights from the Gathering
Photographs
Address photographs and large-gathering moments from the Fifth India Africa Entrepreneurship & Investment Summit.
Government Dignitaries
7 Listed
Eminent Business Leaders
16 Listed
Partners, Sponsors & Allies
14 Organisations
Breakthroughs & Outcomes
From the Summit Floor
Five Principal Secretaries of the Government of Kenya took part as active panellists — an unprecedented level of governmental engagement in the Summit series.
KenInvest committed concrete investment-promotion initiatives, brokering introductions between Indian investors and Kenyan opportunities across multiple sectors.
Each of the six sectoral roundtables produced an actionable set of follow-up recommendations with named owners committing to inter-summit engagement.
Preliminary co-investment frameworks tabled between Indian and African funds — several investors signalled clear intent to deploy capital into East Africa.
Multiple Indian technology companies indicated establishing operations in Kenya and East Africa, particularly in AI, EdTech and HealthTech.
Following Raman Roy’s keynote on India’s outsourcing journey, formal discussions began on establishing India-backed BPO operations in Kenya serving global markets.
Indian educational institutions committed to collaboration with Kenyan counterparts on skills development programmes, particularly in technical and vocational education.
The Summit received extensive coverage in Indian and Kenyan media, materially raising the profile of the India–Africa corridor as a credible investment destination.
The Next Chapter
6th IAEF Summit · Cape Town, 13–15 July 2026
The Sixth India Africa Entrepreneurship & Investment Summit will be held at The Westin, Cape Town, anchoring the platform in Southern Africa for the first time. The programme convenes heads of state, ministers, principal investors and the architects of the next decade of India–Africa economic partnership.