TechBBQ hosted the maiden Nordic-Africa Startup Summit, becoming the first mover in the Nordics to run such an event. We set out to rebrand Africa’s startup ecosystems in the Nordics – unshaped, untamed, but full of potential.
*A valid TechBBQ 2025 ticket was required to access the Nordic-Africa Startup Summit.
Showcase
We will be showcasing startups, ecosystem leaders and academia in key sectors, i.e:
• Agrotech that addresses food security & supply chain challenges with tech-driven solutions.
• CleanTech that utilizes local, renewable energy sources and advanced technology solutions.
• FinTech that drives digital financial inclusion with secure, scalable and locally tailored solutions.
• Life Sciences that develop affordable, tech-enabled healthcare models addressing health challenges.
• EduTech, that delivers scalable, innovative learning solutions, that is accessible widely & to the most.
Participants
The Nordic-Africa Startup Summit will be a platform for founders, investors, VCs, policy makers and ecosystem leaders from both regions to connect and collaborate.
Media Partner:
What to expect
Africa today is in a similar position as Asia was some 40 years ago—an emerging market with a large young population and growing access to technology.
Our Nordic Africa Stage focused on fostering deeper collaborations by strengthening ties with Africa and opening doors to new markets, private equity, and growth opportunities.
For the first time, we brought African startups, ecosystem leaders, universities, and policymakers to the stage to showcase African innovation and the opportunities it presents.
Meet the presenters
We invited founders, investors, universities, and policymakers to the Nordic Africa Startup Summit to exchange ideas and innovative approaches, address challenges within startup ecosystems, and explore how to capitalize on Africa’s growth.
Lyndsay Holley Handler
Co-Founder and Managing Partner Delta40 Venture Studio and VC Fund
Mutembei Kariuki
Co-founder and CEO at Fastagger Inc
Tonny Omwansa
CEO at Kenya National Innovation Agency
Kim Balle
CEO and Co-Founder at XO Group (owner of Global Startup Awards)
Jesper Drescher
Partner at JVD Invest K/S
Tue Lehn-Schiøler
CEO at BrainCapture
Hanna Carlsson
Nominations Coordinator at Food Planet Prize
Kola Aina
Founding Partner at Ventures Platform Limited
Prudence Mafuta Persson
CEO and Co-Founder at Manje Health
Hilda Moraa
CEO & Founder at Pezesha Ltd
Lamin K. Darboe
CEO & Founder at BANTABA AB
Kiko Muuo
CEO at Angaza Elimu
Gideon Kyalo
Director Africa at Unumed
Oluwatobi Adewumi
Executive Director at InnovateHealth Africa
Mikkel Hansen
Founder & COO at Renergy Solar
Pierre Jallow
Co-Founder / CEO at Remode
Lone Søndergaard
Investment Director at Abler Nordic
Jimmy Scavenius
Founder & CEO at Kwera
Riches Attai
CEO and Co-Founder at Winich Farms
Florence S. Charamba
Founder, Business Strategist, Author at Afrika Consultancy
Phaedria Marie St.Hilaire
Angel Investor at Purple Orchid
Rotimi Thomas
CEO and Co-Founder at SunFi
Segun Ogunbajo
Founder & CEO at Safam Digital Hub Limited
Carl Joachim Brandt
Chairman, MD, PhD, GP at Peoples Doctor
Lisbeth Stausholm Zacho
Founder/Managing Partner at Nordic Impact Funds
Ope Onaboye
CEO / Co-founder of Renda
Rune Gunnar Dige
CEO of RDG Africa
Catherine Cax
Managing Director, Investments at Soros Economic Development Fund
Ahmed Elmurtada
Managing Partner at 249Startups
Søren Peter Andreasen
Deputy Chief Executive Officer of Impact Fund Denmark
Lars Bo Bertram
CEO of Impact Fund Denmark
Ndunge Kiiti
Adjunct Associate Professor at Cornell University
Anna Cecilia Frellsen
CEO of Maternity Foundation
Kidus Asfaw
CEO of Kubik
Johanna Raehalme
Investment Director at Impact Fund Denmark
Hiram Githuku
Investment Manager at Goodwell Investments
Andrew Julius Bende
Senior Associate at BioInnovation Institute (BII)
Tsakane Ngoepe
Product Director at M-KOPA
Anish Thakkar
Co-Founder of Sun King
Deepali Nangia
Partner at Speedinvest
Joojo Ocran
Director, Strategic Partnerships at Startupbootcamp Afritech
Faith Obange
Founder and CEO of Lwanda Biotech
Richard Okoth Omondi
Director/Founder at Nisitu Network Enterprise
Keiran Smith
Co-Founder at Mr. Green Africa
James Odongo
CEO at Kenya Extended Producer Responsibility Organization (KEPRO)
Juliana Rotich
Founder and CEO of BRCK Inc
Mikkel Frich
Senior Advisor of cBrain
Zakaria Hersi
Portfolio & Investment Manager at The Inner Foundation
Joyce Mutuku
Commercial Lead at Tawi Fresh Kenya Limited
Marie Gad Hansen
Senior Director at Danish Industry
Stine Jersie Olsen
Nordic Head of Private Banking Growth of Danske Bank Growth
Dr. ‘Bosun Tijani
Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy at Federal Government of Nigeria
Abel Kamau
Trade and Policy Manager at Kenya Association of Manufacturers
Professor Shaukat Abdulrazak
Principal Secretary - State Department for Science, Research and Innovation at Government of Kenya
Claire van Enk
CEO / Founder of Farm to Feed
Ole Thonke
Climate Ambassador & Undersecretary for Development Policy at Ministry of Foreign Affairs - Denmark
Meet the moderators
We invited founders, investors, universities, and policymakers to the Nordic Africa Startup Summit to exchange ideas and innovative approaches, address challenges within startup ecosystems, and explore ways to capitalize on Africa’s growth.
Natalie Becker-Aakervik
Master of Ceremonies / Co-Founder at at Thought Leader Global AS
Rodney Carew
Head of Investor Relations at Delta40 Studio and VC Fund
Golda Fania
Co-Founder & Executive Director at MAWA Health Ltd.
Sherif Kesseba
Managing Partner of Climate Resilient Africa Fund
Alvaro Perezcano
Principal at Speedinvest
Klaus Lehn Christensen
East Africa Manager at Danish Industry
Desirée Pettersson
Investor and Head of Impact at Satgana
Tine Fisker Henriksen
Managing Director at BESTSELLER Foundation
Jacklynne Anyango Ogutu
Head of Digital Health Solutions at World Diabetes Foundation
Anders Boelskifte Mogensen
CEO, Founderment at BESTSELLER FOUNDATION
Johnni Kjelsgaard
Founder & Executive Chairman at GrowthAfrica
Hans Henrik Groth
CEO and Founder at CrossWorkers
Peter Høyer
Journalist at BØRSEN
2025 Program
Advancing a pro-entrepreneurship & pro-innovation Policy. How Nigeria is building platforms and policies that support talent, employment and impact investments. A ministerial address on Digital Public Infrastructure and Nigeria’s digital transformation by Dr. ‘Bosun Tijani – Federal Minister for Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy (Republic of Nigeria).
Speaking:
Dr. ‘Bosun Tijani
Focusing on opportunities on the African continent vis á vis policy and business growth priorities for Danish companies. A high-level debate by Danish Industry and Impact Fund Denmark.
Panelists:
Marie Gad Hansen – Senior Director at Danish Industry
Lars Bo Bertram – CEO at Impact Fund Denmark
Ole Thonke – Climate Ambassador & Undersecretary for Development Policy
Join two powerhouse entrepreneurs turned investors, Kola Aina and Lyndsay Handler, as they share hard-won insights from both sides of the table; revealing what it takes to build scalable, impactful ventures in Africa and how to find investment opportunities in a rapidly changing landscape.
Meet three leaders that are building commercial, market-leading companies across Africa – each with a clear mission: Tsakane Ngoepe from M-KOPA, Nick Hu from Sand Technologies & Keiran Smith from Mr. Green Africa.
Keiran Smith
Nick Hu
What does it take to build a massive business or a profitable investment in Africa. Shedding light on how contexts differ from the Nordics (for instance, no infrastructure to build on, consumer differences, capital gaps, etc.) we meet investors, founders, funds and a bank who have ventured into Africa
Panelists:
Stine Jersie Olesen
Jesper Drescher
Johanna Raehalme
Lisbeth Zacho
Lone Søndergaard
12:00 - 12:30 LUNCH BREAK
What Role or Roles is the Diaspora playing in the startup ecosystem in Africa? From investing in startups to launching innovation platforms and impact funds, the Diaspora is moving beyond remittances and stepping into roles as builders, connectors and policy influencers.
Panelists:
Oluwatobi Adewumi
Ahmed Elmurtada
Pierre Jallow
Lamin K Darboe
Technology as an enabler for increasing trade and partnerships between Kenya and technology as an enabler for increasing trade and partnerships between Kenya and Denmark in the backdrop of EU-Kenya business forum.
Panelists:
Abel Kamau
James Odongo
Richard Okoth Omondi
Kenya has emerged as a beacon of digital transformation, showcasing how a robust digital ecosystem can drive economic growth, enhance public services and improve the quality of life for its citizens.
Speaker:
Prof. Shaukat Ali Abdulrazak
How healthcare providers and insurers can reach more clients and serve them efficiently via technology and innovation, scouting viable markets, reviewing regulatory landscapes and eventually creating a go-to-market strategy.
Panelists:
Tue Lehn-Schiøler
Prudence Persson
Anna Frellsen
Gideon Kyalo
Carl Brandt
The future of innovation for Startups & Scaleups: spin-outs from education centers. Lessons from the Nordics and Africa where promoting enterprise and innovation is crucial for development.
Panelists:
Phaedria St. Hilaire
Andrew Bende
Prof. Ndunge Kiiti
Dr. Tonny Omwansa
Building to Matter: Transformative technologies that fix problems and help people.
Speaker:
Juliana Rotich
AgroTech and AgriBusiness: Tackling Climate Change challenges & Supply Chain logistics
Building high-growth African startups at the intersection of agri-food, agri-tech and climate change while advocating different / new continental supply chain mechanisms and ecosystems. How are we solving daily and long-term challenges?
Panelists:
Riches Attai
Hanna Carlsson
Claire van Enk
Ope Onaboye
Data and Learnings. Lessons from tech innovation startups across Africa.
Speaker:
Kim Balle
15:05 - 15:15 COFFEE BREAK
In April 2024, the World Bank and the African Development Bank launched Mission 300 – to provide access to 300 million people across Africa by 2030. Achieving electricity independence requires ingenuity: private-sector innovators, Government policies, substantial public and private investment. Can Nordic-Africa cooperation kick-start electrifying 600 million people who live off the grid.
Panelists:
Anish Thakkar
Rune Dige
Rotimi Thomas
Mikkel Hansen
The Nordic region has been building and improving CleanTech for decades. Listen to the Founder of one of Africa’s leading Climate-Tech companies talk on a new and pioneering platform turning waste into a resource.
Speaking:
Kidus Asfaw
A leading Danish company that exemplifies impactful cross-continental collaboration and innovation. Mikkel will share how cBrain’s Digital Process Library, featuring the highly prominent “Paperless Ministry” , empowers governments globally to achieve seamless, culturally aligned digital transformation.
Speaker:
Mikkel Frich
Can we solve bottom-of-pyramid challenges in education using AI, IoT and Blockchain? Eg. Deep Tech AI focused infrastructure enabled or ML models run on smartphones in low power and low connectivity environments. AI-powered adaptive & interactive eLearning for personalized learning experiences. Enterprise cloud infrastructure and solutions for next-generation insurtech.
Panelists:
Mutembei Kariuki
Hilda Moraa
Kiko Muuo
Oluwasegun Adetola Ogunbajo
Exploring the opportunities and challenges with Venture Capital Investing in Africa. Are VCs force-fitting their instruments into an unwilling market? What challenges and opportunities can strengthen VCs with the exit of USAID? Tackling the lack of boots on the ground, a single market, regulation, infrastructure and hands on expertise etc.
Panelists:
Catherine Cax
Hiram Githuku
Deepali Nangia
Søren Peter Andreasen
ARE charitable Foundations in Europe looking to Africa? Impact creation through philanthropic investments in Africa – challenges and opportunities.
Panelists:
Zakaria Hersi
Joojo Ocran
Jimmy Scaveneus
Lone Søndergaard
Beyond boardroom briefs and economic forecasts
Speaker:
Florence Charamba Christensen
Speakers:
Natalie Becker & Charles Kinga