By Damilola Banjo*<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This article was originally published by <\/em>Passblue<\/em><\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n LAGOS, Nigeria (IDN) \u2014 Venture capital funding is shrinking globally, but experts are optimistic that a new $1 billion investment fund created by the United Nations Development Program for the tech ecosystem in Africa could protect startups there from declining investments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe $1 billion Timbuktoo fund is a fantastic initiative by the UN and probably the largest startup fund in Africa,\u201d said Richmond Ogigai, a founder of WallX Africa<\/a>, a payment solution for African businesses in Nigeria. \u201cI think this will also attract other investors, both local and international investors. Also, I believe this will be a catalyst to revive the funding ecosystem that has been bearish for a long while.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The fund is named Timbuktoo, after the fabled cultural-crossroads city of Timbuktu in Mali. (The city is now nearly off-limits to outsiders because of insecurity.) The fund is projected to invest in 10,000 startups in the next decade, said Eleni Gabre-Madhin<\/a>, UNDP Africa\u2019s chief innovation officer. She is leading the initiative, which was launched at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, recently. The initial $350 million pot will be domiciled in the Kigali International Financial Center, Rwanda.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe are also targeting of that ten thousand, at least 1,000 become scale-ups,\u201d Gabre-Madhin said at Davos. \u201cOur vision is that a thousand startups will collectively have an impact on a hundred million livelihoods and generate $10 billion in value to the continent.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Africa contributes only 0.2 per cent to the global startup value, she said, despite its huge young population of 1.3 billion people. This number is projected to double by 2050. A total of 1,361 unicorns \u2014 private startups with a collective valuation of $1 billion \u2014 operate in the world, but only seven are based in Africa. Six are financial-tech companies; Jumia is an e-commerce company. Four of the seven are Nigerian companies, including Jumia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken happened to be in Nigeria last week on a four-country itinerary of parts of Africa. In Lagos, the country\u2019s commercial capital, he met entrepreneurs, tweeting<\/a> that the techmeisters are \u201cunleashing their creative potential to solve big problems\u201d and make a positive difference in the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n While the continent may have the corner on the youngest population in the world, with the average age pegged at 25, it is also the poorest region, with about 431 million people living below the poverty line.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cToo often, Africa\u2019s startups lack the funding to compete at a global level,\u201d President Paul Kagame of Rwanda said at Davos. He announced a $3 million contributory fund toward the initiative. \u201cWe cannot accept that another generation of African young people do not have the tools to reach their full potential. With Timbuktoo\u2019s $1 billion target, we can create more opportunities for Africa\u2019s youth to put their talent and creativity to good use.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n431 million people live below the poverty line<\/h5>\n\n\n\n