Manufacturing Africa (MA) was proud to participate in AFSIC – Investing in Africa 2025 in London, where we successfully showcased some of our beneficiary companies and strengthened our engagement with Africa-focused investors. The event provided a valuable platform to highlight high-potential manufacturing opportunities across the continent and deepen relationships with key stakeholders in the investment ecosystem.
Over the two-day conference, five MA beneficiary companies pitched their businesses to investors, leading to several follow-up discussions and one-to-one meetings. In total, our beneficiary companies held over 15 investor meetings during the event, alongside numerous informal interactions at the Meet African Dealmakers networking reception.
We also engaged with new investors previously not known to us, including both small-ticket investors focused on emerging markets and large strategic investors from North Africa. This aligns with our objective to broaden our investor network and promoting manufacturing opportunities in Africa to a wider investor base. AFSIC’s online Deal Room platform further enhanced engagement, resulting in several inbound investor meeting requests.
As part of our commitment to leveraging the wider FCDO offer, we were delighted to share a booth with Growth Gateway and CASA which are other FCDO programmes catalysing investments into Africa. This collaboration provided an opportunity to share insights, lessons, and investment opportunities, while ensuring a coordinated and visible FCDO presence at AFSIC. The FCDO Green and Inclusive Growth brand provided strong visibility throughout the conference, attracting significant traffic to our booth and creating valuable opportunities for networking.
In addition, MA’s team leader, Thomas Pascoe, shared his expert insights on “Harnessing the Potential of SMEs.” The discussions highlighted practical steps businesses can take to attract investment and scale effectively. Key recommendations included:
- Implementing basic, verifiable financial systems
- Establishing robust governance structures
- Clearly articulating the market opportunity
- Ensuring accessibility and readiness to engage investors
These actionable levers provide a clear roadmap for SMEs to position themselves for success and unlock their full potential in the African market.
Video link to MA’s panel session on investing in SMEs:
Looking ahead, we are continuing to leverage AFSIC’s online Deal Room to sustain investor momentum and are actively adding MA-supported deals for ongoing engagement.
Our participation at AFSIC reaffirmed the strong appetite among investors for high-quality manufacturing opportunities in Africa and underscored Manufacturing Africa’s role in bridging the gap between investment-ready businesses and global capital.
Video links:
Manufacturing Africa brings beneficiary companies to AFSIC 2025
