Denis Opudo
GreenTec startup was started in 2014 by Erick Yong and Thomas Festerling. The later was a former director at Deutsche Bank. Erick is a German-born of a Cameroonian diplomat. The startup main goal is to impact-oriented activities. This is from its previous investment in sectors like agri-tech and renewable energy. The company has invested in the AgroCenta from Ghana. It has also invested in Farmcrowdy from Nigeria and Rwanda’s ARED. GreenTec is strongly putting its footprints in the African tech startup ecosystem.
By now the GreenTec has supported more than 10 startups in five different countries. The five countries are Nigeria, Uganda, Cameroon, Ghana, and Rwanda. Erick is the director of GreenTec. Furthermore, he has created many companies using his entrepreneurship knowledge. Moreover, he has experience about the challenges that entrepreneurs go through. He has especially learned about those challenges that African entrepreneurs go through.
African economic development mainly depends on entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurship is not only a requirement but also an important opportunity. The African economy is on its way to change. It offers a great chance for entrepreneurs and investors to take part in the growth of the economy. Moreover, they have a chance to discover the African future leaders in the industry. This is why Erick fill that he has a role to play in the development of African economy.
Many investments made by GreenTec have a strong impact in the local communities. The startup helps the communities to improve the lives of its citizens. This is by increasing the reach of their local solutions. The startup mainly goes for businesses that improve the lives of people. The businesses should also respond to people’s need. Moreover, the businesses should be scalable at Pan-African level. The startup relies on the new technology when pursuing their investments.
GreenTec has the best way to manage risks that include many macroeconomic factors and publicly available data. This includes issues like corruption levels, political stability. It also ensures that there is an ease of carrying out business. This is what the company uses in ranking every African nation and go with the most relevant. GreenTec is currently more focused on Nigeria because it is a big market. The African tech space is rich in opportunities but lack structures.
GreenTec focuses much on the early-stage startup. This is because that is the stage where there are ideas. But, that stage is usually less attractive to qualitative partners or people. Moreover, the stage rarely accesses quality technology. The startups in that stage understand the problems well. But they lack the access to right approach to solve the problems. According to Erick private sectors are the best bodies to address such issues rather than the government. The investor’s interest in Africa is on the rise but there is lack of startups that one can trust.
