The European Union and the European Investment Bank have invested €108 million through the Boost Africa initiative over the past decade, leveraging that capital to attract an additional €400 million from other investors and support the creation of up to 15,000 jobs across the continent.
EU Ambassador to Nigeria and ECOWAS Gautier Mignot disclosed the figures Wednesday in Abuja at a media briefing on the Boost Africa Impact Forum, themed “Investing in Africa’s Next Generation of Entrepreneurs: From Investment to Impact.”
Mignot tied the initiative to the EU’s broader Global Gateway strategy, which promotes sustainable growth, leverages private investment, creates jobs and strengthens local value chains across Africa.
“What matters most is the impact on people,” Mignot said. “Today’s event is precisely about more than investment figures: it’s about people, it’s about entrepreneurs, it’s about innovation, it’s about jobs and opportunities created when Africa’s talent is matched with the right partners and the right financing.”
Mignot said Nigeria’s entrepreneurial ecosystem was central to the EU’s regional strategy.
“Nigeria is one of Africa’s most dynamic entrepreneurial ecosystems, and we believe that supporting innovation and enterprise is essential for sustainable economic growth and job creation,” he said, adding that the EIB has recently launched several new operations in the country to continue supporting entrepreneurs.
EIB Country Relationship Manager for Nigeria Moussa Nkoulima said Boost Africa was designed to address a specific financing gap facing young entrepreneurs.
He said African founders developing solutions in financial services, healthcare, the digital economy and renewable energy were often constrained by a lack of capital at the earliest, riskiest stages of business development.
This gap led the EIB and African Development Bank, with EU and the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States backing, to launch Boost Africa in 2016.
Rather than issuing direct loans, Boost Africa invests through venture capital funds and other financial intermediaries that identify and finance startups and small businesses at early stages.
Nkoulima said the EIB has worked with six venture capital funds under the initiative to help build a sustainable African venture capital market, describing the programme as a “smart combination of capital and capacity” built on three pillars (investment capital, technical assistance and ecosystem development).
The leverage effect of the programme’s structure was central to Nkoulima’s remarks.
“For every single euro that was invested through Boost Africa, we were able to attract additional three euros through different investors, and that catalytic effect, that leverage effect, alone is one of the most important aspects of the programme,” he said.
Nkoulima cited Nigerian company TradeDepot as an example of Boost Africa’s impact, noting its technology platform has connected up to 40,000 retailers with their suppliers.
He said Nigeria remains an important market for the initiative given its large, youthful population and strong entrepreneurial talent.
