Building a Dazzle, Not Chasing Unicorns
Africa's first startup-to-scaleup transaction engine. We help African startups become each other's first customers, first revenue, and first liquidity.
What we facilitate
- Customer Acquisition
- Venture Funding
- Talent Discovery
- M&A
Connecting Capital to Africa's Most Promising Startups
What is ACDR?
AfriLabs Connect Deal Room (ACDR) is a digital connection point built to accelerate access to capital for high-growth startups at key growth stages across Africa.
Each startup on the platform is vetted for investor readiness through our network of trusted Business Support Organisations (BSOs). For investors, ACDR offers a pipeline of derisked opportunities that match their investment thesis. For founders, it provides a clear path to strategic capital that helps scale their vision.
What is AfriLabs?
Backed by AfriLabs, Africa's largest network of innovation hubs, ACDR connects startups with institutional investors through curated, high-quality dealflow. Our position is not just capital—we are the transaction engine facilitating customer acquisition, venture funding, talent discovery, and M&A across the startup-to-scaleup ecosystem.
The Unicorn Model Is Failing Africa
- •4.8% of African VC deals lead to exits
- •Exit-to-investment ratio: 0.13x (vs 0.3x elsewhere)
- •$500M+ lost in high-profile failures (2023–24)
Lone unicorn vs dazzle of zebras — animation placeholder
Zebras are African. Unicorns are not.
In 2017, Silicon Valley created “Zebras Unite” to fix what unicorns broke. But zebras have always been ours.
Orchestration
A Lagos mobility startup needs payments? Someone in the dazzle already built it. We connect them.
Distribution
AfriLabs' 500+ hubs become the distribution. Cohort startups become each other's first customers.
Patient Capital
Attract investors who understand African timelines. Customers before cheques.
The Network
500+
Innovation Hubs
2,500+
Startups
400+
Investors
Across 53 African countries
Ask ACDR Anything
Your conversation will appear here.