The inaugural Entertainment Week Africa (EWA) closed its four-day Deal Room programme (November 19–22) on a high note, firmly establishing the platform as a key driver of investment within Africa’s creative and tech ecosystems. Anchored on the theme “Closing the Gap”, the Deal Room convened high-growth African startups, investors, and expert mentors—producing tangible, investment-ready outcomes for early-stage companies.
This year’s cohort showed a notable leap in sophistication. Mentors focused on tightening value propositions, strengthening business fundamentals, and preparing founders for investor engagement. Of the 10 finalists initially selected, eight high-potential startups completed the programme and pitched to investors, securing follow-up meetings and attracting meaningful investor interest.
Kemdi Ebi, Co-Founder & CEO of EnterFive Inc. and Lead Mentor for the Deal Room, praised the advancement, “This year’s Deal Room cohort truly raised the bar.” “Compared to last year, the progress was clear; founders came in more prepared, more intentional, and far more grounded in building sustainable, investable businesses.”
“We also saw exciting new industries emerge, from art-tech to sports-tech, adding fresh dynamism to the mix,” he added. “Several startups even arrived with commitments and left with new investment and/or partnership commitments. My hope is that the momentum built here becomes a launchpad for long-term success, shaping the next wave of creative and tech leaders across Africa,” he noted.
Cohort Highlights: Traction, Revenue, and Investment Readiness
The Deal Room delivered intensive mentorship, readiness labs, and curated investor sessions. Collectively, the participating companies demonstrated impressive traction across Africa’s fast-growing creative and tech sectors.
Investment-Ready Startups
Aktivate (Martech / Creator Economy):
A creator marketing platform that has generated $91,000+ in revenue and processed $740,000+ in GMV. Founder Akinbola Asalu is seeking strategic partners to accelerate expansion, leveraging Aktivate’s dashboard to streamline and optimise brand-creator collaborations.
FriendnPal (HealthTech)
Africa’s first predictive, multilingual AI mental-health platform. With 10,000+ therapy sessions delivered and 70 suicide crises intercepted, FriendnPal is raising a $500,000 Pre-Seed Round as it uses behavioural AI to address the continent’s mental-healthcare gap.
Growwr (Future of Work / HRTech)
An AI-powered hiring platform connecting vetted African tech talent to global companies. With $170,000 in total revenue and $20,000 MRR, Growwr is preparing to scale its infrastructure into the US market.
Sports Reels (Sports / Entertainment)
A recruitment and scouting system that simplifies athlete discovery for youth prospects across emerging markets. With 2,300+ athletes on the platform, Sports Reels is seeking partnerships with academies, teams, and leagues to expand adoption.
High-Potential Companies Refining for Scale
Hafrikplay (Music Tech)
A Pan-African streaming and distribution platform for independent artists. With 100,000+ users and $125,000 YTD revenue, Hafrikplay is raising a $5M Series A to launch its distribution arm—Hafrik Distro—across Africa.
Prop’ly (Creative & Entertainment)
Nigeria’s largest prop-rental platform, often described as the “Airbnb for props”. With 450+ productions served in 2024, the company is balancing high demand from its physical prop house and concept studio while developing scalable tech solutions, including AI tools, to broaden reach.
Atsur (Fine Art / ArtTech)
Atsur secures the fine-art market by verifying and tracking artwork provenance using AI and blockchain. The platform is raising a $200,000 Pre-Seed Round to drive institutional adoption and strengthen secondary-market liquidity for African art.
Ecosystem Momentum and the Road Ahead
The strong showing from this year’s Deal Room highlights the growing network committed to accelerating Africa’s creative-tech future. Investors supporting the Deal Room and parallel Hackathon included Future Africa, Askya Investment Partners, Catalyst Fund, and Consonance Invest.
EWA Founder Deola Art Alade reaffirmed the festival’s long-term mission: “Our ambition over the coming years is for Entertainment Week Africa to establish itself as a critical part of the economic, intellectual, and artistic capital of this great city. We’re delighted with the first steps toward that.”
The next edition of Entertainment Week Africa will take place November 17–22, 2026, with expanded pan-African programming and a sustained commitment to scaling the continent’s creative industries.
