About Launch 54

Launch 54 is a pan African innovation, investment, and acceleration platform focused on technology. It is an ecosystem based platform dedicated to driving the next wave of growth through high growth technology entrenuership in Africa.

The platform is focused on building and scaling innovative technology based SMEs and companies digital industry and manufacturing, fintech, medtech, digital skills and coding, and hardware development. Launch 54 is an immersive and high touch project based project platform consisting of initiatives which are implemented over the course of an eight month period. The initiatives are designed to help companies build, test, launch and scale innovative technologies, products and companies within the following domains: digital industry and manufacturing, fintech, medtech, digital skills and coding, and hardware products. The platform seeks to help create the next wave of high technology innovation by building an ecosystem which will connect African technology based companies to experts, R&D support, prototyping expertise, capital, and access to key markets. The Launch 54 Platform will be made of the Launch 54 Studio, the Field Immersion Lab, the Launch 54 Plus Program, and The Launch 54 x program.

In addition to being a deal making platform, Launch 54 is a program where Africa’s next generation of technology companies will be supported to grow and scale into regional and Pan African companies. Launch 54 will be driven by innovative local, regional, and global partnerships. Launch 54 will be held across African cities with the initial pilot to be carried out in late 2022-early 2023. The companies will be drawn from across Africa and will be early stage or growth focused companies with disruptive business models and products. 

Why Launch 54

Africa is on the cusp of a technology revolution which will transform its economies. The continent is also ripe for leveraging technological innovation to tackle its most intractable development challenges. Africa’s next frontier of technology innovation will bring solutions to many of its continent’s keenest problems. Whether it’s getting medicines to remote places via drone delivery, using 3D printing for manufacturing, getting internet connectivity to the last mile or deploying smart manufacturing solutions Africa faces unprecedented opportunities to innovate and leapfrog. Further, the lack of legacy systems and institutions would help Africa to leap frog into the new industrial revolution.

Yet, with all its promise and potential the development and acceleration of technology is not without its challenges. Lack of skills, an underdeveloped innovation ecosystem, lack of access to capital, and lack of infrastructure are just a few of the many challenges which Africa which Africa’s technology ecosystems face. Launch 54 is response to help build the ecosystems which are needed to accelerate technological innovation on the continent by addressing the many systemic constraints which impact the technology sector in Africa.