Africa Tech Summit hosted an evening mixer during Toronto Tech Week, creating a meaningful gathering of African tech founders, investors, and ecosystem leaders. Held at Joey’s Eaton Centre in downtown Toronto, the private event room welcomed over 80 guests for an evening of insights, introductions, and inspiration.
The night began with networking before a timely panel titled “Breaking Borders: How African Companies Are Expanding Internationally.” Moderated by Sunil Sharma, the panel featured Gideon Oghenetega (Fincra), Richard Oyome (Raenest), Twahir Mohamed (MPost), and Mariam Momodu (Dentons). Each speaker offered hard-won lessons and practical strategies on scaling from Africa to global markets.
Sunil Sharma, one of the most active Canadian angel investors in African startups with over 40 portfolio companies, also served as a speaker at the Africa Tech Summit in Nairobi earlier this year. His sustained commitment to the continent’s tech ecosystem was a recurring theme, with several founders from his investment portfolio attending the event.
The Africa Tech Summit team was in Toronto to continue growing bridges between the African and North American ecosystems. Among those in attendance was Andrew Fassnidge, Founder of Africa Tech Summit, who expressed optimism about growing this into a major annual event for African founders and funders in North America.
The energy in the room was electric, with attendance from a cross-section of Africa’s diaspora ecosystem in Canada. Notable attendees included:
- Onyeka Akumah, Founder and CEO of Treepz and founder of the With Onyeka community which brings together African founders and operators across the world
- Ebenezer Arthur of BKR Capital
- Ayo Gbade-Bello, Kintrace
- Sanni Sheriff, TalentQL, Ile Iyan, Product and Ecosystem Leader
- Saheed Akinbile, Laminar
- Richard Oyome, Raenest
- Adeshina A., Trade Lenda
- Gideon Orovwiroro, Fincra
- Osaretin (Osas) Obano, Africa Impact Initiative
- Ikenna Uzoh, MasteryHive AI
- Seun Sanni, Sarra Ali, Gbenga Awomodu, Tapfuma Musewe, MBA
- Hadiyyah L., HealthStack
