Catalysing African financing ecosystems.

For close on 10 years, Viridian has worked with partners to support the development of economic ecosystems by designing and delivering programmes for finance-ready entrepreneurs, early-stage investors and entrepreneur support organisations across Africa.

Our Pillars

FinancE-ready
entrepreneurs

We provide hands-on support for early-stage African businesses with potential for growth, focusing on readiness for funding and investment.

AFRICAN
ESOs

We capacitate and connect entrepreneur support organisations through training, toolkit design and developing a community of practice.

early-stage
Investors

We train and network emerging early-stage investors across the continent to accelerate their investing and form collaborations.

Our Pillars

FinancE-ready
entrepreneurs

We provide hands-on support for early-stage African businesses with potential for growth, focusing on readiness for funding and investment.

AFRICAN
ESOs

We capacitate and connect entrepreneur support organisation through training, toolkit design and developing a community of practice.

early-stage
Investors

We train and network emerging early-stage investors across the continent to accelerate their investing and form collaborations.

OUR IMPACT BY 2026

Since 2020, we’ve worked with partners to support the development of economic ecosystems by designing and delivering programmes across Africa.

Emerging angel investors trained

Entrepreneurs supported

African hubs trained

WHERE WE WORK

Based in Cape Town, Viridian trains finance-ready entrepreneurs, early-stage investors and entrepreneur support organisations from across the continent.

34 COUNTRIES
THROUGHOUT
AFRICA

Angola | Benin | Botswana | Burkina Faso | Burundi | Cameroon | Côte d'Ivoire | DRC | Egypt | Ethiopia | Ghana | Guinea | Kenya | Lesotho | Madagascar | Malawi | Mali | Mauritania | Mauritius | Morocco | Mozambique | Namibia | Nigeria | Senegal | Sierra Leone | South Africa | Sudan | Tanzania | The Gambia | Togo | Tunisia | Uganda | Zambia | Zimbabwe

What we offer

Programme design, implementation, and iteration

Strategy, ecosystem mapping and research

Content production

Programme design, implementation, and iteration

Monitoring and evaluation

Strategy, ecosystem mapping and research

Content production

WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING

“During our collaboration, Viridian proved to be a reliable and constructive service provider. They maintained a professional approach and easily adapted to changing requirements, delivering high-quality results within agreed timelines. I can recommend Viridian as a valuable partner for any organization seeking expertise in the above-mentioned areas.”

Olaf Seidel, Make-IT in Africa, Head of Project South

“It has been a pleasure working with the Viridian team. Not only are they deeply insightful subject matter experts, but they always strive to deliver a quality product, on time. As a client, my experience has been that they have always added value to enrich the intended outcome and impact for beneficiaries and clients alike.”

Olivia Dyers, Director: Digital Leadership, Department of Economic Development & Tourism, Western Cape Provincial Government

Viridian offers an excellent end-to-end professional service, and can be relied on to deliver. Their experience as business owners and practitioners shines through. The Viridian team members are excellent communicators and all their processes run smoothly. Interacting with them as a client has been a pleasure. We would happily recommend them as a partner to any organisation aiming to deliver a well organised, exciting and impactful programme.

Sergio López Ramos, Yunus Social Business Senior Director

“Not only does the team excel at project ideation, implementation and impact reporting; they prioritize the quality of the work they deliver to us, to ensure from both a qualitative and quantitative aspect they expand the depth of their interventions. The Directors of Viridian have been a pleasure to work with and one of our most reliable delivery partners to date.”

- Milisa Mabinza , Director of UK-South Africa Tech Hub

“During our collaboration, Viridian proved to be a reliable and constructive service provider. They maintained a professional approach and easily adapted to changing requirements, delivering high-quality results within agreed timelines. I can recommend Viridian as a valuable partner for any organization seeking expertise in the above-mentioned areas.”

Olaf Seidel, Make-IT in Africa, Head of Project South

“It has been a pleasure working with the Viridian team. Not only are they deeply insightful subject matter experts, but they always strive to deliver a quality product, on time. As a client, my experience has been that they have always added value to enrich the intended outcome and impact for beneficiaries and clients alike.”

Olivia Dyers, Director: Digital Leadership, Department of Economic Development & Tourism, Western Cape Provincial Government

Viridian offers an excellent end-to-end professional service, and can be relied on to deliver. Their experience as business owners and practitioners shines through. The Viridian team members are excellent communicators and all their processes run smoothly. Interacting with them as a client has been a pleasure. We would happily recommend them as a partner to any organisation aiming to deliver a well organised, exciting and impactful programme.

Sergio López Ramos, Yunus Social Business Senior Director

“Not only does the team excel at project ideation, implementation and impact reporting; they prioritize the quality of the work they deliver to us, to ensure from both a qualitative and quantitative aspect they expand the depth of their interventions. The Directors of Viridian have been a pleasure to work with and one of our most reliable delivery partners to date.”

- Milisa Mabinza , Director of UK-South Africa Tech Hub

PROJECT SPOTLIGHT

Launch League hub training, resources and network

Client: UK-South Africa Tech Hub

Launch League is a training and support programme for South African entrepreneurship hubs, equipping them with the skills, confidence, network and ready-to-go open licence programme pack to support early-stage businesses.

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African Angel Academy investor training and network

Client: Southern African Innovation Support (SAIS) Programme, International Tech Hub Network, Orange Corners, Department of Foreign Affairs

The African Angel Academy has trained over 300 emerging angel investors from 9 countries, since the pilot in early 2020. The programme consists of an online course, live masterclasses and networking sessions, startup showcases, and opportunities for mentorship for new angel networks. AAA is run in partnership with Viridian’s Kenyan partner, ViKtoria Ventures, and the programme draws on the experience of top local investors from across the continent.

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Introduction to Early-Stage Investing online short course

Client: Western Cape Government Department for Economic Development and Tourism

This 10-module online short course is an introduction to early-stage investing for professionals and new investors, both locally in the Western Cape and across South Africa.

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Express Expert

Client: UK-South Africa Tech Hub

Express Expert was designed as a quick yet high impact intervention to support South African entrepreneurs during the COVID-19 lockdown, building financial and personal resilience through access to expert coaches and accountants.

Introduction to Strategic Foresight online short course

Client: Southern African Innovation Support (SAIS) Programme

This 6-module course trained municipalities from five African countries in a selection of strategic foresight tools and methods, to drive innovation in their ecosystems.

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Africa Prize for Engineering Innovation

Client: Royal Academy of Engineering

The Africa Prize for Engineering Innovation is a 6-month programme for early-stage engineering entrepreneurs. With a strong focus on investment readiness, the programme allows entrepreneurs to design their own learning paths and access over 20 subject matter experts from across the continent for individual consultations. Viridian has delivered the Africa Prize programme in 2021 and 2022.

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