On April 11, 2025, 19 African founders gathered in the historic Bretton Woods Gold Room, not to rewrite global economics, but to commit to building Africa’s future through bold innovation and collaboration.

Since its launch in 2019, the Harambeans Prosperity Fund has deployed $1.5 million across 15 early-stage startups led by Harambeans, sparking more than $189 million in follow-on funding from notable investors including Backstage Capital, V8 Capital Partners, and Harambean-led funds like Enza Capital and Future Africa

In the spirit of Africa’s legendary wildlife pilgrimage, the Harambeans Global Summit made history by migrating from the cultured vineyards of South Africa’s Franschhoek to the breathtaking plains of Kenya’s Masai Mara. The year was 2024, and this was no ordinary gathering. Imagine the continent’s sharpest entrepreneurs and investors swapping boardrooms for safari jeeps, business suits for breathable linens, and PowerPoints for panoramic sunsets. The goal? To rethink collaboration, inspired by the rhythms of nature and tradition.

Masai Mara, Kenya — Beneath the endless sky of the Masai Mara, where acacia trees dot the plains like punctuation in an unfinished sentence, a new narrative was being written, one of bold entrepreneurs, big ideas, and a battle for Africa’s economic soul. At the 2024 Harambeans Global Summit, a cadre of visionaries gathered not just to talk innovation, but to be it.

MASAI MARA, Kenya — With its endless horizons and ancient storytelling traditions, the Masai Mara offered a fitting backdrop for a conversation about Africa’s next great global export: The Creative Industry. From film and fashion to music and media, the continent’s creative economy is on a meteoric rise and projected to reach $200 billion by 2030 and generate more than 20 million jobs. But alongside the promise lies a pressing question: How do we scale this sector with intention, sustainability, and impact?

In a significant milestone for Wharton’s influence on Africa’s venture ecosystem, Anna Tolulope Ogundipe, a Wharton MBA and International Development veteran, has concluded her one-year term as the Harambeans Prosperity Fund Fellow, marking the start of what appears to be a Wharton takeover of one of the continent’s most prestigious entrepreneurial fellowships.