By the time most investors hear about Africa’s next breakout startup, the insiders have already been to Cambridge. Each spring, under the vaulted ceilings of Harvard’s Loeb House,  once the private residence of university presidents,  a quietly transformative event unfolds. Known as the Harvard Yard Reception, it’s part Demo Day, part diplomatic summit, and part cultural rite. And it has become the launchpad for a new generation of African entrepreneurs poised to reshape the continent’s economic future.

From a candlelit table in Nairobi to a penthouse overlooking Central Park, a series of private dinners is quietly transforming the future of a continent.

In 2015, at the Vatican, an unlikely alliance was born. Cisco, the tech giant synonymous with Silicon Valley innovation, met the Harambe Entrepreneur Alliance, a collective of Africa’s brightest entrepreneurial minds. What began as a gesture of goodwill has since evolved into a bold, decade-long partnership shaping the trajectory of African innovation and opportunity.