Africa’s tech scene is rising with more and more startups launching every other day in innovation hubs across the continent. Going by the number of tech startups funding competitions going around it will be correct to say there is a startup euphoria on the continent.

One of this competitions hosted  by Village Capital took place mid this week where 12 agriculture focused startups pitched their business ideas to potential investors.

After two hours of quick presentations by the participating startups in the afternoon of June 24, two startups: Atikus Insurance, a Kigali-based company that seek to expands access to credit to small and medium firms; and Farmerline from Ghana, that provides agricultural information to farmers and industry stakeholders, won $50,000 each.

AFKInsider talked to Village Capital’s Executive Director Ross Baird on what the program is all about and picked his thoughts on how Africa’s startups landscape is shaping up.

AFKInsider: Tell us what Village Capital is all about?

Over the past five years we’ve run five training programmes for startup companies. We’ve supported over 60 companies through training programmes. We have a fund that has made investment in nine companies in Africa and our office is based here in Nairobi. We are just getting started.

AFKInsider: How many African startups have you invested in so far?

We’ve funded  nine entrepreneurs. In total we’ve investment about $500,000.

AFKInsider: Apart from funding these startups, what else have you done?

We provide support. We help them get funded. We put together board of Directors. We do quite a bit on primarily business development and help them grow revenue and helping then raise more money.

AFKInsider: How do you know if your investment has been successful?

We locate revenue growth and our average company in Nairobi has grown 200 percent in revenue since we invested in. We look at funds raised. On average dollars we put in has been leveraged five to one. We look at survival rate. 100 percent of the companies we’ve invested in Kenya are still around and thriving.

AFKInsider: In your funding competitions you let the competing startups pick the winner. Why do you do this?

We think that entrepreneurs for startup companies have a better sense of who’s going to be successful than investors because you are all living the same thing, you are going through the same problems and such. So we actually think that you have a better understanding of risk and reward than an investor who might not understand the market or the local population or the path to success.

“There is an old African proverb that says ‘if you want to fast go alone, if you want to far go together’, and the reason we work in communities of entrepreneurs is because we want them to work together so that they can go far.”

AFKInsider: There a number of similar competition that seek to fund startups in Africa. Do you thing they need to change?

Building a successful entrepreneur is like farming. I think right now we are planting the seed of what is going to be very successful. We have our nine investments in Kenya, six of the nine have already raise successful follow up funding. I think one of the great things about entrepreneurs is when they are successful they give back, they reinvest in new entrepreneurs. Right now we are seeing a wave of entrepreneurs in Kenya and when these companies are successful they going to create new companies and they are going to invest in new entrepreneurs. I think this is just multiplying exponentially.

AFKInsider: Many of the companies that invest in African startups are foreign. Why do you think local investors don’t see value in these startups?

“I think people invest in what they know and most of the people who have started these funding companies are entrepreneurs themselves. So far we’ve not seen very many (African) entrepreneurs who have realized their success. I think in 10 years this will be totally different. In 10 years the majority of investors in startups in Africa will be successful entrepreneurs in startups of the past 10 years,”

“I thing local African investors haven’t seen successful startups yet. So they look at a startups and think why it might fail. I think successful entrepreneurs across the world look at a startups and see what it might succeed. I would  encourage local investors to be a bit more optimistic about startups in the future.”

AFKInsider: Compared to other startups you’ve funded elsewhere, how would you rate African entrepreneurs?

“I think globally Africa is number one in terms of fastest growing ecosystem. I think the entrepreneurs learn faster. I think the entrepreneurs are angrier. I think that because the entrepreneurs have less access to resources they do more with less. And I think that there have been major innovations for example the M-Pesa platform being one way technology can integrate into everyday life in Africa. Technology can go further in Africa than other places. So there is higher potential and I think there is more untapped potential here.”