On April 27, the Yale Africa Startup Review, a student organization promoting discussion about and involvement in the African startup landscape, held its annual conference at the Tsai Center for Innovative Thinking at Yale and published its #YASR30 List, a list of 30 early-stage startups on the African continent that are particularly impactful, as selected by a panel of judges.

The conference began with a keynote by Dr. Patrick Njoroge, the former governor of the Central Bank of Kenya, who obtained his doctorate from Yale in 1993, who gave a talk entitled “New Ventures & Startups, The Economic Frontier for Africa.” The rest of the conference consisted of panels on financing for startup founders, investing in startups based on the continent, and talent acquisition for startups. Attendees also had opportunities to network and connect with others interested in the African startup landscape.

During the conference, the YASR team released the fourth annual #YASR 30 list, featuring 30 emerging startups from the continent. Startups on the list are diverse both in geographical representation as well as well as sector. The list includes startups that are based in Nigeria, Rwanda, Morocco, Egypt, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Uganda, Namibia, Ghana, and Ethiopia, and in sectors such as logistics, health tech, agri-tech, ed-tech, fin-tech, retail and e-commerce, data analytics, and sustainability.

The event was organized by graduate students from the School of the Environment, Jackson School of Global Affairs, School of Public Health, and School of Management, with the support of several corporate sponsors and Yale institutional partners.