In 2021, a Harvard Business School case study lauded the Harambeans Alliance for its pivotal role in shaping Africa’s venture ecosystem. With fewer than 400 members, the Alliance had already produced three unicorns, Andela, Flutterwave, and Go1 and collectively raised over $2 billion in venture capital.

When Sebastian Mallaby published The Power Law: Venture Capital and the Making of the New Future, he shifted the spotlight from mythologized founders to the architects behind Silicon Valley’s enduring success: entrepreneurs-turned-investors who recycled their wealth, experience, and networks into a compounding engine of innovation. Don Valentine, Peter Thiel, and Marc Andreessen didn’t just fund companies, they engineered ecosystems.

On the evening of October 31, 2024, as a brisk London wind rustled across Westminster, a rare warmth filled the crimson-carpeted corridors of the House of Lords. Inside those storied walls, beneath Gothic arches and the gaze of history’s giants, Harambeans and Guilds convened to celebrate the highest honor within our Alliance: Selfless acts of service, recognized through the Aboyeji Medal of Service, a tribute to those whose selfless contributions embody the deepest values of our community. It was an evening both intimate in spirit and monumental in meaning.

Each year, Africa’s top entrepreneurial talent gathers in Bretton Woods to commit to building the continent’s future. On April 12, 2024, 18 founders joined the Harambean Alliance by signing the Declaration in the historic Gold Room at the Mount Washington Hotel.