Advisory for the institutions that build Africa’s entrepreneurship ecosystems.

Kara Advisory works with funders, development finance institutions, hubs and corporates to design programmes, strengthen the organisations that support founders, and open new markets across the continent.

FundersFoundations and philanthropies
DFIsDevelopment finance institutions
Hubs & ESOsAccelerators and support organisations
CorporatesEnterprise and market-entry teams

Services

Five areas of work across the entrepreneurship ecosystem.

Markets

Pan-African Market Access & Entry

Practical support for organisations and growth-stage companies entering or expanding into new African markets, grounded in local knowledge and relationships built over years of ecosystem work.

  • Market entry assessment and planning
  • Local stakeholder mapping
  • Partner, investor and mentor introductions

Convening

Conferences, Trainings & Convenings

Design and facilitation of gatherings that bring funders, operators, investors and founders together to share knowledge, build skills and agree on next steps.

  • Conference and convening design
  • Facilitation of multi-stakeholder sessions
  • Investor and practitioner trainings

Programmes

Programme Design & Capacity Strengthening

Design of entrepreneurship programmes that work in real operating conditions, and support that strengthens the organisations delivering them.

  • Programme and accelerator design
  • Capacity strengthening for entrepreneur support organisations
  • Interim and fractional programme leadership
  • M&E frameworks and learning agendas

People

Leadership & Organisational Culture

Support for the leaders and teams doing ecosystem work, so their organisations stay focused, aligned and effective.

  • Leadership and team development
  • Strategy retreats and workshops
  • Organisational culture reviews

Founders

Startup Advisory & Mentorship

Advisory and mentorship for startup cohorts within funded programmes and portfolios, so support reaches the businesses it was designed for.

  • Cohort advisory and office hours
  • Mentor programme design
  • Pitch and jury panels

Our reach

Rooted in West Africa. Working across Africa.

Our work is grounded in years inside West Africa’s ecosystems, across Anglophone and Francophone markets. We bring that local understanding to clients across the continent, and shape every engagement around the market and the client it serves.

West Africa Pan-African Wider ecosystem

Local understanding

We know how things work on the ground: the regulation, the culture, the languages and the people who move things forward. That knowledge comes from working inside these markets, not studying them from outside.

Work tailored to context

No two clients or markets are the same. We adapt every programme, convening and strategy to the client’s goals and to the realities of the places it will operate.

Ecosystem relationships

Working relationships with a variety of players across the ecosystem, from founders, hubs and investors to corporates, governments and funders.

Karina Karunwi, founder and Principal Consultant of Kara Advisory

Founder

Karina Karunwi

Principal Consultant

Karina founded Kara Advisory after years inside West Africa’s entrepreneurship ecosystem. Most recently she was the last Regional Head of ANDE West Africa, the Aspen Network of Development Entrepreneurs, leading a network of organisations across eight Anglophone and Francophone countries.

Her earlier work spans Impact Hub and the Tony Elumelu Foundation. She trained as a civil engineer and brings the same discipline to programme design: understand the load, design for the conditions, and build something that lasts.

Every engagement applies a gender lens, because who a programme reaches is part of whether it works.

How we engage

Work that fits your context and lasts beyond our involvement.

Project-based

Each engagement has a clear scope, timeline and set of deliverables agreed up front.

Collaborative

We work alongside your team at every stage, so decisions are shared and the work reflects how your organisation operates.

Built to hand over

Tools, frameworks and processes are documented so your team can run them after we step back.

Contact

Planning a programme, a convening or a market entry?

Email
[email protected]