Podcast/Video Interviews by Stephen Ibaraki

A Chat with Philip Kent Kiracofe: Founder; Venture builder, Investor; CEO & Co-Founder Startupbootcamp Afritech on Democratizing and Solving Liquidity for the VC Asset Class

This week, Stephen Ibaraki has an exclusive interview with Philip Kent Kiracofe.

Philip Kiracofe is a founder, venture builder, and investor with over three decades of experience across company formation, venture finance, and market infrastructure development in the United States, Europe, India, and Africa. A veteran of the first dot-com era, he has co-founded and led multiple startups and VC funds through successive macroeconomic and capital-market cycles, building and investing from New York, the world's financial capital, to Africa, the cradle of Innovation.

He is the CEO and Co-Founder of Startupbootcamp AfriTech, where he has accelerated and invested in more than 250 African startups since 2013, contributing to the development of one of the continent's most established early-stage venture portfolios.

Philip is currently focused on solving a core structural constraint in venture capital: lack of liquidity for Investors and LPs. He is leading the development of the Listed Exchange and VC Liquidity Consortium, a market-infrastructure initiative designed to enable liquidity for venture investors through standardized, listed portfolios of high growth startups. The model connects private venture assets with public markets, introducing transparency, price discovery, and active liquidity management while preserving long-term value creation.

Philip attended the United States Air Force Academy, where he studied Computer Science and Behavioral Science. Beyond his professional work, he has completed multiple Ironman triathlons, the Comrades Marathon, and summited Mount Kilimanjaro. Through his holding company, Horizen Partners, he supports audacious and purpose-driven initiatives, including the creation of a multi-day stage race in Haiti, and the production and co-hosting of Failure Club, an award-winning web series pushing people to achieve nearly impossible goals.

To learn more about the VC Liquidity Consortium and its moonshot goal to democratize access to the venture capital asset class, contact philip@startupbootcamp.org or visit https://www.mesh.trade/im/startupbootcamp/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pkiracofe/