Episoder
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🎙️ This month's episode takes us to Tunisia, speaking to Mariem Sellami, a founder and former program manager at Startup Tunisia to understand what it’s like running a venture in Tunisia. 🇹🇳
Like most nascent tech ecosystems, the government plays an important role in the Tunisian ecosystem, with legal frameworks like the Startup Act—passed in 2019—helping founders get indirect funding and promoting the ecosystem on a regional and international level.
There are quite a few interesting things about the Tunisian ecosystem:
It has a strong technical skill base because tech and digital literacy skills are a key focus for the country. As a result, 47% of founders are engineers, while 13% hold PhDs in various disciplines. Its proximity to Europe has also been useful for exposing the country’s technical talent to gain experience and skills beyond its ecosystem. Remember InstaDeep, the Tunisian startup acquired for $549 million? Its success is spurring a new class of dreamers with similar dreams of groundbreaking startups that make outsized impact.💡 Top five insights unpacked in this episode:
Making Tunisia a startup friendly nation [01:15]Tunisia's startup ecosystem developments over the last 10 years [08:34]Leveraging international culture diversity [09:06]Factors driving innovations within the Tunisian tech ecosystem [11:28]Addressing some oversimplifications and stigmas about entrepreneurship [15:20]CONNECT VIA SOCIAL MEDIA:
Connect with Mariem Sellami on LinkedInTell us...
What was your favourite quote or lesson from this episode?What topic would you like for us to feature on a future podcast?Let us know via the hashtag: #AfricanPreseedPodcast
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🌍 Creating impact in the African tech ecosystem takes many stakeholders, and while venture dollars might grab the biggest headlines, foundation and impact partners also play a crucial role. You might even argue—correctly—that these impact partners have influenced traditional VC players and shaped how they think about investing on the continent.
🚀 This month’s podcast is a conversation with Dr. Nina Smidt, the Spokesperson for the Board and the CEO of the International Siemens Foundation, an independent non-profit organisation that has been promoting and investing in sustainable social development for the last fifteen years.
The Foundation focuses on three key topics: access to essential services, connected societies, and climate and sustainability.
At the heart of this conversation is the importance of sustainable social enterprise. Another key theme is the importance of working with local stakeholders in specific regions because they know best what will create the most significant impact on their work and impact in their communities.
It’s a particularly valid point when foreign VC players in Africa have received criticism for their poor understanding of the landscape and lack of knowledge of sustainable business models. In 2021 and 2022, a time when foreign VCs poured money into Africa, there was a sense that partnering with local players familiar with the lay of the land would have led to better investments.
But it’s not all about divergence. VCs and impact foundations also have notable points of convergence. Impact foundations can, for instance, invest in late-stage social enterprises that may not receive follow-up VC funding but serve very important purposes.
💡 Here’s a quote from Dr. Smidt that drives the point home:
“The biggest obstacle is still a lack of funding in general. Funding is there for ideation and later stages, but the so-called middle experiences a funding gap. We support social enterprises that are not in the early stages anymore, that are already generating revenue but are not sustainable in themselves from a funding perspective. So here’s where we come in.”Enough spoilers for one episode. Please listen and share what you found the most impactful in this episode! - Olumuyiwa (Contributor and Writer, African Pre-seed Podcast).
💡 Top 5 insights unpacked in the episode:
The International Siemens Foundation's point of view on impact and social entrepreneurship [03:37]The foundation bridges funding gaps for social enterprises in the "missing middle" stage, supporting them until they become self-sustainable [08:34]The importance of local understanding in driving innovation and change [11:30]Monitoring and evaluation methods to assess programs and continuous improvement [17:22]Investing in research and development, empowering local innovators to pilot and scale solutions [24:06]CONNECT VIA SOCIAL MEDIA:
Connect with Nina Smidt.Connect with Adam Wakefield.Tell us...
What was your favourite quote or lesson from this episode?What topic would you like for us to feature on a future podcast?Let us know via the hashtag: #AfricanPreseedPodcast
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Manglende episoder?
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📍 The end of the year's first quarter is typically a time for companies—and their founders—to take stock of what has been accomplished so far. So for public companies, we huddle over investor calls and try to understand performance. For private companies, we hope and pray a media publication somehow finds their numbers and shares them with us.
🎯 For this month’s podcast, Adam Wakefield speaks to Dr. Kirti Ranchod, a clinical neurologist and the founder of memorability.co. The conversation focuses on brain health, mental wellness, and understanding that, much like everything else in life, you can learn skills to improve your mental wellness.
What specific brain skills can we consider useful, especially for entrepreneurs looking to improve performance? For Dr. Ranchod, there are 8 brain skills, and 4 of those matter the most to founders: creativity, empathy, focus, and calm.
For calmness, for instance, many people practice meditation or mindfulness to learn to stay calm even in tough situations. And before you get super cynical, some science shows that the brain can change in response to what we do or our external environment.
That’s enough spoilers for one episode. Listen and tell us what you found the most impactful in this episode! - Olumuyiwa
💡 Top 5 insights unpacked in the episode:
Brain and mental health and its impact on founders [07:03]Efficiently maximising the brain's capabilities [09:24]Creating an environment that promotes health and mental wellness [16:05]Leveraging community and communication for better wellbeing as a founder [20:19]Mental health at the intersection of running a business [24:43]CONNECT VIA SOCIAL MEDIA:
Connect with Kirti Rachod.Connect with Adam Wakefield.Tell us...
What was your favourite quote or lesson from this episode?What topic would you like for us to feature on a future podcast?Let us know via the hashtag: #AfricanPreseedPodcast
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💡 Join our host, Loraine Achar, featuring esteemed panelists Bruce Nsereko-Lule (General Partner, Seedstars Africa Ventures), June Odongo (Founder & CEO, Senga Technologies), Jason Musyoka (Chief Financial Officer, Rology), as they go bar-for-bar on the topic of discussion, “The Good and Bad of Funding - Choosing the Right Capital in 2024.” 💸
📍 Choosing the right capital for your startup is a crucial decision that can significantly impact a company’s trajectory. Beyond financial support, good investors provide expertise, networks, and guidance that are essential for a startup’s success.
Against the backdrop of shifting priorities among investors over the last two years, the recent African Pre-seed Podcast Live in Nairobi, provided invaluable insights into this pursuit. Acknowledging the challenges posed by a decrease in African startup funding in 2023, the panellists unanimously agreed on the importance of founders being prudent in their choice of investors.
Read all about it: ✅ https://kenyanwallstreet.com/a-guide-... ⬅️
CONNECT VIA SOCIAL MEDIA:
Follow us on LinkedIn.
Subscribe to our YouTube channel.Tell us...
What was your favourite quote or lesson from this episode?What topic would you like for us to feature on a future podcast?Let us know via the hashtag: #AfricanPreseedPodcast
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🎙️ In this episode, we talk about how founders can focus on solving real problems instead of building ventures that prioritise fundraising first and solving user pain points second. With fundraising harder and founders finding themselves in a pinch, the macro seems to be exerting overt influence on how founders position and build their businesses.
To be clear, there are other arguments for raising money, one of which is the idea that somtimes founders are working on incredibly difficult problems that require audacious and expensive solutions.
Whether you’re scaling an existing solution or trying to solve an incredibly difficult problem, you should be ready to be the champion for your startup. You also need to have domain expertise that gives investors confidence in your ability to execute.
What to look forward to in this episode:
Gerald Black's journey to exit [06:15]Competing in a saturated market [08:14]African founders prioritizing fundraising over addressing real problems [17:02]The systematic process of identifying customer pain points and building ventures effectively address them [21:27]The role of "Operators" in startup ecosystem growth [30:51]Staying warm during the funding winter [34:16]CONNECT VIA SOCIAL MEDIA:
Connect with Gerald Black on Linkedin.Connect with Andrew Obuoforibo on LinkedIn.Tell us...
What was your favourite quote or lesson from this episode?What topic would you like for us to feature on a future podcast?Let us know via the hashtag: #AfricanPreseedPodcast🔌
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🇿🇦 This month's podcast was recorded at the Africa Early Stage Investor Summit 2023 (AESIS 2023), held in Cape Town between 30 November and 2 December 2023. Featuring sector heavyweights Aly El Shalakany (Advisory Board Member, AESIS), Eleni Gabre-Madhin (Chief Innovation Officer, UNDP Africa), Tracy Kimathi (Founder, BARIDI), Ben White (Director and Founder, VC4A) and Maxime Bayen (Operating Partner, Catalyst Fund) breaking down several themes they believe will strongly influence investor interactions with the ecosystem in 2024. Among them were:
The importance of perspective within the tech ecosystem given the difficult raising environment in 2023.The increasing prominence of impact capital within the tech ecosystem. Investors playing a greater role in helping their portfolio startups become exit-ready.💡 Top insights unpacked in the episode:
UNDP launching the world's largest initiative to support the African innovation ecosystem [01:25]An African tech ecosystem trend forecast, current developments, and dashboard view of what's coming next [18:18]Fundraising, investor relations, mental health, and startup journey reflections from a founder's perspective [27:53]Africa The Big Deal and impact investing in 2024 [40:14]Tracking progress within the African tech ecosystem and priority themes in 2024, and beyond [57:10]CONNECT VIA SOCIAL MEDIA:
Connect with Aly El Shalakany on Linkedin.Connect with Eleni Gabre-Madhin on Linkedin.Connect with Tracy Kimathi on Linkedin.Connect with Maxime Bayen on Linkedin.Connect with Ben White on Linkedin.Tell us...
What was your favourite quote or lesson from this episode?What topic would you like for us to feature on a future podcast?🔌 Let us know via the hashtag: #AfricanPreseedPodcast
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🎙️ In this month’s podcast, the final one for the year 2023, we talk about how iteration leads to success and also touch on the Zambian tech ecosystem.
Gilbert Lungu, the Country Manager for Cellulant, one of Africa’s “OG” fintech startups that has raised $55 million to date. Lungu has the chops to help us understand the Zambian tech ecosystem, having served as Head of Enterprise Sales for Airtel Zambia and Acting Network Enterprise Manager at MTN Zambia. He has led Cellulant Zambia since 2018.
💡 With a population of 19 million people, Zambia’s mobile cellular subscriptions have grown rapidly since 2010. Today, there are 99.1 mobile subscribers per 100 people. This growth has ensured that the appetite for mobile-related products and services has skyrocketed, as highlighted by Lungu.
It explains why fintech startups are popular in Zambia, with one report highlighting 57 fintech startups, most of which enable payments.
The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the uptake of fintech startups by customers even more, and there’s a generation of young people for whom smartphone apps are the primary way to get anything done. It suggests that there is a huge room for growth in Zambia’s fintech space.
📚 What lessons can founders take from this conversation?
First, every successful business is driven by a vision and a need to “sort out a problem in a particular way.” For Cellulant, that problem was first value-added services– ringtones and such- and initially, the myth was that the company’s founders scribbled their ideas on a napkin!
In the early stages of this vision, it’s common for the startup to be unstructured and for structure to only come as more people join the team. You won’t find much luck trying to fundraise without certain things–governance, risk management, etc.- in place.
What to look forward to in this episode:
Cellulant's origin story [07:46]Iterating for future success [12:24]Getting things done through teamwork [16:03]Cellulant's experimentation philosophy [18:44]Deep dive into the Zambian tech ecosystem [22:49]CONNECT VIA SOCIAL MEDIA:
Connect with Gilbert Lungu on LinkedIn
Connect with Adam Wakefield on LinkedInTell us...
What was your favourite quote or lesson from this episode?What topic would you like for us to feature on a future podcast?Let us know via the hashtag #AfricanPreseedPodcast
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African Pre-seed Podcast S2 Ep8: Investing in Francophone Africa’s tech ecosystem
🎙️ In this month’s episode of the African Pre-seed Podcast, Lorraine Achar speaks to Benoit Delestre, Managing Partner at Saviu Ventures, a venture capital fund that invests in early-stage startups in Francophone Africa. Yep, you read that right… Francophone Africa, a region with 34 countries and 470 million people.
Yet, most conversations about Africa’s startup ecosystem focus on the ‘Big 4’: Kenya, Nigeria, Egypt and South Africa, all of which are English-speaking countries. There’s not as much visibility for Francophone Africa’s tech ecosystem. Delestre shares how he thinks about the investment opportunity in Francophone Africa, the sectors he’s bullish on and how founders can think about expanding to the region.
Delestre is definitely someone you should listen to. He founded and sold two fintech startups in Europe and was the former CEO of 4G Secure, a software publisher. Today, Delestre is big on fintech, logistics and healthcare. His thesis on fintech is straightforward; in Africa, banks are dedicated to meeting the needs of large corporate players, leaving the retail customer underserved. “Any payment or lending platforms serving the large population is key for me,” said Delestre. 🌍
He’s also big on logistics, pointing out that some of the continent’s biggest e-commerce players still struggle to break even, partly because of inefficient logistics.
💡 Beyond what sectors are hot and buzzy, Delestre answers the tough question of why Francophone Africa doesn’t get a ton of coverage. “There’s a big gap between Anglophone and Francophone regions. While one is very structured, the other is on the way,” he shared. “In terms of consumer markets, they are similar, but beyond that, there’s a gap.”
Some gaps are the relative absence of startup studios, incubators, or exits. Yet, there’s a sense that the region is now on the rise. How should founders think about expansion in the region?Through sheer experience, Delestre advises founders to start from Abidjan, which is “the hub”, and then work their way to Togo and Benin, which are smaller but easier markets. He admits that it’s tempting to make a beeline from Abidjan to Dakar, but experience has shown him that such a move is often expensive and fraught with complexity.
That’s enough spoilers. Here’s the episode in full! 🔥
What to look forward to in this episode:
Exciting verticals and opportunities in the Francophone region [08:03]Market expansion within the Francophone region [10:13]Francophone startups that are raising significant amounts of capital [11:58]Challenges preventing startups from moving across the continent [13:29]Oversimplifications and assumptions about the region [16:20]Cultural differences and their effect on startup expansion strategies [17:58]Founder archetypes within Francophone Africa [20:41]Fundamental differences between the region's largest markets [23:11]The most active investors in the Francophone tech ecosystem [25:50]Market characteristics that make Côte d'Ivoire an attractive ecosystem to invest in [29:36]Francophone markets that are readily adopting new technology and innovation [33:22]The government's role in catalyzing the region's tech ecosystem [36:23]Signals to look out for when investing in a startup within the region [38:33]CONNECT VIA SOCIAL MEDIA:
Connect with Benoit Delestre on LinkedIn
Connect with Loraine Achar-Ogada on LinkedIn
Connect with Hope Dithlakanyane on Twitter and LinkedinTell us...
What was your favourite quote or lesson from this episode?What topic would you like for us to feature on a future podcast?Let us know via the hashtag #AfricanPreseedPodcast
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African Pre-seed Podcast S2 Ep7: Is Fintech the one true ecosystem vertical?
On the 2nd of November, the African Pre-seed podcast partnered with the Africa FinTech Summit in Lusaka, Zambia, to host the first-ever edition of APS Live, where our host, Hope Ditlhakanyane had three amazing guests on the couch in front of a live audience to discuss whether Fintech is indeed the one true vertical within the African tech ecosystem.Thanks to the Africa Fintech Summit and Lusaka Zambia for hosting us, and we cannot wait for 2024, where APS Live will be coming to a tech ecosystem hub near you.
What to look forward to in this episode:
Why fintech attracts more capital than other verticals [04:46]Fintech as an enabler or as an industry [05:58]The growth of fintech across the continent [09:45]Making sense of fintech valuations [11:45]AI-embedded fintech [15:25]2024 projections and trend forecasting [23:01]Government stakeholder involvement [32:52]CONNECT VIA SOCIAL MEDIA:
Connect with Efayomi Carr on LinkedIn
Connect with Miranda Perumal on LinkedIn
Connect with Michael Kimani on LinkedInConnect with Hope Dithlakanyane on Twitter and Linkedin
Tell us...
What was your favourite quote or lesson from this episode?What topic would you like for us to feature on a future podcast?Let us know via the hashtag: #AfricanPreseedPodcast
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African Pre-seed Podcast S2 Ep6: Passionate Dissent from Ada Ventures with Ebele Okobi
In this exciting podcast episode, Ebele Okobi, Venture Partner at Ada Ventures, shares their journey into the tech ecosystem and their insights on leadership, diversity, and more. As someone with many hats, Ebele speaks about the decisions that founders make that can shape success, creating an atmosphere where ideas are challenged and where people believe in the company’s vision.
Finally, they discuss exercises founders can adopt to get the best out of diversity and lessons they've learned from their time at Facebook.
What to look forward to in this episode:
The defining moment that inspired Ebele's transition into the tech ecosystem [06:09]Reflections on planting seeds [10:17]Passionate dissent [13:39]Leveraging authenticity as a team leader [19:59]Leading teams to achieve goals [21:25]Getting the best out of a diverse team [28:02]Lessons from Facebook [33:30]Growing your footprint within Africa [37:53]Partnering with large tech corporations [41:26]CONNECT VIA SOCIAL MEDIA:
Connect with Ebele Okobi on LinkedIn
Connect with Hope Dithlakanyane on Twitter and LinkedinTell us...
What was your favourite quote or lesson from this episode?What topic would you like for us to feature on a future podcast?Let us know via the hashtag: #AfricanPreseedPodcast
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This months #APSVibecheck Podcast episode features Peter Muhumuza, CTO of Ugandan telecommunications company, Roke Telkom.
In Uganda, home-grown Roke Telkom is one of the first tier three carrier-neutral data center at the forefront of cloud computing revolution, helping businesses to leverage the full potential of telecommunications backed by cloud and data services to drive growth and success.
Their cloud and data services have been designed to help businesses achieve their goals by providing them with the infrastructure and tools they need to succeed.
Muhumuza has extensive experience within the telecommunications industry, working for the likes of Huawei, Orange Uganda, and MTN Uganda before joining Roke Telkom as its CTO in March 2021. The discussion took place at the Novacom Digital Transformation Strategy Summit Africa, held in Franschhoek, Western Cape, South Africa.💡 Top 5 insights unpacked in the episode:
The challenge of accessing finance within the Ugandan telecommunications industry [01:45]Roke Telkom's customer acquisition strategy and business model driven by a keen understanding of their market [06:01]Peter's thoughts the Ugandan telecommunications ecosystem at large [10:08]How regulators can better assist the African telecommunications industry [12:33]Peter's breakdown of key competencies to acquire for a job role in the telecommunications industry [15:58]CONNECT VIA SOCIAL MEDIA:
Connect with Peter Muhumuza on Linkedin.Connect with Adam Wakefield on Linkedin.Connect with Hope Dithlakanyane on Twitter and Linkedin.Tell us...
What was your favourite quote or lesson from this episode?What topic would you like for us to feature on a future podcast?Let us know via the hashtag: #AfricanPreseedPodcast
USEFUL RESOURCES:
ARTICLE: Cloud computing is driving business efficiency, competitiveness in the digital era by Kenneth Kazibwe, NilePost. -
🇩🇿 This months #APSVibecheck Podcast episode features Kamel Haddar, CEO and Founder of temtem ONE, the 1st digital gift card solution for B2C and B2B in Algeria – a wide and curated offer of products and services for Diaspora and Businesses alongside a fintech offer of digital payment through QR codes and cashback programs.
That's it for now. See you next month! — Olumuyiwa
💡 Top insights unpacked in the episode:
Kamel's founder journey and insights that led building the Temtem One platform [0:13]The balancing act of managing multiple startups and major commitments [01:56]More about Kamel's involvement in the Algerian Talents and Leaders Association [03:23]Lessons learned from working across different sectors in the startup world [04:08]Building a successful "super app" for the sub-saharan market [05:01]The importance of soft skills as a founder and leader [06:39]Commonly misunderstood aspects of the Algerian tech ecosystem [07:37]Most important skills founders should to hone in relation to AI and emerging markets [08:46]CONNECT VIA SOCIAL MEDIA:
Connect with Kamel Haddar on Linkedin.Connect with Adam Wakefield on Linkedin.Connect with Hope Dithlakanyane on Twitter and Linkedin.Tell us...
What was your favourite quote or lesson from this episode?What topic would you like for us to feature on a future podcast?Let us know via the hashtag: #AfricanPreseedPodcast🔌
USEFUL RESOURCES:
ARTICLE: Exclusive Q&A with temtem Founder and CEO Kamel Haddar following the close of their $4M Series A funding by Magnitt. -
This month's special #APSVibecheck Podcast episode features live conversations from the GITEX AFRICA Morocco tech startup showcase, which shone a spotlight on the collective technological progress of Morocco, the Middle East and the Africa as a whole. We caught up with Co-founder and CEO of Impact Lab Africa, Salma Kabbaj, Africa Editor at Rest of World, David Adeleke, Reporter at Techcrunch, Tage Kene-Okafor, Founder of Autochek, Nizar Abdallaoui Maane, and Mayokun Fadeyibi and Etop Ikpe, CEO and COO of Autochek, to give us their thoughts on the lay of the land in Morocco.
The investment potential of Morocco's early-stage startup scene [2:37]Understanding foreign participation in Africa's startup ecosystem [22:09]Autochek's business model [31:08]Unique aspects of the Moroccan market in relation to their sub-Saharan counterparts [31:16] Oversimplifications and misconceptions about the Moroccan tech ecosystem [35:55]
💡 Top 5 insights unpacked in the episode:
Connect with Salma KabbajConnect with Nizar Abdallaoui MaaneConnect with David Adeleke and Tage Kene-OkaforConnect with Mayokun Fadeyibi and Etop Ikpe
CONNECT VIA SOCIAL MEDIA:Tell us...
What was your favourite quote or lesson from this episode?What topic would you like for us to feature on a future podcast?Let us know via the hashtag: #AfricanPreseedPodcast
🔌 USEFUL RESOURCES:
ARTICLE: Autochek expands to North Africa after acquiring Morocco’s Kifal Auto By Techcrunch
ARTICLE: Accelerating Africa's tech boom with GITEX AFRICA By GITEX AFRICA
ARTICLE: From east to west, agritech is gaining ground in North Africa By Impact Lab Africa -
This month's #APSVibecheck Podcast episode features Ahmed Kadous, the co-founder and CEO of Pharmacy Marts, a healthtech startup based in Egypt.
While healthcare is a critical need across the continent, it can sometimes feel like healthtech doesn’t get much attention compared to fintech, e-commerce or energytech. This conversation with Kadous is filled with gems that may get you itching to get into the healthtech space. One of the things Kadous shares early in the conversation is that for healthtech startups, the focus is not only on solving the key problem that has been identified. Many times, there has been a need to actively work to change customer behaviour. For Pharmacy Marts, a B2B startup that wants to improve patient access to medication by fixing a dated supply chain, that means not only digitising the existing process but changing how the market thinks. 💡
Kadous goes further to point out that anyone looking to establish a startup in Cairo needs to know that that kind of expansion requires unlearning a few things. For instance, he says that simply replicating a model that has worked elsewhere may not be the best strategy. According to him, “You need to be agile and adapt to customer needs. For example, the geography is huge so you need to build a supply chain zone to ensure same-day delivery. The customer behaviour is somehow different; in purchasing behaviour, they bulk order so you have to give them the option to bulk order to improve their user experience.”🚀 With great insights into Egypt’s healthtech market, one of the most astounding things about Kadous is his breadth of experience. He has worked in some of Egypt’s largest pharmaceutical companies, and which influenced his understanding of the problem that needs to be solved. But he’s also clear that this experience taught him critical soft skills.
Something to definitely look out for in this conversation is around the 6-minute mark, where he discusses some of the big misconceptions investors and founders have about Egypt’s healthtech scene. “One of the big misconceptions is that the market size is small. There is potential to have a huge share of this market,” Kadous said.
💡 Top 5 insights unpacked in the episode:
Ahmed's Pharmacy Marts startup journey [0:12]Lessons Ahmed learned from his previous work experience [1:42]How Pharmacy Marts solves its customer's most pressing challenges [3:18]Pharmacy Marts' current positioning in Egypt's healthtech sector [4:35]Common oversimplifications about Egypt's healthtech sector [6:30]Managing co-founder relationships and decision-making at Pharmacy Marts [7:39]CONNECT VIA SOCIAL MEDIA:
Connect with Ahmed Kadous on Linkedin.Connect with Adam Wakefield on Linkedin.Tell us...
What was your favourite quote or lesson from this episode?What topic would you like for us to feature on a future podcast?Let us know via the hashtag: #AfricanPreseedPodcast
🔌 USEFUL RESOURCES:
ARTICLE: Ahmed Kadous connects medical suppliers to pharmacies, through Pharmacy Marts by WeAreTech Africa.
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In this first episode of season two of the African Preseed podcast, Maria Pienaar, an operating partner at Unicorn Growth Capital, offers a new perspective on thinking about failure, innovation, and the societal differences that can affect founders' thinking and offers practical steps for changing one's mindset.
“Failure is not seen as a disaster but something to build upon.” - Maria Pienaar
When you cover Africa’s tech ecosystem, you quickly become familiar with everyone’s visceral fear of bad news. Every time you publish an unflattering story about a startup, you steel yourself for pushback; from the company’s managers, and other leaders in the ecosystem. The prevailing belief is that these kinds of stories shape the narrative for the tech ecosystem and can be damaging. There’s a fear of any type of failure.
At the six-minute mark, Maria says, “if you’re in a fear based culture, you’ll always stifle innovation and the innovative disruptors in the market.” She contrasts the societal fear of failure in the African ecosystem to Silicon Valley’s perspective where failure is a learning curve. “Failure is not deemed as a challenge; it is deemed as what have you learned from it and how do you improve things? In a way, it’s seen as a necessary step to get to the next successful step.”
It’s critical for a company’s leadership to get comfortable with failing fast and to create a safe environment that encourages innovation. “If leadership keeps on dominating with that culture of fear, you’ll never see anything happen. If you make a mistake that’s fine, you need to figure out how to fix it.” Maria also speaks about the importance of having diverse opinions in a company and building all of this into a structure where everyone is pulling towards the same direction.
💡 Get out of the trap of thinking smallMaria also talks about something that’s familiar: getting out of the trap of playing small. “The first thing we do is that we think too small. We don’t tie enough zeroes behind the numbers we’re talking about.” She also gives some personal anecdotes from her time early on at Vodacom.
That’s enough spoilers, enjoy the conversation!
What to look forward to in this episode:
Critical gaps that emerging founders often fail to address [2:57]What is the "Silicon Valley Mindset" and how to apply within the context of the African tech ecosystem [4:11] Embedding a change in mindset for the African entrepreneur [7:03]The role of regulation in innovation [9:40]Conducting market research to find product-market fit [13:57]The best and worst pieces of advice received by Maria Pienaar [16:42]What African founders should know about telecom companies [20:43]The importance of network effects and network marketing [23:07]
Connect with Maria Pienaar on Linkedin.Connect with Hope Dithlakanyane on Twitter and Linkedin.Connect with Rajiv Daya on Linkedin.
CONNECT VIA SOCIAL MEDIA:Tell us...
What was your favourite quote or lesson from this episode?What topic would you like for us to feature on a future podcast?Let us know via the hashtag: #AfricanPreseedPodcast
🔌 USEFUL RESOURCES:
PODCAST: Growing Business In A Culturally Diverse Market By Silicon Valley Tech & AI With Gary Fowler. -
In this special edition #APSVibecheck episode, the African Pre-seed podcast travels to Cairo, where we speak to five players in the Egyptian tech ecosystem about what is happening on the ground in Cairo and the broader tech environment. These players are Karima El Hakim, Country Director Egypt, Plug and Play Tech Centre; Diego Garcia, Investor Africa Ventures at Plug and Play Tech Centre; Mahmoud Sabbour, Founder at Baggr; Nour Ahmadein, Founder of Bluworks, and Mohanad Elhartany, Senior Investment Associate at Arzan Venture Capital.
They share their views and insights on what's happening in the ecosystem and what is most relevant for founders in the land of the Nile.
Top 5 insights to unpack in the episode:
1. Lessons from Karima El Hakim, Country Director Egypt, Plug and Play Tech Centre
Insights from working with governments as a VC [1:11]2. Lessons from Diego Garcia, Africa Ventures, Plug, and Play Tech Centre
What is the meta environment that founders are dealing with in Egypt? [6:29]3. Lessons from Mahmoud Abbour, Founder at Baggr
The factors influencing the provision of logistics infrastructure for e-commerce businesses in Egypt [14:01]4. Lessons from Nour Ahmadein, Founder of Bluworks
Addressing endemic and systemic challenges for the blue-collar workforce in North Africa [16:57]5. Lessons from Mohanad Elhartany, Senior Investment Associate, Arzan Venture Capital
The most significant challenges that founders have faced within the Egyptian tech ecosystem [23:40]
Connect with Karima El Hakim on LinkedinConnect with Diego Garcia on LinkedinConnect with Mahmoud Sabbour on LinkedinConnect with Nour Ahmadein on LinkedinConnect with Mohanad Elhartany on Linkedin
CONNECT VIA SOCIAL MEDIA:Are you a Founder learning the ropes of the Egyptian Tech ecosystem? Please share what you're learning from some of your successes and setbacks on social via the #APSVibecheck #AfricanPreseedPodcast hashtags or email us via [email protected]
🔌 USEFUL RESOURCES:
Egypt Deep Dive Part I: Early successes and the rise of bottom-up tech entrepreneurshipEgypt Deep Dive Part II: An ecosystem awash in concern, resilience, and bottomless potential
Click here to subscribe to the podcast wherever you listen. -
Lesotho-born Medtech entrepreneur and CEO of Thola, Nneile Nkholise, joins us on this Agritech-themed #APSVibecheck instalment of the African Pre-seed Podcast. Thola is accelerating auditing and global export compliance certification for farmers and their products for climate sustainability and quality standards through a mass decentralised 'Certification-as-a-Service' software solution.
One of the things that shines through in this conversation with Nkholise is grit and the importance of perspective. Those themes are timely given today’s global tech ecosystem and the market uncertainties we’re living through. Nkholise is not a first time founder, and throughout the conversation, it’s easy to tell that she’s used to making bold decisions. Her time as a researcher helped her see the opportunity to solve a need in women’s health. It led to her founding iMedTech and building out that business before deciding to shut it down.🌍 Yet, her boldest decision is something we can all learn from. For her second business, Nkholise decided to move from South Africa to Silicon Valley–smack in the middle of the pandemic–because she believes that the market for Thola is bigger in the US. “It’s not always the case that one needs to start a business in their home market; a bigger opportunity for us was in Silicon Valley,” Nkholise shares. Remember our conversation in last week’s newsletter? One key takeaway from that newsletter is that pivots (and bold business decisions) should happen when we’ve learned something that fundamentally challenges our assumptions of the customer and the market.
But this story is not all roses. There’s a useful conversation about coping with failures, which is something Nkholise had to do following her decision to shut down iMedTech. Shutting down the business was not an easy decision, and it also points to the fact that startup failures can be unique and complex.
For iMedTech, it wasn’t typical problems like lack of funding or an inability to find product market fit. Instead, the company struggled with dealing with scale–it’s not everyday you hear about how finding product market fit comes with its own set of existential pressures. Nkholise is right on the money when she says, “When a company gets to PMF, the only way it dies is if the founder can’t handle scale. It’s one that’s never quite spoken of because many founders never even get to PMF.” As I said early in the conversation, this is a timely conversation!
Perhaps the biggest takeaway from this conversation is how experience and perspective can shape our position over a period of time. It’s especially important when the conversation moves to African VCs and the idea that they tend to be more stringent before signing cheques. According to Nkholise, “These experiences of doing due diligence with African VCs shape willing founders. Having a VC that forces a founder to be a strategist mitigates failure in a market downturn.”
Before I give too much away, listen to the podcast and be sure to let us know your biggest takeaway! — Olumuyiwa
Top 5 insights to unpack in the episode:1. Please describe your startup journey from South Africa to San Francisco. Why did
you go to Silicon Valley? [0:18]
2. What did I learn from founding a startup that failed? [05:15]
3. What misconceptions do African founders have about Silicon Valley? [09:38]
4. What is the perception of the African VC ecosystem among the stakeholders you
interact with within the Silicon Valley scene? [12:07]
5. How do you keep perspective amid the highs and lows of being a founder? How do
you take care of your mental health? [17:10]CONNECT VIA SOCIAL MEDIA:
Connect with Nneile Nkholise on Linkedin.Are you a Founder learning the ropes of the fintech industry? Please share what you're learning from some of your successes and setbacks on social via the #APSVibecheck #AfricanPreseedPodcast hashtags, or email us via [email protected]
USEFUL RESOURCES:ARTICLE: Navigating the African tech startup ecosystem by Ventureburn.
ARTICLE: The story of iMed Tech as told by Nneile Nkholise by IT News Africa.
Click here to subscribe to the podcast wherever you listen.
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In this e-commerce-themed episode, Co-Founder and CEO of Omnibiz Africa, Deepankar Rustagi, shares his insights about measuring success in the African e-commerce space and the business models that are best positioned to succeed within the broad online market.
🤔 B2B e-commerce asks that you throw away vanity metrics
Hi there,
Olumuyiwa here again. You may remember me from the previous edition of the APS newsletter. 😉Last week, I was moderating a Twitter space conversation about the evolution of the African tech ecosystem in the last ten years. While recent observers may think that only fintech has been sexy for a minute, early players know that B2C e-commerce was where it was once at. Konga and Jumia slugged it out for African dominance in 2012, and South Africa’s Takealot—founded in 2012—has seen major success. But worsening macroeconomic conditions on the continent in the last decade means that most of the e-commerce action is focused on the B2B side of the market.
🔍 Why is everyone moving to the B2B space? According to Deepankar Rustagi, the Co-Founder and CEO of Omnibiz Africa, “the B2B space is more organized, structured and has a much larger frequency…so the opportunity in the B2B space. There's a very big difference when we compare it to a normal e-commerce business. A normal e-commerce business is always exploring to find where there is need.”
Deepankar refers that B2B e-commerce businesses focus on the army of small and medium businesses in Africa. You know that army of informal retailers you always read about? They often need a more efficient supply of goods, better logistics, or even opportunities to scale their businesses. You could say that they’re always looking for better value. So what should matter to a B2B focused business in a world where vanity metrics reign supreme?
📈 Focus on repeatability, retention, and Growth
If you follow B2C e-commerce companies, it’s easy to understand that Gross Merchandise Value (GMV) is the holy grail of metrics. GMV, which is the value of all goods and services sold on an e-commerce platform, is so important that many companies have really interesting ways to measure it. For instance, one e-commerce giant in Africa counts returned goods and orders canceled as part of its GMV.
📌 Should a B2B e-commerce company obsess over its GMV so much? Deepankar doesn’t think so because when you focus on businesses, acquisition isn’t the end goal. Instead, “retention by creating value for the customer is the end game. If you could measure value for the customer, that would be the perfect metric.”
What’s my big takeaway from this episode of the African pre-seed podcast? When you’re a B2B e-commerce company, focus on the two R’s and one G: repeatability, retention, and growth of your customers.
That’s enough spoilers, listen to Deepankar speak on the metrics that matter, and see you in the next episode!
What to look forward to in this episode:
Identifying pain points that need solving within the African B2B e-commerce market [02:11]Pursuing the right metrics when looking to enter the B2B space in Africa [04:03]Oversimplifications about the 'wholesaler' within an African context [06:19]Gross Merchandise Value (GMV) in the B2C space vs. B2B space [08:14]Key metrics for B2B founders [10:31]Analyzing the effectiveness of your business model [12:15]Tools to measure and follow the right metrics [14:36]Adding value to the business through supply chain visibility [16:22]Personal lessons learned from scaling B2b e-commerce in Africa [19:36]Coming to terms with failure as tech entrepreneurs [22:35]Simplifying workplace culture and hiring processes [23:43]Three key personality traits for B2B founders [26:05]CONNECT VIA SOCIAL MEDIA:
Connect with Deepankar Rustagi on Twitter and Linkedin.Connect with Hope Dithlakanyane on Twitter and Linkedin.Connect with Philani Mzila on Twitter and Linkedin.Tell us...
What was your favorite quote or lesson from this episode?What topic would you like for us to feature on a future podcast?Let us know via the hashtag: #AfricanPreseedPodcast
USEFUL RESOURCES:
ARTICLE: Rethinking Metrics in B2B Ecommerce by The Flip Africa.ARTICLE: Enriching the Lives of FMCGs Retailers in Nigeria by Business Elites Africa. -
Ethiopian tech investor and CEO of Arifpay, Bernard Laurendeau, joins us on this fintech-themed #APSVibecheck instalment of the African Pre-seed Podcast. ArifPay is Ethiopias first universal mobile Point of Sales (mPOS), an electronic payment platform designed for use by merchants, banks, and consumers in Ethiopia that any business, merchant, or consumer can use to transfer money, make invoices, or pay taxes.
Arifpay’s story feels familiar because some of the best startups are the result of founders wanting to solve a pain point they experienced. The conversation with Bernard comes at a time when Ethiopia is opening up its economy. The country granted its first private mobile licence in 2021 and one year later, granted a mobile money service licence to M-Pesa.
In Ethiopia, M-Pesa will be looking to replicate the kind of success it has had in Kenya where it has become the runaway market leader. Yet that may not play out the same way because it is in a market where growth is happening in the banking sector and where the competition is aware of the importance of moving quickly. At the 3-minute mark, Bernard talks about the rapid growth in the country’s banking sector and you get the sense that the payments space will see more players. The banks know there’s value in being connectors and startups like Arifpay are already out of the blocks.
Yet the entire industry and end users benefit from having more players in the payments space. Today, Nigeria’s payment space has a lot more players all trying to comprehensively solve the payments problem, even though it wasn’t always this way. It’s a sign of where Ethiopia could be if progress is sustained over the next decade, but it will need significant funding to get there.
In March 2021, ArifPay raised over USD 3 million in March 2021 in its "pre-Series A round", a significant sum for a startup in Ethiopia. As we’ve seen across growing ecosystems, attracting revenue (among other things) is critical for growth; as Bernard shares, revenue and talent are the two missing pieces for Ethiopia’s startup ecosystem to truly take off.
Top 5 insights unpacked in the episode:
1. How Bernard first involved himself with Arifpay and how he later became its CEO [0:17]
2. An exploration of Ethiopia’s macroeconomic picture, and what is happening below the surface that external observers may miss from afar [2:30]
3. How Arifpay envisages itself and its role within the Ethiopian fintech system. [05:35]
4. Bernard's view on Ethiopia’s tech ecosystem, which areas interest him the most, and why [8:00]
5. The difference between bank-led digital payments and mobile money in an Ethiopian context [11:18]CONNECT VIA SOCIAL MEDIA:
Connect with Bernard Laurendeau on Linkedin.Are you a Founder learning the ropes of the fintech industry? Please share what you're learning from some of your successes and setbacks on social via the #APSVibecheck #AfricanPreseedPodcast hashtags, or email us via [email protected]
USEFUL RESOURCES:
ARTICLE: Bernard Laurendeau: A Man Of Execution And Practice by LONLINE MAG.
ARTICLE: Ethiopian Fintech Scene Shows Great Promise as Africa’s Next Fintech Hub by Fintechnews Africa.
VIDEO: "What does collaborative banking look like? What is the outlook for Fintech in Ethiopia?" by DigitalEthiopia WebinarSeries.
Click here to subscribe to the podcast wherever you listen.
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Desiree is passionate about breaking boundaries and inspiring women founders to re-discover and write a new narrative for Africa. Her work is synonymous with advocating for innovation, emerging technologies, and start-up ecosystems that foster collaboration and sustainable relationships among women in the tech sector.
In this episode, we look deeper into the state of women-led entrepreneurship in Africa with Desiree Joule-Adam, Director of External Affairs at the African Women Entrepreneurship Cooperative.
What to look forward to in this episode:
Why are you passionate about women-led entrepreneurship in Africa? What about your background and history influenced your career trajectory to reach this point? [3:40]You’ve worked in various sectors, ranging from media and telco to education and industry. Which experiences have proven to be the most valuable to you in your work today? [8:04]What are the typical challenges women entrepreneurs face when trying to build businesses on the African continent? [11:50]Do you think the continent has moved the needle to address the challenges women face in the startup ecosystem? [17:07]What role does activism play in creating an enabling environment for women-led startups? [19:20]What are the differences in what women-led entrepreneurs are building across the African continent? [23:45]What is your opinion on bridging the gap between the economic necessity for women-led entrepreneurship and “self-actualization/social status/hierarchy?" [28:55]How important is mental health and well-being support for women founders? [33:32]What is some of the best advice you've received from a woman industry peer in your entrepreneurial journey? [41:00]What makes you optimistic about women-led entrepreneurship on the African continent? [49:53]
Connect with Desiree Joule-Adam on Twitter and Linkedin.Connect with Hope Dithlakanyane on Twitter and Linkedin.
CONNECT VIA SOCIAL MEDIA:Tell us...
What was your favorite quote or lesson from this episode? What topic would you like us to feature on a future podcast?Let us know via the hashtag: #AfricanPreseed
USEFUL RESOURCES:
ARTICLE: Ten women running multimillion-dollar businesses in Nigeria by Ishioma Emi (Ventures Africa).ARTICLE: A peek into the future of African VC by Tayo Akinyemi (The Trajectory: Africa).ARTICLE: A $3.2 Trillion Market Opportunity for Women-focused Fintechs by Aishwarya Patka (Medium). - Vis mere
