Episódios
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Overview: Today, we’re going to talk about Cellulant, the African payments infrastructure company. We’ll explore the story across the following areas
African financial sector context
Cellulant’s early history
Product & monetization strategy
Competitive positioning & potential exit options
Outlook
This episode was recorded on Jan 20, 2025
Companies discussed: Cellulant, Flutterwave, Interswitch, DPO Group (Network International), Paystack, Stripe, Moniepoint, MTN & Airtel.
Business concepts discussed: Payments platforms, payments partnerships strategy, card networks, payments infrastructure, low-end disruption, banking regulation & payments M&A strategy
Conversation highlights:
(01:00) - What is Cellulant and why we’re talking about them
(07:25) - Context of African Banking Opportunity and Neobanks
(15:07) - Cellulant founding and early history
(36:16) - Fundraising
(41:17) - Growth and Geographical Expansion
(58:12) - Product and Monetization Strategy
(01:15:12) - Competition and Options for Exit
(1:21:26) - Bankole’s overall thoughts and outlook
(1:28:18) - Olumide’s overall thoughts and outlook
(1:32:45) - Recommendations and small wins
Olumide’s recommendations & small wins:
Interested in investing in Africa Tech with Olumide: Read about Adamantium fund & contact me at [email protected]. Founders looking for funding: If you're a B2B founder working on Education, Health, Finance or food, please contact me for funding at [email protected]
Checkout my FIREDOM book = FIRE (Financial Independence, Retire Early) + Freedom = personal finance and financial independence book. Website, Read: Substack Newsletter & Buy: Print, eBook or Audiobook)
Recommendation: Titan - Rockefeller's autobiography. Solid and thorough look at the fascinating life of an incredible person. Incredible read.
Recommendation: Areté: Activate Your Heroic Potential. Personal development book filled with ideas, as it compiles insights from other renowned books.
Recommendation: The 38 Letters from J.D. Rockefeller to his son: Letters from Rochaleller to his son with timeless stories and life principles
Recommendation: Google Notebook LM. Game changer for researchers, Incredible resource to research information when you have sources.
Small win: Stretching and yoga in the mornings before weight lifting workouts
Small win: Went to south pointe picnic with friends
Bankole’s recommendations & small wins:
Recommendation: Podcast: Francois Chollet, Mike Knoop - LLMs won’t lead to AGI - $1,000,000 Prize to find true solution & Video: 20 Mechanical Principles in One Lego Machine
Small win: Early in the year, but working out everyday
Other content: Ken Njoroge's Entrepreneurship Journey: Overcoming Tragedy and Building Success
Listeners: We’d love to hear from you. Email [email protected] with feedback!
Founders & Operators: We'd love to hear about what you're working on, email us at [email protected]
Investors: It would be great to link up with you. Contact us at [email protected]
Join our insider mailing list where we get feedback on new episodes & find all episodes on Afrobility.com
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Overview: Today, we’re going to talk about MNT-Halan, the Egyptian lending & financial services company. We’ll explore the MNT-Halan story across the following areas
African and Egyptian financial sector context
MNT-Halan’s early history
Product & monetization strategy
Competitive positioning & potential exit options
Outlook
This episode was recorded on Dec 11, 2024
Companies discussed: MNT-Halan, Mashroey, Tasaheel, Halan, Raseedy, Talabeyah, Advans Pakistan, Fawry, Swvl, Gojek, Paymob, & Tam Finans
Business concepts discussed: Asset-backed Financing, Microfinance Lending, Super App Strategy, Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL), Digital Wallets and Payment Solutions, B2B E-commerce, Corporate Venture Capital, Incubation, Financial Inclusion, Banking Infrastructure, Payroll Lending, Salary Advances, Agent Banking Networks, Revenue Models in Fintech, International Expansion
Conversation highlights:
(00:00) - Intro and why we're talking about MNT-Halan
(06:46) - Egypt country context
(16:17) - The opportunity for African neobanks
(26:15) - MNT Halan Founding and Early History
(57:55) - Growth and Geographical Expansion
(1:14:50) - Product Strategy and Monetization
(1:35:52) - Competition and options for exit
(1:47:20) - Bankole's overall thoughts and outlook
(1:54:22) - Olumide's overall thoughts and outlook
(2:06:32) - Recommendations and small wins
Olumide’s recommendations & small wins:
Interested in investing in Africa Tech with Olumide: Read about Adamantium fund & contact me at [email protected]. Founders looking for funding: If you're a B2B founder working on Education, Health, Finance or food, please contact me for funding at [email protected]
Checkout my FIREDOM book = FIRE (Financial Independence, Retire Early) + Freedom = personal finance and financial independence book. Website, Read: Substack Newsletter & Buy: Print, eBook or Audiobook)
Recommendation: The Intel Trinity: How Robert Noyce, Gordon Moore, and Andy Grove Built the World's Most Important Company: Solid book about the story of Intel, the microprocessor, and the Silicon Valley industry, focusing on Robert Noyce, Gordon Moore, and Andy Grove
Recommendation: Nexus: A Brief History of Information Networks from the Stone Age to AI (by Yuhal Noah Harari): Nexus is a solid book that I would recommend, especially if you enjoyed his previous works like Sapiens. While it may not appeal to everyone, particularly those who didn’t enjoy his other books, it's an engaging read that offers a counterpoint to views like Marc Andreessen's, particularly on AI’s future impact.
Recommendations: Awardtool and PointsYeah: Help you find award bookings but with a better user experience. For example, if you want to fly from Lagos to Paris, you might use Google Flights or Kayak for cash fares, but for award bookings with points, you'd traditionally need to visit individual airline sites like United.
Small win: I found a way to host my website on GitHub pages for free instead of paying Squarespace outrageous fee. Started doing yoga and stretching exercises every morning
Bankole’s recommendations & small wins:
Recommendations: Article about research challenging the common belief that "buying experiences makes you happier than buying possessions" & YouTube 41-shot rally video from Commonwealth Games featuring Chagun Toriola (Nigerian table tennis player)
Small win: Finally set up my home office with a streamlined single-cable setup for multiple computers
Listeners: We’d love to hear from you. Email [email protected] with feedback!
Founders & Operators: We'd love to hear about what you're working on, email us at [email protected]
Investors: It would be great to link up with you. Contact us at [email protected]
Join our insider mailing list where we get feedback on new episodes & find all episodes on Afrobility.com
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Overview: Today, we’re going to explore PiggyVest - the Nigerian savings and investment platform. We’ll discuss the story across the following areas:
African Banking & Neobank context
PiggyVest’s early history
Product & monetization strategy
Competitive positioning & potential exit options
Overall outlook
This episode was recorded on Oct 30, 2024
Companies discussed: PiggyVest, Chipper Cash, Kuda Bank, Paystack, Flutterwave, FairMoney, Paystack, Brass, Cowrywise, Carbon, Chipper Cash, Interswitch, GTBank, Sterling Bank & UBA.
Business concepts discussed: Neobank / Challenger bank / digital bank strategy, remittances Neobank monetization & Consumer Lending, consumer FinTech monetization strategy, consumer lending, retail banking strategy, customer segmentation strategy & low-end disruption
Conversation highlights:
(00:30) - Introduction
(05:50) - African Banking & Neobank context
(30:16) - PiggyVest's Founding Story
(41:15) - Fundraising and Growth
(53:30) - Geographical Expansion and Partnerships
(01:18:52) - Product and Monetization strategy
(01:35:20) - Competition and options for exit
(01:54:35) - Bankole’s overall thoughts and outlook
(02:05:15) - Olumide’s overall thoughts and outlook
(02:15:45) - Recommendations and small wins
Olumide’s recommendations & small wins:
Recommendation: Sisqo - Got to Get it video - Insane shit. Sisqo singing and dancing his heart out. So dope.
Recommendation: Rob Berger's Personal Finance YouTube channel
Recommendation: The Patriarch: The Remarkable Life and Turbulent Times of Joseph P. Kennedy. Excellent book. A little bit of everything, entrepreneurship - History, politics, family life & hollywood.
Small win: I spent the week in Cusco & Lima, it was magical and fun. Some sand, some llamas, lots of dancing. Epic shit
Bankole’s recommendations & small wins:
Recommendation: BBC Radio 4 - In Our Time Podcast & Active - Asake
Small win: Running 25 miles a week
Other content: These Nigerian universities produced the most startup founders - Nairametrics
Listeners: We’d love to hear from you. Email [email protected] with feedback!
Founders & Operators: We'd love to hear about what you're working on, email us at [email protected]
Investors: It would be great to link up with you. Contact us at [email protected]
Join our insider mailing list where we get feedback on new episodes & find all episodes on Afrobility.com
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Overview: Today, we’re going to explore IHS Towers - the African telecommunications infrastructure company. We’ll discuss the story across the following areas:
Telecom tower infrastructure context
IHS Towers' early history
Product & monetization strategy
Competitive positioning & potential exit options
Overall outlook
This episode was recorded on May 5, 2024
Companies discussed: IHS Towers, MTN, Airtel, Telkom, Orange, Etisalat / 9 Mobile, American Tower Company, Globacom, Libancell, Helios Towers Nigeria, Telkom, Vodacom, Goldman Sachs, (IFC), Public Investment Corporation of South Africa, Ecobank, Investec, Standard Bank.
Business concepts discussed: Tower Infrastructure, Shared communication infrastructure, Tower Leasing and Ownership Models, Market Expansion, Sale and Leaseback, Local vs Global Strategy, Capital-intensive business models, Currency devaluation
Conversation highlights:
(01:50) - What IHS does and why we’re talking about it
(04:37) - How Towers work
(12:47) - How Telcos work with Towers in Nigeria and parts of Africa
(23:22) - IHS Founding and Early History
(34:19) - Funding
(39:32) - Growth and International Expansion
(47:26) - IHS IPO and trends post IPO
(55:50) - Product Strategy & Monetization
(1:08:30) - Competition
(1:16:22) - Bankole’s overall thoughts and outlook
(1:24:06) - Olumide’s overall thoughts and outlook
(1:30:24) - Recommendations and small wins
Olumide’s recommendations & small wins:
Interested in investing in Africa Tech with Olumide: Read about Adamantium fund & contact me at [email protected]. Founders looking for funding: If you're a B2B founder working on Education, Health, Finance or food, please contact me for funding at [email protected]
Checkout my FIREDOM book = FIRE (Financial Independence, Retire Early) + Freedom = personal finance and financial independence book. Website, Read: Substack Newsletter & Buy: Print, eBook or Audiobook)
Recommendation: Incredible Dance routine video to Sisa Song by King Promise: I love it so much I'm not sure how to put it into words. 1 minute of greatness
Recommendation: Chris Brown “Sensational” live performance : Watching Chris Brown dance is watching a master of his craft.
Recommendation: J. Cole - Let Nas Down
Recommendation: Nas - Make Nas Proud
Recommendation: Nas & Eminem - EPMD 2
Recommendation: Nas - Rare
Small win: Went back to reading older books to reset my reading palate
Bankole’s recommendations & small wins:
Recommendation: The Search for the Perfect Door - YouTube && Unusual Electric Car Features in Nigeria - Bloomberg
Small win: Running sprints
Other content: Palito FM Autoscan Radio
Listeners: We’d love to hear from you. Email [email protected] with feedback!
Founders & Operators: We'd love to hear about what you're working on, email us at [email protected]
Investors: It would be great to link up with you. Contact us at [email protected]
Join our insider mailing list where we get feedback on new episodes & find all episodes on Afrobility.com -
Overview: Today, we’re going to explore eTranzact - the African payments and switching platform. We’ll discuss the story across the following areas:
First, Nigerian payments context
Second, eTranzact's early history
Third, Product & monetization strategy
Fourth, Competitive positioning
Fifth, Overall outlook
This episode was recorded on Feb 11, 2024
Companies discussed: eTranzact, Interswitch, Unified Payment Services Limited (UPSL), Systemspecs (Remita), Paystack, Flutterwave, Moniepoint, Paga, OPay, MTN & Airtel.
Business concepts discussed: Mobile money, Payments Collections, Payments ecosystem, payments partnerships strategy, card networks, payments infrastructure, low-end disruption, banking regulation & payments M&A strategy
Conversation highlights:
(00:57) - What is eTranzact and why we’re talking about it
(07:43) - Context of Nigeria’s payment sector before eTranzact
(16:45) - eTranzact founding story
(35:46) - Growth and geographic expansion
(45:10) - Product strategy
(01:02:56) - Monetization strategy
(01:20:41) - Competition
(1:31:10) - Bankole’s overall thoughts and outlook
(1:34:38) - Olumide’s overall thoughts and outlook
(1:43:20 - Recommendations and small wins
Olumide’s recommendations & small wins:
Interested in investing in Africa Tech with Olumide: Read about Adamantium fund & contact me at [email protected]. Founders looking for funding: If you're a B2B founder working on Education, Health, Finance or food, please contact me for funding at [email protected]
Checkout my FIREDOM book = FIRE (Financial Independence, Retire Early) + Freedom = personal finance and financial independence book. Website, Read: Substack Newsletter & Buy: Print, eBook or Audiobook)
Recommendation: Never Enough (Loren Allred). Incredible. I can listen to it on repeat for the whole day.
Recommendation: La Bachata (Maniel Turizo). Dope shit.
Recommendation: "Someone You Loved". Not the original but a fabulous cover. Best line, "I was getting kinda used to being someone you loved". Listen to the 3rd verse when they sing simultaneously. Incredible!
Recommendation: A Million Miles Away movie. It is a biographical drama film about the life of José Hernández, a Mexican-American migrant farm
Small win: Booked Cirque Du Soleil show. Looking forward to it.
Bankole’s recommendations & small wins:
Recommendation: Comma - Burna Boy && Wolfram|Alpha as the Way to Bring Computational Knowledge Superpowers to ChatGPT
Small win: Clean shaven + the Nigerian AFCON semifinal win only to lose in the final a few hours after recording :(
Other content: History of Web Acquiring in Nigeria && Atlas Copco on Invest Like The Best && An Empirical Examination of Why Mobile Money Schemes Ignite in Some Developing Countries but Flounder in Most
Listeners: We’d love to hear from you. Email [email protected] with feedback!
Founders & Operators: We'd love to hear about what you're working on, email us at [email protected]
Investors: It would be great to link up with you. Contact us at [email protected]
Join our insider mailing list where we get feedback on new episodes & find all episodes on Afrobility.com -
Overview: Today, we’re going to explore Moove, the mobility fintech. We’ll discuss the story across the following areas:
African mobility and transportation context
Moove's launch & early history
Product & monetization strategy
Competitive positioning & potential exit options
Our overall outlook.
This episode was recorded on Jan 14, 2024
Companies discussed: Moove, Uber, Lyft, Autochek, Cars45, GoKada, Creditas, Swvl, Lori, Sendy & FairMoney
Business concepts discussed: Revenue-based financing, asset-based lending, Ridesharing & Mobility entrepreneurship
Conversation highlights:
(01:20) - What Moove does and why we’re talking about it
(06:57) - Context of mobility and public transportation in Nigeria
(21:50) - Founders’ background
(27:50) - Moove founding and early history
(32:16) - Fundraising
(43:20) - Growth and Geographical Expansion
(48:15) - Partnerships
(1:07:26) - Product and Monetization Strategy
(1:28:44) - Metrics
(1:33:50) - Competition and options for exit
(1:53:10) - Olumide’s overall thoughts and outlook
(2:09:07) - Bankole’s overall thoughts and outlook
(2:26:12) - Recommendations and small wins
Olumide’s recommendations & small wins:
Interested in investing in Africa Tech with Olumide: Read about Adamantium fund & contact me at [email protected]. Founders looking for funding: If you're a B2B founder working on Education, Health, Finance or food, please contact me for funding at [email protected]
Checkout my FIREDOM book = FIRE (Financial Independence, Retire Early) + Freedom = personal finance and financial independence book. Website, Read: Substack Newsletter & Buy: Print, eBook or Audiobook)
Recommendation: The Gap and The Gain (by Benjamin Hardy & Dan Sullivan: Book about mindset and approach to life, measuring success, fulfilment and happiness.
Recommendation: Be Useful: Seven Tools for Life (Arnold Schwarzenegger): Great book by the legend about principles to approach life to get what you want. At this point, I've read all his books and can recommend them all. Arnold records the audiobook end-to-end by himself so be ready for awesomeness
Small win: Completely revamped by Body Skincare after getting deep into research about this
Bankole’s recommendations & small wins:
Recommendation: Money Maze Podcast - Interview with the CEO of De Beers && We are different from all other humans in history && The Reality of the Danish Fairytale
Small win: Successful visa application to South Africa
Other content: Nigeria’s Secured Lending Opportunity - bankole.org
Listeners: We’d love to hear from you. Email [email protected] with feedback!
Founders & Operators: We'd love to hear about what you're working on, email us at [email protected]
Investors: It would be great to link up with you. Contact us at [email protected]
Join our insider mailing list where we get feedback on new episodes & find all episodes on Afrobility.com -
Overview: Today, we’re going to explore AFEX, the African commodities exchange. We’ll discuss the story across the following areas:
African Agriculture context
AFEX's launch & early history
Product & monetization strategy
Competitive positioning & potential exit options
Overall outlook.
This episode was recorded on Dec 24, 2023
Companies discussed: AFEX, EAX (East African Commodity Exchange), Tony Elumelu Foundation, Heirs Holdings, Apollo Agriculture, NCX, Cargill, Louis Dreyfuss, 50 Ventures & Berggruen Charitable Trust
Business concepts discussed: Agriculture technology (AgTech, AgriTech or AgroTech), Agribusiness marketplaces, farming financing, Farmer market access opportunities, Agriculture insurance strategy, Commodity trading & Internal Entrepreneurship (Incubated company strategy).
Conversation highlights:
(01:10) - What Afex is and why we’re talking about it
(08:36) - Context of agriculture in Africa
(21:49) - AFEX Founding story
(33:28) - Fundraising
(39:56) - Growth, geographical expansion and partnerships
(49:42) - Product strategy, monetization and growth
(59:14) - Cost structure, revenue and margins
(1:10:00) - Business and user metrics
(1:13:14) - Competition and options for exit
(1:21:02) - Bankole’s overall thoughts and outlook
(1:34:25) - Olumide’s overall thoughts and outlook
(1:47:45) - Recommendations and small wins
Olumide’s recommendations & small wins:
Interested in investing in Africa Tech with Olumide: Read about Adamantium fund & contact me at [email protected]. Founders looking for funding: If you're a B2B founder working on Education, Health, Finance or food, please contact me for funding at [email protected]
Checkout my FIREDOM book = FIRE (Financial Independence, Retire Early) + Freedom = personal finance and financial independence book. Website, Read: Substack Newsletter & Buy: Print, eBook or Audiobook)
Recommendation: I went back and re-read some of my classic books: How I found freedom in an Unfree world (Harry Browne), Don't Sweat the Small Stuff and It's All Small Stuff (Richard Carlson) & A Guide to the Good Life - The Ancient Art of Stoic Joy (William B. Irvine)
Small win: Hiking with new friends in St Thomas. Cool
Bankole’s recommendations & small wins:
Recommendation: FiveBooks.Com - FiveBooks.com shares lists of the best five books on many topics, chosen by experts in that area
Recommendation: Jeff Bezos on Lex Fridman Podcast. A rare Jeff Bezos long form interview.
Small win: Running while listening to Big 7 - Burna Boy
Fact check: Tony Elumelu narrates How He Went from Second Class Lower Degree to Nigeria's Billionaire
Other content: FT ranking: Africa's Fastest Growing Companies 2023 & AFEX Nigeria loses maize worth N85m to 'police raid'
Listeners: We’d love to hear from you. Email [email protected] with feedback!
Founders & Operators: We'd love to hear about what you're working on, email us at [email protected]
Investors: It would be great to link up with you. Contact us at [email protected]
Join our insider mailing list where we get feedback on new episodes & find all episodes on Afrobility.com -
Overview: Today, we’re going to talk about Nomba (formerly known as Kudi) , the FinTech payments solutions provider. We’ll explore the story across the following areas:
African & Nigerian SME context
Nomba's early history
Product & monetization strategy
Competitive positioning & potential exit options
Our overall outlook.
This episode was recorded on December 3, 2023
Companies discussed: Nomba (Kudi), MoniePoint (TeamApt), Yoco, Kuda Bank, Flutterwave, Paystack, Stripe, Safaricom, Brass Banking, TradeDepot, Sabi, Paystack, Flutterwave, MTN, Airtel, Bumpa, Vendease, Orda, OPay, OnePipe, Paga, FairMoney, Omnibiz, Interswitch & Kippa
Business concepts discussed: SME Agency Banking, Informal retail, banking, Open banking & Mobile Money, Merchants solutions, Points-of-Sale devices, SME Lending & hardware and software bundling
Conversation highlights:
(01:25) - Nomba context
(06:29) - Context of African SMEs and Informal retail
(19:10) - Founding story and founders’ background
(29:02) - Fundraising
(43:07) - Partnerships, Geographical expansion and Team
(47:55) - User metrics
(52:55) - Product and Monetization strategy
(1:02:24) - Competition and options for exit
(1:12:35) - Olumide’s overall thoughts and outlook
(1:18:50) - Bankole’s overall thoughts and outlook
(1:24:40) - Recommendation and small wins
Olumide’s recommendations & small wins:
Interested in investing in Africa Tech with Olumide: Read about Adamantium fund & contact me at [email protected]. Founders looking for funding: If you're a B2B founder working on Education, Health, Finance or food, please contact me for funding at [email protected]
Checkout my FIREDOM book = FIRE (Financial Independence, Retire Early) + Freedom = personal finance and financial independence book. Website, Read: Substack Newsletter & Buy: Print, eBook or Audiobook)
Recommendation: Jay-Z at Madison Square Garden. Incredible. He performs so many of his hit songs with an ensemble of other artists. I was jumping of my chair rapping along.
Recommendation: Charlie Munger died last week.. What a hero. What a legend. What a mind. I love the guy. I can recommend all his books and videos
Bankole’s recommendations & small wins:
Recommendation: Constellation Software on Business Breakdowns
Small win: Running in Paris and Ray-Ban Meta glasses
Listeners: We’d love to hear from you. Email [email protected] with feedback!
Founders & Operators: We'd love to hear about what you're working on, email us at [email protected]
Investors: It would be great to link up with you. Contact us at [email protected]
Join our insider mailing list where we get feedback on new episodes & find all episodes on Afrobility.com
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Overview: Today, we’re going to explore TymeBank - the South African neobank. We’ll discuss the story across the following areas:
African & Nigerian banking context
TymeBank's launch, early history, growth & fundraising
Product & monetization strategy
Competitive positioning & potential exit options
Overall outlook.
Companies discussed: TymeBank, African Rainbow Capital (ARC), MTN, Kuda Bank, Chipper Cash, FairMoney, Carbon, Discovery Bank, Branch, Pick N Pay, TakeAlot, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, Bank Zero, Naspers & NuBank
Business concepts discussed: International expansion, Startups and Distribution, Deposit banking, International expansion, Data sovereignty,
Conversation highlights:
(00:30) - TymeBank context
(08:15) - Context of African Banking
(24:20) - TymeBank founding story
(52:20) - Fundraising
(55:01) - Growth and geographical expansion
(1:20:03) - Product & Monetization Strategy
(1:50:08) - Competition and options for Exit
(2:00:33) - Bankole’s overall thoughts and outlook
(2:10:38) - Olumide’s overall thoughts and outlook
(2:15:00) - Recommendations and small wins
Olumide’s recommendations & small wins:
Interested in investing in Africa Tech with Olumide: Read about Adamantium fund & contact me at [email protected]. Founders looking for funding: If you're a B2B founder working on Education, Health, Finance or food, please contact me for funding at [email protected]
Checkout my FIREDOM book = FIRE (Financial Independence, Retire Early) + Freedom = personal finance and financial independence book. Website, Read: Substack Newsletter & Buy: Print, eBook or Audiobook)
Recommendation: AI 2041: Ten Visions for Our Future (Kai-Fu Lee): Great book about the potential of AI told across 10 stories
Recommendation: Dangote (song by Burna Boy). Incredible song
Recommendation: Good Bad Boy (song by Lil Kesh). Catchy and smooth chorus. With a deeper meaning about searching for companionship
Small win: I was in NYC book launch for FIREDOM Book launch. Dope.
Bankole’s recommendations & small wins:
Recommendation: Plunder by Brendan Ballou - A book on the excesses of Private Equity. PE is an example of well-intentioned policy having (unintentional?) downstream impact.
Recommendation: Business Breakdown Podcast on Mobile Gaming: The uneven distribution of paying customers in mobile gaming reminds me of emerging market telco companies
Small win: Quest 3 Headset! VR is coming along nicely.
Other content: TymeBank Holdings 2022 Financial Statement & Substack on the history of Tyme Global
Listeners: We’d love to hear from you. Email [email protected] with feedback!
Founders & Operators: We'd love to hear about what you're working on, email us at [email protected]
Investors: It would be great to link up with you. Contact us at [email protected]
Join our insider mailing list where we get feedback on new episodes & find all episodes on Afrobility.com -
Overview: Today, we’re going to explore Carbon, the credit-led Neobank. We’ll discuss the Carbon story across the following areas:
African lending & consumer credit
Carbon's founding & early history
Product & monetization strategy
Competitive positioning & potential exit options
Overall outlook
This episode was recorded on Oct 15, 2023
Companies discussed: Carbon (PayLater, One Credit, OneFi, One Finance), Diamond Bank, Cafe Neo, Kaizen Venture Partners, FairMoney, Branch, Paga, Kuda Bank, GTBank, Access Bank, Chipper Cash, NuBank, Lesaka (NET1 UEPS), Lendable, Interswitch, Visa, RenMoney, Tala & Safaricom (M-Pesa)
Business concepts discussed: Smartphone credit assessment, consumer lending, unbanked population, Neobank strategy, Personal Finance OS & Buy Now Pay Later
Conversation highlights:
(00:48) - Carbon context
(08:15) - Consumer lending in Africa and Neobanks
(15:32) - Background on African banking and Neobanks
(32:02) - Founding story of Carbon & Founders’ background
(54:04) - Fundraising
(1:01:15) - Growth and Geographical Expansion
(1:08:03) - Acquisitions and investments
(1:15:54) - Team and organisation
(1:19:35) - Key metrics
(1:40:46) - Product strategy and monetization
(2:00:08) - Competition and options for exit
(2:10:33 - Olumide’s overall thoughts and outlook
(2:20:38) - Bankole’s overall thoughts and outlook
(2:30:15) - Recommendation and small wins
Olumide’s recommendations & small wins:
Interested in investing in Africa Tech with Olumide: Read about Adamantium fund & contact me at [email protected]. Founders looking for funding: If you're a B2B founder working on Education, Health, Finance or food, please contact me for funding at [email protected]
Checkout my FIREDOM book = FIRE (Financial Independence, Retire Early) + Freedom = personal finance and financial independence book. Website, Read: Substack Newsletter & Buy: Print, eBook or Audiobook)
Recommendation: Lil Kesh - Shoki Remix. Song is beyond nice. I probably understand 15% of it. Lil Kesh was 19 years old when the song was released. The power of young people to Incredible things. Wow!
Recommendation: Lil Kesh - Don't Call Me (feat. Zinoleesky) [Lyrics Visualiser].
Recommendation: Ruger - Ruger. The song literally starts with “Man, I spit fire…”. How can I not love it?
Small win: Switched to Instacart (from Amazon Fresh) for groceries. Not going back
Bankole’s recommendations & small wins:
Recommendation: Fair Isaac Company on Business Breakdowns, MTN on Business Breakdowns
Small win: New phone
Other content: Building Magic - The Cafe Neo story & Chipper Cash AI Day
Listeners: We’d love to hear from you. Email [email protected] with feedback!
Founders & Operators: We'd love to hear about what you're working on, email us at [email protected]
Investors: It would be great to link up with you. Contact us at [email protected]
Join our insider mailing list where we get feedback on new episodes & find all episodes on Afrobility.com -
Overview: Today, we’re going to talk about FairMoney, the credit-led Neobank in emerging markets. we’ll explore the FairMoney story across the following areas
African lending & consumer credit
FairMoney's founding & early history
Product & monetization strategy
Competitive positioning & potential exit options
Overall outlook
This episode was recorded on Oct 1, 2023
Companies discussed: FairMoney, Branch, PalmPay, Kuda Bank, Carbon, 54Gene, GTBank, Access Bank, Ecobank, PalmPay, Carbon, PiggyVest, Upstart, Tala, Visa, Mastercard Safaricom (M-Pesa), PayForce & Chipper Cash
Business concepts discussed: Smartphone credit assessment, African customer segmentation strategy, Consumer lending, unbanked population, smartphone credit assessment, Neobank strategy & Personal Finance OS
Conversation highlights:
(03:01) - Intro
(07:19) - African consumer lending & neobank context
(18:35) - Neobanking context and background
(20:00) - FairMoney founding story and Founders’ background
(39:40) - Fundraising
(45:46) - Geographical expansion
(49:05) - Partnerships
(50:16) - Acquisitions
(55:42) - Team & Location strategy
(58:03) - User metrics and traction
(1:04:27) - Product and monetization strategy
(1:24:04) - Competition and options for exit
(1:35:44) - Bankole’s overall thoughts and outlook
(1:47:30) - Olumide’s overall thoughts and outlook
(1:55:17) - Recommendations and small wins
Olumide’s recommendations & small wins:
Interested in investing in Africa Tech with Olumide: Read about Adamantium fund & contact me at [email protected]. Founders looking for funding: If you're a B2B founder working on Education, Health, Finance or food, please contact me for funding at [email protected]
Checkout my FIREDOM book = FIRE (Financial Independence, Retire Early) + Freedom = personal finance and financial independence book. Website, Read: Substack Newsletter & Buy: Print, eBook or Audiobook)
Recommendation 1: Arnold Schwarzenegger book 1: The Education of a Bodybuilder
Recommendation 2: Arnold Schwarzenegger book 2: Total Recall - My Unbelievably True Life Story
Recommendation 3: Richard Feynman's book: What Do You Care What Other People Think?": Further Adventures of a Curious Character (Feynman Book 2). I already read and recommended "Surely, you're joking Mr Feynman which was extraordinary)
Recommendation 4: Finnaus YT channel tells stories about financial companies and investors. Awesome. I watched the history of JP Morgan, Howard Marks, Jamie Dimon, Goldman Sachs, Fidelity, Vanguard and on and on. I must have spent over 10 hours in the past week on it
Small win: Hanging out in Rio de Janeiro. It was fun!
Bankole’s recommendations & small wins:
Recommendation: Zealot by Reza Aslan, Remember Me - Fireboy (FAEM remix) & Lonely At The Top - Asake (FAEM Remix)
Small win: Exercising after recovering from an injury
Other content: Laurin Hainy on TechPoint Africa, We Rich People Will Not Tell You How We Make Our Money - IG Reel, Moneylender licensing in Nigeria , Examples of spurious correlations & Titan: A Golden Case in Indian Retail
Listeners: We’d love to hear from you. Email [email protected] with feedback!
Founders & Operators: We'd love to hear about what you're working on, email us at [email protected]
Investors: It would be great to link up with you. Contact us at [email protected]
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Overview: Today, we’re going to talk about Branch, the FinTech lending company and Neobank. We’ll explore the story across the following 5 areas:
African lending & consumer credit
Branch's founding early history
Product & monetization strategy
Competitive positioning & potential exit options
Overall outlook
This episode was recorded on Sep 10, 2023
Companies discussed: Branch, Kiva, Kuda Bank, Chipper Cash, Earnin, Paga, FairMoney, MFS Africa, GTBank, Access Bank, Ecobank, PalmPay, Carbon, PiggyVest, Upstart, Tala, Visa, Mastercard & Safaricom
Business concepts discussed: Smartphone credit assessment, Consumer lending, neobank strategy, Personal Finance OS, unbanked population, smartphone credit assessment & Pan-African Banking
Conversation highlights:
(01:00) - What Branch is and why we’re talking about it
(07:40) - Africa consumer credit context and background
(19:17) - Branch International founding
(23:31) - Founders’ background
(39:12) - Fundraising and Growth
(51:40) - Geographical expansion
(1:02:01) - Acquisitions and Team overview
(01:15:14) - Product strategy
(1:33:20) - Monetization strategy and Costs
(1:41:58) - Competition and options for exit
(1:57:08) - Bankole’s overall thoughts
(2:10:59) - Olumide’s overall thoughts
(2:30:20) - Recommendations and small wins
Olumide’s recommendations & small wins:
Interested in investing in Africa Tech with Olumide: Read about Adamantium fund & contact me at [email protected]. Founders looking for funding: If you're a B2B founder working on Education, Health, Finance or food, please contact me for funding at [email protected]
Checkout my FIREDOM book = FIRE (Financial Independence, Retire Early) + Freedom = personal finance and financial independence book. Website, Read: Substack Newsletter & Buy: Print, eBook or Audiobook)
Recommendation: Eminem - Rap God (OMFG I’m 12 years late, my mind exploded. WOW!)
Recommendation: Can’t Hurt Me (David Goggins). Incredible book about challenges David went to from parental abuse, racism to make something of himself. I went through waves of intense emotions while reading the book. At some points, I was crying in pain with David and other times I was in pure shock about what I was listening to.
Small win: Hosted FIREDOM book launch event in London. Amazing conversations about life, managing money and growth. Dope shit.
Bankole’s recommendations & small wins:
Recommendation: American Prometheus by Kai Bird, A/B Testing with Fat Tails & Remember Me - Fireboy DML
Small win: Chin-chin from a recent trip to Lagos
Other content: Mobile overdraft facility Fuliza outshines Silicon Valley-backed lending apps in Kenya- TechCrunch & Inside Branch’s 20 percent interest investment push to beat Nigerian bank offerings - TechCabal
Listeners: We’d love to hear from you. Email [email protected] with feedback!
Founders & Operators: We'd love to hear about what you're working on, email us at [email protected]
Investors: It would be great to link up with you. Contact us at [email protected]
Join our insider mailing list where we get feedback on new episodes & find all episodes on Afrobility.com -
Overview: Today, we’re going to talk about Sabi, the B2B retail & supply chain services platform. We’ll explore the story across the following areas:
Africa’s and Nigeria’s informal retail sector
Sabi’s early history
Product & monetization strategy
Competitive positioning & potential exit options
Overall Outlook.
This episode was recorded on July 23, 2023
Companies discussed: Sabi, Rensource, TradeDepot, Twiga Foods, Wasoko (Sokowatch), Omnibiz, Alerzo, & Marketforce
Business concepts discussed: Informal retail penetration, SMB retail OS, B2B Operating systems, Equity carve-outs, Power as a service, Channel margins & Supply chain logistics
Conversation highlights:
(01:00) - Sabi context
(06:30) - Africa and Nigeria informal retail context and background
(20:39) - Background on the founders
(30:04) - Quick Rensource detour - overview and background
(37:05) - Background on Sabi founding
(47:52) - Fundraising
(56:40) - Geographic expansion, partnerships and metrics, and growth
(1:10:15) - Product Strategy
(1:21:17) - How Sabi makes money
(1:32:06) - Competition and options for exit
(1:46:16) - Bankole’s overall thoughts and outlook
(1:55:59) - Olumide’s overall thoughts and outlook
(2:07:49) - Recommendations and small wins
Olumide’s recommendations & small wins:
Interested in investing in Africa Tech with Olumide: Read about Adamantium fund & contact me at [email protected]. Founders looking for funding: If you're a B2B founder working on Education, Health, Finance or food, please contact me for funding at [email protected]
Checkout my FIREDOM book = FIRE (Financial Independence, Retire Early) + Freedom = personal finance and financial independence book. Website, Read: Substack Newsletter & Buy: Print, eBook or Audiobook)
Recommendation: Outlive: The Science and Art of Longevity (book by Peter Attia)
Recommendation: I Don't Want to Talk About It: Overcoming the Secret Legacy of Male Depression (book by Terrence Real)
Small win: Organized House party with friends yesterday, it was fun.
Small win: Got a new backpack for future travelling, very nice.
Bankole’s recommendations & small wins:
Recommendation: Invest Like The Best with the co-founder of FIGS & Spiderman Song - Nigerian Remix
Small win: New keycaps!!!
Other content: How Equifax became a private IRS, Mission.org podcast episode with CEO Sabi & Norrsken22-Backed Nigerian Startup Plans $125 Million Round
Listeners: We’d love to hear from you. Email [email protected] with feedback!
Founders & Operators: We'd love to hear about what you're working on, email us at [email protected]
Investors: It would be great to link up with you. Contact us at [email protected]
Join our substack mailing list where we get feedback on new episodes & find all episodes on Afrobility.com -
Overview: Today, we’re going to talk about TradeDepot. We’ll explore the story across the following areas:
Africa’s and Nigeria’s informal retail sector
TradeDepot's early history
Product & monetization strategy
Competitive positioning & potential exit options
Overall Outlook.
This episode was recorded on June 25, 2023
Companies discussed: TradeDepot, Twiga Foods, Wasoko (Sokowatch), Omnibiz, Alerzo, Marketforce, Sabi, Multipro, FMCG Distributions Limited & Kellogg
Business concepts discussed: Informal retail penetration, SMB retail OS, B2B Operating systems, Informal markets, B2B retail, Buy Now Pay Later, Trade Finance & last-mile distribution
Conversation highlights:
(01:00) - TradeDepot intro and why we’re talking about them
(06:50) - Africa’s informal retail sector
(20:55) - Differences in informal retail across Africa
(25:43) - Founders’ background and early history
(36:45) - Launch strategy
(42:54) - Fundraising and Growth
(49:55) - Growth and geographical expansion
(1:02:33) - Product strategy and evolution
(1:15:26) - Monetization strategy and costs
(1:13:11) - Competition
(1:25:05) - Options for exit
(1:32:52) - Bankole’s overall thoughts and outlook
(1:42:22) - Olumide’s overall thoughts and outlook
(1:53:03) - Recommendations and small wins
Olumide’s recommendations & small wins:
Interested in investing in Africa Tech with Olumide: Read about Adamantium fund & contact me at [email protected]. Founders looking for funding: If you're a B2B founder working on Education, Health, Finance or food, please contact me for funding at [email protected]
Checkout my FIREDOM book = FIRE (Financial Independence, Retire Early) + Freedom = personal finance and financial independence book. Website, Read: Substack Newsletter & Buy: Print, eBook or Audiobook)
Recommendation: Eleven Rings (Phil Jackson). Great book about the unbelievable career of Phil Jackson who won rings with the Bulls (Michael Jordan) & Lakers (Shaq & Kobe).
Recommendation: Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse movie. Best movie I’ve seen in years. Remarkably good. Great story. Great visuals. Fun!
Small win: Friends together for a birthday party on a boat and at the club. It was incredible.
Small win: FIREDOM book launch party in Washington DC. I wasn't even there but I felt the energy all the way from here in Miami.
Bankole’s recommendations & small wins:
Recommendation: Voyager Playlist, Basquiat - Asake & Iya Eba’s Legacy
Small win: Switched to a new keyboard - the Keychron K2
Listeners: We’d love to hear from you. Email [email protected] with feedback!
Founders & Operators: We'd love to hear about what you're working on, email us at [email protected]
Investors: It would be great to link up with you. Contact us at [email protected]
Join our insider mailing list where we get feedback on new episodes & find all episodes on Afrobility.com -
Overview: Today, we’re going to talk about Wasoko (Sokowatch) We’ll explore the story across the following areas:
Africa’s and Kenya’s informal retail context
Wasoko's early history
Wasoko's Product & monetization strategy
Competitive positioning & potential exit options
Overall outlook.
This episode was recorded on June 11, 2023
Companies discussed: Wasoko (Sokowatch), Twiga Foods, TradeDepot, OmniBiz, Alerzo, mPharma, Nestle, Unilever, Multipro, Marketforce, Udaan & Flipkart
Business concepts discussed: Informal retail penetration, Agency banking adoption, B2B Operating systems, Informal markets, & last-mile distribution
Conversation highlights:
(00:40) - Sokowatch background and why we’re talking about it
(08:35) - African informal retail context
(16:11) - Founder background and Founding story
(29:55) - Fundraising and early growth
(36:56) - Geographic expansion, growth and partnerships
(45;12) - Team strategy
(54:00) - Product strategy and monetization
(1:10:00) - Competition and options for exit
(1:23:13) - Bankole’s overall thoughts and outlook
(1:33:05) - Olumide’s overall thoughts and outlook
(1:43:30) - Recommendations and small wins
Olumide’s recommendations & small wins:
Interested in investing in Africa Tech with Olumide: Read about Adamantium fund & contact me at [email protected]. Founders looking for funding: If you're a B2B founder working on Education, Health, Finance or food, please contact me for funding at [email protected]
Checkout my FIREDOM book = FIRE (Financial Independence, Retire Early) + Freedom = personal finance and financial independence book. Website, Read: Substack Newsletter & Buy: Print, eBook or Audiobook)
Recommendation: The Slight Edge. Amazing Personal Development book about a mental framework to apply daily actions to get what you want in life. I have read it about 6 times at this point.
Recommendation: Temu.com. Started using it for shopping. It has some cool gamification ideas to nudge ecommerce purchases
Small win: Hosted house party with friends. It was great to see everyone together
Bankole’s recommendations & small wins:
Recommendation: Artificial Intelligence, a guide for Thinking Humans by Melanie Mitchell & Would You Sell Your Extra Kidney - Dylan Walsh
Small win: won my physical activity mini-league
Other content: FT fastest growing companies 2022 & Modularity Theory - Christensen Institute
Listeners: We’d love to hear from you. Email [email protected] with feedback!
Founders & Operators: We'd love to hear about what you're working on, email us at [email protected]
Investors: It would be great to link up with you. Contact us at [email protected]
Join our insider mailing list where we get feedback on new episodes & find all episodes on Afrobility.com -
Overview: Today, we’re going to talk about Twiga Foods. We’ll explore the story across the following 6 areas
Africa Agricultural context
Kenya farming & market access context
Twiga Foods’ early history
Twiga Foods’ Product & monetization strategy
Twiga Foods’ Competitive positioning & potential exit options
Future outlook.
This episode was recorded on May 28, 2023
Companies discussed: Twiga Foods, Apollo Agriculture, Vendease, Kibanda, Kellogg, Tolaram, Multipro, Olam, Dangote, Coca-Cola, Shoprite, Cargill, Nestle, Unilever & Safaricom (M-Pesa)
Business concepts discussed: Agriculture technology (AgTech, AgriTech or AgroTech), Agribusiness marketplaces, farming financing, Farmer market access opportunities, SMB Retail, B2B solutions and Agriculture Logistics.
Conversation highlights:
(01:00) - Twiga Foods context
(08:53) - Africa Agriculture context
(18:30) - Kenya background and agriculture context
(23:34) - Market access context in Africa
(31:20) - Market access context at Twiga Foods' founding
(40:12) - Founders’ background and farming context
(56:10) - Fundraising
(1:04:10) - Geographical expansion, Partnerships and Hiring
(1:15:00) - Metrics
(1:20:15) - Product & Monetization strategy, Cost structure
(1:32:58) - Competition
(1:35:00) - Options for exit
(1:45:50) - Olumide’s overall thoughts and outlook
(1:58:58) - Bankole’s overall thoughts and outlook
(2:06:31) - Recommendations and small wins
Olumide’s recommendations & small wins:
Recommendation: Berkshire Hathaway story on the Acquired podcast. It has multiple parts and is really good. The Acquired podcast is like the non-African version of Afrobility. They tell stories of companies in developed markets. Alternatively you could say Afrobility is the African version of Acquired.
Recommendation: Exxon-Mobil analyses on Business Breakdown podcast. Business Breakdowns is like a more serious suit-and-tie version of Acquired. As you can tell from my recommendations I like podcasts that analyse businesses.
Small win: Sao Paulo trip. It was fun.
Small win: To physically touch and hold the Firedom (financial independence) book. I and Samon released the paperback and hardcover versions in May and I just received my author copy. It feels magical, the book is beautiful and bright red.
Bankole’s recommendations & small wins:
Recommendation: Article about end of Life Dreams, Hallmarks of Good Product Sense & This Company Will Give You A Free TV In Exchange For Your Data | AdExchanger
Small win: The EPL season is over, and the suffering of being a Chelsea fan is on pause…
Other content: Winning in Africa’s agricultural market, After 18 Months, Your Investment Probably Isn’t Getting Marked Up - Angellist & Kellogg purchases 50% of Multipro for $450M
Listeners: We’d love to hear from you. Email [email protected] with feedback!
Founders & Operators: We'd love to hear about what you're working on, email us at [email protected]
Investors: It would be great to link up with you. Contact us at [email protected]
Join our insider mailing list where we get feedback on new episodes & find all episodes on Afrobility.com -
Overview: Today, we’re going to talk about Yoco, the South African Point-Of-Sale FinTech company. We’ll explore the story across the following areas:
South African payments context
Yoco’s early history
Yoco’s Product & monetization strategy
Yoco’s Competitive positioning & potential exit options
Overall outlook.
This episode was recorded on Apr 9, 2023
Companies discussed: Yoco, Square, Flutterwave, PayFast, PayThru, PayU, DPO, Flutterwave, Paystack, Stripe, Ikhokha, MTN, Safaricom, Zapper, Visa, Interswitch, Nedbank, ABSA, FNB (First National Bank South Africa) & Wave
Business concepts discussed: Merchants solutions, Points-of-Sale devices, SME Lending & hardware and software bundling
Conversation highlights:
(01:30) - Yoco context
(07:30) - Africa / SA payments context
(23:11) - Yoco Founding Story and Founders’ background
(40:45) - Fundraising and Growth
(51:52) - Partnerships, Acquisitions, and Team
(59:20) - Key metrics
(1:02:16) - Product Strategy
(1:19:42) - Monetization strategy
(1:30:50) - Competition
(1:36:42) - Options for exit
(1:49:06) - Bankole’s overall thoughts and outlook
(1:57:01) - Olumide’s overall thoughts and outlook
(2:07:14) - Recommendations and small wins
Olumide’s recommendations & small wins:
Recommendation: I released my book called Firedom = FIRE (Financial Independence, Retire Early) + Freedom = personal finance and financial independence book. It was an incredible journey to get it out and I’m very excited about it. I think many people will really enjoy it. You can buy the audiobook, ebook or print here. Here's an excerpt from the full blog post announcement:
Book Creation context: Around the end of 2022, I made a new friend when I met Samon, we instantly got along because we shared a lot in common: African immigrants who moved to America/Europe, worked in Management consulting and are in love with personal finance. We decided to embark on a project together and write a financial independence book we are calling Firedom!
What is Firedom book about? Living life intentionally + Personal finance + Financial independence + Personal Development + Freedom + Exploring your own unique path in life + Life adventures of two African immigrants
Who is it for? Underdogs, outsiders, expats, nomads, minorities, immigrants interested in :
Living their lives more intentionally to achieve Financial Independence
Learning about people's life stories (turning points, challenges, flameouts, etc)
Changing their mindset and psychological relationship with wealth
Recommendation: Owl City - Unbelievable. I love the song so much because it reminds me of adventures and experiences growing up
Recommendation: Good Hair - Documentary by Chris Rock. Good shit. Reduced my ignorance level about African women hair
Small win: Virgin Voyages cruise - First ever cruise. Very cool.
Small win: No scrubs Karaoke on cruise. Too much fun. It was an experience.
Bankole’s recommendations & small wins:
Recommendation: Economist Article on Nitrogen & Asake - 2:30
Small win: Moderating a panel at the Harvard Business School Africa Business Conference
Other content: The Prosperity Paradox by Efosa Ojomo, Karen Dillon, Clay Christensen, Adyen pricing page & PayFast pricing page
Listeners: We’d love to hear from you. Email [email protected] with feedback!
Founders & Operators: We'd love to hear about what you're working on, email us at [email protected]
Investors: It would be great to link up with you. Contact us at [email protected]
Join our substack mailing list where discuss more & find all episodes on Afrobility.com -
Overview: Today, we’re going to talk about DPO Group. We’ll explore the story across the following areas
African payments context DPO group’s early history Product & monetization strategy Competitive positioning & potential exit options overall outlook.This episode was recorded on Mar 5, 2023
Companies discussed: DPO Group, Network International, Apis partners, Flutterwave, Paystack, Interswitch, Safaricom, MTN, Airtel, Takealot.com, Superbalist.com, Safaricom, Yoco, PayPal & Chipper Cash
Business concepts discussed: Bootstrapping, Payments ecosystem, payments partnerships strategy, payments infrastructure, low-end disruption, banking regulation, Mobile Money, E-commerce payments, Virtual cards & payments M&A strategy
Conversation highlights:
(04:40) - Africa Payment Context at time of DPO’s founding (12:46) - DPO Group Founding and early history (14:05) - Founder Background (25:57) - Fundraising and Growth (29:48) - Acquisitions and Partnerships (51:30) - Product and Monetization Strategy (1:00:05) - Competition (1:08:35) - DPO’s exit to Network International (1:27:15) - Bankole’s overall thoughts and outlook (1:39:10) - Olumide’s overall thoughts and outlook (1:47:01) - Recommendations and small winsOlumide’s recommendations & small wins:
Recommendation: The War of Art: Book for creators and artists to get over the hump and release their inner creative expression to the world Recommendation: Naval Ravikant podcast with David Deutsch talking about Physics. Amazing episode. Having two of them together is incredible. Like having a rap collabo. Recommendation: Fela in Versace. Shit is too nice. I love songs that combine unrelated ideas Small win: Soul Cycle for the First time. Dope shit.Bankole’s recommendations & small wins:
Recommendation: Stratechery Podcast - Eric Seufert and Ben Thompson & Mike Munger on EconTalk on Decision-making Small win: I signed up for a gym membership for the first time everListeners: We’d love to hear from you. Email [email protected] with feedback!
Founders & Operators: We'd love to hear about what you're working on, email us at [email protected]
Investors: It would be great to link up with you. Contact us at [email protected]
Join our insider mailing list where we get feedback on new episodes & find all episodes on Afrobility.com
-
Overview: Today, we’re going to talk about MFS Africa. We’ll explore the MFS Africa story across the following 5 areas:
African payments context MFS Africa’s early history Product & monetization strategy Competitive positioning & potential exit options Overall outlook.This episode was recorded on Jan 29, 2023
Companies discussed: Onafriq (MFS Africa), Safaricom (M-Pesa), Opay, Flutterwave, Paystack, MTN, Airtel, Orange, Chipper Cash, Ecobank, Safaricom, Homesend, TransferTo, MasterCard & Visa
Business concepts discussed: Financial interoperability, mobile money (agency banking), banking regulation, acquisition strategy, payment processing, payment gateways & closed-loop payment networks
Conversation highlights:
(09:50) - Africa payments context and background (20:26) - MFS Africa founding and early history (22:06) - Founder background (31:40) - Fundraising and early growth (38:44) - Partnerships and M&A (1:02:15) - Product Strategy (1:06:30) - Monetization Strategy (1:13:59) - Competition and Options for Exit (1:28:51) - Olumide’s overall thoughts and outlook (1:34:00) - Bankole’s overall thoughts and outlook (1:47:00) - Recommendations and small winsOlumide’s recommendations & small wins:
Interested in investing in Africa Tech with Olumide: Read about Adamantium fund & contact me at [email protected] Founders looking for funding: If you're a B2B founder working on Education, Health, Finance or food, please contact me for funding at [email protected] Recommendation: Be Happy 35 Powerful Methods for Personal Growth & Well-Being. Talks about practices for a positive mental health. Fun short read that you can refer to time and time again Small win: Birthday celebrations with friends in Miami, NYC & SF. It was epic!Bankole’s recommendations & small wins:
Recommendation: Accidental Gods by Anna Della Subin Small win: I read 3 books in January Other content: Afrobility Chipper Cash episode , Inside the MFS Africa acquisition of Beyonic & Follow me on GoodreadsListeners: We’d love to hear from you. Email [email protected] with feedback!
Founders & Operators: We'd love to hear about what you're working on, email us at [email protected]
Investors: It would be great to link up with you. Contact us at [email protected]
Join our insider mailing list where we get feedback on new episodes & find all episodes on Afrobility.com
-
Overview: Today, we’re going to talk about M-Kopa, the African asset financing platform. We’ll explore the M-Kopa story across 5 areas:
African electrical power context M-Kopa's early history Product & monetization strategy Competitive positioning & exit options Then we'll end with our views on its overall outlook.This episode was recorded on Jan 15, 2023
Companies discussed: M-Kopa, Safaricom (M-Pesa), d.light, Zola Electric, Transsion, Samsung, Nokia (HMD global), Airtel, MTN, Mobisol, Carbon & Fairmoney
Business concepts discussed: Rural electrification, Payment infrastructure, Pay-as-you-go Solar, Off-grid energy, asset financing, credit scoring, risk assessment & renewable energy
Conversation highlights:
(05:45) - Africa electricity access context (09:45) - Kenya electricity access context (14:55) - M-Kopa early history (16:55 ) - Founders’ background (25:07) - Other ideas before M-Kopa and M-Kopa launch (28:44) - Launch strategy - partnerships, sales and distribution (32:05) - Fundraising, Growth, Geo Expansion, Team (54:01) - Product strategy and how the product works (1:06:04) - Monetization strategy (1:14:16) - Competition and options for exit (01:29:50) - Olumide’s overall thoughts and outlook (1:38:06) - Bankole’s overall thoughts and outlook (1:48:08) - Recommendations and small winsOlumide’s recommendations & small wins:
Interested in investing in Africa Tech with Olumide: Read about Adamantium fund & contact me at [email protected] Founders looking for funding: If you're a B2B founder working on Education, Health, Finance or food, please contact me for funding at [email protected] Recommendation 1: Descript: We use it for afrobility and even though I didn't initially think we needed it, it's grown on me. Especially now that I'm using it more aggressively for my personal finance book (myfiredom.com) editing Recommendation 2: Dances with wolves movie. So so good! Small win 1: Hung out with mum during thanksgiving break. It was cool! Small win 2: New years day with friends in London. It was nice!Bankole’s recommendations & small wins:
Recommendation: Building an AI Chatbot off Podcast Transcripts Small win: Happy to be back home after months of travelling in Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa Other content: M-Kopa Solar Is Making a Profit on Poor AfricansListeners: We’d love to hear from you. Email [email protected] with feedback!
Founders & Operators: We'd love to hear about what you're working on, email us at [email protected]
Investors: It would be great to link up with you. Contact us at [email protected]
Join our insider mailing list where we get feedback on new episodes & find all episodes on Afrobility.com
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