Avsnitt
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This season of Building the Future was made possible by Moniepoint
My guest today is Dare Okoudjou, Founder & CEO of Onafriq (formerly known as MFS Africa). Dare has built a long-running startup success streak on the continent, having started the business over a decade ago to become a multimillion dollar revenue company today.
Onafriq is building a “network of networks” to enable payments interoperability across the continent. After finding product-market fit, the company went through rapid expansion, completing four startup acquisitions in a two-year period (2020 - 22): Beyonic, Baxi, SimbaPay, & GTP (US), and increasing its headcount from 65 people to over 500.
In this episode, we explored:
The philosophy behind Onafriq’s M&A, including post-merger integration (people, technology, & operations), how to manage growth, and long-term value creationDare’s vision for Onafriq’s payment network, highlighting why interoperability is important, and the integration of online and offline components to align with purchasing behavior on the continentHis growth as a leader, and how management and communication styles must evolve as a company growsInsights on successfully raising capital in the African ecosystem, including the role of timing, rhythm, and relationships in fundraising and business (“Fundraising can never be a stop-start project”)Book Recommendations: Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver and La Ambigu (English translation: The Ambiguous Adventure) by Cheikh Hamidou Kane
Bonus: Africa’s S-Curves by Stephen Deng. Link
Quote: “…you also have to remember that the game is dynamic and what the picture looks like today may not be what the picture looks like in two years, and not the picture looks like in five years.”
Transcript
I hope you enjoy this episode as much as I did.
CREDITS
Host: Dr. Dotun Olowoporoku
Produced by: The Subtext
Editing: Osarumen Osamuyi, Chinedu Anatune
Show Notes: Grace Obaloluwa
Design: Jonathan Nwachukwu
Voice Overs & Project Coordination: Damilola Teidi
Season Intro Video: Chukwuka Ezeiruaku -
This season of Building the Future was made possible by Moniepoint
My guest today is Uka Eje, the co-founder and CEO of ThriveAgric. I've known Uka since 2017, when he and his co-founder, Ayo, received their first institutional investment from Ventures Platform.
ThriveAgric empowers nearly one million smallholder farmers on the continent with technology, credit, and access-to-market. The company started as an idea between two classmates, and their journey so far has involved overcoming operational and financial hurdles, surviving a near collapse during the COVID-19 pandemic, pivoting, and maturing into one of the most impactful businesses in Africa.
This year, ThriveAgric was recognized by the Financial Times as one of Africa’s fastest-growing companies, with partnerships with major offtakers like Flour Mills of Nigeria, Dangote Foods, and Nestle.
In this episode, we discussed:.
The uniqueness and importance of ThriveAgric’s business model, including how they enable capital and market access for smallholder farmers, organizing them into efficient production clusters, resulting in significant yield increases.The challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, including logistical disruptions, and how ThriveAgric fortified its risk management and operational capabilities. The pivotal decision to bring in a more experienced CEO, Adia Sowho, to help rebuild stakeholder trust, stabilize operations, and refocus efforts towards the company’s long-term growth.Uka’s growth as a leader through the different phases of the company’s journey.
I am grateful to Uka for having an honest conversation with me. I hope you enjoy this episode as much as I did.Book Recommendation: The Hard Thing about Hard Things by Ben Horowitz
Quote: “Quite a number of people asked me why stepping down was the solution for Thrive Agric. My response was pretty simple, although the process was not easy for me emotionally, considering we built this business, myself and my co-founder, right?
But we had to ask ourselves a question: ‘what is most important to us, that this business survives and it continues to be a scalable business, or the idea that it’s on record that there was a step down?’ [...] We also had to think about the future of the business. We wanted to build something for the long haul. [...] people need to trust you enough to do business with you”
CREDITS
Host: Dr. Dotun Olowoporoku
Produced by: The Subtext
Editing: Osarumen Osamuyi, Chinedu Anatune
Show Notes: Grace Obaloluwa
Design: Jonathan Nwachukwu
Voice Overs & Project Coordination: Damilola Teidi
Season Intro Video: Chukwuka Ezeiruaku -
Saknas det avsnitt?
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This season of Building the Future was made possible by Moniepoint
My guest today is Deepankar Rustagi, a seasoned tech entrepreneur in Nigeria. I've known Deepankar for over 7 years, dating back to his days at Vconnect. He was one of the first entrepreneurs featured on this podcast—check out episode 8 to hear about his journey from Nigeria to India and back, where he initially worked for Tolaram Group before founding Vconnect.
In this episode, we continue Deepankar's story, focusing on his next venture, OmniRetail, an asset-light B2B e-commerce platform. OmniRetail has been recognized by the Financial Times as the fastest-growing company in Africa, with annual revenue exceeding $100 million. As a board member, I’ve seen Deepankar's thoughtful leadership and execution firsthand.Our discussion covers:
How OmniRetail uses decentralized warehouses and partnerships with third-party logistics providers to boost efficiency and scalability, sticking to their asset-light approach.OmniRetail's focus on profitability from day one, following traditional trade practices to achieve sustainable growth with strong gross margins, ensuring long-term success and customer loyalty.The importance of unit economics: distinguishing transaction-level profitability from overall profitability, stressing the need for profitability at the unit level right from the start. The impact of digitizing transactions through OmniPay to streamline payments and improve reconciliation, and the broader role of fintech in boosting profit margins.The inevitability and benefits of consolidation: discussing how combining specialized firms like FinTech and logistics experts enhances value and profitability.The impact of currency devaluation on servicing dollar loans, which can potentially shut down businesses and strategies for converting dollar debt into local currency debt to ensure business stability.Quote: “...don't fantasize about your product in a boardroom. Go out there and see expressions and responses from real stakeholders on what they feel about the product or what they feel about the technology. They might not understand every bit of it, but if they understand the value that you're trying to offer, if they are willing to change their behavior a little to accept that value, then you're working in the right direction.”
Educational Recommendation: Business Insider, Entrepreneur.com
Transcript
CREDITS
Host: Dr. Dotun Olowoporoku
Produced by: The Subtext
Editing: Osarumen Osamuyi, Chinedu Anatune
Show Notes: Grace Obaloluwa
Design: Jonathan Nwachukwu
Voice Overs & Project Coordination: Damilola Teidi
Season Intro Video: Chukwuka Ezeiruaku -
This season of Building the Future was made possible by Moniepoint
My guest today is Elo Umeh, founder and CEO of Terragon Group, a leading data and marketing cloud company in Africa. I've known Elo personally for some time; his leadership at Terragon has been transformative.
Founded in 2009, Terragon initially focused on mobile websites and launched Twinpine, a mobile ad network, in 2012. Under Elo's guidance, Terragon now offers marketing automation, customer data platforms, and enterprise insights, impacting over 350 million profiles in Africa. They acquired Alcatel Lucent Mobile Advertising across 16 markets, integrating 60 million customer profiles, and also acquired their long term technical partner, BiZense (India).
In this episode we discuss:
The significance of achieving substantial enterprise value (EV) relative to the capital raised, aiming for a 10x return to ensure strong, scalable businesses and meaningful returns for investors.The unique challenges and opportunities in the African market, emphasizing the need for patient capital, understanding local value chains, and building strong relationships to navigate infrastructure and liquidity issues.The crucial role of leadership and investor responsibility in fostering sustainable businesses, advocating for realistic EV expectations and a focus on long-term value creation and responsible business practices.The importance of staying passionate about your venture, maintaining humility, and focusing on customers to drive long-term success and adaptability in the business world.The differences between creating a product and building a company, stressing the need for embedding the founder's vision, culture, and governance structures to ensure long-term growth and stakeholder engagement.Elo also serves as an Executive in Residence at the Lagos Business School, shaping business leadership in Africa. Join me as we explore Elo Umeh's journey and insights in driving digital innovation on the continent.
Book Recommendations:
When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi Better, Simpler Strategy: A Value-Based Guide to Exceptional Performance by Felix Oberholzer-GeeGrit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance by Angela DuckworthQuote: A company is not yet a company if it doesn't deliver a platform for sustained wealth creation.
TranscriptCREDITS
Host: Dr. Dotun Olowoporoku
Produced by: The Subtext
Editing: Osarumen Osamuyi, Chinedu Anatune
Show Notes: Grace Obaloluwa
Design: Jonathan Nwachukwu
Voice Overs & Project Coordination: Damilola Teidi
Season Intro Video: Chukwuka Ezeiruaku -
This season of Building the Future was made possible by Moniepoint
My guest today is Daniel Yu, founder and CEO of Wasoko, a B2B e-commerce platform serving over 220,000 informal retailers across the continent. The first time I saw Daniel, he was playing the keyboard as part of a live band in Nairobi. Since then, we've met at more serious events where we've shared banter about pan-African expansion philosophies for startups on the continent. Daniel is a true global citizen, having worked in or traveled to 70+ countries, and speaks Mandarin, Swahili, Portuguese, Spanish, Arabic, Cantonese, and French.Wasoko raised a $125M Series B in 2022 and opened a new regional hub in West Africa. In December 2023, they announced a merger with Egyptian B2B e-commerce company, MaxAB.
In this episode, we discussed:
Daniel’s learnings from the M&A process, including the importance of trust and alignment for mergers and acquisitions, as well as the intentionality required to successfully combine company cultures.Key hypotheses in FMCG value chain innovation, including Wasoko’s approach to customer prioritization, vertical integration, and gross margin optimization in a highly competitive market.Frameworks for prioritizing markets for expansion, identifying regional differences, and lessons from Wasoko’s first attempt to build a new regional hub in Francophone West Africa.The key leadership skill of ‘listening’, which he applied from his experience as a member of a performing bandTranscript
Recommended Book: Infectious Generosity: The Ultimate Idea Worth Spreading by Chris Anderson
Quote: “I think that the startup stereotype, at least if you're coming from a California Silicon Valley background [...] is much more, ‘okay let me do this thing for maybe three or four years. And then, Google or Facebook will acquire the company and I'll start the next company or go on to something else.’ And I think what has become apparent to me, and the advice that I give to all founders considering building in the African ecosystem is, ‘are you ready to do this for a decade?’”
CREDITSHost: Dr. Dotun Olowoporoku
Produced by: The Subtext
Editing: Osarumen Osamuyi, Chinedu Anatune
Show Notes: Grace Obaloluwa
Design: Jonathan Nwachukwu
Voice Overs & Project Coordination: Damilola Teidi
Season Intro Video: Chukwuka Ezeiruaku -
This season of Building the Future was made possible by Moniepoint
My guest today is Bode Abifarin, one of the leading startup operators I know on the continent.
I first met Bode in 2017 when she had just joined Flutterwave, where she served as Chief Operating Officer. I've been continually impressed by Bode’s unique ability to blend operational dexterity with high level strategic thinking. Bode has a background in consulting for KPMG and worked closely with banks in Nigeria to develop and articulate their go to market strategies. Flutterwave gave her the opportunity to operationalize many of her PowerPoint presentations in a high growth, high intensity startup environment. Bode joined the company in its early days, and since then, it has become one of the few unicorns on the continent, valued at $3 billion in its most recent fundraising round. This conversation was recorded while she was still the COO.
In this episode, we discuss:
The key mental frames and thought process for transitioning from a large corporation to a startup. Including: 1/ the challenges she faced during this transition, 2/ the relationships and other advantages she brought from her corporate experience, as well as, 3/ her learning curve in adapting to the startup environment.Efficiency, operations standardization, and the evolution of the COO role as a company scales.Key actions to take while penetrating into a new market:, blending experienced personnel with local talent, adapting to cultural and regulatory nuances as well as continuous learning and improving. Her approach to finding, shaping, and mentoring talent as a business leader on the continent.Book: Imagine Africa
Quote: “Once your strategy, in terms of go-to-market, product, and focus is crisp and clear. Spend time getting that crispiness and the clarity in your own local markets, right? Go deep, go wide, listen to customers, iterate, and be the champion of that market.
CREDITS
Host: Dr. Dotun Olowoporoku
Produced by: The Subtext
Editing: Osarumen Osamuyi, Chinedu Anatune
Show Notes: Grace Obaloluwa
Design: Jonathan Nwachukwu
Voice Overs & Project Coordination: Damilola Teidi
Season Intro Video: Chukwuka Ezeiruaku -
This season of Building the Future was made possible by Moniepoint
My guest today is Mark Straub, founder & CEO of Smile ID.
Smile ID is building identity verification infrastructure for businesses in Africa.
Mark and I were connected by a mutual friend, but I’ve always been fascinated by his transition from being a venture investor to becoming a startup founder — especially considering that I made the transition in the other direction.
With Smile ID, Mark is building an important layer of trust for digital transactions across the continent. The company raised a $20M Series B and completed 100 million identity checks in 2023. Mark’s thoughtfulness, deep sector expertise and capacity to attract top talents seems to give him an unfair advantage in the space. In this episode, we explore:
The role of fintech as a driver of economic development, and the role of digital identity as an important building block for fintech innovation.The crucial components needed for a successful digital identity systemThe strategic framework behind the company's expansion and how Smile ID has built differentiation in a crowded marketMark’s framework for attracting and retaining top talentLessons from his experience as both an investor and entrepreneurBook Recommendation::
Leaving the Tarmac: Buying a Bank in Africa by Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede, providing an insightful resource for those interested in African business ventures.
High Growth Handbook by Elad Gil a comprehensive guide for scaling startups, covering critical topics such as hiring, management, product development, and fundraising.
Quote: “Having payment rails is like having a car.You can drive really fast and you can go from one place to another. You can send value from one place to another. Having good ID systems in place is like having a seatbelt and brakes that work. So you can stop the car from driving off the road and destroying everything in it.”
I hope you enjoy this episode as much as I did.
Transcript
CREDITS
Host: Dr. Dotun Olowoporoku
Produced by: The Subtext
Editing: Osarumen Osamuyi, Chinedu Anatune
Show Notes: Grace Obaloluwa
Design: Jonathan Nwachukwu
Voice Overs & Project Coordination: Damilola Teidi
Season Intro Video: Chukwuka Ezeiruaku -
My guest today is Anu Adedoyin-Adasolum, the co-founder and CEO of Sabi.
Sabi is a B2B e-commerce startup that provides digital infrastructure to Africa's informal economy. In October 2023, they announced reaching $1B annual GMV.
I've always been fascinated by Sabi, especially their ability to bring seemingly disjointed and complex pieces together in a connected business model. In this episode, we discussed:
The unique challenges and differentiation strategies of operating a B2B e-commerce platform in Africa. Anu emphasizes the importance of understanding market needs and tailoring solutions to address customer needs. We also covered Sabi's approach to building trust, providing logistics, quality services, access to credit, and other resources to businesses. The surprising sophistication of the informal market, including lessons learned from Anu’s past experiences at Jumia and RensourceThe decision to adopt an asset-light model, and the critical role of detailed data analysis and segmentation for achieving scale.We also touched on identifying the right expansion strategies, the complexities of fundraising, and Anu’s approach to cohort analysis.
I hope you enjoy this episode as much as I did.Quote: “No one cares about your app. Literally no one cares about that application. [Merchants are] just trying to make money. Help them make money, or don't.”
Book Recommendation: Emotion by Design: Creative Leadership Lessons from a Life at Nike. By Greg Hoffman
The Ride of a Lifetime: Lessons Learned from 15 Years as CEO of the Walt Disney Company by Bob IgerCREDITS
This season of Building the Future was made possible by Moniepoint
Host: Dr. Dotun Olowoporoku
Produced by: The Subtext
Editing: Osarumen Osamuyi, Chinedu Anatune
Show Notes: Grace Obaloluwa
Design: Jonathan Nwachukwu
Voice Overs & Project Coordination: Damilola Teidi
Season Intro Video: Chukwuka EzeiruakuTranscript: https://share.transistor.fm/s/0d6e5d28/transcript.txt
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My guest today is Shola Akinlade. I met Shola in 2016, while he and his co-founder, Ezra, were at the YC accelerator program. It was the beginning of their Paystack journey, and even then, I was struck by his clarity of thought and radical focus on product development.Today, Paystack has scaled to seven markets and is responsible for over 40x the value processed online in Nigeria at the time of their founding. Their $200M+ acquisition by Stripe marked a significant milestone for the tech ecosystem in October 2020.
In this episode, which is Shola’s second appearance on BTF, we reflected on:
Stripe’s acquisition of Paystack, and its impact on Shola, his team, and broader tech ecosystemHiring and managing startup talent at scale, including the necessary changes in management style required at different stages of a startup’s lifeHis seven-year benchmark for measuring startup success, and the importance of a long term view in company building
We also discussed the opportunity with “community project” Sporting Lagos FC, and how his experience at Paystack serves as leverage in his new venture of owning a football club. Listen to Episode 11 (Season 1) as context for this one.Quote: “In the realm of business, prioritizing shared values over personal friendships is paramount when selecting collaborative partners.”
Recommended Books:
The Away Game: The Epic Search for Soccer’s Next Superstars by Sebastian Abbot
Radical Candour: How to Get What You Want by Saying What You Mean by Kim Scott
CREDITS
This season of Building the Future was made possible by Moniepoint
Host: Dr. Dotun Olowoporoku
Produced by: The Subtext
Editing: Osarumen Osamuyi, Chinedu Anatune
Show Notes: Grace Obaloluwa
Design: Jonathan Nwachukwu
Voice Overs & Project Coordination: Damilola Teidi
Season Intro Video: Chukwuka Ezeiruaku -
My guest today is Tosin Eniolorunda, CEO and co-founder of Moniepoint. I met Tosin in Kigali at the Africa Tech Summit in 2020, just before the world went into lockdown. We spent hours discussing the offline distribution of fintech products after our introduction. Since then, I've had the opportunity to be an investor, C-level executive, and board observer at Moniepoint. This has allowed me to understand the company from both external and internal perspectives.
In this episode, you'll get a glimpse of the typical conversation I have with Tosin during our working days.
Here are five key takeaways from this episode:
Data Driven Decision Making: Utilizing data analytics and insights is fundamental for informed decision-making, optimizing operations, and identifying growth opportunities in a rapidly changing market landscape.First Mover Advantage: Being the first to market is crucial for gaining a competitive edge and establishing a strong position.Customer-focused Approach: Prioritizing customer experience and integrating their feedback enhances loyalty, fosters long-term relationships, and improves brand reputation.Talent Development and Leadership: It's essential to invest in talent development and promote strong leadership for building a resilient, high-performing workforce capable of overcoming challenges and driving the organization forward.4M Framework: Mastery, Membership, Meaning, and Money are critical components for personal and professional growth.Quote: "People are at their best when they are entrepreneurial, when they say ‘I’m doing this for myself and not necessarily for my boss.’"
Book Recommendation: "Execution: The Discipline of Getting Things Done" by Lawrence Bossidy and Ram Charan.
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It's been a while. I haven't held the podcast mic for a long time. I must admit, I'm a bit rusty. I’m overwhelmed by the advancements in the podcast space since my sabbatical. The African tech ecosystem has also grown in leaps and bounds, with its fair share of troughs too. And I'm still privileged to be an active participating observer in it.
Several people have asked me privately and publicly when I'm restarting the podcast. I've attributed the delay to my busy schedule, but I'm more eager to return than those who've inquired about it.
At last, I'm back.
This season, I aim to revisit the raison d'être of the podcast, and highlight the significant progress in the African tech ecosystem. I'll do this through the perspectives of key players who have raised substantial capital, generated millions in revenue, or added significant value to their businesses.Please enjoy the Season 5 Intro and my interview with the Producer, Osarumen Osamuyi, who collaborated with me on this project.
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My guest today is Sangu Delle. Sangu is an entrepreneur, an investor, author, and someone who is deeply rooted in Pan-African ideology. His latest book Making the futures: Young entrepreneurs in a dynamic Africa explored similar themes and topics that I've often explore on this podcast. So it's not surprising that we started the conversation in this episode talking about the book. We discussed the challenges and opportunities of building a business in Africa. We also deep-dived into the competitive advantage of raising capital and having a longer runway as a startup, the outsized importance of foreign venture capital in African early-stage businesses and the role of government in facilitating a successful startup ecosystem. This episode is packed as we move from one serious topic to another. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.
On this episode, we spoke about
Sangu’s book and why he wrote itHis investment thesis on Africa and her economic growthWhy it's not the best ideas that win and find out what winsThe relationship between reputation, intentionality and luck(grace) and their impact on the probability of successHow philanthropy and unhindered dreams helped him achieve his goalsThe outsized importance of government and foreign investor in facilitating the African startup ecosystem.Recommended book
Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies By Jared Diamond
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My guest today is Andrew Alli. Andrew is a real-life and virtual mentor to a lot of investment professionals in Africa. He is the Partner and Group CEO at Southbridge a pan-African financial advisory firm. Before then, he was the president and CEO of the Africa Finance Corporation, where he was responsible for over $4,5 billion of investments in 30 countries. Andrew's career is an inspiration and signpost to upcoming African investors like me, and it was a real pleasure to deep dive into how he got started and the lessons learnt till date. We also talked about how to reduce investment risk through temporal and geographical diversification in portfolio construction and the importance of a strong ESG framework in a weak socio-political environment that most African countries operate. I really enjoyed this conversation, and I hope you do too.
The importance of numerate and logic skills as a good basis for career optionalityWhat it means to be an investor in Africa, despite the obvious contradictions and challengesThe role of boards in corporate governanceThe importance of ESG in mitigating investment risk
In this episode, you'll learnRecommended books
World Order: Reflections on the Character of Nations and the Course of History by Henry KissingerAndrew's twitter handle - @afalli
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My guest today is Eloho Gihan-Mbelu; she is the founding Managing Director & CEO of Endeavor Nigeria. Endeavor is a mission-oriented, global organisation that is supporting high-impact entrepreneurship in close to 40 underserved markets across the world.
Eloho and I got introduced a few years ago when she started her role with Endeavor Nigeria, and I find her intellectual honesty very refreshing. You can get more of her thoughts on her twitter handle @elohoGM. In this episode, we discussed her early career journey as an investment banker and then in private equity focussed on African growth companies. We discussed her perspectives on the infrastructural and the regulatory challenges of building a startup to scale up in Africa. We also discussed the opportunities that COVID presents for accelerating digital demand on the continent. And how to set up a board at different stages of company life. I hope you enjoy this episode as much as I did.
Why did Eloho choose to work with Nigerian companies?The two key factors that contributed to the growth of the African startup EcosystemFormulating investment thesis for growth-stage companies in AfricaThere are numerous infrastructural and regulatory challenges to building a startup to scale up in Africa...what's her take?Infrastructural, regulatory and macroeconomic challenges of building a company in AfricaThe difference between startups and scaleupsWhat is the right size for a board of a growing company?Her tested methods for making the most from your board meeting
In this episode, you'll learn...Timestamps
(03:00) Her journey to Endeavour Nigeria, why she wanted to work with Nigerian companies.
(15: 22) How resilience helped build the African startup market
(27:32) Factors founders need to consider in making the right decisions in the face of competition
(31:07) Her thoughts around how to set up a board of directors at different stages of a company's life.
(33:57) How board members should be engaged to get the best results
(43:00) What she thinks is the right support that businesses need
(48:52) Her approach to achieving a healthy work-life balance
(51:12) Her current reading list and the new perspective she has recently garnered about business
Books she's currently reading
Water dancer by Ta-Nehisi Coates
The hard thing about hard things by Ben Horowitz
Social Media
@ElohoGM
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My guest today is Tokunbo Ishmael. She's the co-founder and Managing Director of Alitheia Capital, an African focussed PE and VC firm. Alitheia Capital investments include businesses that enable the provision of financial services to the unbanked, and underbanked through traditional and branchless banking models. Alitheia Capital focuses on doing social good and also having a good return on investment.
Tokunbo Ishmael is an alumnus of London Business School, and the University of London, she's a chartered financial analyst, and she used to be an investment banker before starting Alethia. She's a member of CFA Institute, she has sat on several boards in the different organization across Africa, including First City Monument Bank in Nigeria, and the African Venture Capital Association.
In this episode we discussed...
Why Alethea capital is both PE and Venture capitalThe necessity for developing the ability to reason and present a sustainable argument on the basis of numbersParallels between early 2000s dotcom burst and the disruptive impact of COVID on startup investingKey success factors for surviving as an entrepreneur during unpredictable times be grounded on core mission but flexible to make opportunities out of the current challengerethink the value you're bringing to the tableunderstand their existing developmental gaps and where to collaborate to fill up the deficienciesamplify their powers and use that to innovate and re-imagine themselvesOn discovering the riches at the bottom of the pyramid by building essential goods and services for the mass marketsWhy entrepreneurs should expand their view to stakeholder value creation and not just profitBooks
How Women Rise: Break the 12 Habits Holding You Back - Sally Helgesen and Marshall GoldsmithConscious Capitalism: Liberating the Heroic Spirit of Business - John Mackey -
My guest today is Eric Idiahi. Eric is the co-founder and partner at Verod Capital, a private equity firm based out of Lagos Nigeria. Verod is one of the top PE firms in the continent with a significant number of successful exits as well as admirable money multiples record from their previous fund. Eric is someone I've known from a distance, so when we met at a dinner late last year I invited him to be a guest on this podcast and he graciously obliged. In this episode, we discussed how he and his partner, Danladi, started Verod in 2008 by working with other investors on a deal by deal basis. We talked about the fundamental differences between PE and VC model, especially the way it's done in Africa, how to maintain a balance between portfolio support, value creation and investor control. We discussed exits and how investors can think about it and position their portfolio companies for that event. And of course, we discussed COVID, what it means for businesses in Africa and how to frame its inherent challenge and opportunity. I hope you enjoy this conversation as much as I did.
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My guest today is Nnena. Nnena is a Principal at Digame Investment, a growth capital investment firm that back tech-enabled businesses in Africa. Their portfolio companies include GetSmarter an online education company based in Cape Town and London that work some of the top global universities to offer premium online short courses to working professionals around the world. GetSmarter was acquired by 2U in 2017 for $103m, demonstrating that the possibilities of a successful exit.
We talked about the key difference between the venture ecosystem in Africa and the silicon valley or Europe in terms of startup valuation, capital allocation, returns expectations and timelines. We also spent the time to discuss how COVID is creating both opportunities and challenges for startups in Africa. Why execution matters in building a startup
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This is the second part of my conversation with Yele Bademosi, you can listen to the first part of this conversation in the last episode of this podcast series. Apart from being the founding partner at Microtraction, Yele is also the founder and CEO of Bundle a social application for cash and cryptocurrency transactions. Yele is the first person I go-to for any question I have on blockchain and cryptocurrency.
In this episode, Yele and I discussed his previous role as a director at Binance LB and his highly optimistic views on blockchain and cryptocurrency in Africa. We also discussed his thought on credit and other alternative funding instruments for tech startups apart from equity. I hope you enjoy this episode as much as I did.
In this episode we discussed
How economic development in Africa is like telephone technologyCapital formation, advantages of blockchain technology and how value is created through crypt(12:54)The role of credit in the African tech startup ecosystem (18:59)How to build an organization; learning from the Binance Model (28:15)Quotes
Credit is taking a bet on the futureCulture is important, but organization structure is as importantRecommended Books
LoonshotsTractionHigh output managementThe libertarian mindThe lean startup -
My guest today is Yele Bademosi. Yele is the founder of Microtraction, an angel investment platform that funds Africa’s technology entrepreneurs in their early stage. Microtraction is one of the most active pre-seed investment firms in Nigeria. Yele and I have known each other for some time. We’ve worked together closely in the past, when he became the first person to join my previous company, Starta, barely a few weeks after it was founded in late 2015. It is quite fitting that Yele is the first guest on season 4 of this podcast after a long break. We recorded this episode in late 2019, before COVID, so a lot of the things we talked about might be out of kilter with the current post-COVID world realities. This is the first of the two-part interview. In this episode, we talked about how he started his career and why he left medicine to pursue a whole different path. We also talked about leadership, growth and how good relationships often create a funnel of positive serendipity. I hope you’ll enjoy this episode as much as I did.
In this episode we discussed;
How he left medicine to pursue his Startup dreamHis first idea for the Nigerian market and why it failedThe hype around blockchain and the possibilities it holds for the African startup ecosystemYele's definition of success and what growth looks like in tech startupsIf regular management hacks can work for the new tech startupsThe role good relationships played in his journey and what it means for upcoming generationsThe two things new tech founders should focus on in their early stage and why -
Venture-backed startups are disrupting existing business models, redefining market potentials and creating new verticals. In Africa, startups are finding innovative models for addressing underserved market segments, repurposing under-utilised resources and facilitating efficiencies and visibilities where none exists before. These companies have catalysed wider conversations, policies and actions from both government and non-governmental institutions on how to leverage democratised access to technology and innovation across the continent. Although the long-term 'financial success' of these companies is still yet to be proven, their potential impact on market opportunities and social benefits in Africa is undisputed.
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