Founders

Sona's Field Notes #01: The VC Question That Won't Let Founders in Africa Rest

In the debut edition of her monthly email, venture builder-turned-founder Sona Mahendra confronts a common VC question African founders dread.

This Is Connectivity

OP-ED: The New Rules of Influence—Ikpeme Neto on leveraging public persona for startup success

Doctor-turned-founder Ikpeme Neto is building Wellahealth with substance over hype. His journey highlights the power of strategic visibility, public engagement, and sustainable execution in digital healthcare.

Ecosystem

OP-ED: If Weekend Go Sweet—Fatu Ogwuche's reading of African Tech's 2024 'Wednesday' signals

Through the lens of a street-smart Nigerian saying, Big Tech This Week founder Fatu Ogwuche unpacks a year of tense realities in African tech and why 2024's closing signals are fueling high hopes for 2025.

Media

POD: Tinashe Mukogo of Money & Moves on Building Independent Media that Balances Commercial Success and Public Interest

Former Deloitte consultant and Siemens executive, Tinashe Mukogo, discusses how his professional experience and corporate background are shaping his live, real-time approach to building a sustainable, independent financial media property.

Startups

OP-ED: AI and the Rise of the Tech Solopreneur—Hype or reality?

AI’s efficiency revolution is reshaping tech entrepreneurship. From US insurtech Jerry’s profit flip to Postman’s automated API tools, Africa’s solopreneurs could thrive with lean, AI-driven models over capital-intensive scaling.

Market Intelligence

OP-ED: Awkward Investment Realities—The case for backing 'boring' business in Africa

As African tech investments plateau, Balloon Ventures' $14 million SME portfolio reveals an uncomfortable truth: 'boring' traditional businesses might be outperforming venture-backed startups in real economic impact.

Impact Investing

POD: Impact Theatre Check—Balloon Ventures' contrarian sensibilities to SME financing in East Africa

Joshua Bicknell, co-founder of Balloon Ventures, discusses how the financial institution is challenging conventional investor logic by backing "boring businesses" to create sustainable employment in East Africa.

Entrepreneurship

OP-ED: From Assumption to Immersion—Feyi Olubodun on what it takes to succeed in African markets

Navigating African markets requires more than confidence and credentials—it demands deep cultural immersion. Consumer behaviour specialist Feyi Olubodun’s insights challenge our assumptions and redefine what true market understanding looks like.

Artificial Intelligence

OP-ED: Decoding DeepSeek—Will China’s lean AI model alter global information flows?

Andile Masuku takes stock of the rapid evolution of global AI innovation, exploring its far-reaching implications for journalism, the creative industries, and the legal landscape.

Digital Transformation

POD: Ten Minutes on Nigeria's Digital Infrastructure—BCN's Ochuko Ogra shares strategic vision for growth

Executive strategist Ochuko Ogra explains why Backbone Connectivity Network (BCN) favours collaboration over competition in driving commercial success.

Venture Capital

OP-ED: African Tech’s Next Big Challenge—Matching venture capital to realistic outcomes

Misaligned funding models are stalling wins in African tech. Venture builder-turned-founder Sona Mahendra offers astute insights on aligning venture capital with scalable, sustainable growth.

Infrastructure

#ThrowbackPOD: Alan Knott-Craig Jr in 2016, riding waves of setbacks and success

From inheriting a famous surname to losing Africa's largest social network, Alan Knott-Craig Jr pivoted to revolutionising rural and township internet access.

Venture Capital

#ThrowbackPOD: Maya Horgan Famodu in 2017, before founding Ingressive Capital

Catch Maya Horgan Famodu at a pivotal moment—still running investor tours between Silicon Valley and Africa—just before launching her groundbreaking venture capital fund.

This Is Connectivity

OP-ED: From Couch to Connectivity—Building a global network on a failed podcast

A squawking Hadeda ibis, a faltering TV career and a failed podcast in Johannesburg became unlikely building blocks for global tech ecosystem connections.

Ecosystem

OP-ED: WhatsApp's Global Dominance and Africa's Tech Evolution—A 2024 reflection

From WhatsApp eating the world to Ethiopian developers' quiet brilliance, Andile Masuku reflects on how big global tech and Africa's diverse tech cultures are reshaping our digital future.

Talent

#ThrowbackPOD: Revisiting a 2018 chat with Gebeya's Amadou Daffe & AltSchool Africa's Adewale Yusuf

A candid throwback exchange unpacking Ethiopia's quiet rise as a tech talent powerhouse against Nigeria's developer compensation evolution.

Banking

OP-ED: Banking Evolution—Building digital banks that balance scale and sustainability

Global shifts and regional demands are transforming neobanking, as African digital banks redefine success through delivering market-relevant financial services profitably and sustainably.

Fintech

POD: Beyond Free Banking—Chijioke Dozie on Carbon's journey to profitable digital banking in Nigeria

Chijioke Dozie, co-founder and CEO of Carbon, shares insights on building a sustainable digital bank in Nigeria and the evolving neobanking landscape across Africa.

Ecosystem

OP-ED: Systematic Strategies & DIY Innovation—Shaking up market education in Africa’s startup investment scene

A new generation of African VC professionals is reshaping ecosystem education through institutional strategy and individual innovation.

Venture Capital

POD: No Seven-Year Wait—How Baobab Network is offering tentative investors a taste of Africa’s tech potential

Ambar van der Wath explains how Baobab Network, a tech venture accelerator, is helping investors test the waters in Africa's tech venture capital scene.

Telecoms

OP-ED: Emergence Over Extraction—What Africa’s telco sector teaches us about progress

Andile Masuku taps Lanre Kolade's insights on patient collaboration, creative capital and ecosystem alignment behind landing Google's Equiano cable in Togo, sparking transformative regional broadband connectivity.

Infrastructure

POD: Brokering Broadband Connectivity—Lanre Kolade and the inside story of Google's Equiano cable landing in Togo

Learn how this former CSquared CEO is driving digital inclusion across Africa through transformative infrastructure projects, including 'midwifing' the landmark Google Equiano submarine cable initiative in Togo.

Digital Transformation

OP-ED: Cameron John Walker Asks—Is Checkers sacrificing CX for efficiency?

In Checkers’ aisles, online fulfilment staff hustle, but at what cost? Cameron John Walker unpacks South African retail’s commercial optimisation vs. customer experience dilemma.

This Is Connectivity

POD: This Is Connectivity a la VC with Accion Venture Lab's Jasiel Martin-Odoom

Discover how Accion Venture Lab's Africa Investment Officer blends digital savvy with authentic relationship-building to find and fund some of the continent's most promising fintech startups.

Entrepreneurship

OP-ED: African Tech Needs a New Entrepreneurship Narrative—Moving beyond the 'genius founder' myth

Oversimplification is the true enemy as Andile Masuku examines the complexities underlying popular myths in African tech entrepreneurship.