Explore every episode of the podcast Afrobility: Africa Tech and Business
Dive into the complete episode list for Afrobility: Africa Tech and Business. Each episode is cataloged with detailed descriptions, making it easy to find and explore specific topics. Keep track of all episodes from your favorite podcast and never miss a moment of insightful content.
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Title
Pub. Date
Duration
#79: Cellulant - How the FinTech payments platform is providing financial services across Africa
31 Jan 2025
01:45:14
Overview: Today, we’re going to talk about Cellulant, the African payments infrastructure company. We’ll explore the story across the following areas
(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 olumide@afrobility.com. Founders looking for funding: If you're a B2B founder working on Education, Health, Finance or food, please contact me for funding at olumide@afrobility.com
Listeners: We’d love to hear from you. Email info@afrobility.com with feedback!
Founders & Operators: We'd love to hear about what you're working on, email us at info@afrobility.com
Investors: It would be great to link up with you. Contact us at info@afrobility.com
Join our insider mailing list where we get feedback on new episodes & find all episodes on Afrobility.com
#78: MNT-Halan - How the lending platform is providing financial services across Egypt and other developing markets
23 Dec 2024
02:06:05
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
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 olumide@afrobility.com. Founders looking for funding: If you're a B2B founder working on Education, Health, Finance or food, please contact me for funding at olumide@afrobility.com
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 info@afrobility.com with feedback!
Founders & Operators: We'd love to hear about what you're working on, email us at info@afrobility.com
Investors: It would be great to link up with you. Contact us at info@afrobility.com
Join our insider mailing list where we get feedback on new episodes & find all episodes on Afrobility.com
#69: FairMoney - How the credit-led neobank is providing consumer loans and financial services across Nigeria, India and other developing markets
06 Oct 2023
02:18:07
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
(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 olumide@afrobility.com. Founders looking for funding: If you're a B2B founder working on Education, Health, Finance or food, please contact me for funding at olumide@afrobility.com
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!
(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 olumide@afrobility.com. Founders looking for funding: If you're a B2B founder working on Education, Health, Finance or food, please contact me for funding at olumide@afrobility.com
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.
Listeners: We’d love to hear from you. Email info@afrobility.com with feedback!
Founders & Operators: We'd love to hear about what you're working on, email us at info@afrobility.com
Investors: It would be great to link up with you. Contact us at info@afrobility.com
Join our insider mailing list where we get feedback on new episodes & find all episodes on Afrobility.com
#67: Sabi - How the B2B retail platform is providing business services to informal SMB retailers, distributors, suppliers and manufacturers in Nigeria and Africa
27 Jul 2023
02:18:24
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:
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 olumide@afrobility.com. Founders looking for funding: If you're a B2B founder working on Education, Health, Finance or food, please contact me for funding at olumide@afrobility.com
#66: TradeDepot - How the B2B retail platform is improving the supply chain for informal SME retailers and consumer goods producers across Nigeria and Africa
01 Jul 2023
01:59:39
Overview: Today, we’re going to talk about TradeDepot. We’ll explore the story across the following areas:
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 olumide@afrobility.com. Founders looking for funding: If you're a B2B founder working on Education, Health, Finance or food, please contact me for funding at olumide@afrobility.com
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).
Small win: Switched to a new keyboard - the Keychron K2
Listeners: We’d love to hear from you. Email info@afrobility.com with feedback!
Founders & Operators: We'd love to hear about what you're working on, email us at info@afrobility.com
Investors: It would be great to link up with you. Contact us at info@afrobility.com
Join our insider mailing list where we get feedback on new episodes & find all episodes on Afrobility.com
#65: Wasoko (Sokowatch) - How the B2B retail platform is providing services and improving the supply chain for informal retailers across Kenya and Africa
16 Jun 2023
01:55:55
Overview: Today, we’re going to talk about Wasoko (Sokowatch) We’ll explore the story across the following areas:
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 olumide@afrobility.com. Founders looking for funding: If you're a B2B founder working on Education, Health, Finance or food, please contact me for funding at olumide@afrobility.com
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
Listeners: We’d love to hear from you. Email info@afrobility.com with feedback!
Founders & Operators: We'd love to hear about what you're working on, email us at info@afrobility.com
Investors: It would be great to link up with you. Contact us at info@afrobility.com
Join our insider mailing list where we get feedback on new episodes & find all episodes on Afrobility.com
#64: Twiga Foods - How the AgriTech supply chain company is connecting SMB retailers and smallholder farmers to improve food logistics across Kenya and Africa
02 Jun 2023
02:12:35
Overview: Today, we’re going to talk about Twiga Foods. We’ll explore the story across the following 6 areas
(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.
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.
#62: DPO Group - How the FinTech payments platform went from bootstrapping for 8+ years to strategically acquiring multiple companies, and exiting to Network International for $288M
11 Mar 2023
01:46:14
Overview: Today, we’re going to talk about DPO Group. We’ll explore the story across the following areas
Small win: I signed up for a gym membership for the first time ever
Listeners: We’d love to hear from you. Email info@afrobility.com with feedback!
Founders & Operators: We'd love to hear about what you're working on, email us at info@afrobility.com
Investors: It would be great to link up with you. Contact us at info@afrobility.com
Join our insider mailing list where we get feedback on new episodes & find all episodes on Afrobility.com
#61: MFS Africa (Onafriq) - How the payments network hub is connecting telcos & financial institutions to increase interoperability across Africa and beyond
03 Feb 2023
01:52:56
Overview: Today, we’re going to talk about MFS Africa. We’ll explore the MFS Africa story across the following 5 areas:
(1:28:51) - Olumide’s overall thoughts and outlook
(1:34:00) - Bankole’s overall thoughts and outlook
(1:47:00) - Recommendations and small wins
Olumide’s recommendations & small wins:
Interested in investing in Africa Tech with Olumide: Read about Adamantium fund & contact me at olumide@afrobility.com
Founders looking for funding: If you're a B2B founder working on Education, Health, Finance or food, please contact me for funding at olumide@afrobility.com
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 wins
Olumide’s recommendations & small wins:
Interested in investing in Africa Tech with Olumide: Read about Adamantium fund & contact me at olumide@afrobility.com
Founders looking for funding: If you're a B2B founder working on Education, Health, Finance or food, please contact me for funding at olumide@afrobility.com
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
Listeners: We’d love to hear from you. Email info@afrobility.com with feedback!
Founders & Operators: We'd love to hear about what you're working on, email us at info@afrobility.com
Investors: It would be great to link up with you. Contact us at info@afrobility.com
Join our insider mailing list where we get feedback on new episodes & find all episodes on Afrobility.com
#59: Africa Tech - 2023 & Beyond (Creator Roundtable #2)
18 Dec 2022
02:27:53
Overview: Today, we’re going to have a creator roundtable to discuss the African tech ecosystem. We’ll discuss the biggest 2022 moments in Africa Tech & our hopes for the tech ecosystem in 2023. This episode was recorded on Dec 10, 2022
Win: Finally meeting & taking a picture with the Oga of Ogas, Bankole. Plus: Afridigest crossing 4500 page followers on LinkedIn — help us on the push to 5000!
Small win: My alma mater the University of Michigan beating our rivals Ohio State in football for the second year in a row. Getting to spend a lot of in-person quality time with people in the African tech ecosystem over the past few weeks in Cape Town
Other content: Amp it Up by Frank Slootman is a great read - Narco Saints on Netflix is superb!
Listeners: We’d love to hear from you. Email info@afrobility.com with feedback!
Founders & Operators: We'd love to hear about what you're working on, email us at info@afrobility.com
Investors: It would be great to link up with you. Contact us at info@afrobility.com
#58: Reliance Health - How the HealthTech platform is providing insurance & health services across Nigeria & Africa
03 Nov 2022
02:30:52
Overview: Today, we’re going to talk about Reliance Health, the African HealthTech company - we’ll explore the Reliance Health story across the following areas:
African health context
Reliance Health's early history
Product & monetization strategy
Competitive positioning & potential exit
Overall outlook
This episode was recorded on October 30, 2022
Companies discussed: Reliance Health, Y Combinator (YC), Hygeia HMO, CribMD, AXA Mansard, RedCare & BIMA Health
(01:00) - Intro and why we’re talking about Reliance Health
(06:12) - Context of Africa and Nigeria’s healthcare
(13:03) - Reliance Health Founding + Early History
(39:25) - Fundraising & Geo expansion
(52:16) - Product strategy and monetization
(1:36:00) - Competition and options for exit
(1:45:57) - Bankole’s overall thoughts and outlook
(1:59:57) - Olumide’s overall thoughts and outlook
(2:14:17) - Recommendation and small wins
Olumide’s recommendations & small wins:
Interested in investing in Africa Tech with Olumide: Read about Adamantium fund & contact me at olumide@afrobility.com
Founders looking for funding: If you're a B2B founder working on Education, Health, Finance or food, please contact me for funding at olumide@afrobility.com
Recommendation: Kinky Boots: Musical show in NYC. It was incredible!
Recommendation: Paying for Status: Talks about loyalty strategy. Reward programs + finance + customer loyalty strategy article. I love it.
Listeners: We’d love to hear from you. Email info@afrobility.com with feedback!
Founders & Operators: We'd love to hear about what you're working on, email us at info@afrobility.com
Investors: It would be great to link up with you. Contact us at info@afrobility.com
#57: African InsurTech - How consumer insurance platforms are providing insurance across Africa
26 Oct 2022
02:06:57
Overview: Today we’re going to talk about African Insurtech. We’ll discuss the consumer insurance landscape & analyze InsurTech players. This episode was recorded on October 17, 2022
#56: Thrive Agric - How the Agriculture platform evolved from crowdfunding to supporting smallholder farmers across Nigeria & Africa
30 Sep 2022
01:49:12
Overview: Today, we’re going to talk about Thrive Agric, the Nigerian Agricultural technology company - we’ll explore Thrive Agric's story across 5 areas:
First we'll start with some context about African agriculture
Thrive Agric's launch & early history
Product & monetization strategy
Competitive positioning & potential exit options
Overall outlook
This episode was recorded on September 25 2022
Companies discussed: Thrive Agric, Apollo Agriculture & FarmCrowdy
Business concepts discussed: Agricultural Technology (AgriTech or AgTech), smallholder farmers acquisition strategy, Agriculture financing, Crowdfunding, Agriculture value and supply chains & Debt financing
Conversation highlights:
(10:41) - Africa Agriculture context
(19:38) - Nigeria Agriculture context
(26:14) - Nigeria crowdfunding backgroun
(32:30) - Founders’ background and launch story
(46:48) - Fundraising
(55:47) - Product and monetization strategy,
(1:09:15) - Competition & options for exit
(1:19:20) - Bankole’s overall thoughts and outlook
(1:24:45) - Olumide’s overall thoughts and outlook
(1:32:25) - Recommendations and small wins
Olumide’s recommendations & small wins:
Interested in investing in Africa Tech with Olumide: Read about Adamantium fund & contact me at olumide@afrobility.com
Founders looking for funding: If you're a B2B founder working on Education, Health, Finance or food, please contact me for funding at olumide@afrobility.com
#55: Apollo Agriculture - How the AgriTech platform is supporting smallholder farmers to scale across Kenya & Africa
28 Aug 2022
02:00:21
Overview: Today, we’re going to talk about Apollo Agriculture, the Kenyan AgTech company - we’ll explore the Apollo story across the following areas
African agriculture context
Apollo's launch & early history
Product & monetization strategy
Competitive positioning & exit options
Overall outlook
This episode was recorded on Aug 21, 2022
Companies discussed: Apollo Agriculture, The Climate Corporation (WeatherBill), Pula, FarmDrive, Monsanto, FairMoney & Kuda Bank
Business concepts discussed: Agricultural Technology (AgriTech or AgTech), smallholder farmers, Risk mitigation, Debt funding, Customer acquisition costs (CAC) & Customer lifetime value (LTV, CLV)
Conversation highlights:
(06:10) - Agriculture context in Africa
(21:00) - Context on Agriculture in Kenya
(27:33) - Apollo founding story and founder background
(40:55) - Fundraising and growth
(55:14) - Product and monetization strategy
(1:17:58) - Competition and exit options
(1:27:53) - Bankole’s overall thoughts and outlook
(1:34:50) - Olumide’s overall thoughts and outlook
(1:49:36) - Recommendations and small wins
Olumide’s recommendations & small wins:
Interested in investing in Africa Tech with Olumide: Read about Adamantium fund & contact me at olumide@afrobility.com
Founders looking for funding: If you're a B2B founder working on Education, Health, Finance or food, please contact me for funding at olumide@afrobility.com
Recommendation: Little Ways The World Works: Article by Morgan Housel. Great article talking about how learning from different fields is very helpful. He goes over learnings from evolution, astronomy, biology, anatomy, etc
Recommendation: University of Berkshire Hathaway: Auto recommended by Kindle. Great. Chronicles 30 years of Berkshire Hathaway Annual meeting discussions
Small win: Beach gathering with friends, it was fun
Small win: Just got back from NYC 30 minutes before recording this episode, a lot of fun
Investors, Operators, Entrepreneurs - We’d love to hear from you. Please email info@afrobility.com to share feedback
#54: Swvl - How the bus mobility platform became one of the largest transportation companies in Africa
22 Jul 2022
02:01:01
Overview: Today, we’re going to talk about Swvl, the Egyptian and Dubai based mobility platform. We’ll explore the Swvl story across 5 areas:
Egypt transportation context
Swvl's early history
Product & monetization strategy
Swvl's SPAC public offering
Overall outlook.
This episode was recorded on July 17, 2022
Companies discussed: Swvl, Careem, Uber, Treepz & Rocket Internet
Business concepts discussed: Mobility strategy, Ridesharing, Bus sharing, Public transportation, infrastructure dependencies, IPOs & Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs)
Conversation highlights:
(01:00) - Intro and why we’re discussing this topic
(06:15) - Context on Egypt and Africa ridesharing
(13:50) - Founders’ background and Swvl founding
(25:22) - Fundraising and geographical expansion
(31:15) - Expansion strategy and acquisitions
(38:12) - Product and monetization strategy
(59:16) - Competition and SPAC
(1:16:55) - Bankole’s overall thoughts and outlook
(1:30:15) - Olumide’s overall thoughts and outlook
Founders looking for funding: If you're a B2B founder working on Education, Health, Finance or food, please contact me for funding at olumide@afrobility.com
Founders looking for funding: If you're a B2B founder working on Education, Health, Finance or food, please contact me for funding at olumide@afrobility.com
Business concepts discussed: Classifieds platforms, classifieds monetization, M&A strategy, e-commerce, social commerce, lift and shift business models & international expansion
Conversation highlights:
(01:30) - OLX context
(06:30) - How classifieds work
(12:00) - OLX founding and early history
(26:03) - OLX entry into other emerging markets
(31:10) - OLX entry into Africa
(45:32) - Product and monetization strategy
(58:17) - Discussing OLX’s Africa exit
(1:22:54) - Olumide’s overall thoughts and outlook
(1:10:58) - Bankole’s overall thoughts and outlook
(1:38:39) - Recommendations and small wins
Olumide’s recommendations & small wins:
Recommendation: Microsoft 365. I’ve used it for 17 years and it just gets better and better
Small win: Using my old Lenovo ThinkPad from 2016. My computer crapped out on Friday and so I had to dust the cobwebs and it still works
Interested in investing in Africa Tech with Olumide: Read about Adamantium fund & contact me at olumide@afrobility.com
Founders looking for funding: If you're a B2B founder working on Education, Health, Finance or food, please contact me for funding at olumide@afrobility.
Small win: Setup 2nd whiteboard in my room. Fun times ahead
Interested in investing in Africa Tech with Olumide: Read about Adamantium fund & contact me at olumide@afrobility.com
Founders looking for funding: If you're a B2B founder working on Education, Health, Finance or food, please contact me for funding at olumide@afrobility.com
Investors, Operators, Entrepreneurs - We’d love to hear from you. Please email info@afrobility.com to share feedback or propose topics you’d like to hear.
Join our insider mailing list where we get feedback on new episodes & find all episodes on Afrobility.com
#50: Wave - From Sendwave remittances to disrupting Francophone Africa with mobile money & financial services
06 May 2022
02:28:20
Overview: Today, we’re going to talk about Wave, the African consumer payments company. We’ll explore Wave’s story across 5 areas:
We'll start with some context about payments in Africa
Business concepts discussed: Consumer Fintech (Agency banking & mobile money), International expansion, banking regulation, low cost pricing strategy, customer acquisition strategy, innovator’s dilemma & low end disruption
Conversation highlights:
(01:02) - Wave context
(09:13) - Financial inclusion context in Africa
(30:10) - Founder background and Sendwave origins
(36:06) - Wave Launch in Francophone Africa
(54:20) - Fundraising strategy & investors
(1:12:15) - Product and monetization strategy
(1:34:28) - Competition and exit options
(1:55:44) - Bankole’s overall thoughts and outlook
(2:08:57) - Olumide’s overall thoughts and outlook
(2:27:30) - Recommendations and small wins
Olumide’s recommendations & small wins:
Recommendation: Brené Brown was on the "We can Do Hard Things" podcast, on an episode called "What to Say to Get What You Need". Spoke about human connection. Truly awesome. I liked it so much I started reading Brene's book "Atlas of the heart".
Recommendation: Samora Kariuku's substack post about Wave
Small win: Got lost on the internet prepping for this episode and ended up watching hours of boxing matches. Don't ask
Interested in investing in Africa Tech with Olumide: Read about Adamantium fund & contact me at olumide@afrobility.com
Founders looking for funding: If you're a B2B founder working on Education, Health, Finance or food, please contact me for funding at olumide@afrobility.com
Investors, Operators, Entrepreneurs - We’d love to hear from you. Please email info@afrobility.com to share feedback or propose topics you’d like to hear.
#76: IHS Towers - How the telecom infrastructure company is building and managing towers across Africa and beyond
15 May 2024
01:42:25
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 olumide@afrobility.com. Founders looking for funding: If you're a B2B founder working on Education, Health, Finance or food, please contact me for funding at olumide@afrobility.com
Interested in investing in Africa Tech with Olumide: Read about Adamantium fund & contact me at olumide@afrobility.com
Founders looking for funding: If you're a B2B founder working on Education, Health, Finance or food, please contact me for funding at olumide@afrobility.com
Investors, Operators, Entrepreneurs - We’d love to hear from you. Please email info@afrobility.com to share feedback or propose topics you’d like to hear.
#48: Telkom - How the former South African monopoly evolved to provide telecommunication services across Africa
01 Apr 2022
01:43:39
Overview: Today we’re going to talk about Telkom - The South African telecommunications company. We’ll explore the Telkom story across 5 areas:
South African telecoms sector context
Telkom's early history
We'll deepdive into Telkom's primarily telco & non-telco businesses
Business concepts discussed: Telecommunications (Telco) strategy, Mobile money, Internet connectivity, International telecommunication expansion, Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNOs), Cell Towers spinoffs & Telco regulation
Conversation highlights:
(01:10) - Telkom and why we’re talking about it
(07:12) - South Africa context
(13:20) - Telkom’s transition to commercial company
(15:30) - SBC and Telekom Malaysia investment in 1997
(18:44) - 2003 IPO
(31:20) - Telkom sale of Vodacom stake
(33:00) - Telkom market expansion
(42:17) - Telkom’s mobile business
(53:08) - Telkom’s non-telco businesses
(57:38) - Investments and Partnerships
(1:00:38) - Financial results and stock performance
(1:06:44) - Olumide’s overall thoughts and outlook
(1:22:40) - Bankole’s overall thoughts and outlook
Recommendation: AwardLogic & Point.me. There's never really been an Expedia of airline miles
Small win: Got Samsung Galaxy S22, looks nice. Just need to set it up
Interested in investing in Africa Tech with Olumide: Read about Adamantium fund & contact me at olumide@afrobility.com
Founders looking for funding: If you're a B2B founder working on Education, Health, Finance or food, please contact me for funding at olumide@afrobility.com
Investors, Operators, Entrepreneurs - We’d love to hear from you. Please email info@afrobility.com to share feedback or propose topics you’d like to hear.
#47: Vodacom - How the South African Telco became one of the largest telecommunications companies in Africa
18 Mar 2022
01:44:22
Overview: Today we’re going to talk about Vodacom - The South African telecommunications company. We’ll explore the Vodacom story across 5 areas:
Business concepts discussed: Telecommunications (Telco) strategy, Mobile money, Internet connectivity, International telecommunication expansion, Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNO), Cell Towers spinoffs, Rain & Telco regulation
Conversation highlights:
(00:45) - Vodacom context
(07:50) - Vodacom early history
(20:50) - Vodacom International expansion
(38:04) - Vodacom’s telco business
(45:44) - Non-telco businesses
(55:50) - VodaPay and Safaricom (M-Pesa)
(1:10:12) - Vodacom - Financials & customer
(1:19:15) - Bankole’s overall thoughts and outlook
(1:29:52) - Olumide’s overall thoughts and outlook
(1:36:10) - Recommendations and small wins
Olumide’s recommendations & small wins:
Recommendation: The Truman show: I rewatched this, it's marvelous, dystopian and funny. That movie is a work of art.
Recommendation: I got a satchel aka man bag aka man purse. I like it, it works because I typically have too much shit to fit in my pockets
Small win: Bankole's wedding in Chennai. It was epic
Interested in investing in Africa Tech with Olumide: Read about Adamantium fund & contact me at olumide@afrobility.com
Founders looking for funding: If you're a B2B founder working on Education, Health, Finance or Food, please contact me for funding at olumide@afrobility.com
Interested in investing in Africa Tech with Olumide: Read about Adamantium fund & contact me at olumide@afrobility.com
Founders looking for funding: If you're a B2B founder working on Education, Health, Finance or Food, please contact me for funding at olumide@afrobility.com
Interested in investing in Africa Tech with Olumide: Read about Adamantium fund & contact me at olumide@afrobility.com
Founders looking for funding: If you're a B2B founder working on Education, Health, Finance or Food, please contact me for funding at olumide@afrobility.com
#44: Pathao - From Ride Sharing & Food Delivery to building the largest mobility platform in Bangladesh
17 Dec 2021
02:51:03
Overview: Today, we’re going to talk about Pathao - the largest mobility tech platform in Bangladesh. This episode was co-hosted with Shammi Quddus and recorded on Nov 21 & Dec 5, 2021.
Conversation highlights:
(10:15) - Motorbike sharing platforms in emerging markets - GoJek
Win: Hung out with a bunch of folks at Miami Art Basel
Interested in investing in Africa Tech with Olumide: Read about Adamantium fund & contact me at olumide@afrobility.com
Founders looking for funding: If you're a B2B founder working on Education, Health, Finance or Food, please contact me for funding at olumide@afrobility.com
#43: Africa Tech - 2022 & Beyond (Creator Roundtable #1)
04 Dec 2021
02:34:23
Overview: Today, we’re going to have a creator roundtable to discuss the African tech ecosystem. We’ll discuss the biggest 2021 moments in Africa Tech and our hopes for the ecosystem in 2022. This episode was co-hosted with Justin Norman & Samora Kariuki and recorded on Nov 28, 2021.
Recommendation: Workout dance/aerobics classes & Encanto movie
Small win: Talking to people about the about-to-launch Adamantium Africa Tech fund (memo). Great conversations with potential LPs. Exciting! Email olumide@afrobility.com if you're interested in investing
Small win: Was in Chicago hanging out with friends for birthday, Hung out with friends in a Miami night out & installed Windows 11 which is sweet and beautiful
Listeners: We’d love to hear from you. Email info@afrobility.com with feedback!
Founders & Operators: We'd love to hear about what you're working on, email us at info@afrobility.com
Investors: It would be great to link up with you to drive the ecosystem forward. Contact us at info@afrobility.com
Join our insider mailing list where we get feedback on new episodes & find all episodes at Afrobility.com
#40: Fawry - How the Egyptian payments platform became one of the largest Tech companies in Africa
17 Oct 2021
01:50:58
Overview: Today, we’re going to talk about Fawry - the Egyptian payments platform. We’ll explore the Fawry story across 6 areas:
Egypt context
Founding and early history
Fundraising & Growth
Product & monetization strategy
Competitive positioning
Overall outlook.
This episode was recorded on October 17, 2021
Companies discussed: Fawry, Egypt National Post Office (ENPO), IFC, Helios Investment Partners, Raya Holding, Technology Development Fund (Ideavelopers), Arab African International Bank, HSBC, Bank of Alexandria (Alexbank), Paymob, Banque Misr, Ebtiikar, Khales, Bee, Masary, Meeza, elmenus & Cashi (alsoug).
Business concepts discussed: Payment Platforms, IPOs, startup incubation, African conglomerates, DFIs (Development Finance Institutions) & FinTech monetization strategy / Personal Finance OS
(1:27:07) - Olumide’s overall thoughts and outlook
(1:35:45) - Bankole’s overall thoughts and outlook
(1:45:00) - Recommendations and small wins
Olumide’s recommendations & small wins:
Recommendation: Chris Sacca on 20 Minute VC - Wow. Chris Sacca is amazing. I can listen to him talk for hours.
Recommendation: Ben Horowitz - What You Do Is Who You Are. Great book about how to think about the tradeoffs when creating culture in a company. Has some awesome stories.
(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 olumide@afrobility.com. Founders looking for funding: If you're a B2B founder working on Education, Health, Finance or food, please contact me for funding at olumide@afrobility.com
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.
Listeners: We’d love to hear from you. Email info@afrobility.com with feedback!
Founders: We'd love to hear about what you're working on, email us at info@afrobility.com
Investors: We'd also love to link up with you to drive the ecosystem forward. Contact us at info@afrobility.com
Join our insider mailing list where we get feedback on new episodes & find all episodes at Afrobility.com
#38: 54gene - How the HealthTech platform is building diverse datasets to improve diagnostic and treatment outcomes across Africa
19 Sep 2021
01:58:15
Overview: Today, we’re going to talk about 54gene - the genomics HealthTech company. We’ll explore the 54gene story across 6 areas:
African Health care status & context
54gene early history
Fundraising & Growth
Product & monetization strategy
Competitive positioning & potential exit options
Overall outlook.
This episode was recorded on Sep 19, 2021
Companies discussed: 54gene, llumina, African Centre of Excellence for Genomics of Infectious Diseases, Y Combinator (YC), 50 Years, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Gilead, IMS Health, Broad Institute, Novartis, Cathay AfricInvest, Helium Health & mPharma
Business concepts discussed: Genomics, Capacity development / Local knowledge development, Healthcare technology, Health insurance coverage, commercial biobanks & public policy
Conversation highlights:
(00:54) - Why we’re talking about 54Gene today
(06:25) - Context on Healthcare and Genomics in Africa
(27:02) - 54Gene founding and early history
(34:13) - Fundraising and early growth - Seed, Series A, Series B
(54:15) - Product and monetization strategy
(1:11:00) - 54Gene capacity building
(1:17:00) - Competition in this space, exit opportunities
(1:30:39) - Olumide’s overall thoughts and outlook
(1:42:38) - Bankole’s overall thoughts and outlook
Listeners: We’d love to hear from you. Email info@afrobility.com with feedback!
Founders: We'd love to hear about what you're working on, email us at info@afrobility.com
Investors: We'd also love to link up with you to drive the ecosystem forward. Contact us at info@afrobility.com
Join our insider mailing list where we get feedback on new episodes & find all episodes at Afrobility.com
#37: mPharma - How the HealthTech supply chain platform is providing services to pharmacies & patients across Africa
05 Sep 2021
02:01:46
Overview: Today, we’re going to talk about mPharma - the Ghanaian prescription drug inventory management company. We’ll explore the mPharma story across 6 areas:
African Health care status & context
mPharma founding and early history
Fundraising & Growth
Product & monetization strategy
Competitive positioning & potential exit options
Overall outlook.
This episode was recorded on Sep 5, 2021
Companies discussed: mPharma, Novartis, DrugStoc, Medsaf, Helium Health, Golden Palm Investments, Novastar ventures, CDC & Gates Foundation
Business concepts discussed: Healthcare Logistics, drug distribution, Healthcare technology, Health insurance coverage, Health platforms, IFC & Public policy
Conversation highlights:
(01:14) - Why we’re talking about mPharma
(05:18) - Background of Healthcare in Africa
(19:41) - Healthcare and Pharmacy / Drugs access in Nigeria
(26:05) - Healthcare context and insurance in Ghana
(27:15) - mPharma founding and early history - Gregory Rockson background
(43:56) - Fundraising - Seed, Series A, B, C
(56:00) - Traction - users, reported revenue, etc.
(1:01:50) - Product strategy - Quality (Shop) Rx, Mutti, etc.
(1:11:57) - Monetization strategy
(1:14:17) - E-Commerce logistics vs healthcare logistics
(1:21:48) - Competition
(1:34:22) - Options for exit - mergers, acquisitions
(1:36:56) - Bankole’s overall thoughts and outlook
(1:45:36) - Olumide’s overall thoughts and outlook
Listeners: We’d love to hear from you. Please email info@afrobility.com with your feedback!
Founders & Operators: We'd love to hear about you & what you're working on, email us at info@afrobility.com
Investors: We'd also love to link up with you, to partner to drive the ecosystem forward. Contact us at info@afrobility.com
Join our insider mailing list where we get feedback on new episodes & find all episodes at Afrobility.com
#36: Helium Health - How the HealthTech infrastructure platform is supplying services to health care providers across Africa
22 Aug 2021
01:40:17
Overview: Today, we’re going to talk about Helium Health - the Nigerian HealthTech infrastructure company. We’ll explore the Helium Health story across 6 areas:
Business concepts discussed: Healthcare technology, Operator-Investor dynamics, Health insurance coverage, Health platforms, Electronic Medical Records, Electronic Health Records & Health policy
Conversation highlights:
(01:20) - Why we’re talking about Helium Health and HealthTech
(04:15) - African Healthcare context
(18:05) - Context of healthcare records in Africa
(25:05) - Founder backgrounds and early history of Helium Health
(37:00) - Fundraising and growth
(47:50) - Product & monetization strategy
(55:30) - M&A and Partnerships
(1:00:12) - Competition and potential exit options
(1:12:25) - Bankole’s overall thoughts and outlook
(1:24:05) - Olumide’s overall thoughts and outlook
Business concepts discussed: Neobank / Challenger bank / digital bank strategy, consumer FinTech monetization strategy, consumer lending, retail banking strategy, customer segmentation strategy & low-end disruption
Conversation highlights:
(01:00) - Why we’re talking about Kuda Bank
(05:50) - Neobanks in other emerging markets - Nubank background
(18:30) - Africa banking background
(26:50) - Traditional banks vs Neobanks
(35:20) - Banking context in Nigeria; Nigeria’s banking sector
(47:40) - Founding and early history
(1:02:27) - Seed fundraising
(1:11:50) - Series A fundraising
(1:18:40) - Product strategy
(1:26:30) - GTM & partnerships strategy
(1:33:47) - Monetization strategy
(1:50:16) - Competition - Neobanks, traditional banks & other FinTechs
(2:05:00) - Potential exit options
(2:10:29) - Olumide’s overall thoughts
(2:18:18) - Bankole’s overall thoughts
(2:32:35) - Recommendations & small wins
Olumide’s recommendations & small wins:
Recommendation: What did I spend my money on after selling twitch (by Justin Kan. Fascinating conversation about wealth, managing money after a windfall, investments, private companies, exits, etc) & The Everything store (by Brad Stone) - Amazing book, amazing story. Amazing company. Favorite part is when author talks about Jeff's most famous insults. Hilarious!
Small win: NYC trip last weekend - So much fun partying with friends.
We’d love to hear from you. Please email info@afrobility.com to share feedback or propose topics you’d like to hear.
Join our insider mailing list where we get feedback on new episodes & find all episodes at Afrobility.com
#33: Chipper Cash - How the FinTech platform started from African remittances to become the fastest unicorn in Africa Tech history
11 Jul 2021
02:14:54
Overview: Today, we’re going to talk about Chipper Cash - The African Fintech payments & remittances player. We’ll explore the Chipper story across 6 areas:
Intra-Africa remittances context
Global remittances (outside Africa to Africa) context
Chipper Cash’s launch, early history, growth & fundraising
Chipper Cash's Product & monetization strategy
Competitive positioning & potential exit options
End with our overall outlook.
This episode was recorded on July 11 & Aug 1, 2021.
We’d love to hear from you. Please email info@afrobility.com to share feedback or propose topics you’d like to hear.
Join our insider mailing list where we get feedback on new episodes & find all episodes at Afrobility.com
#32: African FinTech lending - How consumer loan platforms are providing credit across Africa
28 Jun 2021
01:49:14
Overview: Today we’re going to talk about consumer lending in Africa. We start by discussing lending in other emerging markets, discuss Africa’s credit landscape, analyze lending tech companies across Africa & end with our overall outlook. This episode was recorded on June 27, 2021.
#31: African Sports betting & gambling tech - The rise & expansion of betting services across Africa
14 Jun 2021
01:22:30
Overview: Today we’re going to talk about Sports betting & gambling tech in Africa. We share some context about betting in developed and emerging markets, analyze betting tech companies across Africa & end with our overall outlook. This episode was recorded on Jun 13, 2021.
Companies discussed: BetKing, Betway, Bet9ja, BetBonanza, SportPesa, BetFair, Bet365, Flutter entertainment, Paddy Power, Walletec, 22Bet, William Hill & Multichoice
Business concepts discussed: Gambling, Betting, Tech policy, Taxation strategy & Government Tech
Conversation highlights:
(01:00) - Why we’re talking about sports betting / gambling + how it works
(11:10) - Betting & Sports gambling in the UK
(18:20) - Betting & Sports gambling in India
(21:20) - Context of sports betting in Africa
(31:57) - Gambling regulation across African countries
(37:39) - Western Africa betting startups
(43:32) - Southern Africa betting startups
(49:40) - Eastern Africa betting startups
(57:30) - Northern African betting startups
(1:00:17) - Bankole’s overall thoughts
(1:10:09) - Olumide’s overall thoughts
(1:16:05) - Recommendations and small wins
Olumide’s recommendations, small wins & open questions:
We’d love to hear from you. Please email info@afrobility.com to share feedback or propose topics you’d like to hear.
Join our insider mailing list where we get feedback on new episodes & find all episodes at Afrobility.com
#30: Paga - How one of Nigeria’s earliest FinTech companies is providing financial services across emerging markets
31 May 2021
01:15:11
Overview: Today, we’re going to talk about Paga, the fintech payments company. We'll discuss its founding, early history, growth, impact & end with our overall outlook. This episode was recorded on May 30, 2021.
Companies discussed: Paga, Safaricom (M-Pesa), bKash, GTBank, First Bank, Chipper Cash, MTN, Airtel, FairMoney, Flutterwave, Paystack, Interswitch (Quickteller) & OPay
Business concepts discussed: Unbanked population, Financial inclusion, Mobile money, Payment platforms, government regulation, global expansion & telco competition
Conversation highlights:
(00:40) - What Paga does and why we’re talking about it
(04:27) - Founder background, Paga founding
(07:20) - Payments context at the time of Paga’s founding
(19:40) - Fundraising - Seed, Series A, B, B2
(24:30) - Expansion plans to Ethiopia, Mexico, Philippines
(26:30) - Product strategy and features
(40:50) - Monetization and user growth over time
(50:46) - Olumide’s overall thoughts and outlook
(58:13) - Bankole’s overall thoughts and outlook
(1:09:00) - Recommendation and small wins
Olumide’s recommendations, small wins & open questions:
(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 olumide@afrobility.com. Founders looking for funding: If you're a B2B founder working on Education, Health, Finance or food, please contact me for funding at olumide@afrobility.com
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
Listeners: We’d love to hear from you. Email info@afrobility.com with feedback!
Founders & Operators: We'd love to hear about what you're working on, email us at info@afrobility.com
Investors: It would be great to link up with you. Contact us at info@afrobility.com
Join our insider mailing list where we get feedback on new episodes & find all episodes on Afrobility.com
#29: bKash - How the FinTech payments platform became Bangladesh’s largest tech company
16 May 2021
01:55:13
Overview: Today we’re going to talk about bKash - The largest Fintech player in Bangladesh. We start with some background on Bangladesh, discuss bKash’s founding, growth & impact on Bangladesh's economy. We also discuss what other emerging markets can learn from the bKash story & end with our overall outlook. This episode was co-hosted with Shammi Quddus & recorded on May 16, 2021.
Companies discussed: bKash, CellBazaar, Money in Motion, Grameenphone, Grameen Bank, BRAC, BRAC Bank, Safaricom (M-Pesa), Nagad, Telenor, Gates Foundation, IFC (World Bank) & Alibaba (Ant Financial)
Business concepts discussed: Agency banking, ecosystem partnerships, microfinance expansion, Nonprofit fundraising, impact investing, Telco distribution & serial entrepreneurship
Conversation highlights:
(00:30) - Why are we talking about bKash and Bangladesh FinTech
(04:40) - Bangladesh context and similarities to African countries
(14:50) - Fintech context in Bangladesh before bKash in 2011
(16:20) - Founder background - Kamal Quadir background, CellBazaar
(22:05) - bKash background - Iqbal Quadir, Grameenphone, etc.
(30:48) - bKash founding
(47:18) - Fundraising - IFC , BMGF, Ant Financial
(59:30) - Product & monetization strategy
(1:22:22) - Impact of bKash on the tech sector and economy
(1:23:56) - Bankole’s overall thoughts and outlook
(1:36:26) - Olumide’s overall thoughts and outlook
We’d love to hear from you. Please email info@afrobility.com to share feedback or propose topics you’d like to hear.
Join our insider mailing list where we get feedback on new episodes & find all episodes at Afrobility.com
#28: Sendwave - How the mobile remittances service scaled from Y Combinator to a $500M WorldRemit exit
03 May 2021
01:15:53
Overview: Today, we're going to talk about Sendwave - the mobile remittances service that was acquired by WorldRemit in 2020-Aug. We start with the context of African remittances, discuss Sendwave's early history, growth, acquisition by WorldRemit & end with our overall outlook. This episode was recorded on May 2nd, 2021
We’d love to hear from you. Please email info@afrobility.com to share feedback or propose topics you’d like to hear.
Join our insider mailing list where we get feedback on new episodes & find all episodes at Afrobility.com
#27: Takealot - How the South African online retailer became one of the largest e-commerce platforms in Africa
19 Apr 2021
01:20:50
Overview: Today, we’re going to talk about Takealot - the largest ecommerce platform in South Africa & one of the largest across Africa. We'll start by giving some context of e-commerce in South Africa, discuss Takealot's early history, Naspers' 2018 acquisition of Takealot, analyze Takealot business strategy & end with our overall outlook. This episode was recorded on April 18, 2021.
#26: African AgriTech - Early opportunities for technology to scale Agriculture across Africa
05 Apr 2021
01:20:36
Overview: Today, we discuss the opportunity for Agriculture technology to make a difference in Africa. We'll start with some context of African Agriculture, discuss AgriTech in developed and emerging markets, analyze Agritech players across Africa & end with our overall outlook. This episode was recorded on Apr 4, 2021.