Shows
Building The Future Podcast#84 - Dare Okoudjou - On Fundraising, Scaling a Pan-African Payment Network and Acquiring StartupsThis season of Building the Future was made possible by MoniepointMy 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...2024-07-2450 min
Building The Future Podcast#83: Uka Eje - On ThriveAgric's Turnaround and Making Hard DecisionsThis season of Building the Future was made possible by MoniepointMy 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 o...2024-07-1738 min
Building The Future Podcast#82: Deepankar Rustagi - On Profitability and Staying Asset Light in B2B CommerceThis season of Building the Future was made possible by MoniepointMy 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 re...2024-07-1045 min
Building The Future Podcast#81: Elo Umeh - On Leadership, Purpose and Building a Scalable Tech Company in AfricaThis season of Building the Future was made possible by MoniepointMy 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...2024-07-0333 min
Building The Future Podcast#80 - Daniel Yu - On Vertical Integration in B2B e-commerce and Early Lessons from M&AThis season of Building the Future was made possible by MoniepointMy 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...2024-06-2641 min
Building The Future Podcast#79, Bode Abifarin- On Scaling Flutterwave, Startup Growth, and ExpansionThis season of Building the Future was made possible by MoniepointMy 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 op...2024-06-1939 min
Building The Future Podcast#78, Mark Straub - On Digital Identity as a Fundamental Driver of Economic GrowthThis season of Building the Future was made possible by MoniepointMy 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 raise...2024-06-1254 min
Building The Future Podcast#77, Anu Adedoyin-Adasolum - On differentiation in B2B ecommerce and complexities of the offline marketMy 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...2024-06-0550 min
Building The Future Podcast#76, Shola Akinlade - Building for the Long-term, Managing Talent and Growing as a LeaderMy 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 se...2024-05-291h 06
Digital AfricaEpisode #12: VC Investing in Africa; a View From the Top With Dotun Olowoporoku, PhDInvesting in the African landscape requires a localized understanding of the ecosystem. Unlike other parts of the world, the African tech space is filled with micro-climates that define a company’s ability to succeed with a particular business model and in a certain industry.We spoke with Dotun Olowoporoku of NovaStar Ventures who walks us through the importance of city-level data, the power of vertical integration and the role local investors play in a market. Additionally, in our discussion, we reflect on the power of international investors as well as common global misperceptions of African investments.Wit...2021-04-2953 min
Building The Future Podcast#74, Sangu Delle - Raising capital and building businesses in AfricaMy 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...2020-12-0459 min
Building The Future Podcast#73, Andrew Alli - On investing, corporate governance and using TwitterMy 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...2020-10-081h 02
Building The Future Podcast#72, Eloho Gihan-Mbelu - The challenges of building startups to scaleups in AfricaMy 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...2020-10-0153 min
Building The Future Podcast#71, Tokunboh Ishmael - Investing for profit and purposeMy 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...2020-09-2242 min
Building The Future Podcast#70, Eric Idiahi - Optimising for exits and high investment multiplesMy 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...2020-09-1547 min
Building The Future Podcast#69, Nnena Nkongho - Startup valuation, capital allocation and returns expectations in AfricaMy 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...2020-09-0837 min
Building The Future Podcast#68, Yele Bademosi - On people, startups and funding in Africa, pt 2This 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...2020-09-0136 min
Building The Future Podcast#67, Yele Bademosi - On people, startups and funding in Africa, pt 1My 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...2020-08-2540 min
Building The Future PodcastSeason 4 introVenture-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. 2020-08-1805 min
PI PodCovidnnovation webinar with Dotun Olowoporoku, Associate Director at Novastar VenturesThis is the second edition of our Covidnnovation Series. Dotun Olowoporoku, Associate Director at Novastar Ventures, shares on "COVID-19: impact and outlook on startup investment"2020-06-011h 05
Building The Future PodcastSeason 3 finaleWe have now come to the end of season 3! It has been such an exciting journey, one I hope you enjoyed as well. Please listen to my review of the season, what you can expect from next season and when we will be returning.2019-03-0403 min
Africa Emerging with TutuEpisode 009 - Dr Dotun Olowoporoku : Associate Investment Director Novastar Ventures, Investing in early stage start-up in AfricaHello everyone, welcome to episode 9 of the Africa Emerging Podcast. My guest on the show today is Dotun Olowoporoku. He is currently an Associate Investment Director at Novastar Ventures, a VC firm focused on investment in transformational early stage start-up business that enable access and provide economic opportunities for low-income and mass market population in Africa.
On the show today we talked about his previous start up, journey from been an academic to entrepreneur and becoming an investor. He gave his thought about the African tech eco system where he sees the industry in another 5-10 years...2019-02-2042 minBuilding The Future Podcast#66, Doing venture investment in Africa. How to validate your assumptions. Steve Grin, Managing Partner at Lateral CapitalSteve Grin is the Managing Partner at Lateral Capital, a firm that invests in early and growth stage opportunities in sub-Saharan Africa. Their Fund backs technology-enabled businesses that profitably solve significant pain points across critical infrastructure verticals: financial services, energy, healthcare, and education. Steven is a seasoned entrepreneur and investment professional with twenty years of experience investing as a principal and fund manager across the globe. He has extensive experience in real estate development, energy, and venture investing. Prior to co-founding Lateral, Steven was a Director in the Office of the President of Guyana where he held responsibility for the...2019-02-0457 minBuilding The Future Podcast#65, Why generating capital is important for African startups. Thesis on exits and how to manage corporate funds. Dustyn Winder, Co-Founder and Managing Partner at Akili Dustyn Winder is the co-founder and managing partner at Akili.Vc Akili is a pre-seed to Series A fund tailored for Africa. Their philosophy is based on the belief that there are very interesting problems that are often difficult for entrepreneurs to execute on, whether because they are hidden inside corporations, neglected in disaffected communities, or in geographies that present different challenges than traditional startup markets. Thus they are bringing the Prehype model (an organization Akili spun out of) to Africa to help finance African entrepreneurs solving African problems. Prehype is a venture development firm that focuses on building products an...2019-01-2837 minBuilding The Future Podcast#64, On building an online marketplace in Africa: not as easy as it looks. Adam Grunewald, CEO & Co-Founder at Lynk Adam Grunewald is the co-founder and CEO of Lynk, a platform designed to provide technology-based solutions for the massive informal labour sectors in Kenya. Adam has worked at Google as a project manager on new and emerging projects in the United States and Kenya. Driven by the urge to create a reliable employment system for manual workers in Kenya, he created Lynk in late 2015. Lynk has raised $1m in funding and is currently fundraising. In this episode you’ll learn: Adam’s love for Kenya and how he began living in the country How was Lynk ideated? Why Lynk sticks to a ma...2019-01-211h 11Building The Future Podcast#63, Lesson in humility. Building business in emerging market. Ekechi Nwokah, CEO & Founder at Mines.IoEkechi Nwokah is the CEO and founder at mines.io, a startup that provides technology infrastructure which enable local institutions such as banks, mobile phone operators, retailers in emerging market to offer credit to their customers. Mines use a combination of big data, AI and Machine learning algorithm to provide on-demand credit ratings and decision-making where there is no existing credit history. In 2018, Mines raised $13 million Series A funding from several VC within and outside Africa. I have a strong view and criticism against micro-lending businesses, especially in places where the poor pay disproportionate high interest rate, Ekechi made a stro...2019-01-141h 28Building The Future Podcast#62, Afonja, 18th century Oyo Empire and the dynamics of power with Tunde Leye. Author, Afonja The Rise Tunde Leye is the author of four novels, including his latest: Afonja, The Rise. He began his writing as a blogger during his mandatory National Youth Service Corps (NYSC). Tunde ran this blog for three years during which he wrote seven series including wildly popular Finding Hubby. He studied Computer Science at the University of Lagos and tried numerous things including music and lecturing. In this episode you’ll learn: The process of publishing books in Nigeria, challenges and opportunities The two publishing options available to a Nigerian writer How do you know if your work is good as a writ...2019-01-071h 38Building The Future Podcast#61, Teaching girls how to code. How to democratise opportunities. Abisoye Ajayi-Akinfolarin, Founder at Pearls Africa FoundationAbisoye Ajayi-Akinfolarin is the founder of Pearls Africa Foundation. Pearls Africa Foundation is a non-governmental organization that provides young girls living in underserved communities through training in technology, skill acquisitions and mentorship. One of their projects, “GirlsCoding” has reached more than 400 beneficiaries, including girls from orphanages and correctional homes, in addition to young women fleeing the Boko Haram insurgency. Abisoye was recently named “CNN Hero of the Year”. This year, she joins nine other people in the world who will receive $10,000 in support of their heroic endeavours. In this episode you’ll learn: How she fought the stigma of not gaining admissi...2018-12-171h 33
African Tech RoundupDotun Olowoporoku of Starta on identifying billion-dollar startup potential in AfricaAcademic turned startup founder and investor, Dotun Olowoporoku, is the Managing Partner at Starta, a platform that "makes it easier to build, discover and track high growth businesses in Africa through startup education, data and growth consulting". Dotun is also a General Partner at the Nigerian VC outfit, Ventures Platform and the host of the Building the Future with Dotun podcast (http://thestarta.com/podcast) which features Africa-focused tech and innovation ecosystem actors who are doing their bit to shape Africa's future.
Dotun previously founded Yhello Technologies (formerly known as meals.co.uk), an on-demand food delivery platform in the...2018-12-111h 00Building The Future Podcast#60, How ALAT team built a new bank from the old. Why innovation requires bold leadership. Nnamdi Azodo, Product Owner at ALAT Nnamdi Azodo is a product owner at ALAT by Wema bank, Africa’s first mobile-only bank. ALAT is a fully digital bank in Nigeria, designed to help customers save more. A savings account can totally be opened in 5 minutes with a debit card delivered. To open an ALAT account, you need your BVN, a phone number, email address and a few documents. Nnamdi joined Wema Bank as a youth corps member during his mandatory 1 year National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) period. After his service, he stayed on in the bank for a couple of years before being drafted into the ini...2018-12-101h 01Building The Future Podcast#59 Olumide SoyomboOlumide Soyombo is the Co-Founder of BlueChip Technologies. BlueChip Technologies is a systems integrator specialized in Data Warehousing, Analytics and Business Intelligence Solutions. Olumide is also the co-founder at Leadpath Nigeria, a seed capital fund that specializes in providing short, medium and long-term funding to small and medium-sized start-up businesses. They have invested in companies like Paystack, Fashpa, Piggybank among others. He is a systems engineering graduate from the University of Lagos and holds a masters in Business and Information Technology from Aston University. In this episode you’ll learn: What got him interested in angel investing? The usefulness of hav...2018-12-031h 03Building The Future Podcast#58, Investing in the African tech ecosystem. Lexi Novitske, Principal Investment Officer at Singularity InvestmentsIn 2012 Lexi Novitske moved to Nigeria from The United States. Lexi worked for Verod Capital Management, a Nigeria-based private equity firm. Prior to joining Verod, she had spent her career developing an expertise in financial services through her time at New York-based Sandler O’Neill Asset Management. In 2014, Lexi joined Singularity Investments as the Principal Investment Officer where she oversees the firm’s operations in Africa. In this episode you’ll learn: Why Lexi decided to move to Africa from the United States The key unique qualities unique to the Nigerian tech market What were the key assumptions Lexi had about...2018-11-2651 minBuilding The Future Podcast#57, Bootstrapping, testing assumptions and building for growth. Frederik Obasi, Co-Founder at Hypebuzz Frederik Obasi is the co-founder of Hypebuzz, a platform that connects top-tier influencers with businesses looking to build their brand and expand their reach. Frederik is also the co-founder and MD of Colour Me Digital, an African sports and entertainment marketing agency that has worked with notable Nigerian football players including Alex Iwobi, Ola Aina, Ademola Lookman; and brands including LG Electronics and DStv. A serial entrepreneur, he also ran a business called UniSmart, a university aggregator and application platform, that enables African students to discover and apply to universities in the UK. Frederik attributes some of his experience to his h...2018-11-191h 12Building The Future Podcast#56, Conversation with Joe Abah: governance, reforms and complexities. Country Director at DAIDr Joe Abah trained as a barrister in Nigeria. Afterwards, he gained extensive experience in the governance sector, working on public sector reform programs for the U.K. Prime Minister’s Office. He has spent more than 10 years managing governance programs in Nigeria for the U.K. Department for International Development, including on the DAI-led State Partnership for Accountability Responsiveness and Capability project. From 2013 to 2017, Joe took a post with the Government of Nigeria as Head of the Bureau for Public Sector Reform. He has now returned to DAI to serve as Country Director for Nigeria, where he provides technical and st...2018-11-121h 31Building The Future Podcast#55, Government, tech and ecosystems. Akin Oyebode, Executive Secretary at LSETFAkin Oyebode is the Executive Secretary, Lagos State Employment Trust Fund (LSETF). The fund was established to provide financial support to residents of Lagos State, for job, wealth creation and to tackle unemployment. Established in 2016, the fund seeks to invest N25 billion over four years. Though he began his career as a Research Assistant at the Lagos Business School, Akin has an extensive record of working in the Nigerian banking industry. Before his appointment, he was the head of SME banking at Stanbic IBTC Bank and prior to that, He was the Head Research, Insight, strategy Department at FCMB.In th...2018-11-051h 08Building The Future Podcast#54, Disrupting property rentals in Lagos. Obinna Okwodu, Founder and CEO at Fibre.ngObinna Okwodu is the founder and CEO of Fibre.ng, a real estate company looking to provide middle-income tenants the option to pay monthly for rented properties. Renting real estate in Lagos is a lot of hassle especially for the demand side. Landlords would typically demand 2 years rent upfront. Fibre set out to solve this problem and is growing fast in Lagos. Obinna who is an MIT graduate and ex-Morgan Stanley Investment Bank analyst has been listed as Forbes as one of the most promising young entrepreneurs in Africa in 2018. In this episode you’ll learn: How and when Obinaa got t...2018-10-2946 minBuilding The Future Podcast#53, Lessons from leading multinational corporations in Africa. Uche Ofodile, CEO at MTN LiberiaUche Ofodile is the CEO of MTN Liberia. Uche has extensive expertise in building businesses in emerging markets. Before her role in Liberia, she was the CMO of Vodafone Ghana. In this position, she was instrumental in the transformation of Vodafone Ghana from a struggling business, with deteriorating market share, into the country’s #2 telecommunications provider. Uche is somebody you can call a fixer. Uche was recruited to serve as CEO of Tigo DRC and transform the business. In 18 months, she rebuilt the business strategy, ignited 20% year-over-year growth, positioned the company for rapid market share gains, and revitalized the workforce throug...2018-10-221h 31Building The Future Podcast#52 (Part 2) Building an on-demand platform for African content, Tonje Bakang, Founder and CEO at AfrostreamTonje Bakang is the Founder and CEO of Afrostream. Afrostream is Afrostream is subscription video on demand (SVOD) which provides millions of fans with unlimited access to Afro-American and African movies and TV series. In 2017, Tonje penned an open letter announcing the closure of the business. The service closed in France, the United Kingdom, Belgium, Luxembourg, Switzerland and in 24 African countries including Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Congo, Gabon, Guinea-Bissau, Senegal and Togo. This is the second part of his two-episode conversation with Dotun. In this episode you’ll learn: Why it was hard to raise money as a startup in Europe...2018-10-1531 minBuilding The Future Podcast#51 (Part 1) Building an on-demand platform for African content, Tonje Bakang, Founder and CEO at AfrostreamTonje Bakang is the Founder and CEO of Afrostream. Afrostream is Afrostream is subscription video on demand (SVOD) which provides millions of fans with unlimited access to Afro-American and African movies and TV series. In 2017, Tonje penned an open letter announcing the closure of the business. The service closed in France, the United Kingdom, Belgium, Luxembourg, Switzerland and in 24 African countries including Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Congo, Gabon, Guinea-Bissau, Senegal and Togo. This is the first part of his two-episode conversation with Dotun. The second part will be published next week. In this episode you’ll learn: Why Entrepreneurship is not jus...2018-10-0830 minBuilding The Future Podcast#50 (Part 2) Building an on-demand platform for African content, Jason Njoku, Co-founder and CEO at IrokoTVJason Njoku is the co-founder at IrokoTv, a web platform that provides paid-for Nigerian films on-demand. It is one of Africa’s first mainstream online movie streaming websites, giving instant access to over 5,000 Nollywood film titles. Jason is who you can refer to as a serial entrepreneur. With several failed businesses under his belt, he went ahead to create what is largely regarded as the “Netflix of Africa” Jason founded IrokoTv alongside his friend and then flatmate, Bastian Gotter. See Bastian’s interview on IrokoTv here. This episode is the first of 2-part conversation I had with Jason at his office...2018-10-0138 minBuilding The Future Podcast#49 Building an on-demand platform for African content, Jason Njoku, Co-founder and CEO at IrokoTVJason Njoku is the co-founder at IrokoTv, a web platform that provides paid-for Nigerian films on-demand. It is one of Africa’s first mainstream online movie streaming websites, giving instant access to over 5,000 Nollywood film titles. Jason is who you can refer to as a serial entrepreneur. With several failed businesses under his belt, he went ahead to create what is largely regarded as the “Netflix of Africa” Jason founded IrokoTv alongside his friend and then flatmate, Bastian Gotter. See Bastian’s interview on IrokoTv here. This episode is the first of 2-part conversation I had with Jason at his office in L...2018-09-2444 minBuilding The Future Podcast#48. Building an on-demand platform for African content, Bastian Gotter, Co-founder at Iroko TVBastian Gotter is the co-founder of Iroko TV, one of the earliest, most successful and largest video on demand platform for Nigerian movies. Bastian founded the business alongside with his university flat-mate, Jason Njoku, who is the CEO of the company, and a later guest in this show. This is not Bastian and Jason Njoku’s first project together. In mid-2010, Bastian invested in several businesses that Jason was running in Manchester, England, many of which failed. But they stuck together as partners and Bastian invested in Iroko TV after Jason started it, and he then moved to Lagos and join...2018-09-1844 minBuilding The Future Podcast#47. Building an on-demand platform for African content, Bastian Gotter, Co-founder at Iroko TVBastian Gotter is the co-founder of Iroko TV, one of the earliest, most successful and largest video on demand platform for Nigerian movies. Bastian founded the business alongside with his university flat-mate, Jason Njoku, who is the CEO of the company, and a later guest in this show. This is not Bastian and Jason Njoku’s first project together. In mid-2010, Bastian invested in several businesses that Jason was running in Manchester, England, many of which failed. But they stuck together as partners and Bastian invested in Iroko TV after Jason started it, and he then moved to Lagos and join...2018-09-1041 min
Building The Future with DotunBuilding the Future Podcast Season 3 IntroTelling the African story is not new. For a very long time, Africans have expressed the narrative of their culture, beliefs, fears and exploits using stories passed from one generation to the next.Through oral traditions and accounts of eyewitnesses, we know about the riches of Mansa Musa, the exploits of Sango, the majesty of Nefertiti, and the conquests of Shaka Zulu.What has changed is the medium through which these stories are told.In this season, I will be chronicling part of that story.I will be starting with a mini-series that features some of the key figures that...2018-09-0309 minBuilding The Future PodcastBuilding the Future Season 3 IntroTelling the African story is not new. For a very long time, Africans have expressed the narrative of their culture, beliefs, fears and exploits using stories passed from one generation to the next. Through oral traditions and accounts of eyewitnesses, we know about the riches of Mansa Musa, the exploits of Sango, the majesty of Nefertiti, and the conquests of Shaka Zulu. What has changed is the medium through which these stories are told. In this season I will be chronicling part of that story. I will be starting with a mini-series that features some of the key figures...2018-09-0309 minBuilding The Future with DotunBuilding the Future Podcast : Season Two FinaleIts been a great pleasure to do this. To have conversations with interesting, smart and awesome people who are shaping the future of Africa.
This show has been one of the most exciting things I’ve done as an entrepreneur. It’s fun and I get to learn from a lot of people.
We’ve now come to the end of season 2.2018-06-2110 minBuilding The Future PodcastBuilding the Future Podcast : Season Two FinaleIts been a great pleasure to do this. To have conversations with interesting, smart and awesome people who are shaping the future of Africa. This show has been one of the most exciting things I’ve done as an entrepreneur. It’s fun and I get to learn from a lot of people. We’ve now come to the end of season 2. And I want to take this time to reflect on some of the lessons I learned in the conversations I’ve had. I will be touching on 4 of them. These not all the lessons learned in this season...2018-06-2110 minBuilding The Future PodcastEpisode 46, How to launch a startup in two African countries. Prince Kwame Agbata, co-founder at ColibaPrince Kwame Agbata is the co-founder of Coliba, It is an early stage waste management platform that leverages on SMS to help users separate their waste, schedule and request a pickup and get waste picked at the comfort of users home. Coliba pays the user for the waste generated. Prince is a first class graduate of Information Technology, being the only member of his family to have completed university, his initial goal was to end up working for Google Ghana. As fate would have it, things changed for him. In 2016, Coliba won the British Council Ghana Investor’s pitch session. In this...2018-06-1127 minBuilding The Future with DotunEpisode 46, How to launch a startup in two African countries. Prince Kwame Agbata, co-founder at ColibaPrince Kwame Agbata is the co-founder of Coliba,
It is an early stage waste management platform that leverages on SMS to help users separate their waste, schedule and request a pickup and get waste picked at the comfort of users home. Coliba pays the user for the waste generated.2018-06-1127 minBuilding The Future PodcastEpisode 45, Transforming African businesses through data. Timothy Kotin, co-founder at SuperFluidTimothy Kotin is the co-founder of SuperFluid, a data solution platform helping businesses to harness untapped potential through predictive data analytics, business intelligence and dynamic customer insights leveraging both traditional and alternative data sources. Timothy grew up in Tamale, Ghana and had to flee along with his family as a child due to ethnic violence and unrest in the 90s. Kotin holds an MPhil. in Engineering for Sustainable Development from the University of Cambridge and a B.Sc. in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from Harvard University. Prior to co-founding Superfluids Labs, he worked as a research scientist at IBM as p...2018-06-041h 00Building The Future with DotunEpisode 45, Transforming African businesses through data. Timothy Kotin, co-founder at SuperFluidTimothy Kotin is the co-founder of SuperFluid, a data solution platform helping businesses to harness untapped potential through predictive data analytics, business intelligence and dynamic customer insights leveraging both traditional and alternative data sources.2018-06-041h 00Building The Future PodcastEpisode 44, Using tech to hold government accountable. Seun Onigbinde, co-founder at BudgITSeun Onigbinde is the co-founder of BudgIT, a non-governmental organization that helps citizens access and understand public budgets. BudgIT breaks down the national budget in simplistic charts, and track contracts and projects the government are working on. This is a classic case of doing good with tech. In 2012, he was awarded the Future Awards prize for Science and Tech Innovation. In 2014, the Omidyar Network invested $400,000 in BudgIT, In January 2017, BudgIT raised an additional $3 million grant from Omidyar Network and Gates Foundation. Seun is an ex-banker whose goal was to become the CEO. Along the line his goals changed after coming seco...2018-05-291h 23Building The Future with DotunEpisode 44, Using tech to hold government accountable. Seun Onigbinde, co-founder at BudgITSeun Onigbinde is the co-founder of BudgIT, a non-governmental organization that helps citizens access and understand public budgets.
BudgIT breaks down the national budget in simplistic charts, and track contracts and projects the government are working on.
This is a classic case of doing good with tech.2018-05-291h 23Building The Future PodcastEpisode 43, How to attract investors without trying. Opeyemi Awoyemi, Co-founder at JobbermanOpeyemi Awoyemi is a tech entrepreneur with 10 years experience in internet startup business development. He has founded and managed three technology startups including WhoGoHost, a web solutions company. He is also the co-founder of Jobberman. Jobberman is Nigeria’s largest job search portal with over one million job seekers and 10,000 companies registered. Jobberman’s mission is to solve the unemployment problem in Nigeria. Opeyemi Awoyemi calls himself an ‘unrepentant entrepreneur’ and is enthusiastic about Africa, web startups and any innovative business idea. His life goal is to be a world business leader in the tech space and to die empty.In this...2018-05-211h 11Building The Future with DotunEpisode 43, How to attract investors without trying. Opeyemi Awoyemi, Co-founder at JobbermanOpeyemi Awoyemi is a tech entrepreneur with 10 years experience in internet startup business development. He has founded and managed three technology startups including WhoGoHost, a web solutions company. He is also the co-founder of Jobberman.
Jobberman is Nigeria’s largest job search portal with over one million job seekers and 10,000 companies registered. Jobberman’s mission is to solve the unemployment problem in Nigeria.2018-05-211h 11Building The Future PodcastEpisode 42, Connecting 25000 small farmers to a wider market. Nasir Yammama, Founder at VerdantThis was a live podcast with an audience Nasir Yammama is the founder of Verdant, an agritech platform that aims at providing agricultural data science, market information, managerial support, and access to financial services to rural farmers for improved food production using mobile phones. Verdant though a simple low-cost technology, is solving one of the biggest challenges and transforming Nigeria’s agriculture sector. Verdant is working with Oxfam and GIZ to help 25,000 farmers double or triple their yields. Nasir’s passion for Nigeria's agricultural development has taken him to unexpected heights – from being mentored by world-renowned business tycoon, Sir Richard Branson, t...2018-05-1349 minBuilding The Future with DotunEpisode 42, Connecting 25000 small farmers to a wider market. Nasir Yammama, Founder at VerdantThis was a live podcast with an audience
Nasir Yammama is the founder of Verdant, an agritech platform that aims at providing agricultural data science, market information, managerial support, and access to financial services to rural farmers for improved food production using mobile phones.
Verdant though a simple low-cost technology, is solving one of the biggest challenges and transforming Nigeria’s agriculture sector.2018-05-1349 minBuilding The Future PodcastEpisode 41. Art, tech and polygamy. Lola Shoneyin, Director at Book Buzz FoundationThis was a live podcast with an audience Lola Shoneyin is a Nigerian poet and author who launched her debut novel, The Secret Lives of Baba Segi's Wives, in the UK in May 2010 She is currently the director of Book Buzz Foundation, Nigeria- a non-governmental organisation whose main aims are promoting literacy through the creation of reading programmes for children and developing reading spaces. The foundation also organises the Ake Arts and Book Festival, an annual literary, cultural and arts event that takes place in Abeokuta, Nigeria Lola is also an award-winning writer and a cultural activist. In this episode you’ll...2018-05-081h 12Building The Future PodcastEpisode 40. How to prioritize your goals. Onyeka Akumah, Co-founder and CEO at FarmcrowdyOnyeka Akumah is the CEO and co-founder of Farmcrowdy, an agric-tech platform. Farmcrowdy gives Nigerians the opportunity to participate in Agriculture by connecting farm sponsors with real farmers for the purpose of producing high-quality farm produce. Onyeka returned to Nigeria from India in 2016 and has since then worked with business like Konga, Wakanow, Jumia and Deloitte before going ahead to start his first business, QuickGist. Though QuickGist did not work out, Farmcrowdy is doing phenomenally well. In 2017, they raised a $1M round. In this episode you’ll learn: The importance of transparency to your customers and investors when running a business...2018-04-301h 36Building The Future PodcastEpisode 39. The desire to be rich and the grit necessary to make it a reality. Akin Alabi, Founder at NairabetAkin Alabi is the founder of Nairabet, an online sports betting platform. Akin grew up with the hopes of being rich. According to him, he wasn’t too particular about his profession as long as it was legal and it made him rich. He started his career by selling ebooks, CDSs, audio tapes and manuals. In 2009, he launched Nairabet. Last year, he launched his book...Small Business, Big Money. A book that teaches how to start, grow and turn a small business into a “cash generating machine.” Akin is the founder of Youth Enterprise Conference, an annual conference held in March every...2018-04-231h 28Building The Future PodcastEpisode 38. Africa is moving from digital connectivity to building its own tech. Erik Osiakwan, Managing Partner at Chanzo CapitalErik Osiakwan is an entrepreneur and an investor with 15 years of ICT industry leadership. He is the manager partner in Chanzo Capital, a growth capital firm investing in Africa’s digital economy. Erik is a consultant for the world bank. He has worked in 32 African countries setting up high-tech startups He serves on the board of Farmerline, Forhey, Teranga Solutions, Siqueries, Amp.it, SameLogic, eCampus, Bisa App, SeeSayDo and Wanjo Foods, - some of which are his investments. Erik describes himself as a pan-African and is fully confident in the ability of African entrepreneurs. In this episode you’ll learn: The count...2018-04-1437 minBuilding The Future PodcastEpisode 37. Build a product that people want. Adeyinka Adewale, Co-founder at Kudi.aiAdeyinka Adewale is the co-founder and CEO of Kudi.ai, a financial service provider that allows you pay people and businesses over messaging interfaces like Messenger, Skype ,Slack and Telegram. He is a graduate of Obafemi Awolowo University. Kudi.ai is not Yinka’s first foray into running a business, he was the co-founder and CEO of Sanwo Touch2pay, which started out as a payment platform for universities in Nigeria. In 2014, he also co-founded clinicfy , a cloud based financial software for hospitals to track their revenues and invoices for both walk in patients and health insurance patient. Kudi.ai is a gr...2018-04-0956 minBuilding The Future PodcastEpisode 36, Why the best need luck. Raphael Afaedor, CEO at Supermart.ngRaphael Afaedor is the CEO and co-founder of Supermart, an online store for groceries and basic home amenities. Raphael describes himself as a pan-african entrepreneur. He is a graduate of the Harvard Business School and a former CEO at Jumia. Raphael was a co-founder and co-CEO of Jumia and he set up Supermart shortly after he resigned. Supermart.ng is an online grocery delivery service that partners with local stores to upload their inventory online and deliver everyday items to customers. Supermart tries to tackle the problem of time wasting that people face while trying to shop for their homes. Rap...2018-04-0158 minBuilding The Future PodcastEpisode 35, Racing to market, executing and getting it right. Fikayo Ogundipe, CEO at ToLet.com.ngFikayo Ogundipe is the CEO and cofounder of ToLet, a real estate company he founded with his friends while in the university. ToLet is a web-based platform for property, rentals and sales. The founders all made a monthly contribution of N20,000 to start the business. Interestingly, they had to hit the ground running as there was a competitor they needed to beat to the market. Starting out involved a lot of ground work such as reaching out and getting landlords/agents listed on their platform. In 2016, they raised $1.2million from Frontier Digital Ventures. A year later, they acquired Jumia House Nige...2018-03-2657 minBuilding The Future PodcastEpisode 34, Seeking investors, bad myths to avoid and other lessons. Franz Struwig, Co-founder at iKubuFranz Struwig is the cofounder of iKubu, Franz started out as a lover of technology before going on to study Computer Engineering at the University of Pretoria. He is a lover of technology, business and people. He started with advising, consultancy, building products for others. Looking for interesting solutions to problems was the bane of the company. A totally random cycling day happened to give birth to a whole idea of helping cyclers prevent accidents. Over time they developed their product and started working on taking it to the next level of marketing it and releasing it. In this phase, they...2018-03-1857 minBuilding The Future PodcastEpisode 33, Building a startup from Whatsapp, Trevor Kimenye, CEO and Co-Founder at OngairTrevor Kimenye is the CEO of Ongair, a web based social CRM tool that enables businesses to interact and communicate with their customers on popular Instant messaging platforms from a single dashboard. This is a global solution built in Africa. Businesses, regardless of where they are stationed need to communicate with their customers. This is what Trevor and his team make happen. The journey of Ongair is one that businesses should monitor and study closely, as it is one of the most successful ways of starting and running a business. They had an idea and tested it using Whatsapp. Then they...2018-03-121h 07Building The Future PodcastEpisode 32, Making it easy for everyone to invest. Rasaq Ahmed, Co-Founder at CowryWiseRasaq Ahmed is the co-founder and CEO of CowryWise, an automated savings platform. CowryWise aims to make savings worthwhile for everyone by making it simple to do and highly rewarding. Rasaq has one of the most interesting stories in the Nigerian ecosystem. His family narrowly escaped death while they were living in the northern part of Nigeria. They relocated to the south and that gave him the opportunity to attend the university - something he probably wouldn’t have done if he had stayed in the north because he was learning to repair generators. Rasaq graduated with a first class degree...2018-03-051h 13Building The Future PodcastEpisode 31, Lessons and warnings for African returnees. Adia SowhoAdia Sowho was the Head of Digital Media and Director of Digital Business at Etisalat Nigeria. She started her career as an engineer with United States Cellular, a CDMA operator in the US. She obtained her MBA from the Kellogg School of Management. After a stint at Deloitte Consulting, she returned home to Nigeria. Adia’s story is one that resonates with Nigerians who have spent a long time abroad and have returned home.2018-02-261h 23Building The Future PodcastEpisode 30, She quit her job and built an online marketplace across multiple cities. Aisha Pandor, Co-Founder at SweepSouthAisha Pandor is the co-founder and CEO of SweepSouth. An online platform for booking, managing and paying for home cleaning services Sweepsouth is the first South African startup to be accepted into 500 Startups. Aisha did not start out as an entrepreneur, she is a scientist who completed her PhD in Human Genetics at the university of Cape Town. In 2016, Forbes Africa featured her as a top African millennial. In this episode you’ll learn: What growing up with parents who were deeply involved in the anti apartheid struggle was like. Her family had to move to Botswana on exile before returning...2018-02-1959 minBuilding The Future PodcastEpisode 29, We are building a bank. Odunayo Eweniyi, Co-Founder at PiggybankOdunayo Eweniyi is the co-founder at Piggybank.ng She is also the Chief Operating Officer at SharpHire Global Limited, the organization behind Push CV, Piggybank and a new product in the pipelines. Piggybank is an online savings platform that securely makes saving possible by combining discipline plus flexibility to make you grow your savings to reach your savings target. The idea of Piggybank was born out of the desire to do something for people after they had gotten jobs (Push CV). The next logical thing was...how to help people save their salaries. Odunayo is a Computer Engineering first clas...2018-02-1257 minBuilding The Future PodcastEpisode 28, Startup is not equal to raising money. Chika Uwazie, CEO at TalentBaseChika Uwazie is the CEO of TalentBase. TalentBase makes it easier for businesses to manage their HR processes such as payroll, benefits, staff evaluation and time tracking. Chika joined the startup as the VP of business development immediately after moving back to Nigeria from the states. She has since then risen to the position of CEO and has gone on to represent TalentBase at 500 Startups. She has a lot of tips for young people looking to start businesses especially if you are just moving back to Nigeria. In this episode you’ll learn: She met the founder of Talent Base in...2018-02-041h 03Building The Future PodcastEpisode 27, How we raised $250k before building our product. Catherine Luckhoff, founder at NicheStreemCatherine Luckhoff is a serial entrepreneur. She founded her first business as a fourth year undergraduate. Her wide-ranging business acumen consists of business development, mobile, big data, music, startups and innovation in Africa. She now runs NicheStreem, an end-to-end solution for anyone including content owners, artists and music enthusiasts who want to launch their own audio/music streaming service. Catherine and her team raised 250,000$ in 5 days without a product. They are currently finishing a funding round which will bring the total of funds raised to $1.5million She believes that for a founder to thrive, he has to be able to dea...2018-01-281h 06Building The Future PodcastEpisode 26, How to go after your dream - Ola Brown, Founder at Flying Doctors NigeriaOlamide Brown is the founder of Flying Doctors Nigeria. Already, you understand how unique and important what she is doing is. Millions of people have lost their lives because they could not be transported to the right doctor or medical facility in time. Her sister, was one of these people. She decided to do something about it. Flying Doctors Nigeria (FDN) Limited is a Medical Emergency Service that specializes in air ambulance, medevac, remote site medical solutions, and infrastructural development and training. She had a lot of people tell her the idea couldn’t work. How did she pull it off...2018-01-2158 minBuilding The Future PodcastEpisode 25, Diving into the deep end, the story of Demi Owoseje, founder at Majeurs ChesterfieldOn today’s episode, we have Demi Owoseje, founder of Majeurs Chesterfield. Majeurs Chesterfield specialises in “preloved” leather and fabric furniture. They also deal with brands such as classic twentieth century pieces. They’ve got a fondness for Chesterfield sofas, and pride themselves in delivering nothing short of stunning. Demi has an interesting story. She has excelled in a male dominated industry. In this episode, she weaves an interesting story about her journey and the defining moments she had to go through… such as turning down a potential promotion for a gut entrepreneurial feeling. Over a period of time, she has added s...2018-01-141h 00Building The Future PodcastEpisode 24, I knew what I wanted- Temie Giwa-Tunbosun, Founder at LifeBankTemie Giwa-Tunbosun is the founder of LifeBank. LifeBank is a platform that makes blood available when and where it is needed in Nigeria. LifeBank has one goal… to save lives. In 2016, Facebook’s founder Mark Zuckerberg found her work intriguing and rightly said “If she can actually pull it off, she’ll show a model that will impact not just Lagos, not just Nigeria, but countries all around the world.” She tells an enthralling story, particular is the “switches” she had and how they shaped who she has become today.. In today’s episode, you’ll learn: Temie had to leave Nigeria as a 1...2018-01-071h 40Building The Future PodcastBuilding the Future Podcast: season two introThis is to introduce the Season 2 of Building the Future Podcast. One-on-one interviews with people who are using technology, entrepreneurship and innovative ideas to shape the future of Africa. This season is in partnership with the British Council Nigeria.2018-01-0203 minBuilding The Future PodcastBuilding the Future Podcast: season one finaleWe have come to the end of Building The Future Podcast Season 1! It has been an interesting journey full of learnings and exposure. Season two starts next year, and already we have an impressive lineup of entrepreneurs as well as a special series planned I have given a bit of insight into what you can expect on Buildng The Future Podcast season 2. I look forward to sharing this journey with you!2017-12-0410 minBuilding The Future PodcastEp 23 Tola OnayemiThis was a live podcast recorded in Abuja! Tola Onayemi is in the economic team of the office of the Vice President. He serves as a Special Adviser on the industry, trade and investment cluster by providing technical policy assistance. Tola is strongly of the opinion that crude oil is not the solution Nigeria desperately craves. He says, “ if we are ever going to take off as an economy, it’s not just oil.” This discussion dwells on progressively and sustainably making Nigeria and easy place to do business. This is the recording of a live podcast. In this episode, yo...2017-11-261h 01Building The Future PodcastEp 22 Michael SimeonMichael Simeon is the Co-founder and CEO of VoguePay, a user-friendly online payment system in Nigeria. Michael believes that to launch a product, it’s essential to research the market. In his words “You have to build something that fits for a purpose.” VoguePay is a multi-million dollar business that never received any funding or grant. In today’s episode, you’ll learn: How Michael’s sister influenced his decision to start Voguepay. She owns an e-commerce platform in the UK and wanted a payment platform that could collect payment from Nigeria. She expected Michael to solve the problem. How did he decide...2017-11-191h 07Building The Future PodcastEp 21 Paul Ziem, Founder and CEO NerdCorePaul ziem is the founder and CEO of NerdCore, a digital entertainment studio poised to make very entertaining games, comics and other related products and services. Paul is of the opinion that gaming can change the African narrative. By the kinds of games developed, the storylines, the characters we can tell our stories and share our uniqueness with the rest of the world. According to Paul, gaming is the “new golf” CEOs play over drinks. In today’s episode, you’ll learn: Why did Paul move into gaming? What did his childhood have to do with it? Why Paul believes he h...2017-11-1241 minBuilding The Future Podcast#20, Filling the gap for an easier and affordable shipping system- Edem Dotse, Founder at Swiftly#20, Edem Dotse Edem Dotse is the founder and CEO of Swiftly, a disruptive peer to peer platform making shipping affordable for everyone. If you are shipping a container, you can find someone to share your extra space. Sending a package by Air, add it to someone who has extra space or yet still collaborate to fill your shipment and share cost. Edem has a brilliant view about sharing. He thinks it’s pretty wasteful to ship a half-full container by sea or a half-full air package. In Today’s episode, you will learn: When Edem first faced the shipping problem in 2012. H...2017-11-0538 minBuilding The Future Podcast#19, Getting into YC and 500 startups, building a lending platform against all odds - Akin Jones, co-founder at Aella CreditAkin Jones is is the co-founder and CEO of Aella Credit, a provider of financial employee benefits. Aella credit is working towards eliminating the hassle of standard loan applications and enabling employees to borrow at competitive and fair rates through their employers. Akin Jones is one of the few startup founders that got multiple offers to join some of the best accelerator programmes in the world. In Today’s Episode, you will learn: Why Akin believes there is no real credit system in the country because banks are built to be conservative. The difference between investing for immediate dividend and in...2017-10-3051 minBuilding The Future Podcast#18, Making it easier for Africans to publish and read their own stories - Okechukwu Ofili, Founder at OkadabooksOkechukwu Ofili is the co-founder and CEO of Okadabooks, a book reading and publishing platform that has powered over 14,000 books, 137,000 readers and a million book downloads. They have bootstrapped their startup for the past three years and are now in the process of raising money from investors. Okadabooks has gone on to become one of the biggest digital publishing site in Africa for authors. In Today’s Episode, you will learn: How the idea for Okadabooks was born out of Okechukwu’s frustration. Learn about his personal experience with book distributors who owed him N1.5m from sales of books and h...2017-10-2353 minBuilding The Future Podcast#17, Why we initially turned down VC funding and bootstrapped to $1 million in revenue - Kendall Ananyi, Co-founder at wifi.com.ng“Always provide a fantastic service” On today’s episode, we have Kendall Ananyi, co-founder of Tizeti which operates as Wifi.com.ng Wifi.com.ng provides unlimited uncapped internet to users for less than $25 per month. Kendall has an interesting. He has studied as an engineer and has worked with ExxonMobil, Microsoft, and PricewaterhouseCoopers. He started Wifi.com.ng in order to solve their personal problem. He wanted unlimited and fast internet. He was told by experts that the idea wasn’t going to work. He was resisted by few people. He had big competition along the way. And he turned t...2017-10-1554 minBuilding The Future Podcast#16, Conversation with Oby Ezekwesili - conviction, courage and fearlessness."Leadership is not about titles or positions, leadership is about solving problems." Oby Ezekwesili is a force. She was recognized by Time Magazine as one of the 100 Most Influential People in the world and by New York Times as one of the 25 Women of Impact for 2015. She was Vice President of the World Bank (Africa Region) with responsibilities for operations in 48 countries and a lending portfolio of about $40 billion. And also worked for as the Nigerian Minister of Education and later as Minister of Solid Minerals. She exudes passion and strength. We recorded this episode as a live event at...2017-10-091h 31Building The Future PodcastEpisode 015, How Cecil Nutakor went from exam failure to building a company that is changing the way students learn in Africa - Cecil Nutakor, Founder at eCampus“No matter the rules, delivery is key” On today’s episode of Building the Future, we have Cecil Nutakor, Founder of eCampus. eCampus literally puts the classroom in your palms, giving you the power and control to self learn and explore at your own pace. Cecil is using technology to disrupt self-paced education in Africa. Cecil has an interesting story. He failed his senior secondary school certificate exams… thrice. He was written off as a failure. But he believed the system had failed him. So he set out to proof this. He learnt how to write software programmes, and built an learn...2017-10-011h 00Building The Future PodcastEP 14, How to build a new business from an old industry - Oluyomi Ojo, Co-founder at Printivo“The customer is not just the king, he runs the business” On today’s episode of Building the Future, we have Oluyomi Ojo, Co-Founder of Printivo. Printivo is a DIY (do it yourself) web-to-print-to-doorstep platform. This startup is trying to redefine the digital printing business by offering consumers a radically easy solution for meeting their printing requirements. Oluyomi has always been an entrepreneur. Specifically, he has always been involved in the printing industry. He grew up learning from his dad who was a printing broker and ran a print business as a side hustle while in college. On this episode, you’ll l...2017-09-2555 minBuilding The Future PodcastEpisode 13 Afua Osei, Co-founder She Leads Africa, Her journey and the laser focus on the success of African womenOn today’s episode of Building the Future, we have Afua Osei, Co-Founder of She Leads Africa. She Leads Africa is a community that helps young African women achieve their professional goals with engaging online content and pan-African events. Afua’s journey to entrepreneurship has been an interesting one: from working in the Office of First Lady Michelle Obama and working in other political campaigns to consulting for Mckinsey in Lagos and finally started SLA with fellow McKinsey consultant, Yasmin Belo-Osagie. Through it all, Afua has always been interested in jobs that allow her work with women. On this episode, you’ll l...2017-09-1658 minBuilding The Future PodcastEpisode 12 Michael Ocansey, Co-founder at Agrocenta, Using technology to manage 1000 farmers, 1000 hectares of farmland in GhanaOn the podcast today, we have Michael Ocansey, the CTO and Co-Founder of AgroCenta. Michael runs an interesting business. Agrocenta aggregates small holder farmers in rural farming communities, and give them access to market, capital and resources. Agrocenta aim to sign up 1000 farmers and working on 1000 hectares in Ghana. And they are barely scratching the surface of opportunity! On This Episode You’ll Learn: How Agrocenta is using technology to make the sale and transportation of produce seamless Agrocenta’s fool-proof way of onboarding farmers How Agrocenta is helping farmers access credit from financial institutions, as well as educating them so the...2017-09-1133 minBuilding The Future PodcastEpisode 11 Shola Akinlade, Co-founder at Paystack, How to build a big business by solving painful problems. The story of Paystack.On the podcast today, we have the CEO and Co-Founder of Paystack, Shola Akinlade. Paystack is a payments processing company which lets businesses accept payments via debit card or money transfer on their websites or mobile apps. Paystack was the very first Nigerian company to get into YC - which is no small feat! Shola is a software engineer by training and his foray into software engineering started when his uncle gifted him a computer. We discuss his journey as a developer, from being a part of the vibrant tech ecosystem at Babcock University to building a tracking tool for H...2017-09-0453 minBuilding The Future PodcastEpisode 10 Ngozi Dozie, Co-founder at OneFi, The paradox of focus for African entrepreneurs. Providing easy credit for those ignored by the bank.On the podcast today, we have Ngozi Dozie, Co-Founder at One Finance (OneFi). OneFi is a platform that provide access to finance by leveraging data and technology. One of their major product is a lending mobile app which enable people to get access to short term loans in Nigeria as quickly as possible. Ngozi has an interesting background…. he has First Class degree in Physics from Imperial College London. MSc in Computation from Oxford University. And MBA from The Wharton School. Before he started his business. He had a career as a finance man. He used to be an investment ban...2017-08-2849 minBuilding The Future PodcastEpisode 004 - Bob Collymore: How Safaricom is using technology to solve problems for the man on the streetBob Collymore is the CEO of Safaricom one of the leading telco in Africa and pioneer of Mpesa, the world’s most developed mobile payment system. If there is any poster child of how innovative mobile technology is changing Africa, Mpesa will be a top contender. Bob was originally born in Guyana, but his work experience spans across diverse countries such as Japan, South Africa and the United Kingdom where he has held various senior roles in marketing, purchasing, retail and corporate affairs. It was such an honour speaking with Bob and I’m excited to share this deeply insightful epis...2017-08-2349 minBuilding The Future PodcastEpisode 009 Marek Zmysłowski, Founder at HotelOga, Making positive expectations bet on Africa. How to launch and scale internet businesses across Africa.“One of the biggest mistakes online businesses make is to think that just because your service is delivered online, it means your customers can only be acquired online” Our guest this week is Marek Zmysłowski Marek is the cofounder of Jumia Travel (formerly Jovago) and HotelOga. is a hotel management system which enables hotels in Africa to have their own booking engine, websites and customer relationship management system. Earlier this year, HotelOga merged with Savanna Sunrise, another travel and hospitality marketing company based in Kenya. Prior to starting HotelOga, Marek was the Managing Director at Jovago one of Rocket Inter...2017-08-201h 17Building The Future PodcastEpisode 008 Deepankar Rustagi, Founder at Vconnect, What we learnt from attempting to build ecommerce platform in Nigeria. How to get early traction by focusing on specific market segment.“In business, emotions should play a secondary role and logic a primary one” Deepankar Rustagi is the Co-Founder and CEO at Vconnect, Nigeria’s largest online business directory and local search engine. Vconnect was one of the first players in the Nigerian tech ecosystem and has been active since 2010. This episode is a lesson on how to get traction for your startup by focusing on ‘One Metric that Matters’! It is very tempting to do a lot of things at the same time as an entrepreneur. Deepankar had the same challenge. But he had a good advisor who told him to focus o...2017-08-141h 08Building The Future PodcastEpisode 007 Kola Aina, Founder at Ventures Platform, How to build a platform for accelerating the next generation of entrepreneurs in AfricaKola is the founder of Ventures Platform, an early stage fund and startup accelerator for founders across Africa. Within a year, Kola and his team have invested in over 20 startups through the programme. Kola bootstrapped his original business, Emerging Platform from idea to a significant success by mixing healthy dose of risks with grit. I met Kola last year, and we seem to immediately connect due to our shared belief in entrepreneurship as a viable way to accelerate growth potentials in Africa. He recently wrote . On the show, we discussed his journey to entrepreneurship from grad school to running family b...2017-08-071h 07Building The Future PodcastEpisode 006 Rob Withagen, Cofounder at Asoko Insight, Why data and machine learning will unlock massive opportunities in Africa, How to get a CTO for your startup as a non-technical founderOne of the major challenge for doing business in Africa is lack of data. It’s hard to get information about private businesses in the continent. There are lots of consultants and researchers scouting around the continent for every bit of data they can get on businesses. Rob Withagen used to be one of those researchers. Until he got stucked in traffic in a sweaty taxi on the Third Mainland Bridge in Lagos. And then he had the aha moment. How about building a data platform that provides trackable research and analysis of thousand privately held companies in Africa? Rob sh...2017-07-311h 00Building The Future PodcastBTF 005 Mark Essien: Building a business around scalable distribution channels, and why raising money too early can kill your startup“Your product is only as good as its distribution channels” Mark Essien is the founder and CEO of hotels.ng an online hotel booking platform in Nigeria. With over 8000 hotels on the platform, hotels.ng is one of the largest online aggregator in Sub-Saharan Africa. He has raised over $2m from the likes of Spark, EchoVC and Omidyar Network. Mark is one of the most impressive founders I know. when I was planning to come to Nigeria in 2015 to get involved in the tech ecosystem, Mark dominated a lot of my research as someone I should meet. Since then we’ve met...2017-07-241h 13