Afrobility: Africa Tech & Business

Overview: Today, we’re going to explore eTranzact - the African payments and switching platform. We’ll discuss the story across the following areas:

1. First, Nigerian payments context 

2. Second, eTranzact's early history

3. Third, Product & monetization strategy

4. Fourth, Competitive positioning 

5. Fifth, Overall outlook

This episode was recorded on Feb 11, 2024

Companies discussed: eTranzact, Interswitch, Unified Payment Services Limited (UPSL), Systemspecs (Remita), Paystack, Flutterwave, Moniepoint, Paga, OPay, MTN & Airtel.

Business concepts discussed: Mobile money, Payments Collections, Payments ecosystem, payments partnerships strategy, card networks, payments infrastructure, low-end disruption, banking regulation & payments M&A strategy

Conversation highlights:

• (00:57) - What is eTranzact and why we’re talking about it

• (07:43) - Context of Nigeria’s payment sector before eTranzact

• (16:45) - eTranzact founding story

• (35:46) - Growth and geographic expansion

• (45:10) - Product strategy

• (01:02:56) - Monetization strategy

• (01:20:41) - Competition

• (1:31:10) - Bankole’s overall thoughts and outlook

• (1:34:38) - Olumide’s overall thoughts and outlook

• (1:43:20 - Recommendations and small wins
  

Olumide’s recommendations & small wins:

Overview: Today, we’re going to explore Moove, the mobility fintech. We’ll discuss the story across the following areas:

1. African mobility and transportation context

2. Moove's launch & early history

3. Product & monetization strategy

4. Competitive positioning & potential exit options

5. Our overall outlook.

This episode was recorded on Jan 14, 2024

Companies discussed: Moove, Uber, Lyft, Autochek, Cars45, GoKada, Creditas, Swvl, Lori, Sendy & FairMoney

Business concepts discussed: Revenue-based financing, asset-based lending, Ridesharing & Mobility entrepreneurship

Conversation highlights:

• (01:20) - What Moove does and why we’re talking about it

• (06:57) - Context of mobility and public transportation in Nigeria

• (21:50) - Founders’ background

• (27:50) - Moove founding and early history

• (32:16) - Fundraising

• (43:20) - Growth and Geographical Expansion

• (48:15) - Partnerships

• (1:07:26) - Product and Monetization Strategy

• (1:28:44) - Metrics

• (1:33:50) - Competition and options for exit

• (1:53:10) - Olumide’s overall thoughts and outlook

• (2:09:07) - Bankole’s overall thoughts and outlook

• (2:26:12) - Recommendations and small wins
  

Olumide’s recommendations & small wins:

Overview: Today, we’re going to explore AFEX, the African commodities exchange. We’ll discuss the story across the following areas:

1. African Agriculture context

2. AFEX's launch & early history

3. Product & monetization strategy

4. Competitive positioning & potential exit options

5. Overall outlook.

This episode was recorded on Dec 24, 2023

Companies discussed: AFEX, EAX (East African Commodity Exchange), Tony Elumelu Foundation, Heirs Holdings, Apollo Agriculture, NCX, Cargill, Louis Dreyfuss, 50 Ventures & Berggruen Charitable Trust

Business concepts discussed: Agriculture technology (AgTech, AgriTech or AgroTech), Agribusiness marketplaces, farming financing, Farmer market access opportunities, Agriculture insurance strategy, Commodity trading & Internal Entrepreneurship (Incubated company strategy).

Conversation highlights:

• (01:10) - What Afex is and why we’re talking about it

• (08:36) - Context of agriculture in Africa

• (21:49) - AFEX Founding story

• (33:28) - Fundraising

• (39:56) - Growth, geographical expansion and partnerships

• (49:42) - Product strategy, monetization and growth

• (59:14) - Cost structure, revenue and margins

• (1:10:00) - Business and user metrics

• (1:13:14) - Competition and options for exit

• (1:21:02) - Bankole’s overall thoughts and outlook

• (1:34:25) - Olumide’s overall thoughts and outlook

• (1:47:45) - Recommendations and small wins

Olumide’s recommendations & small wins:

Overview: Today, we’re going to talk about Nomba (formerly known as Kudi) , the FinTech payments solutions provider. We’ll explore the story across the following areas:

1. African & Nigerian SME context

2. Nomba's early history 

3. Product & monetization strategy

4. Competitive positioning & potential exit options

5. Our overall outlook.

This episode was recorded on December 3, 2023

Companies discussed: Nomba (Kudi), MoniePoint (TeamApt), Yoco, Kuda Bank, Flutterwave, Paystack, Stripe, Safaricom, Brass Banking, TradeDepot, Sabi, Paystack, Flutterwave, MTN, Airtel, Bumpa, Vendease, Orda, OPay, OnePipe, Paga, FairMoney, Omnibiz, Interswitch & Kippa

Business concepts discussed: SME Agency Banking, Informal retail, banking, Open banking & Mobile Money, Merchants solutions, Points-of-Sale devices, SME Lending & hardware and software bundling

Conversation highlights:

• (01:25) - Nomba context

• (06:29) - Context of African SMEs and Informal retail

• (19:10) - Founding story and founders’ background

• (29:02) - Fundraising

• (43:07) - Partnerships, Geographical expansion and Team

• (47:55) - User metrics

• (52:55) - Product and Monetization strategy

• (1:02:24) - Competition and options for exit

• (1:12:35) - Olumide’s overall thoughts and outlook

• (1:18:50) - Bankole’s overall thoughts and outlook

• (1:24:40) - Recommendation and small wins 

  
  

Olumide’s recommendations & small wins:

Overview: Today, we’re going to explore TymeBank - the South African neobank. We’ll discuss the story across  the following areas:

• African & Nigerian banking context

• TymeBank's launch, early history, growth & fundraising

• Product & monetization strategy

• Competitive positioning & potential exit options

• Overall outlook.
  

Companies discussed: TymeBank, African Rainbow Capital (ARC), MTN, Kuda Bank, Chipper Cash, FairMoney, Carbon, Discovery Bank, Branch, Pick N Pay, TakeAlot, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, Bank Zero, Naspers & NuBank

Business concepts discussed: International expansion, Startups and Distribution, Deposit banking, International expansion, Data sovereignty,

Conversation highlights:

• (00:30) - TymeBank context

• (08:15) - Context of African Banking 

• (24:20) - TymeBank founding story

• (52:20) - Fundraising

• (55:01) - Growth and geographical expansion

• (1:20:03) - Product & Monetization  Strategy

• (1:50:08) - Competition and options for Exit

• (2:00:33) - Bankole’s  overall thoughts and outlook

• (2:10:38) - Olumide’s overall thoughts and outlook

• (2:15:00) - Recommendations and small wins
  

  
  

Olumide’s recommendations & small wins:

Overview: Today, we’re going to explore Carbon, the credit-led Neobank. We’ll discuss the Carbon story across the following areas:

1. African lending & consumer credit

2. Carbon's founding & early history

3. Product & monetization strategy

4. Competitive positioning & potential exit options

5. Overall outlook

This episode was recorded on Oct 15, 2023

Companies discussed: Carbon (PayLater, One Credit, OneFi, One Finance), Diamond Bank, Cafe Neo, Kaizen Venture Partners, FairMoney, Branch, Paga, Kuda Bank, GTBank, Access Bank, Chipper Cash, NuBank, Lesaka (NET1 UEPS), Lendable, Interswitch, Visa, RenMoney, Tala & Safaricom (M-Pesa)

Business concepts discussed: Smartphone credit assessment, consumer lending, unbanked population, Neobank strategy, Personal Finance OS & Buy Now Pay Later

Conversation highlights:

• (00:48) - Carbon context

• (08:15) - Consumer lending in Africa and Neobanks 

• (15:32) - Background on African banking and Neobanks

• (32:02) - Founding story of Carbon & Founders’ background

• (54:04) - Fundraising 

• (1:01:15) - Growth and Geographical Expansion

• (1:08:03) - Acquisitions and investments

• (1:15:54) - Team and organisation

• (1:19:35) - Key metrics

• (1:40:46) - Product strategy and monetization

• (2:00:08) - Competition and options for exit

• (2:10:33 - Olumide’s overall thoughts and outlook

• (2:20:38) - Bankole’s overall thoughts and outlook

• (2:30:15) - Recommendation and small wins
  

Olumide’s recommendations & small wins:

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

1. African lending & consumer credit

2. FairMoney's founding & early history

3. Product & monetization strategy

4. Competitive positioning & potential exit options

5. Overall outlook

This episode was recorded on Oct 1, 2023

Companies discussed: FairMoney, Branch, PalmPay, Kuda Bank, Carbon, 54Gene, GTBank, Access Bank, Ecobank, PalmPay, Carbon, PiggyVest, Upstart, Tala, Visa, Mastercard Safaricom (M-Pesa), PayForce & Chipper Cash

Business concepts discussed: Smartphone credit assessment, African customer segmentation strategy, Consumer lending, unbanked population, smartphone credit assessment, Neobank strategy & Personal Finance OS

Conversation highlights:

• (03:01) - Intro

• (07:19) - African consumer lending & neobank context 

• (18:35) - Neobanking context and background

• (20:00) - FairMoney founding story and Founders’ background

• (39:40) - Fundraising

• (45:46) - Geographical expansion

• (49:05) - Partnerships

• (50:16) - Acquisitions

• (55:42) - Team & Location strategy

• (58:03) - User metrics and traction

• (1:04:27) - Product and monetization strategy

• (1:24:04) - Competition and options for exit

• (1:35:44) - Bankole’s overall thoughts and outlook

• (1:47:30) - Olumide’s overall thoughts and outlook

• (1:55:17) - Recommendations and small wins
  

Olumide’s recommendations & small wins:

Overview: Today, we’re going to talk about Branch, the FinTech lending company and Neobank. We’ll explore the story across the following 5 areas:

• African lending & consumer credit

• Branch's founding early history

• Product & monetization strategy

• Competitive positioning & potential exit options

• Overall outlook

This episode was recorded on Sep 10, 2023

Companies discussed: Branch, Kiva, Kuda Bank, Chipper Cash, Earnin, Paga, FairMoney, MFS Africa, GTBank, Access Bank, Ecobank, PalmPay, Carbon, PiggyVest, Upstart, Tala, Visa, Mastercard & Safaricom

Business concepts discussed: Smartphone credit assessment, Consumer lending, neobank strategy, Personal Finance OS, unbanked population, smartphone credit assessment & Pan-African Banking

Conversation highlights:

• (01:00) - What Branch is and why we’re talking about it

• (07:40) - Africa consumer credit context and background

• (19:17) - Branch International founding

• (23:31) - Founders’ background

• (39:12) - Fundraising and Growth

• (51:40) - Geographical expansion 

• (1:02:01) - Acquisitions and Team overview

• (01:15:14) - Product strategy

• (1:33:20) - Monetization strategy and Costs

• (1:41:58) - Competition and options for exit

• (1:57:08) - Bankole’s overall thoughts 

• (2:10:59) - Olumide’s overall thoughts

• (2:30:20) - Recommendations and small wins
  

Olumide’s recommendations & small wins:

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:

1. Africa’s and Nigeria’s informal retail sector

2. Sabi’s early history

3. Product & monetization strategy

4. Competitive positioning & potential exit options

5. Overall Outlook.

This episode was recorded on July 23, 2023

Companies discussed: Sabi, Rensource, TradeDepot, Twiga Foods, Wasoko (Sokowatch), Omnibiz, Alerzo, & Marketforce

Business concepts discussed: Informal retail penetration, SMB retail OS, B2B Operating systems, Equity carve-outs, Power as a service, Channel margins & Supply chain logistics

Conversation highlights:

• (01:00) - Sabi context

• (06:30) - Africa and Nigeria informal retail context and background

• (20:39) - Background on the founders

• (30:04) - Quick Rensource detour - overview and background

• (37:05) - Background on Sabi founding

• (47:52) - Fundraising

• (56:40) - Geographic expansion, partnerships and metrics, and growth

• (1:10:15) - Product Strategy

• (1:21:17) - How Sabi makes money

• (1:32:06) - Competition and options for exit

• (1:46:16) - Bankole’s overall thoughts and outlook

• (1:55:59) - Olumide’s overall thoughts and outlook

• (2:07:49) - Recommendations and small wins
  

  
  

Olumide’s recommendations & small wins:

Overview: Today, we’re going to talk about TradeDepot. We’ll explore the story across the following areas:

1. Africa’s and Nigeria’s informal retail sector

2. TradeDepot's early history

3. Product & monetization strategy

4. Competitive positioning & potential exit options

5. Overall Outlook.

This episode was recorded on June 25, 2023

Companies discussed: TradeDepot, Twiga Foods, Wasoko (Sokowatch), Omnibiz, Alerzo, Marketforce, Sabi, Multipro, FMCG Distributions Limited & Kellogg

Business concepts discussed: Informal retail penetration, SMB retail OS, B2B Operating systems, Informal markets, B2B retail, Buy Now Pay Later, Trade Finance & last-mile distribution

Conversation highlights:

• (01:00) - TradeDepot intro and why we’re talking about them 

• (06:50) - Africa’s informal retail sector

• (20:55) - Differences in informal retail across Africa 

• (25:43) - Founders’ background and early history

• (36:45) - Launch strategy

• (42:54) - Fundraising and Growth

• (49:55) - Growth and geographical expansion

• (1:02:33) - Product strategy and evolution

• (1:15:26) - Monetization strategy and costs

• (1:13:11) - Competition

• (1:25:05) - Options for exit

• (1:32:52) - Bankole’s overall thoughts and outlook

• (1:42:22) - Olumide’s overall thoughts and outlook

• (1:53:03) - Recommendations and small wins
  

  
  

Olumide’s recommendations & small wins:

Overview: Today, we’re going to talk about Wasoko (Sokowatch) We’ll explore the story across the following areas:

1. Africa’s and Kenya’s informal retail context 

2. Wasoko's early history

3. Wasoko's Product & monetization strategy 

4. Competitive positioning & potential exit options

5. Overall outlook.

This episode was recorded on June 11, 2023

Companies discussed: Wasoko (Sokowatch), Twiga Foods, TradeDepot, OmniBiz, Alerzo, mPharma, Nestle, Unilever, Multipro, Marketforce, Udaan & Flipkart

Business concepts discussed: Informal retail penetration, Agency banking adoption, B2B Operating systems, Informal markets, & last-mile distribution

Conversation highlights:

• (00:40) - Sokowatch background and why we’re talking about it

• (08:35) - African informal retail context

• (16:11) - Founder background and Founding story

• (29:55) - Fundraising and early growth

• (36:56) - Geographic expansion, growth and partnerships

• (45;12) - Team strategy

• (54:00) - Product strategy and monetization

• (1:10:00) - Competition and options for exit

• (1:23:13) - Bankole’s overall thoughts and outlook

• (1:33:05) - Olumide’s overall thoughts and outlook

• (1:43:30) - Recommendations and small wins

Olumide’s recommendations & small wins:

Overview: Today, we’re going to talk about Twiga Foods. We’ll explore the story across the following 6 areas

1. Africa Agricultural context

2. Kenya farming & market access context

3. Twiga Foods’ early history

4. Twiga Foods’ Product & monetization strategy 

5. Twiga Foods’ Competitive positioning & potential exit options

6. Future outlook.

This episode was recorded on May 28, 2023

Companies discussed: Twiga Foods, Apollo Agriculture, Vendease, Kibanda, Kellogg, Tolaram, Multipro, Olam, Dangote, Coca-Cola, Shoprite, Cargill, Nestle, Unilever & Safaricom (M-Pesa)

Business concepts discussed: Agriculture technology (AgTech, AgriTech or AgroTech), Agribusiness marketplaces, farming financing, Farmer market access opportunities, SMB Retail, B2B solutions and Agriculture Logistics.

Conversation highlights:

• (01:00) - Twiga Foods context

• (08:53) - Africa Agriculture context

• (18:30) - Kenya background and agriculture context

• (23:34) - Market access context in Africa

• (31:20) - Market access context at Twiga Foods' founding

• (40:12) - Founders’ background and farming context

• (56:10) - Fundraising

• (1:04:10) - Geographical expansion, Partnerships and Hiring

• (1:15:00) - Metrics

• (1:20:15) - Product & Monetization strategy, Cost structure

• (1:32:58) - Competition

• (1:35:00) - Options for exit

• (1:45:50) - Olumide’s overall thoughts and outlook

• (1:58:58) - Bankole’s overall thoughts and outlook

• (2:06:31) - Recommendations and small wins
  

Olumide’s recommendations & small wins:

Overview: Today, we’re going to talk about Yoco, the South African Point-Of-Sale FinTech company. We’ll explore the story across the following areas:

• South African payments context

• Yoco’s early history

• Yoco’s Product & monetization strategy

• Yoco’s Competitive positioning & potential exit options

• Overall outlook.

This episode was recorded on Apr 9, 2023

Companies discussed: Yoco, Square, Flutterwave, PayFast, PayThru, PayU, DPO, Flutterwave, Paystack, Stripe, Ikhokha, MTN, Safaricom, Zapper, Visa, Interswitch, Nedbank, ABSA, FNB (First National Bank South Africa) & Wave

Business concepts discussed: Merchants solutions, Points-of-Sale devices, SME Lending & hardware and software bundling

Conversation highlights:

• (01:30) - Yoco context

• (07:30) - Africa / SA payments context

• (23:11) - Yoco Founding Story and Founders’ background

• (40:45) - Fundraising and Growth

• (51:52) - Partnerships,  Acquisitions, and Team

• (59:20) - Key metrics

• (1:02:16) - Product Strategy

• (1:19:42) - Monetization strategy

• (1:30:50) - Competition

• (1:36:42) - Options for exit

• (1:49:06) - Bankole’s overall thoughts and outlook

• (1:57:01) - Olumide’s overall thoughts and outlook

• (2:07:14) - Recommendations and small wins

  
  

Olumide’s recommendations & small wins:

Overview: Today, we’re going to talk about DPO Group. We’ll explore the story across the following areas

1. African payments context
2. DPO group’s early history
3. Product & monetization strategy
4. Competitive positioning & potential exit options
5. overall outlook.

This episode was recorded on Mar 5, 2023

Companies discussed: DPO Group, Network International, Apis partners, Flutterwave, Paystack, Interswitch, Safaricom, MTN, Airtel, Takealot.com, Superbalist.com, Safaricom, Yoco, PayPal & Chipper Cash

Business concepts discussed: Bootstrapping, Payments ecosystem, payments partnerships strategy, payments infrastructure, low-end disruption, banking regulation, Mobile Money, E-commerce payments, Virtual cards & payments M&A strategy

Conversation highlights:

• (04:40) - Africa Payment Context at time of DPO’s founding
• (12:46) - DPO Group Founding and early history
• (14:05) - Founder Background
• (25:57) - Fundraising and Growth
• (29:48) - Acquisitions and Partnerships
• (51:30) - Product and Monetization Strategy
• (1:00:05) - Competition
• (1:08:35) - DPO’s exit to Network International
• (1:27:15) - Bankole’s overall thoughts and outlook
• (1:39:10) - Olumide’s overall thoughts and outlook
• (1:47:01) - Recommendations and small wins

Olumide’s recommendations & small wins:

Overview:  Today, we’re going to talk about MFS Africa. We’ll explore the MFS Africa story across the following 5 areas:

1. African payments context
2. MFS Africa’s  early history
3. Product & monetization strategy
4. Competitive positioning & potential exit options
5. Overall outlook.

This episode was recorded on Jan 29, 2023

Companies discussed: Onafriq (MFS Africa), Safaricom (M-Pesa), Opay, Flutterwave, Paystack, MTN, Airtel, Orange, Chipper Cash, Ecobank, Safaricom, Homesend, TransferTo, MasterCard & Visa

Business concepts discussed: Financial interoperability, mobile money (agency banking), banking regulation, acquisition strategy, payment processing, payment gateways & closed-loop payment networks

Conversation highlights:

• (09:50) - Africa payments context and background
• (20:26) - MFS Africa founding and early history
• (22:06) - Founder background
• (31:40) - Fundraising and early growth
• (38:44) - Partnerships and M&A
• (1:02:15) - Product Strategy
• (1:06:30) - Monetization Strategy
• (1:13:59) - Competition and Options for Exit
• (1:28:51) - Olumide’s overall thoughts and outlook
• (1:34:00) - Bankole’s overall thoughts and outlook
• (1:47:00) - Recommendations and small wins

Olumide’s recommendations & small wins:

Overview: Today, we’re going to talk about M-Kopa, the African asset financing platform. We’ll explore the M-Kopa story across 5 areas:

1. African electrical power context
2. M-Kopa's early history
3. Product & monetization strategy
4. Competitive positioning & exit options
5. Then we'll end with our views on its overall outlook.

This episode was recorded on Jan 15, 2023

Companies discussed: M-Kopa, Safaricom (M-Pesa), d.light, Zola Electric, Transsion, Samsung, Nokia (HMD global), Airtel, MTN,  Mobisol, Carbon & Fairmoney

Business concepts discussed: Rural electrification, Payment infrastructure, Pay-as-you-go Solar, Off-grid energy, asset financing, credit scoring, risk assessment & renewable energy

Conversation highlights:

• (05:45) - Africa electricity access context
• (09:45) - Kenya electricity access context
• (14:55) - M-Kopa early history
• (16:55 ) - Founders’ background
• (25:07) - Other ideas before M-Kopa and M-Kopa launch
• (28:44) - Launch strategy - partnerships, sales and distribution
• (32:05) - Fundraising, Growth, Geo Expansion, Team
• (54:01) - Product strategy and how the product works
• (1:06:04) - Monetization strategy
• (1:14:16) - Competition and options for exit
• (01:29:50) - Olumide’s overall thoughts and outlook
• (1:38:06) - Bankole’s overall thoughts and outlook
• (1:48:08) - Recommendations and small wins

Olumide’s recommendations & small wins:

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

Companies discussed: Flutterwave, FTX, 54gene, Swvl, Chipper Cash, TeamApt (Moniepoint), QED, Binance, Remitly, Brimore, Shoprite, & Jumia

Business concepts discussed: Economic recessions, fundraising, bootstrapping, Cryptocurrency, M&A, Creator monetization & Pan-African Expansion

Conversation highlights:

• (07:35) - Biggest 2022 moments  
• (00:53) - Impact of Recession on Africa Tech
• (1:00:05) - What we would like to see in 2023
• (1:28:00) - Creator Q&A
• (2:00:24) - Recommendations & Small Wins

Olumide:

• Recommendation: Knives Out 2 (Movie). Excellent and funny sequel :)
• Win: Opened Fidelity HSA. I had used Vanguard only previously. Fidelity has nice functionality & UX (especially for HSAs)

Bankole:

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:

1. African health context
2. Reliance Health's early history
3. Product & monetization strategy
4. Competitive positioning & potential exit
5. 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

Business concepts discussed: Insurance monetization, Insurance partnerships, consumer distribution, telco partnerships, product development, consumer market penetration & pricing strategy

Conversation highlights:

• (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:

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

Companies discussed: Reliance Health, BIMA, Naked Insurance, Pineapple Insurance, Amenli, Creditas, Minutos Seguros, Acko, Policy Bazaar, Casava Insurance, Lami, Curacel, Turaco, Amanleek & Avidea

Business concepts discussed: New product development, consumer market penetration & pricing strategy

Conversation highlights:

• (01:20) Consumer InsurTech context
• (12:30) Insurtech in other emerging markets - India
• (23:40) Insurtech in other emerging markets - Brazil
• (34:50) Insurance context in Africa
• (47:17 ) Southern Africa startups
• (1:02:20) Western Africa startups
• (1:14:19) Eastern Africa startups
• (1:24:34) Northern Africa startups
• (1:31:42) Olumide’s & Bankole’s thoughts
• (1:55:05) Recommendations & small wins

Olumide:

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:

1. First we'll start with some context about African agriculture
2. Thrive Agric's launch & early history
3. Product & monetization strategy
4. Competitive positioning & potential exit options
5. 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:

Overview: Today, we’re going to talk about Apollo Agriculture, the Kenyan AgTech company - we’ll explore the Apollo story across the following areas

1. African agriculture context
2. Apollo's launch & early history
3. Product & monetization strategy
4. Competitive positioning & exit options
5. 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:

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:

1. Egypt transportation context
2. Swvl's early history
3. Product & monetization strategy
4. Swvl's SPAC public offering
5. 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
• (1:44:35) - Recommendations and small wins

Olumide’s recommendations & small wins:

Overview: Today, we discuss Konga, the Nigerian e-commerce company. We’ll explore the Konga story across 5 areas:

1. We'll give some context about the Nigerian e-commerce sector
2. Konga's early history
3. Product & Monetization strategy
4. Konga sale
5. Overall outlook

This episode was recorded on July 3, 2022

Companies discussed: Konga, Jumia, Naspers, Kinnevik, Jiji, OLX, Amazon, Takealot, Yudala & Zinox

Business concepts discussed: Ecommerce, marketplaces, classifieds, fundraising strategy, Blitzscaling risks, market readiness & Africa expansion

Conversation highlights:

• (01:13) - Konga background and why we’re talking about it
• (09:19) - Nigeria background and context
• (14:00) - Nigeria commerce  context c. 2012
• (17:00) - Background on Sim Shagaya
• (29:02) - Konga launch strategy and fundraising
• (45:55) - Konga monetization
• (50:51) - Competition with Jumia
• (1:04:35) - Konga’s business lines
• (1:08:10) - Konga’s declining fortunes and sale to Zinox
• (1:27:00) - Lessons for startups from Konga
• (1:39:28) - Bankole’s overall thoughts and outlook
• (1:53:57) - Olumide’s overall thoughts and outlook
• (1:57:34) - Recommendations and small wins

Olumide’s recommendations & small wins:

Overview: Today, we’re going to talk about OLX -  the classifieds & marketplace platform. We’ll explore the OLX Africa story across 4 areas:

1. OLX's early history
2. OLX's growth in other emerging markets
3. OLX Africa's early history & Naspers acquisition
4. Naspers OLX exit from Africa

This episode was recorded on June 5, 2022.

Companies discussed: OLX, Jiji, Craigslist, Konga, Naspers, Kalahariads, Dealfish, Pricecheck, Mocality & Tradestable

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:

Overview: Today, we’re going to talk about Jiji - the African classifieds platform. We’ll explore the Jiji story across 6 areas:

1. Classifieds platforms in other emerging markets
2. Classifieds platforms in Africa
3. Jiji’s early history
4. Jiji’s product & monetization strategy
5. Jiji’s competitive positioning & potential exit options
6. overall outlook.

This episode was recorded on May 15 2022.

Companies discussed: Jiji, Genesis Group, Naspers, OLX, Craigslist, Avito.ru, Adevinta, Jumia, Konga, Cars45, Cheki.ng, Autochek, Tonaton, Saltside Technologies, Bikroy, Dubizzle, Kalahari, Autotrader & Property24

Business concepts discussed: Classifieds platforms, classifieds monetization, M&A strategy, e-commerce, social commerce, agency banking & marketplace 

Conversation highlights:

• (01:36) - Why we’re talking about GG today
• (09:51) - Classifieds platforms in other emerging markets
• (23:15) - Africa classifieds context
• (27:12) - OLX in Africa
• (36:48) - Jiji founding and early history
• (45:33) - Fundraising and Growth
• (1:03:09) - Product and monetization strategy
• (1:09:33) - Competition and options for exit
• (1:30:06) - Olumide’s overall thoughts and outlook
• (1:32:13) - Bankole’s overall thoughts and outlook
• (1:38:55) - Recommendations and small wins

Olumide’s recommendations & small wins:

Overview: Today, we’re going to talk about Wave, the African consumer payments company. We’ll explore Wave’s story across 5 areas:

1. We'll start with some context about payments in Africa
2. Wave's launch & early history
3. Wave's Product & monetization strategy
4. Wave's competitive positioning & potential exit options
5. Overall outlook

This episode was recorded on May 1, 2022

Companies discussed: Wave, Sendwave, Safaricom (M-PESA), bKash, TeamApt, Chipper Cash, Orange (Sonatel), Free (Tigo), Opay, Paga, MTN, Airtel, Zedbank & Kuda Bank

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:

Overview: Today we’re going to talk about Globacom - The Nigerian telecommunications company. We’ll explore the Globacom story across 5 areas:

1. Nigerian telco sector context
2. Globacom's early history
3. Globacom's telco & non-telco businesses
4. Globacom's potential exit options
5. Outlook

This episode was recorded on Apr 10, 2022

Companies discussed: Glo (Globacom), MTN, Airtel, NITEL (Nigerian Telecommunications Limited), Econet Wireless & 9mobile (Etisalat)

Business concepts discussed: Telecommunications (Telco) strategy, Mobile money, Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNOs), Telco regulation, Celebrity advertising, Low-price telecoms strategy.

Conversation highlights:

• (01:00) - Globacom background and why we’re talking about it
• (07:40) - Globacom founding and spectrum auction
• (20:30) - Mike Adenuga background
• (30:20) - Globacom launch
• (44:36) - Globacom African Expansion
• (56:50) - Globacom core Telecom business
• (1:07:58) - Globacom non-telco business
• (1:19:50) - Competition and IPO / spinoff?
• (1:29:48) - Bankole’s overall thoughts and outlook
• (1:40:10) - Olumide’s overall thoughts and outlook
• (1:46:30) - Recommendations & small wins

Olumide’s recommendations & small wins:

Overview: Today we’re going to talk about Telkom - The South African telecommunications company. We’ll explore the Telkom story across 5 areas:

1. South African telecoms sector context
2. Telkom's early history
3. We'll deepdive into Telkom's primarily telco & non-telco businesses
4. Telkom's operating & financial performance
5. .Overall outlook.

This episode was recorded on Mar 27, 2022

Companies discussed: Telkom, Vodacom, Vodafone, Cell C, MTN, Southwestern Bell Communications (now AT&T), Safaricom (M-Pesa), Rain Networks & Multilink

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
• (1:34:55) - Recommendations and small wins

Olumide’s recommendations & small wins:

Overview:  Today we’re going to talk about Vodacom - The South African telecommunications company. We’ll explore the Vodacom story across 5 areas:

1. South African telecoms sector context
2. Vodacom's early history
3. Vodacom's telco & non-telco businesses
4. Vodacom's operating & financial performance
5. Overall outlook

This episode was recorded on Mar 13, 2022

Companies discussed: Vodacom, Vodafone, Safaricom (M-Pesa), Telkom, MTN, Airtel & Glo

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:

Overview: Today, we’re going to talk about MAX - the Nigerian mobility tech platform. We’ll explore Max's story across 6 areas:

1. Context on motorbike transportation platforms in other emerging markets
2. Background on Nigeria transportation
3. Max.'s launch, early history, growth over time & fundraising
4. Product & monetization strategy
5. Competitive positioning & potential exit options
6. Overall outlook

This episode was recorded on Jan 30, 2022

Companies discussed: MAX (Max.africa, Max.ng), GiG Logistics, Red Star Express, Gokada, GoJek, Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Jumia Food, Konga, Uber, Africa Courier Express (ACE), Pathao, Flutterwave & Safeboda

Business concepts discussed: Ridesharing, Mobility in emerging markets, Debt Fundraising by startups,

Conversation highlights:

• (01:20) - MAX.Africa context
• (07:20) - Ridesharing in emerging markets (GoJek)
• (10:30) - Transportation Mobility in Nigeria
• (15:00) - Background on the founders - Tayo Bamiduro and Chinedu Azodoh
• (18:50) - Founding and early history of MAX
• (22:05) - Fundraising and early growth
• (38:20) - Metrics and traction
• (59:39) - Product & monetization strategy
• (1:16:51) - Competition and options for exit
• (1:31:30) - Bankole’s overall thoughts and outlook
• (1:45:25) - Olumide’s overall thoughts and outlook
• (1:53:55) - Recommendations and small wins

Olumide’s recommendations & small wins:

Overview: Today, we’re going to talk about Gokada - the Nigerian mobility tech platform. We’ll explore the Gokada story across 5 areas:

1. African ridesharing context
2. Gokada's launch, early history, growth over time & fundraising
3. Product & monetization strategy
4. Competitive positioning & potential exit options
5. Overall outlook

This episode was recorded on Jan 9, 2022.

Companies discussed: Gokada, GoJek, Max.ng, Pathao, Bolt, Uber & Jumia

Business concepts discussed: Mobility, logistics, delivery, bike-sharing & tech regulation

Conversation highlights:

• (01:00) - Gokada context
• (06:50 - Bike-sharing platforms in other markets - GoJek
• (17:44) - Nigeria transportation context
• (48:00) - Gokada founding & early history
• (1:02:00) - Fundraising & growth
• (1:08:00) - Product & monetization strategy
• (1:28:00) - Competition & exit options
• (1:36:13) - Olumide’s overall thoughts & outlook
• (1:44:45) - Bankole’s overall thoughts & outlook
• (1:54:44) - Recommendations & small wins

Olumide:

Overview: Today, we’re going to talk about Andela - the software developer recruitment platform. We’ll explore the Andela story across 6 areas:

1. Labor markets in Africa context
2. Andela's founding and early history
3. Fundraising & Growth
4. Product & monetization strategy
5. Competitive positioning & potential exit options
6. Overall outlook.

Overview: Today, we’re going to talk about SafeBoda - the Ugandan motorbike hailing platform. We’ll explore the SafeBoda story across 7 areas:

1. Motorbike hailing platforms in other emerging markets (GoJek/GoTo)
2. African mobility context
3. SafeBoda's founding & early history
4. Fundraising and growth
5. Product & monetization strategy
6. Competitive positioning & potential exit options
7. Overall outlook

This episode was recorded on Oct 31, 2021.

Companies discussed: SafeBoda, GoJek (GoTo), Gokada, Pathao, Allianz X, CRE Ventures, Uber Boda, Bolt / Taxify Boda, Tugende, Chipper Cash, Musha ventures, Go ventures & Gozem

Business concepts discussed: Mobility Tech, Pan-Africa expansion, Transportation + FinTech Superapps

Conversation highlights:

• (05:20) - Motorbike hailing platforms in other emerging markets (GoJek)
• (05:30) - Africa transportation context
• (07:40) - Uganda country & transportation context
• (24:50) - Founder background - Rapa Thomson, Maxime Dieudonne, Alastair Sussock
• (38:20) - SafeBoda's launch
• (43:36) - Fundraising 
• (52:50) - Geographic expansion
• (1:15:00) - Product & monetization strategy
• (1:25:00) - Competition and exit options
• (1:37:00) - Olumide’s overall thoughts and outlook
• (1:48:01) - Bankole’s overall thoughts and outlook
• (1:51:10) - Recommendations and small wins

Olumide’s recommendations & small wins:

Overview: Today, we’re going to talk about Fawry - the Egyptian payments platform. We’ll explore the Fawry story across 6 areas:

1. Egypt context
2. Founding and early history
3. Fundraising & Growth
4. Product & monetization strategy
5. Competitive positioning
6. 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

Conversation highlights:

• (01:20) - Fawry context
• (04:00) - Egypt context, startups, financial inclusion
• (23:59) - Ashraf Sabry background
• (29:38) - Fawry founding and early history
• (38:15) - Fundraising and early growth
• (49:38) - Fawry IPO
• (52:40) - Product strategy
• (1:14:26) - Monetization strategy
• (1:19:30) - Competition in Egypt
• (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:

Overview: Today, we’re going to talk about BIMA - the HealthTech insurance company. We’ll explore BIMA's story across 6 areas:

1. African Health care status & context
2. BIMA Health founding and early history
3. Fundraising & Growth
4. Product & monetization strategy
5. Competitive positioning & potential exit options
6. Overall outlook.

This episode was recorded on Oct 3, 2021

Companies discussed: BIMA (Milvik), Kinnevik, LeapFrog investments, Allianz X (Allianz Group), Millicom, Digicel, China CreditEase, Jamii, M-Tiba, BlueWave, MicroEnsure & Gates Foundation

Business concepts discussed: HealthTech (Healthcare technology), InsurTech (Insurance Technology), Telco partnership, geographical expansion & Health policy

Conversation highlights:

• (00:45) - Why we’re talking about BIMA Health
• (05:15) - African Health care context
• (05:58) - Insurance context in Africa
• (28:58) - Founder background - Gustaf Agartson
• (35:40) - Fundraising and early growth
• (45:10) - BIMA Health traction- markets, users, etc
• (49:50) - Product , go-to-market and monetization strategy
• (1:05:38) - Geographical expansion
• (1:07:36) - Competition and options for exits, M&A
• (1:29:52) - Olumide’s overall thoughts and outlook
• (1:37:05) - Bankole’s overall thoughts and outlook
• (1:51:04) - Recommendations and small wins

Olumide’s recommendations & small wins:

Overview: Today, we’re going to talk about 54gene - the genomics HealthTech company. We’ll explore the 54gene story across 6 areas:

1. African Health care status & context
2. 54gene early history
3. Fundraising & Growth
4. Product & monetization strategy
5. Competitive positioning & potential exit options
6. 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
• (1:56:03) - Recommendations and small wins

Olumide’s recommendations & small wins:

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:

1. African Health care status & context
2. mPharma founding and early history
3. Fundraising & Growth
4. Product & monetization strategy
5. Competitive positioning & potential exit options
6. 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
• (1:55:47) - Recommendations and small wins

Olumide’s recommendations & small wins:

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:

1. African Health care status & context
2. Helium Health founding and early history
3. Fundraising & Growth
4. Product & monetization strategy
5. Competitive positioning & potential exit options
6. Overall outlook.

This episode was recorded on Aug 22, 2021

Companies discussed: Helium Health, Epic, MAGIC Fund, Y Combinator (YC), KingsChat & Tencent ventures

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
• (1:36:12) - Recommendations and small wins

Olumide’s recommendations & small wins:

Overview: Today, we’re going to talk about MultiChoice - The African video entertainment provider. We’ll explore the MultiChoice story across 5 areas:

1. South African video entertainment market context
2. MultiChoice's launch & growth over time
3. MultiChoice's product & monetization strategy
4. Competition, primary & emerging businesses
5. Overall outlook

This episode was recorded on August 15, 2021

Companies discussed: MultiChoice (M-Net), Naspers, MTN, ShowMax, BetKing, Comcast, Sky, DSTV, MTN, Iroko TV, HiTV, StarTimes, Vivendi Canal+, ROK Media, English Premier League, Netflix, HBO Max, ShowMax, Showtime & BBC

Business concepts discussed: Pan-African expansion strategy, Entertainment content acquisition strategy, subscription & hardware monetization strategy

Conversation highlights:

• (02:20) - Why we’re talking about MultiChoice
• (06:50) - South African TV context
• (15:28) - Origin and early history of MultiChoice
• (26:10) - Product & monetization strategy
• (34:05) - MultiChoice device / decoder strategy
• (38:20) - Content, Partnerships & M&A
• (42:30) - MultiChoice Financials and key metrics
• (46:54) - Competition across different business lines
• (51:40) - Non-core businesses and investments, BetKing
• (1:05:00) - Bankole’s overall thoughts and outlook
• (1:12:02) - Olumide’s overall thoughts and outlook
• (1:26:28) - Recommendations and small wins

Olumide’s recommendations & small wins:

Overview: Today, we’re going to discuss Kuda Bank - the African neobank. We’ll explore the Kuda story across 6 areas:

1. Neobanks in other emerging markets (Brazil & NuBank)
2. African & Nigerian banking context
3. Kuda's launch, early history, growth over time & fundraising
4. Kuda's product & monetization strategy
5. Competitive positioning, potential exit options
6. Overall outlook

This episode was recorded on July 25, 2021.

Companies discussed: Kuda Bank, Nubank, Carbon, N26, Monzo, Chime, GTBank, Stanbic IBTC, Sparkle, Rubies, Monzo, Xinja, Chime & Chipper Cash

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:

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:

1. Intra-Africa remittances context
2. Global remittances (outside Africa to Africa) context
3. Chipper Cash’s launch, early history, growth & fundraising
4. Chipper Cash's Product & monetization strategy
5. Competitive positioning & potential exit options
6. End with our overall outlook.
   

This episode was recorded on July 11 & Aug 1, 2021.

Companies discussed: Chipper Cash, Venmo, PayPal, Square, Flutterwave, EcoBank, Safaricom, Sendwave, MTN, Airtel, Deciens Capital & Liquid2 Ventures

Business concepts discussed: Consumer FinTech (Personal Finance OS) monetization strategy, FinTech exit strategy, Intra-African Remittances, International remittances, Cryptocurrency, Decentralized Finance, Stock trading & closed-loop payment networks

Conversation highlights:

• (01:07) - Why we’re talking about Chipper Cash
• (06:20) - Intra-African trade context
• (13:12) - Intra-African remittances context
• (21:40) - Global remittances (outside Africa to Africa) context
• (36:50) - Founder backgrounds - Ham Serunjogi & Majid Moujaled
• (46:06) - Chipper Cash founding and early history
• (52:30) - Fundraising and Growth - Angel, Series A, B & C
• (1:07:25) - Product strategy
• (1:08:25) - Monetization strategy
• (1:35:24) - Competition - horizontal and vertical
• (1:45:55) - Potential exit scenarios
• (1:54:12) - Bankole’s overall thoughts and outlook
• (2:01:32) - Olumide’s overall thoughts and outlook
• (2:08:40) - Recommendations and small wins
  

Olumide’s recommendations, small wins & open questions:

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.

Companies discussed: Navi, Creditas, Jumo, Carbon, Branch, Tala, Tugende, FairMoney, Shahry, Khazna, NuBank, Safaricom (M-Pesa), Alibaba (Ant Financial & AliPay), Migo (Mines), Numida, Tyme Bank, Lulalend & Evolve Credit

Business concepts discussed: Consumer lending, SME lending, unbanked population, Agency banking, credit assesment, lending risk management & lending (financial services) regulation

Conversation highlights:

• (00:40) - Why we’re talking about Lending
• (04:40) - Consumer lending context in India
• (10:10) - Navi deepdive & what African startups can learn
• (13:14) - Consumer lending context in Brazil
• (18:30) - Creditas deepdive
• (31:29) - Consumer lending context in China
• (38:30) - Consumer lending in Africa
• (51:18) - Lending startups in Southern Africa
• (1:04:06) - Lending startups in Western Africa
• (1:05:00) - Lending startups in Eastern Africa
• (1:16:16) - Lending startups in Northern Africa
• (1:26:50) - Olumide’s overall thoughts
• (1:31:50) - Bankole’s overall thoughts
• (1:45:30) - Recommendations and small wins
  

Olumide’s recommendations & small wins

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:

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:

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

Companies discussed: Sendwave (Remittances), Wave (Mobile money / Consumer FinTech), WorldRemit (Zepz), Chipper Cash, Transferwise, Remitly, Western Union, MoneyGram & Safaricom

Business concepts discussed: African remittances, personal finance OS, neobanks, Market expansion entry & Consumer Fintech (WealthTech) entry strategy

Conversation highlights:

• (01:15) - What is Sendwave and why we’re talking about it
• (05:10) - Global Remittances context, size and trends
• (11:30) - Remittances in Sub-Saharan Africa
• (21:00) - Sendwave founding and early history
• (25:15) - Product strategy - UX, fees, disbursement speed, integrations
• (31:12) - Fundraising - Seed, series A and expansion
• (43:20) - WorldRemit's $500M acquisition
• (49:40) - Bankole’s overall thoughts and outlook
• (58:30) - Olumide’s overall thoughts and outlook
• (1:09:38) - Recommendations and small wins

Olumide’s recommendations, small wins & open questions:

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.

Companies discussed: Takealot, Take2, Naspers, Tiger Global, Jumia, Kalahari.net, BidorBuy, Kilimall, Amazon, Konga, Alibaba, Everyshop (JD Group), Pick n Pay, Woolworths, Massmart, Spar & MIH Africa

Business concepts discussed: Developing markets e-commerce, Pan-African expansion strategy & ecommerce marketplaces

Conversation highlights:

• (01:20) - E-commerce and Takealot intro
• (04:50) - South Africa Retail & e-commerce context
• (15:30) - Takealot founding story: Take2, Tiger Global & Kim Reid
• (21:30) - Acquisition of Superbalist, Mr Delivery; Tiger Global investment
• (28:25) - Naspers takeover of Takealot from Tiger Global
• (33:46) - Takealot today: Product and monetization, business units, key metrics
• (45:10) - Competion: local, international & non-traditional
• (54:55) - Bankole’s overall thoughts and outlook
• (1:04:07) - Olumide’s overall thoughts and outlook
• (1:14:40) - Recommendation and small wins

Olumide’s recommendations & small wins:

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.

Companies discussed: Twiga Foods, Pula, SunCulture, Releaf, FarmCrowdy, DeHaat, Arya, WeFarm, Aerobiotics, Gro Intelligence, SwiftVee, Agroop, Pure Harvest, Naspers & Agrocenta

Business concepts discussed: Agriculture technology (AgTech, AgriTech or AgroTech), Agribusiness marketplaces, farming financing, Farmer market access opportunities & Agriculture insurance strategy

Conversation highlights:

• (00:30) - Why we’re talking about Agriculture & AgriTech
• (05:20) - AgriTech in developed markets
• (08:50) - AgriTech in emerging markets countries
• (11:30) - AgriTech startups in India - DeHaat, Arya
• (15:30) - AgriTech in China
• (16:50) - African Agriculture - background, challenges
• (26:50) - AgriTech in Africa
• (28:06) - AgriTech startups in East Africa
• (40:40) - AgriTech startups in Southern Africa
• (45:55) - AgriTech startups in Northern Africa
• (48:44) - AgriTech  startups in West Africa
• (58:20) - Bankole’s overall thoughts and outlook
• (1:07:55) - Olumide’s overall thoughts and outlook
• (1:14:35) - Recommendations and small wins

Olumide’s recommendations, small wins & open questions: