This Is Connectivity

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

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

Ecosystem

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

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

Talent

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

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

Banking

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

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

Fintech

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

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

Ecosystem

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

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

Venture Capital

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

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

Telecoms

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

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

Infrastructure

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

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

Digital Transformation

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

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

This Is Connectivity

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

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

Entrepreneurship

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

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

Sponsored

POD: Victor Mapunga on building from first principles in Africa's 'tech graveyard'

Victor Mapunga, founder of FlexID and Shona Prince Technologies, reveals the raw truth of building from scratch in Zimbabwe—rejecting hero labels and embracing the grit of progress.

Venture Capital

OP-ED: Secha Capital’s Operator-Investor Model—An African VC alternative breaking the tech-first mould

Amid Janngo Capital's oversubscribed final close and Techstars’ abrupt exit from Lagos, Secha Capital champions South Africa’s traditional industries with a slow-burn, hands-on investment model—reshaping venture capital norms.

Sponsored

POD: Savvy Product-led Innovation—Evah Kimani's vision for digital insurance in Africa

In this podcast conversation, Evah Kimani unpacks how she’s channelling over 18 years of expertise into curating partnerships that fuel Britam's growth and digital innovation strategies.

Insurtech

OP-ED: Britam's Director of Partnerships & Digital on 'Insurable Moments'—Reimagining African healthcare access

Andile Masuku weighs Evah Kimani's insights on how Africa's traditional risk-sharing practices shape Britam’s growth strategy, striking a balance between institutional scale and grassroots innovation in insurance delivery.

Infrastructure

OP-ED: Inside Safaricom Ethiopia—Overcoming terrain, 5G rollout and regulatory hurdles

Andile Masuku distils key insights from Safaricom's $8 billion venture in Ethiopia, highlighting the challenges of building a new network, meeting unexpectedly high demand, and navigating complex regulatory landscapes.

Telecoms

POD: Yahya Banafa on tackling challenges in Safaricom Ethiopia's $8 billion telecom bet

In this podcast conversation, Yahya Banafa, head of network planning and engineering at Safaricom Ethiopia, discusses what it takes to build a nationwide mobile network in Africa’s second-most populous country.

Digital Transformation

OP-ED: Empathy-Driven Innovation—Design with me, not for me feat. Marcus Welby Rance

Digital transformation specialist Marcus Welby Rance advocates for African governments to embrace citizen-centric design, emphasising empathy and co-creation to meet genuine needs and foster trust.

Sponsored

POD: Future in the Humanities EP 3/3 - The Gig Economy's Hidden Costs

Wits University social scientist and researcher Fikile Masikane exposes harsh realities behind promises of entrepreneurial freedom for food delivery drivers in South Africa.

This Is Connectivity

OP-ED: AI Meets Its Match—Human connection

In the afterglow of the NOVACOM Africa 1-to-1 Telco Summit 2024, Andile Masuku notes that while AI continues to advance, the fundamentals of meaningful human interaction remain essential for long-term success.

Sponsored

POD: Future in the Humanities EP 2/3 - Unpacking Social Media Conspiracies in a World of Crisis

Wits University media researchers Samuel Olaniran and Iginio Gagliardone come to grips with the societal impact of conspiracy theories in today's social media-led world.

Digital Transformation

OP-ED: Patience and Progress—The elephant path to digital transformation

Africa’s digital transformation mirrors the patient wisdom of African forest elephants. Andile Masuku unpacks lessons on long-term progress, sustainability and reshaping ecosystems meaningfully.

Sponsored

POD: Future in the Humanities EP 1/3 - Exploring the COVID-19 Pandemic's Impact on Human Connection

Wits University researchers Sahba Besharati and Victoria Williams discuss cultural perceptions of contact, pandemic-induced changes and the long-term effects on social relationships and mental health.

Venture Building

OP-ED: Unpacking the challenges of asset-light models in Africa feat. Abderrahmane Chaoui

Discover why popular "asset-light" business models, celebrated for their scalability, often falter in Africa's unique landscape, as Abderrahmane Chaoui shares his insightful analysis.