Impact Investing OP-ED - M-KOPA’s decade of discovery: when patient capital buys time to pivot M-KOPA’s lengthy path to profitability shows how patient capital can buy the time (and permission) to pivot until the real business emerges.
Digital Transformation OP-ED - What can standing in an iPhone 17 queue in Tokyo reveal about digital power and control? Plenty. Scarcity and sovereignty play out differently in Tokyo and Nairobi, but the underlying lessons for Africa’s tech builders are strikingly similar.
Infrastructure POD - Paratus Namibia's Andrew Hall on infrastructure investment in Southern Africa's most sparsely populated giant Managing director Andrew Hall discusses building sustainable telecoms infrastructure across Namibia's challenging geography: vast distances, low population density, and competition from state-owned enterprises.
Market Intelligence POD - Bridging Africa and Tokyo, Bernard Laurendeau explains why Africa needs strategic global partnerships over patient capital Bernard Laurendeau argues that telling investors to "think long-term" about Africa is the wrong message. The managing partner at Laurendeau & Associates shares how he's building bridges between Japanese corporations and African markets from his new base in Tokyo.
Digital Transformation OP-ED - Can fibre optic manufacturing joint ventures like YOA Cable drive Africa’s next industrial wave? Pieter E. Viljoen, a physicist-turned-optic cable manufacturing boss, is betting that rethinking fibre from first principles could help restart Africa’s stalled industrial ambitions.
Infrastructure OP-ED - As Starlink disrupts broadband incumbents in urban Africa, is carrier neutrality the answer? Beyond monopolies and satellite hype, carrier-neutral infrastructure offers the continent a potential third path amid global internet connectivity upheavals and geopolitical uncertainties.
Infrastructure POD - Carrier neutrality: Rob Bergman on Unicorn Factory's vision for digital infrastructure investment Dutch investor Rob Bergman and his partners at Unicorn Factory are driving a carrier-neutral strategy to deploy capital and scale digital infrastructure across Africa.
Digital Transformation POD - Ten minutes on Nigeria's digital infrastructure: BCN's Ochuko Ogra shares strategic vision for growth Executive strategist Ochuko Ogra explains why Backbone Connectivity Network (BCN) favours collaboration over competition in driving commercial success.
Infrastructure #ThrowbackPOD - Alan Knott-Craig Jr in 2016, riding waves of setbacks and success From inheriting a famous surname to losing Africa's largest social network, Alan Knott-Craig Jr pivoted to revolutionising rural and township internet access.
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.
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.
Mobile OP-ED - Claire Sibthorpe on Sub-Saharan Africa's mobile gender gap Claire Sibthorpe unpacks GSMA's latest report, revealing that the mobile internet gender gap in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) has decreased to 15%, with over 1.5 billion women now online.
Infrastructure OP-ED - Leapfrogging? No shortcuts on the road to progress Professor Calestous Juma's legacy challenges oversimplified narratives of African tech progress, urging for substantive infrastructure investment over "leapfrogging" dreams.
