Venture Building POD: Venture Building, AI and Scaling Impact: Inside Funema’s vision for backing African ventures David Ogundeko unpacks Funema's contrarian venture development philosophy, long-term investment sensibilities, and lessons from nearly a decade of building startups in Nigeria, South Africa, and the US.
Banking OP-ED: Africa Isn’t India—But Capitec Bank’s success shows the value of local insight South Africa’s largest retail bank, Capitec, shows how aligning with real consumer behaviour—not imported models—can unlock value in Africa’s fragmented, stratified, and misunderstood markets.
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 #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.
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.
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.
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.
Health Economics OP-ED: How health economics research is improving breast cancer care in South Africa Actuarial analyst turned health economist Sithabiso Masuku’s data-led research is driving more effective policy-making and the development of more efficient breast cancer care interventions in South Africa.
Venture Capital OP-ED: Melvyn Lubega parlays edtech unicorn success into venture capital play Melvyn Lubega, co-founder of edtech unicorn GO1, is now spearheading African innovation through Breega's $75 million fund, aiming to create 100,000 sustainable jobs across the continent.
Cybersecurity OP-ED: A little less propaganda, a little more cybersecurity science feat. Tswelopele Moshe The drive of young mathematician Tswelopele Moshe to bridge theory with practical consulting solutions reflects a deeper quest for a more scientific approach to cybersecurity, challenging industry norms.
Opinion Editorial OP-ED: Africa's biotech industry can deliver social and economic returns Although biotech is a growth phenomenon that is set to take flight around the world, South Africa is not taking advantage of its vast potential to be a key global player in the space and grow the economy, writes Sona Mahendra, Associate Programme Manager at Founders Factory Africa.
African Contemplating COVID-19's Impact on Africa's Economic Outlook with Landry Signé and Iginio Gagliardone Landry Signé and Iginio Gagliardone explain why they are optimistic about Africa's socio-economic prospects despite the havoc being wreaked by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Africa Ozow's Mitchan Adams On COVID-19: Well-positioned South African digital payments players are coining it right now South African Mitchan Adams, Ozow Co-founder & Head of R&D, explains why the COVID-19 pandemic is yielding some rather lucrative business opportunities for some fintech startups operating on his home turf.
Volkswagen 25: Volkswagen Up In Smoke As The South African Government Investigates Subscribe on iTunes [http://bit.ly/2cl7ISa] | Subscribe on Spotify [https://open.spotify.com/show/3Z3LxMD9ilV0cMYc9c9MMe] In what is arguably the largest cybercrime scandal affecting cars to date, Volkswagen has admitted to installing software in some of their diesel-powered cars to give out false emission data results during tests. This
Apple 24: What's The Big Fuss About Apple Ad Blockers? Subscribe on iTunes [http://bit.ly/2cl7ISa] | Subscribe on Spotify [https://open.spotify.com/show/3Z3LxMD9ilV0cMYc9c9MMe] As avid consumers of new media, it’s hard not to love the ad blocking features Apple has worked into iOS9 [http://www.forbes.com/sites/billrosenblatt/2015/09/21/apples-ios-9-ad-blocking-new-piracy/] , and the clever
Jason Njoku 22: "Cashflow Rules Everything Around Me" Alludes iROKOtv's Jason Njoku Subscribe on iTunes [http://bit.ly/2cl7ISa] | Subscribe on Spotify [https://open.spotify.com/show/3Z3LxMD9ilV0cMYc9c9MMe] Launching a start-up in Africa is not for the faint-hearted. Very few promising ventures - even those that achieve solid traction, can expect to land Silicon Valley type investment offers that might allow a
Mark Essien 20: What Defines An African Startup? Subscribe on iTunes [http://bit.ly/2cl7ISa] | Subscribe on Spotify [https://open.spotify.com/show/3Z3LxMD9ilV0cMYc9c9MMe] Back in Episode 3 of the African Tech Round-up [https://www.africantechroundup.com/what-is-a-startup-african-tech-round-up/] we asked the question: “What is a startup?” A lively discussion ensued— inspired by an eloquent piece written by David
South Africa 18: Scary Software Upgrades Subscribe on iTunes [http://bit.ly/2cl7ISa] | Subscribe on Spotify [https://open.spotify.com/show/3Z3LxMD9ilV0cMYc9c9MMe] Microsoft [http://microsoft.co.za] certainly got millions of people excited a while ago when they announced that their latest version of Windows would be free. However, Windows [http://www.microsoft.com/en-za/windows/
South Africa 16: Hackathon Hype Or Help? Subscribe on iTunes [http://bit.ly/2cl7ISa] | Subscribe on Spotify [https://open.spotify.com/show/3Z3LxMD9ilV0cMYc9c9MMe] You know it’s a slow news week when the week’s biggest news involves the CEO and the CFO of South African telecoms firm, Neotel, going on leave. Granted, it is “special leave”
South Africa 15: What Are You Going To Do When They Come For You? Subscribe on iTunes [http://bit.ly/2cl7ISa] | Subscribe on Spotify [https://open.spotify.com/show/3Z3LxMD9ilV0cMYc9c9MMe] Think back to high school. Remember how the new dude always got all the girls whispering, or how the new girl got all the boys trying to walk her home? Now, if the newbie
South Africa 10: Game Over For Startup Seed Funds? Subscribe on iTunes [http://bit.ly/2cl7ISa] | Subscribe on Spotify [https://open.spotify.com/show/3Z3LxMD9ilV0cMYc9c9MMe] Nigeria's "company that builds companies", Spark [http://spark.ng/], announced last week its plans to drop some startups it invested in [http://www.jason.com.ng/post/121575257885/spark-and-the-state-of-angel-investing-in-africa] . This
Facebook 8: Is This The Worst Internet Censorship Law Ever? Subscribe on iTunes [http://bit.ly/2cl7ISa] | Subscribe on Spotify [https://open.spotify.com/show/3Z3LxMD9ilV0cMYc9c9MMe] The internet is undoubtedly the untamed "wild west" of the modern technological age. To counteract the malicious threats that lie in wait for innocent users of the web (on and offline), South
South Africa 6: Bitcoin and the Blockchain: Worth Embracing? Subscribe on iTunes [http://bit.ly/2cl7ISa] | Subscribe on Spotify [https://open.spotify.com/show/3Z3LxMD9ilV0cMYc9c9MMe] There seems to be three prevailing views on Bitcoin and the blockchain: 1. That it's a scam, 2. It's one of the most fascinating technological developments of the decade, and
Accelerators 4: Are Tech and Innovation Hubs in Africa Effective? Subscribe on iTunes [http://bit.ly/2cl7ISa] | Subscribe on Spotify [https://open.spotify.com/show/3Z3LxMD9ilV0cMYc9c9MMe] Tech and innovation hubs are all the rage in Africa at the moment. With reportedly as many as 150 in existence from Cape to Cairo, these organisations are undoubtedly “da flava” in donor funding
Xenophobia 1: Introducing The African Tech Round-up Podcast Subscribe on iTunes [http://bit.ly/2cl7ISa] | Subscribe on Spotify [https://open.spotify.com/show/3Z3LxMD9ilV0cMYc9c9MMe] We're really excited to share the first African Tech Round-up podcast with all of you. Every Monday, co-hosts, Tefo Mohapi [http://twitter.com/tefomohapi] (iAfrikan Executive Editor & Tech Entrepreneur) and Andile
