Venture Building Sona's Field Notes #04: Strong Founder or Wrong Founder? After three Field Notes on external challenges, Sona Mahendra turns inward: exploring founder archetypes, market timing, and the uncomfortable truth about what constitutes winning.
Market Intelligence OP-ED: Embedded Insurance—How routine township shopping in South Africa now buys you 'invisible' funeral cover SAG Ventures’ Purchase Pal, underwritten by Sanlam, tucks funeral insurance into everyday grocery purchases. No forms, no intermediaries, no premiums. Prince Nwadeyi shows what happens when deep consumer research drives product design.
Fintech POD: Cracking Africa's $286B Trade Puzzle—Inside Verto's fintech strategy Ola Oyetayo shares how Verto is tackling cross-border payment challenges, exploring stablecoin potential, and scaling a profitable fintech serving businesses across key African markets.
Ecosystem OP-ED: Funding Plus—Alesimo Mwanga on why strategic partnerships are the secret to scaling African innovation Ecosystem strategist Alesimo Mwanga explains how strategic partnerships unlock cross-border venture growth where funding alone falls short.
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.
Venture Building Sona's Field Notes #03: Principles Over Playbooks Sona Mahendra challenges the African tech ecosystem's reliance on startup playbooks and frameworks, arguing instead for first principles approaches to venture building.
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.
Venture Building Sona's Field Notes #02: The Market Size Misconception Sona Mahendra unpacks the pervasive founder habit of prematurely abandoning promising ideas due to perceived market size limitations.
Venture Building Sona's Field Notes #01: The VC Question That Won't Let Founders in Africa Rest In the opening installment of her four-part email capsule series, venture builder-turned-founder Sona Mahendra confronts a common VC question African founders dread.
Startups OP-ED: AI and the Rise of the Tech Solopreneur—Hype or reality? AI’s efficiency revolution is reshaping tech entrepreneurship. From US insurtech Jerry’s profit flip to Postman’s automated API tools, Africa’s solopreneurs could thrive with lean, AI-driven models over capital-intensive scaling.
Market Intelligence OP-ED: Awkward Investment Realities—The case for backing 'boring' business in Africa As African tech investments plateau, Balloon Ventures' $14 million SME portfolio reveals an uncomfortable truth: 'boring' traditional businesses might be outperforming venture-backed startups in real economic impact.
Venture Capital OP-ED: African Tech’s Next Big Challenge—Matching venture capital to realistic outcomes Misaligned funding models are stalling wins in African tech. Venture builder-turned-founder Sona Mahendra offers astute insights on aligning venture capital with scalable, sustainable growth.
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.
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.
Venture Building OP-ED: Inside Morocco’s startup ecosystem with Salma Kabbaj Moroccan tech accelerator co-founder and CEO, Salma Kabbaj, offers a glimpse into the evolving startup landscape in Africa's fifth-largest economy.
