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 Capital OP-ED - Why ‘venture capital’ in Africa is a misnomer, and what to do about it Africa’s startup funding landscape is often mislabelled as venture capital, but the reality is starkly different. It’s time for honest, context-driven investment models that truly fit.
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.
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.
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.
Ecosystem OP-ED - 'If weekend go sweet': Fatu Ogwuche's reading of African Tech's 2024 'Wednesday' signals Through the lens of a street-smart Nigerian saying, Big Tech This Week founder Fatu Ogwuche unpacks a year of tense realities in African tech and why 2024's closing signals are fueling high hopes for 2025.
Media POD - Tinashe Mukogo of Money & Moves on building independent media that balances commercial success and public interest Former Deloitte consultant and Siemens executive, Tinashe Mukogo, discusses how his professional experience and corporate background are shaping his live, real-time approach to building a sustainable, independent financial media property.
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.
Venture Capital #ThrowbackPOD - Maya Horgan Famodu in 2017, before founding Ingressive Capital Catch Maya Horgan Famodu at a pivotal moment—still running investor tours between Silicon Valley and Africa—just before launching her groundbreaking venture capital fund.
Ecosystem OP-ED - Systematic strategies and 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.
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 - Moving beyond the 'genius founder' myth: African Tech needs a new entrepreneurship narrative 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 - Abderrahmane Chaoui unpacks the challenges of asset-light models in Africa 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.
Impact Investing OP-ED - Can impact investing really achieve both social and financial goals? Industry experts weigh in on whether impact investing can truly bridge social good and commercial returns while avoiding past pitfalls of (foreign) aid.
Fintech OP-ED - Why Ochich Magero traded philosophy for fintech in agro-processing Ochich Magero shares insights from his journey, evolving from philosopher to fintech founder, with a mission to transform financial inclusion for agro-processors across Africa.
Venture Capital OP-ED - How VC critiques are shaping tech investment in Africa As the continent's tech VC community leans into sustainable growth and impact-driven approaches, GPs face challenges in balancing long-term ambitions with immediate portfolio performance.
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.
Venture Capital OP-ED - Africa's early-stage startup market offers sweet deals for local and foreign investors Despite funding declines and market fluctuations, local expertise and emerging M&A activity offer promising investment prospects In Africa's ever-evolving African tech VC landscape.
Climate OP-ED - Abraham Augustine on African climate tech money coming in hot Abraham Augustine, a leading voice in African digital economies, shares insights on climate tech investment signals and trends. Learn from past failures, he advises.
Fintech OP-ED - Nicole Dunn's founder insights on Africa's fintech landscape amidst global 'funding winter' Fresh from attending FT Partners' Fintech in Africa Event in New York, fintech founder Nicole Dunn offers a handy VC winter weather report.
