Afrobility: Africa Tech and Business

#22: African Corporate VCs & Softbank - Why African corporates are not investing in tech startups

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Overview: Today we’re going to talk about African Corporate Venture Capital (CVC) using Softbank as a reference point. We'll talk about Softbank's early history, transition from operational to investment company, and finally dive into the current state and future potential of CVC in Africa. This episode was recorded on Feb 7, 2021


Companies discussed: Softbank, Naspers / Prosus, MTN, Nedbank, Safaricom, Orange, Stripe, Visa, MasterCard, Tencent & Alibaba


Business concepts discussed: Corporate Venture Capital (CVC), M&A strategy, Internal vs External innovation & developing market investment strategy


Conversation highlights:

  • (01:05) - Why we’re talking about Corporate Venture Capital
  • (03:50) - Why we picked Softbank as a reference point
  • (07:30) - Masayoshi Son background Softbank History 
  • (16:14) - Softbank acquisitions, investments & the Vision Fund
  • (28:24) - Southern Africa CVCs - current & potential candidates
  • (36:40) - West Africa CVCs - current & potential candidates
  • (43:00) - East Africa CVCs - current & potential candidates
  • (51:56) - North Africa CVCs - current potential candidates
  • (53:40) - Non-African CVCs investing in Africa
  • (59:30) - Bankole’s closing thoughts
  • (1:11:55) - Olumide’s closing thoughts
  • (1:23:38) - Recommendations and small wins


    • Olumide’s recommendations, small wins & open questions:

    • Recommendation: Billionaire's Build (Paul Graham): Wonderful article from PG about entrepreneur billionaires and how to get into YC.
    • Recommendation: ESI millionaire interview 220: Great article telling the story of a 57 yr old woman journey to become a millionaire. Very inspirational!
    • Recommendation: History of Japan video: Crazy 9 minute video. Fun!
    • Small win: 4hr dinner with friends by the ocean. :)
    • Other content: Techpoint Visa article & Packy McCormick's wonderful Tencent article (on Not Boring)
    • Open question: What African companies would you like to see invest more in startups? And why?
    • Special thanks: Ato Bentsi-Enchill


      • Bankole’s recommendations, small wins & open questions:

      • Recommendation: Text Expander
      • Small win: Fifa Seasons Division 2 -> 1 promotion
      • Other content: MEST Article on MTN investments in African startup ecosystem
      • Other content: GSMA report on Emerging Markets Corporate Venture Capital
      • Open question: Are you optimistic about the CVC investment in African startup ecosystem, or do you think it’s never going to happen.


        • We’d love to hear from you. Please email [email protected] to share feedback or propose topics you’d like to hear.


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        Afrobility: Africa Tech and BusinessBy Olumide Ogunsanwo and Bankole Makanju
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