African Tech Conversations

Gareth Cliff is not only a controversial South African Radio DJ and a judge on DSTV’s hugely popular Idols South Africa, but also the Co-founder & President of Africa’s largest podcast producer, CliffCentral.com. His colourful journey within broadcasting led him to quit one of South Africa’s most lucrative radio gigs to launch a platform that now boasts over 40 podcast titles and garners over 100,000 downloads per week. In this conversation, Gareth unpacks the values that motivated his evolution from broadcaster to startup founder, and shares insights on what its like to be a pathfinder in Africa’s untamed new media landscape. Music Credits: All music by Brian Lupiya. Used with permission.

Maya Horgan Famodu is a consummate eclectic who wears the beautiful complexity of her Nigerian-Swedish-American heritage with pride. Maya is the Founder and Managing Director of Ingressive, a firm dedicated to guiding global capital to African entrepreneurs through a 2,000 member angel database, and semi-annual investor tours. Alongside her serious commitment to promoting entrepreneurship in Sub-Saharan Africa, Maya takes time out to write for Inc., the Huffington Post, and several other leading publications, organise panels for the likes of SXSW, dance hip-hop and take long rides on her motorcycle. In this conversation, Maya shares the challenges of building a bullet-proof professional reputation within the American VC community, and chats about the risks and rewards of building bridges between Silicon Valley and various growth hubs within Africa’s tech ecosystem. Music Credits: All music by Brian Lupiya. Used with permission.

It’s fair to say that the Nigerian-born Toro Orero is a live wire that’s all the way lit. He serves as Managing Partner at DraperDarkFlow— a Silicon Valley VC Fund backed by the illustrious Tim Draper, who’s investment portfolio at DFJ features everything from Tesla and Solarcity to Skype and Twitter. DraperDarkFlow is dedicated to investing in African startups run by "delusional" founders intent on changing the world. Toro also curates SpeedUPAfrica, which is one of the continent’s leading startup bootcamps. In this conversation, Toro talks about how being underestimated is his superpower, what he and Tim Draper look for in startups they hope to invest in, and dishes on the pros and cons of running an Africa-focussed VC firm that’s headquartered in Silicon Valley. Music Credits: All music by Brian Lupiya. Used with permission.

Oliver Fortuin heads up BT’s (formerly British Telecoms) operations in Sub-Saharan Africa, where he is tasked with leading the charge for a legacy ICT institution (that is nearly two centuries old) in some of the world’s most promising developing markets. Prior to joining BT, Oliver held executive positions at i1 Solutions, HP and IBM, and earned an MBA from the Open University, UK. In addition to chatting about his upbringing and his journey up the corporate ladder, the conversation touches on everything from macroeconomics to business challenges that keep Oliver and his team on their toes. Be sure to listen in if only to hear Oliver’s answer when asked (rather unfairly) what disruptive trend could potentially render BT redundant in the next decade. Music Credits: All music by Brian Lupiya. Used with permission.

Ben White is exceedingly well-travelled, and his love for building new businesses has taken him all around the world and seen him collaborate with like-minded individuals pretty much anywhere he spends three hours or more. As the founder of what is widely considered Africa’s leading platform for startup funding, VC4A (Venture Capital for Africa)— Ben leads a team that brings together thousands of business professionals from 159 countries who are dedicated to building game-changing startups on the African continent. VC4A has recently published a report called the 2016 Venture Finance in Africa which cites growing investor appetite in African early stage startups. In this conversation with Andile Masuku, Ben unpacks some of his organisation's findings and factors in on what players within the VC and angel investment scene on the continent ought to be doing to improve the state-of-play overall. Music Credits: All music by Brian Lupiya. Used with permission.

By his own admission, Matthew Lee would not have been voted most likely to become an executive at a leading software multi-national by his classmates at the trade school where he trained to be a plumber. Years after he first left plumbing to try his hand at networking, Matthew worked his way up the corporate ladder at Comztek and Novell. While based in Johannesburg, he now oversees African operations at the German open source software firm, SUSE. Among many other things, Matthew chats to Andile Masuku about how the open source software movement has cleaned up its act, the extent of OSS adoption on the continent, and why Microsoft might no longer be considered the global OSS community's arch nemesis. Music Credits: All music by Brian Lupiya. Used with permission.

Stephen van Coller is the Chief Executive for Corporate and Investment Banking at Barclays Africa He is a Chartered Accountant who worked for Ernst & Young in South Africa and the UK for many years, before leaving the professional accounting industry to join Deutsche Bank— where he served as head of coverage and corporate advisory. Since joining Barclays in 2006, Stephen has held the positions of Deputy Chief Executive and Head of Investment Banking at Absa Capital and was appointed to his current position in 2009. In this extended chat, Stephen talks about how Barclays Plc’s imminent plans to shed its investments in Africa will impact the business he runs, and why he is confident that fintech startups on the continent will never completely disrupt incumbents within the financial services industry. Music Credits: All music by Brian Lupiya. Used with permission.

Alpesh Patel is the outspoken Founder and CEO of Africa’s first home-grown mobile device brand, Mi-Fone. He is also formerly the Director of Sales at Motorola Mobile Devices for Africa, as well a seasoned entrepreneur who’s seen his fair share of ups and downs.

These days he spends most of his time overseeing the growth of Mi-Fone, which currently has a footprint in over 15 countries throughout Africa.

Music Credits:
All music by Brian Lupiya. Used with permission.

Our final guest on Season Two of African Tech Conversations is the “unemployable”, disruptive force that is Alan Knott-Craig Jr. It’s natural to assume that Alan Knott-Craig Sr paved the way for his son and namesake, Alan Jr to become one of the most well-recognised personalities on South Africa’s tech scene. And while it’s impossible to disregard the advantages of having such an experienced and well-connected man for a father, Alan Jr has long proved his mettle as a startup founder and gone on to carve out his own success. Prior to founding free WiFi non-profit, Project Isizwe, Alan Jr founded World of Avatar and served as CEO of Mxit. Prior to that, he was Managing Director of iBurst, as well as Chairman of Cellfind. At Project Isizwe-- where he’s currently CEO, he’s poised to hand over the reins to Zahir Khan, so he can focus his energies on steering his latest venture— WiFi network startup, HeroTel. There's no doubt that when it comes to speaking his mind with little or no filter, Alan Knott-Craig Jr proves that the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. Happily, that attribute makes him a very interesting subject indeed. Music Credits: All music by Brian Lupiya. Used with permission.

There’s no doubt about it. WiFi is the new black. California-based, NYSE-listed wireless systems company Ruckus Wireless is betting that the rate of WiFi infrastructure development Africa will continue to rise. And you can be sure that they’re doing what they can to help service the millions of Africans coming online year on year— profitably, of course. In the latest instalment of African Tech Conversations, Andile Masuku chats with the adrenaline-junkie that is Michael Fletcher— who has overseen Ruckus Wireless’ operations and new business development on the continent since 2010. In a career spanning 23 years, Michael has helped establish new businesses, penetrate new markets, and managed sales teams for companies like Motorola, Workz, Belkin and of course Ruckus. These days, Michael and his team at Ruckus are leveraging the company’s smart wireless solutions and nimble approach to edge in on massive incumbents like Oracle. They’re aiming to increase the company’s partner footprint across Africa and position to exploit new business opportunities. Music Credits: All music by Brian Lupiya. Used with permission.