Afrobility: Africa Tech and Business

By Olumide Ogunsanwo and Bankole Makanju

Stories and analyses of African technology companies... more

· Technology

3939 ratings

FAQs about Afrobility: Africa Tech and Business:

How many episodes does Afrobility: Africa Tech and Business have?

The podcast currently has 81 episodes available.

Afrobility: Africa Tech and Business episodes:

January 19, 2023#60: M-Kopa - How the asset financing platform is providing access to consumer products across Kenya & Africa
Overview: Today, we’re going to talk about M-Kopa, the African asset financing platform. We’ll explore the M-Kopa story across 5 areas:
African electrical power context

M-Kopa's early history

Product & monetization strategy

Competitive positioning & exit options

Then we'll end with our views on its overall outlook.

This episode was recorded on Jan 15, 2023

Companies discussed: M-Kopa, Safaricom (M-Pesa), d.light, Zola Electric, Transsion, Samsung, Nokia (HMD global), Airtel, MTN, Mobisol, Carbon & Fairmoney

Business concepts discussed: Rural electrification, Payment infrastructure, Pay-as-you-go Solar, Off-grid energy, asset financing, credit scoring, risk assessment & renewable energy

Conversation highlights:
(05:45) - Africa electricity access context

(09:45) - Kenya electricity access context

(14:55) - M-Kopa early history

(16:55 ) - Founders’ background

(25:07) - Other ideas before M-Kopa and M-Kopa launch

(28:44) - Launch strategy - partnerships, sales and distribution

(32:05) - Fundraising, Growth, Geo Expansion, Team

(54:01) - Product strategy and how the product works

(1:06:04) - Monetization strategy

(1:14:16) - Competition and options for exit

(01:29:50) - Olumide’s overall thoughts and outlook

(1:38:06) - Bankole’s overall thoughts and outlook

(1:48:08) - Recommendations and small wins

Olumide’s recommendations & small wins:
Interested in investing in Africa Tech with Olumide: Read about Adamantium fund & contact me at [email protected]

Founders looking for funding: If you're a B2B founder working on Education, Health, Finance or food, please contact me for funding at [email protected]

Recommendation 1: Descript: We use it for afrobility and even though I didn't initially think we needed it, it's grown on me. Especially now that I'm using it more aggressively for my personal finance book (myfiredom.com) editing

Recommendation 2: Dances with wolves movie. So so good!

Small win 1: Hung out with mum during thanksgiving break. It was cool!

Small win 2: New years day with friends in London. It was nice!

Bankole’s recommendations & small wins:
Recommendation: Building an AI Chatbot off Podcast Transcripts

Small win: Happy to be back home after months of travelling in Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa

Other content: M-Kopa Solar Is Making a Profit on Poor Africans

Listeners: We’d love to hear from you. Email [email protected] with feedback!
Founders & Operators: We'd love to hear about what you're working on, email us at [email protected]
Investors: It would be great to link up with you. Contact us at [email protected]
Join our insider mailing list where we get feedback on new episodes & find all episodes on Afrobility.com
...more
1h 53min
December 18, 2022#59: Africa Tech - 2023 & Beyond (Creator Roundtable #2)
Overview: Today, we’re going to have a creator roundtable to discuss the African tech ecosystem. We’ll discuss the biggest 2022 moments in Africa Tech & our hopes for the tech ecosystem in 2023. This episode was recorded on Dec 10, 2022

Companies discussed: Flutterwave, FTX, 54gene, Swvl, Chipper Cash, TeamApt (Moniepoint), QED, Binance, Remitly, Brimore, Shoprite, & Jumia

Business concepts discussed: Economic recessions, fundraising, bootstrapping, Cryptocurrency, M&A, Creator monetization & Pan-African Expansion

Conversation highlights:
(07:35) - Biggest 2022 moments

(00:53) - Impact of Recession on Africa Tech

(1:00:05) - What we would like to see in 2023

(1:28:00) - Creator Q&A

(2:00:24) - Recommendations & Small Wins

Olumide:
Recommendation: Knives Out 2 (Movie). Excellent and funny sequel :)

Win: Opened Fidelity HSA. I had used Vanguard only previously. Fidelity has nice functionality & UX (especially for HSAs)

Bankole:
Recommendation: Unauthorized Shein boutiques are popping up across Mexico & Co-founding considered harmful

Win: Seeing Emeka in person

Emeka:
Recommendation: Magical Text Expander (tool), Friction (article), Afridigest (newsletter)

Win: Finally meeting & taking a picture with the Oga of Ogas, Bankole. Plus: Afridigest crossing 4500 page followers on LinkedIn — help us on the push to 5000!

Other content: Why super apps are proliferating across emerging markets, The hierarchy of venture opportunities in emerging markets

Justin:
Recommendation: ChatGPT & the Dissect podcast

Small win: My alma mater the University of Michigan beating our rivals Ohio State in football for the second year in a row. Getting to spend a lot of in-person quality time with people in the African tech ecosystem over the past few weeks in Cape Town

Samora:
Recommendation: “Founders Podcast” by David Senra & Michael Jordan The Life - by Roland Lazenby

Big Win - Getting my 2nd born daughter

Other content: Amp it Up by Frank Slootman is a great read - Narco Saints on Netflix is superb!

Listeners: We’d love to hear from you. Email [email protected] with feedback!
Founders & Operators: We'd love to hear about what you're working on, email us at [email protected]
Investors: It would be great to link up with you. Contact us at [email protected]
...more
2h 28min
November 03, 2022#58: Reliance Health - How the HealthTech platform is providing insurance & health services across Nigeria & Africa
Overview: Today, we’re going to talk about Reliance Health, the African HealthTech company - we’ll explore the Reliance Health story across the following areas:
African health context

Reliance Health's early history

Product & monetization strategy

Competitive positioning & potential exit

Overall outlook
This episode was recorded on October 30, 2022

Companies discussed: Reliance Health, Y Combinator (YC), Hygeia HMO, CribMD, AXA Mansard, RedCare & BIMA Health

Business concepts discussed: Insurance monetization, Insurance partnerships, consumer distribution, telco partnerships, product development, consumer market penetration & pricing strategy

Conversation highlights:
(01:00) - Intro and why we’re talking about Reliance Health

(06:12) - Context of Africa and Nigeria’s healthcare

(13:03) - Reliance Health Founding + Early History

(39:25) - Fundraising & Geo expansion

(52:16) - Product strategy and monetization

(1:36:00) - Competition and options for exit

(1:45:57) - Bankole’s overall thoughts and outlook

(1:59:57) - Olumide’s overall thoughts and outlook

(2:14:17) - Recommendation and small wins

Olumide’s recommendations & small wins:
Interested in investing in Africa Tech with Olumide: Read about Adamantium fund & contact me at [email protected]

Founders looking for funding: If you're a B2B founder working on Education, Health, Finance or food, please contact me for funding at [email protected]

Recommendation: Kinky Boots: Musical show in NYC. It was incredible!

Recommendation: Paying for Status: Talks about loyalty strategy. Reward programs + finance + customer loyalty strategy article. I love it.

Recommendation: The Man Who Solved the Market: How Jim Simons Launched the Quant Revolution (by Gregory Zuckerman)

Small win: Finishing Included VC fellowship. It was incredible especially meeting everyone in Included VC live in Barcelona la

Bankole’s recommendations & small wins:
Recommendation: Podcast: Sandy Kemper of C2FO on Fintech One-on-One & Podcast: Invest Like The Best with Karen Karniol-Tambour

Small win: Getting ready for upcoming travel

Other content: Podcast: Femi Kuti on Aid Evolved

Listeners: We’d love to hear from you. Email [email protected] with feedback!
Founders & Operators: We'd love to hear about what you're working on, email us at [email protected]
Investors: It would be great to link up with you. Contact us at [email protected]
...more
2h 31min
October 26, 2022#57: African InsurTech - How consumer insurance platforms are providing insurance across Africa
Overview: Today we’re going to talk about African Insurtech. We’ll discuss the consumer insurance landscape & analyze InsurTech players. This episode was recorded on October 17, 2022
Companies discussed: Reliance Health, BIMA, Naked Insurance, Pineapple Insurance, Amenli, Creditas, Minutos Seguros, Acko, Policy Bazaar, Casava Insurance, Lami, Curacel, Turaco, Amanleek & Avidea
Business concepts discussed: New product development, consumer market penetration & pricing strategy
Conversation highlights:
(01:20) Consumer InsurTech context

(12:30) Insurtech in other emerging markets - India

(23:40) Insurtech in other emerging markets - Brazil

(34:50) Insurance context in Africa

(47:17 ) Southern Africa startups

(1:02:20) Western Africa startups

(1:14:19) Eastern Africa startups

(1:24:34) Northern Africa startups

(1:31:42) Olumide’s & Bankole’s thoughts

(1:55:05) Recommendations & small wins
Olumide:
Interested in investing in Africa Tech : Read about Adamantium fund & contact me at [email protected]

Founders looking for funding: If you're a B2B founder working on Education, Health, Finance or food, please contact me

Recommendations: Miracle morning (Hal Elrod), 5AM club (Robin Sharma), How I found freedom in an unfree world (Harry Browne) & Early retirement extreme (Jacob Lund Fisker)

3 songs: Burna Boy - For My Hand (ft Ed Sheeran), Black Sherif - Second Sermon (Remix ft Burna Boy) & Craig David - I know you (ft Bastille) - Shoutout to my friend Jason Mothersill

Small win: House party with friends

Bankole:
Recommendation: Ku Lo Sa - Oxlade, HBO - House of Dragons & Facebook Love - Jaywon / Essence

Small win: Africa Tech Mixer in New York

Other content: Baobab Network report on InsurTech & Standard Bank report

All episodes at afrobility.com
...more
2h 7min
September 30, 2022#56: Thrive Agric - How the Agriculture platform evolved from crowdfunding to supporting smallholder farmers across Nigeria & Africa
Overview: Today, we’re going to talk about Thrive Agric, the Nigerian Agricultural technology company - we’ll explore Thrive Agric's story across 5 areas:
First we'll start with some context about African agriculture

Thrive Agric's launch & early history

Product & monetization strategy

Competitive positioning & potential exit options

Overall outlook
This episode was recorded on September 25 2022

Companies discussed: Thrive Agric, Apollo Agriculture & FarmCrowdy
Business concepts discussed: Agricultural Technology (AgriTech or AgTech), smallholder farmers acquisition strategy, Agriculture financing, Crowdfunding, Agriculture value and supply chains & Debt financing
Conversation highlights:
(10:41) - Africa Agriculture context

(19:38) - Nigeria Agriculture context

(26:14) - Nigeria crowdfunding backgroun

(32:30) - Founders’ background and launch story

(46:48) - Fundraising

(55:47) - Product and monetization strategy,

(1:09:15) - Competition & options for exit

(1:19:20) - Bankole’s overall thoughts and outlook

(1:24:45) - Olumide’s overall thoughts and outlook

(1:32:25) - Recommendations and small wins

Olumide’s recommendations & small wins:
Interested in investing in Africa Tech with Olumide: Read about Adamantium fund & contact me at [email protected]

Founders looking for funding: If you're a B2B founder working on Education, Health, Finance or food, please contact me for funding at [email protected]

Recommendation: Jim Rohn - How to change your life video - Incredible. He just drops non-stop knowledge bombs. Remarkable

Recommendation: Toucan chrome extension to learn languages

Small win: Exercise of writing 50 goals. Brought up a lot of interesting ideas. Shout to Alan Donegan for facilitating this

Other content: A Thrive Agric Story. One Farmer at a Time.

Bankole’s recommendations & small wins:
Recommendation: AI And The Limits Of Language, Lindy Hacker News & Lying For Money
Small win: Strength workouts
Other content: Asake - Mr Money with the vibe, ThriveAgricPR - product overview, Leadway Insurance response on Twitter, SEC Nigeria rules on Crowdfunding, Invest Like The Best - Jeff Jordan & Kevin Systrom on Lex Fridman

All episodes on Afrobility.com
...more
1h 50min
August 28, 2022#55: Apollo Agriculture - How the AgriTech platform is supporting smallholder farmers to scale across Kenya & Africa
Overview: Today, we’re going to talk about Apollo Agriculture, the Kenyan AgTech company - we’ll explore the Apollo story across the following areas
African agriculture context

Apollo's launch & early history

Product & monetization strategy

Competitive positioning & exit options

Overall outlook
This episode was recorded on Aug 21, 2022

Companies discussed: Apollo Agriculture, The Climate Corporation (WeatherBill), Pula, FarmDrive, Monsanto, FairMoney & Kuda Bank

Business concepts discussed: Agricultural Technology (AgriTech or AgTech), smallholder farmers, Risk mitigation, Debt funding, Customer acquisition costs (CAC) & Customer lifetime value (LTV, CLV)

Conversation highlights:
(06:10) - Agriculture context in Africa

(21:00) - Context on Agriculture in Kenya

(27:33) - Apollo founding story and founder background

(40:55) - Fundraising and growth

(55:14) - Product and monetization strategy

(1:17:58) - Competition and exit options

(1:27:53) - Bankole’s overall thoughts and outlook

(1:34:50) - Olumide’s overall thoughts and outlook

(1:49:36) - Recommendations and small wins

Olumide’s recommendations & small wins:
Interested in investing in Africa Tech with Olumide: Read about Adamantium fund & contact me at [email protected]

Founders looking for funding: If you're a B2B founder working on Education, Health, Finance or food, please contact me for funding at [email protected]

Recommendation: Little Ways The World Works: Article by Morgan Housel. Great article talking about how learning from different fields is very helpful. He goes over learnings from evolution, astronomy, biology, anatomy, etc

Recommendation: University of Berkshire Hathaway: Auto recommended by Kindle. Great. Chronicles 30 years of Berkshire Hathaway Annual meeting discussions

Small win: Beach gathering with friends, it was fun

Small win: Just got back from NYC 30 minutes before recording this episode, a lot of fun

Bankole’s recommendations & small wins:
Recommendation: Soul In The Game - Vitaly Katsenelson && Asake - Terminator && For My Hand - Burna Boy and Ed Sheeran

Small win: Beat my previous Readwise streak of 190 days!

Other content: CIA Factbook on Kenya, FAOStat Food production, Interdependence and modularity - Christensen institute , All I Want To Know Is Where I'm Going To Die So I'll Never Go There: Buffett & Munger – A Study in Simplicity and Uncommon, Common Sense

Investors, Operators, Entrepreneurs - We’d love to hear from you. Please email [email protected] to share feedback
...more
2h 1min
July 22, 2022#54: Swvl - How the bus mobility platform became one of the largest transportation companies in Africa
Overview: Today, we’re going to talk about Swvl, the Egyptian and Dubai based mobility platform. We’ll explore the Swvl story across 5 areas:
Egypt transportation context

Swvl's early history

Product & monetization strategy

Swvl's SPAC public offering

Overall outlook.
This episode was recorded on July 17, 2022

Companies discussed: Swvl, Careem, Uber, Treepz & Rocket Internet

Business concepts discussed: Mobility strategy, Ridesharing, Bus sharing, Public transportation, infrastructure dependencies, IPOs & Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs)

Conversation highlights:
(01:00) - Intro and why we’re discussing this topic

(06:15) - Context on Egypt and Africa ridesharing

(13:50) - Founders’ background and Swvl founding

(25:22) - Fundraising and geographical expansion

(31:15) - Expansion strategy and acquisitions

(38:12) - Product and monetization strategy

(59:16) - Competition and SPAC

(1:16:55) - Bankole’s overall thoughts and outlook

(1:30:15) - Olumide’s overall thoughts and outlook

(1:44:35) - Recommendations and small wins

Olumide’s recommendations & small wins:
Recommendation: The Power Law book - About the history of venture capital

Recommendation: Nas - One Mic

Small win: Upgraded RAM in my old laptop, I haven't done that in a while. It feels awesome to do something mechanical like that

Interested in investing in Africa Tech with Olumide: Read about Adamantium fund & contact me at [email protected]

Founders looking for funding: If you're a B2B founder working on Education, Health, Finance or food, please contact me for funding at [email protected]

Bankole’s recommendations & small wins:
Recommendation: What Does A Batsman See & Matter - Reading App & Build by Tony Fadell

Small win: Started taking long walks again. No music, just walks over an hour

Other content: More Money Than God - Sebastian Mallaby & Dial 911 and Wall Street answers - NY Times

Listeners: We’d love to hear from you. Email [email protected] with feedback!
Founders & Operators: We'd love to hear about what you're working on, email us at [email protected]
Investors: It would be great to link up with you. Contact us at [email protected]
...more
2h 2min
July 08, 2022#53: Konga - How the Ecommerce platform initially grew and eventually reset across Nigeria
Overview: Today, we discuss Konga, the Nigerian e-commerce company. We’ll explore the Konga story across 5 areas:
We'll give some context about the Nigerian e-commerce sector

Konga's early history

Product & Monetization strategy

Konga sale

Overall outlook
This episode was recorded on July 3, 2022

Companies discussed: Konga, Jumia, Naspers, Kinnevik, Jiji, OLX, Amazon, Takealot, Yudala & Zinox

Business concepts discussed: Ecommerce, marketplaces, classifieds, fundraising strategy, Blitzscaling risks, market readiness & Africa expansion

Conversation highlights:
(01:13) - Konga background and why we’re talking about it

(09:19) - Nigeria background and context

(14:00) - Nigeria commerce context c. 2012

(17:00) - Background on Sim Shagaya

(29:02) - Konga launch strategy and fundraising

(45:55) - Konga monetization

(50:51) - Competition with Jumia

(1:04:35) - Konga’s business lines

(1:08:10) - Konga’s declining fortunes and sale to Zinox

(1:27:00) - Lessons for startups from Konga

(1:39:28) - Bankole’s overall thoughts and outlook

(1:53:57) - Olumide’s overall thoughts and outlook

(1:57:34) - Recommendations and small wins

Olumide’s recommendations & small wins:
Recommendation: Eboys - Book about the history of Benchmark

Recommendation: Different kinds of smart (Morgan housel blog post). Article so good that I subscribed to his entire blog

Small win: Listening to 20MinVC episode with Fabrice Grinda (OLX founder) the day after I published Afrobility OLX episode

Interested in investing in Africa Tech with Olumide: Read about Adamantium fund & contact me at [email protected]

Founders looking for funding: If you're a B2B founder working on Education, Health, Finance or food, please contact me for funding at [email protected]

Bankole’s recommendations & small wins:
Recommendation: Business Breakdowns Podcast - Amazon Aggregators

Small win: in-person meetings with friends at work

Other content: Chinese E-Commerce to Surpass 50% of Total Retail Sales | BoF - link

Listeners, Operators & Investors: Email [email protected], we’d love to partner or get your feedback.
All episodes on Afrobility.com
...more
2h 2min
June 14, 2022#52: OLX Africa - How the Classifieds platform initially grew and eventually shut down across Africa
Overview: Today, we’re going to talk about OLX - the classifieds & marketplace platform. We’ll explore the OLX Africa story across 4 areas:
OLX's early history

OLX's growth in other emerging markets

OLX Africa's early history & Naspers acquisition

Naspers OLX exit from Africa
This episode was recorded on June 5, 2022.

Companies discussed: OLX, Jiji, Craigslist, Konga, Naspers, Kalahariads, Dealfish, Pricecheck, Mocality & Tradestable

Business concepts discussed: Classifieds platforms, classifieds monetization, M&A strategy, e-commerce, social commerce, lift and shift business models & international expansion

Conversation highlights:
(01:30) - OLX context

(06:30) - How classifieds work

(12:00) - OLX founding and early history

(26:03) - OLX entry into other emerging markets

(31:10) - OLX entry into Africa

(45:32) - Product and monetization strategy

(58:17) - Discussing OLX’s Africa exit

(1:22:54) - Olumide’s overall thoughts and outlook

(1:10:58) - Bankole’s overall thoughts and outlook

(1:38:39) - Recommendations and small wins

Olumide’s recommendations & small wins:
Recommendation: Microsoft 365. I’ve used it for 17 years and it just gets better and better

Small win: Using my old Lenovo ThinkPad from 2016. My computer crapped out on Friday and so I had to dust the cobwebs and it still works

Interested in investing in Africa Tech with Olumide: Read about Adamantium fund & contact me at [email protected]

Founders looking for funding: If you're a B2B founder working on Education, Health, Finance or food, please contact me for funding at olumide@afrobility.

Bankole’s recommendations & small wins:
Recommendation: Cryptocurrency 161, Reversion to the mean: the real long COVID - by John Luttig & Heartwarming story - Installing a payphone in my house

Small win: 4 mile run after a long break

Other content: Why I am leaving OLX - Fabrice Grinda, Margin Call - IMDB & Larry Tesler - Inventor of Copy and Paste

Listeners: We’d love to hear from you. Email [email protected] with feedback!
Founders & Operators: We'd love to hear about what you're working on, email us at [email protected]
Investors: It would be great to link up with you. Contact us at [email protected]
Join our insider mailing list where we get feedback on new episodes & find all episodes on Afrobility.com
...more
1h 50min
May 20, 2022#51: Jiji - How the Classifieds platform became the largest marketplace in West & East Africa
Overview: Today, we’re going to talk about Jiji - the African classifieds platform. We’ll explore the Jiji story across 6 areas:
Classifieds platforms in other emerging markets

Classifieds platforms in Africa

Jiji’s early history

Jiji’s product & monetization strategy

Jiji’s competitive positioning & potential exit options

overall outlook.
This episode was recorded on May 15 2022.

Companies discussed: Jiji, Genesis Group, Naspers, OLX, Craigslist, Avito.ru, Adevinta, Jumia, Konga, Cars45, Cheki.ng, Autochek, Tonaton, Saltside Technologies, Bikroy, Dubizzle, Kalahari, Autotrader & Property24

Business concepts discussed: Classifieds platforms, classifieds monetization, M&A strategy, e-commerce, social commerce, agency banking & marketplace

Conversation highlights:
(01:36) - Why we’re talking about GG today

(09:51) - Classifieds platforms in other emerging markets

(23:15) - Africa classifieds context

(27:12) - OLX in Africa

(36:48) - Jiji founding and early history

(45:33) - Fundraising and Growth

(1:03:09) - Product and monetization strategy

(1:09:33) - Competition and options for exit

(1:30:06) - Olumide’s overall thoughts and outlook

(1:32:13) - Bankole’s overall thoughts and outlook

(1:38:55) - Recommendations and small wins

Olumide’s recommendations & small wins:
Recommendation: Re-watched Amelie - Great movie

Small win: Setup 2nd whiteboard in my room. Fun times ahead

Interested in investing in Africa Tech with Olumide: Read about Adamantium fund & contact me at [email protected]

Founders looking for funding: If you're a B2B founder working on Education, Health, Finance or food, please contact me for funding at [email protected]

Bankole’s recommendations & small wins:
Recommendation: Last Last - Burna Boy & Business Breakdowns Podcast - DigitalBridge

Small win: Planting season in Seattle :)

Other content: Tweet about Twilio stock-based compensation & History of the United States in 5 crashes

Investors, Operators, Entrepreneurs - We’d love to hear from you. Please email [email protected] to share feedback or propose topics you’d like to hear.

Join our insider mailing list where we get feedback on new episodes & find all episodes on Afrobility.com
...more
1h 43min

FAQs about Afrobility: Africa Tech and Business:

How many episodes does Afrobility: Africa Tech and Business have?

The podcast currently has 81 episodes available.

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Afrobility: Africa Tech and Business

FAQs about Afrobility: Africa Tech and Business:

How many episodes does Afrobility: Africa Tech and Business have?

Afrobility: Africa Tech and Business episodes:

FAQs about Afrobility: Africa Tech and Business:

How many episodes does Afrobility: Africa Tech and Business have?

More shows like Afrobility: Africa Tech and Business

Acquired

Next Africa

The Journal.

Empire