Investing in Impact

Investments for Impact is a Villgro Africa podcast. Season 3 is brought to you by Villgro Africa and Jaza Rift Ventures.

For our fifth episode, focused on venture capital, we have two guests: Arnold Maina from DOB Equity and Jason Musyoka from From Here Ventures. Listen in on our conversation to learn more about the purposes of venture capital, the types of business that fit (and don’t fit) with this type of investment, and some advice on how best to pursue VC funding.  

Investments for Impact is a Villgro Africa podcast. Season 3 is brought to you by Villgro Africa and Jaza Rift Ventures.

Our fourth episode is all about angel investing and our guest is Stephen Gugu, one of the most prominent voices in the angel investing space on the continent. Along with founding Viktoria Ventures, he is also an advisor to the African Business Angel Network. We hope you enjoy our conversation and benefit from his wealth of knowledge! 

Find the training Stephen mentions (10 Things Angel Investors Get Wrong in Year 1) here: https://youtu.be/AWVvh5rUJT8

Investments for Impact is a Villgro Africa podcast. Season 3 is brought to you by Villgro Africa and Jaza Rift Ventures.

For our third episode, we welcome Elizabeth Laitete from Africa Grant Advisors, the perfect guest since we are discussing the grant funding stage of fundraising. We discuss the advantages of grants, some misconceptions, as well as pitfalls to avoid when applying for grant funding.

Investments for Impact is a Villgro Africa podcast. Season 3 is brought to you by Villgro Africa and Jaza Rift Ventures.

For our second episode of the season, we had the chance to host Joram Mwinamo of SNDBX and tapped into his vast experience in the African startup and innovation ecosystem. We discussed whether or not African startups utilise family and friends fundraising and why we hear less about it in the African context than in the US and Europe. We also talk through practical strategies for seeking out this type of funding and managing the unique risks that it entails.

We are excited to invite you back for our third season, in which we will focus on the topic of fundraising, including the overall fundraising landscape in Africa, as well as a deep dive into each stage that a young company raising capital goes through (from family and friends all the way to venture capital). 

In this first episode, we are setting the scene for you. Our host, Moses Waweru, was joined by Villgro Africa CEO, Wilfred Njagi, and Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Jaza Rift Ventures, Sewu-Steve Tawia. They discuss what things look like right now for startups and emerging businesses attempting to raise the capital they need for growth and eventually and scaling. We ask what the role of incubators like Villgro Africa and investors like Jaza Rift Ventures are and explore how these two types of organisations can collaborate. We also learn more about some of the challenges faced by African entrepreneurs and how these can be addressed.

We hope you’ll enjoy our discussion! Karibu! 

In this episode, we welcome Dr. Beatrice Murage, a medical doctor, innovator and health equity leader, as well as a Villgro Africa board member, to discuss the investor perspective of women-led innovations. We speak about the male dominated nature of the investment field and the goal of having more gender balance – of both investors and investees.

You can learn more about Villgro Africa at www.villgroafrica.org.

For this episode, we are joined by Sylvia Mukasa, an award-winning entrepreneur and tech consultant who has dedicated her career to increasing equity in science and technology. She and Franciscah Nzanga discuss the many challenges facing young girls who are interested in subjects within science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) and the ways we can work toward overcoming these challenges. For more information on some of the organizations and initiatives referenced in this episode, see below:

For more information about Villgro Africa, please visit our website at www.villgroafrica.org.

For our third episode of Investments for Impact, Franciscah Nzanga hosts Ndeye Thiaw and Caroline Muchiri, two leaders in the African innovation space to discuss the things female founders need to succeed and how others can support them. Ndeye is a managing partner at Brightmore Capital and an expert in impact investing. Caroline is an intellectual property expert, practitioner and researcher currently working at the Centre for Law, Technology and Society at the University of Ottawa. As women who have succeeded in male-dominated environments, our guests had many helpful perspectives on what women should expect as well as ideas on how things can be improved in the future.

On this episode of Investments for Impact, Franciscah Nzanga hosts Sylvia Nyaga and Judith Oketch, who are both founders of health startups. Sylvia is the founder and CEO of Syna Consultancy, which provides access to clean water, basic toilets, and good hygienic practices, especially for those with disabilities, which is shown to lead to better health and socio-economic development. Judith Oketch is the founder and CEO of Ambulex Solutions, which is increasing the accessibility and effectiveness of emergency health services.

In this episode, the panelists and host discuss the ups and downs of being a female entrepreneur. If you or anyone you know has experienced  exploitation similiar to what is described in this conversation, we encourage you to reach out to people you trust for support and encouragement. We all need to work together to eliminate such practices!

Subscribe, rate and review our podcast to make sure as many people are reached as possible. 

www.villgroafrica.org

Over the past few years, Villgro Africa has made a conscious choice to prioritize creating gender balance within the team. Host and Villgro Africa COO Franciscah Nzanga welcomes Co-Founder and CEO Wilfred Njagi and CTO Wambui Nyabero Gachiengo as panelists to discuss why Villgro has pursued a more gender balanced team, why this issue is important in the innovation space more generally, the importance of mentorship, and the necessity of self-reflection when it comes to our own biases.

Learn more about Villgro Africa at www.villgroafrica.org. Thank you again to our hosts, Pete’s Coffee, for allowing us to use the space and enjoy what you have to offer. For information on their locations and menu, visit their website at http://www.petescoffee.co.ke.