We are joined today by Tarneem (Nina) Saeed, CEO of Cashi. Cashi is an operator of digital payments borne out of Alsoug, a digital marketplace platform intended to provide financial and classified services in Sudan. The company's platform allows users to list their products on the platform and provides a financial wallet for transactions, enabling users to buy, sell and rent different products of their choice. Cashi recently received $5mil in funding from institutional investors, the first and largest of its kind in over 30 years since sanctions were lifted in Sudan. They are on a mission to not only reshape the landscape of startups in the region but transform the entire e-commerce value chain and provide the first platform of its kind to facilitate plug and play digital payments in the country. 

About The She-Suite Innovators Podcast

A series in which May Olatoye (Cornell Tech MBA Candidate 2022) interviews female-led startup founders across emerging markets starting on the continent of Africa.  She takes us on a journey discussing the origins of their venture ideas, the challenges and opportunities in entering emerging markets including the improving landscape of venture funding being made available. We take a special focus on women that have raised $1M+ in seed investing, looking at a spectrum of startups from Kenya to Nigeria and Cameroon.

We are joined today by Miishe Addy, CEO of Jetstream Africa. Jetstream Africa is an operator of an e-logistics and embedded finance platform designed to accelerate the speed of African supply chains. The company's platform digitizes key aspects of the logistics process, by using data, market coordination, and a network of freight carriers, customs agents, and ground transporters. They are on a mission to enable shippers to mitigate the cost of inefficiencies and improve transparency in the pricing, cargo tracking, and customs regulation process.

About The She-Suite Innovators Podcast

A series in which May Olatoye (Cornell Tech MBA Candidate 2022) interviews female-led startup founders across emerging markets starting on the continent of Africa.  She takes us on a journey discussing the origins of their venture ideas, the challenges and opportunities in entering emerging markets including the improving landscape of venture funding being made available. We take a special focus on women that have raised $1M+ in seed investing, looking at a spectrum of startups from Kenya to Nigeria and Cameroon.

We are joined today by Yvonne Bajela. She previously founded and was a principal at Impact X Capital, a venture capital firm focused on investing in underrepresented entrepreneurs across Europe. Prior to this, she worked for Mitsui & Co. where she led over $200 million in investments in companies including TransferWise now Wise.  She recently joined LocalGlobe VC where one of her focus areas will be on investments on the continent of Africa.

About The She-Suite Innovators Podcast

A series in which May Olatoye (Cornell Tech MBA Candidate 2022) interviews female-led startup founders across emerging markets starting on the continent of Africa.  She takes us on a journey discussing the origins of their venture ideas, the challenges and opportunities in entering emerging markets including the improving landscape of venture funding being made available. We take a special focus on women that have raised $1M+ in seed investing, looking at a spectrum of startups from Kenya to Nigeria and Cameroon.

We are joined today by Jess Anuna, CEO of Klasha. Klasha is an operator of an online commerce platform intended to make consumer goods and services online more accessible to customers across the continent. The company offers payments in local currencies, and fast shipping globally, enabling customers to transact from the comfort of their homes. They are on a mission to make consumer goods and services online more accessible to customers across Africa through frictionless access regardless of geographical location globally.  Klasha is backed by leading venture investors including American Express Ventures, Greycroft, Seedcamp, Techstars and Plug and Play.

About The She-Suite Innovators Podcast

A series in which May Olatoye (Cornell Tech MBA Candidate 2022) interviews female-led startup founders across emerging markets starting on the continent of Africa.  She takes us on a journey discussing the origins of their venture ideas, the challenges and opportunities in entering emerging markets including the improving landscape of venture funding being made available. We take a special focus on women that have raised $1M+ in seed investing, looking at a spectrum of startups from Kenya to Nigeria and Cameroon.

In this episode, we are joined by Nichole Bestman who leads “Immerse” a 10 week accelerator at Bubble helping to support underrepped founders. Nichole graduated from Johnson, is a founder herself and will reflect on her journey and what impact the school has had on her career trajectory. From the scrappy market woman in Liberia, to the no-code entrepreneur in upstate Maryland, she also discusses how Bubble is helping non technical co-founders “get to market” faster with their ideas. 

About The She-Suite Innovators Podcast

A series in which May Olatoye (Cornell Tech MBA Candidate 2022) interviews female-led startup founders across emerging markets starting on the continent of Africa.  She takes us on a journey discussing the origins of their venture ideas, the challenges and opportunities in entering emerging markets including the improving landscape of venture funding being made available. We take a special focus on women that have raised $1M+ in seed investing, looking at a spectrum of startups from Kenya to Nigeria and Cameroon.

In this episode we are joined today by Nelly Chateu-Diop, CEO of Ejara. Launched in 2020, Ejara is the first non-custodial cryptocurrency wallet and also a mobile investment platform in Africa. It is uniquely tailored for the Francophone region of Africa and the diaspora. A trained computer scientist in data and blockchain specializations, Nelly is also an advocate for financial inclusion and the potential of blockchain and Web 3.0 technologies in transforming the continent. Ejara is helping Africans save and grow with interest saving accounts, enabling people to track their investment performance and providing trade freedom.

About The She-Suite Innovators Podcast

A series in which May Olatoye (Cornell Tech MBA Candidate 2022) interviews female-led startup founders across emerging markets starting on the continent of Africa.  She takes us on a journey discussing the origins of their venture ideas, the challenges and opportunities in entering emerging markets including the improving landscape of venture funding being made available. We take a special focus on women that have raised $1M+ in seed investing, looking at a spectrum of startups from Kenya to Nigeria and Cameroon.

In this episode, May Olatoye speaks with Shivani Siroya, CEO of Tala currently valued at $800M. Tala is on a mission to provide financial agency for all. Started in Kenya in 2011, it works to provide financial access, choice and control to the financially underestimated. A market of almost 2 billion globally. These are populations that typically have no formal credit history or formal banking services. They have grown geographically to now serve markets in India, the Philippines and Mexico with alternative offerings that will now extend to cryptocurrency! They are paving the way in using technology to bridge the gap between potential and opportunity.

About The She-Suite Innovators Podcast

A series in which May Olatoye (Cornell Tech MBA Candidate 2022) interviews female-led startup founders across emerging markets starting on the continent of Africa.  She takes us on a journey discussing the origins of their venture ideas, the challenges and opportunities in entering emerging markets including the improving landscape of venture funding being made available. We take a special focus on women that have raised $1M+ in seed investing, looking at a spectrum of startups from Kenya to Nigeria and Cameroon.

We are joined today by Jihan Abass, CEO of Lami Insurance. Lami is a digital insurance and API platform based in Kenya that integrates insurance into businesses. The platform is designed to provide a seamless service across multiple sectors thereby allowing automatic underwriting which speeds up claims and reduces claims ratios.  This altogether enables increased profit maximization. Lami is growing its operations and impact across the continent of Africa whilst also addressing the persistent insurance gap challenges.

Jihan Abass started her career in London as a futures trader in commodities. She first founded Griffin Insurance - The first Smart car insurance in East Africa and after completing her MBA at Oxford Saïd Business school, returned to Kenya to start Lami. 

They raised a seed round for $1.8M in 2021.

About The She-Suite Innovators Podcast

A series in which May Olatoye (Cornell Tech MBA Candidate 2022) interviews female-led startup founders across emerging markets starting on the continent of Africa.  She takes us on a journey discussing the origins of their venture ideas, the challenges and opportunities in entering emerging markets including the improving landscape of venture funding being made available. We take a special focus on women that have raised $1M+ in seed investing, looking at a spectrum of startups from Kenya to Nigeria and Cameroon.

We are joined today by Meghan McCormick, CEO of OZÉ in Ghana & Dare to Innovate. OZÉ targets companies in the West African region of the continent by providing a business coaching platform intended to offer business advisory services to track when money is coming in and going out of the business. The data they collect helps clients to make data-driven decisions in order to improve their business performance.  This aggregated data creates a platform that empowers business lending for growth of these enterprises.

Meghan McCormick is a Social Entrepreneur proving the power of business in sustainable development.  After completing her first degree at Georgetown she worked for the Peace Corps in Guinea and later as an Innovation Strategist at a consultancy in Chicago before embarking on her MBA at MIT Sloan Business School and MPA at Harvard Kennedy School. This journey set her on the path to creating Dare to Innovate in West Africa which spurred the start of OZÉ.

She has raised  $3.9M to date with a seed round that started in Jan 2022.

About The She-Suite Innovators Podcast
A series in which May Olatoye  (Cornell Tech MBA Candidate 2022) interviews female-led startup founders across emerging markets starting on the continent of Africa.  She takes us on a journey discussing the origins of their venture ideas, the challenges and opportunities in entering emerging markets including the improving landscape of venture funding being made available. We take a special focus on women that have raised $1M+ in seed investing, looking at a spectrum of startups from Kenya to Nigeria and Cameroon.