What does it take to take the leap from a manager role at one of the biggest technology companies in the world to founding an AI startup?

According to Kevin Kissi, it takes a belief that what starts as just an idea can change the world.

Hailing from Ghana, Kevin has pivoted his career from mechanical engineering to software engineering, swapping CAD-rendered designs for writing code.

Through Zof AI, he is taking it up a notch, enabling mid-market businesses to ship code that has been tested to ensure its quality.

In this conversation, Kevin shares his early days in his journey, including stints at a tractor company, a window company and one of the top 5 banks in the US.

He shares his motivation for switching careers early on and how always doing more than is required landed him at Microsoft.

We also touch on the current state of AI in Africa and how to enable the continent to catch up with the rest of the world.

You can connect with Kevin on LinkedIn here.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit techaways.substack.com

A fortnight ago, Showmax, which for the last ten-plus years had been pan-African broadcaster Multichoice’s answer to the arrival of global streaming platforms on the continent, shut down.

Canal+, Multichoice’s parent company, pointed to the streaming platform’s not-so-pretty financials as the reason for pulling the plug.

With Showmax gone, which was the closest Africa-born competitor to Netflix at least from the POV of budget spend, what will become of the continent’s streaming landscape?

While Showmax has always grabbed the headlines as Africa’s forefront streaming platform, several other streamers have amassed millions of users by telling African stories. One of those is Wi-flix, founded in December 2020 by Ghananians Louis Manu and Bright Yeboah.

Now boasting over 4 million users and a goal to reach 10 million in the next three years, Wi-flix’s focus on an African and mobile-native audience seems to be paying dividends.

In this conversation, Manu reflects on the early days of Wi-flix, which included trying to convince telcos that the soft bundling strategy would drive data sales while also convincing content creators that the revenue-sharing model was the right approach.

He also comments on the current state of streaming on the continent, including the implications of Showmax's exit and the insatiable appetite for African stories globally.

On the future of streaming, he touches on what business models are going to look like as well as the competitive environment.

You can connect to Louis on LinkedIn here.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit techaways.substack.com

As Africa tries to catch up to the world in adopting emerging technologies such as AI, the importance of digital infrastructure cannot be overstated enough.

Data centres are at the forefront of this infrastructure, providing the requisite environment to build out application layers, resources such as fintech apps and e-commerce platforms.

In this episode, Hlumelo Fungile, Chief Commercial Officer at PAIX Data Centres, breaks down the challenges facing Africa’s data centres ecosystem, including limited capital investment and energy constraints.

He also touches on the opportunities on the continent, including a growing population, which will create demand for data centres, increasing participation, an active role played by hyperscalers, and increasing investment by governments.

It is conversation which provides much-needed context on the role that digital infrastructure plays in Africa’s digital transformation ambitions and how to tackle the current challenges.

You can reach out to Hlumelo on LinkedIn here.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit techaways.substack.com

Why did TymeBank rebrand to GoTyme?

A few weeks ago, South African digital bank TymeBank announced a rebrand from its widely recognised yellow-and-black brand to “GoTyme”, featuring a Tiffany blue and charcoal black colour palette.

But beyond the change in logos and colours is a much broader view of the bank’s service provision, which is now more globally oriented for a natively South African bank.

To shed some insights on the rebrand, head of marketing Lucia Malapane stopped by the Tech Aways podcast to expound on the rationale for the process.

She touches on the internal processes which formed the initial rebrand conversation, ensuring that the rebrand aligns with compliance requirements and how the rebrand aligns with GoTyme’s vision of a 2028 IPO.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit techaways.substack.com

How has South Africa’s venture capital landscape changed from the time Mark Shuttleworth sold Thawte to Verisign, up to now?

One person who is well placed to answer this question is Keet van Zyl, co-founder and managing partner at Knife Capital. Having cut his teeth in VC at Shuttleworth’s family office, Here Be Dragons, Keet went on to found Knife Capital, which has since evolved into one of the continent’s foremost VC firms.

In this conversation, Keet chronicles his early days in VC, including Knife Capital’s early exit successes, the role Section 12J played in catalysing the country’s VC ecosystem, and the importance of the firm’s “Knowledge, Network and Fund” mantra in those early successes.

He also shares the recipe behind Knife Capital’s revered exit strategy, which has seen the firm’s portfolio companies exit to global tech companies including UberEats, Garmin and Ticketmaster.

If you are a startup founder and are looking to understand the thought process that drives a successful VC’s decision-making, this is the episode for you. If you are a VC and looking to learn from the best in the business, this is also the episode for you.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit techaways.substack.com

Early-stage startup founders in South Africa face various challenges, including a lack of capital, struggling to achieve product-market fit, and even loneliness.

In 2022, after he himself faced similar challenges when building his early-stage venture, Mathew Marsden founded Startup Club ZA.

The community, which comprises in-person events, awards, and now a platform to enable ecosystem stakeholders to share press releases, job listings, etc, has grown substantially.

In this episode, Mathew shares about the early days of Startup Club ZA, what is currently missing in SA’s VC ecosystem, the impact AI will have on early-stage builders, and much more.

Connect with Mathew on LinkedIn and check out the Startup Club ZA website.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit techaways.substack.com

Why do black tech startup founders get disproportionately less funding than their white counterparts in South Africa?

It is a question that has faced the ecosystem for years, but one that is yet to be addressed or even discussed in the mainstream via LinkedIn or at ecosystem events. But Ntsako Mgiba, founder and CEO of the Darkies in Tech community, is actively working to change that.

Founded in February 2021, Darkies in Tech was founded out of the frustration that Ntsako experienced as a black founder when navigating the ecosystem. Realising that there was a lack of representation of people like him, he took it upon himself to create a safe space and community for black founders like him.

In this episode, he discusses the early days of navigating the white-dominated SA tech startup space, the role that communities like Darkies in Tech play in advocating for equity in the ecosystem, and the challenges faced in that mission.

He also touches on the wins that Darkies in Tech has achieved and what the future holds!

You can visit the Darkies in Tech website to learn more and connect with Ntsako on LinkedIn.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit techaways.substack.com

For most companies, cybersecurity is not something that is discussed at the board level, but is often relegated to underfunded and underequipped IT teams.

This is even though a serious cyberbreach could have detrimental financial and operational consequences.

In this conversation with Tony, he outlines the findings from ESET’s latest H2 2025 Threat Report, which flagged phishing as the most prominent cybersecurity concern.

He also dives into several issues, including the impact of AI and crypto on cybersecurity, why there is a lack of talent in the sector, some tips to avoid the most common risks and the role that regulation can play in tackling cybersecurity challenges.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit techaways.substack.com

How do you run a business when you are under investigation by South Africa’s Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) for two years?

This was the predicament faced by South African agritech startup Livestock Wealth when it became the subject of an investigation by the FSCA in January 2024.

Two years later, according to Livestock Wealth CEO Ntuthuko Shezi, the investigation has completed with a positive outcome for the company, and he is ready to chart the next wave of growth for the company.

Shezi also shares more on the investigation process, the lessons he learnt, and much more!

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit techaways.substack.com

How much equity should you allocate to a co-founder and first hires? Is it easier to build a B2B or B2C startup in South Africa? Should you be trying raise from local or international investors? Is an IPO a realistic path to exit in South Africa?

There are some of the questions that founders ask themselves every day as they navigate the complexities of building a venture-scalable company in South Africa.

Answers to these questions play a large part in who becomes a successful company or joins the 90% stat of startups which fizzle out within three years of operations.

This week’s guest is well placed to answer these questions.

Clive Butkow boast almost four decades of experience across corporate South Africa, as COO of Accenture, and then as a VC, first at Kalon Venture Partners and then at Conducive Capital.

As an angel investor, Clive has invested in numerous companies which have collectively seen more than $100 million in revenue.

You can connect with Clive on LinkedIn and check out more of Tech Aways here.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit techaways.substack.com