The Ajim Show

In today's episode, I answer this questions: How many businesses have you funded and how are they faring, Which market do you Raise Funds from as a VC, How To Deal With the Negative Africa Narratives, Do you think BRICS is gonna make Africa a more attractive marketplace for investment, How did you start your venture capital journey, what are the Biggest Challenge as a VC, How to get funded as a business which is not tech, what does it take to be part of a venture capital firm, How to raise capital for a founder just getting started & More

In today's episode, I answer this questions: How To Pitch, Industries Focus, What is The Biggest Advantage To Invest in Africa vs the US & More

In today's episode, I answer this questions: How to Break Into VC, What Motivates You, What are Your Top 5 Books & Advice on Self Doubts.

Comment with any idea content you're want me to answer and I'll add it to my content list!

Which is the best African country for launching a tech startup?

Let's investigate the 8 contenders:

1) Nigeria

2) Kenya

3) South Africa

4) Egypt

5) Rwanda

6) Ghana

7) Tanzania

8) Morocco

I share more detail information on my Twitter as well, you can find it here: https://x.com/euniceajim/status/1711741530568876280?s=20

Check out https://www.ajimcapital.com/ to invest in Africa's Best Startups with us.

I read this post from Kola on LinkedIn which I believe explains best the podcast:

2 months ago, I heard that a founder was paying himself $15k monthly, the company packed up. This past weekend, I heard another founder was paying himself $50,000 monthly, the company packed up. Both of them, on investor funds. Like many people like me who invest in and/or back early stage companies, I was horrified if I’m being honest. I think it’s about time we begin to talk about what it really takes to build successful companies.
I’ve recently found that there are really only a few founders in Africa who set out to solve real problems and create thriving businesses, others are just offering “entrepreneurship as a service” (EaaS). They set out to solve their own problem, poverty.
Whenever a founder, director or owner doesn’t understand or practice the principles of ‘delayed gratification’, the death of whatever they’re building is around the corner. Cash flow in business is like blood in your body, once there’s an area of serious bleeding, death could become inevitable.
For context, I founded my first company in 2011. It broke even & became profitable within 15 months. The company was unbelievable liquid by year 2 ending, but I (the founder) wasn’t. I didn’t have an office or earn a constant monthly salary. My then two senior managers earned more than me, this is still a practice in many of my companies today. I pay exec hires more than I pay myself, if at all I earn anything.
Call me an old school entrepreneur, but I don’t like paper valuation. I like:
1. Strong balance sheet
2. Healthy cashflow
3. Frugality (keep cost down at all costs)
I am brutal with cost. I do not like to run a company like I’m Santa, spending like there’s no tomorrow. Now as a fund manager, this means I’m able to return higher ROI to my investors than your favorite hedge fund managers; because of the low cost of running our funds.
Whether it’s fintech or farmland, the principles behind starting, growing and scaling a company are the same. Break them and they will hunt you down!

The rule of thumb regarding sending an investor update email to your current investors is to do so on a monthly basis. Once a month is a reasonable interval giving you a chance to keep them informed about your work and assure them that their money is well-spent. 

During early stages, things change pretty quickly. You might even want to share weekly investor updates in order to get much needed advice, recommendation or introduction faster. Sending updates once a week will accelerate establishing the relationship, especially if your investors are actively involved in your work.  

If your company is in series A or B, the changes might not be as drastic as in the early stages. In such cases, you might opt for quarterly investor updates. However, bear in mind that it might have a negative side - your investors might not remember details as they usually have other startups that pitch at the same time. Your email may get lost among other updates.

Receiving regular data featuring both ups and downs of a company is the key to open conversation and timely support and help.

Ajim Capital is a pre-seed/seed fund investing into high-growth tech companies in Africa. https://ajimcapital.com/

Become unrecognizable in 2024. Follow these 9 steps to transforming your life in one year.

1) Create a long-term vision.

2) Identify your “why.”

3) Set specific goals.

4) Establish daily routines.

5) Make health a priority.

6) Invest in personal growth.

7) Surround yourself with positive influences.

8) Take action every day.

9) Monitor your progress.

I dive into this 9 steps with very specific examples from my personal experience. Remember, transformation takes time, but it’s worth it.

The best path is the one that aligns with the founder's goals. Some startups have succeeded with bootstrapping, while others have with venture capital. There is no one-size-fits-all answer, but with careful consideration and execution, both paths can lead to success.

Some key considerations when deciding between bootstrapping and venture capital:

◦ Founder's goals

◦ Business model and market potential

◦ Scalability of the idea or technology

◦ Competition and market timing

◦ Availability of resources and expertise

Investing in African startups is a high-risk, high-reward game. By following these steps, you will be able to identify and evaluate investment opportunities, reduce risk, and increase your chances of success.

1) Understand The African Startup Ecosystem

2) Determine the startup’s industry.

3) Determine your investment style.

4) Choose Your Investment Vehicle

5) Conduct Thorough Research

6) Diversify Your Portfolio

7) Invest In What You Know

As a startup founder, believing in yourself is one of the most important things you can do for your business. Self-belief can often be hard to come by, especially when dealing with the challenges of launching a startup. However, having a strong belief in yourself and your vision is essential for success.

Having self-belief means that you have faith in your abilities and that you are confident that you can handle whatever obstacles arise. It's easy to doubt yourself when things get tough, but having confidence in yourself allows you to keep pushing forward. Your self-belief gives you the motivation to keep trying even when things seem impossible.

Not only does self-belief give you the motivation to keep going, it also encourages you to take risks. Taking risk is often part of being successful as a startup founder its necessary to put yourself out there and take chances in order to make progress. Without self-belief, its difficult to take risks because you may be too afraid of failure or not confident enough in your own ideas. Believing in yourself allows you to take risks without fear and be more innovative and successful as a result.

Believing in yourself is key for startup founders it gives you the motivation to keep going when times get tough, encourages risk taking, helps with networking, and keeps you focused on reaching your goals. It takes courage to have faith in yourself as a founder, but doing so will pay off in the long run as your business grows and succeeds.