The Global Startup Movement - Startup Ecosystem Leaders, Global Entrepreneurship, and Emerging Market Innovation

Zekarias Amsalu is the Founder & MD of Ibex Frontier, with presence in Ethiopia, London, and Washington DC. Zekarias started his career in the private Banking sector in Ethiopia followed by a regional Finance and Treasury role at Shell Oil East Africa Hub leading implementations in East Africa.

After a stint in high finance in London, he has re-tuned his focus on Ethiopia and Africa since 2014 and as a result has founded the London based Ibex Frontier in early 2016 and has been helping Ethiopian based companies raise capital and has led in sell side mandates and investor negotiations as well as providing advisory services for international investors moving to Ethiopia in buy side mandate and/or Route-to-Market.

On this episode you'll learn:

-Why has market data on Ethiopia's private sector historically been so scarce?

-What sectors outside of the startup world are attracting the most foreign direct investment?

-How much venture and angel capital has been activated locally in Addis Ababa?

This panel session was recorded at the Trade with Africa Business Summit in Bentonville, Arkansas over the summer. The topic of the panel was around what is driving the growth of startups and the emergence of innovation hubs across the African continent. Andrew is joined by Seye Bassir, Investment Director at the IFU, Marsha Wulff, Founding Director at Loftyinc Afropreneur Fund, and Akin Sawyerr, CEO and Cofounder of RocRemit.

Scott Phillips is the founder of Civic Ninjas, and co-founder/CEO of Isocentric Networks. Scott is the founder/organizer of multiple events connecting the Tulsa startup ecosystem including Ignite Tulsa, Tulsa Startup Weekend and Maker Faire Tulsa. Scott has been recognized in Tulsa People Magazine’s 40 under 40, received a Tulsey’s Above and Beyond Award for his proponency of entrepreneurship and in 2013 was one of eight people recognized nationally by the White House and President Obama as a Champion of Change in Civic Hacking.

On this episode you'll learn: -How a robust maker space can provide an ecosystem advantages into the third wave of internet companies.

-How did Tulsa achieve the #1 city for female entrepreneurs to start companies? -How has Tulsa’s progressive open data policies benefited the local startup ecosystem?

Roberto Musso is the President at Digevo Group, a Chile-based organization that starts and groups innovative companies in the IT sector. Roberto is the founding partner of more than 25 companies in IT including, Izit, 3Gmotion, NCS Americas, and Beemox. He's had 3 successful exits and is one of the most prominent angel investor and mentor in the Chile startup ecosystem.

On this episode you'll learn:

-What attributes do startups in emerging economies have that make them more likely to be successful?

-Why haven't corporates in Latin America been active in the startup community?

-Considering the fact that there isn’t a healthy IPO or acquisition market in Latin America, How is startup success in emerging economies defined differently?

Laís De Oliveira has built some of the fastest growing startup communities in Malaysia on behalf of Startup Grind, Techstars (Startup Digest), TheList.KL and MaGIC (Malaysian Global Innovation and Creativity Centre). She founded and sold her first business (8spaces.co) to Flyspaces.com, Southeast Asia's largest marketplace for workspace and spaces for professional activities, where she worked as Malaysia Country Manager and Chief Community Officer.

She is currently writing about her experience in her first project of a book, called Hacking Communities, a result of 11 years building different communities offline and online. On this episode you'll learn:

-What are the first steps and initial to do list for getting a startup community off the ground and running?

- How does an ecosystem builder maintain momentum and keep the community together over the long run?

-What's the story of the growth in Malaysia's startup ecosystem since 2014?

Stanfield Gray is the CEO of Dig South Tech Conference, DIG SOUTH Media, ETC South, and the co-host of South Pod: Rise of a Region. In 2018, he was named one of Time magazine’s “31 People Changing the South.DIG SOUTH is the South's Tech Conference, the first and foremost event elevating the region's digital economy. The Conference connects leading brands to the top 500 tech companies in the South, focusing on innovation in technology, business, marketing, media, and entertainment.

On this episode you'll learn:

-How did Stanfield organize and fund the first Dig South Conference?

-How did availability of early stage capital in South Carolina evolve since Stanfield started Dig South?

-What gaps were in the South Carolina ecosystem back in 2011?

Alan Costello is the Venture Investment Leader for NDRC where he sources startups, supports them, pushes them towards customer validation and then think about scaling globally. He is also a Board member of the Institute of Management Consultants and Advisors as well as the Co-Chair of The Mill Enterprise Centre.

On this episode you'll learn:

-How much early stage capital is available in country relative to mainland Europe?

-How has the VC ecosystem evolved since Alan entered the space 6 years ago?

-What's the current sentiment towards cryptocurrencies in Ireland?

Marc Alain Boucicault is the founder of Banj, a local entrepreneurship hub in Port-au-Prince. He's worked in international development for 8 years based in Port-au-Prince and in Washington, DC at the World Bank then with the Inter-American Development Bank. In 2010, Marc co-founded Groupe ECHO Haiti, an organization valorizing the potential of young adults in development in Haiti through which he created and lead several innovative projects including ELAN Haiti, a platform that brings together a community of students, young leaders and entrepreneurs from Haiti, its diaspora and the world focused on taking joint actions in Haiti. He is also co-founder and chief external relations officer at HFund, a closed-ended micro-venture capital firm based in Haiti offering new modern and tailored financial instruments that bring capital to innovative businesses and contribute to the emergence of a new category of entrepreneurs in Haiti.

On this episode you'll learn

-How Marc originally raised sponsorship money for the Banj

-What does entrepreneurship mean to the average person in Haiti?

-What are currently the missing pieces in the Haiti Startup Ecosystem?

Chris Heivly is one of the nation’s leading experts in how to turn startups into multimillion-dollar companies. Chris founded MapQuest in 1988 and served in leadership positions for global brands such as Rand McNally and Accenture. His latest book Build the Fort provides insight into getting through the earliest micro-steps of starting your own business through the lense of Chris’s 30 years of experiences in startups, investments, big-company entrepreneurship and community development. On this episode you'll learn: What it means to Chris to be an ecosystem builder? What have been the most important institutions and initiatives in the ecosystem that have catalyzed and created the increased startup activity in Raleigh-Durham? What are Chris' thoughts on how a university can implement an EIR role?

Richard Chowning is the Director of Africa Mentor, solving customers' entry and growth problems by providing sound guidance to navigate the cultural and business challenges in specific regions. This includes generating and vetting leads, providing entrepreneurs and business owners with business research related to their entry into the African marketplace, and mentoring business owners in developing strategies and business models that are culturally appropriate. On this episode you'll learn: What was the story and inspiration behind Africa Mentor? How does cultural nuance impact the VC conversation around Africa? What are the biggest sectors and opportunities Richard currently sees in Africa?