Podcast
Afrobility: Africa Tech and Business
Hosted by Olumide Ogunsanwo and Bankole Makanju · EN
Stories and analyses of African technology companies
19episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
#64: Twiga Foods - How the AgriTech supply chain company is connecting SMB retailers and smallholder farmers to improve food logistics across Kenya and Africa
Jun 2, 2023Tap to summarizeOverview: Today, we’re going to talk about Twiga Foods. We’ll explore the story across the following 6 areas Africa Agricultural context Kenya farming & market access context Twiga Foods’ early history Twiga Foods’ Product & monetization strategy Twiga Foods’ Competitive positioning & potential exit options Future outlook. This episode was recorded on May 28, 2023 Companies discussed: Twiga Foods, Apollo Agriculture, Vendease, Kibanda, Kellogg, Tolaram, Multipro, Olam, Dangote, Coca-Cola, Shoprite, Cargill, Nestle, Unilever & Safaricom (M-Pesa) Business concepts discussed: Agriculture technology (AgTech, AgriTech or AgroTech), Agribusiness marketplaces, farming financing, Farmer market access opportunities, SMB Retail, B2B solutions and Agriculture Logistics. Conversation highlights: (01:00) - Twiga Foods context (08:53) - Africa Agriculture context (18:30) - Kenya background and agriculture context (23:34) - Market access context in Africa (31:20) - Market access context at Twiga Foods' founding (40:12) - Founders’ background and farming context (56:10) - Fundraising (1:04:10) - Geographical expansion, Partnerships and Hiring (1:15:00) - Metrics (1:20:15) - Product & Monetization strategy, Cost structure (1:32:58) - Competition (1:35:00) - Options for exit (1:45:50) - Olumide’s overall thoughts and outlook (1:58:58) - Bankole’s overall thoughts and outlook (2:06:31) - Recommendations and small wins Olumide’s recommendations & small wins: Recommendation: Berkshire Hathaway story on the Acquired podcast. It has multiple parts and is really good. The Acquired podcast is like the non-African version of Afrobility. They tell stories of companies in developed markets. Alternatively you could say Afrobility is the African version of Acquired. Recommendation: Exxon-Mobil analyses on Business Breakdown podcast. Business Breakdowns is like a more serious suit-and-tie version of Acquired. As you can tell from my recommendations I like podcasts that analyse businesses. Small win: Sao Paulo trip. It was fun. Small win: To physically touch and hold the Firedom (financial independence) book. I and Samon released the paperback and hardcover versions in May and I just received my author copy. It feels magical, the book is beautiful and bright red. Bankole’s recommendations & small wins: Recommendation: Article about end of Life Dreams, Hallmarks of Good Product Sense & This Company Will Give You A Free TV In Exchange For Your Data | AdExchanger Small win: The EPL season is over, and the suffering of being a Chelsea fan is on pause… Other content: Winning in Africa’s agricultural market, After 18 Months, Your Investment Probably Isn’t Getting Marked Up - Angellist & Kellogg purchases 50% of Multipro for $450M Listeners: We’d love to hear from you. Email info@afrobility.com with feedback! Founders & Operators: We'd love to hear about what you're working on, email us at info@afrobility.com Investors: It would be great to link up with you. Contact us at info@afrobility.com Join our insider mailing list where we get feedback on new episodes & find all episodes on Afrobility.com
Transcribe →#62: DPO Group - How the FinTech payments platform went from bootstrapping for 8+ years to strategically acquiring multiple companies, and exiting to Network International for $288M
Mar 11, 2023Tap to summarizeOverview: Today, we’re going to talk about DPO Group. We’ll explore the story across the following areas African payments context DPO group’s early history Product & monetization strategy Competitive positioning & potential exit options overall outlook. This episode was recorded on Mar 5, 2023 Companies discussed: DPO Group, Network International, Apis partners, Flutterwave, Paystack, Interswitch, Safaricom, MTN, Airtel, Takealot.com, Superbalist.com, Safaricom, Yoco, PayPal & Chipper Cash Business concepts discussed: Bootstrapping, Payments ecosystem, payments partnerships strategy, payments infrastructure, low-end disruption, banking regulation, Mobile Money, E-commerce payments, Virtual cards & payments M&A strategy Conversation highlights: (04:40) - Africa Payment Context at time of DPO’s founding (12:46) - DPO Group Founding and early history (14:05) - Founder Background (25:57) - Fundraising and Growth (29:48) - Acquisitions and Partnerships (51:30) - Product and Monetization Strategy (1:00:05) - Competition (1:08:35) - DPO’s exit to Network International (1:27:15) - Bankole’s overall thoughts and outlook (1:39:10) - Olumide’s overall thoughts and outlook (1:47:01) - Recommendations and small wins Olumide’s recommendations & small wins: Recommendation: The War of Art: Book for creators and artists to get over the hump and release their inner creative expression to the world Recommendation: Naval Ravikant podcast with David Deutsch talking about Physics. Amazing episode. Having two of them together is incredible. Like having a rap collabo. Recommendation: Fela in Versace. Shit is too nice. I love songs that combine unrelated ideas Small win: Soul Cycle for the First time. Dope shit. Bankole’s recommendations & small wins: Recommendation: Stratechery Podcast - Eric Seufert and Ben Thompson & Mike Munger on EconTalk on Decision-making Small win: I signed up for a gym membership for the first time ever Listeners: We’d love to hear from you. Email info@afrobility.com with feedback! Founders & Operators: We'd love to hear about what you're working on, email us at info@afrobility.com Investors: It would be great to link up with you. Contact us at info@afrobility.com Join our insider mailing list where we get feedback on new episodes & find all episodes on Afrobility.com
Transcribe →#60: M-Kopa - How the asset financing platform is providing access to consumer products across Kenya & Africa
Jan 19, 2023Tap to summarizeOverview: Today, we’re going to talk about M-Kopa, the African asset financing platform. We’ll explore the M-Kopa story across 5 areas: African electrical power context M-Kopa's early history Product & monetization strategy Competitive positioning & exit options Then we'll end with our views on its overall outlook. This episode was recorded on Jan 15, 2023 Companies discussed: M-Kopa, Safaricom (M-Pesa), d.light, Zola Electric, Transsion, Samsung, Nokia (HMD global), Airtel, MTN, Mobisol, Carbon & Fairmoney Business concepts discussed: Rural electrification, Payment infrastructure, Pay-as-you-go Solar, Off-grid energy, asset financing, credit scoring, risk assessment & renewable energy Conversation highlights: (05:45) - Africa electricity access context (09:45) - Kenya electricity access context (14:55) - M-Kopa early history (16:55 ) - Founders’ background (25:07) - Other ideas before M-Kopa and M-Kopa launch (28:44) - Launch strategy - partnerships, sales and distribution (32:05) - Fundraising, Growth, Geo Expansion, Team (54:01) - Product strategy and how the product works (1:06:04) - Monetization strategy (1:14:16) - Competition and options for exit (01:29:50) - Olumide’s overall thoughts and outlook (1:38:06) - Bankole’s overall thoughts and outlook (1:48:08) - Recommendations and small wins Olumide’s recommendations & small wins: Interested in investing in Africa Tech with Olumide: Read about Adamantium fund & contact me at olumide@afrobility.com Founders looking for funding: If you're a B2B founder working on Education, Health, Finance or food, please contact me for funding at olumide@afrobility.com Recommendation 1: Descript: We use it for afrobility and even though I didn't initially think we needed it, it's grown on me. Especially now that I'm using it more aggressively for my personal finance book (myfiredom.com) editing Recommendation 2: Dances with wolves movie. So so good! Small win 1: Hung out with mum during thanksgiving break. It was cool! Small win 2: New years day with friends in London. It was nice! Bankole’s recommendations & small wins: Recommendation: Building an AI Chatbot off Podcast Transcripts Small win: Happy to be back home after months of travelling in Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa Other content: M-Kopa Solar Is Making a Profit on Poor Africans Listeners: We’d love to hear from you. Email info@afrobility.com with feedback! Founders & Operators: We'd love to hear about what you're working on, email us at info@afrobility.com Investors: It would be great to link up with you. Contact us at info@afrobility.com Join our insider mailing list where we get feedback on new episodes & find all episodes on Afrobility.com
Transcribe →#53: Konga - How the Ecommerce platform initially grew and eventually reset across Nigeria
Jul 8, 2022Tap to summarizeOverview: Today, we discuss Konga, the Nigerian e-commerce company. We’ll explore the Konga story across 5 areas: We'll give some context about the Nigerian e-commerce sector Konga's early history Product & Monetization strategy Konga sale Overall outlook This episode was recorded on July 3, 2022 Companies discussed: Konga, Jumia, Naspers, Kinnevik, Jiji, OLX, Amazon, Takealot, Yudala & Zinox Business concepts discussed: Ecommerce, marketplaces, classifieds, fundraising strategy, Blitzscaling risks, market readiness & Africa expansion Conversation highlights: (01:13) - Konga background and why we’re talking about it (09:19) - Nigeria background and context (14:00) - Nigeria commerce context c. 2012 (17:00) - Background on Sim Shagaya (29:02) - Konga launch strategy and fundraising (45:55) - Konga monetization (50:51) - Competition with Jumia (1:04:35) - Konga’s business lines (1:08:10) - Konga’s declining fortunes and sale to Zinox (1:27:00) - Lessons for startups from Konga (1:39:28) - Bankole’s overall thoughts and outlook (1:53:57) - Olumide’s overall thoughts and outlook (1:57:34) - Recommendations and small wins Olumide’s recommendations & small wins: Recommendation: Eboys - Book about the history of Benchmark Recommendation: Different kinds of smart (Morgan housel blog post). Article so good that I subscribed to his entire blog Small win: Listening to 20MinVC episode with Fabrice Grinda (OLX founder) the day after I published Afrobility OLX episode Interested in investing in Africa Tech with Olumide: Read about Adamantium fund & contact me at olumide@afrobility.com Founders looking for funding: If you're a B2B founder working on Education, Health, Finance or food, please contact me for funding at olumide@afrobility.com Bankole’s recommendations & small wins: Recommendation: Business Breakdowns Podcast - Amazon Aggregators Small win: in-person meetings with friends at work Other content: Chinese E-Commerce to Surpass 50% of Total Retail Sales | BoF - link Listeners, Operators & Investors: Email info@afrobility.com, we’d love to partner or get your feedback. All episodes on Afrobility.com
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#45: Gokada - How the mobility tech platform is providing delivery & transportation services across Nigeria
Jan 13, 2022Tap to summarizeOverview: Today, we’re going to talk about Gokada - the Nigerian mobility tech platform. We’ll explore the Gokada story across 5 areas: African ridesharing context Gokada's launch, early history, growth over time & fundraising Product & monetization strategy Competitive positioning & potential exit options Overall outlook This episode was recorded on Jan 9, 2022. Companies discussed: Gokada, GoJek, Max.ng, Pathao, Bolt, Uber & Jumia Business concepts discussed: Mobility, logistics, delivery, bike-sharing & tech regulation Conversation highlights: (01:00) - Gokada context (06:50 - Bike-sharing platforms in other markets - GoJek (17:44) - Nigeria transportation context (48:00) - Gokada founding & early history (1:02:00) - Fundraising & growth (1:08:00) - Product & monetization strategy (1:28:00) - Competition & exit options (1:36:13) - Olumide’s overall thoughts & outlook (1:44:45) - Bankole’s overall thoughts & outlook (1:54:44) - Recommendations & small wins Olumide: Recommendation: How Airlines quietly became banks: Wonderful video that matches a bunch of my interests. Reward programs + corporate finance. Sweet! Recommendation: 9 things I learned about Productivity this year (David Cain). Amazing article about productivity and procrastination Win: Got Logitech Brio & started using Windows Hello Other content: Lagos BRT case study Interested in investing in Africa Tech with Olumide: Read about Adamantium fund & contact me at olumide@afrobility.com Founders looking for funding: If you're a B2B founder working on Education, Health, Finance or Food, please contact me for funding at olumide@afrobility.com Bankole: Recommendations: Moxie Marlinspike My first impressions of web3, Why Is There Confetti In So Many Taser Guns & Come My Way (Wande Coal) Win: Saw Kamaru Usman in Lagos! Other content: Gokada finds new growth in logistics, Gokada is not okada, History of Gokada, road quality report (WEF) & The Flip Podcast - S2E3: Finding Fit - Opportunities in the Global South Listeners, Operators & Investors: Email info@afrobility.com, we’d love to partner or get your feedback. All episodes on Afrobility.com
Transcribe →#43: Africa Tech - 2022 & Beyond (Creator Roundtable #1)
Dec 4, 2021Tap to summarizeOverview: Today, we’re going to have a creator roundtable to discuss the African tech ecosystem. We’ll discuss the biggest 2021 moments in Africa Tech and our hopes for the ecosystem in 2022. This episode was co-hosted with Justin Norman & Samora Kariuki and recorded on Nov 28, 2021. Companies discussed: Adamantium Fund, The Flip Podcast, Frontier Fintech newsletter, Wave, Andela, Flutterwave, Entrepreneur First, Safeboda, Chipper Cash, FTX, Upstart, Helium Health (Magic Fund), Twiga Foods, Omnibiz, Safaricom, mPharma & Paystack Business concepts discussed: M&A, regulation, employment enablement, infrastructure moats, Web3 decentralization, fundraising strategy, operator-investors & Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) strategy Conversation highlights: (01:10) - Adamantium Fund (early stage Africa Tech investment fund) announcement (07:50) - 2021 moments in Africa Tech: Samora, Justin, Bankole & Olumide (1:08:20) - What I would like to see in Africa Tech 2022: Samora, Justin, Bankole & Olumide (1:40:08) - Roundtable creator questions (2:22:30) - 2022 plans: The Flip Podcast, Frontier FinTech newsletter & Afrobility Podcast (2:33:40) - Recommendations & small wins Olumide’s recommendations & small wins: Recommendation: Workout dance/aerobics classes & Encanto movie Small win: Talking to people about the about-to-launch Adamantium Africa Tech fund (memo). Great conversations with potential LPs. Exciting! Email olumide@afrobility.com if you're interested in investing Bankole’s recommendations & small wins: Recommendation: The Reckoning (Jacob Soll) Small win: Great holiday over thanksgiving Samora’s recommendations & small wins: Recommendation: The Box (by Marc Levinson) Small win: Moving to Kenya permanently next week (from Burundi) with my German Shepherd Justin’s recommendations & small wins: Recommendation: Micah Johnson’s NFT project Aku Small win: My alma mater the University of Michigan beating Ohio State in football. Interested in investing in Africa Tech. Read about Adamantium fund & contact olumide@afrobility.com for more info Listeners: We’d love to hear from you. Email info@afrobility.com with feedback! Founders & Operators: We'd love to hear about what you're working on, email us at info@afrobility.com Investors: It would be great to link up with you. Contact us at info@afrobility.com Join our insider mailing list where we get feedback on new episodes & find all episodes on Afrobility.com
Transcribe →#19: Africa Tech - 2021 & Beyond
Dec 28, 2020Tap to summarizeOverview: Today, we’re going to discuss the future of the African tech ecosystem. We’ll discuss our hopes for African entrepreneurs, startups, investors & tech businesses in 2021 and end with a quick discussion of future podcast plans. This episode was recorded on December 27th, 2020. Companies discussed: Naspers, Mono, OnePipe, Okra, MTN, Airtel, Paystack & Interswitch Business concepts discussed: Platform businesses, government impact / investments in tech, corporate venture capital (CVC), investment portfolio diversification, private market investments & scaling startups Conversation highlights: (01:14) - Bankole’s wishlist for 2021 Africa tech (12:48) - Olumide’s wishlist for 2021 Africa tech (24:52) - Olumide -> Bankole: Rapid fire Afrobility-related Q&A (27:40) - Bankole -> Olumide: Rapid fire Afrobility-related Q&A (34:02) - Olumide -> Bankole: Rapid fire general Q&A (39:24) - Bankole -> Olumide: Rapid fire general Q&A (42:17) - Podcast plans for 2021 (48:22) - Recommendations and small wins Olumide’s recommendations, small wins & open questions: Recommendation: Modern monopolies (by Alex Moazed) Recommendation: Index companies (article by Elad Gil) Small win: Hanging out with friends who visited (good to see people in person) Small win: Watched original Rocky from 1976 & Rocky 2 from 1979. Fabulous! Planning to watch Creed soon. Bankole’s recommendations, small wins & open questions: Recommendation: The Art of Doing Science and Engineering: Learning to Learn Recommendation: You and your research by Richard Hamming Small win: Division 1 in EA Sports FIFA online seasons Other content: The Journal by Wall Street Journal We’d love to hear from you. If you have feedback, topics you’d like to hear, or just want to say hello, please email info@afrobility.com Join our mailing list where we get feedback on new episodes & find all episodes at Afrobility.com
Transcribe →#5: Naspers - How Africa’s largest company went from newspaper publishing to Tencent and Prosus
Jun 15, 2020Tap to summarizeOverview: In this episode, we talk about Naspers - The South African conglomerate, investment group & most valuable company in Africa. We’ll discuss its early history, transition from newspaper publisher to tech investment firm, Tencent investment, broader investment portfolio & Naspers' future outlook. Companies discussed: Naspers, Prosus, Tencent, PayU, Media24, Takealot, M-Net, Swiggy, OLX, PayU, Delivery Hero Business concepts discussed: VC investments, developing market investing, portfolio diversification & conglomerate discounts Conversation highlights: (00:40) - Naspers founding and early history (02:18) - Koos Bekker background and influence (05:25) - Tencent investment (06:10) - Tencent overview (09:50) - Naspers broader (non-Tencent) investment portfolio (13:36) - Naspers classifieds businesses (18:05) - Naspers in FinTech and payments (20:50) - Naspers investment strategy and portfolio vs Softbank (28:10) - Prosus spin-off (30:30) - Naspers conglomerate discount (35:00) - Prosus discount (38:30) - Naspers ownership structure (42:48) - Olumide’s overall thoughts and outlook (46:25) - Bankole’s overall thoughts and outlook Olumide’s recommendations & small wins: Recommendation: Passive Income, Aggressive Retirement (by Rachel Richards) Recommendation: How to build wealth (Naval Ravikant podcast) Small win: LazyFA.com Bankole’s recommendations & small wins: Recommendation: Ultraworking Small win: Focusmate Other content mentioned: Naspers strategy document 2018 We’d love to hear from you. If you have feedback, topics you’d like to hear, or just want to say hello, please email info@afrobility.com Join our mailing list where we get feedback on new episodes & find all episodes at Afrobility.com
Transcribe →#0: Introduction to Afrobility - What to expect from the podcast
Apr 19, 2020Tap to summarizeOverview: Today we’re going to give an introduction to the podcast, we’ll talk about our backgrounds, why we wanted to make this podcast together and what you can expect from Afrobility in the future We’d love to hear from you. If you have feedback, topics you’d like to hear, or just want to say hello, please email info@afrobility.com Join our mailing list where we get feedback on new episodes & find all episodes at Afrobility.com
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