Podcast Summary: Business Daily meets – Miishe Addy: From Silicon Valley to Accra

Podcast: Business Daily, BBC World Service
Host: Sam Fenwick
Episode Date: December 5, 2025

Episode Overview

This episode features an in-depth conversation with Miishe Addy, a Harvard-educated entrepreneur who transitioned from the startup scene of Silicon Valley to launch and scale Jetstream Africa, a logistics tech company in Ghana. The discussion explores Miishe's journey bridging two vastly different business cultures, the challenges of African trade, nuances of gender bias in leadership, and the broader movement of the diaspora returning to Africa to invest and drive innovation.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Contrasting Silicon Valley and Accra

• Community vs. Individualism:
  Miishe describes Accra as intensely communal, where “people will have your back” ([01:23]). In contrast, she notes that while San Francisco is densely populated, it often feels lonelier, and communities like her co-working space, Hacker Dojo, are the exception rather than the rule.

  “There's a sense here that people will have your back. You're always in community.” — Miishe Addy ([01:23])

2. Early Ventures and Identifying a Logistics Problem

• Skilltap and Pivoting After Failure:
  Miishe’s first startup in San Francisco, Skilltap, was a freelancer matching platform. After closing it in 2016, she shifted to Ghana aiming to start a plant-based food company, only to quickly confront the continent's fragmented logistics infrastructure ([04:25]-[05:03]).
• Trade & Supply Chain Challenge:
  She found moving goods between African countries (e.g., Ghana to Nigeria) incredibly challenging, often more so than trading within Europe.

  “There really is no formal supply chain. There is no formal logistics network that small businesses can tap into.” — Miishe Addy ([05:03])
  Sam underscores the absurdity:
  “If you look at trade across Africa, it can be cheaper sometimes and quicker to move stuff around Europe than it can between countries within Africa.” — Sam Fenwick ([05:59])

3. Founding Jetstream Africa

• Solving for Scale:
  The need for economies of scale in logistics inspired Jetstream Africa’s model—aggregating small businesses' cargo to lower shipping costs through shared containers.

  “We set up the business initially to aggregate cargo across small and mid sized businesses so that they take advantage of bulk freight pricing.” — Miishe Addy ([07:17])

• Growth & Impact:
  Jetstream now operates in 29 countries, including 12 in Africa, with revenues surging nearly 50% and its customer base more than doubling over the past year. In 2023, they raised $13 million, expanding their AI-powered shipment-tracking and financing platform ([07:38]).

  “Jetstream now operates in 29 countries... revenues have risen nearly 50% and its customer base has more than doubled in the past year.” — Sam Fenwick ([07:38])

4. Fundraising in Africa vs. Silicon Valley

• Abundance vs. Scrutiny:
  In Silicon Valley, funding was readily available—even unsolicited—while in Ghana, capital was hard-won and predominantly sourced from African investors, especially in Nigeria.

  “I remember an investor invited me to lunch before I even thought about fundraising and offered me money... I didn't even ask for it.” — Miishe Addy ([08:30])
  “Over 60% of the capital that Jetstream has raised has come from one country and that's Nigeria.” — Miishe Addy ([09:55])

5. Entrepreneurial Ecosystem & Mentorship

• Capacity Building:
  Miishe notes a fierce hunger for mentorship and training among Africa’s young workforce.

  “If you post office hours or give young people an opportunity to do meet and greets with you, you'll get a thousand replies... There’s just an incredible need.” — Miishe Addy ([10:17])

6. Navigating Gender Bias

• Challenges for Female Leaders:
  Although Ghana boasts high female entrepreneurship, sectors like banking and tech are still dominated by men. Miishe recounts being overlooked in meetings despite her CEO status in favor of her male co-founder ([13:09]).

  “The bank executives wouldn't look at me, they were looking directly at him. Even though technically I was CEO and he was CEO.” — Miishe Addy ([13:09])

• Resilience Over Confrontation:
  She chooses not to react emotionally but rises above, demonstrating competence and integrity until minds change.

  “It's to have perspective... I almost never take that as an opportunity to make a statement or to preach my gospel about feminism.” — Miishe Addy ([13:44])
  “If you show them your competence, you show them your integrity. Over time, their minds open.” — Miishe Addy ([14:16])

7. Influence of Background and Leadership Style

• Western Upbringing as Advantage:
  Miishe credits her Western upbringing for her confidence and directness in business, which contrasts with some local women’s more tentative communication styles. At Jetstream, she observes women becoming more assertive over time ([15:16]-[15:55]).

  “Over time... they're more direct, they're more forthright. They speak the way I speak to outsiders. And so I do see a little bit of learning that it's okay to speak your mind.” — Miishe Addy ([15:55])

  • “That's our minor Revolution.” — Miishe Addy ([16:45])

8. Returning to Ghana: The Diaspora Movement

• Personal Motivation vs. Trend:
  Miishe moved before Ghana's “Year of Return” diaspora campaign, motivated by curiosity and a desire for meaningful impact, especially in a context where innovation was desperately needed ([17:15]-[18:00]).

  “There's just no more true sense of purpose and true sense of meaning than helping to build the place where my grandmother passed away... There's no place in the world that needs innovation... more than my homeland.” — Miishe Addy ([18:00])
  Her advice to others in the diaspora:
  “The more we can encourage people from the diaspora to think of Africa as something that's... that belongs to them, something they can be a part of... the better off the continent will be.” — Miishe Addy ([18:00])

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Community in Ghana:
  “There's a saying that in Ghana you're never alone, even when you want to be.” — Miishe Addy ([02:57])

• On the Reality of African Logistics:
  “Many of the flights between African countries will take a stop in London or Paris or Amsterdam before they come back down into the continent.” — Miishe Addy ([06:08])

• On Entrepreneurship in Africa:
  “Once you start solving one problem, you discover that there are five more problems behind it that you have to solve.” — Miishe Addy ([08:45])

• On Female Empowerment:
  “I do see a little bit of learning that it's okay to speak your mind, it's okay to say something definitively and not make it into a question. And I do think that sometimes by example, the message spreads.” — Miishe Addy ([15:55])

• Reflecting on Purpose:
  “It’s less for economic reasons than spiritual reasons. And it just so happens that there’s a lot of economic opportunity as well.” — Miishe Addy ([18:00])

Timestamps for Key Segments

• [01:23] — Sense of community in Ghana vs. individualism in San Francisco
• [04:25-05:03] — Launching and pivoting to logistics in Accra
• [07:17] — Jetstream’s aggregation model
• [08:30] — Fundraising: Silicon Valley vs. Ghana
• [10:17] — Mentorship and youth hunger for guidance
• [13:09] — Experiences of gender bias in boardrooms
• [15:55] — Empowering women inside Jetstream by example
• [17:15-18:00] — Personal motivations for returning to Ghana and advice for diaspora

Episode Tone

Conversational, insightful, and candid. Miishe Addy speaks with warmth, humility, and a sense of purpose, while host Sam Fenwick brings curiosity and admiration for Addy’s achievements and resilience.

Summary Takeaways

Miishe Addy’s story is emblematic of new waves of African entrepreneurship—grounded in global experience but committed to local impact. Through Jetstream Africa, she demonstrates how innovative thinking and community-driven leadership can begin to solve some of the continent’s toughest problems, even amid systemic logistical and cultural barriers. Her pragmatic optimism and commitment to empowerment serve as a call to both local African and diaspora communities to invest not only capital but also time, mentorship, and heart in Africa’s future.