Podcast
My Tech Story Africa
Hosted by Alice Kanjejo · EN
Your backstage pass to the tech industry - Welcome to "My Tech Story Africa" – where we bring you the latest in tech, business insights, and inspiring stories from innovators across the continent and beyond 🌍
Come and join us as we explore the incredible stories of Africa's most innovative tech leaders, and discover how you too can make your mark on the world of tech 🧡
28episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
The Real Reason Banks Keep Saying No | ft. Christabel Ojuok (Nesti)
1w ago00:30:11Tap to summarizeOn this episode of "After Hours, in partnership with Tanqueray Africa," we speak with Christabel Ojuok, co-founder of Nesti, about what it actually takes to build credit access for the 86% of Kenyans the mortgage system was never built for.Nesti started as a property and mortgage marketplace, matching customers with affordable home loans and vetted properties, cutting house-hunting from months to minutes. Then a pattern emerged: salaried customers sailed through, while gig workers and entrepreneurs, despite affording the exact same repayments, got buried in documentation and rejected. The problem wasn't affordability. It was that the system couldn't read their income.In this conversation, Christabel talks about what it took to walk away from a working marketplace model and rebuild around a harder problem, why she left seven years of structured corporate life at Knight Frank for the chaos of building in a startup, and what she's learned sitting across the table from prospective buyers who keep hitting the same wall.She breaks down the "rent score," an alternative credit profile built entirely from consistent rent payments, and why she believes that data is just as reliable as a payslip. She gets into the chicken-and-egg problem of building trust with banks before you have scale, the real reason real estate has been slower than almost any other industry to adopt tech, and the single belief about who "deserves" to own a home that she's trying to dismantle: that it was ever meant to be reserved for people earning a fixed salary in the first place.To keep up with Christabel Ojuok , Check out her linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christabelojuok/Check out Nesti: https://nesti.africa/__________________________________________________________________Join Alice as she explores the world of tech and shares impactful stories with guests on My Tech Story Africa!Subscribe to our podcast, drop a like, comment, and hit the notification bell to stay updated with our latest content.Don't forget to spread the word! Sharing is caring! 🌟Follow us on social media:📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mytechstoryafrica💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/my-tech-story-africa♪ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@mytechstoryafricaJoin our community: [https://www.mtsafrica.co/join]Interested in being a guest on the podcast? Apply here: https://forms.gle/ffAniezzFHoEvhPY7
Transcribe →Collective Funding vs. Foreign Aid:Which Works? Ft. Jermaine Craig
2w ago00:35:43Tap to summarizeOn this episode of "After Hours, in partnership with Tanqueray Africa," we speak with Jermaine Craig, founder of Kwanda, about what it actually takes to build a collective fundraising model that survives contact with reality.Kwanda launched in February 2020 with a simple premise , pooling small monthly contributions from the African diaspora to fund social entrepreneurs on the continent. Then COVID hit and George Floyd's death sent thousands of people looking for ways to support Black communities, and Kwanda went from 200 members to 2,000 in three weeks. Two years later, he shut it down.In this conversation, Jermaine talks about what actually happened in the room when he decided to close Kwanda, why that relief didn't last, and what made him rebuild it smaller, simpler, and far more honest the second time around.He breaks down the difference between funding that comes with a savior complex and funding that comes with dignity, why transparency was the single word his community kept repeating back to him, and how a doctor named Tolani turned unused buildings into community clinics that have now treated over 8,000 patients in Nigeria on Kwanda's funding alone.He also gets into the uncomfortable 80% gap between what people say they'll commit to and what they actually do, why speed matters more than scale when deciding what to fund, and what he'd tell any diasporan who wants to come back and "fix" things on the continent without doing the work of listening first. To keep up with Jermaine Craig , Check out her linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jermainecraig/Check out Kwanda:https://kwanda.co/__________________________________________________________________Join Alice as she explores the world of tech and shares impactful stories with guests on My Tech Story Africa!Subscribe to our podcast, drop a like, comment, and hit the notification bell to stay updated with our latest content.Don't forget to spread the word! Sharing is caring! 🌟Follow us on social media:📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mytechstoryafrica💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/my-tech-story-africa♪ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@mytechstoryafricaJoin our community: [https://www.mtsafrica.co/join]Interested in being a guest on the podcast? Apply here: https://forms.gle/ffAniezzFHoEvhPY7
Transcribe →The Legal Reality of Scaling Businesses Across Fragmented African Markets ft. Mbula Nzuki
Jun 900:32:37Tap to summarizeOn this episode of "After Hours, in partnership with Tanqueray Africa," we speak with Mbula Nzuki, founder and managing partner of MN Legal, and convener of the MNL Africa Leadership Circle, about what it actually takes to build a law firm from scratch, do business across a fragmented continent, and create the kind of rooms where Africa's story gets written by Africans.Seven years ago, she built MN Legal around the things traditional law firms weren't offering: agility, tech-enablement, short turnaround times, and the freedom to operate across locations.That work, advising startups and businesses looking to scale across Africa, kept surfacing the same friction. Different legal systems, different regulations, wildly different costs ,sometimes the gap between a few hundred dollars and tens of thousands, just to set up in a new market. That frustration became the seed for the MNL Africa Leadership Circle.The Circle isn't a conference. It's a curated convening of senior business leaders, policymakers, investors, founders, and innovators built around one goal: real, documented outcomes. Every working group feeds into a white paper, because Mbula believes it's unforgivable to gather that much brilliance in one room and let it evaporate. The policy suggestions, the cross-continental conversations, the hard insights , all on record, so Africa's narrative gets shaped from the inside out.The conversation also gets into the legal questions that keep her sharp: AI, deepfakes, blockchain , not approached with fear, but with the urgency of someone who knows the law is always playing catch-up and that the gap can't stay open for long.Her read on Africa right now? The continent is awake. Young founders are building, populations are holding leaders accountable, and the ask has shifted from aid to equal partnership. Africa is the now and the future, and the people shaping it are already in the room.The MNL Africa Leadership Circle takes place on the 18th and 19th of June at Villa Rosa Kempinski, Nairobi. Visit https://mnlafrica.com/ for more details To keep up with Mbula Nzuki , Check out her linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mbulanzuki/Check out MN Legal :https://www.mnlegal.net/__________________________________________________________________Join Alice as she explores the world of tech and shares impactful stories with guests on My Tech Story Africa!Subscribe to our podcast, drop a like, comment, and hit the notification bell to stay updated with our latest content.Don't forget to spread the word! Sharing is caring! 🌟Follow us on social media:📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mytechstoryafrica💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/my-tech-story-africa♪ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@mytechstoryafricaJoin our community: [https://www.mtsafrica.co/join]Interested in being a guest on the podcast? Apply here: https://forms.gle/ffAniezzFHoEvhPY7
Transcribe →The Silent Identity War Locking Out the New Market
Apr 2200:05:46Tap to summarizeIn a world where digital platforms are becoming the gateway to services, opportunities, and economic participation, businesses need to know exactly who they're dealing with.But when verification systems are too slow, too complex, or simply not built for African realities, real people get locked out and real businesses lose customers.Alice heads to the Africa Tech Summit 2026 to gain first-hand insight into how companies are rethinking digital identity and trust for African markets, where documentation is inconsistent, device quality varies, and the stakes of getting verification wrong , in either direction, are high.She speaks with Deji Amund, Strategic Partnerships Lead at MetaMap, and Agnes Anyango, Sales Executive at Kagoo, two companies working at the intersection of identity verification and AI-powered business intelligence.MetaMap is helping businesses verify users faster and smarter, building flexible flows that reduce friction for legitimate users while keeping bad actors out. Kagoo is leveraging AI to help businesses understand their customers more deeply, from financial health reporting to demand forecasting, so they can make better decisions and grow with confidence.Together, they make the case that the real infrastructure challenge in Africa's digital economy isn't just about building products , it's about building systems that understand the people using them, in the real conditions they live in.__________________________________________________________________Join Alice as she explores the world of tech and shares impactful stories with guests on My Tech Story Africa!Subscribe to our podcast, drop a like, comment, and hit the notification bell to stay updated with our latest content.Don't forget to spread the word! Sharing is caring! 🌟Follow us on social media:📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mytechstoryafrica💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/my-tech-story-africa♪ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@mytechstoryafricaJoin our community: [https://www.mtsafrica.co/join]Interested in being a guest on the podcast? Apply here: https://forms.gle/ffAniezzFHoEvhPY7
Transcribe →The Invisible Infrastructure Behind Every Payment
Apr 1500:06:13Tap to summarizeIn a world where digital payments have become part of how money moves every day, small merchants, roadside stores and growing businesses depend on transactions that simply work.But when systems go down, networks fail and payment infrastructure can't keep up with demand , who's doing the work to keep commerce moving?Alice heads to the Africa Tech Summit 2026 to gain firsthand insight into how the builders behind Africa’s payment infrastructure are tackling challenges around reliability, scale, and fragmentation on the ground.She speaks with Bemigho Awala, Communications Professional at Moniepoint, and Obinna Michael, Account Executive at Pawapay,two companies operating at the infrastructure layer of Africa’s payments ecosystem.Moniepoint is powering payments for businesses on the ground, helping merchants accept transactions, access credit, and grow with confidence. Pawapay is connecting mobile money systems across more than 20 African markets, so businesses can accept payments without the complexity of integrating every provider individually.Together, they make the case that the real fintech revolution isn't just about flashy products it's about building systems that work quietly, consistently, and at scale.To keep up with Bemigho Awala , Check out his linkedin:https://www.linkedin.com/in/bemigho-awalaCheck out Moniepoint :https://moniepoint.com/To keep up with Obinna Michael , Check out his linkedin:https://www.linkedin.com/in/obinna-awuzudike/Check out Pawa Pay:https://www.pawapay.io/__________________________________________________________________Join Alice as she explores the world of tech and shares impactful stories with guests on My Tech Story Africa!Subscribe to our podcast, drop a like, comment, and hit the notification bell to stay updated with our latest content.Don't forget to spread the word! Sharing is caring! 🌟Follow us on social media:📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mytechstoryafrica💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/my-tech-story-africa♪ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@mytechstoryafricaJoin our community: [https://www.mtsafrica.co/join]Interested in being a guest on the podcast? Apply here: https://forms.gle/ffAniezzFHoEvhPY7
Transcribe →Inside Africa’s $1 Trillion Payment Problem
Apr 800:06:13Tap to summarizeIn a world where sending money across borders should be effortless, cross-border payments remain one of the most expensive and fragmented parts of the global financial system , but how are African businesses navigating that complexity, and who is building the infrastructure to fix it?Alice heads to the Africa Tech Summit 2026 to find out firsthand how the rails beneath global commerce are being rebuilt and why Africa is at the center of that shift.She speaks with Malaika Ademola, VP of Global Payments at Fincra, and Kirill Gertman, CEO of Conduit, two founders building the behind-the-scenes infrastructure that powers cross-border transactions across the continent and beyond.Together, they unpack why a simple payment can cost up to eight percent in transaction fees, why settlements still take days, and how fragmented financial systems continue to create friction for businesses trading globally. More importantly, they share how they're solving it through API-first platforms, embedded payment infrastructure, virtual accounts in major currencies, and the growing role of stablecoins as an alternative to traditional banking rails.To keep up with Malaika Ademola , Check out her linkedin:https://www.linkedin.com/in/malaika-ademola-majekodunmi/Check out Fincra :https://fincra.com/To keep up with Kirill Gertman, Check out his linkedin:https://www.linkedin.com/in/kirillgertman/Check out Conduit :https://conduitpay.com/__________________________________________________________________Join Alice as she explores the world of tech and shares impactful stories with guests on My Tech Story Africa!Subscribe to our podcast, drop a like, comment, and hit the notification bell to stay updated with our latest content.Don't forget to spread the word! Sharing is caring! 🌟Follow us on social media:📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mytechstoryafrica💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/my-tech-story-africa♪ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@mytechstoryafricaJoin our community: [https://www.mtsafrica.co/join]Interested in being a guest on the podcast? Apply here: https://forms.gle/ffAniezzFHoEvhPY7
Transcribe →The High Cost of Ignoring Data in African Tech Markets ft. Serigne Fall
Mar 2700:36:51Tap to summarizeOn this episode of "After Hours, in partnership with Tanqueray Africa," we speak with Serigne Fall, the founder of LOOKA Research, a company focused on solving one of Africa’s most overlooked challenges in tech, research operations.Drawing from firsthand experience inside research agencies, he breaks down why, despite having strong frameworks and smart consultants, many companies still struggle to generate meaningful insights.We explore why research is often treated as a “nice-to-have” rather than essential infrastructure, especially among startups navigating tight budgets and pressure to move fast. Instead of pushing for expensive, large-scale studies, LOOKA Research champions an iterative approach: small, continuous feedback loops that help businesses validate ideas, avoid costly mistakes, and move with greater clarity.The conversation also challenges a common founder mindset, that research must be expensive to be valuable. In reality, even simple actions like speaking to a handful of users or applying “The Mom Test” can offer powerful direction. It’s not always about spending more money, but about being intentional with time and curiosity. We also dive into the evolving role of AI in research, highlighting its power to speed up data collection and analysis, while cautioning against biases that can arise from incomplete or unrepresentative datasets, particularly in African contexts.To keep up with Serigne Fall, Check out his linkedin:https://www.linkedin.com/in/serigne-fall/Check out LOOKA Research :https://www.linkedin.com/company/getlookaresearch/__________________________________________________________________Join Alice as she explores the world of tech and shares impactful stories with guests on My Tech Story Africa!Subscribe to our podcast, drop a like, comment, and hit the notification bell to stay updated with our latest content.Don't forget to spread the word! Sharing is caring! 🌟Follow us on social media:📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mytechstoryafrica💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/my-tech-story-africa♪ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@mytechstoryafricaJoin our community: [https://www.mtsafrica.co/join]Interested in being a guest on the podcast? Apply here: https://forms.gle/ffAniezzFHoEvhPY7
Transcribe →Pitch Decks Over Relationships :The Startup Mistake Every Founder Makes ft. Will Green
Mar 2300:34:55Tap to summarizeOn this episode of My Tech Story Africa, Alice Kanjejo sits down with Will Green , entrepreneur, angel investor, and ecosystem builder with over 20 years of experience working across South Africa and the globe .Will opens up about why relationships, not pitch decks, are the real currency of the startup world. From the origins of his now-iconic Will Green's Walk , a Friday morning hike up Lion's Head that doubles as a networking powerhouse , to his philosophy that the future of company building will be born out of intentional communities, Will challenges founders to rethink how they show up, connect, and grow.The conversation dives deep into what separates thriving founder communities from glorified WhatsApp groups, why collaboration will always outpace competition in African ecosystems, and how the continent's relational-first culture is both a unique strength and an untapped competitive advantage. Will also unpacks one of entrepreneurship's most uncomfortable truths: that sales is not a dirty word it is the growth hack that most founders overlook while chasing strategy and hype.On the investor side, Will draws a powerful analogy between a founder-investor relationship and a marriage , built on communication, transparency through the highs and the lows, and the often-forgotten practice of celebrating milestones.He also speaks candidly about Africa's capital gap, the limitations of the traditional VC model on the continent, and why strategic capital , the kind that comes with customers — is the most powerful accelerator a founder can access.To keep up with Will Green check out his LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/willgreen/Check out Co.lab :https://www.linkedin.com/company/co-laboration/Shot at Workshop17 :https://www.workshop17.co.za/__________________________________________________________________Join Alice as she explores the world of tech and shares impactful stories with guests on My Tech Story Africa!Subscribe to our podcast, drop a like, comment, and hit the notification bell to stay updated with our latest content.Don't forget to spread the word! Sharing is caring! 🌟Follow us on social media:📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mytechstoryafrica💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/my-tech-story-africa♪ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@mytechstoryafricaJoin our community: [https://www.mtsafrica.co/join]Interested in being a guest on the podcast? Apply here: https://forms.gle/ffAniezzFHoEvhPY7
Transcribe →The Grant Trap: Why Free Money Is Destroying African Startups ft. Florent Nduwayezu
Mar 1300:39:05Tap to summarizeOn this episode of After Hours, in partnership with Tanqueray Africa, Alice Kanjejo sits down with Florent Nduwayezu, a climate tech investor and venture capitalist who has backed over 10 startups across Africa, for a conversation that challenges everything you think you know about building and funding tech businesses on the continent.Having worked on the ground in rural solar energy across multiple African countries before moving into investing, his perspective isn't theoretical it's earned. And he uses it to dismantle one of the most dominant frameworks in African tech: impact investing. His argument is direct ,a commercially viable business is the most impactful thing a founder can build, and chasing grants and social metrics often delays the discipline needed to survive. If you're only getting meetings with impact funds, he says, that's a signal to go back to the drawing board.Drawing a striking parallel between Africa's untapped climate resources and Dubai's oil discovery four decades ago, Florent makes the case that this is the continent's defining economic moment ,one where natural energy abundance, a rising manufacturing age, and a generation of high-caliber founders are converging in a way the world hasn't seen before.The conversation gets practical fast. Florent breaks down why distribution will always beat product in African markets, why starting with one customer beats chasing an entire city, and what actually kills credibility in a pitch room. He's equally honest about what global investors consistently underestimate from infrastructure gaps and purchasing power stagnation to the hidden cost of building without deep local knowledge.To keep up with Florent Nduwayezu, Check out his linkedin:https://www.linkedin.com/in/florent-flo-nduwayezuCheck out Hackgroup: https://www.linkedin.com/company/hackgroup/__________________________________________________________________Join Alice as she explores the world of tech and shares impactful stories with guests on My Tech Story Africa!Subscribe to our podcast, drop a like, comment, and hit the notification bell to stay updated with our latest content.Don't forget to spread the word! Sharing is caring! 🌟Follow us on social media:📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mytechstoryafrica💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/my-tech-story-africa♪ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@mytechstoryafricaJoin our community: [https://www.mtsafrica.co/join]Interested in being a guest on the podcast? Apply here: https://forms.gle/ffAniezzFHoEvhPY7
Transcribe →Why Some Buy Now Pay Later Models Survive While Others Collapse ft. Angela Mukami|M-KOPA
Mar 600:41:34Tap to summarizeOn this episode of My Tech Story Africa, host Alice Kanjejo sits down with Angela Mukami, Senior Product Manager at M-KOPA, for an eye-opening conversation about the realities of building financial products for everyday people across Africa.Angela pulls no punches as she unpacks what truly separates thriving Buy Now Pay Later models from those that collapse.From product design flaws and overselling by sales agents, to underestimating the income volatility of daily earners and the true cost of distribution, Angela brings sharp, ground-level insight that only comes from years of real-world experience.Drawing a fascinating line from her mother buying a radio on hire purchase in 1987 through a company called African Retail Traders, to today's mobile-enabled BNPL platforms, Angela shows that the concept isn't new what's changed is the technology, the terminology, and the scale. Yet the human element remains non-negotiable.In African markets, she argues, you simply cannot run a purely digital business. Trust is built face-to-face, transparency is everything, and customers deserve to know exactly what they're getting into , in a language they understand.The conversation goes broader as Angela challenges the "One Africa" strategy myth, reminding us that Africa's 54 countries carry 54 different regulatory frameworks, infrastructures, cultures, and realities. She's equally direct about the mistakes global teams make when entering African markets designing beautiful products in Silicon Valley or London, with zero input from the people actually living the problem.Angela also reflects on her own journey , from FMCG to Safaricom to Microsoft and beyond crediting curiosity, a customer-first mindset, and transferable soft skills as the true connective tissue across industries.And when it comes to career growth, she breaks the networking myth with refreshing honesty: all her roles came through straightforward applications and interviews.She closes with a deeply personal and powerful reminder , between the seed and the harvest, there is always time. Give yourself grace.To keep up with Angela Mukami check out her LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/angela-mukami-k/Check out :https://www.m-kopa.com/00:00: Intro01:56: Why Some BNPL Models Succeed While Others Fail 03:46: The Origins of BNPL06:36: What the Industry Underestimates About Low-Income Markets 09:29: What Does Success Actually Look Like for a BNPL Business? 11:33: Loan Uptake vs. Repayment: The Kenyan Reality 16:08: Building Trust With Customers Who Have No Credit History 20:05: Why the "One Africa" Strategy Doesn't Work 24:21: Career Journey: FMCG to Safaricom to Microsoft and Beyond 27:51: Is Networking Really the Only Way to Grow Your Career? 30:25: Lessons from Microsoft33:00: The Biggest Mistakes Global Teams Make in African Market38:04: Final Reflections__________________________________________________________________Join Alice as she explores the world of tech and shares impactful stories with guests on My Tech Story Africa!Subscribe to our podcast, drop a like, comment, and hit the notification bell to stay updated with our latest content.Don't forget to spread the word! Sharing is caring! 🌟Follow us on social media:📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mytechstoryafrica💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/my-tech-story-africa♪ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@mytechstoryafricaJoin our community: [https://www.mtsafrica.co/join]Interested in being a guest on the podcast? Apply here: https://forms.gle/ffAniezzFHoEvhPY7
Transcribe →