Luni Libes, a serial entrepreneur and CEO of Africa Eats, focuses on revolutionizing African agribusiness to combat food insecurity. He shares insights on his unique equity investment model, which empowers small farmers to scale their businesses while ensuring sustainable growth. Luni discusses the challenges of traditional venture capital in Africa and introduces the CEMEX initiative, which facilitates investment access for SMEs. He highlights the evolving opportunities in agricultural investments amid a growing population, aiming to inspire lasting economic transformation.
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question_answer ANECDOTE
Career Journey
Luni Libes founded five companies in 20 years, four of which he started himself.
He transitioned from software to impact investing after teaching at a business school focused on social impact.
volunteer_activism ADVICE
Entrepreneurial Advice
Get your product into the market quickly to learn what you don't know.
Iterate rapidly to match market demands and work backward from your long-term vision.
insights INSIGHT
Africa Eats Investment Model
Traditional venture capital, with its 10-year exit strategy, doesn't work in Africa due to the lack of exits.
Africa Eats adopted a "forever" equity model inspired by Berkshire Hathaway.
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Episode 160 with Luni Libes, a serial entrepreneur, investor, and impact-driven venture builder. Luni is the founder and CEO of Africa Eats, an innovative investment company tackling food insecurity and poverty across Africa by scaling profitable, for-profit agribusinesses. He also leads SEMX, a groundbreaking initiative unlocking public capital markets for African SMEs.
Africa Eats invests in and supports early-stage, fast-growing food and agriculture companies that are solving critical supply chain inefficiencies, reducing post-harvest losses, and improving the livelihoods of smallholder farmers. Through its long-term, equity-holding model, the company has helped businesses grow 50%+ annually, transforming subsistence farmers into sustainable entrepreneurs while delivering strong returns for investors.
Luni shares his philosophy on impact-driven capitalism, why traditional venture capital isn’t the right model for African SMEs, and how SEMX is pioneering a new segment on the Stock Exchange of Mauritius to connect fast growing African enterprises with global investors. His mission is clear: build a thriving ecosystem where African agribusinesses don’t just survive but scale, creating lasting economic transformation across the continent.
What We Discuss With Luni
Lessons from founding multiple businesses and investment ventures that have shaped the approach to building and growing Africa Eats.
How Africa Eats’ long-term equity investment model differs from traditional VC funding and the reasons behind this approach.
The benefits of Africa Eats’ "Forever" equity model for both investors and entrepreneurs compared to traditional venture capital.
The key factors driving the impressive growth of Africa Eats’ portfolio companies, scaling from tens of thousands to millions in revenue.
How the SEMX initiative is bridging the capital gap for African SMEs by leveraging access to public markets.
Unlocking Africa