Afrobility: Africa Tech and Business

In the final reflection of their journey, hosts discuss the founding story and lessons learned from their podcast on Africa's tech landscape. They share humorous anecdotes and the evolution of content that resonated with listeners. The conversation touches on the impact of innovations in fintech, agriculture, and telecommunications, as well as the challenges facing startups. Insights on market dynamics and the importance of adaptability in business models highlight the vibrant entrepreneurial spirit in Africa. Nostalgic yet forward-looking, it's a heartfelt tribute to a transformative chapter.

Overview: Today, we’re going to talk about Cellulant, the African payments infrastructure  company. We’ll explore the story across the following areas African financial sector context  Cellulant’s early history Product & monetization strategy  Competitive positioning & potential exit options Outlook This episode was recorded on  Jan 20, 2025 Companies discussed: Cellulant, Flutterwave, Interswitch, DPO Group (Network International), Paystack, Stripe, Moniepoint, MTN & Airtel. Business concepts discussed: Payments platforms, payments partnerships strategy, card networks, payments infrastructure, low-end disruption, banking regulation & payments M&A strategy Conversation highlights: (01:00) - What is Cellulant and why we’re talking about them (07:25) - Context of African Banking Opportunity and Neobanks (15:07) - Cellulant founding and early history (36:16) - Fundraising (41:17) - Growth and Geographical Expansion (58:12) - Product and Monetization Strategy (01:15:12) - Competition and Options for Exit (1:21:26) - Bankole’s overall thoughts and outlook (1:28:18) - Olumide’s overall thoughts and outlook (1:32:45) - 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 Checkout my FIREDOM book = FIRE (Financial Independence, Retire Early) + Freedom = personal finance and financial independence book. Website, Read: Substack Newsletter & Buy: Print, eBook or Audiobook) Recommendation: Titan - Rockefeller's autobiography. Solid and thorough look at the fascinating life of an incredible person. Incredible read. Recommendation: Areté: Activate Your Heroic Potential. Personal development book filled with ideas, as it compiles insights from other renowned books. Recommendation: The 38 Letters from J.D. Rockefeller to his son: Letters from Rochaleller to his son with timeless stories and life principles Recommendation: Google Notebook LM. Game changer for researchers, Incredible resource to research information when you have sources. Small win: Stretching and yoga in the mornings before weight lifting workouts Small win: Went to south pointe picnic with friends Bankole’s recommendations & small wins: Recommendation: Podcast: Francois Chollet, Mike Knoop - LLMs won’t lead to AGI - $1,000,000 Prize to find true solution & Video: 20 Mechanical Principles in One Lego Machine Small win: Early in the year, but working out everyday Other content: Ken Njoroge's Entrepreneurship Journey: Overcoming Tragedy and Building Success  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

Overview: Today, we’re going to talk about MNT-Halan, the Egyptian lending & financial services company.  We’ll explore the MNT-Halan story across the following areas African and Egyptian financial sector context  MNT-Halan’s early history Product & monetization strategy  Competitive positioning & potential exit options Outlook This episode was recorded on  Dec 11, 2024 Companies discussed: MNT-Halan, Mashroey, Tasaheel, Halan, Raseedy, Talabeyah, Advans Pakistan, Fawry, Swvl, Gojek, Paymob, & Tam Finans Business concepts discussed: Asset-backed Financing, Microfinance Lending, Super App Strategy, Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL), Digital Wallets and Payment Solutions, B2B E-commerce, Corporate Venture Capital, Incubation, Financial Inclusion, Banking Infrastructure, Payroll Lending, Salary Advances, Agent Banking Networks, Revenue Models in Fintech, International Expansion Conversation highlights: (00:00) - Intro and why we're talking about MNT-Halan (06:46) - Egypt country context (16:17) - The opportunity for African neobanks (26:15) - MNT Halan Founding and Early History (57:55) - Growth and Geographical Expansion (1:14:50) - Product Strategy and Monetization (1:35:52) - Competition and options for exit (1:47:20) - Bankole's overall thoughts and outlook (1:54:22) - Olumide's overall thoughts and outlook (2:06:32) - 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 Checkout my FIREDOM book = FIRE (Financial Independence, Retire Early) + Freedom = personal finance and financial independence book. Website, Read: Substack Newsletter & Buy: Print, eBook or Audiobook) Recommendation: The Intel Trinity: How Robert Noyce, Gordon Moore, and Andy Grove Built the World's Most Important Company: Solid book about the story of Intel, the microprocessor, and the Silicon Valley industry, focusing on Robert Noyce, Gordon Moore, and Andy Grove Recommendation: Nexus: A Brief History of Information Networks from the Stone Age to AI (by Yuhal Noah Harari):  Nexus is a solid book that I would recommend, especially if you enjoyed his previous works like Sapiens. While it may not appeal to everyone, particularly those who didn’t enjoy his other books, it's an engaging read that offers a counterpoint to views like Marc Andreessen's, particularly on AI’s future impact. Recommendations: Awardtool and PointsYeah:  Help you find award bookings but with a better user experience. For example, if you want to fly from Lagos to Paris, you might use Google Flights or Kayak for cash fares, but for award bookings with points, you'd traditionally need to visit individual airline sites like United. Small win: I found a way to host my website on GitHub pages for free instead of paying Squarespace outrageous fee. Started doing yoga and stretching exercises every morning Bankole’s recommendations & small wins: Recommendations: Article about research challenging the common belief that "buying experiences makes you happier than buying possessions" & YouTube 41-shot rally video from Commonwealth Games featuring Chagun Toriola (Nigerian table tennis player) Small win: Finally set up my home office with a streamlined single-cable setup for multiple computers 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

Overview: Today, we’re going to explore PiggyVest - the Nigerian savings and investment platform. We’ll discuss the story across the following areas: African Banking & Neobank context  PiggyVest’s early history Product & monetization strategy Competitive positioning & potential exit options Overall outlook This episode was recorded on Oct 30, 2024 Companies discussed: PiggyVest, Chipper Cash, Kuda Bank, Paystack, Flutterwave, FairMoney, Paystack, Brass, Cowrywise, Carbon, Chipper Cash, Interswitch, GTBank, Sterling Bank & UBA. Business concepts discussed: Neobank / Challenger bank / digital bank strategy, remittances Neobank monetization & Consumer Lending, consumer FinTech monetization strategy, consumer lending, retail banking strategy, customer segmentation strategy & low-end disruption Conversation highlights: (00:30) - Introduction (05:50) - African Banking & Neobank context (30:16) - PiggyVest's Founding Story (41:15) - Fundraising and Growth (53:30) - Geographical Expansion and Partnerships (01:18:52) - Product and Monetization strategy (01:35:20) - Competition and options for exit (01:54:35) - Bankole’s overall thoughts and outlook (02:05:15) - Olumide’s overall thoughts and outlook (02:15:45) - Recommendations and small wins Olumide’s recommendations & small wins: Recommendation: Sisqo - Got to Get it video - Insane shit. Sisqo singing and dancing his heart out. So dope. Recommendation: Rob Berger's Personal Finance YouTube channel Recommendation: The Patriarch: The Remarkable Life and Turbulent Times of Joseph P. Kennedy. Excellent book. A little bit of everything, entrepreneurship - History, politics, family life & hollywood.  Small win: I spent the week in Cusco & Lima, it was magical and fun. Some sand, some llamas, lots of dancing. Epic shit Bankole’s recommendations & small wins: Recommendation: BBC Radio 4 - In Our Time Podcast & Active - Asake Small win: Running 25 miles a week Other content: These Nigerian universities produced the most startup founders - Nairametrics  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

Overview: Today, we’re going to explore IHS Towers - the African telecommunications infrastructure company. We’ll discuss the story across the following areas:  Telecom tower infrastructure context  IHS Towers' early history Product & monetization strategy Competitive positioning & potential exit options Overall outlook This episode was recorded on May 5, 2024 Companies discussed: IHS Towers, MTN, Airtel, Telkom, Orange, Etisalat / 9 Mobile, American Tower Company, Globacom, Libancell, Helios Towers Nigeria, Telkom, Vodacom, Goldman Sachs, (IFC), Public Investment Corporation of South Africa, Ecobank, Investec, Standard Bank. Business concepts discussed: Tower Infrastructure, Shared communication infrastructure, Tower Leasing and Ownership Models, Market Expansion, Sale and Leaseback, Local vs Global Strategy, Capital-intensive business models, Currency devaluation Conversation highlights: (01:50) - What IHS does and why we’re talking about it (04:37) - How Towers work (12:47) - How Telcos work with Towers in Nigeria and parts of Africa (23:22) - IHS Founding and Early History (34:19) - Funding (39:32) - Growth and International Expansion (47:26) - IHS IPO and trends post IPO (55:50) - Product Strategy & Monetization (1:08:30) - Competition (1:16:22) - Bankole’s overall thoughts and outlook (1:24:06) - Olumide’s overall thoughts and outlook (1:30:24) - 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 Checkout my FIREDOM book = FIRE (Financial Independence, Retire Early) + Freedom = personal finance and financial independence book. Website, Read: Substack Newsletter & Buy: Print, eBook or Audiobook) Recommendation: Incredible Dance routine video to Sisa Song by King Promise: I love it so much I'm not sure how to put it into words. 1 minute of greatness Recommendation: Chris Brown “Sensational” live performance : Watching Chris Brown dance is watching a master of his craft. Recommendation: J. Cole - Let Nas Down Recommendation: Nas - Make Nas Proud Recommendation: Nas & Eminem - EPMD 2 Recommendation: Nas - Rare Small win: Went back to reading older books to reset my reading palate Bankole’s recommendations & small wins: Recommendation: The Search for the Perfect Door - YouTube && Unusual Electric Car Features in Nigeria - Bloomberg Small win: Running sprints  Other content: Palito FM Autoscan Radio 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

Overview: Today, we’re going to explore eTranzact - the African payments and switching platform. We’ll discuss the story across the following areas: First, Nigerian payments context  Second, eTranzact's early history Third, Product & monetization strategy Fourth, Competitive positioning  Fifth, Overall outlook This episode was recorded on Feb 11, 2024 Companies discussed: eTranzact, Interswitch, Unified Payment Services Limited (UPSL), Systemspecs (Remita), Paystack, Flutterwave, Moniepoint, Paga, OPay, MTN & Airtel. Business concepts discussed: Mobile money, Payments Collections, Payments ecosystem, payments partnerships strategy, card networks, payments infrastructure, low-end disruption, banking regulation & payments M&A strategy Conversation highlights: (00:57) - What is eTranzact and why we’re talking about it (07:43) - Context of Nigeria’s payment sector before eTranzact (16:45) - eTranzact founding story (35:46) - Growth and geographic expansion (45:10) - Product strategy (01:02:56) - Monetization strategy (01:20:41) - Competition (1:31:10) - Bankole’s overall thoughts and outlook (1:34:38) - Olumide’s overall thoughts and outlook (1:43:20 - 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 Checkout my FIREDOM book = FIRE (Financial Independence, Retire Early) + Freedom = personal finance and financial independence book. Website, Read: Substack Newsletter & Buy: Print, eBook or Audiobook) Recommendation: Never Enough (Loren Allred). Incredible. I can listen to it on repeat for the whole day.  Recommendation: La Bachata (Maniel Turizo). Dope shit. Recommendation: "Someone You Loved". Not the original but a fabulous cover. Best line, "I was getting kinda used to being someone you loved". Listen to the 3rd verse when they sing simultaneously. Incredible! Recommendation: A Million Miles Away movie. It is a biographical drama film about the life of José Hernández, a Mexican-American migrant farm  Small win: Booked Cirque Du Soleil show. Looking forward to it. Bankole’s recommendations & small wins: Recommendation: Comma - Burna Boy && Wolfram|Alpha as the Way to Bring Computational Knowledge Superpowers to ChatGPT Small win: Clean shaven + the Nigerian AFCON semifinal win only to lose in the final a few hours after recording :(  Other content: History of Web Acquiring in Nigeria && Atlas Copco on Invest Like The Best && An Empirical Examination of Why Mobile Money Schemes Ignite in Some Developing Countries but Flounder in Most  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

Explore Moove, a mobility fintech startup providing vehicle financing to mobility entrepreneurs in Africa and worldwide. Topics covered include African mobility context, Moove's launch and early history, product and monetization strategy, competitive positioning and potential exit options. The podcast also discusses interesting concepts like revenue-based financing, asset-based lending, and ridesharing entrepreneurship. Plus, insights on partnerships, growth, metrics, and competition in the mobility fintech industry.

Overview: Today, we’re going to explore AFEX, the African commodities exchange. We’ll discuss the story across the following areas: African Agriculture context AFEX's launch & early history Product & monetization strategy Competitive positioning & potential exit options Overall outlook. This episode was recorded on Dec 24, 2023 Companies discussed: AFEX, EAX (East African Commodity Exchange), Tony Elumelu Foundation, Heirs Holdings, Apollo Agriculture, NCX, Cargill, Louis Dreyfuss, 50 Ventures & Berggruen Charitable Trust Business concepts discussed: Agriculture technology (AgTech, AgriTech or AgroTech), Agribusiness marketplaces, farming financing, Farmer market access opportunities, Agriculture insurance strategy, Commodity trading & Internal Entrepreneurship (Incubated company strategy). Conversation highlights: (01:10) - What Afex is and why we’re talking about it (08:36) - Context of agriculture in Africa (21:49) - AFEX Founding story (33:28) - Fundraising (39:56) - Growth, geographical expansion and partnerships (49:42) - Product strategy, monetization and growth (59:14) - Cost structure, revenue and margins (1:10:00) - Business and user metrics (1:13:14) - Competition and options for exit (1:21:02) - Bankole’s overall thoughts and outlook (1:34:25) - Olumide’s overall thoughts and outlook (1:47:45) - 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 Checkout my FIREDOM book = FIRE (Financial Independence, Retire Early) + Freedom = personal finance and financial independence book. Website, Read: Substack Newsletter & Buy: Print, eBook or Audiobook) Recommendation: I went back and re-read some of my classic books: How I found freedom in an Unfree world (Harry Browne), Don't Sweat the Small Stuff and It's All Small Stuff (Richard Carlson) & A Guide to the Good Life - The Ancient Art of Stoic Joy (William B. Irvine) Small win: Hiking with new friends in St Thomas. Cool Bankole’s recommendations & small wins: Recommendation: FiveBooks.Com - FiveBooks.com shares lists of the best five books on many topics, chosen by experts in that area Recommendation: Jeff Bezos on Lex Fridman Podcast. A rare Jeff Bezos long form interview.  Small win: Running while listening to Big 7 - Burna Boy Fact check: Tony Elumelu narrates How He Went from Second Class Lower Degree to Nigeria's Billionaire Other content: FT ranking: Africa's Fastest Growing Companies 2023 & AFEX Nigeria loses maize worth N85m to 'police raid'  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

Overview: Today, we’re going to talk about Nomba (formerly known as Kudi) , the FinTech payments solutions provider. We’ll explore the story across the following areas: African & Nigerian SME context Nomba's early history  Product & monetization strategy Competitive positioning & potential exit options Our overall outlook. This episode was recorded on December 3, 2023 Companies discussed: Nomba (Kudi), MoniePoint (TeamApt), Yoco, Kuda Bank, Flutterwave, Paystack, Stripe, Safaricom, Brass Banking, TradeDepot, Sabi, Paystack, Flutterwave, MTN, Airtel, Bumpa, Vendease, Orda, OPay, OnePipe, Paga, FairMoney, Omnibiz, Interswitch & Kippa Business concepts discussed: SME Agency Banking, Informal retail, banking, Open banking & Mobile Money, Merchants solutions, Points-of-Sale devices, SME Lending & hardware and software bundling Conversation highlights: (01:25) - Nomba context (06:29) - Context of African SMEs and Informal retail (19:10) - Founding story and founders’ background (29:02) - Fundraising (43:07) - Partnerships, Geographical expansion and Team (47:55) - User metrics (52:55) - Product and Monetization strategy (1:02:24) - Competition and options for exit (1:12:35) - Olumide’s overall thoughts and outlook (1:18:50) - Bankole’s overall thoughts and outlook (1:24:40) - Recommendation 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 Checkout my FIREDOM book = FIRE (Financial Independence, Retire Early) + Freedom = personal finance and financial independence book. Website, Read: Substack Newsletter & Buy: Print, eBook or Audiobook) Recommendation: Jay-Z at Madison  Square Garden. Incredible. He performs so many of his hit songs with an ensemble of other artists. I was jumping of my chair rapping along. Recommendation: Charlie Munger died last week.. What a hero. What a legend. What a mind. I love the guy. I can recommend all his books and videos Bankole’s recommendations & small wins: Recommendation: Constellation Software on Business Breakdowns Small win: Running in Paris and Ray-Ban Meta glasses 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

Overview: Today, we’re going to explore TymeBank - the South African neobank. We’ll discuss the story across  the following areas: African & Nigerian banking context TymeBank's launch, early history, growth & fundraising Product & monetization strategy Competitive positioning & potential exit options Overall outlook. Companies discussed: TymeBank, African Rainbow Capital (ARC), MTN, Kuda Bank, Chipper Cash, FairMoney, Carbon, Discovery Bank, Branch, Pick N Pay, TakeAlot, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, Bank Zero, Naspers & NuBank Business concepts discussed: International expansion, Startups and Distribution, Deposit banking, International expansion, Data sovereignty, Conversation highlights: (00:30) - TymeBank context (08:15) - Context of African Banking  (24:20) - TymeBank founding story (52:20) - Fundraising (55:01) - Growth and geographical expansion (1:20:03) - Product & Monetization  Strategy (1:50:08) - Competition and options for Exit (2:00:33) - Bankole’s  overall thoughts and outlook (2:10:38) - Olumide’s overall thoughts and outlook (2:15:00) - 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 Checkout my FIREDOM book = FIRE (Financial Independence, Retire Early) + Freedom = personal finance and financial independence book. Website, Read: Substack Newsletter & Buy: Print, eBook or Audiobook) Recommendation: AI 2041: Ten Visions for Our Future (Kai-Fu Lee): Great book about the potential of AI told across 10 stories Recommendation: Dangote (song by Burna Boy). Incredible song Recommendation: Good Bad Boy (song by Lil Kesh). Catchy and smooth chorus. With a deeper meaning about searching for companionship  Small win: I was in NYC book launch for FIREDOM Book launch. Dope. Bankole’s recommendations & small wins: Recommendation: Plunder by Brendan Ballou - A book on the excesses of Private Equity. PE is an example of well-intentioned policy having (unintentional?) downstream impact. Recommendation:  Business Breakdown Podcast on Mobile Gaming: The uneven distribution of paying customers in mobile gaming reminds me of emerging market telco companies Small win: Quest 3 Headset! VR is coming along nicely. Other content:  TymeBank Holdings 2022 Financial Statement & Substack on the history of Tyme Global 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