Afrobility: Africa Tech and Business

Overview: Today, we’re going to talk about Wave, the African consumer payments company. We’ll explore Wave’s story across 5 areas: We'll start with some context about payments in Africa Wave's launch & early history Wave's Product & monetization strategy Wave's competitive positioning & potential exit options Overall outlook This episode was recorded on May 1, 2022 Companies discussed: Wave, Sendwave, Safaricom (M-PESA), bKash, TeamApt, Chipper Cash, Orange (Sonatel), Free (Tigo), Opay, Paga, MTN, Airtel, Zedbank & Kuda Bank Business concepts discussed: Consumer Fintech (Agency banking & mobile money), International expansion, banking regulation, low cost pricing strategy, customer acquisition strategy, innovator’s dilemma & low end disruption Conversation highlights: (01:02) - Wave context (09:13) - Financial inclusion context in Africa (30:10) - Founder background and Sendwave origins (36:06) - Wave Launch in Francophone Africa (54:20) - Fundraising strategy & investors (1:12:15) - Product and monetization strategy (1:34:28) - Competition and exit options (1:55:44) - Bankole’s overall thoughts and outlook (2:08:57) - Olumide’s overall thoughts and outlook (2:27:30) - Recommendations and small wins Olumide’s recommendations & small wins: Recommendation: Brené Brown was on the "We can Do Hard Things" podcast, on an episode called "What to Say to Get What You Need". Spoke about human connection. Truly awesome. I liked it so much I started reading Brene's book "Atlas of the heart".  Recommendation: Samora Kariuku's substack post about Wave Recommendation: Everett Randle’s (from Founders Fund) Substack post about Wave Small win: Got lost on the internet prepping for this episode and ended up watching hours of boxing matches. Don't ask 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: Laws of Trading & Only Murders In The Building Small win: Lots of dinners with friends and travel Other content: State of the Industry Report on Mobile Money & 406 Na D Code - Tekno and Falz Investors, Operators, Entrepreneurs - We’d love to hear from you. Please email info@afrobility.com to share feedback or propose topics you’d like to hear.

Overview: Today we’re going to talk about Globacom - The Nigerian telecommunications company. We’ll explore the Globacom story across 5 areas: Nigerian telco sector context Globacom's early history Globacom's telco & non-telco businesses Globacom's potential exit options Outlook This episode was recorded on Apr 10, 2022 Companies discussed: Glo (Globacom), MTN, Airtel, NITEL (Nigerian Telecommunications Limited), Econet Wireless & 9mobile (Etisalat) Business concepts discussed: Telecommunications (Telco) strategy, Mobile money, Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNOs), Telco regulation, Celebrity advertising, Low-price telecoms strategy. Conversation highlights: (01:00) - Globacom background and why we’re talking about it (07:40) - Globacom founding and spectrum auction (20:30) - Mike Adenuga background (30:20) - Globacom launch (44:36) - Globacom African Expansion (56:50) - Globacom core Telecom business (1:07:58) - Globacom non-telco business (1:19:50) - Competition and IPO / spinoff? (1:29:48) - Bankole’s overall thoughts and outlook (1:40:10) - Olumide’s overall thoughts and outlook (1:46:30) - Recommendations & small wins Olumide’s recommendations & small wins: Recommendation: Marc Andreessen Blog archive ebook. Aggregates some of Marc's posts from the late 2000s. Insightful and very funny Small win: Hung out with my friend who was visiting from out of town (on a Wed night!) Thanks to Ifunanya Chiegboka for helping me think about Glo Story 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:  Invest Like The Best with David Rubinstein, We Need A Standard Unit Of Measure For Risk & The Next Google | DKB Small win: New whiteboard markers, changed the game. Good example of something small that changed the quality of my whiteboarding Other content: Nigerian Songs Referencing Mike Adenuga, Wizkid, Davido, Sunny Ade etc in Globacom advert & MTN - I don port commercial Investors, Operators, Entrepreneurs - We’d love to hear from you. Please email info@afrobility.com to share feedback or propose topics you’d like to hear.

Overview: Today we’re going to talk about Telkom - The South African telecommunications company. We’ll explore the Telkom story across 5 areas: South African telecoms sector context Telkom's early history We'll deepdive into Telkom's primarily telco & non-telco businesses Telkom's operating & financial performance .Overall outlook. This episode was recorded on Mar 27, 2022 Companies discussed: Telkom, Vodacom, Vodafone, Cell C, MTN, Southwestern Bell Communications (now AT&T), Safaricom (M-Pesa), Rain Networks & Multilink Business concepts discussed: Telecommunications (Telco) strategy, Mobile money, Internet connectivity, International telecommunication expansion, Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNOs), Cell Towers spinoffs & Telco regulation Conversation highlights: (01:10) - Telkom and why we’re talking about it (07:12) - South Africa context (13:20) - Telkom’s transition to commercial company (15:30) - SBC and Telekom Malaysia investment in 1997 (18:44) - 2003 IPO (31:20) - Telkom sale of Vodacom stake (33:00) - Telkom market expansion (42:17) - Telkom’s mobile business (53:08) - Telkom’s non-telco businesses (57:38) - Investments and Partnerships (1:00:38) - Financial results and stock performance (1:06:44) - Olumide’s overall thoughts and outlook (1:22:40) - Bankole’s overall thoughts and outlook (1:34:55) - Recommendations and small wins Olumide’s recommendations & small wins: Recommendation: The Wealthy Gardner, Generalist AngelList article (AngelList is probably my favorite company in the world), Live life with Passion (Brendon Burchard) Recommendation: AwardLogic & Point.me. There's never really been an Expedia of airline miles Small win: Got Samsung Galaxy S22, looks nice. Just need to set it up 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: Margin of Safety by Seth Klarman & Encanto Small win: Played basketball for the first time in several months Other content: San Francisco Has Become a Shoplifter’s Paradise Investors, Operators, Entrepreneurs - We’d love to hear from you. Please email info@afrobility.com to share feedback or propose topics you’d like to hear.

Overview:  Today we’re going to talk about Vodacom - The South African telecommunications company. We’ll explore the Vodacom story across 5 areas: South African telecoms sector context Vodacom's early history Vodacom's telco & non-telco businesses Vodacom's operating & financial performance Overall outlook This episode was recorded on Mar 13, 2022 Companies discussed: Vodacom, Vodafone, Safaricom (M-Pesa), Telkom, MTN, Airtel & Glo Business concepts discussed: Telecommunications (Telco) strategy, Mobile money, Internet connectivity, International telecommunication expansion, Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNO), Cell Towers spinoffs, Rain & Telco regulation Conversation highlights: (00:45) - Vodacom context (07:50) - Vodacom early history (20:50) - Vodacom International expansion (38:04) - Vodacom’s telco business (45:44) - Non-telco businesses (55:50) - VodaPay and Safaricom (M-Pesa) (1:10:12) - Vodacom - Financials & customer (1:19:15) - Bankole’s overall thoughts and outlook (1:29:52) - Olumide’s overall thoughts and outlook (1:36:10) - Recommendations and small wins Olumide’s recommendations & small wins: Recommendation: The Truman show: I rewatched this, it's marvelous, dystopian and funny. That movie is a work of art. Recommendation: I got a satchel aka man bag aka man purse. I like it, it works because I typically have too much shit to fit in my pockets Small win: Bankole's wedding in Chennai. It was epic 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: Good Economics for Hard Times by Abhijit Banerjee and Esther Duflo & Cold Outside - Timaya and Buju Small win: I got the new Macbook M1 Pro. Beautiful, sweet machine. Other content: Governance of Telecommunications: Two Decades of Reform in South Africa & Vodacom and DHL in Africa Listeners, Operators & Investors: Email info@afrobility.com, we’d love to partner or get your feedback. Join our insider mailing list where we get feedback on new episodes & find all episodes at Afrobility.com

Overview: Today, we’re going to talk about MAX - the Nigerian mobility tech platform. We’ll explore Max's story across 6 areas: Context on motorbike transportation platforms in other emerging markets Background on Nigeria transportation Max.'s launch, early history, growth over time & fundraising Product & monetization strategy Competitive positioning & potential exit options Overall outlook This episode was recorded on Jan 30, 2022 Companies discussed: MAX (Max.africa, Max.ng), GiG Logistics, Red Star Express, Gokada, GoJek, Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Jumia Food, Konga, Uber, Africa Courier Express (ACE), Pathao, Flutterwave & Safeboda Business concepts discussed: Ridesharing, Mobility in emerging markets, Debt Fundraising by startups, Conversation highlights: (01:20) - MAX.Africa context (07:20) - Ridesharing in emerging markets (GoJek) (10:30) - Transportation Mobility in Nigeria (15:00) - Background on the founders - Tayo Bamiduro and Chinedu Azodoh (18:50) - Founding and early history of MAX (22:05) - Fundraising and early growth (38:20) - Metrics and traction (59:39) - Product & monetization strategy (1:16:51) - Competition and options for exit (1:31:30) - Bankole’s overall thoughts and outlook (1:45:25) - Olumide’s overall thoughts and outlook (1:53:55) - Recommendations and small wins Olumide’s recommendations & small wins: Recommendation: Good time (Owl City & Carly Rae Jepsen): Love it! I can listen to on repeat for the rest of my life,  Thinking in bets (Annie Duke). Life's Most Bitter Truth: What Your University Never Taught You (MJ Demarco):Talks about the value of time and having experiences and building financial independence in your youth. I'm one of the biggest Mj Demarco Fans so no doubt I love this video Small win: Celebrating birthday with friends 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: Levels - Flavour & Rebel - Shenseea Small win: Lots of sports weekend of Jan 27 - NFL, Chelsea FC, AFCON, UFC Other content: Jukedeck, AI- generated music startup acquired by TikTok - Jukedeck - https://soundcloud.com/jukedeck & Nearly All The Men in Lagos Are Mad - Amazon & How to Decide by Annie Duke - Amazon Listeners, Operators & Investors: Email info@afrobility.com, we’d love to partner or get your feedback. Join our insider mailing list where we get feedback on new episodes & find all episodes at Afrobility.com

Overview: 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

Overview: Today, we’re going to talk about Pathao - the largest mobility tech platform in Bangladesh. This episode was co-hosted with Shammi Quddus and recorded on Nov 21 & Dec 5, 2021. Conversation highlights: (10:15) - Motorbike sharing platforms in emerging markets - GoJek (11:00) - Bangladesh context (44:40) - Pathao founding story (1:05:20) - Fundraising and growth (1:19:10) - Product & monetization strategy (1:49:13) - Competition & Exit options (2:10:30) - Overall thoughts (Bankole, Shammi & Olumide) (2:32:04) - Recommendation &small wins Companies discussed: Pathao, bKash, Uber, GoJek, Shohoz, Tootle, Chalo, RC Ventures & Battery Road Digital Holdings Business concepts discussed: Ride-sharing platforms, Transportation in emerging markets, Transportation + FinTech Super apps Olumide’s recommendations & small wins: Recommendation: Mastery (George Leonard) & Derek Sivers’ wonderful article about emotions and life Win: Hung out with a bunch of folks at Miami Art Basel 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: Ozumba Mbadiwe - Reekado Banks & 52 things I learned in 2021 by Tom Whitwell Win: First real corporate party in a while - Other: Nigeria highest importer of used vehicles in Africa & F-commerce: a double-edged sword Shammi’s recommendations & small wins: Recommendation: Beginner’s Moonshot: Podcast on Bangladeshi tech founders (English) by Salman Hossain Win: Watching comedian Hassan Minhaj perform. The King’s Jester is on the road now! Other: Registered vehicles in Dhaka, Pathao GoJek raise and write-off,  Uber launch story in Dhaka Listeners, Operators & Investors: Email info@afrobility.com, we’d love to partner or get your feedback. All episodes on Afrobility.com

Overview: 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

Overview: Today, we’re going to talk about Andela - the software developer recruitment platform. We’ll explore the Andela story across 6 areas: Labor markets in Africa context Andela's founding and early history Fundraising & Growth Product & monetization strategy Competitive positioning & potential exit options Overall outlook. This episode was co-hosted with Iyinoluwa "E" Aboyeji & recorded on Nov 7, 2021 Companies discussed: Andela, Fora, 2U, Bookneto, Spark Capital, CRE Ventures, Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI), SoftBank (Vision Fund), Gebeya, Semicolon, Decagon, CRE Ventures, Spark Labs & Generation Investment Management Business concepts discussed: Emerging market talent recruitment, economic development, remote work, labor productivity, outsourcing, youth unemployment & economic development Conversation highlights: (01:00) - Andela context & Background (01:30) - Context on Africa’s labor markets (21:20) -  Bookneto, Fora & 2U (53:50) - Andela cofounders & early founding story (1:00:00) - Fundraising and investors (1:11:00) - Traction - Revenue, users, employees, margins (1:14:23) - Product and monetization strategy (1:25:22) - Competition and options for exit (1:48:46) - Olumide’s overall thoughts and outlook (1:55:17) - Bankole’s overall thoughts and outlook (2:01:00) - E’s overall thoughts and outlook (2:09:01) - Recommendations and small wins Olumide’s recommendations & small wins: Recommendation: Syncback Pro (works better than OneDrive & Google Drive clients for backing up stuff) & Money Talks Bloomberg article about how Zillow stopped selling houses: By Afrobility legend Matt Levine Small win: Got a new larger air fryer. It's awesome Bankole’s recommendations & small wins: Recommendation: Tete Muo Bu Muo by Tony Tete Harbor & The Infinite Machine by Camila Russo Small win: Great birthday dinner :) E’s recommendations & small wins: Recommendation: Prosperity paradox (by Efosa Ojomo) & Founders at work (Jessica Levingston) Small win: 3 companies I’m working with got into YC Winter 2022 batch 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 to drive the ecosystem forward. Contact us at info@afrobility.com Join our insider mailing list where we get feedback on new episodes & find all episodes at Afrobility.com

Overview: Today, we’re going to talk about SafeBoda - the Ugandan motorbike hailing platform. We’ll explore the SafeBoda story across 7 areas: Motorbike hailing platforms in other emerging markets (GoJek/GoTo) African mobility context SafeBoda's founding & early history Fundraising and growth Product & monetization strategy Competitive positioning & potential exit options Overall outlook This episode was recorded on Oct 31, 2021. Companies discussed: SafeBoda, GoJek (GoTo), Gokada, Pathao, Allianz X, CRE Ventures, Uber Boda, Bolt / Taxify Boda, Tugende, Chipper Cash, Musha ventures, Go ventures & Gozem Business concepts discussed: Mobility Tech, Pan-Africa expansion, Transportation + FinTech Superapps Conversation highlights: (05:20) - Motorbike hailing platforms in other emerging markets (GoJek) (05:30) - Africa transportation context (07:40) - Uganda country & transportation context (24:50) - Founder background - Rapa Thomson, Maxime Dieudonne, Alastair Sussock (38:20) - SafeBoda's launch (43:36) - Fundraising  (52:50) - Geographic expansion (1:15:00) - Product & monetization strategy (1:25:00) - Competition and exit options (1:37:00) - Olumide’s overall thoughts and outlook (1:48:01) - Bankole’s overall thoughts and outlook (1:51:10) - Recommendations and small wins Olumide’s recommendations & small wins: Recommendation: Founders podcast (by Dave Senra) & Don't Sweat the Small Stuff . . . and It's All Small Stuff (by Richard Carlson) Small win: Was in Chicago hanging out with friends for birthday, Hung out with friends in a Miami night out & installed Windows 11 which is sweet and beautiful Other content: Get.Africa #46 article about SafeBoda's Kenya exit (by Chiagoziem Onyekwena), Twitter conversation (by Stone Atwine) about SafeBoda's disintermediation Bankole’s recommendations & small wins: Recommendation: Azonto Ghost song & movie || How Big Tech Runs Tech Projects and the Curious Absence of Scrum Small win: Chelsea FC can’t stop winning. Big win. Other content: So, Where did the Popular Uganda Boda Bodas Come From? 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 to drive the ecosystem forward. Contact us at info@afrobility.com Join our insider mailing list where we get feedback on new episodes & find all episodes at Afrobility.com