Author: Founder Africa
Africa’s startup ecosystem has been rapidly evolving, fostering innovation and entrepreneurial spirit across the continent. With its growing pool of talent and untapped potential, African startup founders are making waves globally. In this article, we’ll explore the valuable lessons shared by five top African startup founders, who have successfully navigated the challenges and achieved remarkable success in their respective industries. These lessons provide invaluable insights for aspiring entrepreneurs, not only in Africa but around the world. 1. Strive Masiyiwa – Founder of Econet Group (Zimbabwe): Strive Masiyiwa, one of Africa’s most prominent entrepreneurs, emphasizes the importance of resilience…
In recent years, Kenya has witnessed a remarkable surge in technological innovation and one standout startup that has emerged is Lami Technologies. Founded in 2018 by Jihan Abass, Lami Technologies is revolutionizing the insurance landscape in Kenya. By leveraging cutting-edge technology, Lami is making insurance more accessible, affordable, and user-friendly for individuals and businesses across the country. The insuretech startup hopes to become the premier company powering insurance adoption across Africa by 2030. Let’s delve into the inspiring journey of Lami Technologies and explore how they are reshaping the insurance industry. The Founding Story Lami Technologies was…
In recent years, Nigeria has witnessed rapid growth in its technology sector, with numerous startups emerging to address various challenges faced by its population. Among these innovative ventures, Nomba, a Nigerian payment startup, has made significant strides in revolutionizing the way people transact in the country. Nomba is an organization that provides financial services and offers individuals access to banking services. Basically, they leverage artificial intelligence and conversational interfaces to provide a quick and seamless experience. Formerly known as Kudi, the start-up was founded in 2016 by Yinka Adewale and Pelumi Aboluwarin as a chatbot designed to simplify…
Early Days In 2010, three visionary individuals, Jesse Moore, Nick Hughes, and banker Chad Larsonccame together in Nairobi to embark on a journey that would revolutionize the lives of thousands. They founded a startup that would later be known as M-Kopa. The trio had a shared passion for leveraging technology to uplift communities and create positive change. In 2011, M-Kopa gained early traction with support from Signal Point Partners, an incubator, and managed to secure investments from influential backers like Richard Branson, Generation Investment Management, Blue Haven Initiative, and LGT Venture Philanthropy, the investment vehicle of the Princely…
Tyms Africa is a platform for cash flow management, bookkeeping, and financing used by African (Nigeria, Ghana, Uganda, Rwanda, Kenya) small businesses. They help retail and online commerce businesses eliminate chaos in their finances with automated bookkeeping and accounting. Founder Africa caught up with Chineye Ochem, the Co-founder and COO at Tyms Africa to find out more about her and her work at Tyms Africa. FA: Tell us about yourself, your background, and your role as the co-founder of Tyms Africa. Chineye: My name is Chineye Ochem, the co-founder and coo of Tyms Africa. Prior to joining Tyms Africa,…
Yassir – which means “easy” in Arabic – is building a Super App offering on-demand services such as ride-hailing, food and grocery delivery, banking, and more. Often dubbed the Algerian Uber, Yassir was founded by Mahdi Yettou and Noureddine Tayebi in 2017. Yassir is the leading super App in the Maghreb region set to change the way daily services are provided. Yassir operates in 45 cities across Algeria, Morocco, and Tunisia with recent expansions into France, Canada, and Sub-Saharan Africa. Like other Super Apps around the world, Yassir provides a wide range of services, such as ridesharing, food and grocery…
Temie Giwa-Tubosun was born in Nigeria, but at the age of 15, she moved to the United States. She came back to Nigeria for the first time following her first year of graduate school, to work as an intern with the Department for International Development at Paths2 in Abuja. She worked as an intern with a low-income expectant mother who went through a difficult three-day labor and whose baby tragically passed away shortly after. Since then, Giwa-Tubosun has committed her life to reduce maternal mortality in Nigeria. Giwa-Tubosun spent several more years working for agencies like the Global Health Corps…
Jacob Ugbodaga is a serial social entrepreneur with a strong passion for innovation and entrepreneurship. His passion to reduce food waste and provide value for more farmers led to the launch of KipitFresh, a cold storage technology, for the proper preservation of food nutrients and reducing contamination. In this interview with Founder Africa, Jacob Ugbodaga speaks to us about his journey to entrepreneurship amongst other things. FA: Tell us about you and your background Jacob: My name is Jacob Ugbodaga, and I’m an entrepreneur that enjoys finding solutions to issues that are immediate, visible, and have a direct impact on…
UK-Nigeria Tech Hub and Google for Startups Africa collaborated to host an event in Lagos to celebrate International Women’s Day that brought together funders, ecosystem players, and female founders to talk about the state of technology funding. The event themed: ‘Her Venture Journey, Addressing Equity Gaps.’ aimed to empower women founders by providing insights on how to position themselves to secure funding for their startups, promote digital inclusion, and jointly support technology businesses run by women founders. The event had two panels – The investor Panel featuring Mary Akpobome, Ashim Egunjobi, and Olaniyi Yusuf and the Founder Panel featuring Ifeoluwa…
After living in South Africa for 12 years, 4 of which were spent working for an entrepreneur support organization, Affiong Williams returned to Nigeria to set up a business. Affiong had initially planned to produce fruit juices, but she did not have the capital for the machinery. Dried Fruit turned out to be the next best option and she began gauging prospective clients to see if there was a market for it in Nigeria and there was a lot of positive reception. The company become functional in 2013 and launched its mango and pineapple snacks, having used the prior year…
