Thank you + Season 5 Recap
This season of Building the Future has been a reflection of the remarkable growth of the ecosystem.
We set out to capture the growth of the African technology ecosystem through interviews with some of the continent’s leading entrepreneurs/operators. All ten guests delivered remarkable stories, lessons, and frameworks from scaling high growth businesses on the continent.
As we bring Season 5 to a close, I want to say thank you. To the season sponsor, Moniepoint, and Thank you for listening, reading, and sharing over the past ten weeks.
Stay tuned for some bonus content & future seasons from the BTF team.
In the meantime, let’s briefly recap the season:
Episode 1: Tosin Eniolorunda (CEO & Co-founder of Moniepoint)
Moniepoint processed $150B+ across online and offline channels in 2023, up 200%+ YoY. The opening conversation captures Tosin’s learnings from successfully scaling financial services to the Nigerian mass market. Tosin shares how data-driven decision-making helps Moniepoint identify growth opportunities; the importance of a focus on customer needs, as well as his 4-M framework for attracting and retaining talent.
Episode 2: Shola Akinlade (Cofounder & CEO of Paystack)
Paystack’s $200M acquisition by Stripe in 2020 marked a key inflection point in African technology. In our conversation, Shola discusses the impact of the acquisition on himself, his team, the ecosystem, and the importance of keeping a long-term view for startup success. We also touched on his community-focused football project, Sporting Lagos, applying learnings from the Paystack journey.
Episode 3: Anu Adedoyin-Adasolum (CoFounder & CEO of Sabi)
In our third conversation, Anu revealed the surprising complexity of Africa’s informal market. We also explored how Sabi is building differentiation in the B2B e-commerce space, their decision to adopt an asset light model, and the pivotal role of rigorous analysis and segmentation in operating at scale.
Episode 4: Mark Straub (Founder & CEO of Smile ID)
My conversation with Mark explored digital identity as a building block for fintech innovation and economic development. We discussed how Smile ID compounds its competitive advantages over time, as well as the company’s approach to expansion, attracting and retaining top talent. We also draw lessons from Mark’s dual experience as an investor and entrepreneur.
Episode 5: Bode Abifarin (Former COO of Flutterwave)
Bode was instrumental in scaling Flutterwave from 2017 to 2024. In our conversation, she shared the challenges, advantages, and mental models for transitioning from a large corporation to a startup environment. We discussed pan-African expansion/localization, standardizing company operations, and the evolution of the COO role as a company grows.
Episode 6: Daniel Yu (Founder & CEO of Wasoko)
Wasoko announced a merger with Egyptian B2B commerce startup, MaxAB in December 2023. In episode six, Daniel shared his early learnings from the M&A process, including the importance of trust, alignment, and being intentional about company culture. We also discussed vertical integration in B2B e-commerce, key hypotheses in FMCG innovation and the leadership skills necessary for scale on the continent.
Episode 7: Elo Umeh (Founder & CEO of Terragon Group)
Since 2009, Terragon has built multi-million dollar businesses in mobile advertising, marketing automation, customer data platforms, and enterprise technology. In our conversation, Elo and I discuss the ever-changing role of a high-growth startup CEO, as well as how to optimize exits for long term value creation. He also shared insights on overcoming infrastructure and liquidity challenges in Africa, as well as the importance of finding (& staying in love with) your purpose.
Episode 8: Deepankar Rustagi (Founder & CEO of OmniRetail)
OmniRetail has profitably scaled its asset-light B2B e-commerce platform to over $100M in revenue. In episode 8, Deepankar shares how OmniRetail has leveraged third party partnerships to achieve sustainable growth with strong gross margins. He also touches on how embedded fintech drives growth, retention, streamlines operations, as well as the importance of understanding the value chain you play in.
Episode 9: Uka Eje (Cofounder & CEO of ThriveAgric)
ThriveAgric empowers nearly one million smallholder farmers with technology, credit, and access-to-market. During the COVID pandemic, the company faced significant operational & financial challenges, which culminated in Uka (CEO) stepping down temporarily. The business has since recovered, and this year, it was recognised by the FT as one of Africa’s fastest-growing companies. In this conversation, Uka speaks transparently about the pivotal decision to bring in a more experienced CEO, his growth as a leader through the different phases of the company’s journey, the depth and complexity of the business, as well as the company’s intense focus on building for smallholder farmers.
Episode 10: Dare Okoudjou (Founder & CEO of Onafriq)
In our final episode, Dare Okoudjou provided insights into Onafriq’s approach to strategic acquisitions and post-merger integration. He discussed the evolution of his management/communication style, fundraising strategies, and why payments interoperability matters for commerce on the continent.
Thank you again for your support and engagement throughout this season. Your presence makes this journey meaningful.
Dotun