Dive into the latest installment of our #BuildOurAfrica Speaker Series as we sit down with Mark Straub, the visionary co-founder and CEO of Smile ID (formerly Smile Identity). Join us on a captivating journey through Mark's life, from his roots in the U.S. to his adventures in India, and his bold leap into the world of entrepreneurship.
In this exclusive episode, Mark shares candid insights into the rollercoaster ride of building a business tailored for the African market. Brace yourself for a masterclass in resilience, sacrifice, and the relentless pursuit of innovation.
Celebrate alongside us as Smile ID reaches a monumental milestone of 100 million verifications, marking a testament to Mark's unwavering dedication and the team's collective triumphs. Don't miss out on this inspiring tale of perseverance and success! 🚀
Special Guest: Mark Straub.
Join us as we delve into the dynamic landscape of African tech startups with the brilliant Yele Bademosi, co-founder and CEO of Nestcoin. Discover the shifting tides of tech funding in Africa and gain invaluable insights on growing your startup amidst industry changes. From venture capital to profitability, Yele shares expert advice on scaling your tech startup for success. Tune in for a compelling discussion on the future of African entrepreneurship!
Special Guest: Yele Bademosi.
Meet Josh Whale, the visionary Founder & CEO of Ampersand, leading the charge in revolutionizing Africa's transportation landscape. A trailblazer in electric mobility, Josh is committed to driving climate solutions and recently secured a game-changing $20 million in funding. His dedication to sustainable innovation is evident in Ampersand's transformative impact, saving bodaboda riders in Rwanda $700 annually. With a passion for eco-friendly advancements, Josh Whale is at the forefront of the green tech movement, shaping the future of transportation.
Special Guest: Josh Whale.
Join us as we dive into the world of finance with the incredible Tiernan Kennedy, Founder & CEO of Umba. From his journey in the startup world, to moving to Kenya, then to Nigeria and back, Tiernan shares invaluable insights in the finance space. He shares his challenges, his triumphs, and the strides he has made over the years, a treasure trove of information for any entrepreneur in the African space.
Discover the secrets to success in the finance industry as we explore Tiernan's expertise. Don't miss out on this exclusive conversation with a visionary leader!
Music: 'Titan' by Scott Buckley - released under CC-BY 4.0. www.scottbuckley.com.au
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Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/ke/podcast/buildourafrica-speaker-series/id1689559382
Special Guest: Tiernan Kennedy.
A #BuildOurAfrica exclusive with Mathias Léopoldie, Co-Founder and CEO of Julaya. He lets us in on some of the most frequently asked questions for individuals just getting started on their startup journey. Mathias shares his views on picking a co-founder, hiring, as well as his overall guiding pricinple for everyday life.
Music: 'Titan' by Scott Buckley - released under CC-BY 4.0. www.scottbuckley.com.au
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Special Guest: Mathias Léopoldie.
Throughout the podcast, Edwin shares his thoughts on what Tanzania could do differently, build on, or scrap altogether, to make itself a formidable competitor among its peers on the continent.
Don't miss this inspiring podcast with one of East Africa's most dynamic and innovative entrepreneurs.
Special Guest: Edwin Bruno.
Wole Ayodele, Co-Founder and CEO of Fincra walks us through the ups and downs of raising funding in the African fintech space.
Special Guest: Wole Ayodele.
Tunde is the Founder and CEO of Vendease.
In his role as CEO, Tunde has embedded the core values of Adventure, Transparency, Excellence, Respect and Ownership in the foundation of all business operations at Vendease. With his leadership, the formidable Vendease team have been motivated to achieve meteoritic growth and expanded the company’s operations to 16 cities with fulfilment coverage all across Nigeria and Accra, Ghana, while serving over 4,000 food businesses.
Prior to his role as CEO, he was the Head of Playstudio, where he strategically enhanced brand reputation and presence for global brands such as Google, Samsung, General Electric and Coca-Cola in sub-Saharan Africa. He was also the CEO of RED Media - increasing sales and signing notable brands for customers like Unilever, Heineken, and FrieslandCampina.
In this episode, Tunde shares his entrepreneurship journey, the ups, the downs, and the people in his life who made his current success possible.
Special Guest: Tunde Kara.
Serial entrepreneur, Velani Mboweni, is Co-Founder & CEO of LULA, a mobility scaleup providing shared transportation to companies from home to work and beyond - saving money and time. He has quietly raised millions of dollars, 4x growth, served over 250 businesses, reduced over 1000 tons of CO2 and scaled across 5 cities in South Africa.
He's a Forbes 30 Under 30 honoree, Fellow at the Harambeans and sits on the board of WESGRO and the CSIR (Smart Mobility). He's a graduate of University of Cape Town (BCom PPE), Wits Business School and Wits University (Hons, Political Science). He's passionate about serving people and solving problems. His entrepreneurial spirit of resilience has seen him survive a pandemic, global recession and unprecedented challenges in the already complex transport industry.
Velani’s forever optimism in Africa is perfectly summarised in his 2016 TED Talk, aptly titled, Commodifying The African Experience.
Music: 'Titan' by Scott Buckley - released under CC-BY 4.0. www.scottbuckley.com.au
Follow us on:
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1mKPshe6x4vcVkGNsvORiu?si=2aa02b9abe3c4e4c
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/ke/podcast/buildourafrica-speaker-series/id1689559382
Special Guest: Velani Mboweni.
In this podcast, Ken discusses his experiences with the terrorist attack in Nairobi that took the lives of his employees, the fall-out with his co-founder and best friend, and the tough decision to step down as CEO of the company he helped build. He opens up about the emotional toll of these events and how he found the strength to push through and keep going.
Despite the challenges he's faced, Ken remains a true entrepreneur at heart, and he shares his insights on what it takes to succeed in the business world. He talks about the importance of resilience, the value of hard work, and the need to surround oneself with a strong team.
Through it all, Ken's story is one of perseverance and hope, and he shares his vision for the future and what's next on his journey. Don't miss this powerful podcast with one of Africa's most inspiring and influential entrepreneurs.
Special Guest: Ken Njoroge.
Mathias lets us in on his entrepreneurship journey, the challenges therein, his wins, and his losses. Mathias also shares quite a bit about his personal life, his upbringing, his West-Indies background, and how that influenced his move to Africa, while also moulding him into the entrepreneur he is today.
Special Guest: Mathias Léopoldie.
This is a #BuildOurAfrica exclusive, with Paul Damilie, co-founder and CEO of Approve. Get to hear all about Paul's journey in the African tech and entrepreneurial space. Learn about his background, his upbringing, his first venture into entreprneeurship and the challenges he has encountered, key among them- betrayal from his former co-founder, and the damage it brought with it.
Paul Kwesi Damalie is the co-founder of Inclusive Innovations Inc. Appruve, a product of Inclusive Innovations Inc, makes it easy for financial services to verify individuals and businesses all over Africa. It enables Pan African financial institutions and global financial service providers focused on Africa to meet AML ,KYC and CTF compliance , ensure the most stringent privacy and security standards are met, as well as reduce cost of customer acquisition. By implementing Appruve API via digital channels , customers of financial institutions can remotely access financial services, participate in cross-border trade ,hence build digital financial identities with lesser perceived risk ,that would open a world of opportunities.
Special Guest: Paul Damilie.
Paul Kwesi Damalie is the co-founder of Inclusive Innovations Inc. Appruve, a product of Inclusive Innovations Inc, makes it easy for financial services to verify individuals and businesses all over Africa. It enables Pan African financial institutions and global financial service providers focused on Africa to meet AML ,KYC and CTF compliance , ensure the most stringent privacy and security standards are met, as well as reduce cost of customer acquisition. By implementing Appruve API via digital channels , customers of financial institutions can remotely access financial services, participate in cross-border trade ,hence build digital financial identities with lesser perceived risk ,that would open a world of opportunities.
Special Guest: Paul Damilie.
In this podcast, Ken discusses his experiences with the terrorist attack in Nairobi that took the lives of his employees, the fall-out with his co-founder and best friend, and the tough decision to step down as CEO of the company he helped build. He opens up about the emotional toll of these events and how he found the strength to push through and keep going.
Despite the challenges he's faced, Ken remains a true entrepreneur at heart, and he shares his insights on what it takes to succeed in the business world. He talks about the importance of resilience, the value of hard work, and the need to surround oneself with a strong team.
Through it all, Ken's story is one of perseverance and hope, and he shares his vision for the future and what's next on his journey. Don't miss this powerful podcast with one of Africa's most inspiring and influential entrepreneurs.
Special Guest: Ken Njoroge.
Ayowole Ayodele, CEO Fincra - Ayodele leads a world-class team at Fincra in building online and offline payments infrastructure for fintechs, platforms, corporates & global businesses operating across the globe. Passionate about developing a better global payment system for today’s digital world, Ayodele is convinced that Africa has enormous potential to become the new frontier of this financial opportunity.
He has a background in Finance from Stanbic IBTC Bank Nigeria, where he was a key member of the Credit Risk Management Team, and a growing career spanning 7+ years. Prior to Fincra, he co-founded Quidax, one of Africa’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges where he led the Product, Business, Treasury & Customer Success teams. Over the years, Ayodele has recognised the difficulties that businesses face with making and receiving payments across Africa and he has remained committed to lowering the barriers and solving the challenges. He is passionate about the Fintech space and he loves football.
In this episode, Wole takes us on a rollercoaster ride, starting from his decision to shun venture capitalists and investors, and instead become a solo founder, all the way through to the challenges he has faced so far and his plans for the future.
Beyond business, Wole also gives us a peek into his personal life, sharing the pivotal role people close to him have played in getting him to where he is today, and how his faith influences his day-to-day life.
Whether you're an aspiring entrepreneur, a tech enthusiast, or simply looking for an inspiring story, this episode is a must-watch. So, sit back, relax, and join us on this journey with Wole Ayodele.
Special Guest: Wole Ayodele.
Throughout the podcast, Edwin opens up about the challenges he's faced along the way, including betrayal from partners, employee poaching, and losing a co-founder to competitors. He talks about the lessons he's learned from these experiences, including the importance of resilience, persistence, and building a strong team.
Despite these challenges, Edwin remains focused on the future and the exciting opportunities that lie ahead. He shares his vision for the growth of his company and his plans to expand into new markets and industries.
Through it all, Edwin's story is one of determination and perseverance, and he offers valuable insights for anyone looking to build a successful business. Don't miss this inspiring podcast with one of East Africa's most dynamic and innovative entrepreneurs.
Special Guest: Edwin Bruno.
Ayowole Ayodele, CEO Fincra - Ayodele leads a world-class team at Fincra in building online and offline payments infrastructure for fintechs, platforms, corporates & global businesses operating across the globe. Passionate about developing a better global payment system for today’s digital world, Ayodele is convinced that Africa has enormous potential to become the new frontier of this financial opportunity.
He has a background in Finance from Stanbic IBTC Bank Nigeria, where he was a key member of the Credit Risk Management Team, and a growing career spanning 7+ years. Prior to Fincra, he co-founded Quidax, one of Africa’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges where he led the Product, Business, Treasury & Customer Success teams. Over the years, Ayodele has recognised the difficulties that businesses face with making and receiving payments across Africa and he has remained committed to lowering the barriers and solving the challenges. He is passionate about the Fintech space and he loves football.
In this episode, Wole takes us on a rollercoaster ride, starting from his decision to shun venture capitalists and investors, and instead become a solo founder, all the way through to the challenges he has faced so far and his plans for the future.
Beyond business, Wole also gives us a peek into his personal life, sharing the pivotal role people close to him have played in getting him to where he is today, and how his faith influences his day-to-day life.
Whether you're an aspiring entrepreneur, a tech enthusiast, or simply looking for an inspiring story, this episode is a must-watch. So, sit back, relax, and join us on this journey with Wole Ayodele.
Special Guest: Wole Ayodele.
Throughout the podcast, Edwin opens up about the challenges he's faced along the way, including betrayal from partners, employee poaching, and losing a co-founder to competitors. He talks about the lessons he's learned from these experiences, including the importance of resilience, persistence, and building a strong team.
Despite these challenges, Edwin remains focused on the future and the exciting opportunities that lie ahead. He shares his vision for the growth of his company and his plans to expand into new markets and industries.
Through it all, Edwin's story is one of determination and perseverance, and he offers valuable insights for anyone looking to build a successful business. Don't miss this inspiring podcast with one of East Africa's most dynamic and innovative entrepreneurs.
Special Guest: Edwin Bruno.
In this exclusive interview, we meet Tesh Mbaabu, the Co-Founder and CEO of marketForce, an industry leader revolutionizing Africa's informal trade sector. Tesh takes us on a journey through his entrepreneurship story, from his humble beginnings at the University of Nairobi to his current role leading one of Africa's fastest-growing digital commerce marketplaces.
Throughout the interview, Tesh shares his experiences, challenges, and successes in building MarketForce. He discusses the inspiration behind his company and the unique challenges he faced in building a platform to facilitate trade between informal merchants and leading consumer brands. Tesh also talks about the lessons he learned along the way, including the importance of perseverance, adaptability, and surrounding oneself with the right team.
Finally, Tesh discusses his plans for the future and what's next for him in his entrepreneurship journey. He provides insight into the exciting opportunities and challenges ahead as marketForce continues to grow and expand across Africa.
Don't miss this inspiring and insightful interview with one of Africa's most dynamic and innovative entrepreneurs.
Special Guest: Tesh Mbaabu.