Episode 57 of the Big5D Podcast again turns to the May 2025 BigFive Summit in Cape Town for a great conversation about tech and business in Africa. This conversation, recorded at Innovation City Cape Town on 6 May 2025, features a primer on how to choose a digital marketing agency partner led by Summit Co-host Amanda Louw-Bester (Pragmattica Consulting) and featuring Bianca Waterberg, the founder and CEO of the Cape Town digital agency Nspyre, which specializes in paid media and SEO. Really, it all comes down to clear and effective communication. As Bianca puts it during this conversation, "You want your agency to explain things to you clearly." The conversation also gets real about spotting red flags in a potential agency partner. And overpromising, for example, by guaranteeing immediate results that are nearly impossible to deliver, is high on the list of red flags to watch for. Our Sponsor This episode of the BIG5D Podcast is sponsored by Dialog (localdialog.com). “Answering your 'local' questions with unique data & insights”

In Episode 56 of the BIG5D Podcast, we talk about venture building with Keshni Morar, the MD-South Africa, Founder Institute. The conversation jumps off from a LinkedIn post Keshni wrote about #Statuptruth in which she laments how too many startup founders fail to appreciate the need to carefully manage the funds they raise from investors. “$1M in funding doesn't make you rich,” Keshni wrote. “It makes you responsible.” Keshni’s post goes on to recount the story of one founder who spent VC money on a “founder wellness” trip to a tropical island. The substance of Keshni’s post is that venture funding is runway, not revenue. We hope you enjoy this episode, sponsored by NSPYRE (nspyre.co.za)

Episode 55 of the Big5D Podcast once again turns to the May 2025 BigFive Summit in Cape Town for a great conversation about tech and business in Africa. This conversation, recorded at Innovation City Cape Town on 6 May 2025, features a panel on Go to Market Strategies for SMEs led by Summit Co-host Amanda Louw-Bester (Pragmattica Consulting). The panel features three entrepreneurs who have seen it all and can at the very least steer small business founders away from obvious mistakes in the early stages of their business journey. The panelists offer a wide array of insights for founders on everything from tactics to avoid to tactics not to overlook, especially in a business's early stages. The panelists joining Amanda are Bernadene Appalsamy, Ledger Leap; Tim Shoko, Umlilo Energy; and Remi du Preez, Polygon. This episode of the Big5D Podcast is supported by the 2025 BigFive Summit sponsors. Absa Group (absa.africa) Dialog (localdialog.com) Nspyre (nspyre.co.za) Networds (networds.co.za) AfriGIS (afrigis.co.za) Pragmattica Consulting (pragmattica.co.za)

Episode 54 of the BIG5D Podcast again turns to the recent BigFive Summit in Cape Town for source material. This episode features a panel discussion of the kinds of support, in addition to capital, that African startups need to be successful -- things like best practice sharing and mentorship, among others. Sharing their views are Lucie Fink, CEO of Thinkroom Consulting; Egla Ntumba of MsFit Ventures, and Thapelo Ntite, Co-founder of Botlhale AI. This discussion originally took place on stage on 8 May at Innovation City Cape Town.

Episode 53 of the Big5D Podcast comes from the recording of an on-stage interview with Loop Co-founder Jamie Wyngaard at the 2025 BigFive Summit in Cape Town. Loop is a South African fintech startup that has digitized payments for African minibus taxi drivers using WhatsApp. Loop's broader ambition is to become a payment solution for emerging markets. Episode 53 of the BIG5D Podcast is supported by The 2025 BigFive Summit Sponsors. The Summit's sponsors were led by Premium Sponsor Absa Group and also included Dialog, NSPYRE, Networds, AfriGIS, and Pragmattica Digital Consulting.

Episode 52 of the Big5D Podcast comes from the recording of a Fireside Chat (sans fire) that we recorded with Zachariah George at the 2025 BigFive Summit in Cape Town. Zach is the Managing Partner of Launch Africa Ventures, the Cape Town venture firm that has invested in African startups including Happy Pay, Peach Payments, Kuda Bank, Moove, Gozem, and many others. Zach has a very clear perspective on Africa Tech. He believes there needs to be more funding for tech startups that comes from within Africa, in particular South Africa. And he also thinks fouders in Africa need to take a different view on venture capital. Do not chase it before you are ready. Be ready to boostrap until you have a product with a clear path to market and impriving unit economics. And for the love of everthing that is good, do some basic research on a fund before approaching it for an investment.

This episode of the BIG5D Podcast is presented by Local Knowledge. Episode 51 of the BIG5D Podcast, features a conversation about using the subscription model to help South Africans gain access to automobiles in a non-traditional manner with Tinashe Ruzane, the co-founder and CEO of FlexClub. FlexClub helps South Africans access vehicles when they need them on a pay-as-you-go basis (they partner with major car rental platforms in South Africa). Ruzane, a former Uber executive, explains why car subscriptions make more sense in a market like South Africa where the need for vehicles is high but accessibility is very limited.

This podcast usually talks to guests with a foot on the ground in Africa or the Middle East. For this episode, we make an exception. Neal Polachek is an old colleague who has co-founded Dialog, a business doing groundbreaking research around small business use of AI. Dialog is learning not just how many SMEs are using AI but why and what the outcome is of this usage. The bottom line is no surprise. Time is the SME's most precious resource and AI gives them back an abundance of time. Dialog is currently US-based but will be expanding globally.

Steven Boykey Sidely is a professor, author, and investor with strongly held views on the threats and opportunities presented by AI. This candid and engaging conversation spans AI safety, the AI opportunity for startups, and AI's geopolitical implications. It is a fascinating conversation that you will not want to miss.

This week's guest on the BIG5D Podcast is Houssam Kayal, the chief revenue officer at FOO, a Dubai-based B2B SaaS company that offers banking-as-a-service and other solutions that help corporations offer financial services. The conversation covers trends in fintech that are making financial services more widely accessible. The BIG5D Podcast is brought to you by BigFive Digital. Questions about the show? Write to us at info@bigfivedigital.org. This episode is supported by Fraktional.dev. "Where innovation meets code, and the possibilities of technology unfold at your fingertips"

Nic Rawhani is a native South African software engineer and McKinsey alum who has co-founded Vula, a company that aims to use AI to solve Africa's SME funding gap, which Rawhani says surpasses $330 billion. The conversation digs into the bad experiences most SMEs face in Africa as they seek the funding any business needs to operate. Rawhani shares how Vula uses AI to make the financing application process easier for both SMEs and the banks who stand to gain from closing the continent's SME funding gap. The BIG5D Podcast is brought to you by BigFive Digital. Questions about the show? Write to us at info@bigfivedigital.org. This episode is supported by Realm Digital. "Empowering industry leaders through innovative business solutions"

Imtiyaz Mohamed is the principal consultant at South Africa technology consulting firm Realm Digital. One of Realm's and Imtiyaz's focus areas is augmented reality/virtual reality (AR/VR). The conversation focused on clarifying what AR/VR is (and isn't) and how businesses use it today to save money, improve safety, and more. The BIG5D Podcast is brought to you by BigFive Digital. To ask questions, recommend a guest, or inquire about sponsorship, write to us at info@bigfivedigital.org Find @RealDigital on X. The episode is sponsored by Fraktional.dev

Zane Stenning is the Co-founder of Mia Health Technologies, a Cape Town startup that addresses profound needs in Africa by providing greater access to dental care. Zane and his team do this via mobile clinics. But Mia also leans into new technologies from 3D printing to connected technology to AI to scale its services. Zane was a speaker at the 2024 BigFive Summit in Cape Town. Realm Digital sponsored this episode of the BIG5D Podcast. Realm empowers industry leaders through innovative business solutions. Contact them at realmdigital.com.

The BigFive Summit Speaker Podcast Series continues with a conversation with John Kitenge, a young South African entrepreneur who founded Fraktional.dev, a marketplace that matches IT talent with startups and cpr[pporates. The interview covers how startups can use alternative workplace models to access higher quality talent, along with a lively discussion on how AI is changing the business of coding. This episode is sponsored by the 2024 BigFive Summit, "Africa's leading small business technology event" which is coming to Cape Town 19-20 March 2024. Learn more at qkt.io/laNIFj

The BigFive Summit Speaker Podcast Series continues with a conversation with Thaheer Mullins. He is the general partner of Savant Venture Fund, which is a deep tech-focused venture firm and startup accelerator. The interview talks about how the fourth industrial revolution is breeding some very interesting companies that are addressing real needs in Africa. This episode is sponsored by the 2024 BigFive Summit, "Africa's leading small business technology event" which is coming to Cape Town 19-20 March 2024. Learn more at qkt.io/laNIFj

The BigFive Summit Speaker Podcast Series continues with a conversation with Kimberley Taylor. She is the founder and CEO of Loop, a South African logistics tech company that helps delivery companies with route optimization. The interview talks about how her company progressed from idea to execution as well as the perspective of a young founder on what it takes to run a tech startup and the hard lessons learned int he process of doing so. This episode is sponsored by the 2024 BigFive Summit, "Africa's leading small business technology event" which is coming to Cape Town 19-20 March 2024. Learn more at qkt.io/laNIFj

The BigFive Summit Speaker Podcast Series continues with a conversation with Fiona Tabraham, CEO of Capaciti, a South African organization that provides digital skills training for African youth so that they can compete for tech-related jobs in the private sector. This episode is sponsored by the 2024 BigFive Summit, "Africa's leading small business technology event" coming to Cape Town 19-20 March 2024. Learn more at https://qkt.io/laNIFj

Episode 2 of the 2024 BigFive Summit Speaker Series featured a chat about economic inclusion with Ashmita Singh, the Co-founder of SwapVend Afrika and the Co-Managing Director for South Africa of AMLANDA Social Entreprises. The conversation is focused on addressing informal SMEs with technology, which has been Singh's life's work. This episode is sponsored by the 2024 BigFive Summit, 19-20 March in Capoe Town. https://qkt.io/laNIFj

The BigFive Summit Speaker Series features conversations about Africa’s tech scene, empowering SMEs with technology, entrepreneurship, leadership, startup life, and much more featuring the incredible thought leaders who will speak at the 2024 BigFive Summit, 19-20 March in Cape Town. The series’ first guest is Aisha Pandor, the CEO of SweepSouth, a two-sided marketplace startup celebrating its 10th anniversary this year. This podcast series is sponsored by The 2024 BigFive Summit

Episode 38 of the BIG5D Podcast features an interview with Zack Marks. He is the Co-founder and CEO of Jia, a blockchain-based small business lender that is focused on emerging markets, where Marks says there is a $5 trillion small business credit gap. Jia's current operational scope includes Kenya, with ambitions to expand elsewhere within Africa. This episode is sponsored by the no-code website builder Duda. Please visit them at Duda.co to learn more about how they help digital agencies deliver website solutions to their customers.