Technology
Business
The Flip Media
The Flip is an editorial-style podcast exploring contextually relevant insights from entrepreneurs and investors changing the status quo in Africa. The name The Flip comes from the opportunity to flip the script – question some of the pervasive narratives on entrepreneurship, challenge the ubiquity of Silicon Valley thought leadership, and champion the entrepreneurs building a future inspired by Africa. Produced and hosted by Johannesburg-based entrepreneur and American expat Justin Norman. Sayo Folawiyo is the executive producer and b-mic.
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11/11/2024

This Funding Model is Helping Fight Climate Change

These climate investors are funding climate startups using a hands-on venture-building model to support founders across Africa. In this episode, we’re joined by James Mwangi from Africa Climate Ventures, Maxime Bayen from Catalyst Fund, and Lyndsay Holley Handler from Delta40.We discuss why African ventures and climate startups, in particular, benefit from the venture building model; the limitations of the traditional two and twenty fund model in the African tech ecosystem; the types of founders and opportunities these investors are looking for; the pitch these investors are making to global investors for why they should back climate action across Africa; and, is Africa the most important region for global climate goals?00:00 - Intro01:20 - Why climate in Africa?06:03 - The types of founders they're investing in12:18 -  Why the venture building model?19:39 - Fund structures & models35:30- The types of businesses & opportunities they're seeking41:30 - Pitching Africa's climate story to global investorsThis roundtable conversation was recorded during the  2024 Climate Week in New York City.This episode was produced as part of our series on climate action in Africa, in partnership with Catalyst Fund, Delta40, and Africa Climate Ventures.Delta40 is a venture studio and venture capital fund supporting diverse founders leading ventures in energy, agriculture, and fintech, with a special focus on supporting African and female entrepreneurs. Beyond capital, they provide hands-on support from experienced operators & investors to drive growth from idea to pan-African scale. Africa Climate Ventures is a pioneering venture builder working to build a portfolio of climate businesses on the continent. ACV invests to bring proven global climate technology to Africa, accelerate and de-risk the continental expansion of technologies and business models that have gained traction in one or a few African market(s), and add carbon revenue streams to existing African businesses with the potential to scale climate-positive solutions.Catalyst Fund is a venture capital fund and venture builder, investing for a climate resilient future in Africa. They combine capital and a hands-on venture-building approach at the pre-seed stage, to partner with visionary founders who are developing climate adaptation solutions that enhance the resilience of communities and the planet. This episode is made possible through a partnership with Prosper Africa’s Catalytic Investment Facility. Aimed at boosting investment and innovative climate adaptation and resilience ventures across Africa, The Catalyst Fund is one of the grantees under Prosper Africa's Catalytic Investment Facility. Prosper Africa is a Presidential-level national security initiative aimed at strengthening the strategic and economic partnership between the U.S. and Africa by catalyzing transformative two-way trade and investment flows.Our Links - 🎥 YouTube - https://youtube.com/@TheFlipAfrica💻 Website - https://theflip.africa🐦 Twitter - https://twitter.com/theflipafrica👥 LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/theflipafrica/📸 Instagram - https://instagram.com/theflipafrica
48m
29/08/2024

How Moniepoint Powers Millions of Businesses Across Nigeria

There are millions of Moniepoint point-of-sale terminals in use across Nigeria. These point-of-sale devices power Nigeria’s offline economy, and while there are many competitors in this space, Moniepoint appears to beating them all. How did they do it? How did Moniepoint grow so quickly? And why has it become the preferred choice for agents and merchants across Nigeria?In this episode, we hit the streets of Lagos with Ezekiel Sanni, Moniepoint's Senior Vice President of Distribution Network Sales.Moniepoint has been recognized as Africa's fastest-growing fintech by the Financial Times in 2023 and 2024. Last year, they processed over $182 billion in payments. Moniepoint (formerly TeamApt) was founded by Tosin Eniolorunda in 2015. 00:00 - Moniepoint is winning Nigeria's fintech battle01:28 - What do agents want?02:19 - Nigeria's banking challenges03:34 - Moniepoint's business banking strategy04:49 - Moniepoint's distribution strategyCheck out our roundtable conversation with Monieponit's CEO, Tosin Eniolorunda, Kuda's Babs Ogundeyi, and FairMoney's Laurin Hainy - https://theflip.africa/podcast/nigerian-neobank-roundtable-moniepoint-kuda-fairmoney Our Links -🎥  YouTube - https://youtube.com/@TheFlipAfrica💻 Website - https://theflip.africa🐦 Twitter - https://twitter.com/theflipafrica👥 LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/theflipafrica/📸 Instagram - https://instagram.com/theflipafrica
6m
30/05/2024

Tackling Africa’s $330 Billion Credit Gap

There is a $330 billion credit gap, according to the IFC. But why is it so hard to lend in African markets? We explore that question with Chijioke Dozie, Co-founder and CEO of Carbon, and Mark Straub, CEO of Smile Identity.This episode was recorded live from the FT Partners Fintech in Africa Summit in New York City. Download their FinTech in Africa research report, published in March 2024.00:00 - Introduction01:36 - The credit infrastructure problems in Africa02:28 - Carbon's approach to lending03:51 - SmileID's perspective on credit infrastructure08:10 - Ability to pay vs. willingness to pay10:06 - Private sector solutions17:36 - The challenges of scaling lending without infrastructureFollow Chijioke on Twitter.Follow Mark on Twitter.This episode was the third in our series of interviews recorded live from the Fintech in Africa Summit.Nigerian Neobanks with Moniepoint's Tosin Eniolorunda, Kuda's Babs Ogundeyi & Fairmoney's Laurin Hainy: https://theflip.africa/podcast/nigerian-neobank-roundtable-moniepoint-kuda-fairmoneyCross-Border Payments with NALA's Benjamin Fernandes & GTXN's Dan Kleinbaum: https://theflip.africa/podcast/why-are-cross-border-payments-so-hardOur Links - 🎥 YouTube - https://youtube.com/@theflipafrica 💻 Website - https://theflip.africa🐦 Twitter - https://twitter.com/theflipafrica👥 LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/theflipafrica/📸 Instagram - https://instagram.com/theflipafrica
20m
23/05/2024

African Small Businesses Have Many Challenges. Can These Platforms Help?

In this episode, the third in our docuseries on jobtech platforms and the future of work, we dive deeper into the value chain, because the problems that small businesses have across the continent are multi-layered. In an environment of demand constraints and a lack of infrastructure, platforms need to solve multiple problems across the value chain. This is what makes jobtech platforms so hard to build in Africa. But for those who can solve problems across the value chain, it not only unlocks growth opportunities for their users, but it also unlocks additional revenue streams for platforms to achieve greater profitability. Check out the first two episodes in this series:What We Get Wrong About Jobs in AfricaThe Future of Work Will Be Bootstrapped00:00 - Intro01:43 - Jobtech platforms in Africa need to solve multiple problems across the value chain.02:31 - One sector with challenges across the value chain is fashion.03:51 - How Fitted is solving problems for tailors in Nigeria.05:51 - Unlocking revenue opportunities for SMEs and platforms alike.Watch this episode on YouTube.Learn more about the Jobtech Alliance.Check out last year's podcast series on the future of work.Our Links - 🎥 YouTube - https://youtube.com/@theflipafrica 💻 Website - https://theflip.africa🐦 Twitter - https://twitter.com/theflipafrica👥 LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/theflipafrica/📸 Instagram - https://instagram.com/theflipafrica
7m
16/05/2024

Why Are Cross-Border Payments So Hard?

Benjamin Fernandes, the Founder and CEO of the remittance platform NALA, likes to say that payments are just 1% built in Africa. Why are cross-border payments so hard? In this episode, we're joined in conversation with Benjamin Fernandes and Dan Kleinbaum, a co-founder of Beyonic, which sold to Onafriq, and now the Founder of the FX platform GTXN. This episode was recorded live from the FT Partners Fintech in Africa Summit in New York City. Download their FinTech in Africa research report, published in March 2024.00:00 - Intro01:29 - Payments are 1% built in Africa06:32 - How to solve problems in Cross-Border payments08:28 - Do we need more payment apps?15:51 - Navigating regulatory challenges17:03 - Why are Benji & Dan solving these problems?20:30 - What's the cross-border payments pitch to investors?25:39 - Benji & Dan turn the tables on JustinThis episode was the second in our series of interviews recorded live from the Fintech in Africa Summit. Our first episode was with the Nigerian Neobanks: https://theflip.africa/podcast/nigerian-neobank-roundtable-moniepoint-kuda-fairmoneyEpisode Links:Follow Benji on TwitterFollow Dan on TwitterRead Benji's Medium post: Are African Remittances Finished?Our Links - 🎥 YouTube - https://youtube.com/@theflipafrica 💻 Website - https://theflip.africa🐦 Twitter - https://twitter.com/theflipafrica👥 LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/theflipafrica/📸 Instagram - https://instagram.com/theflipafrica
33m
04/04/2024

Much Ado About the Media, Live from Lagos

In January 2024, we hosted a live show in Lagos with The Subtext's Osarumen Osamuyi on the relationship between the tech ecosystem and the media. It was a follow-up to a 2020 episode we published entitled Much Ado About the Media.A lot of founders still feel the media is acting in bad faith amidst more accountable media coverage. In this episode, we explore this tension and have an important discussion with the ecosystem players themselves.00:00 - Intro01:22 - Reflecting on 2020's episode08:20 - Paga's Tayo Oviosu's founder perspective12:20 - TechCabal's Tomiwa Aladekomo's media perspective19:04 - What about business models?22:20 - Stears Nchedolisa Akuma on subscriptions24:58 - Moniepoint's Didi Uwemakpan's marketing perspective28:14 - The global perspective from TechCrunch's Tage Kene-Okafor30:49 - FT's Aanu Adeoye36:20 - How to give local context to a global audience42:02 - Local vs. global media45:43 - Who keeps the media in check?46:36 - Editorial perspectives from TechCabal's Olumuyiwa Olowogboyega50:03 - Negative stories about advertising partners53:03 - Osarumen & Justin's retrospectiveMuch Ado About the Media, part one: https://theflip.africa/podcast/s2e9Our Links - 🎥 YouTube - https://youtube.com/@theflipafrica  💻 Website - https://theflip.africa🐦 Twitter -  https://twitter.com/theflipafrica👥 LinkedIn -  https://www.linkedin.com/company/theflipafrica/📸 Instagram - https://instagram.com/theflipafrica
1h 3m
07/03/2024

Unlocking Gender-Smart Capital At Scale (2X Global's Jessica Espinoza)

Despite research showing that female founders outperform their male peers, startups with a solo female founder or an all-female founding team raised a mere 2% of all the funding in Africa last year. There is a huge gender funding gap. How do we close it?This episode is the last episode of a five-episode series on gender lens investing, co-hosted by Eloho Omame, Founding Partner of First Check Africa, an early-stage fund backing female-led startups. Each episode of this series will explore a different level of the fundraising value chain. In this episode, we're exploring ecosystem and capacity building with Jessica Espinoza, the CEO of 2X Global, an organization aimed at unlocking gender smart capital at scale. Jessica chairs the 2X Challenge which has raised more than $27 billion of gender lens investments since its launch at the G7 Summit in 2018.00:00 - Intro02:10 - Unlocking gender-smart capital at scale03:43 - What is gender-smart capital?06:46 - Applying the 2X framework to investing10:25 - Building the gender-smart investing ecosystem19:52 - The primary issue is bias22:54 - Mainstreaming gender-smart capital25:55 - What is success for 2X Global?33:29 - A retrospective conversation with Eloho & JustinIn Episode 1 of this series, we spoke to the founders: Bamboo's Yanmo Omorogbe & Uncover's Sneha Mehta: https://theflip.africa/podcast/why-is-only-2-of-funding-going-to-female-foundersIn Episode 2 of this series, we spoke to angel investor Yemi Keri, Co-founder of Rising Tide Africa: https://theflip.africa/podcast/this-angel-investor-is-closing-the-gender-funding-gapIn Episode 3 of this series, we were joined by the fund managers: Alitheia Capital's Tokunboh Ishmael & TLcom Capital's Andreata Muforo: https://theflip.africa/podcast/investing-in-women-is-an-economic-imperativeIn Episode 4 of this series, we spoke to an LP investing in the fund managers: Sam Akyianu, Managing Director of the Mastercard Foundation Africa Growth Fund: https://theflip.africa/podcast/mastercard-foundation-is-investing-150-million-into-20-gender-lens-fundsThis series is created under the ScaleX project: Co-designing Solutions to close the early stage gender-financing gap in Africa, an initiative of Make-IT in Africa.Make-IT in Africa promotes entrepreneurship and innovation ecosystems across Africa for green and inclusive development. Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH implements this project on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). Our Links -🔔 Youtube - https://youtube.com/@theflipafrica  💻 Website - https://theflip.africa🐦 Twitter - https://twitter.com/theflipafrica👥 LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/theflipafrica📸 Instagram - https://instagram.com/theflipafrica
37m
29/02/2024

The Mastercard Foundation is Investing $150 Million into 20 Gender Lens Funds

Despite research showing that female founders outperform their male peers, startups with a solo female founder or an all-female founding team raised a mere 2% of all the funding in Africa last year. There is a huge gender funding gap. How do we close it?This episode is the fourth of a five-episode series on gender lens investing, co-hosted by Eloho Omame, Founding Partner of First Check Africa, an early-stage fund backing female-led startups. Each episode of this series will explore a different level of the fundraising value chain. The Mastercard Foundation Africa Growth Fund is a $150 million fund-of-funds initiative investing in twenty gender lens funds, with a particular focus on closing the financing and support gap for females. And in this episode, we're joined by Sam Akyianu, Managing Director of the Mastercard Foundation Africa Growth Fund.00:00 - Intro01:54 - Investing $150m in 20 vehicles08:06 - Fund evaluation & investment decisions23:09 - Measuring success31:25 - Overmentored and underfunded?35:04 - Getting other LPs onboard36:43 - A retrospective conversation with Eloho & JustinIn Episode 1 of this series, we spoke to the founders: Bamboo's Yanmo Omorogbe & Uncover's Sneha Mehta: https://theflip.africa/podcast/why-is-only-2-of-funding-going-to-female-foundersIn Episode 2 of this series, we spoke to angel investor Yemi Keri, Co-founder of Rising Tide Africa: https://theflip.africa/podcast/this-angel-investor-is-closing-the-gender-funding-gap In Episode 3 of this series, we were joined by the fund managers: Alitheia Capital's Tokunboh Ishmael & TLcom Capital's Andreata Muforo: https://theflip.africa/podcast/investing-in-women-is-an-economic-imperativeThis series is created under the ScaleX project: Co-designing Solutions to close the early stage gender-financing gap in Africa, an initiative of Make-IT in Africa.Make-IT in Africa promotes entrepreneurship and innovation ecosystems across Africa for green and inclusive development. Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH implements this project on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). Our Links -🔔 Youtube - https://youtube.com/@theflipafrica  💻 Website - https://theflip.africa🐦 Twitter - https://twitter.com/theflipafrica👥 LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/theflipafrica📸 Instagram - https://instagram.com/theflipafrica
46m
22/02/2024

Investing in Women is an Economic Imperative (Tokunboh Ishmael, Andreata Muforo)

Despite research showing that female founders outperform their male peers, startups with a solo female founder or an all-female founding team raised a mere 2% of all the funding in Africa last year. There is a huge gender funding gap. How do we close it?This episode is the third of a five-episode series on gender lens investing, co-hosted by Eloho Omame, Founding Partner of First Check Africa, an early-stage fund backing female-led startups. Each episode of this series will explore a different level of the fundraising value chain. In this episode, we're joined by the investors. Tokunboh Ishmael is the Co-founder and Managing Partner of Alithea Capital, a $100 million gender lens private equity fund. Andreata Muforo is a Partner at TLcom Capital, an early-stage venture capital fund with a 60% female partnership. 00:00 - Investing in women is an economic imperative02:12 - Introducing Tokunboh04:04 - An Alitheia-led thesis05:36 - What does gender-lens investing look like in practice?11:49 - What about the financial returns? 13:35 - Impact targets17:24 - Are there enough women founders in the pipeline? 19:54 - Women are over-mentored and under-funded23:48 - Is a female investor backing a female founder a negative signal?26:53 - What does success look like? 29:47 - Introducing Andreata31:15 - Why is a traditional VC fund like TLcom trying so hard to invest in more female founders?33:03 - How VCs make investment decisions36:18 - Only 25% of the pipeline has a female co-founder40:44 - Is there a fundamental mismatch with VC and gender-lens investing?42:31 - What does success look like? Part two46:47 - A retrospective conversation with Eloho & JustinIn Episode 1 of this series, we spoke to the founders: Bamboo's Yanmo Omorogbe & Uncover's Sneha Mehta: https://theflip.africa/podcast/why-is-only-2-of-funding-going-to-female-foundersIn Episode 2 of this series, we spoke to angel investor Yemi Keri, Co-founder of Rising Tide Africa: https://theflip.africa/podcast/this-angel-investor-is-closing-the-gender-funding-gap This series is created under the ScaleX project: Co-designing Solutions to close the early stage gender-financing gap in Africa, an initiative of Make-IT in Africa.Make-IT in Africa promotes entrepreneurship and innovation ecosystems across Africa for green and inclusive development. Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH implements this project on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). Our Links -🔔 Youtube - https://youtube.com/@theflipafrica  💻 Website - https://theflip.africa🐦 Twitter - https://twitter.com/theflipafrica👥 LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/theflipafrica📸 Instagram - https://instagram.com/theflipafrica
58m
15/02/2024

This Angel Investor is Closing the Gender Funding Gap (Rising Tide Africa's Yemi Keri)

Despite research showing that female founders outperform their male peers, startups with a solo female founder or an all-female founding team raised a mere 2% of all the funding in Africa last year. There is a huge gender funding gap. How do we close it?This episode is the second of a five-episode series on gender lens investing, co-hosted by Eloho Omame, Founding Partner of First Check Africa, an early-stage fund backing female-led startups. Each episode of this series will explore a different level of the fundraising value chain. In this episode, we're exploring Angel Networks with Yemi Keri, co-founder of Rising Tide Africa, a women-oriented angel network in Nigeria.00:00 - Intro01:42 - Rising Tide Africa05:06 - Mentoring, Investment, Networking, Education07:25 - Growing the pool of female angels12:15 - Where are the interventions needed to close the gender funding gap?14:13 - Yemi's investment approach18:07 - What does success look like?22:04 - Exits?26:40 - A retrospective conversation with Eloho & JustinEpisode 1 of this series featured Bamboo's Yanmo Omorogbe & Uncover's Sneha Mehta: https://theflip.africa/podcast/why-is-only-2-of-funding-going-to-female-foundersThis series is created under the ScaleX project: Co-designing Solutions to close the early stage gender-financing gap in Africa, an initiative of Make-IT in Africa.Make-IT in Africa promotes entrepreneurship and innovation ecosystems across Africa for green and inclusive development. Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH implements this project on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). Our Links -🔔 Youtube - https://youtube.com/@theflipafrica   💻 Website - https://theflip.africa🐦 Twitter -  https://twitter.com/theflipafrica👥 LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/theflipafrica📸 Instagram - https://instagram.com/theflipafrica
34m
08/02/2024

Why is only 2% of funding going to female founders?

Despite research showing that female founders outperform their male peers, startups with a solo female founder or an all-female founding team raised a mere 2% of all the funding in Africa last year. There is a huge gender funding gap. How do we close it?This episode is the first of a five-episode series on gender lens investing, co-hosted by Eloho Omame, Founding Partner of First Check Africa, an early-stage fund backing female-led startups. Each episode of this series will explore a different level of the fundraising value chain. In this episode, we're joined by the founders: Yanmo Omarogbe, the Co-founder and COO of the Nigerian investment platform Bamboo, and Sneha Mehta, the Co-founder and CEO of Uncover, a direct-to-consumer skincare brand in Kenya.00:00 - Intro02:00 - Yanmo & Sneha's fundraising experiences13:19 - If tech companies raise more money, should more women start tech companies?19:55 - What does "the ecosystem" need to be doing more of to help female founders?25:26 - The added burdens for female founders32:18 - What does success look like?38:15 - Is money raised the right metric?41:36 - The 2% Ceiling47:30 - A retrospective conversation with Eloho & JustinThis series is created under the ScaleX project: Co-designing Solutions to close the early stage gender-financing gap in Africa, an initiative of Make-IT in Africa.Make-IT in Africa promotes entrepreneurship and innovation ecosystems across Africa for green and inclusive development. Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH implements this project on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). Our Links -🔔 Youtube - https://youtube.com/@theflipafrica   💻 Website - https://theflip.africa🐦 Twitter -  https://twitter.com/theflipafrica👥 LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/theflipafrica📸 Instagram - https://instagram.com/theflipafrica
57m
19/10/2023

Investing in African Talent with YC's Michael Seibel & Microtraction's Kwamena Afful

Today's guests are Michael Seibel, the Managing Director of Y Combinator, and Kwamena Afful, a Founding Partner of Microtraction. Michael has been an avid supporter of the African tech ecosystem. Since his first trip to Lagos in 2016, and since Paystack joined YC's winter batch earlier that year, the number of African startups that have participated in the global accelerator has grown to 89. And for Microtraction, the early-stage fund was founded in 2017, in part in relation to the increased global interest in the African tech ecosystem, where Microtraction's early financial support and local know-how could help fill the gap. In this episode, we hear from Michael and Kwamena about their shared perspectives on the opportunities they see and their bet on African talent.00:00 - Intro03:08 - Honorary Chieftan Michael Seilbel04:28 - Supporting the African tech ecosystem07:41 - Fintech deep dive10:19 - Software companies crossing borders14:49 - Solving African problems22:24 - What about the continent's population growth?25:47 - Investing in African talent29:38 - Creating jobs31:44 - Connecting African talent to the global marketplace🔗 Our Links🔔 Youtube -  https://youtube.com/@theflipafrica💻 Website - https://theflip.africa🐦 Twitter - https://twitter.com/theflipafrica👥 LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/theflipafrica📸 Instagram - https://instagram.com/theflipafrica
37m
22/09/2023

Olugbenga 'GB' Agboola: Hard-Earned Lessons Building Flutterwave

Today's guest is Olugbenga Agboola, better known as the one and only GB - the Co-founder and CEO of Flutterwave. It's been a trying last year or so for Flutterwave with issues of fraud, allegations of impropriety inside the company, regulatory hurdles, and the general challenges of scaling a fintech in a tough operating environment.Yet through it all, Flutterwave has "technology reach" in 34 countries, they've continued to ship new products beyond their core payments technology, including their rebranded remittance product Send App, and there are rumors swirling about the near-term timeline of their planned IPO.In this episode, we'll hear from GB about many of his recent lessons, his perspectives on product and expansion strategy, and we'll ask many of the questions we've been wanting to hear from him about, including the big one about Flutterwave's IPO.00:00 - Intro03:13 - When is Flutterwave going public?04:56 - What about the allegations?09:24 - Sharing more for the benefit of the ecosystem11:17 - Growth and expansion16:13 - Did Flutterwave grow too fast?21:09 - Fundraising and the African growth story27:11 - GB's angel investing activities30:29 - Lessons from GB's banking and big tech background32:08 - Why did GB start Flutterwave in the first place?33:49 - Are payments still broken?35:55 - The vision for the future38:02 - Final words of wisdomFollow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/theflipafricahttps://twitter.com/just_normhttps://twitter.com/techprod_arch
41m
06/04/2023

The Role of Big Tech in the Future of Work

There is a perception that there's a tech talent shortage in the African tech ecosystem, and that it's hard to find high-quality local talent. There has been lot of conversation around the impact and role of Big Tech in the equation, which many felt were also culprits in driving up the price of talent in local marketplaces. In an environment of talent scarcity, there's been an upward pressure on salaries for talent of a certain caliber - which Big Tech can more readily afford compared to startups. And while the supply-demand equation may be changing a bit in the context of recent market downturns and layoffs, this talent question is an important one for the continued development of the tech ecosystem. So while we hear a lot from startups and founders in this episode, we're going to get a different perspective from the Big Tech companies themselves. 00:00 - Intro, there is a perceived talent scarcity problem in the African tech ecosystem.04:37 - We start with Google, and their Managing Director for Sub-Saharan Africa, Nitin Gajria.05:38 - Google is investing $1 billion in Africa over 5 years.08:16 - Catherine Muraga is the Managing Director of the Microsoft Africa Development Centre in Nairobi.11:49 - Talent scarcity and compensation.13:59 - The competition for talent is global.This season of The Flip is sponsored by MFS Africa.Follow The Flip on Twitter @theflipafrica and subscribe to our newsletter The Flip Notes at https://theflip.africa/newsletter.
15m
31/03/2023

Stablecoins: Africa's Killer Crypto App

We're dropping one more episode of our new show, crypto@scale, on The Flip's feed today. In this episode, we interview our first guests on what might be Africa's killer crypto app, stablecoins. According to data from Coinmetrics, cumulative Stablecoin volumes are at a $9 trillion annualized run rate, exceeding the volumes of all major card networks, except for Visa. Across the African continent, stablecoins are finding meaningful uptake, particularly in markets with low USD liquidity, or countries experiencing currency devaluation.In today's episode, we're going to explore stablecoins in two parts. First, a global perspective with Joao Reginatto, the VP of Product at Circle, which is the company behind the USDC stablecoin. Second, a local perspective with Ngozi Dozie, Co-Founder of the African digital bank, Carbon.This episode of crypto@scale is sponsored by Ripple. Across Africa, Ripple is partnering with local financial institutions and fintechs to bring the benefits of better cross-border remittances to the region. To learn more and get in contact with the Ripple team, head over to ripple.com.00:00 - Intro. Stablecoins are the best thing since sliced bread, according to Ngozi Dozie.02:23 - Introducing Joao Reginatto, VP, Product at Circle and product lead for USDC.02:48 - What is a stablecoins?04:21 - Why stablecoins?13:33 - Not all stablecoins are equal. USDC is pegged 1:1 to the Dollar.24:22 - What else is Circle focused on to broaden the adoption of USDC?28:30 - Regulation.32:10 - What's next for stablecoins?36:25 - Joao's recommendations.37:44 - Explooring stablecoins in the African context, with Carbon's Ngozi Dozie.40:48 - Use cases: access to foreign exchange, hedge against devaluation.44:05 - Carbon's FX and borrowing woes.48:22 - Stablecoins as a platform.52:27 - Challenges to stablecoin adoption.1:00:06 - Ngozi is scared of the risk of capital flight.1:03:46 - Ngozi's recommendations.Follow us on twitter @cryptoatscale.
1h 5m
28/03/2023

Introducing crypto@scale

We interrupt this season on the future of work to drop a special episode today in The Flip’s feed. Introducing crypto@scale, a new show from The Flip, co-hosted by MFS Africa's Head of Crypto, Gwera Kiwana, and The Flip's Justin Norman.crypto@scale is a pragmatic and hopefully hype-free exploration of the crypto ecosystem across the African continent.If you enjoy this episode, please be sure to subscribe on your favorite podcast app or YouTube by searching for crypto@scale. We'll be dropping one more episode later this week and new episodes every other week thereafter. Today's episode is a conversation recorded live from Nairobi last month. In this conversation, we share our perspectives on the sector, the use cases we find the most intriguing, the challenges we find most pressing, why we're launching a crypto show in the middle of a bear market, and what you can expect from us and this show.For more from crypto@scale, follow us on Twitter @cryptoatscale.00:00 - Intro02:16 - Why are we launching this show3:51 - The African market conditions and context for crypto's adoption6:47 - Crypto use cases: stablecoins10:36 - Regulation, centralization, and CBDCs14:16 - DeFi and real-world assets17:36 - Interoperability19:26 - User experience and crypto education22:17 - The DeFi Mullet23:14 - Who's going to build and design for the future of African markets?26:57 - Why the name crypto@scale? And what does crypto at scale mean to us?29:15 - Prediction and wishlist
31m
16/03/2023

The Future of Work is Vertical Platforms

African markets are largely informal. So while our examination of workforce and training programs in the fast few episodes focused on formal and salaried jobs, we know that most Africans aren't going to get these types of jobs. So, our exploration of the future of work needs to span much further than that. Where there are no formal jobs, what does it look like to help stimulate the development of the informal sector and microenterprises? And what role does technology play?In this context, we hear a lot about platforms and their role in creating jobs or income-generating opportunities. But what are the platforms actually good for? And what is their actual impact across African markets? In this episode, we're going to dig into the vertical platforms digitizing microenterprises across the continent. 3:46 - Defining jobtech platforms, with the Jobtech Alliance's Chris Maclay.9:10 - What does it look like to build the infrastructure for microenterprises? With Kandua's Sayo Folawiyo. 12:16 - Exploring what verticalization looks like, and why it is necessary, considering the specifities of the home services sector.17:25 - Vertical platforms can do a particularly good job at helping small businesses grow. We focus on a particularly large sector, the restaurant industry, with Caantin's Njavwa Mutambo. 21:20 - A retrospective conversation between Sayo Folawiyo and The Flip's Justin Norman. Season 4 of The Flip is sponsored by MFS Africa.Follow The Flip on Twitter @theflipafrica and subscribe to our newsletter The Flip Notes at https://theflip.africa/newsletter.
26m
09/03/2023

The Future of Work Needs Training

Throughout this season, we've heard about this disconnect between supply and demand in the labor marketplace. It's often a skills and training issue. Even where there are jobs, there's still this disconnect between demand and supply. But what are we training people for when there are few jobs or income-generating opportunities? In the past few episodes of this season, we've explored the talent networks, the remote work platforms, the workforce enablement programs, and the multi-stakeholder initiatives to attract more global roles to the African continent. All of these interventions work to better connect supply and demand in the labor marketplace, and often there is a necessary training component to these interventions to equip African talent with the skills to do the jobs in question.Edtech and tech-enabled skilling platforms have a role to play too, considering the size and scope of the challenge at hand. So in this episode, we're going to explore these programs working to tackle this problem at scale across the continent.6:39 - We explore the disconnect between supply and demand in the labor marketplace, and the talent deficiency, with AltSchool Africa's Adewale Yusuf.9:19 - The business model question is important. The recruiting agency model is at odds with the scale of impact programs seek to achieve, explains Stack Shift's Chris Quintero.10:48 - Short-form programs need to get really good at developing curriculum that's in line with the demands of the market, especially if they're charging talent directly for their service. We hear from AltSchool Africa's Carlin Henikoff.14:18 - We explore this challenge with a focus on tertiary education, with Kibo School's Ope Bukola.Season 4 of The Flip is sponsored by MFS Africa.Follow The Flip on Twitter @theflipafrica and subscribe to our newsletter The Flip Notes at https://theflip.africa/newsletter.
24m
23/02/2023

The Future of Work is Remote

We know that local economies are not going to create enough jobs or income-generating opportunities for such a rapidly growing African population. But at the same time, for countries in the global north whose working-age population is shrinking, where's the labor going to come from?The solution to both of these problems might be the same:  remote work. In this episode, we're going to explore three buckets of remote work: the sexy, high-skilled remote work for product-led technology companies, the services-based IT work and business process outsourcing, and lastly, the increase of non-technical work that's delivered or fulfilled through digital means.4:39 - Exploring high-skilled remote work for product-led technology companies, with Andela's Jeremy Johnson. 10:18 - Andela's model, and the type of talent they've worked with, has evolved since its founding in 2014.12:30 - Product companies are looking for a specific caliber of talent from an experience level. What does this mean for the future of work in Africa if experience level is such an important requirement? This is where Fred Swaniker and the African Leadership Group come in, which is focused on connecting talent to global services companies. 19:28 - Whereas there's an ever-increasing demand for software developers, it takes a long time to train developer talent. So what about roles that aren't technical, but that can still be fulfilled with technology? We discuss with Shortlist's Paul Breloff.23:11 - The talent networks are going to play an increasingly important role in bridging supply with demand, with a sector-specific focus. Consider the model "Andela for X". 25:03 - One vertical platform creating opportunities for non-technical talent is Caret, the Nigerian-based platform focused on customer success. We speak to its founder, Tolu Agunbiade. 28:22 - A retrospective conversation between The Flip's b-mic Sayo Folawiyo and Justin Norman.Season 4 of The Flip is sponsored by MFS Africa.Follow The Flip on Twitter @theflipafrica and subscribe to our newsletter The Flip Notes at https://theflip.africa/newsletter.
33m
19/02/2023

The Future of Work is Local Jobs - A Case Study

In the first episode of this season, we argued that the future of work is a traditional development playbook. Considering the nature of most African markets today - informal, fragmented, subscale -  and considering the fact that most employment comes from the agriculture sector, the traditional development playbook says that development starts by increasing the productivity of the informal sector and the agriculture sector, in particular.These jobs are local jobs. In the context of Africa's rising population, millions of jobs need to be created and millions of local jobs will need to be created. But where are newfound local jobs going to come?This episode is a case study. We'll explore the decentralized renewable energy sector, or DRE, to see what job creation from a nascent industry could look like. Where there are sectors that are growing in importance in size, like the clean energy sector, how can African markets take advantage?2:59 - The seeds of this episode's exploration were planted during a conversation with Shortlist's Paul Breloff. There are significant opportunities for sectors that are actually creating local jobs, and one sector they are bullish on is decentralized renewable energy.4:28 - We dig into Power for All's Powering Jobs Census, to explore the scope of DRE's local job creation, with its research director, Carolina Pan.10:51 - Exploring the second-order benefits of DRE, including indirect and induced jobs.Season 4 of The Flip is sponsored by MFS Africa.Follow The Flip on Twitter @theflipafrica and subscribe to our newsletter The Flip Notes at https://theflip.africa/newsletter.
13m
17/02/2022

The Ownership Economy

In this episode, we're going to explore web3 in the African context.The premise of web3 technology, and tools like NFTs, in particular, is that they can and perhaps will create new paradigms and economic models and that these models will have positive implications for creators and fans alike. And we believe that the decentralized and permissionless nature of web3 blockchains and protocols can have especially positive implications across Africa and emerging markets, as well. We're going to look at NFTs as a tool, and web3 as a technology and infrastructure that can create new and perhaps more beneficial and inclusive economic models than the status quo. In commemoration of this episode, we're also minting a collection of AI artwork entitled Dawn of Bugs, with Senegalese digital artist Linda Dounia. For more information on the collection, the artist, where to mint, and our thoughts on value in the NFT and African art context, check out What is the Value of African Art? NFTs and Web3 Experimentation. The collection, Dawn of Bugs, is available at reserve auction on Foundation.06:18 - Whenever there is a change in technology, like crypto and web3, there are ultimately new paradigms, as Seyi Taylor explains.10:09 - For Africans, in particular, new paradigms means a permissionless opportunity to participate in the global digital economy.12:36 - New paradigms allow for new communities and institutions, and new tools, like NFTs, that have the potential to create new economic models altogether.14:11 - The opportunity for creators, in particular, is to move from an advertising-based to a commerce-based business model. We hear from Visa's Head of Crypto, Cuy Sheffield. And NFTs can be important for black and African creators in the context of their historical experience as under-monetized and under-credited producers of culture.20:43 - We explore new communities and institutions like DAOs.25:19 - Why are Africans particularly interested in building new institutions? A conversation with The Flip's b-mic, Sayo Folawiyo.Select resources for this episode:The Flip's Crypto GlossaryWhy you can't just screenshot an NFT by Cleo AbramWho Disrupts the Disruptors? by Packy McCormickWhat Co-ops and DAOs Can Learn from Each Other by Austin RobeyNFTs and a Thousand True Fans by Chris DixonNFTs make the internet ownable by Jesse WaldenThe Web3 Renaissance: A Golden Age for Content by Li JinWho will own the creator economy? A web2 vs. web3 showdown by Justine MooreThis season is sponsored by MFS Africa.All this season, we’re exploring value chains. And in the payments value chain, no fintech has a wider reach on the continent than MFS Africa. Through their network of over 180 partners – MNOs, banks, NGOs, fintechs, and global enterprises – MFS Africa’s API hub makes connects over 320 million mobile wallets across 30+ countries in Africa.
30m
10/02/2022

The Creator Economy

African culture and content is taking over the world - from Afrobeats and amapiano, to Nollywood and Netflix originals, to fashion. To what degree can Africans monetize their creativity not only on the continent but globally? To what extent can Africans, as owners of culture and intellectual property, participate in the upside? And if content has been largely an export product, to date, how do *we* develop the local creator ecosystem, as well?05:11 - A brief history of the creator economy. From aggregation theory to 1000 true fans.07:59 - We start with the platforms, and TikTok's Boniswa Sidwaba.11:11 - A challenge with creator monetization for African creators is the value of their audience to an advertiser. We hear from YouTuber Tayo Aina, with a cameo from another YouTuber, Hank Green.15:33 - Because of limited monetization opportunities from the platforms directly, creators ink brand partnerships and sell direct to their audience. 19:49 - The challenge with monetizing an audience directly in a market like Nigeria is the poor macroeconomic situation. So content remains largely an export product, says Iroko's Jason Njoku. 23:17 - But the local fanbase is still incredibly important, and the local infrastructure still needs to be built. It's what Mr Eazi is trying to do for the music industry. 29:22 - How do we make sure value accrues back to the markets from which the content comes?31:42 - Our retrospective conversation between The Flip's Justin Norman and Sayo Folawiyo.Resources referenced in this episode:What is Aggregation Theory? by Ben Thompson1000 True Fans by Kevin KellySo...TikTok Sucks by Hank GreenTayo Aina's YouTube Creator AcademyThis season is sponsored by MFS Africa.All this season, we're exploring value chains. And in the payments value chain, no fintech has a wider reach on the continent than MFS Africa. Through their network of over 180 partners - MNOs, banks, NGOs, fintechs, and global enterprises - MFS Africa's API hub makes connects over 320 million mobile wallets across 30+ countries in Africa.
38m
18/11/2021

Building a Healthier Africa

How can Africans receive greater access to quality healthcare? That's the problem we'll attempt to explain in this episode, and it's a wicked problem.In this episode, we go deep into the healthcare value chain from diagnostics to labs to clinics and pharmacies, to better understand how it all works and how those we speak to in this episode are working to get improved care to Africans across the continent.[04:49] - Today, there is a greater trend towards reactive, not proactive medicine, due to high out-of-pocket spend for medical care, as 54gene's Dr. Jumi Popoola explains.[07:01] - The high degree of out-of-pocket spending coupled with low incomes ultimately creates the problem of low accessibility to high-quality healthcare, about which we speak to Ilara Health's Emilian Popa.[11:05] - Medical care starts with diagnostics. How do we get cheaper and more accessible diagnostics to the last mile? And why are diagnostics so important in the first place?[16:39] - Also, how do we get more payers into the healthcare ecosystem to pay for diagnostics? [21:39] - Fragmentation of pharmacies and healthcare facilities at the last mile is also a problem. We hear from Suleman Sule with Field Intelligence.[25:46] - We speak to Zipline's Israel Bimpe. When it comes to high-value essential medicines, perhaps on-demand delivery is required to increase availability and reduce waste. [32:47] - 54gene's ultimate mission is to ensure the treatments being used on the continent are the right treatments and, through their biobank, to participate in the research process to develop new drugs and treatments for Africa and beyond. [36:45] - A retrospective conversation between The Flip's Justin Norman and Sayo Folawiyo. This season is sponsored by MFS Africa.All this season, we're exploring value chains. And in the payments value chain, no fintech has a wider reach on the continent than MFS Africa. Through their network of over 180 partners - MNOs, banks, NGOs, fintechs, and global enterprises - MFS Africa's API hub makes connects over 320 million mobile wallets across 30+ countries in Africa.
45m
04/11/2021

Problem Solving for Fragmented Retail

As we began our exploration into retail and the so-called B2B commerce platforms, we kept asking about the nature of last-mile retail. Why is it so fragmented? And can we expect retail consolidation? In this episode, we explore why retail looks the way that it does in African markets, and how B2B commerce platforms are working to empower retailers in the context of the way in which last-mile retail works to meet the demands of their customers, the mass-market consumers across the continent. These platforms aggregate demand at the fragmented last mile, to ensure that products not only get to consumers but get to consumers more efficiently, with the aim to ultimately reduce the costs of goods, which, as we talked about last episode, are disproportionately expensive in African markets.[05:12] - Why is retail in Africa so fragmented? As Twiga Foods' Peter Njonjo explains, it's largely due to the rate of population growth in urban cities across the continent.[07:42] - How are B2B commerce platforms attempting to provide solutions for retailers in the context of massive fragmentation? We go on a journey of discovery with ZUMI's William McCarren.[14:29] - So what exactly do B2B commerce platforms do, and how does retailer aggregation work? Sokowatch's Daniel Yu explains.[16:52] - And as a result, these platforms can offer embedded finance offerings to SMEs and retailers who may not have previously had access to credit.[22:07] - On the back of demand aggregation, platforms like Twiga Foods and Sokowatch are both needing to invest further upstream at the supply level of the value chain, as well.[31:30] - A retrospective conversation with The Flip's host, Justin Norman, and b-mic, Sayo Folawiyo.This season is sponsored by MFS Africa.All this season, we're exploring value chains. And in the payments value chain, no fintech has a wider reach on the continent than MFS Africa. Through their network of over 180 partners - MNOs, banks, NGOs, fintechs, and global enterprises - MFS Africa's API hub makes connects over 320 million mobile wallets across 30+ countries in Africa.
41m
28/10/2021

Journey to the Last Mile

As we continue our season on value chains, in this episode, we explore logistics. The cost of goods and food is disproportionately higher in Africa than anywhere else in the world, with consumers in some markets, spending 50% or more of their total income on food alone. A major reason for these high prices is logistics. So how do we fix this? How do we improve the efficiency of logistics on the African continent, and ultimately drive down the cost of goods? [04:20] - On the role of containerization and efficient ports, with Jetstream Africa's Miishe Addy.[11:37] - After we get through the ports, our goods are loaded onto a truck. We hear from Omar Hagrass on how Trella is trying to improve long-haul efficiency in North Africa and the Middle East.[15:26] - From the port, we move on to the wholesale distributor. As we discuss with Daniel Yu, Sokowatch is aggregating small retailers at the fragmented last-mile and offering same-day delivery of fast-moving consumer goods. [22:37] - As the nature of retail evolves and more small merchants need logistics solutions, logistics-as-a-service providers like Sendbox are playing a role at the last-mile. We hear from its CEO, Emotu Balogun. [26:41] - But amidst all of this tech and innovation - what about infrastructure? To what extent is the problem just poor ports and roads? The Flip's b-mic, Sayo Folawiyo, and its host, Justin Norman, call up infrastructure investor Dami Agbaje for some insight. [32:42] - This episode's retrospective with Sayo and Justin. This season is sponsored by MFS Africa.All this season, we're exploring value chains. And in the payments value chain, no fintech has a wider reach on the continent than MFS Africa. Through their network of over 180 partners - MNOs, banks, NGOs, fintechs, and global enterprises - MFS Africa's API hub makes connects over 320 million mobile wallets across 30+ countries in Africa.
40m
21/10/2021

Africa Stack

This episode concludes our three-part fintech series this season. In the first two episodes, we tackled payments. In this episode, we explore the other layers of the financial services stack - namely, identity and data. Africa Stack is a play on India Stack - India's pioneering platform of open APIs and digital infrastructure that underpins the country's rapid move towards a paperless, cashless, and digital future. But whereas India Stack was built in one market, with one currency and one regulator, and with significant government investment, how does Africa Stack get built across a fragmented continent? [04:33] - What is India Stack, why is it important, and what does it mean for Africa Stack?[07:20] - We explore one layer of the stack - identity - with Smile Identity's Mark Straub.[08:51] - Identity is a distinct challenge in Africa due to the gaps left by governments. According to The Economist, in countries like Tanzania, Ethiopia or Malawi, for example, less than 20% of births are registered.[12:50] - Another important part of identity is address verification - something that OkHi's Timbo Drayson is attempting to improve upon.[19:25] - One reason why Africa Stack is important is because of the opportunities created by data layer and open banking startups, like Mono, as discussed with its CEO, Abdul Hassan.[23:14] - Whereas Mono is tackling bank customers in bank-led Nigeria, Pngme is focused on USSD transaction data, the telco rails that power mobile money. We hear from Pngme's Brendan Playford.[27:40] - Beyond data aggregation, there is a need for data empowerment, to create opportunities for real-time, customized credit, for example.[30:25] - So how will Africa Stack come together across such a fragmented ecosystem?  This season is sponsored by MFS Africa.All this season, we're exploring value chains. And in the payments value chain, no fintech has a wider reach on the continent than MFS Africa. Through their network of over 180 partners - MNOs, banks, NGOs, fintechs, and global enterprises - MFS Africa's API hub makes connects over 320 million mobile wallets across 30+ countries in Africa.
33m
07/10/2021

Follow the Money

We hear a lot, in the African tech ecosystem, that the competition is with cash. Virtually every country in the world is on some form of a journey to move from cash to cashless. Many African markets, however, are quite far on that journey. And to understand how to accelerate this trend on the continent, we first need to understand how money moves.[04:55] - For most Africans, the mobile money experience starts with agent networks, like TeamApt's MoniePoint, in Nigeria.[09:47] - Though increasingly, people are getting paid by employers directly into their mobile wallets. Bulk disbursement startups like Julaya, in Cote d'Ivoire, play a role here. [13:24] - But how does money actually move, between accounts and banks? The movement of money is powered by national payments switches. In South Africa, its payments switch is BankservAfrica. [20:06] - So now that we know how money moves, how are fintechs building greater utility into their mobile wallets, to compel users to keep money in them? [25:56] - How should we think about the design and extensibility of mobile wallets, in the context of physical wallets? This season is sponsored by MFS Africa.All this season, we're exploring value chains. And in the payments value chain, no fintech has a wider reach on the continent than MFS Africa. Through their network of over 180 partners - MNOs, banks, NGOs, fintechs, and global enterprises - MFS Africa's API hub makes connects over 320 million mobile wallets across 30+ countries in Africa.
33m