Complete episodes of the African Tech Round-up Podcast-- delivering all the month's technology, digital and innovation highlights from across the African continent and beyond.

Full Flagship Episodes: African Tech Roundup

The African Tech Round-up Podcast delivers all the week's technology, digital and innovation highlights from across the African continent and beyond.

The show is hosted by Andile Masuku and Musa Kalenga.

African Tech Round-up Podcast

Back on the show for the first time since contributing his fair share of involuntary hot takes on Episode 109 entitled "Investor Bias Debate 2.0 + Should Africa Embrace Uberisation?" (http://bit.ly/investorbias) Tapsnapp Founder, Vije Vijendrenath assumes co-hosting duties in Musa Kalenga’s absence. Andile Masuku chats to him about the workarounds he's deployed to secure funding for two startups that he previously struggled to get investors to take seriously-- namely, www.tapsnapp.co and www.youbabyandi.com.

Then, joining Andile and Vije on the show for a deep dive into South Africa's mobility scene is Obakeng Morapeli Matlhoko, the Founder of AftaRobot-- South Africa's ambitious "Uber for minibus taxis". Obakeng shares trench insights into his company’s audacious attempt usher in a new paradigm for the country’s notoriously fragmented minibus taxi industry.

Music Credits:
Music by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Music licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

African Tech Roundup

A Peek Under the Hood Of South Africa's Mobility Scene feat. Obakeng Morapeli Matlhoko

Joining Andile Masuku and guest co-host Rushil Vallabh of Secha Capital on this African Tech Roundup podcast is Grant Phillips. Grant is the Founder and CEO of PhilTech Consulting and has partnered with both Convergence Partners and Stockdale Street (the Oppenheimer Family’s South African private equity outfit) to "build out technology ecosystems across Africa". He was previously the CEO and Chairman of the Nairobi-based credit reference bureau and debt management outsource organisation CRB Africa as well as CEO of TransUnion’s Pan-African business.

Listen in to hear Andile, Rushil and Grant unpack the provocative assertion that venture capital is a Ponzi scheme, recently made by the American-Sri Lankan Founder and CEO of Social Capital Chamath Palihapitiya. Head to [1:18:12] if you'd like to skip straight to that conversation.

Chamath - a bona fide billionaire - was an early senior executive at Facebook. Following that, Chamath founded Social Capital which he claims, its first 8 years, made double what Berkshire Hathaway made in its first 8 years of business. But now, apparently, he's done with the limited partnership VC model and with running a successful hedge fund. Hence, he's decided to reorganise Social Capital into a holding company that will pick investments on the basis of both solid business fundamentals and "value to humanity"— and offer investees all the finance and growth support they need to thrive.

Given media reports regarding Rocket Internet's puzzling plans to exit their investment in the struggling online shopping platform Jumia via a stock exchange listing in the US, Africa's early-stage investment ecosystem might do well to soberly reflect on Chamath's controversial aversion to the VC model largely popularised by Silicon Valley.

Topics discussed in this episode:
Somalia’s Premier Bank announces a USD1 million fund to invest in Somali startups [14:45]
Kenya earmarks just under USD10 million for local phone manufacturing [15:55]
Airtel Africa raises USD1.25 billion [18:14]
Update on MTN Nigeria's regulatory woes [21:36]
Rocket Internet set to list Jumia in the US [24.09] 
The International Finance Corporation (IFC) could invest USD3 million in Kobo360 [30:26]
South Africa is getting Amazon Web Services (AWS) data centres [43:42]
Naspers is agressively reorganising its portfolio [48:03]
Angola Cables' South Atlantic Cable System (SACS) is live [52:06]
Zambia's Central Bank warns against trading cryptocurrencies [54:05]
Liquid Telecom completes acquisition of CEC Liquid Telecom (Zambia) [59:04]
Nexxus Ventures backs South African equity crowdfunding startup Uprise.Africa [1:00:57] 
Education fintech Prodigy lands a billion dollar line of credit [1:03:32]
Standard Bank South Africa set to launch a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) [1:07:28]
Malawi plans to force businesses to accept digital payments [1:09:02]
Andela pays coders at least 50% less than Silicon Valley coders earn [1:09:40]
Facebook continues to lose top executives + Facebook data breach [1:10:55]
Apple & Amazon accused of having servers compromised by spyware-laden chips [1:12:32]
Apple and Samsung fined by Italy for planned obsolescence [1:13:17]
Uber keen to buy Careem [1:14:36]
Airbnb wants to share equity with home sharing listees [1:15:00]
Discussion: Is VC a Ponzi Scheme? [1:18:12]

Resources referenced in this episode:
The Africa Innovation Paradigm Whitepaper: http://bit.ly/AfricanInnovationParadigmReport
Chamath Palihapitiya This Week In Startups Interview: http://bit.ly/ChamathInterview
Social Capital 2018 Annual Letter: http://bit.ly/SocialCapital2018AnnualLetter

Is Venture Capital a Ponzi Scheme? feat. Grant Phillips of PhilTech Consulting

2018's last in-studio taping of the African Tech Roundup podcast is a two-part affair which guest features the force of nature that is Viola Llewellyn. Viola is the UK-born, Cameroonian Co-founder and President of an award-winning fintech platform called Ovamba. Ovamba relies on proprietary technologies to connect African SMEs to sources of short‐term capital to fund their growth.

Viola has spent over 15 years working in the management consulting, technology and alternative finance sectors at firms like of IBM, Unisys, KPMG and Preston Gates Ellis. She currently serves on the Boards of Directors of ActivSpaces, AH Partners, the European Women in Payment Network and the International Women’s Think Tank.

In this, the first part of Episode 125, Viola joins Andile Masuku and Musa Kalenga as they start to factor in on a “hype vs. reality” themed conversation about the development of Africa’s fintech landscape in 2018. Listen in to hear Viola's candid take on the unfortunate current state-of-play in Cameroon’s Anglophone region.

Topics discussed in this episode:
Nigeria plans to build an additional 18,000km of fibre infrastructure [41:33]
Ashish Thakkar of Mara Group  announces plans to launch a smartphone brand called Maraphone [46:50]
Tanzania vs. journalists [51:29]
Anglophone Cameroon crisis update [53:29]

Resources referenced in this episode:
Nigeria's National Broadband Plan 2013-2018 | Nigerian Presidential Committee on Broadband (http://bit.ly/NigeriaBroadbandPlan2013)
A new model of microfinance for Africa, and beyond | TED Institute (http://bit.ly/ViolaLlewellynTEDTalk)
The Democratisation of Financial Services | SLUSH (http://bit.ly/ViolaLlewellynSLUSH)
26 Women of Colour Diversifying Entrepreneurship in Silicon Valley, Media and Beyond | Vanity Fair (http://bit.ly/BlackWomenVanityFair)

The African Fintech 2018 Retrospective with Viola Llewellyn of Ovamba Part 1

2018's last in-studio taping of the African Tech Roundup podcast is a two-part affair which guest features the force of nature that is Viola Llewellyn. Viola is the UK-born, Cameroonian Co-founder and President of an award-winning fintech platform called Ovamba. Ovamba relies on proprietary technologies to connect African SMEs to sources of short‐term capital to fund their growth.

Viola has spent over 15 years working in the management consulting, technology and alternative finance sectors at firms like of IBM, Unisys, KPMG and Preston Gates Ellis. She currently serves on the Boards of Directors of ActivSpaces, AH Partners, the European Women in Payment Network and the International Women’s Think Tank.

In this, the second part of Episode 125, Viola joins Andile Masuku and Musa Kalenga to factor in on a “hype vs. reality” themed conversation about the development of Africa’s fintech landscape in 2018. To skip straight to that discussion, head to [40:09] and listen in to hear why Viola is sick and tired with the on-going continent-wide obsession of fintech startups looking to build "last-mile" solutions.

Topics discussed in this episode:
France's EDF signs deal for USD1.37 billion hydro project in Cameroon [1:26]
Cameroonian health-tech entrepreneur Melissa Bime wins the Anzisha Prize [5:04]
Benin repeals social media tax [10:57]
Novastar Ventures closes USD72.5 million fund for West African Investments [13:17]
Ethos announces USD69.8 million AI Fund [14:24}
The African Digital Asset Framework (ADAF) is launched [19:35]
Econet Group posts great results despite Kwese's poor performance [28:44]
Econet and Safaricom not content to stay in their lanes [33:38]
African Fintech 2018 Retrospective Discussion [40:09]

Resources referenced in this episode:
Breaking New Ground In Fintech: A Primer On Revenue Models That Create Value and Build Trust | Omidyar Network and Oliver Wyman (http://bit.ly/OmidyarNetworkFintechReport)

Image credit: Tito Pixel

The African Fintech 2018 Retrospective with Viola Llewellyn of Ovamba Part 2

Co-founder and Co-MD of Secha Capital Rushil Vallabh joins Andile Masuku and Musa Kalenga for the very first in-studio taping of 2019. Andile, Musa and Rushil chat through some notable signals and trends they've observed in Africa’s digital, tech and innovation ecosystem over the last month or so, then unpack issues raised by a New York Times (NYT) article entitled, More Start-Ups Have an Unfamiliar Message for Venture Capitalists: Get Lost - penned by Erin Griffith - which caused quite a stir on social media.

The NYT piece raises some contentious issues currently being debated within Africa's early-stage startup investment scene— some of which were tackled on episode 124 entitled, Is Venture Capital a Ponzi Scheme? feat. Grant Phillips of PhilTech Consulting, which, incidentally, featured Rushil as guest host.

Listen to hear why African startup founders might do well to embrace the "joy of missing out" aka JOMO by rejecting investment doctrine that prioritises raising ever increasing rounds of capital and pursuing growth at all costs over building sustainable/profitable ventures. To skip straight to that discussion, head to [55:12].

Topics discussed in this episode:
AMA.ZING, part of the Zing Group, withdraws from Zimbabwe [4:52]
The Econet Group is beasting right now [12:46]
Econet Group Chairman Strive Masiyiwa vs Minority Shareholders [16:25]
Vodacom's #PleaseCallMe PR Nightmare [20:51]
Naspers now controls Russia’s largest classified advertising platform [30:50]
Andela closes $100 million funding round [34:52]
Cairo Angels claims to have invested $2.3 million in 24 startups [36:36]
Egyptian bus-sharing startup Swvl is expanding to Kenya [38:37]
Xiaomi plans to establish a formal presence in Africa [48:27]
Facebook and Google compromise Apple's privacy regime [49:47]

Image credit: Erwan Hesry

The Joy of Missing Out - Should African Founders Reject Hypergrowth VC Doctrine?

Good friend of the show, entrepreneur, investor and incurable blockchain technology fanatic, Simon Dingle, joins Andile Masuku and Musa Kalenga to chat through three big questions:

1) What are we to make of Jumia’s much-publicised New York Stock Exchange listing?
2) Is blockchain technology as full-safe as we are often led to believe?
3) How excited should we be about PopCom founder, Dawn Dickson, becoming the first black woman to raise over $1 million for her company via a security token offering?

Regular listeners of this podcast will know that during our in-studio episodes Andile, Musa and a guest normally highlight and briefly unpack as many as ten important ecosystem developments before tackling a discussion topic. But, in response to feedback we've been receiving from our audience, we’re changing things up a little.

Going forward, our in-studio flagship recordings will only cover three big questions, giving us to us a chance to discuss issues more thoroughly. Do enjoy the show and be sure to let us know what you make of the changes to the format.

Image credit: Aditya Vyas

Jumia's NYSE Listing + Are Blockchains Safe? + Security Token Offerings, Yay or Nah?

In this episode of the African Tech Roundup podcast, Andile Masuku and The Subtext’s Osarumen Osamuyi are joined by Iginio Gagliardone for a candid introductory chat about the budding Africa-China/China-Africa tech collaboration dynamic.

Iginio is an Associate Professor in Media Studies at the University of the Witwatersrand and an Associate Research Fellow in New Media and Human Rights in the Programme in Comparative Media Law and Policy (PCMLP) at the University of Oxford. He is also the author of a new book called China, Africa and the Future of the Internet, which has taken him the better part of ten years to write.

This context-setting conversation covers a lot of ground. Some of the questions discussed include: 

1) Where big-money moves in tech and innovation sector are concerned, is there an Africa-China or China-Africa dynamic at play? [12:17]
2) How committed is China to promoting mutual commercial beneficiation in Africa? [15:51]
3) Is there substance to stereotype of “Everyone has a plan for Africa, except Africa”? [20:13]
4) Are there any “good guys” left, and if so, is China one of them? [25:02]
5) Is China’s influence in African “technopolitical” circles inducing a neo-Third World psyche? [30:23] 

The episode is chock-full of fascinating real-world anecdotes, provocative ideas for how things can and should be and even a lively lightning round near the end of the show which elicited reflex takes on Africa-China tech stories that have trended over the last short while.

To view resources referenced in this episode, visit https://www.africantechroundup.com/africa-china-tech-dynamics/

Image credit: Kayla Kozlowski

Is The Africa-China/China-Africa Tech & Innovation Dynamic Win-win? feat. Iginio Gagliardone

The last couple of months or so have been rather eventful for Africa's fintech scene— particularly in Nigeria where Interswitch notably attained unicorn status in November following Visa acquiring 20% of the company for a reported $200 million. 

Twitter and Square CEO Jack Dorsey's much-publicised visit to Africa last month also did much to put a global spotlight on the continent’s fintech arena, and the subsequent capital raises by OPay (backed by Opera) and PalmPay (backed by Transsion) drew attention to the on-going race for platform dominance in the space.

In this instalment of the African Tech Roundup podcast, Andile Masuku and The Subtext’s Osarumen Osamuyi are joined by Malawian mobile tech entrepreneur, Wiza Jalakasi, to unpack some of the more pertinent fintech industry signals and discuss their implications for the continent’s tech and innovation ecosystem at large. (To skip the introductory niceties, head straight to [11:58].)

Wiza is a passionate USSD proponent who formerly headed up business development and international expansion at Africa’s Talking. He is currently the head of strategy and business development at Hover.

Questions discussed in this episode include:

1) Is the hype around Jack Dorsey’s recent Africa visit well-deserved? [12:38]
2) Why might PalmPay’s $40 million seed round be the most significant China-related fintech startup play of late? [25:47]
3) Are aspiring ‘banks’ like Google and Facebook well-positioned to dominate Africa’s fintech industry? [28:52]
4) Is there credence to Jack Dorsey’s citing of Bitcoin as a key part of the future of African fintech? [37:55]
5) How significant is the trend towards digital-first and digital-only banks? [50:46]
6) Could the Zimbabwean mobile telco NetOne spark a continental trend by making mobile money transactions free? [1:01:57]
7) How will Google’s new Play Store lending term restrictions for financial services apps impact microlenders on the continent? [1:07:34]

To view resources referenced in this episode, visit https://www.africantechroundup.com/fintech-signal-check-2019-part-1/

Image credit: Namnso Ukpanah

African Fintech Signal Check 2019: Nigeria's Killing It! (Part 1) feat. Wiza Jalakasi

So, unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ll have noticed that a 'brick' several hundred million dollars heavy has descended on the continent in an unprecedented period of time, most of it venture capital earmarked for fintech startups in Nigeria.

On this episode, Indian tech founder Arunjay Katakam joins Andile Masuku and Osarumen Osamuyi to extend our conversation about the implications of all the hype surrounding Africa's fintech scene and what the broader implications might be for the continent's tech ecosystem at large.

We’re still vibing off of our last show, dubbed African Fintech Signal Check 2019: Nigeria's Killing It! (Part 1). That show, which guest featured Wiza Jalakasi, unpacked some of the most pertinent happenings in Africa’s emerging fintech landscape and in the legacy financial services arena over the last couple of months or so. If you haven't listened to that show (Episode 134), do that before you dig into this one.

Arunjay Katakam is a former EY consultant who has co-founded three startups, exiting two— one of which eventually sold to Twitter. Today Arunjay is co-founder and CEO of a London-based cross-border remittance startup called Yooz and advises founders at DFS Lab. His extensive tech entrepreneurship experience spans work in developing markets in Asia and Africa, as well as developed markets in the Global North. 

To by-pass the pleasantries, head straight to the main discussion: [18:50].

Topics discussed in this episode include:
1) Arunjay suggests that there are three major cost factors/points of friction preventing mobile money from enjoying WhatsApp-level ubiquity and mainstream adoption. [18:50] 
2) Can ECOWAS's (Economic Community of West African States) Eco currency plans lay the groundwork for smoother regional money flows? [26:25]
3) Might the recent $20 million investment close by "credit-as-a-service" startup Migo (formerly Mines.io)— mostly designated for taking on the Brazilian market,  spark a new trend towards African/Africa-focussed startups taking on key markets outside the continent? [31:54]
4) In what ways might the dynamics of engineering fintech startup success in India be comparable with the same in African key markets? [35:53]
5) Does "a rising tide raise all boats", or will large fintech startups like OPay and PalmPay stifle innovation by smaller players? [51:42]
6) How might African mobile network operators (MNOs) respond to the prospect of wholesale disruption as "OTT (Over-the-top) Application 2.0" takes hold, and what learnings might they draw from the Chinese and Indian ecosystem experiences to inform their strategies? [57:54]

Bonus Topics: Can successful startups be built without having to tell lies, even apparently "harmless" ones? + Is RxAll Africa's very own Theranos in the making? [9:13]

To view resources referenced in this episode, visit https://www.africantechroundup.com/fintech-signal-check-2019-part-2/

Image credit: Babatunde Olajide

African Fintech Signal Check 2019: What Can Africa Learn From India? (Part 2) feat. Arunjay Katakam

In this instalment of the African Tech Roundup podcast, Andile Masuku and Osarumen Osamuyi are joined by Lucy Hoffman, co-founder and head of operations at the Cape Town-based, American mobile content development startup Carry1st. 

Listen in to learn why, as glitzy ecosystem trends like fintech and mobility continue to dominate headlines, Lucy and the rest of her team at Carry1st are quietly bullish on the mobile gaming industry’s low-key commercial case and “super-app/super-platform” potential.

Lucy is an experienced American business operations specialist who, prior to joining Carry1st, spearheaded operations at impact investment facilitation startup Nexii and the African Leadership Academy. Before that, she interned for the global diversity and inclusion team at Credit Suisse and spent three and a half years embedded at Morgan & Stanley, where she worked on M&A and capital markets transactions for global power and utility companies.

To skip all the introductory niceties, head straight to [11:52].

Questions discussed in this episode include:
1. What three words come to mind for Andile, Lucy and Osarumen when they hear the words “super-app” or “super-platform” and why? [11:52]
2. Is the hype behind mobile gaming’s super-app potential worth buying into? [16:42]
3. How are mobile gaming startups navigating the power dynamics of Africa’s mobile telco-controlled landscape in order to monetise? [21:32]
4. How much time and effort do mobile gaming startups like Carry1st need to spend on solving for infrastructural and capacity-building frictions as opposed to working on actual product development? [39:50]
5. Why might African mobile telcos do well to take on Google Play in seeking to own a meaningful share of the mobile gaming market? [49:00]
6. What are the exit aspirations of a mobile gaming startup like Carry1st? [51:08]
7. What is the difference between mobile gaming and mobile gambling? [58:23]
8. Are African markets ready to jump on the global e-sports wave? [1:08:47]

Resources referenced in this episode:
The Mobile Economy: Sub-Saharan Africa 2019 by GSMA Intelligence

Image credit: Angelo Moleele

Is The Super-Platform Hype Surrounding Africa's Mobile Gaming Industry Real? feat. Lucy Hoffman

Professor and Founding Co-Director of the Fourth Industrial Revolution and Globalization 4.0 at Thunderbird School of Global Management  Landry Signé joins Andile Masuku and guest co-host Iginio Gagliardone for a heartfelt discussion about how the COVID-19 crisis might alter Africa's economic growth trajectory.

Landry is a Senior Fellow in the Global Economy and Development Program at the Brookings Institution and his passionate perspectives about the merits of democracy feature heavily in this episode. His views are coloured, in part, by the live policy-making exposure he's gleaned during advisory assignments such as serving on the Global Network on Digital Technologies for Sustainable Urbanization at the appointment of a United Nations Under Secretary-General.

Using Landry's new book "Unlocking Africa's Business Potential: Trends, Opportunities, Risks, and Strategies" as a springboard for the conversation, the trio interrogates some of the speculation influencing Africa's collective response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Listen in to learn why, despite what's going on right now, Landry is standing by the bullish notions outlined in his book— views which, for the most part, Iginio buys into given the positive progress points the continent was posting before the whole COVID-19 nightmare set in.

Questions discussed in this episode include:
1) What immediately pops into Landry, Iginio and Andile's heads when they hear ‘Covid-19 and Africa?' [08:34]
2) In light of what is happening in his native Italy, what does Iginio view as key learning points for South Africa, where he is currently based? [18:45]
3) How should 'expert' projections shape Africa's political and economic response to Covid-19? [22:36]
4) Landry unpacks insights from his new book, Unlocking Africa’s Business Potential: Trends, opportunities, risks and strategies. [42:11]
5) Why would anybody consider Africa's population growth trajectory as anything but a good thing? [43:52]
6) How might Africa position to become more competitive in the global economy? [45:30]
7) Is Landry as bullish on Africa’s potential now as he was before the COVID-19 pandemic hit? [49:10]
8) Why might Africans do well to be cautiously optimistic about the continent's recovery prospects? [51:00]
9) What does Landry see as Africa's top unique selling propositions? [58:59]
10) Apart from the African Continental Free Trade Area agreement, what other evidence might there be of increased regional trade cooperation in Africa? [1:08:05]

Image credit: Nick Romanov

Contemplating COVID-19's Impact on Africa's Economic Outlook with Landry Signé & Iginio Gagliardone

Africa-focused technology, digital and innovation ecosystem insight and commentary.