Not So Secret Sauce S1 EP4 - Shifting Narratives About Doing Business in Africa
Download MP3Not So Secret Sauce S1 EP4 - Shifting narratives about doing business in Africa
Featured guests on this episode are Adelaide Njoki, Venture Sourcing Lead at Founders Factory Africa, who identifies and vets deal pipeline opportunities and Product Lead at Founders Factory Africa, Andy Obuoforibo, who helps the early-stage startups we invest in build great products that their customers will love.
In this fourth episode of our flagship podcast, Founders Factory Africa's Venture Sourcing Lead, Adelaide Muthang'i, and Product Lead, Andy Obuoforibo, unpack the thinking that went into articles they published in late 2022 via our Medium channel:
📌 In this article titled, 'Expats still have the funding edge. Where can African founders take control? Adelaide focused on the perceived schism between local and expat founders: ✅
https://bit.ly/3Ig2MfG ⬅️
https://bit.ly/3Ig2MfG ⬅️
📌 While Andy addressed the nuances of product management in an African context, touching on the hierarchical structures that have a practical impact on any product team or business, in this article titled, 'Is Africa doing product “wrong”?: ✅
https://bit.ly/3kcdETX ⬅️
https://bit.ly/3kcdETX ⬅️
What to look forward to in this episode:
- The most surprising response Adelaide got to her article cautioning investors to be wary of their unconscious
bias [07:06] - What going to market with the headline, 'Is Africa doing product wrong?' meant for Andy [09:28]
- Pushback from peers in investment circles around some of Adelaide's sentiments [12:23]
- Adelaide's thoughts on people who seem to be investing in the same kinds of deals or people in the same places [16:18]
- Adelaide's controversial opinion on expat founders [17:07]
- Andy's take on the unconscious bias that he believes exists in product management in Africa [20:20]
- The consequences of rubbing people the wrong way about their unconscious biases [26:01]
- The realities of building product in Africa [29:36]
- Tackling the 'right way' to lead product build or development in Africa [33:42]
- Acknowledging the nuances in different African markets [37:26]
- Moving the narrative in a positive and practical direction from an investor's perspective [41:43]
CONNECT VIA SOCIAL MEDIA:
Connect with Adelaide Njoki Muthang'i on LinkedIn.
