#buildourafrica speaker series by Benjamin Fernandes

Dive into the latest installment of our #BuildOurAfrica Speaker Series as we sit down with Mark Straub, the visionary co-founder and CEO of Smile ID (formerly Smile Identity). Join us on a captivating journey through Mark's life, from his roots in the U.S. to his adventures in India, and his bold leap into the world of entrepreneurship.

Join us as we delve into the dynamic landscape of African tech startups with the brilliant Yele Bademosi, co-founder and CEO of Nestcoin. Discover the shifting tides of tech funding in Africa and gain invaluable insights on growing your startup amidst industry changes. From venture capital to profitability, Yele shares expert advice on scaling your tech startup for success. Tune in for a compelling discussion on the future of African entrepreneurship! Special Guest: Yele Bademosi.

Meet Josh Whale, the visionary Founder & CEO of Ampersand, leading the charge in revolutionizing Africa's transportation landscape. A trailblazer in electric mobility, Josh is committed to driving climate solutions and recently secured a game-changing $20 million in funding. His dedication to sustainable innovation is evident in Ampersand's transformative impact, saving bodaboda riders in Rwanda $700 annually. With a passion for eco-friendly advancements, Josh Whale is at the forefront of the green tech movement, shaping the future of transportation. Special Guest: Josh Whale.

Join us as we dive into the world of finance with the incredible Tiernan Kennedy, Founder & CEO of Umba. From his journey in the startup world, to moving to Kenya, then to Nigeria and back, Tiernan shares invaluable insights in the finance space. He shares his challenges, his triumphs, and the strides he has made over the years, a treasure trove of information for any entrepreneur in the African space.

A #BuildOurAfrica exclusive with Mathias Léopoldie, Co-Founder and CEO of Julaya. He lets us in on some of the most frequently asked questions for individuals just getting started on their startup journey. Mathias shares his views on picking a co-founder, hiring, as well as his overall guiding pricinple for everyday life.

Throughout the podcast, Edwin shares his thoughts on what Tanzania could do differently, build on, or scrap altogether, to make itself a formidable competitor among its peers on the continent.

Wole Ayodele, Co-Founder and CEO of Fincra walks us through the ups and downs of raising funding in the African fintech space. Special Guest: Wole Ayodele.

Tunde is the Founder and CEO of Vendease.

Serial entrepreneur, Velani Mboweni, is Co-Founder & CEO of LULA, a mobility scaleup providing shared transportation to companies from home to work and beyond - saving money and time. He has quietly raised millions of dollars, 4x growth, served over 250 businesses, reduced over 1000 tons of CO2 and scaled across 5 cities in South Africa.

In this podcast, Ken discusses his experiences with the terrorist attack in Nairobi that took the lives of his employees, the fall-out with his co-founder and best friend, and the tough decision to step down as CEO of the company he helped build. He opens up about the emotional toll of these events and how he found the strength to push through and keep going.

Mathias lets us in on his entrepreneurship journey, the challenges therein, his wins, and his losses. Mathias also shares quite a bit about his personal life, his upbringing, his West-Indies background, and how that influenced his move to Africa, while also moulding him into the entrepreneur he is today. Special Guest: Mathias Léopoldie.

This is a #BuildOurAfrica exclusive, with Paul Damilie, co-founder and CEO of Approve. Get to hear all about Paul's journey in the African tech and entrepreneurial space. Learn about his background, his upbringing, his first venture into entreprneeurship and the challenges he has encountered, key among them- betrayal from his former co-founder, and the damage it brought with it.

Paul Kwesi Damalie is the co-founder of Inclusive Innovations Inc. Appruve, a product of Inclusive Innovations Inc, makes it easy for financial services to verify individuals and businesses all over Africa. It enables Pan African financial institutions and global financial service providers focused on Africa to meet AML ,KYC and CTF compliance , ensure the most stringent privacy and security standards are met, as well as reduce cost of customer acquisition. By implementing Appruve API via digital channels , customers of financial institutions can remotely access financial services, participate in cross-border trade ,hence build digital financial identities with lesser perceived risk ,that would open a world of opportunities. Special Guest: Paul Damilie.

In this podcast, Ken discusses his experiences with the terrorist attack in Nairobi that took the lives of his employees, the fall-out with his co-founder and best friend, and the tough decision to step down as CEO of the company he helped build. He opens up about the emotional toll of these events and how he found the strength to push through and keep going.

Ayowole Ayodele, CEO Fincra - Ayodele leads a world-class team at Fincra in building online and offline payments infrastructure for fintechs, platforms, corporates & global businesses operating across the globe. Passionate about developing a better global payment system for today’s digital world, Ayodele is convinced that Africa has enormous potential to become the new frontier of this financial opportunity.

Throughout the podcast, Edwin opens up about the challenges he's faced along the way, including betrayal from partners, employee poaching, and losing a co-founder to competitors. He talks about the lessons he's learned from these experiences, including the importance of resilience, persistence, and building a strong team.

Ayowole Ayodele, CEO Fincra - Ayodele leads a world-class team at Fincra in building online and offline payments infrastructure for fintechs, platforms, corporates & global businesses operating across the globe. Passionate about developing a better global payment system for today’s digital world, Ayodele is convinced that Africa has enormous potential to become the new frontier of this financial opportunity.

Throughout the podcast, Edwin opens up about the challenges he's faced along the way, including betrayal from partners, employee poaching, and losing a co-founder to competitors. He talks about the lessons he's learned from these experiences, including the importance of resilience, persistence, and building a strong team.

In this exclusive interview, we meet Tesh Mbaabu, the Co-Founder and CEO of marketForce, an industry leader revolutionizing Africa's informal trade sector. Tesh takes us on a journey through his entrepreneurship story, from his humble beginnings at the University of Nairobi to his current role leading one of Africa's fastest-growing digital commerce marketplaces.