Afripreneur
Bantaba: Connecting African Tech Startups With Diaspora Investors And Resources
Bantaba co-founder and CEO, Lamin Darboe (Images: Supplied)
Bantaba is a digital matchmaking platform that allows African tech start-ups to access knowledge and capital from the diaspora community. The company was founded in July 2021, by a talented group of African diaspora. The mission is to empower Africa’s startup ecosystem using resources from the diaspora.
Lamin Darboe is the co-founder and CEO. Originally from Gambia with a background in finance, consulting and venture capital. While the other executives, Fabrice Ouedraogo (CTO) and Noufay Kafando (CPO) are from Burkina Faso. Fabrice has a background in computer science and cloud computing. While Noufay has a background in Engineering and management. The startup is headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden. But has a global workspace with employees based in Kenya, Germany, France, Taiwan.
Alaba: For those who don’t know, how does the Bantaba platform work?
Lamin: Bantaba is community-based platform that brings African tech startups and diaspora professionals & investors together to bridge the gap between global knowledge, capital and Africa’s startup ecosystem.
On one hand, African tech startups can create a pitch of their product or services and disclose their business needs on the platform. Diaspora professionals and investors, on the other hand, can create a profile showcasing their skills, experience and as well as their interest in the African tech ecosystem.
The platform then uses the information provided to match startups with diasporas in the community that are in a position to add value to them and vice-versa. Once there is a match, Bantaba’s in-platform messaging feature can be used for communication.
As an example, a tech startup in Nigeria who is looking for someone with experience in capital raising will be matched with James, a diaspora professional in Finland who has spent years working at VC firms in Finland.
In addition to connecting Startups with diaspora, Bantaba also creates a space where startups can share their journey with the diaspora community making it possible for the startups to create awareness around their ventures and build valuable networks.
Alaba: What’s so special about Bantaba and how have you attracted users and grown the platform till date?
Lamin: What makes Bantaba special is its community. It brings African tech startups closer to capital and resources by creating a global network. That’s not all, our model democratises access to network, knowledge and capital which makes it possible for more startups to access valuable resources. On the diaspora end, the platform finally gives millions of knowledgeable and wealthy Africans living abroad the ability to help the African continent grow. They can now support disruptive startups and also diversify investments by accessing a wider pool of startup investment opportunities.
Bantaba builds a solution for Africa, by harnessing African resources. It is championing a paradigm shift from the focus on remittance to investment in productive sectors of the African continent. Currently, Bantaba has over 500 diaspora and startup users on its platform, and this number is poised to significantly grow with the deployment of a new version of the platform.
Alaba: What have been the biggest challenges and successes in building the platform till date?
Lamin: The biggest challenge has been finding the right tech talent for the team. It’s not unexpected as the demand for tech talent has been skyrocketing since the pandemic. The fact that we are a young company makes it often difficult to compete with offers from big corporations.
However, the team is growing gradually, working together to achieve our mission of empowering Africa’s startup ecosystem. Since our beta launch, we have raised about $500,000 in funding, and been selected to join SSE Business Labs. One the biggest innovation hubs in Sweden. We were also among the 10 finalists at the 2021 Shift Capital Competition, which started with over 250 Swedish tech startups.
Alaba: African startups have been attracting a lot of VC funds lately. Why do you think so many investors are taking interest in this vertical? What do you think has changed recently?
Lamin: The potential in Africa has always been there. It has extensive resources, a young and increasingly educated workforce, and huge prospects for economic growth. However, until recent years it was largely untapped. The success of startups like Jumia, Andela and most recently Paystack in the ecosystem has significantly changed the perception of investors.
Similarly, the pandemic’s role in opening businesses globally has created new opportunities in e-commerce, work, spending money, online delivery, and learning. Now, VCs are vying for a piece of the African market. No one wants to be left out, so I think African VC funding will keep rising.
Alaba: How does it feel as African innovators making an impact in the Diaspora?
Lamin: We believe in the catalytic power of the African diaspora. And the passion of young African entrepreneurs and innovators looking to change/improve their communities with innovative solutions and digital technologies for green and inclusive development. Our digital platform gives them a helping hand by bringing them together to achieve the goal of a better Africa.
Alaba: What are Bantaba’s expansion plans in terms of product, tech & markets in the next 5 years?
Lamin: In terms of market, we started with leading African countries with well-established startup ecosystems like Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa, Egypt and Ghana. However, any startup on the continent is welcome to join our community. And access the available resources.
Our vision is to become the link between global capital and Africa’s startup ecosystem. Starting with the diaspora community, we want to enable African startups to have equal opportunity to capital. Like their peers in other parts of the world, and we want our platform to be the leading platform in the next 5 years to facilitate that active engagement. And collaboration between African startups and the diaspora community.
Alaba: Finally, what piece of advice would you give to budding African entrepreneurs both in the continent and Diaspora?
Lamin: Fear of failure doesn’t help anything grow. It is important to believe in yourself and never give up. By truly believing in what you are doing especially if it has a positive impact on your community. You can achieve a lot. That’s what will keep you going forward and during hard times. There will always be challenging times, and you can overcome them by believing in what you are doing.
Secondly, the road to startup success is not linear. Being flexible as an entrepreneur is important. When building something, you will get a lot of feedback. And they are always nice to receive, but sometimes difficult to implement. At the times when what you are doing does not reflect the market. Take a step back and readjust your strategy to fit it. That’s the only way to survive and grow.
Mary Njoki is the CEO and Founder of Glass House PR, an award-winning pan-African PR firm headquartered in Kenya that offers custom public relations solutions across Africa. She founded Glass House PR in 2012 at the age of 23. Mary has worked with more than 100 organisations, including SMEs/SMBs in Africa, African artists, Facebook, Viber, Paxful, Nissan, and African governments such as Zanzibar and Ethiopia among others through her company, Glass House PR. She has mentored entrepreneurs across Africa through “A Billion Startups, a free mentorship programme that educates entrepreneurs about brand visibility and sustainable development. 11 years after launching Glass House PR, Mary Njoki in this exclusive interview with Alaba Ayinuola of Business Africa Online, shares more on her entrepreneurship journey. Excerpt.
Alaba: Could you briefly tell us about yourself and your career journey?
Mary: I grew up in Ngarariga village in Limuru. I finished High school at the age of 16, but my mother could not afford to take me to University. I found solace in acting, doing some gigs at the Kenya National Theatre to hone what I thought was a fledgling acting career. A year later I gained admission in the university to study Information Technology at Graffins College. It was while here, I concentrated on coding. I then got a job with an IT firm as a marketer, then later a Business developer. I then moved to another IT firm as a Business Executive.
Here, I started volunteering at K Krew and I gained my first experience in the media which ignited my love for Public Relations. Soon after, I moved into a PR agency and it was in between my jobs where I enrolled for part time classes at Daystar University Majoring on Public Relations.
Alaba: What sparked your interest to go into PR and how did you launch Glass House PR?
Mary: After my two jobs in the IT industry and while working at the PR agency, I discovered more about PR and I was determined to find my purpose. Deep down I knew the future of PR was on Digital media. I resigned, determined to start my own company. Initially I wanted Glass House to be a social Media company as I understood technology. I started Glass House PR with an initial capital of Sh6,000 from my savings, a laptop, an Internet modem and tons of optimism.
Starting the company was not easy and the first year of business I did a lot of pro-bono jobs but I learnt alot. I then realized that there was a lot of groundwork needed for my company to gain establishment in the industry. I was a member of Business Networking International (BNI) when I was employed and this network and skills also became my capital. Presently, I have worked with tech giants like Viber,Facebook Paxful,Walt Disney Africa among others.
Alaba: What services does your company offer?
Mary: We are a Pan-African PR Agency, offering PR strategies, media relations and management, digital media communications, event management, we are a whole 360 PR agency that help brands tell their stories through different channels to their audiences.
Alaba: Before venturing into entrepreneurship, what lessons did you pick as an employee?
Mary: I have worked with SMEs, directly working with the founders, I learned and picked different lessons which actually formed the basis of the name Glass House PR. There used to be a lack of communication between us and the management, lack of transparency, and over time one realizes you do not need to share everything with everyone. But I felt that was lacking, and from that I learnt that when I start a business, I have to ensure that there is clear communication with all the public that I am dealing with. Working with millennials and GenZ, I realized the importance of employees’ inclusion, sharing with them the vision and allowing them to see themselves in it. After I resigned is when I realized I was just an employee and I was never included.
Alaba: What lessons have you learnt as a female entrepreneur?
Mary: I have learnt that growth is a process that takes time. Keep discovering and learning every day. Becoming a leader is a process, one has to build a community they can learn from, also lead and leave a positive impact on. I have learnt to walk in wisdom and be more discerning, I have learnt to have boundaries and while disrupting the PR industry, I have previously worked through naivety, which is the major challenge women go through but grown out of it. For one to keep growing, one has to communicate their vision while bringing others onboard.
Alaba: Could you share some of your accomplishments so far?
Mary: I have worked with more than 100 organizations, including SMEs/SMBs in Africa, African artists, etc. I have also mentored entrepreneurs across Africa through “A Billion Startups, a free mentorship programme that educates entrepreneurs about brand visibility and sustainable development. I have spearheaded the conversation of the future of finance in Africa through the annual ADFS summit “The Africa Digital Finance Summit”, which is held in conjunction with governments, regulators, start-ups, and thought leaders from around the world in the digital finance and decentralized finance industries. I have won several awards locally and internationally.
Alaba: How has Glass House PR impacted society?
Mary: I came up with a billion startups, we are yet to grow it to where it’s supposed to be. It is a platform where we have been mentoring entrepreneurs and we hope to do more across the world. Glass house PR intends to help these startups tell their stories, get their market share and learn how to position their brands to their audiences. We have also spearheaded certain conversations in the society like the “The future of finance in Africa” through African Digital finance summit; to redefine value exchange in Africa, inviting governments, regulators, stakeholders and private sectors to discuss this.
Alaba: What’s next for Glass house?
Mary: We are getting into a lot of content production and content marketing. We hope to be part of the people who will shape the future of media and how the future of decentralized media will look like.
Alaba: What is your source of inspiration?
Mary: I draw my inspirations from God, I have learnt from him over the years through practice. Everything I do, people or companies I bring on board, things I walk away from, I seek God’s guidance. Any mistake in the past has become a lesson that I have learnt from as a leader.
Alaba: Any advice to someone who wants to venture into PR and entrepreneurship ?
Mary: Pursuing a career in PR can be a rewarding and exciting career choice for those interested in telling authentic brand stories.
Young entrepreneurs in Libya face many challenges, including accessing markets and financial resources, and navigating regulations and administrative procedures. The Deraya initiative is designed to equip entrepreneurs with the essential know-how to turn innovative ideas into successful startups. The initiative was jointly developed by the Ministry of Local Government (MoLG), and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), in collaboration with the European Union (EU) and the African Development Bank (AfDB).
Targeting youth and vulnerable groups, Deraya is open to innovative and aspiring entrepreneurs aged between 18 and 35. Through interactive webinars, the initiative’s participants will be given an opportunity to engage with experienced entrepreneurs, subject matter experts, and role models from Libya, Egypt, and Tunisia and learn from their success stories, wealth of knowledge, and expertise. The initiative will also entail startup weekends in Tripoli, Benghazi, Sebha, and Derna, culminating with a pitch competition where the winning startups will receive financial support, financed by EU and AfDB, to further develop, grow, and take their business ideas to the next level. As a critical step towards sustainability, entrepreneurs will be linked to the municipal business incubators being set up with MoLG with UNDP’s technical support.
Commenting on the launch of the programme, Dr. Bader Al-Deen Al-Tomi, Minister of Local Government, said: “The Deraya initiative plays a pivotal role in the Ministry of Local Government’s strategy to develop entrepreneurship and micro-enterprises at the local level, empower municipalities economically, and provide job opportunities in line with Law 592 and Resolution 15003. We are delighted to work towards these goals in cooperation with our international partners, EU, AfDB and UNDP.”
EU Ambassador Mr. José Sabadell added: “Libya’s economic prosperity will be driven by young entrepreneurs with innovative, forward-looking ideas. They will be the key to a more diversified Libyan economy, a strong private sector and new jobs. Together with our Libya and international partners, the European Union therefore seeks to offer strong and concrete support to young Libyan entrepreneurs, to realise their business ideas.”
Mr Mohamed El Azizi, Regional Director for North Africa at the African Development Bank, further commented: “Private sector development is key to boosting economic diversification and job creation in Libya. Supporting the trajectory of young Libyan men and women to develop and grow their start-ups has enormous socio-economic potential and will contribute to job creation. It is also important to ensure an adequate business enabling environment and institutional support. The EEYES project, financed by the AfDB through the Youth Entrepreneurship and Innovation Multidonor Trust Fund, and implemented by UNDP, supports these components.”
UNDP Resident Representative, Mr. Marc-André Franche, said: “Libya has a new generation of young people, women and men, with promising capacity and big ambitions. The country has the potential to be one of the biggest entrepreneurial ecosystems in North Africa, and through the Deraya programme, UNDP seeks to help inspire and provide young entrepreneurs with the necessary resources and assets to realise growth and innovation.”
The Deraya programme is part of UNDP’s Local Peacebuilding and Resilience efforts in partnership with MoLG, aimed at creating socio-economic opportunities for youth and vulnerable groups to promote sustainable growth in Libya, including the establishment of the first Municipality-led business incubator and the TEC+ Accelerator programme.
The Deraya initiative, co-funded by AfDB and EU, is designed and implemented in collaboration with a consortium consisting of Flat6Labs, Tatweer Research and MAZAM, bringing in years of experience and specialized knowledge in helping young entrepreneurs launch successful ventures in both the Middle East & Africa regions.
Senegalese businesswoman Adja Sembene Fall said she had no choice but to launch her start-up business online because her new Contanna fair-trade tea company only had $200 to its name.
“Due to lack of finance, it was not possible to get a physical shop. We started out in the backyard of my brother’s house. We sold our teas via social media for three years,” said Fall. She says her line of luxury brand tea products is about more than taste. Fall says Contanna teas sell a “Senegalese experience” that promotes a women-owned, 100% locally sourced and processed product based on recipes infusing family and cultural traditions.
“Digitizing our buying process was really important. We were also able to present and adjust packaging of our product online, [to emphasize] it was premium and different from what was available in Senegal,” the 29-year-old added.
Contanna says its first year of operations, a focus on Instagram and its website drew $5,000 in online sales. As the online business grew, Fall said, Contanna hit $12,000 in sales and established a community of around 2,000 clients.
Contanna recently opened a pop-up stall at Dakar’s Sea Plaza shopping mall. In January, it was named a winner of the African Development Bank’s AgriPitch Competition, which supports African youth agripreneurs by improving their business bankability and ensuring that they are “pitch ready” for potential investors.
The 2022 AgriPitch competition, which started last October, received nearly 750 complete entries from entrepreneurs in the agriculture sector – or “agripreneurs” – from 38 African countries. The judging panel comprised women- led enterprise support advisory firm, Private Equity Support; the Private Financing Advisory Network, a global network of climate and clean energy financing experts; and EldoHub, an education, innovation, and technology organization targeting youth and women.
The competition, which this year awarded $140,000 in prizes, is a key activity of the Bank’s ENABLE Youth Program.
“African youth have great ideas. It was exciting to see the high level of innovation and passion from these young agripreneurs, particularly the large number of women-owned enterprises like Contanna,” said Edson Mpyisi, the Bank’s Chief Financial Economist and ENABLE Youth Coordinator.
AgriPitch organizers selected 25 semi-finalists, 68% of them women-owned or led businesses, to attend a two-week business development virtual boot camp. The boot camp culminated in a pitch session to judges, who chose 9 agripreneurs to advance to the finals.
“I was pitching in front of my shop – where customers were passing by. They were so encouraging when they discovered that [my business] is a 100% Senegalese company and especially that the founder was a woman,” said Fall. She received $25,000 as the winner in the AgriPitch competition women-owned business category.
Fall says she’ll use part of the prize money to upgrade a digital payment system and for computers and digital skills training for Contanna employees, all women.
“We don’t eschew hiring men. The women were first to apply and were qualified. They currently log their work production and stock building in paper books. We are training them to build capacity to use Google Sheets [and other digital software],” Fall said.
Contanna and the two-dozen other competition finalists will retain access to the AgriPitch “deal room” to avail of post-competition digital expertise, business development, and investor engagement.
“We look forward to working closely with the entrepreneurs in the coming months through individual business advisory support and investor engagement in the deal room,” said Diana Gichaga, Managing Partner at Private Equity Support.
-
Press Release9 hours agoMoCaFi, founded by Nigerian Wole Coaxum, raises $23.5M funding to end racial wealth inequality
-
Afripreneur1 day agoMary Njoki is helping startups tell their stories through Glass House PR
-
Afripreneur2 days agoDeraya entrepreneurship initiative to boost job creation in Libya
-
Technology3 hours agoYellow Card and Tether join forces to drive stablecoin education and adoption