The Secret Sauce Podcast: Recent Episodes
Founders Factory Africa
The "Secret Sauce" Podcast features insightful exchanges between venture builders and innovation architects at the Founders Factory Africa Mothership and Ecosystem innovators of all stripes. Episodes are 40-60 minutes long and aim to distill and scale what it takes to provide venture support to tech entrepreneurs across Africa. That involves unpacking the intricacies of enriching and advocating for the communities & ecosystems that breed and nurture entrepreneurs and interrogating how to better channel blue-chip corporate and public funds into early-stage tech investments while engineering opportunities for startups to accelerate their trajectories through mutually-beneficial commercial partnerships. The podcast covers themes such as partnerships, technical venture building, strategy, leadership, and more. As such, we invite seasoned ecosystem players (entrepreneurs, investors, innovators, and area experts) with live, in-trench experience and ecosystem network access, distilling hyper-relevant, reference-worthy knowledge and insights the Ecosystem needs to progress. It's all about valuable, actionable insight— served at a high 'insight rate per minute.' Welcome to it!
Not So Secret Sauce S1 EP9 - Impact Investing: Driving Commercial Sustainability
Andile Masuku, Head of Community at Founders Factory Africa, hosts this commercial sustainability-focused episode featuring Founders Factory Africa's Chief Financial Officer, Thabiso Foto, Director of Impact at Upaya Social Ventures, Shruti Goel, and Impact Measurement Consultant, Emily Waters, currently consulting at Founders Factory Africa.
This podcast episode is based on the growing debate about whether impact investing can truly deliver on both impact and commercial outcomes. Some argue that the two goals are inherently at odds, and that it is impossible to achieve both simultaneously. Others argue that impact investing can be a win-win proposition, and that investors can make a positive impact on the world while also generating financial returns. There is growing momentum behind the idea that impact investing can be a powerful tool for social and environmental change.
As more and more investors become interested in impact investing, it is likely that the market will continue to grow and mature.
The guests discuss this and more.
What to look forward to in this episode:
- The basics of impact investing [10:41]
- The role of commercial perspectives in impact investing [11:59]
- Differences between ESG versus impact investing [12:50]
- Driving legislation that advances ESG and impact investing [15:42]
- Managing stakeholder interests and relationships [19:06]
- Opportunities for how businesses can get involved in creating impact [21:02]
- The growth potential of impact investing within the global competitive economy [22:04]
- Whose impact is it anyway? [24:06]
- Frameworks for bringing different views and perspectives to alignment [25:50]
- Focus areas of impact investing [34:49]
- The role of tech in advancing impact outcomes [41:54]
- Driving commercial returns through impact [44:50]
- Metrics to measure commercial sustainability [49:23]
- Pushing the impact agenda across corporate companies [56:12]
CONNECT VIA SOCIAL MEDIA:
Connect with Shruti Goel on Linkedin
Connect with Emily Waters on Linkedin
Connect with Thabiso Foto on Linkedin
Not So Secret Sauce S1 EP8 - Identifying and optimising talent in the African tech ecosystem
Sam Sturm, Chief Portfolio Officer and Co-founder at Founders Factory Africa, hosts this episode featuring Founders Factory Africa's Talent Acquisition Lead, Ololade Odunsi and Karen Adie, Founder and CEO of agritech company, Isidore.
They take a dive deep into the African tech ecosystem, exploring the current talent market, the opportunities available despite economic turbulence, and the crucial impact that talent has on ventures. Lean in as they unpack the challenges and potential within this dynamic facet of the African tech ecosystem.
What to look forward to in this episode:
- Get to know Isidore [4:15]
- Balancing optimal team capacity with limited budget and resources [7:42]
- The role of talent acquisition support for startups [9:39]
- Finding the right people for your organisation [10:57]
- Building the right team for Isidore [13:41]
- The current talent landscape across the continent [16:36]
- Assessing candidate resilience [22:46]
- Hiring from a culture fit perspective [26:20]
- Overcoming complex team culture and challenges [33:35]
- Effective people management [36:58]
CONNECT VIA SOCIAL MEDIA:
Connect with Karen Adie on Linkedin
Connect with Ololade Odunsi on Linkedin
Connect with Sam Sturm on Linkedin
Secret Sauce S1 EP7 - Success factors for commercial partnerships
The emergence of Fintech has disrupted legacy systems and is a key driver of digital transformation within the financial sector.
Over the past decade, Africa’s financial sector has witnessed rapid growth in the size and number of fintechs and payment service providers playing in the sector. In collaboration with Standard Bank, Paystack, and PAWA Africa, Founders Factory Africa (FFA) has developed the Corporate & Startup Partnerships Playbook.
This podcast episode features our Partnerships Lead, Ayotunde Aladejana, Alesimo Mwanga, Executive Director of PAWA AFRICA, Sacheen Kala, head of Founders Factory Africa partnerships at Standard Bank, and Nubi Kay, Startup Program Lead at Paystack.
They unpack the free practical guide on how early-stage founders and startups can identify, engage, and secure corporate partnerships. The Playbook provides essential insights into establishing fruitful commercial relationships, focusing on unlocking the potential of the African market, drawing on case studies from South Africa and Nigeria.
- Why Founders Factory Africa and partnering corporates developed this resource for startup founders [2:21]
- Partnership models in Africa. Case studies of successful B2B and B2C partnerships [6:24]
- B2B or B2C? What's the best model for your startup? [11:31]
- Common misconceptions about partnerships. What founders and corporates need to know [14:21]
- Common mistakes to avoid and how to close more deals [23:24]
- How long does it take to close a deal [28:55]
- Bridging the gap between corporates and startups [34:40]
- Advice for founders on how to succeed in partnerships [36:00]
Useful Resources:
→ Download your free copy of the Corporate & Startup Partnerships Playbook: ✅ https://bit.ly/3J3Ipnm ⬅️
CONNECT VIA SOCIAL MEDIA:
Follow Alesimo Mwanga on Linkedin
Follow Ayotunde Aladejana on Linkedin
Follow Sacheen Kala on Linkedin
Follow Nubi Kay on Linkedin
Secret Sauce S1 EP 2 - Building Ventures from scratch
Featured guests include Malanee Hutton, who recently snagged a role as Head of Venture Design at Founders Factory Africa, where she is identifying and forming new business opportunities across the FinTech, AgriTech and HealthTech verticals.
Phakamani Mbatha, who transitioned from his Product Management role at Founders Factory Africa to becoming a Product Manager at healthtech startup, Trigerrise and consulting for Nkinga Global, which helps insurance companies build value-added services within the digital space.
Lastly, Nzwisisa Chidembo joins us. He is the Founder and CEO of blockchain analytics startup, Riskbloq, which was built at the Founders Factory Africa Headquarters in Johannesburg.
They distill knowledge and insights into what it takes to build ventures and embark on the elusive startup journey.
What to look forward to in this episode:
● What motivated your to move from a full-time lead role to begin your founder/startup journey? [05:35]
● In your opinion, what is the secret sauce to the ecosystem support that leads to founder or startup success? [07:29]
● What are some oversimplifications made about the venture-building process? [25:55]
● What is the most valuable takeaway from being in a corporate lead role to heading up a startup? [36:17]
● What are key partnership strategies or nuggets you would advise early-stage founders to adopt? [38:42]
● How significant is packaging and messaging of the product as an essential component to the success of a startup? [40:15]
CONNECT VIA SOCIAL MEDIA:
Follow Malanee Hutton on Linkedin.
Follow Phakamani Mbatha on Linkedin.
Follow Nzwisisa Chidembo Linkedin.
This Secret Sauce Podcast features insightful exchanges between venture builders and innovation architects at the Founders Factory Africa Mothership and Ecosystem innovators of all stripes.
Former Founders Factory Africa leads, Nicole Dunn, Tarris Arnold, and Victor Chaitezvi distil knowledge and insights into what it takes to move away from the security of a predictable income and embark on the startup journey.
Featured guests:
- Nicole Dunn, who recently transitioned from a lead role as a Venture Builder at Founders Factory Africa to helping businesses collect more revenue at a Fintech startup called Revio, where she is COO.
- Tarris Arnold, who stepped out of his Partnerships Manager role at Founders Factory Africa to pursue his interests in the wonderful world of cryptocurrencies as a Business Development Lead at Luno.
- Victor Chaitezvi, who is the CEO of road freight and logistics startup, Tripplo, which was built within the Founders Factory Africa mothership in Johannesburg, South Africa.
What to look forward to in this episode:
● What motivated you to move from a full-time lead role to begin your founder/startup journey? [8:48]
● In your opinion, what is the secret sauce to the ecosystem support that leads to founder or startup success? [22:35]
● What are key partnership strategies or nuggets you would advise early-stage founders to adopt? [31:28]
● Are partnerships an essential component to the success of a startup? [39:07]
● What are the key trends to look out for across Africa that ecosystem players may not be aware of? [42:27]
CONNECT VIA SOCIAL MEDIA:
Follow Nicole Dunn on Linkedin.
Follow Tarris Arnold on Linkedin.
Follow Victor Chaitezvi on Linkedin.