Listening with Empathy: Fundraising beyond Spreadsheets
In this episode, I speak with Danai Musandu about how she got into VC/PE, the fundraising process and how it differs by LP type, what LPs look for when they evaluate funds, the do’s and don’ts of raising money, and why deep listening and cultural multi-linguality are super powers for investor relations professionals.
Welcome to Track 10 of The Trajectory Africa, a podcast series exploring the trajectory, or pathway, of venture capital and startup formation in Africa. This episode’s guest artist is Danai Musandu. Danai is a Senior Investor Relations Associate at HPE Growth, where she leads and supports the public and investor relations function, with a focus on fundraising and strategic communication.
Prior to HPE, Danai was an Investment and Investor Relations Associate at Goodwell Investments, an early-stage technology private equity firm focused on emerging markets and impact investing. Danai is an advisory board member of Private Equity International and the Africa Trust Group, and holds a BCom. in politics, philosophy and economics, as well as a postgraduate honors degree in Economics from the University of Cape Town.
In this episode, we discuss:
- How Danai launched her career in venture capital
- Why she pivoted from investing to investor relations
- The fundraising process in investor relations (IR), and how it differs by LP type
- What LPs look for when they evaluate funds
- The do’s and don’ts of raising money
- Why deep listening and cultural multi-linguality are super powers for IR professionals
Danai’s Recommendations & Featured Resources:
- HPE Growth
https://hpegrowth.com/ - “It Is Not the Critic Who Counts”. Thomas Roosevelt
https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/7-it-is-not-the-critic-who-counts-not-the-man - Summer YoMuthi. Black Diamond
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AagjAUE8U8s&ab_channel=AmbitiouzEntertainment - Chasing Outliers: Why Context Matters for Early Stage Investing in Africa (report)
https://kinyungu.com/chasing-outliers/
DJ Saphir’s Spotify Playlist:
