We Can Solve It Ourselves: The Case for African Startup Success
In this episode, Dr. Dotun and I spoke about his circuitous journey to becoming an Africa-focused investor, what his initial assumptions and mental models were when he started investing, what changed when he gained investing experience, how he uses external trend data to make decisions, the impact of governance on innovation, and why now is an unprecedented time for Africans to solve African problems.
Welcome to Track 2 of The Trajectory Africa, a podcast series exploring the trajectory, or pathway, of venture capital and startup formation in Africa. It’s inspired by the concept of a mixtape, in which each episode, or “track” will feature a conversation with a “guest artist”. There is also a soundtrack for inspiration provided by (DJ) Saphir Esmail via his Spotify playlist (link below).
Our guest artist is Dotun Olowoporoku. Most recently, Dotun was an Associate Director at Novastar Ventures, an early stage fund that invests in businesses addressing the biggest problems for the low income mass markets in Africa. Prior to joining Novastar, Dotun was the Managing Partner and co-founder at Growthlab (previously Starta) a startup advisory firm for high growth startups in Africa. Dotun started his career as a research fellow on air quality and climate change in Bristol, England. In 2012, he founded an on-demand food delivery platform, leading the startup to scale across 3 cities in the UK and facilitated a strategic partnership with Just-Eat UK Plc in 2015. Dotun has a PhD in environmental management. He is the host of Building the Future podcast which chronicles African growth narrative through one-on-one conversation entrepreneurs, thought leaders and innovators shaping the African future.
In this episode, we discuss:
- Dotun’s journey from academic to operator to two-time VC
- Why Africans have a unique opportunity to solve African problems and build unicorns
- How investors use trend data to think through opportunities
- Why talent and access to capital are the keys to unlocking venture opportunities
- Why fintech is the future of enabling consumption in Africa
Dotun’s Recommended Track & Featured Resources:
- Exodus. Bob Marley and the Wailers - Live at the Stanley Theatre (9/23/1980)
https://open.spotify.com/track/3O7LY3NQXn7R12Ey6rlgmh - Dotun's most resent investment in TeamApt
https://techcrunch.com/2021/07/01/teamapt-will-use-its-new-funding-round-to-provide-digital-bank-services-for-the-unbanked/?guccounter=1 - Chasing Outliers: Why Context Matters for Early Stage Investing in Africa
https://kinyungu.com/chasing-outliers/
DJ Saphir’s Spotify Playlist:
