According to Ahmad, her focus on the northern tech ecosystem is simply strategic. 

Nigeria’s population is expected to match that of the United States by 2050, becoming the third-largest country in the world, and a large number of that population will come from the northern part of the country. 

“This is a ready market for anything,” she shared. “We want to make sure that we start to harness the potential now, not in the next 20 years.” 

In November, Ahmad, alongside Sanusi Ismail, the founder of Kaduna’s first tech innovation hub, CoLab, announced the launch of Aduna Capital, a $20 million fund targeted at discovering and nurturing early-stage tech founders across Africa, with a focus on regions like northern Nigeria.

One of the main challenges of the northern tech ecosystem is a lack of access to funding as there are not enough VCs in the region, according to this report. On the other hand, investors from other regions are typically wary of investing outside the Lagos tech bubble. This puts entrepreneurs building in the north in a tight position, with many resorting to dev shops and prioritising being contractors for the government over pushing to scale their startups. 

“There are a lot of businesses in Abuja, but they get carried away with contracting and doing dev shops,” Ahmad shared. “Dev shops were the highest category of companies in our survey, which makes sense that people are developing software for the government.” 

However, Ahmad believes this trend is slowly changing as the ecosystem is increasingly seeing more people who recognise the need to have scalable products that are not government-dependent. She believes that it’s important to invest in them.

According to Ahmad, the right time to invest in some of those outliers is right now because a couple of success stories will result in a multiplier effect for the ecosystem. 

“We’re already starting to see success stories with Sudo Africa, which raised $3.7 million; and Flexi Saf, which is bootstrapped to over a million dollars in revenue,” Ahmad said over a call. “These kinds of successes send a message to others, or even employees that work there, that they can build and scale their products. The cycle continues and this is how we’ll start to see a more vibrant ecosystem.” 

Ahmad is also hopeful that this growth will be facilitated by the presence of Nigeria’s new minister of communications, innovation and digital economy, Bosun Tijani. Tijani recently launched the 3MTT programme to train three million tech talents, simultaneously giving smaller tech companies the chance to apply to facilitate trainees. 

“Having one of our own who understands the pain of the ecosystem is great, and I can see that he’s already opening things up with the 3MTT programme, giving smaller companies the chance to apply as trainers,” said Ahmad.  “This is automatically going to catalyse the ecosystem both in Abuja and nationwide, simply because some of these companies will have that initial market that they need to gain some traction and to be able to prepare for the funding.”

Beyond funding, another key challenge of the northern tech ecosystem is a lack of cohesion. This means that it is often difficult for entrepreneurs to connect with other stakeholders to gain knowledge or access to opportunities and resources. Currently, there are only about 40 key ecosystem entities, including accelerators, VCs and incubators operating from the region.

This is something that Ahmad struggled with in her early days in the ecosystem. She shared that a lot of growth and funding opportunities were only discovered later in her journey.

She told TechCabal: “As a young founder, I wish I knew the kind of support available to me out there as a founder—all the accelerators or incubators or programmes. It is very sad, but it’s also the reason why we’re making sure that founders within the ecosystem here can access support, even if not from us, but from other incubators and accelerators available within the space.”

In the next five years, Ahmad is looking to grow TTLabs to become a major pipeline for deal flows from the region and connect underserved founders around the country to VCs in Africa. Their fund, Aduna Capital, is targeting a 5–10x investor return, striking a balance between impactful investments and lucrative returns for investors.

For the fourth edition of the program this year, 20 African female-led tech startups listed below have been selected out of 490 applicants from 37 countries across Africa. During the selection process led by judges; Enki Toto, Femi Agboola, and Michelle Agbodohu, special consideration was given to startups focusing on areas like health, education, finance, agriculture, and sustainability. Startups that provide solutions and/or address African women’s and girls’ needs also received special consideration. The  2023 edition has been supported by Google for Startups Accelerator: Women Founders Africa Program, Salesforce Ventures Impact Fund and F6S expanding the scale and reach of the initiative.  

Here’s the complete list of all founders selected from across the continent.

EGYPT

• Mai Shakweer, Founder of AutoMechanic, which connects car owners in Cairo with local mechanic services and workshops. 

KENYA

• Juliet (Shiro) Njoroge, founder of Mosmos Africa, a Save Now Buy Later (SNBL) platform, enabling Kenyans to save-to-buy conveniently with the Mosmos app. 

• Celeste Tchetgen Vogel, founder of e-Waka Mobility, a full-service platform for businesses to make cheaper, eco-friendly deliveries with tried and tested electric bikes. 

• Natasha Makindu, founder of Paydel, a social commerce fulfilment platform that aggregates logistics services on demand.

• Fridah Karani, founder of Hela Money, a next-generation trade platform bridging traditional and digital finance enabling businesses to build for the future. 

• Jackie Kamau, founder of The Laundry Lady, an on-demand laundry, dry cleaning service offering convenient pick-up, wash and delivery, with a focus on high-quality service at affordable rates. 

• Elizabeth Nduta, founder of Gwiji, a startup that empowers low-income Kenyan women with training and flexible employment. 

NIGERIA

• Al Hassan Keita, founder of EtioneraPay, an escrow payment gateway built for online and e-commerce users, processing payment and enabling payment for users. 

• Jennifer Echenim, founder of Bloccpay, a crypto-powered payroll solution for global businesses and talents. 

• Gold Sylvester, founder of Traddify, a global remittance platform that allows individuals and businesses to make cross-border payments seamlessly and instantly. 

• Ngozi Nwabueze, founder of PocketLawyers, a Nigerian legal tech startup that offers access to affordable premium legal services and solutions to SMEs and startups. 

• Sarah Odiavbara, founder of Craftmerce, a B2B e-commerce marketplace for African handcrafted enterprises.

• Olawunmi Akalusi, founder of Rísé NG, a digital platform that seamlessly connects artisans and vendors with consumers. 

• Bibi Ikuemonisan, founder of FarmCorps, an agritech platform providing smallholder farmers in Nigeria with end-to-end market access, loans and more. 

• Joy Akparobore, founder of VAMUZ, a Nigerian e-commerce and logistics platform aimed at the local market. 

• Kemi Ogunkoya, founder of LeaderX, an innovative mobile application enabling African professional networks to bridge talent shortages, leadership gaps and more. 

SOUTH AFRICA 

• Jacqui Rogers, founder of My Pregnancy Journey, an app which aims to guide and empower South African/African women with information and expertise on pregnancy, health, and parenting. 

TANZANIA

• Sophia Abeid, founder of Vide, a Tanzanian educational video-sharing technology for content creators. 

TUNISIA 

• Rym Bourguiba, founder of WildyNess, an online platform that offers travellers authentic experiences in Tunisia creating social  impact in rural regions 

ZAMBIA 

• Vwanganji Amatende-Bowa, founder of Mightyfinance, an SME finance partner building thriving enterprises, that aim to transform lives through the provision of flexible, easy and affordable loans. 

PROGRAM DETAILS 

For the fourth edition and for the first time, Google for Startups Accelerator: Women Founders Africa Program, Salesforce Ventures Impact Fund and F6S collaborated with The Future Is Female Mentorship Program, joining TechCabal and, Africa Communications Week, long-term partners of the initiative. The program is now powered by Allison+Partners, one of the international PR industry’s fastest-growing and innovative global agencies.

In August and September, the selected mentees will participate in masterclasses hosted by TechCabal, Salesforces, and Africa Communications Week, in collaboration with the program’s mentors. The program mentors are the founding team, Claudine Moore, Managing Director, Africa, Allison+Partners, David Idagu, Africa Regional Consultant, Allison+Partners and Tope Adubi, Digital  Marketing Consultant, Allison+Partners. 

From October to December, the mentors will host customised one-on-one sessions with the mentees focusing on sharing insights into  PR and communications fundamentals for early-stage tech startups, such as corporate storytelling and communications, media relations, digital marketing, and more. 

For more information on the finalists and details of the Program, visit the website or follow CMooreMedia, or Allison+Partners on Twitter and LinkedIn.

Unlike other language learning apps that offer only text and audio lessons, Spiika goes a step further and offers its users live interactive lessons with tutors, engaging activities and video lessons, and a community of learners to interact with online.

TechCabal spoke to Etornam about Spiika and what it’s like running an edtech startup in Ghana.

TechCabal: Did you always want to build a startup or did Spiika just happen along the way?

Etornam Fianoo-Vidza: I love languages, fundamentally, I have a passion for languages. I speak five: English, French, Spanish, our local language here in Ghana, Twi, and Swahili. I’ll be adding German and Chinese to that list very soon. I’m just a language fanatic, and growing up, I knew that I wanted to do something with my love for languages and make something out of it. I also have always loved business, so at one point, I just decided to align my love for languages with my love for business by starting a language school.

I have a Masters in Teaching French as a Foreign Language from the University of Arizona, and when I returned to Ghana, I started to teach French. However, I found that local African languages also needed to be taught and so I incorporated them and took it online. The existing platforms had only words and AI voices in foreign accents were pronouncing these words, which I found appalling. At that point, I decided that we could work on helping people across Africa learn local languages alongside foreign languages.

TC: What does Spiika do differently from the regular language classes taught at Ghanaian secondary schools?

EFV: Language is the most studied subject area in Africa but while students are taught foreign languages like French—which is compulsory—they end up not remembering anything as soon as they leave school. This is mainly a result of the way they are taught. Our schools here use a very mechanical and rule-based approach, and that doesn’t yield long-term results as it’s not practical. From my experience teaching French in the United States as a teaching assistant, I saw how people respond to different methodologies. With language learning, interaction is key, and technology is an important tool in facilitating this. It’s very important for us to move away from the traditional classroom-based mechanical approaches to incorporating really diversified methodologies that highlight human interaction.

You can use word-based platforms to learn, which will teach you vocabulary and common expressions, but unless you are interacting, you will remain the same and eventually even forget what you’ve learned. Our app now does three things: live interactive lessons with tutors, engaging activities and video lessons, and a community of learners to interact with online. The human component gets people to progress faster.

TC: What does it take to successfully run an edtech startup in Ghana? 

EFV: The first thing to come to mind is grit; grit and perseverance. The passion is really what has to drive you. Passion for what you do and passion to keep learning, because as a founder you have to be willing and able to learn things on the go as well as be adaptable and open to change. When I started Spiika, I didn’t start with any official business background, no MBAs or anything, my background was just languages. Once I started, I had to begin attending a lot of business workshops and reading books, just to keep up. Running a startup in Ghana takes a lot of grit, perseverance, and willingness to learn.

TC: What are some of the challenges that you’ve faced in building Spiika?

EFV: One of the challenges we’ve faced is talent. As we grow, we need to employ even more people to fill more roles which has been a bit of a hassle. Really good talent comes with really good money and sometimes we’re not necessarily able to afford that.

Another challenge that we’ve faced is payments. Because our services are online and cater to people across the world, receiving payments from different countries can be a hassle. We have a lot of fintechs but I still think that there’s more that can be done in terms of simplifying payments between African countries. We’ve had instances of users from other countries having difficulty with payments because they’d much rather use simpler transfer methods than cards.

Fintech in Ghana is also not as advanced as in other countries, Nigeria for example. 90% of our clients in Ghana pay using the Mobile Money option, but getting that option alone can be a challenge— especially with running around the telecom providers.

TC: How has the reception for Spiika been? How well have people received it so far?

EFV: So far, it’s been good. We started with French to validate the need for it, as we are surrounded by Francophone countries and there’s a need to learn French. In terms of demand, we’ve seen more people trying to learn French compared to any other language. Also, due to the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) which is headquartered here in Ghana, more Ghanaians are looking to learn French as it’s the official language.

TC: How’s the edtech scene in Ghana?

EFV: The edtechs in Ghana are blooming but not as vast as I’d like or to the extent of our true potential as we still do not have a lot of exposure compared to countries like Nigeria or North Africa. These countries have more developed tech ecosystems in general, which when combined with country size, looks more appealing to investors.

This lack of exposure directly translates to very little to no capital for local edtechs in the country, which is a problem for entrepreneurs as they have to bootstrap or work on consultancy projects to fund their operations. Even in the edtech space in Ghana, the ones that typically receive the most mainstream attention are coding hubs or startups, not K12 or language edtechs like Spiika.

TC: What are things you’d like to see happen in the Ghanaian tech ecosystem? 

There’s a popular saying on how entrepreneurs are over-mentored and underfunded, and that holds true. I’d like to see more funding into edtech, not just a series of advice and tips. While these are important, we need the money to actually implement the advice.

I’d also love to see more collaboration with the fintech or payments market. We had to step back from exploring the Nigerian market even though we had a lot of users due to payment problems. Payments is an essential part of scaling for a lot of startups and so I’d love to see fundamental issues in the payments space addressed.

Another thing I’d like to see is more transparency in the ecosystem. There seems to be a culture of information hoarding and you have to meet someone personally or network in certain circles to be able to access certain information. In other more advanced ecosystems, there’s information readily available online. You don’t have to know someone to find out what investors to pitch to, how big their ticket sizes are, what grants to apply for, what percentage equity is normal, etc. Concrete information like this isn’t available readily and is only open on an exclusive basis.

In less than five minutes, Teniola Adedeji convinced Kola Owodunni, Yuzuru Honda, Eloho Omame, Hiro Mashita, and Kola Aina, the five judges of Pitch2Win 2023, that her health tech startup PharmaRun was most deserving of the prized $10,000 equity-free funding. PharmaRun delivers medication on-demand to the doorsteps of customers.  It competed for this funding with 14 early-stage startups that pitched AI, blockchain, fintech, e-commerce, and logistics solutions at Pitch2Win, an annual event that aims to connect startups to potential investors.

This is not the first time Pharmarun has received external investment. In 2021, the same year it officially launched, the startup received an angel investment from Fedha Capital. But over a phone call, her best friend of 20 years and co-founder, Funmilola Aderemi, told me that Teniola had registered “Pharmarun” as a business name since 2016.  By that time, Teniola had rounded up an investment banking internship at Bank of America Merrill Lynch and was working as a pharmacist at the National Food and Drug Commission (NAFDAC). Amused at the recollection of what now looks like a self-fulfilling prophecy, Teniola responded, “I just thought the name was really cool. I wanted to own a pharmacy of my own and call it that someday.”

Pharmarun started out as a labour of love. “Too often, I heard people talking about how only pharmacies situated on the island [a more bourgeois part of Lagos and miles away from the mainland] had a medication that they needed,” recalls Teniola. Working at a pharmacy herself, she witnessed the frustration of customers when her workplace ran out of stock for a particular drug. Teniola took it upon herself to assist customers in finding the medication elsewhere, even extending her help to family and friends. As word spread, people started reaching out to her on WhatsApp, asking her to locate specific drugs and deliver them.

The demand for her assistance increased significantly during the COVID-19 pandemic when movement restrictions made it even more challenging for individuals to access pharmacies. “That was when I realised that this could grow into a business,” Teniola reflects. She sought the assistance of her friend, Funmilola, who at the time was a senior product manager at a logistics company, MAX. Late-night calls became a regular occurrence as they collaborated on designing various aspects of the web platform where customers could order.

Teniola disclosed that they had been concerned that no one would trust them enough to make payments on the website until they had their first paying customer. She had previously operated primarily through WhatsApp and relied on word-of-mouth referrals. To instil confidence in potential clients, the website was designed to include features such as “Speak to a pharmacist”, to assure users that real people were behind the platform. Pharmarun’s customer base has expanded to include individuals, hospitals that need to send refills of prescriptions to their patients, as well as insurance companies seeking to ensure timely refills for their policyholders.

The business’s needs grew with time, so Teniola began to search for a co-founder to lead Pharmarun with her full-time. Even though Funmilola was spending plenty of time helping her with the product, Teniola was hesitant to ask her to leave her full-time job at MAX. But she eventually did, and her best friend said yes to becoming her co-founder. Flashing back to that moment, Funmilola said, “It felt natural and almost like a promotion from a consultancy position to a co-founder position. Moreover, I enjoyed working on the product with Teniola, and like her, I was also passionate about the problem.” Teniola, with seven years of experience as a pharmacist and pharmacy operations manager, is the CEO of the startup, while Funmilola, due to her years of experience in product management, is the Chief Product Officer.

Going the extra mile

Both co-founders believe that Pharmarun needs to be more than a drug store. “If people know where to find a drug but do not have any money to buy it, they still lack access to medication,” Teniola mused on a call with me. Pharmarun also finances medication for its customers through embedded buy-now-pay-later (BPNL) services. “Through partnerships with some BNPL companies, customers who are out of cash to pay can still access medication.” Because the BNPL services are embedded at the checkout, they are not run on the balance sheet of Pharmarun, so the startup doesn’t need to work on recovering the loan from customers. 

Pharmarun’s operational model may evoke comparisons to Jumia, as users can simply place an order and have medications delivered to their doorsteps. However, unlike Jumia’s platform, users do not have to choose from an array of pharmacies like Medplus. When customers search for a specific drug on the Pharmarun platform, it assists them in finding the best price from any pharmacy that has the desired quantity of medication. “This is why we are onboarding as many legitimate pharmacies as we can,” Teniola said. Currently, Pharmarun collaborates with over 80 pharmacies across the country, with a significant presence in cities such as Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt, Ibadan, and Uyo. It is working on partnering with more pharmacies.

Nevertheless, the process of onboarding these pharmacies has not been without challenges. Adedeji highlighted the stringent onboarding process to ensure compliance with industry standards, ensuring user protection. Additionally, many of these pharmacies are not tech-savvy, necessitating training on the web platform used to fulfil orders. Overcoming these obstacles is crucial as Pharmarun actively works to expand its network of partner pharmacies. During her pitch, Teniola mentioned the need for significant funding, estimating up to $500,000, to facilitate the onboarding of more pharmacies.

Staffing also posed a significant hurdle as the customer base grew. Teniola acknowledged the difficulty of finding individuals with the necessary skills and shared passion. Despite the challenges, Pharmarun has grown from its humble beginnings with Teniola and her best friend and co-founder Funmilola to a team of 15 dedicated staff members.

“We are going beyond medication,” Funmilola said to me. Pharmarun envisions a broader impact, particularly for communities that seem isolated from urban communities like Makoko in Lagos. “We are building Pharmarun to be able to deliver all essential medical health products to those in need. Even beyond Nigeria, because what we have is a very replicable solution. In five years we will be working either independently or through collaborations, to address healthcare challenges across African countries,” she concluded.

The other 14 startups that competed alongside Pharmarun at the Pitch2Win 2023 competition include blockchain and ed-tech startup Akowe, health-tech startup Primed E-Health, fintech startup Tyms Africa, mobility tech startup Motor Africa, B2B fintech startup Bridger, e-commerce startup Check Retail, blockchain powered fintech startup Crunch Network, fintech startup Oystr Finance, blockchain startup DIAGON STUDIOS LTD, cloud infrastructure startup PipeOps, AI startup ZeroComplex AI, blockchain startup Centiiv, logistics startup Shiip, and health tech startup Uburu Health.

ZeroComplex AI, an AI startup dedicated to streamlining the integration of AI into existing applications was the runner-up in the competition. Oystr Finance which facilitates easy access to alternative financial data, creditworthiness assessment, and borrower identification verification came third.

In celebration of the 60th anniversary of Africa Day, C. Moore Media and Allison+Partners have announced the launch of the fourth edition of The Future is Female Mentorship Program, the first and only PR and communications program dedicated exclusively to African female tech founders and their business development needs. For the first time, Google for Startups Accelerator: Women Founders Africa Program and Salesforce Ventures Impact Fund will collaborate with the program, highlighting both organisations’ support in developing tech across Africa.

In line with the goals and objectives of the Future is Female Mentorship Program, the Google for Startups Accelerator: Women Founders Africa Program aims to empower and support female founders on the continent by providing resources and opportunities to scale their startups and address African problems.

Salesforce Ventures Impact Fund is actively interested in Africa and continues to assess opportunities across the continent. The Fund has invested in some of the region’s top tech startups, including Flutterwave and Andela. As part of their support for the program, they will host a session on VC funding for the selected female founders from across Africa.

Launched on Africa Day in 2020 by Africa tech-focused PR agency C. Moore Media International PR, recently acquired by global agency Allison+Partners, The Future is Female Mentorship Program is the first and only PR and communications program dedicated exclusively to African women in tech. Applications to the program have grown by over 160% in recent years, with applications received from 36 African countries in 2022.

“African female tech founders are often unsupported in the male-dominated world of tech, which is why The Future is Female Mentorship Program was established. We are excited to launch the fourth edition of the initiative with Allison+Partners, who acquired C. Moore Media, International Public Relations,” said Claudine Moore, The Future Is Female mentorship program founder and managing director of Africa at Allison+Partners. “We are also delighted to collaborate with Google Africa and their Women Founders Africa Program, and Salesforce, who will be hosting a session on VC funding with the selected finalists of the program,” she continued.

Selected alumni from the Google for Startups Accelerator initiative will be invited to take part in the program, which will provide African female founders with PR and communications expertise, insights, knowledge, and skills needed to gain visibility and grow their businesses.  

Applicants selected for the initiative will learn storytelling best practices, strategic business communications with multiple stakeholders, how to position their startups for investment opportunities, and more. The program will also provide mentees with insights customised for the unique needs of their business and sector.

“We are excited to be collaborating with The Future is Female Mentorship Program as it aligns with the mission of the Google for Startups Accelerator: Women Founders Africa Program to support and empower women founders building great tech startups in Africa or for Africa,” said Folarin Aiyegbusi, head of Startup Ecosystem, Sub Saharan Africa. “By increasing the representation of women in the startup ecosystem, we can help bridge the gap between the number of women-led startups and the amount and quality of support they receive, ultimately leading to more diversity and innovation.”

Leading pan-African tech publication TechCabal, and Africa Communications Week, a global platform that builds bridges between communications professionals focused on Africa’s transformation, return for their third consecutive year as official partners of the program.

What the 2023 program offers

The fourth edition of the Future is Female mentorship program promises to reach even more African female founders across the continent, while introducing additional partners in more diverse sectors, expanding the resources, network, expertise, and knowledge available to mentees.

Mirroring previous editions, this edition of the Future is Female Mentorship Program will provide African female tech founders of early-stage startups with the PR and communications insights, knowledge, and skills needed to gain visibility and grow their businesses. It is aimed at African women based on the continent or in the diaspora and is launching or growing a tech business for African markets or serving Africans in the diaspora.

The program is delivered virtually, and the mentees are invited to participate in masterclasses and sessions customised to the specific needs of their sector and business. During the mentorship program, female founders will learn insights into the fundamentals of PR and communications for tech startups, including creating a communications plan, incorporating storytelling into their business communications with multiple stakeholders, and more. During the selection process, special consideration will be given to startups that focus on health, education, finance, agriculture, and sustainability. In addition, startups that provide solutions and/or address African women’s and girls’ needs will also receive special consideration.

How to apply

The application portal for the Future is Female Mentorship Program is now open and closes Monday, June 26, 2023. The successful female founders will be announced on Tuesday, July 25, 2023.

We encourage all women building great tech startups in or for Africa to apply to the program and take advantage of this opportunity.

Follow #CMMtheFutureIsFemale on social media for program updates. Follow @Allisonpr @CMooreMedia and @ClaudineMoore on Twitter and Instagram for announcements.

Please visit www.thefutureisfemalementorshipprogram.com for regular news and updates.

Press Contacts: David Idagu, Africa Regional Consultant, Allison+Partners David.idagu@allisonpr.com

About Allison+Partners 

Allison+Partners is a global marketing and communications agency driven by a collaborative approach to innovation and creativity. It was named by PRovoke Media as one of its Global Agencies of the Decade, 2023 North American Agency of the Year and Best Agencies to Work For. In July 2022, Allison+ Partners acquired C. Moore Media International Public Relations expanding its presence in Africa and named Claudine Moore the Managing Director of Africa. Allison+Partners operates in 50 markets worldwide and is organized around five practices: Consumer Brands, Corporate, Reputation Risk + Public Affairs, Health, and Technology. The agency’s Marketing Innovation Team, which combines brand strategy, integrated marketing, creative, research and measurement expertise into one offering, works across these practices to deliver integrated storytelling for clients. For more information, visit www.allisonpr.com.

About the Future Is Female Mentorship Program

The Future is Female mentorship program is the first PR and communications mentorship program dedicated exclusively to African female tech founders. The Program is complimentary to ensure that there are no entry barriers for any female founder who wants to apply. The Program continues to gain pan-African and global recognition and has been featured in Forbes, TechCabal, Business Insider, Disrupt Africa, PC Tech and many more tech and business publications.

About Google for Startups Accelerator Africa

Google for Startups Accelerator Africa: Women Founders Program is a 12-week virtual/hybrid accelerator program for Seed to Series A technology startups in Africa. The accelerator is designed to bring the best of Google’s products, people and technology to women-led Startups across the continent. In addition to mentorship and technical project support, the accelerator also includes deep dives and workshops focused on product design, customer acquisition, fundraising, and leadership development for founders.

Although the women founders program officially concluded on 19th May, applications to the regular accelerator will be announced soon.

Some of the founders who share this sentiment are shunning opportunities to be featured in stories that highlight only the achievements of women because they worry about being othered. Turning down my request to have her featured on a women-only list of founders, a founder rhetorically asked me, “How often do you see men being called male founders? How many lists of male founders have you written?” She refused to be featured in the story even after I explained that the story seeks to emphasise that, despite the challenges women face, such as the gender-funding gap and gender-based discrimination in workplaces, women are making significant accomplishments.

A number of women expressed fatigue from being approached by journalists to tell stories about their experiences as women in the male-dominated sector. But some women welcome it as it increases their visibility to investors and growth opportunities, especially those that are exclusive to women. Founder of Fashtracker, Wunmi Akinsola, told TechCabal that earlier on in her startup journey, she was apprehensive about the “female founder” label. “It took me failing to realise how skewed the system is against women and to embrace the valuable opportunities that are specially designed for women,” she said.

Taking off the gender lens

However, some feel shortchanged by these stories and say that they just want their work as operators in the space to be spotlighted without the gender lens. “These women-only stories make it seem like the accomplishments of women are anomalies rather than the norm, and thereby perpetuate the inequalities that they seek to undo,” a female founder told TechCabal in an email. 

Some women also feel that gender-lens investments are only made because they are women and not based on the merit of their work. A media professional who has worked extensively with African female founders told TechCabal that “some feel like they are only helping the investors meet their diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) KPIs,” and that other commercial investors they meet down the line will assume the business is not commercially viable. “That is not how I want to be seen. I don’t want investors to see me as a woman, or invest in me because I am a woman. I want the quality of my work, the calibre of my skills, and the promise of my venture to be the benchmarks,” a founder told TechCabal in an interview. 

But will changing our language to a more inclusive and gender-neutral one level the playing field? Melanie Okuneye, founder of the health startup, Akoma Health, doesn’t think so. “Investors and customers can see that we are female anyway!  Female founders are unique in many ways, whether from the expectations placed on them or the challenges faced. So, I don’t see a problem with the title. I wear it with pride.” she told TechCabal. Olabinjo Adeniran, a marketing professional who co-founded and led growth at Future Africa, an African venture capital company, told TechCabal that even though Future Africa makes sure to invest in a particular percentage of women, he doesn’t recall any founders pitching themselves as “female founders.”

Many male professionals have acknowledged the existence of gender-based problems in the tech ecosystem, such as the gender funding gap, gender-based discrimination in the workplace, and gender-based harassment, and agree that intentional efforts should be made to address these issues. However, they agree that constantly noting gender when talking about women, even when the situation doesn’t require a gender basis for discussion, is not helping matters. “It can be annoying and alienating if people only ever refer to you as a woman founder instead of measuring or telling your story as a leader of a fast-growing company,” Binjo said in a chat with TechCabal. 

While agreeing that the title can sometimes be reductive, Odun Eweniyi, founder of savings platform PiggyVest and women-focused VC firm FirstCheck Africa, says that the gender distinction is a reminder of the progress that needs to be made in the push for equal representation. “As there are still ‘first woman to’ achievements in tech, this distinction is necessary to serve as a call to action for others to take the leap and that it can be done,” she told Techabal. Some professionals agree but think that this will change naturally over time. Damola Ajayi, who has co-founded two startups, Loft and Warenext, told TechCabal, ”Before there were hardly women in the ecosystem, but now all that is changing, and alongside the negative stereotypes and language, I believe that with time, people won’t refer to them as just founders and not female founders.”

The GrindstoneX accelerator was launched in September 2022 with financial support from Naspers Labs. It aims to help more women-founded businesses become scalable, attractive to investors and exit-ready. The accelerator will do this by assessing the startups and offering them interventions based on their business needs. The interventions may include business strategy, go-to-market planning, funding readiness and networking, and expert business coaching, including mentorship and advice from Grindstone Alumni companies that have successfully scaled or exited their businesses.

The start-ups shortlisted for GrindstoneX operate in various sectors including hydroponics, branding and web development, fashion marketplace, online education, and digital empowerment through animation, gaming, and virtual reality. The program director, Nonceba Qabazi, said the start-ups selected for GrindstoneX all have one thing in common: the ingenuity and drive of their women founders. 

Learn more about the female founders and their businesses:

Africa Beyond 4IR

Africa Beyond 4IR aspires to ignite a spark of technological advancement and entrepreneurial spirit in marginalized communities by bridging the digital divide in such communities of South Africa. It has programmes that introduce communities to gaming, animation, drones, programming, and virtual reality. It also has an incubation programme for entrepreneurs who run businesses with this technology. Kelebogile Molopyane is the founder of Africa Beyond 41R. 

Blushproof

Blushproof employs ecommerce and payment technology to promote women’s empowerment through its product—leak-proof reusable period panties. The products are reusable, enabling women to save money on period expenses and also spare the environment the pollution that non-biodegradable tampons and pads cause. Blush was founded by Thandi Hartmann.

 Chicken Bar

Founded by Asanda Maqbuka, Chicken Bar is a food business riding the wave of health-conscious dining. The restaurant uses an online delivery service to deliver chicken meals to the doorstep of customers. Chicken Bar also has a growing franchise, which uses computerised pricing and management software to serve its franchise owners. 

Four Minute Medicine

Four Minute Medicine works with a network of specialists, generalists, and medical students to produce evidence-based teaching on medical subjects. Its online courses support blended and adaptive learning with e-learning to help students accelerate their professional training. Phinda Njisane is the founder of Four Minute medicine.

Seponono Africa

Seponono Africa started out selling African print headwraps as corporate gifts before evolving into digital branding. It offers brand consultations, brand design, digital marketing, and Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) services to businesses. The founder of Seponono Africa is  Tebogo Petlele.

 Abaguquli

Abaguquli wants to prepare the youth for the fourth industrial revolution through training, information and access to opportunities. It offers training in the development of websites, mobile apps, eCommerce, and chatbots. It also offers education on Arduino electronics, 3D printing, Raspberry, animation, and digital marketing. The founder of Seponono Africa is  Aasiyah Adams

 Thetha Digital

Thetha Digital helps businesses create engaging educational content for their target audience. This content can be animations, copywriting, voice-overs, video or audio formats.  The startup also partners with Naspers Labs to upskill youth in digital media and edTech.  Yan Zhen Xu is the founder of Thetha Digital.

Tsehla Holdings 

Founded by Roseline Mapuranga, agritech startup Tsehla Holdings is in the business of hydroponics. The startup offers hydroponic tunnel installation services for individuals and organisations. It also offers training on how to manage and grow crops in hydroponic systems.

Wisi-oi Marketplace

Wisi-Oi Marketplace is an ecommerce platform that allows sellers to host online stores for pre-loved fashion items. It also facilitates payments and delivers purchased goods to buyers. It also offers shoppers a buy-now-pay-later option that allows them to shop on credit at zero interest. Phumelele Körber is its founder.

Young Rebels Marketing

Young Rebels started out offering out-of-the-box public relations services and go-to-market strategies to businesses. Now the company specialises in designing communication and emotion-processing games that promote good emotional and mental health among young people. The founder of Young Rebels Marketing is Faith Wesson.

Staveley is now a cybersecurity expert and arguably the most celebrated cybersecurity leader in Africa whose work and contributions have been recognised on both national and international levels. She is the Founder and ExecutiveDirector of CyberSafe Foundation, a non-governmental organization dedicated to improving inclusive and safe digital access in Africa.

 I interviewed Staveley on a Friday afternoon, and her energy is lively and warm—just like on her social media. We talked about her journey; the cybersecurity scene; and her mentorship program, Cybergirls.

What’s the state of cybersecurity in Nigeria?

With the acceleration of digital transformation that the whole of the African continent has experienced, with the COVID lockdown playing a major role,  there’s now a lot more discourse around cybersecurity. More people are now interested in securing data on their devices, and organisations are worried about data breaches. However, most of the organisations that are worried about this and put measures in place to protect against cyber-attacks are in highly regulated spaces like financial institutions. 

A lot of the action towards cybersecurity in Nigeria is compliance-driven, and you find that organisations that are not compelled to do so almost never bother with cybersecurity.  Most organisations do not have a budget for cybersecurity: no personnel, processes or technology in place to protect the data they’re collecting. They wait until they’re been hit by a cyberattack to act.

While there is a lot more discourse and actions towards cybersecurity, I believe that we can do better — as individuals and organisations.

What do you want people to know about cybersecurity, especially those looking to transition?

Cybersecurity is not a needle in tech, it is a whole field with different areas and fields. There are parts of cybersecurity like penetration testing and web application security, that require knowledge of coding and other parts that don’t. It just requires that you understand how security concepts work to keep an organisation secure and compliant.

Transitioning will depend on what field you’re transitioning from and whether you’re transitioning into a technical area of cybersecurity or a non-technical one. However, regardless of whatever fields you’re interested in, it’s important to pay attention to the fundamentals of cybersecurity as they form the basis of everything.

What are some challenges that come with entering into the cybersecurity space?

Generally, cybersecurity is quite an expensive and difficult field to enter. The industry has strong gatekeepers which are making it harder for new entrants into the field to get opportunities that enable them to apply what they’ve learned in training and gain much-needed experience. For example, most entry-level job positions still require years of work experience as the certifications required in entry-level jobs require work experience to even earn them.

There are also other challenges with practising. Firstly, there’s not a lot of space to grow as a beginner as most companies already want experienced people. This makes a lot of people in the field struggle with opportunities for work experience especially in Nigeria, as there are only a couple of organisations that offer cybersecurity training in a guided way.

Another thing is that as a woman, it’s typically difficult to get into certain technical spaces as people assume that you’re not competent. Women are underrated everywhere, and cybersecurity is no exception. I’ve been in situations where my skills were questioned until I proved myself. Cybersecurity jobs are demanding and some organisations do not employ young women. There are job situations that require round-the-clock monitoring and the general consensus is that women cannot cope in such demanding work environments.

Upon entering the cybersecurity space, Staveley realised that there wasn’t enough female participation in the African cybersecurity scene. Globally, women make up only about 20% of the cybersecurity workforce, and the number is much lower in Africa. As she grew and built her career, Staveley saw that there were ample opportunities in cybersecurity for women, especially African women, and so she birthed CyberGirls.

Tell us more about CyberGirls

Cybergirls started off as an experiment. I saw that the African cybersecurity space was largely male-dominated, so, I spoke with my friends and we brainstormed ways to bring more women into space. The world is progressing and becoming more inclusive, and there’s no reason why cybersecurity should be any different. However, we acknowledged that the field is expensive to get into, and even if there are lots of women who are interested, a lot of them just cannot afford the training and materials needed to navigate cybersecurity. 

We needed to find a way to bridge that gap for young women and girls, so we created the CyberGirls program, where we train and mentor young women from across the continent for free. Cybersecurity can be used as a tool for socio-economic impact; to pull women and girls out of poverty. We created a disruptive educational model, where we’re able to provide quality but free cybersecurity training. We consider it disruptive because our participants get hands-on training, even more so than their counterparts in some traditional universities. We deliver a lot of value in seven months of training and have seen participants who come in, get the skills, and move on to become very valuable in the ecosystem. 

What have you been able to achieve so far with CyberGirls?

We are connecting young women from our cohorts to work opportunities, and creating one of the largest pools of female cybersecurity talent on the continent. In our first cohort which was open only in Nigeria, we had about 120 applicants. In our second cohort, we opened it to girls in six other African countries. A large number of these girls have gone on to get jobs in multinational companies or get scholarships to further deepen their knowledge of cybersecurity. This is the third cohort and we received over 20,000 applications from 45 countries because people are seeing the positive impact the program has had in the lives of previous participants.

One of our most exciting achievements is how we’re creating a ripple effect of security in the ecosystem. One of our participants found a critical vulnerability in a major tech player that could have cost the organisation over $100,000 in losses. Nigeria has a lot of cybersecurity challenges and with this program, more people are on the lookout for threats and vulnerabilities which is very important in the long run.

What are two things you know now, that you wish you knew at the start of your career?

One of the key things I wish I knew was that mentorship is key. If I had realised how powerful this was at the beginning of my career, I would have taken more advantage of mentorship as I had a mentor.

Another key thing I wish that I knew early is that knowledge of cybersecurity by itself without demonstrating its application of it will not take you far enough. Speaking in jargon does not make you the smartest person in the room.

The third key thing that I wish I knew is that building a successful career in cybersecurity is a marathon and not a sprint. It requires continuous learning and you grow faster when you share knowledge. I also underestimated the power of networking within and outside my industry.

Aruwa Capital was founded in 2019 by Rhodes who moved back to Nigeria determined to address the investment gap that affects women-led businesses in Africa. While women-led businesses make up 40% of small and medium enterprises (SMEs), they receive only about 1% of funding. Research has implied that the gender-based gap in funding can be attributed to the fact that most investment firms are led or owned by men. 

Rhodes believes that the solution to this disproportionate funding is for women to create their own tables, that is, to establish more women-led investment firms that fund women-led businesses (both venture capital (VC) and private equity (PE). Aruwa Capital is set to invest between $500,000 and $2.5 million in women-led and focused businesses across Nigeria and Ghana. It has invested in six companies so far: healthcare companies Wemy Industries and Lifestores Healthcare; fintech startups PngMe and Crowdforce; a cleantech company, Koolboks; and Agroeknor, a business in the essential consumer goods sector. 

Much like the startup scene, the venture capital landscape is arduous for female managers. Less than 20 female fund managers in Africa have achieved a final close on their funds since 2008. TechCabal asked Rhodes what she thinks brought her fund to the point of oversubscription and she said she believes that Aruwa Capital’s differentiated strategy appealed to investors. “We act as a bridge between venture capital and private equity where we invest in sufficiently de-risked businesses that have already proven their business model but are too small for the majority of the local private equity funds with larger funds. These businesses are however de-risked and are ready to scale with between $1–$2.5 million in investment capital. In addition, we have a gender lens strategy which makes us intentional about female-led and female-focused businesses and closing the gap for female entrepreneurs by intentionally investing in the female economy.” 

Speaking further about what it took to close the funding round, Rhodes emphasised the significant role that local capital played. According to Rhodes, they launched the fund just before COVID-19, so they had to look inward for the first part of the fundraiser as global institutions were focused on deploying capital in their home countries. “A big lesson for me is the mobilisation of local capital as the key to sustainable venture capital and the private ecosystem in Africa. We are very pleased to have raised 30% of our fund from local investors—both private and institutional,” said Rhodes. 

This final close marks the end of the fundraising for Aruwa Capital’s first fund 45% of which have already been into six investments. Speaking about the expansion plans that will come with the close of the fund, Rhodes said the fund will keep focusing on those four verticals: healthcare, fintech, renewable energy, and essential consumer goods. “We believe focusing on these necessities gives us a strong competitive advantage due to the defensibility of these sectors [against macroeconomic uncertainty].”

Apart from the personnel additions that it plans to make, Aruwa Capital will not change the way it operates. The firm says that it will remain in the “pre-private equity” space, as a local investor on the ground. “This is where we see the most exciting opportunities and where we believe the risk-adjusted returns are the highest,” says Rhodes.

In response to the global market downturn, the company will prioritise supporting its existing portfolio companies with follow-on capital as well as access to its networks and relationships. However, it also expects to be fully deployed in the fund in the first half of next year due to excess demand. “We look forward to being on the road for Fund II again in the not-too-distant future, so we can continue to support female-focused and female-led SMEs in Nigeria,” said Rhodes.

Ten years later, things hadn’t changed. Aderonke still found it difficult, in one instance, when she urgently needed to purchase clothes for a business meeting following a wardrobe malfunction. Despite a large number of creatives in the country producing fashion pieces, Aderonke found that shopping for clothes in Nigeria required a lot of legwork and store-hopping, hoping to find what she wanted. This challenge inspired her to create Losode.

Discussing Losode’s commitment to promoting local entrepreneurship

TechCabal: What is Losode?

Aderonke Ajose-Adeyemi: Losode is an online marketplace that connects consumers to fashion businesses. We started in 2020, and are building the digital infrastructure to enable trade and commerce across the continent, as well as overcome long-standing barriers to economic development—starting with fashion. We are hoping to expand to other aspects of the creative industry with time. 

TC: What makes your product different from other ecommerce platforms in the country?

AA: Unlike other popular e-commerce sites, Losode caters to independent sellers made in Africa, not just Nigeria.

At Losode, we focus on local entrepreneurship. We’re creating a platform for local entrepreneurs to become more accessible, as well as removing trade borders. There are a lot of talented entrepreneurs in Nigeria and we want to help them reach a wider customer base, while providing these customers with access to Nigerian products in the same spot, without the hassle of visiting different shops or markets.

TC: What is Losode doing to help sellers adapt to ecommerce? 

AA: Losode is committed to local entrepreneurs as they are the backbone of our offering. The company’s tech team ensures that sellers have all the digital education needed to manage their businesses on the platform.

We help them identify how to trade better, how to take better pictures of their products, how to position themselves for a global market, etc. It is very important to us that they have everything they need for their businesses to thrive —including digital skills— because that directly impacts our business. If we don’t have sellers who can properly utilize the platform, then what are we going to sell to buyers?

The ecommerce scene in Nigeria has been growing steadily as more people across the country are getting more comfortable making purchases on the internet. The country is now the 33rd largest market for ecommerce in the world and amassed revenue of US$6.9 billion in 2021.

Partnering with other tech solutions

TC: Are there currently opportunities for strategic partnership with other tech solutions or non-tech organizations with Losode?

AA: Losode understands the importance of partnerships and working with others to go further. We already partnered with a few players in the payments space, because it is important to be able to offer as many payment options to both sellers and buyers. We are also working with organisations like FCMB on various things including educating sellers on how to grow their businesses. At some point, I believe that Losode will morph into a business bank, as there’s so much opportunity for strategic partnerships in payments.

We’ve spent the last month talking to a range of logistics tech solutions to see if there are companies advancing logistics in Africa.  Ecommerce is a complex business because a lot of businesses have to come together to ensure that it works. You’re looking at payments, logistics, and the general market, down to how people can set up shops. It is a whole chain and so opportunities for strategic partnerships are huge.

Challenges of a new startup 

TC: What are some of your challenges?

 AA:  As a budding startup, one of our biggest challenges is expertise. Finding skilled workers with the right attitudes has been harder than we had anticipated. Sometimes, we employ all these people who demand high salaries and they just don’t deliver on the work. We’re funding the business from our pockets—because that’s what we have to do until we get investors, and it can be demoralizing when the people you’ve hired to help you grow and take your business to the next level fail to deliver. 

So far, I’ve put $500,000 into Losode, and that is a lot of money by any standard. However, the costs of building a startup are high and sometimes it is a struggle to sort out day-to-day expenses. We have to pay competitive salaries in order to attract top talent because we believe that they are more familiar with working in structured teams and have stronger work ethics. Unfortunately, that has not always been the case.

Future Plans

TC: Have you officially launched your website to buyers?

AA: We will open officially before the end of the year. We did an MVP a couple of years ago to get a sense of what our buyers want and then took a step back to work on the technology required to give them that. 

TC: What are Losode’s plans for the next five years?

AA: Losode plans to turn into a powerhouse platform that facilitates seamless trade. Our primary purpose is service—serving our entrepreneurs and buyers.

Our number one plan is to build that ecosystem that enables trade to happen seamlessly. We started with Nigeria, but we plan to gradually move into other markets across Africa. So at some point, we’ll cover the first five countries, because we have fellas everywhere, but also be able to open up to a wider market. We have plans to expand to at least half of Africa in the next five years, in terms of sales because there are sellers everywhere. Africans are skilled and produce goods that can compete globally, and we want to provide a platform for them to make money.