My Tech Story Africa

Alice Kanjejo
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Your backstage pass to the tech industry - Welcome to "My Tech Story Africa" – where we bring you the latest in tech, business insights, and inspiring stories from innovators across the continent and beyond 🌍 Come and join us as we explore the incredible stories of Africa's most innovative tech leaders, and discover how you too can make your mark on the world of tech 🧡

  1. DEC 15

    3 VCs Break Down How Founders Should Raise in 2026: Norrsken22, NaiBAN, Baobab Network

    On this episode of My Tech Story Africa, host Alice Kanjejo brings together three leading voices in African venture capital for the podcast's first-ever VC roundtable. oining the conversation are Nick Vilelle from the Nairobi Business Angel Network (NaiBAN), Maina Murage, Principal at Norrsken 22, and Art Chupeau, Managing Partner at Baobab Network. Together, they pull back the curtain on what it really takes to build and fund startups in Africa.The discussion cuts straight to the heart of founder challenges: Should you build what investors want to see, or stay true to your own vision? The consensus is clear: passion isn't optional. Building a venture-scale business in Africa means confronting Murphy's Law daily, from regulatory hurdles to co-founder conflicts. Without genuine belief in your mission, you won't survive the journey.The roundtable tackles critical questions about valuation versus control, with the VCs emphasizing that founders often focus on the wrong metrics. Maximizing valuation can actually trap you, making it harder to raise subsequent rounds and potentially attracting the wrong investors. Instead, focus on finding investors who increase your probability of success, even if that means accepting more dilution.They address Africa's unique funding gap: too few startups graduating from seed to Series A, not because later-stage deals are harder (that's global), but because there's insufficient early-stage capital to help companies mature. The solution isn't just more money; it's smarter deployment, with founders taking less capital, proving their model, and building real traction before scaling.The conversation covers common money management mistakes, from premature hiring to flashy offices, and offers tactical advice: be authentic, know your customers deeply, understand your cost base obsessively, and never lie about your numbers. Perhaps most importantly, they stress that venture capital isn't for everyone; many businesses don't need VC money and would be better served by alternative funding sources.To keep up with Nick's journey, check out his LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nvilelle/Check out NaiBAN: https://naiban.co/To keep up with Maina Murage, check out his LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/maina-murage/Check out Norrsken22: https://www.norrsken22.com/To keep up with Art Chupeau , check out his linkedin :https://www.linkedin.com/in/arthurchupeau/Check out Baobab Network : https://thebaobabnetwork.com/__________________________________________________________________Join Alice as she explores the world of tech and shares impactful stories with guests on My Tech Story Africa!Subscribe to our podcast, drop a like, comment, and hit the notification bell to stay updated with our latest content.Don't forget to spread the word! Sharing is caring! 🌟Follow us on social media:📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mytechstoryafrica💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/my-tech-story-africa♪ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@mytechstoryafricaJoin our community: [https://www.mtsafrica.co/join]Interested in being a guest on the podcast? Apply here: https://forms.gle/ffAniezzFHoEvhPY7Interested in partnering with us? Drop us an email: mytechstory.ea@gmail.com 📧

    1h 9m

  2. DEC 5

    Youth Jobs, Policy Gaps & the Fight for Real Change in Africa ft. Alesimo Mwanga | PAWA Africa

    On this episode of My Tech Story Africa, host Alice Kanjejo sits down with Alisemo Mwanga, Executive Director at PAWA Africa, for an illuminating conversation about building sustainable impact in Africa's tech ecosystem.With over a decade of experience as a development economist and ecosystem player, she shares hard-won insights from her journey from conducting research on South Africa's tech startup landscape for JETRO to founding PAWA Africa, an organization focused on youth and women entrepreneurship, access to finance, and social impact project management.The conversation reveals the realities African founders face: regulatory hurdles that force health tech startups to seek approvals abroad, capital constraints that push companies to register outside Africa, and market access challenges that often matter more than funding itself.Alisemo emphasizes a powerful truth: "People do business with people, not products or services." While capital opens doors, relationships, credibility, and execution capacity keep you in the room.She doesn't shy away from uncomfortable truths about the ecosystem, the lack of genuine collaboration, the tendency to celebrate individual success over collective progress, and what she calls the "self-hate" that prevents Africans from genuinely uplifting one another.Her advice for founders looking to expand across borders is refreshingly pragmatic: start small, visit markets before committing, build relationships through conferences and connections, and practice patience.Looking ahead, she predicts a transformation in how programs are designed, more corporate acquisitions in tech, and hopefully, stronger integration between policy and private sector support.To keep up with Alisemo's journey, check out her LinkedIn in: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alesimo-mwangaCheck out PAWA Africa:https://pawaafrica.com/__________________________________________________________________Join Alice as she explores the world of tech and shares impactful stories with guests on My Tech Story Africa!Subscribe to our podcast, drop a like, comment, and hit the notification bell to stay updated with our latest content.Don't forget to spread the word! Sharing is caring! 🌟Follow us on social media:📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mytechstoryafrica💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/my-tech-story-africa♪ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@mytechstoryafricaJoin our community: [https://www.mtsafrica.co/join]Interested in being a guest on the podcast? Apply here: https://forms.gle/ffAniezzFHoEvhPY7Interested in partnering with us? Drop us an email: mytechstory.ea@gmail.com 📧

    44 min

  3. NOV 28

    The Secret to Scaling Without Investors ft. Luke Naude-Lorentz |Mohara

    On this episode of My Tech Story Africa, we sit down with Luke Naude-Lorentz, Senior Growth and Investments Lead at Mohara, a co-founder startup studio that's rewriting the rules of building businesses in Africa and beyond.Luke shares Mohara's unconventional journey, a decade-long path of bootstrapped growth that prioritizes stability over speed, quality over quick wins. Unlike the typical startup narrative of chasing venture capital, Mohara has built a thriving 100-person team across Cape Town, the UK, and the US by focusing on fundamentals: consistent revenue, strong processes, and a culture that weathers economic storms. The conversation explores what it means to build with intention rather than external pressure. He reveals how Mohara partners with founders as a technical co-founder, taking equity stakes while helping transform big visions into achievable roadmaps.Luke emphasizes the critical importance of communication across teams, where even junior voices can surface insights that prevent disasters.Beyond Mohara, he discusses GTMX, his go-to-market community that brings founders, marketers, and sales leaders together for genuine knowledge exchange, no glorified networking, just real conversations over morning coffee about the challenges that keep entrepreneurs up at night.To keep up with Luke's journey, check out his LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/luke-nl/Check out Mohara :https://www.mohara.co/ and GTMx :https://www.linkedin.com/company/go-to-market-x/__________________________________________________________________Join Alice as she explores the world of tech and shares impactful stories with guests on My Tech Story Africa!Subscribe to our podcast, drop a like, comment, and hit the notification bell to stay updated with our latest content.Don't forget to spread the word! Sharing is caring! 🌟Follow us on social media:📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mytechstoryafrica💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/my-tech-story-africa♪ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@mytechstoryafricaJoin our community: [https://www.mtsafrica.co/join]Interested in being a guest on the podcast? Apply here: https://forms.gle/ffAniezzFHoEvhPY7Interested in partnering with us? Drop us an email: mytechstory.ea@gmail.com 📧

    45 min

  4. NOV 13

    Why Most Startups Fail to Reach Africa’s Mass Market ft. Samuel Njuguna | Chumz

    On this episode of "After Hours, in partnership with Tanqueray Africa," we speak with Samuel Njuguna, co-founder of Chumz and one who is deeply passionate about building products for mass market adoption in Africa. Samuel shares invaluable insights on the intersection of business, technology, and psychology, three pillars he believes are essential for creating solutions that truly resonate with the masses. He introduces the powerful "painkiller versus vitamin" analogy, emphasizing that successful products must solve urgent, immediate problems rather than nice-to-have needs. But identifying a real problem is just the beginning. He stresses the importance of "informed trial and error"testing multiple hypotheses through prototypes and direct user feedback, paying attention not just to what people say, but to their non-verbal reactions and body language. The conversation tackles the nuanced differences between B2B, B2C, and B2G markets. While B2C requires heavier marketing investment and operates on thinner margins, Samuel reveals how product-led growth strategies like WhatsApp's network effects can counter these challenges. The key? Do one thing exceptionally well before expanding. He uses compelling examples from companies like Gillette and Wise to illustrate why simplicity beats complexity when fighting for space in users' minds. Samuel's passion for behavioral psychology shines throughout the discussion. From the cognitive load of brand naming (think duo-syllable names like Facebook and Gmail) to the social dynamics that make group savings more effective than solo efforts, he demonstrates how understanding human behavior drives adoption. At Chumz, his savings and investment app, they've deliberately used vibrant colors and gamification to transform saving from a "dull Monday morning activity" into something fun and engaging. Looking ahead, Samuel shares Chumz' ambitious expansion plans across ten African countries while staying grounded in his ultimate mission: building a school for underprivileged girls in rural communities and slums a goal that keeps his work purpose-driven. This episode is a masterclass in building for Africa's mass market, reminding us that beyond the code and business models, it's understanding people, their pain points, behaviors, and psychology that creates products that truly stick. To keep up with Samuel's journey, check out his LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/snjuguna/ Check out Chumz: https://chumz.io/ __________________________________________________________________Join Alice as she explores the world of tech and shares impactful stories with guests on My Tech Story Africa! Subscribe to our podcast, drop a like, comment, and hit the notification bell to stay updated with our latest content. Don't forget to spread the word! Sharing is caring! 🌟Follow us on social media:📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mytechstoryafrica 💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/my-tech-story-africa ♪ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@mytechstoryafrica Join our community: [https://www.mtsafrica.co/join] Interested in being a guest on the podcast? Apply here: https://forms.gle/ffAniezzFHoEvhPY7 Interested in partnering with us? Drop us an email: mytechstory.ea@gmail.com 📧

    47 min

  5. OCT 29

    How One Idea Is Making Crypto Accessible Without Internet ft. Felix Macharia | Kotani Pay

    On this episode of "After Hours, in partnership with Tanqueray Africa," we speak with Felix Macharia, a trained medical doctor turned crypto entrepreneur who's revolutionizing financial access across Africa through Kotani Pay, a platform enabling people without smartphones to transact in cryptocurrency via simple USSD codes.Felix's journey began in 2016 at the University of Nairobi School of Medicine, where sharing a room with software developers exposed him to the transformative potential of fourth industrial revolution technologies.While his roommates experimented with VR headsets, robotics, and neural networks, blockchain technology captured their collective imagination not just for its financial potential, but because it was permissionless. For the first time, Felix could participate in global markets simply with an internet connection. The turning point came at a meetup in Kibra, where data annotators were being paid in stablecoins for training AI algorithms. The challenge? Converting crypto to cash required dangerous daily exchanges with cash couriers.Felix and his team solved this by bridging crypto wallets with local payment systems, eventually creating USSD-based wallets for feature phone users, bringing blockchain technology to refugees, farmers, and underserved communities across Africa.Today, Kotani Pay addresses Africa's critical dollar shortage crisis. With African nations importing heavily while holding dollar-denominated debts, local businesses face crippling currency scarcity.Stablecoins offer a lifeline $60 billion moved to Nigerian wallets alone between 2023-2024, with billions more across South Africa, Kenya, and Ghana. From importers paying suppliers in Dubai to startups paying remote workers across borders, stablecoins are democratizing access to US dollars and slashing transaction costs from 8-16% to mere cents.Felix's vision extends beyond payments to wealth democratization. In societies where colonial legacies concentrated land ownership and banking systems prioritize collateral most young people don't have, blockchain offers an alternative path. A Gen Z with internet access can earn, hold, and use crypto assets to fund their dreams just as Felix funded Kotani Pay without traditional bank loans.Now licensed in South Africa and pursuing compliance in Kenya, Kotani Pay exemplifies how African innovators are shaping Web 3's promise: read, write, and own. Felix's message to the next generation is clear: learn these technologies, take courageous steps, build with aligned teams, and leverage the fourth industrial revolution to create opportunities that conventional systems cannot provide. The future of African prosperity may well be permissionless To keep up with Felix's journey, check out his LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/felix-machariaCheck out Kotani Pay:https://kotanipay.com/__________________________________________________________________Join Alice as she explores the world of tech and shares impactful stories with guests on My Tech Story Africa!Subscribe to our podcast, drop a like, comment, and hit the notification bell to stay updated with our latest content.Don't forget to spread the word! Sharing is caring! 🌟Follow us on social media:📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mytechstoryafrica💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/my-tech-story-africa♪ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@mytechstoryafricaJoin our community: [https://www.mtsafrica.co/join]Interested in being a guest on the podcast? Apply here: https://forms.gle/ffAniezzFHoEvhPY7Interested in partnering with us? Drop us an email: mytechstory.ea@gmail.com 📧

    46 min

  6. OCT 15

    Investment Associate Breaks Down Data, Law & Media ft. Oscar Koome|Acumen

    On this episode of My Tech Story Africa, Alice sits down with Oscar Koome, an investment associate at Acumen and co-host of Mantalk.ke, to explore his remarkable journey from data protection advocate to venture capitalist and media entrepreneur. Oscar's story began with an unexpected friendship that would shape his entire career trajectory. A high school connection with the son of Cisco's General Counsel led to an internship in London, where Oscar discovered data protection wasn't just compliance,it was a competitive moat. This revelation sparked a decade-long passion for understanding how technology, governance, and economic opportunity intersect. From his early work on Africa's data protection regulation to selling cybersecurity products in Nairobi's central business district, Oscar learned to bridge the gap between Fortune 500 frameworks and local African realities. His path took him through legal practice, where he witnessed PPP deals and REITs transform balance sheets into student housing, revealing finance as the missing middle between big ideas and tangible impact. Today at Acumen, Oscar focuses on early-stage ventures in climate tech, agriculture, and clean energy sectors he believes are the flywheels of East African growth. His investment philosophy is clear: measure business performance rigorously, eliminate bias, and define impact jointly with founders who know their terrain best. But Oscar's most audacious experiment may be Mantalk itself. What started as a barbershop podcast evolved into a data-driven exploration of a 35-million-man market across East and Southern Africa, a demographic largely ignored by mainstream marketing. His thesis? While 95% of digital ad spend targets women, men represent an underserved opportunity for local brands beyond betting and alcohol. Oscar's journey proves that non-linear paths create unique value. By wearing multiple hats, legal, financial, and entrepreneurial, he's positioned to de-risk ventures others might overlook. His anchor? A belief that this generation will witness the Africa that pan-African visionaries dreamed of, and a determination to play his part in making it real. To keep up with Oscar's journey, check out his LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/oscar-koome Check out Mantalk Here:https://www.youtube.com/@ManTalkKe __________________________________________________________________Join Alice as she explores the world of tech and shares impactful stories with guests on My Tech Story Africa!Subscribe to our podcast, drop a like, comment, and hit the notification bell to stay updated with our latest content.Don't forget to spread the word! Sharing is caring! 🌟Follow us on social media:📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mytechstoryafrica💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/my-tech-story-africa♪ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@mytechstoryafricaJoin our community: [https://www.mtsafrica.co/join]Interested in being a guest on the podcast? Apply here: https://forms.gle/ffAniezzFHoEvhPY7Interested in partnering with us? Drop us an email: mytechstory.ea@gmail.com 📧

    43 min

  7. SEP 30

    The Future of Tax & Business Compliance in Africa ft. Caine Wanjau - Digitax

    On this episode of "After Hours, in partnership with Tanqueray Africa," we speak with Caine Wanjau, co-founder and CEO of Digitax, a visionary product thinker quietly revolutionizing Africa's digital financial infrastructure.In a continent where over 80% of economic activity thrives in the informal sector, tax compliance remains a critical barrier to SME growth and government revenue.This is where Caine steps in. Drawing from 15 years of technology experience across agritech, banking, and public transport, he tackles this challenge head-on with Digitax, a platform meticulously designed to make tax compliance accessible, reliable, and seamless for businesses across Kenya, Zambia, and Nigeria.The conversation reveals sobering realities: Sub-Saharan Africa loses over $500 billion annually in uncollected taxes, with 75% of Kenyan SMEs struggling to meet KRA deadlines. Yet Caine's approach offers genuine hope, building solutions that meet businesses exactly where they are, whether through USSD options, custom integrations, or intuitive user interfaces that require no technical expertise.Beyond technology, Caine shares hard-earned wisdom about entrepreneurship in Africa. From taking two years to land Digitax's first customer to navigating the challenging investment landscape since 2022, his insights emphasize conviction, long-term thinking, and starting with genuine problems rather than seeking problem-solving.His vision extends beyond compliance to regulatory innovation, positioning platforms like Digitax as bridges between government digitization efforts and the real needs of African entrepreneurs. As he puts it, "the best ideas normally come from a personal challenge or personal problem," a philosophy that's shaping Africa's digital transformation one tax invoice at a time.To keep up with Caine's journey, check out her LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/cainewanjau/Check out Digitax :https://digitax.tech/__________________________________________________________________Join Alice as she explores the world of tech and shares impactful stories with guests on My Tech Story Africa!Subscribe to our podcast, drop a like, comment, and hit the notification bell to stay updated with our latest content.Don't forget to spread the word! Sharing is caring! 🌟Follow us on social media:📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mytechstoryafrica💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/my-tech-story-africa♪ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@mytechstoryafricaJoin our community: [https://www.mtsafrica.co/join]Interested in being a guest on the podcast? Apply here: https://forms.gle/ffAniezzFHoEvhPY7Interested in partnering with us? Drop us an email: mytechstory.ea@gmail.com 📧

    38 min

  8. AUG 27

    How to Succeed in Tech Without Burning Out ft. Ingashian Gibendi

    On this episode of "After Hours, in partnership with Tanqueray Africa," we speak with Ingashian Gibendi, product strategist and founder of the Career Whisperer, who shares her powerful journey of redefining career success beyond LinkedIn profiles and industry accolades.After losing her father in 2022 while working at what she thought was her "dream company," Ingashian experienced a pivotal moment that changed everything. Unable to work through her grief despite having unlimited leave on paper, she realized she needed "a career that allows you to live life when life happens" - a profound shift from chasing titles and status to designing a life-centered career.Having pivoted five times across multiple countries, Ingashian reveals the hidden costs of tech's hustle culture and offers practical frameworks for sustainable career navigation. She emphasizes that career success isn't about the company you join, but about choosing founders and managers carefully - particularly those who've successfully exited before and have families, as they better understand work-life integration.Her most controversial yet insightful advice? Stop creating "glass ceilings" through unfounded assumptions. Whether it's believing you need a master's degree for promotion or that networking is just nepotism, Ingashian challenges listeners to distinguish between facts and speculation that limit their growth.The episode dives deep into networking as a learnable skill, the five key areas for becoming hireable (activity, strategy, mindset, conversion, and visibility), and why 80% of jobs never make it to job boards. Ingashian's mission is clear: help Africans solve real problems with technology while building careers that truly serve their lives, not the other way around.To keep up with Ingashian's journey, check out her LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/ingashian-gibendi/Check out the Career Whisperer:https://thecareerwhisperer.net/Quiz:https://thecareerwhisperer.scoreapp.com/00:00 Intro01:00 Meet Ingashian Gibendi04:24 Tech Hustle Costs06:20 Titles as Currency07:45 Startup Reality Check09:00 Choosing founders & Managers16:43 LinkedIn Truth20:54 Career Navigation Skills25:12 Master's Degree Myth27:22 Networking vs Nepotism33:00 5 Areas of Hireability38:20 Data Solves Problems __________________________________________________________________Join Alice as she explores the world of tech and shares impactful stories with guests on My Tech Story Africa!Subscribe to our podcast, drop a like, comment, and hit the notification bell to stay updated with our latest content.Don't forget to spread the word! Sharing is caring! 🌟Follow us on social media:📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mytechstoryafrica💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/my-tech-story-africa♪ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@mytechstoryafricaJoin our community: [https://www.mtsafrica.co/join]Interested in being a guest on the podcast? Apply here: https://forms.gle/ffAniezzFHoEvhPY7Interested in partnering with us? Drop us an email: mytechstory.ea@gmail.com 📧

    43 min
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About

Your backstage pass to the tech industry - Welcome to "My Tech Story Africa" – where we bring you the latest in tech, business insights, and inspiring stories from innovators across the continent and beyond 🌍 Come and join us as we explore the incredible stories of Africa's most innovative tech leaders, and discover how you too can make your mark on the world of tech 🧡

Information

  • Creator
    Alice Kanjejo
  • Years Active
    2023 - 2025
  • Episodes
    74
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Alice Kanjejo
  • Show Website
    My Tech Story Africa