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Small retailers in Nigeria power the economy. But they’re going through some tough times. Devaluation, food inflation, and overall poor economic conditions have made it especially hard for these small businesses to operate.

To better understand how retail works, and how these small businesses can grow, we hit the streets of Lagos with Deepankar Rustagi, CEO of OmniRetail.

OmniRetail was ranked Africa's #1 Fastest Growing Company in 2024 by Financial Times.

In this episode, Deepankar explains small retailers' working capital challenges and how OmniRetail is helping them grow their business by turning over their inventory faster.

00:00 - Intro01:00 - Working capital02:08 - Faster inventory turnover02:48 - Lack of credit03:39 - Understanding consumer demand04:57 - Building a Systematically Important Platform

Read more from Deepankar -  Rethinking Metrics in B2B Commerce: https://theflip.africa/newsletter/rethinking-metrics-in-b2b-ecommerce Learn more about OmniRetail here: https://omniretail.africa

Our Links -🔔 Youtube - https://youtube.com/@theflipafrica 💻 Website - https://theflip.africa🐦 Twitter - https://twitter.com/theflipafrica👥 LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/theflipafrica/📸 Instagram - https://instagram.com/theflipafrica

One of the African tech ecosystem's largest exits was the 2020 sale of Sendwave to WorldRemit for $500 million. 

Sid Sridhar was Sendwave's Head of Business at the time, and in this episode, Sid shares his M&A lessons for the African tech ecosystem.

Sid is now the Head of Business at Wave, the mobile money company spun out of Sendwave that's competing head-on with the telcos in Francophone West Africa. Wave raised a $200 million Series A in 2021, valuing the company at $1.7 billion. 

00:00 - Introduction01:32 - Every deal is different02:16 - Know the business model that you're building for02:40 - Companies get bought not sold03:41 - How to qualify a deal04:53 - Be smart & strategic with information05:31 - Be transparent06:24 - Stay close to potential buyers07:39 - Alignment with investors

Follow Sid on Twitter

Check out other episodes from the Fintech in Africa Summit:Nigerian Neobank Roundtable: Moniepoint, Kuda, FairMoneyWhy Are Cross-Border Payments So Hard?Tackling Africa’s $330 Billion Credit Gap

Our Links - 🎥 YouTube - https://youtube.com/@theflipafrica 💻 Website - https://theflip.africa🐦 Twitter - https://twitter.com/theflipafrica👥 LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/theflipafrica/📸 Instagram - https://instagram.com/theflipafrica

There is a $330 billion credit gap, according to the IFC. But why is it so hard to lend in African markets? 

We explore that question with Chijioke Dozie, Co-founder and CEO of Carbon, and Mark Straub, CEO of Smile Identity.

This episode was recorded live from the FT Partners Fintech in Africa Summit in New York City. Download their FinTech in Africa research report, published in March 2024.

00:00 - Introduction01:36 - The credit infrastructure problems in Africa02:28 - Carbon's approach to lending03:51 - SmileID's perspective on credit infrastructure08:10 - Ability to pay vs. willingness to pay10:06 - Private sector solutions17:36 - The challenges of scaling lending without infrastructure

Follow Chijioke on Twitter.Follow Mark on Twitter.

This episode was the third in our series of interviews recorded live from the Fintech in Africa Summit.Nigerian Neobanks with Moniepoint's Tosin Eniolorunda, Kuda's Babs Ogundeyi & Fairmoney's Laurin Hainy: https://theflip.africa/podcast/nigerian-neobank-roundtable-moniepoint-kuda-fairmoneyCross-Border Payments with NALA's Benjamin Fernandes & GTXN's Dan Kleinbaum: https://theflip.africa/podcast/why-are-cross-border-payments-so-hard

Our Links - 🎥 YouTube - https://youtube.com/@theflipafrica 💻 Website - https://theflip.africa🐦 Twitter - https://twitter.com/theflipafrica👥 LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/theflipafrica/📸 Instagram - https://instagram.com/theflipafrica

In this episode, the third in our docuseries on jobtech platforms and the future of work, we dive deeper into the value chain, because the problems that small businesses have across the continent are multi-layered. 

In an environment of demand constraints and a lack of infrastructure, platforms need to solve multiple problems across the value chain. This is what makes jobtech platforms so hard to build in Africa. 

But for those who can solve problems across the value chain, it not only unlocks growth opportunities for their users, but it also unlocks additional revenue streams for platforms to achieve greater profitability. 

Check out the first two episodes in this series:What We Get Wrong About Jobs in AfricaThe Future of Work Will Be Bootstrapped

00:00 - Intro01:43 - Jobtech platforms in Africa need to solve multiple problems across the value chain.02:31 - One sector with challenges across the value chain is fashion.03:51 - How Fitted is solving problems for tailors in Nigeria.05:51 - Unlocking revenue opportunities for SMEs and platforms alike.

Watch this episode on YouTube.Learn more about the Jobtech Alliance.Check out last year's podcast series on the future of work.

Our Links - 🎥 YouTube - https://youtube.com/@theflipafrica 💻 Website - https://theflip.africa🐦 Twitter - https://twitter.com/theflipafrica👥 LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/theflipafrica/📸 Instagram - https://instagram.com/theflipafrica

Benjamin Fernandes, the Founder and CEO of the remittance platform NALA, likes to say that payments are just 1% built in Africa. 

Why are cross-border payments so hard? 

In this episode, we're joined in conversation with Benjamin Fernandes and Dan Kleinbaum, a co-founder of Beyonic, which sold to Onafriq, and now the Founder of the FX platform GTXN. 

This episode was recorded live from the FT Partners Fintech in Africa Summit in New York City. Download their FinTech in Africa research report, published in March 2024.

00:00 - Intro01:29 - Payments are 1% built in Africa06:32 - How to solve problems in Cross-Border payments08:28 - Do we need more payment apps?15:51 - Navigating regulatory challenges17:03 - Why are Benji & Dan solving these problems?20:30 - What's the cross-border payments pitch to investors?25:39 - Benji & Dan turn the tables on Justin

This episode was the second in our series of interviews recorded live from the Fintech in Africa Summit. Our first episode was with the Nigerian Neobanks: https://theflip.africa/podcast/nigerian-neobank-roundtable-moniepoint-kuda-fairmoney

Episode Links:Follow Benji on TwitterFollow Dan on TwitterRead Benji's Medium post: Are African Remittances Finished?

Our Links - 🎥 YouTube - https://youtube.com/@theflipafrica 💻 Website - https://theflip.africa🐦 Twitter - https://twitter.com/theflipafrica👥 LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/theflipafrica/📸 Instagram - https://instagram.com/theflipafrica

In this episode, we're joined in a panel conversation with the CEOs of three of Nigeria's biggest digital banks: Moniepoint's Tosin Eniolorunda, Kuda's Babs Ogundeyi, and FairMoney's Laurin Hainy.

This episode was recorded live from the FT Partners Fintech in Africa Summit in New York City. Download their FinTech in Africa research report, published in March 2024.

00:00 - Intro01:18 - Moniepoint's distribution-first strategy02:45 - FairMoney's credit-led approach04:46 - Kuda's neobank strategy06:48 - Banks, product, competition, expansion25:45 - Growth, VC returns33:56 - What does success look like?

Our Links - 🎥 YouTube - https://youtube.com/@theflipafrica 💻 Website - https://theflip.africa🐦 Twitter - https://twitter.com/theflipafrica👥 LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/theflipafrica/📸 Instagram - https://instagram.com/theflipafrica