Founder/Managing Partner @savannahfund Africa tech investing | Stanford MBA | Ex-PM MSFT Excel | Tanzanian & Pan-Africanist
San Francisco & East Africa
Joined May 2008
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2010 - 2019:
🌉 🌍 Left Seattle/Microsoft & broke into VC bridging Silicon Valley to Africa
📈 📊 Started @SavannahFund funding 30+ Africa focused startups
🇹🇿 🏡 Moved home Tanzania, settling in Arusha after 20+ years living in 🇬🇧 🇺🇲 🇰🇪 closer to identity, family & passions
Mbwana retweeted
A young girl has bought food. On her way home, she must use an airsoft machine gun to avoid being attacked and the food stolen by the monkeys.
The city of Lop Buri in Thailand is home to hundreds of macaques. The locals consider these monkeys to be disciples of the Hindu god Hanuman.
The macaque population in Lop Buri is constantly growing, and this leads to an odd coexistence between man and monkey. While some people love them, others fear or even hate them.
[📸 Joan de la Malla]
Mbwana retweeted
One unique attribute of #Tanzania's 65 million consumer retail market is that retail chain store outlets have thus far been unsuccessful in establishing themselves in the country. In other words, you will not find Tesco, Carrefour or similar chain stores throughout the country.
Mbwana retweeted
The Kenyan government has just declared free education for all, and an 84 year old man wants to learn. The First Grader, inspired by the true story of Kimani Maruge is coming to Netflix tomorrow! 📚
Mbwana retweeted
The issue of reciprocal restrictions of air transport between Tanzania and Kenya and from Tanzania/Kenya to third countries has been amicably resolved this afternoon. I thank H.E @MusaliaMudavadi and ministers of transport in 🇹🇿 & 🇰🇪 for joint effort to resolve this #SisiNiNdugu
Mbwana retweeted
I had a great meeting with @JDevermont, @POTUS Biden's Special Assistant & National Security Council Senior Director for Africa, @USAmbTanzania and Jonathan Pratt PDAS @AsstSecStateAF to discuss Tanzania-USA relations, trade, investment, MCA, AGOA and regional peace and security
Mbwana retweeted
Yes, I "failed" KCSE but it was not the end of my life.
I wrote about this in 2016 – at Nairobi, Kenya
Mbwana retweeted
Spent tonight creating the @afropolitan GPT.
A cutting-edge AI assistant tailored specifically for our vibrant community.
chat.openai.com/g/g-VnJj6t6R…
Mbwana retweeted
Tanzania’s Amsons Group signed an agreement to acquire 65% stake in Mbeya Cement Company Limited from Holcim Ltd (subject to regulatory clearance).
Its interesting and promising to see a local Tanzanian company, grew and built in Tanzania, buying out majority of a global conglomerate stake.
These local exit opportunities also give more confidence to global investors looking at Tanzania.
Holcim Ltd, is a Swiss multinational company that manufactures building materials (acquired Lafarge). It has a presence in around 70 countries, and employs around 72,000 employees.
Mbwana retweeted
African founders have a handicap by relying on SAFEs for funding in the past 3 years:
Many don't understand the legal process for closing institutional priced rounds.
Avoid this by hiring a qualified transaction lawyer.
(Most African early stage founders' lawyers are not)
Mbwana retweeted
Malawians are waking up to a 44% devaluation of their currency.
It’s not easy to hold USD there. I imagine Bitcoin will get interesting to more people there if they have the ability to save (not all do).
Mbwana retweeted
I really appreciate that President @PaulKagame said that the biggest successful project of the Government of Rwanda has been changing the dependency mindset of Rwandans (always looking to others) into self-reliance that collaborates with partners with dignity i.e. putting in the work to become high value because no one owes you anything.
#NAW2023
Mbwana retweeted
in a tough macro environment, it’s instructive to understand who has pricing power and who does not.
ability to expand margin in a down market is a strong differentiator.
(ex: META, NFLX, AAPL, AMZN, NBA… others?)
Mbwana retweeted
In South Africa, Solar is the market that will grow significantly in the next 4-5 years.
Nedbank estimates that the investment in solar required by 2027 to meet power generation needs is R242 billion.
There will be also a lot of opportunities across the value chain but not only in the obvious areas such as selling and installing solar to end users.
Becoming an expert on reviewing solar products could become very valuable. Currently, I don't see any dominant authority on that. There is a gap for a "Solar Power influencer!"
Many people are still holding onto the hope that Eskom will resolve its issues but history indicates that once a power system is broken, it takes a very long time to fix.
Wind power, is also a big opportunity but those value flows typically go to B2B players.
Mbwana retweeted
Many African startups prioritize fundraising over sales. But, the global fundraising landscape has changed, and African startups are experiencing the worst of it.
As it stands, it's difficult for an African startup to get to YC or Techstars without revenue.
So, the answer is revenue (sales). I have been studying giant tech companies like Microsoft, and I noticed over 40% of their workforce are salespeople. This is why you need to invest in improving your sales skills by signing up either yourself or your sales team for our course. Register now to enjoy the early bird pricing: business.altschoolafrica.com….
Don't forget that Startups with revenue raise funding no matter the economy.
Mbwana retweeted
Agent networks play a critical role across Africa.
But the industry is shifting towards 'agent-networks-as-a-service' offered by larger players.
Here's an opinion piece about the future of mobile money in Africa from @RMwatosya.
afridigest.com/platforms-fut…
