We made the list of Africa tech startup forum entrepreneurs🎉
Building a business is like raising a child. Sometimes it takes a toll on you...I broke my back.
Last year was an eventful year for me. Only a handful of close relatives were aware of the back injury I suffered in 2023.
But it didn’t start last year. It began in 2019.
You know that rhetoric, “Grind and hustle, you have all the time to rest when you die?” That was me in 2019—2021.
If you’ve read my book, Breaking the Limits, I hinted at that. I was in survival mode. I was working mindlessly hard and long, not taking proper care of my body.
In 2020/2021, I raised $250k pre-seed to build the product I’ve always wanted to create. I also moved into the type of office I always wanted. However, I made some “avoidable” hiring mistakes that added significant emotional stress on me and wiped off >$5,000 from my balance sheet.
After a brief reset in ‘22, and some notable high points, including a feature on New York Times Square, the 5th ReadyforWork pilot cohort, content partnership with Visa, and leading the inaugural African Fashion Futures Incubator, we were in a very good spot.
But then, I needed to integrate our learnings from the pilot cohorts to upgrade the ReadyforWork platform. I needed to ensure that our paper promise meets user experience, etc. My dev team said we had to tear down the platform and rebuild it.
That meant more long hours, face time with different team members, and managing several moving parts. It was in this process that the chicken came home to roost.
My back hurt so bad. Lying down was a nightmare. Sitting or standing was equally painful. It was a silent battle…
but the show must go on. Right?
Your eyes and your back are all you have as a digital worker. Long story short, I sought help. I changed my routine. I spent a lot of money and time rebuilding my body.
I feel excellent now. And our product development has been great as well…which is why I’m writing this note to you.
I’m pleased to inform you that SFAN has been selected among 160 entrepreneurs from eight African countries to participate in the inaugural Africa Tech Startup Forum. From this pool, the program organizers say they’ll shortlist the top 20 ventures to participate in the “COME UP KOREA” event in South Korea this December, including site visits.
They’ve partnered with organizations like UVU Africa, Flat6Labs, Adaverse, HiveColab, and other ESOs. See how to engage with SFAN here. And do keep me in your best wishes to make the shortlist!🤞🏿
In Other News↴
🔎World Bank Africa Report Launch
I had the opportunity to join The World Bank Ghana as they launched the annual Country Policy and Institutional Assessment report.
The year's research, themed Structural Reforms for a Vibrant Private Sector, has some highs and notable lows. For instance, we learned that:
→ Debt servicing is taking an enormous chunk of the revenue of many African countries. It limits the scope for continued public sector-led growth.
→ While the AfCFTA and advances in digital technology offer promising avenues for private sector growth and trade integrations, intra-Africa trade has only risen from 13% to 20%.
→ Reduced fiscal deficits and increased central bank independence have increased economic stability and credibility.
Financing challenges and public oversight still need to be addressed to fully unleash the potential of the private sector.
In my submission, I noted that African governments can address many of the stated issues with policies that stimulate private sector-led growth and ease of doing business. Download the report « here »
🔥High-Value Opportunities for Early & Mid-Career Professionals
Take advantage of these (verified & legitimate) opportunities with deadlines approaching:
Client Success Manager | This is an individual contributor role for a seasoned professional responsible for solving complex operational problems with designated clients and taking a broad perspective to identify clients’ operational performance improvement opportunities and adoption of innovative solutions implementation.
Apply here »
World Bank Group Africa Fellowship Program | The Africa region of the World Bank Group (WBG) has opened the application period for the 2025 WBG Africa Fellowship Program for Ph.D. candidates and recent Ph.D. graduates who are Sub-Saharan Africa nationals. Women are especially encouraged to apply.
Apply here » | Apply for WB Junior Professionals Program here »
AfDB Division Manager, Policy Management | The Policy Management Division will be responsible for: (i) building and leading an international team of staff responsible for institutional capacity development programs to strengthen Regional Member Countries’ macroeconomic policy-making and policy implementation capacity.
Apply here »
Senior Programme Management Assistant, UNEP, Kenya | A minimum of 10 years of experience in program management/ project administration, technical cooperation, or related areas is required. The minimum years of relevant experience is reduced to eight (8) years for candidates who possess a first-level university degree or higher. Experience in Database Management is desirable. Experience with Global funds such as the Global Environment Facility (GEF) is desirable Experience working with an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system is desirable One (1) or more years of experience in data analytics or related areas is desirable. Apply here »
Fak’Ugesi Awards for Digital Innovation. Apply here»
French Embassy in Ghana - Cooperation and Cultural Action Service in Accra | You will lead the cooperation policy in the sectors related to the sustainable development objectives to promote the partnership between France and Ghana, the interests and influence of France. To this end, you will ensure the preparation, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of projects in the sectors within your competence. You will also ensure sectoral dialogue with government institutions, donors and non-governmental organizations (NGOs).
Apply here »
McKinsey Associate Program | You will join one of their offices around the world to work in teams and directly with their clients. In this role you will help their clients in the private, public, and social sectors solve their most pressing problems. You will also work with many experts, from data scientists and researchers to software and app designers.
Apply here»
NSS Opportunities
If you’re close to Spintex and you can create graphics or videos that make people stop scrolling and look, or you do web development as your favorite hobby, I have a place for you to do your National Service with us!
Send your application to this email: info@sfanonline.org.
Other Stuff We Found on the Web
Stripe’s valuation just peaked once more!
Major Stripe investor Sequoia confirms $70B valuation, and offers its investors a payday, Tech Crunch reports.
The payment giant is said to have been planning an IPO this year 2024, after hiring Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase to advise on a possible public listing in 2023.
I published extensive Stripe stats to help you get the full picture. Take a look at it here.
Elon Musk swears these audiobooks will teach you how to build rockets and colonize Mars:
The Story of Civilization by Durant
Iliad (Penguin Edition)
The Road to Serfdom by Hayek American Caesar by Manchester
Masters of Doom by Kushner
The Wages of Destruction by Tooze
The Storm of Steel by Junger
The Guns of August by Tuchman
The Gallic Wars by Caesar
Twelve Against the Gods by Bolitho
Genghis Khan by Weatherford
He says, “The first one on the list will take a while to get through, but is very much worthwhile. Admittedly, this is a list that appeals to those who think about Rome every day. I hope someone makes an audiobook of The Encyclopedia of Military History by Dupuy and The Fifteen Decisive Battles of the World by Creasy.”
Classy!
President Akuffo Addo is making it rain with a 2.1 billion Ghana Cedis SME program. News Ghana says it’s the best thing since sliced bread — if we’re talking economic recovery initiatives. Here’s more »
Nigeria be advised, Ghana has finally laid claims to “highlife” music.
Ama Serwah Nerquaye-Tetteh, the Secretary General of the Ghana National Commission for UNESCO has announced that Ghana’s highlife music genre will be officially recognized as the country’s ‘intangible heritage’ later in the year.
Ameyaw Debrah has the full news»
I have some big news to announce to you in the coming weeks. Stay tuned for that.
In the meantime, be great and happy!
I love you,
~TC (@tomchrisemewulu)