Claire Jenkins

Hey folks! 👋🏾 I wanted to quickly resurface this opportunity from the teams at Venture for Africa + Africa Product Peers. 👇🏾 Our Career Transitions Bootcamp is still accepting applications, so don't miss out on it! Who's it for? The bootcamp has been designed for individuals who: 1️⃣ Feel stuck in their job search 2️⃣ Feel like just another applicant in a crowded job market 3️⃣ Are tired of applying without making progress 4️⃣ Are ready to unlock their potential, and find fulfilling work that matters We've also had some questions about the #application process, so I wanted to break it down simply: STEP 1 👉🏾 Fill out our quick application form - 10 mins STEP 2 👉🏾 We'll then schedule a 15-minute call to discuss your goals and answer any questions you have. If you're ready to take your career to the next level and need a little more guidance on making that transition, put in an application today! 📝 Deadline: Tomorrow! (Jun 14) ⏰ Good luck! #VentureforAfrica #CareerTransitions #Bootcamp

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London Africa Network 🇬🇧🌍 is in Sifted! Last week our community featured in the publication's "best communities to join in European tech, according to women in tech" Article. A piece spotlighting 18 of Europe's best tech communities. Thank you for the spotlight Sophie Louise Rowe & Nikita Thakrar - a great honour for Dario Giuliani and I to be named alongside so many amazing ecosystem builders and network founders! You can check out all the great communities named in the article: https://lnkd.in/dCyY-DQX But beyond this list, couple communities and leaders I wanted to give a shoutout to that I've learnt from and admired over the years: 🏗️ Operations Nation - Charlene Chen 🌍 HoaQ - Joe K. 🌳 Foundervine - Izzy Obeng 🚀 Foundrs - Dan Murray-Serter 😇 Angel Investing School - Andy Ayim MBE 🧠 Wiser & Wiser Elite - Izzy Bishop 🧭 Tech Safari - Caleb Maru 🇿🇦 Startup Club ZA - Mathew Marsden 📚 YSYS - Deborah Okenla So ahead of London Africa Network's 2024 Membership launching this month! I'm keen to learn more on community building and on what it takes to build those that are great and enduring - a few questions for you all on LinkedIn: ❓ What do you think makes a valuable community? ❓ What are some of your biggest lessons learnt and top tips for building? ❓ Do you have a community to spotlight or got an idea for one - let us know? Love to hear your answers in the comments below. Hopefully valuable to those who give it a read! #Community #Networks #BestPractice #Learning

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👇🏾 We're looking for founders at the idea-stage working in the following areas As the Venture Design team at Founders Factory Africa, we get to see so many founders on the continent working on interesting and challenging problems. Below are some themes of interest to us, and we would love to chat with you if you are working in any of these focus areas! DM me directly with a pitch deck to have a first convo :) #venturedesign #founders #startups

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Had the privilege of joining a panel of judges for the Portfolio Pitch Morning at Africa Early Stage Investor Summit last week Friday. Some fantastic ventures were showcased across sectors and I was glad to see a few tackling issues in the Agri and Healthcare spaces - and effectively so. From the Digital Africa portfolio we heard from: - Cynoia pitched by co-founder Manar L. - Fixa pitched by co-founder Jansen Durham From the Scaling digital Agriculture Innovations through Start-ups (SAIS) we heard from - Terraa pitched by co-founder Youssef Benkirane - Rhea pitched by co-founder Priscilla W. - SwiftVee pitched by co-founder Russel Luck At The Anzisha Prize (an African Leadership Academy Venture Building Fellowship) we’re working with Very Young Entrepreneurs (VYEs) to help them effectively participate in their local and regional economies, and bring their teams and customers along with them But more than that - we’re developing a pipeline of high potential, well-developed Operators that, we think - and have seen, will go on to create exceptional ventures in the course of their lifetime. Founders who understand themselves, firstly, and then understands what investors, both, want and need. Really energising to see the gaps in the ecosystem closing as we gain a collective understanding of how to effectively do Venture in Africa and ALL of her markets. #earlystageinvestors #venturepartner #AESIS2024 #founders #venturecapital #africandevelopment #socialentrepreneurship #developmentfinance

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🧐 Want to have your say in how an African Tech Conference is run? Then I want to hear from you 👇 Delighted to have joined this year's #AfricaIgnite Advisory Board for Africa Tech Festival (ATF) 2024 this November in 🇿🇦 Cape Town. We have been tasked with helping shape some of this year's activities to increase the value & opportunity for Africa’s 🌍 startup & investor community. 💡 One area of focus amongst others I'm really interested in is how we leverage the Festivals anchor event AfricaCom which hosts the continents biggest Telcos, Corporates & Governments. Specifically how we engage spotlight & connect them with our tech ecosystems leading startups, investors & enablers. 🧠 But what do you think ATF or events like this more broadly can do to improve the offering to attendees? What is real & unique value add to you? Comment below and tag anyone who should join the conversation 🙏 ➡ To find out more or reg for Africa Tech Festival: https://lnkd.in/ekZgadq6 Finally big shout to my fellow Advisory Board members Zachariah, Laurie, Folarin, Janet, Lavina + Ciara & James from the ATF team for bringing us together and driving continuous improvement to the Festival. #Africa #Tech #Startups #Founders #Investors

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Great morning spent connecting with some of the Founders Factory Africa team members and fellow founders building in tech on the African continent. Building and scaling a venture is really not for the faint of heart, but doing it creating and plugging into a strong sense of community makes the journey that much more enjoyable. Add being a black woman in tech and the journey can be even more isolating but tapping into community is one of the most underrated aspects about the journey. Shout out to my girl Chido Dzinotyiwei one of the few I find myself in spaces like these too. Special shout out to Philani Mzila CDFA for inviting us and of course to every founder and team member I had the chance to connect with today. What stood out most for me though (and is mostly my favourite part) is connecting at a human level because founders (and investors of course) are human too. Something we tend to forget in this rat race of pursuing impact and growth through our ventures. Let’s learn, build and grow (side bar : “Entity” really changed the game with this one - if you know you know) team! Always more energized leaving these spaces after a long week of tough founder slog 🙌🏾 Bongani Sithole Chido Dzinotyiwei Thulani Masebenza Milan Beharie Jabulani Nyembe Shiven Moodley Njabulo Makhathini Andile Masuku #venturebuilding #scale #entrepreneurship #founder #Africa #startuplife #tech

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BREAKING NEWS: Funding winter for startups in Africa is over! 🎉 ... I would have loved for it to be true at this point of the year but the reality is... it's still a bit early to tell. 🙈 This being said, we have a couple insights that could give us some reasons to believe we are not too far away from this headline: 🌍 3Q24 startups funding figures in Africa are on par with 3Q23 ( and quite above the past 3 quarters) 🌍 Comparing with the first 3 quarters of 2023, the number of startups that raised $1M or more is quite similar 🌍 Funding raised by startups in Africa so far in 2024, is already above the FY19 and FY20 amounts 👉 Read Max Cuvellier Giacomelli latest Africa: The Big Deal post for more insights (...and a discount code to attend SuperReturn Africa in a few weeks!): https://lnkd.in/d433HaSy 👉 Check Africa: The Big Deal comprehensive deals database to see all the underlying transactions, details on founders, investors and sectors behind these aggregated numbers: https://lnkd.in/d_CsTZw2

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⏪ Back again with this request - Are you in touch with any early or growth-stage startup #founders who are building companies and looking to expand their #growth or go-to-market strategies? Venture for Africa's "Go-to-Market Sandbox" is still open for founders and teams to receive support in tackling growth-related challenges. This sandbox offers additional hands-on help with essential deliverables that early-stage teams often struggle to prioritize, including: 🚀 Creating customer journey maps 🚀 Running multiple growth experiments 🚀 Developing new pricing strategies 🚀 Refining product positioning and messaging 🚀 Identifying effective product distribution channels If you know any startup founders or teams who could benefit from this opportunity, please tag them below, and we will follow up! 🤙🏾

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Great write-up by Kola A. from Ventures Platform Fund I couldn't agree more with Kola's points. My top 3 takeaways are: - Africa demands a patient investment approach, distinct from other continents, due to its underdeveloped infrastructure and opaque markets. - We must move away from a story of charity as the future of African venture capital hinges on demonstrating that it can generate substantial returns. -The journey requires patience and a long-term perspective, but the rewards are substantial for those who dare to invest in Africa’s future. Check out the full article here: https://lnkd.in/dn9wQFqj What's your biggest takeaway from the article? Let's discuss it! #Africa #Tech #Startup #Investment #Innovation #EmergingMarkets 

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SMEs are predicted to contribute 80% + of all new Jobs in Africa(ADB) From our experience entrepreneurs start businesses and are driven to succeed by: -Family obligations -Financial rewards. -Solving a market problem they identified These are strong and compelling drivers and  motivators but not necessarily enough to ensure they optimize the revenue potential of their business consistently. -There are numerous examples of owners not prospecting enough -Lack of accountability when the business is not meeting targets. -Lack of objectivity especially when they have personally invested in a product and the market is not responding as expected. -Underestimating the effort required to build a team that can grow the business. -Lack of skills to manage a sales team. Should ownership of the business be the main consideration for responsibility of the sales team or skills? Owner-led sales organizations are undoubtedly the majority of small and medium businesses presenting a significant opportunity for growth especially post product market fit The key elements necessary for a successful transition from owner led to a management team model include sales leadership skills, processes and qualified team. Our Sales programs  support willing and ready owners through this critical business transition that remains elusive to a significant  number business owners Transform your business in 5 weeks through the Mastering Business Growth program (MBG),which is trusted by top SMEs and startups like Workpay, Muthokinju Paints and Cement, Medix East Africa Register on the Link in the comments for a free chat on unlocking the revenue potential in your business

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It's #TechTidesTuesday! 🌍 "Design with me, not for me" - The key to successful digital transformation in Africa's public sector? 📰 This week's TechTides column in Business Report and African Tech Roundup features insights from Marcus Rance, a digital transformation lead at Quantum Leap Consulting. With 14 years of experience and an impressive track record, including co-leading the Western Cape Government's award-winning digital strategy, Rance offers an earnest take on why many digital strategies in Africa fail to deliver expected impact. 🔗 Link to the op-ed in the comments! Key takeaways: 1. Digital transformation is more about human behaviour than technology 🧠 2. Empathy and citizen-centric approaches are crucial 🪪 3. 73% of the Western Cape's population is considered vulnerable - a statistic mirrored across much of Africa 📊 4. The Ubuntu philosophy aligns perfectly with co-creation in digital transformation 🌟 5. Rebuilding trust between governments and citizens is essential for success 🏛️ Rance argues that understanding citizen pain points and designing solutions WITH them, not FOR them, is the path to meaningful digital transformation. This approach could be the key to creating a digital future that truly improves lives across the continent. What are your thoughts on this citizen-centric approach to digital transformation? Have you seen successful examples in your country or organisation? #DigitalTransformation #AfricanInnovation #CitizenCentric #PublicSector #TechForGood 📸 : Wits School of Governance

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📈🔍 Looking to invest or collaborate with #Africanstartups? Our latest resource features a complete list of funded startups, complete with essential info like HQ locations and LinkedIn profiles. Explore the opportunities: https://lnkd.in/dnygmJcE #startup #startups #venturecapital #funding #vc #managementconsulting

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From a recent chat with Byron Grealy, a fellow Saffa 🇿🇦 living in the UK 🇬🇧 We spoke a bit about the evolution of Rafiki.works (Baobab '24), our beliefs around the future of work, the booming freelance economy across Africa, and how that growth is being met by the adoption of open talent strategies globally...but not without its problems and the need for solutions specific to the collaboration of talent and the subsequent flow of money for independent talent across Africa 🌍 Check out Byron's podcast and newsletter and hit him up for your content & copywriting needs! ✍️ #futureofwork #freelanceeconomy #opentalent

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Check out the topics we've lined up for the rest of the year and join us as we support African entrepreneurs. #Shujaacapital #PaschalOffordum #Africanstartups

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Great to speak on the UKTN podcast speaking on our work at Openseed VC backing experienced operators, and talking about the incredible potential of European and African ecosystem. There is a growing pipeline of experienced operators starting their technology companies across both regions -- this is the focus for Openseed VC On the podcast, we talk about AI, emerging technology trends, the importance of talent, liquidity, impact of policy on the entrepreneurship ecosystem and many more! I also speak about the incredible growth opportunity that is the #African continent - tough macro climate yes -- but we believe difficulty is the flip side of opportunity to create value. There will be an incredible crop of experienced operators who choose to solve difficult, impactful and commercially viable problems. At Openseed VC we want to be your launch partner if this sounds like you! Got questions, we've got answers on www.openseed.vc/faq A huge thanks to the UKTN team for having me! #OpenseedVC #UKTN #Europe #Africa https://lnkd.in/eAH9ZbNM

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