Tola Alade

Just had the first interest call with AfriBlocks a community of freelancers and founders that are elevating the budding African tech nation. Tech is the greatest equalizer and between AI/Web 3 and remote first founders, the sky is the limit on what one can build. This is also a two way community. They reached out for their founder feature, but this also establishes an amazing partnership, where I can get the talent I need, from a continent that is seeming to leapfrog through this new AI revolution, bringing abundance where its deserved. Excited to build and deepen this relationship. Here is a nugget from their founder..a payments genius..Tongayi Choto 🥁 Fight the urge to build in silence. There is often that personal reason to build in silence ( you know something you make money from that could benefit others, but you don't want people around you to know you make from it) this is a poor mindset that limits growth and expansion. 🥁 When you meet person(s) who are interested in what you do, they do not necessarily need to be in the same career space with you; keep in touch and ensure they get updates on what you do. Soon they will reach out if they need your services. 🥁 Ensure people in your contact, and social and business cycle know what you do. It is easy to get referrals and recommendations from there. Well said! Looking forward to the relationship here. #technations #africa

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>>Which global startup accelerator programs do African startups struggle to get into in their first year of running their business? How many investors outside your network have you been able to connect with from using Pitchwise (https://www.pitchwise.se)? If you know founders who need help with generating qualified investor leads for their funding round, share what they are building.

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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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We are very excited to share the progress of our deep dive into our collective role as capital allocators to drive positive climate action. The white paper explores how the agility and innovation of startups, combined with the strategic deployment of venture capital, can catalyze the development and scaling of climate-smart solutions. This effort originated from a simple question we asked ourselves at Ventures Platform Fund “Do we have to be a climate fund to impact our climate positively?” As you will find, the answer is a resounding “no.” I hope you find it useful!

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Micro-interactions can infuse personality into websites, even professional ones, without compromising conversion rates. Thoughtful animation enhances a well-designed site's look and feel, creating tactile experiences that delight rather than burden users. You can learn about what Anchor does and see what we did: getanchor.co

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Africa eDigital Connect Summit 2024 is Going to Be Hot! Not just because I'll be speaking (okay, maybe a little 😎), but this year's summit is shaping up to be with a theme that hits home: Empowering the African Entrepreneur! We’re talking 3 jam-packed days of everything digital, everything transformative, and everything relevant to our everyday lives. Let me break it down for you: Day 1: Digital Transformation in Government Services Data Security & Privacy in eGovernment Citizen Participation in Digital Governance The future of how we engage with our governments is about to change! Day 2: The Digital Economy gets its spotlight! Fintech & Digital Payments Revolution Power of Influencer Marketing Digital Skills for Employment Tech Innovations and Their Impact – You’ll never look at your phone the same way again! Day 3: Smart Cities & Urban Innovations are here! IoT for Sustainable Urban Development Mobility Solutions that will revolutionize how we move Energy Efficiency & Renewable Tech – because the future is green! #Africa's digital future is right in front of us, and you do NOT want to miss this epic gathering of #innovators, #entrepreneurs, and #visionaries. Let’s make this summit a game-changer for the continent! #eDigitalConnect #AfricaRising #DigitalTransformation #FintechRevolution #SmartCities #TechInnovation #EmpoweringEntrepreneurs #Africa2024

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Here are the details of the Internet of Senses Institute podcast with Judith Okonkwo and me chatting about #virtualreality and #augmentedreality and her work at Imisi 3D and AR/VR Africa. Please 🙏🏼 listen and let me know your thoughts and any suggestions for my next #podcast interview subject (just remember my focus is on the #future of “sight”).

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At Moonshot 2024, I had the pleasure of meeting Ujjwal Singh, Co-Founder & COO of Incash Africa. We had an insightful conversation about his company’s mission and the exciting impact they’re making across the continent. Incash Africa is on a mission to reshape the financial landscape for employees and businesses. They are breaking down the traditional pay cycle barriers, empowering employees with timely access to earned wages and salary advances, without the hassle. By doing so, they help workers achieve financial stability while alleviating the pressure on employers’ working capital. Their vision is clear: a financially empowered workforce creates a thriving, sustainable business environment. With a strong set of values centered on accountability, excellence, and continuous learning, Incash Africa is not only providing financial relief but also fostering a culture of growth and responsibility. It was inspiring to hear about their mission to improve personal finance for employees across Africa and the long-term benefits they are bringing to businesses. Incash Africa is undoubtedly driving change and setting new standards for financial empowerment on the continent. Keep an eye on this space – they are building the future of financial systems for every employee in Africa. #Moonshot2024 #IncashAfrica #FinancialEmpowerment #Innovation #AfricanTech #SalaryOnDemand #FutureOfWork

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My latest for The Creatives Note is my story on Creative Nestlings, a South Africa-based African creative network and startup building for African creatives & entrepreneurs. I have been following dillion s. phiri and his work at Creative Nestlings for a while now, so earlier this year I set up a call with him to learn about how it all started. It was a very insightful and interesting conversation. During our conversation, dillion, a social sculptor, father, aspiring filmmaker, creative director & entrepreneur, shared how he co-founded Creative Nestlings in 2011 because he wanted to build a community of young black creatives. “I set out to build a community where creatives from all walks of life, can connect, collaborate, and grow together,” he told me. But now, Creative Nestlings is much more than a community for just black creatives. 13 years into the journey, Creative Nestlings has evolved and gone through several phases and is going through another transition right now. “We ran as an R&D agency for a very long time because we realised that there was money in R&D,” he told me. “We did a lot of consulting for brands and organisations—especially cities across South Africa—that wanted to understand how young people think and move.” While the previous iterations of operations have served them so far, dillion says, Creative Nestlings is pivoting. “Creative Nestlings is in a transition period right now,” he shared with me. Creative Nestlings is pivoting from a model that depends on money from client projects and funding from partners to a revenue-generating and self-sustaining model by setting up a tech startup and a foundation. “Doing good as a business is not easy, so the foundation [will] focus on doing good while the startup makes money,” dillion told me. In this conversation, dillion talked about his journey from Zimbabwe to South Africa, founding and growing Creative Nestlings—a thriving community and network of African creatives—as an “economic refugee” in South Africa, the plan to map the entire African creative & cultural industries, his mission to fund & invest in infrastructure and tools for creatives on the continent, and the next phase of Creative Nestlings. Visit https://lnkd.in/dT4A5d9S to read the full conversation. #creativesnote #TunmiseAfape #CreativeNestlings #CreativeCommunity #DillionSPhiri #ConversationOnCreative #CreativeEntrepreneur

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We’ve taken our efforts of finding ethical ways to apply AI in the creative industry one step forward. What started as an experiment in early 2022, birthed Africa’s first AI powered music album and AI singer “Mya Blue.” This landed us our first CNN feature and global recognition. Now in partnership with Premier Records we have created an official remix to the highlife classic “Joromi” by music legend Sir Victor Uwaifo. This remix features our AI artiste Mya Blue. The goal now is to show the world that it is possible to work with AI, retain human effort, get the appropriate licenses and ensure that rights holders get royalties from the content created. Here is to innovation 🥂 Joromi ft Mya Blue is on out now on all music streaming platforms: https://push.fm/fl/joromi

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Now that it’s official, we’re excited to share what we’re up to at Aptivate. We’re all about giving African brands the power to amaze with interactive video content. It’s no secret that video reigns supreme as the preferred medium for content consumption. With Aptivate, brands can transform any regular video into an engaging, interactive experience within their own environment that doesn’t just inform viewers—it lets them shop as they watch. We believe brands need to leverage this format in innovative new ways to retain and convert customers. So what makes Aptivate stand out, and how can we transform your brand’s digital strategy in 2024? Let’s dive in and explore the endless possibilities that interactive and shoppable video content offers. In this recent blog post, we delve into the details of what Aptivate can do for your brand:

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🌍 Africa Just Got a New Unicorn! 🎉 Nigeria’s Moniepoint Group has raised a whopping $110 million in Series C funding, led by Development Partners International (DPI). They’ve now joined the elite African Unicorn Club, standing alongside giants like MNT-Halan, Interswitch, Flutterwave, Wave, Chipper Cash, Opay and Andela. This round saw participation from Google’s Africa Investment Fund, Verod Capital, and existing investor Lightrock. Interestingly, the round included some secondaries at a discounted valuation—always great for creating liquidity in the ecosystem. Moniepoint Group provides retail banking services and also caters to small and medium businesses. With 5.2 billion transactions processed in 2023 alone, over $100M in annualised revenue and having processed over $150 billion in transactions that year - the bar has been set! 💥 Exciting times for African fintech and venture space! 🚀 #AfricaTech #Unicorn #Fintech #Innovation

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Check out the latest episode of “The month in VC”, our regular deep-dive into Africa’s investment space. Produced in partnership with Atlantica Ventures VC Fund, each episode wraps up the latest news in African VC, profiles a leading investor, and digs into a key theme or trend in conversation with partner VCs. The latest episode sees us speak to Zachariah George from Launch Africa Ventures, and we’ll also be discussing how we can go about getting more Africa-based investors - be they angels or institutions - backing African tech startups. https://lnkd.in/dGiuKbuq

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Africa is solidifying its position as a tech innovation powerhouse. With Yellow Card App recently securing a $33M raise, bringing its total funding to at least $88 million, alongside groundbreaking ventures like Releaf Earth (YC W19) and GamicHQ, it’s crystal clear; the future of African tech is blazing bright. Startups across the continent are pushing boundaries, whether in fintech, agritech, or Web3. 🌱 And as global attention turns to Africa, companies like Flutterwave, OPay, Andela, and MNT-Halan aren’t just making a local impact, they’re driving global change. 🌐 This speaks volumes: 💡 Innovation: African entrepreneurs are solving local challenges with scalable, global solutions. 🌱 Growth: These startups are attracting significant international investment, accelerating expansion. 💪 Resilience: Entrepreneurs are thriving despite challenging conditions. “What’s majorly driving adoption for us is utility. Stablecoins are useful. People need them,” remarked Yellow Card App CEO, Chris Maurice. “They solve problems for people and businesses. People are adopting this technology because they need it. This is not a speculation use case. It’s a utility use case.” Africa is ready. The world is watching. 🌍💼 Join the conversation: How do you see African startups shaping global tech? #AfricaTech #Innovation #Entrepreneurship #Fintech #GlobalGrowth #Investment

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69% of Africa’s web traffic is driven by mobile devices. The future of e-commerce here isn’t just mobile-first—it’s mobile-only. For African brands, the opportunity is massive. Remember how we leapfrogged traditional banking systems straight into mobile payments - now we’re perfectly positioned to do the same in e-commerce, embracing trends like shoppable video content. YouTube’s partnership with Shopify here is just the beginning. Imagine a world where your audience doesn’t just watch your content—they buy directly from it. Africa has the potential to lead this revolution, not just participate - we’ve always been good at adapting fast. This is why I love building Aptivate, and it’s incredibly exciting to see how African brands can make the most of these shifts. The tools are here, the audience is ready, and the future is interactive. #LiveShopping #ShoppableVideo #InteractiveContent #Ecommerce

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Curious about where the Kenyan creative process is headed? Buckle up, because it's a thrilling ride! Late 2023 was a game-changer for me. Midjourney turned my creative world upside down, revolutionizing how I source images and conjure masterpieces from just descriptions. It was like a magic wand for creativties. But hold onto your hats, because now it's all about video. Enter LUMA, the new kid on the block. It launched this week, and the results? Simply phenomenal. Imagine what we'll be creating in a year—full films, TVCs, documentaries. The possibilities are mind-blowing! This raises some questions: What will be left for us creatives, and what will be the domain of machines? Fast forward ten years—will we be the masterminds while the machines handle the creation? Crazy, right? Check out this image I crafted in Midjourney, then transformed into a video using LUMA. Have you tried LUMA yet?

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Here’s an interesting story behind this video. During Gabriel Gab-Umoden ‘s recent visit to our Nigeria office, we needed to shoot an important video. Unfortunately, our star video specialist, Tobi Dada was unable to join us as she was working from home and feeling unwell. With only Henry Egbe Damilola Abati and myself in the office, we decided to proceed with the shoot. Henry and I quickly set up with a friend's camera and got to work. As the Head of Design, my role usually focuses on pre-production planning, so getting hands-on with production was a refreshing change and a valuable experience. Of course, we later had Tobi work her magic with the editing, and she did a fantastic job. Special shout out to Bukola Sanusi-Okikiolu who drafted a custom questionnaire based on Gab’s personality and position within the organisation, adding and extra layer of depth to the interview. Key Takeaway - For design leads or managers, it's essential to understand the roles and responsibilities of each team member. You might need to step into their shoes at some point. Similarly, team members should be prepared to fill in for their leaders when necessary. Always be ready. Camera Setup: * Camera - Sony α7IV * Lens - Sigma 85mm f1.8 * Tripod Light Setup: * Key light - LED light mounted on a C-stand, tilted at an angle above and in front of the subject * Rim light - LED light approximately 2 feet behind the subject * Fill light - Natural light Audio Setup: * Rode SmartLav with 3.5mm jack wired microphone * Rode VC1 3.5mm TRS Microphone Extension Cable for Cameras

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