Roger Norton’s Post

Exciting news! I've just posted my first Medium article titled "The Hustle and Heart of Building a Startup in Nigeria – My Motivation Struggle." It’s a stage-by-stage documentation of my startup journey, sharing both the hype and the tough realities of building a business in Nigeria. From team challenges and funding woes to finding my motivation, I dive into the grind and celebrate small wins along the way. This is a progressive story, so follow along as I keep sharing the highs, lows, and everything in between. Check it out, and join me on this journey!

It was great joining Steve Ayorinde, Ojy Okpe, and others on national TV earlier today at @Arise TV's Morning Show to discuss the thriving startup ecosystem in Nigeria and Africa. We delved into some exciting conversations about startups' role in transforming economies, creating jobs, and solving critical local challenges with innovative solutions. A big part of the conversation was on Tax incentives for startups in Africa and the role of A. I in growth in the ecosystem. It was also great highlighting Alex Onyia's work at EduCare in solving problems in education in Nigeria. We also talked about how ecosystem events like the Africa Startup Festival (Sponsored by Cardtonic Technologies LTD., Amazon Web Services (AWS), VeendHQ (Techstars '23), Payaza Africa Limited, etc) are fostering valuable collaborations between startups and investors, opening up new doors for African entrepreneurs to scale their businesses and make a global impact. As we continue to build for Africa, from Africa, it’s clear that startups are not just the future of business—they are reshaping industries and driving inclusive growth across the continent. You can watch it here - https://lnkd.in/dkzm2Fhf

Good to be back in #Tunisia 🇹🇳 Our Investment Principal Jordy K. and Investment Professional Tosin Ademokoya had the pleasure of re-connecting with ZIED BEN OTHMAN Director at #Anava Fund of Funds Smart Capital Tunisia and Ines Zekri, Investment Officer at Smart Capital. We discussed building bridges and connections across the #African #startup #ecosystem as well as Octerra Capital 's investment in Tunisian #cleantech startup Wattnow. Wattnow is an IoT energy management solution that uses technology such as smart meters to measure real-time energy consumption and provides Companies with actionable data insights to optimise their overall energy usage. #StartupTunisia #OcterraCapital #Investing #

In week 5, I shared how we couldn’t make the top 5 in the ALX GHANA ventures accelerator's first pitch competition. It was a tough moment for us, but as always, we kept pushing forward. WEEK 9 OF BUILDING A TRADETECH UNICORN FROM WEST AFRICA - A series Fast forward to today, I’m beyond excited to announce that 8th Wonder has been selected as one of the top 10 startups in the cohort to pitch at Demo Day as part of the Ghana SME and Startup Week 24''! It’s a huge milestone for us, and it’s amazing to see our hard work pay off. On the community side, our Refer and Earn Challenge has been on fire. Last week, we hit 165 sign-ups, marking a 211% increase compared to the previous week's 53 sign-ups. With a steady daily growth rate, we’re seeing real momentum build up. The top referrer was rewarded with $10 for leading the charge, and this week’s race has already started. Success doesn’t come without setbacks, but with persistence and grit, we’re making sure 8th Wonder stands out. Stay tuned—we’re just getting started! #8thWonder #TheWorldIsYours #TradeTechUnicorn #StartupJourney #Ghanasmeandstartupweek24 #DoHardThings #ReferralChallenge

A much needed milestone and wonderful news for our nascent ecosystem! As the dust settles on the announcement and their future plans become public, the positive impact of this deal will become more evident. #EmergingPakistan For now, if you'd like to cut through the noise and understand the basics of this deal, please read this short post by Mubariz Siddiqui https://lnkd.in/geFUEkvc

Exciting News Alert! ImaliPay is in the spotlight on AfriRadar today! Dive into our journey of empowerment and innovation across Africa. 🌍💡 #Fintech #FinancialInclusion #EmpowerAfrica

How can African startups balance agility with accountability as we navigate the second half of 2024? This burning question was the central theme of our SOTIA H1 2024 live launch event last Friday.  Our incredible  panel moderated by Nubi Kay', (Startup programs lead Paystack), included: ◻ Christine Namara (Partner, Flat6labs' Africa Seedfund) ◻Matthew Davis (Co-CEO, Renew Capital) ◻'Tola Onayemi (CEO, Norebase) ◻Oluwatamilore Sowunmi (Associate, Aluko & Oyebode) Their diverse perspectives shed light on the ecosystem's "growing pains" – a crucial phase that demands a rethinking of corporate governance practices and procedures. These insights aren't just food for thought – but a call to action for everyone invested in Africa's tech future. Here are some quotes that sum up the session 👇 Want to learn more about the numbers behind these trends? Download our report here: https://lnkd.in/d5vv5Kp6

There's a saying that it takes a village to raise a child. Building a startup is kinda like raising a child, you need support. This is where incubators and accelerators come in. They give resources, networking opportunities and even funding to help you grow your startup. Check out our list of top incubators and accelerators in Nigeria: https://lnkd.in/dfrzUkaq

Calling Africa’s most visionary and ambitious founders! 3 days left to apply for Cohort 2 of Accelerate Africa. Are you ready to accelerate your startup towards $1m ARR? Apply now! Accelerate Africa Future Africa Iyinoluwa Aboyeji V. Chinyere Inya Mathew Saunders

Congratulations Brandon and the entire SadaPay team!! Papara's acquisition is a testament to the awesome product and quality team you have put together. Acquisitions in highly-regulated industries are never easy - Kudos to both sets of teams, Endeavor Pakistan Board members and State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) for getting this deal across the line.🏆 When taking on the responsibility to build Endeavor Pakistan - I could never have imagined that we would be able to leave a lasting impact on the startup ecosystem in such a short time. Early-stage ecosystems need exits to validate the opportunity and enable continued capital in-flows. I'm super proud that we were able to play our part in driving the first venture-backed exit in Pakistan.🚀🚀 Endeavor Pakistan was borne out of a sense of duty to give back and an unwavering passion to help inspiring founders scale transformative businesses. There was a strong belief in the Endeavor model and the power of its network to ignite the immense/unrealized potential of the country. Over the last few days, I have read many different (negative) opinions about the suggested valuation and speculation around deal terms or other perceived issues. The reality is far removed from speculation and most of the details will continue to remain private - as is the nature of private equity transactions. Here are my two cents on why this was a good deal for all: - Proves that Pakistan can have exits - Validates the long-term potential of financial services - Much needed FDI to the country - Builds institutional capacity at the regulator - Brings new knowledge, innovation and tech to the ecosystem - Fair deal factoring for currency, govt/political and economic risk - Reality check for local founders/investors Allen Taylor Adrian Garcia-Aranyos Joanna Harries Linda Rottenberg Mudassir Sheikha Tania Aidrus Ali Mukhtar Amir ParachaJawad Khan Aaqib Gadit Samad DawoodShehryar Hydri Mujtaba Shahbazker Samia AslamSana Chaudhry Anoop HafeezSaad ShehryarEndeavor TürkiyeBora YILMAZ Emre KenciAhmed F. Karslı