African Pre-seed Podcast S3 Ep1: Behind the scenes of Capital Funding: What Early-Stage Founders in Africa Need Most

The African Pre-seed Podcast - Powered by 54 Collective

🎙️ Welcome to Season 3: New Beginnings, New Brand, Same Mission

In this special season premiere, we unveil our new brand positioning as The African Pre-seed Podcast Powered by 54 Collective. While our mission remains the same—delivering rich insights for Africa-focused founders and investors—this season reflects our partnership with 54 Collective, a venture capital firm redefining investing across Africa. Together, we aim to help founders to build without boundaries.

This episode, recorded live in September at Nairobi’s Capital Club ahead of the African Fintech Summit, features a dynamic discussion on the types of capital early-stage startups need. Our host, Loraine Achar,, Investment Manager at 54 Collective, is joined by Djiba Diallo, Steve Biko, and Andreata Muforo to explore critical topics like bootstrapping, venture capital, and grants.

As Africa’s tech ecosystem recalibrates after the 2020-2021 funding wave, local investors are stepping up to focus on sustainability, unit economics, and tailored capital opportunities for founders. This conversation offers valuable insights for navigating the evolving funding landscape in Africa.

Some key take aways:

• Bootstrapping vs. Venture Capital: Founders must define their success goals—venture capital drives rapid growth, while bootstrapping offers more control, each with unique challenges.
• Beware of the Bells and Whistles of Grants: Grants can power innovation but may lead founders off strategy or come with heavy reporting requirements—understand expectations clearly.
• Aligning Incentives with Investors: Ensure alignment with investors whose success metrics match yours, understanding their return expectations and risk appetite to avoid future conflicts.

💡 Top five insights unpacked in this episode:

• Understanding the right type of capital for your business [11:34]
• Is debt investing the way to go? [17:59]
• What banks look for in partnering with startups [20:38]
• How to balance securing the right kind of equity [30:08]
• Audience Q/A : How early stage startup can effectively demonstrate their growth potentials and scalability to attract investors? [38:12]

CONNECT VIA SOCIAL MEDIA:

• Djiba Diallo, the Senior Fintech Advisor at Ecobank Transnational,
• Loraine Achar, Investment Manager at 54 Collective,
• Steve Biko, Co-founder and CEO of Zanifu,
• Andreata Muforo, Partner at TLcom Capital LLP

Tell us...

• What was your favourite quote or lesson from this episode?
• What topic would you like for us to feature on a future podcast?

Let us know via the hashtag: #AfricanPreseedPodcast