When it comes to digital lending in China, Lufax is the name to beat. They are backed by Ping An Insurance Group, which is now one of the most innovative financial conglomerates in China. Since they have expanded beyond insurance, they’re…
I work in digital finance. Since 2015, I’ve been focused on the ecosystem in Africa, launching four products and one marketplace. It’s clear that digital lending will continue its phenomenal growth in Africa. This has the trajectory of the Chinese…
Low-Cost Android Phones are becoming more available across Africa. I’ve seen phones for as low as $40 in Tanzania and Zambia. These are generally subsidized by MNOs, and customers are even given incentives to buy with cheap credit options. Digitization…
When you look at MTN and Vodacom’s strategic imperatives each year, for the most part, they’re really close. I’ve lined up them up below for you, and as you see, the first four are the same. Vodacom MTN Best Customer…
Recently I started consuming digital books. And by “recently” and “consuming” I mean I’m half way through my first book. It’s called Atomic Habits and I recommend it. I love spontaneity, and I’ve never been good at habits. But I…
I saw a quote by Naval once that said if you can build and sell you’ll be unstoppable. I think that’s true. The most successful entrepreneurs in our world right now could do both. The best CEOs in the world…
I went on golf tour in Durban this week and it was quite the spectacle of both golf and drinking. I’m going on a detox this week to clear out the systems. Sometimes hitting refresh is the best thing for…
One of the harder parts about working in tech in Africa is nailing down your distribution channel. The market is not at the level yet where having a good website and a social media presence will drive enough traffic to…
After I graduated college I moved out to Kenya. That was 9 years ago. My work had taken me to four East African countries in that time, the majority in Tanzania. Most of that time was spent in mobile tech;…
This is a mental model I haven’t started yet. I bought a book about it yesterday, called the “The Decision Checklist”, and the first three chapters were good. My wife and I tried it, albeit not journaling but using the…
In Africa we like to think we are at the forefront of mobile money. Afterall, M-Pesa was developed in Kenya and Jumo was founded in Cape Town. The success stories here have attracted attention worldwide and there continues to be…
Taxify, the Estonian competitor to Uber, is making a big push in Africa. While Uber was here first, and aggressively pushed into multiple countries in Africa, their first mover advantage is being eroded quickly by Taxify. This is partly due…