Building in Africa: Focus vs. Diversification
Afridigest's new 'Building in Africa' series brings together founders and business builders across the continent for practical discussions on strategy and execution.
Traditional startup wisdom says "focus, focus, focus." But in African markets, startups often expand beyond their core business early on.
This panel will explore this phenomenon in depth, building upon previous viral discussions on Twitter and LinkedIn:
Is focus a luxury African startups can't afford?
We'll have an honest discussion about:
• Market realities that influence African startups' strategic choices
• How market size & market penetration assumptions collide with reality
• When diversification is strategic vs. survival-driven
• How to balance focus and optionality while building for scale
• How CEOs think about risk management and business sustainability
Featuring the following business builders:
— Fara Ashiru (CEO & Co-founder, Okra) - Leading Nigeria's open banking pioneer as it expands into cloud infrastructure (~$21M raised - Pitchbook)
— Olusola Amusan (CEO & Co-founder, Vesti) - Expanding solutions offered by the immigrant-focused neobank to include migration concierge services (~$1M raised - Pitchbook)
— Moulaye Tabouré (CEO & Co-founder, ANKA) - Grew Afrikrea into a widely beloved marketplace for Africa-made products then transformed it into global SaaS e-commerce platform ANKA (~$15M raised - Pitchbook)
Moderated by: Emeka Ajene (Afridigest)
This is a must-attend event for anyone serious about building or investing in African startups.
• Founders: Get practical insights on strategic decision-making from battle-tested entrepreneurs
• Investors: Get a deeper understanding of market dynamics & founder approaches
• Other Executives: Move past theoretical discussions to a real-world look at builders actively navigating market constraints and building for scale
Afridigest offers ideas, analysis, and insights in modern business in Africa. Subscribe today: afridigest.com/subscribe