Kelvin Nyame

Here’s the advice I’m glad I never took when I was building Rayda early on: Become a fintech. It might seem counter-intuitive, especially coming from an African founder. Capital is scarce in Africa, so lending or supply chain financing startups are solving a huge problem. A common saying in the African tech ecosystem is every startup, eventually, turns into a fintech. Not to mention fintech attracts investors. Fintech funding has grown a bonkers 166% this year. In 2023, when I was grinding away on my first Rayda prototype, I dabbled in financing. Our SME and startup customers in Nigeria asked if we could provide asset leasing and financing for laptops and other IT devices. Capital is hard to come by, so it seemed like a no brainer. But, I put my foot down when some asked us to start financing vehicles and other business fixed assets which we didn’t sell. We were strictly into providing IT equipment. At the same time, some investor friends said I should turn Rayda into an asset financing business. But, I said no — to both customers and investors. It helped me clarify three things for the business: 1️⃣ I wanted to be the direct vendor to control the transaction. Some of our early consumers asked us to finance non-IT equipment. That meant I wouldn’t be the direct vendor. Just a lender. I could make a small margin, but I was exposed to A LOT of risk – on both the customer and vendor sides. Profiling users for default risk is tricky, especially in Nigeria. But the vendor could also be fake. 2️⃣ I wanted to add value by playing a key role in the asset journey. Had I gotten into financing vehicles or other business equipments, I’d have cut myself off from the asset’s lifecycle (from buying to managing to disposing). I wouldn’t have any insights into what happened when a startup bought laptops for its employees from buying to disposing of them. Early on, I knew I wanted to play a role there. 3️⃣ I didn’t want to be constantly fundraising. Lending requires a big balance sheet. I didn’t want to be constantly on the fundraising trail to fund a loan book. I've done that rodeo before. I wasn’t eager to do it again. The deeper insights you have into the problem you’re solving, the more conviction you have on the business you’re building. #DeepConvictions

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THE BATTLE FOR AFRICA’S FUTURE: TECH REVOLUTION OR REAL ECONOMIC MUSCLE? Most places you look, Africa’s tech scene is booming — shiny hubs, fintech unicorns, and AI startups making headlines. In stark contrast, youth unemployment in Africa remains alarmingly high — estimated at around 22% continent-wide in 2024 — and frustration is growing. Country-level extremes: ➤ #SouthAfrica: Youth unemployment soared around 52% in 2024. ➤ #Uganda: A staggering 83% of youth are unemployed—including graduates—especially in urban areas. ➤ #Eswatini & #Djibouti: Both face youth unemployment rates over 50–70% in certain estimates ➤ According to the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) Economic Survey 2024, youth aged 18–35 who are deprived of economic activity (i.e., not working or studying) stand at 53.1% Meanwhile, the digital revolution means information travels faster than ever, opening doors to innovation but also to instability. So here’s the real question: is our obsession with the digital boom distracting us from building the economic muscle we truly need? Because yes, an app can move money — but it can’t lay down railway lines, build power plants, or run factories that employ millions. We risk becoming a continent that proudly exports code while still importing tractors, textiles, and even basic tools. The real task isn’t choosing between tech and industry — it’s making sure our digital progress fuels production, agriculture, and manufacturing at scale. We need to: ➤ Tie Tech to Industry – Incentivise startups to solve manufacturing, agriculture, and energy problems, not just payment or delivery apps. ➤ Invest in Hard Infrastructure – Power, roads, and ports are the oxygen for scaling both tech and industry. ➤ Align Skills with Production – Make STEM, vocational, and manufacturing skills national priorities. ➤ Unlock African Capital – Channel pension funds, sovereign wealth, and diaspora investment into industrial SMEs and hardtech. Otherwise, our revolution will stay online while poverty stays stubbornly offline. Your thoughts — is Africa’s future being coded into apps, or forged in factories? And most importantly, how do we turn this moment into real jobs and lasting prosperity for the youth? Africa Business Inc Africa Business Leadership Institute African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Secretariat African Development Bank Group African Union #AfricaFuture #Industrialization #DigitalAfrica #AfricaRising #VC #Manufacturing #Hardtech #AfricanTech #BuildAfrica #TheAfricaWeWant

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