73. Maya Horgan Famodu (Ingressive Capital) - Investing in Sub-Saharan Africa, What She Looks For When Entering New Countries, How to Build Startup Ecosystems in Frontier Markets

Thank you Soraya Darabi ( https://theconsumervc.com/2020/07/13/soraya-darabi/ ) for the intro to our guest today Maya Horgan Famodu ( https://twitter.com/mayahorgan ). Maya's the partner and founder of Ingressive Capital ( https://ingressivecapital.com/ ). Ingressive Capital is an early venture capital fund located in Nigeria and invests in founders and companies in sub-saharan Africa. Some of her investments include Paystack, AWA Bike, and Vesicash. I highly recommend following Maya on Twitter @mayahorgan ( https://twitter.com/mayahorgan ). You can also follow your host, Mike, on Twitter @mikegelb ( https://twitter.com/MikeGelb ). You can also follow for episode announcements @consumervc ( https://twitter.com/ConsumerVc ). Excited to announce The Consumer VC Summit: October 13-15. It will be three days of discussions, talks about investing in CPG and physical goods at the early stages AND networking and mentoring sessions. Click Here to purchase your tickets ( https://summit.theconsumervc.com/checkout/select-tickets/ ). A few books that inspired Maya personally are Why Buddism is True? ( https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1439195463?camp=1789&creativeASIN=1439195463&ie=UTF8&linkCode=xm2&tag=theconsumervc-20 ) by Robert Wright, Fear ( https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0062004735?camp=1789&creativeASIN=0062004735&ie=UTF8&linkCode=xm2&tag=theconsumervc-20 ) by Thich Nhat Hanh, How to Change Your Mind ( https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0735224153?camp=1789&creativeASIN=0735224153&ie=UTF8&linkCode=xm2&tag=theconsumervc-20 ) by Michael Pollan, The Enlightened Gardner ( https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B087P6W2KQ?camp=1789&creativeASIN=B087P6W2KQ&ie=UTF8&linkCode=xm2&tag=theconsumervc-20 ) by Sydney Banks. A couple books that inspired her professionally are The Hard Things About Things ( https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0062273205?camp=1789&creativeASIN=0062273205&ie=UTF8&linkCode=xm2&tag=theconsumervc-20 ) by Ben Horowitz and Superforecast ( https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0804136718?camp=1789&creativeASIN=0804136718&ie=UTF8&linkCode=xm2&tag=theconsumervc-20 ) by Philip E. Tetlock and Dan Gardner. In this episode you'll learn - * What inspired her to found Ingressive? What is special about founding a fund that seeks to invest in a frontier market like Sub-Saharan Africa? What are the particular opportunities and problems. What are some of the biggest opportunities that you focus on? What are some of the challenges when starting a technology company in Nigeria. Is finding exits difficult? I remember you mentioned how lots of folks talk about Kenya and the incredible innovation that's happening there, but 75% of those companies were founded by ex-pats. How do you see the process of building a local Nigerian, entrepreneurial community? * What are some of the biggest misconceptions about a frontier region, like West Africa? What are some of the differences when it comes to your due diligence process and what milestones does a company have to achieve in order for you to be interested? What's one thing that you would change when it came to venture capital? * 10 day silent meditation retreat - passana * Helped takeaway preconceived notion * What's your most recent investment and what makes you excited about it? * What's one piece of advice for founders? Should more of them be looking at Africa? Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands