Juliet Odumosu didn’t suddenly become the co-founder of Nguvu Health, one of the largest healthcare startups in Africa. It took years of sheer grit, determination, and perseverance to be able to reach her heights.
She was fortunate to begin in a very small but fast-growing company. She tried on many hats from front desk/executive assistant (the role she was originally hired for) to customer success executive, HR/Admin, quality control manager, and corporate sales. Etc.
This helped transform Juliet from the fresh-out-of-school graduate who was just excited about the office WIFI in downloading movies/series to a professional who is confident she’s found her career passion in Media and Marketing.
Juliet Odumosu
During Covid-19, her friend and now co-founder, Joshua Koya, reached out to share his idea about building a teletherapy platform for Africans and asked Juliet to come on onboard with content marketing. He presented her with the opportunity because he was aware that was a field she had begun exploring.
It is what birthed her journey in Nguvu Health. The startup is a teletherapy platform providing easy and affordable access to licensed therapists for Africans both at home and in the diaspora. Charged with changing the narrative around mental health in Africa, they provide video and text sessions with qualified clinical psychologists.
Nguvu Health
The challenges Juliet had faced aren’t really peculiar to her being a woman, but as a young founder. She moved from just two years of working as an employee under a supervisor to being a supervisor/founder. That huge responsibility came with a pang of imposter syndrome and it made her triple her efforts.
She shares the steps she took to become a successful co-founder. In her words,
“Investing in a power team who also shares the same vision you have for the company. You can’t get it wrong with the right team. Promoting top-to-bottom transparency within the company. You want the trust of your team members.
During tough as well as rosy times, you’ll be grateful for it. Focus on generating sustainable revenue as opposed to relying solely on raised funds. The investment market is known to be unpredictable and susceptible to rapid changes. Don’t peg the growth of your company with those fluctuations.”
Susan Olapade is a co-founder of Akaani, a technology supply-chain startup that utilizes a two-sided marketplace powered by Artificial Intelligence, and a recipe platform to offer an innovative commerce experience for both grocery customers and sellers.
Susan is an experienced professional with a background in e-commerce, IT consulting, and finance & insurance industries. She earned her first degree in Chemical Engineering but found her true passion at the intersection of Technology and Business.
Susan Olapade
With a keen interest in integrating cutting-edge technology in a wide range of business applications, Susan is dedicated to increasing operational efficiency, driving revenue growth, and improving customer experience.
She comes from a family of entrepreneurs. After completing her undergraduate studies in Nigeria in 2017, she started her own business specialising in gourmet and customized brownies in Lagos, Nigeria during her national service until she left Nigeria in 2021.
In 2019, she joined AXA as a Business Optimization Analyst, where she gained experience analysing and building automation solutions for finance, risk management, human resources, sales, liquidations, and claims processes.
Exposure to technology at AXA greatly influenced how she managed her baking business. She trained her staff members to leverage platforms such as Flutterwave and Paystack to improve efficiency and integrated technology into their everyday processes.
In 2021, she met Richard Igbiriki, the CEO/CTO/Founder of Akaani, in New York. During one of their discussions, they shared their frustrations about the difficulties in getting African groceries delivered to our doorsteps.
This led Susan to conduct research on African stores in New York City, where she discovered that only 14% of the 70 stores sampled offered doorstep delivery. Upon sharing her findings with Richard, he revealed that he was already working on a startup to address this issue.
Intrigued by the idea, Susan expressed her interest in working on the project with Richard. She was particularly drawn to the idea of providing an experience that catered to the food needs of Africans in the diaspora, as she has a passion for cooking.
Richard, the CTO/CEO/Co-founder at Akaani agreed to bring her on board as the COO/Co-founder, and she enthusiastically accepted the opportunity. By building a platform, Akaani has been able to serve users in both Nigeria and the USA simultaneously.
Akaani
Though these are very different markets, their technology has enabled them to scale quickly and manage distinct business models. In Nigeria, Akaani is designed to provide an online shopping experience for everyday grocery products, whereas in the US, the focus is specifically on African grocery products.
“Managing my own business and working as an automation developer inspired me to pursue an advanced degree at the intersection of Business and Tech. I’m currently completing my Master’s degree in Management of Technology at NYU, which has been a fantastic career decision. The program has provided me with valuable insights on managing technology-driven businesses, and I’m using this knowledge to shape the way I’m building my startup, Akaani.”
– Susan Olapade
Per gender challenges as a female cofounder, Susan has not faced any gender-related challenges while working with her male co-founder. However, she encountered a sexist comment from a male African store owner during market research in NYC.
He insinuated that Susan should be focused on getting married instead of building an African grocery business due to the challenges of the industry. This comment made her feel demeaned, as it suggested that her gender made her incapable of succeeding in the business.
On how gender equity can be achieved in Africa, Susan notes that certain industries or professions are considered “male-dominated” or “female-dominated.” For example, men are more likely to be employed in higher-paying industries such as technology and engineering.
On the other hand, women are more likely to work in lower-paying industries such as education and healthcare, resulting in a gender pay gap and lack of female representation. In light of this, she asserts that there needs to be a change in the mindset and attitudes of the Nigerian society towards job roles.
Also, sensitization programs and campaigns can help to raise awareness of the importance of gender equity by encouraging women to start taking on roles that are traditionally reserved for men. Sensitization can also help reduce gender biases that can impact hiring decisions, promotions, and pay raises.
Risk is the potential for loss, damage, or injury and is typically linked to ambiguity and possible peril. In investing, risk refers to the possibility of losing all or a portion of the value of an investment and is related to numerous factors, including shifts in market conditions, business performance, or macroeconomic events. In this article, we will examine what the risks of investing are and what to look out for when investing in a startup.
Investing in risky but lucrative assets, such as start-up businesses, venture capital funds, or speculative stocks, is known as “risk investing.” By assuming greater levels of risk, risk investing seeks to generate returns that are higher than those of more conventional investments like bonds and stocks. Typically, investors who have a high-risk tolerance, a long investment horizon, and the willingness to accept the possibility of losing some or all of their investment favor this kind of investment.
Investing in startups can be an exciting and potentially profitable opportunity, but it also carries a significant risk. Startups are unproven businesses with a higher chance of failure; as such, investors looking to invest in startups must be diligent in weighing the risks before they do so. The potential for higher returns is the advantage of taking on more risk. For instance, early-stage startups that are acquired or successfully go public can offer investors sizable returns on their investments.
It is critical to carefully consider each investment opportunity and to conduct in-depth research on the startup, management team, market, and competitors to make an informed decision when investing in a startup. Here are some important factors to consider when assessing a startup investment opportunity:
Market Risk: One of the main risks to consider when investing in startups is market risk. This refers to the possibility that the startup’s product or service may not be as big or as receptive as anticipated. Since there is little information available on consumer preferences, spending patterns, and market dynamics, especially in the Nigerian context, this risk is exceptionally high for startups operating in emerging or unproven markets.
It may be challenging for startups to establish a presence in the market as they compete with established players who have access to more resources and experience. Additionally, market trends and customer preferences are subject to quick changes, making it difficult for startups to stay on top of the game and keep generating revenue. To mitigate this risk, investors should study the market and search for indications of expansion, and potential demand. It is crucial to examine the team’s market knowledge and flexibility in responding to shifts in the market.
Product Risk: Startups frequently create novel, fresh products that have the potential to be profitable as well as exciting. There is always a chance that the product will not be well designed, meet the needs of the customer, or function as expected. This is referred to as product risk. Investors should thoroughly assess the product and its design, conduct market and customer research, and evaluate the team’s capacity to create and market a successful product to reduce the likelihood of product risk. One of the ways to achieve this is to look for indications of consumer interest and demand, such as early adopters of the product.
Management Risk: Startups are typically managed by a small team of inexperienced individuals. As such, there is the chance that the leadership team may lack the knowledge or expertise necessary to successfully manage and expand the company. There is also the risk of making poor management decisions and misusing resources.
To minimize their exposure, investors should carefully assess the management’s team experience, including their background and accomplishments. Having a clear vision, making wise decisions, and having the ability to draw in and keep top talent are all indications of strong leadership that investors can look out for. It is also crucial to take into account the startup’s governance structure as well as its capacity to recruit and retain knowledgeable advisors and board members. This can offer more oversight and expertise to assist the management team in navigating the opportunities and challenges of growing a startup.
Financial Risk: Startups frequently require a sizeable investment to move forward and there is a risk that they will be unable to secure sufficient funding or produce enough revenue to cover their costs. There is also the possibility of experiencing monetary losses due to mismanagement by the management or unexpected changes in the market.
By thoroughly researching the startup’s growth potential, its revenue streams, and its past financial performance, investors can reduce the financial risk associated with startup investing.
Regulatory Risk: Startups frequently operate in sectors that are undergoing rapid change, and they may be subject to new or evolving regulations. There is a chance that they may not comply with the regulations, leading to exorbitant fines, legal actions, or total shut-down that could raise the possibility of investor losses. By understanding the regulatory context in which a startup operates, investors can reduce their exposure to regulatory risk. They can also keep an eye on the regulatory environment and develop a strategy to reduce the risk by discussing it with legal experts. They can also seek advice from professionals.
In conclusion, it is important for investors to thoroughly investigate each investment opportunity, comprehend the risks involved, and devise a plan to reduce such risks.
This might entail diversifying their holdings and reserving a portion of their portfolio for high-risk investments. While investing in startups can be risky, it can also be a way for those who are willing to carefully evaluate and manage the risks involved to reap significant financial rewards.
It’s been a full year of ups and downs and great perseverance across the ecosystem and we cannot wait to show you what we have been building so far.
Like you, at the start of 2022, we made plans and strategy documents hyping the year with resolutions, goals, plans and other festive traditions
We set our minds to push forward counting down our first year into this mission of democratization.
For us 2022 has been a mantra of “ Go big or Go home” and we don’t intend to go home …
We are still on mission.
So without further ado we review some interesting things we did this year.
Our Products
Our Product and Engineering team were hard at work this year ensuring smooth product launches, ever constant tweaks, debugs, and building across our roadmap. From an initial idea to 5 products launched and tweaking constantly, we have been thinking hard on how we can build out solid investment infrastructure products for the venture capital ecosystem. We need you the community to help us get better and stay better delivering valuable products, programmes, and policies.
In 2021 we launched three key products – Crowdraise ( now Public Raise ) , Deal rooms (Private Raise), and Secondary Markets.
We added our APIs, institutional investment tool AND
Since then, we have made some key changes that are better suited to create a better experience for ALL our users.
What better way to start off the education than with our…….drum rolls…..
Investors
As investors, you can invest in startups within our portfolio with as little as $10 using very easy to use and straightforward payment processes integrated on the platform. In addition to already existing integrations, we were able to integrate:
Flutterwave – to enable virtual accounts for international payments(USD, GBP, EURO)
Brass – to enable virtual accounts for local payments(NGN)
Another exciting feature brought to the investor table this year was Insurance.
A lot of factors can pose a threat to investments no matter how carefully managed. At GetEquity we recognize this and so we’ve taken steps to ensure that your investments are protected from unforeseen events. We recently partnered with Curacel to provide keyman insurance coverage for all investments on the GetEquity platform. You can learn more about this here
Founders
In our bid to make founders’ hard work much simpler, we created an all in one dashboard for founders to access 5 key products of GetEquity.
Public Raise(formerly crowdraise)– that allows you to raise funds from our private investor community
Private Raise(formerly community and company dealrooms) – that allows you to invite investors to invest in your company.
ESOPs (Employee Stock option/ Benefit) – Our most interesting feature to date is ESOPs. You can now offer employees stock options on your own terms. Choose the vesting period, cliff, and maturity from one simple and intuitive dashboard. Learn more about this here
API Client – As a product-led company, you want the customers/clients on your platform not to miss out on investing in sweet deals in the form of high-growth startups. Hence, this product allows you to generate more revenue when they invest by making use of our API on your platform to offer them startups raising on GetEquity.
Institutional Investing – As a founder or a company, having the INVEST feature turned-on on your dashboard gives you the opportunity to invest in other high-growth start-ups that are listed on GetEquity which are publicly fundraising companies. Thus, the institutional investing product makes your company a corporate investor.
Institutional Investors
We focused on bringing more institutional investors into our ecosystem. This led us to create the following products:
Institutional Investing: GetEquity provides deal-flow for syndicate groups. As a venture capital firm or angel syndicate, having the INVEST feature turned-on on your dashboard gives you the opportunity to invest in other high-growth start-ups that are listed on GetEquity which are publicly fundraising companies.
Private Dealrooms: This allows syndicates to create multiple deals and perform a capital call from their LP’s. We also provide an infrastructure for Limited partners (LP) management. You can learn more and get started here
Our Growth
As we build, growth they say is inevitable. At the start of the year, the growth team was very intentional about not just improving our traction but playing a vital role in the ecosystem for all parties.
From January 2022 to date, we have grown from over 4000 investors to 11,000+ Investors across board with over $1,000,000 raised using GetEquity.
Some key initiatives we ran during the year are:
Investing Masterclass in partnership with DreamVC – We partnered with DreamVC to provide a free intensive 3hr masterclass in order to further educate both users and non-users of GetEquity to further understand what it means to be an investor.
Ecosystem Talks – Twitter conversations with key members of the tech ecosystem centered around its growth as well as best steps for startups to take during the year.
Pull up and Pitch – Pull up and Pitch is a monthly event created and hosted by GetEquity in its current journey to support startups within the African tech ecosystem.
The aim of the event is to promote brand awareness of startups who are building key solutions to the GetEquity community and network regardless of whether these startups are listed on GetEquity or not.
2 editions of the event were held in partnership with Workstation and Venia Hub in the month of September and October respectively. The winning startup at the first edition went on to win the Startup Pitch Competition at the GetEquity Startup Festival. The winning startup for the second edition also won free office space for 1 month and free virtual office for 1 year from the Venia Team.
Ask A Founder Sessions – We continued our existing tradition of conversations intended to throw more light on startups listed on GetEquity. These conversations were held together with the founders of each startup in order to shed more light on the solutions they provide.
Startup Festival(Maiden Edition) – Months ago, we set out on a journey to create a space where we can have lasting conversations on the growth of our ecosystem as well as support the awesome startups building solutions for us all.
And the event was a huge success with over 1000 guests, 20 exhibiting companies, media partners, 27 speakers, sponsors and the general public.
The event was graced with the likes of Agama Emomotimi, Managing Director, Nigerian Capital Market Institute; Zikora Okwor-Wewan, Partner, Springwoods LP; Oluwatimilehin Ogunyemi, Head of Business Operations & Partnerships, Nomba where they came to together to discuss topics ranging from how to Bridge the gap on payments to War for Talents in the African Startup scene and much more important conversations on the ecosystem. You can view the amazing lineup of speakers here
Some of the highlights of the event include the opening speech to kickstart the event by GetEquity’s CEO Jude, pitches from 4 startups – Regxta – A digital bank focusing the financially underserved African population, Flowmono – A digital automation platform for businesses, Riltee – Real estate democratization platform and Strich Technologies – solution built for small business digital commerce. Regxta was announced as winner of the startup pitch at the event.
The 5 panel sessions with key speakers focusing on the startup ecosystem in Nigeria and Africa were key moments that have since received positive reviews from attendees across social media.
With the success of this event, GetEquity is looking to make the Startup Festival a continuous event and plans to host its next edition in 2023.
GetEquity Startup Festival 2022
Outside of the above, we ran key PR and Content Marketing campaigns centered on our key products, our support for startups as well as conversion tactics to improve our traction.
Our growth won’t have been possible without the help of our partners. With regards to our dealings in relation to partnerships in December and all through 2022, we at GetEquity have aimed to employ a strategy of deep, productive and sustainable links with all our partners.
Our partnerships have been built and nurtured to meet key areas of our business operations such as Product Development, Ventures, Portfolio Support, Customers Service, Human Resources, Business Development, Technology, Legal, Marketing and Finance. Some key firms with whom we have strong relationships within 2022 include the likes of local and international firms such as Wefunder, Zedi Africa, Accelera law, SHQ, Norebase, Flutterwave, Mono, Uqudo, Republic, Greenhouse labs, Microsoft, Ennovate hub, DreamVC, Fuzu, The Spark, Cadanapay, Iveoma Media, Ventor Africa, Emmviro, Microtraction, IO Fund, FHDIC, HOAQ Club, Startinev, Plug and Play, KLab, Startup UG, Freshworks, Regcompass, Campus Innovation Circles Playbook, Assurdly, UVID Partners, Blue Sapphire Hub, Sidebrief Africa, Founders’ Square etc.
Our Startups
Throughout 2022, the Ventures team at GetEquity has sought to scout, curate, vet, and list quality startups on its platform, with these startups having the important characteristics of providing value to their customer base and meeting impressive growth in terms of traction. To date, GetEquity has listed over 40+ startups on its platform, with many of them falling into key industries such as Financial Technology, Healthcare, Insurance, Digital Banking, Edutech etc.
Some of the startups that have been listed on GetEquity include names like Spleet, Fluidcoins, Dropper, BridegCard, SendStack Wirepay, Famasi, KoboPay, Pade, Aladdin Bank, TalentQL, Regxta, Ricive, Alt School, and Collect Africa etc. Startups listed from other African countries such as Kenya, Rwanda, and Tanzania include the likes of Zemo Card, MyWagePay, Mipango, Ironji, and a host of other startups. GetEquity has also been able to list the likes of Sticky, which is a UK-based technology company that is building an enterprise operating system to solve problems in physical spaces and aiming to penetrate the African continent with its product offering.
Of the 40+ startups that have been listed on GetEquity in 2022 and who raised funding in excess of $340,000, about 23 of them have closed their rounds, with raise amounts ranging from $2,500 to $30,000 at a combined post-money valuation of about $77.7 mliion. Startups such as TalentQL, Famasi, Mizala, WeMove, Dropper, Pade, etc were able to raise amounts in excess of $20,000 and at valuations exceeding $20 million combined.
Also important to note are the number of exists and delistings that have occurred on our platform. In terms of exits we are pleased to see the improved growth and development of two key startups such as WirePay and Bridgecard who combined were able to exit at multiples of about 4-6x in excess of initial investments made by investors.
For delistings, a couple startups where delisted from GetEquity for a number of reasons with the likes of startups such as SmallChops and Scalex being examples that stood out. In the case of SmallChops, a delisting occurred due to a breach of our corporate governance structure after serious allegations were made against the founding team. For Scalex, a delisting occurred after the company decided to pursue its funding activities elsewhere. In both cases, investor funds were retrieved and given back to them. Other reasons for delisting some impressive startups like Messenger, Motisure, Filtar Africa etc where due to a slow down in momentum with regards to their abilities to raise via our platform after a considerable amount of time given.
For activities in relation to our Private Raise product offering (i.e. Dealrooms), startups have been able to raise funding using this product offering with a notable case being the over $200,000 raised by a company called Herconomy. Herconomy which is a company building Nigeria’s largest community empowering women with resources to succeed, save money, and enjoy discounts successfully followed up its initial $200,000 raise earlier in the year with a further raise sum of $400,000 for its seed round.
Being listed on GetEquity has proven to be a boon for most of our portfolio companies with some going on to make some progress in the form of being a part of accelerator programs, participating in startup competition and wining awards as elaborated in the table below:
As an organization, 2022 came with a lot of operational achievements for GetEquity. We were nominated for 3 awards/recognitions as follow:
Most Innovative New Digital Asset Trading Platform – Nigeria 2022 (Global Business Outlook Awards) – winner
Most Innovative New VC Platform for Startups – Nigeria 2022 (International Finance Awards) – winner
One of the Top 10 African Tech Startups in 2022
In line with our fundraising round, we got into 3 accelerator programs; Multichoice, Newchip and Microsoft.
We are currently a team of 23 people spread across engineering, growth and operations departments. Our management team consists of the CEO, Head of Growth, Head of Operations, Customer Support & Compliance Lead, Legal Lead and East African Growth Lead.
But just like there were wins, there were losses and we continue to reflect on what was, what is and what could be.
What might 2023 bring?
More Seamless Experience using GetEquity and its suite of products. Some of the products in our 2023 roadmap include:
1. Credit Feature for Retail Investors: GetEquity is partnering with different credit providers to power our credit features, where investors can seek credit. The Credit Feature is suitable for an investor who is illiquid at the point an investment round is ongoing but wishes to invest in a high-rise growth startup listed in GetEquity. To do this, the investor can simply use their current investment holdings as collateral pending when they repay their loan.
Also, the Credit feature helps investors with investment assets in GetEquity to seek cash credit, pay into their bank account, and use such assets as collateral, pending when they offset their debt.
2. Capitalisation Table Management: The Capitalisation Table Management product that allows startup founders to view, manage, distribute equity ownership structure in their companies seamlessly .
3. Automated Market Making (AMM): Automated market making is a trade model. Currently, GetEquity secondary market runs on an order-book Trade model, which means it practically fulfills trade orders by matching user’s sell or buy orders found on each token or asset on GetEquity secondary trade order-book. AMM simply means allowing liquidity providers to provide liquidity for the secondary market tokens. Combining the order-book and AMM model will simply see a rise in secondary market liquidity which will enable users trade-orders to be executed or fulfilled within a twinkle of an eye than oppose to having to wait for the order book exchange model to process or fulfill a user trade-order only when a corresponding user, makes a similar and opposite trade-order for it to be executed.
The Liquidity providers will not be left out because they will be profit sharing with them for solely providing liquidity into the system.
4. SPV– This allows individuals to set up SPVs, Funds and Family Offices. GetEquity is partnering with reputable law firms both in Nigeria and overseas to do this. This product provides organizations with the avenue to create SPV’s by just a click of a button and domiciled in any country of their choice.
Thank you for your continued support as we continue to build. For a more detailed report of our year, you can view our year end report right on the app.
Got any questions for us? Join our Community on Telegram here or send us an email at support[at]getequitydot]io
Months ago, The GetEquity Team set out on a journey to create a space where lasting conversations on the growth of the tech ecosystem can be had as well as support the awesome startups building solutions for us all.
This birthed the Startup Festival.
The event which held on Saturday 19th of November, 2022 at the Glitz event centre, Lekki was a huge success with over 1000 guests, 20 exhibiting companies, media partners, 27 speakers, sponsors and the general public in attendance.
Members of staff of Kwakol – sponsor at the GetEquity Startup FestivalPreview of some of our speakers
The event was graced with the likes of Agama Emomotimi, Managing Director, Nigerian Capital Market Institute; Zikora Okwor-Wewan, Partner, Springwoods LP; Oluwatimilehin Ogunyemi, Head of Business Operations & Partnerships, Nomba where they came to together to discuss topics ranging from how to Bridge the gap on payments to War for Talents in the African Startup scene and much more important conversations on the ecosystem. You can view the amazing lineup of speakers here
The event which lasted from the morning of Saturday 19th November 2022 till evening had multiple startups within the ecosystem present as exhibitors. These startups like Pade, Kwakol, Cadana, Zedi Africa, Famasi Africa, Stakefair, Sendstack, and many others had the opportunity chance to showcase their products and services to festival attendees.
Some of the highlights of the event include the opening speech to kickstart the event by GetEquity’s CEO Jude, pitches from 4 startups – Regxta – A digital bank focusing the financially underserved African population, Flowmono – A digital automation platform for businesses, Riltee – Real estate deomcratization platform and Strich Technologies – solution built for small business digital commerce. Regxta was announced as winner of the startup pitch at the event.
The 5 panel sessions with key speakers focusing on the startup ecosystem in Nigeria and Africa were key moments has since received positive reviews from attendees across social media.
With the success of this event, GetEquity is looking to make the Startup Festival a continuous event and plans to host its next edition in 2023.
To learn more about GetEquity and its suite of products, please visit www.getequity.io or send an email to support@getequity.io for more enquiries.
How long have you been part of the Equifam and what’s your current role?
Mmm… I have been here, I think four months now and I’m the quality assurance analyst.
What does your job entail?
What my job entails…… Hmmm delivering high quality, perfectly-functioning software. Like I test new and existing features to identify and help remove bugs. Basically, I’m the developer stress person…lol😂😂
What is your day-to-day like?
My day to day, omo wake up in the morning, open laptop, check new updates on slack, then start testing and updating already existing test documents.
What would you say motivates you to open slack everyday?
My motivation to open slack basically is the fact that I have work to do and deliverables to deliver so I get gingered.
How has your career grown since joining GetEquity?
Seriously no capping my career growth has been great, I have made some improvements and I have been learning… Even me sef the growth dey shock me😁
What is your favorite thing about working at GetEquity?
My favorite thing about working at GetEquity is the fact that everyone knows we are a team and we work as one, no bad vibes just great energy. The work culture is great and everyone delivers.
What’s something you are planning on doing in the next year that you’ve never done?
Hmmm…one thing I will like to do is travel, seriously I love seeing new places, trying out new food and experiencing a different culture.
Before we go, tell us a fun fact about you
Lmao 🤣, I don’t have fun facts oh but I like food though, and I eat the weirdest food combos and I can pass for a good show host or an actress😂
How long have you been part of the Equifam and what’s your current role?
Uhmmm I have been part of GetEquity and the Equifam collective/team since November 2021, 15th November to be exact. My role at GetEquity is the Lead Venture Analyst.
What does your job entail?
In a nutshell, my role entails the review, assessment, and analysis of the viability of a startup business as an investment opportunity. As a Venture Analyst one has to be fixated with deal sourcing, performing due diligence, creating memos, creating reports, doing financial modeling, etc. but most importantly supporting the founders who run these startups. Business is hard already so it’s cool to support those who to me are doing the lord’s work by running startups.
What’s your day-to-day like?
Lol, I would say coupled with the fixation of any ideal Venture Analyst, I work hand in glove with members of my immediate team to see out the business of the day, and I also work with a lot of people within GetEquity to solve problems and proffer innovative solutions even if not corely Venture Analyst related.
What would you say motivates you to open slack every day?
I would say the fact that we are kinda building a set of innovative products and solutions that are relevant and much needed for the Venture Capital and Startups space in Africa keeps me pumped to work every day. Also, I think I’m kinda a workaholic in many respects so to me the business of GetEquity doesn’t really sleep that much.
How has your career grown since joining GetEquity?
Oh quite brilliantly if you ask me. I have had the chance to learn about a lot of concepts, meet a couple of smart and driven people, and improved my network by a mile, but overall I think I am still a work in progress in many respects. A lot of toplines to get to in my personal opinion.
What is your favourite thing about working at GetEquity?
Lol, the team. For me, the team is brilliant and filled with cool people that are not just talented, but driven. Plus the banter can be wild atimes, which is pretty neat.
What’s something you’re planning on doing in the next year that you’ve never done?
Probably travel and finally take a leave or vacation.
Before we go, tell us a fun fact about you
Lol, so I’m kinda addicted to reading and knowing stuffs. So among other things, I’m a history junkie and one funny thing I can do is I can literally list down all the Presidents of the USA in chronological order and at random off the top of my head. I can also give insights into the politics and economics of the day past and present. Why do I know all those stuff I have no idea mehn….Lol
How long have you been part of the Equifam and what’s your current role?
I have been part of getEquity for nearly a year now, I joined around November 2021 as a contract backend developer and joined full time around February 2022. My current role is Backend Engineer.
What does your job entail?
Well, my job entails maintaining the current codebase, adding new features to support business requirements, and reviewing pull requests from my peers, sometimes I also act as a customer support engineer and carry out minor devops activities.
What’s your day-to-day like?
Typically, my day starts with an hour of reading (I gotta stay sharp on what I do). So I spend my early mornings reading and learning new things, then I head to a workspace where I spend the majority of my day at. Then I check Jira for any new tickets that might have been assigned to me. I also have a lot of meetings with my colleagues where we brainstorm on a certain feature or try to fix something that came up.
What would you say motivates you to open slack everyday?
The opportunity to work on really cool features and to brainstorm on solution to bugs and blockers.
How has your career grown since joining GetEquity?
My career has grown tremendously since I have had the privilege of working with some really interesting engineers who have impacted the way I write code and solve problems. I have learned to write cleaner code, make better PR reviews, and pay attention to the tiniest detail
What is your favourite thing about working at GetEquity?
The problem we are solving is an interesting one and we are building a first of its kind solution, the people I interact with and learn from everyday, and the culture.
What’s something you’re planning on doing in the next year that you’ve never done?
Solo Travelling.
Before we go, tell us a fun fact about you.
I like partying (rarely have time tho), I can’t swim to save my life, my jollof rice cooking skills is unmatchable.
There is so much that goes into building a business that is not just limited to the solution or service being provided.
Startup founders have to think about a lot of things when starting out from creating potential partnerships to their finances, the market they intend to enter, and the tools they need to grow their business with as well as how to scale.
For us at GetEquity, it is not just about helping our startups get access to funds but also providing them with the right set of tools required to lay a good foundation for solid businesses.
Emmviron is a firm centered on meeting the needs of companies in diverse sectors commissioned to tackle the overwhelming deficiencies and challenges that are prevalent in the business world. They help clients achieve business goals and expectations with tactics employed to solve problems.
We are excited to announce that we have partnered with them to create and provide financial models, business plans, and projections among other business consultancy services for startups listed on GetEquity and interested in being part of the GetEquity community.
Emmanuel Oluwagbemi, CEO of Emmviron, has this to say:
Working together with GetEquity is a promising start and we are excited about it. This is a partnership that will help startups achieve their business expectations because of the similar goals we both share. We believe in GetEquity vision and we can’t wait to get started.
Temitope Ekundayo, Director of Growth at GetEquity:
We are happy to work with Emmviron to provide early stage startups access to the right business tools to see them succeed whether it’s access to real life well researched financial models to structuring their business model, market entry research, or go to market plans. We have a wide offer of services that Emmviron can help them tackle at very reduced fees to see them succeed. As a founder, I clearly understand the deep challenges businesses face on a regular basis, and for us at GetEquity, making these steps easier is our mission.
Through this Partnership, Emmviron will provide business consultancy services to startups in the GetEquity community, to access the services, startups will need to go through the following steps:
Fill out a questionnaire required to give more insights into the business.
One-on-One conversation with the emmviron team to discuss further tools needed.
The GetEquity team will reach out to startups who indicate interest on the next steps.
How long have you been part of the Equifam and what’s your current role?
I’ve been here since April last year. First as a contract Frontend Engineer and then as the lead Frontend Engineer. The funniest/craziest thing about this journey is that I started/resumed a week before the first semester exams in my final year 😂😂
A week to your exams? How did that work?
Lmao, omo I had been reading during the semester and I knew how to plan my time/self. Whenever I wasn’t working, I was reading or eating. I also used my alarm and stopwatch a lot. Everything I did during that period was timed. I didn’t have time for any unnecessary chat or stuff. And funny enough, it was my best result up till that point, I guess I should have gotten a job sooner?
What does your job entail?
Usually, it involves translating designs to actual products that our users can use. Being the lead of my team means I need to ensure that my team is doing their job as required, try to help clear blockers when they appear, and meetings with the PMs to understand certain products, requirements, and timelines.
What’s your day-to-day like?
Well, my day to day currently involves me talking with the PMs on tasks, syncing with Drew and William, and then working on my tasks. I didn’t mention my teammate because he’s a top lad, and he doesn’t/rarely needs my help with issues because we always align.
What would you say motivates you to open slack every day?
Omo, I can’t even lie motivation no dey these days. But on a good day, the will/need to be better at my job, the opportunity to learn more about the space we’re building for, the amazing people at GE and of course, the fear of going broke.
How has your career grown since joining GetEquity?
Honestly yeah? It’s been very intense. No matter how many times you do it, there’s always that fear that comes with “let’s take this product live” even when you’re sure that the product is 100% good enough for our users. Working here has helped me develop more confidence. I’ve also had the opportunity to work with amazing people across different teams.
What is your favorite thing about working at GetEquity?
Top of the list for me has to be the people that make up the company. Last April made it a year since I joined the company and I wrote about it on medium, but I’ve refused to hit “publish” for everyone else to see 😂. Part of the things I wrote, was ‘the people of Getequity’. You cannot go for South Friday and not see someone from the office, or even your CEO inviting to his table/ensuring you have booze in your cup or something, Fun people = productive team.
What’s something you’re planning on doing in the next year that you’ve never done?
Omo, let me see… I want to travel, a lot too. I believe we as individuals see life from different perspectives, and have different ideologies of life because of the things we’ve been exposed to. Unless we get exposed to something different, we might keep such perspectives for the rest of our lives, so yeah…I want to travel to experience different things.
Before we go, tell us a fun fact about you
I used to rap, yes. In fact, I used to be in one group with Zlatan Ibile. There are still people that call me by my ‘rap name’ whenever I’m in Ikorodu. fun times in my opinion.😂😂
In this article, we will be breaking down the definition of return on investment as it pertains to startups and how it relates to GetEquity.
If you are yet to read our previous articles on sign up and KYC process, funding your wallet and buying tokens, catch up here
Let’s get started.
What is a return on investment(ROI)?
Return on Investment is when you gain a certain amount of interest/profits on an investment made in either a company, stocks, or even in the case of loans.
This is derived by calculating the difference between the initial investment and the current value of the investment.
How does it relate to startups?
As mentioned in some of our previous articles, startup investing involves putting down capital, in exchange for equity — a portion of ownership in the startup and rights to its potential future profits.
Investing in startup companies is a very risky business, but it can be very rewarding if and when the investments do pay off. The majority of new companies or products simply do not make it, so the risk of losing one’s entire investment is a real possibility. The ones that do make it, however, can produce very high returns on investment.
Let’s say, for example, Chris invests $30,000 in company Z whose value is $3,000,000 in return for 10% equity in the company.
If the value of company Z rises to $9,000,000, it means that the 10% shares Chris owns are now valued at $90,000. This further translates to a x3 increase of the initial capital invested and an interest of $60,000 gained.
At this point, Chris can choose to sell his shares(which can be done via the secondary market on GetEquity if there’s a matching buyer) and receive his capital and possible interest or he can hold his shares and hope for a higher value in the future when the company exits by being acquired or go public or raise a significant investment.
However, what if company Z’s value doesn’t rise and eventually shuts down, this means that the initial $30,000 Chris invested will be lost.
How does this work with GetEquity?
Similar to the example given above. ROIs on GetEquity work in a similar way.
As explained in this article, GetEquity operates as a digital syndicate and invests in the startups we list. We then digitize the equity received into tokens so they are easily accessible by angel investors like you on our system.
For example, Micheal invests $1000 in company Z who is raising $10,000 in return for 10% equity. Company Z’s valuation as at its raise on GetEquity is $1,000,000.
If Company Z’s value rises in a few months to $5,000,000. It means the value of the investment has risen to a x5 increase — $50,0000.
Therefore, the $1000 worth of tokens Michael bought has now received a x5 increase and is now valued at $5000.
If GetEquity exits company Z at this new valuation, all investors in company Z would have made a return on their investment which will be liquidated and funds converted to their cash wallet which can be withdrawn.
Permit me to reiterate at this point: there is a possibility that you can lose your investment as companies fail and investments are not recovered. Only invest money you are willing to lose.
You can reach us for any questions at support@getequity.io and if you also encounter any issues along the way, we are here to help.
[Nairobi, Kenya] As global economies rebound from the COVID-19 shock, things are looking up for African startup founders, an April 2022 report by African Private Equity and Venture Capital Association shows. A record-breaking USD5.2 billion was raised in 2021 by African firms — a majority going to tech-backed innovations on the continent, with data showing growth in volume and value of investment deals.
“African tech took center stage in 2021: 81% of VC deals in 2021 were in technology or technology-enabled companies operating across a variety of sectors. 16 super-sized deals (with a combined value of US$2.6 billion) took place in 2021, raised from 15 unique companies,” read the report, which cited figures from 604 companies across the continent.
Things are only looking up, as Q1 2022 data shows a strong start to the year for startups, with TechCrunch noting that there are ‘no signs of a slowdown in Africa’s tech funding.’ While this is good news for the startup ecosystem, a closer look shows that only a small percentage of African firms have access to this funding, GetEquity CEO, Jude Dike points out.
“We are excited to see sustained interest from big-ticket investors, and we see this as an affirmation of the potential that homegrown solutions have in solving the real-world problems consumers and companies face. Having worked in the African startup ecosystem, we also recognise that these opportunities are not accessible to many new firms — especially those in the pre-seed funding stage,” he explains, adding that lack of access to funding is a key impediment to promising startups.
Democratizing access to the startup funding
While on one hand companies struggle to access much-need capital for growth, local and individual investors also face challenges in finding early investment opportunities — a need that GetEquity is intent on addressing.
“We are democratizing access to the startup funding space — both for investors seeking to grow their money in companies with a high growth potential, and for startups seeking to raise capital to accelerate business growth. Our private marketplace is open to individual and institutional investors alike, and we have ensured this accessibility by making sure that one can back startups for even as little as USD10 (Ksh.1000)”
Founded in Nigeria in 2020, GetEquity is a private marketplace for investors and companies to trade digital securities and assets privately and securely. The platform allows companies or enterprises to digitalize their assets via tokens, and creates liquidity for them by connecting them to investors and syndicates who can buy and sell these assets. Firms seeking early-stage funding apply to be listed on the platform, undergo rigorous vetting processes, after which they are eligible for investment on the platform.
Early stage startup support
While conducting an East Africa market engagement in April, GetEquity Director of Growth/Co-Founder Temitope Ekundayo underscored the importance of connecting directly with founders, saying the company is committed to maintaining their hands-on startup support approach as they expand in the region.
Speaking to startups at a Nairobi Garage fireside chat, he pointed out that while most venture capitalist firms focus on firms at advanced growth stages, his team is committed to also offering budding firms the support they need to develop and scale.
“Early stage support involves a bit of handholding, and fortunately, we have a lot of startup superstars on our team — people who have started companies and scaled them, so they have practical insight into the real challenges founders face. So to support our partners we check in on them monthly, and assist them in problem-solving using the insights they share with us,” said Mr. Ekundayo.
Speaking in Nairobi on a panel discussion about startup access to funding in, he stated that while GetEquity’s main aim is to help African startups access funding, they also provide advice to the companies they list.
“Recently, one company in our portfolio was looking for a senior sales person for their team. Within my network, in just one day, I was able to source 20 good high-level CVs for people I know and trust will get the job done. From there it was up to him to recruit the most suitable candidate. At the end of the day, our job is to provide support, funding opportunities, and advice. In the end it is up to the companies to drive the business.”
East Africa Growth Lead Eve Mumbi adds that providing knowledge sharing opportunities is high on GetEquity’s agenda as they make expansion plans in the market.
“Businesses do not exist in a vacuum, therefore having first-hand knowledge of market realities within the East African context is crucial for companies targeting exponential growth. As we expand our network within the region, we are investing in personnel, research, and knowledge sharing opportunities for our founders. These efforts are aimed at ensuring that even as we help organizations get equity to escalate their growth, they have additional insights to make the best of it. So far, we have onboarded MyWagePay and Zemo Card and as we continue with our market visits within the region, we look forward to onboarding more partners in the next few months.”
The company will be kicking off a series of Masterclasses and funding round-tables in Q2 and Q3 2022, as well as market visits across Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Ethiopia, and Tanzania. To get updates on events within the region, register for the mailing list here.
