Investments for Impact

For this episode, we welcome Dr. Melissa Omino (LLD), an intellectual property, AI policy and data governance expert to discuss what is being done in AI regulation in Africa.

Moses and Dr. Melissa discuss the vital importance of regulation in this sector, and how innovators have the opportunity to shift their perspective on regulation.

Episode 3 of this season is focused on the perspective of a founder. We invite Tom Kinyanji, co-founder of Neural Labs Africa, to talk about his journey, including how he initially became interested in artificial intelligence, why he started Neural Labs Africa, and what they hope to achieve with their innovation

This season of Investments for Impact is focused on artificial intelligence (AI) and how it can impact the African health sector.

In this second episode, learn more about AI as a technology, including its potential and the ways it has been misunderstood from Mutembei Kariuki, the Co-Founder and CEO of Fastagger.

Investments for Impact is hosted by ⁠Moses Waweru⁠ and produced by ⁠Joelle Mumley⁠ and ⁠Christian Khisa⁠. Please subscribe to the podcast and leave us a review in order to keep in touch with us.

If you are interested in learning more about Villgro Africa, the work we do, and the opportunities for funding and support we offer, please visit us at our ⁠website⁠ and follow us on ⁠LinkedIn⁠ and ⁠X⁠.

This season of Investments for Impact is focused on artificial intelligence (AI) and how it can impact the African health sector.

Join us in this first episode to hear about Villgro Africa's journey in supporting AI entrepreneurs, why we have prioritised it in our work, and what we hope it can do for the quality and accessibility of healthcare moving forward.

Investments for Impact is hosted by Moses Waweru and produced by Joelle Mumley and Christian Khisa. Please subscribe to the podcast and leave us a review in order to keep in touch with us.

If you are interested in learning more about Villgro Africa, the work we do, and the opportunities for funding and support we offer, please visit us at our website and follow us on LinkedIn and X.

The final episode of Season 3 is a special bonus episode focused on USAID's DIV program, which provides grant funding for breakthrough solutions to the world's toughest development challenges. We welcome Liz Chacko, who walks us through the details of the program, advice for entrepreneurs who are applying, and some success stories of past awardees!

One correction: When Liz says that Zola raised $200,000, she actually meant $2 million!

Investments for Impact is a Villgro Africa podcast. Season 3 is brought to you by Villgro Africa and Jaza Rift Ventures.

As a way of wrapping up our previous discussions, this episode takes a broader look at what investors are looking for. We were lucky to have one of our own, Steve Njenga, Investment and Transaction Lead at Villgro Africa, as well as Loise Warui, Investment Lead at Adanian Labs to discuss the investor perspective!

Investments for Impact is a Villgro Africa podcast. Season 3 is brought to you by Villgro Africa and Jaza Rift Ventures.

For our fifth episode, focused on venture capital, we have two guests: Arnold Maina from DOB Equity and Jason Musyoka from From Here Ventures. Listen in on our conversation to learn more about the purposes of venture capital, the types of business that fit (and don’t fit) with this type of investment, and some advice on how best to pursue VC funding.  

Investments for Impact is a Villgro Africa podcast. Season 3 is brought to you by Villgro Africa and Jaza Rift Ventures.

Our fourth episode is all about angel investing and our guest is Stephen Gugu, one of the most prominent voices in the angel investing space on the continent. Along with founding Viktoria Ventures, he is also an advisor to the African Business Angel Network. We hope you enjoy our conversation and benefit from his wealth of knowledge! 

Find the training Stephen mentions (10 Things Angel Investors Get Wrong in Year 1) here: https://youtu.be/AWVvh5rUJT8

Investments for Impact is a Villgro Africa podcast. Season 3 is brought to you by Villgro Africa and Jaza Rift Ventures.

For our third episode, we welcome Elizabeth Laitete from Africa Grant Advisors, the perfect guest since we are discussing the grant funding stage of fundraising. We discuss the advantages of grants, some misconceptions, as well as pitfalls to avoid when applying for grant funding.

Investments for Impact is a Villgro Africa podcast. Season 3 is brought to you by Villgro Africa and Jaza Rift Ventures.

For our second episode of the season, we had the chance to host Joram Mwinamo of SNDBX and tapped into his vast experience in the African startup and innovation ecosystem. We discussed whether or not African startups utilise family and friends fundraising and why we hear less about it in the African context than in the US and Europe. We also talk through practical strategies for seeking out this type of funding and managing the unique risks that it entails.