Hold the C.R.E.A.M.: Decoding Consumer Markets & Digital Commerce in Africa

Guest artist Jake Kenadall and I discuss his unlikely path to becoming an Africa-focused investor, why digital commerce is a robust investment opportunity, why digital economy development will look different on the continent, how to size African consumer markets and enable consumption, and why the trajectory of capital inflows into Africa is on track.

Show Notes

Welcome to Track 3 of The Trajectory Africa, a podcast series exploring the trajectory, or pathway, of venture capital and startup formation in Africa. Jake is a Co-founder of the DFS Lab, an early-stage investor and accelerator that supports entrepreneurs to refine, grow, and launch digital commerce ventures in Africa. He is formerly a Deputy Director with the Financial Inclusion team at the Gates Foundation, where he funded and worked closely with M-Pesa and many other successful mobile money innovations that comprised the first and second waves of success across Africa and South Asia. Prior to joining the Foundation, he served as an economist with the Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP) at the World Bank. 

In this episode, we discuss:

• Jake’s journey from Peace Corps volunteer and academic to Africa-focused investor
• Why digital commerce is a robust investment opportunity
• Why digital economy development will look different on the continent
• How to size African consumer markets and enable consumption
• Why the trajectory of capital inflows into Africa is on track

Jake’s Recommended Track & Featured Resources:

• C.R.E.A.M. Wu-Tang Clan
  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PBwAxmrE194
  
  
• Sufficient Capital website (a community of investors exploring early-stage African startups together through DFS Lab and its network))
  https://www.sufficient.capital/
  
  
• Sufficient Capital launch announcement
  https://medium.com/dfs-lab/announcing-sufficient-capital-from-dfs-lab-f227ad4ff10e
  
  
• DFS Lab Series on frontier markets and consumption in Africa
  • Frontier Blindspots: https://medium.com/dfs-lab/the-frontier-blind-spot-de7a2f9abe98
  • Fortune at the Middle of the Pyramid: https://medium.com/dfs-lab/fortune-at-the-middle-of-the-pyramid-3a6886eb97f3 
  • Who is the African Consumer?: https://medium.com/dfs-lab/who-is-the-african-consumer-342fb32675a5
    
    
• Chasing Outliers: Why Context Matters for Early Stage Investing in Africa: https://kinyungu.com/chasing-outliers/

What is The Trajectory Africa?

The Trajectory Africa is a “pop-up” podcast exploring the trajectory, or pathway, of venture capital and startup formation in Africa. With the unique African landscape—market characteristics, business environment, goals, and culture—as a starting point, The Trajectory Africa aims to identify a destination for African tech, as well as the sign posts that signal direction of travel. It’s modeled on the concept of a mixtape, in which each episode, or “track” will feature a conversation with a “guest artist”, and a playlist for inspiration.