The Trajectory Africa

In this episode of The Trajectory Africa’s series on digital commerce and logistics, Sidy Niang and Jessica Long, Co-founders of Maad, a retail platform connecting FMCG brands and retailers in Senegal, share how they think about asset efficiency as a way to own assets strategically, once demand is assured. Maad embraces the reality (and the challenges) of physical infrastructure, but uses technology to manage assets efficiently. Sidy and Jessica also talk about how to expand the thin margins common in b2b ecommerce, increase revenue opportunities for retailers, and scale by going deep in one market. 


[00:00] - Introduction
[02:02] - Maad origins and evolution from SaaS provider to retail distribution
[06:21] - Bits vs. atoms and the value of technology
[12:07] - Distribution value chain, Maad’s value proposition, and market dynamics in Senegal
[27:51] - Asset efficiency
[37:43] - Maad’s business model
[42:16] - Operational excellence and cost structure
[54:54] - Digital commerce business models (asset-heavy vs. asset-light) 
[1:08:32] - Scaling deep in one market
[1:14:12] - First principle of building in digital commerce


Recommendations:
  • Chasing Outliers: Why Context Matters for Early Stage Investing in Africa. A report I co-authored on VC investing in Africa. 

Connect on social media:
  • Sidy Niang on LinkedIn 
  • Jessica Long on LinkedIn 
  • The Trajectory Africa on LinkedIn @trajectoryafrica.bsky.social on Bluesky
  • Tayo Akinyemi on LinkedIn, Twitter and @TayoAkinyemi.bsky.social on Bluesky

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.