COVID-19 Resources for African Tech Startups

Sourced from partners and the tech startup ecosystem, below are some COVID-19 resources and general insights for you and your startup. This list will be updated regularly, with most recent additions at the top. Submissions can be sent to lundie@meltwater.org.

Last updated: Friday, November 13, 2020

• “African Startup Funding Landscape 2020” report by StartupList Africa.
• “SuperApp Africa: A Trend Here to Stay?” by Baobab Insights.
• “Artificial Intelligence and Start-Ups in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: Progress, Promises and Perils” report by GSMA.
• “Empathy and early-stage investing” by The Flip’s Justin Norman.
• “Investment attractiveness across Africa” report by Briter Bridges.
• ‘Thinking of building an e-learning platform in Africa? Don’t. Here is why’ by Abdul-Karim Mohamed.
• ‘Commercializing Agricultural Innovations in the Age of COVID-19’ by Kosmos Innovation Center MESTers Kamil Nabong and Dipika Chawla.
• ‘What we learnt from WeJapa about investigating startups for misconduct’ by TechCabal’s Alexander Onuwue.
• Investors shared ‘How tech investors in Africa coped with the changes enforced by COVID-19’ at the Africa Tech Summit Connects event.
• Watch co-founder of Hustle Fund Eric Bahn explain the difference between pitching a VC and an angel investor.
• TechPoint covers ‘The hurdles of building a Pan-African tech product’, including a panel discussion recording on building products with African design.
• Read The Flip’s Justin Norman’s take on ‘How the Stripe acquisition of Paystack will supercharge the African tech ecosystem’.
• Twelve questions you should ask a potential investor by @micahjay1.
• ‘Six reasons your cold messaging efforts fail and why it matters’ by Chris Smith.
• Stears Business has made their #EndSARS coverage free — read more about Nigerian protesters making history and why police reform has been delayed up to this point.
• TechCrunch covers what Stripe’s $200M acquisition of Nigerian fintech Paystack might mean for the rest of the ecosystem.
• Baobab Insights publishes their Baobab Briefing: ‘Innovation Along the Agriculture Value Chain.’
• AfricArena publishes their ‘Crowdfunding in Africa’ report.
• Djembe Insights and Afrliabs publish their ‘Building a Resilient Innovative Africa’ report.
• Read the memo sent to the Slack team by its founders two weeks before their first launch.
• Endeavor Nigeria and Briter Bridges publish their ‘Scaling through crisis: Impact Assessment on Startups and Scaleups in Nigeria’ report.
• Gigi Levy-Weiss shares why finding Product-Promise-Fit before PMF will speed up your growth.
• Founders Institute offers their comprehensive ‘Become a Startup Founder’ E-Course for free.
• Missed Startup Accra’s ‘Ecosystem Collaboration For Growth’ virtual event? Watch it here.
• How We Made It In Africa shares nine agribusiness and food opportunities in Africa.
• Deloitte and Africa CEO Forum publish the Africa CEO Survey exploring the emergence of an African business model.
• ‘Factsheet: Between venture capital and private equity investments in African tech’ by TechCabal.
• Check out the 2005 investment memo of Youtube by Roelof Botha of Sequoia Capital, aiming for a $1M seed investment and the option to lead the Series-A (if things went well).
• Missed the 2020 AfriLabs Hubs Learning Week Series 2? Catch up on all the content.
• Co-founder of Lori Systems, Jean-Claude Homawoo, explores ‘The True Cost of Growth-at-all-Cost.’
• YCombinator and Paystack CEOs share everything African founders need to know about getting into YC here.
• ‘Marketing 101: A startup guide to building your first marketing calendar’ by @AmandaMGoetz.
• “‘The cake is in Accra’: urbanization and youth-rural urban migration in Ghana” by MEST Researcher Maya Turolla.
• Bessemer Venture Partner releases early investment memos for winning startups including Shopify, Pinterest, Twilio, Yelp, and LinkedIn.
• TechCabal publishes ‘Factsheet: Why and how African startups apply to Y Combinator.’
• ‘Why it’s time for Angel investing in the Silicon Savannah’ by Director of UK-Kenya Tech Hub Sheena Raikundalia.
• ‘Product Management lessons from an Early Stage SaaS Startup’ by Aris Pattakos.
• TechPoint explores ‘The hurdles of building a pan-African tech product.’
• Watch AfricArena’s presentation on a ‘Common Due Diligence Checklist’ for the continent in collaboration with ecosystem partners.
• Listen to Venture the World’s ‘Champion of African Talent Across the Continent’ podcast with Amadou Daffe, founder of Gebeya.
• The Flip explores the similarities and difference of Chinese and African tech here.
• Get ‘Every Question about Freelancing Answered’ by MEST alum Kelechi Udoagwu.
• Considering applying to YC? Check out Future Africa’s ‘Y Combinator Application Guide.’
• ‘As the COVID recession likely will catalyse entrepreneurship, Africa has the opportunity to focus on serving those most in need’ says Djembe Consultants.
• Lateral Capital shares recent insights into Africa’s finance, food, and health industries their ‘Emerging from the COVID shadow’ newsletter.
• ‘First time founders: here’s how to select the best fundraising strategy for your startup’ by Lolita Taub.
• Survey54 publishes its ‘Market Research and Artificial Intelligence in Africa’ e-book.
• The new InvestmentGuide.Africa site connects early-stage startups to funding by country, sector, stage and needs.
• Twilio publishes its ‘COVID-19 Digital Engagement Report’ with insights from the past five months.
• Follow along ‘From Idea to Exit: A Startup Journey’ with investors from across the continent and The Flip.
• ‘How VCs Judge Your Startup (on Zoom): 15+ Tactics Behind Successful Fundraises’ by NFX.
• Rebecca Enonchong discusses scaling business, ecosystems and angel investing across Africa on Venture the World.
• ‘Are we there yet? The evolution of fintech in Nigeria’ (Catalyst Fund).
• ‘5 Lessons from Tomi Davis, Africa’s Most Influential Angel Investor’ by Jim Chu of Untapped.
• ‘I just shut down my startup. Here’s what I learned.’ by Matthew Volm.
• ‘Building two YC-backed startups in five years: A discussion with Jesse Ghansah’ (TechPoint).
• ‘Avoiding the prosperity paradox: How to build economic resilience in a post-COVID world’ — Prosperity Paradox author Efosa Ojomo gives a COVID-era update.
• ‘Factsheet: What to expect from VC due diligence at the pre-seed and seed stage’ (TechCabal).
• ‘Coronavirus adds extra strain on Africa’s supply chain’ (DW) poses opportunity for innovators.
• Watch Elizabeth Yin explain how to deliver the perfect sub-5-minute pitch for Hustle Fund VC.
• The Flip podcast explores why there are few truly pan-African startups in ‘Global Ambition — Lessons from Tech Expansion.’
• ‘How Effective is Blockhain in Africa?’ by Ethan Mudavanhu.
• Dear African tech startups, ‘Do you really need the press release?’ — Victoria Crandall on when you do and don’t.
• Baobab Insights publishes their Q2 2020 Africa VC Funding Report.
• ‘The Founders Guide To No Code: How to build products without needing a technical cofounder’ by Mat Sherman.
• Watch Founders Factory Africa’s webinar on ‘Breaking Down the VC-Investable Business Model’ here.
• ‘The market-creating opportunity with Africa’s ‘non-consumers’ in a post-Covid world’ (Quartz Africa).
• ‘91 Startup Terms Every Entrepreneur Should Know’ — from intellectual property, to burn rate, to wireframing (Abdoriani).
• ‘Silicon Valley has deep pockets for African startups — if you’re not African’ — the Guardian explores the hot topic of funding biases.
• ‘How South African SMEs can survive and thrive post COVID-19’ (McKinsey & Company)
• ‘The Product Thinking That Built Slack & Twitter, with April Underwood’ — former Chief Product Officer and Director of Product, respectively (NFX).
• ‘Pivoting to COVID-19: How a weekend sprint helped one startup boost adoption’ — featuring AccuRx.
• 12 Antler startups share their experiences with starting a business during a pandemic.
• ‘How to make your business thrive during and after the COVID-19 pandemic’ — a roadmap by MEST Africa.
• 28 Moves to Survive (& Thrive) in a Downturn (NFX).
• Find out how MEST Cape Town member company, Peach Payments, and other South African startups have been impacted by COVID-19 (Heavy Chef).
• Currently recruiting? Check out ’34 Questions to Recruit World-Class Talent in the Remote Era’ by James Currier (NFX).
• ‘An Open Letter to Innovators: Embrace Change’ by Founder and CEO of Techstars, David Brown.
• A different perspective on OPay’s ‘failure’ (or lack thereof) by The Flip’s Justin Norman.
• A comprehensive ‘First Time Founders Resource Guide’ by Lolita Taub — from metrics to investor relations.
• Why the COVID recession will likely catalyze entrepreneurship and opportunity in Africa (Djembe Consultants).
• ‘New Company On The Block? Strategies to Acquire your First Customers’ with insights from early-stage tech companies in Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya and South Africa (MEST Africa).
• ‘The 4 Signs of Founder-Market Fit’ by James Currier, Managing Partner at NFX.
• Starting to raise? Check out this easy-to-understand Term Sheet Guidance Note by Endeavor South Africa.
• Once you understand all the terms in the guide above, draft a term sheet in three simple steps with this template by Raise.
• Watch the 2020 Forbes Nigeria Virtual Summit including insights from 10+ speakers here.
• Watch four female industry leaders discuss diversity, gender inclusion, and ways to build allyship between women in the workplace with SheSays Cape Town.
• ‘Fundraising remotely: What COVID-19 means for startup fundraising in Africa’ by Chief Growth Officer of Raise, Tina Nyamache.
• Tips on ‘Getting Your Pitch Perfect’ from MEST Africa Challenge 2019 winner, OZÉ, and the 2020 team.
• Advice from MEST alum and CEO of Kweza Technologies, Ropah Musvaire, on how to ‘Just start’ building your business.
• Insights on the impact of COVID-19 on customer behavior patterns in South Africa, by Survey54.
• Subscribe to the Briter Bridges Briter EYE newsletter for the latest developments of the digital landscape, plus a funding tracker.
• iAfrikan BYTES discusses ‘What small and medium businesses can do post-COVID-19’ on their African tech news and opinion podcast.
• For easy-to-understand explanations of legal clauses and principles you can use to protect your company during unforeseen circumstances, read our “Protecting Company Contracts from COVID-19: Key Takeaways from the MEST Presents webinar with MyLaw.”
• Marketing 101 videos by HustleFund VC — topics such as payback period, cost of acquiring a customer (CAC), and lifetime value explained in simple terms.
• Get pitch readiness tips from the “MEST Presents: Getting Your Pitch Perfect with OZÉ” webinar with MEST Africa Challenge 2019 winner OZÉ and the 2020 MEST Africa Challenge team (takeaway blog post coming soon).
• Current advice for startups on supply chain management, launching a product, fundraising, and hosting a live online event in the “How to Make Your Business Thrive During and After the COVID-19 Pandemic” guide. Pour lire la version française de cet article, cliquez ici.
• The MEST Africa Challenge “Great Debate: Why Ethiopia may be the Best Country to Launch and Scale your Tech Startup!”
• Practical Tips for Validating Your Product Market Fit: Key Takeaways from MEST Presents with Twilio.
• Read up on key information about the Ghanaian tech startup ecosystem in StartupUniversal’s Ghana Country Guide. Check out the Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, Uganda and other global country guides here.
• ‘My top lessons from fundraising for our startup in Africa’ by Tesh Mbaabu, co-founder and CEO of Kenyan sales platform and 2020 MEST Africa Challenge country finalist, MarketForce360.
• Read ‘Bridging the Gap in Kenyan Healthcare: Nadia, a Timeline Innovation for the COVID-19 Pandemic’ for current insights on the growing African telehealth industry.
• Catch up on Endeavor Nigeria’s Scaling Through Crisis weekly webinar series, featuring stories of small business owners and startup founders across the continent.
• The Foundality Africa Podcast is featuring African role models talking about how to build successful African tech startups.
• Are you an African software engineer currently job searching, or a company searching for developer talent? ‘CodeLn Launches Talent Marketplace to Help Companies Hire African Software Engineers with One Click’ (CodeLn).
• Briter Bridges launches ‘Briter Intelligence’ data platform as a resource for visual, granular and current data on startup activities in African tech.
• Currently fundraising? ‘Fundraising through Adversity: Speaking to Complete Farmer About How COVID-19 is Impacting Their Startup’ (MEST Africa).
• Apply for the chance to pitch at the World Innovations Forum in front of 300 investors from over 50 countries here before June 8th.
• Apply to the Africa YES 2020 Program for 6-months of intensive entrepreneurship training and potential grant funding here before June 12th.
• ‘Africa must lead the way out of the pandemic’ (Thought Leader).
• “Why ‘Organisational agility’ will be crucial to African tech startups during COVID-19 crisis” a podcast featuring Muthoni Wachira, investment director at EWB Ventures.
• Paystack Fintech Office Hours — startups building financial service products targeting Nigeria and Ghana can apply for 1-on-1 guidance from Paystack Technical Product Specialists here.
• “How fintech firm Flutterwave adapted to help small African businesses during lockdown” (CNBC).
• Submit your solution for inclusive employment, learning for girls & women, sustainable food systems, health security, maternal and newborn health to the Solve x MIT Global Challenge by June 18 for access to $1.7M in prize funding.
• Learn the basics of product roadmapping with key takeaways from “MEST Presents: Project Planning and Technical Scoping with WellBeam” by MEST Head of Community, Lundie Strom.
• Coronavirus Small Business Resource Hub — including advice on how to adapt, how to stay connected with customers, and how to prepare for the future (Score.org).
• ‘The impact of COVID-19 on SA’s small businesses’ report by Yoco.
• “How to go to market: 3 templates for fintech startups during product launch” by former MEST Head of Marketing, Thea Sokolowski.
• “What African Nations are Teaching the West About Fighting the Coronavirus” (The New Yorker).
• ‘Alexandra Lazarow on how to build a startup to survive tough times,’ on The Tefo Mohapi Show podcast via Spotify.
• The State of Tech Innovation in Africa report by AfricArena. Watch the launch webinar on Youtube here.
• The virtual African start-Up Investment Summit 2020 (featuring an ‘adapting to current conditions’ pitch by MEST portfolio company Kweza at 51:30).
• ‘It’s Time to Start Playing Offense’ by Gigi Levy-Weiss of NFX. Part III of the Founder’s Guide to Surviving & Thriving in Downturns E-Book (following Part I and Part II).
• ‘Innovating from Home: What MESTers have been up to during COVID-19’ by MEST Entrepreneur-In-Training, Gugu Kheswa.
• Coursera is offering a FREE Goldman Sachs 10,000 Women online course covering a full range of topics from the fundamentals of finance and marketing, to your leadership style, funding, and negotiations.
• Pariti, a startup and VC advisory firm in Nairobi, is offering free pitch and investor material review to any startup across Africa. Go to pitch.pariti.io to learn more.
• ‘Entrepreneurship: Mental Health, the Key to Founder Success’ by MEST Portfolio Associate Sam Green.
• ‘Why there are opportunities in a crisis for entrepreneurs’ by Rahul Jain, co-founder of South African fintech startup and past resident company of MEST Cape Town, Peach Payments.
• Bridges for Enterprise, a global community of students and professionals, is giving pro-bono advice to social entrepreneurs seeking to grow their ventures. Apply here.
• 42% of startups globally have 3 months or fewer of runway, and other findings from Startup Genome’s ‘Impact of COVID-19 Crisis: Insights from Global Startup Survey with the Voice of the Entrepreneurs’
• ‘Five steps to help prevent the collapse of the Nigerian tech sector amidst Covid-19’ by former MEST Community Manager, Nosa Omusi.
• ‘Africa’s innovators VS the virus’ — The Africa Report’s commentary on how after Africa’s record year of VC investment in 2019, the continent braces for impact.
• ‘The Winning Pitch Deck’ — a slide-by-slide guide on how to sell the problem you solve.
• ‘How To Product’ — key insights for those looking to transition into a product role, by Sefunmi Osinaike.
• To receive TechCabal’s comprehensive daily roundup of tech innovation news and/or their African Coronavirus update, subscribe here.
• COVID-19 and the African Tech Ecosystem: SWOT Analysis and written in French: Les Effets du COVID-19 Sur L’Écosystème Technologique Africain: Analyse SWOT
• Venture by ALU — a free online course for early-stage entrepreneurs with content about the ideation, launch and growth phases of business.
• A working list of resources for African startups during COVID-19 by The Flip’s Justin Norman.
• The VC & Founder Sentiment Survey — an ongoing initiative to track how early-stage investors and founders are reacting to the COVID-19 crisis.
• Safe And Sound: How businesses can respond to the coronavirus — a report by Facebook.
• An extensive CV-19 Survival Toolkit for businesses all over the world.
• The Center for the Advancement of Social Entrepreneurship (CASE) at Duke University has released a FREE promo code to their online toolkit helping startups to raise capital. Use code ‘COVID19’ to access it before April 8.
• CASE has also launched a COVID19 Capital Relief Dashboard — a searchable website that includes grants, loans and cash equivalents for entrepreneurs and startups anywhere in the world. Read more about it here.
• The Google Cloud Platform (GCP) has released a credit benefit for all Google for Startups partners — including MEST. Apply here to receive up to $100,000 USD in GCP credits if eligible!
• “Finding the Upside: 5 ways startups can support one another during the COVID19 pandemic” by Antler Global.
• A working list of various resources focused on COVID-19’s impact on VC and fundraising by Endeavor.
• A list of free at-home services available to consumers during COVID-19 by Forbes.
• 5 Relief Funds to help African Entrepreneurs through the COVID-19 Pandemic.
• A guide from Wimbart on how to handle communications during COVID-19.

…
This list is targeted to support African tech startups through the COVID-19 Pandemic and it will be updated regularly. To add opportunities to this resources list, please email lundie@meltwater.org.