Pioneering Angel Investing in Africa — Tomi Davies
Miguel Armaza sits down with Tomi Davies. Tech Strategy Advisor, Public Speaker and Angel Investor. Tomi Davies is Collaborator-in-Chief at TechnoVision, Co-Founder of the Lagos Angel Network, and President of the African Business Angel Network. He has been described by Techcrunch as Africa’s Top Angel investor.
As a thought leader with increasing knowledge gained from nurturing entrepreneurs in a growing portfolio of tech-enabled early-stage business ventures originating from Africa, Tomi’s personal mission is “to help drive Africa’s development by supporting young entrepreneurs using innovation and technology to create social impact and economic value.”
For nearly two decades after graduating from the University of Miami, Harry ‘Tomi Davies led the implementation of innovative technology-led transformation initiatives in the Oil & Gas, Retail, Information Technology, and Telecommunications industries.
In 2000 his focus shifted to Africa where he helped create the African Agriculture Technology Foundation (AATF), led the One Laptop per Child (OLPC) initiative in Nigeria, and delivered a World Bank pilot of the Integrated Payroll and Personnel information system (IPPIS) that uncovered over 20,000 ghost workers in the Nigerian Government payroll system. Leading these kinds of innovative initiatives in Africa using his goal-oriented approach to project delivery which consistently delivered effective results inspired his 2014 book “The African Project Manager”.
Over the last two decades, Tomi has spearheaded angel investing across the African continent and has worked with and supported hundreds of entrepreneurs who have created millions of dollars in economic value for the region. As a thought leader with increasing knowledge gained from nurturing entrepreneurs in a growing portfolio of tech-enabled early-stage business ventures originating from Africa, Tomi’s personal mission is “to help drive Africa’s development by supporting young entrepreneurs using innovation and technology to create social impact and economic value.”
He is Chairman of TextNigeria (Telecoms) and Non-Executive Director at MBO Capital (Private Equity) and Big Cabal Media (Media & Entertainment). He is a member of the Lagos State Science, Research & Innovation Council (LASRIC) and sits on the board of Laptops4Learning (L4L) Nigeria, the World Business Angels Investment Forum (WBAF), and the Global Business Angels Network (GBAN).
Tomi can be reached at www.tomidavies.com and on LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook as @TomiDee
