"Isis is a Partner at Asphalt & Ink, a strategic advisory firm that provide global companies, investors, and foundations with insights and analysis to drive sound decision-making for their Africa engagement strategy. Isis is well established in the technology ecosystem and brings deep experience in navigating the Africa private sector landscape. She makes a concerted effort to address gender bias in the workplace through WomenWork, a women's digital network with 5,000 members that she co-founded. WomenWork partners with global donors and local corporations to implement programs to increase access to capital and business skills for women-owned SMEs across Kenya. Through this work she has a deeply informed understanding of the challenges women-owned SMEs face in raising capital and the ways that global and local funders are aiming to overcome these.

Prior to this, Isis founded digital content platform MumsVillage and held notable leadership positions at Google, InMobi and MTV Networks leading their Africa entry strategies. Through her partnership role at Google, she was instrumental in building the foundation of the digital economy in Africa by structuring private sector partnerships that increased user access to and interest in the Internet while also advocating for public policy change.

Isis is an influential voice on innovation and entrepreneurship in Africa. She currently serves on the boards of the Nairobi Stock Exchange (NSE) and Southbridge Group (pan-African investment bank). She has been shortlisted on the Forbes Top 20 Youngest Power Women in Africa and the World Economic Forum selected her as a Young Global Leader in 2012. Isis holds degrees from Stanford University and Harvard Business School."

Corporate lawyer specialising in startups, corporate structuring & governance and fundraising. I left legal practice in 2017 to join Yoco, an African payments company, as in-house legal, supporting the team through Series B & C funding rounds and international expansion. I recently joined the Capital Team at The Delta, a venture builder, to help grow out the group's investment arm. Working with Founders & Investors in early stage ventures is my happy place.

Yoeal Haile is the Co-founder of Sava, a fintech business helping businesses manage their finances and access affordable credit. He was previously the founder of Aspira, the largest BNPL player in East Africa and before that the Chief Strategy Officer at the African Leadership University where he helped the founding team establish universities in Rwanda and Mauritius. Prior to that, he was an Equity Derivatives trader at Merrill Lynch, spending time in their New York and Hong Kong offices. Yoeal has an MBA from The Wharton School and BSE in Industrial Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

I am Dees. A champion tea-drinker, sneakerhead and bookworm.I am a technologist with two-decades of dot-com check-ins. I now have a portfolio career with a handful of advisory venture backed roles, 501c3 board positions and often make angel investments into underestimated minority founders.I am mostly London based but South African by birth.

Emmanuel Adegboye is the Head of Madica, a structured investment program for pre-seed stage companies in Africa. Launched in 2022, Madica empowers underrepresented and underfunded mission-driven founders on the continent. 

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Before joining Madica, Emmanuel oversaw Africa strategy for Utopia, a platform for Urbantech entrepreneurs in emerging cities. As Managing Partner of Utopia Lagos, he designed and launched the Lagos Urban Innovation Challenge and Utopia’s virtual accelerator program.

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Emmanuel has a comprehensive understanding of the entrepreneurial and political landscape of Africa. He has extensive experience building and leading large-scale technology projects and initiatives in emerging markets. His prior roles include designing and managing Andela’s entrepreneurship center and managing special projects and programs at Venture Garden Group. He was also a 2021 Mo Ibrahim Foundation Academy Fellow with the Africa Program at Chatham House and he continues to engage policymakers on creating an enabling environment for entrepreneurs through his contributions to Chatham House’s policy research, the Nigerian Economic Summit Group’s Digital Economy Policy Commission and the Nigeria Startup Act. 

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Emmanuel holds a Bachelor's degree in Engineering Physics, an Executive MBA, and further postgraduate degrees in Space Applications and Environmental Management. He is also a certified Project Management Professional.

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Emmanuel believes entrepreneurs will build Africa’s future and he’s dedicated to supporting entrepreneurs solving Africa’s biggest challenges.

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Akinyi Wavinya is a startup specialist from Nairobi, Kenya with 7 years of experience in operations, capacity building, growth and strategy. From ideation to build and scale she’s supported early stage VCs move from zero to one and two. Cutting across sectors, her work includes prototyping and setting up a logistics company, scaling and productizing a marketplace supporting an acquisition, and expanding an e-commerce platform to a new market.Leveraging her unique position and experience as an implementer and operator at various stages, Akinyi’s superpowers are her capacity to; i) think big picture, while tactically executing on the day-to-day;, ii) create systems structures for teams to deliver consistently; and iii) engage stakeholders.Akinyi is exceptionally passionate about creating, facilitating and securing dignified work for African youth. She’s invested the last 5 years of her career championing opportunities for Kenyan youth through various initiatives like career-launch student graduate programs, incubation and upskilling for informal casuals, social protection options including health care and asset financing options for gig workers.

Francis Vesta is a seasoned investment professional currently serving as an Investment Associate at Madica, where he plays a key role in identifying and supporting mission-driven founders. With a strong background in venture capital and private equity, Francis brings valuable expertise to the table.

His skills include leading investment due diligence, robust analytical capabilities, and proficiency in data analysis and business development. Before his role at Madica, Francis co-founded a blockchain-based gaming startup, where he served as the Chief Financial Officer. In this capacity, he contributed to building the technological infrastructure that empowered African gamers to monetize their gaming skills.

Francis's prior experiences also involve working as an Investment Associate for a Venture Capital fund launched in 2018, dedicated to funding tech-enabled startups in Sub-Saharan Africa. His contributions extend to providing investment advisory and fundraising support to startup founders within the local ecosystem.

Francis holds a Bachelor's degree in Accounting and is a certified Financial Modelling and Valuation Analyst underscoring his strong foundation in financial expertise. His commitment to fostering innovation and supporting mission-driven ventures positions him as a valuable asset in the dynamic landscape of venture capital and investment.

Currently the Finance and Operations Manager at Madica, Ons brings over seven years of experience working with startups and support organizations across Tunisia and Africa. With expertise in Finance and ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance), she drives impactful change, fosters sustainable growth, and strengthens the region’s entrepreneurial ecosystem.

Shamsa Mohamed is a marketing and communications strategist specialising in fostering the growth of tech startups across Africa. In her role as the Communications and Community Manager at Madica, she focuses on enhancing business visibility and providing vital support to startups from Pre-Seed to Series A funding stages. Shamsa's approach revolves around storytelling and empowering founders with strategic tools, resources, and insights crucial for navigating and thriving in competitive markets.

Previously, Shamsa was a Venture Partner and Accelerator Manager at the Baobab Network, where she guided 50 startups across 15 countries and 14 sectors. Her expertise in portfolio support, storytelling, and go-to-market strategies significantly boosted customer acquisition and secured critical follow-on funding. At Africa’s Talking, she led pivotal initiatives that supported a developer community of 50,000, enhancing their capacity to build and scale solutions continent-wide. She spearheaded the creation of tailored campaigns for the 18 markets they operated in, significantly enhancing market-specific engagement and outcomes. Shamsa also provided in-depth consultancy to their entrepreneur-in-residence program to15 startups, enhancing their market strategies and performance metrics.

With a BA in Journalism and Public Relations, she draws upon her extensive experience in the media industry, where she played a pivotal role in enhancing the online presence and revenue of 30 media brands. Through this journey, she honed her skills in storytelling and digital strategy, providing her with a unique blend of creative and analytical expertise that is invaluable in the tech startup ecosystem.