Diary of an African Entrepreneur

From Failure to Factory: Rebuilding African Agriculture with Data

Most entrepreneurs start with a dream. Desmond Kony started with a death. In this episode of The Diary of an African Entrepreneur, Deji Adebusoye sits down with Desmond Kony, CEO and Founder of Complete Farmer, to unpack one of the most misunderstood industries in Africa: agriculture. After the sudden death of his father, Desmond inherited a small pineapple farm in Ghana — a business he never wanted. The farm failed. Crops collapsed. Logistics broke down. Cash ran out. But that failure sparked a revelation. Desmond stopped seeing farming as land and started seeing it as a factory floor. He realized that most of Africa’s agricultural challenges — from policy failures to broken supply chains — are data problems, not farming problems. Today, Complete Farmer is building an end-to-end digital marketplace that connects African farmers directly to global buyers, treating agriculture with the same rigor as manufacturing and software engineering. In this conversation, we explore: * Why farming fails when it ignores market demand * Why “farming is not a security” * How poor data destroys African supply chains * Why infrastructure and know-how are the real barriers to scale * How Complete Farmer pivoted from crowdfunding to a global marketplace * Why the future of African agriculture will be built in the cloud, not on guesswork This episode is a masterclass in first-principles thinking, resilience, and building systems that scale across Africa. 👉 Subscribe to The Diary of an African Entrepreneur for deep conversations on African business, systems, and scale.

From Obscurity to Impact: Scaling to Billions & The Art of Leadership with Tayo Osiyemi

How do you move from the "quiet kid" in the background to the CEO of a company with an N11bn turnover? In this episode of The Diary of an African Entrepreneur, Deji sits down with Tayo Osiyemi, the newly appointed CEO of SKLD Integrated Services. Tayo shares his incredible journey from his early days at Lagos State Polytechnic and OAU to leading one of Nigeria’s most dynamic companies. We dive deep into the mechanics of scaling a business - moving from N150m to over N11bn in revenue, and the specific strategies used to navigate economic downturns, including backward integration into manufacturing. Tayo also opens up about the "Commanding Heights" of leadership: how to balance the demands of being a CEO, a Pastor, and a dedicated family man without dropping the ball. If you want to understand how to build character that commands opportunities and systems that solve real problems, this conversation is for you. Quotes from the Episode: "You don't have perspective as to what you need to do if you have not told yourself where you are trying to get to." "Nothing significant was ever built casually." "The scale of the problem you solve determines the scale of the reward." About the Guest: Tayo Osiyemi is the CEO of SKLD Integrated Services, a Pastor at The Covenant Nation, and a founder of Value Tag. He is a leader passionate about life, human capital development, and solving complex problems at scale.

Why Investors Reject Businesses: Legal & Regulatory Mistakes You Must Fix First!

Every entrepreneur wants investors , but are YOU ready for investment? In this full episode of Diary of an African Entrepreneur, Deji Adebusoye breaks down the four major legal and regulatory areas that every founder MUST examine before presenting their business to an investor. This episode will help you understand: 🔥 Why investors walk away during due diligence 🔥 The legal documents and registrations every SME must have 🔥 How permits, licenses and statutory filings affect your fundability 🔥 The power of contracts in proving commercial viability 🔥 Why ownership clarity is a non-negotiable requirement 🔥 How to avoid compliance mistakes that destroy investment deals Many entrepreneurs are building great businesses but missing paperwork, expired licenses, poor documentation and unclear shareholding structures stop them from ever attracting serious investment. This episode shows you EXACTLY how to fix that. I’d love to hear from you: 👉 Which of these legal/regulatory areas do you struggle the most with? 👉 Do you currently have all your permits, licenses and contracts in place? 👉 What part of due diligence do you want us to explain next?

How to Know If Your Business Is Ready for Investors | Diary of an African Entrepreneur

In this episode of Diary of an African Entrepreneur, Deji Adebusoye dives deep into what it really means to be ready for investment. Before investors carry out due diligence on your business, you must first diligence yourself. From mindset to market understanding, Deji explains how to evaluate your own readiness, identify gaps, and understand your industry dynamics, whether you’re in a growing, mature, or declining market. Learn how to position your company for investment, avoid common founder mistakes, and build credibility with investors. 👉 Watch till the end to learn what investors are really looking for, and don’t forget to subscribe, comment, and share this episode with another entrepreneur who’s preparing to raise capital. 🎧 Episode Highlights: 1. Why does self-diligence matter before investor due diligence? 2. How to understand your industry tailwinds and headwinds 3. Positioning your business for investment readiness 4. What investors want to see beyond your product 5. Common founder blind spots when pitching for capital

How Zeraki is Transforming African Education | Isaac Nyagolo’s Journey from Scholarships to Startups

In this episode of Diary of an African Entrepreneur, we sit with Isaac Nyagol, founder and CEO of Zeraki—a Kenyan EdTech company redefining how schools, teachers, students, and parents interact through technology. Isaac’s journey began in education management, where he led scholarship and mentorship programs at the Equity Group Foundation in Kenya. While helping top-performing students from low-income backgrounds succeed in high school, he discovered a deeper challenge: many learners struggled not just financially, but academically—and teachers lacked the tools and data to support them effectively. This realization became the seed for Zeraki. What started as an effort to support struggling students has evolved into a powerful platform used by over 7,700 schools across seven African countries, offering tools like Zeraki Analytics, Zeraki Learning, and Zeraki Touch. These products enable data-driven decision-making, simplify school administration, and deliver engaging, curriculum-aligned digital content to classrooms—even in low-connectivity environments. Listeners will gain insight into how Isaac: * Transformed insights from a scholarship program into one of Africa’s leading EdTech solutions. * Built tools that empower teachers, engage parents, and help students thrive through data and technology. * Scaled Zeraki across multiple African markets—without government contracts, one school at a time. * Balances business growth with social impact, staying grounded in the mission of educational inclusion. * Leads with humility, innovation, and a deep understanding of Africa’s education ecosystem. Isaac’s story is one of vision, persistence, and purpose—showing how a problem discovered in a rural classroom sparked a continental movement toward data-driven learning. 📌 This episode is more than a story about technology—it’s a masterclass on using data, empathy, and innovation to reimagine education in Africa.