My Tech Story Africa

The Silent Identity War Locking Out the New Market

In a world where digital platforms are becoming the gateway to services, opportunities, and economic participation, businesses need to know exactly who they're dealing with. But when verification systems are too slow, too complex, or simply not built for African realities, real people get locked out and real businesses lose customers. Alice heads to the Africa Tech Summit 2026 to gain first-hand insight into how companies are rethinking digital identity and trust for African markets, where documentation is inconsistent, device quality varies, and the stakes of getting verification wrong , in either direction, are high. She speaks with Deji Amund, Strategic Partnerships Lead at MetaMap, and Agnes Anyango, Sales Executive at Kagoo, two companies working at the intersection of identity verification and AI-powered business intelligence. MetaMap is helping businesses verify users faster and smarter, building flexible flows that reduce friction for legitimate users while keeping bad actors out.  Kagoo is leveraging AI to help businesses understand their customers more deeply, from financial health reporting to demand forecasting, so they can make better decisions and grow with confidence. Together, they make the case that the real infrastructure challenge in Africa's digital economy isn't just about building products , it's about building systems that understand the people using them, in the real conditions they live in. __________________________________________________________________Join Alice as she explores the world of tech and shares impactful stories with guests on My Tech Story Africa!Subscribe to our podcast, drop a like, comment, and hit the notification bell to stay updated with our latest content.Don't forget to spread the word! Sharing is caring! 🌟Follow us on social media:📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mytechstoryafrica💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/my-tech-story-africa♪ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@mytechstoryafricaJoin our community: [https://www.mtsafrica.co/join]Interested in being a guest on the podcast? Apply here: https://forms.gle/ffAniezzFHoEvhPY7

The Invisible Infrastructure Behind Every Payment

In a world where digital payments have become part of how money moves every day, small merchants, roadside stores and growing businesses depend on transactions that simply work.But when systems go down, networks fail and payment infrastructure can't keep up with demand , who's doing the work to keep commerce moving?Alice heads to the Africa Tech Summit 2026 to gain firsthand insight into how the builders behind Africa’s payment infrastructure are tackling challenges around reliability, scale, and fragmentation on the ground.She speaks with Bemigho Awala, Communications Professional at Moniepoint, and Obinna Michael, Account Executive at Pawapay,two companies operating at the infrastructure layer of Africa’s payments ecosystem.Moniepoint is powering payments for businesses on the ground, helping merchants accept transactions, access credit, and grow with confidence. Pawapay is connecting mobile money systems across more than 20 African markets, so businesses can accept payments without the complexity of integrating every provider individually.Together, they make the case that the real fintech revolution isn't just about flashy products it's about building systems that work quietly, consistently, and at scale.To keep up with Bemigho Awala , Check out his linkedin:https://www.linkedin.com/in/bemigho-awalaCheck out Moniepoint :https://moniepoint.com/To keep up with Obinna Michael , Check out his linkedin:https://www.linkedin.com/in/obinna-awuzudike/Check out Pawa Pay:https://www.pawapay.io/__________________________________________________________________Join Alice as she explores the world of tech and shares impactful stories with guests on My Tech Story Africa!Subscribe to our podcast, drop a like, comment, and hit the notification bell to stay updated with our latest content.Don't forget to spread the word! Sharing is caring! 🌟Follow us on social media:📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mytechstoryafrica💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/my-tech-story-africa♪ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@mytechstoryafricaJoin our community: [https://www.mtsafrica.co/join]Interested in being a guest on the podcast? Apply here: https://forms.gle/ffAniezzFHoEvhPY7

Inside Africa’s $1 Trillion Payment Problem

In a world where sending money across borders should be effortless, cross-border payments remain one of the most expensive and fragmented parts of the global financial system , but how are African businesses navigating that complexity, and who is building the infrastructure to fix it?Alice heads to the Africa Tech Summit 2026 to find out firsthand how the rails beneath global commerce are being rebuilt and why Africa is at the center of that shift.She speaks with Malaika Ademola, VP of Global Payments at Fincra, and Kirill Gertman, CEO of Conduit, two founders building the behind-the-scenes infrastructure that powers cross-border transactions across the continent and beyond.Together, they unpack why a simple payment can cost up to eight percent in transaction fees, why settlements still take days, and how fragmented financial systems continue to create friction for businesses trading globally. More importantly, they share how they're solving it through API-first platforms, embedded payment infrastructure, virtual accounts in major currencies, and the growing role of stablecoins as an alternative to traditional banking rails.To keep up with Malaika Ademola , Check out her linkedin:https://www.linkedin.com/in/malaika-ademola-majekodunmi/Check out Fincra :https://fincra.com/To keep up with Kirill Gertman, Check out his linkedin:https://www.linkedin.com/in/kirillgertman/Check out Conduit :https://conduitpay.com/__________________________________________________________________Join Alice as she explores the world of tech and shares impactful stories with guests on My Tech Story Africa!Subscribe to our podcast, drop a like, comment, and hit the notification bell to stay updated with our latest content.Don't forget to spread the word! Sharing is caring! 🌟Follow us on social media:📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mytechstoryafrica💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/my-tech-story-africa♪ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@mytechstoryafricaJoin our community: [https://www.mtsafrica.co/join]Interested in being a guest on the podcast? Apply here: https://forms.gle/ffAniezzFHoEvhPY7

The High Cost of Ignoring Data in African Tech Markets ft. Serigne Fall

On this episode of "After Hours, in partnership with Tanqueray Africa," we speak with Serigne Fall, the founder of LOOKA Research, a company focused on solving one of Africa’s most overlooked challenges in tech, research operations.Drawing from firsthand experience inside research agencies, he breaks down why, despite having strong frameworks and smart consultants, many companies still struggle to generate meaningful insights.We explore why research is often treated as a “nice-to-have” rather than essential infrastructure, especially among startups navigating tight budgets and pressure to move fast. Instead of pushing for expensive, large-scale studies, LOOKA Research champions an iterative approach: small, continuous feedback loops that help businesses validate ideas, avoid costly mistakes, and move with greater clarity.The conversation also challenges a common founder mindset, that research must be expensive to be valuable. In reality, even simple actions like speaking to a handful of users or applying “The Mom Test” can offer powerful direction. It’s not always about spending more money, but about being intentional with time and curiosity. We also dive into the evolving role of AI in research, highlighting its power to speed up data collection and analysis, while cautioning against biases that can arise from incomplete or unrepresentative datasets, particularly in African contexts.To keep up with Serigne Fall, Check out his linkedin:https://www.linkedin.com/in/serigne-fall/Check out LOOKA Research :https://www.linkedin.com/company/getlookaresearch/ __________________________________________________________________Join Alice as she explores the world of tech and shares impactful stories with guests on My Tech Story Africa!Subscribe to our podcast, drop a like, comment, and hit the notification bell to stay updated with our latest content.Don't forget to spread the word! Sharing is caring! 🌟Follow us on social media:📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mytechstoryafrica💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/my-tech-story-africa♪ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@mytechstoryafricaJoin our community: [https://www.mtsafrica.co/join]Interested in being a guest on the podcast? Apply here: https://forms.gle/ffAniezzFHoEvhPY7

Pitch Decks Over Relationships :The Startup Mistake Every Founder Makes ft. Will Green

On this episode of My Tech Story Africa, Alice Kanjejo sits down with Will Green , entrepreneur, angel investor, and ecosystem builder with over 20 years of experience working across South Africa and the globe .Will opens up about why relationships, not pitch decks, are the real currency of the startup world. From the origins of his now-iconic Will Green's Walk , a Friday morning hike up Lion's Head that doubles as a networking powerhouse , to his philosophy that the future of company building will be born out of intentional communities, Will challenges founders to rethink how they show up, connect, and grow.The conversation dives deep into what separates thriving founder communities from glorified WhatsApp groups, why collaboration will always outpace competition in African ecosystems, and how the continent's relational-first culture is both a unique strength and an untapped competitive advantage. Will also unpacks one of entrepreneurship's most uncomfortable truths: that sales is not a dirty word it is the growth hack that most founders overlook while chasing strategy and hype.On the investor side, Will draws a powerful analogy between a founder-investor relationship and a marriage , built on communication, transparency through the highs and the lows, and the often-forgotten practice of celebrating milestones.He also speaks candidly about Africa's capital gap, the limitations of the traditional VC model on the continent, and why strategic capital , the kind that comes with customers — is the most powerful accelerator a founder can access.To keep up with Will Green check out his LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/willgreen/Check out Co.lab :https://www.linkedin.com/company/co-laboration/Shot at Workshop17 :https://www.workshop17.co.za/ __________________________________________________________________Join Alice as she explores the world of tech and shares impactful stories with guests on My Tech Story Africa!Subscribe to our podcast, drop a like, comment, and hit the notification bell to stay updated with our latest content.Don't forget to spread the word! Sharing is caring! 🌟Follow us on social media:📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mytechstoryafrica💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/my-tech-story-africa♪ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@mytechstoryafricaJoin our community: [https://www.mtsafrica.co/join]Interested in being a guest on the podcast? Apply here: https://forms.gle/ffAniezzFHoEvhPY7