The VA Pod

Getting Funding in 2024

While Africa has attracted numerous investors over the years, enthusiasm seems to be dwindling. In 2023, African startup funding had a significant 39% year-on-year decline. In 2022, Oluwatosin Ogunjuyigbe of Ventures Africa highlighted the lack of "unicorns" in Africa's digital economy, suggesting that initial optimism has given way to closer scrutiny. What's the way forward for startups? The podcast you are about to listen to was adapted from our LinkedIn Audio Event, held on Thursday, 1st of February, 2024, where we discussed "Getting Funding in 2024". The event was hosted by Zainab Amoo, a Social Media Executive at Ventures Africa, who held an interesting discourse with guest speakers including, Eunice Ajim, Founding Partner of Ajim Capital; and Uwem Uwemakpan, the Head of Investments at Launch Africa VC. Edited and Produced: Ishioma Imkhai-Bello. Reviewed: Hadassah Egbedi.

The importance of social enterprise to Africa's growth,

In Africa, social enterprises are driving development by blending profit with social good. They are proving that businesses can be inclusive and financially powerful engines for change. Yet, their dual nature presents challenges in securing resources for growth and job creation. According to the British Council, the estimate for the number of jobs directly created by social enterprises in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) ranges from 28 million to 41 million. In this podcast, adapted for our LinkedIn Audio Event held on the 18th of December, 2023, Zemmy Momoh, Director, CSR & Social Impact Programming, Channels Media Group and Oluwatosin Ogunjuyigbe, Staff Writer at Ventures Africa, discuss “The importance of social enterprise to Africa's growth”.

The importance of media in climate adaptation.

Africa is the hardest hit by climate change. According to the World Meteorological Organization, Africa is suffering disproportionately from the climate change crisis, even though it contributes only a fraction of global greenhouse gas emissions. However, the Sterling One Foundation has partnered with Microsoft Nigeria, Sterling Bank, The Sun Media, Oando Foundation, Coca-Cola, and other esteemed private sector organizations to initiate a workshop to transform the Nigerian media landscape. The primary objective is to empower media professionals to amplify the urgency of the climate change crisis through their reporting. The Sterling One Foundation is dedicated to advancing sustainable development and environmental stewardship across Africa.

Exploring production and next-level creativity in Nollywood with Chioma Ude.

Nollywood is undoubtedly Africa’s largest movie industry, and you will agree that its content has become a unifying factor on the continent. The gigantic movie industry has been estimated to be worth over $6.4 billion as of 2022, has raised and is still raising unique actors across the spectrum. In this podcast, we discussed the business of Nollywood and the International market, with Chioma Ude, as she explores the production and next-level creativity in Nollywood, She is the Founder of the African International Film Festival (AFRIFF), an international film showcase that presents an immersion into filmmaking, with participation from all over Africa and the diaspora. AFRIFF was founded in 2010 and so far has actively created inroads for Nollywood and the African movie industry on the global scene. Producer: Ishioma Imokhai-Bello Editors: Edore Nakpodia & Ishioma Imokhai-Bello

How Ijeoma Onah sources new markets for Nollywood globally.

Nollywood, Africa’s largest movie industry has come a long way. From the days of videotapes to CDs, Nollywood and the African movie industry have earned their fair share of fame on streaming platforms and in the continent’s evolving cinema culture. In this podcast, we have a chat with Ijeoma Onah, media entrepreneur and Founder of the Nigerian International Film Summit (NIFS). NIFS is a body that is designed to enable business-driven conversations on the bourgeoning film industry in Nigeria. She shares insight into the challenges and what it takes to sell Nollywood and the African movie industry on the global stage. Producer: Ishioma Imokhai-Bello Editors: Edore Nakpodia & Ishioma Imokhai-Bello