After more than 2 years of working alongside some of the most committed mission-driven investors in Africa, it's tough to say goodbye as I transition out of my role at Novastar Ventures. Having lunch today with the founding partners reminds me of why I hitched my wagon with them It's been an incredible journey of discovering, learning from, supporting and backing some of the transformational entrepreneurs on the continent. And doing so with experienced and committed colleagues at Novastar.

In the 1830s, Ibadan and Ijaye emerged as two major towns from the smoky ruins of the old Oyo empire. Both towns were founded by military leaders who retreated south to Egba country to build new settlements for people seeking refuge from the invading northern army.

A thread Ibadan and Ijaye had a similar history, culture, prominence and potentials. Both pay allegiance to the Alaafin, and fought alongside each other when necessary, but with a strong rivalry that led to open war against each other.

1/ One of the best long-term business decision I made last year was to start Building the Future Podcast - bit.ly/btfstarta. Gave me significant ROI for all the effort, money and emotion I invested into it.
Here is a *long* thread on why I’m doing it, and how you can too 2/ Building the future podcast multiplied the reach and quality of my network. It created a perfect excuse for me to have deep conversations with very busy smart individuals, who otherwise would have found it difficult to sit with me for that length of time outside the show.

If you’re raising money as an African startup founder, it is important not to calibrate your company valuation based on what you read on TechCrunch about similar businesses in other markets.

Things are different. Valuation is a function of market, investment landscape and exit potentials.