When we announced our first Venture Scouts in late February, we ended with a call-out for female scout applicants. In the weeks that followed, we received more than 40 applications from applicants across Sub-Saharan Africa, Europe, and North America. 50% of these applications were from strong female applicants who had deep ties to the African tech ecosystem, interest in investing, and specific skills to help founders succeed.
Five months later and with the help of our first Venture Scouts, we are pleased to introduce you to the latest Microtraction Venture Scouts:
Delila Kidanu
Delila has extensive experience in Partnership Management as well as Program Development and Execution, having worked closely with global brands to develop and execute innovation and capacity building programs as well as managing research projects to understand and identify key market gaps. She has found a passion for capacity building and development of 21st-century skills, as well as contributing to the development of digital-focused ecosystems that allow start-ups to thrive especially across the African continent.
With 6+ years of experience, she has worked for NGOs and early-stage startups such as ThinkYoung & Yusudi and managed her own consultancy working with start-ups to help drive market penetration (BitPesa) and with foundations (Boeing & Coca-Cola Foundation) to run social impact projects for local community engagement and improvement.
With a keen interest in the start-up and technology scene, she is driving engagement for MEST to expand the network of incubators and hubs worked with and enhance the ecosystem’s understanding of the needs and challenges faced by technology startups across the continent.
Countries covering: Kenya, Ethiopia, Rwanda
Mumbi Githuku Annstella
Mumbi has a keen interest in the potential of tech startups to build a new economy in Africa. She is a mechatronics engineer and YALI Alumnus with experience working with technology startups and in the development sector across various African markets.
Until June 2020, she was leading the expansion efforts across different African markets as the Senior Manager, Growth at Moringa School, the biggest coding school in Eastern Africa. Currently, she is pursuing her Masters in Data, Economics, and Development Policy while serving as the co-founder of Nuovo Technologies, a startup design lab building technological solutions for pressing African issues.
Mumbi also formerly served as co-founder of Impact Africa Network, an ecosystem catalytic accelerator and network focused on accelerating growth of companies by local founders and TEDxParklands among other entities.
Countries covering: Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda
Octavius Phukubye
Octavius is the founder of Brillianaire, an early-stage technology investment advisory, and entrepreneurship development boutique firm. He is an Entrepreneur-In-Residence and Accelerator Manager at IM IN Accelerator. He is an experienced strategy consultant and early-stage technology venture investment professional with a proven track record that spans over 10 years in project design and implementation of entrepreneurship, supplier diversity, and small enterprise development investments. He had managed over R200M of grant and loan funds in the FMCG and banking sectors.
Octavius has worked as a Venture Capital Associate at Red Cedar Ventures (USA) where he helped a cybersecurity startup raise $6Million series A. He also served as an Economic Development Affiliate at Lansing Economic Area Partnership (USA) where he developed a refugee youth startup support framework. His other past roles include being a Vice Principal-Supplier Development at Barclays/Absa, an Economic Development Manager at South African Breweries, and a Management Consultant at Accenture.
He is a Fulbright Humphrey Fellow from Michigan State University, and currently completing Masters in Development Finance from the University of Stellenbosch.
Countries covering: South Africa, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Mozambique and Lesotho
Tosin Faniro-Dada
Tosin leads the Lagos Innovates team at the Lagos State Employment Trust Fund (LSETF). In her current role, Tosin is responsible for developing and implementing programs that provide an enabling environment for tech startups to thrive in Lagos State, and cultivating strategic partnerships to increase the programs' reach. She joined LSETF as the Head of Strategy & Partnerships in 2016.
Prior to working at LSETF, Tosin worked in the Corporate Banking Division at Skye Bank (now Polaris Bank), and also as a Financial Analyst at ARM. Tosin started her career in PricewaterhouseCoopers in Boston auditing mutual and private equity funds.
Tosin graduated Summa Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting from the University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth and a Master of Science degree from Boston College. Tosin is a Certified Public Accountant licensed in Massachusetts.
Countries covering: Nigeria
Uyai (Umoren) Effiong
Uyai has spent the last 10 years growing small and medium-sized businesses in several West African countries. The first 3 years were spent at a big 4 consulting firm, where she had exposure working with some of Nigeria’s biggest businesses. In the years that followed, she began working more directly with smaller businesses that had the potential to scale. Her areas of expertise are design and user experience, although she is keenly interested in helping startups grow and find product-market fit.
Uyai is also a mentor for Google’s Launchpad Accelerator and has worked with all 5 classes of the program to date.
Countries covering: Nigeria
Wanjiru Chabeda
Wanjiru has been working in the African tech ecosystem for the last eight years, specifically focused on working directly with startups/ SMEs. She is based in Nairobi, Kenya, and has past experience working with a VC fund focused on seed-stage investments in tech-enabled businesses in SSA. Wanjiru has also worked as a consultant with numerous early-stage startups in East Africa to develop operational processes, go-to-market strategies, and investment materials. She has project management experience at leading HR and marketing firms in Nairobi and led the launch of The Foundry Africa, a leading co-working space in Kenya.
Countries covering: Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda
The Microtraction Scout Initiative is a network of high-impact individuals aiding Microtraction in its mission to increase the diversity of deal-flow, increase awareness, and support remarkable entrepreneurs across Africa. We are excited to be working with all 13 Venture Scouts as we continue to support the next wave of entrepreneurs who are building technology-enabled businesses in multiple industries across Africa with their growth.
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