Money Flow is a series intended to understand how entrepreneurs within Africa interact with money and how it affects the health of their businesses.
Tell us a bit about your business
My business is an automated savings and investment platform that helps Africans better manage their finances by making it clearer and more transparent. Our platform helps Africans save and invest automatically. We are focused on low to middle income earners who are struggling to meet up with their responsibilities and payments because they have no way of saving up.
What was your financial background like?
I had a very decent, fulfilling upbringing. We had everything we needed, went to the best schools, etc. My parents paid our fees promptly, so we actually didn’t experience any financial discomfort.
What is your history with entrepreneurship?
From an observational perspective, entrepreneurship has always been around me. All my life my mom ran, and still runs, a side business. Personally, I ventured into entrepreneurship about 7 years ago, right out of university.
How old were you when you started your current business?
I started my first company at 19, and the current one at 22.
Tell me about your first business.
Our first business was an employment platform that connected employers to pre-screened job seekers. We ran that from 2014 till mid 2016 before handing it off to a different team. We also had a couple of separate products that didn’t quite work out.
How much did you have at the start of the business and where did the money come from?
At the start of our first business we had $25,000 in seed funding from an investor. And that pretty much kickstarted everything for us.
What lessons have you learned on the journey so far?
Do work you care about.
Have you ever received a grant or loan?
No, I haven’t, but I know that for most of those applications, the key is a great application.
How do you deal with the competition?
Honestly, mine and my co founders’ strategy has always been to bullishly execute without paying too much mind to competition. I don’t think the goal is a monopoly, so I just work single-mindedly towards my goal and my vision regardless of what anyone else is doing. The standard to beat is the one set by me.
What do you know about equity?
Quite a bit actually, haha. I’ll say this though, you don’t want to have too much equity, but you DEFINITELY don’t want to have too little. Any other thing, you’ll have to pay for a consultation with me.
How do you decide on the pricing of your products and services?
A number of factors including the cost of producing that product or service, the problem my product or service solving, the alternatives that exist and their costs, and the perceived value of the product or service.
What would you say about doing business today in Nigeria?
It’s incredibly challenging because Nigeria is a tough place for anything. The lack of economic stability, reduced spending power, incredibly volatile regulatory policies all contribute to the challenging business landscape in Nigeria.
What’s the biggest challenge you face doing business in Nigeria?
First, funding. It’s stupid hard to get funding as a startup in Nigeria. I believe it’s a bit easier now, but when we started, it was more complex. And then being a black woman, the regular-degular mix of unmistakable sexism and racism–from the international folks, can make it really hard to just keep moving. But it’s rewarding to see the results of all that work.
What financial advice do you wish you knew at the start of the business?
Not really financial, but overarching business advice. Hire slowly, and only when there will be a perceptible addition to the bottom line, whether as a direct or indirect product of creating this new position.
What’s your favourite quote about money?
Money is only a tool. It will take you wherever you wish, but it will not replace you as the driver. –Ayn Rand
