"Isis is a Partner at Asphalt & Ink, a strategic advisory firm that provide global companies, investors, and foundations with insights and analysis to drive sound decision-making for their Africa engagement strategy. Isis is well established in the technology ecosystem and brings deep experience in navigating the Africa private sector landscape. She makes a concerted effort to address gender bias in the workplace through WomenWork, a women's digital network with 5,000 members that she co-founded. WomenWork partners with global donors and local corporations to implement programs to increase access to capital and business skills for women-owned SMEs across Kenya. Through this work she has a deeply informed understanding of the challenges women-owned SMEs face in raising capital and the ways that global and local funders are aiming to overcome these.

Prior to this, Isis founded digital content platform MumsVillage and held notable leadership positions at Google, InMobi and MTV Networks leading their Africa entry strategies. Through her partnership role at Google, she was instrumental in building the foundation of the digital economy in Africa by structuring private sector partnerships that increased user access to and interest in the Internet while also advocating for public policy change.

Isis is an influential voice on innovation and entrepreneurship in Africa. She currently serves on the boards of the Nairobi Stock Exchange (NSE) and Southbridge Group (pan-African investment bank). She has been shortlisted on the Forbes Top 20 Youngest Power Women in Africa and the World Economic Forum selected her as a Young Global Leader in 2012. Isis holds degrees from Stanford University and Harvard Business School."

Corporate lawyer specialising in startups, corporate structuring & governance and fundraising. I left legal practice in 2017 to join Yoco, an African payments company, as in-house legal, supporting the team through Series B & C funding rounds and international expansion. I recently joined the Capital Team at The Delta, a venture builder, to help grow out the group's investment arm. Working with Founders & Investors in early stage ventures is my happy place.

Emmanuel Adegboye is the Head of Madica, a structured investment program for pre-seed stage companies in Africa. Launched in 2022, Madica empowers underrepresented and underfunded mission-driven founders on the continent. 

‍

Before joining Madica, Emmanuel oversaw Africa strategy for Utopia, a platform for Urbantech entrepreneurs in emerging cities. As Managing Partner of Utopia Lagos, he designed and launched the Lagos Urban Innovation Challenge and Utopia’s virtual accelerator program.

‍

Emmanuel has a comprehensive understanding of the entrepreneurial and political landscape of Africa. He has extensive experience building and leading large-scale technology projects and initiatives in emerging markets. His prior roles include designing and managing Andela’s entrepreneurship center and managing special projects and programs at Venture Garden Group. He was also a 2021 Mo Ibrahim Foundation Academy Fellow with the Africa Program at Chatham House and he continues to engage policymakers on creating an enabling environment for entrepreneurs through his contributions to Chatham House’s policy research, the Nigerian Economic Summit Group’s Digital Economy Policy Commission and the Nigeria Startup Act. 

‍

Emmanuel holds a Bachelor's degree in Engineering Physics, an Executive MBA, and further postgraduate degrees in Space Applications and Environmental Management. He is also a certified Project Management Professional.

‍

Emmanuel believes entrepreneurs will build Africa’s future and he’s dedicated to supporting entrepreneurs solving Africa’s biggest challenges.

‍

Brenda Wangari is the Head of Portfolio Success at Madica where she works closely with local and often overlooked founders to grow their businesses.

Prior to Madica, Brenda oversaw entrepreneur support programs in Africa at Village Capital.  She worked with innovation hubs from across the continent helping them chart a path towards sustainability while scaling up the services and programs they offer to entrepreneurs.

She was lead author on two reports titled : ‘Unlocking Pipeline: A playbook on entrepreneur support in Africa' and ‘What can the World Learn from Ugandan ESOs?’ Both reports provided best practices for Entrepreneur Support Organizations, grant makers and startup investors and high-level snapshots of today's African  innovation landscape.

Brenda’s prior experience includes leading  business operations for the clean energy startup, business development for a gift card marketplace and tech news reporting. Brenda is an alumnus of the University of Nairobi and THNK School of Creative Leadership.

‍

‍

Francis Vesta is a seasoned investment professional currently serving as an Investment Associate at Madica, where he plays a key role in identifying and supporting mission-driven founders. With a strong background in venture capital and private equity, Francis brings valuable expertise to the table.

His skills include leading investment due diligence, robust analytical capabilities, and proficiency in data analysis and business development. Before his role at Madica, Francis co-founded a blockchain-based gaming startup, where he served as the Chief Financial Officer. In this capacity, he contributed to building the technological infrastructure that empowered African gamers to monetize their gaming skills.

Francis's prior experiences also involve working as an Investment Associate for a Venture Capital fund launched in 2018, dedicated to funding tech-enabled startups in Sub-Saharan Africa. His contributions extend to providing investment advisory and fundraising support to startup founders within the local ecosystem.

Francis holds a Bachelor's degree in Accounting and is a certified Financial Modelling and Valuation Analyst underscoring his strong foundation in financial expertise. His commitment to fostering innovation and supporting mission-driven ventures positions him as a valuable asset in the dynamic landscape of venture capital and investment.

Shamsa Mohamed is a marketing and communications strategist specialising in fostering the growth of tech startups across Africa. In her role as the Communications and Community Manager at Madica, she focuses on enhancing business visibility and providing vital support to startups from Pre-Seed to Series A funding stages. Shamsa's approach revolves around storytelling and empowering founders with strategic tools, resources, and insights crucial for navigating and thriving in competitive markets.

Previously, Shamsa was a Venture Partner and Accelerator Manager at the Baobab Network, where she guided 50 startups across 15 countries and 14 sectors. Her expertise in portfolio support, storytelling, and go-to-market strategies significantly boosted customer acquisition and secured critical follow-on funding. At Africa’s Talking, she led pivotal initiatives that supported a developer community of 50,000, enhancing their capacity to build and scale solutions continent-wide. She spearheaded the creation of tailored campaigns for the 18 markets they operated in, significantly enhancing market-specific engagement and outcomes. Shamsa also provided in-depth consultancy to their entrepreneur-in-residence program to15 startups, enhancing their market strategies and performance metrics.

With a BA in Journalism and Public Relations, she draws upon her extensive experience in the media industry, where she played a pivotal role in enhancing the online presence and revenue of 30 media brands. Through this journey, she honed her skills in storytelling and digital strategy, providing her with a unique blend of creative and analytical expertise that is invaluable in the tech startup ecosystem.

Efayomi has seen firsthand how startups catalyze innovation and unleash opportunity for communities. He brings experience in entrepreneurship, social impact and finance to his role at Flourish, with a focus on Africa.

Before Flourish, Efayomi was Head of Strategic Finance for Lori, a tech startup building cost-saving market infrastructure for the trucking industry in Africa. Three months after joining Lori, Efayomi was appointed Interim CFO, managing a team of 15 finance professionals across several geographies and overseeing the core financial functions. He also guided the company financially through the COVID-19 economic crisis, raising emergency capital, renegotiating significant debt, and finalizing key partnership agreements.

Prior to working with Lori, Efayomi covered Africa with venture investor Quona Capital and was an associate at Boston Consulting Group. He also worked at Jumia, where he was Head of Marketplace, growing that business from launch to roughly one-quarter of the platform’s revenue. Later, Efayomi spent six months seconded to the government of Sierra Leone, as the most senior government official leading data management in the effort to combat the 2015 Ebola outbreak.

Efayomi started his career cofounding Transparent Nigeria, a digital journalism and data sharing platform. He is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania with an MBA from Harvard Business School. He is based in Nairobi, where he’s training for his next marathon.

Arjuna Costa is a Managing Partner at Flourish Ventures.  He co-manages Flourish, with a primary focus on venture investing across emerging markets in Africa, Asia, and Latin America.

Before Flourish, Arjuna was a partner at Omidyar Network, where he built a global portfolio of early-stage, inclusive fintech companies. Before that, he invested equity and debt in consumer finance companies in emerging markets at The Rohatyn Group, a multi-billion dollar emerging markets investment firm.

In 2003, Arjuna cofounded a $120-million private equity fund focused on the turnaround of distressed commercial banks in Africa. The fund grew out of advising governments on the restructuring and privatization of its banking sector. He designed and implemented some of the earliest trade and investment programs for the US Government after the passage of the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act.  

Arjuna began his career at Lehman Brothers, where he spent five years financing power plants and airports globally.

Arjuna earned an MBA from Harvard Business School and a BA in computer science from Columbia University.

Ameya invests in disruptive organizations creating economic opportunity for people in emerging markets with a focus on Africa. As a venture partner, he is based in Flourish’s London office.

Previously, Ameya worked out of Omidyar Network’s Mumbai office, where he co-led several of the firms’ early Financial Inclusion investments in India. Prior to joining Omidyar Network in 2012, Ameya was a consultant at Bain&Company, where he worked with telecommunications and IT providers in India, improving their operational efficiency and developing acquisition strategies. As part of Bain’s private equity practice, he advised clients on potential investments in the tech, media, and telecom sectors.

Ameya received a B.S. in engineering from the Delhi College of Engineering and an MBA from the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad.