# N. Waithaka, P. Kimani, J. Egwu, D. Nandwa, C. Odero: Getting to Yes l Africa/Week 2025

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iKO03dPG5UU
Recap page: https://rapidrecap.app/video/iKO03dPG5UU
Generated: 2026-02-06T23:06:11.782+00:00

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## Quick Overview

Panelists at Norrsken Africa/Week 2025 discussed the challenges and necessary mindset shifts for founders raising venture capital in Africa, emphasizing the need for founders to be pragmatic, build strong relationships, and understand investor expectations regarding multiples and exits, rather than just relying on narrative.

**Key Points:**
- Founders must be pragmatic and understand that the African ecosystem is still young, contrasting with established markets like Silicon Valley (1:22, 3:01).
- The speaker noted that many founders fail by over-promising returns (e.g., 10x on a $500k seed round) without having the necessary groundwork or traction (2:14, 2:49, 5:44).
- A key job for founders is to ensure that the termsheet they receive is the best possible deal and aligns with their long-term vision, not just the immediate payout (1:57, 2:21, 3:35).
- Successful fundraising requires founders to clearly articulate their story, demonstrate traction, and manage investor expectations around financial returns and exits (3:45, 4:44).
- The panelists agreed that while digital assets and blockchain are growing, they are tools, not magical solutions to fundamental business problems like profitability (4:38, 6:01).
- Founders must be prepared for tough diligence questions about financials and be conscious of the long-term relationship with investors (3:37, 12:18).
- The panel highlighted the importance of building the business infrastructure (like accounting) early on, as this groundwork is often overlooked when chasing high multiples (4:36, 13:54).

![Screenshot at 0:04: The initial speaker emphasizes the need to say 'no' every single day, setting a tone about the difficulty founders face in making tough decisions when seeking growth capital.](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/iKO03dPG5UU/00-00-04.jpg)

**Context:** This segment features a panel discussion from Norrsken's Africa/Week 2025 event, moderated by Paul Kimani (CEO of Wakpe), who introduced four other panelists: Clara Wanjiku (Credibles CEO), John (co-founder of AutoCheck Africa), and two other unnamed speakers. The discussion centers on the pitfalls founders face when seeking venture capital in Africa, particularly concerning unrealistic valuation expectations, the importance of demonstrating strong fundamentals over mere narrative, and managing investor relations.

## Detailed Analysis

The panel discussion, moderated by Paul Kimani, focused heavily on the realities of fundraising for African startups, particularly the need for founders to be pragmatic and manage expectations. Paul Kimani stressed that founders must often say 'no' daily (0:04) and that building a business in Africa requires navigating a landscape where financial infrastructure and regulatory clarity are still developing (4:05, 12:18). John, co-founder of AutoCheck Africa, shared his experience that investors focus heavily on proven performance and fundamentals (5:54), noting that their own initial fundraising efforts were difficult because they were focused on digital assets, which VCs were still wary of (1:22, 3:54). Clara Wanjiku highlighted that founders must balance ambitious goals (like 20x returns) with realistic expectations, stressing the importance of having clear financial metrics and managing investor relationships through honest storytelling (4:54, 19:33). She noted that many founders fail by over-promising returns based on narrative rather than proven traction, leading to investor disappointment (2:14, 5:44). The conversation also touched on the psychological toll ('painful') of fundraising and due diligence (3:37, 13:13), concluding that founders need strong internal discipline and clear communication about their business trajectory to succeed in securing funding rounds beyond the initial seed stage (15:25, 29:29).

### Fundraising Realities in Africa

- Founders often face an ecosystem where investors require significant proof (traction/fundamentals) before committing capital, contrasting with the narrative-driven approach that sometimes works in more mature markets like Silicon Valley
- Founders must be pragmatic and understand that complex problems in Africa (like credit access) require infrastructure building, not just a story
- Many founders fail by over-promising high multiples (like 20x) on early rounds without the necessary groundwork (1:22, 2:14, 2:49, 5:44, 23:03, 23:53).

### Investor Relations and Due Diligence

- Building trust and maintaining long-term relationships with investors is crucial, requiring founders to be transparent about financials and strategy, even when facing tough questions (1:38, 12:18, 28:27).

### The Role of the Founder

- A key job is ensuring the term sheet secured is the best possible deal that aligns with the company's long-term vision, not just the immediate financial gain (1:57, 3:35).

### Ecosystem Building

- Successfully building a company in Africa means building necessary infrastructure (like bookkeeping/accounting) and focusing on sustainable growth (3:26, 3:33, 3:53).

![Screenshot at 0:04: Speaker emphasizing the necessity of saying 'no' daily to maintain focus on core business viability.](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/iKO03dPG5UU/00-00-04.jpg)
![Screenshot at 0:31: Paul Kimani, the moderator, introducing the panelists and the event context: Norrsken Africa/Week 2025.](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/iKO03dPG5UU/00-00-31.jpg)
![Screenshot at 1:14: David Nandwa describing how Honeycoin builds financial automation infrastructure across 18 African markets.](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/iKO03dPG5UU/00-01-14.jpg)
![Screenshot at 2:03: Paul Kimani directing a question to John, asking what convinced him to attempt venture capital funding twice.](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/iKO03dPG5UU/00-02-03.jpg)
![Screenshot at 3:56: John explaining that founders must understand and solve fundamental problems that are difficult to quantify for investors.](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/iKO03dPG5UU/00-03-56.jpg)