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Too often, we have looked at Africa as an entity split in two : Northern Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa. Certainly, there is a physical, geographic divide between the two regions : the largest hot desert in the world. However, history has shown that this divide was as much man-made. It is therefore natural that we get to work towards fixing this divide.
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In this latest episode of our podcast, I am proud to put the spotlight on two of the most active angel investors from each side of the desert who have partnered up to build up Acasia Ventures : Africa’s first VC fund targeting Egyptian-Nigerian and their neighbouring markets.
I have known Aly El-Shalakany and Biola Alabi separately and managed to invest alongside them before they got together. Very sadly, I failed to be THE ONE connecting them. They met through our senior brother, Sir Tomi Davis, the Guru and the man responsible for setting up Sub-Saharan Africa’s first angel investors network: ABAN.
Since joining forces, the two have invested in seventeen companies over the past 18 months. Now we can definitely talk about “Active Investing” !
In our conversation, both Aly and Biola spoke about being bullish on AI. If you are too, I highly recommend that you listen to Mozilla’s IRL podcast. We are thankful for their continuous support.
“As an angel investor, you get to make a vision come to life and roll-up your sleeves”
Aly, Biola and I discussed our first cheques as angel investors. Today, we are leading institutional investment platforms but we all began with wanting to financially support the vision of African founders. At the start of our conversation, Aly and Biola revisited their transition from angel to institutional investors : To Biola, being an angel investor was all about being an ally for entrepreneurs at the very beginning of their journeys. Aly explained how he first got exposed to the tech and VC space while practicing corporate law in London. While observing the space, he saw an opportunity in bringing the concept of risk capital to the Egyptian ecosystem.
“A common thread was how we both viewed investing as a vehicle of positive impact and change”
Aly is a trained corporate lawyer from Egypt. Biola is a media executive and business woman from Nigeria. They excelled at their respective crafts overseas before making the decision to return home to serve their local markets. It is because of the uniqueness of their profiles and their combination that I felt compelled to share their story with you. I must disclose that we are also joining their list of LPs. They are the epitome of fixing the divide between Northern and Sub-Saharan Africa. In the episode, they explained to me how they first got together and what common vision led to the creation of Acasia Ventures. Aly summarized it perfectly : as angel investors, they both saw the opportunity to leverage investments to positively impact the economic fabric of their respective countries. Now with their institutional platform, they are able to scale their investment activities beyond their original jurisdiction.
“I’m energized by two-three time founders. There is a virtuous cycle that did not exist when we started.”
Prior to launching Acasia Ventures, Aly founded the Cairo Angels Network, one of Africa’s first angel investment networks. In our conversation, we explore what was venture capital then and what it has become. Aly believes that our ecosystems are showing signs of maturity, whether through repeat founders or through founders with strong startup experience. Such an evolution in our ecosystem has required a lot of patience from early investors such as Aly and Biola, but their resilience is proof that the continent can bring the sizable returns that have occurred in other geographies. We need more founders to repeat in order to build the confidence at the ecosystem that anything is truly possible.
“Media and technology are actually cousin industries”
The very fact that we launched the podcast, Silverbacks Valley, alongside the investment platform, Silverbacks Holdings, tells you how much we value the media as an industry and within the investment landscape. Biola is one of the few media entrepreneurs that I know to have made that connection too : in the episode, she explains how people do not seem to grasp how interconnected media and technology are as industries. She even postulates that the media industry’s financing model has inspired venture capitalists : betting on a movie or an artist to succeed is in a way as risky as an investment as an early-stage startup with an MVP.
“People believe that lawyers are focused on the downside”
Aly speaks on the misconception that people have about lawyers turned investors. As a lawyer, Aly focused his career on value creation and M&A transactions which have made him better equipped to work as a fund manager. He recognizes that his career as a lawyer has also given him the discipline to think of controlling downside risks without missing out on opportunities.
Aly & Biola recommend :
- The Power Law by Sebastian Mallaby
- The Consumer VC podcast by Mike Gelb
- Blitzscaling by Reid Hoffman and Chris Yeh
- The Ecosystem Economy by Venkat Atluri and Miklos Dietz
Ibrahim Sagna. Investor | Chairman | Host of Silverbacks Valley,a podcast focused on bridging the worlds of VC, tech, sports, media & lifestyle in Africa
