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Tag: Biola Alabi

  • DOA’s 4th TMT Business Series Charts Path from Startup Buzz to Digital Infrastructure

    DOA’s 4th TMT Business Series Charts Path from Startup Buzz to Digital Infrastructure

    The 4th Annual TMT Business Series, hosted by commercial law firm, Duale, Ovia & Alex-Adedipe (DOA), took place on June 5, 2025, at the Civic Centre, Victoria Island, Lagos. With the theme “Beyond the Startup Frenzy: Building the Infrastructure for a Digital Nigeria,” the forum convened policymakers, investors, founders, and regulators to explore the future of Nigeria’s digital economy.

    In the opening address, DOA Partner, Omowunmi Sanni called for stronger legal, financial, and regulatory systems to support scalable innovation. She reiterated DOA’s commitment to enabling business growth through strategic legal support and cross-sector collaboration.

    The keynote was delivered by the Honourable Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Dr. Bosun Tijani. He spotlighted national initiatives including the 3 Million Technical Talent (3MTT) Program, the National Artificial Intelligence Strategy, and the country’s broadband expansion goals. He stressed the importance of digital infrastructure and inclusive policy frameworks in bridging economic divides and driving long-term transformation.

    In a fireside chat moderated by Lehle Balde, Dr. Tijani emphasized the role of identity systems, payment infrastructure, and data interoperability in building a competitive digital economy.

    Two expert-led panels followed. The first, Tech Profitability Playbook – Who’s Really Winning?, moderated by Esohe Ibinoba (Venture Builder), featured Ashim Egunjobi (Managing Partner, Octerra Capital), Mudiaga Mowoe (CEO, MATTA), Dr. Dotun Olowoporoku (Managing Partner, Ventures Platform), Deepankar Rustagi (CEO, OmniRetail), and Biola Alabi (Venture Partner, Delta40). They discussed sustainability, value creation, founder evolution, and the need to digitize Nigeria’s informal sector.

    The second panel, Innovation & Regulation – Finding Common Ground, was moderated by Morayo Adebayo Adisa (Director, Government Affairs and Policy, Mastercard, West Africa) and featured Olatunbosun Alake (Honourable Commissioner, Ministry of Innovation, Science and Technology, Lagos State) Florence Abebe (Head of Legal, FCCPC), Ezichim Oweagba (Head, Institutional Partnerships, Quidax), and Johnson Oyewo (Senior Manager, Regulatory Affairs, MTN Nigeria). Speakers explored inclusive policymaking, regulatory agility, consumer protection, compliance by design, and regulatory sandboxes for digital innovation.

    A key highlight was the pitch competition, where eleven startups pitched solutions spanning health, fintech, sustainability, and education. Trashcoin Limited emerged winner of ₦10 million in legal services, while Kryptr IP Enterprise Ltd and Pay U Technology Ltd won ₦5 million and ₦3 million in Legal Representation respectively. Judges included Iretimipo Kukoyi (Managing Partner, Kaleo Ventures), Yomi Jemibewon (Co-Founder, CardinalStone Capital Advisers), Samson Esemuede (Managing Director, Zrosk Investment Management), and Yewande Adewusi (COO, Alitheia Capital).

    The 2025 edition reinforced DOA’s positioning as a key legal partner in building the systems and structures that power Nigeria’s digital future.

  • AVCA’S Fifth VC Summit Spotlights Resilience, Scale, and Bankability as Critical Levers to Propel Africa’s VC Ecosystem

    AVCA’S Fifth VC Summit Spotlights Resilience, Scale, and Bankability as Critical Levers to Propel Africa’s VC Ecosystem

    The African Private Capital Association (AVCA) hosted its fifth Venture Capital (VC) Summit yesterday. The summit forms part of the industry association’s 21st Annual AVCA Conference week, held in Lagos until 2 May. The global gathering brings early-stage and venture capital investors, corporate venture arms, founders, entrepreneurs, and accelerators together to discuss new trends and plot the rise of Africa’s venture capital landscape.

    Abi Mustapha-Maduakor, CEO of AVCA, opened the Summit by acknowledging the strategic importance of Nigeria’s entrepreneurial landscape: “Hosting the Summit in Nigeria is significant because this country has long been at the heart of Africa’s entrepreneurial evolution. Despite economic headwinds, we’ve witnessed innovation and resilience in the early-stage ecosystem. It is no coincidence that in 2024, Nigeria produced one of the continent’s newest unicorns.”

    Tope Awotona, Founder and CEO of Calendly, the US$3bn tech unicorn, and Abi Mustapha-Maduakor, CEO of AVCA, kicked off the summit with a keynote fireside chat. Describing his remarkable entrepreneurial journey, Awotona said: “I knew scheduling wasn’t just a productivity tax—it was a tax on important business outcomes like revenue. We didn’t invent online scheduling but made it accessible to more people through three key innovations: our freemium pricing model, our viral distribution method, and our data-driven product improvements.”

    The conversation affirmed the power of innovation, enabling expansion to international markets and the benefits of experimentation with price, distribution, and product. Awotona said: “When scheduling went virtual, more users meant more data could help to improve the product and help to become the best on the market.” 

    Following the sentiments of Calendly’s Founder and CEO, a panel titled Unlocking Scale: The Growth-Stage Challenge with Leo Batalov, Partner, Global Co-Head of Emerging Growth Companies and Venture Capital, DLA Piper, and Brian Waswani Odhiambo, Partner, Novastar Ventures, examined how to bridge the gap for businesses moving from early stage development to accessing capital in their growth stage, and highlighted the urgency of building strong local investor ecosystems.

    Outlining the roles of founders and venture capital investors in supporting the long-term sustainability of Africa’s burgeoning tech ecosystem, Dr Omobola Johnson, Senior Partner, TLcom Capital, said: “We need to help founders understand that at the growth stage, they’re competing for global capital, not just local. Founders must recognise the competition and make their businesses appealing to international investors…This makes the African market more scalable, bankable, and investable.”

    The summit proceeded with a headline session, entitled Titans of Industry: Bold Moves, featuring Tosin Eniolorunda, Group CEO of Moniepoint, who underscored the merits of building a valuable company and building a robust team. He said, “If you have an organisation that is growing, investors will be interested; so we focused early on establishing good fundamentals—topline growth, profitability, EBITDA margins, return on equity. The more important goal is building a valuable company with healthy bottom lines. This opens up multiple opportunities, whether through Nigeria’s evolving stock exchange or large buyouts from sovereign wealth funds.”

    Other panels convened capital allocators – representing corporate, commercial, and development-focused interests – to share their perspectives on a maturing venture capital ecosystem in Africa. The competitive fundraising environment provided a backdrop to outline how Limited Partners (LPs) select where to invest, assess risk, evaluate opportunity, and determine priorities.

    In a panel entitled Venture Debt – Africa’s Missing Piece? speakers including Rosanne Whalley, Chief Executive Officer, AHL Ventures Partners, Roeland Donckers, Managing Partner, iungo capital, and moderator Tage Kene-Okafor, Africa reporter at TechCrunch, discussed the role of venture debt products as a complement to equity funding, providing bridge capital to accelerate company growth. 

    According to AVCA’s latest report, venture debt showed impressive resilience in 2024, with 60 deals totalling US$1.0bn—a 3% increase year-on-year. While representing just 12% of total deal volume, venture debt accounted for 37% of total capital deployed, with median deal sizes reaching US$7.5mn, nearly three times larger than equity-based transactions.

    The session underscored the need for African investors to know when to deploy these tools and the importance of raising awareness amongst founders of these financing alternatives. Biola Alabi, Venture Partner, Delta40, noted that “there is a critical gap in financial literacy around debt financing in our ecosystem. Many founders and even some GPs don’t fully understand what debt investors require in terms of traction and stability. We need to help restructure existing debt and educate founders on how venture debt can complement equity to extend runway and avoid dilution, particularly for businesses with predictable revenue streams.”