No Enterprise Left Behind: The Role of SMEs in Africa's Venture Landscape

The Trajectory Africa

Welcome to Track 5 of The Trajectory Africa, a podcast series exploring the trajectory, or pathway, of venture capital and startup formation in Africa. This episode’s guest artist is Kuhle Mnisi. Kuhle is a Principal at Secha Capital, which she joined to marry her finance skill with a deep passion for impact. Prior to joining Secha, Kuhle worked as an Assistant Lecturer at the University of Cape Town, and interned with Act in Africa, a design thinking and entrepreneurship development program, as well as Goldman Sachs in investment banking and PwC in auditing. In this conversation, Kuhle and I explore the SME investment opportunity, how it’s similar to and different from tech, and the ways in which tech-enabled SMEs and tech ventures play complementary roles in the broader venture ecosystem in Africa.

In this episode, we discuss:

• Why Kuhle joined Secha Capital, a patient capital holding company that invests in African SMEs looking to grow
• Secha's mission and approach: how it defines SMEs and why they present robust investment opportunities
• Why it’s important for SMEs to adopt technology
• How SMEs and tech startups are connected, and how SMEs fuel tech startup growth

Kuhle's Recommended Track & Featured Resources:

• Konke. (I Want It All.) Seba Kaapstad
  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DaHZSn8UgYg

• Secha Capital
  https://www.sechacapital.com/
  
  
• An Arsenal of Operator-Investors for Africa (article)
  https://ssir.org/articles/entry/an_arsenal_of_operator_investors_for_africa
  
  
• Chasing Outliers: Why Context Matters for Early Stage Investing in Africa (report)
  https://kinyungu.com/chasing-outliers/

DJ Saphir’s Spotify Playlist:

• https://spoti.fi/2RS6hTc