Roundup of my East African trip.

1 week ago I ended my East Africa tour, after 2 months and a half between Ethiopia and Kenya.

Those 2 months were veryyyy intense. To give you an idea, here was my typical day in Addis or Nairobi :

• 30min Amharic when waking up.

• 2-3 hours of learning new technologies/ coding in the morning (went from zero to hero in Reactjs).

• Meetings with entrepreneurs in the afternoon

• 1 hour of talking with taxi drivers in between the meetings and the way home.

• In the evening, go out with family or go to a startup event.

I had several objectives in mind when starting this African tour.

The first objective was to give some light on a region that few people know in the US or Europe (beside Safari and war news) using an angle that is dear to me: entrepreneurship.

Having met brilliant entrepreneurs in Silicon Valley and France, I can tell you that Ethiopian and Kenyan entrepreneurs are just as smart and capable.

However, if entrepreneurship were a game, they would be playing on hard mode.

Because so many things are yet to be built, some operational bricks that would exist in Western countries are missing and companies need to cover a wider scope than their core business.

For instance, if you are building a marketplace in the US you would not have to worry about shipping or payment because some companies already do it well. In Kenya or Ethiopia, you often have to solve this yourself, which adds an extra layer of challenges.

The second objective was to switch from “build & deliver mode”, the tunnel I was in for 6 years with my first company, to “listen & learn & grow mode”.

It’s really rare in life to have moments where you can fully dedicate your day to connecting with inspiring people and learning, without pursuing a specific agenda from your job.

My discussions with the 40+ entrepreneurs I met really opened my mind on a ton of subjects we don’t hear about in typical podcasts, YouTube videos, or business books.

The third objective was to identify potential business ideas for my next venture and understand what the needs are of the soon-to-be 2 billion people continent.

My fourth objective was to transmit to local entrepreneurs some of the learnings I got from starting and growing a company to 40,000+ clients.

Overall, I feel like this trip has been a success. I received many messages of people that were enjoying African Giants and being inspired by my journey 🙏

👀 Small Observation: After talking with dozens of driven Ethiopian entrepreneurs, one thing is clear: there's a massive potential to create a startup studio that can truly make a difference.

Ethiopia is at a pivotal moment, with the market just beginning to open up. But many entrepreneurs are hitting the same roadblocks—navigating paperwork, securing funding, and finding the right talent.

Now is the perfect time to establish a startup studio in Ethiopia. This studio wouldn't just help with the basics like legalities, fundraising, and hiring. It could also offer essential guidance on business strategies, tackle go-to-market challenges, and serve as a vital bridge between foreign investors and local startups.

What is next for me?

When we sold Snipfeed in April, I thought to myself that I would use the next year (until April 2025) to learn as much as possible, preparing for my next (ad)venture.

So this is what I’ll be up to in the coming 5-6 months:

• Continue digging business ideas: I have a lot on my plate with all the things I’ve seen in the last 2 months. I’ll need to process it.

• Connect back with one of my passion: teaching. I’ll be giving 2 courses this fall at Albert School (a business/engineering school created by billionaire Xavier Niels in France). One called “Data Driven Decision Making", and another one “IA applied to product”.

• Freelance on cool projects: Starting mid-September, I’ll find impactful projects with interesting technical/product challenges I can contribute to using my technical background as a CTO.
  If your company has those challenges, just respond to this email or book a call with me here.

• Build a micro-SAAS from scratch: more on the coming days 👀

• Continue African Giants: I have enough material for the next few months. If you have any reco / subjects you want to dig in let me know!

A little teaser of the next episode…

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