Firstly, congrats to Mark Essien and team. A small scrappy startup has made a massive step forward with yesterday’s announcement of his Series A round. Getting to this point has not been easy. Although Mark is arguably one of the most impressive Nigerian technology entrepreneurs, the funding environment over the last few years has been completely unforgiving. Even to one of our brightest stars.
Mark would’ve been successful regardless. From when we first connected I knew there was something potentially amazing happening.
I have heard mentioned how funding events should not be celebrated. I disagree. Everyone who has actually been through one understands the emotional energy expelled, just getting the deal closed. Even now after several years, Bastian and I still find the process challenging. In the West, most startups don’t get funded. In Africa that margin is slimmer. My belief (and hope) is that this changes. With Omidyar and EchoVC stepping in to fill the next stage ($500–2m...