After several years at McKinsey in South Africa and Nigeria, American-born Brooks Washington set out to build something of his own. His first venture was a beer bottle factory in Ethiopia. It was followed by a pan-African data centre business, an equipment financing company and, most recently, a hospital. How we made it in Africa…
Guinean textile entrepreneur Mariama Camara is moving from promoting African textiles globally to building the institutions behind the industry. Through the Institute of African Textiles, she is pushing for greater ownership, protection and commercial value for the knowledge held by African makers. African textile designer Mariama Camara believes the next phase of Africa’s textile industry…
Femi Ogunjimi co-founded the Nigerian financial firm CardinalStone in 2008. He now focuses on its private equity arm, CardinalStone Capital Advisers, which invests in companies across West Africa. He spoke to How we made it in Africa editor-in-chief Jaco Maritz about his journey as an entrepreneur and investor. Topics discussed during the interview include: The…
Rwandan entrepreneur David Kamugundu has advanced to the top 20 of Africa’s Business Heroes (ABH) 2026, securing Rwanda place in the next stage of one of Africa leading entrepreneurship competitions. Kamugundu, a medical doctor who founded digital health company eFiche Ltd, is among the entrepreneurs selected from more than 24,000 applications submitted across all 54…
Seid Mohammedbirhan with the sewing machine that kickstarted his business empire. Today, it sits on display inside a shopping mall he owns. Seid Mohammedbirhan was born in 1960 in the town of Adi Awro, in a rural part of Ethiopia’s northern Tigray region. He was the younger of two sons in a family of small-scale…
Alexis Caude Interview with Alexis Caude MANAGING PARTNER, ADENIA PARTNERS Lives in: Mauritius Before becoming an investor in Africa, French-born Alexis Caude was a successful entrepreneur. At age 36, he was in a position to retire after selling his online publishing business, but went on to start several other companies. He eventually moved to Mauritius…
Kume Luvhani, co-founder and director of Vaxowave, presenting the 2026 Tech Entrepreneur Award to eFama co-founder Pretty Kubyane. Pretty Kubyane, co-founder of eFama, has been named the winner of the Wired4Women Tech Entrepreneur Award, recognising her role in building a digital platform that connects farmers directly with buyers. Launched in 2023, eFama is a marketplace…
Diana Orembe For Diana Orembe, co-founder and chief executive of NovFeed – a Tanzanian fish feed and organic fertiliser company – one of the core lessons of entrepreneurship is that all businesses are hard. “If you talk to a woman selling vegetables on the markets, she will tell you how hard it is to run…
Yemisi Iranloye Our new book, How we made it in Africa II: Real stories of entrepreneurs turning opportunity into profit, is available here. Interview with Yemisi IranloyeFOUNDER and CEO, PSALTRY INTERNATIONAL Lives in: Nigeria Cassava is a root crop that resembles a large sweet potato. Nigeria produces and consumes more of it than any other country. Most often,…
A South African entrepreneur is bridging the gap between Africa and China, helping African businesses access Chinese markets while promoting African products abroad. Thandi China, based in China, is the founder of Wins International, a company that assists African entrepreneurs with sourcing products from China, verifying suppliers, conducting quality inspections, and managing shipping logistics. Her…
