As I watched into the wee hours of the morning, I saw live on Al Jazeera, the amazing delivery of a masterful speech by the Kenyan Ambassador to UN.

I have always seen parallels between former Soviet (USSR) rule in Eastern Europe and parts of Asia with the exploits of the European Powers in the Colonial Age, but until this speech by Martin Kimani, I had not come across much opinion echoing this sentiment.

‘ Every African country was birthed by the ending of empire…Our borders were not of our own drawing… They were drawn in the distant metropolis of London, Paris, and Lisbon… With no regard for the ancient nations they cleaved apart… Today, across the borders of every single African country, live our countrymen, with which we share deep historical, cultural and linguistic bonds. ‘We decided to follow … the United Nations Charter… not because our borders satisfied us… but because we wanted something greater.. forged in PEACE’ – Kenya’s Ambassador to UN Martin Kimani

As an aside, there are lessons in Martin Kimani’s words for Nigeria too. Regionally focused decisions are sometimes made for ‘unclear’ reasons with the interests of Nigeria not explicit or proven.

Some feel ‘ethnic leanings’ drive these decisions, such as the Chad – Trans-Saharan Highway Project. These ‘ethnic leanings’ have also led to unhelpful and unsolicited criticism of the Morocco-West Sahara dynamics.

Nigeria’s new Leonardos are good at supporting ground troops against ‘medium equipped’ ground actors but would struggle to engage against units generously equipped with American Stinger,  Russian Verba, Chinese QW-4, or Japanese Type 91 shoulder mount ordnances.

They are not air superiority tools, and would have problems dealing with Morocco’s squadrons of Lockheed Martin F-16C/D,  Mirage 2000’s and  Northrop F-5E’s with Tiger III avionics. Morocco is planning to buy 25 new Lockheed Martin F-16V .Tensions in Africa can flare easily, and international conflict has started for smaller reasons. The F5E has the longest range without refueling in the Moroccan toolkit, which would still leave it around 500km short of a strike and return to the most southerly airbase. They could easily just build another base further south.

Ultimately, mass exchange between groups of people regionally and globally is transactional. People collectively gravitate towards what will profit them. So it is that when nations come together on some common goals, they want to consider.. ‘How will this benefit us?’

The European Union and NATO are completely different structures. Nevertheless, if we look at the members of NATO and things like ‘Quality of Life’ indices for citizens, we can see that the conditions NATO citizens enjoy are generally superior to that of citizens of former ‘Warsaw Pact’ countries, many who have since joined the EU..

I am most certainly not anti-Russian and I believe Russia has a lot of good to offer both to its own people and to the world.

Mr. Putin, please, I implore on you to look at what you can do to improve the position of Russia, and its products in the global marketplace.

‘Iron Grip’ leadership is so ‘Last Millennium’. If Russia is to maintain and improve its influence in the world, then it needs to focus on innovative and creative approaches to International Trade, and improving the attractiveness of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI)

The reality is that military security, regional cohesion and economic prosperity are all linked. You have made arguments on the advance of NATO and your feelings about how you think this threatens your own national security.

However, an invasion of East Ukraine driven by the type of ‘ethnic brotherhood’ arguments Martin Kimani counsels against ; in the hope that over time they will follow the ‘Belarus Model’ is counterproductive.

For you to sell your ‘alliance products’ then you need to improve them in the marketplace so that they appear to offer more security benefits than membership of NATO, and more economic benefits than membership of the EU.

The only way to achieve this, is to translate quality of life for ordinary citizens in Russia to something that surpasses that of ‘go to’ global comparisons, so that it changes the perception of regional nations to Russia as somewhere to aspire to, and foster a desire for ‘ties’ of different types.

Capturing them through a politico-military ruse which continues to imagine foreign phantoms is not the way forward.

‘For the thing which I greatly feared is come upon me, and that which I was afraid of is come unto me.’ Job 3:25

‘And we will surely test you with something of fear and hunger and a loss of wealth and life and fruits, but give good tidings to the patient’ – [truncated] from  Al Baqarah, 2:155/156  (Further Observation – On collective levels, foreign policies are almost entirely based on fear)  From Fatima Altaf,  Clinical Psychologist and Iqbal Studies Researcher.

Or simply put – thinking about what you fear the most increases its chances of coming to pass.

www.un.int /kenya/staff/amb-martin-kimani

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Man-portable_air-defense_system

www.reference.com/geography/countries-make-up-russian-federation-3245b795d437821f

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Moroccan_Air_Force

Congratulations Nonso Onwuzulike for raising $4million in Earnipay. The firm wants to improve employees’ financial well-being. It uses technology to offer employees the opportunity to access their earned salaries into their accounts flexibly, in real-time and interest-free, to help alleviate financial worries, which are part of major distractions in the workplace. Here is the main line: “Earnipay officially launched in January 2022, after development and beta testing since September 2021”.

Yes, a company which was launched in January 2022 has raised $4million (there is no way this business is not valued at least $15 million). People, Naija is working (even if Nigeria is not working). The young people are making things happen.

At Tekedia Capital, we have been saying one thing: abundance is in the future and this is the cambrian moment of entrepreneurial capitalism in Africa. All sectors would be redesigned and transformed by the power of technologies and imaginations of young people. #believe.

Founded by Nonso Onwuzulike to improve the financial well-being of employees, Earnipay uses its technology to offer employees the opportunity to access their earned salaries into their accounts flexibly, in real-time and interest-free. Earnipay partners with employers and seamlessly integrates with their payroll systems to offer its services to employees, who can then track and withdraw their accrued salaries via the app. Businesses are able to have complete oversight and set limits for the percentage of salaries employees can withdraw each month. Since operating in beta, Earnipay has served over 20 businesses, outsourcing firms and HR solution providers in Nigeria including Eden Life and Thrive Agric, whose employees have used the app to access their salary over 1,000 times, indicating a strong demand for the solution.

With the Seed funding, Earnipay will accelerate the development of its technology platform to serve large enterprise employers. By doing so, Earnipay will provide employees with the tools they need to make better financial decisions and improve their quality of life. The company plans to offer its on-demand salary solution to 200,000 employees by the end of 2022.

Speaking on the funding round and the recent launch of Earnipay, CEO Nonso Onwuzulike, says, “Financial worries are the leading cause of distractions in the workplace. The monthly pay cycle means employees are often unable to afford daily expenses, cover emergencies or take advantage of immediate financial opportunities. As a result, they become exposed to predatory payday loans and get stuck in unending debt cycles with unrealistic payback periods and expensive interest rates. Earnipay exists to address this problem and offer an ethical alternative to instant salary access while helping employers improve employee engagement and retention at zero cost to their business. The future of salary is on-demand, and we’re excited to be pioneering this amazing solution in Africa. I’m delighted to be collaborating with a group of highly respected investors who understand the need for a platform such as Earnipay to drive better access to salaries, and, importantly, to improve the financial well-being of income-earners in Africa.”

Nigeria’s HR-tech Earnipay Raises $4M To Enable On Demand Salary Access To Employees

After all, said about doing proper valuation, and what else to put in place before fundraising, there are a few other things investors hope to see before putting their funds into a business. Startup investors are charity foundations looking to give out money without expecting it back. They are always looking out for one or two things to convince them that investing in your business will not be the same as pouring water into a basket.

Significant market size

Investors consider the market size available for the audience you want to target as well. If you watch the Dragons Den show, you may have heard the ‘Dragons’ tell a founder something like “I just don’t think there are enough people who want your product” or “this product is not something I see going all big. The market is too small”.

Passion

Remember what we said in the post about preparing your pitch. When you stand before investors to pitch your business idea, they look beyond what you are saying. Investors look at your passion and ambition and try to gauge how far it can go with the business. The potential investor wants to see signs that you as the founder are ready to make the commitments and sacrifices that the business will require through its growth stage.

You can have an excellent product, with a valid business model and impressive financial projections; but the investor perceives that you do not possess enough passion or will to push it through, they could refrain from investing. No business model, however perfect it seems, can run itself. It all comes down to the entrepreneur. In addition to your passion, your integrity, charisma, and character is consistent factor to be considered in deals like fundraising. You would hardly find an investor who is willing to put his money behind an entrepreneur who has demonstrated an erratic temperament.

Competitive advantage or product differentiator

It is highly unlikely that you are starting or running a business that no one has done in the past. And even if you are, the investor will want solid information on what your competitive advantage will be when you start having other businesses competing in the same market. There just has to be something that stands you out, and it should be valid enough to keep your customers loyal to you. Hard work is not going to be much of a USP when the competition storms the market. There should be some cultural, strategic, or product advantages you can play.

Team members with expertise

Exit strategy

As a bonus point, the investor will also be considering the exit strategy you have mapped out for them. Don’t try to impress them with unrealistic timelines and empty assertions. Investors want to know – How much do I need to invest? How much will I get back, and when will I get it? Your potential investors can tell when your financial projections sound pragmatic and realistic, and when they are nothing but empty promises.

Yesterday, we sent emails to some startups which we have pre-qualified for the next edition of Tekedia Capital Syndicate investment cycle. They cover AI, media, HR, retail, financial services, etc – all unified by technology. Once we receive the data we asked, our team will close on the ones which will be presented to our members.

Tekedia Capital Syndicate members come from more than 30 countries and through them, we seed the empires of the future, in Africa and beyond.

A case in point: we raised 3x what a startup originally wanted this month in less than 4 days. It was so popular that we had to reject new funds.

If you are not investing via Tekedia Capital Syndicate, I invite you to join us and co-own a piece of the finest companies in Africa. Click and join here