I wrote the points below as comments on other conversations here but I need to highlight them on their own because of their importance.

1. Investors DO NOT BUILD MARKETS, it is entrepreneurs interacting with each other and the market. The investor is also a type of entrepreneur

2. Entrepreneurs create the best investors and investment instruments in a market through interaction and engagement, not through fear or complaining. The investor is not a rare mythical creature, they are people who can be influenced to change their models or create new ones.

It is the entrepreneur class that re/creates the investor class. What I’ve found is that our African demand side is very unstructured. Watch shark tank and see some entrepreneurs counter the investors there, new financing models (like royalty+debt+equity) are built on the fly.

Africans seem to take finance as they take local school pedagogy, what the teacher says is final. I have seen people who run away from term sheets without negotiating terms. It is supposed to be a creative exercise for both parties. You both learn. I have learned from EVERY deal.

People who keep complaining that there are no investors or that investors are bad remind me of those who always want ”food is ready” but don't want to cook. The meal is cooked by both parties or you end up being shortchanged. African investors are also learning the ropes too.

Even Silicon Valley investors are still on a learning journey. They are coming to learn about Africa too.