2 years ago, I pitched to a Partner at the VC firm, Antler.
Prior to that, I had gone through a few rounds and was just about to get the final nod into their cohort somewhere in East Africa.
After talking with passion and enthusiasm on something I had given my life's mission to, I was met with the coldest stare from this European lady.
It was later on, someone from the firm asked whether I had any AI integration in my solution, to which I replied, "no." She went, "that's why you were not picked."
Let me summarize the issue: investors follow trends especially when they're meteoric.
Trust me, it's not the absence of capital. Whatever is going on in the school yard of VC funds is down to, "who will be the winner in this new wave?"
Sadly, African Founders neither have the infrastructure wherewithal AND the intellectually rigorous background to cope in this new reality. They have one or the other, always.
Fini.
Iyin co-founded andela at 23, flutterwave at 25 and was able to raise millions in $, right now founders around 23-25 are struggling to raise $50k to fund their ideas , even after showing good promise , building an mvp and having sufficient traction.
Why has it become harder for young founders in Nigeria to raise money right now?