Building the Dream Tech Squad

Team work 🤝 makes the Dream work ☁

Hi Dear Innovator 👋

Happy Saturday to you!!!! ✨

On a scale of 1 to 10, how badly has the weather affected your plans this week? 🤔

Good thing that there’s always the weekend to catch up on leftover work 😉, and then afterwards, you can kick your feet up, chillax and unwind

It’s also a good thing that you don’t work alone too…

Imagine if you were the only one that was running the frontend and backend of your solution and then, you still somehow show up as the marketing manager and the finance guy with a touch of legal adviser in your genes, all while being the product designer and tech support specialist! 😱😱

👀 Waitttt, shebi that’s not what you’re doing??

Dear Innovator, we know that you can do anything that you put your mind to, and that putting on different hats during the day is your second nature, but pleaseeeee don’t faint on this particular hill 😅

There’s a better way to do it aaaand it’s all about your ‘geng’

(Yeah, the spelling is correct, let’s focus on more important things 😅😅)

In the dynamic landscape of the African tech ecosystem, the foundation of a successful solution lies in the strength and diversity of its team. As an African tech innovator, it is important (critical, even) that you build a robust and adaptable squad, tailored to the unique challenges and opportunities within the African context.

Why?

A successful tech company needs a well-rounded team that pulls and leverages on the talents of everyone board. So that means that even though you can do it all, you really shouldn’t. Your solution is only as successful as the experiences and exposure that help to build it up, and there’s only so much exposure that can be brought in when it’s only you that’s running the show 🫡

Although it’s not limited to this, a well-rounded tech squad often needs:

• A Visionary Leader: Someone like Tayo Oviosu (founder of Paga) or Nnenna Nkata (co-founder of Monirates). They are both people who understand the technological landscape and the nature of the local market that their solution is serving.

• A Tech Wizard: Every team needs a strong technical co-founder or CTO, like Iyinoluwa Aboyeji, (former co-founder and MD of Flutterwave). The job of a technical team member is to bring their tech expertise to the table, in the form of coding, data security and software development, which will then be the main tool to turn ideas into reality 💻💻

• The Product Guru: This can be someone like Abasi Ene-Obong, former CEO of the now defunct 54gene. Your product guru needs to be able translate customer needs into compelling products and solutions.

• The Marketing Maverick: When the product is ready, you’re going to need people to craft compelling narratives to reach the target audience and that’s where someone like Joshua Chibueze (CMO of Piggyvest ) comes in

• An Operations Expert: A operations expert like Ebunoluwa Collins (COO of Blueroomcare) will ensure the smooth running of the company's operations, while you get more users for your solution.

• The Finance Strategist: And finally, a financial strategist will need to show critical and strong financial leadership in order to navigate the financial complexities 💰 of a tech solution and that’s where someone like Mitchell Elegbe (founder of Interswitch) comes in.

To start and sustain a tech solution, you’ll definitely need more than the above listed roles, but in the early stage, those roles can make up your core team.

By leveraging talent around you, creating room for inclusive innovation from an experienced and diverse team, and focusing on problem-solving, your tech solution can resonate with users, both locally and globally.

And as an Innovator, that’s really all that it’s about. Right? 🧐

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On Wednesday, we’ll share deets on how to build  a strong network in the African tech scene and why doing this is crucial for your solution’s success.

Toodles! 😎