01
Health access
Building nowQualified care people can seek earlier, afford and keep using.
Remote care, recurring support and reliable clinical follow-up.
Our thesis
Build costs fell. The opportunity opened.
Small teams can now build what once took a large company. The advantage goes to founders who know the customer, reach them affordably and deliver a service people need again.
Six arguments behind the studio.
Read the reasoning, challenge the assumptions and follow the evidence.
Argument 01
A shift, not a cycle
Software and AI tools let small teams turn ideas into working products at far lower cost. That changes which customer needs can support a business.
Read the essayArgument 02
Every industry is back in play
Services built around expensive coordination can be redesigned. We look for better delivery, a useful product and economics that work.
Read the essayArgument 03
Building keeps getting cheaper
A product is easier to make. Customers still need a reason to trust it, choose it and keep using it. Distribution is part of the build.
Read the essayArgument 04
Small teams win this round
Small teams can build serious products with less coordination. We keep the team close to the customer and add people as the work demands.
Read the essayArgument 05
The opening is widest here
Many everyday needs still lack a dependable service. Founders who understand the customers and constraints can build something that fits.
Read the essayArgument 06
Closing the distance
Useful companies can be built and tested here today. Each build leaves skills, customer knowledge and operating experience for the next.
Read the essay
Essential needs. Investable companies.
We look for a reachable customer, repeat demand and a model that can carry growth.
02
Financial infrastructure
Building nowReliable billing and collections for businesses built on mobile money.
Recurring payments, merchant services and tools for business cash flow.
03
Mobility & logistics
Building nowAffordable, dependable delivery for city businesses and their customers.
Electric delivery, route software and fit-for-purpose robotics.
04
Local commerce
Building nowLocal hosts, merchants and makers reaching customers and keeping more value.
Booking platforms, transactions and everyday tools for operators.
05
Climate & resilience
Open to foundersLocal businesses with more reliable energy, food and water systems.
Productive-use energy, cold chain and resilient food supply.
06
Data & applied AI
Open to foundersTools that make local workflows faster, clearer and cheaper to run.
Specialist software, African datasets and research infrastructure.
Problems we want to build around.
Bring the founder, the customer or the funding. Each brief is the starting point for a company.
Hardware and manufacturing
Local production starts with better tools. We look for the machinery, components, and manufacturing systems that make it practical to build more here.
Energy and data
Power and compute make other industries possible. We look for generation, storage, and data infrastructure built around the needs of underserved markets.
The Fortune 5,000,000
Clinics, schools, workshops, and small businesses need tools that work as hard as they do. One connected system for the daily job, including the paperwork.
Every mile, cheaper
Moving goods is still too expensive. We look for software, hardware, and operating models that improve the economics of the first and last mile.
Accelerating discovery
Better instruments, data, and software help people learn and discover faster. We look for tools that shorten the distance between a question and an answer.
African genomics
Build the sequencing, reference data, and research tools that put African populations at the centre of discovery. Better representation should be part of the starting point.
The uncaptured record
Much of the local economy is missing from usable datasets. We look for ways to make trade, prices, movement, and everyday services legible without losing their context.
Who tells the story
The audience and the talent are here. We look for locally owned tools, platforms, and rights infrastructure that help African creative work reach its market.
Founder fit
What a founder brings.
We bring capital and a team. The company starts with what you know.
- A problem you know firsthand, and the customers who have it.
- The commitment to lead the company after residence.
- A drawing, a prototype or a clear explanation. Polish is not required.
- Honesty about what the evidence says, including when it says stop.
Before we start: thirty customer conversations, then a decision. Agree terms, incorporate and join the studio, or stop with the findings in hand.
What we stand for.
The convictions that guide which problems we take on and how we build.
01Build what others won’t
An overlooked problem can offer more room to build than an obvious idea with a crowded starting line.
02Don’t chase trends
We begin with a real customer need. A fashionable category is not a substitute for knowing the problem.
03Conviction doesn’t need consensus
Being early often means making a case before others agree. We look for evidence, not a room full of approval.
04Capital has blind spots
Good ideas and capable founders exist beyond the cities, networks, and patterns that usually attract investment.
05Don’t do pattern matching
Past successes can inform a decision. They cannot tell us everything about what should be built next.
06Think in decades, not demo days
Build for enduring usefulness. A financing calendar should not define the ambition of a company.
07Fail on something that matters
Uncertainty is worth accepting when the problem is important enough to justify the work.
08Odds measure consensus, not potential
An unlikely idea can still have an extraordinary outcome. We examine the opportunity behind the odds.
09Small markets today, inevitable markets tomorrow
Look beyond current market size. Ask what is changing and what people will need as those changes take hold.
10Build the ecosystem, not just the companies
Tools, talent, and shared knowledge make it easier for the next company to exist. That is part of the work.
11The asymmetry is in underserved markets
Where needs are large and good solutions are scarce, a small team can make a meaningful difference.
Bring the problem worth working on.
Who needs a better answer? How do they solve it today? Tell us what you have learned and what you want to build.