As we draw the curtains on 2022, I reflect on what a wild ride this year has been. It began with the recognition of several key milestones and subsequently closing the chapter on a 10 year professional journey captured in My Half Year Reflections (H1 22). For the first time, I took a 'break', travelled to 9 countries across 4 continents, and spent time reflecting on the path forward.
The euphoria of my transition was quickly tempered by the worsening global macro condition which was accentuated in the world of Private Equity and Venture Capital. I spent extensive amounts of time with founders, management teams and boards across my portfolio, some in crisis situations, others trying to optimise for the road that lies ahead.
I think back to the start of my career at Goldman Sachs, weeks before global financial crisis and the collapse of Lehman Brothers. What is abundantly clear, is the major inflection points in my life and career, have coincided with crises (Crisis to Opportunity by Temi Marcella Awogboro). Life has taught me that crisis can be a great opportunity for building grit, resilience and accelerated learning and growth. It is of course never easy, 2022 has been painful for most and devastating for many, but even in the worst of times, there are learnings.
My key reflections over the course of 2022:
Do the things you love more often, stay operating in your zone of genius
Let go of the people and situations that drain you
Embrace discomfort in other to attain your highest self
Intuition is the compass of the soul. Always trust your instinct
Pursue your purpose, a cause greater than ego and self
Be the visionary not the victim
Where your attention goes, your energy flows. Focus intensely on the few things that matter
Change your mindset, in order to change your life
The quality of your life is determined by the quality of your thoughts
Always bet on yourself
My focus going into 2022 was transition, fully expecting it to be painful, disruptive, and non-linear and it has been all of that and more. 2023 is a year of building and scaling. I am raising for my new venture, so will be reaching out for introductions to HNIs, family offices, foundations, DFI's and any institutions that are interested in investing global growth markets and joining me on the journey.
I am invigorated and excited for the future, prepared for the wins and losses but knowing as always with the alignment of my Purpose, Passion and focus on Performance, I can continue to bring dreams to reality and change the world for the better.
Look forward to building with and collaborating with you in this New Year.
PASSION . PURPOSE . PERFORMANCE
MAGIC Highlights
MAGIC Updates
The second half of 2022 was defined by the global market downturn which was especially pronounced in venture capital. MAGIC has built a global community of 400+ portfolio founders, and has seen firsthand the impact of the challenging market conditions. Given this context. we have been spending significant amounts of time working with portfolio companies, leveraging our shared experiences as founders and operators.
As the markets crashed, companies reacted by adjusting their burn rates to reflect that the growth at any cost phase was over and it was time to get on a path to breakeven. We have observed that well-capitalised, disciplined founders with focus solid fundamentals are taking advantage of the market environment to consolidate their leadership position and we continue to support our founders in navigating this period. Going forward, we expect to see companies operating at much more sensible cost structures with clear paths to profitability at much more sustainable growth rates.
🇺🇸 Jasperraised a $125 million Series A at a $1.5 billion valuation. The martech startup went from launch to unicorn in 18 months.
🇮🇩Payfazz raised $100 million Series C funding with investments from Tiger Global, DST Global, Insignia Ventures Partners and ACE & Company.
🇳🇬 Vendease raised $30 million Series A led by TLCom and Partech. Vendease is a marketplace enabling restaurants to order directly from farms and manufacturers.
🇳🇬 Bumparaised a $4 million Seed round led by Base 10. Bumpa is a digital platform to enable millions of SMBs to manage and grow their business from their mobile devices.
As market conditions tighten globally, it is imperative to continue identifying breakout entrepreneurs at the earliest stages and supporting them to scale.
Temi Marcella Awogboro, Lead GP Africa and Latin America
Kairos Angels Highlights.
Kairos Angels Launches Syndicate on AngelList & EarlyBird SPV Opportunity
Kairos Angels launched its Kairos Angels Syndicate on AngelList providing its community opportunities to invest in the unreasonable entrepreneurs it is backing . Kairos is providing a unique opportunity to invest in EarlyBird's Seed+ round, alongside a world-class roster of investors including 776, IDEO Ventures, and LightSpeed Scout Fund among others, in a company that is transforming financial gifting, making it personal, purposeful, and timeless, empowering future generations with financial freedom and the ability to change the world.
Click here to participate (note that you'll need to sign up for Angel List first).
Kairos Angels Updates
🇺🇸 Meow: Raised $22 million led by Tiger Global with participation from QED Investors among others to grow its workforce and expand its product features.
🇳🇬 Orda: Raised $3.4 million Seed round for its restaurant operating system for Africa's food industry. The round was co-led by Quona Capital and FinTech Collective.
BOARDS & COMMITTEES
TPGs Evercare Health Fund Wins Best ESG Fund of The Year in Africa at SuperReturn Africa Awards
TPG and Evercare Group received recognition as the SuperReturn#ESG Fund of the Year in Africa at the SuperReturnAfrica Awards! The award was presented to Evercare in recognition of the translation of its best-in-class ESG practices into positive, measurable social and environmental impact.
Leading sustainable change in the regions' health care industry and ensuring best-in-class ESG standards was central to our conceptualisation and design of Evercare Hospital Lekki.This culminated in the Hospital making history earlier in 2022 as the first hospital in Nigeria to receive Final IFC- International Finance Corporation EDGE Certification as a resource-efficient and environmentally friendly designed building healthcare project.
The Evercare Group is wholly owned by and is a critical part of the Evercare Health Fund, a US $1 billion emerging markets healthcare fund managed by TPG
Inaugural Presidential Health Reform Committee Retreat
In 2021, I was honoured to be confirmed by His Excellency President Muhammadu Buhari to serve on the Presidential Health Sector Reform Committee of Nigeria under the Chairmanship of Vice President Professor Yemi Osinbajo to contribute to the development of the Health Sector Reform Programme for Nigeria. The Health Sector Reform Committee was approved by the President, in partnership with state governments and the FCT administration.
In 2022, we concluded the first full meeting of the Presidential Health Reform Committee chaired by the Vice President. The sessions included the undertaking of a detailed review of all healthcare reforms adopted in the past two decades, along with the lessons learned and policy recommendations for the development of a new health sector reform programme.
The committee members, drawn from the private and public sector, showed up with vigour, passion, commitment and focus. The discussions were rich, heated at times, yet progressive with a multi-disciplinary, multi sector approach and a focus on collaboration towards achieving the key objective of universal health coverage.
Indeed, if there is anything we learnt from the Covid pandemic and especially its aftermath is that healthcare, especially public health emergencies cannot but have a multi-disciplinary, multi sector approach”.
Professor Yemi Osibanjo, Vice President, The Federal Republic of Nigeria.
The Nigeria Startup Act 2022 is signed into Law
In October 2022, the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria signed the Nigeria Startup Act, 2022 into law, following its passage by the National Assembly. The Act provides the legal and institutional framework for the development and operation of startups in Nigeria, positioning Nigerian startup ecosystem as the leading digital hub in Africa and fostering the development of technology-related talent in the country.
The Act introduces specific provisions aimed at reforming identified onerous legal, regulatory, tax and administrative bottlenecks which have hindered the operations of startups in Nigeria. This should encourage the inflow of investment into the sector, and improve the Nigerian business and economic landscape.
This marks an exciting dawn for Nigerian startups ecosystem. Please see below for my previous discussion on the Nigerian Startup Bill (now an Act)! 2023 will be a critical year for implementation.
Temi Marcella Awogboro Speaks on the Nigeria Startup Bill
The market size of Africa’s digital economy is large and projected to exceed $712 billion by 2050. Continent-wide, the African tech scene has witnessed an explosion of growth, with impressive startups springing up across Africa’s largest hubs. From the “big four” markets (Nigeria, Egypt, South Africa, and Kenya) to budding startup nations like Ghana, Rwanda, Côte d'Ivoire, and Morocco (among others), the Kauffman Fellows Africa VC Summit will spotlight the entrepreneurs blazing the trail plus the investors, multinationals, government, and other stakeholders who are at the helm of building community around tech in the region.
I've long believed the power of entrepreneurship and capital as a catalyst for positive change globally. I am honoured to be part of the Kauffman African Fellow Host Committee, set to showcase the innovation on the continent to the world and to contribute to the continued growth in the region, opening new avenues for channelling long-term investments to the Continent.
Please get in touch if you are interested in collaborating, participating or supporting.
We are bringing 300 of the world's top venture capitalists to Nairobi, Kenya.
Hussein Mohamed, Kenya State House spokesperson on behalf of President William Ruto
The 2022 MilkenInstitute Middle East and Africa Summit and the Milken-Motsepe Innovation Prize
Celebrating the Power of Connection.
The 4th Annual Milken Institute Middle East and Africa Summit, November 2022
The Milken Institute Middle East and Africa Summit convened the best minds in the world to tackle its most urgent challenges and realize its most exciting opportunities. The 4th annual Milken Institute Middle East and Africa Summit centered on the theme of “Celebrating the Power of Connection.” The community of global thought leaders, executives, investors, government officials, and philanthropists shared the adversities and achievements of living through this moment in history—translating lessons learned into rebuilding meaningful, healthy, and prosperous lives for all.
A highlight was the launch of the Milken-Motsepe Prize in Green Energy by the Milken Institute and the Motsepe Foundation, a $2 million prize competition to reward entrepreneurs and innovators working to address one of the most pressing and immediate challenges of our time—access to green, renewable energy. The Milken-Motsepe Innovation Prize programme is a series of competitions to help meet UN Sustainable Development Goals, with a focus on Africa. The first round, launch in 2021, was focused on AgriTech, and will be awarded next year.
HONOURS & AWARDS
The Choiseul 100 Africa aims to shed the light upon the young men and women who are successful and have the ambition of lifting Africa its highest level of economical, societal and cultural development.
Founder and President of the Institut Choiseul, Dr Pascal Lorot.
Awarded second consecutive Choiseul 100 Africa Laureate
I was selected as one of the Choiseul Laureates in the Choiseul 100 Africa 2022 ranking for the second consecutive year. The ranking highlights the tremendous assets of Africa and aims to build a unique network of economic leaders on the whole continent. The 2022 list tagged ‘Top 100 Young Business in Africa’ places a beaming spotlight on 100 of Africa’s most talented young leaders positively disrupting all sectors of the continent, displaying an enormous wealth of business savvy and intellectual prowess that will drive Africa towards a prosperous future.
Oscar-winning actress and best-selling author Lupita Nyong’o announces the first ever doll for Super Sema, the YouTube Originals series that follows the world-changing adventures of an extraordinary young African girl, Sema. Executive produced by Nyong’o, the NAACP-nominated series takes place in an African-futuristic world where Sema and her brother MB use their STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, & Math) superpowers, along with creativity and determination, to save their village from an evil AI robot. The new Sema Deluxe Talking Doll, and a two-pack of Plush characters, were made available exclusively on Amazon just in time for the holidays.
