The Global Startup Movement - Startup Ecosystem Leaders, Global Entrepreneurship, and Emerging Market Innovation

Ali AbuKumail joined the World Bank as a Private Sector Specialist in 2012 in the Finance and Private Sector Unit of the Middle East and North Africa Region. Prior joining the World Bank, he worked as Development Adviser to the Quartet Representative, Tony Blair, from 2009 to 2012. In this capacity, he led policy dialogue and provided multi-level analyses and advice in socioeconomic Issues. On this episode you'll learn: -What are the most important infrastructure components needed in the majority of underdeveloped countries in the MENA region? -Whats the state of Kuwait's entrepreneurial ecosystem -How can governments across MENA collaborate to make international expansion for startups in the region easier?

Matt Hottle is a Partner at Redhawk Advisory and and Principle of the Alabama Futures Fund. The Fund seeks to be the first significant investment in an early-stage venture that can reach attainable milestones leading to series A financing within 12-24 months. They look for companies that have adaptable and coachable founding teams who have identified a significant customer problem and are working towards product market fit. This includes companies at the minimum viable product, pre-revenue and early revenue stages. On this episode you'll learn: -What is the Alabama Futures Fund -How can other midwest cities replicate the AFF model? -Where is the most startup activity happening in Alabama

The session is a preview of a Roundtable Discussion from Latin America day of The Global Startup Summit, our upcoming 7 day Virtual Conference featuring 35 expert speakers from around the world. Host Andrew Berkowitz is joined on the panel by Ramphis Castro, Cofounder of ScienceVest, Michael Edwards, Professor at the University of the Bahamas, and Jorge Vargas, Founder at Venture.do. Register for The Global Startup Summit for free at globalstartup.tv.

Mike Quinn is the CEO of Zoona, A Zambian born money transfer service. Zoona charges money senders between two and eight percent per transaction, with the recipient not being charged for a cash-out. Building money transfer networks across its markets, Zoona targets young women and aims to make on-boarding new agents as female-friendly as possible. Seventy percent of their outlets are owned by women and 85% of those staff are women. The company has over 1000 entrepreneurs running over 1500 outlets, who have created 2500 jobs. Since launching, the company has processed over US$1-billion in transactions with over US $20-million a month in transactions. On this episode you'll learn: -What has Mike's experiences been raising all types of capital including venture capital, grant money, and corporate investments -How similar or different are the Zambian and Malawian markets? -How does Zoona hedge against the risk of currency value fluctuation?

Yele Bademosi is a Director at Binance Labs a fund and initiative to incubate, invest and empower top blockchain and cryptocurrency entrepreneurs, projects, and communities. Yele is Focused on developing the blockchain ecosystem in Africa, as well as sourcing/investing in blockchain projects and leading the Africa chapter of Binance Labs Incubation Program. Previously he was the Founder at Microtraction, a micro-vc firm funding Africa’s most remarkable teams with technical founders at the earliest stages of their venture and helping them build enduring companies. On this episode you'll learn: -What are the most immediate applications of blockchain and cryptocurrency in Africa? -What does Yele mean he talks about the problem of market context in Africa? -What lessons did Yele learn during his time as the managing partner of Microtraction?

The Global Startup Summit 2019 (globalstartup.tv) is a free to attend 7 day Virtual Conference from February 18-24th, 2019, featuring 35 global leaders in tech providing insight into early stage investment opportunities and technology adoption trends around the world. Each day of the event will feature expert talks on a different region of the world. Today's session is a clip from our Asia Pacific day keynote featuring William Bao Bean the General Partner of SOSV & Managing Director of Chinaccelerator.

Austen Allred is the CEO and Co-Founder of Lambda School. Lambda School trains people online to be software engineers at no up-front cost. Instead of paying tuition, students can agree to pay a percentage of their income after they're employed, and only if they're making more than $50k per year. On this episode you'll learn: -Why have investors and VC's avoided investing in Edtech during this last wave of startups? -When and why we reached peak university. -What does the future model of education and workforce development look like?

Chris Olsen is the Cofounder and Partner at Drive Capital. Chris started Drive Capital in 2012 after serving as a partner at Sequoia Capital for six years, where he focused s investments in growth stage opportunities. Chris and his cofounding partner were early on the trend of investing into the next wave of startups coming out of the midwest and his thesis turned out to be true in a big way having recently closed on a second fund totaling $300 Million. On this episode you'll learn: -Why did Chris decide to launch his fund in Columbus, Ohio? -How does Chris think the new Opportunity Zone legislation will affect venture capital in the midwest? -Where in the midwest does Chris think the hottest startup scenes are?

Toro Orero is the Founder and Managing Partner at Draper Dark Flow, a silicon valley venture capital fund (backed by Tim Draper; Founder, DFJ) for African startups that can change the world. More recently he is the Founder at TravelGee.AI, a startup looking to combine Artificial Intelligence with Adventure and Travel. On this episode you'll learn: -What lessons has Toro learned investing in African startups over the years? -What traits do African founders need to have that differ from their Western counterparts? -What are the common misperception western VC's still have about investing in African startups?

Dr. Konstantinos Tsanis is currently leading the innovation and transformation arm of the first digital bank of Africa, Alat, created by WEMA Bank. He is a seasoned financial technology and digitalization executive, with 12+ years hands of experience across different continents and industries [FinTech, Energy (Oil, Gas and Utilities), Consulting, High Tech, Academic, Military and Financial], having worked on several market wide FinTech projects such as the E-Bond or FX trading platforms in Nigeria, Ghana and Kenya, among others. In his past roles he focused on the growth of the corporate incubator within Thomson Reuters, with a particular focus in FinTechs, Start Ups and SMEs across MENA. On this episode you'll learn: -How do the Nigerian banks and regulators view Fintech startups? -What are the biggest differences between startup ecosystems in the MENA region and the GCC region? -How is the Nigerian economy viewed by international investors?

Peter Karenge is the President and Founder of BizSolutions 360, a full service architectural, engineering and consulting firm, that has designed, built, financed, operated and managed projects and programs around the globe. He's an architect and entrepreneur who is passionate about creating sustainable solutions that transform communities and power growth. Born in the economically poor Eastlands Estate in Kenya, and raised by determined parents who believed in hard work, discipline and the importance of education, Mr Karenge now is determined to leverage his capabilities to innovate economic empowerment solutions that alleviate poverty and create employment, especially for the more vulnerable people on a BIG scale. On this episode you'll learn: -How would Peter advise a US-based investor interested in making their first investment in Africa? -What was it like growing up in poverty in Kenya -How has his experience with sports affected Peter's business career?

This panel discussion features two startup ecosystem builders in Puerto Rico Carlos Jiménez of YEES PR! and Denisse Rodríguez Colón of Colmena66 and the Puerto Rico Science Technology and Research Trust. We discuss the story of the startup community in Puerto Rico post Hurricane Maria and how the community bounced back more resilient than before. With YEES PR! Carlos focuses on educating Puerto Rico's future entrepreneurs. Denisse leads Colmena66, an ecosystem building initiative looking to connecte business development resources to each other and to a national network of best practices.

Justin Stanford is the co-founder and managing director of 4Di Group an early-stage technology venture capital fund based in Cape Town, South Africa. Having founded his first startup attempt at the age of 18, Justin has been involved in tech startups and entrepreneurial endeavours ever since. In 2009 Justin co-founded the Silicon Cape Initiative, an organization designed to highlight and catalyze South Africa's nascent emerging tech startup ecosystem. On this episode you'll learn: -What valuation discrepancies exist between startups in East Africa and South Africa? -How has the VC ecosystem in Cape Town developed since 2009? -What is Justin's advice to 18 year olds today who want to be entrepreneurs?

Pedro Vieira is co-founder and CEO of Beta-i - an platform dedicated to build innovation ecosystems that is leading the transformation of a new humanised digital innovation and is the Managing Partner of LC Ventures a pre-seed / seed Venture Capital Firm. Pedro was the host and a mentor of SeedCamp Lisbon, a facilitator and co-director at Startup Weekend Lisbon, and was the co-director and a mentor of the first Founder Institute Lisbon, in addition to several other mentoring initiatives. On this episode you'll learn: -What were the early days of getting the Startup Community off the ground like in Lisbon? -What benefits has Web Summit brought to the Lisbon Startup Ecosystem? -What are the common traits Pedro sees in the successful founders in Lisbon?

Lisa Besserman,is the Founder and CEO of Startup Buenos Aires (SUBA), a community organization and educational accelerator aimed to inspire, connect and support startups and entrepreneurship in Latin America. SUBA provides tools & resources to cultivate a strong and sustainable startup ecosystem in Buenos Aires, while serving as an outsourcing hub for Argentina's top tech talent. Lisa is an active participant in the global startup community. She is a Google, Startup Weekend & The Next Web Mentor, and Internet Week Speaker. On this episode you'll learn: -How did Lisa and her team discover the revenue model for Startup Buenos Aires? -At what stage do Argentine startups typically outgrow the domestic market? -What role has the national government taken in supporting the local startup ecosystem?

Johnni Kjelsgaard is the Founder and CEO of GrowthAfrica. Since starting GrowthAfrica, Johnni and his team have helped to accelerate 152 startups with $42 Million in total venture capital being raised by startups going through their accelerator. He has spent most of his professional life in Africa, and has been directly involved in over 20 start-ups and joint ventures. Johnni represents various organisations and investors on a board level, advising on a policy and strategy level. On this episode you'll learn: -What opportunities does Johnni see in secondary cities in East Africa? -What are the biggest differences between great seed investors in Africa and great Series A investors? -What skills does Johnni see as most lacking in native entrepreneurs across Africa?

Zekarias Amsalu is the Founder & MD of Ibex Frontier, with presence in Ethiopia, London, and Washington DC. Zekarias started his career in the private Banking sector in Ethiopia followed by a regional Finance and Treasury role at Shell Oil East Africa Hub leading implementations in East Africa. After a stint in high finance in London, he has re-tuned his focus on Ethiopia and Africa since 2014 and as a result has founded the London based Ibex Frontier in early 2016 and has been helping Ethiopian based companies raise capital and has led in sell side mandates and investor negotiations as well as providing advisory services for international investors moving to Ethiopia in buy side mandate and/or Route-to-Market. On this episode you'll learn: -Why has market data on Ethiopia's private sector historically been so scarce? -What sectors outside of the startup world are attracting the most foreign direct investment? -How much venture and angel capital has been activated locally in Addis Ababa?

This panel session was recorded at the Trade with Africa Business Summit in Bentonville, Arkansas over the summer. The topic of the panel was around what is driving the growth of startups and the emergence of innovation hubs across the African continent. Andrew is joined by Seye Bassir, Investment Director at the IFU, Marsha Wulff, Founding Director at Loftyinc Afropreneur Fund, and Akin Sawyerr, CEO and Cofounder of RocRemit.

Scott Phillips is the founder of Civic Ninjas, and co-founder/CEO of Isocentric Networks. Scott is the founder/organizer of multiple events connecting the Tulsa startup ecosystem including Ignite Tulsa, Tulsa Startup Weekend and Maker Faire Tulsa. Scott has been recognized in Tulsa People Magazine’s 40 under 40, received a Tulsey’s Above and Beyond Award for his proponency of entrepreneurship and in 2013 was one of eight people recognized nationally by the White House and President Obama as a Champion of Change in Civic Hacking. On this episode you'll learn: -How a robust maker space can provide an ecosystem advantages into the third wave of internet companies. -How did Tulsa achieve the #1 city for female entrepreneurs to start companies? -How has Tulsa’s progressive open data policies benefited the local startup ecosystem?

Roberto Musso is the President at Digevo Group, a Chile-based organization that starts and groups innovative companies in the IT sector. Roberto is the founding partner of more than 25 companies in IT including, Izit, 3Gmotion, NCS Americas, and Beemox. He's had 3 successful exits and is one of the most prominent angel investor and mentor in the Chile startup ecosystem. On this episode you'll learn: -What attributes do startups in emerging economies have that make them more likely to be successful? -Why haven't corporates in Latin America been active in the startup community? -Considering the fact that there isn’t a healthy IPO or acquisition market in Latin America, How is startup success in emerging economies defined differently?

Laís De Oliveira has built some of the fastest growing startup communities in Malaysia on behalf of Startup Grind, Techstars (Startup Digest), TheList.KL and MaGIC (Malaysian Global Innovation and Creativity Centre). She founded and sold her first business (8spaces.co) to Flyspaces.com, Southeast Asia's largest marketplace for workspace and spaces for professional activities, where she worked as Malaysia Country Manager and Chief Community Officer. She is currently writing about her experience in her first project of a book, called Hacking Communities, a result of 11 years building different communities offline and online. On this episode you'll learn: -What are the first steps and initial to do list for getting a startup community off the ground and running? - How does an ecosystem builder maintain momentum and keep the community together over the long run? -What's the story of the growth in Malaysia's startup ecosystem since 2014?

Stanfield Gray is the CEO of Dig South Tech Conference, DIG SOUTH Media, ETC South, and the co-host of South Pod: Rise of a Region. In 2018, he was named one of Time magazine’s “31 People Changing the South.DIG SOUTH is the South's Tech Conference, the first and foremost event elevating the region's digital economy. The Conference connects leading brands to the top 500 tech companies in the South, focusing on innovation in technology, business, marketing, media, and entertainment. On this episode you'll learn: -How did Stanfield organize and fund the first Dig South Conference? -How did availability of early stage capital in South Carolina evolve since Stanfield started Dig South? -What gaps were in the South Carolina ecosystem back in 2011?

Alan Costello is the Venture Investment Leader for NDRC where he sources startups, supports them, pushes them towards customer validation and then think about scaling globally. He is also a Board member of the Institute of Management Consultants and Advisors as well as the Co-Chair of The Mill Enterprise Centre. On this episode you'll learn: -How much early stage capital is available in country relative to mainland Europe? -How has the VC ecosystem evolved since Alan entered the space 6 years ago? -What's the current sentiment towards cryptocurrencies in Ireland?

Marc Alain Boucicault is the founder of Banj, a local entrepreneurship hub in Port-au-Prince. He's worked in international development for 8 years based in Port-au-Prince and in Washington, DC at the World Bank then with the Inter-American Development Bank. In 2010, Marc co-founded Groupe ECHO Haiti, an organization valorizing the potential of young adults in development in Haiti through which he created and lead several innovative projects including ELAN Haiti, a platform that brings together a community of students, young leaders and entrepreneurs from Haiti, its diaspora and the world focused on taking joint actions in Haiti. He is also co-founder and chief external relations officer at HFund, a closed-ended micro-venture capital firm based in Haiti offering new modern and tailored financial instruments that bring capital to innovative businesses and contribute to the emergence of a new category of entrepreneurs in Haiti. On this episode you'll learn -How Marc originally raised sponsorship money for the Banj -What does entrepreneurship mean to the average person in Haiti? -What are currently the missing pieces in the Haiti Startup Ecosystem?

Chris Heivly is one of the nation’s leading experts in how to turn startups into multimillion-dollar companies. Chris founded MapQuest in 1988 and served in leadership positions for global brands such as Rand McNally and Accenture. His latest book Build the Fort provides insight into getting through the earliest micro-steps of starting your own business through the lense of Chris’s 30 years of experiences in startups, investments, big-company entrepreneurship and community development. On this episode you'll learn: What it means to Chris to be an ecosystem builder? What have been the most important institutions and initiatives in the ecosystem that have catalyzed and created the increased startup activity in Raleigh-Durham? What are Chris' thoughts on how a university can implement an EIR role?

Richard Chowning is the Director of Africa Mentor, solving customers' entry and growth problems by providing sound guidance to navigate the cultural and business challenges in specific regions. This includes generating and vetting leads, providing entrepreneurs and business owners with business research related to their entry into the African marketplace, and mentoring business owners in developing strategies and business models that are culturally appropriate. On this episode you'll learn: What was the story and inspiration behind Africa Mentor? How does cultural nuance impact the VC conversation around Africa? What are the biggest sectors and opportunities Richard currently sees in Africa?