Karl Nchite

CEO and Co-founder - CatalyzU

Karl was born in Botswana to Swedish and Zambian entrepreneurs but spent most of his upbringing in South Africa where he attended university. He started his career as a research associate at Goodwell Investments, an impact-focused venture capital firm with €350 million AUM, and quickly rose to become an investment associate. Today, he manages two portfolio companies and serves as an observer on their boards. Karl co-founded Young African Catalysts, a tech-enabled ecosystem to help young Africans upskill, hire talent, and attract investment.

Adesola Adesanya

Independent Consultant – Founders Factory Africa

Adesola is a dedicated and passionate venture capital professional with a background in supporting startups and early-stage ventures. She currently works as a Venture Scout for Founders Factory Africa, where she provides crucial support for early-stage founders in their fundraising efforts.

Previously, Adesola served as an Operations Associate and Investment Analyst at Rising Tide Africa and Bold Angel Fund. In these roles, she was instrumental in managing founders, offering strategic consultancy, and organizing impactful pitch events. Her efforts have significantly contributed to the growth of numerous startups across various sectors.

Adesola is also an alumna of the CatalyzU’s Fellowship program.

Augustine Ikwuegbuenyi

INVESTMENT ANALYST  – Partech

A seasoned professional with a keen eye for the intersection of business, innovation, and technology, Augustine is passionate about bridging the gap between entrepreneurs and capital, with a proven track record of nurturing startups.

Previously, Augustine played a pivotal role at Funema, empowering business entrepreneurs and founders. At Metis Capital Partners, he  facilitated investments totaling $150,000 in eight promising African startups. Currently, he is focused on connecting African founders at Partech, offering support from Seed to Series C stages.

A strong advocate for the power of data, Augustine is intrigued by the potential of machine learning and artificial intelligence to dismantle barriers hindering founders’ access to capital.

Aishat Bamigboye

PM Associate – Kuramo

Aisha Bamigboye is an Associate Program Manager on the GLI team at Kuramo focused on implementing, managing and monitoring impactful investment mobilization programs.

Previously, Aisha worked at Future Africa as an Investment Analyst actively identifying, investing and supporting early-stage African founders building global businesses that solve Africa’s biggest challenges. She also co-managed Founder Support initiatives at the Fund. Prior to Future Africa, Aisha worked in African Capital Alliance within their Investor Relations and Real Estate teams where she was actively involved in engaging stakeholders of a $1.2bn Fund.

Aisha holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Economics from the University of Ibadan and completed her PgD at the Nigerian University of Technology and Management (NUTM) as a founding scholar. She is also an alumna of Dream VC and CatalyzU.

Benjamin Udokwu

Ecosystem Associate

Benjamin has experience in both venture building and entrepreneurship, having worked as a program manager and managing partner at an incubator firm as well as startup consultant for multiple ventures across Africa. As a result, he has developed a variety of skills and expertise, including the ability to recognize very successful tech businesses even in their early stages and stakeholder management skills that have been demonstrated through collaboration with a diverse range of startups, industry experts, and ESO’s. Over the past 4 years, these experiences have given him the opportunity to identify some of Sub-Saharan Africa’s most promising tech startups and assist several to successful venture raises.