Could Africa’s celebrities and startups combine to dominate?

Africa’s biggest brands today are not companies, but rather individuals in the areas of music, film, sports and entertainment, who have built large audiences and influence both inside and outside of the continent. With the celebrity VC and founder still a new phenomenon, are there ways in which Africa’s most influential people and ventures could synergise to dominate?

Celebrities getting involved in startups may have sounded like a marketing stunt a decade ago, but, Ashton Kutcher’s 35 VC exits since 2010, Nas’s close to 100x return from Coinbase’s IPO, and Dre Dre and Gwyneth Paltrow’s founder successes with Beats and Goop respectively, have caused many to re-think.

Today many celebs are involved in VC with varying degrees of success. But, with it still being a relatively new phenomenon in the world’s most mature startup ecosystem, is it too early for collaborations between celebs and tech to work in Africa? And if not, how could they work, and what could their success look like?

We’re on a mission to build better products, better brands and better perceptions for Africa.

We're creating conversations and content with the intent of reframing the current thinking about ventures, initiatives and brands.

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