On
#IWD2022
, our co-founders
@ElohoGM
&
@OdunEweniyi
have written an open letter to Africa's female founders. In an ecosystem that's in the spotlight and growing fast, they're reminding us what's at stake.
🔗:
Happy Women's Day!
#FirstCheckOpenLetter
At FirstCheck Africa, we are early believers in Africa’s women in tech.
So, this week, with our debut
#FirstCheckRisingStars
list, we're proud to celebrate 10 women that stand out to us as emerging Operator-Leaders in tech.
We’re keeping an eye on them, and you should too!
We’re thrilled to announce that
@TLcomCapital
, one of the largest Africa-focused seed to series B firms, has committed $2m to FirstCheck Africa.
With our $10m debut fund, we're now investing a total of $12m into tech startups with female founders.
🔗:
This week’s
#FirstMovers
features Kathleen Siminyu (
@siminyu_kat
). She’s Kiswahili Machine Learning Engineer at
@mozilla
We profile Kathleen (and a different African woman in tech each week) on our Instagram page here: .
It's been six months since FirstCheck Africa launched! 👀
We're so excited to announce our first investments in female-led startups in three African countries:
@Foondamate
,
@Healthtracka
,
@ZoieHealth
&
#Tushop
! 🚀🚀🚀
Read all about our progress here:
@OdunEweniyi
and
@ElohoGM
started FirstCheck Africa last year to write early-stage checks for startups founded or co-founded by exceptional African women.
We've made progress. Here's a thread on our year 1:
Spoiler: 100% of startups in our portfolio have female founders. 😉
You can read the profiles their colleagues, mentors & bosses wrote for them here:
🔗:
We hope they will inspire even more people, particularly women, to become world-class tech operators and founders.
There’s certainly enough space!
Happy International Women’s Day! For
#IWD2021
, we spoke to 30 Nigeria women in tech challenging the status quo.
Know someone who made the list? 😉
#FirstCheckAfrica
Huge congratulations to Damilola Olokesusi (
@dammyoloke
) and everyone at
@shuttlersng
on the mobility tech startup’s $1.6M seed round, announced earlier today!
Great coverage by Techcrunch:
.
This week’s
#FirstMovers
features Oluchi Enebeli (
@koderHolic
). She’s Nigeria's 1st female blockchain engineer and works at
@BundleAfrica
.
We profile Oluchi (and a different African woman in tech each week) on our Instagram page here: .
This week's
#FirstMovers
features Omolola Salehu (
@LolaSalehu
). She's a Senior Product Designer at Paystack (
@paystack
).
We profile Omolola (and a different African woman in tech each week) on our Instagram page here:
#techinclusion
This week’s
#FirstMovers
features Ada Nduka Oyom (
@Kolokodess
). She manages developer communities at Google and is co-founder of
@SheCodeAfrica
.
We profile Ada (and a different African woman in tech each week) on our Instagram page here:
We're on the hunt for an ambitious woman with 3+ years’ experience and an active interest in African tech to work closely with
@OdunEweniyi
and
@ElohoGM
in getting FirstCheck Africa off the ground!
Details here:
You and your friends have a solid product idea
Make sure at least 1 person is a woman oh
Do small work and develop the idea
Pitch to FirstCheck Africa
Get your first check
Build MVP
Work with Eloho and Odun to get solid traction
Raise $5m
Raise $20m
Next: African unicorn 🦄
This week’s
#FirstMovers
features Teju Adeyinka (
@TejuAdeyinka
). She’s Head of Growth for SendCash & GetCards at
@buycoins_africa
.
We profile Teju (and a different African woman in tech each week) on our Instagram page here: .
This week’s
#FirstMovers
features Yewande Akomolafe-Kalu (
@WendyA__
). She’s Head, Storytelling & Branding at
@theflutterwave
We profile Yewande (and a different African woman in tech each week) on our Instagram page here: .
Do you have a GREAT idea for a tech startup?
"Is My Idea Fundable?" is the opportunity to pitch your ideas to our co-founders & Africa's top investors-
@mayahorgan
&
@kola_aina
Sign up to pitch here:
Sign up to attend here:
Do you have an idea for a tech startup but do not know what to do next?
"Is My Idea Fundable?" is the opportunity to pitch your ideas & receive feedback from our co-founders & guest judges -
@iaboyeji
&
@LeboMokgabudi
Sign up here:
#FCAPitchRoom
This week’s
#FirstMovers
features Tobi Otokiti (
@TobiOtokiti
). She’s Senior Growth Product Manager at Flutterwave (
@theflutterwave
).
We profile Tobi (and a different African woman in tech each week) on our Instagram page here: .
“Is My Idea Fundable?” is a new, monthly pitch-room hosted by FirstCheck Africa. Listen to quick-fire pitches from aspiring founders and hear investors' live feedback.
Join our team with
@OtunbaSho
and
@JuneAngelides
next Thursday!
🔗 :
Our pan-African portfolio of female-led startups is growing and we’re excited to see
@healthtracka
led by
@ife_adeyemi
(an absolute rockstar!), join the Techstars Toronto accelerator this month.
Rooting for you! 🔥🔥🔥
As the co/founder of a startup, you’ll be pitching your startup all the time: elevator pitches, 3-minute pitches, demo days, pitch competitions, Investor 1-on-1s. But becoming a convincing storyteller (because that’s what pitching is) takes a lot of practice.
Join us on Clubhouse at 7PM next Thursday, as
@ijbkid
(Co-Founder/CEO,
@mono_hq
) walks us through Mono's journey from ideation to raising their first $100,000 in funding.
Host:
@ElohoGM
(Co-Founder, FirstCheckAfrica)
🔗:
#FirstCheckAfrica
Congratulations to Honey Ogundeyi (
@HoneyOgundeyi
) and the team at
@edukoya
on their $3.5 million seed round, which was announced earlier today!
Great coverage by Techcrunch:
#FemaleFounders
We’re hiring an Operations Manager at FirstCheck Africa.
🚀🚀🚀
The right person is committed to the tech ecosystem in Africa and is as enthusiastic about entrepreneurship and diversity-focused communities & VC funds as we are!
🔗:
This week’s
#FirstMovers
features Lateefah Abdulkareem. She’s Software Engineer at
@Microsoft
.
We profile Lateefah (and a different African woman in tech each week) on our Instagram page here: .
Join us on Clubhouse at 7PM next Tuesday, as
@IreAderinokun
(Co-Founder/COO, Buycoins) and
@alephile
(Co-Founder/Chief Product Officer, Buycoins) walk us through the journey from ideation to acquiring their first 100 customers.
🔗:
#FirstCheckAfrica
This week’s
#FirstMovers
features Adenike Sherriff (
@AdenikeRaks
). She’s an investment principal at
@anafricanfuture
.
We profile Adenike (and a different African woman in tech each week) on our Instagram page here: .
This week’s
#FirstMovers
features Adora Nwodo (
@AdoraNwodo
). She’s a Software Engineer at
@Microsoft
.
We profile Adora (and a different African woman in tech each week) on our Instagram page here: .
We're excited this morning for
@Okra_HQ
's $3.5M seed round! 🚀🚀🚀
Congrats to Fara Ashiru JItuboh (Co-Founder, CEO & CTO) and David Peterside (Co-Founder, COO) and the team at Okra!
@Ulonnaya
got the full scoop for
@TechCrunch
here:
This week's
#FirstMovers
features Kehinde Ladipo (
@kennyladipo_
). She is the Software Engineering Lead at Microsoft (
@Microsoft
).
We profile Kehinde (and a different African woman in tech each week) on our Instagram page here:
This week’s
#FirstMovers
features Omolara Adejuwon (
@_larikraun
). She’s Engineering Manager at Kudi (
@KudiHQ
)
We profile Omolara (and a different African woman in tech each week) on our Instagram page here: .
This week’s
#FirstMovers
feature is on Desiree Craig, VP of Product & Technology at ULesson.
She shared a little about her current role and her 10-years so far in tech.
Follow us on Instagram for more:
When deciding on a co-founder, do not only look out for someone you can work with, look for someone you can also get a drink with after work. - Tayo Oviosu (
@oviosu
)
#FirstCheckAfrica
Happy to be joining
@FirstCheckHQ
in its early days as the Chief of Staff.
Looking forward to working with
@OdunEweniyi
@ElohoGM
and super excited about doing the work to fix the gender financing gap in Africa through FirstCheck Africa. 🎉
The future is female 🙌🏽
We're so proud to have been included in this year's list of the World's Most Innovative Companies 2022 by
@FastCompany
!
#3
in EMEA! 🌍🌍🌍
Congrats to all the amazing companies featured!
Read the profile of FirstCheck Africa here:
From early-stage startups to unicorn, every startup undergoes these 5 stages of growth.
If you are a startup founder, comment below the current stage of your startup!
#FirstCheckAfrica
#FemaleFounders
This week's
#FirstMovers
features Aderinsola Oluwafemi (
@Aderinsola_O
)
She is a Product Designer at Eden Life (
@ouredenlife
).
We profile Aderinsola (and a different African woman in tech twice a month) on our Instagram page here:
#FirstMovers
“How I Acquired My First 100 Customers” is a quarterly conversation hosted by FirstCheck Africa on Clubhouse and we are launching TODAY!
Join
@IreAderinokun
@alephile
&
@OdunEweniyi
at 7:00PM on Clubhouse.
🔗:
This week’s
#FirstMovers
features Mohini Ufeli (
@MohiniUfeli
). She’s Media Manager at
@Paystack
.
We profile Mohini (and a different African woman in tech each week) on our Instagram page here: .
Our fireside chat on "Building an MVP Without Code" with
@shikuwangombe
@stickysisa
&
@mokilanko
is in 3 days!
Are you curious about what it takes to build an MVP using no-code tools? Then join us at 6:00PM (WAT) this Thursday.
Register here:
Women’s Month ends today, so we’re re-upping our
#IWD2021
post!
832 likes on Medium! 🎉🎉🎉
Let’s amplify these 30 amazing women and get those likes to 1,000! |
#ChooseToChallenge
: 30 Nigerian Women In Tech Challenging The Status Quo
Our upcoming space “Launch To Seed” will be live today at 7 PM WAT.
Our host
@ozzyetomi
will be in conversation with
@IndicinaCo
’s Co-founder & CEO
@YTJohnson
on her Launch To Seed journey.
Build software without code! 👀
Join us next Friday for our first ever workshop, "A Jumpstart On Building Tech Products With No-Code", led by
@iruhdam24
(Founder, Nocoloco) &
@tamborini_
(Founder, ).
Register here:
#FCAWorkshops
Join us next Thursday at 7:00PM as we discuss “How To Hire Your First Key Employees When You're Starting Up” with
#TitoOvia
(Co-Founder, Helium Health),
@akindolu
(Co-Founder, Brass) &
#SonaShah
(Co-Founder, Neopenda)
Register here:
#FirstCheckAfrica
🛎️ Set a reminder to join Launch to Seed at 7 PM WAT tonight.
Co-founder and CEO of
@healthtracka
, Ifeoluwa Dare-Johnson
@ife_adeyemi
will chat with
@ozzyetomi
about Healthtracka's impressive journey and what they've learned so far.
Congratulations to all the women featured on
@THISDAYLIVE
. It's exciting to see Nigerian women in tech constantly breaking new grounds. We are excited for each of you and we celebrate your accomplishments.
#Firstcheckafrica
#womenintech
Congratulations to everyone at
@oze
on their $3M seed round 🥳🎉 🇬🇭
The startup’s pre-Series A round was led by Speedinvest, Cathay AfricInvest Innovation Fund, Savannah Fund, and several angels.
Great coverage by TechCrunch here:
Do you have an idea for a tech startup but happen to be unsure what to do next?
"Is My Idea Fundable?" is the perfect opportunity to pitch your ideas to Africa's top investors & receive actionable feedback on how to take them forward.
Sign up here:
#Wordle
had 90 daily active users on Nov 1. By new year's day, 300K. A month later? Over 2M DAUs.
#Wordle
guy just sold his side project for over $1M.
MVP advice from
#Wordle
guy:
1. Start with simple features
2. Make something users love
3. Get people talking
🔥🔥🔥
Are you curious about what it takes to build an MVP without code?
Join us for a fireside chat with
@shikuwangombe
@stickysisa
&
@mokilanko
at 6:00PM (WAT) on June 17th as we discuss "Building an MVP Without Code"
Register here:
#FirstCheckAfrica
Last Monday, we released our debut
#FirstCheckRisingStars
list - a celebration of 10 emerging operator-leaders in tech.
We hoped people would like the campaign, but we were wrong…
…they loved it! 😊
They loved the list, the art and the format.
ICYMI, here it is:
It’s here! FirstCheck Africa’s first info session!
Register at :
+ How to pitch us
+ What to pitch us
+ How to invest with us
+ How to partner with us
Open to founders, investors and potential partners.
Tell us what you’d like answered in the replies!
@adoranwodo
by
@Samson_Goddy
:
"Adora's first book, Cloud Engineering for Beginners, was the
#1
New Release on Amazon Kindle’s 90-minute Education & Reference Short Reads the week it came out."
🔗:
We’ve also evolved our model: we’re now a pre-seed and seed-stage fund with the capacity to write checks of $25K and more. We’re better able to serve female founders that way.
We’ll keep pushing until we’re the preferred early-stage investor for diverse founding teams in Africa.
Female-led startups in Africa raise smaller amounts at lower valuations than all-male founder teams.
Africa’s gender funding gap is still huge.
And there’s still a massive overlooked opportunity in funding startups founded and co-founded by women.
⏰ Set a reminder to attend Launch to Seed at 7PM WAT tomorrow.
@ozzyetomi
will chat with Lucy Hoffman, co-founder and COO of
@Carry1st
, Africa’s leading mobile games publisher.
Launch to Seed is back again!
Join us at 7 PM WAT on March 17.
@ozzyetomi
will be in conversation with Yanmo Omorogbe, Co-founder & COO of
@investbamboo
.
Bamboo launched in January 2020 and announced a $15M series A last month! 🚀🚀🚀
Register here:
This week’s
#FirstMovers
features Ibukun Akinnawo (
@TheOnlyIbukun
). She’s Launch Lead (West Africa) at
@pawapay
We profile Ibukun (and a different African woman in tech each week) on our Instagram page here: .
We are looking to hire a data-driven social media and content executive with 3+ years experience to manage our marketing, communications and community engagement across all our social media (Twitter, Instagram, Medium & LinkedIn).
Details here:
@PeaceItimi
by
@Mochievous
:
"Because she’s building her career 'in public', Peace’s resume is easily discoverable online. What’s not discoverable on Google is her spirit: her tenacity and the passion she has for growing people and businesses."
🔗:
This week's
#FirstMovers
features Mitchell Chibundu (
@MitchelleC_
). She's the Product Designer at Wise (
@Wise
).
We profile Mitchelle (and a different African woman in tech each week) on our Instagram page here:
#techinclusion
Do you have a great idea for a tech startup but happen to be unsure what to do next?
"Is My Idea Fundable?" is the perfect opportunity to pitch your idea & receive actionable feedback from Africa's top investors.
Apply here:
#FCAPitchRoom
This week’s
#FirstMovers
features Zandile Mkwanazi (
@zandy_keebine
). She's Chief Executive Officer at GirlCode (
@GirlCode_za
)
We profile Zandile (and a different African woman in tech each week) on our Instagram page here: .
We’re so pleased to have been an early investor on the journey with Foondamate for the past year! Congrats to everyone on the team on closing this $2M seed round! 🎉
Dacod and Tao are amazing founders building their Edtech company with heart!
ICYMI, Foondamate is hiring! 🚀🚀🚀
Excited to share that we've closed our $2M Seed round led by LocalGlobe. Hyped to bring online learning to students previously unable to leverage the internet for learning.
Once a week, we share a guide to a common term in tech, VC, startups & entrepreneurship to help our community get smarter about the topics that matter. Cut through the unnecessary jargon!
Head to our Instagram at to read the rest.
#FirstCheckAfrica
Are you curious about what makes the best co-founder relationships work?
Join us on
@joinClubhouse
on April 22nd at 7:00PM (WAT) as we discuss “How To Think About Co-Founder Dynamics When You’re Starting Up” with
@LuciaWamala
@oviosu
&
@OdunEweniyi
🔗:
It's going pretty well! 🚀
"As a founder, your goal is to go from problem to market and you want to reduce the time to market. No-code lets you go to market quickly and validate your product ideas without spending a lot of time and money. No-code is democratisation of software."
This week’s
#FirstMovers
features Lade Tawak (
@notlaide
). She’s Design & UX Lead at 54Gene (
@weare54gene
)
We profile Lade (and a different African woman in tech each week) on our Instagram page here: .
Good morning! FirstCheck Africa has the best community! 🥰😍🧚🏾
We’re having our first information session this month. Make sure you’re signed up to our email list at to get notified.
We’re also re-sharing 13 FAQs below!
Do you have a great idea for a tech startup but happen to be unsure what to do next?
"Is My Idea Fundable?" is your opportunity to pitch your ideas to Africa's top investors & receive actionable feedback.
Sign up here:
#FCAPitchRoom
@Kolokodess
by
@IkegahRuth
:
"A community-builder at heart, Ada equips women and girls with technical skills through She Code Africa, which has trained more than 10,000 women across 17 African countries."
🔗:
Join us on Thursday at 7:00PM WAT as we discuss “How To Break Into Tech Sales” with Olubanke Tejuoso (Global Sales Manager,
@Amazon
), Ernest Obi (Head of Global Sales,
@theflutterwave
) and Napa Onwusah (Head of Sales, SSA,
@googleafrica
).
Register here:
Did you know that less than 5% of funding in Africa goes to female startup founders & less than 10% of those funded startups have raised over $1 million in the last 10 years?
#FirstCheckAfrica
#IWD2021
👏🏾 👏🏾 Well done to everyone at
@healthtracka
on the launch of their at-home PCOS test – the first of its kind.
We’re proud of the work
@ife_adeyemi
and her team are doing to democratise access to diagnostic health tests. 🚀
Introducing At-Home PCOS Test for Women.
With over 85% of cases undiagnosed, it is time for more women to take control of their health. We are making that possible with convenient home testing and free review of results with a doctor. Visit to book now.