BigFive Digital

24/12/2025

Wishing the best for the Holiday Season to all our friends in Africa, the Middle East, and all over the world.

29/11/2025

Please enjoy our weekly roundup of news that matters to The Business of African tech on Substack.

This week, we learned about everything from the advancement of drone deliveries to AI infrastructure development in Africa.

Please subscribe for free.

Issue No. 103. Africa-Middle East B2B tech news & insights for 29 November 2025.

05/10/2025

The BigFive Summit is back, exploring "The Business of African Tech".

Join us 24-26 March at Innovation City Cape Town. Do you want to speak at the Summit? Apply here: https://forms.gle/XX4nBc6X9JuNxksGA

17/07/2025

We dropped Episode 56 of the BIG5D Podcast this week, featuring a candid conversation with South African venture builder Keshni Morar.

Please enjoy this preview and follow these links to experience the full interview.

Substack
https://open.substack.com/pub/ctlaughlin/p/the-big5d-podcast-e56-startup-truth?r=9bedt&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=false

Spotify
https://open.spotify.com/episode/0fUVvg0vG6ZFMuxCM5SzjE?si=83638c4c3ff54c24

Apple
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-big5d-podcast/id1531619724?i=1000717375795

YouTube
https://youtu.be/aJydTRTMczk?si=x77Gl8Kfp6D637Rm

08/07/2025

Today we drop episode 55 of the BIG5D Podcast, which shares with you yet another great conversation from the recent in Cape Town.

This episode shares the panel discussion "Go to Market Strategies for SMEs: Harnessing the Power of Technology".

The panel was led by Amanda Louw-Bester and features Ledger Leap founder Bernadene Appalsamy, serial entrepreneur Timukudze Shoko, and Polygon founder Remi Du Preez.

The conversation is grounded in practical advice for founders of any kind of business, from an AI gaming startup to an accounting firm to a vegan restaurant. This is a must-listen for anyone experiencing the founder's journey.

Enjoy this compilation of insights from the episode, originally recorded at the Summit in May.

https://open.substack.com/pub/ctlaughlin/p/the-big5d-podcast-ep-55-gtm-strategies?r=9bedt&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=false

04/07/2025

Please enjoy the latest edition of our Africa B2B Tech Report newsletter.

This issue includes coverage of Knife Capital, Optique, Sticitt, Vula, Pangea Global Ventures, and more.

This edition's sponsors are NSPYRE, Dialog, Local Knowledge, and AfriGIS.

https://lnkd.in/g5vQfv8a

Subscribe for free!

28/06/2025

Have you subscribed yet to the Africa B2B Tech Report?

Every week we share at least one edition of our newsletter. This is a mix of smart news aggregation and original reporting on the forces driving the adoption of emerging technology by businesses in Africa and the Middle East.

And every week we will drop at least one episode of The BIG5D Podcast -- featuring the best conversations out there on tech and business in Africa.

We say "at least one" because we will produce more when we have a story or an interview that we just can't wait to share with you.

To subscribe (for free!) just scan the QR code in the image below.

To inquire about sponsorship, recommend a podcast guest, or share a story you think we should cover, write to us at [email protected].

20/06/2025

Earlier this week we rolled out yet another episode of the BIG5D Podcast featuring conversations from our 2025 hashtag in Cape Town.

We have a few more in the tank.

This one shares a great panel conversation on supporting startups featuring Lucie Fink (Thinkroom Consulting), Egla Ntumba (MsFiT Ventures), and Thapelo Nthite (Botlhale AI).

If you missed this amazing discussion at the Summit here's your chance to catch up.

In this clip, we hear an anecdote from Thapelo on the risks founders take in the early days. This sparked an important reflection from Elga on founder wellness.

Please enjoy the full episode of the BIG5D Podcast in all the usual places.

YouTube
https://youtu.be/kEkDj7QSC54?si=lAJQSwiTh3IVBklb

Substack
https://open.substack.com/pub/ctlaughlin/p/the-big5d-podcast-ep-54-supporting?r=9bedt&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=false

Spotify
https://open.spotify.com/episode/2T6vOCVm8zbHUK4UkZgq0z?si=f3fb61e87f184907

Apple
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-big5d-podcast/id1531619724?i=1000713439812

11/06/2025

Enjoy Episode 53 of the BIG5D Podcast, featuring Jamie Wyngaard, the co-founder of Loop, a South African startup that is digitizing payments and bookings for the minibus cab industry, with ambitions to become a real-time payments gateway for emerging markets.

This conversation was recorded at the 2025 BigFive Summit in Cape Town.

Episode 53 of the Big5D Podcast comes from the recording of an on-stage interview with Loop Co-founder Jamie Wyngaard at the 2025 BigFive Summit in Cape Town...

27/05/2025

Welcome to the BigFive Digital Daily Minute for 27 May 2025.

24/05/2025

We had some great onstage conversations at the recent hashtag in Cape Town.

Next week we will begin sharing the best of the event in highlight reels, YouTube videos, and BIG5D Podcast episodes.

Here is an excerpt from our Fireside Chat with the ever-candid venture capitalist Zachariah George from Launch Africa Ventures. We are working on converting this lively chat about African startups into a podcast.