Articles by Emeka Ajene

Based in Lagos, Nigeria, Emeka is the Founder of Afridigest, a media and strategic intelligence platform focused on African markets, and Co-founder and former CEO of Gozem, a super app operating across multiple markets in Francophone West and Central Africa. He is a Foundry Fellow of the MIT Kuo Sharper Center for Prosperity and Entrepreneurship and the author of African Founders at Work (Apress/Springer Nature, forthcoming 2026). Follow him on Linkedin and Twitter. | |

How Chowdeck plans to succeed where Jumia Food failed

By prioritizing couriers and everyday local foods, Chowdeck is riding an online food delivery wave that drowned Jumia Food and other early market entrants.

September 2025

Africa is repeating colonial patterns in the digital age: Kenya’s tech envoy on breaking the cycle

Having stepped out of the slums of Nairobi into global influence, Ambassador Philip Thigo warns that Africa has little time to claim technological sovereignty before it's too late.

August 2025

Africa’s hidden venture advantage: Dr. Ola Brown on African startups needing less capital to reach $1B

HealthCap Africa's Dr. Ola Brown calls out a key disconnect in global VC: African startups produce unicorns with remarkable capital efficiency yet receive less than 1% of global venture funding.

August 2025

“Africa can only be made great by Africans”: How Aliko Dangote is proving his own philosophy right

With a $20 billion refinery that's reshaping global energy markets, Africa's richest man isn't just building wealth — he's building a model for African self-sufficiency that other entrepreneurs can replicate.

August 2025

The end of aid: Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala’s blueprint for African self-reliance

As global aid rapidly shrinks, the WTO Director-General reveals how the continent can tap $250 billion in pension funds, diaspora bonds, and underutilized development banks to fund its own growth.

August 2025

Africa is deliberately kept poor: Dr. Fadhel Kaboub on breaking Africa’s colonial economic traps

The Tunisian economist explains what's preventing African prosperity, and why pan-African cooperation is the only path to economic sovereignty.

August 2025