In this episode, Toni Campbell, founder of Kinfolk.VC describes the untapped potential of African fintech startups and how to VCs consider potential investments into earlystage startups. Gain insights into the unique challenges that African entrepreneurs face and how venture capital can help navigate and overcome them.

Key moments:
00:00:00 Introduction
00:04:22 Tony's Journey from Africa to the US
00:06:51 Formative Experiences at Bessemer Venture Partners
00:10:50 Kinfolk VC Investment Thesis and Impact
00:13:52 State of Innovation in Africa
00:18:12 Norebase's Impact
00:22:06 Supporting Small Businesses
00:25:00 Focus on B2B Software
00:27:41 VC Perspectives
00:32:06 Diversifying Risk
00:32:45 Venture Backable Businesses
00:33:29 Audience Engagement
00:34:15 Conclusion and Future Opportunities

Guest Bio:
Toni Campbell serves as a General Partner at Kinfolk Venture Capital, a fund focused on Africa and headquartered in Lagos, Nigeria. This fund specializes in preseed and seedstage investments, targeting companies led by the continent's burgeoning technology entrepreneurs. A native of Nigeria, Campbell later relocated to the U.S., where he nurtured a dedication to extending the principles of the "American Dream" to everyone, particularly the upcoming generation of African entrepreneurs.

Prior to founding Kinfolk, he accumulated experience at notable investment firms, including Bessemer Venture Partners and Arcadia Funds, investing in and collaborating with a wide array of portfolio companies throughout North America, Western Europe, and Africa. A Harvard University alumnus, Toni holds a BA in Social Studies and an MBA from Harvard Business School. Beyond his professional pursuits, he has a passion for contemporary African art and harbors a lifelong ambition to try out for the Nigerian National Football Team.

Guest Links:
Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/oluwatonic
Twitter: twitter.com/oluwatonic
Instagram: instagram.com/oluwatonic
Kinfolk VC Website: https://kinfolk.vc/

About VibeCast
VibeCast is our weekly informational podcast and content series exploring the hottest topics in drug development and Web3 with some of the dynamic people that make up the Vibe community. VibeCast is a collection of longform and shortform video content intended to help our community learn about the current opportunities and challenges in biotech fundraising and community engagement innovation.

Guests include biotech founders, regulatory experts, drug development executives, investors, web3 community builders, patient community advocates, and many other Vibe Bio community members seeking to accelerate the development of breakthrough treatments.

Follow Vibe Bio's Socials:
  / vibebio  
  / vibebio  
  / vibebiotechnology  
  / vibebio  
  / vibebiotechnology  

Disclaimer: VibeCast is intended to be used for educational and entertainment purposes, and no information or opinions shared constitute advice or services. While guests are invited to listen, listeners acknowledge they are not being provided professional advice from the podcast or the guests. The podcast is for private noncommercial use and the statements of our guests reflect their personal views only and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of any agency, organization, or company that they work for or are affiliated with.