Scaling Without Breaking: Operations in African Markets

Ahead of the Africa Startup Festival on Thursday, October 29, ASF and Antler Nairobi are continuing our shared tradition with a pre-event mixer: The Nairobi Ecosystem Mixer is an intimate evening designed to bring together founders, investors, and ecosystem players in Nairobi. ASF Mixers are known for creating casual yet high-value spaces where the ecosystem connects beyond the boardroom, with light food, drinks, music, and curated conversations. We are pleased to announce Jesse Moore, Founder and CEO of M-Kopa as our keynote speaker. This mixer is about community, stories, and opportunity, the perfect warm-up for Africa’s biggest innovation showcase. See you on Monday.

Nairobi Business Leaders Sundowner, Vol 2 Resilient Businesses, Relentless Founders Building a business in Kenya is not for the faint-hearted. Cash flow crunches, shifting regulations, talent challenges, and market swings test every founder. Yet some leaders don't just survive. They build companies that last and turn a profit. Following Vol 1, where we unpacked the finance, legal, tax, and HR blind spots that cost startups dearly, we're back with Vol 2. This time, the spotlight is on the CEOs and founders who have done it. What to expect CEO Fireside Chat: Candid, unscripted conversations with top CEOs who have built successful, profitable businesses. They'll share the real story behind the wins: the near-misses, the hard calls, and the lessons that shaped them. Real stories, real numbers, real lessons: How they navigated downturns, managed risk, built strong teams, and kept growing when it would have been easier to quit. Open Q&A: Put your toughest questions directly to leaders who've been there. Sundowner networking: Unwind with drinks and connect with fellow founders, executives, and investors as the sun sets. Who should attend Founders and co-founders building or scaling a business CEOs, MDs, and senior executives Startup operators and aspiring entrepreneurs Investors, advisors, and ecosystem partners Event details 📅 Date: Friday, 30th October 2026 🕔 Time: 5:00 PM to 9:00 PM 📍 Venue: TuWork Park, Lavington, Nairobi Speakers 🔒 Line-up coming soon. We're bringing together some of Nairobi's most respected CEOs and founders. Register now to be the first to know who's on the stage. Hosted by HRBOX Africa in partnership with TuWork Spaces are limited. Register now to secure your seat and join Nairobi's business leaders for an evening of honest conversation and powerful connections.

Builders Circle is coming to Nairobi Join a growing community of African founders, builders and operators connecting across cities, markets and borders. We started in Kigali in June, followed by Accra and Kampala. Today, 100+ founders and operators are part of the Circle. Now, Nairobi is next. Come meet fellow builders, exchange ideas, find collaborators and become part of the Nairobi Chapter from the beginning. If you're building in Africa, this is your Circle.

For this edition, we're bringing our Venture Showcase to Nairobi to celebrate the innovation, ambition, and resilience of African founders building businesses that solve real problems and create lasting impact across the continent. This isn't a big, loose conference. We're keeping the room intimate and the day tightly curated, so every conversation, every pitch, and every connection actually earns its place. Expect fewer, higher-signal moments over a day built to be genuinely useful to the people in the room, not just another event to check off. Why Nairobi? Nairobi didn't earn the name Silicon Savannah by accident. It's home to one of Africa's deepest benches of founders, investors, and builders, anchored by a mobile money infrastructure that reshaped financial access for the whole continent and a hub network, from iHub to Nairobi Garage to Nailab, that's been turning ideas into ventures for over a decade. Kenya has led Africa in startup funding two years running, and the energy on the ground matches the numbers: this is a city proving, again and again, that world-class ventures can be built from Africa for Africa, and for the world. It's the right room to put our venture portfolio's progress on a real stage. What to expect We're bringing together ventures from the African Impact Challenge ecosystem for a day built around substance over spectacle: Keynotes from critical voices — legacy founders, current builders, and the sharpest minds in the ecosystem, sharing perspectives on innovation, technology, and what it actually takes to build in Africa. Founder-led conversations — fluff-free, pre-curated discussions on building and scaling across health, climate, agriculture, and digital innovation. No filler, no open-mic; every conversation is shaped in advance to go somewhere. AII Impact Updates — a look at how our programs are supporting African founders, where our ventures stand today, and what's next to accelerate innovation across the continent. Venture Showcase & P