Kelvin Gobo

Had some free time over the weekend so I did a little work on this: startupgraveyard.africa (1/2)

Trying to build an AI personal assistant with Openclaw running on a Raspberry PI and teach it to do some of the things I do daily. Current status: I’ve spent 4 hours automating a 5-minute task. Automation isn’t just about saving time; it’s about the technical discipline of mapping your own logic. The struggle is the feature, I guess.  #BuildInPublic #AI #RaspberryPi

Do you remember when you joined X? I do! #MyXAnniversary

Ah 😱

For half a decade, African tech chased users like there was no tomorrow. Cheap capital, aggressive growth hacks, and the mantra “scale will fix everything.” Then reality hit. In January 2025, Joovlin a promising startup empowering Nigeria’s micro-retailers shut down. No scandal. Traction? They had it. 80%+ MoM revenue growth for 6 months. 2,000+ active resellers. 6,000+ products listed. Yet the lights went out. Why? And what does it mean for the next wave of African startups?

A woman is in pain and her husband won’t sign the consent form for a Caesarean Section (CS). A woman who is mentally alert and competent can sign her own consent form. We cannot continue to lose mothers and babies because of ignorance.

This is why I keep stressing that learning "small talk" is important. I got married that way.

This is so relatable 😅

AI is the hype, but Regulation is the reality. In the latest episode of @techtidesafrica, we moved away from the "sexy" headlines to talk about something far more consequential: the massive wave of compliance and regulatory changes sweeping across the continent. While the world is obsessed with how AI will change Africa, the real friction is happening in the "un-sexy" halls of revenue authorities and licensing boards. As I’ve seen at @stgr_africa, more startups fail because they hit a regulatory wall than because they lack a "GPT-4" integration. At least not yet.  Don't let the noise of AI drown out the signal of the State. #TechTidesAfrica #StartupGraveyardAfrica

BREAKING: I want everyone on X to hear this, Never Leave this earth without knowing Jesus. Pass it on until it gets to every living thing on X.

Episode 36 is LIVE! - Standard Bank data breach exposed customers’ card details - Former Meta contractor Sama to lay off more than 1,000 workers in Kenya - This Nigerian state is building 260 smart schools. Scale is the challenge Link to full breakdown in the comments 👇

An interesting post mortem case study that shows lack of funding is “not” the top reason for startup shutdowns in Africa. The case of Cova an all-in-one wealth management platform. What really killed it? Let’s break it down 👇 #StartupAfrica #FintechNigeria

I do hope one day we will stop taking advice from banger boys and banger girls. I remember someone on my team saying my job is easy. All I did was to “approve” when I told him to come and do my job for one day. He saw the decisions we make and ran away. You think being a senior person is about making document edits lmao 🤣

Episode 35 is LIVE! - For Kenyan stablecoin issuers, reserves must be kept close to home. - Angola Expands Satellite Internet Push as 37 Firms Enter Conecta Project - Africa’s Startups Crossed $705 Million in Q1 2026 Link to full breakdown in the comments 👇

Listening back to tomorrow’s podcast episode of @techtidesafrica and realising I’ve been leaning quite hard into the “tough love” for Nigeria lately. The truth? I’m critical because I’m tired of seeing our potential get caught in the friction #TechTidesAfrica #Nigeria #SGA

This is the same issue I have with Ola of Lagos when he’s advertising cars. When you’re trying to sell something luxurious, the selling point in luxury is not the price, but the idea behind the item, the story, the craftsmanship, the years it took to master the craft, and the history. Just making a shoe and calling it 25M one-of-one doesn’t make it luxury. Talking about the type of leather used, the type of thread, the sole, the durability, how it’s constructed, the finishing, and the presentation, now that’s what can be considered luxury. And nope, all those still won’t justify a 25M price tag, but it’ll be close. Another important part is how you market and where you market to. There’s a reason Rolls-Royce and Bugatti do 90% of their marketing at private jet sales events and not on Twitter or billboards. No one is asking you not to sell luxury, but I’m not sending a DM on WhatsApp to buy a 25M shoe.

Two ambitious African founders. Two very different paths. One decision that keeps many founders up at night: Stephen bootstraps everything as an early-stage founder. “I’d rather control my own destiny than give away equity before proving the model.” Every naira from customers goes back into the business - slow, disciplined, independent. Nath aggressively pitches VCs. For him, external capital is rocket fuel to capture market share fast. “In this economy, you scale quickly or get left behind.” Which path would you choose?👇

@AbsoluteBruno It was always funny to me people kept on calling for Dalot to be benched

Mazraoui is making me miss dalot I can’t fucking believe this

@Utddoja My problem with Yoro is he always ends up on the ground 🤦🏽‍♂️

Yoro man, words can’t explain how much I don’t rate you

“Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” Luke. 6:38

The "Equity or Bust" era of African tech is officially over. Q1 2026 numbers are out, and while $705 million is a strong start, the real story is how that money was raised. Debt financing has moved from a secondary option to the primary engine for growth. 👇