Building a startup in East Africa presents founders with unique challenges that standard entrepreneurial advice rarely addresses. The journey from concept to sustainable business requires navigating regional market realities, infrastructure limitations, and funding environments that differ significantly from Silicon Valley models or even other emerging markets.

My founder mentorship draws from firsthand experience building multiple ventures in challenging environments. Born on February 24, 1983 in what would become South Sudan, my early life was marked by the turbulence of civil war. In 1998, as conflict intensified, I fled to Nairobi at age 15, carrying little more than schoolbooks and determination. This displacement, while traumatic, planted the seeds of my future as a bridge between worlds – between finance and technology, between struggle and innovation.

During my time in Kenya, I pursued dual education paths at the University of Nairobi for Commerce and Finance and at Homeboyz Music Academy for sound engineering. This combination of financial training and creative skills would later prove essential for building versatile ventures in resource-constrained environments. My professional journey began with a brief internship at Kenya Commercial Bank headquarters in 2007, but banking’s structured environment soon conflicted with my entrepreneurial spirit. After just eight months, I resigned to pursue more innovative paths, a decision that shocked colleagues but reflected my growing certainty that Africa’s progress needed innovators more than bureaucrats.

From launching Asylum Records with minimal resources in Nairobi to establishing Hostwek’s technology ecosystem across South Sudan and neighboring countries, I’ve experienced the complete entrepreneurial journey through both successes and instructive failures. The years 2008-2011 saw my first ventures bloom within Kenya’s buzzing creative economy, with Asylum Records growing from a bedroom studio to a premier recording facility.

When I returned to South Sudan in 2011 just before independence, I faced the extreme challenge of building technology ventures in a post-conflict environment with almost no existing infrastructure. This experience taught me invaluable lessons about adaptation, resource management, and maintaining vision despite seemingly insurmountable obstacles. South Sudan’s infrastructure challenges forced me to innovate workarounds – solar-powered studios, mobile recording units, and ultimately the realization that technology solutions were needed beyond the music industry.

This led to founding Jokma Era Limited in 2021, a digital music distribution platform that became my gateway into full-fledged tech entrepreneurship. However, this venture revealed crucial insights about regional limitations in digital content distribution. Despite strong concept and execution, we encountered challenges with payment processing across borders, inconsistent internet access for content delivery, and regulatory complexities in music licensing across different East African countries. These obstacles ultimately led to pivoting the business model while carrying forward valuable lessons that now inform my guidance to other founders considering similar ventures.

Through founding and growing Hostwek, I developed practical knowledge about infrastructure challenges that affect every technology business in our region. Our hosting solutions emerged directly from experiencing these limitations firsthand and recognizing that imported approaches simply wouldn’t work. Similarly, Wonusu Media grew from identifying gaps in digital content distribution that weren’t being addressed by existing platforms, applying lessons learned from the Jokma Era experience to create more sustainable approaches.

The financial aspects of entrepreneurship in East Africa present particular challenges that differ significantly from other markets. With my background in commerce and finance from the University of Nairobi combined with Yale Financial Markets certification, I help founders develop appropriate financial models, funding strategies, and resource allocation approaches. This includes guidance on when to bootstrap, when to seek investment, and how to structure financial operations for businesses operating across multiple East African markets with varying regulations and banking systems.

Beyond business fundamentals, I understand the personal challenges founders face when building ventures in our region. The isolation, uncertainty, and pressure of entrepreneurship are universal, but take specific forms in emerging markets where support ecosystems are still developing. My journey from the ashes of war to the forefront of South Sudan’s tech ecosystem provides a relevant framework for other founders facing seemingly impossible odds. I help entrepreneurs develop both practical business strategies and the personal resilience needed to sustain their vision through inevitable challenges.

Unlike general business coaching or incubator programs, my mentorship adapts to your specific stage, sector, and circumstances. Whether you’re validating initial concepts, preparing for your first funding round, building your technical team, or planning regional expansion, I provide guidance based on relevant experience rather than generic startup formulas.