The Trailer is out! The Namibia edition of Discovering New Tech Destinations Across Africa is officially on the way and trust me, this one hits differently 🇳🇦🔥
From Windhoek to Swakopmund, this journey takes you deep into Namibia’s fast-rising tech and innovation scene; from fintech, to agritech, where mining meets gaming, exploring Namibia’s startup culture, community hubs, and the people quietly building solutions from the ground up.
This isn’t just another tech documentary.
It’s about ambition in unlikely places, ideas born in calm environments, and a country proving that innovation doesn’t have to be loud to be powerful.
The trailer is just a glimpse.
The full story? Even bigger.
Namibia is building.
Africa is rising.
And you’ll want a front-row seat for this one.
Stay ready. It’s already here!
This documentary was produced in partnership with Cleva (YC W24), a fintech company building seamless cross-border financial solutions that help Africans move, spend, and access money globally without friction.
It was also supported by Basecamp Business Incubator Namibia, a business incubator and innovation hub empowering startups with mentorship, resources, and the ecosystem support needed to grow and scale sustainable businesses.
#DiscoveringNewTechDestinationsAcrossAfrica #Namibia #BackendStudio #Windhoek #Swakopmund
Official Winner 🥇 of the Africa Startup Ecosystem Builders Summit & Awards 2024 - Cross Border Collaboration Initiative of the Year 👇🏽
⭐️ Discovering New Tech Destinations Across Africa ⭐️
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#DiscoveringNewTechDestinationsAcrossAfrica #Cross BorderCollaborationInitiativeoftheYear #GeraldBlack #BackendSeries #BackendbyGeraldBlack #TechinAfrica #AfricaTechEcosystem #africatechecosystembuilder
Tunisia 🇹🇳 — the North African gem you’ve probably heard about for its beaches and medinas, but did you know it’s also home to two of Africa’s biggest tech exits?
A few months ago, @_cinverely_ and @markkleyner of @dream__vc and @benyounessarahh of @v3.factory invited me to be part of the Tunisia Ecosystem Week, a gathering to spotlight the country’s emerging tech scene. I thought to myself, why not go a step further, engage a few folks in the ecosystem and document their story?
That spontaneous idea kicked off the Tunisia Tech Ecosystem Documentary.
Why I Started This Documentary Series:
1. To spotlight overlooked African tech ecosystems that are doing amazing work with little visibility.
2. To inspire collaboration across the continent by showing what’s possible in different regions.
3. To amplify local founders, operators, and ecosystem builders who are driving innovation from the ground up.
4. To give the world a front-row seat to Africa’s diverse and dynamic startup communities.
In the 17-minute documentary, I take you on a journey through Tunisia’s vibrant tech scene—from startups like @bakomotors , @dabchy_com and @water.sec - by Istidema.com to innovation hubs like @thedothub and @openstartupinternational , and conversations with digital nomads, students, and ecosystem pioneers such as John Jang and @mokhtar_fourti .
We explored markets, tasted local cuisine, and soaked in the culture—all while uncovering a tech ecosystem rich with potential and purpose.
Big thanks to everyone who made this possible—and special shoutout to Med Khaled Mezghanni my amazing guide during my stay 🇹🇳.
The documentary is now live on YouTube!
🔗: full video on YouTube (Gerald Black)
If you enjoy it, please:
✅ Like the video
📝 Drop a comment
📌 And don’t forget to subscribe to my channel to follow the journey across Africa
Next stop coming soon! 🌍
#DiscoverAfricaTech #TunisiaTech #GeraldBlack #AfricanStartups #DiscoveringNewTechDestinationsAcrossAfrica #TechDocumentary #EcosystemBuilding
Over the past few weeks, we’ve been reviewing applications for the first cohort of Crossover and the response has honestly been incredible.
We received 277 applications across 40+ countries and markets spanning Africa and beyond.
From FinTech and HealthTech to Climate, AI, Mobility, Logistics, SaaS, Cybersecurity, Agritech and the Creator Economy, the range of ideas and sectors represented has been exciting to see.
But beyond the sectors, what really stands out is the mindset and the ambition of these founders building from emerging and often under-represented ecosystems, thinking boldly, solving real local problems, and building with global ambition and commitment.
That’s exactly why we launched Crossover.
Crossover is a 10-week Founder Learning Exchange Program designed to connect early-stage founders in emerging African ecosystems with experienced founders, operators, and builders from more established startup markets.
The goal is simple:
Reduce the learning gap.
Too many founders in smaller ecosystems have to learn critical startup lessons the hard way due to limited access to experienced operators, founder communities, and startup infrastructure.
Crossover exists to create more proximity to experience, practical insights, and founder-to-founder learning.
As we wrap up final selections for the pilot cohort, we’re genuinely excited by the quality of founders we’re seeing and the ecosystems being represented.
We’re looking forward to officially welcoming the first Crossover cohort soon.
Big thank you to all our ecosystem partners, facilitators, and everyone helping spread the word across different markets.
#CrossoverProgram #FounderLearning #StartupEcosystem #XConnectAfrica #Innovation FounderCommunity
Our first speakers for Tallinn 2026 are here! 📢
The speakers taking the Latitude59 2026 stage aren’t just here to talk. They’re the founders, engineers, operators, and startup enthusiasts who believe in what the New Nordics can do together and are already building our future.
‣ Alar Karis — President of the Republic of Estonia
‣ Liina Vahtras — Managing Director of Estonia’s e-Residency programme, advisor to two Estonian prime ministers
‣ Gerald Black — CEO of XConnect Africa, connecting founders and investors across African ecosystems
‣ Paula Llobet — Councillor for Innovation & Investment at Valencia City Council
‣ Pasi Toivanen — SVP at Nokia, leading Europe’s AI Gigafactory push
‣ Taavi Madiberk — CEO of Skeleton Technologies, co-founder of three deeptech companies worth €1B+ combined
‣ Ugne Musneckyte — Investor at byFounders, backing vertical B2B and agentic AI
‣ Elizabeth Jennings — Managing Partner at Venture Atlas Labs, operating across 28 countries at the edge of health and biotech
This is just the beginning. Find more speakers at latitude59.ee/speakers/
P.S. Grab your early-bird ticket soon. Prices go up next week.
We don’t just attend rooms, we help create them.
Partnered with Sorted Wallet based in Hong Kong to connect a powerful network of fintech and crypto executives in Lagos.
A highly curated gathering of people building, backing, and shaping the future of finance across Africa.
At @xconnect.irl , our focus is simple:
Put the right people in the right room and let the magic happen.
#XConnectAfrica #EcosystemBuilding #FintechAfrica #CryptoAfrica
We’re excited to announce the launch of Crossover – Founder Learning Exchange Program and applications are officially open.
Crossover is a 10-week virtual Program connecting early-stage founders in emerging African markets with experienced builders from more established markets.
It’s not an accelerator.
It’s not a pitch competition.
It’s structured, founder-to-founder learning.
Real stories.
Real operating lessons.
Clearer fundamentals.
We’re looking for:
• Builders in smaller African markets
• Preseed to early seed founders (ideally under 2 yrs old)
• Founders committed to learning and showing up
If this sounds like you or someone within your network, applications are now open.
Apply here: (link in bio)
Application deadline: March 17th, 2026
#Crossover #StartupEcosystem #FounderLearningExchangeProgram #XConnect
Why do so many African startups build impressive products yet struggle to build predictable revenue and scalable sales systems?
In Episode #74 of the Unlocking Africa Podcast, we sit down with @_geraldblack a highly accomplished serial entrepreneur and business development expert, who now serves as Head of Go To Market at Anchor, a banking as a service platform enabling companies to seamlessly integrate accounts, cards, payments, lending and more directly into their products.
This conversation challenges how we think about growth on the continent.
Product alone is not enough.
Vision alone is not enough.
Capital alone is not enough.
Sustainable scale requires disciplined sales execution, clear positioning, and a go to market strategy that reflects African market realities.
Gerald shares practical insight on:
✔️ Whether the traditional sales cycle from pipeline generation to lead qualification to closing works differently in the African startup ecosystem
✔️ Why a strong sales and business development strategy is often the deciding factor between survival and scale
✔️ How founders can overcome growth and scalability challenges across fragmented and complex markets
✔️ What investors are truly assessing when they evaluate traction, revenue quality, and commercial discipline
✔️ The mindset, structure, and habits that separate founders who scale from those who stall
If you care about entrepreneurship, venture building, and building commercially resilient companies in Africa, this episode is full of clear, practical lessons you can apply immediately.
🎧 Listen to Episode #74 now and follow for more conversations with the builders, operators, and investors shaping Africa’s economic future.
#Entrepreneurship #GoToMarket #StartupGrowth #AfricanTech #Founders
Applications are now open for Crossover – Founder Learning Exchange Program.
Crossover is a 10-week virtual program designed to connect early-stage founders in emerging markets with experienced builders from more established ecosystems for structured, founder-to-founder learning.
This is not an accelerator.
Not a pitch competition.
It’s about clarity. Fundamentals. Real operating lessons from experienced builders.
If you’re a pre-seed or early-seed founder building in an emerging African market, I encourage you to apply.
🗓 Deadline: March 17th, 2026
🔗 Apply here: bit.ly/crossoverflep
If you know a founder who should see this, please tag them or reshare.
#CrossoverProgram #FounderLearningExchange #CrossoverAfrica #GeraldBlack #XConnectAfrica
