Hey there👋
Angela here — I want to bring you something a little different this week: two deep-dives into founders on the African continent who built “real” SaaS / tech advantages, plus the playbook moves you can borrow as you push past the $1M ARR mark.
Just honest stories, some framework unpacking, and you as a peer in the trenches. Let’s get into it.
1. Kayode Adeyinka & Gigmile (mobility-fintech for Africa’s gig-economy)
The story
Back in 2014, Kayode was travelling across Nigeria trying to convince people to shop online when e-commerce was still a foreign idea in many places. Merchants didn’t even have email addresses — so at Jumia his team created them one-by-one just to get people selling.
He started in customer service, moved into growth, then became Country Manager in Ghana running an entire P&L.
In 2022 he co-founded Gigmile — a mobility fintech aimed at helping Africa’s gig workers access the assets they need (vehicles, primarily) via lease-to-own models.
As of mid-2025: raised about $1.6 M equity + $16 M debt, operates in 10 cities across Ghana & Nigeria, and has 100+ staff.
What’s fascinating: he discovered that informal motorcycle taxi drivers (those not tied to big ride-hail platforms) repay loans better. Why? Because their income is consistent, the customer base is loyal, their responsibility high. Also, drivers with families repay faster: responsibility drives accountability.
The key lessons / playbook for SaaS founders
Here are the things I want you to pull from Kayode’s work and apply in your SaaS-growth journey.
a) Ground-up experience matters
He didn’t start at the top. He built customer‐service operations, then growth, then country P&L. He saw the “ground truth” of what selling in Africa looked like. This built his muscle for “scale later”.
If you’re building SaaS aiming for $1M+, don’t skip seeing the messy front lines — support, onboarding, first 10 customers. That gives you empathy with your user, which builds stickiness.
b) Start with a clear pain: lack of asset + access
Gigmile is solving something tangible: gig workers want to earn, but don’t have vehicles/assets. They under-serve the “why we exist” space.
Check if your SaaS solves a clear problem for a defined user who needs your solution (rather than “nice to have”). At the $1M mark, problems that scale are deep.
c) Risk modelling built for local context
Insight: informal drivers repay better; family drives responsibility. That’s not a generic global assumption — that’s insight into this market. Kayode built credit risk models tuned to Africa’s informal economy.
When you scale SaaS in Africa (or emerging markets) ask: are our default global assumptions valid? Or do we need models tuned for this context (pricing, churn, payment behaviour)? That’s how you avoid scaling pain.
d) Partnerships & structure for growth
Gigmile works via ride-hail/delivery platforms + lease-to-own. So the model isn’t “just us and the driver” — there are strategic partner platforms, asset providers, and financing structures.
When you scale SaaS, ask: what are the adjacency or partnership opportunities? Where can you piggy-back existing flows instead of building everything from scratch? That lets you scale faster and more efficiently.
e) Built for scale but grounded in the problem
The model is simple, but game-changing. Vehicle + financing + gig worker = productivity + ownership. When that model works, you get leverage.
Your SaaS growth lever should similarly be simple + powerful. The complexity should be hidden. The user should see “I solve problem X, then Y, then I get value”. Build your value ladder.
How this applies to scaling past $1M ARR
Start by deeply understanding why your users pay, what stops them from paying.
Build context-specific assumptions (churn, usage, pricing) for your target market (in Africa or wherever).
Secure partnerships that extend your reach/credibility.
Use those insights to build a “scalable problem-value model”.
Keep emphasizing your unit economics as you scale: asset-heavy? software-heavy? know the levers.
If you get these right, you’re far more likely to break through the $1M ARR ceiling and stay profitable.
2. Tesh Mbaabu & Cloud9 Money (digital banking for Africa’s youth)
The story
Tesh has spent over a decade building tech that solves real African problems:
MarketForce (YC S20) digitised how small merchants ordered goods.
Then Chpter, where small businesses sold directly through social media (pre-seed $1.2M, partnership with Flutterwave).
Now last week he unveiled Cloud9 Money — a digital bank for Africa’s millennials/Gen Z. In his words: “a movement reimagining banking as a tool for dignity, belonging, and opportunity.”
Cloud9 is built for a generation fluent in mobile apps, side hustles, freelancing — yet underserved by slow, rigid traditional banks.
One key lesson he emphasises: “Traction is king. Tell a story. Be real. And never underestimate how much time it takes.”
The key lessons / playbook for SaaS founders
What do we grab from Tesh’s journey?
a) Sequential builds teach you something fundamental
Tesh moved from merchant-ordering tech → social-commerce tech → now fintech. Each step built an insight: how people transact, how social commerce works, then how money flows.
Your “journey” as a SaaS founder matters. You might pivot. But each version helps you learn something. Don’t fear it — extract the insight and then scale.
b) Storytelling + traction go hand-in-hand
Tesh prioritises real traction before big stories. He emphasises proving the value, then telling it.
When you’re building toward $1M+, your narrative matters — but only if backed by real data: MRR growth, churn improvement, expansion, case-studies. So track the metrics and tell the story.
c) Build for a clear demographic & context
Cloud9 is for young Africans used to mobile, side-hustles, underserved by banks. That’s a clearly defined segment. The product is built around their context.
For your SaaS, identify not just the industry (e.g., “healthcare SaaS in Africa”) but the persona, their habits, constraints, ecosystem. Then tailor product and go-to-market with that in mind. It makes you more relevant.
d) Recognise that scaling for profitability/persistence matters
Tesh’s former company MarketForce reached $40M Series A but also found the unit economics were hard. He’s taken lessons from that.
As you approach or cross $1M ARR, start watching the cost side: customer acquisition, retention, support. Build a model that’s sustainable, not just growing. Growth for growth’s sake is risky.
e) Take meaningful pivots when needed
He has pivoted and evolved — from enterprise software to social commerce to neobank. That shows flexibility and ambition.
If your SaaS is stuck, don’t be rigid. Use your data and customer feedback to pivot (product, market, pricing). But maintain the core value you’re delivering.
How this applies to scaling past $1M ARR
Define your core persona clearly, tailor everything to them.
Build early traction fast, then tell the story credibly (for investors, partners, ecosystem).
Watch your unit economics: churn, upsell, CAC pay-back.
Be ready to pivot if real indicators show you’re stuck—but pivot deliberately.
Build credibility with both numbers and narrative: people will trust you when you’ve “been there and done that”.
Bringing it together: Your take-aways for the next 30 days
Here’s what I want you to do right now as you plan your next month of growth:
Review your user growth model
Who is your core user persona? Are they well-defined (just like Tesh defined “young, mobile side-hustle Africans”)?
What is the key problem your SaaS solves for them? Is it urgent, recurring, and worth paying for? (Like Kayode defined “asset access for gig workers”).
Write it down in one sentence. E.g., “We help X who struggle with Y to achieve Z.”
Inspect your metrics
MRR growth rate, churn rate, average revenue per user (ARPU), CAC pay-back.
Identify the weakest link: is it acquisition? activation? retention? upsell?
Put one small improvement plan in place (e.g., reduce churn by 1%), assign owner and date.
Find one strategic partnership opportunity
Who has a flow you can plug into? Could be a platform, channel, marketplace, telco.
Just like Gigmile worked with ride-hail/delivery platforms, SaaS can piggy-back existing flows.
Reach out to at least one potential partner this month and pitch how you add value to their users.
Build your story for next-level scaling
Write a short case-story of one happy customer (or early adopter) and how they got value from your SaaS.
Use this in your marketing, in pitches, in community posts. Because numbers plus narrative = trust.
Share this story publicly (LinkedIn, blog) so you start to build your founder voice.
Decide on your growth focus for month-end
Choose one lever that will move you: e.g., “increase ARPU by 10%”, or “reduce time to first value from 14 days to 7 days”, or “convert 20% of freemium to paid”.
Map out 3-5 actions you’ll take this month, assign owners, set deadlines.
What’s next & how I can help
I’ll send out this newsletter weekly, always with 3 top items (educational insights, founder stories, frameworks you can use).
If you haven’t already: follow my LinkedIn personal page (I post African founder stories + live insights) and the LinkedIn page for our community (for updates, resources).
I also run a LinkedIn Weekly Newsletter where I break down SaaS playbooks (subscribe there too).
Coming up: I’ll host a webinar with Anthony Ndolo on “Scaling SaaS in Africa: 5 growth levers you can apply now” — register here to attend.
Thanks for reading this far — I know your time is tight. If you apply just one of the actions above, you’ll already be ahead of many.
Let me know: which part resonated most for you — Kayode’s partnership/asset model or Tesh’s story-&-metrics focus? Hit reply and tell me, I’m listening.
Talk soon,
Angela.
Smarter SaaS Growth
P.S. If you know a founder in Africa who’s stuck on $500K–$1M ARR and would benefit from this kind of playbook, forward this email. They’ll thank you.