The journal of a continent on the rise
Building Africa,
one entrepreneur
at a time.
Diary of an African Entrepreneur is a movement — stories, ideas, and the people building the continent's future. Watch the interviews, read the journal, and join a community that backs its own.
Hosted by Adedeji Adebusoye · Author of Scaling for Success
The mission
“There is a lot of money looking for worthy investments — but too few businesses built to receive it. We're here to change that.”
DOAE exists to rally, equip, and connect African entrepreneurs — so the next generation of businesses is built to last, scale, and matter.
Watch
Interviews with people building Africa
Building Africa's Agricultural Future: Unlocking Finance for 600 Million Farmers | Alexander Xanders
What does it take to unlock the financing that could transform African agriculture, and why have millions of smallholder farmers remained excluded from the financial systems designed to support them? In this episode of Diary of an African Entrepreneur, Deji Adebusoye sits down with Alexander Xanders, Founder and CEO of UFARMX, to discuss his journey from entrepreneurship in the United States to building an agricultural finance technology company addressing one of Africa’s most persistent challenges: access to credit for smallholder farmers. Alexander shares how his early entrepreneurial experiences, his return to Nigeria, and his decision to venture into farming led him to discover the enormous financing gap within the agricultural sector. He explains how his experience managing a farm revealed the difference that access to quality seeds, fertilisers and other essential inputs could make to productivity, and how an initial pilot with 15 maize farmers helped shape the business that would become UFARMX. The conversation explores how UFARMX uses alternative data and ground-level intelligence to assess farmers who are often invisible to traditional financial institutions. Alexander explains the company's approach to credit scoring, its partnerships with agricultural input retailers, and how technology, insurance and local distribution networks can make financing more accessible while managing the risks associated with lending to smallholder farmers. He also discusses the importance of building trust within farming communities, why banks have struggled to serve this market, the role of data in creating agricultural credit infrastructure, and UFARMX's ambition to expand its platform across Africa. With more than 17,000 farmers on its platform, the company is building towards a future where agricultural credit can become more accessible, measurable and scalable. At its core, this is a conversation about identifying overlooked opportunities, understanding the realities of African markets, and building businesses around problems that matter. It also offers important lessons for Africans in the diaspora considering a return home: why listening must come before building, why imported business models may not work in local contexts, and why mission, patience and persistence are essential to creating lasting value. Diary of an African Entrepreneur publishes conversations and commentary for founders and business builders across Africa and the diaspora. Everything here is general information and education. Nothing in this episode is professional advice of any kind, including financial, investment, legal, tax or accounting advice, and nothing in it takes account of your particular circumstances. Please take your own professional advice before acting on anything discussed. Views expressed by guests are their own and do not represent the views of Diary of an African Entrepreneur or of its host. Appearing on this programme is not an endorsement of any guest, company, product or service. Statements made are accurate to the best of our knowledge at the date of recording and may change. Where the host or a guest has a commercial interest in anything discussed, this is disclosed in the episode. Any sponsorship or paid partnership is disclosed on air and below. © Diary of an African Entrepreneur. For permissions or corrections, contact us at www.adedejiadebusoye.com #DiaryOfAnAfricanEntrepreneur#AfricanEntrepreneurship #AfricanAgriculture #Agritech #Agribusiness#AgriculturalFinance #SmallholderFarmers#FinancialInclusion#EntrepreneurshipInAfrica #AfricanStartups#NigeriaAgriculture#FoodSecurity#InvestInAfrica #BuildingInAfrica#AfricanBusiness
My First Business Failed. Then I Discovered Who the Real Customer Was | Jerry Oche, Zowasel
What happens when you build a business around a real problem, but the business model itself doesn’t work? In this episode of Diary of an African Entrepreneur, Deji Adebusoye sits down with Jerry Oche, Founder & CEO of Zowasel, for a candid conversation about failure, resilience, agriculture, finance, and the realities of building businesses in Africa. Jerry shares how his first company, Growel, failed after he discovered that solving the problem of access to markets and finance for smallholder farmers required much more than simply connecting farmers to capital. He explains what went wrong, the lessons he took from that experience, and how those lessons influenced the model behind Zowasel. The conversation goes deeper into: • Why Growel’s original model could not scale • The challenges smallholder farmers face with markets, finance, logistics and scale • Why knowing who your real customer is matters • How Zowasel connects buyers, suppliers and financing • Why agriculture requires both commercial capital and development support • Building a business around sustainable agriculture • His approach to leadership and building independent teams • What founders should look for when a business is struggling • Why passion alone is not enough to build a sustainable business • Why young entrepreneurs should spend more time learning before starting a business • Turning failure into a foundation for what comes next One of the biggest lessons from the conversation is simple: Failure is not always the end of the journey. Sometimes, it is the information you need to build the next version better. Watch the full conversation. Guest: Jerry Oche — Founder & CEO, Zowasel Host: Deji Adebusoye — Author, Scaling for Success | Partner, Sahel Capital Diary of an African Entrepreneur publishes conversations and commentary for founders and business builders across Africa and the diaspora. Everything here is general information and education. Nothing in this episode is professional advice of any kind, including financial, investment, legal, tax or accounting advice, and nothing in it takes account of your particular circumstances. Please take your own professional advice before acting on anything discussed. Views expressed by guests are their own and do not represent the views of Diary of an African Entrepreneur or of its host. Appearing on this programme is not an endorsement of any guest, company, product or service. Statements made are accurate to the best of our knowledge at the date of recording and may change. Where the host or a guest has a commercial interest in anything discussed, this is disclosed in the episode. Any sponsorship or paid partnership is disclosed on air and below. © Diary of an African Entrepreneur. For permissions or corrections, contact us at www.adedejiadebusoye.com #Entrepreneurship #BusinessFailure #Agribusiness #AfricanEntrepreneurs #Zowasel
I Left Wall Street and Bet Everything on Africa | Jehiel Oliver, Founder & CEO of Hello Tractor
What does it take to leave a predictable career, move to Africa, and build a business solving one of the continent’s biggest challenges? In this episode of Diary of an African Entrepreneur, Deji Adebusoye sits down with Jehiel Oliver, Founder and CEO of Hello Tractor, to discuss his journey from finance in the United States to building an agricultural technology company operating across Africa. Jehiel shares the lessons he learned building in Nigeria, from navigating FX volatility, interest rates, weak institutions, and market risk to understanding the importance of trust, incentives, and execution. He also explains how Hello Tractor evolved from fleet management into a marketplace and financing platform that helps entrepreneurs move from booking tractor services to owning productive assets. The conversation also explores leadership, hiring, capital allocation, working with investors like John Deere, and why transparency and a strong “say-do ratio” matter when building credibility. At its core, this is a conversation about patience, purpose, resilience, and economic sovereignty—and what it really takes to build meaningful businesses in Africa for the long term. Diary of an African Entrepreneur publishes conversations and commentary for founders and business builders across Africa and the diaspora. Everything here is general information and education. Nothing in this episode is professional advice of any kind, including financial, investment, legal, tax or accounting advice, and nothing in it takes account of your particular circumstances. Please take your own professional advice before acting on anything discussed. Views expressed by guests are their own and do not represent the views of Diary of an African Entrepreneur or of its host. Appearing on this programme is not an endorsement of any guest, company, product or service. Statements made are accurate to the best of our knowledge at the date of recording and may change. Where the host or a guest has a commercial interest in anything discussed, this is disclosed in the episode. Any sponsorship or paid partnership is disclosed on air and below. © Diary of an African Entrepreneur. For permissions or corrections, contact us at www.adedejiadebusoye.com #JehielOliver #HelloTractor #DiaryOfAnAfricanEntrepreneur #DOAE #AfricanEntrepreneurship #AfricanBusiness #AfricanStartups #AgriTech #AfricanAgriculture #FoodSecurity #Entrepreneurship #AfricanFounders #BusinessLeadership #EconomicSovereignty #BuildingInAfrica #ImpactInvesting #Leadership #Africa
A Diary of an African Entrepreneur programme
The Market Signal
A monthly commodity markets intelligence programme, connecting Nigerian farmgate to global price drivers.
Latest · Episode 1 · 7 October 2026
The Market Signal - October 2026
The journal
Ideas, lessons, and field notes
June is over. Your 2027 tax prep starts now
Just filed your 2025 financials? Don't relax yet. With Nigeria's new tax reforms now in effect, including monthly estimated tax payments and the upcoming e-invoicing rollout, the businesses that get ahead now will face far less stress at the next audit. Here are six practical steps to start today
25 Jul 2026
I Vibe-Coded My Website in 36 Hours (And I Don't Write Code)
I always thought my website was stuck in the 90s. So I sat down with Claude Code and built a new one myself, no developer, no waiting, in under 36 hours. Here's what that process actually looked like, and what it taught me about coding, thinking, and building things on your own terms.
12 Jul 2026
Should Companies aim for longevity or growth?
Context: It was just an ordinary pastry shop, about the size of a barber’s shop; I do not think there was enough room to sit and eat. This pastry shop has made me reflect and ask tough questions about the longevity of companies in Africa. The pastry shop is in Nottingham, UK, on a busy
8 Sept 2022The showcase
Bold businesses worth knowing
We spotlight independent African businesses — on the site and across our channels.
The book
Scaling for Success
Empowering African SMEs
A practical playbook for building African businesses that scale — why so many stall, and the systems that let the best ones grow.
₦13,000
Coming soon
A community & courses for African entrepreneurs
Soon you'll be able to join a private community to share ideas, ask questions, get advice, and connect with people, resources, and opportunities — plus live classes and online courses.
Join the newsletter below to be first in line.
Join the movement
Get the diary in your inbox
New interviews, articles, and opportunities for African entrepreneurs. No noise.