In 2012 Lexi Novitske moved to Nigeria from The United States.
Lexi worked for Verod Capital Management, a Nigeria-based private equity firm. Prior to joining Verod, she had spent her career developing an expertise in financial services through her time at New York-based Sandler O’Neill Asset Management.
In 2014, Lexi joined Singularity Investments as the Principal Investment Officer where she oversees the firm’s operations in Africa.
In this episode you’ll learn:
- Why Lexi decided to move to Africa from the United States
- The key unique qualities unique to the Nigerian tech market
- What were the key assumptions Lexi had about the Nigerian market before coming here? How many of them have proved to be true?
- How to deal with the barriers to infrastructure and regulation
- The difficulty of the African market
- “In this market, the management or entrepreneurs drive the success of the business”. What does Lexi mean by this?
- What are the disadvantages of giving away too much equity as a founder?
- How much power the Telcos wield in this ecosystem
- Despite numerous challenges, why did Lexi choose to stay in the African market?
- Why did she move from Private Equity to Venture Capital Investment.’
- The crucial differences between Venture Capital Investment and Private Equity
- What do investors look out for in early-stage deals?
- How private equity works
- What is Lexi’s personal thesis about the African ecosystem?
- Find out the kind of entrepreneurs she wants to back
- And more
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Building The Future Podcast Season 3 is sponsored by Flutterwave
Flutterwave drives growth for banks and businesses across Africa through digital payment technology. You can learn more about their activities here.
