Publisher's Synopsis
How to overcome the challenges of building a business in Africa! We were digital wildcats drilling into an untapped markets filled with piracy. Sami Leino shares his experiences on: -What it takes to build a startup in sub-Saharan Africa -What unites Pan-African entertainment lovers and markets -How to create a household brand in Africa without missing a cultural beat This book is one man's experience of setting up a music streaming service in Africa. Covering three continents and countless time zones, the story reveals the challenges and opportunities of starting a business in Africa, from building an organization from scratch in Scandinavia and San Francisco to expanding into sub-Saharan Africa and beyond. It also takes a sober yet often humorous look at African business practices and culture, while giving tips on how to prevent personnel on all continents from running away screaming. "I had just co-founded a new music streaming service that had no market. So my team and I turned our sights on Africa. People said we were crazy." The goal was to build a music streaming startup into an African household brand. For 800 million people, from scratch. We also wanted to create the first de facto standard for legal music distribution in sub-Saharan Africa. On our journey, we fell in love with sub-Saharan Africa -- its exuberance and energy, its vibrant and entrepreneurial people, its profound contrasts and rich opportunities. From Lagos and Nairobi to Cannes and San Francisco, we overcame the most unexpected challenges with our boots always on the ground. Our story begins in Helsinki and quickly evolves into a company in San Francisco, with deals in London and Paris, banking in Zurich, and gritty business in sub-Saharan Africa. The year and the month was April 2007, when the global music industry was being shook by newcomers like Spotify that were challenging the dominance of iTunes. Europe and the US were crowded. Africa beckoned. What happened on the way is Startup Africa.
