1Mby1M Virtual Accelerator Investor Forum: With Eva Yazhari, General Partner at Beyond Capital Ventures (Part 3)

Sramana Mitra: My observation is that the higher end of the market is extremely active. I wouldn’t say crowded, but there’s a lot of competition. There is concept arbitrage. There have been successful companies built by copying models from elsewhere and then innovating on top of that. That’s happening in the global tech space.

Then there’s the higher-end B2C space where there is this large population of internet users who are quite affluent. The market that you’re talking about, is it as crowded? Is it as active?

Eva Yazhari: Our first fund focused more exclusively on the bottom of the pyramid. We’ve raised the target income to be lower, basic, and emerging consumers. We are seeing the same level of activity. I would say it’s probably not as active as the higher end. One of the trends that we’re observing is there aren’t enough deal leads out there. We are stepping up deal lead and pricing rounds because we have the track record of over a decade and the tools to be able to do that.

Sramana Mitra: Interesting. When you look Africa and India, what do you see as the stark difference? In both cases, you’re looking at the bottom to mid-bottom of the pyramid.

Eva Yazhari: In terms of business model innovations, we don’t see that many differences. Some of these important innovations centered around how to create a viable tech-assisted model really span our geographies. The difference that we tend to see is how capital flows. We are just seeing that there are significantly less angels and family offices.

Sramana Mitra: The financial market is less developed in Africa.

Eva Yazhari: Right. Then there are some nuances. In fintech for example, a company in Africa can start to lend off their balance sheet where it’s not possible in India. Then we are seeing valuations. The financial markets are at different stages. We are seeing that being reflected in valuations.

Sramana Mitra: My observation is in tune with what you’re saying. Africa is a decade to 15 years behind the Indian market. The one big difference is that the Indian market had this large pool of technology professionals because of its services industry. It was a faster growth. Africa doesn’t have that base. Africa may not grow as quickly.

On the other hand, the ubiquity of cellphones is at par between the two. India got its mobile penetration after Jio came in. There will be some adjustment where it will probably take another decade for Africa to develop that kind of financial infrastructure. It’s an exciting time to be playing in Africa.

Eva Yazhari: I would argue that it’s more of a five-year cycle. Covid helped accelerate some of these digital trends. Africa is being considered in the global capital markets. There are a couple of other factors that relate to this shorter development cycle. It will definitely start out in key markets.

Sramana Mitra: All right. Thank you for your time.

This segment is part 3 in the series : 1Mby1M Virtual Accelerator Investor Forum: With Eva Yazhari, General Partner at Beyond Capital Ventures
1 2 3