Weak Link Among Mentors, Investors, Entrepreneurs Slowing Africa’s Wealth Creation, Says Mintage Founders

Kuni Tyessi in Abuja

A new Pan-African platform, Mintage Africa, has officially launched an ecosystem designed to build a new generation of wealth owners across the continent.

The platform will connect entrepreneurs, investors, mentors and critical information in one place.

The organization, co-founded by Dipo Fishor, Anna Olukoya, and Mimshaq Obioha says the core problem facing Africa is not a lack of opportunity, but a lack of access to knowledge, networks, and guidance.

Speaking on the mission yesterday in Abuja, Dipo Fishor, serial entrepreneur and author, said Mintage Africa is designed to change how Africans view wealth creation.

He stressed that the goal is to help people create, retain and grow value on the continent and added that the platform is curating experienced Africans who want to mentor genuine people that want to be successful to close the leadership and talent gap in the country.

“There has to be a mentality shift. There has to be a system shift that tells an African that there is wealth and there are opportunities in Africa.

“What Mintage Africa is doing is building an ecosystem where the opportunities, the entrepreneurs, the venture capitalists, the investors, the information, the knowledge required for businesses, innovations, ideas, for everyone to just succeed and create wealth and not be waiting for handouts” he said.

He also pushed back on narratives around Gen Z and work ethic.

“The truth is anyone can be disciplined, anyone can be taught, anyone can succeed. Some of the startups that have been previewed to us are startups that this same Gen Z committed themselves, disciplined themselves to build” he added.

Anna Olukoya, Co-founder, clarified that Mintage Africa is focused on long-term value creation, not speculation after identifying that biggest barrier is an information gap and the challenge will persist if people don’t know of the opportunities that are available which will continually keep them wallowing in darkness and failing in their businesses.

She maintained the main motive of the group is to raise a new generation of middle class and a new generation of wealth owners not just in Nigeria but in Africa at large.

“We realize that the best way to tackle that problem is through the ecosystem approach. It means that different stakeholders within the same ecosystem need to talk to one another, to work together to ensure that we are able to create value, grow that value and retain the value on the continent.

“When value is created and retained that’s where people can become wealthy,” she added. “This is not a get-rich-quick scheme. It’s about education, data, and guidance” she said.

To address this, Mintage Africa is using AI to aggregate opportunities into an “Insight Tab” where users can segment by career.

Examples include programs funded by the African Development Bank and Bank of Industry to train thousands of young people across the 6 geopolitical zones, and BoI capital for startups. The platform will also track how AI is changing careers, flagging dying fields and highlighting growing ones.

Mimshaq Obioha, also a co-founder, issued a direct call for young and old groups to join the platform.

“For both the young entrepreneurs and if you are an OG who has a wealth of experience, please come on mintageafrica.com and you will see where you can also opt in to be a mentor, to be a guide to somebody else, to give back and inspire the next generation,” Obioha said.

According to Obioha, young entrepreneurs can sign up to access mentorship, programs, and resources. Seasoned professionals can opt in as mentors to support emerging talent.

“As we roll out industry-specific programs, career development tracks, business training, and investment readiness initiatives, whether it’s a mentorship program or it’s a research paper that we are releasing, you will know about it and be able to engage with it,” Obioha said.