Founders CableFor African founders, students and investors
Where African founders learn, build and grow.
We break down how great companies are built into systems you can reuse. Then we help African founders grow their own, with training, community and a path to investors.
| Metric | Figure |
|---|---|
| Raised by African startupsJan to Aug 2026 · 275 deals · TechCabal Insights | $2.10B |
| Raised in Q1 202659 deals, up 26.5% year on year · Condia and TechCabal Insights | $705M |
| Raised in NigeriaTop country, Jan to Aug 2026 · TechCabal Insights | $528.6M |
| Went to the top 10 venturesShare of H1 2026 funding · Briter | 65% |
| African startups trackedIncluding inactive ones · Tracxn, Aug 2026 | 149,000 |
| Have raised fundingTracxn, Aug 2026 | 12,600 |
| Raised $100K or more since 2019Africa: The Big Deal | 2,600+ |
| Founders who name fundraising as a key stressorFlourish Ventures survey, 2024 | 59% |
| People without electricity who live in sub-Saharan AfricaIEA, 2024 | 8 in 10 |
| Primary-age children out of school in NigeriaUNICEF, 2025 | 10.2M |
| Young Africans entering work each year vs formal jobs createdUp to 12M vs about 3M · The Standard, Kenya, 2026 | 12M vs 3M |
Watch
Founders Cable in about a minute.
The gap
Most African startups never raise a single round.
African startups tracked, including inactive ones.
of them have raised funding.
About one tracked startup in twelve has raised money.
We are here to change that ratio.
Source: Tracxn (August 2026). The total includes inactive companies.
Programmes
Five ways to plug in.
Start where you are. Watch and learn, join the community, train on campus, sit with working founders, then get ready for investors.
Stories
Documentary breakdowns of how great companies are built, turned into systems you can take, repeat and reuse.
Watch the stories →Cableheads
The open community for founders, operators and anyone planning a startup.
Join Cableheads →Cable Campus
Startup training for African undergraduates and fresh graduates, from problem to launch.
See Cable Campus →The Circuit
A closed, in-person circle for working founders. Circuit nights in Lagos first.
Request to join →Transformers
The investor network we’re building, for founders who have trained and proved themselves.
How introductions work →Your path
From first idea to first investor.
Learn
Join Cableheads, the open community. Students and fresh graduates can start in Cable Campus.
Join Cableheads →Grow
Step into The Circuit, the in-person circle for founders with a live startup.
See The Circuit →Get funded
Transformers is the investor network we’re building. When founders are ready, we’ll connect them.
How it works →Our vision
Where Founders Cable will be.
Clear targets for one, five and ten years. We will report progress against each of them publicly.
African founders in the Cableheads community
Quarterly Circuit nights in Lagos. Cable Campus in 5 universities, training 500 students and fresh graduates.
Students and graduates trained to start companies
The Circuit running in 5 African countries. Transformers introducing ready founders to investors.
Startups launched across the continent
The first place an African founder goes to learn, build and get funded.
Stories
How great companies were really built.
Each documentary finds the decisions that mattered and turns them into systems you can take, repeat and reuse.
How to Start a Business in Nigeria With No Money (5 Minutes)
You need one person who is willing to pay you. Four steps, from a problem you can see to making it official.
Moove Is Worth $2.1 Billion. Why Did It Just Leave Nigeria?
How Moove makes its money, why its Nigerian business leaned on one app, and what it did for its drivers on the way out.
Read and use
Free tools and stories for African founders.
Tools, playbooks and stories you can use today, from choosing a problem to raising your first round.
Latest from the blog
Free tools and playbooks
CableMatch
Find out the kind of co-founder your idea needs. It takes 3 minutes.
Find your match → Free toolRaiseScore
Answer 12 quick questions and you get your score, your funding options and your next steps.
Get your RaiseScore → Free playbookThe fundraising playbook
How to raise funding for a startup in Africa, from first cheque to Series A.
Read the playbook → Free playbook₦0 to First Customer
Go for your first paying customer in 7 days, with no money to start. We send it to your email.
Get the sprint →
Why we exist
“I watched startups break from the inside. Money was rarely the only cause. So I started Founders Cable.”
Work with us
Find your place on the cable.
Running a startup?
Join a closed circle of working founders. Real problems, honest advice, the right introductions.
Request to join The Circuit → Students and universitiesStart before you graduate.
Cable Campus trains undergraduates and fresh graduates to start companies that solve real problems.
See Cable Campus → Investors and partnersMeet founders who are ready.
Become a Transformer and meet founders who have trained and proved themselves in our community.
Become a Transformer →Stay plugged in
Get every new story and the research behind it.
Documentaries, startup systems and Circuit night news for African founders. Free, on the channel you already use.