The week just started and it's already a lot in the tech space.

Two stories dropped that had every African founder in their feelings. Let's talk about it, and then let's talk about why none of it should stop you.

Good morning. Sit down. Get your tea. Or your Eba if you’re built like me. Because today’s Monday Fuel is coming with news, opinions, and a pep talk you didn’t know you needed.

Two things happened in the African tech space recently that had people in their feelings, and both of them are worth talking about honestly.

Story 1 · The Swoop situation

A 19-year-old American named Aubrey Niederhoffer, who discovered Africa by playing GeoGuessr as a kid, moved to Lagos, and dropped out of UC Berkeley, just raised $7.3 million in seed funding to build a food delivery super app called Swoop. His backers include Long Journey, Variant, Soma Capital, and others.

He also received a Thiel Fellowship worth $250,000. The app launched in Yaba and is going after Chowdeck’s market.

And African founders? They had thoughts.

The reactions online were raw and understandable. Founders who have been grinding for years, pitching the same investors on the same continent, watching someone who learned about Africa from a geography game walk in and raise one of the largest seed rounds an African consumer startup has ever seen. That stings. I won’t pretend it doesn’t.

But here’s what I want you to hold alongside that feeling: Soma Capital, one of Swoop’s investors, also backed Moniepoint. These investors are not strangers to African tech. They are actually putting money into the ecosystem. And the fact that a 19-year-old American moved to Lagos, bet his education on this continent, and convinced Silicon Valley to write a $7.3 million cheque?

That is, whether we like it or not, a signal. A signal that the world is starting to see what African builders have always known.

The conversation we should be having is not just “why did he get funded?” It is: how are we packaging our stories, our traction, our vision? Because the opportunity is clearly visible. The question is who gets to it first.

Story 2 · Tosin Eniolorunda and the 500 empty seats

Tosin Eniolorunda, the founder and CEO of Moniepoint, Nigeria’s leading fintech that raised over $200 million in Series C funding and processed ₦412 trillion in transactions in 2025, said something that went everywhere:

Moniepoint has over 500 vacant positions and cannot find Nigerians to fill them. His competitors are global. His standard is global. And too many candidates are simply not meeting the bar.

Now, I know some of you read that and felt personally attacked. Breathe. This is not shade, it is a challenge wrapped in a fact.

Moniepoint literally created a bootcamp called DreamDevs, selected 20 people from over 9,000 applicants, and is training them from scratch because the talent pipeline is not where it needs to be.

This is a company so committed to Nigerian talent that they built their own school. 500 seats are empty, not because Nigerians are not capable, but because we have to collectively get more serious about the skills that the market is actually paying for.

The jobs exist. The funding exists. The opportunity exists. The only thing that has to catch up is us.

And that is not a discouraging statement. That is the most exciting thing I’ve said all week. Because it means the ceiling is not the problem. We are the ceiling, which means we can raise it ourselves. 🌍

The bigger picture

Here is what both stories are actually telling you if you read them together: Africa is on the radar. Investors are flying in. Unicorns are being built. The infrastructure is coming. The spotlight is getting brighter, and that means this is exactly the wrong time to slow down, doubt yourself, or relent.

You are building on the most watched, most underestimated, most resilient continent on the planet. Every pitch that doesn’t land is data. Every skill gap is a course you haven’t taken yet. Every setback is a founder story being written in real time.

Tosin Eniolorunda started with his own money and a belief that Nigerian businesses deserved better banking. He grew up in Ibadan. He did not move to Silicon Valley to build something great. He built it here. And now he’s processing ₦412 trillion a year and can’t find enough people to keep up with his growth.

That is the energy for your Monday. Do not relent. Build the skills. Tell the story. Keep going. I’m always here.

If you are building something great and you want to be spotlighted, In60 is your best bet. Reach out to me and let’s talk about your beautiful startup/product at in60spotlight@gmail.com

Bankole Mubarak · Head of Newsletter, In60