Welcome to Episode 5, the next to last of Dans les Coulisses, a series exploring VC and tech entrepreneurship in Francophone Africa, brought to you by Impact Hub Dakar and The Trajectory Africa.  For this episode, we have two guests: Birame Sock and Madji Sock.  Birame Sock is a technology expert with over 20 years of experience as a tech entrepreneur and high-level executive in the digital space. She recently founded Kwely, a B2B wholesale sourcing marketplace that showcases products made in Africa. Birame is also a co-founder of Haskè Ventures, a venture-builder and investment fund focused on high potential Francophone companies. She has served on several boards, including a publicly traded company valued at over a billion dollars, where she helped develop digital strategies for major entertainment brands such as American Idol. Birame is the jury president of the Francophone Africa region for the Cartier Women’s Initiative Award; serves on the jury of the Jack Ma Foundation’s Africa Business Heroes competition; and is an ambassador representing Francophone Africa for the UNCTAD eTrade for Women program. Madji Sock is a seasoned entrepreneur and senior manager. She is a co-founder and President of Haskè Ventures, a venture-builder and investment fund focused on high potential Francophone companies. She launched a consulting firm in Senegal, which later expanded to three other West African countries. Madji has also co-founded the Women’s Investment Club Senegal, from which WIC Capital, a fund focused on women-owned businesses in Senegal and Côte d’Ivoire, emerged. In addition to co-founding an incubator in Dakar, she has launched, and currently manages, a chain of cafés. Madji has designed numerous programs and initiatives to strengthen the private sector, drive policy change, and build partnerships. In this episode, we discuss: Birame’s entrepreneurial crossroads and what motivated her to return to Senegal [2:02] Why Madji returned, her professional journey, and the launch of Haskè Ventures [4:45] What need Birame’s company Kweli was launched to to serve [9:00] Why venture building makes sense when startups have to build infrastructure [14:30] How to characterize the regional opportunity in Francophone Africa [33:00] The role of blended capital and M&A in funding and exiting African businesses [41:30] How African founders and investors should navigate “winter” in global VC [51:10]