Niama El Bassunie
Builder, founder, investor, advisor.
Niama El Bassunie is a founder, investor and advisor in technology companies in Africa and beyond. Most recently she joined The Baobab Network as Managing Partner. She is the CEO and founder of WaystoCap, and recognized as a Technology Pioneer by the WEF.
The Baobab Network
2022 – Current
Managing Partner at The Baobab Network, an accelerator investing in early-stage technology companies across Africa. We back founders who are leveraging technology to solve some of the greatest challenges facing the continent today.
WaystoCap (Acquired)
2015 – Current
CEO & Founder at WaystoCap, the premier B2B marketplace in Africa. One of the first North African companies to be accepted into Y Combinator (raising over $4m in total) in 2016, we were on a mission to solve the inefficient continental supply chain by bringing: payments, logistics, and distribution into one online platform. This has morphed into a local distribution model which has now been taken over by Maxab.
WTE Ltd / Guinea Invest
2010 - 2015
I visited Guinea in 2010 for a recycling project to clear the port of Conakry of wrecked ships, and ended up staying for 1 year! I also advised on a number of infrastructure projects in Togo with Sir Paul Judge, and set up one of the first UCO imports from North Africa to the EU.
PWC
2007 - 2011
Markets & Valuation in Energy, Utilities & Infrastructure.
Provided financial advisory to largest South African oil and gas company. Responsibilites included financial modelling and negotiations with gas and LNG infrastructure suppliers.
Worked on due diligence of FTSE-100 mining firm in hostile take-over. Working on a buy side deal of three refineries in Europe, which included valuation analysis. I also passed CFA level III.
Other Roles
2021 - Ongoing
NIYA - Board Member
Houghton Street Ventures - Advisor
ZebraCrop Bank - Strategic Advisor
Ambo VC - Advisor