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Where Resilience Meets Reinvention: Founders You Need to Know from Africa 🌍

Friends of Bata Goes to Africa x Cycle Africa

At Friends of Bata, we believe the most powerful entrepreneurial stories often come from places overlooked by the mainstream. That’s why we’ve teamed up with Cycle Africa to launch Friends of Bata Goes to Africa — a mini-series spotlighting grassroots entrepreneurs and innovators driving real impact across the continent.

This isn’t polished PR or boardroom jargon. It’s raw, on-the-ground storytelling that captures how young, resourceful founders are tackling urgent local challenges — from education to sustainability — with ideas that have the potential to inspire the world.

Over the next months, as Cycle Africa’s riders make their way on a 10,000 km journey from Kigali to Cape Town 🚲, we’ll meet the entrepreneurs they encounter along the way. Each story is a window into resilience, reinvention, and community-driven innovation — showing that change doesn’t just come from big institutions, but from everyday people daring to solve problems where they live.

Meet Ellie — Our Rider & On-the-Ground Ambassador

To kick off the series, meet Ellie Mitchell-Heggs — lifelong social impact advocate, Cycle Africa rider, and on-the-ground Friends of Bata ambassador. Ellie is cycling the entire route from Rwanda to South Africa, meeting local changemakers, and sharing their stories with us.

As Ellie puts it:

“There’s a massive misconception that change and impact are led by big organisations, whereas actually these small organisations are the ones paving the way and creating solutions that could be learnt at a global scale.”

Ellie’s journey isn’t just about endurance on the road. It’s about uncovering and amplifying voices that too often go unheard — founders whose work is already transforming communities.

Why This Matters

Africa is home to some of the most resilient, innovative, and community-led solutions to today’s biggest challenges. By spotlighting these founders, Friends of Bata Goes to Africa aims to:

Inspire young entrepreneurs and students globally with authentic, relatable stories
Bridge communities across continents through shared learnings and collaboration
Show how innovation thrives under constraints, with lessons relevant to any founder

What’s Coming Next

In Uganda, Ellie discovered the Zetu Foundation, an initiative ensuring schoolchildren have dedicated workspaces at school and home — an innovation that directly improves learning outcomes. This is just the first of many powerful founder stories we’ll be sharing in this series.

📅 Stay tuned: our first entrepreneur spotlight — Arnold, founder of Zetu Africa and creator of the SeatPack — drops next week.

And yes — sorry for the occasional video hiccups. Ellie is literally reporting live from the road 🚲🌍 … and that’s part of the adventure!

Follow the Journey

👉 Subscribe to our updates and follow Friends of Bata on LinkedIn to catch every new snippet from Friends of Bata Goes to Africa.

Together, let’s learn from resilience, celebrate reinvention, and spotlight founders you need to know.

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Embarking on the path of entrepreneurship can be daunting, fraught with obstacles and uncertainties.

However, the journey of Adrian Escabias, as detailed in our latest Friends of Bata case study, offers invaluable insights and practical lessons for aspiring entrepreneurs. Here's why young entrepreneurs should delve into Adrian's story of ups and downs, and the strategies employed to successfully launch Aticco Ventures:

Resilience in the Face of Adversity: Adrian's transition from the corporate world to entrepreneurship showcases the importance of resilience. He faced significant setbacks, including the collapse of his startup Subbo and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Escamu. His ability to bounce back and continue innovating is a powerful lesson for any entrepreneur.
Learning from failure: The case study highlights how Adrian turned failures into learning opportunities. For example, the legal issues and partner conflicts he faced in Subbo underscore the necessity of solid legal agreements and the importance of having experienced advisors.
Importance of Intellectual Property: Protecting intellectual property is crucial, as illustrated by the challenges Adrian faced with his CTO at Subbo. Ensuring proper legal safeguards can prevent devastating losses and help maintain the integrity of your business.
Securing Funding: Adrian's experiences reveal the complexities of startup funding. From relying on personal finances and bank loans to establishing community-based pledge funds, his journey underscores the need for creative and strategic approaches to secure capital.
Building a Supportive Community: Aticco Ventures is a testament to the power of community-driven innovation. By fostering a network of experienced entrepreneurs and investors, Adrian has created an environment where startups can thrive through mentorship, collaboration, and shared resources.
Networking and Relationship Building: The value of strong professional networks is a recurring theme in Adrian's story. Regular networking events and workshops at Aticco Ventures help entrepreneurs build essential connections that can lead to new opportunities and collaborations.

For aspiring entrepreneurs, Adrian Escabias's journey provides a realistic and inspiring look at the highs and lows of entrepreneurship. It offers practical lessons on resilience, the importance of solid legal foundations, creative funding solutions, and the power of community. By learning from Adrian's experiences, entrepreneurs can better navigate their own paths and avoid common pitfalls.

Click here to download the case study and find our all details about his challenges and journey!

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