While many investors measure success by financial returns, Davies believes true wealth lies in creating sustainable systems that continue generating opportunities long after individual businesses have succeeded. As co-founder of the Lagos Angel Network (LAN) and a founding force behind the African Business Angel Network (ABAN), now spanning more than 50 angel investor networks across the continent, he has helped democratize early stage investing and unlock capital for hundreds of African entrepreneurs. His investment portfolio reflects that philosophy.
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From Super Strikers, which has evolved into a globally recognized entertainment brand, to Big Cabal Media, FlexiSAF, Semicolon, Sproxil, and several other high impact ventures, Davies has consistently backed founders solving meaningful problems rather than merely pursuing market trends.
Unlike many investors focused primarily on financial performance, Davies insists that impact must come first. For him, technology is not simply an industry; it is the most powerful vehicle for solving Africa’s development challenges. “Impact is number one for me,” he explains, adding that technology is indispensable in achieving lasting transformation. Rather than searching for quick exits, he looks for entrepreneurs capable of creating businesses that improve education, financial inclusion, healthcare, digital infrastructure, and economic opportunity across generations. Years of investing have also taught him that capital alone never builds successful companies.
Founders do. When evaluating entrepreneurs, he searches for qualities that extend far beyond technical brilliance, including vision, innovation, individuality, integrity, collaboration, and coachability. He also warns founders against designing solutions before understanding the problems they seek to solve, urging them to identify genuine market needs and the people who truly value their solutions.
Perhaps Davies’ greatest contribution has not been the companies he has funded, but the ecosystem he has helped build around entrepreneurship. Recognizing that founders require far more than financing, he has spent years connecting investors, mentors, universities, governments, and international networks to strengthen Africa’s innovation economy. His work through ABAN has established angel investing communities across dozens of African countries, creating pathways for local capital to support local innovation. Guided by his philosophy of “Find, Fund, Follow,” Davies believes investors should identify promising founders, provide them with the resources they need, and continue supporting them throughout their entrepreneurial journey.
Looking ahead, Davies remains optimistic about the technologies reshaping the future. He describes Artificial Intelligence, fintech, blockchain, digital identity, and cryptocurrency as transformative forces that Africa must embrace responsibly. At the same time, he argues that many startups struggle to raise capital not because their ideas lack promise, but because they fail to prepare adequately, often approaching investors without proper governance structures, audited financial records, legal documentation, shareholder agreements, or investor ready data rooms. His latest initiatives are designed to bridge that gap by helping African startups become investment ready before seeking capital.
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Throughout the conversation, one message remained unmistakable: Tomi Davies is not building companies for headlines; he is building institutions for history. His mission extends beyond startups to creating a self sustaining ecosystem where entrepreneurs can access mentorship, funding, networks, and knowledge long after today’s founders have become tomorrow’s investors.
His closing advice to entrepreneurs is simple yet enduring: know your customers better than they know themselves, understand the regulatory environment in which your business operates, and never lose sight of the human beings your innovation is meant to serve. In an era often obsessed with valuations, rapid growth, and billion dollar exits, Tomi Davies reminds Africa’s entrepreneurial community that the greatest legacy is not the company you build, but the ecosystem you leave behind.
