In this Business Blast Podcast episode, host Tyler Wagner interviews African entrepreneur and investor Rodrigue Fouafou. Fouafou shares a formative story of growing up in a large polygamous family in a rural African village, which he credits for developing his social skills and risk‑taking mindset. He emphasizes that Africa is a rising continent with genuine business opportunities for Western investors, countering outdated negative perceptions. Fouafou highlights a concrete investment case: an early 2012 €35,000 stake (now 7%) in the first French‑made African video game, which gained coverage from Forbes, CNN, and is slated for a Hollywood movie, with a London private‑equity firm planning a €500,000 injection. He offers advice to his younger self—learn broadly, surround yourself with uplifting people, and experiment to discover your purpose. His definition of happiness centers on authenticity, living true to oneself, and aligning with life purpose. He cites a Simon Sinek‑Nelson Mandela quote, “To go fast, go by yourself; to go further, you have to go together,” underscoring the importance of teamwork in building his three companies. Finally, he directs listeners to find him online via the single‑word brand “Africa Connects.” The conversation blends personal anecdotes, investment insights, and philosophical reflections on success and fulfillment.
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Welcome to the Business Blast Podcast. I'm your host, Tyler Wagner. This episode is brought to you by Authors Unite. Authors Unite provides you with all the resources you need to become a successful author. You can learn more about Authors Unite and join the free community at authorsunite.com. Now let's jump into the episode.
All right everyone, welcome back to another episode of the Business Blast podcast. I'm your host Tyler Wagner. Today I have Rodrigue Fouafou with us. He is an entrepreneur, a speaker, and a startup investor in Africa. So welcome to the show, man.
Thank you, thank you, Tyler.
Of course, man. Grateful to have you on, really excited for this one. Um, well, we'll jump into the first question. The first question I have for you is what is the best story from your life that has an underlying valuable message?
Yeah, the best story of my life regarding what you asked is that I grew up into a small village in Africa coming from a big family. My dad used to have 6— my dad had 6 wives with 32 children, 33 children. So growing up in a big family and growing up in a farm in Africa really set up a ground base of me being more social. My social life nowadays has the roots from my childhood and also the ability to create my— the ability to risk and my ability to say, you know what, everything is possible and so on.
And what is the most valuable piece of information we should know that's within your expertise or industry?
I would say to let people know that Africa is rising. Africa is the continent nowadays where you can have— you can do some real legit business and good return compared to what people have thought in the past. So to see Africa as a continent of bad things going on and so on. Africa is now a continent where there's some real business opportunity for an investor, for a Western investor.
Got it. That's really good to know. And so actually, you know, my next question is normally like, what's your best piece of overall business advice? But what I'd like to ask is like, can you give us a couple examples or just one example of like an investment, a startup that you're invested in in Africa that you really believe in?
Excellent, good question. Tyler, in 2012, roughly 6 years ago, we were one of the early investors for the first French-made African video game. We invested roughly 35K, and the game came out in 2016, and Forbes featured last year, and CNN as well featured last year too. And Hollywood are in top of them to make a movie next year. That's the idea. Go out there in Africa, identify the young passionate African people, smart, and support them financially, but also mentor them, show them the best way to run business and so on. Then expose the world, show the world that, you know what, Africa can inspire. The world can learn from Africa too as well. And we, we own We own now the 7% of that venture. And there's a private equity firm in London who's investing €500,000 next month. So that's the idea. Go in Africa, identify the young passionate people, and expose to the world and say, you know what, you guys gotta invest in Africa. Things are happening. And it's here.
Dude, that is awesome, man. I'm glad to hear that. So another question is, if you could give your younger self one piece of advice, what would that be?
I would say, you know, Roderick 20 years— Roderick, uh, 10 to 15 years ago would be to learn as much as you can by expose and do pretty much everything because we didn't know where to go or what's what. It seems that I didn't know where was my why, you know. Learn as much as you can, surround yourself the best, surround yourself with people that will lift you up and so on, and try everything. That's how you're going to grab different knowledge and so on that will help you to really nail down your why in the future.
And in your opinion, what is the key to happiness?
Happiness, yeah, it's a complex subject though. So, but for me, I define happiness, uh, the way to be who you are And the authenticity that you are, and the fact that you are who you are without changing or without, you know, live based on society norm or based on society pressure and so on. Really live a life where that you belong to, that you feel connected to, that in line with your life purpose.
And what is the best book that you've read and what was the number one thing you learned from that?
Yeah, good question though. And there's a quote that I learned, I think it's 5 years ago, from one of my famous authors, Simon Sinek. He was quoting Nelson Mandela. One of Nelson Mandela's quotes was, "To go fast, go by yourself. And to go further, you have to go together." basically. So basically, you see that if you want to by yourself, you can go fast by yourself, but being together, being a group, and so we can go far. Yeah, that's really stuck with me too. Uh, I can see that nowadays when— this is my third company that I'm growing. My first one, again, those are the lessons I learned from that. So by being together, by surrounding yourself with people who have the same— align the same view that you have, Eventually, if it is possible, I mean, be yours if it is possible. And also think about long-term gain and so on, the short-term concept. So if you want to think further, about 20 years, 10 years from now, that's around a group of solid people who align with your vision if it is possible, and you will go, go further.
Yes, man. Dude, thank you so much for coming on. Uh, very insightful, uh, episode. The last question I have for you before we let you go is where's the best place for people to find you online?
Yeah, the best way to find me online is not through my name, Rodryck Fafou, which is too long, African name, so it's not easy to remember. But the only one word, one expression that can find me online is through Africa Connects, with es at the end, Africa Connects. If you type Africa Connects on all social networks, you will find me.
Perfect, man. Thanks again for hopping on.
Thank you, Tyler Wagner. Appreciate it.
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