BlackRam Capital

??Breaking my short no-post hiatus with my latest on BeautyMatter, “Can Africa’s Beauty Industry Win Over Investors?” Such an important question. In this piece, I wrote that although the African beauty industry continues to blossom, thanks to the different classes of consumers, there’s still a stark underfunding problem in comparison to other continents. I further wrote about how the roads to financial support are fraught with challenges such as limited access to funding networks, a lack of investor understanding of the market, market fragmentation, intense competition, and sometimes, governmental policies. Governmental policies, for one, are very important. At BeautyMatter, we’ve covered multiple pieces (and more to come) about this, and how it’s clamping down on the opportunities for business growth. In this piece, you’ll find from an investor’s comment that the very drastic and often erratic and incomprehensible policies passed on to action by the African government have been a contributing factor that’s deterred foreign investment. Of course, race and gender also play a major role. You’ll find more about it in the piece below, as I spoke with a few women of colour who have sought funding, but have received direct backhanded comments about their colour and gender as a reason for the refusal of investment. Many thanks to Wendy Agboyibor of BlackRam Capital, Sarah Dusek of Enygma Ventures, and at Eniye Okah of @BEAME for sharing their thoughts and stories with us.

Technology adoption in the Luxury sector and the importance of tech due diligence in the deal process & value creation plans (Bain & Company) : ? " The houses backed by a larger group have adopted on average 2.1 times more technologies than their independent competitors. These include : biotechnologies, molecular recycling, 3D printing, artificial intelligence and machine learning for process optimization, artificial intelligence and machine learning for customer engagement and many more (https://lnkd.in/dCnqwWpR) ? Blockchain, which allows end-to-end product traceability, is the primary focus of experimentations (39% of the companies in the test phase). This is followed by artificial intelligence (29% in the test phase), aimed at optimising stock allocation, supply chain fluidity and collection structures." ? “As value creation becomes increasingly wrapped up in how a company deploys digital technology to improve operations, sharpen product development, or deepen relationships with customers, an integrated, thesis-driven approach to due diligence is especially critical. The transformation of regular businesses into tech-enabled businesses has become commonplace across the global economy. (…) ? The sponsors getting tech due diligence right recognize that, when it comes to underwriting technology’s impact on risk and opportunity, what sufficed even a few years ago is no longer adequate. ? Investors often complain that the tech report they get back from the diligence team is a list of observations, not a set of contextual insights. It is often brimming with tech jargon (...). Strong tech diligence has to be tied to the deal thesis from the outset; it is no different from commercial diligence in this respect. ? The first question, then, is: How do we expect to create value at this target company? The next: Is the right technology in place to enable our thesis, and, if not, will the cost of building new capabilities or expertise deliver on the required investment? .” https://lnkd.in/dNAsfan5

US market expansion - The strategic concerns for beauty brands : Warehouse, Regulations, Taxes. As innovative beauty brands such as Typology and MIRROR WATER are planning a US expansion,?what are the risks to manage for European brands ? 1 - Warehouse optimization and labour management?: To reduce costs and delivery times, shipping products to customers from a US warehouse is the best strategy. First, location and capacity : The warehouse must be in a centralized location, depending on where the highest US demand will come from. Also, the right strategy could be to have the warehouse in a Foreign Trade Zone, as it will mainly be used for storage and inventory management. The warehouse must be safe and designed in an efficient manner?(Grouping similar products, space utilization, clear labelling and indications in the aisles…).? Optimizing the warehouse processes has a direct consequence on the top and bottom lines. Productivity and customer satisfaction will increase due to reduced time-to-process and less overstock or stockouts.?Maintaining inventory accuracy, optimizing space and making sure the orders are fulfilled on time can be hard priorities, especially for online businesses. Consequently, the warehouse must have the most up-to-date IoT, software, other digital systems and equipment. Labour management is also crucial and HR must define clear job expectations, responsibilities and train, provide feedback to the employees. More on regulations and taxes : https://lnkd.in/dhKKwKbQ

Celebrating small wins : Thank you ?? We have reached 200 followers in 3 months today and 100 visitors since launching our website a week ago : www.blackramcapital.com #Greatful

It's official ! We are launching our website and service offering to connect consumer and luxury brands to investors, while also assisting entrepreneurs with their growth and digital strategy : www.blackramcapital.com . We have been supporting entrepreneurs and grew a strong network of investors within a few months so it is time we share the news and make it official ! Visit our website to follow our journey ??