Solve Pain First, Raise Funds Later — How African Startups Can Succeed Without Venture Capital

"He who wears the shoe knows where it pinches. Solve that pain, and you may never need to beg for money."

Introduction: The Fundraising Obsession

In the African startup ecosystem, there's often more buzz about pitch decks than product-market fit. Aspiring founders are coached to chase venture capital, pitch at glitzy competitions, and celebrate pre-seed rounds as success stories. But the reality is this: less than 1% of African startups ever receive VC funding (Disrupt Africa, 2023).

That doesn’t mean your idea has to die. In fact, some of the most successful and resilient health tech and service startups in Africa were built not by chasing investors, but by solving problems so real, so painful, so frequent—that the money followed. Instead of spending months in fundraising limbo, these entrepreneurs rolled up their sleeves, started with what they had, and focused on building ventures that created immediate value.

This op-ed explores why pain-driven, revenue-first startups thrive in Africa, and what aspiring founders can learn from those who’ve walked this path before them.

Case Study 1: Lifebank (Nigeria)

Temie Giwa-Tubosun didn’t start by fundraising. She started by mapping the blood shortage crisis in Nigerian hospitals. After watching mothers die from preventable causes due to blood scarcity, she built LifeBank—a platform that connects hospitals with blood banks in real-time.

Her pilot was low-tech: SMS and phone calls. It saved lives and earned early hospital clients willing to pay. The traction brought media attention, awards, and later, funding from EchoVC and others. But her story didn’t start with capital. It started with a crisis.

Her early-stage operations were built through partnerships with hospitals that paid for the service on a per-need basis. Later, LifeBank expanded into delivering oxygen and vaccines, using the same principles of urgency, logistics, and trust.

🔗 https://www.lifebank.ng/

Case Study 2: mPharma (Ghana)

Gregory Rockson launched mPharma to solve a very basic—but extremely costly—problem: lack of reliable access to quality medications. Instead of building flashy tech from day one, he focused on aggregating pharmacies, optimizing inventory, and offering pay-as-you-go access to chronic disease medication.

Hospitals and pharmacies were willing to pay from the beginning, and the business model scaled because it was rooted in daily operational pain. mPharma later received substantial investment, but its real leverage was the system it had already proven.

By prioritizing pharmacy stock management and affordability over building the next Uber of healthcare, mPharma demonstrated that execution and customer adoption trumped investor attention.

🔗 https://mpharma.com

Case Study 3: Kangpe / Reliance Health (Nigeria)

Kangpe started as a simple Q&A medical app providing SMS-based doctor consultations in Nigeria. The founders charged users a small fee per consultation. With enough usage data and a growing loyal base, the company evolved into Reliance Health, now one of Nigeria’s fastest-growing health insurance startups.

Instead of pitching an untested idea, they proved the business case through consistent revenue and deep understanding of user behavior. Today, Reliance Health serves hundreds of companies across Nigeria, providing health cover through digital platforms.

🔗 https://www.reliancehealth.com

Bonus Example: Health-E-Net (Kenya)

Founded by a Kenyan-German team, Health-E-Net provides second medical opinions to rural patients via mobile technology. They started lean—offering referrals and reports via SMS and WhatsApp for a fee. Doctors abroad volunteer their expertise.

By partnering with community clinics and operating on a cost-recovery model, the startup sustained itself through service fees before seeking donor support or partnerships with NGOs.

🔗 https://healthenet.org

Why Pain-Driven Startups Win

In many African markets, especially in healthcare, the most effective ideas often:

• Solve a daily pain point (e.g., long queues, misdiagnoses, lack of affordable drugs)

• Use existing infrastructure (e.g., WhatsApp, boda bodas, USSD, SMS)

• Earn revenue from day one (subscriptions, per-use fees, partnerships)

• Grow sustainably, not virally

"The person who fetches the water knows how heavy the bucket is."

When you build for lived experiences—your own or your community's—you don’t need to validate your startup in Silicon Valley. Your users will do it for you—with their money.

Pain-driven startups reduce reliance on external funding, and their founders build stronger business muscles: customer engagement, iteration, cost control, and real-time feedback.

Alternative Models to Fundraising

1. Bootstrap with Side Income

Many African founders work part-time jobs or freelance while building their businesses. It’s not glamorous, but it works. Freelance software development, tutoring, or even ride-hailing can fund early MVPs. This approach preserves equity and keeps you accountable to paying customers.

2. Pre-sell Services or Subscriptions

Before investing time and money into development, founders can sell basic versions of their products. For instance, offer a printed guidebook or PDF resource before building an app. Or conduct paid health education workshops while building your learning platform.

3. NGO and Development Contracts

Many international organizations seek local partners to deliver health services or digital solutions. Founders who demonstrate grassroots traction can win contracts from UNICEF, WHO, or local governments. These contracts can fund growth without giving up ownership.

4. Community Crowdfunding

Diaspora communities, religious groups, or university alumni networks are untapped sources of startup capital. Entrepreneurs have raised $2,000–$5,000 from friends and family networks. Platforms like 10X Thrive and Jumpstart Africa are emerging to support African crowdfunding.

5. Revenue-Based Financing (RBF)

Unlike equity investment, RBF lets startups receive capital in exchange for a percentage of monthly revenue. This model aligns investor and founder incentives. In Africa, platforms like SMEFunds.org and Founders Factory Africa are pioneering this model.

6. Pay-as-You-Grow Partnerships

Partner with healthcare providers or mobile networks who share your customers. Let them distribute your product or embed your solution, and pay you based on usage. This cuts your distribution costs and generates early revenue.

Final Word: Stop Chasing Investment—Start Creating Value

"Money follows value, not the other way around."

Raising funds is not evil. But building something fundable requires solving something painful. And in Africa, there's no shortage of real-world pain:

• Mothers dying from preventable causes.

• Clinics without diagnostic tools.

• Youth with untreated depression.

• Medicines locked behind affordability walls.

• Communities lacking access to sexual and reproductive health services.

If you focus on solving these with whatever tools are available—whether SMS, paper records, radio shows, school clubs, or community health workers—you are already ahead of the curve.

Don’t build a startup to impress investors. Build it to relieve real suffering. Build it to simplify lives, restore dignity, save time, and save lives.

So before you open Canva for a pitch deck, open your ears to what’s hurting people around you. Solve pain. Make impact. Let the funding follow.

References

Disrupt Africa. (2023). African Tech Startups Funding Report 2023. https://disrupt-africa.com/reports/

LifeBank. https://www.lifebank.ng/

mPharma. https://mpharma.com

Reliance Health. https://www.reliancehealth.com

Health-E-Net. https://healthenet.org

Founders Factory Africa. https://foundersfactory.africa

SMEFunds. https://smefunds.org

10X Thrive. https://10xthrive.com

Jumpstart Africa. https://www.jumpstartafrica.com