23/12/2025
Why this was my best year as an entrepreneur...
__And why you can't afford to stand still !
In the age of AI, the only jobs that are secure and guaranteed are for entrepreneurs. Let that soak in.
For me, this was my best year as an entrepreneur... and it was because of AI. For the first time in years, I went back to work with our teams as de facto “Chief AI Officer“ and not just “entrepreneur in residence” [as our group CEO likes to say].
I cut back meetings and speaking engagements and did what I like best, strategising on how to develop new AI businesses or how to “AI-it” in our business.
Setting up our first AI Factory in Cape Town, South Africa, and actually seeing the GPUs being installed by NVIDIA engineers, reminded me of the time Ericsson shipped my first mobile system in 1996; it was an exhilarating experience.
I travelled and met with some of the leading global players in AI including Sir Demis Hassabis, James Manyika, Josh Woodward, Thomas Kurian, Sam Altman, Jensen Huang, Dario and Daniela Amodei, Larry Ellison, and so many others. I even met up with my hero, Fei-Fei Li.
It was just amazing! With a shared vision for the future at this exciting time, we have some great . Some of them include you!
The best part of my time was spent studying and reading, including some of your insightful comments here on the platform. I made sure that 90% of my daily reading was on AI. I spent more time on YouTube than at any time in my life. Because of AI, I listened to hours of podcasts. I soaked myself in it, just to build up knowledge.
Systematically, I found myself able to drive change to engage AI within our businesses. I wanted what I call “AI infusion". This has begun and will accelerate dramatically. Then I wanted new AI-driven businesses, and that too has started.
The best compliment I received this year was from the great man himself, Jensen Huang: “Strive, you have made sure that Africa is at the table in this new technology; we are all at ground zero together".
I think the best part of what I have tried to do will come from the platform we are creating for African entrepreneurs. By creating GPU-as-a-Service, we have lowered the barrier of access to , which is what AI entrepreneurs in Africa need to develop their own AI-driven entrepreneurial ventures.
However, this is, of course, only possible if those entrepreneurs start by using at least part of my own playbook... starting with !
These GPUs for the African continent will mean nothing if you have only casual knowledge of AI. You have to commit yourself to “sacrificial” learning.
By “sacrificial" I mean that it must you something. To start, it must cost you in , starting NOW.
If you are not able to set aside three hours a day to go back to school or online, on a course you pay for... you are not really .
If you need to borrow money, then it must be to help you learn about AI. I am being very serious here.
It must cost you in money because your success depends on YOU. No one owes you a living, and no one is thinking about you [except your own family].
Don’t buy this myth that the government or donors will do something for you. Policies can help, yes, but even the best policy will not help you if you don’t to the needs of the day.
If need be, you can sell something valuable to you... a TV, a sofa, whatever!
As it is the season of though, in my next post I will give you a little "present" put together by my team, a list of some courses and they compiled that are mostly free that you can study as you for the New Year ahead. The rest is up to you.
I want to inspire you “TO DO”... not to watch or even admire. Every time I post, I want you to drop what you are doing, take out a notebook, and list some things you can DO!
And if this leads you to an AI-powered business idea, great! But shhh... Don't share it here. Just DO!
Image credit: "You're not going to lose your job to AI; you will lose your job to someone who uses AI". Jensen Huang
