UEFA Is On Course To Generate More Than $5.9 billion

When building businesses across Africa, there’s a clear split between traditional and digital sectors.

Traditional businesses—like agriculture, construction, and mining—serve everyday needs. They’re resilient, even in tough economies, but often operate informally with limited systems and documentation.

Digital ventures are more structured and data-driven—but scaling them brings its own challenges.

For investors, one key lesson stands out: it’s not just about money.

Access to networks, mentorship, and knowledge is critical—especially for businesses looking to expand beyond their home markets.

Kanessah Muluneh, Ceo at Nyle joins us for this episode

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:04

In Africa, scaling a business isn't just about money. It's about networks, knowledge and structure. From over 2,400 cities and 179 countries, we bring you the Good Morning Africa podcast. Good morning Africa. Welcome Border Pops and Everything Business in Africa. I am Rither Dong. For more follow us on Twitter, at the K Financial News, and you can find me at Rither Dong. When building businesses across Africa, there's a clear split between the traditional and digital sectors. Traditional businesses like agriculture, construction and mining serve everyday needs, their resilient, even in tough economies, but often operate informally with limited systems and documentation. Digital ventures are more abstractured and data-driven, but scanning them brings its own challenges. For investors, one key lesson stands out. It's not just about money. Access to networks, mentorship, knowledge, and knowledge is critical, especially for businesses looking to expand beyond their home market. Kanessa Mulune, CEO at Nile, joins us for this episode.

SPEAKER_01 1:08

Thank you so much. And just maybe adding on that, uh you could also let us know some of the lessons you have learned from building and backing companies across uh Africa's traditional digital sectors. I know you've already hinted on it, but in the very what does traditional African um companies look like and also the digital sectors, what do they look like? And you know, uh a compare and contrast sort of thing uh in lessons in building in both fields.

SPEAKER_02 1:36

Okay, so traditional company, how we uh classify traditional companies is kind of the the everyday necessities. That's how we classify traditional companies. So things you need everyday. So it could be anything food related, housing related, not necessarily just real estate, but it could be construction, plumbing, anything of that kind. Um resources that Africa has for mining in this case, um they are in everyday like people's lives. So um that's how we classify traditional ones. And what I learned from uh this industry is that um you know most people work um how do you say it? It's like the the old-fashioned way. So not as when you run due diligence sometimes as an investor, not everything is documented, or you cannot get the right paperwork all the time. I mean, a farmer uh he doesn't do uh he might not do his bookkeeping uh as you expect from, let's say, a tech company. So um you have to be aware that when you run due diligence, it's a little bit different than any other uh modern company, let's say, um, or office job company. So it it's um yeah, it's a it's a little bit different. But we see the potential in those because we think it's recession proof. Um no matter what the world or economy goes through, uh these industries will remain because it's everyday need of the popular or not necessarily just for the population, for everyone in this world. I mean, we always eat, we always need to live somewhere. Um so yeah, this is this is what I can tell you.

SPEAKER_01 3:24

Let's talk about the realities of scaling ventures in emerging markets. What does that look like for you who's giving people money and saying, look, I see potential in you. Uh, I think you can scale, I think uh you need money. Uh, and this is what's available. You have helped quite a number of you know, companies scale. What are the realities of helping venture scale in Africa? And also how do you help them navigate across border curves?

SPEAKER_02 3:56

I think um what I can tell you from my experience is that it's not just money. I I know money obviously funds is is a big part of it, uh, but opening up your doors to a network is even more valuable. So knowledge imports with that. So it's it's um we we are in the process of um investing in a skincare brand in Kenya, and uh we visited them, and I saw that you know the the way they were working is not up to uh European standards or the standards that we are used to. So I was like, okay, these people obviously have potential, but they need a mentor. So we bring in a mentor that basically guides them and uh like you know tells them how the process would look like if they want to tackle you know the outside world, so any any market outside of Kenya. You really need um protocols, you really need to set a standard in order to sell, you need to test your products. How do you test it? What kind of data do you gather? So I think uh knowledge or network access is even worth more. So you sometimes it's not just about you know handing over the money and just sit back. You really need to be involved and connect them to the right people.

SPEAKER_00 5:23

And a quick look at the markets. UEFA is on course to generate more than$5.9 billion in earn-year revenue from 2027 as a new round of international television rights agreements push the commercial value of its men's club competitions to fresh highs, according to Bloomberg. Fresh broadcast deals tied to 2027-2020-2031 cycle for UFA Champions League Europe. For the UF Champions League, Europa League and Conference League are expected to take annual media rights revenues alone past 5.9 billion shillings mark,$5.9 billion mark, about 20% higher than the current cycle. It's a sign that Europe's top club competitions remain one of the most valuable products in global sports media. And a quick review of the other stories, DR Congo is set to take an equity stake in the$270 million cross-border power line to Zambia. This is according to its finance ministry. The move comes as electricity demand in DR Congo's mining region rises faster than supply with miners building metal processing plants to satisfy local policymakers' desires to keep some of the value chain in the country. The project, approved by Zambia's energy regulator last year, is being developed by Enterprise Power DRC, a private power trading company, and its Zambian subsidiary, DR Congo's Ministry of Finance. The 125-mile voltage line will have the initial capacity of 460 megawatts, expandable to 550 megawatts, running from Kalumbila, a copper mining town in northwestern Zambia, to Kolwesi, the heart of Congo's copper mining region. The start date for the project is yet to be set. The United States is preparing to reopen ties with a long-isolated Eritrea by lifting sanctions. Reuters reported citing international US internal U.S. garbage documents. It marks the country's rising strategic importance along the Red Sea shipping route. Its coastline faces Saudi Arabia, which is one of the world's busiest transport lines connecting Asia to Europe via the Sfair's Canal. With oil flow through the strife of harm was disrupted by the fallout from the US-Israel conflict with Iran. Washington's focus on alternative routes has intensified. The move reflects a broader effort to re-engage the Horn of Africa country and would rescind a 2021 executive order imposed under former President Joe Biden. Eritrea remains highly repressive according to rights groups and was sanctioned over its role in Ethiopia's key great war between 2020 and 2022. Semaphor reported last month that the latest US Eritrea normalization talks brokered by Egypt were already underway, according to people familiar with the discussions. Thank you for always waking up with us. Good morning, Apple Present Products for the Cave Financial. If you have suggestions or want to check out more stories, visit the website as the K Financial.com. Don't forget to subscribe. You can find us on all social media platforms at the Care Financial, and you can find me at the Doctor.