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10 Books Every African Entrepreneur Should Read

6 min read

Ten books for founders building in Africa: customer discovery, positioning, markets the banks ignored, the M-PESA story and leading through hard decisions.

If you read only three, start with The Mom Test for customer conversations, The Lean Startup for testing ideas cheaply and The Prosperity Paradox for building in markets others overlook. For African context, add Africa's Business Revolution and Money, Real Quick, the story of M-PESA. The list below covers all ten and what each is useful for.

I chose these for founders building in Kenya and across Africa, where capital is tight and many customers are new to the category you are selling. For each book I have checked the authors and publication details on the publisher's or author's page, or a library record, and noted which part to read first.

Which books should African founders read first?

1. The Mom Test, by Rob Fitzpatrick

A short book on how to talk to customers and learn something true, even when people are being polite. The book's site sums up the method: avoid biased feedback, get people to talk with you and tell whether a prospect will buy. Read it in one sitting before your next round of customer interviews, then rewrite your questions.

2. The Lean Startup, by Eric Ries

Ries set out the build-measure-learn loop, the minimum viable product, validated learning and the choice to pivot or persevere (The Lean Startup). When money is short, testing a small version with paying customers before you build the full product saves months. Our Lean Startup guide for African entrepreneurs applies the method to local examples.

3. Obviously Awesome, by April Dunford

The clearest book on positioning: how to frame your product so the right customer sees why it matters to them. Dunford breaks positioning into five parts and shows how to choose the market you compete in (April Dunford). It is most useful when your customers have never used a product like yours and need help placing it.

Which books explain building a business in Africa?

4. The Prosperity Paradox, by Clayton Christensen, Efosa Ojomo and Karen Dillon

The authors argue that entrepreneurship and market-creating innovation drive economic growth more reliably than top-down aid programmes (Christensen Institute). For a founder, the core idea is to look for people who cannot afford or reach existing products and build something they can use. Read it when you are sizing your market.

5. Africa's Business Revolution, by Acha Leke, Mutsa Chironga and Georges Desvaux

Published by Harvard Business Review Press in 2018, this book is a guide to building and growing companies on the continent, with examples including M-Kopa, Econet and Equity Bank's agency banking model (Stanford Social Innovation Review excerpt). Its argument that solving a social problem can be the business itself suits founders working in health, energy or finance.

6. Money, Real Quick: The Story of M-PESA, by Tonny K. Omwansa and Nicholas P. Sullivan

The most Kenyan book on this list. Published in 2012 with funding from the Rockefeller Foundation, it tells how M-PESA started and grew in Kenya (Apple Books). Read it to see how a mobile money product went from an idea to everyday use across Kenya.

7. Poor Economics, by Abhijit Banerjee and Esther Duflo

First published in 2011 (Open Library), the book looks at how low-income households make decisions about money, health and risk. In 2019 the authors shared the Nobel prize in economics with Michael Kremer "for their experimental approach to alleviating global poverty" (Nobel Prize). If you are building savings, credit, insurance or health products for the mass market, treat it as background user research.

Which books help with leading a company?

8. The Hard Thing About Hard Things, by Ben Horowitz

First published in 2014 (Open Library), it covers the hardest calls a chief executive makes, such as layoffs and cash crunches, from the point of view of someone who has made them. Keep it for the month when runway is short and you have to choose what to cut.

9. Zero to One, by Peter Thiel with Blake Masters

Thiel argues that the best companies create something new instead of copying what already works, and that a unique business can avoid head-on competition (Penguin Random House). It is a useful push for founders tempted by "the Uber of X" pitches. Read it critically, because some of its claims are deliberately provocative.

Why should a founder read Things Fall Apart?

10. Things Fall Apart, by Chinua Achebe

First published in 1958 (Open Library), Achebe's novel shows how a community holds authority and tradition, and what happens when outsiders arrive sure they understand it. For a founder entering a new county or country, it is a reminder to learn how trust and decisions work in a place before you sell there.

How do I get the most out of a business book?

  1. Read with a problem in mind. Pick the book that matches what is blocking you this month.
  2. Take one idea into the business within a week. For example, after The Mom Test, rewrite five interview questions and use them on three customers.
  3. Discuss it with other founders. A book club inside one of our communities makes it more likely you finish.
  4. Find a place to read and work. A Hackhouse day pass is KES 1,000 at 124 Manyani East Road, Nairobi, and our events calendar lists talks where you can test ideas out loud.

Key facts

  • The Mom Test (Rob Fitzpatrick) teaches customer interviews that avoid biased feedback.
  • The Lean Startup (Eric Ries) sets out the build-measure-learn loop and the minimum viable product.
  • Africa's Business Revolution was published by Harvard Business Review Press in 2018.
  • Money, Real Quick (2012) tells the story of M-PESA in Kenya.
  • Banerjee and Duflo, authors of Poor Economics, shared the 2019 Nobel prize in economics.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best book for a first-time African founder?

The Mom Test. It is short, practical and changes how you run customer conversations straight away, which matters most before you build.

Are there books about Kenyan startups and M-PESA?

Yes. Money, Real Quick by Tonny K. Omwansa and Nicholas P. Sullivan tells the story of M-PESA, and Africa's Business Revolution includes Kenyan examples such as M-Kopa and Equity Bank.

Should founders read novels?

Some, yes. A novel such as Things Fall Apart shows how communities make decisions and react to outsiders, which helps when you sell into a market that is new to you.

Which book helps with pricing and positioning?

Obviously Awesome by April Dunford covers positioning in detail. Pair it with The Mom Test so you test the positioning with paying customers.

Sources

Go deeper with us. Join the Hackhouse community for conversations that go beyond the surface, where builders share the hard-won lessons that never make it into press releases.

EntrepreneurshipAfricaLeadershipMentorshipGrowthHackhouseAfricaStartinevBuildInAfricaAfricanFoundersAfricanEntrepreneursStartupBooksFounderMindset

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