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8 Podcasts Every African Startup Founder Should Follow in 2026

6 min read

Eight podcasts for African founders, each checked on 5 November 2026 for recent episodes, plus which ones have stopped publishing and how to choose.

The best podcasts for African founders in 2026 are The Flip, African Tech Roundup, Founders Connect and The Open Africa Podcast, all of which published new episodes this year. Add Afropolitan for founder and diaspora stories, the Y Combinator Startup Podcast and Lenny's Podcast for product and growth craft, and the Afrobility archive for deep company breakdowns.

The version of this list we published in May said every show was still publishing. Two had stopped, and one host was wrong, so I checked each show's listing on Apple Podcasts on 5 November 2026 and rebuilt the list. Below each show is what it covers, who hosts it and a recent episode to start with.

Which African tech podcasts should founders follow?

1. The Flip

Hosted by Justin Norman, a Johannesburg-based entrepreneur, The Flip is an editorial-style show about how entrepreneurs and investors are changing the status quo in Africa. Its stated aim is to challenge Silicon Valley-centric views of entrepreneurship, which makes it useful when you want to understand why a market here works the way it does. Start with "Inside China's Used Cell Phone Market" from October 2026 if you sell to customers on second-hand devices.

2. African Tech Roundup

Running since 2015 and now past 370 episodes, African Tech Roundup is hosted by its co-founders Andile Masuku and Musa Kalenga. Guests range from founders to investors and policymakers across the continent. A 2026 episode worth your time: Nikolai Barnwell on why PawaPay bet on mobile money over cards.

3. Founders Connect

Founders Connect documents the stories of African entrepreneurs and operators, and has published since 2021. Recent episodes cover regulatory setbacks, currency devaluation and fundraising. Try the 2026 conversation with Kola Aina of Ventures Platform on backing African startups and what happens after an investor writes the cheque.

4. The Open Africa Podcast

Laolu, Furo and Nosa host The Open Africa Podcast every two weeks, covering technology, startups, banking and regulation. Most recent episodes focus on Nigerian tech and fintech news, and it is the quickest way on this list to keep up. Its latest episode came out at the end of October 2026.

5. Afropolitan

Each week Chika Uwazie and Eche Emole interview founders, culture-shapers and other guests on Afropolitan. It goes beyond tech into identity, growth and legacy, which is useful when you want to hear how people built a career or company over years. It started in 2025 and is still publishing weekly.

6. Afrobility (archive)

Afrobility broke down one African company or sector per episode, with numbers. The hosts ended the podcast with episode 80 in June 2025 and said Afrobility would continue as a Substack newsletter (Afrobility). The back catalogue still works as a library: pick the episode on the company or sector closest to yours.

Which global startup podcasts are useful for African founders?

7. Y Combinator Startup Podcast

The Y Combinator Startup Podcast has 347 episodes from YC partners and founders on building companies, from first idea to scale. Several recent episodes look at how AI is changing who can build software, including one with Supabase CEO Paul Copplestone. If you plan to apply to YC, it helps you understand how its partners think.

8. Lenny's Podcast

Lenny Rachitsky interviews product and growth leaders on Lenny's Podcast, with practical advice on building, launching and growing a product. Start with the October 2026 episode with Rob Snyder, a guide to finding product-market fit.

Which podcasts from older lists have stopped publishing?

  • Building The Future, hosted by Dr Dotun Olowoporoku. Its Apple listing shows the last episode in February 2025. The investor interviews are still worth hearing.
  • Decode Fintech, Paystack's podcast on African fintech. Its Apple listing shows episodes from 2019 to 2021 only.

How should I choose which podcasts to follow?

  1. Pick two, and finish a few episodes of each before adding more. One news show and one deep show is a good mix, for example Open Africa and The Flip.
  2. Match the show to your stage. Idea-stage founders get more from founder stories and product shows. If you are raising, listen to investor conversations.
  3. Download on Wi-Fi. Most podcast apps let you save episodes for offline listening, which saves mobile data on a commute.
  4. Write down one action per episode. Then try it that week. Our guide to the Lean Startup method shows how to turn an idea into a small test.
  5. Discuss what you hear. Our communities and events are a good place to compare notes with other builders.

Key facts

  • The Flip, African Tech Roundup, Founders Connect, The Open Africa Podcast and Afropolitan all published new episodes in 2026.
  • African Tech Roundup has run since 2015 and has over 370 episodes.
  • Afrobility ended its podcast with episode 80 in June 2025; the archive remains.
  • Building The Future last published in February 2025, and Decode Fintech in 2021.
  • The Y Combinator Startup Podcast and Lenny's Podcast were both publishing in October 2026.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best podcast for African startup founders?

For understanding African markets, start with The Flip or African Tech Roundup. For founder stories, try Founders Connect. For weekly news, The Open Africa Podcast is the quickest way to stay current.

Are there Kenyan startup podcasts?

The African shows on this list are pan-African, and none of them is Kenya-only. If you know a Kenyan show that publishes regularly, tell us in the community and we will check it for the next update.

Is Afrobility still running?

The podcast ended with episode 80 in June 2025. The hosts said Afrobility would continue as a Substack newsletter, and the old episodes are still available.

Where can I listen to these podcasts?

All of them are on Apple Podcasts, and most podcast apps carry the same feeds. Search the show name in the app you already use.

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.

EntrepreneurshipAfricaCommunityMentorshipGrowthStartupEcosystemBuildInAfricaHackhouseAfricanStartupsPanAfricanFounderResourcesTechPodcasts

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