From Musk to Masiyiwa: the rise of the CEO-influencer in Africa
By Andile Masuku
There's something about Dr Ikpeme Neto's influence in African healthtech that keeps me suitably intrigued.
Here's a Nigerian internal medicine specialist who traded a cushy international clinical career—spanning Ireland, New Zealand, and the US—to tackle one of Africa's thorniest challenges: healthcare accessibility.
While most tech coverage obsesses over fundraising headlines and user metrics, I've watched him methodically document a more fundamental journey-building a profitable digital health business in what many consider one of Africa's most challenging verticals.
Thoughtful ecosystem engagement
I find Neto’s deliberate investment in connectivity through ritualised ecosystem engagement particularly instructive.
Between his prolific social posting regime, insight-rich podcast appearances, candid speaking engagements and practical masterclass lectures, Neto has developed a rhythm of sharing that feels refreshingly open-hearted.
His Digital Health in Nigeria newsletter delivers enlightening industry analysis that offers valuable context for his first-hand triumphs and near-death experiences in building Wellahealth.
Many rate his informed critiques of the state-of-play of healthcare delivery in Africa and some of the tenuous startup ecosystem dynamics Wella has navigated as the company went from a failed healthcare directory to a pioneering micro-insurance platform.
Sustainable business execution
The interesting bit? This commitment to public dialogue hasn't seemed to derail execution.
While leveraging prestigious affiliations like Techstars and Google Launchpad to hack networks and grow social capital, Neto appears to have dodged the typical founder trap of chasing hype over substance.
The evidence suggests he's kept his head down on the decidedly unglamourous work of building sustainable unit economics in micro-insurance—work that earned him the Africa Business Heroes' top prize for 2023.
His approach exemplifies what I've been exploring in my Connectivity Framework—the compound effect of showing up consistently for your ecosystem. Beyond Wellahealth's positive on-going sustainable startup growth story, Neto's influence is reshaping how we think about African healthcare innovation, shifting focus from hype cycles to patient capital deployment.
As founders wrestle with building and leveraging public conversations at scale, Neto's been reflecting on the evolution of authentic founder visibility. In this week's TechTides Africa column hijack, he unpacks his perspectives on balancing meaningful ecosystem engagement with sustainable venture building.
Here’s what's on Neto’s mind, in his words:
Personal brands win
In today's world, if you're a founder or business leader without a strong public persona, you're already behind.
The age of faceless institutions is over—people want authenticity, personality, and direct access to the individuals behind the brands they engage with. Billionaires, politicians, and business leaders the world over have figured this out, using social media to amplify their influence, shape narratives, and even close deals.
Zimbabwean billionaire telecoms entrepreneur Strive Masiyiwa exemplifies this shift in the African context.
The Econet founder's journey from challenging Zimbabwe's telecom monopoly to building a pan-African technology empire has played out in full public view through his Facebook chronicles—which command over 5.6 million followers, and shares on Linkedin, with nearly 195,000 LinkedIn followers.
His public commentary on everything from entrepreneurship lessons to continental policy debates often sparks fierce discourse across African business circles.
When he shared candid reflections about Econet's near-bankruptcy in the early days, it wasn't just vulnerable storytelling—it was a strategic move to build trust and goodwill.
The world's richest man (by Forbes estimates) Elon Musk (whatever you make of him) is headlining this shift as he relentlessly thinks out loud and wages public battles for influence in real-time across X, traditional media outlets and other places content and attention is brokered.
We're witnessing an unprecedented era where some of the world's wealthiest and most powerful figures engage in extraordinary online exchanges—publicly debating trillion-dollar issues that impact industries and livelihoods and shape the global economy—all happening in the same digital spaces where memes circulate and beauty pageant dramas unfold. Clearly, the rules of engagement have shifted
People trust people
The shift toward personality-driven influence accelerated with the erosion of trust in institutions, particularly during and since the COVID era. Today, people trust individuals more than brands, and the savviest business leaders have adapted.
This phenomenon isn't exclusive to tech mega moguls. In the traditionally conservative world of banking, billionaire Nigerian economist Tony Elumelu commands over 2 million Instagram followers—four times the following of his bank, United Bank for Africa (UBA).
Politics goes public
In politics, even African leaders have embraced this reality. In an unprecedented move, Rwandan President Paul Kagame recently posted aggressive warnings to South African President Cyril Ramaphosa on X—proving that social media disputes are no longer limited to entertainment and lighthearted banter; they can and do have real geopolitical consequences.
The business of influence
This shift isn’t confined to politics—it’s reshaping business strategy too. The rise of influencer-driven business strategies is reflected in hard numbers.
According to Statista, in 2016, brands spent an estimated $2 billion on influencer marketing. In 2024, that number is projected to hit $24 billion. Masiyiwa, Musk, Elumelu, and others are essentially influencers for their own brands, achieving levels of reach and engagement that traditional corporate PR could never buy.
For founders, the lesson is clear: The old approach of hiding behind a faceless brand no longer works.
People expect direct access, transparency, and personality. If you're not actively building your public persona (which some refer to as ‘personal brand’), you're losing opportunities—to attract customers, investors, and top talent.
I've experienced this firsthand. My social media following, which I've grown to over 35,000 in the last decade, has opened doors that would have otherwise been closed—including landing my first angel investment cheque of $25,000 via Twitter.
Cynical tech commentators love to sneer, "If your CEO tweets constantly, your company is in trouble." The reality? If your CEO doesn't tweet or lacks an authentic public presence, your company is in trouble.
In this new world of personalities, founders must embrace visibility, build a real following, and cultivate an authentic voice. The future belongs to those who are willing to engage.
After all, as the saying goes: ‘We are all the media now.’
Andile Masuku is Co-founder and Executive Producer at African Tech Roundup. Connect and engage with Andile on X (@MasukuAndile) and via LinkedIn.
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