Mother-daughter duo Tandadzo (Tando) Matanda and Dr Margaret Matanda will step on stage founder at SXSW Sydney this Tuesday as the founders of fintech platform Musa.
Musa is the world’s first intelligent venture assessment platform, tackling the funding process for startups and small and medium enterprises (SMEs).
Musa Ventures equips founders with the digital tools and insights necessary for strategic development, then connects them with a network of potential debt and equity funders.
Musa’s flagship tool, the Intelligent Venture Health Assessment Platform, is like a Bloomberg terminal for SMB financiers and entrepreneurs, which creates a venture health score akin to a credit score, using AI.
The pair will run a 90-minute workshop designed to get SMEs and startups funding-ready next Tuesday, Oct 15, at 10am as part of SXSW. Tando said the experts taking part will help guide founders through applying data-driven insights to build healthier, more fundable businesses. More details here.
Tando, Musa’s CEO, has more than a decade of experience in advising, launching, and funding early-stage startups as an impact investment and corporate venture specialist after starting her career as a management consultant with Boston Consulting Group and before Musa set up and led Australia’s first auto-tech CVC for a world-leading auto digital marketplace.
Her mother, Margaret, has spent more than 30 years as an academic and development consultant, building ventures in Africa, APAC and USA. She’s a Professor of strategy, supply chain and branding at the University of Sydney, and helped establish some of the first entrepreneurship development programs in sub-Saharan Africa.
“Our name pays homage to our ancestry, and the golden age of Africa’s rich and vibrant history,” Tando explained.
“It speaks to a time when benevolent leaders like Mansa Musa of Mali harnessed their ample resources to empower people through commerce and scholarship.”
Ending pitch decks
Recently, the startup has been accepted into JP Morgan’s US accelerator program, run by Techstars Washington D.C. while Tando was recognised as the Innovator of the Year at the Women Leading Tech Awards.
Tando said Musa’s mission is to support 10,000 diverse founders and close the funding gap for the 240 million under-financed SMEs globally.
“Our platform allows founders to review their business performance against industry benchmarks, guiding them on the metrics that matter most to investors,” she said.
“We are set to alter the funding landscape for the better and bridge the trillion-dollar funding gap that disproportionately affects diverse entrepreneurs.”
Dr Matanda said Musa lets founders move beyond traditional pitch decks.
“Our platform builds a dashboard that mirrors what investors need to see – making it easier for founders to demonstrate their potential and increase their likelihood of finding the best funders for their business,” she said
“We are fostering a more equitable funding ecosystem, ensuring every entrepreneur has the opportunity to thrive.”
At the funding-ready SXSW Sydney workshop they plan to share their insights with business owners and investors alike in a deep dive into the critical benchmarks and metrics that determine funding success.
“Through our workshop, we aim to empower founders with the tools and insights they need to succeed in today’s competitive funding landscape,” says Tando.
“By leveraging the intelligence of our platform, attendees will leave with actionable steps that can truly transform their ventures.”
More about Musa Ventures here and Tuesday’s workshop here.
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