South Africa wants the bakery

Ayodeji “Deji Fash” Fasore is the Founder & CEO of Fekxir, a Global Mobility consultancy and SaaS-enabled platform dedicated to solving the challenges of international talent migration. After securing his own UK Global Talent Visa through the Tech Nation route, he built Fekxir to simplify the process for others, combining AI-powered assessments, expert guidance, and end-to-end support across 30+ countries. 

With a background in product leadership at Qore, Africa Prudential, Interswitch, and KPMG, Deji now focuses on breaking down barriers for professionals to access global opportunities.

• Explain your job to a five-year-old.

I help really smart people get a “golden ticket” that lets them live, work, and shine anywhere in the world. My team and I make sure the journey feels simple, safe, and exciting, like preparing for a big adventure.

• What inspired you to start Fekxir?

When I applied for my Global Talent Visa, I realised how confusing, expensive, and isolating the process could be. Many talented people give up because of complexity, not lack of ability. I wanted to fix that. Fekxir was born to take away the guesswork and make global mobility accessible, especially for professionals from underserved regions.

• How did your product leadership experience prepare you for global talent work?

In product leadership, my role was to spot problems, design solutions, and bring diverse teams together to deliver value. That mindset, balancing empathy, strategy, and execution, is exactly what global mobility requires.

Beyond technology, I’ve always been committed to people development, mentoring, hosting webinars, and helping others grow. At Fekxir, that translates into building a platform that doesn’t just process visas, but actually equips people with tools, strategies, and confidence to unlock opportunities abroad.

• What is the biggest misconception people have about Global Talent Visas?

That it’s only for tech geniuses. The Global Talent Visa actually spans multiple sectors: technology, academia, arts, fashion, film, and more. If you’re doing impactful work and can show it, you may qualify.

• Can you share one success story from Fekxir that stands out?

One of our clients, brilliant but initially unsuccessful, was rejected at the endorsement stage. Many would have given up, but with our appeal strategy, he was endorsed on review. Today, he’s not only working in the UK but has joined Fekxir as our Chief Product Officer, helping others achieve the same dream.

• What’s something you love doing but aren’t great at? And something you don’t love but are great at?

I love singing, especially in the bathroom, but I’m definitely not winning The Voice anytime soon.

When I think about South Africa and its push for a booming auto sector, it reminds me of a country that knows what it wants and isn’t shy about asking for it. 

The news: Yesterday, the South African government said it is actively speaking with Chinese auto companies, asking them to invest locally in opening up local assembly and production units in the country. 

Whatever siren song those officials are singing definitely seems to be working. One of the carmakers has shown interest in setting up operations in East London or Port Elizabeth, per TechCentral.

Catch up: This quarter alone, several Chinese car-makers have announced plans to launch flagship production lines, including electric vehicles (EVs), in the country—the Cherys, Stellantis, Xiaomi, Toyota, and the long list of carmakers—all eyeing a 2026 year of reckoning.

Between the lines: Car imports to South Africa have been on a steady uptick. More than 304,000 cars were shipped to South Africa in 2024, resetting the decline the country saw between 2022 and 2023. Elsewhere in other big auto markets, like Nigeria or Kenya, this wouldn't be a problem, as locals prefer to buy foreign second-hand cars. But not South Africa. It wants more than the bread.

State of play: South Africa wants the bakery, too. With a high infrastructure layer, it believes it can attract the big boys to squeeze more taxes out of them and provide jobs. The country also has a market for these players. As of 2024, nearly 50% of cars on South African roads were either imported from China or produced locally. With that promise, it is trying to lure these car companies to make deeper commitments.

South Africa is essentially asking for the bakery and not just the bread, but has it provided the trucks, roads, and local talent to deliver the flour?

How many months of your life can you give to call a phone yours? To give it the name, ‘mine’? The iPhone 17 was announced on Tuesday, and if you're Nigerian, we did the math for you. And…let’s just say, the timeframe is not the same for South Africans, Egyptians, or Kenyans. 

State of play: Pre-orders for the latest iPhones start today, and as it stands, it will take 17 months for a minimum wage earner in Nigeria to afford the iPhone 17. 17 in 17, right? 

But that's not the case for the other countries. For a minimum wage earner in Kenya, it will take nearly 8 months, almost half the time for a Nigerian. A minimum wage earner in Egypt will be able to afford the iPhone 17 in 7 months, and for a minimum wage earner in South Africa, barely three months.

Why does this matter? These calculations assume all income goes directly toward the device, which, in reality, is impossible given basic living costs. The wage difference between countries also contributes to the ease of accessibility to certain devices. Nigeria requires the most time, South Africa the least among the compared countries, showing that high-end technology is out of reach for most of the Nigerian workforce.

South Africa stands out for having the shortest time to afford the iPhone 17, with access to official Apple retail, trade-in, and financing options, significantly easing the upgrade process. How many months would it take you to afford the iPhone 17?

Read our breakdown here.

This week, Egypt-based AI speech technology company Intella secured $12.5 million in an oversubscribed Series A round led by Prosus, with participation from 500 Global, Wa’ed Ventures, and HearstLab. (Sep 10)

Here are the other deals for the week:

• Kenya’s SunCulture raised $5 million for its solar-powered water pumps from WaterEquity. (Sep 9)
• Float, a South African Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) fintech startup, secured $2.6 million (R46 million) in funding. The round was co-led by Invenfin and SAAD Investment Holdings, with participation from existing investors, Platform Investment Partners, and Lighthouse Ventures Partners. (Sep 10)
• Moroccan recruitment startup Jobzyn raised an undisclosed amount of funding from Janngo Capital (Sep 11)
• Tunisian AI sales startup Addvocate.AI received an undisclosed investment from 216 Capital (Sep 10)

Follow us on Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn for more funding announcements. Before you go, can Nigeria's data centres power Africa's AI future? Find out here.