Africa Eats is a holding company that began with two dozen investees. That is accurate, but “investee” isn’t the right word. That word misses the relationships we’ve build with these companies over the past six years through their participate at and after a Fledge accelerator.
Africa Eats is a holding company with two dozen subsidiaries. No, that isn’t right either. Subsidiary implies we wholly own those companies and that they work for management. We’re minority investors (like a venture capital fund) and we work with our founders, not them for us.
Africa Eats is comprised of two dozen companies. No, that doesn’t work either. It sounds like an industry association. Our investee, subsidiary companies are part of a greater whole, through the holding company, but in a more tight knit way than an industry association or membership organization.
Despite over a million words in English, we couldn’t find one that fit this occasion. So we made one up.
Africa Eats is a holding company with two dozen bizi. Dozens of young and growing companies all founded by native-Africans, all focused in some way on feeding Africa.
Bizi as in business. Bizi like mbizi, Shona for zebra. Bizi as a simple word that we’re pioneering to describe our relationship with these companies that is more than a transnational investment, more than a board member, but not as close as a co-founder.
See whole portfolio of bizi.
