Posts
13 postsJun 28
· 2 min readReflections"Take Your Time" Is the Worst Advice I've Ever Heard
I know that's a strong thing to say, and I mean every word of it. But I'll be honest, I didn't always think this way. For a long time "take your time" sounded completely reasonable to me, wise even. Like the calm, sensible alternative to rushing headfirst into something, and I probably said it to people myself without giving it a second thought. But somewhere along the way, after enough experiences and a few lessons I didn't see coming, my whole relationship with time shifted and I genuinely can't look at it the same way anymore.
Jun 20
· 3 min readReflectionsThinkingI Finally Know My Why
Through everything I've built, every ambitious project I've taken on, every late night and early morning, I've always had this quiet question sitting in the back of my mind: what is my why? I used to think it was the impact I'd have on people I'd never meet, the legacy I'd leave behind, the African founders I'd love to inspire one day. Those things still matter to me deeply, but today something shifted.
Jun 13
· 3 min readBuildingReflectionsImpact Founders: The People Quietly Making Africa's Borders Irrelevant
There's a version of the Africa story that gets told a lot. Fragmented markets, 54 countries, hundreds of languages, borders drawn by people who had never set foot on the continent. It's true, all of it. But it's also become a tired excuse, a ceiling that a new generation of founders is simply refusing to honor. I've started calling them impact founders, not because they set out to change the world in some grand, TED-talk kind of way, but because of the ripple effect their companies will create almost as a byproduct.
Jun 11
· 2 min readReflectionsThe Opposite Always Happens
I was listening to a podcast today and heard something that stopped me while I was listening: "The irony of life is that the opposite always happens." The context was geopolitical, about how a weaker country standing up against a much stronger one often ends up coming out of that confrontation with more standing than it had going in, despite everything pointing to the opposite outcome. I'm not here to get into the politics of it, but that observation, stripped of all the noise around it, hit me in a way I wasn't expecting.
Jun 9
· 2 min readReflectionsThinkingAfrica Is Building. The World Is Starting to Notice.
I've been watching the Africa tech story for a while now. Not as an outsider, but as someone who feels it personally. And right now, something real is happening. African startups have already crossed $1.3 billion in funding this year alone. That number is wild to me. But honestly the headline isn't even what gets me excited. It's what's underneath it. Bloomberg put out their Africa Startups to Watch list last month and one thing jumped out at me. Nearly half the funding raised by the featured startups came from African investors.
May 15
· 1 min readThinkingPersonalI Built My Own Corner of the Internet
I've been looking for a place online that actually fits the way I think. Not just a blog, not just a portfolio, not just a link in bio. Something that holds all of it together. The essays, the photos, the music I'm stuck on, the tools I keep coming back to, the projects I'm building or have buried. Everything out there felt like it was designed for one kind of person doing one kind of thing. I'm not that. So I built my own. In my spare time, slowly, the way you do things when no one's waiting on you.
Jan 5
· 1 min readProcessThinkingThe Power of Saying No as an Entrepreneur
Caught myself thinking about this the other day. Saying no might be the most underused tool I have. It's easy to say yes to everything. Every pitch, every favor, every quick call, every meeting. You don't want to miss out on something big or let someone down. But that adds up fast. Before you know it you're stretched thin, doing things that were never really yours to do in the first place. I've been there, nodding along when I should have stepped back. It's a lesson I'm still learning.
Oct 31
· 1 min readReflectionsThinkingTurning a Blind Eye: A Lesson in Peace That Hit Home
A few weeks back I stumbled across a reel of an old man sharing some simple, solid advice: "Turn a blind eye sometimes, for your own peace." It's the kind of wisdom I've always carried with me, rooted in the Islamic values I grew up with. Patience. Letting go. Choosing calm over chaos. But for some reason, hearing it this time landed differently.
Jun 12
· 1 min readThinkingReflectionsOversharing: The Entrepreneur's Dopamine Trap
One of the biggest mistakes we make as entrepreneurs is talking too much about our projects too soon, just for that quick dopamine kick. Sometimes we don't even realize we're doing it. You know how it goes: you drop a hint about what you're working on, people nod and smile, give you a pat on the back, and just like that, you feel like a rockstar after his fix.
Jun 6
· 1 min readReflectionsEid Reflections: Family, Hustle, and Finding Balance
Yesterday was Eid. I spent it with family and friends, laughing, eating way too much, and just being grateful for the chaotic, wonderful crew around me. As an entrepreneur, it's easy to drift. You get sucked into the grind, head down, phone buzzing, chasing the next thing, and before you know it the people who matter most start fading into the background.
Mar 17
· 2 min readReflectionsWho’s Winning in Africa’s Digital Revolution?
Hey, I am back with another one of those late-night brain dumps. Lately, I’ve been wrestling with this question: in this digital revolution sweeping Africa, who’s really set to come out on top? Small businesses hustling in local markets, midsize firms trying to scale, big multinational players with deep pockets, entrepreneurs like me with startups looking to carve out whole new industries, or hear me out, maybe everyone? I
Mar 16
· 2 min readBuildingReflectionsConnecting the Dots: A Digital Rolodex for Africa’s Entrepreneurs
I’ve been mulling over an idea that’s got me pretty fired up lately, a digital platform built from the ground up for entrepreneurs across Africa. Picture this: a slick, comprehensive database, kind of like a high-tech rolodex, where business minds from Cairo to Cape Town can link up, swap ideas, and team up on project, get to know each other or at the bare minimum get to know about each other..
Mar 14
· 2 min readThinkingReflectionsWelcome, I guess… and you’re welcome
Hey there, I’m Boubacar Diallo and I go by Bouba, a serial entrepreneur, idea machine, and, let’s be honest, a guy who’s usually more comfortable building in the shadows than shouting from the rooftops. I’ve always been pretty private, the type who’d rather let my work do the talking while I sip coffee in the background, plotting my next move.