Caring at Scale: The Hidden Infrastructure Behind Africa’s Next Great Companies

Caring at Scale: The Hidden Infrastructure Behind Africa’s Next Great Companies keynote by Benjamen Oladokun, Co-Founder at Shekel Mobility.

Benjamen shares insights on building businesses that create lasting impact through genuine care, trust, and a deep understanding of customer needs.

Drawing on his entrepreneurial journey and Shekel Mobility’s work supporting Africa’s automotive dealership ecosystem, Benjamen explores why care is one of the most overlooked drivers of business success. He explains how Shekel Mobility has enabled nearly $250 million in dealership transactions while helping partners facilitate over $150 million without defaults, all while building a profitable business that addresses real challenges within African commerce.

The session examines how founders can create meaningful products, build customer-centric cultures, and scale empathy across growing organisations. Benjamen also discusses the importance of contextualising solutions for African markets, leveraging technology to better understand customers, and creating businesses that solve root problems rather than chasing trends or valuations.

Highlights include

🚗 Shekel Mobility has processed nearly $250 million in dealership transactions, supporting the growth of Africa’s automotive trade ecosystem.
🍞 Benjamen’s entrepreneurial journey began by solving a local food shortage, demonstrating how successful businesses often start with genuine care for a community problem.
❤️ Four key reasons customers pay businesses: saving time, making money, reducing risk, and feeling genuinely cared for.
🛠️ Founders build better products when they experience customer pain firsthand or spend significant time understanding real-world challenges.
🤝 Strong company culture is essential for delivering care at scale and maintaining customer trust as organisations grow.
📱 Products built without deep customer understanding often struggle with adoption, making customer engagement critical throughout development.
🤖 Technology and AI can help businesses better understand customer behaviour and improve products without losing the human element.
🏢 Shekel Mobility supports dealerships beyond financing by helping structure, formalise, and professionalise businesses for long-term growth.
🌍 African startups must adapt solutions to local realities rather than simply replicating models from Silicon Valley or other markets.
💡 Sustainable businesses are built on trust, empathy, and solving meaningful problems that create lasting value for customers and communities.

From keynotes to dynamic panel discussions, the summit explored topics across the African tech landscape.

Africa Tech Summit London 2026 celebrated its landmark 10th edition on May 29th at The London Stock Exchange. Bringing together leading industry players the summit explored the latest trends and insights in technology and business across Africa and beyond.

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