Saluting our sisters during Black History Month: celebrating Alberta Asafo-Asamoah

Alberta Asafo-Asamoah 

Nationality: British, Ghanaian 

Education:  

• Undergraduate: Syracuse University, Double major: Economics and Political Science 

• Masters: Imperial College Business School (Full-Time MBA) 

About me 

I describe myself as a social entrepreneur and an educationalist. During my Undergraduate studies, I grew more interested in how policy affects private companies and their involvement in job creation. This led to me starting my career in OTC Derivatives and then in Corporate Banking at NatWest. 

In 2018, I left banking to pursue a career in impact investing as I wanted to combine my experience in finance with a passion for social issues. I joined a boutique impact advisory firm as a consultant identifying and evaluating potential investments in the SME space in Uganda and Kenya to help bridge the funding gap for businesses caught in the ‘missing middle’ phenomenon. 

During this period, I also founded AlgebraInTheCity (“AITC”), an educational tuition and consultancy business as part of my personal mission to help liberalise quality education and close the attainment gap in underserved communities in the UK. 

Why I chose Imperial College Business School 

I applied for the Full-Time MBA programme at Imperial College Business School because I wanted to contribute to the start-up ecosphere in Africa by developing investment opportunities for businesses and by lobbying African lawmakers to invest in initiatives for African social enterprises. I also entered the MBA programme with a business idea that I wanted to develop further during the programme.  

I chose Imperial College Business School because of its initiatives in advancing science and technology because I knew that for me to become a successful entrepreneur, I needed to be a part of an environment that would allow me to test and trial ideas and access a global network that I can call on when needed. 

My business: Liquify 

I’m the Co-founder of a company called Liquify which is an invoice marketplace that connects exporters, in the emerging markets trading with multinational companies, in need of working capital financing with financiers. Our goal is to unlock liquidity in Africa by giving asset managers in Europe and beyond exposure to invest in an untapped asset class. 

One of our biggest achievements was being accepted into Techstars Web 3 accelerator programme in February 2023. This was a great opportunity for us to network with other founders, investors and mentors whilst sense checking out go-to-market strategy. The investment from Techstars has allowed us to build the first version of our product.  

Why I became an entrepreneur  

I grew up in an entrepreneurial family so I always knew I would start a business at some point but I thought it would be much later in life. However, what pushed me to start sooner was my experience as a banker. Although I loved the structure of a stable career, as a solution-driven individual, I found it difficult to be creative because of the bureaucracy. So, I started to explore passions beyond my job. I left the bank in November 2018 to focus on developing an edu-tech business and to establish a career in impact investment. 

Challenges I have faced 

I am a black woman founder, in a female-led start-up, developing a fintech company in the UK, with a focus in Africa.  This can be challenging! There is sometimes an assumption that you haven’t considered all risks, so it means as a team, we are often overly prepared and go two to four steps further on some decisions. I must say that we have been lucky to have advisors and allies who provide sound advice and make introductions when needed. 

How Imperial College Business School has helped me 

The Business School has been supportive of my academic journey and entrepreneurial journey. I received the Social Impact scholarship which showed that the institution cares about the issues I am trying to tackle and instilled a level of personal responsibility to continue working on these problems. Imperial provided a really good ecosystem for entrepreneurs, and I took every opportunity. I received feedback on my business pitch at Pitch ‘N’ Mix events, I took part in hackathons and also chose ‘Entrepreneurial journey’ electives so it prepared me for the post-MBA world. Imperial has also promoted my journey through its community and social channels which has allowed me to connect with a new network of people.  

Advice I would give to Black students aspiring to become entrepreneurs 

Firstly, build a community or an advisory board of people from diverse backgrounds so that you can get objective advice from different perspectives.  

Secondly, do not discount the importance of peer mentors as they can be crucial to getting your product from zero to one when you do not have the financial resources from a large sponsor.  

Lastly, when you do finally make it, don’t forget to help others along the way and invest in your community.