The Fundraising Playbook: From $30K to $4.2M as an African Founder

​Before Kelvin Umechukwu closed $4M for Bumpa, he was building communities and training entrepreneurs. Today, Bumpa serves 60,000+ African businesses and is backed by Base10 Partners—the world's largest Black-led fund.

​In this fireside chat, Kelvin shares the unfiltered story of going from a $30K first check to a multi-million dollar raise.

​You'll learn:

​→ How to secure your first investor check and what proof points actually matter

​→ The story behind closing $4M from Base10 Partners and other global VCs

​→ Metrics that moved the needle: GMV, retention, merchant count

​→ Handling the "Africa risk" conversation and turning geography into advantage

​→ Should you raise locally or internationally first?

​→ What terms to negotiate in your first deal → How community building (7K+ developers at Consonance) became investor credibility

​→ Managing fundraising while keeping your company growing

​This is for: Founders actively raising or planning to in the next 6-12 months, early-stage teams from emerging markets, and anyone who needs fundraising advice that actually applies to their context.