Earlier this year Yaw Boateng and Tunde Kehinde, both alumni of Harvard Business School, stumbled on a breakthrough idea.
Boateng, who is from Ghana, and Kehinde, a Nigerian national,
conceptualized a different kind of social network- an exclusive online
community where well-educated, successful, professional Africans could
meet up, forge strong social and professional connections, discuss ideas
– and maybe fall in love.
So they founded Bandeka.com, the newest and probably the most elite social network in Africa’s web sphere. Bandeka (which is a play on the Swahili word- “Bandika” which means “to connect”) is a novel social utility, something like Facebook- but for extremely sophisticated and educated African folks.
Basically, Bandeka is an invite-only online community where well-educated Africans can connect with other equally successful professionals, thereby building lasting relationships over the long term. But unlike other social networks, the connections formed on Bandeka are not entirely virtual. Bandeka also stages and hosts private offline events where members can network and have a few drinks.
Is this kind of service really necessary? The founders seem to think so. “It is quite difficult for well-educated Africans to connect,” say Boateng. “Balancing our busy schedules with our desire to meet and date Africans we like usually means using traditional social platforms, offline social venues and pure chance. These limit our options to meet new amazing Africans outside our immediate circles.”
Bandeka targets young, upwardly mobile African professionals who reside in Africa and elsewhere around the world. Its invite-only platform creates a member base in which everyone on the network is interconnected to at least one other person. Members can search for members by African nationality, residence, profession or college institution attended.
The site went live just last month, but within a few weeks of its launch, it’s been able to attract what the founders of the site say is a pretty decent crowd. The founders are reluctant to divulge how many members the site has been able to attract so far because of ‘confidentiality’ concerns, but they say Bandeka is adding a significant number of members each week and is fast growing into a very diverse community that includes students at top grad schools, successful entrepreneurs, and other professionals.
Both Boateng and Kehinde are extremely excited about their first web startup, and the possibilities it will open up for professional Africans. Currently supported by a select group of angel investors, the company operates from offices in the United States, Nigeria and Ghana. “We will be able to connect the Ivorian engineer who lives in Paris and is looking to a man from Abidjan in Europe, or the Ethiopian who just moved to London and wants to find a woman to chat with over authentic Ethiopian food and drinks. It’s amazing!” Kehinde enthuses.
So, if you’re a well-educated or sophisticated African looking to mingle with the right crowd, Bandeka might be a smart option for you. If you haven’t got an invite, try going to the website. There’s an email address you can use to tell the organizers about yourself.
Follow me on Twitter @ChegeDun
Boateng, who is from Ghana, and Kehinde, a Nigerian national,
conceptualized a different kind of social network- an exclusive online
community where well-educated, successful, professional Africans could
meet up, forge strong social and professional connections, discuss ideas
– and maybe fall in love.So they founded Bandeka.com, the newest and probably the most elite social network in Africa’s web sphere. Bandeka (which is a play on the Swahili word- “Bandika” which means “to connect”) is a novel social utility, something like Facebook- but for extremely sophisticated and educated African folks.
Basically, Bandeka is an invite-only online community where well-educated Africans can connect with other equally successful professionals, thereby building lasting relationships over the long term. But unlike other social networks, the connections formed on Bandeka are not entirely virtual. Bandeka also stages and hosts private offline events where members can network and have a few drinks.
Is this kind of service really necessary? The founders seem to think so. “It is quite difficult for well-educated Africans to connect,” say Boateng. “Balancing our busy schedules with our desire to meet and date Africans we like usually means using traditional social platforms, offline social venues and pure chance. These limit our options to meet new amazing Africans outside our immediate circles.”
Bandeka targets young, upwardly mobile African professionals who reside in Africa and elsewhere around the world. Its invite-only platform creates a member base in which everyone on the network is interconnected to at least one other person. Members can search for members by African nationality, residence, profession or college institution attended.
The site went live just last month, but within a few weeks of its launch, it’s been able to attract what the founders of the site say is a pretty decent crowd. The founders are reluctant to divulge how many members the site has been able to attract so far because of ‘confidentiality’ concerns, but they say Bandeka is adding a significant number of members each week and is fast growing into a very diverse community that includes students at top grad schools, successful entrepreneurs, and other professionals.
Both Boateng and Kehinde are extremely excited about their first web startup, and the possibilities it will open up for professional Africans. Currently supported by a select group of angel investors, the company operates from offices in the United States, Nigeria and Ghana. “We will be able to connect the Ivorian engineer who lives in Paris and is looking to a man from Abidjan in Europe, or the Ethiopian who just moved to London and wants to find a woman to chat with over authentic Ethiopian food and drinks. It’s amazing!” Kehinde enthuses.
So, if you’re a well-educated or sophisticated African looking to mingle with the right crowd, Bandeka might be a smart option for you. If you haven’t got an invite, try going to the website. There’s an email address you can use to tell the organizers about yourself.
Follow me on Twitter @ChegeDun
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