This was one of the key arguments advanced by Bluebulb Co-founder Ola Daramola during a panel discussion titled “Building Companies That Matter: From Startup to Strategic Asset” at TechCabal’s Moonshot 2026.
According to Ola Daramola, the most difficult part of entrepreneurship often begins after a company has achieved commercial success: transforming a founder-driven business into an institution capable of operating independently.
The boring work nobody wants to do
Everyone celebrates fundraising, product launches, expansion and record transaction volumes. Few celebrate governance, compliance, internal controls, reconciliations, audits and documentation.
Yet these are the foundations of an enduring business.
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Consider a fintech processing billions of dollars annually. It may have a board of directors, but does that board have functioning audit and risk committees? Do those committees meet, challenge management and follow up on identified risks?
Having a board is not the same as practising governance.
Or consider a payments company processing thousands of transactions daily using internally developed reconciliation systems.
There is nothing inherently wrong with proprietary technology. Innovation should be encouraged. But as a company scales, its systems must be independently tested, secure, properly documented, auditable and resilient.
Can an external auditor rely on the outputs? Are there adequate controls and segregation of duties? Can the systems operate without the engineers who originally built them?
At a certain stage, the systems that helped you survive may no longer be sufficient for the institution you are becoming.
Yes, it is painful. Yes, it costs money. But it must be done.
Ola Daramola acknowledged that institutionalisation comes at a cost.
It means hiring experienced compliance and risk professionals when you would rather expand your sales team. Investing in stronger financial systems when existing tools appear to work. Paying for independent audits, cybersecurity assessments and external assurance.
It also means accepting that some decisions will require documentation, independent review and oversight.
These investments may not immediately generate revenue. They can be expensive, uncomfortable and frustrating for founders accustomed to moving quickly.
But they are not unnecessary expenses. They are part of the cost of building a serious institution.
A business cannot aspire to operate at the scale of a global financial institution while relying entirely on the informal processes of a small startup.
The objective is not to introduce bureaucracy for its own sake, but to build controls appropriate to the company’s size, complexity and risks.
African founders have an additional reason to get it right
Daramola also highlighted the realities facing African businesses seeking international investment, banking partnerships and acquisitions.
“Let’s be honest. As African entrepreneurs seeking to compete internationally, our businesses can face additional scrutiny because of the jurisdictions in which we operate.”
International investors and financial institutions may closely examine financial transparency, ownership structures, regulatory compliance, anti-money laundering controls and operational resilience.
Some scrutiny reflects legitimate jurisdictional risks; some may reflect broader perceptions of emerging markets.
Either way, African founders must be prepared to demonstrate institutional credibility.
“It is a disservice to the businesses we are building if we do not put governance, compliance and institutional discipline at the core of what we do.”
The objective is not simply to satisfy foreign investors. It is to build African businesses capable of competing globally and negotiating from a position of strength.
When the founder becomes the bottleneck
Daramola described four stages of building a business: Survival, Strategic Relevance, Institutional Readiness and Strategic Optionality.
He identified the transition from strategic relevance to institutional readiness as particularly painful.
In the early years, founders drive growth through speed, instinct, personal relationships and direct control. But these same strengths can eventually become institutional weaknesses.
The founder who once approved every transaction must learn to delegate. Decisions previously made through phone calls must become documented processes. Independent executives, auditors and board committees must be empowered to challenge decisions.
The founder must stop being the engine that runs everything and start building an institution that can run without them.
Investors are not simply buying your growth
A company may have impressive revenue, transaction volumes and market share, yet struggle during investment or acquisition due diligence because its financial reporting, governance or technology infrastructure cannot withstand independent examination.
The concern is not necessarily that a system was built internally or that a company grew quickly. It is whether the institution behind that growth is reliable, transparent and capable of sustaining it.
Weak controls can delay transactions, increase remediation costs and undermine investor confidence.
Acquisition readiness, therefore, should not begin when a potential buyer appears. It should be reflected in how the company operates every day.
For Daramola, the ultimate ambition is to build a business valuable enough to have choices: remain independent, attract investment, establish strategic partnerships or pursue an acquisition on favourable terms.
Africa has no shortage of ambitious entrepreneurs and innovative businesses. The next challenge is building institutions whose governance, systems and leadership are as strong as their commercial ambitions.
“Growth makes you bigger. Strategic value makes you matter. Institutional strength makes you endure.”
The exciting work gets the business noticed. The boring work makes the business trusted.
This is the version I would send to Benjamin Dada. It keeps the three memorable examples—boards without functioning committees, internally built reconciliation tools without sufficient assurance, and founders who remain operational bottlenecks—without repeating the same argument across multiple sections.
The quoted statements should be checked against your actual panel remarks or approved as post-panel comments before publication.
Last updated: November 3, 2026
