A Letter to Every African Entrepreneur Who’s Had Enough
Dear Visionary,
You’re not behind. You’re doing the best you can in a system that’s never made it easy.
I know that system well.
At 14, I opened a barbing salon in Nigeria. No shortcutsjust sweat and handwritten ledgers. By 22, I was juggling multiple businesses: auto parts, a driving school, logistics, tracking cash, inventory, and late payments in dusty notebooks. I lost money. Missed payments. Paid fines that didn’t need to happen. Not because I wasn’t careful, but because I didn’t have the right tools.
Years later, after building businesses across Nigeria, the UK, and the US, including a staffing company with over £20 million in turnover; I realised these problems weren’t mine alone. Across Africa, talented entrepreneurs were stuck in the same cycle: wasting precious time and energy on systems that didn’t serve them.
In 2019, I decided enough was enough. That’s when Afri Invoice was born, not as a feel-good project, but as a real fix. A platform built by someone who’s lived the frustration and seen what’s possible when you have the right tools.
Afri Invoice isn’t just another software; it’s the infrastructure your business deserves. Here’s what it means for you:
Take control of your cashflow: Our smart credit control feature tracks who owes you and automatically sends reminders; no more chasing clients manually.
Stay compliant, effortlessly: FIRS-ready and designed for Nigeria’s 2025 e-invoicing mandate, it keeps your business ahead of the law.
Get paid faster: Integrated with Paystack, Flutterwave, MTN Mobile Money, and more, so money comes in smoothly, without endless back-and-forth.
Know your numbers, instantly: No more late-night Excel headaches. Get real-time insights, profits, taxes, overdue invoicesat a glance.
Access your business from anywhere: Everything is cloud-based, so you can manage invoices, track payments, and view reports from your phone, tablet, or laptop, whether you’re in Lagos, Dakar, or even beyond Africa.
Grow without limits: Built with a microservices architecture that scales with you; so when you’re ready to expand, Afri Invoice grows with you.
This is about control. Speed. Clarity. Momentum.
No more patching together spreadsheets and WhatsApp threads. No more waiting. No more workaround.
If you’ve ever sat up past midnight sorting invoices, sent reminders that got ignored, or wondered how you’re still behind after doing everything right, this is for you.
The world is shifting. Compliance is no longer optional. Digital isn’t a luxury, it’s survival. And African entrepreneurs deserve tools that match their ambition.
This is your infrastructure. Let’s move forward, properly.
Mark Odenore
Founder, Afri Invoice