Board Leadership
Introduction
Growth alone is not enough.
My board contributions build on the same operating experience I bring to advisory and speaking.
As companies scale, governance, capital allocation, organizational design, technology, and leadership become increasingly important. The role of a board is not simply to oversee management. It is to help create the conditions under which enduring organizations emerge.
Raphael works with boards, investors, founders, and leadership teams navigating the transition from entrepreneurial growth to institutional scale.
A small number of board roles are considered each year.
Why Raphael
Raphael Afaedor is an entrepreneur, operator, board member, and governance thinker with more than two decades of experience building, financing, scaling, and governing businesses across African markets.
He is the co-founder of Jumia, Africa's pioneering e-commerce platform listed on the New York Stock Exchange, and the co-founder and former CEO of Kyosk, a technology-enabled commerce and distribution platform that scaled across four African markets.
He brings practical experience at the intersection of growth, governance, capital allocation, commerce, distribution, technology, artificial intelligence, and organizational design.
Scaling Companies
Experience building organizations from inception through multi-country scale, serving hundreds of thousands of customers through complex operating and distribution networks.
Capital Allocation
More than $280 million in fundraising exposure across venture, growth, and strategic capital, alongside board-level experience evaluating investment priorities and performance.
Founder-to-Institution Transitions
Helping founder-led businesses strengthen governance, leadership systems, accountability, and organizational capability without losing entrepreneurial speed.
Technology and AI
Helping boards understand technology and AI not merely as tools, but as forces reshaping business models, productivity, organizational design, and competitive advantage.
Commerce and Distribution
Deep operating experience across e-commerce, retail, logistics, consumer markets, informal trade, and fragmented supply chains.
Governance and Oversight
Experience as a full board member, executive committee member, investor-facing CEO, and participant in investment, audit and risk, compensation, and finance committees.
Philosophy
Most companies do not fail because of a lack of ambition.
They fail because complexity grows faster than the systems, governance, capital discipline, and organizational coherence required to support it.
Boards create the greatest value when they help management improve decision quality, allocate capital effectively, manage risk intelligently, strengthen leadership, and build organizations capable of enduring beyond any individual founder or executive team.
Raphael's approach combines the ambition and urgency of an entrepreneur with the discipline, independence, and long-term perspective required in the boardroom.
"Growth is rarely the hardest challenge. Scaling is."
Selected Experience
Jumia
Co-founder
Kyosk
Co-founder, Former CEO and Board Member
ETG
Executive Committee Member
Governance Experience
Raphael's governance experience combines formal board membership, executive committee participation, investor engagement, fundraising governance, and direct involvement in key board and management committees.
Board Membership
Full Board Member of Kyosk from 2019 to 2025, contributing to corporate strategy, capital allocation, organizational design, multi-country expansion, executive compensation, enterprise risk management, and performance oversight.
Investment Committee
Participated in decisions concerning investment priorities, capital deployment, expected returns, performance targets, and resource allocation.
Audit and Risk Committee
Contributed to oversight of enterprise risks, controls, financial discipline, operational exposure, and organizational resilience.
Compensation Committee
Participated in executive compensation, organizational levels, salary structures, incentives, and performance alignment.
Finance Committee
Worked with the finance organization and board stakeholders on budgets, operating performance, financial priorities, and resource allocation.
Board Opportunities
Raphael is particularly interested in contributing to organizations where his operating, governance, and capital-allocation experience can materially improve long-term value creation.
Credentials
Education and Governance
Selected Recognition
Related Engagements
Advisory
Strategic support for founders, CEOs, investors, and leadership teams navigating growth, complexity, and institutionalization.
Speaking
Keynotes and leadership sessions on company building, governance, technology, AI, scaling, and Africa's business future.
Zebra Perspectives
Writing and ideas on building enduring companies, governing well, allocating capital, and navigating technological change.
Closing
For independent director appointments, portfolio-company boards, and board advisory roles, please get in touch.