“Simba is Still Waiting for Mufasa to Die" - Vusi Thembekwayo Gets Raw

"Simba is still waiting for Mufasa to die."

Vusi Thembekwayo dropped that line and the room went silent.

Here's what haunts me:

We have an entire generation of African entrepreneurs with the relationships, the education, the hunger—everything except permission. Held hostage by leaders who won't pass the torch.

Meanwhile, Vusi slept in his office for 7 months. Didn't speak to his mother for years after choosing entrepreneurship over corporate. Watched his father lose everything—house, car, dignity—to business failure.

Still says it's the easiest time in history to build in Africa.

The conversation got uncomfortable. Fast.

On Elon Musk: "His God is money. He'll take funding from countries that ban Twitter while crying about South African regulations. Elon Musk is a hypocrite."

On the South Africa-Nigeria dynamic that nobody wants to discuss: "Imagine waiting 300 years for your shot. Then Nigerians show up saying 'let's build together.' You'd be defensive too."

But here's what completely rewired my understanding of African entrepreneurship:

We need zebras, not unicorns.

Think about it. Unicorns are mythical creatures chasing billion-dollar valuations that don't exist in most contexts. Zebras? They're real. They're black and white—clear about who they are. And they survive by moving together.

Vusi explained why African founders are "perpetually at version 1.0"—every generation pays school fees that have already been paid because we don't document our failures. We keep chasing Silicon Valley's playbook when we should be writing our own.

"The pioneers get arrows in their backs. The settlers get the land."

This isn't just another business conversation. It's a masterclass in understanding why our obsession with valuation over value creation is fundamentally broken.

What You'll Discover:

• The Real Elon Musk Story - Why his "white genocide" narrative about South Africa is intellectually dishonest
• Your Success is 100% Your Fault" - The brutal truth about taking responsibility even when the system is rigged
• Zebras Over Unicorns - Why sustainable African businesses beat Silicon Valley hype every time
• The Version 1.0 Problem - How we keep repeating mistakes because we don't document failures
• The Leadership Crisis - Why "Simba waiting for Mufasa" perfectly captures our continental paralysis
• The Cost of Dreams - From sleeping in offices to family estrangement—what building really costs


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Fair warning: This episode will make you uncomfortable. Vusi doesn't pull punches. He calls out sacred cows, dismantles comfortable narratives, and forces us to confront hard truths about building in Africa.

But that's exactly why you need to hear it.

Because comfortable conversations don't create change.

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Warmly,
Chika & Eche
Co-Hosts, Afropolitan Podcast