EP 31: Tesh Mbaabu: Lessons from Raising $40M, Losing his Most Successful Business, and Bouncing Back with his New Venture, Chptr.

In this episode, I sit down with Tesh Mbaabu, a serial technology entrepreneur dedicated to blending commerce and technology. We discuss the experiences that shaped his entrepreneurial journey, the highs and lows of building businesses, navigating failure, and finding the resilience to start again.Tesh is the Co-founder and CEO of Chpter, an AI-powered conversational commerce platform that helps businesses sell more on social platforms like WhatsApp and Instagram by automating conversations, marketing, and payments.Before Chpter, he co-founded and led MarketForce, a B2B commerce marketplace that enabled informal merchants in Africa to source, order, and pay for inventory while accessing financing. Under his leadership, MarketForce expanded across five Sub-Saharan African markets, serving over 270,000 merchants and 100 consumer brands.Beyond his founder roles, Tesh is a Partner at Mesozi, an early-stage investor focused on Africa’s next generation of high-growth technology entrepreneurs.His work has earned him recognition as a Forbes Africa 30 Under 30 honoree, a Choiseul 100 Africa Laureate, and a Business Daily Top 40 Under 40 Men Kenya. He has also been named among CIO Africa's Top 45 Most Influential Men in Digital Transformation and the Top 10 Africa Business Heroes. Additionally, he is a Harambean, as well as a fellow of Schmidt Futures, Westerwelle, Alibaba, and the UN.Tesh holds a degree in Computer Science from the University of Nairobi.