Unlocking Africa Building Profitable IT Infrastructure for Global Remote Work From Africa with Francis Osifo
Episode 210 with Francis Osifo, Co Founder and CEO of Rayda, a global IT asset lifecycle management platform supporting remote and distributed teams in over 170 countries.
As remote work reshapes how companies hire globally, one critical challenge remains under discussed: how businesses actually equip, manage, and retrieve devices for employees across borders. In this episode of the Unlocking Africa Podcast, Francis Osifo explains how Rayda is solving this problem by building the infrastructure that enables global remote work, particularly in emerging markets such as Africa.
Francis shares how Rayda has simplified device procurement, onboarding, management, retrieval, and recycling to keep remote teams productive from day one. Drawing on real world execution across Africa, Latin America, and Asia, he explains why operating in complex markets has strengthened Rayda’s product and global competitiveness, and why Africa should be seen as a proving ground for scalable technology rather than a limitation.
We also explore Rayda’s journey to sustained profitability, the strategic discipline behind building a venture backed company that prioritises fundamentals, and what African founders can learn about building durable, globally relevant businesses. Francis discusses Rayda’s expansion beyond hardware into software, the dynamics of a market with very few serious global players, and why IT asset lifecycle management is becoming a mission critical layer in the future of work.
What We Discuss With Francis
- Building the infrastructure behind global remote work and why device access is central to Africa’s digital economy
- Executing at scale across Africa and how hard markets shape stronger global products
- Profitability, sustainability, and the realities of building venture backed businesses in emerging markets
- Expanding from hardware into software in an under explored global infrastructure category
- Africa’s future role in remote work and what must change to unlock long term economic opportunity
Did you miss my previous episode where I discuss Bridging Africa’s $100 Billion Trade Finance Gap Through Agribusiness Exports? Make sure to check it out!
Connect with Terser:
LinkedIn - Terser Adamu
Instagram - unlockingafrica
Twitter (X) - @TerserAdamu
Connect with Francis:
LinkedIn - Francis Osifo and Rayda
Many of the businesses unlocking opportunities in Africa don’t do it alone. If you’d like strategic support on entering or expanding across African markets, reach out to our partners ETK Group: