Isaac Sesi once became so busy winning that he forgot about a deal. There were awards to collect, flights to catch, and people saying wonderful things about him. Then an adviser from Uganda called and asked exactly what he thought he was doing. “Don’t snatch defeat from the jaws of victory,” the adviser told him. It is a useful place to begin when we meet in Nairobi on July 26.
Some founders tend to attend interviews to shout about their victories. But Sesi is willing to discuss the part where the applause went to his head. He is the founder and CEO of Sesi Technologies, a Ghanaian agritech company building tools to help farmers reduce post-harvest losses, improve soil health, and increase productivity. Its There is an explanatory quality to his conversational voice.
He takes a problem apart, gives an example, and walks you through his reasoning. He grew up farming with his parents. At Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, a project to measure grain moisture brought agriculture and engineering together. But farmers taught him that a clever invention is not enough. A man could agree that a device would save him money and still have no money to buy it.
So, he had to learn to listen and revise his ambitions. The young founder who imagined billion-dollar valuations now talks about useful work, family, and enjoying his life. But he remains a demanding boss to himself. Asked whom he still wants to impress, he answers, “myself.” This interview has been edited for length and clarity. You grew up as the son of a farmer but trained as an engineer.
At what point did you stop seeing those as two different worlds? Growing up, I farmed with my parents, but I was also interested in electronics and technology.