Hi, I’m Tiisetso Maloma. I have a radically positive outlook on the future because innovation—especially AI—is opening new possibilities for African and emerging markets.
That outlook has been shaped over more than a decade. I’m an author, innovation speaker and theorist, and IP entrepreneur. My work explores generative innovation systems, township economies, emerging markets, and new models for value creation for the present and future.
In hindsight, I became an early angel investor and pioneering publisher in the diary-chronicles fiction genre, supporting authors in a category that went on to be read by millions across Sub-Saharan Africa and globally. Several works from the broader genre were later adapted into television series.
That experience, combined with the promise of AI, convinced me that Africa can transform books into films—and other creative products—faster, cheaper, and at scale. I see this as a unique strategic position for the continent, and it underpins my optimism about Africa’s role in global innovation.
Hence, I am now building iZwily—an AI-powered royalties, IP, and product operating system for creators and businesses—developed within Startup Picnic Venture Studio (est. 2014), where I am founder and venture builder.
We are building a team focused on developing and acquiring strategic IP products, and combining them with AI and technology to scale them for ourselves and other businesses. This initiative is inspired by structural gaps in African markets—for example, African-authored books account for less than 30% of titles available locally—while being designed from the outset to be globally scalable.
My background as an entrepreneur and product developer includes contributing to over 100 products across publishing, education, fashion, beverages, and technology.
I have developed frameworks such as the Human Greed Pyramid, the EBC Business Model, Spaza Metrical, and the Innovation Design Model, and I also inspired the emerging book genre Ubuntu Stoicism, based on my book Introducing Ubuntu Stoicism.
My books on innovation and entrepreneurship include Future of Township Economies, The Anxious Entrepreneur, Innovate the Next, and Forget the Business Plan.
My work has led to collaborations with organizations such as the Obama Foundation, Sharjah Book Authority, and Standard Bank, as well as lectures at Wits Business School, University of Pretoria, and Johannesburg Business School.