Phin Mpofu-Masamba II

Phin Mpofu-Masamba II is the Founding Curator of Dazzle Africa, the trust and intelligence layer facilitating trade and growth across Africa's startup-to-scaleup ecosystem. Dazzle Africa's flagship product is MARATTO, Africa's outsourced Technology Transfer Office, giving universities the infrastructure to identify, protect, and commercialise their research without the cost of building it internally. Dazzle Africa sits within V.ONE, his boutique Venture Studio that builds digital platforms solving real problems across commerce, community, and comparison. With 25+ years of experience building global startup ecosystems, Phin previously served as Director of Global Community at Startup Grind, where he helped scale the community to over 600 chapters across 120 countries. He has a deep passion for building infrastructure that keeps African innovation on the continent, addressing the brain drain, resource drain, and structural drain that hold back commercialisation of world-class research. His work has earned recognition including being named to the Maserati 100 and winning the CMX Professional of the Year award.