This former Goldman Sachs employee is building Africa’s intelligence layer
After exiting Goldman Sachs in 2021, Moore Dagogo-Hart built Cognito Systems out of Six Labs after scaling Zap Africa to Now, the startup is betting on AI and blockchain infrastructure to ensure Africa isn’t left behind in the global intelligence race.
When Cognito Systems began as Syx Labs, it wasn’t yet clear what shape the company would eventually take. What was clear, however, was its founder’s obsession with building technology that could stand shoulder to shoulder with global products without losing sight of African realities.
Moore Dagogo-Hart, CEO and founder of Cognito Systems, tells Techpoint Africa that after scaling Zap Africa, a product of Syx Labs, to over 50,000 users and $500,000 in funding, he knew it was the right time to expand beyond blockchain and cryptocurrency infrastructure to artificial intelligence.
“This year, when Zap Africa gained 10,000 users in a day in January, I think I realised that Syx Labs had changed, and it was time for us to have a new identity. We went from not really knowing what we were doing as a startup, while still building for different companies, to building a product with lots of users and understanding scale and systems better,” Dagogo-Hart recalls.
With that, Cognito Systems was born as an infrastructure company building artificial intelligence and blockchain systems for businesses, with a clear ambition to ensure Africa is not left behind in the global intelligence race.
From Goldman Sachs to founder
Dagogo-Hart’s journey to becoming a founder began with his 2021 exit from Goldman Sachs. Although he was certain he wanted to build something in the crypto space, he was unsure what it would be, which led him on a journey of experimentation.
His first attempt was Solarsoft, a startup through which he launched Nebula Wallet, an NFT and crypto wallet. But things didn’t go as planned. Apple removed Nebula from the App Store, and not long after, the crypto market crashed in 2022. Dagogo-Hart decided to shut down Nebula and close Solarsoft entirely.
Still, returning to Goldman Sachs or pursuing another job was not an option. So, when Moore got the opportunity to build Zap Africa, a crypto exchange, with a co-founder, he took it.
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