Our software runs over 55% of cinemas in West Africa – Day 1-1000 of Fusion Intelligence
Summary
Kolade Adewoye built Fusion Intelligence out of necessity and insider experience at Filmhouse Cinemas. Starting from supporting cinema operations and surviving a ticketing meltdown during the Avengers: Endgame premiere, Kolade and a small team launched Fusion in 2022. They shifted from project work to recurring-license software after a painful overreach on a complex bank app and years of unstable cash flow. The company endured a crisis week when their Convoy decryption software failed and multiple clients and investors walked away, but the team fixed the issues and introduced stricter QA processes. Today Fusion powers over 55% of cinemas in West Africa and serves restaurants and logistics clients, pursuing a strategy of vertical domination and recurring revenue as they plot expansion across Africa.
Key Points
- Founder Kolade Adewoye leveraged Filmhouse experience to start Fusion Intelligence in 2022.
- Early credibility came from fixing a high-profile ticketing crisis during major premieres.
- Fusion pivoted from agency projects to subscription software to secure predictable monthly revenue.
- A major early mistake: overpromising on a complex bank app, which taught them limits of ambition vs execution.
- They survived a catastrophic “hell week” (Convoy failure, staff changes, investor rejection) through rapid fixes and new QA rules.
- Fusion now runs software for over 55% of cinemas in West Africa and serves F&B and logistics clients.
- Growth strategy focuses on distribution, scale and becoming the default (vertical monopolist) provider across markets in Africa.
Why should I read this?
Because it’s a proper founder story — messy, honest and full of hard lessons. If you care about African SaaS, vertical software, or how to turn ops know-how into recurring revenue, this is a quick, real-world playbook. Plus, there’s a great bit about sleeping at the cinema to save a premiere — who doesn’t love that grit?
Author style
Punchy: Kolade’s tale is blunt and instructive. The piece is worth reading in full if you want tactical lessons about product pivots, the cost of overpromising, and building mission-critical infrastructure in under-served markets. If you’re building or buying vertical SaaS in Africa, this is especially relevant — read the detail.
Context and relevance
This story matters because it highlights a broader trend: African startups turning sector expertise into recurring-revenue software that displaces foreign incumbents. Fusion’s journey shows why local knowledge, tight quality controls and licence-based monetisation are central to scaling reliable infrastructure across Africa. It’s a useful case study for founders, investors and operator teams thinking about vertical SaaS, payments reliability and region-scale expansion.
Source
Source: https://techcabal.com/2025/09/13/kolade-adewoye-day-1-1000/