Where there’s chaos, there’s opportunity.
— William Duncan
I spoke with William Duncan, founder of Spear Capital & Advisory, because he’s quietly rethinking how debt, equity, and infrastructure financing actually work in Africa, not in theory, but in practice.
This conversation isn’t about hype.
It’s about structure, leverage, and building in messy environments.
Why William matters (quick skim)
What he does: Structures debt, credit, and capital solutions for complex African businesses
Why it matters: Most African enterprises don’t fail from lack of ambition. They fail from bad financing structures
What he sees differently: Debt isn’t the enemy. Bad design is.
Let’s get into it. 🚀
The Tech Guy Who Fell in Love With Debt
“Let me let you in on a secret,” William said, smiling.
“My background is actually in programming.”
Before capital markets, before advisory work, William was deep in information systems and coding. That changed in 2013 during his national service year at Ghana’s oldest bank, just as the country’s eurobond and FX markets were heating up.
Watching debt being structured in real time rewired how he saw finance.
“Debt isn’t rigid,” he told me. “It’s fluid. It’s how you structure it.”
That idea became an obsession — and eventually the foundation of Spear Capital & Advisory.
The Line I Can’t Forget
Sometimes the path you start on is just the launchpad.
Debt Is a Tool, Not a Villain
William doesn’t romanticize debt.
But he doesn’t demonize it either.
At Spear Capital & Advisory, the philosophy is simple but contrarian:
In traditional banking, the debt is fixed and the client has to fit into it. For us, the client is fixed and the debt must adapt.
One example stood out.
Two separate clients.
One importing electric vehicles.
Another building EV charging infrastructure.
Instead of funding them independently, William connected them and designed one shared financing structure that reduced costs and solved both problems simultaneously.
Sometimes the solution isn’t more capital. It’s better alignment.
The Play
Start with the business reality, not the balance sheet
Look for adjacent incentives, not isolated reminders
Design capital around operations, not the other way around
Building an Institution, Not Just a Firm
William doesn’t want Spear Capital & Advisory to be a place people stay forever. He wants it to be a launchpad.
“I want it to feel like a university,” he said.
“People should leave having worked on real, transformative projects.”
That mindset extends to how he thinks about Africa’s capital stack. Debt has its place but equity is the unlock.
“Equity isn’t just money,” William said.
“It’s expertise. Access. Long-term alignment.”
Too much debt, without patient equity alongside it, eventually becomes a ceiling.
Leadership Lesson
The best leaders build people and aren’t threatened when those people outgrow them.
Why Africa? Why Stay?
William could work anywhere.
He chooses to build in Ghana.
His reasoning is disarmingly simple.
“Where there’s chaos, there’s opportunity.”
He pointed me to Roosevelt’s Man in the Arena, a passage that’s shaped how he thinks about risk, responsibility, and impact.
Africa is not easy.
That’s the point.
“The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena…”
William believes the continent’s complexity isn’t a flaw. It’s only a filter. Only serious builders stay.
The Real Takeaway
The biggest opportunities rarely come with clean instructions.
They come disguised as chaos.
The J&F Takeaways
Debt is neutral — design determines outcomes
Africa doesn’t need less capital; it needs better-structured capital
Collaboration can be a financing strategy
Equity brings more than cash — it brings capability
Builders who stay win differently
That’s a wrap
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If one idea stood out, hit reply and tell me which one — I read every response.
Know someone building, investing, or structuring deals in Africa?
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— Jasiel
