Episodes
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This is an update episode from the host, Jaydee Tarpeh.
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Chiziterem Uwaga is the creator of the podcast concept Afreviews. Afreviews, for now, is a mobile podcast. There are new global African hosts for every episode and they first read a short African story and then talk about it over the length of the episode.
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Missing episodes?
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Atti Worku is the Founder/CEO of Seeds of Africa, an NGO that creates holistic education and community development centers in urban communities in Ethiopia. Worku has received the African Diaspora Award for Community Service and The African Youth Excellence Honorary Award.
A former fashion model, Worku won Miss Ethiopia in 2005 and represented Ethiopia in Miss Universe. She is a graduate of Columbia University.
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Mario Rigby was born in the Turks and Caicos Islands and spent his childhood in a small village near Stuttgart, Germany, before moving to Toronto, Canada at age 16.
Rigby recently completed his Crossing Africa journey, a two-year trek walking and kayaking from Cape Town, South Africa to Cairo, Egypt – all while sharing his experiences on social media and inspiring people across the continent, and the globe, to get out, be brave, and see the world.
In this episode, he talks about the journey, his inspiration, and upcoming projects.
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Bryan Obonyo is 24-year-old Kenyan, Born & Bred in South London UK. He is also the founder of The Ubunifu Space channel which is an online based platform which aims to shed light on all the various sounds and styles of creative art coming out form the African Continent and also in the diaspora.
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Our guest on the show today is Madame Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Former president of Liberia, Nobel Laureate, and winner of the 2017 Ibrahim Prize for Achievement in African Leadership. She is one of the most influential women in Africa and in the world.
In 2005, Madame Sirleaf was elected as the 24th president of Liberia and made history as the first elected female Head of State in Africa.
On the episode today, she talks about life after the presidency, her advice to young people, and her legacy.
Madame Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, former president of Liberia and first female Head of State in Africa, Nobel Laureate, and recipient of the 2017 Ibrahim Prize talks about life after the presidency, her advice to young people, and her legacy.
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Lola Akinmade Åkerström is an award-winning Nigerian-born travel photographer and writer based in Stockholm, Sweden. She worked as a Geographic Information Systems (GIS) for 12+ years in the United States before transitioning to work and travel full-time as a Photographer.
She is the editor-in-chief for Slow Travel Stockholm and the 2018 Travel Photographer of the Year Bill Muster Award recipient. Her work has appeared in National Geographic Traveler, BBC, CNN, The Guardian, Travel + Leisure, Slate, Travel Channel, Lonely Planet, Fodor’s, National Geographic Channel, several in-flight magazines, New York Times online, amongst others.
In this EpisodeShe shares the stories of how she started out in her career and how she made the shift from being a programmer to a photographer.
I know you are thinking, “How do I get paid to travel and be a photographer?” - She answers this question for us too.
How she has managed to overcome so many rejections in her life to be published in all the major publications and has won many awards.
How she is breaking the stereotypes and fighting against being placed in a box.
She shares the biggest challenge she has faced in her career.
Advice to young Africans: We need to redefine what success means to Africans.
If you had 10K Africans:
Figure out if what they are doing and if they are passionate about it, then put the skills to use changing the world.
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Our guest for today is Dr. Chenolo L. Njaka. She is a social scientist and researcher based in Peckham, London, UK. She is a Nigerian American who group up in Minnesota, USA and later moved to England for postgraduate studies. She holds a MA in Culture, Globalisation and the City from the Department of Sociology at Goldsmiths College, University of London. She received her Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of Manchester in 2017.
Dr. Njaka has researched and worked in various areas of community development and support for marginalized communities in both the USA and UK for most of her adult life. Her research interests include race and ethnicity, cross-national comparison, organizational studies, community development, and the African Diaspora, particularly in the European context.
In this episode:
Why race is a social construct. She breaks down why it is a social construct and how fluid it is based on where you are, from the US to Europe to Africa. International Decade of People of African Descent - why it is important for the human rights of people of African descent in the diaspora to be protected. Her work with community development, Sexual health promotion in communities of people of African descent. Why she is driven by injustice in the world to fuel her passion for community development and activism. The one advice to young people. “Be and Stay true to yourself.” Stop trying to be someone else. We are best at being ourselves and we are at our best when we are ourselves. “Be creative” - we don’t need cookie cutter people.If you had 10k Africans at your disposal with expertise in every field, what would you do?
Sit them in a room and encourage conversation.
Contacts:
Instagram & Twitter: @peckhamrights
Website: peckhamrights.org
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Sócrates Carvalho best known as Sucá, very known name in the islands of Cape Verde and Diaspora where there is a Cape Verdean community. Sócrates Carvalho has been an icon of society for positivity that his name has been ingrained, encouraging young people not to depend on the government but to achieve their own job and success. He is an example of young entrepreneurship, through their brand SIGUI SABURA.
In 2013 he resolved to abandon fixed employment, and together with 2 more partners start the dream of creating a company of events in Cape Verde and organizing events (parties and festivals) never done before in Cape Verde. After 4 years of existence the company managed to reach the Icon of events in Cape Verde becoming one of the most popular CV companies. In a few years they managed to cover all the islands of Cape Verde and Diaspora. He has been given several invitations made by the universities to conduct lectures to marketing and business students to share experiences lived as an enterpreneur up to this moment. He was invited as the guest speaker at the startup grind in 2017 with the title the case of success. -
Angel Rich is a powerhouse. Frankly, if she is not currently on your radar, you are missing something and it's time to pay attention. She is the founder and CEO of The Wealth Factory (WealthyLife), an ed-tech company that creates products to teach financial literacy and let people everywhere have equal access to financial literacy. Their first product is the popular and acclaimed financial literacy game, Credit Stacker, which got 250,000 downloads in only ten days.
She has been referred to as the next Steve Jobs, by Forbes magazine. Her award-winning game, Credit Stacker, is a phenomenon and is available in 60 countries around the world, in 27 different languages, it is the first financial literacy game. She's been continuously wowed the world with her creations and ventures, even with the lack of support from investors. She is the Author of History of The Black Dollar - a book that highlights why there is a financial gap between African-Americans and European-Americans in America and how we can close that gap.
Angel Rich is a powerhouse and there is so much to learn in this episode.
Buy Angel's book:
History of the Black Dollar (US)
History of the Black Dollar (Canada)
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Kamil is a true embodiment of a global thinker making local impact who has lived, schooled, worked and/or visited 30+ countries on 5 continents. He considers himself a "global citizen" with a passion for Africa. He is the Founder & CEO, Most Influential 100 Company.
He has a master’s degree in Global Affairs with concentrations in Economics, International Relations and International Law from the Center for Global Change and Governance at Rutgers University, New Jersey, USA. "With a focus on Africa, I create global networks to build a world driven by EXCELLENCE and with over 15 years of global work experiences, I have developed solid global commercial acumen with a proven track record to lead teams and deliver outstanding results. I have an in-depth understanding of business networking, negotiations, relationship and project management skills" - Kamil Olufowobi In support of the United Nations International Decade for People of African Descent to be observed from 2015 - 2024, the Most Influential 100 company publishes a global 100 list of Most Influential People of African Descent (MIPAD), that identifies high achievers aged 40 or below, of African descent in public and private sectors worldwide, 100 inside Africa, 100 outside Africa in the Diaspora across four categories; Politics & Governance, Business & Entrepreneurship, Media & Culture, Humanitarian & Religious. The list will be released annually until 2024. In this episode:Kamil Olufowobi shares his story of being an African born in America and how that has shaped his life and mission.
We talk about the International Decade of People of African Descent and the work that MIPAD is doing, how important it is to lift up people of African descent worldwide.
We talk about the value that his work is adding to the continent. Kamil also makes a valid argument and a rallying cry for why the African Union needs to stand up for the diaspora.
He shares some amazing stories and experiences that everyone can connect with.
He answers the question: "If you have ten thousand Africans at your disposal, with expertise in every field, what would you do?
How to connect with Kamil:
E-mail.: [email protected] Website.: www.mipad.org Social Media: @MIPAD100 Hashtags: #AfricanDescent #ExcellenceinAfrica #MIPAD100 -
Frantz Saintellemy started as an immigrant kid from Haiti, who couldn’t speak English or French, worked his way to making millions of dollars and is now helping other black entrepreneurs make their vision possible.
He is the founder of three companies (Q-Links Inc., OMNI Global and SMGT Inc.) and a co-founder of six others (Réno-Metrix, iWeartech, BisB Mag, V Kosmetik, Pyraable Inc. and Capital Plus).
In this Episode:
His story:
- Entrepreneur, Engineer, and Philanthropist
- He is all about knowledge transfer and wealth creation
- Creating an environment where young people can aspire to become entrepreneurs
- Creating an environment that is conducive to vision, not dreams.
He founded Groupe 3737 in a majority-black neighborhood, in St. Michel, northeast of Montreal, the third poorest borough in Canada. It has become the largest private incubator in Quebec. He talks about the process that went into establishing the successful hub. Its purpose is to educate and develop primarily black businesses
Sending a message that “your beginning doesn't have to define where you end."
They have launched more than 40 businesses and trained more than 300 entrepreneurs and invested more than 12 million dollars since opening in 2012.
Don’t miss the incredible story about how he has inspired pride in that poor community of Saint-Michel.
He shares his recipe for success.
He talks about how he sees the value that he is adding to the world.
- we were born to this world naked and we will leave naked
- how his upbringing in Haiti has shaped his life and his drive to help others.
He shares the biggest challenges he has faced so far in his business.
- how he overcomes the barriers of name and skin color and people’s perceptions of Africa and Haiti.
One advice that he will give to young Africans trying to add value to their communities. -Be a global conquerer.
Final question: If you had ten thousand Africans at your disposal with expertise in every field, what would you do? - His answer will inspire you.
Favorite book: The Innovator's Dilemma
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Iyinoluwa is the CEO and Co-founder of Flutterwave and a co-founder of Andela. Flutterwave is a global payments technology company helping to connect Africa to the global digital economy with payments infrastructure that helps financial institutions and businesses build with a focus a more seamless and secure payments experience for their customers. Flutterwave has grown to be one of the fastest growing payments in the world.
In this Episode (Part 2):
He explains what Flutterwave does and their focus of decentralizing payments and transaction in Africa.
He shares his perspective on how his work adds value to the African continent.
He shares his biggest business challenges as an entrepreneur working in Nigeria
We also talk about what drives him to do what he does. Everything he does is sending a message to Silicon Valley.
He shares his thoughts on how Africans can add value to the continent.
He gives a crazy answer to our question "If you had 10,000 Africans at your disposal, with expertise in every field, what would you do?".
Rap
Favorite Nigerian dish
Favorite African country, outside of Nigeria
Favorite book: High Output Management
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Iyinoluwa is the CEO and Co-founder of Flutterwave and a co-founder of Andela. Flutterwave is a global payments technology company helping to connect Africa to the global digital economy with payments infrastructure that helps financial institutions and businesses build with a focus a more seamless and secure payments experience for their customers. Flutterwave has grown to be one of the fastest growing payments in the world.
In this Episode (Part 1):
Iyinoluwa shares the story that has led him to become the success that he is today.
"E" talks about how he turned his failures around to win big and succeed with Andela and making his investors 30 times their original investment.
He also talks about his recent engagement and how the choice you make of who to marry is the "most important hiring decision of your life.
He shares his life's philosophy and what drives him.
We talk more in-depth about the incident that drove him to start Andela, one of the most successful startups in Africa.
Look forward to part two of this podcast for more on Flutterwave.
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Christian Benimana, now a TED Fellow, dreamed of becoming an architect, but there were no design schools in his home country of Rwanda, so he applied and was accepted to Tongji University in Shanghai, China. Not letting his inability to speak Mandarin stand in his way, he spent a year gaining fluency before pursuing his degree in architecture. Upon returning to Rwanda, Christian joined MASS Design Group as a Global Health Corps Design Fellow in 2010, and today directs the firm’s Rwanda Programs and the African Design Centre. He has taught at the Kigali Institute of Science and Technology, and chairs the Education Boards of the Rwandan Institute of Architects and the East African Institute of Architects. Christian’s goal is to develop the talent and potential of the next generation of African designers with socially-focused design principles. He announced the plans for the African Design Centre at the UN Solutions Summit in New York in 2015.
In this episode:
- Christian shares his story
- The purpose of African Design Centre
- What is possible by building with local labor and resources
- The biggest challenge so far in his career
- What drives him to do what he does
- What is the one advice he will give to young Africans on the continent or in the diaspora looking to add value to the continent?
- And of course answers the trademark question, If you had 10 thousand Africans at your disposal, with expertise in every field, what would you do?
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Today's guest is Ashley Akuna, Host & Producer of the GrapeVine show.
Hailing from Maplewood, NJ, by way of San Antonio, Texas, by way of Nigeria, Ashley Akunna has always had a keen interest in the visual medium of storytelling. After completing her degree in Film at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia, she created The Grapevine to address the unique perspective of millennials such as herself. She is a creative, who strongly believes in the power of fantasy and dancing in the mirror by yourself.
In this episode:
- Host and Exec producer of the panel-style talk show, The Grapevine on youtube. Talking about current buzz and relevant topics affecting millennials.
- She shares her inspiration for creating the show to take the hostile discussions outside of the social media realm to actual face-to-face conversations around hard topics.
- She also recently visited back home in Nigeria so she shared the experience there.
- We talk about how her work and content adds value to millennials. She is changing the narrative and speaking to the millennial mindset.
Having conversations that engage the audience and provides a fresh perspective every time.
- She talks about her challenge of being a self-funded creative working in New York.
- Ashley talks about what drives her to continue her push through The Grapevine and other projects, through the hard times.
- She shares the one advice that she will give to people who want to start something original or add value to their communities - Don’t procrastinate - Don’t spend all your time trying to figure out how others did it, just get started.
- If she had ten thousand Africans at her disposal, what would she do? You don’t want to miss this answer.
Rapid Fire:
Favorite book: Flowers in the attic
Bob Marley or Fela Kuti
Favorite Nigerian food
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Today's guest, Efua Kumea Asibon, is the co-founder of Dislabelled. While growing up in Ghana, she was concerned about the relegation of people with disability to a life of poverty and begging. She and her co-founders, Nana Ama Akowuah and Sedinam Worlanyo, founded the social enterprise right out of high school to combat the stigma and marginalization that these people face.
In this episode:
She shares the story about how she started and what motivated her to start Dislabelled. How they are impacting the youth of Ghana to care more or the disabled. Adding value to the continent by changing the mindset, perspectives and the society that they are in. What She shares her experience of meeting the Queen of England twice and winning the Young Leaders Award She talks about the challenges of finding funding and finding the right human resources in Ghana. What drives her to continue doing the work she does, even in the difficult times. She gives one advice to Africans as to how they can add value to the continent and to how they can stay focused - Always move forward and put yourself in a network of supportive friends. Find out what she will do if she had 10 thousand Africans on her side. -
Our guest today started life as a poultry farmer with no knowledge or background in technology. But because of curiosity, he found all the right ways to teach himself and using that knowledge to start his own small tech company before going on to work for what is now the premier online hotel booking service in Nigeria, Hotels.ng. His name is Yemi Johnson.
Hotels.ng list over 10,000 hotels in Nigeria alone and 27, 000 across Africa. It has grown to be on of the profitable tech companies in the tech scene with Yemi as Chief Operating Officer and after listening to this interview you will see why. He is a practical guy who helps us understand what it takes to run a profitable tech business in Africa.
In this episode:
He shares his journey of how he went from poultry farming to Hotels.ng He gives tips and practical advice on how to run a profitable tech company in Africa. The right approach, he says, it to start with Validating the market, Understand your acquisition channels, before creating a product. He explains how Hotels.ng managed to become profitable in a tech scene when many companies burn through cash and die out before ever seeing profitability. He shares a story about costumers trying to scam them as the biggest challenges he has faced in business. Advice to young Africans: Try to do the hard things to be better every day, create value within yourself, and then transfer that value by building the capacity in others. He also answers our hallmark question: If you had ten thousand Africans at your disposal, with expertise in every field, what would you do. -
Randi and Alishia are two entrepreneurs trying to make traveling less of a hassle or shock for black millennials in a world where travel agencies do not cater to this demographic. Their business is called We Go Too, and they run the website and Instagram page that have attracted thousands of followers.
In this episode:
They share how they met 6 years ago on a teaching trip to the Dominican Republic, and the idea for the business was born. How they are adding value to some black millennials who previously thought traveling wasn't accessible to them. They share the biggest challenges in running their business What drives them to continue doing what they do and continuing to build their business. More African Americans are traveling and visiting Africa Advice for young Africans looking to add value to their community. They answer the final question: If you had ten thousand Africans at your disposal, with expertise in every field, what would you do?Alishia's Favorite book: The Four Agreements
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1. Never let anyone tell you that because you are African you can't do anything. The very essence of you being African means that you can get out there and achieve. - Farai Mubaiwa
2. Just find a problem to solve. Get up every morning and make it your life's mission to solve a problem. - Gossy Ukanwoke
3.Set a vision for yourself and whatever you start will be a conduit for that vision. - Taa Wongbe
4.Just do it! Nothing can prepare you for the market in Africa, no amount of market research will beat being on the ground, engaging the people and building something. - Mahmud Johnson
5.Petit á petit l'oiseau fait son nid. (literal translation - "little by little, the bird makes its nest). Have your heart at home and take little steps to do something starting from where you are. - Ange Muyubiwa
6. See yourself as an African investor instead of just sending money back home. Change your mindset, get informed, get the knowledge and skills that will enable you to act like the investor that you are. - Steve Odhiambo
7.Always be competent, always put your best foot forward, and always act professionally. - Yasmin Belo-Osagie
8. Be humble, start small, and take your time to analyze the environment. Understand the context of the country you want to work in. - Christian Ngan
9. No better way to know than to see for yourself. Put yourself out there and learn by doing. - Tessy Cherono Maritim
10. Don't Assume. Don't assume that the market would need something just because it is not on the market yet. Do your research. - George Ogunbande
11. Look at where you come from and find out how you can impact the community for the better, then go and offer solutions. You don't have to be born in Africa but Africa has to be born in you. - James Woods
12. Respect. The way you deal with people should be from a place of respect. Self-respect, others-respect, and dignity. - Neva Mwiti-Read
13. Have a vision, have a plan for that vision, and then you have to act. Because Africa is a tough place to work in, you have to understand the terrain and believe in people. - Taa Wongbe
14. Do Something! No matter how small it is, it is going to help to push the needle. You are alive so you count. As long as you have Africa at heart, do something. - John Iwuoha
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