ALU Podcast

The African Continental Free Trade Area is hailed as one of the significant strides the African continent has taken towards trade facilitation. The organisation brings together 54 of the 55 African Union nations.

And with the predicted increase in trade volume, corporate and public governance is central to the success of such organisations.

Our guest this week is Isabelle Djeni. She talks about the African Continental Free Trade, mitigating various legal issues, misconceptions about working in the private and public sector, how startups can better leverage corporate governance and how her work addresses climate change.

Isabelle has strong expertise in strategy, policy design, advocacy, corporate governance, negotiation & legal advisory. Isabelle currently works as an expert, Finance & Africa Groups at ZeniZeni Sustainable Finance. She has previously worked at UBS Investment Bank, African Leadership Network, Ecobank Capital, Cabinet of the Minister in charge of Budget in Côte d’Ivoire, Junior Achievement among others. Isabelle holds a Master in International Business Law from Université de Tours.

Before the Covid 19 outbreak, the African tourism industry employed 24.6 million people across the continent, representing 6.8% of the total employment in the continent.

However, this industry, as well as our wildlife, is facing possible extinction primarily from poaching. Since 1960, the black rhino population is down by 97.6%, approximately 1000 mountain gorillas remain and as many as 35,000 elephants are killed each year. The African Lion is the second largest living big cat after the tiger and the sound of its roar can be heard as far as 8 km away. However, its population decreased by 43% in 21 years and its regionally extinct in 15 African countries with as few as 23,000 left today

This is why it is crucial to conserve our wildlife. Our guest Kaddu K Sebunya, CEO of the African Wildlife Foundation, joined us this week to discuss matters of conservation in the continent.

How can Africa embrace development while preserving its wildlife? We touch on key issues like poaching, conservation efforts, Africa’s criminal justice systems to fight illegal wildlife trade while promoting this coexistence among others.

Kaddu Kiwe Sebunya has 25 years of Government relations, conservation and international development experience. He has distinguished himself in the industry as a leader at all levels—from community level engagement through the highest levels of government in Africa, Europe, China, and the Americas.

He is  one of the most visible and respected voices for wildlife, wild lands, conservation, and sustainable development on the continent. He is honored to advise the Pan-African Institutions and several African states on implementation of the African Union Vision 2063 and has become a frequent and sought-after speaker in Africa, Europe, China, and the United States.

By 2030, digital transformation could generate as much $3.4 trillion of economic value in the Digital Sprinter markets. At a country level this translates to 25 percent of GDP in Brazil, 31 percent in Saudi Arabia and 33 percent in Nigeria, to name a few examples.

With the right policy framework, Digital Sprinters can become ideal launching pads for future innovation.

In this episode, Charles Murito, the Director of Government & Public Affairs in Africa at Google, shares how relevant the Digital Sprinters Public Policy Framework is in driving Africa's Digital Transformation. He discusses the 4 pillars of the framework, major issues that require urgent policy making and/or amendments and how to engage key stakeholders to implement these policies to support African Entrepreneurs.

For nearly two decades, Charles has helped some of the world's leading tech, media and entertainment companies to define their strategy, grow, and advance their footprint in emerging markets. This includes roles at MTV Base, Warner Bros., and Turner Broadcasting - where he served as the Director of Business Development and Strategy. While at Turner, he spearheaded the development & launch of an Arabic Cartoon Network channel and conceptualized the Cartoon Network Academy to train a generation of Arabic animators.

He served as Google’s Country Director for Kenya, overseeing in-country revenue growth. Parallel to his core responsibilities, he served as the Diversity and Inclusion lead for EMEA emerging markets, working with the global EMEA team to build a more equitable organization in which every employee can thrive. He also served as a Board Director for CSquared, a Google portfolio company.

Outside work, he loves good food, art and farming, and he is passionate about leveraging technology to drive economic development.

Technology has revolutionized people’s lives across the globe and Africa has been playing catch-up most of the time. For instance only 13.5% of the African population has Internet access.

Our guest this week is Nitin Gajria, the Managing Director - Sub-Saharan Africa at Google. He has been at Google for 7 years. In his role, Nitin spends his time working out how the internet can be more helpful for Africa and how technology can be an enabler for amazing things.

Prior to this role, Nitin led the YouTube business in India & South-East Asia, has led Google in Vietnam, Cambodia & Laos and has also worked across industries ranging from detergents and cosmetics to infant nutrition having spent time at Procter & Gamble and Mead Johnson. In this episode he discusses ways Africa can leapfrog and adopt technologies that will help its people.

Which then begs the question, why is it that Africa’s technological adoption differs from other parts of the world? Discover the three components hindering access to technology in the continent.

As a bonus, find out the top 4 promising technological fields that have most potential in Africa and how you can get involved. Please tune in and listen.

Theme: Agriculture

Did you know that 65% of the world’s arable land is in Africa? And yet, despite the incredible advantage that Africa has over other continents, it imports 85% of its food.

70% of Sub-Saharan Africa depends on agriculture for their livelihoods and indeed 90% of the food in sub-Saharan Africa is produced by smallholder farmers.

Our guest in this episode is Dr Apollos Nwafor, Vice President, Policy and State Capability at Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA). AGRA has, over the years, helped restore 13 million hectares of land while training and financing over 15 million farmers concurrently.

Having been part of the massive agricultural improvement, Dr Nwafor still believes that Africa’s most significant potential lies in Agriculture. How then can Africa build back better and become a net exporter of food?

In this episode, he outlines some critical adjustments in the Agricultural sector whose prompt and rapid implementation will transform the Agricultural industry, create jobs, and build families in the continent.

60% more food must be produced in the next 15 years to meet the needs of a growing population in Sub-Saharan Africa. What ways can you get involved and participate in seizing one of the greatest opportunities on the African continent? Tune in and find out more.

Theme: Education

The African continent has a total of 700,000 software engineers. And did you know that more than half of them are saturated in five African countries of Egypt, Kenya, Morocco, Nigeria, and South Africa?(IFC/Google). The International Finance Corporation (IFC), projects that the African internet economy will be contributing nearly $180 billion to the overall economy by 2025.

Our guest this week is Mike B. Ndimurukundo, Andela’s Managing Director, who supports, leads and cheers a powerful team of software engineers in Andela Rwanda.

Andela has 1000+ software engineers that work as embedded members of over 200 tech companies across the world. In 2019, Andela trained 60,000 people on basic software engineering skills, to better position Africa as a center for tech related solutions.

Mike therefore shares his wealth of knowledge that he acquired managing software engineers in Africa and training 60,000 new ones. The conversation covers: professional skills required for a software engineer, how to leverage the internet, advantages of technical skills among others and lessons other non-technical disciplines can take advantage of.

With that said, how then can you get ready and actively participate in various sectors of the e-economy such as Fintech, Agritech, Venture capital and e-health? If you are intrigued by the internet and the power of being self taught, then this episode is right for you! Tune in and learn more.

Theme: Job Creation

Nigeria, Kenya and South Africa have created a conducive cocktail in the market that has anchored the foundation of most Startups. What do the so-called outliers of Africa do that is different from other countries?

For our guest this week is Marcello Schermer, Head of expansion at Yoco, that is helping over 100,000 SMEs in South Africa thrive by helping them accept digital payments and manage their business with digital tools and services. The success of a startup isn’t defined by raising funds, nor is it guaranteed by copying solutions from other markets.

Having traversed over 20 countries in continental Africa as the Regional Manager for Africa at Seedstars World, Marcello shares a combination of tested factors that when executed, increases the success rate of startups in the continent.

But if you are just beginning to think of your business idea, worry not! The conversation also touches on some practical approaches that you should be aware of if you are a newbie. With youth unemployment as high as 50% in some countries, this is a timely conversation to have.

Did you know that Africa has the highest entrepreneurship rate in the world?

Well, the World Bank reports that 22% of Africa’s working age population are starting a business.

Female entrepreneurship rate in Africa stands at 27%, again, the highest rate in the world. This translates to African women being twice as likely to start a business as women elsewhere in the world.

All looks great and glamorous until you realize that Sub-Saharan Africa also has the highest rate of small business discontinuous standing at a rate of 8.4%.

Looking at Kenya for instance, 60-80% of the new business do not leave long to celebrate their third anniversary. Now, what could be the problem resulting in such a high rate of business failure?

Our guest Dr Olufunso Somorin might have the right answer. He is the Regional Principal Officer at the African Development Bank. He leads the Bank’s work on climate change and green growth in 13 African countries. Beside his engagement at the Bank, Dr Somorin is a Director at Profectus Capital Group, a boutique investment firm providing financial and advisory services to SMEs in key sectors and industries in Africa.

Dr Somorin holds a PhD in International Environmental Policy from Wageningen University, the Netherlands. He has published more than 25 peer-reviewed articles on climate policy, natural resources management and sustainable development in many leading scientific journals.

"People are not buying your brand or product. People are buying a solution and that solution makes a great brand,"  says our guest this week.

Just 19 years ago, Google was a startup. But then, how was it able to build such a recognizable global brand that led to its financial success?

How can entrepreneurs in Africa and beyond build and maintain their startup's brand?

Our guest this week is Mzamo Masito, Google Africa's Chief Marketing Officer.

He has an expansive knowledge in marketing having taught on the subject in AAA School of Advertising in South Africa. He was also Unilever’s Branding Vice President prior to joining Vodacom as the Managing Executive for the Brand and Communications department-Africa. He previously held senior executive Marketing positions at Nike as the Chief Marketing Officer and was notably the World Cup 2010 lead.

Mzamo strongly believes that "to be young, gifted, free without opportunity is a devil’s gift and to deny that opportunity is immoral and criminal.

In this episode, he talks about how an entrepreneur can build and maintain a brand.

He also shares 4 tips of how the google founders built a great brand, 5 tips to differentiate your brand and how to overcome brand mishaps. 

As businesses compete for the digital 'real estate' the need for digital marketing firms and individual freelancers is on the rise.  How the do you penetrate the market and remain on top of the game and ahead of the competition? 

This week, our guest speaker Nnadozie Ebere answers answers these questions. Ebere is a student at the African Leadership University. He will share his journey as a founder of Tori Branding, a digital marketing company. He has also previously worked as a marketing consultant for ALU in Rwanda and as the global marketing intern for Hult Prize among others.

Today, the global digital economy is valued at 3 trillion USD. The fun fact is that the value has been generated within the last 20 years with the introduction of the internet.

As the digital economy continues to gain traction due to factors such as COVID19, more players in content curation, design and Marketing are needed.

Just like the large and established companies, small and medium size businesses are also in the rush to have an online presence. As a result, the demand for UI & UX designers has skyrocketed.

To find out, tune in into this week’s episode and listen to Uchechukwu Onyeka. Uchechukwu is a student at the African Leadership University. 

He has previously worked and freelanced with teams like obodo in the UK, Toptal in the San Francisco Bay Area, among others.

Fueled by technology and the evolving customer behavior, the Media and Entertainment Industry is gaining momentum. Did you know that Nigeria will be the world’s fastest-growing E&M market over the coming five years? 

According to PwC, the entertainment industry in Nigeria and the rest of the continent has promising estimates.

By the year 2023, revenues from the E&M industry will hit $4.3billion, $3billion and $598million in Nigeria, Kenya and Tanzania respectively.

This is good news to Africa’s industry players such as actors, musicians, content creators and their talent managers.

Our guest this week,  Anchie Ng'inja, has been in the African entertainment industry for the last seven years. She is currently the manager of Sol Generation, a music label that manages music bands like Sauti Sol. Sauti Sol is a Kenyan afro-pop band formed in Kenya. They famously performed for the 44th US President, Barack Obama during a 2015 state dinner in Kenya as well as winning the best African Act award at the 2014 MTV Europe Music Awards.

In this episode, she gives an insider's thoughts on how to turn your love for entertainment to a sustainable career path.

Africa needs between 500 billion to 1.2 trillion USD annually to meet its 2030 Development goals. This is according to a UN report on Financing for Sustainable Development. With the current deficits in most African countries, innovative financial models are crucial.

This week, our guest speaker, Dr. Frank Aswani, sheds light on his contribution to Social Investment in Africa.

Dr. Aswani is the CEO of African Venture Philanthropy Alliance. This is a network for social investors that facilitates the flow of human, intellectual and financial capital. The Alliance operates in Africa and across a network of 52 countries globally.

Aswani is also the MD of Asili Consulting. He previously served as  VP & Director of Strategic Relations in the African Leadership Academy. He was also the South Africa & Sub Saharan Sales Director for Eli Lilly & Co among others.

In this episode, he elaborates on the different innovative financial models & how your social investment venture can start and remain sustainable.

Tune in this week and enjoy the knowledge of a brilliant thought leader on matters Investments.

With over 80,000 homes listed in Airbnb in Africa and with the entry of Uber into the continent- the prospects of the Shared economy in Africa just got higher.

So how do you penetrate this market and go head to head with giants such as Tripadvisor, Book.com & Air bnb?

This week, our guest speaker, Nghombombong Minuifuong, highlights how he bridged the gap left by the big housing companies.

Nghombombong is the Founder and CEO OF Bongalo that offers arrangements for homestays, lodging, and tourism experiences to travellers in Africa. He has previously worked with Globex, Enko Education, the Quanteq Institute among others.

How do you mentally prepare to tackle hurdles as you transition from the corporate world to entrepreneurship?  Well, join our guest this week-Toyin Odulate. She will walk us step by step on her entrepreneurship journey. And on her becoming the CEO of her company-Olori.

Before founding Olori Beauty Enterprise in 2018, Odulate served as an Independent Non-Executive Director for Anheuser-Busch InBev. She had also been the Regional Director for Anglophone West Africa, Country Manager for Danone NELN among other positions.

In this episode, she narrates how a childhood passion and a hair accident she experienced in a salon, led to the eventual birth of her company. Also learn of the unique challenges women entrepreneurs face in the boardroom meetings. And other challenges cutting across genders and different social classes among business founders.

Tune in this week and learn how you can scale a business in different markets to launch your entrepreneurship journey. Listen to Victor Williams, a seasoned Mergers and  Acquisitions expert. He has served in various banking institutions such as Standard Bank, Wells Fargo Securities, Goldman Sachs and now shares his knowledge of different African markets in scaling a business.

NB: Victor Williams is currently the CEO of NBA Africa. This podcast interview was held in his previous role with Standard Bank Group as Head, Corporate & Investment Banking, Africa regions.

Great designers understand that design has the power to elevate the human experience. Successful business people know that great customer experience is critical to business success and sustainability. But how do you design these types of experiences for your customers, in a way that distinguishes your venture or idea from the competition?

Well tune in this week and learn how you can use Human Centered Design to your advantage. Listen to Kevin Bethune, Founder and Chief Creative Officer of dreams • design + life,  as he shares his points of view, learning and successes in the world of design thinking.

Kevin has a multidisciplinary career and operates at the intersection of design, business and technology. In this episode, he will be dissecting ways to codify your solutions around human needs. Listen now.

Our guest this week is Ndidi Okonkwo Nwuneli, founder of LEAP Africa, Co-Founder of AACE Food Processing & Distribution, an indigenous Agro-processing company and the managing partner at Sahel Consulting which is focused on the agribusiness and nutrition landscapes in Africa. 

Ndidi shares how Africans can get involved in solving African problems like solving the food crisis on the continent.

Ndidi has served on numerous boards including the Rockefeller Foundation, AGRA, Nigerian Breweries Plc, the African Philanthropy Forum, AACE Foods, LEAP Africa. She is currently a fellow at the MRCBG Harvard Kennedy School where she is working on a new book - "Entrepreneurs Nourishing Africa's 2.4 Billion: Leveraging Innovation & Technology to Leapfrog."

Michael Abtar, founder and CEO of IG-SMART dives into the inner workings of Data Privacy and Protection and why it matters to every entrepreneur. Michael has offered privacy & security consultancy to leading brands. With most African coutries having data protection laws and many others in the process of doing so, support is readily available for businesses.

Michael shares more on how entrepreneurs can prepare to adapt to an ever evolving business environment and how to build a business that establishes trust in your customers and gives your business a competitive edge.

Tune in and learn how our guest this week, Aishetu Fatima Dozie turned her passion into purpose and established a full time business in cosmetics.  Aishetu Fatima Dozie is the Founder and CEO of Bossy Beauty, a women Cosmetics company. She is also the founder of Women HERstory Inc-  a series dedicated to showcasing successful African women.

We do not make our products differently, says Aishetu, rather it is how we approach women's beauty process that is different.

"With our products, we speak to women about the intersection of beauty and work. Yes,we do sell women beauty products clearly, but more than that, what we are selling is women empowerment."

A member of the Forbes Business Council, Aishetu has previously worked for Lehman Brothers, Morgan Stanley, Standard Chartered Bank, Rand Merchant Bank. She holds a BA from Cornell University and a MBA from the Harvard Business School and participated in the Leaders in Development Program at the John F. Kennedy School at Harvard University.

Sales is a leadership position and not a manipulation position. In this episode, our guest David Bonney, founder of HireToFit and BonneyPerformance, further explains the topic of sales using the pain-pleasure principal, where people take action to avoid pain or seek pleasure. He shares 4 things that help a prospect create clarity/outcomes in their lives that they would not have normally been able to achieve. Thus creating clarity in a cluttered mind. Sales is a conversation of helping people create a clarity that they need to choose to take action that will create the change that they want in their lives.

This week, we welcomed Ramatoulaye Diallo,  an award-winning leader with 22+ years of experience building up people and teams as an intrapreneur, an entrepreneur and an investor. As CEO at Orange Finances Mobiles Senegal coupled with industry experience in fintech, telecommunications, technology investment and e-commerce, she shares her incredible experience and insights about the future of cash, mobile money and the challenges of scaling in Africa given the fragmented financial infrastructure.

In this episode, our guest Dr. Gaidi Faraj the Dean of Faculty and Academic Affairs at ALU and holds a PhD in African Diaspora Studies from University of California talks about the key role academic institutions play in nurturing entrepreneurs in Africa. He shares how ALU has the right systems in place to increase the students' capacity and knowledge skills and also give them mindsets and skill sets to build confidence and competence so that they leave as problem solvers and leaders.

Marketing is something every business needs to get customers but very often it is used as an after thought. In this episode, our guest Justin MacDonald Chief Marketing Officer at ALU and an established entrepreneur talks about how Marketing is actually Leadership. It involves thinking about humans, their emotions, and the outcomes we want to create. It’s a powerful tool to get your customers to know what they need to know to believe what they need to believe to do what they need to do. It influences behavior.

So if Marketing is Influence and Influence is Leadership. Then, Marketing is Leadership.

Have you ever wondered who are behind bringing you this juicy content each week? Well, tune in as we introduce the team behind the ALU Podcast and share our journey.

It's one thing for your business to take off in the local scene, it's another to successfully scale it on an international level. Join us this week as our guest takes us through some of the challenges she had to overcome while building her company.

The reputation of a business is arguably one of the most important factors that determine the success of the business and one sure-fire way of solidifying the reputation is by giving back to the community. This week, we will be joined by not one but two guests who will be taking us through their respective journeys and sharing their perspectives on how to design a business geared toward social impact. 

With the spark of a new entrepreneurial venture comes various challenges, some of which might be unique to the venture but more often than than not, the problems faced are universal. Tune in this week as our guest, Elizabeth Elango Bintliff, CEO of Junior Achievement Africa takes us through her journey leading JA Africa and the 3 biggest challenges most African entrepreneurs must overcome. Elizabeth has worked in over 27 African countries over the past 20 years.

Have you ever wondered what it would be like if the education was handled differently? Our guest this week has it as his mission and life's work to help transform the way education as a product is crafted into in a much more customized and fulfilling experience. Tune in to listen to Aaron Appleton take us through his journey in reshaping the educational experience. 

Susanne Alfs speaks business and understands technology. Her mission is achieving a better collaboration between business and technology from the board down.

Her experience as a C-suite executive and non-executive director enables her to bring better technology governance to the board room. Join us this week as Susanne takes us through her unique views on the relevance of technology in these trying times.

There is no doubt that we are living in a turbulent world. This world has seen many crises, the COVID-19 pandemic is just the latest addition to the list and has already forced many companies to go out of business and hundreds of thousands of job losses. In this week's podcast, Our guest, Jim Olson, will not only share some of his experiences from years of crises management but also a simple 3 steps protocol that has been used to save lives and you can use to save your business or future business.

These are trying times indeed and the pressures and anxieties that come with the drastic departure from the norm can have major effects on our overall well-being. Join us this week as we discuss with ALU's head of wellness and psychologist by training, Jeremy Ruiters, as he gives pointers on how to maintain a healthy lifestyle despite the times.

The Coronavirus COVID-19 has taken the world by a storm and has shaken up the lives and work culture of the world. A huge percentage of what used to be carried out physically has transitioned to online platforms and this shift has opened up a whole new world for entrepreneurs to explore.  Join us this week as our guest, second year Business Student Sean Karanja, as he retells his entrepreneurial journey and explores ways in which entrepreneurs can take advantage of the times to grow.

It's hard to think about an entrepreneur without the word "Networking" popping into the mind. "What is the most effective way to build a network?", one might wonder, or perhaps "What is the relationship between a ". Our guest this week, who needs no introduction as his reputation precedes him, may have the answer you're looking for...and it might not be what you expect!

The journey of an entrepreneur isn’t a walk in the park. It requires a tremendous amount of work, resources and input. Join us this week as we discuss with Mrs Saruma King, an ALC Graduating Parent as she shares her journey of supporting her son in pursuing his entrepreneurship dreams.

As humans, we often put a lot of pressure on ourselves to be well-prepared before we start anything. While this sometimes minimizes the risks of failure, other times, it causes us to miss out on opportunities. Join us this week as we take a trip down memory lane with Caleb Rockstone, an ALU student who will be graduating next week.

One of the biggest challenges that leaders face are finding the right talent and building strong effective teams for their companies. Join us on this week’s podcast as we have a candid conversation with Lyndsay Holley Handler on breaking barriers and building strong pan-African teams.

In a few years, Africa will have the largest workforce in the world. When facing this reality, you can either see this as a challenge or an opportunity. Tune in to this episode as Christopher O.H. Williams, the ALU President dives deeper into his career journey and explains to us why he believes entrepreneurial leadership and young people are the keys to powering Africa’s development

Entrepreneurs are different. They are different in the sense that they create unique solutions that will transform lives and impact change. This week’s guest, Ahmed Konneh, co-founder of an incubation hub in Liberia and a goalkeeper with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation will share his entrepreneurial journey of inspiring, connecting and empowering young people to create solutions to solve some of the crucial problems Africa is facing.

Leading others is often not a simple journey. Sometimes you wake up being able to move a crowd and other times, it takes a lot more to convince the masses. Tune in as we are joined by Hossam Hamdy for our first episode on the theme: "Leading self", to take a deep dive at the importance of self awareness in the process of learning to lead-self.

The importance of encouraging more female participation in the tech space cannot be overemphasized. Join our guest speaker this week, Lina Bennani Dosse, as she discusses some interesting perspectives on women participation in tech, drawing from her personal experiences

In this week's episode, listen in as Hope Mutua gives an overview of the value of leadership on the continent as the new beacon of hope in Africa as more light has been shed on its significance within the next 70-80 years powered by its young population.

Do you have an innovative idea that can help humanity, but don’t know how to start? Or would you simply like to contribute to a social cause? Tune in this week to listen to our guest speaker, Rukudzo Irene, Co-Founder & COO of Mtabe, for an overview of the impact of social innovation in Africa. Learn how she is tackling one of the major challenges on the continent: Education.

How can you be like an entrepreneur without going through the hurdles of entrepreneurship? Our guest this week is Arinze Obiezue. 20 months later, having worked in 5 different industries across 6 countries in Europe, North America, and Africa and interned in companies like Facebook, Bank of America & Sanofi, he shares how you can embrace entrepreneurship and get the professional joy of being an entrepreneur without the risks and limitations.

Youth Entrepreneurship has been celebrated as the solution to Africa’s burgeoning youth population. Tune in to the ALU Podcast to hear how ALU student entrepreneur, Farai Munjoma, is reshaping education in Zimbabwe through entrepreneurship and technology.