African Tech Roundup Podcasts

Subscribe to the podcast wherever you listenIn the third and final episode of this music industry-themed UNAJUA series featuring Yaw Asamani, Yaw takes sets out the pros and pitfalls of music streaming and outlines the potential for smaller artists to enter the orbit of some of the world's biggest musical acts. Yaw reckons that the music industry i…

Subscribe to the podcast wherever you listenThe second instalment of this music tech-themed UNAJUA series featuring Yaw Asamani addresses how global streaming platforms aren't necessarily geared towards enabling African artists to cultivate sustainable livelihoods. Yaw also explains how artists might make leverage audience analytics to build and ex…

In this music tech-themed UNAJUA series, Yaw Asamani taps his live industry experience to explore how African artists are using a plethora of social and technological platforms to find their voices, build audiences and monetise their art. Listen in to learn how the streaming era has ushered in lucrative opportunities for African artists to develop …

Subscribe to the podcast wherever you listenChristiaan Steyn is the head of a new South African insuretech startup called MiWay Blink. In the second episode of this two-part conversation, Christiaan lets us in on developing an insuretech startup during a pandemic and building on the success of its incumbent parent company. MiWay Blink was launched …

Subscribe to the podcast wherever you listenIn the fourth and final instalment of this blockchain-themed UNAJUA series with Citi Group's Ronit Ghose, Ronit explores the philosophical basis for backing the centralisation or decentralisation of global finance. He also tackles the notion of tokenisation and how societal consensus regarding the value o…

Enjoy the first episode of the four-part mini-series African Creative Business, Today (ACBT) capsule mini-series in a slight change of pace. The ACBT series explores in-trench personal and professional realities at the intersection of creativity, business and technological change.In this podcast, self-titled "professional music enthusiast" and live…

Christiaan Steyn is the head of a new South African insuretech startup called MiWay Blink. In the first episode of this two-part conversation, Christiaan reflects on how the COVID pandemic has delivered growth challenges and opportunities for insurance startups and incumbents alike.MiWay Blink was launched in Johannesburg, South Africa, during the …

In this blockchain-themed UNAJUA series instalment, Citi Group's Ronit Ghose talks about how mobile telcos are eagerly peddling digital banking services— disrupting traditional financial corporations in the process. Ronit also explains how blockchain tech is poised to upend mobile payment norms, ushering in a decentralised contract dispensation. Ro…

Subscribe to the podcast wherever you listenIn the second episode of this digital money-themed UNAJUA series, Ronit Ghose breaks down the fundamentals of Digital Money 2.0. Listen in to hear Ronit frame terms like cryptocurrency, commercial bank money and electronic money. He also explains why the question of Whose liability is it anyway? is critic…

This opening episode of a crypto-themed UNAJUA Series featuring Ronit Ghose takes a close look at how blockchain tech is (re)shaping the global financial services industry. In this podcast, Ronit answers the question, "Will blockchain-enabled fintech solutions completely disrupt incumbent financial institutions." He'll speak to some of the most sig…

The final instalment of this UNAJUA series featuring Henry Mascot addresses how insurtech startups are either looking to collaborate with insurance incumbents or choosing to disrupt them. Henry cites noteworthy attributes of innovative startups that have made headlines of late. He also talks about how various 'non-financial' sectors are vying to ge…

In this UNAJUA episode, Henry Mascot highlights the untapped gains of Africa's insurance market. Henry suggests how technology might fuel social and economic development and offer insight into how the insurance industry is already proving to be a driver of economic growth. Finally, he touches on three innovative ways that technologies like data ana…

This UNAJUA series opener featuring Nigerian insuretech founder Henry Mascot shares in-trench perspectives about Africa' growing insurance industry. Henry offers insights about the dynamics of insurance adoption, elucidating how economic development plays a vital role in its adoption. Listen in to hear why Henry believes Africa's insurance industry…

In this UNAJUA episode, Vivian Nwakah offers insight into the dynamics of Nigeria's open drug markets. Vivian highlights the counterintuitive ways that drug regulation affects the supply-side logistics of local and international drug producers. She believes that the intelligent use of technological solutions in the supply process will allow for med…

In this UNAJUA series opener, Vivian Nwakah breaks down Nigeria's healthcare scene—highlighting the size of the sector as well as the disparity of healthcare access between the rich and less well off. Vivian Nwakah is the co-founder & CEO of Medsaf, an enterprise pharma supply chain company based in Lagos, Nigeria. Vivian is a serial entrepreneur a…

Part 2 of this UNAJUA Throwback series takes us back to when Lucy Hoffman, co-founder and head of operations at the Cape Town-based mobile content development startup Carry1st, joined Andile Masuku and Osarumen Osamuyi for an extended insight-rich chat—published on March 10th 2020. (Since then, Carry1st has gone on to close a $6 million Series A le…

This UNAJUA Throwback episode takes us back to when Lucy Hoffman, co-founder and head of operations at the Cape Town-based, American mobile content development startup Carry1st joined Andile Masuku and Osarumen Osamuyi for an extended insight-rich chat (published on March 10th 2020). Since recording this conversation, Carry1st has closed a $6 milli…

This UNAJUA podcast is the third and final episode of a three-part series featuring agri-tech founder, Karidas Tshintsholo. In this episode, Karidas addresses how access to market might be improved for African farmers, and how the playing field might be levelled for new entrants.Prior to founding KHULA!, Karidas co-founded a South African media com…

In this episode, South African agritech startup founder Karidas Tshintsholo addresses questions like What effect does access to certified inputs have on overall farmer success? and How can easier access to technical advisory & services improve yields?Prior to founding KHULA!, Karidas co-founded a South African media company called the Money Tree Gr…

This UNAJUA series features a South African agritech founder called Karidas Tshitshonlo. Karidas has a lot of insight to share from his agribusiness adventure thus far, but before we get to that.Karidas T. shares his take on how innovation in agriculture is providing new opportunities not only to the farmers but to the consumers as well. Khula App …

Mwihaki Mundia gives a perspective of how brachiaria grass is exceptionally suited for the Sub-Saharan African livestock farmers especially looking at what climate and soil type does it thrive in. She further weighs in on the dynamic “rivalry” with fodder options such as the popular Napier and Brachiaria grass.On this instalment, Mwihaki Mundia arg…

This UNAJUA Series - presented by Kenyan die-hard environment advocate and comms pro, Mwihaki Mundia - offers a minimum actionable response to the question: "Could the adoption of Brachiaria grass be a game-changer for livestock farmers in Sub-Saharan Africa?"As part of her Communications Specialist role at the International Livestock Research Inst…

In this bonus, episode (the second of a two-part conversation), Socialstack Co-founder and CEO Andrew Berkowitz joins African Tech Roundup Co-founder and Executive Producer Andile Masuku to discuss some of the technicalities of the $ATRU launch.They discuss the merits of launching the token on the Celo blockchain and share details about how you can…

This podcast is the second in the two-part UNAJUA series unpacking the question, "What does it take for a Ugandan research insights startup to become a commercial success?" presented by founder and researcher Peter Kisadha.In this episode, Peter speaks on whether it's possible for an African research insights company to be commercially viable and p…

In this special bonus episode (the first of a two-part conversation), Socialstack Co-founder and CEO Andrew Berkowitz joins African Tech Roundup Co-founder and Executive Producer Andile Masuku to unpack the rationale behind the launch of the $ATRU token—which the two organisations have partnered to launch on the Celo blockchain.PRESS RELEASE: www.a…

This UNAJUA podcast the first of a two-part series highlighting ecosystem insight gaps that African research startups might help to address. Presenting the series is Ugandan founder and researcher Peter Kisadha. Peter has just recently joined early-stage investment outfit Future Africa as an associate researcher. He previously worked for the mobili…

In this final instalment of our UNAJUA learning series themed: "Is the African technology ecosystem at an inflection point?" Nigerian analyst and researcher Derin Adebayo unpacks what is driving the increase in capital flowing into Africa's tech ecosystem. Derin also suggests what the various types of money making its way into the market might sign…

This UNAJUA installment features Nigerian analyst and researcher, Derin Adebayo's second "minimum actionable response" to the question:"Is the African technology ecosystem at an inflection point?"In this podcast (the second in a three-part series), Derin shares what he reckons the founders of Africa’s first generation of internet startups have lear…

Welcome to the first episode of African Tech Roundup's new learning podcast series called Unajua. The word 'unajua' is a word in KiSwahili that means "do you know?"Here's how the Unajua Series will work... First, we'll crowdsource pertinent questions from you, The Village, and break them down into 3 to 6 bite-sized sub-questions. Then, we'll invite…

In this conversation with Andile Masuku, Jean Bosco Iyacu thoughtfully interrogates the sustainable impact of progressive development finance versus the sketchy outcomes of foreign aid.Jean Bosco is a former banker and fellow of the Harvard Kennedy School. He is the director of programmes at Access to Finance Rwanda, an organisation which promotes …

Professor and Founding Co-Director of the Fourth Industrial Revolution and Globalization 4.0 at Thunderbird School of Global Management Landry Signé joins Andile Masuku and guest co-host Iginio Gagliardone for a heartfelt discussion about how the COVID-19 crisis might alter Africa's economic growth trajectory.Landry is a Senior Fellow in the Global…

Ozow Co-founder & Head of R&D, Mitchan Adams, joins Andile Masuku and guest co-host & Lettuce Co-founder Simon Dingle for this beefy flagship episode to discuss the current state-of-play in South Africa's digital payments processing scene.Mitch reveals why Ozow is actively recruiting and onboarding new hires right now and explains why the startup i…

In this instalment of the African Tech Roundup podcast, Andile Masuku and Osarumen Osamuyi are joined by Lucy Hoffman, co-founder and head of operations at the Cape Town-based, American mobile content development startup Carry1st. Listen in to learn why, as glitzy ecosystem trends like fintech and mobility continue to dominate headlines, Lucy and t…

Andile Masuku catches up with Binkabi CEO, Quan Le to learn how his company is working to lower the world's reliance on the US dollar for imports and exports. Listen in to hear how Quan and his team are cutting out middlemen by turning agricultural commodities into tradable assets and automatically matching inbound and outbound trades which enable …

Michael Schlein is a huge fintech fan, and as the President and CEO of Accion, one of the world's largest nonprofit impact finance organisations, he's backing startups which seek to advance financial inclusion by giving people financial tools to improve their lives. In this candid conversation with Andile Masuku, Michael shares useful context about…

This brief firelighter conversation was taped live on-stage at SPARK’s 7th Annual IGNITE Conference in Amsterdam (https://spark.ngo/ignite-conference-2019/). It was a discussion provocatively themed “Shift The Power” – for which Andile Masuku (moderator) was joined by the Dutch Ambassador for Youth, Education and Work in the Dutch Ministry of Forei…

In this podcast, Andile Masuku chats with Dr Salam Said, a seasoned Middle Eastern economics researcher who specialises in Arab economies, Arab trade policies and the political economy of Syria. Andile taps Dr Said's extensive professional and lived experience as he attempts to wrap his mind around some of the ways Arab identity and geopolitical dy…

African Tech Roundup and SPARK (https://spark.ngo) have partnered to produce a seven-part podcast miniseries interrogating the progress being made in advancing entrepreneurship and job creation in some of the world’s most fragile regions.The series uncovers pragmatic first-hand insights about the challenges of deploying market-relevant approaches t…

So, unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ll have noticed that a 'brick' several hundred million dollars heavy has descended on the continent in an unprecedented period of time, most of it venture capital earmarked for fintech startups in Nigeria.On this episode, Indian tech founder Arunjay Katakam joins Andile Masuku and Osarumen Osamuyi to …

The last couple of months or so have been rather eventful for Africa's fintech scene— particularly in Nigeria where Interswitch notably attained unicorn status in November following Visa acquiring 20% of the company for a reported $200 million. Twitter and Square CEO Jack Dorsey's much-publicised visit to Africa last month also did much to put a gl…

In this episode of the African Tech Roundup podcast, Andile Masuku and The Subtext’s Osarumen Osamuyi are joined by Iginio Gagliardone for a candid introductory chat about the budding Africa-China/China-Africa tech collaboration dynamic.Iginio is an Associate Professor in Media Studies at the University of the Witwatersrand and an Associate Researc…

After hosting of a live panel session at #Leaderex2019 in Sandton, Johannesburg themed, "Accelerating Zimbabwean Entrepreneurial Ventures", Andile Masuku, sat down with Zimbabwean businessman and presidential advisor Dr Shingi Munyeza and South African entrepreneur Allon Raiz for a relaxed podcast taping.Before making his mark as an entrepreneur, D…

In this episode of the African Tech Roundup podcast, Andile Masuku is joined by the Zimbabwean AI Practitioner, Booking.com UX Designer and UNHCR Innovation Consultant, Babusi Nyoni, and the Nigerian Entrepreneur-in-Residence at Africa's Talking and Founder and Author of The Subtext, Osarumen Osamuyi.This jam-packed show features the following topi…

In this in-studio taping of the African Tech Roundup podcast, Andile Masuku is joined by the Kenyan digital money analyst Michael Kimani and the South African crypto entrepreneur Simon Dingle to discuss how Libra and the proposed Calibra network stacks up against existing cryptocurrency concepts like Bitcoin, and to establish whether or not Faceboo…

Ray Youssef is Co-founder and CEO of Paxful, a US-headquartered peer-to-peer Bitcoin marketplace he dubs the "Uber for money". The platform allows people to swap gift cards, currency and alternative cryptocurrencies (altcoins), all without the need for banks or intermediaries.In this chat with Andile Masuku - which, incidentally, was taped before F…

Joining Andile Masuku and guest co-host, Vije Vijendranath, for this episode of the African Tech Roundup podcast is Kenyan repat, founder of Impact Africa Network and host of the Chini ya Maji podcast, Mark Karake.Following professional stints in Silicon Valley, working for the likes of Google, TrustArc and Oracle, Mark decided to return to his nat…

Good friend of the show, entrepreneur, investor and incurable blockchain technology fanatic, Simon Dingle, joins Andile Masuku and Musa Kalenga to chat through three big questions:1) What are we to make of Jumia’s much-publicised New York Stock Exchange listing?2) Is blockchain technology as full-safe as we are often led to believe?3) How excited s…

This is the second and final part of an insight-filled conversation Andile Masuku had with one of Zimbabwe’s most well-known and well-respected business people, the economist turned banker, entrepreneur and investor, Dr Nigel Chanakira. In this instalment, Dr Chanakira shares entrepreneurial wisdom around commercialising market-relevant tech and in…

This podcast is the first instalment of a two-part conversation Andile Masuku had with one of Zimbabwe’s most well-known and widely-respected business people, the economist turned banker, entrepreneur and investor, Dr Nigel Chanakira. Dr Chanakira is probably most famous for founding Kingdom Financial Holdings Limited in 1997, and for orchestrating…

This is the second instalment of a 2-part conversation with Africlick founder Dayo Akinrinade, which was taped at the fringes of the London stop of Afrobytes' 2018/19 International Event Series.Africlick is a new dating and networking app that aims to connect people of African and Caribbean heritage through their culture, and in this episode, Dayo …