African Tech Roundup Podcast

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Tonjé Bakang of African Leadership Academy on Afrostream's demise and failing forward Sep 07, 2018

Show notes

You might recall that in September 2017 the Cameroonian former Founder & CEO of Afrostream and current Chief Brand Officer of African Leadership Academy's Anzisha Prize, Tonjé Bakang, published a heavily-publicised Medium post in French announcing that his VOD streaming service was shutting down. Here is Tonjé's letter in English— translated by Audrey Lang: http://bit.ly/tonjéokayafrica. Our very own Andile Masuku even wrote a syndicated op-ed for Business Report South Africa (http://bit.ly/tonjeoped) celebrating Tonjé's decision to chronicle how and why his company failed. By founding Afrostream, Tonjé set out to capture the loyalty of an underserved customer segment that lay within the confines of a super-competitive streaming market. We’re talking a well-defended industry dominated by international rivals like Netflix, and by increasingly confident African startups like IROKO— the former reportedly spending something like €33 million on marketing alone in the first year they launched in France (Afrostream’s most important foreign geographic market). That tidbit should put into proper perspective, how very little the $4 million Afrostream managed to raise to fund its mission over four years actually is. In this conversation with Andile Masuku and Tayo Akinyemi - taped at Afrobytes Tech Conference 2018 - Tonjé details the ordeal of watching his entrepreneurial dream die and shares profound lessons about staying true to oneself, failing forward and engineering personal reinvention. Apply for the Anzisha Prize: http://www.anzishaprize.org/apply/

Konnect Africa's Jean-Claude Tshipama on Eutelsat's African satellite broadband strategy Aug 30, 2018

Show notes

Congolese Jean-Claude Tshipama is the CEO of Eutelsat's Konnect Africa subsidiary which delivers satellite broadband connectivity services in Africa. Jean-Claude has over 16 years’ experience in telecommunications, computer and Pay TV industries’. He holds an MBA from HEC-Montreal in Canada and a Master’s degree in Economics from the Protestant University in Congo. Jean-Claude was formerly the Commercial Director at Celtel in DR Congo, and also previously served as Director of Sales and Distribution at both the Digicel Group and at the Microsoft Corporation's Africa business. Prior to joining Eutelsat, he was notably CEO of Canal+ in DR Congo, and he currently serves on the board of Equity Bank in Kenya. In this conversation with Andile Masuku and Musa Kalenga - taped at Afrobytes Tech Marketplace 2018 - Jean-Claude discusses his new role at Eutelsat and shares some of the values that inform his personal and professional mission. Listen in to hear him respond to questions about his organisation's ability to remain competitive in the world's increasingly crowded satellite and broadband marketplace.

Uber crypto-geek Simon Dingle unpacks his book In Math We Trust: The Future of Money Aug 23, 2018

Show notes

South African Simon Dingle has worked with Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies since 2011, designing products that make it easier to engage in an increasingly digital world. He has proved to be especially gifted at using his broadcasting, writing and speaking talents to make complex crypto-related matters simple for audiences all around the world Simon previously led the product team at one of the world’s earliest Bitcoin exchanges and spearheaded collaborations on several other popular fintech products. Today, he spends most of his time designing and investing in projects that "make money more fair". Simon is a passionate cryptocurrency proponent who believes that "a new kind of money" can save the world from tyranny and allow global citizens to trade without needing to rely on greedy third-parties. In this sparky conversation with Andile Masuku, he unpacks some radical ideas contained in his book entitled, In Math We Trust – The Future of Money, and makes a case for why we should all trust math instead of putting our faith in banks and governments.

Ìmísí 3D's Judith Okonkwo is bullish on VR and AR tech adoption in Africa Aug 17, 2018

Show notes

At the fringes of Afrobytes Tech Marketplace 2018, Andile Masuku caught up with virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) evangelist, founder of the Lagos-based Ìmísí 3D and co-founder of the We Will Lead Africa initiative, Judith Okonkwo, to take in her compelling arguments for why VR tech ought to be more enthusiastically embraced across Africa. Listen in to hear how Judith and her team at Ìmísí 3D - an "Extended Reality (AR/VR) creation lab dedicated to growing a community of AR/VR developers in Nigeria" - are working to turn 3D adoption sceptics into believers by creating market-relevant solutions using AR/VR tech, and providing educational and engagement experiences with AR/VR.

Thomson Reuters' Sneha Shah on delivering market-relevant data, insight & tech business solutions Aug 07, 2018

Show notes

As Managing Director of Thomson Reuters Africa, Kenyan-born Sneha Shah oversees the firm's Financial, Risk, Tax and Legal businesses across the continent. Initially founded as a news agency in 1851, today Thomson Reuters is frequently cited by media watchdogs as an "invisible information giant" worth monitoring closely as it delivers unprecedented amounts of data, along with automation and digitisation solutions to financial institutions, governments and corporates around the globe. Sneha holds a BA (Hons) degree in Politics with International Studies from the University of Warwick in the UK and prior to joining Thomson Reuters in 2001, she was a Commodities Trader for Cargill in South Africa and traded money markets and foreign exchange at CFC Bank in Kenya. Sneha is a member of the Board of the US Chamber of Commerce US-Africa Business Center, the One Young World (PYW) Africa Local Organising Committee, the Young Presidents Organization (YPO) and the African Leadership Network (ALN). She is also a Steering Committee member for 30% Southern Africa and actively involved in the World Economic Forum (WEF) on Africa's Partnering Against Corruption Initiative (PACI). In this conversation with Andile Masuku - taped at a corporate-backed gender equality event called Voices of Change hosted in Sandton recently - Sneha demystifies Thomson's operations by explaining the firm's business model and unpacking their Africa growth strategy. Listen in to hear how Sneha and her team are working to keep Thomson relevant and profitable at a time when very few large data, insights and technology-focused corporations seem content to stay in their lane. Also, Sneha's elucidation of the "firewall" between Thomson's news and consulting businesses is well worth a listen.

aKoma Media's Chidi Afulezi on viable digital media models and backing African content creators Aug 02, 2018

Show notes

aKoma Media Co-founder and COO Chidi Afulezi is "a Naija boy true and true". Chidi is an electrical engineer with product-development experience earned working in America's digital wireless network industry. Chidi's resume also features executive stints at top media and entertainment brands such as Time Warner, Sony Music and CNN. While at CNN, Chidi met and began plotting a media coup with one the network's leading international anchors, the Kenyan Zain Verjee, with whom he co-founded aKoma. In this conversation with Andile Masuku, taped at Africa Tech Summit Kigali 2018, Chidi shares why he is bullish about African storytelling and why he is enthusiastically backing African creators. Listen in to better understand some of the pain points aKoma is looking to solve for and to learn how African media makers, intent on shaping the way the world perceives the continent, are harnessing tech innovation to assert themselves on the global stage.

Gebeya's Amadou Daffe & TechPoint.ng's Adewale Yusuf talk Ethiopian tech swag and taking on Andela Jul 27, 2018

Show notes

This year's Afrobytes Tech Marketplace event attracted a large, impressive Ethiopian delegation of tech innovators sporting some serious swag. Ethiopia boasts a solid track record of meaningful digital innovation in spite of the fairly insular political and economic outlook that prevailed in the past. Today, tech ecosystem heavy-hitters like the Ethiopian founder of investment advisory firm Ibex Frontier, Zekarias Amsalu, and the Senegalese founder of the IT expert online marketplace Gebeya, Amadou Daffe, are bullishly surfing a wave of renewed global investment interest catalysed by Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed's changes to economic policy. In this chat with Amadou Daffe and TechPoint.ng Founder Adewale Yusuf - taped at the fringes of Afrobytes Tech Marketplace 2018 - Andile Masuku learns more about why Ethiopia, with its population of 100 million people and one of the world’s fastest-growing economies, is well-positioned to assert itself as one of the continent's leading tech hubs.

BongoHive's Simunza Muyangana on delivering context-relevant tech ecosystem support in Zambia Jul 19, 2018

Show notes

BongoHive Co-Founder and Director of Entrepreneurship, Simunza Muyangana reckons that Lusaka has what it takes to become one of Africa's choicest tech and innovation hubs. When it launched in May 2011 BongoHive was Zambia's only technology and innovation hub. Today, no small thanks to Simunza and his team's context-relevant ecosystem upliftment efforts, the early-stage startup scene in Zambia is more vibrant than its ever been. In this throwback conversation with Andile Masuku - taped at African Angel Investor Summit 2017 - Simunza chats about BongoHive's portfolio of startup and tech programmes, workshops and events, which are all focused on making Zambia Africa’s next hotbed of innovation. Listen in to learn more about BongoHive's relatively new investment arm and why Simunza believes that the time is right for his organisation to bet on local startups.

#VillageDiariesAmsterdam Pt 2 w/ Augustina Austin, Babusi Nyoni, Danai Musandu & Tania Habimana Jul 09, 2018

Show notes

On Tuesday, June 5th, 2018 the international African Tech Roundup LIVE Tour launched with a live podcast event in The Netherlands dubbed #VillageDiariesAmsterdam. For the second (and final part) of the evening's programme, hosts Andile Masuku and Musa Kalenga were joined by a stellar lineup of African tech and innovation ecosystem insiders who have past and present links to Amsterdam. Namely, Tania Habimana (Co-founder and Head of Digital and Strategy: Nonzēro Africa), Babusi Nyoni (UX Designer: Booking.com), Danai Musandu (Investment Associate: Goodwell Investments) and Augustina "MS.ABA" Austin (Artist, Entrepreneur and Host of HiRadio Netherlands' "Africa on Focus"). This meandering roundtable conversation features unvarnished views on what it's like to navigate Amsterdam's increasingly Africa-focussed impact and innovation scene while African and confronts several awkward truths that are too frequently swept under the rug.

Secha Capital's Rushil Vallabh & Brendan Mullen on proving a hybrid SME investment model Jul 05, 2018

Show notes

South African Rushil Vallabh and American Brenden Mullen are the co-founders and co-managing directors of a Johannesburg-based, venture capital outfit called Secha Capital. Secha’s mission is to “provide patient capital to established African SMEs” - primarily within FMCG and agri-business industries - and to support them by providing access to best-in-breed, hands-on business consulting. In this conversation with Andile Masuku, Rushil and Brendan expound on Secha’s hybrid investment thesis and explain how they are channelling all the skills and competencies they acquired at Bain (where they both formerly worked) into promising businesses.

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