African Tech Roundup

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 Research Fellow in New Media and Human Rights in the Programme in Comparative Media Law and Policy (PCMLP) at the University of Oxford. He is also the author of a new book called China, Africa and the Future of the Internet, which has taken him the better part of ten years to write.

This context-setting conversation covers a lot of ground. Some of the questions discussed include:

1) Where big-money moves in tech and innovation sector are concerned, is there an Africa-China or China-Africa dynamic at play? [12:17]

2) How committed is China to promoting mutual commercial beneficiation in Africa? [15:51]

3) Is there substance to stereotype of “Everyone has a plan for Africa, except Africa”? [20:13]

4) Are there any “good guys” left, and if so, is China one of them? [25:02]

5) Is China’s influence in African “technopolitical” circles inducing a neo-Third World psyche? [30:23]

The episode is chock-full of fascinating real-world anecdotes, provocative ideas for how things can and should be and even a lively lightning round near the end of the show which elicited reflex takes on Africa-China tech stories that have trended over the last short while.

To view resources referenced in this episode, visit https://www.africantechroundup.com/africa-china-tech-dynamics/

Image credit: Kayla Kozlowski

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, Dr Munyeza built a storied corporate career that saw him grow from being a clerk at Ernst & Young to a heavy-hitting advertising industry executive, and later, and perhaps most famously, to being the CEO of African Sun, one of Zimbabwe’s leading hospitality groups. Dr Munyeza has since evolved into one of his country's most respected serial entrepreneurs and, on this podcast, he shares his motivation for joining forces with Allon Raiz to launch a business incubator in Zimbabwe.

Allon Raiz has come to be regarded globally as a pioneer and maverick in the business-incubation industry. An industry which is, for the most part, notorious for being anything but pragmatic and profitable. He is the CEO of Raizcorp, a business which, has provocatively been dubbed by The Economist as “the only genuine incubator in Africa”.

Listen in for exclusive insight regarding these Dr Shingi and Allon's decidedly different entrepreneurial approaches and for practical wisdom on backing early-stage entrepreneurial progress in Zimbabwe a la Raizcorp Zimbabwe.

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 topics:

1) What does the world post-Facebook’s Libra announcement look like? This is a follow-up discussion to deliberations made in Episode 130 - our most downloaded show ever - featuring insights about some of the more notable happenings to occur in the world of digital money since Facebook & Co. revealed their plan to re-imagine global finance. [13:48]

2) Is Africa's VC-fuelled motorcycle ride-sharing investment trend worthy of the hype? Listen in for Osarumen's trademark analysis on the matter. [30:53]

3) Does Africa have what it takes to lead a global AI revolution? Babusi factors in with a compelling case for why he believes the answer to that question is, yes. [55:24]

To view resources referenced in this episode, visit https://www.africantechroundup.com/africa-motorcycle-taxi-industry-uberisation/

Image credit: Adeboro Odunlami

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 Facebook's digital currency might be good for Africa.

It's safe to say that the world hasn't been quite the same since Facebook and its high-powered corporate collaborators - Visa, MasterCard, Uber, Spotify, South Africa's PayU and several others - revealed plans to re-imagine global finance using a digital coin called Libra— an idea that, according to the Libra whitepaper, is set to be backed by a reserve of actual currencies and assets.

This show was taped prior to US President Donald Trump forcefully panning cryptocurrencies in a public statement earlier this week. His provocative sentiments came in the wake of lawmakers in the US and Europe demanding that The Libra Association's plans be placed on hold pending formal investigations.

Meanwhile, in Africa, policymakers will also need to grapple with many of the concerns being raised about Libra abroad. In this episode, Andile, Simon and Michael delve into issues that African lawmakers would do well to apply their minds to. Listen in to hear the trio unpack why Libra is potentially an ingenious innovation that - if permitted by regulators - could do much to advance financial inclusion on the continent, but, equally, a potentially hazardous vehicle which could enable Facebook & Co. to wield unprecedented economic control over Africa's future.

Image credit: Maksim Shutov

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 Facebook's recent Libra announcement - Ray reveals why Africa is delivering some of his company's most significant business wins and unpacks the thinking behind Paxful's financial literacy initiatives on the continent. Listen in to hear him factor in on what it might take for the cryptocurrency community to win the trust of African policymakers.

Image credit: Dmitry Moraine

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 native Kenya in March 2018 to get involved in early-stage startup acceleration and investment activities in Nairobi.

In this show, Andile, Vije and Mark will unpack three weighty questions:

1) What is behind the new wave of banking currently sweeping South Africa? [18:28]

2) Is the African Union's decision to maintain Huawei's preferred partnership status well-advised? [47:07]

3) What are the critical, yet not-so-obvious grassroots issues in Nairobi's early-stage startup ecosystem that must be seen to if a sturdy pipeline of local investible prospects is to be built? [59:10]

Image credit: Shalom Mwenesi

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 should we be about PopCom founder, Dawn Dickson, becoming the first black woman to raise over $1 million for her company via a security token offering?

Regular listeners of this podcast will know that during our in-studio episodes Andile, Musa and a guest normally highlight and briefly unpack as many as ten important ecosystem developments before tackling a discussion topic. But, in response to feedback we've been receiving from our audience, we’re changing things up a little.

Going forward, our in-studio flagship recordings will only cover three big questions, giving us to us a chance to discuss issues more thoroughly. Do enjoy the show and be sure to let us know what you make of the changes to the format.

Image credit: Aditya Vyas

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 innovation and explains why he remains pragmatically bullish about Zimbabwe’s investment prospects.

Dr Chanakira is probably most famous for founding Kingdom Financial Holdings Limited in 1997, and for orchestrating that company’s much-publicized merger and demerger with the Meikles Africa group before eventually selling out to the Mauritius-based AfrAsia Holdings in 2013. Prior to founding Kingdom Financial Holdings, he spent long stints working for the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe and Bard Discount House. Over the years, he has sat on the boards of numerous leading companies and institutions, including Econet Wireless Holdings, Success Motivation Institute (Africa), the Christian Community Trust and Kingdom Meikles Africa.

Image credit: Daniele Levis Pelusi

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 that company’s much-publicized merger and demerger with the Meikles Africa group before eventually selling out to the Mauritius-based AfrAsia Holdings in 2013.

Prior to founding Kingdom Financial Holdings, Dr Chanakira spent long stints working for the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe and Bard Discount House. Over the years, he has sat on the boards of numerous leading companies and institutions, including Econet Wireless Holdings, Success Motivation Institute (Africa), the Christian Community Trust and Kingdom Meikles Africa.

Listen in to hear Dr Chanakira's fascinating personal and professional origin story. And heads up, this episode features an intriguing anecdote about role Dr Chanakira played in setting up Econet founder Strive Masiyiwa to become one of Zimbabwe’s most prolific entrepreneurial successes to date, and how he may have simultaneously made the poorest investment decision of his career.

Image credit: Pepi Stojanovski

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 sketches the magnitude of the business opportunity she is looking to convert and unpacks her company’s growth focus.

Dayo holds a Bachelors degree in Computer Science from the University of Manchester and a Masters in Technology Entrepreneurship from University College London, and has spent over ten years working in IT Management Consulting— delivering analytics and financial transformation programmes at Accenture and Deloitte. While embedded at those firms, she designed solutions and led global teams at the likes of the London Stock Exchange, Lloyds Banking Group and the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria.

Dayo formerly served as a Director at YSYS Consultancy Ltd, where she worked with Capital Enterprise and the JP Morgan Chase Foundation on the OneTech programme, which aims to raise a total of £15.1 million of investment for diverse, female founders. While inhabiting that role, she also delivered "diversity in technology advisory" to Space Camp, Startupbootcamp and Techstars. Currently, alongside running Africlick, Dayo advises two African fintech startups, Akkiba and DTL Cafe.

Image credit: Justin Follis