Afropolitan

Chude Jideonwo has worked on political campaigns as a job for years. The 2015 Buhari campaign was the one he believed in. "Even me, I drank from my own supply." After the win, one of his dearest friends called and said, "Today, I think we've created a monster."

Before the campaigns and the Villa, he was a kid in a Lagos private school, flogged in front of the whole assembly because his parents couldn't pay school fees. By 15 he was working full time. "I shall not be poor. It will never happen."

Chude co-founded RED with Adebola Williams, the company behind The Future Awards Africa and YNaija, and his teams ran communications for Buhari in 2015 and Nana Akufo-Addo in Ghana in 2016. He hosts #WithChude, one of Africa's most watched talk shows, and has put $500,000 of his own money into the Fourth Mainland Fund for African creators.

In this episode we get into the night Goodluck Jonathan learned the 2011 election was postponed (Chude was in the room), why Peter Obi has done more interviews than every Nigerian president since Babangida combined, why Dangote's survival was never guaranteed, the $1,000 month that put #WithChude behind a paywall, and why "it's the local taste that scales."

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EPISODE SPONSORS

Zobo Money — Zobo is a money transfer app built for Africans in the diaspora. It lets you send money from the US, UK, and Europe to countries like Nigeria, Cameroon, Ghana, and more. https://www.zobo.money/afropolitan

BONUS OFFER: Use code AFROPOLITAN and get a $10 bonus when you sign up, complete your KYC, and send $50 or more to Africa.

Hisa — Hisa is an all-investments platform that lets you invest in Nigerian stocks, US stocks and ETFs from one app. https://invite.hisa.co/7fkf/AFROPOLITAN

BONUS OFFER: Use code AFROPOLITAN and get your first two trades commission-free.

CONVO BY AFROPOLITAN

Book 1:1 calls with Africa's boldest thinkers: https://convo.vip/

WHERE TO FIND CHUDE JIDEONWO

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chudeity

YouTube: https://youtube.com/c/chude

Full #WithChude episodes: https://www.withchude.com

Substack: https://withchude.substack.com

JOY, INC. AND THE FOURTH MAINLAND FUND

Website: https://joyinc.xyz

AFROPOLITAN

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TIMESTAMPS

0:00 "I disliked Buhari intensely"

3:18 Reading the media for narratives at 19

5:13 Is anyone in politics telling the truth?

9:26 RED was built for content, PR paid the bills

12:52 Buhari's fourth run "pulls up in a Rolls Royce"

13:50 Free masterclass: Peter Obi's campaign

16:44 More interviews than every president since Babangida

17:24 "Peter Obi is the billboard"

23:44 The Room on Patreon

24:35 Sponsor: Zobo Money

25:20 Sponsor: Hisa

26:27 Why this election feels eerily quiet

29:49 Dangote's IPO and his legacy

32:56 The fight of Dangote's life

35:42 The note he wrote in the Transcorp Hilton penthouse

39:35 In Jonathan's sitting room when 2011 was postponed

40:46 Running the candidate's Twitter in 2015

41:55 "Most of the problems in Nigeria are stupidity"

43:32 What ambition forces you to become in Lagos

44:28 The day his dad lost his job

47:28 Flogged at assembly over school fees

49:34 What hustling since 15 cost him

53:09 Why he got bored of powerful people

57:14 Why Nigeria projected its hopes onto Buhari

1:00:10 "This one, I believed it"

1:01:37 "I think we've created a monster"

1:03:34 "I should have known better"

1:05:18 What Nigeria felt like before 2015

1:10:37 Ghana and the Akufo-Addo campaign

1:15:44 Copy and pasting the Buhari playbook

1:17:38 Why African governments ignore communication

1:20:15 Can Nigerian media survive without politics?

1:24:26 How government patronage entered the media

1:27:38 Whatever happened to Tell Magazine

1:31:33 Should Nigerian creators charge LA prices?

1:37:27 "I thought my show was going to fail"

1:39:38 $1,000 in the first month behind a paywall

1:42:50 Why waiting on brands costs creators power

1:45:43 How the Fourth Mainland Fund started

1:54:41 He pitched Netflix on podcasts years ago

1:57:44 "The spirit of almost there"

2:05:03 "Stop trying to tell African stories to the world"

2:07:40 Every time he followed the data, he failed

2:11:05 "It's the local taste that scales"

2:18:01 "Capital has a point of view"

2:20:50 Study Tunde Ednut and Instablog

2:26:51 Why he won't make another Diezani documentary

2:30:05 The lesson that cost him the most

2:33:35 26 years of partnership with Adebola Williams

2:37:20 Rapid fire, presented by Glenmorangie

2:41:03 What's gotten better with time

2:43:23 What legacy means to him

2:46:13 Who should be in this chair next

Eight years. A chart-topping podcast. A deal with one of the biggest podcast networks in America. And Les Alfred still asks herself what it was all for.

Her words: "I've worked so hard and I've sacrificed so much and it didn't get me what I thought it would." She expected more money and a bigger platform by now. When Chika asked if being a Black woman had anything to do with it, she answered in one word: "Probably."

Les started Balanced Black Girl in 2018 while still working a corporate job, recording in her bedroom in Seattle. It grew into a chart-topping, NAACP Image Award-nominated show, signed with Dear Media in 2023, and was rebranded last year as She's So Lucky.

In this episode we get into the Monday thought that turned into a Dear Media offer by Thursday, why she calls naming her brand after balance a mistake, the $2,500 check that made her an angel investor, the three wishes her mom kept from first grade, the most expensive lesson she's learned, and what to look for in year three when the work is working but the money isn't moving.

Become a Member of The Room (Afropolitan Private Membership)

Join our private community for deeper insights and exclusive content: https://www.patreon.com/c/Afropolitanpodcast

EPISODE SPONSORS

Zobo Money — Zobo is a money transfer app built for Africans in the diaspora. It lets you send money from the US, UK, and Europe to countries like Nigeria, Cameroon, Ghana, and more. https://www.zobo.money/afropolitan

BONUS OFFER: Use code AFROPOLITAN and get a $10 bonus when you sign up, complete your KYC, and send $50 or more to Africa.

Hisa — Hisa is an all-investments platform that lets you invest in Nigerian stocks, US stocks and ETFs from one app. https://invite.hisa.co/7fkf/AFROPOLITAN

BONUS OFFER: Use code AFROPOLITAN and get your first two trades commission-free.

CONVO BY AFROPOLITAN

Book 1:1 calls with Africa's boldest thinkers: https://convo.vip/

WHERE TO FIND LES ALFRED

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lesalfred

SHE'S SO LUCKY

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shessoluckypod

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@shessoluckypod

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@shessoluckypod

Newsletter: https://shessolucky.kit.com/bestcase

AFROPOLITAN

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Newsletter: https://www.afropolitan.io/newsletter

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/Afropolitanpodcast

TIMESTAMPS

0:00 "What was it all for?"

2:12 Before we start

2:28 The biggest myth about building a podcast business

3:23 How she lets guests actually talk

4:56 The only good reason to start a podcast

6:03 Why asking your audience for money feels awkward

7:59 When does a Black woman podcaster get the big deal?

9:17 Every way a podcast makes money

10:50 Why she fought video for years

12:58 How she grew an audio-only show

14:40 How she uses AI

15:05 A Monday thought, a Thursday email from Dear Media

16:36 What joining a network changed

17:25 Behind the scenes with Chika and Eche

18:05 The Room: Afropolitan's private membership

18:56 Sponsor: Zobo Money

19:41 Sponsor: Hisa

20:48 Growing up Black in America, explained for Africans

23:54 Her Nigerian best friend

25:07 The 2008 crash that ended her journalism dream

26:17 Falling asleep at a corporate finance job

27:16 The wellness blog she started at 24

28:29 Why old-school journalists struggle with new media

31:09 From Balanced Black Girl to She's So Lucky

33:08 How her audience took the rebrand

34:20 How to create your own luck

35:28 Reinventing at 50: Amy DuBois Barnett's story

37:35 What Oprah taught her at Cannes Lions

39:53 Her quieter season

40:19 "It didn't get me what I thought it would"

41:41 Does being a Black woman have anything to do with it?

43:03 "Grifters are winning"

44:05 The three wishes her mom kept from first grade

45:41 Grading herself on the five types of wealth

47:53 How a broke social media manager got into angel investing

52:22 Her first angel check was $2,500

53:15 What an SPV is and how to get into one

55:21 "My mistake was naming it balance"

56:39 Year three and the money isn't moving

57:15 Signs your podcast is actually working

58:16 The most expensive lesson she's learned

58:58 Media personality vs content creator

1:01:11 Rapid fire

1:02:42 "Money has to move"

1:03:01 Is a Birkin an investment?

1:03:32 The side of her the internet never sees

1:05:30 "People only relate to losers"

1:07:41 Who should be in this chair next

1:08:46 The pitches she ignores

1:10:20 Her dream guest

At 16, Mannywellz went to get his learner's permit. His mom sat him down and told him he couldn't. He didn't have papers.

A few years later the college bills came in at $20,000 to $50,000 and there was no way to pay them. So he told his family to put his younger sister through school instead. He would sing.

Mannywellz (Emmanuel Ajomale) moved from Nigeria to Maryland at 9, taught himself to produce on Fruity Loops, and built a sound that sits between Afrobeats, R&B, soul and gospel. He made "Peace" with Tems before most of the world knew her name, has records with Wale, toured with Jidenna, and is one of the DACA artists on the Grammy-winning album American Dreamers. He's fully independent, and his catalog pays his bills.

In this episode we get into what one independent song really costs (from $2,500 to $30,000), paying producers in ownership when you can't pay in cash, why "nothing is usually as organic as it seems," quitting a bank job over a record deal that didn't exist, how "Peace" with Tems came together, getting dropped by his distributor right before his biggest run, and what therapy told him about carrying too much.

Become a Member of The Room (Afropolitan Private Membership)

Join our private community for deeper insights and exclusive content: https://www.patreon.com/c/Afropolitanpodcast

EPISODE SPONSORS

Zobo Money — Zobo is a money transfer app built for Africans in the diaspora. It lets you send money from the US, UK, and Europe to countries like Nigeria, Cameroon, Ghana, and more. https://www.zobo.money/afropolitan

BONUS OFFER: Use code AFROPOLITAN and get a $10 bonus when you sign up, complete your KYC, and send $50 or more to Africa.

Hisa — Hisa is an all-investments platform that lets you invest in Nigerian stocks, US stocks and ETFs from one app. https://invite.hisa.co/7fkf/AFROPOLITAN

BONUS OFFER: Use code AFROPOLITAN and get your first two trades commission-free.

CONVO BY AFROPOLITAN

Book 1:1 calls with Africa's boldest thinkers: https://convo.vip/

WHERE TO FIND MANNYWELLZ

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mannywellz

X/Twitter: https://x.com/Mannywellz

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/MannywellzTV

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Mannywellzz

Website: https://mannywellz.com

All links: https://www.fvr.fan/mannywellz

AFROPOLITAN

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TIMESTAMPS

0:00 "I found out I didn't have papers when I was 16"

1:51 The biggest misconception about going independent

3:40 "I don't hate deals. I just hate unfair deals"

4:43 Born in Nigeria, raised in Maryland by a gospel songwriter

5:57 Asa, Ryan Leslie and teaching himself to make beats

7:18 Fusing Lagos and America before it was a lane

9:16 What independence actually costs

10:10 The DC couple who taught him publishing and masters

11:47 Why viral moments fizzle without infrastructure

13:45 The real budget to get one song off the ground

15:41 When producers charged $100,000 a beat

16:05 Mixing, from $50 to $5,000 a track

17:13 Pay in ownership when you can't pay in cash

18:21 The No I.D. and Brent Faiyaz story

19:29 A friend's first $600 publishing check

20:19 Videos, stylists and a $5,000 creative director quote

23:56 Photo shoots and usage rights

25:10 What can $5,000 of marketing really buy?

25:43 Dating the algorithm

26:33 "Nothing is usually as organic as it seems"

26:56 Follow Eche and Chika on Snapchat

27:36 The Room on Patreon

28:28 Sponsor: Zobo Money

29:13 Sponsor: Hisa

30:20 Pink Sweat$ and the team behind "Honesty"

34:54 Losing his voice in the middle of a tour

36:17 Finding out at 16, and choosing not to hide

38:47 Giving his college shot to his sister

39:22 Fans in London and Lagos he couldn't fly to see

40:23 Four days at Ledo Pizza, four hours at DKNY

42:45 Why he couldn't keep a job past six months

43:45 Quitting the bank over a record deal that didn't exist

44:32 The pandemic taught him what money is

44:57 How "Peace" with Tems came together

49:18 What it feels like to have a hit

49:46 "I have the hit. It just hasn't been received"

52:38 Wasn't the spotlight a risk?

54:44 When a border officer asked him to sing

55:43 Why he passed on Substack

57:43 Small Chops, the starter before the album

58:59 Back in Lagos after 18 years

1:00:17 Too American for Nigeria, too Nigerian for America?

1:04:02 Why Lagos is his top streaming city

1:05:40 The lesson that cost him the most

1:07:45 How his parents took him leaving school

1:09:30 Buying a house with his mom

1:10:43 The question he wishes people asked

1:13:03 Rapid fire

1:17:09 What therapy told him

1:18:48 Learning to rest

1:19:44 Who should be in this chair next

Mayorkun was two months from being homeless when Mama dropped. The first check from that song went straight to rent.

A year earlier he was in a bank's marketing department, opening accounts. He posted a short piano cover only because his phone was out of storage and he planned to delete it. Davido saw it and sent a DM: send me your number. Then two weeks of silence. The message that changed his life landed on WhatsApp as he walked back to his seat after leading praise and worship in church: pack your load and come.

Ten years later, Mayorkun is the Mayor of Lagos. Albums including The Mayor of Lagos and Back in Office, hits from Eleko and Mama to Of Lagos and Betty Butter, and B4 B4 with Davido and FOLA on Davido's 2026 album Oriadé.
In this episode we get into the lawyer Davido paid for so Mayorkun wouldn't sign his deal blind, why blowing up is "light work" compared to staying, the 2 years he stopped writing clever lyrics because it felt like no one was listening, why he says most streaming numbers are doctored, the bank that later paid him more for one show than he'd have earned there in 5 years, and the 18 hours he lasted in London before wanting to come home.

Become a Member of The Room (Afropolitan Private Membership)
Join our private community for deeper insights and exclusive content: https://www.patreon.com/c/Afropolitanpodcast

EPISODE SPONSORS
Zobo Money — Zobo is a money transfer app built for Africans in the diaspora. It lets you send money from the US, UK, and Europe to countries like Nigeria, Cameroon, Ghana, and more. https://www.zobo.money/afropolitan
BONUS OFFER: Use code AFROPOLITAN and get a $10 bonus when you sign up, complete your KYC, and send $50 or more to Africa.
Hisa — Hisa is an all-investments platform that lets you invest in Nigerian stocks, US stocks and ETFs from one app. https://invite.hisa.co/7fkf/AFROPOLITAN
BONUS OFFER: Use code AFROPOLITAN and get your first two trades commission-free.
CONVO BY AFROPOLITAN
Book 1:1 calls with Africa's boldest thinkers: https://convo.vip/

WHERE TO FIND MAYORKUN
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/iammayorkun
X/Twitter: https://x.com/Mayorkun
Snapchat: https://www.snapchat.com/add/mayorkunn
Website: https://www.mayorkun.com

AFROPOLITAN
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Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afropolitanpodcast
Newsletter: https://www.afropolitan.io/newsletter
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TIMESTAMPS
0:00 "I was two months to be homeless"
1:41 The biggest myth about staying relevant
3:08 "I'm not cosplaying any madness for clicks"
3:49 Why he never plans a song before the studio
5:48 The girl who heard his song 30 times before release
6:36 Eleko did 1 million views in 7 days. The party didn't know it
8:04 Staying is harder than blowing up
8:56 Is Afrobeats going through a weird time?
11:57 Giving away songs that didn't sound like him anymore
13:33 The hits he wrote for others and won't name
14:19 The most expensive part of his career
16:56 Davido made him get a lawyer and paid for it
17:46 Long-term business with long-term people
20:59 Join The Room on Patreon
21:50 Sponsor: Zobo Money
22:35 Sponsor: Hisa
23:42 Learning about riders the hard way
25:58 What it costs a new artist to get a chance now
27:17 A million eyes and the low phase he climbed out of
28:45 The 2 years he stopped writing clever lyrics
30:52 PR budgets that could shoot 5 videos
32:22 Standing on his own after Davido
34:22 Two months from homeless when Mama dropped
36:01 Why he hid his mum's identity at university
37:28 Leaving the bank: "Can't you do it part-time?"
39:32 The video he almost deleted to free up storage
40:20 Davido's DM at his boss's desk
41:57 The WhatsApp message after praise and worship
43:59 The day the bank paid him to perform
45:48 Of Lagos: insulted overnight, number one by morning
46:37 Would Mayorkun ever japa?
49:29 2020: five hits in five different lanes
53:14 "You can't be mysterious" anymore
54:31 Why he prefers the pre-streaming days
55:32 The hood test for a real number one song
56:11 The Snapchat money he was late to
57:49 Making B4 B4 at 1 a.m.
1:00:41 "Nobody knows the hits"
1:03:21 Touring the UK and US vs performing at home
1:06:36 Rapid fire
1:08:59 The version of him still at the bank
1:09:44 What to ask before signing to a big label
1:10:17 Fame is the most overrated part of success
1:12:30 Who should be in this chair next
1:13:05 The Sony deal

He had 4 hours to empty a beach club with 5 swimming pools. The bulldozers were already working down the shore. He puts the loss at over ₦2 billion, and says compensation didn't cover 2% of it.

Ten years earlier, Uber's launch lead walked into his club and asked for 3,000 cars. There were no cars. Just an app on a Lenovo laptop. "I can make you t-shirts. I can make you face caps. I didn't think about equity."

Adewunmi Adebesin, better known as Bankhead, has spent 21 years in hospitality and entertainment. He was running Rehab at 20, turned Sunday into a party day with Grill at the Pent, and built Truth Beach Club. Now he's building FanVault, a subscription platform that pays African creators in their own currencies.

In this episode we get into the hostesses who made ₦10 million in 2 months reselling his wristbands, the ₦60,000 weekly yam bill for 9 tubers, why he runs nightlife like a cartel, the day he passed on signing Davido, and why he thinks a ₦200 subscription beats a million views.

Become a Member of The Room (Afropolitan Private Membership)
Join our private community for deeper insights and exclusive content: https://www.patreon.com/c/Afropolitanpodcast

EPISODE SPONSORS
Zobo Money — Zobo is a money transfer app built for Africans in the diaspora. It lets you send money from the US, UK, and Europe to countries like Nigeria, Cameroon, Ghana, and more. https://www.zobo.money/afropolitan
BONUS OFFER: Use code AFROPOLITAN and get a $10 bonus when you sign up, complete your KYC, and send $50 or more to Africa.

Hisa — Hisa is an all-investments platform that lets you invest in Nigerian stocks, US stocks and ETFs from one app. https://invite.hisa.co/7fkf/AFROPOLITAN

BONUS OFFER: Use code AFROPOLITAN and get your first two trades commission-free.
CONVO BY AFROPOLITAN

Book 1:1 calls with Africa's boldest thinkers: https://convo.vip/

WHERE TO FIND BANKHEAD
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thatbankheadboy
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adebesin-adewunmi-92299875/

FANVAULT
Website: https://fanvault.vip/

AFROPOLITAN
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Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afropolitanpodcast
Newsletter: https://www.afropolitan.io/newsletter
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/Afropolitanpodcast

TIMESTAMPS
0:00 Four hours to move out
2:25 The biggest myth about opening a club
3:20 Who nightlife is really built for
4:13 The creator economy: $3B now, $17B by 2030
5:26 "Creativity is unlimited in Africa. Monetization is a problem."
5:58 Why he calls it modern day slavery
6:57 The ₦200 subscription math
8:02 Do Nigerians really not pay for content?
12:38 Why Twitch and OnlyFans can't take naira
14:16 Why are we watching Tesla ads?
14:59 Pay in shillings, get paid in naira
16:37 The Room on Patreon
17:28 Sponsor: Zobo Money
18:16 Sponsor: Hisa
19:43 Running Nigeria's biggest club at 20
21:34 The only job he ever had (4 weeks)
22:55 Booking Dotstar with no money to pay him
25:22 Passing on Davido
26:58 Before Lagos partied on Sundays
27:47 Fill an empty rooftop, take 20%
29:12 What Gen Z changed about nightlife
31:44 Why strict rules built the best clubs
32:31 Run the club like a cartel
33:50 Name 40 ways to steal from this business
34:36 The hostesses who made ₦10M in 2 months
39:03 Where the stolen money was hiding
41:44 Threatened at knifepoint for catching thieves
44:09 ₦60,000 of yam for 9 tubers
45:47 How kitchens recycle oil with baking powder
47:04 The coastal road comes for Landmark
47:56 The building that wasn't marked
49:06 The phone call that changed everything
50:10 "We lost over 2B"
50:50 The weeks he didn't pick up his phone
53:46 When connections stop working
55:25 Why he still smiles on the coastal road
57:09 Can you build generational wealth here?
58:26 The concession playbook
59:21 Why Ilashe beach houses won't last
1:03:23 "I started Uber in this country"
1:04:15 "I need 3,000 cars"
1:06:00 The 10% of Uber Nigeria he never asked for
1:08:52 Dashboard money
1:11:27 Why club money hits a ceiling
1:12:01 800 women and mocktails
1:14:28 Why Nollywood legends end up crowdfunding
1:17:18 Is Pella bigger than Kai Cenat in Africa?
1:20:10 Davido's ₦20M Twitch problem
1:21:33 The Cardi B content model
1:24:21 Pornhub vs OnlyFans: the $7.6B lesson
1:27:40 Will your audience follow you off YouTube?
1:31:13 The Onitsha marketer model
1:32:29 ₦22M in one hour
1:34:19 Revenue splits built into every post
1:37:02 Asleep by 9pm after 21 years
1:43:50 Rapid fire
1:44:46 The $20K tip from a man who wanted tea
1:45:44 His most expensive mistake
1:48:39 The debtor who sent ₦50M by mistake
1:49:45 A blacklist for club debtors
1:54:13 Who should be in this chair next
1:57:07 What Gege left on the table

40 million people have a government ID and no bank account. Olu Akanmu's fix: lock the regulators, the banks and the fintechs in one room and give them 3 months to go and find them.

During the cashless crunch, a bank that needed more server capacity had to write a board paper, get approval, source dollars, import the server, clear it through customs and install it. 3 to 4 months. OPay could look at capacity at 9pm, see 70%, and add 40% by morning. Traders in Balogun started telling customers to get OPay so they could be paid.

Olu was President and Co-CEO of OPay Nigeria from 2021 to 2023. Before that he was the third Nigerian hired for MTN's commercial launch, ran retail banking at Bank PHB and FCMB, and was CMO at Airtel. He started out as a pharmacist at Glaxo. Today he's academic director of the Lagos Business School Tech-Leap Initiative.

In this episode we get into the POS machine that costs 5% of a bank branch, why MTN sent its South African team home one month after launch, Airtel's 3G towers in places with no smartphones, the ₦10 million he'd put in a dollar bond at 30, and why digital payments grew from 22% to 56% while access to credit went from 2% to 6%.

Become a Member of The Room (Afropolitan Private Membership)
Join our private community for deeper insights and exclusive content: https://www.patreon.com/c/Afropolitanpodcast

EPISODE SPONSORS
Zobo Money — Zobo is a money transfer app built for Africans in the diaspora. It lets you send money from the US, UK, and Europe to countries like Nigeria, Cameroon, Ghana, and more. https://www.zobo.money/afropolitan
BONUS OFFER: Use code AFROPOLITAN and get a $10 bonus when you sign up, complete your KYC, and send $50 or more to Africa.

Hisa — Hisa is an all-investments platform that lets you invest in Nigerian stocks, US stocks and ETFs from one app. https://invite.hisa.co/7fkf/AFROPOLITAN
BONUS OFFER: Use code AFROPOLITAN and get your first two trades commission-free.

CONVO BY AFROPOLITAN
Book 1:1 calls with Africa's boldest thinkers: https://convo.vip/

WHERE TO FIND OLU AKANMU
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/olu-akanmu-88280a/
X/Twitter: https://x.com/OluAkanmu
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/oluakanmu/

LAGOS BUSINESS SCHOOL TECH-LEAP INITIATIVE
Website: https://www.lbs.edu.ng/initiatives/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lbs_techleap/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@LBSTech-LeapInitiative

AFROPOLITAN
Twitter/X: https://x.com/afropolitan
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afropolitanpodcast
Newsletter: https://www.afropolitan.io/newsletter
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/Afropolitanpodcast

TIMESTAMPS
0:00 40 million people with an ID and no bank account
2:50 The biggest myth about scaling in Africa
3:48 The managers behind the famous founders
6:44 Two founders in: who do you hire next?
8:45 The 21,000 agent ceiling OPay blew past
10:12 How business school teaches you to exclude half the market
12:03 A POS machine is 5% of the cost of a branch
13:44 Selling mobile to a country with 0.4 lines per 100 people
16:48 When 4 out of 5 Nigerians wanted to be on MTN
19:43 Influencer marketing is mercenary marketing
21:33 The Room on Patreon
23:04 Sponsor: Zobo Money
23:49 Sponsor: Hisa
24:58 What winners in telecoms, banking and fintech all do
27:35 Big Brother influencers and the wrong customer
28:38 "We're in the era of Indomie marketing"
30:48 From Glaxo pharmacist to banker
32:25 The evening Bank PHB came for a telco guy
35:00 "Give me two weeks": Googling retail banking
37:10 What foreign companies get wrong about Nigeria
38:05 Airtel's 3G towers in places with no smartphones
40:34 MTN sent the South Africans home a month after launch
42:32 Why Chinese managers show up in Balogun market
44:09 The cashless policy and OPay's 6x growth
46:05 Board papers, customs and a 4 month wait for a server
47:46 Adding 40% capacity overnight
49:42 Eche's two-minute OPay account test
52:46 Redesigning Nigeria's payments stack from scratch
57:28 The banking lobby vs the telco route
59:24 Lock them in a room for 3 months
1:01:29 Is Nigeria hard, or does it punish ignorance?
1:04:25 3 things to know before building wealth in Nigeria
1:06:23 30 years old with ₦10 million: what he'd do
1:08:05 Omoluwabi and the price of a good name
1:11:49 Compounding, excellence and peace of mind
1:14:21 The maths teacher who became a professor
1:16:03 Nigerian tech and the printing press
1:18:48 Rapid fire: beans, telecoms and "too late"
1:22:59 What the second seat learns that founders miss
1:25:01 Why big banks can't build fintechs
1:29:22 Payments grew. Credit didn't.
1:31:08 What credit does for a trader in the market
1:32:56 Who should be in this chair next
1:34:51 Would he go into politics?

For six months he lay in a hospital bed while the internet decided he had fallen off. "He doesn't shoot no more." "Nobody rocks with him anymore." "He has outpriced himself out of the market." He was fighting for his life.
The first kidney came from his brother. After a seven-hour surgery, the doctors came back with the news: no flow, his body wouldn't take it, and it had to come out. Before they wheeled him back into theatre he posted online and said what he believed was his last prayer. "God, let your will be done."
TG Omori is the Headies-winning director behind some of the defining videos of modern Afrobeats, from the Marlian era with Naira Marley to Asake's run of Terminator, Bandana and Organise. He started out making whole videos on ₦2 million budgets. Today a single video can run past $100,000.
In this episode we get into why a director can take a big budget and still go home with nothing, the year he and Asake worked like "two people in one body" with no treatments and no revisions, why he dropped his public fight for 10% of music video streams, what dialysis really costs in Nigeria (about ₦31 million a year), the "pull me on" texts from friends still in the hood, and why every day is a good day for greatness.
Become a Member of The Room (Afropolitan Private Membership)
Join our private community for deeper insights and exclusive content: https://www.patreon.com/c/Afropolitanpodcast
EPISODE SPONSORS
Zobo Money — Zobo is a money transfer app built for Africans in the diaspora. It lets you send money from the US, UK, and Europe to countries like Nigeria, Cameroon, Ghana, and more. https://www.zobo.money/afropolitan
BONUS OFFER: Use code AFROPOLITAN and get a $10 bonus when you sign up, complete your KYC, and send $50 or more to Africa.
Hisa — Hisa is an all-investments platform that lets you invest in Nigerian stocks, US stocks and ETFs from one app. https://invite.hisa.co/7fkf/AFROPOLITAN
BONUS OFFER: Use code AFROPOLITAN and get your first two trades commission-free.
CONVO BY AFROPOLITAN
Book 1:1 calls with Africa's boldest thinkers: https://convo.vip/
WHERE TO FIND TG OMORI
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/boy_director
X/Twitter: https://x.com/boy_director
Website: https://tgomori.com
AFROPOLITAN
Twitter/X: https://x.com/afropolitan
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afropolitanpodcast
Newsletter: https://www.afropolitan.io/newsletter
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/Afropolitanpodcast

TIMESTAMPS
0:00 "I said my last prayer"
1:52 The biggest myth about music video directors
2:52 Why directors go home with nothing
4:22 Why a $100,000 video pays more in Lagos than LA
5:59 The hidden cost of shooting in Lagos
6:52 Area boys at 3 a.m. on a private set
10:44 The video that made him feel he'd arrived
12:58 "It was a cult": first taste of real fame
14:25 Organise and the poetry of Parajanov
15:04 The backlash he got for shooting to the emotion
16:57 "I want to create madness"
19:00 Let directors have a system
21:34 When fans started following the director
22:25 He was supposed to be an actor
24:19 No new videos in 3 years, and the love stayed
26:17 The Room on Patreon
27:06 Sponsor: Zobo Money
27:51 Sponsor: Hisa
29:47 Why artists leave the director who made them
33:46 Why stars stop jumping for the camera
35:35 "I had the best of Asake's years"
37:43 The Asake run, video after video
38:36 "Two people in one body"
42:52 The first cut that went straight to YouTube
44:54 The video where he couldn't read Asake anymore
46:28 When artists outgrow the people who got them out
48:20 Nothing is permanent. Build your own ecosystem
51:40 The chapter of his life he couldn't direct
54:47 The diagnosis
56:33 "You don't have insurance. Go back to Nigeria"
57:43 In hospital while people said he fell off
59:09 His brother's kidney
59:47 "My body is not accepting it"
1:01:47 Why he couldn't call his mum
1:02:47 A second transplant
1:03:36 200,000 messages and a deactivated Instagram
1:08:57 Shoot every video like it's your last
1:10:20 What dialysis really costs in Nigeria
1:12:01 A $2.5 million transplant insurance wouldn't cover
1:14:22 His dad's ₦50K salary
1:18:47 The business of music videos for young directors
1:22:58 "When you're in demand, they'll pay"
1:26:03 The lesson that cost him the most
1:28:06 "Every day is a good day for greatness"
1:30:48 Why he fought for 10% of video streams
1:33:24 Why he dropped the royalty fight
1:36:02 Before your body sends you the bill
1:38:22 Rapid fire
1:39:05 The people Afrobeats doesn't credit enough
1:41:07 The Asake song he wishes he shot
1:42:49 Survivor's guilt
1:44:42 He didn't know directing existed until 16
1:45:57 "Put you on to my pain?"
1:48:03 Who should be in this chair next

A major label signed her, handed her enough money to go buy a car, and then let her music sit. So she asked to leave. Less than a month after she got out, "Intentions" took off and it hasn't slowed down since.
Fave doesn't dance around why she walked. "What I want as an artist from my label is the money to market my music," she says. "I don't think they truly understand how things work here in Africa." Two years into a deal with Atlantic, she decided she would rather bet on herself than keep fighting to be somebody's priority.
She started as a law student posting one-minute freestyles to Twitter. Within 24 hours the internet couldn't look away. Since then she's been named Rookie of the Year, tapped as an Apple Music Africa Rising act and a Spotify EQUAL Africa ambassador, and pulled onto tracks by some of the biggest names in the game. This is the artist behind Baby Riddim, Kante and Intentions.
In this episode we get into the double standard female artists face across Africa, the "Afrobeats Queen" label and why crowning one woman for 200 million people makes no sense, rebelling against a strict Pentecostal home to chase music, getting stranded at a Kenyan airport by a promoter who cancelled the flights home, why she left Atlantic, and how Kante with Davido actually came together.
Become a Member of The Room (Afropolitan Private Membership)
Join our private community for deeper insights and exclusive content: https://www.patreon.com/c/Afropolitanpodcast
EPISODE SPONSORS
Zobo Money — Zobo is a money transfer app built for Africans in the diaspora. It lets you send money from the US, UK, and Europe to countries like Nigeria, Cameroon, Ghana, and more. https://www.zobo.money/afropolitan
BONUS OFFER: Use code AFROPOLITAN and get a $10 bonus when you sign up, complete your KYC, and send $50 or more to Africa.
Hisa — Hisa is an all-investments platform that lets you invest in Nigerian stocks, US stocks and ETFs from one app. https://invite.hisa.co/7fkf/AFROPOLITAN
BONUS OFFER: Use code AFROPOLITAN and get your first two trades commission-free.
CONVO BY AFROPOLITAN
Book 1:1 calls with Africa's boldest thinkers: https://convo.vip/

WHERE TO FIND FAVE
Music: https://onerpm.link/RNBling
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/faveszn
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@favesavage
X/Twitter: https://x.com/faveszn

AFROPOLITAN
Twitter/X: https://x.com/afropolitan
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afropolitanpodcast
Newsletter: https://www.afropolitan.io/newsletter
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/Afropolitanpodcast

TIMESTAMPS
0:00 "It's hard to manage a female artist"
0:23 The law student who went viral in 24 hours
2:08 Subscribe to the Afropolitan family
2:36 The difficulty of a male-dominated industry
3:00 "We're held to very different standards"
3:45 Judged by everything but the music
4:16 Why female artists give more on stage
5:06 Sexual advances just to get in the room
5:21 The labels that won't sign women
6:33 Wanting to put other women on
7:18 How streaming changed who gets to blow
7:47 Grouped together, never seen as individuals
8:31 Tiwa Savage vs Ayra Starr makes no sense
9:00 Too scared to headline a show at home
9:52 "Afrobeats Queen? One woman for 200 million?"
10:57 Why the comments still keep her up
12:24 A strict home and the case for rebellion
13:42 The talent her parents wouldn't let her nurture
15:31 The viral video before the song existed
16:40 A text from Olamide and a run to Lagos
17:43 Follow Chika and Eche on Snapchat
18:23 The Room: join the Afropolitan Patreon
19:14 Sponsor: Zobo Money
20:02 Sponsor: Hissa
21:06 "Wage war against your parents"
22:01 Studying law and why she couldn't be a lawyer
22:48 Baby Riddim was too big to ignore
23:31 Building a team you can actually trust
25:32 "It's a jungle, especially in Lagos"
27:00 Did law school help the business of music
30:43 Where "Dutchie girl" came from
32:00 Rebelling against the stylist template
33:49 Why she keeps getting compared to Tems
36:15 Men, women, and thumbnails that perform
37:45 Leaving Atlantic Records
38:24 "Money to ball vs money to market"
39:53 What Don Jazzy spent on Calm Down
40:52 Independent, then Intentions exploded
41:10 Is independence actually worth it
43:00 The Kenyan promoter who stranded her team
46:26 The artist's side of leaving a label
48:00 "I was very depressed at my label"
50:08 Kante with Davido: how it came together
52:55 The European tour and reaching the diaspora
54:00 Does music travel organically
56:03 Rapid fire begins
56:33 Studio at 2am, the night crawler
57:02 Dating apps or meeting organically
58:45 Why she's building on Snapchat
1:00:08 Favorite Nigerian food and city
1:01:49 Why artists are leaving Nigeria
1:03:11 The first time she hit the stage
1:05:10 Who should be in this chair next

The entire stock market of Africa's biggest economy is worth about $114 billion. One refinery just outside Lagos is asking investors to value it at $50 billion. On day one. That is one company reaching for almost half of a whole national exchange, and it just opened its doors to outside money through a private placement that raised billions.

So we brought in someone who actually builds the rails for this. Eke Urum walks through what the Dangote Refinery IPO really is, why he calls it "anchor infrastructure," and why he thinks it joins the short list of Nigerian companies you can almost never go wrong buying. He also names his own reservations, from the crude supply risk to the way the business has leaned on the Nigerian system.

Eke Urum is the founder and CEO of Risevest, the dollar investment platform that acquired Chaka and now runs Hisa, the app letting everyday people own Nigerian and US stocks in minutes. He has spent years tearing down the paperwork that kept regular people out of the market. Sign up for Hisa - https://invite.hisa.co/7fkf/AFROPOLITAN

In this episode we get into where a Nigerian in the diaspora should actually put money right now, why refineries make money from far more than fuel, the $80 to $100 billion number Eke puts on Dangote over the next decade, how private placements work and who really gets in first, the 600,000 trading accounts in a country of 200 million people, and a step by step plan to get ready for the September IPO.

Become a Member of The Room (Afropolitan Private Membership)
Join our private community for deeper insights and exclusive content: https://www.patreon.com/c/Afropolitanpodcast

EPISODE SPONSORS

Zobo Money — Zobo is a money transfer app built for Africans in the diaspora. It lets you send money from the US, UK, and Europe to countries like Nigeria, Cameroon, Ghana, and more. https://www.zobo.money/afropolitan
BONUS OFFER: Use code AFROPOLITAN and get a $10 bonus when you sign up, complete your KYC, and send $50 or more to Africa.

Hisa — Hisa is an all in one investing app that lets you own Nigerian and US stocks. Sign up with your BVN or NIN and start trading in minutes. https://invite.hisa.co/7fkf/AFROPOLITAN

BONUS OFFER: Use code AFROPOLITAN and get your first two trades for free. Download on the App Store or Google Play.

CONVO BY AFROPOLITAN
Book 1:1 calls with Africa's boldest thinkers: https://convo.vip/

WHERE TO FIND EKE URUM
X/Twitter: https://x.com/eldivine
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ekeurum

RISEVEST
Website: https://www.risevest.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rise.vest
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/rise-vest

HISA
Website: https://hisa.co
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hisaapp

AFROPOLITAN
Twitter/X: https://x.com/afropolitan
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afropolitanpodcast
Newsletter: https://www.afropolitan.io/newsletter
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/Afropolitanpodcast

TIMESTAMPS
0:00 Owning a piece of Dangote
1:23 Quick one: subscribe to the family
1:40 Where should I put my money in Nigeria?
2:19 Start with the stock market
3:35 Real estate in Lagos and the liquidity trap
4:23 The small businesses nobody is funding yet
5:33 Robinhood, Hisa and democratizing access
6:56 Own things that go up in value
7:45 Our parents did it the broker way
9:17 Why we made this episode
9:50 What the refinery really represents
10:46 Why refineries print money through byproducts
11:42 Getting the shares before the open market
12:16 A $50B valuation next to the whole NGX
12:37 Stop anchoring to the past
14:53 Why it could be worth $80 to $100B in 10 years
15:49 The 4 or 5 stocks you can't go wrong buying
16:40 50/50 diaspora signups since relaunch
17:54 Dividends in dollars and currency risk
19:15 Follow Chika and Eche on Snapchat
19:55 The Room on Patreon
20:47 Sponsor: Zobo Money
21:35 Sponsor: Hisa
22:39 A rocket, two chopsticks, and a fact
23:54 Story vs numbers in the internet era
25:45 His reservations about Dangote and the system
27:03 The $20B in remittances that just gets consumed
31:01 Money you consume is gone
31:55 What private placements actually are
33:47 Don't chase the IPO, own the business
35:50 India and Kenya as diaspora playbooks
38:35 A stock market built by colonial masters
41:45 The 7-Eleven that doesn't exist in Nigeria
43:40 Wounded by paperwork at the exchange
46:29 600K accounts in a country of 200 million
48:43 Betting everything on convenience
50:26 The real risks: crude supply and the debt
51:47 The crude supply risk nobody talks about
52:50 How to prepare for the September IPO
56:18 Can you become a millionaire off Nigerian stocks?
1:00:53 Proof homegrown capital can build Nigeria
1:02:57 $1M per megawatt: the power plant nobody built
1:04:10 Rapid fire
1:06:19 Give your money a worldview
1:08:16 Who should be in this chair next

For over 40 years, one problem broke every education minister who walked in before him. Strikes that shut universities for months at a time. Students who started a four-year degree with no idea when they would actually graduate. He says it took one president and a handful of honest meetings to end it.
When his team asked the president to approve a 40% salary increase for academic staff, he thought the number was too much to ask for. The president looked up and said yes. "It was as if I won a jackpot," he says. "I was about to run out of his office before he called me back."
Dr. Tunji Alausa is a physician and nephrologist who built a career across Nigeria, the UK and the US, and served as chief resident at Cook County Hospital in Chicago. He came home to serve as Minister of State for Health, and today he runs education for a country of 220 million people, roughly 70% of them under the age of 30.
In this episode we get into the real number of out-of-school children and why he says UNICEF and UNESCO have it wrong, flipping classrooms from 70% theory to 80% practice, taking nursing enrollment from 28,000 to over 140,000 a year, why he tore up the idea that a plumber ranks below a doctor, bringing Nigerian history and a new national anthem back into the classroom, and a blunt message to the diaspora: come back home before the opportunity is gone.
Become a Member of The Room (Afropolitan Private Membership)
Join our private community for deeper insights and exclusive content: https://www.patreon.com/c/Afropolitanpodcast

EPISODE SPONSORS
Zobo Money — Zobo is a money transfer app built for Africans in the diaspora. It lets you send money from the US, UK, and Europe to countries like Nigeria, Cameroon, Ghana, and more. https://www.zobo.money/afropolitan
BONUS OFFER: Use code AFROPOLITAN and get a $10 bonus when you sign up, complete your KYC, and send $50 or more to Africa.

Follow Chika on Snapchat

https://snapchat.com/t/c1ercPU6

WHERE TO FIND DR. TUNJI ALAUSA
X: https://x.com/DrTunjiAlausa
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drtunjialausa
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-tunji-alausa
FEDERAL MINISTRY OF EDUCATION
X: https://x.com/NigEducation

AFROPOLITAN
Twitter/X: https://x.com/afropolitan
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afropolitanpodcast
Newsletter: https://www.afropolitan.io/newsletter
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/Afropolitanpodcast

TIMESTAMPS
0:00 The lines that stopped a 40-year problem
1:41 Quick favor: hit subscribe
1:57 The biggest myth about running education
2:52 "ASUU will be your biggest problem"
4:26 40 years of broken promises and mistrust
7:17 No more bogus agreements
8:06 "No committee between you and me"
8:44 The 40% raise he thought was too much
9:00 "It was as if I won a jackpot"
9:23 Diverting looted funds into education
10:11 "Nigeria is in a renaissance"
11:40 The 20 states that couldn't pay salaries
14:16 The president who reads every paper by dawn
15:32 A message to the diaspora
16:48 Equipping Lagos hospitals from Chicago
18:50 How Tinubu became his mentor
19:20 The year he knew Tinubu wanted the presidency
20:53 "I'd be a hypocrite to stay in America"
21:41 "Polish your shoes" — the offer to serve
22:48 From Health to Education in 18 months
23:25 Flipping the classroom to practical-first
25:10 "Government needs more madmen"
25:52 How technical schools were made to look primitive
27:49 "A plumber earns more than a doctor"
28:37 Suffering in the midst of plenty
30:22 The fight over polytechnic degrees
33:57 The dual-mandate win for colleges of education
36:13 "Why send your child abroad?"
38:03 How Ilorin stayed number one by banning strikes
40:44 24 Nigerian universities ranked, 17 of them public
43:14 Billions into med schools, labs and hostels
47:09 Taking campuses off the grid with solar
50:02 Building job creators, not job seekers
52:53 Nursing: from 28,000 to 140,000 a year
54:55 Medical seats: from 5,000 toward 20,000
57:36 The "Olodo uprising" and graduates of nothing
58:34 When Nigeria had water and light 24/7
1:04:02 Putting real skills back in school
1:05:41 Coursera certificates for global jobs
1:07:48 Rewriting the curriculum from the ground up
1:10:38 "Without data, you're flying blind"
1:12:17 Why history was cut, and how it came back
1:15:39 Why the national anthem changed
1:17:00 "We do not have 15 million out-of-school children"
1:20:20 Counting on the grid: the real numbers
1:25:00 "It's not the West's job to fix us"
1:28:17 Keeping children safe in school
1:32:25 A message to the bandits
1:34:37 Rapid fire: Chicago or Lagos?
1:37:33 What Africa should stop waiting for
1:42:48 Favorite food: beans and dodo
1:43:31 The book that shaped him
1:45:53 Who should be in this chair next