Boardroom Banter

The rise of the gig economy in Africa has opened up new doors for millions of young, ambitious workers like ourselves looking for flexible employment opportunities and great pay.

However, as the use of algorithms for managing and evaluating gig workers and competition from Artificial intelligence becomes more prevalent, we must also consider the human cost of this shift. From the lack of human interaction and support to concerns around mental health, motivation, and power imbalances- we dig into the far-reaching impact of the remote work revolution!

We explore real-world examples from our experiences and observations in Africa and beyond, and discuss what this means for our generation! 

Hop into the conversation to learn more about how technology is changing the face of work in Africa, and what this means for the future of the continent's economy.

As changemakers in the making or in practice, a dilemma often faced is the disconnect between our everyday lives and those of the people we want to help or empower.

This week’s founder-in-studio, Ziyaan Virji, born and raised in Tanzania, tells us the fascinating story behind “For the Menstruator"- an international social impact enterprise tackling period poverty. As someone who is definitely not a menstruator, Ziyaan breaks down the process and psychology that went into him launching and scaling his non-profit as well as the insane challenges along the way. 

From hilarious encounters to lessons on building successful social enterprises- we all take account of our collective journeys as founders and what our purpose is on a larger scale as humans with a calling to help our fellow man. 

Join us in the Boardroom for another insightful and laid-back conversation.

To learn more about Ziyaan and the amazing work he does, check out his profile here and his podcast, Leaders Of Today Podcast, through this link here.

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Join us in creating social impact through a cup of tea by visiting www.nepalteacollective.com

Support our podcast further by subscribing to our Patreon Page here: https://www.patreon.com/boardroombanter?fan_landing=true

Have you ever found yourself knee-deep in a way of living or thinking that you can’t help but wonder, whose idea was this?

Today's episode takes a deep dive into the concept of "Sacred Cows", as introduced in Episode #59 with Steve Boehlke. These are sensitive topics, beliefs or traditions that teams, families, corporations and societies at large practice that can often be hard to question… and in some cases even justify!

Join us in the Boardroom as we unpack the "Sacred Cows" in our living and work spaces and how we go about challenging the status quo!

Discover the secrets to unlocking your leadership potential with Steve Boehlke, a global consulting expert and master facilitator of leadership. In this episode, we delve deep into the importance of authenticity and personal identity in leadership and explore strategies for identifying and addressing the blind spots that may be holding one back from unleashing their leadership potential.

By distilling 30 years of experience working with leading multinational corporations and social entrepreneurs- Steve shares valuable insights on how to strike a balance between productivity and reflection, delegating effectively, and promoting innovation within organizations. He also challenges leaders ón how they ‘break the rules with integrity’- navigating innovation and change through the Politics of Creativity.

Join us in the Boardroom as we learn how to lead ourselves and others with purpose, joy and impact.

If you are interested in learning more about Steve and his work, check out his LinkedIn here.

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Join us in creating social impact through a cup of tea by visiting www.nepalteacollective.com

Support our podcast further by subscribing to our Patreon Page here: https://www.patreon.com/boardroombanter?fan_landing=true

Founders Friday brings with it all the highs, lows, laughs and banter of the week. Today's episode welcomes one of our peers to join us in studio: an entrepreneur in the fashion space. Lynnet Muritu joins us from New York where she runs her luxury fashion brand, Mimi Pambo- exporting accessories and other products from Kenya to the rest of the world.

We catch up with her on how the business is doing and some of their recent highlights such as hiring a new intern into her team and the latest shipments she received of their leather collection. She shares her experiences running an international business, the importance of adapting one’s brand to a global market and some healthy habits founders should adopt to lead a team.

We draw parallels between the fashion, events and podcasting industries, with Lynnet giving incredible advice on the value of ‘testing before you buy’- whether it’s in launching a business or hiring new people to the team.

Hop in for another light-hearted, lively and insightful conversation straight from the Boardroom.

Follow this link here to learn more about Lynnet and the incredible work she does at Mimi Pambo

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Join us in creating social impact through a cup of tea by visiting www.nepalteacollective.com

Support our podcast further by subscribing to our Patreon Page here: https://www.patreon.com/boardroombanter?fan_landing=true

What has been the most profound learning experience you have gone through in life?

Today in the Boardroom we hang out with Gabi Immelman as we reflect on this question and the power of such experiences in shaping who we are today and the work that we do. Gabi is the Co-founder & C.E.O of Mindjoy, an Artificial Intelligence enabled platform that gives educators A.I superpowers to transform lessons into tech projects that kids love.

She believes that our education, both formal and informal, shapes how we construct our stories of ourselves. We begin Gabi's story with her upbringing in a household in South Africa surrounded by incredible female role models in her mother and aunties and the competitive advantage they gave her by exposing her to the world of entrepreneurship and technology at an early age right at home. She walks us through her experience navigating the school system as a neurodivergent student, how she embraced her curiosity and sense of initiative to double down on her strengths and discover her passion in drama and theatre.

Gabi also narrates her early career life and work as a teaching artist in Silicon Valley's oldest children’s theatre, and how a classroom encounter with one of her students completely changed how she viewed the power of technology in shaping how we learn.

If you are interested in engaging more with Gabi and her work, reach out to us or to her directly through her LinkedIn here.

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Join us in creating social impact through a cup of tea by visiting www.nepalteacollective.com

Support our podcast further by subscribing to our Patreon Page here: https://www.patreon.com/boardroombanter?fan_landing=true

Is the grass greener on the other side, or perhaps just the side you choose to water?

On this Founders Friday episode we spiced things up by introducing a new segment; peer-to-peer conversations with a 'Founder-In-Studio'. To kick us off, we invited our good friend Jefferson Kangacha to join us in the boardroom from his lovely home in Ithaca, New York. We discussed the concept of “brain drain”- where young talented Africans leave the continent for work or studies and decide to relocate permanently. 

As a current student at Cornell University and accomplished social impact researcher, Jeff unpacks his experience of weighing his post-graduate options, and the psychology behind our youth leaving for good. As a common thread, we all explored how changing work dynamics, increased global exposure and social pressure have influenced our desires to stay in or leave Africa to pursue greener pastures. 

Here in the Boardroom, we are insanely curious about the psychology and process of building truly amazing products /services.

So this week our search for incredible builders finds us taking a unique masterclass as we speak to Narek Verdian. Narek is a global tech executive with over 20 years of experience recruiting and managing international tech teams that use disruptive technologies to drive product growth and exceptional customer experiences!

Most notable is his present role as the Chief Technology Officer (C.T.O.) at Glovo, arguably the coolest delivery app on your phone right now. Narek speaks about his Armenian heritage and takes us down a fascinating journey of his tech-swathed upbringing that launched him into the world of tech. He shares lessons that range from creating culture champions within organizations, to adapting to change processes and the value of simplicity in innovation.

Narek gives us his blueprint for building disruptive and “sticky” tech platforms featuring best practices on team building, problem-solving, dealing with competition and how to make yourself irreplaceable.

If you are interested in learning more about Narek and the work he does with Glovo reach out to us or to him directly through his LinkedIn here.

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Join us in creating social impact through a cup of tea by visiting www.nepalteacollective.com

Support our podcast further by subscribing to our Patreon Page here: https://www.patreon.com/boardroombanter?fan_landing=true

Top athletes, musicians, entrepreneurs, scientists and any other craft you can imagine, all experience something incredible: The Flow State. 

Characterized by the ability to perform at the highest level for extended periods of time with a trance-like obsession, the flow state is key to high performance! In this episode, inspired by a conversation in one of our favorite shows, “The Shop” by UNINTERRUPTED, we unpack what it means to cultivate a culture of winning, and how we have used that to develop formidable skills, accomplishments and more!

How can we tap into our ability to create and add value to our life and everyone around us?

Join us in creating social impact through a cup of tea by visiting www.nepalteacollective.com