Building The Future Podcast

By Dotun Olowoporoku

The next African story will be written by Africans, and there are people crafting the narrative now. Join Dotun as he hosts a series of conversation with people whose ideas and work is shaping the Afr... more

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FAQs about Building The Future Podcast:

How many episodes does Building The Future Podcast have?

The podcast currently has 92 episodes available.

Building The Future Podcast episodes:

September 17, 2018 #48. Building an on-demand platform for African content, Bastian Gotter, Co-founder at Iroko TV
Bastian Gotter is the co-founder of Iroko TV, one of the earliest, most successful and largest video on demand platform for Nigerian movies. Bastian founded the business alongside with his university flat-mate, Jason Njoku, who is the CEO of the company, and a later guest in this show. This is not Bastian and Jason Njoku’s first project together. In mid-2010, Bastian invested in several businesses that Jason was running in Manchester, England, many of which failed. But they stuck together as partners and Bastian invested in Iroko TV after Jason started it, and he then moved to Lagos and joined as a full-time co-founder. This episode is the first of 2-part conversation I had with Bastian in Cape Town, as part of the mini-series on African video on demand platform In the second part of this episode you’ll learn: The current challenges IrokoTV is facing How Nigeria is becoming close to the west in their content consumption Bastian thinks the answer to business growth is sub saharan Africa “Always”. Why does he seem to think so? Why he thinks you cannot make a lot of money in the sub-saharan African VoD market The importance of timing when launching a new business. How Spark was created on the back of Iroko and how they invested in companies like hotels.ng, tolet.com.ng, drinks.ng and paystack. Why and how irokoTv raised money every year Why he left IrokoTv. (He still sits on the board and is a shareholder) What he is doing now. And more
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45min
September 10, 2018 #47. Building an on-demand platform for African content, Bastian Gotter, Co-founder at Iroko TV
Bastian Gotter is the co-founder of Iroko TV, one of the earliest, most successful and largest video on demand platform for Nigerian movies. Bastian founded the business alongside with his university flat-mate, Jason Njoku, who is the CEO of the company, and a later guest in this show. This is not Bastian and Jason Njoku’s first project together. In mid-2010, Bastian invested in several businesses that Jason was running in Manchester, England, many of which failed. But they stuck together as partners and Bastian invested in Iroko TV after Jason started it, and he then moved to Lagos and joined as a full-time co-founder. This episode is the first of 2-part conversation I had with Bastian in Cape Town, as part of the mini-series on African video on demand platform In this episode you’ll learn: The first business he bet on went bankrupt He didn’t go into entrepreneurship early. But Bastian says he doesn’t regret it. He came in at the right time. Why? Bastian isn’t exactly sure how much money he actually put in. There was no contract or incorporation or vesting period. How did they reach that level of trust? It was a personal journey for Jason to make it a success and Bastian thinks that kind of determination is backable. Why does he think so? How did they raise their first investment? What was unique about the process? How much did they raise? How piracy did Nollywood a favour A venture capitalist has to be convinced about your passion and determination for your business to succeed before giving you money Why a company without a founder is like a company without a heart The importance of a founder’s emotional connection to a business Why does Bastian love investing? What is the most interesting thing about being a VC? And more
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42min
September 03, 2018 Building the Future Season 3 Intro
Telling the African story is not new. For a very long time, Africans have expressed the narrative of their culture, beliefs, fears and exploits using stories passed from one generation to the next. Through oral traditions and accounts of eyewitnesses, we know about the riches of Mansa Musa, the exploits of Sango, the majesty of Nefertiti, and the conquests of Shaka Zulu. What has changed is the medium through which these stories are told. In this season I will be chronicling part of that story. I will be starting with a mini-series that features some of the key figures that have built video on demand platforms specifically for African content. Sponsors Season 3 is in partnership with Flutterwave. Flutterwave’s business is about connecting global businesses to Africa and building new businesses out of Africa through payment and technology. All opinions expressed by me and the podcast guests are solely ours and does not reflect the opinion of Flutterwave. To get started, go to Credits Truth don die by Femi Kuti Eddie Quansa by Peacocks Guitar Band Ti Oluwa Nile by Mainframe Studios
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10min
June 21, 2018 Building the Future Podcast : Season Two Finale
Its been a great pleasure to do this. To have conversations with interesting, smart and awesome people who are shaping the future of Africa. This show has been one of the most exciting things I’ve done as an entrepreneur. It’s fun and I get to learn from a lot of people. We’ve now come to the end of season 2. And I want to take this time to reflect on some of the lessons I learned in the conversations I’ve had. I will be touching on 4 of them. These not all the lessons learned in this season, its a snippet. It’s my reflection of some of the things that stood out for me. And I’m sure you may have a longer list than me. I’m grateful to the entrepreneurs and thought leaders who shared their stories with me. I'm also grateful to the British Council in Nigeria for partnering with us in season 2. Their financial support went a long way in making this season a success. So many thanks to Tomi Soyinka and Maria Williams from the council. Season 3 starts on July 30th. So see you then!
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11min
June 11, 2018 Episode 46, How to launch a startup in two African countries. Prince Kwame Agbata, co-founder at Coliba
Prince Kwame Agbata is the co-founder of Coliba, It is an early stage waste management platform that leverages on SMS to help users separate their waste, schedule and request a pickup and get waste picked at the comfort of users home. Coliba pays the user for the waste generated. Prince is a first class graduate of Information Technology, being the only member of his family to have completed university, his initial goal was to end up working for Google Ghana. As fate would have it, things changed for him. In 2016, Coliba won the British Council Ghana Investor’s pitch session. In this episode you’ll learn: How Prince lost his close friend due to defective waste disposal system in Ghana How did he cope with this tragedy? That prince met his three other co-founders on a bus during a trip Prince was the first member of his family to complete university education. How did this shape him? The importance of partnering with established companies and how they can help your business Prince and his co-founders have an ambitious 5 year plan. What is it? Most businesses face the challenge of breaking into a new market after being successful in one. Coliba currently runs in two markets, and they’ve done so from inception. Find out how? How to run a company with four co-founders in four different companies. Coliba has a co-founder each in Ghana, Nigeria, Abidjan and Burkina Faso. And more Selected links from this episode Google Ghana British Council Wecyclers EcoFuture
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28min
June 04, 2018 Episode 45, Transforming African businesses through data. Timothy Kotin, co-founder at SuperFluid
Timothy Kotin is the co-founder of SuperFluid, a data solution platform helping businesses to harness untapped potential through predictive data analytics, business intelligence and dynamic customer insights leveraging both traditional and alternative data sources. Timothy grew up in Tamale, Ghana and had to flee along with his family as a child due to ethnic violence and unrest in the 90s. Kotin holds an MPhil. in Engineering for Sustainable Development from the University of Cambridge and a B.Sc. in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from Harvard University. Prior to co-founding Superfluids Labs, he worked as a research scientist at IBM as part of a team which developed financial services innovations for multinational enterprise clients in Africa. In this episode, you’ll learn: How Timothy was able to rise above the trauma of nearly being killed as a teenager The many ways businesses can take advantage of data SuperFluid has some challenges they’ve been dealing with. Listen to Timothy explain What is the importance of value proposition to your business? How and why should you create more value for your clients? “You should frame the outcome, rather than the tool”. What does this mean for your business? About SuperFluid’s pricing model and what you can learn from it Timothy seems to think machine learning helps computer learn data better than humans. Find out why About Timothy’s dream for a scholarship foundation And more Selected book from this episode Selected links from this episode
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1h 1min
May 29, 2018 Episode 44, Using tech to hold government accountable. Seun Onigbinde, co-founder at BudgIT
Seun Onigbinde is the co-founder of BudgIT, a non-governmental organization that helps citizens access and understand public budgets. BudgIT breaks down the national budget in simplistic charts, and track contracts and projects the government are working on. This is a classic case of doing good with tech. In 2012, he was awarded the Future Awards prize for Science and Tech Innovation. In 2014, the Omidyar Network invested $400,000 in BudgIT, In January 2017, BudgIT raised an additional $3 million grant from Omidyar Network and Gates Foundation. Seun is an ex-banker whose goal was to become the CEO. Along the line his goals changed after coming second in a hackathon organised by CCHUB. In this episode, you’ll learn: How Seun got the idea for BudgIT while working for Firstbank Seun’s initial dream was to become the CEO of a bank. Why did that dream change? What is the spirit of timing? Seun referred to it as a crucial factor in the success of Budgit How do you determine the right time to launch your product/startup? After the hackathon where BudgIT was born, Seun forgot about the idea. Why did he go back to it? Seun was reluctant to leave his paid employment to run BudgIT full time. But he eventually did? What was the deciding factor? What can you learn from this challenge he had? Why every Nigerian should be involved in governance? The importance of believing in Nigerian youths Seun said technology gave BudgIT a big jump. What did he mean by this? Seun’s first startup failed. Why did it fail? The importance of hackathons and how you can take advantage of them That Seun is interested in politics and looks to going in at some point And more Selected links from this episode Selected book from this episode
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1h 24min
May 21, 2018 Episode 43, How to attract investors without trying. Opeyemi Awoyemi, Co-founder at Jobberman
Opeyemi Awoyemi is a tech entrepreneur with 10 years experience in internet startup business development. He has founded and managed three technology startups including WhoGoHost, a web solutions company. He is also the co-founder of Jobberman. Jobberman is Nigeria’s largest job search portal with over one million job seekers and 10,000 companies registered. Jobberman’s mission is to solve the unemployment problem in Nigeria. Opeyemi Awoyemi calls himself an ‘unrepentant entrepreneur’ and is enthusiastic about Africa, web startups and any innovative business idea. His life goal is to be a world business leader in the tech space and to die empty.In this episode you’ll learn; Opeyemi’s journey into entrepreneurship and his first business – a design agency – founded while he was a student at the university How he was able to intern at his own company as a student How Jobberman was ideated and how the name came to be Why the initial excitement to launch Jobberman fizzled out and how one of his co-founders helped put them back on track At what stage of the business did Tiger Global reach out to them? How were they able to get investors in the early stages without trying? It was a struggle getting job seekers and companies on the platform. How did Opeyemi and his team hack this? How they were able to track growth in the early days How to validate your business idea Why should you focus on SEO for your new business? How did this help Jobberman? And more Selected links from this episode Selected book per episode
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1h 12min
May 13, 2018 Episode 42, Connecting 25000 small farmers to a wider market. Nasir Yammama, Founder at Verdant
This was a live podcast with an audience Nasir Yammama is the founder of Verdant, an agritech platform that aims at providing agricultural data science, market information, managerial support, and access to financial services to rural farmers for improved food production using mobile phones. Verdant though a simple low-cost technology, is solving one of the biggest challenges and transforming Nigeria’s agriculture sector. Verdant is working with Oxfam and GIZ to help 25,000 farmers double or triple their yields. Nasir’s passion for Nigeria's agricultural development has taken him to unexpected heights – from being mentored by world-renowned business tycoon, Sir Richard Branson, to landing on the Forbes Africa 30 under 30 list. In 2017, Nasir was recognized by The Queen’s Young Leaders Programme for his work in AgricTech. In this episode you’ll learn: How Nasir’s background influenced his interest and decision to go into agriculture Nasir started building his business prototype while he was in the university. Why didn’t the prototype work out? How did they solve this challenge? As at the time of this interview, Verdant had 18,000 farmers on the platform. Learn how they got the farmers on the platform and the challenges Why does Nasir think the banks are not in tune in farmers? Why the pyramid of Kano disappeared and Nasir’s opinion on whether it should come back or not. The validity of problem solving and how it can propel your business forward. What you need to do to get government intervention for your business Nasir’s goals for Verdant and how he intend to achieve them. And more Selected links from this episode Selected book from this episode
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50min
May 08, 2018 Episode 41. Art, tech and polygamy. Lola Shoneyin, Director at Book Buzz Foundation
This was a live podcast with an audience Lola Shoneyin is a Nigerian poet and author who launched her debut novel, The Secret Lives of Baba Segi's Wives, in the UK in May 2010 She is currently the director of Book Buzz Foundation, Nigeria- a non-governmental organisation whose main aims are promoting literacy through the creation of reading programmes for children and developing reading spaces. The foundation also organises the Ake Arts and Book Festival, an annual literary, cultural and arts event that takes place in Abeokuta, Nigeria Lola is also an award-winning writer and a cultural activist. In this episode you’ll learn: How she developed a relationship with the late Bola Ige. In 1996, she got 10000 from Bola ige to publish her poem Lola wrote her first literary piece when she was six years old. How? How did Lola cope as a 6 year old boarding school student in England? The importance of making a connection between a book and the writer What is the advantage of engaging with and consuming literature at a very early age? “It is important to be in a space where you love what you are doing” What did Lola mean by this? The difference between approval and acceptance The biggest tragedy of the country. What is it? How does it affect creative young people? Ake festival has always held in Abeokuta. Why is it moving to Lagos? What is the vision for the festival? Lola is working on a reader app and an innovation hub for creatives. What should you expect? The importance of data in leading the future Lola says she is jealous of scientists. What does she mean? And more Selected links from this episode Sterling bank Amazon Kindle Roving heights Ake festival Select book from this episode
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1h 13min

FAQs about Building The Future Podcast:

How many episodes does Building The Future Podcast have?

The podcast currently has 92 episodes available.

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