Conversations with Gofaone

What does it really take to fund African innovation, not in theory, but in practice?

At the 2025 African Development Bank Annual Meetings in Abidjan, I had the honour of moderating a powerful side event hosted by the Vision 2030 Fund and the DRC Ministry of Industry.

Titled “Catalyzing African-Led Innovation: Financing the Next Generation of Startups & SMEs”, this session asked a critical question: What will it take to build investment systems that actually serve African entrepreneurs?

What made this conversation stand out was its honesty. We confronted the gap between capital announced and capital deployed. We talked about the feasibility studies, infrastructure, and early-stage support that are often treated as afterthoughts and why without them, many ventures never stand a fair chance.

The panel featured:

•H.E. Dagmawit Moges Bekele – African Union Peace Fund

•Minister Clément Moketo – Ministry of Industry, DRC

•Jerry Osagie – Afreximbank

•Hannah Ryder – Development Reimagined

•With a keynote from Mr. Bertin Chisekedi

What will it take to fund the future of Africa, on our own terms?

In this episode, I sit down with @marcwatum , a Congolese entrepreneur, strategist, and pan-African force driving change from policy rooms to boardrooms. From advising the DRC’s Ministry of SMEs to founding the Vision 2030 Fund, Marc is at the forefront of reimagining how African businesses are built, backed, and scaled.

We explore the real cost of underfunded African entrepreneurs and why the continent’s solutions demand African capital. Marc shares powerful lessons from advising over 30 governments and mentoring more than 1,000 entrepreneurs across Africa, Europe, and the Middle East. We also discuss what it takes to build climate-resilient, SDG-aligned economies and how to meaningfully bridge government, grassroots innovation, and global finance.

This is more than development talk, it’s a bold conversation about economic sovereignty, homegrown ecosystems, and the Africa we must build.

Are diamonds really forever?

t’s a question that haunts the heart of Botswana’s economy and shapes the soul of this conversation.

In the Season 8 premiere of Conversations with Gofaone, I sit down with @naseem_lahri , Managing Director of @lucaradiamond Botswana, the first Motswana woman to lead one of the world’s most significant diamond mines.

Under her leadership, Lucara unearthed the 1,758ct Sewelô and, most recently, a (now) 2,488ct diamond named Motswedi, one of the largest ever discovered. But this is not just a story of carats and commerce. It’s a story of conviction.

Naseem speaks with rare honesty about the highs and hardships of her leadership journey, her deep-rooted belief in the potential of natural diamonds, and the urgency of adapting our story, not just for the market, but for the people.

This episode is not just about what lies beneath the ground, but what we build above it.

In a world of fast-moving technology and inflated buzzwords, what does innovation actually look like when it’s grounded in value, not vanity?

In this episode, I sit down with Tertius Zitzke , founder and CEO of 4Sight Holdings Limited , a JSE-listed tech company pioneering digital transformation across sectors in Africa. With over 31 years in the ICT sector and executive training from the MIT Sloan School of Management, Tertius brings both experience and continuous learning into how we reimagine business intelligence and operational technology.

He calls innovation “brilliant basics” because true transformation doesn’t start with complexity, it starts with clarity. At the heart of 4Sight’s work is a philosophy of integration: aligning people, processes, and platforms to future-proof businesses in a fast-evolving digital economy.

We talk AI and the true test of meaningful innovation.

What does it truly mean to invest in communities—not for visibility, but for impact?

In this episode, I’m joined by Lunga Schoeman CSI Programmes Manager at the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA). Our conversation moves beyond the language of strategy decks and ESG reports, into what it really takes to create meaningful, measurable change—especially in underserved communities.

We speak about DBSA’s commitment to eradicating unsafe sanitation in rural schools through its partnership with Breadline Africa an initiative set to replace over 200 pit toilets across four provinces. But the conversation goes deeper than infrastructure.

Lunga offers powerful reflections on how corporates can move beyond performative impact by recentering community voices at the heart of decision-making. He unpacks what equitable partnerships between NGOs and the private sector should look like in practice—and where many fall short. We also discuss how corporate social investment is shifting across South Africa, and what true innovation in this space requires. At the core of his insights is a clear message: accountability—not charity—is what defines responsible business in today’s world.

This is a conversation about rethinking what it means to build—and who we’re building for.

When we talk about energy transitions, we often focus on megawatts and infrastructure. But what about the children growing up in the shadow of coal plants, or the caregivers navigating disrupted livelihoods?

In this episode, I sit down with @sikhulekileduma —a leading voice in South Africa’s Just Energy Transition-to explore how national policy, climate goals, and early childhood development are deeply intertwined.

Drawing lessons from Komati and other transitioning towns, we explore how building a greener future is impossible without first investing in human capacity. We further examine why national energy planning must integrate early childhood development and local capacity-building-not as peripheral concerns, but as central pillars of a truly sustainable transition.

This conversation reminds us: a just transition is only just if it includes everyone.

From Classrooms to Boardrooms—Why Early Childhood Development is Everyone’s Business

In this powerful 3-part conversation with Lene Øverland and Janine McEvoy of Breadline Africa, we explore what it means to build not just classrooms, but futures.

With more than 20 years of experience across the African non-profit landscape, Lene brings a deeply strategic lens to the conversation—linking infrastructure, innovation, and impact to the long game of social change. Janine, Breadline’s National Business Development Manager, reminds us that transformation starts with relationships—and that real partnerships are built, not pitched.

While we dive jnto Breadline Africa’s mission of transforming lives through access to safe, quality educational infrastructure, why Early Childhood Development is not a charity topic—it’s a business conversation tied directly to national growth, talent pipelines, and economic inclusion.

Our emphasis is on what real impact looks like: the kind that lives beyond headlines and corporate scorecards.

This series challenges us to see children’s futures as everyone’s responsibility—from policymakers and business leaders to professionals and everyday citizens.

In a world where values like dignity, agency, and solidarity are often tucked into policy decks and mission statements, the real question becomes: so what?

In this episode, I’m joined by two powerhouse thinkers and practitioners:

Alex Motshwanetsi Mathole, governance expert and co-lead of the V20 Sustainable Development stream, and

Thabani Mlilo (@datninjathabs ), sustainability leader with deep experience across mining, climate, and ESG, also a co-lead of V20.

Together, we interrogate the promise and the performance of values-based leadership. Together, we dive into a conversation on what value-based leadership really looks like in practice—not just as an idea, but as a decision-making framework that shapes policy, business, and power.

The V20 isn’t just a think tank—it’s a call to action. A collective of African leaders pushing for leadership grounded in integrity, inclusion, and future accountability.

If leadership is about decision-making—what anchors those decisions, and who pays the price when values are optional?

Cashews may be small, but in Benin, they’re driving big industrial change. In this episode, I sit down with Martial Degbelo, Deputy Director General of Glo-Djigbé Industrial Zone (GDIZ)—a hub that’s helping redefine Benin’s economic future.

With over 15 years of experience in project management, procurement, processing, and government liaison, Martial shares how GDIZ is anchoring local value addition, boosting exports, and positioning Benin as a serious player in regional and global trade.

According to the World Bank, Benin’s economic growth is projected to stabilize at 6.2% between 2024 and 2026, much of it thanks to the expansion of GDIZ. This episode explores how industrial zones can fuel transformation, empower local industries, and create lasting impact.

What does it take to lead with integrity across decades—and leave a legacy that transcends industry? In this episode, I sit down with Sipho Nkosi, former CEO of @exxaro_resources and recipient of the 2024 Lifetime Achievement Award at the @aablawards .

Mr. Nkosi is widely respected for his pioneering role in South Africa’s mining and energy sectors, where he helped shape one of the country’s most successful black-owned mining companies. His leadership journey is marked by transformation, resilience, and an unwavering commitment to people.

In 2022, he was appointed by the President of South Africa to lead a national team focused on removing bureaucratic red tape to promote business growth—a testament to his influence not only in industry, but in national economic development.

In this episode, we reflect on the lessons that shaped his leadership, the value of building others as you lead and empowering the youth.