Creating Markets

IFC talks to the CEO of Imperial Logistics, Mohammed Akoojee, about the challenges of the logistics sector in Africa and why investment in tech solutions is so vital for the evolution of the industry. Akoojee also dives into the potential of the new African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), and his advice to investors who are thinking about investing in Africa.

For more info on new trends in the logistics sector in Africa, see: - En Route to Investment

- The African Continental Free Trade Area

- The Impact of COVID-19 on Logistics

- Investment Opportunities in Temperature-Controlled Logistics (TCL)

IFC talks to Christelle Kwizera about the challenges and rewards of starting Water Access Rwanda in her twenties and the power of skilled storytelling for the success of a start-up. Kwizera also dives into why she's made it her mission to deconstruct misconceptions about Africa as a market.

For more info on Kwizera and IFC's programs, see:

• Water Access Rwanda
• Moving Toward Gender Balance in Private Equity and Venture Capital
• Private Equity and Value Creation: A Fund Manager's Guide to Gender-smart Investing

IFC talks to entrepreneur Aisha Pandor about how she came up with the idea for her business, the sacrifices of pursuing it, as well as how she has focused on building a sustainable company in Africa's tech industry.

Pandor is the co-founder and CEO of SweepSouth, an online platform that connects domestic service providers with potential employers in South Africa.

For more information about the initiatives mentioned in this episode, go to:

e-Conomy Africa 2020

Full report: e-Conomy Africa 2020

Africa Talks Tech: Transforming Africa's Digital Marketplace (video)

Digital2Equal

SweepSouth highlights the pay and working conditions of domestic workers (case study)

IFC talks to Getaw Cherinet about how and why he started a water filter company in Ethiopia and why it is important for him to employ refugees.

Cherinet has had an eventful life, but his entrepreneurial story begins in the early 1990s when he fled conflict in Ethiopia and became a refugee in Kenya's Kakuma Refugee Camp. In this episode, he talks about how he started a business in the refugee camp and how his journey led him to New Zealand, the US, and finally, back to Ethiopia. Here he started a farm and a water filter business called Tulip Addis Water Filter. To learn more about business and opportunities in the Kakuma Refugee Camp and Kalobeyei settlement, go to:

A Refugee Community in Kenya is Open for Business

Kakuma: A refugee camp with its own informal economy (video)

The Kakuma Kalobeyei Challenge Fund

Tulip Addis Water Filter SNV

IFC talks to Santiago Zavala about his journey to becoming an investor focused on Latin American start-ups and why other venture capital investors should put the region on their radar. When he started a guitar-related online forum in the early 2000s, Zavala didn't expect to find himself where he is today. Although he still actively codes, he's now widely known as one of the main community builders and investors in Spanish-speaking Latin America. Together with his team, the 34-year-old runs the 500 Luchadores funds and is a partner of 500 Startups. In this episode, he speaks to Creating Markets about the potential of Latin American markets.

To learn more about Latin America's private sector, read:

Accelerating Latin America's Tech Start-ups

Venture Capital Funds Adjust Investment Strategies

Two IFC staff, one in Fiji and one in Austria, recount how they and the companies they work with have dealt with the COVID-19 pandemic. In May, IFC's tourism expert in Fiji, Jessie McComb, and her colleague Damola Akinsowon, an IFC investment officer in Vienna, sent voice messages to the Creating Markets podcast team about how their clients have been dealing with the pandemic, and which of their clients responded with creativity and resilience. Akinsowon and McComb also gave us a peek into their everyday lives during lockdown in two very different parts of the world.

The International Finance Corporation (IFC) introduces its new podcast Creating Markets. If you're curious about private businesses in developing countries and investment opportunities in emerging markets, this podcast is for you. For more information on IFC, visit www.ifc.org.