Melanie Keita is the founder and CEO of Melanin Kapital, a digital bank focused on financing Africa's green economy. Born and raised in France, Melanie built a career in sustainable finance across Europe and Africa, working with the United Nations in Kenya and the German fund Finance in Motion. Her work spans corporate finance, sustainable development, and impact investing, with a focus on agriculture, renewable energy, electric mobility, and recycling. Today, she leads Melanin Kapital from Nairobi, providing innovative financing solutions to African SMEs through carbon credits, invoice financing, and clean technology loans.

In this episode, Melanie discusses her decision to leave Europe and build for Africa, the philosophical foundations of her work, and why the continent's financing gap is as much a narrative problem as it is a structural one. Melanie shares how her childhood experiences with racism in rural France planted the seed for her return to the continent, and how her father's story of forced migration for economic survival shaped her commitment to creating a future where Africans can choose where they live and work.

A significant portion of the conversation focuses on why African women and SMEs are systematically denied access to finance. Melanie explains how traditional banks fail to design products suited to women's business models, how Venture Capital (VC) spaces remain male-dominated and uncomfortable for women, and why only 2.6 per cent of global venture capital goes to women-led businesses. She breaks down the different types of financing African women need, from short-term cash flow loans for traders and farmers to longer-term growth capital for manufacturers and tech entrepreneurs, and why trust, segmentation, and cultural understanding are essential to closing the gender financing gap.

Melanie also introduces listeners to the innovative financing model Melanin Capital uses, including carbon credits as collateral. She explains how African businesses in the green economy are already saving carbon through electric vehicles, renewable energy, and sustainable agriculture, and how those carbon savings can be certified and sold to polluting companies in Europe and America. She argues that Africa should not be seen as a continent of potential waiting to be unlocked, but as a market already building, already innovating, and already delivering essential services to millions of people every day. Melanie reminds listeners that migration should be a choice, not an economic necessity.

• 00:00:00 Introduction: From France to Nairobi - Building for Africa
• 00:00:52 Growing Up Between Two Worlds: Racism and the Call to Return
• 00:04:08 Family Legacy: Congo, Senegal, and the Weight of Diaspora Expectations
• 00:07:13 The Finance Gap: Why African Entrepreneurs Can't Access Capital
• 00:11:31 The Gender Finance Gap: 44 Billion Dollars and Counting
• 00:13:21 Why Banks Fail Women: Product Design, Trust, and Cultural Disconnect
• 00:16:57 The VC Bro Culture Problem: Trust, Bias, and Uncomfortable Questions
• 00:21:14 What is Melanin Kapital? Green Economy Financing Explained
• 00:24:07 Carbon Credits as Collateral: Turning Environmental Impact Into Capital
• 00:27:42 The Narrative Problem: Why Perception Blocks African Investment
• 00:28:35 Philosophy Meets Finance: Ubuntu, Sankofa, and Building With Soul
• 00:29:41 The Real Risk Assessment: Comparing African SMEs to Silicon Valley Failures
• 00:33:53 Marketing Africa's Reality: From Potential to Present Tense
• 00:34:22 The Ebola Question: Confronting Investor Ignorance and Media Damage
• 00:36:38 Speaking the Language of Capital: Returns, Risk, and Unit Economics
• 00:38:59 Building the Value Chain: From SMEs to Economic Transformation
• 00:41:32 A Message to Young African Women in the Diaspora
• 00:42:17 The Choice Between Migration and Expatriation
• 00:44:31 What I Wish I'd Known: There is No Summit, Only the Journey
• 00:46:22 Closing Thoughts: The Story Problem and What Gets Built

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Mbanangwa Kwilasya is a compliance expert, data protection specialist, and founder of MK Legal Consultancy. She played a pivotal role in drafting Malawi's Data Protection Act, which came into force in 2024. Her work spans financial services, fintech, anti-money laundering regulations, and AI governance. As a consultant with the African Union Development Agency, she focuses on ethical AI development, intellectual property law, and building African-centric frameworks for data protection that account for the continent's diverse cultures, economies, and infrastructures.

In this episode, Mbanangwa shares insights on the legal dimensions of AI adoption in African newsrooms. From her childhood in Malawi shaped by strong women to her unwavering commitment to becoming a lawyer, Mbanangwa shares how she founded MK Legal Consultancy to bridge the gap between law, compliance, and emerging technology. She explains the painstaking process of drafting Malawi's Data Protection Act, including consultations with neighboring countries, the challenge of aligning new legislation with existing laws, and the frustration of watching policy-heavy systems fail at enforcement.

A significant portion of the conversation focuses on the legal questions African journalists are not asking about AI. Mbanangwa warns that newsrooms using AI tools without internal policies risk exposing confidential sources, publishing hallucinated information, and reproducing Western biases embedded in training data. She describes how uploading reports to ChatGPT can constitute a data breach, how Grok was used to generate non-consensual nude images of women, and why Nigeria's enforcement actions against Gemini and Meta set a crucial precedent for the continent. She argues that African IP and data protection laws must be updated and unified at a continental level to prevent digital colonization and fragmented regulatory responses.

Mbanangwa also addresses the disproportionate impact of AI on women, from deepfakes and image abuse to biased content moderation. She reflects on the UK's decision to ban social media for children under 16. She closes with a powerful message: protecting data is protecting people. When journalists safeguard the information entrusted to them, they protect their sources, their credibility, and the future of storytelling on the continent.

• 00:00:00 Introduction: AI and African Newsrooms - The Legal Questions We Need to Ask
• 00:01:00 Meet Mbanangwa Kwilasya: From Malawi to AI Governance and Data Protection
• 00:02:11 Growing Up in Malawi: Early Memories and the Women Who Shaped Her
• 00:07:06 Always Wanting to Be a Lawyer: The Path from Childhood Dream to Compliance
• 00:10:34 Founding MK Legal Consultancy: Building a Business at the Intersection of Law and Tech
• 00:12:56 An African-Centric Approach to Data Protection: Context, Culture, and Infrastructure
• 00:14:23 Drafting Malawi's Data Protection Act: Consultation, Adoption, and Implementation
• 00:20:34 Legal Questions African Newsrooms Should Be Asking About AI
• 00:25:43 Who Owns AI-Generated Content? The Intellectual Property Gap in Africa
• 00:29:11 The Fragmentation Problem: Why Africa Needs Continental AI Governance
• 00:32:38 Whose Responsibility Is It? Innovation, Finance, and Enforcement in Africa
• 00:36:59 Synthesized Data and African Context: Training AI on Our Own Terms
• 00:37:41 Data Protection in Daily AI Use: What Happens When You Upload to ChatGPT?
• 00:41:36 Responsible AI Use: Data Minimization and Internal Newsroom Policies
• 00:43:21 AI's Disproportionate Impact on Women: Surveillance, Abuse, and Bias
• 00:44:14 Image Rights and AI Violations: The Grok Case and Policy Responses
• 00:48:45 ChatGPT and Sexualized Images: The Ongoing Battle for Digital Safety
• 00:50:03 Social Media Bans for Children: A Parent's Perspective on Protection
• 00:54:34 Closing the Gap: Unified Legislation and Continental Enforcement
• 00:58:01 Final Thoughts: Protecting Data is Protecting People

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Learn more about the book Regulating New Media in Africa, edited by Dr Yemisi Akinbobola, Dr Vincent Obia, Dr Suleiman Bah, and Professor Oliver Carter, available from Intellect Books and major academic booksellers.

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Eastina Taylor-Tucker is the president of Women in News Media Sierra Leone (WIMSAL), a seasoned broadcaster and advocate who has worked with BBC Media Action and stands at the center of one of West Africa's most significant press freedom cases in recent years. A 2018 Mandela Washington Fellow,Eastina has spent her career challenging structural inequalities in newsrooms and fighting for the safety and dignity of women journalists across Sierra Leone.

In this episode, Dr Yemisi Akinbobola interviews Eastina to explore her journey to becoming a leading voice for gender justice in media. She shares how she entered journalism at 19, aced an interview despite being told she was too young and too small, and went on to work across Christian radio, mainstream media, community radio mentorship with BBC Media Action, and eventually as station manager of one of Sierra Leone's largest commercial stations.

A significant portion of the conversation focuses on the case of Umu Thoronka, a WIMSAL member and journalist who faced wrongful termination from Sierra Leone Broadcasting Corporation. Eastina walks listeners through the years-long advocacy effort led by WIMSAL, including engagement with the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Human Rights, the Independent Media Commission, and ultimately an ECOWAS court process. She explains how Umu was dismissed via phone call without warning after covering a presidential press conference and posting about being denied the opportunity to ask questions. The backlash Umu faced included death threats, online abuse, and physical intimidation, all for exercising her right to free expression.

Eastina also opens up about her own experience of sexual assault by a colleague, an incident she kept silent about for years due to fear, shame, and the knowledge that speaking out often leads to disbelief and isolation.

Eastina closes with a powerful call to action for policymakers, media owners, and editors. She urges them to stop treating gender-based violence as a misunderstanding or private issue and to recognize it as a serious workplace and human rights crisis. She envisions a media landscape where women are respected as professionals first, where harassment complaints are handled confidentially and independently, and where leadership undergoes mandatory gender sensitivity training. Protecting women journalists, she argues, is not just about protecting women. It is about protecting the credibility and future of journalism itself.

• 00:00:00 Introduction: Building a Career in Sierra Leone's Media Landscape
• 00:01:30 Growing Up in Freetown: Early Signs of a Communicator
• 00:05:50 From School Plays to Radio: Breaking Into Media at 19
• 00:09:41 Facing Inequality in Mainstream Media: The AYV Experience
• 00:10:38 Mentoring Community Journalists: Six Years with BBC Media Action
• 00:11:39 On Our Radar and Capital Radio: Leading a Major Media House
• 00:17:59 The Umu Thoronka Case: Wrongful Dismissal and Sexual Harassment
• 00:20:45 Death Threats, Intimidation, and a Phone Call Dismissal
• 00:24:54 Fighting for Justice: From IMC to ECOWAS Court
• 00:27:01 The Epidemic of Silence: Sexual Harassment Across Sierra Leone's Newsrooms
• 00:29:48 The Kigali Declaration: What It Takes to Operationalize Gender Safety
• 00:34:45 Eastina's Story: Sexual Assault and the Price of Speaking Out
• 00:42:08 Men Who Believed: Finding Support in Unexpected Places
• 00:43:27 Advice to Her Younger Self: Trust Your Voice and Protect Your Mental Health
• 00:44:50 What Genuinely Safe Newsrooms Look Like: A Call to Action
• 00:47:39 Closing: Protecting Women Journalists is Protecting Press Freedom

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If Umu Thoronka's story moved you, follow the case by searching her name online. If you are a woman in a newsroom who recognizes these experiences, reach out to organizations like WIMSAL or your local media associations. You are not alone, and you are not wrong for wanting better.

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Adanna Adindu is a content strategist, SEO expert, and Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) specialist who helps brands transition from invisibility to visibility in the digital space. As a self-described "abnormal Gen Z," she combines classical sensibilities with cutting-edge digital expertise, working remotely from Nigeria for international clients across B2B SaaS, iGaming, medical tourism, fintech, legal, and tax advisory industries. A trained lawyer turned content strategist, she has developed over 120 long-form SEO articles that have increased organic traffic for clients by up to 35 percent.

A significant portion of the conversation focuses on the visibility penalty women face in media and business. Adanna shares her experience leading a team of 14 male editors. She recounts the toxic backlash she received as a TV host, where viewers attacked her appearance rather than engaging with her analysis. She also describes the sexual harassment she faced while running an online menswear business during COVID, with male customers requesting hotel deliveries and unsolicited advances. These experiences fueled her determination to build authority on her own terms.

Adanna introduces listeners to Answer Engine Optimization, a field beyond traditional SEO that focuses on making content rank not just on Google, but inside AI overviews, chatbots, and generative engines like ChatGPT and Perplexity. She explains how she planned her friend's wedding by sourcing all vendors through AI, and why brands that ignore AEO risk becoming invisible in a world where users no longer scroll past page one or even past AI-generated summaries. She breaks down the secret to content that ranks and converts: real human stories, structured formatting, and headings framed as problems or questions that signal value to both machines and human readers.

Adanna also tackles the fear that AI will replace human writers. She argues that while AI will take over some jobs, it creates opportunities for humans to transition into editors, proofreaders, and strategists who add the human voice machines cannot replicate.

• 00:00:00 Introduction: Building a Media Career Without the Noise
• 00:00:53 Growing Up Igbo: Family, Presence, and the Power of Being Seen
• 00:05:58 The Abnormal Gen Z: Why She Doesn't Fit the Mold
• 00:10:02 From Law to Content: Connecting the Dots Across Industries
• 00:12:50 Leading Men: The Toxic Reality of Being a Female Editor
• 00:15:35 The Visibility Penalty: Backlash, Body Shaming, and Standing Firm
• 00:17:37 Selling Men's Clothes Online: Sexual Harassment in Business
• 00:20:16 AWiM Learning Platform: Courses for African Journalists
• 00:21:11 Building Authority from Nigeria: Remote Work and International Clients
• 00:27:27 AEO, SEO, and LLMs: Writing for Machines and Humans
• 00:31:17 Will AI Take Over Writing? The Human Eye Still Matters
• 00:33:31 The Secret to Ranking: Real Stories, Real Trust, Real Results
• 00:35:36 From Invisible to In-Demand: Why Brilliant Nigerians Stay Buried
• 00:38:05 Balancing Art and Algorithms: Storytelling Meets SEO
• 00:41:24 Move With the Trends, Maintain Your Unique Voice
• 00:42:25 Parting Words: Start Building Today, the Fast Lane Isn't Sustainable

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In this special episode, Dr Yemisi Akinbobola takes listeners behind the scenes of the 70th session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW70), held at the United Nations headquarters in New York in March 2025.

Dr Yemisi opens with a striking moment from day one, where WABC TV anchor Sade Baderinwa reminded the delegates that when justice fails, women pay the price. But the most powerful intervention came from Malala Yousafzai, who challenged the world to confront selective justice. She spoke about Afghan women being barred from medical training and how the oppression of women is frequently excused as culture. Malala called it what it was: gender apartheid. In her words, speeches do not protect girls. Law, accountability, and political courage do.

The theme of CSW70 was strengthening legal systems and eliminating discriminatory laws. Yet, as UN Women Executive Director Sima Bahous admitted, no country fully meets its obligation to ensure women's full access to justice. For the first time in 70 years, the agreed-upon conclusions were adopted by vote rather than consensus, with the United States raising objections over gender ideology, sexual health rights, and even the word intersectionality. UN Secretary General António Guterres spoke plainly during a town hall, urging everyone to stop using diplomatic language. He said that when we push against patriarchy, patriarchy pushes back.

Throughout the week, Dr Yemisi attended critical side events, including one hosted by South Africa, reflecting on lessons from its G20 presidency and the historic 1956 women's march against apartheid. She also attended the screening of Daughters of Chibok, a documentary about mothers told to wait patiently while their daughters remained missing, a heartbreaking reminder of the 2014 abductions in Nigeria. Another session focused on just transitions in energy and AI, highlighting how women in Nigeria's Niger Delta hold communities together while being shut out of decisions regarding the oil on their land.

A pivotal conversation took place at the BBC Studios event on AI, deepfakes, and digital safety. Statistics show that 90 to 95 per cent of deepfakes are sexualized images targeted at women. Behind those numbers were names: Fatou Baldeh, a Gambian women's rights activist who faced threats of rape and death for campaigning against female genital mutilation, and investigative journalist Abena Zara, whose family history was fabricated by AI-generated misinformation. Both women faced horrendous attacks for daring to speak up. AI is not neutral. It has been weaponized to discredit women truth tellers.

Dr Yemisi closes with five truths from CSW70; listen to the full episode to learn those truths.

• 00:00:00 Defending Gender Progress at CSW70
• 00:01:27 When Justice Fails, Women Pay the Price
• 00:03:07 Consensus Broken After 70 Years
• 00:04:18 The UN Secretary General's Warning
• 00:05:34 South Africa's Legacy and the 1956 Women's March
• 00:07:01 A Call to Action for African Media
• 00:08:16 Leadership, Purpose, and the Mothers of Chibok
• 00:09:05 Women Shut Out of Oil Decisions in Niger Delta
• 00:11:20 When AI Becomes a Weapon Against Women
• 00:12:24 Five Truths from CSW70

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Zain Verjee is the founder and CEO of the Zain Verjee Group, a communications advisory firm transforming how organizations tell stories in Africa and beyond. As a former CNN anchor and correspondent, she covered major global events and interviewed world leaders. Today, she is also co-founder of The Rundownb Studio, where she helps storytellers and newsroom leaders leverage AI responsibly in modern communications. As an executive fellow at Harvard University's Tech for All Lab, her work centers inclusivity, innovation, and equitable narratives particularly for Africa.

In this episode, Dr. Yemisi Akinbobola sits down with Zain to explore how artificial intelligence is reshaping newsroom workflows, the ethical guardrails African media must establish now, and whether AI will democratize storytelling or deepen inequalities. Zain speaks passionately about the critical difference between misinformation and disinformation, emphasizing that every individual must become more responsible in what they share online.

A significant portion of the conversation focuses on the data sovereignty crisis facing the continent. Zain warns against digital colonization, where African data is extracted, repackaged, and sold back at premium prices, much like minerals were in the past. She argues that African women have a competitive advantage in this AI driven era because they possess cultural intelligence that no existing AI model has. She challenges women in media to build their own tools, learn prompt engineering and context engineering, and stop waiting for permission from institutions or developers.

Zain closes with a powerful vision of 2036 Africa, where the continent has leveraged AI to solve agricultural and health challenges, where the first billion dollar company built by one person comes from Africa, and where African storytellers control their own narratives through data ownership and technological self sufficiency.

• 00:00:00 Introduction: AI, Misinformation, and the Future of African Journalism
• 00:00:40 Meet Zain Verjee: From CNN Anchor to AI-Powered Storytelling Pioneer
• 00:02:11 Early Memories and Growing Up in Kenya
• 00:03:54 What's Changed and What Remains: Journalism Then and Now
• 00:06:29 Understanding Misinformation vs Disinformation: Your Phone is Lying to You
• 00:09:07 The First AI War: Content Creation in the Middle East Conflict
• 00:12:23 Why Africa Needs Its Own Storytelling Infrastructure
• 00:14:32 The Data Set War: Who Controls Africa's Story in AI?
• 00:16:40 Forget Wikipedia: Build Your Own
• 00:17:55 The Opportunity for African Women in AI: Barriers Have Collapsed
• 00:19:37 Cultural Intelligence: Africa's Competitive Advantage
• 00:20:15 International Women's Day Message: Don't Wait for Permission
• 00:22:43 What African DNA Means in Communication and AI Strategy
• 00:26:12 The Rundown Studio: Training Storytellers for the AI Era
• 00:29:58 Data Sovereignty and Digital Colonization: Who Owns African Data?
• 00:34:19 Essential Skills for Young African Journalists: From Prompt Engineering to Vibe Coding
• 00:38:45 From Vibe Coding to Agentic Engineering: The Future of AI Newsrooms
• 00:40:19 2036 Vision: Africa's AI-Powered Future
• 00:42:30 Closing Reflections: AI as a Power Shift for African Narratives

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Binaifer Nowrojee is the president of the Open Society Foundations, the world's largest private funder dedicated to advancing human rights, equity, and justice. She is an international human rights lawyer whose career spans strategic litigation, advocacy, research, and philanthropy across Africa and Asia Pacific. Earlier in her career, she investigated sexual violence during the Rwandan genocide with Human Rights Watch, contributing to the first convictions recognizing rape as a weapon of war. Today, she continues to influence global conversations on rights, accountability, and the redistribution of power.

In this special International Women's Day 2025 episode, Dr. Yemisi Akinbobola sits down with Binaifer to explore the global theme Gift to Gain and what it truly means for African women, institutions, and the future of gender justice on the continent.

A key focus of the episode is intergenerational collaboration. Binaifer speaks passionately about the moral imagination of Gen Z African women and how older feminists must remain humble enough to learn from new organizing strategies while also offering the institutional support and legal infrastructure built over decades. She closes with a vision of African women putting their heads and hands together across sectors, lifting the continent through passion, commitment, and a shared humanity that rejects single stories and celebrates multiplicity.

• 00:00:00 Introduction: Give to Gain and Gender Justice in Africa
• 00:00:56 Meet Binaifer Nowrojee: First African Woman President of Open Society
• 00:02:24 Growing Up as a Minority: Identity and Early Awareness of Injustice
• 00:03:32 From Dictatorship to Democracy: The Pro-Democracy Movement in Kenya
• 00:05:17 Books, Writers and Awakening: Shaping a Feminist Consciousness
• 00:06:24 College in America: Finding Her Voice Through Anti-Apartheid Activism
• 00:07:35 Audre Lorde and Feminist Identity: When I Dare to Be Powerful
• 00:08:35 Human Rights Watch and Rwanda: Documenting Sexual Violence as a War Crime
• 00:10:54 What Give to Gain Means: Standing With Women on the Front Lines
• 00:12:42 Leadership at Open Society: A Different Kind of Philanthropy
• 00:14:35 Charlotte Maxeke's Legacy: If You Rise, Bring Someone With You
• 00:15:42 Glass Cliffs and Backlash: The Reality for Women in Power
• 00:18:31 Beyond Funding: What Meaningful Giving to African Women Really Requires
• 00:20:30 Gen Z Leadership and Moral Imagination for a New World
• 00:21:49 The Kigali Declaration: Addressing Gender Violence in Media
• 00:23:01 From Recipients to Shapers: African Women and Philanthropic Power
• 00:24:30 What Governments Must Give: Access, Opportunity and Getting Out of the Way
• 00:26:21 The Danger of a Single Story: Why Who Tells the Story Matters
• 00:27:37 Intergenerational Collaboration: What Each Generation Brings
• 00:30:05 A Vision for African Women: Passion, Commitment and Shared Humanity
• 00:31:28 What Philanthropy Must Give Up: Humility and the Power of Listening
• 00:32:25 Closing Reflections: Demanding Structural Change, Not Just Celebration

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Charity Nafula is a queer feminist, certified accountant, podcaster, and passionate advocate for digital dignity. As the Executive Director of Queer Prism 256, Charity uses podcasting and art to amplify the everyday lives of marginalized women in Uganda, creating intentional safe spaces for queer women to share their stories without fear of judgment or exposure.

In this episode, Dr Yemisi Akinbobola sits down with Charity to explore her journey from growing up in a religious home in Uganda to discovering her sexuality in secondary school, and eventually joining the LGBTQ community in 2015. Charity opens up about the moment she first saw pride coverage in the news and her deep desire to be part of it, even when she couldn't physically attend. She reflects on how she never saw her identity as something negative, which gave her the courage to step fully into advocacy work that now spans accounting, activism, and storytelling.

A significant portion of the conversation focuses on the intersection of technology, AI, and gender-based violence within queer communities. Charity shares harrowing examples of tech-facilitated GBV—from being outed on TikTok alongside other queer activists, to the fear of being blackmailed, doxxed, or having her home vandalized. She describes the anxiety of relocating for safety, and the devastating impact on friends who risked losing their marriages and children due to online exposure. Charity calls out how social media platforms and AI tools are weaponized against marginalized communities, and challenges tech companies to prioritize ethical design, survivor-centered surveys, and proactive safety measures before launching new platforms.

Charity also envisions what a queer feminist AI tool could look like—one rooted in storytelling support, mental health resources, counter-misinformation capabilities, and radical inclusivity. Charity's message is clear: queer people are not defined by their sexuality; they are parents, taxpayers, contributors to the economy, and deserving of dignity, safety, and representation.

• 00:00:00 Introduction: Amplifying Marginalized Voices Through Media
• 00:01:14 Growing Up and Discovering Identity in a Religious Home
• 00:03:58 Wearing Many Hats: Activism Meets Accounting
• 00:05:18 Being Visible as a Queer Woman in Uganda
• 00:06:19 Creating Queer Prism 256: A Safe Space for Women
• 00:07:44 What a Safe Space Really Means: Trust and Accountability
• 00:09:29 Technology-Facilitated Gender-Based Violence: The Daily Reality
• 00:13:19 The TikTok Outing: A Personal Story of Fear and Survival
• 00:16:57 Source Her: Connecting Journalists with African Female Experts
• 00:18:13 AI, Deepfakes, and Digital Surveillance: Weaponizing Technology
• 00:18:48 What Tech Companies Must Do: Centering Survivors and Safety
• 00:26:37 Algorithmic Erasure and Hate Speech Amplification
• 00:27:10 Media's Role: Reporting for Change, Not Just Clicks
• 00:31:23 Designing a Queer Feminist AI Tool: Healing and Storytelling
• 00:35:12 Final Message: Be Kind, Be Human, Report with Empathy
• 00:38:27 Closing Reflections: Designing Differently for Joy and Care

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Her Media Diary is produced by African Women in Media (AWiM).

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• 00:00:00 Introduction: The Uncomfortable Questions We Need to Ask
• 00:00:14 Who Protects Women in Media? Safety and Consequences
• 00:00:20 Representation and Solutions: Who Decides Our Stories?
• 00:00:34 Meet Dr. Yemisi Akinbobola: Experience Across Media Systems
• 00:00:48 The Visibility Paradox: Labour, Power and Safety
• 00:00:55 Centering the Conversation: Voices of Successful African Women
• 00:01:08 Inside and Outside: Interrogating Media from Critical Distance
• 00:01:21 Why This Matters: Uncomfortable but Necessary Questions
• 00:01:29 What You'll Gain: Tools, Orientation and Understanding
• 00:01:42 Join the Conversation: Where to Listen and Learn More

If you'd like to join a future episode of this podcast, send an email to [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]). Or visit our website at www.hermediadiary.com

Her Media Diary is produced by African Women in Media (AWiM).

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Moky Makura is the Executive Director of Africa No Filter, a donor collaborative working to shift stereotypical narratives about Africa through storytelling, research, and advocacy. With a rich career spanning media, philanthropy, and narrative change, Moky has dedicated decades to challenging the single story told about the continent.

In this episode, Dr. Yemisi Akinbobola sits down with Moky to explore her personal journey from growing up in Lagos to becoming a leading voice in the fight against African stereotypes. Moky traces her awakening back to the 1985 Live Aid concert, a moment that crystallized how Africa was being depicted to the world—not as a diverse continent of 54 countries, but as a monolithic place defined solely by poverty and crisis.

A significant portion of the discussion focuses on artificial intelligence and its implications for African journalism. Moky introduces the Africa Bias Buster, an AI tool developed by Africa No Filter that doesn't write stories for journalists, but instead identifies biases in their reporting—flagging missing voices, problematic framing, and stereotypical language. She explains the journey of building this tool, the challenges of training AI with better narratives about Africa, and why existing AI platforms still perpetuate limited, stereotypical views of the continent.

Moky also addresses the changing philanthropic landscape and how Africa No Filter is adapting by seeking African funding and launching Opportunity Africa—a brand campaign positioning the continent through the lens of opportunity, progress, and innovation rather than dependency and crisis. She argues passionately that narrative change is not PR, but a platform on which all development work must stand, because unless Africans believe in their own continent, no intervention will truly succeed. Moky challenges journalists to look back at their body of work and ask: what single story have I been telling about my country?

• 00:00:00 Introduction: AI, African Newsrooms & Narrative Change
• 00:01:25 Meet Moky Makura: From Lagos to Global Narrative Change
• 00:03:03 The Live Aid Moment: When Stereotypes Took Hold
• 00:06:06 The Power of Narrative: How Stories Shape Beliefs and Actions
• 00:10:11 Moky's Personal Mission: From Living It to Africa No Filter
• 00:12:48 African Newsrooms as Part of the Problem
• 00:16:02 AI Readiness in African Newsrooms: Challenges and Opportunities
• 00:17:56 The Africa Bias Buster: Building an AI Tool for Better Journalism
• 00:19:18 Training Journalists: The Story Telling Skills Gap
• 00:23:41 Building the Bias Buster: The Technical Journey
• 00:29:57 Whose Perspective? Defining Bias from an African Lens
• 00:33:35 The Funding Landscape: Philanthropy, Politics & African Media
• 00:35:49 Opportunity Africa: Branding the Continent for Young People
• 00:38:11 Closing Reflections: The Journey Continues

If this episode resonated with you, subscribe, leave a review, and share it with someone who needs to hear it. Your support helps amplify conversations that strengthen media ecosystems across Africa.

Interested in joining a future episode of Her Media Diary? Email: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected])

You can also listen via our partner radio stations across Africa, and join the ongoing conversation using #HerMediaDiary.

Her Media Diary is produced by African Women in Media (AWiM), and this episode is sponsored by Luminate

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