Listen To Your Footsteps

In Episode 147 of Listen to Your Footsteps, Kojo Baffoe speaks with Lebo Motswenyane, founder of Lucky No8 Concepts, about the relationships, decisions and unseen work behind event production.

From her childhood in Khuma, Klerksdorp, to a Rotary exchange in the United States and a career spanning Levi’s and Speakers Corner, Lebo reflects on the experiences that expanded her world and helped her find her own lane. She shares how public relations led her into events, and why becoming a mother helped shape her decision to start a business.

The conversation moves beyond the finished production: staying composed when things go wrong, working with clients and other agencies, paying people on time and giving young talent a chance. Lebo also speaks candidly about retrenching almost 30 people during COVID, winning Netflix business at a financial low point, and how those experiences changed her approach to responsibility and resilience.

Now, in what she calls her teaching era, she is thinking about the knowledge she can pass on, and how the business can grow without her being in every room.

A conversation about entrepreneurship, motherhood, belonging and the architecture of bringing people together.

Listen to the episode, follow Listen to Your Footsteps, and share it with someone building a business or finding their own way. If the conversation resonates, leave a rating or review on your listening platform.

#ListenToYourFootsteps #LeboMotswenyane #EventProduction #Entrepreneurship

In this LTYF Moments from the very first episode of Listen To Your Footsteps podcast, I look back at memorable moments from the conversation with Papama Mtwisha, founder of the children’s clothing label Butter Pudding and the ‘Africa Your Time Is Now’ fashion brand. We trace the path from dreaming of being a housewife to becoming a fashion designer, fashion editor, and ultimately an entrepreneur whose brand is worn across the continent.

We talk about the seven years an idea lived on an iPad before it became a business, the fear of walking away from a steady pay check when you have school fees and a bond, and why the name "Butter Pudding" - simple ingredients, timeless results - became the philosophy behind an entire brand.

From the "Africa is the Future" to the “Africa Your Time Is Now” movement to a deliberate decision to manufacture locally on the continent, this is a conversation about trusting your timing, defining success on your own terms, and what happens when the universe conspires to meet you exactly where you are.

There was a piano in the Yenana home in King William's Town that was never meant for Andile. It was bought for his older brother - his mother hoped music might ground a son she feared the Struggle would swallow. It didn't. What it did do was give Andile something to pick the lock of, quietly, with a pair of scissors, every time his brother left for his lessons.

Thirty years after we first met at the University of Natal, Andile Yenana - pianist, composer, band leader, educator - sat down with me to trace a life in music. From a party home in the '70s and '80s, with the aunt in the brunette wig whose month-long visits gave his first album its name, We Used to Dance. Through marimbas in a Catholic church, a reggae band in King William's Town, and the Friday nights at Gustav's that shaped a generation of South African jazz.

We talk about what it means to find your voice - and what Zim Ngqawana's wife said when he told her he'd found his. The night Bafana Bafana won the Africa Cup of Nations while he was crossing Johannesburg to fetch sheet music. A composition born on a boat moored off Tripoli. A payslip line item. And how Thembisa - a song he nearly didn't record - ended up sampled by J. Cole.

Also: why leaving Johannesburg might be the best decision he ever made, and what it means when your family is the music.

 South African artist Msaki traces the moments that shaped her creative journey — from dismissing her own gift as a teenager, to leaving university after hearing music in the dark room, to stepping back from performance to protect her heart. Across ten memorable moments, she reveals why creativity comes from overflow rather than barrenness, how collaboration means inviting others into your weakness, and what it means to catch songs that are already hovering in the silence.

Check out the full episode here from February 2026

In Episode 145 of Listen to Your Footsteps, Kojo Baffoe speaks with Tshiamo Maremela, founder of A Very Cool Studio, about the journey from a curious childhood in Wedela to art, media, cultural strategy and business leadership. Tshiamo reflects on the different selves we show the world, leaving university with a portfolio rather than a degree, and learning to lead while grieving the loss of a mentor.

Their conversation turns to a question facing African creative industries: who benefits when a brand draws on culture? Tshiamo explains why contracts, ownership and business systems matter as much as the work people see, and why a strong creative business needs to function beyond its founder.

This is a conversation about making space for many interests while building something that lasts.

Listen now, follow Listen to Your Footsteps, and share the episode with a creative or founder who is thinking beyond the next project.

#ListenToYourFootsteps #TshiamoMaremela #AfricanCreativeIndustries #CreativeEntrepreneurship #CulturalStrategy

A powerful shift in language changes everything. In this LTYF Moments, sangoma and author Nokulinda Mkhize explores how swapping the word "sacrifice" for "investment" transforms not just how we think, but how we feel about the choices we make particularly in our relationships and in raising a family.

Check out the full episode.

What does it mean to build a life in music when the world tells you to choose something more certain?

In this episode of Listen to Your Footsteps, Kojo Baffoe sits down with celebrated South African bassist, composer, bandleader, producer and educator Concord Nkabinde. From his earliest memories of church music and family harmonies in Soweto to a career shaped by jazz, curiosity, collaboration and independent thinking, Concord shares the story beneath the sound.

He reflects on the defining support of his mother, who backed his decision to study music when others saw it as a hobby; discovering the bass by transforming an old guitar; and learning to navigate both the academy and the realities of the music industry. Concord also speaks candidly about the humility required of a session musician, why technical ability must serve the song, the importance of making space in music and life, and why he continues to learn from younger musicians.

This is a rich conversation about creative conviction, the business of music, mentorship, African storytelling and refusing to let one idea of success limit what a musician can become.

Listen if you are a musician, creative entrepreneur, music student, independent artist or anyone building a life around the work they believe in.

In this episode, Concord Nkabinde discusses:

• Growing up in Dube Village and Diepkloof, Soweto, surrounded by church, choirs, radio and family music.

• The life-changing belief and financial sacrifice of his mother.

• Moving from guitar to bass and understanding the bass as the foundation of a song.

• Studying jazz at the University of Natal and learning through experience, risk and “baptism by fire”.

• Why there was never a Plan B.

• The creative ecosystem beyond performing: composition, production, teaching, workshops, film music and music solutions.

• Why humility, listening and service matter more than musical “gymnastics”.

• Independent music releases, ownership and learning the music business from the ground up.

• Working across generations and creating opportunities for young musicians.

• Ladies on Bass and the importance of making space for women bass players.

• Why silence, space and restraint can make music more powerful.

• His continued commitment to African narratives, new music and the stories that connect us.

If this conversation resonates with you, follow Listen to Your Footsteps, leave a rating or review, and share this episode with someone finding their own creative path.

#ListenToYourFootsteps #ConcordNkabinde #SouthAfricanMusic #JazzMusic #BassGuitar #IndependentMusic #CreativeJourney #AfricanStories

From hip hop's entrepreneurial spark to forging his dad's signature to chase a dream, Fortune Masina reflects on the moments that shaped him - his mother's quiet creative power, the grace of growing up, and the wisdom that "this too shall pass." A meditation on staying true to yourself while embracing the people who make you better.

Check out the full episode with Fortune Masina.

The most valuable asset in marketing is not data, budget or reach, but the willingness to actually see people.

In Episode 143 of Listen To Your Footsteps, Kojo Baffoe sits down with Kgaugelo Maphai - seasoned marketer, entrepreneur and founder of Matrix Communications Group - for a conversation that moves from a nomadic South African childhood to the boardrooms shaping how the continent talks to itself.

Kgaugelo shares how growing up between Atteridgeville, Makapanstad, Diepkloof, Cape Town and a formative year in the United States taught him that "South Africa is nine economies, not one country". We trace his path through Sacred Heart College and Rondebosch Boys, into the SABC's African language stations, East Coast Radio, e.tv, Peermont, a partnership at Brandswell and his tenure as Managing Director of The MediaShop Johannesburg, where he grew the agency to 70% Black and won Financial Mail AdFocus Network Agency of the Year twice.

You will hear how he read Steve Biko as history rather than politics, why he believes the thinkers we lost - Biko, Hani, Sobukwe - would have re-engineered a different country, and how that same instinct to re-engineer showed up when he built one of South Africa's first influencer businesses in 2009, in the middle of a global meltdown.

Kgaugelo unpacks the philosophy behind Matrix Group: an Afrocentric, integrated marketing and communications collective built during COVID that works with owner-run agencies, C-suite decision-makers and foresight strategists, and refuses the traditional above-the-line hierarchy. As he puts it, "we can start anywhere and go any direction".

We also go personal - parenting daughters into their own creative careers, life measured in quadrants after turning 50, why he is a self-described loner, and the 70/20/10 model he uses to portion his time between the business, the projects and the pure risk.

This is a masterclass in marketing psychology, cultural intelligence and long-view leadership from one of the sharpest thinkers in South African communications.

In this conversation:

• Why South Africa is nine economies, not one market

• Sacred Heart, Rondebosch Boys and being seen inside two worlds

• Steve Biko, Chris Hani and the thinkers who could have shifted the trajectory

• Building South Africa's first influencer business in 2009

• Leaving corporate during global catastrophes — twice

• Inside Matrix Group SA and the "start anywhere" model

• Cultural appreciation programmes and immersions as leadership tools

• Parenting adult children, quadrants of life and the 70/20/10 rule

Guest: Kgaugelo Maphai - Founder and CEO, Matrix Group. Former MD, The MediaShop Johannesburg. Director, Social Cohesion Foundation of South Africa.

Listen, subscribe and share wherever you get your podcasts, and leave a review if this conversation moved something in you.

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In this selection from Listen To Your Footsteps, Alistair Mokoena reflects on the influences that shaped him: growing up between entrepreneurship and academia, learning to see skills beyond formal job titles, and using tangible examples to turn ambition into action.

He speaks candidly about leaving corporate, discovering the limits of being positioned as a freelance “resource,” and recognising the need to build an end-to-end offering with a clear point of view. Alistair also shares why he chose to leave Google earlier than planned, how he thinks about “retirement” as a season of purpose and impact, and why integration—not an impossible 50/50 work-life balance—is the more useful goal.

This is a thoughtful conversation about self-awareness, planning, family, financial freedom, meaningful work and making the most of the life you have now.

In this memorable-moments episode, Alistair discusses:

• The entrepreneurial and academic influences of his parents

• Why he studied BCom Law and built a career across business, marketing, teaching and leadership

• Moving from strategy consulting to creating an end-to-end business proposition

• The importance of making your ambitions tangible through prototypes, examples and clear plans

• Why your CV should include the skills you have developed outside formal roles

• Reframing work-life balance as purposeful life integration

• Leaving Google to teach, speak, write and advise at a deeper level of impact

• Why health, relationships, time and experiences matter as much as money

Listen now for a practical and generous conversation about designing a career around your values, recognising the full range of your capabilities, and choosing a life that fits you—rather than allowing a title or company to define you.

Follow Listen To Your Footsteps on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, or wherever you listen, and share this episode with someone navigating a career transition, building a business, or rethinking what success means. And check out the full episode.