MEJ: My Entrepreneurship Journey

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 Growing up in a small town in Botswana during the 1980s, Arjun Parameswaran saw poverty not as a distant issue, but as a daily reality for the people around him. That experience left a lasting mark and cultivated a lifelong commitment to financial inclusion. With more than 95% of Africans lacking access to basic financial services, he set out to build a company that could challenge the status quo. His venture, Alpha Direct, reimagines what insurance can look like in Africa, simple, accessible, affordable and powered by the latest in cloud computing, AI, and big data. Alpha Direct’s mission is to serve the massive and underserved market of uninsured Africans, leveraging technology to deliver tailored insurance solutions that meet people where they are. 

• Follow us on Twitter @mejpodcast
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/mej-my-entrepreneurship-journey/
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• Instagram: @mejpodcast
• Email: [email protected]
• Website: https://mejpodcast.buzzsprout.com

MEJ Podcast was ranked by FeedSpot as one of the Top 25 South Africa Entrepreneur Podcasts on the web.
https://podcast.feedspot.com/south_africa_entrepreneur_podcasts/

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Adrian Hope-Bailie is a South African fintech specialist and Co-Founder of Fynbos Money.  Fynbos Money has created a new investment platform for individuals that makes investing simple and accessible.  They are disrupting the status quo, charging a fixed subscription fee rather than complex fees based on the size of an individual's investments.

Their mission is to empower South Africans to feel confident in how they manage their money.

• Follow us on Twitter @mejpodcast
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/mej-my-entrepreneurship-journey/
• Facebook: My Entrepreneurship Journey
• Instagram: @mejpodcast
• Email: [email protected]
• Website: https://mejpodcast.buzzsprout.com

MEJ Podcast was ranked by FeedSpot as one of the Top 25 South Africa Entrepreneur Podcasts on the web.
https://podcast.feedspot.com/south_africa_entrepreneur_podcasts/

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Thabo Maibi is a PhD Candidate in Data Science at Stellenbosch University and the Founder of the Career Agent App, a platform that helps people find jobs taylored to their skills and career goals.

He is also the co-founder of Splash AI, a beauty tech platform that connects users with beauty professionals and sellers.  Thabo's research and professional work focus on machine learning, deep learning and data-driven innovation.  He has built impactful projects such as smart greenhouses for farmers, emergency response systems, and AI powered fraud detection tools.

Thabo is passionate about using technology to solve real-world problems, he continues to explore how AI can empower individuals and communities across Africa and beyond.

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• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/mej-my-entrepreneurship-journey/
• Facebook: My Entrepreneurship Journey
• Instagram: @mejpodcast
• Email: [email protected]
• Website: https://mejpodcast.buzzsprout.com

MEJ Podcast was ranked by FeedSpot as one of the Top 25 South Africa Entrepreneur Podcasts on the web.
https://podcast.feedspot.com/south_africa_entrepreneur_podcasts/

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Eyitemi Popo is a Forbes-listed social entrepreneur and the Founder of Girls Trip Tours by Iranti, an alternative tourism economy led by women that will change the way people travel Africa.

A bi-continental expat living between Canada and Kenya, Temi draws on her global experiences, having lived in seven countries and visited 30.  She is passionate about empowering women to thrive financially and personally while embracing rest, balance and joy.

Eyitemi is a seasoned entrepreneur with over a decade of experience as a solo founder.  She previously co-founded Africa's first data science academy for women and led developer-focused strategies at Mozilla, where she developed AI tranparency best practices.  Her work has been featured in National Geographic, AfroTech, and Talks at Google.

Currently based in Nairobi, Eyitemi advocates for designing a soft life rooted in wellness and financial independence.  She also teaches first-time founders to scale efficiently through her Co-Founder for Hire program.

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• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/mej-my-entrepreneurship-journey/
• Facebook: My Entrepreneurship Journey
• Instagram: @mejpodcast
• Email: [email protected]
• Website: https://mejpodcast.buzzsprout.com

MEJ Podcast was ranked by FeedSpot as one of the Top 25 South Africa Entrepreneur Podcasts on the web.
https://podcast.feedspot.com/south_africa_entrepreneur_podcasts/

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Jonas Koblin is an award-winning education innovator and founder of the popular Sprouts YouTube channel. 

Alternative education can empower parents to raise children who challenge rules and norms, potentially leading to greater success in business and creative endeavors. This principle is embodied by Jonas Koblin, the Munich-born serial entrepreneur behind The Unschooler's Educational Dictionary and the widely acclaimed educational YouTube channel, Sprouts, which reaches millions globally and is integrated into university curricula across ten languages. Recognized at the 2024 TREFF Education Film Festival for its open-access impact, Sprouts exemplifies Koblin’s dedication to accessible, innovative education.

 In addition to Sprouts, Koblin co-founded the Mali app, a virtual companion supporting over 100,000 new parents, established an international kindergarten, and started several other companies—even Madonna was a client once and invited him to her show.

His book, The Unschooler's Educational Dictionary, offers a revolutionary approach to education, blending a lighthearted yet insightful examination of key concepts, the unintended repercussions of conventional schooling, and alternative models such as Montessori, Microschools, IB schools, Unschooling, and Waldorf. With a concise history of alternative education and a practical checklist for choosing the right path, this invaluable guide—endorsed by Barbara Oakley, PhD, author of A Mind for Numbers, equips parents to navigate the complex educational landscape and make informed decisions for their child’s future.

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• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/mej-my-entrepreneurship-journey/
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• Email: [email protected]
• Website: https://mejpodcast.buzzsprout.com

MEJ Podcast was ranked by FeedSpot as one of the Top 25 South Africa Entrepreneur Podcasts on the web.
https://podcast.feedspot.com/south_africa_entrepreneur_podcasts/

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J.D Barker (Jonathan Dylan Barker) is a New York Times and international bestselling American author whose work has been broadly described as suspense thrillers, often incorporating elements of horror, crime, mystery, science fiction, and the supernatural.
J.D continued with his corporate profession and being ghost writer untill in 2012 when he wrote a novel of his own, titled Forsaken.
Stephen King read portions of Forsaken prior to publication and granted Barker permission to utelize the character of Leland Gaunt of King's Needful Things in the novel.  The book went on to hit several major milestones.  Forsaken was also nominated for a Bram Stoker Award (best debut novel) and won a handful of others including a New Apple Medalist Award.  After reading Forsaken, Bram Stoker's family reached out to Barker and asked him to co-author a prequel to Dracula utelizing Bram's original notes and journals, much of which has never been made public.  The novel, titled Dracul sold at auction to G.P Putnam & sons, with film rights going to Paramount.  Andy Muschietti (IT, Mama) is attached to direct.
J.D  has since gone to write numerous titles which have appeared on bestseller lists around the world.  He is also a frequent collaborator with James Patterson.

• Follow us on Twitter @mejpodcast
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/mej-my-entrepreneurship-journey/
• Facebook: My Entrepreneurship Journey
• Instagram: @mejpodcast
• Email: [email protected]
• Website: https://mejpodcast.buzzsprout.com

MEJ Podcast was ranked by FeedSpot as one of the Top 25 South Africa Entrepreneur Podcasts on the web.
https://podcast.feedspot.com/south_africa_entrepreneur_podcasts/

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Standard bank has launched an enhanced version of its simplyblu platform, providing small and medium sized enterprises with a seamless all in one solution for payments and business management.
We are joined by Norman Nyawo, the head of Merchant Solutions for Business and Commercial Banking at Standard Bank South Africa.

• Follow us on Twitter @mejpodcast
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/mej-my-entrepreneurship-journey/
• Facebook: My Entrepreneurship Journey
• Instagram: @mejpodcast
• Email: [email protected]
• Website: https://mejpodcast.buzzsprout.com

MEJ Podcast was ranked by FeedSpot as one of the Top 25 South Africa Entrepreneur Podcasts on the web.
https://podcast.feedspot.com/south_africa_entrepreneur_podcasts/

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Sidwell Ralitsoele is an Actor born in  Lesotho, and grew up in Queens in Forest Hills, New York.
Sidwell is known for The Crown, The Woman King, Deep State, Fried Barry and many more high stakes TV projects.  He has recently finished shooting the movie sequel Street Trash. https://www.imdb.com/name/nm9475789/

In the book, The gifts of imperfection, Brené Brown said "authenticity is the daily parctice of letting go of who we think we're supposed to be and embracing who we are"
Sidwell emobodies this philosophy.

• Follow us on Twitter @mejpodcast
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/mej-my-entrepreneurship-journey/
• Facebook: My Entrepreneurship Journey
• Instagram: @mejpodcast
• Email: [email protected]
• Website: https://mejpodcast.buzzsprout.com

MEJ Podcast was ranked by FeedSpot as one of the Top 25 South Africa Entrepreneur Podcasts on the web.
https://podcast.feedspot.com/south_africa_entrepreneur_podcasts/

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Alan Knott-Craig is a successful entrepreneur, author and founder of Fibertime.com, a company that works to bridge the digital divide in Africa by bringing prepaid fiber internet to townships.

Originally from Pretoria, he studied at Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University (formerly UPE) and qualified as a Chartered Accountant with Deloitte in 2002.  Since starting his first business in 2003, he's founded or funded 21 businesses in the tech industry, including Cellfind,iburst,Mxit and HeroTel.

In 2013, he founded Project Isizwe, a non-profit organization that brings internet to township schools.  He has published ten books since 2008, including a national bestseller, Don't panic, a global history of telecommunications, and a memoir called Life Lessons: How to Fail and Win.

He was named as a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum in 2009.  He was also included in "100 Choiseul Africa", a list of top 100 young African business leaders in 2014,2015 and 2016, and nominated as the 2015 ICT Personality of the Year by ITWeb.
He has been nominated by Entrepreneur Magazine as one of the top eleven entrepreneurs changing the African landscape. 

• Follow us on Twitter @mejpodcast
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/mej-my-entrepreneurship-journey/
• Facebook: My Entrepreneurship Journey
• Instagram: @mejpodcast
• Email: [email protected]
• Website: https://mejpodcast.buzzsprout.com

MEJ Podcast was ranked by FeedSpot as one of the Top 25 South Africa Entrepreneur Podcasts on the web.
https://podcast.feedspot.com/south_africa_entrepreneur_podcasts/

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Sheldon Tatchell is the founder and CEO of Legends Barber Corporation.  He has been pursuing his passion for barbering and entrepreneurship since 2011.  His business operates over 70 barbershops across South Africa, Botswana, Zambia and Lesotho.
Sheldon's mission is to empower the next generation of barbers by providing them with quality training, mentorship and opportunities.  He has since established 16 active training centers across the region.
Sheldon holds a certificate in Entrepreneurship from the Branson Centre of Entrepreneurship.  Sheldon follows his dreams and inspires others to do the same.

• Follow us on Twitter @mejpodcast
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/mej-my-entrepreneurship-journey/
• Facebook: My Entrepreneurship Journey
• Instagram: @mejpodcast
• Email: [email protected]
• Website: https://mejpodcast.buzzsprout.com

MEJ Podcast was ranked by FeedSpot as one of the Top 25 South Africa Entrepreneur Podcasts on the web.
https://podcast.feedspot.com/south_africa_entrepreneur_podcasts/