SCIX African Trade Talks

In this episode our guest is Sola Osinoiki, Senior Director People Technology at Prosus Group and Naspers. Sola talks us through some of the leading ways in which the pandemic has changed the role of people analytics within organisations, highlighting the African unicorns that have emerged during this time particularly in the fin-tech and logistics sectors. He highlights the need for the continent to address its power and infrustructure in order to be better integrated into the post-pandemic global economy and in a final analysis, he draws on the manners in which the continent can better leverage on its young population so as to facilitate economic growth.

Ibrahim walks us through the leading misconceptions that international investors have about conducting bussiness in the Horn of Africa, highlighting the importance of the difference between Somalia and Somaliland as well as poor understandings of the security situaton within the region. Commenting on the potential of the AfCFTA to stregthen trade relations within the region, Ibrahim notes the need for political biases to be placed aside towards the bolstering of regional trade.

In this episode our guest is Christiaan Roesch, Head: Africa Operations at Kinesis Money. Christiaan shares some insights into the evolution and reception of digital currencies on the African continent, highlighting the opportunities that they offer to bussinesses and consumers. He further provides an important and in depth analysis of the differences between blockchain techologies and cryptocurrencies. In a final reflection, Christiaan notes the potential value of a centralised digital assist trading system in strengtheing the intra-African trade agenda.

In this episode our guest is Palesa Moitse, Senior Trade Specialist at the South African Revenue Services. Palesa provides an extensive overview of the role of the South African Revenue Authority in trade negotiations, explaining the intricacies involved towards the implementation of a trade agreement. She tackles the complicated and less understood issues surrounding trade negotiations such as the inherent transhipment risks involved in any trade agreement, the challenges involved in agreeing on rules of origin, as well as the interplay between the AfCFTA and existing trade arrangements on the continent.

In this episode our guest is Stacey Susa-Pinto, CEO of the Namibian Trade Forum. Stacey highlights the constraints faced by women in Trade noting that gender inclusive trade policies can no longer be dealt with as ancillary matters during trade negotitions. In a final analysis she remarks that towards the success of the AfCFTA, both regional groupings and countries should prioritise the creation of institutions that are geared towards addressing the issues women face towards acquiring market access.

In this episode our guest is John Kourkoutas founder and MD of Mr Export to Africa, an international consulting firm based in Zambia. John provides us with some insights into the leading challenges European companies face towards entering African markets. He highlights the need for foreign companies obtain on the ground market data and adopt nuanced market entry strategies to each region and country they wish to infiltrate.

In this episode our guest is Benjamin Mugisha, Chief Underwriting Officer at the African Trade Insurance Agency. The ATI is a pan-African institution that provides political risk insurance to investors and companies interested in doing business in Africa. Benjamin shares with us his thoughts on a sustainable debt recovery plan for the African continent, the effects the pandemic has had on the continents investment prospects and in a final reflection, the role of the ATI in supporting trade under the AfCFTA.

In this episode our guest is Aashiq Sharif Chief Happiness Officer and Owner at Rocket INC & 78 INC. Aashiq has been in the tech industry for over two decades,during which time he built RAHA, one of Africa's leading telecommunication service providers. Aashiq share with us some of the key entrepreneurial lessons he learnt over the past 20years emphasising the need to have a mindset geared towards success.

In this episode our guest is Thandiwe Legwaila, Head of Trade for Standard Bank SA. Thandiwe offers some reflections on leading reasons for low intra- African trade highlighting under industriliazation as a leading cause despite the continents strong ability to produce and supply high value goods. In a final annalysis, Thandiwe emphasises on the key role that funding institutions can play towards connecting trading parties and value chain supportors across the African continent towards the success of the AfCFTA.

In this episode our guest is Munya Chiura, Head of Rest Of Africa Growth at Flutterwave. Flutterwave is one of a very few African fintech companies to achieve the "unicorn status". Munya shares some insights on raising capital within the finch space, the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on digital payment platforms and some of the leading challenges faced by payment merchants towards conducting business on the continent.