Seedpod

Its been quite a long time since this conversation was recorded and the world has changed significantly but I feel its even more relevant today where we are busy evaluating the world we want to see post Covid.

Gift Lubele is the co-founder of Kudoti – South Africa’s first data and analytics recycling platform that increase efficiency and reduce costs in food, general and other waste operations. Kudoti was named one of the 25 Most Innovative Companies by Fast Company SA. He is one of the 2019 top 20 under 30 entrepreneurs by Fast company and currently works as a research engineer at Internet Solutions. At 22 years of age, Gift has received some prestigious awards from the President of Mauritius and the United Nations in Bangkok, for more information visit www.giftlubele.com

I was really impressed by Gift. For a young man aged 22 with a very unique perspective, born from his humble beginnings,  and a very sharp mind he has such a clear sense of purpose that I could not help but be inspired and uplifted by this conversation. We spoke about many things chiefly sustainability and recycling but through the lens of equality and the unique South African context as well as technology, AI and what it essentially means to be human.  I had so much fun chatting to this amazing young man, enjoy the conversation.

This week I had the fortune of connecting with Stephen Fern who has a background working with many of the worlds wealthiest families and helping them to find purpose in their wealth.

He has now created his own project called Ark2030 which has among others the ambitious goal of restoring 500 Million hectares of land to their pre-industrial state by 2030. He aims to do this using a unique organisational and funding model which I will leave you to listen to the conversation to discover. This conversation left me feeling inspired and motivated knowing that there are people like Stephen working tirelessly to to bring about the change we need and giving us all a way to get involved. Thank you Stephen.

Earlier this year I had the privilege of chatting to Jon Duncan, head of Responsible Investment at Old Mutual. An engineer by training, with a Master’s degree in Environmental Science, Jon has over 20 years of professional experience in the field of sustainability research and engagement. He has worked extensively throughout Africa across a range of sectors supporting organisations with strategic social, environmental and sustainability related issues. 

Jon now leads the Responsible Investment Programme at Old Mutual. The Programme is focused on driving the systematic integration of material environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) issues across the management Old Mutual Group. Jon also heads up the Sustainability Research and Engagement function at the Group’s South African-based asset manager, Old Mutual Investment Group, where he is involved in industry ESG research, the analysis of green growth opportunities, and engagement on regulatory issues and local industry initiatives.

I found this conversation truly engaging giving me the opportunity to explore some of the systematic questions I have had on my mind - like how do we shift the financial industry towards a more sustainable outlook as a key driver for the change we need in our monetary systems and the way profits are derived. I really appreciate the depth of thought and knowledge that Jon brought to this stimulating conversation.

Seraj Toefy joins me on Seedpod again bringing with him a wealth of knowledge to talk about entrepreneurship and what is like for business owners during this difficult time of COVID-19. He has some practical advice for what we can as business owners do now to minimise the damage while we try to reach the other side and then some things to start thinking about for when we can start operating again. Seraj is a father, husband, entrepreneur, mento, speaker and awesome human, we also speak about the juggle that we are all facing being at home with kids back at school on top of the challenge to earn money and keep a home running. I got a tremendous amount of value from this as I am sure you will too.

Fred Roed runs the Heavy Chef events platform and entrepreneurship community, is a seasoned entrepreneur himself and is well respected across the board for good reason. Fred is a legend. So I thought it would be great to get his perspective on the COVID-19 crisis we find ourselves in, the business side of its impact and take a peak behind the scenes at Heavy Chef and find out what it takes to turn your business into a digital one practically overnight. Fred is also filled with wisdom and advice but you will need to listen to the episode to find out what he has to offer. Thanks Fred I really valued this conversation. 

In this conversation I tap into the deep wisdom and intentionality that Gavin brings to everything he does. To find out more about the phenomenal human that is Gavin please listen to the first episode of this podcast. We discuss some deep penetrating ideas about what this time means for us as humans and bring it back to some practical steps and advice on how to move through this time in the best was possible for each of us. The episode is packed with information so might even require more than 1 listen. Gavin helps me remember what it is to be human and how to get the most out of this life experience. Enjoy and please share this with anyone who might get benefit.

I have decided to pause my normal content stream in light of the current paradigm we are living through and attempt to bring you conversations that will be of value around the COVID-19 topic. Thomas lives in China half his time, has worked in healthcare and now in finance so I believe has a unique perspective to bring and I hope some clarity and ideas for moving forward in this unprecedented time.

This first guest from Design Indaba has done just that, he is looking at the people who live on the fringe of society on the streets and how he can help them using the skills that he has. Bas Timmer is a Dutch independent clothing designer who created the shelter suit after a father of a close friend died from hypothermia after finding himself on the streets. The shelter suit aims to protect the homeless from the elements by providing them warmth, protection from the wind, cold and rain using recycled materials from top outdoor gear manufacturers. Bas and his shelter suits are growing from strength to strength, already having made 10000 of them, he is an inspiration to all of us and to me a true social entrepreneur.

This podcast is shorter than my usual ones as I had time restraints at Indaba with each speaker needing to do many interviews. People like Bas give me a sense of hope in the future of our world, enjoy the conversation.

Ever since I had Zachariah George on the show last year we have been threatening to get him back in the studio. There are 2 sides to Zach, the startup, corporate, finance, hustle side and the free flowing, hippie, musician side. Last time we spoke business and ran out of time so I thought it was time to show you his alter ego. This week Zach is in studio sharing his philosophy of life, a few songs and why travel is a big part of who he is. It was a fun, thought provoking conversation filled with some great pearls of wisdom. Enjoy.

This week the tables are turned and I am interviewed by my friend Rayne Stroebel. Our conversation doesn't really go into what I do for a living and my work but rather asks the deeper question of who I am? Its a tough question to answer if anyone has really spent time thinking about and articulating this its not that easy. I hope it makes for interesting listening because I have always said this podcast is not about me but rather the people I interview. For those who are interested in finding out a bit more about me, enjoy the conversation and thanks for listening.