Welcome to episode 12 of the Shaping Africa podcast. For those of you that have been listening to the podcast this season, you know we are focusing on telling the stories of Africans who have made the “Great Return” from the diaspora. As we’ve been creating content, I’ve been thinking hard about providing a return blueprint of sorts and so I thought I’d do a few of these advice type episodes to help anyone who might be considering a transition back to the continent.

I’ve dubbed these episodes “The Return Blueprint” and today I’ll be sharing three things:

To give me feedback on the Return Blueprint episode and the podcast in general, please send me an email at [email protected]. I've also published some polls which you can feel free to participate in. 

On this episode, I am joined by Coach Roseanne Kamau, the founder of Treasure Fitness, and a Certified Nutrition Coach with a background in Psychology. Coach Roseanne helps busy women (and some men) lose fat so that they can become healthy for themselves and their families.

In our conversatoin, we talk about:

- Her return journey to Kenya from the US

- The challenges along the way of setting up Treasure Fitness in Kenya

- The impetus behind building Treasure Fitness as a digital first health coaching business

- The three main pillars she teaches her students about their health and nutrition (this was pure gold!)

To stay in touch with Roseanne, follow her on instagram (@coachroseanne) and join one of her courses here: https://treasurefitness.com/ - you will love her approach to adopting and maintaining a sustainable healthy lifestyle!

Mugambi is an actor, writer, director and storyteller. His acting career began in Nairobi's theatre scene in the early 2000's, appearing in local and foreign plays and musicals. 

His career would later grow during a brief stint in America in the late 2000's, where he worked in Philadelphia's theatre and indie film scene. 

On returning to Kenya, he landed principal roles in celebrated Kenyan films 'Nairobi Half Life' (2012) and 'Stories Of Our Lives (2014). 

He then went on to co-write the award-winning feature films 'Kati Kati' (2016) as well as 'Supa Modo' (2018). His feature directorial debut 'Lusala' (2019) premiered at the NBO Film Festival in 2019, and at the International Film Festival Rotterdam in 2020. He also works in the Kenyan theatre scene, his proudest work being 'Too Early For Birds: Mboya', a biographical storytelling project on Kenya's most renowned trade unionist and statesman, and he is part of an improv comedy collective called 'Because You Said So'. 

If you enjoy my conversation with Mugambi, please keep in touch with him on Instagram (@itsmugambi) and follow his journey as he continues his amazing work as one of Africa's foremost storytellers. 

Show notes:

A walk down memory land - Makmende Amerudi / Ha-He by Just a Band: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_mG1vIeETHc

On this episode, I am joined by Mugure Njendu, a Registered Architect ,Urban Planner and Founder. We talk about how her time in the US shaped her as a person, her return journey and the impact she has had since being back on the continent. Mugure is a great example of how to use your skills to make the change you want to see in the world. If you enjoy my conversation with Mugure, you can keep in touch with her by following her here on Instagram (@mugurenjenduofficial), Twitter (@MugureNjendu) and on LinkedIn. Links to the resources mentioned on the show are included below:

https://www.littleeinsteinsea.com/ - STEM program

https://www.gaplkenya.com/ - Mugure's Architecture Practice

This week, I am joined by Ham Namakajjo who is the Director of the Uganda Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Initiative (UEEI). In this episode, Ham and I talk about how he made the transition back to Uganda from the US, his entrepreneurial pursuits after his stint in management consulting and the importance of embracing ambiguity in entrepreneurship and in "The Great Return" journey. If you would like to keep in touch with Ham, please follow him on LinkedIn and on Instagram @axumoid. 

Below are the other resources mentioned in the show:

https://live.fezah.com/

https://www.andeglobal.org/ueei/

Njeri Wagacha is a dual qualified, bilingual Corporate Partner at CDH Kenya. She runs the podcast @Njeritalks Law and is a foodie, choosing to share her recipes on her Instagram handle @foodieinnairobi. 

It was such an honor to speak to my friend Njeri Wagacha - our conversation ranged from lessons learned in her childhood all the way to how persistence and resilience have led to success her legal career so far. If you enjoyed my conversation with Njeri, please listen to her podcast Njeri Talks Law where she discusses various matters on Law, Entrepreneurship and more.

On this episode, I speak to Teddy Onserio on his perspective around career planning, investing and entreprenuership. Teddy is currently an Africa Investment Advisor to the United States International Development Finance Corporation (DFC). Teddy is also the founder of Haba Capital an investment company that is harnessing the collective power of small investments to propel businesses in Africa.

Below are links to the resources mentioned:

https://www.kensap.org/

https://www.dfc.gov/

https://www.habacapital.com/

On this episode, I am joined by Diana Mongare. Diana is a Senior Investment Associate at LGT Venture Philanthropy, the philanthropic fund of the princely family of Lichtenstein: https://www.lgtvp.com.

Diana's primary focus at LGT is in conservation, where she invests in organizations in Africa providing nature-based solutions to combat climate change. Diana also co-leads Haba Capital, an angel-investor group of young African professionals, and dedicates her time to supporting local entrepreneurs through startup funding and business consulting services.

Haba Capital: https://www.habacapital.com/

JP Kayobotsi is the Co-founder and CEO of Brioche, a chain of bakery and coffee shops started as a small self-funded endeavor in 2013. Prior to founding Brioche, JP worked as an adviser to the Rwandan President. He also worked as an investment officer at the African Development Bank and as a management consultant at Deloitte. To keep in touch with JP and Brioche, you can follow @briochekenya and @briocherwanda on Instagram. 

Wangari Muchiri is a Renewable Energy Engineer and Sustainability expert. She currently works as the Innovation Lead at Hivos Foundation and Coordinator of the Africa Wind Power Association. Over the last 8 years, Wangari has gained international experience consulting in renewable energy, green buildings, climate change and sustainability throughout East Africa and Oceania.

Wangari also sits on the board of the Kenya Green Building Society.

Wangari holds a Bachelor of Engineering (Renewable Energy) from the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia and a Masters of Engineering (Energy Planning and Policy) from the University of Technology, Sydney.

In 2021, Wangari was named among Africa’s Power and Energy Elite. Wangari has also been selected as an Obama Foundation Leader for Africa.

Wangari is passionate about ensuring a more sustainable world and hopes to play a vital role in seeing the SDG’s achieved by 2030.

If you would like to keep in touch with Wangari, please follow her on Instagram @wangaritango