Ten years ago this month, in March 2013, Venezuela’s charismatic socialist leader Hugo Chavez died and current president Nicolas Maduro took over. In the decade since, the South American nation suffered an extraordinary economic collapse – the economy shrunk by two thirds, inflation hit six digits, the government chopped 11 zeros off the bank notes, oil production slumped and millions of people fled abroad to escape economic hardship. We talk to Venezuelans who lived through that collapse, from ...
Mar 23, 2023•18 min•Transcript available on Metacast AI chatbots are everywhere at the moment - but how are they being used by business? Business Daily presenter Rick Kelsey heads to one of the world's financial hubs, Canary Wharf in London, to find out how this technology is changing jobs. Sarah Kunst, the managing director of Cleo Capital, which invests in tech companies in San Francisco, tells us how some start-ups are using AI bots to deep search the internet, but also about her concerns with misinformation. Chante Venter is from Wise Move, a ...
Mar 22, 2023•18 min•Transcript available on Metacast Arguably the fastest growing music genre in the world, Afrobeats artists are playing to sold out crowds in the most coveted venues across the globe. What started as an umbrella term in London, UK, to encapsulate pop music of African extraction has become a major force in pop culture. But is Afrobeats able to emerge as a major economic force within the continent and can it leverage on its global appeal to boost other sectors including fashion and the arts? We hear from the pioneers like Abass Tij...
Mar 21, 2023•18 min•Transcript available on Metacast Antibiotics stopped providing big gains for pharmaceutical companies decades ago, but as bacteria become more resistant to drugs, the world needs new classes of antibiotics to be discovered if we want to prevent the next global health crisis. Dr Tina Joshi, Associate Professor of Molecular Microbiology at the University of Plymouth explains that it’s more likely antimicrobial resistance will kill large numbers of human beings before climate change does. Kasim Kutay, CEO of the investment fund No...
Mar 20, 2023•18 min•Transcript available on Metacast The hospitality entrepreneur Sarah Willingham has worked extensively across the UK restaurant and bar industry. She also featured as a Dragon on the BBC TV show, Dragon's Den (the UK equivalent of Shark Tank). Sarah took a bet at the height of the coronavirus pandemic that cocktail bars would thrive again - and is now CEO of UK-based hospitality group Nightcap, a rapidly expanding drinks-led investment firm which she started with her husband in 2020. The company has acquired around 20 cocktail a...
Mar 17, 2023•19 min•Transcript available on Metacast If you don’t like the way online speech is regulated, can you build your own internet where you make the rules? This is the story of Rumble, the new king of alt-tech. Rumble started as a small video streaming platform, hoping to rival YouTube. Recently, it has become the site of choice for Americans frustrated with YouTube moderation, and moved its headquarters to Florida - hailed by some as the new Silicon Valley. Rumble had been eligible for an economic development incentive grant as part of t...
Mar 15, 2023•19 min•Transcript available on Metacast Abdullah lives in northern Syria. He is 14, he lost his mother and brothers to the Syrian civil war. For years now Abdullah has been working to feed the rest of his family, and he's just survived one of the world’s most devastating earthquakes. In this episode of Business Daily Ed Butler hears Abdullah's story. Abdullah works at the Harakat Tarhin oil refinery outside Al Bab in north-west Syria. It's a makeshift oil refinery and they make fuel to feed the cars, trucks and heaters on which the re...
Mar 14, 2023•19 min•Transcript available on Metacast Last month’s devastating earthquake didn’t just claim thousands of Turkish lives, it ravaged northern Syria as well. International help for that region has struggled to get through. In this episode of Business Daily Ed Butler looks at how the region is battling to pick up the pieces, and whether local business-people are helping or simply profiting from the crisis. Amnat Soueif, a mother of two, tells Ed how she's providing for her children. Elizabeth Tsurkov, a senior fellow at the New Lines In...
Mar 13, 2023•19 min•Transcript available on Metacast Without being able to see clearly, people in low and middle income countries can find it difficult to secure a job or support their family. Globally around one billion people need to wear glasses but do not have access to them. We look at what’s being done to help. Producer / presenter: Sam Fenwick (Image: Ankit Sharma; Credit: Ankit Sharma)
Mar 11, 2023•18 min•Transcript available on Metacast We follow in the footsteps of a Viking Saint who's legacy is bringing visitors and their cash to remote areas from Sweden and Norway. More and more people are choosing to go on modern day pilgrimages, we walk part of the world's most northern pilgrimage trail to find out how businesses on the route are benefitting. Producer / presenter: Robert Walker (Image: People walking on grassland. Credit: Getty Images)
Mar 10, 2023•18 min•Transcript available on Metacast Ahead of the Oscars, Business Daily goes behind the scenes of a celebrity gifting suite. Before the ceremony and the parties, celebrities are often invited to hotel suites, usually close to where the awards ceremony will happen. The rooms are filled with skincare products, makeup, jewellery, clothes, shoes, bags, you name it. Celebrities can take the gifts away for free - all companies want in return is a superstar endorsement. In this episode entertainment reporter KJ Matthews finds out how thi...
Mar 10, 2023•17 min•Transcript available on Metacast The digital health market is growing rapidly - in 2021 the sector was valued at 195 billion US dollars. Companies offer apps and devices to monitor our vital statistics, our activity, our nutrition, our hormones. And those apps collect a lot of data about us. Presenter Marie Keyworth visits Web Summit, a large tech conference in Lisbon, to find out what is happening to this information. And asks how consumers can get the most out of health apps whilst feeling comfortable about data privacy... Pl...
Mar 09, 2023•18 min•Transcript available on Metacast Oscar Bilayin Kudor runs a business in Ghana producing cassava flour. He wants to grow his business but traditional banks are reluctant to lend him the money to buy expensive machinery. 1.4 billion people around the world people can't get access to formal banking. Two thirds of them live in low and middle income countries. One of Ghana’s largest banks, Absa Bank thinks it has a solution. It’s giving small businesses grants to help them access formal banking facilities. Having a bank account make...
Mar 09, 2023•18 min•Transcript available on Metacast How much better off are the better looking? A growing body of research seems to confirm that life is simply easier and more lucrative for attractive people. Labour economist Daniel Hamermesh has been studying this for years and says beautiful people do get paid more, have less difficulty securing bank loans and are typically offered more jobs, opportunities and perks. South African fashion model Marike tells us very candidly how her looks means she often gets things for free - meals, experiences...
Mar 08, 2023•19 min•Transcript available on Metacast BBC journalist Rayhan Demytrie is from Uzbekistan and was recently invited back to her country to explore how after almost 30 years the government is opening up the country and it's economy. In part two of this two part Business Daily special Rayhan hears how young entrepreneurs are pushing to grow their businesses and increase exports. Rayhan also finds out how digital only banking companies are transforming access to financial services for many Uzbek people. In the capital city of Uzbekistan, ...
Mar 07, 2023•18 min•Transcript available on Metacast BBC journalist Rayhan Demytrie is from Uzbekistan and was recently invited back to her country to explore how after almost 30 years the government is opening up the country and it's economy. In part one of this two part Business Daily special Rayhan hears how tourists are encouraging business growth in the famous Silk Road city of Samarkand. In an interview with the Uzbek deputy finance minister, Odilbek Isakov, Rayhan asks about selling and privatising state owed assets like a Coca-Cola bottlin...
Mar 06, 2023•19 min•Transcript available on Metacast A few months ago we covered the story about the renovation of Penn Street railway station in New York. So many World Service listeners got in touch with us about their experiences of using the railway network in America we decided to make a programme based on their views. Omar Deen, who lives in Toledo, Ohio tells us he feels disadvantaged by the dominance of car travel in the United States and says he would like to have an alternative to driving or flying to get around. Another listener, Bill P...
Mar 03, 2023•18 min•Transcript available on Metacast Ayo is a victim of trafficking and modern slavery and tells us his story of being taken from Nigeria to the UK and forced to work. We also hear from Emily Kenway, a former policy adviser to the UK’s first anti-slavery commissioner and author of The Truth About Modern Slavery, who explains what modern slavery actually is. Sara Thornton, who was the UK’s independent anti-slavery commissioner until April 2022, explains some of the reasons behind an increase in the number of people being recognised ...
Mar 02, 2023•19 min•Transcript available on Metacast The global bicycle market is set to grow by 5% every year over the next decade. Demand has been rising, particularly since the start of the coronavirus pandemic as people look for an alternative to crowded public transport. Concern for climate change and rising fuel prices have also helped to push people onto bikes. Portugal is the biggest bicycle manufacturer in Europe. According to Eurostat, it produced 2.9 million bicycles in 2021, with exports generating around 594 million euros - almost 610...
Mar 01, 2023•19 min•Transcript available on Metacast There has been a surge in the number of workplaces in the United States voting to join a labour union. Amid this wave of unionisation, companies are pushing back hard. We find out what is happening in the US and how businesses and politicians are reacting. We hear from a worker at outdoor clothing co-operative REI where staff have voted to unionise, plus Michelle Miller, who runs Co-worker, an organisation that supports employees who want union representation. Michael Strain, an economist at the...
Feb 28, 2023•19 min•Transcript available on Metacast How do you launch a successful start-up in a country where there’s been more than a decade of civil war? In this episode of Business Daily Maddy Savage hears how an entrepreneur from Syria was inspired by Scandinavia’s tech scene. Khaled Moustafa founded Syria’s first ride-sharing app, Yalla Go, in 2019. The platform now has hundreds of thousands of users who can book taxis on their smartphones to get around Syria's biggest cities. Khaled shares his story with Maddy and talks about some of the c...
Feb 27, 2023•19 min•Transcript available on Metacast The market for real handmade products is reported to have surged in recent years. Initiatives such as Australia's Seasons of New England Expo and Makers Markets in the UK have led to a revival in small artisanal businesses. Online platforms also give skilful craftspeople a vast market to sell to. Business Daily's David Reid hears from sellers in Manchester making things as diverse as balloon animals and mushroom growing kits. We also hear about the benefits of working with your hands. The philos...
Feb 24, 2023•19 min•Transcript available on Metacast In this epsiode of Business Daily Ashish Sharma looks at how the art world has tried to preserve Ukraine´s cultural and artistic heritage from the ongoing war. Hear the story of how valuable Ukrainian paintings were put on trucks and sneaked out of Ukraine as Russia began heavily bombing the country. Thanks to the idea of one art collector they are now on display in a museum in Madrid. Ashish also managed to link up with Kyiv to speak to the Director of the National Art Museum of Ukraine, Yulia ...
Feb 23, 2023•18 min•Transcript available on Metacast It is estimated almost eight million people have left Ukraine in the past 12 months. They have all had to start again - finding housing, schools and a way to earn a living. In this episode we hear from Ukrainians who are staying resilient through huge changes to their lives. They tell us about making sure they can provide for their families, run businesses and help their employees. Konstantin Klyagin is an IT and software entrepreneur from Kyiv. When the war started he was on a flight and unable...
Feb 22, 2023•19 min•Transcript available on Metacast It is estimated almost eight million people have left Ukraine in the past 12 months. They have all had to start again, finding housing, schools and a way to earn a living. Some have managed to carry on running their businesses and others have set up new companies in the countries they now call home. Business Daily has been hearing some of their stories of remarkable resilience. Volodymyr and Regina Razumovskaya, now living in Perth, Western Australia, tell us about first leaving Donetsk in 2014 ...
Feb 21, 2023•19 min•Transcript available on Metacast Nearly a year since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Ed Butler examines the real state of the Russian economy. Ami Daniel, chief executive of Windward, a maritime data company, tells Ed about the Russian oil tankers transferring millions of tonnes of crude oil between ships to bypass sanctions. As the war continues, millions of euros worth of Russian assets remain frozen as a result of sanctions. Urmas Reinsalu, the Estonian foreign minister, tells us about an initiative Estonia is leading to ac...
Feb 20, 2023•18 min•Transcript available on Metacast As the rescue and recovery effort from the devastating earthquake continues, young people who survived are making tough decisions about the future. With Turkey already struggling economically even before the disaster, do they leave and start again in a new region, or a new country? Or stay and help rebuild? Victoria Craig travels to Ankara where she meets Berkay, a second year design student from Gaziantep, one of the most badly affected cities. He drove for 12 hours with his family to reach the...
Feb 16, 2023•19 min•Transcript available on Metacast Nigerians head to the polls very soon, in what's expected to be a very closely-contested election. In this episode of Business Daily Rob Young explores how the economy could impact the vote. Africa’s largest economy, is struggling with soaring prices, fuel shortages and insecurity. We hear from Maty Ukhuegbe Osaro who runs a restaurant in Lagos called The Fish Lady, she tells us how the pandemic and rising prices have affected her business and about her hopes for the outcome of this election. Ec...
Feb 15, 2023•19 min•Transcript available on Metacast Boden is a remote town in northern Sweden surrounded by pine forests, it's at the forefront of an initiative to try and clean up one of the world’s dirtiest industries - steel production. Business Daily presenter Maddy Savage visits the site of a new plant in Boden which aims to cut carbon emissions from the steel making process by 95 percent and bring more jobs and people to a shrinking community. Andy Turner is the head of construction for H2Green Steel, the start-up behind the plant in Boden,...
Feb 15, 2023•18 min•Transcript available on Metacast Frey Lindsay investigates what some African students are required to do to get a place to study in the UK – and what that costs. We examine the cost and relevancy of English language tests and explore the visa pathways that exclude some Africans. Young African academics tell us about their frustrations and the enormous expense involved. Nigerian policy specialist Ebenezar Wikina tells us about his campaign trying increase inclusion for those Africans who speak English and education scholar Samia...
Feb 14, 2023•19 min•Transcript available on Metacast 
