Nathaniel Houghton is the Cofounder & President of the Congo Leadership Initiative where he provides leadership and entrepreneurship training to young people living in the Congo. Through his work he's seen the entrepreneurship ecosystem grow and evolve and believes the market is ready for venture style investing and returns. This is resulting in the Congo Leaders Venture Fund, aiming to invest early stage in top entrepreneurs in the Congo. Nate previously spent time as Director at Next Gen Ventu...
Nov 05, 2019•28 min•Transcript available on Metacast Nicholus Steward is the Cofounder of the eSwatini Bridge Project (SBP). The mission of the SBP is to promote, encourage, and facilitate the education and technology goals of the Kingdom of eSwatini. We aim to do this by providing resource and technology transfers which can be adapted to suit local conditions. SBP aims to promote the addition of up-to-date technology and strengthen science and technology education at all levels and its continual upgrading in line with developments in science and ...
Oct 29, 2019•33 min•Transcript available on Metacast Viola Llewellyn is the co-founder and President of Ovamba Solutions. Ovamba is an award winning African “FinTech” company that creates culturally attuned technologies to serve African SMEs with innovative Sharia compliant finance products, eCommerce, and logistics services to promote growth. Ovamba’s technology gives global accredited and institutional investors the opportunity to invest in the fast-growing African private sector.
Oct 22, 2019•32 min•Transcript available on Metacast false
Oct 15, 2019•15 min•Transcript available on Metacast Martin Sajon is Co-founder and CEO at Neuralys. He is an entrepreneur and cybersecurity professional with 12+ years of extensive experience across Latin America, the Caribbean, and the US. At Neuralys, Martin oversees the overall management of the company, including strategic product and business development efforts. He also works cross-functionally by analyzing core operational and business functions to help organizations reduce their risk. Before Neuralys, Martin founded a security consulting ...
Oct 08, 2019•29 min•Transcript available on Metacast false
Oct 01, 2019•16 min•Transcript available on Metacast Adil Yalcin is the founder and CEO of Keshif, a software tool at the intersection of analytics, design, and engineering. He earned his Ph.D. in Computer Science at the University of Maryland as a member of the Human-Computer Interaction Lab. Through his research, he created the basis of Keshif as the next-generation data exploration platform. Adil's academic work in data visualization and analysis has been published and cited in various books, proceedings, and academic journals. At Keshif Adil l...
Sep 24, 2019•29 min•Transcript available on Metacast Akin Sawyerr is the co-founder of RocRemit, a blockchain remittance company, a director of Splash Mobile Money, a mobile payments company in Sierra Leone and the Africa Lead for Decred an open-source, Bitcoin fork that places emphasis on development funding, on-chain governance, and consensus mechanisms. Akin is a long time executive and entrepreneur operating in mobile money, remittances, and payments in sub Saharan Africa.
Sep 17, 2019•35 min•Transcript available on Metacast Sadaf (Safi) Lakhani is the Cofounder & CEO of Cognitiks a mission driven social enterprise. That works with organizations in emerging and high-risk markets to optimize social & environmental risk management and maximize social impact. Safi has 18+ years of experience working at the nexus of ESG, development and conflict for private firms and development agencies in countries around the world. Safi is a published thought leader and practitioner on social risk. She contributed to the World Develo...
Sep 10, 2019•29 min•Transcript available on Metacast KGB (Kevin Gordon Barrow) is the Founder & CEO of Mark Labs, a software company which helps organizations effectively manage the risk associated with funding social impact projects. He is a serial social entrepreneur, having worked on startups dealing with education, environmental protection, campus safety, mobile health, and rural broadband access. Prior to embracing his inner social entrepreneur, KGB earned his stripes in the fields of law (GE), banking (ABN AMBRO), and management consulting (...
Sep 03, 2019•39 min•Transcript available on Metacast Moe Odele is a cofounding parnter at Vazi Legal and the founder of the widely popular community, Scale My Hustle. Moe is an international attorney experienced in Business and human rights, Innovative financing, Impact Investing, Gender & inclusive finance, ESG Advisory (Due diligence & Intergration), Private Equity and Venture Capital, FinTech, Startup advisory, and Social entrepreneurship. She has worked with entrepreneurs, funds, family offices and foundations who are dedicated to solving some...
Aug 27, 2019•38 min•Transcript available on Metacast Andrew Mack is the Founder and CEO of Agromovil, an app-based platform that helps make the match between producers, transporters and off-takers. It allows farmers to match with the transport they need, when they need it and to find buyers that use the platform (called the MATCH). It enables transporters to build optimized routes picking up from various small farmers, making transport more efficient and profitable, and getting crops to market when needed (the BATCH). And, it enables all parties t...
Aug 20, 2019•37 min•Transcript available on Metacast Rebecca Enonchong is founder and Chief Executive Officer of AppsTech, a leading global provider of enterprise application solutions. She is also cofounder of I/O Spaces, an inclusive coworking space in the Washington DC metro area. She is Board Chair of Afrilabs, a Pan-African network of over 150 innovation centers supporting over 500,000 entrepreneurs in Africa. She chairs ActivSpaces (African Center for Technology Innovation and Ventures) supporting entrepreneurs from two tech hubs in Cameroon...
Aug 13, 2019•50 min•Transcript available on Metacast Host Andrew Berkowitz unveils our new studio at the United States Institute of Peace in Washington, DC. Each week from here on out will feature in person interviews with leaders in business and entrepreneurship in frontier and emerging markets. Each month will feature a live event panel session at USIP. Be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel, like us on Facebook, and follow us on Twitter to catch all of our livestreams and new video content.
Aug 06, 2019•3 min•Transcript available on Metacast Idriss Al Rifai is the founder of Fetchr. Ecommerce in the Middle East is still nascent – local and international brands have a challenging time navigating the market in which inefficient processes and the lack of post addresses lead to long delivery times and high return rates. Fetchr (formerly, MENA360) provides businesses a solution for entering the ecommerce space in the region and for reaching customers via their mobile devices. On this episode you'll learn: What are differences between the...
Jul 30, 2019•9 min•Transcript available on Metacast Lanre Akinlagun is the Founder & CEO Drinks.ng, a Lagos, Nigeria based e-commerce company specializing in drinks with an extensive range of beverages comprising both alcohol and soft drinks. Before starting Drinks.ng, Lanre was an early executive at Iroko, where he worked alongside Jason Njoku before discovering the problem of finding wholesale liquor in Lagos. Trying to purchase bulk liquor at an open air market on Lagos Island is what inspired Lanre to leave to start Drinks.ng. On this episode...
Jul 23, 2019•20 min•Transcript available on Metacast Eric Osiakwan is the Managing Partner of Chanzo Capital, a growth capital firm investing both capital and mentoring in high-tech startups and scaleups in Kenya, Ivory Coast, Nigeria, Ghana and South Africa (http://www.kingsofafrica.info/ (KINGS)) – these countries make up the "KINGS" of Africa's digital economy. Eric is a serial Entrepreneur and Investor with 15+ years of ICT industry leadership across Africa and the world. He has worked in 32 African countries setting up ISPs, ISPAs, IXPs and h...
Jul 16, 2019•26 min•Transcript available on Metacast Andile Masuku is a former Zimbabwean broadcaster and entrepreneur based in Johannesburg, South Africa. Andile produces a portfolio of popular audio podcasts covering tech and innovation on the African continent— including the African Tech Round-up, the African Tech Conversations series, and #AndilesTake , as well as developing and executing content strategy and tactical media plays for leading companies. He also writes a weekly syndicated tech column for Business Report and African Independent. ...
Jul 09, 2019•58 min•Transcript available on Metacast On this episode we dive into our top 5 episode that we've ever done with leaders in the African startup ecosystems. Featured guests include Eghosa Omoigui, Zekarias Amsalu, Johnni Kjelsgaard, Osarumen Osamuyi, Konstantin Tsanis.
Jul 02, 2019•18 min•Transcript available on Metacast Alex Barrera is the CEO at The Aleph Report (thealeph.com) where he writes about the strategic implications of cutting-edge technology and help companies understand how to survive the future. Prior to Aleph, Alex cofounded two major startup accelerators, tech.eu, and Press42. He is a regular mentor at several accelerators worldwide, and closely works with a couple of international conferences helping run their startup competitions and pitching training. I'm also an international speaker in multi...
Jun 25, 2019•42 min•Transcript available on Metacast Dr. Mark Lutter is Founder and Executive Director of the Center for Innovative Governance Research, a nonprofit creating the ecosystem for charter cities. Prior to launching the Center for Innovative Governance Research, he was Lead Economist for NeWAY Capital, an asset management firm which made early stage investments in charter cities. During graduate school, he consulted on several new city projects and special economic zones. He has a PhD in economics from George Mason University where his ...
Jun 18, 2019•27 min•Transcript available on Metacast Sajith Pai is a Director at Blume Ventures, one of India’s leading early-stage venture firms with $150M under management. After a two-decade long stint in Media & Entertainment, much of it in The Times of India Group, across Strategy & Corp Dev roles, Sajith moved to Blume Ventures in 2018. At Blume, Sajith focuses on supporting their investments in the Media, EdTech, Commerce space, in addition to helping build up the Research function. On this episode you'll learn: What does the total funding ...
Jun 11, 2019•29 min•Transcript available on Metacast Uwem Uwemakpan is the Programme Manager for the Tony Elumelu Foundation, one of the largest Pan-African Entrepreneurship Programs which convenes the biggest gathering of African Entrepreneurs yearly. Uwem is also the Lagos Chapter Director of Silicon Valley based Startup Grind and manages the community team and initiatives. He drives 'The Afropreneur Network', an initiative dedicated to growing the African Entrepreneur and also sits on the 2018 Advisory Board of the South By Southwest (SXSW) Acc...
Jun 04, 2019•23 min•Transcript available on Metacast Andrew Rowan is the Author of Startup Vietnam, an American entrepreneur, and an Entrepreneur in Residence with the Swiss Entrepreneurship Program, currently living in Peru. Andrew has previously lived in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City for one year where he worked as a tech consultant and plunged into Vietnam’s startup scene. As Director of GKTA Group, he established a partnership with the €11 million ($13.1 million) Finland-Vietnam Innovation Partnership Program (IPP), which accelerates growth for s...
May 28, 2019•29 min•Transcript available on Metacast Xiaochen Zhang is the Cofounder and President of Fintech4good and brings more than 16 years of thought leadership and global experience to build impactful solutions and enable innovative ideas in North America, Africa, Latin America, Europe and Asia. FinTech4Good introduces cutting edge fintech and blockchain solutions to emerging markets through incubation, acceleration and investment. In working with partners, FinTech4Good launched Insurance Blockchain Lab, Inclusive Finance Blockchain Lab, an...
May 21, 2019•29 min•Transcript available on Metacast Kari Gordon is the Executive Director of Startup Calgary. She is a champion of the startup community, bringing together diverse people, skills, and experiences to foster innovation. She has been instrumental in leading Alberta to transform economic downturn into entrepreneurial opportunities. Under Kari’s leadership, Startup Calgary became a founding member of the Calgary Innovation Coalition, a collective of 17 organizations representing the innovation community to the Alberta government. Hanna...
May 14, 2019•32 min•Transcript available on Metacast Troy Vosseller is the Co-Founder of gener8tor, A Concierge Startup Accelerator and has run accelerators in partnership with Allianz, American Family Insurance, and more. His first company was a dorm room t-shirt brand, Sconnie Nation (www.sconnie.com). That has since spawned multiple companies including Sconnie Beer (www.sconniebeer.com) and SCONNIEBAR (www.sconniebar.com). On this episode you'll learn: -How does gener8tor's accelerator for musicians measure success? -At what stage does Troy thi...
May 07, 2019•25 min•Transcript available on Metacast Osarumen Osamuyi is the author of the Subtext, an Entrepreneur in Residence at Africa's Talking labs in Nairobi, and a great thinker in Africa's Tech Community. He was previously based in Lagos and served as head of investment and ecosystem research at Ventures Platform a leading source of capital, capacity building, support and advocacy for entrepreneurs across Africa. He started his foray into tech with TechCabal. On this episode you'll learn: -Is there enough quality deal flow for the incomin...
Apr 30, 2019•26 min•Transcript available on Metacast Kelly Lapierre is the cofounder and partner at Venture Catalysts, a non-profit with the mission of building an inclusive entrepreneurial ecosystem in Detroit through strategic large scale entrepreneurship events and targeted growth programs. We provide leadership, training, and mentorship for founders and ecosystem leaders. Kelly has been an active ecosystem builder in Detroit since moving back in 2013. On this episode you'll learn: You moved back to Detroit in 2013 right as the city was declari...
Apr 23, 2019•31 min•Transcript available on Metacast Yariv Lotan is the Head of Strategic Sector Development for Startup Nation Central. Start-Up Nation Central is an independent non-profit that builds bridges for Israeli innovation. They connect business, government, and NGO leaders from around the world with Israeli innovation, offering Israeli innovators access to high-potential and previously inaccessible markets, through highly customized business engagements, and through Start-Up Nation Finder – an easy to use, up-to-date, free online platfo...
Apr 16, 2019•26 min•Transcript available on Metacast 
