Afro-Catalyst

Decolonization is a political phenomenon, but it's also an intellectual challenge that requires re-imagining how to approach development challenges today. One such challenge is food security: at least one in five Africans goes to bed hungry and an estimated 140 million people in Africa face acute food insecurity. To correct some of the missteps that led us to today's food security crisis, some experts argue it's time to re-examine indigenous knowledge of agricultural systems. In this episode of Afro-Catalyst, we speak to William Moseley, a member of the advisory panel to the United Nations Committee on World Food Security, about how we can center the wisdom of African farmers to promote agroecological approaches in contemporary agricultural policy.

Artists push us to question and engage with the world around us, but their art and their creative process are frequently met with skepticism. African artists know this dynamic all too well. “This no be art” (Ghanaian pidgin for “this is not art”) is a phrase all too often heard at exhibitions and galleries. But a growing number of artists and curators have set out to change that. From ArtxLagos to 1:54 Contemporary Art Fair, new platforms presenting the best and brightest of today's African artists are rapidly emerging. A young generation, a large diaspora, and rising recognition of the cultural and economic value of African art are fueling a growing collector base. And Essé Dabla-Attikpo is helping consumers and creatives capitalise on this moment. In this episode of Afro-Catalyst, we speak to Essé Dabla-Attikpo, a Togolese-Beninese art consultant, cultural producer, and curator about her efforts to make art accessible to all through her platform This No Be Art.

Ògógóró, also known as kai kai, akpuru-achia or Sapele water, is an indigenous spirit made from distilled palm wine once banned during British colonial times. But after decades of suppression, the once-taboo drink is back in fashion, consumed by tastemakers and business leaders across Africa and the diaspora. But how did a drink once seen as provincial become the darling of the continent's trendsetters? Micro-distilled in small batches and handcrafted in Nigeria, Pedro's began in the tropics of Delta State and was meticulously refined and perfected in Lagos by a renowned master distiller. Pedro's fuses natural distillation techniques with a new African narrative to reinvent the original spirit of the continent. In this episode of Afro-Catalyst, we speak to entrepreneur Chibu Akukwe, co-founder of Pedro's, about how he and co-founder Lola Pedro are building a proudly Nigerian brand using indigenous ingredients. Since launching in 2017, the brand is now stocked from London to Lagos, Nairobi and soon New York.

Once a neglected area of health, the prevalence of mental health conditions is on the rise. In Africa, the issue is particularly acute: 85% of individuals have no access to effective treatment and there are only 1.4 mental health workers per 100,000 people, compared with a global average of 9.0 per 100,000. In the face of this scarcity, there must be innovation – and a recognition of the unique social contexts that shape both the origin and treatment of mental illness. In this episode of Afro-Catalyst, we speak to clinical psychologist Crick Lund, a professor at King's College London and an expert on mental health in low-income countries. Lund breaks down sobering statistics about Africa's mental crisis while highlighting creative interventions. We learn about everything from how grandmas are intervening to provide talk therapy in Zimbabwe to how clinics and healers in rural Nigeria and Ghana are partnering to refer patients to receive the care they need.

Africa's vast expanse is home to 54 countries, full of 1.2 billion people — and 1.2 billion stories. In the last few years, we've seen an expansion of interest and excitement as those stories cross borders. From traditional wedding ceremonies in Nigeria to a boat ride down the Zambezi, books have helped hundreds of millions of readers explore the continent at a time when travel remains long and expensive and visa requirements frustrate efforts at regional movement. Creatives—writers, filmmakers, playwrights and more—have used stories to bridge divides and bring faraway places closer. In this episode of Afro-Catalyst, we speak with Nancy Adimora, publishing industry veteran and founder of AFREADA, a literary platform that highlights stories across Africa, about why we need more stories and how we can enable more vivid tales from across the continent to be told.

The conversation about Africa and its foreign partners is often boiled down to beneficiaries vs. donors. This black-and-white picture fails to capture the unique economic and political contexts that shape how African countries develop their foreign policy agendas. International policy circles often neglect this Africanist perspective because the region's countries often lack adequate representation in the rooms where critical international political decisions are made–even in instances when the discussions held focus on the continent. In this episode of Afro-Catalyst, we speak to Hannah Ryder, CEO of Development Reimagined (DR) about why and how this dynamic is shifting as African governments join forces to grow their international influence.

More than 2,000 years ago, the Greek philosopher Plato told the story of the civilization of Atlantis, which sank into the sea after a barrage of fire and earthquake. Its treasures were lost in the deep forever. While this story is more myth than reality, it is a reminder of the realities of climate change—and what we stand to lose from inaction. Natural and cultural heritage sites have enormous cultural, ecological, social, and economic value, but climate change is increasingly putting them at risk, especially in Africa. Researcher Salma Sabour studies why the region's precious wetlands, sanctuaries, and reservoirs are exposed to phenomena like rising sea levels and erosion and how we can take steps to better protect them. In this episode of Afro-Catalyst, we speak to Sabour about the challenges facing extraordinary landscapes that make up Africa's 800+ natural heritage sites from the Serengeti to the Cliff of Bandiagara.

Internet access is an essential part of modern life, necessary to communicate and access goods and services but also to exercise other fundamental rights from freedom of expression to political participation, health, and more. However, persistent divides in digital connectivity threaten the socio-economic development of many countries and regions. Africa is most adversely impacted: In 2021, only 33 percent of the population was using the internet, according to the International Telecommunication Union. That means an estimated 871 million people lack access. In this episode of Afro-Catalyst, we speak to Jane Munga, a researcher at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, to understand why -- and how -- policymakers, mobile operators and other stakeholders must collaborate to address the gap.

Media is one of the few industries that impact the lives of every person. Publications frame our values; they curate our tastes and inform our thinking. Yet despite the powerful role that media plays in everyday life, the industry, in Africa, is more reliant on grants and personal funding than investments. This scarcity of funding options has doomed many papers and platforms—leading to an unprecedented shuttering of media outlets in the wake of COVID-19 and further illuminating the ever-widening gap in providing relevant and reliable information that meets the needs of Africa's young and upwardly mobile, digital-first population. Where legacy publications have failed, new media start-ups like Big Cabal Media are stepping in to fill the void. Its dynamic publications from Zikoko to TechCabal are chronicling the lives of ordinary Nigerians as well as the tools they're building to shape the future of Nigeria's business and economy. In March 2022, Big Cabal Media raised $2.3 million to build on this vision from leading investors including MaC Venture Capital, backers of household names like U.S.-based media darling Blavity. In this episode of Afro-Catalyst, we speak to Big Cabal CEO Tomiwa Aladekomo about creating highly content for African youth and his ambitious plan to document Africa's coming golden age. Note: TechCabal, one of BCM's brands, is hiring a new Editor-in-Chief! Learn more and join them today here.

Across Africa, football fits somewhere neatly between passion and obsession. As the region's most popular sport, it is a mirror for the region's hopes and aspirations -- a reflection of the wealth of talent on the continent, as well as the challenges that even the brightest stars often face in gaining the respect and accolades they deserve in global fora. But despite the odds, many African-born players —from Cameroon's Samuel Eto'o to Liberian President George Weah — have made their mark on Europe's premier soccer leagues. And more sons of its diaspora from the UK's Reuben Agboola to French-born Senegalese 's Edouard Mendy are returning home to be a part of the continent's rise in football prominence. These players build on the legacy established by early pioneers like Anthony Baffoe, Ghanaian football legend and former Deputy General Secretary of the Confederation of African Football, who was the first diaspora-born footballer to play for Ghana's national team, the Black Stars. In this episode of Afro-Catalyst, we speak to Baffoe about his journey to the heights of the sport, his work to improve Africa's football infrastructure and his efforts to combat racism on the pitch.

Gone are the days of Africa's single story. In large part, due to social media. Hundreds of millions of users across the continent have turned to tools like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and TikTok to re-shape their narrative on their own terms. Brands have started to take notice and are increasingly expanding their marketing spend beyond traditional channels like radio or television to tap into opportunities to engage consumers online directly. Among the pioneers shaping how brands connect with consumers is Yanfo Hackman, an entrepreneur who has his finger on the pulse of digital advertising, marketing and communications in Ghana. Over the past decade, his agency Social Ghana has developed some of the most forward-thinking, digitally savvy campaigns in the country. One of his most celebrated recent projects includes the launch of @TwitterGhana. As millions of Ghanaians partook in the #DettyDecember revelry, Social Ghana kicked off a campaign spotlighting hilarious tweets addressing the realities of everyday life in Ghana. In this episode of Afro-Catalyst, we speak to Hackman about this landmark campaign as well as the changing behaviour of African consumers online and how Ghanaians are curating trending conversations not only at home but across the Black diaspora.

Consumers are used to getting what they want when they want it; no questions asked. But COVID-19 has exposed the complex realities of the trillion-dollar logistics industry–and how we're all at its mercy, whether we like it or not. The pandemic has also accelerated the push to digitize this shockingly manual sector. In Africa, home to the highest shipping costs in the world, these shifts are long overdue. And one woman, Miishe Addy, is determined to shape the trajectory of the supply chain revolution at this historic inflexion point. Her company Jetstream Africa enables people doing business in the fastest-growing economies in the world to see and control their cross-border supply chains. In this episode of Afro-Catalyst, we speak to Addy about the historic drivers of supply chain inefficiencies in Africa, how the pandemic has impacted the cost of doing business and consumer prices as well as the steps governments are taking to help stakeholders weather the storm.

Mali, Guinea, Sudan, Niger. The steady uptick in coups across Africa in the last year has raised alarm bells in the international community. After nearly two decades of progress and peace, recent gains seem to be eroding. What forces are driving the rise of these grasps for power? These aren't your grandfather's coups, after all. With knowledge of social media and growing transnational ties to autocratic regimes with deep pockets, today's coup leaders have a different set of tools at their disposal. In this episode of Afro-Catalyst featuring Remi Adekoya, a political analyst and Associate Lecturer at York University, we unpack the dangers of states' failure to deliver development, the psychology of powerful elites as well as how to renew faith in democracy in the world's youngest, fastest-growing population.

Stephanie Busari is an award-winning journalist who currently serves as Supervising Editor of CNN's Africa coverage. In this capacity, the British-Nigerian storyteller has pioneered hard-hitting investigations exploring topics such as human rights and the long-term impact of trauma — which have earned her international acclaim. Busari's brave coverage of the missing Chibok school girls resulted in a Gracie Award in 2017 and she was an instrumental part of the team that won a Peabody Award in 2015 for CNN's coverage of the missing schoolgirls. In 2020, she was selected as a Yale World Fellow. In this episode, Busari reflects on her return to Nigeria as an opportunity for personal growth, unlearning cultural biases and drawing inspiration from talented Africans who have achieved extraordinary things with limited resources.

Constraint breeds innovation. Africa's development challenges have catapulted the region to become the global leader in financial technology. Now those constraints are leading the continent to become a pioneer in the future of education. Over the last 15 years, Ghanaian-born education entrepreneur has launched the African Leadership Group (ALG), a formidable set of institutions from the renowned African Leadership Academy (ALA) to the African Leadership University (ALU). But when the pandemic halted ALG's momentum, Swaniker was forced to pivot and re-imagine the organizational structure entirely. Within months, his team unveiled a bold new business model to better support its mission of creating the next generation of African leaders. In this episode, the former McKinsey executive, who has been listed among Time's Most Influential People, opens up about ALG's unique approach to education. Not only has it helped graduates to land jobs with some of the world's top companies, but it's also attracted global attention for its practical approach to learning and leadership that turns traditional education on its head. Swaniker also shares personal lessons in navigating risk and why Africa must “think global” in order not to get left behind.

Named among Forbes Africa's Most Powerful Women, Clare Akamanzi spent her formative years outside of Rwanda, which shaped her identity in unexpected ways. It also sparked a strong interest in nation-building, which eventually saw Akamanzi represent her country globally. This included serving as Rwanda's top commercial diplomat in London and overseeing its trade negotiations with the WTO. It was not long before her work, which helped turn the country into an economic powerhouse, was noticed inside the corridors of power. In 2017, Akamanzi was appointed as CEO of the Rwanda Development Board, where she now serves directly under President Paul Kagame. In this capacity, she oversees major investment into the East African nation, which has spent years learning from other countries that have embarked on similar transformations. In this rare interview, Clare discusses how Rwanda quickly adapted during Covid-19, its role as a proof-of-concept country and the power of unity against all odds.

The pandemic has hit Africa's fashion industry hard as disruption in global supply chains has slowed production and stores struggle to keep their doors open. In the face of lockdowns, consumers have turned to e-commerce more than ever before, but the shift towards digital doesn't come without its own complications. In this episode, we meet Adebayo Oke-Lawal, CEO of Orange Culture Nigeria. As the brains behind one of Africa's most-talked-about fashion brands, Lawal has built an increasingly global and socially conscious customer base that has embraced his gender fluid designs with open arms. In this conversation, the finance graduate turned designer reflects on the logistics of scaling an African business — from the woes of navigating payment platforms to the highs of his entrepreneurial journey — as well as standing up for his own values at all cost.

While Covid-19 has offered a devastating blow to the world economy, it's also accelerated digital transformation across a slew of industries. This has created exciting new opportunities for innovation in tech, which is often criticized for a lack of diversity in Silicon Valley and beyond. But while many firms have stepped up their inclusion efforts, some still argue the sector has a long way to go before it reflects society at large. Nigerian-raised June Angelides is trying to change this. A former banker turned early-stage investor, she is working hard to help entrepreneurs from diverse backgrounds gain easier access to venture capital. It's a mission that certainly hasn't gone unnoticed. The Financial Times has named her among the most influential minority leaders in UK tech and she's even been honored by Queen Elizabeth II. In this episode, June shares her journey innovating in spaces that many overlook and how she is creating opportunities for entrepreneurs from underrepresented backgrounds to do the same.

Rapid changes in technology are fundamentally changing how media is consumed across the world. Nowhere is that more true than Africa. In 2010, only 10% of Africans used the internet regularly--a figure that has quadrupled over the last decade. The rise of the mobile-first generation has contributed to a growth in digital media, especially in the region's booming megacities. But is all access good access? The popularity of platforms like WhatsApp may mean that news spreads like wildfire, but with it often comes the proliferation of false and hateful content. In South Africa, journalist Simon Allison is reclaiming the platform for good through The Continent, Africa's first WhatsApp-based newspaper produced in partnership with preeminent paper The Mail & Guardian. By using the same viral networks exploited by disseminators of disinformation, The Continent aims to counter the fake news on people's phones with real news. In this episode, he discusses how the publication is pioneering a platform by Africans for Africans and how journalists on the ground are navigating a changing industry amidst COVID-19. Host: Isaac Kwaku Fokuo, Jr., Founder and Principal, Botho Emerging Markets Group

Many companies highlight their value and the way they support their customers and other stakeholders. COVID-19 has been the ultimate test of that commitment. In the new normal, corporate social responsibility has moved from the realm of philanthropy to a strategic consideration. With all systems put to the test, "winners take all" is giving way to stakeholder capitalism. Development finance expert Dr. Frannie Léautier, Senior Partner and CEO of Southbridge Investments has spent decades deploying capital to address the world's most challenging health, economic, and social circumstances. She discusses how she's putting that knowledge to use to pioneer a new framework of responsible investments to grow the next generation of African champions for the post-pandemic era. Host: Isaac Kwaku Fokuo, Jr., Founder and Principal, Botho Emerging Markets Group

As the first Sub-Saharan nation to gain its independence from colonial powers, Ghana has long been a beacon of leadership in Africa. While political and economic instability sidelined its ambitions in the 80s and 90s, today this powerhouse now finds itself on the rise. In recent years, Ghana has become a hub of entrepreneurship, a cultural capital, and an attractive business environment for global companies — leading tech giants are now scrambling to set up shop on its shores. And for the black diaspora, Ghana is a symbolic home: its recent "Year of Return" drew hundreds of thousands of tourists hoping to find their roots. Ghana's Ambassador to the U.S. Barfuor Adjei-Barwuah has witnessed the evolution of his country's story first hand. He reflects on Ghana's incredible journey so far, diplomacy in the age of Covid-19 and strengthening ties with the global community. Host: Isaac Kwaku Fokuo, Jr., Founder and Principal, Botho Emerging Markets Group

Storytelling on Africa is often distorted — an incomplete image of war, poverty and corruption that fails to recognize its evolving political, economic and socio-cultural fabric and the success stories on the rise. The gap between reality and fiction has real-world consequences for everyday life from public health to trade and investment. In this special two-part episode of Afro-Catalyst, we unpack the downsides of the single story and how the African narrative is set to change as regional integration gives the continent a stronger collective voice on the world stage. Host: Isaac Kwaku Fokuo, Jr., Founder and Principal, Botho Emerging Markets Group Guests: Carlos Lopes, Professor at Nelson Mandela School of Public Governance Catherine Duggan, Dean at University of Cape Town Graduate School of Business

If 1960 was the “Year of Africa,” we now find ourselves in the “African Century.” While the promise of the post-colonial era fell flat in the ensuing decades, many African economies have matured in recent years. From Ghana to Kenya, the numbers now speak for themselves, but the growth remains uneven across the region. For all the innovation of “Yabacon Valley” and Kigali Innovation City, some African countries and cities risk being left behind. What lessons can be learned from the continent's success stories and how can these be replicated on a larger scale? Join us for a fascinating conversation about the continent's journey from the 1960s to its aspiration to become the next economic powerhouse with the policymakers and business leaders charting its success and training the architects of its future. Host: Isaac Kwaku Fokuo, Jr, Founder & Principal of Botho Emerging Markets Group Guests: Catherine Duggan, Dean at University of Cape Town Graduate School of Business Carlos Lopes, Professor at Nelson Mandela School of Public Governance "Afro-Catalyst'' is a co-production between Botho Emerging Markets Group and World1Media.

With Afrobeats taking off internationally, music from the continent can now be heard in all corners of the world partly thanks to homegrown artists such as Burna Boy, Tiwa Savage, Wizkid, and even Beyoncé who featured leading African artists such as Shatta Wale on her latest album. But away from the global success stories lies an industry that has not necessarily attracted the infrastructure or investment required to drive growth in the sector and support job creation throughout the continent. Experts believe the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) could emerge as a key driver of inclusive growth, while also setting the stage for exciting collaboration across borders. Regardless of what the future holds, it's clear that technology will play an even larger role in shaping the creative industry and may also serve as a powerful tool for exporting the biggest success stories across the Global South. Host: Isaac Kwaku Fokuo, Jr, Founder & Principal of Botho Emerging Markets Group Guests: Ninel Musson - Co-founder & COO, The Vth Season Derrick “DNA” Ashong - Founder & CEO, Amp.it Jude “M.I.” Abaga - Founder, TASCK Agency "Afro-Catalyst" is a co-production between Botho Emerging Markets Group and World1Media.