Podcasts about Nigerians

Oluwakemi Oluwasegun (“Kemi”) is changing the face of sustainability in her Nigerian community with cassava and kindness, and she's looking for support. She lives in the quiet and peaceful community of Ila Orangun, Nigeria.  She happens to be one of the most genuine and kind people that I have met.  She has not had an easy life, yet grounded in God, she's constantly thinking about how she can help other people.   She discussed three projects with us in this episode: her cassava factory and potential cassava farm (Winners Food Processing), reusable pads for the girls in her community, and donations of physical goods to help local orphanages with the Oluwadabira Foundation. Investing in or supporting Kemi's projects is simple.  She's looking for people who can donate money, clothing, shoes, bags, books, etc. that will keep her projects afloat.   If we can't support her directly, we can share her work with those around us.  We never know who may be able to help.  Thank you for listening. Listen, Watch or Read Details: https://ForAnimalsForEarth.com/show/74 Reach out to Kemi: OluwakemiOluwasegun@yahoo.com

in this episode i'm talking about Nigerians taking to the street #justiceforMOHBAD, Lizzo's new lawsuit, Sexxy Red's lipgloss+Chrisean

"When was the last time you went to any sort of event and actually felt like the planners and organizers took care and attention to craft something special for you?" Rodney reflects on his most recent live podcast event, his love for the stage, and most importantly, his love and respect for the audience. He tries to answer the question: "How can we have better events?" Rodney feels that most event planners/organizers lack the balls, empathy, and artistic integrity to really wow their audience/attendees. He goes into all the ways events today fall short in crafting the ultimate experience for the audience, using conferences, conventions, and Nigerian weddings as examples. In the end, Rodney makes the case that an audience-focused event is like gasoline to a brand's fire. Sponsored by Avo Creative Join the Young God Gang

This new episode of Wellness Wahala Podcast is dedicated to IleriOluwa Oladimeji Aloba) Imole-popularly known as MohBad-a young talented famous Afrobeat artist who died a few days ago! In Nigeria

A daily news briefing from Catholic News Agency, powered by artificial intelligence. Ask your smart speaker to play “Catholic News,” or listen every morning wherever you get podcasts. www.catholicnewsagency.com - Pope Francis extolled Wednesday the “apostolic zeal” of Saint Daniele Comboni, an Italian missionary priest and bishop who fought to end slavery in Africa. Comboni witnessed “the horror of slavery” as a missionary in the mid-19th century in what is now Sudan. Pope Francis shared the “energetic and prophetic” life story of the founder of the Comboni missionary orders during his general audience on September 20. “Saint Daniele testifies to the love of the Good Shepherd who goes in search of the one who is lost and gives his life for the flock. His zeal was energetic and prophetic in being opposed to indifference and exclusion,” Pope Francis said. https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/255422/pope-francis-lauds-catholic-saint-who-fought-to-end-slavery-in-africa Ethnic Armenians in the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh, also known as Artsakh, have agreed to lay down their arms and dissolve their military forces following a short but intense Azerbaijan offensive on September 19. Pope Francis made a public appeal on Wednesday for both sides to “silence the weapons.” “I make my heartfelt appeal to all the parties involved and to the international community to silence the weapons and make every effort to find peaceful solutions for the good of the people and respect for human dignity,” Pope Francis said at the end of his Wednesday general audience. https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/255426/ethnic-armenians-surrender-and-disarm-following-azerbaijan-offensive At least 11 people were killed September 15 after members of the Islamic State attacked a village in Mozambique and opened fire on Christians after hand-picking them from Muslims, the Catholic pontifical and charity foundation Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) International reported. https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/255427/11-killed-as-islamist-jihadists-reportedly-target-christians-in-mozambican-village The International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law (Intersociety) has condemned the September 16-17 kidnapping of more than 30 people across Nigeria's Enugu State, including a Catholic priest, and called on police officials in the Nigerian state to either act on the lack of security in the region or leave office. Father Marcellinus Obioma Okide was abducted September 17 on his way back to Saint Mary Amofia-Agu Affa Parish in the Enugu Diocese, where he serves as parish priest. A prayer appeal has been sent out for the priest's safe release. Okide is among dozens of people who were taken by armed Fulani bandits in separate locations within Enugu State. Intersociety challenges those in charge of security in Enugu to “retire voluntarily from the army and the police” if they cannot live up to what is expected of them. https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/255429/human-rights-group-to-nigeria-security-agents-after-priest-s-kidnapping-act-or-resign Today, the Church celebrates Saint Matthew, also known as Levi, an apostle of Jesus and, according to tradition, the author of one of the four Gospels. Surprisingly little is known for certain about Matthew's life, even though his Gospel is so crucial for the Church. The manner of Matthew's calling by Jesus is well-known — Matthew was a Jew, but worked as a tax collector for the Romans in Capernaum near the Sea of Galilee, making him a pariah among his own people. When Jesus called Matthew to follow him, Matthew gave up his presumably materialistic life as a tax collector to follow the Lord. https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/saint/st-matthew-apostle-601

Remi Adekoya is a writer, journalist and academic. Before joining academia, Remi was a political journalist for The Guardian, Sunday Times, Washington Post, Politico and Spectator. He has provided sociopolitical analysis and commentary for CNN, BBC, Sky News, Al Jazeera, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, South African Broadcasting Corporation, Talk Radio and Times Radio. He was a regular columnist for Business Day, a Nigerian daily, and a former political editor of the Warsaw Business Journal. Remi also sits on the Home Office Strategic Race Board as an external expert. Remi has written a number of books including Biracial Britain, what it means to be mixed race, and his latest book, It's Not About Whiteness, It's About Wealth: How the Economics of Race Really Work. He is currently Lecturer at the University of York .Remi Adekoya is guest number 324 on My Time Capsule and chats to Michael Fenton Stevens about the five things he'd like to put in a time capsule; four he'd like to preserve and one he'd like to bury and never have to think about again .Buy Remi's books: It's Not About Whiteness, It's About Wealth: http://amzn.to/3lBxf0q .Biracial Britain: http://amzn.to/40ddYSaFollow Remi Adekoya on Twitter: @RemiAdekoya1 . Follow My Time Capsule on Twitter, Instagram & Facebook: @MyTCpod .Follow Michael Fenton Stevens on Twitter: @fentonstevens & Instagram @mikefentonstevens .Produced and edited by John Fenton-Stevens for Cast Off Productions .Music by Pass The Peas Music .Artwork by matthewboxall.com .This podcast is proud to be associated with the charity Viva! Providing theatrical opportunities for hundreds of young people. Get bonus episodes and ad-free listening by becoming a team member with Acast+! Your support will help us to keep making My Time Capsule. Join our team now! https://plus.acast.com/s/mytimecapsule. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Charles Nnagboh: Charles is the Director for Human Life International in Nigeria. He talks with Molly about how life-affirming training for nurses and midwives is changing the Nigerian pregnancy narrative.

I'm back with more amazing artist interviews I did at Bumbershoot Arts and Music Festival in Seattle over Labor Day weekend and this episode couldn't be more fun. I start off with the amazing Valerie June -- Grammy-nominated artist, author, poet and yogi. He lighthearted spirit and zest for life is in full force, and she's here to talk to me about spreading joy, love and tapping into one's unique creative self. Next up is Courtney Taylor and Pete Holmström of The Dandy Warhols, who have been making their special brand of eclectic and enigmatic music for more than 25 years. We head down myriad roads -- veering off on multiple detours along the way -- in this compelling exploration of what it takes to continue to unlock new doors in the alternate musical universe they inhabit.I then sit down with Nigerian-born Canadian artist DEBBY FRIDAY, whose debut album released in March, GOOD LUCK, has propelled her into a new orbit. Debby talks to me about what an amazing and groundbreak year this has been and how taking her artistry on the road has helped her mature as an artist.I round out this exciting episode with Evan Smith of local Seattle band, The Dip. Evan came to Seattle to study music at the University of Washington where he met fellow his bandmates to form The Dip. I talk to Evan about how the band has developed moved from playing houseparties to embarking on national tours with Lake Street Dive and then touring Europe with the likes of Durand Jones. It's been an amazing ride!!For more information on Roadcase: https://linktr.ee/roadcasepod and https://www.roadcasepod.comContact: info@roadcasepod.comRoadcase theme music:  "Eugene (Instrumental)" by Waltzer

The Nigerian entrepreneur and producer discusses the birth and growth of her EbonyLife Group content production business, known for the Netflix drama series “Blood Sisters.” Abudu details her vision for expanding Africa's media infrastructure to allow local producers to capture the region's vibrant art and culture scene from what she describes as a “local for global” lens.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this episode, Jollz and FK are up to their usual antics. They talk about their weekends and help some of you with your dilemmas in the agony aunt session. The girls also take time to discuss the passing of the Nigerian artiste Mohbad, and their thoughts on it. Can you guess what came up in Jollz's Unsafe Space of the week? Listen to find out!Enjoy!Don't forget to use #ISWIS or #ISWISPodcast to share your thoughts while listening to the podcast on Twitter! Rate the show 5 stars on whatever app you listen and leave a review, share with everyone you know and if you also watch on YouTube, like and leave a comment! To write into the podcast follow the link https://forms.gle/FiQ7q5sm2T5dequY7Make sure to follow us on Twitter: @ISWISPodcastInstagram: @isaidwhatisaidpodYoutube: @ isaidwhatisaidpod Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Website: https://www.juliera.com/ Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/00it1bBwOIDqd6QFINlBav YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/juliera Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/iamjuliera/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/iamjuliera/ Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@iamjulieraArtist and lyricist, Juliera, brings self-empowerment and hope to the dancefloor with her latestsingle, “Hero.” With a rhythmic beat and thoughtful lyrics, the pop song speaks to all listeners.“It's a very fun song,” shares Juliera. “It's a dance song that talks about being the ‘Hero' whogoes the extra miles for people and does whatever it takes to make them happy… It's aboutgiving all your love.”Facing divorce, Juliera turned a difficult moment in her life into a chance to make herself happy.“I wrote the song in 2017 when I was actively ghostwriting for other people. The inspiration forthis song hit me when someone hired me to write a song to a beat they provided. Several yearslater, the song was still stuck in my head and I couldn't forget the melodies nor lyrics. So, Idecided to record it myself.”Motivated by the positive feedback Juliera received on the studio recording, she decided totake the song to the public. “My 3-year-old son heard the song and absolutely loved it. Hedanced to it and made me replay it multiple times. I then decided that I would make my musicvideo for this song based on a concept that is fun for kids and adults.” With the original beattied to the first version of the song, Juliera enlisted a producer to create a new sound toaccompany her original lyrics.Blending her Nigerian culture with American influences, Juliera showcases a diversity of soundthrough her music. She began writing around age 16. “I used to write lyrics on paper and oneday my aunt went through my things and asked me if I wrote it, saying ‘it's really good.' I didn'tbelieve her, thinking it was just something an aunt would say. Then I got into college andwanted to see what to do on the side for income. I went on Fiverr and put up a gig to writesongs and lyrics for people.”As fate would have it, “let me see if I can do this” became a successful hustle writing music fornew and repeat clients. It was only a matter of time before Juliera earned over 250 five-starreviews writing more than 1000 songs, many of which were for return customers. “It made merealize I knew what I was doing and how to do it,” shares the artist.“Hero” is one of two songs available by the artist. Two videos are also available for the single, alyric video and official music video. Her other single, “Let It Ache,” is about coping throughheartbreak even when the heart aches. “I didn't want to leave but what I was going through… Iwould rather walk away and take the heartbreak,” tells Juliera of the thought process thatinspired the song.The artist also has eight songs written and four music videos ready for release. She plans toshare new media regularly over the next few months.At the end of the day, Juliera hopes to inspire listeners to follow their dreams. “I think it'simportant for people to follow their dreams and not settle for less. My husband didn't want meto do music. So, I shut my dream away. I pulled my dreams away for this person who ended upbeing abusive and cruel to me… What a joke! Now, I'm happy doing what I love doing and I amdoing better for myself now than I ever did in my marriage. It was almost as if my marriage wasa dark cloud hovering above me and blocking my blessings. I want people to know their worthand choose better for themselves.”

For many years @dis_ent | @iamafrofusion has consistently delivered an amazing “Independence Day” partying experience in the entire Midwest. DO NOT MISS INDEPENDENCE DAY EVENTS W/@iamafrofusion | @dis_ent ! THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 28 Afro Fusion Ladies Night Nigerian Independence Edition

On this week's episode, Simi and Feyikemi discuss the unfortunate passing of Mohbad, what cultural influence means when it comes to music and the UAE denying that the visa ban has been lifted for Nigerians. They also put you on to their favourite shows & songs.Make sure you watch the episode on YouTube & listen to the playlist - F&S Rotations on Apple Music and Spotify, updated weekly.Use our Go Money referral code - https://gomoney.onelink.me/GvIj/FnSSend fan mail & enquiries to: contactfands@gmail.comFollow us on Twitter & Instagram

On this week's episode, Simi and Feyikemi discuss the unfortunate passing of Mohbad, what cultural influence means when it comes to music and the UAE denying that the visa ban has been lifted for Nigerians. They also put you on to their favourite shows & songs.Make sure you watch the episode on YouTube & listen to the playlist - F&S Rotations on Apple Music and Spotify, updated weekly.Use our Go Money referral code - https://gomoney.onelink.me/GvIj/FnSSend fan mail & enquiries to: contactfands@gmail.comFollow us on Twitter & Instagram

Ministration by Pastor E.A.Odeyemi  during a special session to mark the end of the Redeemed Calendar year at RCCG, Central Parish, Abuja.Join us for Pastor Odeyemi's teachings, weekdays on Central Parish Radio at 2pm Nigerian time via site below or Central Parish Radio's App.Please subscribe to our podcast to receive notifications of new episodes.Follow Central Parish Radio on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter for updates of our programs on www.centralparishradio.org  and information on our podcast or email us on info@centralparishradio.org Don't Forget to subscribe to our Podcast to receive notifications of new uploads that will bless you greatly.Follow us on our Social Media Handles for details and more; we are on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter @centralparishradioDon't Forget to subscribe to our Podcast to receive notifications of new uploads that will bless you greatly.Follow us on our Social Media Handles for details and more; we are on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter @centralparishradio

Bria's Top 5 CliftonStrengths are: Positivity, Connectedness, Woo, Achiever & Input Bria Abudu is 29 years old and lives in Austin, TX. She was raised by her mother in the Dallas area, but her roots are Nigerian. She's a naturally bubbly person who loves people. She loves plants, being in water, yummy vegan food, spending time with family and friends and traveling. Bria serves as a missionary with The Impact Movement where she reaches black college students with the Gospel of Christ.  Impact Movement Website Bria on Instagram Find out your strengths by taking the CliftonStrengths Top 5 Assessment   Workshops and Coaching with Barbara Culwell Subscribe & Leave a Review on Embrace Your Strengths      

Nigerian-raised filmmaker/writer/producer/content creator & founder of Lumiere Films Imole Ladipo (later immigrating to Calgary, AB now in Houston, TX) talks about her latest release “Wahala Be Like Bicycle-Disaster Date” about going on a date after chatting during lockdown…and gets the ride of her life! Imole works as a chemical engineer after graduation from Univ. of Calgary and began her film career developing short videos listing announcements from church proceeding to form her own film company! Imole has also produced “Hello Yesterday”, “The Meeting”, “Makeup” and discusses upcoming plans for 2023 and beyond! Check out her latest release on all streaming platforms and ⁠www.thelumierefilms.com⁠ today! #imoleladipo #nigeria #calgary #houston #filmmaker #lumierefilms #wahalabelikebicycle #disasterdate #churchannouncements #chemicalengineer #helloyesterday #themeeting #makeup #iheartradio #spotify #applemusic #youtube #anchorfm #bitchute #rumble #mikewagner #themikewagnershow #mikewagnerimoleladipo #themikewagnershowimoleladipo --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/themikewagnershow/message Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/themikewagnershow/support

Toby Iles, Head of Middle East and Africa Sovereigns, and Doug Winslow, Senior Director, Sovereigns, discuss the direction of reform and related credit developments since the new Nigerian administration took office.

Nigerian-raised filmmaker/writer/producer/content creator & founder of Lumiere Films Imole Ladipo (later immigrating to Calgary, AB now in Houston, TX) talks about her latest release “Wahala Be Like Bicycle-Disaster Date” about going on a date after chatting during lockdown…and gets the ride of her life! Imole works as a chemical engineer after graduation from Univ. of Calgary and began her film career developing short videos listing announcements from church proceeding to form her own film company! Imole has also produced “Hello Yesterday”, “The Meeting”, “Makeup” and discusses upcoming plans for 2023 and beyond! Check out her latest release on all streaming platforms and www.thelumierefilms.com today! #imoleladipo #nigeria #calgary #houston #filmmaker #lumierefilms #wahalabelikebicycle #disasterdate #churchannouncements #chemicalengineer #helloyesterday #themeeting #makeup #iheartradio #spotify #applemusic #youtube #anchorfm #bitchute #rumble #mikewagner #themikewagnershow #mikewagnerimoleladipo #themikewagnershowimoleladipo   --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/themikewagnershow/message Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/themikewagnershow/support

Is it really a pandemic? Or are Nigerians just obsessed with promoting bad behavior? Let's talk about it

Introduction: Minutes 0 to 6:00 I've been watching Los Espookys on HBO Max and I love it. Chandra says this season of What We Do in the Shadows was really good. She also watched the US Open and loves Coco Gauff and Daniil Medvedev.  Royals: Minutes 6:00 to 22:45 The Invictus Games are happening in Dusseldorf. Last week we mentioned that Prince Harry stopped briefly in the UK to attend the Wellchild Awards. He also visited his grandmother's crypt at St. George's Chapel in Windsor to quietly pay his respects on the anniversary of her death. He tried to stay under the radar but of course the royal rota threw a fit and said he was trying to upstage William. Meanwhile William and Kate were over an hour late to their event honoring the Queen on the anniversary of her death. Harry got a standing ovation in Dusseldorf and was greeted by the mayor. He's getting glowing coverage in the German press, especially now that Meghan is there. The Windsors are doing a ton of events as counterprogramming. Will and Kate were on Mike Tindall's rugby podcast, and the reporting afterwards was that they “torpedoed Harry's launch of the Invictus Games with the release of a podcast featuring them and Princess Anne.” They always do things with Harry and Meghan in mind. Kate's entire look at the Rugby World Cup was a copy of Meghan's at the Invictus Games opening a year prior. Kate visited a prison and wore a fluffy new wig that the press praised the next day. We also heard she had a meeting. William did an event for suicide prevention and mental health issues affecting construction workers. Meanwhile the royals have not acknowledged Team Briton or the Invictus Games, although they're trying to partially take credit for it by stating that Harry started it through the Royal Foundation. Meghan joined Harry at the Invictus games on Tuesday and attended her first event on Tuesday night. She was in a black Banana Republic shirtdress. On Wednesday Meghan wore a cardigan from J.Crew and dress shorts. She's also worn black jeans with a black sleeveless top and white jeans with a white sweater vest. She is doing her own hair and makeup. Thursday, Meghan and Harry did an event with Nato personnel. Meghan wore a silky brown blouse and dress pants. Chandra's favorite outfit she's worn is her travel outfit. The Nigerian team has given Meghan a traditional Nigerian name. She's been embraced by Invictus competitors and attendees. There are photos of Meghan holding Taira's hand, the Ukrainian Invictus competitor who was held in a Russian prison camp.  The British royals haven't acknowledged the British Invictus team with a tweet or message or reception and even the British press is noticing. The British defense minister is there and has been in meetings though. We remember the story about how the British government pressured the Bidens not to support the Sussexes. The Windsors are so obvious with the stunts they're pulling. Comments of the Week: Minutes 22:45 to end Chandra's comment of the week is from GirlNinja on the post about Kate's wig. My comment of the week is from Indica on the post about how the FDA found phenylephrine is ineffective. Thanks for listening bitches!      

Larry is joined by actress, comedienne, and author Yvonne Orji to talk about her memoir ‘Bamboozled by Jesus: How God Tricked Me into the Life of My Dreams' which was recently released on paperback. They begin their conversation by reminiscing about their time together developing the hit HBO series ‘Insecure', shining a light on the art of collaboration, and examining the importance of developing a servant's mentality when betting on yourself and your career. Next, Yvonne shares her experiences auditioning for the role of Molly on ‘Insecure', managing her devout Christian faith in the chaotic world of show business, and the inspiration that drove her to write her book (19:09). After the break, Larry and Yvonne dive into what it was like growing up as a Nigerian-born immigrant, the support she received from her father, and the challenges she faced after ‘Insecure' had stopped production (43:31). They end the pod with Yvonne's best advice from the book and some life lessons from Larry on making distinctions rather than definitions when applying creativity to your craft (55:17). Host: Larry Wilmore Guest: Yvonne Orji Associate Producer: Chris Sutton Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

#konga #afrobeats #afrobeatspodcast Konga ________________________________________________________________________ 0:00 - Introduction 03:20 The language I sing with was created because of slave trade. 08:10 I was heavily inspired by Fela and Ghanaian music! 14:45 Things got harder for us because everybody wanted to become artists! 16:30 My hood stopped Banky W from shooting 'Ebute Metta' video if he wasn't going to involve me! 21:05 I'm excited about Nigerian music now; I wish Dagrin was still with us! 22:00 My advice for the new generation of Nigerian musicians... 24:10 I'm a very big fan of Burna Boy! ________________________________________________________________________ Thank you for your Subscriptions Keep Subscribing to get this platform as big as a possible so we can support our own people without having to wait for others to support us or tell our stories. We appreciate it , Keep Commenting, Liking and Sharing. ________________________________________________________________________ Every Week New Episode, Listen to @Afrobeats Podcast 24/7 ►INSTAGRAM : https://bit.ly/3N04TFE , @adesope.olajide - https://bit.ly/3LUFsUx ►SPOTIFY : https://spoti.fi/3x2rURI ►GOOGLE : https://g.co/kgs/V4ceGL ►APPLE PODCAST : https://apple.co/3PRpeP4 ►TWITTER : https://bit.ly/3LZqrAI ►AUDIOMACK : https://audiomack.com/afrobeats-podcast ►YOUTUBE : https://bit.ly/2LG5UbH ►DEEZER PODCAST : https://www.deezer.com/en/show/2367332 ►SOUNDCLOUD : https://bit.ly/3t4jZSy ►AMAZON MUSIC Managed by Lm media https://bit.ly/38sZ84c ________________________________________________________________________

Donor-funded catalytic capital has been an integral part of the growth of the off-grid energy sector in Sub-Saharan Africa by de-risking new technologies and business models. David Arinze joins us in this episode to discuss the ecosystem impact and growth of projects funded by catalytic capital and how it is allowing organizations to scale enough to attract commercial capital.David is the Program Officer for Off-Grid Energy at Diamond Development Initiative (DDI), a Nigerian not-for-profit organization that complements the role of development agencies, donors, and other funding organizations by providing technical assistance in the design, planning, and implementation of various development initiatives.This episode is presented by Okra Solar, to learn more about Okra visit okrasolar.comRecommended Resource Understanding Funder's Perspectives: What Donors Look For in MSMEsGuest Bio:  David Arinze is a multi-competency professional who is passionate about increasing electricity access to deprived climes through relevant energy sources. His Industry experience revolves around Power Generation, Transmission, Distribution, and Off-Grid Energy.As the Program Officer for Off-Grid Energy, he works closely with local energy entrepreneurs, regulatory authorities, vendors, and other stakeholders to manage the deployment and sustainability of off-grid energy solutions in both unserved and underserved communities across Nigeria. He does this through the provision of technical assistance, grants management, project monitoring, remediation support, and the facilitation of access to follow-on financing.David believes that increasing electricity access through clean energy sources is a path worth threading because of its environmental and health benefits and the swift deployment involved in its technology.Learn more about Diamond Development InitiativeConnect with David on Linkedin| Twitter | Instagram Subscribe to our newsletter

Overview: Today, we're going to talk about Branch, the FinTech lending company and Neobank. We'll explore the story across the following 5 areas: African lending & consumer credit Branch's founding early history Product & monetization strategy Competitive positioning & potential exit options Overall outlook This episode was recorded on Sep 10, 2023 Companies discussed: Branch, Kiva, Kuda Bank, Chipper Cash, Earnin, Paga, FairMoney, MFS Africa, GTBank, Access Bank, Ecobank, PalmPay, Carbon, PiggyVest, Upstart, Tala, Visa, Mastercard & Safaricom Business concepts discussed: Credit scoring, Smartphone credit assessment, African customer segmentation strategy & low-end disruption, Consumer lending, , unbanked population,  smartphone credit assessment, Pan-African Banking Conversation highlights: (01:00) - What Branch is and why we're talking about it (07:40) - Africa consumer credit context and background (19:17:) - Branch International founding (23:31) - Founders' background (39:12) - Fundraising and Growth (51:40) - Geographical expansion  (1:02:01) - Acquisitions and Team overview (01:15:14) - Product strategy (1:33:20) - Monetization strategy and Costs (1:41:58) - Competition and options for exit (1:57:08) - Bankole's overall thoughts  (2:10:59) - Olumide's overall thoughts (2:30:20) - Recommendations and small wins Olumide's recommendations & small wins: Interested in investing in Africa Tech with Olumide: Read about Adamantium fund & contact me at olumide@afrobility.com. Founders looking for funding: If you're a B2B founder working on Education, Health, Finance or food, please contact me for funding at olumide@afrobility.com Checkout my FIREDOM book = FIRE (Financial Independence, Retire Early) + Freedom = personal finance and financial independence book. Website, Read: Substack Newsletter & Buy: Print, eBook or Audiobook) Recommendation: Eminem - Rap God (OMFG I'm 12 years late, my mind exploded. WOW!) Recommendation: Can't Hurt Me (David Goggins). Incredible book about challenges David went to from parental abuse, racism to make something of himself. I went through waves of intense emotions while reading the book. At some points, I was crying in pain with David and other times I was in pure shock about what I was listening to. Small win: Hosted FIREDOM book launch event in London. Amazing conversations about life, managing money and growth. Dope shit. Bankole's recommendations & small wins: Recommendation: American Prometheus by Kai Bird, A/B Testing with Fat Tails & Remember Me - Fireboy DML Small win: Chin-chin from a recent trip to Lagos Other content: Mobile overdraft facility Fuliza outshines Silicon Valley-backed lending apps in Kenya- TechCrunch & Inside Branch's 20 percent interest investment push to beat Nigerian bank offerings - TechCabal Listeners: We'd love to hear from you. Email info@afrobility.com with feedback! Founders & Operators: We'd love to hear about what you're working on, email us at info@afrobility.com Investors: It would be great to link up with you. Contact us at info@afrobility.com Join our insider mailing list where we get feedback on new episodes & find all episodes on Afrobility.com

FULL SHOW NOTES https://podcast.nz365guy.com/482 What if you could transform your organization into a digital native? Join us as we converse with Ayotunde Ayoola, a Principal Consultant and Product Lead hailing from Nigeria who is leading this digital revolution. With his team at Stringify, Ayo assists organizations in undergoing crucial digital transformations, introducing the power of technology to multiple sectors. Ayo also offers a glimpse into his life outside the tech world, sharing his love for reading, sports, and church. We also explore the burgeoning Nigerian tech and MVP community and their ever-growing interest in BizApps and Power Platform careers.But this episode isn't all tech and transformations. Has he ever wondered about the charitable side of the tech industry? Mark Smith, an MVP recognized as the NZ365 guy, shares his experiences of giving back to the community. He firmly believes that contributing isn't always about money but creating opportunities. Mark shares his experiences running a boot camp for high school students, introducing them to low code and other technologies. He believes in the transformative power of giving back and how it creates more opportunities for digital transformation. This episode is filled with insights, experiences, and heartwarming stories from the tech community. So, gear up for a compelling conversation with Ayo and Mark!OTHER RESOURCES: Microsoft MVP YouTube Series - How to Become a Microsoft MVP  90-Day Mentoring Challenge - https://ako.nz365guy.com/ Azure Community Portal: https://azure.styava.dev/apac/id/user/organizer?userId=5b7eceb2-6b9c-43df-9937-a02856d1da2c GitHub: https://github.com/officialAY Microsoft Power Apps Community: https://powerusers.microsoft.com/t5/Power-Apps-Community/ct-p/PowerApps1 AgileXRM AgileXRm - The integrated BPM for Microsoft Power PlatformSupport the showIf you want to get in touch with me, you can message me here on Linkedin.Thanks for listening

Olu Verheijen from the Nigerian government and Vijaya Ramachandran from the Breakthrough Institute join Gyude to discuss the scale and nature of the energy crisis in Africa, the role that renewable energy can (and can't) play in addressing it, and what steps African countries—and partners—can take to address both climate and energy challenges.

There are scenes of utter devastation in Libya's eastern city of Derna, after a powerful storm caused two dams to burst, sweeping away large parts of the port city. Some aid has arrived, but with the country struggling under divided political administrations in the east and west, Libya's Prime Minister in Tripoli said they would only accept "necessary aid". We look at how the catastrophic impact of Storm Daniel has brought the country's fragile and complex political situation to the fore. The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has lifted a year-long visa ban imposed on Nigerian travellers. Flights were stopped last year after Dubai's Emirates airline suspended operations in Nigeria as it was angered by moves preventing it from transferring its revenues overseas because of a foreign currency crisis. Also…Conservationists in Egypt oppose the government's plan to build a highway through Cairo's centuries old cemetery The City of the Dead.

In the first of this new series of A brush with…, Yinka Shonibare talks to Ben Luke about his influences—from writers to musicians, film-makers and, of course, other artists—and the cultural experiences that have shaped his life and work.Shonibare was born in 1962 in London to Nigerian parents and moved to Lagos in Nigeria when he was a child. He returned to London for his fine art studies at Byam Shaw School of Art and Goldsmiths College. He explores race, class and constructions of cultural identity through sculpture, installation, painting, photography, film and other media. His signature material is Dutch wax fabric, which he is able endlessly to repurpose and recontextualise. He chose this material precisely for its complex and loaded history: it was originally inspired by Indonesian batik, mass-produced by the Dutch and then sold to European colonies in West Africa. Dutch wax fabric eventually became a signifier of independence and culture in Africa and its diaspora. Through references to Western art history, film and literature Shonibare uses this textile to playfully, even provocatively, explore the validity of national identities and the cultures that inform them. He discusses his perennial fascination with William Hogarth and Francisco Goya, and his admiration for contemporary artists as diverse as Cindy Sherman, David Hammons and Paul McCarthy, who he describes as “Hogarth x100”. He explains his love of opera—the total artwork—and contemporary dance. And he reflects on the consistent environmentalist strand in his work. Plus he gives insight into his studio life and answers our usual questions, including the ultimate: what is art for?Yinka Shonibare CBE RA: Free The Wind, The Spirit, and The Sun, Stephen Friedman Gallery, London, 6 October-11 November; Yinka Shonibare CBE: Ritual Ecstasy of the Modern, Cristea Roberts Gallery, London, 22 September-4 November; Shonibare's public work Hibiscus Rising, commissioned by the David Oluwale Memorial Association for Aire Park, Leeds, as part of Leeds 2023, is unveiled on 25 November. Between April and September 2024, Shonibare will have a solo exhibition at the Serpentine Galleries, London. He will also participate in Nigeria's Pavilion at the 60th International Venice Biennale from April 2024. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Karl was intrigued by a grave at Mount Jerome Cemetery with a UN logo on it. Ronan found a headstone belonging to Funmi Aina - a 22 year old Nigerian woman who died in Ireland in 1965 and wants to find out more about her. Carmel was scammed out of almost €3,000 by someone pretending to be her son.

On this Tuesday topical show, Crystal chats with Rob Saka about his campaign for Seattle City Council District 1. Listen and learn more about Rob and his thoughts on: [01:10] - Why he is running [05:31] - Lightning round! [14:12] - What is an accomplishment of his that impacts District 1 [17:46] - City budget shortfall: Raise revenue or cut services? [23:29] - Climate change [25:29] - Transit reliability [28:08] - Bike and pedestrian safety [30:22] - Public Safety: Alternative response [35:00] - Victim support [40:56] - Housing and homelessness: Frontline worker wages [43:03] - Small business support [47:30] - Childcare: Affordability and accessibility [51:38] - Progressive revenue options [53:41] - Difference between him and opponent As always, a full text transcript of the show is available below and at officialhacksandwonks.com. Follow us on Twitter at @HacksWonks. Find the host, Crystal Fincher, on Twitter at @finchfrii and find Rob Saka at @voterobsaka.   Rob Saka I am a Seattle Public Schools dad of three, attorney, justice reform advocate, Air Force Veteran, and West Seattle resident. As the son of a Nigerian immigrant, I overcame abject poverty, a traumatic and unstable home life cycling through the foster care system, to rise in the ranks of the U.S. Air Force, earn my college and law degrees under the G.I. Bill, and achieve success as an attorney and policy advocate in Seattle and King County. I grew up in the foster care system in Minnesota until my father was able to rescue me at nine years old. We moved out west and settled in low-income apartments in Kent, blocks away from a justice center that would later house some of my childhood friends. Growing up, I watched my dad work numerous physically demanding low-wage jobs. As a single father, he ended up settling for any honest work he could get to put food on our table. I went on to earn my college degree under the G.I. Bill at the University of Washington where I met my wife, Alicia. After quickly moving up the Enlisted ranks, I earned a rare Deserving Airman Commission and served as an Intelligence Officer. After 10 years in the military, I resigned my commission to focus on serving others as a civilian attorney. I thought I could help others in my community better overcome some of the systemic barriers I had navigated growing up if I was armed with the power of the law. After graduating law school from the University of California, Hastings Law, I moved back to Seattle to practice law at Perkins Coie. I have tried my best to bring my unique brand of servant leadership and passionate advocacy in service of communities across this city, including by serving on nonprofit boards such as the Seattle Urban League, representing fellow Veterans in need pro bono, via the Seattle Stand Down Initiative, helping underserved microentrepreneurs start and grow their businesses, volunteering to be head coach for my daughter's Little League baseball team, and much more. In 2018, King County Executive Dow Constantine appointed me to serve on the once per decade Charter Commission where I helped champion and pass several voter-approved ballot measures to reform our justice system and protect workers. In 2021, the King County Council appointed me to the nonpartisan Districting Committee tasked with redrawing King County Council districts using Census data. In 2022, Mayor Bruce Harrell appointed me to serve on the Seattle Police Chief Search Committee responsible for helping to select the next Chief of Police.   Resources Campaign Website - Rob Saka   Transcript [00:00:00] Crystal Fincher: Welcome to Hacks & Wonks. I'm Crystal Fincher, and I'm a political consultant and your host. On this show, we talk with policy wonks and political hacks to gather insight into local politics and policy in Washington State through the lens of those doing the work with behind-the-scenes perspectives on what's happening, why it's happening, and what you can do about it. Be sure to subscribe to the podcast to get the full versions of our Friday week-in-review show and our Tuesday topical show delivered to your podcast feed. If you like us, the most helpful thing you can do is leave a review wherever you listen to Hacks & Wonks. Full transcripts and resources referenced in the show are always available at officialhacksandwonks.com and in our episode notes. Well hello - today I am thrilled to be joined by a candidate for Seattle City Council in District 1, Rob Saka. Welcome, Rob. [00:01:03] Rob Saka: Thank you, Crystal - appreciate the opportunity to share this virtual space here with you and your audience. [00:01:10] Crystal Fincher: Absolutely. Well, I guess what I'm starting off wondering is - why are you running? [00:01:17] Rob Saka: Yeah, so great, great question. So just a little bit about me first. I'm a - Crystal, I'm a public school dad of three - three young kids. I'm an Air Force veteran, attorney, community safety advocate. I had the pleasure of serving on a lot of boards and commissions, most recently the Seattle Police Chief Search Committee. Before that, I served - I got nitty gritty, waist deep in US census data and helped redraw the legislative boundaries in King County using a process that runs parallel to state and federal redistricting. Before that, helped champion and pass a brand new justice reform framework right here in Martin Luther King County - and that voter's ultimately approved. And, you know, so I live in Delridge with my family and look, I'm grateful - as an Air Force veteran, I went to law school. In the last 10 years, I've been helping organizations and individuals of all sizes start and grow their businesses and be successful. And I'm grateful, Crystal, where I am today personally and professionally. But I'm also someone who overcame the foster care system for the first nine years of my life - cycling in and out, in and out, mostly in - before my father, who is a Nigerian immigrant, was able to finally rescue me from those circumstances at age nine. And, you know, me and my dad - he ended up raising me as a single parent, ended up sort of struggling growing up, our struggles continued together. But I was born in Minneapolis and moved out West like middle school age - landed in South King County in Kent, so proud to have called - proud to call West Seattle my home today, lived in Seattle for over 15 years. But, you know, particularly during the formative years of my childhood - you know, adolescence - grew up in South County in Kent. And, you know, so let's just say I have a non-traditional background and journey and path to where I am today. And I grew up in Kent - in the valley in Kent - that were blocks away from the Norm Maleng Regional Justice Center, Crystal, that would later house some of my childhood friends. And sadly, some of them would be sentenced for their crimes by judges who are now my professional mentors in the legal community. And so I've always felt this continuing, ongoing - not just responsibility, but duty - duty to make sure that more people from disadvantaged backgrounds and communities and walks of life are able to not only achieve their true potential in life, but thrive. And part of my calling, part of the way I've been able to do that is through justice reform and making sure more people that look like me and you and others, you know, aren't like - more specifically more Black and brown folks - aren't overly represented in the criminal justice system here. And so I mentioned some of that work. And I fought to hold bad police accountable in the past, and I'll continue to do that, you know, going forward if elected in Seattle City Council. But public safety has been weighing heavily on my heart and my mind, Crystal, as a dad - dad in the city, just a dad from Delridge. And I understand the need - as a Black man growing up in this country, I understand the need to have better police because I've experienced police brutality firsthand. And better police - not no police, not defund police, but better police - and I fought to hold bad police accountable, continue that work going forward. But the stakes have never been higher to make sure that we have the public safety resources and prevention and response and intervention capabilities - both, all - that we need to meet the challenges we're currently facing. And I was - been personally disheartened by some of the current direction of the Seattle City Council in particular, and I'm here to focus on solutions. The stakes for this city have never been higher - for my kids, for kids across this entire city. But I couldn't be more energized and excited at the opportunity that we all have to bring about the change that I think people are so desperately yearning for. So that's why. [00:05:31] Crystal Fincher: Gotcha. Well, before we dive into all of the details and long discussion we're gonna have, we are adding a new element into our candidate interviews this year, which is a bit of a lightning round - just short form yes or no, or choose one answers. And so starting with this little group - This year, did you vote yes on the King County Crisis Care Centers levy? [00:05:56] Rob Saka: Yes, happily. [00:05:57] Crystal Fincher: This year, did you vote yes on the Veterans, Seniors and Human Services levy? [00:06:03] Rob Saka: Yes, yes - that benefits everybody. Not just 'cause I'm a vet - heck yes. [00:06:08] Crystal Fincher: Did you vote in favor of Seattle's Social Housing Initiative 135? [00:06:13] Rob Saka: Yes. [00:06:16] Crystal Fincher: In 2021, did you vote in favor of Bruce Harrell or Lorena González for Mayor? [00:06:21] Rob Saka: I voted for Mayor Bruce Harrell. [00:06:24] Crystal Fincher: In 2021, did you vote for Nicole Thomas Kennedy or Ann Davison for City Attorney? [00:06:29] Rob Saka: Ooh, yeah, it's - rock and a hard place - but given the choice between an abolitionist and someone super duper hefty and strong on public safety, I voted for Ann Davison. [00:06:43] Crystal Fincher: In 2022, did you vote for Leesa Manion or Jim Ferrell for Prosecutor? [00:06:48] Rob Saka: Leesa. [00:06:49] Crystal Fincher: In 2022, did you vote for Patty Murray or Tiffany Smiley for US Senate? [00:06:54] Rob Saka: Senator Murray. I helped knock on doors for her in 2010. Of course, yeah. [00:07:00] Crystal Fincher: Do you rent or own your residence? [00:07:03] Rob Saka: Today, I own - grateful for that - but I'm a lifelong renter and other unstable and insecure housing before that, but today, I own. [00:07:12] Crystal Fincher: Are you a landlord? [00:07:14] Rob Saka: No. [00:07:15] Crystal Fincher: Would you vote to require landlords to report metrics, including how much rent they're charging, to help better plan housing and development needs in the district? [00:07:25] Rob Saka: Maybe. Curious to understand more about what specific set of problems that would help address-- [00:07:34] Crystal Fincher: We can get more into all the detail. We'll keep these to yes or no right now. Are there instances where you support sweeps of homeless encampments? [00:07:45] Rob Saka: I support better connecting our unhoused neighbors with shelter and services, and some people call it sweeps, some people call it restoring encampments or whatever, but-- [00:07:57] Crystal Fincher: Is this a yes or a no? [00:08:01] Rob Saka: I support connecting people with, better connecting people with shelter and services. So I guess under your framing, yes. [00:08:08] Crystal Fincher: Will you vote to provide additional funding for Seattle's Social Housing Public Development Authority? [00:08:15] Rob Saka: Maybe. We need to figure out where that's gonna come from, but I'm inclined to do it. I'm looking forward to working with the authors of the original bill - that I voted for - to figure out what the funding solution looks like. [00:08:28] Crystal Fincher: Do you agree with King County Executive Constantine's statement that the King County Jail should be closed? [00:08:36] Rob Saka: As a principle - long-term, yeah, long-term, but yeah, we still have issues and challenges today that require incarceration, and so-- [00:08:52] Crystal Fincher: Moving on to - lightning round, lightning round. Do you agree with King County Executive Dow Constantine that the Youth Jail should be closed in 2025? [00:09:02] Rob Saka: Maybe. [00:09:04] Crystal Fincher: Should parking enforcement be housed with an SPD? [00:09:10] Rob Saka: Maybe. [00:09:11] Crystal Fincher: Would you vote to allow police in schools? [00:09:17] Rob Saka: Yes, if that's what the community wants. [00:09:19] Crystal Fincher: Would, do you support allocation in the City budget for a civilian-led mental health crisis response? [00:09:25] Rob Saka: Yes. [00:09:26] Crystal Fincher: Do you support allocation in the City budget to increase the pay of human service workers? [00:09:31] Rob Saka: Yes. [00:09:33] Crystal Fincher: Do you support removing funds in the City budget for forced encampment removals, and instead allocating funds towards a Housing First approach? [00:09:42] Rob Saka: No. [00:09:44] Crystal Fincher: Do you support abrogating or removing the funds from unfilled SPD positions and putting them towards meaningful public safety measures? [00:09:53] Rob Saka: No. [00:09:55] Crystal Fincher: Do you support allocating money in the City budget for supervised consumption sites? [00:10:00] Rob Saka: No. [00:10:01] Crystal Fincher: Do you support increasing funding in the City budget for violence intervention programs? [00:10:08] Rob Saka: Yes. [00:10:10] Crystal Fincher: Do you oppose a SPOG contract, or Seattle Police Officers Guild contract, that does not give the Office of Police Accountability and the Office of Inspector General subpoena power? [00:10:22] Rob Saka: Yes, I worked on it at the county level - yes. [00:10:26] Crystal Fincher: So you oppose it, they should have subpoena power? [00:10:28] Rob Saka: Yeah, absolutely. I believe an effective civili-- well, we can talk about it, but yeah, yeah. [00:10:32] Crystal Fincher: Do you oppose a SPOG contract that doesn't remove limitations as to how many of OPA's investigators must be sworn versus civilian? [00:10:45] Rob Saka: Help me understand this question - is it - so-- [00:10:47] Crystal Fincher: Do you oppose basically lifting the cap, removing limitations? Would you oppose a contract that doesn't remove those limitations as to how many of OPA's investigators must be sworn versus civilian? [00:11:03] Rob Saka: No. [00:11:03] Crystal Fincher: Meaning should - okay, gotcha. Do you oppose a SPOG contract that impedes the ability, do you oppose a SPOG contract that impedes the ability of the City to move police funding to public safety alternatives? [00:11:20] Rob Saka: Would I oppose a SPOG contract that removes? [00:11:23] Crystal Fincher: That impedes the ability of the City to move police funding to public safety alternatives? [00:11:31] Rob Saka: Yes, provided it doesn't impact, yeah. [00:11:34] Crystal Fincher: Do you support eliminating in-uniform off-duty work by SPD officers? [00:11:43] Rob Saka: No. [00:11:45] Crystal Fincher: Will you vote to ensure that trans and non-binary students are allowed to play on the sports teams that fit with their gender identities? [00:11:53] Rob Saka: Yes. [00:11:55] Crystal Fincher: Will you vote to ensure that trans people can use bathrooms or public facilities that match their gender? [00:12:00] Rob Saka: Yes. [00:12:02] Crystal Fincher: Do you agree with the Seattle City Council's decision to implement the JumpStart Tax? [00:12:08] Rob Saka: Yes. [00:12:10] Crystal Fincher: Will you vote to reduce or divert the JumpStart Tax in any way? [00:12:15] Rob Saka: No. [00:12:17] Crystal Fincher: Are you happy with Seattle's newly built waterfront? [00:12:23] Rob Saka: Yes. Maybe. Could be better. [00:12:26] Crystal Fincher: Do you believe return to work mandates, like the one issued by Amazon, are necessary to boost Seattle's economy? [00:12:34] Rob Saka: Yes. [00:12:36] Crystal Fincher: Have you taken transit in the past week? [00:12:40] Rob Saka: No. [00:12:41] Crystal Fincher: In the past month? [00:12:43] Rob Saka: No. [00:12:44] Crystal Fincher: Have you ridden a bike in the past week? [00:12:48] Rob Saka: No. In the last month - yes. [00:12:51] Crystal Fincher: Should Pike Place Market allow non-commercial car traffic? [00:13:00] Rob Saka: Yes. [00:13:02] Crystal Fincher: Should significant investments be made to speed up the opening of scheduled Sound Transit light rail lines? [00:13:09] Rob Saka: Yes. [00:13:11] Crystal Fincher: Should we accelerate the elimination of the ability to turn right on red lights to improve pedestrian safety? [00:13:19] Rob Saka: Yes. [00:13:21] Crystal Fincher: Have you ever been a member of a union? [00:13:23] Rob Saka: Yes. [00:13:25] Crystal Fincher: Will you vote to increase funding and staffing for investigations into labor violations like wage theft and illegal union busting? [00:13:33] Rob Saka: Yes. [00:13:35] Crystal Fincher: Have you ever walked on a picket line? [00:13:39] Rob Saka: Yes. [00:13:40] Crystal Fincher: Have you ever crossed a picket line? [00:13:42] Rob Saka: No. [00:13:44] Crystal Fincher: Is your campaign unionized? [00:13:49] Rob Saka: No, no one in my-- [00:13:52] Crystal Fincher: You would know if it was. [00:13:53] Rob Saka: Yeah. [00:13:54] Crystal Fincher: Yeah. If your campaign staff wants to unionize, will you voluntarily recognize their effort? [00:14:00] Rob Saka: Yes. [00:14:02] Crystal Fincher: See, and that's the end of the lightning round - quick and painless. And now we can get into our deep conversation where we can get into all of the nuance. Wanted to start out talking about, you know, a lot of people look to work that candidates have done to get a feel for what they prioritize and how qualified they are to lead. Can you describe something you've accomplished or changed in your district and what impact that has had on its residents? [00:14:28] Rob Saka: Yeah, so a couple of things. I kind of - as I mentioned, I served on a number of boards, appointed boards, and commissions at the county and city level. And particularly with respect to my prior work in the King County Charter Commission where kind of basically changed the landscape for, you know - at the constitutional, the basic framework of the county, made a number of changes that voters ultimately approved and signed off on that, you know, helped make King County a better place. And therefore this district and the city, entire city a better place. So more specifically, you know, I'm really proud of a lot of the work that I did in the justice reform space. You know, I'm one of the co-architects, the reason why in this county we no longer elect our sheriff, we appoint our sheriff. Why? Because I believe in effective civilian oversight of law enforcement. Also, you know, one of the lightning round questions earlier was about, you know, granting the civilian Office of Law Enforcement Oversight or whatever - the parallel office, whatever it's called, at the city level - them subpoena power. And I helped champion and pass that at the county level to make sure that the civilian Office of Law Enforcement Oversight has subpoena power and voters approved that. And, you know, also with respect to the inquest process, when someone is killed by law enforcement, you know, I helped add safeguards and protections and making sure that that process is more fair and transparent for all, more specifically by adding and allowing the families of the deceased to be represented by, you know, have legal representation and clarifying what constitutes an in-custody death situation. So, you know, that's sort of like the package of justice reform work that I'm proud to have been a part of and help lead. And then there's this whole issue of workplace protections. It is now unlawful in this county to discriminate against workers on the basis of, you know, their status as family caregivers or their status as a veteran, including veterans who were dishonorably discharged as a direct result of their, you know, their trans and queer status. Some, you know, as we know, when Trump took office, you know, he did what Trump does and unfortunately, a lot of people were given paperwork and discharged, many dishonorably, from the military. And so now in this county, you can no longer - so it's not just the people of, absolutely, you know, like everyone benefits from that, not just the people in the county. And selfishly, look, as a veteran and someone who has - with three young kids - and I have my own family caregiving obligations, but so my DNA and fingerprints are clearly all over that. But we know that everyone, everyone benefits, again, when they can show up to work without fear of reprisal, retribution, discrimination, because of one of those things. [00:17:46] Crystal Fincher: Gotcha. Well, I wanna talk about the City budget. The City of Seattle is projected to have a revenue shortfall of $224 million beginning in 2025. The City's mandated by the state to pass a balanced budget. So the only options to address that deficit are either raising revenue or cutting services. Which one of those is, or what combination of those, is your approach? [00:18:12] Rob Saka: Yeah, it might be a more - I respectfully, you know, reject the paradigm - it's one or the other, you know, cutting or modifying maybe. And we can consider new revenue opportunities, but I think my starting place is operating within existing state law, meaning, you know, we have to have a balanced budget and start with whatever City budget we do have in place. And, you know, so that's my starting point. We need to identify what's working well, like working well spending-wise - what kind of, you know, I personally support audits of city budgets - independent, third-party audits even of city budgets, potentially across the board to identify and regular ongoing like monitoring and systems evaluations to make sure we're getting the bang for our buck and making sure whatever dollars we're spending are wisely spent. And we can shift, you know, reshift or, you know, reallocate resources to areas of greater need and greater impact potentially, but depending on the opportunity. And then from there-- [00:19:25] Crystal Fincher: I guess starting in the frame, just to help clarify the frame. So if we are working within the City budget and starting with the existing City budget, what we're moving to needs to be $224 [million] slimmer than what currently is. So I think audits are wonderful things, I think they're actually an underutilized resource for many - and not a tool of punishment, but a tool of discovery. But if you do have to cut, if you are starting from the point of - let's take this budget and see where we can trim - where are you starting? What, where would you prioritize those cuts? [00:20:03] Rob Saka: Yeah, I'm not gonna prioritize any specific area. I'm not gonna come in and target any specific area. Instead, I'm gonna approach it with a curious mind and, you know, figure out what are those programs and services that are well delivered, well administered, and we're seeing results for. And what are, you know, other opportunities where they either need potentially additional investment or maybe reinvestment and kind of going from there. And then, you know, that's kind of like the framing that I kind of view this as. And then from there, if an existing - so if everything, after all that work, you know, it's a set of, you know, it's a spectrum, a set of analysis that kind of run side-by-side and in parallel. But, you know, from there, let's look at - so take the issue of homelessness, for example. Homelessness is certainly a Seattle problem, but it is not a Seattle-only problem. The issue of homelessness in this city is a regional problem, it's a county problem, it's a state problem, and it's a federal problem. And it's a shared - so I think not only should we not try and solve the issue - whatever the issue is, whatever the challenge is - alone and in a silo. We need to look to those other partners and other governments for design, helping to co-design and co-engineer the policy solution - Step one. Step two is we also need to look to them for, you know, like help funding the specific solutions as well. So, you know, I would push for more - that's one area where I would push for more funding of, you know, like the shared responsibility model. And from there, let's explore public-private partnerships - building housing, affordable housing - you know, there's organizations and private organizations, including some companies who, you know, want to contribute and help address the problem. And so working collaboratively with them to figure out what's doable, how we can potentially close some of those gaps and fund them. And then let's look at new revenue opportunities after that. And I know there's this new Progressive Revenue Task Force - or whatever it's been rebranded, it's called something else in Seattle now, but - and then let's look at new revenue potentials and opportunities. But there's like, I kind of think about it more than just like - yeah, I try to avoid the either or-- [00:22:43] Crystal Fincher: I mean, but isn't that, wouldn't that be the position that you're in when you're elected? You have to trim the budget by $224 million - absent finding new revenue, which is going to take a little bit to trickle in and get started anyway. So you're going to have to make that call as a councilmember, right? [00:23:01] Rob Saka: I'm going to have to make the call to be the, be a responsible steward of whatever dollars we are spending. I'm going to have to make the call of being, you know, doing my due diligence to make sure that we're operating within the existing City budget, identifying, you know, system deficiencies and opportunities to improve and streamline and allocate and sometimes reallocate resources. Yes. [00:23:27] Crystal Fincher: Gotcha. Okay. So let's talk about climate change. On almost every measure, we're behind on our 2030 climate goals, while experiencing devastating impacts from extreme heat and cold, to wildfires and floods. It's been really challenging and anticipated to see things like that with increasing frequency. What are your highest priority plans to get us on track to meet the 2030 goals? [00:23:53] Rob Saka: Yeah, so climate change is an issue that's really important to me personally and my family. And having talked to a lot of people throughout this district, it is one that I know is weighing heavily on the hearts and minds of a lot of people - I wouldn't say that supersedes public safety in the issue of, in Maslow's hierarchy of needs, but it is very important, it's very urgent. So my specific plans and proposals from a policy perspective to address climate - make sure we have a, we actually bring to life climate justice and we're seeing and building out climate resiliency across this district and hopefully across the City as well. This - District 1, first of all, as you probably know, now includes South Park and Georgetown due to redistricting. And those are some of the most historically, you know, at-risk communities. The life expectancy of folks is lower there in the Duwamish Valley. We need to build out more sustainable communities and more resilient communities. So I support things like - we also need to cut down the amount of greenhouse gases as quickly as possible. And part of that is, you know, we need to encourage and incentivize people using 100% electric vehicles. You can do that at the city level in part by building out our infrastructure and charging battery infrastructure to support that across the city. So that's part of my plan. Another part is we need to get people, again, out of those single-occupancy vehicles that are producing the most greenhouse gases and into public transit. And so we need to, therefore, expand our public transit options. And not only as we expand out options and service, we need to expand reliability and the quality, overall quality of the experience. And I do know, just having talked to a lot of people - 7,000+, knocked on 7,000+ doors personally in this district. My campaign has knocked on an additional 12,000 outside of that. You know, there are some people, a lot of people that want to take public trans and get out of their cars, but unfortunately they just don't feel safe. They don't feel safe when they're on the bus. Crystal, they don't feel safe when they're on the journey from their homes to the bus stop. They don't feel safe when they get off the bus to wherever the destination they're going, whether it's downtown or wherever they're going. And so we can build out and expand and drive reliability and predictability and accessibility and our transit options. But if no one's feeling comfortable to take the bus, it's a nice shiny object that's effectively akin to a art project. We need to make sure we create the experience that is in-line with people's expectations as well and making sure we're doing both things in parallel. And also, you know, we need to - and part of my plan includes - working collaboratively with labor organizations to find the best opportunities and build the pipeline for those jobs, working class jobs, in sustainable fields and making sure that those are well-funded. And, you know, we create - everyone is able to share in the benefits of a sustainable economy that's diverse. Also building out and improving our green building codes and sustainable building standards, environmental standards - strengthening those. Those are just some of the things that, you know, kind of how I view the opportunity at the Seattle City government level, from a policy standpoint, to make further progress and accelerate our impact on addressing the climate challenges we face. [00:28:08] Crystal Fincher: Gotcha. So how would you look to improve pedestrian and bicycle safety in your district? [00:28:17] Rob Saka: Yeah, so we need to - one's low-hanging fruit. One is bike safety. So we need to add more protective barriers to bike lanes where possible, where feasible. I think there's an opportunity for more bike lanes, but I think we're at a decent place there - we're better off in bike lanes today in this district than we are in pedestrian safety improvements and enhancements. I'll tell you - 7,000 doors I knocked on personally, Crystal, and all over this district - and I started right here in my own community in Delridge. And then I sort of branched off, fanned out to other parts of the district and, you know - Admiral and Fauntleroy and Alki. And then, you know, South Park. And for the last month before the primary, I came back home - came back home to Delridge and High Point and, you know, other more disadvantaged communities, historically underrepresented communities like South Park. And I was struck by a couple of things. 'Cause when I was at those, like the "more affluent" parts of the district - I was amazed, Crystal - like the potholes were few. When there were potholes, they were quickly patched and repaired. Amazingly, shocking - there were sidewalks on both sides of the streets. And then when I came back home, particularly to Delridge - more specifically, like when you get further east of Del, anywhere east of Delridge, you go, the Delridge corridor - Crystal, there's many neighborhoods and communities that don't - not only do they not have one sidewalk, they don't have any sidewalks, period. We need to build out our, like, and building out, investing in basic sidewalk infrastructure is a huge opportunity to address pedestrian safety in this district. And I plan to do just that. [00:30:22] Crystal Fincher: Well, I want to talk about public safety a bit, and starting with alternative response. While a number of jurisdictions, definitely around the country - but even in our own region, in the county - have rolled out alternative response programs to better support those having behavioral health crises, Seattle has stalled in implementing what is a widely-supported idea by voters and residents in the City. Where do you stand on non-police solutions to public safety issues, and what are your thoughts on civilian-led versus co-response models? [00:30:54] Rob Saka: Yeah, so it's imperative. It's an essential part of my plan and my public safety package - to actually stand up, fund, and deliver this - and work collaboratively with my fellow council members and the mayor to do so. We've, sort of as you alluded to, Crystal - we've kind of languished a little bit, been in the sunken place a little bit, if you will - talking about this great opportunity, and we just can't seem to get unstuck and unblock ourselves. Meanwhile, you mentioned a few other jurisdictions right here in the county, across the state, that have done it - but some great comparators, I think from a population standpoint, geographic scope and size, are Denver and Albuquerque. We literally do not need to recreate the wheel here. Instead, we need to just humble ourselves and look to how, specifically, other jurisdictions have been successful. What works? Now, also, at the same time, understanding every single thing that they did well is not gonna port over, make a direct, logical, one-for-one - mean it'll automatically work out well here in Seattle, but we don't need to recreate the wheel. Let's look to what's been successful in other jurisdictions - I named a few that would be good comparators. With respect to, but that is an essential part of public safety, not the only part. Yeah, we need to hire more police officers and train them and make sure they have the tools and resources they need to be successful, set and enforce the highest standards of excellence and professionalism in the communities where they operate, and hold them accountable swiftly if they fail to carry out their duties in a just, equitable, constitutional manner. So that's also an essential part. But back to the first, the question here. Yes, I support these civilian-led responses. It's an urgent thing and we need to treat it as such. And for the co-response versus civilian-led response, I think that's gonna be a situation-dependent thing. I know they have various models in other jurisdictions. And if it's pretty clear, we need to develop some good, sharp, clear, consistent guidelines about what that response looks like. But I'll tell you, Crystal, when I - I volunteered for a 911 shift downtown, you know, at the call center downtown Seattle, and I was struck by two things. One, the mounting list of calls - queue of calls - that, like, deserves ordinarily some sort of police response of some sort, but because of staffing levels, no one was gonna get to it for hours, maybe some cases days. And also, I sat sitting side-by-side next to the frontline call center operator and listening to the calls, I definitely heard a few calls that someone was in a clear crisis situation and they needed a response of some sort, but a badge and a gun and armed response and a uniformed response was not at all what they need. We've seen how that's a formula for disaster. We, you know, we can train police officers - and yeah, we're gonna train them better, make them better, and hold them accountable, but we're not gonna train our way out of bad responses. Like, they don't need to be leading and frontlining a lot of these crises calls, especially when maybe the call earlier, someone might've been trying to take their life, that's conceivable, and then they respond to someone who just needs help. He needs a, they need a social worker or behavioral mental health crisis. We can't train our way out of that with uniformed gun-badge responses. So, but it's a situation-specific - to answer your question, you know, again, about the different models options. It's a situation-specific kind of analysis. [00:35:00] Crystal Fincher: Gotcha. I wanna talk about victims - a lot, and we hear people talk about victims and oftentimes mischaracterize what victims say, but both from, you know, anecdotal conversations and numerous studies, victims overwhelmingly want two things - to make sure what happened to them doesn't happen to them or anyone else again, and help getting beyond their - support and help to get beyond and to restore what was lost or damaged or hurt. And we don't do a good job from a governmental standpoint, or as a community, supporting people who have been victimized. And so often that feeds into very unhealthy outcomes later on down the line. What can you do in your capacity as a City Councilperson to better support victims of crime? [00:35:55] Rob Saka: Yeah, so great, great question. I think the best - so all of these issues - highly complex, nuanced. So let's double click, dive a little deeper. So we talked about the imperative a moment ago to, you know, from my perspective, to hire more police, public safety, empower them, set and enforce the highest standards, and hold them accountable. Also the co-equal important policy plan that I have to stand up, fund and implement, you know, these civilian-led responses. But also a very, very important part of this whole equation is prevention - making sure that we don't have to, people don't have to experience crime to begin with. Making sure that people - that crime victims, if you will - you know, not only they don't feel the sentiment and have the experience of like, not wanting that to happen again to someone else, but also they don't feel the sense of like, we need to kind of restore and bring a sense of whole and completeness to whatever traumatic experience happened to them. So prevention is really important and crime prevention is really important. And why is there crime? Well, it's complex, not just one thing, but you know, rising inequality, lack of access to resources, unequal opportunities, poverty, you know, lack of mental behavioral health services and support. And I think building out programs and services anchored and oriented around addressing those root causes will go a long way in preventing crime to begin with and minimizing our impact. Because yes, we need effective prevention and address the root causes, if you will, but we also need to make sure that we have, you know, our whole like policy plans and funding strategy reflects, you know, making sure we can contemplate and resource the realities of today and have good interventions as well. So, you know, all of those things must and should coexist in parallel, in my view. [00:38:17] Crystal Fincher: Okay, so I just wanted to clarify on that last one. I think your points about prevention and your plans to hire more police certainly speak to some other aspects, but specifically when it comes to supporting victims - people who have been - unfortunately, while you're working towards prevention and doing the other things, it is, there are going to be more people who are victimized unfortunately, even while we're reducing crime. But what could you do to better support victims, people who have been victimized, and people who do need help? [00:38:55] Rob Saka: Yeah, so great question. The number one thing is making sure we have effective intervention and response capabilities. And, you know, we do that in part through making sure we have well, you know, well-resourced, trained set of public safety apparatus - firefighters, police, paramedics - and to make sure that people have the responses that they need and expect. Making sure if someone has been like victimized by property crime or whatever it is, that, you know, they can reasonably expect an officer to show up and, you know, take a report, and hopefully investigate that, and follow up, and show up in a timely manner. But also, you know, depending on the nature of the victimization for crime victims, we also need to do a better job of making sure people have access to services and - like trauma response and support services - and they're better taken care of from a mental health perspective as well. And help them navigate and better help them navigate everything - like, you know, talking about crime in abstract, you know, without a specific like fact pattern, it's a little tricky. But I do think at a high level, there is a huge opportunity to better help people navigate the various systems, structures, services, and programs that currently exist today once - for victims - and then build out and expand those as well. [00:40:56] Crystal Fincher: I see. I wanna talk about housing and homelessness and in particular, one thing called out by experts as a barrier to the effectiveness of the homelessness response is frontline worker wages that don't cover the cost of living. Do you believe our local nonprofits have a responsibility to pay living wages for our area, and how can you make that more likely with how the City bids for and contracts for services? [00:41:24] Rob Saka: Yeah, I think that is some of the most important work going on - in any profession, in any discipline, in any - like the direct frontline work that, you know, our professionals across a variety of disciplines are doing directly on a day-to-day basis with our unhoused neighbors. And inflation is rising exponentially. You know, wage increases haven't kept up just across the board, especially in government and in nonprofit contracted work. So yes, I support, you know, making sure they have living wages because as a policy matter, like you sort of, your priorities show up in what you support and what you fund. So that doesn't also mean at the same time, you know, wouldn't look for - in the issue of homelessness, for example - wouldn't look for opportunities to perform, you know, like initial or like regular ongoing systems checks to analyze performance and, you know, figure out what's working well and, you know, knock down barriers to success and, you know, things like that. But yeah, I mean, I, these workers have a tough job. So I support living wages. [00:43:03] Crystal Fincher: And I wanna talk about the larger economy - well, larger to the City and district, at least. And the City has a very, very vibrant business economy. Some of the largest corporations in the world headquartered here and nearby, as well as a really vibrant small business community that really spans the range across the board. But they have a number of challenges that they're trying to deal with and get beyond. So when it comes to your district, what can you do? I guess, one, what do you think the biggest challenges facing small businesses in your district are and how can you address those needs? [00:43:43] Rob Saka: Yeah, the biggest challenge is facing this district. You're right, like, to first address - kind of how you prefaced that question, I like that framing - yeah, we have a vibrant economy with companies and businesses of all sizes. And, you know, the only challenge is it's not - the benefits that provides our region, you know, aren't always equally shared and distributed and those opportunities aren't always equally shared. And look, I grew up in Kent, you know, and - in the valley in Kent, like I said - and my dad, if we know what we know about Kent, the economy runs on two things - agriculture and warehousing district. It's always been a warehousing district. Today, there's this big, fancy Amazon fulfillment center - it's like the crown jewel of the Kent warehousing district. And I'm glad it's there, personally. And great, you know, but before that was there and long after it, something else, maybe. It's always been a warehousing district, always will be. And my father was a frontline warehouse worker in Kent. And I found my path to other opportunities in tech, you know, through the military and law school and other things, but we need to make sure more people have access to those opportunities. But to answer, you know, that kind of follow-up question there about what can I do? What can I best do to support small businesses if elected? Well, one, I don't view my role as like prescribing, you know, setting forth prescriptive menu changes for a restaurant, for example. But where I can help, and I've talked to small businesses - small business owners, their workers, their customers - and the number one opportunity that I see to help support them and help make sure that they're successful is public safety. There, someone told me the other day - a small business owner with an office downtown told me the other day that their workers don't feel safe coming to downtown. So how can you impose these hybrid work requirements, which I generally support, as long as there's some - I also like the flexibility, especially, and value the flexibility as a parent of young kids to have, you know, like a couple of days to work from home, work remotely. But how can you impose these across the board, agnostic of whatever the attendant circumstances is, you know, requirements for working from the office based on some arbitrary number or some executive's gut feeling about what sparks innovation the most when people, when their workers don't even feel safe. And then their customers oftentimes don't feel safe. How are we going to stimulate the economy if people - we need to get more people, not just from this district, into these businesses across the district and across the city, but we need to get more people from, you know, South County and, you know, people from the Eastside and other parts of the state and like wanting to come here and spend their money and feel comfortable and invest here as well. So I think public safety is the number one opportunity that I see and I hear over and over and over again from small business owners, their workers, and customers. [00:47:30] Crystal Fincher: Right, and I wanna ask you about childcare, which is a challenge faced not only by people with kids, you know - challenge faced primarily with them - but the effects are felt throughout the entire community. It's people's largest expense next to housing, frequently. And now the annual cost of childcare tops that of college annually. So it's just an astronomical expense and sometimes just the accessibility - just is there childcare available near you - is a challenge. What can you do as a City councilmember to help families in your district with this? [00:48:10] Rob Saka: Yeah, it's a unique problem that I understand firsthand, not only as someone with childcare responsibilities - my number one job in life is the parent of these three kids - but also someone who experienced, you know, like pre-K childcare from a place of need in under-representation. And look, I mentioned I grew up in and out of foster care for the first nine years of my life - mostly in. And, you know, when I wasn't in foster care during that time, you know, sometimes I was in a, like a Head Start program or a funded program of some sort. Usually it was not being watched by whoever could watch me. And raised by soap operas. And I'm grateful, like I said, where I am today personally and professionally, not because of some of those, you know, lousy experiences, but I'm grateful because I am where I am despite some of those lousy circumstances. And you look at the research and you look at the data on people, on kids who have been exposed to like, like pre-K programs and preschool programs, been in those programs. And you look at their life outcomes. They perform generally better in school than their peers who don't have some sort of preschool program and are just sort of like, kind of how I was describing and how I grew up most of the time. Their graduation rates are higher, their college attendance rates are higher. Like their life outcomes are generally better. And so one opportunity that I see long-term - I got two terms in me if I win. One is not enough to get done what I intend to get done, and two is like just a sweet spot. I don't believe in mandatory term limits, but there's nothing wrong with self-imposed ones. So I have two terms - towards the end, I wanna actually build out and fund preschool program for all. And make sure that more people have that opportunity. And make sure more people have access to quality affordable childcare - and educational, like a learning environment that's gonna help them, and help communities, and help us long-term. So really, really urgent challenge. And also part of that, like childcare workers are some of the most underpaid folks too. And they do work, and they do work for us. And I know firsthand, a lot of them put their - they were some of the most unsung heroes during COVID. They, a lot of workers, but like talking about this specific question, a lot of them put their health and safety on the line for poor wages, uncertain working conditions - to make sure more people could work. And make sure more kids are able to be successful long-term. And so they're grossly underpaid. So there's been other jurisdictions that have been successful, at least in terms of like starting to think about, how to better pay and how to better fund universal preschool programs for all. And so I'm curious to figure out creative ways to do exactly that on Seattle City Council. [00:51:38] Crystal Fincher: And the last thing I just wanna touch on is - back to a budget issue - those Progressive Revenue Task Force recommendations that did come out, especially now before this revenue shortfall. So if dramatic cuts are to be avoided, there does need to be some new revenue in place. Do you support, or will you be advocating for any of the recommendations from the Progressive Revenue Task Force, or any other ideas you have? [00:52:11] Rob Saka: Yeah, thank you, Crystal. So, we talked a little bit about my, like kind of how I view the budget and operating with the existing - looking to additional government partners at all levels, and funding sources, and public-private partnerships - and then expanding, looking at new revenue sources. But you asked a question about potential new revenue sources. And from this report, I'm most keenly interested in learning more about the vacant home, vacant lot tax idea. That seems to be - potentially, I don't know - I would love to learn more and explore and closely study, examine the feasibility of that. But that seems to be just the most low-hanging fruit opportunity in terms of one, creating revenue. We shouldn't just create revenue for the sake of it. You know, it should have a purpose and an incentive and disincentive structure behind it. I think that will help address the affordability crisis, and making sure we have beneficial use of living space at all times, and incentivize people to actually use stuff. So, but, so that's one thing I'm keenly interested personally in learning more about and exploring. Yeah. [00:53:41] Crystal Fincher: Got it. In the last couple minutes we have here, there are people trying to make a decision between you and your opponent - and two new candidates, no incumbent in this open seat race - and people just searching for who best aligns with their values and who is best suited for this role. What do you tell voters who are trying to make up their minds? [00:54:04] Rob Saka: Yeah, so we have a very clear choice in this race. The contrasts have never been more clear. We can choose the business-as-usual approach and, or we have an opportunity to bring about some change. And I'm a strong Democrat, you know, make no apologies about that - matter of fact, I'm the strongest Democrat in this race 'cause I'm the only one that's been endorsed by our home local Democratic Party, the 34th District Dems, shout out to them. And I'm a strong progressive. And, you know, I also need to think we need to better incorporate progressive values, equity, and make sure things not only are equitable by design - I think we do that well in Seattle - but also equitable in implementation. And is it truly equitable in implementation? And being willing to humble ourselves and figure out if that's not the case, what's the solve? What's the fix? What's the solution? And the issue of public safety, there's - I've been entirely consistent about this whole time. We need to stand up civilian-led responses. We need to hire more police and empower them to carry out their public safety mandate and hold them accountable. We need to also focus on crime prevention in parallel. So that's my plan. There's complexity and there's nuance there. And, you know, despite some of the rising crime and gun violence in this district - South Park, someone was shot and I think killed earlier today. And the issue of gun violence isn't one shared equally across this city and across this district. Certain communities, including the one I live in - in Delridge, are more impacted and bearing the brunt of it more than others. So it's just remarkable to see that after all these shootings, my opponent still thinks that defunding the police by 50% was a good idea. I think it was a bad idea. And that doesn't mean we can't hold bad police accountable. I fought to do that. I fought to do exactly that at the county level and I'll continue to do that and accelerate that work. But yeah, the issue of public safety has never been, the contrast has never been clear. And look, if people like the current direction of the Seattle City Council - the current approach, the toxicity, the divisiveness, the performative ideological-based, you know, acts and gestures rather than a collaborative approach focused on solutions, I'm probably not their candidate. But I am here to bring about the change I think people so desperately want and need - a collaborative, responsive government that centers equity, progressive values, and a little healthy dose of common sense as well. So yeah. [00:57:23] Crystal Fincher: Well, thank you so much for your time and for sharing more about your candidacy with us today - much appreciated. [00:57:32] Rob Saka: Thank you, Crystal - appreciate you. [00:57:34] Crystal Fincher: Thank you for listening to Hacks & Wonks, which is produced by Shannon Cheng. You can follow Hacks & Wonks on Twitter @HacksWonks. You can catch Hacks & Wonks on every podcast service and app - just type "Hacks and Wonks" into the search bar. Be sure to subscribe to get the full versions of our Friday week-in-review shows and our Tuesday topical show delivered to your podcast feed. If you like us, leave a review wherever you listen. You can also get a full transcript of this episode and links to the resources referenced in the show at officialhacksandwonks.com and in the podcast episode notes. Thanks for tuning in - talk to you next time.

Bayer Leverkusen signed Victor Boniface from Royale Union Saint-Gilloise. Victor Okoh Boniface is a Nigerian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Bundesliga club Bayer Leverkusen and the Nigeria national team.

Have you ever wondered why people are crazy enough to drink raw milk? I consume raw milk daily from my Nigerian dwarf goat and when I share this online, I'm met with a ton of pushback. Why is that? What are the real health benefits of raw milk? Is raw milk as scary as everyone says? Let's find out! Drinking raw milk is your own choice and I would suggest you do your own research to come to a conclusion!  Visit the Official Gubba Homestead Website Follow Gubba Homestead on Twitter Youtube Instagram

In this episode of Third Culture Africans, Zeze engages in a deep conversation with Ayo Akinwolere, a prominent figure in the UK's media landscape, touching on his versatile career, personal journey, and cultural perspectives on success. They explore the Nigerian concept of achievement, driven by a higher power, in contrast to societies valuing individual effort. Ayo's late realization of self-celebration, his transformative role as the first black Blue Peter presenter, and his two world records exemplify his unique journey. The conversation extends to Milk First Productions' mission to address police brutality and racism, offering insights into financial realities and concluding with Ayo's evolving definition of success, centered on equilibrium and self-worth. This episode is a captivating journey through Ayo Akinwolere's multifaceted career and cultural exploration.  

Kim Chakanetsa talks to two entrepreneurs who teach women to be money-savvy. Arese Ugwu is a Nigerian author whose work is centred around personal finance. She wrote two best-selling books, The smart money tribe and The smart money woman. The latter has recently been turned into a Netflix show. Shikha Mittal is a personal finance educator from India. In 2010 she started Be.artsy, a social enterprise empowering people through courses and awareness campaigns. The two big causes she cares about are fighting sexual harassment in the workplace and making people – and women in particular – financially literate. Produced by Alice Gioia (Image: (L) Shikha Mittal, credit Be.artsy. (R) Arese Ugwu, credit Ryan OniFOTO Studios.)

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Live for Nigerians in Diaspora Organization (NIDO) Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Calgary Canada

In this exciting episode, we're going to dive deep into the incredible entrepreneurial journey of Chekwas Okafor in the Nigerian manufacturing industry. He's a visionary leader who's made a big impact on the Nigerian business landscape. We'll be taking a closer look at Chekwas Okafor's journey as an entrepreneur, and we'll also explore what's going on in the Nigerian manufacturing industry in 2023, which plays a crucial role in the country's economy. So, come along with us as we flip through the pages of Nigerian business success stories, with a special focus on manufacturing entrepreneurship. You'll get to uncover the strategies, face the challenges, and celebrate the triumphs that have paved Chekwas Okafor's road to success. You can learn more about our guest for today, Chekwas Okafor and his organisation through his social media handles below: LinkedIn https://shorturl.at/djzCJ Instagram https://www.instagram.com/chekwasokafor/ Onchek Africa https://www.instagram.com/onchekafrica/ Website https://onchek.com/ Topics explore:

Jeff Mills, Neue Grafik, Prabhu Edouard and Knoel Scott talk about improvisational performance, rhythms as a form of communication and how technology is overtaking the artist. Jeff Mills started out on the Detroit techno scene in the 1980s before founding Underground Resistance with ‘Mad' Mike Banks in 1989. He left Detroit for New York in 1991 (via a residency at Berlin's mighty Tresor), to pursue a solo career and set up his own label, Axis. Since then, he's released a number of projects, including two volumes of Waveform Transmissions for Tresor; 2005's Blue Potential, a live album recorded with the 70-piece Montpelier Philharmonic Orchestra; and a new soundtrack for Fritz Lang's 1926 film Metropolis in 2000. In 2018, he set up the Afrofunk-electro-jazz ensemble Tomorrow Comes The Harvest with the late Nigerian drummer Tony Allen, and has been making music and performing with the collective ever since. Neue Grafik is a composer, producer and multi-instrumentalist making a truly unique sound. Blending hip-hop, jazz and house, his music draws a map between his African heritage, time in Paris and love of London's grime scene. Forming the Neue Grafik Ensemble at an after-hours jam session at London's Total Refreshment Centre, he's established himself as formidable force in the world of jazz. Indo-French percussionist and composer Prabhu Edouard is recognised as one of the most versatile tabla players of his generation. A student of the legendary Pandit Shankar Ghosh, he's collaborated with artists from around the world including Jean-Pierre Drouet and Laxmi Shankar, and is part of the afrofunk-electro-jazz ensemble Tomorrow Comes The Harvest. Knoel Scott is an American saxophonist and composer best known for his time with jazz collective Sun Ra Arkestra. With a career spanning more than 40 years, he's worked alongside jazz greats including Lou Donaldson and Leon Thomas. Most recently, he's released his first major studio album, Celestial with long time collaborator Marshall Allen.

All Sins Are Not Created Equal1 John 5:15-17 “ If you see your brother or sister committing what is not a deadly sin, you will ask, and God will give life to such a one—to those whose sin is not deadly. There is sin that is deadly; I do not say that you should pray about that. All wrongdoing is sin, but there is sin that is not deadly."I was listening to Father Mike the other day, and he was talking about mortal sins vs. venial sins.  I have heard the distinction between the two before, and yet I felt like he described it really well in this particular podcast episode, which is #247 on the Catechism in a Year Podcast titled The Weight of Sin.  I recommend you listen to this episode if you want more information, as Father Mike explained it better than I can.  However, I am going to try to relay much of what he said and also share my takeaways from it.The Catholic Church believes there are two kinds of sin, venial sins, which are smaller in nature and do not sever your relationship with God, but they do wound it.  Then there are mortal sins, which do sever your relationship with God, and you must repent and go to confession to repair that relationship.  Father Mike gave an example that showed the difference between these two sins.  I thought it was a great example, so that I will share it with you.  Hearing this helped me to see the effect of our sins.  If you are an animal lover, you may not love this example.  Father Mike said to think of a bullfight.  The first thing that happens in a bullfight is that the picador comes out and uses barbs to limit the bull's ability to fight the matador.  The picador inserts these barbs in places like the back of the neck so that the bull can't lift his head up.  The point of these barbs is not to kill the bull. It is just to wound the bull.  It is to make the bull weaker so he won't be able to put up as much of a fight when the matador comes out.  Our venial sins are like the picador, they do not kill our relationship, but they do wound it.  They also make it so we can't fight the enemy as well.  The more venial sins we commit the more likely we are to commit mortal sins.  Our mortal sins are like the matador, they kill our relationship with the Lord. Our mortal sins make us turn away and cut ties with our Lord.  We can repair that relationship through repentance and confession.  My biggest takeaway from that example was that our venial sins make it more likely for us to commit mortal sins. I loved how he described the picador's ability to limit the bull's ability to fight back.  It really resonated with me that when we are committing venial sins, we may call them small sins, but they limit our ability to fight back against the enemy.  They limit our willpower.  They limit our strength.  We are left wounded, and so is our relationship with God.  Our venial sins might be small, but they can start to add up.St Augustin wrote, “While he is in the flesh, man can not help but have at least some light sins.  But do not dispose of these sins that we call light.  If you take them for light when you count them, tremble when you weigh them.  A number of light objects make a great mass.  A number of drops fill a river, and a number of grains make a heap.  What, then, is our hope, confession?” This quote is a great reminder that small things can add up. We might think our venial sins are not that important, and yet they can add up and become overwhelming if we let them. Confession is a great way to repair your relationship with the Lord.  I also learned a few things about confessions while listening to this episode.  Father Mike said when you are in confession, you want to give some detail about your sins, and yet you don't want to go into the whole story of the sin.  He said we need to land somewhere in between very vague and too much detail.  There is a Nigerian priest who works with Father Mike, and he says, “Don't come into the confessional and tell me that you stole a rope, and yet you neglect to tell me that a cow was attached.  You didn't steal a rope. You stole a cow.” What this priest is explaining is that we need to give all relevant details.  Stealing a cow is very different than stealing a rope.  Father Mike was saying, Don't come in and say you hit someone. Who did you hit?  It is a difference in level of severity if you hit someone, or you hit your mom, or you hit your mom with your car.  Both of those details, how and with what, are relevant information.  I liked this explanation because I often wonder how much detail to give in confession. I wonder what it is they want to know and what is not important.  I know we don't have all day because there are others waiting.  I feel as though this gave me some guidance for the next time I go to confession.  I hope it helped you too!  If it has been a while since your last confession, Father Mike is inviting you to go to confession, repair your relationship with God, and heal those wounds.  Dear Heavenly Father, I ask you to bless all those listening to this episode today.  Lord, we don't want to offend you.  We don't want to wound our relationship with you, and we definitely don't want to separate ourselves from you.  Please help us.  Please give us the grace to know when we have offended you and then give us the strength and wisdom to repent and go to confession.  We love you, Lord. You do so much for us, and we are sorry for our sins, big or small.  We are sorry for them, not just because they are wrong but because they offended you, who we should love above all things.  We are so grateful you are always willing to take us back after our mistakes.  We are grateful you are so kind and merciful.  We ask all of this in accordance with your will and in Jesus' holy name. Amen!Thank you so much for joining me on this journey to walk boldly with Jesus.  I wanted to let you know that I will be putting out a retreat schedule soon. You will be able to see what the weekend will look like.  I am so excited that it is coming up in a few weeks.  If you have been thinking about coming, I want to urge you to sign up.  Take that leap of faith. I know it may be scary, especially if you don't know anyone going.  However, sometimes that is when you meet the best people.  What have you got to lose? I look forward to spending time with you tomorrow.  Remember, Jesus loves you, and so do I! Have a blessed day!

In this part Denver agrees to pay BLM protestors over cops beaten their ass, Youtuber loses 60k in crypto after showing his password on stream, Nigerian scammer doin the most, DeSantis on the grind, Mike Lindell takes the ultimate L, zombie knives banned in Europe, man takes 50 shots of Patron for 1k and immediately goes to the hospital, another gender reveal disaster, and much more! Check us out Facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/TokyoBlackHour/   Check out the Youtube Channel here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCX_C1Txvh93PHEsnA-qOp6g?view_as=subscriber Follow us on Twitter @TokyoBlackPod Get your apparel at https://tkbpandashop.com/  You can also catch us Apple Podcasts, Google Play, and Spotify Check out Every Saturday Morning here https://www.everysaturdaymorning.fun Check out The Basic Caucasian Podcast here https://www.youtube.com/user/dgriffin156

The world holds its breath. Last month, the Nigerien military overthrew President Mohamed Bazoum, declaring an end to his corrupt reign and a new era of anti-imperialist, pan-African struggle. While most Nigeriens actually support the move (a new poll found that 73% of the country wants the army to stay in power) Niger's West African neighbor Nigeria has strongly objected, and has tried to organize an invasion force to restore Bazoum. The regional body, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), has condemned the events in Niger. But its 15 member states are split on how to react. Western powers, however, including France and the United States, have supported boots on the ground, and even considered sending troops themselves – a move that could draw Russia into a conflict that could make Libya or Syria look minor by comparison.Here to explain the tense situation that could ignite a world war is David Hundeyin. Hundeyin is an investigative journalist from Nigeria and the founder of “West Africa Weekly.”While the coup has been opposed in the West, Hundeyin explains that inside the country, the military is seen – rightly or wrongly – as leading “anti-imperialist movement; a popular movement against French imperialism.”The threat of invasion is far from an idle one. Since 1990, ECOWAS has launched military interventions in seven West African countries, the most recent being in the Gambia in 2017. The group's actions have ignited significant pushback across the region, with many describing it as a tool of Western imperialism. Currently leading ECOWAS is Nigerian president, Bola Tinubu. Tinubu has earned plaudits in the West as a defender of democracy and someone not willing to let another country be taken over by the army. While Tinubu has been praised in the media, his own background calls into question his democratic credentials. As Hundeyin's reporting exposed, Tinubu made his fortune from trafficking heroin in Chicago and had hundreds of thousands of dollars seized by the U.S. government. There are many other U.S. cases against Tinubu which have never seen the light of day, prompting many to speculate that he is an American intelligence asset.Will the new government succeed? Will African be plunged into war? And what is the U.S. role in all of this? To find out more, watch the full interview here.Support the showThe MintPress podcast, “The Watchdog,” hosted by British-Iraqi hip hop artist Lowkey, closely examines organizations about which it is in the public interest to know – including intelligence, lobby and special interest groups influencing policies that infringe on free speech and target dissent. The Watchdog goes against the grain by casting a light on stories largely ignored by the mainstream, corporate media.Lowkey is a British-Iraqi hip-hop artist, academic and political campaigner. As a musician, he has collaborated with the Arctic Monkeys, Wretch 32, Immortal Technique and Akala. He is a patron of Stop The War Coalition, Palestine Solidarity Campaign, the Racial Justice Network and The Peace and Justice Project, founded by Jeremy Corbyn. He has spoken and performed on platforms from the Oxford Union to the Royal Albert Hall and Glastonbury. His latest album, Soundtrack To The Struggle 2, featured Noam Chomsky and Frankie Boyle and has been streamed millions of times.

Prime Minister Netanyahu calls for immediate deportation of Eritreans who participated in violent riots; Ukrainian lone soldier's family flies in from no-fly zone Kharkiv for funeral & outcry from concert-goers who were canceled on twice for Nigerian afrobeats star Rema who came to Tel Aviv and left without putting on a show.  New “Welcome to Israel” campaign with Hasod Store: https://bit.ly/3DK2SKD Support the show here: https://linktr.ee/israeldailynews Israel Daily News Roundtable: http://patreon.com/shannafuld Music: Sibat Hasibot; Nicole Raviv and Elon Eckart.  Purchase Judaica from the Jerusalem Art Project: http://shrsl.com/298r5-2ze1-1d847 --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/israeldailynews/support

How do you navigate a transition from a career in banking to enabling capital flows into underserved markets in Africa? That's exactly the story that Wanji Ng'ang'a, Regional Manager (East Africa) for Shell Foundation, tells. In this episode, we delve into more than just her driving forces and journey into the realm of clean energy. We uncover how the Shell Foundation, the power of impact investing, and robust multi-stakeholder collaborations are delivering far-reaching impact across sub-Saharan Africa, fueling advancements in electrification, mobility, and productive use.Shell Foundation (SF) is a charity and impact investment vehicle that creates and scales business solutions empowering low-income underserved populations by providing access to clean energy products and services. Shell Foundation seeks to deploy capital and resources by backing early-stage entrepreneurs working in clean energy, sustainable mobility, and productive use; forging partnerships with other funds and sector actors to accelerate deployment speed and scale-ups of nascent technologies, and de-risking opportunities to unlock new mechanisms of finance.This episode was recorded in July 2022Recommended Reading SF and BII sign MOU to work in partnership to increase access to finance for clean energy businesses in Africa and South AsiaPortfolio Learnings: Aggregated procurement for Nigerian mini-grid developers delivers 40% cost savingsEnergy access program with USAID and Power Africa ends with 15 million lives improvedGuest Bio:  Wanji Ng'ang'a currently serves as the Regional Manager for Shell Foundation covering East Africa. She began her career in the banking sector, from where she transitioned to heading accounts for Greenlight Planet, leading sales for BioLite, and managing access to finance programs for GOGLA. Wanji has a Bachelor's degree in Business Administration from the United States International University, Africa, as well as a Master's of Commerce from the University of Cape Town. She is an alumnus of Said Business School's Impact Investing Program and an alumnus of Frankfurt School of Finance & Management's Climate and Sustainability Energy Finance program.Learn more about Shell FoundationConnect with Wanji on LinkedinSubscribe to our newsletter

On this episode, we listen to the deconversion story of a fellow Nigerian atheist from Christian background. You can donate here - ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.buymeacoffee.com/tratheist⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Drop a Voice Message - ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.speakpipe.com/TRAtheist⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Podpage - ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠The Ranting Atheist (podpage.com)⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Join ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Nigerian Atheists⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ on Clubhouse Join ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Atheism vs Abrahamics⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ on Clubhouse Join ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠The Freethinkers Hangout⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ on Clubhouse Check out ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠The Ranting Atheist⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Podcast on YouTube Follow The Ranting Atheist Twitter - ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@RantingAtheist_⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Instagram - ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@rantingatheist_⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Clubhouse - ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.clubhouse.com/@tratheist⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ WhatsApp - ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://wa.me/message/7D43IA4KNYLCP1⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ TikTok - ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠tiktok.com/@tratheist⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Facebook - ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.facebook.com/tratheist⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Email - ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠tratheistpod@gmail.com⁠ --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/tratheist/message