AfricanOptimist - how we thrive against great odds

Linda Mabhena-Olagunju saw the map of Africa when she was eight - all the gold, the oil, the diamonds - and couldn't understand why CNN kept telling her we were poor. That question never quite left her. Today she's on track to become Africa's largest Black female-owned independent power producer. A few things she said that I'm still thinking about: that every opportunity is an audition. That being...

This episode is a behind the scenes look at the man behind the brand JozimyJozi  and the unbelievable story of his rise to the top of the advertising industries in both South Africa and the United States before his return to home town Johannesburg to start a movement of hope and regeneration. In a candid conversation, Melusi speaks about his near-miss as a lawyer, early influences on his adve...

After a long break, I am cranking up the AfricanOptimist podcast again. I have spent the last while working on the 'economic engine' (thanks coach Karl Gostner!) behind the podcast, my business 'StoryBanking'. But I have missed the people who are shaking things up all around us, so am back with the headphones, recording and listening to some pretty amazing stories. I waited quite a while for this...

Masterclass on intellectual property with IP lawyer Lita Miti-Qamata from law firm Adams & Adams. Two years ago, Mita stood up at an IP workshop in Johannesburg, pulled out a Coke can, and made intellectual property law make sense to me for the first time. 'Everything you need to know about IP is right here on this can,' she said, and then delivered the clearest explanation of trademark law pr...

AfricanOptimist #13 Claudia Castellanos - How you dust off an old family recipe and build it into a super hot brand, while being fair to suppliers and the planet. We hold a delightful conversation with entrepreneur and self-proclaimed food rebel Claudia Castellanos who takes us on the rollercoaster ride of growing an international business that started with her and her husband's first sell out of...

Meet the founder of Brand Africa, Dr Thebe Ikalafeng. Once decked out in immaculate corporate suits, he is now a walking celebration of African creativity and haute couture, a mentor to many a young talented creative bubbling up through the entrepreneurial ranks and a passionate promoter and protector of all things branded African. Much is written and broadcast about this award-winning marketer. B...

#11 Sarah Dusek - on becoming an entrepreneur who thinks BIG, and a venture capitalist who helps African women think BIGGER - an insider's guide to scaling and pitching your business. Take a wild entrepreneurial ride with Sarah Dusek, entrepreneur, venture capitalist and author of Thinking Bigger, a powerful guide to growing a business, scaling a business and pitching a business for more money tha...

AfricanOptimist Episode #10 Gus Le Breton - On influencing EU law, the challenges of processing wild-harvested fruit, the future power of baobab harvesters and the need for 'courage, my son'  It is hard not to think of the Greek myth of Sisyphus when you listen to Gus le Breton tell the unfolding story of the production and sale of the African indigenous baobab fruit. Much like the Greek king...

AfricanOptimist Episode #9 Joséphine Katumba - The rise (and importance) of the Intrapreneur, jumping on rocket ships without a reserved seat and 'weighing and paying' as a retail model of the future  In this episode, you will learn a couple of things. Firstly, you will get a behind the scenes look at how you take an idea (let's face it, haven't we all had them - 'One day I will open…' 'Some...

Introducing naturalist David Attenborough's successor... In this episode, ecologist Adam Welz gives us a peak into the writing of his first book The End of Eden and his intentions as well as his difficulties in writing it. He explains why he chose to focus on wild species as the characters of the bigger climate change story, and how he told small stories within a bigger context, and supported by s...

In Episode 1, disruptive thinker and author Efosa Ojomo highlighted that the potential for prosperity in Africa lies in finding solutions to persistent problems and in doing so, creating new markets. In this episode, we shine a light on Sithuli Mbeje's journey to developing a mobile abattoir - his response to the problems faced by livestock farmers across Africa when they want to convert their cow...

In 2023, Vogue Business named Erica de Greef and African Fashion Research Institute (AFRI) co-founder Lesiba Mabitsela as part of a group of 100 'next-gen entrepreneurs and agitators' in the global fashion world, who are overhauling the current system and designing a different future.  In this episode, we unpack why Vogue gave them that accolade, how Erica sees fashion as a decolonising tool,...

In this episode, we could have focused on the tech side of agriculture with Moroccan agripreneur Hamza Chaham, because it is digital technology that is really turning agriculture into an exciting scientifically based business. And his company, SOWIT, is using AI powered tools like sensors and probes, trackers and drones, in their work with farmers, government and food producers to successfully hel...

South African GG Alcock has made it his life's mission to help people understand how informal economies work and to relieve you of the prejudices and stereotypes you may harbour about this sector. As somebody who has a foot each in the informal and the formal economy, and because of his unique upbringing and 'first-person' understanding of Zulu culture in South Africa, he is in a unique position t...

South African Sipamandla Manqele is a food alchemist, transforming wholesome African ingredients into delicious, nutritious - and convenient - products. She is the co-founder of localvillageafrica, whose mission it is to secure a seat for African food at the global banquet table. For more information on Sipamandla Manqele , visit her AfricanOptimist guest page . Never want to miss an episode? Visi...

Former South African engineer turned Social Entrepreneur Jesse Naidoo shares his journey to Master of recycling textile waste, explaining the opportunities that exist for a single item of clothes in a circular economy. He talks to the AfricanOptimist about the exciting new developments in waste recycling and about creating shared value among communities, not shareholder value.  For more infor...

Nigerian Efosa Ojomo, co-author of 'Prosperity Paradox', sits down with the AfricanOptimist to share insights into the power of market-creating innovations across Africa and the potential they have to lift African countries out of poverty at scale. For more information on Efosa Ojomo and his book, visit his AfricanOptimist guest page . Never want to miss an episode? Visit the AfricanOptimist websi...