Building The Future Podcast

Ekechi Nwokah is the CEO and founder at mines.io, a startup that provides technology infrastructure which enable local institutions such as banks, mobile phone operators, retailers in emerging market  to offer credit to their customers.   Mines use a combination of big data, AI and Machine learning algorithm to provide on-demand credit ratings and decision-making where there is no existing credit...

  Tunde Leye is the author of four novels, including his latest: Afonja, The Rise. He began his writing as a blogger during his mandatory National Youth Service Corps (NYSC). Tunde ran this blog for three years during which he wrote seven series including wildly popular Finding Hubby. He studied Computer Science at the University of Lagos and tried numerous things including music and lecturing.  ...

Abisoye Ajayi-Akinfolarin is the founder of Pearls Africa Foundation.   Pearls Africa Foundation is a non-governmental organization that provides young girls living in underserved communities through training in technology, skill acquisitions and mentorship.   One of their projects, “GirlsCoding” has reached more than 400 beneficiaries, including girls from orphanages and correctional homes, in ad...

  Nnamdi Azodo is a product owner at ALAT by Wema bank, Africa’s first mobile-only bank. ALAT is a fully digital bank in Nigeria, designed to help customers save more. A savings account can totally be opened in 5 minutes with a debit card delivered. To open an ALAT account, you need your BVN, a phone number, email address and a few documents. Nnamdi joined Wema Bank as a youth corps member during...

Olumide Soyombo is the Co-Founder of BlueChip Technologies. BlueChip Technologies is a systems integrator specialized in Data Warehousing, Analytics and Business Intelligence Solutions. Olumide is also the co-founder at Leadpath Nigeria, a seed capital fund that specializes in providing short, medium and long-term funding to small and medium-sized start-up businesses. They have invested in compani...

In 2012 Lexi Novitske moved to Nigeria from The United States. Lexi worked for Verod Capital Management, a Nigeria-based private equity firm. Prior to joining Verod, she had spent her career developing an expertise in financial services through her time at New York-based Sandler O’Neill Asset Management. In 2014, Lexi joined Singularity Investments as the Principal Investment Officer where she ove...

  Frederik Obasi is the co-founder of Hypebuzz,  a platform that connects top-tier influencers with businesses looking to build their brand and expand their reach.   Frederik is also the co-founder and MD of Colour Me Digital, an African sports and entertainment marketing agency that has worked with notable Nigerian football players including Alex Iwobi, Ola Aina, Ademola Lookman; and brands inclu...

Dr Joe Abah trained as a barrister in Nigeria.   Afterwards, he gained extensive experience in the governance sector, working on public sector reform programs for the U.K. Prime Minister’s Office.   He has spent more than 10 years managing governance programs in Nigeria for the U.K. Department for International Development, including on the DAI-led State Partnership for Accountability Responsivene...

Akin Oyebode is the Executive Secretary, Lagos State Employment Trust Fund (LSETF). The fund was established to provide financial support to residents of Lagos State, for job, wealth creation and to tackle unemployment. Established in 2016, the fund seeks to invest N25 billion over four years. Though he began his career as a Research Assistant at the Lagos Business School,  Akin has an extensive r...

Obinna Okwodu is the founder and CEO of Fibre.ng, a real estate company looking to provide middle-income tenants the option to pay monthly for rented properties.   Renting real estate in Lagos is a lot of hassle especially for the demand side. Landlords would typically demand 2 years rent upfront. Fibre set out to solve this problem and is growing fast in Lagos.   Obinna who is an MIT graduate and...

Uche Ofodile is the CEO of MTN Liberia.   Uche has extensive expertise in building businesses in emerging markets. Before her role in Liberia, she was the CMO of Vodafone Ghana.   In this position, she was instrumental in the transformation of Vodafone Ghana from a struggling business, with deteriorating market share, into the country’s #2 telecommunications provider.   Uche is somebody you can ca...

Tonje Bakang is the Founder and CEO of Afrostream. Afrostream is Afrostream is subscription video on demand (SVOD) which provides millions of fans with unlimited access to Afro-American and African movies and TV series. In 2017, Tonje penned an open letter announcing the closure of the business. The service closed in France, the United Kingdom, Belgium, Luxembourg, Switzerland and in 24 African co...

Tonje Bakang is the Founder and CEO of Afrostream.   Afrostream is Afrostream is subscription video on demand (SVOD) which provides millions of fans with unlimited access to Afro-American and African movies and TV series.   In 2017, Tonje penned an open letter announcing the closure of the business. The service closed in France, the United Kingdom, Belgium, Luxembourg, Switzerland and in 24 Africa...

Jason Njoku is the co-founder at IrokoTv, a web platform that provides paid-for Nigerian films on-demand. It is one of Africa’s first mainstream online movie streaming websites, giving instant access to over 5,000 Nollywood film titles.   Jason is who you can refer to as a serial entrepreneur. With several failed businesses under his belt, he went ahead to create what is largely regarded as the “N...

Jason Njoku is the co-founder at IrokoTv, a web platform that provides paid-for Nigerian films on-demand. It is one of Africa’s first mainstream online movie streaming websites, giving instant access to over 5,000 Nollywood film titles.   Jason is who you can refer to as a serial entrepreneur. With several failed businesses under his belt, he went ahead to create what is largely regarded as the “N...

Bastian Gotter is the co-founder of Iroko TV, one of the earliest, most successful and largest video on demand platform for Nigerian movies.   Bastian founded the business alongside with his university flat-mate, Jason Njoku, who is the CEO of the company, and a later guest in this show.   This is not Bastian and Jason Njoku’s first project together. In mid-2010, Bastian invested in several busine...

Bastian Gotter is the co-founder of Iroko TV, one of the earliest, most successful and largest video on demand platform for Nigerian movies.   Bastian founded the business alongside with his university flat-mate, Jason Njoku, who is the CEO of the company, and a later guest in this show.   This is not Bastian and Jason Njoku’s first project together. In mid-2010, Bastian invested in several busine...

Telling the African story is not new. For a very long time, Africans have expressed the narrative of their culture, beliefs, fears and exploits using stories passed from one generation to the next. Through oral traditions and accounts of eyewitnesses, we know about the riches of Mansa Musa, the exploits of Sango, the majesty of Nefertiti, and the conquests of Shaka Zulu. What has changed is the me...

Its been a great pleasure to do this. To have conversations with interesting, smart and awesome people who are shaping the future of Africa. This show has been one of the most exciting things I’ve done as an entrepreneur. It’s fun and I get to learn from a lot of people. We’ve now come to the end of season 2. And I want to take this time to reflect on some of the lessons I learned in the conversat...

Prince Kwame Agbata is the co-founder of Coliba,   It is an early stage waste management platform that leverages on SMS to help users separate their waste, schedule and request a pickup and get waste picked at the comfort of users home.  Coliba pays the user for the waste generated.   Prince is a first class graduate of Information Technology, being the only member of his family to have completed...

Timothy Kotin is the co-founder of SuperFluid, a data solution platform helping  businesses to harness untapped potential through predictive data analytics, business intelligence and dynamic customer insights leveraging both traditional and alternative data sources.   Timothy grew up in Tamale, Ghana and had to flee along with his family as a child due to ethnic violence and unrest in the 90s.   K...

Seun Onigbinde is the co-founder of BudgIT, a non-governmental organization that helps citizens access and understand public budgets.   BudgIT  breaks down the national budget in simplistic charts, and track contracts and projects the government are working on.   This is a classic case of doing good with tech.   In 2012, he was awarded the Future Awards prize for Science and Tech Innovation. In 20...

Opeyemi Awoyemi is a tech entrepreneur with 10 years experience in internet startup business development. He has founded and managed three technology startups including WhoGoHost, a web solutions company. He is also the co-founder of Jobberman. Jobberman is Nigeria’s largest job search portal with over one million job seekers and 10,000 companies registered. Jobberman’s mission is to solve the une...

This was a live podcast with an audience   Nasir Yammama is the founder of Verdant, an agritech platform that aims at providing agricultural data science, market information, managerial support, and access to financial services to rural farmers for improved food production using mobile phones.   Verdant though a simple low-cost technology, is solving one of the biggest challenges and transforming...

This was a live podcast with an audience   Lola Shoneyin is a Nigerian poet and author who launched her debut novel, The Secret Lives of Baba Segi's Wives, in the UK in May 2010   She is currently the director of Book Buzz Foundation, Nigeria- a non-governmental organisation whose main aims are promoting literacy through the creation of reading programmes for children and developing reading spaces...