The African Business Podcast

In this episode we speak to Jeremy Awori, Group CEO of Ecobank, ahead of the bank's 38th General Assembly meeting. We cover the themes shaping Ecobank and African banking today, their three-year growth roadmap, renewed goals, culture in times of change, technology as a leapfrog engine, and the role of development finance institutions in unlocking Africa's growth potential. 

In this episode we speak to Dr Sherif Ayoub, Head of the African Carbon Markets Initiative about his work scaling up the market for carbon credits in Africa to create jobs and prosperity. We also hear from project developers KOKO Networks, about how these projects actually take place on the ground in Africa. 

In this episode we speak to Elizabeth Maruma Mrema, about her role at the Taskforce for Nature-related Financial Disclosures. We discuss how to advocate for capital to support biodiversity protection and climate action.     

In this episode we speak to Kurtis Lockhart about chartered cities and whether they can deliver broad based prosperity in Africa and further afield.   Credits  Host and executive producer: Dr Desné Masie  Co-producer: Peter Doerrie  Research : Angus Chapman  Digital Editor: Charles Dietz  Design: Jason Venkatasamy  Music: Corporate Uplifting Chill by MusicLFiles:  https://filmmusic.io/song/6298-co...

In this episode we track the journey of a carbon credit. Taking us from Kenya to Geneva, Washington DC, London and finally, Yorkshire, we unpack what's going on under the hood of the carbon trading industry and explore the implications for Africa.

In this episode we speak to the publisher of African Business magazine, Omar Ben Yedder, who has just come back from Davos 2023 in Klosters, Switzerland. The first in-person gathering in three years, the famous international forum as always, provided invaluable insights and networking opportunities to those who attended. Omar chats to us about his main reflections from WEF including the global mac...

In this episode we speak to Daniel Yu, a 32-year-old Californian entrepreneur now based in Zanzibar. He is the founder and CEO of Wasoko , a supply chain and distribution company established in 2015 to respond to the challenges faced by small and micro-business across Africa in managing stock levels. Having just raised $125 million in Series B venture capital funding from Tiger and Avenir, Wasoko...

British International Investments (BII), the UK's official development finance agency, was the first organisation of its kind when it was founded in 1948. It remains at the forefront of international development finance, particularly for Africa, where it deploys 70% of its $2-$4 billion of new capital every year. CEO Nick O'Donohoe is a pioneer of impact investing, coming to BII following stints i...

Since General Electric was founded by Thomas Edison almost a century and a half ago, the power business has changed a lot. Vuyelwa Mahanyele, regional sales director for GE's gas business in Southern and East Africa, has seen this change up close. She tells us how decarbonisation became the overarching theme for both the company and the region, and steps through the financial, technical and policy...

Few people understand issues of international trade, development and environment as well as Pascal Lamy . Following eight years as Director-General of the World Trade Organisation, Pascal now serves on the board of the  Mo Ibrahim Foundation ; one of Africa's most influential civil society organisations. He joins us following the release of the Foundation's 2022 Governance Forum report, which aims...

Charlie Mitchell, Kenya correspondent for African Business Magazine, previews the upcoming contest between Raila Odinga and William Ruto, which will be a crucial test for the East African nation   On Tuesday August 9 Kenyans will go to the polls for a crucial election to decide the direction of travel of East Africa's economic giant for the next five years. Veteran challenger Raila Odinga - who ha...

In this special round-up episode, we speak to three prominent attendees of the 2022 African Development Bank Annual Meetings . The theme, Achieving Climate Resilience and a Just Energy Transition for Africa , features prominently, as our guests talk us through their hopes, fears and aspirations for development on the continent. Omar Ben Yedder , Group Publisher and Managing Director at IC Publicat...

In this episode we talk to zoologist-turned lawyer, Alexander Rhodes, about his work as Chair of Tusk conservation charity and Partner and Head of Mishcon Purpose at international law firm Mishcon de Reya. We start with Alexander's personal journey, from a young zoologist working alongside indigenous communities in Kenya to a leading, purpose-driven lawyer with decades of experience in both the co...

In this episode we speak with Dr. Alex Vines, director of the Africa Program at Chatham House thinktank, about the African dimensions of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. He outlines how, across international relations, economics and domestic politics, the invasion may have created 'Africa's moment'. Geopolitically, Alex sees the conflict in terms of an ongoing shift toward a multipolar world. Many do...

We are joined on this episode by Amine Antari, managing director of Forensic Investigations and Intelligence and Head of Middle East at Kroll . Born in Morocco, Amine talks us through a career in forensic investigation, intelligence and compliance that has taken him to the US, Canada, Abu Dhabi and Dubai. The world seems daily to become a more uncertain place. Amine unpicks three contemporary cris...

Environmentalist Achim Steiner, administrator of the UN Development Programme, says that the latest IPCC report - which details the disastrous unfolding climate consequences for Africa and other regions - is an urgent wake-up call for global policymakers. He talks to African Business about the report, the Cop negotiations process, the pandemic's impact on climate policy, and the potential economic...

In July, at its Rosslyn plant northwest of Pretoria, Nissan's Navara pickup truck began to roll off the assembly line, the first model of its type by the company to be assembled in Africa for the African market. Its appearance is part of a strategy by the Japanese motor company, first articulated in 2020, to roll out several new models in Africa with a focus on SUV and cross-overs. The strategy, w...

In this episode we are joined by Barnaby Fletcher, Associate Director at Control Risks. In a wide-ranging discussion covering politics, economics and conflict at different scales, we unpick the risks and opportunities for Africa in 2022.   We begin by discussing the nature of risk, outlining Barnaby's work as a leading risk analyst for East and Southern Africa and the career journey he took to get...

MainOne CEO and founder Funke Opeke talks to African Business about the data centre market in Africa and the future of the firm after its $320m takeover by NASDAQ-listed Equinix.

In this episode we are joined by Shalini Soopramanien, Assistant General Counsel at the US DFC. In this episode we discuss the development priorities for the US DFC. Soopramanien talks us through her career path to DFC as well as her current responsibilities. We also look more in depth at project highlights over the past year, particularly the vaccine funding for the GAVI alliance and the DFC's cl...

Digital Africa executive director Stéphan Eloise-Gras talks about the potential of Francophone tech and France's €130m plan to support startups

This week we talk about the economic and political implications of the coup in mining hub Guinea that removed President Alpha Condé, we review the success of the NBA's Basketball Africa League in Rwanda, and take a look at the booming fintech unicorns of West Africa.

In this episode we are joined by Dr Knox Chitiyo. Associate Fellow, Chatham House Africa Programme, one of the world's leading analysts on Zimbabwe. Dr Chitiyo talks us through the recent political and economic history of Zimbabwe, as well as the outlook for the current political economy and investment environment. We also talk about how this has been affected by Covid 19. Finally, we discuss Zimb...

In this episode we are joined by Kevin Kariuki · Vice President for Power, Energy, Climate & Green Growth at The African Development Bank Group (AFDB) discuss the ways in which the AFDB is supporting Africa's energy transition in light of the climate crisis and the need to balance Africa's increasing energy demands with ensuring that these energy sources are renewable and green. We also discuss th...

The African Business Editor's Roundtable is a new forum in which our journalists debate some of the most important business stories on the continent. In this episode, African Business Magazine editor David Thomas is joined by publisher Omar Ben Yedder and digital editor and reporter Shoshana Kedem. We talk about South Africa's proposed deal to sell a 51% stake in South African Airways to a private...