The African Business Podcast

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 discuss the implications of Total's decision to call force majeure on its $20bn LNG facility in...

Gray takes us through the issues and trends in the global art market, and the kinds of predicaments and transactions she helps her diverse clients with. Gray also talks us through issues to be aware of in the art world, particularly due diligence around provenance, potential money laundering, and cultural sensitivities as well as how these have been affected by lockdown We discuss the recent surge...

In this episode we are joined by leading development finance expert, Tariye Gbadegesin, MD and CIO ARM, Harith Infrastructure Fund, a leading Pan-African fund which is one of Africa's largest investors in infrastructure development. We talk to Tariye about her career to date, the current priorities and initiatives at ARM Harith, and about a sustainable pathway for Africa's development.    ARM-Hari...

In this episode we are joined by leading African fintech investment banker, Edmund Higenbottam, MD of Verdant Capital.    With 20 years of experience in investment banking, Edmund has established the largest advisor to the fintech sector in Africa, which is particularly attractive to investors. We discuss the effects of COVID-19 on market activity and why key players including VC funds and global...

In this episode we are joined by renowned Africa commentator, Charlie Robertson, chief economist for Renaissance Capital. Renaissance Capital is a specialist, leading emerging and frontier markets investment bank providing access to over 50 markets across the globe with operations in Africa, Central and Eastern Europe, North America, and the Middle East. Robertson talks to us about the main highli...

In this episode we are joined by Jeremy Leach, CEO and founder of Inclusivity Solutions, based in Cape Town, South Africa. Leach talks to us about how he started Inclusivity to improve access and innovation in insurance across the African continent, by focusing on digital inclusion for the connected but unprotected, and listening intently to these customers' needs. Inclusivity has made great strid...

In this episode we are joined by Dr Matt Lilley, head of Africa for leading insurer, Prudential PLC. Lilley talks us through Prudential's strategy in Africa, and how it started the business partnering with local players, starting in Ghana  in 2015. Pru learnt from its experience building out a leading insurance presence with consumers in ASEAN and its people-driven business has seen it go from str...

In this episode we are delighted to host Michael Vlahovic, Head of Private Banking UK at EFG Private Bank in Mayfair, London. Michael talks us through his career to-date, with extensive experience in Zurich and a focus on good governance, value and client service. He details why the focus on premium client service and the high rates of service continuity amongst its private bankers makes EFG Bank...

When Covid-19 arrived on Africa's shores, pan-African telecoms infrastructure company Helios Towers was just months past raising $364m in an October 2019 IPO on the London Stock Exchange and aggressively pushing to acquire thousands of mobile towers in new markets across the continent. For Kash Pandya, CEO of the owner-operator of over 7,000 telecoms towers – which are used by MTN, Orange, Vodacom...

In this episode we speak to Dr Alex Irune, the chief operating officer of wholly Nigerian-owned energy company, Oando PLC . We discuss the effects of the Covid-crunch on Nigeria's oil-dependent economy and how this affects the policy direction to diversify the economy. We also look at how technology can increase efficiency in oil and gas production and the transition towards renewable energy. Irun...

In this edition of the African Business podcast we speak to Abebe Aemro Selassie   to talk about the outlook for African economies in the wake of the pandemic. Selassie is the Director of the African Department at the International Monetary Fund (IMF), a position he has held since 2016. In this capacity, Mr. Selassie oversees the IMF's operations and engagement with 45 countries across sub-Saharan...

In this episode, Boynton talks us through the opportunities for private equity investors to drive economic development through infrastructure investment. He also takes through Old Mutual's commitment to ESG and supporting the implementation of the UN SDGs across the continent. We also discuss the current business and investment environment and the challenges and opportunities for African investors...

In this episode, Dr Namukale Chintu, Senior Director for EMEA at EFG Private Bank Limited, talks to us about the wealth management opportunity on the African continent. Several years of high economic growth have fostered not only an unprecedented growth in the middle class, but has also created a significant amount of ultra-high net worth individuals and families. Chintu explains how EFG, as a pur...

With special guests: - Olivia Rubagumya, Head of Investor Relations, Rwanda Finance - Hortense Mudenge, Head of Strategy, Rwanda Finance - Tom Le Feuvre, Director Global Markets and International Agreements, Government of Jersey - Allan Wood, Global Head of Business Development, Jersey Finance     Summary   The Jersey/Rwanda relationship starts with the Jersey cow, but there is a lot more to this...

In this episode, we speak to Andrew Skipper, Head of Africa at Hogan Lovells and a senior partner in the corporate practice of the firm. Skipper sets out the pertinent issues for investors and entrepreneurs to be aware of on the continent's diverse legal landscape, which draws on indigenous customary law and common law principles as well as legal frameworks of several other jurisdictions. He also...

In this first episode of Series 2, we speak to Lukanyo Mnyanda, editor of Business Day, Africa's leading financial daily, based in Johannesburg. As Business Day celebrates its 35th birthday, Lukanyo talks to us about the history of the paper and the important role the business media and community in South Africa play in upholding governance and institutions. We also discuss the outlook for the pol...

In episode 13, following the Two Sessions meeting in China, and the extraordinary China-AU Summit in June 17, host Desné Masie invites our special guest Jinny Yan, Chief China Economist at ICBC Standard Bank to discuss the effect of COVID-19 on China's economic and political relationship with Africa as well as the global economic outlook. With a focus on putting into practice the opportunities fro...

Podcast host Desne Masie was delighted to welcome our special guest for Episode 12, Emma Wade-Smith, Her Majesty's Trade Commissioner for Africa to discuss the UK government's trade and investment priorities in Africa post-Brexit, and the private sector support the Department for International Trade is extending for UK businesses operating on the African continent in light of the Covid-19 pandemic...

Podcast host Desne Masie was delighted to welcome our special guest for Episode 11, Dr Leila Fourie, CEO of the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE). Dr Fourie took the helm at the exchange around 6 months ago amid an already tough time in the global economy. Economic headwinds for the exchange have only been amplified in 2020 with the Covid-19 global pandemic and the ratings downgrade of South Afric...

Podcast host Desne Masie was delighted to welcome our special guest for Episode 10, Lord Peter Hain, who has had an eminent career in politics and is a world-leading expert on governance. He was born in Kenya and raised in South Africa, and went on to lead the anti-apartheid movement when he later moved to the UK as a young man. Lord Hain went on to have many eminent cabinet roles in Tony Blair's...

Podcast host Desne Masie speaks to African Business magazine editor, David Thomas, about the April issue of African Business magazine. The cover story looks at the outlook for renewable energy in Africa and the politics around the low-carbon transition timetable that is appropriate for Africa's energy mix. David and Desne also have an in-depth discussion on the impact of coronavirus for Africa and...

Podcast host Desne Masie speaks to African Business magazine editor, David Thomas, about the March issue of African Business magazine, a lusophone special looking at the new regime in Angola and its apparent purge of the Dos Santos dynasty from state-owned enterprises and coffers. We also discuss our Mozambique Special Report, and the prospects for the country in the wake of Cyclone Idai.   Our sp...

Podcast host Desne Masie speaks to group publisher, Omar Ben Yedder back from his travels on the African continent and beyond. Omar has over the past month been to several high level conference and working groups, including World Economic Forum Davos 2020 in Switzerland, The 33rd AU Summit in Addis Ababa and the Intra-African Trade Fair pre-meetings in Kigali. We discuss whether Davos is still fit...

In this episode, Editor of African Business Magazine, David Thomas, and podcast host, Desne Masie, discuss the response to the Corona Virus in Africa, the recent plague of locust in East Africa and other effects of climate change in Africa. We also consider if South African Airways should be wound up given its neverending financial troubles. In the diary we look ahead to the sustainable investment...

In this episode, Editor of African Business Magazine, David Thomas, and podcast host, Desne Masie, discuss the first UK-Africa Summit in London, and the highlights of this month's issue of African Business Magazine especially developments in Sudan and in Francophone West Africa around the new eco currency. We also look ahead to the upcoming Mining Indaba in South Africa on 3-6 February. Our specia...