The Social Impact Journal

Episode 32 – The Rise of Mobile Money with Rishi Raithatha Guest – Rishi Raithatha – Director, Data and Insights - Mobile Money, GSMA Rishi Raithatha is a financial sector specialist, focusing on mobile money, microinsurance and disaster risk financing in low- and middle-income countries.  His recent experience spans senior roles at the GSMA, the mobile industry’s trade association, and Pula Advis...

Date: Monday 12th February 2024 Episode 31 – The Feed The Future Innovation Lab for Markets, Risk & Resilience (MRR) with Sophie Javers Guest – Sophie Javers – Global Engagement Manager, Feed the Future MRR Innovation Lab For nearly a decade, Sophie Javers has been spearheading strategic engagement and partnerships for the Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Markets, Risk and Resilience, a USAI...

Date: Monday 5th February 2024 Episode 30 – How can technology help achieve a circular economy in lower and middle income countries with Michael Koech Guest – Michael Koech – Environment and Social Lead, Airtel Africa Michael Koech is a self-driven and results oriented Safety, Health, Environment (EHS) and Sustainability practitioner based in Nairobi, Kenya, with extensive national and internation...

Date: Monday 29th January 2024 Episode 29 – Simplifying climate communications with Jenny Wilson Guest – Jenny Wilson – Climate Change Communications Expert The climate crisis is affecting all of us. But for many people, the topics surrounding climate change are often too complex and too large to possibly imagine. How can climate communications be simplified? In Episode 29, Jack meets with Jenny W...

Date: Monday 15th January 2024 Episode 28 - Restoring 1 Million hectares of degraded land with Anete Garoza Guest - Anete Garoza – Co-Founder and Chief Climate Officer, 1MTN Anete Garoza is a highly regarded international climate lawyer and Forbes 30 Under 30 recipient. She co-founded and currently serves as the Chief Climate Officer of 1MTN, a startup on a mission to restore one million hectares...

Date: Monday 8th January 2024 Episode 27 - The role of financial inclusion and inclusive insurance in climate resilience Guest - Henri Dommel – Director, Inclusive Digital Economies, United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF). What role does inclusive financial services play in driving climate resilience and adaptation for populations in the Least Developed Countries (LDCs)? In the least deve...

In Episode 26, Jack meets Cytandra Hoover to learn about the concept of microinsurance. Cytandra is the CEO & Founder of B3C [Be the Change] Global, a boutique consulting company that combines the business principles of corporate with the humanistic focus of mission-driven organizations to create sustainable solutions at the intersection of impact, inclusion, and profit. Cytandra’s impressive...

A 2023 Christmas message from our host Jack Farren

In Episode 25, Jack meets George Stanley Nsamba,  an award winning filmmaker who founded The Ghetto Film Project in 2013 in the slums of Naguru. Through his initiative, he has used music, film, art and sports to rehabilitate, educate and empower women,youths and vulnerable kids in Naguru over the years.  As a filmmaker, he has broken barriers and created a signature storytelling style through his...

How can non-profit organisations increase their visibility and reach new audiences. In Episode 24, Jack talks to David Girling, an Associate Professor in the School of Global Development at the University of East Anglia, about the importance of social media for non-profits. David is a Chartered Marketer with over 20 years marketing and communications experience in the public and non-profit sector....

In Episode 23, Jack meets with Eric Nana Kwabena Agyei in a studio in Kampala to discuss his entrepreneurial journey. Eric was born in Ghana and now resides in Uganda. He is the Founder and Managing Director of MobiPay AgroSys Limited. MobiPay is a Certified (National Information Technology Authority Uganda NITA-U ) Agri-Fintech company registered in Uganda, with a vision of offering High-tech sol...

In Episode 22, Jack discusses the importance of advancing financial inclusion with Sitara Merchant. Sitara is the CEO at Swiss Capacity Building Facility, a public private platform that leverages public and private sector resources (funding and expertise) to enable inclusive finance to improve the quality of life of low-income populations in particular women and planet. SCBF achieves this by provi...

Community-led development has become a buzzword in the international development sector. Are the discussions just noise or is concrete action taking place to increase the localisation of aid? In Episode 21, Jack meets Ernest Wyson, the President and CEO of the CBOs Coalition for Human Rights and Govrernance in Malawi (CBOs-CHRGG). He has over 25 years’ experience in working with small grassroots o...

According to a Harvard Business Review, women in the US only make up 20% of engineering graduates, and it's been estimated that nearly 40% of women who earn engineering degrees either leave or never enter the profession. Also, in the UK, just over 16% of employees in the sector are women.  In Episode 20, Jack meets with Dr Evi Viza, a Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineer with specialisation...

Cyclone Freddy was a deadly storm lasting for five weeks starting February 2023 and is both the longest-lasting and highest-ACE-producing tropical cyclone ever recorded worldwide. The cyclone hit Malawi, along with Mozambique, Madagascar, South Africa and Zimbabwe. In Malawi alone, at least 1,200 people were killed by the cyclone, with many others still meeting. It is estimated that 180,000 were d...

In Episode 18, Jack is joined by Sushmita Shreshta from Utopia Kathmandu to discuss the start-up ecosystem in the emerging capital of Nepal, and how Utopia is helping shape the next generation of urban tech entrepreneurs. Sushmita Shrestha is a design lead at Utopia Kathmandu with a background in social and sustainable architecture and philosophy. At Utopia, she supports the overall design of the...

As ESG topics continue to grow in their importance, are the financial sector lagging behind? In Episode 17, Jack is joined by Alice Merry, a financial expert who has vast experience working with United Nations Agencies, International NGOs and financial institutions. Alice shares her thoughts on how the gap between the financial sector and ESG can be bridged, along with examples of her work as Mana...

In a world where everyone can be a changemaker, the correct ecosystems and support systems must be in place to allow changemakers to thrive. Santiago Mejia Rendón is a psychologist and a social communications expert from Colombia who is based in Mexico. Santiago is the Social Ecosystems Director at Ashoka  Ashoka Mexico, Centroamerica y El Caribe. Ashoka is an international organisation which  ide...

70% of the world’s population lacks access to an electric washing machine. Washing clothes sounds like a simple task ,but as discovered from research from The Washing Machine Project over 3,000 families worldwide, this burden disproportionately affects the well-being and livelihood of women worldwide. In Episode 15, Jack talks to Nav Sawhney, an engineer who founded The Washing Machine Project to...

After the cryptocurrency sector burst into the mainstream in 2017, we have seen high volatility of coins such as Bitcoin and Ethereum. In Episode 14, Jack sits down with Umar Sebyala Bukenya, a cryptocurrency, blockchain and web3 expert in Uganda to discuss what the current landscape is in Africa, and what are the key use cases for cryptocurrency away from investing on the continent. They discuss...

Africa has the youngest population in the world, yet youth unemployment is a growing challenge. In Episode 13, Jack speaks with Jerioth Mwaura, an industry expert based in Nairobi to discuss the future of jobs on the continent. Jerioth previously worked as a technology for development advisor at Mercy Corps where she supported the adoption of digital technologies by development and humanitarian pr...

For organisations creating social impact, one of the key challenges is how to most effectively share their impact stories to increase the exposure for their advocacy. On Episode 12 of The Social Impact Journal, Jack talks to Sarah Tiamiyu, an award-winning video journalist and filmmaker who has produced over 200 stories for the BBC. Sarah shares her experience of filming stories of impact, and pro...

In Episode 11, Erin Murphy (Chief Growth Officer at Topl) discusses with Jack about how blockchain technology can verify carbon credits and the power of tokenization to drive social impact. Further reading can be found here: 1. Incentivising impact beyond carbon: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oe6JZh1j_9k 2. Business Insider article on carbon market disruptors featuring Topl- https://africa.busin...

In Episode 10, Jack meets with Tevin Kittoe, the Founder of 1000 Voices to discuss how storytelling can be used as a tool for social change. 1000 Voices is a movement, community and a media platform that aims to create a more equitable society for black Britons. You can follow the podcast on:  Instagram: @thesocialimpactjournal  Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-...  Twitter: @sijpodc...

In this ever changing world, effective leadership is critical. In the first episode back at The Social Impact Journal, Jack talks to Dr Christian Harrison, an expert in the field of entrepreneurial leadership.  You can follow the podcast on:   Youtube:  https://www.youtube.com/@thesocialimpactjournal Instagram: thesocialimpactjournal  Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-social-impact-jo...