Afropolitan: Recent Episodes
Afropolitan / Jamit
Welcome to the Afropolitan Podcast, hosted by Eche Emole, founder of Afropolitan.
On the show, we chat with Afropolitans whose footprints form the foundation of systems dedicated to building the future of a bold and progressive black community.
In each episode, our guests share their working formulas, the hard facts about leaving familiar terrain, embracing the unknown, and staying relevant afterwards.
Listen as we extract the blueprints of fearlessness, innovation and progress.
Fadekemi Abiru
Quote - “Afropolitan is daring to be yourself in a rapidly changing
world and not having to ask for permission.”
The Afropolitan Podcast spotlights Afropolitans who aren’t afraid to
step into the unknown and walk in purpose. With this podcast we hope
to empower Africans in the Diaspora to harness their full potential
and contribute to the development of a bold and progressive black
community.
Our guests will share their working formulas, the hard facts about
leaving familiar terrain, embracing the unknown, and staying relevant
afterwards.
This episode features Fadekemi Abiru, Head Of Insights at Stears; a
financial data/intelligence company providing subscription-based
data/insight to professionals/businesses.
Fadekemi holds a BSc in Economics from the University of Bristol and
an MSc in African Development from the London School of Economics. She
previously worked as an economist for the UK government and provided
analysis on various projects.
She is passionate about ensuring that decisions whether in business or
government in Africa are driven by real time data and insights to
drive critical economic developments.
Listen and enjoy as Fadekemi Abiru talks to us about her journey with
Stears and the importance of data-driven insights on Africa.
Fadekemi’s Reading List
All About Love: New Visions by Bell Hooks
https://amzn.to/3EiIoZj
Harry Potter Paperback Box Set (Books 1-7) by J. K. Rowling
https://amzn.to/3OlqtG7
Economics Rules by Dani Rodrik
https://amzn.to/3As5j3w
Show Notes
1:55 Founding of Stears and its mission
3:10 Plans to cover the 2023 Nigerian elections
8:03 Data-driven insights/expectations on the Nigeria 2023 elections
10:22 How has technology enabled the Stears Elections product
11:12 Significance and likely impact of the Nigerian Electoral Act
2022 on the upcoming elections
12:29 Conducting polls in the future
14:08 Data trends that make this upcoming election different from the
last election
15:58 First encounter with failure and lesson learnt
16:02 Title of the book about your life
18:45 Reading list
21:09 What does being Afropolitan mean to you
The Afropolitan Podcast is hosted by Eche Emole, co-founder of Afropolitan.
Listen and subscribe to the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Jamit, or
wherever you get your podcasts.
Want to learn more about Afropolitan?
Twitter - https://twitter.com/afropolitan
Website - https://www.afropolitan.io/
Arese Ugwu
Quote - “Afropolitan means showcasing the brilliance of Africa on a
global stage.”
The Afropolitan Podcast spotlights Afropolitans who aren’t afraid to
step into the unknown and walk in purpose. With this podcast we hope
to empower Africans in the Diaspora to harness their full potential
and contribute to the development of a bold and progressive black
community.
Our guests will share their working formulas, the hard facts about
leaving familiar terrain, embracing the unknown, and staying relevant
afterwards.
This episode features Arese Ugwu, Founder of Smart Money Africa; an
edutainment platform providing financial literacy and education for
the African millennial.
Arese is a graduate from Aston Business School and University College
London and has previous experience with leading African financial
services brands before transitioning to Smart Money Africa.
She is passionate about creating content and avenues that break down
financial barriers for African youths especially women.
Listen and enjoy as Arese Ugwu talks to us about Smart Money tribe and
her thoughts on financial literacy for the African millennial.
Arese’s Reading List
The Smart Money Woman: An African girl's journey to financial freedom
by Arese Ugwu
https://amzn.to/3UAVTdJ
The Rich Are Different: A Priceless Treasury of Quotations and
Anecdotes About the Affluent, the Posh, and the Just Plain Loaded by
Jon Winokur
https://amzn.to/3AbZSpd
Sex and Vanity: A Novel by Kevin Kwan
https://amzn.to/3trG6lD
Show Notes
1:30 Upbringing and background
2:59 Start of Smart Money Africa
6:35 Challenges/process of self-publishing a book
12:24 Netflix picking up the The Smart Money Woman series
16:26 Balancing multiple roles professionally and personally
17:50 Financial advice for young people
19:11 Season Two of The Smart Money Woman
19:57 First encounter with failure and lesson learnt
20:45 Title of the book about your life
21:45 Reading list
23:20 What does being Afropolitan mean to you
24:00 Beauty of South Africa
The Afropolitan Podcast is hosted by Eche Emole, co-founder of Afropolitan.
Listen and subscribe to the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Jamit, or
wherever you get your podcasts.
Want to learn more about Afropolitan?
Twitter - https://twitter.com/afropolitan
Website - https://www.afropolitan.io/
Quote - “What I like the most about building in Africa and building
for Africa is that everything is so greenfield.”
The Afropolitan Podcast spotlights Afropolitans who aren’t afraid to
step into the unknown and walk in purpose. With this podcast we hope
to empower Africans in the Diaspora to harness their full potential
and contribute to the development of a bold and progressive black
community.
Our guests will share their working formulas, the hard facts about
leaving familiar terrain, embracing the unknown, and staying relevant
afterwards.
This episode features Nadayar Enegesi, CEO and Co-Founder of Eden Life
Inc.; a tech-driven home management platform in Africa providing
services such as food, laundry and cleaning.
Nadayar is a graduate from University of Waterloo in Canada and has
previous experience at Fora Inc. and Andela before transitioning to
Eden Life Inc..
He is passionate about upgrading the home lifestyle and bridging the
gap between service providers and service demanders through tech.
Listen and enjoy as Nadayar Enegesi talks to us about
entrepreneurship, Eden Life Inc. and his guiding life principles.
Nadayar’s Reading List
Reinventing Organizations: A Guide to Creating Organizations Inspired
by the Next Stage in Human Consciousness by Frederic Laloux
https://amzn.to/2Jb3qME
Bushido: The Way of the Samurai by Tsunetomo Yamamoto
https://amzn.to/3FSr4gg
Show Notes
1:32 Journey as an entrepreneur
4:56 Time at Andela
6:49 Transition into the role as CEO and Co-Founder of Eden life Inc.
10:35 Process of assembling the founding team
15:48 Fundraising process and advice
19:03 Founders who have influenced you in the tech space
21:42 Reading list
25:12 Recruiting and maintaining talent
30:27 Title of the book about your life
32:49 What does being Afropolitan mean to you
34:38 Impact of Covid-19
The Afropolitan Podcast is hosted by Eche Emole, co-founder of Afropolitan.
Listen and subscribe to the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Jamit, or
wherever you get your podcasts.
Want to learn more about Afropolitan?
Twitter - https://twitter.com/afropolitan
Website - https://www.afropolitan.io/
Quote - “Afropolitan means remembering who we were in the last
thousand years at scale”
The Afropolitan Podcast spotlights Afropolitans who aren’t afraid to
step into the unknown and walk in purpose. With this podcast we hope
to empower Africans in the Diaspora to harness their full potential
and contribute to the development of a bold and progressive black
community.
Our guests will share their working formulas, the hard facts about
leaving familiar terrain, embracing the unknown, and staying relevant
afterwards.
This episode features Ibi Cookey, Co-Founder of Fitted; a fashion-tech
company revolutionising scalable custom fashion.
Ibi is an international business management graduate and a former
investment banker. He is passionate about simplifying the custom
fashion supply chain for all stakeholders.
Listen and enjoy as Ibi Cookey talks to us about entrepreneurship,
Fitted and transitioning from investment banking to tech.
Show Notes
1:10 Background and transition from investment banking to tech
3:33 Insights gained from private equity
4:46 Transition to Fitted
6:22 What does Fitted solve
8:18 Utilising data from Fitted to solve international measurement
challenges at scale
11:11 Fitted’s role in the supply chain ecosystem
13:47 Fundraising challenges and insights
18:11 First encounter with failure and experience learnt
19:56 Title of the book about your life
21:53 What does being Afropolitan mean to you
The Afropolitan Podcast is hosted by Eche Emole, co-founder of Afropolitan.
Listen and subscribe to the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Jamit, or
wherever you get your podcasts.
Want to learn more about Afropolitan?
Twitter - https://twitter.com/afropolitan
Website - https://www.afropolitan.io/
Quote - “As a founder of a startup, we have to get to the end goal -
to liquidity and huge wealth gains for ourselves, employees and early
investors.”
The Afropolitan Podcast spotlights Afropolitans who aren’t afraid to
step into the unknown and walk in purpose. With this podcast we hope
to empower Africans in the Diaspora to harness their full potential
and contribute to the development of a bold and progressive black
community.
Our guests will share their working formulas, the hard facts about
leaving familiar terrain, embracing the unknown, and staying relevant
afterwards.
This episode features Morgan DeBaun, Founder/CEO of Blavity Inc.; a
leading digital media company for Black culture and millennials with
over 100 million readers per month.
Morgan is a serial entrepreneur, executive, corporate advisor, and
angel investor. She is passionate about building companies and
communities.
Listen and enjoy as Morgan DeBaun talks to us about entrepreneurship
and Blavity’s incredible journey.
Morgan’s Website
https://bit.ly/3Tj1TaH
Morgan’s Reading List
Rich Dad Poor Dad: What the Rich Teach Their Kids About Money That the
Poor and Middle Class Do Not! by Robert T. Kiyosaki
https://amzn.to/2NIasgG
The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership: Follow Them and People Will
Follow You by John C. Maxwell
https://amzn.to/3VICqJb
The Lean Startup: How Today's Entrepreneurs Use Continuous Innovation
to Create Radically Successful Businesses by Eric Ries
https://amzn.to/3CQouV0
Show Notes
1:17 Investing in the stock market at 13 years old
2:27 Misconceptions of being a founder
4:16 Advice/strategies for founders in recruiting/retaining talent
7:16 Fundraising as a black woman founder
10:08 Managing boundaries
12:56 Impact of the pandemic professionally/personally
17:40 Remote work vs office work
21:25 Dealing with letting people go
26:56 First encounter with failure and experience learnt
30:42 Reading list
31:57 Title of the book about your life
33:29 Transition from Intuit to Blavity
35:16 What does being Afropolitan mean to you
The Afropolitan Podcast is hosted by Eche Emole, co-founder of Afropolitan.
Listen and subscribe to the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Jamit, or
wherever you get your podcasts.
Want to learn more about Afropolitan?
Twitter - https://twitter.com/afropolitan
Website - https://www.afropolitan.io/
Quote - “Technology is bringing us back all together.”
The Afropolitan Podcast spotlights Afropolitans who aren’t afraid to
step into the unknown and walk in purpose. With this podcast we hope
to empower Africans in the Diaspora to harness their full potential
and contribute to the development of a bold and progressive black
community.
Our guests will share their working formulas, the hard facts about
leaving familiar terrain, embracing the unknown, and staying relevant
afterwards.
This episode features Biola Alabi, Co-Founder of Atika Ventures; a
women-led venture fund providing early-stage capital to consumer
technology start-ups in West and East Africa.
Biola is a Non-Executive Director at Unilever Nig. Plc. and Monty
Mobile, an Angel Investor at Lagos Angel Network and the Executive
Producer at Biola Alabi Media and Entertainment. She is passionate
about investing in startups that will solve real problems at scale.
Listen and enjoy as Biola Alabi talks to us about investing in
startups and how the investment landscape has changed over the last
decade.
Biola’s Reading List
Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson
https://amzn.to/3EXXWDE
Basic Black: The Essential Guide for Getting Ahead at Work (and in
Life) by Cathie Black
https://amzn.to/3Sclh7L
True North: Discover Your Authentic Leadership by Bill George
https://amzn.to/2AkWI67
Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less by Greg McKeown
https://amzn.to/3MH5tst
Show Notes
1:37 Lagos Angel Network
2:43 Changes/challenges in the investment landscape over the last 10 years
3:59 Advice to startups in the current regulatory environment
5:37 What do you look for in investing in startups
7:20 Advice/strategies for founders in recruiting/retaining talent
8:54 Managing expectations of Limited Partner (LPs)
11:22 First angel investment
12:50 First encounter with failure and experience learnt
15:44 Transparency as a founder
18:09 Background and upbringing
23:19 Reading list
27:26 Title of the book about your life
28:59 What does being Afropolitan mean to you
The Afropolitan Podcast is hosted by Eche Emole, co-founder of Afropolitan.
Listen and subscribe to the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Jamit, or
wherever you get your podcasts.
Want to learn more about Afropolitan?
Twitter - https://twitter.com/afropolitan
Website - https://www.afropolitan.io/
Quote - “Think of all unfortunate experiences as learning experiences.”
The Afropolitan Podcast spotlights Afropolitans who aren’t afraid to
step into the unknown and walk in purpose. With this podcast we hope
to empower Africans in the Diaspora to harness their full potential
and contribute to the development of a bold and progressive black
community.
Our guests will share their working formulas, the hard facts about
leaving familiar terrain, embracing the unknown, and staying relevant
afterwards.
This episode features Zeneca, Founder/CEO of ZenAcademy; who was a
professional poker player for 15 years and has transitioned to being a
well respected NFT influencer. He created ZenAcademy to build a
community and space to educate and help others understand the crypto
and NFT space.
Listen and enjoy as Zeneca talks to us about burnout in the tech
ecosystem and offers advice on trading crypto and NFTs.
Roy’s Reading List
Letters from a Stoic by Lucius Annaeus Seneca
https://amzn.to/3VkqdKA
Meditations by Marcus Aurelius
https://amzn.to/2XsyOQl
Why We Sleep: Unlocking the Power of Sleep and Dreams by Matthew Walker
https://amzn.to/3CP6tHB
Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor E. Frankl
https://amzn.to/3g2BIpF
Show Notes
1:18 Transition from a professional poker player for 15 years to Crypto
2:31 Burnout and self-care
5:55 Distinction between NFTs and crypto
9:01 NFT trading - highs and lows
11:47 How to evaluate projects
15:10 Meaning of Zeneca
17:08 Favorite philosophers
18:21 Reading list
20:09 Start of ZenAcademy
26:45 Future of online platforms in growing online communities
30:23 Encounter with failure and lessons learned
36:43 Navigating the crypto space and dealing with loss
41:34 Title of the book about your life
43:24 What does being Afropolitan mean to you
The Afropolitan Podcast is hosted by Eche Emole, co-founder of Afropolitan.
Listen and subscribe to the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Jamit, or
wherever you get your podcasts.
Want to learn more about Afropolitan?
Twitter - https://twitter.com/afropolitan
Website - https://www.afropolitan.io/
Quote - “If you want something really badly, the whole universe
conspires to help you get it.”
The Afropolitan Podcast spotlights Afropolitans who aren’t afraid to
step into the unknown and walk in purpose. With this podcast we hope
to empower Africans in the Diaspora to harness their full potential
and contribute to the development of a bold and progressive black
community.
Our guests will share their working formulas, the hard facts about
leaving familiar terrain, embracing the unknown, and staying relevant
afterwards.
This episode features Ngozi Dozie, Co-Founder of Carbon; a Pan African
digital bank based in Nigeria and a leading digital finance platform.
Carbon’s mission is to empower all people with the financial access
they need to pursue a life of dignity and prosperity. The Carbon app
was launched in April 2016 and the business has grown rapidly.
A CFA charter holder, Ngozi holds an MBA from Wharton School and has
worked as a financial analyst at Deloitte & Touche and an investment
banker at JPMorgan in New York.
Listen and enjoy as Ngozi talks to us about the importance of
transparency and access to loans in the Nigerian digital finance
ecosystem and shares tips for new founders to navigate the regulatory
landscape.
Ngozi’s Reading List
The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
https://amzn.to/3BSXIMu
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey
https://amzn.to/3CA05UO
The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran
https://amzn.to/3ycbiIf
Show Notes
1:27 Carbon’s vision and mission
6:34 Nigerian ecosystem - Type of loans and access to loans
5:36 Transparency and execution
8:54 Advice for founders navigating the regulatory landscape in the
tech ecosystem
11:50 Advice for founders fundraising
16:56 Impact of the pandemic on Carbon
22:15 Recruiting talent and retaining talent
25:08 First encounter with failure, dealing with it and lessons learnt
29:50 Reading list
35:01 Title of the book about your life
38:16 What does being Afropolitan mean to you
The Afropolitan Podcast is hosted by Eche Emole, co-founder of Afropolitan.
Listen and subscribe to the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Jamit, or
wherever you get your podcasts.
Want to learn more about Afropolitan?
Twitter - https://twitter.com/afropolitan
Website - https://www.afropolitan.io/
Quote - “Great ideas happen when two old ideas meet for the first time.”
The Afropolitan Podcast spotlights Afropolitans who aren’t afraid to step into the unknown and walk in purpose. With this podcast we hope to empower Africans in the Diaspora to harness their full potential and contribute to the development of a bold and progressive black community.
Our guests will share their working formulas, the hard facts about leaving familiar terrain, embracing the unknown, and staying relevant afterwards.
This episode features Fatima Dicko, Founder & CEO at Sugar; a community management platform for apartment building. Sugar has raised over $3.5M in VC funding from some of the leading investors in the property technology sector.
Fatima was on a product innovation team as a senior engineer at Procter & Gamble focused on bringing new ideas to market. She is passionate about building products people love and supporting youth to become future leaders in tech. Fatima was named as '18 Inspiring Women to Watch' by Inc and listed on the 2021 Forbes 'Next 1000' list.
Listen and enjoy as Fatima talks about the COVID 19 pandemic influence on her business and shares some of her fundraising challenges.
Fatima’s Reading List
The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
https://amzn.to/3BSXIMu
The Founder's Dilemmas by Noam Wasserman
https://amzn.to/3Siw01f
The Hard Thing About Hard Things by Ben Horowitz
https://amzn.to/3raLhVW
Show Notes
1:36 Impact of Covid-19 pandemic professionally and personally
6:34 Fundraising challenges as a founder
9:56 Background and upbringing shaping the entrepreneurial mindset
17:19 Initial team recruiting process and retaining talent
21:17 Reading list
22:06 Breakdown of Web3
27:54 Title of the book about Fatima’s life
29:12 First significant encounter with failure and lessons learnt
31:31 Importance of culture
34:40 What does being Afropolitan mean to you
The Afropolitan Podcast is hosted by Eche Emole, co-founder of Afropolitan.
Listen and subscribe to the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Jamit, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Want to learn more about Afropolitan?
Twitter - https://twitter.com/afropolitan
Website - https://www.afropolitan.io/
Quote- “Your environment directly impacts your health and your ability to succeed.”
The Afropolitan Podcast spotlights Afropolitans who aren’t afraid to step into the unknown and walk in purpose. With this podcast we hope to empower Africans in the Diaspora to harness their full potential and contribute to the development of a bold and progressive black community.
Our guests will share their working formulas, the hard facts about leaving familiar terrain, embracing the unknown, and staying relevant afterwards.
This episode features Anthony Azekwoh, Nigerian-based digital artist and author; who has taken the NFT art scene by storm and whose art has been seen all around the world.
In 2020, his painting “The Red Man” was sold as an NFT online for $25,000 and he has since captured the imagination of the global art community.
He has also written five books and has worked with artists such as Adekunle Gold, Blaqbonez and many more international clients.
Listen and enjoy as Anthony talks about his journey into NFT's, offers advice to upcoming digital artists and shares the inspiration behind his “The Red Man” painting.
Anthony’s Artwork
https://www.anthonyazekwoh.com
Anthony’s Reading List
The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
https://amzn.to/3BSXIMu
Outliers: The Story of Success by Malcolm Gladwell
https://amzn.to/3qMrpZ5
Manuscript Found in Accra by Paulo Coelho
https://amzn.to/3Btlxc2
Show Notes
1:10 Discussing Afrobeats: The Backstory documentary and lessons learnt
6:23 Anthony on his work being mature
8:51 Anthony on his journey into the digital space
11:35 Influences in storytelling and art
14:20 Art ecosystem and relationship with his parents
26:17 Transition to NFT and crypto art
34:13 Advice to digital artists in Africa trying to find their feet
36:19 The internet enabling Africans to challenge limitations
42:27 Inspiration behind “The Red Man” painting
45:34 The difference between art and writing
49:57 Anthony’s reading list
50:46 What does being Afropolitan mean to you
The Afropolitan Podcast is hosted by Eche Emole, co-founder of Afropolitan.
Listen and subscribe to the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Jamit, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Want to learn more about Afropolitan?
Twitter - https://twitter.com/afropolitan
Website - https://www.afropolitan.io/
Quote- “One of the things the CDC taught me back in the 90s was to collect data, understand the data, trend the data but also listen to the people.”
The Afropolitan Podcast spotlights Afropolitans who aren’t afraid to step into the unknown and walk in purpose. With this podcast we hope to empower Africans in the Diaspora to harness their full potential and contribute to the development of a bold and progressive black community.
Our guests will share their working formulas, the hard facts about leaving familiar terrain, embracing the unknown, and staying relevant afterwards.
This episode features Lyona Carter, founder clinical data geek, a clinical data management startup.
Lyona assists biotech/pharmaceutical companies review their clinical data. One of her biggest influences is Henrietta Lacks. Henrietta’s cells have been used in over 11,000 patents including polio vaccination and covid treatments. Nicknamed HeLa cells, they have been used to study the effect of toxins, viruses on the growth of cancer cells without experimenting on humans.
Lyona is passionate about creating a framework of compensation for those who wish to benefit from the use of their DNA or vitals. She believes clinical participants or their families should get compensated should they want compensation.
Listen and enjoy as Lyona talks about her journey into clinical data management, some of her influences and barriers she faces being a woman in the biotech industry.
The Legacy Of Henrietta Lacks
https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/henriettalacks/
Lyona’s reading list
Who Moved My Cheese by Spencer Johnson
https://www.amazon.com/Who-Moved-My-Cheese-Mazing/dp/0091816971/ref=sr_1_1?
On The Pulse Of Morning by Maya Angelou
https://www.amazon.com/Pulse-Morning-Inaugural-Poem/dp/0679748385
Show Notes
1:54 Journey into clinical data management
3:25 Henrietta Lacks contribution to present day clinical trial research
5:33 Compensation framework for clinical trial patients and their families
7:16 Journey into blockchain technology and web3
8:42 Influences growing up
13:47 Mental and professional impact of the COVID-19 pandemic
16:27 Benefits of NFT
18:29 Childhood lessons that taught the hardest lessons
20:22 Barriers faced being a woman in the biotech industry.
23:07 Encounter with failure and lessons learned
25:13 Lyona’s reading list
27:00 what does being Afropolitan mean to you
The Afropolitan Podcast is hosted by Eche Emole, co-founder of Afropolitan.
Listen and subscribe to the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Jamit, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Want to learn more about Afropolitan?
Twitter - https://twitter.com/afropolitan
Website - https://www.afropolitan.io/
Michael Ugwu
Quote- “I know a lot of people don't have the luxury of knowing their roots, but I know my roots and that was super important to me.”
The Afropolitan Podcast spotlights Afropolitans who aren’t afraid to step into the unknown and walk in purpose. With this podcast we hope to empower Africans in the Diaspora to harness their full potential and contribute to the development of a bold and progressive black community.
Our guests will share their working formulas, the hard facts about leaving familiar terrain, embracing the unknown, and staying relevant afterwards.
This episode features Michael Ugwu, MD of Freeme Digital, an online digital music distribution network in Africa.
Michael is a crypto enthusiast who holds a degree in Economics. In 2019, he liquidated most of his real estate investments and other assets and threw it all into bitcoin. A risk that has paid off over the years.
Micheal was instrumental in helping sony music launch in the west African market. He led several projects from licensing catalogs to MTN, Jidenna tour to Nigeria, signing deals of major artists in Nigeria to Sony.
Listen and enjoy as Micheal talks about his journey running a distribution company in Nigeria and how NFT can revolutionize the music industry.
Michael reading list
Think And Grow Rich By Napoleon Hill
https://www.amazon.com/Think-Grow-Rich-Napoleon-Hill/dp/0785833528
De Bitcoin Standard by Saifedean Ammous
https://www.amazon.com/Bitcoin-Standaard-Decentrale-Alternatief-Bankieren/dp/9916951357
Snow Crash by Neal Stepheson
https://www.amazon.com/Snow-Crash-Neal-Stephenson/dp/0553380958/ref=sr_1_1?
Show Notes
2:09 Micheal’s journey into crypto.
7:40 Journey to freeme digital.
14:30 Challenges of being a founder in the African ecosystem.
16:27 Impact of the covid-19 pandemic on business and operational challenges experienced.
19:24 Michael’s first encounter with failure as an entrepreneur.
23:50 Lessons learnt at Iroking.
28:37 Approach navigating challenges with signed artists.
32:07 How NFT can revolutionize the music industry.
41:36 Michael’s reading list
45:17 What does being Afropolitan mean to you
The Afropolitan Podcast is hosted by Eche Emole, co-founder of Afropolitan.
Listen and subscribe to the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Jamit, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Want to learn more about Afropolitan?
Twitter - https://twitter.com/afropolitan
Website - https://www.afropolitan.io/
“This world is small, the more you pitch, the more you'll get to those with a pool of money.”
The Afropolitan Podcast spotlights Afropolitans who aren’t afraid to step into the unknown and walk in purpose. With this podcast we hope to empower Africans in the Diaspora to harness their full potential and contribute to the development of a bold and progressive black community.
Our guests will share their working formulas, the hard facts about leaving familiar terrain, embracing the unknown, and staying relevant afterwards.
This episode features Elizabeth Yin,co-founder and general partner at hustle fund, a venture firm that invests in early-stage startups.
Elizabeth Yin and her co-founders created the venture capital firm hustle fund to help level the playing field at the pre-seed funding stage.
After reviewing about 20,000 pitch decks while working as a partner at 500 startups, Elizabeth came up with the idea of an early stage fund to help founding teams that struggle to attract investors attention.
A two time founder, Elizabeth has always had a drive for business, technology and investing.
Listen and enjoy as Elizabeth talks to us about her journey to becoming a VC and advises startups entering the bear market.
Elizabeth’s reading list
The Lean Startup by Eric Ries
https://www.amazon.com/Lean-Startup-Entrepreneurs-Continuous-Innovation/dp/0307887898
Predictable Revenue by Aaron Ross
https://www.amazon.com/Predictable-Revenue-Business-Practices-Salesforce-com/dp/0984380213
Shoe Dog by Phil Knight
https://www.amazon.com/Shoe-Dog-Phil-Knight/dp/1508211809
Show Notes
1:33 Journey to becoming a partner at hustle fund.
4:04 Misconceptions about being a VC
5:57 Most successful exit.
7:29 Different fundraising process
10:26 Advice to founders on recruiting and retaining talent longterm
14:11 Advice to aspiring venture capitalists
16:47 Elizabeth’s fundraising experience
20:57 Thoughts on sky high valuations for startups
22:09 Advice to startups coming into the bear market and what the market potentially holds
23:57 Vc that has had a major impact on Elizabeth's growth
25:44 Most significant encounter with failure and lessons learned
30:09 Elizabeths’s introduction into crypto and web3
32:19 The hustle verse/ crypto shift initiative
34:13 Downside to web3
35:42 Elizabeths’s reading list
37:49 What does being Afropolitan mean to you?
The Afropolitan Podcast is hosted by Eche Emole, co-founder of Afropolitan.
Listen and subscribe to the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Jamit, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Want to learn more about Afropolitan?
Twitter - https://twitter.com/afropolitan
Website - https://www.afropolitan.io/
Afropolitan Community - https://linktr.ee/afropolitangroup
Quote -“Trying to cater and impress social media is only going to lead to disappointments”
The Afropolitan Podcast spotlights Afropolitans who aren’t afraid to step into the unknown and walk in purpose. With this podcast we hope to empower Africans in the Diaspora to harness their full potential and contribute to the development of a bold and progressive black community.
Our guests will share their working formulas, the hard facts about leaving familiar terrain, embracing the unknown, and staying relevant afterwards.
This episode features Denis Asamoah,Co-founder of FORVR mood, a lifestyle brand focused on selfcare.
Denis Asamoah is an entrepreneur, brand development specialist, coach and former investment banker with Morgan Stanley.
In 2020 during the pandemic lockdown, Denis and his fiancee Jackie Aina co-founded and launched FORVR mood.They successfully self funded and scaled DTC to 7-digits within a few weeks.
Denis is passionate about the creator economy and is on a mission to empower more people of color to launch brands and flourish in their space.
Listen and enjoy as Denis talks to us about the creative economy and how he has successfully built a multimillion dollar business.
Denis’s reading list
The One Thing by Gary Keller
https://www.amazon.com/ONE-Thing-Surprisingly-Extraordinary-Results/dp/1885167776
The 4-hour Work Week by Timothy Ferriss
https://www.amazon.com/4-Hour-Workweek-Escape-Live-Anywhere/dp/0307465357
Show Notes
2:07 Naming process for the owambe collection.
4:49 Was the owambe collection a PR stunt?
16:18 Cancel culture
22:40 Denis’s mental selfcare
26:57 Transition to the creators economy
33:36 Advice to creators.
38:25 How creators can leverage their relevance to diversify
38:40 Sephora partnership
43:13 How Denis deals with negative comments on social media.
48:47 Internal and external scorecards
51:19 Most significant encounter with failure
52:20 FORVR mood sales during the pandemic
54:33 How FORVR mood manages the shipping process
57:33 Denis’s reading list
1:01:11 What does being afropolitan mean to you?
The Afropolitan Podcast is hosted by Eche Emole, co-founder of Afropolitan.
Listen and subscribe to the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Jamit, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Want to learn more about Afropolitan?
Twitter - https://twitter.com/afropolitan
Website - https://www.afropolitan.io/
Afropolitan Community - https://linktr.ee/afropolitangroup
Quote- “You don't have to raise funds to get validation. A lot of people will raise funds just for validation.”
The Afropolitan Podcast spotlights Afropolitans who aren’t afraid to step into the unknown and walk in purpose. With this podcast we hope to empower Africans in the Diaspora to harness their full potential and contribute to the development of a bold and progressive black community.
Our guests will share their working formulas, the hard facts about leaving familiar terrain, embracing the unknown, and staying relevant afterwards.
This episode features Ray Youssef, CEO of ‘Paxful’ - a peer-to-peer bitcoin marketplace used by millions worldwide. As an immigrant from Egypt raised in New York, Ray has always been passionate about helping others.
Ray believes that education is important in creating equitable opportunities and through his non-profit organization, built with bitcoin he has been able to provide that for so many children in Africa.
He has always dreamed of a world where finance is accessible to everyone and that idea manifested as Paxful.
Listen and enjoy as Ray talks to us about the African crypto market and the exceptional human capital on the continent.
Ray’s reading list
King, Warrior, magician, lover : Rediscovering the Archetype of Mature Masculine by Robert Moore
https://www.amazon.com/King-Warrior-Magician-Lover-Rediscovering/dp/0062506064
The Bitcoin Standard by Saifedean Ammous
https://www.amazon.com/Bitcoin-Standard-Decentralized-Alternative-Central/dp/1119473861
The fiat standard by Saifedean Ammous
https://www.amazon.com/Fiat-Standard-Slavery-Alternative-Civilization/dp/1544526474
History of Money by Jack Weatherford
https://www.amazon.com/History-Money-Jack-Weatherford/dp/0609801724
Show Notes
1:02 Mission and vision of Paxful.
5:19 African crypto market.
8:15 Advice to founders on navigating regulatory framework.
12:12 COVID-19 impact on Paxful.
13:35 Paxful approach to recruiting and retaining talent.
15:30 Advice to founders during fundraising process
18:02 The Mission of built with bitcoin.
22:51 Significant encounter with failure.
27:10 Ray’s reading list.
34:22 What does being Afropolitan mean to you?
The Afropolitan Podcast is hosted by Eche Emole, co-founder of Afropolitan.
Listen and subscribe to the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Jamit, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Want to learn more about Afropolitan?
Twitter - https://twitter.com/afropolitan
Website - https://www.afropolitan.io/
Afropolitan Community - https://linkt
Adeniyi Abiodun
Quote- “No one says you need to be an engineer or a PA for life. Nobody said you'll have one particular role for life but you can actually be capable of a lot more.”
The Afropolitan Podcast spotlights Afropolitans who aren’t afraid to step into the unknown and walk in purpose. With this podcast we hope to empower Africans in the Diaspora to harness their full potential and contribute to the development of a bold and progressive black community.
Our guests will share their working formulas, the hard facts about leaving familiar terrain, embracing the unknown, and staying relevant afterwards.
This episode features Adeniyi Abiodun,co-founder and Chief Product Officer of Mysten labs. Mysten Labs is creating infrastructure and tools for the decentralized future.
Fedup by the red tape of Big Tech, Adeniyi together with three former facebook employees created mysten lab. A startup focused on web3 and block chain infrastructure.
They were instrumental in the development of the diem blockchain and move programming language. A cross-platform smart contract language that helps developers secure against exploits.
Adeniyi realized programming and writing applications was something he cared about and hasn't looked back ever since. His career cuts across finance, product and blockchain technology.
Adeniyi is passionate about leveraging deep tech to solve developer and consumer problems.
Listen and enjoy as Adeniyi talks to us about the newly launched Sui blockchain network and his experience fundraising for Mysten labs.
Adeniyi’s reading list
The Bible
https://www.amazon.com/s?k=the+holy+bible&adgrpid=84105609520&gclid=CjwKCAjwi8iXBhB
Radical Focus by Christina Wodtke
https://www.amazon.com/Radical-Focus-Achieving-Important-Objectives/dp/099600602
8
Inspired by Marty Cagan
https://www.amazon.com/INSPIRED-Create-Tech-Products-Customers/dp/1119387507
Show Notes
1:20 Journey to becoming CPO of mysten lab
4:19 Mysten lab’s vision
5:18 Sui’s role in the blockchain ecosystem
11:14 Decentralization VS Centralization
15:19 Advice to founders on recruiting and retaining talent
17:15 Gaming sector VS other sectors in the ecosystem
18:57 Advice to newcomers in the blockchain ecosystem
20:39 Most significant encounter with failure and lessons learned
23:50 Adeniyi’s reading list
25:36 Advice to founders on the fundraising process
The Afropolitan Podcast is hosted by Eche Emole, co-founder of Afropolitan.
Listen and subscribe to the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Jamit, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Want to learn more about Afropolitan?
Twitter - https://twitter.com/afropolitan
Website - https://www.afropolitan.io/
Afropolitan Community - https://linktr.ee/afropolitangroup
Naithan Jones
Quote - “There's a fundamental misunderstanding of how success actually happens, how success happens is, you pick something to work on, that you don't mind working on in the wee hours of the night, for 20 plus years”
The Afropolitan Podcast spotlights Afropolitans who aren’t afraid to step into the unknown and walk in purpose. With this podcast we hope to empower Africans in the Diaspora to harness their full potential and contribute to the development of a bold and progressive black community.
Our guests will share their working formulas, the hard facts about leaving familiar terrain, embracing the unknown, and staying relevant afterwards.
This episode features Naithan Jones, former partner at A16z and current Head of Growth at Royal. Royal enables anyone to own and earn royalties for their favorite songs.
In 2011, Naithan drove out to silicon valley in his 1994 Corolla with everything he owned and went on to build Ag local, an ecommerce startup that eventually folded up.He later joined Andreessen Horowitz(A16z) where he did amazing work for seven years.
Naithan is a tech executive with over 20 years background in market strategy with emphasis on entrepreneurship, startups and entertainment driven business.
Listen and enjoy as Naithan talks to us about the misconceptions about being a VC and royal’s mission to redistribute the ownership of digital property.
Naithan’s Twitter post
https://twitter.com/naithanjones/status/1550151720319303683?s=21
Naithan’s reading list
Hard Things About Hard Things by Ben Horowitz
https://www.amazon.com/s?k=hard+thing+about+hard+things&adgrpid=82923967095&gclid=Cj
Cybernetics by Nobert Weiner
https://www.amazon.com/Cybernetics-Second-Control-Communication-Machine/dp/026273009X
The Human Use Of Human Beings by Nobert Weiner
https://www.amazon.com/Human-Use-Beings-Cybernetics-Society/dp/0306803208
Inner Engineering by Sadhguru
https://www.amazon.com/Inner-Engineering-Yogis-Guide-Joy/dp/0812997794
Man's Search For Meaning
https://www.amazon.com/Mans-Search-Meaning-Viktor-Frankl/dp/080701429X
The Black Jacobins by C.L.R James
https://www.amazon.com/Black-Jacobins-Toussaint-LOuverture-Revolution/dp/0679724672
Power vs Force by David Hawkins
https://www.amazon.com/Power-Force-David-Hawkins-M-D/dp/1401945074
Psychology Of Unconsciousness by C.G Jung
https://www.amazon.com/Psychology-Unconscious-C-G-Jung/dp/0486424995
Show Notes
5:32 What inspired the mindset behind the tweet
11:25 How serving has changed Naithans’s perspective on life and humanity
17:11 Journey to Tech
24:43 Misconceptions about being a VC
33:15 Advice to founders
40:48 The role healing/therapy plays in dealing with past trauma
46:46 Royal’s mission
52:33 Naithan’s Reading list
The Afropolitan Podcast is hosted by Eche Emole, co-founder of Afropolitan.
Listen and subscribe to the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Jamit, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Want to learn more about Afropolitan?
Twitter - https://twitter.com/afropolitan
Website - https://www.afropolitan.io/
Afropolitan Community - https://linktr.ee/afropolitangroup
Tayo Oviosu
Quote- “A life of service is worth living.”
The Afropolitan Podcast spotlights Afropolitans who aren’t afraid to step into the unknown and walk in purpose. With this podcast we hope to empower Africans in the Diaspora to harness their full potential and contribute to the development of a bold and progressive black community.
Our guests will share their working formulas, the hard facts about leaving familiar terrain, embracing the unknown, and staying relevant afterwards.
This episode features Tayo Oviosu, founder and group CEO Paga,a mobile payments company focused on digitizing cash in emerging economies.
The Stanford educated professional saw a huge opportunity in the financial service industry and came up with what is now paga.
With over 19 million users, paga is unrelenting in bringing financial services to the unbanked.
Listen and enjoy as Tayo talks to us about the impact of FinTech companies in Africa and how Paga aims to serve the unbanked.
Tayo’s reading list
True North by Bill George
https://www.amazon.com/True-North-Discover-Authentic-Leadership/dp/0787987514
My American Journey by Colin Powell
https://www.amazon.com/My-American-Journey-Colin-Powell/dp/0345466411
Shoe Dog by Phil Knight
https://www.amazon.com/Shoe-Dog-Memoir-Creator-Nike-ebook/dp/B0176M1A44
Show Notes
1:33 Paga Mission
4:00 Has paga solved the pain point of carrying cash around in Nigeria
6:26 Unique challenges faced while starting paga
8:43 Fundraising challenges founders in Africa face
12:28 How paga has engaged regulatory bodies
15:58 Insights on agency banking model
22:01 How paga has been able to recruit and retain talent
25:52 Operational challenges paga faced during covid
30:01 leadership challenges
31:26 Books that have impacted Tayo’s life
36:05 First encounter with failure as an entrepreneur
42:46 Concept of product management in the tech ecosystem.
The Afropolitan Podcast is hosted by Eche Emole, co-founder of Afropolitan.
Listen and subscribe to the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Jamit, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Want to learn more about Afropolitan?
Twitter - https://twitter.com/afropolitan
Website - https://www.afropolitan.io/
Afropolitan Community - https://linktr.ee/afropolitangroup
Deeze's Quote
"Don't enjoy to the point where you're not doing hard work again and don't do hard work to the point where you don't take a moment to enjoy just a little bit."
The Afropolitan Podcast spotlights Afropolitans who aren’t afraid to step into the unknown and walk in purpose. With this podcast we hope to empower Africans in the Diaspora to harness their full potential and contribute to the development of a bold and progressive black community.
Today’s episode features Deeze, the Director of vibes at Fractional, a decentralized protocol that enables collective ownership and governance of one or more NFTs.
Deeze is most known for his outstanding work in supporting the NFT community, he hosts twitter spaces to spotlight up and coming artists with quality work in the scene.
Listen and enjoy as Deeze talks to us about everything from fractional and how he got started with NFTs.
Twitter thread
https://twitter.com/punk6529/status/1507787390114488322?
Deeze reading list
https://www.amazon.com/Million-Stuffed-Shark-Economics-Contemporary/dp/0230620590 The 12 Million Stuffed Shark by Don Thompson
https://www.amazon.com/Pre-Suasion-Robert-Cialdini-Ph-D-audiobook/dp/B01JAYK6HI/ref=sr_1_1? Pre-suasion by Robert Cialdini
https://www.amazon.com/Influence-Psychology-Persuasion-Robert-Cialdini/dp/006124189X Influence by Robert Cialdini
https://www.amazon.com/Lessons-History-Will-Durant/dp/143914995X/ref=sr_1_1? Lessons of history by Will and Ariel Durant
https://www.amazon.com/Tribe-Mentors-Short-Advice-World/dp/B082VM5VZN/ref=sr_1 _1? Tribe of Mentors by Will Ferriss
Show Notes
1:15 How did you get started with NFT
7:52 What are NFTs and what can be their use in the future
10:52 Journey to fractional
14:33 Owning a collectible with a group of strangers/ friends
17:21 Advice to newbies joining NFT projects
21:25 Pseudonymity within the NFT ecosystem
27:40 Thoughts on the Azuki scandal
34:50 Favorite books
39:03 Highs and lows of NFT
47:32 First encounter with failure and lessons learned.
The Afropolitan Podcast is hosted by Eche Emole, co-founder of Afropolitan.
Listen and subscribe to the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Jamit, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Want to learn more about Afropolitan?
Twitter - https://twitter.com/afropolitan
Website - https://www.afropolitan.io/
Afropolitan Community - https://linktr.ee/afropolitangroup
MERCEDES BENT
Quote - “one of the biggest, most profound realization I've had is there is no life path that can be planned or followed.”
The Afropolitan Podcast spotlights Afropolitans who aren’t afraid to step into the unknown and walk in purpose. With this podcast we hope to empower Africans in the Diaspora to harness their full potential and contribute to the development of a bold and progressive black community.
Our guests will share their working formulas, the hard facts about leaving familiar terrain, embracing the unknown, and staying relevant afterwards.
This episode features Mercedes Bent, partner at Lightspeed, a venture capital firm based in the USA, with her focus on consumer investments in crypto.
Born in North Carolina and raised in California, Mercedes’ parents introduced her to web development at a young age and dinner table conversations were centered around the next invention. It’s no surprise Mercedes found herself working at startups in her early career as a Product Manager and later as a General Manager.
Mercedes’ path to VC is a true convergence of her life experiences, finance roles managing P&Ls at two consumer startups (including growing one from $2 to $100M in revenue), and her long-term goal of empowering communities she cares about.
A member of Lightspeed’s consumer and crypto investing team, Mercedes is primarily focused on investing in crypto, fintech, and other wealth-building and consumer products.
Listen and enjoy as Mercedes talks to us about venture capital.
Mercedes reading list
https://www.amazon.com/Anne-Green-Gables-Complete-8-Book/dp/0553609416 Anne of Green Gables by L.M Montgomery.
https://www.amazon.com/Singularity-Nearer-Ray-Kurzweil-ebook/dp/B08Y6FYJVY The Singularity Is Nearer by Ray Kurzweil
Show Notes
6:59 Journey to Venture Capital and Lightspeed
8:41 Evaluating startups
11:00 Common misconceptions about VC
12:40 Why Lightspeed
15:01 Covid’s impact on deal flow and personally
17:41 How the barrier can be broken for women trying to raise capital
21:25 First encounter with failure and lessons learned.
24:17 Advice to founders struggling to recruit and retain talent
28:24 Advice to people trying to break into VC
29:51 If the only thing left in the world was to read a book about your life, what will the title be
33:41 What does being Afropolitan mean to you
The Afropolitan Podcast is hosted by Eche Emole, co-founder of Afropolitan.
Listen and subscribe to the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Jamit, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Want to learn more about Afropolitan?
Twitter - https://twitter.com/afropolitan
Website - https://www.afropolitan.io/
Afropolitan Community - https://linktr.ee/afropolitangroup
Atsu Davoh
Quote- “Focus on the process, the destination will eventually come but the process is what gets you there.”
The Afropolitan Podcast spotlights Afropolitans who aren’t afraid to step into the unknown and walk in purpose. With this podcast we hope to empower Africans in the Diaspora to harness their full potential and contribute to the development of a bold and progressive black community.
Our guests will share their working formulas, the hard facts about leaving familiar terrain, embracing the unknown, and staying relevant afterwards.
This episode features Atsu Davoh, the MD of Bitsika, a payment platform that helps people send money across countries.
With several startups under his belt, Atsu has always been determined to build his multi million dollar company and he seems to have achieved that with Bitsika. While in college in the United states Atsu realized school wasn't for him.
Atsu was more interested in building websites, working on small projects, learning HTML and CSS.He eventually dropped out and focused on entrepreneurship full time, a move that has eventually paid off.
Bitsika was a pioneer in afrobeats and fintech collaboration. In 2020, they signed renowned music giant Davido as an official brand ambassador. This partnership was a pivotal moment for the organization as it led to the acquisition of numerous customers.
Listen and enjoy as Atsu talks to us about building Bitsika and future plans.
Atsu reading list
AntiFragile by Nicholas Taleb
The Bitcoin Standard by Saifedean Ammous
Inventing Bitcoin by Yan Pritzker
Show notes:
4:55 How Atsu scales ideas as a software engineer and technical founder.
8:25 How Bitsika plans to accommodate the central bank of Nigeria's regulation on crypto companies.
16:36 The process of engaging Davido as a brand ambassador and the results after the campaign was launched.
30:10 challenges with hiring and maintaining talent as a startup in Africa.
37:39 The promise of crypto and decentralization.
42:28 Atsu’s entrepreneurial mind set.
48:37 First experience with failure and lesson learnt.
1:02:03 What does being Afropolitan mean to Atsu
1:03:45 Mission behind the social tokens and what it represents in the crypto ecosystem.
The Afropolitan Podcast is hosted by Eche Emole, co-founder of Afropolitan.
Listen and subscribe to the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Jamit, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Want to learn more about Afropolitan?
Twitter - https://twitter.com/afropolitan
Website - https://www.afropolitan.io/
Gossy Ukanwoke
Quote
"Don't enjoy to the point where you're not doing hard work again and don't do hard work to the point where you don't take a moment to enjoy just a little bit."
The Afropolitan Podcast spotlights Afropolitans who aren’t afraid to step into the unknown and walk in purpose. With this podcast we hope to empower Africans in the Diaspora to harness their full potential and contribute to the development of a bold and progressive black community.
Today’s episode features Gossy Ukanwoke, the MD of KingMakers, owners of the BetKing brand.
With Gossy at the helm of affairs, the brand is evolving to encompass sports entertainment and gaming services. “It’s not just a roadside gambling company, it’s a proper technology business. It’s a product in gaming. It can easily be a fintech company tomorrow, given the spread across the continent, the number of users, the number of transactions. It can roll it out and it can be anything.”
Gossy started out reselling Internet services in his late teens to wealthy customers, at a time when wireless routers were not yet commonplace.
The Internet service provider caught on to what Gossy was doing and in no time, he found himself out of business. “You know when they say, cut you at the knees, day by day, my clients were just dropping off one by one.”
It was a steep learning curve for him, but the lessons he learned would serve him well in the future.
Listen and find out what those lessons are.
You can also fuel your mind with Gossy’s impactful reading list.
https://www.amazon.com/Good-Great-Some-Companies-Others/dp/0066620996 Good To Great by Jim Collins
https://www.amazon.com/Talent-Never-Enough-Discover-Choices/dp/0785214038 Talent is never Enough by John C Maxwell
https://www.amazon.com/Sprint-Solve-Problems-Test-Ideas/dp/1442397683 Sprint by Jake Knapp
Show Notes:
11:05 Gossy mentions one of the things people don’t really talk about in entrepreneurship?
14:55 Gossy talks about his boat business and building confidence in a low-trust environment.
19:42 First and best entrepreneurial experience ever as a reseller of Internet services and lessons learned.
31:21 How he created Beni American University. Building out a school that will address the issues of access, quality and relevance.
42:19 From bootstrapping to fundraising.
46:10: BetKing's growth and expansion.
50:50 What’s important when it comes to recruiting the right talent.
52:33 Gossy’s biggest leadership lessons in managing people
The Afropolitan Podcast is hosted by Eche Emole, co-founder of Afropolitan.
Listen and subscribe to the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Jamit, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Want to learn more about Afropolitan?
Twitter - https://twitter.com/afropolitan
Website - https://www.afropolitan.io/
Eke Eleanya Urum
Quote: “Start up is a Marathon. You want to make sure that the value you're creating, you're not just building for investors because you sold too much too early.”
The Afropolitan Podcast spotlights Afropolitans who aren’t afraid to step into the unknown and walk in purpose. With this podcast we hope to empower Africans in the Diaspora to harness their full potential and contribute to the development of a bold and progressive black community.
Today’s episode features Eke Eleanya Urum, Founder and CEO of Rise Vest - a dollar denominated investment platform.
“I've always been passionate about finance, investments. It's what I studied in school, what I worked in, it’s what I did personally. And as a hobby, I just love it.”
Following the peak of the Shale revolution and the subsequent crash of oil prices, Eke published a blog post in November of 2014 advising people to find ways to move their money to dollar investments.
He went on to co-found BuyCoins with Timi Ajiboye. They later parted ways so that Eke could focus on building core investment products, and this eventually led to the start of Rise Vest.
Having to deal with regulatory challenges from the government taught Eke a thing or two about the rules of engagement when dealing with regulators.
Listen and enjoy as Eke takes us through the rise of Rise Vest
Eke’s reading list
The Bible
https://www.amazon.com/Alchemist-Paulo-Coelho-ebook/dp/B00U6SFUSS/ The Alchemist by Paul Coelho
https://www.amazon.com/Zero-One-Notes-Startups-Future-ebook/dp/B00J6YBOFQ/ Zero To One by Peter Thiel
Show Notes:
03:57 How 2021 Rise Vest’s year of ascent.
05:46 The idea that became Rise Vest.
07:09 Starting BuyCoins with Timi Ajiboye.
08:02 Parting ways with Timi and BuyCoins.
08:17 The beginning of Rise Vest.
10:18 Eke talks about recruiting tech talent even if you are a non-tech founder.
11:06 Partnerships that work. How Eke met his co-founder Bosun Olanrewaju.
11:49 Building the first products at Rise Vest
12:35 Building the team at Rise Vest
13:22 How equity works at Rise Vest.
14:24 The process of fundraising according to Eke
17:54 Dealing with regulators. The cases with CBN and EFCC.
23:25 The founders who inspire Eke.
26:24 Eke’s thoughts on running a company in Nigeria versus going abroad.
29:20 The future of Crypto in Africa and why it should be embraced
34:13 Eke’s multiple lens on failure.
The Afropolitan Podcast is hosted by Eche Emole, co-founder of Afropolitan.
Listen and subscribe to the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Jamit, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Want to learn more about Afropolitan?
Twitter - https://twitter.com/afropolitan
Website - https://www.afropolitan.io/
Quote:
“I often say to people that you want to be careful how you challenge yourself. You don't want to change too many things at once when changing a job.”
Today’s episode features Adia Sowho, the CMO of MTN Nigeria, and also the first woman to occupy that position.
“I'm not a classic CMO, but interestingly, I think I'm the CMO the tech company needs. I hope to try to, from my role, reconnect MTN to that deeper purpose and start taking the conversation forward. What happens beyond connectivity? How do we make MTN a part of the next bunch of unicorn stories?”
Starting with her first degree in Electrical Engineering, Adia’s career has cut across technology, telecommunications, and finance.
Adia has been referred to as the Sheryl Sandberg of the startup ecosystem and later as the Olivia Pope of the Nigerian tech ecosystem.
Listen and learn how Adia built her track record of creating impactful work in her positions.
Adia’s Reading List
https://www.amazon.com/Sovereign-Individual-James-Dale-Davidson-ebook/dp/B00AK9IXXM-The Sovereign Individual by James Dale Davidson and Lord William Rees-Mogg
https://www.amazon.com/Formula-Universal-Laws-Success-ebook/dp/B07B863X6B/- The Formula by Albert-László Barabási
Show Notes:
03:42 Adia talks about her role as the CMO of MTN Nigeria?
07:03 Adia explains MTN’s position in the tech space.
12:02 How digital finance services help build legacy and trust.
16:32 On corporate companies versus startups.
21:44 Why founders need structure in their companies.
24:37 The turnaround process of Thrive Agric.
29:46 How to navigate intergenerational spaces.
35:56 Building synergy between fintechs, banks and telcos.
39:36 How managing her reputation and making relationship investments have paid off.
The Afropolitan Podcast is hosted by Eche Emole, co-founder of Afropolitan.
Listen and subscribe to the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Jamit, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Want to learn more about Afropolitan?
Twitter - https://twitter.com/afropolitan
Website - https://www.afropolitan.io/
Afropolitan is creating a digital nation to enable Africans and the diaspora to build abundant lives. Our history as Africans is one of abundance. Systemic oppression has limited our progress, and being Black is associated with scarcity. It is time to reclaim our abundance.
Our knowledge and history have been passed down in Africa through oral tradition. That oral tradition continues till this day, but today we call it podcasting. We seek to preserve our history, achievements, and knowledge for today and the future.
This episode features Eche Emole and Chika Uwazie, co-founders of Afropolitan, a digital nation that enables Africans and the diaspora to build abundant lives.
Eche is the co-founder of Afropolitan, a network comprising the best that Africa and the diaspora offer across art, finance, tech, and media. Eche is a former executive at Flutterwave Inc., a payment technology company focused on helping banks and businesses provide seamless and secure payment experiences for their customers in Africa and globally. Eche has 10 years of experience building communities across the African Diaspora.
Chika is co-founder of Afropolitan. A seasoned HR professional with multiple successful companies under her belt. Born and raised in America, Chika moved back to Nigeria to run Talentbase, a human resource and payroll software company. Chika is passionate about helping export exceptional African talent to the world.
The Afropolitan Manifesto: https://afropolitan.mirror.xyz
How to Start a Country by Balaji Srinivasan - https://1729.com/how-to-start-a-new-country
Eche’s reading list
Antifragile by Nassim Nicholas Taleb
The Almanack of Naval Ravikan by Eric Jorgenson
The Way of the Superior Man by David Deida
How to start a new country by Balaji Srinivasan
Chika’s reading list
Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert kiyosaki
The Psychology of money by Morgan Housel
The Art of Seduction by Robert Greene
Show Notes
10:15 Introduction of co founders.
13:15 Birth and transition of Afropolitan.
18:09 Afropolitan mission and why it's personal.
36:00 How to execute the Afropolitan mission.
46:41 Experience with the fundraising process.
50:37 Advice to founders trying to raise capital.
55:47 Most significant encounter with failure and lessons learned.
1:14:48 What does being Afropolitan mean?
1:18:22 Last words.
The Afropolitan Podcast is hosted by Eche Emole, co-founder of Afropolitan.
Listen and subscribe to the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Jamit, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Want to learn more about Afropolitan?
Twitter - https://twitter.com/afropolitan
Website - https://www.afropolitan.io/
Afropolitan Community - https://linktr.ee/afropolitangroup
Hi I'm Eche, co-founder of Afropolitan and host of the Afropolitan Podcast, In this new season I’m excited to share what we’ve been up to.
Afropolitan is creating a digital nation to enable Africans and the diaspora to build abundant lives. Our history as Africans is one of abundance. Systemic oppression has limited our progress and being Black is associated with scarcity. It is time to reclaim our abundance.
In Africa, our knowledge and history has been passed down through oral tradition. That oral tradition continues till this day, but today we call it podcasting.
We seek to preserve our history, achievements and knowledge not just for today, but for the future.
Listen to season two of the Afropolitan podcast, where we extract the blueprints of fearlessness, innovation and progress from Afropolitan citizens who are building the future of a bold and progressive nation.
Join the network of abundance → https://linktr.ee/afropolitangroup
Afropolitan Website → https://www.afropolitan.io/
Today we chat with Fola Olatunji David, the co-founder of Kickoff Africa; a startup focused on investing in startups, enabling quick turnaround time with regards to decision making for startups and connecting experts to startups and also offers training in select fields needed to grow a startup.
In this episode, he shares his story about his foray into tech and how his experience and extensive knowledge of
Sports betting
Venture Capitalism and
Product Marketing has helped him to understand African users and become a better consultant for startups.
In this episode, our guest is Tobenna Arodiogbu. He is the Co-founder and CEO of CloudTrucks.
His interest in the trucking business led him to found Scotty Labs, a startup that allows users to remotely control autonomous vehicle. He currently runs CloudTrucks a startup that enables truckers get more revenue, better cash flow and reduces their cost of operation.
Listen to Tobenna as he shares his story about his formative days in the world of economics and how the knowledge helped him transition to the world of tech.
In this episode, our guest is Sadiq Onifade popularly known as Wurld.
He is a Nigerian singer and songwriter who has collaborated with artists such as Akon, Mario, Timbaland; award-winning producer Sarz and electronic dance music DJ Major Lazer.
Listen to Wurld as he shares his story of his early days as a singer and songwriter navigating the music industry in Atlanta and Africa; his favorite artist to record with and his plans for the future.
Episode 1 of the bonus episodes of the Afropolitan Podcast.
In this episode, our guest is Odun Ewenyi. She is the Co-founder and Chief Operations Officer of Piggyvest and the co-founder of Wine and Whine and Feminist Coalition.
Listen to Odun as she shares her story about her entrepreneurial journey into Fintech, the birth and sustenance of Piggyvest and the active role played during the October Protest.
Iyinoluwa Aboyeji
Today, we chat with Iyinoluwa Samuel Aboyeji, a Nigerian entrepreneur. He is a co-founder of the tech companies, Andela and Flutterwave.
He is also the general partner and co-founder of Future Africa, a platform that provides capital, coaching, and community for mission-driven innovators.
In this episode, Iyin demystifies the process of building a start-up, knowing when to step back, and staying driven.
Today, we chat with Affiong Williams also known as Affisuparstar, the CEO/ Founder of ReelFruit the largest fruit processing, packaging and marketing company in Nigeria. The company, founded in 2012, retails a range of dried fruit and nut snacks through a variety of channels including over 450 Supermarkets, Airlines, Schools, Hotels, and concluding export sales via Amazon.com ReelFruit is an award-winning brand, winning both an international Women In Business Competition in the Netherlands. She has also been recognized by Forbes Magazine as one of the most promising ’30 under 30′ entrepreneurs in 2015. Affiong is passionate about agribusiness and looking at innovative, market-driven solutions to add value to local produce given Nigeria’s unique agricultural landscape.
In this episode, Affi tells us the story of her journey, her evolution and reinvention.
Now let’s head over to Affi.
Today we chat with Obi Asika a Nigerian creative industries entrepreneur. He is known for his involvement in the growth of Nigeria’s music industry, as the founder and CEO of Storm 360 - an indigenous music label that spawned entertainers including Naeto C, Ikechukwu, Sasha P, General Pype, L.O.S., Ms. Jaie, Tosin Martins, and Yung 6ix.
He is a founding partner of Dragon Africa - a Strategic Communications Firm based in London, Lagos, and Accra, and is the Chairman of OutSource Media, a leading communications and content production company. Asika also sits on the board of the Collecting Society of Nigeria (COSON)., and is a prominent figure in laying the infrastructure for the growth and development of the media & entertainment industry.
In this episode, Obi tells us the story of his journey, his evolution, and his reinvention.
Now let’s head over to Obi.
Today, we chat with Dayo Koleowo, Managing Partner at Microtraction, a venture capital firm backing the most remarkable African tech founders at their earliest stage. He oversees Investments, Portfolio Management, and Investor Relations. He manages and supports a portfolio of companies solving important local problems on the continent. These companies have gone on to raise a combined total of $33m+ and have a combined valuation of approximately $147m+
In this episode, Dayo tells us the story of his journey, his evolution, and his reinvention.
Now let’s head over to Dayo.
Today we chat with Abiodun Osikoya, also known as Bizzle Osikoya. Bizzle is a man in constant demand. A&R, music executive, entrepreneur, renowned culture middleman, and social media influencer with his hand in many pies.
Bizzle Osikoya joined the Nigerian music industry from creating MySpace pages for artists.
Asa Asika & Bizzle both joined forces to create The Plug Entertainment.
Under his shared guidance with Asa Asika, The Plug Entertainment has expanded, booking tours across the world, consulting for international culture-affiliated companies.
In this episode, Bizzle tells us the story of his journey, his evolution and reinvention.
Now let’s head over to Bizzle.
Now let’s go chat with Bizzle
Today we chat with Mawuli Gavor a Ghanaian accountant turned actor, model, TV presenter, entrepreneur, and producer. Gavor was born in Ghana. He studied business and finance at Franklin and Marshall College, Lancaster, Pennsylvania, USA.
Gavor started out in the entertainment industry as a model while in the US as an undergraduate of business management and finance. Upon returning to Ghana, he began his career as an accountant. He however became a brand ambassador to Martini in 2013 and changed his career path. He transitioned into acting in Nollywood movies and is known for the movie Obsession. He has gone on to act in multiple other productions.
In this episode, Mawuli tells us the story of his journey, his evolution, and his reinvention.
Now let’s head over to Mawuli.
Today, we chat with Preston Ideh, the Co-founder and CEO of Stears, a digital information start-up based out of Lagos, Nigeria.
Stears’ mission is to make it possible for anyone, anywhere in the world, to access high-quality data on Africa. Stears publishes Stears Business, a subscription-driven business publication. In this episode, Preston Ideh tells us the story of his journey, his evolution and reinvention.
Preston is an entrepreneur who previously worked as a corporate finance lawyer at Linklaters, one of Europe’s elite Magic Circle law firms. He graduated from the London School of Economics before moving back to Nigeria to focus on building Stears, which is now tipped to become the Bloomberg of Africa.
Now let’s head over to Preston.
Today, we chat with Asa Asika, a Nigerian entertainment consultant. He is the manager of the popular Nigerian musician, Davido; Guinness World Record holder DJ Obi and co-founder of the artiste management company, The Plug.
He founded an artiste management company called Stargaze and managed talents like Ayojay, Bojonthemicrophone.
Asa Asika is the cousin of Naeto C and nephew of Nigerian Entertainment business mogul, Obi Asika. In this episode, Asa Asika tells us the story of his journey, his evolution and reinvention.
Now let's head over to Asa.
Today, we chat with Yele Bademosi, CEO at Bundle Africa, the Africa-focused social payments app for cash and crypto, aiming to drive crypto adoption in Africa and bringing more economic freedom and prosperity to all Africans. Yele is focused on developing the blockchain ecosystem in Africa, accelerating Africa’s transition into a sustainable and developed economy by leveraging capital, innovation, and policy.
He is a Founding Partner at Microtraction, which funds Africa’s most remarkable teams at early-stage startups across multiple sectors including finance and cryptocurrency... In this episode, Yele Bademosi tells us the story of his journey, his evolution, and reinvention.
Now let’s head over to Yele.
Today, we chat with Adenola Adepetun, known as Dénola Grey. Denola is a fashion consultant, actor, writer and on-air multimedia personality.
In this episode, Denola tells us how he was able to move away from the black and white restrictions in the fashion industry and live as a successful creative in all the grey areas.
Now let’s head over to Denola
Today, we chat with Jude Abaga better known as M.I, one of Africa’s greatest rappers.
In this episode, M.I. tells us the story of his journey, his evolution, and how he continues to remain center stage.
Now let’s go meet M.I.