Unlocking Africa

Episode 225 with Nicholas Bassey, Chief Operations and Program Officer at the African Diaspora Network (ADN), an organisation mobilising diaspora investment, entrepreneurship, innovation, and strategic partnerships to accelerate economic growth across Africa. Nicholas joins us to discuss the future of diaspora investment in Africa, how African entrepreneurs can access global capital, and why Africa’s biggest challenge may not be a lack of money, but a lack of investment infrastructure, trust, and coordination. In this episode, Nicholas explains how ADN is connecting African founders, investors, policymakers, and global African talent through initiatives such as the African Diaspora Investment Symposium (ADIS)...

Episode 225 with Ernestine Van Rappard, CCO  at Workpay, a Kenyan founded, Y Combinator backed payroll, HR, and Employer of Record platform helping companies hire, pay, and manage employees across Africa without setting up local entities. Ernestine joins us to unpack one of the biggest hidden barriers to doing business in Africa: compliant hiring, payroll, and workforce management across multiple African countries. In this episode, we explore how global companies are expanding into Africa faster by using Employer of Record (EOR) solutions to hire employees legally and compliantly without establishing subsidiaries. Ernestine explains why setting up entities across Africa can take months, the complexity of navi...

Episode 224 with Dima Rasnovsky, General Manager for Africa at Glovo, one of the world’s leading quick commerce and on demand delivery platforms transforming how consumers access food, groceries, retail products, and everyday essentials across cities. Dima leads Glovo’s growth and operations across African markets, helping drive the expansion of digital commerce, last mile delivery, and retail technology across some of the continent’s fastest growing economies. In this episode, we explore the future of ecommerce in Africa and how quick commerce is reshaping consumer behaviour across major urban centres including Lagos, Nairobi, Kampala, and Abidjan. Dima explains how rising smartphone adoption, mobile money, ...

Episode 223 with Ezekiel Adamu, entrepreneur, change agent, and Group CEO of Balmoral Group, one of West Africa’s leading event and experiential companies. In this conversation, we explore how Africa can build globally competitive sports and entertainment industries that drive economic growth, create jobs, and position cities like Lagos as international event destinations. Ezekiel shares how his journey from the United Kingdom back to Nigeria shaped his ambition to bring structure, scale, and global standards into Africa’s events industry. Through Balmoral Group and platforms like Chaos in the Ring and Friday Fight Night, he is redefining sports entertainment in Africa by creating world class boxing events, b...

Episode 222 with Shamim Ehsani, Co Founder of Tribe Hotels Group, a hospitality and lifestyle company redefining modern African luxury through the integration of culture, art, and experience led design. Shamim has built a portfolio that includes Tribe Hotel in Nairobi, Hero Bar, named The Best Bar in Africa, and the upcoming Tribe Beach House in Kilifi, while continuing a family legacy that has helped shape Kenya’s real estate, tourism, and food and beverage industry for over three decades. Shamim shares how the hospitality industry in Africa can function as economic infrastructure, shaping cities, driving employment, and influencing global perception of markets like Kenya. From launching a five star hotel in...

Episode 221 with Juliet Oshagbemi, Chief People and Culture Officer Africa at Zipline, a global leader in drone delivery, healthcare logistics and supply chain innovation. Zipline has been operating in Africa since 2016 and is now fully integrated into public health systems across Ghana, Rwanda, Nigeria, Kenya and Côte d’Ivoire, delivering blood, vaccines and essential medical supplies on demand at scale. Juliet brings more than 20 years of experience in human capital strategy and organisational development, with senior leadership roles at Dangote Group where she led talent management and learning across 13 countries, as well as earlier experience with the London Metropolitan Police Service. We discuss how to...

Episode 220 with Nikolai Barnwell, CEO of pawaPay, a leading pan African payments company building the financial rails that connect mobile money wallets across the continent and to the rest of the world.  Nikolai brings over a decade of experience across mobile operating systems, business management, and digital infrastructure to this conversation about how money actually moves across Africa. In addition to leading pawaPay, he serves as a board member at 88mph.ac, an early stage investment fund supporting African startups, and Mdundo, a music streaming platform listed on Nasdaq First North in Copenhagen. In this episode, he shares how pawaPay is enabling businesses to access mobile money across 19 markets thr...

Episode 219 with Mehrdad Ehsani, Vice President for Africa at The Rockefeller Foundation, a global institution working at the intersection of food systems, economic development, and climate resilience to improve livelihoods around the world. Mehrdad leads the Foundation’s work across Africa, focusing on building scalable systems that drive long term economic growth, agricultural transformation, and human capital development. In this episode, we explore the launch of the US$80 million School Meals Accelerator, developed in partnership with the World Food Programme, the German Government, and the Novo Nordisk Foundation. This initiative aims to help governments reach an additional 100 million children with nutr...

Episode 218 with Ayotunde Alabi, CEO of Luno Nigeria, one of Africa’s leading cryptocurrency platforms. Ayotunde brings over a decade of experience across finance and technology, with leadership roles at Spektra, ARM HoldCo, FBNQuest and Heritage Bank. As a SEC Sponsored Individual with certifications from the Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers in Nigeria and the Chartered Institute for Securities and Investment in the United Kingdom, he sits at the intersection of traditional finance, fintech, and digital assets. In this episode, we explore how cryptocurrency, fintech, and regulation are transforming Africa’s financial system in 2026. With new tax regimes, increased regulatory scrutiny, and rising capital r...

Episode 217 of the Unlocking Africa Podcast with Amadou Daffe, CEO and Co founder of Gebeya, a leading pan African technology company building talent ecosystems, digital marketplaces, and AI powered platforms to unlock Africa’s global competitiveness. As artificial intelligence reshapes the global economy, a critical question is emerging: will Africa simply consume AI tools built elsewhere, or will it build, own, and capture value from AI within the continent? Amadou shares how Gebeya’s latest platform, Gebeya Dala, developed in partnership with Cassava Technologies, is helping African entrepreneurs, creators, and SMEs move from using AI to building AI driven products. From enabling users to turn ideas into f...