RE-RELEASE: many diaspora Africans are choosing to return to the continent. They’re keen to seize opportunities back home. Many of these returnees – known as ‘repats’ – are highly educated and skilled.But do repats’ foreign university degrees and western world CV’s give them an advantage? Or does adjusting to life back home have its own difficulties? Join host Claude Grunitzky and guests:Rebecca Enonchong is a Cameroonian entrepreneur. She is one of the continent’s most powerful business women. She has set up tech businesses in the USA, UK and Canada as well as many African countries.Gabriel Curtis was the Minister for Public Private Partnerships in Guinea until the military coup last year. He lived in the US before coming back to work in the Guinean government.Nicole Amartiefio is the creator of the TV series “An African City”, which follows five women who are repats themselves. Nicole relocated to Accra, Ghana from the US a decade ago. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Limitless Africa

Do repats have an unfair advantage? RE-RELEASE

We wanted to re-release this episode as the question of term limits is ever contentious. Yoweri Museveni has run Uganda since 1986. Paul Biya has been president in Cameroon for nearly forty years. Paul Kagame could rule Rwanda till 2034 because many Rwandans voted for and continue to vote for him.Should we force presidents to leave office? We invited three guests on the podcast to help figure it out.Evan Lieberman is a Professor of Political Science and Contemporary Africa at MIT, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA.Kah Walla is a Cameroonian politician and entrepreneur and the first woman to stand for president in Cameroon in 2011.Pearl Pillay from Johannesburg, South Africa, heads up a think tank that works to encourage youth participation in politics and civil society. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Do African presidents need term limits? RE-RELEASE

The ‘family’ and ‘tribe’ are a traditional way of organising African societies. But they can also be a source of conflict. Unscrupulous leaders can stoke tensions or focus resources on certain groups.In this week’s episode, Claude asks three guests from south, east and west Africa about how we can stop ethnic interests from influencing politics in Africa. Is the idea of ethnic groups at odds with the idea of a modern state?Evan Lieberman is professor of politics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). He’s just written a book about South Africa’s post-Apartheid democracy called Until We Have Won Our Liberty. He tells us how ethnic interests are sometimes inevitable.Mutemi wa Kiama is an activist and community organiser from Nairobi, Kenya. He’s part of the movement Wanjikũ Revolution and the media organisation This Is Africa. He’s Kikuyu, the same ethnic group as the Kenyan president Uhuru Kenyatta. But he is very critical of how ethnic groups are used by politicians in Kenya.Bakary Sambe is the Director of the Timbuktu Institute-African Centre for Peace Studies and is based in Dakar, Senegal. He specializes in radicalisation in the Sahel region. He thinks ethnic conflict can often have deeper causes. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How do you stop ethnic interests influencing politics? RE-RELEASE

We're re-releasing this episode because we want more of you to hear it. We’re talking about billion dollar companies in Africa: unicorns. Tech people use the word ‘unicorn’ to describe start-ups with valuations of over a billion dollars. In 2020, there were over 500 unicorns worldwide. But only seven of these were African.So, what are we doing wrong? Or what we can do more right? How can we raise more African unicorns? To find out Claude asked an investor, an entrepreneur and an educator:Thami Pooe a South African media entrepreneur and social-impact educator. He runs Engage Media, which produces a podcast called “Unicorn”.Maya Horgan Famodu is a young American-Nigerian venture capitalist and head of Ingressive Capital. She’s invested in some of the biggest start-ups in Africa and offered a valuable perspective.Rebecca Enonchong is a Cameroonian entrepreneur. She is one of the continent’s most powerful business women. She has set up tech businesses in the USA, UK and Canada as well as many African countries. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How can we raise more African unicorns? RE-RELEASE

Fake news is a big problem in Africa. It can sway elections in Nigeria. Stoke up ethnic hatred in Ethiopia. Bolster business interests in South Africa. Censorship isn’t the answer as it can play into the hands of repressive regimes. So how can Africans stop the spread of false and misleading information and yet still encourage free speech?To try and figure this out, Claude is joined by three guests:Samba Dialimpa is on the frontlines fact-checking for readers as the Editor in Chief of the Francophone section of Africa Check.Aanu Adeoye is a journalist offering an alternative with the entertaining, ground-breaking and trustworthy weekly newspaper The Continent.Odanga Madung is a researcher behind the scenes working to reveal the mechanics of fake news and to find out who really benefits from misinformation. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How do we stop fake news spreading in Africa? RE-RELEASE

For this re-release, Claude speaks to three young Africans who explain when they realised they were not necessarily straight and when they decided to tell their parents, friends and colleagues (and in which order).Kat Kai Kol-Kes is known for being the first public figure from Botswana to openly identify as a transgender person. She’s come out many a time – to herself, to her family and to the entire world at the age of 24.Va-Bene Fiatsi is a performance artist from Ghana who explores gender fluidity. She is confident and uncompromising when she performs and speaks but was she always like that? Or is it something she has learnt?Sheba Akpokli from Togo is an amazing advocate for LGBTIAQ+ people as a practising lawyer. She’s also Catholic and discusses coming out to family and one’s religious community. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Three stories about coming out in Africa RE-RELEASE

Historically Africans have not been well represented in international institutions. This is a problem: these organizations are key to tackling things like climate change and Covid-19.But with a Nigerian leading the World Trade Organization and an Ethiopian heading the World Health Organization, that could be changing. But is this happening fast enough? How can Africans make sure their voices are heard on the world stage? Pedro Matos has worked for the United Nation and the World Food Programme for well over a decade. He was part of the team which won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2020 and he was working till recently in Sudan, delivering food and assistance to over six million people.  Mutemi Wa Kiama is an activist from Nairobi, Kenya. He’s known for campaigning against aid in the shape of international loans. Dr Oby Ezekwesili is a former Education minister in the Nigerian government and a former Vice President of the World Bank (Africa Region). She was also the co-founder of the #BringBackOurGirls movement.Made possible with a grant from the U.S. Department of State and the Seenfire Foundation. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How can Africans get their voices heard in international institutions? RE-RELEASE

We decided to rerelease this episode to make sure it gets the listenership it deserves.Andela, Jumia, Flutterwave - these are just a few of the African tech startups now worth over a billion US dollars. Foreign money is flowing in. Some people are getting rich. We ask our three contributors whether these tech startups will create significant employment on the continent. Maya Horgan Famodu is a Nigerian-American venture capitalist. She is the founder and managing director of Ingressive Capital. The $10 million venture capital firm targets early-stage tech startups across Sub-Saharan Africa. Gabriel Curtis is the former minister in charge of investments and public-private partnerships in Conakry, Guinea.Samba Bathily is a Malian entrepreneur specializing in sustainable clean energy and solar solutions. He founded Africa Development Solutions (ADS) and partnered with Akon the American-Senegalese hip-hop artist on the Akon Lighting Africa Initiative.The Limitless podcast is made possible with a grant from the U.S. Department of State and the Seenfire Foundation. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Are tech startups the answer to Africa's unemployment problem? Re-release

Africans are known for their hustle. And on a continent where youth unemployment is high, they have to hustle. For this episode Claude speaks to three young entrepreneurs - a business woman in the music industry, a fashion entrepreneur, and a founder of a tech start-up now worth over $3billion.Iyinoluwa Aboyeji who founded fintech start-up Flutterwave, now worth over $3 billion. He’s now head of Future Africa.Zaid Osman, who founded the fashion brand Grade Africa which has stores in Cape Town and Johannesburg.DJ Elly Chuva, one of Angola’s biggest DJs. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How I did it: 3 stories from young entrepreneurs

Religion is integral to how many of us live our lives. It also plays a part in how politicians and lawmakers govern us. Is this a good thing? Or can it lead to conflict and oppression?Dr Bakary Sambe, the director of the Timbuktu Institute, researches and finds solutions for religion and security issues in the Sahel region.Dr James Wuye, a pastor from Northern Nigeria, lost his hand fighting Muslims. He has since founded the Interfaith Mediation Centre which works on tolerance. Harrison Mumia may be Kenya’s most famous atheist. He founded the Atheists in Kenya society. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Does religion help or harm development?

The Basketball Africa League (BAL) is the continent’s premier men's basketball competition. It plans to rival the NBA in the US and to find the next generation of Giannis, Dengs and Ibakas. Host Claude Grunitzky talks to:Amadou Fall, president of the Basketball Africa League.  Flo Larkai, an ex-player, coach and now a scout with the South Sudanese national team.Usher Komugisha is an award-Winning African sports journalist and basketball commentator. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Can the Basketball Africa League take off?

From Nollywood to Youtube to arthouse festivals… Host Claude Grunitzky talks to three Africans in the film industry. What challenges and opportunities do they face?Nicole Amarteifio is the creator of the TV series An African City. She tells us how she taught herself to make films. Kivu Ruhorahoza is a Rwandan film director who’s shown his films at festivals all over the world. He tells us what governments could do better.Editi Effiong, a Nigerian film producer who just directed his first feature film The Black Book, one of the biggest projects ever undertaken in Nollywood. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How do we improve African film?

The social movement Black Lives Matter - BLM - was started to highlight racial discrimination in the USA. But some young African activists think we need a #BLM movement in Africa too. Host Claude Grunitzky talks to activists in Senegal, Ghana and South Africa and asks them why BLM matters to them - and to Africa.Ernesto Yeboah, the founder and commander in chief of the Economic Fighters League (EFL), an anti-corruption movement  in Ghana. He organized a vigil in solidarity with BLM, following the murder of George Floyd. Wise Bayano, an artist from Senegal and one of the three founders of Africa for Black Lives. It’s a social media movement started in Dakar to show solidarity with the activism in the US.Dimpho Legkeu who is actually one of our producers here at the Limitless podcast. She kept a BLM banner on her social media profiles. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Does Black Lives Matter matter to Africa?

Over 25 million people in Africa are living with HIV. And the continent accounts for almost two thirds of the global total of new HIV infections. But millions of dollars are spent fighting the illness. So what are we doing wrong? How can we rethink the fight against HIV?Claude spoke to three guests who know what they are talking about.Bisi Alimi is a Nigerian LGBT activist who recently announced he was HIV positive even though he’s lived with the illness for many years. We asked him why?Jacqueline Wambui who is an HIV-positive activist from Kenya. She talks about the challenges of having a family and a relationship in spite of it.Saidy Brown from South Africa was born with HIV. She announced her HIV status on social media in 2017 and thinks we need to talk about the illness differently. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Do we need to rethink the fight against HIV in Africa?

Africa is doing relatively well in getting women into political leadership. Rwanda, South Africa, Senegal and Ethiopia lead the world in terms of women members of parliament. But that’s not the story for the whole continent. And there are still very few female heads of state. Claude welcomes three guests:Dr Oby Ezekwesili is a Harvard University graduate, former Education minister in the Nigerian government and ex-Vice President of the World Bank (African Region). She also started the movement #bringbackourgirls. Busisiwe Seabe, one of the leaders of the Fees Must Fall student protests. Noëlla Coursaris Musunka is a philanthropist, model, and founder and CEO of Malaika. The Malaika school provides free, accredited primary and secondary education to 400 girls in the south-eastern region of the Democratic Republic of Congo. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How do you get more women in political leadership?

Welcome to Limitless, the podcast series that  asks the questions which matter to Africa.Are tech start-ups the answer to Africa's unemployment problem? Can we stop fake news from spreading on the continent? How do we raise a generation of football stars? These are just some of the topics we’ll be tackling.And we’re not looking for simple answers. Just as Africa’s potential is limitless, so are the possible solutions to any challenges the continent faces.During each podcast episode, we’ll be asking three very different subject experts to give their take on each question. This will come as no surprise but they don’t always agree.Made possible with a grant from the U.S. Department of State and the Seenfire Foundation. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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Limitless Africa

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