Episode overview:In this conversation, David Ogundeko shares the journey of Funema, an impact-focused alternative investment firm operating for nine years across Nigeria, South Africa, and the US. He discusses his approach to venture building for early-stage founders, why Africa needs a unique investment approach, and how his firm addresses the "ch…

Host Brian Walsh takes up ImpactAlpha’s top stories with editor David Bank. Up this week: How climate tech founders and funders are planning to ride out the political storm. What the lackluster fundraising totals for TPG NEXT means for emerging and diverse managers (07:00). Plus, five promising pages in the playbook for shared prosperity (11:56). R…

Host Brian Walsh takes up ImpactAlpha’s top stories with editor David Bank. Up this week: A call to action from impact investors in response to the growing political risk in the US market. Plus, how the idea of employee ownership is bringing lawmakers together across the aisle (7:55). And the strategies and structures LPs are using to get their mon…

Host Brian Walsh takes up ImpactAlpha’s top stories with editor David Bank, live-ish from the Re:Construction road show. Up this week: How impact investors are reacting to a tariffying week for Wall Street and global trade. What comes next for foreign aid in the wake of the Trump administration’s dismantling of USAID (7:10). And, why it’s critical …

Meet Marie Lora-Mungai, expert advisor in African creative industries and sports business and founder of Restless Global - whose 20-year journey from CNN journalist to production company founder to industry advisor gives her a unique vantage point on Africa's creative economy.In thought-provoking conversation with Andile Masuku, Lora-Mungai makes a…

Host Brian Walsh takes up ImpactAlpha’s top stories with editor Jessica Pothering. Up this week: Climate insurance in California that incentivizes landowners to reduce wildfire risks. Plus, making subsidies smarter by targeting the operating needs of agriculture businesses and the funds that support them. Chapters (00:00) Innovative Climate Insuran…

Host Brian Walsh takes up ImpactAlpha’s top stories with editor David Bank. Up this week: With proxy season here, how shareholders can apply a system stewardship model for the companies they own; why strategies to share the wealth via employee ownership are attracting popular support, and a look at our spring “Re:construction” tour, which offers a …

🎧 This Week in Impact. Host Brian Walsh takes up ImpactAlpha’s top stories with editor David Bank. Up this week: Why Trump's order to cut a Main Street lending program led to a rare GOP rebuke. How Canadian employee ownership trusts offer a path to shared prosperity along with protecting national sovereignty (06:17). And finally, as private equity …

Episode overview: In this conversation, Fatu Ogwuche shares insights into her transition from working at Meta and consulting for Nigeria's Electoral Commission to launching her own media platform, Big Tech This Week. She discusses her entrepreneurial spirit, creative approach to storytelling, and the unique position independent creators hold in tod…

Host Brian Walsh takes up ImpactAlpha’s top stories with editor David Bank. Up this week: The significance of noted green banker Mark Carney’s new role as Canadian Prime Minister; what’s at stake as US climate policy heads to the courts (06:41); and, why one impact fund manager says low-income customers are more profitable – and has the data to pro…

Host Brian Walsh chats with ImpactAlpha’s emerging markets reporter Lucy Ngige. Up this week: Why the mood at two impact investing conferences in Nairobi was hopeful, despite the US foreign aid freeze. Plus, a roundup of some of the most interesting recent emerging markets deals. Check out all of the deals here: ⁠https://impactalpha.com/browse/beat…

Host Brian Walsh takes up ImpactAlpha’s top stories with editor Jessica Pothering. Up this week: Jessica digs in on food and agriculture in East Africa. Emerging fund managers in the ownership economy deliver returns to investors by sharing the wealth with workers, families and communities. And, what the EU Commission’s revamped rules mean for clim…

This week, Brian and David discuss the resilience of impact investing amidst political upheaval, focusing on emerging markets, small businesses, and climate strategies. Also, the evolving dynamics between limited partners (LPs) and general partners (GPs) in the investment landscape, particularly through co-investments. Finally they cover the Univer…

This episode features an engaging conversation with Rob Bergman, Chief Investment Officer at Unicorn Factory, exploring the nuanced intersection of digital infrastructure investment and internet connectivity ecosystem development across Africa.Episode overview:Andile Masuku engages with Bergman to unpack his 12-year journey in African investment, e…

Host Brian Walsh takes up ImpactAlpha’s top stories with editor David Bank. Up this week: An innovative investment vehicle turns a strip mall in Portland into a community investment trust that’s helping local renters build family wealth; the Liist gets a facelift and the importance of highlighting the raises of emerging fund managers; plus, why imp…

Episode Overview: This episode features a relaxed, peer-to-peer conversation between two media entrepreneurs—African Tech Roundup co-founder and executive producer Andile Masuku, and Money & Moves founder and writer Tinashe Mukogo. They explore how Mukogo draws on his background in consulting (Deloitte), corporate venture capital (Next47), and orga…

On this episode of 'This Week in Impact' Brian Walsh and Jessica pother discuss the implications of the Trump administration's freeze on development finance, the evolving landscape of voluntary carbon markets driven by corporate buyers, and the challenges facing private equity in the healthcare sector. 00:50 Impact of the Trump Administration on De…

Host Brian Walsh takes up ImpactAlpha’s top stories with editor David Bank. Stories featured in this week's episode: ⁠Mission-driven funders scramble to respond to federal funding freeze⁠⁠, by Amy Cortese and David Bank Call roundup: ⁠https://impactalpha.com/calls/⁠ ⁠How machine learning and AI can be harnessed for mission-based lending⁠⁠, by Mar D…

Episode Overview: This episode features a deep conversation with Joshua Bicknell, co-founder of Balloon Ventures, exploring how the organisation evolved from a non-profit connecting young people with informal entrepreneurs to becoming a financial institution that's deployed over $14 million in loans to SMEs across Kenya and Uganda, while openly sha…

Host Brian Walsh takes up ImpactAlpha’s top stories with editor David Bank. Stories covered this: “⁠Trump’s executive orders will affect investments in climate, equity, AI and global development⁠,” by Dennis Price, Isaac Silk and Amy Cortese “⁠Investors look for Opportunity Zones to get an extension and a fresh dose of tax-advantaged capital⁠,” by …

This episode features a brief check-in with Ochuko Ogra, Chief Transformation and Strategy Officer at Backbone Connectivity Network (BCN), sketching Nigeria's digital infrastructure landscape.Episode overview: BCN has over 1,000 km of wholly-owned fibre infrastructure, primarily in the North-Central and North Eastern parts of Nigeria. Citing its st…

Host Brian Walsh takes up ImpactAlpha’s top stories with editor David Bank. Up this week: How the devastating LA wildfires are putting a spotlight on wildfire prevention tech and what the disaster means for California's fragile insurance market; examples of outcomes-based financing driving systemic change in education; and Colossal Biosciences’ $20…

Host Brian Walsh takes up the week’s top stories with ImpactAlpha’s Jessica Pothering. They discuss Jessica's takeaways from her analysis of ImpactAlpha's 2024 set of actively raising impact funds, how catalytic capital is unlocking regenerative agriculture opportunities in Brazil, and why drones are taking off in India for agriculture and economic…

Listen in as Alan Knott-Craig Jr, son of Alan Sr, the pioneering co-founder and first CEO of Vodacom, one of South Africa's leading mobile network operators, and later the feisty CEO of challenger telco Cell C—takes us through a transformative career moment that set the stage for his future ventures.Episode overviewThis early 2016 conversation find…

Episode overviewThis unfiltered 2017 archive dialogue captures Maya Horgan Famodu (Founder and Partner, Ingressive Capital) before she became known for straight-talking LinkedIn posts about founder insights and personal growth. Fresh from investment banking, she was forging new pathways between Silicon Valley capital and African startup innovation …

In the final podcast episode of the year, host Brian Walsh takes up the trends that ImpactAlpha will be following in 2025 with editor David Bank. On our radar: Impact investors lean into economic populism with the ownership economy; climate gets a new narrative for the Trump era; and emerging markets attract local capital for local needs as better …

Host Brian Walsh takes up ImpactAlpha’s top stories with editor David Bank. Up this week: How lobbying and advocacy are being used by family offices for “policy enhanced impact investing.” “⁠These investors are raising their lobbying game to enhance their social impact⁠,” by David Bank. How a California community lender is focusing on community own…

As we wind down 2024, we're diving into our archives to serve up some memorable throwback conversations.Whether you're a long-time listener revisiting these gems or discovering them for the first time, these conversations capture pivotal moments in Africa's tech journey. In today's episode, we're rewinding to 2018...Episode overview:Join us as we e…

Host Brian Walsh takes up ImpactAlpha’s top stories with editor David Bank. Up this week: The tale of two different ownership economy models for increasing employee wealth ⁠As private equity firms start to share the wealth, low-income workers get just a little bit⁠ by Roody Senatus ⁠Meet 22 funds raising capital to finance high-impact transitions t…

Meet Chijioke Dozie, the co-founder steering Carbon through Nigeria's increasingly noisy neobank scene. In this candid chat with Andile Masuku, Dozie makes a case for zigging while others zag—specifically, charging for value while competitors burn cash on free services. It's a stance that might raise eyebrows in Nigeria's price-sensitive market, bu…

Ambar van der Wath—who leads investor relations at one of Africa's leading accelerator slash VC firms, Baobab Network—discusses with Andile Masuku how the firm is creating accessible entry points for cautious investors interested in early-stage African tech startups.Episode Overview: Picture this: You're an international investor curious about Afri…

Host Brian Walsh takes up ImpactAlpha’s top stories with editor David Bank. Up this week: Highlights from this week’s post-election ⁠Agents of Impact Call⁠; the news that ⁠Donald Trump Jr⁠. is joining a quasi-impact investing fund targeting an underserved market – conservative consumers; and, how ⁠catalytic capital warehousing⁠ could help emerging …

This episode features an illuminating dialogue with Lanre Kolade, Chairman of ConnectedCompute, CEO of Koltronics Nigeria and former CEO of CSquared, exploring the intricate dynamics of infrastructure development and digital transformation across Africa.Episode overview:Andile Masuku engages with Kolade to unpack his 26-year journey in African broa…

Host Brian Walsh takes up ImpactAlpha’s top stories with editor David Bank. Up this week: Previewing next week's Agents of Impact Call (⁠RSVP NOW!⁠) The search is on for ⁠global climate leadership⁠ at COP29-- and ⁠women are front and center⁠. How ⁠hospitals are partnering with community lenders⁠ to invest in the social determinants of health Plus, …

This episode features a candid conversation with Jasiel Martin-Odoom, Africa Investment Officer at Accion Venture Lab, exploring the intersection of venture capital and connectivity-focused content creation and ecosystem building in African tech.Episode overview:Andile Masuku sits down with Jasiel Martin-Odoom to unpack his unique approach to ecosy…

Host Brian Walsh takes up ImpactAlpha’s top stories with editor David Bank. Up this week: Initial reactions from agents of impact to President Trump's re-election; an update on some of the funding already being distributed from the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund; and how a mutual aid network in Asheville, North Carolina is helping overlooked entrepr…

In a landscape where African tech startups often chase buzzwords and quick wins, some founders are taking a more fundamental approach to innovation. This episode explores how one Zimbabwean entrepreneur is building sustainable tech ventures by focusing on first principles.Episode overview:In this deeply candid conversation, Andile Masuku sits down …

Host Brian Walsh takes up ImpactAlpha’s top stories with editor David Bank. Up this week: The ImpactAlpha team was at the ⁠SOCAP conference in SF⁠, where the focus was on systemic change; how private investors are pouring more money into ⁠blended finance transactions⁠; and, why global ⁠family offices⁠ are slowly warming up to climate investments.…

In a rapidly evolving financial services landscape, traditional African insurers are racing to modernise their operations and product offerings to meet changing consumer needs. This episode explores how one of East Africa's largest insurance providers is navigating this transformation.Episode overview:In this first instalment of a special two-part …

Host Brian Walsh takes up ImpactAlpha’s top stories with editor David Bank, dialing in from Amsterdam. Up this week: The GIIN’s new report pegs the impact investing market at ⁠$1.5 trillion…ish⁠; the reasons for and significance of the news that the ⁠Catalytic Capital Consortium⁠ is doubling down rather than shutting down its efforts to expand the …

Host Brian Walsh takes up ImpactAlpha’s top stories with editor David Bank. Up this week: Highlights from ⁠this week’s Agents of Impact Call⁠ on putting an ownership lens on housing affordability; how and why to restore ⁠trust in voluntary carbon markets⁠⁠; and, Amazon and Google opt for the nuclear option in their drive to supply their power-hungr…

In October 2022, Safaricom launched its telecommunications services in Ethiopia, marking a major milestone as the first private operator to enter the Ethiopian telecom market. This move broke the long-standing monopoly of state-owned Ethio Telecom and was seen by many as a significant step towards liberalising the country’s telecom sector. The comp…

Host Brian Walsh takes up ImpactAlpha’s top stories with editor David Bank. Up this week: What’s at stake as climate negotiators ⁠prepare for COP29⁠, which for the second year running, will be held in a petro-state; how inclusive fintech ventures are ⁠cutting in middle men and women⁠ to build trust; and, a look at two new innovative financial model…

Host Brian Walsh takes up ImpactAlpha’s top stories with editor David Bank. ⁠Up this week: new insurance models⁠ that aim to climate proof homes and towns, enhanced efforts to support ⁠diverse emerging fund managers⁠, and how private equity is quietly ⁠funding fossil fuel investments⁠.

Host Brian Walsh takes up ImpactAlpha’s top stories with editor David Bank. ⁠The buzz⁠ around early stage climate startups and the continued need for scale — both bigger checks and bigger investable opportunities. ⁠Climate inflation⁠ affecting grocery store prices How ⁠carbon markets⁠ are financing sustainable development.…

In this episode, Wits University media researchers Samuel Olaniran and Iginio Gagliardone guide an audio tour into the complex world of conspiracy theories in the era of social media and global crises.Drawing from multiple research findings and expert dialogues, Andile Masuku (host) grapples with the complex function of conspiracy theories in our s…

In the third and final episode of the Future in the Humanities podcast mini-series, titled "The Gig Economy's Hidden Costs", Wits social scientist and researcher Fikile Masikane guides an exploration of the complex realities facing gig workers in the Global South, particularly food courier riders in Africa.Featuring insights from a study conducted …

In the opening episode of the Future in the Humanities podcast mini-series, titled "Touching Brains", Wits University research collaborators Sahba Besharati and Victoria Williams let us in on their multidisciplinary exploration of the complex impact of COVID-19 on human interaction and touch. Featuring insights from various studies and discussions …

This Week in Impact: host Brian Walsh takes up ImpactAlpha’s top stories with editor David Bank. ⁠Blending billions Call roundup⁠. ⁠Finding the alpha at climate week.⁠

Host Brian Walsh takes up the top stories in impact with editorial director Amy Cortese. Up this week: Climate change and the Inflation Reduction Act’s minimal mentions in the presidential debate, a report from the sustainable side of fashion week in New York, and a look at the rising number of student-led impact funds.…