Africa's Leading Voices

They say Nero fiddled while Rome burned. I think it's because he had become so complacent he couldn't react, but also that he had narrowed his ability to "see to care".
These past few weeks have been fraught with heightened emotion, disbelief, empathy, sadness and outrage for me. I have no reaction left in me right now. And it's a conscious choice.
I believe reaction is good as an initial Kickstarter, because it focuses attention and gets things started. But ultimately, it's unhelpful because it has the potential to separate me from my best thinking and true self.
I remain convicted that all lives matter. And it's true that depending on where you are physically located in the world, some lives are more immediately at threat, and this must be highlighted. Even so all lives matter. The fundamental cry is for the intrinsic value in every life and in each life to be seen.
Against the backdrop of all of this, it didn't make sense to bring out a podcast episode last week. It seemed a little trite in the face of all that going on. When I came across this social media movement hashtag The show must be paused on Tuesday it resonated.
We need to stop and we need to think and we need to process.
And yet... because words are how I show care, and it still doesn't quite feel it should be business as usual. I face a conundrum. This post is an attempt to respond to that conundrum.
This is an "UNEPISODE Episode".
I have just one train of thought to share. No guests. Just me, sharing this singular idea with you. Here it goes.
If it is true, that our seeing directs our doing, I believe we all seriously need to question through what lenses we see the world right now. May I invite you today to consider just one of these lenses? Your "universe of obligation".
My invitation to you today is to consider when and how you drew the lines of your own universe of obligation.
And then the question is always of course. "So what are you going to do about it?"

If you and I, and every other person who's really interested in a better Nigeria had the opportunity to reimagine a sovereign wealth fund, in other words leaving to our inheritors, a nation that is healthier, wealthier, and wiser in that we increase our applicable knowledge quotient; what would that look like? I'm looking to speak to all sorts of people who are doing interesting and or different things in Nigeria to get us there.
My first focus is on #food. Food security, agri-food business, farming. Everybody says agriculture is the next big thing in Nigeria. My question is do we know what we are really saying? I have to admit I didn't really. Until my conversation with my guest, Suleiman Dikwa.
Suleiman is many things, businessman, agro and food security activist, avid Africa champion, and long term investor in #projectNigeria. As National Coordinator Officer for the Agric Bureau in Nigeria, Suleiman advocates for a need to synergize the agro value chain in order to avoid looming food supply crises; especially during times of unrest such as with COVID 19.
My conversation with Suleiman was in his capacity as CEO of Green Sahara Farms www.greensaharafarms.com
Green Sahara Farms is driving the Green Sahara Revolution. Actively empowering people and harnessing available resources through a social impact investment that establishes ethical, sustainable solutions which include communities and seeks to optimize agribusiness away from traditional patterns of thinking into more sustainable and profitable systems.
In this episode we explore:
The trap of Rarity: getting sucked into spending on what we don't need 3:29
Captial retention is a key thing 4:47
Unfreezing our mindsets in Africa for change readiness 7:01
Create economies of scale through collaboration 10:07
Economic clusters as a deliberate value chain strategy 13:05
Connect the dots, ...it's a potential $300B industry 20:59
Agro product beneficiation 23:00
A mindset change is probably more important than upgrading infrastructure 24:39
Debunking the myths about localized management of capital 26:52
Mentorship is key 34:54
The challenge when big money ignores the farmer in the equation 42:04

Some people just make the best conversation partners. My guest this week, Roy Gluckman, public speaker and CEO of Cohesion Collective, is one. Roy's work focuses on bridging the gap between leaders and the workforce to achieve a more diverse and inclusive workplace. I enjoy dialoguing with Roy Gluckman because of the quality of thoughtfulness and integrity with which he holds this work.
Roy's perspective of COVID 19 as a system revealer was refreshing. And..., it made a lot of sense to me. This isn't changing the status quo as such, nor is it bringing up new issues, it's really just showing up and showing us what already "is there". The Emperor's naked and COVID 19 called it!
If we hold that this is indeed a system revealer, what will be revealed as we prepare for work-life post lockdown? How do we ensure that hardwon workplace inclusion gains aren't lost as we press forward? Will we immediately lean into the engines (of capitalism and industry) or, will we give ourselves the opportunity for pause and reflection. The collective we.
In this episode, we explore:
Fear will not get us the outcome we want 2:30
Anarchy, change agent or systems reveal 4:50
It's actually about leadership 10:18
...and a lack of trust 12:23
Pressing the time out button for a quick chat 12:43
The "gift" of COVID? Spotlighted deep inequalities 17:58
Flattening the inequality curve 20:24
South Africa's COVID 19 response, a case study in Leadership 24:48
Creating social cohesion in workspaces post lockdown 29:54
- financial security 32:00
- spaces for PTS healing 32:41
- check-ins 33:16
Stabilizing health, reducing stress 38:13
Performance Management 39:40
Being kind to self 44:17
COVID 19 is a trial run, there's more to come 47:17

I'm in conversation once again with Ralf Schneider Managing Partner of Better Business.
As the world stabilizes from a public health perspective, curves flatten, and restrictions are eased, what will change, and what will be the same? A magician's question perhaps? If we assume that in a more stable post lockdown world, employees and other stakeholders will increasingly demand spaces that allow for more human, whole-person engagement, what is the leader's work in creating this? How do leaders prepare and support their organizations in preparing for this? How do we create better businesses that are more resilient and outlast crisis?
We've generally become better at holding cooperation and collaboration. Are we at the same time limited by our mono focus on efficiency, optimization, or whatever an organization's performance holy grail is? To date, our successes have largely come at the expense of spaces for innovation, courage, and more flexible, sustainable processes, systems, and structures.
What we really need organizations, is innovation at the business model level. Listen to find out how this already works and could work in your organization. Enjoy.
The Better Business Insitute is offering a free webinar series until the end of May 2020. The idea is to dialogue and innovate towards better business. The webinars explore new ways of being, living, working, and leading in this 'new normal', viz COVID 19. You can register via this link. https://www.betterbusiness-institute.com/english/Home/
In this episode, we explore
A blip on a shift, moving from the old into the new 4:16
Dealing with uncertainty and complexity 5:20
Lessons from the Arts: jazz and improvisation 6:57
How we need to be, moving from the 'I' to the 'We' 10:26
Co-creating in fluidity 13:20
Question: The leader's work 16:20
Ralf's response: the leader's work 18:04
Walking and chewing gum, leaders delivering and growing self 23:24
The trick of distraction 28:52
Next Generation Leaders and role making 31:07
The opportunity that COVID 19 presents? 35:35

This episode on #food was a delight to record.
"Wakanda is not only a whimsical dream. What can we create for the generations that will come after us?"
My guest is Uzo Bailey Ayogu CTO of Nigerian Agritech startup RELEAF. Uzo knows his business and tells great stories. As he says, stories are powerful for shifting mindsets and narratives, which in turn change behaviour. As Uzo told story after story of the first few years growing RELEAF as a business, my hope grew. Grew for their business for sure, but also for Nigeria. We need more young people who will "come home and see what they can do" like Uzo and his business partners Isaiah UDOTONG (CEO) and Ikenna NZEWI (COO).
As I listened to his stories of investing, growing, learning, and doing agribusiness in Nigeria, I was struck by how much grace and goodwill covers what must have been a steep and tough learning curve. And this, more than anything else makes me hopeful about RELEAF and confident that they will see this through to the long term.
In this episode we explore:
Why Food? 3:29
The RELEAF back story 6:37
"Go and see the land" operating principle 7:33, 10:44
There's always a swindler, "shine your eye" 12:11
Sustainable linked economy 15:10
At the end of the day, it's about making strong relationships 19:06
When the factory wins, the community wins 22:35
Advice to young bucks who want to do this too: "the risk is in not taking the risk" 25:45
Partnerships, relationships and building longevity 32:13
Local is lekker: localized industrialization 35:04
Quality, tech-based R&D 40:10
Western saviours and other things that will not work 43:04
Short-termism, mindset, and narrative shifts 44:57
There have been wildly successful and rich black nations 50:12