Entrepreneurs Talk Africa

This episode is a little bit special. We are honored and humbled to host Gaetan Siew.
World citizen, Gaetan Siew’s leadership and his vision of a world of sharing allows him to mobilize and inspire political and business leaders around a creative consensus unleashing the full potential of our resources.
President of the International Union of Architects from 2005 to 2008, he travelled the world to meet international institutions and governments promoting greater solidarity. With his in-depth understanding of men, cities and global issues, he continues his mission through the Global Creative Leadership Foundation.
In 2013 he is made Chevalier of the Ordre National du Mérite by the President of the French Republic for his international contribution to the profession and to architecture.In June 2013 he is appointed as Board Director to the Future Cities Catapult UK.
Appointed Chair of the National Construction Industry Council in Mar 2015 by the Government of Mauritius. Chair of State Land Development Company - Smart Cities Initiative Mauritius.
As you can see, this episode is bringing deep expertise and the discussion is enlightening the ways to shape Africa's future with technologie and urbanism, with a twist. Cities in Africa are different from the rest of the world and force us to look at them in a new way, to learn and think differently. Enjoy this unique episode!

In this episode, we welcome Yvonne Bettkober, from Cameroon, who is the General Manager of Amazon Web Services Switzerland. We cannot but think about all the young professionals in Africa who dream about having a great career in tech and drive their own success! Yvonne is a real role model!
Yvonne discusses at leanght how technology can be an enable for many challenges faced by Africa. She explains how Africa is a startup, and why we need a more connected economy to the needs of the people.
We come to the root of the startup way of thinking: Think Big, Invent and Simplify, Start from the Customer. We explore what makes success in life. Yvonne describes simple ideas: working hard, being obsessed, not looking for the easy path, being resilient, making a difference and an impact...

And we explore what those ideas mean through three dimensions: Intelligence, Energy, and Integrity. An episode packed with powerful words from one of the top African women leaders.

You can find more on Amazon in Africa at aws.amazon.com/local/africa

A Sales-Driven Digital Marketer

Berty is the founder of Leadstalk Digital, a consultancy firm specialised in sales-driven digital marketing strategies. Passionate about Marketing and Technology, he had the chance to have a 20-year career that embraced both.

His track record includes the implementation of a CRM system at One&Only Le Saint Geran and the development of Sales Enablement solutions for companies like Constance hotels, Sun Resorts, Veranda Resorts or Espral. He also participated in the development of a mobile marketing system for a project by Philippe Stark.

Today, he assists companies like ENL Property, Compagnie de Beau Vallon or Rogers Capital in technology driven marketing projects.

When he's not at work, this new dad enjoys touring the island with his wife...

His love for the arts and his passion for story telling has always been his motivation and influenced his decision to divert from political science to pursue journalism. The constant interaction with individuals from various countries and cultures have shaped how he views the world and has greatly contributed to his success as a multimedia journalist.

Briefly after graduation, he worked his way to becoming the managing editor of a community newspaper in the Washington Metro area. In 2012, he permanently relocated to Ghana and was lead video & photo reporter for Ghana Decides, a non-partisan social media project to cover Ghana’s presidential elections.

Emmanuel has led business development and served as multimedia journalist with Global Media Alliance. He is the co-host of a radio program, MPwr show, which engages young African leaders in weekly discussions, highlighting their successes, sharing their challenges, and fostering positive habits among this generation of change-makers.

Emmanuel is the Director for Digital and Design Innovation at the Impact Hub Accra/Broadcasting Board of Governors Innovation Lab in Accra. He is the Founding Executive Director of Urithi Labs, a research-intuitive outfit that uses innovation in media to educate, empower and employ on the African continent.

Emmanuel works as a faculty member with the University of Stellenbosch - Executive Education on digital reputation management, he runs a podcast "Unpacking Africa" that interviews and explores multi-stakeholders in multiple industries across the African continent.

Entrepreneurs Talk Africa had the pleasure of interviewing Ruth Kamau, Co-Owner and Managing Director of a Pan African feel boutique house, iKhaya Lodge & Conference Centre, in the heart of Cape Town. She is also a director and advisor on several boards, an award winning playwright and novelist, to name but a few of her many ventures.

In the episode we get to join Ruth on her personal journey of becoming an entrepreneur. As a woman of many talents and being involved in so much, we explore how and why she chooses to take on so much and how agility and resistance or as the Sci-fi lover would say, how being a shapeshifter is essential in order to survive and thrive with the changing times.

Attracting and retaining talent are jobs in themselves, especially for startups and small entreprises. In this episode, we have a the pleasure to welcome Eric Van Gils, Partner at Holbourne Advisory, an Africa focused Executive Search firm. After a career in Finance, Eric decided his passion for talent management was stronger that his for numbers.
An organisation without its people is nothing. When the times comes to hire employees, the founders are generally faced with multiple questions. One of them being to attract the best and the brightest to help drive an accelerated growth. But a startup is full of promises but not necessary cash, and it's a risky business, even it's well funded.
How to attract talent, where to find them, how to think compensation, are a few question Eric is sharing. A must listent episode if you want to make the right choice when it comes to hiring!