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Tech Talk Africa

Welcome to Tech Talk Africa, the podcast that highlights the latest developments from Africa's thriving tech ecosystem. Join us as we explore innovations, challenges, and triumphs of African tech entrepreneurs and developers.

In each episode, we discuss trends shaping Africa's future—from fintech and e-commerce to agritech and healthtech—featuring conversations with those on the ground sharing their insights and experiences.

Whether you're a tech enthusiast or curious about Africa's potential, Tech Talk Africa is your guide to the continent's exciting digital revolution. Get ready to be inspired and informed!

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30 episodes
Avg 38 min
English

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S2 · E17
September 19 · 15 min
How Cassava Designs Resilient Connectivity For AI Workloads Across Africa with Senior VP Marco Gagiano
What are your thoughts? International Telecoms Week x Datacloud Africa 2026 Conference Podcast Edition Senior Vice President of Connectivity, Cloud & Cyber Security, Marco Gagiano - Cassava Technologies A single cable break shouldn’t be able to knock whole regions offline, yet Africa’s digital infrastructure still has chokepoints that turn routine failures into major outages. From the show floor at ITW 2026, we sit down with Marco Cargiano of Cassava Technologies to get specific about what “resilient connectivity” actually means when AI infrastructure, cloud services, and enterprise demand are accelerating across the continent. We talk through how Cassava approaches redundancy across submarine capacity and terrestrial fiber, why a high-capacity mesh network matters, and how traffic should reroute instantly when a link fails. Marco explains why AI changes the game for network planning because it’s not just more traffic, it’s different traffic: far more upload-heavy flows that can fill capacity faster than legacy assumptions. If you care about Africa connectivity, network engineering, and the practical realities of scaling data centers and AI factories, this conversation is packed with real-world constraints and design choices. Then we tackle a topic that gets oversimplified: data sovereignty. We explore the difference between geographic sovereignty (processing and storing data inside a country) and “sovereignty without geography,” where encryption and modern network tech can let customers use cross-border compute without data being stored elsewhere. We also break down cross-border failover for landlocked countries, the danger of “paper redundancy,” and where LEO satellite fits as a complementary option for rural coverage and emergency gaps rather than a true fiber replacement. If you found this useful, subscribe for more conversations on Africa’s digital infrastructure, share the episode with someone building networks or policy, and leave a review with your biggest takeaway. Credits Host: Stella Gichuhi Producer: James Njoroge Executive Producers: Harry Hare Agutu Dan
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S2 · E18
September 19 · 16 min
Meaningful Connectivity with Co Founder Mea Thompson
What are your thoughts? International Telecoms Week x Datacloud Africa 2026 Conference Podcast Edition Co-Founder & CCO Mea Thompson - unconnected .org “Connected” can be a lie we tell ourselves with a coverage map. A school can sit inside a service area and still be offline where it counts, with no devices, limited digital literacy, or internet that’s too expensive or unreliable to support learning. We sit down with Mia Thompson, CCO and co-founder of unconnected.org, to get specific about what meaningful connectivity really means and why the language we use matters if we want to bridge the digital divide for good. We go deeper than infrastructure talk and into the incentives that shape outcomes. Mia makes a sharp point: the digital divide is often not a technology issue at all, it’s a return on investment problem. Traditional telecom investment favors dense cities because the numbers work, while rural communities and schools get left behind. So we ask the uncomfortable question: whose responsibility is it to fix this, and what happens when no one owns the outcome? Mia walks us through the “impact marketplace” approach unconnected.org uses to make rural connectivity viable. By negotiating better global pricing on satellite, hardware, and software, they pass savings to local implementation partners so those partners can build and own networks sustainably. We also unpack a less-discussed blocker: fragmented funding. When incentives and subsidies are hard to track, impact gets hard to prove, so scaling stalls. If you care about meaningful internet access, rural connectivity, and practical ways to connect schools and clinics without turning it into charity, this conversation will give you a clearer model and sharper questions. Subscribe, share this with someone working in telecom or policy, and leave a review with your take: who should own meaningful connectivity where you live? Credits Host: Stella Gichuhi Producer: James Njoroge Executive Producers: Harry Hare Agutu Dan
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S2 · E19
September 19 · 38 min
Unboxing Africa’s Digital Future with Director Thomas Kaberi
What are your thoughts? International Telecoms Week x Datacloud Africa 2026 Conference Podcast Edition Director of Partnerships, Growth & Commercial, Thomas Kaberi - Qhala AI talk gets loud fast, but the truth is quieter and heavier: cables, power, fiber, cooling, racks, and data centers decide what’s possible long before a chatbot ever answers a question. From the floor of ITW Africa 2026, we sit with Thomas Kaberi, Director of Growth and Partnerships at Nkala, to unpack the idea of “unboxing Africa’s digital future” and why infrastructure is not a side quest, it is the foundation. We get into what Nkala actually is, a research-driven team that also builds, ships, and partners as a “think and do tank.” Thomas shares his own path from early programming to commercial strategy and back into deep tech, plus what he’s learning at a hardware-heavy conference where people are obsessed with latency, fiber routes, policy, and the real timelines of building data centers. If you care about AI infrastructure in Africa, this conversation makes the stack concrete and actionable. Then we zoom out: AI is not one thing, it’s infrastructure, data quality, talent, financing, and finally the products the public sees. We challenge the default “just build more” mindset with a simple principle: not all engineering problems need an engineering solution, sometimes software efficiency and smarter design change the economics. We also tackle a bigger question for Africa’s digital economy: how does a continent that is 19% of the global population move from 2.5% of global GDP toward truly “pulling its weight” by 2050 through higher productivity across sectors like agriculture, health, education, and finance. If you want clear thinking on digital infrastructure, AI strategy, partnerships, and what it will take to build at scale, listen now. Subscribe, share this with a builder in your network, and leave a review so more people find the conversation. Credits Host: Stella Gichuhi Producer: James Njoroge Executive Producers: Harry Hare Agutu Dan
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S2 · E20
September 19 · 17 min
Africa Can’t Build Digital Infrastructure Alone, But Partnerships Need Guardrails with Director Magalie Anderson
What are your thoughts? International Telecoms Week x Datacloud Africa 2026 Conference Podcast Edition Director of ICT, Magalie Anderson - African Union Commission Africa’s digital infrastructure is moving fast and the hype is loud, but the real question is who builds it, who pays for it, and who sets the rules that protect people while still attracting investment. We’re joined by Magali Anderson, Director of ICT at the African Union Commission, for a grounded conversation on what continental digital transformation looks like when you’re responsible for cybersecurity governance, data governance, and the policy frameworks that member states can actually use. We get into why public-private partnerships are necessary and also risky when they’re rushed. Magali explains why governments and non-government bodies often struggle to match the speed of the ICT sector, and why that’s exactly why deeper engagement with industry matters. From data sovereignty to trust, we talk about the practical guardrails that help partnerships deliver real value and not just headlines. Financing is a major focus: yes, international capital is interested, but domestic financing and cross-border African investment could be the game changer. We also unpack the promise of AfCFTA and the vision of Africa as one connected digital market, along with the real-world blockers like implementation, regulation, payments, and logistics. Then we go straight into the data center rush, why energy distribution and power policy can’t be ignored, and why “context-specific” approaches including alternative compute models may matter more than copying traditional playbooks. If you care about digital infrastructure investment in Africa, data centers, cloud policy, cybersecurity, skills, and what measurable success should look like by next year, this conversation will sharpen your thinking. Subscribe for more Tech Talk Africa, share this with someone building in the space, and leave a review telling us what you want regulated first. Credits Host: Stella Gichuhi Producer: James Njoroge Executive Producers: Harry Hare Agutu Dan
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S2 · E15
September 19 · 22 min
Yes, We Have The Bandwidth, But Can We Afford It with CEO Ayotunde Coker
What are your thoughts? International Telecoms Week x Datacloud Africa 2026 Conference Podcast Edition CEO Ayotunde Coker - Open Access Data Centres (WIOCC Group) Africa’s internet future won’t be won by a single shiny megaproject. It gets built in the unglamorous details: where fiber actually runs, where networks can interconnect, how data centers scale from core hubs to edge sites, and most of all, where dependable power comes from. From the floor of ITW 2026, we sit down with the CEO of Open Access Data Centers to get a grounded look at what’s working, what’s missing, and what needs to happen faster. We start with the story behind OADC and the WyOC group, from subsea cable roots to a broader open access digital infrastructure platform across Africa. Then we get specific: the core-to-edge data center strategy, why carrier-neutral facilities change the market, and how “metro” connectivity can bring fiber closer to homes and businesses while letting multiple ISPs ride the same infrastructure. From there, we tackle the question everyone asks at telecom and cloud events: energy. The reality is that “plug-in power” is constrained worldwide, so the conversation shifts to primary power sources and delivery models. We dig into gas and hydro potential, the rise of captive power, and why planning power, connectivity, and data centers as one system is the only way to scale. Finally, we unpack “meaningful connectivity” as affordable, reliable broadband people can adopt, not just speed for speed’s sake, plus the human capital needed to keep uptime high and extend connectivity into landlocked countries. If you care about Africa data centers, broadband adoption, fiber networks, subsea cables, and digital infrastructure investment, this one is for you. Subscribe, share with a colleague, and leave a review with the one idea you think would accelerate meaningful connectivity fastest. Credits Host: Stella Gichuhi Producer: James Njoroge Executive Producers: Harry Hare Agutu Dan
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S2 · E16
September 19 · 18 min
Can Africa Scale Data Centers Without Wasting Power with Head of Data Centre, Mourad Younes | Schneider Electric
What are your thoughts? International Telecoms Week x Datacloud Africa 2026 Conference Podcast Edition Head of Data Centre, MEA region, Mourad Younes - Schneider Electric AI is changing data center design faster than most teams can rewrite their playbooks, and the pressure shows up everywhere: power demand, heat rejection, talent, timelines, and the gap between big visions and real execution. From ITW 2026, we sit down with Mourad Younes, Head of Data Center for Middle East and Africa at Schneider Electric, to get clear on what actually sits behind the buzzwords and what “AI-ready” means when you are accountable for real infrastructure. We talk about Schneider Electric’s role as a technology vendor and why data centers still come down to three fundamentals: power, building, and IT. Mourad explains the idea of delivering solutions “from the grid to the chips and from the chips to the chillers,” plus the software layer that gives operators visibility across critical assets. Then we shift to what market acceleration does to people. We share how strong team structure, empowered regional leaders, and a learning culture reduce burnout in a demanding engineering environment. On the tech side, we get into high-density AI workloads, the move toward liquid cooling, and why the priority right now is getting the design and reference architecture right, not chasing cost debates in isolation. We also dig into power efficiency and resilience through better monitoring, digital twin visibility, and smarter decisions based on actual consumption. Finally, we zoom out to Africa’s huge potential, the strength of local engineering skill sets, and the pragmatic question that decides everything: what are the real needs, and how do we align the ecosystem to deliver? If you care about data center infrastructure, AI data centers, liquid cooling, power consumption, or scaling digital infrastructure in Africa, hit play, then subscribe, share this with a colleague, and leave a review. What part of the ecosystem do you think needs to mature first? Support the show Credits Host: Stella Gichuhi Producer: James Njoroge Executive Producers: Harry Hare Agutu Dan
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S2 · E11
September 19 · 14 min
How iX Africa Is Building A Carrier Neutral Data Center Hub In Kenya with CEO Snehar Shah
What are your thoughts? International Telecoms Week x Datacloud Africa 2026 Conference Podcast Edition CEO Snehar Shah - iXAfrica Data Centres The loudest thing at ITW 2026 isn’t a press release, it’s the reality that Nairobi is becoming a real contender in the global digital infrastructure conversation. We sit down on the conference floor to talk about what changed, what’s still missing, and what it actually takes to build a serious data center ecosystem in Kenya. We dig into iX Africa’s third year in the market and the unglamorous work that makes a carrier neutral data center valuable: execution, interconnection density, and trusted delivery for enterprises. You’ll hear how connectivity partners, banks, and large local businesses translate “growth” into real workloads, plus why competition is healthy when it expands the whole market instead of shrinking it into a fight over the same slice. Then we get into the topics everyone is debating across Africa’s data center industry: GPU hosting for AI workloads, sovereign AI demand, and what it means to be “government-ready” as cloud adoption accelerates. We also challenge the policy gap around critical infrastructure, the risks of regulation done wrong, and the sustainability arguments around power, water, and cooling solutions, with a strong reminder that Africa’s context is not the same as Europe or the US. If you care about Nairobi data centers, Kenya digital infrastructure, cloud regions, data sovereignty, or the future of cross-border data flows in East Africa, this conversation brings the detail and the nuance. Subscribe, share this with a builder in your network, and leave a review with the one policy change you think Kenya needs most. Credits Host: Stella Gichuhi Producer: James Njoroge Executive Producers: Harry Hare Agutu Dan
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S2 · E12
September 19 · 30 min
How Smart Africa Turns Digital Policy Into On The Ground Results with Director Thelma Quaye
What are your thoughts? International Telecoms Week x Datacloud Africa 2026 Conference Podcast Edition Director of Digital Infrastructure, Skills and Empowerment, Thelma Quaye - Smart Africa. Everyone wants to talk about AI, but the uncomfortable truth is that compute capacity isn’t evenly owned and access to GPUs can turn into a geopolitical lever. So we step back and ask a more useful question: where can Africa realistically win in the AI value chain over the long term? From Nairobi at International Telecommunications Week, we sit down with a Smart Africa leader to unpack what “building Africa’s single digital market” actually means in practice and why implementation on the ground is the difference between another report and real change. We get candid about the gap between programs that bring women and girls into tech and the harder work of helping women stay. Career breaks, fast-moving tools, workplace pressure, and the time cost of networking can push talented engineers and technologists out of the field. We also explore what pan-African thinking looks like beyond slogans: clustering countries to create economies of scale, building cross-border friendly rules, and treating neighbors as part of your market, not competitors. Then we zoom in on digital infrastructure investment, data centers, and energy. Investors ask blunt questions about workload and power, and smaller markets often struggle to compete alone. We talk through a practical toolkit approach that helps developers find aligned investors faster and helps governments become “investor-ready” through targeted capacity building. If you care about Africa digital transformation, data center investment, cloud infrastructure, AI readiness, and women in tech, this conversation connects the dots with clarity and urgency. If this gave you a new lens, subscribe, share it with a friend in policy or tech, and leave a review with the one change you think would unlock faster progress. Credits Host: Stella Gichuhi Producer: James Njoroge Executive Producers: Harry Hare Agutu Dan
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S2 · E13
September 19 · 20 min
Africa’s Digital Infrastructure Moment with Managing Director Silvia Peneva
What are your thoughts? International Telecoms Week x Datacloud Africa 2026 Conference Podcast Edition Managing Director, Silvia Peneva - ITW, Global Leaders’ Forum (GLF) & Techoraco Africa’s digital infrastructure is having a real moment and the most interesting part is how fast the lines are blurring. At ITW Africa and Data Cloud Africa, we talk with Silvia about why the connectivity world (fiber, subsea cables, peering, internet exchange) is increasingly inseparable from the data center world, and why that convergence is a make-or-break story for Africa’s digital economy. We also get specific about why Kenya keeps drawing the industry back. Beyond being a great destination, Nairobi benefits from progressive government policy, a strong enabling environment for connectivity, and a strategic location that links regions while staying deeply tied to sub-Saharan Africa’s growth. From the show floor perspective, you can feel what the event is built to do: create the right rooms, formats, and meeting moments for partners to sign deals, move projects forward, and plan the next 12 months. Then we go “truth talk” on scaling. Where does demand actually come from, and how do workloads move across borders when fiber is still limited? How do you expand when power availability is a global constraint and capital requires trust and certainty? The answer we keep coming back to is ecosystem thinking: scaling digital infrastructure is not only an ICT ministry problem, it’s finance, taxation, energy, water, utilities, and private operators working together. We close on talent and optimism, including why bringing students into the space matters for building the next generation of engineers and leaders. If you care about digital infrastructure in Africa, data centers, connectivity investment, and practical policy that unlocks growth, hit play, subscribe, and share this with one person building in the ecosystem, then leave us a review with your biggest scaling question. Support the show Credits Host: Stella Gichuhi Producer: James Njoroge Executive Producers: Harry Hare Agutu Dan
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S2 · E14
September 18 · 20 min
What If Your Career Ladder Is Not About Age with CEO Dorcas Muthoni
What are your thoughts? International Telecoms Week x Datacloud Africa 2026 Conference Podcast Edition CEO Dorcas Muthoni - OPENWORLD Tech careers rarely move in a straight line, and Dorcas says we should stop pretending they do. We talk about what it really takes to build a sustainable career in a fast changing industry, especially for women who step away for family, school, or life and then come back to new tools, new terminology, and a whole new market. If you have ever felt behind, discouraged, or cut off from your old network, this conversation offers a grounded path forward. Dorcas shares her journey as the founder of Open World, including why the company evolves from software consulting to data center consulting and how digital infrastructure shapes everything from reliable apps to national connectivity. She explains how spotting patterns early, investing in certifications, and following what is emerging can help you pivot with purpose. We also get into what entrepreneurs should watch for: technologies with long trajectories, clear demand, and the kind of scale that comes from real consumer behavior, not just technical hype. We then zoom out to women in tech in Africa through the work of AFCHIX, which Dorcas starts in 2004 after noticing very few women applying for jobs and internships. She breaks down a practical framework for supporting women at different ladder stages, from school to senior leadership, and why micro skills training paired with mentorship can help returning professionals regain confidence and momentum. We end with a provocative idea for schools: fund tech labs like we fund science labs, and treat digital infrastructure as essential education. If you found value here, subscribe, share this with a friend building their career, and leave a review with your biggest takeaway. Credits Host: Stella Gichuhi Producer: James Njoroge Executive Producers: Harry Hare Agutu Dan
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S2 · E10
July 25 · 1 hr
Human-Centered AI Adoption In African Workplaces Featuring Melody Mukhwana Season Finale
What are your thoughts? AI is everywhere now, from banks to hospitals to government offices, but we keep skipping the question that decides whether any of it works: are the people who have to use these tools actually ready? Stella Gichuki sits down with Melody Mukhwana, VP of Agentic Education at mindhive.ai and a change management consultant, to talk about the human side of AI adoption in African organizations. No algorithm talk for its own sake, just what happens inside teams when AI walks into the workplace: trust, fear, resistance, and the leadership it takes to make adoption stick. We dig into why “AI training” often fails, and why people readiness is a different layer entirely. Melody shares a painfully relatable rollout story where a great tool still produced near-zero adoption, then turned into double work and quiet compliance when usage was forced. From a psychological lens, we break down the real issue: when people feel a threat to their competence and no sense of ownership, they protect what they know, even if it looks like resistance from the outside. Then we bring it home to the African context, where a confidence gap can sit on top of an access gap, and where fear-driven messaging can freeze progress. We talk practical steps leaders can take right now: listening sessions, real-life demos that save time on actual tasks, implementation timelines that respect human learning, and trust built through agency and human support. We also make the case for social scientists in AI, stronger guardrails, and clear accountability for responsible AI. If you lead teams, buy tools, write policy, or you are trying to find your place in AI, this conversation gives you a grounded playbook. Subscribe, share this with a leader who needs it, and leave a review with your biggest barrier to AI adoption. Credits Host: Stella Gichuhi Producer: James Njoroge Executive Producers: Harry Hare Agutu Dan
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July 11 · 35 min
Heroes Without Scrubs Featuring Uzma Qureishi
What are your thoughts? Tech Talk Africa | Season 2 Episode 09: Heroes Without Scrubs Guest: Uzma Qureishi, Senior Manager EHR Operations at AGA KHAN UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL, EAST AFRICA Some of the most important work in healthcare happens far from the bedside, and it still saves lives. I’m joined by Uzma Qureishi, an award-winning health IT leader who’s helped transform hospital care by keeping patient safety and real clinical workflows at the center of every digital decision. From the very start, her story is personal: watching her mother navigate cancer care shapes a career built on impact, not titles. We get into what it really took to deliver a fully integrated electronic health record and run a major go-live with a 157-person command center. Uzma breaks down why legacy systems and scattered standalone tools create chaos, why stakeholder engagement can’t be a checkbox, and why subject matter experts like physicians, pharmacists, and surgeons must help build things like order sets and standardized care pathways. If you care about healthcare change management, health informatics, and EHR implementation that actually works, this is the playbook. Then we tackle AI in healthcare with honesty. Radiology AI can speed up reads, but only if governance is tight: ethical use, security assessments, downtime planning, and strict data privacy aligned to Kenya’s Data Protection Act, not generic global claims. We also talk mentorship and internships, building local health tech capacity, and what it means for women in tech to “take your seat” and own it. If this conversation sparks something for you, subscribe, share it with a friend in healthcare, and leave a review so more people can find the heroes without scrubs. Credits Host: Stella Gichuhi Producer: James Njoroge Executive Producers: Harry Hare Agutu Dan
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S2 · E8
June 27 · 51 min
AI Sovereignty in The Age of the Kill Switch with Fractional CIO/CTO Timothy Laku
What are your thoughts? Tech Talk Africa | Season 2 Episode 08: AI Sovereignty in The Age of the Kill Switch Guest: Timothy Laku, Fractional CTO/CIO A single policy decision can break your AI roadmap overnight. That’s not fearmongering, it’s the new operating environment when frontier AI models, GPU supply chains, and model weights sit inside global power dynamics. We sit down with fractional CIO Timothy Laku to unpack a scenario that should make every African CTO, CIO, founder, and policymaker pause: what happens when the AI model your hospital, bank, or startup depends on becomes unavailable with no warning? We dig into real-world signals, from chip export controls to sudden model restrictions, and why “the provider will protect us” is not a strategy. We also look at the EU’s sovereign cloud direction as a practical playbook: build a plan B, negotiate with leverage, and treat AI like critical infrastructure. Then we pressure-test the China angle: rapidly improving models, dramatically lower costs, and the shift toward offline AI and local compute that could change who wins the next phase of adoption. Most importantly, we get specific about what AI sovereignty can look like without sliding into isolation: data residency for sensitive and personal data, tiered access to valuable local datasets, licensing and royalties for indigenous language value, and a business continuity plan that includes on-prem or local-model fallbacks. If you’re building with ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, or any frontier model, this conversation is a checklist for resilience. Subscribe for more Tech Talk Africa, share this with a CIO or policymaker in your circle, and leave a review if you want deeper coverage of African sovereign compute. What does a realistic hybrid AI strategy look like in your organization? Credits Host: Stella Gichuhi Producer: James Njoroge Executive Producers: Harry Hare Agutu Dan
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S2 · E7
June 6 · 34 min
Responsibility by Design Featuring AI Leader Shiphrah Wairima
What are your thoughts? AI is moving at “anything you can imagine is real” speed, and that pace is already colliding with cybersecurity, elections, scams, and jobs. We talk with Shiphrah Wairima, Kenya's President / AI Advocate, in the Global Council for Responsible AI, about what AI governance actually looks like when you stop treating it like a policy buzzword and start treating it like safety work. From her background in information technology and security operations to her focus on AI security research, Shiphrah brings a grounded view of responsible AI that includes both people and systems. We dig into the threats showing up right now: deepfakes, AI-generated images, and voice cloning that can con families and target people online. Shiphrah shares practical AI safety habits, including the idea of a family code word, and we explore why cybersecurity and AI governance are inseparable when trust is the real product. We also tackle the career reality many teams avoid saying out loud: AI will automate parts of entry-level cybersecurity, so the smartest move is strategic upskilling that adds AI literacy to security and security to AI. For leaders, we break down AI red teaming in plain terms, why CFOs and CTOs should budget for it before the breach, and how to think like an attacker without becoming one. We close by challenging policymakers to build adaptive regulation, involve education systems, and work with innovators so governance can keep up without killing progress, especially across Africa, where context matters. If you found value here, subscribe, share this with a friend who needs to hear it, and leave a review with the one AI risk you want discussed next. Credits Host: Stella Gichuhi Producer: James Njoroge Executive Producers: Harry Hare Agutu Dan
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S2 · E6
April 25 · 36 min
Green Tech Diplomacy featuring Belgium's Ambassador to Kenya
What are your thoughts? Kenya’s tech story is bigger than startups and bigger than mobile money. When digital infrastructure grows, energy demand grows with it and that forces a hard question: can the digital economy scale without going green first? We talk with Belgian Ambassador Peter Maddens about why his team links “digital and green,” and what that looks like on the ground in Nairobi, including a retrofitted net zero embassy with solar power, water recycling, on-site cooking gas, and hydroponic farming. From there, we zoom out to the Kenya Belgium relationship inside the broader European Union ecosystem and what each side genuinely needs from the other: trust, capability, and practical collaboration. A big thread is digital policy and governance. We dig into GDPR, privacy, and what an EU adequacy decision for Kenya could mean for cross-border data flows, SaaS growth, fintech partnerships, and investment confidence. We also unpack the less glamorous but crucial plumbing of deal-making, including double taxation agreements and how markets assign “risk” when deciding where capital should land. The conversation gets candid about old attitudes, shared responsibility, and why adding value locally matters as much as writing new policies. We close with AI governance, “green AI,” the role of public private partnerships, and why education is still the foundation underneath every serious development goal. If you enjoy smart, honest conversations about technology, climate tech, regulation, and investment in Africa, subscribe, share this with a friend, and leave us a review with your biggest takeaway. Credits Host: Stella Gichuhi Producer: James Njoroge Executive Producers: Harry Hare Agutu Dan
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S2 · E5
April 11 · 49 min
How To Become A Builder Not Just A User | A Conversation Featuring The Special Envoy on Technology, for Kenya
What are your thoughts? Guest: Ambassador Philip Thigo - The Special Envoy on Technology for Kenya AI hype is loud, but the real question is quieter: are we building the infrastructure that makes AI work for us, or are we stuck as permanent users of other people’s systems? I’m joined by Ambassador Philip Thigo, the only African tech envoy, to unpack what “AI is infrastructure” means from a Kenyan and African perspective and why that framing changes everything from investment to regulation. We break down the AI stack in plain language: compute, data, talent, use cases, and model innovation, including the hard truth that many African languages are missing from today’s dominant models. Philip argues that talent is the shortest path to sovereignty, particularly for countries that cannot realistically own massive compute or hyperscale datasets. We discuss small language models, local context, and why being a builder matters, with vivid examples such as flood prediction and the type of granular data that global models often overlook. From there, we zoom out to the money and the power. Why do investors keep funding only “the model,” and what returns exist in energy, infrastructure, and applied AI use cases? How do development banks catch up when AI moves faster than traditional timelines? We also tackle data localization versus real data governance, the value of data, and the information battlefield of misinformation and disinformation, including the need to label synthetic content and raise the economic cost of harm. If you care about Kenya’s AI strategy, Africa’s AI future, AI policy, data governance, and tech diplomacy, this conversation is for you. Subscribe, share this with a friend who’s building, and leave a review with your biggest takeaway. Credits Host: Stella Gichuhi Producer: James Njoroge Executive Producers: Harry Hare Agutu Dan
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S2 · E4
March 21 · 42 min
People Still People | A Conversation with Serge Blockmans
What are your thoughts? Guest: Serge Blockmans - Independent Advisor | Change Management Go live is a moment. Transformation is a behavior change that survives the moment. I sit down with Serge Blockmans, who helped bring SAP and ERP into the East African market, to revisit what digital transformation looked like in Kenya before the term became fashionable. Back then, organizations wanted controls, governance, and trustworthy data, not buzzwords. That foundation still shapes today’s ERP implementation decisions across finance, procurement, logistics, HR, and payroll. From there, we get honest about why so many programs stall after the system launches. Serge makes the case that “best practice” can become a convenient excuse to skip business analysis, process design, and real ownership. We delve into why a PMO is still often treated as optional, why change management is sometimes confused with project management, and how resistance to change can manifest in various settings, from boardrooms to procurement committees to frontline super users. Then we step into AI transformation. Embedded AI in SAP and ERP often resembles an advanced form of robotic process automation: faster tasks, fewer clicks, quicker analytics. However, if your processes and data are disorganized, AI can exacerbate the mess even faster. We also explore agentic AI, native AI apps, and the uncomfortable truth that your organization remains legally accountable even when an “autonomous” workflow makes the call. If you lead technology, transformation, or operations, you’ll leave with clearer definitions of success, sharper questions to ask before buying tools, and a strong reminder to protect the change management budget. Subscribe, share this episode with a colleague, and leave a review with the biggest people challenge you’ve seen in transformation. Credits Host: Stella Gichuhi Producer: James Njoroge Executive Producers: Harry Hare Agutu Dan
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S2 · E3
February 28 · 32 min
Building Amanzi Cloud: Decentralized AI Infrastructure For Africa By Africa Featuring Justice Mukaro
What are your thoughts? Guest: Justice Mukaro - Founder of Strateji & Zimbabwean entrepreneur What happens when Africa stops importing assumptions and starts exporting standards? We sit down with founder and computer scientist Justice Mukaro to unpack a bold, practical plan for sovereign AI: Amanzi Cloud, a decentralized infrastructure designed to keep data local, cut costs, and connect every country into one living network. Justice’s water metaphor makes complex systems feel simple. Traditional hyperscalers are like dams; Amanzi is a network of boreholes—nodes in data centers, institutions, and smaller machines—linked by secure “pipes” that track flow, prevent leaks, and respect each nation’s laws. That shift unlocks data sovereignty without isolation, enabling cross-border collaboration, fair pricing for builders, and privacy-first compute that aligns with global trends toward decentralization. From a chance intro to a data center tour to a new partnership, we map how relationships move pilots from pitch to reality. We also go deep on the human side of infrastructure: how Afrocentric tech means more than branding; why educating through product beats slide decks; and what it takes to be a diplomatic innovator who can talk policy on Monday and ship code on Tuesday. Justice traces Strategy’s pivots—from WhatsApp-native surveys to dataset curation to hardware-aware cloud design—showing how mission fidelity and flexibility can coexist. The stakes are clear: if Africa doesn’t feed its context into AI, the systems shaping daily life will misread the continent and harden those errors at scale. Walk away with a clear mental model for decentralized cloud, concrete steps for building sovereign data pathways, and founder-grade lessons on partnerships, pricing, and courage. If you care about AI ethics, privacy, and equitable growth—from Nairobi to Harare to Lagos—this conversation is a roadmap and a rallying cry. Subscribe, share with a builder or policymaker in your circle, and leave a review telling us: what’s the first node your community needs? Credits Host: Stella Gichuhi Producer: James Njoroge Executive Producers: Harry Hare Agutu Dan
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S2 · E2
February 14 · 33 min
After The Hype: AI, Power, And Policy With Harry Hare
What are your thoughts? Tech Talk Africa | Season 2 Episode 02: After The Hype Guest: Harry Hare, Chairman & Publisher at CIO Africa A pandemic rewired our habits, but did it truly change our leadership? We open the door on Kenya’s post-COVID tech reality—how hybrid work became muscle memory, how decision-making evolved, and where old instincts still hold back progress. Then we wade into the storm ahead: elections, uncertainty, and AI stepping onto the political stage. From deepfakes that stress-test public trust to hyper-targeted messages that could raise the quality of civic engagement, we map the risks, the safeguards, and the surprising opportunities for those who prepare. We also challenge a popular narrative: AI isn’t a bubble; the hype is. Real value sits in workflows where data governance, model observability, and human-in-the-loop controls turn experiments into reliable operations. That shift depends on skills and structure—teams that can instrument CRMs, segment audiences responsibly, and build processes that fail safely. Policy enters here, but only if it points to a coherent North Star. Regions that commit to practical bets—chip assembly, logistics, data centers—create ecosystems that attract capital and talent. Clarity compounds. Inclusion is not a side panel; it is a performance edge. We talk candidly about women in tech leadership—why visibility lags, how confidence and nomination pipelines stall, and what it takes to get more women shaping models, data, and product decisions. The recurring theme is scale: Africa doesn’t lack creativity; it lacks the structures to grow pilots into platforms. Strong foundations, smarter governance, and regional market depth can change that. We may have missed the internet wave, but AI offers a second chance—if we align, build guardrails, and scale what works. If this conversation sparked a thought, share it with a friend, subscribe for more Tech Talk Africa, and leave a review with the one shift you think Kenya must make next. Credits Host: Stella Gichuhi Producer: James Njoroge Executive Producers: Harry Hare Agutu Dan
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S2 · E1
January 31 · 1 hr 2 min
The AI Infrastructure Reckoning Conversation With Co-Founder Michael Michie
What are your thoughts? Tech Talk Africa | Season 2 Episode 01: The AI Infrastructure Reckoning Guest: Michael Michie, Co-founder of EverseTech and Special Advisor on AI to the Kenyan Government Africa’s digital future isn't just about the code we write; it’s being laid in the cables, servers, and power grids that most people will never see. In this season premiere, we move past the headlines to ask the hard questions: Who owns the compute? Who controls the data? And who pays the energy bill when ambition outpaces reality? We sit down with Michael Michie, a tech founder and a leading voice in Kenya’s AI strategy, to dissect the systems beneath the story. Michael shares his journey from a childhood obsession with hardware to the "perfect pivot" for EverseTech: solving the infrastructure accountability gap in Africa. We explore why the oversimplification of AI scares him and why he believes the hype needs to "die" so the real work can begin. Key Discussion Points: The Cost of Entry: Michael breaks down the staggering reality of building a data center—starting at roughly 5 billion Kenya Shillings ($38M+) just for the facility, before a single GPU is even plugged in. The Power Paradox: We dive into why "energy" is the most critical infrastructure milestone for 2030. Michael explains why many high-end servers purchased by organizations sit idle because they require specialized three-phase power that standard office power grids don't provide. Data Findability vs. Scarcity: Contrary to popular belief, Michael argues Africa doesn't have a "lack of data" but a findability and storage issue. He explores how to unlock "machine-readable" data from healthcare and traditional recorded information. Sovereignty and "Going Local": His advice for CIOs is bold: "Get off the global cloud." Moving AI workloads to local infrastructure can be roughly 30% cheaper and is essential for data sovereignty. Climate & Context: We tackle the "Animals vs. Machines" debate. Michael contextualizes AI's environmental impact, noting that while local water and power issues are real, industries like agriculture currently have a much larger global footprint. Is Africa ready to build the foundations that carry our tech ambitions? Hit play to hear Michael Michie’s blueprint for a sustainable, localized AI future. Subscribe for a season of deepening the conversation. Credits Host: Stella Gichuhi Producer: James Njoroge Executive Producers: Harry Hare Agutu Dan
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