Unlocking Africa

Hosted by Terser Adamu

Business EntrepreneurshipInterviews guests

Website RSS feed LinkedIn

Episodes

236

Latest episode

Aug 2026

Language

EN-GB

About the show

Terser Adamu, who is an Africa Business Strategist, International Trade Adviser, and Director at ETK Group, hosts the award-nominated Unlocking Africa Podcast. During each episode he shares his thoughts on how to unlock Africa’s economic potential in the 21st century. This is delivered through engaging and thought-provoking discussions with innovators, entrepreneurs, investors, policymakers, and business leaders who are unlocking Africa’s economic potential. Whether you're a business leader, an aspiring entrepreneur, have a comfortable side hustle, or want to take your business to the next level, each episode is jam-packed with information and insight that will enable you to take immediate action and implement key strategies to successfully launch and grow your business in Africa.

Listen to episodes

60 recent

September 7, 2026Episode 23752 min

Why Do So Many African Businesses Die With Their Founders? Succession, Stewardship and Legacy with Lydie Murorunkwere

Episode 237 with Lydie Murorunkwere, Founder and Managing Director of ML Corporate Services Ltd, Rwanda’s first locally owned licensed Trust and Company Service Provider, and Chairperson of the Rwanda Trust Companies Association. Over the past two decades, Lydie has worked with entrepreneurs, investors, family businesses and institutions across Africa, helping them establish governance, ownership and succession structures designed not only to support growth, but to endure. Her work challenges the idea that succession is simply a legal or technical process. Instead, she argues that it is fundamentally a human issue shaped by fear, family relationships, culture, responsibility and the willingness of founders to prepare others to lead. In this episode, Lydie explains why many successful African businesses remain dangerously dependent on the individuals who created them, and what founders must do to build institutions capable of surviving beyond their leadership. What We Discuss With Lydie Why making yourself indispensable could become one of the greatest threats to the future of your business. How Africa’s dependence on founder led companies is limiting investment, growth and economic continuity. Why inheriting a family business does not necessarily mean the next generation is equipped to lead it. How poor succession planning causes African businesses and family wealth to disappear across generations. Why governance can help African businesses attract investment, manage growth and survive beyond their founders. Did you miss my previous episode where I discuss What Happens When Rural African Women Gain Access to Mentorship, Education and Economic Opportunity? Make sure to check it out! Connect with Terser: LinkedIn - Terser Adamu Instagram - unlockingafrica Twitter (X) - @TerserAdamu Connect with Lydie LinkedIn - Lydie Murorunkwere and ML Corporate Services Many of the businesses unlocking opportunities in Africa don’t do it alone. If you’d like strategic support on entering or expanding across African markets, reach out to our partners ETK Group: www.etkgroup.co.uk info@etkgroup.co.uk

August 31, 2026Episode 23641 min

What Happens When Rural African Women Gain Access to Mentorship, Education and Economic Opportunity? with Linda Latsko Lockhart

Episode 236 with Linda Latsko Lockhart, Founder and CEO of Global Give Back Circle, an organisation focused on expanding education, financial inclusion and pathways to dignified work for women and girls across Africa. Since 2006, Global Give Back Circle has supported more than 6,000 girls through tertiary education, engaged more than 4,000 mentors and built programmes across Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda, Tanzania and Ghana. At the centre of its economic empowerment work is HER Lab, a model designed around the realities facing young women in rural communities. Rather than treating education as the end goal, HER Lab connects vocational skills, mentorship and personal development with employment, entrepreneurship, financial inclusion and access to markets. It also works with families and community leaders to address the social expectations that can prevent women from participating fully in economic life. Through its Economic Empowerment 4 HER partnership with Mastercard Foundation, Global Give Back Circle is now scaling the model across rural Kenya, with the ambition of reaching 3,000 young women directly by 2028. In this episode, Linda explains why women's economic empowerment requires much more than simply providing education or vocational training. She explores what Global Give Back Circle has learned from two decades of working with women and girls, why entrepreneurship has become such an important pathway for rural women, and how access to finance, markets and supportive communities determines whether skills actually translate into income. What We Discuss With Linda Is Africa underestimating the economic cost of keeping millions of women out of work, entrepreneurship and financial systems? Why 76 percent of the HER Lab boarding graduates surveyed became entrepreneurs, and what that reveals about the shortage of formal employment opportunities in rural Africa. Why teaching someone to start a business is not enough, and why access to real customers and commercially viable value chains matters more. What happened when attitudes towards women working in construction shifted from just 19 percent to 94 percent in the surrounding community. Could artificial intelligence widen the economic divide facing rural African women, or give them an opportunity to leapfrog it? Did you miss my previous episode where I discuss Why Isn't Africa Turning Its Science Into Billion Dollar Companies? Make sure to check it out! Connect with Terser: LinkedIn - Terser Adamu Instagram - unlockingafrica Twitter (X) - @TerserAdamu Connect with Linda LinkedIn - Linda Lockhart and Global Give Back Circle Many of the businesses unlocking opportunities in Africa don’t do it alone. If you’d like strategic support on entering or expanding across African markets, reach out to our partners ETK Group: www.etkgroup.co.uk info@etkgroup.co.uk

August 24, 2026Episode 23548 min

Why Isn't Africa Turning Its Science Into Billion Dollar Companies? with Houda Ghozzi

Episode 235 with Houda Ghozzi, Founder and CEO of Open Startup, a pan African organisation focused on connecting African innovation with global opportunity through investment readiness, deep tech commercialisation, cross border partnerships and ecosystem development. Over the past decade, Open Startup has supported thousands of founders and startups across more than 20 African countries. Its latest focus is The Science Road, an initiative designed to help deep tech and research led ventures make the difficult journey from scientific and technical development to market readiness, investment and global scale. This comes at a critical moment for the continent. Africa has more than 300 active deep tech startups that have collectively raised around 3 billion dollars over the past decade, yet the ecosystem remains fragmented, funding gaps persist and universities often struggle to connect research with industry and commercial opportunities. In this episode, Houda explains why Africa's deep tech challenge is not simply about producing more research, but turning scientific breakthroughs into commercially viable companies. What We Discuss With Houda Africa has the scientists and the research, so why isn't it producing more globally competitive deep tech companies? Why does so much promising intellectual property remain inside African universities instead of becoming products, companies and industries? Why might the venture capital model that built Africa's software startups not work for the continent's next generation of deep tech companies? Can Africa build globally significant deep tech companies while keeping intellectual property, talent and economic value on the continent? Could deep tech move Africa from adopting technologies developed elsewhere to owning the scientific innovation that powers the industries of the future? Did you miss my previous episode where I discuss Can Africa Build a Sustainable Fashion Value Chain From Raw Material to Retail? Make sure to check it out! Connect with Terser: LinkedIn - Terser Adamu Instagram - unlockingafrica Twitter (X) - @TerserAdamu Connect with Houda LinkedIn - Houda Ghozzi, PhD and Open Startup Many of the businesses unlocking opportunities in Africa don’t do it alone. If you’d like strategic support on entering or expanding across African markets, reach out to our partners ETK Group: www.etkgroup.co.uk info@etkgroup.co.uk

August 10, 2026Episode 23432 min

Can Africa Build a Sustainable Fashion Value Chain From Raw Material to Retail? with Madelaine Fourie

Episode 234 with Madelaine Fourie, General Brand Manager at Sappi Verve, a business operating at the intersection of forestry, sustainable materials and global fashion value chains. Sappi Verve produces dissolving wood pulp from woodfibre, an essential raw material used to manufacture fibres such as viscose and lyocell that ultimately become the fabrics found in everyday clothing. From its forestry and manufacturing base in South Africa, Sappi forms part of a global textile supply chain that connects African natural resources with fashion markets around the world. In this episode, Madelaine explains the hidden journey behind many of the clothes we wear and why the fashion supply chain often begins in a forest plantation rather than a factory or retail store. She explores how wood grown in South Africa is transformed into dissolving wood pulp before being exported, converted into fibre, spun into yarn and eventually manufactured into clothing. The conversation examines whether Africa can capture more value from this process by developing stronger local and regional manufacturing capabilities rather than remaining primarily at the beginning of global value chains. Madelaine also explores how rising expectations around sustainability, traceability and transparency are reshaping the global fashion industry. As consumers and regulators demand greater evidence about where materials originate and how products are manufactured, she explains why traceability is becoming increasingly important and how developments such as digital product passports could create new expectations for businesses throughout the supply chain. What We Discuss With Madelaine Could the clothes in your wardrobe actually begin their journey in an African forest? Why does Africa supply materials to global fashion brands while capturing only a fraction of the value created from them? Could Africa build a fashion value chain that takes products from forest plantations all the way to finished clothing? Is sustainable fashion an overlooked industrialisation opportunity for Africa? What would it take for Africa to turn its natural resources into more factories, higher value exports and better jobs? Did you miss my previous episode where I discuss How Cascador Is Helping Africa's Growth Stage Businesses Navigate the "Messy Middle"? Make sure to check it out! Connect with Terser: LinkedIn - Terser Adamu Instagram - unlockingafrica Twitter (X) - @TerserAdamu Connect with Madelaine LinkedIn - Madelaine Fourie and Sappi Many of the businesses unlocking opportunities in Africa don’t do it alone. If you’d like strategic support on entering or expanding across African markets, reach out to our partners ETK Group: www.etkgroup.co.uk info@etkgroup.co.uk

July 27, 2026Episode 23339 min

How Cascador Is Helping Africa's Growth Stage Businesses Navigate the "Messy Middle" with Amanda Etuk

Episode 231 with Amanda Etuk, Program Director at Cascador, an Africa focused platform supporting growth stage entrepreneurs with the leadership, networks, strategic partnerships and catalytic capital needed to build resilient, high impact businesses. Amanda works at the intersection of strategy and execution, helping founders navigate one of the most overlooked stages of African entrepreneurship. With experience spanning scaling startups, managing complex multimillion pound operations and building ecosystem partnerships, she is focused on equipping entrepreneurs with the tools they need to grow sustainable businesses that create jobs and strengthen Africa's economy. Through Cascador, she works closely with founders who have moved beyond the startup phase but need the right support to successfully scale their businesses. In this episode, Amanda explains why Africa's biggest entrepreneurial opportunity lies not in creating more startups, but in helping existing African businesses successfully navigate the "messy middle". She explores why growth stage founders are often overlooked despite their importance to job creation and economic development, why leadership and strong networks matter just as much as access to finance, and why Africa needs new models of support that extend beyond traditional venture capital to build resilient, globally competitive businesses and strengthen the real economy. What We Discuss With Amanda Why the "messy middle" is one of the biggest and most overlooked opportunities in Africa's entrepreneurial ecosystem. Why growth stage businesses are critical to creating jobs and driving long term economic growth across Africa. Why leadership development, mentorship and strong peer networks can be just as valuable as raising capital. Why Africa needs financing and support models that go beyond venture capital to better serve the real economy. What founders, investors, policymakers and ecosystem builders need to do differently to help more African businesses scale into resilient, globally competitive companies. Did you miss my previous episode where I discuss Why Africa's Music Industry Isn't Getting Paid What It's Owed? Make sure to check it out! Connect with Terser: LinkedIn - Terser Adamu Instagram - unlockingafrica Twitter (X) - @TerserAdamu Connect with Amanda LinkedIn - Amanda Etuk and Cascador Many of the businesses unlocking opportunities in Africa don’t do it alone. If you’d like strategic support on entering or expanding across African markets, reach out to our partners ETK Group: www.etkgroup.co.uk info@etkgroup.co.uk

July 13, 2026Episode 23240 min

Why Africa's Music Industry Isn't Getting Paid What It's Owed with Shain Shapiro

Episode 232 with Shain Shapiro, Founder and Executive Director of the Center for Music Ecosystems and one of the world's leading experts on music, public policy, and economic development. Through his work advising more than 130 cities and governments worldwide, Shain has helped reposition music from being viewed simply as entertainment to being recognised as a driver of investment, job creation, and long term economic growth. He is also one of the architects behind the Music Economy Development Initiative (MEDI), a global partnership that has launched the first ever platform to map the music economies of all 55 African countries. In this episode, Shain explains why Africa's music industry represents one of the continent's most overlooked economic opportunities. Despite African music reaching audiences around the world through genres such as Afrobeats and Amapiano, Africa captures only a tiny share of the music royalties, copyright revenues, and wider economic value its creators generate. Drawing on landmark research from the Music Economy Development Initiative , he explains why nearly 286 million US dollars in recorded music revenue remains uncollected in Nigeria and Kenya alone, and how stronger copyright systems, improved intellectual property protections, better rights management, and greater investment could unlock billions of dollars for African creators and the wider economy. We discuss why governments should begin treating music as economic infrastructure rather than simply culture, how better data can transform policymaking and attract investment, the role of development finance institutions in strengthening Africa's creative industries, and why countries such as Nigeria and Côte d'Ivoire are emerging as important case studies for music ecosystem development. What We Discuss With Shain Why Africa dominates global music culture but captures so little of its economic value. The hidden copyright, royalty, and policy infrastructure every successful music industry needs. Why nearly 286 million US dollars in music revenue goes uncollected in Nigeria and Kenya. Can Africa's music industry become one of the continent's next major economic growth sectors? How better policy, investment, and copyright systems could transform Africa's creative economy. Did you miss my previous episode where I discuss Investing $100 Million to Create Africa's Next Million Jobs: Why Manufacturing Beats Tech? Make sure to check it out! Connect with Terser: LinkedIn - Terser Adamu Instagram - unlockingafrica Twitter (X) - @TerserAdamu Connect with Shain LinkedIn - Shain Shapiro PhD and Global Citizen Many of the businesses unlocking opportunities in Africa don’t do it alone. If you’d like strategic support on entering or expanding across African markets, reach out to our partners ETK Group: www.etkgroup.co.uk info@etkgroup.co.uk

July 6, 2026Episode 23140 min

Investing $100 Million to Create Africa's Next Million Jobs: Why Manufacturing Beats Tech with Daniel Yu

Episode 231 with Daniel Yu, Founder of Africa Jobs Fund, a philanthropic venture builder focused on creating high productivity jobs across Sub Saharan Africa through export manufacturing and international labour mobility. Daniel is best known as the founder and former CEO of Wasoko, one of Africa's leading commerce and supply chain technology companies. After spending more than a decade building logistics infrastructure across multiple African markets, he has shifted his focus towards what he believes is the continent's biggest economic challenge: creating productive jobs at scale. Through the Africa Jobs Fund, he aims to mobilise 100 million dollars over the next five years to back commercially viable businesses and workforce infrastructure that connect African talent and industry to global demand. In this episode, Daniel explains why he believes Africa's next phase of economic growth will depend on creating millions of higher productivity jobs rather than simply building more technology companies. Drawing on lessons from East and South East Asia, he explores how export manufacturing and international labour mobility have consistently driven industrialisation, income growth, and poverty reduction, and why Africa is now uniquely positioned to compete in global manufacturing and workforce supply chains. What We Discuss With Daniel Why Daniel believes Africa has spent too long chasing tech startups instead of building the industries that create millions of jobs. The uncomfortable truth about why consumer technology alone will not solve Africa's employment crisis. Is Africa on the verge of becoming the world's next manufacturing and workforce powerhouse? Why export manufacturing and international labour mobility have lifted more people out of poverty than almost any other economic strategy. How the Africa Jobs Fund plans to back the businesses that could fundamentally reshape Africa's labour market. Did you miss my previous episode where I discuss Can Financing Unlock Africa's EV Revolution Faster Than Technology? Make sure to check it out! Connect with Terser: LinkedIn - Terser Adamu Instagram - unlockingafrica Twitter (X) - @TerserAdamu Connect with Daniel LinkedIn - Daniel Yu and Africa Jobs Fund Many of the businesses unlocking opportunities in Africa don’t do it alone. If you’d like strategic support on entering or expanding across African markets, reach out to our partners ETK Group: www.etkgroup.co.uk info@etkgroup.co.uk

June 22, 2026Episode 23036 min

Are Businesses in Africa Leaving Money on the Table by Ignoring Working Parents? with Soledad Sanchez Canamares

Episode 230 with Soledad Sanchez Canamares, Family Friendly Workplace Policy Specialist at UNICEF Eastern and Southern Africa, where she works with businesses, governments, and development partners to advance workplace policies that improve employee wellbeing, talent retention, workforce productivity, and long term business performance. As organisations across Africa and around the world face growing talent shortages, rising employee turnover, and changing workforce expectations, family friendly workplace policies are increasingly being recognised as a competitive advantage rather than simply an employee benefit. In this episode, Soledad explains why policies such as paid parental leave, childcare support, flexible working arrangements, and breastfeeding accommodations are becoming critical tools for attracting and retaining talent, improving workforce participation, and strengthening organisational resilience. Drawing on global evidence, business case studies, and UNICEF's Family Friendly Policies Toolkit, Soledad explores the relationship between workforce wellbeing and business performance. She discusses how employers can improve employee retention, productivity, engagement, and gender equality while building stronger and more resilient organisations. The conversation also examines the economic impact of care responsibilities, the role of workplace flexibility in the future of work, and why supporting working parents is increasingly being viewed as a business growth strategy. The discussion focuses on the African context, where informality remains high and many businesses operate with limited resources. What We Discuss With Soleded Why businesses may be losing money by failing to invest in family friendly workplace policies. Whether Africa is leaving billions in economic growth untapped because workplaces are not designed around how people actually live and care for their families. The hidden link between talent shortages, employee turnover, and the lack of support for working parents and caregivers. What family friendly workplace policies look like in Africa's informal economy, SMEs, and labour intensive industries where traditional models often fall short. Why investors, multinational companies, and global supply chains are increasingly treating family friendly policies as a competitiveness and business resilience issue. Did you miss my previous episode where I discuss The Grandmothers Helping Solve Africa's Mental Health Crisis? Make sure to check it out! Connect with Terser: LinkedIn - Terser Adamu Instagram - unlockingafrica Twitter (X) - @TerserAdamu Connect with Soledad LinkedIn - Soledad Sánchez-Cañamares Ríos Many of the businesses unlocking opportunities in Africa don’t do it alone. If you’d like strategic support on entering or expanding across African markets, reach out to our partners ETK Group: www.etkgroup.co.uk info@etkgroup.co.uk

June 15, 2026Episode 22947 min

The Grandmothers Helping Solve Africa's Mental Health Crisis with Esther Tumbare

Episode 229 with Esther Tumbare, Chief Executive Officer of Friendship Bench, a pioneering Zimbabwean organisation transforming access to mental healthcare through community based solutions that have reached hundreds of thousands of people and expanded across multiple countries. Esther leads Friendship Bench's efforts to scale one of Africa's most recognised healthcare innovations while working closely with governments, public health systems, and community health workers to make mental healthcare more accessible, affordable, and sustainable. In this episode, she shares how Friendship Bench is helping address Africa's mental health crisis by reimagining the delivery of mental healthcare in underserved communities. Drawing on Friendship Bench's experience integrating evidence based mental health services into primary healthcare systems, Esther explains how the organisation has built a scalable model that combines local trust, rigorous research, and community led support to bridge the mental health treatment gap. She discusses the economic impact of depression and anxiety, the relationship between mental health and productivity, and why investing in mental healthcare should be viewed as both a public health priority and an economic development opportunity. What We Discuss With Esther Why Africa cannot unlock its economic potential without addressing mental health. How a grandmother on a wooden bench is helping solve one of healthcare's biggest workforce challenges. The hidden cost of untreated mental health on productivity, employment, and economic growth. Why government adoption, not donor funding, is the key to scaling social impact. What African innovators can learn from Friendship Bench's journey from local solution to global model. Did you miss my previous episode where I discuss Can Financing Unlock Africa's EV Revolution Faster Than Technology? Make sure to check it out! Connect with Terser: LinkedIn - Terser Adamu Instagram - unlockingafrica Twitter (X) - @TerserAdamu Connect with Esther LinkedIn - Esther Tumbare and Friendship Bench Zimbabwe Many of the businesses unlocking opportunities in Africa don’t do it alone. If you’d like strategic support on entering or expanding across African markets, reach out to our partners ETK Group: www.etkgroup.co.uk info@etkgroup.co.uk

June 8, 2026Episode 22844 min

Can Financing Unlock Africa's EV Revolution Faster Than Technology? with Nena Sanderson

Episode 228 with Nena Sanderson, Chief Product Officer and Managing Director of Mobility at M-KOPA, a leading African fintech and asset financing company helping millions of people access productive assets, digital financial services, and clean mobility solutions through innovative pay as you go financing. Nena leads product strategy across M-KOPA's business while also overseeing its rapidly growing mobility division, placing her at the centre of one of Africa's most significant transport and energy transitions. In this episode, she shares how M-KOPA is helping make electric mobility accessible to everyday riders through flexible financing models that align with local income realities. Drawing on M-KOPA's experience financing thousands of electric motorcycles in Kenya, Nena explains how affordable financing, supportive government policy, local manufacturing, battery infrastructure, and strategic partnerships are accelerating adoption. She discusses the economic and environmental impact of electrifying Africa's motorcycle sector, the lessons emerging from Kenya's rapidly evolving mobility market, and the opportunities and challenges involved in scaling electric transport across the continent. What We Discuss With Nena Why no single company can win Africa's electric mobility race alone. The real reason riders are switching from petrol motorcycles to electric bikes. How Kenya became the blueprint for electric mobility adoption in Africa. Can financing unlock Africa's electric vehicle revolution faster than technology? Building the ecosystem needed to electrify transport across the continent. Did you miss my previous episode where I discuss The Battle for Africa's Financial Rails: Stablecoins, Regulators, Cross Border Payments and Trade? Make sure to check it out! Connect with Terser: LinkedIn - Terser Adamu Instagram - unlockingafrica Twitter (X) - @TerserAdamu Connect with Nena LinkedIn - Nena Sanderson and M-KOPA Many of the businesses unlocking opportunities in Africa don’t do it alone. If you’d like strategic support on entering or expanding across African markets, reach out to our partners ETK Group: www.etkgroup.co.uk info@etkgroup.co.uk