Pure Digital Passion with Moses Kemibaro

Episodes

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  Episode 199 - Jaza Supermarket's Willy Kimani, Visa's Anne Kinuthia-Otieno & KFC's Jacques Theunissen On The Future of Digital Commerce In Kenya 24.10.2026 50m

  Three businesses, one Kenyan consumer, three very different answers. Willy Kimani left Naivas to build Jaza Supermarket, a neighborhood affordable supermarket chain that sells on WhatsApp. Anne Kinuthia-Otieno built Airtel Money Kenya and now runs Visa across East Africa. Jacques Theunissen turned KFC's regional franchise from 30 loss-making restaurants into more than 70. I moderated their discussion panel during Glovo Kenya's Future of Commerce Summit yesterday and asked what it takes to be built to win.Recorded live at the Radisson Blu, Upper Hill, Nairobi on 23rd October 2026, this episode of the Pure Digital Passion Podcast is the full opening panel of the summit. In it: why a KES 5,000 phone has no room for another app and what that means for every retailer in Kenya; why KFC's self-service digital kiosks lift the average basket by 10 to 30 per cent and are as popular in Kakamega as in Westlands; what tokenization is, explained with a casino chip; how a weekly digital payment turns a cash business into a bankable one; what Visa is doing about AI agents that want to check out for you; and the one capability each panelist says a Kenyan business must build in the next twelve months.CHAPTERS00:00 Opening question: the moment a customer showed you the way they buy had changed00:35 Willy Kimani: the Tuskys customer who wanted her shopping carried to the car02:28 Anne Kinuthia-Otieno: an 18-year-old orders his school kit online from abroad03:58 Jacques Theunissen: "convenience actually is time"06:04 Gen Z wants control: self-service kiosks and a 10 to 30 per cent bigger basket06:47 Willy: Uchumi's lost idea, the gap between the kiosk and the hypermarket, and Jaza's 34 stores10:08 Anne: from dressing up for the bank to a card you leave at home14:13 Jacques: every channel is growing, customers order three times a day, and the three rules18:59 KFC in Sandton: from a special occasion to a utility20:27 Willy: why Jaza sells on WhatsApp and not an app, and what to rent from Glovo24:05 Willy: the direct API integration with Glovo24:52 Anne: the digital gaps holding small businesses back, the cost of cash, and the casino chip29:48 A transactional history is the path to credit30:53 Anne: Visa Accept and overdrafts timed to a trader's best days32:44 Jacques: which technology paid back fastest, integration, and kiosks in Kakamega37:17 Audience: why are banking apps so bad? Visa Pay and the SDK answer40:33 Audience: is e-commerce cannibalising Jaza's stores?42:45 Audience: what is Visa doing about agentic commerce? 89 per cent, 29 per cent and single-use cards48:08 Closing question: one capability to build in the next 12 months. Drones, integration, people50:38 CloseTHE PANELWilly Kimani is the Founder of Jaza Supermarket, the neighborhood affordable supermarket chain he started in December 2023, now at 34 stores across Nairobi. He was Chief Commercial Officer of Naivas for seven years, Chief Operating Officer of Uchumi, and a senior leader at Tuskys, and is the Immediate Past Chairman of the Retail Trade Association of Kenya.Anne Kinuthia-Otieno, MBS, is Vice President and Head of East Africa at Visa, responsible for seven markets. She was Managing Director of Airtel Money Kenya for nearly five years, growing it from around 400,000 to more than five million active users, after a decade in retail and SME banking at Barclays and Absa.Jacques Theunissen is Chief Executive Officer of Kuku Foods East Africa, the KFC franchisee for the region. He took over a loss-making business of just over 30 restaurants in 2020; it now runs more than 70, employs over 1,600 people and sources 99 per cent of its inputs locally.GLOVO KENYAWebsite: https://glovoapp.com/ke/App Store: https://apps.apple.com/ke/app/id951812684Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.glovo
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  Episode 198 - Klaas Glenewinkel On Monetizing Africa's Radio Stations & Building An App To Stream African Radio 17.10.2026 37m

  Not every episode of the Pure Digital Passion Podcast is recorded in a studio. This one was recorded a few weeks ago on a phone, audio only, at a restaurant table in Westlands, Nairobi, Kenya with Klaas Glenewinkel, Managing Director of MiCT (Media in Cooperation and Transition) in Berlin and Director of the East Africa Radio Service (EARS) in Kampala, Uganda. Seven years ago Klaas decided that aid money was not the answer to keeping Africa's local radio stations alive, revenue was. EARS now bundles small and rural stations across Uganda into audience packages that advertisers can buy on one package instead of 150, and Klaas says it shared almost USD 2 million in advertising revenue with those stations last year. His argument is simple: in the ratings, the stations filed under "others" would be the market leader if they were one station.Now EARS is going digital with a lightweight audio app that aggregates radio stations, podcasts and audiobooks, streams at as little as 8 kilobits per second, lets listeners download overnight when data is cheaper, and is funded by targeted pre-stream advertising rather than subscriptions. The app is in closed Android testing, the server has never been pushed past 100 concurrent listeners, and it does not yet have a name. So we spent the last ten minutes attempting to name it!We also get into why radio refuses to die (in Uganda and in Germany), the gateway problem of big tech preloaded on cheap phones, my Gen Z Uber driver who still buys the newspaper to save data, what the platform means for podcasters like me, and how I actually make money from a podcast in Kenya.If you run a radio station, publish podcasts or audiobooks, or buy audio advertising in East Africa, this one is for you.CHAPTERS(00:12) Welcome: an impromptu, audio-only episode from Westlands(00:41) Why aid money was failing local media, and the birth of EARS(01:13) One contract instead of 150: how EARS bundles small stations(02:36) "Others" is the market leader: the long tail of local radio(04:44) Almost USD 2 million shared with stations last year(05:48) The threat from religious radios and why independence matters(06:53) Analogue ad spend, cheaper smartphones and the FM chip(07:57) Why radio endures, in Uganda and in Germany(09:36) Big tech on the phone: Facebook Zero and net neutrality(11:09) The Gen Z Uber driver who still buys the newspaper(12:23) An app built for 8 kilobits: overnight downloads and offline listening(13:27) Where the app stands: Android testing, West Africa and the diaspora(15:04) Advertising, not subscriptions: targeted pre-stream audio ads(16:35) The 100-listener question: a bootstrapped build(17:43) The flywheel: stations promote the app on air(18:52) The end game: survival of local radio, then West Africa(20:14) Calling all publishers, stations and podcasters: RSS syndication(21:27) How I actually make money from a podcast in Kenya(24:40) Kenya's podcast scene, and what the youth want on demand(26:40) Name the app: six candidates on the table(28:17) My verdict: Ongea, Oyodo, and why I fight with "cast"(31:42) The Ongair idea: speak, over the air(32:40) Jambo Cast and the French-speaker test(35:20) How EARS sells: brands, governments, aid agencies and ad agencies(36:39) Twenty people on the ground, one deal at a time(37:04) CloseGuest links:EARS - https://www.ears.ug/ MiCT - https://mict-international.org/Klaas Glenewinkel on Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/klaas-glenewinkel-a7a69b6/
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  Episode 197 - Inside Glovo Kenya: 4x Growth, Retail Media & the Future of Commerce with Caroline Mutuku 17.10.2026 47m
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  Episode 196 - How This Is Digital Trained 800+ Professionals On AI & Became Meta's AI Training Partner In Kenya 20.09.2026 1h 3m

  Just over a year after launching This Is Digital, co-founders Grace Murugi and Greg Wanjama have trained more than 800 professionals, served more than 40 organisations, and reached a milestone that could significantly expand their impact: becoming Meta's AI training partner in Kenya.This episode of the Pure Digital Passion podcast was recorded in a wonderfully impromptu manner immediately after I attended a practical Claude workshop delivered by This Is Digital in collaboration with Isaac Hunja of KaaraWorks. I went into the session thinking of myself as a fairly experienced AI user. I left with a clear appreciation of how much more work is required to move from basic prompting to properly designed agentic workflows.That made the timing of this conversation particularly appropriate. I had delivered the keynote address at the launch of This Is Digital in July 2025, where I traced the past, present, and future of Kenya's digital transformation. A little over a year later, Grace and Greg joined me to discuss what they have learned from building an AI-native business and teaching professionals and organisations how to use artificial intelligence in real work.We explore how This Is Digital used AI to shape and challenge its original business strategy, why AI accelerates a sound business model but cannot rescue a broken one, and why effective agents require context, specialised responsibilities, standard operating procedures, and substantial work at the beginning.Grace and Greg also share what they are seeing in Kenya. Adoption may be high, but much of it remains at the level of replacing Google Search with a chatbot. The real opportunity lies in critical thinking, privacy awareness, adaptability, responsible use, and applying AI to create measurable value for customers and organisations.The conversation concludes with a major announcement. Meta has partnered with This Is Digital to deliver AI Academy Kenya, combining a Pitchathon for Kenyan startups and developers with a sponsored eight-week online Masterclass for 300 students, startup founders, developers, and career professionals.Apply here: https://thisisdigital.ai/meta-ai-academy-kenyaLearn more about This Is Digital: https://thisisdigital.ai/Timestamps00:00 Introduction and welcome01:05 Grace Murugi's journey from computer science to AI strategy02:53 Greg Wanjama's journey through software, entrepreneurship, and the UN05:41 What I learned at the Claude workshop with This Is Digital and KaaraWorks06:49 How an AI exercise helped Grace identify the business opportunity09:10 Validating the market and choosing to launch publicly15:38 Is This Is Digital an AI-native company?16:21 Why AI accelerates a business but cannot repair a broken model20:50 Tuning AI for the context of a specific organisation23:00 Using AI for business strategy, research, content, and quarterly analysis30:18 What This Is Digital has learned about AI adoption in Kenya31:56 The hype around chatbots and AI agents36:14 Why building useful agents takes more work than people expect37:00 From AI skeptics to AI advocates39:06 How learners are turning AI skills into new services and careers41:46 This Is Digital becomes Meta's AI training partner in Kenya43:34 The AI Academy Kenya Pitchathon45:20 The sponsored eight-week online Masterclass46:11 What the next two to five years of AI adoption could look like50:43 The ambition to empower one million Africans with AI skills53:18 Responsible AI, customer value, and moving beyond vanity use cases55:54 Why adaptability may become the defining professional advantage58:00 Using AI as a coach and critical sparring partner1:00:05 Learning, unlearning, and relearning in the AI era1:01:13 Where to find This Is Digital, Grace, and Greg1:02:43 Closing thoughts and the invitation to apply
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  Episode 195 - Airtel Money Kenya’s Michael Bonke On Winning 14M More Users, Bizna Wallet & The Future Of Digital Finance 16.08.2026 17m

  Airtel Money Kenya is entering a new chapter under Acting Managing Director Michael Bonke.In this episode of the Pure Digital Passion Podcast, I sat down with Michael shortly after Airtel Money launched its Bizna Wallet for small businesses and enhanced its cashback proposition from airtime rewards to actual cash a couple of weeks ago. We explore how Airtel Money has grown from a relatively small challenger to a platform that now says it serves more than six million customers, has approximately 270,000 agents, supports more than two million merchant points and holds around 11% of Kenya’s mobile-money market.But perhaps its largest immediate growth opportunity already exists within Airtel itself.Michael estimates that around 14 million active Airtel connectivity customers are not yet using Airtel Money—and converting more of them is one of his most important priorities.We discuss:✅ Michael Bonke’s appointment and immediate priorities✅ How Airtel Money moved from roughly 2% to 11% market share✅ Why distribution, liquidity and banking partnerships matter✅ Airtel Money’s 270,000-agent footprint✅ Why SMEs are central to the next phase of growth✅ Airtel Money Bizna Wallet✅ Separating personal and business finances✅ Protecting merchants from unauthorised reversals✅ Free customer payments into Bizna Wallet✅ The move from airtime rewards to real cash cashback✅ Why customer experience matters more than promotions✅ Fraud prevention, customer protection and trust✅ Embedded finance, SME lending and analytics✅ Cross-border payments across Airtel’s 14 African markets✅ Whether Airtel Money could eventually become financial infrastructure for African SMEs✅ Michael’s three-year vision for Airtel Money KenyaOne of the most interesting moments comes when I ask Michael whether Airtel Money could eventually become an operating system for small businesses across Africa.His response:“That is our goal for sure.”CHAPTERS00:00 — Introduction00:50 — Michael Bonke’s new role at Airtel Money Kenya01:32 — The 14M-customer Airtel Money opportunity02:28 — How Airtel Money moved from 2% to 11%02:57 — Banking partnerships and distribution03:52 — Growing from under 20,000 to 270,000 agents04:43 — Why SMEs matter to Airtel Money05:32 — What merchants told Airtel06:50 — Free Bizna Wallet payments and merchant charges08:20 — Could Bizna Wallet become a broader SME platform?08:58 — Cross-network Bizna Wallet payments09:26 — Why cashback moved from airtime to cash10:41 — Turning promotions into lasting customer behaviour11:38 — Becoming a customer’s primary financial wallet12:04 — Fraud prevention, security and trust13:26 — Embedded finance and cross-border payments14:09 — Could Airtel Money become an operating system for African SMEs?14:46 — Michael’s brief take on the Airtel Money IPO15:06 — What success looks like three years from now16:11 — “It works—and now it pays you back”Michael’s closing message captures Airtel Money’s positioning particularly well:“With Airtel Money you can do anything... and now it pays you back.”The Pure Digital Passion Podcast explores the people, technologies, companies and ideas transforming business and the digital economy across Kenya and Africa.#AirtelMoney #MichaelBonke #PureDigitalPassion #BiznaWallet #Fintech #MobileMoney #FinancialInclusion #SMEs #DigitalPayments #Kenya #Africa
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  Episode 194 - Produce in Shillings. License in Dollars: Jason Corder’s Plan for African Media 16.08.2026 1h 5m

  I met Jason Corder last week to discuss NorthSouth Media, and our meeting became what I like to call a “gangster podcast”: an informal, impromptu Pure Digital Passion conversation recorded without the usual studio production.Jason is the founder and CEO of NorthSouth Media, a Nairobi-based company building an end-to-end system for financing, producing, owning, localizing and distributing African content.We discuss his journey from San Francisco to Africa, his work as a visual artist and performer, his experience acting in Mali, and how a trailer filmed in his Kilimani apartment became Stay, a television series backed by Nokia and subsequently distributed across multiple markets.Jason explains why that experience convinced him that African production companies must retain intellectual-property ownership. We also examine NorthSouth’s connected film and creator studios, direct-distribution strategy, localization relationship with Aview International and ambition to build a substantial library of owned African content.The conversation challenges the assumption that mobile and streaming growth must mean the end of television. Free-to-air broadcasting remains accessible, communal and commercially important across Africa and the wider Global South.NorthSouth is currently raising US$1 million at a US$7 million cap for a 24-month runway. The company plans to produce an opening slate of five owned shows, enroll 25 creators before scaling to 50 and build a sales operation targeting broadcasters and brands.CHAPTERS00:00 – Introduction00:13 – Why this became a “gangster podcast”01:00 – Human stories made by human hands04:23 – How African culture and storytelling travel globally06:46 – Jason Corder’s origin story14:27 – Why intellectual-property ownership matters18:22 – Producing Stay with Nokia’s backing22:36 – Free-to-air television and Africa’s media economy31:11 – Film, community and human connection38:35 – From artist and producer to entrepreneur40:33 – Using Bordy and AI to accelerate the business46:36 – Building NorthSouth’s end-to-end infrastructure49:28 – The NorthSouth Media elevator pitch51:16 – The Nairobi headquarters and Creator Studio vision55:16 – Microdramas, mobile video and the “shiny object”58:53 – A model for rebuilding African media1:00:55 – How to connect with Jason1:02:34 – Jason’s parting perspectiveABOUT JASON CORDERJason Corder is the founder and CEO of NorthSouth Media. He has worked across visual art, music, television, cultural diplomacy and media production and has lived and worked in more than 60 countries.NorthSouth Media: https://northsouth.africaJason on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasoncordermedia
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  Episode 193 - “This Is Just The Beginning”: Inside Djibril Tobe’s Airtel Kenya Growth Playbook 05.08.2026 27m

  Airtel Kenya is entering a new chapter under Managing Director Djibril Tobe.In this special episode of the Pure Digital Passion Podcast, I sit down with Djibril shortly after Airtel Money launched Bizna Wallet and the “Si Ni Mi Nakushow” 50% cashback campaign earlier this week. The conversation moves beyond the product announcements to examine Airtel Kenya’s wider growth strategy across mobile money, customer experience, digital self-service, broadband, satellite connectivity and data-centre infrastructure.Djibril reflects on his first month in Kenya after more than two decades building businesses across African markets. He explains why he is giving himself time to listen and learn, what has impressed him about Kenya’s technology-driven economy and what customers are demanding from Airtel.We discuss the strong momentum he inherits: Airtel Kenya’s expansion from 16 million to more than 24 million customers, over 2,000 additional network sites and Airtel Money’s growth from roughly 2% to 11% market share.A major opportunity lies within Airtel’s existing base. Djibril estimates that around 14 million Airtel connectivity customers are not yet using Airtel Money and explains how Bizna Wallet, real-cash Rudishiwa rewards and “Si Ni Mi Nakushow” are intended to encourage Kenyans to carry two mobile-money wallets as readily as they carry two SIM cards.We also explore:✅ Why the My Airtel App could become Airtel’s digital front door✅ Digital self-service and reducing customer pain points✅ Cross-border Airtel Money transfers✅ API integrations for developers, startups and fintechs✅ Airtel’s broadband journey from indoor routers to outdoor units and fibre✅ Direct-to-Cell connectivity with SpaceX, subject to approval✅ The 44MW Nxtra hyperscale data centre at Tatu City✅ Cloud, AI, enterprise workloads and data sovereignty✅ Djibril’s priorities for innovation, execution and customer experienceCHAPTERS00:00 — Introduction01:13 — Djibril Tobe’s first impressions of Kenya05:21 — Airtel Kenya’s growth and his leadership priorities07:03 — The 14M-customer Airtel Money opportunity08:13 — Bizna Wallet and 50% cashback09:10 — The “Si Ni Mi Nakushow” campaign12:56 — Why the My Airtel App matters16:58 — Cross-border Airtel Money transfers19:06 — Broadband: indoor units, outdoor units and fibre20:32 — Direct-to-Cell connectivity with SpaceX23:25 — Nxtra, cloud infrastructure and data sovereignty26:47 — Closing thoughts and what comes nextThe Pure Digital Passion Podcast explores the people, organizations, technologies and ideas shaping digital transformation, business, marketing and innovation across Kenya and Africa.Subscribe for more conversations with African technology leaders, entrepreneurs, executives, policymakers and innovators.#AirtelKenya #AirtelMoney #DjibrilTobe #PureDigitalPassion #Telecommunications #Fintech #DigitalTransformation #Broadband #SpaceX #Nxtra #Kenya #Africa
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  Episode 192 - 4 Perspectives, 1 Protection Gap: The Jubilee Health Insurance & bolttech Embedded Insurance Panel 26.07.2026 39m

  This video captures the full "Connected to Protect" discussion panel on how health insurance can become more accessible, relevant and useful within the everyday lives of Kenyan and East African consumers.I moderated the panel during the launch of the strategic partnership between Jubilee Health Insurance and global insurtech bolttech last week. While the partnership provided the setting, the conversation went much wider: healthcare costs, fraud and extra billing, product relevance, customer segmentation, flexible payments, trusted distribution, asset financing, consumer education and claims.The panel brought together four distinct perspectives:Njeri Jomo - CEO and Principal Officer, Jubilee Health InsuranceBente Krogmann Osore - General Manager, Africa, bolttechBryan Nyutu - Principal Officer and Insurance Portfolio Lead, Safaricom PLCKen Gitonga - Group Head of Technical Product, Watu CreditModerator: Moses KemibaroKey areas discussed:Why reducing healthcare fraud, waste, abuse and unnecessary billing is essential to affordabilityWhy protection must reach the right customer at the right momentHow embedded insurance differs from placing an existing policy inside an appWhat Safaricom has learnt from Tuunza Mapato and Tuunza SimuWhy data, customer segmentation and payment frequency shape insurance uptakeHow health protection can safeguard the livelihoods of Watu's asset-financing customersWhy hospital cash should not be confused with comprehensive medical coverWhy technology alone cannot compensate for an unclear strategy or the wrong partnersHow insurance can become a reward that strengthens engagement and loyaltyWhy transparency, voluntary participation and a dependable claims experience are fundamental to trustTimestamps00:00 Introduction00:12 The biggest friction between customers and useful health protection00:37 Jubilee Health: using AI to reduce fraud, waste, abuse and extra billing02:34 bolttech: making insurance relevant and timely04:28 How embedded insurance changes Jubilee Health's approach07:58 Safaricom's lessons from Tuunza Mapato and Tuunza Simu12:24 Watu: protecting livelihoods within the asset-financing journey14:35 When customers experience the real value of insurance16:17 Why Kenya needs fully fledged micro-medical cover19:12 Audience questions begin21:10 Technology is an enabler - why the right partners matter25:21 Bridging consumer and product-segmentation gaps27:47 Human-centred design for mass-market insurance31:46 Insurance as a reward and engagement tool33:41 Medical borrowing, community fundraising and catastrophic health expenditure37:20 Health and device protection for young daily earners38:51 Closing#ConnectedToProtect #EmbeddedInsurance #HealthInsurance #Insurance #FinancialInclusion #Kenya #EastAfrica #Africa
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  Episode 191 - Fixing The Nation On Ride Hailing Minimum Fares, Driver Welfare, & Passenger Affordability In Kenya 25.07.2026 44m

  In this episode of NTV Kenya's Fixing The Nation, I joined Mariam Bishar, Eric Latiff and Fellaris Wambui to unpack Kenya’s growing debate around minimum fares for ride hailing.The discussion was focussed on the Business Daily's headline on Uber and Bolt drivers potentially getting more power in how fares are set, as well as broader proposed reforms that could bring ride-hailing platforms under greater regulatory scrutiny.We discussed what this means for drivers, passengers, platforms, businesses, regulators, competition policy, and Kenya’s wider gig economy.At the heart of the conversation was one question:How does Kenya improve driver earnings without pricing passengers out of digital mobility or weakening the ecosystem that makes ride-hailing possible?Timestamps00:00 – Introduction: Business Daily headline and the digital taxi fare debate01:20 – Moses Kemibaro joins Fixing The Nation02:30 – How ride-hailing platforms work and why the issue matters03:32 – From traditional taxis to digital ride-hailing in Kenya05:38 – Market scale: drivers, users, rides and the gig economy06:52 – Owner-drivers versus rental drivers08:13 – Are driver complaints justified?10:26 – Understanding the 18% commission discussion11:57 – Platform value: marketplace, trust, safety and digital payments13:40 – Tanzania as a cautionary case14:28 – Passenger affordability and price sensitivity16:34 – Why smart regulation must balance all stakeholders18:14 – Where did the “doubling fares” idea come from?20:18 – Viewer comments and subscription model proposals21:01 – Competition risks if pricing is over-regulated22:21 – Price elasticity: what happens if fares double?24:08 – Passenger willingness-to-pay thought experiment26:11 – Draft minimum compensation rules and the missing passenger voice29:20 – Driver welfare, classification and platform responsibility30:22 – Financing, insurance and formalizing the gig economy33:05 – The platform as a marketplace creator35:08 – Kenya’s ride-hailing market versus Nigeria and South Africa37:19 – Could electric mobility reduce driver operating costs?38:49 – Higher fares and higher consumer expectations40:13 – Viewer comments on commissions and platform costs42:53 – Final thoughts: broader consultation and a balanced way forwardKey ThemesMinimum fares versus minimum driver earningsDriver welfare and platform workPassenger affordabilityCommission transparencyOwner-driver versus rental-driver economicsCompetition and platform regulationSmart regulation for Kenya’s gig economyThe long-term future of ride-hailing in Kenya#FixingTheNation #NTVKenya #NationFM #RideHailing #DigitalTaxis #GigEconomy #Kenya #PublicPolicy #FutureOfWork #DigitalEconomy
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  Episode 190 - WhatsApp Usernames, Privacy, Fraud & Digital Identity: An Interview with the BBC's Nkechi Onyinyechi Ogbonna on the Focus on Africa Podcast 18.07.2026 10m

  WhatsApp is preparing to introduce usernames that will allow people to communicate without publicly sharing their phone numbers.The feature could deliver a meaningful privacy improvement, particularly in group conversations, business interactions and chats with people who have only recently met. However, it has also raised questions about impersonation, phishing, financial fraud, mobile-money security and whether accounts involved in criminal activity will remain traceable.On the 15th July 2026, I joined Nkechi Onyinyechi Ogbonna on BBC World Service’s Focus on Africa to discuss WhatsApp’s forthcoming username feature.The programme also featured Somalia’s State Minister of Communications and Technology, Hon. Ahmed Osman Diiriye, who explained why his government wants Meta to provide stronger assurances around fraud, mobile-money security and digital traceability.The discussion examines why Somalia wants Meta to demonstrate “proof of traceability,” the concerns India has raised and the protections WhatsApp says it is building into the feature.It also explains:The difference between reserving and activating a usernameHow usernames differ from display namesWhy users will still need telephone numbersHow optional username keys will workWhy WhatsApp will not offer a public username directoryHow usernames could protect people in group chatsWhat the feature means for creators and businessesThe risks of lookalike usernames and impersonationWhy mobile-money markets require additional safeguardsHow digital literacy can help users identify scamsChapters00:00 — Introduction to WhatsApp usernames00:55 — Somalia’s security and accountability concerns01:53 — Consultations between Somalia and Meta02:16 — Is there evidence that usernames will increasefraud?03:22 — “We want proof of traceability”04:27 — Meta explains its proposed safeguards05:19 — Why WhatsApp is separating identity from phone numbers06:26 — How usernames will change one-to-one and group communication07:11 — Impersonation, financial fraud and mobile-money risks09:02 — Digital literacy and practical user protection10:50 — Conclusion
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  Episode 189 - Africa’s Scam Economy Has Industrialized: What Telecom Operators Must Do Next 14.07.2026 31m

  Africa’s scam economy is becoming more organised, automated and sophisticated.What was once the occasional fraudulent SMS has evolved into smishing, vishing, identity theft, business impersonation, SIM-swap-enabled account takeovers, AI-generated identity documents and deepfake voice calls.I moderated a discussion recorded at the TARS 2026 Telecom Africa Revenue Assurance & Fraud Management Summit in Nairobi, Kenya, on the 13th May 2026 titled:Protecting the Customer: Scam Typologies, Operator Responsibilities & Fraud Awareness in AfricaThe panel brought together:Ann Khambo - Revenue Assurance and Fraud Management Manager, Airtel Money, Airtel KenyaOgochukwu (Ogo) Onwuzurike - Country Manager, Nigeria, TruecallerMieraf T. Birhane - Executive Head of Fraud Management, Safaricom Telecommunications EthiopiaThe discussion examines how customer-facing fraud is changing across African telecom and mobile-money markets, why social engineering remains such an effective attack vector, and why operators can no longer regard themselves as neutral pipes when their networks, brands and identity systems are being exploited.Mieraf shares insights from Ethiopia’s evolving fraud landscape, including smishing, account takeover, subscription fraud and commission-related abuse. She also describes a striking case in which fraudsters used makeup and physical impersonation to attempt fraudulent SIM swaps—an incident detected because the agent involved had received practical fraud training.Ann explores identity theft, including situations where innocent customers may not know their photographs or personal information have been used to register SIM cards or commit fraud. She also explains why GSM and mobile-money fraud must be analyzed together using KYC, voice, SMS, location, SIM, device and transaction data.Ogo introduces the “machine era of spam and fraud.” According to the figures shared during the panel, Truecaller intercepted approximately 68 billion spam and fraud calls in 2025, compared with approximately 37.8 billion in 2021. She explains how AI and automation are helping fraudsters scale while excessive calls and messages from legitimate organisations are also eroding trust in phone-based communication.Key Themes:Smishing, vishing and social engineeringIdentity theft and fraudulent SIM registrationSIM-swap-enabled account takeoverBusiness impersonation and investment scamsReal-time detection, analytics and machine learningInternal fraud and insider riskAnti-fraud by designOperator responsibility and customer protectionCross-industry collaborationTime Stamps 00:00 Intro music00:12 Africa’s scam operations have industrialised04:09 What keeps fraud leaders awake at night?04:44 Ethiopia’s evolving fraud landscape08:43 Identity theft and the innocent customer10:54 The human factor in customer-facing fraud11:24 Why operators must take greater responsibility13:43 The machine era of spam and fraud18:05 AI call scanning and verified business communication19:40 Smishing and sophisticated account takeover in Ethiopia23:21 Data-driven controls for mobile-money fraud24:05 Connecting GSM and mobile-money fraud27:52 Business impersonation, investment scams and credibility engineering30:49 Outro musicThe central takeaway is that customer-facing fraud is no longer only a fraud-management or revenue-assurance issue. It is a customer-experience, brand-trust, financial-inclusion and digital-economy issue.Protecting customers requires shared responsibility across telecom operators, mobile-money providers, banks, fintechs, platforms, regulators, agents, employees and customers.
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  Episode 188 - From Data-Rich to Insight-Driven: How AI Is Reshaping Retail in Kenya & Africa 13.07.2026 57m

  Kenyan and African retailers generate enormous volumes of information through point-of-sale systems, inventory platforms, loyalty programmes, e-commerce, mobile applications, social commerce, delivery platforms and digital payments.However, much of that data remains fragmented, underused and disconnected from everyday business decisions.In this special episode of the Pure Digital Passion Podcast, I moderate a discussion from the RETRAK Retail Summit 2026 titled:Smarter Retail: Turning Data, AI and Insights into Competitive AdvantageThe session took place on Thursday, 14 May 2026, at the Sarit Expo Centre in Nairobi and brought together four experts representing retail entrepreneurship, digital payments, financial-services platforms and retail technology, as follows: Judy Waruiru - Regional Managing Director, Network InternationalSonal Haria - Co-Founder and CEO, Canvas Cosmetics, Co-Founder, CB Consulting & Media GroupEric Muriuki - Group Director, Digital Business, CEO, LOOP DFS, NCBA GroupSiddesh Narkar - Head of Product, CompulynxTopics CoveredWhy many retailers are data-rich but insight-poorThe importance of connecting fragmented customer dataBuilding a unified view across stores, websites, apps and paymentsWhy data readiness must come before AI readinessUsing data to improve product development, pricing and assortmentHow Canvas Cosmetics used customer insights to guide product developmentUsing payments data to understand churn, market movements and fraudAI-supported replenishment, stock management and pricingHow AI can improve sales productivity and outreachBalancing personalisation with customer privacy and trustPrivacy-by-design approaches to retail dataHow AI agents may soon shop and pay on behalf of consumersPractical AI actions retailers can take during the next 12 monthsKey MessageRetailers do not need to begin with an expensive, enterprise-wide AI programme.They should begin by digitizing operations, organising existing information, selecting one or two commercially important problems, measuring the results and building from the small wins.AI can analyze more information and provide options faster, but human judgement remains essential.Chapters00:00 Introduction to the RETRAK panel00:44 The state of retail in Kenya and Africa07:07 Sonal Haria on combining data with human judgement09:20 Judy Waruiru on fragmented customer data10:43 Eric Muriuki on data readiness and AI15:50 Siddesh Narkar on clean and usable retail data17:32 How Canvas Cosmetics used data for product development21:12 Payments data, customer journeys, churn and fraud26:39 AI as an intelligent wrapper around the business33:53 Audience questions begin34:36 Preparing and labelling business data for AI38:25 AI-generated cosmetic formulations and human oversight39:44 Understanding wider market and industry trends40:48 Using payments data for retail-market intelligence42:07 Turning financial-service providers into insight partners44:59 How AI improved sales productivity and outreach46:33 AI personalization, privacy and customer trust49:15 Cloud and on-premise AI deployment50:08 Agentic commerce and the machine as the next customer53:27 One action retailers should take in the next 12 months57:42 Closing remarksThe Pure Digital Passion Podcast explores the people, organizations, technologies and ideas shaping digital transformation, marketing, media, innovation and business across Kenya and Africa.Subscribe for more conversations with African technology leaders, entrepreneurs, executives, policymakers and innovators.#Retail #RetailTechnology #ArtificialIntelligence #AI #DataAnalytics #DigitalTransformation #Payments #Fintech #CustomerExperience #Kenya #Africa #PureDigitalPassion
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  Episode 187 - The Future Of Lending In Kenya & Africa: AI, Alternative Data, Digital Identity & Automation 13.07.2026 47m

  What does a truly future-ready African lender look like?Is it enough to launch a mobile application, automate loan approvals or introduce artificial intelligence into the credit-scoring process?Or does meaningful digital transformation require lenders to rethink the entire customer journey—from acquisition, onboarding and identity verification through credit decisioning, disbursement, repayment and collections?In this panel discussion I moderated a practical and thought-provoking conversation on the future of lending in Kenya and Africa.The discussion was recorded during The Future of Lending: Loan Origination, E-Sign & AI, held on the 29th of May 2026 at Park Inn by Radisson in Westlands, Nairobi.The event was co-hosted by Presta Technologies, Zoho and the Digital Financial Services Association of Kenya.PanelistsKris Senanu: Executive Chairman, Smith & Berkeley LLCKevin Mutiso: CEO, OYE and Chairman, Digital Financial Services Association of Kenya (DFSAK) Winnie Chira: Founder and CEO, Identify AfricaVictor Kiplagat: CEO and Co-Founder, Spin Mobile LLCKenneth Mantu: Group CEO, The Adaptis GroupKey Topics CoveredWhy many African lenders still operate through fragmented platformsThe difference between having digital channels and having a genuinely digital lending operationWhy reliable data matters more than institutional gut instinctHow incomplete information can cause both financial exclusion and over-indebtednessDigital identity, stolen documents, deepfakes and onboarding fraudRisk-based KYC and creating seamless journeys for genuine customersHow alternative data can improve decisions for thin-file borrowersMobile-money transactions and behavioural credit indicatorsWhy correlations in lending data must be interpreted responsiblyEmbedded finance and the importance of loan purposeWhy borrowers value speed, convenience and certaintyThe local shopkeeper as an overlooked source of informal credit intelligenceThe role of automation in removing repetitive manual workWhy change management is critical to successful technology adoptionPractical AI integrations in lendingAnomaly detection, model monitoring and human oversightWhat lenders should prioritize over the next twelve monthsChapters00:00 Unified Lending Platforms, Market Readiness & Credit Infrastructure01:33 Data Integrity & Why Analytics Can Challenge Gut Instinct03:25 Building Sustainable Lending Businesses Through Data05:22 Lending Silos, Manual Workflows & Kenya’s Mortgage Gap07:51 Deepfakes, Stolen IDs & Risk-Based KYC08:48 Customer Acquisition, Fragmented Data & Over-Indebtedness12:26 Digitising Lending Without Overwhelming the Organisation15:01 Speed, Paperwork & the Signs of an Outdated Lender17:47 Don’t Give a Human a Robot’s Job18:08 Alternative Data, Mobile Money & Credit Scoring20:16 Tithing, Loan Stacking, Betting & Affordability Signals22:49 Audience Question-and-Answer Session Begins24:14 Scoring Thin-File Customers Using Feature Phones25:23 Embedded Finance, Loan Purpose, Speed & Convenience28:59 Why the Shopkeeper May Be Africa’s Largest Lender31:20 Can Lifestyle Patterns Predict Borrower Behaviour?31:54 Alternative Data for Collections, Skip Tracing & Product Development34:02 Questions on Scoring Bias, Fraud & Regulatory Complexity35:42 Industry Collaboration Against Fraud40:12 KYC, SIM-Swap Checks, Identity Matching & Document Verification43:04 The One Change Every Lender Should Make43:27 Unified Platforms & the End of Lending Silos44:12 Intelligent Automation Driven by Data44:22 Digitisation & Real-Time Management Visibility44:36 Integrating AI Into Existing Lending Systems45:29 Anomaly Detection, AI Monitoring & Human Oversight47:03 Final Takeaways: Data, Technology & People
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  Episode 186 - CTRL + ALT + HUMAN: What a Room Full of Business Leaders Taught Me About AI and the Future of Work in Kenya & Beyond 12.07.2026 54m

  What happens to the humans when the machines can increasingly do the work? Recorded live at the Ikigai Industry Nights event in Nairobi on the 2nd July 2026, this special episode of the Pure Digital Passion Podcast brings you the complete CTRL + ALT + HUMAN panel — as moderated by me (Moses Kemibaro), with Shikoli Makatiani (co-founder & CTO, Akili AI), Victor Ambuyo (Head of Growth, Madavi) and Marvin Oyoo (Management Systems Consultant, Panoramic Synergy) as my panelists. From Shikoli’s 10/90 rule and the loan-intake process that was 90% broken, to Victor’s anatomy of the failed rollout (‘a people problem wearing a technology costume’) and the fluency answer to the jobs question, to Marvin’s reality gap, ‘that’s not a strategy — that’s a subscription’, human–AI synergy and a council of AIs checking each other — plus lamplighters, coexistence, tea-buying drones, ATM forensics and a physics exam passed with an AI tutor. This is practical AI, Kenyan edition: no hype, real examples, honest answers. Recorded before a packed live audience.Take the free Akili Snapshot and find out what AI is doing with your data — in 15 minutes: assured.akili-ai.com Timestamps00:00 Welcome · why this conversation, why now — ChatGPT’s 100M users in two months vs Spotify’s eight years · meet the panel03:33 Opening round: what the AI hype gets most wrong — and the one shift every organisation must make in 12–18 months05:25 Victor: the hype is about tools — the gap is the organisations and people meant to use them06:27 Marvin: AI replaces repeatable tasks, not people — the leadership-readiness question08:58 Shikoli: ‘Only 10% of the work is AI’ · the loan-intake story · automating decisions, not just processes12:52 What’s production-ready in Kenya today vs what’s still a demo17:05 Victor’s anatomy of a failed rollout: the event, the subscriptions, the 20% — ‘a people problem wearing a technology costume’21:15 Marvin: the reality gap, live — ‘AI is fun until the real work starts’; the SLM/LLM show of hands; using 5% of what you pay for23:32 ‘That’s not a strategy — that’s a subscription’ · AI is everyone’s responsibility, not an IT project · the sensitive-data warning25:38 The jobs question I: Victor on judgement, pattern machines, Kenya’s trust economy — and fluency: ‘it’s someone more fluent with AI who takes your job’31:06 The jobs question II: Shikoli — lamplighters, the work that disappears · the hospital insurance example · the red line on human life (‘…I’ll eat the leaf’)35:16 From collaboration to coexistence — the Ethan Mollick frame35:58 Marvin: human–AI synergy — the human checker, hallucinations and data poisoning · the SOC alert-fatigue example40:47 Transparency, consent and bias · why a 50-page policy defeats a model · the ‘AI council’ — models judging models, a human above them44:06 Audience Q&A45:39 Shikoli: AI’s sleeping superpower — vision: tea drones buying crop months before auction · 300 ATM videos in minutes49:46 First principles: AI as thought partner, feedback and tutor — the physics exam · organisations = workflows = tasks53:30 Final round + the parting shot: the solopreneur billion-dollar company · close
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  Episode 185 - Building Innovation in Africa & the Middle East at Celpay & Zain: The Making of Tito Alai | Part 3 11.07.2026 57m

  The final part of my three-part conversation with Tito Alai begins with one of the most important and least widely understood stories in African technology: the origins of Celpay.According to Tito’s first-hand account, Celtel’s mobile-money journey began with market research in Zambia. The company noticed that airtime purchased in one city was often activated in another. People were already finding ways to support relatives, employees and business partners remotely.Me2U made it possible to transfer airtime directly from one user to another.The next insight was even more significant. Recipients were sometimes exchanging that airtime for cash or goods. In a hyperinflationary environment with limited access to conventional banking and card infrastructure, airtime had become a proxy for money.Tito explains how Celtel attempted to formalise that behaviour through Celpay and why the company eventually sold the business to focus resources on the rapid expansion of its core telecommunications network.The episode then moves into Celtel’s entry into Kenya and Nigeria, including the complexities of growing through acquisition rather than building every operation from the ground up.The second half of the conversation explores Celtel’s acquisition by MTC of Kuwait and the creation of Zain.Tito was asked to take on integrated commercial leadership across the Middle East and Africa. The group had strong operations but lacked one coherent identity. Celtel had powerful African brand equity, but simply exporting that identity into the Middle East would have required diluting what made it meaningful.The solution was to create a new brand.Tito takes us inside the process that produced Zain, from hundreds of possible names to market research, executive choice, visual identity and rollout across countries with very different histories and existing brands.We also discuss his work after Zain through Mimi Africa, his time at Afreximbank during the COVID-19 period and his current conviction that secure digital identities, digital signatures and certification will be essential to Africa’s economic integration.This final episode brings the entire series together: consumer insight, innovation, global brand strategy, African institutional agency and the importance of telling our own stories.Time Stamps00:00 Welcome to Part 3 and the Celpay question00:47 Why Celtel looked beyond tariff plans for innovation02:06 The Zambia market insight behind remote airtime transfer04:39 How Me2U was created05:46 When airtime became a proxy for money07:26 Hyperinflation and the need to move value08:30 Consumers had already invented the workaround09:10 Formalizing cash-in and cash-out10:29 The hidden cost of being a first mover12:43 Why Celtel narrowed its strategic focus14:08 Selling Celpay and funding expansion15:53 Entering Nigeria and Kenya through acquisition17:25 The Kencell acquisition story23:13 Celtel’s acquisition by MTC of Kuwait28:18 Integrating commercial leadership across the Middle East and Africa32:14 Creating the Zain brand from scratch39:10 Moving Celtel’s brand equity into Zain41:18 Mimi Africa and new ventures46:15 Afreximbank and telling African institutional stories48:38 Digital identity, certification and the future of African integration53:24 Closing reflections on a three-part career journey
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  Episode 184 - Reinventing Brands Globally at Africa Online, Kodak, & Celtel: The Making of Tito Alai | Part 2 11.07.2026 1h

  Part 1 of my conversation with Tito Alai ended just as he was leaving Unilever and joining Africa Online.Part 2 begins at that exact inflection point.After almost a decade in one of the world’s most sophisticated consumer-goods organizations, Tito deliberately moved into a young African internet business because he wanted a genuinely new learning curve.Africa Online was scaling across several markets at a time when the internet itself was still unfamiliar to most consumers and organisations on the continent. Tito explains what it meant to take the consumer understanding, organizational discipline and brand-management principles he had learned at Unilever and apply them inside a startup environment.The conversation has special personal resonance for me because Africa Online is also where I began my career. We revisit the company’s “My World, My Provider” era, the need to create consistency across countries and the importance of presenting one coherent narrative to customers, employees and investors.Tito then takes us into Eastman Kodak. He first managed consumer imaging across roughly 90 countries covering Africa, the Middle East and Central Europe before being appointed to lead the film category across Western Europe.His assignment was simple to describe but difficult to execute: find growth in a mature category. Tito explains why that meant taking market share from competitors—and how Kodak was already confronting the early strategic challenge of digital photography.The final chapter introduces Mo Ibrahim and the vision that became Celtel. Tito describes joining a group that believed Africans deserved mobile technology as good as anything available elsewhere, and we begin exploring how the company developed market-specific innovations rather than treating Africa as an afterthought.The discussion includes the origins of Me2U and Celpay, as well as the commercial problem that eventually produced One Network: why should crossing an African border suddenly make a phone call dramatically more expensive?This is a conversation about reinvention, disruption, storytelling and the power of building from the realities of the consumer.Time Stamps00:00 Welcome back and where Part 1 ended01:29 Leaving Unilever and joining Africa Online04:43 Why Tito deliberately chose a startup and a new industry12:18 What Unilever experience brought to Africa Online16:13 How do you market the internet before people understand it?17:28 Unifying Africa Online across multiple countries19:34 The big idea, the investor narrative and the IPO22:54 The dot-com bust and the realities of family and travel24:14 Joining Kodak across Africa, the Middle East and Central Europe25:38 Growing a mature Western European market28:10 Kodak, film and the early digital disruption32:00 Mo Ibrahim’s vision for African mobile telecommunications34:34 Joining Mobile Systems International and building Celtel39:27 The commercial growth of Celtel43:49 Me2U and Tito’s account of Celpay’s early mobile money story50:45 Why African consumers were paying so much to roam54:28 How One Network emerged59:28 Why the story needed a third episode
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  Episode 183 - From Kenya to Unilever’s Global Stage: The Making of Tito Alai | Part 1 11.07.2026 58m

  I had initially planned to record one Pure Digital Passion Podcast conversation with Tito Alai. We ended up recording three.By the end of this first session, we had only managed to cover Tito’s early life, education, rise through East African Industries—now Unilever—and his move to London for international strategic responsibilities.We had not yet reached Africa Online, Kodak, Celtel, Celpay, One Network, Zain, Mimi Africa, Afreximbank or his current work around African digital identities.That is the scale of Tito’s story.In Part 1, we begin in Kirinyaga, where Tito was born while his father, then a District Commissioner, was away responding to a rogue-elephant incident. We move to his childhood on a farm in Muhoroni, boarding school from the age of six and his years at Lenana School, where he embraced academics, sport, leadership and extracurricular life.Tito explains why he chose humanities despite excelling in mathematics and the sciences, how the death of his father changed the period immediately before university, and why he briefly dropped out of the University of Nairobi because he felt insufficiently challenged.The second half of the conversation traces his entry into Unilever’s graduate-management program. He recalls choosing East African Industries over Coca-Cola, beginning in field sales, learning how products actually moved through the market and later becoming a brand manager responsible for outcomes without having direct authority over the people needed to deliver them.We also unpack the extraordinary moment when an informal-looking trip to London turned out to be an interview for an international role. At just 29, Tito moved to London and began coordinating strategic work across Latin America before taking on wider regional and global responsibilities.This episode is about much more than one person’s early career. It is about how curiosity, responsibility, consumer understanding and a willingness to keep learning can transform the direction of a life.Time Stamps00:00 Introduction to Tito Alai and the three-part story04:38 Why the conversation had to begin with his formative years5:26 Born in Kirinyaga and the story behind his African name07:02 Farm life, boarding school and early independence08:02 Lenana School and the value of trying everything09:34 Choosing humanities despite excelling in science12:23 Losing his father and taking on family responsibility13:31 University of Nairobi and the transition into commerce17:05 Why Tito briefly dropped out of university19:24 How Unilever’s graduate programme found him24:37 Choosing Unilever over Coca-Cola25:12 Mentorship and management training at East African Industries26:22 Learning the market through field sales29:31 Brand management: responsibility without authority34:00 The unexpected London opportunity39:44 Moving to London at 2940:04 Latin America and the shock of global scale47:47 Leaving Unilever to pursue a new learning curve56:45 Why one podcast became a three-part series
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  Episode 182 - Akili AI’s Simon Bransfield-Garth & Shikoli Makatiani Unpack Practical AI For Businesses In Kenya 06.07.2026 56m

  In this follow-up episode of the Pure Digital Passion Podcast, I sit down again with Simon Bransfield-Garth, Founder & CEO of Akili AI, this time joined by Shikoli Makatiani, CTO and technical lead at Akili AI.Our first conversation with Simon explored his remarkable journey from working on artificial neural networks at Cambridge in the mid-1980s, to Symbian, mobile security, off-grid solar in Africa, and eventually the founding of Akili AI.This second conversation moves from vision to deployment.We discuss what it really takes to put AI to work inside Kenyan financial services organizations, including banks, cooperatives, microfinance institutions, customer service teams, and regulated business workflows.This is a deeply practical conversation about shadow AI, agentic systems, AI governance, AI readiness, AI risk registers, pain owners, MVP-first deployment, staff training, and why Kenyan and African organizations need to focus less on AI hype and more on measurable business outcomes.Key themes covered:Why many organizations are already using AI even when leadership thinks they are notWhat “shadow AI” means and why it creates governance and risk exposureWhy AI is not just another digital transformation tool but a decision-layer technologyHow Akili AI identifies practical business pain points before deploying AIWhy “pain owners” are critical to successful AI projectsHow agentic AI differs from chatbots in financial services workflowsWhy AI governance, guardrails, human oversight, and staff training matterHow Akili Snapshot, Akili Assured, and Akili Passport help organizations manage AI readiness and responsibilityWhy “good enough is good enough” when selecting AI models for practical African use casesWhat CEOs, CTOs, CIOs, founders, and risk leaders should do nextTimestamps:00:00 Introduction and episode context01:29 Shadow AI and why unmanaged AI is already inside organizations03:04 Why the value is not in the AI model but in what you build around it04:43 Shikoli on practical AI deployment in Kenyan organizations06:48 Why AI operates at the decision layer of the business08:35 Moving from AI strategy to solving real business problems10:57 Why AI projects are different from ERP-style implementations12:32 Business cases, experimentation, and managing the risk of failure14:05 Why Akili AI prefers MVP-first deployment over big-bang transformation16:55 Reinventing business processes from the bottom up17:58 Building credibility through incremental AI wins19:07 Why Shikoli starts by asking: “Show me the pain owner”20:46 Customer service pain points, 72-hour response times, and 8,000 calls23:59 Moving from first AI projects to third and fourth deployments25:42 Managing scope creep in AI projects28:50 What agentic AI really means31:32 How AI agents can operate in microfinance and cooperative workflows34:33 Guardrails, human oversight, and safety in regulated financial services36:16 Reducing cognitive load for employees and customer service teams37:22 Akili Snapshot and what it reveals about AI readiness40:40 Akili Assured, AI governance, and Akili Passport training42:56 Real-world shadow AI risks inside banking environments45:52 Frontier models, sovereign AI, and why not every use case needs the biggest model48:08 Token maxing, cost control, and African AI pragmatism52:02 Advice for CEOs: start now, assess readiness, solve practical problems53:08 Advice for CTOs, CIOs, and founders on practical AI use cases55:19 Closing thoughts on responsible and practical AI deployment
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  Episode 181 - Farayi Ziswa On Selling To Africa’s Informal Markets, Route-To-Market Strategy & The Future Of African Retail 29.06.2026 1h 9m

  In this episode of the Pure Digital Passion Podcast, I had an in-depth conversation with Farayi Ziswa, Founder & Executive Director of BTL Consulting Ltd, Co-Founder of Mapepa Karatasi, Founder & Executive Coach at Inheritege Coaches, and author of Selling to Informal Markets.This is a deep and practical conversation about how African commerce actually works on the ground.Farayi shares his journey from growing up around a family farm in Zimbabwe, studying business and finance at the University of Hull, joining Unilever’s UK International Management Trainee programme, and becoming National Sales Manager for Unilever South-East Africa, to later working across African Sun Hotels, SPAR Zimbabwe, SIT Distribution in Dubai and the GCC, BTL Consulting, Copia Global, Farm Shop, Mapepa Karatasi, and Inheritege Coaches.The conversation explores why Africa’s informal markets are so often misunderstood, why sales and route-to-market execution deserve more respect, and how mobile technology, field intelligence, data, and modern sales systems can help corporates, entrepreneurs, and distributors serve informal retail markets more effectively.Farayi also discusses his book, Selling to Informal Markets, which provides a practical blueprint for corporates, entrepreneurs, sales professionals, and training institutions looking to successfully sell to Africa’s informal retailers.In This Episode, We Discuss:Farayi’s early life in Zimbabwe and his exposure to commerce through the family farmStudying business accounting and financial management at the University of HullLessons from Unilever’s UK International Management Trainee programmeWhy sales is one of the most strategic disciplines in businessWhat corporates misunderstand about Africa’s informal marketsHow BTL Consulting helps FMCG companies reach informal retailersThe role of mobile technology and real-time reporting in field salesLessons from Copia Global and Farm ShopServing small-scale farmers as customers, not statisticsWhy informal markets should be respected as sophisticated commercial systems\Farayi’s book, Selling to Informal MarketsThe future of route-to-market, informal retail, and African commerceAbout Farayi ZiswaFarayi Ziswa is a Zimbabwean-born business strategist, sales transformation leader, entrepreneur, executive coach, and author. He is the Founder & Executive Director of BTL Consulting Ltd, a regional advisory and execution firm focused on helping FMCG companies make their products more available in Africa’s informal markets using mobile technology and modern sales strategy.He is also Co-Founder of Mapepa Karatasi in Tanzania, Founder & Executive Coach at Inheritege Coaches, and author of Selling to Informal Markets. His career spans Unilever, African Sun Hotels, SPAR Zimbabwe, SIT Distribution in Dubai and the GCC, Copia Global, Farm Shop, and multiple advisory and board roles across Africa.Chapters02:30 Introducing Farayi Ziswa and his career journey05:45 Growing up in Zimbabwe and learning commerce early11:20 Moving to the UK and studying at the University of Hull16:40 Joining Unilever and learning sales discipline23:30 Why sales is the first line of business performance29:10 SPAR Zimbabwe and seeing retail from the other side35:00 Dubai, the GCC, and pioneering mobile real-time reporting42:15 Founding BTL Consulting and serving informal markets50:30 What corporates misunderstand about informal retail58:45 Mobile technology, data, and field intelligence1:06:30 Copia Global and the realities of serving mass markets1:14:00 Farm Shop and working with small-scale farmers1:22:20 Mapepa Karatasi, Inheritege Coaches, and the next chapter1:29:00 Selling to Informal Markets and why the book matters1:35:00 Final reflections and how to connect with FarayiBuy Selling to Informal Markets:https://www.amazon.com/SELLING-INFORMAL-MARKETS-CORPORATE-SUCCESSFULLY/dp/1779286457
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  Episode 180 - Creating Lasting Impact: A Conversation with Incoming Rotary International President Yinka Babalola 08.06.2026 35m

  In this conversation recorded during the Rotary Zone 22 Regional Team Learning Seminar in Diani, Kenya, a few weeks ago, I sat down with Rotary International President-Elect Olayinka Hakeem Babalola for a deep and timely discussion about Rotary, leadership, emotional reconnection, impact, and Africa’s role in the organization’s future.For those who may not know Rotary closely, Rotary International is a global network of community leaders and professionals who volunteer their skills and resources to solve social issues. With about 1.2 million members in more than 45,000 clubs across over 200 countries, Rotary and its charitable arm, The Rotary Foundation, have invested billions of dollars into sustainable, community-driven humanitarian projects. Founded in Chicago in 1905 by Paul Harris, Rotary’s mission is to bring together business and professional leaders to provide humanitarian service, promote high ethical standards, and advance goodwill and peace around the world.In our conversation, Yinka shares how his Rotary journey began as a Rotaractor in Nigeria, why Rotary must move beyond transactional membership to emotional connection, and why the real measure of service is lasting impact. We also explore Rotary’s polio eradication legacy, the importance of storytelling in attracting new members, and why Africa’s youth, energy, and urgent development needs make it central to Rotary’s next chapter.This conversation feels especially timely as Yinka is installed in about week at the Rotary International Convention today in Taipei, Taiwan, as Rotary International’s second ever President from Africa, marking a historic moment for Rotary in Africa and globally.If you care about leadership, service, community impact, and how large organizations stay relevant in changing times, this is a conversation worth your time.Chapters00:00 Introduction01:05 What Rotary is and why this moment matters02:10 Yinka’s Rotary journey from Rotaract to Rotary International President-Elect05:10 Emotional reconnection to Rotary08:10 Change versus lasting impact11:10 Rotary’s polio eradication legacy14:10 Africa’s role in Rotary’s future18:10 Membership, inclusion, and growth22:10 Leadership, relevance, and what comes next25:00 Closing reflections