Baobab Platform Podcasts

Epizode

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  Rethinking Possible Ep 1: Self-Doubt to Social Impact 04.09.2026 52min

  Send us Fan Mail Some people experience a problem and move on. Jacob Yen Alier experienced one and decided to change it. After growing up in a refugee settlement where he studied under trees and completed primary school without ever touching a computer, Jacob is now using education, innovation, and digital inclusion to create opportunities for thousands of refugee children. But what does it really take to turn your own struggles into social impact? That’s the story we uncover in Episode 1 of ...
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  Rethinking Possible: Introduction 29.08.2026 2min

  Send us Fan Mail Welcome to Rethinking Possible. My name is Ayimbisa Abigail Ayinsungya, a Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program Alumni from USIU-Africa and currently an Employer Engagement Officer with the Mastercard Foundation Associates Program. I hope this podcast reminds you that you don’t need to have everything figured out before you begin. Sometimes, all it takes is the courage to ask a different question, see a familiar problem differently, and believe that another possibility...
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  The Journey to Tomorrowland Ep 12: Building and Scaling a Social Venture 27.08.2026 1h 2min

  Send us Fan Mail In this episode, Dr. Comfort Ayikoru, the founder of Buricare Ltd, and Prince Baffour Agyei, the Co-Founder of Cocoa Potash, shared their experiences of building a social venture and attempting to scale it. These two Mastercard Foundation Alumni shared what inspired them to start the venture, the challenges, and what kept them going. It is an episode not to miss! Join the Baobab Platform today.
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  The Journey to Tomorrowland Ep 11: Building a venture to tackle excessive heat from climate change with Hauwa Busari 11.08.2026 37min

  Send us Fan Mail Hauwa Busari is a Mastercard Foundation Scholar Program Alumni from the University of Cambridge. In this episode, she shared her very unique story growing up in the Northern part of Nigeria and experienced how excessive heat disrupts sleep, livelihood, and affects brain development. She started her venture, Algae Ltd, to tackle this issue and create an affordable cooling system. This is an inspiring story you do not want to miss! Join the Baobab Platform t...
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  The Journey to Tomorrowland Ep 10: The MBA experience and the Future Possibilities with Tobi Lufadeju: 20.07.2026 36min

  Send us Fan Mail Tobi Lufadeju is a Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program Alumni from the University of Oxford. In this episode, she shared her story, starting from building tech products to doing an MBA and her passion for resource mobilisation and capacity development on the continent. This is a brilliant episode that you do not want to miss. Join the Baobab Platform today.
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  The Journey to Tomorrowland Ep 9: Building a Career in Food Safety and Quality Assurance with Naomi Fokuo 24.06.2026 39min

  Send us Fan Mail Naomi Fokuo is a Mastercard Foundation Scholar Program Alumni from McGill University. She’s passionate about food quality and safety. In this episode, she shared her story and what working in the food industry means to her. She shares the opportunities she sees in how this industry can be transformed in Africa and how it is immune to the invasion of AI. This is a brilliant episode that you do not want to miss. Join the Baobab Platform today.
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  The Journey to Tomorrowland Ep 8: Building the first reusable menstrual pad in Nigeria with Kehinde Abereoje 08.06.2026 49min

  Send us Fan Mail Kehinde Abereoje is a Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program Alumni from the University of Cambridge. She’s passionate about sexual and reproductive health and bridging the gender gap. In this episode, she shared her story of starting a non-profit organisation to solve the problem of period poverty. Having developed brilliant ideas on how to execute the project, she’s a recipient of many grants (including FAST for Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program Alumni) and is wo...
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  The Journey to Tomorrowland Ep 7: Opportunities to develop the healthcare system in Africa with Naturinda Emmanuel 19.05.2026 39min

  Send us Fan Mail Naturinda Emmanuel is an Alumni of the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program from the University of Toronto. He’s passionate about improving the healthcare system in Africa and helping local communities access better healthcare. In this episode, Naturinda narrated the healthcare challenges he witnessed growing up in Uganda and how that motivated him to pursue a career in health informatics. He further discussed the challenges in his journey, the educational empowerment that ...
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  The Journey to Tomorrowland Ep 6: Building a Career as a Security Intelligence Analyst with Cynthia Ugwu 07.05.2026 47min

  Send us Fan Mail Cynthia Ugwu is an Alumni of the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program from the University of Cambridge. She’s passionate about reducing risks for organisations and humanity, and that is why she chose the career path of a security intelligence analyst. In this episode, Cynthia shared her motivation for choosing this career path, the opportunities in this area, the skills required to remain relevant in the industry, how businesses continually look for experts in this a...
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  The Journey to Tomorrowland Ep 5: Prioritization of Mental Health in the Future of Work for Africa 24.04.2026 29min

  Send us Fan Mail Faith Kipkemboi is an Alumni of the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program from McGill University and University of Edinburgh. She started her career in nursing and her lived experiences shaped her passion for mental health advocacy. In this episode, we explored the role of mental health in the discussion about the future of work, touching on the emotional struggles such as confusion, anxiety, worries, among others that young Africans may face as they think about the f...
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  The Journey to Tomorrowland Ep 4: How Global Immigration Policies Affect the Prospects of the Future of Work Opportunities for Young Africans with Blossom Egbude 14.04.2026 48min

  Send us Fan Mail Blossom Egbude is a seasoned policy analyst and a Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program Alumni from the University of Cambridge. In this episode, we discuss how restrictive global immigration policies are affecting opportunities for young Africans. By sharing her perspective as a young African in diaspora and a policy analyst, she identified opportunities for young Africans to better position themselves for the future of work. Sit tight and enjoy this episode fil...
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  The Journey to Tomorrowland Ep 3 with Blossom Kafumbata: Should Graduates Become a Specialist or Generalist? 25.03.2026 32min

  Send us Fan Mail The Journey to Tomorrowland Ep 3: Should Graduates Become a Specialist or Generalist? Blossom Kafumbata is a Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program Alumni from the University of Cambridge and Edinburgh. In this episode, we discuss whether young graduates should become specialists or generalists as they enter the workforce , her thoughts on the future of work, and her take on the technologies that define our time, among others. Join the Baobab Platform today.
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  The Journey to Tomorrowland Ep 2 Stories of grief and resilience with Hammed Alabi 16.03.2026 58min

  Send us Fan Mail Hammed Alabi is Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program Alumni from the University of Edinburgh. He’s an entrepreneur and a well-known thought leader on supporting the next generation of young Africans. In this episode, we unveil the curtain behind his motivations, thoughts about the future of work, his take on the technologies that define our time, his advice to young Africans, and, of course, the one book that shaped his life. Sit tight and enjoy this episode filled with...
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  Journey to Tomorrowland: Episode 1 23.02.2026 34min

  Send us Fan Mail The Journey to Tomorrowland podcast explores the theme of the future of work. Join the host, Micheal Akintunde, as he explores this fundamental concept and hear how young African leaders from different educational and cultural backgrounds think and are approaching it. Each episode is filled with mindblowing conversation with extraordinary Mastercard Foundation alumni. In this episode, my guest is Dr Comfort Ayikoru, a medical doctor from Uganda and a social entrepreneur. She’...
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  Turning Points Ep 6: Holding Each Other Through Life: A Friendship Story 06.01.2026 1h 2min

  Send us Fan Mail It all started with a trip. Three friends showed up, and what began that day became the blueprint for a life-giving friendship five years later. In this episode, Angella sits down with two of her closest friends, Dorcus Nakachwa and Margaret Odero, to reflect on the friendship they’ve nurtured over the past five years. The spontaneous trip unexpectedly bonded the three women to be each other’s anchors through heartbreaks, career struggles, and life transitions. The group talk...
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  Turning Points Episode 5: Reverse Culture Shock: Coming Home After 10 Years Away 02.12.2025 1h 6min

  Send us Fan Mail Reverse Culture Shock: Coming Home After 10 Years Away What happens when home doesn’t quite feel like home anymore? In this episode, Angella sits down with Njoki Mburu, a Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program Alumni from University of British Columbia, to explore the complex realities of reverse culture shock after more than 10 years abroad. Njoki shares why she chose to return to Kenya, craving wholeness, family, and a sense of belonging, and the joys of rediscovering home,...
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  Turning Points: An African Man’s Journey with Mental Health 06.11.2025 49min

  Send us Fan Mail In this episode, Angella sits down with Sabelo Dube, a Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program Alumni from Ashesi University, to have a raw and much-needed conversation about mental health from the perspective of an African man. Sabelo shares his deeply personal journey with depression, which led him to leave university and return home to Zimbabwe before he was later clinically diagnosed. We talk about the challenges of navigating mental health in environments where stigma is ...
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  Turning Points Episode 3: The Untold Baobab Story and Leadership Lessons with Bethany Weigele 09.10.2025 42min

  Send us Fan Mail In this special October episode, Baobab’s birthday month, we sit down with Bethany Weigele, Chief Innovation Officer at EdPlus and the “Queen Mother” of Mastercard Foundation's Baobab platform, to revisit the platform’s inspiring origin story. From its humble beginnings with just 35 members to today’s thriving community of more than 80,000 scholars and alumni, Bethany reflects on the values and vision that fueled Baobab’s growth. We talk about humility and human-centered desi...
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  Turning Points Episode 2: Just Graduated, Now What? 08.09.2025 1h 6min

  Send us Fan Mail In this episode, Angella sits down with Lindiwe Mutungamiri, a Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program Alumni from Ashesi University and Arizona State University, who recently completed her master’s in Computer Science. Lindiwe opens up about navigating the in-between stage of life after graduation, balancing the reality of paying bills in the U.S. while holding onto her bold dream of building a multi-billion-dollar company in Africa that creates jobs and impact. We talk about...
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  Turning Points: Introduction With Angella Nantambi 14.08.2025 8min

  Send us Fan Mail Welcome to Turning Points: Stories of Change and Growth, a podcast by Mastercard Foundation’s Baobab Platform for young African leaders. Angella Nantambi, an alumnus of the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program at Ashesi University in Ghana, is your host. She is also a graduate of Thunderbird School of Global Management, where she pursued a Master's in Global Digital Transformation. In each episode, we’ll dive into real, unfiltered conversations with young African leaders wh...