Episode overview: 
In this conversation, Fatu Ogwuche shares insights into her transition from working at Meta and consulting for Nigeria's Electoral Commission to launching her own media platform, Big Tech This Week. She discusses her entrepreneurial spirit, creative approach to storytelling, and the unique position independent creators hold in today's media landscape.

Andile Masuku describes Ogwuche as "low-key the industry's head of intelligence" - a title earned through her knack for asking the right questions, journalistic research methods, and ability to get people comfortable enough to share meaningful insights about the African tech ecosystem.

Key topics:
- Transitioning from corporate roles to independent media ownership
- The power of personality-driven content creation
- Building authentic connections with interview subjects
- Research as a foundation for compelling storytelling
- The growth and evolution of Africa's tech media landscape
- The balance between reporting ecosystem challenges and celebrating wins

Notable points:
1. Ogwuche started Big Tech This Week as a hobby while working at Meta during the pandemic, seeking creative expression outside her corporate role
2. Her experience representing Nigeria's Electoral Commission on television at age 24-25 shaped her understanding of effective communication
3. The African tech and media ecosystems are both relatively young—many major startups and publications are only 10-16 years old
4. Independent creators are increasingly collaborating across borders to tell stories in fresh, compelling ways
5. Thorough research and genuine curiosity are central to Fatu's interview approach, allowing for deeper conversations with tech leaders

Projects mentioned:
- The Crossover Show 2024 - Ogwuche's year-end review featuring conversations with ecosystem leaders about significant trends and looking ahead to 2024 | Link: https://youtu.be/s31x58-EnJU?si=dvGqM9PDDnHFkSJP

- "If Weekend Go Sweet" - A collaborative op-ed between Ogwuche and Masuku examining African tech's 2024 "Wednesday signals" | Link: https://www.africantechroundup.com/op-ed-if-weekend-go-sweet-fatu-ogwuches-reading-of-african-techs-2024-wednesday-signs-2/

- Backstories with Fatu - Ogwuche's interview series featuring tech entrepreneurs who don't typically do many interviews | Link: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLFFlwhyjoaXiZl0M34txzp8ACjqAQt8wC&si=v3XWNApO8Hik1rWo

Fatu approaches her work with an authenticity that makes interview subjects comfortable sharing insights they might not reveal elsewhere. As both she and Andile note, what sets her apart is her combination of strategic intelligence, legal background, natural curiosity, and creative spark—along with a commitment to presenting information in ways that engage and inform.
As the African tech ecosystem continues to develop alongside its media landscape, voices like Fatu's provide not just reporting but vital context and nuance, helping audiences understand both challenges and opportunities in a balanced way.

From Policy to Independent Media: Fatu Ogwuche on Creative Storytelling in Tech

Meet Marie Lora-Mungai, expert advisor in African creative industries and sports business and founder of Restless Global - whose 20-year journey from CNN journalist to production company founder to industry advisor gives her a unique vantage point on Africa's creative economy.

In thought-provoking conversation with Andile Masuku, Lora-Mungai makes a compelling case for African filmmakers to stop seeking funding for traditional productions and instead leverage AI tools to create content independently.
Episode overview:

The discussion stems from Lora-Mungai's viral Linkedin post warning African filmmakers about AI disruption. She points to a jarring disconnect: while some creators are still trying to raise millions for conventional productions, others are creating professional-quality content using AI tools on a laptop. The conversation explores how this technological shift is redefining what it means to be a filmmaker in 2025 and beyond.

Key topics:
    - The widening gap between traditional film projects and AI-enabled production
    - How AI tools are eliminating conventional barriers to content creation
    - The shift from specialised roles to comprehensive creative vision
    - Why traditional fundraising may be obsolete for many productions
    - The changing landscape for talent, especially voice actors and performers
    - Emerging regulatory needs for protecting creative identity in an AI world

Notable points:

    1. Many Nollywood filmmakers are not yet leveraging AI, though the first AI-themed movie releases this month in Nigeria
    2. Independent filmmakers Hussain Sambal are creating professional-quality content using AI with minimal resources
    3. Lora-Mungai advises creators to "build in public" rather than spending time seeking traditional funding
    4. AI tools are making traditional film specialisations like editing and visual effects increasingly obsolete
    5. Blockchain and Web3 technologies may become essential for tracking and monetising creative assets in an AI-dominated landscape

Be sure to listen out for a particularly candid moment when Masuku reveals he recently turned down offers from companies wanting to replicate his voice using AI, and Lora-Mungai's forthright response about the inevitability of this transformation.

Here's a link to Marie Lora-Mungai's inciting Linkedin post: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/marieloramungai_african-filmmakers-we-need-to-talk-about-activity-7312399340570918912-uVie?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop&rcm=ACoAAAGwgRYBG52bgfG6IE0hzny7wKy24y4L_74)

Image credit: Restless Global

Adapt or Be Left Behind: Marie Lora-Mungai on AI and the Future of African Filmmaking

Episode overview: 
In this conversation, South African strategist Wabo Majavu, executive strategy and business operations leader at Africa Data Centres, unpacks how technical expertise at organisations like MTN and Intelsat laid the foundation for her distinctive approach to strategic leadership and digital activism.

From building radar applications at the CSIR to optimising cellular networks through late-night, township-sourced sheep's head dinners with seasoned veteran technicians, Majavu's journey illustrates how hands-on technical experience and savvy adaptation becomes the bedrock of strategic thinking. She discusses navigating workplace discrimination, helping transform organisational culture at state-owned Sentech, and her prescient work in AI before it became a global phenomenon.

Andile Masuku explores with Majavu how strategists shape a company's future direction, the delicate balance between commercial viability and digital inclusion, and her current mission to democratise coding through native African languages.

Key topics:
- From radar systems at CSIR to RF optimisation at MTN: building the technical foundation for strategic leadership
- How experiences at Intelsat shaped her understanding of managed services and market transformation
- The Sentech years: leading digital transformation while learning that culture can eat even the best strategy for breakfast
- Studying AI and signal processing before the global AI boom, and formative educational experiences in Malaysia that shaped future vision
- Strategic stakeholder management: converting union leaders into product managers and building collaborative ecosystems
- Balancing commercial imperatives with digital inclusion through long-term strategic thinking
- Where to start learning AI: practical advice for breaking into the field

Notable points:
1. Majavu's radar applications work at CSIR and cellular network optimisation at MTN provided the technical depth that informs her strategic decision-making today
2. At MTN, she overcame racial barriers by building relationships with Network Operations Centre (NOC) technicians through after-hours learning sessions, bringing sheep's head delicacies from Mamelodi township to earn their trust and knowledge
3. At Sentech, she learned firsthand that "culture can eat strategy for breakfast," successfully converting a well-respected, highly influential union leader into a turnkey product manager spearheading the roll-out of new digital services
4. Majavu studied signal processing and then AI before it became mainstream, building web crawlers and predictive systems
5. Her approach to change management involves understanding each stakeholder's agenda and finding areas of alignment, demonstrated through her successful transformation of adversaries into collaborators

Listen for Majavu's insights on how strategists inform a company's trajectory, why patient capital and technical depth are essential for Africa's digital transformation, and how past experiences become the lens through which strategic leaders view future possibilities.

Image credit: Konecta

Strategy Diaries: Wabo Majavu on Balancing Commercial Success with Digital Inclusion

Episode overview:
Guidione Machava has a confession: he's tired of being called an "African designer." The Mozambican product designer, now based in France and fresh from stints at Shopify and Paris-based 23point5, reckons that geographic qualifiers automatically strip away a third of your professional value before you've even started.

It's a provocative stance from someone who's built his career bridging African markets and global tech giants. Since launching- MozDevz - Mozambique's largest developer community - over a decade ago, Machava has been methodically executing what he calls his "Maria Sharapova strategy": a systematic approach to becoming world-class that he lifted from a Tim Ferriss podcast.

The strategy worked. From building communities across six African countries to creating a business directory that attracted 300,000 SMEs, to founding Kabum Digital (Mozambique's leading tech publication), Machava has consistently punched above his weight class. His secret? "Piggybacking" on successful people and refusing to let his environment dictate his ambitions.

Andile Masuku probes Machava on the realities of designing for African versus Western markets, why physical product development taught him to appreciate software's forgiving nature, and his mission to prove that world-class design talent can emerge from anywhere, provided you're strategic about how you position it.

Key insights:
- On strategic positioning: Despite building African communities and solving African problems, Machava deliberately brands himself as a "world-class designer" rather than a "world-class African designer." His reasoning? International clients and collaborators unconsciously devalue geography-qualified talent, even when they won't admit it.

- On market realities: Designing for Western markets versus African markets isn't just about different user needs, it's about fundamentally different quality bars. "In Africa, designing a product that works well is a plus. In France, it's the bare minimum," he observes.

- On the intersection economy: His time at 23.5—building design tools for made-to-order, sustainable fashion—taught him that the intersection of digital and physical economies is where the hardest, most rewarding innovation happens. Unlike software, physical products offer no "rollback to previous version" option.

- On manufactured serendipity: Rather than waiting for opportunities, Machava systematically identified people in positions he wanted to occupy, then found ways to provide value to them. The approach landed him interviews with executives from IDEO, Google, and Facebook for his World Class Designer podcast.

Notable moments:
1. How a Tim Ferriss interview with tennis champion Maria Sharapova became Machava's career template for achieving world-class performance in design

2. Why Shopify's hierarchy of priorities—solve merchants' problems first, make money second, never reverse that order—fundamentally changed how he approaches product design

3. The brutal economics lesson he learned at 23point5: physical product margins are tiny, error tolerance is minimal, and mistakes literally end up in landfills

4. His unconventional path from economics degree to postgraduate design studies, convincing Open Window Institute for Creative Arts & Technologies to let him skip three years of undergraduate work

The contrarian take:
Machava's most provocative insight centres on geographic positioning. Whilst celebrating African innovation has become fashionable, he argues that leading with continental identity in global markets is a strategic error. "If you say just 'world-class designer,' it's a completely different perspective," he notes, drawing from conversations with international colleagues who've confirmed his suspicions about unconscious bias.


World-class Design: Guidione Machava on Why 'African Designer' Is a Limiting Label

Africa-focused technology, digital and innovation ecosystem insight and commentary.

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