AfricanOptimist - how we thrive against great odds
Episodes
#17 Linda Mabhena Olagunju - 'Every Opportunity is an Audition.'
26 May 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Linda Mabhena-Olagunju saw the map of Africa when she was eight - all the gold, the oil, the diamonds - and couldn't understand why CNN kept telling h...
#16 Melusi Mhlungu - From Soweto to the Super Bowl and back again.
30 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
This episode is a behind the scenes look at the man behind the brand JozimyJozi and the unbelievable story of his rise to the top of the advertis...
#15 Melusi Mhlungu. What do a Creative Optimist & a South African Optimist have to do with Jozi?
11 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
After a long break, I am cranking up the AfricanOptimist podcast again. I have spent the last while working on the 'economic engine' (thanks coach Kar...
#14 Lita Miti-Qamata - How African Entrepreneurs & Creatives Can Protect Their Ideas and Commercialise Them
04 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Masterclass on intellectual property with IP lawyer Lita Miti-Qamata from law firm Adams & Adams.Two years ago, Mita stood up at an IP workshop in...
#13 Claudia Castellanos - How you dust off an old family recipe and build it into a super hot brand
18 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
AfricanOptimist #13 Claudia Castellanos - How you dust off an old family recipe and build it into a super hot brand, while being fair to suppliers and...
#12 Dr Thebe Ikalafeng - 'The African who travelled from his small town in Kimberley, to the top of Kilimanjaro, to the rest of the continent.'
05 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Meet the founder of Brand Africa, Dr Thebe Ikalafeng.Once decked out in immaculate corporate suits, he is now a walking celebration of African creativ...
#11 Sarah Dusek - on becoming an entrepreneur who thinks BIG, and a VC who helps African women think BIGGER
04 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
#11 Sarah Dusek - on becoming an entrepreneur who thinks BIG, and a venture capitalist who helps African women think BIGGER - an insider's guide to sc...
#10 Gus Le Breton - On influencing EU law, the challenges of processing wild-harvested fruit, the future power of baobab harvesters and the need for 'courage, my son'
18 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
AfricanOptimist Episode #10 Gus Le Breton - On influencing EU law, the challenges of processing wild-harvested fruit, the future power of baobab harve...
#9 Joséphine Katumba - The rise (and importance) of the Intrapreneur, jumping on rocket ships without a reserved seat and 'weighing and paying' as a retail model of the future
02 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
AfricanOptimist Episode #9 Joséphine Katumba - The rise (and importance) of the Intrapreneur, jumping on rocket ships without a reserved seat and 'we...
#8 Adam Welz - why 'climate change' should be renamed 'climate breakdown', how humans have disrupted 11,000 years of relative stability, how nature is reacting to this and why we should care
05 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Introducing naturalist David Attenborough's successor...In this episode, ecologist Adam Welz gives us a peak into the writing of his first book The En...
#7 Sithuli Mbeje - on mobile abattoirs, bringing processing closer to home and doing what needs to be done
15 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In Episode 1, disruptive thinker and author Efosa Ojomo highlighted that the potential for prosperity in Africa lies in finding solutions to persisten...
#6 Erica de Greef - on Vogue Business' accolade as one of 100 global fashion 'disruptors', using African fashion as a decolonial tool, re-imagining western 1960s dresses and Africa's 'folded' fashion
03 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In 2023, Vogue Business named Erica de Greef and African Fashion Research Institute (AFRI) co-founder Lesiba Mabitsela as part of a group of 100 'next...
#5 Hamza Chaham - what it takes to get AI powered tools into the hands of smallholder farmers
18 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, we could have focused on the tech side of agriculture with Moroccan agripreneur Hamza Chaham, because it is digital technology that i...
#4 GG Alcock - how the informal economy can disrupt the formal economy, how humans are not dots and slashes and how we are incentivised to be successful not brave
04 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
South African GG Alcock has made it his life's mission to help people understand how informal economies work and to relieve you of the prejudices and ...
#3 Sipamandla Manqele - exploring African wholefoods, being seen as a 'fallen soldier', about African and global banquet tables and connecting conscious consumers with small-scale producers
17 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
South African Sipamandla Manqele is a food alchemist, transforming wholesome African ingredients into delicious, nutritious - and convenient - product...
#2 Jesse Naidoo - about the most exciting time of his life, bringing an engineer's approach to waste, thoughts on Shared Value vs Shareholder Value
17 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Former South African engineer turned Social Entrepreneur Jesse Naidoo shares his journey to Master of recycling textile waste, explaining the opportun...
#1 Efosa Ojomo - about the 'Prosperity Paradox', Disruptive & Market-Creating Innovations and Why Capital has to be patient in Africa
14 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Nigerian Efosa Ojomo, co-author of 'Prosperity Paradox', sits down with the AfricanOptimist to share insights into the power of market-creating innova...