Shows
MEJ: My Entrepreneurship JourneyArjun P. Iyer: Alpha Direct. Accessible Insurance powered by AISend a text Growing up in a small town in Botswana during the 1980s, Arjun Parameswaran saw poverty not as a distant issue, but as a daily reality for the people around him. That experience left a lasting mark and cultivated a lifelong commitment to financial inclusion. With more than 95% of Africans lacking access to basic financial services, he set out to build a company that could challenge the status quo. His venture, Alpha Direct, reimagines what insurance can look like in Africa, simple, accessible, affordable and powered by the latest in cloud computing, AI, and big d...
2025-11-1434 minMEJ: My Entrepreneurship JourneyAdrian Hope-Bailie: Fynbos MoneySend a textAdrian Hope-Bailie is a South African fintech specialist and Co-Founder of Fynbos Money. Fynbos Money has created a new investment platform for individuals that makes investing simple and accessible. They are disrupting the status quo, charging a fixed subscription fee rather than complex fees based on the size of an individual's investments.Their mission is to empower South Africans to feel confident in how they manage their money. Follow us on Twitter @mejpodcast LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/mej-my-entrepreneurship-journey/ Facebook: My Entrepreneurship Journey Instagram: @mejpodcast Email: lifuo@mejpodcast.com Website: ht...
2025-10-2050 minMEJ: My Entrepreneurship JourneyThabo Maibi: Career Agent AppSend a textThabo Maibi is a PhD Candidate in Data Science at Stellenbosch University and the Founder of the Career Agent App, a platform that helps people find jobs taylored to their skills and career goals.He is also the co-founder of Splash AI, a beauty tech platform that connects users with beauty professionals and sellers. Thabo's research and professional work focus on machine learning, deep learning and data-driven innovation. He has built impactful projects such as smart greenhouses for farmers, emergency response systems, and AI powered fraud detection tools.Thabo is pa...
2025-10-1346 minMEJ: My Entrepreneurship JourneyEyitemi Popo: Girls Trip Tours by IrantiSend a textEyitemi Popo is a Forbes-listed social entrepreneur and the Founder of Girls Trip Tours by Iranti, an alternative tourism economy led by women that will change the way people travel Africa.A bi-continental expat living between Canada and Kenya, Temi draws on her global experiences, having lived in seven countries and visited 30. She is passionate about empowering women to thrive financially and personally while embracing rest, balance and joy.Eyitemi is a seasoned entrepreneur with over a decade of experience as a solo founder. She previously co-founded Africa's first data sc...
2025-02-2328 minMEJ: My Entrepreneurship JourneyJonas Koblin: The Unschooler's Educational Dictionary book reviewSend a textJonas Koblin is an award-winning education innovator and founder of the popular Sprouts YouTube channel. Alternative education can empower parents to raise children who challenge rules and norms, potentially leading to greater success in business and creative endeavors. This principle is embodied by Jonas Koblin, the Munich-born serial entrepreneur behind The Unschooler's Educational Dictionary and the widely acclaimed educational YouTube channel, Sprouts, which reaches millions globally and is integrated into university curricula across ten languages. Recognized at the 2024 TREFF Education Film Festival for its open-access impact, Sprouts exemplifies Koblin’s ded...
2025-02-0250 minMEJ: My Entrepreneurship JourneyJ.D Barker: From Books to Business SuccessSend a textJ.D Barker (Jonathan Dylan Barker) is a New York Times and international bestselling American author whose work has been broadly described as suspense thrillers, often incorporating elements of horror, crime, mystery, science fiction, and the supernatural.J.D continued with his corporate profession and being ghost writer untill in 2012 when he wrote a novel of his own, titled Forsaken.Stephen King read portions of Forsaken prior to publication and granted Barker permission to utelize the character of Leland Gaunt of King's Needful Things in the novel. The book went on to h...
2025-01-2631 minMEJ: My Entrepreneurship JourneyStandard Bank SimplyBlu: Norman NyawoSend a textStandard bank has launched an enhanced version of its simplyblu platform, providing small and medium sized enterprises with a seamless all in one solution for payments and business management.We are joined by Norman Nyawo, the head of Merchant Solutions for Business and Commercial Banking at Standard Bank South Africa. Follow us on Twitter @mejpodcast LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/mej-my-entrepreneurship-journey/ Facebook: My Entrepreneurship Journey Instagram: @mejpodcast Email: lifuo@mejpodcast.com Website: https://mejpodcast.buzzsprout.com MEJ Podcast was ranked by FeedSpot as one of the Top 25 South Africa Entrepreneur...
2024-12-1526 minMEJ: My Entrepreneurship JourneySidwell Diamond Ralitsoele: ActorSend a textSidwell Ralitsoele is an Actor born in Lesotho, and grew up in Queens in Forest Hills, New York.Sidwell is known for The Crown, The Woman King, Deep State, Fried Barry and many more high stakes TV projects. He has recently finished shooting the movie sequel Street Trash. https://www.imdb.com/name/nm9475789/In the book, The gifts of imperfection, Brené Brown said "authenticity is the daily parctice of letting go of who we think we're supposed to be and embracing who we are"Sidwell emobodies this philosophy.
2024-12-081h 05MEJ: My Entrepreneurship JourneyFibertime: Alan Knott-CraigSend a textAlan Knott-Craig is a successful entrepreneur, author and founder of Fibertime.com, a company that works to bridge the digital divide in Africa by bringing prepaid fiber internet to townships.Originally from Pretoria, he studied at Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University (formerly UPE) and qualified as a Chartered Accountant with Deloitte in 2002. Since starting his first business in 2003, he's founded or funded 21 businesses in the tech industry, including Cellfind,iburst,Mxit and HeroTel.In 2013, he founded Project Isizwe, a non-profit organization that brings internet to township schools. He has published ten bo...
2024-11-1041 minMEJ: My Entrepreneurship JourneyLegends Barber: Sheldon TatchellSend a textSheldon Tatchell is the founder and CEO of Legends Barber Corporation. He has been pursuing his passion for barbering and entrepreneurship since 2011. His business operates over 70 barbershops across South Africa, Botswana, Zambia and Lesotho.Sheldon's mission is to empower the next generation of barbers by providing them with quality training, mentorship and opportunities. He has since established 16 active training centers across the region.Sheldon holds a certificate in Entrepreneurship from the Branson Centre of Entrepreneurship. Sheldon follows his dreams and inspires others to do the same. Follow us on Twitter @mejpodcast Link...
2024-10-2051 minMEJ: My Entrepreneurship JourneyGlubbs: Fikile MthwaloSend a textFikile Mthwalo is an actor turned entrepreneur, based in New York city. She founded Glubbs, a biodegradable disposable glove company that offers medical-grade examination gloves.The idea of Glubbs came partially to Fikile in response to the COVID-19 and witnessing the tons of plastic waste conventional gloves were contributing to the environment.Fikile Mthwalo is best known for playing the role of "Zak" on the long standing South African show Isidingo. She went on to become a series regular on e-tv's Gold diggers and starred in two seasons of Mzanzi Magic's It's Co...
2024-09-2939 minMEJ: My Entrepreneurship JourneyStellenbosch University YEP: Sabrina MattheeSend a textYoung Entrepreneurship Project at Stellenbosch University empowers high school learners by equipping them with entrepreneurial skills and encouraging them to develop ideas that can benefit their communities.Sabrina Matthee is a Lecturer in the Business Management Department (EMS faculty) at Stellenbosch University.She completed her Master of Commerce (cum laude) in 2023. She has a deep passion for entrepreneurial development and her innovative approach and commitment to fostering entrepreneurial skills in youth, has earned her recognition as an award-winning educator.Sabrina's research interest includes women, small business development and innovation in South A...
2024-08-1825 minMEJ: My Entrepreneurship JourneyDare to become book review: Julie Cropp GareleckSend a text"Dare to Become: From the corner booth to the corner office" is an inspiring narrative of entrepreneurial grit and determination. The book chronicles the journey of Julie Gareleck, who, without the safety net of venture capital or an Ivy League education, dared to dream and ultimately succeeded in establishing Junction Creative, one of the nation's leading marketing firms.Gareleck's humble beginnings in her parents' restaurant in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, laid the foundation for her understanding of business operations.Her experiences in the corporate world, marked by challenging bosses and complex dynamics, fueled her de...
2024-07-1444 minMEJ: My Entrepreneurship JourneyMental health awareness: Anoushka MarcinSend a textAnoushka Marcin is a qualified clinician, motivational speaker, Youtuber and soon to be author. She reaches audiences around the world.Anoushka's purpose is to help empower, inspire and motivate others to unlock their fullest potential and live their best lives.Home Of Self Generation (askanoushka.co.uk) Follow us on Twitter @mejpodcast LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/mej-my-entrepreneurship-journey/ Facebook: My Entrepreneurship Journey Instagram: @mejpodcast Email: lifuo@mejpodcast.com Website: https://mejpodcast.buzzsprout.com MEJ Podcast was ranked by FeedSpot as one of the Top 25 South Africa Entrepreneur Podcasts on t...
2024-05-2839 minMEJ: My Entrepreneurship JourneyTsokolo Makeka: Lesotho Gin and Trout FestivalSend a textTsokolo Makeka is the founder and managing director of The Creative Lab and the CXO at Xperisense.Tsokolo is the Creator of the Gin and Trout stable. A lifestyle tourism event resting on three pillars, business tourism, experiential tourism, and food tourism. The Lesotho Gin and Trout festival is focused on expanding the value chain of trout fish farming and gin production in Lesotho to project the country on a global stage and create expanded processing and exportation opportunities.Tsokolo is a strategist who believes in the power of ideas and what they...
2024-04-281h 14MEJ: My Entrepreneurship JourneyNeema Iyer: PollicySend a textNeema Iyer is an artist, technologist and coach. She is the founder of Pollicy, an award winning feminist civic technology collective based in Kampala, Uganda and serves on Meta's Global Women's Safety Advisory Board. She was also recently a Practitioner Fellow at Stanford's Digital Civil Society Lab and senior Fellow in Trustworthy AI at Mozilla Foundation. She currently leads the design of a number of projects focused on building data skills, on fostering conversations on data governance and digital security, and on innovating around technology policy. Follow us on Twitter @mejpodcast LinkedIn: https://www...
2024-04-0848 minMEJ: My Entrepreneurship JourneyMaleroi Makhele Labour Law and HR Consultants: Maleroi MakheleSend a textMaleroi Makhele has 5 years of banking experience, and over 20 years of HR Management experience at her international textile firm. Maleroi further did her post graduate studies in Labour Law at the University Of Lesotho to ensure compliance of international and local labour standards.During her tenure, Maleroi has interacted with mainly US clients such as Puma, Walmart, Academy Adidas, Russells, Costco, Spanx and others.She was involved in extensive audits from international audit firms such as BetterWork, Smerta, Wrap and others to ensure good labor standards are being followed, e.g No c...
2024-03-2333 minMEJ: My Entrepreneurship JourneyRise International: Daniela GusmanSend a textDaniela is a seasoned executive with over 25 years of professional experience in the private sector as well as in international development, having worked extensively throughout Europe, Australia, Africa and the USA in International Sales & Marketing, PR, Business Development and Social Entrepreneurship. She has successfully grown companies to new levels of success, designed and launched social enterprises and led diverse teams in various competitive sectors from educational services, manufacturing to corporate B2B events.After seeing endless development projects fail combined with the fact that 95% of social impact funding is invested in foreign ra...
2023-11-0556 minMEJ: My Entrepreneurship JourneyBoardroom: Serisha BarratSend a textSerisha Barrat is a remarkable tech entrepreneur and influential figure in the tech industry, particularly within Africa. Her dedication to creating positive social and economic impact is evident through her various endeavors and contributions. Serisha and her co-founder Wisani Shilumani, founded Boardroom, where professionals redefine dating. Their mission is to help people forge meaningful connections, transcending instant gratification. They promise one will experience mindful and intentional interactions with fellow professionals, while they emphasize quality over quantity in matches.They ensure authenticity through LinkedIn verifications, and as an invite-only platform, they curate a sel...
2023-10-1551 minMEJ: My Entrepreneurship JourneyVula Mobile: Dr William MaphamSend a textDr. William Mapham is a South African entrepreneur and founder of Vula Mobile, a mobile health platform that connects rural healthcare workers with medical specialists. Dr. Mapham is a medical doctor with a passion for using technology to improve access to healthcare in underserved areas.After completing his medical degree at the University of Cape Town, Dr Mapham worked as a doctor in several rural areas in South Africa. He witnessed firsthand the challenges faced by healthcare workers in these areas, who often lacked access to the resources and support they needed to pr...
2023-07-3045 minMEJ: My Entrepreneurship JourneyAdaptive Leadership Coaching: Dr Thabo MosalaSend a textDr Thabo Mosala is CEO and Founder at Adaptive Leadership Coaching. As an executive coach, Dr Thabo Mosala provides support and tailor made personal and professional development for business and corporate leaders who are already excelling in their fields. He focuses broadly on leadership, behavior and strategy, which are the key pillars that drive performance in an organization. His approach is designed to assist one to achieve their goals and aspirations.Dr Mosala started his career in the IT industry within Transnet (Spoornet, Datavia and SA Express Airways) He later switched to the...
2023-06-1846 minMEJ: My Entrepreneurship JourneyUtamu Foods: Dr. Trust PfukwaSend a textDr. Trust Pfukwa, originally from Mutare, Zimbabwe, is the fourth born in a family of six. He did his education in Mutare before moving to Harare for his tertiary studies. After graduation, he worked as a production supervisor for Simbisa Brands' Bulawayo office for five years until he was laid off. He moved to South Africa in 2016 to study food science at Stellenbosch University where two of his siblings, as well as sister in law, have also graduated from with PhDs. In his research, Dr. Trust Pfukwa focuses on phytochemistry, food product valorisation and meat...
2023-05-2856 minMEJ: My Entrepreneurship JourneyMarini Naturals: Niyati PatelSend a textMarini Naturals is Africa's first quality haircare range for all natural hair. It is a Kenyan-owned haircare line founded by two friends; Michelle Ntalami and Niyati Patel. The idea came to Michelle in 2013 when she made the decision to live a healthier lifestyle, and hence cut her hair to grow it afresh naturally. However, at the time there were very few good quality and affordable products that catered to the African woman with natural hair.Because of this, she was determined to create a quality haircare line tha...
2023-03-2645 minMEJ: My Entrepreneurship JourneyThabo Makhetha CC: Thabo Makhetha-KwinanaSend a textThabo Makhetha-Kwinana is a fashion designer best known for her work, designing award-winning collections of jackets, capes and coats for her self-named label, Thabo Makhetha.Thabo has over 10 years of experience notably in design, events and as a key-note speaker on the topic of culture and heritage in fashion. Thabo has worked with leading brands such as Sterns Jewellery, The Kruger Rand and Amarula. In 2015 her events company, with husband, co-produced South African jazz legend Hugh Masekela's concert in partnership with Sun International.In 2014 Thabo Makhetha-Kwinana was awarded the Impact Award for Des...
2023-02-1944 minMEJ: My Entrepreneurship JourneyMagna Carta Wines: Mphumeleli NdlangisaSend a textMagna Carta Wines is an organic wine growing winery established in 2014.Mphumeleli Ndlangisa farms grapes and produces wine naturally, without adding chemicals. He focuses on cultivars that are truly South African, Chenin Blanc and Pinotage. His wines are anecdotes of African culture and history.Magna Carta winery is owned by Mphumeleli and his wife Nomfundo Ndlangisa, their vision is to grow their exports into more countries in Europe, Asia and Africa. They currently are exporting 70% of their wines and aim to grow to 80% by 2023.Magna Carta's mission is to organically grow...
2023-01-0740 minMEJ: My Entrepreneurship JourneyPapis4Business: Papis CamaraSend a textPapis Camara is a British, French and Senegalese citizen who is currently living between England and France. He is an executive with over 15 years of professional experience. He first had 10 years of international experiences in Sales, Marketing and Management within L'Oréal, the global leader in Beauty, he has been leading digital start-ups in the UK and France for nearly 6 years. since April 2022, he has been managing the Digital Strategy and Growth Marketing for a leading hair and beauty distributor in the UK.Papis is the Founder of Papis4Business, a consulting company spec...
2022-12-1144 minMEJ: My Entrepreneurship JourneyMzansi Meat Co: Brett ThompsonSend a textMzansi is a word understood by all but its meaning cuts a little deeper. It's that feeling we get when we visit home for the first time in a while, the smell of the braai that takes us back to our childhood or that spirit of unity we feel in our core. Mzansi Meat Co. wants to bring that magic to life through delicious, homegrown meat.Meat is synonymous with almost every culture here in Africa and year on year the demand increases. That's where Mzansi Meat Co. was born-out of a rel...
2022-11-2745 minMEJ: My Entrepreneurship JourneySukume: Vuyelwa NyakazaSend a textSukume is an economic development company involved in Trade, Investment and Consulting in Africa. Sukume focuses on SME Development, Intra-African Trade and Place/ Country Branding. Their customers include African economic development agencies, businesses, brands and places/ countries. Sukume works to boost their global competitiveness for socio-economic transformation.Sukume creates platforms to promote Made by African SME brands. They build awareness and facilitates trade and investment for African SMEs. They also aim to help SMEs to scale through doing business with corporates and gover...
2022-11-131h 11MEJ: My Entrepreneurship JourneyTM Group: Teboho Nthoana (formerly Mafodi)Send a textTeboho Nthoana (formerly Mafodi) is a highly experienced and well respected business executive with over 15 years' senior executive management and operations experience in the ICT, Investment, Retail, Energy (Oil & Gas), Property, Construction and Management Consulting sectors with global experience in the private and public sectors at senior levels, including strategy formulation, leading multi-disciplinary teams, business re-engineering and driving organizational change.Teboho is a recognised expert in infrastructure development, with a solid track record in structuring and financing private and public projects in Africa and other emerging markets. He has contributed to creating and e...
2022-10-161h 27MEJ: My Entrepreneurship JourneyComing soon: MEJSend a text Follow us on Twitter @mejpodcast LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/mej-my-entrepreneurship-journey/ Facebook: My Entrepreneurship Journey Instagram: @mejpodcast Email: lifuo@mejpodcast.com Website: https://mejpodcast.buzzsprout.com MEJ Podcast was ranked by FeedSpot as one of the Top 25 South Africa Entrepreneur Podcasts on the web.https://podcast.feedspot.com/south_africa_entrepreneur_podcasts/
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