Shows
Black GeniusSeni Sulyman: Building Exemplary Global BusinessesThe Harambe 10×10 series continues with Lolade Siyonbola interviewing Seni Sulyman, owner and managing partner at Rincon, a firm partnering with CEOs and executives to build world-class businesses and high performance teams through a focus on strategy, people, culture, operations and executions. Sulyman inspired the Harambeans 10×10 series with his prescient writings on the breaking point to which Nigeria was heading, just prior to the EndSARS movement. Before Rincon, Seni was a Vice President of global operations at Andela, where he "contributed tremendously to lighting the spark for an entire generation of technologists", growing the company 400% and earning it the status be...
2021-02-211h 12
Black GeniusIyinoluwa Aboyeji: Building The Future In AfricaHappy Black History Month! We're thrilled to invite Iyinoluwa Aboyeji to sit in the genius chair for our first episode of Black Genius, season 2. Aboyeji's interview opens the Harambeans 10×10 series through which we'd be highlighting the stories of 10 Harambeans building Africa's future through visionary, market-creating, global enterprises. Aboyeji says: "personal success cannot insulate from the failures of your society. I don't see entrepreneurship as a way to personally enrich myself but as a tool for social change. It must be done not just for profit or personal interest but most importantly as a service in the public interest." The f...
2021-02-211h 01
Black GeniusChristian Epps: Integrating Hollywood and African MediaOn this episode of Black Genius, we're visited by Christian Epps, Founder & CEO of Lights, Camera, Diaspora (LCD!), a Los Angeles social based enterprise bridging the gap between Africa and African-Diaspora entertainment Industries. LCD! has secured African talent for projects such as Beyonce's Black is King and Netflix's Queen Sono on both of which Christian was the Chief Lightening Designer. He's also worked on Lovecraft Country(HBO), Slyvie's Love(Amazon) and the award-winning Selma, featuring David Oyelewo and Oprah Winfrey (lenses by director of photography Bradford Young) and many others.
Black Genius is hosted by Lolade Siyonbola...
2020-09-0555 min
Black GeniusLanre Aina: Digital Storytelling for Global BrandsLanre Aina is Co-founder of Content Garage, a Lagos-based video production company that has developed digital commercials for Samsung, MTN, Google, Facebook, Nestle, Wikipedia, Access Bank and Diageo - helping these businesses actualize new ways of engaging with their customers through compelling digital storytelling. Before Content Garage, Lanre led Brand Activations at Google, supporting large brands in Nigerian and Kenyan markets to develop integrated experiential marketing. In his earlier days at Google, he launched and grew YouTube’s content partnerships in Nigeria, supporting the online publisher community. Today, he is focusing his attention on sports-media, using his experience at Go...
2020-08-171h 10
Black GeniusTiffany Norwood: Human Science of SuccessThis week’s Black Genius has done something that no other entrepreneur has done since–she raised over $670 million dollars to fund a start-up: WorldSpace. That money was used to build the first-ever global digital radio platform; launch three satellites into space, including XM Radio; support the development of MP3/MP4 technologies; and, invest in a new generation of digital radio receivers.
Tiffany Norwood is the Founder and CEO of Tribetan, where she teaches the human science of success, how to turn imagination into reality through entrepreneurial literacy.
She led some of the first-ever digital conten...
2020-07-221h 21
Black GeniusUzomaka Obiocha: Spiritual Technology in EnterpriseThis week on Black Genius, Lolade is in conversation with NOIR Labs Co-Founder, Uzomaka Obiocha. They discussed Spiritual Technology in Enterprise, growing up Nigerian, Kanye West, and all the radical things that go through their heads.
Described as a “human catalyst to everything she touches,” Uzomaka Obiocha recently joined NOIR Labs as Co-Founder and Acting COO, where she is living out her passion: creating a beautiful world through business, design and fashion. Prior to NOIR Labs, Uzo spent nearly a decade as Co-Founder of Koncept Consulting Group and Non-Profit, MD as a Brand, Business, and Financial Strategist. As a...
2020-07-161h 04
Black GeniusMichelle Nyangereka: Mental Health & LiberationThis week on Black Genius, join us for a conversation about liberation through mental health with Counseling Psychologist, Dr. Michelle Nyangereka.
An unapologetic people watcher, Dr. Michelle Nyangereka is a storytelling psychologist. Having previously worked in Diversity for the BBC and later in radio and television research, Michelle is now a filmmaker and Counseling Psychologist. Since researching the intergenerational transmission of trauma in Ugandans for her doctoral thesis, Michelle has developed a personal and professional interest in the ongoing trauma of racism for Black people - in particular, the embodiment of intergenerational trauma and the importance of...
2020-07-081h 04
Black GeniusOluwaseye Olusa: Documenting Cultural ProductionThis week on Black Genius, we'll have Oluwaseye Olusa in the Genus Chair! Oluwaseye is a Hip Hop and Afrobeats visual documentarian and celebrity photographer, who has captured some of the most important moments in Black cultural production over the last 20 years. While working on set with Hype Williams, Def Jam and others on some of the most iconic music videos in Hip Hop history, he found a love for photography that enabled him to capture the power, essence and beauty of Black subjects in the music industry and creative world. He’s photographed Jay Z, Common, Yvonne Orji, Ji...
2020-07-021h 09
Black GeniusTokini Peterside: Catalyzing African CreativityThis week, we're speaking with art mogul Tokini Peterside! Tokini is the Founder & CEO of ART X Collective, through which she launched ART X Lagos, West Africa’s pre-eminent art fair (and its first) in 2016.
Christened “one of the most important figures in the world of contemporary African art” by Lola Ogunnaike, Tokini emerged from a Victoria Island upbringing in which she yearned to be a creator, to ultimately study law at the London School of Economics. She earned her M.B.A. at INSEAD, in Paris, where she formulated her business plan for Art X, leading a hand...
2020-06-251h 05
Black GeniusOkendo Lewis-Gayle: Building Africa's FutureOn Episode 5 of Black Genius, we're excited to have in the Genius Chair, Okendo Lewis-Gayle. Lewis-Gayle is the author of Harambeans: Ordinary People Doing Extraordinary Things, in which he chronicles the struggles and triumphs of Diaspora returnees building scalable ventures in Africa. He is also founding partner of Harambeans Prosperity Fund and Founder and Chairman of the Harambe Entrepreneur Alliance.
Harambe is an ecosystem of over 300 young African leaders (Harambeans) which has spawned a series of tech-enabled ventures such as Andela, Yoco and Flutterwave. Collectively Harambeans have generated over 3000 jobs, and raised over $500m from Google Ventures, C...
2020-06-1753 min
Black GeniusFaith Crittenden & Jennifer Pierre: Black Health in the Covid EraFaith Crittenden is a Medical Student at UConn, a Yale MPH and the host of the ‘Coloring Health Policy’ podcast, through which she addresses how health policy impacts minority communities. A Gates Millennium Scholar, Faith has co-authored several health polices within the American Medical Association-Medical Student Section, including Racism is a Public Health Issue, Combating Natural Hair Discrimination in Medicine and Medical Professionalism, and Addressing Minority Maternal Morbidity and Mortality.
Dr. Jennifer C. Pierre is a licensed Naturopathic physician, public health professional and Chief Medical Officer at Revive Wellness Center in New Haven, CT. Dr. Pierre is an a...
2020-06-111h 14
Black GeniusKevin Beckford: Hip Hop for Education AccessKevin Beckford is Co-Founder of the Hustler's Guild, where he's dismantling white supremacy by providing youth from the most disadvantaged areas of Washington, D.C. with coding and workforce enrichment opportunities at companies like Facebook, Google, Sony Music, and Roc Nation. In response to the Covid lockdown, the Hustler's Guild pivoted to Zoom events and has hosted moguls like Anthony Anderson, Snoop Dogg and Rickey Smiley on virtual events with Black youth to provide them with inspiration and leadership skills. He founded the Hustlers Guild with Yasmin Salina Rana and Jason Spear, two colleagues with whom he developed a...
2020-06-0359 min
Black GeniusAlex Tsado: How Artificial Intelligence can Save the WorldAlex Tsado is the founder of Alliance for Africa's Intelligence (Alliance4AI), through which he is mobilizing African youth to collectively tap into the vast possibilities of Artificial Intelligence to solve once-endemic challenges in food security, healthcare, governance and much more. He founded Alliance4AI to ensure that African innovations reach billions across the globe, and that the Continent is never again left behind during industrial revolutions. Alex is also the Product Lead on NVIDIA's fastest-growing business channel, Cloud AI Computing.
In this episode, we discuss his journey from Benin to Columbia University, his life-changing encounter with...
2020-06-0145 min
Black GeniusWunmi Olaiya: Opportunities in African FashionIn today’s episode, we speak to Wunmi Olaiya, one of the most talented fashion designers of our generation. Wunmi’s line, Wow Wow is handmade in Nigeria, employing local talent, from the hand-dying to the tailoring, producing timeless, culturally rich, luxury clothing sure to be passed down from generation to generation. Wunmi demonstrates that with a carefully designed fashion education infrastructure, Nigeria can secure its place as a leading destination for global fashion production.
2020-05-2835 min
Black GeniusLolade Siyonbola: Building the Black Google“I feel like it would be irresponsible to hold on to my story.”
It's the first episode of Black Genius! In this one, I share my vision for NOIR Labs, why I believe art and technology together can accelerate Black Liberation, and the journey that brought me to founding this social enterprise. Learn more about the community behind NOIR Labs, the geniuses I'll be bringing onto the show and how you can join our movement!
To join the Black Genius community, follow @noirpress_ on facebook, instagram and twitter. Drop your thoughts on our posts about each...
2020-05-2040 min