Meet the podcast redefining resilience and business success in Africa

Source: Pexels.

What motivated you to launch No Free Lunch, and in what ways does the podcast align with your broader vision as editor of Business Tech Africa to reflect the realities of doing business on the continent

Audiences across the globe are migrating to audio and visual content and I saw the need to adjust our content approach from being predominantly written.

Younger generations are not reading anymore - we needed to pivot our thinking on content. Access to content today for African audiences also needs to be broad and the audio and video poses much opportunity to increase distribution and engagement.

Source: Supplied. Greg Stewart, Editor: Business Tech Africa

The podcast aims to move beyond the polished surface of corporate storytelling to reveal the authentic challenges of entrepreneurship. How do you create an environment that enables business leaders to speak openly about their setbacks and lessons learned?

There is such a trend of carefully curated and polished narratives today. I just spent a week in summits where the same buzzword-injected presentations are presented as if they were "meaty morsels" and it is so prevalently nauseating. My approach is to simply cut through that varnish and have casual discussions that tend to touch on weighty things.

There are so many challenges in the business world in Africa, and what I try to do is to lift the veil on these and provide sensible and relevant input and commentary instead of following carefully scripted Q&A sessions.

Across your conversations to date, what recurring themes or insights have emerged about the factors driving resilience, innovation, and long-term success in African markets?

It amazes me how African businesses always find a way - despite sometimes severe challenges and obstacles. There are incredible innovators and disruptors who have dug deep and persevered through these to create very successful businesses and solutions. I think that the mere environment we operate in creates the drive - we have the will to succeed despite challenges.

You’ve spoken about reframing Africa’s business narrative beyond the binaries of potential and crisis. How does No Free Lunch contribute to shaping a more balanced and informed understanding of the continent’s commercial landscape?

That's the holy grail right there - I hope that No Free Lunch will become an integral part of a growing fabric of voices that provides a clearer pathway for development in Africa, and also challenges the lack of support or policy failures and infrastructure gaps left by authorities.

There are lots of new business networks, industry bodies and support channels that are starting to look beyond the now to what can be, and how to get there. It's a fascinating ground-swell of many people simply starting to get things done.

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As the series gains traction across platforms such as Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube, what is your long-term vision for its evolution—both in terms of audience reach and its role within Africa’s wider business media ecosystem?

My vision is to create a podcast platform that will add value to the business sector across Africa, tell African business success stories and contribute to the sharing of ideas and development of better structures supporting business and economic growth of this amazing continent.

Given your background as a media entrepreneur, how do you see the intersection of journalism, digital storytelling, and thought leadership evolving in Africa’s business landscape—and how does No Free Lunch fit into that trajectory?

African history was always conveyed by story telling, it's in our DNA. I love the written word but I also sense that future generations will not. I also love story telling, it often captures the moment or kernel of truth better than an elaborate piece of writing does.

People remember stories and I want to become one of Africa's story tellers for future generations. No Free Lunch will continue to cut through the shiny corporate narratives and provide rough diamonds that can be polished through natural conversations to provide lasting value.

In time we may have our own fully fledged studio broadcasting great African story teller's tales 24/7. And that will truly be a great story in itself.