Episode Summary

On this episode of the Create Your Life Series podcast, host Kevin Y Brown continues his conversation with Ras Mutabaruka, a former refugee, sharing an inspiring life story. After spending over a decade as a refugee, he found stability in Canada, which opened doors to education and resources. Initially aspiring to be a lawyer, his mindset shifted, leading to a passion for storytelling about Africa. From a blog to a magazine and documentary, the guest aimed to challenge stereotypes.

This episode explores his college experience, professional journey as a public servant, and entrepreneurial ventures. Emphasizing authenticity and consistency, the guest discusses personal growth and leadership. The episode concludes with insights into community recognition and the ongoing pursuit of goals, highlighting resilience and the power of storytelling in his journey from refugee to visionary entrepreneur.

Tune in to this episode of the Create Your Life series for an inspiring and heartfelt conversation.

Kevin Y. Brown

Kevin is a seasoned multi-media executive who is passionate about Africa’s digital future. As an award winning entrepreneur, podcast producer (over 1,000 episodes across different genres with over 30 million downloads across clients) and tech veteran, Kevin is the Chief Content officer and Head of Strategy at Afripods leading their multi-country strategy and product vision.

Kevin is the host of the Create Your Life Series podcast and has been featured or spoken in Forbes, Black Enterprise, Essence, Podcast Movement, Podcast Sessions, Ted X, Sirius XM, Inc. magazine and many more…

Ras Mutabaruka

Ras Mutabaruka founded The African Perspective (TAP Media Ltd) after being frustrated with seeing how Africa and Africans were often portrayed in global media. TAP is a Pan-African media platform that tells African stories from an African perspective with a mission to rebrand Africa, one story at a time.

Born in Rwanda during tumultuous times, he and his family sought refuge in neighboring countries. The journey eventually led him to Kenya, where he settled and found a sense of belonging amid a diverse community. His journey then took him to Canada for higher education.

Before working on TAP full-time, and to give back to his once adopted country of Canada, he spent five years working as a public servant in the department of Innovation, Science and Economic Development (ISED) where he received three back to back Ministerial Awards of Merit for service to Canadians. 

Insights From the Episode

• How to use collaboration as a tool for growth
• Emphasizes the importance of networking and persistence
• Discussion surrounding Intrinsic Motivation in Entrepreneurship: countering negative narratives about Africa and staying true to personal values as intrinsic motivations in entrepreneurship
• Reflecting on the historical impact of media, emphasizing its responsibility to tell authentic and responsible stories
• Discussion about the evolution of entrepreneurial journeys, showcasing diverse ventures and experiences over the years

Quotes from the Show

• “​​I stayed true to myself and for the times where I didn't stay true to myself. It ended up rerouting me and telling me that you should have stayed true to yourself. And so when you look at a life at your life, you know what I mean? I think it's important to be able to say that you chose what you did, not that somebody else chose it for you and that you followed other people. But that you did what you felt was the things that you wanted to do and that you needed to do.” - Kevin Y. Brown, Create Your Life Series, #206
• “Real people do real things and you know, sometimes it comes at the expense of what could have been, you know, the easy route, the more financially sound route, right? But you know, when you look back at it, you can always say, you know, I'm happy to waive it for what I did because I know that I chose me.” - Kevin Y. Brown, Create Your Life Series, #206
• “My commitment to building a bright future for Africa is to continue to tell African stories in all its forms, is to continue to bring out a part of Africa that people don't know is to continue to inspire, to challenge and to move the needle forward, I think and part of that and also a commitment I have for Africa and for Africans is to continue to be me to live my life to, to share my story.” - Ras Mutabaruka, Create Your Life Series, #206
• “My biggest challenge was probably my biggest blessing. My biggest challenge was when, when my, when my older sister returned back to our biological family when I was 10. That time after that trying to figure out life on my own without someone being there, who I was familiar with and who I had known since the beginning was definitely a challenge. And I think choosing to stay on the right path, in spite of everything happening around me, I think, you know what I mean was it was a challenge that definitely helped me to to become the man that I am today.” - Kevin Y. Brown, Create Your Life Series, #206
• “... That's where create your life as a term comes from, that's all that I had was a life that I could dream of but that I wanted to manifest. And that's what I stuck to every day when it was hard where I have foster parents who were mistreating me or where my peers didn't understand where I was coming from or where I was moving from house to house and, you know, all of these things, it was just this dream and this focus and this possibility.” - Kevin Y. Brown, Create Your Life Series, #206

Resources Mentioned

• Apple Watch
• Google Calendar

Favorite Book

• Gifted Hands: The Ben Carson Story by Ben Carson

Favorite Quote

• “My life is my message.” - Unknown

Keys to Create Your Best Life

1. Be consistent
2. Remain true to who you are
3. Maintain balance in your life

Stay Connected

Create Your Life Series

Facebook: Create Your Life Series

Instagram: Create Your Life Series

YouTube: Create Your Life Series

Kevin Y. Brown 

Website: Kevin Y Brown

Instagram: kevinybrown

Twitter: kevinybrown

Facebook: kevinybrown

Ras Mutabaruka

Website: The African Perspective (TAP) Magazine

Instagram: Ras Mutabaruka

Twitter: Ras Mutabaruka

Linkedin: Ras Mutabaruka

Email: [email protected]

Subscribe to our podcast + download each episode on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcast, Afripods, and Spotify.

This episode was produced and managed by Podcast Laundry (www.podcastlaundry.com).

Episode Summary

On this episode of the Create Your Life Series podcast, host Kevin Y Brown welcomes a truly inspiring guest to the studio, Ras Mutabaruka. A storyteller, entrepreneur, and community builder, Ras’ life is a testament to resilience, vision, and an enduring love for the African continent. Delving into the challenges he faced and the transformative impact of facing a traumatic past, including his experiences during the genocide in Rwanda. He opens up about the deep scars left by those events and the long journey toward healing. Ras also reflects on the importance of speaking out about personal struggles and advocating for mental health support, breaking the silence that often surrounds such experiences.

The conversation takes a turn as Ras shares lighter moments from his life, including his time in Canada, where he discovered his purpose and passion for storytelling. As he navigated cultural differences and stereotypes, he found strength in embracing his identity and heritage.

Ras Mutabaruka’s journey exemplifies resilience, the power of storytelling, and the unwavering commitment to make a positive impact on the continent he calls home. Tune in to this episode of the Create Your Life series for an inspiring and heartfelt conversation.

Kevin Y. Brown

Kevin is a seasoned multi-media executive who is passionate about Africa’s digital future. As an award winning entrepreneur, podcast producer (over 1,000 episodes across different genres with over 30 million downloads across clients) and tech veteran, Kevin is the Chief Content officer and Head of Strategy at Afripods leading their multi-country strategy and product vision.

Kevin is the host of the Create Your Life Series podcast and has been featured or spoken in Forbes, Black Enterprise, Essence, Podcast Movement, Podcast Sessions, Ted X, Sirius XM, Inc. magazine and many more…

Ras Mutabaruka

Ras Mutabaruka founded The African Perspective (TAP Media Ltd) after being frustrated with seeing how Africa and Africans were often portrayed in global media. TAP is a Pan-African media platform that tells African stories from an African perspective with a mission to rebrand Africa, one story at a time.

Born in Rwanda during tumultuous times, he and his family sought refuge in neighboring countries. The journey eventually led him to Kenya, where he settled and found a sense of belonging amid a diverse community. His journey then took him to Canada for higher education.

Before working on TAP full-time, and to give back to his once adopted country of Canada, he spent five years working as a public servant in the department of Innovation, Science and Economic Development (ISED) where he received three back to back Ministerial Awards of Merit for service to Canadians. 

Insights From the Episode

• Reflecting on the Rwandan Genocide, Ras Mutabaruka underscores the healing power of facing the past
• Emphasis on the need to challenge stereotypes about Africa
• Mutabaruka shares experiences in Canada
• Dissatisfaction with Western media narratives inspires TAP Media, evolving from a blog to a magazine, focusing on science in Africa
• Importance of remaining true to oneself and consistent for personal growth and success
• Strategies for Building a Platform: discussion surrounding transitioning from a blog to a magazine format broadens TAP Media's platform, leading to partnerships with prestigious institutions
• Strategies for overcoming Imposter Syndrome
• How to use collaboration as a tool for growth

Quotes from the Show

• “... the narrative about Africa was still the same, probably even worse because the academia surrounding African people of African descent is really terrible… There's not that much that the academia says we've done and I found that to be a challenge… And then one time he hit me like, OK, you didn't go to journalism school, you not a, you know, you're not a journalist but you can write. So if you, if you don't like what other people are talking about, you or your country or your continent do something about it.” - Ras Mutabaruka, Create Your Life Series, #205
• “the BBC says this, the CNN says the BBC is a British Broadcasting Corporation. They have their agenda, they are speaking for the British audience. So I'm like, so who, who's speaking for Africa or for Africans? And so it started out as a, as actually started very humble beginning, starts out as Facebook note. I would like write like notes about facts and things about Africa.” - Ras Mutabaruka, Create Your Life Series, #205
• “It's a pleasure to know you as a leader and someone who, you know what I mean has I, I would say rose to the occasion or accepted the challenge of being a leader, being a dynamic person.” - Kevin Y. Brown, Create Your Life Series, #205
• “Create a group, create an insider group of people who can see the things you are doing and if they, and, and, and you can trust their feedback, of course, you're still the executive of your own story.” - Ras Mutabaruka, Create Your Life Series, #205
• “I wished I knew that as much as money is not everything, money is probably like 50% of everything… So, you know and understand that you need money, know and understand where or how you're gonna get money, and then when the rubber meets the road don't go in by yourself, get someone else to come along… I think you're gonna go faster, you're gonna go farther and the knock and the pressure is gonna be less if you have two, if you have another person or two along with you.” - Ras Mutabaruka, Create Your Life Series, #205

Stay Connected

Create Your Life Series

Facebook: Create Your Life Series

Instagram: Create Your Life Series

YouTube: Create Your Life Series

Kevin Y. Brown 

Website: Kevin Y Brown

Instagram: kevinybrown

Twitter: kevinybrown

Facebook: kevinybrown

Ras Mutabaruka

Website: The African Perspective (TAP) Magazine

Instagram: Ras Mutabaruka

Twitter: Ras Mutabaruka

Linkedin: Ras Mutabaruka

Email: [email protected]

Subscribe to our podcast + download each episode on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcast, Afripods, and Spotify.

This episode was produced and managed by Podcast Laundry (www.podcastlaundry.com).

Episode Summary

On this episode of the Create Your Life Series podcast, Angela, host of Zen Moments, discusses the transformative power of podcasting, particularly for the youth. She emphasizes the platform's freedom for self-expression without limitations and encouraging aspiring creators to explore the diverse world of podcasting. Angela shares personal anecdotes, highlighting the role of mentorship, discipline, and motivation in her journey.

The conversation delves into lessons learned in podcasting, such as the importance of time investment and planning. Angela reflects on moments when she contemplated giving up but found motivation in the positive impact her podcast had on strangers. The episode concludes with Angela expressing her commitment to shaping a vibrant future for Africa, particularly in the podcasting industry, aiming for inclusivity and financial opportunities.

In the rapid-fire segment, Angela discusses favorite productivity apps, commitment to personal growth, and her love for art. The episode ends with Angela turning the tables, posing three unscripted questions to host Kevin Brown, adding a lighthearted and engaging touch to the conversation.

Kevin Y. Brown

Kevin is a seasoned multi-media executive who is passionate about Africa’s digital future. As an award winning entrepreneur, podcast producer (over 1,000 episodes across different genres with over 30 million downloads across clients) and tech veteran, Kevin is the Chief Content officer and Head of Strategy at Afripods leading their multi-country strategy and product vision.

Kevin is the host of the Create Your Life Series podcast and has been featured or spoken in Forbes, Black Enterprise, Essence, Podcast Movement, Podcast Sessions, Ted X, Sirius XM, Inc. magazine and many more…

Angela Machua
Angela Machua, host of the impactful podcast "Zen Moments," is a trailblazer in the world of podcasting, advocating for limitless self-expression and empowering youth to embrace content creation without constraints. Her journey reflects resilience, disciplined commitment to personal growth, and overcoming moments of self-doubt.

Angela's story is one of unwavering determination, embracing the challenges of podcasting with grace. Beyond her podcast, she is a talented graphic artist and is dedicated to elevating the podcasting industry in Africa, making it accessible and financially viable for creators.

In essence, Angela Machua's life is a testament to the power of resilience, self-discovery, and pursuing passions, inspiring others to embark on their unique journeys with purpose.

Insights From the Episode

• Importance of Africans telling their own stories without translation when needed to maintain accuracy and authenticity
• How to maintain the integrity of the story: directly sharing ensures that the narrative isn’t influenced by external perceptions
• Significance of persevering in the face of challenges and chasing what you are passionate about: Angela’s drive for learning outside of office hours is emphasized in reference to her growth in the podcasting industry
• Angela’s approach to understanding challenges faced by new podcasters
• Statistics of podcast listeners
• Podcast listening behavior
• Advice for new podcasters
• Importance of mentorship
• Discussion of key elements of personal growth
• Conversation surrounding how to create the life you want, from the perspective of Angela

Quotes from the Show

• “​​… it's important for us as Africans to tell our own story the way we want to tell it. If we don't want to translate it, say it as it is because that's how it comes accurate and because sometimes things can get lost in translation.” - Angela Machua, Create Your Life Series, #204
• “It's been amazing to see your growth and watch you as this person who essentially to me, I've been watching your evolution going from a project manager who was primarily dealing in finance to I call you, that's my personal moniker for you, the data maven of African podcasting.” - Kevin Y. Brown, Create Your Life Series, #204
• “Podcasting is so important because it gives you the individual the space to be who you want to be. There's no limitations in podcasting and I think that's what makes it different from other platforms. As a young creator, you're able to express yourself how you want to without any limits. And I think that it's important for the youth to be able to get into content creation as they would like without being told this is how you have to do it. And because I feel like that cripples creativity and podcasting has opened up that space that anyone can be anything they want to be.”  - Angela Machua, Create Your Life Series, #204
• “Mentorship is important also because sometimes you might feel like I'm just doing something, you are only looking at the now, but with mentorship you're able to see the entire growth journey.” - Angela Machua, Create Your Life Series, #204
• “I feel like imposter syndrome is something that a lot of people struggle with, but if you just decide and tell yourself this is not real, you can do what you want to do and there are no limits, you can go ahead.” - Angela Machua, Create Your Life Series, #204
• “​​We need to build a platform or an industry that is easily accessible by everybody… make it possible for people to make a living out of podcasting. Because content creation, yes, it's still a new thing, but it's a viable option for monetizing yourself, whether you're a company or you're just trying to build your own brand, your personal brand or your company brand. We need to make the space viable for everyone to be able to be successful. And my commitment in that is just being involved in the industry in whatever capacity, but mainly in data to push for platforms to provide the space for this to be possible.” - Angela Machua, Create Your Life Series, #204

Resources Mentioned

• Notion
• Akiflow

Favorite Book

• The Alchemist by Paolo Coelho

Favorite Quote

• “Just do it.” - Nike

3 Keys to Create Your Best Life

1. Visioning and Goal Setting:

Angela emphasizes the importance of envisioning the life you want and writing down your goals. Breaking down these goals into achievable steps, whether monthly or weekly, helps track progress and encourages a sense of accomplishment.

1. Taking Action:

Angela advocates for taking action without waiting for the "perfect" moment. She suggests breaking down tasks into manageable steps and enjoying the journey of personal development, growth, and achievement.

1. Enjoying the Journey:

Angela highlights the significance of finding joy in the process of pursuing your goals. It's not just about reaching the end goal but relishing in the experiences, growth, and connections made along the way.

Stay Connected

Create Your Life Series

Facebook: Create Your Life Series

Instagram: Create Your Life Series

YouTube: Create Your Life Series

Kevin Y. Brown

Website: Kevin Y Brown

Instagram: kevinybrown

Twitter: kevinybrown

Facebook: kevinybrown

Angela Machua

Linkedin: Angela Machua
Instagram: @angela_machua

Podcast: Zen Moments (Afripods, Apple, Spotify)

Subscribe to our podcast + download each episode on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcast, Afripods, and Spotify.

This episode was produced and managed by Podcast Laundry (www.podcastlaundry.com).

Episode Summary

In this episode of the Africa X series, Kevin Y. Brown is joined by Cyril Afeku and Donald Ayree, cofounders of The Gold Coast Report. The GCR is a thriving podcast network based in Accra, Ghana, whose unwavering mission is to forge accessible avenues for visibility and to curate impactful experiences that empower individuals and communities alike. Cyril and Donald explain how the World Cup led to their initial idea for The Gold Coast Report, which changed from being a single podcast to the beginning of a network in the same week. They discuss the milestones they’ve passed so far and where they hope to go, the shows they’re most proud of, and how they were able to turn a passion project into a self-sustaining business. As leaders they share their tips for creative compromise and amplifying the creativity of their team, along with their thoughts on the importance of sharing their knowledge and experience with others in the community. In the Turnaround, Kevin opens up about how his trip to Africa in 2018 influenced his understanding of legacy, of family, and his responsibilities as a Black man, and how it led to him moving back to the Continent and joining the movement to amplify African stories through podcasting.

Kevin Y. Brown

Kevin is a seasoned multi-media executive who is passionate about Africa’s digital future. As an award winning entrepreneur, podcast producer (over 1,000 episodes across different genres with over 30 million downloads across clients) and tech veteran, Kevin is the Chief Content officer and Head of Strategy at Afripods leading their multi-country strategy and product vision.

Kevin is the host of the Create Your Life Series podcast and has been featured or spoken in Forbes, Black Enterprise, Essence, Podcast Movement, Podcast Sessions, Ted X, Sirius XM, Inc. magazine and many more…

Cyril Afeku and Donald Aryee

Cyril Afeku and Donald Aryee met in high school and reconnected after university where together they created The Gold Coast Report, a podcast network based in Accra, Ghana. They produce shows covering a variety of interests such as sports, women-focused issues, religion, sex, pop culture, social issues, entertainment and more. Cyril and Donald are results-driven and inquisitive professionals with a vast expertise in developing podcasting infrastructure in Africa. Their passion revolves around amplifying African creativity and nurturing self-sustaining communities, providing them with the space to incubate, flourish, and achieve their aspirations. Every action, word, and endeavor The Gold Coast Report undertakes is a dedicated stride to realizing this vision.

Insights From the Episode

• Tips for dealing with difficult clients and creators
• Where to look for guidance when you’re an early adopter in a burgeoning industry
• 3 tips for new podcasters looking to join an established network
• How to stay rejuvenated and focused as a leader
• Advice for handling conflict between teammates
• Tips for dealing with negative feedback
• Thoughts on the keys to personal growth
• Strategies for directing your energy so you don’t overextend yourself

Quotes from the Show

• “At the time this was just two friends in a room trying something out. When you look back and zoom out to what it is now, it’s kind of crazy. We thought that we could tell our own better stories, and we also felt like there was some creativity in everyone.” - Cyril Afeku, Create Your Life Series, #203
• “[The schedule] helped build consistency within the team. That helped also build some level of planning. We obviously got better at the editing and figured out the mechanics that came to podcasting, and we figured out how to actually run and operate as a network because that wasn’t a skillset that we had coming in.” - Donald Aryee, Create Your Life Series, #203
• “All those shows are not failures, because those really are learning opportunities. All those episodes that we didn’t record correctly—all those where the mic went wrong or we didn’t export something perfectly or the audio didn’t sync up—all those things are the learning opportunities that make these batch of shows much better than they could have been. So it all counts, and I’m really grateful for that.” - Donald Aryee, Create Your Life Series, #203
• “Lessons learned, not failures, right? Opportunities to improve.” - Kevin Y. Brown, Create Your Life Series, #203
• “I always feel like to get the best out of people in what we do, it’s always best to give them that room to express themselves and hear what they have to say and see how best we can bring what it is they want to do to life. The hope is that with our experience and expertise, they would also trust whatever guidance and inputs we bring to the table is worthy of incorporating.” - Cyril Afeku, Create Your Life Series, #203
• “You kind of have to look in the mirror and work out how you are a mentor to yourself. Be honest with who you are and what self-improvement looks like, and what challenging yourself looks like.” - Donald Aryee, Create Your Life Series, #203
• “We realized that we weren’t going to be able to either serve every community, or serve every community exhaustively or adequately. On our end we’ll provide you with our resources as we can to get you started, and that way it doesn’t become a case of you have to rely on GCR before this gets done because I think for us, first and foremost, we are huge fans of the medium and do want this space to grow.” - Donald Aryee, Create Your Life Series, #203
• “For me in all spaces it’s really ‘how do I figure out what somebody is way better than me at’, and then ‘how do I have them teach me and show me?’ Usually it helps build really good relationships and connections too because people like teaching, they like talking to you, they tell you about themselves, and you get to know them better.”  - Cyril Afeku, Create Your Life Series, #203
• “If somebody takes the time to correct you or give you feedback, that’s them showing you love and trying to help you to improve, and that’s an opportunity. It’s not about taking things personal, but remembering why you’re here.” - Kevin Y. Brown, Create Your Life Series, #203
• “Ghanaians are passionate people. We do care about each other, we care about our family, our friends, our loved ones, our community, and podcasting just makes that so much more personal because it’s not as structured or rigid as traditional media is. The host allows for a much deeper connection, and I think that’s something that works natural for who we are as a people, and zooming out I think that works well for the continent of Africa because one thing that keeps coming up when you look back at our history is ours is an oral tradition, and nothing hits home like audio. And what’s a thing about audio that has a future? It’s podcasting.” - Cyril Afeku, Create Your Life Series, #203
• “Growing up in foster care from 9 months to 18 I think foundationally is what has made me strong, helps me to adapt to new environments, makes me curious to know people, to learn people, to learn about different cultures, and is probably a big part of my foundation for hard work and also for my confidence.” - Kevin Y. Brown, Create Your Life Series, #203

Resources Mentioned

• Sincerely Accra, a GCR podcast on everyday life in Ghana
• After the Whistle, a sports podcast
• Free Your Mind, a general talk and lifestyle podcast
• Sex and Sanity podcast
• The Unartiste Podcast, a pop culture podcast
• Sunday Fufu, a podcast hosted by Donald Aryee where men have conversations they’ve been conditioned not to have
• Is It Crack?, a podcast on everyday trending topics
• The Palaver Podcast on storytelling and travel
• Hairpins & Straights, a motorsports podcast
• GCR Labs
• Mosaic - A GCR Event
• Meditations by Marcus Aurelius
• Asics Gel Kayano running shoes

Favorite Book

• Donald Aryee: The Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren
• Cyril Afeku: A Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams

Favorite Quote

• “Step in love.”
• “Be a wrestler for the greatest prize of all, which is control of self.”
• “The art of living is more like wrestling than dancing, because an artful life requires being prepared to meet and withstand sudden and unexpected attacks.” - Marcus Aurelius

3 Keys to Create Your Best Life

Donald Aryee:

1. Consistency
2. Be ready for opportunity
3. Open yourself up to different experiences and try new things

Cyril Afeku:

1. Love
2. Be able to challenge yourself
3. Enjoy your life

Stay Connected

Create Your Life Series

Facebook: Create Your Life Series

Instagram: Create Your Life Series

YouTube: Create Your Life Series

Kevin Y. Brown

Website: Kevin Y Brown

Instagram: kevinybrown

Twitter: kevinybrown

Facebook: kevinybrown

Cyril Afeku

Podcast: Bad Energy

Donald Aryee

Instagram: whatdonaldsaid

Twitter: whatdonaldsaidd

Podcast: Sunday Fufu

Gold Coast Report Network

Website: The Gold Coast Report

Facebook: The Gold Coast Report

Instagram: thegoldcoastreport

Twitter: thegoldcoastreport

TikTok: thegoldcoastreport

Email: [email protected]

Subscribe to our podcast + download each episode on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcast, Afripods, and Spotify.

This episode was produced and managed by Podcast Laundry (www.podcastlaundry.com)

Episode Summary

This special episode of the Africa X series features Kevin Y. Brown’s recent appearance on Trace FM with Calvin Wanguku. They talk about the personal and professional opportunities that drew Kevin back to Kenya, the evolution of Create Your Life, and the power of the grind. Kevin shares his excitement for the Africa X series and where it’s going, why podcasting is an ideal medium to preserve African history, language, culture, and traditions, and why when we’re looking to create our lives the most valuable question we can ask is ‘how.’

Kevin Y. Brown

Kevin is a seasoned multi-media executive who is passionate about Africa’s digital future. As an award winning entrepreneur, podcast producer (over 1,000 episodes across different genres with over 30 million downloads across clients) and tech veteran, Kevin is the Chief Content officer and Head of Strategy at Afripods leading their multi-country strategy and product vision.

Kevin is the host of the Create Your Life Series podcast and has been featured or spoken in Forbes, Black Enterprise, Essence, Podcast Movement, Podcast Sessions, Ted X, Sirius XM, Inc. magazine and many more…

Insights From the Episode

• What makes African storytelling unique
• The opportunity for creators in Africa in the podcasting industry
• Tips for how creatives can get paid for their work

Quotes from the Show

• “I went on a journey of finding what was exactly was going on with me, but also I had the opportunity to really see Black legacy here, for generations and generations of people who have these families who have been doing striving and excellence. So because of that I wanted to come back and really be immersed in blackness in a place where I don’t have to worry about my skin complexion, where I don’t have to worry about so many things and I’m allowed to just exist.” - Kevin Y. Brown, Create Your Life Series, #202
• “I was so keen on helping to amplify African stories, but also I think that podcasting is a low-cost way to save and preserve African history, language, culture and tradition so that those in the future can have authentic African experiences. To me that matters a lot.” - Kevin Y. Brown, Create Your Life Series, #202
• “The ability to be able to adapt, listen, and then actually move into learning about these other stories you haven’t heard about, you have Hollywood and these other stories that are coming from the West, but it’s Africa’s time to hear these stories from the source.” - Kevin Y. Brown, Create Your Life Series, #202
• “The biggest thing for me with Create Your Life is that a lot of times when they’re interviewing people ask ‘why’ and ‘what’ you do, but they never ask ‘how’, and the ‘how’ is the only thing that can be duplicated. So as I talk to amazing trailblazers and I also have conversations with the youth, a lot of times the youth are asking, ‘hey, what about the how?’ or my peers are asking ‘how?’. How did you do this? How did you do that? So I said, why don’t I open up a space where you can hear from people who have walked your walk… I think Africa X is that way for people to be able to create their life, and that’s my whole thing: create the life you’ve always wanted to live. I live by that; I’m a product of that; I am that; so I wanted to share it.” - Kevin Y. Brown, Create Your Life Series, #202
• “I think one of the biggest things to keep in mind as a creator is ‘don’t complain about not getting the rewards you didn’t work for.’ If you’re going to become a podcaster, you’ve got to be committed to the grind, and being ‘committed to the grind’ looks like doing the work and being consistent and understanding your audience, understanding your listener, understanding what guests you should have on your show. Those are the important pillars of having a good show.” - Kevin Y. Brown, Create Your Life Series, #202
• “You’ve got to grind it out in order to get these results. Money is the result of hard work and dedication. I remember my high school principal said, ‘There’s no job called “make money. You make money by being good at what it is that you do.’” - Kevin Y. Brown, Create Your Life Series, #202

Stay Connected

Create Your Life Series

Facebook: Create Your Life Series

Instagram: Create Your Life Series

YouTube: Create Your Life Series

Kevin Y. Brown

Website: Kevin Y Brown

Instagram: kevinybrown

Twitter: kevinybrown

Facebook: kevinybrown 

Subscribe to our podcast + download each episode on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcast, Afripods, and Spotify.

This episode was produced and managed by Podcast Laundry (www.podcastlaundry.com)

Episode Summary

In this episode of the Africa X Series, Kevin talks with Yoeal Haile, CEO and Co-Founder of Sava, on the ways that his education and career opportunities have helped him discover the life he wants to live. Yoeal shares the story of how a seventh grade stock market club led to his passion for fintech, how he used an engineering degree and some tenacity to break into Wall Street, the investment he made in himself and his goals that got him into grad school, and the pivotal moments that led to him sorting out his identity as a first-generation African American immigrant and moving back to Africa. Kevin and Yoeal discuss Kevin’s “Ambition Mentality” and the opportunities that can make change fun, the principle of kaizen, and possibilities for the future of fintech in Africa.

Kevin Y. Brown

Kevin is a seasoned multi-media executive who is passionate about Africa’s digital future. As an award winning entrepreneur, podcast producer (over 1,000 episodes across different genres with over 30 million downloads across clients) and tech veteran, Kevin is the Chief Content officer and Head of Strategy at Afripods leading their multi-country strategy and product vision.

Kevin is the host of the Create Your Life Series podcast and has been featured or spoken in Forbes, Black Enterprise, Essence, Podcast Movement, Podcast Sessions, Ted X, Sirius XM, Inc. magazine and many more…

Yoeal Haile

Yoeal is the CEO and Co-Founder of Sava, a fintech business helping businesses manage their finances and access affordable credit. He was previously the CEO and Founder of Aspira, the largest Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) fintech in East Africa, the Founder of Winelife, and also worked as the Chief Strategy Officer of the African Leadership Group where he helped the founding team establish universities in Rwanda and Mauritius. Yoeal also spent time as an EquityDerivatives Associate for Merrill Lynch in Hong Kong and New York. He has a MBA with a dual major in Finance and Management from The Wharton School of Business and a BS in Industrial Engineering from the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

Insights From the Episode

• How investing in yourself and committing to your goals with tenacity can open up opportunities
• Tips for starting a successful business and bringing in a strong customer base
• How to take care of yourself as a leader and avoid burnout
• The impact of having and becoming a mentor to give back to your community
• Tips for those wanting to get involved in the African fintech space
• The power of intuition and trusting in yourself
• Overcoming work challenges and the ‘near death experiences’ in a company by focusing on the long-term game
• How making changes to your diet, sleep schedule, and cutting out alcohol could affect your personal and professional life
• Using challenges as an opportunity for personal feedback and looking within yourself

Quotes from the Show

• “For those who went over prior, generations and generations ago, it’s very interesting when you have those who’ve just come and it’s like, ‘oh we’re so different.’ In reality, at least to me, a lot of our cultures and traditions are similar, they just look different because of the amount of time away from the homeland. I think about what happens to that first generation Eritrean in five generations. How much of the culture is still intact versus it becoming Americanized or African-Americanized? This is about bringing us together and bringing abundance to our communities. Because at the end of the day, whether it’s now or it’s in five generations, we’re all going to still be fighting the same fight. I think that there’s strength in numbers.” - Kevin Y. Brown, Create Your Life Series, #201
• “I knew I wanted to go to Wall Street, but at the same time I didn’t want to study finance. I think there’s a separation between following your passion and what you do for a living. For me I was like let me do something that gives me optionality and challenges me, and I thought engineering was that.” - Yoeal Haile, Create Your Life Series, #201
• “One phrase that I love is ‘Kaizen’, continuous improvement. Just knowing that even if everyone’s happy you’re continuing to raise that bar for your customers and they’ll be your brand ambassadors and you’ll see a ton of organic growth.” - Yoeal Haile, Create Your Life Series, #201
• “One thing I enjoy about entrepreneurship is when you get to a certain stage of the business and your product is out there and you can see people interacting with your product; that’s the ultimate high. I don’t think there’s anything in the world that feels better than that.” - Yoeal Haile, Create Your Life Series, #201
• “At the end of the day you just have to have a clear vision of what your purpose is and keep that top of mind always. Every day think about it, use that to ground you, and keep pushing.” - Yoeal Haile, Create Your Life Series, #201
• “Self work is a continuous process. It’s a lifelong journey, and once you start embracing it you start to see things change around you.” - Yoeal Haile, Create Your Life Series, #201
• “I’m always challenging myself to become better and learn something new, so I’m going to continue to keep setting up new goals and knocking them down. That’s my real thing, but also continuing to look inward and be present with myself and focus on the things that matter to me and also continue to be open, honest and vulnerable with myself and others.” - Kevin Y. Brown, Create Your Life Series, #201
• “My mentality is Ambition Mentality. Ambition is my word, a word that means a lot to me. For me it’s always about ‘feed your ambition.’ The ambition mentality is about getting better and being better every day, and also being open to being wrong so that you can continue to ultimately get better.” - Kevin Y. Brown, Create Your Life Series, #201
• “Change is fun. It’s fun as in you know what’s going to happen on the other end of it. There are going to be times where it’s challenging, it’s de-motivating and all of these things, but what’s on the other side of it is beautiful. So embrace the challenge of having to evolve and to change. I think the interesting part about it is that most people don’t embrace the challenge happily of making the change and evolving, and I wish that a lot more people would because there is so much more that you could become, and to me it really matters.” - Kevin Y. Brown, Create Your Life Series, #201

Favorite Book

• Conversations With God by Neale Donald Walsch 

3 Keys to Create Your Best Life

1. Stop making excuses.
2. Go after it today.
3. Talk to your customers.

Stay Connected

Create Your Life Series

Facebook: Create Your Life Series

Instagram: Create Your Life Series

YouTube: Create Your Life Series

Kevin Y. Brown

Website: Kevin Y Brown

Instagram: kevinybrown

Twitter: kevinybrown

Facebook: kevinybrown

Yoeal Haile

Instagram: Yoeal Haile

Twitter: Yoeal Haile

Facebook: Yoeal Haile

LinkedIn: Yoeal Haile

Email: [email protected]

Website: Sava

Subscribe to our podcast + download each episode on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcast, Afripods, and Spotify.

This episode was produced and managed by Podcast Laundry (www.podcastlaundry.com)

Episode Summary

To celebrate the 200th episode of the Create Your Life Series podcast, friend of the show Eric N. Fondran steps in as guest host to speak with Kevin Y. Brown about the journey that the Create Your Life Series has traveled. Beginning ten years ago in Japan as a series of motivational videos, it became a syndicated radio show on Sirius XM before transitioning to our podcast series today. Kevin shares the story and motivation behind the show, how he overcame various challenges and stayed focused on the dream, and what he’s learned along the way. Kevin talks about the future potential of the show, how he continues to create his own best life, and then enters the dolphin tank for the first time to reveal his answers to the rapid fire questions he poses to his guests.

Kevin Y. Brown

Kevin is a seasoned multi-media executive who is passionate about Africa’s digital future. As an award winning entrepreneur, podcast producer (over 1,000 episodes across different genres with over 30 million downloads across clients) and tech veteran, Kevin is the Chief Content officer and Head of Strategy at Afripods leading their multi-country strategy and product vision.

Kevin is the host of the Create Your Life Series podcast and has been featured or spoken in Forbes, Black Enterprise, Essence, Podcast Movement, Podcast Sessions, Ted X, Sirius XM, Inc. magazine and many more…

Eric N. Fondren

Eric N. Fondren is a former resident guest of the Create Your Life Series, sharing lessons and stories on CEO Talks. He is a financial professional that specializes in wealth management and estate planning for young families and professionals. Guided by his faith and family, Eric’s career and entrepreneurial background have provided him with knowledge from many different industries including professional counseling, web design, technology and ad sales, and securities management. Today he is a Registered Representative with NYLIFE Securities LLC helping young and mid-career professionals develop a sound financial strategy, protect their loved ones and create generational wealth.

Insights From the Episode

• The origin story of Create Your Life and its slogan
• Strategies for transitioning from a fear-based to vision-based mindset
• How to shape your own value system rather than chasing someone else’s
• Insights on the keys to continual success
• How to find the motivation to overcome challenges and persevere
• The factors and characteristics that can help you create your best life

Quotes from the Show

• “The absence of expectation can lead to amazing results. A lot of people were very surprised that I even made it into college, and all of my mentors at the time were surprised that I made it through a week. Thank God they never told me that until I had finished, because I just had this level of determination. What it means to me to create my life is that, I’m lucky. There was no expectation, so I just got to create.”  - Kevin Y. Brown, Create Your Life Series, #200
• Kevin on making good grades in highschool: “I came up with this rule when I was in high school, always more A’s than B’s and never any C’s.” - Kevin Y. Brown, Create Your Life Series, #200
• “Everybody creates their life, but you transitioned from the motivating factor behind the creation. It seems like you started out as ‘I’m creating my life because I’m running from something’, and the Kevin Y. Brown that I know in 2023 creates his life because he’s chasing something.” - Eric N. Fondren, Create Your Life Series, #200
• “I had to make peace with where I was from, what challenges I had to endure, and what was less than ideal. I think that personal work has helped because it has allowed me to be free from those shackles of having to live within that space. In order to create, you have to be free.” - Kevin Y. Brown, Create Your Life Series, #200
• “I’ve always been very transparent with my audience about the things that I’m working on as well. Because it’s not me sitting up here trying to give you this grand advice as much as I’m in this with you too; these are the things that I'm learning; this is where I might be falling short; these are the things I’m looking to improve.” - Kevin Y. Brown, Create Your Life Series, #200
• “I think a lot of times that vision of the life we create and that belief of where we want to be, sometimes we put so much pressure on ourselves to already be that person that we don’t even stop to realize the value of who we are today and what we’re doing for the people around us.” - Eric N. Fondren, Create Your Life Series, #200
• “Many people think about creating your own life as this love story to yourself and it’s this beautiful arc, but just like every story there is some conflict, there is a valley that you have to walk through.”  - Eric N. Fondren, Create Your Life Series, #200
• “Life has its ups and downs, but if you keep going straight everything will work out. You have to persevere; you have to keep going.” - Kevin Y. Brown, Create Your Life Series, #200
• “Being able to admit when you’re wrong and having no problem being wrong is, I think, the ultimate goal. If you’re okay with being wrong, you can be taught. And if you can keep learning, you never go out of style; you can always evolve. But you have to be honest with yourself.” - Kevin Y. Brown, Create Your Life Series, #200

Resources Mentioned

• Afripods
• Slack software
• Google suite

Favorite Book

• PowerNomics by Dr. Claud Anderson

• The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

Favorite Quote

• “Excellence is the bare minimum.” - Kanye West
• “Do it well or not at all.”

3 Keys to Create Your Best Life

1. Do it well or not at all. Be consistent.
2. Be you. Be authentic. Be original.
3. Be curious. Try different things and explore.

Stay Connected

Create Your Life Series

Facebook: Create Your Life Series

Instagram: Create Your Life Series

YouTube: Create Your Life Series

Kevin Y. Brown

Website: Kevin Y Brown

Instagram: kevinybrown

Twitter: kevinybrown

Facebook: kevinybrown

Eric Fondren

Instagram: ericnfondren

Twitter: Eric Fondren

LinkedIn: Eric Fondren

Subscribe to our podcast + download each episode on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcast, Afripods, and Spotify.

This episode was produced and managed by Podcast Laundry (www.podcastlaundry.com)

Episode Summary

This week Kevin Y. Brown has a discussion with Molly Jensen, his colleague and CEO of the growing pan-African podcast hosting company, Afripods. They talk about how Afripods helps creators take up as much space as possible while getting paid for their genius, and the ways that they uniquely serve African creators and consumers. Molly shares how a New Yorker ended up in Nairobi, what she’s learned about leading and motivating a team, how she’s working to overcome challenges and get comfortable with discomfort and uncertainty, and the ways that her experience as an athlete have translated into her success as a CEO. Kevin and Molly discuss the personal habits that fuel their days, the idea of legacy, and the difference between the juice and the sauce–you’ll want to listen in to find out!

Kevin Y. Brown

Kevin is a seasoned multi-media executive who is passionate about Africa’s digital future. As an award winning entrepreneur, podcast producer (over 1,000 episodes across different genres with over 30 million downloads across clients) and tech veteran, Kevin is the Chief Content officer and Head of Strategy at Afripods leading their multi-country strategy and product vision.

Kevin is the host of the Create Your Life Series podcast and has been featured or spoken in Forbes, Black Enterprise, Essence, Podcast Movement, Podcast Sessions, Ted X, Sirius XM, Inc. magazine and many more…

Molly Jensen

Molly Jensen is the Chief Executive Officer of Afripods, a free pan-African podcast hosting platform building the largest library of African audio stories on the planet, based in Nairobi, Kenya. With the ability to categorize in over 50 languages and with content from over 30 countries including that from individual podcasters, radio stations and media houses, Afripods is the home for African podcasting across the continent and within the Diaspora. As a Ghanaian-American born in New York, Molly is extremely excited to help digitize African stories and wants to see African creators take up as much space as possible while creating avenues to help them get paid for their work. She has over ten years of experience across people management, sales, marketing and technology. Molly has spoken at Podcast Movement, Africa Podcast Day, Africa Media Festival, BBC Media Leaders conferences, and Advertising Week Africa as well as most recently featured in Forbes, The Guardian, Reuters, JamLab Africa, Podcast Sessions and Apple Podcasts.

Insights From the Episode

• Advice on how you can fill your cup and show up for yourself so you can better support others
• Tips for aspiring business leaders and women, in particular, wanting to build their own companies
• Strategies for identifying distinguishing qualities in people and assembling a powerful team
• What makes Afripods different from other podcast-hosting companies
• Strategies for being a good leader and managing relationships with team members in the workplace
• Discussion on the differences between doing business in Africa vs. in New York
• Tips for problem-solving when your perspective is different from your team members
• Thoughts on the future of podcasting in Kenya and Africa as a whole

Quotes from the Show

• “With Afripods we’re able to speak to these creators, we’re able to create a technical solution for them, we’re able to advocate for them. When I look at my role it’s not just a privilege to be in a position as an executive, there’s a real responsibility to do right by the people on the ground. My job isn’t just enforcing my opinion; my job is listening to what creators want and then advocating for it and making sure that it happens alongside our incredible team. That’s what we do, and that’s why I think it’s important.” - Molly Jensen, Create Your Life Series, #199
• “I think a lot of times you want everything to go right, and you’ll miss your opportunity to catch the wave by waiting for perfection. A lot of times it’s not you that’s causing the delay–it’s your team, it’s another person, it’s getting reviews back–and I think trusting yourself, you will never look back and be upset if you trusted yourself. You will look back and be upset if you trusted someone else and things went wrong, but if you trust yourself and you make a mistake, that’s just a learning experience. I’m definitely working on my ability to be comfortable with failing.“  - Molly Jensen, Create Your Life Series, #199
• On doing business in Africa: “People care about relationships, which then goes back to this innate understanding of community. People matter. And once I really understood that the connecting piece of all this was people, I was able to lean in on experience and continue to research the best ways to get maximum value out of people.” - Molly Jensen, Create Your Life Series, #199
• “Work is work, and when we have a problem or if someone feels disrespected, we have to stop. The thing is, we can argue until we’re blue in the face about if this table is black or if it’s navy blue… if someone says, ‘Are you blind? This table is black!’, that’s disrespectful. I think as you touch an emotion what happens is that you make people feel less than, you make people feel insecure, you make people feel not confident to speak, so from a work perspective, we can do as much work as we can–there’s going to be more work tomorrow and the day after that and after that–but if you feel unsafe, if you feel disrespected, if you feel you can’t voice your opinion, we have to stop and handle that.” - Molly Jensen, Create Your Life Series, #199
• “Everyone who has an opinion thinks their opinion is right–that’s the thing about an opinion. For me, I am working at being better at listening, hearing people all the way through. Not just having my thought and waiting to speak my thought, but actually hearing what someone else says.” - Molly Jensen, Create Your Life Series, #199
• “The funny thing about making a mistake is someone can tell you that you’re about to make a mistake and it won't stop you from making the mistake. Sometimes you have to make the mistake yourself and know how bad it is so you won’t do it again.” - Molly Jensen, Create Your Life Series, #199
• “When you distill it, we’re really talking about storytelling in Africa and the opportunity to memorialize language, the opportunity to reposition and evolve regular radio talk shows to a more on-demand version. I don’t think radio’s going anywhere, but I think podcasts provide another opportunity for people to engage with highly specialized niche content, and why would we let anyone who doesn’t care about that into this space? I think that it’s a win across the board, whether big multinationals come into place, whether local businesses are built up, what we know is that Afropods is advocating for the creator which means that everyone is going to have to advocate for the creator. You’re not going to be able to be successful if you don’t advocate for the creator, and I feel very proud about that.” - Molly Jensen, Create Your Life Series, #199
• “I am one of those people that believe I want my life to be measured in moments of celebration. I throw a party for everything, and what I’m so grateful for is that my community shows up. When I ask for help, they show up.” - Molly Jensen, Create Your Life Series, #199
• “I feel like sometimes the support you have in one situation is not the support you’re going to have in another situation, and I think that it depends on what you need but you also need to either know that you need something or know what you need. You may not know what it is that you need, but if you know that you need something you can ask for it, and I’m not afraid to ask, I’m not afraid to be exposed, I’m not afraid to be vulnerable. I think there’s a lot of power in vulnerability, and I am grateful that the champions that surround me, the ones who are rooting for me, the ones who want me to be successful, the ones who comment on my Instagrams, the ones who are praying for me without knowing what’s going on…they’re all part of my community, and whether they want to be or not, they’re in the game with me.” - Molly Jensen, Create Your Life Series, #199 
• “It’s becoming even more comfortable with people essentially not liking you. Sometimes people’s issues have to do with themselves and don’t necessarily have anything to do with you, and then sometimes might just not be feeling you… I just have to realize and be okay with who I am and how I operate, while also being open to being wrong and doing things differently and accepting feedback.” - Kevin Y. Brown, Create Your Life Series, #199
• “If somebody spends the time to tell you what you could be doing better, I think that is them expressing love and expressing that they care, and that it’s my responsibility to take that love and then move differently.”  - Kevin Y. Brown, Create Your Life Series, #199

Resources Mentioned

• Juice vs Sauce Explained Best Buy employee video
• LinkedIn
• Gmail

Favorite Book

• Scaling People: Tactics for Management and Company Building by Claire Hughes Johnson

Favorite Quote

• “It’s not the juice, it’s the sauce.” - Kevin Y. Brown via Juice vs. Sauce video

3 Keys to Create Your Best Life

1. Go after it.
2. You only have one life.
3. Love on everyone, hard.

Stay Connected

Create Your Life Series

Facebook: Create Your Life Series

Instagram: Create Your Life Series

Kevin Y. Brown

Website: Kevin Y Brown

Instagram: kevinybrown

Twitter: kevinybrown

Facebook: kevinybrown

Molly Jensen

LinkedIn: Molly Jensen

Twitter: mj_acosua

Afripods

Website: Afripods

Twitter: afripods

Instagram: afripods

Facebook: Afripods

LinkedIn: Afripods

YouTube: Afripods

Subscribe to our podcast + download each episode on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcast, Stitcher, Afripods, and Spotify.

This episode was produced and managed by Podcast Laundry (www.podcastlaundry.com)

Episode Summary

In this week’s live show, Kevin Y. Brown gives a presentation on The Opportunity within the African podcast industry, using his experience on the business, talent, and technical side of podcasting to analyze some of the statistics and trends that have been found in African markets. He talks about the rise of vernacular podcasts on the Continent, the value in authenticity and developing strong relationships, and how to be successful in the African market, especially when you’re coming in as a newcomer. Kevin answers questions on the size of the African market and how podcasting can become a sustainable business, along with how we can support Afripods from across the Diaspora and collaborate with other creators to strengthen the industry as a whole. Get a deeper look into Kevin’s podcast beginnings, the launch of his production company Podcast Laundry and the Create Your Life Series, and hear the story of how his trip to Africa gave him the spark to move to Nairobi and become a part of the emerging African podcast ecosystem.

Kevin Y. Brown

Kevin is a seasoned multi-media executive who is passionate about Africa’s digital future. As an award winning entrepreneur, podcast producer (over 1,000 episodes across different genres with over 30 million downloads across clients) and tech veteran, Kevin is the Chief Content officer and Head of Strategy at Afripods leading their multi-country strategy and product vision.

Kevin is the host of the Create Your Life Series podcast and has been featured or spoken in Forbes, Black Enterprise, Essence, Podcast Movement, Podcast Sessions, Ted X, Sirius XM, Inc. magazine and many more…

Insights From the Episode

• How an African American came to be working on the ground in the podcasting industry in Africa
• Insights into the trends and behaviors of the emerging African market
• How to work to be a part of the community and respect those that have existed in the space before you
• The importance of authenticity, relationships, and coming into a new market with a student mindset
• Differences between podcasting in Africa vs. in the West
• Tips for finding success in different African markets
• Insights into how podcasters are working to create a sustainable industry and where we can grow
• Technical insights on advertising, release schedules, recording lengths, genres, and podcast apps

Quotes from the Show

• “At Afripods, we’re really encouraging creators to do content in their vernacular because as the world becomes more westernized, it’s really important for people–especially in Africa–to preserve their history, culture, traditions, and also language so that future generations can also have an authentic African experience. I think that podcasting is a low-cost way for us to achieve this goal. That’s something that I’m really passionate about when it comes to podcasting and the industry in Africa.” - Kevin Y. Brown, Create Your Life Series, #198
• “In the different countries people have different behaviors because all of these countries have different things going on. What I think is important is you have to really go in and respect the way that people do things and really learn. We can’t go in with a colonial mindset of this is how things should be done, this is how we should view them, etc. We have to literally be students of how things operate and ask a lot of questions in order to understand the behaviors.” - Kevin Y. Brown, Create Your Life Series, #198
• “In order for podcasting to grow as an industry overall, we’re going to need help from the Diaspora and there’s going to need to be a collaborative effort. No industry is an island.” - Kevin Y. Brown, Create Your Life Series, #198
• On moving into the African market as an outsider and collaborating with partners: “As knowledgeable as you may be or you may feel, you still need to bring somebody who is from home into the mix and have them having the conversations and being a part as a student. A lot of the time it’s you getting out of the spotlight and supporting your team members in order for the greater good of the industry.” - Kevin Y. Brown, Create Your Life Series, #198
• Particularly in the African market: “Essential for success is relationships. Money is great, but people have to like you and need to know you, and that might require a couple of warm intros for you to get the conversation and really move things. I cannot stress the value of relationships enough. Everything will depend upon a relationship and you really have to do a good job in guarding it, nurturing it, and making sure that you’re watering it, because you won’t be able to move forward if you don’t have the relationships.” - Kevin Y. Brown, Create Your Life Series, #198
• “You need to be able to adapt, you need to ask a lot of questions, and you need to understand–I can’t stress that enough. You have to understand and you have to be curious about how to continue to improve. It’s like being a student everyday.” - Kevin Y. Brown, Create Your Life Series, #198
• “You want to exercise patience. While your time might be valuable to you, it might not be a priority to someone else, so you need to exercise patience and persistence.” - Kevin Y. Brown, Create Your Life Series, #198
• “Understand the benefits of your client. From city to city, from country to country, those benefits may look differently so it’s going to require some additional research and conversations with people on the ground who are working in the industry and understand what it is that is driving this particular media house, this particular set of creators, this particular set of creators who are part of this particular collective.” - Kevin Y. Brown, Create Your Life Series, #198
• “I think it’s important that whatever you’re asking for, however you want to contribute, that it’s mutually beneficial. A lot of times people’s ask can be one-sided, so I think it’s really important to make sure that your value is mutually beneficial.” - Kevin Y. Brown, Create Your Life Series, #198

Resources Mentioned

• Africa Podfest, who has compiled the statistics on behavior
• The Gold Coast Report
• Mosaic Conference (hosted by The Gold Coast Report)

Stay Connected

Create Your Life Series

Facebook: Create Your Life Series

Instagram: Create Your Life Series

Kevin Y. Brown

Website: Kevin Y Brown

Instagram: kevinybrown

Twitter: kevinybrown

Facebook: kevinybrown

Subscribe to our podcast + download each episode on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcast, Stitcher, Afripods, and Spotify.

This episode was produced and managed by Podcast Laundry (www.podcastlaundry.com)

Episode Summary

In this week’s episode of the Africa X series, Kevin is joined by Rutendo Nyamuda, founder and CEO of pan-African podcast company Tinzwe Media and host of “The Podcast Sessions”, “In My 20s”, and the poetry and storytelling podcast told in each guest’s mother tongue, “Inside Wants Out.” Rutendo shares her thoughts on innovation and incorporating other mediums into podcasting such as video, TikTok, YouTube shorts, and print–as she’s done with her own digital magazine companion to “The Podcast Sessions”, Africa’s first pan-African podcast magazine. She talks about ways to cater to those who want to consume something visual while still staying true to the roots of the audio medium along with offering an opportunity for podcasters to tell their stories in a different way. Rutendo and Kevin share how best to learn from the people you respect and incorporate their practices in your own life in a way that works for you, feeling excited about the person you’re becoming, and the origins of the Create Your Life Series.

Kevin Y. Brown

Kevin is a seasoned multi-media executive who is passionate about Africa’s digital future. As an award winning entrepreneur, podcast producer (over 1,000 episodes across different genres with over 30 million downloads across clients) and tech veteran, Kevin is the Chief Content officer and Head of Strategy at Afripods leading their multi-country strategy and product vision.

Kevin is the host of the Create Your Life Series podcast and has been featured or spoken in Forbes, Black Enterprise, Essence, Podcast Movement, Podcast Sessions, Ted X, Sirius XM, Inc. magazine and many more…

Rutendo Nyamuda

Rutendo Nyamuda is the founder and CEO of Tinzwe Media, a podcast company focused on the pan-African podcast industry. The company produces three original podcasts, “The Podcast Sessions”, “In My 20s” and “Inside Wants Out“. Tinzwe Media also produces Africa’s first pan-African digital podcast magazine also titled “The Podcast Sessions”. In her career she has worked across various areas of the media and entertainment industry including journalism, TV production, corporate video production, PR and podcasting. Rutendo has written for prominent publications including: ELLE SA, Forbes Africa, CNBC Africa Online and the Huffington Post. She has also worked in TV for The Expresso Morning Show and The Afternoon Express Show (SABC3).

An avid speaker, she served as the President of the Ernst and Young Toastmasters Club for the 2019 / 2020 season. She was also recognised as one of the top 10 Toastmasters speakers in the SADC region for 2019/2020. In addition, she is a voice over artist having voiced adverts as well as corporate videos for the likes of: ABSA, Takealot, MultiChoice, TCM, and the SA-Eu Strategic Partnership to name a few. In 2020 Rutendo was featured on the prestigious Mail & Guardian 200 Young South Africans list for her work in the podcast industry.

Insights From the Episode

• Rutendo’s vision for the future of podcasting
• Why it’s important to share stories in other mother tongues and for listeners to hear them, even if they don’t understand the words
• Insights into how the South African podcasting market differs from other markets on the Continent
• How to find and grow your audience
• How you can contribute to the podcast industry even if you don’t have your own podcast
• Tips for new African podcasters who are starting out in the industry
• When numbers can help you as a form of feedback, and when you should ignore them
• How the role of a mentor differs from a friend, the different kinds of mentors in our lives, and how to make the most of the time and resources they give you
• Getting past the mental block of overthinking and searching for perfection

Quotes from the Show

• When she was looking for a job after being retrenched: “I asked myself, ‘if money wasn’t an object, what is it that you would do?’” - Rutendo Nyamuda, Create Your Life Series, #197 [05:50]
• “Let’s put podcasters on the covers of magazines. We have such a rich African storytelling, podcasting community… Why aren’t we on the covers of magazines? And people are saying, ‘I really like this person, they inspire me.’ They should be seen. They should be on the cover of a magazine. Because maybe they won’t be on the cover of an ELLE or a Vogue or a TIME, but we can put you on the cover of our magazine because we see you and we appreciate the work that you’re doing and you’re changing the game in such big ways.” - Rutendo Nyamuda, Create Your Life Series, #197 [12:05]
• “As someone who was born in Zimbabwe and raised in South Africa, there is this sense of being a child of the Diaspora, but there’s also a sense of longing. You’re always longing for the sense of trying to find yourself, trying to discover yourself. Being born in Zim and raised in South Africa, I wasn’t South African enough. There are certain things that from a cultural perspective would miss me. I didn’t grow up in Zim, so as much as I understand parts of my culture that I do understand, sometimes it’s like, ‘I didn’t know that.’ You’re discovering. And wherever I travel on the Continent, you feel a sense of ‘I get the culture, I can feel that sense of being African, but at the same time it’s like I want to get to understand your culture a little bit more’ because I think we are incredibly interconnected as Africans in so many more ways than not.” - Rutendo Nyamuda, Create Your Life Series, #197 [16:08]
• “I would love to see more podcasts around culture, around language, around understanding the history of various countries, practices, why practices were done, why they weren’t done.” - Rutendo Nyamuda, Create Your Life Series, #197 [19:12]
• “If you are growing a business or you’re starting a company, you want to make sure it’s sustainable without you so you don’t always have to be there. I want to take holidays, I want to take a break, I want to know that there is a team that are in positions to do this, and that is the way that we make this profitable and sustainable.” - Rutendo Nyamuda, Create Your Life Series, #197 [22:30]
• “I think what the big podcasters and podcasts have managed to do really well is they’ve found their audience. You have the sense of ‘we’re not trying to reach everyone. We’re trying to reach this group of people, and by trying to reach this small group of people we just happen to be reaching a whole bunch of people.’ They know their audience. They know who they’re speaking to.” - Rutendo Nyamuda, Create Your Life Series, #197 [31:26]
• “This game doesn’t work if everyone is not able to succeed. You can’t be only one and then say I’m in an industry of one. You can be the first and you can amplify, but there’s no harm in me sharing the success and challenges of The Podcast Sessions with the next person. ‘Lighting someone else’s candle doesn’t take away the light of your own candle’, and that’s why these conversations, these platforms, are really important.” - Rutendo Nyamuda, Create Your Life Series, #197 [35:15]
• “Life is a marathon. The things you do are a marathon, and the only way to really get out of these things what it is that you want is to be yourself and stay in your lane. Don’t watch what everybody else is doing; stay in your lane. Stay steadfast. Stay the course.” - Kevin Y. Brown, Create Your Life Series, #197 [40:38]
• “I think there’s something to be said about doing what you say you’re going to do. To me that’s what builds your confidence, that by continuously doing what you’ve said you’re going to do it’s like, ‘I’ve done the work, so there’s no way you’re going to shake this foundation.’”- Kevin Y. Brown, Create Your Life Series, #197 [01:06:47]
• “A lot of times when I look at people I respect, I’m really looking at their ‘how.’ Because the ‘why’ and the ‘what’ can always change and that can be personal, but the ‘how’, the steps to getting there, is something that you can repeat and put your own twist on it, making it into something that works for you.” - Kevin Y. Brown, Create Your Life Series, #197 [01:09:02]

Resources Mentioned

• Inside Wants Out podcast
• In My 20s podcast
• ChatGPT

Favorite Book

• The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho 

Favorite Quote

• “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, 'Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?' Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.” - Marianne Williamson

3 Keys to Create Your Best Life

1. Decide what it is that you want. Sometimes we are influenced by society, family, or friends, and we don’t actually know what we want.
2. Don’t be afraid to unlearn and relearn. You can change if you want to change.
3. You are going to fail. Tell yourself it’s okay to fail and keep moving. It’s not going to be perfect.

Stay Connected

Create Your Life Series

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Instagram: Create Your Life Series

Kevin Y. Brown

Website: Kevin Y Brown

Instagram: kevinybrown

Twitter: kevinybrown

Facebook: kevinybrown

Rutendo Nyamuda

Website: Tinzwe Media

Twitter: roo10dough

Instagram: roo10dough

The Podcast Sessions

Website: The Podcast Sessions

TikTok: thepodcast sessions

Facebook: The Podcast Sessions

Email: [email protected]

Subscribe to our podcast + download each episode on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcast, Stitcher, Afripods, and Spotify.

This episode was produced and managed by Podcast Laundry (www.podcastlaundry.com)

Episode Summary

In this special episode of the Africa X series, Kevin Y. Brown moderates a discussion on The Emergence of the African podcast industry with a panel of four experts who all contribute to content in the African podcasting ecosystem: Dan Aceda, Kim Fox, Molly Jensen, and Anthony Frasier. The panel goes through statistics on African creators and their listenership, giving their takes on where the industry’s strengths lie, areas for growth, and what needs to happen to get there. They discuss how the organizations that they are a part of–Afripods, SemaBOX, PodFest Cairo, and ABF Creative–are working to meet the needs of both their creators and listeners, encourage and support underrepresented voices in media to share and distribute their stories and reduce barriers to entry so that creators have the resources they need to consistently create audio content. They answer audience questions from current and aspiring podcasters and end with a call to action to support and uplift African creators.

Kevin Y. Brown

Kevin is a seasoned multi-media executive who is passionate about Africa’s digital future. As an award winning entrepreneur, podcast producer (over 1,000 episodes across different genres with over 30 million downloads across clients) and tech veteran, Kevin is the Chief Content officer and Head of Strategy at Afripods leading their multi-country strategy and product vision.

Kevin is the host of the Create Your Life Series podcast and has been featured or spoken in Forbes, Black Enterprise, Essence, Podcast Movement, Podcast Sessions, Ted X, Sirius XM, Inc. magazine and many more…

Dan Aceda

Dan Aceda is an activist, entrepreneur, actor, and award-winning musician. He is the founder and CEO of SemaBOX, a podcast studio based in Nairobi, Kenya that helps emerging podcasters create and distribute their stories across the world and is the largest podcast production company in Africa, producing over 700 different episodes with 200 podcast creators. In 2021 they launched the DADA Podcast Incubator, a program to upskill, to publish and create a platform specifically for women and non-binary people whose stories and storytelling ideas can resonate globally. Dan is a board member of the Music Publishers Association of Kenya and co-founded Studio Tisa, an online live music platform that acts as a virtual concert venue to showcase live music from the people of East Africa and beyond.

Kim Fox

Kim Fox is a professor of practice in the Department of Journalism and Mass Communication (JRMC) at The American University in Cairo (AUC) in Cairo, Egypt, primarily teaching Audio Production and other journalism courses. She spent decades working in the US radio industry in various positions at WOUB AM/FM/TV in Athens, Ohio; WIZF in Cincinnati, Ohio; WBLK in Buffalo, New York, WAKR in Akron, Ohio and many more. In 2020 Kim founded PodFest Cairo, Egypt’s first podcasting conference, hosting nearly 100 podcasters for learning sessions and a podcast pitch competition. As the executive producer of the award-winning Ehky Ya Masr (Tell Your Story Egypt) Podcast, a narrative nonfiction podcast about life in Cairo, Egypt, she works with young freelance producers, many of them former students, writing and editing audio content. Kim is also the Vice President of Academic Affairs for the Broadcast Education Association and the Co-President of AIR, the Association of Independents in Radio.

Molly Jensen

Molly Jensen is the Chief Executive Officer of Afripods, a free pan-African podcast hosting platform building the largest library of African audio stories on the planet, based in Nairobi, Kenya. With the ability to categorize in over 50 languages and with content from over 30 countries including that from individual podcasters, radio stations and media houses, Afripods is the home for African podcasting across the continent and within the Diaspora. As a Ghanaian-American born in New York, Molly is extremely excited to help digitize African stories and wants to see African creators take up as much space as possible while creating avenues to help them get paid for their work. She has over ten years of experience across people management, sales, marketing and technology. Molly has spoken at Podcast Movement, Africa Podcast Day, Africa Media Festival, BBC Media Leaders conferences, and Advertising Week Africa as well as most recently featured in Forbes, The Guardian, Reuters, JamLab Africa, Podcast Sessions and Apple Podcasts.

Anthony Frasier

Anthony Frasier is a tech entrepreneur, digital strategist, and the CEO and founder of ABF Creative, a multicultural podcasting production company that produces kids and family podcasts for people of color. Frasier also currently serves as the entrepreneur in residence for Newark Venture Partners, a fund created by Audible & Amazon to help bring more tech startups to his hometown of Newark, NJ. Anthony's mission is to tell and amplify stories that bring entertaining and positive transformations to as many lives as possible.

Insights From the Episode

• Insights into the relationship between radio and the emergence of the podcasting industry in Africa
• Thoughts on how to get more creators to record podcasts in their native vernacular languages
• How platforms can evolve to improve discoverability both within Africa and outside of the Continent to highlight African stories
• Discussion on how to raise the awareness and quality of local content to get the same kind of listenership as international podcasts
• How we can support, empower, and connect with the African podcasting ecosystem
• Why we should care about content coming from Africa

Quotes from the Show

• On the relationship between radio broadcasts and podcasts: “We are a continent of orated history. We’re comfortable getting information from our ears, and radio is the most prevalent medium on the Continent. As the digitization of internet media, technology, and podcasts becomes more popular, it’s important to meet people where they are.” - Molly Jensen, Create Your Life Series, #196
• “In the existence of our studio, the early adopters were female. They were the first ones who came and the first ones to try a new technology, telling new stories. They were also the ones with multiple different vulnerabilities that needed to be highlighted; stories that needed to be told. As soon as that became clear to us at SemaBOX, we were mobilizing as much as we could to find ways to discover more voices and make sure that those are on the right platform. Even though women–as Thomas Sankara said–’hold up half of the sky’, their voices don’t represent half of what you hear on radio or on the internet. They are valid, fantastic, and they need to be out there.” - Dan Aceda, Create Your Life Series, #196
• On breaking into podcasting in Africa: “My advice would be to find someone who you can collaborate with, especially on the Continent where there are so many universities you can tap into, to help bring your resources and get some resources from them as well.” - Kim Fox, Create Your Life Series, #196
• “We all want to see African creators take up as much space as possible, but also get paid for their genius.” - Kevin Y. Brown, Create Your Life Series, #196
• “Podcasting is a low-cost way for us to be able to preserve history, culture, traditions, and language. Other languages will die if we do not preserve them or if we are not using them, so for future Africans, no matter where they are throughout the Diaspora, in order for them to have an authentic history they need to hear their language, culture, and traditions from themselves.” - Kevin Y. Brown, Create Your Life Series, #196
• “One of the biggest focuses for Afripods is that we’re making sure we’re building a product with the African creator in mind, but also with the African creators’ input.”  - Kevin Y. Brown, Create Your Life Series, #196
• “You have to have an Africa strategy. If you don’t have one, there’s a problem. You’re missing out on a billion people, a huge market to not be talking about. There needs to be more investment in local platforms–Afripods, SemaBOX, Africa Podfest, Podfest Cairo–because we are the ones that have granular knowledge of the market and can lead the world towards what can work because we work with it every day.”  - Dan Aceda, Create Your Life Series, #196
• “If you don’t have an Africa strategy, you do not have a growth strategy. And that’s on everything.”  - Molly Jensen, Create Your Life Series, #196
• “Podcasting has hit a wall when you think about listeners. There’s only a few growth areas where more listeners can come in–people of color in the U.S., kids and family, and other continents like Africa. That’s the reason why you need that strategy. The only way you’re going to grow podcasting in general is if more people start to create outside this continent.” - Anthony Frasier, Create Your Life Series, #196
• “If you want to craft an Africa strategy, you need Africans. A lot of times Africans are not the ones telling our own stories, and that has to change. We need to be a part of the development strategy for the things that affect us. If it’s about me, it needs to include me.” - Kevin Y. Brown, Create Your Life Series, #196
• “I think it’s important to be an advocate, to be an ally, to a lot of the people who are already on the ground creating content.”  - Anthony Frasier, Create Your Life Series, #196
• “More is more. We need more visibility, we need more press, we need more money, we need more resources, we need more people speaking, yelling, talking about Africa–especially when we’re not in the room. We need more being curious, reaching out to people on the ground, and making sure we’re taking up space.” - Molly Jensen, Create Your Life Series, #196
• “There is no better opportunity at this point than Africa. If you’re looking for content, it has to come from Africa. Everyone is under 19 years old. There needs to be a shift into what’s happening with Black people. Fundamentally I think Black women, Black American women, are the curators of culture, and I think Black women need to get more credit for that. The entire Black experience is not seeing the value they create financially, and that’s exploitation. Exploitation is not capturing the value you create, so making sure that African creators are getting paid the same in bringing stories to the forefront. … We cannot take a piece of the pie right now; we need the pie to get bigger.” - Molly Jensen, Create Your Life Series, #196

Stay Connected

Create Your Life Series

Facebook: Create Your Life Series

Instagram: Create Your Life Series

Kevin Y. Brown

Website: Kevin Y Brown

Instagram: kevinybrown

Twitter: kevinybrown

Facebook: kevinybrown

Dan Aceda

Website: Dan Aceda

Website: SemaBOX

Website: Studio Tisa

Website: DADA Incubator

Instagram: danaceda

YouTube: 1mwarabu

Twitter: Dan Aceda

Facebook: Dan Aceda Music

LinkedIn: Dan Aceda

Kim Fox

Tilda: Kim Fox

Instagram: ohradiogirl

Instagram: PodFest Cairo

Facebook: PodFest Cairo

Twitter: KimFoxWOSU

Podcast: Ehky Ya Masr

Molly Jensen

Website: Afripods

LinkedIn: Molly Jensen

Twitter: mj_acosua

Anthony Frasier

Website: ABF Creative

LinkedIn: Anthony Frasier

Instagram: anthonyfrasier

Subscribe to our podcast + download each episode on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcast, Stitcher, Afripods, and Spotify.

This episode was produced and managed by Podcast Laundry (www.podcastlaundry.com)