Limitless Africa TRUE Africa

As James Brown once put it, it’s a man’s world. But in this episode we talk to three women who don’t think that’s true. And they’re proving it by doing the most in male-dominated industries. 
What challenges do they face? How do they make their voices heard in their place of work? And what are the positives of being one of the only women in those industries?
Linda Mabhena-Olagunju runs a wholly African female-owned independent power producer, and operates one of Africa's largest wind farms.  
 
DJ Elly is one of Angola’s biggest DJs. 
 
Kah Walla, politician and entrepreneur, was the first woman to stand for president in Cameroon in 2011.


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When it comes to gay rights on the continent, Africans are conflicted. In Nigeria, Uganda, Cameroon, Kenya, Tanzania and many other countries, it’s illegal. But in South Africa, Cape Verde, Angola, Gabon, being gay is not a crime. 
Many think that being gay is un-African. In this episode we asked our guests the question: Can LGBT rights ever be part of African values?
Kat Kai Kol-Kes is a performance artist, musician, writer and activist. She is known for being the first public figure from Botswana to openly identify as a trans. 
Va-Bene Fiatsi is a trans performance artist from Ghana who explores gender fluidity. Right now, the Ghanaian parliament is considering enacting anti-gay legislation which could lead to up to 10 years in jail. As an activist, Fiatsi is on the frontlines actively opposing it.
Sheba Akpokli from Togo works as a lawyer in Canada and is a strong advocate for LGBTIAQ+ people. 

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Across Africa, young entrepreneurs are making their dreams happen in challenging circumstances. Here three very different young Africans explain how they made their first million.
Maya Horgan Famodu is an American-Nigerian venture capitalist, originally from Minnesota in the US. She has a VC firm called Ingressive Capital. Her latest fund is worth $50m. She’s invested in some of the biggest startups in Africa.
Moulaye Tabouré is the Malian CEO and founder of ANKA, an online sales platform for African fashion and crafts based in Cote d’Ivoire. The company has raised $6.2 million in its series A funding although it has since announced it is closing its marketplace. 
Moutagna Keita is a Guinean-born inventor and successful businessman. He studied at Harvard University and worked in America. He came back to Guinea to launch his portable ultrasound machine.

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Souleymane Bachir Diagne is one of the foremost scholars of Islamic and African philosophy. Currently a professor at Columbia University in New York, he remains deeply connected to the continent and to his home country Senegal. Before moving to the US, he taught in the humanities department at Cheikh Anta Diop University in Dakar for 20 years. 
During our conversation, he gave illuminating historical context to the democratic crisis in Senegal. He explained why Senegalese democracy is so resilient. This interview was recorded before the election so forgive us for not discussing the result. 
We also talked about the situation in Israel and Gaza and the relationship between Jews, and Muslims. We also discussed the wedge this conflict has driven between the black and Jewish communities. And we talked a lot about the concept of Ubuntu, the idea of a common humanity, and how that idea can help us frame our attitude towards the current conflict in the Middle East.


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Many wars have been waged on African soil. But it also means that Africans have something to say about conflict resolution. At a moment in time, where conflict seems to be all around us, Limitless Africa wanted to highlight three approaches to peace. 
Souleymane Bachir Diagne is one of the foremost scholars of Islamic and African philosophy and a professor at Columbia University in New York
Joseph Nkurunziza is a medical doctor and CEO of Never Again Rwanda, a peace-building NGO which works in 22 out of the 30 districts of the country.
Former refugee Victor Ochen supports local communities still affected by war with his organisation AYINET, the African Youth Initiative Network.


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Novuyo Rosa Tshuma is an award-winning Zimbabwean novelist who teaches at the acclaimed Iowa Writers Workshop in the US, like many literary icons before her. And she's only 36 years old. 
Her debut novel House of Stone is set during the Gukahurundi massacres that took place immediately after Zimbabwean independence and remain shrouded in secrecy.  Her second novel Digging Stars also received glowing reviews. It deals with an equally uncomfortable history. She charts the similarities between the reserves allocated to native Americans in the US and those allocated to indigenous people in South Africa and Zimbabwe.
This is a must listen for anyone interested in African fiction, interested in reading it of course but also interested in how it is produced. Novuyo gives us a peek behind the scenes of some of the most prestigious writing institutions in the US, telling us what it's like to be a young African woman professor there. She's equally clear-sighted about the situation in Zimbabwe and what it's like to come back home with your partner when you are queer.


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