The ARC Insider

The ARC Insider, Episode 29: Business Plans not CVs - The battle for Small Businesses in South Africa

Karen Allen and Tara O’Connor discuss breaking news stories from across Africa. This week, they are joined by Moipone Malefane, Moipone is the former political editor of The Sowetan who recently set up Vutivi Business News - a platform serving Small Medium Micro Enterprises in the form of writing stories. Moipone gives an insight into the impact of the recent violence in South Africa on small businesses and what can be done to improve their visibility, stability and growth.... 

The ARC Insider, Episode 28: South Africa's hidden hand in powering the continent - thoughts from Moeletsi Mbeki

Karen Allen and Tara O’Connor discuss breaking news stories from across the continent including former South African President Zuma’s arrest and Nigeria’s Petroleum Industry Bill. The hosts give a very personal tribute to Zambia’s founding president Kenneth Kaunda - who died last month at the age of 97. 

This week, Karen and Tara are joined by Moeletsi Mbeki - Deputy Chairman of the South African Institute for International Affairs, an independent think tank based at the University of the Witwatersrand. He is a frequent political commentator on African and South African affairs. After returning to South Africa from exile in 1990, he was appointed Head of Communication for the Congress of South Africa Trade Unions (COSATU) and Media Consultant to the African National Congress. 

Our guest delves into South Africa’s socio-political landscape, both past, present and future and looks at the country’s hidden hand in powering the continent... 

The ARC Insider, Episode 27: A changing of the guard, new dynamics in Franco-African relations

Karen Allen and Tara O'Connor discuss news stories from across the continent, including Nigeria’s twitter ban, South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa’s lobbying on behalf of Africa to waive patents on Covid-19 vaccines and Tanzania’s President Samia Suluhu Hassan’s early successes. 

This week’s special guest is ARC's own Leonard Mbulle-Nziege. Alongside being an ARC author, Leonard is completing his PhD at UCT looking at democratisation trends in Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon and Cote d’Ivoire since the advent of multiparty politics in the early 1990s. A Cameroon national - Leonard provides expert insight on shifting Franco-African relations. 

 

The ARC Insider, Episode 26: The Future of Africa: In conversation with Dr Jakkie Cilliers

Karen Allen and Tara O'Connor discuss stories from across the continent, including the Kazungula Bridge project…  a potential game changer for transporting people and goods across Southern Africa by linking Botswana and Zambia across the Zambezi river.

This week, they are joined by Dr Jakkie Cilliers – formerly an artillery officer in the South African defence forces who was instrumental in helping to transform the military after the end of apartheid. Jakkie is the founder and former Executive Director of the Institute for Security Studies (ISS) and he currently serves as chair of the ISS Board of Trustees and head of the African Futures and Innovation Programme at the ISS. Jakkie discusses his most recent book - The Future of Africa: Challenges and Opportunities which takes a rigorous look at the continent as a whole. 

The ARC Insider, Episode 25: Architecture, Race and Culture: In conversation with Professor Lesley Lokko

Hosts Karen Allen and Tara O'Connor cover the latest news and analysis from across Africa. 

This week’s guest is Professor Lesley Lokko - an architect, academic, and best-selling novelist. She was previously the founder and director of the Graduate School of Architecture (GSA) at the University of Johannesburg. She also set up an institute to help shape African futures and has published 11 novels, with her latest book, Soul Sisters, to be published in summer 2021.

Discussions focus on the distinguishing features of race and architecture and how architecture and African architects are helping to shape and imagine the continent’s future. 

The ARC Insider, Episode 24: Regional rifts and trade partnerships - In conversation with Sonal Sejpal, one of Kenya’s most notable figures in finance and trade.

Karen and Tara discuss recent socio-political developments from across Africa, including the announcement of the death of Tanzania’s President John Magufuli and the escalating unrest in Senegal.

This week, the presenters are joined by a very special guest, Sonal Sejpal - a leading figure in the world of East African finance and trade. Sonal helped to establish East Africa’s largest legal practice, Anjarwalla & Khanna Advocates. She is a staunch advocate for women in the law and now chairs the British Chamber of Commerce in Kenya. Sonal joins the episode from Nairobi and conversations include an analysis of Kenya’s economic outlook, the country’s new trade deal with the UK and gender equality in law and business. 

The ARC Insider, Episode 23: The good guys and the bad guys - Africa’s vaccine arms-race and the lessons learnt from HIV & Aids

It's a race against time to vaccinate the continent as Covid-19 mutates. This week, Karen Allen and Tara O'Connor speak with Professor Helen Rees - an internationally renowned scientist, recognised for her work on vaccines, HIV prevention and reproductive health. 

Professor Rees, “a doctor activist” long before she became a “doctor scientist”, talks about the moral and economic imperative of equalising access to coronavirus vaccines. 

The ARC Insider, Episode 22: Fist fights, oil rights and the biggest shake up in Nigeria's energy sector in a generation.

Fist fights oil rights and the biggest shake up in Nigeria's energy sector in a generation.

 

Join Karen Allen and Tara O'Connor in conversation with Energy Analyst Najim Animashaun on why it has taken more than a decade to get new legislation in place to break up the state owned petroleum giant.

 

The ARC Insider, Episode 21: Goodbye, Mr Trump - back to the business of Africa

Karen Allen and Tara O’Connor discuss key socio-political events from across the African continent from Uganda’s election to the impact the rollout of vaccines against Covid-19 could have on African economies. 

This week, Karen and Tara are joined by Benjamin Haley, partner in the Johannesburg office of Covington & Burling. Ben shares his insights on the impact of the US presidential election on Africa, the African companies going global and where to draw the line on client entertaining...

The ARC Insider, Episode 20: Food for Thought - How Digitisation is Disrupting Food Distribution in Kenya

For the last episode of the year, Tara and Karen give a whistle-stop tour of current news stories from across Africa. This week’s guest is a dynamic man from the world of food. A former East African Coca-Cola executive voted among the top 100 business leaders in Africa by Forbes Afrique, Peter Njonjo is the founder of Twiga Foods, the Kenya business-to-business food distribution platform which is disrupting the way small store holders in cities like Nairobi access produce from farms, bypassing the middleman and using the latest digital technology to force prices down.