Alliad, an integrated services company with a presence in seven African countries, has launched the first season of the Empowering Africa podcast. Its staff interview leaders from AFEX, Allison Worldwide, the Asante Africa Foundation and ENDIP International.
Capital FM in Nairobi reported on 6 October that "Global integrated services company Alliad has launched the first season of its Empowering Africa podcast, seeking to spotlight practical solutions for translating the continent's economic potential into sustainable and inclusive growth." The topics listed include infrastructure, healthcare, investment, digital innovation, supply chains and climate resilience.
Staff as hosts
The show's distinguishing feature is who asks the questions. The company's launch announcement, published on Africa.com, says "each episode is hosted by a different senior Alliad executive". According to that announcement, season one pairs:
- Ayodeji Balogun, group CEO of AFEX, on supply and procurement systems, with Lydia Oguna, warehouse manager at Alliad Kenya.
- Claudine Moore, managing director for Africa at Allison Worldwide, on public relations and investment, with Caris Dinardo of Alliad's marketing and communications team.
- Geoffrey Kasangaki, CEO of the Asante Africa Foundation, on leadership, education and youth development, with Alliad global CEO Rashad Sinokrot.
- Benjamin Ovio of ENDIP International Development on talent pipelines, with Vikki Aitken, Alliad's vice president of human resources.
Most hosts are senior figures, but the list also includes a warehouse manager. The announcement does not say how many episodes the season will have beyond these four conversations, or how often they will be released.
What the company says it wants
"Africa's transformation will depend on our ability to move from ambition to execution," Sinokrot said, adding: "Through the podcast, we hope to explore how Africa can translate its potential into sustainable and inclusive growth." Capital FM reports that he described the podcast as part of a shift "from simply doing business in Africa to doing business with Africa".
The show also serves Alliad's commercial plans. Capital FM notes that "The podcast comes as Alliad continues to expand its operations across Africa." The company is present in Kenya, Uganda, Côte d'Ivoire, Rwanda, Tanzania, Angola and Cameroon, and plans to explore Ghana, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Benin, Togo and Guinea-Conakry, the report says. The Africa.com announcement describes Alliad as "part of Agility Global" and headquartered in the UAE.
Where to listen
The announcement says the season "will be available across major podcast platforms, including Spotify as well as on the Alliad website". On 11 October the Alliad podcast page listed one episode, the conversation with Claudine Moore on African public relations and strategic communications.
Why it matters
Empowering Africa is a branded podcast: a company's own show, hosted by its own staff, so the company chooses the guests and frames the questions. For African producers and agencies, it is one more example of a large company with operations on the continent choosing a podcast to reach business, policy and investment audiences. The Capital FM report and the Africa.com announcement both draw on Alliad's own material; neither gives audience figures.