Tech Talk Africa

What are your thoughts?

Kenya’s tech story is bigger than startups and bigger than mobile money. When digital infrastructure grows, energy demand grows with it and that forces a hard question: can the digital economy scale without going green first?

We talk with Belgian Ambassador Peter Mattens about why his team links “digital and green,” and what that looks like on the ground in Nairobi, including a retrofitted net zero embassy with solar power, water recycling, on-site cooking gas, and hydroponic farming. From there, we zoom out to the Kenya Belgium relationship inside the broade...

What are your thoughts?

Guest: Ambassador Philip Thigo - The Special Envoy on Technology for Kenya

AI hype is loud, but the real question is quieter: are we building the infrastructure that makes AI work for us, or are we stuck as permanent users of other people’s systems? I’m joined by Ambassador Philip Thigo, the only African tech envoy, to unpack what “AI is infrastructure” means from a Kenyan and African perspective and why that framing changes everything from investment to regulation.

We break down the AI stack in plain la...

What are your thoughts?

Guest: Serge Blockmans - Independent Advisor | Change Management

Go live is a moment. Transformation is a behavior change that survives the moment.

I sit down with Serge Blockmans, who helped bring SAP and ERP into the East African market, to revisit what digital transformation looked like in Kenya before the term became fashionable. Back then, organizations wanted controls, governance, and trustworthy data, not buzzwords. That foundation still shapes today’s ERP implementation decisions across finance, procurement, logistics, HR, and payroll.

From there, we get honest ab...

What are your thoughts?

Guest: Justice Mukaro - Founder of Strateji & Zimbabwean entrepreneur
 
What happens when Africa stops importing assumptions and starts exporting standards? We sit down with founder and computer scientist Justice Mukaro to unpack a bold, practical plan for sovereign AI: Amanzi Cloud, a decentralized infrastructure designed to keep data local, cut costs, and connect every country into one living network.

Justice’s water metaphor makes complex systems feel simple. Traditional hyperscalers are like dams; Amanzi is a network of boreholes—nodes in data centers, institutions, and small...

What are your thoughts?

Tech Talk Africa | Season 2 Episode 02: After The Hype

Guest: Harry Hare, Chairman & Publisher at CIO Africa

A pandemic rewired our habits, but did it truly change our leadership? We open the door on Kenya’s post-COVID tech reality—how hybrid work became muscle memory, how decision-making evolved, and where old instincts still hold back progress. Then we wade into the storm ahead: elections, uncertainty, and AI stepping onto the political stage. From deepfakes that stress-test public trust to hyper-targeted messages that could raise the quality of c...

What are your thoughts?

Tech Talk Africa | Season 2 Episode 01: The AI Infrastructure Reckoning 

Guest: Michael Michie, Co-founder of EverseTech and Special Advisor on AI to the Kenyan Government

Africa’s digital future isn't just about the code we write; it’s being laid in the cables, servers, and power grids that most people will never see. In this season premiere, we move past the headlines to ask the hard questions: Who owns the compute? Who controls the data? And who pays the energy bill when ambition outpaces reality? 

We s...

What are your thoughts?

Tech Talk Africa – Episode 10: Law, Code, And The African Future

Guest: Richard Odongo, Senior Associate (IP & Technology) at Bowmans

What happens when Africa’s most dynamic innovators meet laws that are still catching up to AI’s speed? 

We sit down with Richard Odongo, Senior Associate (IP & Technology) at Bowmans (Law Firm), to map the real terrain: who owns AI-generated work, how data should move across borders, and what “responsible AI” looks like when livelihoods and culture are on the line.
<...

What are your thoughts?

Tech Talk Africa – Episode 9: A Woman Shaping Africa’s Digital Financial Future

Guest: Diana Gathoni, Digital Commercialisation Senior Manager

In this inspiring episode of Tech Talk Africa, host Stella sits down with Diana Gathoni, a powerhouse in Africa’s digital transformation space. From her early days as a banking intern to leading digital commercialization at ABSA, Diana’s journey is a masterclass in resilience, innovation, and purpose-driven leadership.

She opens up about navigating fintech, consulting, and banking—building d...

What are your thoughts?

Tech Talk Africa – Episode 8: Africa’s Higher Education Sector and Technology

Guest: Dr. Nico Elema, Director of the Centre for Collaboration in Africa at Stellenbosch University

In this episode, host Stella Gichuhi speaks with Dr. Nico Elema, Director of the Center for Collaboration in Africa at Stellenbosch University. 

Together, they explore how African universities can foster innovation, technology transfer, and equitable partnerships across the continent. Dr. Elema shares insights on contextualizing education, empowering youth, and blending cultural authenticity with digit...

What are your thoughts?

Tech Talk Africa – Episode 7: Connecting Africa; Nigeria’s Infrastructure Paradox

Guest: Ahmed Atere, CEO of MEED Networks

In this episode of Tech Talk Africa, host Stella Gichuhi explores how ambition meets adversity in Nigeria’s digital evolution.

Joining her is Ahmed Atere, CEO of MEED Networks, an infrastructure pioneer building the country’s connectivity backbone. From constructing Nigeria’s largest campus fiber network to contributing to a 90,000-kilometer national fiber rollout, Atere reveals how MEED is threadi...

What are your thoughts?

Tech Talk Africa – Episode 6: Rwanda’s Digital Leap: How Policy, People and Partnerships Are Powering Transformation

Guest: Alex Ntale - Rwanda's ICT Chamber CEO.

In this episode of Tech Talk Africa, host Stella Gichuhi sits down with Alex Ntale, CEO of the Rwanda ICT Chamber, to explore how Rwanda is redefining what’s possible in digital transformation on the African continent.

Once known for its ambitious Vision 2020, Rwanda has emerged as a continental leader in techno...

What are your thoughts?

Tech Talk Africa – Episode 5: Africa's Internet Part 2: What comes next?

Guest: Ben Roberts - Non-Regional AFRINIC Board Member.

 Ben Roberts, AfriNIC’s new non-regional independent board member, reflects on Africa’s internet governance and infrastructure. AfriNIC, which allocates IP addresses and system numbers, recently overcame legal disputes and board gaps through fresh elections. 

Roberts emphasizes multi-stakeholder governance, competition, and investment, citing M-Pesa as proof of local innovation. He warns of digital dependency resulting from uneven access and reliance on global platforms, urging the developm...

What are your thoughts?

Tech Talk Africa – Episode 4: The Great Firewall of Africa (Cybersecurity and The Skills Gap)

Guest: Mr. Joseph Mathenge, the Chief Operations Officer at Serianu Limited, an award-winning Pan-African cybersecurity and business consulting firm.

In Episode 4 of Tech Talk Africa, host Stella Gichuhu and guest Joseph Mathenge, COO at Serianu, discuss cybersecurity's link to the human element amid rising cybercrimes in Africa. 

Mathenge notes reported incidents are partly due to better reporting and law enforcement. They explore how the digital age...

What are your thoughts?

Tech Talk Africa – Episode 3: Technology and the African Customer Experience

Guest: Mr. Nyasha Mutsekwa, the Chief Executive Officer of  Africa’s leading Customer Experience (CX) platform - Ajua

In this episode of Tech Talk Africa, we explore the customer experience transformation across the continent. African consumers no longer accept "That's just how it is." The discussion highlights higher stakes for local businesses due to the relational nature of African consumers and why many "survival entrepreneurs" fail to deliver experience despi...

What are your thoughts?

Tech Talk Africa – Episode 2: Who Owns The African Story?

Guest: Dr Joel Ongoto, Ag.Deputy Secretary General of Research and Resource Mobilization and Programme Director, Social and Human Sciences at KENYA NATIONAL COMMISSION FOR UNESCO (KNATCOM)

In this critical episode of Tech Talk Africa, host Stella Gichuhi dives into the powerful intersection of culture, communication, and information in the digital era.

Dr. Ongoto emphasizes that although African culture gains global prominence, its creators frequently miss out on advantages because di...

What are your thoughts?

Tech Talk Africa – Episode 1: Who Owns Our Internet?

Guest: Fiona Asonga, the Chief Executive Officer of a non-governmental, not-for-profit Technology Service Providers Association of Kenya (TESPOK)

In this debut episode of Tech Talk Africa, host Stella Gichuhi and guest Fiona dive deep into the unfolding AFRINIC situation and explore its ripple effects across businesses, research institutions, and society at large. 

From questions of governance and accountability to the broader issue of digital sovereignty, this discussion unpacks why the ownership and...