How do we find and fulfill a calling from God?This episode’s guest addresses this question by highlighting the story of Ayodeji Megbope, founder of the Nigerian catering company, No Left-Overs. Ayo started the company after feeling like she had reached a dead end with her 20-year career as a secretary. She wanted to provide greater financial stability for herself and her family, and after years of struggling, she found a calling in the food industry. Since then, she has been selected for the Goldman Sachs’ 10 Thousand Women Program and has spoken in front of world leaders about Global Entrepreneurship in places like Turkey and the U.S. She joins us to talk about her humble beginnings and how God led her to where she is today.

Starting a company comes with plenty of challenges. Scaling comes with others. Metro Africa Express co-founders Adetayo Bamiduro and Chinedu Azodoh understand this well. The two entrepreneurs have created a thriving business that has made an impact in the transportation industry and has positively impacted the lives of many across Africa. In 2021, the company received 31 million dollars in series B funding to help scale the business even more.They join us to talk about the process of starting and scaling a business while staying devoted to their mission and faith.

What causes someone to go from medical doctor to entrepreneur to venture capitalist?Few people succeed in any of those fields. This episode’s guest excelled in all three.Dr. Ola Brown is the founder of the investment firm Healthcap that focuses on venture capital and infrastructure building across Africa.Prior to that, she worked as a medical doctor. Then she founded Flying Doctors Nigeria, a tech-enabled urgent care services marketplace before co-founding her first fund: Greentree Investment Company. Over the years, she has received numerous professional certificates in economics, business, and public partnerships. She speaks and teaches regularly, and offers free lectures on her Youtube channel. She joins us today to talk about investing in Africa’s infrastructure. Check out the episode and don’t forget to follow and rate the show wherever you get your podcasts.

What would you do if you were presented with the opportunity to take over a business with 20 million dollars worth of debt?Most of us would pass on the offer, but today’s podcast guest felt a call to step in and help.Shady Hebeish was working as a pastor when his father passed away suddenly from a heart attack, leaving behind the family business he ran with his brothers. Shady felt the Holy Spirit lead him to take on his father’s responsibilities and try to save the company.Over the next 20 years, he and the others in his family saw God work in miraculous ways to reduce the debt and grow the business. Listen in as Shady tells an incredible story of provision, faithfulness, and miracles.

How do you rebuild a company and your faith in the wake of immense tragedy?For Robert Bayigamba, this was not a mental exercise.Robert began leading Manumetal Ltd, a manufacturing firm in Rwanda following the country’s horrific 1994 genocide. He took over during a time when inventory had been looted and employee numbers were decimated.But through integrity and good work, Robert has grown the company and now even holds majority ownership. He joins the show today to share his inspiring and challenging story of faith, discipline, and restoration.Make sure to follow the show for more great content from global leaders and give us a rating if you enjoyed the content. 

Anthony Tan’s entrepreneurial journey started with a simple question: how can I best take care of other people?Through that he founded Grab, the leading superapp in Southeast Asia. Grab provides food delivery, ridesharing, and digital payments for its users. It’s also valued at $14 billion. Anthony sat down with our global podcast hosts in the midst of the 2020 pandemic to share how his graduate school business plan led to a multi-billion dollar organization. We’re excited to share it with you.

Despite the North Africa and Middle East being known as an area closed off to Christianity, Tony George and Peter Ramzy are tapping into the ancient roots of Faith Driven Entrepreneurship that exists in Egypt. Under Tony’s leadership, the Community (tC) Egypt disciples young people, recovering addicts, women, and business professionals and prepares them for the labor market. Out of that organization came the Oasis Accelerator programs, which Peter now oversees. The program provides local Egyptian entrepreneurs with purpose-driven skills to grow their businesses. In partnership, Tony and Peter are equipping Egyptian Christians with the community and tools to create a transformative impact in the region.

God can redeem broken situations.We just have to have faith in the midst of the crisis.That’s what we learn in today’s podcast episode with Dr. Ngozi Onyia.Dr. Onyia started Paleon Memorial Hospital in memory and honor of her daughter Patricia, who was born with a rare congenital syndrome and passed away at 9 years old. After seeing the care and excellence Patricia was treated with in other countries, Dr. Onyia was inspired to redefine healthcare in Nigeria. In spite of her tragic and dim circumstances, she has seen the faithfulness of God play out since the founding of Paleon Hospital, which went on to become one of the first clinics to serve COVID-19 patients in Nigeria. Listen to Dr. Onyia share her powerful story of faith, restoration, and healing in this incredible episode.If you like the content, remember to rate the show, share the episode, and follow the podcast on whatever platform you listen on.

As the CEO and Co-Founder of Rising Tide Capital, Alfa Demmellash is working to help underserved entrepreneurs get the recognition and investment capital they need for success.Along the way, she was recognized by former US President Barack Obama in a speech at the White House and was named one of Forbes Magazine’s Most Powerful Women Changing the World with Philanthropy. In this global Faith Driven Entrepreneur episode, Alfa Demmellash talks about the journey that brought her through Ethiopia, Rwanda, and Harvard and led her to championing entrepreneurs in underserved, urban areas.

Most of the world has been impacted by sports in some way. We might see them as a hobby, a passion, or a way to build character and learn teamwork.But do they have the power to unite a country?For business partners Maged Fawzy and Waseem Arsany, the answer is yes.The two Egyptian leaders met through their church. Maged was doing sports ministry, and Waseem worked as a serial entrepreneur and investor.Their worlds collided when Maged had the idea for Life Sports Club, a 25-acre, $60 million sports facility in New Cairo that will create opportunities for individuals and families to develop their minds, bodies, and hearts through the power of sports.The facility is currently in the construction phase, but the two founders are excited to see how God will use it to bring together a diverse and growing population.Hear the inspiring story about how God opened doors only he could open in this episode with Maged and Waseem, and don’t forget to rate and follow the show on your favorite podcasting app.

What does it look like to use our businesses to fulfill biblical commands?James 1 describes “undefiled religion” as caring for widows and orphans. And that’s exactly what Don Larson is doing in Mozambique with the Sunshine Nut Company.After an impressive career as an executive at Hershey’s Chocolate, God called Don to move to and invest in Mozambique and use subsistence farming as a means to care for vulnerable people while teaching good business practices along the way. 80% of the population of Mozambique survives on this form of production, and Don wanted to help this population expand their opportunities. Through what he calls “the sunshine approach,” Don and his team are investing 90% of profits back into the community where God has placed him. He joins the podcast to talk about the journey that brought him here, the value of investing in communities, and how Christian entrepreneurs can trust the Holy Spirit to guide them out of their comfort zones.

Joram Mwinamo believes it takes a village to raise an entrepreneur. The Co-Founder and CEO of SNDBX International is turning the mentality he learned from an old proverb into a scalable model that helps entrepreneurs succeed. Joram’s uniquely African approach to SNDBX brings together over 30 professional services under one roof so that business leaders have direct access to expert advice and direction.Before starting SNDBX, Joram spent years with WYLDE International, a firm he founded in 2004 to help equip and empower entrepreneurs in Africa. In this podcast, Joram shares what it was like for him to transition and hand over his first business to his successor. Listen in as Joram gives us a window into the energetic, youthful potential of Africa and tell how collaborative entrepreneurship can change the narrative of the region. At Faith Driven Entrepreneur Africa, we want to connect and equip business visionaries like you to fulfill your call to create and transform the African continent. Learn more at africa.faithdrivenentrepreneur.org

Entrepreneurs, no matter where they’re from, are frontline ministers in the workplace. As a pastor and the former Vicar of Holy Trinity Brompton, the largest Anglican church in Britain, Nicky Gumbel believes that it is his task to equip the saints for ministry in the places where they work and live. For the past 3 decades, Nicky Gumbel has pioneered the Alpha course, created as an introduction to the Christian faith primarily for non-churchgoers. The Alpha course has attracted hundreds of young people from around the world who otherwise had no interest in Christianity. It has been run in churches, prisons, government institutions, and workplaces around the world. Nicky joined the global Faith Driven Entrepreneur podcast to talk about uniting the church through the goal of activating believers and making the gospel accessible to all.

Fola Laoye joins us on the Faith Driven Entrepreneur Africa podcast to talk about investment opportunities in the healthcare landscape across the continent. During her time at Harvard Business School, Fola researched the HMO model of health insurance. When she returned to Nigeria, Fola became one of the founding board members of Hygeia, a private healthcare company, which created access to healthcare for over 1 million Nigerians. She has gone on to launch Health Markets Africa and Iwosan Investments Limited, businesses that are committed to investing in healthcare infrastructure in Nigeria and neighboring countries. Listen in as Fola dives into the opportunities for Faith Driven Entrepreneurs and Investors to use their capital to help cure nations.

Kwami Williams has learned a lot from miracle trees.These trees, which are actually called “Moringa Trees” thrive in arid climates and even help the crops around them grow.Inspired by their resilience, Kwami has utilized the African superfood to meet the wellness needs of customers and improve the lives of rural farmers, by transforming the tree’s seed oil and lead powder into skincare and wellness products.To date, his company, True Moringa, has planted over 2 million moringa trees and served 5,000 women and family farmers through their work. Kwami joins us on the Faith Driven Entrepreneur global podcast to discuss entrepreneurial solutions that tackle the challenges faced by the poor and marginalized on the African continent. 

Dr. Kamau Gachigi got tired of seeing brilliant Kenyan engineers leave the industry because they lacked resources. That’s why he created Gearbox, a hardware accelerator and makerspace that trains, resources, and equips innovators in Kenya so they can turn ideas into physical reality. In this episode, Dr. Kamau gives an overview of the fourth industrial revolution, and explains why the next Mark Zuckerbergs and Elon Musks are going to come from Kenya. Listen in as Dr. Kamau unpacks design thinking, practical strategies for local job creation, and what African innovators can share with the world. Want to learn more about Gearbox? Check out Dr. Kamau’s Ted Talk and the Gearbox Website. 

Lindiwe Matlali is making geeks cool in South Africa. As the founder and CEO of Africa Teen Geeks, the largest computer science non-profit organization in the continent, Lindiwe is inspiring the next generation of innovators, entrepreneurs, and leaders in her country. She has a particular passion for helping those from disadvantages backgrounds rise from their circumstances and reach their potential.She joins the show to talk about the faith behind her vision to break the cycle of poverty by providing STEM and coding programs for historically marginalized communities. Listen in to hear about the power of education, entrepreneurship, and prayer, and learn how she navigates the tension between non-profit and for-profit work.

When your spouse is your business partner, it’s easy for business decisions to get personal, and personal decisions to seep into the business operations. John and Ashely Marsh know the tension first hand. The husband and wife team are the co-founders of the Marsh Collective, pioneering the redemption of Opelika historic downtown. Opelika’s story, an account of beauty from brokenness, mirrors their personal story. Through sharing and walking out of their personal testimony of reconciliation, John and Ashely have given hope to hundreds of couples facing divorce and have inspired thousands of business leaders who aspire to live out their faith through their work. On this episode, originally aired on the Faith Driven Entrepreneur podcast, the couple shares helpful tools and stories for entrepreneurs who are partners in business and life.Want to listen to more of John and Ashely? Check out their Redemptification Podcast.  

How does someone go from selling bean cakes in the streets of Nigeria to building one of the largest companies in the country?In the case of Dr. Cosmas Maduka, it takes an encouraging mother, a strong wife, and a lifetime of faithful confidence in a God who helps him persevere.Dr. Maduka is a Nigerian businessman and philanthropist who began his entrepreneurial journey at the age of six, two years after the death of his father. He dropped out of primary school and started hawking Akara, a popular Nigerian food staple to help support his family before joining his uncle’s automotive business as an apprentice. After years of setbacks and trials, Dr. Maduka founded Coscharis Motors in 1977, a leading distributor of luxury cars in Lagos. Today, that company is part of the larger Coscharis Group, which includes companies in several different industries. Tune in to hear Dr. Maduka’s inspiring story of heartbreak, challenges, and faithfulness.

Rev. Julian is an internationally accomplished business leader, serial FinTech entrepreneur, and the founding senior pastor of the Nairobi-based Purpose Centre Church. From his unique vantage point, he speaks to the backdrop of history and education that has set the stage for kingdom businesses to grow in Africa. In 2010, Rev. Julian founded the MODE Group; a highly successful multi-million dollar international fintech company that went on to become a global leader in cashless microservices with a presence in over 14 African countries and 26 countries globally. Since then, Rev. Julian has become Chairman of Beulah City Ltd, a housing development company operating across Africa. He sits on several boards across the world and continues to interact with global leaders in various sectors towards the development of his business ventures and the African continent as a whole.In this episode, Rev. Julian shares his experience of raising capital, scaling businesses, and teaching others to do the same as an apostle of Jesus in the African marketplace.

In this podcast we talk to Dider de Villiers, the visionary behind one of South Africa’s leading fashion brands: Magents. In the years following apartheid, Magents stood out as a uniquely African brand committed to sharing the story of the continent through their expression of fashion. Didier shares with us how Magents has remained focused on celebrating African culture in fashion, despite expanding sales and production to a global audience. We also hear from Didier about the challenges, and the rewards, of being a voice for God’s justice, love and truth in the fashion industry. 

Jennie Allen is the founder and visionary of the women’s organization IF:Gathering, the host of the top rated Made for This podcast (17 million downloads) as well as the New York Times bestselling author of Get Out of Your Head, which was the #1 bestselling religion title of 2020. Her latest book is Find Your People: Building Deep Community in a Lonely World. She has appeared on shows such as Hallmark Home & Family, Fox News at Night with Shannon Bream, and been featured in various outlets such as Woman’s World, Brit+Co, Cosmopolitan.com, and Christianity Today. The estimated viewership for 2021’s IF:Gathering exceeded one million women in all 50 states and 144 countries., live streaming from Dallas, Texas, into thousands of churches, family rooms and dorm rooms. We're excited to share the episode she recorded with the global podcast today! Together, we’re going to discuss in depth some of the powerful topics she writes about and how they relate to us as entrepreneurs.

Ted Pantone has done everything from water initiatives to impact investing. He even opened the first Pizza Hut franchise in Uganda.Today, the American expat is the CEO of Turaco, a microinsurance company that seeks to free people from the fear of financial shock. The company has headquarters in Kenya with a presence in Uganda and Nigeria as well.Ted joins the show to talk about his diverse career and to speak about the power of perseverance and faith in the midst of change.

Efosa Ojomo believes that market-creation plays a key role in economic development, but he didn’t come to that conclusion in a usual way. He ran a nonprofit for 10 years and realized the limitations of his model. After that, he closed the doors of the organization and switched his focus to researching and writing about global prosperity with the Clayten Christensen Institute. He joins the show to talk about the idea of a “Prosperity Paradox” and to give us a vision for how innovation helps lift nations out of poverty.

Richard Okello has had a vision all his life to leave every community or situation better than he found it. This started as a teenager and continues today in his role as Co-founder and President of Sango Capital, an investment firm dedicated to bringing global investments to Africa. He joins the show to talk about what it takes to invest in Africa’s emerging markets. 

Andy Crouch, best-selling author and a partner of theology and culture at Praxis, is a leading voice in the Faith Driven movement. In 2021, Andy spoke at the Faith Driven Investor Conference on a topic that many faith driven investors are wrestling with regularly: God and money, we cannot serve both. How do we balance out Jesus’ teaching and our calling as Faith Driven Investors? Listen to what Andy had to say for some insights and inspiration.

Michael El Daba’s career has been shaped by a clear desire to do great work. After years of working with corporations, he felt a draw to become the funding and investments director for Coptic Evangelical Organization for Social Services, a Christian-based NGO that partners with people of various faiths and backgrounds to create better social structures for all people.He joins the show to talk about the value of developing local systems that empower all people to flourish and gives an overview of the exciting work happening in the MENA region. 

Michelle Essomé’s deep love for Africa was instilled in her as a child, and she has taken that passion into her career.As the founding CEO of Africa Private Equity and Venture Capital Association, Michelle played a fundamental role in promoting and enabling VC and PE investments on the continent. She joins the show to discuss how investing has changed in Africa over the course of her decades-long career and to give listeners a sense of the opportunities on the continent today.

Lecrae is a staple of the Christian hip hop scene, and with good reason. The 2-time Grammy award-winner helped pioneer the genre and take it to the mainstream. But Lecrae is also an entrepreneur. In the early parts of his career, he and Ben Washer, now Co-Founder and CEO of Reach Records, were recording songs for summer camps and pursuing their creative dreams together.Our global podcast spoke with both of them in 2020 to hear the story behind Reach Records and to learn more about how God uses people’s talents to glorify Him. 

Phil Cunningham’s journey from farmer to filmmaker has taken all sorts of turns. He produced Africa’s first ever feature-length animated movie, lost everything he had, created a successful Youtube series, and released a film on Netflix. Today, the Sunrise Productions founder is working on an animated version of the biblical story of David. He joins the show to talk about the power of excellent storytelling and why he thinks the African film industry can leave an impression on the big Hollywood studios.

Okey Enelamah has played a big role in building Africa’s investment landscape. The Harvard Business School graduate started one of the first private equity firms on the continent in the late 1990s and has helped raise over a billion dollars in assets. In addition to this, he also served as the Minister of Industry, Trade, and Investment in Nigeria from 2015-2019. He joins the show to talk about the importance of enabling environments for success and the role Faith Driven Entrepreneurs can play in making this happen.

Segun Olujobi’s vision for his company came first as a vision from the Lord. He saw an image of an oil company thriving in the Niger Delta, and he worked hard to achieve that goal. Today, he runs Vertex Energy where he seeks to steward the natural resources of his home country of Nigeria. He joins the show to talk about how his faith drives him towards stewardship in all he does and why he decided to change his name after coming to the Lord.  

As a leader in both the public and private sectors, Mugo Kibati has unique insight for how entrepreneurs and governments can work together to make lasting change in their communities. He is the CEO of Telekom Kenya and served as the director for Kenya Vision 2030. He joins the show today to talk about why leaders in all industries should prioritize their values and how he’s implemented that practice in his own career.  

In 2020, Horst Schulze joined the crew on the global Faith Driven Entrepreneur to talk about the value of service in leadership and in business. Horst knows a thing or two about service. He’s spent over 30 years in the hospitality industry and co-founded The Ritz Carlton Hotel Company in 1983. He is an expert in creating wonderful employee and customer experiences, and he shares some practical tips for entrepreneurs who want to do excellent work, no matter their field. 

In this episode recorded for the Faith Driven Investor podcast, Tsitsi Masiyiwa asks the question: “How are we using the platform that God has given us to influence decision-makers and our communities to do good?” She talks about the value of catalytic capital—a patient, flexible, and risk-tolerant form of financing that sometimes accepts lower returns to accommodate the economics of high-impact organizations that are profitable but not profit-maximizing. Tsitsi draws on her years of experience in philanthropy and as a social entrepreneur to inspire Christ-centered entrepreneurs and investors to leverage their capital to solve global challenges.

Marlon Parker started Rlabs in a borrowed computer lab with 14 former gang members. Now, the organization has equipped thousands of people with tech skills that lead to jobs and social transformation. Marlon joins the show to talk about the role innovation plays in empowering Africa’s next generation and how he aims to make hope contagious in all he does.

In this episode recorded on the global Faith Driven Entrepreneur podcast, Bertie Lourens, CEO of WastePlan shares how their company is working to divert the vast majority of customers’ waste-stream from landfills and converting it into valuable, recyclable resources. They do this by employing hundreds of local workers, caring for their families, and investing in local schools to educate the next generation of South African leaders. And, as Bertie shares today, stewarding God’s creation has now grown into giving God a majority ownership stake in the company. Listen in to find out how...

As both an entrepreneur and an investor, Kola Aina has a unique perspective on Africa’s market. These days he spends most of his time building and investing in ecosystems that help communities flourish. He joins Henry and Ndidi to talk about the makings of a good deal and to inspire listeners with a vision for righteous capital. 

Faith should drive everything in a Christian’s life, including their business. Strive Masiyiwa joins Ndidi and Henry to talk about the value of cultivating a personal relationship with Christ through regular scripture reading, prayer, and fasting. He also explains how his faith has empowered him to operate in the world without fear and how other entrepreneurs can go bravely into the spheres God called them.

In our first episode of Faith Driven Entrepreneur Africa podcast, Ndidi and Henry talk about their shared desire to tell compelling stories of leaders and innovators across the continent. They are joined by Reuben Coulter, Faith Driven Entrepreneur’s Director of International Strategy, to get insight into the global side of the movement and how Africa has played a part.