Rarebirds Podcast

With a commerce background through and through, meet this chance graphic designer who has been building her niche in the field for the past 3 years with her brand GraphicsQue.  She received her schooling from MHS, college JDBI, Masters from Lancaster University, UK.  She is an active participant of the Modern High School for Girls Alumni and has worked with over 100 clients with popular clients such as Haldirams, Rotary, Goodwyn Tea, Whooppee and BNI.  She is actively engaged in fulfilling her responsibility towards the society by participating in events such as Agapi (Curated by Paint our World, Director- Dr Priya Virmani), Colours of Innocence (Curated by Sonali’s Cubo, Founder- Vayjayanti Pugalia).

Lesleigh Joseph is a citizen and a resident of St. Kitts and Nevis and a graduate of New York’s John Jay College of Criminal Justice where she attained a Bachelor of Arts degree in Forensic Psychology and Anthropology. Having studied Psychology, Lesleigh was afforded the opportunity to vastly improve her intrinsic understanding of the human mind. She hails her decision to focus on Anthropology in tandem with Psychology as one of her most important life decisions as her work is heavily influenced by and entirely dependent on the dominant cultural influence of the social space in which she is present. Despite having chosen a career field that most believe is best utilised in the criminal justice system, she has had the privilege of utilising her skills and qualifications in the public relations, multimedia management and marketing arenas. Merv-Ann Thompson is the founder and Managing Owner of M.A.S.T. Productions, a multifaceted media company, and Conch Shell, an event-listing app in St. Kitts and Nevis newly l

Kimberly King is the Founder and Chief Initiator at Consulting Services by King and Associates Limited.  She has over 17 years’ experience within Sales, Marketing, Business Development, Customer Service  and Tertiary Education for international, local and regional organizations. Her academic qualifications are BSc. Hospitality and Tourism Management and MSc. Marketing Management. Having worked extensively with multi-national companies; Kimberly envisioned her business as helping micro, small, and medium businessowners (MSMEs) by scaling her technical know-how to fit their specific business challenges in the areas of sales and branding.

Evou Lawrence Mendy is a Software Engineer by profession and young Gambian Entrepreneur. He is the Founder and Lead Software Engineer of Kameko - a start-up that provides customized software solutions (web and mobile apps) for businesses in Gambia and beyond. In October 2018, Evou Lawrence introduced Ryde Africa Technologies - a platform that allows you to request for the nearest taxi by using Ryde Africa Taxi App or by calling one of our dispatcher lines. Evou Lawrence pitched Ryde Africa at the maiden edition of the Seedstar World Banjul Pitching Competition in November 2018 and was the 1st Runner-up. He was the 2nd Runner-up of TAF Start-ups Competition in December 2018. He was part the 1000 Entrepreneurs selected for the Tony Elumelu Entrepreneurship Programme 2019. He's also documented by AfricaX (africax.org) as one of the 100 most inspiring stories in Africa for 2019.  He is part of EU Africa Start-ups - a network of 100 Digital Entrepreneurs in EU Member countries and Africa. Evou Lawrence Mendy

Professionally, I am a Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Mapping Specialist and Geo-Business Advocate who has the passion for Technology, Location Intelligence, Mixed Reality and all-round geography and technology. I have had the zeal to further my studies in geography since Junior High through to High School and I currently hold my Bachelor of Arts Degree in Geography and Resource Development with Psychology. My former work as a GIS Mapping Specialist involved making Product Distribution maps , Customer location Heat maps and other business data related static maps. These are for spatio-temporal analysis of physical and business spatial data. My curiosity and thoughts about business has allowed me to examine the business application of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to the success and profitability of sales and marketing in companies.  In respect to my enthusiastic side, my interest in Technology led me to also learn Front-End Software Development with Developers In Vogue. I am currently the Co

Abiodun Anani is a Professional Marketing Strategist with over nine (9) years of cross-cultural experience in marketing, Branding and events. With outstanding achievements in delivering innovative solutions, and facilitating efficiency.  She began her marketing career at Oracle in 2011, an experiential marketing company as a Marketing Executive. Where she hosted several product demonstrations, activation and events. Abiodun then moved to Holidays and Host in 2018 where she served as Head, Public Relations and Marketing a luxury lifestyle company.  During her stay at Holidays and Host she played a lead role in the success of The AMTF Trade Fair which had over 20,000 participants, she’s also the creative director of Mainland Children Funfair. She’s currently a Growth Marketer at PML Advisory Limited, where she oversees marketing, sales and business development departments and works directly with the management group to help ensure continued growth.  She’s known for sharing professional marketing

Business and social change is a family affair for YaAdam Fye. Alongside her mother Lucy and two sisters—Anna and Jainaba—the activist created The Fye Network, the premier producer and provider of African-inspired literature for Gambian children of all ages. The Fye family began writing a series of children’s books that aim to give Gambian youth hopeful, empowering images of themselves and encourage literacy among young readers. In “Princess Halima and the Kingdom of Affia,” readers follow the adventures of a princess in an ancient African kingdom to learn more about the continent. “When my niece Halima was born, I knew I wanted a better world for her,” Jainaba tells OkayAfrica. “She inspired us to write the Princess Halima children's book. At the time, there were no mainstream Black princess books.” But getting this material to children has its roadblocks. As YaAdam detailed in this Quartz interview, the recent transition in government after the exile of President Yahya Jammeh has left a struggle between thos

Benedicta Chukwuyem Uweru-Apuamah  is a Bachelor of Pharmacy Degree holder who is passionate about working the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).  She was a ONE Champion (2017 & 2018) at ONE.org in Nigeria. She represented ONE in Nigeria & Africa at the ONEYouthSummit in Brussels where her presentation earned her a standing ovation from ONE CEO & President, Gayle Smith & other Youth Ambassadors across Europe. Her dream work place is the UN, she considers this a platform to impact her community better. She is the Founder, Girls for Development Goals Foundation [Formerly Girls Health & Education Foundation (GHeF)] where she enlightens girls on Sexual Reproductive Health (SRHR) utilizing the SDG templates especially SDGs 3, 4 & 5. Her projects include "A Love Letter to Myself" & "Advocacy Against Teenage Pregnancy" amongst. She continues to impact lives by volunteering with other organizations such as the medical outreach (May 2018) with the Moses Lake Medical Team (from

 A Tea drinker by birth and a Tea-Taster by profession, Anamika Singh has introduced new infusions with a mix of natural flowers and herbs to the Indian market. Having launched her own brand « Anandini Himalaya Tea » she conducts Tea tasting ceremonies, conferences & events in Delhi. Her real love is Tea. ‘Identifying, understand and tasting tea we celebrate the very event of sipping tea! Sharing this knowledge with hospitality professionals & clients of real tea is a far bigger challenge. Anamika brings to the table knowledge and passion in a delicious Infusion. Anamika Singh has spent over eighteen years in the tea industry. Starting in Darjeeling as an apprentice under her father, Mr. Abhai Singh (a world renowned tea specialist), she now invests a greater part of the year in the family owned tea gardens in Himachal Pradesh. Research & development in her workshop helps bring out the finest nuances of tea manufacturing and blending. Anamika’s expertise extends to food pairing as part of t

Awosika Israel Ayodeji is the project designer and coordinator of Web3Bridge, a blockchain education platform created to onboard developers in Africa into the blockchain ecosystem and in turn creating a blockchain economy in Africa. He is a passionate blockchain evangelist who knows that no single approach is the absolute template for every individual and environment and has remained committed to creating content and learning programs not only aimed at driving adoption of blockchain technology in Africa but also solving native problems and adding value to the environment.

Sunshine is a company committed towards bringing empowerment through employment to the underprivileged men & women. In this journey Juhee has been doing her bit in West Bengal for more than a decade and now in Karnataka she has restarted the journey.

Modou NSZ Njie is the Founder of Farm Fresh, the #1 online food store and delivery service in The Gambia, with a focus on promoting local produce and thereby securing income for local farmers and food processors. Farm Fresh has allowed Gambians from the diaspora to easily order fresh and healthy food for their families at home, earning the venture a nomination in the ‘Emerging Businesses in The Gambia’ by the Gambia Chamber of Commerce Business Gala Dinner in 2015. Current growth plans include a regional expansion to Sierra Leone, Senegal and Nigeria, and also a franchise system that would allow expatriates to become shareholders. In 2019 he won the Seedstars Start Up competition in The Gambia where he pitched on behalf of his new startup company called Money Farm.  Money Farm is the Gambia's first agro-tech crowd funding platform linking farmers to investors.  Modou is also a Tony Elumelu Entrepreneur and EMPRETECO alumni.  He won the audience award on behalf of his company Farm Fresh at the F

Jason Kraus has been described as a "serial entrepreneur" by his friends and family ever since he opened his first business while still in college. He's always been intrigued by how companies got their start and how products that are now household names came to be. This led him to found startup consulting firm Prepare4VC, to cofound an alternative investment group Equity Venture Partners and to later join as a partner on a micro-VC, EQx Fund. To help others who share his passion, Jason is actively involved in Startup Grind and NextGen Summit, two notable startup communities developed to aid entrepreneurs in their endeavors. His passion for business and the knowledge he's accrued has made Jason a sought-after authority by those interested in entrepreneurship and innovation. Over the years, he's been featured in Entrepreneur magazine, All Business Media, Boston Voyager, Radio entrepreneurs and more to share his expertise. His hope is to help new founders get a strong foothold in their industry and increase th

Ritah is passionate about organizing and developing strategies that are deliverable with a deliberate thinking and design, enthused about the wholesome growth and development of young sports journalist and community empowerment. Ritah Aliguma is seen as one of the few exceptionally passionate sports personalities who joined sports journalism in 2010. In 2011, her enthusiasm was recognized when she was voted as the best young reporter in Uganda, subsequently becoming the first Ugandan to attend the International Sports Press Association(AIPS) young reporters program in 2011 Shenzhen University. Ritah was later invited to attend the second young reporters program from which she was inducted as a Mentor in the Hong-Kong Sports Press Association young reporters program that takes place every year. The Hong-Kong sports reporters training camp is the leading young reporters program in Asia which brings together over 70 journalists from over 18 countries from across the globe, to help them transform to better and pr

Dr. Ismail D. Badjie  was born in Banjul, The Gambia and raised in New York in his early childhood before returning home to complete his schooling at Ndow’s Comprehensive leading up to graduation from Gambia Senior Secondary School in 2003. He retuned to the U.S to continue his education earning a Bachelor’s Degree in Chemistry in 2008 from Tennessee State University and then his Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm.D; 2013) from Purdue University (Lafayette, Indiana USA). Dr. Badjie has had over a decade of experience in the pharmacy industry serving in multiple capacities. He holds a Six-Sigma Green Belt in healthcare-focused on increasing efficiencies and outcomes in healthcare organizations. In his most recent role of Pharmacy manager for Community Pharmacy giant Walgreens Co., Dr. Badjie managed a 24-hour community pharmacy with a daily average of over 800 prescriptions, total yearly sales of $16 million dollars, and an inventory size as high as $1 million dollars. His community pharmacy specialization also in

Juliet Ukpabio Archibong is the quintessential lady on a mission to build a nation where economic and human capital development thrives. A visionary fore-runner who believes in driving development and has spent most of her life expressing her purpose in the various sectors as an entrepreneur by creating businesses driven by purpose to make an impact. Juliet is a certified brand communications manager specializing in international trade promotions and has practical working experience spanning over 10years in retail, experiential marketing, advertising, procurement, supply chain management, export trade and business management. When she is not on the forefront of trading exchange, she is writing and speaking on nation building, purposeful businesses, mindset for global growth as well as consulting for individuals, government and organizations; helping to highlight, package and sell opportunities for economic development.  She is an advocate for Made-In-Nigeria brands and strongly believes in the potential

Dare is the Founder and CEO at Chekkit Technologies Inc, he has over 10 years’ experience in software venture building expertise. Trained professionally as a Geologist, further trained at the Meltwater Entrepreneurial School of Technology (MBA like program) in Ghana as a Software Entrepreneur and advanced further in Entrepreneurship studies at the SDA Bocconi Business School, Italy. He has founded two companies in the past - StrictlyUI (a social network for the University of Ibadan) where he had his first degree and is still the most active group of the University on Facebook with over 30K students.  The second is a social music streaming and IM platform called sharebunk.io for which he signed a 3 million tracks streaming deal and got an offer from 1 of the top 3 global music record labels but  didn't take it, the startup crashed shortly thereafter. Dare’s company Chekkit develops product distribution chain tracking solutions for consumer goods manufacturers to combat counterfeits and gain consumer

Aurra is a  multi-potentialite with a very broad portfolio. She is currently the  Headmistress ofSt. Anne's Primary School (est. 1947), Executive Director & Co-Founder of Africa Is Digital and Chairman of Aurra Nicole Group. She is the  2019 Africa Science Week (Next Einstein Forum & Purple Futures Trust) - Appreciation Award recipient.  She received this recognition for her outstanding work and with sincere appreciation for her tireless efforts in using science and technology for the betterment of society. In  2018 she was the Zimbabwe National Chamber of Commerce, Women in Commerce Award Winner in the Social Enterprise category for Little Entrepreneurs.

Zwede Hewitt is a former national 400m Champion, Olympian and Commonwealth Games medalist from Trinidad and Tobago (T & T), and now Founder and CEO of innovative tech startup company LUHU. Zwede excelled at track and field from an early, also while attending one of the most prestigious High Schools (Queen’s Royal College) on the twin islands of T & T, eventually earning a full scholarship to Baylor University. Zwede graduated from Baylor in 2013 with a degree in Speech Communication, while earning 6x all American Honours in NCAA Division 1 Track and Field. He then went on to compete professionally for 4 years while holding a position as operations officer and director in his family operated business started by his father Trevor Hewitt. Taking from his father’s entrepreneurial drive, Zwede began his own efforts creating startups in the sports and event industries. As a firm believer in value contribution, and impact his most recent venture is deemed to be his most impactful yet. Zwede is on a missio

Chad Fraser is an entrepreneur at heart. With over 15 years of experience in the Information Technology industry, his profession spans ICT solutions development, e-Government consulting, research and advisory, business process re-engineering, change management, IT Strategy, governance and quality assurance. He spent his first 4 working years as Chief Technology Officer at Ameltek a Technology solutions company. He was the lead consultant for the development of a centralised criminal record and law enforcement information system for the Royal Grenada Police Force. Mr Fraser was selected by the Grenada Cabinet to be a member on the national steering committee of the Caribbean Regional Communication Infrastructure Program (CARCIP) and sits on the board of the Grenada Postal Corporation. He started his entrepreneurship journey by establishing Sonover, a Grenada based software company that partners with organizations regionally and Internationally to facilitate their planning, design, development and implementatio