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 smaller machines—linked by secure “pipes” that track flow, prevent leaks, and respect each nation’s laws. That shift unlocks data sovereignty without isolation, enabling cross-border collaboration, fair pricing for builders, and privacy-first compute that aligns with global trends toward decentralization. From a chance intro to a data center tour to a new partnership, we map how relationships move pilots from pitch to reality.

We also go deep on the human side of infrastructure: how Afrocentric tech means more than branding; why educating through product beats slide decks; and what it takes to be a diplomatic innovator who can talk policy on Monday and ship code on Tuesday. Justice traces Strategy’s pivots—from WhatsApp-native surveys to dataset curation to hardware-aware cloud design—showing how mission fidelity and flexibility can coexist. The stakes are clear: if Africa doesn’t feed its context into AI, the systems shaping daily life will misread the continent and harden those errors at scale.

Walk away with a clear mental model for decentralized cloud, concrete steps for building sovereign data pathways, and founder-grade lessons on partnerships, pricing, and courage. If you care about AI ethics, privacy, and equitable growth—from Nairobi to Harare to Lagos—this conversation is a roadmap and a rallying cry.

Subscribe, share with a builder or policymaker in your circle, and leave a review telling us: what’s the first node your community needs?

Credits
Host:

• Stella Gichuhi

Producer:

• James Njoroge

Executive Producers:

• Harry Hare
• Agutu Dan

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 civic engagement, we map the risks, the safeguards, and the surprising opportunities for those who prepare.

We also challenge a popular narrative: AI isn’t a bubble; the hype is. Real value sits in workflows where data governance, model observability, and human-in-the-loop controls turn experiments into reliable operations. That shift depends on skills and structure—teams that can instrument CRMs, segment audiences responsibly, and build processes that fail safely. Policy enters here, but only if it points to a coherent North Star. Regions that commit to practical bets—chip assembly, logistics, data centers—create ecosystems that attract capital and talent. Clarity compounds.

Inclusion is not a side panel; it is a performance edge. We talk candidly about women in tech leadership—why visibility lags, how confidence and nomination pipelines stall, and what it takes to get more women shaping models, data, and product decisions. The recurring theme is scale: Africa doesn’t lack creativity; it lacks the structures to grow pilots into platforms. Strong foundations, smarter governance, and regional market depth can change that. We may have missed the internet wave, but AI offers a second chance—if we align, build guardrails, and scale what works.

If this conversation sparked a thought, share it with a friend, subscribe for more Tech Talk Africa, and leave a review with the one shift you think Kenya must make next.

Credits
Host:

• Stella Gichuhi

Producer:

• James Njoroge

Executive Producers:

• Harry Hare
• Agutu Dan

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 sit down with Michael Michie, a tech founder and a leading voice in Kenya’s AI strategy, to dissect the systems beneath the story. Michael shares his journey from a childhood obsession with hardware to the "perfect pivot" for EverseTech: solving the infrastructure accountability gap in Africa. We explore why the oversimplification of AI scares him and why he believes the hype needs to "die" so the real work can begin.

Key Discussion Points:

• The Cost of Entry: Michael breaks down the staggering reality of building a data center—starting at roughly 5 billion Kenya Shillings ($38M+) just for the facility, before a single GPU is even plugged in.
• The Power Paradox: We dive into why "energy" is the most critical infrastructure milestone for 2030. Michael explains why many high-end servers purchased by organizations sit idle because they require specialized three-phase power that standard office power grids don't provide.
• Data Findability vs. Scarcity: Contrary to popular belief, Michael argues Africa doesn't have a "lack of data" but a findability and storage issue. He explores how to unlock "machine-readable" data from healthcare and traditional recorded information.
• Sovereignty and "Going Local": His advice for CIOs is bold: "Get off the global cloud." Moving AI workloads to local infrastructure can be roughly 30% cheaper and is essential for data sovereignty.
• Climate & Context: We tackle the "Animals vs. Machines" debate. Michael contextualizes AI's environmental impact, noting that while local water and power issues are real, industries like agriculture currently have a much larger global footprint.

Is Africa ready to build the foundations that carry our tech ambitions? Hit play to hear Michael Michie’s blueprint for a sustainable, localized AI future.

Subscribe for a season of deepening the conversation.

Credits
Host:

• Stella Gichuhi

Producer:

• James Njoroge

Executive Producers:

• Harry Hare
• Agutu Dan