Not every episode of the Pure Digital Passion Podcast is recorded in a studio. This one was recorded a few weeks ago on a phone, audio only, at a restaurant table in Westlands, Nairobi, Kenya with Klaas Glenewinkel, Managing Director of MiCT (Media in Cooperation and Transition) in Berlin and Director of the East Africa Radio Service (EARS) in Kampala, Uganda.

Seven years ago Klaas decided that aid money was not the answer to keeping Africa's local radio stations alive, revenue was. EARS now bundles small and rural stations across Uganda into audience packages that advertisers can buy on one package instead of 150, and Klaas says it shared almost USD 2 million in advertising revenue with those stations last year. His argument is simple: in the ratings, the stations filed under "others" would be the market leader if they were one station.

Now EARS is going digital with a lightweight audio app that aggregates radio stations, podcasts and audiobooks, streams at as little as 8 kilobits per second, lets listeners download overnight when data is cheaper, and is funded by targeted pre-stream advertising rather than subscriptions. The app is in closed Android testing, the server has never been pushed past 100 concurrent listeners, and it does not yet have a name. So we spent the last ten minutes attempting to name it!

We also get into why radio refuses to die (in Uganda and in Germany), the gateway problem of big tech preloaded on cheap phones, my Gen Z Uber driver who still buys the newspaper to save data, what the platform means for podcasters like me, and how I actually make money from a podcast in Kenya.

If you run a radio station, publish podcasts or audiobooks, or buy audio advertising in East Africa, this one is for you.

CHAPTERS

(00:12) Welcome: an impromptu, audio-only episode from Westlands

(00:41) Why aid money was failing local media, and the birth of EARS

(01:13) One contract instead of 150: how EARS bundles small stations

(02:36) "Others" is the market leader: the long tail of local radio

(04:44) Almost USD 2 million shared with stations last year

(05:48) The threat from religious radios and why independence matters

(06:53) Analogue ad spend, cheaper smartphones and the FM chip

(07:57) Why radio endures, in Uganda and in Germany

(09:36) Big tech on the phone: Facebook Zero and net neutrality

(11:09) The Gen Z Uber driver who still buys the newspaper

(12:23) An app built for 8 kilobits: overnight downloads and offline listening

(13:27) Where the app stands: Android testing, West Africa and the diaspora

(15:04) Advertising, not subscriptions: targeted pre-stream audio ads

(16:35) The 100-listener question: a bootstrapped build

(17:43) The flywheel: stations promote the app on air

(18:52) The end game: survival of local radio, then West Africa

(20:14) Calling all publishers, stations and podcasters: RSS syndication

(21:27) How I actually make money from a podcast in Kenya

(24:40) Kenya's podcast scene, and what the youth want on demand

(26:40) Name the app: six candidates on the table

(28:17) My verdict: Ongea, Oyodo, and why I fight with "cast"

(31:42) The Ongair idea: speak, over the air

(32:40) Jambo Cast and the French-speaker test

(35:20) How EARS sells: brands, governments, aid agencies and ad agencies

(36:39) Twenty people on the ground, one deal at a time

(37:04) Close

Guest links:

EARS - https://www.ears.ug/

MiCT - https://mict-international.org/

Klaas Glenewinkel on Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/klaas-glenewinkel-a7a69b6/

Just over a year after launching This Is Digital, co-founders Grace Murugi and Greg Wanjama have trained more than 800 professionals, served more than 40 organisations, and reached a milestone that could significantly expand their impact: becoming Meta's AI training partner in Kenya.This episode of the Pure Digital Passion podcast was recorded in a wonderfully impromptu manner immediately after I attended a practical Claude workshop delivered by This Is Digital in collaboration with Isaac Hunja of KaaraWorks. I went into the session thinking of myself as a fairly experienced AI user. I left with a clear appreciation of how much more work is required to move from basic prompting to properly designed agentic workflows.That made the timing of this conversation particularly appropriate. I had delivered the keynote address at the launch of This Is Digital in July 2025, where I traced the past, present, and future of Kenya's digital transformation. A little over a year later, Grace and Greg joined me to discuss what they have learned from building an AI-native business and teaching professionals and organisations how to use artificial intelligence in real work.We explore how This Is Digital used AI to shape and challenge its original business strategy, why AI accelerates a sound business model but cannot rescue a broken one, and why effective agents require context, specialised responsibilities, standard operating procedures, and substantial work at the beginning.Grace and Greg also share what they are seeing in Kenya. Adoption may be high, but much of it remains at the level of replacing Google Search with a chatbot. The real opportunity lies in critical thinking, privacy awareness, adaptability, responsible use, and applying AI to create measurable value for customers and organisations.The conversation concludes with a major announcement. Meta has partnered with This Is Digital to deliver AI Academy Kenya, combining a Pitchathon for Kenyan startups and developers with a sponsored eight-week online Masterclass for 300 students, startup founders, developers, and career professionals.Apply here: https://thisisdigital.ai/meta-ai-academy-kenyaLearn more about This Is Digital: https://thisisdigital.ai/Timestamps00:00 Introduction and welcome01:05 Grace Murugi's journey from computer science to AI strategy02:53 Greg Wanjama's journey through software, entrepreneurship, and the UN05:41 What I learned at the Claude workshop with This Is Digital and KaaraWorks06:49 How an AI exercise helped Grace identify the business opportunity09:10 Validating the market and choosing to launch publicly15:38 Is This Is Digital an AI-native company?16:21 Why AI accelerates a business but cannot repair a broken model20:50 Tuning AI for the context of a specific organisation23:00 Using AI for business strategy, research, content, and quarterly analysis30:18 What This Is Digital has learned about AI adoption in Kenya31:56 The hype around chatbots and AI agents36:14 Why building useful agents takes more work than people expect37:00 From AI skeptics to AI advocates39:06 How learners are turning AI skills into new services and careers41:46 This Is Digital becomes Meta's AI training partner in Kenya43:34 The AI Academy Kenya Pitchathon45:20 The sponsored eight-week online Masterclass46:11 What the next two to five years of AI adoption could look like50:43 The ambition to empower one million Africans with AI skills53:18 Responsible AI, customer value, and moving beyond vanity use cases55:54 Why adaptability may become the defining professional advantage58:00 Using AI as a coach and critical sparring partner1:00:05 Learning, unlearning, and relearning in the AI era1:01:13 Where to find This Is Digital, Grace, and Greg1:02:43 Closing thoughts and the invitation to apply

Airtel Money Kenya is entering a new chapter under Acting Managing Director Michael Bonke.In this episode of the Pure Digital Passion Podcast, I sat down with Michael shortly after Airtel Money launched its Bizna Wallet for small businesses and enhanced its cashback proposition from airtime rewards to actual cash a couple of weeks ago. We explore how Airtel Money has grown from a relatively small challenger to a platform that now says it serves more than six million customers, has approximately 270,000 agents, supports more than two million merchant points and holds around 11% of Kenya’s mobile-money market.But perhaps its largest immediate growth opportunity already exists within Airtel itself.Michael estimates that around 14 million active Airtel connectivity customers are not yet using Airtel Money—and converting more of them is one of his most important priorities.We discuss:✅ Michael Bonke’s appointment and immediate priorities✅ How Airtel Money moved from roughly 2% to 11% market share✅ Why distribution, liquidity and banking partnerships matter✅ Airtel Money’s 270,000-agent footprint✅ Why SMEs are central to the next phase of growth✅ Airtel Money Bizna Wallet✅ Separating personal and business finances✅ Protecting merchants from unauthorised reversals✅ Free customer payments into Bizna Wallet✅ The move from airtime rewards to real cash cashback✅ Why customer experience matters more than promotions✅ Fraud prevention, customer protection and trust✅ Embedded finance, SME lending and analytics✅ Cross-border payments across Airtel’s 14 African markets✅ Whether Airtel Money could eventually become financial infrastructure for African SMEs✅ Michael’s three-year vision for Airtel Money KenyaOne of the most interesting moments comes when I ask Michael whether Airtel Money could eventually become an operating system for small businesses across Africa.His response:“That is our goal for sure.”CHAPTERS00:00 — Introduction00:50 — Michael Bonke’s new role at Airtel Money Kenya01:32 — The 14M-customer Airtel Money opportunity02:28 — How Airtel Money moved from 2% to 11%02:57 — Banking partnerships and distribution03:52 — Growing from under 20,000 to 270,000 agents04:43 — Why SMEs matter to Airtel Money05:32 — What merchants told Airtel06:50 — Free Bizna Wallet payments and merchant charges08:20 — Could Bizna Wallet become a broader SME platform?08:58 — Cross-network Bizna Wallet payments09:26 — Why cashback moved from airtime to cash10:41 — Turning promotions into lasting customer behaviour11:38 — Becoming a customer’s primary financial wallet12:04 — Fraud prevention, security and trust13:26 — Embedded finance and cross-border payments14:09 — Could Airtel Money become an operating system for African SMEs?14:46 — Michael’s brief take on the Airtel Money IPO15:06 — What success looks like three years from now16:11 — “It works—and now it pays you back”Michael’s closing message captures Airtel Money’s positioning particularly well:“With Airtel Money you can do anything... and now it pays you back.”The Pure Digital Passion Podcast explores the people, technologies, companies and ideas transforming business and the digital economy across Kenya and Africa.#AirtelMoney #MichaelBonke #PureDigitalPassion #BiznaWallet #Fintech #MobileMoney #FinancialInclusion #SMEs #DigitalPayments #Kenya #Africa

I met Jason Corder last week to discuss NorthSouth Media, and our meeting became what I like to call a “gangster podcast”: an informal, impromptu Pure Digital Passion conversation recorded without the usual studio production.

Jason is the founder and CEO of NorthSouth Media, a Nairobi-based company building an end-to-end system for financing, producing, owning, localizing and distributing African content.

We discuss his journey from San Francisco to Africa, his work as a visual artist and performer, his experience acting in Mali, and how a trailer filmed in his Kilimani apartment became Stay, a television series backed by Nokia and subsequently distributed across multiple markets.

Jason explains why that experience convinced him that African production companies must retain intellectual-property ownership. We also examine NorthSouth’s connected film and creator studios, direct-distribution strategy, localization relationship with Aview International and ambition to build a substantial library of owned African content.

The conversation challenges the assumption that mobile and streaming growth must mean the end of television. Free-to-air broadcasting remains accessible, communal and commercially important across Africa and the wider Global South.

NorthSouth is currently raising US$1 million at a US$7 million cap for a 24-month runway. The company plans to produce an opening slate of five owned shows, enroll 25 creators before scaling to 50 and build a sales operation targeting broadcasters and brands.

CHAPTERS

00:00 – Introduction
00:13 – Why this became a “gangster podcast”
01:00 – Human stories made by human hands
04:23 – How African culture and storytelling travel globally
06:46 – Jason Corder’s origin story
14:27 – Why intellectual-property ownership matters
18:22 – Producing Stay with Nokia’s backing
22:36 – Free-to-air television and Africa’s media economy
31:11 – Film, community and human connection
38:35 – From artist and producer to entrepreneur
40:33 – Using Bordy and AI to accelerate the business
46:36 – Building NorthSouth’s end-to-end infrastructure
49:28 – The NorthSouth Media elevator pitch
51:16 – The Nairobi headquarters and Creator Studio vision
55:16 – Microdramas, mobile video and the “shiny object”
58:53 – A model for rebuilding African media
1:00:55 – How to connect with Jason
1:02:34 – Jason’s parting perspective

ABOUT JASON CORDER

Jason Corder is the founder and CEO of NorthSouth Media. He has worked across visual art, music, television, cultural diplomacy and media production and has lived and worked in more than 60 countries.

NorthSouth Media: https://northsouth.africa
Jason on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasoncordermedia

Airtel Kenya is entering a new chapter under Managing Director Djibril Tobe.

In this special episode of the Pure Digital Passion Podcast, I sit down with Djibril shortly after Airtel Money launched Bizna Wallet and the “Si Ni Mi Nakushow” 50% cashback campaign earlier this week.

The conversation moves beyond the product announcements to examine Airtel Kenya’s wider growth strategy across mobile money, customer experience, digital self-service, broadband, satellite connectivity and data-centre infrastructure.

Djibril reflects on his first month in Kenya after more than two decades building businesses across African markets. He explains why he is giving himself time to listen and learn, what has impressed him about Kenya’s technology-driven economy and what customers are demanding from Airtel.

We discuss the strong momentum he inherits: Airtel Kenya’s expansion from 16 million to more than 24 million customers, over 2,000 additional network sites and Airtel Money’s growth from roughly 2% to 11% market share.

A major opportunity lies within Airtel’s existing base. Djibril estimates that around 14 million Airtel connectivity customers are not yet using Airtel Money and explains how Bizna Wallet, real-cash Rudishiwa rewards and “Si Ni Mi Nakushow” are intended to encourage Kenyans to carry two mobile-money wallets as readily as they carry two SIM cards.

We also explore:

✅ Why the My Airtel App could become Airtel’s digital front door

✅ Digital self-service and reducing customer pain points

✅ Cross-border Airtel Money transfers

✅ API integrations for developers, startups and fintechs

✅ Airtel’s broadband journey from indoor routers to outdoor units and fibre

✅ Direct-to-Cell connectivity with SpaceX, subject to approval

✅ The 44MW Nxtra hyperscale data centre at Tatu City

✅ Cloud, AI, enterprise workloads and data sovereignty

✅ Djibril’s priorities for innovation, execution and customer experience

CHAPTERS

00:00 — Introduction

01:13 — Djibril Tobe’s first impressions of Kenya

05:21 — Airtel Kenya’s growth and his leadership priorities

07:03 — The 14M-customer Airtel Money opportunity

08:13 — Bizna Wallet and 50% cashback

09:10 — The “Si Ni Mi Nakushow” campaign

12:56 — Why the My Airtel App matters

16:58 — Cross-border Airtel Money transfers

19:06 — Broadband: indoor units, outdoor units and fibre

20:32 — Direct-to-Cell connectivity with SpaceX

23:25 — Nxtra, cloud infrastructure and data sovereignty

26:47 — Closing thoughts and what comes next

The Pure Digital Passion Podcast explores the people, organizations, technologies and ideas shaping digital transformation, business, marketing and innovation across Kenya and Africa.

Subscribe for more conversations with African technology leaders, entrepreneurs, executives, policymakers and innovators.

#AirtelKenya #AirtelMoney #DjibrilTobe #PureDigitalPassion #Telecommunications #Fintech #DigitalTransformation #Broadband #SpaceX #Nxtra #Kenya #Africa

This video captures the full "Connected to Protect" discussion panel on how health insurance can become more accessible, relevant and useful within the everyday lives of Kenyan and East African consumers.

I moderated the panel during the launch of the strategic partnership between Jubilee Health Insurance and global insurtech bolttech last week. While the partnership provided the setting, the conversation went much wider: healthcare costs, fraud and extra billing, product relevance, customer segmentation, flexible payments, trusted distribution, asset financing, consumer education and claims.

The panel brought together four distinct perspectives:

• Njeri Jomo - CEO and Principal Officer, Jubilee Health Insurance
• Bente Krogmann Osore - General Manager, Africa, bolttech
• Bryan Nyutu - Principal Officer and Insurance Portfolio Lead, Safaricom PLC
• Ken Gitonga - Group Head of Technical Product, Watu Credit
• Moderator: Moses Kemibaro

Key areas discussed:

• Why reducing healthcare fraud, waste, abuse and unnecessary billing is essential to affordability
• Why protection must reach the right customer at the right moment
• How embedded insurance differs from placing an existing policy inside an app
• What Safaricom has learnt from Tuunza Mapato and Tuunza Simu
• Why data, customer segmentation and payment frequency shape insurance uptake
• How health protection can safeguard the livelihoods of Watu's asset-financing customers
• Why hospital cash should not be confused with comprehensive medical cover
• Why technology alone cannot compensate for an unclear strategy or the wrong partners
• How insurance can become a reward that strengthens engagement and loyalty
• Why transparency, voluntary participation and a dependable claims experience are fundamental to trust

Timestamps

00:00 Introduction

00:12 The biggest friction between customers and useful health protection

00:37 Jubilee Health: using AI to reduce fraud, waste, abuse and extra billing

02:34 bolttech: making insurance relevant and timely

04:28 How embedded insurance changes Jubilee Health's approach

07:58 Safaricom's lessons from Tuunza Mapato and Tuunza Simu

12:24 Watu: protecting livelihoods within the asset-financing journey

14:35 When customers experience the real value of insurance

16:17 Why Kenya needs fully fledged micro-medical cover

19:12 Audience questions begin

21:10 Technology is an enabler - why the right partners matter

25:21 Bridging consumer and product-segmentation gaps

27:47 Human-centred design for mass-market insurance

31:46 Insurance as a reward and engagement tool

33:41 Medical borrowing, community fundraising and catastrophic health expenditure

37:20 Health and device protection for young daily earners

38:51 Closing

#ConnectedToProtect #EmbeddedInsurance #HealthInsurance #Insurance #FinancialInclusion #Kenya #EastAfrica #Africa

In this episode of NTV Kenya's Fixing The Nation, I joined Mariam Bishar, Eric Latiff and Fellaris Wambui to unpack Kenya’s growing debate around minimum fares for ride hailing.

The discussion was focussed on the Business Daily's headline on Uber and Bolt drivers potentially getting more power in how fares are set, as well as broader proposed reforms that could bring ride-hailing platforms under greater regulatory scrutiny.

We discussed what this means for drivers, passengers, platforms, businesses, regulators, competition policy, and Kenya’s wider gig economy.

At the heart of the conversation was one question:

How does Kenya improve driver earnings without pricing passengers out of digital mobility or weakening the ecosystem that makes ride-hailing possible?

Timestamps

00:00 – Introduction: Business Daily headline and the digital taxi fare debate

01:20 – Moses Kemibaro joins Fixing The Nation

02:30 – How ride-hailing platforms work and why the issue matters

03:32 – From traditional taxis to digital ride-hailing in Kenya

05:38 – Market scale: drivers, users, rides and the gig economy

06:52 – Owner-drivers versus rental drivers

08:13 – Are driver complaints justified?

10:26 – Understanding the 18% commission discussion

11:57 – Platform value: marketplace, trust, safety and digital payments

13:40 – Tanzania as a cautionary case

14:28 – Passenger affordability and price sensitivity

16:34 – Why smart regulation must balance all stakeholders

18:14 – Where did the “doubling fares” idea come from?

20:18 – Viewer comments and subscription model proposals

21:01 – Competition risks if pricing is over-regulated

22:21 – Price elasticity: what happens if fares double?

24:08 – Passenger willingness-to-pay thought experiment

26:11 – Draft minimum compensation rules and the missing passenger voice

29:20 – Driver welfare, classification and platform responsibility

30:22 – Financing, insurance and formalizing the gig economy

33:05 – The platform as a marketplace creator

35:08 – Kenya’s ride-hailing market versus Nigeria and South Africa

37:19 – Could electric mobility reduce driver operating costs?

38:49 – Higher fares and higher consumer expectations

40:13 – Viewer comments on commissions and platform costs

42:53 – Final thoughts: broader consultation and a balanced way forward

Key Themes

1. Minimum fares versus minimum driver earnings
2. Driver welfare and platform work
3. Passenger affordability
4. Commission transparency
5. Owner-driver versus rental-driver economics
6. Competition and platform regulation
7. Smart regulation for Kenya’s gig economy
8. The long-term future of ride-hailing in Kenya

#FixingTheNation #NTVKenya #NationFM #RideHailing #DigitalTaxis #GigEconomy #Kenya #PublicPolicy #FutureOfWork #DigitalEconomy