The Bold New Normal

What will it take for Africans to build globally competitive businesses, create meaningful jobs and transform the continent into a place where prosperity is expected rather than imagined?In this episode of The Bold New Normal Podcast, Lucy Quist sits down with Awura Abena Agyeman, founder of Wear Ghana and Republic of Africa, for a wide-ranging conversation about entrepreneurship, African identity, productivity, ambition and the economic power of believing in what Africa can become.Awura Abena shares how a degree in Agricultural Economics, a corporate career and an unexpected fascination with Ghanaian fashion eventually led her to leave banking and build Wear Ghana.But this is not simply a conversation about fashion. It is a conversation about what happens when Africans deliberately build businesses that employ Africans, use African resources, retain value within African economies and prove that globally competitive brands can be built on the continent.Lucy and Awura Abena explore the structural barriers facing African entrepreneurs, from production and distribution to infrastructure, productivity and access to capital. They discuss the promise of the African Continental Free Trade Area, the economic power of the African diaspora and why African businesses must begin thinking beyond national borders.They also tackle a more uncomfortable question: Does Africa have an ambition problem?Awura Abena argues that productive people are often driven by ambition, and that Africa needs to cultivate a generation that genuinely believes prosperity can be created here.This is a conversation about business, yes. But even more, it is about identity, belief, dignity, leadership and building an Africa whose prosperity changes how Africans are perceived everywhere in the world.In this episode:Why Awura left corporate life to build Wear GhanaBuilding global brands from AfricaFashion as a vehicle for identity and economic empowermentWhy local production mattersThe challenges of scaling African businessesAfrica's productivity problemWhy ambition matters for prosperityThe economic multiplier effect of buying locallyWhy AfCFTA needs to deliver tangible resultsAfrica's creative industries as economic and cultural powerThe role of the African diasporaWhy African prosperity matters to Black people globallyBuilding businesses with purpose beyond profitLeadership, self-belief and the future of AfricaThe Bold New Normal is a platform that advances the ideas, conversations, and actions needed to build a prosperous, self-actualised Africa.Subscribe for more conversations with the people building Africa's bold new normal.

What if Africa's next economic transformation isn't hiding beneath the ground, but inside our laboratories, universities and 1.4 billion minds?In Episode 6 of The Bold New Normal Podcast, Lucy Quist sits down with Dr Yaw Bediako, immunologist, entrepreneur, Co-founder and CEO of Yemaachi Biotech, and Dean for Research and Innovation at Ashesi University, for a powerful conversation about science, entrepreneurship, intellectual property and the future of Africa.Yaw's journey takes us from helping Ghana understand COVID-19 through genomic sequencing to building an African biotech company tackling one of the biggest gaps in global medicine: the severe underrepresentation of African populations in genomic research.But this conversation goes much further than healthcare.Why does Africa continue to export raw materials while others capture the value?Why are less than 1% of sequenced genomes from people living on the African continent?Can Africa build globally competitive biotech companies?What would happen if we moved from consuming knowledge to producing and owning it?And perhaps most importantly: are we allowing the limitations of our environment to determine the size of our ambition?Yaw makes the case that Africa's future prosperity will depend not simply on what we possess, but on our ability to create knowledge, protect intellectual property, build globally competitive businesses and create the high-value jobs that allow African talent to flourish on the continent.In this episode, we explore:• How Ghanaian scientists contributed to sequencing COVID-19• Why African genomic data matters to global medicine• The story behind Yemaachi Biotech• Why Africa must stop exporting its "raw" intellectual assets• The relationship between research, intellectual property and economic prosperity• Why African scientists need industry, not only academic funding• What it really takes to build biotech businesses from Africa• Why Africa's young talent needs high-value jobs, not simply more training• How education and enterprise must work together• Why African ambition needs to become bigger• The role of excellence, exposure, mentorship and perseverance• Why Africa must move from knowledge consumption to knowledge productionThis is a conversation about biotech.But it is also a conversation about something much bigger: what becomes possible when Africans stop asking what can be achieved within today's limitations and start building what could exist tomorrow.Subscribe to The Bold New Normal Podcast for more conversations with the thinkers, builders and leaders shaping a prosperous new Africa.#TheBoldNewNormal #AfricanInnovation #BiotechAfrica #AfricanEntrepreneurship #AfricaRising #AfricanScience #Genomics #Innovation #IntellectualProperty #FutureOfAfrica

What if the biggest obstacle to African innovation isn't talent…...but the way we've been taught to think about entrepreneurship?In this fascinating episode of The Bold New Normal Podcast, Jewel Thompson joins Lucy Quist to challenge many of the assumptions shaping entrepreneurship across the continent.Together they explore why Africa cannot simply copy Silicon Valley, why culture is an often-overlooked driver of innovation, and why entrepreneurship must be rooted in context if African businesses are to thrive globally.They discuss:• Why entrepreneurship should be driven by purpose, not just unemployment• Why culture influences how businesses are built• The differences between community-focused businesses and scalable enterprises• Why African investors need a different lens• The role of education in producing future entrepreneurs• Why women entrepreneurs still face structural barriers• Why policy alone cannot transform economies• How African innovation can compete globally without losing its identityOne quote captures the entire conversation:"African innovation isn't behind. It's been mismeasured."If you're passionate about entrepreneurship, innovation, investment, leadership or Africa's future, this conversation will challenge how you think.

What does it take to build a globally competitive African technology company?In this powerful episode of The Bold New Normal Podcast, Moses Baiden joins Lucy Quist for a masterclass on enterprise, innovation, identity systems, education, sovereignty, and the future of Africa.From studying both arts and sciences in school, to becoming a lawyer, to building one of Africa’s leading identity technology companies, Moses shares the mindset, systems thinking, and long-term vision required to solve real problems at scale.This episode explores:Why identity infrastructure matters for Africa’s futureHow technology can reduce corruption and improve governanceWhy Africa must stop importing systems that don’t solve African problemsThe mindset required to build globally competitive businessesThe importance of process, governance, and partnershipsWhy mentorship and asking the right questions matterEducation, nationalism, and building institutions that outlive usThis is a conversation about prosperity, sovereignty, leadership, and purpose.Also, Moses Baiden will be speaking at The Bold New Normal UK Conference on the 13th of June, 2026. 🎟️ Early bird tickets are now available at tbnncuk.theboldnewnormal.com

What does it really take to build, scale, and sustain a business in our context?In Part 2 of this powerful conversation, Cecil Senna Nutakor goes beyond the origin story and into the real work behind building one of Africa’s leading EdTech platforms.From a pivotal strategy reset in 2019 to navigating the unexpected surge during COVID, Cecil shares what it means to prepare for opportunity before it arrives, and why execution matters more than hype.But this episode goes even deeper. It challenges how we think about:💡Startups and the pressure to scale too quickly💡Why copying Silicon Valley models doesn’t work in our context💡The reality of building with limited investment💡What true product-market fit looks like💡And how education must evolve to solve real-world problemsOne of the most powerful shifts in this conversation is this: Education should not just produce graduates. It should produce problem-solvers.Cecil introduces a new way to think about learning, built on three pillars: Desire. Imagination. Feedback.If you’re building a business, leading a team, or thinking about the future of education, this episode will challenge you to rethink what success really looks like.Subscribe for more conversations on leadership, innovation, and building the future.