Ep. 74: A conversation with Mandela Fellows from Zambia, Senegal, and Cameroon on mobile money’s challenges and opportunities

Ufahamu Africa is excited to launch its fourth season with a roundtable discussion about mobile money in Africa, its challenges, opportunities, and potential for social and political transformation. Co-host Rachel Beatty Riedl moderates the conversation with three Mandela Washington Fellows who participated in the Young African Leaders Initiative at Northwestern University earlier this year: Patton Kalunga of Zambia, Amadou Abdoulaye Sylla of Senegal, and Ngah Tse Ngah Benoit of Cameroon. Rachel and co-host Kim Dionne open the episode catching up on news in southern Africa, including protests in Malawi, xenophobic attacks in South Africa, and the death of former Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe. They also talk about new research that listeners should check out and they share congratulatory messages for some of Ufahamu Africa's earlier guests. Ufahamu Africa is grateful to the Mandela Washington Fellows for sharing their insights. Patton Kalunga is the managing director and co-founder of a micro lending company in Zambia and is also working on insurance products to support the unbanked population. He has a degree in Economics from the University of Cavendish, Zambia. Upon completion of the Mandela Washington Fellowship, Patton plans to continue to work on launching a finance company that offers credit, insurance, saving, and investment products. Amadou Abdoulaye Mare Sylla has over five years of experience in small and medium enterprise project management. Currently, he is a consultant for multiple non-governmental organizations, and a co-founder of Cotizel, a web platform for billing and claims recovery. Abdoulaye holds a bachelor's degree in Accounting and Management from Dakar University and a master's degree in Project Management from Centre Africain d'Etude Supérieur en Gestion. Upon completion of the Mandela Washington Fellowship, Abdoulaye plans to expand Cotizel across the continent, and connect all the local based organizations to their clients/donators all over the world. Ngah Tse Ngah Benoit is a software engineer and entrepreneur with over six years' experience in the field of Information and Communication Technology. He is the founder and chief executive officer of CleBea Group Inc., a holding company with subsidiary companies that cut across software, media, electronic commerce and animation. His companies create opportunities for employment and capacity development for young people in information technology. Ngah holds a Bachelor of Technology in Computer Engineering from the University of Buea, Cameroon.Find the books, links, and articles we mentioned in this episode on our website, ufahamuafrica.com.