Episode 183 with Brian Bosire, CEO and Co-Founder of UjuziKilimo, a leading agri-tech company empowering Africa’s smallholder farmers through data science, IoT, and predictive analytics.

Brian Bosire is on a mission to digitise Africa’s agricultural value chains by putting powerful, real-time insights in the hands of smallholder farmers. In this episode, he shares the story behind UjuziKilimo, which is Swahili for “knowledge farming,” and how the company is using cutting-edge technologies like the SoilPal IoT sensor and the FarmSuite analytics platform to transform decision-making on millions of farms across the continent.

Brian unpacks the innovation behind UjuziKilimo’s tools, which deliver field-specific data on soil health, fertiliser recommendations, and crop suitability within minutes. He explains how data-driven agronomy can increase yields, unlock financing and insurance, and build resilience in the face of climate change.

What We Discuss With Brian

• The personal journey from growing up in a small farming village in Kisii, Kenya, to founding a company that empowers thousands of smallholder farmers through technology.
• How UjuziKilimo is replacing guesswork with data-driven decision-making through innovations like the SoilPal IoT device and FarmSuite analytics platform.
• The real-world impact of providing instant, field-specific agronomic recommendations on crop performance, soil health, and input usage.
• The business model and scaling challenges of reaching over 26,000 farmers, and the ambition to impact millions more.
• The role of machine learning and predictive analytics in enabling smarter, faster, and more localized farming practices.

Verto Corner
In this week’s Verto Corner, Conor O’Kane, Compliance Operations Manager at Verto, tackles one of the most important challenges for businesses operating across African markets: getting compliance right without slowing growth.

As cross-border trade increases, so do regulatory expectations, and companies that don’t keep up risk delays, penalties, or missed opportunities.

Conor explains the key compliance hurdles businesses face when transacting in and out of emerging markets and offers clear, actionable advice on how to stay compliant while still moving quickly.

Did you miss my previous episode where I discus A Billion-Tonne Vision: The Company Using Rocks to Remove Carbon and Boost African Agriculture? Make sure to check it out!

Connect with Terser:
LinkedIn - Terser Adamu
Instagram - unlockingafrica
Twitter (X) - @TerserAdamu

Connect with Brian:
LinkedIn - Brian Bosire
Twitter - @BosireOnyi

Do you want to do business in Africa? Explore the vast business opportunities in African markets and increase your success with ETK Group.

Connect with us at www.etkgroup.co.uk or reach out via email at info@etkgroup.co.uk

Episode 182 with Sam Davies, CEO and Co-Founder of Flux, a pioneering climate-tech company based in Nairobi that’s scaling Enhanced Rock Weathering (ERW) to remove carbon from the atmosphere and restore Africa’s soils. A former British Army reconnaissance officer, Sam transitioned from military leadership to climate entrepreneurship, driven by a personal vision to contribute meaningfully during the climate crisis.

After discovering carbon removal while producing the documentary Legion 44 in Kenya, Sam founded Flux to unlock Africa’s immense potential for ERW, a natural process that sequesters CO₂ while improving crop yields and regenerating farmland. Under his leadership, Flux has formed key partnerships with governments like Nigeria’s, launched pilot projects across multiple countries, and committed to removing one billion tonnes of CO₂ from the atmosphere.

In this episode, Sam explores the science behind ERW, the social impact of regenerative agriculture on smallholder farmers, and how Flux is building one of the most promising carbon removal platforms on the continent. He also unpacks the urgent need for credible carbon credits and policy innovation and why Africa is the next frontier for scalable climate solutions.

What We Discuss With Sam

• Why Enhanced Rock Weathering (ERW) is one of the most promising, and underutilised pathways for permanent CO₂ removal at scale.
• How Flux’s ERW model not only captures carbon but also regenerates depleted soils, improves crop yields, and enhances farmer livelihoods across Africa
• Flux’s strategic partnerships with governments, including Nigeria’s, and the role of policy and public-sector collaboration in unlocking climate solutions.
• The structure behind Flux’s carbon credits, including measurement protocols and global certification standards for permanence and integrity.
• The long-term vision to capture one billion tonnes of CO₂

Verto Corner
In this week’s Verto Corner, George Antoniades, Product Manager at Verto, explores the future of cross-border payments through the lens of stablecoins.

Are they just another fintech fad or a transformative tool for global commerce? George breaks down what stablecoins are, how businesses are already using them to streamline transactions, and why they could play a pivotal role in bridging traditional finance with decentralised innovation.

George also shares practical guidance for companies curious about adopting stablecoins while flagging the regulatory considerations that come with this emerging technology.

Also, access Verto’s comprehensive compliance guide for businesses navigating African markets.

Access the Comprehensive Guide

Did you miss my previous episode where I discus From Concept to Capital: Designing Smarter and Simpler Blended Finance Funds for Africa? Make sure to check it out!

Connect with Terser:
LinkedIn - Terser Adamu
Instagram - unlockingafrica
Twitter (X) - @TerserAdamu

Connect with Sam:
LinkedIn - Sam Davies

Do you want to do business in Africa? Explore the vast business opportunities in African markets and increase your success with ETK Group.

Connect with us at www.etkgroup.co.uk or reach out via email at info@etkgroup.co.uk

Episode 181 with Aly-Khan Jamal, Managing Director and Partner at Boston Consulting Group (BCG), Lagos, and co-author of the landmark report Scaling Blended Finance: Practical Tools for Blended Finance Fund Design.

Aly-Khan Jamal brings deep expertise in development finance, capital mobilisation, and impact investing to this conversation on how blended finance can be a game-changer for Africa’s sustainable development and climate resilience. In this episode, he breaks down the practical tools outlined in the new joint report by BCG and British International Investment (BII), including a typology of five fund archetypes and a scorecard for fund design.

Aly-Khan shares why scaling blended finance is not just a technical exercise but a systemic challenge, and opportunity. He explains how smart fund structuring can unlock commercial capital for high-impact sectors like clean energy, climate-smart agriculture, and infrastructure, particularly in emerging and underserved African markets.

What We Discuss With Aly-Khan

• Why blended finance is a critical tool for unlocking private capital to meet Africa’s development and climate goals, and why it remains underutilised.
• The systemic challenges that prevent blended finance from scaling and how to overcome them through more strategic fund design.
• How the new BII–BCG toolkit provides a shared language for fund managers, investors, and donors through five archetypes and a structured scorecard.
• How to design blended finance funds that are simpler, more replicable, and better aligned with investor expectations.
• Real-world examples from Africa and beyond that show how blended finance can mobilise billions for development when deployed effectively.

New Segment - Verto Corner
In this episode’s Verto Corner, Jack Stanton, a trader at Verto, unpacks the rising volatility in global FX markets and its implications for African businesses engaged in cross-border trade. With central banks diverging on policy and geopolitical uncertainty heightening exchange rate swings, Jack explains why managing foreign exchange risk is more critical than ever.

He offers actionable insights on how businesses in markets like Nigeria, Kenya, and South Africa can hedge against FX exposure, protect their margins, and make smarter currency decisions.

Don’t miss his top advice and access to Verto’s FX Strategy Handbook for businesses navigating global payments in a turbulent economic climate.

Access the Strategy Handbook

Did you miss my previous episode where I discus Bridging Finance and Sustainability: How International Finance Can Support Sustainable Infrastructure in Africa? Make sure to check it out!

Connect with Terser:
LinkedIn - Terser Adamu
Instagram - unlockingafrica
Twitter (X) - @TerserAdamu

Connect with Aly-Khan:
LinkedIn - Aly-Khan Jamal
Twitter - @BCG

Do you want to do business in Africa? Explore the vast business opportunities in African markets and increase your success with ETK Group.

Connect with us at www.etkgroup.co.uk or reach out via email at info@etkgroup.co.uk