Ipu Podcast

Jide Alakija is an internationally renowned photographer with over 10 years’ experience in shooting multicultural weddings, documentaries and editorial campaigns. Alakija’s assignments have taken him across Africa, Europe, the Middle East, Asia and the U.S. Regularly piquing the interest of international icons and A-list celebrities through his captivating eye, Alakija’s recent clients include Nobel Laureate, Wole Soyinka; hip hop artist and producer, J.Cole; acclaimed novelist, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie; and Didier Drogba, former Chelsea F.C. soccer player. Art collectors and galleries around the world currently showcase Alakija’s work. Most recently, the Smithsonian Institute shortlisted ‘Invisible Cities No. 1’ for inclusion in the Smithsonian Institute Collection. His highly coveted ‘Normal Lies’ piece, depicting two young children sneakily covering their eyes in a slum in Lagos, Nigeria was purchased by international soccer legend, Sol Campbell for an undisclosed fee. Keen to share his extensive expe

Consolee Nishimwe is an Author, a Motivational Speaker and a survivor of the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda. She suffered physical and emotional torture during her three months in hiding and miraculously survived with her mother and younger sister.  Today, Consolee is a committed speaker on the genocide, a defender of women rights and an advocate for other genocide survivors. Consolee released her memoir Tested to the Limit: A Genocide Survivor’s Story of Pain, Resilience and Hope. In recognition of her courage and accomplishments, Consolee was awarded the 2013 ASALH Living Legacy Award ,What better looks like Award, and the recognition award from New York City Council. She was recently hailed by the Together for Girls Organization in SAFE Magazine Issue #1, as one of 50 Global Heroes who help stop sexual violence against children.  Consolee currently lives in New York. For more updates please follow Consolee Nishimwe on Twitter: @nconsolee Instagram: ConsoleeNishimwe Facebook:Tested to The Limit &

Kayonde Shaka better known as Shaka Debelair was born in Belgium and raised in Burundi. He is an entrepreneur, producer, actor, comedian. He is the CEO & founder of The Belair entertainment, The Belair Tv, and The Belair motion picture.. "Thebelair TV is a channel designed to aim Burundian youth evolving in careers such as in the entertainment industry. All those artists of different genre have stories. We want to digitize those stories so that they can be told. Those same artists have projects they working on. We want to be able to invest in them because they are full of potential we can develop, put on us on the map, change lives by putting more smiles on faces and make Burundi great again" - Shaka

Part II of our interview with Tabitha Mpamira-Kaguri Tabitha founded Edja Foundation in 2015 after encountering a young girl in Southwestern Uganda, who had been raped, and came to school the next day without any services for healing provided to her. As a victor herself, Tabitha could not stand by while another child or woman goes through the pain of suffering in silence. Tabitha is Rwandan,who grew up in Uganda as a refugee. She moved to the U.S.A when she was 14-years-old and considers all three places her home but holds a special place for East Africa. She is a wife, a mother of 4, and currently a doctoral candidate studying Clinical Psychology, specializing in sexual trauma. EDJA foundation is God's way of using a terrible experience that happened to Tabitha when she was 11, and turning it into a blessing for all victims that Edja serves today. Transforming victims into victors.

Tabitha Mpamira-Kaguri founded Edja Foundation in 2015 after encountering a young girl in Southwestern Uganda, who had been raped, and came to school the next day without any services for healing provided to her. As a victor herself, Tabitha could not stand by while another child or woman goes through the pain of suffering in silence. Tabitha is Rwandan,who grew up in Uganda as a refugee. She moved to the U.S.A when she was 14-years-old and considers all three places her home but holds a special place for East Africa. She is a wife, a mother of 4, and currently a doctoral candidate studying Clinical Psychology, specializing in sexual trauma. EDJA foundation is God's way of using a terrible experience that happened to Tabitha when she was 11, and turning it into a blessing for all victims that Edja serves today. Transforming victims into victors.

Lifase Bilima was born and raised in Berrien Springs, Michigan but her parents come from Malawi, Africa. Over the years her love for working with children grew and grew and it became her career choice. Lifase is an Early Childhood Educator and an Author of “Returned to Restore: Giving and Experiencing Your Roots”. Her book illustrates what it is like living with immigrant parents in the USA while trying to understand her roots. Lifase wants to give back to Malawi, Africa and other countries with her Agape Africa Foundation to enrich education. Lifase enjoys traveling around the world, connecting with new people, and singing.

Martine is a community advocate, speaker, writer and Huffington Post blogger on her coming of age story as an undocumented immigrant orphan in America. An incredible journey of going from a seven-year battle as an undocumented immigrant without a family, to a senior level executive with an advanced degree, a father and U.S. citizenship is the inspiration behind the mission to share her story. Martine’s intention is to highlight the absurdity of current immigration policy that marginalizes undocumented immigrants, and to demystify and challenge stereotypes about what a strong woman looks like, who the illegal immigrant is, what is means to be American and the African experience. Furthermore, she also seeks to share her universal message-- regardless of our inherent differences, we are all connected by a shared human experience. Martine was a featured speaker on immigration reform at various forums and rallies, such as Senator McCain’s Town Hall Rally on Immigration in New York City in February 2006. Her story

Alli is the Founder and COO of I Heart Health Expo who's main goal is to create awareness of heart disease and promote healthy lifestyles in the community. Alli and her team achieve this by networking with local businesses, medical and fitness experts to provide access to consultative and preventative resources to spur the community to create healthy lifestyle choices and be empowered. In this episode, she talks about the practical ways her organization is impacting one community at a time leveraging her experience and training and her talented team to address one of the major health crisis in modern time, Heart Disease. Check out the amazing work being done at IHeartHealth Expo: Website: www.ihearthealthexpo.org Instagram: www.instagram.com/ihearthealthex

Afro-Trap rapper RifleX started rapping at age 16 after two years of writing poetry as a ghostwriter. Growing up in Cameroon, the guys who could write a poem and recite it to a girl got ALL the ladies in school. RifleX’s gift with words quickly made him the go to dude for the dope lines. In 2007 after moving to the United States, he partnered with some friends from high school who were into HipHop and Rap music. He equally began spitting poetry on beats and made some songs, which drew some attention and created a little high school recognition leading him to continue honing his rap skills. In 2013 he dropped his first album Hip-Hop ‘The foundation’ and in 2017 his first Afro-Trap album ‘Afeseh’ after multiple singles and videos. RifleX plans are to continue building his brand, team, and work hard to take his craft to the next level. SOCIAL MEDIA
Twitter: https://twitter.com/iamRIFLEX Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/iamRIFLEX/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/iamriflex/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.co

Rwanda Next was founded by Dely along with Shax, the co-founder. Dely is a social media manager/fashion designer while Shax is a self taught photographer/videographer pursuing entertainment business. The platform was created to encourage the next generation of Rwandans to pursue their individual dreams. A society cannot sorely be built by doctors, lawyers or engineers. All it takes to create the next best leaders of Rwanda is a platform that believes in all dreams no matter the scope. A platform that is centered around sharing stories from other Rwandans who are already pursuing their dreams.

Joseph Masengesho ("Maombi") is a Software Developer and Entrepreneur. He founded one of THE most impactful platforms for musicians in his homeland of Rwanda, Inyarwanda.com that revolutionized the music scene and how artists get their music to their fans not just within the borders of Rwanda but globally. His story is one of pursuing his dream of integrating his love for music and art with state of the art computer technology. In this episode, he talks about his story of perseverance and persistence and how that led him to achieve his dreams.

Ex Konvict Musik’s Senior Vice President of A&R, Fotemah Mba a.k.a “T’mah”, is the living proof that America truly is the land of opportunity. Although he has always dreamed big, as an immigrant, he never imagined doing any other thing, rather than executing the vision he has for Africa with his organization JUMP Africa. Fotemah Mba recently traveled to Cameroon around a handful of the regions and did a fantastic humanitarian job with his organization, Jump Africa. Although Fotemah’s story begins in Cameroon, West Africa, the book of his life and travels is much thicker than that. The son of a distinguished educator and diplomat he spent most of his young life traveling the world. Fotemah was exposed to the cultures of such places as Algeria, Belgium & the United States; for this reason is a fluent speaker of four different languages. Even as a youngster he had an ear for music and was energized by the diverse sounds made known to him through his travels. Fotemah Mba, is the living proof that

An immigrant turned Technologist, Robel believes that life is an affair that constantly awards us with the opportunities to act in the face of fear and conquer it to satisfy our limitless human potential and unlock our inner superhero. His goal is to create tools that will improve our courageous efforts by making them beautifully designed and simple to utilize.

Daniel was born in Kenya and grew up in Rwanda. He picked up basketball around the age of 14 years old. He later moved to the U.S and played college basketball for 1 year in Seattle then transferred to the University of Arkansas. He joined the Rwandan national basketball team and played for 4 years while simultaneously pursuing his Computer Science degree. After graduation, he founded the iBallRight brand and later on started the Ball250 movement.

Eddy Bee is a talented Afrobeat and RnB artist originally from Cameroon. In this episode, he talks about how music has been an integral part of who he is today. His style combines the best of Afrobeat with influences from RnB to deliver a signature sound unique to Eddy. Have a listen and enjoy.

Neza and Alexander are 2 musicians based in LA making hip-hop influenced with electronic music & sounds. Neza was born in Rwanda & transplanted to the midwest as a kid. Alex was born in Pennsylvania but grew up traveling & living in Asia/Europe. The pair have had premieres by Afropunk & the 405. Neza talks about his unique approach to music and how he did not confine himself to one genre but instead adapted his style to be a fusion of multiple genres.

Our friends over at the Stuck in the Middle podcast Join us for a lively discussion covering a wide array of topics impacting the audiences we serve. Follow them on SitM or their website SitMpodcast.com. SitM is a platform for entrepreneurs, innovators and artists of African decent.

Danny Bozhilov is a Fitness instructor, entrepreneur and Co founder of Fitilicous Meal meal prep (www.FitiliciousMealPrep.com). In this episode he shares his inspiring story of how he came to the US from Bulgaria and his journey consistently chasing his dream. He offers valuable insignt into the mindeset needed to succeed on your own terms with your goals always in sight.

Sona Germchy is a 26 year old Fashion Designer, Entrepreneur, and Founder of her clothing line Sona Germchy. In this episode, she talks about the mindset and practical steps she took to get started and how she dealt with the challenges of running start up.

Sidra Afzal is a young aspiring author, poet, and artist. She has been writing since as long as she remembers. Through her work, Wildflowers, she hopes to provide passionate poetry to inspire the young wild souls. she firmly believes that poetry is the eloquent art of survival. This book of poetry, art, and prose takes you through a journey of the seasons of life in the shape of poetry.