In this final and bonus episode of the podcast this year we hear from the founder of Hidden Manna Farms to learn more about the journey of building an agro startup.

This is series 11 of the Rare Birds Emerging Markets. In this edition we head to South Asia to speak with founders from Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Maldives. In this conversation we speak with Humam Mujah and Ali Aflah CoFounders of Bright Minds Education.

This is series 11 of the Rare Birds Emerging Markets. In this edition we head to South Asia to speak with founders from Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Maldives. In this conversation we speak with Miller Alexander Rajendran the founder & CEO of SenzAgro.

This is series 11 of the Rare Birds Emerging Markets. In this edition we head to South Asia to speak with founders from Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Maldives. In this conversation we speak with Nepali Swastika Khanal Founder of the Question Mark and Director at the Ultra Group

This is series 11 of the Rare Birds Emerging Markets. In this edition we head to South Asia to speak with founders from Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Maldives. In this conversation we speak with Rashik Hoque Bangladeshi CoFounder & CEO of Onethread.

This is series 11 of the Rare Birds Emerging Markets. In this edition we head to South Asia to speak with founders from Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Maldives. In this conversation we speak with Quazi Sabir Bangladeshi Founder & CEO of Khelbei Bangladesh.

This is series 11 of the Rare Birds Emerging Markets. In this edition we head to South Asia to speak with founders from Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Maldives. In this conversation we speak with Bhutanese Ugyen Tshomo, Founder & CEO of Nim Gangsha Solar.

This is series 11 of the Rare Birds Emerging Markets. In this edition we head to South Asia to speak with founders from Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Maldives. In this conversation we speak with Sixit Bhatta, a founder building solutions to enable movement.

Our seventh and final guest in the East Africa bloc is Rwandan, Vivens Uwizeyimana, the Chief Executive Officer of UmuravaWork, a one-stop Pan-African freelance services marketplace. If you are curious, then listen in and as always I will see you at the end.

Our sixth guest in the East Africa bloc is South Sudanese Simon Chao Aloysius the Chief Executive Officer of Nile Boda. Nile Boda are easing commuting challenges for citizens and creating employment for young bike riders. If you are curious, then listen in.

Our fifth guest in the East Africa bloc is Malawian Ronnex Wataya, the Chief Executive Officer of Mi Wallet. Mi Wallet is a fintech startup providing innovative financial services. If you are curious, then listen in.

Our fourth guest in the East Africa bloc is Kenyan Zipeta Nabwala, the Chief Executive Officer of Liverage Online. Liverage Online is creating sign language awareness in society and providing equitable opportunities to deaf communities across Kenya. If you are curious, then listen in.

Our third guest in the East Africa bloc is Ethiopian Kahsu Abera, the Chief Executive Officer of Kese Events. Kese Events is an event management company dedicated to creating memorable and breathtaking events. If you are curious, then listen in.

Our second guest in the East Africa bloc is Ugandan Edgar Mwambutsa, the Chief Executive Officer of Medihub. Medihub is a Medihub is a medical sundries and medical equipment e-commerce marketplace in EastAfrica. If you are curious, then listen in.

Our first guest to kick off the East Africa bloc is Kenyan, Oscar Shivoga, the Chief Executive Officer of Kiko AI, a virtual shopping assistant that helps customers win over their behavioral human biases such as being too fatigued and overspending habits when shopping. If you are curious, then listen in.…

This is Conversations with Jo-Ann, a small bites episode where you get to learn a little more about the motivation behind the series and what to expect next. Listen in to installment five where Jo-Ann does a wrap up of 2021 and shares what's coming in 2022.

Welcome to episode 202 of series 10, a Rare Birds Collaboration with Ghanian-based Startup Lounge Africa, a series of podcasts featuring some of the West African Startups featured on their West Africa Tour. In episode 202 I speak with Lydia Amenyaglo the Ghanian-German Founder of Plenty Plenty Africa. When Lydia traveled through Africa in early 202…

Welcome to episode 201 of series 10, a Rare Birds Collaboration with Ghanian-based Startup Lounge Africa, a series of podcasts featuring some of the West African Startups featured on their West Africa Tour. In episode 201 I speak with Prosper Ukachi the Nigerian Founder of ShortKode. Prosper Ukachi is a motivated undergraduate turned edtech entrepr…

Welcome to episode 200 of series 10, a Rare Birds Collaboration with Ghanian-based Startup Lounge Africa, a series of podcasts featuring some of the West African Startups featured on their West Africa Tour. In episode 200 I speak with Badou Mbye Jr the Gambian Founder of High Tech. Badou Mbye, is a Software Developer, Producer, and Host of HighTech…

Welcome to episode 199 of series 10, a Rare Birds Collaboration with Ghanian-based Startup Lounge Africa, a series of podcasts featuring some of the West African Startups featured on their West Africa Tour. In this episode I sat down with the founder of Tukwan Phillip Gideon Aye-Darko. Phillip is an IT Service Delivery Analyst, he concentrates prim…

Welcome to episode 198 of series 10, a Rare Birds Collaboration with Ghanian-based Startup Lounge Africa a series of podcasts featuring some of the West African Startups featured on their West Africa Tour. To kick off this series I sat down with the Founding Partners of Startup Lounge Africa: Samuel Opuku, and Prince Kelly Anyomitse.…

This is series 10 a Rare Birds Collaboration with Ghanaian-based Startup Lounge Africa. Start Up Lounge Africa is on a mission to continually organize useful information and relevant networks that prioritize the collaborative growth and sustainability of African startups. They are pioneering a special project titled 54 Days Across Africa. 54 Days A…

This is Conversations with Jo-Ann, a small bites episode where you get to learn a little more about the motivation behind the series and what to expect next. Listen in to installment four whereby she wraps up the series and provide some details into what’s to come this autumn with series 10: Startup Lounge-54 Days Across Africa, a Rare Birds Collab…

About Idowu Founder CEO, Startup Coach, Innovation Ecosystem Builder, Blockchain Community Builder and Board Member. His goal for the next 20 years - having achieved some degree of success over the last - is to nurture (coach, mentor, inspire) the next generation of tech talent. To this end, he currently acts as a coach for product teams, technolog…

About Precious Precious Omusuwe is a Certified Blockchain Solutions Architect project and Coordinator of Blockchain Enthusiasts, a platform focused on blockchain education. His biggest asset is his ability to communicate complex information in user-friendly language and since 2017 has been actively involved in blockchain education at the grassroots…

MORE INFO ON STEVEN Mr. Jasmin is Group Chairman and Managing Director of Smart City Clearing Company Ltd. a BVI based frontier market Merchant Bank. The bank’s focus is working with High Net Worth and Institutional clients across all aspects of the Alternative Investment Class as they look to invest and participate in Guyana’s growth. His practice…

ABOUT PRETTY Pretty’s management consulting focus across a decade ushered her into an industry disruption through the co-founding of Coronet Blockchain - an emerging technology solution geared to shift how hair exchanges hands across Africa's ZAR 100 billion per year sector. A responsibility that sees her reshaping the future of this sector through…

MORE INFO ON STEVEN Mr. Jasmin is Group Chairman and Managing Director of Smart City Clearing Company Ltd. a BVI based frontier market Merchant Bank. The bank’s focus is working with High Net Worth and Institutional clients across all aspects of the Alternative Investment Class as they look to invest and participate in Guyana’s growth. His practice…

ABOUT SONIA Sonia John is blockchain developer, writer and speaker. She is passionate about the decentralized web and all the endless possibilities within it! She believes that it is not enough to know and be willing but to act. She is working on Porium, a web3-focused distributed online learning platform and is currently an Ecosystem Developer at …

MORE INFO ON STEVEN Mr. Jasmin is Group Chairman and Managing Director of Smart City Clearing Company Ltd. a BVI based frontier market Merchant Bank. The bank’s focus is working with High Net Worth and Institutional clients across all aspects of the Alternative Investment Class as they look to invest and participate in Guyana’s growth. His practice…

MORE ABOUT OUMAR Oumar is a Senegalese web expert with 20 years of experience. He is specialized in the development of high-end web solutions. As a self-taught engineer, he loves being challenged and engaged with projects that require him to work outside his comfort and knowledge set. Continuous-learning is part of what defines him. Additionally, h…

MORE INFO ON EMAN Eman is a blockchain full stack developer with a great enthusiasm for learning and adopting new technologies. Her work relies on building rich responsive web apps & Dapps. She is the Founder of Arabs in Blockchain, Blockchain Lead at StartFi, Devcon Scholar Alumni at the Ethereum Foundation, Ambassador at ConsenSys Qurum and Statu…

Mr. Jasmin is Group Chairman and Managing Director of Smart City Clearing Company Ltd. a BVI based frontier market Merchant Bank. The bank’s focus is working with High Net Worth and Institutional clients across all aspects of the Alternative Investment Class as they look to invest and participate in Guyana’s growth. His practice focuses on four key…

About Tarek Tarek is bringing value to business through blockchain technology. He is the Founder of K2LIS, A Paris based company that supports customers from all sectors to anticipate, innovate and deliver high value through innovative projects based on Blockchain technologies. They bring an end-to-end state-of-the-art Blockchain expertise: - Accul…

Roselyn describes herself as a Digital Economy Advocate, Economist, Professional Speaker, Blockchain Consultant and Educator and Youth Mentor. She is dedicated to serving and having an impact.

Pascal is the CEO of SaukiBit. He is an expert in the respective fields of telecommunications, decentralized computing and software development with over nine years of experience in designing, optimizing and operating complex multi-million dollar digital systems. SaukiBit is driving innovation and choice for customers, businesses, fintech companies…

About Peter An entrepreneur who is passionate about providing solutions to problems in emerging markets through technology, innovations and marketing. He has led growth and B2C marketing campaigns in VC backed companies in technical industries and scaled products to millions of people. Five years ago he discovered Bitcoin. Ever since he has had an …

About Abdel The foundation of my education and understanding is built on a unique Geopolitical and Societal diploma completed in the early stages of my growth. This prepared me for an approach not only with a business mind but with a political understanding too. I have grown from financial consultancy experience, language expertise and a large amou…

Aurra is a multi-potentialite with a very broad portfolio. She is currently the Headmistress ofSt. Anne’s Primary School (est. 1947), Executive Director & Co-Founder of Africa Is Digital and Chairman of Aurra Nicole Group. She is the 2019 Africa Science Week (Next Einstein Forum & Purple Futures Trust) – Appreciation Award recipient. She received t…

Abbas is a dynamic, flexible and results oriented product development, operations professional & entrepreneur. Collaborating with a wide range of stakeholders and learning about the needs of new sectors from scratch to bring innovative ideas and business success. Having worked on a number of product launches in the US, Europe and Middle East. He sp…

Greetings Rare Ones and welcome to the Rare Birds Emerging Markets Podcast. I am your host Jo-Ann. I started Rare Birds a few years ago because I wanted to learn the stories of startups in emerging markets. This has since evolved into a digital brand with content covering startups and blockchain technology with a sole focus on emerging markets. The…

Sebastian Vidal is the Chief Innovation Officer at the Puerto Rico Science, Technology & Innovation Trust. He is the former Executive Director of Parallel18 an international Startup Program based in Puerto Rico where they support and invest in 80 global companies per year with the goal of having an economic and social impact in the island. After th…

Jahannie Torres-Rodriguez has a background in computer engineering and business development from the University of Puerto Rico, Mayagüez Campus, where she was a first-generation college student. She has over five years of experience developing Innovation and Entrepreneurship ecosystems through the Mayagüez Business and Economic Development Center a…

Erica Reyes is the owner of Cafe Cola'o in Old San Juan and The School of Coffee and Baristas of Puerto Rico. This is the first and only educational institution dedicated to fostering the growth and training of baristas in Puerto Rico. She has more than 15 years of experience in the coffee industry. The school's main educational resource has certif…

Jennifer is the Managing Partner of ATO Ventures, an early stage venture capital firm based in Puerto Rico that funds technology startups in USA and LATAM, with special focus in PR. She has been building companies and investing in startups as a Limited Partner (LP), Venture Partner, Angel and Venture Capitalist (VC) for over 20 years. Jennifer bega…

Gustavo Diaz Skoff grew up in the Startup Ecosystem in Puerto Rico. At 18 years of age, he founded the first youth-led non-profit organization for aspiring entrepreneurs in Puerto Rico with the support of 3 Government agencies. During his time at the #1 School For Entrepreneurship (Babson College), he studied and produced the only non-government co…

Alan is the co-founder and owner of Brands Of (alongside his brother). They were both studying abroad when they experienced the nostalgia many do when abroad. This was the beginning of their company, Brands Of, a startup company committed to exporting goods from Latin American countries and providing a drop shipping-plus-fulfillment service from Pu…

My name is Perla Sofía Curbelo-Santiago (Sofía is my middle name, and Curbelo-Santiago are my parent´s last names). I was born and raised on the tropical island of Puerto Rico, a U.S. territory. I currently live on the Island. Since I was a kid, I was always interested in flowers and plants. I used to have my own garden lot in my parent´s backyard.…

Lincy Ayala is Co-Founder and CEO of BookSloth. Lincy began her career as a biologist, whose love for animals had her working at a Nonprofit Wildlife preserve. Soon after, she re-discovered her passion for design when preparing graphics for the wildlife enclosures. From there she became a freelance developer/designer and has worked with multiple co…

Fabián Vélez Vicente, also known as “Favo”, is a Puerto Rican tech serial entrepreneur and full stack developer that is currently the President and CEO at Link Puerto Rico, a Puerto Rican organization that aims to facilitate world-class and accessible experiential education and initiatives in technology and entrepreneurship related fields, Chief Te…