Why I Finally Decided to Launch Under the Baobab

Sometimes, you just have to start.

What do you do when you realize you might be able to do more and impact more people?

I think many of us carry ideas around for much longer than we admit. We think about starting a business, launching a project, creating something meaningful, or finally acting on an idea that keeps returning to us. Yet there always seems to be a reason to wait. We tell ourselves that the timing is not right, that we need more experience, that we should prepare a little longer, or that maybe we are simply not ready yet.

I know that feeling very well.

For quite some time, I had been thinking about creating a podcast centered on the real stories of people building, creating, leading, and working with Africa. The idea kept coming back to me because it brought together so many things I care deeply about: business, Africa, trade, culture, community, identity, and people.

More than anything, I have always been fascinated by people and their journeys. Not only by what they have achieved, but by what happened before the achievement. I am curious about the decisions they made, the mistakes they survived, the opportunities they recognized, the moments they doubted themselves, and the experiences that shaped who they became.

That curiosity made me realize there was something missing in many of the conversations I was seeing.

There are incredible people building businesses, creating jobs, leading communities, making art, driving innovation, and creating opportunities across Africa and around the world. But often, we meet them only at the most polished point of their story. We see the company, the title, the award, the accomplishment, or the final result. What we do not always see is the road behind it.

I wanted to understand that road.

I wanted to hear about the ideas that failed before one finally worked. I wanted to know what people had to learn the hard way, what nearly made them stop, what their culture taught them, what they misunderstood at the beginning, and what they would do differently if they had to start again.

Eventually, I realized that instead of waiting for someone else to create that kind of space, I could create the space I wanted to see.

That is where Under the Baobab began.

Of course, having an idea and deciding to act on it are two very different things.

Once the idea became real, I suddenly found plenty of reasons not to move forward. I did not know enough about podcasting. I could prepare more. I could wait until I had better equipment, more resources, more confidence, more experience, or a clearer plan.

And to be fair, all of those reasons sounded perfectly reasonable, and I waited.

But I also began to notice something about people who actually build things. They are not always the ones who feel the most prepared. They are often simply the ones who decide to begin before every condition is perfect.

They learn by doing. They improve by doing. They make mistakes by doing. And at some point, I had to admit that “preparing a little longer” could very easily turn into never starting at all.

That realization changed the question for me.

Instead of asking myself whether I was fully ready, I started asking whether I believed in the idea enough to begin.

The answer was yes.

So, Under the Baobab is officially launching.

The podcast will explore the stories of people building, creating, connecting, and working with Africa. We will talk about business, trade, culture, identity, community, creativity, leadership, and impact, but I want the conversations to go beyond the usual success story.

I am less interested in asking only, “How did you become successful?” and more interested in understanding what happened along the way. What went wrong? What did success cost? What assumptions had to change? How did culture shape the way someone thinks or leads? What opportunities did they see before others did? What do they believe people still misunderstand about Africa, their industry, or the work they are doing?

That is the kind of conversation I want to create.

The name Under the Baobab also felt natural to me because the baobab has long been associated with gathering, wisdom, storytelling, and community across many African societies. It represents a place where people come together, exchange ideas, listen, learn, and pass knowledge from one person to another.

That is what I hope this podcast becomes.

Not simply a show that people watch or listen to, but a space for meaningful conversations about Africa and the people shaping its present and future. A space where success is not separated from struggle, where business is not separated from culture, and where the people behind the work are just as important as the work itself.

I am also very aware that I am starting this without having everything figured out.

And strangely, I am okay with that.

I know I will learn as I go. I know some things will change. I know I will probably look back at the first episodes one day and see a hundred things I would do differently. But that is part of building anything new.

What matters to me is starting with intention and creating something that reflects what I genuinely care about.

So this blog is not only an announcement. It is also an invitation.

If you are interested in Africa, business, trade, culture, identity, community, and the people building across those spaces, I would love for you to join me. Subscribe to Under the Baobab, follow the conversations, share the episodes that resonate with you, and tell me whose story you think deserves to be heard.

I do not want to build this only for an audience. I want to build it with a community.

And maybe that is the bigger lesson I am taking from launching this podcast: there are moments when thinking, planning, and preparing are necessary, but there are also moments when the only way forward is to begin.

For me, this is one of those moments.

Under the Baobab is officially here.

Come sit under the baobab with us here:

YouTube: www.youtube.com/@underthebaobabshow