Mary Njeri, Minoo Kyaa and Wanjira Wanjiru are three brave, powerful and caring women that are part of the Organic Intellectuals Network, a group composed of members who live in informal settlements like Mathare and work towards the betterment of their community. They present their chapters from the book, Breaking the Silence on NGOs in Africa by the Organic Intellectuals Network, which can be found here: https://darajapress.com/2023/03/14/breaking-the-silence-on-ngos-in-africa We talk about how the presence, and intervention, of NGOs disrupts many of their grassroots initiatives and deal only with the symptoms not the causes of problems. Please consider contributing to their efforts through this M-Pesa Paybill: 522522 and Account Number: 1287134076Subscribe to our newsletter: http://eepurl.com/hMbM3T Instagram: thedevelopmentdilemma; Twitter: @dev_dilemma; Music credits: Juliani, 'Kama sa Sisi'

Live from Nairobi, I was joined by three great panelists, Caroline Teti from GiveDirectly, Tom Wein from IDinsight and Kanyi Wyban from Mathare Green Movement to tackle three questions: what is dignity? why should people care about dignity in aid? what does it mean to implement aid with more dignified?You can subscribe to our newsletter through this link: http://eepurl.com/hMbM3T Instagram: thedevelopmentdilemma; Twitter: @dev_dilemma; Music credits: Juliani, 'Kama sa Sisi'

In Part 2 of my conversation with Professor Funmi Olonisakin we explore how the global security interests perpetuate colonial approaches in Africa, and Funmi also up about her experiences as a black woman in UK academia and the power of the decolonising and black lives movements. You can subscribe to our newsletter through this link: http://eepurl.com/hMbM3T Instagram: thedevelopmentdilemma; Twitter: @dev_dilemma; Music credits: Juliani, 'Kama sa Sisi'

This episode is a conversation about power, how it is created, enforced and could be disrupted by young African leaders. I was honoured to host Professor Funmi Olonisakin, an activist at heart from her days of student protest in Nigeria, a Professor of Security, Leadership and Development at King's College London and a founding Director of the African Leadership Centre (ALC). http://funmiolonisakin.com/ We delve into why Funmi believes young African leaders need to study and understand circles of power and how to leverage it even without it. Secondly, we explore the key power players at the global level for Africa and the need for a Pan-African movement to challenge the hegemony and inheritance elite. This is Part 1 of the conversation. Stay tuned for Part 2. Instagram: thedevelopmentdilemma; Twitter: @dev_dilemma; Music credits: Juliani, 'Kama sa Sisi'

We hear the term 'White Saviourism' and think it only applies to the egregious examples we see on Social Media but it applies much broader to include brown saviours, many development institutions, certain forms of Western knowledge and perhaps even you! Themrise Khan, Dickson Kanakulya and Maïka Sondarjee have put together a great book to address this, White Saviorism in International Development: Theories, Practices and Lived Experiences. If you enjoy this episode, you can get your copy here: https://darajapress.com/publication/the-white-savior-complex-in-international-development-theory-practice-and-lived-experiences

It is a real honour to bring to you my discussion with Ruth Levine, the CEO of IDinsight - a research and advisory organization that works with global development leaders to improve their social impact.As an organisation with 6 offices spread across 5 regions in Africa and Asia, I think Ruth is keenly aware of the complexities of cultural differences and sensitivities and how they impact meaningful collaboration. So in this episode we tackle the challenges she and IDinsight faced to hiring talent across the globe, building trust with communities and then her concerns around the all too superficial shift to 'localisation' and the potential consequences. These are Ruth's opinions, not IDinsight's.Ruth's thought-provoking weekly newsletter is here: https://ruthelevine.substack.com/ Instagram: thedevelopmentdilemma; Twitter: @dev_dilemma; Music credits: Juliani, 'Kama sa Sisi'

This is Part Two of my discussion with Shiro and Phuthi, two African students at the University of Stanford. If you haven't listened to Part 1, I would recommend giving it a listen first. Here we explore Shiro and Phuthi's internal struggles at work balancing competing priorities of justice for fellow Africans with pursuit of personal goals; what more expats and those workplaces should do to address this trade-off and finish with a discussion about the inequities in fundraising and the need for investment funds created by Africans for Africans. Instagram: thedevelopmentdilemma; Twitter: @dev_dilemma; Music credits: Juliani, 'Kama sa Sisi'

Shiro Wachira and Phuthi Tsatsi are two brilliant African graduate students at the University of Stanford, with plenty of experience in development organisations in Kenya and South Africa. But after time with both, they are quite disillusioned. Why have they found Stanford at times disappointing and a hard place to be? Why do they no longer want to work in development organisations? In this Part 1 of 2, we tackle this and more!Instagram: thedevelopmentdilemma; Twitter: @dev_dilemma; Music credits: Juliani, 'Kama sa Sisi'Instagram: thedevelopmentdilemma; Twitter: @dev_dilemma; Music credits: Juliani, 'Kama sa Sisi'

The Kenyan technology ecosystem is growing rapidly, countless new startups emerge and multinationals keep pouring in. What is the history of this space? Where did it come from and who benefits from the system today? In other words, who is overlooked and what needs to change?Angela Okune & Leo Mutuku bring their experiences as tech entrepreneurs, researchers as well as founding members of the Ihub to a paper they recently wrote entitled: Becoming an African Techpreneur: geopolitics of investments in "local" Kenyan entrepreneurship. Here is their great paper: https://zenodo.org/record/6582284 and folks can reach Angela on Twitter @honoluluskye or through angelaokune.me; and Leo @leomutuku or through https://www.leonida.me/Instagram: thedevelopmentdilemma; Twitter: @dev_dilemma; Music credits: Juliani, 'Kama sa Sisi'Instagram: thedevelopmentdilemma; Twitter: @dev_dilemma; Music credits: Juliani, 'Kama sa Sisi'

What are the challenges in Kenyan-Expat friendships? What are the inequities in the Kenyan-Expat romantic relationships? What do we need to be more aware of? This episode with Alexandria Njenga and Conor Walsh comes from a live panel event held on March 10th in Nairobi. It was a fun event where Alex & Conor brough nuance to this sensitive topic and their critiques. Enjoy this episode and if you know a friend who is in such a relationship or someone that really needs to hear this advice, share this episode to spark the conversation. Instagram: thedevelopmentdilemma; Twitter: @dev_dilemma; Music credits: Juliani, 'Kama sa Sisi'Instagram: thedevelopmentdilemma; Twitter: @dev_dilemma; Music credits: Juliani, 'Kama sa Sisi'

This podcast with Jim Chuchu comes from the panel event held in Nairobi on the topic 'Let's talk about Inhabiting Injustice'. This was a powerful, hard and uncomfortable conversation - the kind I hoped for when starting this podcast. It is thought-provoking and worth discussing with others - come to my next panel event on March 10th to do so. Many thanks to Jim for tackling this with me!Check out the show notes here: https://tinyurl.com/jimchuchu Find more of Jim's work here: https://www.jimchuchu.com/Follow for more on Instagram: thedevelopmentdilemma; Twitter: @dev_dilemma or email: thedevelopmentdilemma@gmail.com. Music credits: Juliani, 'Kama sa Sisi'Instagram: thedevelopmentdilemma; Twitter: @dev_dilemma; Music credits: Juliani, 'Kama sa Sisi'

This episode features Dr. Wangui Kimari. Wangui wears many hats and I know her best for her role as a key part of establishing and supporting the Mathare Social Justice Centre (referred to as MSJC) in Nairobi. MSJC began in 2014 by young members of the community to promote social justic in an area of Nairobi where residents face many daily forms of violence from forced evictions, police abuse to extrajudicial killings. They are involved in a number of initiatives, most notably documenting extrajudicial killings in public reports and recently curating a photo exhibition and book with the Mothers of Victims and Survivors Network. This is a powerful community based organisation making hard-fought change in their community - https://www.matharesocialjustice.org/about-msjc/Wangui has played a core role in this and whilst all other MSJC members live in Mathare, she comes from the more leafy suburbs of Nairobi and brings her research skills and leadership to MSJC. In this discussion, we hear her perspective on the evolution of the NGO space in Kenya, the good, the bad and the ugly, and how MSJC navigates such an environment. Follow for more on Instagram: thedevelopmentdilemma; Twitter: @dev_dilemma or email: thedevelopmentdilemma@gmail.com. Music credits: Juliani, 'Kama sa Sisi'Instagram: thedevelopmentdilemma; Twitter: @dev_dilemma; Music credits: Juliani, 'Kama sa Sisi'

This episode comes from the first live event for this podcast on the 3rd of October (as a result the sound quality varies). This was a great panel discussion event with Lorraine (from episode 1) and Sarika (episode 4) where we discussed some of the reasons it is so hard to have this discussion in the first place. It was lively and was followed by even more engagement in the following unrecorded break-out rooms. Based on this energy, I will be hosting the next event in Nairobi on the 6th November 2021 at 3pm at Lava Latté - more information on social media. For now, I hope you enjoy this episode! Join our email newsletter by filling in this form: https://forms.gle/Dfv1Gurq28NjsRG69Follow for more on Instagram: thedevelopmentdilemma; Twitter: @dev_dilemma. Music credits: Juliani, 'Kama sa Sisi'Instagram: thedevelopmentdilemma; Twitter: @dev_dilemma; Music credits: Juliani, 'Kama sa Sisi'

The aid system needs a revolution but criticising it requires nuance. In this episode, I speak with Arbie Baguios. As the founder of the initiative Aid Re-imagined and as a vocal critique of the aid industry on social media, he is a leading voice in the decolonisation movement. At the same time, Arbie walks the line between critiquing the ills of international actors and also pushing for constructive change with them.Building on the last episode, we can pick up on the focus on aid structures, not individuals, but also how an individual can think about working with or against this system. Throughout, Arbie brings much needed nuance to my questions and it was a very enjoyable conversation. Follow Arbie: @arbiebaguios - https://medium.com/aidreimagined Follow for more on Instagram: thedevelopmentdilemma; Twitter: @dev_dilemma or email: thedevelopmentdilemma@gmail.com. Music credits: Juliani, 'Kama sa Sisi'Instagram: thedevelopmentdilemma; Twitter: @dev_dilemma; Music credits: Juliani, 'Kama sa Sisi'

In this episode, I wanted to bring in a perspective from the private sector because the challenge of running multi-cultural teams of foreigners and nationals is not limited to the development sector. I speak with Shakeel Hassanali who is the Managing Director of JW Seagon - an international insurance broker with offices in Kenya. We explore the mistrust and bias he faced when he arrived and how collectively, they managed to build a shared organisational culture and put in structures which recognise the systems at play, rather than ignore them, but to ultimately let the individual to flourish. There is plenty that organisations in the public sector could learn from this approach.Share any thoughts you may have on social media (Insta: thedevelopmentdilemma; Twitter: @dev_dilemma, email: thedevelopmentdilemma@gmail.com). Music credits: Juliani, 'Kama sa Sisi'Instagram: thedevelopmentdilemma; Twitter: @dev_dilemma; Music credits: Juliani, 'Kama sa Sisi'

Why is there a Gap between Expats and Kenyans in the social and work space? What consequences does this have for our work and collaboration? What can we do to change this?In this episode, I explore these questions with Vandana Thottoli. Vandana is an Indian who has lived in Kenya for 7 years, forming close friendships with both Expats and Kenyans and in so doing straddling the gap between them. From an Indian background, she has some familiarity with Kenyan culture and systems and yet has found that it has taken her years to gain the trust and friendship of others to then learn how to navigate Kenyan culture with respect. We touch upon why expats should be cautious to complain, why misperceptions widen this gap and how friendships, initiated by expats acknowledging privilege and subsequent conversations, have an important role in the workplace - a responsibility of companies.Share any thoughts you may have on social media (Insta: thedevelopmentdilemma; Twitter: @dev_dilemma, email: thedevelopmentdilemma@gmail.com). Music credits: Juliani, 'Kama sa Sisi'Instagram: thedevelopmentdilemma; Twitter: @dev_dilemma; Music credits: Juliani, 'Kama sa Sisi'

Only 6% of Kenyan start-ups in 2019 that received over 1m USD of funding were led by locals. It is clear the investing space is disproportionately skewed to expats whilst local entrepreneurs seem to be crowded out. In this discussion with Efayomi Carr, we explore in detail why the ecosystem of funders, investors and entrepreneurs leads to this and what needs to change. We discuss the bias towards trusted networks but also why Efayomi believes change is arising and why he would caution judging too quickly.Efayomi speaks from a place of experience, having worked in 2 start-ups (Jumia, Lori), 2 Venture Capital funds (Quona Capital, Flourish Ventures) and a Private Equity fund (8 Miles). Efayomi also adds that investing in local start-ups and hiring locally is not as easy as it seems from the outside. He knows because he has tried. These are questions he is continuing to grapple with but with a rich appreciation for quite how brave and hard-working entrepreneurs are. This conversation challenged my opinions and I hope it might do the same for you.Disagree with Efayomi? How could he source local leaders better? Share any thoughts you may have on social media (Insta: thedevelopmentdilemma; Twitter: @dev_dilemma, email: thedevelopmentdilemma@gmail.com) and share and subscribe. Feel free to email your thoughts to Efayomi: efayomi@flourishventures.com. Music credits: Juliani, 'Kama sa Sisi'Instagram: thedevelopmentdilemma; Twitter: @dev_dilemma; Music credits: Juliani, 'Kama sa Sisi'

Sarika Bansal is an editor and storyteller, I first came across her work in the BRIGHT Magazine which you hear referenced frequently on this podcast. As founder & editor-in-chief, they told fresh, solutions-oriented stories about social change which I learnt a lot from and would highly recommend to check it out.As I admired her work with BRIGHT Magazine and writings, it was a real honour to have her on the podcast. One particular area of interest has been on the language we use in the international development space. There is nothing more systemic than language, it is the very thing that a system is built on and thus best captures some of the underlying themes & assumptions. In this episode we focus on the language as it pertains to describing the humans involved, the approach of projects and the impact and what it reveals about the development space. I hope you take something away from our discussion!You can follow Sarika at @sarika008 on instagram and twitter to find her work and her upcoming book, more info here: https://ifundwomen.com/projects/tread-brightly-bright-magazinePlease review, share and subscribe! You can also follow for updates, other content and teasers on Instagram: thedevelopmentdilemma; Twitter: @dev_dilemma; and email: thedevelopmentdilemma@gmail.com. Music credits: Juliani, 'Kama sa Sisi'Instagram: thedevelopmentdilemma; Twitter: @dev_dilemma; Music credits: Juliani, 'Kama sa Sisi'

In this episode, Marion shares her perspective of how expats like myself should come to Kenya, with a mentality of doing work rather than helping. With this, expats shouldn't feel any guilt to enjoy the beauties of Kenya but at the same time, they then should be held accountable for this. 'We tried' isn't good enough.We also delve into the different treatment of expats and Kenyans in the workplace, how she navigated this and the system it created of picking the easy route and hiring expat consultants. Coupled with the different risk considerations Marion shares, it paints a strong picture of why there is a structural problem in this space.Interlaced throughout is plenty of laughter and the aspiration from both our sides, to work to make things better. I hope you enjoy listening to this as much as I did recording it!Please review, share and subscribe! You can also follow for updates, other content and teasers on Instagram: thedevelopmentdilemma; Twitter: @dev_dilemma; and email: thedevelopmentdilemma@gmail.com. Music credits: Juliani, 'Kama sa Sisi'Instagram: thedevelopmentdilemma; Twitter: @dev_dilemma; Music credits: Juliani, 'Kama sa Sisi'

Sarah came to Kenya in 2018 as an expat hoping to make a difference. After 6 months, she left disillusioned. In this episode, Sarah and I cover her journey to Kenya and her unique approach of coming to observe and learn first; her surprise at the expat bubbles she found herself in; the complexities of working for an expat-led NGO and the condescension that is implicit in the narrative of 'skill-transfer to Kenyans'; why she decided that in the end, her place for 'impact' was not in Kenya and the questions expats should ask themselves.It was a delight to catch Sarah for this interesting discussion and I hope you will enjoy it too. Please review, share and subscribe! You can also follow for updates, other content and teasers on Instagram: thedevelopmentdilemma and on Twitter: @dev_dilemma; Email: thedevelopmentdilemma@gmail.com. Music credits: Juliani, 'Kama sa Sisi'Instagram: thedevelopmentdilemma; Twitter: @dev_dilemma; Music credits: Juliani, 'Kama sa Sisi'

In the inaugural episode, I speak with close friend of mine, Lorraine. It was from discussions over the past 2 years with Lorraine that this podcast came to fruition and it was a delight to start it with her. In this open & honest conversation, we touch upon two key questions: 1) What do Expats get wrong about Kenyans? and 2) What do Kenyans get wrong about Expats? Sharing from her experiences as a Kenyan working in International Development, we exchange stories of the dynamics between Kenyans and Expats - we also discuss how both parties can do more to start the conversation which can ultimately lead to more democratic, collaborative and impactful work. Join us for this first conversation!As always, this podcast relies on your support. Please share, review and ideas you may have on people, topics or problems to cover. Make sure to subscribe and follow on: Twitter: @dev_dilemma; Instagram: thedevelopmentdilemma; Email: thedevelopmentdilemma@gmail.com. Music credits: Juliani, 'Kama sa Sisi'Instagram: thedevelopmentdilemma; Twitter: @dev_dilemma; Music credits: Juliani, 'Kama sa Sisi'

In this introduction to The Development Dilemma, I lay out who your host is (hint: me - Arnav Kapur); the origins of this show; who this is for (you!) and what to be excited about. Please listen, review, share and send me any feedback!I can be reached on: Twitter: @dev_dilemma; Instagram: thedevelopmentdilemma; Email: arnavskapur@gmail.com. Music credits to Juliani, 'Kama sa Sisi'Instagram: thedevelopmentdilemma; Twitter: @dev_dilemma; Music credits: Juliani, 'Kama sa Sisi'