This week’s conversation comes to you in two parts and is courtesy of a connection made by my guest from Episode 34, Stacey Enyame. Recognizing the intersection between tech and community/economic development and my background, Stacey suggested I join the Keta MakerSpace community on WhatsApp--a brainchild of #GlobalGhanaian, Paul Kwesi Damalie. We go into detail about the community and the vision for the platform and new city in the making in Part 2 of the conversation, both parts are not to be missed! Paul is founder of Damalie Innovation Holdings Group which invests in and builds companies in health tech, sports value chain, gaming and family entertainment, urban infrastructure & development and trade & embedded finance, climate resileince. Previously he was the co-founder of Inclusive Innovations Inc. which developed the Appruve API, product making it easy for financial services to verify individuals and businesses all over Africa. In 2023 Appruve was acquired by Smile ID.
As a Fintech industry influencer, he is among Untapt's Top 23 fintech influencers to follow on X; he is a Chapter Lead of Next Money, the global thought leader community for stakeholders within the financial services and technology ecosystem. He organizes events (meetups & conferences) that create opportunities for stakeholders to discuss current trends, explore opportunities through networking and influence policy in the financial services ecosystem. He also has experience consulting for fintech startups and new market entrants into West Africa, working closely with fintech innovation programmes, accelerators and investors as well as financial inclusion research institutions.

Where to find Paul?
On LinkedIn
On X
On Instagram
On Facebook

What’s Paul reading?
The Hard Thing About Hard Things: Building a Business When There Are No Easy Answers by Ben Horowitz
Every.to

What’s Paul listening to?
Funaná
Kizomba

Other topics of interest:
Keta Coastal Analysis
Albert and Comfort Ocran
DSF Lab
Caribou Digital
Afropolitan Network State
Ethereum’s Vitalik Buterin talks Charter Cities an the Charter Cities Institute
New City Concepts - Zuzalu, Próspera, Fumba Town, Itana
On Digital Nomads
Playground.ai
Google for Startups
Y Combinator
Sand Hill Road
Tokeh Beach, Sierra Leone

Special Guest: Paul Damalie.

This week’s conversation comes to you in two parts and is courtesy of a connection made by my guest from Episode 34, Stacey Enyame. Recognizing the intersection between tech and community/economic development and my background, Stacey suggested I join the Keta MakerSpace community on WhatsApp--a brainchild of #GlobalGhanaian, Paul Kwesi Damalie. We go into detail about the community and the vision for the platform and new city in the making in Part 2 of the conversation, both parts are not to be missed! Paul is founder of Damalie Innovation Holdings Group which invests in and builds companies in health tech, sports value chain, gaming and family entertainment, urban infrastructure & development and trade & embedded finance, climate resileince. Previously he was the co-founder of Inclusive Innovations Inc. which developed the Appruve API, product making it easy for financial services to verify individuals and businesses all over Africa. In 2023 Appruve was acquired by Smile ID.
As a Fintech industry influencer, he is among Untapt's Top 23 fintech influencers to follow on X; he is a Chapter Lead of Next Money, the global thought leader community for stakeholders within the financial services and technology ecosystem. He organizes events (meetups & conferences) that create opportunities for stakeholders to discuss current trends, explore opportunities through networking and influence policy in the financial services ecosystem. He also has experience consulting for fintech startups and new market entrants into West Africa, working closely with fintech innovation programmes, accelerators and investors as well as financial inclusion research institutions.

Where to find Paul?
On LinkedIn
On X
On Instagram
On Facebook

What’s Paul reading?
The Hard Thing About Hard Things: Building a Business When There Are No Easy Answers by Ben Horowitz
Every.to

What’s Paul listening to?
Funaná
Kizomba

Other topics of interest:
Keta Coastal Analysis
Albert and Comfort Ocran
DSF Lab
Caribou Digital
Afropolitan Network State
Ethereum’s Vitalik Buterin talks Charter Cities an the Charter Cities Institute
New City Concepts - Zuzalu, Próspera, Fumba Town, Itana
On Digital Nomads
Playground.ai
Google for Startups
Y Combinator
Sand Hill Road
Tokeh Beach, Sierra Leone

Special Guest: Paul Damalie.

For this two-part conversation, I catch up with Oakland-based serial cultural entrepreneur, Isis Asare. Born in Harlem, New York to Ghanaian parents Isis, a fellow Stanford University alum, has called New York, Houston, Ghana (as a Peace Corps volunteer), Seattle, and now Oakland, California home at various times in her life. She once described herself as using her over-priced education, love of technology, and acumen for experimentation to hack Hollywood. And this is where her first entrepreneurial enterprise—Sistah Sinema emerged. With Sistah Sinema her goal was to be a part of a movement to create a global market for independent film fostering deep, engaging discussions about the difficult issues of gender, sexuality, race, and class. In 2015 she successfully exited by selling the platform to community investors.

With over a decade of finance and business development experience at Fortune 500 companies such as T-Mobile, Microsoft, Shutterfly, and Amazon, in 2019 she went on to launch Sistah Scifi, the first Black-owned bookstore focused on Afrofuturism, Indigenous Futurism, Science Fiction, and Fantasy in the United States. Between 2019 and 2020, Sistah Scifi sales increased tenfold through expanding physical book selection; launching private label shirts, sweatshirts, and bags; and offering audiobooks and ebooks. Sistah Scifi has been featured in The New York Times, Oprah  Magazine, BookRiot, Buzzfeed,  VentureBeat, and Facebook's Boost My Business. Sistah Scifi has also hosted author interviews with John Jennings, NK Jemisin, LL McKinney, Jewelle Gomez, and Nisi Shawl to name a few. Sistah Scifi has developed strong collaborations with major international publishers such as Hachette/Orbit, Akashic, Abrams, Macmillan/Tor.com, and Simon and Schuster.

Tune in to hear even more exciting now and nexts for Isis and the Sistah Scifi brand!

Where to find Isis?
www.sistahscifi.com
On LinkedIn
On Instagram
On Facebook
On Twitter
On TikTok
On YouTube

What’s Isis reading?
Skin Folk: Stories by Nalo Hopkinson
The Fishermen by Chigozie Obioma
The Other Black Girl by Zakiya Dalila Harris

What’s Isis watching?
Good Trouble
The Last of Us

What’s Isis listening to?
Therapy for Black Girls Podcast
Float by Janelle Monáe

Other topics of interest:
Keta, Ghana
Lovers and Friends Show
Ujamaa and the theme House \@ Stanford University
Bronze Restaurant - Washington, D.C.
African Folktales Reimagined
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley and on Television
Logan’s Run
Octavia E. Butler
An Unkindness of Ghosts by Rivers Solomon
Beauty in Truth Documentary
Pariah Film
Uhura on Star Trek
Marcus Books, Oakland
American Writers Museum
Northwest African American Museum

Special Guest: Isis Asare.

For this two-part conversation, I catch up with Oakland-based serial cultural entrepreneur, Isis Asare. Born in Harlem, New York to Ghanaian parents Isis, a fellow Stanford University alum, has called New York, Houston, Ghana (as a Peace Corps volunteer), Seattle, and now Oakland, California home at various times in her life. She once described herself as using her over-priced education, love of technology, and acumen for experimentation to hack Hollywood. And this is where her first entrepreneurial enterprise—Sistah Sinema emerged. With Sistah Sinema her goal was to be a part of a movement to create a global market for independent film fostering deep, engaging discussions about the difficult issues of gender, sexuality, race, and class. In 2015 she successfully exited by selling the platform to community investors.

With over a decade of finance and business development experience at Fortune 500 companies such as T-Mobile, Microsoft, Shutterfly, and Amazon, in 2019 she went on to launch Sistah Scifi, the first Black-owned bookstore focused on Afrofuturism, Indigenous Futurism, Science Fiction, and Fantasy in the United States. Between 2019 and 2020, Sistah Scifi sales increased tenfold through expanding physical book selection; launching private label shirts, sweatshirts, and bags; and offering audiobooks and ebooks. Sistah Scifi has been featured in The New York Times, Oprah  Magazine, BookRiot, Buzzfeed,  VentureBeat, and Facebook's Boost My Business. Sistah Scifi has also hosted author interviews with John Jennings, NK Jemisin, LL McKinney, Jewelle Gomez, and Nisi Shawl to name a few. Sistah Scifi has developed strong collaborations with major international publishers such as Hachette/Orbit, Akashic, Abrams, Macmillan/Tor.com, and Simon and Schuster.

Tune in to hear even more exciting now and nexts for Isis and the Sistah Scifi brand!

Where to find Isis?
www.sistahscifi.com
On LinkedIn
On Instagram
On Facebook
On Twitter
On TikTok
On YouTube

What’s Isis reading?
Skin Folk: Stories by Nalo Hopkinson
The Fishermen by Chigozie Obioma
The Other Black Girl by Zakiya Dalila Harris

What’s Isis watching?
Good Trouble
The Last of Us

What’s Isis listening to?
Therapy for Black Girls Podcast
Float by Janelle Monáe

Other topics of interest:
Keta, Ghana
Lovers and Friends Show
Ujamaa and the theme House \@ Stanford University
Bronze Restaurant - Washington, D.C.
African Folktales Reimagined
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley and on Television
Logan’s Run
Octavia E. Butler
An Unkindness of Ghosts by Rivers Solomon
Beauty in Truth Documentary
Pariah Film
Uhura on Star Trek
Marcus Books, Oakland
American Writers Museum
Northwest African American Museum

Special Guest: Isis Asare.