A challenge for young entrepreneurs: Rome wasn’t built in a day, but can Africa be built in this century?

A challenge for young entrepreneurs: Rome wasn’t built in a day, but can Africa be built in this century?

So much has been written about how much time millionaire and billionaire entrepreneurs spend reading and the numbers are pretty staggering. From Warren Buffet’s audacious habit of reading 500 pages a day and Mark Zuckerberg’s 2015 book-reading pledge, to Bill Gate’s 50-books-a-year habit, it’s clear that successful people are voracious consumers of knowledge.

Related: Learning Is More Important Than Getting A Certificate – Strive Masiyiwa

Now, I’m an insatiable reader myself and one of my favorite trips to make is one to a local bookstore called M Booksellers Limited in my hometown Ibadan, south-west of Nigeria. They have such an incredible collection of books on African literature and more modern contemporary books on entrepreneurship and the art of doing business on the African continent. As a writer, I am fully aware of how crucial it is for young professionals to continuously fuel their lanterns of knowledge, develop their skills and capabilities in order to remain relevant in today’s fiercely competitive, ever-changing complex technological business landscape.

But despite my prodigious desire to read every book on this year’s “Must read” list, I have so many other priorities to attend to and my life just isn’t structured to spend hours every day curled up with a book and a glass of wine in bed; And the same holds true for young aspiring entrepreneurs and successful business owners today.

I suppose that’s why I’ve come to rely quite heavily on Sasai’s new podcast and watch feature. The podcast and watch feature on Sasai have moved to the very top of my list of “best life hacks”. Whenever I have my phone, earbuds and a little time, I listen to programs that can broaden my perspective and grow my understanding of my present job, my side-hustle and my constant desire to break out and start something bold and new I can call my own.

So, what’s different about podcasts on Sasai versus anywhere else? Let’s discuss some key differences that stand out for me below:

1. It feels like reading a personal letter from a rather successful person.

Podcasts and video on demand services have come a long way since their humble beginnings and they are ever evolving. The proliferation of digital media services has enabled mobile apps like Sasai to seamlessly integrate with streaming audio and media players to bring a variety of content to your ‘ear-step’. With Sasai Podcasts however, not only are the listening sessions so deeply personal and insightful, they generally tend to provide a uniquely in-depth African perspective in ways other platforms don’t. Also, because of the chat functionality within Sasai the listening sessions are way more interactive.

2. It feels more like a conversation and less like a lecture.

Although you may experience something I like to call ‘intellectual guilt’ for ‘cheating’, especially if you’re someone like me who’s an avid listener of podcasts and very rarely reads books visually, be rest assured all is well. You will be relieved to know that research shows there’s no difference in comprehension between listening and reading content. You aren’t cheating, you’re just adding to your bucket of knowledge and understanding, through a different medium. Podcasts on Sasai just feel more collaborative and engaging than other platforms. It’s like knowledge 5 or more MBAs would give you without the headache of unpaid student loans. 

3. There’s video and audio.

Regardless of the topic you’re hoping to learn more about, the content is available to podcast audibly or watch visually on Sasai. In fact, with all the video and audio content on Sasai Podcasts alone, you’d be hard pressed not to find what you’re looking for. The ability to watch and listen to high-quality content no matter where you are or what you’re doing is a big reason for the growth of podcasting and video over the years. What’s also really special about Sasai Podcasts is that it’s unashamedly focused on the Africa entrepreneur. The hustler who needs to watch or listen to nuggets of commerce wisdom on the move, or in the serenity of his/her own personal workspace.

4. The experience is actually pretty immersive

Long before human beings first carved figures on cave walls, they were gathering together in communities to share stories that taught, inspired and entertained. We never skimmed or scanned through new articles the way we do and I think this is the hallmark of what Sasai is building with its podcast and watch feature. We seem to be wired to absorb what we watch and hear, so when we are on Sasai Podcasts or on Sasai Watch one tends to listen and view intently. I think this has a lot to do with the plethora of other features a listener is able to engage in while listening. I listen to a podcast about Global Entrepreneurship and how cross border payments is the future of trade in Africa and then realise that while listening I could quite easily send money from my Sasai Wallet to my mum’s in Harare to help her start her business, without ever leaving the app. I don’t know what it is but the experience is just special on Sasai.

All in all, on Sasai you get the benefits of listening to or watching really successful people speak about contexts, business landscapes and market complexities that you can quite easily relate to because the advice hits home in a unique, irreplicable way.