In this conversation recorded during the Rotary Zone 22 Regional Team Learning Seminar in Diani, Kenya, a few weeks ago, I sat down with Rotary International President-Elect Olayinka Hakeem Babalola for a deep and timely discussion about Rotary, leadership, emotional reconnection, impact, and Africa’s role in the organization’s future.

For those who may not know Rotary closely, Rotary International is a global network of community leaders and professionals who volunteer their skills and resources to solve social issues. With about 1.2 million members in more than 45,000 clubs across over 200 countries, Rotary and its charitable arm, The Rotary Foundation, have invested billions of dollars into sustainable, community-driven humanitarian projects. Founded in Chicago in 1905 by Paul Harris, Rotary’s mission is to bring together business and professional leaders to provide humanitarian service, promote high ethical standards, and advance goodwill and peace around the world.

In our conversation, Yinka shares how his Rotary journey began as a Rotaractor in Nigeria, why Rotary must move beyond transactional membership to emotional connection, and why the real measure of service is lasting impact. We also explore Rotary’s polio eradication legacy, the importance of storytelling in attracting new members, and why Africa’s youth, energy, and urgent development needs make it central to Rotary’s next chapter.

This conversation feels especially timely as Yinka is installed in about week at the Rotary International Convention today in Taipei, Taiwan, as Rotary International’s second ever President from Africa, marking a historic moment for Rotary in Africa and globally.

If you care about leadership, service, community impact, and how large organizations stay relevant in changing times, this is a conversation worth your time.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction

01:05 What Rotary is and why this moment matters

02:10 Yinka’s Rotary journey from Rotaract to Rotary International President-Elect

05:10 Emotional reconnection to Rotary

08:10 Change versus lasting impact

11:10 Rotary’s polio eradication legacy

14:10 Africa’s role in Rotary’s future

18:10 Membership, inclusion, and growth

22:10 Leadership, relevance, and what comes next

25:00 Closing reflections

In this recent episode of the Pure Digital Passion Podcast, I sat down with Sven De Cauter, CEO of Teleperformance (TP) Kenya and Nigeria, for a revealing conversation about the growth of one of Kenya’s most remarkable digital business services operations. From 60 employees in 2020 to over 2,500 today, TP Kenya has become a significant case study in what is possible when global scale meets local talent, operational discipline, and long-term ambition.Sven shares his journey from Belgium to the UK, Tanzania, Barcelona, and eventually Nairobi, where he came in to help build a business that now serves clients across 170 markets and 21 languages. We discuss why Kenya was chosen, what he learned from TP’s Barcelona multilingual hub, why Mombasa became part of the company’s footprint, and how AI is reshaping the future of customer service and BPO.This conversation goes beyond headcount and office locations. We also talk about impact sourcing, youth employment, infrastructure, GDPR adequacy, the EU-Kenya Digital Dialogue, and what Kenya must do if it wants to become a serious global destination for digital business services. Sven is candid about both the opportunities and the gaps, and his perspective is especially valuable because it comes from someone who has built across markets and understands what scale really requires.Chapters0:00 Introduction and why this conversation matters2:19 Sven’s background and the road to Nairobi6:16 What TP is and how it evolved globally8:01 Why Kenya, and how the move happened10:52 Why Kenya’s talent pipeline matters13:26 Soft skills, onboarding, and customer service readiness15:17 The growth story from 60 to 2,500 employees19:55 Why Mombasa became part of the operation23:17 Why Two Rivers and TRIFIC made strategic sense28:14 AI, emotional intelligence, and the future of BPO31:07 Green energy, GDPR, and Kenya’s competitive edge33:56 The 10,000-jobs ambition35:26 Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda, and the pan-African view39:01 Infrastructure, latency, and cost42:32 Kenya’s culture of learning and adaptability48:58 Changing lives through impact sourcing51:15 Advice for young people entering the industry55:55 Closing remarks and where to find TP

In this episode of the Pure Digital Passion Podcast, I sat down with Denis Bundi, a Kenyan-born AI-Native business builder, engineer, and founder of Agentyc, DBX Engine, and ClawFolks, to unpack an extraordinary journey from Nairobi to Houston, Rice University, Texas Instruments, Google, Microsoft, and finally back home to Kenya. We talk about the evolution of computing, the rise of agentic AI, why infrastructure matters more than hype, and what Kenya and Africa must do to avoid being left behind in the next era of technology.Denis also shares practical lessons from building at the frontier of AI, from working on enterprise systems and cloud partnerships to now helping teams deploy AI agents that can check inboxes, calendars, CRMs, and Slack, and take action on behalf of users. This is a conversation about systems thinking, engineering quality, entrepreneurship, and the urgent need for Africa to build, not just consume, the future of AI.Chapters0:00 Intro and why this conversation matters2:37 Denis Bundi’s background and journey from Kenya to the US9:34 Rice University, engineering rigor, and early career foundations12:31 Texas Instruments and the hardware/software mindset21:29 BMC, Google Cloud, and the move into customer-facing roles35:00 Returning to Kenya and building for the agentic era42:21 Agentic, DBX Engine, and ClawFolks50:55 Why AI could reshape labor and productivity57:30 Advice for young people in Kenya and Africa1:01:00 Closing reflections and where to find Denis’ work