Episode Summary

In this week’s episode of the Africa X series, Kevin is joined by Rutendo Nyamuda, founder and CEO of pan-African podcast company Tinzwe Media and host of “The Podcast Sessions”, “In My 20s”, and the poetry and storytelling podcast told in each guest’s mother tongue, “Inside Wants Out.” Rutendo shares her thoughts on innovation and incorporating other mediums into podcasting such as video, TikTok, YouTube shorts, and print–as she’s done with her own digital magazine companion to “The Podcast Sessions”, Africa’s first pan-African podcast magazine. She talks about ways to cater to those who want to consume something visual while still staying true to the roots of the audio medium along with offering an opportunity for podcasters to tell their stories in a different way. Rutendo and Kevin share how best to learn from the people you respect and incorporate their practices in your own life in a way that works for you, feeling excited about the person you’re becoming, and the origins of the Create Your Life Series.

Kevin Y. Brown

Kevin is a seasoned multi-media executive who is passionate about Africa’s digital future. As an award winning entrepreneur, podcast producer (over 1,000 episodes across different genres with over 30 million downloads across clients) and tech veteran, Kevin is the Chief Content officer and Head of Strategy at Afripods leading their multi-country strategy and product vision.

Kevin is the host of the Create Your Life Series podcast and has been featured or spoken in Forbes, Black Enterprise, Essence, Podcast Movement, Podcast Sessions, Ted X, Sirius XM, Inc. magazine and many more…

Rutendo Nyamuda

Rutendo Nyamuda is the founder and CEO of Tinzwe Media, a podcast company focused on the pan-African podcast industry. The company produces three original podcasts, “The Podcast Sessions”, “In My 20s” and “Inside Wants Out“. Tinzwe Media also produces Africa’s first pan-African digital podcast magazine also titled “The Podcast Sessions”. In her career she has worked across various areas of the media and entertainment industry including journalism, TV production, corporate video production, PR and podcasting. Rutendo has written for prominent publications including: ELLE SA, Forbes Africa, CNBC Africa Online and the Huffington Post. She has also worked in TV for The Expresso Morning Show and The Afternoon Express Show (SABC3).

An avid speaker, she served as the President of the Ernst and Young Toastmasters Club for the 2019 / 2020 season. She was also recognised as one of the top 10 Toastmasters speakers in the SADC region for 2019/2020. In addition, she is a voice over artist having voiced adverts as well as corporate videos for the likes of: ABSA, Takealot, MultiChoice, TCM, and the SA-Eu Strategic Partnership to name a few. In 2020 Rutendo was featured on the prestigious Mail & Guardian 200 Young South Africans list for her work in the podcast industry.

Insights From the Episode

Rutendo’s vision for the future of podcasting
Why it’s important to share stories in other mother tongues and for listeners to hear them, even if they don’t understand the words
Insights into how the South African podcasting market differs from other markets on the Continent
How to find and grow your audience
How you can contribute to the podcast industry even if you don’t have your own podcast
Tips for new African podcasters who are starting out in the industry
When numbers can help you as a form of feedback, and when you should ignore them
How the role of a mentor differs from a friend, the different kinds of mentors in our lives, and how to make the most of the time and resources they give you
Getting past the mental block of overthinking and searching for perfection

Quotes From the Show

When she was looking for a job after being retrenched: “I asked myself, ‘if money wasn’t an object, what is it that you would do?’” - Rutendo Nyamuda, Create Your Life Series, #197
“Let’s put podcasters on the covers of magazines. We have such a rich African storytelling, podcasting community… Why aren’t we on the covers of magazines? And people are saying, ‘I really like this person, they inspire me.’ They should be seen. They should be on the cover of a magazine. Because maybe they won’t be on the cover of an ELLE or a Vogue or a TIME, but we can put you on the cover of our magazine because we see you and we appreciate the work that you’re doing and you’re changing the game in such big ways.” - Rutendo Nyamuda, Create Your Life Series, #197
“As someone who was born in Zimbabwe and raised in South Africa, there is this sense of being a child of the Diaspora, but there’s also a sense of longing. You’re always longing for the sense of trying to find yourself, trying to discover yourself. Being born in Zim and raised in South Africa, I wasn’t South African enough. There are certain things that from a cultural perspective would miss me. I didn’t grow up in Zim, so as much as I understand parts of my culture that I do understand, sometimes it’s like, ‘I didn’t know that.’ You’re discovering. And wherever I travel on the Continent, you feel a sense of ‘I get the culture, I can feel that sense of being African, but at the same time it’s like I want to get to understand your culture a little bit more’ because I think we are incredibly interconnected as Africans in so many more ways than not.” - Rutendo Nyamuda, Create Your Life Series, #197
“I would love to see more podcasts around culture, around language, around understanding the history of various countries, practices, why practices were done, why they weren’t done.” - Rutendo Nyamuda, Create Your Life Series, #197
“If you are growing a business or you’re starting a company, you want to make sure it’s sustainable without you so you don’t always have to be there. I want to take holidays, I want to take a break, I want to know that there is a team that are in positions to do this, and that is the way that we make this profitable and sustainable.” - Rutendo Nyamuda, Create Your Life Series, #197
“I think what the big podcasters and podcasts have managed to do really well is they’ve found their audience. You have the sense of ‘we’re not trying to reach everyone. We’re trying to reach this group of people, and by trying to reach this small group of people we just happen to be reaching a whole bunch of people.’ They know their audience. They know who they’re speaking to.” - Rutendo Nyamuda, Create Your Life Series, #197
“This game doesn’t work if everyone is not able to succeed. You can’t be only one and then say I’m in an industry of one. You can be the first and you can amplify, but there’s no harm in me sharing the success and challenges of The Podcast Sessions with the next person. ‘Lighting someone else’s candle doesn’t take away the light of your own candle’, and that’s why these conversations, these platforms, are really important.” - Rutendo Nyamuda, Create Your Life Series, #197
“Life is a marathon. The things you do are a marathon, and the only way to really get out of these things what it is that you want is to be yourself and stay in your lane. Don’t watch what everybody else is doing; stay in your lane. Stay steadfast. Stay the course.” - Kevin Y. Brown, Create Your Life Series, #197
“I think there’s something to be said about doing what you say you’re going to do. To me that’s what builds your confidence, that by continuously doing what you’ve said you’re going to do it’s like, ‘I’ve done the work, so there’s no way you’re going to shake this foundation.’”- Kevin Y. Brown, Create Your Life Series, #197
“A lot of times when I look at people I respect, I’m really looking at their ‘how.’ Because the ‘why’ and the ‘what’ can always change and that can be personal, but the ‘how’, the steps to getting there, is something that you can repeat and put your own twist on it, making it into something that works for you.” - Kevin Y. Brown, Create Your Life Series, #197

Resources Mentioned

Favorite Book

The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

Favorite Quote

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, 'Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?' Actuall...