COVID-19 Africa Watch Interview Series
The COVID-19 Africa Watch Interview Series showcases the voices of African change agents, policymakers, and entrepreneurs, focusing on how the pandemic is affecting African countries and the priorities for the post-pandemic recovery. Over the course of the last year, we have spoken to Dr. Vera Songwe, Lionel Zinsou, Strive Masiyiwa, Malado Kaba, Sir Paul Collier, Dr. Youssef Boutros-Ghali, Gayle Smith, Aya Chebbi, and many others.
To see all of our interviews, see the full archive below.
Featured Interviews
COVID-19 Africa Watch talks with Scott Morris, Senior Fellow at the Center for Global Development, about the recent landmark report How China Lends, the first systematic analysis of the legal terms of China’s foreign lending.
Malado Kaba, former Minister of Economy and Finance of the Republic of Guinea, speaks to COVID-19 Africa Watch about the potential for digital disruption in government and public service in the wake of the current pandemic. The interview is also available in French.
COVID-19 Africa Watch talks to Dr. Youssef Boutros-Ghali, former Finance Minister of Egypt and former chairman of the IMF’s International Monetary and Financial Committee, about the economic impact of the pandemic, the policy response, SDRs, and more.
COVID-19 Africa Watch talks to Vivian Nwakah, Founder and CEO of Medsaf, about addressing the inefficiencies and inequalities in African healthcare systems.
Interview with Omer Omarabi: Using FinTech in Sudan’s Economic Response to COVID-19
African Voices on COVID-19's Impact / Interview Series Sudan COVID-19 Africa Watch Video by Milken Institute staffCOVID-19 Africa Watch speaks to Omer Omarabi, the General Manager of Electronic Banking Services Sudan, about how financial technology has played a role in Sudan’s COVID-19 response initiatives.
Interview with K.Y. Amoako on Africa’s Economic Recovery and Transformation
African Voices on COVID-19's Impact / Interview Series COVID-19 Africa Watch Video by Milken Institute staffCOVID-19 Africa Watch speaks to K.Y. Amoako, President of the African Center for Economic Transformation, about the economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic across the continent.
Interview with Aya Chebbi, African Union Youth Special Envoy
African Voices on COVID-19's Impact / Interview Series COVID-19 Africa Watch Video by Milken Institute staffCOVID-19 Africa Watch speaks to Aya Chebbi, African Union Special Envoy on Youth about the impacts of COVID-19 on youth across the continent.
Interview with Prof. Iyeopu Minakiri Siminialayi, Chairman of the University of Port Harcourt COVID-19 Task Force
African Voices on COVID-19's Impact / Interview Series Nigeria COVID-19 Africa Watch Video by Milken Institute staffCOVID-19 Africa Watch speaks to Professor Iyeopu Minakiri Siminialayi, Provost, College of Health Sciences & Chairman, University of Port Harcourt COVID-19 Task Force, about mitigation strategies at the local level.
Interview with Dr. Natasha Kaoma: Maintaining Community Work and Reproductive Health Efforts during the Pandemic
African Voices on COVID-19's Impact / Interview Series Zambia COVID-19 Africa Watch Video by Milken Institute staffDr. Natasha Kaoma, CEO of Copper Rose Zambia, an NGO working on issues of adolescent sexual and reproductive health, speaks to COVID-19 Africa Watch about how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted her organization’s work.
Interview with ‘E’ Aboyeji: Investing in African Innovation and Entrepreneurship during COVID-19
African Voices on COVID-19's Impact / Interview Series Nigeria COVID-19 Africa Watch Video by Milken Institute staffIyinoluwa Aboyeji, Founder & General Partner of Future Africa, speaks to COVID-19 Africa Watch about how the pandemic has changed the startup investment environment and what the opportunities might be for retail investors.
Interview with Gwen K. Young: Gender Impacts of COVID-19 in Sub-Saharan Africa
Analysis and Opinion / Interview Series COVID-19 Africa Watch Video by Milken Institute staffGwen K. Young, President of Balance Up Leadership, talks to COVID-19 Africa Watch about COVID-19’s disproportionate impact on women and what governments and others can do to develop response plans that promote women’s economic and social wellbeing.
How Has COVID-19 Impacted the Nigerian Capital Markets? An Interview with NSE CEO Oscar N. Onyema
African Voices on COVID-19's Impact / Interview Series Nigeria COVID-19 Africa Watch Video by Milken Institute staffThe CEO of The Nigerian Stock Exchange, Oscar N. Onyema, talks to COVID-19 Africa Watch about how the exchange has responded to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Interview with Nurse Cherish Samuel: On the Frontlines of COVID-19 Treatment in Lagos State, Nigeria
African Voices on COVID-19's Impact / Interview Series Nigeria COVID-19 Africa Watch Video by Milken Institute staffCOVID-19 Africa Watch discusses the COVID-19 crisis in Nigeria and how people can stay safe with Cherish Samuel, a registered nurse working at a COVID-19 isolation and treatment center in Lagos State.
Interview with Betty Wilkinson: Financial Stress and Pathways for COVID-19 Resilience in Zambia
Analysis and Opinion / Interview Series Zambia COVID-19 Africa Watch Video by Milken Institute staffBetty Wilkinson, CEO, Financial Sector Deepening Zambia, speaks to COVID-19 Africa Watch about the economic impacts of the pandemic in Zambia and the way her group and others are responding.
Interview with AU Special Envoy Strive Masiyiwa on the Launch of the Africa Medical Supplies Platform
African Voices on COVID-19's Impact / Interview Series COVID-19 Africa Watch Video by Milken Institute staffCOVID-19 Africa Watch discusses the launch of the Africa Medical Supplies Platform with Strive Masiyiwa, founder and chairman of Econet Wireless, and African Union Special Envoy for mobilizing the private sector response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Interview with Zemedeneh Negatu: Investing in Africa after COVID-19
African Voices on COVID-19's Impact / Interview Series Ethiopia COVID-19 Africa Watch by Milken Institute staffZemedeneh Negatu, Global Chairman of the Fairfax Capital Fund, speaks to COVID-19 Africa Watch about how the pandemic has changed the investment environment in Africa, and how the continent and Ethiopia, in particular, have responded.
Interview with Ethel Mwambazi Kandiwo: COVID-19 and the Zambian Media and Advertising Industry
African Voices on COVID-19's Impact / Interview Series Zambia COVID-19 Africa Watch Video by Milken Institute staffEthel Mwambazi Kandiwo, Managing Director at BlackDot Media, speaks to COVID-19 Africa Watch about how the pandemic is affecting the media and advertising world in Zambia.
Interview Series: Okey Umeano on Nigeria’s Economic Policy Responses to COVID-19
African Voices on COVID-19's Impact / Interview Series Nigeria COVID-19 Africa Watch Video by Milken Institute staffOkey Umeano, CFA. Ag., Acting Chief Economist of the Nigeria Securities & Exchange Commission, speaks to COVID-19 Africa Watch about Nigeria’s economic policy responses to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Interview with Dr. Vera Songwe on COVID-19’s Impact in Africa: Trade, Technology, and Economic Recovery
African Voices on COVID-19's Impact / Analysis and Opinion / Interview Series COVID-19 Africa Watch Video by Milken Institute staffDr. Vera Songwe, Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, speaks to COVID-19 Africa Watch about the future—and renewed importance—of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), the role of technology, infrastructure, and governance will play in the recovery from the pandemic, and the global response to the economic crisis.