The Angle Podcast

In this episode of The Angle Podcast, we sit down with a leading voice in risk, innovation, sustainability and socio-economic transformation Khothatso Nzimande-Manana and her daughter Masentle. From her early career in insurance to leading risk at Media24 and now building a climate-tech company, she breaks down South Africa’s biggest sustainability challenges and the opportunities we’re missing.

We explore the real state of climate change preparation in South Africa, how companies still treat sustainability as a checklist, and why local innovators must take the lead in building our own data, systems, and technologies.

Key Topics Discussed in This Episode

Her Journey Into Risk & Sustainability

Why SA Lacks Local Sustainability & Climate-Tech Players

The Green Transition & Opportunities for South Africans

Risk Assessment in Big Companies

Why SA Is Reactive About Climate Change

The Social Side of Sustainability And Why It Fails

Are We Assessing Climate Change Risks Properly?

Building a Climate-Tech Company in South Africa

Their New Product: The ESG Tracker

If you care about:

Climate change in South Africa, Sustainability, ESG and green jobs, African innovation, Risk, governance & inequality, Building local tech solutions

…then this episode is for you. YouTube · The Angle · YouTube · Substack · LinkedIn · Facebook · Instagram · X · TikTok

What’s the point of free speech if it never challenges the status quo?

In this episode of The Angle, we sit down with Penuel Lungelo Mlotshwa (aka The Black Pen) to unpack his philosophy of “Penuelism” - own your mind, choose value over money, build community, and think with a foreigner’s mindset.

We go deep on the tension between freedom of speech and social responsibility, why he believes South Africa’s education system is misaligned with reality, and his controversial claim that “small business is a scam” - not because entrepreneurship has no value, but because the environment, regulation, and capital stack often throttle true scalability.

In this conversation:

- The origin story of The Black Pen & how podcasting became his classroom

- First principles: own your mind, value ≠ money, community, immigrant mindset

- Education fix: real-world skills, apprenticeships, and measuring purpose (ikigai)

- Independence debate: when should kids earn freedom & responsibility?

- BEE, grants & procurement: what worked, what failed, what’s salvageable

- SMEs vs scale: why most should pursue skills + intrapreneurship inside big firms

- How SA actually grows: talent pipelines, big-company absorption, and honest trade-offs

We also get practical about the creator economy and media craft: how to title without lying, when to fight misinformation on air vs. in post, which metrics actually matter (CTR, AVD, retention), and how to build trust while still playing the algorithmic game. Penuel’s through-line is uncomfortable but useful: scale comes from systems, not slogans - so upgrade skills, leverage large firms, and build communities that outlive trends.

If you care about education, entrepreneurship, policy, and independent media, this is a sharp, necessary listen.

Chapters - Timecodes

0:00 – Cold open & intro

0:24 – Name origins (Penuel, Lungelo) & “The Black Pen”

1:47 – From sketch artist to rapper to publisher to podcaster

4:49 – Labels & backlash: freedom of speech vs social responsibility

5:35 – Where Penuel draws the line (law, morality, consequences)

7:38 – “I’m not a role model” & living with consequences

9:38 - Penuelism: own your mind, value does not equal money, community, immigrant mindset

12:22 – A “school of Penuelism”? Church, school, or apprenticeships

14:11 – Curriculum for kids: real-life case studies, purpose (ikigai), algorithms

19:50 – Should 8-year-olds earn independence? The competency debate

22:36 – State dependency: history, welfare, incentives & responsibility

26:21 – BEE unpacked: ownership, procurement, skills — what worked & what didn’t

31:59 – Skills development vs what the economy actually needs

35:50 – (Coders don’t @ me) What’s essential in a 2nd/3rd-world context

36:01 – “Economic conscription”: national skills onboarding after school

37:16 – Existing youth programs & what’s missing in real transfer

40:03 – Kids need wonder *and* work: practical skills vs “let children be children”

41:12 – Can small firms scale? Skills, capital & regulation realities

42:56 – “Small business is a scam” (provocation explained)

49:15 – Language, mental health & the mythologising of startups

51:10 – Clickbait vs truth: getting attention without losing integrity

52:13 – The real message behind the SME provocation

56:49 – Run a clean business… and the hard truth about scale & capital origins

58:46 – Advice to The Angle: travel, cross-border guests, smart hooks

59:33 – Ten-year vision: disrupt education, build outside the state, strengthen community

1:07:36 – Closing: like, subscribe & build the ecosystem

Subscribe for more conversations on Africa’s digital future.

Audio + clips on our other channels soon.

Published and distributed by Submedia.co.za

#TheAnglePodcast #Penuel #TheBlackPen #Penuelism #SouthAfricanEconomy #EducationReform #SMEs #BEE #Entrepreneurship #SkillsDevelopment The Angle · YouTube · Substack · LinkedIn · Facebook · Instagram · X · TikTok

What if South African kids could fall in love with learning again?

In this episode of The Angle Podcast, we sit down with Nkululeko Sedibe, founder of iNKULU Creative and Tech Agency, to explore how his team is reimagining digital education through a product called WonderBooks—a playful, tech-powered platform that brings school content to life through animation, gamification, and local storytelling.

Nkululeko shares how WonderBooks was born from frustration with dull textbooks, and how he bootstrapped his way through market resistance, product pivots, and the mental weight of trying to build something that matters with very limited resources.

This isn’t just a startup story. It’s about building wonder into everyday learning. It’s about making content so engaging that kids don’t even realise they’re studying. It’s about reclaiming attention—not through manipulation, but through joy.

We discuss:

-Why most edtech solutions fail to reach African learners

-What it takes to design experiences that feel “cool” but teach effectively

-The problem with waiting for markets to catch up

-Why black kids deserve stories that make them feel something

-The mental toll of building a business when the ecosystem isn’t built for you

Whether you’re a designer, entrepreneur, teacher, or parent, this episode will leave you rethinking what education could look like on this continent.

0:00 – Intro: Meet Nkululeko Sedibe

1:05 – How WonderBooks came to life

3:37 – Turning smartphones into learning tools

4:49 – Creating curiosity through digital storytelling

6:40 – Early product development and feedback

10:20 – Facing rejection in the early market

14:32 – "Dragging the market forward"

18:15 – Pivoting WonderBooks to serve schools

21:45 – Designing learning to feel like music

29:08 – The value of mentors and networks

30:45 – “Move at the speed doubt can’t catch you”

35:21 – Why black kids deserve wonder

38:00 – Final reflections and future vision

#TheAnglePodcast, #WonderBooks, #NkululekoSedibe, #EdTechAfrica, #DigitalLearning, #GamifiedEducation, #AfricanInnovation, #YouthDevelopment, #iNKULUCreative YouTube · The Angle · YouTube · Substack · LinkedIn · Facebook · Instagram · X · TikTok

What happens when a theatre-maker becomes the festival director of Africa’s leading digital innovation festival?

In this episode of The Angle, Alby Michaels takes us inside Fak’ugesi 2025: why the festival is decentralising back into the city, how the new showcase puts African immersive work at the centre, and why themes like ancestral intelligence and data sovereignty aren’t buzzwords—but a blueprint for building a sustainable digital ecosystem.

We dig into:

-How Fak’ugesi now doubles as incubator + accelerator for African creators

-The case for awards that build legacy (with entries from 25 African countries)

-The hard truth about funding cuts, and why a commercial layer (think “trade-floor meets festival”) could future-proof the scene

-Why a central repository of African immersive works matters, and what it would take to make it real

-Practical entry points for founders, students, curators and partners who want to plug in

If you care about XR/VR, gaming, animation, digital art, or the policy + funding structures that make creative tech possible in Africa—this conversation is your map.

0:00 – Intro: Why Alby took the job (and the stress of festival week)

1:14 – From actor/director to digital festival director (UJ, BASA, producing & strategy)

2:15 – Why tech + storytelling: “my toy chest exploded”

3:30 – What’s new at Fak’ugesi 2025: decentralising into the city (Wits Digital Dome, Origin Centre)

4:37 – Step Inside Our Stories – showcasing African immersive content & business models

4:58 – Ancestral Intelligence (not AI): values, symbolism, and creative evolution at Origin Centre

7:28 – What Fak’ugesi actually does: incubate, accelerate, showcase, and build community

9:15 – Festival as community builder: animation, gaming, XR and peer-to-peer exchange

11:34 – Pre- vs post-Covid: why block parties paused, why funding now prioritises content & exchange

13:47 – Awards matter (and why they’re always political): building legacy for African digital work

15:00 – How submissions/jury work; 94 entries from 25 African countries in 2025

18:36 – Do awards still matter? Recognition, discovery, visibility

20:54 – Theme: “Power Up” — surge of ideas, ownership, and continental energy

22:40 – Data sovereignty: creating African data points, from talk to action

25:00 – Why a central repository/library for African immersive work is hard (funding + hosting)

27:56 – What funders get: visibility, ecosystem-building, premier African digital festival

30:02 – How this all gets made: passion, partnerships, “gaffer tape and a dream”

31:17 – Should the festival add a commercial layer? (Decorex/Comic Con-style trade floor)

33:49 – Vision: multi-floor expo (talks + stalls + commissions) to drive sustainability

35:00 – ROI, audience growth, and funder value—why scale unlocks resilience

39:10 – Programme highlights: Fak’ugesi Pro, dome climate justice experiences, family day, Jozi Game Fest pop-up

40:11 – Why you should be there: the network, the zeitgeist, the community

40:27 – Ticketing: from R40; family package with shuttle between Dome → Origin Centre → Sci-Bono

41:34 – Wrap: “See you at Fak’ugesi YouTube · The Angle · YouTube · Substack · LinkedIn · Facebook · Instagram · X · TikTok

In this episode of The Angle Podcast, we dive into the mind of Kim Chulu Amina, a Johannesburg-based designer, gamification expert, and founder of Mind City — a platform that fuses interactive learning with real-world development in a way most edtech startups haven’t figured out yet.

Kim walks us through his origin story: growing up drawing comics, hacking together video games, and eventually stepping into the world of UX and product design — not through a traditional path, but by building solutions and learning on the fly. It’s a journey marked by bold ideas, tough failures, and a stubborn refusal to design anything that doesn’t serve real people with real needs.

We talk about:

-What true gamification looks like (hint: it’s not badges and leaderboards)

-Why most South African startups collapse — and what that says about our ecosystem

-How Mind City is helping learners and workers build soft skills that are usually ignored in tech-driven education

-The danger of solving problems too late in the design process

-Why good UX isn’t just aesthetics — it’s about dignity, agency, and survival

Kim also shares honest reflections on the startup world: the funding gaps, the performative pitch culture, and why too many innovations are rushed into the market with no grounding in user experience.

This isn’t just a conversation about design. It’s about how we prepare people to thrive — in the workplace, in their communities, and in a world that increasingly demands adaptability, emotional intelligence, and creative problem-solving.

0:00 – Intro to Kim Chulu

1:00 – From comic books to UX/UI and gamification

6:00 – First design gig and entrepreneurial mindset

10:00 – Defining interactive design and early experiments

15:00 – The philosophy behind user-centered innovation

20:00 – Mind City: A learning and development platform

25:00 – Gamification for soft skills & career readiness

33:00 – Why most startups fail in South Africa

38:00 – Gamification done wrong in education

45:00 – Fixing problems too late: A design problem

52:00 – Coaching, funding loopholes & startup realities

55:00 – Final reflections and call for a round two

#TheAnglePodcast #KimChulu #Gamification #MindCity #EdTechAfrica #UXDesign #StartupFailure #AfricanInnovation #DigitalLearning #SoftSkills YouTube · The Angle · YouTube · Substack · LinkedIn · Facebook · Instagram · X · TikTok