This week, Denis & Cynthia are joined by Shiro Wachira, an activist at heart, who candidly shares with us how her journey through her graduate program at the University of Stanford led her to unlearning the glorification of burnout. Through her story, we learn how through mentorship, both giving and receiving, are important in creating sustainable personal wellbeing, and how this has led to Growing Acres, her apprentice-ship based program aimed at helping agricultural workers build profitable and environmentally sustainable businesses. As always, as your hosts we took a lot from this con ..read more

Talk about an amazing comeback story! On this weeks episode, we are joined by business owner, podcaster, father and fitness enthusiast, Shiv Simani. Shiv takes us through many of his origin stories as we discuss the importance of striving to make your dreams come true. He shares with us the lifestyle challenges faced at an early age and how he navigated towards being one of the biggest fitness influencers in the country. We delve into the importance of setting strong boundaries and how making healthy lifestyle choices make a huge difference for oneself and for the people around us. This is the ..read more

This is Part Two of our conversation with Wambui Wambugu and Jean-Marie Kamweru, whom you met on part one a few weeks ago. In this episode, we dive into their individual journeys from high school into university and now, as working adults in Nairobi, Kenya. They also share with us what impact having older siblings abroad had on the decisions they made and also honestly share if Gathoni & Cynthia met their expectations as older siblings abroad. We'd love to know what you took away from this episode and also what impact your siblings, younger or older, have had on your journey. Links: Jean ..read more

“So what are your weaknesses?” Probably the question we all either under or overprepare for as we think about the looming interview. On this week’s episode, full-stack tech-recruiter and HR practitioner Fiona Maingi, shares with us how her journey from law grad to HR specialist has shaped who she is today. Fiona shares with us how her mindset of reframing failure has been essential in her personal growth. She also shares with us tips on branding yourself as you prepare for your next step in your career whether that be now or in the future. We’re so excited to finally have Fiona on the podcast ..read more

Meet Our Siblings, Jean-Marie Kamweru and Wambui Wambui and get to know us better on Part One of Two of this series with funny and quirky QnAs. This episode leads us into part two where you get to know Jean's and Wambui's individual journeys and how having older siblings abroad impacted their lives, both positive and negative. We learnt a lot about each other and ourselves as individuals and friends who've known each other for over a decade. We hope you enjoy this episode and we'd love to know if you love these types of episodes - it's good to shake it up once in a while. Links: Jean's LinkedI ..read more

In this episode of aKEx, Denis and Gathoni catch up with Ian Mararo. For those of you who have been on this journey with us, you will remember Ian from Season 1. For those of you new to our podcast, you should definitely listen to the episode... it will leave you with the motivation and encouragement you need to pursue new opportunities. You can find Ian's Season 1 episode titled "Don't be afraid to fail" here: https://open.spotify.com/episode/2uVRInrLsxA4oFC34EgDjF?si=WKNRhGKgRgOc6ciVYd3JVQ As we reconnect with Ian, he provides us with an update on his personal and professional life, and shar ..read more

I think we can all agree that THEE biggest flex is having your younger siblings on your podcast. We're so humbled and thrilled to have Angela Cauri, a rising star in Nairobi's creative space and a Freelane Virtual Reality Designer. You might have heard her on Capital FM talking about her most recent project, State of the Art 3.0 or perhaps seen her magnificent murals in Bwibo, Lavington. Angela shares with us the importance of self-exploration and how that has led her to take the path less trodden several times in her life which has led up to her incredible achievements today. We know you'll f ..read more

We're baaack with Season 4 of aKEx and we're still shook that we're now on Season 4. Thank you for sticking with us and we're excited for you to hear what we have lined up next. Our first guest is a looong time friend, Julio Mkok, a lawyer trained in Bristol, UK and now currently completing his training in Nairobi. Julio shares with us mind-blowing stories about how he found himself in Bristol, how he acclimatised to living in the UK through the support system he built for himself but also the struggles of living far from home. He gives us a sneak peak into what 'For The 5th' has in store as t ..read more

Probably our biggest one yet! In this episode of aKEx, Cynthia, Denis and Gathoni have the amazing opportunity to talk to Muthoni Drummer Queen... artist, musician and trailblazer extraordinaire. MDQ talks us through her journey before the music and the interests she had in the early days. She then talks about her amazing experiences in the music industry both in Kenya and internationally including how and when the name MDQ started, her musical inspirations, overcoming the challenge of being labelled 'not Kenyan enough' and so much more! Yes, of course, we definitely had to hear the origin st ..read more

In this episode of aKEx, Cynthia, Denis and Gathoni talk to Paul Muigai, CEO and Co-Founder of Igwa Experience (IgwaXP). Muigai talks us through his journey to entrepreneurship, working with friends, and the joys of having a support system. He shares the importance of taking advantage of new experiences by 'just going for it': whether starting a business, studying abroad, widening your frienship circle or even mentoring. Muigai also shows us the value of looking at life as glass half-full and finding the good in every experience.    If you know someone who is struggling to make BOL ..read more