Lessons
What works? In what context? Under what circumstances? And why?
A monthly reflection on leadership, innovation, and systems change from the global stage to everyday action.
For twelve years, I have curated this blog (and by extension newsletter) as a personal journal — a window into my journey from Malawi to the United Nations, to Microsoft, and beyond. As I step into a new decade and a new chapter, I feel the need for something different: a space not just to chronicle my life, but where both you and I can make sense of the systems we are all navigating.
So, welcome to Lessons — a newsletter dedicated to asking better questions:
What works? In what context? Under what circumstances? And why?
These are the questions I have used over my career when evaluating ideas, programmes, policies, and ventures. I got this systems-level thinking from my time working with the UNDP Independent Evaluation Office. These questions anchor the Lessons Conversation (Podcast) I am building, and they will now anchor this space too.
If you are not yet a subscriber, please feel free to subscribe below to get the updates directly in your mailbox. If you are already a subscriber, thanks for tagging along in the journey thus far.
Happy New Monthly, and wishing you a lovely October ahead!
All my love,
Lessons: 7 Part Books Series
I’m writing a seven-part series that reflects on power, purpose, and possibility in global development and entrepreneurship:
- Lessons
- Beggars in Suits
- Systemic Nonsense
- Impossible Economies
- So Wrong for So Long
- We Are Still at War
- A New Normal
These books emerge from years of navigating — and at times challenging — the systems that shape our lives: aid, business, policy, and now AI. They aim to give language and tools to those building in complex, often inequitable contexts.
Coming back to campus this August, our focus is clear: supporting each other through recruiting season, amplifying voices that deserve to be heard, and ensuring that our presence is felt not just in the classroom, but in the industries we step into next.
Personal Development: Why I (Still) Advocate for Education
I am often asked why I continue to pursue degrees and structured learning while also building companies. My answer is simple: access and perspective matter.
For many in the Global South, education is not just about a certificate — it is a gateway to networks, tools, and ways of thinking that allow us to create, not just comply. Yet, our inherited education systems were built to train colonial administrators, not innovators.
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We must reclaim and reimagine them — while still equipping ourselves with the best global tools available.
Professional Growth: Entrepreneurship within Education
At Michigan State University, the Burgess Institute for Entrepreneurship & Innovation reminds me that universities can be more than degree factories. They can be launchpads for builders.
Africa’s future depends on turning classrooms into incubators: equipping students with the mindset to create value, not just manage systems.
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The Burgess model — pairing mentorship, funding, and real startup experience — is an example of what works in cultivating entrepreneurial ecosystems inside academia.
Entrepreneurship & Innovation: Q2 at TechCrunch Disrupt 2025
This month, Q2 Corporation — my new venture shaping Africa’s future-ready innovation infrastructure — heads to TechCrunch Disrupt.
Q2 was born from a dream to future-proof African communities: combining AI, agriculture, and gaming to solve real supply chain challenges and teach complex systems through engaging simulations.
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Attending Disrupt is more than a milestone; it’s a step toward connecting African innovation to global capital and ideas.
Lifestyle: The Best Rooftop Bars in Manhattan
When I launched my second book, Feminine Silence, in New York this September, something funny happened. After the event, my friends — all longtime New Yorkers — asked me where we should go next to celebrate.
The irony was not lost on me: they live here, I don’t anymore, and yet somehow I still had the answer.
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For those visiting the city, here are a few favorites: Monarch Rooftop, 230 Fifth, The Ready at Moxy, and Westlight in Brooklyn.
Featured: BBC Townhall
I had the honor of joining BBC Africa’s Town Hall on AI and the Future of Work during the 80th United Nations General Assembly, alongside:
- Ahunna Eziakonwa — UNDP Assistant Secretary-General
- Dr. ’Bosun Tijani — Nigeria’s Minister of Communications, Innovation & Digital Economy
- Amal El Fallah Seghrouchni — Morocco’s Minister of Digital Transition
I spoke about why Africa must move from AI consumer to AI creator, why job disruption could be an opportunity, and why we must understand innovation before we rush to regulate it.
The session also air(ed)s on BBC News International:
- Sat 27 Sept — 02:30 & 15:30 GMT | 04:30 & 17:30 CAT | Fri 26 22:30 & Sat 27 10:30 EST
- Sun 28 Sept — 09:30 & 22:30 GMT | 11:30 & 00:30 CAT | Sun 28 05:30 & 18:30 EST
- Thu 2 Oct — 00:30 GMT | 02:30 CAT | Wed 1 20:30 EST
(BBC News UK viewers can also catch it via iPlayer.)
Up Next: Into International Development
Next month, I’ll start sharing more deeply on “UN 2.0: Decolonizing the Institution” — exploring how globalization must be reimagined for equity and agency in the AI era. The series will dig deeper into critical thinking, creativity, curiosity, and how we can re-design broken systems instead of inheriting them unchanged.
Don’t forget to subscribe to get the updates directly in your mailbox!
As October begins, I’m excited to delve a little bit deeper into the nuances of international relations.
Spotlight: 80th United Nations General Assembly, UN Youth & WPAY30
This year is not just the 80th UNGA – it also marks 30 years of the World Programme of Action for Youth (WPAY30): a reminder that young people are not just policy beneficiaries; they are builders, creators, and leaders. A few of young people were able to make it to the 80th UNGA, but there is so much more to be done, and we need ALL youth at the table, cocreating our shared future!
If you’re a young professional looking to shape global development, explore the UNDP Graduate Programme and similar pathways that aim to open doors for underrepresented countries. These routes aren’t perfect, but they’re worth engaging with — and reforming from the inside.
Read my Books:
If you’d like to go deeper into my journey — from Malawi, through the United Nations to Microsoft, you can find it in my books:
From the halls of the UN to the rooftops of New York, September reminded me that systems don’t change by accident. They shift when those inside them dare to ask better questions and build better answers.
Here’s to curiosity, courage, and critical thinking — and to a future we shape together.
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About the Author
