The Tip of the Spear with Matt Berg of Ona - a podcast by Rowena Luk

Today's episode is a far-ranging conversation with Matt Berg, founder and CEO of Ona. We peel apart the many layers of Matt's life as an immigrant, a celebrity, a geek, a maker, and a founder. We marvel at all the crazy technologies we thought might work in the 90's. We hear the surprising role music had in bringing Matt back to this continent. We unpack how Matt drew from talent in Africa for Africa, when he founded Ona jointly in Kenya and the United States. In the second half, Matt highlights the untapped potential of new satellite imagery to help us reach people in the most remote parts of the world.

Prior to founding ONA, Matt led a social enterprise initiative at Columbia University’s Earth Institute, where he served as ICT Director for the Millennium Villages Project. He has previously been Technology Director for ChildCount+ and a member of Columbia University’s Department of Mechanical Engineering research group in the Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science.

Matt was born in Cameroon, grew up in Senegal, and has worked in Africa for 15+ years. He is a PopTech! Social Innovation Fellow and was named to the 2010 Time 100 List of Most Influential People of the World. Matt has an MBA from the Thunderbird School of Global Management, and has taught ICT4D at the School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA) at Columbia University where he was adjunct faculty.

 

To find out more, access the show notes at https://AidEvolved.com 

Let us know what you think of this episode on Twitter (@AidEvolved) or by email (hello@AidEvolved.com)

Further episodes of The Africa Health Ventures Podcast (formerly Aid, Evolved)

Further podcasts by Rowena Luk

Website of Rowena Luk