Not every episode of the Pure Digital Passion Podcast is recorded in a studio. This one was recorded a few weeks ago on a phone, audio only, at a restaurant table in Westlands, Nairobi, Kenya with Klaas Glenewinkel, Managing Director of MiCT (Media in Cooperation and Transition) in Berlin and Director of the East Africa Radio Service (EARS) in Kampala, Uganda.

Seven years ago Klaas decided that aid money was not the answer to keeping Africa's local radio stations alive, revenue was. EARS now bundles small and rural stations across Uganda into audience packages that advertisers can buy on one package instead of 150, and Klaas says it shared almost USD 2 million in advertising revenue with those stations last year. His argument is simple: in the ratings, the stations filed under "others" would be the market leader if they were one station.

Now EARS is going digital with a lightweight audio app that aggregates radio stations, podcasts and audiobooks, streams at as little as 8 kilobits per second, lets listeners download overnight when data is cheaper, and is funded by targeted pre-stream advertising rather than subscriptions. The app is in closed Android testing, the server has never been pushed past 100 concurrent listeners, and it does not yet have a name. So we spent the last ten minutes attempting to name it!

We also get into why radio refuses to die (in Uganda and in Germany), the gateway problem of big tech preloaded on cheap phones, my Gen Z Uber driver who still buys the newspaper to save data, what the platform means for podcasters like me, and how I actually make money from a podcast in Kenya.

If you run a radio station, publish podcasts or audiobooks, or buy audio advertising in East Africa, this one is for you.

CHAPTERS

(00:12) Welcome: an impromptu, audio-only episode from Westlands

(00:41) Why aid money was failing local media, and the birth of EARS

(01:13) One contract instead of 150: how EARS bundles small stations

(02:36) "Others" is the market leader: the long tail of local radio

(04:44) Almost USD 2 million shared with stations last year

(05:48) The threat from religious radios and why independence matters

(06:53) Analogue ad spend, cheaper smartphones and the FM chip

(07:57) Why radio endures, in Uganda and in Germany

(09:36) Big tech on the phone: Facebook Zero and net neutrality

(11:09) The Gen Z Uber driver who still buys the newspaper

(12:23) An app built for 8 kilobits: overnight downloads and offline listening

(13:27) Where the app stands: Android testing, West Africa and the diaspora

(15:04) Advertising, not subscriptions: targeted pre-stream audio ads

(16:35) The 100-listener question: a bootstrapped build

(17:43) The flywheel: stations promote the app on air

(18:52) The end game: survival of local radio, then West Africa

(20:14) Calling all publishers, stations and podcasters: RSS syndication

(21:27) How I actually make money from a podcast in Kenya

(24:40) Kenya's podcast scene, and what the youth want on demand

(26:40) Name the app: six candidates on the table

(28:17) My verdict: Ongea, Oyodo, and why I fight with "cast"

(31:42) The Ongair idea: speak, over the air

(32:40) Jambo Cast and the French-speaker test

(35:20) How EARS sells: brands, governments, aid agencies and ad agencies

(36:39) Twenty people on the ground, one deal at a time

(37:04) Close

Guest links:

EARS - https://www.ears.ug/

MiCT - https://mict-international.org/

Klaas Glenewinkel on Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/klaas-glenewinkel-a7a69b6/

Just over a year after launching This Is Digital, co-founders Grace Murugi and Greg Wanjama have trained more than 800 professionals, served more than 40 organisations, and reached a milestone that could significantly expand their impact: becoming Meta's AI training partner in Kenya.This episode of the Pure Digital Passion podcast was recorded in a wonderfully impromptu manner immediately after I attended a practical Claude workshop delivered by This Is Digital in collaboration with Isaac Hunja of KaaraWorks. I went into the session thinking of myself as a fairly experienced AI user. I left with a clear appreciation of how much more work is required to move from basic prompting to properly designed agentic workflows.That made the timing of this conversation particularly appropriate. I had delivered the keynote address at the launch of This Is Digital in July 2025, where I traced the past, present, and future of Kenya's digital transformation. A little over a year later, Grace and Greg joined me to discuss what they have learned from building an AI-native business and teaching professionals and organisations how to use artificial intelligence in real work.We explore how This Is Digital used AI to shape and challenge its original business strategy, why AI accelerates a sound business model but cannot rescue a broken one, and why effective agents require context, specialised responsibilities, standard operating procedures, and substantial work at the beginning.Grace and Greg also share what they are seeing in Kenya. Adoption may be high, but much of it remains at the level of replacing Google Search with a chatbot. The real opportunity lies in critical thinking, privacy awareness, adaptability, responsible use, and applying AI to create measurable value for customers and organisations.The conversation concludes with a major announcement. Meta has partnered with This Is Digital to deliver AI Academy Kenya, combining a Pitchathon for Kenyan startups and developers with a sponsored eight-week online Masterclass for 300 students, startup founders, developers, and career professionals.Apply here: https://thisisdigital.ai/meta-ai-academy-kenyaLearn more about This Is Digital: https://thisisdigital.ai/Timestamps00:00 Introduction and welcome01:05 Grace Murugi's journey from computer science to AI strategy02:53 Greg Wanjama's journey through software, entrepreneurship, and the UN05:41 What I learned at the Claude workshop with This Is Digital and KaaraWorks06:49 How an AI exercise helped Grace identify the business opportunity09:10 Validating the market and choosing to launch publicly15:38 Is This Is Digital an AI-native company?16:21 Why AI accelerates a business but cannot repair a broken model20:50 Tuning AI for the context of a specific organisation23:00 Using AI for business strategy, research, content, and quarterly analysis30:18 What This Is Digital has learned about AI adoption in Kenya31:56 The hype around chatbots and AI agents36:14 Why building useful agents takes more work than people expect37:00 From AI skeptics to AI advocates39:06 How learners are turning AI skills into new services and careers41:46 This Is Digital becomes Meta's AI training partner in Kenya43:34 The AI Academy Kenya Pitchathon45:20 The sponsored eight-week online Masterclass46:11 What the next two to five years of AI adoption could look like50:43 The ambition to empower one million Africans with AI skills53:18 Responsible AI, customer value, and moving beyond vanity use cases55:54 Why adaptability may become the defining professional advantage58:00 Using AI as a coach and critical sparring partner1:00:05 Learning, unlearning, and relearning in the AI era1:01:13 Where to find This Is Digital, Grace, and Greg1:02:43 Closing thoughts and the invitation to apply