Ep. 2 – Made in Africa – Continental dreams, practical collection & respectful disrespect — with Johan Botha
Welcome back to The Global Crowd—still the podcast you definitely didn't need, but hopefully one you'll keep around.
This is Episode 2, featuring Johan Botha—one of Africa's most influential voices in localization and co-founder of ALCA (Association of Language Companies in Africa).
He's the guy collecting hundreds of comic books, co-founding an industry association to unite and open Africa, and prioritizing bedtime stories over business calls and prime networking.
As you will notice, we also took some liberties with this episode and decided we'd treat each other exactly as we do in real life. What you'll hear is two friends competing for who can be more successful while simultaneously undermining each other's credibility.
🎙️ In this episode, we talk about:
- How one reluctant influencer became the voice of African localization
- Why Africa has been "the next big thing" for 10 years (and what's really happening on the ground)
- The trust gap between the "global north" and a continent tired of being told how to do business
- Channeling your inner Batman, stealing Beatles vinyls, and the market opportunity for left-handed fountain pens
- How braai is the great equalizer in South Africa
- The art of saying no (and why Johan struggles with it)
- How rapid-fire questions look like in African time
As always, no sponsors, no script, no secret agenda. Just two friends, one take, and an improvised conversation that wandered from African intelligence to pottery meditation.
Chapter List:
00:00 Welcome and roasting warnings
01:41 Meet Johan Botha
04:07 From translator to influencer
08:33 Explaining your job to kids
09:49 Begging your way to the top
12:19 Africa's togetherness problem
16:06 The curse of saying yes
20:49 Collecting what you can't afford
21:32 Left-handed fountain pen struggles
25:23 Comics, vinyl, and Beatles theft
29:31 Bedtime stories and troll cupcakes
31:28 Braai 101
34:21 Rapid fire (African time)
40:37 Why care about Africa?
48:39 The ALCA conference vision
56:23 AI predictions for Johan
59:08 Why Johan made episode 3
Thanks for joining us.
