Conversations from PRODFEST W/ PK STEVENS

0:00Guys, what’s up? How you doing? It’s your boy Super here and I’m with PK and we’re live at ProFest. Nice. Ah, I like how you’re in sync so far.

0:12Yeah. So, I’m PK. I work as head of operations and co-founder of IHQ. We’re unlocking innovation through technology, infrastructure, and community. It’s great to be here.

0:21Wow. Amazing. Basically, let me put it in simple terms for you guys. IHQ has been supporting projects that have been struggling to come up in Africa.

0:31Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. That that’s part of it. But yeah, really captures a good part of it. But again, nice to meet you again. I got to I had the pleasure of um getting to um interview uh your CTO. Can you call me again?

0:43So Dennis Okono, CTO and co-founder of that name. I told him that name my bro. But honestly, I enjoyed the team and it’s a pleasure to actually have you here at just and with that being said, please can you share your topic to the camera so they aware of what to ask?

1:00Uh, what topic exactly? The one you spoke about like on stage. Oh, so I talk about the role of blockchain in Nigeria’s dig in Africa’s digital future.

1:07Now, this is the reason why I told you to ask because of what I found amazing. He said something there. He didn’t say build for Africa. He said build from Africa. So that one is very highlighted and I really have been like my friends and I we always advocate for the idea of trying to actually build from here and build and understanding that the issues and the um the struggles the challenges we face is the best way to know kind of real solution you can provide and with that being said like with um something that profess the convenor of prophet he said something about he said wants to

1:36merge technical and nontechnical um personnels and individuals and that was the aim of it and even where I media Our whole goal is to be able to create a hub and a space where developers and creatives can come together to actually give great products not because of his web 3 but because of it useful.

1:58And with that being said like what exactly now with this kind of initiative coming up and initiative coming all around like we have what is actually now is expectations that we can say we’re going to be seeing in next few months and next few years to come.

2:09I think that’s a great question. The thing that we’re doing now is we’re still in kind of the awareness phase which is like we’re coming out of this phase of crypto is blockchain to blockchain is a platform.

2:21Exactly. And so now what we’re doing is and if you see the focus of the conferences from Ethanu we’ve done a couple of pop-up cities. So interestingly so Kevin attended Muakra which happened in Ghana and that kind of spurred him to see what pop-up cities are. So we we actually run the first pop-up city across Africa that happened in Makra. We had one this year in Kenya called to afraid. Our goal with that is to you know get people in a space for a while and then change how they think about blockchain technology.

2:48Amazing. Amazing. So blockchain technology is not just seen as the cryptocurrency aspect but from the community how it’s providing a platform for people to actually build solutions and then changing their mindset. I started my talk today about belief because I think every time we talk about technology but we don’t talk enough about people that believe in Africa and then can use the technology.

3:09Amazing. Wow. Wow. Wow. Wow. Wow. I’m I like I’m blown away because like what you’re saying is actually the truth because there are times I actually do tell my friends some my friends in Kenya and I said Africa is not ready for governance. Not because of we don’t deserve it or we can’t have it but because of we don’t have the mental infra to actually manage it and that’s where we’re trying to and that’s why I’m happy about the new internet I’m happy about like like the new web web three because I feel like everything right now is even for now it’s like what is it awareness it’s an

3:40experiment but it’s for me it’s like what my friend Jenn say is towards the idea of being able to actually test what works so it’s even towards the idea of governance being able to test how what kind of governance system can be created that can actually transparent, efficient, and reliable for the daily man and average man out there. So, I’m excited to for the fact that I’m seeing key players like you actually being advocates and understanding the the the initiative, the the the scope of these things cuz it means that it’s actually a future where we can be happy to see our I don’t call them Gen Z, Gen X. Yeah.

4:13Build on the facility and the structures that we’re trying to put in place. And I’m excited about it. Yeah. with the media. Our whole goal is to um tell um African stories like um tell tell sorry African builders like narate like tell the untold our whole idea is to be the voice of the voiceless where we’re able to alllight builders whether creatives or developers non technical yes they’re trying to do they’re trying to create products like I said not for Africa but from Africa and our goal is with that preserving being able to tell the stories and even tell the cultural aspect of it and tell the stories of the

4:47four our forefathers the history that we were not told, we’ll be able to actually work towards where we can make better choices that can actually take us forward and 100% web 3 is actually where I feel like Africa can actually control back his narrative. So, I’m excited and I’m thankful for the fact that you actually, you know, you’re so tired, but you still have to just be able to accommodate

5:06happy to always and I think just to add, we’ve gotten to that stage where we can take our decisions and that’s what you know, like I said in in the awareness, we’re also talking about taking action. So, from making this awareness, we’re telling builders, this is the time to start experimenting. M so that’s why for us at II you think about it from a framework perspective which is you build a community you have hackathons that become grounds for experimentation and you run an incubation program right so the incubation program is where these ideas are refined but these communities they kind of exist better if they are

5:37physical hubs so we have two physical hubs in Ghana and Kenya and then we’re also using pop-up cities as a mode to create people to spend longer time together I think one thing that is missing is we don’t have a shared purpose if we did building is much easier

5:52amazing and like I believing in Africa. I will keep hinging on that because that is like the major thing that keeps coming to mind. If we all believe we’re going to make it just making see I’m amazed by what you’re saying because we’ve also spoken about the idea of like this division that that happens not just even between national like between nationalities where Kenyans Ghanaians Africans Nigerians we’re fighting each other which is not what should be happening. Yeah. I I I do understand the idea of how Nigerians are like probably the one taking up like we with the power

6:23of course with the power we know with the power but I think again it’s for the fact that we’re at least in the forefront we should actually try and start creating platforms and we should start addressing this specific thing because at the end of the day just every Nigerian out there just trying to just get a better life but also for God putting us in that kind of position we should be able to actually

6:41not just look at time like like we should be able to um address it because that’s the only way we’re going to have a better, a bigger, and a reformed Africa that is for us and our childrens to come.

6:54So, I’m excited. Oh my god, you’ve said so much already and I’m I can’t wait to I’m now bullish about more and more. I already spoke to I was already bullish now. It’s like

7:02yeah, that’s gone 10x through the roof. It’s 10x. So, we have an incubation program cohort just launched. Um currently as I speak to you in Ghana we’re having about eight founders who have gone through three and a half months and they’re being going through a twoe you know physical summit and so we have another cohort coming up applications are on till 5th of September happy to give you the link we just want as many people because we want to start technical people again

7:26no no so the incubation program is a technology component right because that’s what we believe is going to give us exponential you know reach out to more people

7:35um but even for the nontechnical community like I just spoke to your friend who is doing creatives were also thinking of ways how do we support

7:41I spoke to Mr. about this I think about our creators boot camp actually we are working towards because we actually start saying like this is actually what we are advocating for

7:49we are saying that there are not there’s not enough attention on the creator economy which is what is needed for mass adoption of course because you guys tell the stories

7:57exactly storytelling is the best you guys tell the story from from time to writing things on the walls so the idea now is like we’re trying to create that kind of this kind of initiative where we feel like okay there’s no place where creators can come in and if to come in we’re seeing where It’s quite difficult for a lot of creators to even get involved because it’s either you already have some kind of network or this to even be able to get involved and that should not be

8:21well interestingly so I’ve been having some conversation this a bit of alpha we haven’t thought through the entire process has built both sides we build a talent side or built a builder pipeline we’re thinking of how better we can bring them together and the creators kind of fall into most of the time

8:34then I’m sure that we media is actually a community that can actually help because then say that we can we actually did discuss about how we could collaborate and how So happy to have those conversations. I mean, we’re here for Africa.

8:44We are here any day, any catch. We’re here to build for Africa. I’m from Africa. Thank you so much for having me. H Yeah. So, we go to something here. We’re going to spell. B O U Y.

8:54No, you’re going to say the camera. I’m going to spell it. So, it’s spell. B O U Y A. B O U Y A. Your name is correct when the video comes out.

9:01Yeah. Yeah. But now, the camera. My name is PK. I work as co-founder and CEO of RHQ. We are driving um innovation across the Afghan continent through technology, infrastructure, and community. We’re live here at ProFest in just plat state with We Them Media. Booyah.