Host Jeni Miles speaks with systems doula Joy Njeri about why current African development models are creating dependency rather than empowerment. From her experience in NGOs to corporate work, Joy exposes how Western funding structures perpetuate colonial patterns in both humanitarian and venture capital sectors, advocating instead for community-led, regenerative economics approaches.
Key Takeaways
Question the dependency models created by NGO funding that prioritise donor agendas over local solutions
Recognise how Silicon Valley VC replicates colonial extraction by favouring white founders and imposed scaling models
Understand why 70% of African startups fail at seed stage due to misaligned Western investment criteria
Explore indigenous wisdom systems like commitment pooling as alternatives to extractive business models
Examine how Tempo Arts community created regenerative solutions without external funding near Kenya's largest dump site
Embrace businesses as interconnected living systems that must strengthen rather than extract from their communities
Joy Njeri is a systems doula and regenerative economy advocate based in Kenya, co-authoring Seismic Questions and contributing to the Doughnut Economics community.
Next Steps
Leave a review to help others discover these conversations
Follow Joy Njeri on Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/in/joy-njeri/
Follow Jeni Miles on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenifisher/ or subscribe to the Moral Footprint Substack https://moralfootprint.substack.com/
Links & Resources
Upcoming Seismic Questions book https://minouschillings.com/seismic-questions-cocreated-boo/
Tempo Arts centre https://www.facebook.com/groups/640727386515453/
Grassroots Economics https://www.grassrootseconomics.org/
Global Donut Days 2025 https://doughnuteconomics.org/gdd2025
Jennifer Hinton’s Five Post-Growth Business Dimensions https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0016328721000707
“Africans” who are changing Africa in the start up world https://www.linkedin.com/posts/larrymadowo_africaceoforum-techinafrica-startups-activity-7329403947041927170-4ev5
Mau Mau movement https://www.blackhistorymonth.org.uk/article/section/african-history/the-mau-mau-movement/