Sim Tshabalala is the CEO of one of Africa's largest banks, Standard Bank. In this edition of Business Daily, he tells Ed Butler about his journey from growing up under apartheid in South Africa, to be becoming a lawyer, then investment banker.

He discusses the risks of lending to companies; how the continent is improving its trade relationships; and what he thinks the future of Africa will look like.

If you would like to get in touch with the show, please email: [email protected]

Presenter: Ed Butler Producer: Amber Mehmood

Additional material: Reuters/British Pathé

(Picture: Sim Tshabalala, CEO of Standard Bank Group, speaks at Semafor's The Next 3 Billion Summit at The Pierre Hotel on September 24, 2024 in New York City. Credit: Getty Images)

We hear from a Sri Lankan woman who was trafficked and forced to conduct illegal online activity, including cyber fraud against vulnerable victims.

Aneka Boram is one of thousands of people who've recently escaped from so-called scam centres. She talks about her captivity and describes the harsh punishments and conditions she was forced to work in.

The scam centres are offices inside Myanmar or Cambodia, where people have been forced to work scamming internet users from around the world.

If you would like to get in touch with the show, please email: [email protected]

Presented and produced by Ed Butler

(Image: Aneka Boram)

Many prominent US companies have been pulling back on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives.

US President Donald Trump and his allies have regularly attacked DEI policies.

When he returned to the White House in January, President Trump ordered government agencies to eliminate such initiatives - and it appears some of the country's biggest corporations are following suit.

Presenter: Ed Butler Producer: Lexy O'Connor

(Image: Hands holding "equality for all" cardboard sign". Credit: Getty Images)

Thousands of oil and gas rigs are becoming redundant around the world – and taking them out of service, known as decommissioning, is a multi-billion dollar business.

It’s also a complex operation beset by sometimes opposing interests. In this programme, we meet the makers of the world’s biggest ship - a machine at the cutting edge of rig removal, and the visit the port that can recycle over 95% of a rig. As concerns grow over delays to decommissioning in the North Sea and Gulf of Mexico, we look into whether enough progress is being made with removing old rigs around the world.

Produced and presented by Laura Heighton-Ginns

(Image: The Brent Bravo topside oil platform is transported on the barge ‘Iron Lady’ into the mouth of the River Tees on route to the Able UK Seaton Port site for decommissioning on June 20, 2019 in Teesport, England. Credit: Getty Images)

More than a year after a change in government, businesses are closing, unemployment is rising and workers are leaving for neighbouring Australia.

As New Zealand's recession continues, uncertainty remains.

So what is the government's plan? And could there be brighter times ahead?

Produced and presented by Alexander van Wel

(Image: Workers repairing the road in Auckland. Credit: Getty Images)

The international gaming giant has more than 80 million daily users, and is hugely popular with children.

It was started by Dave Baszucki and Erik Cassel, and Dave Baszucki is now CEO.

In his first ever BBC interview, he tells us about developing the game, the struggle to monetize it, and concerns over child safety - Mr Baszucki insists Roblox is vigilant in protecting its users.

If you would like to get in touch with the show, please email: [email protected]

Presenter: Zoe Kleinman Producers: Georgina Hayes and Imran Rahman-Jones

Dr Joachim Nagel isn't just Germany's chief central banker, he's one of the most powerful economic policy-makers in Europe.

In this exclusive interview, he tells Business Daily how he thinks Germany, and the European Union as a whole, should be responding to a time of unprecedented economic peril.

It's a shaky time for the world's third-largest economy, which has been experiencing stagnant growth for five years. As a trade war between Europe and the US escalates, what does the future look like for Germany?

If you would like to get in touch with the show, please email: [email protected]

Presenter: Ed Butler Analysis: Faisal Islam, BBC economics editor Producers: Olie D'Albertanson and Elisabeth Mahy

(Image: Joachim Nagel, president of Deutsche Bundesbank in Jan 2024. Credit: Getty Images)

The internet is where much of our modern cultural, societal and political history is stored, but as researchers are discovering, the internet has a big memory problem.

Without businesses paying to keep servers and archives up, more and more of our history online is disappearing forever.

We take a look at what this so called 'link rot' means for our collective understanding.

Produced and presented by Frey Lindsay

(Image: A man looking confused at his phone. Credit: Getty Images)

The south of France is among thousands of places around the world that now stage ultramarathons: extreme running events covering anything above 26.2 miles to more than 100. They often take place on challenging terrain and require considerable physical and mental resilience. And they've become big business.

To find out more, Business Daily went to the Nice Côte d'Azur 100-mile race to speak to runners and organisers about the popularity of these sorts of events, and how they make money.

If you would like to get in touch with the show, please email: [email protected]

Presented and produced by John Laurenson

(Picture: Woman and man running in a forest in the dark. Credit: Getty Images)

An hour’s drive north of Buenos Aires is Pilar, a municipality that houses the largest industrial park in Argentina, as well as a population of 400,000.

Some rich and middle class Argentines live in its many gated communities, but Pilar has a poverty rate of almost 60% - well above the national figure.

We speak to residents and businesses about libertarian President Javier Milei's first year in office.

If you would like to get in touch with the show, please email: [email protected]

Presented and produced by Natalio Cosoy

(Picture: Argentina's President Javier Milei looks on during the inauguration of the 143rd ordinary session of Congress at the National Congress in Buenos Aires on March 1, 2025. Credit: Getty Images)

We speak to three businesswomen working in traditionally male-dominated sectors.

Anna Mareschi Danieli from the Italian-based global steel company Danieli group. Caroll Masevhe, founder of a women-only construction business - Kapcor construction, in Johannesburg; and Patty Eid from Petrofac, a leader in the Middle East’s oil and gas industry.

Producer/presenter: Sam Fenwick

(Image: L-R, Caroll Masevhe Patty Eid, Anna Mareschi Danieli)

Unlike 'mega-influencers' with huge audiences on social media, 'micro' and 'nano-influencers' have far fewer followers. But small can be mighty in this business. These lower-profile influencers have anywhere between 250 and 10,000 followers, but businesses are increasingly turning to more niche, content creators in a bid to get more authentic engagement. We hear how they're redefining the way brands are connecting with consumers. Micro-influencers Kadide Francy, in Kenya, and Jerlyn De Silva, in India, reveal what kind of money they make from these collaborations. And East African Brewery marketing manager, Kanye Kiuru, tells us how using these kinds of influencers led to a hugely successful marketing campaign for the company.

If you would like to get in touch with the show, please email: [email protected]

Presented and produced by Izzy Greenfield

(Picture: Kadide Francy, a lifestyle micro-influencer in Kenya. Credit: Kadide Francy)