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Business Daily Meets: Krept

Business Daily Meets: Krept

UK-based rapper Krept grew up in a culture of gang violence, but has carved out a career for himself as a successful musician and entrepreneur. As one half of rap duo Krept & Konan, his songs, like Waste My Time, G-Love and Freak of the Week, have been streamed millions of times.

Recently Krept – real name Casyo Johnson - has opened a restaurant in south London where he grew up, and the new father has even developed a skincare range for babies.

He tells Dougal Shaw how he juggles the worlds of music and business.

Producer and presenter: Dougal Shaw

(Image: Krept. Credit: BBC)

Growing opposition to mining in Panama

Growing opposition to mining in Panama

We look at growing opposition to mining in Latin America. The region is a leading producer of copper, silver, iron and lithium. But the environmental and social impact of mining have sparked protests in many countries and several governments have taken action.

Costa Rica outlawed open pit mining in 2002 and in 2017 El Salvador became the first country in the world to ban all metal mining. Earlier this year, Honduras banned open pit mining and there are also calls for a mining moratorium in Panama and I start my report by visiting that country’s largest ever mine, which began operations three years ago.

In this episode Grace Livingstone visits Cobre Panama, an enormous copper mine built in tropical forest on the Caribbean coast of Panama. We also hear from the people who farm the land close to Panama's mines and get the views of local politicians and experts on whether this kind of mining should continue.

Presenter / producer: Grace Livingstone Image: Cobre Panama mine; Credit: BBC

Napping on the job

Napping on the job

Deborah Weitzmann explores whether a quick nap break at work could make us all more productive.

We head to Beijing where an employee tells us about her lunchtime ritual of napping beside her colleagues, and we’ll discover how the pandemic may have helped squash the stigma of sleeping in Western workplaces.

Kate Mulligan, the boss of RestSpace, a company that designs innovative spaces to help people nod off at work, shows us their sleep pods. Also, Dr Guy Meadows, co-founder and clinical director at Sleep School, tells us practice makes perfect when it comes to napping.

Presenter / producer: Deborah Weitzmann Image: RestSpace sleep pod; Credit: Kate Mulligan

Floriade: Was it worth it?

Floriade: Was it worth it?

Floriade is one of the world's biggest gardening and horticulture expos - and it has cost taxpayers in the Dutch city of Almere nine times as much as originally budgeted.

So why did organisers go ahead with the project, and was it still worth it – despite hugely disappointing visitor numbers?

Matthew Kenyon talks to advocates and critics of an event which may be the last of its kind in the Netherlands. Presented and produced by Matthew Kenyon.

(Image: Floriade. Image credit: BBC)

Business Daily Meets: Mathieu Flamini

Business Daily Meets: Mathieu Flamini

International footballer Mathieu Flamini started a biotech company when he was still a professional player. Speaking to Sam Fenwick, Flamini reveals what he learnt from top football managers and how that knowledge has helped him perform in the boardroom.

The former Arsenal, AC Milan and Olympique de Marseille player tells us he grew up by the sea and constantly seeing plastic washed up on the shore made him aware of sustainability and climate change. He says as a youngster he had two ambitions in life, to play professional football and become an environmentalist.

In 2008, while still playing top flight football, Flamini co-founded, GFBiochemicals. It produces a chemical called levulinic acid which can be used to replace oil in a range of household products. The industry is worth billions of dollars.

Producer / presenter: Sam Fenwick Image: Mathieu Flamini playing for Arsenal in 2016; Credit: Getty

Business Daily Meets: Patrice Evra

Business Daily Meets: Patrice Evra

On the eve of the 2022 World Cup Final Sam Fenwick speaks to former professional footballer, Patrice Evra. He made more than 80 appearances for the French national side including captaining his team in the 2010 World Cup which took place in South Africa.

Evra became a multimillionaire playing for teams like Monaco, Manchester United, Juventus and Marseille. He grew up in a poor part of Paris and talks about how this helped motivate him to succeed.

He reflects on player salaries and tells us about what’s he’s doing to make a living since retiring from football in the summer of 2019.

Presenter / producer: Sam Fenwick Image: Patrice Evra playing for Manchester United in 2014; Credit: Getty

Reinventing recycling in Louisiana

Reinventing recycling in Louisiana

Franziska Trautmann and Max Steitz decided to start a recycling project in New Orleans after realising the city sent all its glass to landfill. Now their social enterprise Glass Half Full diverts hundreds of tonnes from landfill and is using the material to help shore up Louisiana’s eroding coastline.

Franziska tells us how they are expanding the project and we hear from one of their first business customers. We also find out why gaps in the recycling system mean the city’s waste glass can’t easily be turned back into new bottles.

Producer/presenter: James Graham

(Photo: Franziska Trautman and Max Steitz at their base in New Orleans. Credit: Glass Half Full)

The cost of rescuing migrants in the Mediterranean

The cost of rescuing migrants in the Mediterranean

In this episode of Business Daily we get on board The Ocean Viking, a migrant rescue boat operated by the non-governmental organisations SOS Méditerranée and the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent.

The boat has recently been at the centre of a diplomatic row having been denied permission to dock by the Italian authorities and instead having to travel to France so those onboard could disembark. The BBC's Frey Lindsay spoke to some of the migrants and crew on the boat over the last few weeks.

We’ll also hear from the former mayor of Lampedusa, Giusi Nicolini, on why she thinks European states should cooperate much more to deal with this kind of migration. Sophie Beau and Xavier Lauth of SOS Méditerranée also explain why politics, diplomatic rows, higher prices and compassion fatigue are all increasing the financial pressures on their operations.

Producer / presenter: Frey Lindsay Image: Crew on the Ocean Viking; Credit: Getty

Africa Super League – new dawn for football?

Africa Super League – new dawn for football?

Confederation of African Football, CAF, with the backing of FIFA, has launched a new Super League aimed at injecting much-needed funds to clubs on the continent. CAF President Dr Patrice Motsepe promised that the tournament, due to start in 2023, would financially transform African football with $100 million on offer in prize money alone. But, as Ivana Davidovic finds out, there are more questions than answers for many involved in the game on the continent.

The owner of Cape Town City, John Comitis, says that they are in the dark about how the new competition would work in practice and that South African Premier Soccer League, where they were the runners-up last season, would be badly affected by the new Super League.

Nigerian football journalist and the former member of the dissolved FIFA Task Force Against Racism, Osasu Obayiuwana is worried that there are no clear plans where the money would come from for the Super League nor how teams could travel regularly across the vast continent. He also warns that a big problem would be the lack of interest in pan-African club tournaments from broadcasters and sponsors, as it is difficult for many Africans to regularly follow on TV what is happening in football leagues across the continent.

However, the legendary South African striker, UEFA Champions League winner and the current Manchester United first team coach Benni McCarthy believes that the Super League would boost standards across Africa, helping young players compete with the best from around the world.

Produced and presented by Ivana Davidovic

(Image: Mohamed el-Shenawy holds the winner's trophy after the CAF Super Cup Final between El Ahly and Raja Casablanca at Al Rayyan Stadium in Al Rayyan, Qatar on December 22, 2021. Photo credit: Mohammed Dabbous/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

Business Daily Meets: Nico Rosberg

Business Daily Meets: Nico Rosberg

Theo Leggett meets Nico Rosberg, who found fame and fortune in the fossil-fuelled world of F1, but is now reinventing himself as a champion of green technology. As a driver he reached the pinnacle of world motorsport, taking the F1 title in the final race of 2016, and then retired just days afterwards.

Nico tells Theo just what it takes to become a world champion in the white heat of motorsport and how those skills are now being used on a new mission, to protect the planet.

Presenter/producer: Theo Leggett

(Photo: Nico Rosberg of Germany and Mercedes GP celebrates after securing the F1 World Drivers Championship during the Abu Dhabi Formula One Grand Prix. Credit: Clive Mason/Getty Images)

Business Daily Meets: Boyan Slat

Business Daily Meets: Boyan Slat

How do you clean the world's oceans of plastic? 10 years ago, when he was just 18, Dutchman Boyan Slat thought he knew how to do it, and set out his vision at TED talk.

The journey from theory to reality has proved difficult, but he is now extracting plastic from the Pacific and a number of rivers around the world. We speak to Boyan about the scale of the task at hand. Is it even an achievable goal? How is he raising enough money? What does he make of the accusation he’s helping multi-nationals ‘greenwash’ their reputations by taking sponsorship cash?

Presenter/producer: James Graham Image: Boyan Slat on a plastic-strewn beach in Honduras (Credit: The Ocean Cleanup)

Rebuilding lives after flooding in Pakistan

Rebuilding lives after flooding in Pakistan

Many communities in Pakistan were completely destroyed when vast areas of the country were hit by catastrophic flooding this summer. 33 million people were affected and in this episode of Business Daily we hear from three of them. Bilawal, Sassi and Abdul Majeed all lost everything in the floods and are now trying to rebuild their lives. We also hear from the charities and business leaders attempting to help rebuild communities, including Jemima Goldsmith, former wife of the former Prime Minister of Pakistan Imran Khan and current UK ambassador for UNICEF.

Presenter / producer: Emb Hashmi

Image: Flood-hit families in Sindh province, Pakistan October 2022; Credit: Getty

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