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Business Daily Meets: Estonia’s first billionaire

Business Daily Meets: Estonia’s first billionaire

In the first episode of our new strand - Business Daily Meets - we hear from Estonia’s first billionaire, Kristo Käärmann.

In this in-depth interview the TransferWise (now Wise) co-founder and CEO explains how a €500 loss led to the creation of a multi-billion dollar business.

He tells us about creating something from nothing, keeping his ego in check, and insists saving customers $1 billion a year is only the start of the journey.

Presenter: Rahul Tandon Producer: Sam Clack

Image: Kristo Käärmann; Credit: Jake Farra/Wise

Million by 30: Iseult Ward

Million by 30: Iseult Ward

In this series you will hear from six people from all over the world who’ve hit that million milestone before their 30th birthday. Our second guest is Iseult Ward from Ireland, who tells Sam Fenwick how she started building her social enterprise FoodCloud while still at university in Dublin. Iseult and her team make more than a million meals every month from food that would otherwise end up in the bin. Hear how she started out working with small market traders, scaled up to work with huge multi-nationals in multiple countries and how she deals with imposter syndrome. Presenter: Sam Fenwick Producer: Helen Thomas (Photo: Iseult Ward. Credit: Getty Images)

Eurovision: The price of performing

Eurovision: The price of performing

In today’s episode of Business Daily we’ll see how Eurovision goes so much further than the stage.

We head to this year’s host city, Turin in Italy, to see whether there’s a been boost in local business there.

We hear from Ochman who's representing Poland, on how his career has changed since becoming an act, and from Emmelie De Forest who represented Denmark in 2013, who says the competition was both a "blessing, and a curse".

Dr Filippos Filippidis, from Imperial College London, tells us about the positive effect that Eurovision can have on a country's mental health. And Dr Adrian Kavanagh from Maynooth University in Ireland, talks about the economic impact of hosting.

We also speak to one of the competition’s most famous former presenters, Danish actor Pilou Asbaek.

Presenter/producer: Izzy Greenfield Image: Getty (Description: Eurovision song contest logo 2022)

Cash in a conflict

Cash in a conflict

How does day-to-day survival work in a war when cash and food are in short supply? Rahul Tandon speaks to a woman in Russian-occupied Kherson where the rouble has just been introduced as an official currency. He also hears from Zaporizhzhia entrepreneur Vitali Ivakhov about how he's keeping his businesses going, and paying wages.

A survivor of Mariupol explains how day-to-day life continued during the siege, and Bosnian journalist Aida Cerkez talks about her personal experience of the siege of Sarajevo - the longest in modern times.

Former Ukrainian finance minister Natalie Jaresko tells us about the crucial role digital payments have played, and how frozen Russian assets must be used to help pay for the rebuilding of Ukraine.

Presenter: Rahul Tandon Producer: James Graham Photo: Five hryvnia notes (Credit: Getty Images)

The Royal Family: How strong is its brand?

The Royal Family: How strong is its brand?

Samira Hussain investigates the brand of the British Royal Family. It's estimated to be one of the biggest brands in the world, steeped in history, tradition and of course scandal...

In the Queen's Platinum Jubilee year we look at how recent events have changed things for the royal brand and what coming changes and challenges could mean going forward. Pauline McLaran, professor of marketing and consumer research at Royal Holloway University and co-author of Royal Fever: The British Monarchy in Consumer Culture explains how this multi-faceted brand actually functions and what she thinks are the biggest problems it faces.

We'll also explore whether being associated with brand Royal is still good for business. Jason Bell is a photographer based in New York. He took the photographs of Prince George’s christening and tells us about the media interest in him being linked with that job and the global response to his pictures. Chef Darren McGrady, who cooked for the Queen and Princess Diana for many years, also joins us. Darren now runs a business in Dallas, Texas called Eating Royally. He says working for the royals definitely opened doors for him, but has questions about the future of the brand.

Presenter: Samira Hussian Producer: Carmel O'Grady

(Image: Queen Elizabeth II and members of the royal family; Credit: Victoria Jones / PA Wire)

Turning waste into money

Turning waste into money

How does plastic get from your bin to the recycling plant? According to The Pew Charitable Trust, 60% of plastic recycling globally comes from individual waste pickers, an informal economy of millions of people who go out picking up plastic every day. As the world starts to look at ways to reduce our plastic waste, how might this impact the livelihoods of the waste pickers who rely on it?

We hear from Gladys Mwamba at Plastic for Change in Zambia, who spotted an opportunity to use her Chinese language skills by acting for local waste pickers selling to Chinese recycling firms. On a larger scale, a for profit social enterprise called The Plastic Bank in Canada is working with over 20,000 waste collectors in Brazil, Indonesia, The Philippines and Egypt. They offer above market prices for plastic, alongside subsidised education programmes and other necessities such as food and fuel. Rich Gower, a senior economist at Tearfund, a Christian international development charity, tells us why an international plastics treaty this year is a key moment for waste pickers. In many countries waste pickers are organising into unions or co-operatives. We speak to representatives from SWaCH, a co-operative of waste pickers in Pune, South India, that has been running since 1993.

Presented and produced by Beatrice Pickup. Additional reporting by Mutuna Chanda.

Image: Gladys Mwamba at Plastic for Change in Kitwe, Zambia; Credit: Mutuna Chanda

Million by 30: Hertzy Kabeya

Million by 30: Hertzy Kabeya

Hertzy Kabeya – the first in our million by 30 series - tells us how he developed and launched what’s become an enormously successful education tech company.

Hertzy overcame huge setbacks as founder and CEO of Student Hub. The company almost went bust but Hertzy's drive and leadership ensured the business survived and went on to secure multi million dollar investment. Find out how he did it, what he thinks his business superpower is and what he learned on the way to hitting that million benchmark by his 30th birthday.

Presenter: Felicity Hannah Producer: Helen Thomas

Image: Hertzy Kabeya, Credit: Hertzy Kabeya

How the war in Ukraine has affected global tourism

How the war in Ukraine has affected global tourism

Exclusive flight data from ForwardKeys shows a huge reduction in the number of Russian tourists going to Turkey and other popular resorts. We hear from businesses in Antalya about the impact it has had so far, and about what might happen over the coming holiday season. Experts Olivier Ponti from ForwardKeys, which analyses tourism trends, and Ana Nichols from EIU, which produces economic insight, explain the economic causes and effects of this reduction in travellers and the knock-on effects of the war. A B&B owner in The Seychelles tells us about a boom in Russian tourists last year, which has now completely vanished due to the invasion of Ukraine. We also hear from a Russian man who had booked a holiday there, but has changed his plans to go somewhere slightly colder instead.

Presenter: Sam Fenwick Producer: Hannah Bewley Photo: Getty Images

The DNA sequencing revolution

The DNA sequencing revolution

Fast and portable genome testing is unlocking the secrets to ourselves and the environment we live in.

It's impact could lead us to fundamentally remake our approach to medicine, agriculture, the environment, conservation and our selves.

In this episode we hear from Dr Lara Urban, a geneticist studying the kakapo in New Zealand, Dr Gordon Sanghera, CEO of Oxford Nanopore Technologies and Professor Anna Schuh, professor of molecular diagnostics at the Department of Oncology at Oxford University and visiting professor at Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences in Tanzania.

Presenter / Producer: David Reid Photo: Kakapo; Credit: Liu Yang

Female digital entrepreneurs in Africa

Female digital entrepreneurs in Africa

During the pandemic businesses shut down and traditional jobs were lost forcing people to rethink how they earn a living. Since then one of the biggest shifts in the economy has been the rise of digital platforms – online market places which sell everything from fruit and veg to TVs and kitchen appliances. In Africa women have found new careers using Facebook and WhatsApp as well as ride-hailing apps like Uber and Bolt.

Sam Fenwick meets three women who have found financial independence by starting businesses on these platforms. Josephine Adzogble from Accra in Ghana has a business selling electrical appliances via social media. Ayobami Lawal drives taxis in Lagos, Nigeria. The single mum of four talks about the challenges of being a woman in a male-dominated environment. And Sharon Tarit from Eldoret, Kenya sublets properties through AirBnB. She started her business after she was forced to permanently close her shop selling baby clothes during the pandemic.

Sam Fenwick is also joined by lead researcher at Caribou Digital, Grace Natabaalo who explains why it’s important for women to have financial independence and the impact female workers can have on a country’s economy.

Presenter / Producer : Sam Fenwick Photo : Josephine Adzogble, Ayobami Lawal, Sharon Tarit; Credit: BBC

Living face-to-face with climate change

Living face-to-face with climate change

What’s it like to live in a country on the sharp end of climate change? Today Tamasin Ford takes you to Sâo Tomé and Príncipe, the twin island nation in the gulf of Guinea. With the smallest economy in Africa, it has few means to fight what the UN calls the biggest threat modern humans have ever faced. We hear from coastal communities whose homes have been washed away because of rising sea levels.

President Carlos Vila Nova, who spoke at the United Nation’s climate conference in Glasgow last year, lays out the challenges small island nations face. While Luisa Madruga from the charity, Flora and Fauna International, explains how a new initiative could save fish stocks from disappearing altogether.

Presenter: Tamasin Ford Producer: Russell Newlove Photo: Principe, the community of Praia de Burras; Credit: BBC

Disney's Florida fallout

Disney's Florida fallout

We look into the decision by Florida's governor Ron DeSantis to dissolve Disney's special status in the state. It follows Disney's criticism of a new law restricting discussion of LGBTQ issues in schools. What will the row mean for the company, and what questions does it raise for other companies navigating the so-called 'culture wars'?

We hear from Disney historian Richard Foglesong, and a former vice president of operations at Disney World, Lee Cockerell. The New York Post columnist Karol Markowicz and Christina Huguet, an analyst at political risk consultancy Eurasia Group, give their perspectives on whether companies should take a stand on the issues of the day.

Presenter: Rahul Tandon Producer: James Graham Photo: A Disney employee protests against the company's initial silence on a controversial new law restricting discussion of LGBTQ issues in schools. (Credit: Getty Images)

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