The Interview

“Most of Africa is rural, and although urbanisation is taking root now, the systems that deliver financial services to women are still eluding them.”

Leanna Byrne speaks to microfinance pioneer Dr Jennifer Riria about her life, career, and personal mission to improve the lives of women in some of Africa’s poorest communities.

Having started life in a poor, rural village in Kenya, Dr Riria worked her way up to develop and run one of the biggest microfinance institutions for women in Africa.

Microfinance is a banking service providing small loans and more, to people with low income who might lack access to traditional banking. It’s aimed at fostering self-sufficiency, financial education, and entrepreneurship in developing areas.

Her focus is not limited to finance. She also draws on her experiences of teaching at university, and consulting for UNICEF, the UN children’s aid agency, in order to progress women’s development in education and leadership.

Thank you to the Business Daily team for their help in making this programme.

The Interview brings you conversations with people shaping our world, from all over the world. The best interviews from the BBC, including episodes with Botswana’s president Duma Boko, entrepreneur Emma Grede, and astronaut Jeremy Hansen. You can listen on the BBC World Service on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 0800 GMT. Or you can listen to The Interview as a podcast, out three times a week on BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts.

Presenter: Leanna Byrne
Producers: Ben Cooper, Ahmed Adan and Amber Mehmood
Editor: Damon Rose

Get in touch with us on email [email protected] and use the hashtag #TheInterviewBBC on social media.
(Image: Jennifer Riria. Credit: Getty)

“This is a war. We will treat it as a war, and first thing that we want is the war to end. We want peace. We want a better life for our people, especially for our youth.”
Caitriona Perry speaks to Ecuador President Daniel Noboa about his hard-line military crackdown on violent criminal gangs, which has involved measures that human rights groups warn could pose a risk to civil liberties.
President Noboa, who is one of the world’s youngest leaders, has warned about the levels of crime faced in Ecuador. He claims that due to its location between Colombia and Peru, the world's two largest producers of cocaine, it has become a major location for drug-trafficking gangs.
He talks about the attempts that have been made on his life, and the threats his family have faced. He calls on the cooperation from other countries to help fight international crime organisations.

The Interview brings you conversations with people shaping our world, from all over the world. The best interviews from the BBC, including episodes with Volodymyr Zelensky, Azar Nafisi and Julia Gillard. You can listen on the BBC World Service on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 0800 GMT. Or you can listen to The Interview as a podcast, out three times a week on BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts.
Presenter: Caitriona Perry
Producer: Ellyn Duncan, Chloe Ross and Cordelia Hemming
Editor: Farhana Haider
Get in touch with us on email [email protected] and use the hashtag #TheInterviewBBC on social media.
(Image: Daniel Noboa. Credit: Getty)

BBC journalist Megha Mohan speaks to Sierra Leone’s first lady, Fatima Bio, about escaping child marriage at the age of 13, rebuilding her life as a refugee in London, and her rise to become one of the country’s most outspoken public figures.

Since becoming first lady, Bio has transformed the role in Sierra Leone, campaigning publicly on issues including child marriage, sexual violence and period poverty.
To supporters, she is a refreshing voice in politics, who speaks up for women and girls, while others say she has overstepped her remit and that she is too vocal and too involved in the running of her husband’s party.

The Interview brings you conversations with people shaping our world, from all over the world. The best interviews from the BBC, including episodes with Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky, and Antonio Guterres, Secretary General of the UN. You can listen on the BBC World Service on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 0800 GMT. Or you can listen to The Interview as a podcast, out three times a week on BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts.

Presenter: Megha Mohan
Producer: Osman Iqbal
Editor: Damon Rose and Justine Lang

Get in touch with us on email [email protected] and use the hashtag #TheInterviewBBC on social media.
(Image: Fatima Bio. Credit: Getty Images)

James Menendez speaks to Leopoldo Lopez, once the most prominent face of Venezuela’s opposition, he is now living in exile in Spain.

He spent more than a decade attempting to unseat Nicolás Maduro’s authoritarian government and was imprisoned for over three years, accused of inciting the 2014 anti-government protests.

Following the capture and arrest of Maduro by US forces in January, the country has entered a new and uncertain phase, with Vice-President Delcy Rodríguez now acting as interim leader.

Leopoldo Lopez talks to us about the prospect of elections in Venezuela and the personal cost of standing up for political change.

The Interview brings you conversations with people shaping our world, from all over the world. The best interviews from the BBC, including episodes with Venezuelan opposition leader and Nobel prize winner Maria Corina Machado, director Chloe Zhao and musical icon Ringo Starr. You can listen on the BBC World Service on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 0800 GMT. Or you can listen to The Interview as a podcast, out three times a week on BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts.

Presenter: James Menendez
Producer: Farhana Haider
Get in touch with us on email [email protected] and use the hashtag #TheInterviewBBC on social media.
(Image: Leopoldo Lopez. Credit: Reuters)

“Russians collected all Kenyans and did everything for them to go to the front line, to go to the death zone.”
Waihiga Mwaura speaks to Yurii Tokar the Ukraine ambassador to Kenya. The Ukrainian claims Russia deliberately deployed many conscripted Kenyans to the front line of the Russia-Ukraine war shortly before the Kenyan foreign minister arrived in Moscow with the intention of stopping recruitment of his countrymen.
The Russian embassy in Kenya did not immediately respond to the BBC's request for comment. It has previously denied any Government involvement in the illegal recruitment of Kenyan citizens.

A representative of Kenya's Ministry of Foreign Affairs told the BBC that "the government is not aware of such allegations and treats them as possible rumours and propaganda.”
Thank you to the Focus on Africa team for its help in making this programme.

The Interview brings you conversations with people shaping our world, from all over the world. The best interviews from the BBC, including episodes with John Healey, Nadia Calviño and Volodymyr Zelensky. You can listen on the BBC World Service on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 0800 GMT. Or you can listen to The Interview as a podcast, out three times a week on BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts.
Presenter: Waihiga Mwaura
Producer: Cordelia Hemming
Editor: Damon Rose
Get in touch with us on email [email protected] and use the hashtag #TheInterviewBBC on social media.
(Image: Yurii Tokar. Credit: Getty Images)