Ziwani’s new podcast series RISK tackles the practical realities of taking bold steps in business – reframing the conversation around taking gospel-inspired risks while being grounded in professional responsibility. Curt and Katrina Aitken-Laird have spent decades living and working in some of the world’s most fragile contexts, from Yemen to Libya, from Somalia to Afghanistan. Their experiences of building a billion-dollar business in frontier markets and raising a family while being on a hit list radically challenge Christians to redefine their approach to risk.
You can listen to the full episode here.
“It is a fallacy and a fantasy to think that you can live your life without risk. So let’s just start there, right? Life is risky – welcome to the game show!” says the intrepid Katrina Aitken-Laird with a laugh.
Curt and Katrina’s story together began in Afghanistan. “We fell in love with the country and with each other in Afghanistan,” Curt recalls. For 14 years, Afghanistan was home. They then spent two years in Nigeria before moving to Kenya.
Together, they founded reFrontier, which blends for- and not-for-profit engines for nation-level transformation. Curt currently leads reFrontier Ventures, an operating holding company investing in scalable, high-impact businesses, while Katrina heads reFrontier Foundation, which focuses on equipping leaders and supporting community development partnerships for social and economic impact. At the heart of reFrontier is a shared conviction to pursue shalom (the biblical vision of wholeness, peace, and human flourishing) through long-term, locally-led solutions to some of the world’s toughest problems. “We both feel called to the hard places,” Katrina explains.
For Curt, the way most Christians approach risk is flawed. “We need to reevaluate our approach to risk as believers. We have adopted the algorithms of the secular world, and in doing so, we have missed many opportunities,” he says. As an engineer who once designed aircraft electronics, Curt knows what calculated risk looks like – clear outcomes, defined probabilities.
But in frontier markets, he argues, the outcome isn’t simply profit. “Why do we use the world’s calculations of risk to decide whether to go in or not go in? Afghanistan was an adventure, and it was a huge opportunity. We built a $1 billion company there. Most people called me crazy. But what if we calculate risk with God’s outcomes in mind? That would take us into places that nobody else would go.”
Katrina agrees, but frames it in terms of obedience rather than courage. “Courage is actually overrated. What God is inviting us into is a walk of obedience – one that consistently walks through the struggle and through the risk.” To illustrate her point, she refers to a camera lens that can be adjusted to control the light exposure and depth of field in a photograph. “We often operate with a very narrow aperture when it comes to risk, driven by fear of scarcity. But when we widen that aperture to see risk as opportunity, we suddenly open up new horizons.”
She challenges the notion of inaction as ‘safe.’ “Of course there is a risk in doing nothing. We tend to think that the world doesn’t move until we engage it, but opportunities come and opportunities go. What happens if I don’t deploy my money? What happens if I don’t invest in a particular business? What happens if I don’t go where no-one else will go?”
Yet taking that risk, as they know firsthand, does not always work out the way we hoped it would. “In a single attack, I lost four friends in northeast Afghanistan,” Curt remembers quietly. “They went to provide medical services and were assassinated on their way back. If the outcome was just staying alive, they would never have gone. But God’s outcome is different, and we still don’t know what fruit will come from their sacrifice.”
For Katrina, the hardest season came during her pregnancy. “In the year I was pregnant with our daughter, we lost ten friends. That year in Afghanistan was defined, on one hand, by this promise of new life we had really hoped for, and on the other by such profound losses.” She draws strength from the story of Jacob wrestling with God. “We are invited into a faith characterised by wrestling – and to be clear, we then walk with a limp. But there is blessing in that struggle.”
Curt and Katrina are adamant that frontier markets are not simply ‘too hard’ – they are different hard, with unique opportunities for those willing to adapt. “Corruption, forex, skills gaps – yes, those are challenges,” Curt says. “But there’s also far, far less competition – in many ways they are virgin markets with massive potential. Frontier markets are where the most opportunity lies. If you go in with wisdom, the chance of building a billion-dollar company with huge social impact is far greater than in developed countries.”
He points to one surprising mentor, the Aga Khan. “He demanded a 35% EBITDA ratio from us in our mobile phone company in Afghanistan – without compromising integrity or social impact. We said it was impossible. He said, ‘I’ll find someone who can.’ So, we did it. That’s the mindset we need – excellence and impact, not either/or.”
Katrina adds that foreign investors must be willing to learn about the markets they step into. “It’s not that frontier markets are inherently riskier – they are just less understood. Do your due diligence and be context aware. For example, in Afghanistan, a company could buy ‘audited’ financials for $5,000 (from a Big Six partner firm!) that would state whatever the company wanted. That can either freak you out, or you can work it into your risk calculation.”
“The most important posture to have is humility and curiosity,” Curt agrees. “As Americans we tend to believe what has worked in America will work in frontier markets. But the local entrepreneurs know what businesses are needed. The critical thing for me is partnering with trusted local entrepreneurs who know the landscape. Get behind local entrepreneurs, not in front of them.”
So why do they keep going, despite the danger and sacrifice? For Katrina, the answer is simple. It’s for the sake of other people. “We have an opportunity to address some of world’s most pressing challenges – people living and dying. The house is on fire, and you’ve got the hosepipe. God has chosen to work with us. The invitation is – where is God calling you to go?”
Curt sees it as a privilege. “Yes, there is risk. But my word, the rewards and the joy is worth the risk.” Katrina closes with a thought that reframes the entire conversation: “What if we thought, ‘What’s the risk I get to take today?’ There is such joy, freedom, and abundance in that space. Is it hard? Yeah. And so worth it. Every day. All the time. I would not do our life any other way.”
