Thomas Schaefer, the 49-year-old CEO of Volkswagen Group South Africa, loves golf, running and wine, and says he would put his money into waste-to-energy projects, and horses. 



What has your focus been for business recently? 



Volkswagen in South Africa started over 65 years ago and has
been a part of South African history with iconic models like the Beetle, Citi
Golf and Kombi. Volkswagen has been the passenger car market leader for the
past eight years and had 23% market share in 2019. The factory in Uitenhage
will produce 162,000 Polos and Polo Vivos as well as 97,000 engines. 



In the rest of sub-Saharan Africa, we have unfortunately not
been as successful. But then again, no other manufacturer was really
successful, as 95% of all vehicles sold are used vehicles and not new. 



In 2016, Volkswagen decided to change that by reaching out
to those African countries that have the political will to make the required
changes that will bring industrialization and jobs. We have started assembly
operations in Rwanda, Kenya and Nigeria. Ghana is next and then hopefully,
Ethiopia. 



Those are small beginnings, but when Volkswagen started in
China in 1984, nobody expected it would be producing more than four million
vehicles per year in 22 factories today. 



If you had to invest capital into any venture, what would it be and why? 



I would invest in waste-to-energy projects. Apart from being
feasible, they tick some more boxes like job creation, conserving the
environment, reducing the need to dump waste in landfills and providing a
source of carbon neutral energy. 



Your biggest investment blunder yet? 



It My biggest was buying German Telekom shares after
privatization. 



What is your most prized investment, and why?



My house in Stuttgart [Germany]. It is rented out to an
American couple. 



When we were about to move to Hannover with my change over
to Volkswagen, the American Army decided to increase its presence in the
Stuttgart region and build up the Africa Corps. Since then, rental has gone
through the roof. 



What do you spend your money on mostly? 



My wife’s passion is horses. We own a smallholding and I can
say without a doubt that this has taken number one spending position. Other
than that, mainly food and wine. I can’t really spend much on cars. 



Your most recent expensive acquisition?



Our smallholding for the horses, plus all the equipment that
one needs such as quad bikes for the riding arena.&nbsp; 



What is your dream car? 



A Porsche 356.



Which is your favorite Volkswagen vehicle, and why? 



The Polo GTI. It is an unbelievable car that ticks all the
boxes – looks, feel, finish, power, handling and of course, value for money.



You cannot travel without your…? 



German wax earplugs. I need them to sleep on the plane. The
normal earplugs you get are all useless and hurt your ears.&nbsp; 



– Interviewed by Gypseenia Lion

VWSA Chairman & MD Thomas Schaefer

‘I Can’t Really Spend Much On Cars’

Japan, a tea-drinking nation, is one of South Africa’s biggest importers of rooibos tea. In 2018, a record high of 2,000 tonnes of the homegrown blend was shipped off to the land of the rising sun.



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A tea room filled with reverence for the traditional Japanese tea ceremony. 



But first, the facts. To understand tea-drinking in Japan,
it is important to go through the following motions, starting with the communal
practice known as chadō (the way of tea) that is older than 800 years, in
which, in a hand-decorated cast iron bowl, green powder, known as matcha, is
whisked to make a dark green tea to be offered to guests. 



Tea was first brought to Japan from China in the seventh
century for medicinal purposes, and was regarded as a commodity that was
exclusively accessible to the noble and elite. 



According to Japanese historical beliefs, Myōan Eisai, a
Buddhist priest who introduced the school of Zen Buddhism to Japan, was one of
the first to inculcate the culture of tea in Japan. 



He wrote a book on the health benefits of drinking tea, as
well as the cultivation and preparation of green tea. 



By the thirteenth century, the tea drinking culture grew in
popularity among warriors and the elite, and by the sixteenth century, tea had
become a favorite for all social classes. 



Tea schools opened and the art of making tea gradually
evolved to more than just being a spiritual practice in Japan. 



It became one of respect with shared peace and friendship. 



The tea room is traditionally surrounded by a garden with a
tranquil atmosphere, emphasized by dull flowers without strong scents, to avoid
distraction.



A low entrance into the tea room suggests that guests are to
bow as a gesture of respect for the ceremony. 



Every movement, gesture and aesthetic, from the preparation
to the enjoyment of the tea, is designed to express friendship and
harmony.&nbsp; Guests watch on as the host
shares the moment and finally presents it to them, kneeling on cushions.



Once the bowl has circulated among the guests, it is handed
back to the host.The tools are cleaned and the ceremony is closed.



The Red Bush



Over 14,000kms away, across the Indian Ocean, a South
African enjoys a hot cup of ‘red tea.’



Its preparation may not be as dramatic as it is in Japan,
but it evokes the same sense of calm and serenity. It’s simply made by adding
tealeaves or a tea bag into a cup of boiling water, a few teaspoons of sugar
and having “a date with time”, as Swaady Martin, the founder of Yswara, an
African tea and teatime company, puts it. 



Martin, who has been in the tea industry for seven years,
with a focus on gourmet African teas, has tasted and sourced blends from
Malawi, Kenya and Rwanda but the South African rooibos is her favorite. 



“Rooibos is not a tea, it is a plant. I find it a miraculous
and wonderous plant. The fact that it only grows in one region of South Africa,
and that it has all these incredible properties, makes it a plant I love
dearly. I drink rooibos almost every day,” she says.&nbsp; 



Located in the heart of Johannesburg’s central business
district (CBD), Martin’s tea room, which is currently being refurbished,
embodies what she calls a meditative appeal that coincides with the tranquil
properties of tea. 



Tea lovers step into a room filled with silence and walls
done up in light pink hues representing a sunset in the desert.&nbsp; 



This is to encourage focus on the tea, as it represents the
removal of&nbsp; barriers between the
different social classes. 



“We have suffered in South Africa and also around the world,
with so much exclusion, the one thing that was important for Yswara was to give
inclusive luxury. For me, inclusiveness means being in a place where everyone
could have access.



“Being in town (CBD) was just that expression of being in
the midst of everything and everyone; and at the junction of what represents
the new South Africa,” Martin says. 



A South African Rooibos Council (SARC) industry fact sheet
published in 2018 states that the country’s geographical areas provide the perfect
environmental conditions for rooibos cultivation. 



The plant can be found in the Cederberg and Sandveld regions
of the Western Cape and the Bokkeveld area of the Northern Cape.



“The vital characteristics of this environment are the
Mediterranean climate with a winter rainfall between 200mm and 450mm per year;
deep, coarse and acidic sandy soils; and temperatures that can range from zero
degrees Celsius in winter months, to up to forty-five degrees Celsius in
summer,” the report says. 



Due to the indigenous properties of the Rooibos bush,
industry regulations stipulate that the term ‘rooibos’ be used responsibly. 



“The terms ‘Rooibos’, ‘red bush’, ‘Rooibostee’, ‘Rooibos
tea’, ‘rooitee’ and ‘Rooibosch’ may only be used when the dry product, infusion
or extract is 100% pure rooibos. Furthermore, the notice stipulates that the
above terms (referring to rooibos) can only be used when the product was grown
in the geographic area as described in the application, i.e., the winter
rainfall area of South Africa,” the SARC report states. 



This uniquely-grown product is becoming&nbsp; a big deal across the globe, and the
tea-drinking nation, Japan, has fallen in love with the health benefits that the
South African tea provides. 



In 2016, rooibos exports increased to over 30 countries
across the globe; with Germany, Netherlands, Japan, the United Kingdom and the
United States (US) being the biggest importers. 



In 2018, one of the largest tea-drinking nations recorded
over 2,000 tonnes that were shipped into the Japanese shores, making it the
largest export since rooibos was first introduced to the Japanese 39 years ago.




For Martin Bergh, the Managing Director of Rooibos Limited
and the Chairperson of the SARC, the tea has been up against competition in the
Japanese tea market, which has over 26 different types of teas to consume,
ranging from the traditional green tea varieties to Jasmine and Barley, or the
sacred Mugicha. 



“The general trend toward natural health and wellness
products continue to exert a growing influence on purchasing patterns in the
region and as more of Rooibos’ health benefits become known in the East, we
anticipate the demand for the product to grow,” says Bergh.



Bergh points out that the Japanese are purists and therefore
prefer to drink rooibos tea unflavored, without milk or sugar.



“In the past, rooibos was consumed more in summer for
hydration, but has now become an all-year-round tea product consumed by all age
groups. A market as big as Japan’s 126 million-strong tea-loving population, is
always eager to experiment with new products. 



“Local retailers like Peacock Coffee &amp; Tea Traders have
adapted to the experimental flavors to quench the insatiable thirst of the
local and international market.” 



Kelebogile Monyaysi, the manager at Peacock Coffee &amp; Tea
Traders in Rosebank, Johannesburg, attentively prepares a cup of tea when we
visit. 



The loose tea leaves are cautiously stirred in a tea pot and
served at a small coffee table. &nbsp;



One half of the store is dedicated to coffee and the other
for tea. 



The smell of freshly-brewed coffee overpowers the aromatic
smell of tea. 



Tea sets range from vintage English style ceramics to
Japanese cast iron teapots.



A selection of rooibos tea blends with various flavored
options, ranging from organic rooibos to creamy caramel, as well as herbal
blends. 



This includes a Nelson Mandela range. 



The caffeine-free tea, according to Monyaysi, is popular in
the Japanese markets because of its natural healing qualities. 



Despite coffee being a popular beverage for sit-in
customers, rooibos tea is the most sought after locally too. 



“It (rooibos) is the center of attraction. This is a word
that they (tourists) can grab and not forget, so when they walk in here, it is
all they ask for,” she says. 



It took some time for Monyaysi to be stirred by tea.&nbsp; 



“I was not much of a tea-drinker. I only started to enjoy
tea when I began working here. Now, the first thing in the morning, I have to
drink a cup of tea and in the evening, before I go to bed. It is a habit – if I
don’t drink tea, I get a headache,” Monyaysi says, preferring the original
rooibos blend. 



Jessica Bonin, the founder of Lady Bonin’s Tea, a Cape
Town-based company that sources, blends, packages and distributes full leaf
teas, either loose or in biodegradable tea bags, offers more on the world’s
fetish for rooibos.



Lady Bonins’ teas and herbals are sourced locally and
internationally from farms that are organic without adding additives or
products that harm the environment. 



The rooibos is sourced by using a method known as “wild
pickings” – the process of collecting the rooibos that grows naturally in the
mountains. Due to the increase in demand for rooibos and rooibos products
globally, commercial farmers have scaled production unsustainably, leaving
environmental and societal damage in their wake. 



Bonin says that in countries like Japan and Thailand, black
tea is preferred, and it is predominantly used for the health benefits – making
it a herbal infusion. 



“They are buying it solely on the principle that it is a
caffeine-free, non-tea beverage. People are buying it as an alternative and
they are transfixed by its health properties. 



“It is enabling people who naturally use plants as medicine
for many years. In any Western country, you will need to justify the health
benefits, but in the Asian countries, it is the medicine they are interested
in. People are very healthy in Japan,” she says.



&nbsp;Although Bonin is
facing difficulties&nbsp; entering the export
market in Japan due to the high number of monopolies and conglomerates in the
industry, small amounts of exports also go to Germany and the US. 



Rooibos is a unique product that has infused the signature
South African taste and its ambience with the rest of the world. 



The Japanese may have their unique tea-drinking ceremonies and traditions but in Germany and the other countries that import the plant in millions, rooibos offers a cupful of experience that is incomparable and uniquely South African.  



&#8211; Gypseenia Lion

Wild Rooibos

What’s Brewing In Tokyo?

South African filmmaker and producer, Kutlwano Ditsele, takes pride in re-telling the African narrative in a way that empowers and represents the continent as progressive. There’s also always a twist in the plot. 



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“A Japanese man on holiday with his wife in South Africa falls in love with a…”



An incomplete idea is stored and filed away in the digital
pages of a smart phone. 



The author is not only a creative director but also the
co-founder of South African production company, Seriti Films. 



By merging his passion for celebrating African stories through film and television with entrepreneurship, Kutlwano Ditsele’s story is on its way to a happy ending. 



 READ MORE | <a href="https://www.forbesafrica.com/entrepreneurs/2019/08/14/the-maverick-in-tech/">The Maverick In Tech</a>



He debuted his career as a filmmaker with a music video for
South African mega-star AKA in 2010, shot in the heart of Johannesburg’s
Central Business District.



The initial production cost was a humble R20,000
($1,360).&nbsp; 



A serendipitous bicycle race on a Sunday afternoon saved
them from paying heavily to close off certain main roads and public areas
downtown, during the filming of the music video. 



Ditsele recalls the silence and how the emptiness edified
the aesthetics of AKA’s song, Victory Lap. 



An artist owning the streets of the country’s economic and
financial hub for a day, even if it is by chance, opened a world of
opportunities for Ditsele, who was propeled into the limelight after the video.




Today, ideas constantly fall on his lap, even when he is on
the move. 



As he scrolls through his phone, he stumbles upon a
never-ending list of ideas he forgot existed (such as the one at the beginning
of this story). With surprise, he recites various plot lines. 



“Crime family show, three sisters and a kid brother with a grandmother… Whenever I am on a train, plane, car or even a jog, a small idea will come into my head,” he says.  



 READ MORE | <a href="https://www.forbesafrica.com/personal-finance/2019/09/30/the-one-thing-i-want-to-do-before-i-die/">‘The One Thing I Want To Do Before I Die’</a>



Kutlwano’s relationship with film goes back to when he was
eight years old; setting up a make-shift cinema for his cousins at their family
home in the mountainous parts of Rustenburg, in the North West province. 



Despite limited resources (television and electricity), what
little exposure they had to the enchanting effect of those screens would
inspire the young Ditsele and his cousins to re-enact those scenes, with him
assuming the role of the director. 



“Your responsibility is for that single mother who wakes up
at 4 o’clock in the morning, who has to get water outside, boil that water, get
the kids’ food ready, get on a train for an hour or two to be the first to get
into the office and having to leave at three or four o’clock, to sit in front
of the television at eight in the evening, to forget about her problems for the
hour,” he says. 



Intellectual property is a commodity in the local film
industry that leaves filmmakers like Ditsele working twice as hard to build a
name and fix the misrepresentations that were previously normalized before
African filmmakers had the means of production. Globally, the industry has
created more opportunities for black filmmakers. 



In 2005, Ditsele was awarded the opportunity to study at the
New York Film Academy. 



The cultural exchanges he shared with students from
Singapore, Indonesia, China and Brazil taught him that filmmaking is not only
about learning in class but exploring one’s environment. 



Learning in Hollywood placed him in a privileged position when he returned to South Africa in 2008. 



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote"> “Your responsibility is for that single mother who wakes up at 4 o’clock&#8230;to forget about her problems for the hour.” </blockquote>



He took it upon himself to re-tell the African narrative by
documenting positive representations of the continent. However, this becomes a tightrope
walk for local film producers who need to ensure their work has commercial
appeal. 



A contemporary challenge is that story-tellers, like
Ditsele, have to compete for a seat in the mainstream industry.



“It is more about the African narrative other than just the
South African narrative. I think that it is hard for us to ignore that the
biggest propaganda machine, America, is in the films. How we view America is
from everything they have done. 



“Aliens are coming, and America will save them (humans). They have told this incredible narrative about themselves and it has gone out into the world. The narrative around Africa has been quite the opposite. A narrative of poverty, jungle, primitive and they keep telling that narrative and they shy away from progressive stories,” he says. 



The filmmaker highlights that although the local industry
developed over the last 25 years, the number of those waiting in line remains
high, and those who fortuitously manage to float to the top and become brands
are few and far between.&nbsp; 



READ MORE | <a href="https://www.forbesafrica.com/focus/2019/09/11/side-hustles-the-entrepreneur-employees/">Side Hustles: The Entrepreneur Employees</a>



Despite being behind the camera, Distele says there are
industry inhibitors that prevent creatives from owning their intellectual
property. 



In a bitter twist of irony, many local stars who are
celebrated far and wide will die without a cent to their name to the extent
that their families are forced to crowdfund for burial costs.



“What you create is owned by someone else and they can make
as much money as they want. I think it is wrong because Picasso should decide
how much his painting is worth, not somebody else,” he says.



A simple idea, like the 2018 South African Film and
Television Awards (SAFTA)-nominated production, The Herd, achieved immense
commercial success as the story lines are often merged with the topical issues
of the day.&nbsp; 



For Distele, South African productions about love, power and
wealth are an example of how the production company keeps the African narrative
relatable to all viewers. For instance, the plot twist of a young girl thrust
into power in a modern world; cultural ceremonies are portrayed in a way that
the millennial audience can immerse themselves in.



The proliferation of social media and digitalization has
given the audience agency to comment in real time and engage and be critical of
the content given to them and directors like Ditsele are paying close
attention.

KutwanaD_GL

Owning The African Narrative

The economy is changing, and so also the way people work. A
singular income is not enough, and employees are finding creative, lucrative
ways to work for themselves beyond the nine-to-five.



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A bearded man, wearing a pin-striped grey duckbill cap,
stands behind a bar counter. 



To his right adorning the counter is an array of empty
cylindrical canisters. To his left, a contrasting set-up presents glass bottles
filled with a transparent, salmon pink liquid. Next to them are gin chalices
filled with a cornucopia of berries that are to be served to connoisseurs of
the popular spirit.



Queen Nandi Pink Gin and Zulu Dry Gin are experimentally
infused spirits distilled by Gologo Spirits, a business venture that merges
African tradition with a contemporary outlook on alcohol brewing. 



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="926" height="609" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Side3.png" alt="" class="wp-image-41761" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Side3.png 926w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Side3-300x197.png 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Side3-600x395.png 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Side3-768x505.png 768w" sizes="(max-width: 926px) 100vw, 926px" /><figcaption> Queen Nandi Pink Gin and Zulu Dry Gin are experimentally infused spirits distilled by Gologo Spirits owned by Mzwandile Xaba. Picture: Gypseenia Lion </figcaption></figure>



Mzwandile Xaba, an accountant by day and distiller by night,
is the founder of the experimental distillery. 



Nine years ago, the entrepreneur and employee would not have
imagined that a childhood pastime would one day become a secondary source of
income. 



At 5PM, when most South African corporates are closing off
the business of the day, Xaba’s two-hour journey to the warehouse begins, where
he often spends hours losing himself in the craft. 



Once the boiler goes on, it is down to work. 



Cleaning distillation columns, labeling, bottling and
blending various infusions until the odd hours of the morning, ironically,
rarely feels tedious for the hustler who, in the next few hours, needs to make
his way back to his assigned office cubicle. 



How does an accountant&nbsp;
from the East Rand, in the Gauteng province of South Africa, end up, not
only distilling spirits for commercial use, but juggling two jobs in industries
that are worlds apart?



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="959" height="611" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Side4.png" alt="" class="wp-image-41762" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Side4.png 959w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Side4-300x191.png 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Side4-600x382.png 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Side4-768x489.png 768w" sizes="(max-width: 959px) 100vw, 959px" /><figcaption> Mzwandile Xaba says umqombothi distillation also taught him to recognize the various cultural environments and the greater role his practice played in ensuring the success of those events. Picture: Gypseenia Lion </figcaption></figure>



&nbsp;Growing up in a
household with a father who pursued two careers; one in music and the other as
a mechanic, influenced Xaba’s work ethic.&nbsp;&nbsp;




Xaba, who was good at mathematics and accounting, pursued a
career in the financial sector. However, his childhood preoccupation of
distillation has remained with him through the various stages of transitioning
into adulthood, and recognizing that he needed a stable income. 



Brewing umqombothi (African beer), in time for the weekend
traditional celebrations with his father, is what he owes the success of Gologo
Spirits to. 



Although the process of brewing and fermenting the African
beer is predominantly done by women, without a matriarch in the household, the
men used to distill the beer themselves. 



Xaba says umqombothi distillation also taught him to
recognize the various cultural environments and the greater role his practice
played in ensuring the success of those events. 



Xaba expands on the use of spirits in celebrations.&nbsp; 



“You normally have those when you go to traditional
ceremonies. At home, it is also used during lobola (traditional engagement)
negotiations, and when young men come back from initiation school in the
mountains. Spirits are used for different functions and purposes from a
cultural point of view.”



Xaba’s fascination with biochemistry and spirits was
unrelenting, so in 2010, while working as an accountant, he decided to teach
himself the delicate balance of creating the drinks that were impactful to
him.&nbsp;&nbsp; 



Within three years, the first drops of alcohol were ready
for commercial use. 



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="923" height="613" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Side2.png" alt="" class="wp-image-41766" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Side2.png 923w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Side2-300x199.png 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Side2-600x398.png 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Side2-768x510.png 768w" sizes="(max-width: 923px) 100vw, 923px" /><figcaption> Mzwandile Xaba, an accountant by day and distiller by night, is the founder of the experimental distillery Gologo Spirits. Picture: Gypseenia Lion</figcaption></figure>



“It was just something I wanted to do. I thought it was
quite interesting and I was really passionate about it. 



“I don’t know why because I have never set foot in a physics
or science class but I was drawn to it,” he says. 



He started with vodka, experimented with brandy and whiskey,
and at a later stage he tried gin distillation. 



“For the past five or six years, almost every day there is
something that I am doing that is in line with Gologo. If I am not literally
making something I am reading on up on something.” 



Finding a balance



Xaba views his side job as an enhancement rather than his
primary source of income or a necessity.



“The day job is something I understand and something that I
need to do in order to do what I want to do. It covers some of my operational
costs. The business is something that I funded from my pocket.



&nbsp;“Some of the loans I
have taken to set Gologo up are what I am paying off through Gologo,” he
says.&nbsp; 



“As the projection is, there comes a point where I am really
making money to expand the distillery and cover some of my personal costs. It
is a blend of both, a blending and a calling and it is financially viable.
Doing both, keeping the day job and operating Gologo as a side-hustle is
probably one of the best decisions that I may have taken financially, and also
in terms of testing myself.” 



When presented with the burden of choosing one job over the
other, he is quite clear that financial stability is an imperative. 



“I would only quit my day job once it starts costing me more
money,” Xaba states decidedly. 



An online platform, Hustle South Africa, is an ongoing
project managed by Dana, who is in marketing, and her husband, Justin Arnoldi,
also the Head of Digital Transformation at Blue Turtle Technologies.



The Facebook page was created in response to the high
unemployment rate in South Africa which currently is peaking at 29% in the
second quarter of 2019. 



According to StatsSA, this is the highest unemployment rate
recorded since the first quarter of 2003, the number of unemployed citizens
rose by 455,000 to 6.65 million.



A problem Hustle South Africa hopes to decrease with this
challenge is by providing a platform for users to promote and acquire side-hustles.
Through the platform, hustlers are able to upload the services or products they
have on offer, whether it is through text, video or images. 



“The way of working has changed, people want autonomy and
flexibility. They do not necessarily want to be tied into one job; they want a
couple of jobs so that they can do different things.



“We wanted to create a central platform where people can
interact and sign up for side work relatively easy,” Dana says. 



Hustle South Africa defines the gig economy as a series of
freelance or part-time work assignments. 



On the platform, hustlers now can not only advertise their
business, but build a public data-base. Is it safe? 



“From a security perspective, we are going to have a
checking system where people can put their ID number in and they will be
checked for a criminal record; if they are a South African citizen; or if they
can be employed,” Dana says. 



Credibility is built through references, and referrals. 



This model has proven effective with Uber as they provide clients
with a driver-rating system. 



If Bryan Davey, a diesel mechanic and baker, chose to use
the Hustle South Africa page to market his side job, he would not only receive
the deserved exposure for his business but would also add to the database. 



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="927" height="609" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Side5.png" alt="" class="wp-image-41763" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Side5.png 927w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Side5-300x197.png 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Side5-600x394.png 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Side5-768x505.png 768w" sizes="(max-width: 927px) 100vw, 927px" /><figcaption> Bryan Davey, a diesel mechanic and baker. Picture: Gypseenia Lion </figcaption></figure>



The self-taught baker, who has been a mechanic for seven
years, decided to bake on the side to take his mind off the noise at the
workshop. 



Doing something completely different takes the pressure off
when he is not at his nine-to-five as a power generation field technician at
Cummins South Africa. The balance between the two is a tightrope walk for
Davey. 



“I do try and go straight home and start baking, hopefully
if I have an order for the week. It does take a toll on you, I won’t lie it is
difficult but if you want to make something work, you will do it,” he says.



&nbsp;“It does have an
impact on your mental and physical health, but it also depends on how you are
managing it, so if what you are doing is a form of stress-reliever for you, it
will not impact you negatively but if you are doing it in a way where you just
want income, it will affect you.” 



Davey, nonetheless, does both jobs with a smile.



Based on research published by Henley Business School
Africa, nine of 10 people in Africa have taken on extra work to survive.



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="920" height="588" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Side7.png" alt="" class="wp-image-41764" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Side7.png 920w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Side7-300x192.png 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Side7-600x383.png 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Side7-768x491.png 768w" sizes="(max-width: 920px) 100vw, 920px" /><figcaption> Cupcakes created self-taught baker Bryan Davey, who has been a mechanic for seven year Picture: Gypseenia Lion </figcaption></figure>



The South African study uses the Henley Business School UK
in 2018 as a framework to explore local trends, which shows that&nbsp; 71.3% of the 1,158 respondents in their
African network have side-hustles for additional income. 



According to the study, the top three side-hustles in their
South African networks are professional business services at 25. 7%, real
estate at 20.1%; teaching, lecturing and tutoring at 13.3%. 



The lowest three being providing building/DIY services,
running a shop/tuck-shop/food truck, and waiting/bartending/ hosting. 



Jon Foster-Pedley, Dean of Henley Business School Africa,
says the demands for the highest three industries are caused by the job
descriptions. 



Side-hustling as a real estate agent would not require as
much time and attention as a food truck. The time and effort required,
according to respondents on the network, would demand them to learn a new
skill, which would take up too much time. 



“The bottom ones mean that you have to be good with your
hands, they are skills-based. 



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="924" height="613" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Side8.png" alt="" class="wp-image-41765" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Side8.png 924w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Side8-300x199.png 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Side8-600x398.png 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Side8-768x510.png 768w" sizes="(max-width: 924px) 100vw, 924px" /><figcaption> Bryan Davey, a diesel mechanic, bakes cakes on the side. Picture: Gypseenia Lion </figcaption></figure>



“Running a shop or a tuck-shop, you need to adapt to a lot
of the things which take a lot of your time. 



“You need to do that with your hands, you can’t scale
waiting and bartending,” he says. 



With the top three, on the other hand, a hustler can employ
other people to manage the operations of the business while focusing on their
day job. 



The economy is changing and so also the way people are
making money. 



Side-hustles can be as lucrative as the hustler wants it to
be, but finding a balance on the tightrope, is the ultimate challenge.&nbsp;

Side1

Side Hustles: The Entrepreneur Employees

French football legend Thierry Henry was in South Africa to watch the 2019 UEFA Champions League final on television screens with dizzy fans.  



<hr class="wp-block-separator"/>



A teaser campaign on Heineken South Africa’s Twitter page
unveiling the identity of a legendary footballer kicks off the 2019 season of
the UEFA Champions League. 



It certainly piques the attention of South African fans on
social media who tentatively await the unmasking of this legend – French
footballer Thierry Henry.&nbsp; 



Even as fans attempt to piece the mysterious mosaic, the
Champions League 100 club member is already making his way from Europe to watch
the much-anticipated UEFA Champions League tournament final on June 1, on a
giant television screen with his South African fans, at the Kyalami Grand Prix
Circuit race track in Johannesburg.



South Africa’s vibrant football culture finds expression in
all venues, from the dusty make-shift fields that continue to play a crucial
role in community life in townships, to the manicured green pitches of
gargantuan stadiums. 



As Tottenham Hotspur FC and Liverpool FC take to the field
for the final leg in Spain, here in Johannesburg, all eyes are on Henry, who
can barely focus with all the attention on him. But these are interactions the
former FC Barcelona and Arsenal FC striker would not trade for anything else –
even watching the match in the comfort of his own home. 



“It is always nice to have these moments with South African
fans. Usually, I would be at home watching the game, but now, I am in South
Africa. It is a bit surreal to watch the Champions League that happens in
Europe, in Africa,” he tells FORBES AFRICA.&nbsp;




Watching the all-English final on South African soil evoked
nostalgia, and Henry reminisces the beginning of an illustrious career in
football.&nbsp; 



“I went to Monaco [to play] as a youngster; that was the
choice. I didn’t know we were going to make the Champions League. I was just
trying to be a football player,” he says.



&nbsp;Henry then moved to
Arsenal, and then Barcelona where he ended up winning the Champions League. 



The bulk of the retired footballer’s career as a player was
in the English Premier League for Arsenal FC that saw him as Arsenal’s all-time
top scorer, with 228 goals, for the club. 



“The moves were based on competing, trying to get the best
out of myself and get the best out of my teammates,” he says. 



Despite a two-nil loss on Henry’s first professional
appearance for Monaco in 1994, first impressions should make a lasting impact,
he says.&nbsp; 



“For me, it is always the first game, it is very important
because you are now on the scene and you need to make sure that everybody can
see what you are about in that particular moment. I remember losing the first
game but I had an impact and the rest is history.”



On June 1, Liverpool FC was crowned champions in the 64th
season of the premier football tournament. 



The win for the English team meant more beer, selfies and
snapshots with Henry for the few lucky South African soccer fans, and again,
the rest is history.&nbsp;

Thierry Henry

Football, Beer And Selfies With Thierry Henry

Online auctions are gaining popularity, but the
traditionalists are still sold on the idea of live auctions that guarantee a
good show, with emotions and bids running high.



<hr class="wp-block-separator"/>



In an industrialized area approximately 30 minutes from
Sandton, the commercial hub of Johannesburg, is a shining fleet of trucks,
parked and ready to be sold to the highest bidder. 



The sun reflects off the windshields in the direction of the
registered bidders as they sit under red outdoor umbrellas at the entrance of
the property.&nbsp; 



Some opt for refreshments, while others make small talk with
their competition.



A man uses this time to make phone calls to a mechanic, who
discourages him from making a regrettable bid on a “non-runner”.



He runs towards the towering fleet of trucks, where he joins
the eager buyers as they take a final peek before the auction begins. 



We are at Aucor Auctioneers’ popular commercial auction, at
their head office in Midrand.



After spending four hours traveling to Johannesburg from
Nelspruit (in South Africa’s Mpumalanga Province), for the auction, Charles
Malibe gets into a heated bidding war that lasts no longer than a minute but is
packed with plenty of fervent action.



<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="aligncenter"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="930" height="616" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Auc7.png" alt="" class="wp-image-41344" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Auc7.png 930w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Auc7-300x199.png 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Auc7-600x397.png 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Auc7-768x509.png 768w" sizes="(max-width: 930px) 100vw, 930px" /><figcaption>Charles Malibe in a heated bidding war for a truck. Picture: Gypseenia Lion</figcaption></figure></div>



It is noon and an overjoyed Malibe has just won a R465,000
($32,401) bid on a second-hand truck. 



“I attended my first auction three years ago. Sometimes you
get it wrong and sometimes you get the right stuff at the right price. It is
good to be exposed to new things. I went to Durban once, but I did not get
anything there. It was not a waste. It is not only about getting things, it
gives you exposure,” he says. 



As Malibe heads back to Nelspruit, the auctioneer remains
chanting until the last vehicle is sold, with the crowd getting smaller with
each purchase.



Wasim Babamia, Aucor Auctioneers’ multimedia consultant,
manages the national marketing for the 51-year-old auctioneering company. 



Digitalization has disrupted traditional norms of
advertising, and has made the industry more accessible for both buyers and
sellers.&nbsp; 



“Selling any asset boils down to supply and demand. The
advantage of buying in an auction is cutting out the middleman, saving that
money and getting something of real top value,” he says. 



<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="aligncenter"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="927" height="616" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Auc5.png" alt="" class="wp-image-41345" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Auc5.png 927w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Auc5-300x199.png 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Auc5-600x399.png 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Auc5-768x510.png 768w" sizes="(max-width: 927px) 100vw, 927px" /><figcaption> Wasim Babamia, Aucor Auctioneers’ multimedia consultant. Picture: Gypseenia Lion </figcaption></figure></div>



&nbsp;Marketing the call to
action remains a vital component for the business.&nbsp; 



“Social media has to be on point when we market a particular
auction,” Babamia says.



Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn are some of the biggest
platforms, apart from the traditional pamphlets and website advertising
strategies. 



According to Babamia, online bidding has pulled in more
numbers over the past four years. 



He sees a rapid transformation in the auctions landscape in
the foreseeable future. 



According to a South African Institute of Auctioneers (SAIA)
report, Gauteng is the highest province of interest with over 6,000 potential
buyers (for all kinds of auctions including residential properties, retail
vehicles, jewelry and collectables) on its website, while the Northern Cape is
the lowest with just over 1,000 buyers. 



The traditional means of auctioning have had to make way for
digital platforms that have been steadily increasing over the last decade. 



SAIA records close to 100,000 visitors to online auctions in
2010; the first half of 2019 is already at 400,000 visitors. 



Last year’s record 600,000 visitors reflect that the online market could be just as lucrative as the live auctions. 



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As the state of the South African economy remains uncertain,
Babamia suggests that auctioneering will always provide a cheaper option to
consumers. 



An industry that has been in existence for more than 2,000
years continues to grow despite its many iterations over the years. 



Ancient Greek records on auctions dating as far back as
500BC show women were auctioned off to become wives. 



Auctions were popular for family estates and the selling of
war plunder in Rome. 



As a result of the great depression in the 1900s, the United
States opened auction schools to generate income as businesses and individuals needed
to liquidate assets to withstand the economic crisis.



In recent times, market trends have changed dramatically to
adapt to socioeconomic norms. 



A shift to online auctioneering has been a great development
and contributor to the fluid industry.



&nbsp;Orbis Research
reports that the global online auction market is expected to grow during the
period 2018-2022 with a 7.2% compound annual growth rate. 



“Another major trend witnessed in the online auction is the
immense impact of artificial intelligence (AI). AI’s main role in an online
auction is to perform different tasks such as processing internal operations,
customer-service inquiries, delivery and product packaging. In the last years,
AI has instigated a gradual shift, from conventional auction to online auction,”
the report states. 



The increase in sales of art-based goods through online
auctions is a key market driver. 



Traditional live auctions, however, are still a preferred
option for bargain-hunters, despite the global steer towards digitalization. 



This is according to fine art specialist Luke Crossley who
manages Stephan Welz &amp; Co. in the affluent northern suburb of Johannesburg,
Houghton Estate.&nbsp;&nbsp; 



<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="aligncenter"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="416" height="617" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Auc4.png" alt="" class="wp-image-41346" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Auc4.png 416w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Auc4-300x445.png 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Auc4-202x300.png 202w" sizes="(max-width: 416px) 100vw, 416px" /><figcaption> Fine art specialist Luke Crossley who manages Stephan Welz &amp; Co. Picture: Gypseenia Lion </figcaption></figure></div>



Moving to simpler models will improve the industry by
providing a greater competitive edge, he says. &nbsp;



“There is a growing interest and understanding of auctions
across a broad section of people where, maybe, a couple of decades ago it was
seen as just for the very rich people doing very rich things. 



“People are realizing that it is a great way of finding
weird and beautiful objects, artwork and furniture at quite reasonable prices,”
he says. 



The increase of auction houses in South Africa offers a
variety to buyers and sellers, with SAIA having 80,546 members registered by
April 2019. As a result, the art and design market is at an advantage. 



“The South African art market on auction is always evolving
and broadening. The importance to history and art history is being realized and
there is a growing interest and demand for these. It is encouraging a lot of
the younger artists working with galleries to look at the history and heritage
of artistic practice in this country,” Crossley says. 



“With growing appreciation for South African and African art
overseas, a couple of international houses based in England regularly do sales
of more historical work. The audience overseas means a lot for the artists, the
country and the future.” 



Selling or buying art on auction engages the audience as
well as the creator. 



“The gallery, thus, becomes the primary market where young
artists can build their careers; whereas auctions and private individuals with
a passion for art can sell work they own, re-invest in other artists, or buy. 







“It creates a second life for an artist once they have had
their exhibition. With an auction house, you can reach a broader audience.
Auctioneering is a great way of indirectly promoting the artist,” says the art
specialist.&nbsp; 



A mobile museum acts as a platform that simplifies the
process and eases access to the market for artists and admirers. 



A world of opportunity, at the click of a button, gives
upcoming artists a chance to compete in the art market. 



Art lovers can sit in the comfort of their homes, evaluate the work before-hand, request for condition reports and place a bid while monitoring the action on screen.



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“Auction houses, historically, would work with physical
catalogues. We still do catalogues but with the possibility now to create an
app for the auction house to allow interaction directly with the audience. 



“It seems simple now with email, but previously, you would
write a letter and take a photograph and get it delivered. Now, there is an
ease of communication,” Crossley says. 



On the other end, Jerry Horn from AuctionInc. argues that
despite the digital migration in South Africa, live auctions are still the
safest and simplest way for auctions to take place. 



Online platforms also lack interpersonal interaction. 



At the moment, live auctions are still more popular, he
says. 



“Online auctions are impersonal, you wait till the time is
up and if you get it, you get it, if you don’t, then you don’t. There is no
emotion attached to it. Live auctions still create the hype… humans are
emotional creatures,” Horn says. 



We meet Horn and fellow broker Disa Smuts at a three-bedroom
house which is being auctioned for R1.5 million ($105,301) at an upmarket
security estate in Pretoria called The Wilds Security Estate.



<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="aligncenter"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="927" height="615" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Auc6.png" alt="" class="wp-image-41347" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Auc6.png 927w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Auc6-300x199.png 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Auc6-600x398.png 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Auc6-768x510.png 768w" sizes="(max-width: 927px) 100vw, 927px" /><figcaption> Disa Smuts. Picture: Gypseenia Lion </figcaption></figure></div>



Buyers meander in and out of the house as they assess the
property. They pry further as they look through windows, open cupboards and
check light fixtures, along with all the other fittings of the house. 



Bidding begins as the amount crescendos to the millions. 



Finally, a buyer who is pleased with the finishing of the
house, makes the highest bid at R1.5 million and this bid concludes the auction
for the home, as the final hammer drops.



This is a success for the auctioneer and a gloomy moment for
latecomers who only have the luxury to dawdle in the empty rooms they could
have owned. 



Hennie Swart arrived at the double-storeyed home just after
the conclusion of the auction, and he was not going to let this bargain slip
through his fingers. 



A counter bid amounting to R1.8 million ($130,654) makes him
next in line if the first deal does not take place for any reason.&nbsp;&nbsp; 



Swart, who is a property developer, says purchasing on auction offers a discount of 10% to 20% less than market value. 



Today’s offer is a cheaper buy than Swart’s most expensive
purchase of R2.1 million ($147,428) for a three-bedroom home. 



“I have got a property portfolio and I try to expand my
portfolio by buying property on auction. I normally look at simplexes that are
normally safer because the possibility of getting a tenant is higher,” he says.




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Attending live auctions gives him a first-hand experience of
the area, the property and the potential return on investment.&nbsp; 



A common practice Horn encourages. 



Online bidding may be convenient but competition on the
floor is good for business, and it puts on a good show. 



Bids increase by the second. 



Four figures speedily turn into six figures. 



The auctioneer chants vigorously while his focus is fixed on
the audience. 



Sweat drips from his nose, and all the attention is directed
to a woman at the back of the room. 



The room falls dead silent.



“And sold to the woman in the far right!” 



The audience cheers on, as she graciously leaves the room.



It is this fervent excitement that people enjoy.



Time and competition are the most important factors to
prioritize in this business.&nbsp; 



The aim is to spend less while encouraging
competitiveness.&nbsp; 



“You don’t have ‘show days’ that take up time, and with a
six-week [administrative] process before the auction date, people come and bid
and the property is sold on the day. 



“People bid against each other to get what they want. Most
of the time you get more money than what you are asking for,” Horn says.



South Africa’s market, promising as it is, has room for
development. 



“If you go to countries like Australia and New Zealand,
there are no ‘show days’, there are no real estate agents, everything is done
by the auction basis,” Horn says. 



This cuts out the middleman, and thus minimizing costs,
making the purchase more lucrative for the buyer. 



<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="aligncenter"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="927" height="616" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Auc2.png" alt="" class="wp-image-41348" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Auc2.png 927w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Auc2-300x199.png 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Auc2-600x399.png 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Auc2-768x510.png 768w" sizes="(max-width: 927px) 100vw, 927px" /><figcaption>A bidder places a bid for an item on auction. Picture: Gypseenia Lion </figcaption></figure></div>



Whereas in South Africa, there are other factors to
consider, such as real estate agent commissions, bonds and prime lending rates
which make the process arduous and more expensive for the buyer.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 



Horn frequently travels to Angola, Tanzania, Zambia and
Kenya for business. 



“Property is a lot more expensive up there because it is
dollar-related,” he says. 



The economic climate of a particular region or area
determines the value of property. 



Property auctioning depends largely on adequate research and
comprehension of the landscape. 



Buyers often become sellers after acquiring an understanding
of the industry. 



Smuts, who sold her 18-year-old business on auction, decided
to become an auctioneer herself.&nbsp;&nbsp; 



The uncomplicated nature of transactions is what attracted
her, she says. 



However, clients usually call when their property has been
on the market for too long and the asking price becomes too high for the
market. 



“The owner will give a sole mandate to give a right for the
sale of the property and make sure that it goes to the market correctly. The
auction is done on the day, and make sure it gets the highest price. The
auctioneer’s job is to protect the property’s value,” she says. 



Protecting the interests of all parties involved should be
the auctioneer’s priority, Smuts adds.



&nbsp;Whether you’re buying
from the comfort of your home while basking in the sun by your swimming pool,
or you just lost out at a live bid, chances are, it can’t get any cheaper than
at an auction.&nbsp;

auc8

Going Once, Going Twice! The Evolution Of Auctions

A gargantuan eight-storey second-hand bookstore in the heart
of downtown Johannesburg, not far from the city’s hipster havens, has for over
four decades stocked nostalgia and hidden treasures on its shelves.&nbsp; FORBES AFRICA stepped into the time capsule
that is the Collectors Treasury.



<hr class="wp-block-separator"/>



In the mid-1970s, Rissik Street in downtown Johannesburg was
a tranquil road featuring an important landmark – a second-hand bookstore that
offered an escape from the city’s orchestrated chaos. It was a true literary
world in a period devoid of the sensory overload of today’s technology.



Books were the only source of knowledge for the young intellectuals in bell-bottoms and halter dresses that trickled in to spend hours pouring over the treasures in this bookstore called Collectors Treasury.&nbsp;&nbsp;



 It has since moved shop from Rissik Street, and today, 45 years on, a little over a kilometer away, the same wonders, and much, much more can be found at 223 Commissioner Street. The 3,000 books, records and antiques collected since 1974 have now grown to over two million items. 



All the vintage collectables are housed in an eight-storey building bursting at the seams with the sheer volume of material in it. 



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Brothers Geoffrey and Jonathan Klass, the co-owners of Collectors
Treasury, have come to this realization, that the books are literally
everywhere. From the entrance to the office where the men have to walk around
them with caution, and from there, to the elevator, the staircase, the passages
and even the restroom that has been turned into an impromptu storage space. 



“People are definitely reading, and they are reading more.,”
offers Geoffrey. 



“We are at a stage where reading is not for pleasure.
Reading is for utilitarian purposes because it is something that we seek to
learn, something we have to know in order to advance.” 



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="927" height="615" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/books2.png.png" alt="" class="wp-image-40945" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/books2.png.png 927w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/books2.png-300x199.png 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/books2.png-600x398.png 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/books2.png-768x510.png 768w" sizes="(max-width: 927px) 100vw, 927px" /><figcaption>Collectors Treasury bookstore, owned by brothers Geoffrey and Jonathan Klass. Picture: Gypseenia Lion</figcaption></figure>



Also a recording engineer and musician, his brother Jonathan
remarks that growing up with a doctor for a father, and a mother who collected
antiques, inspired them to start the business.&nbsp;




Jonathan shies away from talking about his own personal
collection of antiques because people always end up bargaining for him to sell
it.



&nbsp; Their upbringing
taught the men the value of history. This is the backbone of their business.



&nbsp;“Whenever we get anything into the shop, the first thing we want to know is what its origins are and where it comes from,” Jonathan says.



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote">“You can’t know where you are or who you are in a particular context unless you know what has come before you. It is becoming part of a culture amongst the youngsters now, the so-called ‘hipsters’; they are the population coming in a lot.”&nbsp; </blockquote>



Young, inquisitive minds, in search of a deeper
understanding of the world, feed their curiosity here while others walk in to
simply explore the massive bookstore. Jonathan says it provides a much-needed
alternative and relief to today’s smartphone-obsessed world. 



“People are stuck in an electronic loop and they can’t get
out of it. They haven’t studied the people who are the masters of their craft
to know where they should go. I absorbed as much material as I could, and I
still do it all the time. 



“That is what our shop is about. You can’t come in here for
five minutes and expect to absorb what is in here.



“It doesn’t matter what you read, so long as you read
because ultimately the book is the theater of the mind.”



Geoffrey argues that despite the vast amount of information
shared on the internet, it won’t ever replace the simplicity of a book. 



<ul class="wp-block-gallery columns-2 wp-block-gallery-1 is-layout-flex"><li class="blocks-gallery-item"><figure><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="924" height="618" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Books3.png.png" alt="" data-id="40946" data-link="https://www.forbesafrica.com/?attachment_id=40946" class="wp-image-40946" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Books3.png.png 924w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Books3.png-300x201.png 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Books3.png-600x401.png 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Books3.png-768x514.png 768w" sizes="(max-width: 924px) 100vw, 924px" /><figcaption> The 3,000 books, records and antiques collected since 1974 have now grown to over two million items. Picture: Gypseenia Lion </figcaption></figure></li><li class="blocks-gallery-item"><figure><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="925" height="610" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Books5.png.png" alt="" data-id="40947" data-link="https://www.forbesafrica.com/?attachment_id=40947" class="wp-image-40947" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Books5.png.png 925w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Books5.png-300x198.png 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Books5.png-600x396.png 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Books5.png-768x506.png 768w" sizes="(max-width: 925px) 100vw, 925px" /><figcaption>The Klaas brothers remarks that growing up with a doctor for a father, and a mother who collected antiques, inspired them to start Collectors Treasury. Picture: Gypseenia Lion </figcaption></figure></li></ul>



“People’s knowledge is not as in-depth as it used to be, which is why this particular generation of youngsters is more enthusiastic about older stuff than the generation that came 15 years ago,” he says. 



Books on African history are the top-sellers at the store
because people are looking to make sense of their place in society. 



By preserving what is often discarded, the store can become
a repository of tradition while it allows the bookseller to determine what to
sell. 



“If I banned half the books, I’d be cutting out half the
cultural influencers that someone could be exposed to. We cast our net widely,
and limit it simply because of the volume of material there is. We make our own
choices,” Geoffrey says. 



Although digital innovations continue to grow in popularity,
the culture of reading for the brothers will never be substituted for the
sensory experience provided by a book. 



“The world does not stand still. What we often think is the
beginning of the revolution is the end. I think in a lot of ways the digital
experience is in the decline. It goes back to the hipsters wanting to know what
came before because they want to be hands-on. They want to feel, touch and see
it. 



“They don’t want the black box effect. Nobody is going to
come in here with something the size of a cellphone with 7,000 books loaded on
it and say, ‘I want to sell my library’. No one else will buy it,” Geoffrey
says. 



Jonathan says the shop has hidden treasures in the form of
collectables that aren’t sold by regular retailers.



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“As a toy collector, when I see the tin toys I used to have
and played with as a child, it just brings back all those memories.” 



“Nostalgia is a big part of it. So many times when I am in a
market stall [selling goods], somebody will come along and say, ‘this is so
nice, I remember it from when I was five years old’. It may be a vase or a
piece of furniture or a gramophone. It could be anything and people will
remember it,” Jonathan says. 



Going out on Sundays for window-shopping at any time of the
day is an activity the brothers certainly miss.



Since the early 1990s, the inner city changed from being an
upmarket commercial space to an area rife with crime and dilapidated buildings.
But the high levels of crime and population density have not hindered the
brothers’&nbsp; love for the inner city and
the time capsule they step into daily. 



When asked how the business survived the advent of the internet, an excited Jonathan explains the exclusivity of the store and its organic growth that few can imitate. 



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote">“Nobody can start Collectors Treasury if they wanted to. It developed on its own like a chemical reaction. We started collecting some stuff and it developed into what it is now, rather like a volcano. You can’t create a volcano,” he says. </blockquote>



A unique passion for selling second-hand books and
understanding collectables is needed to stand the test of time. For Jonathan,
the online model is not feasible because it is expensive on the one side, and
on the other, it minimizes the effort it takes to acquire knowledge or a
skill.&nbsp; 



“It has got to be an educated thing. There are people
trading from their homes, making it look easy. The same way people who write a
book using spellcheck, or musicians using apps to write music who think they
are musicians and they are not.



“The online experience is that anybody who can use a
computer can become an instant ‘expert’, at times, they steal descriptions off
the net, they steal inventory and market it. They do this to make out more than
they know. They sound like they have a bookshop where, in fact, they have a
garden shed,” Jonathan explains. 



Understanding how the internet works helps buyers and
sellers spot scammers from a mile away. With about 85,000 books up for sale on
the internet, the brothers have expert knowledge on how to identify a
legitimate seller. 



Over the years, the few dealers and buyers have increased to
over a million since the duo began selling online.&nbsp; 



“You need to build a business, and not just sell. We buy
what people want, and sometimes we reject books. People usually ask why we
reject, but we need to check the market and know what they will buy,” Jonathan
adds. 



Geoffrey shares a different sentiment about their business
model.&nbsp; 



“There is a model; it is going with the flow. If someone
wants to make money, they need to do something else. It is for the passion; as
long as you are making enough to eat, the rest doesn’t matter. The stock is
appreciating. If you sell it, you make money. It appreciates in value if you
buy correctly,” he says. 



He argues that people need to avoid the get-rich-quick
syndrome as businesses differ. 



“If I made a million, and I write a book on it, how many
millionaires would there be? If Warren Buffet made a million, it is because the
conditions at that particular time, plus his input, added up to making a
million. You could give somebody the same amount of information now but time
has passed and the river has flowed. 



<ul class="wp-block-gallery columns-2 is-cropped wp-block-gallery-3 is-layout-flex"><li class="blocks-gallery-item"><figure><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="926" height="617" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Books4.png.png" alt="" data-id="40948" data-link="https://www.forbesafrica.com/?attachment_id=40948" class="wp-image-40948" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Books4.png.png 926w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Books4.png-300x200.png 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Books4.png-600x400.png 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Books4.png-768x512.png 768w" sizes="(max-width: 926px) 100vw, 926px" /><figcaption>$3,000 kettle was designed by a leading early 20th century German architect and industrial designer, Peter Behrens. Picture: Gypseenia Lion </figcaption></figure></li><li class="blocks-gallery-item"><figure><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="925" height="614" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/books6.png.png" alt="" data-id="40949" data-link="https://www.forbesafrica.com/?attachment_id=40949" class="wp-image-40949" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/books6.png.png 925w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/books6.png-300x199.png 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/books6.png-600x398.png 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/books6.png-768x510.png 768w" sizes="(max-width: 925px) 100vw, 925px" /><figcaption> Collectors Treasury sells porcelain and antique figures from the early 1900s’ fashionable movement; items rarely sold by local dealers. Picture: Gypseenia Lion </figcaption></figure></li></ul>



“You are not the same person that you were at the time that
you made the million. I don’t think Bill Gates could make a million today
because it was [under] different circumstances,” Geoffrey says. 



The store houses items that are priceless from a bygone era.
The brothers sell porcelain and antique figures from the early 1900s’
fashionable movement; items rarely sold by local dealers. 



“The markets for the antique porcelains have dropped so
much. The classical antiques that were fashionable 50 years ago are not wanted
by the modern collectors to the same extent as the generation before,” Geoffrey
says. “In a way, the subsequent generation tends to concentrate on buying back
their youth. They buy the things that they couldn’t afford when they were
younger and didn’t have any money. 



“Collecting fashions shift so much. Modern collectors look
for different things, but pretty is out!” The rustier and older the item, the
more people want it. And they don’t mind stepping into a bookstore bursting
with nostalgia and with motifs and messages from an era that has been long
gone.

bookstore

The Bookstore That erupted Like A Volcano

From the Caribbean to the South African coast, marine&nbsp; archaeologist Matthew Arnett’s work involves recovering treasures from the deep – and preserving them for posterity.



<hr class="wp-block-separator"/>



I have a pet peeve with people like Elon Musk who want to
jet off to space,” remarks Matthew Arnett, who has made it his business to
explore the depths of the world’s oceans.



“I would think 99% of the sea is left unexplored. I believe
there are answers there that come from energy and renewable resources. There is
a twilight zone that we don’t even know is there, and they want to go to
Mars!”&nbsp; 



&nbsp;It is the planet we are in that Arnett, the co-founder and CEO of PO8, has made his priority, uncovering treasures that date as far back as the 1400s. 



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“Millions should be spent under the ocean instead of jetting
off to space so quick. There are many aspects of the blue economy that have not
been explored and there are so many opportunities that come out of it,” says
the explorer who is based in the Caribbean and visiting South Africa.



PO8 is a marine archaeology startup that uses blockchain
technology to recover sunken artifacts from the ocean floor. 



Using the blockchain model, through PO8, ownership of the
recovered treasures and artifacts is with non-fungible tokens, which are
asset-backed tokens. 



Arnett says the sensitive, more lucrative approach is preserving these artifacts in museums and not giving them away to private collectors. 



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote">“They [the artifacts] have to stay in the public domain and that is why there are the museums.” </blockquote>



With innovative ways of looking at the blue economy, the PO8
project, based in the Caribbean, also aims to connect lost histories across the
globe. 



The growing historical tourism market in the Caribbean
generates revenue without selling any of the recovered artifacts, leading to
social and economic impact that he says can be duplicated in Africa. 



“Because of the success in the Caribbean, it only makes
sense to come back to Africa to put the same model in place. 



“There are millions and billions of dollars in the ocean,”
Arnett says. 



“We are going to find other things that relate back to
Africa, so we might also be able to find some missing links from an
anthropology stand point.”&nbsp; 



He believes his work contributes to transforming the narrative of the Caribbean that’s often only known for tourism. “When you look at the Caribbean, it is no longer just sun, sand and sea; there is a tech tsunami that is coming,” he says. 



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“I am from an island known for pirates. There is a pirate
who was able to withstand the British government for 31 years while the British
government controlled other parts of the Bahamas. He used the Bahamas as his
treasure chest… and that blood is soaked in the soil; that is out of which I am
born. I was raised with these stories of piracy.” 



&nbsp;As Arnett taps into
new knowledge systems, he believes that there is value in ensuring that all
have access to his findings. 



“These artifacts are open to anthropologists,
archaeologists, or to university programs all over the world to come to the
Bahamas and study these objects to draw parallels between other pieces and
artifacts that might be similar to them. Essentially, we are telling the story
of our past in a way that it can be globally accepted and people can own a part
of history.”

Matthew

The Blue Economy: ‘Billions Of Dollars  In The Ocean’

Formerly with the British Army, Kenya-based 4G Capital CEO Wayne Hennessy-Barrett speaks about investing in artificial intelligence and fintech in Africa.&nbsp; 



<hr class="wp-block-separator"/>



CEO of a financial technology credit provider. How did that happen? 



I moved into tech and financial inclusion after a career in
the military, followed by a period of consulting. As an Infantry Officer in the
British Army, I saw extreme suffering and poverty in Bosnia, Macedonia, Kosovo,
Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere.&nbsp; 



In all these places, there were highly capable people who
had lost their businesses, homes and, often, entire societies. 



They didn’t need more war. What they needed was investment
and the opportunity to grow their communities in peace.&nbsp; 



This affected me deeply and was, ultimately, the reason I
left a military career to try to create positive value. 



I wanted to directly address the problems that caused these
conflicts: exclusion, injustice, ignorance, fear and a lack of opportunity.



What makes your credit products unique for Africa’s informal market sector? 



We design, execute and iterate around our clients’ needs.
Credit alone can be highly risky for all parties; we work hard to right-size
our loans, and optimize the term and price-point to really boost our customers’
business. 



If we can’t provide the right solution, then it’s important
to be honest and wait until there is a fit, rather than just lend and risk that
business getting into trouble.



What is the investment climate in Africa and how are you invested in the continent?



There are great returns to be had if businesses solve
customers’ problems on terms that work for them. I am 100% invested in our
operations in Africa. But the African investment climate has its own particular
characteristics: business models and execution teams have to be resilient,
innovative and robust, and deals will often be smaller than in other markets.
Investors need to be as savvy and adaptive to opportunities as entrepreneurs.



Your most regrettable financial decision and lessons learned?



I’ve been extremely fortunate up until now. I took a
position on gold in late 2012, believing that quantitative easing in the west
would lead to strong prices in physical assets. This wasn’t the case, and 2013
began with some huge exits on the gold market which crashed prices for some
time.&nbsp; The lesson is that markets run on
sentiment as well as logic, and you have to respect this.



What do you spend your money on mostly? 



I believe in investing in quality, whether in a business capacity,
or in great life experiences.&nbsp; I love
traveling with my family to amazing places and having really special times
together.&nbsp; 



I’m afraid I’m also a total geek – I love tech and gadgets,
but as long as they’re useful and don’t gather dust, I can justify it!&nbsp; 



How do you stay financially disciplined?



I didn’t have a lot of money growing up. I was raised by a
single mum who worked incredibly hard to try to give her kids the best chance
in life. It’s a very common experience echoed by about 80% of our customers. I
reflect daily on how lucky I am. I believe in making money, putting it to good
work, and enjoying the journey. Living within your means is pretty important to
achieving this.



What is the most you would invest in Artificial Intelligence (AI) and why? 



AI is both fascinating and immeasurably important. We all
need to be active investors here to make sure it goes in the right direction.
We have it in our power to design and utilize AI for the betterment of
humanity, but these must be designed responsibly from the outset. 4G Capital is
continuously evolving its AI to protect the individual and the values that
build healthy societies. Our 6% NPL (non-performing loan) rate is under half
the continental average in Africa, and a strong indicator of the overall
financial health of our client base.



What are your investment decisions for the future?



Any investment is based on a better return for the future.
We, therefore, cannot and must not invest in anything which threatens that
future. I am very keen on the greentech/cleantech sectors as well as financial
inclusion. Keeping a balanced portfolio between hard assets, longer term plays
and cash is always wise.

Wayne

‘Putting Money To Good Work’

An artist and theater owner who interrogated his own cultural story.



<hr class="wp-block-separator"/>



When culture meets art at the revived Dance Umbrella Africa Festival, a rapturous applause offers the stamp of approval to the cast of Ubizo, The Calling who take their bows through the exaggerated plumes of smoke at the South African State Theatre. 



Under the theme, Figure-ring – the state of dance in Africa, the annual festival which shut down a year ago, has been rebranded to incorporate a continental approach. 



With over 54 shows performed, over 100 artists were given a
platform to showcase their work from March 31 to April 7. 



A diverse program celebrating narratives from beyond South African borders, the new home of the annual gathering encompasses a variation of dance genres, ranging from the local dance popular in townships, Isipantsula, to diverse classical contemporary performances. 



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A tribute to Africa performed by the Inkaba Theatre Productions, Ubizo, The Calling enticed the audience with a riveting set.



&nbsp;A man dressed in a
white and blue cassock wails on his back, as he stretches his arms to the
ceiling, his rhythmic movements emphasized by the sounds of wind created by a
plastic pipe. 



He is pleading to his ancestors for a son. 



The show was directed and performed by Sibusiso Mbokazi, the artist from Durban who came to Johannesburg to pursue a career in theater. Unable to explain to his father that the arts are a recognizable career, Mbokazi was left to fend for himself in his first year of studies in Johannesburg. 



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote">“I survived with a two-liter coke and a loaf of bread for a week. It was that hard, but my mother saw the passion and love. Today, every time I go back to KwaZulu-Natal, every high school wants my attention because they have that understanding that I worked hard,” he says. </blockquote>



Today, he owns a theater company with the focus of raising
awareness of the arts in his hometown and communities across the country.



&nbsp;With Inkaba Theatre
Productions, learners are given a platform to showcase their talent at a much
younger age than he was at the beginning of his career. 



A performance alongside South African entertainment
personality Somizi Mhlongo changed his parents’ perception of the arts. 



“We need to invite our parents; we need to be open with them
too,” he says.



&nbsp;Mbokazi’s work is
deeply embedded in spirituality which speaks to his personal and artistic life.
He says art shouldn’t only be created for money but for passion. 



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="929" height="611" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/dance6.png.png" alt="" class="wp-image-40889" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/dance6.png.png 929w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/dance6.png-300x197.png 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/dance6.png-600x395.png 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/dance6.png-768x505.png 768w" sizes="(max-width: 929px) 100vw, 929px" /><figcaption>Ubizo, The Calling by Sibusiso Mbokazi. Picture: Gypseenia Lion</figcaption></figure>



“One thing you lose when you create your craft for money is the focus of your creativity. You will lose the audacity of your work. You will lose the understanding of who you are in your craft work. If you are an artist, you need to be out there as a healer&#8230; 



“We create work with a storyline and a motive but the
audience may read it differently.”



Performed for the first time in 2013, Ubizo, The Calling, amalgamates Christianity and African spirituality in order to interrogate misconceptions around rituals. 



“When you are called by your ancestors, it becomes a
calling. I realized that people think being called by your ancestors is
stigmatized. If you trace it back, you will be told that religion and ancestry
has not been separated,” he says.



He feels African artists need to go back and interrogate
their own cultural stories in a way that will celebrate the authenticity of the
continent.



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&nbsp;It starts with
remembering, he says.



“We are running out of an understanding who we are because
we do not have [a place] where we are teaching and giving the understanding of
our own culture. To embody and remember them, is something we need to start
teaching,” he says. 



Mbokazi argues that a lack of self-love is what stands in
the way of the future of most black artists.

Dance7

‘If You Are An Artist, You Need To Be Out There As A Healer’

South African dancer Mamela Nyamza revived a 30-year-old dance festival to help local artists connect with the rest of the world. 



<hr class="wp-block-separator"/>



An eight-year-old graces the pulpit of her hometown church
capturing the attention of the congregants with her nimble dance moves. Little
do they know she would go on to dazzle audiences on some of the world’s most
prolific stages.



As the deputy artistic director of the South African State
Theatre, it all still feels like a dream for the award-winning contemporary
dancer who never imagined her passion for dance would lead her here. 



Mamela Nyamza owes it all to her childhood.



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote">Your upbringing will always find a way back to your artistic life.</blockquote>



From running in the rain to dance classes, with a leotard
packed into a plastic bag, to curating one of the biggest dance festivals in
South Africa, Nyamza is hoping to transform the art form in Africa.



Sitting in her office in South Africa’s capital Pretoria,
she understands the responsibility of her position.&nbsp;&nbsp; 



“I know how important it is for people to come and showcase
their work in this theater because I came from a space where doors were not
opened for me. The space I come from has taught me a lot as an artist and it
has actually made me the artist I am today because everything I do will always
reflect&nbsp; that life,” she says. 



She hopes to merge the line between art and life by curating
the Dance Umbrella Africa Festival. 



The festival, formally known as Dance Umbrella Johannesburg,
which downed its curtains in 2018 due to lack of funding, has been revived by
Nyamza to incorporate a continental approach towards contemporary dancers. 



She took it upon herself to revive the program that gave her
an opportunity at the start of her career. 



“I cannot sit back and watch a festival that groomed many
artists in this country close in front of me while I am watching. If it was not
for Dance Umbrella, I would have never performed internationally,” she says. 



For Nyamza, the festival brought programs to South Africa
which opened a gateway for artists to connect with the rest of the world,
allowing them to showcase their body of work on international stages. 



Institutions that support the dance community are needed to
assist both aspiring and established dancers, she says.



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="928" height="612" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Dance4.png.png" alt="" class="wp-image-40784" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Dance4.png.png 928w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Dance4.png-300x198.png 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Dance4.png-600x396.png 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Dance4.png-768x506.png 768w" sizes="(max-width: 928px) 100vw, 928px" /><figcaption>Do I Look Pretty by Chandré Bo, a dance theatre production that explore the notion of &#8216;pretty&#8217;. Picture: Gypseenia Lion</figcaption></figure>



“You cannot do it alone; you need these structures to help
you help others. Our role here is to serve the patron, the audience, the
artists and everybody.” 



The position seemed daunting to her, at first, but she soon
realized it was time for change in the industry. 



An office job has not tethered the artist’s free spirit.



&nbsp;“I was not going to
leave the industry; it is all about leading the industry. I still go out there
and work, I still practice my art and I feel, as an artist, I have done Mamela
a lot. So why am I still holding on to me? It is time to give back. Right now,
being here, I feel like there is a reason for being here. I feel like this is a
calling.”



Heeding the call to make a difference, Nyamza, who is
dressed in African print, recollects the challenges she faced when she turned
her hobby into a profession.



As a black woman, taking it on as a career was the hardest part, thus turning a love into a strange relationship. 



Being the only black woman in her dance classes made her
feel like “the other” at all times.



“It [ballet] was not accepting me as a black woman. It made
me&nbsp; interrogate [ballet] as an artist.
Hence, most of my work will always go back to ballet,” she says. 



“I was deconstructing something that I know. I was not just
talking about ballet, I was deconstructing something that did not accept me as
a black woman or did not accept my body.”



This interrogation is reflected in most of her work. 



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Surprised by the high number of artists in their early 20s
who showcase their work at the State Theatre, Nyamza applauds the
transformation that has made these spaces accessible since her early 20s. 



A kind of access she had to fight for.&nbsp; 



“Right now, my son does not know that we used to walk while
it was raining to go to ballet classes. We were not dropped off in cars. It was
not easy, it was something you did for love and that is when passion is
created. Because of the different times that we come from, it took me years to
even put my work at the Artscape [Theatre Centre in Cape Town]. You always look
at these differences and not that you are against them, you always just say
‘wow, this is great’.”&nbsp; 



As much as there has been the incorporation of digital
innovation to ease access to dance and performance, the need for live theater
will always be imperative for her.



“There will always be a need for live art because it touches
different parts [of us]. When something is live, you remember the liveness of
it, the body of it. With technology, you can see it [a performance] there and
also have it here, it is easy access but a live body is not easy access and
that is what people forget. You have to go out there, pay money, support and
watch it live because that live memory stays with you,” she says. 



“As artists, it is hard for us to say, ‘here’s my DVD’ and
as artists who perform outside of the country, people ask ‘can you show me
something online?’. I tell them that they can see me online but it is not the
same. It is never the same. It is all about liveness and experiencing it live.”



The upside is that it opens the window of opportunity for
African artists on international stages, which, at times, may pose cultural
barriers.



“By being a solo artist, it has been easy for international
people to get the whole history of South Africa from one artist and you don’t
have to bring the whole [cast of] 80 people to talk about the story. It is easy
because you are in South Africa, you are South African. Your work is South
African. How you do it is up to you because you are an artist and as an artist,
you can interpret your work in any way.



“When showing your work, there is already the assumption
that you are from Africa and you need to do celebratory work or ceremonial work
and if you don’t do that, there is a question of, ‘I did not accept that from
an African woman’. There are so many ways people engage with us as artists
coming from Africa,” Nyamza says. 



At times, it was easier for men to succeed in the industry,
she says. 



“When we came as women, we didn’t entertain too much. There
was an element of [not all men, some], ‘we are men showing six packs and the
body’ and actually giving exactly what the other wants to see. With women, we
came with issues that needed to be interrogated and debated. We provoked things
and sparked some conversations that will stay with people. We were talking
about things that are happening in our country and became the window to our
country.”



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="927" height="612" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Dance5.png.png" alt="" class="wp-image-40785" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Dance5.png.png 927w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Dance5.png-300x198.png 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Dance5.png-600x396.png 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Dance5.png-768x507.png 768w" sizes="(max-width: 927px) 100vw, 927px" /><figcaption> Do I Look Pretty by Chandré Bo at the State Theatre. Picture: Gypseenia Lion </figcaption></figure>



But back home, the locals are still grappling to understand
the art industry, leaving artists like Nyamza with a greater popularity beyond
African shores. Locally, she feels the audiences are not as supportive and open
to attending live shows. 



“At home we don’t have that culture of knowing what is good
and understanding our own artists. It is not something our people have grown up
with. Much like me studying dance was questioned as ‘what else do you do?’
Nobody will know that I am an international artist. They know us
internationally but at home they will ask ‘who is Mamela?’ Not that I want them
to know. I am an artist, I just do my work and it speaks for itself.”&nbsp; 



Looking at the growing interest for ballet-dancing among
black people in South Africa, Nyamza argues that ballet is moving away from the
traditional format of only wearing pink tutus and has become more accessible,
thus allowing locals to make their own interpretations of the artform. However,
the lack of continuity concerns her.



“I always see young black kids doing ballet and then later
on there are none. Where are they? What happened to them? But then again, I
think this situation is because we don’t have many black female dance teachers
who these kids can relate to and aspire to be.” It is a fact most artists and
art managers agree on.



The Forgotten Angle Theatre Collaborative managing and artistic director PJ Sabbagha says the arts are socially marginalized but it is the artist’s responsibility to change the way it is viewed. Through exposure in his community-based work in Mpumalanga, Sabbagha has realized that an appreciation for the arts is increasing. 



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="924" height="614" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/dance8.png.png" alt="" class="wp-image-40840" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/dance8.png.png 924w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/dance8.png-300x199.png 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/dance8.png-600x399.png 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/dance8.png-768x510.png 768w" sizes="(max-width: 924px) 100vw, 924px" /><figcaption>6&#215;7 Feet Dimension, named after Nelson Mandela&#8217;s prison and the size of the bedroom in Winnie Mandela&#8217;s house, is a play about the love letter they wrote to each other. Picture: Gypseenia Lion</figcaption></figure>



“The art is very alive in communities and so is dance, in
various forms. We still live in a world where people don’t view the arts as
being real. They view it as a hobby or part-time activity. It partly has to do
with the way art has positioned itself and also the way society views the arts,
it has, basically, never really been seen as a real economic driver with
potential for social change. 



“The older generation doesn’t see how people’s lives are
impacted through the arts. They can earn an income and that it can be a
meaningful career or that it can benefit society. Although, things have
changed, the economy in the country does not help; there is less investment in
the arts because we need to save failing infrastructure,” Sabbagha says.



These are nagging concerns to answer. Because the work of
many unknown artists is based on personal impact and interpretation, it becomes
challenging to assess what art in small pockets of the world mean to those
viewing it. Perhaps, the greater question is, what can be done to get people
interested enough to attend an art show? Should it all lay at the feet of
artists or should people be more proactive about who and what they view?

Dance1

‘There Will Always Be A Need For Live Art’

From being in the presence of two South African presidents
to high-fiving the third, South Africa’s national women’s football team coach
Desiree Ellis is determined to grab headlines at the FIFA Women’s World Cup in
France.&nbsp; 



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As the country celebrates 25 years of democracy since the
fall of apartheid, South Africa’s women’s football team Banyana Banyana will
make a landmark appearance at the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup, to be held
between June 7 and July 7 in France.



&nbsp;The years of toil,
tears and sweaty perseverance beyond the pitch are indescribable for the team’s
coach Desiree Ellis months after qualifying for the acclaimed international
football championship.



When we meet her, she vividly recalls the qualifying match,
one of the most defining moments of her career. 



With 10 minutes left to the final whistle, as tension
mounted on the field, Ellis ascended a ladder for a closer look as history
unfolded, that day in 2018 in Ghana. 



<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="aligncenter"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="410" height="617" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Soccer3.png" alt="" class="wp-image-41373" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Soccer3.png 410w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Soccer3-300x451.png 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Soccer3-199x300.png 199w" sizes="(max-width: 410px) 100vw, 410px" /><figcaption>Banyana Banyana Coach Desiree Ellis. Picture: Gypseenia Lion </figcaption></figure></div>



“I knew we were 10 minutes away but in football, anything
can happen,” she says. 



Ellis recalls a previous World Cup qualifier when things
went completely wrong. 



In 2014, Banyana lost to Nigeria during a semi-final
qualifying game. After the match, the mood was somber as the team drove home,
she recounts. It’s moments like those that make this 2019 qualification that
much more precious for Ellis. 



As they faced Mali’s national team, The Eagles, in the 2018
Africa Women Cup of Nations (AWCON) tournament hosted in Ghana, a tired and
overworked Banyana team played to their fullest leaving Ellis with no choice
but to scream in celebration of their ultimate victory.



 “I tried to stay calm so that the players could be calm. They kept shouting ‘manage the game’ and we kept control of the game fantastically. We were leading two-nil and when they said two minutes I could’ve screamed.



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote">“When the final whistle went, the scenes were amazing. Oh goodness, you just didn’t know where to run, who to hug or what to do,” Ellis exults. </blockquote>



A solid defence strategy mixed with a patriotic passion for
both the game and teamwork ensured an eventual win.&nbsp; 



“Many of them were there in 2014 when we didn’t qualify and
for a lot of them, it might have been the last opportunity to go to a world
cup. That really drove them. We needed to take it seriously and make sure we
don’t go to the third and fourth place.”



Armed with renewed confidence and a French translation book
to speak and understand basic French, Ellis is equipped to lead the women’s
team to possible glory at the international championship this month.



&nbsp;She owes her passion
for the sport to her community where she started playing at the tender age of
six. Back then, little did she know how far soccer would take her – or how far
she would take soccer.&nbsp; 



If that six-year-old girl from Salt River, a Cape Town suburb, had looked into a crystal ball at the time, she would have seen herself lead the team she once played for, and also rub shoulders with three South African presidents.



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&nbsp;“When you talk about
significant moments, it most probably is your first game, your first cap or
being made captain but I think those are small milestones. I have had the
privilege of having lunch with the late President Nelson Mandela, with a lot of
other athletes in Cape Town, at his residence,” she tells FORBES AFRICA. 



Ellis has also received a presidential silver medal from
president Thabo Mbeki and interacted with former president Jacob Zuma when she
was an ambassador for the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa.&nbsp; 



“We played a game in Cape Town during the World Cup. The
game was 10 minutes before the Argentina game, and I came off the field as
president Zuma came on and we high-fived each other.



“It comes with the work you put in. I don’t think many
people can be fortunate to say that they have interacted with all three
presidents.”



Ellis regards the role leaders play as an important one in
relation to sport, particularly when it comes to creating opportunities for the
marginalized.



“When president Nelson Mandela was released, I got the
opportunity to play national football. Prior to that I never played. I was 30
years old,” she says. 



Her unwavering focus on the game, she adds, and the many
sacrifices she has had to make along the way changed her story from just
playing soccer with boys on the streets of Salt River to achieving national
glory. 



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="926" height="615" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Soccer2.png" alt="" class="wp-image-41375" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Soccer2.png 926w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Soccer2-300x199.png 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Soccer2-600x398.png 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Soccer2-768x510.png 768w" sizes="(max-width: 926px) 100vw, 926px" /><figcaption>Banyana Banyana Coach Desiree Ellis holds a portrait of the team in 1993. Picture: Gypseenia Lion</figcaption></figure>



Her career goals even left her financially vulnerable, at
times. At the peak of her football career, a young Ellis, who worked at a local
butchery, had left for a football weekend and could not make it back to her workplace
in time to mix spices. That lapse resulted in her losing her job.



&nbsp; “Knowing your worth
can open doors,” she advises as she speaks to us at the state-of-the-art
headquarters of the South African Football Association (SAFA) in Johannesburg.



“Our federation is excited that they took the opportunity to
appoint female coaches for female teams. Most importantly, it is not just
making those decisions in appointing us, but also supporting us.”



Support does not only come from management but also fans who
play a role in encouraging the women to reach their potential – both on and off
the field. 



“We played in Cameroon in 2016 and the stadiums were packed, we played in Ghana and there were full stadiums. We came to Port Elizabeth and they [fans] were the 12th and 13th players for Banyana. The best fans we had [were] in Durban. It was absolutely amazing, and it [support] hasn’t only grown on the stands but on the field as well. The Under-17 team qualified for the World Cup, so it shows how the game has grown,” says Ellis. 



Although local leagues for women have increased on home
soil, there needs to be more opportunities that give African players a chance
to break into the sport and develop their global competitive edge. 



It starts with prioritizing junior levels. 



“Players are getting opportunities to study. I remember back
when we were playing, you were either unemployed or you had a job and 80 to 90
percent of the players were unemployed back then. If you look at the national
team now, 80 to 90 percent of the players have a degree or are currently still
studying. Players are getting opportunities to study or play abroad. We have a
lot of players playing abroad but I think more can be done.”



As a national asset, Ellis argues that focusing on the game
is far more important than worrying about issues that are beyond control. 



Once focus is lost, it manifests in all areas.&nbsp; 



“When people ask me about the money, I tell them I am a
technical person. You tend to concentrate more on your job as a coach and leave
the rest, because you can get side-tracked by all the other things. We don’t
worry about those things,” she says.



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="945" height="611" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Soccer4-1.png" alt="" class="wp-image-41377" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Soccer4-1.png 945w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Soccer4-1-300x194.png 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Soccer4-1-600x388.png 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Soccer4-1-768x497.png 768w" sizes="(max-width: 945px) 100vw, 945px" /><figcaption>Desiree Ellis and Portia Modise&#8217;s portraits at the SAFA headquarters. Picture: Gypsenia Lion</figcaption></figure>



“As a technical person, your job is to prepare the team, [use] the training sessions to improve the individual and the team. That is why we have a manager, but when it influences team performance, I come in.” 



As the national team jets off to face world soccer, Ellis is
working round the clock to ensure that the team will make the nation proud. 



“Coaching is not just blowing the whistle, there are other
things in between. You need a schedule; people want to know what you are doing.
You have to do reports as well, so it is not about blowing the whistle at the
end of the game.” 



It’s also about analyzing the opponents with the technical
team and coming up with strategies and a definitive plan of action. 



“Playing against top countries is difficult as they play
regularly against other top countries. That is where you want to measure
yourself and that is where you really want to go out and bloom. People call it
the group of death, but it is what it is. We will just take it one game at a
time.



“If we do more, football in Africa can only grow and grow.”



It seems more work happens off the field than on the field,
and Ellis, who prides herself on her technical prowess, hopes Banyana will pull
up its socks and bring home a glistening&nbsp;
cup.

Desiree

How Banyana Banyana Coach Desiree Ellis Has Become A Game Changer

840J7899_GL

Executive Protection: Big Bucks, Bullets And Bodyguards

Geologist-turned-entrepreneur Brad Meiring uses an online delivery service in South Africa to get people to reconnect with their food.



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Pile of empty wooden crates are ready for packaging, stacked up in a scullery. As the morning mist dissipates in the lawn, a pick-up van parks near the doorway.



There is an enterprising hustle and bustle between the van
and the kitchen door. Men hurriedly create an impromptu conveyor belt
offloading supplies from the van into the scullery.



The daily work rituals progress, and Brad Meiring, the 37-year-old founder of Munching Mongoose, casually engages in a conversation with the supplier. 



From starting his business with 12 boxes, the online
delivery service established in 2014, now dispatches about 150 boxes a week in
Johannesburg.



Meiring sells customizable grocery boxes filled with organic
produce, from fruits and vegetables to staple foods such as milk, cheese and
breads. His business has a turnover of R450,000 ($31, 241) a month.



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It was a conversation at a dinner with a friend in Nelspruit
that planted the seed of opportunity. It turned him from geologist to
entrepreneur. 



As a geologist, he had been against the commercial
exploitation of the environment. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 



“In geology, it is about how we can put a big hole in the
ground to make us some money. That didn’t sit well with me and that is why I
geared away [from it]. You are very much in touch with the ground and so is
farming. I suppose you could link the two. When I shifted from geology, I tried
to get into the environmental field using that knowledge,” the entrepreneur
says.



Operating from a pomegranate farm, in the picturesque rural
area of Muldersdrift, 27 kilometers from Johannesburg, the calm of the place is
an obvious contrast to the hustle and bustle in the economic hub of big city
Johannesburg. 



It is a contrast he sees changing with time, as people have
become more open-minded to experimenting with healthier options, his packaged
organic food one of them.



“There are guys farming on rooftops, finding small plots of
land in and amongst the buildings. There are guys using vertical walls to grow
so they are turning the concrete jungle into farm scapes.&nbsp; 



“There is a whole farm movement where guys are just
maximizing the space they have to make their produce. As the awareness grows,
hopefully, the fast food lines will also start considering the produce they use
to make food. This will give more options,” he says. 



A grey hatchback pulls into the driveway; we look on as a
man unloads two bags from his boot and makes his way to the kitchen. 



“We have built amazing relationships with the suppliers and farmers. The deeper you go, you can just see the networks of guys who are just hustling. There is value far beyond what we see in the shops,” he says.



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Focused on delivering boxes in Johannesburg, the business
has customers varying from the high-end to the health-conscious. 



According to Meiring, high-end consumers are more accustomed
to purchasing the bigger boxes because it is in line with their budget whereas
health-conscious and dual-income families opt for more affordable options.



Grocery boxes range from R499 ($34) to R799 ($55) with
various nutritional options. 



Through his Munching Mongoose business model, he aims to
create a difference. 



“For us, where the real passion lies is being able to play
our small part in getting families around the table. Getting people to
reconnect with the food they eat. More importantly, it is to build
relationships. It sounds silly, but if you ask anyone, some of their best
memories are around the table,” he says. 



Nudged by his love for family, relationships have become a
core value he practices in the corporate space. 



“Relationships are the business. Without them and without
the people doing the hard graft and toiling, we wouldn’t have a business. I am
not a farmer or artisan. Even down to the team; we built it slowly,” he says.



“The lucrative nature is based on who is behind the wheel
and how you can run it as a business. The opportunities are big, and there is a
big global mind-shift towards being more environmentally conscious, towards
health and to understanding relationships and where your food comes from. There
are a lot more people questioning and not just accepting what is given to them
on the shelves. You can’t just greenwash.” 



His subscription-based model is an experience different from
grocery-shopping.



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="925" height="612" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Brad-Meiring1.png" alt="" class="wp-image-40419" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Brad-Meiring1.png 925w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Brad-Meiring1-300x198.png 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Brad-Meiring1-600x397.png 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Brad-Meiring1-768x508.png 768w" sizes="(max-width: 925px) 100vw, 925px" /><figcaption> Employees at Munching Mongoose. Picture: Gypseenia Lion </figcaption></figure>



“Organic produce is still expensive. Small farmers have
limited access to resources, and that goes to the economies of scale,” he says.




This results in higher costs to sell and purchase
naturally-produced foods and so it’s expensive and inaccessible to the
lower-income markets. 



Although the organic food market mostly targets high-end
consumers who have the means, every business should be open to trends in
various markets. 



Meiring argues that African markets differ from developed
regions in the lack of infrastructure and access to support from local
government. 



“Digital adaptions for marketing and transactions between
the consumer is a priority,” says Sigqibo Nonhonho, who manages the digital
aspects of Munching Mongoose. 



“There are a lot of systems that you have to come to grips
with. Being able to understand the back-end of the website, what the customers
will be seeing and the numbers (interactions) behind that. 



“Having an IT background allowed me to understand that
quicker. In IT, being organized is something that you to do, and in food, you
have to do that too. In food, there is more freedom, you can be more creative
and design your solutions,” Nonhonho says. 



Gracious Nhloko, who has taken it upon herself to farm
organic produce in her free time, administers the daily operations, and she
says Wednesdays are her favorite day of the week because suppliers are moving
in and out as they deliver the fresh produce.



“When different suppliers are bringing their fresh produce,
just looking at those vegetables, sometimes, looking at the sizes of some of
the produce is so amazing… It just brings me joy,” she says.



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="924" height="616" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Brad-Meiring2.png" alt="" class="wp-image-40420" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Brad-Meiring2.png 924w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Brad-Meiring2-300x200.png 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Brad-Meiring2-600x400.png 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Brad-Meiring2-768x512.png 768w" sizes="(max-width: 924px) 100vw, 924px" /><figcaption> Gracious Nhloko. Picture: Gypseenia Lion</figcaption></figure>



Meiring says that defining organic in South Africa is a grey
area that has not been legislated properly. 



At times, he has to cross-check that suppliers are being
truthful. 



The term ‘organic’ is often used in a broader sense and that
is a complex issue that needs to be dealt with caution.&nbsp; 



“In fact, often people have a negative perception when they
see something marketed as organic because it is considered as someone just
using [the label] organic,” he says. 



Moving at a gradual pace towards expansion, for Meiring,
ensures that quality and sustainability remain beneficial for all parties
involved, and sometimes this means problem-solving is done on the spot. 



“We are looking at other product lines. Adopting a model for
corporate and office spaces and bringing in something for families… There are
the meal kits for companies that are doing well globally but there are good
examples in South Africa. 



“I love the journey of starting people back in the kitchen,
and we hope that we can evolve people’s mind-sets to get them to want the fresh
produce. It is about expansion in a way that is, excusing the pun, organic,” he
says. 



“Being organic in the concrete jungle is a thing and it is
growing… People are changing, and others are saying they don’t want to lawn
anymore and will [instead] plant a vegetable garden.”



In due time, Meiring’s wooden crates will cross the oceans
to New Zealand as promising global ventures are also under way.

Brad-Meiring

Organic In The Concrete Jungle

South Africa is on its way to another record with Africa’s tallest building.



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A new superstructure is making its mark in Sandton in the
heart of Africa’s richest square mile. 



The $3 billion project is expected to be completed by the
end of 2019 and beat Carlton Centre’s reign as the tallest building in Africa
since 1973.



The 223-meter, 50-storey Carlton Centre in Johannesburg has
for 46 years stood the test of time as a skyscraper dominating the skyline in
South Africa and the continent. 



The new building coming up in Sandton will be a 55-storey, 234-meter classical Italian eponym paying homage to Leonardo da Vinci, the Italian artist of the Renaissance era. 



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It adds to the luxurious portfolio of hotels by the Legacy
Living property group. 



As The Leonardo rising from the bedrock and gradually etches
its presence on the skyline, Gijs Foden, Director of Retail Management in
Legacy Living, says it is a beacon that represents economic growth far beyond
the surface.



“From a development perspective, everyone knows about the
crisis in construction. There is light at the end of the tunnel, through a
tough economy. It is a tough market and we are working our way out of it. We
are going up. We are part of the beacon of hope through tough times,” he says. 



South Africa has nine out of 20 of the continent’s tallest
buildings, amounting to 1,277 meters in total and 5,000 steps up a staircase. 



While most of these buildings were erected in the 1900s and
early 2000s, records have stayed the same.



Johannesburg’s Ponte City Tower standing as the third
tallest building in Africa, coming in after Kenya’s Britam Tower at 200 meters.




The Leonardo was initially set out to be a mixed-use
building with 33 floors but has since escalated to dominating the South African
skyscraper inventory. 



Foden says the development will not only provide investment
opportunities for South Africa, but it will celebrate African authenticity. 



Set to be completed in the year of Leonardo Da Vinci’s 500th death anniversary, African art will be the center-piece of the tower. 



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote">You look out of the window and that is your canvas. Internally, the art in the building is African art. </blockquote>



“We are supporting the African artist, it is what it is. The
art defines the building. Keeping the essence of the building and at the same
time the warmth and lifestyle will be an attraction, irrespective of the
Italian name,” Foden says.



By following due processes in getting the height approved,
overtaking Carlton Centre’s record, Foden says: “It [Carlton Centre] is still
an icon and no one has been able to beat it. It is different times and it is
also different generations. This is our generation which is going to be a
timeless building for many years to come. It is an urban flight.” 



However, the record by The Leonardo may be short-lived as
yet another African skyscraper may overshadow it by the end of 2021.



&nbsp;The Pinnacle,
currently being built in Nairobi’s financial hub, is set to be a 70-storey
mixed-use development.



According to a yearly study published by The Council on Tall
Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH), Beijing’s China Zun 528-meter skyscraper
was the tallest building completed in 2018, making it the eighth-tallest
building in the world.



&nbsp;The study reports
that 16 new buildings entered the 100 tallest lists in 2018; up from 14 in
2017, 76% of these were in Asia. 



Co-Arc Director, Francois Pienaar, says the influx of
skyscrapers in Africa is a way for property investors and developers to exploit
the options of sites. 



“Sites can become very valuable. There are a lot of things
to do with money – [for] better returns for the investment of the land, and
that is why people go up. It takes quite a lot of courage, to go 55 floors. 



You need to have a client who is inspired to do it.
Especially, with the volatility of Africa,” Pienaar says.&nbsp; 



Despite the competition for a piece of the sky, none of the
2019 projected top 30 tallest buildings will supersede the world’s tallest
building in Dubai at a towering 829.8 meters with 163 floors above the ground. 



The Burj Khalifa has boasted this record since its
completion in 2010.



According to Pienaar, the opportunity to build a structure
of this magnitude does not come by every day in Africa. 



Breaking his 30-storey skyscraping record, Pienaar, who is currently working on The Leonardo, adds:&nbsp; “It takes a lot more when it comes to delivering services and the kinds of aesthetics that take place.



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“The building has a skin outside which is imported from
Spain. It is a new invention from Spain that reduces the heat load on the
glass. We have produced a building that is responsible for the climate. We are
trying to keep the building energy-efficient,” he says. 



As the global economic outlook develops, there is fierce
competition for a piece of the sky. 



The taller the building, the more money it pulls in. 



As the South African economy picks itself up, the lingering
shadow of the Leonardo will represent a symbol of growth and a new dawn.

Author: Gypseenia Lion

FORBES AFRICA SOCIAL MEDIA