Paul&nbsp;Adefarasin, author and motivational speaker is also a&nbsp;thought leader, mentor, advocate and philanthropist, among others. With more than 30 years of pastoral and visionary leadership experience,&nbsp;Adefarasin&nbsp;is sought-after&nbsp;across&nbsp;the world&nbsp;to share his expertise.&nbsp;



House&nbsp;On&nbsp;The&nbsp;Rock, a Christian&nbsp;ministry founded by&nbsp;him&nbsp;from his mother’s living room in 1994, has grown by leaps and bounds. With its global headquarters in Lagos, Nigeria, the ministry now has over 70 parishes and fellowships across Africa and Europe,&nbsp;from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, South Africa and Ireland to the United Kingdom.&nbsp;&nbsp;



Adefarasin&nbsp;also founded the Rock Foundation, a non-profit charity organization that provides healthcare, education, social reformation, and relief materials to the needy. &nbsp;



He&nbsp;believes a failure of leadership is responsible for&nbsp;the dismal state of the health and education sectors,&nbsp;the high unemployment rate and lack of social safety nets in many African countries. He once noted that “when there is a failure of political leadership, the need for philanthropy becomes more crucial”.&nbsp;



The Rock Foundation,&nbsp;therefore,&nbsp;is a pragmatic response to a socio-economic challenge.&nbsp;The words&nbsp;of Reverend&nbsp;Adefarasin&nbsp;ring true that “philanthropy is in our self-interest, it&nbsp;guarantees security, and it is Africa’s informal social security system; if it fails, society fails. If society&nbsp;fails, civilization degenerates”.&nbsp;



He introduced an annual free musical concert titled&nbsp;The Experience, dubbed as Africa’s largest gospel concert; attendees have crossed the&nbsp;million mark with annual television viewership running into multiple&nbsp;millions across over 180 countries. He is the recipient of&nbsp;the Forbes USA Best of Africa&nbsp;award titled&nbsp;Most Influential Personality of the Year 2021.&nbsp;&nbsp;



A&nbsp;preacher,&nbsp;he&nbsp;has pursued his pastoral vocation alongside his broader humanistic vision with equal zeal and&nbsp;has&nbsp;recorded significant accomplishments in both fields.&nbsp;



Download full supplement <a href="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/forbes-mag-1.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">here</a>.

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More Than Just Rocking The Pulpit

In 2021 when&nbsp;Favour&nbsp;Ori launched Payday, a&nbsp;fintech&nbsp;startup that enables Africans&nbsp;to&nbsp;send&nbsp;and receive money globally in minutes, it became an ode to his younger self who was fascinated by computers and technology. &nbsp;



Favour, a 25-year-old software engineer and serial entrepreneur has always been passionate about empowering Africa and leveraging technology for growth. Born&nbsp;and raised in Southern Nigeria,&nbsp;Abia&nbsp;State to be precise, he set out to fulfil his dreams despite opposition from his parents and obstacles that limited his educational aspirations in Nigeria. &nbsp;



Determined to succeed at all costs,&nbsp;Favour&nbsp;relocated to the United States in 2016 to study Computer and Information Sciences at Southern Arkansas University and since then has gone on to prove his temerity as an advocate for African wealth and prosperity.&nbsp;



His IBM Canada-backed mentorship program,&nbsp;FavCode54&nbsp;was launched in 2018, with the single mission of empowering Africans to launch their tech careers. With the help and support of people like&nbsp;Leon&nbsp;Katsnelson, Director &amp; CTO IBM Canada;&nbsp;Antonio&nbsp;Cangiano,&nbsp;Engineering Manager, IBM Canada,&nbsp;and resources provided by the multinational corporation that enabled&nbsp;FavCoders&nbsp;learn and deploy real-world cloud products;&nbsp;FavCode&nbsp;successfully trained over 11,000 Africans globally,&nbsp;many of whom have gained employment at global startups or launched their independent tech ventures. &nbsp;



Equally, his project, College Situation, launched in 2020 to connect African students to funding opportunities and fellowship programs in countries like Canada, United Kingdom and the United States was sold to&nbsp;ABiTNetwork.  &nbsp;



Favour&nbsp;launched Payday in 2021 and secured over $2 million in funding from several investors including&nbsp;LoftyInc,&nbsp;Microtraction, Magic Fund, Ventures Platform, Voltron Capital,&nbsp;CcHub&nbsp;Syndicate,&nbsp;Helicarrier&nbsp;Inc,&nbsp;Greencap&nbsp;Equity, Midlothian Angel Network, Emergence Capital,&nbsp;Olugbenga&nbsp;Agboola&nbsp;(GB), Charles&nbsp;Odita, Eke&nbsp;Eleanya,&nbsp;Adegoke&nbsp;Olubusi, Edmund&nbsp;Olotu&nbsp;(Bloc), Prosper&nbsp;Otemuyiwa&nbsp;(Eden),&nbsp;Dimeji&nbsp;Sofowora, Perseus&nbsp;Mlambo, Abdul Hassan (Mono),&nbsp;Onyekachukwu&nbsp;Somtochukwu&nbsp;Eyisi, and a host of other investors.&nbsp;



In October 2021, Payday got accepted&nbsp;into the prestigious&nbsp;Techstars&nbsp;accelerator. Techstars&nbsp;is an operational investment company that assists founders and early-stage entrepreneurs scale their vision into a thriving business, beginning with the&nbsp;demo day, which occurs at the end of the program, where selected startups will be able to pitch to a carefully curated group of investors.&nbsp;



For Favour, this is just the beginning of great things to come. 



<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="aligncenter size-large is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Company-Logo-2-IMG-20220108-WA0007-1024x1024.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-53892" width="562" height="562" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Company-Logo-2-IMG-20220108-WA0007-1024x1024.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Company-Logo-2-IMG-20220108-WA0007-300x300.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Company-Logo-2-IMG-20220108-WA0007-150x150.jpg 150w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Company-Logo-2-IMG-20220108-WA0007-768x768.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Company-Logo-2-IMG-20220108-WA0007.jpg 1080w" sizes="(max-width: 562px) 100vw, 562px" /></figure></div>

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The 25-Year-Old Simplifying Global Payments For Africans

Andy Wilson, Regional Director for Ordnance Survey in Africa 



Africa as a continent contributes the least to greenhouse gas emissions, yet is already seeing the consequences of climate change. The impact on resources will challenge African nations at a time of immense growth, and policymakers must use all tools at their disposal to advocate for its people.  



African countries face unparalleled&nbsp;challenges when it comes to climate change. While African nations are responsible for only&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sipri.org/sites/default/files/2020-05/pb_2005_au_climate.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">4%</a>&nbsp;of global carbon emissions, the continent is&nbsp;set to be among the first to&nbsp;experience&nbsp;the&nbsp;<a href="https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/bitstream/handle/10986/34098/34098.pdf?sequence=25" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">most&nbsp;devastating impacts </a>of climate change. Climate change also acts as a risk multiplier, increasing the chance of local and&nbsp;<a href="https://dppa.un.org/en/addressing-impact-of-climate-change-peace-and-security" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">regional conflict</a>&nbsp;by putting pressure on resources, land use and job security. &nbsp;



Extreme weather events, drought and famine, deforestation and desertification are all pressing climate issues that impact African nations in unique ways. Extreme weather and flooding are likely to become more common as the 21st century progresses – 2019’s Cyclone Idai displaced thousands, put pressure on food security, and caused death and destruction across southern Africa. It’s estimated that the damage already caused by climate change across Africa could go into the <a href="https://qz.com/africa/2089481/what-did-africa-get-from-cop26/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">trillions of dollars</a>.  



<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="aligncenter size-large is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/thumbnail_Zambia-base-map-2-©Ordnance-Survey-1024x520.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-53872" width="697" height="353" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/thumbnail_Zambia-base-map-2-©Ordnance-Survey-1024x520.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/thumbnail_Zambia-base-map-2-©Ordnance-Survey-300x152.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/thumbnail_Zambia-base-map-2-©Ordnance-Survey-768x390.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/thumbnail_Zambia-base-map-2-©Ordnance-Survey.jpg 1280w" sizes="(max-width: 697px) 100vw, 697px" /></figure></div>



 Addressing the climate emergency will involve both adaptation and mitigation. Many African countries have ambitious goals for reducing climate change impact, which include substantial emissions reductions by 2030 as part of the National Determined Contributions (NDCs) at the heart of the Paris Climate Agreement. <a href="https://qz.com/africa/2089481/what-did-africa-get-from-cop26/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">At COP26 </a>in November, South Africa – one of the top coal producers in the world – received a pledge of $8.5 billion USD to transition to renewable energy. Yet according to the <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/world-africa-59214807" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">African Development Bank</a>, financial promises from the richest nations in attendance at COP26 fall well short of past and current requirements to support Africa’s climate change resilience – estimated at $1.3 trillion USD. 



The pressure of population growth 



While many countries in the world are experiencing population decline,&nbsp;we are seeing&nbsp;African nations&nbsp;garner&nbsp;the fastest population growth&nbsp;across the globe&nbsp;as their development and&nbsp;urbanisation&nbsp;gathers pace.&nbsp;The continent’s&nbsp;<a href="https://observatoryofdemography.blogs.ie.edu/2020/03/31/africas-population-will-double-by-2050/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">population is growing at 2.7% a year</a>, which is more than twice as fast as South Asia and Latin America. Given current rates, Africa’s&nbsp;inhabitants&nbsp;are&nbsp;set to double by 2050.&nbsp;



This&nbsp;presents particular challenges for African countries for honoring NDCs and lowering emissions, as they must attempt to decrease&nbsp;carbon output&nbsp;while demand for resources rises. Food&nbsp;production in Africa&nbsp;must&nbsp;dramatically increase&nbsp;yet&nbsp;the conditions for growing that food are becoming more unpredictable. Climate related risks, including increased extreme weather events,&nbsp;also pose&nbsp;a great threat to food security as they can increase the risk of crop failure.&nbsp;With 96% of African agriculture&nbsp;dependent on rainfall and 50% of fisheries related jobs estimated to be lost by 2050, climate change also poses a very&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nepad.org/news/africa-presents-common-position-climate-change-negotiations" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">serious threat</a>&nbsp;to livelihoods.&nbsp;



A data solution to understanding land 



Instead of treading the same technological path as the biggest carbon emitting countries, African countries have the opportunity to develop more sustainably, ‘leapfrogging’ legacy energy infrastructure and in many regions adopting more advanced, sustainable options. The UN’s 2030 Agenda including the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) provide a framework for development that takes into account environmental and sustainability issues, providing African countries with a viable route to a sustainable future. Geospatial data plays a particularly important role in implementing the SDGs and measuring progress against them, helping to model the environmental impact of infrastructure projects and <a href="https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/topics/informationforintegrateddecision-making/geospatialinformation" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">inform decision making</a>. Geographic Information Systems (GIS) in agriculture can help farmers to achieve increased production and reduced costs by enabling <a href="https://www.geospatialworld.net/blogs/gis-in-agriculture/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">better management of land resources</a>.  



<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="aligncenter size-large is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Screenshot-2022-01-10-at-13.09.22-1024x570.png" alt="" class="wp-image-53875" width="779" height="433" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Screenshot-2022-01-10-at-13.09.22-1024x570.png 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Screenshot-2022-01-10-at-13.09.22-300x167.png 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Screenshot-2022-01-10-at-13.09.22-768x428.png 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Screenshot-2022-01-10-at-13.09.22-1536x855.png 1536w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Screenshot-2022-01-10-at-13.09.22.png 1782w" sizes="(max-width: 779px) 100vw, 779px" /></figure></div>



 Environmental degradation, including desertification and deforestation, is happening at a startling pace in Africa, and geospatial data is a vital tool for monitoring, predicting and preventing it. The Department of Rural Economy and Agriculture (DREA) of the African Union has identified enhancing access to environmental information, including Earth observation data, as a priority in its <a href="https://au.int/en/directorates/sustainable-environment" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">environmental agenda</a>. Africa&#8217;s rainforests are more resilient as carbon sinks than those elsewhere, even when exposed to high temperatures, yet deforestation is a major threat to such assets, with around <a href="https://www.iucn.org/resources/issues-briefs/forests-and-climate-change" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">25% of all global greenhouse gas emissions</a> coming from deforestation and other land-use changes. Emissions from tropical deforestation are equal to the emissions from the whole of the EU, and monitoring and preventing deforestation is one of the most effective ways to cut carbon emissions and mitigate climate change.  



Geospatial tools can help nations&nbsp;to manage this increased risk&nbsp;to the country’s resources,&nbsp;and predict crop failure and drought. Digital&nbsp;basemaps&nbsp;can now be built quickly and cheaply using automation and satellite imagery, with Earth observation data collected over many years providing information on land use, water availability and soil type to give you analytic and predictive power to boost your food security.&nbsp;



Tracking changing cities 



Thanks&nbsp;to technological innovation, it is easier than ever before to maximise the value of location data and build your geospatial capabilities. Geospatial innovation is accelerating at great speed, and it is now possible to build a digital base map in a fraction of the time and for a fraction of the cost of mapping efforts in the 20th century. Recently, a collaboration between Ordnance Survey, the International Growth Centre (IGC) and the Commonwealth Association of Architects (CAA) was established to respond to the issue of insufficient spatial data, by piloting the creation of an&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/business-government/international/urbanisation/download-case-study?utm_medium=sponsored&amp;utm_source=forbes+africa&amp;utm_campaign=urbanisation_nov21" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">automated base map of Lusaka in Zambia</a>&nbsp;– in this case in response to the challenge of recognising informal settlements in the city, many of which are vulnerable to environmental impact and devoid of effective infrastructure to manage disasters such as drought. Using aerial imagery of Lusaka, Ordnance Survey generated a new base map using its advanced automated process which is faster and more resource efficient than traditional methods.&nbsp;The geospatial data is now&nbsp;available to the Zambian Government, helping policy makers to&nbsp;inform critical infrastructure,&nbsp;deciding&nbsp;where to locate&nbsp;public services,&nbsp;sanitation,&nbsp;and&nbsp;healthcare.&nbsp;&nbsp;



Africa has contributed the least to climate change, and yet the continent may well experience its&nbsp;most&nbsp;severe consequences. This means that African nations must adapt quickly to a riskier world, with geospatial data and technology providing the intelligence to tackle challenges head on. &nbsp;



Using the power of geospatial data, African nations have the opportunity to become trailblazers in adapting to a changing climate, while prioritising sustainability and reducing emissions. Digital base maps can be thought of as a foundational technology that enables nations to launch a green economy.&nbsp;



It is now easier and quicker than ever to build your own geospatial data capabilities. By working with Ordnance Survey, you can combine 200 years of mapping expertise with the speed and usability of modern technological innovation, to deliver bespoke solutions to help your nation develop sustainably,&nbsp;measure progress against&nbsp;Sustainable Development Goals,&nbsp;reduce emissions and manage risk associated with climate change.  &nbsp;



With next year’s UN climate conference returning to Africa, nations can come to the table&nbsp;with more information at their hands than ever before about how Africa can be at the forefront of tackling this greatest of challenges.&nbsp;&nbsp;



<a href="https://www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/business-government/international/sustainable-future/download-sustainability-report?utm_medium=sponsored&amp;utm_source=forbes+africa&amp;utm_campaign=urbanisation_nov21" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read our report</a>&nbsp;on ensuring your country is sustainable, resilient and prepared against environmental challenges with geospatial data.&nbsp;

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Backing Africa against climate change

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South Africa Stewards of Health 2021 PART 2

Tingo is a unique next generation Agri-fintech company offering, through Tingo Mobile in Nigeria, Tingo’s device as a service model provides customers with personal communications services (“PCS”) using GSM technology for subscribers that are designed to meet the needs of individual consumers and businesses. Tingo Mobile has developed a comprehensive Agri-Fintech and Agri-Marketplace ecosystem to support almost 10 million customers within and outside the agricultural sector, becoming a leading provider in Africa of such services over the long term. Services offered include device as a service (smartphone leasing), Agri-Marketplace, airtime top ups, utilities payments, bill pay, access to insurance and lending services, collectively known as ‘NWASSA’ and TingoPay a comprehensive mobile wallet to support financial inclusion and deliver significant social impact in the agriculture sector supporting rural communities in line with UN SDG and ESG principles.



DOWNLOAD FULL SUPPLEMENT <a href="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/Forbes-ITC-Supplement-Online-Final-Edit.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">HERE</a>

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How Tingo Is Using Agri-Fintech To Change Farming in Africa

An&nbsp;African woman&nbsp;to hold the position of&nbsp;the first&nbsp;CEO to&nbsp;Merck Foundation. She is also&nbsp;Senator at the Egyptian Senate,&nbsp;a strong crusader for transforming patient care in Africa&nbsp;and developing&nbsp;countries,&nbsp;a passionate advocate of women’s rights&nbsp;and girls’ education,&nbsp;one of the most influential African women&nbsp;in 2019, 2020 and 2021. A&nbsp;producer &amp; director of various inspiring music videos&nbsp;and TV programs&nbsp;to raise awareness about critical social health and social topics in Africa through fashion &amp; art…donning so many hats successfully&nbsp;is&nbsp;Senator,&nbsp;Dr Rasha Kelej, CEO of Merck Foundation.&nbsp;



An inspirational woman&nbsp;empowering her&nbsp;journey…&nbsp;



Hailed from Egypt and based in Dubai,&nbsp;Dr. Rasha Kelej&nbsp;led the establishment of Merck Foundation to continue&nbsp;her&nbsp;efforts in building healthcare capacity, support girl education, empowering women, and youth of Africa&nbsp;and beyond,&nbsp;since 2012.&nbsp;



Established strong partnerships with&nbsp;20&nbsp;African First Ladies,&nbsp;Ministries of Health, Gender, Education, Information &amp; Communication, Academia, media, art which contributed significantly to the success of their programs.&nbsp;



Lovingly called ‘Mama Africa’, Dr. Kelej is an inspirational pioneer in the transformation of patient care in Africa. Till 2021, more than 1200 doctors from 44 countries have benefited from Merck Foundation&nbsp;scholarships&nbsp;one- and two-year diploma and Master degree&nbsp;in critical specialties.&nbsp;



For her efforts to create ‘More Than a Mother’ Movement, which touched many hearts,&nbsp;Dr. Kelej was acknowledged as one of the 100 Most Influential African Women (2019, 2020, 2021).&nbsp;



Rasha Kelej has been appointed&nbsp;in October 2020 as a Member at The Egyptian Senate (2020 &#8211; 2025) where she plays an important advisory role with regards to African Health, Economic and Social Sustainable Development and collaborative opportunities between Egypt and rest of Africa.&nbsp;



Making&nbsp;History&nbsp;in&nbsp;Africa:&nbsp;



One of the most successful programs that&nbsp;Dr. Kelej has&nbsp;created and presided is the historic campaign “Merck&nbsp;Foundation&nbsp;More Than a Mother” and its innovative initiatives which aims to empower childless and infertile women through access to information, health, change of mind set and economic empowerment.&nbsp;&nbsp;



She&nbsp;works&nbsp;closely with 20 African First Ladies as Ambassadors of “Merck&nbsp;Foundation&nbsp;More Than a Mother” in their countries, to break the stigma around infertility and empower infertile women.&nbsp;More&nbsp;than&nbsp;180&nbsp;candidates&nbsp;are enrolled&nbsp;in clinical and practical training for Fertility specialists and Embryologists, while over 170 doctors have been enrolled in Sexual and Reproductive Medicines,&nbsp;Psychiatry and Biotechnology of Human Assisted Reproduction and Embryology, from over&nbsp;39&nbsp;countries.&nbsp;



Under her headship,&nbsp;Merck Foundation is making history in many African countries where&nbsp;they never had Fertility specialists or specialized Fertility clinics before&nbsp;this program&nbsp;intervened, by training the first Fertility specialists&nbsp;and Embryologists.&nbsp;This will eventually aid women and couples with better access to&nbsp;equitable and quality fertility care.&nbsp;&nbsp;



Dr Kelej added “We are making history and legacy in Africa, first&nbsp;Fertility specialists,&nbsp;Embryology, Oncologist, Diabetes, Endocrinology, Respiratory&nbsp;expert and more in many countries are trained by Merck foundation. I am so proud and want to invite all doctors to apply to our scholarships on our email&nbsp;<a href="mailto:submit@merck-foundation.com" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">submit@merck-foundation.com</a>&nbsp;to fill&nbsp;health&nbsp;gaps in their communities.”&nbsp;



Moreover, Merck Foundation has supported and empowered more than 1000 childless women with small businesses to be independent and stronger.&nbsp;&nbsp;



“This program is very close to my heart and will continue for the next five years.&nbsp;I cannot forget the happiness and pride in those women’s&nbsp;eyes after they experience their success and realize their purpose in life and that they are&nbsp;“More than&nbsp;Mother”&nbsp;heroines”,&nbsp;Rasha Kelej emphasizes.&nbsp;&nbsp;



Advocating Education for Empowerment:&nbsp;



“I strongly believe in girl education. When Girls are educated, their countries become&nbsp;more powerful, stronger &amp; prosperous.&nbsp;I realize there’s need for more support as there are many brilliant girls out there who are&nbsp;struggling&nbsp;financially and socially to meet their educational needs. Therefore, we&nbsp;started “Educating&nbsp;Linda”,&nbsp;pan&nbsp;African program which is tailored for each&nbsp;country to contribute to the future of these girls as part of “Merck&nbsp;Foundation&nbsp;More Than a Mother”, explained&nbsp;Merck Foundation CEO.&nbsp;



Dr. Rasha&nbsp;has been contributing to the future of 100’s of girls in partnership with the African First Ladies&nbsp;through scholarships.&nbsp;Moreover, providing 3,000 sets of essential school items for girls&#8217; schools to many countries&nbsp;yearly.&nbsp;&nbsp;



Dr. Kelej explained “At Merck&nbsp;Foundation, we strongly believe in education as an important factor in promoting economic well-being in Africa and as strong strategy to stop child&nbsp;marriage,&nbsp;GBV,&nbsp;FGM and STDs.&nbsp;Girl education is the best vaccine for HIV and considered as&nbsp;the best investment in global economy.&nbsp;It is estimated&nbsp;by&nbsp;world&nbsp;reports&nbsp;that for every additional year of primary school, a girl’s future income increases by 10-20%.”&nbsp;&nbsp;



With Merck Foundation, the CEO’s target is to empower girls and women through various initiatives, including providing training for female &amp; young researchers &amp; medical graduates and supporting the education of best performing Girl students in Africa.&nbsp;



Reaching to children:&nbsp;



Merck Foundation in partnership with African First Ladies also&nbsp;publishes and distributes&nbsp;children’s&nbsp;storybooks to emphasize strong family values of love and respect from young age which will reflect on eliminating the stigma of infertility and resulted domestic violence in the future.&nbsp;To support girl education and stop child&nbsp;marriage&nbsp;and&nbsp;gender-based&nbsp;violence&nbsp;these 5 different storybooks have been localized for each country to have a better connect with the young readers.  The inspiring&nbsp;storybooks&nbsp;released are:&nbsp;



<ul><li>“Educating Linda”&nbsp;and&nbsp;“Ride into Future”&nbsp;to emphasize on the importance of empowering girls through education,&nbsp;&nbsp;</li><li>“David’s Story”&nbsp;–&nbsp;emphasizes strong family values of love and respect from a young age which will reflect on eliminating the stigma of infertility and resulted domestic violence in the future,&nbsp;&nbsp;</li><li>“Jackline’s rescue”&nbsp;focuses on the importance of Girls Education and highlights the immoral practices of society including child marriage and the dowry system and&nbsp;&nbsp;</li></ul>



<ul><li>“Not Who You Are”&nbsp;to teach boys to love and respect their future wives&nbsp;and eliminate&nbsp;domestic violence.&nbsp;</li></ul>



“I hope these&nbsp;stories&nbsp;would inspire every girl to&nbsp;fight&nbsp;for her right of education and encourage our communities to support&nbsp;their girls’, so&nbsp;that they can reach their potential and pursue their dreams&nbsp;and make stronger&nbsp;and healthier&nbsp;families, communities and countries”, emphasized Dr. Kelej.&nbsp;



Creating&nbsp;cultural shift through&nbsp;Fashion,&nbsp;Art and&nbsp;Music&nbsp;



This versatile lady and a style icon is a trailblazer and is influential in changing the perception of how fashion, film, music, and media can be utilized to address sensitive social and health issues such as breaking infertility stigma&nbsp;and support girl education&nbsp;in Africa.&nbsp;This has&nbsp;been exemplified with the launch of “More Than A Mother’ Fashion, Films, Songs &amp; Media Awards as she strongly believes in the critical role art, media, and fashion play&nbsp;to break the silence and address sensitive social and health issues in our communities.&nbsp;&nbsp;



“I’d like to invite&nbsp;all&nbsp;African&nbsp;Fashion designers, musicians, film makers, singers and media personnel to apply for our awards and be our champions in your communities,&nbsp;submit@merck-foundation.com” she added.&nbsp;



Apart from the awards, training and advocacy platforms, Dr. Kelej has raised awareness about infertility&nbsp;and empowering women&nbsp;in the continent by utilizing songs, film, and media as a medium. She has launched&nbsp;more than 20&nbsp;songs with famous African singers and has TV projects in the pipeline to create awareness around infertility,&nbsp;eliminating GBV and child marriage, supporting&nbsp;girls’ education and women empowerment.&nbsp;&nbsp;



Merck foundation CEO, Rasha&nbsp;Kelej’s&nbsp;actions have certainly made an impact;&nbsp;and the most&nbsp;meaningful is her importance as a role model for millions of women across the globe.&nbsp;&nbsp;



Dr. Rasha’s&nbsp;story is an example of how we must not let our circumstances define who we become. In a world where female role models are scarce,&nbsp;Dr. Rasha’s&nbsp;legacy is&nbsp;outstanding and inspiring.&nbsp;&nbsp;



To follow her journey&nbsp;in&nbsp;achieving&nbsp;Merck&nbsp;Foundation mission,&nbsp;and&nbsp;to empower&nbsp;women and transform patient&nbsp;care in Africa&nbsp;visit:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.merck-foundation.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">www.merck-foundation.com</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="http://www.rasha-kelej.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">www.rasha-kelej.com</a>&nbsp;

Senator Dr. Rasha Kelej

Merck Foundation CEO – One of Africa’s  Unsung ‘Sheroes’ of Women and Youth Empowerment

Lagos has become the foremost commercial hub of Nigeria, offering a massive and accessible market within the West Africa economic zone, as it continues to attract immigrants, startups and entrepreneurs looking for growth.



Download the full supplement <a href="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/Lagos-State-Supplement-RGB-1.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">here</a>

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ONWARDS AND UPWARDS: Turning Lagos Into A Booming Economic Hub

Convinced about the massive potential of the real estate sector in Nigeria, Dr Charles Mba, Dr Murphy Osuala and Dr Ugochukwu Harvey Igboanugo, are resiliently building on success despite challenges.



Download the full supplement <a href="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/Real-Estate-Supp-.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">here</a>.

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TO THE POWER OF THREE: The Enterprising Trio In Nigeria’s Urban Real Estate Sector

Entrepreneurs often cite the support of friends and family as key to their success.&nbsp; A widely cited study by a leading bank in North America suggests that most small business owners &#8211; 83% &#8211; enjoy the emotional and operational backing from family and friends, with a third receiving financial support in the same period.&nbsp;



While leveraging personal connections can be a significant boost for any business, according to Nobesuthu Ndlovu, Director of SME at Old Mutual Corporate, entrepreneurs must weigh up the risks and benefits of accepting funding from relatives and friends. “Raising money from your personal network can be great in attracting future funding as it demonstrates that you are grounded and have acquaintances or family who have already bought into your business,” says Ndlovu.&nbsp;



There have been stories of people taking loans from family that turned out to be a big success. Take, for example,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2018/08/02/how-jeff-bezos-got-his-parents-to-invest-in-amazon--turning-them-into.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Jeff Bezos’ parents, who boldly invested in Amazon when the company was established in 1995. Today, his parents might be among the top 30 wealthiest people in the world.</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;



However, Ndlovu warns that this outcome is never guaranteed.&nbsp; According to local advisory consultant&nbsp;<a href="http://www.cova-advisory.co.za/index.php/news/current/cova-webinar-has-called-greater-partnership-between-corporat" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Cova Advisory</a>, South Africa has one of the highest failure rates for SMMEs, with five out of seven businesses failing within the first year.&nbsp;&nbsp; “The next family braai may not be so great if half the family there are disappointed with poor outcomes or are annoyed because you went on holiday before paying back their money.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;



“Just because your investor is your best friend, husband, or daughter, the relationship isn’t made less complex,” says Ndlovu. “On the contrary, mixing family and business can be made more complex because there’s no delineation between professional and personal.”&nbsp;



Ndlovu knows that the rigorous processes associated with applying for traditional business funding can make approaching family and friends for capital more attractive.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;“Often, in the daily running of a small business, there is no time for entrepreneurs to submit a detailed business plan to get access to finance. And very often, these institutions aren’t user-friendly, making them even less attractive,” she says.&nbsp;&nbsp;



However, seeking independent funding is often a more sustainable route in the long term. “Typically, investors do not get involved in the business&#8217;s day-to-day running, and a family member might feel entitled to this level of involvement, which could create problems,” she says. “An objective assessment, based on a business’s plan and prospects, is a more sustainable option.”&nbsp;



Innovative funding platforms like&nbsp;<a href="http://www.smego.co.za/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">SMEgo</a>, which connects small business owners to multiple funders, can help take the pain and drama out of getting small business funding.&nbsp; “Powered by Old Mutual &#8211; business owners only need to apply for funding once. This application is matched with multiple suitable funders,” says Ndlovu.&nbsp;



“This makes the application process fast, flexible, and transparent as each application can be tracked. As a bonus, entrepreneurs also get access to support and mentorship to help make a success of their venture in addition to the love and support of their family,” she says.&nbsp;



As with any business decision, Ndlovu urges entrepreneurs to consider their funding options carefully. “Just because its family doesn’t mean it will be easy—in fact, in some ways, it might be even harder on you in the long-term,” she concludes.&nbsp;&nbsp;



For more information on&nbsp;SMEgo, visit&nbsp;<a href="http://www.smego.co.za/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">www.smego.co.za</a>&nbsp;



Old Mutual owns and maintains the operations of the&nbsp;SMEgo&nbsp;platform.&nbsp;SMEgo&nbsp;is NOT a lender, it is a platform which assists SMEs to access lenders.&nbsp;



Old Mutual Life Assurance Company (SA) Limited is a licensed FSP and Life Insurer&nbsp;

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FAMILY AND FRIENDS ARE KEY TO BUSINESS SUCCESS BUT THINK TWICE BEFORE ACCEPTING FUNDING

The artist’s limited-edition artwork adorns&nbsp;the packaging of the&nbsp;Grande Couronne&nbsp;26 Year Old, an opulent whisky finished in rare French Cognac casks.&nbsp;



Glenfiddich,&nbsp;the World’s Most Awarded Single Malt Whisky has launched the&nbsp;Grande Couronne,&nbsp;the&nbsp;latest&nbsp;addition to the Grand Series&nbsp;in Kenya.&nbsp;In&nbsp;honour&nbsp;of this new release, Glenfiddich presents a collaboration with contemporary Kenyan artist&nbsp;WiseTwo.&nbsp;&nbsp;



The&nbsp;Grande Couronne is a&nbsp;26 Year Old&nbsp;whisky matured in American and European oak casks at the Glenfiddich Distillery in Dufftown, Scotland, before the crowning glory &#8211; an extended finish of up to two years in meticulously sourced French Cognac casks – providing a true taste of elegance&nbsp;and opulence.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;



<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="aligncenter size-large is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Mulunda-Kombo_WiseTwo-1024x683.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-53482" width="575" height="383" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Mulunda-Kombo_WiseTwo-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Mulunda-Kombo_WiseTwo-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Mulunda-Kombo_WiseTwo-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Mulunda-Kombo_WiseTwo-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Mulunda-Kombo_WiseTwo-2048x1365.jpg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 575px) 100vw, 575px" /></figure></div>



And, what better way to crown the golden moment than to team up with the crème de crème from this part of the world. Glenfiddich has collaborated with a top acclaimed,&nbsp;self-taught street artist from Kenya-Bhupi Jethwa&nbsp;(widely known as WiseTwo), to bring the experience to life.&nbsp;



 WiseTwo is one&nbsp;of 20 artists&nbsp;from around the world&nbsp;invited&nbsp;to reimagine the Grande Couronne’s luxurious&nbsp;design&nbsp;through their artist&nbsp;interpretation. The experienced artist took up the challenge backed by a perfected craft spanning 15 years in different countries. He is credited for painting some of the largest and most outstanding murals in East and Central Africa.&nbsp;



 &nbsp;The Glenfiddich Grand Couronne is borne from the merging of two worlds coming together: the Scottish craftsmanship of fine whisky making and the French excellence towards the making of cognac. It is from this merging of craftsmanship that WiseTwo drew his inspiration for the Grand Couronne custom sleeve. He added his distinct style and artistic point of view,&nbsp;bringing to life the elements of ancient fusion, vibrancy and alchemy to add his perspective to the collaboration. &nbsp;



<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="alignleft size-large is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Grande-Couronne_Ke-Unveil-1024x683.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-53479" width="461" height="307" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Grande-Couronne_Ke-Unveil-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Grande-Couronne_Ke-Unveil-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Grande-Couronne_Ke-Unveil-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Grande-Couronne_Ke-Unveil-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Grande-Couronne_Ke-Unveil-2048x1365.jpg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 461px) 100vw, 461px" /></figure></div>



 &nbsp;“I have this special thing for the ancient world; I admire how societies in the past would document their lives.&nbsp;We are what we are because of that rich heritage, and so when I am doing my artwork, that’s the fusion I like to portray in my work. The Glenfiddich Grand Couronne is borne from the merging of two worlds. Similarly, my work is a collision of cultures and influences.”&nbsp;



Hieroglyphs (a signature of WiseTwo’s work) around the entire sleeve reinterpret the intricate filigree design featured on the Grande Couronne bottle. In addition, this has been given a Spot UV treatment so that there is richness in texture&nbsp;and depth&nbsp;not just when viewed but when touched.&nbsp;He also integrates the subtle shape of a mask at the center of the piece (another signature&nbsp;element&nbsp;from&nbsp;WiseTwo’s work) enhanced by gold foil treatment to give the sleeve an accentuated, royal feeling along with beautiful contrast. In a tribute to his roots, WiseTwo pays homage to his home country in a deliberate quest to make prominent the Kenyan&nbsp;colours&nbsp;on his work. &nbsp;



 &nbsp;“You know, art is a wholesome experience and when I set out to do this, I had this picture in mind of a person sipping the Grande Couronne. I asked myself what experience would I want this person to have more than just enjoying the drink?&nbsp;I didn’t want to draw just a sleeve,&nbsp;I focused on everything-the feel, the texture.&nbsp;I wanted to spark the artistic&nbsp;sense&nbsp;in everyone who would interact with this great brand.”&nbsp;



<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="alignleft size-large is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Grande-Couronne_KE-sleeve-768x1024.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-53478" width="403" height="537" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Grande-Couronne_KE-sleeve-768x1024.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Grande-Couronne_KE-sleeve-225x300.jpg 225w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Grande-Couronne_KE-sleeve-1152x1536.jpg 1152w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Grande-Couronne_KE-sleeve-1536x2048.jpg 1536w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Grande-Couronne_KE-sleeve-scaled.jpg 1920w" sizes="(max-width: 403px) 100vw, 403px" /></figure></div>



 &nbsp;The&nbsp;Grande Couronne takes it’s luxury cues by borrowing semiotic cues from&nbsp;Cognac. Gold filigree adorns the bottle while a gold capsule sits on top of the sleek, elegant bottle. The package features decorative gold filigree and foiling. A rotating box structure fully reveals the bottle, which sits in front of a French fresco artwork reminiscent of French renaissance paintings.&nbsp;



 &nbsp;Reflecting on the collaboration,&nbsp;Glenfiddich&nbsp;Kenya&nbsp;Brand Ambassador Mulunda Kombo remarks:&nbsp;“Something that I love about&nbsp;WiseTwo’s art is that the moment you look at it,&nbsp;you find a point of conversation.&nbsp;You look at it again and a new conversation springs up. This keeps progressing on and on and that’s precisely the beauty of art and Single Malt Whisky:&nbsp;every sip is a whole new experience.”&nbsp;



  WiseTwo is an avid reader and takes a keen interest in artsy reads when he is not in his element as a street artist. &nbsp;



 &nbsp;“I am currently reading Mask by Chris Rainier. I love how he brings to life different cultures&nbsp;highlighting&nbsp;their perceptions about masks and how they embrace them. Reading keeps me grounded in my cause.”&nbsp;Besides reading, he loves travelling and meeting new people.&nbsp;



 &nbsp;What’s the best advice someone has ever given him in his world of art?&nbsp;“The only formula to becoming a great artist is to keep painting; there is no other way!”&nbsp;he&nbsp;observed.&nbsp;



The&nbsp;Grande Couronne&nbsp;is the third addition to the grand series&nbsp;which includes the&nbsp;Glenfiddich&nbsp;Grand Cru&nbsp;(aged for 23 years in American and European Oak casks and then finessed in French cuvée oak casks, launched in 2020)&nbsp;and&nbsp;the&nbsp;Glenfiddich Gran&nbsp;Reserva&nbsp;(patiently mellowed for 21 years in bourbon casks before a final flourish in Caribbean rum casks,&nbsp;which&nbsp;launched in 2018).&nbsp;

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THE GLENFIDDICH GRANDE COURONNE REIMAGINED BY KENYAN ARTIST WISETWO

By&nbsp;Angela&nbsp;Wamola, Head Sub Saharan Africa, GSMA&nbsp;



Never more so than now has the mobile industry and the wider&nbsp;digital eco-system&nbsp;been so key to the successful transformation of the continent.&nbsp;&nbsp;The Covid-19 pandemic&nbsp;has&nbsp;shown&nbsp;&nbsp;us&nbsp;that&nbsp;access to digital services&nbsp;is&nbsp;crucial&nbsp;to keep&nbsp;economies active and&nbsp;guard against the negative social effects.&nbsp;According to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.gsma.com/mobileeconomy/sub-saharan-africa/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Mobile Economy Report Sub-Saharan Africa&nbsp;2021,&nbsp;&nbsp;</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;mobile technologies and services generated more than $130&nbsp;billion&nbsp;of economic value added (8% of GDP) in Sub-Saharan Africa&nbsp;in 2020. This will reach $155 billion by 2025 as countries increasingly benefit from the improvements in productivity and efficiency brought about by the increased take-up of mobile services.&nbsp;&nbsp;



By the end of 2020, 495 million people&nbsp;had&nbsp;subscribed to mobile services in Sub-Saharan Africa, representing 46% of the region’s population – an increase of almost 20 million&nbsp;since&nbsp;2019. And with more than 40% of the region’s population under the age of 15, young consumers owning a mobile phone for the first time will remain the primary source of growth for the foreseeable future. There will be around 120 million new subscribers by 2025, taking the total number of subscribers to 615 million (50% of the region’s population).&nbsp;&nbsp;



At the end of 2020, 303 million people across Sub-Saharan Africa were connected to the mobile internet, equivalent to 28% of the population. With digital services set to be at the heart of a post-pandemic world, the urgency to bring unconnected communities online, particularly vulnerable groups such as&nbsp;women, has never been greater.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.gsma.com/mobileeconomy/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/GSMA_ME_SSA_2021_English_Web_Singles.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">By 2025</a>, more than 170 million people across the region will have started using mobile internet for the first time, taking the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.gsma.com/r/somic/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">penetration rate to just under 40% of the population</a>.&nbsp;&nbsp;



Mobile money in particular,&nbsp;is driving productivity.&nbsp;Driven by the global pandemic, international transactions increased by 65% during 2020.&nbsp;According to&nbsp;the GSMA’s&nbsp;<a href="https://www.gsma.com/mobilefordevelopment/resources/state-of-the-industry-report-on-mobile-money-2021" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">2021 State of the Industry Report on Mobile Money,</a>&nbsp;there were significant&nbsp;increases in the adoption and use of mobile services since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, particularly mobile data and mobile money, reflect the utility of mobile technology in challenging times.&nbsp;The report found that the number of registered accounts grew by 12 per cent globally in 2020 to more than 1.2 billion – double the forecast. In fact, the fastest growth was in markets where governments provided significant pandemic relief to their citizens.&nbsp;&nbsp;



As economies recover and restrictions ease, mobile technology will be even more integral to how people live and how businesses operate. It will enable new digital solutions for small and large enterprises and support the growing use of online channels by consumers.&nbsp;The pandemic has highlighted the increasing importance of digital technology to responding effectively to crises and planning for recovery. At the same time, the crisis has the potential to accelerate the continent’s digital transformation and create resilient digital jobs in Sub-Saharan Africa.&nbsp;&nbsp;



The continued rollout of 4G and the first stages of the 5G era open up opportunities in areas such as healthcare, digital commerce, industrial automation,&nbsp;and smart city infrastructure.&nbsp;The GSMA encourages sector-wide dialogue with governments and policymakers to help foster mobile adoption, usage, and digital inclusion, which in turn will help drive economic growth across African countries.&nbsp;&nbsp;



Governments and policymakers should implement policies that enhance access to connectivity and drive investment in more resilient digital infrastructure for the future.&nbsp;For example, governments and regulators in&nbsp;Sub-Saharan Africa&nbsp;should&nbsp;adopt forward-looking spectrum management and fiscal policies.&nbsp;



Mobile sector taxation is a barrier to digital inclusion in Sub-Sahara Africa, where mobile services are subject to a high level of sector-specific taxes.&nbsp;Fiscal policies that encourage rather than hinder much-needed investment in infrastructure&nbsp;will&nbsp;help to improve consumer access to digital services.&nbsp;&nbsp;



Affordability of service and smartphones is one of the key barriers to connectivity, which is why&nbsp;<a href="https://www.gsma.com/subsaharanafrica/a-case-for-rethinking-mobile-taxation-in-tanzania" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">we recently made the case to rethink mobile taxation in Tanzania</a>&nbsp;to highlight the impact of sector-specific taxes on mobile broadband adoption. In July, the Ministry of Finance and Planning in Tanzania abolished value-added tax on smartphones. This is an important move to improve the affordability of smartphones and significantly help close the usage gap in Tanzania. We welcome further dialogue to discuss the reduction of other mobile sector taxes such as airtime tax and mobile money transactions,&nbsp;to get&nbsp;more people connected, and online.&nbsp;



According to&nbsp;GSMA’s&nbsp;<a href="https://www.gsma.com/r/somic/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">State of Mobile Internet Connectivity Report 2021</a>,&nbsp;2020 ended with&nbsp;more than&nbsp;half of the world’s population&nbsp;using mobile internet.&nbsp;This translates&nbsp;to over 4 billion people connected to the internet&nbsp;via mobile devices.&nbsp;Even with this impressive growth in mobile internet connectivity, both in terms of mobile internet coverage and usage, the digital divide still&nbsp;exists,&nbsp;and more work needs to be done to bridge it.&nbsp;3.4 billion people or&nbsp;43% of the world&nbsp;is still not utilising&nbsp;mobile internet&nbsp;despite living in areas with mobile broadband coverage.&nbsp;&nbsp;



This year, the&nbsp;GSMA celebrated a major milestone, having impacted over 100 million lives globally through its Mobile for Development (M4D) activities. In Africa alone, M4D initiatives have reached over 45 million people across 128 projects.&nbsp;M4D helps drive innovation in digital technology to reduce inequalities&nbsp;by forming partnerships between the mobile industry, tech innovators, governments,&nbsp;and the development sector. The programme has impacted the lives of over 126 million people by empowering underserved populations to build a better future&nbsp;and&nbsp;support the drive for sustainable business and large-scale socio-economic improvement. Almost all 17 of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) have benefitted with the greatest number of lives impacted within SDGs for Hunger, Gender Equality, Industry Innovation and Infrastructure,&nbsp;and Decent Work &amp; Economic Growth.&nbsp;



Join us on the Journey to MWC Africa 2022&nbsp;



Let us connect you with global digital leaders from across Africa. The entire ecosystem will come together physically at MWC Africa 2022, and we want you to join us on our virtual journey to MWC.&nbsp;



Join our virtual conference series throughout 2021 for industry defining discussions and the opportunity to forge new partnerships.&nbsp;



Welcome to&nbsp;<a href="https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.mwc-africa.com%2F&amp;data=04%7C01%7Camok%40gsma.com%7C10e603c6fb5d4520ea7608d9a9bc4786%7C72a4ff82fec3469daafbac8276216699%7C0%7C0%7C637727448400453730%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000&amp;sdata=%2BCKpiId5MTHfsQ3l762Yz0FlFOoUbXy3BqPPgz8kPzk%3D&amp;reserved=0" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">MWC Africa&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Powering a Continent</a>.&nbsp;

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The Mobile Economy: How Growth Is Positively Impacting Lives in Africa

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Covid-19: How Africa’s world-leading pandemic response underlines the continent’s promise

The COVID-9 pandemic has without a doubt had a crippling impact on businesses all around the world and Kenya has certainly not been spared. The plummeting economy coupled up with subsequent government restrictions that cut the operating hours for businesses especially in Nairobi left many city retailers without a source of income as they were forced into closure. Although the restrictions have since been lifted, many businesses continue to grapple through the gutters of the economic decline without a clear view for a way out. In the midst of all that, Notify Logistics has stepped up to come with solutions aimed at helping businesses overcome the storm created by the novel coronavirus. 



<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="alignleft size-large is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Steven-Waweru-Nderitu-MD-Notify-Logistics-1024x1024.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-53441" width="357" height="357" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Steven-Waweru-Nderitu-MD-Notify-Logistics-1024x1024.jpeg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Steven-Waweru-Nderitu-MD-Notify-Logistics-300x300.jpeg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Steven-Waweru-Nderitu-MD-Notify-Logistics-150x150.jpeg 150w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Steven-Waweru-Nderitu-MD-Notify-Logistics-768x768.jpeg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Steven-Waweru-Nderitu-MD-Notify-Logistics.jpeg 1280w" sizes="(max-width: 357px) 100vw, 357px" /></figure></div>



Established in 2018, Notify Logistics is a&nbsp;growth accelerator for businesses in the retail space and has pioneered the&nbsp;Buy-to-rent and&nbsp;Rent-a-shelf models&nbsp;which have&nbsp;become the&nbsp;Airbnb&nbsp;of the retail space. Notify Logistics has broken new ground by&nbsp;revolutionizing&nbsp;the&nbsp;business model of the retail space. The&nbsp;Buy-to-rent&nbsp;concept allows people who do not have businesses&nbsp;of their own to buy a&nbsp;shelf from Notify and Notify will rent it out to vendors who&nbsp;need an affordable space at KES1,000 per month.&nbsp;&nbsp;



The&nbsp;shelves, which go for only KES20,000, become an income-generating asset that will give the owner a consistent and stable rent of KES1,000 per month for a maximum period of 3 years&nbsp;– the maximum lease period.&nbsp;Essentially, it is just like buying an apartment to rent it out and get a stable source of income from the rent collected like you would from an Airbnb.&nbsp;



With the Rent-a-shelf model, Notify Logistics identifies shops in prime locations, partitions them into shelves, gets the proper documents for the shop to be operational and hires attendants for it. It then invites vendors to rent a shelf&nbsp;and run their business which is considerably cheaper in comparison to renting an entire shop. This model works best for people with online businesses&nbsp;but who want to create a physical footprint where their customers can visit and interact with their products.&nbsp;



“Our goal at&nbsp;Notify Marketplace is to be a supporter of dreams by providing small businesses with all they need to grow,” says&nbsp;Mr&nbsp;Nderitu, CEO of Notify Logistics.&nbsp;



“Small businesses employ about 60% of the total working population here in Kenya and we want to give&nbsp;these small businesses&nbsp;a path to&nbsp;success&nbsp;and profitability by ensuring that they have the infrastructure that in the past, only big manufacturers could afford. We provide for them a full suite of products to assist them move&nbsp;forward,” he adds.&nbsp;



In the same vein of elevating the small business ecosystem in Kenya,&nbsp;Notify Logistics has taken on a larger role by launching&nbsp;an&nbsp;Entrepreneurs Program which is looking to reduce the cost of doing business for small businesses, therefore ensuring more entrepreneurial ventures come into existence and thrive in the retail sector.&nbsp;The program will reduce the cost of doing business for small businesses thereby ensuring more entrepreneurial ventures come into existence and thrive.&nbsp;



“According to&nbsp;the&nbsp;Kenya Association of Manufacturers (KAMS),&nbsp;there are about 7.41 million MSMEs in Kenya, only 1.56 million are licensed whereas 5.85 million are unlicensed. This high number of unlicensed SMEs&nbsp;indicates that this is the right time to create room for SMEs&nbsp;to thrive and grow and Notify is ready to support these businesses,”&nbsp;Mr&nbsp;Nderitu&nbsp;points out.&nbsp;



The KES45&nbsp;million&nbsp;program&nbsp;seeks to provide:&nbsp;



<ol><li>Affordable business space at an annual fee of KES20,000 in any Notify Mall for 1 Year fully serviced with shop attendants and licenses.&nbsp;</li></ol>



<ol start="2"><li>This program will also ensure access to products from manufacturers has been made easier and efficient.&nbsp;</li></ol>



<ol start="3"><li>The program will also help entrepreneurs acquire capital by connecting them to investors who are ready to invest in growing businesses.&nbsp;</li></ol>



<ol start="4"><li>As a way to also motivate the entrepreneurs and mentor them, the program will incorporate a 10-week entrepreneurship training, this training will be moderated and led by successful entrepreneurs to inspire and empower new entrepreneurs and small business owners in Kenya.&nbsp;</li></ol>



The entrepreneurs program adds to the catalogue of groundbreaking and innovative ideas that Notify Logistics has put forth to redefine the way of doing business in the retail space,&nbsp;and to cement the place&nbsp;of MSMEs and SMEs in Kenya while at the same time offering them a cushion to shield themselves during harsh economic times.&nbsp;

Notify Mall 2

Solutions for Failing SMEs Facing Turbulent Economic Times

It is&nbsp;almost&nbsp;impossible, nowadays,&nbsp;for an asset manager to talk about&nbsp;capital allocation without touching on critical issues around impact&nbsp;investing&nbsp;and sustainability.&nbsp;One of the most urgent issues within the Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) arena,&nbsp;and an issue that impact and responsible investors&nbsp;are increasingly&nbsp;incorporating into&nbsp;their investment decisions,&nbsp;is&nbsp;the recognition of&nbsp;climate change&nbsp;risk as a&nbsp;potentially catastrophic&nbsp;factor&nbsp;for&nbsp;the world’s&nbsp;collective future.&nbsp;



There is growing recognition that investing for impact&nbsp;is a non-negotiable component in achieving&nbsp;both the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals by 2030, and the tough carbon emissions reductions set at&nbsp;the&nbsp;various UN Climate Change Conferences to achieve net zero by 2050.&nbsp;Yet&nbsp;while the world must transition towards net zero carbon emissions to ward off&nbsp;the impending climate change&nbsp;disaster,&nbsp;there is also acknowledgement globally that there needs to be&nbsp;a just transition&nbsp;that decarbonises without causing social harm.&nbsp;



This&nbsp;is both&nbsp;a moral and a practical imperative.&nbsp;The 2021 GSG Global Impact Summit,&nbsp;in&nbsp;which&nbsp;Old Mutual Investment Group&nbsp;participated as&nbsp;a platinum sponsor, highlighted the flood of&nbsp;global investment&nbsp;capital towards impact investment opportunities.&nbsp;While&nbsp;globally,&nbsp;impact investment started off&nbsp;in private&nbsp;market&nbsp;funds, it has since&nbsp;moved&nbsp;into the&nbsp;fixed income space,&nbsp;with north of US$1.5 trillion in green bonds issuances in recent years&nbsp;and is now moving into the public market space.&nbsp;Over the next five to 10 years&nbsp;the&nbsp;impact investment&nbsp;theme&nbsp;is set&nbsp;to accelerate in&nbsp;public or listed markets,&nbsp;which is where the bulk of capital sits,&nbsp;as asset managers adopt a new investment paradigm that&nbsp;now considers impact on an equal footing with&nbsp;risk and return.&nbsp;This is becoming far more mainstream than what we’ve seen previously&nbsp;and will&nbsp;largely&nbsp;be driven&nbsp;by, amongst others,&nbsp;both pension funds regulation and by pension funds themselves, as they seek to fulfil the greener mandates of individual savers.&nbsp;&nbsp;



This normalisation of impact investment&nbsp;will be defined by the deliberate&nbsp;tilting of&nbsp;portfolio&nbsp;holdings&nbsp;towards companies that have&nbsp;lower carbon footprints, particularly relative to market benchmarks&nbsp;–&nbsp;with funds that are aiming for zero exposure to fossil fuels at&nbsp;the extreme end of this spectrum&nbsp;–&nbsp;as well as by the&nbsp;steering&nbsp;of&nbsp;more&nbsp;investment&nbsp;capital&nbsp;towards sustainable investment opportunities&nbsp;such as renewable energy.&nbsp;&nbsp;



The third mechanism for bringing impact investment squarely into the mainstream will be through an increased&nbsp;focus on&nbsp;active ownership&nbsp;and stewardship of&nbsp;investee companies within investment portfolios. Engaging&nbsp;with&nbsp;these companies&nbsp;on&nbsp;their&nbsp;ESG&nbsp;exposures&nbsp;and climate&nbsp;plans is becoming&nbsp;more established&nbsp;in the portfolio management&nbsp;space.&nbsp;Ultimately stewardship is critical in driving change. Governments cannot do this alone, and&nbsp;countries need to find&nbsp;ways to finance the transition, with public markets being an obvious means to do this. But&nbsp;engagement with these companies by capital allocators&nbsp;is&nbsp;absolutely necessary&nbsp;to steer&nbsp;the impact trajectory in the right direction.&nbsp;



Much of the debate around&nbsp;a just transition&nbsp;and how to ensure that all of society benefits from the shift to a greener economy&nbsp;and net zero emissions, and&nbsp;certainly something that was discussed in detail at this year’s GSG Global Impact Summit, was the question&nbsp;of&nbsp;the scale of opportunity. Recent work by the Business and Sustainable Development Commission points to US$1.1 trillion in private sector investment opportunities&nbsp;as&nbsp;the&nbsp;African&nbsp;continent&nbsp;progresses towards its&nbsp;2030 SDGs. This investment&nbsp;is estimated to&nbsp;l create around 85 million jobs, while another study by the National Business&nbsp;Initiative, in conjunction with Boston Consulting Group, suggests that South Africa’s just transition will generate between&nbsp;2.7&nbsp;and&nbsp;3.6&nbsp;million jobs. That would make a big dent in the country’s unemployment number,&nbsp;with close to&nbsp;15 million individuals&nbsp;currently unemployed.&nbsp;



But while&nbsp;opportunity&nbsp;is growing&nbsp;from a business perspective,&nbsp;the broader just transition&nbsp;debate plays out differently depending on where in the world you are sitting.&nbsp;The global investment community&nbsp;may&nbsp;laud many of these investment opportunities for their&nbsp;potential in&nbsp;leapfrogging&nbsp;old technology and carbon intensive industries; but there&nbsp;remain&nbsp;social consequences,&nbsp;particularly&nbsp;in&nbsp;countries&nbsp;such as South Africa&nbsp;that have legacy dependencies&nbsp;on&nbsp;intensive&nbsp;fossil fuel industries. South Africa produces more than 90% of its electricity from coal-fired power plants and around 30% of its domestic liquid fuels from a carbon intensive coal-to-liquid process.&nbsp;With this dependency in mind, and entire communities reliant on&nbsp;the production of coal,&nbsp;the social risks involved&nbsp;would add&nbsp;to an already significant unemployment rate in an economy acknowledged as one of the most unequal in the world.&nbsp;



Collaboration&nbsp;will be&nbsp;key here.&nbsp;For South Africa to achieve a&nbsp;just transition to net zero&nbsp;we will need to have a synchronised effort from&nbsp;businesses, communities, government and regulators. It&nbsp;also requires&nbsp;us to implement and manage interdependent reform processes over multiple years between today&nbsp;and&nbsp;2030,&nbsp;and ultimately 2050. For example, to reduce South Africa’s dependence on fossil fuels requires reskilling that section of the population that relies on&nbsp;the&nbsp;coal or oil industries for their jobs. Over the nine years to 2030, we must not only reskill workers that are employed in the&nbsp;fossil fuel economic value chain&nbsp;but consider replacement industries for the towns and cities that were built around&nbsp;fossil fuel dependent infrastructure.&nbsp;These measures will be critical in&nbsp;devising&nbsp;social and poverty nets so that no one&nbsp;gets&nbsp;left behind&nbsp;in the&nbsp;transition.&nbsp;



There are plenty of investment prospects that could support this approach and offer significant impact for relatively small amounts of capital; but we will need to tackle the challenge around scaling such projects and in expanding our investment to include infrastructure projects that address education, healthcare and sanitation needs, amongst others. Few will argue that impact investing will spearhead the African continent’s transition to net zero, but our challenge, as allocators of capital, is to ensure that the S, or the social component of ESG, is addressed, thereby driving a just transition to solve social issues rather than exacerbate them. Active stewardship on these issues across listed markets will be an essential aspect of investor effort to successfully create a decarbonised world that benefits us all. 



<meta charset="utf-8">By Tebogo Naledi, MD of Old Mutual Investment Group

Tebogo 052_Media 1

ACTIVE OWNERSHIP TO UNDERPIN SOUTH AFRICA’S TRANSITION TO NET ZERO

Kabelo&nbsp;Makwane,&nbsp;Managing Executive for Cloud, Hosting and Security at Vodacom Business.&nbsp;



It was nearly a decade ago when cloud adoption started gaining momentum. Today,&nbsp;it’s mainstream, which makes the&nbsp;30% year on year&nbsp;Vodacom Business’&nbsp;cloud services growth&nbsp;unsurprising.&nbsp;During a discussion on the cloud&nbsp;adoption&nbsp;at&nbsp;CNBC Africa’s Future of Work summit in October,&nbsp;fellow panellist&nbsp;Robin Fisher&nbsp;of Salesforce&nbsp;hit the nail on the head.&nbsp;In describing today’s business environment, he&nbsp;said we’ve entered the era of a&nbsp;“cloud-first, work-from-anywhere, digital&nbsp;headquarters (HQ)”,&nbsp;in which the office is now essentially in your pocket, thanks to cloud-based tech.&nbsp;



This notion of the digital HQ&nbsp;is underpinned by the&nbsp;work-from-home (WFH) trend&nbsp;brought about by the pandemic.&nbsp;Pre-pandemic, only 26% of South African employees surveyed by&nbsp;<a href="https://www.michaelpageafrica.com/advice/insights/latest-insights/dramatic-increase-remote-working-south-africa" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Michael Page</a>&nbsp;worked from home. Once lockdowns hit, the WFH figure skyrocketed to 79%.&nbsp;&nbsp;



Clearly, the&nbsp;pandemic&nbsp;has forever changed the way we work, with businesses having to migrate to the cloud to enable collaborative remote-&nbsp;or hybrid-work environments.&nbsp;In a recent&nbsp;<a href="https://www.idc.com/getdoc.jsp?containerId=META46378320" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">webinar</a>&nbsp;on the pandemic’s impact on cloud computing in the&nbsp;Middle East, and North Africa (MENA)&nbsp;region, the IDC shone a spotlight on this fundamental shift in IT sourcing models,&nbsp;confirming that&nbsp;chief information officers across companies&nbsp;are&nbsp;looking towards&nbsp;digitally&nbsp;automating processes and operations as a cost-saving measure. Cloud, notes the IDC, supports this automation.&nbsp;



Building agile business environments&nbsp;



The trend&nbsp;we’re seeing, as&nbsp;reiterated by&nbsp;<a href="https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/overview/what-is-iaas/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Microsoft</a>,&nbsp;is that most businesses are&nbsp;leaning&nbsp;towards a fast and affordable “lift-and-shift migration” to the cloud in an&nbsp;Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS)&nbsp;deployment.&nbsp;In this simple lift and shift from on-premises&nbsp;infrastructure to data&nbsp;centres, local businesses&nbsp;are reaping the benefits with a streamlining of operations supported by a reliable, robust, always-on cloud network.&nbsp;Added to this&nbsp;boost in productivity is the fact that the cloud,&nbsp;by design,&nbsp;is more secure, not&nbsp;forgetting&nbsp;that it&nbsp;creates a force multiplier to access new, borderless&nbsp;markets, securely.&nbsp;



These local businesses are what&nbsp;Vodacom&nbsp;calls&nbsp;“<a href="https://www.vodacombusiness.co.za/business/solutions/converged-solutions/future-ready" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">future-ready</a>”&nbsp;– agile organisations that have invested in their digital transformation to meet the demands of 2021 and beyond.&nbsp;Our research shows that nearly 10% more businesses deemed “future-ready” (within a larger group of all surveyed businesses) are prioritising a cloud-connected working environment. In fact, a defining feature of such businesses is that they’ve taken&nbsp;significant steps in new technology investments&nbsp;in cloud computing and&nbsp;cybersecurity&nbsp;amongst other enabling technologies.&nbsp;



While&nbsp;South Africa’s&nbsp;future-ready&nbsp;business owners have embraced the cloud, there’s one last piece of the puzzle&nbsp;where telcos, like Vodacom, can really bolster Africa’s economy off the back of cloud adoption&nbsp;to further boost local business success.&nbsp;Recently, Vodacom&nbsp;has started to bolster its Africa Datacentre foot-print and the&nbsp;deployment&nbsp;of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.vodacom.com/news-article.php?articleID=7649" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">African data centres</a>. This, as noted in&nbsp;a&nbsp;Business&nbsp;Day&nbsp;<a href="https://www.businesslive.co.za/bd/opinion/2021-09-27-david-monyae-africas-digital-sovereignty-a-timely-and-relevant-debate/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">article</a>, is a promising move that will help build Africa’s capacity to store, process, secure and control its own cloud data. More partnerships like Vodacom’s&nbsp;Thus&nbsp;must happen<s>, the article continues,&nbsp;</s>if the continent is to realise “data sovereignty” – currently, the bulk of Africa’s data centres are foreign-owned.&nbsp;To this end, Vodacom will continue to heed the&nbsp;call by expanding&nbsp;its&nbsp;footprint of&nbsp;data&nbsp;centres on local soil. After all, our mission statement is&nbsp;to take Africa’s society Further Together. By&nbsp;developing African-owned data centres, and offering high-quality cloud-based business&nbsp;solutions&nbsp;in collaboration with global cloud hyper-scalers, Vodacom will continue&nbsp;to meet its purpose of connecting the next digital billion&nbsp;to the global digital economy.&nbsp;

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