Twenty eight-year-old Fikilie ‘Fix’ Moetsi’s story demonstrates how one person can make a difference to the lives of several others. Slowly, but surely.
Born in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa, she was raised – the first four years of her life – by her grandparents, who led a modest life. Her parents were still studying and working abroad.
Her grandmother was a school teacher and after reluctantly retiring, started giving extra lessons for school children in the community. They were so popular it led to the opening of another school and Fix’s grandmother went on to teach for another 20 years.
Her grandparents were a constant source of inspiration.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-medium wp-image-30161 alignleft" src="http://www.forbesafrica.com/app/uploads/2017/05/Fix-full-length-1-229x300.jpg" alt="" width="229" height="300" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Fix-full-length-1-229x300.jpg 229w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Fix-full-length-1-300x392.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Fix-full-length-1.jpg 400w" sizes="(max-width: 229px) 100vw, 229px" />
“There was always a child in our home who my gran had taken in, and that taught us to share…I was told whenever there was a new child, ‘this is your cousin’!” she laughs.
After matriculating, Fix studied Film and Media for a year at the University of Cape Town. She entered a talent search competition for MTV Africa, which she won; thereafter she quit her studies to move to Johannesburg and focus on MTV Africa full-time.
After three years with the channel, she was approached by 5FM, a popular South African radio station.
She was with the station two years and while this experience proved invaluable, she felt she still wasn’t where she wanted to be, so took it upon herself to follow her true passion – art.
She did a course in small arts business at Columbia College in the United States but after a year, funds dried up and Fix had to make a plan to try stay in the country and fulfil  her dream.
She scoured the scene for an opportunity and got lucky with a bursary to New York University to study social entrepreneurship. This sparked a deeper passion in Fix and she was reminded of how her grandparents worked to uplift their community.
After returning to South Africa, Fix decided she needed to understand her subject from a local perspective, so she pursued a course in social entrepreneurship at the Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) in Johannesburg.
During this time, 5FM got wind that Fix was back and she turned her attention to what she already knew to help get the Fix Scholarship Foundation off the ground. The scholarship covers the cost of the GIBS social entrepreneurship course.
“I didn’t want people to see this as an ‘ag, shame’ business,” she says.
Since its founding in 2013, Fix’s Foundation has put six people through the course, with the tuition for the first year’s two entrants coming straight out of Fix’s pocket.
She currently plays at gigs and holds various fundraising events to support her initiative. She believes it doesn’t take much for someone like her to support individuals who have not had the opportunity to further themselves.
“Just be a friggin’ human being,” she says. That seems to be her abiding motto.

Fix-Profile-Pic-3-1

‘Just  Be A Friggin’ Human Being’

Ufuoma Ekpecham left Lagos for London eight years ago with her suitcases, two kids and a heavy heart. She had to leave; she needed a change: the heartache following her parents’ death, three months within each other, was too much to handle. She had to divert her mind, and quickly.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-medium wp-image-29664 alignleft" src="http://www.forbesafrica.com/app/uploads/2017/05/Ufuoma-Ekpecham-of-JoshNicol-pic-taken-by-Trevor-Sturmann-200x300.jpg" alt="" width="200" height="300" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Ufuoma-Ekpecham-of-JoshNicol-pic-taken-by-Trevor-Sturmann-200x300.jpg 200w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Ufuoma-Ekpecham-of-JoshNicol-pic-taken-by-Trevor-Sturmann-300x450.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Ufuoma-Ekpecham-of-JoshNicol-pic-taken-by-Trevor-Sturmann-600x900.jpg 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Ufuoma-Ekpecham-of-JoshNicol-pic-taken-by-Trevor-Sturmann-768x1152.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Ufuoma-Ekpecham-of-JoshNicol-pic-taken-by-Trevor-Sturmann-683x1024.jpg 683w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Ufuoma-Ekpecham-of-JoshNicol-pic-taken-by-Trevor-Sturmann.jpg 682w" sizes="(max-width: 200px) 100vw, 200px" />
She always had a flair for fashion – she had previously been “making some good money” designing clothes for friends and family, but not as a full-time professional.
Thanks to a supportive husband, who said “go back to school, learn it properly”, when the opportunity presented itself, she left Lagos to take up a degree in fashion design in London.
Her husband stayed on in Nigeria, and Ekpecham dove into her studies, managing the home and looking after the children on her own “minus the luxury of nannies or drivers”.
It was tough, but today, the 42-year-old is the London-based creative director of her clothing brand Josh &amp; Nicol, named after her children.
Recently in Johannesburg for the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Africa, showcasing her spring summer 2015 collection, Ekpecham says she is in a happy space, stronger and independent, just like the motif she uses throughout her new fashion line.
Her Popidia collection for the show was a tribute to Queen Idia of Benin, the only West African warrior queen from the Niger Delta.
“She epitomizes the African woman, strong and dependable,” says Ekpecham, who returned to her roots for inspiration for the new line.
As a child growing up in Benin and Port Harcourt, she wanted to become a doctor. She graduated with a degree in microbiology, but her love for fashion and Asoke fabrics overtook all academic pursuits. Her visits to the markets and her Ghanaian tailor, who gave life to her sketches, became more frequent. After a brief stint as a computer analyst, Ekpecham married at the age of 28, and between changing nappies, tailored wedding gowns and traditional outfits out of her garage.
Describing herself “a passionate go-getter”, Ekpecham’s goal is to start her own manufacturing unit in Lagos in 2015. London is only a six-hour flight away, and the new venture will see her returning home more often.
<h1>Riding A Wave</h1>
Noni Rwaxa, better known as the radio jockey ‘Ms Cosmo’, who hosts The Stir Up hip hop show on radio station 5FM, is now part of a collaborative campaign between Australian jewelry firm Mimco and Frends to promote – what else – headphones.
The 26-year-old radio personality, also a veejay on Channel O, has opened for big artists like Kanye West, Chris Brown, Kendrick Lamar and 2 Chainz.
Her family wanted her to take on the tried and tested route through education. She had other plans.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-medium wp-image-29665 alignleft" src="http://www.forbesafrica.com/app/uploads/2017/05/IMG_3007-200x300.jpg" alt="" width="200" height="300" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/IMG_3007-200x300.jpg 200w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/IMG_3007-300x450.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/IMG_3007-600x900.jpg 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/IMG_3007-768x1152.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/IMG_3007-683x1024.jpg 683w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/IMG_3007.jpg 682w" sizes="(max-width: 200px) 100vw, 200px" />
“My father’s concern was for me to get a tertiary qualification. I graduated with a BCom degree in finance from the University of Johannesburg; my mother still finds it amusing when I pack my equipment for an event,” says Rwaxa.
After graduating, she worked as a property finance consultant. The time she spent in the corporate space is a period she describes as the worst, as she suffered depression. It was clearly not for her.
Hip hop musician Khuli Chana suggested she join the Fuse Academy school for female disc jockeys. She enrolled and after the course, made inroads in radio in 2012. She was invited to play on Channel O Bassment, and YFM, a South African youth radio station. She finally joined 5FM hosting The Stir Up.
“I’m happy the projections for radio in South Africa are positive. That said, I can’t ignore what is happening in Ghana, Kenya and particularly Nigeria. Nigerian artists are collaborating with international acts. Nat-C, Davido and P-Square are breaking boundaries putting in the hard work to reap rewards.”
She wants to be in the industry for the long haul, and is doing everything to ensure the longevity of her brand.
“I have sought partnerships with various brands for growth for myself and the brand of choice, as hip hop is cool influential culture…I have two other event deals I want to announce but you will have to wait until January.”
Watch this space for more.

Tag: 5FM

FORBES AFRICA SOCIAL MEDIA

‘Just Be A Friggin’ Human Being’

Designs On Africa