It was a small, raw, white-tiled Mexican cantina squeezed at the end of a triangular T-junction in New York’s Lower East Side; a scruffy flat-ironed cantina that would easily have been missed if Christa Ansell, a traveling chartered accountant, hadn’t walked past it.
“I love going to places that are little holes in the wall. I am not good with food chains and I don’t like to go to places that are really hyped up about. In New York it’s easy to do that because there are a lot of blogs, there are a lot of magazines. There are so many hidden places you can find walking along,” says Ansell.
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It took a snack from this cantina in 2006 to give Ansell the idea to change her life and open her own Mexican restaurant, Perron, in Johannesburg, South Africa.
“It left a little something that said ‘gee I wish we had something like that in South Africa’…It wasn’t the Mexican like I have had [in South Africa], which is nachos with ridiculous amounts of cheese on it or things that are over fried, a generally tasty but incredibly unhealthy meal. There it was with incredible flavors with beautiful fresh coriander and nice margaritas [she is a big fan of tequila as well],” she says.
Ansell’s Perron is a far cry from the street diner in the heart of New York. It is in Illovo, in the well-groomed suburbs of Sandton in Johannesburg; a hip and trendy explosion of pink and green walls, paintings of Frida Kahlo [Mexican artist], and a bar ringed by feathered lampshades with more brands of tequila than are good for you in one night.
“A lot of Joburg is really monochrome and neutral and swish and easy on the eye. I wanted to make this the ‘wake up you’re in a different place and get some life into you’. Mexico has such a rich history and we turn [their restaurants] into swinging bar doors and tumble weeds and sombreros,” she says.
“Mexican food is amazing because it has that whole street-vendor vibe. I love having a lot of tastes of things and having a lot of different flavors. It’s versatile. I have been a vegetarian for several years and it was frustrating to go to a restaurant and have only one option to eat – a mushroom risotto. Because that’s what I had and it killed me. When people get it right it’s amazing but if not it’s just stodgy rice. I wanted to do something that had more than just wild mushroom risotto on the menu.”
Ansell wears a bright red dress, a world away from the grey suits of the boardrooms of New York and London. It’s a dress that hints at her character. Apart from spending time eating out, the rebel at heart has danced at the bottom of the Guggenheim gallery in New York beneath paintings and hummed to classical music at the Museum of Modern Art across town.
Ansell has also backpacked across South America and Spain.
This restaurant was a baptism of fire that could make jalapenos cool. Ansell, who pulled into Africa after driving eight months down from London to Johannesburg with her husband, bought the lease in February 2014. The opening night, in May, was chaotic.
“Five minutes before everyone was coming, we were still drilling holes into the wall and putting up cacti and trying to get the staff all fully-trained. We painted everything ourselves. It was a hands-on thing. It was chaos,” she says.
“Being chartered accountants, we are controlled and orientated. I used to be very client-based in my former jobs meeting CEOs. I am used to long hours. I thought I was going to be fine and there can’t be challenges to working a restaurant. But you are dealing with a broader spectrum of people. Here you are dealing with waiters and waitresses who are younger, who have a different generational way of talking, and who you have to treat differently. You’ve got different cultural expectations. It’s a crazy melting pot of so many different walks of life and ways of looking at life.”
There was also the last-minute name change. They wanted to name it CabrÓn which means friends, but had to change it when they found out a diner in Cape Town had their original name.
“We thought lets register the website and then we found there was another site which had the same domain. So we went to the drawing board. Perron means cool in Mexican slang, or the man. This dude is one of the lucha libre fighters. I just loved him. And because a lot of the décor images are quite feminine I kind of thought it would be nice to have that yin and yang. That’s why we use the Perron man.”
Ansell’s restaurant uses 180 bottles of tequila a month, and 500 Jalapeno chillies a day.
What’s the hardest part of her day? “I think the nature of reviews is quite difficult. I am the kind of person that wants everyone to like me so when I read that someone doesn’t like the food I get quite upset. But it’s a challenge you have to overcome. Not everyone is going to like the kind of food that you are making. I have had a few Mexicans come in and say ‘oh but you are supposed to be authentic’ but we’re not trying to be authentic. We’re just bringing the Mexican stuff we like into Johannesburg.
“As children, my brother had this Mexican alter ego Veektor. We would pretend to have Spanish conversations. It came about that I was called ‘senorita’ by my colleagues. I had a car that had a number plate that was MXE so it was called the Mexican. I suppose you could say it has always been there in the background,” says Ansell.
A year and scores of food reviews later, Perron is flinging out burritos and chilli poppers.
“We opened on a Wednesday and from that Friday we have been basically fully booked. It’s been crazy. It started with two days in advance. Now, on weekends, you have to book a month in advance.”
A far cry from stodgy mushroom risotto.

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The Chartered Accountant Who Dove Into The Mexican Fire

In 2004, after selling his company Super Mart to the Edcon group, Ian Fuhr decided to venture into unknown territory – the beauty industry. This would eventually lead to the creation of professional beauty therapy salon Sorbet.
“I used to go to this beauty therapist every couple of weeks for a massage and she said to me, ‘why don’t you look at opening some beauty salons?’ At first, I just laughed at her – I don’t exactly have the look and feel for the beauty industry,” says Fuhr.
He adds that while there were several independently-owned stores in operation, there were no branded salon chains.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-medium wp-image-29994 alignleft" src="http://www.forbesafrica.com/app/uploads/2017/05/DSC_6010-200x300.jpg" alt="" width="200" height="300" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/DSC_6010-200x300.jpg 200w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/DSC_6010-300x450.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/DSC_6010-600x900.jpg 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/DSC_6010-768x1152.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/DSC_6010-683x1024.jpg 683w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/DSC_6010.jpg 682w" sizes="(max-width: 200px) 100vw, 200px" />
“I started looking into it and realized that there was an opportunity there. As an entrepreneur, I don’t particularly look for industries, I look for a business, and if it happens to be in the beauty industry, then it is fine.”
Sorbet, which offers beauty therapy for both men and women, as well as hair and nail treatments, currently has 117 stores and, according to Fuhr, is set to see another 20 to 30 stores come online this year .
“People ask us, ‘how did Sorbet manage to grow so quickly?’ I don’t think we took our business from other competitors, I think the strength of the brand managed to enlarge the size of the market.
“It has made it accessible and more affordable, and that is perhaps one of the big reasons for our growth.”
When he started, one of the biggest challenges was staffing. “It’s hard enough to get staff motivated and productive in a single salon but to try and get a thousand people all at the same level of service quality and motivation – that’s the challenge.”
Sorbet is now taking its business to foreign shores, with Fuhr citing the United Kingdom (UK) as its next possible destination.
“The UK doesn’t seem like a natural place to go. Most people were saying, ‘why are you going to the UK? It’s so difficult there’. We were recommended to go by our biggest supplier Dermalogica,” he says.
“We’ve had a look there and there’s definitely an opportunity.”
However, Fuhr also hopes to have Sorbet’s first couple of stores in various African markets by the end of the year.
He cites Angola, Zambia, Namibia and Botswana as the immediate markets of interest, with Tanzania and Nigeria being future possibilities.
Fuhr also stated that while the growth of the brand is undeniable, the focus remains on furthering the company’s current ventures such as Sorbet Man and the Dry Bar Salon, as well as its expansion into new markets.
“The beauty industry will always be there, because women, in particular, will always want to look after themselves, to varying degrees. If they can’t afford some of the more luxurious pampering-type products, they’ll cut back but they won’t stop doing their nails or looking after their skin.”

The Man In The Beauty Business

In March 2012, a young family’s peaceful sleep turned into a harrowing experience when burglars broke into their home in Tembisa, a crime-ridden township on the East Rand of Johannesburg. At 2AM, the family woke up to the noise of the intruders looting their belongings. The father was stabbed several times before the assailants turned their attention to the teenage girl, attempting to rape her.
No arrests were made, resulting in the community living in fear.
Thuli Mthethwa, a software developer turned entrepreneur, was devastated when she received the news hours later about what had happened to the family of her 36-year-old sister, Thembi Nonyane.
“If my younger sister had something to protect her, a simple panic button, surely the neighbors could have been alerted and rushed in to help,” says  Mthethwa.
A few days after the break-in, a traumatized Mthethwa became more frustrated when she could not find a security company with a reasonable alarm system she could instal in her sister’s home. Mthethwa says she realized the harsh fact that only the rich could afford home security.
“The cheapest was a R430 ($35) monthly subscription on top of the installation that costs about R7,000 ($565),” says Mthethwa about alarm systems available in the market.
The moment of becoming the change that you want to see struck Mthethwa. She quit her fulltime job as a software developer and took it upon herself to conceptualize and design cheaper alarms to help curb crime. After a year of consultation and negotiations for a government subsidy, the first personalized panic buttons were made available in 2013, and later followed by home alarms.
This experience led to the birth of the Memeza Home Community Alarm system, the first public alarm system in South Africa connecting a household to the nearest police station and community policing sector. The system also allows  integration with a private security company and can be configured to as many people as possible, sending text messages to their cellphones.
“Following a year’s intense research for an affordable alarm system, the Memeza Home Security System concept was born. Initially, I couldn’t sleep, I could not rest. It bothered me that we are in a free country but we are still feeling unsafe in our homes. If my sister had an alarm in her house, the crime could have been prevented,” says Mthethwa.
Business Against Crime South Africa, a nationwide organization established in 1996 after former president Nelson Mandela called on businesses to join government in fighting crime, bought into Mthethwa’s concept and approved the system.
The installation of Memeza’s system costs a household under R1,000 ($80), a once-off payment. Memeza is currently operating as a non-governmental organization with a budget of over R1.2 million ($96,000) from the South African National Lottery. The company has 10 staff and is using Mthethwa’s home as an office.
In February 2015, a pilot project consisting of 600 alarm units began in the township of Diepsloot. The Diepsloot police station welcomed the program to help reduce the high crime rate in the area notorious for murder and house break-ins.
The South African Police Services crime statistics shows that the number of home invasions remains at an alarmingly high rate, with a total of 6,336 reported in the Gauteng province in 2014. Mthethwa says a thorough introduction of Memeza alarms will reduce household intrusion and violence on women by up to 90%.
“The uniqueness of this is it is the first alarm system in Africa which the owner doesn’t need to pay a monthly instalment. You only need airtime for the device to text police when it is required. As little as R5 airtime would be sufficient for a month and the system has a back-up battery when the power is off,” says Mthethwa.
Mthethwa’s journey started with a leap of faith. In 2012, she entered a competition funded by the SAB Foundation looking for budding entrepreneurs with social innovation concepts in the country. Mthethwa’s project placed fourth and she won R250,000 ($20,000) to finance the implementation of her business. She was also entered into a five-month mentorship program.
A year later, Mthethwa was trained at the Innovation Hub in Pretoria, where she was afforded an office space and a full-time mentor for a year.
Mthethwa also works with community policing forums distributing thousands of personalized panic buttons to women and girls in poor communities for free. This is one of Memeza’s community building projects.
From software to alarms, Mthethwa used technology for social service. Thanks to her, the communities she serves sleep easier now.

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Raising the Alarm

Mahlet Afework is yet to arrive. Her shop, Mafi, in a busy commercial complex opposite Edna Mall on the arterial Cameroon Street in Addis Ababa is a white oasis. A slim-waisted shop attendant behind a white desk informs that Mafi – also her boss’ nickname – is on her way.
It allows sufficient time for first impressions – summery hand-woven white tops and tunics with colorful Ethiopian prints on the racks, but the best way to assess a designer’s innate talent is – always – her shop itself.
In Mafi’s case, turn your gaze towards the ceiling. A small leafless tree, branches painted white, is fastened to it, intertwined with white bulbs. Mafi, trim, trendy, dressed in white and with lime green fingernails, walks in a minute later, and explains the origin of this aerial art work.
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“That was an old tree trunk I found discarded in a friend’s house. Didn’t want to leave it that way, so converted it into a chandelier,” she offers.
In many ways, as you learn later, it is a metaphor for Mafi’s own life. What would have been wasted was spruced, primed and put to use.
At first glance, this fashion designer with a raving clientele amongst Addis Ababa’s swish set represents the new wave of young Ethiopian businesswomen making a mark on the country’s creative conscience.
Mafi is smart, articulate and possesses a sound knowledge of her industry – she knows its inner workings from the air-conditioned malls of Addis Ababa to the bustling bazaars of Mercato and the rural villages of Dorze, 500 kilometers from the city, from where she sometimes sources her fabrics, weavers and ideas.
She talks about her fashion outings on the ramps in New York. She revels in branded Western wear, but laments they are not easily available – as yet – in the malls in Addis Ababa. She is a daring disciple of the latest fashion fads, she has a TEDtalk under her stylish belt, and like most young people in the city, is grateful for her freedom.
You ask her how it all started, and then you get a different picture. Her success and the lifestyle trappings in her store acquire another dimension: the white décor looks like empty spaces she wants to fill. It is never too easy for a woman, and for a 26-year-old at that, to have come this far. She must have started early. Really early.
She was only eight, the youngest of five children, when her mother left them for Israel for medical treatment. A year later, sadly, their father passed away. And her mother?
“She never came back,” says Mafi, her almond eyes finally welling up. She never came back – until Mafi turned 18.
Before tragedy struck, it was a good life. Her father worked hard, he sent the children to private school and family get-togethers were fun-filled.
“But all of a sudden, nobody came to visit us…It was difficult,” says Mafi. “The one thing we learnt was responsibility. We didn’t get spoilt. I started working at the age of 16. By the time I met my mother again, I was already a designer.”
She is not willing to divulge the details of what kept her mother in Israel: she lets on that she may have not had legal travel documents or that she was working as a housemaid, and didn’t have the means, although she consistently sent the children money, including “pocket money” for her youngest child.
“I don’t usually talk about that part of my life, but my mother is my hero. I totally get the situation she was in, and am always thankful for her,” says Mafi.
While still in school, Mafi was swayed by Hollywood hip-hop and took to rap music.
“Ethiopia is traditional, and there were few rappers in Addis, let alone female rappers. I saw the gap and decided to become one. I was very active in school. Then we released a single, called Shalom Africa, when I was in grade 9. The radio stations in Addis Ababa played our music.”
And Mafi got noticed. Yosef Gebre Jossy, the famous recording artiste in Addis Ababa, asked her to record an album with him. She said yes, and also told him she could design clothes for his music video, Jossy In Z House. From her tiny room at home, the schoolgirl designed jackets, shorts and skirts for the artistes. The young girl would leave home early in the morning, to source fabrics from the crowded Mercato market, bringing reams of cotton home – on her own.
Thereafter, Mafi studied nursing for two years – “as there were no fashion schools in Ethiopia” – but subsequently left it midway as her heart was not in it.
“While I was studying, I got famous and couldn’t go to college because people would recognize me in the taxi station. And I didn’t have enough money to buy a car. So I decided to make money. I have done 15-30 fashion shows in Addis Ababa over the last three years.”
For her designs, Mafi draws inspiration from her country’s rich culture. For her ‘Last Resort’ collection that she showed in New York, she used the Axum obelisk as a motif. She is currently working towards opening an online store for the international market.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-medium wp-image-29986 alignleft" src="http://www.forbesafrica.com/app/uploads/2017/05/IMG_4467-200x300.jpg" alt="" width="200" height="300" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/IMG_4467-200x300.jpg 200w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/IMG_4467-300x450.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/IMG_4467-600x900.jpg 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/IMG_4467-768x1152.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/IMG_4467-683x1024.jpg 683w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/IMG_4467.jpg 682w" sizes="(max-width: 200px) 100vw, 200px" />
“We have a huge diaspora community in the US. I am now thinking of export. I want to hire more weavers, and make more money as I have responsibilities towards my workers as well. This year will be different,” she says, adding she made Birr 1 million (about $50,000) over the last nine months.
“Everyday, I find something interesting to do,” she says, as we step out into the hot Ethiopian sun, and she dabs on pink lipstick and puts her shades on. Mafi is ready to roll.

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Singer.  Seamstress. Survivor.

It’s an interesting time for philanthropy in South Africa. Mining magnate Patrice Motsepe made news in 2013 when he pledged half the income of his family’s assets to his foundation.
Examples abound of similar financial contributions by prominent South Africans, but most of them go under the radar.
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Nedbank Private Wealth’s Giving Report tracks the giving activity of high-net-worth (HNW) individuals in South Africa, and for the person at the helm of its dedicated philanthropy unit, there is nothing more satisfactory than helping these individuals help others.
Noxolo Hlongwane spent a number of years in the banking industry before deciding to take a year off to find something more meaningful to do. Finally, she did.
“We all have ubuntu [a South African word for compassion and humanity] inherent in us,” says this Head of Philanthropy at Nedbank Private Wealth.
“We are creating a culture of professionalized giving…The philanthropy business at Nedbank Private Wealth doesn’t just help our clients create their wealth; it also helps them create a legacy in a meaningful manner, I think that’s why it’s such an important offering,” says Hlongwane.
Hlongwane gives advice to just about anyone who wants to give back to society, but for those ultra-wealthy individuals who meet the requirements to start a portfolio, the company’s philanthropy business offers an end-to-end service.
“We advise anyone, we do not charge. Although to become a client, you must be earning an annual income of R1.5 million [$127,000] or have R5 million [$422,000] minimum investable assets which excludes your primary home,” says Hlongwane.
According to a study by them, there are only 300,000 HNW individuals in South Africa, a country of over 52 million people.
Philanthropy is not just a job for Hlongwane. You can tell it holds a lot of meaning in her life, as she brings a lot of passion to her role.
“For me personally, especially as a South African, I think it’s a part of who we are. The definition of philanthropy is taken from a Greek word, meaning love thy neighbor, and it is for everyone, not just for the elitist, it is not just for the select few. Everyone can make a contribution and can make a difference.”
Despite the good in philanthropy, many have misconstrued ‘western’ perceptions of the term, she says.
“The perception is that it is for the Bill Gates’, people who can pledge billions. If we continue to think that it is for the elitist, then it becomes difficult to get people to give more and professionalize their giving. Even if you are giving R100,000 [$8,450] per annum, you can do it in a structured way, you can be strategic about it, that’s what we are trying to encourage strategic giving because we want long-term impact and benefits,” says the articulate Hlongwane.
For Hlongwane, the most important aspect for philanthropy is values – and not the monetary kind alone. You have to be able to care enough for the cause.
“Philanthropy speaks to personal value, in a large way it dictates the sectors that you support. It can be a very personal journey driven by personal values,” says Hlongwane, who says her unit is doing more than motivating big players in the economy to invest; they are currently working on getting better tax incentives as well for donors in the country.
And the year looks positive for philanthropy in general.

Philanthropy Is Not Just For The Bill Gates’

It only takes a few minutes with Florence Ifeoluwa Otedola to tell she wants to dominate the global entertainment stage. Badly. Luckily for her, talent is on her side. Oozing effortless elegance and charm, her conversation is characterized by infectious laughter and remarkable erudition. Otedola is clearly not your average beauty with brains.
The Nigerian-born DJ, otherwise known as Cuppy (her love for cupcakes as a child earned her the nickname, which stuck), wants to make sure Africa gets a fair share of the billion-dollar global entertainment industry. She is creating a raw new sound in Lagos, and its echoes are now being heard in the rest of the world.
The 22-year-old recently launched Red Velvet Music Group, a music management service and content production platform, which also currently manages her. She sees the brand gaining recognition in the entertainment sphere, through managing other artistes, and music distribution and publishing. For Cuppy, all this has been the culmination of a drive she has had from childhood.
“From a young age, I believe I have always wanted to prove myself in my own right. At that point, I never thought it would be music. I always had that ambition to conquer something though. Growing up with a very hardworking father [Nigerian business mogul Femi Otedola, who was featured on the cover of FORBES AFRICA last year] and a mother who told me ‘you could be whatever you want to be’, helped my drive from the beginning. Over time, I fell in love with music. Being a creative, I had always sought ways to express myself in ways that made sense to me. Music was it for me,” says Cuppy.
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DJing is the style of mixing two beat-oriented records into a seamless, foot-tapping listening experience. Over the past few decades, it has acquired pop cultural status, and for some like Cuppy, has become a viable career path.
From spinning the tunes at weddings and toddler parties to representing her country at platforms like the MTV Africa Awards in South Africa and the Financial Times Luxury Summit in Mexico last year, Cuppy’s key differentiator is her fusion of urban contemporary African music with western tunes, increasing the popularity of African music.
It is little wonder she was appointed tourism ambassador for her country’s ‘Fascinating Nigeria’ campaign.
She also represents the continent as the Africa intern at Roc Nation, a renowned entertainment company in New York and home to acclaimed artists such as Rihanna, Shakira and Rita Ora.
“Being born and bred in Lagos, a very culturally-rich city and having a western influence when I moved to the UK for my studies, opened my mind to a fusion of experiences. I started to find ways to express myself so that it was a good reflection of my two influential cultures in a way that was unique. I have memories of listening to Fela Kuti [famous Nigerian musician] in the car with my dad from the age of six. While I didn’t really appreciate it then; I was definitely moved.
“Being the resident DJ for the MTV Africa Awards was particularly special for me too because not only did I represent my home, Nigeria, I got to represent Africa. As a female DJ, it was so exciting for me to have been placed on that platform to send such a great message across for African women. At Roc Nation, I find myself soaking in lots of information, learning how it is all done and wanting to come home and make the changes or be part of it in my own way.”
And how did she get into DJing? Cuppy’s eureka moment happened as a teenager.
“I always wondered why the DJ was a man and what stood in the way of female DJs. I didn’t understand the sexism behind this and knew it must be possible for ladies to give the guys a run for their money.”
Driven by a strong desire, she dug into educational material and information on DJing, purchased second-hand equipment to practice with, spent time at DJ booths and with determination, began to tutor herself and hone her skills. By the summer of 2012, she knew she was ready to take on the industry.
“It is a personal journey I have been through but it is also really about finding something I wanted to focus on and be really great at too. I remember telling my parents when I was 16 that I wanted to be a DJ. My father said ‘go for it but if you will do it, be the best at it’. The positive pressure, push and moral support I received from then has been invaluable in my career. I love my job and I always say that when you find a job you love, you will never have to work a day again in your life,” says Cuppy.
As a voice of the new generation, Cuppy’s message to young people is derived from her experiences.
“I grew up in a time where I believe young people didn’t have as much a say as they do now. I’m almost like a young woman trying to be heard. For me, this comes from growing up in times where young people were told what they should do, how they should live and act. The word support shouldn’t translate to financial. It is also moral and that goes a lot further.”
“I grew up with education being non-negotiable. Being very competitive and seeing the importance that was attached to it, I was compelled to excel at it.”
Through her art, Cuppy hopes to inspire young African women to pursue their dreams regardless of societal constraints.
“Being a female coming into a male-dominated industry, first of all, you have to be comfortable, be a fighter and definitely be great at what you are doing. In my mum’s times, she would never have been allowed to become a female DJ for instance. It was simply unheard of. This is what it represents for me. The wheels are turning, times are changing and the voice of the new generation is being heard.”
Thankfully for her, DJing has become more widely acknowledged as a profession. On an international level, DJs have had to fight to remove the perception that they were second to artistes.
Cuppy is also exploring song-writing and producing.
“I’m constantly trying to push the envelope and be a better version of DJ Cuppy but I’m also careful not to spread myself thin. There is a growing pressure on African creatives to do a bit of everything but I believe helping each other out is a much easier approach…I don’t want to be like every other DJ. I want people to think ‘wow, she is a risk taker’.”
She has also been deeply influenced by fashion, African literature and art.
“For a long time, fashion has been a strong mode of expression for Africans. It is refreshing to see young designers bursting into the scene as well. There is a massive fusion between fashion and music presently which is really great. It is also a very lucrative field and capitalizing on this will be great for the continent.”
Cuppy describes her style as bouncy and chic with her favorite brands being Stella Jean or Mary Katrantzou.
On other career prospects, she highlights her entrepreneurial flair.
“I have always known I wanted to start my own company and really dominate in my own right…I would love to see African women as fearless and unique&#8230;We shouldn’t use the West as the benchmark. We need to start creating and setting our own platforms and be recognized on a global stage”.
In the male-dominated industry that she finds herself, Cuppy has her own experiences of prejudice.
“Being young, I am sometimes underestimated and my skills questioned before I play. I sometimes go into a meeting with my male manager who is always expected to be the DJ and addressed instead of me,” she notes.
As she readies for another busy year, Cuppy plans to tour the continent, lending her voice and urging young African women to follow suit. For now, Africa is dancing to her beats at the console.

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Spinning Records And Creating Some Of Her Own

There’s a certain attention that a lone Kalashnikov rifle commands. Even more so when it is carried by a woman wearing a keffieh (the chequered scarf once used as the symbol of the Palestine resistance movement). This is exactly how the world learned to know of Leila Khaled.
What made the Palestine-born activist a terrorist was not the rifle but the first time she played a part in hijacking a plane in 1969, while still in her 20s.
It was after this hijacking that the now-iconic photo (see next page) of Khaled holding the Kalashnikov was taken by American photographer Eddie Adams. Khaled since underwent six facial surgeries to change her appearance, which also allowed her to participate in the second plane hijacking in 1970.
Her cause? That of the Palestinians, and their right to return to their homeland as a free people.
Today, at 70, she’s a mother of two sons and has a granddaughter she dotes on. The Palestinian Right to Return, as she explains during her visit to Johannesburg in February, is just as close to her heart.
“It’s very important to put the Palestinian question on the international agenda. After the first intifada [Arabic word for resistance] in 1987, it was a widespread awareness about the Palestinians because we did not, up to now, achieve our goals, in return for the refugees [to go back] to their homeland, to their cities, villages, properties,” says this member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP).
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“The Right of Return is still a dream. We cannot practice our self-determination without being in our land, and to establish an independence.”
Khaled’s visit to Johannesburg was however not without controversy. Her visit was organized by the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions South Africa (BDS South Africa), which is part of the global campaign aimed at pressurizing Israel to end its occupation of Palestinian land.
The South African Jewish Board of Deputies (SAJBD), alongside a number of other parties, were quick to condemn the visit before Khaled had arrived, and continued to do so. The SAJBD issued a statement against Khaled’s visit and BDS South Africa’s role in bringing her to the country, adding to the recent tension between South Africa’s Jewish and pro-Palestine groups.
Despite the tense backdrop to her visit, Khaled is nevertheless vocal about the Israel and Palestine conflict, and her crucial duty to fight for her people.
“Israel is still having [exclusions] against our people, in the West Bank and in the Gaza strip, and lately they have [committed] a holocaust for the Palestinians in Gaza. Now Israel denies all rights of Palestinians,” she says.
The Israeli-Palestine conflict has now become a focus of the International Criminal Court, and the Hague-based power could prosecute both parties for war crimes. At the center of any conflict, however, are women and children, and especially at a time where civilians have now become the target. Rape and systematic sexual assault is also a weapon of war, and according to Khaled, a societal ill that has taken too long to remedy.
“[These challenges] should be supported by civil society. It’s not just by one person. It needs time, it needs education, and the steps for the betterment of the people. It doesn’t mean that everything is okay. There are many big challenges facing not only the government, but society as well,” she says.
While there are societies in which some women have succeeded alongside men, statistics point to the gaping gender pay gap.
“[There is still a need] to have consciousness about the woman as a human being, not as a sex. Women’s rights are part of human rights, so if any country doesn’t apply this to its rules and laws, it means that they are violating human rights,” says Khaled.
Her active role extends beyond her iconic photograph, which has also become a part of popular culture, the same way Che Guevara’s image is emblazoned on T-shirts. The keffieh, which has been used as a symbol of Palestinian resistance and support, is now a fashion accessory. The message these symbols carry, according to Khaled, is however not lost.
“When I look at Che Guevara as a symbol, and also Nelson Mandela as a symbol of the struggle against injustice, whether it’s under [the] apartheid regime or [not], it’s not the whole thing that I see. I see behind it,” she explains.
“It means that this image should be in [popular] culture. We should learn from history, from other people. It’s not only our people who are struggling, there were many other people in the world who struggle.”
Young Khaled’s image is almost timeless as it speaks for the many women on the frontline, taking on an equal role alongside men in conflicts around the world.

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The Grandmother who Hijacked Planes

Something as simple as a blanket most of us take for-granted can be a life-saver for the needy on a cold winter’s night.
South African social entrepreneur Carolyn Steyn, the founder of ‘67 Blankets for Nelson Mandela Day’ (celebrated on July 18, the late South African president’s birthday) in 2014, is now on her way to creating a record 21,000 handmade blankets to honor Madiba and the country’s 21 years of democracy.
“Madiba once said ‘it’s now in your hands’. And with our ‘KnitWits for Madiba’, it literally is, with each and every stitch we make. Blankets can be knitted, crocheted or sewn. It takes time to make a blanket and I believe that by doing so, it shows heart and caring. The recipient will hopefully realize that someone out there took the time and effort,” says Steyn.
The initiative came into being when Zelda la Grange, Mandela’s former private secretary, dared Steyn to make 67 blankets last year. Steyn gladly accepted the challenge and asked South Africans to lend a helping hand. Within a few months, she could not believe the number of people from around the world who joined in.
“When we began our distribution of blankets in the name of Madiba last year, I was completely taken aback by the thousands of people who simply do not have blankets…When you go to townships and poverty-stricken areas, into the old age homes, hospitals and orphanages and see the problem, your heart breaks,” says Steyn.
South African network provider Cell C has joined hands for the challenge, also teaching people to knit. A slew of celebrities, top CEOs, community leaders and politicians have taken on the challenge.
“Knitting, crocheting and sewing are skills one can use in life. And careers can be forged with these skills. This initiative is also about social cohesion,” offers Steyn.
In her personal capacity, Steyn has donated R210,000 ($17,500) to the school that produces the most blankets.
“If each one of us does something to make a difference, the world would be a better place. Naturally there is hunger all around and there are some incredible organizations who make it their sole mission to feed the hungry. ‘67 Blankets for Nelson Mandela Day’ has changed my life entirely and has become a full-time job for me and for many other people as well. We do not accept money at all. We trade in wool, ‘goodwool’,” says Steyn.
The movement will culminate on April 21 at the Union Building in South Africa’s capital Pretoria where the colourful woolies will be spread across the lawns before being distributed to charity organizations.

Nicole-Lamberts-Miss-SA-Top-12-Contestant-for-67-Blankets

Each and Every Stitch for Mandela

Time stands still for no woman; this truth is the thread running through Helen Zille’s life and career. Zille is currently the Premier of South Africa’s second largest province, by GDP, the Western Cape. For the last seven years, she has also been the leader of South Africa’s official opposition party – the Democratic Alliance (DA) – suffering all the slings and arrows that go with the job. At 63 years old, she is a wife and mother; an anti-apartheid activist and a former journalist.
“I try to use each minute that I have. I also enjoy being busy. I always say that for relaxation, I enjoy working slowly, without being under too much pressure,” she says.
It has been a tough year. The South African general elections, in May last year, saw the DA garner nearly 22% of the votes, an increase of 3.25%; a slow and painful eating away of the vast majority held for 20 years by the ruling African National Congress (ANC).
“We win three per cent at every election and then go away and cry for five years until we can try again,” said one DA activist on election night in Pretoria.
Even for the indefatigable Zille, the campaign trail proved a sapping marathon. It was born under a bad sign; before a vote was cast there was an embarrassing bungled coalition with a smaller political party run by Mamphela Ramphele – Agang. The two leaders sealed the deal with a kiss, but ended up spitting as the coalition fell apart.
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“I offered her the world, she wanted the universe, she has ended up with a shack in Pofadder,” said Zille on election night of the still-born coalition. For the uninitiated, Pofadder is a small town in South Africa’s very quiet Northern Cape province.
The press had a field day, but the best was yet to come. There was talk of discord in the DA ranks right up to the casting of the last vote. To make matters worse, Zille’s right hand woman, Lindiwe Mazibuko, walked away after the elections. Many saw Mazibuko as the heir apparent.
Zille will battle through. In less than 18 months, she faces South Africa’s Municipal Election, where the DA is pushing to take the key provinces of Johannesburg and the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan Municipalities from the ANC.
This political street fight is not too far from her thoughts as Zille arrives at the FORBES WOMAN AFRICA photo shoot in a whirl. In the space of 30 minutes, she has parallel-parked and unloaded her car; pulled a collection of suitcases and bags up the staircase to the studio; greeted all in English, Afrikaans and Xhosa; investigated the wardrobe; made a call to her economics advisor; tweeted her whereabouts and thoughts to 546, 000 followers and has settled in for make-up and hair-styling.
“Even as a young girl, I never slept much. I was determined and very active. I was always organizing things – clubs, events and galas – anything!” says Zille.
Zille went to school in Johannesburg. She started out in 1974 as a political journalist writing for the liberal Rand Daily Mail. A 26-year-old Zille made headlines – along with then editor Allister Sparks – with an expose of the death in prison of anti-apartheid activist Steve Biko. The story of the attempt to cover up police brutality made headlines around the world and helped make Zille’s name.
“I enjoyed the pressure of the job. I enjoyed the investigative component of journalism, working against deadlines, being challenged. Those things float my boat, and that was the reason I really enjoyed my job at the Rand Daily Mail. I had grown up in a liberal home, so I was used to seeing my parents oppose apartheid. It was hard-wired in me and I did not think it was unusual.”
The newspaper shut in 1985 in a clampdown on freedom. Zille’s career veered into public policy and education when the University of Cape Town appointed her director of development in 1993.
At this stage, she was married with two small children and never dreamed a career in politics was just around the corner.
“I never intended to become a politician. It happened accidentally. When I was chair of the governing body of the Grove Primary School, where my children went to school, the government undertook such damaging actions, that I went to court to stop them – and when this did not help, I realized I had to be in the political arena to fight for what I believed in, where it really mattered – where policies and laws are made,” she says.
In fact, Zille was appointed provincial head of education after becoming progressively closer to the Democratic Party – an early incarnation of the DA – in 1999.
The next 15 years saw Zille rise through the leadership of the party, becoming a member of parliament in 2004, leader in 2007 and Mayor of Cape Town. The latter saw an election win by a wafer-thin majority.
“We had to put together a seven-party coalition and then we only made it by a single vote, if the PAC (Pan Africanist Congress) abstained. The likelihood of that happening was really remote. But we managed to pull it off, and that vote defined the next five years,” she says.
Zille’s victories as Cape Town mayor included cutting crime and boosting the economy. Critics counter that South Africa was growing quickly anyway.
Despite this, Zille has weathered the squall through three national elections by never backing down.
As Western Cape premier, Zille sees her mission as the promotion of the province as a pocket of excellence that could bode well for ambitions to take over two more municipalities in the 2016 elections. The Western Cape’s green economy is one area which Zille has taken to with a passion.
The province is enticing foreign investors into the burgeoning wind and solar industries. The investment drive has brought in R8 billion ($645 million).
“Our government is committed to doing everything it can to ensure that wind farms are developed without unnecessary logistical and regulatory hitches. We are therefore appealing to developers to engage with us on any problems they encounter so that we can ensure the efficient roll-out of these farms across the province.”
Another area of focus for Zille is the promotion of the Western Cape as a breeding ground for young, creative tech types – an idea dreamed up in 2008 by tech entrepreneurs Vinny Lingham and Justin Stanford to help drum up venture capital. Since then, the ‘Silicon Cape’ has taken on a life of its own.
Zille may not be savaged in the same way as her predecessor at the DA, Tony Leon – who was once derided as a yapping Chihuahua – but the arrows of outrageous fortune have swished past her head.
Just ask one of Africa’s best-known scourges of the pompous and the political. Commentators and angry politicians have often accused political cartoonist Jonathan Shapiro, or Zapiro, of being tough on the ANC and gentler with the opposition.
Try telling Zapiro that as he took aim over the last year. His pen first drew Zille as Godzille – a monster-politician, in 2006, with tongue firmly in cheek.
This year, Zapiro reprinted the cartoon and inferred that Zille had become the caricature. He referred to Zille’s backlash against Mazibuko’s departure from the DA.
Zille confirmed that her professional relationship with Mazibuko had suffered and criticized Mazibuko’s track-record.
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“I like and respect Helen,” says Zapiro. “But she has many human failings. She takes charge of too many things and hasn’t loosened her hold on the party’s leadership. There is some evidence in the public space which suggests that the young bloods inside the DA are frustrated by her strong grip. For example, there was the incident where she tried to parachute Mamphela Ramphele into the organization.”
Zille has also been criticized for not using self-control on social media platforms, Twitter in particular where Zille takes on both supporters and critics. When she speaks about her public image, she is phlegmatic.
“The electorate is not static or homogenous. People see me in different ways which is why I have nicknames ranging from Godzille to Nontsapho (which means the mother of the family). I suppose some people see me as tough and ruthless, other people see me as kind and motherly – and everything in between.”
Mother or monster, love her or hate her; you can’t ignore Zille.

Godzille  – Why Cartoonists  And Voters Wait  For No Woman

Five minutes, we are told, is all we will get with Dr Deepak Chopra, and there is a gaggle of journalists waiting to meet him, one by one, at the Michelangelo in Sandton, Johannesburg. The ballroom where he is seated, on a lone high-backed, jacquard-print chair at the far end, is somehow, unwittingly, reminiscent of the private durbar of an Indian guru. But the Los Angeles-based Chopra says he is no Indian mystic – “I do not buy into labels”. He is unassuming in a black shirt, jeans and red trainers, and has a calm, gentle voice:
The New York Times has called you ‘a controversial new age guru’. Why controversial?
I wouldn’t have a career without controversy. If nobody criticizes you, you go unnoticed. I owe my career to my critics, I think of them as my best friends.
People have accused you of selling false hopes and that your methods are unscientific. How do you react?
I used to react [at one time], but not anymore. Over the last 35 years, I have been in a way vindicated. There are newer sciences like neuroplasticity and epigenetics, and the mind-body connection is well-established. My courses are recognized by the American Medical Association. I have a faculty position at the Medical School in the University of California. I lecture once a year at Harvard, we have medical students coming for training, the Chopra Center University California is recognized…
You use quantum mechanics for healing. How has that been accepted?
It’s very controversial [and] very highly criticized, but I am rewriting and updating quantum healing now after 30 years because of the new science. Everything I said before is true but there is more science.
The brain seems to now be a focus in management discussions. Why?
Because of the findings that you can wire your brain for optimum wellbeing and leadership. You can learn through various techniques mindfulness, self-awareness, contemplation, meditation…you can rewire your brain in a way you feel more connected, but you can also harness intuition, insight, creativity, imagination and leadership skills.
What about prayer and spirituality in wellbeing?
When your mind is quiet, and with focused awareness, you can harness the power of intention. What people call prayer I would call focused awareness. There is a chapter in the Yoga Sutras (sacred Indian text) of Patanjali that deals with that. It’s called Dhyan, Dharna, Samadhi – dhyan is meditation, dharna is focused awareness and samadhi is transcendence.
When is emotional and financial wellbeing truly achieved?
Ten percent of your daily happiness experience comes from your bank account, 50% comes from your attitude to life and the remaining comes from the daily choices you make…People in Cuba are more happy than the people in the United States. Because when people focus on relationships, they are much happier.
Do you see more of that now?
No [shaking head]…less and less. On their dying day, they would say I wish I had worked one extra day and made more money.
What is your own net worth?
If you know your net worth, then you are not wealthy enough. Honestly, I don’t look at my bank statements, I have never seen one. My wife and accountant take care of everything, and they make sure all my taxes are paid. I only carry $300 in my pocket, one credit card and have $30,000 in my bank account. I don’t need more than that for my needs.
What do you have planned for the year ahead?
I have written 81 books, and the next is a book of fiction [released in March], called The 13th Disciple. I have done 12 fiction books, out of which four were New York Times bestsellers. I have a book [coming up] at the end of the year called Super Genes; it’s a book about how you activate your genes for optimum wellbeing.

Deepak-etch

5 Minutes with Deepak  Chopra

Diezani Alison-Madueke turns heads, not only because of her sartorial elegance. With a record-breaking career of many firsts, she is a force to reckon with in Nigeria’s corridors of power and among titans of industry.
Her list of career firsts could fill up an entire chapter in Nigeria’s book of powerful people.
Alison-Madueke is the country’s first female Minister of Petroleum Resources, a post she has held since 2010. She was the first woman to lead a country delegation to the annual Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) conference. She was Nigeria’s first female minister of the mega Transportation Ministry and the first woman to be appointed to the board of Anglo-Dutch oil giant, Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria. She recently added more feathers to her cap when elected the first female president of OPEC, and also the Gas Exporting Countries Forum.
Alison-Madueke’s rise to the top in an aggressive male-dominated industry has been studied by critics and admirers alike.
As sliding crude oil prices (expected to go down to $30 a barrel according to a recent Goldman Sachs report) send volatile tremors across economies and sectorial bottlenecks linger, there is no hotter seat than Alison-Madueke’s.
OPEC’s decision (largely driven by Saudi Arabia) to maintain production in the face of decreasing oil prices has been called a double-edged sword. One that defends the market share of member countries, yet hurting a few key economies, Nigeria included.
In the scheme of things, Alison-Madueke’s optimism is unmistakable – and unshakeable. She is confident and articulate.
“I am not shaken by the vagaries and viciousness that surrounds the sector, the economy and the politics of Nigeria,” she says when we meet her in February in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital city.
She says this with gusto; you can tell she has had this attribute all her professional life. She admits her early experience as an architect provided the foundation.
“When you study architecture, you fundamentally have to make structures stand up, the integrity of a building is crucial; it is otherwise a failed project,” she says.
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Early life
Being a creative person, Alison-Madueke decided a career in architecture, at Howard University in the United States (US), would complement her personality. Studying her chosen subject well, and with an MBA from Cambridge, she moved very quickly into construction, facilities and project management in the US, before returning to her home country Nigeria. There is where she understood the nuts and bolts of the oil and gas industry.
“I returned to Nigeria to take up a job in the civil infrastructure section of Shell at the time. I moved into public affairs and soon joined venture relations which [found] me working directly with the major governmental organizations in the oil and gas sector under my domain now. I had to learn the hardcore operational details of the oil and gas industry during that period. Having understood the operational details, I took the position of External Affairs Director – the first time a woman had been made a director in Shell Nigeria in over 70 years of it being in operation.”
With each new step, came even bigger global – and social – responsibilities. The topic of women’s empowerment is not far from her mind.
“All the firsts, each time they came, were very humbling and a great privilege. When you realize that the steps you are taking and the glass ceilings you are breaking open the door for other women to enter into that arena, it is something very pleasing to me. I believe that as women, it is important to remember that there are many other women who have been shut out of many areas of professional expertise and as you rise up the ladder, always remember to turn back and give a helping hand to other women to rise along with you,” she says.
Alison-Madueke identifies her parents as early influencers. Her father had been a teacher in colonial days and attained a scholarship to study in the United Kingdom whilst her mother joined him to study nursing and midwifery. Her father returned to Nigeria to take on a senior position with Shell-BP. To their young daughter, they were strong role models.
“I don’t see how I would have had the innate confidence and strength that I had without that sort of a background and influence,” says Alison-Madueke.
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Confronting challenges
As Nigeria’s Minister of Petroleum Resources, Alison-Madueke sits at the helm of a sector that has been plagued by operational challenges. When she took on the role, her mission was to change the narrative of Nigeria’s core revenue-producing sector, and boost investment.
“This is a period [rife] with challenges as we have seen with the drop in the price of crude over the last few months which has of course, affected the federation’s budget quite drastically as well as [that of] many other crude-producing countries around the world. We are grappling with that, reviewing our processes in the oil and gas sector here to make us much more competitive, to have a much more enabling environment for investors and to begin to look at future investment and ring-fence them now to ensure we have them over the medium to long term,” she says. Nigeria is Africa’s foremost oil producing country and Alison-Madueke’s ministry oversees the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), one of Africa’s largest state-owned petroleum enterprises. A lot of hope is pinned on the sector to take the country forward.
Alison-Madueke’s tenure has recorded some transformatory highs in Nigeria’s oil and gas sector. Her drive to empower local enterprises saw her champion the passage of the Nigerian Oil &amp; Gas Industry Content Development Bill.
The bill was signed into law by Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan in 2010, influencing indigenous participation and the development of local capacities thus changing the face of the sector. It saw a notable growth in the number of Nigerian-owned exploration and production companies and indigenous entrants, which was a first for the industry. Importantly, it created more jobs.
“The act has ensured that well over 300,000 jobs have been created because of the trickledown effect it has had on the economy but more than that, it has brought into play a whole host of new players, across society, into the downstream service sector of the oil and gas industry – from supply, fabrication of parts for the downstream service sector, fabrication of pipe mills, a massive rise in ownership of rigs and marine gold vessels for use in the oil and gas sector. It has given Nigerians first consideration in many areas of the oil and gas sector.”
Stability of supply, distribution of petroleum products and a uniform price regime in Nigeria are still challenges. Alison-Madueke’s leadership has seen to the revamp and rehabilitation of key depots to restore product supply.
The Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB), a bid to ensure the oil and gas industry is more transparent in order to attract investment, is yet to be promulgated. While Nigerians wait with bated breath, the Minister sheds more light on its intricacies.
“Despite the fact that the PIB has not been promulgated, the Gas Master plan and areas of fundamental reforms in major oil and gas parastatals such as the NNPC and the NPDC (Nigerian Petroleum Development Company) have been pulled out. The Gas Masterplan is being worked very stringently and has ensured we have not only moved for gas to power but also for gas to industry and to ensure we get value for our gas to export. Quite a lot of reforms have taken place in this area in the last three years to ensure we are not only creative about putting in place the formerly non-existent infrastructure for gas to power, but at the same time, the framework that will allow Nigeria in the next four to five years to become a regional hub for industrialization based on gas.”
In a quest to boost Nigeria’s position as a global oil and gas powerhouse, Alison-Madueke’s ministry has had to deal with the scourge of illegal refineries, crude oil theft, as well as the issue of over 5,000 kilometers of vandalized pipelines.
But Alison-Madueke remains resolute.
“There are no bottlenecks that cannot be overcome,” she says, “but we need to very carefully delineate aggressive responses to a number of issues that we have to deal with. We are working very hard with security services to mitigate this bottleneck. Over the last three years, we have been able to drop the rate of bunkering from 200,000 to about 60,000 barrels per day. It is one of the most irresponsible issues we are faced with as a government because it affects the entire country.”
Identifying pricing frameworks in the gas sector is the next frontier for Nigeria and Alison-Madueke says the sector needs to equip itself better with infrastructure.
“We have put in place over 400 kilometers of pipelines in the last three and half years. We have another over 470 kilometers as we speak for gas infrastructure. We are also trying to attract the necessary investors to help us with that,” she adds.
How does she do it all?
On juggling an incredibly busy professional life with family responsibilities, Alison-Madueke offers a simple formula, which is achieving the right balance.
“Women have really come into their own in all spheres of expertise in this day and age. A woman not only has professional responsibilities to deal with, she is a mother, she is a wife, and she is a sister. A woman handles many roles rolled into one. All my professional roles don’t stop me from playing my other roles. I still have my family-related obligations that I attend to.”
In spite of a hectic schedule, Alison-Madueke takes time off whenever she can.
“The most precious things in life are not the things money can buy. What give me satisfaction in life are the things you cannot pay for: the love of a family, seeing them do well as they grow into their professions and start their own families. When I am standing by a football pitch in the mud and rain, screaming out for our youngest son to make that goal, or just enjoying time out or indoors with them is very refreshing,” she says.
The African woman
Alison-Madueke sees the African woman’s place in society as evolving and her presence now acknowledged with a “no-limit view” on how far she can go. She thanks the Nigerian leadership for effecting the mind-set change in gender issues – at least in government.
“For the first time in the history of Nigeria, we have had a president confident enough to place over 35% of women in top nominated positions in his government. Women are not in tokenism positions anymore. It has been very rare for women to be placed in key positions in government. The Nigerian president has gone out on a limb which is historical where women of this country are concerned and I see this happening all over the continent because African women have come into their own. The times for women have changed. I see, over the next 10 years, major progress for women across the board in Africa and I think it will be quite an accomplishment we will all live to enjoy.”
Among Nigeria’s other powerful female leaders is the globally-famous Nigerian economist and Nigeria’s Coordinating Minister for the Economy and Finance, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, and Arunma Oteh, who served as Director-General of the country’s Securities and Exchange Commission.
Alison-Madueke says networks and support structures amongst women are key to ascending the corporate ladder.
“Women are in competition with each other. This is highly unfortunate. Leadership is not about being liked. It is about making tough decisions for the betterment of the whole and as women rise, they should learn to begin to network among themselves. Creating clusters where other women support each other. Men do this very well.
“I envision an Africa with a lot of strong women in a lot of very powerful positions.”
By the same token, she encourages young adults to be more assertive.
“Don’t wait for your ship to sail into harbor. Swim out to it and climb onboard. Learn to recognize opportunities when they present themselves. They may turn out to be the most critical opportunities and game changers in your entire life.”
Alison-Madueke may have derived these words from her own life, seeing resources as sustainable opportunities, but how does she counter opposition and critique?
“For every stage I have come into in life, I have been responsible to a certain segment. That we can open up sectors like the oil and gas industry and allow so many Nigerians an opportunity to benefit from the natural resource that runs under their feet, and that lives can be changed completely from their involvement in a sector which hitherto was a great mystery.
“The responsibility to impact positively on the lives of so many Nigerians is what drives me. Every day, I face this work with a certain fuel and passion and I am not feeble about it. Even in the face of opposition, I channel my energy into the sector that I run.”
Energy. Power. Fuel. Drive.
The words of the oil and gas industry fit the woman.

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The Queen of Black Gold

Cristina Duarte, the Minister of Finance and Planning of Cape Verde (islands located in the central Atlantic Ocean off the coast of West Africa), is one of eight candidates short-listed to chair the African Development Bank (AfDB) when its current president Donald Kaberuka’s term expires this year. And she is the only female candidate on the list.
Duarte transformed Cape Verde’s economy and is now keen on doing the same for Africa.
A graduate from the University of Lisbon in Portugal, she started her career in Cape Verde’s rural development ministry focusing on what she calls the real economy – agriculture – instead of accepting offers from the central bank and ministry of planning. This was a decision she says surprised many.
She was a part of the diaspora until the age of 15 – but this is what motivated her decision. She felt she had to understand her country well enough first, before – eventually – moving to the finance industry.
“It’s very important to understand that the financial sector exists to serve the real economy,” says Duarte.
This she feels is sometimes not understood by some.
In 2006, she became Minister of Finance and Planning and changed Cape Verde’s public finance framework, transforming it into a middle income economy.
A difficult task? No, she says, so long as you have political commitment and engagement, as well as understand that as a civil servant, you are required to serve your people.
According to Duarte, African governments are paying more attention to the quality of institutions, and to transparency and accountability. She also says mergers and acquisitions more than doubled in 2014, meaning Africa is emerging as a business platform.
Unfortunately Duarte thinks ‘Africa Rising’ is not benefiting everyone because the continent is still facing high levels of poverty and growth without socio-economic development or structural transformation.
“I believe that African financial institutions are supposed to play a key role in financing public and private investments so that everyone works towards the same goal,” she says.
FORBES WOMAN AFRICA met with Duarte a day before the short-listed AfDB candidates were to submit a written statement about their visions for the bank.
Duarte shared the six points on her agenda. First on her list is paying attention to the quality of institutions. Second is African economic empowerment. Using an analogy from football, Duarte compares the international geo-political sphere to a championship Africa is competing in with half a team, while marginalizing the other half. This, to her, is an economic issue.
“You have 60% of the women working in the agricultural sector, the main work force, but at the same time there are frameworks that deny property rights to women.” This does not make any sense to her.
“To deny property rights you are denying financial access and to deny access to financing you are denying economic opportunities,” she says.
The third item on her agenda for AfDB is increasing value creation in Africa. She hopes to make the bank more available to participate in the industrialization process.
Fourth on her list is economic integration, as industrialization requires market size.
“So far, in my opinion, we have been building economic integration from the top down, I think it’s time to build economic integration from the bottom up,” she says.
The last two items are renewable energy, or green growth as she calls it, and a focus on the organization itself.
She speaks highly of the bank’s past presidents and how they steered the organization. She does however feel there are new challenges.
“I make myself willing and available as president to undertake the necessary reforms to strengthen the bank and to make the bank adopt a more collaborative approach and a less competitive approach,” says Duarte.
The election of the AfDB president will take place May 28 in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire, during the annual general meeting. The list of candidates includes Akinwumi Adesina, the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development in Nigeria, Jaloul Ayed from Tunisia and Thomas Sakala from Zimbabwe.
“I’m campaigning hard because we women like to win and when we decide to do something, we just fight for it.”
She however believes this is not her only chance to contribute to Africa’s transformation.
At the end of the day, Duarte is committed to working for Africa.

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The First Female Head Of AfDB?

Somalia’s coast, famed for piracy, is fast becoming tamed. Hundreds of miles of beaches with hardly a soul on them. No parrots, peg legs or pieces of eight. No Black Hawks down.
I flew in over a deep, deep blue ocean, flecked by white horses. A visible reef guards Mogadishu, the capital. There is the bright glare of white sand and dust everywhere, especially when you enter the Mogadishu International Airport (MIA), which is the ‘green zone’, a secure zone within which lies MIA.
Now here’s the thing, I’m writing about this country and all I’ve really seen is the MIA. But there is much to tell.
To even begin to understand what’s happening, you need a few basic acronyms. UNSOM and UNSOA, AMISOM and&#8230; oh, to hell with it.
Suffice to say, seven armies in Somalia are trying to subdue the dreaded Al-Shabaab and restore government to a country that hasn’t seen one for 22 years. In true African fashion, the politicians are still stuffing around, bickering between President and Prime Minister, fiddling while the country continues to smoulder.
Yet the fire of Al-Shabaab has been curbed from its rampant deadly destruction. There are successes for the armies of good, but the gains are fragile. Luckily the military presence is not wracked with the same kind of interminable arguing about who is in charge.
The African Union (AU) is really in charge of the military, but the AU sort of reports to the United Nations (UN), which has about 22,000 foreign troops in the country. That’s quite a lot of soldiers. Not enough, says the Force Commander, but he would, wouldn’t he. Sadly, many have been killed fighting – not for their own country but fighting for Somalia to become governable.
Vast tracts of land have been recaptured from Al-Shabaab’s influence, and in this year the soldiers are valiantly trying to keep militants away from this recaptured territory. The Force Commander says his forces now control 70% of the country.
Unfortunately Al-Shabaab does not play by the rules. It strikes with car bombs, suicide bombers, rockets, IEDs and general terror tactics. But the good guys are winning. On the ground that is, not necessarily in the political, global or African arenas.
Armies who have sent troops include Uganda, Kenya, Burundi, Sierra Leone, Ethiopia, Djibouti and Nigeria and they deserve praise for the sacrifices they have made. It is said that the UN has lost more troops here than in all their other operations combined. If true, it is a very disturbing statistic.
Things are still dangerous. On Christmas Day, the very place where I am typing this was attacked and two soldiers died. Yesterday, a car bomb exploded in Mogadishu, a literal stone’s throw away and an innocent shoe shiner died. But on the plus side, the day before, 23 Al-Shabaab people were killed by the armies in one firefight. Few people mourn the dead fanatics, and nor do I.
It is infuriating that armies are needed to restore basic human rights to people: the right to food, shelter, the right of girls to go to school, the rights of freedom to worship, freedom of speech. Al-Shabaab is wicked; it certainly does not represent Islam in the same way as the barbaric Spanish inquisitors did not represent Christianity.
The African Union Mission to Somalia (AMISOM) has brought the first fruits of peace to Somalia, and Somalis are beginning to tentatively taste the fruits. Much remains to be done, but there is already much to celebrate even if the world has not yet recognized the changes.
I spoke to some important people, the AU’s Ambassador in charge, the Force Commander, the Director of the UN contingent. All are hopeful, all cautiously optimistic.
My glimpse of the tame coast along the south central area of the country made me believe victory is possible. A very small victory, one of simply restoring government, but an important victory for Africa and especially the long-suffering Somalis.

Taming The Wildest Coast Of Africa

I missed my flight from Nairobi to Kigali. The airport shuttle should have taken no longer than thirty minutes on a Sunday morning, but Kenya’s First Lady had made plans for a charity marathon in a city that is already notorious for its traffic jams. Two and a half hours later I arrive at check-in.
Fortunately, I am not the only one. Also turning up late are two representatives of the Rwanda Development Board (RDB) &#8211; the Rwandan government entity in charge of business and investment.  I had a meeting scheduled at their offices the next day; now we have an opportunity to discuss doing business in Rwanda over an airport lunch and afternoon tea. “If you bring all your documents I can issue your business license in six hours &#8211; one day at the most,” says Kellen Abatesi, the official responsible for business licenses.
Her colleague, Karim Tushabe, is calling Kigali. Unimpressed by the handling of our flight rescheduling, he senses room for improvement. “It will damage the image of RwandAir and our country,” he says with concern.
At Nairobi airport I get a first taste of Rwanda’s widely praised central business administration. Effectiveness and an eye for detail are high on the list, and this does not go unnoticed. The World Bank ranks Rwanda third on the continent for ease of doing business, following Mauritius and South Africa. Last year, this small country was the best global reformer regarding business regulations. It is one of the safest countries on the continent, with a low level of corruption; worthy benefits for any investor, especially with a stable GDP growth rate of about 8.8 percent.
Arriving in Kigali from busy Nairobi is rather like a spa experience. The city is spread across a number of picturesque green hills; the streets are calm and extremely clean. The RDB has arranged a meeting for me with Remote Partners, a project management firm that assists foreign investors through planning and implementation. It is led by two dynamic young men from the US and Israel. They have seen numerous firms come to Rwanda and do extremely well. “Rwanda has introduced and clinically operated an ecosystem very conducive to investors,” Trevor Green, the CEO of Remote Partners, tells me. “Not just in regard to minimizing investor hurdles, but also looking at institutional credibility. “
Also creating value for industrial firms are Rwanda’s Special Economic Zones. Each area is physically secure and administered by a single body, the RDB. It offers reduced tariffs and infrastructure services, with many plots still available.
Green is of the opinion that investing in Rwanda is, above all, a powerful business strategy: “It makes total sense to invest in Rwanda,” he says. “The ease of doing business here makes it the perfect lab for multinationals moving into Africa. But increasingly, I believe that companies could not opt for a better location for their headquarters or manufacturing. Not only do you have the East African Community with a single market of 150 million people on your doorstep, but investors can use Rwanda as a strategic corridor to Central and West Africa.”
In Green’s opinion, energy, infrastructure, and agriculture are the top investment sectors in Rwanda. The country needs 563 MW of electricity, but only 120 are currently produced. It imports over 50  million eggs every year from Uganda alone, I am told. Estimated ROI in Rwanda? Fifteen to twenty percent.
Philip Lucky, a Senior Information Officer for Investment Promotion and Implementation at the RDB, suggests that investors will do best in telecommunications, the service industry, tourism, agriculture, real estate, mining, and energy &#8211; in that order. He finds it difficult to keep the list short.
As always, Rwandans seem overly ambitious in their endeavor to be at the top. The fact that they are surrounded by regional giants DRC, Tanzania, and Kenya does not intimidate them: “We want to become a food basket in the region,” says Philip Lucky. “Horticulture, tea, coffee, dairy, and maize corn flour do very well, and we have plans to start flower production.”
As for Trevor Green and his colleague from Remote Partners, Rwanda is a long-term choice. And although English was made an official language alongside French, they want to stay ahead of the game and are now learning the local language, Kinyarwanda.
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Harnet Bokrezion is a senior international development consultant, the founder and CEO of Africa Business Jumpstart, and a Partner for Africa at Strategic Business Alliance (SBA).

Calm and clean Rwanda  Is Worth every penny

He is a master of disguise and a brilliant impersonator. Within seconds, South Africa’s most-loved satirist Pieter-Dirk Uys changes from playing an Afrikaans aunty, into Adolf Hitler and a little later into the country’s political enfant terrible Julius Malema. Right on stage, right in front of the audience’s eyes.
In a hilarious yet sharp-witted kind of way, Uys is most of all one thing: politically incorrect. No wonder he has been a thorn in the side of many government officials, especially during the racist apartheid regime.
During a career that spans more than 45 years, the internationally-acclaimed performer, author and social activist has written and performed more than 20 plays and over 30 revues and one-man shows throughout South Africa and abroad.
Today, at the age of 68, the workaholic not only continues to write, direct, act and produce, he even makes his own props and dresses.
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It all began pretty much in the cradle, says Uys, who grew up in a musical family in a suburb near Cape Town. Both his parents were pianists – his mother worked as a piano teacher, while his father, a musician at heart, earned money as a civil servant in the provincial roads department. On weekends, Uys played with his toys on the dining room floor, while his parents entertained an artistic circle of well-traveled, cultured friends.
“Mozart was a friend,” Uys says jokingly. “My whole life was geared with a soundtrack in my head. Mad people hear voices, I hear music.”
Growing up in the 1940s and 1950s, just after the National Party was beginning to institute apartheid in South Africa, Uys lived in a house where politics was not discussed, despite the fact that his father’s cousin was the first Afrikaans prime minister, DF Malan. Little did Uys know back then that he would one day become an entertainer who was loathed and feared by repressive politicians.
“I didn’t decide to follow this career. It chose me,” he says.
Uys planned to become a teacher. He studied English, history and German – his maternal grandmother was a Jew from Berlin – at the University of Cape Town where, rather than spending most of his time in the library, he says he learned to smoke a cigarette and twist.
His life changed forever when he received a ticket to visit London and Germany for his 17th birthday. He discovered his love for performance when family friends took him to the theater for the first time. Uys was smitten.
At the end of the trip, he traveled to Rome to track down the apartment of Italian movie star Sophia Loren, whom he had been in love with since he was a schoolboy. He located the flat based on a magazine photo and knocked on the door. To his great disappointment, an assistant told him Loren was in Paris. Uys left behind a letter and was surprised when he received a reply from the actress a few weeks later. It was the beginning of a lifelong friendship.
“It was one of the greatest lessons in my life that a world star would take the time to write to a nobody. We became pen pals. Eventually I met her. She came to one of my shows. I wrote scripts for her. We talk to each other at least once a month,” says Uys.
With that, he dropped his teaching ambitions and signed up for drama school. When Uys got his degree, he first became a stage manager and later started writing plays.
Uys slowly managed to build a career in England although he never quite felt he belonged. He longed for South Africa, where he felt rooted even though he abhorred the apartheid regime. So, he left London to work with famous South African playwright Athol Fugard at Cape Town’s Space Theatre. It was here that he discovered the power of satire.
“I understood how it could make people angry without hurting them, but also hurt people who needed to be twitched a little bit. You don’t laugh because it’s a joke, you laugh because you’re in charge of your fear,” he says.
He also discovered his urge to be political, critical and controversial. He even broke the law by allowing black people to sit in the audience with whites. The government responded by banning the plays, raiding the theater and threatening him with arrest.
“I didn’t see the point in getting angry because anger doesn’t transfer itself into positive energy. Instead, I decided to fight them. I pissed off all the people I wanted to piss off. Humor is a great weapon of mass distraction.”
Living in a homophobic society, Uys, who is gay, also started experimenting with gender. He put on a dress on stage and played women’s roles. It was the first step towards developing what would become his most successful character, Evita Bezuidenhout.
“That’s where it started. At the time it wasn’t planned, but in retrospect there is a red line running through my career,” he says.
Uys’ alter ego is a white Afrikaner socialite and a political activist, at least in her own mind. She is a mixture of a right-wing, glamorous white woman from the American South, he says, a touch of Margaret Thatcher steel, a bit of Imelda Marcos, if only in her shoe choice, and even Hitler’s wife Eva Braun.
Evita challenges her audience through gentle humor and purposeful irritation, always maintaining a balance between entertainment and social commentary.
“She’s my most successful clown. She came at the right time, when society needed a tannie (aunt). But she must never be preachy, reflect the fear of the audience or trash all expectations.”
With grand-dame Evita as his main character, Uys’ performances soon received attention throughout the country. Building on his reputation as a playwright and actor, he put on his first one-man show in 1981, which he called Adapt or Dye.
It included impersonations of then South African President PW Botha, British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, a selection of apartheid politicians and white liberals, as well as Evita. The show became South Africa’s biggest comedy success ever.
Uys also managed to break the international cultural boycott of South Africa by performing the show overseas.
A year later, Adapt or Dye came out on video and South Africans began to make illegal copies, especially the poor. They did so with Uys’ encouragement and led to his large multiracial fan base.
“That was the greatest audience investment of my life,” he says.
Eventually, the videos made their way into prisons, including Robben Island, where Nelson Mandela was incarcerated.
“The government thought I was an idiot, a drag queen, a clown. So they thought it was safe to let the prisoners watch the shows. They didn’t realize the prisoners would through the shows learn what’s happening in the country.”
Evita lit up Mandela’s dark prison days. When Mandela was elected president in 1994, Evita became the jester he took with him wherever he went. Mandela even allowed Evita to interview him live on television.
“Mandela used humor to unify and reconcile people, to deflate fear and prejudice. He knew that loving your enemy will ruin his reputation. And making Nelson Mandela laugh was one of the best reasons to do my work,” says Uys.
For a short while, Uys feared he would run out of material in the new, democratic rainbow nation.
“I thought I would have to get another job,” he laughs.
He adjusted Evita’s persona to someone who mocked democracy to make South Africans aware that it’s not a given.
But in 1999, when Mandela handed over power to Thabo Mbeki, Uys’ honeymoon with South Africa’s ruling party, the African National Congress, came to an end, although his honeymoon with the ANC’s legacy never did.
As the country’s new president, Mbeki questioned the link between HIV and Aids and refused to make antiretroviral drugs available through the public health system. For Uys, it was the straw that broke the camel’s back. He once again became a ruthless government critic – and has made the ANC the keystone for his satire ever since.
“I’m afraid the new generation of politicians just wants cars and money. It’s grim. And the only way to change this is to realize that we, the people, are in charge. The politicians are civil servants who are supposed to be working for us,” he says.
Uys is at least delighted to still have a government that on a daily basis writes his best material. In recent years, he has written scripts that sow serious topics like greed, corruption and crime into the fluff of entertainment.
“It’s a wonderful way not to get stale, not to get angry or bitter about being so disappointed in the rainbow nation. I don’t think of it as work. I’m not doing this job for my pension. I think of it as my life. It’s also my therapy.”
At the beginning 2014, Uys’ performed Adapt of Fly, a sequel to his critically acclaimed 1980s show. Once again, he forces his audience to take a long, hard look at South Africa’s stumbling democracy, think about issues that have come full circle since they first reared their ugly heads 30 years ago and, most importantly, to laugh heartily at their fears.

Tag: April 2015

FORBES AFRICA SOCIAL MEDIA

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Raising the Alarm

Singer. Seamstress. Survivor.

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Spinning Records And Creating Some Of Her Own

The Grandmother who Hijacked Planes

Each and Every Stitch for Mandela

Godzille – Why Cartoonists And Voters Wait For No Woman

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The Queen of Black Gold

The First Female Head Of AfDB?

Taming The Wildest Coast Of Africa

Calm and clean Rwanda Is Worth every penny

A Weapon Of Mass Distraction