With over 600 young brand ambassadors and/or business leaders expected to be part of the four-day event, the Forbes Under 30 Summit Africa kicked off in Botswana’s economic and political capital, Gaborone, on April 23.



Thousands gathered in Botswana’s capital Gaborone yesterday, April 23, in the historic Main Mall and square, for the pan-African opening of the Forbes Under 30 Summit Africa, held for a second year in the southern Africa city.



The four-day event kicked off with celebrations at the outdoor shopping and commercial hub as summit delegates and members of the public swayed to live on-stage music featuring energetic performances from some of Africa’s finest musical talent including Sauti Sol, Stabito, local Botswana artist Dato Seiko and one of the country’s rising stars, ATI.



South African Grammy award-winner Nomcebo Zikode also enthralled the audience with her foot-tapping music and viral smash single, Jerusalema.&nbsp;



The eager crowds gathered outside the Cresta President Hotel, known as a legacy hotel, overlooking the main stage.



“I am thrilled to be attending the 2023 summit,” said Muhle Ndwalane, the Managing Director of Asante Tech Solutions&nbsp;and FORBES AFRICA’s 2022 Under-30 lister. “This is one incredible platform that brings together some of the brightest minds and most innovative leaders from across the world.”



“With this being the first day of the summit, we have really been having fun,” said FORBES AFRICA’s 2021 Under-30 lister, filmmaker and creative director, Ifan Ifeanyi Michael, during the festivities.



“Apart from it being fun, it&#8217;s actually such a good networking experience for me. Meeting people from all parts of the continent, and all over the world; sharing business ideas, and also connecting with individuals who are also very optimistic about changing the narrative of Africa.”



Throughout the summit, attendees are looking forward to riveting conversations with change-makers from Africa and across the globe including the continent’s youngest billionaire Mohammed Dewji and Grammy award-winning artist Davido (who is also set to perform at the Bush Party), but part of the “fun” will be hearing from some of the past listers as well continuing the African growth story.



“This year I’m at the summit to speak on the topic of securing equitable funding, with fellow FORBES AFRICA listers Shaun Shoriwa and Charlot Magayi,” said Dr Brett Lyndall Singh, 2022 Under 30 list-maker, and founder and CEO of AOM GrouP.



“Last year, I came to the summit as an excited delegate, eager to learn from successful young entrepreneurs, and I ended up meeting a fellow lister, who became my co-founder! This year, I’m here to hear more! This summit is the most important event for any serious young entrepreneur, and I’m excited to share, learn and support this wonderful community.”



Held under the theme Entrepreneurial Africa—with Botswana at the Center, the summit will start day two with conversations and panel discussions with several African leaders and elite entrepreneurs, at the Botswana Innovation Hub.

Copy of Copy of Ilan Godfrey for Forbes_T1A5622

‘This Summit Is The Most Important Event For Any Serious Young Entrepreneur’: The Forbes Under 30 Summit Africa Opens In Gaborone 

Nomcebo Zikode, the multi platinum-selling South African singer-songwriter who won the Grammy in February for Global Music Performance with Wouter Kellerman and Zakes Bantwini, will be performing at the pan-African welcome celebration of the Forbes Under 30 Summit Africa in Gaborone, Botswana, on April 23.



The artist, who is the founder of the Nomcebo Zikode Foundation, was also at the eighth annual FORBES WOMAN AFRICA Leading Women Summit on March 8 in Pretoria, South Africa, where she spoke on stage about her tough journey to becoming a successful singer.



She outlined her trials and triumphs before performing the foot-tapping hit song Jerusalema and evoking tumultuous applause and cheers from the audience at the SunBet Arena.



She also won the 2023 FORBES WOMAN AFRICA Entertainer Award at a glittering ceremony in the evening on the same day.



Speaking to FORBES AFRICA after the win, she said: “You know, people have read everywhere about my struggles. But I did not focus on my struggles – I kept on pushing. That is why today, [I am] the woman who is a Grammy winner, because I didn’t give up. I kept on pushing. I am so happy as an African woman.”



From being a backing singer to an artist receiving recognition, Zikode is a part of South Africa’s burgeoning music landscape.



“There’s so much that is happening in this industry – when I say so much I mean going through so much. So, for me as a woman, to be recognized by FORBES AFRICA is great,” Zikode added in March.



Zikode worked with Master KG on the 2019 hit single Jerusalema and later remixed with Burna Boy, the song debuted at Number 1 on Billboard Music Charts. It became an anthem in South Africa and across the world as “a feel-good” song during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Nomcebo Zikode, image supplied

‘I Didn’t Focus On My Struggles, I Didn’t Give Up’: South Africa’s Grammy Winner Nomcebo Zikode

<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-topline">TOPLINE</h2>



The Gen Z generation is tracking ahead of Millennials and Gen X for homeownership, a new Redfin&nbsp;<a href="https://www.redfin.com/news/gen-z-millennial-homeownership-rate-home-purchases/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">study</a>&nbsp;shows—but the housing market threatens to create inequality across generations as those who didn’t buy homes in the past three years now face elevated prices and mortgage rates.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-facts">KEY FACTS</h2>



Roughly 30% of 25-year-olds in 2022—the oldest of the Gen Z (born between 1997 to 2013)—owned their home in 2022, a slightly higher percentage than the 28% of Millennials (born between 1981 to 1996) who owned homes at that age and the 27% of Gen Xers (born between 1965 and 1980)—but lower than the rate for Baby Boomers (born between 1946 and 1964), 32% of whom owned homes at age 25.



While Gen Z is ahead of their parents’ generation, Millennials are still tracking behind—62% of 40-year-old Millennials owned a home in 2022 compared with the 69% homeownership rate for Baby Boomers at that age.



The oldest of Gen Z were buying houses during the purchasing boom in 2020 and 2021, while the oldest Millennials reached age 25 right around the 2008 mortgage crisis.



Gen Z homebuyers have been flocking more toward affordable parts of the country, like Virginia Beach, Virginia, and Cincinnati, while Millennial buyers are more prevalent in job centers like Seattle and Philadelphia.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-background">KEY BACKGROUND</h2>



Many from Gen Z took advantage of the 3% mortgage rates in 2020 and 2021 to become homeowners, with the average mortgage rate for homebuyers under 25 in 2021 at 3.1%. A tight labor market during the pandemic also helped that generation build their incomes quickly, as wages rose 12% in 2022, double the increase for the overall population, according to a Bloomberg&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-03-13/gen-z-americans-keep-spending-in-face-of-high-inflation-consumer-prices?sref=fRZXrT1O#xj4y7vzkg" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">report</a>. Gen Z also focused its homebuying in smaller cities where housing was much less expensive, making it easier to afford a mortgage down payment. For example, Virginia Beach, which was the most popular location for Gen Z buyers in 2022, has a median home sale price of $225,000, while Seattle, the most popular among Millennials, averages $775,000 for a house. This is partly because people under 25 may be more flexible about their location as they enter the workforce in the era of remote and hybrid work, while older adults may be more tied to locations near existing careers, according to the study.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-crucial-quote">CRUCIAL QUOTE</h2>



“Millennials have been financially unlucky. Their parents had a more straightforward financial journey,” said Redfin Chief Economist Daryl Fairweather. “The oldest millennials entered the workforce during the 2001 recession. Then came the 2008 financial crisis, with many millennials in their first post-college job.”



Forbes Daily: Our best stories, exclusive reporting and Forbes perspectives on the day’s top news, plus the inside scoop on the world&#8217;s most important entrepreneurs.Sign Up



You may opt out any time. By signing up for this newsletter, you agree to the Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-to-watch-for">WHAT TO WATCH FOR</h2>



Now that mortgage rates have risen sharply from their pandemic lows, there’s a likelihood those who do not own their homes may have a harder time finding an affordable mortgage, the study shows. The “mortgage Millennials” or Gen Z members who bought homes before prices shot up more than 30% during the pandemic, or when mortgage rates were around 3%, have the upper hand over those who did not buy during that time and now face record-high monthly mortgage payments and rising housing costs.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-further-reading">FURTHER READING</h2>



<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/nigelwilson/2021/08/18/us-millennials-home-ownership-and-the-growing-chasm-between-aspiration-and-reality/?sh=6eee2e035498">U.S. Millennials: Home Ownership And The Growing Chasm Between Aspiration And Reality</a>&nbsp;(Forbes)



<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/gen-z-millennials-real-estate-investing-mistakes-buying-homes-early-2023-3" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Gen Z is coming for the housing market</a>&nbsp;(Insider)



<a href="https://www.forbes.com/advisor/mortgages/mortgage-rates/">Compare Current Mortgage Rates</a> (Forbes)



<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/katherinehamilton/"></a>By Katherine Hamilton, Forbes Staff

Lesbian couple carrying moving boxes into home

Gen Z Ahead Of Millennials—And Their Parents—In Owning Their Own Homes

Winifred Nwania is using her status as a YouTuber and influencer to seek out Nigeria’s rich repertoire of ingredients and recipes to put her country on the global food map.



When Winifred Nwania was 12 years old, her world turned upside down. The happy, idyllic life she and her six siblings were accustomed to in Lagos in Nigeria was shattered overnight when their father passed away.



“In the Igbo culture [of Nigeria], when a person loses her husband, the husband’s relatives come and make life really difficult for the woman, especially if they don’t like her and that was the case for my family. They took my father’s assets, his properties and everything he owned from us and my mother had to start life from scratch,” says Nwania.



In that tragic moment, Nwania would serendipitously find her calling. Noticing her brothers were hungry, Nwania decided to step up to give her mother a breather during the mourning period.



“I don’t know where that strength came from but I decided to do something for my brothers who were hungry and wanted to eat. So, I made the worst pot of jollof rice ever in my life but because I had this winning spirit that my dad had taught me, I changed my strategy the next day,” recalls Nwania.



The next day she decided to enlist the help of her mother. In between running back and forth from the family kitchen to her mother’s room for instructions, Nwania made her second pot of food and this time, it came out a lot better. That was all Nwania needed to convince her that she wanted to spend the rest of her life in the kitchen, cooking for all.



As fate would have it, during her one-year mandatory tenure as a National Youth Service Corps, the Nigerian government introduced an initiative called the skills acquisition and entrepreneurship development program to help everyone learn a skill before they left the youth camp.



“It came to my mind that I loved to cook and so I looked for a catering trainer in the camp and I joined her class and the first [dish] she cooked was with yam. She made a yam piccata and I still have the picture to this day. I was so intrigued by how she transformed the yam and I said this is what I want to do with the rest of my life. I made up my mind that I [would] delve deeper and make something out of this,” says Nwania.



But first she needed to pay her bills. After graduating from the camp, she joined an oil and gas company where she worked in the finance department to help foot her daily expenses but reserved the weekends for learning all she could about catering.



“I would go online, and on social media for articles and videos and the next step was to go to culinary school. The prices in Nigeria were too high and I couldn’t afford it at the time. So, I decided to go to the website of the school and I went to their curriculum section and saw that they had put the names of the books and the materials that they were going to use to teach the students. So, I took down all the names of the books and I bought them myself and trained myself by practicing in the kitchen.”



Nwania decided to post the images of her culinary creations on her Blackberry phone and soon began to get recipe requests from her followers. Her sister introduced the idea of blogging to Nwania and before long she was building a steady following online.



“I wasn’t really excelling in my nine-to-five job anymore. I was given a task and I was making so many errors and mistakes. My boss came and asked me why. He decided to check my computer and saw that I had so many windows opened about food. None of it had anything to do with my actual job at work and my boss said ‘if you want to go and cook in the kitchen why don’t you go and do that instead of sitting here’. And that is when it hit me. I quit my job without a plan,” laughs Nwania.



Her first plan was to have her own cooking channel and she reached out to every network she could find for a TV spot. No one responded. Yet again, her sister came to her rescue with another plan. This time, she suggested Nwania create her own YouTube channel and self-publish her content.



“At that time, YouTube was not that much of a big deal. So, I went on the platform and there was no one there I could look up to. So, I got a one-man production company and our goal was to get 5,000 subscribers but in the first six months, we got over 50,000 subscribers and grew so fast.”



Zeelicious Food was born. Today, Nwania boasts her own cooking show, My Naija Plate, on DSTv’s Honey TV where she has aired two seasons. She her own cook book and a lucrative YouTube channel with over 840,000 subscribers. Her videos average over a million views with brand partnerships from telco companies and other brands wanting to tap into her growing audience as an influencer.



“The main goal was to actually put Nigerian food on the global food map and help people with the opportunity to have a food repertoire. We are blessed with a very rich array of ingredients and I took it upon myself to research and use them to develop recipes that the people in this part of the world can relate to. The feedback has been amazing with people [even] telling me how I am saving their marriage by helping them be better cooks,” says Nwania.



Next up in building her food empire is to become a qualified nutritionist. Looking back on that fateful day when she was 12, Nwania believes everything happened for a reason. She ponders out loud at the end of our call that it was her mother’s tenacity in the face of unimaginable difficulty that made her a successful food entrepreneur.

Why Success Is On The Menu For This Nigerian Chef

In this photo illustration the American online social media

2023 Layoff Tracker: Latest Meta Cuts Could Hit 4,000

<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-topline">TOPLINE</h2>



India will overtake China to become the world’s most populous nation by this summer, data released by the United Nations on Wednesday showed, a tipping point that highlights shifting demographics between the two Asian countries collectively home to more than a third of the global population.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-facts">KEY FACTS</h2>



India’s estimated population by mid-2023 will stand at 1,428.6 million compared to China’s 1,425.7 million,&nbsp;<a href="https://reliefweb.int/attachments/e13a9007-9523-4fd4-8bae-21f7123e6e3d/SWOP2023-ENGLISH-230329-web.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">according to</a>&nbsp;the United Nations Population Fund’s (UNPFA) “State of World Population Report.”



The exact date of when the shift is unclear, but a UNPFA spokesperson&nbsp;<a href="https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/india-overtakes-china-as-world-s-most-populous-country-with-2-9-million-more-people-says-un-report-101681880853544.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">told</a>&nbsp;the&nbsp;Hindustan Times&nbsp;that this may have already happened.



The spokesperson added that China’s population peaked in late 2022 and has been declining since, while India’s population continues to grow.



Forbes&nbsp;has contacted the agency for comment.



India’s population is not only larger than China, but also a lot younger, with 25% being in the 0-14 age group, 18% in the 10-19 group and 26% in the 10-24 group, compared to 17%, 12% and 18% respectively for China.



With an estimated population of 340 million, the United States comes in at a distant third place.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-news-peg">NEWS PEG</h2>



The shifting population dynamics come at a critical time for both India and China as the two Asian giants seek to become both regional and global economic leaders. China’s&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/roberthart/2023/01/17/chinas-population-falls-for-first-time-in-60-years-heres-why/?sh=4de09bc12f09">aging population</a>&nbsp;and declining birth rate have raised fears of a looming demographic crisis. This is likely to lead to a shrinking of its labor force, which could in turn have a significant impact on Beijing’s status as a major world power. India, on the other hand, is scrambling to take advantage of what experts call a “demographic dividend” with a large portion of its population being young. This development will likely ramp up India’s government’s efforts to expand employment opportunities as millions of young people enter the workforce.



Forbes Daily: Our best stories, exclusive reporting and Forbes perspectives on the day’s top news, plus the inside scoop on the world&#8217;s most important entrepreneurs.Sign Up



You may opt out any time. By signing up for this newsletter, you agree to the Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-big-number">BIG NUMBER</h2>



8.045 billion. That is the estimate for the world&#8217;s total population by mid-2023, according to the UN data. The global population crossed 8 billion for the first time in November last year.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-crucial-quote">CRUCIAL QUOTE</h2>



In a&nbsp;<a href="https://reliefweb.int/report/world/state-world-population-2023-8-billion-lives-infinite-possibilities-case-rights-and-choices-enarru#:~:text=State%20of%20World%20Population%202023,ReliefWeb" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">statement</a>&nbsp;accompanying the report, the UNPFA addressed what it calls myths about the global population, including the opposing concerns that too many or too few people are being born. “There is no perfect number of people, nor should we prescribe a number of children that each woman should have. History has shown the damage this kind of thinking can cause, such as eugenics and genocide.” The statement also pushes back against the argument that higher fertility worsens the climate crisis by pointing out the fact that the wealthiest 10% of people—who tend to live in low fertility rate countries—are responsible for nearly half of all greenhouse gas emissions.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-further-reading">FURTHER READING</h2>



<a href="https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/india-overtakes-china-as-world-s-most-populous-country-with-2-9-million-more-people-says-un-report-101681880853544.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">India is now world’s most populous country, suggests UN data</a>&nbsp;(Hindustan Times)



<a href="https://reliefweb.int/report/world/state-world-population-2023-8-billion-lives-infinite-possibilities-case-rights-and-choices-enarru" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">8 Billion Lives, Infinite Possibilities &#8211; The case for rights and choices</a> (UNFPA)



<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/siladityaray/"></a>By Siladitya Ray, Forbes Staff

India Passes China on Population

India Will Become The World’s Most Populous Country—Overtaking China—By This Summer, UN Says

This is a business that started with two things.



“$150 and resilience!”



“I call myself the jack of all trades and muscle [to mean strength] of everything,” Oluwabusayo Victoria Abiri says to FORBES AFRICA. “My business is all about making sure that all black women feel comfortable in their own skin.”



Abiri’s energy came through in her bright dress at the FORBES AFRICA 30 Under 30 photo shoot in Johannesburg.



“I started Koko By Khloe Beauty as a response to limited quality skincare products in Africa. Unfortunately, there [are too many] hazardous skincare products in the African market. I wanted to go against the status quo and launch a cosmetics line that embraces different skin types and shades, providing them with well-trusted and patented products that nourish and promote healthy glowing skin.”



<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<iframe loading="lazy" title="#FORBESAFRICA30Under30 Class of 2023: Meet COVER STAR Oluwabusayo Victoria Abiri" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/m-prC1vWk4E?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>
</div></figure>



However, starting a business in the beauty industry as a woman from Nigeria did not come without its challenges.



“Being an entrepreneur in Nigeria in general is hard,” Abiri explains. “Already, there are a lot of stigmas about doing business with Nigerians, and there is a lot of competition that comes with it.”



Through her business, Abiri has been able to amass over 1.5 million followers on Instagram and over 200,000 daily Snapchat viewers. With that viewership, she has been able to mobilize conversations with her audience around the age-old standards of beauty across Africa and how they are changing.



“The beauty industry is highly competitive, and local brands face a significant challenge competing with global giants,” says Bright Jaja. “However, I am impressed with Victoria’s success in breaking into the industry and making a significant impact in a short period. By leveraging her Instagram following, she has managed to create a community of people who appreciate and purchase her products.”

Untitled design (4)

#FORBESAFRICA30Under30 Class of 2023: Meet COVER STAR Oluwabusayo Victoria Abiri “Being an entrepreneur in Nigeria in general is hard.”

<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-topline">TOPLINE</h2>



A new TikTok trend known as “Watertok” has made a splash in recent weeks — as users experiment with flavored water “cocktails” — but the trend has raised many questions, including a debate over whether the drinks are still technically “water” and whether there are health risks associated with the latest viral craze.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-facts">KEY FACTS</h2>



“Watertok” videos often feature women filling up large cups—Stanley tumblers are usually the mode of choice—with ice and water, and then creating an elixir by adding different water flavorings, typically in pursuit of drinking more water throughout the day



Some of the most infamous “water recipes” include&nbsp;<a href="https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTR3c5wPF/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">birthday cake</a>&nbsp;water,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTR3cwP2a/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">peach ring</a>&nbsp;water and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTR3cyXrV/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">piña colada</a>&nbsp;water—the creators use powdered flavorings from brands like Skittles, Sonic, Crush and Jolly Ranchers and syrups by&nbsp;<a href="https://www.skinnymixes.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Jordan’s Skinny Mixes</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kerryfoodservice.com/collections/sugar-free-syrups?scroll=780" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">DaVinci</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.makeitmio.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">MiO</a>&nbsp;to create the drinks.



While the flavorings are typically zero-calorie and sugar free, Watertok’s popularity and the vibrant color and sweetness of the drinks have caused people to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTR3c2VCD/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">wonder</a>&nbsp;where to draw the line between water and juice.



Others have resorted to mocking the trend, like this TikTok&nbsp;<a href="https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTR3cUaCY/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">video</a>&nbsp;with over 330,000 likes and 2.5 millions views, in which the creator pretends to make a water recipe, but makes a pitcher of Kool-aid instead.



The trend, which began among patients of weight-loss surgery who were advised to consume water before and after their operations, has picked up steam on TikTok, causing some health experts to praise increased water consumption while others warn that replacing meals with water could lead to disordered eating.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-big-number">BIG NUMBER</h2>



134.2 million. That’s how many views the hashtag&nbsp;<a href="https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTR3vswEU/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">#WaterTok</a>&nbsp;has accumulated on TikTok.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-crucial-quote">CRUCIAL QUOTE</h2>



“In a perfect world, [people] would be drinking just regular water, but we know some people just don&#8217;t like it or don&#8217;t don&#8217;t drink enough,” obesity medicine specialist and medical director of diabetes reversal company Virta Health, Jeff Stanley, told&nbsp;Forbes. “So, adding in a bit of [flavoring] can be helpful.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-watertok-origins">WATERTOK ORIGINS</h2>



WaterTok originated from bariatric patients who needed to spice up their water intake while on pre- and postoperative liquid diets that last no more than&nbsp;<a href="https://stanfordhealthcare.org/medical-treatments/c/colorectal-cancer-surgery/what-to-expect/clear-liquid-diet-guidelines.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">five days</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-features/watertok-tiktok-water-experts-concerned-1234714010/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">according</a>&nbsp;to popular WaterTok creator Tonya Spanglo. Stanley told&nbsp;Forbes&nbsp;the reason for the liquid diet is for “people to lose a little bit of weight before the surgery… and shrink the liver a little, which makes the surgery easier.”&nbsp;<a href="https://www.urmc.rochester.edu/encyclopedia/content.aspx?contenttypeid=135&amp;contentid=82#:~:text=The%20most%20common%20types%20of,the%20top%20of%20your%20stomach." target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">According</a>&nbsp;to the University of Rochester Medical Center, there are three common types of bariatric surgeries: gastric bypass, sleeve gastrectomy (or the gastric sleeve) and adjustable gastric banding (or the lap band). During the gastric sleeve, 85% of the patient’s is removed, creating a narrow tube that resembles a sleeve, during gastric bypass the surgeon removes part of the stomach to create a pouch and the lap band involves an adjustable band being placed at the top of the stomach and a port under the skin to tighten the band. Spanglo, known on TikTok as&nbsp;<a href="https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTR3vg4uy/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">takingmylifeback42</a>, is a bariatric patient with almost 800,000 TikTok followers. In a recent&nbsp;<a href="https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTR3cNUDN/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">video</a>&nbsp;addressing the hate she’s received, she made it clear her “dietician and surgeon approved [flavored water].” Spanglo is no longer on a liquid diet as she got her&nbsp;<a href="https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTR3cPLxg/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">surgery</a>&nbsp;three years ago, so she drinks flavored water to meet her water intake goal of at least 64 ounces a day.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-benefits">BENEFITS</h2>



The main reason people drink flavored water is to up their water intake. TikToker Haley Staggs&nbsp;<a href="https://www.today.com/food/trends/watertok-flavored-water-recipes-tiktok-rcna79555" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">told</a>&nbsp;NBC’s&nbsp;Today&nbsp;show that WaterTok has helped her drink more water, and she now consumes “over 100 ounces of water a day.” Stanley said water recipes help his diabetic patients curb their sweet tooth, and he found flavored water was a good alternative to juice and soda because most flavorings use sugar substitutes. For the most part, Stanley believes the WaterTok trend is harmless and a way to “keep things interesting,” while having fun, and considers it water “for all intents and purposes.” Dietician Frances Largeman-Roth told&nbsp;Today&nbsp;“it’s a fun thing to make and drink,” and she loves how people are leveling up their water intakes, but advised against using artificially colored and flavored syrups.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-is-it-dangerous">IS IT DANGEROUS?</h2>



Just like any trend, WaterTok has become popular among people who were not originally the target audience. Some WaterTok videos are also hashtagged as weight loss videos, though the trend is not overtly related to weight loss outside of the bariatric surgery requirements. However, chief strategy officer for the eating disorder treatment organization the Emily Program and Veritas Collaborative, Jillian Lampert,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-features/watertok-tiktok-water-experts-concerned-1234714010/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">told</a>&nbsp;Rolling Stone&nbsp;flavored water is a recipe for a potential eating disorder. Lampert labels people drinking water in place of food as “long-term, old-school eating disorder behavior.” Around 28.8 million Americans will have an eating disorder in their lifetimes, the Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders&nbsp;<a href="https://anad.org/eating-disorders-statistics/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">reports</a>. Abdul Matin Azizi, principal dentist at Harley Private Dental,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/watertok-hydration-flavoured-water-receipes-healthy-b2320966.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">warned</a>&nbsp;The Independent&nbsp;about the dangers the trend can pose for dental health. Azini said the additives, artificial sugars and citric acid in the flavorings can “erode tooth enamel and cause tooth decay,” and recommended rinsing the mouth after consumption. Most flavorings, like Skinny Mixes syrup, are sweetened with stevia and erythritol, both sugar alternatives used in the diabetic community. However, a recent study&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/ariannajohnson/2023/03/01/new-warning-about-zero-calorie-sugar-substitute-what-experts-are-saying-about-erythritol/?sh=3c1ac8ca5385">linked</a>&nbsp;erythritol with an increased risk of heart disease, though the study only featured participants with heart problems.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-further-reading">FURTHER READING</h2>



<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/ariannajohnson/2023/03/01/new-warning-about-zero-calorie-sugar-substitute-what-experts-are-saying-about-erythritol/?sh=3c1ac8ca5385">New Warning About Zero-Calorie Sugar Substitute: What Experts Are Saying About Erythritol</a>&nbsp;Forbes)



<a href="https://www.today.com/food/trends/watertok-flavored-water-recipes-tiktok-rcna79555" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">#WaterTok: Why ‘water recipes’ are taking over TikTok</a>&nbsp;(Today)



<a href="https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-features/watertok-tiktok-water-experts-concerned-1234714010/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">TikTok Is Obsessed With Water. Experts Are Concerned</a> (Rolling Stone)



<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/ariannajohnson/"></a>By Arianna Johnson, Forbes Staff

In this photo illustration the TikTok logo seen displayed on

Divisive TikTok Trend ‘WaterTok’: Why Some Experts Warn Against It And Others Encourage It

<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-topline">TOPLINE</h2>



Alphabet shares are on pace for their worst day in over two months following a report indicating the Google parent company is in danger of losing a key multibillion-dollar search engine contract to Microsoft, as the artificial intelligence rivalry between the two technology giants rages on.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-facts">KEY FACTS</h2>



Samsung is mulling a switch from Google to Microsoft’s Bing as the default search engine on its smartphones and tablets, the&nbsp;New York Times&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/16/technology/google-search-engine-ai.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">reported</a>&nbsp;Sunday, putting a contract worth a reported $3 billion per year in jeopardy.



Though that represents just over 1% of Alphabet’s roughly $280 billion in annual revenue, it’s the latest indication that Google’s search engine dominance may be fading, with the&nbsp;Times&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/16/technology/google-search-engine-ai.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">reporting</a>&nbsp;there was “panic” among Alphabet employees over the Samsung contract.



Alphabet shares slid as much as 4.1% in early trading Monday, shedding $57 billion in market capitalization, while Microsoft shares climbed 1.6%.



That continues a months-long trend of Microsoft’s stock outperforming Alphabet’s, as Microsoft shares are up 21% since the November launch of ChatGPT, OpenAI’s viral chatbot incorporated into Bing; Alphabet shares are up 10% during the same period.



Microsoft has an “early lead” in the artificial intelligence space as it exhibits a “renewed vigor” in the search market, Goldman Sachs analysts led by Kash Rangan wrote in a note to clients last month.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-background">KEY BACKGROUND</h2>



Microsoft&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/dereksaul/2023/01/23/chatgpt-parent-open-ai-gets-game-changing-multibillion-dollar-boost-from-microsoft/?sh=7e64a4253c0c">announced</a>&nbsp;in January it made a multibillion-dollar investment in OpenAI,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/dereksaul/2023/01/23/chatgpt-parent-open-ai-gets-game-changing-multibillion-dollar-boost-from-microsoft/?sh=7e64a4253c0c">reportedly</a>&nbsp;infusing $10 billion into the budding generative AI company and taking what will be a 49% stake in the firm. Just three weeks later, Microsoft&nbsp;<a href="https://blogs.microsoft.com/blog/2023/02/07/reinventing-search-with-a-new-ai-powered-microsoft-bing-and-edge-your-copilot-for-the-web/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">rolled out</a>&nbsp;its integration of ChatGPT into Bing and its Edge web browser. Bard, Google’s answer to ChatGPT, has received more lukewarm feedback, with Alphabet shares&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reuters.com/technology/google-ai-chatbot-bard-offers-inaccurate-information-company-ad-2023-02-08/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">tanking</a>&nbsp;7% on February 8 after the chatbot provided inaccurate information during a demo.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-crucial-quote">CRUCIAL QUOTE</h2>



Microsoft is the “clear early leader” in the generative AI space and has “potential to achieve escape velocity” and separate itself from competitors, JPMorgan analyst Mark Murphy wrote earlier this month.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-big-number">BIG NUMBER</h2>



20%. That’s&nbsp;<a href="https://www.counterpointresearch.com/global-smartphone-share/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">roughly</a>&nbsp;the proportion of the roughly&nbsp;<a href="https://www.gsma.com/mobileeconomy/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/270223-The-Mobile-Economy-2023-Infographic.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">4.4 billion</a>&nbsp;smartphone users worldwide that use a Samsung device, according to Counterpoint Research and GSMA Intelligence data.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-further-reading">FURTHER READING</h2>



<a href="https://www.forbes.com/lists/ai50/?sh=1c90f134290f">AI 50</a>&nbsp;(Forbes)



<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/dereksaul/2023/03/01/ai-is-the-new-electricity-bank-of-america-picks-20-stocks-to-cash-in-on-chatgpt-hype/?sh=5a8f4d9777ac">‘AI Is The New Electricity’: Bank Of America Picks 20 Stocks To Cash In On ChatGPT Hype</a>&nbsp;(Forbes)



<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/16/technology/google-search-engine-ai.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Google Devising Radical Search Changes to Beat Back A.I. Rivals</a> (New York Times)



By Derek Saul, Forbes Staff

In this photo illustration, a woman holds a smartphone with

Google Stock Loses $57 Billion Amid Microsoft’s AI ‘Lead’—And Reports It Could Be Replaced By Bing On Some Smartphones

By Colin Iles



What do all great leaders have in common?



Number one on my list is they have all achieved mastery in using storytelling to influence at scale.



The book Uncle Tom’s Cabin is widely recognized as having contributed to the end of slavery in the United States. The novel humanized slaves, portraying them as complex characters with emotions, families, and dignity, rather than just as property.



It was a powerful story which polarized opinion and catalyzed support for the abolitionist movement that eventually saw the ending of slavery in 1865.



Powerful stuff, but we shouldn’t be surprised.



Because stories are what have driven human behaviors since the beginning of time. In fact, stories have shaped our history in every regard, whether that relates to religion, politics or the underlying fabric of different cultures around the world.



It should therefore be no surprise that effective storytelling is a powerful tool in business.



By telling stories that emotionally resonate, we can influence others to do incredible things.



And business is all about influence.



Influencing investors to stay the course.



Staff to be more productive and innovative.



Customers to become advocates.



And I’m not the only one who believes in storytelling’s power.



Steve Denning, a former executive of the World Bank, said: “When it comes to inspiring people to embrace a vision or a change in behavior, storytelling isn’t just better than the other tools, it’s the only thing that works.”



Steve Jobs was perhaps one of the greatest proponents of the power of storytelling in business. As he once said, “The most powerful person in the world is the storyteller. The storyteller sets the vision, values and agenda of an entire generation that is to come.”



One of the best examples of how he inspired people with fantasy, not fact, came when he successfully asked American businessman John Sculley to leave PepsiCo and join Apple.



“Do you want to sell fizzy water for the rest of your life or come and help me change the world?” Sculley later said that question landed like a punch in the gut.



If stories are such powerful business tools, why don’t more businesses use them?



Well, purposeful organizations do, and it is central to their success.



A purpose-driven company typically sets social or environmental goals as the primary purpose or mission.



For-profits, on the other hand, follow American economist Milton Friedman’s doctrine that an entity’s greatest responsibility is to satisfy its shareholders. Interestingly, researchers are consistently showing that purposeful organizations are typically outperforming their profit-driven peers.



For example, the book Firms of Endearment showcases how purpose-driven companies like TOMS, Unilever, Ikea and Amazon have, on average, outperformed the S&amp;P500 by 14 times over 15 years from 1998 to 2013.



And if you are looking for more anecdotal evidence, just write down your 10 favorite successful companies. I’d expect the majority to be purpose-led.



The most recent case study is, of course, OpenAI.



Their flagship product ChatGPT gained 100 million users within two months, making it the fastest growing consumer application in history.



But their purpose wasn’t to make a profit. Instead, they focused on “creating safe artificial intelligence that benefits all of humanity”.



Despite their best efforts they are now worth billions! Ok, so back to the why. Why are purposeful organizations such better storytellers and, therefore, influencers?



Well, for starters, for-profits have no inspiring stories to tell.



When your goal is to make money for the sake of making money, and your dream only extends to making more money, what role can you play in a story other than that of the villain?



On the other hand, purposedriven organizations offer ample storytelling opportunities because their purpose is the story, and their staff are the heroes who all want to be part of a movement that benefits society.



And that’s the type of environment that fosters trust, collaboration and innovation.



Purpose allows for storytelling. Storytelling lets you influence. Influence is key to success.



That’s why most of the leaders profiled in this edition have probably mastered using storytelling to influence at scale.



The writer curates thought leadership events that help executive teams transform their organizations; visit coliniles.com.

Entrepreneur Using Laptop At Home Office

Why Storytelling Is A Powerful Tool In Business

Name:&nbsp;Angela Mwanza



Firm:&nbsp;UBS Private Wealth Management



Location:&nbsp;New York, NY



AUM:&nbsp;$878 million



Forbes Rankings:&nbsp;Best-in-State Wealth Advisors, Top Women Wealth Advisors Best-In-State, America’s Top Women Wealth Advisors



Background:&nbsp;Angela Mwanza was born and raised in Zambia, where her family still lives. She eventually moved to Germany and learned the language there while pursuing a degree in Linguistics. While studying, Mwanza worked for a sports fashion sales company specializing in snowboarding. “I’m scared of heights and come from Africa so I had never snowboarded… but I self taught myself and still snowboard to this day!,” says Mwanza. In the late 90s, Mwanza decided it was time for a change of pace so she earned her MBA at Cornell University and then landed a job at JPMorgan Private Bank in 2000. When the financial crisis rolled around eight years later, she was working at Lehman Brothers, but was able to move to UBS in the midst of the downturn, where she has worked ever since.



Competitive Edge:&nbsp;Mwanza is highly focused on family finances and philanthropy in her practice, honing in on the purpose and values of each client in order to be intentional about all aspects of their wealth. “The pain points I kept hearing from clients all had to do with the complexities that wealth brings—and the number one thing people care about is their family,” says Mwanza. As a result she is “always thinking generationally”, engaging the next generation and facilitating discussions throughout the entire family. What’s more, many of her clients have a passion for making a positive change in the world, so a key part of her practice revolves around socially responsible and impact investments.



Biggest Challenge:&nbsp;When she first moved to the United States for business school, Mwanza had to build up her knowledge and expertises from scratch. “I was so out of my element and completely clueless at the time,” she recalls. “I had never heard of&nbsp;The Wall Street Journal!”



Investment Philosophy/Strategy:&nbsp;Mwanza takes a holistic approach to working with clients: “I can’t be a good advisor if I’m not speaking to their other advisors and attorneys,” she says. In terms of investing, she and her team are strong believers in long-term, risk-adjusted and tax-aware returns. “Most clients who are entrepreneurial tend to have a lot of risk outside of the portfolio we are managing—so we tend to be moderately conservative when thinking about their lifetime,” adds Mwanza.



Investment Outlook:&nbsp;“Markets like this with rising rates tend to favor value over growth, so we position more defensively from a tactical standpoint,” she says. “There’s a lot of unknowns but that’s something we just<a href="https://www.forbes.com/digital-assets/assets/just-just/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">just</a>&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/digital-assets/assets/just-just/">-0.3%</a>&nbsp;have to be ready for and resilient about when it comes to client portfolios.” Mwanza and her team like alternative investments but shuns gold, which “doesn’t make sense” as a hedge to market volatility when Treasuries are yielding nearly 5%. “Our outlook is long term, so we’re not bothered by day to day volatility,” says Mwanza.



Best Advice:&nbsp;“It’s very important not to be emotionally invested—people get antsy and feel like they have to do something but that’s when most mistakes are made,” she says.



Favorite Hobby: Mwanza loves pushing her limits outside of work, too: “Don’t tell me I can’t do something,” she says. She has run six marathons (one in Boston, five in New York) and has scaled the summit of Mt. Kilimanjaro. Mwanza also enjoys traveling with her husband, taking trips to see endangered species like rhinos in Asia or tortoises in the Galapagos.



<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/sergeiklebnikov/"></a>By Sergei Klebnikov, Forbes Staff

Mighty Dream Forum Hosted By Pharrell Williams 2022 – Day 2

Zambia-Born UBS Advisor Loves Snowboarding And Impact Investing

Nigerian footballer Ositadimma Umenyiora, who won the Super Bowl championships twice, is now identifying talented youth in the UK and Africa and providing them with training and scholarships to attend prestigious universities and play professional football.



The Superbowl, the annual football championship game of the National Football League (NFL), is one of America’s biggest sporting traditions. This year, over 113 million people reportedly tuned in to watch the game that saw Kansas City Chiefs emerge victorious against Philadelphia Eagles.



From Hollywood A-listers to music superstars, the Superbowl is perhaps the one all-encompassing sports event that literally grips Americans, bringing people from all walks of life together for the most epic football game each year.



It is such a big American tradition that it costs a staggering $7 million, according to The Wall Street Journal, to place a 30-second ad spot during the game. And not just anybody can perform at America’s biggest sports event.



You have to be a global superstar like Beyoncé or Rihanna to be able to grace the stage of the coveted halftime event. And to win the Superbowl championship means a player has reached the pinnacle of American football. So, when Ositadimma Umenyiora, or Osi, a Nigerian born in England, won this coveted championship twice, it was nothing short of a miracle. And this is his story.



It all started when he relocated from England to Lagos when he was seven years old. After completing his secondary school education, Umenyiora’s parents decided he should pursue his education in America when he turned 14.



“I got to America and that was what everybody was playing and talking about and it was the biggest thing where I went. I still wasn’t interested because it looked strange to me just seeing people running around and hitting each other but I had some friends who told me I was pretty athletic because I used to play basketball and I should go try out,” recalls Umenyiora.



Wanting to fit in with the other cool kids and most importantly to avoid being bullied for being the only African in Alabama, Umenyiora decided to try out. Even though he wasn’t exactly good at the sports initially, he was lucky enough to have the physique and raw talent to bag a scholarship to go to university to play football. And that is how he earned a college degree.



“All of a sudden it was like you can make a living and considerable amount of money playing this game. I got drafted into the NFL and it changed my life. So, for me, I can never underestimate what the game was able to do for me and for my family. It was an incredible experience.”



He played 12 seasons which equates to four times the average career of a footballer as a defensive end for the New York Giants.



“We won the Superbowl twice. The experience of that was surreal because when you are in America and you watch football and you understand the significance of that game to the country, you never really picture yourself getting,” says Umenyiora.



But that is exactly what happened and being there in that environment and not only getting the chance to play but actually winning the Superbowl completely transformed Umenyiora’s life. After he retired from the game, Umenyiora decided he would try and give other young people the same opportunity that the NFL blessed him with. He relocated to the United Kingdom (UK) to help grow the game and after a short period of time, realized most of the talent he was discovering for the sports were from Africa.



That was his Eureka moment.



“Going around scouting, we started to figure out that yes there were athletes in the UK but at the end of the day, a lot of the athletes were actually African and Nigerian. Then I remembered the entire time I was in the NFL, I kept on doing charity back in Nigeria building wells, scholarships etc. and it just never seemed to be enough because there were so many people who needed help and opportunities.



“I realized there are over a hundred players currently playing in the NFL who are either of African descent or born in Africa and we know that in terms of talent and athletic ability, Africa has an abundance of that probably more than anywhere in the world,” says Umenyiora.



For Umenyiora, Africa is the future. After a brief conversation with the chairman of the NFL, NFL Africa was created. For Umenyiora the business case was simple.



“I told him everything we are looking for; we all know that if you look at Africa especially as a population as a whole, we know that there is going to be capitalism development there. So, if you are looking for your next 100 million or 200 million, the youth population and massive population growth, that is where you are going to find it and Africans can play the game to a very high standard.”



The goal for Umenyiora is to give Africans the same opportunities that transformed his life. NFL Africa identifies talented youth in the UK and Africa and provides them with training and scholarships to attend prestigious universities and play professional football. The journey has been a difficult one. Firstly, there is little to no infrastructure for sports in Africa.



“You have all this talent and I’m talking about hundreds of millions of dollars of talent that is just there and there is nothing built specifically to train and build these athletes to be able to identify them,” says Umenyiora.



To overcome this challenge, Umenyiora and his team have set up camps to find the best talent across the continent and provide them with the requisite training to get them up to speed. The ones that are a bit older are put into the international player pathway program to directly try out for the NFL. So far, Umenyiora has placed seven African athletes on lucrative NFL rosters.



And this is just the beginning. As America gears up for the 2024 Superbowl, Umenyiora is hoping that another African will get to experience how it feels to play at the apex of American football and through the opportunities NFL Africa has provided, create a knock-on effect that transforms the lives of other impoverished youth on the African continent.

Atlanta Falcons v Buffalo Bills

Bowling Over Africa: Finding The Future Of Football

<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-topline">TOPLINE</h2>



Birth control with fewer side effects could be a possibility in the future, as a&nbsp;<a href="https://journals.plos.org/ploscompbiol/article?id=10.1371/journal.pcbi.1010073" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">study</a>&nbsp;published Thursday found that ovulation can still be effectively prevented when the dosage of hormones in birth control is reduced by up to 92%.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-facts">KEY FACTS</h2>



Researchers examined women aged 20 to 34 with normal menstrual cycles and found that it’s possible to reduce the total dose in both estrogen-only and progesterone-only contraceptives and still prevent ovulation, for a&nbsp;<a href="https://journals.plos.org/ploscompbiol/article?id=10.1371/journal.pcbi.1010073" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">study</a>&nbsp;published in&nbsp;PLOS Computational Biology.



In estrogen-only contraceptives researchers were able to reduce the total dose by 92% and in progesterone-only birth control they reduced the total dose by 43%.



In contraception with both estrogen and progesterone, the study shows that each dose of the hormone could be reduced further.



PROMOTED



The study found that contraception that distributes estrogen and progesterone at different points in the menstrual cycle could prove more successful than the current norm of steady constant doses of a hormone.



Most forms of contraception— whether pill, injectable or implant—aim to administer estrogen, progesterone or both to block ovulation and stop an egg from being released into the uterus



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-big-number">BIG NUMBER</h2>



65%. That’s what percentage of U.S. women aged 15 to 49 used contraception from 2017 to 2019,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/products/databriefs/db388.htm" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">according</a>&nbsp;to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-background">KEY BACKGROUND</h2>



Birth control is notorious for its many varying side effects. Weight gain, mood changes, acne and headaches are among the common symptoms of hormonal contraceptives,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.aafp.org/pubs/afp/issues/2010/1215/p1509.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">according</a>&nbsp;to the American Academy of Family Physicians. In a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kff.org/womens-health-policy/report/contraception-in-the-united-states-a-closer-look-at-experiences-preferences-and-coverage/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">survey</a>&nbsp;done by the Kaiser Family Foundation last year, nearly one-third of contraceptive users said they experienced side effects from their current method of birth control, and more than half of those surveyed said the side effects they experienced were more severe than they expected. The effects of hormonal contraceptives on the brain, in particular, have been a focus for many researchers in recent years. A 2022 systematic review of neuroimaging studies on contraception&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7667464/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">found</a>&nbsp;that the use of hormonal birth control can alter both the structure and the function of the brain, a finding which made adolescent women who are still developing increasingly vulnerable, researchers said. If, as Thursday’s study suggests, there is a reduction of hormones in birth control, side effects from contraception could also subside.



Forbes Daily: Our best stories, exclusive reporting and Forbes perspectives on the day’s top news, plus the inside scoop on the world&#8217;s most important entrepreneurs.Sign Up



You may opt out any time. By signing up for this newsletter, you agree to the Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-tangent">TANGENT</h2>



Separately there’s been a push to broaden birth control options for sexual partners. A&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-023-36119-6" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">study</a>&nbsp;out earlier this year found a male contraceptive pill was effective in male mice 30 to 60 minutes after they took it, a finding researchers described as a “game changer” for contraceptives. The male mice received a single oral dose of a drug that immobilized sperm for up to two and a half hours, researchers said.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-further-reading">FURTHER READING</h2>



<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/roberthart/2023/02/14/male-birth-control-drug-sees-game-changer-trial-in-mice-heres-what-you-need-to-know/?sh=37a540db4481">Male Birth Control Drug Sees ‘Game-Changer’ Trial In Mice—Here’s What You Need To Know</a>&nbsp;(Forbes)



<a href="https://www.statnews.com/2021/12/06/patients-doctors-clashing-side-effects-hormonal-birth-control/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Patients And Doctors Are Clashing About Side Effects Of Hormonal Birth Control</a> (STAT)



<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/anafaguy/"></a>By Ana Faguy, Forbes Staff

TEENAGER TAKING CONTRACEPTIVE PILL FROM BLISTER PACK

Birth Control Can Be Effective With Lower Dosage Of Hormones, Study Finds

A Gambia River journey took this writer to the depths of a region rich with wildlife, culture and world heritage sites.



By Ramdas Iyer



Upstream from the Atlantic and not too far from the banks of the Gambia River, I was standing amidst a concentration of 11 circles of 200 megalith stones erected more than a thousand years ago, mostly for burial purposes. The Wassu Circle, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is one of Africa’s greatest anthropological and archaeological puzzles; the stones are all that remain of what must have undoubtedly been a great and sophisticated culture.



Sailing from the mouth of the Gambia River, I embarked on a journey of 300km to the interior from the Atlantic coast at Banjul, formerly Bathurst, the capital city, to observe a land defined by the river and ravaged by the Atlantic slave trade. One of the smaller countries of Africa, it is a strip of land 450km long and 25km to 50km wide on either side of the river. The Gambia River is a major river in West Africa, running 1,120km from north Guinea westward through Senegal and The Gambia to the Atlantic Ocean. It is only navigable for about half that length.



In Banjul, I was particularly impressed by the local museum, cramped but with memorabilia from the colonial era, including a passenger ticket from Bathurst to Liverpool on the MV Apapa. It also houses an impressive collection of masks, musical instruments and Yoruba artifacts. I got an opportunity to purchase some of the African art, mostly from Mali, Ghana and Nigeria at the Royal Albert market, a great place to observe and mingle with the local population.



A few hours sailing from Banjul brought me to St. James Island in the middle of the river. Under British presence since 1651, it became an important slave trading post in The Gambia. In 1976, St. James Island became famous due to Alex Haley’s bestseller book Roots and the story of a slave, called Kunta Kinte.



The island was renamed Kunta Kinteh Island and is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. I had taken a copy of the book with me and identifying the areas in the book with an actual visit was quite emotional.


<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="aligncenter size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="415" height="188" src="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/sometime1.png" alt="" class="wp-image-57986" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/sometime1.png 415w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/sometime1-300x136.png 300w" sizes="(max-width: 415px) 100vw, 415px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Photo by Ramdas Iyer</figcaption></figure></div>


Each day, we used motorized pirogues to reach the fishing villages or to enjoy the beautiful Bao Bolong wetland reserves that boast over 250 species of birds. Adjacent to these wetlands is the large Kiang West National Park where I went on an all-day foot safari. Lions have long been extinct in The Gambia, along with the other animals in the Big Five. But a diverse presence of hyenas, leopards, spitting cobras and pythons made for an interesting outing. Further upstream, we arrived at the bustling Gambian port town of Kuntaur, the last inland stop along the river that is navigable for ocean-going vessels like mine.



Walking around town and its adjoining villages revealed the importance of peanuts as the chief cash crop of The Gambia. Not too far from Kuntaur, I was excited to visit a quintet of uninhabited islands that constitute the Gambia National River Park.



The southernmost, Baboon Island , is the home of the Chimpanzee Rehabilitation Project established by American anthropologist Janis Carter in 1979, to provide a home for chimpanzees released from the laboratories of the western world. Over 100 of these primates live on these islands where no one is allowed to set foot except scientists. I photographed several of the apes including younger generations that are now free in a land where they had become extinct a century ago. At this point in the protected river, one could see a plethora of wildlife including hippos, crocodiles, and the red colobus and green vervet monkeys. 



At the Kuntaur pier, we were met by the ‘Kankurang’ and a local dance group. Believed to have spiritual powers, the Kankurang dispense justice and ward off evil spirits.



I tired dancing with the Mandinka women and the Kankurang at the pier to the sound of drums and whistles. With local river pilots familiar with the topography of the river bottom, we made our way back to Banjul.



Gambians, who still suffer economically from the ravages of slavery four centuries ago, showed me that poverty alone cannot destroy the human spirit and the ability to deliver a sparkling smile.

sometime12

Wondrous Waters: A Gambia River Journey

<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-topline">TOPLINE</h2>



Researchers on Wednesday hailed a groundbreaking new test that can detect Parkinson’s disease, a major breakthrough in the quest to accurately diagnose the progressive and incurable condition and a “game-changer” that clears the way for new treatments, preventatives and even cures.



Researchers have praised a breakthrough in diagnosing Parkinson&#8217;s disease.GETTY



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-facts">KEY FACTS</h2>



The new test can accurately identify Parkinson’s disease using samples of the cerebrospinal fluid surrounding the brain and spinal cord, according to a study of more than 1,100 people&nbsp;<a href="http://www.thelancet.com/journals/laneur/article/PIIS1474-4422(23)00109-6/fulltext" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">published</a>&nbsp;in&nbsp;Lancet Neurology.



It marks the first time scientists and clinicians can monitor, detect and define Parkinson’s disease using objective, biological terms—as opposed to clinical assessments and patient reports—since the condition was first characterized more than 200 years ago.



The technique, known as the alpha-synuclein seed amplification assay, analyzes the build-up of abnormal proteins linked to Parkinson’s, which evidence suggests happens in the disease’s early stages and before the loss of certain nerve cells that is the only other biological change signaling Parkinson’s.



The molecular test managed to successfully identify nearly 90% of people diagnosed with the disease, the researchers said, even before diagnosis or the onset of symptoms like smell loss or problems with movement.



Writing in a linked commentary, neurologists Daniela Berg and Christine Klein, who were not involved in the study and are based at Germany’s University Hospital Schleswig-Holstein, said the test finally “lays the foundation for a biological diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease” and lauded its ability to detect the condition before any other clinical or physical changes are detectable.



Dr. Kenneth Marek, who co-led the research and is a scientist at the Michael J. Fox Foundation’s Parkinson’s Progression Markers Initiative and the Institute for Neurodegenerative Disorders, said the test’s validation ”launches a new, biological era in Parkinson’s research” that will “transform” clinical care and the search for treatments, preventions and cures.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-background">KEY BACKGROUND</h2>



Parkinson’s disease is a degenerative neurological disorder with no cure. It largely affects people over 50 years of age and, after Alzheimer’s, is the second-most common neurodegenerative disorder in the U.S. Treatments, which include brain implants and drugs, aim at addressing symptoms rather than slowing down or reversing the disease’s erosion of cognitive faculties, which vary between people but can include trouble walking, movement issues, tremors, memory loss, loss of smell and depression. In the U.S. alone, the cost of treating Parkinson’s is&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ninds.nih.gov/current-research/focus-disorders/focus-parkinsons-disease-research/parkinsons-disease-challenges-progress-and-promise" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">estimated</a>&nbsp;to be $14 billion annually, and as the population ages—the number of people diagnosed with Parkinson’s is projected to double by 2040—these costs are expected to climb.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-crucial-quote">CRUCIAL QUOTE</h2>



Actor Michael J. Fox, who was diagnosed with Parkinson’s decades ago and advocates research into the condition, said he is “deeply moved” by the breakthrough and grateful to all involved. Fox is the namesake to the country’s largest foundation supporting Parkinson’s research, including this work, and said “we weren’t casting about for fish — we were going after a whale” when the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ppmi-info.org/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">group</a>&nbsp;set its sights on biological markers of the disease. “Now, here we are,” Fox said, adding: “together we are making a cure for Parkinson’s inevitable.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-big-number">BIG NUMBER</h2>



500,000. That’s how many Americans are diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ninds.nih.gov/current-research/focus-disorders/focus-parkinsons-disease-research/parkinsons-disease-challenges-progress-and-promise" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">according</a>&nbsp;to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. This figure likely underestimates the true prevalence of the condition, the institute said, as many people are likely to go undiagnosed or are misdiagnosed. Some experts believe as many as 1 million Americans have Parkinson’s, the group said.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-to-watch-for">WHAT TO WATCH FOR</h2>



While a biological marker of Parkinson’s is a major breakthrough, the process of sampling cerebrospinal fluid is invasive and more onerous than many other standard medical tests. In order to harness the full potential of using the abnormal proteins to signal Parkinson’s, Berg and Kline said a “less invasive approach,” notably blood tests, will be needed to scale the approach. Nevertheless, they said the discovery “is a game-changer in Parkinson’s disease diagnostics, research, and treatment trials.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-further-reading">FURTHER READING</h2>



<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/kerryadolan/2023/03/28/exclusive-michael-j-fox-foundation-announces-winner-of-parkinsons-disease-research-prize-funded-by-billionaire-ken-griffin/?sh=2178c7107842">Exclusive: Michael J. Fox Foundation Announces Winner Of Parkinson’s Disease Research Prize Funded By Billionaire Ken Griffin</a>&nbsp;(Forbes)



<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/science/2022/oct/07/the-scientists-working-to-defeat-parkinsons-disease" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">‘It’s hugely complex’: the scientists working to defeat Parkinson’s</a> (Guardian)



By Robert Hart, Forbes Staff

Tag: Coronavirus Outbreak

FORBES AFRICA SOCIAL MEDIA