The latest in automotive technology that’s rolling out, even cars with facial expressions and that you can talk to.



By Nafisa Akabor



Imagine a car that can speak to you, express moods and emotions, change its color, display your avatar on the window and automatically open the door when you approach?



We are not talking about a science fiction movie; this is what we experienced first-hand at the CES 2023 tech event and consumer technology show in Las Vegas in the first week of the new year. This is how it is inside BMW’s new retro futuristic i Vision Dee concept electric car that was unveiled at CES, where CEO Oliver Zipse explained: “It is our vision of pushing the boundaries between physical and digital perception.” “Dee embodies the next level of human machine interaction, a concept that cannot be simply dismissed as science fiction because it will inspire our neue klasse,” said Zipse, referring to BMW’s new class of vehicles coming in 2025.



Despite its retro look, the EV highlighted the technology inside the car. Its name Dee refers to a ‘digital emotional experience’.



It seeks to be your companion by talking to you in natural language; expressing moods like joy, approval, or astonishment; and displaying nine facial expressions through the closed-off kidney grille.



Other cutting-edge tech experienced was as an advanced head-up display that takes over the entire windshield; a mixed reality slider that goes through a range of analogue and digital experiences; and an on-demand color changing E Ink exterior that supports 32 colors. 



Once inside, it feels like you have entered another dimension. Experiencing the metaverse shuts you out from reality – the windows dim to transform into a magical world taking up most of the front of the vehicle. It will be interesting to see how BMW translates it into real world usage.



EVs took center-stage at CES 2023 and manufacturers were given considerably more floor space than before.



Another brand hoping to tap into our emotions is Sony Honda Mobility, with its ‘Afeela’ concept. CEO Yasuhide Mizuno explains:



“Afeela represents our concept of an interactive relationship where people feel the sensation of interactive mobility and where mobility can detect and understand people and society by utilizing sensing and AI technologies.



It has a unique “media bar” on the front bumper that displays vehicle name, and other information like the weather or the car’s charging status. Its purpose is to connect with people outside the car.



The Afeela leverages Snapdragon’s digital chassis for key features like telematics, advanced driver assistance system and infotainment. It is kitted with 45 sensors and cameras and will have 800 TOPS (tera operations per second) of maximum computing power for its self-driving technology.



Inside is a full width dash screen from side to side, and screens for back passengers. There will be a huge focus on entertainment thanks to its partnership with Fortnite creator Epic Games.



There were also hints that it could support PlayStation games.



The joint venture between two of the largest Japanese tech and auto companies promises the vehicle will make it to production and go on sale in North America in 2026. Meanwhile, Peugeot went all out with its Inception concept EV that has a feline-like stance with sharp angles and straight lines.



Boasting 500kW of power, the Inception has a 100kWh battery with dual electric motors that promises 800km of range from a single charge. It will support 225kW charging speeds and is equipped for wireless induction charging. It will go from 0-100km/h in less than three seconds. 



Inside is its next-gen i-Cockpit with a ‘Hypersquare’ steering wheel that has touch controls on its four corners.



Without removing your hands from the wheel, you can access climate, navigation, multimedia, etc. It supports level 4 autonomous driving and when activated, the Hypersquare retracts into the dashboard and a screen slides up from the floor. All very futuristic, and again, it will be interesting to see what makes it to production on Peugeot’s upcoming EVs.



While Mercedes-Benz didn’t unveil any new vehicles, it displayed its Vision EQXX EV concept that promises over 1,200km of range from a single charge. It is also regarded as the most efficient EV, consuming 8.3kWh per 100km. It demoed the car on the streets of Las Vegas and made a bunch of announcements about where it’s headed.



It is the first company in the US to receive regulatory approval for level 3 autonomous driving, coming to Nevada and California in 2023.



Level 3 allows the vehicle to drive on its own for up to 60km/h speeds. Mercedes will also roll out EV charging stations at ultra-high speeds of 350kW, starting in the US, with other markets to follow. Its plan is to have over 10 000 high-powered chargers rolled out globally by the end of the decade.



For an improved in-car sound experience, it partnered with Apple Music and Universal Music Group to offer spatial audio with Dolby Atmos, the first non-Apple device to do so.



Volkswagen showed off the electric ID.7, which has been rebranded from a previous ID.Aero concept revealed in China. It is the company’s first electric sedan, following a hatchback, three SUVs and a van.



The ID.7 has a smart camouflage exterior that lights up and changes color to match the rhythm from a sound system. It features 40 layers of paint and has 22 areas that can be controlled individually. The vehicle promises up to 700km of range from a single charge and will be one of 10 EVs that VW will launch by 2026.



Other features include a 15-inch screen, an augmented reality headup display, smart air vents and the ability to talk to the car. If you say, “hello Volkswagen, my hands are cold”, it will switch on the heated steering wheel and direct warm air to your hands.



CES remains a playground for prototypes that may or may not make it to production, but the emphasis on EVs was hard to miss. It’s only a matter of time before we see some of these technologies come to life, with some already showing promise.

Red Black Fitness & Gym Presentation Template

Cars With Feelings: Forbes Africa In The Driving Seat

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



Societal inequities and politicians’ differing responses were among the reasons why the Covid-19 pandemic played out in different ways across the U.S., according to a new state-by-state&nbsp;<a href="http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(23)00461-0/fulltext" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">analysis</a>&nbsp;examining the driving forces behind variations in health, education and economic performance during the pandemic.



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



Despite the U.S. having the highest number of recorded Covid deaths and one of the highest fatality rates from Covid per capita globally, researchers found individual states had vastly different Covid experiences, with Hawaii and New Hampshire seeing the lowest cumulative Covid death rates and Arizona and Washington D.C. seeing the highest, according to the&nbsp;<a href="http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(23)00461-0/fulltext" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">study</a>, published Thursday in the&nbsp;Lancet.



Researchers used state-level data from January 2020 to July 2022 to compare government policy responses and population behaviors like vaccination and mask use, to evaluate states’ efforts to limit Covid infections and deaths.



The&nbsp;<a href="http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(23)00461-0/fulltext" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">study</a>&nbsp;found that Covid exacerbated existing inequities: States with less access to quality health care, higher poverty rates and lower rates of educational attainment saw disproportionately high rates of Covid infections and death.



Rates of Covid infection and death were not impacted by how much money a state spent on public health or how many public health personnel a state had per capita, according to the research.



Among the state-imposed protective mandates—mask use, vaccines and mobility restrictions—researchers found only vaccine coverage was strongly associated with a state’s variation of Covid deaths.



Overall, local economies across the U.S. were neither “hindered nor helped” by different politices aimed at slowing the spread of the virus or cutting death rates, the study found—though higher employment rates did correlate with higher rates of Covid.



Restaurants were one exception: Researchers found mandatory restaurant closures and mask requirements were associated with larger falls in states’ employment rates.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-surprising-fact">SURPRISING FACT</h2>



Researchers also examined how political orientation impacted infection and death rates, and found that the share of the state that voted Republican in the 2020 presidential election was a key predictor of Covid infections and deaths. The research echoed findings from a 2022 study, which&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/roberthart/2022/06/06/people-living-in-pro-trump-counties-more-likely-to-die-from-covid-study-finds/?sh=60e2c55142bd">found</a>&nbsp;people living in U.S. counties that voted for former President Donald Trump in 2020 were more likely to die from Covid than people who lived in counties that voted Democrat in the 2020 presidential election. However, Thursday’s study found there was no association between the political affiliation of states’ governors and Covid death rates.



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



In recent months the federal government and most state governments have significantly rolled back Covid restrictions initially instituted to reduce infection and death rates. None of 569 U.S. counties that&nbsp;<a href="https://www.dol.gov/coronavirus/masking#TX" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">provide</a>&nbsp;information about masking requirements to the U.S. Labor Department currently have a mask mandate in place. While Covid infections continue to plague the U.S.—an average of 20,771 new cases per day were reported in the week ending Thursday, according to the&nbsp;New York Times—test positivity and hospitalizations have fallen in the past few weeks, and infections and deaths are well below peak levels.



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



<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/roberthart/2022/06/06/people-living-in-pro-trump-counties-more-likely-to-die-from-covid-study-finds/?sh=60e2c55142bd">People Living In Pro-Trump Counties More Likely To Die From Covid, Study Finds</a>&nbsp;(Forbes)



<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/roberthart/2023/01/20/covid-still-killing-hundreds-of-americans-every-day-as-pandemic-enters-fourth-year/?sh=d85fa8d3c5f5">Covid Still Killing Hundreds Of Americans Every Day As Pandemic Enters Fourth Year</a> (Forbes)



<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/anafaguy/"></a>



By Ana Faguy, Forbes Staff

Shanghai Lockdown Continues as First Covid Deaths Reported

Covid Rates Hit States Differently Based On Political And Social Inequities, Study Finds

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



Deutsche Bank’s stock plunged Friday as the market hones in on the German firm as the next major bank at risk in the wake of long-time rival Credit Suisse’s collapse and similar events stateside.



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



Frankfurt-listed shares of Deutsche Bank dropped 7.5%, now down more than 25% since March 8, when confidence in the international banking system began to crumble.



The collapse in share prices came as investors holding Deutsche Bank-issued debt securities stoked panic, with the rate of Deutsche Bank’s five-year credit default swaps surging to its highest level since 2019 (credit default swaps serve as a proxy for bond holders’ belief in the health of the issuing institutions).



&#8220;We are still on edge waiting for another domino to fall, and Deutsche is clearly the next one on everyone&#8217;s minds (fairly or unfairly),” IG Group analyst Chris Beauchamp&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reuters.com/markets/europe/financial-stocks-drag-european-markets-lower-2023-03-24/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">told</a>&nbsp;Reuters.



The spillover effects of the confidence shakeup were felt in European and American markets.



Shares of UBS, the Swiss bank which rescued Credit Suisse on Sunday, fell 5%, while British and French giants HSBC and BNP Paribas slipped 3% and 5%, respectively; the five largest U.S. banks each slid more than 1%, while shares of First Republic, the American bank most often floated as the next institution at serious risk, fell 5%.



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



Deutsche Bank, which&nbsp;<a href="https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/deutsche-bank-agrees-pay-72-billion-misleading-investors-its-sale-residential-mortgage-backed" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">agreed</a>&nbsp;in 2017 to pay a $7.2 billion fine to the U.S. for its “irresponsible lending practices” in 2006 and 2007 that partially caused the Great Recession, managed to navigate through that controversy by dramatically cutting costs, cutting roughly 20% of its global workforce in a single day in 2018 and successfully turning a profit in its last 10 quarters. The unexpected failures of mid-sized American banks Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank earlier this month sent shockwaves throughout the global financial system, eventually leading to the last-second rescue of Credit Suisse. Holders of $17 billion in risky Credit Suisse bonds were not a part of the rescue deal and were left empty-handed, contributing to the rise in Deutsche Bank credit default swap rates as investors hope to avoid similarly finding themselves out of luck. Rising interest rates worldwide greatly contributed to the ongoing crisis, as banks took unrealized losses on longer-term bonds declining value and struggled to keep up proper liquidity.



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



“It is a clear case of the market selling first and asking questions later,” FlowBank analyst Paul de la Baume&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-03-24/europe-s-banks-erase-weekly-gains-as-us-probe-adds-to-concerns" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">told</a>&nbsp;Bloomberg.



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



Smaller U.S. banks lost about $1.1 trillion in deposits over the last year, according to a recent J.P. Morgan analysis, with money moving into larger banks and cash investments. About half of the outflows came in the weeks following Silicon Valley Bank’s collapse, according to J.P. Morgan.



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



<a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/credit-suisse-bond-wipeout-threatens-250-billion-market-10be7d04" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Credit Suisse Bond-Wipeout Threatens $250 Billion Market</a> (Wall Street Journal)



<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/dereksaul/"></a>By Derek Saul, Forbes Staff

Deutsche Bank Restructuring Plan Costs 18,000 Jobs

What’s Happening With Deutsche Bank As Shares Slide 7%

Focus is now quickly switching to the African nations taking part in the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup. Key to Banyana Banyana’s chances is livewire goalkeeper Andile Dlamini.



By Nick Said



The recent World Cup in Qatar has been a massive boost for African football and provided a newfound respect for the game on the continent from a skeptical watching world. Morocco’s historic run to the semifinals was coupled with victory for Tunisia over France, and Cameroon against Brazil, results that stunned fans across the globe. Focus will quickly now switch to the African nations who will take part in the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup that will be staged in Australia and New Zealand, where South Africa, Zambia, Nigeria and Morocco will carry the hopes of the continent. 



For Banyana Banyana, it is a second successive visit to the global showpiece competition, having debuted in France in 2019, where they were placed on a steep learning curve but will have taken much from that experience into this latest edition.



They have a bit of a horror draw in the group stage though. Sweden were runners-up at the 2003 World Cup and have won bronze on three other occasions, including last time out in France.



They have also won the silver medal at the last two Olympic Games.



Italy are ranked number 17 in the world and were quarterfinalists four years ago, though perhaps Banyana midfielder Refiloe Jane, who has been based in that country for the last few years, will be able to add some insight.



Argentina are appearing at a fourth World Cup but have yet to get past the group stages, so may be the team Banyana should target. They are ranked 29 in the world, still well ahead of South Africa’s 54.



Key to Banyana’s chances is livewire goalkeeper Andile Dlamini, 30, now a veteran of the side having made her debut back in 2011.



“Our group is a very tough one, but we are also a tough team to beat,” she tells FORBES AFRICA confidently. “We are fighting for women’s football in Africa.”



Dlamini was a star as South Africa won the 2022 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations, a maiden continental gold medal, and says this is a team very much on the up.



“We told ourselves we wanted to win the Afcon and we did that. We are in a good space mentally, even if we know it is going to be a tough World Cup. Those three teams have a whole lot more experience in their squad with players who play professionally day in and day out.



“We haven’t had a professional league in our country, but our mentality is in the right space and we do the extra work needed to pick up a little bit [more quality]. One thing I can promise, it is not going to be easy for anyone in the group.”



Dlamini understands that it is not just about competing for a trophy at the World Cup. Especially in Africa, it means so much more.



“We will perform to the best of our abilities because we know there is that girl child watching and saying, ‘I want to be a Banyana player one day’. We are going to the World Cup to show that child what is possible.



“We know this is true, because being at the World Cup in 2019 changed not only how aspiring soccer players saw us, but also brands. We saw sponsors come forward and want to be involved in women’s football.



“Being seen there encourages that young girl or boy from the hood to say, ‘it is possible.



If Andile has done it, then so can I. Even without the best facilities or equipment, I can do it’. We want to show those young children that football can change your life.”



Banyana will be based in Wellington in New Zealand during the pool phase and open their campaign against Sweden on July 23.



“Performing at that huge stage encourages you as a footballer,” Dlamini says. “You don’t want to disappoint those people who have always supported you. I take motivation from that.”

Women’s International Friendly: South Africa v Brazil

All Set To Goal: Africa At Women’s World Cup

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



Swiss pharma giant Roche on Wednesday&nbsp;<a href="https://www.roche.com/media/releases/med-cor-2023-03-22" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">announced</a>&nbsp;plans to jointly develop a blood test for Alzheimer’s disease with American heavyweight Eli Lilly, eying swift U.S. approval as companies race to create and sell the very first drugs aimed at slowing the progressive cognitive decline brought on by the incurable illness.



Roche and Lilly are working on an Alzheimer&#8217;s test.&nbsp;THE WASHINGTON POST VIA GETTY IMAGES



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



Eli Lilly will work with Roche to develop a blood test to detect the early stages of Alzheimer’s, the Swiss firm said in a statement on Wednesday.



The test, called the Elecsys Amyloid Plasma Panel, measures the levels of a particular protein in the blood that has been linked to the onset of Alzheimer’s.



While not intended as a standalone test—further confirmatory tests for Alzheimer’s would be needed—Roche said it speeds up the diagnostic process and helps direct people to the most appropriate resources.



As Alzheimer’s has a similar set of symptoms to other causes of dementia, a negative test is also useful and could help many people avoid the expensive and invasive tests used to confirm Alzheimer’s.



Roche Diagnostics chief executive Matt Sause said the firm is excited to be working with Lilly on “such an important area of unmet medical need.”



The test “has the potential to streamline a person&#8217;s journey to diagnosis” and, therefore, speed up access to future treatments, Sause added.



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



There is no cure for Alzheimer’s and, until recently, there was no treatment to slow the disease’s progression. The FDA controversially approved Biogen’s aducanumab, sold as Aduhelm, in 2021. The clinical data supporting the decision has been heavily criticized, as was the FDA’s adherence to protocol in approving it. The agency greenlit lecanemab, sold as Leqembi and produced by Biogen and Japan’s Eisai, on an expedited basis in January, though access is limited. The agency is&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2023/01/06/alzheimers-disease-fda-decision-on-biogen-eisai-treatment-lecanemab.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">expected</a>&nbsp;to make a complete decision on the drug in July. Both treatments are monoclonal antibodies that target a type of protein that builds up in the brain of people with Alzheimer’s. As they are aimed at slowing progression, early detection can be key and help preserve as much of the brain’s functioning as possible. While certainly medical breakthroughs, they are eye-wateringly expensive, require frequent intravenous administration and, at best, appear to only modestly slow mental decline. Future Alzheimer’s drugs with similar targets—Lilly is in the&nbsp;<a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2023/01/20/health/alzheimers-drug-donanemab-fda-eli-lilly/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">final</a>&nbsp;stages of clinical trials for one—are likely to also benefit from earlier intervention.



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



Roche and Lilly are eying U.S. regulatory approval for the test. They are aiming to file clinical trial data with U.S. regulators in 2025, Bruce Jordan, leader of personalized healthcare solutions at Roche Diagnostics&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/roche-teams-up-with-lilly-validate-alzheimers-blood-test-2023-03-22/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">told</a>&nbsp;Reuters. Between now and then, Roche said it will recruit several hundred volunteers with early signs of dementia to trial the treatment and gather data.



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



<a href="https://www.cdc.gov/aging/aginginfo/alzheimers.htm" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Alzheimer’s Disease</a>&nbsp;is a progressive brain disorder marked by the slow erosion of cognitive abilities and memory. It is the most common type of dementia, a broad category used to describe conditions linked to cognitive decline, and is primarily, though not exclusively, a condition affecting older adults. There are as many as 5.8 million Americans living with Alzheimer’s, the CDC&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cdc.gov/aging/aginginfo/alzheimers.htm" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">estimates</a>, and it is the sixth leading cause of death among U.S. adults. That figure is projected to grow to 14 million people by 2060 and the costs associated with the disease are expected to reach up to $500 billion annually by 2040 in the U.S. alone. Though strides have been made in recent years, there is a great deal we do not know about Alzheimer’s. Scientists are still not settled on what causes it—a matter of heated&nbsp;<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2023/feb/19/could-alzheimers-be-caused-by-an-infection" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">debate</a>—or why it appears more often as we grow older.



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



<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2023/feb/19/could-alzheimers-be-caused-by-an-infection" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Could Alzheimer’s be caused by an infection?</a>&nbsp;(The Observer)



<a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2023/01/20/health/alzheimers-drug-donanemab-fda-eli-lilly/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">FDA declines to grant accelerated approval for Eli Lilly’s experimental Alzheimer’s treatment</a>&nbsp;(CNN)



By Robert Hart, Forbes Staff<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/roberthart/"></a>

Close up of young nurse holding old man’s hands and encourage him.

Alzheimer’s Blood Test That Could Help Diagnose Disease Earlier Is Being Developed By Eli Lilly And Roche

Kene Okwuosa and Moses Babatope set out to deliver world-class movie-going experiences to the Nigerian public and 10 years later, that vision is still going strong.



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">
“We were so passionate about cinema and so passionate about film that not figuring it out was not an option.”
</blockquote>



When Kene Okwuosa and Moses Babatope met for the first time at Odeon Surrey Quays Cinema in London, they had no idea that in just a couple of years they would be redefining the movie-going experience in Nigeria. In October 2002, Babatope was looking for a part-time job while studying at Middlesex University and Okwuosa was the manager in charge of recruiting the new batch of young hopefuls to join the Odeon Cinema universe.



“We had two or three stages in the recruitment process where you speak to a full auditorium and play out an emergency situation. If you do well, then you go to the interview and after your interview, you were told whether you were successful or not. I didn’t have a good session when it came to the scenario part of the interview so I was going to walk myself out when a gentleman called me and said I should do better next time and I am okay to proceed to the next phase. That gentleman was Kene,” recalls Babatope.



A bond was immediately formed between the two gentlemen. Today, they are co-founders of one of the biggest cinema chains, Filmhouse Cinemas, in Nigeria. They are also best friends married to two sisters.



Okwuosa, the group CEO and Babatope, who doubles as the group deputy CEO, offer advanced cinema experiences to the average Nigerian with the official rights to IMAX for the West African region.



In hindsight, the duo never saw their entrepreneurial journey unfolding this way. In fact, there was a time not too long ago that their dream almost didn’t take off.



The duo initially experimented by offering Nigerian movie producers an opportunity to premiere Nollywood movies in the United Kingdom for the first time.



“That was a game-changer. We got real insights about people’s experiences and how they felt during the cinema experience. In all of that, we never thought to ourselves that we can find capital and start our own. Our scenario was ‘let’s go, show our experience and see what happens’,” says Babatope.



Then, they became more audacious.



“The vision started in Nigeria. When we came, we joined a new cinema at the time called Genesis which didn’t go as planned. Our vision was not aligned and we ended up parting ways. But we knew we had to build this thing one way or the other. We were so passionate about cinema and so passionate about film that not figuring it out was not an option. It was an opportunity to step back and say we can do this on our own,” says Okwuosa.



But to have a dream is one thing and finding money to back that dream is another thing entirely.



“We understood that we did not have the last names that would open doors in Nigeria for us to get investment but we were convinced that if we could just get started and figure it out, we would learn and figure it out on the way,” says Okwuosa.



Okwuosa and Babatope spent two years knocking on every conceivable door they could find in Nigeria trying to raise capital and convince investors to bet on them. As luck would have it, the Goodluck Jonathan administration in 2011 had established a creative industry fund, which was being managed by the Bank of Industry, a development finance institution in Nigeria.



“At this time, we just came from London and we assumed we would fill out a form and wait for the call. We did that and no one called us back. We got as far as being invited to pitch properly for a loan for one million dollars. They were impressed. We had no security or collateral but they were taken by the passion and management expertise we had to set up cinemas,” says Okwuosa.



They became the first company to access the fund and with that injection, they opened their first Filmhouse Cinemas, which was a three-seat cinema in Surulere in December 2012. Okwuosa and Babatope set out to deliver world-class cinema experiences to the Nigerian public and 10 years later, that vision is still going strong.



But Covid-19 was by far the biggest singular challenge they faced as a business and the biggest one they faced professionally.



“Within a period of three months, it looked like everything we had worked hard for during the seven years prior was going to evaporate and this was the reality. I was really depressed,” recalls Babatope.



The company had to close its doors to the public for seven months effectively cutting off all revenue.



“On the one hand, we were not generating anything and on the other hand we had stock that was wasting away. We also had equipment and machinery that needed some access to be maintained so they would be in good working condition when we opened. Also, the government didn’t understand the importance of our sector or prioritized it at all,” says Babatope.



But as they say, every cloud has a silver lining. For the budding entrepreneurs at Filmhouse, this came in the form of multimillion blockbuster Nollywood releases as well as the highest-grossing film of all time, Spider-man: No Way Home, when the lockdown ended.



“These were all released in the [peak] of the Omicron [wave] in 2021 and we just hosted the official premiere of Black Panther Wakanda Forever during the Covid era and it’s looking to be the number one film of all time and we are hopeful it will be the first billion-naira film out of our country,” says Babatope.



Another way the company survived was with the help of global streaming platforms that were hungry for quality Nollywood movies. Filmhouse had expanded their offering to also include FilmOne, a content production and distribution business, with a host of blockbuster hits under its belt.



“Back then everything was going to streaming so the catalogue we had built over the years, we were able to monetize that and that was able to help sustain things while the cinema revenue took a hit. As the largest supplier of content to our streaming partners, Netflix and Amazon, everyone wanted content so we were able to boost supply and through that we also strengthened our studio relationships as well,” says Okwuosa.



The company currently stands at 400 employees strong. The key to their continued success they say is their ability to build a sense of community.



“It was a huge part of my growing up so I always understood the power of community. In our time in Odeon, that was the core of everything that drove us passionately. When you think about cinema it is a communal experience as well and that has been at the center of a lot of decisions going forward,” says Okwuosa.

Moses Babatope and Kene Okwuosa

Redefining The Cinema Experience In Nigeria

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



The monumental failure of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank earlier this month have raised concerns of system-wide contagion that could spread to other regional and local banks, and though experts say Americans’ money in those banks is safe, they also suggest people should diversify their assets and cash to help mitigate the risk.



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



Americans with less than $250,000 in the bank are guaranteed their money is safe by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), which also&nbsp;<a href="https://www.fdic.gov/resources/resolutions/bank-failures/failed-bank-list/silicon-valley-faq.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">announced</a>&nbsp;it would make SVB customers whole, even if they had more than $250,000 in the bank.



For customers with more than $250,000 in a bank, Haydar Haba, managing partner of venture capital firm Andra Capital, advises diversifying money into two or three other banks or to put some of that money in federal bonds, which earn interest.



Matthew Goldberg, an analyst at Bankrate, called the collapse of SVB and Signature Bank a “wake-up call” for Americans to make sure their money is at an&nbsp;<a href="https://banks.data.fdic.gov/bankfind-suite/bankfind" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">FDIC-insured bank</a>, saying: “Even during times when there are no bank failures or few bank failures, you always have to make sure your money is safe and within FDIC limits and rules.”



Preferably, Haba said to choose a bank with a “Prime-1” rating from Moody’s Analytics, which considers a bank to be Prime-1 if it “reflects a superior ability to repay short-term obligations.”



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



“There is a feeling of a contagion going on, and the only thing the Fed can do in that case is what they did with SVB and Signature Bank, which is making customers whole,” Haba said. “The key is diversification. You can’t put all your eggs in one basket. It doesn’t make sense.”



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



Santa Clara, California-based Silicon Valley Bank’s&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/conormurray/2023/03/13/what-to-know-about-silicon-valley-banks-collapse-the-biggest-bank-failure-since-2008/?sh=27737df4c279">abrupt collapse</a>&nbsp;earlier this month sparked fears that banks had not been prepared for the effects of rising inflation and the Federal Reserve’s interest rate hikes designed to curb inflation. The bank’s collapse has been linked to multiple rounds of interest rate hikes over the past year, which caused customers’ assets to lose value, prompting depositors at SVB, which catered to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/anthonytellez/2023/03/13/coinbase-circle-paxos-here-are-the-major-firms-with-funds-tied-up-in-svb-and-signature-bank/?sh=707957d84574">large tech companies</a>&nbsp;like Circle, Roblox and Roku, to withdraw their money in a swift bank run. Even though the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/marisadellatto/2023/03/12/fdic-will-protect-all-silicon-valley-bank-deposits-after-sudden-collapse-treasury-says/?sh=388abdf5216c">FDIC announced</a>&nbsp;last week it would make all SVB customers whole regardless of how much they had deposited in the bank, the bank’s failure alarmed Americans that their money might not be safe in other regional banks if those banks are jeopardized in a phenomenon called&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/brianbushard/2023/03/17/these-regional-banks-stocks-are-falling-as-contagion-fears-loom-following-svb-collapse/?sh=29bae1e23814">contagion</a>, in which the turmoil of one bank spreads to others. The same day the FDIC announced it would make SVB customers whole, New York’s state regulatory body took over&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/brianbushard/2023/03/13/what-happened-to-signature-bank-the-latest-bank-failure-marks-third-largest-in-history/?sh=716970c090ff">Signature Bank</a>, after a similar bank run and a sharp drop in its stock (the FDIC announced Sunday that banking giant Bancorp had&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/joewalsh/2023/03/19/signature-bank-deposits-bought-by-new-york-community-bancorp-after-sudden-collapse/?sh=405940e75d34">taken over</a>&nbsp;Signature Bank and assumed its deposits).



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-contra">CONTRA</h2>



Shares of multiple regional banks fell over the past week, including San Francisco-based First Republic Bank, which&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/brianbushard/2023/03/17/these-regional-banks-stocks-are-falling-as-contagion-fears-loom-following-svb-collapse/?sh=5aa8653814bd">sank by 36%</a>&nbsp;Thursday morning. Its shares later rebounded following the announcement of a $30 billion&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/dereksaul/2023/03/16/first-republic-stock-crashes-but-bounces-back-as-big-banks-unveil-30-billion-rescue-plan/?sh=111a57ac21ce">rescue plan</a>&nbsp;through uninsured deposits from 11 of the country’s biggest banks. Some investors, however, criticized the move, including billionaire Bill Ackman, who&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/dereksaul/2023/03/17/billionaire-ackman-extremely-concerned-30-billion-bank-rescue-plan-risks-financial-contagion-spiraling-out-of-control/?sh=3fe11176e899">warned</a>&nbsp;the rescue plan creates a “false sense of confidence.” Other economists, including&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/dereksaul/2023/03/15/dow-drops-nearly-300-points-as-blackrock-chief-warns-svb-collapse-merely-first-domino-to-drop/?sh=2d3a40c459ba">Blackrock CEO Larry Fink</a>, caution the collapse of SVB could be just the “first domino to drop” before a “cascade throughout the U.S. regional banking sector.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-we-don-t-know">WHAT WE DON’T KNOW</h2>



Whether a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/brianbushard/2023/03/14/warren-drafts-bill-to-reverse-trump-era-bank-deregulations-after-svb-collapse-report-says/?sh=20e749266926">bill proposed</a>&nbsp;in the wake of SVB’s collapse by Democratic lawmakers to enhance regulations on small and medium banks will pass the Republican-controlled House. The bill, introduced by Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Rep. Katie Porter (D-Calif.) would reintroduce provisions of the Dodd-Frank Act that had been limited in 2018, including stress tests and enhanced risk-management practices. It faces&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/saradorn/2023/03/13/democrats-blame-svb-collapse-on-trump-era-regulatory-rollbacks-but-gop-opposes-stricter-rules/">opposition</a>&nbsp;from a group of Senate Democrats who said they had&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/saradorn/2023/03/15/senate-democrats-who-voted-for-2018-bank-deregulations-say-they-have-no-regrets/?sh=1a772253797e">no regrets</a>&nbsp;about supporting the 2018 deregulations, as well as congressional Republicans, including Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.), who argued the bill would not prevent banks from relying on the federal government to cover “excessive risks.”



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



Swiss banking giant Credit Suisse’s stock&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/roberthart/2023/03/20/credit-suisse-shares-plunge-60-and-european-bank-stocks-slide-after-ubs-rescue/?sh=681913de245d">plummeted by more than 60%</a>&nbsp;Monday morning, hitting a record low of 91 cents, one day after its rival&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/marisadellatto/2023/03/19/ubs-agrees-to-buy-embattled-bank-credit-suisse-central-bank-says/?sh=405d7baa3e66">UBS announced</a>&nbsp;plans to buy all of its shares in a $3.2 billion rescue plan. Shares of Credit Suisse, which had been&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/isabeltogoh/2021/11/04/credit-suisse-burned-by-archegos-and-greensill-scandals-shifts-focus-to-wealth-management-in-overhaul/?sh=42f371f42488">mired by controversies</a>&nbsp;over charges of money laundering, tax evasion and links to collapsed hedge fund Archegos and financial services firm Greensill Capital, fell after the bank&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/siladityaray/2023/03/14/credit-suisse-finds-material-weaknesses-in-its-financial-reporting-process/?sh=33633463419e">admitted</a>&nbsp;last week to “material weaknesses” in its financial reporting, becoming the latest bank to be affected by recent turmoil in the banking system.



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



<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/roberthart/2023/03/20/credit-suisse-shares-plunge-60-and-european-bank-stocks-slide-after-ubs-rescue/?sh=681913de245d">Credit Suisse Shares Plunge 60% And European Bank Stocks Slide After UBS Rescue</a>&nbsp;(Forbes)



<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/marisadellatto/2023/03/19/ubs-agrees-to-buy-embattled-bank-credit-suisse-central-bank-says/?sh=f01225a3e662">UBS Buying Rival Credit Suisse In $3.2 Billion Rescue Deal</a>&nbsp;(Forbes)



<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/brianbushard/2023/03/17/these-regional-banks-stocks-are-falling-as-contagion-fears-loom-following-svb-collapse/?sh=29bae1e23814">These Regional Banks’ Stocks Are Falling As Contagion Fears Loom Following SVB Collapse</a>&nbsp;(Forbes)



<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/petercohan/2023/03/20/why-186-other-banks-could-go-the-way-of-silicon-valley-bank/?sh=7e89cdf158ee">Why 186 Other Banks Could Go The Way Of Silicon Valley Bank</a> (Forbes)



By Brian Bushard, Forbes Staff<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/brianbushard/"></a>

South African Reserve Bank Governor Lesetja Kganyago Interview

Is Your Cash Safe In The Bank? Experts Offer Advice Amid Concerns Of Systemic Market Risk

Monitoring populations of the great ape in the thick equatorial rain forests of Gabon, one of the most carbon-positive countries in the world. 



By Ramdas Iyer 



Walking behind four machete-wielding villagers in the thick of equatorial rain forest in Gabon, I was participating in the unusual experience of preparing for a western lowland gorilla habituation project. Here we were creating multiple transect lines running over four kilometers through the forest; a well-established scientific methodology for estimating ape population size. 



“Monitoring populations of gorillas is a necessary protocol prior to establishing a habituation program. Camera traps and GPS locators along the transects will eventually give us an idea of the group density in the area,” says Antonio Anoro of Gabon Untouched, a conservation and eco-tourism organization, who, alongside researchers from the Research Institute for Tropical Ecology (IRET), is spearheading the habituation of wild lowland gorillas in the buffer zone next to the Moukalaba-Doudou National Park which covers an area of 1,700 square miles.&nbsp;&nbsp;



Large expanses of tropical rainforest in western Africa have been cleared, logged, and overhunted in recent decades. In contrast, extensive forest in Gabon has survived in an intact condition because the country has a sparse population and substantial petroleum and mineral deposits that have reduced the economic pressure on forests.&nbsp;&nbsp;



The Gabonese government is eager to consider alternative strategies to augment economic development, including promotion of an ecotourism industry. This commitment is evidenced by the government&#8217;s designation of 13 national parks that comprise over a tenth of the country&#8217;s land area. Gabonese forests have among the highest levels of species diversity and endemism in tropical Africa and are likely to play a critical future role in biodiversity conservation.&nbsp;



Gabon Untouched supports sustainable tourism by bringing eco-tourists into deep jungle to observe first-hand, lowland gorillas in their natural habitat. Gorillas were first habituated for human observation and scientific research by Kyoto University scientists 20 years ago at Moukalaba-Doudou National Park.&nbsp;&nbsp;



“The steady influx of tourist funds has helped economically sustain the local village of Doussala and gorilla research activities. By habituating a second group of gorillas, we not only protect the forest, home for great apes, but also provide a sustainable livelihood for the locals,” says Anoro, who has worked tirelessly for eight years in Gabon for conservation efforts.&nbsp;



This month, in March, Gabon hosted the ‘One Forest’ Summit attended by Gabonese President Ali Bongo Ondimba, French President Emmanuel Macron and other heads of state, to highlight the environmental role and value of rain forests.&nbsp;&nbsp;



“Forests potentially represent 20-30 percent of the solution to climate change,&#8221; Gabon&#8217;s Minister of Water and Forestry and conservationist Lee White, said in opening remarks. The host nation, Gabon, became the first African nation to be recompensed through carbon credits for protecting its forests.&nbsp;



Gabon &#8220;absorbs around 100 million tons of CO2 per year&#8230;three tons every second,&#8221; White told reporters on the sidelines of the meeting. &#8220;We are well on the way to becoming a sustainable economy.&#8221;&nbsp;

Gorilla conservation in Gabon; photo by Ramdas Iyer

Gorillas, Conservation And Climate Change In Gabon

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



UBS Group AG has struck a deal to buy Credit Suisse—a rival Swiss bank rocked by financial turmoil—for over $3 billion, the <a href="https://www.ubs.com/global/en/media/display-page-ndp/en-20230319-tree.html?caasID=CAAS-ActivityStream" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">two</a> <a href="https://www.credit-suisse.com/about-us-news/en/articles/media-releases/credit-suisse-and-ubs-to-merge-202303.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">banks</a> announced Sunday, as bank executives and Swiss officials sprint to contain a crisis sparked in part by the collapse of two major U.S. banks last week.



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



UBS ultimately agreed to pay $3.2 billion (or 3 billion Swiss Francs) in an all-share deal, with Credit Suisse investors receiving one UBS share for every 22.48 Credit Suisse shares held, up from a $1 billion initial offer that Credit Suisse&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-03-19/credit-suisse-said-to-push-back-against-ubs-s-1-billion-offer?srnd=premium&amp;sref=h6OFVeND" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">reportedly</a>&nbsp;viewed as too low.



The deal represents a large discount compared to Credit Suisse’s market capitalization just two days ago: UBS says the acquisition will cost the equivalent of $0.82 (or 0.76 Swiss Francs) per share, less than half Credit Suisse’s $2.01 share price when markets closed Friday.



The combined company will have over $5 trillion in total invested assets, and UBS expects to make $8 billion in cost cuts over the next four years, UBS said in a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ubs.com/global/en/media/display-page-ndp/en-20230319-tree.html?caasID=CAAS-ActivityStream" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">statement</a>&nbsp;late Sunday.



The Swiss government helped broker the deal, with an apparent goal of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/ubs-offers-1-billion-to-take-over-credit-suisse-bfac51fa" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">completing the merger</a>&nbsp;before Asian markets open Monday morning.



As part of the agreement, the Swiss National Bank—the country’s central bank—offered Credit Suisse and UBS up to $108 billion in liquidity assistance loans, it said in a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.snb.ch/en/mmr/reference/pre_20230319/source/pre_20230319.en.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">statement</a>.



The Swiss government is also expected to speed the deal up by waiving the six-week waiting period normally required before a merger, according to the&nbsp;New York Times, and Swiss authorities are&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ubs.com/global/en/media/display-page-ndp/en-20230319-tree.html?caasID=CAAS-ActivityStream" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">not requiring UBS</a>&nbsp;to get shareholder approval.



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



“With the takeover of Credit Suisse by UBS, a solution has been found to secure financial stability and protect the Swiss economy in this exceptional situation,” the Swiss National Bank said.



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



$54 billion. That’s how much Credit Suisse borrowed from the Swiss National Bank on Thursday. The central bank&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/brianbushard/2023/03/15/credit-suisse-turmoil-swiss-central-bank-will-support-troubled-bank-if-necessary/?sh=28fe408b7619">offered to provide liquidity</a>&nbsp;to Credit Suisse “if necessary” hours earlier, but the bank’s share price still slid almost 7% the following day.



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



Shares of Credit Suisse have plummeted in recent weeks, and trading was halted Wednesday after the share price&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/roberthart/2023/03/15/credit-suisse-stock-plunges-to-record-low-as-bank-concerns-grow/#:~:text=Trading%20in%20Credit%20Suisse%20shares,weaknesses%E2%80%9D%20in%20its%20financial%20reporting.">fell up to 21%</a>. On Tuesday, the bank said it had found “material weaknesses” in its 2021 and 2022 financial reporting processes. In response, its biggest backer, the Saudi National Bank, said it wouldn’t buy any more shares in Credit Suisse. The recent collapses of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank in the U.S., triggered partially by rising interest rates, caused uncertainty about wider vulnerabilities in the banking system worldwide—concerns that intensified after warning signs appeared at Credit Suisse. But the bank’s downfall wasn’t directly caused by SVB and Signature, and its problems predate the current crisis, as it ended the 2022 fiscal year with a loss of nearly $8 billion. The bank itself and some executives and advisors have also recently been linked to scandals, including alleged fraud and failing to prevent money laundering.



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



<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/ariannajohnson/2023/03/16/whats-happening-with-credit-suisse-explained-embattled-bank-rattles-stock-market-as-banking-crisis-deepens/?sh=68b78b3f35a2">What&#8217;s Happening With Credit Suisse, Explained: Embattled Bank Rattles Stock Market As Banking Crisis Deepens</a>&nbsp;(Forbes)



<a href="https://www.ft.com/content/ec4be743-052a-4381-a923-c2fbd7ea9cfd" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">UBS offers to buy Credit Suisse for up to $1bn | Financial Times</a>&nbsp;(Financial Times)



<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/19/business/ubs-credit-suisse.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">UBS Nears Deal to Buy Credit Suisse &#8211; The New York Times</a>&nbsp;(New York Times)



<a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-03-19/credit-suisse-said-to-push-back-against-ubs-s-1-billion-offer?srnd=premium&amp;sref=h6OFVeND" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Credit Suisse Said to Push Back Against UBS’s $1 Billion Offer</a>&nbsp;(Bloomberg)



<a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/ubs-offers-1-billion-to-take-over-credit-suisse-bfac51fa?st=xgxhbro7darct8y&amp;reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">UBS Offers $1 Billion to Buy Credit Suisse</a> (Wall Street Journal)



<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/marisadellatto/"></a>By Marisa Dellatto, Forbes Staff

Deutsche Bank AG Headquarters As Lender To Shrink Workforce By About 26,000

UBS Buying Rival Credit Suisse In $3.2 Billion Rescue Deal

<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Topline</h2>



A woman appears to have been cured of HIV after receiving a transplant of stem cells from umbilical cord blood, scientists announced Thursday, joining only a handful of people cured from the virus following a novel procedure that increases the odds of making a cure available to a more racially diverse group of people than would be possible using other treatments.



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



A middle-aged, mixed-race woman—called the “New York patient” to protect privacy—appears to have been cured from HIV after receiving a stem cell transplant to treat leukemia, researchers wrote in a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cell.com/cell/fulltext/S0092-8674(23)00173-3" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">medical case report&nbsp;</a>published in&nbsp;Cell.



The patient, who has been living without HIV since 2017 and is no longer taking drugs to suppress the virus, could be the first woman to be cured of the virus, though the researchers conservatively describe her case as one of long-term remission.



Just&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-023-00479-2" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">three</a>&nbsp;people have been confirmed clear of HIV—another in long-term&nbsp;<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2022/jul/28/hiv-aids-stem-cell-transplant-oldest-patient-cured" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">remission</a>&nbsp;is expected to join this group—all of whom beat the virus after receiving bone marrow transplants from donors naturally resistant to HIV.



As the mutation conferring HIV resistance is rare—though less so among white people—and stem cell donors must be carefully matched to patients, including by race and ethnicity, researchers said it is very difficult finding suitable, HIV-resistant donors for patients of color.



Stem cells from umbilical cord blood are both more readily available and do not need to be matched as closely as adult cells do, which “broadens the opportunities” for people of all racial backgrounds living with HIV to be cured, said study coleader Yvonne Bryson, a professor of pediatrics at UCLA.



Though certainly a game changer for people who need a transplant already, the researchers stressed that stem cell transplants are not a realistic cure for HIV on their own given the procedure’s risky, highly invasive nature and brutal side effects.



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



Barring the unique circumstances of a very small number of people, there is no cure for HIV. Historically, an HIV diagnosis was a death sentence, but today those living with the virus can expect to live long, healthy lives on par with their HIV-negative peers if they receive prompt treatment with antiviral drugs. Such treatment, inevitably lifelong, can reduce the virus to undetectable levels in the body, keeping it in check and preventing it from being passed on to others. These drugs can also prevent infection if taken by someone without HIV—a technique called PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis)—which has been hailed as a major public health breakthrough in efforts to combat the virus. Unfortunately, drugs used to treat or prevent HIV are often beyond the reach of many people in poorer countries who are at risk of infection or living with the virus, and it is still a major contributor to death and disease worldwide.



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



Experts are working hard to develop ways of curing, treating and preventing HIV infection, but it is a uniquely challenging virus to fight. Its biology means scientists have to approach it differently than other pathogens like measles, polio and influenza. It mutates rapidly, can hide from the immune system and sets up viral reservoirs during the earliest stages of infection that can activate years later, all of which complicate efforts to treat or prevent infection. The virus also targets the immune cells normally responsible for fighting invaders, weakening and destroying immune defenses over time, which can progress to Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome, or AIDS. Additionally, and unlike many other viruses, HIV is not naturally cleared by the body once established, meaning any vaccine must meet a higher bar of preventing it from gaining a foothold in the body.



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



Scientists have been trying to create an HIV vaccine for decades. Efforts have not panned out so far, most recently when a promising candidate&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/18/health/hiv-vaccine-janssen.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">failed</a>&nbsp;in late-stage clinical trials this year. One candidate tested in the 2000s even&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/nature.2013.13971" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">appeared</a>&nbsp;to increase the risk of contracting the virus. Despite the setbacks, experts are still trying to develop one and are pushing ahead with new approaches, such as using the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nih.gov/news-events/news-releases/nih-launches-clinical-trial-three-mrna-hiv-vaccines" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">mRNA</a>&nbsp;technology behind Moderna and Pfizer’s successful Covid vaccines.



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



40.1 million. That’s how many people have died from AIDS-related illnesses since the start of the HIV epidemic,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.unaids.org/en/resources/fact-sheet" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">according</a>&nbsp;to UNAIDS.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.who.int/data/gho/data/themes/hiv-aids" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">According</a>&nbsp;to the World Health Organization, some 38.4 million people were living with the virus in 2021. An estimated 1.5 million people acquired HIV that year and some 650,000 people died from AIDS-related illnesses, the agency said.



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



<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/14/health/pepfar-hiv.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The U.S. Program That Brought H.I.V. Treatment to 20 Million People</a>&nbsp;(NYT)



<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/18/health/hiv-vaccine-janssen.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The Only H.I.V. Vaccine in Advanced Trials Has Failed. What Now?</a> (NYT)



By Robert Hart, Forbes Staff

Medical technician preparing a human sample for HIV testing

New York Woman Cured Of HIV With New Treatment

Blood and bruises, sweat and fury. Mixed martial arts is gaining popularity in South Africa with home-grown talent fighting to find their place in the continent and beyond.



By Paula Slier Additional reporting by Khaka Ngcofe



For many people, cage-fighting throws up images of gladiators tearing into one another with spears and other weapons. Branded ‘the ultimate fight’, it brings together a range of martial arts.



Introduced to Africa 18 years ago by South African Brad Bloch, fondly referred to as the Godfather of MMA (Mixed Martial Arts), this no-holds-barred is a full-contact combat sport. It involves much more than just stepping into a cage.



“People have different skill-sets,” says Bloch, “whether it’s kung fu, karate, boxing, kickboxing, jiu-jitsu, wrestling, sunbi, or whatever. You can’t just have one skill-set in order to fight this fight”.



Dating back to the ancient Greeks, when unarmed combat was first introduced into the Olympic Games in 648 BCE, cage-fighting has always been regarded as the most extreme combat sport. It recently resurfaced in the early 2000s in the United States when an American reality television series, The Ultimate Fighter, gained huge popularity. The show featured daily preparations of fighters and their interactions with each other while they lived under the same roof. It was instrumental to the survival and expansion of the sport into mainstream.



However, for all those who support MMA, there are just as many critics who argue the sport gives fighters much more liberty than professional boxers or judoka. And that’s despite the fact that it has been scientifically proven that a cage is safer than a boxing ring.



“If you’re fighting and get taken down to the ground, the cage supports you,” points out Bloch.



“Your head drops down correctly and rolls down on the surface of the cage. Whereas if you’re in a boxing ring and your head hits the ground, it can sometimes bounce and cause great whiplash. In a cage, you also fall onto the canvas and there’s no chance you can fall outside the cage. In a boxing ring, many people have fallen out of the ring and that’s extremely unsafe.”



Today, MMA is legal in almost all countries around the globe but still some African, European and Asian countries prohibit it.



It remains a hot topic of debate.



“We introduced the sport into Africa through South Africa and had to meet certain conditions to legalize it,” explains Bloch.



“We had to have a big brother company overseas. Since then the growth has been exponential, not only on a professional, but also on an amateur level. Fighters can compete, get their provincial colors and represent their country at the world championship.”



Considered the fastest-growing sport in the world with an estimated 449 million followers, according to International Mixed Martial Arts Federation (IMMF), the global body for MMA, there are only 19 African countries who have legalized it. They include, amongst others, Algeria, Angola, Cameroon, Egypt, Ghana, Morocco, Tunisia and Zambia.



Audiences are very diverse, often made up of women, men and families.



“I actually think the women shout louder than the men,” laughs Bloch.



“The number of female competitors is growing at a rapid rate globally and is becoming the big thing right now. Women are already referees so there’s no reason why they can’t also fight.”



South African-born Cassandra Le Roux, 25, is a case in point. A six-time undefeated South African champion, she was the All African Champion in 2018 and came third at the world championships in the same year.



A full-time MMA coach and trainer, she was a dancer for a few years before transitioning into the world of MMA.



“I fell in love with the technical side of things. It’s basically educated violence in a nutshell. Although I got into it for self-defence, it didn’t take long before I wanted to experience it as a sport.”



Bloch coached her, encouraging her from an early age to turn competitive.



“At first my mom was like ‘no’, and Brad was like ‘there’s a fight this weekend, you can join’. I was like ‘yeah, but you’re telling my mom’… Only after she saw me locked in the cage was she like ‘you can defend yourself and it makes you happy, so go for it’!” Le Roux was around 14 years old at the time – “super young”, she admits – and because there were so few girls competing, she remembers “it wasn’t a very long fight”. 


<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="alignleft size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="458" height="340" src="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/MMA-2.png" alt="" class="wp-image-57744" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/MMA-2.png 458w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/MMA-2-300x223.png 300w" sizes="(max-width: 458px) 100vw, 458px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Photo Supplied</figcaption></figure></div>


“Most people ask me ‘did you feel that shot?’ And I’m like, ‘no, not really’. Sometimes we go in with some sort of injury and don’t feel like being there at all. But while you’re fighting, and for maybe like an hour afterwards, your adrenaline is so high, it feels like you’re on another planet. At the same time, you’re so calm.”



Le Roux trains a lot with men who she says appreciate and encourage the women fighters. But still, fewer females sign up compared to men.



“Every time you look, there are new people in the gym who want to compete or just train. Sometimes they train and then they fall in love with the sport and they end up competing. Most females start the training but use it more for self-defence than to compete.”



For Le Roux, her sights are firmly on the international stage.



“As long as my body can keep up with my mind, because my mind powers my body to be honest. I hope my body will hold out because I’ve had some injuries over the years.”



Le Roux’s mother, Deidre, has come a long way since her initial misgivings about the sport. She’s now her daughter’s greatest supporter, promoting not only her and other fighters, but also arranging fights across South Africa.



“We try and put on a fight every two months. We’ve got a lot of athletes from Africa who come and fight with us. So the caliber is really high,” she says.



“There’s a lot that goes on behind the scenes – the venue, the cage, the medics, doctor, ambulance, two helicopters on standby, medals, paperwork, that kind of thing. It can take six, seven weeks to organize one event. Since Covid ended, there’s been such a response from fighters that we’re having to turn a lot of them away. We can’t have more than 20 fights at an event.”



Most of the fighters call Deidre “Mama D” for her dedication in ensuring that their weight is on track and that they fight only against people in the same weight category. “We have protocols through which we match fighters. They have to be exactly the same weight and you cannot put a development fighter who has never fought anyone before, against somebody who’s had eight fights. The safety precautions are hectic and the rules are the rules.



Before a fight, we have a briefing where all the fighters and coaches go through the rules again. We are extra careful – a fighter’s safety comes first. If a fighter doesn’t know the rules, he or she will not be allowed to fight.”


<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="alignright size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="603" height="402" src="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/MMA-3.png" alt="" class="wp-image-57743" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/MMA-3.png 603w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/MMA-3-300x200.png 300w" sizes="(max-width: 603px) 100vw, 603px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Photo Supplied</figcaption></figure></div>


Her soft spot is for the women and children.



“We start the babies from five years old until 17. But the five-year-olds, I just want to eat them up because they tear my heart strings apart. I would so like to see their numbers triple. MMA makes people very humble and respectful. Of course you get the odd diva here and there but they’re soon put in their place. I would encourage this sport for parents because it teaches children good values,” adds Deidre.



For founder Bloch, the dream is for cage-fighting to grow exponentially in Africa and for homegrown talent to find its place on the continent.



“I specifically mention Africa because a lot of our champions leave to go fight in America,” he says.



“Africa right now doesn’t have the facilities to train fighters properly and our standards are not high enough for them to compete at a world level. But we have the potential and I predict that soon the sport will explode in Africa.”

MMA 1

South Africa’s Fight Clubs: The Growing Market for Mixed Martial Arts

As Google plays catchup to OpenAI and Microsoft, CEO Sundar Pichai finds himself in the hot seat for fumbling the company&#8217;s lead in AI. It has some people questioning his leadership.



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/>



When co-founders&nbsp;Larry Page and Sergey Brin&nbsp;<a href="https://blog.google/alphabet/letter-from-larry-and-sergey/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">announced</a>&nbsp;that they were leaving their day-to-day roles at Google parent Alphabet in 2019, handing Sundar Pichai the keys to the kingdom, they mused about Google’s age.



“If the company was a person, it would be a young adult of 21 and it would be time to leave the roost,” they wrote. “We believe it’s time to assume the role of proud parents—offering advice and love, but not daily nagging!”



Four years later, as Google faces incursions from AI rivals dead set on dethroning the company’s iconic search business, the absent parents have returned home. Microsoft, a once-dormant rival, has sprung to life with a new version of Bing, aided by OpenAI, the upstart maker of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/alexkonrad/2023/02/02/inside-chatggpts-breakout-moment-and-the-race-for-the-future-of-ai/?sh=50755de3240b">the generative AI bot ChatGPT</a>. As the chatbot began to make waves, Page and Brin, who became advisors for the company after leaving their official positions, started to take a more active role: They attended AI strategy meetings. Brin got&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/richardnieva/2023/01/31/sergey-brin-code-request-lamda/">hands-on with code</a>.



The re-emergence of the founders, as well as the fumbling of Google’s consumer AI efforts, has shaken the confidence of some in the guy in charge: the mild-mannered Pichai, who once graced the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2014-06-24/googles-sundar-pichai-king-of-android-master-of-mobile-profile" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">cover</a>&nbsp;of Bloomberg Businessweek hugging a stuffed Android as “Google’s Soft Power.” Rivals, investors, and industry observers are wondering whether Pichai is the CEO that can navigate the company through what seems to be developing into an existential crisis.



With the company&#8217;s army of engineers and researchers, AI was&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/richardnieva/2023/02/08/google-openai-chatgpt-microsoft-bing-ai/?sh=1934a0a34de4">Google&#8217;s game to lose</a>. It&#8217;s still early, but now Google finds itself in the unlikely position of playing from behind in a field it helped pioneer—a deficit that some have blamed on leadership.



“Sundar is a very strong operator, but not as much of a strategic thinker and visionary,” Nimrit Kang, co-chief investment officer of Northstar Asset Management, which holds about $20 million in Alphabet stock, told&nbsp;Forbes. Kang said the company needs to “disrupt” itself, even if it means short-term pain, to set itself up for the long-term future. “We feel, from everything we&#8217;re seeing at least, Sundar is not that person.”



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“We feel, from everything we&#8217;re seeing at least, Sundar is not that person.”
</blockquote>



“Google’s board, including the founders, must ask: Is Pichai the right guy to run the company, or is it time for Sundar to go?” the veteran Silicon Valley writer Om Malik&nbsp;<a href="https://om.co/2023/02/08/does-google-need-a-new-ceo/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">wrote</a>&nbsp;last month. “Does the company need a more offense-minded CEO? Someone who is not satisfied with [the] status quo, and willing to break some eggs?” After Malik’s post, respected tech analyst Ben Thompson also&nbsp;<a href="https://stratechery.com/2023/the-google-ceo-question-steve-ballmer-and-peacetime-ceos-about-that-bard-mistake/?" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">gave credence</a>&nbsp;to the question, broaching it in his widely-read blog Stratechery. Googlers have anonymously mused about it on the platform Blind, under the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.teamblind.com/post/Will-Sundar-Pichai-be-ousted-Xqx8NM1H" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">post</a>&nbsp;“Will Sundar Pichai be ousted?”



“I think Sundar and the team got complacent,” said Dan Ives, managing director at Wedbush Securities. He said it&#8217;s too early in the AI competition to think about an executive change, but they need to alter their approach. “They&#8217;re going to need an army formed with leadership that goes after this market, because this is a game of high-stakes poker and so far they&#8217;re losing.”



Google declined to comment or make Pichai available for an interview.



Pichai has weathered this type of criticism before. Executives at Google have long grumbled about his apparent aversion for risk and slow decision-making, according to a&nbsp;New York Times&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/21/technology/sundar-pichai-google.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">profile</a>&nbsp;of the CEO in 2021. At the time, Google defended Pichai by noting that internal surveys about his leadership were positive. But while Googlers have whispered their annoyances in the past, the chattering has become louder in recent weeks. The stakes are nearing a crescendo as rivals gun for Google’s sparkling search operation, one of the most efficient money-making machines in modern business. The questions also come as Google faces the morale blow of mass layoffs; Pichai laid off 12,000 workers, or 6% of the company, in January.



Still, Pichai is supremely respected around Google, and anyone who questions his leadership is quick to preface the criticism with remarks about how intelligent and impressive he is. Many of Pichai’s critics point to the dichotomy of the peacetime CEO and wartime CEO, a trope&nbsp;<a href="https://a16z.com/2011/04/14/peacetime-ceo-wartime-ceo/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">coined</a>&nbsp;by the venture capitalist Ben Horowtiz in 2011. A peacetime CEO, he wrote, enjoys a “large advantage vs. the competition in its core market,” while a CEO at war is like a general “fending off an imminent existential threat.”



“He is the epitome, the quintessential, the pinnacle of peacetime CEO,” a former Google executive told&nbsp;Forbes. A former Google director put it even more bluntly: “We’re taking bets on how long it&#8217;s going to last,” the person said. “I think everybody agrees he will be gone. The question is just how long from now?”



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“He is the epitome, the quintessential, the pinnacle of peacetime CEO.”
</blockquote>



Pichai’s defenders value his even-keeled approach, especially with something as powerful as AI. With its trillion dollar market cap and billions of users, Google was always going to be in a more precarious spot than any startup with less to lose and fewer people to anger. Supporters say the company is still well-positioned to win the AI war, with years of machine learning research and development, decades of user data and a track record of scaling products. “Who’s to say he’s not a good wartime CEO?” one current Google employee said. “He hasn&#8217;t gone to war yet.”



The caution could prove to be prudent. Google has avoided some of the backlash directed toward Microsoft&#8217;s Bing after the chatbot began responding with violent and obsessive answers, as journalists and early testers sought to push the software&#8217;s boundaries. But even as Google has moved slower, it&#8217;s still been burned: After its chatbot Bard generated an incorrect answer during a promo video last month, further inflaming concerns about Google falling behind, the company&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">lost $100 billion</a>&nbsp;in market value.



Pichai’s rise has been a feel-good Silicon Valley story. Born in Chennai, India, he attended the Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur. He moved to the U.S. in 1993 and earned master&#8217;s degrees from Stanford and Wharton. After graduating, he worked as a consultant for McKinsey before interviewing at Google on April 1, 2004, the same day the company launched Gmail.



At Google, he quickly ascended the ranks. He first served as a product manager in charge of the browser search bar, before pushing for Google to create its own browser, Chrome. In 2013, he took over Android from its now-disgraced creator Andy Rubin. Two years later, he was tapped to oversee Google’s entire portfolio of web products, including search, ads and maps. When the company restructured under Alphabet in 2015, Pichai took over Google. Four years later, he became CEO of the whole conglomerate.



Whereas Page and Brin were seen as visionaries—Page claims the idea for Google&nbsp;<a href="https://youtu.be/qFb2rvmrahc?t=355" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">came to him in a dream</a>—employees say Pichai is the practical leader who keeps the trains on schedule: talented and competent, but not necessarily inspiring. Instead of acting decisively, he often takes a more passive approach, people who worked with him say. One former executive calls him a “babysitter CEO.”



Once early in his tenure, Pichai convened a meeting between the leadership and senior staff of some of Google’s platforms, including Android head Hiroshi Lockheimer and Nest cofounder Tony Fadell, according to two people who attended the meeting. The various units had been jostling over which team would work on what project. “Sundar was literally brought in to broker the peace negotiations between the warring factions,” one attendee told&nbsp;Forbes.



The group met for three or four hours. Pichai listened to everyone’s point of view and asked some questions, but was mostly quiet. In the end, he told the platform leaders to work it out among themselves and report back, two attendees said, instead of giving clear direction. One of the attendees likened the situation to&nbsp;Game of Thrones. “He wanted to unite the kingdoms, and everyone respects Sundar so would bend the knee to him,” the person said. “But when the dragons come, he’s not going to know what to do.”



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“When the dragons come, he’s not going to know what to do.”&nbsp;
</blockquote>



Google declined to comment on the meeting. Fadell, who left the company in 2016, also declined to comment.



The episode is emblematic of the leadership style Pichai has imparted at the company. In 2018, a group of more than a dozen vice presidents&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/21/technology/sundar-pichai-google.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">reportedly</a>&nbsp;sent Pichai an email that said the company took too long with big decisions, and that it was difficult to coordinate technical feedback. Some of the company’s sluggishness stems from Pichai’s demeanor, a former Google executive who worked with him told&nbsp;Forbes. “He doesn&#8217;t like conflict. He doesn&#8217;t like making unpopular decisions,&#8221; that person said. &#8220;It&#8217;s just a slow, lethargic place.”



Pichai is in a difficult position. Google is far from the scrappy startup Page and Brin founded in a Menlo Park garage in 1998. The company has more than tripled in size since he took over in 2015, ballooning to more than 190,000 full-time employees in December before layoffs.



That explosive growth comes with cultural shifts that can cause stagnation. Without naming Pichai specifically, Praveen Seshadri, a former Google engineer, called out company management last month for a bureaucratic atmosphere where people aren’t incentivized to go above and beyond. “Overall, it is a soft peacetime culture where nothing is worth fighting for,” Seshadri&nbsp;<a href="https://medium.com/@pravse/the-maze-is-in-the-mouse-980c57cfd61a" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">wrote</a>&nbsp;in a 3,600-word essay.



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“Google isn’t Googley anymore.”
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In other words: “Google isn’t Googley anymore,” one laid off rank-and-file employee told&nbsp;Forbes. “I hesitate to put the blame or responsibility on Sundar, because he doesn&#8217;t project a strong voice of leadership one way or another,” they continued. But that viewpoint still doesn’t bode well for the CEO. “I&#8217;m not even sure I could say what his particular vision for the company is, apart from holding the market share we already have.”



Now that outlook has stung Pichai as rivals make a meaningful run at that market share for the first time in decades. Even after laying the groundwork for dominance in AI—Google researchers pioneered a breakthrough six years ago that undergirds chatbots like ChatGPT and Bing—Google was beaten to market during what is turning out to be a seminal moment for the future of AI. “His whole thing was a <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/richardnieva/2023/02/08/google-openai-chatgpt-microsoft-bing-ai/">bet on AI-first</a>. That was clearly his drumbeat,” said the former Google director. “And he hasn’t really done much.”



<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/richardnieva/"></a>By Richard Nieva, Forbes Staff

gettyimages-1147600063-594×594

Google’s ‘Peacetime’ CEO Sundar Pichai Faces Criticism As The AI War Heats Up

50over50 banner 1

The 50 Over 50 List Of Africa’s Female Powerhouses

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



A lethal, skin-eating fungus has been rapidly spreading across African wildlife since the turn of the century, scientists warned Wednesday, shedding light on an unnoticed amphibian plague that has driven more species to extinction or near-extinction than any other pathogen and now risks wiping out even more across the African continent.



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



Bd—Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis—is a highly infectious fungus that kills frogs, toads, salamanders and other amphibians by&nbsp;<a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.1176765?adobe_mc=MCMID%3D55427380907147007360115305422850798293%7CMCORGID%3D242B6472541199F70A4C98A6%2540AdobeOrg%7CTS%3D1678810677" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">attacking</a>&nbsp;the skin and triggering heart attacks, and likely existed for&nbsp;<a href="https://cisr.ucr.edu/invasive-species/chytrid-fungus" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">decades</a>&nbsp;in amphibian populations before human activity, most&nbsp;<a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.2018.360.6389.twis?adobe_mc=MCMID%3D55427380907147007360115305422850798293%7CMCORGID%3D242B6472541199F70A4C98A6%2540AdobeOrg%7CTS%3D1678842504" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">likely the wildlife trade</a>, accidentally&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/article/amphibian-apocalypse-frogs-salamanders-worst-chytrid-fungus" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">spread</a>&nbsp;it around the world.



Though Bd,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2019/03/bd-frogs-apocalypse-disease/585862/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">described</a>&nbsp;as the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/article/amphibian-apocalypse-frogs-salamanders-worst-chytrid-fungus" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">worst</a>&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/28/science/frogs-fungus-bd.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">disease</a>&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/article/amphibians-decline-frogs-chytrid-fungi-bd-animals-science" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">ever</a>&nbsp;<a href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/fungal-disease-linked-decline-500-amphibian-species-worlds-deadliest-pathogen-180971831/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">recorded</a>, has wiped out hundreds of amphibian species around the world and caused the decline of hundreds more, species living in Africa were thought to have been spared the scourge.



To the contrary,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fcosc.2023.1069490/full" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">research</a>&nbsp;published Wednesday in&nbsp;Frontiers in Conservation Science&nbsp;suggests Bd is already firmly established across Africa and has simply gone unnoticed.



Though scattered cases of Bd could be detected from the early 1930s, the fungal infection really began to spread across the continent in 2000 and around a decade later more than 20% of samples tested positive for the infection, rising as high as 74% in some regions.



The researchers said the findings—which coincide with some reports of amphibian die-offs and extinctions—indicate the fungus has been overlooked, rather than absent, and point to a grave threat for Africa’s diverse array of amphibian species, with those in central, eastern and western regions of Africa at the greatest risk.



In areas where the fungus has been monitored more thoroughly, Bd has driven hundreds of amphibian species to extinction or near-extinction and caused population declines in more than 500&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/article/amphibian-apocalypse-frogs-salamanders-worst-chytrid-fungus" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">species</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.science.org/content/article/fungus-has-wiped-out-more-species-any-other-disease" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">making</a>&nbsp;it the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/article/amphibians-decline-frogs-chytrid-fungi-bd-animals-science" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">worst</a>&nbsp;pathogen in history in terms of biodiversity.



<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/nicholasreimann/2023/03/13/mcconnell-released-from-hospital-after-broken-rib-and-concussion/?traffic_source=Connatix">McConnell Released From Hospital AfterBroken Rib And Concussion</a>



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



Amphibians matter more than most people realize and losing them could have major consequences. Foremost, amphibians are keystone species in many ecosystems, meaning their loss can dramatically change the environment for the worse. These downstream consequences can have a big impact, such as&nbsp;<a href="https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/ac8e1d" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">driving</a>&nbsp;malaria cases up dramatically as there are fewer frogs to keep mosquitos in check. Biodiversity is also an important&nbsp;<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/oct/09/how-biodiversity-loss-is-jeopardising-the-drugs-of-the-future" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">driver</a>&nbsp;of innovation, notably medicine, and the more species that are lost the fewer opportunities we have to learn from them. For example, salamanders—which&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6679358/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">possess</a>&nbsp;the remarkable&nbsp;<a href="https://ec.europa.eu/research-and-innovation/en/horizon-magazine/limb-regenerating-fire-god-salamander-central-wound-repair-quest" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">ability</a>&nbsp;to regrow tissues, organs or even limbs—are being studied with a view to unlocking new ways of treating serious wounds.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-we-don-t-know">WHAT WE DON’T KNOW</h2>



It’s not clear why Bd only started to take off in Africa from 2000, much later than other continents and decades after other parts of the world had reported major Bd outbreaks. It could just be chance, said study author Vance Vredenburg, a professor at San Francisco State University and the University of California Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, Berkeley. Increased air travel of humans and cargo, which could help transport and spread the fungus, “is also a culprit,” Vredenburg suggested. Climate change could also play a role, Vredenburg said, possibly by making amphibians more susceptible to infection or making the environment more hospitable for the fungus.



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



The rapid surge of Bd in 2000 could signal that the fungus is already driving down amphibian populations in Africa, Vredenburg said. “Extinctions of amphibians may already be occurring in Africa without anyone knowing about it,” Vredenburg added. Though eliminating the pathogen will be impossible, Vredenburg said knowing more about how and when it spreads could save afflicted amphibian species. Given that it “appears to be moved globally by humans, we have a moral imperative to get involved and try to manage and mitigate whenever possible,” Vredenburg said.



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



<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/roberthart/2023/01/16/the-last-of-us-zombie-infection-is-real-heres-what-scientists-say-about-the-threat-to-humans/?sh=16251fbc2a6e">‘The Last Of Us’ Zombie Infection Is Real—Here’s What Scientists Say About The Threat To Humans</a>&nbsp;(Forbes)



<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/roberthart/2023/02/08/the-last-of-us-zombie-fungus-pandemic-is-fiction-but-experts-warn-fungi-are-a-major-and-growing-health-threat/?sh=32552424780f">The ‘Last Of Us’ Zombie Fungus Pandemic Is Fiction, But Experts Warn Fungi Are A Major—And Growing—Health Threat</a>&nbsp;(Forbes)



<a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/article/amphibian-apocalypse-frogs-salamanders-worst-chytrid-fungus" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Amphibian &#8216;apocalypse&#8217; caused by most destructive pathogen ever</a>&nbsp;(National Geographic)



<a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2019/03/bd-frogs-apocalypse-disease/585862/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The Worst Disease Ever Recorded</a> (Atlantic)



By Robert Hart, Forbes Staff

Frog in pond

A Skin-Eating Fungal Plague Is Silently Tearing Through Wildlife Across Africa, Scientists Warn

Désire De Oliveira, a pioneering Civil Blaster and Managing Director of Laduma Blasting in South Africa, has worked in one of the most male-dominated industries of all – construction and mining. And all she wanted to really do was hone her skills as a French pastry chef.



In her 65 years, Désire De Oliveira has never stopped moving, running her own financial accountancy business for 30 years, raising four kids, qualifying as a French pastry chef, and starting the Seaside Lodge B&amp;B in Salt Rock in South Africa’s KwaZulu-Natal province in 2006.



Seaside Lodge B&amp;B remains consistently booked and was one of the accommodation businesses that survived Covid-19.



She’s also the first woman of color in KwaZulu-Natal to be a certified Opencast blaster (mining) and a certified Civil blaster. To put it simply: blasting is where rock gets blown into pieces with small amounts of explosive – a trickier process than one might think.



“Every accountant will tell you, the smaller the gross profit, the bigger the margin – that’s the business you’re looking for,” De Oliveira says to FORBES AFRICA. So when the owner of Laduma Blasting wanted her to partner in the business, due to her knowledge of its operations after doing its books, she agreed to make it her sole focus for one year.



She intended to return to her first passion – baking – after the year was up.



She put up the capital and he put up the blasting knowledge. In her first six months, she brought in significant business. Eventually, De Oliveira took over the company entirely and decided to get qualified as a blaster, while having a licensed blaster on hand to learn from.



It was not an easy road, as industry professionals told her she would need at least 10 years’ experience to find jobs in the sector. In 2015, she received her Learner Civil blaster, by 2016, her Opencast blaster certificate for mining, and in 2021 she finished her Civil blaster requirements.



And she’s managed to get the jobs they said she could not.



“Though everything I have succeeded at seems a walk in the park, that is because I embrace life for what it is. I have no regrets. Every hardship seems to have been used as a challenge. Looking back now and joining the dots, because of my belligerent attitude to life, I’m a non-conformer, not a follower, am also not a pushover, and certainly not a dreamer. Everything I have done, has been done my way – there’s been no mentors. I also do not carry baggage, none at all, life is too short,” De Oliveira explains.



Three of her family members contracted Covid-19 in December 2020, including herself. Her husband Peter Rutsch died due to Covid-19 in January 2021.



“It was a big shock. I missed him because as much as we didn&#8217;t see each other, we were good. He encouraged me. He let me do my thing. He did his thing. Nobody pulled each other back.”



She battled for four months with long Covid. Laduma Blasting was closed for that time too, and she had to pick up the pieces and start work again.



De Oliveira has spent the last 40 years working on average 19 hours a day, 360 days a year, including seeing to the children, cooking and caring for the home.



Home maintenance and childcare is called ‘invisible labor’, and something an Oxfam analysis valued at $10.9 trillion per year globally.



De Oliveira did not have an easy life as a woman of color in apartheid South Africa; facing the double blow of racial discrimination in all sectors including work and patriarchal attitudes, as well as surviving sexual abuse at a young age.



“Like most previously disadvantaged South Africans having lived through apartheid, we came with no capital, were not properly educated, worked hard, but could not command decent salaries – the old adage still prevailed, black people being paid far less than their white counterparts – that’s only starting to change now,” she says.



She thinks every mother in her situation wished for a better education for their children. After the 1994 elections in South Africa, the possibility of a good education started to be a reality, except she and other people did not have the finances to access it.



Now, she has managed to give her children a good education.



“I think I&#8217;ve done that my whole life, working on my own and steering my own ship so I don&#8217;t live off other people. I&#8217;m independent. So, it worked well for me that I didn&#8217;t have anything.”



Despite having long Covid and asthma, De Oliveira is preparing to run the Comrades Marathon for the 13th time this year. And she’s even thinking of opening another business.

Tag: Coronavirus

FORBES AFRICA SOCIAL MEDIA