Whilst Africa is embracing all things Chinese – trade, infrastructure and ideas, here is a guaranteed conversation-starter for Africans visiting China.
Just ask about Liu Bolin, the ‘invisible’ Chinese artist whose exhibitions are touring the world – and wowing it.
Bolin has perfected the art of urban camouflage, painting himself from head to toe, blending himself into the background he is in so seamlessly that you will not notice him until he moves. The idea is to make a silent statement and prompt the question: what lies beneath our public realms?
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-medium wp-image-30208 alignleft" src="http://www.forbesafrica.com/app/uploads/2017/05/Graffiti-in-Beijing-No.2-300x225.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="225" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Graffiti-in-Beijing-No.2-300x225.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Graffiti-in-Beijing-No.2-600x450.jpg 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Graffiti-in-Beijing-No.2-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Graffiti-in-Beijing-No.2-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Graffiti-in-Beijing-No.2.jpg 1023w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />
Bolin has exhibited his work in some of the world’s biggest galleries, triggering intrigue and introspection.
Born in China’s Shandong province, before becoming an artist, Bolin did the odd job as art teacher and assistant. It was not ideal.
“I lived at the bottom of society,” he says. “Those years, I felt redundant.”
That is when he often receded to the background, hiding. In October 2005, the Suojia Village International Art Camp in Beijing was demolished, “forcefully”, he tells us.
That was the starting point of Bolin’s celebrated Hiding In The City series, which began as a brand of ‘performance art’ that he is best known for.
“[The demolition] was a shock for me. I created the Hiding In The City series to express my protest. I try to use the series to express my inner world and my understanding of the world around me,” says Bolin.
The artistic process he uses is trompel’oeil (translated from French as ‘trick the eye’). In his work, there is no touching-up by a computer.
Every effect is painted on to his body, slowly, step by step, using it as a canvas to deliver a social message.
That is why his works are moving; he is the front and center of his art.
The Mandarin-speaking artist shares more details about his fascinating work in this interview:
Why do you do what you do?
Many people understand the meaning of my work and the power it has. My work spreads widely on the internet which indicates people know what I want to express. I think the most important thing [about] art is it [can] connect to people’s inner worlds.
&nbsp;
What statement are you making?
When I started the Hiding In The City series, I hid myself in the studio [that had] been demolished. That work represents my protest [against] urban demolition.
&nbsp;
Describe the work you have done around the world…
In the beginning, I had done work in France and Italy. I was disappearing in front of graffiti, bookshelves etc. I hid myself in various time [zones], languages, backgrounds and events. I thought different things happening at different times [can influence] the way humans think. At the same time, social problems such as the strikes in Paris, [poverty] in India, the financial crises and crash of the World Trade Center in New York, have all influenced my work.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-medium wp-image-30207 alignleft" src="http://www.forbesafrica.com/app/uploads/2017/05/Door-God-No.1-198x300.jpg" alt="" width="198" height="300" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Door-God-No.1-198x300.jpg 198w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Door-God-No.1-300x455.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Door-God-No.1-600x909.jpg 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Door-God-No.1-768x1164.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Door-God-No.1-676x1024.jpg 676w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Door-God-No.1.jpg 675w" sizes="(max-width: 198px) 100vw, 198px" />
&nbsp;
Which is your most recent work?
I had my solo show in Paris in March, and another solo show at a museum in Argentina in April. I recently did new work in Paris, influenced by the Charlie Hebdo shooting. I found 17 local people in Paris and made them disappear in order to question the problems in society. I thought this the modern version of religious war. I will participate in the Biennale of Performance Art in Argentina in June and also work on a new [art] influenced by transgenic food in Argentina.
&nbsp;
How does the government in China view your work?
To be frank, the government has never censored my work so far. My work has never gotten any support from anyone but no one has been against it [either]. I have been doing my work quite freely…A lot of people from around the world like what I do and have resonance with my work. This is what I cherish the most.
How much time does it take to prepare for each work and how much does each ‘performance’ cost?
The time [taken to] paint the body depends on the complexity of the background. Like the Supermarket, Magazine…such work needs a lot of time to grasp details. The longest I have taken is almost four days. Actually, it is really hard work. Generally speaking, for a simple background, a day is enough, especially outdoor scenes.
Actually, standing there, being painted on, is a painful process. For several hours, you cannot move, the body aches all over. However, I enjoy such a process which is a sacrifice to the art and a striving for my [artistic] dream. I have never calculated how much it costs for finishing each performance.
&nbsp;
What materials do you work with?
I’ve been using cloth designed for Chinese military men. Because in the beginning, I wanted to imitate how a sniper is hidden from his environment, by painting on his face, hands and body. For the paint, we usually use acrylic as it is simple.
How do you fund your work?
I have galleries who are in charge of the commercial part of my work.
What have you planned for the year ahead?
I will work on a new Target series in Italy and an art performance from the series Security Check. I plan [similar] performances next year in both Paris and New York. I would like to find famous buildings and invite people to be a part of it. Last year, there were many plane accidents. I would like people to pay more attention to matters of flight security.
&nbsp;
Do you have any plans to visit Africa?
African culture has always been my fascination. When I was in college, I specifically researched Africa’s traditional art. Unfortunately, I have never been to Africa, but I believe I will have a chance to visit it someday in the future. I really look forward to it.

Villa-dei-Misteri-Pompei

The Artist Who Resides In His Paintings

The sky is the limit for Anne Kansiime. The Ugandan comedienne, known as ‘Africa’s Queen of Comedy’, has seen her star rise rapidly.
She has performed throughout Africa and staged sold-out shows in England and Australia. The stages in London and Sydney are a long way away from the first play she took part in while in university in Kampala.
She owes her professional success to Fun Factory, which she says gave her both the time and space to improve.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-medium wp-image-30177 alignleft" src="http://www.forbesafrica.com/app/uploads/2017/05/Lupita-fb-300x300.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="300" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Lupita-fb-300x300.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Lupita-fb-100x100.jpg 100w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Lupita-fb-600x600.jpg 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Lupita-fb-150x150.jpg 150w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Lupita-fb.jpg 640w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />
“I had always known I had a relatively good sense of humor but didn&#8217;t think at all that it was something I would do professionally. But, in 2009, I was spotted by Fun Factory Uganda, a sketch comedy group, and I was given an opportunity to feature in their play, The Nasty Good Story. After that play, I stayed on for their weekly shows at the National Theater (Uganda) and I have been a member since.”
It was not a seamless start in the entertainment industry.
“Being a part of a comedy group, comprised of drama graduates and very experienced actors, really steered me in the right direction. There was too much to learn from them and a lot of mistakes to be forgiven,” says Kansiime.
Apart from the stand-up shows, Kansiime also hosts the television show, Don’t Mess With Kansiime. She is, however, best known for her YouTube channel. The global video-sharing website recently awarded her a Silver Play Button for gathering more than 100,000 channel subscribers.
But this is only one of the many accolades that the graduate of Social Sciences has bagged in the past few years. Last year, Kansiime pocketed the Airtel Women of Substance Award and, in 2013, was named the Best Comedian at the Black Entertainment Film Fashion Television and Arts (BEFFTA), the Best Actress at the Lagos International Festival, and Favorite Celebrity at the Social Media Awards.
The 28-year-old praises her husband, Gerald Ojok, for giving her all the support she needs.
“It’s not easy to balance marriage and a career but with a good partner, things can get a little easier. [He] has been the best support I could ever ask for. He doesn&#8217;t put me in a position where I have to explain myself and my actions.”
One of Kansiime’s most watched clips on YouTube are those where she argues with her husband. She is quick to add that these don’t reflect her life.
“Contrary to what people might think, I am not as quarrelsome as the Kansiime in the skits. I’m very quiet around strangers and, actually, my husband makes me laugh way more than I could ever make him. I’m normal, I assure you.”
Unlike many up-and-coming celebrities who look up to other people for inspiration, Kansiime says: “I don’t really look up to a particular individual in life but rather to everyone that does everything in their power to make the world a better place for everyone.”
That doesn’t stop Kansiime from wanting to inspire others. She is currently working on songs to inspire children.
“I’m currently working on a music album and videos for children dubbed My Name is Kansiime. I’m trying to create entertainment that is actually suitable for children.”
There are many established and up-and-coming comedians in Africa, but Kansiime doesn’t see them as competition.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-medium wp-image-30176 alignleft" src="http://www.forbesafrica.com/app/uploads/2017/05/Lupita-FB-2-300x300.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="300" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Lupita-FB-2-300x300.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Lupita-FB-2-100x100.jpg 100w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Lupita-FB-2-600x600.jpg 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Lupita-FB-2-150x150.jpg 150w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Lupita-FB-2.jpg 640w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />
“I try not to compete with anyone but rather with myself because I know my humor has a unique touch. So, I only strive to be a better person every day.”
Among Kansiime’s many fans, one stands out. Oscar-winner Lupita Nyong’o, who was in Uganda working on the movie Queen of Katwe, was full of praise for the comedienne after the two met.
After posting pictures of the two, Nyong’o called Kansiime the “funniest Ugandan. Period.”
It won’t be long before she’s considered the funniest African. Period.

kansiime-high

‘I’m Not As Quarrelsome As People Think’

Charm is that intangible quality which draws attraction and creates a connection.
Legendary French actress Sarah Bernhardt defined it as: “You must have charm to reach the pinnacle. It is made of everything and of nothing, the striving will, the look, the walk, the proportions of the body, the sound of the voice, the ease of the gestures. It is not at all necessary to be handsome or to be pretty; all that is needful is charm.”
It’s a key ingredient for success in a social setting, but what about the business environment?
Inner Life Skills (ILS) Master Coach Asanda Gcoyi from South African capital Pretoria says charm is extremely important in business.
Having graduated cum laude with an MBA from China’s Peking University, Gcoyi has worked in Beijing and has coached in intercultural settings in various areas including global leadership development, entrepreneur development and life coaching.
“Some people are really just not charming and they make absolutely no effort to be. There’s almost a lack of awareness about how important this is, especially in business.
“Charming people possess social skills that enable them to go out there and generate business on behalf of their companies. Whether it’s a budgetary request or pitching a new project, charm goes a long way in ensuring your proposal is listened to and even considered,” says Gcoyi.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-medium wp-image-30172 alignleft" src="http://www.forbesafrica.com/app/uploads/2017/05/Asanda-Gcoyi-200x300.jpg" alt="" width="200" height="300" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Asanda-Gcoyi-200x300.jpg 200w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Asanda-Gcoyi-300x451.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Asanda-Gcoyi-600x903.jpg 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Asanda-Gcoyi-681x1024.jpg 681w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Asanda-Gcoyi.jpg 680w" sizes="(max-width: 200px) 100vw, 200px" />
She highlights that having charm is far removed from being a “people pleaser”.
“It’s rather the ability to get your way because people can relate to you and your personality, mannerisms and the way you carry yourself inspires confidence. Charm is by nature verbal and non-verbal. Verbal in that you say what matters and non-verbal in that your gestures are synchronized with your words.”
While some professionals may be natural charmers, there are techniques to cultivate a charming manner according to Gcoyi:
Open ended questions, such as “what do you think about….” This invites thought and a considered response which goes a long way in creating more authentic connections with others.
Be a good listener – you can do this in two ways: either by backtracking, which means you use the same words that the other party uses, i.e, pick a word they have used and include it when it’s your turn to speak. The second way is to mirror and match the other party through tone and language (verbal and body). Gestures such as nods need to be appropriate and tasteful and not as if you are rushing a person through what they are saying, or being dismissive.
Eye contact conveys self-assurance as well as saying you care about the communication taking place and you are giving it your undivided attention. It’s important to note that this applies in a Western setting as direct eye contact in other cultures, including some Asian and African, may read it as intimidating or even arrogance or disrespect.
Smile and laugh – a smile is the surest way to win favor in most interactions, but can never be enough in itself. A winning smile is usually accompanied by open and inviting hand gestures for example.
Genuine pleasure – when you are authentic, you speak with others from a place that is not pretentious. Open mindedness tends to lead to a genuine interest in others.
Durban-based Arthie Moore, CEO of Celebrating Humanity International and Co-Founder of the Transformational Leadership Institute, says a charming person “has the type of personality that adjusts to be inclusive of everyone, anywhere and at any time”.
She says John Maxwell’s book, The 5 Levels of Leadership highlights that leadership is about character.
“According to Maxwell, to become a person of influence, one has to have integrity, values and a strong character. To have charm adds to that mix and allows one a journey of continuous growth as a charismatic leader.
“Charming people have the ability to adjust their tone, body language, eye contact and way of interacting to make sure that others feel comfortable in their space. At the same time, they are thoughtful and have meaningful conversations. They do not undermine or overpower with their own opinions. In order to succeed, we need to adjust continually to become more effective. A charming leader who is effective is guaranteed to succeed in leading and inspiring their entire teams. Success just follows on as a natural progression,” says Moore.

shutterstock_117241084

Turn On The Charm

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

Fix-Profile-Pic-3-1

‘Just  Be A Friggin’ Human Being’

As a child, Adriana Marais always wanted to live on another planet. Today, the 31-year-old scientist born in South Africa’s Eastern Cape, is almost half-way to realizing that dream.
Marais is one of 100 hopefuls from around the world and one of seven from Africa to have cleared the third round of the Mars One project for its maiden trip to Mars. Mars One is a not-for-profit foundation with the goal of establishing a permanent human settlement on Mars; crews are expected to depart for their one-way journey to the planet starting 2026.
It would seem Marais has been preparing for this moment all her life.
“When I was in standard seven, a friend and I did a project for a school science competition, and we built a paper mache city on Mars; we had the crops, we had the habitat, we had the lifestyle,” she says.
Marais, who has been a doctoral student (quantum biology) at the University of KwaZulu-Natal in Durban, says she is taking the leap of faith for the sake of science, knowing she will never be able to return to planet earth once she makes the trip.
<div id="attachment_30163" style="width: 698px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-30163" class="wp-image-30163 size-large" src="http://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/A-Marais-688x1024.jpg" alt="" width="688" height="1024" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/A-Marais-688x1024.jpg 688w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/A-Marais-300x447.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/A-Marais-600x893.jpg 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/A-Marais-202x300.jpg 202w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/A-Marais-768x1143.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/A-Marais.jpg 687w" sizes="(max-width: 688px) 100vw, 688px" />Adriana Marais</div>
“I have become interested in how life emerged. This is a question that can most certainly be researched on Mars as well, because it has been indicated that it may have been possible for life to exist on Mars at some point.
“The surface of Mars on average is very cold at minus 55 degrees, the air is 96% carbon dioxide, so it is not breathable, and the pressure is very low. The air is very thin. And also the radiation from the sun is dangerous on the surface of Mars. A lot of [our] time on Mars will be spent indoors.”
For now, all the short-listed finalists have on paper are artists’ impressions of Mars’ habitat, and some idea of the life-changing expedition.
“But I imagine that there will be a lot of developments taking place from now until then. So I don’t think it’s possible to imagine what it will be like,” says Marais.
Her own work so far has not gone unrecognized; she has already been published in journals. In March, Marais won the L’Oréal-UNESCO Women in Science International Rising Talents Grants program award in Paris. She was one of 15 women globally to win.
Marais is confident it will be extremely fascinating traveling to Mars – and settling there.

Adriana Marais

From Africa To Mars

Its 4PM on a Friday in Johannesburg and the traffic is building up. All of Johannesburg is going home, but the night is young for Cindy Mashao, a Uber driver. She picks us up from our Sandton offices, and lets us ride with her.
Uber is a technology company connecting riders with drivers through a smartphone app. Mashao owns a hair salon in Alexandra, a black township in Gauteng, but now, as part of the Uber network, she has, like her counterparts worldwide, the opportunity to be the CEO of her own taxi.
Mashao was one of Uber’s first female drivers in South Africa when she joined the network late last year. In just under two years of its operation in South Africa, 4% of Uber’s drivers are women. In the United States (US), the corresponding number is 14%.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-medium wp-image-30155 alignleft" src="http://www.forbesafrica.com/app/uploads/2017/05/Uber-driver-095-200x300.jpg" alt="" width="200" height="300" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Uber-driver-095-200x300.jpg 200w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Uber-driver-095-300x451.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Uber-driver-095-600x903.jpg 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Uber-driver-095-681x1024.jpg 681w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Uber-driver-095.jpg 680w" sizes="(max-width: 200px) 100vw, 200px" />
“Given that the US as a country is significantly bigger than South Africa and Uber has been in the US for five years, South Africa being at this level is really exceptional and the growth possibilities are very exciting,” says Samantha Allenberg, Uber’s spokesperson.
Mashao expertly navigates the back roads to get out of grid-locked Sandton at this peak hour.
“I stay far away from Sandton [as far as possible] when I’m working,” she says. With most businesses operating in this affluent part of Johannesburg, traffic is always a nightmare.
Mashao is a live wire and brimming with stories. As we drive to her usual spot, which is a petrol-station in Morningside, she tells us that drunk customers are her favorite because they make driving exciting and the ride eventful. There is never a dull moment. Her passengers in the morning are usually stressed office-goers, so there is little room for friendly banter.
Its 4.30PM and we start in Morningside at the end of the ever-busy Rivonia road where she waits for ride-requests.
“Morningside is like home for me. It’s where I started,” she says as she greets other drivers, mostly male.
Listening to the radio on the commute all day ensures she’s clued in on the latest music and current affairs.
It helps her find common ground with her passengers. She learns a lot from them too.
“I got a recipe for beer from one,” she tells us excitedly.
Her phone has been unusually silent and we decide to drive around the area. She shows us her Uber app, there are four other cars in the area.
“You’ve got to be sneaky and clever to get requests,” she says cheekily.
An alert goes off on her phone and we’re off to pick up her first customer, in Bryanston.
Our first rider tells us of his amusing Uber mishaps as we drive to the upmarket Sandton City mall. He had once drunkenly requested an Uber van, which seats six and is used for larger groups, only to be greeted by a very confused driver looking for the rest of the passengers. We drop him off and Mashao jokingly tells him not to make the same mistake tonight.
We head to Mashao’s usual Friday night spot at The Waterford Shopping Centre in Fourways. As we pull into the center, a request goes off on her phone and we’re on the move again.
It’s 6PM and we pick up a teacher on his way to a school play. He’s in high spirits after a long week. “It’s Friday night so I thought why not? Uber always has your back,” he says.
There’s a power cut and the area is dark but Mashao expertly maneuvers through the traffic.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-medium wp-image-30157 alignleft" src="http://www.forbesafrica.com/app/uploads/2017/05/Uber-driver-015-300x200.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="200" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Uber-driver-015-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Uber-driver-015-600x399.jpg 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Uber-driver-015-768x511.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Uber-driver-015.jpg 1024w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />
The calm and collected Mashao says her scariest moment was picking up a passenger from a wedding at The Cradle of Humankind, a World Heritage Site located 50 kilometers northwest of Johannesburg. It was 2AM and the road to the venue was a dirt track.
The Uber app had alerted the passengers about the driver’s profile. Seeing that they had a female driver arriving to pick them up, they had a bouquet of flowers waiting for Mashao.
“It made it worth it,” she says.
We stop at a garage in Honeydew as she reapplies her lipstick land freshens up in the restroom. It’s the only break she has had. We’re in a quiet area and there are no alerts on her phone.
Its 7PM and we head to Melville, a bustling area cluttered with bars and restaurants.
She makes a sudden U-turn as she receives a request. We fetch two 12-year-olds on their first date. We get off as they get in.
They hold hands in the back seat and steal coy glances at each other. We agree to meet Mashao in Melville after she drops them off.
“Fridays are usually busy, you guys must be bad luck,” she says with a laugh. It has been quiet but every moment is an adventure for Mashao.
The night is still young, filled with umpteen possibilities.

Uber-driver-080

Friday Evening With A Female Cab Driver

Ntsiki Biyela is not a Capetonian by birth but she has lived in South Africa’s Western Cape for over 20 years and embodies the province’s entrepreneurial spirit.
In the Western Cape, winemaking is a craft pursued with zeal. Those who enter the industry typically do so encouraged by their families whose roots are as deeply planted in the terroir as the vines themselves. Would-be winemakers worship at the altar of the grape, and are well-versed in the history of varietals from an early age.
Biyela’s story is different. Born in Ulundi, KwaZulu-Natal, she grew up in a big family strictly governed by her grandmother. Her mother worked as a housekeeper.
While in high school, a scientifically-inclined Biyela dreamt of becoming a chemical engineer but financial difficulties precluded a tertiary education and Biyela spent her first post-Matric year cleaning houses in the province’s largest city, Durban.
Biyela’s break came in the form of a call for an application to study viticulture and oenology at the University of Stellenbosch in Cape Town as part of a scholarship funded by national air-carrier South African Airways.
“I didn’t know much about winemaking and I had little interest in wine not having grown up around it,” she says.
“But I knew an opportunity when I saw one and I grabbed it with both hands.”
In 1992, Biyela found herself studying at the university and her first year at the institution proved to be a baptism by fire. Stellenbosch is situated in the heart of South Africa’s wine-producing region. The town and university, although adapting, are traditionally conservative and Afrikaans – in short, light years away from Biyela’s home in the Zululand.
“When you really want to do something, you forget about how difficult it is and you just do it,” she says.
Textbooks and lecture notes written in English helped Biyela fill in the gaps of her knowledge and she slowly grew to love and appreciate wine, working at Stellenbosch farm Delheim during her studies. She credits Jabulani Ntshangase as her mentor. Ntshangase is one of South Africa’s first black wine entrepreneurs who started out as a wine exporter shortly after apartheid sanctions against South Africa were lifted in the early 1990s and later went on to found the country’s first black-owned wine-producing farm Thabani.
Biyela’s own entry in the industry took place at a time when black female winemakers were the stuff of myth and legend.
“I remember going to an industry seminar with the Delheim manager and I was absolutely terrified when I walked into the room. Everyone there was white and male. I asked my manager if I could leave but he told me that this was what the industry looked like and I needed to stay and make my own place.
“Being a woman in a male-dominated workplace isn’t about defining yourself by your gender. You need to work as hard as you would do any workplace.”
Biyela has been working as a wine-maker at Stellenbosch’s Stellekaya, a boutique farm specializing in red wine, since 2004. The beautiful valley surrounding her is no longer as inhospitable as it was when she first arrived. The grapes and the vines have meshed with her Zululand roots and she still gets excited about each bottle of wine that Stellekaya makes.
“The best thing about my job is seeing the enjoyment it brings to the people who drink it. When someone takes a big sip of wine and it brings a smile to their face. Wine is really personal because it’s a lot of stories and journeys which merge together to create a beautiful product.”
Biyela is a director at the Pinotage Youth Development Academy, a Stellenbosch group which prepares unemployed young people for work in the wine industry through a 12-month programme. She was named South African Woman Winemaker of the Year in 2009.
Her first vintage at Stellekaya produced the Cape Cross wine, which went on to win a Gold Medal at the industry-defining Michelangelo Awards.
“One of my proudest moments was enjoying a glass of that award-winning wine with my grandmother. She really enjoyed it and she was very proud of me. She honestly never expected this route for me.”
Biyela’s wine route has clearly taken her places.

ForbesCover212

Grape Expectations

Born in Zimbabwe to British parents, Sally J’Arlette-Joy moved to London at the age of 16, during the years of political unrest in Zimbabwe. In London, she worked as a legal secretary and DJ, and met her comedian husband. The pair soon moved to South Africa after falling in love with the country during a visit.
Thereafter, they opened an entertainment restaurant called Stars but J’Arlette-Joy sold it after her husband took off with a young waitress. She had had enough of the food industry, and decided to take a year off work.
As life happens, she was forced out of retirement in 1996, when she realized she only had R5,000 ($420) left in her bank account. Sandwiches seemed the obvious choice to her as she had stopped to grab one every day on the way to work, while living in London. She remembers occasionally treating herself to a crispy French bread stuffed with tuna, mayonnaise and fresh salad.
Using R1,000 ($84), she worked from home, typing up a small menu and distributing it. It wasn’t long until she got her first call. With word of mouth working for her, she couldn’t cope on her own and hired her first employee, two weeks into the business.
With success comes scrutiny. Someone tipped off the health inspector and she was told she could no longer sell food from home. With no other choice, J’Arlette-Joy rented a shop using the money she had left. It had nothing but a table, fridge, desk and telephone. Using her credit card she bought an old Honda motorbike for deliveries.
“Whoever reported me helped me because my business more than doubled,” says J’Arlette-Joy.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-medium wp-image-30147 alignleft" src="http://www.forbesafrica.com/app/uploads/2017/05/New-shortcut.lnk_2-300x200.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="200" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/New-shortcut.lnk_2-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/New-shortcut.lnk_2-600x399.jpg 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/New-shortcut.lnk_2-768x511.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/New-shortcut.lnk_2.jpg 1024w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />
After a year in business, a woman approached J’Arlette-Joy looking to buy a franchise. She was turned away but more followed, at this point J’Arlette-Joy had three stores.
Eventually intrigued by the franchising idea, J’Arlette-Joy got reading material from the Franchise Association of South Africa but admits she put the idea on the back burner when the books didn’t make any sense to her. With growing demand and constant enquiries in the next couple of years, J’Arlette-Joy had to dig in and read so she could write her operating manual.
It was in 2002 that she sold her store in Germiston as the first franchise. Nineteen years and more than 50 stores later, her business, Sandwich Baron, is booming, and J’Arlette-Joy says she never thought she would have so many stores.
Her business strategy was simple, stressing quality and freshness. All the ingredients are cut to order. There are regular check-ups on the stores to maintain quality control. J’Arlette-Joy interviews potential franchisees personally, preferring owner-run stores, where the owners risk their own money. The franchise also goes against what is considered the norm, shying away from large malls because of the higher rent.
Thirty percent of the business comes from functions, about 10% from the stores leaving the rest to delivery orders. This is why it’s not uncommon for a large store to have 14 drivers.
J’Arlette-Joy admits she has never felt any competition in her particular market. The initial cost of a franchise is R575,000 ($48,345), excluding VAT, and returns are said to be R21,000 ($1,765) per R100,000 ($8,407). J’Arlette-Joy is up for expansion but trying a couple of new things. She has sold a master license for 45 stores in Soweto and funded the first one herself.
“We’re more of a sandwich factory than shop,” she says.
“Once the Soweto store is established, I will look into opening more in the townships.”
J’Arlette-Joy is hands-on with her business, personally owning two stores in the franchises’ top five.
The company is also launching a new tuck-shop initiative using staff members that have been around for five to six years. Each shop will take R100,000 ($8,407) to set up. The key is convincing the schools to allow it.
“I already have two successful tuck shops in private schools and have empowered a manager of mine who has worked for me for eight years into one of them,” says J’Arlette-Joy.
“She takes very good care of her franchisees; she believes in true partnership with them and she doesn’t try to be a dictator,” Jacques Taljaard, now former development manager at Sandwich Baron, once told CNBC Africa.
J’Arlette-Joy is not looking to retire anytime soon. She has two sons waiting to take over but says they must learn to run their own shops first and even then they may not be ready.
Her parting words to aspiring entrepreneurs are clear: “To be successful you have to really believe in your business.  If you think you will fail, you surely will.”

Sally-sandwich-061

Life, Served In Two Slices

Zain Verjee started her career on the radio before going on to become one of CNN’s most respected television journalists. Today, Verjee is an entrepreneur in the digital space in Africa.
What is remarkable is that Verjee sustained a high-profile career in television despite suffering psoriasis, a skin ailment that manifests in the form of red spots and patches covered with silvery scales. For years, she endured this privately, drawing strength from family. The odds were stacked against her.
Born and raised in Nairobi to a Kenyan family of Indian ancestry, her early education was in Kenya before moving to Montreal, Canada, to study English Literature and Development Studies at McGill University. Verjee returned to Kenya and enrolled for a graduate degree in environmental studies. Meanwhile, she heard of a job opportunity in radio.
“A new radio station opened up called Capital Radio at the time. I started reading the traffic news. Then I filled in for a love line show at night where I started learning how to become a radio DJ. I gave romantic advice on the radio at age 21/22 and read poems and was soppy and played sad songs on air, which was great. When the embassy was bombed in 1998 [Al Qaeda bombings of United States’ embassies in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam], it was close to the Capital FM radio station, so I got involved in reporting the story and so that really forced me to become more engaged in hard news. So I did some work for the BBC. Then I started working for Kenya Television network and then I applied to CNN,” says Verjee.
Given her limited experience, Verjee’s application was a long shot. However, she was not willing to back down.
“The manager at the time told me I didn’t have enough experience, I had never done breaking news and that I shouldn’t bother applying. But I continued to apply and I begged for a screen test and eventually managed to convince her after at least 10 or 15 email exchanges where I was bordering on becoming ‘stalkerish’. So she said ‘OK, fine! Come to Atlanta, I’m not going to pay you, I’m not going to hire you, you are going to have to pay your own way, but we will do a screen test and then go away’. So I did the screen test and then she said to me ‘I’m going to do something I’ve never done before, I’ll offer you a job on the spot, but as a writer, not as an anchor, and we’ll train you and if you are good, we’ll promote you. If not, then you can go back to Kenya after three years’. And it was amazing. I learned how to anchor, I learned how to write. Everyone at CNN helped me succeed and gave me many opportunities. And the journey evolved from there.”
Verjee’s persistence earned her a posting to the Unites States’ State Department as a foreign policy correspondent. This was during the difficult days of the Bush administration with Condoleezza Rice as Secretary of State and the war in Iraq. She explains: “When I went to the State Department, I was very scared. I was very intimidated and nervous because I had no idea what to do. And I didn’t understand nor did I have sources and I didn’t have relationships that would give me information at the time. And I remember after making one phone call on a major story to the State Department spokesman at the time, I didn’t know who else to call so I was just pacing the corridors waiting for him to call me back because I didn’t know what else to do. I was really in a panic because the phones were ringing, there was pressure, there was information wanted, ‘match the story, break the story’; I was sweating bullets. But eventually I learned. The State Department press corps were fantastic. Condoleezza Rice was a great personality and powerhouse to cover. U.S. foreign policy was in an interesting moment at the time and CNN was really pushing me to be better than I thought I could be.”
All this while, Verjee had to manage her ailment whilst maintaining her poise in front of the cameras.
“Right before I applied to CNN in 1999, my skin condition was so bad I could barely walk properly. What happens is because it’s such a visually ugly disease, especially for a young woman, it psychologically has a terrible impact, and you get very afraid of exposing skin, you get afraid of close relationships, you are nervous; because now I was developing a profession in television, yet my face was the only thing I was projecting that was clear. So by the time I was at CNN, until I moved to London, I was in remission, so I was really more confident of myself. I was appreciating my own body, my own skin, my own freedom a lot more. And I didn’t have any struggles until I got to London when it inflamed again because I was stressed. It was a difficult adjustment for me at the beginning and it affected my immune system and my stability. So it became again very hard because on the one hand I was fighting my own body and trying to control it, and on the other hand, being glamorous and trying to present comfortably. And when my skin is bad, I become psychologically a bit disturbed and can’t focus. So I’m always having to cope with my skin as a way of personally dealing with the health issue, making sure that in my profession it doesn’t create the obstacle it once did.”
Of all the stories she anchored, Verjee singles out the brutal attack by Somali terrorist group, Al Shabaab, on the Westgate Shopping mall in Nairobi as the most challenging. The siege occurred in her backyard and most of the people and families affected were known to her. Verjee walked a fine line as she balanced her emotions covering such a personal story while upholding her professional responsibility.
Nairobi was also the scene of one of the scariest moments Verjee faced as a journalist. She was covering the protests that erupted after Kenya’s national elections in 2008 when an attempt to pre-empt a march by protesters resulted in Verjee being hit by a tear gas canister shot by the police.
“It was opposite Uhuru Park where the GSU paramilitary were. And they just started targeting journalists and they targeted me first because I was walking and talking. All of a sudden I heard a loud boom and a very sharp pain in my back, and my eyes started watering because it was teargas. It was in such close proximity that had that canister hit my face or my spine, we would have been having a very different conversation.”
In April 2014, Verjee made the decision to leave CNN. Her passion for Africa and desire to actively contribute to its growth led her to establish Akoma, a digital storytelling platform. With the new project, Verjee seeks to enable Africa’s digital generation to tell their stories.
“I believe it’s time young Africans who have access to smartphone technology and are increasingly connected to the digital world, get to say what they want. If they have an idea or an opinion, it should come authentically from us. It should come from something that is created by Africans that is just as good as the rest of the world’s innovations.”
A proud African, Verjee believes African women will shape the future of the continent. “I believe African women can set the benchmark for the world. The kind of passion, innovation, enthusiasm and opportunities that I have seen directly in the last six months engaging with many of these women leads me to believe that African women are shattering the glass ceiling and that some of the real innovation that will come will be from them.”
Verjee is surely leading the way.

CNN Digital Rebranding 2013

The News Anchor Who Begged For  A Screen Test

If you are a foodie and live in South Africa, you know the name Tashas. Regardless of which Tashas you visit it’s always busy and people don’t mind waiting. I certainly don’t so long as there’s a glass of Turkish Delight or Goats Do Roam Red to keep me company.
After years of surprise birthday parties, dates, family get-togethers and business meetings at Tashas, an interview with the woman that started it all was long overdue.
Natasha Sideris is one busy woman and passionate about what she has built. Dedicated to maintaining standards, the interview was peppered with Sideris getting up to seat customers, hand them menus and tell the odd waiter to tuck in their shirt.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-medium wp-image-30130 alignleft" src="http://www.forbesafrica.com/app/uploads/2017/05/086-200x300.jpg" alt="" width="200" height="300" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/086-200x300.jpg 200w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/086-300x450.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/086-600x900.jpg 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/086-768x1152.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/086-683x1024.jpg 683w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/086.jpg 682w" sizes="(max-width: 200px) 100vw, 200px" />
Given her jovial mood it was hard to believe it when Sideris described the day before as one of the worst she’s ever had. Her advice is to wake up the next day and get back to work.
Sideris’ journey into the food business began more than two decades ago. She worked part-time at her dad’s Fishmonger restaurant, while studying psychology at the University of the Witwatersrand. You could say this is where it all began.
Sideris spent years working in the fast food industry, but it wasn’t for her. She worked at Nino’s, an Italian-style restaurant franchise, helping the company open 12 new restaurants. In 2001, the 24-year-old bought her own branch with help from the bank and her family.
In 2005, Sideris realized that all the market had to offer were themed restaurants and big chains; this is where she saw the gap.
“It was because of my experience at Nino’s that I realized there was such a gap in the South African market for this style of restaurant.”
There was a place for something niche and Sideris planned on being the first one to fill it.
The vision was clear, “authentic, old school, with good fresh food”. Sideris just needed the money to kick it off. Financing the first Tashas in Sandton in 2005 wasn’t easy. She found herself in front of a loan shark, leaving with less than she needed but more in debt than she was ready for. One can only guess what would have happened had the eatery not been a hit. Sideris didn’t draw a salary for almost two-and-a-half years.
Drawing on the success of the business, Sideris turned the Nino’s in Bedfordview, east of Johannesburg, into another Tashas. This meant another trip to a loan shark. Banks weren’t paying her much attention since all she had was an asset in debt.
“It was long, hard work but I knew I was on to something good and I persevered,” she says.
When Sideris went into business with Famous Brands, a food services company that stables some of South Africa’s best known fast food franchises, it seemed an unlikely relationship, but not to her.
“I was very, very cautious in the beginning when I did the deal with them [Famous Brands].”
What would happen to the niche, unique café style restaurants she had created if she got into bed with a mass producer, the fast food business she ran from? Looking at how it has all turned out, both parties have come out ahead.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-medium wp-image-30127 alignleft" src="http://www.forbesafrica.com/app/uploads/2017/05/Hyde-bread-13-214x300.jpg" alt="" width="214" height="300" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Hyde-bread-13-214x300.jpg 214w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Hyde-bread-13-300x420.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Hyde-bread-13-600x840.jpg 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Hyde-bread-13-768x1075.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Hyde-bread-13-732x1024.jpg 732w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Hyde-bread-13.jpg 731w" sizes="(max-width: 214px) 100vw, 214px" />
Famous Brands may own 51% of the business but Sideris still maintains creative control. She gained valuable skills and Famous Brands in return has a unique product for its stable.
Famous Brands, as of its last annual report, has 2,378 franchised restaurants. The report also states that the group’s ‘premium offering’, Tashas, delivered 20% like-on-like growth for the period.
The franchise fee for Tashas is broken up into three segments: an initial $18,600 (R223,000) payment, 6% of the monthly turnover and an advertising fee of 2%. The company puts set-up costs at around $500,000 (R6 million), with $12,500 (R150,000)–$16,700 (R200,000) working capital required.
The trick is to have owner-operated franchises. Each possible franchisee needs to have a minimum amount of experience in the restaurant business, go through pre-screening, interviews and three months of training.
The variants in deco and menu choices give each branch a sense of individuality, allowing the customers to have a different experience in each store. The distinct décor and signature menus are determined by the area and customer base, from the Dutch look and feel in Pretoria to the Parisian-style Le Parc in Hyde Park.
The plan is to have no more than 15 stores in South Africa – there are currently 12 – in order to maintain control and not saturate the market. Sideris is looking for slow and steady growth.
Right now the plans include a line of cookbooks, an online retail store with Tashas products and international expansion. Released in November, the first cookbook has made it to the top 10 list at Exclusive Books. The secret is out, but Sideris says it’s not about holding onto the recipes because Tashas is more than just the food.
Sideris had some help in the form of her brother Savva. Sideris calls him her rock, a doer and true restaurateur, a dying breed in South Africa according her.
“We are not chefs, we are restaurateurs.”
Savva has been there since 2007 and set up the new operation in Dubai.
It is the success of the Tashas brand that led to Dubai. It was an intense three-year process that led to the opening of the maiden international restaurant in Jumeirah’s The Galleria Mall. The franchise was drawn to the country by its similarity to the South African landscape back in 2005 – Sideris wanted to take advantage of another gap further from home. The best South African staff members have been taken to the Jumeirah store for a year, with the option of staying longer.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-medium wp-image-30128 alignleft" src="http://www.forbesafrica.com/app/uploads/2017/05/Hyde-cakes-2-214x300.jpg" alt="" width="214" height="300" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Hyde-cakes-2-214x300.jpg 214w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Hyde-cakes-2-300x420.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Hyde-cakes-2-600x840.jpg 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Hyde-cakes-2-768x1075.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Hyde-cakes-2-732x1024.jpg 732w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Hyde-cakes-2.jpg 731w" sizes="(max-width: 214px) 100vw, 214px" />
Keeping with the strategy of slow and steady growth, Saderis wants to open three or four restaurants in Dubai and explore places like Doha, Kuwait and Oman.
“We’re not going anywhere until we’ve got it absolutely right in South Africa and Dubai.”
Sideris was surprised by how well things took off in Dubai, admitting that although she was nervous she had no expectations.
Jeremy Sampson, the founder of brand consultancy firm Interbrand Sampson de Villiers, calls Tashas a fantastic success story. He says people tend to forget that a brand is about experience and that the challenge lies with making sure all the touch points are aligned.
How well will Tashas do beyond South Africa’s shores? Sampson says one of its strengths is its ability to tweak its offering and cater to the local culture; this he adds is not unlike the strategy global fast food giant McDonalds uses.
According to Sideris, “Hard work equals good luck”. You can argue she’s got plenty of both.

IMG_1583

A Recipe For Success

For the average Nigerian socialite, Lagos’ social calendar is abuzz with lavish launches, swish soirees and smash-hit parties.
From mid-week corporate dos to weekend weddings, the city is a hive of activity. As venues enjoy advanced bookings, inboxes brim with invites and guests anticipate their next fashionable outing, there is no greater utopia for Africa’s event planners than Lagos.
Event manager Funke Bucknor Obruthe knows this only too well but says that behind the glitz, is grit. As CEO of Zapphaire Events, a holistic event consultancy and management company, Obruthe has more than paid her dues.
As one of the pioneers of Nigeria’s events industry, it’s easy to see the passion and excitement she has for her craft, one that can be traced back to her college days.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-medium wp-image-30122 alignleft" src="http://www.forbesafrica.com/app/uploads/2017/05/Funke-282-300x200.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="200" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Funke-282-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Funke-282-600x400.jpg 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Funke-282-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Funke-282.jpg 1024w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />
While studying law at the University of Lagos, Obruthe had a flair for helping peers organize events; a talent she shared with her mother.
“I thought I would enjoy law, but I didn’t. Every year of my course, I thought I would eventually get excited about it but I didn’t. I found it too monotonous,” she says now.
By the time she got to law school, she had offered to help a friend plan her wedding. It was the start of what would be a lucrative, long-standing career.
“Before I knew it, I was doing celebrity events and had met influential clientele that allowed me an opportunity to show my range. As time went on, we evolved and began to do corporate and social events as well,” says Obruthe.
The firm had humble beginnings. Before she moved into her first office, Obruthe worked out of home, even out of her car.
Twelve years on, Zapphaire is a big player in Nigeria’s events scene – and also receives orders from beyond.
“We are doing events in Dubai, UK, South Africa etc. When I look back, I sometimes ask myself, how did we get here? But I realize passion is what drives me. My team has also been immensely instrumental to our growth.”
But Obruthe says the industry is rife with challenges, highlighting logistics and infrastructure as few of the operational hiccups.
Pulling off a successful event means attention to every tiny detail.
“You don’t have another chance to create an impression on your client. From the clients’ brief, to the proposal, right through to execution,” she says. Crisis management is an inexcusable part of the job for Obruthe.
“In Nigeria, we do large events. However, there is a lax RSVP culture. This makes planning quite difficult. We once had over 3,000 people show up for an event we had planned for 1,500. This posed a logistical nightmare. In these situations, one has to manage the situation accordingly and always prepare for the unforeseen.”
With Nigeria’s ever-busy social calendar, event management companies are a dime a dozen today.  Differentiation is crucial for brand relevance and new business opportunities. Obruthe believes the winning formula is in creating unique experiences.
“When people leave, they want to take an experience with them and this is what I aim to do with each event.”
And themed events are popular. “The idea of a developed concept living through every facet of the event is really exciting. I constantly ask: ‘how can we make this event different? How do we make it special?’ I get a rush out of this.”
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-medium wp-image-30123 alignleft" src="http://www.forbesafrica.com/app/uploads/2017/05/Funke-859-300x200.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="200" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Funke-859-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Funke-859-600x400.jpg 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Funke-859-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Funke-859.jpg 1024w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />
Her company recently established a décor arm with plans for a TV show and a new clothing line also in the offing. Obruthe is optimistic.
She is a member of Women in Management, Business &amp; Public Service (WIMBIZ), a Nigerian non-profit, and she also mentors aspiring event managers. She says passion, hard work and commitment are keys to an eventful career in the industry. All of those qualities she amply has.

DSC_15451

RSVP Required For This Party

It’s surprisingly effortless engaging in a long conversation with Pilisiwe Twala-Tau, wife of Johannesburg’s executive mayor Parks Tau. Long after the meeting, one remembers her for her disarming smile and simple elegance. But behind this simple exterior is a mind that is constantly ticking, day and night.
“The earliest I sleep is 2AM,” says the First Lady of the city of Johannesburg. “I never get tired, I work 24&#215;7.”
Tau is CEO of the Gauteng Enterprise Propeller (GEP), a provincial government agency established in 2005 under the auspices of the Department of Economic Development to benefit Small Medium and Micro Entrepreneurs (SMMEs) in South Africa’s Gauteng province.
Twala-Tau speaks about GEP’s larger role in empowering youth and women, making sure women are brought into mainstream business.
Her own growth trajectory has had many “highlights”, as she calls them. In her previous jobs, she left her indelible stamp on the city, urban development being an area of interest.
In 1997, as Executive Director for Economic Development in the Metropolitan Council, she was instrumental in declaring Braamfontein, a central suburb in Johannesburg, a non-trading area for hawkers, and revitalizing it into the cultural hub it is today.
“I was personally responsible for it. This is how we got Braamfontein cleaned up,” she says. For this, she worked tirelessly alongside another female colleague and powerhouse Li Pernegger, who she regards highly.
“We wanted the informal traders to still trade, so we started registering them. I thought about how we could work with them in a manner that will be productive for them to grow into the mainstream economy.”
Another project she is proud of is developing the tourism trail for Soweto, a township in Gauteng.
“[The trail] started from Cape Town, where the Freedom Charter was drafted, and went all the way to Orlando West and Vilakazi Street, and finished off at the Oppenheimer Tower. We managed to have the Hector Pieterson memorial developed. [Earlier], people would go there, and see this little stone, and say, this is where it happened, and it would end there. I mobilized R16 million ($1.3 million today) – at the time, it was a lot of money – and got Phil Mashabane, the architect, to develop it.”
Twala-Tau has been the Executive Director: Community Development and Regional Director of the City of Johannesburg’s Region 3 – the economic hub of Johannesburg. Here, she was instrumental in establishing business improvement districts.
But Twala-Tau’s true calling, she says, is community development. An example she quotes is of developing the city’s libraries.
“We moved from being library services to becoming library information services…Instead of giving books only, we started doing programs. We started going to the prisons and ran library information programs there…And then we went to the old age homes, and started doing big print books for them. And then we thought, in our libraries, we don’t have access to people who are blind, so we did braille and audio. I found I really liked to do things with communities,” says Twala-Tau, who had first started her career in finance.
After finishing her bachelor’s degree in accounting from the University of Lesotho in 1990, Twala-Tau had had stints at Ernst &amp; Young and Standard Chartered.
“After that, I decided I needed to come back, so I came back to Dube in Soweto.”
Twala-Tau’s resume includes the National Rural Development Forum, where she was responsible for finance and administration and the Independent Examinations Board where she was a policy coordinator. She was also Executive Director for Economic Empowerment at the Greater Pretoria Metropolitan Council.
“I realized I didn’t want to do finance. I didn’t want to look at books and crunch numbers. I wanted to work with people, make a difference, and do things that are tangible.”
Twala-Tau went to the Wits Business School in Johannesburg and enrolled for a number of key courses in strategy that helped her realize her calling. A post graduate degree in public management at Regenesys Business School also followed.
“My dad [who was a teacher and journalist] was very clear education was important. And education didn’t include being a nurse or a teacher or a policeman. You had to be either an accountant or a lawyer or a scientist. So all of us [siblings] did [just] that,” says Twala-Tau.
Other career highlights include being instrumental in opening a day care center for senior citizens in Soweto and a drug rehabilitation center in the Northgate suburb.
“My life is drawn from my own experiences, my mentors and my awesome parents. They did things nobody said could be possible. At some point, there were 18 people in our house. How did they make it work?”
Twala-Tau’s family were African National Congress supporters and hence had to move to Swaziland from South Africa during the days of the liberation struggle. Her learnings started as a young activist herself.
For now at GEP, she says it’s a space for innovative ideas where “ordinary people do extraordinary things”. She also runs a number of youth development programs and pushes entrepreneurship at every level. Much needs to be done and she is not backing down.

Philisile-Tau-033

‘I Work  24×7’

One moment you’re looking at a glossy billboard on the side of the road and the next you’re carrying it in the form of a chic bag.
Moipone Ntseke and Lise Kuhle, owners of StarBorn Creative Designs in Johannesburg, are in their own way transforming the way we view the world by reinventing unlikely objects – in this case, discarded billboards – and creating utility items out of scrap.
“As an entrepreneur, you’re an opportunist but a very good opportunist. Where the need arises for you to provide a product and where there’s a loophole, you enter. The green market was growing, it still is growing, and I wanted to penetrate it,” says Ntseke.
Founded in 2011, the company designs and manufactures laptop bags, iPad covers and sling bags using PVC from recycled billboards, then swathed in shweshwe, a printed dyed cotton fabric widely used in traditional South African clothing.
They also source used soles and create shoes from the bits. Ntseke knows her target market and ensures the bags they make match the shoes. The shoes are then sold in bags made out of discarded cushion covers. For Ntseke and Kuhle, everything has a use.
“The last thing companies want to do is see [their billboards] when they’re done. So they dump it, they dump it to us,” says Ntseke.
The duo also fashions African-inspired jewelry, which have appeared on South African television shows Generations and Muvhango.
The designs are sold to companies for corporate events and can often be found at Johannesburg’s local markets.
Ntseke and Kuhle work with Out of the Box Skills, a skills and training NGO in Germiston, in the east rand of Gauteng, a province in South Africa. The community functions like an ecosystem, helping each other as skills are learned and passed on. Members of the community are taught to sew and screen-print. The billboards are washed, cut and sewn.
“I had the design [ideas] but I didn’t have the skills and if there’s already a cooperative or organization with skills, why not empower them?” says Ntseke.
Ntseke grew up in a two-room shack outside her maternal grandmother’s house in Soweto, a predominantly black township. Her inspiration for her business was simple.
“I started with something I like so we began with jewelry. I learned a three-day [jewelry making] course in eight minutes. I think it was a record,” she says.
Ntseke then partnered with Kuhle, the brain behind the billboard bags. One can argue that their handmade creations are selling themselves.

Moipone-Ntseke-Lisa-Kuhle-065

From Billboard To Wardrobe

Busi Mabuza was born in Barbeton, a white town in Mpumalanga, South Africa, but grew up in the townships. At the age of 12, she went to a private Catholic boarding school in Limpopo but finished her matric in Pietermaritzburg.
Her nomadic life was just beginning. Hoping to acquire an engineering degree, Mabuza enrolled for it at the University of Natal in South Africa’s KwaZulu-Natal province. However, this did not happen as she didn’t do well in one of the subjects – engineering drawing – mandatory to complete the course. Undeterred, she commenced a degree in mathematics at the University of the North (now the University of Limpopo); she didn’t finish this either due to the state of emergency declared in 1986 by the old South African government. Mabuza was arrested and then banned from all educational institutions.
With nowhere else to go in South Africa, Mabuza moved to Atlanta, United States, where she had to start her mathematics and computer science degree all over. She worked part-time in the computer room and at a systems integration company. Working helped her realize that she didn’t know much about the business world, so she enrolled for an MBA in finance and information systems.
“The lesson that sticks in my mind is how integrated the world is, and that you have to understand every single economy and product in the global context,” says Mabuza.
She says that big business in South Africa knows this while start-ups are inward facing until the businesses grow or face failure.
“Since coming back into the country I’ve had a fair amount of time looking at the investment environment,” she says.
When Mabuza returned to South Africa, she joined Investec Asset Management in Cape Town, where she learnt all about analyzing companies and management strategies.
In the mid to late 1990s, there was a growing trend towards Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) transactions. This meant she had to start looking at non-listed investments too. This required more contact with management to understand the business and was therefore more personal.
Mabuza moved to Johannesburg hoping to be a BEE queen. After a couple of years on her own, a group of women asked her to join the Woman’s Private Equity Fund, later moving on to Ethos Private Equity, where she became a director.
After three years as a board member at the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC), Mabuza’s appointment as chairperson of the board came as somewhat of a shock to her. She was asked if she would stay on for another term on the board but it wasn’t until the Annual General Meeting that Ebrahim Patel, the minister of Economic Development, pulled her aside to let her know of the new responsibility placed on her shoulders.
The development component of the IDC has a personal appeal to Mabuza. She thinks the IDC will have done well if it has a visible impact on the economy through backing more black entrepreneurs to play a meaningful role in the country’s economy and in reigniting manufacturing. The Department of Trade and Industry launched the black industrialist program, which the IDC will support but not be directly involved in.
She also says we need infrastructure that can continue to attract foreign investment and help local businesses to worry less about basic infrastructure.
The IDC is South Africa’s largest development finance institution with a R100 billion ($8.4 billion) plan over the next five years and Mabuza believes the board is a guide, the conscience of the organization and custodian of values. She says the board will advise the good management team in place and make sure they focus on the necessary sectors.
“I’ve had a very interesting career in financial services,” says Mabuza. And it’s a long way from being over.

Busi-Mabuza-037

The Boardroom Queen

Outspoken and fearless. Those are the principal character traits that define Charlize Theron, the South African amazon whose brazen attitude towards life is every bit a match for her striking beauty. The Oscar-winning (for Monster) actress is an independent woman who could take on any man, and tends to swear like one, too.
Directors and co-stars have described the 39-year-old Theron as a “ballsy” woman but one with enormous talent and sensitivity as anyone who would have seen her performances in films like The Burning Plane or Young Adult would attest.
Theron is about to achieve another career milestone with Mad Max: Fury Road, director George Miller’s retake of his own original 1979 Mad Max film and cult classic that helped propel Mel Gibson to Hollywood stardom. This time out, British actor Tom Hardy takes on the iconic role while Theron plays the female desert warrior who joins Hardy’s Max Rockatansky in an epic road war in their joint effort to cross the wasteland. For Theron, the film gave her the chance to throw herself into the kind of supercharged powerful role that suits her fiercer, feminist side.
“The original Mad Max created such a vivid world&#8230;George [Miller] really created a female character that I’ve never read anything like [before],” Theron declared with respect to her taking on the role of Imperator Furiosa.
“It’s a really challenging piece of material. Originally&#8230;I was like, ‘Uh, I’m not going to play the f*****g girl for ‘Mad Max’.’ Then I read it and I was like, ‘Oh, Mad Max, I feel sorry for you.’ [Laughs] That rarely happens&#8230;It’s two great characters. It’s not the original ‘Mad Max’. It’s the revamped ‘Mad Max’. It’s Tom Hardy, who’s incredible. So, the whole thing is just exciting, very, very exciting.”
Theron’s naturally self-confident and assertive personality explains why her boyfriend Sean Penn may well be the ideal man for her. He’s a notorious bad boy whose previous relationships with Robin Wright and Madonna were known for being as torrid as they were tumultuous.
Theron and Penn’s romance first heated up when they vacationed together in Hawaii over a year ago over New Year’s – since then they’ve been virtually inseparable, attending various awards functions and other events as a couple.
In her most serious comment regarding their relationship, Theron gushed: “It just kind of naturally happened, and before I knew it, I was in something that was making my life better – the people who really love me can see the effect it has had on me.”
&nbsp;
On Mad Max: Fury Road
One of the key early moments in Mad Max: Fury Road comes when Max (Hardy) and Furiosa (Theron) battle it out in the dirt before she is willing to join forces with him.
“This is not just two people standing there punching each other,” explained writer-director George Miller.
“This is a question of which one of them is going to survive&#8230;.I remember thinking [when Theron was driving the war rig back to base camp during the production and he was sitting behind her]: ‘She IS the Imperator, and if this was a real wasteland and we were at war, I’d be really happy she’s on our side.”
Added Miller: “I can’t really think of another character in cinema quite like her. I’m sure that other people might find connections, but just the way the character was conceived, and how Charlize took it on and transformed herself and played it, she did it with such authority. There have been great female action characters, but there’s just been nothing quite like this.”
&nbsp;
On female empowerment
Theron has long been known for her determined advocacy for women’s rights and specifically for greater opportunities for women in Hollywood. Never married, she has openly dismissed the idea of “the white dress” and is a committed spokesperson on gender and age equality. She also disdains the prevailing climate of discrimination against older women.
Declared Theron: “Women find their strength and power in their sexuality, in their sensuality within, [through] getting older and being secure within that. It’s ironic that we’ve built the beauty world around 20-year-olds, when they have no f*****g concept about wisdom, what life is about, having a few relationships below [their] belt and feeling hardships, to grow into [their] skin and feel confident within [themselves] and to feel the value of who [they] are, not because of a man or because of something like that. And I think that’s such a beautiful thing.
“That’s why I think people say women come into their prime in their 40s. And then for some reason our society just wants to go…it’s like a dead flower. It’s like we wilt for some reason. And men are like fine wines — the older they get, the better they get. It’s such a misconception, and it’s such a lost opportunity because that’s when I think women are really in the true moment of their sensuality.”
As proof of practicing what she preaches in terms of standing up to Hollywood’s patriarchal studio system, Theron recently negotiated a $10 million paycheck for her work in the upcoming film The Huntsman after last November’s Sony hack revealed that top Hollywood actresses were receiving less pay than their male co-stars.
Even veteran industry observers were shocked to learn that Jennifer Lawrence was paid less than her male costars in the Oscar-nominated American Hustle despite being arguably the hottest and highest-profile cast member.
Theron will now earn the same salary as co-star Chris Hemsworth in The Huntsman, a prequel to 2012’s Snow White and the Huntsman.
&nbsp;
On motherhood
Theron’s personal life underwent an upheaval five years ago when she split with actor Stuart Townshend after a nine year relationship. She didn’t work for nearly three years around the time of her breakup before resuming her career with films like The Burning Plain and Young Adult. It was during that time that she adopted a four-month-old baby boy in 2012 from Kenya whom she subsequently named Jackson. Sean Penn recently filed papers to become the three-year-old boy’s adoptive father.
Stated Theron: “I’m so happy to be a mother&#8230;It’s so amazing to finally reach this point in my life and be able to enjoy this incredible experience. I’m overjoyed!”
She added: “But the thing that caught me totally unprepared was the impact and intensity of this change in my life. Being a mother has struck me at a very deep level. I mean, to hold a young child that grows slowly and then starts talking and looking at the world around him is something absolutely incredible.”
“I want to be that example for my son. I want him to grow up with a mom that he could see and look at her life with all the mistakes and with all the failures and all the flaws and say, ‘My mom lived an authentic life. That was the life she wanted to live’.”
Theron is also adamant that being a mother does not affect her screen choices:
“I don’t look at material and go, ‘This is too dark, I have a kid now’, because my interests still are my interests. That doesn’t make me a bad mother. I think that makes me a really good mother, because when I go and creatively satisfy myself and those interests, I come home satisfied. And I can be a really good mother to him because I’m happy.”
&nbsp;
On her powerful bond with her mother Gerda
Theron, an only child, grew up on a farm in South Africa with a father she has characterized as an abusive alcoholic. In 1991, Gerda, her mother, fatally shot him after he came home in a drunken rage and threatened to kill her and the then-15-year-old Theron. Authorities ruled the slaying was self-defense, and Gerda was never prosecuted. Theron has remained close to her mother during her time in Hollywood and has never lost sight of her mother’s courage and profound influence on her:
“She has taught me to stand up for myself and be courageous. I’m not someone who indulges in self-pity and I hate it if I ever start feeling sorry for myself. I was raised in a way that I should never allow myself to be the victim, but to take responsibility for my decisions and my actions and live as boldly as possible.”
“My mother has given me a lot of guidance on that level. She’s someone who believes in not dwelling on the past and getting on with your life. I’m trying to live on those terms. I want to live the way I want to and not think back 50 years from now why I didn’t live my life when I had the chance. You have to be willing to go through the highs and lows and keep moving forward.”
When Theron was struggling to find good acting parts in her 20s she often dealt with the perception that she was a former model (though never a particularly successful one) and too pretty and striking for most roles.
But when 2 Days in the Valley (1996) earned her immediate recognition, leading to subsequent roles in Devils’ Advocate (opposite Keanu Reeves) in 1997 and Woody Allen’s Celebrity the year after, Theron was on her way.  She credits her mother with giving her both moral and financial support to help her hang in there before her career took off.
“I may have been insecure in finding myself as a teenager, or early-20s person, but I always had a very strong sense of what I felt was inside me,” she says. “My mom always used to tell me, ‘You have a foundation, and the foundation is there because of who you are, not because of what people think you are’. And it’s the kernel of that truth, of your truth — of knowing who you are, deep down — that lets you not pay that much attention to what people perceive in you.”
&nbsp;
On her sense of independence
“Sean [Penn] is very close to his children. But I was not looking for a baby-sitter, I was looking for a partner. I can pay for a babysitter! [Laughs]
“I have lots of friends who wanted to get married, for whom marriage was a major milestone. It never meant anything to me, I’ve tried a different way.”
“I don’t like [sympathy] for myself. Sometimes sympathy can feel like you’re trying to kind of victimize someone. I don’t know, maybe it’s just my own [stuff] that I have to deal with, but I think that, more than anything, people just want to be understood, you know?
“I grew up in a house with an alcoholic (father). And I experienced a lot of people being overly sympathetic, and for me, sympathy and pity — there’s a very, very fine line between the two. Maybe I was being ultra-sensitive, but the way I was treated then, the way people looked at me, it made me feel weak. And I was not a fan of that feeling at all. I’m still not.
“[There’s this misconception that] I’m a dark and bitchy kind of woman. [Laughs] I’ve played dark people in the past&#8230;and I’m nothing like that although I can be a bitch if I need to be. [Laughs]
“Most directors are constantly surprised when they meet me and get a chance to hang out with me for a while. I have a reputation for having a very raw sense of humor and I kind of use that to my advantage. I’ve always used humor as a refuge and as a way of overcoming or getting past a lot of the darker, sadder things that life can throw at you.”
&nbsp;
On fame and happiness
“For me, fame has no value. I never read anything into it than what it is. I don’t even know what it really means&#8230;In my position, you can’t manage it all, much less being able to control the media and that sort of thing. Life is never as rational as you would like it.
“I’m well aware of those less privileged than me [Theron works for numerous African charities] and how ambitions and expectations are dashed every day in life. In my case the pressure of media attention is a small downside that I simply need to ignore. It cannot and should not in any way affect my choices. The only priority that I have is my happiness and my son.
“I don’t think that life is that happy in general. It’s always going to be a struggle and you have to hang on to those moments where the world seems wonderful rather than grim. And even when things look bad, you shouldn’t let yourself get caught up in that because it won’t help you deal with things. You need to be able to pick yourself up off the floor and get on with things. That’s the attitude and life philosophy I’ve picked up from my mother.
“I’m not sure that happiness is [the] goal. It’s not the kind of state of being that you can necessarily control. You try to do the things in life which please you and the best you can hope for is that you’re going to be happy on some general level. Life takes you in many different directions and not all of them are going to be good. You’re going to have to deal with very tough times and sad moments because that’s just inevitable and life is like that.  You have to find the strength and determination to move past the difficult times and stay positive so that you can enjoy all the good moments. I’m feeling good about things now and I’m open and looking forward to the future.”

Tag: June 2015

FORBES AFRICA SOCIAL MEDIA