Anselm Tabansi left a cushy job as an associate lawyer at a prestigious Nigerian firm to follow another path. He was heeding a call and is now a staple in Nigeria’s design and hospitality industry.
“I am a lawyer by profession, so this is not a familiar academic terrain for me. I worked for a law firm specializing in industrial and intellectual property and did that for about four years. I woke up one morning and decided it was not the path for me,” says Tabansi.
An Anselm Tabansi designed space leave a lasting impression on design aficionados. His is a story of passion and intent.
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His creativity reaches back to his academic years in England where an interest for architecture blossomed. While it wasn’t pursued, Tabansi subsequently found himself trading in interior accessories, supplying interior designers and shops at the start of his design career. Wrought iron was the aesthetic trend in England at the time. Tabansi, believing this trend would thrive in Nigeria, made a decision to test the market at home. Following some research, he took the plunge, opening a small-scale production workshop in Lagos. He started with one welder and soon added a painter.
It was a bumpy start, with the new company, Svengali Designs, struggling to gain any prominence. He needed to create some buzz and began producing samples for friends and furniture shops to gauge their interest. Tabansi’s new venture soon proved to be a great decision. Within a year, there was a surge in demand for wrought iron furniture in Nigeria, catapulting Tabansi’s business.
“I started producing wrought iron furniture, wrought iron for balconies, railings, stairs, and gates. It was in high demand at that time but a couple of years later, the trend began to shift away from wrought iron. It had become a fad. I knew we would start to lose a significant amount of clients. The trend was shifting to wood-based furniture. Aluminum and stainless steel for railings, followed closely. We made the necessary shift and we have never looked back,” says Tabansi.
This shift would transform Tabansi’s company from one that produced a single product to a multi-faceted one.
Nigeria’s creative industry has enjoyed rapid growth as homegrown designers were given a more enabling environment. A few challenges still exist however, power and policy being at the forefront.
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“The need to generate our own power is mandatory. This makes production very expensive as we were constantly burning diesel. The raw materials we use for our production are also heavily taxed on duty. This poses a huge challenge and we hope the incoming government addresses this.”
From conference tables to living room furniture, Svengali Designs has carved out a large slice in the market with production for hospitality projects taking off in 1996 and a growing customer base that cuts across key sectors.
Interior design is a key service the company offers. With a mix of locally produced and imported merchandise, clients come from far and wide. The factory has 160 employees.
A joint venture with Turkish company, Poliform, led to Svengali-Poliform, a production arm for stainless steel and aluminum railings. This has a 43-man workforce.
Looking to grow even further, Tabansi ventured into the hospitality business. Nigeria’s hospitality industry is saturated with international brands. Identifying a gap in the homegrown hospitality management industry saw the birth of Fahrenheit Hospitality.
“I am focusing on the boutique segment of the hospitality industry. Through my various past operations, I have assumed full control of over every aspect of delivering on this kind of project. Design, construction, outfitting, supplies and management is all handled within the group. We have not just reduced our costs but also ensured the quality of our design is adhered to.”
“Every final piece is a reflection of my style and taste.”
As he also plays the role of Creative Director, Tabansi supervises all steps of the production process. He says that the quality assurance at Svengali Designs gives his company an edge.
“Over the years, people have come to associate us with quality. It is my joy to hear that pieces that were purchased from us over 15 years ago are still in top form.”
Under the Fahrenheit Hospitality brand, there are plans to roll out a series of boutique hotels.
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As opposed to starting the furniture business years ago, where organic growth was needed, the hospitality brand is a capital intensive project.
“We are currently trying to attract investment with vested interest in our projects,” says Tabansi.
Despite the infrastructural bottlenecks, Tabansi‘s decision to remain a Nigeria-based producer is a conscious one.
Likening his personal style to a simple sophistication, Tabansi urges budding designers to follow their passion.
“I discovered my passion in design. Defining a space, deconstructing it and redefining it. From this, I get so much joy and constantly strive to outdo myself.”
Tabansi tries to cater for a wide spectrum of clients. He, however, says that quality comes with cost.
“Our pieces are affordable and we keep our products within the reach of many.”
Tabansi has exciting plans for the future of Africa’s design and hospitality scene. He aims to be on the frontlines, pushing the envelope.

The Iron Will That Propelled An Entrepreneur To The Top Table

Mandla Maseko struts with the cool of Michael Jackson’s moonwalk. It is appropriate as the DJ is the first black African heading into space. He describes himself as a township boy reaching for the stars. Soon he will be walking in the footsteps of Mark Shuttleworth, the South African millionaire who became the first African in space in 2002. For years, Maseko dreamed of the skies but thought it was merely that.
The former civil engineering student dropped out of university because he was broke.
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“We grew up in the township, we were not taught to dream big. We just wanted to be the norm.You never wanted to be a president or an astronaut, it was a far-fetched dream,” he says.
In 2013, the Global Axe Apollo Space Academy competition created a new trajectory for Maseko’s dreams. No one in Maseko’s family has set foot outside of South Africa but the 25-year-old is preparing to rocket into space.
Maseko is one of 23 civilians to win a seat on the space mission for an hour-long sub-orbital trip of 100 kilometers on the Lynx Mark II spaceship.
“We might orbit the Earth or we might just go to the International Space Station, you never know,” he says.
Whether its space or the skies, Maseko is taking wing. Maseko acquired his private pilot license last year and began training with the South African Air Force this year.
“I want to acquire my commercial pilot’s license and fly all over the world,” he says.
“The initial plan is to show ordinary people that they can go into space. That’s my mission. I’m a typical township boy from Soshanguve and Mabopane who is going to space,” he says.
Maseko has found the balance between space, the skies and his passion for music.
“Music is my passion and it’s a family business. My dad and I do it together. It would be nice to bring something new to the industry and DJ in a spacesuit.”
Training for the space journey was challenging but Maseko floated through it. A zero gravity flight was his favorite.
“Seeing your body pick up off the ground and just float like it has no weight stood out the most,” he says.
Maseko spends his free time imagining what space is like.
“You see pictures but actually getting to that point where I look outside my window and see this big white and blue marble called Earth,” he says.
His life has taken a complete turn. For the DJ on his way to space, Maseko’s most memorable moment may surprise you.
“I think what stood out the most was making it on to Beyoncé’s website. It was Black History Month and I was part of the people making black history,” he says.
Maseko hopes his humble beginnings and lofty ambition will inspire.
“The kids in the township have lost sight of what life has to offer. It’s killing their dreams,” he says. He started a CSI company called ‘Skies Aren’t the Limit’ so he could tell his story to schools.
“I think one of the key things around South Africa is to inspire and motivate kids and tell them that they can reach their dreams,” he says. He is living proof.
Probably next year, the date has yet to be fixed, Maseko’s dreams will come true. The flight is an hour long. Six minutes to get to space. 20 minutes to get to zero gravity. Maseko will go through a gruelling training programme of six to eight weeks. From Mabopane to the Milky Way, you couldn’t have made it up.

from africa To The Stars

Ahmed Kathrada looked frail, but fit and always on the move, as he trod the concrete of his former prison. In the so-called Rivonia Trial, Kathrada was accused number five alongside Nelson Mandela and eight others. They were charged with sabotage and faced death. Instead a young Kathrada and his co-accused were shipped to Robben Island to serve life imprisonment in 1964.
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“We found out only later that life was to be life,” he says.
Kathrada spent 18 years of hardship and humiliation on Robben Island, followed by spells in other prisons, before he was released in 1990. Now 85, he is one of three survivors of the trial.
As South Africa celebrated 21 years of freedom, in April, Kathrada was back on the island wearing a black baseball cap with the words ‘Long Walk To Freedom’. A sign that this was a trip laden with symbolism. Upon disembarking on the ferry, he rejected a shuttle and walked for about 200 meters to the jail that robbed him of his youth.
As he spoke, standing on concrete patch prisoners used as a tennis court, he held his old cell key in his left hand; to his right was Christo Brand, the jailer who kept his eye on Mandela. Brand was 18 years old when he joined the prison as a warder, he’s now a manager at the island’s museum.
“We have our jailer among us,” smiled Kathrada.
Being a prisoner was no laughing matter. Alongside Kathrada was Vusumzi Mcongo, a former prisoner and now a tour guide on the island.
Mcongo told FORBES AFRICA the guard dogs would attack prisoners when they worked in the quarry. If the prisoners fought back they were punished. Officers thought more of the dogs than the humans they guarded.
“Black prisoners wore shorts because were regarded as boys and the Indians had long trousers,” says Mcongo.
Kathrada was back on Robben Island, now a World Heritage Site, because Google had launched a virtual tour application. It means anyone in the world can tour Robben Island for free.
This is a world away from the years that Kathrada and fellow prisoners spent on the island before they were released in the 1990s; they were still living in the 1960s.
“The technology revolution passed us by. The warden came to us and said ‘we received a fax from Pretoria, you are getting released’, after slight jubilation we asked ‘what is a fax?’” says Kathrada.
When Kathrada came out of prison he had never seen a motorway, nor a computer, not even an ATM.
“Not being able to see or interact with children for 20 years was possibly the most difficult thing to endure during my time on the island. There’s a poetic justice that children in classrooms all over world will now be able to visit Robben Island using this technology,” says Kathrada.
Kathrada, his friends called him Kathy, was a librarian in prison and earned an honours degree in history; he also became a father figure.
“There was a 15-year-old boy here, he was sentenced to 10 years. He did his matric here, his BA here, he started his B Juris here but completed it outside. Today, he’s the Deputy Chief Judge of the Constitutional Court – Justice Dikgang Moseneke – that was the boy,” says Kathrada proudly.
Long before Kathrada and his comrades were arrested, Xhosa Chief, Makana Nxele, was in chains on Robben Island. Nxele led a Xhosa regiment against the British in the Eastern Cape and was captured in 1819. In 1820, in an attempt to escape, Nxele swam from the island; guards caught him when he reached the beach at Blouberg, near Cape Town. The armed guards forced him to swim back. On the way back he drowned. You can google the rest.

Cyberspace Creeps Up  On The Island of Tears

The excitement has been building for months. On July 23, Air Force One – the official United States (US) presidential aircraft – will land at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi.
Across Kenya, the visit of US President Barack Obama is the talk of the town. In Nairobi, enterprising vendors are already producing t-shirts with the words Karibu Nyumbani printed on them. It means welcome home.
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Obama’s vist to Kenya is iconic. He will not only be visiting a friendly nation, he is visiting his father’s homeland. Barack Hussein Obama Sr was a Kenyan who moved to the US in the 1950s to study. The current US president was born in Hawaii in 1961.
His last visit to Nairobi was in 2006 as a senator. Government officials then described him as a junior senator when he called for action against rampant graft in Kenya.
During his upcoming visit, Obama will attend the Global Entrepreneurship Summit (GES), which he will co-host. It will be his first trip to Kenya as president. He has previously visited Ghana, Egypt, Senegal, Tanzania and South Africa.
Launched by Obama in 2009, GES will see more than 1,000 entrepreneurs and investors showcase innovative projects, exchange ideas and create economic opportunities.
While in the country, Obama will meet with Kenya’s President Uhuru Kenyatta. Setting the stage for this meeting was the two-day visit to Nairobi by US Secretary of State, John Kerry.
The Uhuru-Kerry talks revolved around trade between the two nations and terrorism. The US has pledged to support Kenya’s fight against terrorism, which is a thorn in east Africa’s side and promised $100 million to aid the cause.
“There can be no question that our meetings here today were timely. Events in Kenya and the broader region present us with a broad array of tests. The threat posed by violent extremism is regrettably foremost among them,” said Kerry after meeting with Kenyatta.
Whether Obama, who is in his final term as US President, would visit his father’s homeland had been hotly debated. Since being elected in 2008, Obama has been non-committal on the matter.
This was further complicated by the 2013 elections in Kenya that saw President Kenyatta and Deputy President William Ruto take office. At the time, the two faced charges of crimes against humanity at the International Criminal Court (ICC) at The Hague in the Netherlands.
It was only at the funeral service of Nelson Mandela in South Africa that Obama first met Kenyatta face to face. A photo of the two shaking hands at the FNB Stadium spread rapidly on social media.  The case against Kenyatta has since been dropped at the ICC. Ruto is, however, still on trial.
Most link this decision by the ICC to Obama finally ‘coming home’. Interestingly, Kerry met Kenyatta in the absence of his deputy. Kenyatta and Ruto have in the past met dignitaries as a team.
Unlike his previous visits to Kenya, Obama’s next trip will be marked with fanfare and splendour. Obama visited Kenya in 1988, then 1991, when he brought ‘home’ his then fiancé and now wife Michelle, and 2006.
There is still uncertainty over Obama taking time off to visit his extended family in the western parts of Kenya. Nevertheless, his late father’s homestead is a hive of activity. The national government and devolved government are working round the clock. Among other things, Barrack Hussein Obama Sr’s grave is being spruced up, just in case the president makes the all-important pilgrimage.
“We are trying to speak to the US Embassy in Nairobi as well as the national government to have President Obama visit Kisumu and hold a public lecture in this region,” says Governor of Kisumu County, Jack Ranguma.
Analysts hope that Obama’s visit will revive Kenya’s tourism industry. A number of western nations which are key source of tourists have labelled the country unsafe.
“This is a strong message to other nations that Kenya is not as insecure as we have been labelled. This visit by Obama is crucial to us in the tourism sector,” says Agatha Juma, the CEO Kenya Tourism Federation.
On the streets however, Kenyans are just happy that one of their sons, who is also the president of the most powerful nation in the world, is returning home.

Africa Welcomes A Famous Son

Burundi has been rocked by gunfire, protests and an attempted coup. At least 20 people are feared dead and hundreds of thousands are on the run since the skirmishes began in April.
Protests in East Africa’s smallest country began in the capital Bujumbura on April 25 after President Pierre Nkurunziza announced he was seeking a third term in office, despite a two-term limit in the constitution.
<div id="attachment_3692" style="width: 310px" class="wp-caption alignleft"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-3692" class="size-medium wp-image-3692" src="/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/000_Par8171782-300x200.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="200" />QUALITY REPEAT A Burundian police officer holding a baton and army forces run after protestors throwing stones during a demonstration against incumbent president Pierre Nkurunziza&#8217;s bid for a third term on May 13, 2015 in Bujumbura. In the neighborhood of Musaga, hundreds of people waved sticks and threw stones as police responded with tear gas, a water cannon and live rounds. Protestors looted the local police post in Musaga, burning furniture, mattresses and clothing in a barricade fire, an AFP photographer said. Burundi&#8217;s presidency said an attempted coup by a top general had &#8220;failed&#8221; on May 13, 2015 and pro-president Burundi troops at state broadcaster fire warning shots over the heads of hundreds of protesters, an AFP reporter said. Burundian general Godefroid Niyombare on May 13 announced the overthrow of President Pierre Nkurunziza, following weeks of violent protests against the president&#8217;s bid to stand for a third term. AFP PHOTO / JENNIFER HUXTA</div>
Protestors immediately barricaded roads and set tyres alight. Since then, there have been daily riots in the capital.
The air is full of tension as army and police officials patrol the streets.
A group, led by Godefroid Niyombare, even attempted to overthrow the government while Nkurunziza was in Tanzania for talks with regional leaders on the crisis in his country. Despite initially claiming success, the coup failed, and many of its leaders were arrested. Niyombare remains on the run.
On May 5, the Constitutional Court said that Nkurunziza is eligible for a third term in office after four judges fled the country fearing for their safety. The court stated Nkurunziza’s first term does not count because he was appointed by parliament, not the citizens of Burundi.
Nkurunziza took office 10 years ago after the end of a 12-year civil war. Following a peace agreement in 2005 in Arusha, Tanzania, it was decided that no president will run for more than two terms.
International governments have expressed concern over the court’s decision.
“The eyes of the world are on Burundi. The steps necessary for a peaceful and prosperous democratic future for Burundi should be taken now,” Britain said in a statement.
“Reports of intimidation against members of the Constitutional Court do not give the impression of an independent court that was able to come to an impartial decision.”
“We are deeply concerned about President Nkurunziza’s decision, which flies directly in the face of the constitution of his country,” US Secretary of State, John Kerry, said during a visit to Kenya.
Many fear that civil war will return.
The country has been plagued with tension since it gained independence from Belgium in 1962. The civil war, fought between the country’s Hutu majority and Tutsi minority, began in 1993 and resulted in the death of around 300,000 people.
<div id="attachment_3693" style="width: 221px" class="wp-caption alignleft"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-3693" class="size-medium wp-image-3693" src="/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/000_Par8173679-211x300.jpg" alt="" width="211" height="300" />Burundi&#8217;s President Pierre Nkurunziza talks to the media at the President&#8217;s office in Bujumbura on May 17, 2015 as he made his first official appearance since an attempted coup against him this week. Nkurunziza has been facing weeks of violent and deadly street protests over his controversial bid to stand for a third consecutive term on office, and on Wednesday top generals announced they were overthrowing him while he was on a visit to neighbouring Tanzania. AFP PHOTO / CARL DE SOUZA</div>
With the presidential elections slated for June 26, Nkurunziza continues to defy international pressure to withdraw from the elections. Furthermore, the president has rejected calls to delay the elections, saying that it “would worsen the current situation”.
So far, Belgium has suspended the $2.2 million it had pledged for Burundi’s elections and the Netherlands says it is reviewing its commitment to the country.
The current government remains hopeful that peaceful and fair elections will still be held.
Since the protests began, more than 100,000 Burundians have fled to neighboring countries Rwanda, Tanzania and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Many fear the ruling party’s youth wing militia ‘Imbonerakure’, according to the UN refugee agency.
The European Commission has disbursed $1.7 million to support and protect Burundian refugees in neighboring countries.
“Such sudden and massive displacement is a humanitarian tragedy and a serious challenge to neighboring countries’ capacities to accommodate refugees. It is a serious concern in an already fragile region,” EU Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management, Christos Stylianides, said.
Burundi’s economy has grown by more than 4% annually since 2012 despite several constraints.
Last year, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) warned that the country’s medium term economic outlook remains bleak with risks arising from political uncertainties ahead of the general elections and ‘vulnerability to external shocks given Burundi’s narrow export base’.
According to Venuste Karambazi, an independent analyst based in Rwanda, Nkurunziza’s decision to run for office will put a damper on the struggling economy.
“Burundi is a poor country, so when there are riots, like the case now, these contribute to weakening the economy more and more. The capital is paralyzed, trade is paralyzed and other social activities come to a stop. This is a danger to the economy which is already weak. If the situation continues, we risk having a Burundian economy that is destroyed,” Karambazi said.

Genocide Looms Over  The Streets Of Flames

Within minutes of driving out the parking lot at the Kathmandu airport, the first earthquake struck. Our vehicles rocked from side to side, like boats on a choppy ocean. At first, we didn’t realize what was going on. When the shaking continued and we saw people screaming and running from the airport – we realized we were amid the worst earthquake Nepal had ever seen.
In 2013, I took fifteen middle management executives from the ABN Group to the top of Kilimanjaro. Soon after our return, we started planning the next adventure – Everest Base Camp (EBC). The earthquake changed everything.
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When the tremors stopped, we had a chance to assess the situation. From the airport in Kathmandu, we could see black dust billowing from the city. The magnitude of the tremors was more than I had ever experienced in my life. We were told that the airport was closed and the runway had cracked. The intensity of the earthquake and the damage was not clear. It became so as we made our way to our hotel.
By this time, all the residents of the city had moved into the streets. Dharahara Tower, the tallest building in the city, had collapsed. Icons, like the Dharahara Tower, are pillars of pride. When they fall, it makes people desolate and uncertain, particularly when most of the buildings are old and poorly maintained.
The tremors continued at frequent intervals and in the frenzy our vehicles were separated. Our driver was young and seemed to have lost his nerve. He took us into a built-up area in the city, parked the car in an enclosed parking lot and without saying a word deserted us. We never saw him again. I was with Gary Fernandes and Biju Vetil who are both senior members of the Transnational Education (TNE) management. By this time, the network was clogged and we were unable to contact Chris Pilgrim and other members of our team in Kathmandu. We were, however, able to connect intermittently with our HR Manager, Bidisha Sen, in Dubai. The most important thing was to let everyone’s families know we were safe.
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By 1PM, my son Sidharth, who is based in Johannesburg, started providing me with information based on what he was able to pick up from news reports. We were told that there was another severe quake expected at 3PM. Since we were stranded, the three of us decided to go towards a canal in an open area until the next wave of tremors.  By 4PM, we asked a person in the garage to drive us to our hotel;  he reluctantly agreed. The journey was eventful as most roads were blocked by fallen buildings and debris. Kathmandu is an old city and the streets are extremely narrow. Another death trap was the low hanging power cables that are part of a dilapidated grid. While most of the city had lost power, there were still some main cables that burst at the nodes as we were passing by. By this time, everyone had evacuated their homes and moved into the streets. By 5PM, we regrouped with the team at our hotel.
The hotel was in disarray. All the guests had moved into the lobby and the small courtyard outside. It was getting a cold and people went to their rooms hesitantly to collect sleeping bags and blankets for the night ahead. I assembled the team and my first goal was to make sure that everyone was calm. I stressed that we had to stay together and the safety of our team was paramount. We agreed that we had to abandon the trek and plan an exit strategy.
The airport was closed. Our next option was to get transport to the Indian border and cross to Delhi to fly to Dubai. This needed visas from the Indian embassy as we had four other nationalities: Canadian, Chinese, Filipino and Egyptian.
We were told that the Indian Air Force had deployed C-130 aircraft to evacuate Indian nationals. The team agreed that we were not going to evacuate piecemeal until there was a proper plan for each member. It was clear to me that I would be the last to leave. I also realized, rather than listening to rumours, a physical recce of the airport was needed so that I could decide whether it was going to be an air evacuation or by road.
The news from social media and family came in. The extent of the damage was not clear but by this time we knew about the avalanche at EBC, the devastation at the epicentre and the rising casualties. We could hear the sirens of ambulances and rescue workers moving around trying to help people trapped in the rubble.
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My team was tired and emotionally drained but never showed a moment of weakness nor despair. I wanted to make sure that we found a place to eat. The city had shut down; nothing was open other than small grocery stores selling water and basic food. People had left their place of work and returned home to care for their families. We found a small restaurant and were told the only dish they could serve was chow mein. The half cooked and barely warm dish was perhaps the tastiest chow we had ever eaten.
After dinner, Chris and Biju went on a mission to find a taxi to go on a recce. They found a broken down vintage taxi that Gary and I rode to the airport. It had started drizzling and it was heartrending to see families, particularly children, sleeping on the streets. Some people were keeping a vigil to make sure that their groups were safe. To our delight, we found lines of tourists and expatriates lined up to fly out. The only operational flights were by the Indian Air Force which gave me the comfort that commercial airlines would soon start flying in. This is the information that I needed to have a proper plan for the next day.
My wife Saloni had been in touch with all the airlines flying out from the UAE and had made tentative bookings for us on Air Arabia. By 3AM, our seats were secured on the 10.55PM flight from Kathmandu to Sharjah on Sunday.
We had a sleepless night which saw several tremors, including a severe one at 5AM. It rained and was freezing cold. We had to move into the dining area where the guests were crammed like sardines. People were edgy, every time a chair moved they darted to the open courtyard.
At 7AM, we received a princely breakfast of tea, slices of bread and jam. It was a blessing. At 9AM, the hotel owner came to meet us and offered us a lift in his van. The only problem was it was the team or the luggage; not both. Since we had over 12 hours until our flight, I asked him to take the baggage. Our travel agent assured us it would get to the airport.
We decided not to walk through the built up areas as a lot of the buildings were unstable. We found a map and planned our more than 20 kilometer route along the canal and then finally on to the wide main road to the airport. The extent of the damage and the displacement of people we saw while walking was an eye opener. The open areas were packed and temporary shelters, of tarpaulin and plastic, were everywhere. Rescuers pulled dead bodies from the wreckage. We were full of remorse and knew it could have been us.
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After a six-hour march, that included the second-most severe earthquake at 1PM, we finally made it to the airport. We joined long lines of people waiting to board commercial planes. The airport had been shut down once again and we had no idea if we would fly out. My wife stayed in close contact with the airline and at 6.30PM told us that the flight had taken off from Sharjah. Hope was revived. We checked in at 9PM and the way the baggage was piled up in the airport, and the lack of any tracking and staff, made it evident that the luggage was not going anywhere. We boarded at 1AM and took off an hour later to the cheers of relieved and exhausted passengers. The ordeal, for us, was over. Our families and the hot coffee and muffins at the airport more than compensated for our lost baggage that we have no hope of getting back. I only hope the contents make it to the needy people of Nepal and not into the hands of thieves.
This experience was a reality check. We often believe we are infallible; the truth is we are far from it. I was just happy that I could bring all members of my team back safely. I would not have been able to live with myself if anything untoward had happened. Our team members in Dubai and families stepped up and played a crucial role in lifting our morale. We went there for a team building exercise. Nothing prepared the team for a real life catastrophe that brought out the best in each of them and brought them together as a family and inspired them to contribute to the suffering people of Nepal.

Remorse And  Rubble In  Nepal

Sizwe Ntsaluba Gobodo is a rare accounting firm built on small township businesses with sweat and hard work under apartheid. This year, it celebrates 30 years, and is the fifth largest firm in Southern Africa. It also works in West Africa. Eighteen years ago, it was rocked by uncertainty and despair. This was Victor Sekese’s worst day.
Sekese is living proof you don’t have to be eccentric to run this business, but it helps.
“Am I properly dressed for this interview? By the way, thank you for being late, while you were getting lost on your way here I had to catch up on something,” says Sekese, as he strides into the boardroom neatly dressed in a black suit and tie, before breaking into raucous laughter.
If it takes one man to change the world, Sekese could be that man. He has been the chief with the company since 1994, and chief executive for 18 years. You could say he is a rock of a company worth $60 million.
The foundation of this rock was laid in the turbulent townships of 1980s as South Africa burned.
“We were operating at grassroots level. We were literarily getting our hands dirty helping all sorts of township entrepreneurs, largely focusing on professional people running law firms, medical practitioners and non-governmental organization work. We helped them with books and tax matters. That’s the type of portfolio I was working on,” recalls Sekese.
In 1995, international funding for NGOs was dried up and the company had to help to close down many organizations. This was lost revenue. So, they started to knock on the doors of government parastatals and private companies.
In 1998, they got nice contracts from telecommunications and services companies. Right at this zenith, the company was shaken to its core. Sizwe Nxasana, the founder of Sizwe Ntsaluba Gobodo (then Nkonki Sizwe Ntsaluba) left his younger colleagues for a government job.
“Nxasana was appointed CEO for Telkom, a lifetime opportunity for him. Now the founder, the pillar, the icon of the firm is leaving. We were very young, we had enthusiasm, we had energy, we had vision, but we were still building ourselves in the marketplace. One thing I have learned in life, there’s no substitute for experience. When we leave these Ivy League institutions, we leave with confidence only. That is not enough,” says Sekese.
Nxasana left Sizwe Ntsaluba Gobodo bereft. There was uncertainty and clients cast doubt on the young team. Sekese, who was a manager at the time, says services firms, in their early days, are linked to founders and personalities.
“Our key clients were getting jittery about Nxasana leaving. Now we needed to be quick on public relations, we stepped up quickly without the luxury of time. We tried to emphasize the success of the firm was not premised in an individual,” he says.
It was also felt that Sizwe Ntsaluba, another founder and second in command to Nxasana, was in his shadow. In this crisis, the company took a deep breath and put its confidence in Sekese, in his early 30s, appointing him chief executive.
“This never occurred in my mind but we needed to do things and do them quickly. One is being asked to take the lead in a situation where there’s a lack of confidence in the market. I saw myself as a person to leverage the team and the philosophy was that this firm was not about personalities.”
The team rallied behind Sekese and he was sent to Harvard for a short course in leadership. This gave him confidence.
Sekese says the experience forced the company to rebrand as Sizwe Ntsaluba VSP and appoint a marketing team to change its image.
In 2011, Sizwe Ntsaluba merged with Gobodo Incorporated and renamed itself Sizwe Ntsaluba Gobodo. The new partner, Nonkululeko Gobodo, was the first black female chartered accountant in South Africa. She sold out and left in 2014.
In the past three years, Sizwe Ntsaluba Gobodo received a 5-year multimillion-rand contract from Transnet and announced plans to expand into the continent. Transnet and MTN are major clients.
Sekese says they are not comfortable as the fifth behind Deloitte, Ernst &amp; Young, KPMG and PwC.
“We are working on our Africa strategy, extending our footprint across the continent and acquiring other firms to increase our capacity,” he says.
Sekese, a chartered accountant and University of the Witwatersrand University alumnus, was an entrepreneur in his own right but believes in the power of partnership. A few years after completing articles in 1991, he started Sekese Associates in Pretoria.
“I wanted to create something big on my own but I realized that if I am alone it was going to take longer and be even more difficult. I believe in not reinventing the wheel. Sango Nxasana, my old colleague at ABASA, an association for the advancement of black accountants, approached me to join him. It was a no-brainer for me. I collapsed my little firm and got into a system that was already moving,” says Sekese.
Behind the spontaneous laughter and carefree demeanour of the father of two, lies an activist. Sekese, raised in Mamelodi township, east of Pretoria, cut his teeth in social activism at KwaZulu Natal University in his first year of a BCom degree. The university closed down because of the black students’ political activism. Sekese continued with his activism at Wits and later ABASA, where he met with Sango (meaning door in Xhosa) Ntsaluba, who became his mentor.
“He really lived up to his name. He opened doors for many,” he says.
You could argue Sekese is also a dab hand at battening down the hatches.

Tag: June 2015

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