The South African actor immerses herself in all things Kenyan, from the natural wonders to cultural experiences, and has an awakening.&nbsp;&nbsp; 



It’s a Wednesday afternoon in Sandton, South Africa, and the
sun is a couple of hours away from its daily disappearance down the horizon.
FORBES AFRICA makes a phone call. A voice at the other end says a deep “hello”.
It is award-winning South African actor and entrepreneur Nomzamo Mbatha, who is
in New York City and has just woken up. 



From the Big Apple, her mind travels to Africa.



<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="924" height="619" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Nomzamo1.png.png" alt="" class="wp-image-40770" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Nomzamo1.png.png 924w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Nomzamo1.png-300x201.png 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Nomzamo1.png-600x402.png 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Nomzamo1.png-768x514.png 768w" sizes="(max-width: 924px) 100vw, 924px" /><figcaption> Nomzamo Mbatha describes Kenya as the warmest place in Africa. Picture: Supplied</figcaption></figure></div>



When she’s not scorching television screens, in the award-winning South African drama-series, Isibaya, Mbatha spends a lot of time traveling. 



She has been to 13 countries, but as an African, none has
made her feel at home quite like Kenya. 



She describes it as the warmest place in Africa and speaks
of her endearing memories of the East African country. 



“Kenya makes you feel like you should live there. Kenya
makes you feel like you’re at home&#8230;” says Mbatha.



She traveled there for the first time when she was 16,
handpicked by Save the Children, a non-governmental organization promoting
children’s rights, as one of three South African children representing the
country at a conference hosted by Kenya.



Mbatha recounts her first impressions. 



<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="928" height="615" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Nomzamo2.png.png" alt="" class="wp-image-40771" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Nomzamo2.png.png 928w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Nomzamo2.png-300x199.png 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Nomzamo2.png-600x398.png 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Nomzamo2.png-768x509.png 768w" sizes="(max-width: 928px) 100vw, 928px" /><figcaption>Nomzamo Mbatha traveled to Kakuma on a United Nations mission in 2018. Picture: Supplied</figcaption></figure></div>



“I remember seeing furniture doors just piled up on the side
of the road and thought ‘whoa! I’ve never seen this’ and then I just remember
Kenya having lots and lots of bananas. 



“Because we were always on a bus, we didn’t get to see it
(Kenya). My misconception of it, as a child, was that there’s not much to do as
a tourist.”



In 2018, Mbatha was in Kenya again, flying first class on
Kenya Airways with a carry-on and two big bags. “I don’t know how to travel
light,” she confesses. 



She recalls there were times in the earlier years as a
traveler when she would pack everything, leave the house and get to the airport
only to realize she wasn’t carrying her passport. 



“So passport… that’s like your golden item! The number two [must-have item] I’d say is sneakers. It’s always great to have comfortable
sneakers so you’re able to walk around the city, around the towns and just be
comfortable. So always carry sneakers no matter what! 





<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="638" height="475" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Nomzamo5.png.png" alt="" class="wp-image-40774" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Nomzamo5.png.png 638w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Nomzamo5.png-300x223.png 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Nomzamo5.png-600x447.png 600w" sizes="(max-width: 638px) 100vw, 638px" /><figcaption>Nomzamo Mbatha in Kenya. Picture: Supplied</figcaption></figure></div>



“Number three – I always have a nice little bag of small
decanted toiletries. I have like 20 different things that I use. 



“So when you’re traveling, especially long-haul flights, you
want to be able to have your [face] cream because you don’t want to end up
using what the airline gives you&#8230; 



“When I’m traveling and connecting flights, I always make
sure I go to the bathroom and use my products and keep my skin hydrated and
clean. 



“And, of course, the fourth must-have, is a book; it’s
always a great travel mate.” 



On her last trip to Kenya, Mbatha traveled with her manager
and they were scheduled to fly out to Kakuma on a United Nations mission,
however, she requested three days to be in Nairobi before the trip. 



“I really just wanted to experience it and see more of it.
Also, I was in a space where I hadn’t traveled in a while. 



<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="927" height="615" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Nomzamo3.png.png" alt="" class="wp-image-40772" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Nomzamo3.png.png 927w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Nomzamo3.png-300x199.png 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Nomzamo3.png-600x398.png 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Nomzamo3.png-768x510.png 768w" sizes="(max-width: 927px) 100vw, 927px" /><figcaption>Nomzamo Mbatha visited the K1 Flea Market in Kenya. Picture: Supplied</figcaption></figure></div>



&nbsp;“It completely
changed me. I went to the K1 Flea Market which is so amazing. Everybody has a
smile. Everybody is so welcoming. 



“I got to go to the Maasai Market which is absolutely
fantastic. And there is so much art and craft you can find there&#8230; And then
the fanciest restaurants; five-star restaurants they don’t tell you about, that
they don’t show you. The party scene in Kenya is amazing. And what I really
loved about Kenya is I felt completely safe.”



She then explored the Karura Forest, saved from
deforestation by conservationists led by the late Wangari Maathai (Nobel Peace
Prize laureate, leader of the Green Belt Movement, and environmental and
political activist). Karura presented the most memorable moments for Mbatha
while in Kenya.



<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="462" height="616" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Nomzamo6.png.png" alt="" class="wp-image-40773" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Nomzamo6.png.png 462w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Nomzamo6.png-300x400.png 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Nomzamo6.png-225x300.png 225w" sizes="(max-width: 462px) 100vw, 462px" /><figcaption> Nomzamo Mbatha enjoys the meal at the K1 Flea Market in Kenya. Picture: Supplied </figcaption></figure></div>



“It was lush. And it was just inspiring to know that a
woman’s name was behind all of this. I just remember thinking how massive it
was. We just stood there and it was one of the best experiences of my life… it
was beautiful. For me, it was better than seeing the Eiffel Tower. It’s nothing
like you’ve ever seen.” 



While the visit to Karura Forest left Mbatha in awe, it also
taught her a valuable lesson. 



“It was emotional in the sense that there is so much we can
do for the planet. And it implores one to really do better in terms of our own
social responsibility when it comes to environmental sustainability.” 



<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="462" height="614" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Nomzamo8.png.png" alt="" class="wp-image-40775" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Nomzamo8.png.png 462w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Nomzamo8.png-300x399.png 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Nomzamo8.png-226x300.png 226w" sizes="(max-width: 462px) 100vw, 462px" /><figcaption> Nomzamo Mbatha outside the K1 Flea Market in Kenya. Picture: Supplied </figcaption></figure></div>



Mbatha says the African continent has much to learn from
Kenya. 



“A lot of innovative businesses in Kenya [are] self-started.
The government of Kenya is very cognizant of the fact they are not going to
bring international brands. In fact, they empower local brands to start their
own businesses, down to potato crisps. It’s very motivating for people to have
the entrepreneurial spirit,” says the globetrotter in love with Africa.

Nomzamo9

Executive Travel: Nomzamo Mbatha’s Kenya

The South African musician on how he finds culture and creative inspiration in the West African country.

Last summer, South African rapper and songwriter Senzo Vilakazi, who was in FORBES AFRICA’s Under 30 list in 2018, and better known by his stage name Kwesta, swapped his microphone for a notebook and pen 10,000 kilometers from his country of birth.
He was in Senegal on business, but recorded his thoughts in prose and memory.
“Then I just ended up staying for a couple of days because of the richness of the place,” says Kwesta.
He was captivated by the history of the West African country, and Gorée, a small island located away from the main harbor of Dakar, where slaves used to pass on their way to America.
Kwesta, who has traveled the world and performed in numerous African countries, was astounded by how much of its culture the island had managed to preserve years after slavery was abolished.
<blockquote>“I was really in love with how they have preserved their past. It is not like any other place that I have been to,” he says.</blockquote>
As soon as he landed, he was struck by the history of the island.
“It has a certain warmth; as soon as you go into it, it is almost certain that you can feel the lives that were lost there. It is a very difficult space to describe, a very inspirational and a very creative space. The people there are [so much into] culture preservation it is crazy,” says Kwesta.
On his short break, he went on a cruise ship, and visited the famous fort known as Slave House, which even former South African president Nelson Mandela once visited. The fort housed African slaves en route to the west.
“Six million slaves died there and over 20 million were shipped through the island,” says Kwesta on the facts gleaned from his trip.
<a href="http://www.forbesafrica.com/travel/2018/07/10/executive-travel-ola-orekunrins-india/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">READ MORE: Executive travel: Ola Orekunrin’s India</a>
The imagery of slavery has stayed with him.
“They are just so proud [citizens]! They try to teach you about their culture. That is what I found quite interesting compared to South Africans because people here are very much westernised. I wish I could be able to bring back that pride and culture [they have],” observes Kwesta.
“Even as rappers, I always feel like we are trying to imitate the American style of rapping,” he says.
He also noticed the stark contrast of the landscape – the hospitality sector on one side and shanty towns on the other.
“When I was in my hotel, I could basically see the richness of their vegetation and on the other end, I could see their low-cost houses, which was such a weird thing to observe, because you could see the difference in the economies.”
Who would have thought the rapper’s favorite travel destination would be right here in Africa.

Youth Day Celebration concert in South Africa

Executive Travel: Kwesta’s Senegal

For Nigeria’s high-flying doctor, Ola Orekunrin, being a part of the booming global air ambulance services industry presents opportunities to save lives as well as visit places she hasn’t seen before.
Orekunrin, a medical doctor and helicopter pilot, is the founder of Flying Doctors, an air ambulance service launched in Lagos to transport patients from areas with low levels of healthcare to those with well-appointed facilities offering better medical aid.
<a href="http://www.forbesafrica.com/30-under-30/2011/11/01/flying-doctor-shoots-stars/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">READ MORE: Flying Doctor Shoots For The Stars</a>
Over the years, the demand for her organization’s services has risen due to the healthcare challenges Nigeria faces. And there are many. On top of the list is the burden of infectious diseases like malaria and tuberculosis, followed by non-communicable diseases such as diabetes and heart disease. The country has a high rate of trauma-related incidents such as accidents and violence.
According to national statistics, Nigeria has the highest number of deaths from road traffic accidents in the world.
For Orekunrin, her business presents an opportunity to fulfil her desire to serve. The motivation for the launch of her company, Flying Doctors, was the loss of her sister, who had tragically died for want of urgent care.
Today, Flying Doctors swiftly moves patients from across the African continent to some of the best healthcare destinations, saving thousands of lives in the process. The job means Orekunrin is constantly on the go.
<a href="http://www.forbesafrica.com/travel/2018/03/23/magda-wierzyckas-india/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">READ MORE: Magda Wierzycka’s India</a>
With so much time away from home and in the air, Orekunrin has become somewhat of an expert when it comes to the most exciting destinations to visit both for business and leisure on the African continent – and beyond.
“My favorite destination in the world right now is India,” she says.
“It is a place I spend a lot of time because we have a huge Indian diaspora in Nigeria and when they get sick, they usually request to be flown back home. So I have had a lot of experience with India. I think India is in the process of cracking healthcare. For example, they take the best medical students from the whole of India and put them in one hospital. This means the [number] of procedures that get done there are a lot and the advanced medicine that is practised there is equivalent or better than what you get in some first world countries,” she says.
But that is not the only reason Orekunrin is in love with the subcontinent.
“It is such a vast country that moving from state to state, you can find different types of productivity everywhere. In places like Bengaluru, everybody is running a startup and it’s like the Silicon Valley of India. You go to a place like Goa and that is like a beach resort and you go to Kerala and it is completely different like a spa resort with some sort of Indian medicine being practised and infused with conventional medicine. So it is an incredible country where you can find so much variety, culture, language, tribes and so many successful people coexisting together and identifying as Indians. I think that is another lesson that Nigerians can learn.”
Her favorite past-time in the country is getting her eyebrows threaded and going to remote oil and gas exploration sites.
<div id="attachment_36663" style="width: 1034px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-36663" class="wp-image-36663 size-large" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/GettyImages-547676927-1024x677.jpg" alt="" width="1024" height="677" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/GettyImages-547676927-1024x677.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/GettyImages-547676927-300x198.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/GettyImages-547676927-600x397.jpg 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/GettyImages-547676927-768x508.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/GettyImages-547676927.jpg 1902w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" />Ola Orekunrin moves from state to state in India exploring cultures and languages. Photo provided.</div>
“The companies there inspire me because I think about their [the companies’] history in terms of growing from a sole proprietorship to eventually growing into the biggest businesses in the world. It makes me think about Nigerian businesses; I run my own business but I also invest in other businesses as well,” says Orekunrin.
Within West Africa, Orekunrin’s favorite destination is Cape Verde. The country is particularly interesting for medical evacuations because it is made up of remote islands and the influx of tourists to that destination means medical logistics are in very high demand.
“It is four hours away from Nigeria and is a fusion of a lot of cultures; from South America, to Africa and European cultures all in one. I visit it frequently most of the time for work. I also really love the different food. I was born and brought up in England but always had a craving for Africa. My connection to Cape Verde is the closeness to Nigeria but also some of the similarities we share in terms of the food and the culture and the music and that is a strong connection.”
In the next few years, Orekunrin is hoping to grow her medical business into a pan-African player. She continues to look forward to the travel it will entail. For Orekunrin, the air ambulance business is all about saving lives. And being at the right place at the right time – for sick patients in need.

Executive travel: Ola Orekunrin’s India

As soon as I heard of my aunt’s death, I knew straight away that I had to make a plan to fill my petrol tank and attend the funeral. I hadn’t seen her in months and felt bad about not getting her the mobile phone I had promised her months earlier. Guilt was flowing through my body with the blood pumped by my hurting heart.
Back to the tank issue – I was broke and could barely afford to get enough petrol to drive 175kms to Ledig, in the North West province. After fetching my uncle in Midrand, north of Johannesburg, and with just a 1.5-liter bottle of Valpre water in the car, we began our journey.
Fifty kilometers into our trip, we drove through Hartbeespoort, a scenic holiday spot in the North West known for its dam. We were stunned to see the narrow bridge in the area; it was like being in a different country for the first time, looking at everything with a new eye. It looked like one of those bridges from the movies depicting ancient Europe. It was beautiful.
We didn’t have time to stop and take pictures; it was 6:15PM and we didn’t want to drive in the rain, especially as it was getting dark.
After driving past the Sun City resort, we knew we had arrived. Far from home, our Tswana dialect wouldn’t go unnoticed by locals; they would know we were from Johannesburg.
At Ledig, we were greeted by three men who were expecting us. I was interested in learning more about the guy wearing the white Marikana mine overall with an X marked at the back. He was loud and funny, but also useful. He helped carry the chairs and tables from the van to the house.
The only thing I found out about the guy is his age, his jokes and that he is known in the area for his pantsula (a culture originating from black townships during apartheid) dress sense. He also wants to go to Johannesburg; a common desire among many youths in the area.
On Saturday, the day of the funeral, I couldn’t hear a word at the service. What was strange was seeing people waiting at the graveyard for the burial. Even stranger, men were not allowed into the graveyard if they weren’t wearing a jacket; to be fair my parents had warned me about that.
<a href="http://www.forbesafrica.com/focus/2017/07/10/pain-business-death/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">READ MORE: The Pain Of The Business Of Death</a>
At most black funerals, there is a culture that has evolved over the last couple of years where music is played and alcohol is consumed after the burial. It is called ‘after tears’ and is done as a celebration of life for the deceased.
This ‘after tears’ ceremony in the rural area of Ledig was no different from the one we have in the townships, where I live.
<a href="http://www.forbesafrica.com/woman/2018/03/09/slice-africa-durban/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">READ MORE: A Slice Of Africa In Durban</a>
It is now Sunday morning and I have just enough petrol to get us back home to Soweto. It wasn’t the most pleasant drive back to Johannesburg because we had nothing to nibble on, nor drink. Just a dry mouth, a hangover, and a dirty car.
Finally, we get home. I freshen up while my uncle heads to bed. I was tired but felt it was important to go to church with a friend after what was a sad weekend.
I never heard the sermon – I was too tired. Instead I took my shoes and socks off, rested in the car and passed out. I was woken by a knock on the window; my friend told me I embarrassed her because people saw me sleeping in the car outside church.
I didn’t care – I had rested and was officially back in Johannesburg.

SIA-795

The Sad Road Trip On An Empty Wallet

Magda Wierzycka, CEO of Sygnia Asset Management, is known for her leadership style, her controversial Twitter feed and her no-nonsense take on politics and business.
She also loves to travel.
For over a decade, she and her husband bundled their two sons up four times a year and whisked them away: to the steamy Amazon, over rocky seas to Antarctica (“the glaciers are the most amazing things one could ever see in a lifetime”) and even the last refuge of the strange and wonderful; the Galapagos Islands (“I’d go back in a flash”).
They’ve visited over 80 countries together, including Wierzycka’s birthplace, Poland, which she describes brusquely as “not a mainstream tourist destination”. Compared to the descriptions of her other trips, it’s clear Poland is not a country of happy memories for her; in 1981, her family escaped the communist regime and found refuge in South Africa.
Many of the moments Wierzycka plans for her children are a foil to the experiences she had growing up. Their trips are also crucial parent-child bonding time, especially with Wierzycka working demanding hours as a CEO.
She says in a telephonic interview with FORBES AFRICA: “When you’re traveling with kids and then taking them to exotic locations, it means they are very reliant on you. If you go to a beach they couldn’t care less. They’re on their iPads or phones most of the time. But if you travel, they have nowhere to go except where you’re going. So they have to have every meal with you, they have to interact, there are a lot of things to discover: you hike, you canoe; which means you spend a lot of time together.”
The family’s five-week trek across India was one of their more significant and meaningful trips, with the bulk of their adventure taking place across The Golden Triangle, comprising New Delhi, Agra and Jaipur; the most visited tourist spots in northern India.
It’s named &#8216;golden&#8217; for the cultural and historical richness of each city. The Wierzycka family started their 2013 trip in New Delhi with their then 13- and 15-year-old sons.
“The first time we were thrown into India, and the very first thing we did which petrified the living daylights out of us – you couldn’t have had greater exposure to anything – we did a bicycle tour of New Delhi… There were monkeys and there were cows and the four of us on bicycles. I just remember being petrified of absolutely everything about it,” she laughs at the memory.
“It was kind of the most bizarre thing we’ve ever done and in hindsight, a very dangerous thing, because you were thrown into chaos, absolute chaos.”
But it wasn’t the chaos that made India memorable for Wierzycka. It was traveling from temple to temple, and consciously demystifying religion for her children.
“I was brought up very strict Roman Catholic, and I had only had my kind of ‘aha!’ moment when I learned the truth at the age of 12 or 13, when suddenly instead of thinking of Jesus Christ as a God, I read a book which portrayed him as a man, and prophet, and I just thought I don&#8217;t want my kids to grow up to the age of 12 to realize [only then] that there is more than one religion. I never wanted them to have that moment I had,” she explains.
<div id="attachment_35663" style="width: 291px" class="wp-caption alignleft"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-35663" class=" wp-image-35663" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Magda-Wierzycka-with-her-sons-in-front-of-the-Taj-Mahal-in-Agra-India-200x300.jpg" alt="" width="281" height="422" />Magda Wierzycka with her sons in front of the Taj Mahal in Agra, India (Photo supplied)</div>
After this experience in her teens, shaking away institutionalized thinking was a pressing priority for her as a mother; the one way she had done that, years before, was by taking her children to Vietnam to see the other side of the famous war.
“If you’ve ever been to India, you learn that there is a religion about everything. [India] is effectively a way of learning where religion originates from, and it’s kind of demystifying religion for everybody.
“[I noticed that] all religions started in the same way: it might have been thousands of years ago, but it always started with someone who had a particular vision or theory and then created a following around a particular concept. [My sons] have a deep understanding of different cultures and different religions, and a very high level of religious tolerance. The only thing we don’t tolerate in my house is intolerance! You don’t have this kind of religious intolerance.
“Because coming back from Poland, growing up in Poland, there was only one religion – and that was Roman Catholic. There was no such concept as not believing – we had to go to church every Sunday, we had to go to confession, and God was always looking over you…
“And so… giving [my children] diversity was essential to me. First of all, that they grow up in a completely tolerant household that stretches across every boundary&#8230;”
Wierzycka’s disillusionment with the indoctrination of her youth drives much of her excursion planning.
“I think all of our trips have been a way to show them the reason ‘why’. All our trips have had that built into them, whether that is looking at museums, or going to Cambodia and looking at the Khmer Rouge regime and looking at the atrocities committed. I want my children to learn not to take things at face value. Analyze things.”
Now, with one child in Columbia University and the other hopefully headed to Harvard, family trips are going to be harder to coordinate, but they’re not going to stop. Their next destination? Alaska.
<a href="http://www.forbesafrica.com/travel/2018/03/02/cosmas-madukas-japan/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">READ MORE: Cosmas Maduka&#8217;s Japan</a>

Magda Wierzycka’s India

Nigerian automobile entrepreneur Cosmas Maduka is unassuming and soft-spoken. His hallmark is a ‘Jesus is Lord’ brooch that he wears and has over the years become synonymous with his style. Maduka is President and Chairman of Coscharis Group, franchise holders of over eight automobile brands and one of the largest distributors of spare car parts in Nigeria.
The company also has interests in real estate, banking, technology, medical equipment, petrochemicals, elevators and agriculture. On average, the company sells more than 400 cars per month with prices around N150 million ($420,000) for the top end of its luxury fleet, which includes Rolls-Royce, BMW, Jaguar, Range Rover and Ford.
But the man who also holds the number two position in the ICT market in Nigeria through his brand, Coscharis Technologies Limited, and its pool of partners which includes HP, Microsoft and Lenovo, had to overcome some extreme difficulties to become the success story he is today.
Maduka lost his father at the age of four and had to fend for himself and his family selling bean cake (a local delicacy) on the streets. By the time he was seven, he was already working as an apprentice and continued for seven years without pay with the shop floor he was trading on doubling as his bed at night.
Today, with those dark days firmly behind him and an estimated net worth of $500 million, Maduka spends most of his time on the road, or in the air, building new partnerships for his various entrepreneurial pursuits. We chatted with him as he waited in the business class lounge at Murtala Muhammed International airport in Lagos for a flight to Bangkok, about what it is like to travel the globe and how certain cultures resonate with him more than others.
Life in Nigeria seems to be a constant whirlwind for you and your family. Where is your favorite destination to get away?
My favorite getaway location is Japan and there are a number of reasons. I have learned a lot of things from the Japanese and I see them as an inspiration. I went to Japan for the first time in 1979 and I was so impressed by the culture and courtesy of the people. It was strange for me to witness, even at the tollgate, that men who collect money from passengers, on behalf of the government, bow to as many vehicles as they collect money from. It was a big surprise for me because this was not their personal money but the level of dedication was amazing. That courtesy is seen everywhere you go, from the airport to the restaurant and that embodies the type of person I am. From the early 80s, I used to go to Japan for business and even after that, I would spend some more time moving around to see more of the culture and their way of life influenced me as a person and Coscharis as well.
What is it about their culture that has influenced the way you run your business?
If the Japanese are not happy about their boss, they actually over-deliver instead of other places where most people will cut back on their output or even go on strike or protest. I have never heard that employees in Japan have gone on strike even when they are angry. They are efficient with time and they always keep to their promise; that is why in my organization, I always under-promise and over-deliver.
What is your favorite airline to travel on?
It used to be KLM in the early days but, in the last 10 years, I travel with Emirates.
What is your favorite city to stay in?
I am mostly in three cities in Japan – Tokyo, Nagoya and Osaka.
What is your favorite hotel?
I usually stay at the Hotel Plaza Osaka and Imperial Hotel Tokyo. I look for a decent and clean hotel. I want to stay in a place where there is no smoking and the staff is warm and pleasant. The cleanliness in Japan is also very impressive.
What are your favorite activities in Japan?
I usually go to Japan for work but I have also been there on holiday with the family and sometimes I combine the two. I go to work in the morning and during the evening we go out for dinner. If I am in Tokyo, I like to take a walk after dinner around the ‘emperor park’. The park is very large and beautiful and it is around the castle where the emperor lived. I also visited Disneyland Tokyo with the family during one vacation and have also seen the famous Mt. Fuji which is an active volcano, as well as other rural areas. I have been to Kyoto where there is a lot of beautiful scenery and mountain areas to explore. I like to go during the springtime when you see the beautiful cherry blossoms. It is a really amazing sight and many people travel all over the world to watch this spectacle.
How much do you spend on your travels?
Japan is quite expensive. First class tickets to Tokyo are on average about $6,000. The country has efficient train systems, both the local and express trains, which can help you save some money on your travel. You will hardly find a hotel for $100; so on average you are looking at $200 a night unless you want to go very far out of the city. Depending on where you eat, the prices also vary. Most five-star hotels are averaging about $80 to $100.
What is your biggest takeaway from the Japanese culture?
I will be honest and admit that there is no way I will have my success story without the Japanese. Meeting the Japanese transformed my way of thinking. I started setting up my office model the way I see them set up their office model. I drew inspiration from them in many aspects of my business. I learned integrity from them. It is a way of living for them. Respect for time is paramount. If a Japanese man gives you an appointment for 10AM, by 9.30AM, he is in a restaurant next door to your office. They don’t come 15 minutes before or 10 minutes after. Once it is 10AM, they knock on your door. If he comes two minutes late, he apologizes for almost 10 minutes for being late because it is simply not accepted in the culture. They helped me learn the value of making a promise and keeping it and that has completely transformed the way I do business.
<h1>The Cost:</h1>
First-class air ticket from Lagos: $6,000
Hotel room per night: $200
Meal at a five-star hotel: From $80 to $100

Cosmas Maduka’s Japan

Flying over the 400-mile wide Mozambique Channel that separates Madagascar from the African continent, my heart raced at the prospect of visiting a remote island that separated from the African continent some 165 million years ago.
Imagine an island more than 1,000 miles long in a blue tropical ocean uninhabited for most of its history. Forests cover vast areas, interspersed with swamps where eight-meter-long crocodiles lie in wait to prey on pygmy hippopotamuses. In the rain forests and in dryer parts of the island live some of the strangest primates to have ever existed on earth. Some 110 species of these lemurs live throughout the island and range in size from the world&#8217;s smallest primate, weighing about one ounce, to a lemur the size of a gorilla (now extinct).
Peering out of my aircraft window, I watched the stratocumulus clouds tower over the many swollen rivers draining the rainwaters as we descended towards Antananarivo (Tana), the capital of Madagascar located in the cool central highlands. With golden paddy fields blanketed by green clusters of trees, I was descending into what appeared to be a paradise of forests, paddy fields and rolling hills.
At the arrivals area, I was surprised to be greeted by faces that displayed a unique blend of African and Indonesian bloodlines. First populated 1,600 years ago by ancient sailors from Borneo, in today’s Indonesia, its early history is being slowly peeled by anthropologists one excavation at a time.
<a href="http://www.forbesafrica.com/life/2017/02/01/dont-see-travel-brochures/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">What You Don&#8217;t See In Travel Brochures</a>
Nearly all the species here evolved in isolation since it broke off and drifted away from east Africa many million years ago. What I found here is a lost world of unique animals and plants, unseen by humans until their first arrival.
My planned take-away from this trip included photographing colorful chameleons, trekking the lush rainforests, navigating spiny thorn forests and climbing the spectacular rock formations. At the end of it all, what left me with a deeper sense of this country was its unique people following ancient customs, despite their wanton destruction of a paradise.
My guide in Antasibe, Maurice Ratsesakanana, was instrumental in me tracking down the apex lemur, indri. Its haunting calls are reminiscent of the songs of the humpback whales. Each morning in my bungalow, at the Hotel Fenny Ala at the edge of the rain forest, I woke up to its call. The indri is the largest lemur in existence today and tracking and photographing them in rain was a trophy to be had. Indris have never been successfully bred in captivity and this is the only place on earth that one can see these unusual primates.
<a href="http://www.forbesafrica.com/life/2017/05/31/sweet-smell-money-sans-sea/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">The Sweet Smell Of Money, Sans The Sea</a>
Maurice also exposed me to some of the 600 amphibians and reptiles that inhabit the forest, most of them endemic to Madagascar, meaning found nowhere else on earth. Frogs of every imaginable color and pattern leapt in this wet jungle. Chameleons, some brilliantly colored, and others shades of mottled brown, crept invisibly about. The largest can capture mice and birds, while the smallest, measuring only an inch, feeds on insects.
More than 80% of Madagascar’s 14,883 plant species are found nowhere else in the world. The rain forests had many orchids growing on tree barks and stems. Maurice indicated that three-fourths of Madagascar’s 860 <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orchid" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">orchid</a> species are endemic, as are six of the world’s eight <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adansonia" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">baobab</a> species. I found orchid nursery’s lining all along the Antasibe road, simply harvested from the rainforest each day.
At the World Heritage rain forest of Ranomafana, Theo Farafidison, my guide, educated me on so many aspects of the fauna there. Theo worked with filmmaker David Attenborough during the shooting of the BBC series there. Almost all the amphibians and reptiles in Madagascar, half the 300 birds and all its 110 species of lemurs are endemic. Theo and I spotted a Parson’s chameleon that was almost two feet long and capable of grabbing birds with its sticky tongue. I could not help but coax it to walk on my arms, a small violation of the park’s rules. The bamboo lemurs are a specialty here, along with seven other species.
<a href="http://www.forbesafrica.com/woman/2016/02/01/the-planet-of-the-apes/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">The Planet Of The Apes</a>
My personal highlight was that of grabbing a six-foot tree boa at night while we were looking for nocturnal lemurs and chameleons. He was quite docile and surprisingly comfortable in my hold. After studying him in my confines, I gently eased him on to a tree, not realizing that they hunt on the ground. After photographing many species of frogs, scores of geckos, including those that mimic leaves, several chameleon species, five snake species, including a very large Madagascar tree boa, I moved to the drier side of the highlands. The unique animals of this country, especially the tree boa constrictor, are a target for pet suppliers from all over the world.
Some of the amazing landscapes I found in the country’s national parks included spectacular rock massifs, canyons, aquatic environments, savannahs and dry lands. Isalo, Zombitse, Kirindy and Andatringa come to mind as places that cannot be missed. Waterfalls abound, cascading down tall cliffs into rivers and lakes, the central highlands are a mosaic of woodland and savannah, while the eastern regions are covered in dense, humid rainforest.
In my quest for soaking up this paradise I swam in cool pools inside canyons, trekked the Tsaranoro massif, a sheer rock 800 meters tall known for world-class rock climbing, went sapphire prospecting on river banks, walked in wet, dry, semi-humid and spiny forests enjoying everything from insects like the endemic kung fu cricket, which takes on a martial posture when approached by the diverse ethnic groups that populate this island.
One great adventure that will last in my memory was my attempt to reach the spectacular limestone karst formations of Tsingy de Bemahara in the rainy season. It is an impenetrable wilderness of limestone spikes and sharp rocks that dominates the North West. The Tsingy is an ancient 200-mile long coral reef lifted from the ocean and carved over the millennia by wind and water into dagger-edged pinnacles. Crossing rivers on barges and driving through the dirt roads that had become three-feet deep streams during the rainy season, I reached this remote area to be hailed as the first tourist to arrive there that season. A nine-mile trek and climb ensued my visit to this world heritage site from the top looking down since all road access was inundated.
Deforestation has been present on the island since its colonization by humans, approximately 2,000 years ago, with 90% of the original forests lost. With an unprecedented population growth, extreme poverty (one of the highest in the world), and a brewing political crisis, the nature of the island is helpless and besieged by multiple fronts including corruption at the highest level. There is a police stop almost every few miles; they find something wrong with every vehicle in order to squeeze a few arriaris out of innocents and crooks alike. Thankfully, they do not bother tourists. One interesting behavior that I wish to write about is that of the gendarmerie (national police) who offered a full ceremonial salute when all our papers were in order.
In addition to the traditional system of slash and burn deforestation, which allows local people to open forests to cultivate, international players in cahoots with local officials selectively log rosewood tree species and have become the main threat for the biodiversity of the island. Lorries of hardwood leaving forested areas forced me to enquire about its legitimacy to everyone I met. They all shrugged almost helplessly even though their future was being stripped one day at a time.
Other threats include killing lemurs for meat, poaching reptiles and amphibians for the pet trade (the ploughshare tortoise fetches $200,000), habitat alteration and the clearance of forests, primarily for firewood and charcoal production. En route to the rainforests of Antasibe, I could see virgin rainforests burning outside the limits of the park for agriculture and cattle grazing that brought tears to my eyes. At every turn during my trip, my driver Tony Rebetsitonta, reflected on the different forested areas that had disappeared in his 25 years of driving around the country. It is anticipated that all the island’s rainforests, excluding those in protected areas and the steepest eastern mountain slopes, will have been deforested by 2025. As a result, several charismatic species such as chameleons and lemurs that evolved for millions of years here may become extinct by the end of the century.
The urgency to conserve the habitat has long been noticed by western scientists and conservation funding for Madagascar is at its peak. From protecting flora, fauna, habitats and large swathes of remaining forest, organizations are finding new ways to compensate the locals, educate them on sustainable land use and above all deal with a complex system of taboos that hold back progress.
While at Ranofamana National Park, I came to realize that this large virgin rainforest was protected and later converted into a park by none other than Dr. Patricia Wright of Stony Brook University in 1980, while studying bamboo lemurs as a post doctoral research worker there. This is another example of a driven woman scientist challenging government officials, locals and vested interests to create a legacy for mankind.
By the 16th century, the central highlands where the bulk of Madagascar’s population resides had been largely cleared of their original forests. It was small wonder that I saw red top soil getting washed off into the rivers from the air with no roots to hold them down. More recent contributors to the loss of forest cover include the growth in cattle herd size since their introduction around 1,000 years ago.
I met a professor from the University of Pretoria who is studying land grabs and cattle rustling in Madagascar and did not want his name publicized. This is a country where people still keep their wealth in cattle and not cash. He told me that rustling cattle is big business and as a result big groups of heavily-armed men attack villages and run away with the several hundred heads of cattle. I am told that the Malagasy people register their Zebu cattle at birth with the authorities, and not their own children.
Today, there are around 18 different ethnic groups living on the island. These include the Asiatic Merina (who make up over a quarter of the population), the Betsimisaraka, Betsileo, Tsimihety, Antaimoro and the Bantu Sakalava. The Malagasy language is very similar to the Indonesian language Minaan; spoken only in Borneo, it has accepted some Bantu/Swahili words over time. Their customs especially of burials, land ownership, taboos and professions are very unique for the traveler to see and experience.
The Malagasy burial customs matches closely with cultures from Indonesia where I have traveled extensively to study them. This includes periodic exhumation of the bones and huge celebrations, keeping the corpse at home until it dries before burial or placing them inside rock cairns in hard to reach places, all of which bankrupt families in pursuit of satisfying their forefathers. Their philosophy, much like the ethnic Indonesians of Sulawesi and Borneo, is that life on earth is very ephemeral when compared to the soul’s journey through the universe.
This beautiful land and its people are in a ticking time bomb of land loss, top soil erosion and desertification in a few centuries. While western agencies are doing their best to stem the degradation, it is inevitable that it cannot be reversed. Added to this, poor education, absent healthcare and a corrupt government have kept the people very poor, just living under an annual $500 per capita.
It is a paradise in retreat and all our efforts to decelerate this decline is all I can hope for these wonderful people and its other living denizens. It is a travesty created by man in his effort to conquer nature. &#8211; Words and photos by Ramdas Iyer

A Paradise In Retreat

It’s a Thursday afternoon in November, with the summer sun baking the pavements, and everything in sight. Being a weekday, South Africa’s famous Vilakazi Street, home to two Nobel Peace Prize laureates, in Orlando West, in the historic township of Soweto, is not too busy – there are fewer tourists compared to the usual.
I am looking down the linear street, no more than a kilometer, filled with history, craft and commerce, not to mention an assortment of tourists.
It’s a far cry from the street it was in the apartheid days, days before its most-famous resident, Nelson Mandela, was whisked off to prison for 27 years. His home here, number 8115 or Mandela House, which he said is marked with an ‘X’ in his mental geography, is a museum now, the street’s biggest draw. Mandela had returned to this house when he was released from prison in 1990.
Vilakazi’s other famous resident was Archbishop Desmond Tutu, the Nobel prize-winning social rights activist who also opposed apartheid.
I strap the camera around my neck, put on my sunglasses and become a tourist, walking from one end to the other exploring the street; it almost feels like I am not in Soweto, this is one of Africa’s world-renowned pieces of real estate.
It takes me less than a minute before I see an urban building to my left, The Box Shop, a shop created primarily for locals but with international tourists streaming in and out.
Launched as a fashion store in 2015 employing about 11 staff, it has extended its retail offerings to furniture and food – mouth-watering delicacies such as mogodu (lamb or beef tripe).
Sifiso Moyo, marketing director of The Box Shop, is one of the store’s four founders who decided to open the store on Vilakazi Street.
“It was a combination of things that made us pursue Vilakazi, we looked at the Gauteng government mandate in terms of revitalizing townships, so we looked at how we are going to align ourselves with that strategy and contribute positively to the dream of township revitalization,” says Moyo.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone wp-image-32129 size-large" src="http://www.forbesafrica.com/app/uploads/2017/05/Vilakazi-Str-065-1024x681.jpg" alt="" width="1024" height="681" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Vilakazi-Str-065.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Vilakazi-Str-065-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Vilakazi-Str-065-600x399.jpg 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Vilakazi-Str-065-768x511.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" />
I walk again for three minutes, and stop, as I see a gentleman with a snake around his neck. I step closer to make sure I am not imagining things.
It is a snake, a real one, a Red Tail Boa. After introducing myself to the gentleman, he directs me to the house to meet his mother, Lindiwe Mngomezulu.
Her business is offering tourists the Soweto Live Snakes Show. The inspiration for it came when she joined a snake club in Edenvale, east of Johannesburg, South Africa.
Her daughter, Lwandle, had forced her mother to part with R5 to see snakes at the Soweto Arts Festival. Curious, Mngomezulu asked how they could join the club. They were told to visit on Saturdays.
“Love. I wouldn’t have them [the snakes] without love. But the business started when my daughter was seven years old, when she first held a snake. As a mother, I gave her support; wherever she wanted to go where there was snakes, I took her, only to find that I have an interest too,” says Mngomezulu.
I am speaking to Mngomezulu in her living room, which is almost like a mini-zoo – to my right is a monkey, behind me, a parrot, and next to her, a hedgehog. I am a little uneasy knowing there are pythons in the next room, which was once one of the bedrooms in the small home.
The mother and daughter started volunteering at the snake club cleaning the enclosures of 300 reptiles including crocodiles; shortly after, by 2009, they were bringing snakes to the township for snake shows, so it could generate revenue for them. At first, business wasn’t good because they didn’t know how to charge, but worst of all, the community was not in agreement with the idea of snakes in their township as they thought the mother-daughter duo were practicing witchcraft.
“The entrance fee was R5, we didn’t know what we were doing, and people were scared,” says Mngomezulu.
Not long after, Mngomezulu bought her daughter her first pet, a Corn snake, and called it Pikinini because it was small. But the fact remained; they were not making money and had to return the borrowed snakes to the club.
That was when Mngomezulu decided to buy her own snakes to start her own mini snake park. After the Corn snake, it was twin pythons and a boa.
During the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, Mngomezulu went back to the club and borrowed snakes for a show in Soweto, the day of the final game, which drew visitors from all over the world. This time, she made wads of cash, enough to share with the club.
Sadly, in 2013, three of Mngomezulu’s snakes died because of pneumonia. Her four-roomed house in Vilakazi Street wasn’t warm enough for the snakes.
Today, thankfully, business is okay, and Mngomezulu can more than afford a loaf of bread. She is now extending her house to accommodate more snakes and tourists. The entrance fee is worth it. People come in to touch the snakes and pose with them for photos.
“Our show is not just a show, it’s an educational show, we educate you about the snakes we have, because I take care of them, we grow them, train them. They are used to cameras, noise and people,” says Mngomezulu.
Not only does she make money on Vilakazi Street, she also has her snakes starring in films and the small screen, namely a South African TV show shot in 2015 titled Ngempela.
Although her show also includes her other pets: a monkey, parrot, bearded dragon lizard, hedgehog and a yellow anaconda, Mngomezulu says the fear of snakes can drive people away.
“When one stands at the gate and fears going in, others get scared too,” she says. The tour guides are also an issue; they don’t spend time at the Soweto Live Snakes Show which affects her business.
I don’t get to watch the show, so I move on to the house next door, a space selling art.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone wp-image-32130 size-large" src="http://www.forbesafrica.com/app/uploads/2017/05/Vilakazi-045-1024x681.jpg" alt="" width="1024" height="681" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Vilakazi-045.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Vilakazi-045-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Vilakazi-045-600x399.jpg 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Vilakazi-045-768x511.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" />
Thamaga Montjane is CEO of JHTCE (Joining Hands To Create Employment). He says the challenges he faces are people going only to one end of Vilakazi Street and not going further up – to this spot where his shop is.
I can relate to it. As I was walking towards Mandela House, I could see more action – more cars, more color, more tourists thronging the stalls there – than here, by Montjane’s shop.
I speak to one of the vendors a few feet from Mandela House. Bongane Ngcobo sells t-shirts, caps and African art. An entrepreneur in his own right, he says he makes about R4,000 ($282) on a good day and about R200 ($14) when it’s not so good.
As I stroll further down, the street is getting busier. I am drawn to a group of idling youngsters outside an art gallery named Shova Lifestyle Origin.
Thabo Modise, the owner here, started off selling t-shirts in the streets of Soweto; now he owns the gallery and the boutique next to it.
“It is a lifestyle boutique, where we have local fashion designers showing their work and we have a gallery for locals to do the same,” says Modise. He is an entrepreneurial success on Vilakazi Street.
The ambience of the street gets more vibrant as the afternoon progresses. I go across the road from the gallery, to Sakhumzi; a popular restaurant in Soweto, right next door to Tutu’s house. I step in to speak to a few tourists gulping down drinks and South African food.
“It feels awesome being here, we went to the Mandela museum and it was great, proper energy, real place,” says Tavis Wright, a tourist from England.
Lorenzo Grifantini, a tourist from Italy, says there is life and movement in the street and the people look happy.
Not too far from where I am seated at the restaurant, I spot more tourists savoring the local food.
“I didn’t expect a vibrant and classy restaurant like this here, I’m really surprised and I’m loving the food. I had tripe, it was very delicious,” says Adrian Seigs, also a tourist from Europe.
At the end of Vilakazi Street is Kwa Lichaba, a busy car wash corner on the opposite side.
Eventually, what was meant to be a 10-minute walk for me with my camera, turned out to be an hour-long expedition.
On the journey, I learned that the street boasts more South African tourists than foreigners and that hawkers could possibly make more money on a daily basis than a business with a counter, cash register, tables and a door.
As I look at the street again, I think of Benedict Wallet Vilakazi, the South African Zulu poet, author and linguist who died in 1947, and after who the street is named.
Little did he know that school children would be fighting for education on that street, that Winnie, the former ANC Women’s League president and ex-wife of Mandela, would be arrested on that very street, that Nobel accolades would arrive all the way from Sweden to this street in Soweto, or that today Vilakazi Street is more about preserving history – and making money off it.

Vilakazi-Str-043

Pythons And  Peacemakers Down Vilakazi Street

You don’t have to be there anymore. Last night, 500,000 people rented a roof over their heads in 57,000 cities through the web. Also, 640,000 homeowners and paying guests were matched up by Airbnb, a firm based in San Francisco.
It’s a money maker.
A typical South African Airbnb host, who shares space in his home, can make at least R28,000 ($2,000) a year, according to Airbnb data .
“South Africa is currently the largest market for Airbnb in Africa with 9,400 homes listed. South Africa is becoming an increasingly popular global destination, with the number of people staying in places booked through Airbnb in South Africa increasing by a staggering 257 percent. South Africans are embracing the service as well, with those using Airbnb to travel increasing by 163 percent,” said an Airbnb report last year.
“Airbnb is the worst idea that ever worked,” says Brian Chesky, Co-founder and CEO of Airbnb.
That’s not all.
On the internet, everything is for hire and anyone can make money. It is called the sharing economy. It allows people to make money from under-used things. You can rent out your house while on vacation, or rent out your lawnmower, piano or  car when not using it. It can be anything.
“I travel a lot and whenever I do, I make sure that my entire house in Stellenbosch is rented out for whatever days I would be gone for. I even let them use my helper if they need to and sometimes I even leave them my pets at an additional cost,” says Jean van der Merwe, a sharing economy devotee.
“I also rent someone’s house instead of a hotel when I’m away. This means I get to feel at home and experience the city like a local would at a cheaper fee.”
Van der Merwe says she rents musical instruments for her children, instead of buying.
“Children change their minds. So I just rent to see what they like and when we are done with it, I just return it to the owner.”
The impact is huge. Airbnb in the hospitality sector; Uber in transport; Spotify in media and Poshmark in fashion are leading the way. According to PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC), global revenue generated by this growing phenomenon is expected to be worth $335 billion by 2025.
“We’ve definitely seen a shift in consumption habits, specifically as it pertains to music. People are feeling less of a need to own a track of music, which is where Spotify comes into play. They would rather rent or share things instead,” says Amanda Havey, Vice President of On-Air and Brand Creative for VH1.
For Uber, the sharing economy has brought remarkable growth. Since 2013, the online ride-sharing company has taken off in 12 cities in sub-Saharan Africa, with no advertising. Its disruptive nature and low prices has put it on everyone’s lips. It connects customers through a smartphone app that tracks the journey. Leaked financial results show that the company had gross bookings of $3.63-billion in the first half of 2014 alone.
These figures can’t be ignored. But there is a trick to it. It works on trust and reputation. If you hire out your car, you trust someone will bring it back, in good condition.
According to a PwC survey, 51% of people surveyed say they can see themselves being providers in the sharing economy in the next two years, while 72% say they can see themselves being consumers in the sharing economy in the next two years.
“A potential Uber or Lyft driver, weighing the costs of a new car, may choose to spend more for a higher quality, more luxurious vehicle, knowing that it can yield return on investment rather than simply being a depreciating asset. A prospective homebuyer may look into purchasing a three-bedroom home rather than a two-bedroom, mindful that rental income from a spare room can cover the additional mortgage payment,” reads the study.
It sounds almost socialist in nature, but some argue that it leaves a bigger gap between the haves and the have-nots.
In Uber’s case, little by little, the dream of dominating the taxi ranks of the world is crumbling in Africa. For a start, many drivers complain they are exploited. Angrily, they have joined the South African Transport and Allied Workers’ Union (Satawu) and plan to take the company to the Labour Court – the antithesis of Uber’s free market philosophy. That could be a stumbling block in the sharing economy utopia.
The dispute is over Uber taking a cut from every trip; 20% for UberX and 25% for Uber Black.
“I joined Uber because they promised [we could] be our own boss and get a chance to earn up to R10,000 ($700). We have to work long hours for little income. The cost of living is too much, we’re not benefitting from Uber. They just came to Africa to abuse Africans,” says Joseph Munzvenaga, an Uber driver in Cape Town, who has been driving for the company for more than two years.
Julian Wenn, another Uber driver in Cape Town, says exploitation is an understatement.
“When people are desperate they will do anything, when a firm like Uber has you tuned into the channel of desperation you are bound to be exploited. The sad part is most drivers still don’t realize just how much they are being exploited,” he says.
What may stand up in the court, for the defence, in the sharing economy spirit, is that Uber classifies its drivers as independent contractors and not employees, hence they can avoid paying insurance and other costs companies cover for employees.
Uber spokesperson, Samantha Allenberg, says all drivers are independent operators and are free to work when they want.
“Uber is not a taxi, nor is it a taxi or transportation company. Ridesharing apps like Uber make it affordable and more efficient for riders to get around – especially in places where there is little public transport,” says Allenberg.
This paragon of the sharing economy is also controversial.
The Kenya Taxi Cab Association called for a withdrawal of Uber in the East African country, citing the lack of regulation. The call came on the day violence flared, in the capital Nairobi, as taxi drivers attacked Uber drivers. The association’s organizing secretary, Job Nzioka, says Uber is cheaper because they are not subjected to hefty levies, such as inspection fees, parking fees and operating fees.
In the midst of blood and chaos, investors think that Uber will not just survive, but thrive. They have put their money to drive Uber’s valuation up to $68 billion; much higher than Facebook when it was six years old. Uber has also launched UberEATS, an on-demand meal delivery service powered by its app.
Despite its troubles in Africa, Uber’s ambition is to be ubiquitous, just like many sharing economy companies.
It seems the sharing economy is too big an opportunity to miss.

What’s Mine Is Yours,  For A Fee

South Africa’s favorite adventurous son, Mike Horn, regarded by many as the world’s greatest modern day explorer, was seduced by Switzerland while hitchhiking his way to Israel. It was the snow that won him over, before he’d even reached the sand of the Middle Eastern country.
While my first memory of hitchhiking in Switzerland is sharing a flagon of cheap wine at a small table in a very clean youth hostel with a young Tunisian and no dictionary, Horn immediately saw opportunity. Granted, he was considerably older than my then student self, but it speaks to his strategic contemporary self that he identified what he needed.
“It’s a safe and sure country to leave my family when I go out exploring; it has four seasons that allows me to practice all outdoor activities. It has some of the most diversified natural elements; it’s neutral and easy to travel to and from,” says Horn.
Lausanne is the Olympic capital of Switzerland, a treat for any serious sport and outdoors enthusiast. But Horn has a particularly African take on what works for him in this historical and wealthy city.
“What I love the most living in an expensive country is that everything works, it’s clean and everyone is always on time. You pay for what you get.”
Horn is an established brand in the extreme adventure environment. His website details journeys to places like the Arctic Circle, the Amazon River and various Himalayan peaks. All will challenge your body and mind. From the outside, it’s a bit like a 12-year-old’s adventure book.
“To be able to play the lead role in your dream and live it in reality makes me a privileged man. I have never started anything in life thinking I will fail. And that is how little boys dream. As we grow older we lose our dreams, but as I have grown older I kept my dreams young.”
Follow the road of Mike Horn’s history and you will arrive at his career destination, to which he must feel he was born – teaching others how to respect their environment.
Through his four-year conservation-education platform Pangaea, started in 2008, Mike and his team found enthusiastic youngsters, between the ages of 15 and 20, who he then groomed as environmental ambassadors in their respective countries. He did this through expeditions to places most only dream of; Antarctica, New Zealand, Malaysia and India among them.
On the various expeditions, the selected youngsters were given the opportunity to experience, explore and interpret different climates and surfaces.
“We must begin to take real steps towards ensuring that our planet can be respected and appreciated by all future generations…” says Horn.
These words are increasingly relevant, as the promises and targets emerging from endless conferences do more for the conference industry than the health of the planet.
This gives Horn a reason to try educate as many as he can.
His website speaks of over 200,000 miles and multiple circumnavigations being covered in pursuit of Pangaea’s goals, with more voyages in the pipeline. All of which will cost a lot of money. He says he’s in the right place to access these funds, with some of the world’s best-known brands close at hand.
“With Geneva next door, France on the other side of the lake and Italy a short drive away, we have access to the watch industry, banking, nutrition and technology and amazing universities,” he says.
But Horn stresses that such sponsors don’t give their money away easily. Even as a  Laureus World Sports Academy member, he had to do a little convincing.
“I have been very fortunate because when I proposed my projects to my sponsors they liked the idea. Credibility and authenticity is very important. Do not promise what you cannot do!”
And so they rolled in. Mercedes Benz, Panerai, Nespresso, Geberit, Mumm champagne, Scott Sports and Petzl, according to Horn all see value in his experience and knowledge.
“They are definitely your biggest investment.”
The link between the man and his sponsors is more obvious with some than others.
“For a watch company I’m a living test lab. Making timepieces that I use as navigational instruments and that I test for long periods of time in the field at extreme temperatures and altitudes makes it a unique and authentic test lab. Once the watch has survived the expedition, Panerai makes a limited special edition timepiece with my signature. Mercedes Benz use me for internal and external communication.”
Mike says while it’s difficult to measure the return on their respective investments, he has adopted a personal solution to determining the value clients get from his association with them.
“If you always do what you promise to do for them, and are willing to give more than they ask, reinventing yourself with new projects, I think it is worth it for them.”
This Johannesburg-born adventurer’s next expedition is Pole to Pole, another first in the adventure world. Horn will make solo journeys to both the North and South Poles, crossing the Arctic and Antarctica on foot and by skis.
When crossing the Pacific and Atlantic Ocean, he will be on board his sailing vessel Pangea.
As with most of his missions, Horn won’t have support; although for much of the time there will be people in the vicinity, as a camera-crew will be shooting for international film producer Goldcrest, which is producing a series on the adventure.
He aims to complete Pole to Pole within a year.
Beyond the physical endurance required for this latest venture – which he is preparing for by cycling, climbing and dragging car tyres around Swiss mountains – it requires significant effort to put these expeditions together.
“There are a lot of sacrifices you have to be prepared to make… sacrifices with family because (I am) often away from home, friends you don’t often see, and very little free time.”
Indeed, Horn suffered a tragedy when his wife, New Zealander Cathy, passed away shortly before we conducted this interview.
“I find myself with a massive gap to fill in my private and business life… Cathy was the rock and pillar of everything I ever achieved”.
Almost as if she had planned it, Cathy prepared their teenage daughters to help with the business while they were studying; a seamless transition doubling up as a comforting distraction for this hard-travelling man.
“They know the brand best,” he says, hardly surprising considering that he took them to the North Pole when they were barely in their teens.
And so the business of Mike Horn continues where it makes sense, in Switzerland. It couldn’t have happened anywhere else.

‘I’ve Never Started Anything Thinking I Will Fail

It was around two years ago when I found myself on one of those musty and cramped overnight buses headed from Cuzco to Lima in Peru. Tired of watching B-grade Spanish movies and eating Pringles to pass the time, I went online to Google my mom: Michelle Meyjes.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-medium wp-image-30037 alignleft" src="http://www.forbesafrica.com/app/uploads/2017/05/Moving-to-France_2012-200x300.jpg" alt="" width="200" height="300" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Moving-to-France_2012-200x300.jpg 200w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Moving-to-France_2012-300x450.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Moving-to-France_2012-600x900.jpg 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Moving-to-France_2012.jpg 640w" sizes="(max-width: 200px) 100vw, 200px" />
All the expected results came up: CEO, award-winning South African businesswoman, media mogul, a ‘proven leader’ and her face on a few magazine covers. There was even an article that declared her one of ‘South Africa’s top 30 wonder women’ alongside Graça Machel, Ferial Haffajee and Thuli Madonsela.
And there I was, slouching in that seat on a musty and cramped bus, the only child of this superwoman, the only hope of carrying forth the great business genes; now on my last pennies, eating Pringles and on a bus to nowhere.
We laugh about it now but it took me a good few years to learn that a shadow is no great place for the daughter of a businesswoman.
Mom and I have always been wonderfully close – we share everything (except underwear) and we’ve always celebrated our differences: she is humble as chips, I’m showy as a peacock; she’s astute with money, I never have any of it; she’s strategic, I’m creative. And she comes from the generation where you start work and you stay there your whole life whether you like it or not. It’s all you know, it’s what you’re good at, so just put your head down and shoulder the storm, dear woman!
For a while, I tried to play in the same work place, riding off the coat-tails of a phenomenal mother and industry role-model. I moved to Johannesburg to ‘pursue a career’ because that’s what the city promised our young, educated and ambitious professionals: work, money, commodity, stuff. I was groomed to ‘be MD in two years’ and told ‘you’re going to be just like your mother’.
And then one day, I couldn’t face getting out of bed. My phone was stealing my life – ting, ting, ting, beep, beep. Emails and text messages and phone calls from clients and the boss and my co-workers and more emails&#8230; I put my duvet over my head and tried to block it all out. At 24, I was sick from stress, burnt out and uninspired.
That night, I made the decision to pack it all in – leave the job, the boyfriend, the title and the money and head in the direction of goodness knows where. And the best thing of all was that mom remained my biggest supporter. Often she said, “Don’t do what I did, my baby.”
So I decided to live for living. I moved to France, I worked on a few super yachts and was fired once or twice. I met my future husband while taking out the rubbish and I learned to speak Swedish (he’s Swedish). I got a casual job in Tanzania and I backpacked through parts of South America. I studied as a Pilates instructor in Italy and moved to the outskirts of Monaco, where it’s okay not to have much money and eat cheap Indian curry. I don’t own a Louis Vuitton bag. And until further notice, we won’t own a car. I started writing again and mustered up a community of South African expatriates who were also trying to figure out why Europe still didn’t feel like home.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-medium wp-image-30039 alignleft" src="http://www.forbesafrica.com/app/uploads/2017/05/Leaving-the-desk-for-the-deck_France-2012-300x300.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="300" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Leaving-the-desk-for-the-deck_France-2012-300x300.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Leaving-the-desk-for-the-deck_France-2012-100x100.jpg 100w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Leaving-the-desk-for-the-deck_France-2012-600x600.jpg 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Leaving-the-desk-for-the-deck_France-2012-150x150.jpg 150w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Leaving-the-desk-for-the-deck_France-2012-768x768.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Leaving-the-desk-for-the-deck_France-2012.jpg 843w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />
And I spent time repairing, re-gathering and listening to the stories of other people. Whether it was a lesson from my homeless friend John or a moment spent making a bed for Arabic royalty, I came to learn that life has so many different angles and that success can mean so many different things.
I learned things about success that a career would never have taught me.
And in the end, I have come to terms with the fact that we have chosen different lives – my mom and I.
It’s a sad thing that success has become about money and things and a frantic, hard slog to the top, often in tough and abusive work environments that are especially hard on our women. For us women, success should be about time: spending time, having a good time, or simply having the time. Success should be about time with the right people, time with ourselves; or doing what we love while we still have the time to do it. Time makes us richer.
I may have walked away from a well-paved career but I never believed packing up meant giving up. I still admire those women who have the guts to survive in that world. And I thank my supermom for giving me the courage to choose differently.
The writer studied radio journalism and landed a desk job in South Africa before packing it all up for the more interesting life.

Living-in-France-II_Nov-2014

Nothing Like A Businesswoman

Now that the travel world has truly shaken off the recession, hoteliers are no longer playing it safe. In 2015, big-name brands are branching out from what they do so famously: Mandarin Oriental, known for its outstanding city hotels, is opening a resort just outside Marrakech, while Aman Resorts, whose signature is peaceful sanctuaries in remote places, is coming to Tokyo.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-medium wp-image-29938 alignleft" src="http://www.forbesafrica.com/app/uploads/2017/05/shutterstock_235415584-300x200.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="200" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/shutterstock_235415584-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/shutterstock_235415584-600x400.jpg 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/shutterstock_235415584-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/shutterstock_235415584.jpg 1000w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />
The indies are shaking things up, too, as with a pair of former &amp;Beyond executives opening their own private camp in Kenya’s Maasai Mara, and with Alan Faena, who is exporting his audacious namesake hotel in Buenos Aires to Miami. For travelers, the new luxury frontiers are in South America, which is safer than ever, easily reached and ideal for soft adventure: Hacienda Bambusa is bringing elegance to Colombia’s Coffee Triangle, and AlexVik is expanding his empire to Chile. Here’s what to check out when you check in in 2015.
Aman Tokyo
Aman junkies don’t ever need to be sold on the brand, but the opening of the first urban hotel promises to offer the faithful – and Aman virgins – a new take on that signature style. Atop a new tower in the posh Ginza district, the Aman Tokyo, which opened in December, has 360 views over the megalopolis and Mount Fuji, a 100-foot-high lobby atrium modeled on a paper lantern, traditional rock gardens and 84 of the largest rooms and suites in the city (starting at more than 700 square feet). There’s also a two-story spa, a 1,200-bottle wine cellar and a private-label sake.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-medium wp-image-29943 alignleft" src="http://www.forbesafrica.com/app/uploads/2017/05/shutterstock_247851229-300x200.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="200" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/shutterstock_247851229-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/shutterstock_247851229-600x400.jpg 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/shutterstock_247851229-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/shutterstock_247851229.jpg 1000w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />
FAenA hoTel, miAmi BeAch
Ten years ago, when Argentinean fashion designer-turned-real-estate-developer Alan Faena opened his namesake hotel in abandoned
Buenos Aires docklands, his creative risks more than paid off – the Faena District is now the city’s most valuable real estate. In September 2015, that cheeky spirit is migrating north, with the opening of a new hotel in what was once the historic Saxony. Faena enlisted the masters of cinematic whimsy Baz Luhrmann and Catherine Martin to design the 169 rooms and suites, private screening room, theater for live cabaret shows and spa. And in his United States’ debut, much-lauded Argentinean grill master Francis Mallmann is consulting on the restaurant.
SiX SenSeS doUro VAlley, PorTUGAl
Its fans may not be quite as rabid as Aman’s, but Six Senses has developed a cult following among guests who admire its brand of eco-friendly bare foot (high) luxury in far-flung locations. Opening in mid-2015, the Douro Valley hideaway will finally bring Six Senses’ sensibility beyond Asia.
Fitted into a 19th-century manor house in the oldest wine-producing region in the world, the resort has 57 rooms, suites and villas, an extensive
spa with locally inspired grape-and olivebased treatments, a large yoga pavilion and the de rigueur local-seasonal-organic restaurant menu, much of it grown on-site, served in the restaurant and at “pop-up” tables set by the Douro River.
BAhiA Vik, UrUGUAy, And ViÑA Vik, millAhUe, chile
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-medium wp-image-29939 alignleft" src="http://www.forbesafrica.com/app/uploads/2017/05/shutterstock_239238295-300x200.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="200" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/shutterstock_239238295-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/shutterstock_239238295-600x400.jpg 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/shutterstock_239238295-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/shutterstock_239238295.jpg 1000w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />
With his first small luxury hotels in Uruguay, billionaire entrepreneur/art collector Alex Vik put the boho beach town of José Ignacio on the map. As with Vik’s earlier resorts, his much-anticipated Bahia Vik, which opened in January, has a focus on art and architecture throughout the 11 uniquely designed bungalows (most have two or three bedrooms) and the 10 suites in the main building. And November saw the debut of Viña Vik Millahue in Chile’s Alpaca  wine valley. The Frank Gehry- and Richard Serra-inspired retreat overlooks 11,000 acres of vineyards with the Andes rising in the distance, and offers tastings of Vik’s world-class wines and vinotherapy treatments in the spa.
Mandarin Oriental,
Marrakech
It’s the best of both worlds in the Red City: all the services of a leading international luxury brand but in an intimate environment with only 54 private-walled villas (with pools, sundecks and alfresco dining areas) and seven suites (some with rooftop plunge pools), and the olive-grove exoticism of the desert Palmeraie region combined with proximity to the historic medina. When it opens in the first quarter of 2015, Mandarin Oriental’s Moroccan outpost – the only resort in its current portfolio – will have the brand’s signature spa, a traditional hammam, lush gardens and five restaurants and bars serving Moroccan and international fare.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-medium wp-image-29942 alignleft" src="http://www.forbesafrica.com/app/uploads/2017/05/shutterstock_206253460-300x200.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="200" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/shutterstock_206253460-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/shutterstock_206253460-600x399.jpg 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/shutterstock_206253460-768x511.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/shutterstock_206253460.jpg 1000w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />
hAciendA BAmBUSA, colomBiA
High-end operators like Blue Parallel, Butterfield &amp; Robinson and Absolute Travel are expanding their Colombia offerings for good reason: The charismatic country is finally getting its due, thanks to a stable government, improved safety, investment in luxury travel and convenient JetBlue flights from New York to Cartagena. And there’s now good reason to go beyond the colonial fantasyland of Cartagena into the “real” Colombia with the reopening in December of Hacienda Bambusa, an eight-room hotel overlooking a working hacienda with 500 acres of cacao, plantains, tangerines and pineapples, now managed by a Relais &amp; Châteaux vet. Long a favorite of in-the-know travelers, it’s an ideal base for visiting local coffee growers, hiking in Valle de Cocora National Park and touring nearby rural villages.

shutterstock_246046873

Where To Stay In 2015

The officer stared at me through the glass window as I tried to explain why I didn’t have a visa. I was unaware that the 90-day visa waiver to Tanzania excluded business travel. It was hot, humid and I was soaked from the rain. The only thing between me and paradise was him.
“Mam, would you please step inside the office.”
I knew exactly what was happening; I had seen this before in a Quentin Tarantino movie. I was being detained.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-2914" src="/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/DSC_0983-300x201.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="201" />
It was only a few hours before that I had boarded a boat from Dar es Salaam to Zanzibar. For four hours I sat on the rocking boat, watched City Lights &#8211; the silent black and white movie with Charlie Chaplin &#8211; spoke to the German businessman next to me and brushed up on my Swahili.
Now I was here, sitting across the table from three officers, wondering if I’ll fly back to South Africa in handcuffs.
I don’t remember how it happened but instead of paying a $300 fine, I got off with a friendly warning and great travel advice.
As soon as I reached Kisiwa House, a bed and breakfast in Stone Town, I dropped my bags and called a tour guide. We weaved through the narrow cobble-stone streets, dodging the children playing and people riding scooters and bicycles. But I couldn’t take my eyes off the doors.
The closer I got to them, the finely chiseled flowers, scales, ropes and chains became clearer. The Arabic style doors, often found with transcriptions, are square at the top while the Indian doors have round tops.
Stone Town, named a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 2000, is rich in history. The Persian Baths, Tippu Tip’s House and House of Wonders are popular tourist attractions. There’s a stone sculpture next to Christ Church, which used to be the center of the slave market. The tour guide said the altar inside the church used to be a whipping post to test the slaves’ strength.
After a long day of sightseeing, the tour ended at the waterfront. I picked a spot close to the sea and watched children flip, roll, tumble and dive into the water. In the distance, the fishermen sailed to shore to set up for the evening Forodhani market.
The rain didn’t keep anyone from coming to indulge in the local cuisine which included piles of lobster, fish, octopus and calamari. The food is cooked over a fire and eaten with coconut bread.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-2913" src="/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/DSC_1451-201x300.jpg" alt="" width="201" height="300" />
I had an interesting conversation with a fisherman about life at sea. He was part of a team of 10 who worked day and night shifts, so they always had fish. Although he enjoyed his easy life, he longed to experience life outside Zanzibar.
The next morning I was woken by roosters crowing, motorbikes riding and the call to prayer from the Mosques. After breakfast, I set out to Prison Island, a smaller islet off the coast of Zanzibar, by boat. As the waves pounded against the small wooden boat, the two-man crew struggled to steady it. When I looked around and saw only blue I began to understand just how vast and powerful the ocean is. It was thrilling, yet scary.
Then out in the distance I saw the white sandy beach of Prison islet. Although it never housed the incarcerated, its low walls would have made for an easy escape. The island has two main attractions: clear waters for snorkeling and giant tortoise. There were tortoises that were over 150 years old and some weighed up to 200 kilograms.
A few hours later, I was back on the mainland wandering through the stores along Kenyatta Road. While staring at a painting of the Masai, done in the Tanzanian Tingatinga style, I was distracted by a lady yelling at her child.
“Iwe, Musabata!” I smiled. It was a phrase I was all too familiar with, growing up in a Shona-speaking household. It means, “You, don’t touch that.”
I walked over to her, as she scolded her child and struck up a conversation. She left Zimbabwe six years ago hoping to provide a better life for her children. She was a teacher at one of the local schools and hoped to one day return to Zimbabwe.
On my last night on the island, I met some tourists for sundowners at Africa House, a restaurant on the beach with an amazing view of the ocean. Everyone gazed at the sun, in its red, yellow and orange glory, as it dipped beyond the horizon. It was as if they were seeing it for the first time. I sank in my seat and watched a solitary boat sail the vast sea. Perhaps this is what JRR Tolkien saw when he said, “Not all who wander are lost”. Just then Paradise by Coldplay began to play. I smiled, how fitting.

Wander lost  In Zanzibar

In true Japanese hard working fashion, the country has rebuilt rapidly since the earthquake and tsunami of March 2011. The resilience of the people is told in two words: gambaru, to always do one’s best, and gaman, to suffer in silence.
Plan your trip to the Japanese archipelago of 6,852 islands in springtime, during the Sakura cherry blossom festival. It’s part of the Hanami tradition, a celebration of the flowers, that started in the 8th century. The idea is to spend a day picnicking beneath petal showers.
<div id="attachment_2259" style="width: 310px" class="wp-caption alignleft"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-2259" class="size-medium wp-image-2259" src="/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Japan-2-544-300x201.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="201" />Golden Pavillion, Kyoto</div>
Nara, nearly 40 kilometers south of Kyoto, has 30,000 cherry trees. The former capital is home to eight UNESCO World Heritage sites, vying for your attention: from the 16-meter bronze Buddha in Todai-ji temple to the five-story pagoda at Kofukuji Buddhist Temple. Don’t leave until you’ve visited Kasuga-taisha. The vermillion, wooden, Shinto shrine is located in Nara park, where more than 1,200 deer—the sacred messengers of the shrine’s Shinto gods—roam. Three thousand stone and bronze lanterns are illuminated during the Man-toro lantern festival, which is celebrated in early February.
Kyoto should be at the top of your list if you’re looking for a cultural experience. The city is synonymous with Kinkaku-ji; the zen Buddhist temple also known as the Golden Pavilion. The two top stories are covered in gold leaf. The pavilion ‘floats’ on a pond with 10 small islands. Be sure to take a walk around the splendid garden.
A short stroll away, at the Temple of the Dragon at Peace, is the most-celebrated rock garden in Japan. This life-size version of the zen gardens we have in our homes, contains 15 rocks, surrounded by white gravel that is raked daily by monks. While there are many theories about the meaning of the garden, in essence, its intention is to evoke peace.
At sundown, wander the quieter alleyways of the Gion district; you might see a Geisha. Have dinner at one of the many restaurants along the banks of the Kamogawa River, or unwind at a teahouse.
Nearby Osaka is great for a half-day trip, especially if you’re a follower of popular culture. Visit the Dotombori entertainment district, or the southern districts, for a taste of Japan’s nightlife. If it’s electronic goods you’re after Den-Den Town is the place to go. In the Kita area, take a glass tunnel escalator to the top of Umeda Sky Building, with its twin towers. But Osaka’s most popular attraction remains the 16th century Osaka-jo castle with its memorabilia museum.
Hiroshima is a real-life history lesson; there’s no need for a textbook. The city, and all its monuments, are a grave reminder of the atomic bomb dropped by the Americans on August 6, 1945.
If you’re visiting Japan for a week, or longer, buy a discounted Japan rail pass for the Shinkansen bullet train and travel as far as you can. A day trip to Mount Fuji, en route to Tokyo, is well worth it since it’s only 100km south west. The active volcano, which stands at 3,776 meters, hasn’t erupted since 1708. At the foot of the mountain lie five lakes and Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park.
Once you arrive, you’ll agree that Tokyo is everything you’ve heard about it, and so much more. The multiple subway and train lines that intersect and circle the capital are a worthwhile way to get around. Visit Shinjuku station: the busiest transport hub, according to the Guinness World Records.
Nearby, in Harajuku, you’ll find Takeshita Street. This is where the fashion-conscious youth spend their time, wandering between boutique stores, photo booths and fast food outlets. You’re almost guaranteed to see teenagers engaging in cosplay (costume play). They dress as anime characters, something out of a Halloween movie or in modern Victorian dress.
If you’re a shopaholic, Ginza Street will keep you busy for hours on end or, at least, until your credit card is cut. The Gingko tree-lined street is home to designer and department stores. Rest at a corner cafe or find respite in one of the many art galleries and museums along the stretch.
For sushi, like you’ve never tasted, head to Tsukiji fish market—the world’s largest wholesaler. Be prepared to stand in queues outside the best restaurants, many of which have been featured on Japanese reality TV. It was here that I tried sea urchin for the first time; the delicacy is expensive due to its delicate texture.
As dusk draws near, head up the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building. Entrance is free and the panoramic cityscape views, from 200 meters up, are priceless.
While in Japan, I read Haruki Murakami—now my favorite Japanese postmodern author—in the hopes of understanding Japanese way of life. There are some things Murakami won’t tell you, like how to make a peace sign with your index and middle finger, when taking photographs, to gain respect from the Japanese.
&nbsp;
The best place to start: www. japantravelinfo.com

Japan Rising

There was one issue at the Hotel Investment Conference Africa (HICA) that had everyone shaking their heads. The big question was: why isn’t there one visa that can get you across Africa? Its lack is choking business and progress.
If you have ever wondered why travelling in Africa is often so expensive and painful—blame it on rigid government policies.
Even though it makes business sense, the idea of a visa that will get you across many borders is as far away as a single currency in Africa, or Europe for that matter.
They call it the UNIVISA—the passport to an entire region—but not even the SADC region (Southern African Development Community) has managed to get one, the conference in Durban heard.
In 14 years there have been many talks, but no fruit. In that time, North Africa has seen three revolutions, East Africa has forged an economic community and Mozambique has built a gas industry.
The first countries which took up the gauntlet were Botswana, Mozambique, Namibia, Swaziland and Zimbabwe. South Africa—the most powerful country on the continent—has joined in, but hesitancy all round is leaving the industry frustrated.
According to Marthinus van Schalkwyk, South Africa’s Minister of Tourism, the issue is close to being settled with merely a few countries—which he could not disclose—still needing to sign the agreement. He said that 80% of the countries were for it. Fernando Sumbana, Mozambique’s Minister of Tourism agreed.
There is more business travel than ever on the continent, so why is it still so difficult to navigate Africa? It is cheaper and simpler to fly to London than it is to Addis Ababa.
Elize Petersen, Namibian Airways’ Manager of Government and  Protocol Relations, says government process is very slow when it comes to expanding regional routes. Allan Moore, CEO of Board of Airline Representatives (BARSA), says getting politics out of aviation is not easy as government policies are rigid.
When it comes to accommodation it is even worse. Hotels are scarce and expensive. Investing in new ones is often prone to fears over political instability and the high cost of infrastructure.
“Expanding out of South Africa is not easy, it is expensive, but it is not impossible. It is a different environment,” says Graham Wood, Managing Director of Tsogo Sun.
South African economist, Chris Hart, says if Africa was an easy place to invest, people would have done so years ago.
“Political risk in Africa is coming down and rising in the western world. Difficult obstacles are not nearly as bad as uncertain ones,” says Hart.
It is a sign of the times that Lonrho Hotels, which has hotels in Botswana, DRC, Mozambique and Zimbabwe, are also stakeholders in a Kenyan airline.
“Hoteliers are more optimistic than airlines, aviation is not moving fast enough [and] we want to boost regional business travel,” says Ewan Cameron, Lonrho Hotels CEO.
One of the biggest stumbling blocks is likely to be the absence of a UNIVISA. Last year there were reports that a SADC UNIVISA would be established by 2013. Most people at this conference hoped there would not be subsequent reports predicting 2020.

Tag: Travel

FORBES AFRICA SOCIAL MEDIA