<p>Atedo Peterside is one of the most respected bankers in Nigeria.</p>
<p>At 33 he built a billion dollar business and became founder of Stanbic IBTC Bank Plc.</p>
<p>But it has not all been smooth sailing.</p>
<p>Just at the apex of his success, his organisation was hit with a scandal that threatened to not only upend his impeccable reputation but that of the bank he had spent his whole life building.</p>
<p>Catch this exciting episode in an all new season of My Worst Day with Peace Hyde.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.forbesafrica.com/cover-story/2014/06/01/why-entrepreneurs-fail/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">READ MORE: Why Entrepreneurs Fail</a></p>
<p>Watch the full video below.<br />
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W0A3605

My Worst Day With Atedo Peterside, Founder Of Stanbic IBTC

<p><iframe loading="lazy" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/9AKW7s47hvQ" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p>
<p>The private railway station at Capital Park in Pretoria suddenly turns into a scene from a colonial movie, complete with sound effects.</p>
<p>A locomotive noisily chugs into view on the platform, returning from a three-day journey to Cape Town. Liveried staff formally line up to welcome the arriving guests.</p>
<p>“It’s finally here,” says Rohan Vos, the tall elderly gentleman on the platform.</p>
<p>A hiss and a screech and the locomotive, complete with suites, lounges and dining cars, grinds to a halt. The Rovos Rail train has arrived.</p>
<p>A mobile stairway is set up for guests whilst staff collect luggage. Vos waits to greet the alighting passengers.</p>
<p>“Welcome to Pretoria,” he says cheerfully, shaking hands.</p>
<p>Receiving guests has been a tradition for Vos for 29 years, ever since he started Rovos Rail.</p>
<p>“It started off as a hobby I suppose and at the end of the day, I can only be happy pursuing my hobby as an occupation,” Vos tells FORBES AFRICA of his successful – and growing – railway business.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.forbesafrica.com/sometime-in-africa/2014/04/01/2000-train-ticket/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">READ MORE: The $2,000 Train Ticket</a></p>
<p>An hour before the train’s arrival, we meet Vos in the luxury carriage of another one of his locomotives with red and green velvet upholstery, and featuring classical furniture and glossy wood panels.</p>
<p>Rovos Rail offers five-star services onboard, taking discerning passengers to Cape Town, Durban, Victoria Falls and Namibia, from its hub in South Africa’s capital city Pretoria.</p>
<p>A ride on the luxury train can cost between R18,000 ($1,338) and R40,000 ($2,971) depending on the suite-options. Vos’ clients are from all over the world.</p>
<div id="attachment_36725" style="width: 1034px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-36725" class="wp-image-36725 size-large" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Ravos-199-1024x683.jpg" alt="" width="1024" height="683" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Ravos-199-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Ravos-199-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Ravos-199-600x400.jpg 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Ravos-199-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Ravos-199.jpg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /><p id="caption-attachment-36725" class="wp-caption-text">Rohan Vos greets his guests everytime they step off the train. Photo by Motlabana Monnakgotla.</p></div>
<p>“Seventy five percent of our passengers come as a result of our efforts in getting them to South Africa. And that’s a very pleasing thought,” he says, proud of being able to contribute to South Africa’s tourism sector.</p>
<p>“Initially, we were living off tourists already in the country. But after five to seven years of operation, we were creating tourists [for] the country.”</p>
<p>A cross between a luxury hotel and a train tourism service, Vos says it took him a while to get it rolling.</p>
<p>It all started with Vos wanting to save the steam engine locomotives from being phased out and replaced by modern diesel trains. It was a challenge he was willing to take up.</p>
<p>Having been involved in the automotive industry, Vos and his friend at the time would collect old spare parts of trains and refurbish them.</p>
<p>He soon wanted his own locomotives.</p>
<p>He then decided to service the trains and sell tickets for each journey in order for it to become a lucrative business.</p>
<p>But one thing hindered the then 40-something Vos at the time. He had no experience in the railway and locomotive industry, nor in the tourism industry.</p>
<p>Yet, he attempted to sell both the experience of a train journey and inland tours.</p>
<p>He says it took the business five years to break even.</p>

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<p>“I was petrified for at least three of the five years. The first two years were fun, settling down and getting to understand the product. But when we were chucking money every day, it becomes a bit boring especially when you run out of it,” Vos says.</p>
<p>It was a complete nightmare for Vos and his family. Luckily, his wife, Anthea, stood by him and raised their four children whilst he tried to keep the business afloat.</p>
<p>In gratitude, Vos decided to name the different locomotives of Rovos Rail after each of his children – Brenda, Bianca, Tiffany and Shaun.</p>
<p>“By then, I had sold my house, my cars and boats and planes…I had sold everything I could possibly sell to rake in cash,” he says.</p>
<p>Despite the losses and lack of sleep, Vos endured. He was determined to make it work.</p>
<blockquote><p>“I had been my own boss since the age of 20, so to suddenly face the idea of failure was just not acceptable,” Vos said.</p></blockquote>
<p>It was this tenacity that helped despite the naysayers around him. He didn’t care for them.</p>
<p>“I didn’t think we could compete at all but I was quite happy with that thought because I thought our product is so different to everybody else’s and that we have a niche and we must just polish that niche,” Vos says.</p>
<p>In 1996, the business began to pick up slowly and thereafter, started to attract more customers through word-of-mouth.</p>
<p>Today, Rovos Rail employs 415 staff, up from the 70 he started with. The company now runs six trains at a time; something Vos is proud of.</p>
<p>Next year, Vos and his team celebrate Rovos’ 30th anniversary.</p>
<p>“If you had asked me then did I think if we would be where we are today, I would have laughed, I would have not thought it was possible,” he says now.</p>
<p>Vos is the type of leader who involves himself in every aspect of the business, be it doubling up as an accountant, or even playing electrician and tour guide. His staff attest to it.</p>
<p>With Vos busy in preparations for the train to arrive, Rovos Rail’s sales manager Ian Morrison had taken us for a tour around the facility and the yard.</p>
<p>The teams keep the rolling stock in order, spray-painting the trains’ royal green exteriors, sawing wood for the interiors and also packing food parcels for the next trip.</p>
<p>Everything for the train is created or recycled at the Rovos workshop.</p>
<p>“Vos has been incredible in [creating] luxury in such a small space,” says Morrison, who has been with the company for the last five years.</p>
<p>“Rovos Rail is a first world business in a third world country.”</p>
<div id="attachment_36730" style="width: 210px" class="wp-caption alignright"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-36730" class="size-medium wp-image-36730" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Ravos-082-200x300.jpg" alt="" width="200" height="300" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Ravos-082-200x300.jpg 200w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Ravos-082-300x450.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Ravos-082-600x900.jpg 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Ravos-082-768x1151.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Ravos-082-683x1024.jpg 683w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Ravos-082.jpg 1366w" sizes="(max-width: 200px) 100vw, 200px" /><p id="caption-attachment-36730" class="wp-caption-text">Gert Van Vuuren at the Rovos museum says steam locomotives have been his passion all his life. Photo by Motlabana Monnakgotla.</p></div>
<p>Morrison takes us to a museum where one of Rovos Rail’s first drivers is now turning his love for locomotives into a hobby. The museum has inside it miniature trains, tracks and stations, evoking the romance and nostalgia of a bygone era.</p>
<p>In 1998, Gert Van Vuuren started his journey as the driver of a steam train.</p>
<p>“My whole life, I have enjoyed steam locomotives. It’s my passion,” he tells us.</p>
<p>Five years ago, he became a pensioner.</p>
<p>“Mr Vos asked me to come back and build this museum for him from scratch, so now I’m back on track,” he says smiling.</p>
<div id="attachment_36729" style="width: 1034px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-36729" class="wp-image-36729 size-large" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Ravos-091-1024x683.jpg" alt="" width="1024" height="683" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Ravos-091-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Ravos-091-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Ravos-091-600x400.jpg 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Ravos-091-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Ravos-091.jpg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /><p id="caption-attachment-36729" class="wp-caption-text">A miniature version of the Rovos Rail built by Gert Van Vurren. Photo by Motlabana Monnakgotla.</p></div>
<p>Vuuren is one of the many who has seen the business grow to where it is today. In his office are old photos of him, in the driver’s seat of a steam train. He holds these memories very close.</p>
<p>As for Vos, at the age of 72, he still has enough energy to keep the business going. He plans to expand the routes into Kenya, Nigeria and Malawi.</p>
<p>“Wherever there’s a railway line, I am now attracted and I think [the] railways are beginning to gain traction again in Africa,” says Vos, signing off.</p>
<p>His train chugs out of the station, whistling and fading away into the horizon and the sunset to yet another dreamy journey and destination.</p>


Ravos-135

The Man Who Founded One Of Africa’s Luxurious Trains

<p>Forbes Woman Africa’s Godfrey Mutizwa chats with Naledi Pandor, South Africa’s Minister of Higher Education and Training to discuss her plans for youth and enterprise development as to create jobs and get South Africa thriving.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.forbesafrica.com/woman/2018/06/17/the-future-in-her-hands/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">READ MORE: The Future In Her Hands</a></p>


Naledi-233

One on One With Naledi Pandor SA Minister of Higher Education

<p>The 2018 FORBES AFRICA Under 30 is our authentic and most definitive list of Africa’s most promising young change-makers. This year is our fourth edition of the list and for the first time, inspired by the growing number of young men and women entrepreneurs, we have expanded it to bring you 30 game-changers, all under the age of 30, in each the three sectors – business, technology and creative. The 90 in total are challenging conventions and rewriting the rules for the next generation of entrepreneurs, creatives and tech gurus.</p>
<p>We put in months of rigorous research, sifting through over 600 nominations, vetting them for weeks, verifying and investigating them. We favored entrepreneurs with fresh ideas and took into account their business size, revenue, location, potential, struggles, social impact and resilience. A panel of judges then debated the final 90. You may not know many of their names now and they may not be richest people in Africa, but they could be the billionaires of tomorrow gracing our future covers. This compilation is exciting, inspiring and offers a sneak peek into Africa’s future. Meet the class of 2018. The list is in no particular order.</p>
<ol>
<li><a href="https://www.forbesafrica.com/30-under-30/2018/06/04/under-30-business/">Under 30 Business</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.forbesafrica.com/30-under-30/2018/06/04/under-30-technology/">Under 3o Technology</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.forbesafrica.com/30-under-30/2018/06/04/under-30-creatives/">Under 30 Creatives</a></li>
</ol>


GROUP1

Under 30 2018

<p>The 33rd edition of the South African fashion week kicked off with a bang this year. Celebrating fashion from the spring and summer collection, we had a look at what some of our local designers brought this year. Forbes Africa’s Karen Mwendera filed this report.</p>


DSC_0617

Glitz And Glam At The South African Fashion Week

<p>Technology has made everything we do each day easier. We can navigate our way to a meeting, host a video chat with a client in Dubai, and check work emails from the golf course.</p>
<p>But all of this instant access has a price. As workers struggle to adapt to a workplace teeming with smartphones and tablets, it’s easy to make mistakes that can not only annoy co-workers, but damage reputations and destroy careers. If you find you’re focusing on your devices more than the people around you, you may be breaking the rules of technology etiquette. Here are a few guidelines for using technology in the office.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<ol>
<li>
<h5>Don’t check email mid-conversation</h5>
</li>
</ol>
<p>Don’t allow your attention to drift to your computer screen or your smartphone while in a conversation with someone. When you ignore the colleague in front of you to check your buzzing cell, you’re actually sending the message that something else is more important than the conversation at hand. You’re also making it clear that you don’t value your co-worker’s time, which may soon result in that person seeking conversations with someone else.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<ol start="2">
<li>
<h5>Don’t wear headphones in communal areas</h5>
</li>
</ol>
<p>For some employees, headphones are a great way to tune out distractions to focus on the task at hand. But when you step away from your desk to use the restroom or drop off something in the mail room, leave the headphones at your desk. This is also true of Bluetooth headset. Nothing annoys co-workers more than trying to decipher whether you’re on a phone call or not every time they see you.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<ol start="3">
<li>
<h5>Lose the speakerphone</h5>
</li>
</ol>
<p>A Bluetooth headset is far more preferable to speakerphone. Speakerphones are for conference calls involving multiple people in a room with a closed door. Speakerphones are not for one-on-one calls held in a cubicle because you can’t be bothered to hold the handset to your ear. Believe it or not, other people in your office have work to do, as well. One other thing to keep in mind: your clients and vendors may not be so happy with being broadcast through your building.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<ol start="4">
<li>
<h5>Pay attention during meetings</h5>
</li>
</ol>
<p>Yes, your BlackBerry’s buzzing. Yes, it could be important. But if you think no one in the room is noticing you’re spending entire meetings on your phone, you’re wrong. If you must be reachable at all times, give your phone only cursory glances when you’re in a meeting, saving your responses until later. It’s important your co-workers feel you’re part of the team, which includes being an active participant in every meeting you attend.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<ol start="5">
<li>
<h5>Silence your cell phone</h5>
</li>
</ol>
<p>These days, movie theater audiences can’t get through the previews without at least one reminder to put all cell phones on silent. The same rule should apply to any business meeting. If your work-related cell phone must stay on vibrate, be sure it’s on the lowest setting and keep it holstered. Buzzing cell phones can be just as distracting as</p>
<p>ringers. In fact, as a courtesy to co-workers, you should leave your cell phone on silent at all times while you’re in an office setting. Nobody wants to hear your ringtone 700 times a day.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<ol start="6">
<li>
<h5>Use your inside voice</h5>
</li>
</ol>
<p>For some reason, people feel the need to speak more loudly when they’re conversing on a cell phone, especially if the connection isn’t as strong as it should be. The person at the other end of the line can hear you clearly if you speak in a normal tone of voice and those in the office around you will thank you for your courtesy.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<ol start="7">
<li>
<h5>Be sparing with “Urgent” emails</h5>
</li>
</ol>
<p>If you mark everything as “urgent,” eventually nobody will pay attention to anything you send. Before upping the importance of an email, ask yourself if the person at the other end will see the message as a high priority. Also, make sure each message’s subject line clearly states the purpose of the message inside to prevent messages being accidentally discarded as irrelevant.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<ol start="8">
<li>
<h5>Be sparing with CCs</h5>
</li>
</ol>
<p>Before copying everyone from the cleaning person to the CEO on an e-mail, consider whether the information is relevant. While there are some issues certain key parties need to know about, if you involve the higher-ups in everything, you may be perceived as someone who is unable to make decisions without assistance. Workers should also use caution when CC-ing co-workers’ supervisors on emails. When done a certain way, this can have a tattletale-like impact that rubs those co-workers the wrong way.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<ol start="9">
<li>
<h5>Avoid text shorthand</h5>
</li>
</ol>
<p>While it might be okay to send a message to a buddy or spouse with text shorthand, avoid such behavior at work. Even if you’re instant messaging or texting a business associate, use proper grammar and complete, well-punctuated sentences. “U busy” doesn’t look as professional as, “Are you busy?”</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<ol start="10">
<li>
<h5>Keep emails professional</h5>
</li>
</ol>
<p>Email is not the place to share office gossip. As a general rule, never put anything in email you wouldn’t say to someone directly. In many cases, once someone hits “send” on an email, there’s no way to get that email back. An email can easily be forwarded or misdirected, inadvertently ending up in the inbox of the very person who is the topic of conversation. If that happens, be prepared for years of awkward staff meetings and company parties.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<ol start="11">
<li>
<h5>Look up</h5>
</li>
</ol>
<p>Sure, constantly staring at your phone can make you look like you’re a busy, important person, but if you’re staring down at the device in your hand while you’re navigating through the office, running headlong into something or someone is the least of your worries. Hallways and elevators provide the perfect opportunity to strike up a conversation with someone, possibly making a connection that can help your career.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<ol start="12">
<li>
<h5>Stay away from co-workers on social media</h5>
</li>
</ol>
<p>If at all possible, set your social media profiles to private and avoid befriending colleagues on your personal social networking sites. You may want to set up a professional site on Facebook and Twitter to accommodate your networking needs. If you must add co-workers, be sure to avoid posting anything you wouldn’t want your boss to know about. Even a private social media page won’t be private for long if co-workers decide to show your boss what they’ve found.</p>
<p>Technology has come a long way since the first books on etiquette were published. One thing hasn’t changed, though. Etiquette is simply being considerate of those around you and treating others the way you would want to be treated. By doing that, you can continue to move forward in your career while using the best tools available today.</p>


Tag: Video

FORBES AFRICA SOCIAL MEDIA

My Worst Day With Atedo Peterside, Founder Of Stanbic IBTC

The Man Who Founded One Of Africa’s Luxurious Trains

One on One With Naledi Pandor SA Minister of Higher Education

Under 30 2018

Glitz And Glam At The South African Fashion Week

Cubicle etiquette: 12 Ways Technology Can Hurt Your Career