What is the one formula this business leader thinks is critical to transforming companies and society?



Mteto Nyati was born from humble beginnings in Umtata, a poor town in the Eastern Cape, a province of South Africa, during the height of apartheid, but he refused to allow his circumstances to define him.



By remaining true to himself from an early age, embracing who he is, a term he describes as personal mastering, focusing on the things he can change and sticking to his core values of family, fairness, excellence and integrity, his career has rapidly progressed.



The mechanical engineer has held various leadership positions at the South African operations of multinational companies, such as IBM and Microsoft where he has fine-tuned and refined his leadership style to become a master strategist, developing a reputation as a turnaround specialist and ethical leader.



From Microsoft, Nyati joined pan-African telecommunications network provider MTN and in 2017, South African-listed Allied Electronics Corporation Limited (Altron), where he is currently CEO.



The highly self-aware and introverted businessman has transformed Altron into a serious contender in the technology space globally with plans to expand into the Netherlands, Malaysia and India.



In less than three years, he has more than doubled Altron’s valuation taking it to just over $642 million.&nbsp;



His success has not gone unnoticed. In 2019, he won the Business Leader of the Year award at the CNBC Africa All Africa Business Leaders Awards (AABLAs) and the IPM CEO Special Award from the Institute of People Management.



Dressed simply but elegantly, in a navy blue blazer and light-blue shirt, the author of the number one best-seller, Betting On a Darkie, with candor shares his secrets of success with FORBES AFRICA.



With acuity, the story-teller says his success lies firstly in his team.&nbsp;



“It is really not about one individual, it is about building a capable team of people.”



&nbsp;To do this, you need to find the best people, surround yourself with them, and not be afraid to hire those that are even stronger than you in different areas, he adds.



Nyati asserts it is something he has done in almost all his jobs.



Secondly, he attributes his accomplishments to strategy.



“You always need to know where the company is going, your strategy is critical,” he remarks.



“But you need to design the strategy with others and give it time.



“I take at least three months.”



Why? Because it takes time to engage with various stakeholders, from customers to employees.



The inclusiveness of that process is also very important, says Nyati, as is “making sure that not one stakeholder but various stakeholders including your customers” are part of your strategy formation process so that the strategy you come up with is relevant for the company and talking to what your customers are looking for.



In developing his strategy, Nyati talks to employees and gets them to ask some tough questions like ‘where are we failing, where are we missing opportunities’?



The erudite CEO feels speaking to employees is crucial as they know why customers are frustrated.



“If you don’t ask and find out from them, you won’t be able to pick up that information,” asserts Nyati.



It is also critical, he adds, as “then the strategy that you come up with becomes a strategy that the employees can relate to because in reality, it is a strategy that was formed by them.



“When you go and present and say ‘these are the areas of focus, we need to concentrate on this, we need to fix this and fix that’, the things that you are talking about are the things they told you need fixing so they will embrace the strategy quickly.”



This formula, however, was not something Nyati followed throughout his career.&nbsp;



“It is something that grows. You learn, you try this, you try that and you read about how other people are doing things so over time, I have come up with some kind of formula but it is not how I used to do things 20 years ago, it is something that has been built over a period of time,” he reveals.



Asked if it was something he finessed at Altron, Nyati responds, “no, not at Altron, not at all. I would say that it would be at Microsoft”, which at the time was dealing with multiple challenges from staff to customer retention.



“The practices that I am talking about I used at Microsoft, the same way that I did it at MTN to try and address the challenges. I did not change anything when I came to Altron but I started putting together this formula at Microsoft,” he says pensively.&nbsp;



Having taken firm control of the steering wheel at Altron, Nyati wants to help the company that operates in seven African countries, and a few outside of the continent, become more global so that it gets a significant amount of its revenue and profits outside of South Africa.



He also wants Altron to become a paragon of an inclusive society.



Reflecting on this, Nyati says he wants to “demonstrate that you can have an entity where regardless of who you are – black, white, Indian or colored – we can have these people working together towards a common goal and being able to do great things. We need to show our country there is value in diversity, there is so much value in embracing everybody and that is what I am trying to do in Altron and I am amazed at how the people of Altron have embraced that strategy themselves and they are pushing and helping us do great things.”



More broadly, he would like to awaken the giant within society, something he has already started at Altron.



“We have got so much as individuals we can offer but we are playing way below our potential as human beings,” elucidates Nyati.



That is something this meliorist would like to change.



If he can lift that game and help individuals see their own potential and act on that potential, regardless of their background, Nyati says he would have achieved his mission in life. Ponder that. 



&#8211;Monique Vanek

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The Master Strategist: How Mteto Nyati Developed A Reputation As A Turnaround Specialist And Ethical Leader

banks

The Big Bank Theory: South Africa’s Banks Of The Future

It’s a gloomy Monday afternoon in the leafy Johannesburg
suburb of Greenside, South Africa, but inside the photo studio where we are,
the mood is festive as Madagascar-born Ylias Akbaraly transforms himself from a
humble, down-to-earth entrepreneur in modest casual wear into a stately
capitalist wearing a nifty-grey Italian designer suit, dark tie and light-blue
shirt. 



Madagascar’s wealthy businessman, who estimates his worth at
just over a billion dollars, has come to share his story of how in under 30
years, he turned a small family business with a turnover of almost $34,000 and
employing 20 people, to an empire with revenue expected to exceed $265 million
in 2019 and employing 3,000 staff.



The multinational conglomerate that he created through
discipline, hard work and seizing opportunities, now has tentacles beyond his
island state extending to Mali, Ghana, Mauritius, France and soon the United
States (US) and Canada, to name a few.&nbsp; 



A phone-call to his parents was all it took for the silver
fox to embark on this transformative journey. 



The ebullient 59-year-old describes the moment: “It was a
very special situation. I was doing very well in the US, I was living in
California – can you imagine, beautiful state, beautiful weather, good friends.
I could work there. I had some opportunities to work at the Bank of America at
that time, so I called my parents and said I am going to stay in the US, it is
better.” 



His parents were saddened by his decision, they asked him to
return and join the business.



In 1992, he did.



“I decided to come back and be with the family and thank God
I decided to come back. I don’t regret it, I am very happy, and they were very
happy,” the man who calls himself a spiritual person tells FORBES AFRICA. 



On his return, Akbaraly worked for Sipromad, a small retail
business focused on detergents that his father, Sermamod, the son of Indian
immigrants, established in Madagascar’s capital, Antananarivo, in 1972 after a
stint selling shoes, shirts and ties.



Warmly, Akbaraly says: “I came back, I saw a very small
business, but my parents were happy, they had a very peaceful life, and things
at home were very nice and joyful.



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">“I worked with my father, I assisted him, I wanted to change things but I was facing a generational conflict in business. But my father is very intelligent so step-by-step he let me change things.” </blockquote>



Full of fresh ideas from his time spent working and studying
in both France and the US, Akbaraly began to give his personal touch to
Sipromad. He created a team, and hired new people and professionals. 



The company started doing a lot of research; it went to see
some local suppliers who asked Sipromad to change the packaging, pricing and
color of its products, which it did. It extended its product lines. 



For example, instead of offering its products in big boxes,
it offered them in medium and small, so that it could target different
consumers, says the man known as one of Madagascar’s wealthiest.&nbsp; 



“At the same time we had our ear to the ground, we went to
see retailers and our customers to find out what they wanted, as the buyer is
king,” Akbaraly adds. 



From this exercise an important lesson was learned. 



“You have to adapt your product to the market, this is the
base of an entrepreneur, to adapt his way of doing things.” 



Through these changes, the business started growing its
market share and diversifying. It now operates in several sectors including
broadcasting, agribusiness, real estate, technology, finance, renewable energy,
tourism, aviation and industry. 



Akbaraly, a staunch believer in ‘free leadership’, becomes
animated when he explains how Sipromad was able to see opportunities in these
sectors.



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">“It is a question of opportunities, it is a question of courage, I believe a lot in teamwork because with my colleagues, we talk, we debate, we change, we decide together.” </blockquote>



“I believe that business is a creation,” he adds. To explain
his point, he draws an analogy to an artist with his palette, who mixes his paint
as he sees the potential beauty it can create. 



Like the artist who mixes his colors, business is a creation
of the opportunities you take, reckons Akbaraly. 



“This is why understanding the market, understanding what is going to happen in five years, is important so that you can take decisions when you have opportunities in front of you, we are very proactive, very fast in taking decisions and we are not scared, we are not afraid because we work very hard,” Akbaraly says. 



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">The rationale for diversification&nbsp; </h4>



What is striking about the clusters Sipromad operates in is
that they are vastly different. 



Akbaraly claims the rationale for this is that it comes down
to the businessperson you are: “There are two types of businessmen. Some prefer
to stay in the same sector, to invest in the same sector and develop in the
same sector, to integrate. Our strategy was diversification. We thought about
it and the outcome of our discussions and debates was to diversify the business
as it protects you if you are facing problems in one sector.”



The architect of this multi-sector business also suggests
the market demanded it: “Today, when we see how we became big and how we became
so strong in business, it is because we diversified our business for different
markets. 



“Now things are changing because of this diversification, now we can synergize because sometimes our customers are interested in detergents, tobacco, soap, so we can synergize and propose many products to one customer because of our diversification. This is a big advantage because one customer is able to buy products from different sectors of our company.”



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Reinvesting profits</h4>



The growth was funded by reinvesting a 100% of the company’s
profits back into the family empire, explains the mogul with an international
outlook. 



“When you don’t distribute your profit it means your profit becomes a strength for your company… when you show the bankers that your money is reinvesting and you don’t distribute your dividends and you tell them, ‘ok we have this type of investment, we can bring 30%, we can raise 70% from you’, it gives our financial partners very big security and they follow us. this is how we raised money to reinvest, diversify and buy equipment, buy raw materials and increase our business.”



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">‘Reputation very important’</h4>



But it wasn’t just Sipromad’s shrewdness in capital raising
that allowed it to expand but its reputation.



Candidly, Akbaraly says: “We are very careful about our
management. Reputation is very important, because of our serious work, our engagement,
our products, our customers, our suppliers, we created a name and when you do
that, you create your brand, and because of that, when foreigners come to
invest in Madagascar, they come to Sipromad. 



Those that have partnered with the company include Orange
Money in mobile banking, Italy’s Tozzi Green in hydropower, Brink’s for the
transport of money, and Apple, to name a few.



Last year, the global company did a joint venture with one of Morocco’s largest banks, Banque Centrale Populaire, to buy Mauritius-based Banque des Mascareignes and its subsidiary Banque des Mascareignes – Madagascar.



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Analogue to digital</h4>



Akbaraly says the company’s reputation led to its
partnership with Rohde &amp; Schwarz based in Munich, Germany, and its purchase
of Thomson Broadcast. These deals catapulted it to another level.



Akbaraly, with fervor, explains further: “As we have a very
strong IT department, we set up Broadcasting Media Solutions (BMS), which
specializes in broadcast, because of our reputation, we were approached by
electronics group Rohde &amp; Schwarz.&nbsp; 



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">“They came to us and told us ‘we know you have a very serious business, you have a very good maintenance team, do you want to work with us in Madagascar to sell our products in broadcast and maintain them?’ Of course we did!”</blockquote>



From Madagascar, Sipromad partnered with Rohde &amp; Schwarz
in Mauritius and Morocco and subcontracted for the electronics group after it
won a tender in Zimbabwe and Ghana.



In the process, Sipromad became a player in the broadcasting
space. In 2018, BMS bid for a contract in Mali for the deployment of a
nationwide, end-to-end digital terrestrial television (DTT) turnkey roll out,
it lost to France’s Thomson Broadcast. Refusing to give up, Akbaraly discovered
Thomson had financial problems and decided to buy it.



Thomson not only allowed Sipromad to expand into Mali but
transformed it to a truly global business with operations in France, Israel,
Cape Verde, Bangladesh, India, Russia and the United Arab Emirates.



Akbaraly says it is looking to expand to Pennsylvania in the
US, to Canada, Angola, Sierra Leone and South Africa. In Africa, it plans to
migrate countries from analogue to digital broadcasting.



The visionary says Sipromad’s dream is for a pan-African
company to become a leader in broadcast.



But Madagascar will always remain his core. Full of love for his homeland, he speaks highly of it: “It is my center of energy, we call it plasma, I am here because of Madagascar, it was the source, the beginning, the start and my grandfather taught me, my mother’s father [who said] ‘don’t forget Madagascar because you have been protected by the flag of Madagascar, Madagascar was your protector, do the best, develop your business all around the world’, but the source, the energy, the key, the chi is Madagascar.”



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Balanced life</h4>



The father of four believes his success comes from living a
balanced life, surrounding himself with the right people, being spiritual and
positive. 



“If you want to be successful in life, you have to create
positive energy, how you create it is according to your behavior, according to
what you do, how you behave with others.” He reckons the energy was passed on
from his family through education, their good attitude and transparency.



The martial arts veteran follows a very strict routine. It’s
the reason he has been called the monk of business. 



“My life is very well-organized, because I wake up in the morning between 4AM and 4.30AM and pray; spirituality first, then meditation, yoga, and take some water, fruit and then I go for my sports, usually I start at 6 o’ clock, for a minimum of one hour a day and then I go to the office.



&nbsp;“When you’re at a certain level of business, you have to be very well-organized, you cannot afford to go outside in the night to clubs, to sleep late. This is not possible, otherwise in the morning, you cannot wake up early, your day starts badly… that is why one day, one of my very close uncles told me ‘your life is like a Buddhist life, it is like a monk’. I think at a certain level you need to have this type of life. I don’t drink alcohol, I don’t smoke, and I don’t eat meat.”



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Philanthropy, education and inclusion</h4>



It is Akbaraly’s deep spirituality, love for his country and
sense of justice that led him to use his wealth for the greater good of
humanity. In 2008, he and his Italian wife, Cinzia, who shares and developed
his spirituality, founded the Akbaraly Foundation.



The idea was conceptualized while Cinzia was in hospital for
cancer. She wanted to do something for Madagascan women because they are the
foundation of life, the center of energy, the plasma of the world, says
Akbaraly. 



In Madagascar, they set up prevention centers to assist
women with breast and gynaecological cancer.



The country is among the poorest in the world, it saddens
the philanthropist when he reflects on it: 



“We are not happy because when you see people you know that
are not in a good situation, they don’t have shoes, they don’t have enough
food… you need justice, life needs to be fair. My dream, and I hope it will
materialize, is to fight against poverty, to give a better life to our
population so that they can go to school and have hospitals.” 



It is for this reason that the foundation’s aim is to fight
against extreme poverty. Its projects extend to health, education and
sustainable development.



“Right now, we are in discussions in the US with MIT
[Massachusetts Institute of Technology]. We would like to sign an agreement
between MIT and Thomson, and one university of IT in Madagascar, to offer our
young generation of Madagascans IT and maybe send them abroad,” says Akbaraly,
who is a firm believer in the power of education.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 



In countries where Sipromad operates, it prioritizes
corporate social investment. In Mali, for example, together with the
government, it is investing in radio to transfer education to parts of Mali,
Akbaraly says.



The foundation also makes contributions. In Rwanda, for
example, it is contributing $100,000 to the launch of new hospitals, says the
businessman. 



His sense of justice doesn’t just extend to the foundation’s
projects but also to his own organization. 



Women and men are paid equally for the same work. More and
more women are being placed in executive positions because they are very good,
Akbaraly says.



His fight against poverty lives out in the projects his
company chooses to focus on. 



“That is why we are investing a lot in the industry sector;
we just built the [Orange Telecommunication] Tower,” a 33-storey headquarter building,
the tallest in the world’s fourth largest island, and known as the “pride of
the nation”. 



“We are doing so many investments, we hire people, we give them jobs. We are, right now, in another project for real estate, what we can do is to invest, to hire people, to fight against unemployment, to give them a chance to buy things, to go to the restaurant, to have good food and at the same time with the profit to share in the project of CSI, this is the positive energy, this is the karma, this is important in life because in life you have to be fair, you cannot accept that some people are in this situation while others are in a better situation,” Akbaraly reflects. Throughout his career, he has received accolades. The one he is most proud of is the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman from India in 2009. 



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Succession planning </h4>



Akbaraly is under no illusion he will hold on to power forever. He is hard at work preparing the next generation to take over Sipromad, because in a few years’ time, he wants to do something else, he tells FORBES AFRICA. “I want to do more for others. Really to share with others,” the monk of business says with a smile.



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Additional inputs:</h4>



Akbaraly and Philippe Douste-Blazy, the Under-Secretary-General, Special Adviser on Innovative Financing for Development in the United Nations, have forged a friendship over the years. “Ylias is a self-made millionaire who started from humble beginnings,” Douste-Blazy says. “We’ve had many interesting conversations about geopolitics and other trends around the world.”



Douste-Blazy talks about Akbaraly’s humility and how he lets
his work speak for itself. “He is very discreet. When you see him walk down the
street, he is not loud about his wealth. He walks freely without guards or
expensive cars.” 



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="688" height="434" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Phillipe.png" alt="" class="wp-image-39419" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Phillipe.png 688w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Phillipe-300x189.png 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Phillipe-600x378.png 600w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 688px) 100vw, 688px" /><figcaption> Philippe Douste-Blazy, the Under-Secretary-General, Special Adviser on Innovative Financing for Development in the United Nations. Picture:Supplied</figcaption></figure>



Douste-Blazy expends that Akbaraly’s business strategies
have captured the attention of many.&nbsp;
“Akbaraly is respected in France, his acquisition of Thomson [Broadcast]
was very important&#8230;.The assets that he has acquired show him to be a smart
businessman.”



<hr class="wp-block-separator"/>



 “I have much respect for my friend and peer Ylias Akbaraly. He is the textbook definition of a visionary entrepreneur. The transformation of his group of companies was single-handedly spearheaded by him. 



 “From their international expansion to endeavors in tourism, manufacturing, energy, real estate, they were all strategically invested by him. There’s much to take note of in this story. 



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="684" height="1024" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/use-684x1024.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-37430" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/use-684x1024.jpg 684w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/use-300x449.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/use-600x899.jpg 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/use-200x300.jpg 200w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/use-768x1151.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/use.jpg 1367w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 684px) 100vw, 684px" /><figcaption>Mohammed Dewji, CEO, MeTL and Africa&#8217;s youngest billionair as per FORBES.</figcaption></figure>



“What many may not know is in addition to his many accolades, I must say his piety seeps through all his endeavors, both professionally and personally. His strong faith has propelled him to be even more grounded and thus become the successful businessman he is today.” &#8211; Mohammed Dewji, CEO, MeTL Group, and Africa&#8217;s youngest billionaire



-With inputs from Unathi Shologu

ylias-2

The Monk Of Business: Ylias Akbaraly Talks About Secret To Success And Plans To Take Africa With Him

Treasury sets out plans to render on to Caesar what belongs
to Caesar. 



<hr class="wp-block-separator"/>



 Revenue collection remains a bugbear for government due to weak economic growth and tax administration concerns, which were self-inflicted, South Africa’s Finance Minister Tito Mboweni told journalist in a Budget press conference. 



The revised tax revenue estimate for 2018/19 is R15.4 billion lower than anticipated by the 2018 Medium Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS) estimate. Thus the projected revenue shortfall of R27.4 billion is now R42.8 billion compared with the 2018 Budget estimate. 



This sombre news was revealed by Mboweni in his maiden Budget on Wednesday. To address this shortfall, tax changes designed to raise R15 billion in additional tax revenue in 2019/20 have been introduced.



These among others include:



<ul class="wp-block-list"><li>Increasing the tax-free threshold for personal income taxes from
R78 150 to R79 000. No changes will be made to personal income tax
brackets.&nbsp; </li><li>Increasing the fuel levy by 29c/litre, consisting of a 15c/litre
increase in the general fuel levy, a 5c/litre increase in the Road Accident
Fund (RAF) levy and the introduction of a carbon tax on fuel of 9c/litre.&nbsp; </li><li>Increasing excise duties on alcohol and tobacco products by between
7.4 per cent and 9 per cent. The targeted excise tax burden for wine, beer and
spirits is 11 per cent, 23 per cent and 36 per cent respectively.</li><li>No change in the monthly medical tax credit for medical scheme
contributions.</li><li>Increase in health promotion levy from 1 April from 2.1c to 2.21c
per gram in excess of 4 grams of sugar per 100ml. </li><li>Limiting the RAF levy diesel refund for primary production
industries to ensure that diesel users in these sectors equitably contribute
towards their RAF indemnity.</li><li>The implementation of carbon tax on 1 June 2019. </li><li>Government proposes to align the tax treatment on ad valorem
excise duty on motor vehicles Because of the way ad valorem excise duty is
calculated, vehicles produced locally are taxed at a higher rate than imported
vehicles. </li><li>Government intends to publish draft legislation for public comment
during 2019 on a gambling tax. </li><li>Urban development zone tax incentive to be reviewed. </li><li>South Africa reviewing its oil and gas tax regimes in 2019. </li><li>Taxing electronic cigarettes and tobacco heating products. </li><li>Definition of fuel levy goods for tax purposes to be reviewed may
include mineral ethanol, illuminating paraffin, aviation kerosene, liquefied
petroleum gas, compressed natural gas – as well as biofuels such as bioethanol
and biogas</li><li>Tax on “single-use” plastics including straws, caps, beverage cups
and lids, and containers to curb their use and encourage recycling will be
considered. </li></ul>



Although few, government has also introduced a number of tax incentives. These include: 



<ul class="wp-block-list"><li>From 1 March 2019, employers participating in the Employment tax
incentive will be able to claim the maximum value of R1 000 per month for
employees earning up to R4 500 monthly, up from R4 000 previously. The
incentive value will taper to zero at the maximum monthly income of R6
500.&nbsp; </li><li>From 1 April 2019, the list of items for zero-rating for VAT will
include white bread flour, cake flour and sanitary pads.&nbsp; </li><li>Energy-efficiency savings tax incentive to be extended to 31
December 2022. During 2019, government will review the design and
administration of the incentive to improve its ease of use, effectiveness and
economic impact.&nbsp; </li></ul>



Treasury has also recognised that to render on to Caesar, what belongs to Caesar it needs to restore the efficiency of SARS. To do this it plans to:



<ul class="wp-block-list"><li>Appoint a new SARS Commissioner in the coming
weeks.</li><li>It has established a new Illicit Economy Unit to
fight trade in the illicit economy.&nbsp; </li><li>Officially launch the Large business Unit in
early April 2019.&nbsp; </li><li>Strengthen SARS IT team &amp; systems. </li><li>Establish information sharing agreements with
allies to help fight cross-border tax evasion schemes.</li><li>Set up an inspector-general for tax administration.</li><li>Through internal processes, SARS will implement recommendations
concerning inappropriate actions, fruitless and wasteful expenditure, unfair
labour practices and maladministration.&nbsp; </li><li>SARS will review contracts that breached public procurement
regulations and will act to recover funds spent.&nbsp; </li><li>SARS is normalising refund payments. </li></ul>

ED_0077667

#Budget2019 | South African government not taking on #Eskom’s debt

Canadian John Sleeman shares his entrepreneurial lessons with Africa.



<hr class="wp-block-separator"/>



cis not your typical textbook entrepreneur. His belief in what it takes to be an entrepreneur is so controversial that his advice is no longer welcome in MBA classes. The white-haired charismatic brewer, who re-established his family’s brewing business in 1988 as one of the most successful in Canada, offers sage advice to African entrepreneurs, although he has no plans to expand in Africa – yet.



Nonchalantly, in his automated beer manufacturing plant in
Guelph, Canada, surrounded by people enjoying his craft beer, Sleeman says he
believes entrepreneurs are born, not made. He argues that unless you are
prepared to go bankrupt, work over 80 hours a week, lose your friends, face the
prospect of divorce, put your house on mortgage and miss meeting friends for drinks
on Fridays, then entrepreneurship is not for you. 



He should know. This is the toll he took to restart his
family business. It had lost its licence and was banned from the market for 50
years in 1933. This was for smuggling beer during the roaring 1920s by
brokering deals with bootleggers and gangsters like Al Capone when prohibition
set in in Canada. 



Passionately, the beer baron, who plans to open a
micro-distillery later this year, and is considering expanding his business in
either the eastern or western parts of Canada, tells FORBES AFRICA: “If you
want to be an entrepreneur, be very focused on what you want to achieve and
don’t let people talk you out of it. If it is a dream, pursue it until you are
successful.”



He attributes his success to surrounding himself with the
right people. They will make or break your business, says Sleeman. You should
be ready to change your business model if the current one isn’t working, he
adds. 



In his own case, he did this after his colleague advised him
that rather than opening up new breweries across Canada, he should buy existing
ones that share Sleeman Breweries’ crazy passion for beer and authenticity.



Sleeman reckons you shouldn’t grow so big that you lose your
entrepreneurial flair, first-mover advantage and risk-appetite, but you also
shouldn’t remain so small that you get knocked out of business or get bought
out by someone who does not see your vision and wants to dismantle you, as it
almost happened to his business in 2006. If you do sell, reminisces Sleeman,
sell to someone who sees your vision, like Sleeman Breweries did, when Japanese
company Sapporo saved the Guelph-based firm from a hostile takeover.



But that’s history. Since then, Sapporo has helped fund
research and development and training for the business, whose humble,
down-to-earth founder is now taking it on its next spirited journey.

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Brewing Success: Lessons From A Beer Baron

Africa has 60% of the world’s uncultivated arable land, and has the potential to become an agricultural hub by applying agri-tech and futurist thinking. Lessons from a Canadian food economy.



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“Our food system is broken.” And Africa is no exception.“Just consider that 30 percent of all food produced doesn’t make it to the plate. Much of it ends up in landfills where it creates methane, a greenhouse gas.”



These were the words by Barbara Swartzentruber, the Executive Director of Strategy, Innovation and Intergovernmental Relations at the City of Guelph, west of downtown Toronto in Canada, to a range of journalists in a bid to encourage foreign direct investment for the city’s visionary smart city plan.



According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, “every year, consumers in rich countries waste almost as much food (222 million tonnes) as the entire net food production of sub-Saharan Africa (230 million tonnes)”. 



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">To address these challenges, the entire design and food production system needs to be rethought and reimagined. </blockquote>



Thought needs to be given to what we put on our plates, to how we produce it and to how we dispose of it etc., reckons Swartzentruber.



Failure to do so will have dire consequences for the nine billion people expected to live on this planet by 2050, she adds. In response, Guelph-Wellington, the city in Canada I am visiting, which has a long history of agricultural excellence, is re-imagining its food system. 



Many of the discoveries and solutions it is applying could be adopted and repurposed in Africa, which has 60% of the world’s uncultivated arable land, and the potential to become a burgeoning agricultural hub of the future.



<h5 class="wp-block-heading">Circular food economies</h5>



Guelph-Wellington has started work to be among the world’s first circular food economies by 2025. Its ambitious plan will see a system where everyone has access to nutritious food, nothing is wasted and the impact on its own environment is minimal, reveals Swartzentruber.



 It is proposing a 50x50x50 model, in which access to affordable, nutritious food is increased by 50%, 50 new circular businesses and collaboration opportunities are created and economic revenues are increased by 50% by reducing and recognizing food waste,she adds. 



To achieve this, food experts, academics, social innovators, farmers, community partners and entrepreneurs will collaborate to tackle Guelph-Wellington’s most complex food challenges using big data and the latest technologies. 



<h5 class="wp-block-heading">Biomaterials</h5>



One of these academics is Professor Amar Mohanty, Director of the Bioproducts Discovery and Development Centre (BDDC) and Premier’s Research Chair in Biomaterials &amp; Transportation at the University of Guelph. Mohanty, who comes from India, is working with plant biologists,chemists and engineers to reuse waste, investigate and commercialize biomaterial. His passion stems from a desire to save the environment, the ebullient scientist tells FORBES AFRICA. 



His zeal to contribute to the reduction of greenhouse gases,
which he calls ‘slow poison’, is already bearing fruit. 



Together with Toronto-based coffee roaster Club Coffee, the BDDC created the world’s first fully-compostable coffee pods, which became available in Canada in 2016. 



To address the scourge plastic straws are having on rivers and oceans, Mohanty says his department is currently testing a 100% compostable straw made with biodegradable plastics. 



The BDDC is also working with the likes of Volkswagen, Ford and Tesla to turn plant materials such as wheat, soy and corn into alternatives to petroleum-based sources for car parts. In December, together with one of the car manufacturers, it is launching these products. 



<h5 class="wp-block-heading">Controlled environment systems</h5>



A few blocks away on the same campus, Professor Mike Dixon of the Controlled Environment Systems Research Facility (CESRF) and his team are hard at work creating controlled environment plant production. 



The technology will be used to feed people living in harsh environments, astronauts traveling to Mars, to growing plants on the moon, to improving the medicinal components of plants such as cannabis, to developing new cancer therapies, says Dixon.



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="826" height="618" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Mike.png" alt="" class="wp-image-38297" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Mike.png 826w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Mike-300x224.png 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Mike-600x449.png 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Mike-768x575.png 768w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 826px) 100vw, 826px" /><figcaption> Mike Dixon of the Controlled Environment Systems Research Facility. Picture: Supplied</figcaption></figure>



With confidence, Dixon reckons, provided he gets funding,that he will send the first plants to the moon in 2019. True to his Scottish blood and love for single malt whiskey, the plants will be barley.



The laboratory where Dixon and his team of researchers work uses new attributes of light-emitting diode (LED) lights to promote production of various plant commodities. For example, says Dixon, “researchers have learned that exposing lettuce to different LED light changes metabolic compounds that influence the color and taste of lettuce and even the medicinal properties of other plants”.



<h5 class="wp-block-heading">DNA barcoding</h5>



Professor Paul Hebert from the Department of Integrative Biology at the University of Guelph was the first scientist to propose that a short DNA sequence be used to identify species. According to the university, he called the system ‘DNA barcoding’, analogous to how retail products are tagged to allow for quick identification.



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">“With DNA barcoding, scientists may identify species within hours – and, ultimately, minutes – using all life stages and even fragments of organisms.”</blockquote>



The technology can also be used to eliminate food fraud and ensure that you get what you order and pay for at shops and restaurants. 



On its journey to becoming the food basket of the world, Africa has a treasure trove of new ideas to use. The future is in her hands.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Monique Vanek

FORBES AFRICA SOCIAL MEDIA

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