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SOLE SEARCHERS: The Rise Of The Solopreneurs

Olu Johnson is a personal security officer to the stars in the United Kingdom. It’s a rough and tough job, but one that he wouldn’t trade for anything else in the world.



On July 13 this year, Johnson watched in shock as the news unfolded of the attempted assassination of President-elect Donald Trump.



“I remember every news station and website was playing on repeat the image of Trump with blood running down his face as security agents scurried him off the stage. It was surreal,” recalls Johnson.



But Johnson, perhaps more so than most people who watched the news, knows all too well the importance of personal security for someone so high-profile. As a close protection officer, Johnson has built a reputation as one of the go-to personal security officers in the United Kingdom (U.K.) counting high-profile celebrities like Prince, Naomi Campbell, Burna Boy and Wizkid as some of his clients.



After watching the news, Johnson explains that his training immediately kicked in as he started to examine where the potential security breaches could have happened.



The world of a close protection officer is not for the faint-hearted.



Characterized by average working hours of about 10 to 20 per shift, unpredictable scenarios at every turn and a lack of ample personal time, it takes a person who is truly dedicated to the craft to succeed. Johnson is the first point of contact for every venue his clients visit, and ensures he knows the security layout and exit strategy of each venue.



Unfortunately, the better you are at your job as a close protection officer, the higher the toll on your personal life.



“The first setback is separation from your family or those you love. This is not a career you will do well in if you are not present and being present means lots of late nights, lots of travel, lots of last-minute calls. You will miss birthdays, anniversaries and important moments and it is almost a lose-lose, because, if you don’t miss it and you choose your family, your work will lose and if you choose your work, it will have some adverse effect on your family unless you are single,” says Johnson.



The second setback, he adds, is the physical drain this type of work takes on you.



“This is very long hours. A four-hour day can turn into a 20-hour day and I have two young children and they ask, ‘when are you coming back from work?’ Once I stare at them, they say, ‘oh, you don’t know’, and that is because I don’t know. A quick dinner trip with a client can turn into a club night and that turns into an after-party and that turns into ‘let’s go to a studio’.



“I had a job once where a client finished shopping and asked if I had my passport with me and that turned into a trip to a private airport and then another country. I didn’t get back for two days. It is exciting but it is harsh because you are physically tired – you are the first to wake up and the last to go to sleep.”



But it’s a career path that Johnson would not trade for the world. And it took him a while to find it.



“Both my parents are strong academics from Nigeria so I was expected to be the lawyer of the family and that is exactly what I did after we moved to the U.K. when I was seven because people were looking to do serious harm to my dad,” recalls Johnson.



Facing that danger from an early age planted the seed of safety and security in Johnson’s mind. He toed the professional line as a lawyer, graduating from the University of Hertfordshire with a law degree and completing his LPC at the College of Law in London.



For the next three years, Johnson would practise as a lawyer until a chance encounter with a fitness buddy derailed his legal trajectory and transformed that seed of security from his younger days into a calling that could no longer be ignored.



“My interest in fitness and weight training got me connected to my former business partner who has passed away. He wanted me to do the close protection training course with him. I didn’t initially want to do it but he showed me how lucrative the industry could be. He said to me, ‘I cannot match how much of a people person you are so I will do the admin and you deal with the people and I promise you we can make a lot of money’,” says Johnson.



His business partner was not wrong.



According to Fortune Business Insights, the global private security market size was valued at $235.37 billion in 2023 and is projected to grow from $247.75 billion in 2024 to $385.32 billion by 2032.



After securing his license from a U.K. security agency, Johnson began the uphill struggle of securing his first booking.



“It took about two years to get anyone to [allow me to] work with them. I used to be a semi-professional musician and I played bass guitar for a lot of celebrities. It was so difficult to convince them to allow me to protect them instead of play music with them. I had to move away from people I knew and I started networking vigorously, away from music in general,” says Johnson.



His breakthrough finally happened when a promoter friend offered him a job to protect American singer and dancer, Omarion, during a 10-year club anniversary in London.



“It takes so long to get ahead in the industry because it is a trust business. It is [easier] to get someone who is already in the business than to get someone new because if anything goes wrong, it is you that has to explain. So Omarion was my first one and once you get that one, you have that reference.



“It was a slow burn but the two-year period allowed me to experience all the other aspects of the security world from retail, events, clubs, asset protection and so on. All those things add to the value of how you understand protecting high-net-worth individuals. Looking after $10,000 worth of goods is different from looking after someone that might make $100,000 an hour or make $200,000 for singing four minutes at a time,” says Johnson.



In those days, the money was not great. Johnson explains that he would earn anything from a £100 ($129) for a day’s work. Today, he averages £1,000 ($1,291) for a 10-hour shift. As Johnson established his brand, he could also outsource other close protection officers who represent his brand to jobs he cannot attend to. However, each client’s price is dependent on a number of variables.



“Some of the obvious variables that affect the pricing: is it at home or abroad? Do you have any known threats against you? If you have someone who has made an attempt that you know about, that changes things. The more obvious the risk, the higher the rate,” says Johnson.



Former client Patrick Nnaemeka Okorie, known by his stage name, Patoranking, a Nigerian singer-songwriter, speaks about the importance of personal security: “Every time I travel to another country with my team, we always hire a personal bodyguard. It has become a fixed cost in our travel itinerary because of the safety concerns we have. Before we started using personal bodyguards we had a couple [of] robbery attempts which made it imperative to be protected at all times.”



For Johnson, this is no longer a job or just about the money. Close protection has a much bigger purpose.



“I realize the importance and the value of what we do. We are not just protecting these individuals, we are protecting a heritage, we are protecting culture and music, we are protecting their creativity,” he says.



“If we look at incidents where celebrities have died or gone to jail, the world now loses out on their talent. So many people are impacted by one person’s talent – the fans, make-up artists and the team behind the scenes. Should something happen to these people, the culture loses something very important and so our role is more than safety. It is about protecting [something] much bigger.”

Olu Johnson (Image supplied)a

Better Safe Than Sorry: Behind-The-Scenes With A Nigerian Celebrity Bodyguard

In a world that demands rapid results, Professors Salim and Quarraisha Abdool Karim have spent decades proving that patience and persistence can save lives. Recognized as a collaborative force driving advancements in HIV prevention, they recently received the 2024 Lasker-Bloomberg Public Service Award, a prize often referred to as ‘America’s Nobel’. This award honors their transformative contributions to HIV/AIDS research and their leadership during Covid-19. As the Lasker Foundation noted in a press release announcing the award, the duo are celebrated “for illuminating key drivers of heterosexual HIV transmission and introducing life-saving approaches with which to prevent and treat HIV”.&nbsp;



Starting his research journey in apartheid-era South Africa, Prof Salim’s first published paper, written in his third year of medical school, tackled health disparities among racial groups — an early indication of his commitment to addressing the social context within public health. “Addressing inequality and empowering the vulnerable has always been integral to our approach,” he emphasizes to FORBES AFRICA, underscoring how public health can never be divorced from the societal behaviors and contexts from which it arises.



Salim recalls their return to South Africa in the late 1980s, knowing the scale of the HIV crisis they would face. “When we came back from New York in 1988, we saw the devastation HIV was causing. We knew this would be a massive problem in South Africa, and we had to act.” Over the next 18 years, the couple encountered countless setbacks but persevered, leading to the development of Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP), now the gold standard for HIV prevention.



“For 18 years, all we did was fail. We went from one study to another, learning as we went,” Salim reflects. “But we kept going because the problem wasn’t going away.” Their persistence culminated in assisting a major breakthrough, as PrEP revolutionized HIV prevention, particularly for women.



Karims’ work has always been intertwined with social justice. “For us, research was always about more than just science; it was a way to address inequality and empower the vulnerable,” Salim explains. They tackled HIV from a sociological angle, addressing factors like age-disparate sex that disproportionately affected young, economically disadvantaged women. “HIV isn’t just a virus — it’s deeply influenced by social factors. That’s something we had to factor into our research.”



When Covid-19 emerged, they quickly adapted to confront this new pandemic. “In just two weeks, we had the virus sequence and were racing to understand it. Everything was moving fast, but our experience with HIV helped us adapt,” Salim recalls. Their swift response highlighted their value as public health leaders, offering guidance not only to South Africa but also to institutions like the WHO and Africa CDC.



For young scientists, Salim distills their journey into a simple formula: Passion, Excellence, and Perseverance, or “PEP.” “Find something that excites you, pursue excellence, and above all, persevere. Success often lies on the far side of failure,” he advises. This wisdom, born from decades of challenges and achievements, offers a blueprint for future public health leaders.



Despite their accolades, the pair are not resting on their laurels. They continue to work on long-acting HIV prevention strategies and are preparing for future pandemics. For them, the Lasker-Bloomberg Award is not the end — it is a milestone that fuels their ongoing mission. As Salim aptly puts it, “We’ve spent a lifetime failing and learning, but ultimately, we’ve changed what’s possible.”

Quarraisha and Salim Abdool Karim (Image supplied)

‘Research Is A Way To Address Inequality And Empower The Vulnerable’: South African Professor-Couple Win Award For Game-Changing HIV-Prevention Work

Nigerian chef Tolulope Erogbogbo has made it his mission to introduce authentic cuisine from his home country to the world. He shares the next phase of his journey with FORBES AFRICA.



In the luxurious ‘Members Only’ club of Soho House in Los Angeles (LA) in the U.S., Tolulope Erogbogbo, who goes by the moniker, Chef Eros, is in his element, performing with a live band as a hungry audience of about 200 people eagerly await his next culinary masterpiece.



The sold-out private dining experience was in such high demand that another 150 people were confirmed on the waiting list, to be part of the gastronomic experience by Erogbogbo, who does not see himself as just a chef but rather a culinary entertainer.



“This is someone who basically uses food as a medium of entertainment to deliver joy and experiences that are memorable just like a musician and an actor would,” Erogbogbo tells FORBES AFRICA.



And that is exactly what he did.



Erogbogbo created a carefully-curated dinner. The entire kitchen staff and the musical selection played by the live band were also led and selected by Erogbogbo.



“It felt like watching an artist perform. It was almost like watching Chef Eros sing and it was just beautiful to watch. At the end, he received a standing ovation and people were in tears,” says Deji Bello, an investment banker based in LA.



The city in California is home to Erogbogbo’s new restaurant, ILÈ. It is a far cry from the man who began his culinary journey on the other side of the world in Lagos, Nigeria, where his luxury bakery, Cookie Jar and his flagship restaurant, ILÈ EROS, cemented his status as one of Nigeria’s most promising restaurateurs.



“At university was when I felt the impact of the dining table experience and I realized how important my culture and food was to me. I had to get on the phone with my grandmother and mother who taught me how to make some of my favorite foods,” says Erogbogbo.



“I would listen to the two of them argue over the recipes and I realized that the recipe is not the bible, the recipe is just a guideline. The most important thing I took from the conversation, particularly from my grandmother, was that if you do not cook with love, then do not cook at all.”



After graduating, Erogbogbo returned to Nigeria where his mother helped him to set up his first restaurant venture by the age of 21. As a self-taught chef, he began to immediately carve out a niche when a serendipitous moment led to him creating a private dining experience for the family of Nigerian billionaire, Mike Adenuga.



“And the rest is history. From that family, I got hired by other billionaires in Nigeria and hence the moniker ‘The Billionaire Chef’ was created. My friends would tease [me] and say if you are not a billionaire, Eros will not cook for you. I started to hone into that mindset,” says Erogbogbo.



By focusing on private dining experiences for Nigerian billionaires, Erogbogbo’s brand grew significantly and so did his bank balance. His catering services cost anywhere from $10,000 to $30,000 depending on the number of courses and the number of heads at the table.



After a brainstorming session with his team, Erogbogbo’s vision transformed. His new mission is to put West African cuisine on the map, globally, and with that mandate, Erogbogbo set out on a gastronomic journey which saw him travel to exotic locations like the Hamptons, Ibiza and LA.



A seat at the table of one of these exclusive dinners will set you back anywhere from $200 to $300. Each menu features authentic Nigerian meals with a modern twist.



In light of this new brand direction, Erogbogbo moved to LA with the goal of doing three dinners in three cities, namely LA, New York and Houston. He ended up doing 13 dinners in seven cities at a cost of $120,000 to fund.



“At the end of the 13th dinner, which was New York Fashion Week in September 2021, I saw what impact my style of cooking and presenting food had made. I had not just mastered the culinary art of West African cuisine, but I had started to master speaking and using the words to match the food. This day, I saw all my skills come together. As the food was being brought forward, people were applauding. At the end of that trip, I called my mother and said ‘I don’t want to go back, I want to go forward’,” recalls Erogbogbo.



That meant switching his immigration status in the United States to one that allowed him to live and work there. His immigration lawyer advised him on the O-1 visa, which is reserved for non-immigrants with extraordinary ability.



“We hoped it could take 10 days otherwise we would be in breach of my I91 which tells you how long you can stay in America, and I would have been breaking immigration rules if the application did not come back on time. We put it in the application, and it literally took four hours and we got approved,” says Erogbogbo.



And with that approval, he was able to secure his work permit. Next up was ILÈ LA. The intimate space has played host to everyone from actor Michael B. Jordan to individuals from American financial giant, Chase Bank.



“In partnership with Chef Eros, Amplify Africa has showcased the richness of African cuisine through numerous successful collaborations,” says Dami Kujembola, CEO and Co-Founder, Amplify Africa Inc. A notable collaboration was a dinner for Disney, celebrating their flagship African animation series, Iwájú . “Chef Eros’s storytelling and innovative approach to African cuisine provides an unparalleled experience.”



Erogbogbo is also the first West African chef to serve a multi-course dinner at the global music festival Coachella, as part of their ‘Outstanding in the Field’ culinary programming. For that show, Erogbogbo cleared “north of $35,000 in fees”.



“The response has been ‘wow’. People say I am a gifted culinary artist and storyteller. We are moving on to a tour and we are excited about how the tour will be received. We are taking the table into different cities to showcase West African culinary food to the world. We will go to New York, Chicago, D.C., Los Angeles, Baltimore MD, Austin Texas, Atlanta and Miami,” he says.



The goal now is to expand his mission through a capital raise to grow the ILÈ brand as well as get the right team. Erogbogbo’s growth is one that has been both strategic and steady with a focus on patiently finding a niche that amplifies its value.



He sums this up in his advice for would-be entrepreneurs: “Ask for what you want because closed mouths don’t get fed. Be honest with yourself and your work. To thyself first be true, and finally be patient because Rome was not built in a day.”

Chef Eros wants to put West African food on the map (Image Supplied)

‘Food As A Medium Of Entertainment’: A Course In Culinary Curation By ‘The Billionaire Chef’

A personal health crisis spurred Ebun Feludu to switch to using coconut milk, and today, through her enterprise, she is on a valuable mission to plant over a million coconut trees with other farmers in Nigeria.



Kokari, which means ‘let the good go around’ in Yoruba, is a mantra Ebun Feludu has lived by for as long as she can remember. As the founder of Kokari Coconuts in Nigeria, she is on a mission to bring the health and economic benefits of the coconut crop to the world.



The genesis of her passion for economic empowerment, however, was crystalized when Feludu saw firsthand the impact her father’s death had on her mother.



“He died in his early 40s and it was a shock for my mom because she had leaned on him for support throughout and it was difficult for her when that support was no longer there. She was on her own with six children and that made an impression on me because his passing made me lose a piece of her as well – that had an impact on me,” says Feludu.



Since then, she made the decision to put women at the center of her business to ensure they are economically-empowered and able to weather life’s many storms. Following several stints in the media sector, Feludu also had a life-altering moment when she fell ill due to lactose intolerance.



“In December 2015, I had some milk and fell very ill. It was incredibly scary for everyone. It was at this point that I knew that I couldn’t consume milk anymore; I knew it didn’t agree with me and I just had to find an alternative. I lived in Lagos, so coconut was everywhere,” says Feludu.



“I started playing around with coconut milk and my kids loved it, so I started moving in that way. I later found out that about 80% of Africans and 68% of the world’s population are also lactose-intolerant, but a lot of us just deal with it because, for the most part, it does not have that much of a negative impact or affect us in an extreme way anyway.”



And just like that, Kokari was born.



Feludu spent some time in India learning about the coconut value chain, from seedling to farming and factory processing, before finally returning to Nigeria to set up her own factory with $200,000 of her personal funds.



“In the early stages, I was very clear that I wanted this to be a legacy business – coconut is a legacy business because if you plant the coconut, it can stay for about 100 years,” she says.



The coconut products market size is estimated at about $4.96 billion in 2024, and is expected to reach $7.98 billion by 2029, as per data intelligence platform, Mordor Intelligence.



In Nigeria, that economic power is already being harnessed.



Stephanie Ofori, a management consultant, has been living in the bustling cosmopolitan area of Ikoyi in Nigeria, for the past five years. During the Covid-19 pandemic, she too had a life-changing experience when she endured complications brought on by lactose intolerance.



“It turned out that although I could previously digest lactose, it had caused a lot of damage to me. I was suffering from an infection which meant I had to undergo surgery on my small intestine. It was a really scary time because it happened during Covid and I honestly thought I was not going to make it,” recalls Ofori.



The condition is one in which you develop digestive symptoms such as diarrhea or gas after consuming food that contains lactose.



Since her recovery, Ofori has completely changed her lifestyle, opting for a plant-based diet which includes the use of coconut milk, which she buys from Kokari.



“After my surgery, I started researching plant-based diets and discovered the many health benefits of coconut milk. That is when I stumbled on Kokari and have never looked back,” she says.



According to Dr Nma Okechukwu-Okoroji, President of the National Coconut Producers, Processors and Marketers Association of Nigeria (NACOPPMAN), the crop can add an estimated $400 billion to the Nigerian economy annually.



“What we are advocating for is to get the more innovative and modern seedlings from Asia. The yield is much greater with these modern seedlings and that means that the farmer can generate a lot more revenue from them because they have an average life span of about 80 years,” says Okechukwu-Okoroji.



Kokari has diversified from producing just coconut milk to over 10 products, all certified by the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC). These range from coconut snacks to skincare and even oral hygiene products.



“The coconut value chain is a $38 billion market and what we found is that most of the coconuts we get from Nigeria are imported. I am on a mission to plant over one million coconut trees with other farmers,” says Feludu.



For her, this business is also a major source of economic empowerment for women, so 80% of her workforce at Kokari is women.



“I am passionate about creating value; for women to earn economic independence. We have now created Kokari Café which is our distribution model. It is solar-powered and run by women and our vision is to grow to hundreds of shops run by women so they can also share in the value chain,” she says.



Okechukwu-Okoroji shares Feludu’s passion.



“The good thing about coconut is that it can be planted along- side other food crops like cassava without it affecting the growth, so we encourage farmers to incorporate coconut in their crops. Agricultural entrepreneurs can earn billions of naira annually from coconut production,” adds Okechukwu-Okoroji.



In addition to acquiring over 10 acres of land and growing the company’s distribution outlets, Feludu supplies seedlings to other farmers.



Kokari has also recently broken into the United States (U.S.) market, with an exhibition at the PACK EXPO East in Philadelphia, which allowed them to connect with international buyers.



It has not all been smooth sailing, but for Feludu, navigating soaring fuel prices, which peaked at about 400% this year alone, as well as delayed payments from retailers in Nigeria, has only helped to strengthen and diversify her business model.



“Last year, we had a major retailer owing us so much money, we almost shut down. Our Kokari outlet helped us with cash flow; to help us deal with retailers not paying us promptly. Also, the cost of electricity and fuel to power the place forced us to move to solar as a source to power our business,” says Feludu.



“We are grateful we are doing that, and this is the model that we will take [to] the other outlets.”



According to Feludu, the goal for up-and-coming agricultural entrepreneurs should be to solve problems bigger than themselves.



“If you are solving your own problem, you can start and end it in a short amount of time. But when your ‘why’ is bigger than you, then you have the focus, the passion and drive to pursue a dream that is much bigger,” she says. Her ‘why’ is to plant the million coconut trees and create a coconut city where everything from farm to factory, as well as schools, hospitals and amenities in the entire community, is supported by the coconut enterprise. And all while placing women at the heart of economic development.

Kokari Café is solar-powered and run by women

Seed Capital: The Nigerian Farmer Wanting To Plant A Million Coconut Trees

Botanikka Wine Bar and Kitchen founder, Margaret Adenike Balogun, has a history of turning concepts into businesses. She shares more on her penchant for creating instagrammable spaces and taking up opportunities when they emerge.



Very early in her life, Margaret Adenike Balogun was told by her parents that she was so much like her grandfather, wh0 made his money through entrepreneurship.



The comparison first began when she was in primary school and she decided to make her own coconut candy, which she sold to friends at school. When Balogun attended university in South Africa, she started making wigs/weaves for her friends to earn extra money and during her vacation trips back to Nigeria, she would buy high-end clothes from South Africa. Balogun would then sell them to her friends, who could not easily access these clothes in Nigeria.



“That is when my entrepreneurial journey started,” says Balogun.



Though her mother hoped she would follow in her footsteps as a civil engineer, once she was bitten by the entrepreneurial bug, she knew there was no going back.



While she studied software engineering in South Africa, she worked as the head of events for an international company. She was responsible for building the events department from the ground up.



“I realized that I was bringing in all the business based on my relationship with people. Somewhere along the line, I lost that job. I had gotten three big contracts for the end of the year and, all of a sudden, I [received] my dismissal letter, so it was a shock to me. I was so devastated,” says Balogun.



“I went back to all the people that had given me business and asked them if they would put it in my events company, which I had registered, and they said yes. Luckily enough, they swapped the contracts to my business – that is when my events career took off.”



This was in 2011 and the contracts she secured at the time were worth $50,000.



“That is when I realized that I want to be successful. I delivered everything for the event, and said to myself, ‘I can make a lot of money from this’, but I didn’t have a clue how I was going to do it,” recalls Balogun.



With her events business, Diamondink Luxury Events, up-and-running, Balogun decided to do a course in entrepreneurial management at the Lagos Business School and with that, things became a little clearer. Every step she has taken since has been strategic.



As a start, Balogun decided she would offer her clients a one-stop solution for events.



“I realized with events comes the decoration aspect. I didn’t want to outsource any aspect of the event management process to any other vendor. I went to China and bought goods and props for events and set up an office in Lekki (a city in Nigeria) where people could come and rent [décor],” she says.



“Then I thought of the floral aspect, and I decided to go to school in America for six months to study floristry because every event needs flowers. By the time I came back, I knew so much about fresh flowers, and I could apply fresh flowers into faux flowers as well.”



With that new skillset, her business, The Billionaire Florist, was born.



To promote it, Balogun created a pop-up shop on Valentine’s Day, where people could purchase fresh flower boxes. That strategic move into the floristry sector demonstrated Balogun’s penchant for spotting opportunities in unlikely places.



The African floral industry has grown significantly over the years. Dominated by the Kenyan Floriculture Market which is estimated at $1.09 billion in 2024, the horticulture sector is the third-largest foreign exchange earner, according to the Kenya Flower Council.



The value of flowers is still a largely untapped market in Nigeria.



Balogun then had a ‘eureka’ moment to merge flowers and food.



“I realized, at the time, that I ate out almost every single day. I had a small space in front of my office, and wanted to create a small space for myself to have pastries and tea with my friends. My biggest supporter, who was my business coach at the time, said ‘let me coach you on this plan’. So, we did the business plan, and it became more elaborate than I planned. She advised we take a bigger space. I wanted to display my floristry and I wanted it to be very pretty,” says Balogun.



After a month of planning, The TeaRoom was born.



“We created a brand identity around the entire brand which had a slogan that says: ‘Eat, Drink, Tea’, and ‘The TeaRoom, a beauteaful place’.”



“On opening day, it was filled to capacity, and we were overwhelmed. It was so busy. We were having queues for the first time in my life. Our opening month, we had over 10,000 followers on Instagram and the whole world was talking about this place. We got featured by ESSENCE Magazine in New York as one of the top seven international brunch spots in the world,” says Balogun.



And just like that, she became a pioneer of instagrammable spaces in Lagos.



The TeaRoom, which opened in December 2018, reportedly racked up revenue of over N120 million (approximately $72,000) in its first quarter of operations and, by that time, had already broken even on its capital investment. In year one, the establishment brought in an annual revenue of N240 million or around $144,000.



“The TeaRoom is really beautiful and, as a content creator, it is one of the most instagrammable locations in Lagos. From taking pictures with the Beetle car to the floral décor inside, the TeaRoom really pioneered beautiful unique spaces for food in Nigeria,” says Vera Frank, a content creator in Lagos.



As the TeaRoom grew, Balogun decided to open a more premium and upscale version of it, Café de Flore, during Covid, and it also became a viral hit. This was followed quickly with another instagrammable location, Mykonos On The Roof, an ode to the Greek island.



“In terms of ambience, this was one of the chicest cafés you could find in Lagos. Everything from their décor was popping. If you were looking for an instagrammable location in Lagos, this was the place to be,” says Sisi Yemmie, a blogger and YouTuber in Lagos.



However, the rapid pace of growth soon began to take a toll on Balogun.



“I was overwhelmed and managing it was crazy. We had major staffing issues and pilfering was rampant. During Covid we had the highest inflow of customers. People were stealing and I couldn’t manage it because I had to handle three restaurants all by myself. Along the line, I fell pregnant so I couldn’t keep up. I fell into a post-partum breakdown. I was burned out and I couldn’t do it. So, I threw in the towel and decided to focus on my child, and took a break for a year,” says Balogun.



She was done with restaurants. Or, at least that is what she told herself.



“I wanted to be a consultant and design beautiful spaces for people and help them set up their bar and restaurant, but I didn’t want to own a restaurant again. I felt like it had been so overwhelming for me for the past five years. I wanted to be there for my child,” says Balogun.



But ever the entrepreneur, Balogun soon became restless again and saw another opportunity. She raised over N225 million ($146,700) to convert one of her properties in the highbrow area of Ikoyi into a boutique apartment and, to cater to the residents, her latest creation was born – Botanikka Lagos, a kitchen and wine bar.



“Botanikka had been ready since December 2023, but I couldn’t open it because I was thinking to myself, ‘Can I be the same TeaRoom owner and do I have this drive to push Botanikka the way I did the TeaRoom?’” says Balogun.



The answer was yes.



Botanikka opened to notable praise and has the potential to be just as successful as her previous creations, but this time, she is more than equipped to ensure she stays on top of things by introducing the right systems and structures.



A rebranding and reopening of the TeaRoom is also reportedly in the works, with the possibility of opening up an international branch as well.



“Our Instagram page is still active with about 35,000 followers and over 3,000 DMs requesting to book [the] TeaRoom,” Balogun says.



The events business is currently still open and running but more focused on kids’ events. According to Balogun, the business’ clients “have included Aliko Dangote and Daisy Danjuma”.



As she continues to break barriers, Balogun hopes to steadily live up to her grandfather’s reputation… one distinctive concept at a time.

Margaret Balogun (Image supplied)

Flowers, Food, Tea And Everything In Between: The Nigerian Events Entrepreneur Restless With Ideas

With over 25 years of experience as a medical practitioner, Maureen Allem is witness to all the cosmetic changes in the beauty business.



After a decade of running a medical ward in a provincial hospital, Dr Maureen Allem decided in the early 2000s that it was time for a change.



“I saw the opportunity for something different than just working in a hospital,” Allem tells FORBES AFRICA. “And I thought I&#8217;d given enough time back to the community, medical-wise, and I wanted to be able to do so much more in making a difference in people&#8217;s lives, which I did at the hospital. But now I wanted to do it in a completely different way.”



At home with her sisters, she came across a magazine article on Botox and medical aesthetics, which had not yet taken off in popularity then as it has now. Allem and her sisters consulted with a plastic surgeon and that is when it dawned on her that it could be her calling too.



Allem thought: “I can do this! Compared to what I had to do in the hospital, this could be a great new path for me to follow.”



Twenty years later, Allem’s Skin Renewal brand is successful, with 20 clinics across South Africa and over seven million treatments dispensed.



In recent years, it has become evident that Botox injections (which use botulinum toxin) have rapidly become one of the most popular non-surgical cosmetic procedures. In 2022, according to <a href="https://www.spamedica.com/blog/botox-usage-statistics-2023/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">SpaMedica</a>, there was a 26.1% increase in Botox treatments globally with over nine million treatments done that year alone.



“And do not get me wrong, there were many times we&#8217;ve made losses; we&#8217;ve put the branch in the wrong area, and then we&#8217;d have to close the branch down because the area changes and it declines. And then you realize, you&#8217;re never going to make it 100% successful for every branch. You just have to keep on going.”



However, for Allem, it has also been about educating patients about the misconceptions about Botox.



“Many people out there are very nervous about lasers and aesthetic treatments because they look on Botched and they look on social media, and they see all the mess-ups. The foundation of our business is education and ongoing research. Not only for the patient but also for us. If I don’t know something, I will research it,” she says.



When reflecting on her journey, Allem recalls how she had almost put her career aspirations on hold with two young children and a medical degree to finish. But her tenacity drove her to be part of an industry providing cutting-edge skincare solutions as also foster an environment celebrating and uplifting women.



“It&#8217;s so important to celebrate women, especially working women, who have to manage to build a career, look after the kids, and work twice as hard to be successful,” Allem says.



“I remember I had once asked one of my patients, ‘how do you manage with a job and everything you have got going on?’ and she said to me, and I will never forget, ‘you know what, I don&#8217;t think any man has ever been asked, how do you cope with having a family and having this job?’



“So, women really do have to work twice as hard, but that&#8217;s why I celebrate all working women.”

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Survivors & Thrivers: From Botox To Beauty, The South African Doctor With An Aesthetic Sense    

Afam Onyema is bringing essential services and educational opportunities to those in need, also creating pathways for young girls to succeed in Nigeria.



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Afam Onyema stands at the intersection of legacy and ambition, driven by a vision ignited in the heart of his father.



“My dad always told us about his story and his dream, which started very small. We just tried to do little things to help in Nigeria,” Onyema recalls.



His parents, Godwin and Nma, were native Nigerians who had embarked on a journey to the United States (U.S.) in the mid-seventies, fueled by the desire to help their homeland. Godwin, a trained doctor, and Nma, a nurse, envisioned a future where they could save lives and uplift their community.



Growing up as the second of four children, Onyema absorbed his father’s story and decided to step away from a legal career to build GEANCO, an organization established by Godwin in 2005. The name GEANCO is derived from the initials of the Onyema family — Godwin, Ebele, Afam, Nche, Nma, and Chukwugozie — and aims to create opportunities and transform lives in Africa.



&#8220;We started with medical missions, performing surgeries and bringing surgeons over. From there, we began to build relationships, establish credibility, and gain experience,” shares Onyema, GEANCO’s co-founder and CEO.



Navigating the complexities of operating in Nigeria while based in the U.S. posed unique challenges, he understood that establishing a solid infrastructure was crucial to GEANCO&#8217;s success. He leaned on his cousin, Obinna Okoye, who established a team in Nigeria to handle local operations. With this foundation in place, Onyema could focus on leadership, strategy, and fundraising.



However, raising funds for a vision still in its infancy was daunting. “In those early days, I was asking donors to believe in a dream,” he admits. Yet, through persistence and the support of early believers, GEANCO began to flourish, evolving from a small organization into a force for change.



With each successful mission, GEANCO began to build a reputation for excellence, attracting attention from high-profile supporters like Prince Harry, Meghan Markle, David Oyelowo, Brad Pitt and Oprah Winfrey.



With each trip to Nigeria, Onyema witnessed the tangible results of GEANCO&#8217;s work. He visited communities where shipping container clinics provided essential medical services, allowing mothers to give birth in safe, hygienic environments. He met young girls whose lives were transformed by scholarships and mentorship programs, fostering their aspirations in STEM fields.



“I can’t describe the joy of seeing these girls, full of hope and determination, knowing we’re helping them reach their full potential,” he says.



Despite the progress, Onyema acknowledges the persistent challenges facing Nigeria. “Good governance could solve many of these issues,” he states. “With the right infrastructure — clean water, power, and education — Nigeria could become the Singapore of Africa.”



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“With the right infrastructure — clean water, power, and education — Nigeria could become the Singapore of Africa.”
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Recognizing the disparities in educational access for girls in Nigeria, the foundation formed a partnership with The Smiths Group Foundation to launch an initiative aimed at empowering young girls through science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education. The initiative&#8217;s cornerstone is the STEM Leadership Summits, designed to ignite a passion for STEM among participants in Junior Secondary 3 to Senior Secondary 1.



“We want to expose them to the skills and knowledge they need to thrive in a modern economy,” Onyema explains, excitement evident in his voice. “We’re not just building knowledge; we’re building a community of future leaders.”



“We want these girls to understand that a successful career in STEM is within their reach, regardless of socioeconomic challenges,” he explains. The program features panels led by Nigerian female STEM practitioners, including Nigeria&#8217;s first female pilot, to inspire and mentor participants.



The summits offer hands-on workshops, with practical sessions on cutting-edge technologies such as solar power systems, drone assembly, 3D-printing, and the Internet of Things. Onyema believes that engaging the girls in projects of their choice would foster a deeper understanding and appreciation of STEM fields.



“We want them to see how engineering solutions can transform their communities,” he emphasizes.



To provide ongoing support, the initiative would also launch an online platform offering free access to 240 STEM lessons tailored to the Nigerian curriculum. This approach ensures that thousands of disadvantaged students, even in remote areas, could benefit from STEM education.



Through the David Oyelowo Leadership Scholarship for Girls, Onyema witnessed dreams take flight. What started as a modest initiative in Abuja expanded to serve 45 girls across four schools. The scholarship offers full tuition, healthcare, and social and psychological support to young female survivors of terrorism and gender inequality.



“Every time a girl tells me she wants to be a nurse or an engineer, I feel a sense of fulfillment,” he shares. “We’re creating pathways for them to succeed.”



As Onyema stands on the brink of a new chapter for GEANCO, he remains hopeful: &#8220;We&#8217;re really excited about this work and hope to gain more support for it. We’ve been incredibly blessed by the supporters who have kept this initiative going for over 17 years, and we aim to continue for another 17 — or even 70 years. With the support we need, we can reach more girls, inspire them, and provide them with brighter hopes for the future. We love what we do and feel fortunate to be able to make an impact, and we hope more people will recognize our mission and partner with us in this important work.&#8221;

Afam Onyema (Image supplied)

The Nigerian Powerhouse Fulfilling His Father’s Dream Of Transforming Lives With Support From Global Celebrities

Olushola Medupin wanted to stay away from the food business but now has a growing array of upscale restaurants selling West African cuisine in some of the world’s most dazzling cities.



For Olushola Medupin, his passion for food was a gift passed down generations, like a prized heir- loom. His mother ran one of the most successful restaurants in Kwara State in Western Nigeria, and before her, his grandparents too ran their own local outlets selling inexpensive, pre-cooked food to hungry customers.



Cooking, literally, is in his blood. “My mother was in the restaurant, cooking, when she had to rush to the hospital to give birth to me,” says Medupin. “The only life I knew from a young age was to go to school and from there, the driver would bring me to the restaurant because there was nobody at home. I was forced to stay in the restaurant all day.” That was his world growing up.



Food was such an integral part of the family dynamics that all five children competed as cooks and Medupin always won. From the tender age of five, he knew his way around the kitchen, mastering local dishes such as jollof rice, eba (made from dried cassava flakes) and pounded yam.



In addition to his natural affinity for the culinary arts, Medupin also discovered he had a passion for making money. In 1991, when his father traveled to India for six months and forgot to leave his cheque book at home, Medupin’s mother struggled to make ends meet. He helped by climbing orange trees and selling the fruit in the market. By the time he was 14, he was already a serial entrepreneur, renting out his BMX bicycle for transportation in the local markets, managing a rub- bish collection business, an internet business, a supermarket and a phone repair business.



His final venture before he left Nigeria for the United Kingdom (U.K.) was a car wash business which he sold in two months for three times the capital he invested. Medupin used the proceeds to fund his education in the U.K. where he stud- ied investment banking and securities. But he didn’t land the right opportunities.



“I wasn’t getting any major jobs apart from kitchen jobs in the U.K. In 2009, I said to myself ‘I am not working in the kitchen anymore’ and started a security job in Cardiff.”



But very soon, Medupin resigned and started looking every- where else for inspiration. He didn’t want to return into the restaurant business as he had done it all his life.



“It is a very hard industry to be in. You go through a lot of emotional trauma because you must put your heart and soul in the business. If people are not happy with the food, they tell you off straight away and when they do that, it gets to you. So, I didn’t want to do it again,” says Medupin.



The National Restaurant Association in the United States (U.S.) estimates a 20% success rate for all restaurants; but about 60% of all restaurants fail in their first year of operation, and 80% within five years of opening. As much as Medupin fought the idea of starting a restaurant, that was the only viable option before him. He finally decided to give in. He moved back to London, found a place for rent in Lewisham and started his first outlet. It was tough.



“In my first year, I wanted to sell the business. The guy who wanted to buy it from me offered me £300,000 ($375,400) and at the last minute, offered me £150,000 ($188,000) to still run it. It was a struggle initially, but we decided to push through,” says Medupin.



And he made it work. Along with his wife Eniola, also his co-founder, Medupin is today a certified restaurateur with 13 fine dining restaurants, branded Enish, spread across London, the U.S. and Dubai.



West African cuisine has its loyal patrons in London, evidenced by the popularity of Nigerian restaurants such as 



Akoko and Chishuru that earned Michelin stars recently. “Not only are African restaurants abroad scarce but also finding the ingredients to cook the food you grew up with can be very challenging in London and America. That is why Enish has such a strong fanbase. They are bringing quality Nigerian food to immigrants abroad,” says Michael Amusan, a financial analyst in London and frequent visitor at Enish Covent Garden.



Concurs London food critic Tola Ogun: “This shows you that West African food, especially Nigerian, is here to stay. Michelin stars were typically awarded to white-skewing restaurants and so for Nigerian restaurants to receive the highest honor in the food business is testament to how popular our food is.”



“For someone like me who is based in the U.K., this is amaz- ing. Nigerian cuisine is growing in popularity all over the world and I am definitely a big fan of Enish,” attests Florence Otedola, popularly known as DJ Cuppy.



Serving everything from pounded yam to egusi soup (made from ground melon seeds) with a side of lobster, Enish has managed to carve out a place for itself in the U.K.’s fine dining scene, and now also in Dubai, where there are multiple outlets.



“The management already knew our brand, so it made it easy to sell our concept. It cost us $4 million to open our first branch and during that year of building the restaurant, we still had to pay a monthly rent of $50,000,” says Medupin. He has invested a lot in each of these projects, such as spending £25,000 ($31,200) a month to rent the dining space on Oxford Street and £20,000 ($25,000) a month for the Knightsbridge location in London, he adds.



In Dubai, known as The Dwntwn By Enish and located near the Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest tower, Medupin’s outlet is a swanky 40,000sqft nightclub featuring two bars and several VIP lounge areas.



All the way from Africa to the Middle East, Medupin says he imports about 80% of all his ingredients, which presents its own unique challenges.



“You cannot buy egusi for six months at a time and there is an issue with the consistency of the products. Every time you order egusi or palm oil, it has a different taste. So, it’s up to you to use your experience to keep the taste consistent. So, it’s a big challenge,” says Medupin. But he is powering on with his vision to put Nigerian cui- sine firmly on the world map, one dish and one restaurant at a time.

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The Reluctant Restaurateur Serving West African Cuisine Abroad

Andrew Robinson has an impressive track-record of building big businesses in Africa and around the world.



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With ventures that span multiple industries and countries, at 46, Andrew Robinson is someone who already holds many titles – CEO of Siand, founder of SiSebenza, Executive Director of WeWork South Africa, Co-founder of AM Vineyards and Co-founder of TradingHouse Global. From farming to commodities trading to making the WeWork model successful in South Africa, Robinson’s incredibly diverse business portfolio is not only a testament to his strategic insight but also his pragmatism. As an entrepreneur, Robinson has managed to remain grounded, prioritizing his physical and mental wellbeing while maintaining a minimalist lifestyle. Everything works because of this inherent practicality. &nbsp;



“Business is simple,” he says. “Anybody who I sit down with that complicates business is genuinely less successful. At the end of the day, you’ve got to make sure that you sell it for more than it costs you to service and that you’ve got enough fat in to make profit.”



For Robinson, a business cannot simply be a passion project, investment requires numbers – the basic fundamentals of revenue, costs and profitability. Although he has a proactive, excited attitude, Robinson understands the importance of never romanticizing his business ventures. “The numbers will tell you if it’s an investable thing because at the end of the day, numbers are the language of business,” he adds.



Making WeWork work



In 2017, Robinson approached WeWork to become its African partner. “At the time, WeWork was going through massive growth but didn’t really know much about the South African market,” he elaborates. “We weren’t able to do the deal at the time – they weren’t ready for us.” Stepping out of the picture but staying close to the global WeWork team, it took seven years to get the co-working space into the country.



“Today, we have the most innovative, exciting startups as well as some of the biggest companies in the world taking space at WeWork South Africa. It&#8217;s a hive of activity, the lighthouse of the city,” he smiles, adding that through SiSebenza, his holding company, there are plans to open WeWork offices in Kenya, Nigeria, Ghana and Mauritius. “SiSebenza was born to catch this mythological unicorn… but we weren’t able to,” laughs Robinson. “Instead, SiSebenza became a private equity investment vehicle for disruptive technologies and businesses.”



Making an impact



From TradingHouse Global, a commodity trading operation that sources, warehouses and delivers physical products across the globe (and includes supplying humanitarian aid to some of the world’s most distressed areas) to AM Vineyards, a premium yet sustainable wine production business that has become a massive player in the Chinese market, Robinson knows what it means to diversify as well as why it’s an important part of mitigating risk. “The biggest thing Covid taught me is that when something is failing, another thing is succeeding,” he adds.



Born in Africa, TradingHouse is one of Robinson’s most interesting ventures to date. With long-term contracts in place, he describes it as a simple logistics business – they’re moving containers; trading commodities. “But because we’ve learned how to operate in different environments, there’s now a new division in the business that focuses on humanitarian aid,” he says. “We operate in some of the most complicated places on the planet as well as in countries that are in difficult spaces. In <a href="https://www.forbesafrica.com/opinion/2024/06/03/limbo-luxury-and-the-long-road-to-a-new-home/">Albania</a>, for example, there was a call for help from our partners. We’re not making money out of it but we’re doing good work.”



The end game



Even though everything Robinson is involved with differs, as a businessman, his approach remains consistent – he’s solution-oriented but also someone who understands the value of discernment. “The older I&#8217;ve got, the more I&#8217;ve learned to say no. I used to say yes to everything and you kind of find yourself on this hamster wheel of not being efficient. It zaps your energy,” he explains. Being active in so many organizations requires good partnerships and smart people, something Robinson has found with Stefano Migliore, the CEO of WeWork South Africa and Executive Director of SiSebenza.



Forever focused on the outcome – the end game – is what Robinson believes is his ‘secret power’. “When I get involved in a business, I see what the end is. It’s a very strange thing. When somebody brings an opportunity to me or we&#8217;re trying to figure something out, I always see what the outcome is,” says Robinson. “When an artist starts painting, he knows the painting before he begins. For a business, I see the painting, what the business looks like… it’s just my thing.”



For Robinson, this unconventional approach is a gift. He believes that success comes from understanding what the problem is before you can solve it. “First seek to understand before you are understood,” he adds. This is why jumping into something headfirst without planning is not an option, especially within the distressed environments he operates in. “It’s not only a lot of thought, it’s contingency. This and that happens. You cannot go in and expect to figure things out after. It’s a chess game that you play and you have to be ten moves ahead on the board.”

Andrew Robinson; Photo by Manelisi Dabata

The South African Serial Entrepreneur On Co-Working Spaces And Staying Grounded

Born in the United Kingdom, Nigeria-based Matopeda King, who has been at the forefront of fashion for 14 years, is using her atelier to empower women.



Matopeda Abiola King is currently experiencing &#8220;a full circle moment&#8221; with her fashion brand. As Creative Director for Matopeda Atelier, an international custom wedding dress design company, King has styled several high-profile celebrities in Nigeria and the United States (U.S.), establishing her brand as one of Nigeria’s notable fashion houses.



She says it is her care and attention to clients that have become her signature.



“I knew by [the age of] 30 or 31 that my calling was to work with women. A lot of the people I meet, our conversation isn’t just about the dresses, what I do is to build women up, I empower women. When a woman wears my dresses, they get the dream job, they feel confident, they feel like they can achieve anything,” says King.



When singer and actor Fantasia Barrino had the honor of paying homage to the late Tina Turner at the recently-concluded 66th Grammy Awards in Los Angeles in the U.S., she did so in a customized Matopeda dress. The hand-beaded corseted body suit for her performance was reportedly created in just 48 hours. Beyoncé also sported a Matopeda floral dress while celebrating her fifth wedding anniversary in Hawaii.



Her penchant for “empowering” her clients actually came from overcoming her own personal struggles, including a difficult childhood and a bad relationship. Born in the United Kingdom in 1983, her family had to move to Nigeria where they lived for three years, and then return to London when King was 10 or 11, where they began life as immigrants seeking asylum.



“We couldn’t afford rent so we had to move about 20 times [when I was between] 12 to 27 because we couldn’t find accommodation. We had to go to the council. Always moving houses was consistent. I don’t have pictures from my childhood because we were always moving. We didn’t even have a fridge at some point,” recalls King.



She picked up the essence of style from her mom but her real “eureka moment” happened when a bad relationship left her looking like a shell of her former self.



“I was really slim and I realized I was really sad. I wasn’t aware I hadn’t been eating properly and my eyes had gone in. I remember crying a lot, but I just didn’t realize how bad things were. I said I had to do something else,” says King.



That was when the brand, Frock it, Rock it, was born.



“Before that, I was the one who always styled my friends and the one that everybody called for birthdays, interviews etc. If somebody got a job, they would give me their card to say ‘go shopping for me and build a workwear wardrobe for me’. I knew I was creative with clothes, but I just didn’t know what to do. I thought it was styling at first,” says King.



Over the years, her brand has evolved from making outfits that provide the perfect silhouette for black women to breaking the mould when it comes to wedding gowns.



“Matopeda is fast becoming one of the most important Nigerian fashion brands simply because of the level of attention her creations get. Nigeria has a lot of talented designers but very few can boast the calibre of clientele Matopeda has, and that is testament to how unique her outfits are,” says Amanoshi Dania, a Lagos-based designer.



“I used to turn them (customers) down because wedding dresses were always covered up, no neckline, no shoulders, no beading, no crystals. I didn’t want to do that; I always want my customers to be the best-dressed and that is what we stand for,” adds King.



“So, we started custom-making our fabrics and started [embellishing] our dresses with crystals and beads. We started to show shoulders, [a] lower neckline and crystals, and a lot of clients in America started to pay attention because no one was doing that in America.”



That was the beginning of the rebirth of her brand, which then became Matopeda Atelier.



King is at peace with herself and her calling. Her experience of navigating depression and overcoming emotional trauma, coupled with her strong faith, has birthed an intuitive designer who pays attention to every aspect of the process, including the wellbeing of the women wearing her clothes.

Matopeda King; image suppliedz

From Designing For Beyoncé To Brides In Lagos, This Fashionista Is On A Mission

Armed with a doctoral degree in Cybernetics from the University of Reading, United Kingdom, Rose-Margaret Ekeng-Itua is reportedly the first Black woman to achieve such a feat.



In the 1980s, between the ages of five and 10, Rose-Margaret Ekeng-Itua lived in the West and attended schools where she was one of the very few students of African heritage. Innocently, some of her friends would ask questions about Africa, but often, the Africa they talked about was portrayed as uncivilized.



&#8220;This was a complete contradiction to the Africa I knew, so I began sharing stories with my friends about the Africa I knew, steeped in wisdom and ancestral civilization,&#8221; reminisces Ekeng-Itua, a Nigerian professor of engineering at Ohlone College in Fremont, California.



At the age of nine, her experiences sparked a dream to connect people worldwide, aiming to enhance what she now calls &#8220;cultural quotient&#8221;. She envisioned a platform where individuals could learn about and appreciate diverse cultures, overcoming stereotypes and misconceptions that often accompany cultural differences.



Thus, the seeds of Sabi Africa Network (Sabi, meaning &#8216;know&#8217; in pidgin English) were sown, later actualizing in the 2000s with a vision to illuminate &#8220;Africa’s pioneering role in science, engineering and technology&#8221;.



As Ekeng-itua’s journey progressed, she found herself at the forefront of a movement to redefine the narrative of Africa in the global science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) landscape. Armed with a doctoral degree in Cybernetics from the University of Reading, United Kingdom, she reportedly emerged as the first Black woman to achieve such a feat.



Driven by her passion for decolonizing STEM education and promoting diversity in the field, Ekeng-Itua established the African Technology and Innovation Institute (AFRITECHI), a knowledge transfer hub, and technological research support center. In addition to the Sabi Africa Network, she aims to mainstream Africa-centric STEM education pedagogy and curriculum, empowering young Africans to embrace their potentials.



“African and other indigenous technological innovations can solve most of the global issues highlighted in the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDGs),” she asserts.



Through AFRITECHI, Ekeng-Itua seeks to bridge the techno-economic gap between the global north and south, empowering African innovators to lead the way in sustainable development. With a focus on research, training, and consultancy, she aims to cultivate a thriving ecosystem of indigenous technology innovation, reducing the continent’s dependency on imported technologies.



As a leader in academia and industry for over two decades, she recognizes the importance of bridging the gap between theoretical knowledge and practical applications in STEM education. &#8220;Intentional academia, industry, government partnerships are key for the reduction in youth unemployment and the graduate industry desirable skills gap,&#8221; she says.



Ekeng-Itua also serves her communities in the United States, Europe, and Africa through various initiatives, including special programs for women and girls, such as Women in Big Data (WiBD) Nigeria and the Women in STEAM Mentoring Dinner in California, which connects women students and industry professionals.

Rose-Margaret Ekeng-Itua; image by Jkay Photography1

Nigerian Cybernetics Pioneer On Vision For Africa-Centric Innovation

Ghanaian photographer Emmanuel Mensah Agbeble, who arrived in New York with just $50 in his pocket, is now weaving the Afrobeats genre into the global narrative with his creativity.



Emmanuel Mensah Agbeble was barely three years old when his&nbsp; father, who owned a photo studio in Ghana, handed him his first camera.



That would have been the obvious choice of career for a young Agbeble, but his sights were set on the basketball court. After his parents relocated from Nima, a slum community in Ghana, to the United States for greener pastures and a better life, Agbeble hoped his dreams of making it to the National Basketball Association (NBA) would materialize.



But destiny had other plans.



“I was playing basketball and Ghana is a football-[loving] country, so I wanted to go to America to try and be in the NBA. That was my dream. I had a full scholarship to come to America but unfortunately, I didn’t get the visa, so I could not leave. This shattered my dream, I was heartbroken,” recalls Agbeble.



But as the saying goes, when one door closes, a window of opportunity opens. He simply leaned on his innate skill-set.



“I would always shoot pictures of my friends and myself playing basketball and it looked really good. My best friend at the time said ‘why don’t you do this full-time’ and that is when I started taking photography seriously. I was always working with my dad in the studios, developing films, so I saw how the whole process worked. I learned from the ground up, because we didn’t have any photoshop or any editing tools like we have now, so we were always in the red room or dark room developing film,” says Agbeble.



Little did he know a flourishing career as a New York-based photographer awaited him. But Agbeble didn’t just want to emulate his father, his ambitions for photography went much further.



“My dad wasn’t doing gallery shows… I learned through other people and that has helped me grow. The vision is to be worldwide. I want to build a legacy. I want to tell stories the right way and inspire the world; spark somebody’s brain to be able to do what they love so much. Everything I do has to inspire the world,” says Agbeble.



When he started his journey as a photographer in New York, he only had a capital of $600.



Through his company APMWorld, Agbeble has now led campaigns for global superstars such as Africa’s very own Burna Boy, Davido and Wizkid, in turn, making his own contributions to the surge in global popularity of the Afrobeats genre.



“Photography has become increasingly popular in Ghana as a way for young people to start earning extra income but very few have actually been trained from the ground up from when they were able to walk. That is what makes Emmanuel unique. He is a true creative and one of the few Ghanaian photographers whose work is celebrated globally,” says Barnard Ashiadey, a journalist in Ghana.



Agbeble also attended the 2024 Grammy Awards, where he says he had a life-changing moment.



“When Burna Boy was about to perform, they put my cover on the screen and that was a wow moment for me because I am a boy from Nima, who had big dreams and got his NBA dreams shattered and came to America with only $50 in his pocket and is now sitting at the Grammys, a show he used to watch on TV. That was bigger than a dream. I don’t know how to explain that feeling.” This year, Agbeble is planning on expanding his story-telling skills by launching two books that will further seek to inspire the world.

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The Boy From Nima With The World On His Camera

Hamisha Daryani Ahuja’s Postcards on Netflix is centered around real-life stories without pitting both cultures against the other.



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Hamisha Daryani Ahuja&#8217;s path took her through the realm of business ownership before she made her mark in the world of cinema, thus fulfilling a childhood dream.



&#8220;I actually grew up dreaming of the film industry,&#8221; Ahuja reminisces in a conversation with FORBES AFRICA from the heart of Lagos, Nigeria, reflecting on her early aspirations. &#8220;It was something I felt I needed to do.&#8221;



Her entrepreneurial spirit led her to establish and run a successful restaurant business in Lagos for seven years. But she eventually sold it. &#8220;..and that left me very free to pursue my dreams wholeheartedly,&#8221; she explains.



Ahuja&#8217;s debut film production, Namaste Wahala, marked a moment in cinematic history as it brought together the colorful worlds of Bollywood and Nollywood in a way that had never been done before.



&#8220;I had the idea of bringing Bollywood and Nollywood together,&#8221; Ahuja shares. &#8220;This is something that had not been done, and I had always wondered why.&#8221;


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<figure class="aligncenter size-large is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="683" src="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Hamisha-Ahuja-image-supplied-1024x683.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-61768" style="width:348px;height:auto" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Hamisha-Ahuja-image-supplied-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Hamisha-Ahuja-image-supplied-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Hamisha-Ahuja-image-supplied-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Hamisha-Ahuja-image-supplied-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Hamisha-Ahuja-image-supplied-2048x1365.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Hamisha Ahuja; photo by Akinlabi Akinbulumo</figcaption></figure></div>


Despite her lack of formal educational experience in filmmaking, Ahuja&#8217;s hands-on approach and business acumen, honed through years of entrepreneurship, equipped her to navigate the challenges of the film industry seamlessly.



&#8220;The major challenge was learning&#8230; day one on the set was day one for me in the film industry,&#8221; she reveals. &#8220;But what I was able to learn&#8230; has really helped me grow.&#8221;



Ahuja&#8217;s latest project, the Postcards series, further showcases her commitment to storytelling that transcends cultural boundaries.



&#8220;With Postcards, I had Nollywood go to India for the first time&#8230; centered around real-life stories without pitting both cultures against the other,&#8221; she explains.



Through her work, Ahuja aims to contribute to the evolving landscape of gender representation in both industries, recognizing the pivotal role of women in creative leadership.



&#8220;I think Nollywood has moved really far&#8230; a lot of the stakeholders are women,&#8221; she notes. &#8220;We just need to put out more content from the women&#8217;s perspective.&#8221;



As Ahuja prepares for the global release of Postcards on Netflix, she emphasizes the importance of balancing creativity with commercial viability, ensuring that stories resonate with diverse audiences.



&#8220;If you are completely creative and don&#8217;t think about the business side of things, it may be harder to see the commercial side,&#8221; she advises.



For aspiring creative entrepreneurs, Ahuja offers a message: &#8220;Just do it&#8230; dream big. Be practical. If you have a day job or income from somewhere else, don&#8217;t necessarily quit that job. Back it up with action, education and learning.&#8221;

Hamisha Ahuja (third from left) on location for Postcards; image supplied

Lights, Camera, Collaboration: The Filmmaker Bridging Nollywood And Bollywood

Diverse photography can help challenge perceptions and fight stereotypes. When Amanda Esther Akokhia started her photo studio some five years ago in the United Kingdom (UK), where she grew up, she was not aware just how important this was. At the time, photography was a hobby but it soon began to give her life purpose and meaning.



“When I started working, I would leave work during lunch, take pictures and return to work, and that was how I started photography. I wasn’t really fulfilled doing my job, but photography made me really happy. I knew in my heart that this is what I wanted to do [for] a living. That led me to open my first studio at 24,” says Akokhia, born in the UK but whose parents are Nigerian.



She’s the owner of Green Studio and now has over a decade of experience in the industry. Through education and the consistent drive for representation, she hopes to use her photography platform, Amanda Akokhia Photography, to bring about much-needed change.



The British Journal of Photography found that, globally, about 70% &#8211; 80% of photography students are women but they only account for 13% &#8211; 15% of professional photographers. Furthermore, the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics also reportedly estimated that, although women account for half of all working photographers, they still struggle to get opportunities.



When Akokhia started cutting her teeth in the industry, she had already noticed the disparity.



“I knew I wanted to do photography, but I could not find any successful role models that looked like me in the industry to emulate,” she recalls.



This was before the Covid-19 pandemic. Despite this, she decided to fully commit – she quit her legal profession and opened her studio with £10,000 ($12,400), which she secured through a combination of savings and investment from her business partner.



“They believed in my vision and were eager to contribute,” says Akokhia.



In those days the vision for the brand was simple.



“I didn’t know what the industry was like, I just knew my dream was to shoot for big magazines and to see my pictures on billboards. I was really interested in beauty and fashion and my vision was to be a commercial photographer who shot for the big brands that I admired so much growing up. I didn’t know how I was going to get there but I knew that was what I wanted to see myself doing,” Akokhia adds.



Within two years of opening her business, Akokhia had already fulfilled her goals in photography, working with brands like BBC, Warner Brothers, Harper’s Bazaar, Cosmopolitan, Disney and Pantene, among others.



“I started thinking [about] what the new vision for me at this stage of my life is. And I started to imagine a world where everyone would feel seen and can be seen through my work and encouraging other photographers to capture everyone. Sometimes, when you look at magazines in the UK, you only see photographers of a certain type and color. I shoot everyone as I would shoot a model for a campaign shoot,” she says.



Akokhia has steadily grown her business from one that generated a monthly revenue of £5,000 ($6,200) to one that has secured individual commercial campaigns worth £15,000 ($18,600) by elevating her business and building relationships with prominent commercial brands. An important focus for her is representation in her work, both behind the lens and in front of it.



And, as a rising creative in the sector, Akokhia hopes to achieve her new vision for creating inclusivity through training and mentorship, where she teaches future photographers and creatives how to turn their passion into a business.

Amanda Esther Akokhia started her first photo studio at the age of 24; image supplied

The UK-Based Nigerian Photographer Using A Different Lens To Challenge Norms

Media Challenge Initiative, or MCI, lives on the 4th floor of a blocky, unassuming shopping center in Kabalagala, a busy Kampala district named after the toothsome cassava and banana pancakes sold by the city’s street vendors. Kabalagala is the kind of humble, honest treat – an African soul food – that makes one wonder, between sweet mouthfuls, why our planet is so complicated.



Truth ought to be simple; facts should be safe from pernicious subjectivity. But there are still compelling reasons to be hopeful about the safety of our media landscape: inspiring and proactive leaders working hard to manifest a positive future.



Abaas Mpindi is the co-founder and CEO of MCI. Since 2017, MCI has worked with 3,000 journalism students, and founded more than 10 youth media startups. A mobile newsroom delivers skills programs to 17 Ugandan universities; the Next Gen Journalist activity strand has trained more than 130 program fellows in solutions-based journalism for social change. The MCI Media Hub, based at the organization’s multi-functional Kabalagala headquarters, provides a space for innovators (such as the fact-checking Debunk Media Initiative) to disrupt the status quo.



“African journalists today face a generational opportunity and challenge,” says Mpindi. “They report not only on what is news today, but also document stories that challenge long-held narratives about Africa. We support the system by building a generation of journalists who are not only multi-skilled, but equipped with the leadership skills and social consciousness to change their communities.”



MCI’s activity is productive; learned skills are immediately put to use in the creation of compelling content. Solutions Now Africa, for example, MCI’s solutions journalism newsroom, produces stories which highlight local strategies that work, instead of the doom-laden media navel gazing which so often fixates on poverty porn and problem cul-de-sacs.



“Let’s put it this way,” Mpindi says. “People wake up looking for solutions. We need to document these challenges and provide people with existing responses. As a citizen of a continent whose progress has been restricted by stereotypes, I believe solutions journalism can cover Africa’s unreported contributions, innovations and urgency. In an era of clickbait and disinformation, controversy is attractive; it is important therefore to positively adopt the same emotional communication techniques that are used by purveyors of misinformation.”



MCI is a recent recipient of significant new funding from the Elevate Foundation, an NGO which rewards the work of changemakers worldwide. The prize will exponentially escalate MCI’s growth, and further evolve the organization. Mpindi is meditative about the depth of this responsibility.



“When I started this journey, I was excited about the idea of skilling young journalists and exposing them to internships and jobs,” he says. &nbsp;“I didn’t foresee it would catapult me into a leader now dealing with the current challenges of our industry. It is a lonely and reflective journey, but I have grown to understand and appreciate the systemic challenges that determine the kind of journalism we consume as a final product. We are not asking for one-sided positive stories. We are asking for the whole story: capturing the continent in its diversity. Our journalists are trained to appreciate they have the power to change history.”

Abaas Mpindi; image supplied2

‘The Power To Change History’: How This Ugandan Entrepreneur Is Challenging Long-Held Narratives With Solutions Journalism

Niger designer Alia Baré, also the daughter of a former president, is working to weave together a positive narrative of her country through fashion.



From gracing the runways of Joburg Fashion Week for African Fashion International (AFI) in South Africa to unveiling her latest collection in Lagos, Nigeria, Alia Baré, the fashion designer from Niger, is on a mission to democratize ‘Made of Africa’ fashion, ensuring its accessibility to the everyday African.



The daughter of former Nigerien President Ibrahim Baré Maïnassara, Baré, always attuned to feedback, shares insights with FORBES AFRICA during her second visit to Lagos, having been there 14 months prior. Fascinated by the allure of fashion at 17, she attended the International Festival of Fashion in Africa (FIMA) with her parents in 1998 — a transformative experience kindling her love for the industry. “I have always been interested in fashion but looked at it from afar as it was intimidating for a young African girl, given the perception of fashion as something superficial.



FIMA, in the middle of Niger’s desert with famous designers like Kenzo showcasing under the stars, left me with deep memories,” Baré shares.



However, it took a career shift 15 years later, enrolling at the Raffles Design Institute in Singapore, for Baré to heed the call of her creative instincts. “It took me many years, a banking career that was unfulfilling, to realize that I needed to follow this inner voice for creation. At 32 years old, with two toddlers at home, I registered for a full-time diploma in fashion, and to date, have never regretted it.”



Baré’s design style bears the imprints of her diverse experiences in Senegal and India. “I fell in love with the diversity of fabrics and colors in India during my three years there.” The majesty and feminine characteristics of the Asian aesthetic resonate in her creations, drawing a parallel between Asian and African cultures in craftsmanship and values.



After graduating, Baré returned to West Africa, choosing Senegal as the base for her eponymous brand. “Senegal was a natural option for me, as my family was living there, and it gave me the opportunity to open my own workshop, as I have always been driven by action.”



Launched in 2015, she navigated the competitive landscape with a focus on ‘Made in Africa’ garments, gradually building her brand through consistency in quality and aesthetics. The emergence of concept stores became pivotal in connecting with the right clientele.



Speaking at TedxADU in Niger in 2019, Baré imparts wisdom, urging her audience to heed their inner voice, conquer challenges, and strive for their best selves.



Growing up as the daughter of a former president, Baré reflects on her parents’ determination to provide her with a grounded and normal childhood. “Our parents always tried their best to raise us as normal as possible and, more importantly, to stay grounded to earth,” she reveals. Despite the tumultuous political backdrop, she emphasizes that they were deliberately shielded from privileges like diplomatic passports and business class flights. 



This upbringing, she believes, created a balanced life for her and her siblings. The tragic assassination of her father in 1999 marked a turning point in their lives. Baré recalls the importance of family bonds during that challenging period. “We hung on to each other as a family and on the simple things that sounded normal beside our universe collapsing.” This resilience, instilled by her parents, became a lifeline during the tumultuous times that followed. Baré acknowledges that her life can be divided into “before and after 1999”, but she stresses that her father’s values and love for the country continue to shape her identity. 



“My father’s love for his country and Africa is a strong part of my DNA and defines who I am as an artist and as a woman,” she asserts. This deep-rooted connection to her heritage and a commitment to showcasing a positive image of her culture propel her artistic endeavors. Reflecting on her journey, she resists the notion that the experiences of that time defined her. “What I am today is, of course, the result of my fights, my struggles, my pain, and most importantly, my will to overcome all those obstacles to express a positive image of my culture and my love for my country.” Her determination and resilience emerge as driving forces behind her artistic expression.



The DNA collection is a fusion of Nigerien symbols and South African graphic design. Baré sought to redefine Niger’s traditional culture, infusing her narrative and vision into the designs.



Collaborating with a South African graphic designer, they crafted patterns reflecting both their visions, resulting in a visually stunning collection.



“The culture of Niger is well-known worldwide with the Tuareg jewelry, the blue men [of the desert], and many other things, but it is usually very traditional and hasn’t evolved for quite some time. I realized that I really wanted to talk about the culture of my beloved country but with my own narrative and vision reflecting the evolution of society, the world, and myself. So I decided to reach out to a South African graphic designer as I fell in love with the bold aesthetic found while I visited Johannesburg for the first time.”



Living in different countries has endowed Baré with adaptability and keen observation. “The most important thing I gained from living and traveling around the world is also a sense of adaptation. Therefore, I always keep in mind while creating my designs that they have to be versatile, easy to wear, easy to maintain, but most importantly, they can be worn everywhere in the world without looking like ‘a costume’.”



Participating in AFI’s Joburg Fashion Week is a constant highlight for Baré. Beyond the creative process, the event’s ‘shop the runway’ feature offers insights into the business side, fostering direct feedback from customers and enhancing her understanding of ocal and international markets.



At the launch in Temple Muse, Lagos, Baré plays the perfect host to fashion enthusiasts and supportive colleagues. Among them is Nigerian model Okorie Kenneth, who praises her collection: “I have known Alia and her brand for a year or two. I love the collection.



The collection is beautiful because this is not usually her niche or what she normally does.



But she found a way, and I love the fact that she has been experimenting with different fabrics and styles, which is beautiful. And it’s not just for older women; it’s for Gen Z girls. So yes, it works a lot, and I love it.”



Addressing environmental concerns, Baré emphasizes the inherently sustainable nature of African designers. Embracing slow fashion and prioritizing local production, she aims to create a virtuous circle of consumption. By selling mainly in the African region, reducing transportation, and encouraging mindful consumption, she believes in making a positive impact on African consumers’ habits. Baré stays true to her cultural roots while embracing modernity. 



“I once met a Reiki master in Cambodia, and I was sharing with him my struggles to find my real identity with all these influences and evolutions in the modern world. He just told me that a tree doesn’t need to be rooted in soil as my spirit is evolving through time and space, so are my values and identity. I am a floating tree with free roots enriching itself from life and experiences but doesn’t change its true nature.”

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Culture Couture: A First Daughter And Designer’s Journey From Niger To Senegal

It is said that good people die early. In the case of Herbert Wigwe, aged 57, it seems too soon. Those who had the privilege of crossing paths with Herbert realized immediately that they had a unique Leader before them. In this moment of pain and grief for his family and friends and faced with the unconformism of the tragedy, it is important to remember his path and honor his legacy.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="576" height="1024" src="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/foto-inserir.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-61235" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/foto-inserir.jpg 576w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/foto-inserir-169x300.jpg 169w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 576px) 100vw, 576px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">N&#8217;gunu Tiny with Herbert Wigwe
</figcaption></figure>



 I remember him as a Leader with unusual personal qualities and a global and humanistic vision. Herbert Wigwe stood out for his outstanding intelligence, fine and polite manners, and for his truly extraordinary decision-making and implementation capacities. He was a man who wanted not only to do things, but to do good and for others: he was a man of the common good. He had two families: Wigwe and Access Group, and he was committed to both. He co-founded and developed a global African institution. Access Bank is today an established African bank in the world&#8217;s main financial and commercial markets, serving 60 million customers (the same as Citi Bank, for example) in more than 17 countries, with assets totaling more than USD 35 billion. Numbers aside, he leaves us a global bank focused on African clients. Herbert was a humanist leader. And it is under this latter condition that he wanted to leave his imprint with the social impact investment in a Pan-African university in his hometown, Isiokpo, Rivers State, Nigeria, offering a new generation the opportunity of receiving world-class education. Wigwe University shall teach the new generation of African leaders and provide “school personality” to millions of Africans in the coming decades. I would also like to remember the man and the friend with whom I have had the privilege of working very closely on common projects and developing a unique friendship in recent years. Last year, on one of our trips, he asked me if I would be available to teach at Wigwe University. As I was about to answer he added, “It&#8217;s not really an invitation. I won’t take no for an answer because the transfer of knowledge is our daily obligation ”. The matter was settled right there! In this moment of deep pain and grief, I bow before the unique memory of Herbert, Doreen and Chizi and I would like to send my heartfelt condolences to his family, loved ones and the Access Group. My feelings are also with the families and friends of the remaining four victims of that fateful moment of Saturday 10 February 2024. Herbert&#8217;s legacy only makes our responsibility even greater. Keep soaring, “H”..! If he was among us, he would answer: “Tiny, No Wahala”. Lisbon, February 12, 2024.

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In memoriam: Herbert Wigwe, Leader, Visionary and Humanist (15 August 1966 – 10 February 2024).

Affinity Africa founder Tarek Mouganie is addressing the challenges of the unbanked in his country through digital finance.



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">
“As a result of having been excluded from financial services, small business don’t get created.&#8221;
</blockquote>



After dropping out of high school, Ibrahim Musa, a small business owner based in Ghana, has become somewhat of a serial entrepreneur. With stints in everything from cold stores, car sales and, most recently, selling electronic goods in Makola Market, the country’s busiest local market, his biggest challenge is actually in the digital sphere.



For years, Musa has faced a major snag when it comes to opening a bank account for his small business due to the many regulations involved.



“Every time I try and open a bank account, I am asked for so many documents that I simply do not have. After being rejected several times, I just decided to use mobile money for my banking needs but that is very limited because you cannot have access to the full range of services traditional banks offer and that is a real problem for entrepreneurs like me,” says Musa.



He is not wrong. The problem he speaks of affects over 500 million people across sub-Saharan Africa who do not have, amongst other things, proof of official identity documents. This is according to a 2017 article by the World Economic Forum. The knock-on effect of this problem is that it has led to over 350 million adults being financially excluded and expected to live on cash without the use of financial facilities, cited in a report by AfricaNenda.



For Ghanaian entrepreneur, Tarek Mouganie, the only way to tackle a problem like this is through the development of digital financial services. His solution, Affinity Africa, is a digital bank.



Mouganie holds an engineering degree from Imperial College London and PhD from the University of Cambridge. After working in the United Kingdom (UK) for a number of years, he decided to relocate back to Ghana to help solve the problems of the country’s unbanked and underbanked. It took Mouganie four and a half years to build the company and it finally launched in 2022.



“With no marketing spend, we have acquired 30,000 accounts just by word of mouth and, for 90% of our customers, we are their first-ever bank account. We have helped our customers save $23 million to date and have provided $13 million worth of loans as well. The average revenue of our borrowers has gone up by 500% and their employment base has gone by 3.5 times, so we are seeing growth,” says Mouganie.



The implementation of mobile money certainly is a silver lining for the future of the unbanked but according to Mouganie, it simply provides access. There is a deeper need to be addressed for small business holders.



“Our bank accounts are free, we don’t have any monthly charges and we provide interest across all accounts and that is a unique proposition. Our lending specifically focuses on small businesses which is what traditional banks don’t typically do,” says Mouganie.



He believes the problem is endemic to how African governments run their economies.



“If you look at OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) countries, the tax to GDP ratio is 33%. If you look at Africa, it is 16%. So, we are the lowest tax-paying continent in the world and for this reason, governments typically don’t have money which causes a huge amount of issues. But what is even worse is that a majority of our taxation is indirect –VAT, E-levy and other solutions that are quite regressive.”



“The reason that exists is because we have a huge informal sector and as a result of having been excluded from financial services, small business don’t get created,” Mouganie adds.



According to Mouganie, the reason why small businesses are important is because in developed countries, they employ about 60% of the population and drive about 50% of government revenue.



“In our part of the world, that is just not the case. So, to create employment and build resilient economies, we need to support small businesses, nurture them and encourage those new businesses to be registered, so that we can drive employment and socio-economic development,” says Mouganie.



This is, perhaps, what makes Affinity’s growth noteworthy.



The journey has been far from easy. The stringent process of obtaining a banking license has proven to be a challenge for many fintech entrepreneurs in the past. But Mouganie was so confident in his vision that he sold his house in London to invest in Affinity and set out to conquer the hurdle of regulatory approvals.



“Regulators exist because they are there to protect the consumer and who is the consumer? In our case, it is our customer and the regulator in Ghana wanted to support economic growth and support small businesses. We came up with a proposition of increasing financial inclusion in the true term and not just giving accessibility, which is what mobile money and digital money has done, but very much focus on affordability as well,” says Mouganie.



He founded Affinity with the aim to solve the problem of financial inclusion through digital finance and based on the growth Mouganie has achieved so far, the digital bank is ready to transform Ghana’s unbanked sector, one customer at a time.

Tarek Mouganie; image supplied1

The Ghanaian Entrepreneur Who Sold His House In London To Build The Dreams Of SMEs  

Nobuhle Ndlovu is among the few to break the glass ceiling in the male-dominated world of private equity.



An investment banker-turned-vice president at a private equity firm in South Africa, Nobuhle Ndlovu realized early on that her calling was to help humanity.



Awarded a full scholarship to Canada, she majored in Economics and International Politics, is fluent in Mandarin Chinese, and holds an MBA from the University of Oxford. She has lived and worked in seven countries across North America, Europe, Asia, and Africa.



It was after a stint at Standard Chartered that Ndlovu realized her true goal. “My internship taught me that banking is the easier route to track money and hold people accountable. The NGO space has a lot of wastage; I liked the concept of making a difference but being able to quantify it.”



Ndlovu started her career with the mindset that she didn’t need to prove herself.



“I had been schooled overseas by my own right through scholarships, and worked hard to get to where I am, but coming back to a South African setting, it all goes out of the window,” says Ndlovu, who started from scratch when she moved back to South Africa.



Ndlovu recalls her earliest job in corporate finance in South Africa as one of only two women in a team of around 50. “I recall thinking, ‘wow, in South Africa, this is still a thing’; I get it in New York, but South Africa?



“But I quickly learned that if you stay humble, put your head down and work, you’ll get the props – if props are necessary,” she says.



“For me, it was about ‘how do I get to the next thing’. There’s not a lot of faces that look like me so it was trying to balance that and doing my best to include others to pay it forward,” she says.



Ndlovu didn’t know she wanted to get into private equity but as she got older, she thought about creating businesses and sustainable ecosystems.



“Even before I went into mergers and acquisitions advisory, I knew I wanted to gain the necessary hard skills to be able to go into private equity,” she says



Today, Ndlovu is a vice president at Kasada Capital Management, an independent real estate private equity platform that focuses on the hospitality sector in sub-Saharan Africa. She also made it to the Mail &amp; Guardian 200 Young South Africans cohort in 2021.



“I get to travel for work and spend a lot of time in East Africa. Hospitality is such an interesting space but it’s also about creating spaces that people want to spend their time and money in.”



You could look at it as real estate or FMCG because you’re catering to a fast-moving good, she says.



“My current fund is across sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) and it’s so fulfilling seeing how much you’re supporting the region.”



Some of the biggest lessons Ndlovu has learned over the years is that no market is the same.



“It’s about how you balance risk and return all the time and having the right people in place to buy and manage assets.



“We’re SSA-focused; we’re constantly trying to work out what market in SSA makes sense when, and where each asset gets anchored.”

Nobuhle Ndlovu; image supplied (1)

South African In Private Equity: ‘Put Your Head Down And Work’

Ghanaian entrepreneur Alima Bello, the founder of Bello Edu, would have been toiling away in a greasy oil seed factory had she not chosen to ignite her passion for contemporary fashion design.



Fashion and art are often synonymous. Just ask Ghanaian fashion entrepreneur Alima Bello, who in 2014 launched a contemporary womenswear brand named Bello Edu.



“We describe the clothes we are making as canvases for women,” says Bello on her body of work.



And as with every canvas, this dream too started on a blank sheet of paper.



As creative director of the brand, humble beginnings preceded international acclaim, such as showcasing her work on prestigious platforms like the Portugal Fashion Week as well as being stocked in retail outlets across Africa.



The challenges included facing an industry that makes it difficult to raise capital to fund entrepreneurial dreams.



“Fashion is such a seasonal business, and a lot of traditional finance institutions don’t understand how it works. It takes time,” says Bello, reiterating the words of most startup founders in the fashion sector.



“The way the fashion cycle works; you get a loan, you do your samples, you start taking your photographs, start doing your campaign, start getting your pieces into retailers and that takes about three months before you start seeing any income from your designs.”



Bello had to bootstrap her dream by creating capital working several odd jobs. Her career also did not take a linear path.



Growing up in her hometown in Kumasi, Bello was expected to graduate with a degree in business management from the University of Ghana and promptly join the family business.



“As a first-born child to a Yoruba man, my father expected me to finish school and join him in the family business and he designed my life that way – go to school to study business management and then finish and come back and work in an oil seed factory where we were processing soya bean oil, palm kernel oil and refining as well.”



That would have been a slippery slope, but thankfully, serendipity came calling.



Bello was privileged enough to have her father fund her travels abroad during school breaks when she would indulge in her love of fashion. But after graduation and once she started working for him, he told her she must buy her own tickets to London because he was no longer paying for them. It meant she couldn’t shop abroad and had to relegate her fashion choices to the boutiques of Kumasi.



“[But] if I found stuff I liked, they wouldn’t have the color or size I wanted,” recalls Bello. 



The only alternative was to start making her own clothes. That interest transformed into a calling and with that, Bello managed to convince her father to let her follow her dreams to pursue fashion.



“It took me two to three years to convince him that I wanted to move to Accra to start my business. But when I moved, I couldn’t find a fashion job with any established designer or brand. So, I found a job with a furniture company that had an interior design unit.”



Bello’s thinking was if she could find a job and see how brands interacted with customers, it would give her a better understanding of what customers were looking for and see how the customer-facing side of the business worked. But that did not pan out well and she found a part-time job in an ad agency doing administrative work and spent her spare time “pattern-drafting”.



Although she was garnering interest with her designs and being invited to showcase her work on some platforms like other designers, Bello decided to take some time out and focus on building her brand.



“It took some time to define who the Bello Edu target is; who am I designing for and what my brand story is. I took my time to answer these questions; trying to flesh out the ‘why I want to do this’ and ‘for whom am I doing this’.”



After some soul-searching, she finally understood.



“The Bello Edu woman is 33 to 35. She is a hard-working woman and confident of who she is. She likes to splurge every now and then but is very conscious about where her money goes. She can buy a luxury bag and a t-shirt from Zara and pants from Bello Edu. She doesn’t take herself way too seriously and she takes life as it comes.”



And with that, came the biggest turning point in Bello’s career. She rented her first brick and mortar store in 2017 and that is when it became “real”. Then came the challenges. By 2018, Bello had depleted her entire life savings trying to keep the business afloat. Although the brand was attracting some sales, the money was not enough to sustain the business.



“I would get so stressed that my jaws would lock up. I had dried up everything and I had workers depending on me. We were not making enough to [even] pay for our overheads,” says Bello.



Then 2020 came and Covid-19 hit. What should have spelled the end of her business brought unexpected respite. “When the lockdown happened, along with the Black Lives Matter movement, there was a boost in sales for black-owned businesses. We got featured on certain platforms and there were more eyes on the brand and that is what helped to boost sales and keep as alive. We didn’t have a marketing budget and everything we have done today has been based on word-of-mouth.”



Today, the brand is in a much more comfortable space and the vision has evolved, she admits. “African fashion had become so popular, and the prints were so bold and in your face. My personal taste is very minimal when it comes to the choice of colors and prints. I wanted to create a brand that would serve as a canvas,” says Bello of her minimalist designs but maximum dreams.

Alima Bello; image supplied

What It Takes To Build A Fashion Brand In Ghana

The importance of agriculture to Africa’s economic output cannot be emphasized enough. Desmond Koney’s Complete Farmer is doing close to $10 million in revenue, and have just closed a funding round of $10.4 million. 



Agriculture has been lauded by many governments as the key to reducing poverty due to the sheer number of people that it employs. According to figures from the World Bank, agriculture contributes to about 65%-70% of Africa’s labor force as well as 30%-40% of GDP.



Furthermore, it estimates that agriculture is the most significant economic activity for about 70% of people on the continent who live in rural areas.



The Ghanaian agriculture sector, in particular, is characterized by smallholder farmers who farm on less than two hectares of land, according to the Ministry of Food and Agriculture in Ghana.



“Agriculture has been the principal sector for the development and growth of Ghana’s economy for decades and it still is a major contributor. It contributes somewhere in the region of about 30% to the GDP of Ghana. The main challenge is how we industrialize the process in order to scale and reap the fruits of the sector,” says Kwame Nkum, senior consultant at Nkum Associates.



This is a challenge Ghanaian entrepreneurs in the sector have been grappling with for years. On the one hand, the agriculture value chain is perhaps one of the longest in any industry. Also, there are interdependencies between one stage of the value chain and the next but, often, there is a lack of data between the two, which creates significant infrastructure challenges for the sector.



For mechanical engineer cum farmer, Desmond Koney, these challenges represent an opportunity to innovate and find solutions that help improve the sector. As the CEO and Founder of Complete Farmer, a crowd farming platform that facilitates easy sourcing of quality farm produce through an African online market, Koney is embarking on an ambitious journey to digitalize agriculture in Ghana.



“It is an exciting time to be in the industry and an exciting time to solve the problem the way we are solving it. Africa is producing close to $90 billion worth of produce and if you were able to build the infrastructure that captures that value, we can create a lot of wealth for local farmers,” says Koney.



The problem is that the farmers producing this are not able to sell their products to the people who need it and this is where Koney is hoping his innovative solution will make a difference.



“This presents an interesting opportunity to build global supply chains and ecommerce platforms. Once we can build this infrastructure, the opportunity of that $90 billion a year is something that should excite anyone,” says Koney.



Currently Complete Farmer is doing close to $10 million in revenue, according to Koney, and they have just closed a funding round of $10.4 million. That has led to the expansion of the Complete Farmer solution to Togo. The platform allows buyers from all over the world to order produce under the care of Complete Farmer.



“When a company makes an order, they put it up on the platform and make it possible for anyone who wants to be a supplier of the product to get on board by way of investment,” he says.



Like many great success stories, Koney’s journey was born out of adversity. Although his father was a pineapple farmer, Koney had opted for a life in the sciences with dreams of becoming an engineer for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Then tragedy struck.



“My father passed away suddenly when I was just about to write my exams in school, and it was a really difficult moment for me. One of my lecturers said this was going to be a defining moment for me and looking back now, I can see how it was. Suddenly, I had a little brother to take care of and I had to support my mother. I remember after my father’s funeral I had only GHC [Ghanaian Cedi] 10 in my pocket,” recalls Koney.



He decided to continue his father’s legacy as a farmer but first, he had to understand the challenges he went through. After working on his father’s farm, Koney realized the challenges were glaring.



“We realized that the agriculture industry has middlemen who purchase goods at a low price from the farmers to sell at much higher prices. This means farmers had no access to the market they were producing for,” says Koney.



With these invaluable lessons, Koney decided to utilize his engineering skills to build farms like factories.



“The initial vision was ‘how do we make agriculture like what China has done with manufacturing?’ In China, you will see people using their garages to set up factories… So, for me it was like ‘how can I bring that same energy and that same approach to farming?’ So, the vision was to really figure out how to build a farm like a factory and try and emulate how China has become a superpower in manufacturing,” says Koney.



The company designed an end-to-end process to solve the value chain issue by digitizing it. By doing so, Complete Farmer has become a bridge between both the demand side and the supply side which increases efficiencies in the entire value chain.



“It took us six years and we have had about three or four pivots to really figure out how we can create that factory to get there. Trying to raise funds, trying to figure out business model implications and trying to figure out the legal implications, and that is what we have been doing for the past six years to try and build this vision,” says Koney.



He is a firm believer in Africa’s ability to be the breadbasket of the world and, now, with Complete Farmer, it has become his mission is to make the rest of the world believe in Africa’s ability to feed everyone too.

Desmond Koney; image supplied1

‘Completing The Chain’: How This Ghanaian Is Bridging Gaps Through Agritech

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The Big Backroom Boom In South Africa’s Townships

Wandia Gichuru cannot wait for the day that AfCFTA becomes a reality, especially in the textiles and fashion space.



Most people start young. But while in her 40s, Wandia Gichuru’s journey into entrepreneurship was serendipitous and unexpected. Creating a truly Kenyan fashion brand, she now epitomizes a new generation of fearless entrepreneurs in the East African nation.



Before venturing into the fashion world, Gichuru spent over 15 years as an international development advisor, working for the government of the United Kingdom, the United Nations and the World Bank. But she always knew that she wanted to make a difference back home.



Into fitness in a big way and also a salsa dancer, she set up Vivo Activewear with a friend, Anne-Marie Burugu, in Nairobi in 2011, with a vision to create a Made in Kenya brand catering to women embracing wellness as a lifestyle. She went on to also set up an e-commerce platform onboarding Made in Kenya beauty and fashion brands.



From a single store in Nairobi, Vivo Activewear grew to include Vivo Woman, Safari and Zoya, curated to resonate with the contemporary African renowned for fusing style, comfort, functionality, and affordability.



“Our vision at Vivo Fashion Group is to see Africa dress herself, as well as Africa dress the world. We believe that in addition to being great producers and ardent consumers of fashion, the time has come that we are also creators of strong African fashion brands,” says Gichuru.



The fashion label recently joined the&nbsp;Nairobi Securities&nbsp;Exchange’s Ibuka incubation and acceleration program.



“We want as many people as possible to join us on this journey. So, listing on the Nairobi Securities Exchange would be one way to do this, by allowing anyone who wishes to become a shareholder of the group.”



Expanding its footprint across East Africa and beyond is a pivotal component of Vivo&#8217;s strategy. Unlike merely exporting Kenyan styles, the approach involves tailoring offerings to suit each unique market it enters.



Gichuru emphasizes the importance of establishing partnerships with creators, designers, suppliers, and manufacturers in these regions, thus nurturing the industry ecosystem.



“Over 200 million East Africans get up and get dressed every day. It is hard to get accurate data, but in our estimation, less than 5% of East Africans wear any clothes that were produced in East Africa. So, the opportunities in the fashion sector are huge, and we are only scratching the surface,” says Gichuru.



As Africa prepares for a single trading bloc under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), Gichuru says this presents an exciting opportunity, especially in the textiles and fashion sector. She envisions the removal of barriers that currently impede sourcing and distribution across African countries, potentially opening doors to new African brands entering the Kenyan market.



“We cannot wait for the day that AfCFTA becomes a reality, especially in the textiles and fashion space. This will open doors for everyone in the sector in such powerful ways. We are desperate, for example, to make clothing using Kitenge fabric from Ghana. However, under the current tax environment, we would have to pay 50% duty on Ghanaian fabric, which makes it impossible to create a competitively priced product from it.”



For entrepreneurs like Gichuru, this impending reality holds the promise of uncharted growth. However, alongside this anticipation come the pressing concerns regarding the key challenges that must be addressed to facilitate the scaling of businesses like hers on the African stage.



“Hopefully, AfCFTA will address these kinds of challenges and we will be able to start sourcing from and distributing to countries across Africa. And vice versa, we will see all kinds of African brands enter the Kenyan market,” she says.



Gichuru’s venture, Shop Zetu, is also making strides in Kenya’s fast-growing e-commerce space. The platform is a one-stop shop for all things fashion, beauty, and accessories.



Her current focus is the East African and COMESA markets, where products can be more efficiently moved to and from Kenya.



The Vivo Fashion Group also places strong emphasis on diversity and inclusion. Over 70% of its 450 employees are women. Gichuru is also keen on promoting female entrepreneurs.



“Women in particular are sometimes afraid to come across as too ambitious or too confident. Which can work against us, especially when trying to raise capital. We must be clear about our goals and learn how to articulate them in a way that convinces people that we know where we are going, we know how to get there, and that they should join us on the journey.”



She advises aspiring entrepreneurs to be true to themselves and not let perfectionism or fear hinder their ambitions. She also emphasizes the importance of action.



“I have an incredibly strong bias for action. The advice I mostly give to younger entrepreneurs is to just get started! Don’t let ideas just sit in your head. Start! Execute! Put something in front of potential customers and get a reaction. You’ll either make a sale or you’ll get some feedback – or hopefully both. But it will get you one step further on your way to building a real business”.



As Kenya celebrates 60 years of independence, Gichuru believes that determination and resilience are central to keeping the country’s entrepreneurial spirit alive.



“We have a way of picking ourselves up and keeping ourselves going. And we are also lucky that we live in such a beautiful country, and have a great sense of humor – so no matter how difficult things are, the sun will still be bright and shining, and someone next to you is going to crack a joke and make you laugh!

Wandia Gichuru; image supplied

‘To See Africa Dress The World’: A Kenyan Fashion Entrepreneur On The Industry’s Promising Future  

Zuri obtains fabrics and designs from Kenya and other African countries, creating jobs.



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African style is making its way to New York City. In June this year, the Brooklyn Museum hosted Africa Fashion, one of North America’s largest exhibits celebrating African clothing and craftsmanship. From being highlighted on fashion runways to new stores popping up around the city, fashion from the continent is creeping into the wardrobes of many New Yorkers.



One fast-growing store is Zuri, which opened a few years ago in downtown Manhattan. The brand prides itself on obtaining fabrics and designs from Kenya and other African countries.



“We are hiring different artists from there, who then produce the pieces,” Tiffany Collins, an employee at Zuri, tells FORBES AFRICA. “Then it’s shipped. So you kind of create this ecosystem that continuously flows. You’re creating jobs, and you’re paying people fair, livable wages.”



Workers at Zuri hope their efforts will make African clothes a staple in wardrobes.



“More celebration and understanding of the textile and the process and what really goes into producing those beautiful pieces,” is what Collins wishes for. “So many hands have touched them prior to them even getting here.”

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Rocking African Style In Manhattan

Subomi Plumptre is one of the few female African CEOs in asset management on the continent focusing on empowering middle class Africans through investment solutions and unlocking prosperity.



The latest Henley &amp; Partners Africa Wealth Report reveals that the continent holds a total of $2.4 trillion in private wealth, with South Africa, Nigeria, Egypt, Kenya, and Morocco accounting for over 50% of this. Despite this, income inequality remains high, and there’s a significant ‘floating class’ within the middle class facing insecurity.



Subomi Plumptre, the CEO of Volition Cap in Nigeria, aims to address these challenges.


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Over a span of three years, her company successfully launched a $30 million fund for agriculture and real estate projects in Africa, resulting in financial independence rates of up to 75% for 3,000 members. Additionally, it’s supporting African filmmakers with $250,000 in funding and have provided financial literacy courses to over 10,000 individuals.



Plumptre also recently toured the United States (US) engaging with the African diaspora through the ‘Celebration of African Prosperity’ roadshow with information on diaspora-focused funds.



Originally, Volition began as a financial education company and investment club. Later, obtaining a Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) license, it pioneered a novel fund management approach for Africa utilizing investment clubs (cooperatives).



The acquisition of the SEC license validated and institutionalized their model.



Plumptre co-founded Volition Cap, a licensed asset manager, with Kola Oyeneyin in 2018 after facing personal financial challenges.



A registered fund manager and one of the few African female CEOs of an asset management firm, Plumptre tells FORBES AFRICA: “I had worked in the corporate sector for decades and was committed to my career. But not only was I financially illiterate, my responsibilities did not leave much time for active investing. Like many middle-class employees, I assumed that someday, my stock options would take care of me. But during my career, my country went through two recessions, disrupting the plans of the company I worked for; and making my stock options worthless.



“Around the same time, my parents were dealing with critical medical issues that required expensive healthcare. I could not afford to fly them abroad for treatment that was unavailable in my country. That was a wake-up call for me. I realized there were others like me, hard-working middle-class folk, who were one catastrophe away from poverty. I decided to change that by setting up Volition Cap.”



On social media, where she commands a significant following and is regarded one of Nigeria’s thought leaders in business and strategy, Plumptre channels her thoughts on various topics including life, career and investment.



A few hours before the commencement of her series of engagements in the US, Plumptre, overwhelmed with the support she had already garnered, tweeted to her over 112,000 followers: “There are so many people on social media who quietly support me. You share my content and tell others about my work. I am truly grateful.”



Seemingly aware of the ongoing curiosity regarding her connection with Ashleigh Plumptre, a center-back for Al-Ittihad and the Nigeria national team (popularly known as the Super Falcons), she shared a tweet featuring Ashleigh’s victory dance after her team’s win against Australia in the FIFA Women’s World Cup. In response, she remarked: “Lovely to see my niece’s victory dance.”



Apart from her work with Volition Cap, Plumptre engages in various fields such as public speaking, coaching, and mentorship. Her Subomi Plumptre Fellowship aims to mentor and network with young Nigerians who value hard work and excellence.



Moreover, she established The Subomi Plumptre Trust to address education, health, and cultural challenges.



She is also a published author, having written The C’s of Social Media and Unscripted, where she candidly shares her thoughts and struggles about life. Additionally, Plumptre has trained thousands on investment intelligence through her online courses.



The film The Black Book, directed by Editi Effiong and co- executive produced by Plumptre, was released on Netflix on her birthday – September 22 – this year.



“At Volition Cap, we are proud to have been the largest funders in the exclusive syndicate that backed the film [The Black Book] a group of believers who are iconoclasts in their own right. Our homegrown creatives have taken the world by storm, through Nollywood, Afrobeats, literature and fashion. Therefore, the creative industry must be supported,” says Plumptre.



Her dedication has earned her recognition, including acceptance to the Forbes Business Council and being featured in the ChangeMakers’ list of 100 Nigerians Leading Change.



The Bill &amp; Melinda Gates Foundation recently nominated Plumptre as one of the Goalkeepers — a global collective of changemakers advancing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This recognition is in acknowledgment of her efforts to champion middle-class wealth in Africa and the diaspora. Her specific focus is on Goals 8, 9, and 10, which include Decent Work and Economic Growth; Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure; and Reduced Inequalities.



“It’s time to shift the African paradigm from poverty and foreign aid to wealth and prosperity. And we can only do so by empowering the socioeconomic group – the middle-class – that powers society through entrepreneurship, job creation, prioritization of education, active citizenship and remittances,” says Plumptre.



She is widely recognized for her integrity, thoroughness, and sincerity, as described by renowned photographer and singer Toyin Sokefun-Bello, better known as TY Bello.



“When I think of Subomi, the word that comes to mind is integrity,” Sokefun-Bello shared via Facebook in March 2021. “I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone more thorough, straightforward, and sincere in everything&#8230; even with the way she creates&#8230; One of the most innovative minds we have, both left and right-brained in a very special way&#8230; Subomi is a genius, really.”



“There’s still so much we all need to learn from Subomi. It feels good to know people that will change the world for real. I’m excited about the things she’s about to unveil,” she concluded, indicating her awareness of Plumptre’s plans for innovations in creating wealth for others.



“Trust is at the core of our community at Vizient Coop [one of the cooperatives managed by Volition Cap]. For many years, we built our membership from referrals only. This means satisfied customers told their friends, colleagues, and family members.



We also ensure that in times of market uncertainties, we never leave our community stranded. We keep communicating and intervening on their behalf,” Plumptre says as she highlights the importance of trust and community at Volition Cap.



She adds, “A major success story for me personally was a client we worked with for four years, having designed a custom investment plan for her. Through the returns on her investment, she could afford to send her kids to a premium university of their choice. We also have stories of retirees who currently live off their investment earnings.”



To address low investment literacy and combat Ponzi schemes, Volition Cap provides free investment courses to educate potential investors. Nigeria Deposit Insurance Company (NDIC) disclosed last year that at least N911.45 billion ($1.17 billion) has been lost to various Ponzi schemes and related fraud across the country in 23 years.



Plumptre sees technology as a valuable tool to distribute financial products and educate investors about their risk appetites and investment profiles. Volition Cap collaborated with Opportunik Global Fund to create an AI-powered platform to help investors find their Africa-themed investor profile, utilizing technology innovatively to support homegrown investments.



“At Volition Cap, investing is not just about money. It’s about enabling dreams and life plans for our clients. That’s what keeps us going.



“In Volition Cap’s white paper, we alluded to the importance of the middle-class in creating jobs, educating the next generation and active citizenship. Therefore, our vision is an empowered middle-class that is financially independent, freeing them to create visionary products and to participate more fully in the design of their nations,” Plumptre says.



She reveals that her second research report, Unlocking African Prosperity, co-authored with Oyeneyin and Dean Onyambu, is now recommended reading in the Master of Business Administration (MBA) class at Hult Business School’s United Kingdom (UK) campus.



“I am pleased to illuminate Africa’s potential, showcasing how both Africans and the diaspora can generate wealth through alternative investments. The narrative of Africa must evolve from aid and poverty to entrepreneurship and wealth creation.

The Wealth Creator In Nigeria’s Asset Management World

The man behind the success of the The Real Housewives of Nairobi has an equally interesting story.



Amidst the ever-changing landscape of entrepreneurship, Eugene Mbugua is a role model in Kenya, embarking on a journey that found its roots in the most unexpected of places — a high school canteen. Nestled within the hallowed halls of Nairobi&#8217;s Upper Hill Boys High School, Mbugua took his first steps into the world of business by joining a student-owned canteen that offered break snacks. This early foray ignited the flames of entrepreneurship within him, leading him to become a shareholder in the venture and explore unique avenues, such as selling creatively-adorned envelopes to fellow students, designed for penning letters to girlfriends in other boarding schools, whose letters were sent via post.



When he moved on to university, he continued his quest to explore the world of business. He dabbled in various enterprises, from a shop selling bootleg DVDs to a haven for video game enthusiasts between classes. “I also tried my hand in different businesses varying from event management to a tour company; they all failed,” says Mbugua.



It was during his last year of university that the tide turned. A chance encounter with the world of film-making after high school, courtesy of a cousin who brought him to a film set, ignited a passion that would change his life&#8217;s course. This newfound love led him to pursue a course in television production at university, while concurrently managing his small businesses and exploring various job opportunities in the field.



Throughout this tumultuous journey, Mbugua held onto a dream – the dream of creating his own TV show.



“This whole time I pitched to quite a number of different TV stations. Eventually about a month prior to my graduation, our first show Young Rich was bought by a local station”. It focused on young entrepreneurs and quickly became a top-ranking, award-winning TV show. “That was our first milestone, the premiere of our first TV show Young Rich in 2013. It’s what set the ground for everything else that came”.



Mbugua and his team at D&amp;R Studios went on to produce more than 20 television shows, establishing a prominent presence in Kenya&#8217;s media landscape. Their latest sensation, The Real Housewives of Nairobi, is capturing audiences&#8217; attention not just in Kenya but on an international scale, thanks to collaborations with platforms like Showmax and NBCUniversal.



After a successful run of their reality show Kyallo Kulture, Mbugua got into the beauty space, forging partnerships with entities and personalities that allow the studio to not only take advantage of their clientele base but also tap into their huge following to provide value for audiences and broadcasters.



He recently launched a cosmetic line called Unapologetic in partnership with media personality and entrepreneur Betty Kyallo.



What makes Mbugua’s journey particularly fascinating is his ability to adapt and innovate. One major pivot came in 2020-2021 when D&amp;R Studios attracted investment and established a governing board.



“We took in investment and set up a board which now governs the company and to which I answer to as CEO. The board’s input has often helped us expand our view of what our business is capable of and has also helped us put together governing structures needed to scale new heights,” says Mbugua.



This strategic move allowed him to expand the company&#8217;s horizons and put in place the structures needed for scaling greater heights. As an avid reader now learning to play the saxophone, he finds inspiration in books.



Challenges abound in the film and television industry, with the rapid growth of digital media and technological advancements like AI rendering some job roles obsolete. However, Mbugua and D&amp;R Studios seem to have met these challenges with a proactive attitude. Mbugua predicts that streaming services will continue to thrive, offering on-demand content to an audience reluctant to return to traditional TV schedules. Self-publishing through platforms like TikTok and YouTube will also gain momentum, providing fame and fortune for emerging talent.



“What I think will provide the most disruption however is artificial intelligence. If one is able to use these tools well, it is possible to generate very good content very quickly and this might build some new fortunes and destroy others.”



For aspiring entrepreneurs entering the industry, Mbugua, an alum of the FORBES AFRICA 30 Under 30 list, offers an essential piece of advice: “Start where you are with what you have and embrace new technology quickly. In a rapidly-changing media landscape, early adopters are handsomely rewarded.”

Eugene Mbugua; image supplied

Kenya’s Early Adopter In Showbiz On The Next Big Disruption

Former legal professional Kemi Lewis stepped into the unknown with a belief in herself and her vision. She tells FORBES AFRICA about her journey to becoming a beauty entrepreneur.



It’s been around a decade since Kemi Lewis traded a thriving career in law to live out her childhood dream of making natural hair a norm for Lagosians, and she has never looked back. The success of her business, and the strength of her determination, has seen her go from two members of staff to 30 in three locations.



As she speaks from her first location in Dolphin Estate in the wealthy suburb of Ikoyi in Lagos, Lewis is still amazed at how far her dream has come. Growing up as the first and only girl out of four children, Lewis felt she had a responsibility to follow in the footsteps of her grandfather, who was a judge at the time.



“Law was intense in terms of the sheer amount of stuff you needed to learn to understand the cases. I did not absolutely love all aspects of the law but being the first-born child and a girl, you just get on with it and I thought I was going to give it my best. So, I studied it at the University of Lagos and went to law school in Abuja, and then got a Masters in International Business at the University of Dundee (in the United Kingdom),” says Lewis.



She was determined to take her legal career as far as she could but after securing a role with a public-private partnership company in Lagos as a legal advisor, she began to have second thoughts about her future.



“Back in 2013, I had a glowing feeling in my heart and I knew that I wanted to do something for myself. My heart kept saying something in the beauty and health sector but I was not sure what I wanted to do. A good friend of mine had opened a salon so I asked her for advice.”



“We had gone to college together so I’ve known her since I was 10 years old and she said to me, ‘you have always known how to do hair and right now, I’ve opened a salon and a lot of girls want to go with their natural hair’, so she said if you open a salon specializing in natural hair, it will do well. And it ignited something in me and the feeling in me was this is it, this is what I want to do,” says Lewis.



Her initial vision was to create a safe space where people who had natural hair would come and take care of their tresses. And this is how KLS Natural Beauty Bar was born.



“I wanted to create a space where when you come with your natural hair, you would be welcomed and your hair would be treated with the necessary care and respect, and you won’t be told to go and relax your hair. You would have the right products for your hair and, most importantly, you will have your hair styled according to your specific needs,” she says.



Until her eureka moment, natural hair in Nigeria was a hugely underserved demographic in the beauty industry which meant that Lewis had to overcome several obstacles to ensure her success.



“The initial reaction when I told immediate family was shock, horror and dismay. The question was, ‘what are you going to do with your law degree?’ Hair dressing was seen as a derogatory profession and for people who did not go to school. So, it did not have the prestige that my legal degree had and a lot of people thought I was making the wrong decision.”



The next challenge was getting the right space and, most importantly, convincing her stylists about her vision of working with natural hair. This is also why education and training is a big focus for her.



Lewis believed so much in her vision that she liquidated her life insurance policy and scraped together enough money to make her dream the success it is today. Ten years on and her lesson for entrepreneurs is rooted in what she learned in the early days of her business.



“Even if there are no laid-down steps to follow, if you want to do something, you just need to create your own steps and create your own market. Secondly, not everybody will believe in you and even if they don’t, as long as you have conviction in what you want to do and you believe in yourself, just give it 150%,” says Lewis.

Kemi Lewis image supplied

The Tress Test: How This Nigerian Entrepreneur Went From Law To Labor Of Love

The Nairobi-based co-founder of Craydel, an online career guidance platform, speaks to FORBES AFRICA about its ambitions to democratize higher education and scale across Africa. But first, more on what sparked his entrepreneurial journey.



Manish Sardana is in the midst of a busy day, opening yet another office, a bigger one, in Nairobi’s upscale Westlands area when we catch up for a conversation on Craydel, the edtech startup he successfully co-founded in Kenya in 2021, at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic.



“Right now, we have five offices – three in Nigeria and two in Kenya – and about 70-odd employees and we are growing rapidly,” the platform’s 43-year-old CEO says about the growth of what was once “just an idea in his head”.



At a time when most startups are battling to survive and retrenching staff, Craydel is hiring rapidly and on its way to profitability in 2024, he adds. On the cards: expansion to more markets such as Ghana, Uganda and South Africa. The investors are keen and Sardana is optimistic.



“When you are building something that has a real vision trying to solve a real problem, you get people gravitating towards you,” says Sardana of his platform that dispels misinformation and biases for students and guides decisions on college and course selection.&nbsp;Craydel is building the tech infrastructure to empower African learners to search, match and apply to their best-fit higher education institutions.



In 2021, Sardana, along with his co-founders <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-nguru-38677638/?originalSubdomain=ke" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">John Nguru</a> and <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/shayne-aman-premji/?originalSubdomain=ke" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Shayne Aman Premji</a>, secured $1 million for Craydel in a pre-seed round led by Enza Capital, a private venture fund that invests in early-stage tech startups across Africa. Subsequently, they secured another $1.5 million to grow the platform.



Craydel – a play on the word ‘cradle’ – &nbsp;hand-holds students wanting to pursue higher education – from graduation to post-graduation to PhD – at any point in their student or professional career. In fact, 50% of their postgraduate enrolments are working professionals looking for a career change, says Sardana.



The tech startup has 380 direct partnerships with universities so far and seeks to democratize access to tertiary education, in turn, addressing the low gross enrolment rate, of about 9%, in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). This includes working professionals who have not been to college before, for want of access to capital and resources.



Two years in, Sardana says they have figured out the formula for success.



“We know that if you do X, Y and Z, you are going to be successful. That equation is very clear to us now.



We want to show that we can build a real unicorn out of Africa, creating real impact.”



But there’s a reason why Craydel may as well be on its way to savoring billion-dollar success in the future. Sardana has a track-record of building and scaling successful businesses from the ground-up.



His penchant for entrepreneurship had its humble beginnings in India, and followed him to Africa, a continent that he now calls home and one that has “given so much” to him.&nbsp;&nbsp;



“I owe it to Africa,” he explains of his mission to expand opportunities in education.



“One of the things I realized early on in life is to observe things around me… What I love is looking at ecosystems and how things work, and understand how it is broken, and use technology to disrupt that ecosystem. There&#8217;s also a theory I use, which is called ‘perpetuators versus agitators’; wherein perpetuators perpetuate an ecosystem because it benefits them, while an agitator can really shake this up from the outside and create a better, more efficient ecosystem,” says Sardana.



‘Serial entrepreneur’



His first tryst with entrepreneurship was at the age of 10. From a middle class home in Delhi – with three rooms and 16 family members – Sardana was born to parents who worked in the government and instilled in him a love for reading.



He engaged this by creating “a sharing concept or library with a common pool of books and comics from everyone in one place”, renting books out to friends and relatives. The venture failed, but not without him realizing how much he enjoyed the process of creating it. All through school and college, he found enterprising ways to make pocket money, becoming “a serial entrepreneur more out of necessity than anything else”.



His parents allowed him these entrepreneurial bouts, so long as he was going to top his class, study economics and go on to become a civil services officer. Whilst studying for an economics degree in Delhi University’s Hansraj College, Sardana was also teaching students. But disillusionment set in.



“I mean 90% of what I studied two years ago, I had no recollection of, and I could not see how that education was going to ever help me in life. And especially because I had kind of exposed myself to building businesses, I did not see any practical application of what I was studying.”



Along with a couple of friends, he soon set up his own publishing business – a college magazine in Delhi University that proved to be very popular on campus. He hustled, spending nights at the printing press and knocking on advertisers’ doors during the day, thumbing through the Yellow Pages directories and traveling across Delhi on his dad’s scooter. This was in the year 2000.



“My parents said I have got to stop this and do my master’s degree,” says Sardana. His mom filled out a form to the prestigious Delhi School of Economics. Some of India’s greatest economists such as Nobel laureate Amartya Sen and former Indian Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh have taught at the institution. &nbsp;



Sardana cleared the entrance exam, quite by default. “I really did not study for it. The only way I cleared the exam was because I was teaching my classmates and charging them money for it. So I would [conduct] private tuitions for my own classmates, and in the process of teaching them, I would kind of learn myself.”



Very soon, he realized it was all theoretical economics and he had no passion for it. It didn’t challenge him enough, so three months into the course, he quit.



After that, he tried to rekindle the magazine business but had to close it down. He also authored an economics textbook for class 12 students. A year on, he went on to do his MBA at the FORE School of Management and was subsequently hired by advertising agency FCB Ulka. Before long, he felt “jaded” in the industry doing marketing campaigns. But Sardana was also closely watching from the sidelines the big renaissance unraveling in India’s technology sector.



“That was in 2004-2005, the internet was coming up, Amazon was becoming a big thing and Google had come up. I saw the power of technology really changing and transforming ecosystems and got really excited about it,” he recalls.



After that, he worked four years in a successful edtech startup called Vriti, and the company managed to raise a total funding of $35 million.



“It was a lot of money at the time… Eventually, I sliced the part of the company I was running and set up as a separate company. I sold my company to a financial investor. So that was my first successful exit, which I was really happy about.



“And then, after seven years, I needed a break, I was very much done. Startups can also be an emotionally-draining experience, you know, especially when you are just married and have kids.”



A six-month break ensued, during which time he also helped his wife set up her bakery business, delivering her cakes door-to-door in their black Maruti Esteem car.



That was in 2014 when Sardana’s Africa rendezvous was just about to begin.



‘Owe it to Africa’



One of his former bosses who had been following his journey in the technology space told him about an opportunity in Africa with multinational communications company, WPP to focus on the digital marketing side of the business.



Within 10 days of receiving the offer, Sardana was on a plane to Kenya, his first trip outside of India. It took him three years to settle down, to understand the market and the consumers, and he was promoted to Managing Director for WPP-Scangroup in SSA.&nbsp; &nbsp;



He won a lot of business for the company but the entrepreneur in him was beginning to surface, again. He built a marketing automation platform called Optimus for the company, which is when he met and worked with his current co-founder and CTO, Nguru.



He presented the product to the board but it didn’t work. He presented it to one of their clients, Barclays in Kenya, and thereby to the bank’s leadership in South Africa, who were very impressed and gave him a chance to deploy it across their markets, which he calls his “first lucky break”.



“Once Barclays happened, you know, success creates more success. Suddenly, at WPP, the guys woke up!”



Sardana says Optimus was also deployed by leading African entities such as Kenya Commercial Bank, Equity Bank, the Old Mutual Group and Airtel.



The epiphany after that was inspired by his wife, whose bakery business was also doing well.



“She said to me ‘you know, you guys keep building all this sophisticated technology for large blue chip companies, but what about building something to help small businesses like us scale’?



“That was my first moment in Africa when I said, ‘okay, I&#8217;m making a lot of money for myself, am building a lot of wealth for my organization and for my clients, who are very rich people to start with, but we are really not doing anything of any significance, of impact, using our skill sets, and our insights for the large masses, the small business sector. If you understand Africa, it&#8217;s really run on the back of very micro SMEs.”



This led to the creation of Optimus Mini for small businesses. Eventually, that platform was called Goby – “the smallest fish in the world”. He explains the philosophy behind it.



“The big fish eat the small fish. So we wanted to empower the small fish to fight and compete with the big fish, by giving them access to all the technology and resources they needed. It was essentially e-commerce-as-a-service platform, allowing small entrepreneurs to upload their product pictures and prices, and it will set up an entire e-commerce shop for them online, integrated with payment gateways and logistics partners to deliver the products.”


<div class="wp-block-image">
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It really was just Nguru and Sardana developing it at that point.



“John is an exceptional technology guy, he&#8217;s amazing. I would come up with a product design, the user experience, the strategy, the business side of things and he would build the technology. Technology was always my handicap – I always regret not learning to code. I have all the stuff in my head but can’t build. I tell John he completes my handicap,” says Sardana.



In three months, they had 3,000 merchants signing up, deeming the platform a success. This was while they were still with WPP-Scangroup, when they had the reach, the capital and client access afforded by the company.



When Covid-19 struck in 2020, e-commerce took off and so did Goby. Leading brewer AB InBev approached them to sign on for “a B2B version of the product” to take orders online and deliver alcohol. Diageo, too, came along.



But the time had come for Sardana to go on his own, even if it meant giving up a lucrative salary and the comfort of a full-time job at WPP.



“Working with Manish was always magical, a journey into the future,” remembers Serah Katusya of that time, when she was the Managing Director at Mediacom, a sister agency at WPP-Scangroup; she is now the CEO of Belva and founder of WildMango.&nbsp;“He challenged and inspired with the same energy. He paved the way for many of us into tech, into thinking and building business solutions.&nbsp;He was definitely an agency leader decades ahead of his time.”



By the time he left WPP, Sardana had enough confidence in his abilities to build and scale real businesses. He wanted to build something in a very different space, specifically, in education.



“I think that was a very big inflection point in my life… that I was wasting all my knowledge, talent and experience building things for big companies, and I wanted to solve real problems on the ground. So that kind of gave me an exceptional amount of clarity… seeing the lives of ordinary Kenyans, doing fascinating things with very little resources and transforming their lives became a real thing.”



‘A cradle for young students’



Sardana’s research showed that there were government subsidies and funding for primary education but there was not a lot of momentum in higher education.



“The higher education infrastructure in sub-Saharan Africa is extremely weak. The problem is that in most schools, the career counselor is essentially a teacher with the least amount of workload…. This entire industry is run by agents who don&#8217;t understand career counseling; they essentially push students to universities, and make money.”



According to Craydel, more than 16 million African students spend $30 billion on higher education each year.



As a continent with the youngest population in the world, Africa presents tremendous opportunities in this regard, and Sardana was quick.



“We wanted to build a cradle for young students in Africa, for them to get all the nourishment in terms of the right advice, the career counseling, the psychometric assessment, and the right technology to get them off on their own feet.”



Whilst they were setting up the company, and during the pandemic, Sardana met Premji, the third co-founder, who is now Craydel’s CFO.



“Shayne is Canadian, but like me, stayed in Africa for 10 years. We stayed on the same street in Kenya but never knew each other. During the pandemic, he was changing houses, and walked into our apartment building. That&#8217;s how we met. He had a lot of experience in investment banking, and was doing extremely well in his career…



He is also impact-driven, so said he wanted to quit his job and join us full-time… he was extremely instrumental in raising our first round of a million dollars,” says Sardana.



For now, the trio is looking forward to what lies ahead. Their “vision and impact story” is shaping up.



“We&#8217;re in a good space now, and really excited about building this journey,” concludes Sardana, as he sets off to launch the company’s brand-new office, surely, one of many more to come.

Craydel co-founders John Nguru, Manish Sardana and Shayne Aman Premji; image supplied

‘We Can Build A Real Unicorn Out Of Africa, Creating Impact’: Kenya Co-Founder On Building An Edtech Startup 

Founder and creative director, Daniel Diyepriye has a goal in mind – to build a brand that will stand out amongst the rest. And while his start in the designer clothing business wasn’t conventional, he knows exactly where his journey is going to take him next.



The African luxury fashion segment is expected to reach $1 billion in 2023, according to market research company Statista. Jeremy Nel, Managing Director of South African-based luxury marketing firm, Luxury Brands, reportedly estimates that there are over 160,000 millionaires in Africa with a combined spending power of about $700 billion. These millionaires want the very best and are willing to spend top dollar when it comes to fashion.



“Louis Vuitton just got a market cap of $500 billion and Shell’s market cap is nowhere near that. Imagine a world where African luxury becomes a lot more lucrative than oil? That would completely transform the African continent and that is why I want to be a big player in this space,” says Daniel Diyepriye, founder and creative director of what he hopes to be Africa’s first luxury fashion house, Daniel Diyepriye.



Diyepriye is not wrong. With the over-reliance on oil and gas by most African countries, especially Nigeria, its largest economy, he may actually be on to something.



The eponymous brand, which launched just before Covid-19 wreaked havoc all over the world, pays homage to the legacy of his late father who epitomized elegance and class. He passed away during the pandemic following complications from a stroke he suffered when Diyepriye was just 14 years old.



Back then, the dream was not fashion but simply, finding a way to support his mother, who was now the primary caretaker of her paralyzed husband and their three children.



“I dropped out of university in my first year. I had to make money for the family and I felt that I had to take the responsibility to provide. I thought it was going to be five or six years before I made money from what they were teaching me in university and I could not wait that long,” recalls Diyepriye.



That is when he became a serial entrepreneur. At first, he took over a modelling agency called Lethal Model Management when he was 21 years old. He then moved on to buying and selling sneakers before transitioning into a car rental business, which he still manages today. The business focuses on renting smart cars for under a pound an hour.



“The name of the company is called SmartMove Car [Hire]. We took some investment, and we run a membership model. Sainsbury’s backed us and allowed us to put our cars in their parking lots so customers can take the car from one Sainsbury’s [store] to the other. But I needed to make a business that could scale because the problem with car rental companies is that when all your cars are rented out, you stop making money,” says Diyepriye.



After the death of his father in 2019, Diyepriye and his brother – who, sadly, also passed away last year due to a heart condition – decided that a luxury fashion business would be the best way to honor him.



“I got my flair from my dad. He used to always wear nice suits. The heritage is to honor my father and it means everything we do has to honor who he was, from the quality of our products and everything we say as a brand,” says Diyepriye.



His eureka moment for his signature brand, coincidentally, also came from his father.



“Me and my dad used to play with jigsaw [puzzles] and he always used to tell me that the jigsaw relates to patience, attention to detail and trying to see the bigger picture. I had an epiphany one day that it would be really cool to put a jigsaw on a bag. And that is what has become our signature look.”



Diyepriye taught himself design and learned how to use all the software applications he needed to make his creations come to life, in order to bootstrap the company and grow it organically.



With the help of influencers to get the word out, the brand was launched with £10,000 ($12,000) he made from his car rental business. Soon after launching, Diyepriye made the decision to focus on the United States (US) market due to the volume of orders they received from there.



“Till date, we have done about $500,000 in revenue and a lot of that money has gone back into the brand. The first tackle for us was validating luxury to say that this bag is luxury regardless of who it is made by. We use materials that fast fashion brands won’t and can’t use,” he says.



As far as Diyepriye is concerned, most of the founders spearheading European luxury fashion houses are men but when it comes to Africa, there is no one male fashion mogul dominating the luxury fashion scene. His goal is to take advantage of this first-mover position and evolve his brand into the Daniel Diyepriye Group, where similar to the LVMH family, he will also be able to launch and acquire other ancillary brands to become a billion-dollar fashion house.



Like many sectors in Africa, technology is providing a platform for the luxury fashion industry to leapfrog archaic infrastructure and scale rapidly. As a result, online stores and social media have provided a platform for the Diyepriye brand to carve out its presence in the industry in the space of only three years. With that in mind, who knows what the future might hold?

Category: Entrepreneurs