<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-style-large is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">“I am honored to have adjudicated the Business and [Technology] Innovation category for this year’s FORBES AFRICA 30 Under 30 list. The list comprises impressive young visionaries and risk-takers who are transforming business and society. This year’s cohort bears testament to the potential of Africa’s young leaders who represent a continent made up of about 20% of the world’s youth, according to the United Nation’s population trends (2015). Celebrating innovation and excellence on our continent is important if we are to inspire and mobilize the next generation.”-Phuthi Mahanyele-Dabengwa, the South Africa CEO of Naspers comments as a FORBES AFRICA 30 Under 30 Judge on the Class of 2022.</blockquote>

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<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-style-large is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">“It has been a privilege to have participated in this honorable and important project. I’ve taken the last week of our European Tour reading and re-reading details provided and juxtaposing as much as possible [of] the various talents, making it very difficult [as] an exercise as each and every one of the names provided is exceptional and deserves to be in the top 30. The KEY secret to success in global competitiveness is to be grounded in your authenticity. Embrace your African identity in excellence and quality.”&#8211;Lebohang “Lebo M” Morake, South African singer, performer, producer and composer comments as a FORBES AFRICA 30 Under 30 Judge on the Class of 2022. </blockquote>

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The FORBES AFRICA 30 UNDER 30 Class of 2022 care about being visionaries of change and catalysts for innovation. Being on the most-anticipated list on the continent, for these young trailblazers, is not just about commerce and clout but about ensuring they represent well their countries and the diverse, heterogeneous Africa they want to serve. Celebrating its eighth edition, the list this year features the best and the brightest, but importantly, the most resilient, who have taken the time to not only shine a light on the issues plaguing Africa&#8217;s growth in a pandemic era but also work towards shifting the narrative, one tiny, tenacious step at a time. 



Words and Curation: Chanel Retief Art Director: Lucy Nkosi Additional Research &amp; Reporting: Lillian Roberts Photography: Ilan Godfrey for Forbes Videography and production: Timothy Pierson for Forbes &amp; Chad McClymonds for Forbes Video Editor: Chanel Retief Styling: Katlego Magano of Oak Ave; Assistant: Tumelo Nkwe Hair &amp; Makeup: SnehhOnline Beauty; Thapelo Letsebe Location: Image Lounge, Botswana and 2022 Forbes Under 30 Summit

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[WATCH] FORBES AFRICA 30 UNDER 30 CLASS OF 2022

Attention visionaries, innovators, change-makers, and risk-takers! FORBES AFRICA is back, once again on the hunt for Africans under the age of 30, who are building brands, creating jobs, and transforming the continent in their respective fields.



The FORBES AFRICA 30 Under 30 list is the most-anticipated annual compilation of game-changers in Africa and for 2022, we are on the quest for 30 of the continent’s brightest achievers under the age of 30 from the categories of Business, Technology, Creatives, Sport and Science, particularly Health.



The Class of 2021 was an intrepid cast of young people who navigated the Covid-19 pandemic, also creating social impact.



Now, as we prepare for the eighth installment of the 30 Under 30 list, we also announce a few changes.



First, we have added Health/Science to the mix to especially celebrate young thinkers, professionals, and entrepreneurs on the frontline working tirelessly to improve Africa’s medical sector.



Applicants/nominees can also now choose more than one category to apply under. If you are a sports star with a business aimed at uplifting the sports sector, choose sports AND business. If you are a creative trying to find innovative ideas using digital landscapes to showcase art, choose the creative AND technology sectors.



Past honorees of the FORBES AFRICA 30 Under 30 list include names such as Mr. Eazi, Mihlali Ndamase, Lloyd Harris, Sho Madjozi, Bruce Diale, Antonio Depina, Karabo Poppy, Thuso Mbedu, Nomzamo Mbatha, Kabza De Small, Burna Boy, Nthabiseng Mosia, Davido, Shamim Nabuuma Kaliisa, Nasty C, Chad le Clos, and WizKid.



“The FORBES AFRICA 30 Under 30 is the most coveted list of the year, and the 2022 edition will mark eight years of it. We are particularly excited to unravel the treasure trove of talent that these tough times have created. Success has not been a given for these frontrunners in the pandemic period. Faced with innumerable hiccups and setbacks, they have rolled up their sleeves and made their work matter, also lifting others on their way up,” says Renuka Methil, Managing Editor of FORBES AFRICA.



<h2 class="has-text-align-center wp-block-heading">NOMINATIONS AND APPLICATIONS CRITERIA:</h2>



Please read and take careful note of the following before applying. APPLICATIONS CLOSE 1 FEBRUARY 2022, 17:00 (SAST). 



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-business-and-technology-categories">Business and Technology categories</h3>



<ol class="wp-block-list"><li>Must be an entrepreneur/founder aged 29 or younger on&nbsp;31 May 2022</li><li>Should have a legitimate REGISTERED business on the continent</li><li>Business/businesses should be two years or older</li><li>The more innovative the business the better</li><li>Nominees must have risked own money and have a social impact</li><li>Must be profit generating</li><li>Must employ people in Africa</li><li>All applications must be in English</li></ol>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Sports Category </h3>



<ol class="wp-block-list"><li>Must be a sports person aged 29 or younger on 31 May 2022</li><li>Must be representing an African team</li><li>Should have a proven track record of no less than two years</li><li>Should be making significant earnings</li><li>Endorsement deals would be a bonus</li><li>Entrepreneurship and social impact is a plus especially if applying with the Business/Technology category. However business must be legitamate, registered and also two years or older. </li><li>All applications must be in English</li></ol>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Creatives category</h3>



<ol class="wp-block-list"><li>Must be a creative aged 29 or younger on 31 May 2020</li><li>Must be from or based in Africa</li><li>Should be making significant earnings</li><li>Should have a proven creative record of no less than two years</li><li>Entrepreneurship and social impact is a plus especially if applying with the Business/Technology category. However business must be legitamate, registered and also two years or older. </li><li>All applications must be in English</li></ol>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Health/Science </h3>



<ol class="wp-block-list"><li>Must be a creative aged 29 or younger on 31 May 2022</li><li>Must be from or based in Africa</li><li>Should have a proven record in the field of health and/or science for no less than two years.</li><li>Must have social influence and impact. </li><li>Entrepreneurship and social impact is a plus especially if applying under the Business/Technology category. However, the business must be legitimate, registered and also two years or older. </li><li>All applications must be in English</li></ol>



If you think you have what it takes to enter or know someone you would like to see as part of the CLASS of 2022, please find the application here: 



<figure class="wp-block-video aligncenter"><video autoplay controls src="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/applications.mp4"></video></figure>

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Call For Nominations To FORBES AFRICA’s 30 Under 30 Class Of 2022

Brex’s two twenty-something founders are now billionaires, thanks to a lofty new funding round announced this week that nearly doubled the valuation of their five-year-old fintech firm.



The San Francisco-based startup—which is aiming to overhaul the corporate credit card—confirmed on Tuesday that it has raised $300 million in a funding round led by investment firms Greenoaks Capital and Technology Crossover Ventures (TCV), giving it a $12.3 billion valuation—a sizable jump from the $7.4 billion valuation it fetched just nine months ago. Cofounders (and co-CEOs) Henrique Dubugras, 26, and Pedro Franceschi, 25, each hold a 14% stake in Brex, Forbes estimates, worth about $1.5 billion apiece. (Forbes discounts the value of privately held companies.) The pair declined to comment on Forbes’ estimates but Dubugras did speak with Forbes about his startup’s path to success.   



The young fintech has made a name for itself with a corporate credit card tailored to the needs of startups. It remains Brex’s marquee product, and the interchange fees merchants pay when employees swipe Brex’s cards constitute nearly all of the company’s revenue. In recent years, Brex has also launched new software offerings like an expense management product and a business bill pay feature: “If you get an invoice in your email, you can just forward it to us and boom, it gets paid,” Dubugras tells&nbsp;Forbes&nbsp;on a Zoom call from his home office in Los Angeles. In May, the company rolled out&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/ninabambysheva/2021/05/12/brex-partners-with-coinbase-and-travelbank-to-launch-bitcoin-and-ether-rewards-program-for-businesses/?sh=9a2e593145a9">one of the first crypto rewards programs for corporations</a>.



Brex is not the only business attempting to disrupt the stodgy, spreadsheet-centric world of B2B payments. Today, its rivals include startup Ramp (founded in 2019 and valued at almost $4 billion after an August funding round) and publicly traded Bill.com (valued at some $21 billion),&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/elizahaverstock/2021/05/04/billcom-is-set-to-acquire-utah-billion-dollar-software-startup-divvy/?sh=6845e24d3915">which bought expense reporting software fintech Divvy</a>&nbsp;for $2.5 billion last spring. But Brex has been able to attract a deluge of venture capital by offering a suite of products that extend beyond the corporate credit card. Dubugras maintains that he’s not too worried about competition.&nbsp;



“The market is pretty big, and I think that there&#8217;s space for a lot of people,” he says. “Most B2B payments are still paper- and check-based.”



The 1,000-person startup can credit its existence to a lively Twitter exchange in December 2012 between Dubugras and Franceschi about the nuances of coding tools. At the time, they were high school seniors living in Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, respectively. The 140-character tweet cap hindered the debate, so the two teens hopped on Skype to discuss further.&nbsp;



“On Skype, we couldn&#8217;t fight that much and became best friends,” says Dubugras.&nbsp;



In 2013, the pals launched a startup called Pagar.me that allowed Brazilian merchants to accept online payments. It was a 150-person outfit by the time they sold it three years later to a larger Brazil-based payments fintech called Stone. Dubugras won’t share the pair’s take, but says it was enough to pay for college—he and Franceschi are both Stanford computer science dropouts—and stow away some savings.&nbsp;



For their next act, the pair initially wanted to build bank accounts for U.S.-based startups, but settled on corporate credit cards as a more attainable route. (“What business would trust their money to these random 22-year-old Brazilians?” chuckles Dubugras. “With corporate cards…we were giving them money instead of asking for their own money.”) Dubugras and Franceschi founded Brex in 2017 after quitting Stanford in the spring of their freshman year and, two years later, both earned spots on&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/profile/brex/?sh=40fecfa71fbb">Forbes’&nbsp;30 Under 30 Finance list</a>. By then, Brex had raised $213 million and was valued at $1.1 billion. In 2019, Brex also rolled out its take on the business bank accounts that had enthralled its founders from the start. (Brex is not a chartered bank itself, so it partners with LendingClub or JPMorgan Chase for the accounts.)&nbsp;



All told, the duo has secured more than $1.1 billion in venture money from the likes of Tiger Global Management, Peter Thiel and Affirm founder Max Levchin. The company says its revenue more than doubled over the past 12 months, though it won’t share specifics or comment on profitability; private markets data provider PitchBook estimates Brex generated about $320 million in revenue for 2021. Dubugras says that Brex counts “tens of thousands” of corporate customers today, including the likes of Carta and Classpass.&nbsp;



The startup wants to keep the ball rolling in the new year. With $300 million in fresh funding, Brex aims to increase its headcount by at least 50% while also keeping cash in the coffers in case there’s a market downturn. Brex originally set out to serve startups, but Dubugras says mid-market firms account for more than 60% of its customer base today. In 2022, he hopes to reel in large corporations as well.



“I think it&#8217;s easy for people to think that we&#8217;re already successful,” he says. “We are, and we aren’t. We&#8217;re obviously happy about what we’ve achieved, but there&#8217;s so much more to come.”



By Eliza Haverstock, Forbes Staff

PR-Story21-SeriesD

Two Friends Who Met On Twitter In High School Are Latest Under-30 Billionaires

Life has a way of imitating art. For Ifan Ifeanyi Michael, it has been the other way round. The Nigerian celebrity stylist, actor and filmmaker has come a long way from the destitute 10-year- old he once was.



IFAN IFEANYI Michael starts narrating his life story on a Zoom call from Lagos, Nigeria. A call girl, sexual abuse&#8230; and it unravels in ways that could put to shame movie scripts. But that’s how this Nigerian actor, director and brand consultant traversed seemingly impossible odds to become the success he is today.



A FORBES AFRICA 30 Under 30 list-maker in 2021and recipient of the African Magic Viewers’ Choice Awards, Michael, at this interview, talks about what shaped his life, and is overwhelmed with emotions reliving some of the most traumatic episodes from his childhood.



He just cannot shake them off.



“I was sexually abused by a barber because I needed a place to stay and I did not want to be thrown out on the streets. But still, I was kicked out of the house at 1AM in the morning,” Michael says starkly.



Today, he is a living testament that tough times don’t last, but tough people do. He left his home in Port Harcourt in Nigeria at the age of 10 to pursue his dream of becoming a filmmaker in Lagos.



“I came to Lagos to meet a marketer to sell my story to him. When I got to Lagos, his phone was switched off and I couldn’t reach him&#8230; I didn’t think I was going to be duped. I was excited to showcase my work,” says Michael.



He was left stranded but made his way to a popular hotel in Lagos frequented by the film fraternity, hoping to find someone who would believe in his script and help him actualize his dream.



“It was just survival for me. I had nowhere to go. Am I going back to my parents’ two-room where there was seven of us, or who am I going to call?”



He vividly remembers some of the older passengers on the bus to Lagos, who asked where his parents were even as he prayed fervently that they would not take him back home.



Once in Lagos, there was no turning back for young Michael. He had to make things work. He bumped into a lady who was working as a call girl who luckily took him in and provided him a temporary place to stay.



“In the morning, she would bring us in to sleep and in the afternoon, we left so she could get ready for her clients. She felt sorry for me because I was very young. There were times I was not even eating,” recalls Michael.



During the day, he would go to every audition in town to land roles as an extra to make ends meet. He believed the only way to fulfill his dream of becoming a filmmaker was to have more grit and tenacity than the other dreamers who wanted to make it in Nollywood.



“The money was really bad at that time but it was good for food and daily expenses. I used to move all over the place to audition for different roles until I got my first break. I reached out to the producer of the movie and told him how passionate I was. He told me he had someone else for the role. So, I looked for his address and traveled all the way to find him and I told him and he was so surprised.



“I didn’t even have a way to go back home so he let me sleep in his place and that morning he gave me the script for The Evangelist and that was my biggest break in acting,” says Michael.



The hustle didn’t stop there. Michael also began doing public relations for upcoming music artists by taking their CDs to the local marketplace to create awareness about them. The PR hustle landed him a lucrative gig with a new hotel that gave him the capital he needed to finally realize his ambition of becoming a filmmaker. 



Lotana, his first feature film, tells the story of a young man who discovers he has to offset a huge debt to a loan shark owed by his father before his sudden death.



Michael admits he has no educational background, but managed to carve out a niche in the Nigerian entertainment industry with nothing but determination.



And he has many roles.



As a fashion stylist, he has worked with some of the top celebrities in Lagos. He is also the founder of a publicity management company dedicated to the media and entertainment industry.



“The dream even at that time has always been to live my truth in terms of bringing my vision to life. I know I wanted to be an actor and filmmaker and tell stories and let my story influence people as well. I see things and approach situations differently so it has been a major motivation. Everything that I went through I just knew I was unstoppable,” says Michael.



Lotana was released in 2016 and went on to win 10 awards out of 13 nominations at the Golden Movie Awards in Ghana. In 2020 too, he won big for his film Foreigner’s God. With his eyes firmly set on his next feature film, he is one of the inspirational young film talents in Nollywood.



The show must go on.

Ifan

The NOLLYWOOD Actor Living His Truth

How The Provocative Musician Is Taking New Risks To Build Her&nbsp;Career.



<abbr>M</abbr>iley Cyrus knows how to make a statement.&nbsp;As she lounges on a shag carpet in her Los Angeles basement during a video interview with&nbsp;Forbes, the 29-year-old star reflects on a career that’s taken her from a namesake role in the Disney series&nbsp;Hannah Montana&nbsp;at 13 to her current status as one the top recording artists of her generation.



“One thing I&#8217;m very proud of is that I started my business before I started my period,” says Cyrus. “And now, I’ve performed at Carnegie Hall, Madison Square Garden, inducted Joan Jett into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame—all on my period. It has never gotten in the way of me being a businesswoman.”&nbsp;



<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="aligncenter is-resized"><a href="https://www.forbesmagazine.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://specials-images.forbesimg.com/imageserve/61b031896cefa86778eb895a/122021-Covers-stripped-3-miley/0x0.gif?fit=scale" alt="122021_Covers_stripped-3-miley" width="472" height="619"/></a><figcaption>By Forbes </figcaption></figure></div>



When most stars talk about career highs, they don’t point out which ones coincided with their menstrual cycle. Then again, they’re not Miley Cyrus. Diehard fans already know Cyrus’ story about how got her first period nearly 15 years ago while performing in white pants on the set of&nbsp;Hannah Montana. She shared the story as a way to connect with fans—she has more than 150 million of them on Instagram alone—not shock them. What could be more emblematic of growing up in the public eye?



The series helped Cyrus earn $134 million by the time she hit 18, according to&nbsp;Forbes’&nbsp;estimates. But it also didn’t define her, as she has since released eight studio albums that range from psychedelic rock to country-hip-hop.



Cyrus is now taking more control of her entertainment career and platforms. In May, she struck an estimated $40 million deal with NBCUniversal that brings her back to television with three specials, as well as other projects and first looks at content created by Hopetown Entertainment, her production company with mother Tish Cyrus. She has also partnered with telehealth company Hims &amp; Hers, taking an equity stake and creative role in the Hers skincare line. That’s in addition to a slate of endorsement deals with brands like Gucci, as well as angel investments, new entertainment projects and moves to better control her fan experience with the relaunch of her fan website MileyWorld.



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-style-large is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">“If I know there’s going to be a greater reward by taking a greater risk, usually I’ll do it.” says Cyrus, combing her fingers through her bleached-blonde hair. “I do that with everything—my business, my relationships, with love, with life.”&nbsp;</blockquote>



Like Madonna, whom she considers one of her idols, Cyrus knows how to leverage her raw talent, risk-taking inclination and public persona to keep fans, press and industry executives engaged. For many millennials, memories of Cyrus swinging naked on her “Wrecking Ball” video in 2013 or rubbing up against singer Robin Thicke in a latex bra and panties at the Video Music Awards that year are as integrated into their memories as flared jeans, flip phones and tuning into the Disney Channel to watch Cyrus as Hannah Montana. The outrage certainly helped draw attention to her album&nbsp;Bangerz,&nbsp;which went triple platinum and earned Cyrus her a Grammy nomination, as well as a spot on&nbsp;Forbes&nbsp;2014 30 Under 30 Music list.&nbsp;



After making millions from&nbsp;Bangerz,&nbsp;Cyrus skirted her label and released&nbsp;Miley Cyrus &amp; Her Dead Petz. A collaboration with Flaming Lips’ frontman Wayne Coyne, she initially published the psychedelic album straight to SoundCloud for fans to hear for free. Rather than stick with a winning formula, she wanted to shake it up.



“If I know there’s going to be a greater reward by taking a greater risk, usually I’ll do it.” says Cyrus, combing her fingers through her bleached-blonde hair. “I do that with everything—my business, my relationships, with love, with life.”&nbsp;&nbsp;



What drives her is a hardwired love of music. Born to country music star Billy Ray Cyrus and producer Tish Cyrus in Nashville with Dolly Parton as her godmother, Cyrus grew up steeped in the music industry. While some critics dismiss Cyrus as more of a publicity seeker than a singer/songwriter, producer Mark Ronson considers her a rare talent who’s in the same league as other singers he’s worked with, from Amy Winehouse to Lady Gaga. Ronson co-wrote and co-performed what became the triple-platinum song&nbsp; “Nothing Breaks Like a Heart” alongside Cyrus. “She’s so brutally, blatantly honest about her life and, combine that with her voice, that’s why she has over 150 million people worshiping her,” says Ronson. “All the great ones, especially the really big ones, they’ve got their pain out there for the world to see.”&nbsp;



Cyrus certain shares her pain. She has talked about feeling exploited at times and is open about her struggles with anxiety, depression, alcohol and drug use. She lost her Malibu home to a wildfire in 2018 and her short-lived marriage to longtime beau Liam Hemsworth a year later. Within days of announcing her breakup, she was photographed kissing actress Kaitlynn Carter. Cyrus later declared herself to be pansexual or attracted to people regardless of their sex or gender identity.



These days Cyrus presents a more introspective and tranquil version of herself, experimenting with music and philanthropy rather than drugs and partying. Queer causes, displacement and her enormous platform inspired her to start Happy Hippie Foundation in 2015 to provide education, employment and support services to homeless and at-risk LGBTQ+ youth. “People are going to talk about me: What can I get them to talk about that actually makes a difference?” asks Cyrus. “People talking about me dressing up as a teddy bear and shaking my ass doesn’t do anything. Starting Happy Hippie, and it being around six years later, has been the proudest moment of my career.”



The pandemic also brought her back to the world of TV. In March of 2020, she started the Instagram Live series “Bright Minded,” in which she chatted with guests like Elton John and Senator Elizabeth Warren while featuring pets, makeup tutorials and a spotlight on social causes. In May of this year, she announced a deal with NBCUniversal for three specials and other potential projects that&nbsp;Forbes&nbsp;estimates to be worth $40 million. First out of the gate: NBC Peacock’s first-ever Pride special that promoted LGBTQ+ causes, along with Cyrus singing a rendition of Cher’s “Believe” in a sequin outfit, flanked by drag queens. All of this helped Cyrus earn a spot in the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/30-under-30/2022/hall-of-fame">Forbes&nbsp;Under 30 Hall of Fame</a>.&nbsp;



While Cyrus is still not shy, these days fans are more likely to see her showing off her spotless skin in ads for telehealth company Hims &amp; Hers as part of a deal that gives her an equity stake and creative role in the Hers skincare line than twerking. That’s in addition to a slate of endorsement deals with brands like Gucci, as well as angel investments in companies like Fanmade, an agency cofounded by her marketing and digital head (and fellow&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/profile/olivia-rudensky/?sh=3a06e14c6987">Forbes&nbsp;30 Under 30</a>) Olivia Rudensky. Among other things, Cyrus wants to build out a direct-to-fan site that keeps the trolls and tech billionaires from profiting from her following. That means investing in MileyWorld, the fan site her mother started during her Disney days to create a safe space for Cyrus to engage with her audience. Content ideas range from adding everything from Miley-guided meditation to exclusive performance videos. “I want to have my own land,” says Cyrus. “I want people to know they are in the power position with these platforms—platforms are not in the power position; we’re taking the power back.”



For Cyrus, the most important piece of land these days is the one in her front yard that’s home to the Airstream trailer where records her music. If the shag-covered basement is where she focuses on building the brand, the trailer is where she feeds her soul, creating and recording new music, including her 2020 rock album&nbsp;Plastic Hearts. It’s a place she goes every day and one that she guards for herself. When asked what musical genre she is exploring at the moment, Cyrus will only say, “I love the soft side of rock that is more vulnerable.” Whether that will result in music that skews more to her country or rock instincts is, of course, up to her. She’ll create on her own time—and on her own terms. “I’m happy to be all the things that people need me to be,” says Cyrus. “As long as I’m all the things that I need me to be first.”



By Alexandra Sternlicht, Forbes Staff



Additional reporting by&nbsp;Lisette Voytko&nbsp;and&nbsp;Abigail Freeman.

10th Annual LACMA ART+FILM GALA Presented By Gucci

Miley Cyrus Is A Rebel For Her Own Cause

Antonio Depina went from shooting hoops to shooting up the corporate ladder. The soft-spoken entrepreneur from Cape Verde is making it rain in business.



“Someone has to do it, so I am always like &#8216;ok I’ll do it’,” says Antonio Depina, who is not your average 26-year-old from the warm tropical West African island of Cape Verde.



The 2021 FORBES AFRICA 30 Under 30 list-maker known for his mobile app bringing talented professional basketball players closer to their dreams, especially in Africa, is now also launching a ride-hailing app named Zoomly.



Born in Wilmington, also known as the corporate capital of America, and the largest downtown in the state of Delaware, the concept of Africa was never foreign to him. Depina jokes that because his father is Cape Verdean and his mother Liberian, West Africa has always coursed through his veins.



“Both my parents have always said that I must come back to Africa. They always said that once I have established myself in America I have to go be a part of the change in Africa,&#8221; Depina says to FORBES AFRICA. “But I didn’t know I would end up wanting to be a part of creating solutions for not only my country (Cape Verde) but also the whole continent.”



Depina believes that he is an American with the African dream to ensure that he can be part of solutions to problems on the continent.



“Africa just sort of pulled me in, pulled me here,” he adds.



<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="alignleft size-large is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/IMG_4653-683x1024.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-51311" width="324" height="486" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/IMG_4653-683x1024.jpg 683w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/IMG_4653-200x300.jpg 200w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/IMG_4653-768x1152.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/IMG_4653-1024x1536.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/IMG_4653-1365x2048.jpg 1365w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/IMG_4653-scaled.jpg 1707w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 324px) 100vw, 324px" /><figcaption>Photo by Motlabana Monnakgotla</figcaption></figure></div>



But it is because of his deeply-rooted love and respect for Africa that Depina is now adamant about building his legacy around the upliftment of Africa and her people.



In April 2020, in a small room in Delaware, Depina started his first company, Overseas Basketball Connection (OBC) with the vision of bringing talented professional basketball players closer to their dreams, especially in Africa. The mobile app connects with pro-basketball teams worldwide without the use of an agent.



“I was doing anything possible to be able to afford and create the OBC mobile app. I door-dashed, Amazon-Flexed, sold controllers out of the trunk of my car; whatever hustle I could do to make the money for marketing and developing the app. There were so many disappointments from developers that I eventually coded and created it myself. I had every reason to give up,” Depina says.



It was also his vision to become a part of the FORBES AFRICA 30 Under 30 list.



In June 2021, Depina made the list and was part of the cover of the magazine. He says this has been the highlight of his year.



“My life has changed a lot especially in the sense of recognition. Being on the FORBES AFRICA’s 30 Under 30 list kind of brought the attention of different investors, and you get respect from different



entrepreneurs across the continent. And not only the continent, but the world. Having that FORBES brand on your back and on your business kind of propels you and your business to another level.”



The former basketball player and Netflix reality star decided to start Zoomly out of pure personal need: “I was going out one night and realized ‘damn, why is it taking so long for me get a cab’.”



Part of the reason why Depina wanted to build the e-hailing app was also to break stereotypes that other parts of the world may have about Africa not being part of the digital realm.



“I was blessed to be born in America, which is very developed similar to South Africa. I was impressed by South Africa when I visited the country. I was like, ‘oh, my gosh, you guys have Pizza Hut and Uber and all these things’. That&#8217;s not the side of Africa we learned about in school in America, to be honest&#8230; I don&#8217;t blame people in America, I blame the education system because we didn&#8217;t learn these things. We were not taught that Africa is a booming economy and that Africa&#8217;s about to blow up. I think it’s going to be the next greatest continent.”



Depina believes that the future of business and growth lies in Africa and it starts with wanting to create solutions for the continent.



“My passion for tech came from seeing everything that was in America and then coming to Africa and seeing what was needed, and saying I can make a solution to that.”



Zoomly will be launched on December 18 in Cape Verde only and with a plan to expand into different parts of Africa where transport is not heavily prioritized.



“Accessibility will be a problem but in Cape Verde, I think we are lucky because about 80% of households have smartphones and about 60% have Wi-Fi access,” Depina explains.



Living with “no regrets”, Depina wants this business to leap and score not just for profits but for the development of the African economy and for helping those in need.



“I am not someone who starts businesses solely for money, I only start companies that help people,” Depina says. “For the first few months, I&#8217;m kind of sacrificing profit for growth. I am not looking to make millions in the first few months, I&#8217;m looking to see as many users as possible.”

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The Basketball Player Enjoying The Ride In Business

South Africa’s emerging animation industry has a new star in creative entrepreneur Lwazi Msipha, who has just debuted a first-of-its-kind African cartoon show on a global network. 



IMAGINE IF YOU COULD DRAW AND CREATE your own friends. Self-taught South African animator, Lwazi Msipha, did exactly that, in the process, making himself several friends around the world.



The 27-year-old is the owner and creative director of Old Fashioned Youngin, and the animator behind My Cartoon Friend, a South African cartoon that debuted this year on American cable television’s Cartoon Network.



“I used to love watching the channel growing up. And I always wanted to be on the credits. But now seeing a show that I created [on there] is definitely one of my proudest moments,” Msipha tells FORBES AFRICA.



From Boksburg, on the East Rand of South Africa’s Gauteng province, Msipha grew up inspired by the shows on Cartoon Network such as Courage the Cowardly Dog and Dragon Ball Z on local channel SABC.



Early on, these influenced him to want to pursue animation – a profession unheard of back in the day – and he laid out the initial blueprint for his career, by drawing cartoons using flipbook animations.



“I love seeing my characters come to life. And that was the spark for me. I was like, ‘this is what I want to do, I want to create, I want to see my animations’,” says Msipha.



With support from his mother who encouraged him to pursue the art form, he was able to give shape and form to his dreams after graduating in 2017. He started out as a graphic designer but quit as he wanted to venture into animation full-time.



He began creating cartoons on social media platforms such as YouTube and TikTok until he won the 2019 Digital Lab Africa pitching competition.



This opportunity led to the beginnings of one of Africa’s first original hybrid comedy shows, My Cartoon Friend.



<div class="wp-block-media-text alignwide is-stacked-on-mobile" style="grid-template-columns:28% auto"><figure class="wp-block-media-text__media"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="819" height="1024" src="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Photo-Ariane-Suveg-2020-819x1024.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-53231 size-full" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Photo-Ariane-Suveg-2020-819x1024.jpg 819w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Photo-Ariane-Suveg-2020-240x300.jpg 240w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Photo-Ariane-Suveg-2020-768x960.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Photo-Ariane-Suveg-2020-1229x1536.jpg 1229w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Photo-Ariane-Suveg-2020-1638x2048.jpg 1638w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Photo-Ariane-Suveg-2020.jpg 2000w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 819px) 100vw, 819px" /></figure><div class="wp-block-media-text__content">
<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-style-large is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">The content in itself was really interesting. And very clear, with a real promise. – Ariane Suveg</blockquote>
</div></div>



The show portrays Msipha as an animator who plays around with animation software and creates a cartoon character named Themba who magically materializes in real life. Themba becomes his friend and Msipha teaches him to navigate the real world as there are certain things he can’t do as a cartoon.



This interaction unravels a comical repertoire as they embark on adventures together.



But in real life, as Msipha observes, the production work was anything but fun and games.



There’s a lot of toil that goes on behind the scenes, from pre-production and script-writing to character design, dubbing and editing.



Unlike animation for adults, writing for kids is challenging, as the educational nuances and the language used become important.



According to Msipha, it can take approximately five months of pre- production and planning to produce a two-minute episode.



Ariane Suveg, the Kids Content Director for France, Africa &amp; Israel, WarnerMedia, which houses the Cartoon Network brand, was one of those who saw Msipha’s potential.



“I think it [My Cartoon Friend] is a really good example for other young animators in Africa,” she tells FORBES AFRICA over Zoom from France.



“Regarding the fact that we don’t have enough African content on air, it was a time when we were thinking, ‘well, we need fun stuff on air, we need to be creative, we need to do something that we didn’t do before’,” she says.



Msipha’s show was just the continental content they were looking for.



“Also, the content in itself was really interesting, and very clear, with a real promise,” she adds.



While Msipha is the show’s producer and animator, Cartoon Network came on board as the financier. Global networks are always searching for African talent and content, but it isn’t always easy finding them.



“It’s not so easy, because I think from both sides, we don’t necessarily know each other and the African talents don’t necessarily know how to get in touch with us. For me, it’s about time to spend to build the bridges between the creators who don’t necessarily have the networks or connections,” Suveg adds.



There aren’t many animation schools in Africa either, helping young creatives break into the industry.



Additionally, Msipha says there is still a gap in terms of certain stories being told.



“[I think] African spiritually is definitely something that needs to be told more of. It’s the one thing that sets Africa apart from the rest of the globe. That is definitely something that needs to be explored.”



Msipha hopes the young girls and boys who watch his show are inspired.



“It’s ultimately inspiring to watch them see something they can resonate [with], like, ‘oh, this character looks like me, this character is in my hometown, and I know that building’! How exciting is that!”



“I’m really convinced that African stories are bringing something different that is expected elsewhere,” says Suveg.



“I think there are a lot of values that we can see in your stories that do not exist elsewhere. From my side, I see values of optimism, friendship, community and that is a positive way to see life,” she says.



“There is also something beautiful talking about sharing dreams, and with this kind of energy that you don’t necessarily see in Europe or the western countries. So it’s really new,” Suveg says.



Msipha’s future plans are to grow the South African animation industry and create programs for African animators to develop their skills and make animation more accessible as an industry.



He drew his way to success, and for the others, the drawing board beckons.



<h2 class="has-text-align-center wp-block-heading" id="h-animation-action">Animation Action</h2>



Despite the institutional challenges, the past few years have seen a trend in more African animation making it to mainstream platforms. Nigerian animator, Ridwan Moshood, garnered a contract with Cartoon Network for his show, Garbage Boy and Trash Can.



Disney too is set to release an African show called Kizazi Moto: Generation Fire, a 10-part anthology crafted by filmmakers from Zimbabwe, Uganda, South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya and Egypt.



Additionally, pan-African entertainment company Kugali has created an animation series titled Iwaju, which Disney announced a partnership with. Two other South African animations are set to be released – Kiff by Lucy Heavens and Nic Small and Kiya and The Kimoja Heroes by Kelly Dillon and Marc Dey.



All these pockets of African creativity bring great encouragement for animators to enter the global scene and advance the representation of African cartoon characters in mainstream media.

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Lights, Camera, Animation: The Self-taught African Animator Behind The New Cartoon Network Show

Dylan Diamond first built the app in high school to help his friends coordinate their schedules.



In October 2015, the halls of Westport, Connecticut’s Staples High School looked like those of any other well-to-do American school, abuzz with 1,800 students rushing from class to study hall to extracurricular activities. But while other schools’ teens connected through Snapchat and Instagram, Staples’ entire student body was hooked on what would become Saturn, a social calendar app built by junior Dylan Diamond. 



“People would send around pictures of their schedules and say, ‘Hey, are you in my class?’ They’d send around these ad hoc spreadsheets, group chats and posts; there was no coherent solution,” says Diamond, now 22 years old. “So I created a Web app just for my school that showed me where my friends were and what was going on in the community.” That app became Saturn, named after the Roman god of time. High schoolers use Saturn to manage their calendars,&nbsp; learn about community happenings, chat with friends, see their calendars and real-time whereabouts.



Diamond graduated from Staples in 2017 and enrolled at the University of Pennsylvania, where he studied engineering and business. On the side, he developed Tesla Toolbox, an app for Tesla drivers to control their vehicles from Apple Watches and share drive data—he describes this as Strava for the Tesla community. Tesla discovered the app and hired Diamond as the company’s youngest full-time employee. Though his weekly commutes from Philadelphia to San Francisco prevented Diamond from having much of a social life, fellow Whartonite Max Baron, who was similarly running a full-time social media consultancy with buy-in from Dr. Dre and Snapchat, messaged Diamond on LinkedIn to connect about business opportunities.&nbsp;



Over coffee on Penn’s campus, Diamond showed Baron Saturn—which he’d subsequently turned in a mobile app-—and Baron was floored. “It was very obvious to me that the slope of whatever we could build together was much higher than whatever I could find in either a classroom or commercial setting.” With Baron as COO and CSO and Diamond as CEO, in 2019 the two closed a $9 million seed round from TQ Ventures, General Catalyst and Ashton Kutcher, propelling their pre-revenue company to a $40 million valuation. After Diamond won a Thiel Fellowship in 2020, the two dropped out of college to build Saturn into what they say will be the next Facebook.&nbsp;



Today, the company announced it’s raised an additional $35 million, bringing total funding to $44 million, led by General Catalyst, Insight Partners and Coatue, with participation from Bezos Expeditions, Marc Benioff, Dara Khosrowshahi, Ashton Kutcher and Guy Oseary’s Sound Ventures, Inspired Capital, Mike Vernal, TQ Ventures, SV Angel, Dick Costolo and Adam Bain’s 01 Advisors, Robert Downey Jr., Elad Gil, Jerry Murdock, Hadi Partovi and Dylan Field.&nbsp;



“Dylan [Diamond] is a prodigy in many ways,” says Alexa von Tobel, founder and managing partner of Inspired Capital. “When you see data like Saturn’s, it honestly reminds me of my days as a Harvard undergrad—Mark Zuckerberg was a classmate—and I remember what the early adoption of Facebook felt like, when the user base is not only demanding, but thirsty for the product.”



Though Saturn declined to share metrics on its user base, at present, a few hundred schools use Saturn to manage their social and academic calendars, message students and work through homework and extracurricular to-do lists within the platform. Saturn brings high schools into its orbit by hiring unpaid student ambassadors, a strategy meant to make it feel by and for students, rather than administrators.&nbsp;



Though the cofounders have attracted a slate of blue-chip investors, the company has no monetization model—or plan to move beyond high school users—at present. “There are a lot of things in play, but to be honest, [monetization] is not our immediate priority at the moment,” says Baron, who is more focused on retention and engagement. Investors are banking on Saturn becoming the next great social network, and in such a reality, monetization is light-years away. For context, Mark Zuckerberg started Facebook in 2004, but did not attempt to generate revenue until 2012.&nbsp;



“When you invest in things like Twitter, which I did when it was only 30 people, we had no idea how we’re going to make money,” says Insight Partners’ cofounder Jerry Murdock, who led the round, but invested as an individual. “Within something that has a high degree of engagement, and you see there’s a lot of utility, there’s an implied sense that monetization will be there when you need to get there.”&nbsp;



The SoHo, New York-based company plans to use much of its $44 million injection to pay its 30 employees and hire to fill 13 new roles. “If we double down on performance and make sure that Saturn can scale flawlessly to thousands of schools,” says Diamond. “There’s a lot of work ahead, but we’re excited about where we are.”



By Alexandra Sternlicht, Forbes Staff

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Social Calendar Platform Saturn Raises $44 Million From Benioff, Bezos, And Von Tobel, Among Others

After an injury stymied Brandon Fleming’s Liberty University basketball career, he dropped out to earn a living as an assembly line worker in Atlanta, Georgia. After attempting suicide, he was determined to turn his life around. 



He re-enrolled at Liberty University on a full-ride despite having a middle school-level reading comprehension. Fleming, however, only passed his courses only by cheating. His English professor caught Fleming cheating; rather than flunk him, she forced him to redo the assignment—by her side over the course of multiple months. In the process, she taught him to read and write, exposing him to Black authors like Malcolm X and Frederick Douglass. 



As a side hustle, he coached a debate team at an inner city Atlanta middle school. After the team became undefeated national champions, Harvard recruited him to coach their debate team. In turn, Fleming founded the Harvard Debate Council Diversity Project, which recruits highly motivated Black youth from Atlanta and trains them through a year-long debate residency with Harvard that culminates in competition against top-ranked debaters from 25 countries. So far, the three cohorts Fleming has trained since the program’s 2017 inception have won the prestigious national Harvard Debate Tournament. This month, Hachette Books published&nbsp;Miseducated, Fleming’s memoir.&nbsp;



<figure class="wp-block-embed aligncenter is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">From drug dealer to Harvard educator, here&#39;s why Brandon Fleming believes heart-first teaching is key to racial equality: <a href="https://t.co/rjUzXo228v">https://t.co/rjUzXo228v</a> <a href="https://t.co/TfANQxjonk">pic.twitter.com/TfANQxjonk</a>&mdash; Forbes (@Forbes) <a href="https://twitter.com/Forbes/status/1408475118007902214?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 25, 2021</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
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Forbes&nbsp;spoke with Fleming about his childhood, plans to open the first truly equitable boarding school and heart-first teaching.&nbsp;



Alexandra Sternlicht:&nbsp;Tell me about how you ended up in debate.&nbsp;



Brandon Fleming:&nbsp;I didn’t know that Black people were scholars. In the world that I existed in, there were nothing but Black gangsters and Black drug dealers and Black athletes. When my professor introduced me to Black writers, she opened up this world in which I never knew there was space for me. I just became hungry for more. I started watching movies and reading books about Black scholars. I was Googling movies similar to&nbsp;Malcolm X&nbsp;and found another movie starring Denzel Washington about a Black teacher. It’s called the&nbsp;Great Debaters, and it changed my life forever. I was like, “If only this was a real thing.”&nbsp;



I grew up an athlete, and I got hurt. I had nowhere to direct my competitive drive. So now I was like, ‘You can be competitive in smart stuff?’ So I came to find out it was a real thing, and that my college had a debate team—and then I tried out and made the team. I was so captivated by debate because it was not only helping me learn but discovering my voice and identity.&nbsp;



Sternlicht:&nbsp;You made the&nbsp;Forbes&nbsp;30 Under 30 list as the founder of the Harvard Diversity Project. Are you still involved in that?



Fleming:&nbsp;Absolutely. I always wonder why I was the one who made it out of the ‘hood because there are so many people out there who never made it out. In fact, most of them never made it out. Some of them aren&#8217;t even alive anymore. When I made it from the hood to Harvard, I knew that my being there had to be far bigger than just me. I realized the reason I was there was to build a bridge—to create access for more people who look like me.



For three consecutive years, every group of students that I recruited and trained in Atlanta through the Harvard Diversity Project—every single one of them won the Harvard Debate Tournament. It shows the world that it’s bigger than debate. It shows the world that anything Black and Brown people have not achieved is not due to ability; it’s only due to access.&nbsp;



Sternlicht:&nbsp;From your own drive and from encountering some amazing mentors, you’ve had incredible success—all through education. Do you think that the education system is the main way to achieve racial equity?&nbsp;



Fleming:&nbsp;When we look at the plight of American education, it’s not a policy issue. It’s a heart issue. The reason is that we don’t understand that the way we create a more equitable world is through empathetic education. What does it look like? It looks exactly like what that professor did for me, which is meeting me where I was.&nbsp;



English did not change me. Academics did not change me. Love is what changed me. Empathy is what changed me.&nbsp;



The reason I wrote this book [Miseducated] is because we can’t reach people that we don’t understand. When we talk about reaching at-risk youth, that’s how we can reach them: love them first and teach them second. Once we learn how to do that, education will transform.&nbsp;



Sternlicht:&nbsp;How do you think educators and academic institutions can institute heart into their curriculum?&nbsp;



Fleming:&nbsp;We have to understand emotional learning. It goes beyond intellectual intelligence. You can’t be concerned with reaching the mind and not reaching the heart. We have to meet them where they are—that’s the definition of equity. It’s what that professor did for me: being willing to go the extra mile above the call of duty.&nbsp;



The other part of it is culturally relevant teaching. When my professor wanted to teach me to read and write, she didn’t go back to William Faulkner or F. Scott Fitzgerald. She understood the importance of culture and representation. That’s the definition of culturally relevant teaching: it’s marrying our agenda with their interests.&nbsp;



Young people are not disinterested. Young people are not disengaged. It’s easier for us to say they’re disinterested because that negates our responsibility.&nbsp;



English did not change me. Academics did not change me. Love is what changed me. Empathy is what changed me.&nbsp;Brandon Fleming



Sternlicht:&nbsp;What is the role of higher education in this system?



Fleming:&nbsp;One role higher education can play is creating equitable summer programming, which is what we’re doing at Harvard. We’re giving access to Black and Brown students because the other option is to leave these kids to fend for themselves.&nbsp;



Sternlicht:&nbsp;How do you think your impact will be most felt? Through your book? Through Harvard? Or other sorts of career things?&nbsp;



Fleming:&nbsp;I can let you in on something I haven’t shared with many others. If I have discovered the tool that levels the playing field for marginalized people, it means I have a responsibility to get that tool in the hands of as many people as possible, and I can’t do that at Harvard. Right now, I am in the process of building a school that is called the Veritas School of Social Sciences. It’s going to be the most equitable school in the world. It’s going to be a boarding school for people of color. It’s in Atlanta, Georgia and the development is already underway. We plan to open the school in either the fall of 2023 or 2024.&nbsp;



Sternlicht:&nbsp;You mentioned over email that your book is being optioned for a movie?&nbsp;



Fleming:&nbsp;Yes, it is! There’s not much I can share—only because now we’re negotiating with different production companies and studios to determine which contract we want to sign.&nbsp;



This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity. 



By Alexandra Sternlicht, Forbes Staff

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From Drug Dealer To Harvard Educator: Why Brandon Fleming Believes Heart-First Teaching Is Key To Racial Equality

So what would a historic pandemic year throw up? Ground-breaking entrepreneurs and thinkers. Our 2021 class of Under 30s are just that: influential creatives, imaginative business owners, innovative techies and gifted sports stars. Celebrating seven years of the FORBES AFRICA 30 Under 30 list, Renuka Methil, Managing Editor of FORBES AFRICA, speaks to the cover stars headlining the list and representing their cohorts from across the African continent. 



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<iframe loading="lazy" title="Panel Conversation With The 2021 FORBES AFRICA Under 30 Cover Stars" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/SOlvp8FTxNM?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>
</div><figcaption>Video edited by Chanel Retief </figcaption></figure>



And they are Mihlali Ndamase, a creative and digital influencer from South Africa, Reinhard Mahalie, the founder of RM Fashion Styling in Namibia, Cleo Johnson, the founder of Nuecleo in South Africa, Shakemore Timburwa, the founder of Energy Plus in Zimbabwe, and Antonio Depina, the founder of Overseas Basketball Connection based in Cape Verde.



<a href="https://www.forbesafrica.com/cover-story/2021/06/11/class-of-2021-change-makers-in-a-historic-year/">Read more about the FORBES AFRICA 30 Under 30 Class of 2021 </a>



<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="aligncenter size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="683" height="1024" src="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/IMG_5029-683x1024.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-51313" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/IMG_5029-683x1024.jpg 683w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/IMG_5029-200x300.jpg 200w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/IMG_5029-768x1152.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/IMG_5029-1024x1536.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/IMG_5029-1365x2048.jpg 1365w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/IMG_5029-scaled.jpg 1707w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 683px) 100vw, 683px" /><figcaption>Photo by Motlabana Monnakgotla</figcaption></figure></div>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-to-look-out-for">What To Look Out For</h2>



Our FORBES AFRICA 30 Under 30 curators, Karen Mwendera, Chanel Retief and Simone Umraw will have be in conversation with some of the changemakers who made the Class of 2021 on <a href="https://www.instagram.com/forbesafrica/">Instagram</a>. Stay tuned for more!

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Panel: In Conversation With The 2021 FORBES AFRICA Under 30 Cover Stars

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CLASS OF 2021 Change-Makers In A Historic Year

Members of this year’s list of under 30s have one thing in common: A NEW COVID-INDUCED AGENDA FOR SOCIAL CHANGE. So what would a historic pandemic year throw up? ground-breaking entrepreneurs and thinkers. Our 2021 class of under 30s are just that: INFLUENTIAL CREATIVES, IMAGINATIVE BUSINESS OWNERS, INNOVATIVE TECHIES, AND GIFTED SPORTS STARS. Celebrating seven years of the FORBES AFRICA 30 UNDER 30 LIST, these achievers prove that now more than ever,&nbsp; they are crucial to the AFRICAN GROWTH STORY.



<h4 class="has-text-align-center wp-block-heading" id="h-the-under-30-team">THE UNDER 30 TEAM</h4>



Words: Karen Mwendera, Chanel Retief, Simone Umraw Art Director: Lucy Nkosi Photographer: Motlabana Monnakgotla Retouching: Newkatz Studio Styling: Keabetswe Mafora; Outfits supplied by: Spero Villioti, Viviers Studio, Sisi the Collection, GertJohan Coetzee, Port of LNG, Amen Concepts, Europa Art Studio: Light Station Studio, Johannesburg | Hair &amp; Makeup: SnehhOnline Beauty



FORBES AFRICA finds out how some of the members of the CLASS of 2021 reacted when they found out that they made the most coveted list in Africa!



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EXTERNAL JUDGES: THE CATEGORY EXPERTS WHOSE ROLE WAS TO SURVEY ALL THE FINALISTS OF THE 2021 30 UNDER 30 LIST, RANK THEM AND PROVIDE COMMENTARY ON EACH CANDIDATE.



BUSINESS: Nigerian businesswoman Uche Pedro, the founder, and CEO of BellaNaija, a media-tech brand known for its entertainment and lifestyle content. She has been in the business game for over 15 years, collecting numerous local and international accolades along the way including making the FORBES WOMAN AFRICA 50 Most Powerful Women list in 2020.



TECHNOLOGY: Olugbenga Agboola, the cofounder and CEO of Flutterwave, an African fintech firm building digital payments infrastructure. He has contributed to the development of fintech solutions at several tech companies and financial institutions such as PayPal, Standard Bank, among others. Flutterwave recently raised $170 million, giving it ‘unicorn’ status with a value of over $1 billion.



CREATIVES: Dr John Kani, a South African actor, author, director, and playwright known for his roles in Marvel movies Captain America: Civil War and Black Panther as well as The Lion King. In addition, Kani is also the Founder of the Market Theatre LaboratoryAcademy, chair of the Apartheid Museum South Africa, patron and Ambassador of the Market Theatre, and Trustee for the WWFNedbank Green Trust.



SPORTS: Tendai ‘Beast’ Mtawarira, a Zimbabwean-born professional rugby player who plays for Old Glory DC in Major League Rugby and previously for the South African national team and the Sharks in Super Rugby. With 117 caps, he is the most capped prop in South African history and the third most-capped Springbok of all time. He is also a 2019 Rugby World Cup winner. He owns a security company in South Africa and The Beast Foundation.



AUDIT PARTNER: FORBES AFRICA partnered again with SNG Grant Thornton to vet the business and financial statements of the candidates. This involved understanding the landscape, the profitability, growth and most of all, the scalability of each business.



For the full list download the digital copy <a href="https://shop.forbesafrica.com/product/single-digital-issue-30-under-30-june-july-2021/">here</a>

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Forbes Africa #30Under30 List: CLASS OF 2021 Change-Makers In A Historic Year

Anjali Borkhataria is trying to change the narrative of fashion in Tanzania with a local brand aimed at everyone.



BY INAARA GANGJI



IT WAS ONE OF THOSE RARE OCCASIONS when bold neon colors, oversized white outdoor workwear and bright uncoordinated prints made their way on to the ramps of the annual Swahili Fashion Week in Tanzania. Local fashion designer, Anjali Borkhataria’s brand, EK AN TIK, its name inspired by Hindu scriptures, was a breath of fresh air in an industry that has been assumed to be set in its ways. 



“I believe African fashion is not limited to the printed patterns or kitenge, but we have so much to work with… there can definitely be more diverse design, but still have that African signature,” says Borkhataria to FORBES AFRICA. Borkhataria won Innovative Designer of the Year at this year’s fashion week and her brand has been worn by celebrities across the region and the African continent including Kenyan musician Tanasha Donna, Tanzanian celebrity Romy Jons and singer Mbosso, and has also appeared in a music video by popular Tanzanian singer Diamond Platnumz, featuring Congolese singer Koffi Olomide. 



But Borkhataria believes her brand is not made only for celebrities. Her first collection is workwear inspired by regular businessmen, electricians, and construction industry workers. It’s also unisex, oversized, and flowing. And while she does not prefer comparing herself to other designers in the region because creativity is not a competition for her, she believes her designs inspired by local street culture set her apart. 



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“Because, life happens on the streets, the streets influence me more than anything. So, I try to imply that into my design,” says the 23-year-old who has been a designer for the last three years. However, despite having studied at the Cape Town College of Fashion Design in South Africa, when it comes to the creative process, she does not believe in doing things in one way or the other. 



Her second collection showcased at the latest edition of the Swahili Fashion Week was inspired by games. Titled ‘GameScape’, the inspiration for it came from her father, who sells cars, batteries, and tires. It was also inspired by the Covid-19 pandemic as everybody sat at home and played games. “I don’t know what my creative process looks like because sometimes it’s a movie, sometimes it’s a piece of art, sometimes it’s nothing,” she exudes.



The tight timeframes involved in creating collections hinder the creative process too, with usually only five weeks between conception and production. She is not a fan of sketching either, as she goes with flow, not following a typical or organized process. This saves her time and sets realistic expectations, in her opinion.



Borkhataria also does all her production in-house and on her own. And she hopes that the independent career path she has taken by returning home to Tanzania from South Africa, inspires other young people in her country, no matter their background, to also be able to pursue fashion if they are so keen. 



She also credits her success to her supportive parents. All of this may make it seem like fashion is fun, and it is for her, but the industry is not free of challenges, she opines. She thinks brands create so many collections every year, but there aren’t enough people who can afford to wear them. “So, I wish fashion would go back a little bit. Today, everybody thinks that they know what fashion is, but they don’t know the main essence. For instance, I like music, but it’s not like I’m going to actually make it. So, I don’t like it when people buy a dress from H&amp;M for cheap and they think, ‘I know what fashion is’… I definitely want to change that,” she adds.



This is the reason why she wants high-quality local brands to reach the most people and hopes to have a local store of her own, as she currently works and sells from home. With all these aspirations, and while being a young, South Asian-origin female designer, doing everything on her own is not easy, she is humbled and inspired by being able to create fashion at home in Tanzania. 



“It is challenging but like in one way, it has made me very open minded. Because we are surrounded with mixed backgrounds… I think that has made me very open to different types of people. It just signifies there is hope,” she says, with faith in her craft and optimism for the world.

Category: Under 30

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