<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-topline">Topline</h2>



The Federal Reserve took the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/dereksaul/2024/09/16/fed-once-again-expected-to-make-jumbo-interest-rate-cuts-at-this-weeks-weighty-meeting/">widely expected</a>&nbsp;step Wednesday of announcing its first interest rate cut in years, a move that will have a major impact on the finances of Americans across the board, making borrowing cheaper, though the golden days of high-yield savings instruments may be over.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-facts">Key Facts</h2>



The Fed’s policy-setting committee cut the federal funds rate by 50 basis points, the more aggressive move as consensus was split between a 25 or 50 basis-point cut.



It’s the first cut to the federal funds rate since March 2020, bringing rates down to 4.75% to 5% from the 5.25% to 5.5% range they’ve sat since last July, the highest rates had been since 2001.



The Fed pivot follows the continued moderation of inflation, which caused rates to spike in the first place.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-do-fed-rate-cuts-do">What Do Fed Rate Cuts Do?</h2>



The Fed only officially controls the federal funds rate, which determines the interest charged in overnight cash reserve transactions between banks. But the central bank’s rate decisions affect borrowing costs across the board, as lenders typically set rates based upon the Fed-determined range, and rate cuts will more broadly ripple throughout the economy as well. Here are some of the most tangible ways rate cuts will impact everyday Amerians:



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-housing">Housing</h2>



Mortgages pose perhaps the most obvious jolt for consumers from rate cuts, as mortgage rates are tightly linked to yields for government bonds, which in turn are a reflection of the Fed’s monetary policy. Mortgage rates already&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/dereksaul/2024/09/12/mortgage-rates-fall-to-62-lowest-borrowing-costs-since-early-2023/">hit</a>&nbsp;a 19-month low last week of 6.2% on 30-year fixed loans, as brokers braced for the impending rate cuts, and it’s likely the downward descent will continue as the Fed prepares to further cut rates.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-car-loans">Car Loans</h2>



Consumer loans will get cheaper with lower Fed rates, including auto loans, which&nbsp;<a href="https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/TERMCBAUTO48NS" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">sit now</a>&nbsp;at their most expensive rate since 2001, up from 2021’s sub-5% rate for new car loans to about 8.7%. The cost of other debt like variable-rate private&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bankrate.com/loans/student-loans/how-fed-impacts-student-loans/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">student loans</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.axios.com/2024/09/12/fed-interest-rate-cut-credit-card" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">credit card</a>&nbsp;interest should also come down.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-job-market">Job Market</h2>



Companies will also reap the benefits of more accessible credit. Lower rates are typically associated with friendlier hiring as employers’ bottom lines get a boost from cheaper borrowing costs.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-savings">Savings</h2>



Perhaps the most materially negative change from rate cuts for Americans’ finances is that the high-yield savings accounts, certificate of deposit accounts and money-market funds, which offered enticing returns for savers over the last two years,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.barrons.com/articles/fed-meeting-september-rate-cut-savings-95db9142" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">will lose</a>&nbsp;some of their luster. Those are tightly linked to the federal funds rate,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wsj.com/personal-finance/where-to-put-your-money-when-the-fed-cuts-rates-743e8c66" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">meaning</a>&nbsp;yields for those accounts will quickly fall as the Fed cuts.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-how-rate-cuts-impact-stocks">How Rate Cuts Impact Stocks</h2>



Rate cuts are typically considered a boon for stocks, as money gets pulled away from lower-yielding government bonds and money market funds, leaving investors searching for more enticing returns. The U.S. benchmark S&amp;P 500 stock index has gained 86% of the time in the 12 months after the first rate cut in a cycle dating back to 1929,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.schwab.com/learn/story/what-happens-when-fed-lowers-interest-rates" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">according</a>&nbsp;to Charles Schwab.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-contra">Contra</h2>



Though rates are about to come down, it’s not likely the U.S. will return to the low-rate environment that became the norm. The Fed&nbsp;<a href="https://www.federalreserve.gov/monetarypolicy/files/fomcprojtabl20240612.pdf" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">forecasts</a>&nbsp;a long-term federal funds rate of 2.8%, higher than rates ever were from March 2008 to Sept. 2022, a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/advisor/investing/fed-funds-rate-history/">far ways</a>&nbsp;from the near-zero rates set from Dec. 2008 to Dec. 2015 and March 2020 to March 2022.



.

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Fed Cuts Interest Rates For First Time In 4 Years: Here’s What It Means For You

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’

<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-topline">Topline</h2>



Rapper Sean “Diddy” Combs was arrested Monday and pleaded not guilty Tuesday to charges including sex trafficking and racketeering and will remain in custody until his trial, provoking a range of sharp reactions from rapper and longtime critic 50 Cent, and other celebrities in the hip-hop and R&amp;B communities.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-facts">Key Facts</h2>



Combs was indicted on charges of racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking by force, cause or coercion and transportation to engage in prostitution, with prosecutors alleging he engaged in physical abuse, coercion and obstruction of justice when organizing sex parties he described as “Freak Offs.”



50 Cent, whose real name is Curtis Jackson III,&nbsp;<a href="https://x.com/50cent/status/1836075843371618663" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">tweeted</a>&nbsp;a photo of him and actor Drew Barrymore captioned, “Here I am keeping good company with [Barrymore] and I don’t have 1,000 bottles of lube at the house,” referencing investigators’ findings while they&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/brianbushard/2024/03/25/feds-search-sean-diddy-combs-la-and-miami-homes-reports-say/">searched Combs’ homes</a>&nbsp;in March, when law enforcement recovered more than 1,000 bottles of baby oil and lubricant, according to Combs’ indictment.



Radio host Charlamagne Tha God said during a Monday segment on “The Breakfast Club” if Combs is convicted of racketeering and sex trafficking “<a href="https://youtu.be/IykOj8rhUgQ?si=bT3VlGDQBNogiVIp&amp;t=390" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">there will be others involved</a>” who will be “probably going to jail.”



Singer Audrey O’Day, who has been&nbsp;<a href="https://people.com/aubrey-oday-reacts-sean-diddy-combs-home-raids-8620791" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">outspoken about Combs</a>, said Monday she felt “<a href="https://x.com/AubreyODay/status/1835881050347843665" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">validated</a>” after the rapper’s arrest, following up the tweet by saying she “chose to speak to people who could move justice in the way I needed to see it.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-50-cent-s-yearslong-feud-with-combs">50 Cent’s Yearslong Feud With Combs</h2>



<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/conormurray/2024/03/27/50-cent-says-diddy-done-after-feds-raid-sean-combs-homes-but-their-beef-has-lasted-decades/">50 Cent has long criticized Combs</a>&nbsp;in the leadup to his indictment. In May, 50 Cent reshared a post from the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office condemning a video showing Combs assaulting his ex-girlfriend, Cassie Ventura, at a Los Angeles hotel in 2016. The attack took place beyond the statute of limitations, provoking 50 Cent to say the office released the video knowing “they can’t charge him with what we saw, but they know we can’t [unsee]



what we saw.” 50 Cent also chimed in on the raids conducted on Combs’ residences, saying in a tweet “they don’t come like that unless they got a case.” 50 Cent put out a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.digitalspy.com/music/a36761/50-cent-attacks-p-diddy-in-new-song/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">diss track</a>&nbsp;against Combs in 2006 and announced last year his production company would produce a documentary about the numerous allegations against Combs titled, “<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/maryroeloffs/2023/12/07/50-cent-says-hell-make-documentary-about-diddys-sexual-assault-allegations-as-fourth-woman-comes-forward/?sh=aec0bbb18728">Diddy Do It?</a>”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-tangent">Tangent</h2>



O’Day is a former member of R&amp;B girl group Danity Kane, which was signed to Combs’ record label, Bad Boy Records, in 2005.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-background">Key Background</h2>



Combs was denied bail Tuesday and will remain in federal custody until his trial over the three charges, which carry a minimum sentence of 15 years and a maximum sentence of life in prison. Prosecutors accused Combs of engaging in “verbal, emotional, sexual and physical abuse” and manipulating women into engaging in “extended sex acts with male commercial sex workers.” The charges against Combs follow&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/antoniopequenoiv/2024/09/17/sean-diddy-combs-arrested-on-racketeering-sex-trafficking-charges-a-complete-timeline-of-allegations-against-him/">months-worth of allegations</a>&nbsp;made by women against the rapper accusing him of rape, sexual assault and abuse dating back several years. The allegations, which mainly materialized from late last year to this summer, were denied by Combs’ attorneys, who told Forbes some of the lawsuits against the rapper were&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/britneynguyen/2023/11/24/rapper-sean-diddy-combs-accused-of-rape-and-sexual-assault-in-two-new-separate-lawsuits/?sh=359589f26558">money grabs</a>, “<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/willskipworth/2023/11/16/rapper-sean-diddy-combs-accused-of-rape-and-sex-trafficking-by-singer-and-former-partner/?sh=2d57663bb351">baseless</a>” or “<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/brianbushard/2023/12/06/sean-combs-accused-of-sexually-assaulting-17-year-old-in-latest-lawsuit/?sh=4e745e308e92">sickening</a>.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-further-reading">Further Reading</h2>



<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/alisondurkee/2024/09/17/sean-diddy-combs-pleads-not-guilty-t0-sex-trafficking-racketeering-charges/">Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Denied Bail After Pleading Not Guilty To Sex Trafficking, Racketeering Charges</a>&nbsp;(Forbes)



<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/antoniopequenoiv/2024/09/17/sean-diddy-combs-arrested-on-racketeering-sex-trafficking-charges-a-complete-timeline-of-allegations-against-him/">Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Arrested On Racketeering, Sex Trafficking Charges: A Complete Timeline Of Allegations Against Him</a>&nbsp;(Forbes)

Sean “Diddy” Combs Fulfills $1 Million Pledge To Howard University At Howard Homecoming – Yardfest

‘Diddy’ Arrest: 50 Cent, Charlamagne Tha God And Other Celebrities React

<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-topline">Topline</h2>



Larry Ellison, Oracle’s billionaire chairman, surpassed Amazon founder Jeff Bezos as the second-richest person in the world as Oracle’s shares surged again Monday.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-facts">Key Facts</h2>



Ellison—who holds roughly 40% of Oracle’s shares—has a net worth of about $206 billion as of around 2:45 p.m. EDT after an increase of $8.3 billion (4.2%),&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/real-time-billionaires/#79eecf883d78">according</a>&nbsp;to Forbes’ Real-Time Billionaires list.



Shares of Oracle have increased by nearly 5% to over $170, boosting Ellison’s net worth, while Amazon shares fell slightly (0.6%), subtracting about $1.6 billion from Bezos’ net worth of $203.4 billion.



Ellison now only trails Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s $250.7 billion fortune for the title of the world’s richest person, while Bezos now ranks just ahead of Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg ($183.5 billion).



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-big-number">Big Number</h2>



$34 billion. That’s how much Ellison’s fortune has increased since reaching $172 billion on Sept. 6, when Ellison was ranked as the world’s fifth-wealthiest person.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-background">Key Background</h2>



Oracle’s stock has jumped 21% over the last five trading sessions after releasing a strong earnings report and guidance last week, surpassing analyst expectations. The cloud software firm also announced a partnership with Amazon Web Services, adding to earlier deals with Google and Microsoft. Oracle’s rally has swelled Ellison’s wealth, propelling the company’s 80-year-old chairman ahead of Zuckerberg and Bernard Arnault, the LVMH chief executive and Europe’s richest man. Ellison is set to become the controlling shareholder of CBS parent Paramount once David Ellison, Larry’s son and Skydance Media’s CEO, completes a takeover of the firm.

Rebels With A Cause Gala 2019

Larry Ellison Becomes World’s Second-Richest Again—Passing Jeff Bezos

In an exclusive interview with FORBES AFRICA from Seattle, Bill Gates, co-chair of the Bill &amp; Melinda Gates Foundation, called for increased investments in nutrition to prevent child deaths, and expressed praise for the efforts being taken in primary healthcare by Nigeria and Ethiopia, following his recent trips to the countries meeting with government leaders and also Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote.



Ahead of the release of the eighth annual Goalkeepers report, A Race to Nourish a Warming World, today by the Bill &amp; Melinda Gates Foundation, the Microsoft co-founder spoke to FORBES AFRICA, about the stark numbers, calling malnutrition “the world’s worst child health crisis”.



According to the World Bank, the cost of undernutrition is $3 trillion in productivity loss every year, and with data in the Goalkeepers report showing that 40 million more children will suffer from hunger’s worst effects by 2050 due to climate change, Gates hopes for more targeted health spending to save millions from malnutrition.



The report also cites that the total share of foreign aid going to Africa has decreased: “In 2010, 40% of foreign aid went to African countries. But that number is now down to just 25% — the lowest percentage in 20 years — despite more than half of all child deaths occurring in sub-Saharan Africa.”



“The Gates Foundation uses the United Nations General Assembly meeting in New York every year to highlight both the progress and challenges of helping the world&#8217;s poorest children, and this year, the focus is nutrition,” says Gates to FORBES AFRICA.



The report highlights proven, even low-cost tools to help solve malnutrition, for pregnant women and young children on the continent, and also highlights how promising new research into the microbiome can improve people’s health.



Gates remains optimistic, and in Africa, admits to seeing innovations on the ground.



“I applaud the scientists who help us run these trials,” he says. “That&#8217;s been true as we come up with new vaccines, and I was in Nigeria, we celebrated the fact that they have gotten the cervical cancer vaccine out to a very high percentage of children. And often, primary healthcare delivery in Nigeria is not high quality. It&#8217;s not as well-funded as it should be, and there are a lot of execution challenges. So, when Nigeria actually does some primary healthcare really well, we applaud that, as it sets a good example. And there are some good people trying to improve it.”



On his recent trip to Africa, Gates met with Nigeria’s Minister of Health, Dr Muhammad Ali Pate, and Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed. Both countries work closely with the Gates Foundation.



“In Ethiopia, we&#8217;ve made real progress in having a data system that lets the people there look and say, ‘okay, where are we getting the vaccines, and where are we not’, and we were a big partner in that. But it&#8217;s great [to see] kids from the university now totally running this data system and able to see if the vaccines are in stock, and if not, what can they do?



“The execution of primary healthcare in Ethiopia is quite good, even though, overall, they&#8217;re a fairly poor country, but they do prioritize it. And there are some lessons for other African countries on how that has been done. I meet with ministers of health wherever I go and sometimes with the heads of state. I did talk with Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu. He was in China for FOCAC [Forum on China-Africa Cooperation], so, it wasn&#8217;t face-to-face, but he took the time to make sure we were talking about the challenges they face and how we can help them.”



In Nigeria, Gates’ foundation also works closely with the Dangote Foundation. Gates says Dangote – also a good friend – spent “a lot of time” with him on his recent trip.



“The Dangote Foundation’s and Gates Foundation’s work in Nigeria is about 75% overlapped. We learn from each other. You know, obviously, they understand Nigeria, and we understand the microbiome. And so, that&#8217;s complementary. Aliko is in an intense period in terms of his new refinery and all, but still, the whole time I was in Nigeria, he made time. And they have a great, very professional team. We work together mostly on primary healthcare…



“We had a lot of good discussions, and Aliko Dangote and Dr Pate were in most of those. We also met with the agricultural people about chickens and milk and seeds that&#8217;ll increase agricultural productivity because [in] these countries, as their budgets are so tight, the idea that they&#8217;re going to raise food productivity is one of the clear things, so that they&#8217;re not importing as much food, and [therefore they are] creating opportunity in the agricultural system. So, it&#8217;s mostly health, because that&#8217;s our big thing, but it&#8217;s also some of the work in agriculture as well. And Dangote, both philanthropically and as a private entity, is a big partner there.”



Gates speaks about a second act or “a new global health boom to save millions of lives” in the report, but to a question on whether we will see a cure for AIDS in our lifetime, he gave it a “10- to 20-year timeframe”.



“Yes, I would say; even though, in the short run, these incredible headwinds of debt and reductions in aid and some instability in the next five years are going to be very challenging. If you take a longer perspective, where you get new research – like we are spending literally billions on the idea of an HIV cure – I think it&#8217;s very likely in the 10- to 20-year timeframe that these innovations will get done. We&#8217;ll figure it out, despite the challenges, how to get them delivered. And so, that&#8217;s why this work, including delivering it in Africa, is the big focus of the Gates Foundation, and you&#8217;ll hear from us in January as we celebrate our 25th anniversary. We&#8217;re talking about our goals for the next phase of our work, and we&#8217;re going to set some very ambitious goals. So, yes, I am optimistic on HIV specifically, and on health broadly, despite the fact that we&#8217;re in a tough period.”

Conclusion Global Solutions Summit

‘I Applaud Them’: Billionaire Philanthropist Bill Gates On African Scientists And Spending Time With Aliko Dangote As He Discusses His Foundation’s New Report On Nutrition

Refiloe Jane’s rise from unknown schoolgirl spotted at a talent competition to leading her country at a FIFA Women’s World Cup should serve as an inspiration to those who believe in the impossible dream.



Jane has become one of the most iconic players in the Banyana Banyana side over the last decade, helping them become African champions and appearing at two Olympic Games and two Women’s World Cups.



No other player can match that success, but it is testament to her longevity and continued excellence that she remains a key part of the national set-up, and at the age of 32, feels she still has much more to give.



The midfielder was singled out at the Gauteng Future Champions Talent Identification Programme while a Grade 11 pupil at Emshukantambo Secondary School in Pimville, Soweto, and set on the road to stardom.



“Winning the Gauteng Future Champions really kick-started my career and gave me so much confidence to believe that I can play for a top local side and even internationally,” Jane tells FORBES AFRICA.



“The time I spent training with Manchester City and Everton (as a result of winning the Gauteng Future Champions) also opened my eyes up to what is required to be a professional player and I made sure that I put into practice what I learned there.



“When my development started, I was playing a long time with boys until the age of 14. When I was there training with those teams (in England), I saw there is more to football than what I was experiencing at home.



&#8220;It changed my life when I got there. I came back and said I would take my football seriously and invest a lot in it.”



Jane soon got a contract at home with an emerging Mamelodi Sundowns Ladies side, who were not yet the force they are today, but an ambitious club desperate to change the narrative around women’s football.



They found a willing player in Jane desperate for success, and she found a club to give her that platform.



“After joining Mamelodi Sundowns Ladies in late 2010, I put my head down and said to myself that I am going to give everything I have to try and make it into the Banyana Banyana squad. Thankfully, that hard work has paid off.”



She was included in Banyana’s squad for the 2012 Olympic Games at the age of 19, and repeated that feat in 2016 when she traveled to Brazil with the team for the Rio de Janeiro games.



Other players have been and gone, but through it all, Jane has been a constant and someone the team relies on to bring balance to the midfield.



“The team (Banyana Banyana) has improved very well, we have quite a number of players who have gone overseas and are still overseas, I think the (2019) World Cup played a huge role in the growth of women’s football in our country.”



Jane got her big break in professional football when she was signed to a short-term contract with Australian side Canberra United, heading Down Under with compatriot Rhoda Mulaudzi.



But after impressing at the World Cup in France in 2019, bigger things were on the horizon and she was signed by top Italian club AC Milan.



She spent three seasons there before moving to fellow Serie A team Sassuolo, where she featured in 29 games over two seasons, her second campaign cut short by a serious long-term injury sustained at the 2023 World Cup.



She has since left Sassuolo and is looking forward to a fresh challenge, and suggests later on she will perhaps take up the coaching reins.



&#8220;I do have ambitions of giving back to the game in the future, all that experience I have gained overseas, I want to come back home one day and plough back. The game has done so much for me and given me so much,” Jane said.



&#8220;I want to teach, to coach, to give back in any way to the youngsters who see themselves playing the game. I am looking forward to doing that after my playing days.”

Football – 2019 COSAFA Women Championship – Final – Zambia v South Africa – Isaac Wolfson Stadium

‘Want To Come Back Home One Day And Plough Back’: The 32-Year-Old South African Football Star With A New Goal

<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-topline">Topline</h2>



Elon Musk, the billionaire owner of X, reacted to an apparent assassination attempt against former President Donald Sunday by saying no one was trying to kill either President Joe Biden or Vice President Kamala Harris, in a strongly-condemned post.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-facts">Key Facts</h2>



Musk reshared a post Sunday night asking why people want to kill Donald Trump and&nbsp;<a href="https://archive.ph/OhrPX" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">wrote</a>: “And no one is even trying to assassinate Biden/Kamala,” followed by the thinking face emoji.



The post immediately faced blowback from X users, but the billionaire—who has endorsed Trump—appeared to double down,&nbsp;<a href="https://x.com/elonmusk/status/1835537404318392628" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">responding</a>&nbsp;with a “hundred points” emoji to a reply saying: “Trump threatens the machine. Biden/Kamala are the machine.”



Responding to another user who asked him to reconsider the post, saying “We need to unite,” Musk&nbsp;<a href="https://x.com/elonmusk/status/1835537833869623681" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">wrote</a>: “No one has even tried to do so is the point I’m making and no one will.”



A few hours later, Musk&nbsp;<a href="https://x.com/elonmusk/status/1835572816730636430" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">responded</a>&nbsp;to a follower asking him to reword his post because people were “misinterpreting your obvious intent” by saying: “Fair enough…I don’t want to do what they have done, even in jest.”



After taking down the post, Musk appeared to suggest it was a joke,&nbsp;<a href="https://x.com/elonmusk/status/1835573866271330307" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">saying</a>: “One lesson I’ve learned is that just because I say something to a group and they laugh doesn’t mean it’s going to be all that hilarious as a post on X.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-chief-critics">Chief Critics</h2>



Musk’s posts drew immediate condemnation from users on X. Conservative columnist Jonah Goldberg&nbsp;<a href="https://x.com/JonahDispatch/status/1835488915978957183" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">criticized</a>&nbsp;the post, calling it “appalling and indefensible.” Comedian Maz Jobrani tagged the Secret Secret service in his post,&nbsp;<a href="https://x.com/MazJobrani/status/1835485451727364582" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">saying</a>: “You may want to pay this guy a visit. He ain’t right in the head!” Brett Meiselas, founder of the left-leaning online outlet Meidas Touch,&nbsp;<a href="https://x.com/BMeiselas/status/1835483332844671305" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">wrote</a>: “Ok this requires an IMMEDIATE visit by the secret service and federal charges. Lock this guy up. This is so dangerous.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-tangent">Tangent</h2>



Earlier on Sunday, the New Hampshire Libertarian Party was condemned after&nbsp;<a href="https://archive.is/Ca9Xg#selection-499.0-508.0" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">tweeting</a>: “Anyone who murders Kamala Harris would be an American hero.” The Libertarian Party’s presidential nominee, Chase Oliver, called the post “abhorrent” and&nbsp;<a href="https://x.com/ChaseForLiberty/status/1835477641517748462" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">wrote on X</a>: “I 100% condemn the statement from LPNH regarding Kamala Harris…As Libertarians, we condemn the use of force, whether committed by governments, individuals, or other political entities.” The party account, however, dismissed criticism and&nbsp;<a href="https://archive.ph/VGJLH" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">wrote</a>: “Encouraging politicians to be shot is legal under the first amendment. It&#8217;s part of what makes this country great.” The account, however, eventually&nbsp;<a href="https://x.com/LPNH/status/1835310685095628880" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">took down</a>&nbsp;the post and said they had done so because they did not want to “break the terms of this website we agreed to,” but added: “It&#8217;s a shame that even on a &#8220;free speech&#8221; website that libertarians cannot speak freely.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-further-reading">Further Reading</h2>



<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/mollybohannon/2024/09/15/trump-safe-after-attempted-assassination-suspect-identified/">Trump Safe After ‘Attempted Assassination’—Suspect Identified</a>&nbsp;(Forbes)



<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/siladityaray/2024/09/16/trump-assassination-attempt-everything-we-know-about-the-arrested-suspect/">Trump Assassination Attempt: Everything We Know About The Arrested Suspect</a> (Forbes)<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/siladityaray/"></a>

Tech Illustration Images

Musk Posts Then Deletes ‘No One Is Even Trying To Assassinate Biden/Kamala’

Pravin Gordhan, the former South African Minister of Finance and a prominent figure in the fight against state capture, passed away today at the age of 75, following a short battle with cancer.



His family in a statement issued this morning, said Gordhan &#8220;passed away peacefully in hospital surrounded by his family, closest friends and his lifelong comrades in the liberation struggle.&#8221;



Gordhan’s death marks the end of a 50-year political career, spanning multiple critical roles in South Africa’s government, most notably as the Minister of Finance during some of the country’s most turbulent years. Known for his commitment to integrity and reform, Gordhan also played a key role in South Africa’s transition to democracy, earning respect both locally and internationally for his contribution to building robust state institutions.



Gordhan, who was admitted to Johannesburg’s Wits Donald Gordon Medical Centre on Wednesday, September 11, passed away two days later. His hospitalization drew the attention of many, as vigils were held in his honor, symbolizing the deep respect he garnered from his comrades and the public.



President Cyril Ramaphosa, expressing his sorrow at the passing of Gordhan in a statement issued today, hailed him as &#8220;an outstanding leader whose unassuming persona belied the depth of intellect, integrity, and energy with which he undertook his activism, his duty as a parliamentarian, and his roles as a member of Cabinet.&#8221; The President further acknowledged the personal sacrifices Gordhan made, not only for the country but also in his family life, stating, &#8220;Pravin Gordhan and his family were deprived of much needed and deserved time together.&#8221;



A Fighter Against State Capture



Although Gordhan&#8217;s political career had many significant moments, his role in fighting corruption, especially during former President Jacob Zuma&#8217;s administration, cemented his legacy. Appointed as Finance Minister twice, first from 2009 to 2014 and again from 2015 to 2017, Gordhan became a key figure in resisting what would later be known as state capture — a period of systematic looting of state resources and corruption facilitated by the Zuma-Gupta alliance.



His courageous stand against corruption led to relentless attacks on his character and reputation. He was subjected to disinformation campaigns, legal harassment, and smear efforts, spearheaded by senior ANC figures loyal to Zuma. Despite this, Gordhan remained resolute, stating that his duty was to uphold the Constitution and protect South Africa’s democratic institutions.



A Career of Service



Gordhan&#8217;s public life began long before his time in government. Born in Durban on April 12, 1949, he was an active member of the anti-apartheid struggle, working closely with organizations such as the Natal Indian Congress and serving as a member of the African National Congress’s (ANC) underground military wing. His activism in the 1970s and 1980s, which led to multiple arrests and detentions by apartheid authorities, shaped his commitment to social justice.



During the country’s transition to democracy, Gordhan played a key role in the Convention for a Democratic South Africa (CODESA), helping to negotiate the logistics of South Africa&#8217;s first free and fair election. He was later appointed the first Commissioner of the South African Revenue Service (SARS) in 1998, where he earned accolades for transforming the institution into one of the most efficient and transparent tax agencies globally.



Even though his last role as Minister of Public Enterprises, from 2018 to 2024, was fraught with challenges, including the continued crisis at Eskom and SAA, Gordhan’s contributions to strengthening South Africa’s institutions will be remembered.



President Ramaphosa echoed this sentiment: &#8220;As a beacon of our fight against corruption, Pravin Gordhan stood up to derision and threats emanating from some in our nation who were scorched by his insistence that justice be dispensed.&#8221;

GettyImages-12418713802

Former South African Minister of Finance and ANC Stalwart Pravin Gordhan Passes Away

<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-topline">Topline</h2>



Women with obesity and diabetes taking weight loss and diabetes drugs Mounjaro and Zepbound for over a year lost more weight than their male counterparts—but also experienced more nausea and vomiting, according to new research.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-facts">Key Facts</h2>



Researchers from Eli Lilly who tracked weight changes for a group of 4,677 people with Type 2 diabetes and obesity found female participants lost up to 24.6% of their body weight during treatment, while males lost up to 18.1% of their body weight.



The participants—2,999 females and 1,678 males—were followed for between 72 and 88 weeks, according to research presented this week at the Annual Meeting of The European Association for the Study of Diabetes.



These participants took different doses of once weekly tirzepatide—the generic name for Eli Lilly’s Mounjaro and Zepbound—shots during this time period.



The researchers noted although safety levels were similar for both sexes, women experienced nausea and vomiting—two of the most common side effects of tirzepatide—at significantly higher rates than their male counterparts.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-do-women-lose-more-weight-on-glp-1s-than-men">Why Do Women Lose More Weight On Glp-1s Than Men?</h2>



“More research is needed to understand the mechanism by which females may experience more weight reduction in these trials,” Dr. Luis-Emilio García-Pérez, lead author and associate vice president of the Diabetes Global Medical Affairs team for Eli Lilly, said in a statement. However, previous research suggests there may be several factors that play a role in the difference of weight loss between men and women who take tirzepatide and other GLP-1 drugs. The differences in hormones between the two sexes may be the reason women lose more weight, according to a 2022&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8950819/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">study</a>. A&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S073510972407445X?via%3Dihub" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">study</a>&nbsp;published last month in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology found women with obesity and heart failure taking GLP-1s lost more weight than male participants, and suggested differences in metabolism may be the reason. “As a general rule, females have more fat in their bodies, and it is distributed in a different way, which may respond to the mechanisms of action of this medication better,” Dr. John Lowe, a gastroenterologist and physician at Restore Care,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.healthline.com/health-news/wegovy-more-weight-loss-women#Why-Wegovy-might-help-females-lose-more-weight" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">told</a>&nbsp;Healthline. Lowe went on to add women suffer different societal pressures than men when it comes to body image, so this factor could make women more likely to stick to lifestyle changes—like diet and exercise—while adhering to the drug.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-background">Key Background</h2>



Glucagon-like peptide-1 (<a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK551568/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">GLP-1</a>) receptor agonists are a class of drugs used to treat diabetes and weight loss by interacting with the hunger part of the brain to suppress the appetite, and lowering blood sugar and A1C. Two of the most popular GLP-1s are semaglutide (brand name&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/ariannajohnson/2022/12/26/what-to-know-about-ozempic/">Ozempic</a>, Wegovy and Rybelsus) and tirzepatide, but other drugs in this class include dulaglutide, exenatide, liraglutide and lixisenatide. Tirzepatide is a two-part medication, as it’s a GLP-1 and glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide (<a href="https://my-bmi.co.uk/medical-therapy/what-are-gip-receptor-agonists/#:~:text=GIP%20receptor%20agonists%20work%20with,few%20benefits%20for%20certain%20patients." rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">GIP</a>), which works with the GIP hormone in the brain to increase insulin production and control appetite.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-big-number">Big Number</h2>



9 million. That’s about how many prescriptions of Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro and Zepbound were written in the fourth quarter of 2022, according to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2023/09/27/ozempic-wegovy-drug-prescriptions-hit-9-million.html" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">data</a>&nbsp;from CNBC. Nine million people would represent roughly 2%-3% of the U.S. population.

Mounjaro Photo Illustrations

Women Taking Mounjaro And Zepbound Lose More Weight Than Men, New Study Suggests: What To Know

Ghana and the Ivory Coast contribute a big chunk of the world’s chocolate. Yet, farmers here only earn around $1 a day. We profile entrepreneurs and chocolatiers determined to make sure the practice of cultivating cocoa prevails and it’s a sweet deal for the producers too.



British author Roald Dahl tapped into every chocoholic’s imagination when creating Willy Wonka’s bizarre chocolate factory in his 1964 children’s novel Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Although the signature chocolate river may have been pure fantasy, Africa’s cocoa industry is being molded by real-life chocolate-makers who are making it their mission to demonstrate why the continent deserves a golden ticket.



“I’ve never seen anyone miserable while tasting chocolate. Even if you are miserable, you take a bite of chocolate and it boosts your mood. It makes people joyful. That’s part of its mystery and beauty,” believes Kimberly Addison, who, along with her sister Priscilla, started Ghana’s ’57 Chocolate in 2016. 



The name of the Accra-based bean-to-bar company is inspired by the year in which the country gained independence and the spirit of developing a nation by manufacturing high-quality products.



Having spent her formative years in Switzerland’s second-most populous city, Geneva, Addison was accustomed to giving Swiss chocolate as gifts when visiting friends and family in the United States (U.S.), Senegal, and Ghana.



“I was living in the chocolate nation of the world — or so I thought.”



Fulfilling her life-long dream of moving back to Ghana prompted her friends to take her on a farewell outing to a chocolate factory two weeks before her departure. It was during that tour that the seed of Addison’s life’s purpose began to cultivate.



“They had a display of where they sourced their cocoa beans from, and lo and behold, Cote d’Ivoire and Ghana were the two largest displays. I asked myself, ‘why on earth have I been taking Swiss chocolate everywhere I travel when the main ingredient comes from the continent of Africa? I should be bringing Ghanaian chocolate to Switzerland’.”



The only problem – Ghanaian chocolate didn’t really exist.



Although Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire are responsible for growing around 70% of the world’s cocoa beans, the raw material is most often exported to chocolate-producing countries in Europe and the U.S.



The lack of a locally-produced chocolate bar on the supermarket shelves of Côte d’Ivoire is what influenced Axel Emmanuel Gbaou to create his own. Not exactly the typical path for a banker with a master’s degree in taxation.



“There was no chocolate-maker in my country, even though we produce more than 2 million [metric] tonnes of cocoa per year. So, I decided to leave my job at the bank and rise to the challenge.”



Sourcing beans from Côte d’Ivoire’s seven cocoa farming regions, Gbaou has created mineral-rich, earthy blends that have won international awards, dispelling the myth that African-produced chocolate is not as good as that from global corporations like Nestlé and Mars.



“If you get good quality raw materials, half your job is already done,” says Kyle Hickman, head chocolatier at AFRIKOA in Cape Town, South Africa. The hand-crafted brand uses heirloom beans from Tanzania that are purchased from farmers through direct trade.



“Chocolate has to be refined to a point that it’s really smooth, down to 20 microns or less, so that our tongue cannot pick up any texture. It then goes through a process called conching where we get rid of a lot of the volatile notes, because chocolate can be very acidic if it’s not processed properly.”



The chocolate is then tempered to allow the fat crystals to set, and other elements like cocoa butter; sugar; milk powder; and flavorings are added in. South African rooibos tea and Rwandan coffee can be found amidst AFRIKOA’s wares, while ’57’s collection features flavors like hibiscus and moringa.



“It’s so easy to just break a bar, pop a piece in your mouth and enjoy it because chocolate is a food that brings people together and makes you smile, but I never in a thousand years knew how hard it is to make,” admits Addison who learned the process by spending a month with a chocolate-making couple in England before returning to Accra to teach others.



“Isn’t it ironic that I had to go outside of the continent to get training in chocolate-making, only to bring it back? Ghana is the second-largest producer of cocoa, yet we don’t really have any formal schools or technical training centers on how to work with this major resource of ours.&#8221;



A third of the globe’s cocoa farmers reside in parts of West Africa, though cocoa is not something that ever found a place in the local diet. The majority of cocoa growers have never even seen a piece of chocolate, let alone taken a bite.



“Cocoa was introduced during the colonial period and was cultivated from the beginning to be exported,” explains Michael E. Odijie, a research associate at University College London. “It was not introduced as a food crop that later became a cash crop; it was introduced as a cash crop right away. People cultivating cocoa in the late 19th century had no idea what the use for this crop was, but they understood that after harvest, there was always somebody willing to buy it.”



Despite being integral to the chocolate production process, farmers rarely receive their due. A shortfall in the most recent harvest, thanks to various factors such as climate change, diseased trees, and lack of investment, have resulted in cocoa prices soaring from $2.60 per kilogram at the beginning of 2023 to around $9.80 in July 2024. Yet, farmers are still only earning around $1 a day.



“There is a power imbalance between cocoa farmers at one end of the value chain and multinationals at the other end,” Odijie notes. “Farmers don’t have control over price which is basically set by demand and supply. A cocoa farmer in a village in Ghana does not have the capital, the information, the research to properly negotiate with the other end of the value chain.”


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The lack of feasible income, in some cases, results in an inability to pay workers, thus leading farmers to resort to child labor.



“Child labor is defined by the International Labour Organization as work that deprives children of their childhood, their potential and their dignity, and that is harmful to their physical and mental development. This can include carrying heavy loads, using sharp tools like machetes to harvest the cocoa, or when the work interferes with the child’s schooling,” explains the Communications Director of the International Cocoa Initiative, Katie Bird.



The role of the NPO is to work with farmers, civil society organizations, and policymakers to tackle the issue of child labor and trafficking in West Africa where around 1.5 million children are reportedly affected. Raising awareness, improving access to quality education, building classrooms, providing books and uniforms, cash injections, and focusing on gender equality are some of the means the initiative has employed to combat the issue.



Bird notes: “Advancing women’s economic empowerment, helping them to participate in household decision-making can be very useful. There is usually more investment into the children’s schooling when the women have more of a say in the household decision-making.”



While the men work the field, Gbaou has taken it upon himself to share skills with the wives, mothers, and daughters of the communities, so they, too, may have a hand in shaping their future. “I have trained more than 2,000 women throughout Africa,” he reveals. “In the past, they did not know what to do with the beans, but now some make chocolate spread that they can sell to the children in the village. I train them how to make things with cocoa butter like soap and lipstick. It brings them some economic freedom.”



Addison agrees: “We’ve learned that the best investment one can make is in another human being, so our goal is that whoever comes through our door at ’57 must leave here better than they came.”



It is also about ensuring that the practice of cultivating cocoa prevails.



“They often say that the next generation of cocoa farmers don’t exist. And honestly, sometimes I even want to say that the next generation of farmers in general don’t exist. So now the challenge is how do we make farming interesting for young people?”



Much like its cocoa beans, the Ghanaian chocolatier hopes that Africans will remain on the continent.



“Africa shouldn’t be a place that we leave; it should be a place where people want to come to. Yes, it has its issues, its challenges, but where there are problems there are opportunities to begin to make changes. There’s no need to seek greener pastures elsewhere, we can create our own here.”



Choc-ful of potential, Africa is no longer simply clocking in to the chocolate factory — it’s building its own and inviting the world inside for a taste.

image3

Africa’s Chocolate Industry: Bean There Done That?

<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-topline">Topline</h2>



Vice President Kamala Harris vaulted past President Donald Trump to become the bookmaker’s favorite to win the November election on Tuesday night, after a strong showing in the first presidential debate.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-facts">Key Facts</h2>



According to the Election Betting Odds&nbsp;<a href="https://electionbettingodds.com/President2024.html" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">tracker</a>, which consolidates betting numbers from four separate markets, bookmakers now believe Harris has a 51.8% chance of winning compared to Trump’s 46.9%.



This is a major shift in favor of Harris, whose chances have risen by more than four and half points in the past 24 hours, while Trump’s have plummeted by four.



Bettors on crypto-based betting platform&nbsp;<a href="https://polymarket.com/elections" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Polymarket</a>—who heavily favored a Trump win in the past two weeks—now believe both Harris and Trump have a 49% chance of winning.



On the British betting site Smarkets, bookmakers predict that Harris now has a 51.55% chance of winning—up from 47.5%&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/siladityaray/2024/09/05/election-betting-markets-swing-towards-trump-again/">last week</a>—while Trump’s odds have dropped to 46.3%.



On&nbsp;<a href="https://www.predictit.org/markets/detail/7456/Who-will-win-the-2024-US-presidential-election" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">PredictIt</a>, the only platform where bettors gave Harris better odds than Trump before the debate, the vice president expanded her lead and now has odds of 56 cents per share (roughly equating to a 56% chance) compared to Trump’s 47 cents per share.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-surprising-fact">Surprising Fact</h2>



While the betting markets believe the election remains fairly close, this is a strong consensus among bettors that Harris won the debate.&nbsp;<a href="https://polymarket.com/event/who-will-win-the-debate-according-to-polls?tid=1726035558946" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Polymarket</a>&nbsp;bookmakers believe Harris has a 98% chance of being judged the winner of Tuesday night’s debate in consolidated post-debate snap polls.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-big-number">Big Number</h2>



2.7%. That is the size of Harris’ lead over Trump in national polls, according to FiveThirtyEight’s&nbsp;<a href="https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/polls/president-general/2024/national/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">weighted average</a>.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-tangent">Tangent</h2>



Unlike the other betting markets, PredictIt&nbsp;<a href="https://www.predictit.org/terms-and-conditions" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">only allows</a>&nbsp;participation by U.S. residents who are 18 or older. Earlier this year, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC)&nbsp;<a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2024/05/10/cftc-election-betting-ban-00157304" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">proposed a ban</a>&nbsp;on all election-related betting in the U.S. derivatives market. The agency’s proposal came after being sued by PredictIt for trying to shut down the platform from taking bets on the presidential race—after previously&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cftc.gov/PressRoom/PressReleases/7047-14" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">allowing it</a>.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-further-reading">Further Reading</h2>



<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/siladityaray/2024/09/05/election-betting-markets-swing-towards-trump-again/">Election Betting Markets Swing Towards Trump Again</a>&nbsp;(Forbes)



<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/saradorn/2024/09/10/trump-vs-harris-2024-polls-harris-leads-by-2-points-in-latest-survey/">Trump Vs. Harris 2024 Polls: Harris Up By 1 Point—As Her Lead Plateaus Before Debate</a>&nbsp;(Forbes)

ABC News Hosts Second Presidential Debate

Harris Surges Past Trump In Election Betting Markets After First Presidential Debate

Cover-story

IN THE SPOTLIGHT: The Continent On Celluloid

The former head of Rockwell Collins is ‘so competitive it’s scary’ says one industry insider, with a reputation for building a positive corporate culture and treating employees well.



Wall Street wanted an outsider with engineering and manufacturing experience to be Boeing’s next CEO. The embattled company’s board of directors delivered Wednesday, announcing that former Rockwell Collins CEO Robert “Kelly” Ortberg will take the reins on August 8. He will replace outgoing CEO David Calhoun, who struggled to lead the company through confidence-shaking problems with the quality of its airplanes and lingering dislocations from the steep drop in production during the Covid pandemic.



Analysts and aerospace consultants praised the appointment of Ortberg, 64, who built Rockwell Collins into one of the industry’s dominant avionics suppliers, growing revenue from $4 billion in 2013 when he became CEO to $9 billion in 2018, when the Cedar Rapids, Iowa-based company was acquired by United Technologies.



Loren Thompson, a longtime aerospace and defense consultant who worked with Rockwell Collins, described Ortberg as one of the most impressive CEOs he’s dealt with. “He’s so competitive it’s scary,” Thompson told&nbsp;Forbes. &#8220;He’s an exceptionally focused, detail-oriented executive.”



Ortberg, an Iowa native who earned a mechanical engineering degree from the University of Iowa, built a positive corporate culture and a strong leadership team at Rockwell, Sheila Kahyaoglu, an analyst with Jefferies, wrote in a note. “He was well liked by employees and direct reports and very personable. This was while being a tough negotiator dealing with a diverse set of customers.”



His biggest customer: Boeing.



Ortberg’s deep background with parts makers makes him a good pick at a time when the aerospace and defense supply chain is struggling to meet airplane and weapon makers’ demands to raise production, Richard Aboulafia, a managing director at AeroDynamic Advisory, told&nbsp;Forbes. It should also help Boeing improve relations with suppliers who have felt squeezed by the company’s attempts to wring cost savings out of them over the past decade, he said.



“Most of Boeing’s problems are rooted in two dysfunctions: how they treated their workforce and how they treated their supply chain,” said Aboulafia. “I think he&#8217;ll really understand what needs to be done with both of them.”



At Rockwell, Ortberg’s focus on technology development was key to building an outperformer in a place not known for corporate world-beaters, said Thompson. Under Ortberg, Rockwell “pioneer[ed] the idea of a connected aircraft across avionics, auxiliary power units, controls, flight decks, and more,” wrote Kahyaoglu.



Ortberg was chosen over Stephanie Pope, an insider with a finance background&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/jeremybogaisky/2024/04/05/boeing-737-max-stephanie-pope/">whom Calhoun had championed</a>, and Pat Shanahan, a former Boeing executive and CEO of key supplier Spirit AeroSystems, which&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/jeremybogaisky/2024/07/01/boeing-spirit-737-max/">Boeing agreed to buy earlier this month</a>.



One of the first challenges Ortberg will face is contract negotiations with the union representing Boeing’s machinists and assembly workers at its factories in Washington State, which will get under way in earnest next month.



They’re expected to be contentious: Boeing workers are still angry over the terms the company negotiated in 2013, including the end of their pension plans. Meanwhile Boeing took a hard line in contract talks earlier this year with its firefighters and pilots. The 32,000 members of the International Association of Machinists District Council 751 voted earlier this month to authorize their leaders to call a strike.



“We wonder if management and the board will seek to avoid a high-profile strike so early in the tenure of a new CEO who is intended to help Boeing turn over a new leaf,” Seth Seifman, an analyst with JPMorgan, wrote in a note.



Ortberg faces a host of other issues. Boeing has slowed production of its best-selling airliner, the 737 MAX, as it seeks to eliminate&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/jeremybogaisky/2024/02/17/boeing-737-max-workers/">long-festering manufacturing problems</a>&nbsp;spotlighted in January in the wake of the shocking midair blowout of a panel on an Alaska Airlines plane. The company has agreed with federal prosecutors to plead guilty to a felony charge of defrauding the U.S. government by failing to abide by the terms of a deferred prosecution agreement it struck over its role in two deadly 737 MAX crashes in 2018 and 2019. And in tandem with announcing Ortberg’s appointment, Boeing reported a wider than expected net loss of $1.44 billion for the second quarter. It hasn’t posted an annual profit since 2018.



“Clearly there are a massive number of problems at Boeing, but with Kelly as CEO we think there is at least a chance of fixing them,” wrote analyst Robert Stallard of Vertical Research.



Investors reacted positively to the news: Boeing shares were trading up 3% to $193 shortly after noon Wednesday.

Operations Inside The Rockwell Collins Inc. Production Facility

Boeing May Have Gotten It Right With Kelly Ortberg As CEO

Do You Prefer AIOr The Personal Touch? Some Insights On How Africa’s Hotel Sector Is Set To Welcome A New Era Of Hospitality.



Artificial intelligence (AI) is changing the economic landscape and expected to boost global GDP by trillions of dollars in the coming years. It is one of the most significant commercial opportunities in the world. But how will it play out in the hospitality and tourism industry?



According to HotelTechReport’s State of Hotel Guest Technology Report 2024, 70% of the 400 hotel guests they surveyed said they still prefer the human touch when managing complex queries and 65% would like the technology in their hotel to be more advanced than what they have at home.



It’s a knife edge – on one hand, people are the heart of hospitality, on the other, ignoring the value of AI can potentially impact a hotel’s future. If a hotel can’t offer personalization, experience enhancement, chatbot support and AI-curated services, will it be left behind? Or will this make it an oasis where the lack of technology is the value-added service, whilst AI runs in the background, smoothing over the bumps and easing guests into their experiences?



Some hotels have already stepped into technology with immersive experiences and digital room replicas. “We launched our first use of AI for our meeting experiences called Meetings Unbound,” says Stephanie AbouJaoude, Senior Area Director of Marketing &amp; Communications – Middle East, Africa, Turkey &amp; Mediterranean at the Radisson Hotel Group. “We’ve leveraged AI technology to offer these creative and visual meeting experiences for our delegates.”



This is very much in line with what is being described as the ‘era of hospitality’ where personalization, engagement, human connections, and the co-creation of experiences are becoming the standards against which hospitality is measured.



There is a need for data, insights, and emergent technologies to provide the sector with the tools they need to ensure they meet the expectations of an increasingly discerning traveler.



“You have to ensure the guests you’re attracting are delivered what they’re expecting. Personalized experiences are absolutely essential, everyone wants that Instagram image, that experience,” says Neil Hughes, Managing Director, Providence Hotels, who also points out that while he does use a digital ecosystem to connect with customers, the use of AI remains at the base level. “I think people need human interaction. AI is cold – no matter how you load it with chatbots and virtual assistance, you will never achieve the personal level you can with a human on the phone. AI is valuable and absolutely can support personalization, but we’re not at a level where we will turn an AI engine on and it can handle everything from campaigns to customer service.”



A warm greeting and shining eyes.



Certainly, this is what most people would prefer rather than being caught up in a tangle of technology which is invariably frustrating and complex. Is AI ready to use the technology?



“The truth is AI is in use by the hospitality sector in Africa, and it is being used in really interesting ways,” says Chris Godenir, General Manager of Dream Hotels’ Peninsula All-Suite Hotel in Cape Town, South Africa. “We’re using it extensively in our back-end to manage check-ins, applications, arrival emails, questionnaires, WhatsApp conversations – we always provide people with the option to turn to a human, but we use the AI to the best of our ability in our business.” While AI is not comprehensively in use by hotels across the continent, it’s not an unknown entity. As Jerry Mabena, CEO: Motsamayi Tourism Group, says: “There are two types of guests in Africa – the more established, older market and the younger generation looking for unique opportunities. The latter is where I see AI playing a big role, engaging with this technology-savvy market and curating experiences for them. AI allows us to start moving into a space where we can draw in a wider number of people by creating iconic, African experiences.”



He adds that people are also now traveling for a purpose, seeking out experiences that allow them to touch the earth lightly and AI can help the industry prioritize and meet these expectations more effectively. However, there is a need to look ahead at how AI may negatively impact the sector. It’s not a plug and play solution and it brings with it a host of risks – some expected and some unexpected.



As Noor Kapdi, Chief Executive Officer and Chairperson Africa for law firm Dentons, concludes: “The AI industry isn’t regulated in Africa, it’s hardly regulated in other parts of the world, and this creates both opportunity and risk. There’s the ethics of it – if we know how people sleep, how they like their coffee in the morning, these are deeply personal insights and managing this privacy is challenging. The only way it will be measured is through the ethical standards of each country, and we have yet to see how AI will manifest in the hospitality industry or what the consequences will be.”



AI can ease the burden of back-end admin, smooth over the wrinkles in customer engagement, simplify customer onboarding and reimagine their experiences, but it is still so new, untested, and fresh that hotels stepping forward into its potential should approach it with a balance of caution and innovation. It is not a technology leaving Africa in its dust – the sector is very much aware of what AI can do. Perhaps, instead, it is Africa that would like it to remain in the dust, for just a few more spectacular sunsets.

Tag: Africa

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