On Beira Road it seems everyone knows about the Grain House and its owner.
In the coastal city of Mombasa life runs in the slow lane, so it’s little wonder the constant rev and turn of 34-wheel trucks at Grain Bulk turns heads.
The ‘ordinary’ businessman near the end of the road is no ordinary neighbor in this coast-hugging, business enclave of Mombasa.
This extraordinary, ordinary man at the helm of Grain House is Mohamed Jaffer.
In 1976, when he was just a 26-year-old civilian in search of a quiet business life, Jaffer borrowed $240 to start a timber business. A few years later, he upgraded to exporting pallets to Jeddah, Muscat, Kuwait and Aden.
Little did he know that trading in wood planks and color-mixing boards for artists would end up as a multi-billion dollar port business spanning three continents.
It was in 1983, while running his pallet manufacturing businesses, that Jaffer started taking a keen interest in how grain imports were being handled at the Mombasa Port. He soon noticed something was not right. The process was mainly done manually. It was unhygienic, there was a huge amount of wastage of grain and there was also no accounting for discharged quantities.
“I began researching how developed countries were doing it,” he tells FORBES AFRICA.
“I observed that their handling system was highly mechanized, hence capital intensive. I was convinced that Kenyans are capable of importing technology and harnessing technical skills to maintain a state-of-the art terminal, which I was determined to install at the port of Mombasa.”
Coming up with the idea of a bulk, but efficient graining facility located next to the port took an eye for spotting out-of-the-box thinking. The implementation of the dream project would emerge in the installation of a mechanized handling system that would be commodity and environmentally-friendly and efficient.
But securing the funds to pull off his dream was like an upriver swim. So was planning for storage silos connected to the massive conveyor belts and the technology to control the systems seamlessly and to establish a safe exit route from the port. Jaffer knew he was biting off more than he could chew.
With revenues from the pallets business being a drop in the ocean of what he needed, he had to use someone else’s money—and lots of it.
Even with the funds and the vision, the project took 17 years to materialize. Some of the factors that contributed to the delays included prohibitive interest rates that made securing local financing suicidal, as well as the fact that Kenya was then blacklisted by virtually all foreign donors because of governance concerns.
“The business climate was hostile to local investors. The problem in Kenya is that government authorities view local investors with suspicion and will always frustrate you. Back then there was also a lot of politics around the project,” says Jaffer, now 64.
The adverse climate for funding from international financial institutions notwithstanding, Jaffer approached the Commonwealth Development Corporation (CDC) and the International Finance Corporation (IFC) for loans to implement his dream project. The two corporations recognized the potential of the proposed project and expanded their scope to cater for regional rather than national interests. With Jaffer’s astute negotiations they readily offered a credit line of $35 million.
The funds borrowed from IFC, CDC and Proparco eventually facilitated implementation of the project, which was commissioned on March 15, 2000 by the Kenyan president at the time, Daniel arap Moi.
The facility, now 12 years old, handles 1.8-2 million tons of grains annually, though its capacity is in the region of 3-4 million tons a year. The low volumes are attributed to Kenya being a net importer, bringing in expensive capital goods and other commodities while exporting very little, mainly tea, coffee and horticulture products.
The commissioning of the grain terminal revolutionized the handling of grain at the port of Mombasa.
Grain Bulk Handlers Limited (GBHL) is now a specialist in the discharge and handling of bulk grain imports at the port, which is regarded a main gateway for East and Central Africa. Its silos are built for both transit and long-term storage. Valued at $140 million, GBHL is one of the biggest private investments in East Africa, beating most listed companies at the Nairobi Securities Exchange in market capitalization.
GBHL boasts a turnover of $12 million and is the flagship company of MJ Group. Jaffer’s other business interests include Mbaraki Bulk Terminal in Mombasa, which deals in petroleum products; Africa Gas and Oil Company operating an LPG (Liquefied Petroleum Gas) terminal at the port; Great Lakes Port Ltd as well as a container freight station at Changamwe in Mombasa that’s due for implementation. Other projects awaiting implementation include dry ports for Tororo, Uganda and Miritini in Mombasa.
And he is not done yet. He says: “I will keep on investing despite the unfriendly business environment in Kenya. I am actually a coolie. I go for port projects. You can call me a coolie promoting investment in specialized handling facilities at port. I will therefore always work in port-related businesses.”
He’s spreading his wings too and it’s no mean feat that Jaffer has reversed the trend of investment flow. Normally, foreign direct investments move from developed economies like Europe, China and the States into Africa, but Jaffer is clearly swimming against the tide and with the big sharks, far away from the Indian Ocean.
The MJ Group, of which he’s also chairman, owns a grain terminal at the port of Lake Charles in Louisiana, in the States. The company is currently working to establish similar projects in Vietnam and India. This international expansion was boosted by IFG Fund LP, which in 2006 acquired an equity stake in GBHL and committed to grow the brand worldwide. IFG, through its affiliate Infrastructure Funding Group, brought in its financing expertise and global reach that made GBHL a stronger enterprise and positioned it for international expansion.
Jaffer is ready for the global expansion being a multi-linguist who speaks and writes in six languages: English, Urdu, Hindi, Gujarati, Cutchi and Swahili.
But Kenya is where GBHL has transformed the port of Mombasa—and Kenya. The port is a hub for relief agency operations, which facilitate quick, regional relief needed due to civil strife or famine.
Jaffer says others, who are part of the supply chain, have also benefited.
“In the case of millers and commodity traders, GBHL facilitates growth in their trade through provision of efficient services. Millers can now plan importation and receive consignments on a just-in-time basis. They no longer need to stock large quantities of grain as before.”
He adds that commodity traders can improve their outreach by stocking grain at GBHL silos. This allows them to promote ex-silo sales and eliminates lead times associated with sale of grain that is still aboard vessels en-route to the port. Adoption of ex-silo sales by commodity traders ensures quick supply of grain from the GBHL silos to buyers across the region.
Jaffer holds a diploma from John Hopkins University and qualifications from the College of Business Administration in Baltimore.
He ran the show for close to 30 years, growing the scrappy timber business in the yard of his father’s inland depot into an empire that will last for generations to come. Three years ago, he relinquished the role of chief executive to his son, Mujtaba Jaffer, and took the less hectic chairmanship position.
Sitting in his fifth floor office at Grain House on a humid spring morning, he remains modest about his lucrative grain imports handling business.
“Three things are God-given in life: wealth, health and children.”
He says his road to success has been paved with hurdles, but he chose to do things the right way and legally. “There’s a wrong perception that if you do things right you won’t make money. You are going to make money; in fact, you make more money because you don’t have to watch your back. Business done legally and right is much better. I have never defrauded customs, income tax or any taxes knowingly.”
He says success comes from hard work, honesty and dedication.
“You must be focused on what you want to do and accomplish it against all odds,” he says.
For him, working hard means finishing work on time.
“You are useless after seven hours of working and if you work more than this you are wasting your time and the time of people around you,” says Jaffer.
Jaffer also runs a foundation that provides water, medical care, education and rehabilitation of drug users in the coastal region.
“God has given us time for a night’s sleep of eight hours, eight working hours and eight hours of recreation.”
That’s the principle he applies across his businesses. He says a business is as good as its employees and to perform optimally they have to be motivated through better remuneration and making them part of the organization.
“You pay peanuts, you get monkeys,” he says.
Through the business, Jaffer has learned one key lesson: never trust a friend in business. He recalls how he was bitten this way. Being a religious man, he traveled to Mecca for the annual Hajj in 1974, and took a tour of pilgrimage sites in Iran, Iraq, India and Pakistan. Before he left Kenya, he gave his friend and partner in business power of attorney.
“When I came back, my partner had taken over everything. I lost all my investments. It was devastating,” he recalls.
He had to sell off four of his five cars to start all over again—and that has made Jaffer an extremely cautious man when it comes to choosing business partners.
But he adds: “I don’t believe in crying; I believe in positivity—negativity does not pay.”

How To Turn Pocket Change  Into Millions

Robert and Greg Lewis are doing something right in one of the world’s toughest business environments.
“In 2009 we looked at our business and realized we were on to something amazing,” says Robert Lewis in the lounge of Luanda International Airport.
He will travel back to home base London after just one day in Luanda and barely has time to squeeze in an interview. Despite his extreme schedule, Lewis looks fresh and well-rested. He talks fast, bubbling with energy.
“As the world’s economy collapsed, everyone became a lot tighter on their controls. Insurance was the first step. Once we had our A- level rating, we got a stamp of approval from anyone looking for insurance in Angola or Mozambique.”
In 2005, GA Angola Seguros was awarded the first private insurance license since Angolan independence in 1975. That year, it made a turnover of $415,334. Its credit rating was upgraded from BBB+ in 2006 and A- in 2008 to its current A level status in 2011, in one of the world’s toughest business environments. The company’s turnover in 2011 had increased to a staggering $130 million. This year’s expected turnover is $150 million.
With 140 employees and offices in Luanda, Lobito, Lubango and Santa Clara as well as in London and Johannesburg, GA attracts big international clients. Brazilian construction company, Odebrecht, is its largest. Others include Coca-Cola, Haliburton, Baker Hughes, Technip, Panalpina, Mota-Engil and Soares da Costa.
The success story began in 1988, after Rob Lewis finished school in Johannesburg and had to join the army.
“When Mandela was released and apartheid fell apart, the government cancelled the army midway through. I was 19 at the time.”
It was June and university courses only started in January. Meanwhile, he was given a job as a runner on the stock exchange, at Irish and Company Stockbrokers. He loved it.
In 1994, Lewis became one of the youngest members of the Johannesburg Stock Exchange and consequently partner of Irish &amp; Menell Rosenberg as the head of a sales trading desk. He reached such incredible heights, four years after his start as a runner.
In 1998, Lewis sold his shares in Irish &amp; Menell Rosenberg and, as the IT bubble was forming, started South Africa’s first online stock broker: U-Trade. He and his partners invested R5,000,000 ($580,000).
“In those days, everyone was talking about IT, like everyone now is talking about Africa. We had a rush of investors that pushed us into an IPO.”
After six months, the interest “plateaued”.
“South Africa is a very small market. We had basically captured all the business there was.”
Lewis sold his 49% share in U-Trade around two weeks before the Nasdaq fell apart and the IT bubble burst. U-Turn merged with the Appleton Group in 2001, forming South Africa’s largest private client Stock Broker.
Part of the deal was that Lewis could not go back to stock broking; the new U-Trade owners did not want him as a competitor. Instead his brother, Greg, who had established a reinsurance broker in South Africa in 1996, introduced him to his next big catch, a Mozambican insurance company called CGSM SA.
After they purchased the company, Robert and Greg discovered that the management had run the company into the ground. It had no cash left and needed more capital.
“We learned very good, and luckily cheap, lessons in Mozambique: we had to control, understand and micro-manage the business before we could expand. We learnt—and I believe this goes for entire Africa—that unless you do it yourself, you’re going to lose money. What it comes down to, is doing ordinary things extraordinarily well,” says Lewis.
“The world is Angola mad right now. Many people are currently losing money in Africa. They are looking at blue skies, thinking there’s all this wealth going to come out of it. There will be many casualties, as in IT. Even though the greater picture will be brilliant,” says Lewis.
The lesson was immediately put into practice.
“When my brother and I bought CGSM, the turnover was $2 million. We simplified the policies, published them in English and in Portuguese and significantly improved service and security. As a result, the market exploded. By March 2002 our turnover was $8 million, four times higher than the year before.”
Global Alliance Holdings and Gerhard Du Toit, the programmer who built U-Trade’s online stockbroking system, went into a joint venture in 2001. They started Kindle Insurance Technology (KIT) a provider of software solutions.
“The IT platform has been a huge contributor to GA’s strength,” says Lewis.
KIT sells software to the biggest insurance company and others in South Africa, Europe and other countries. Global Alliance Holdings still owns 50% of Kindle.
In 2003, Global Alliance Mozambique was running out of growth opportunities and many of its clients were pushing to open in Angola. After their first visit and with the encouragement of the Angolan insurance regulator, Lewis decided that Angola was where the company’s growth was going to come from. GA Angola Seguros was the first foreign insurance company to set foot in Angola in 30 years.
The license took almost three years to obtain.
“A large portion of that time was taken up finding the right partner, as at least 30 percent of shares in Angolan insurance companies have to be held by Angolan nationals. We wanted partners who could add intellectual capital rather than political connections, and found the perfect fit. They allowed us to run the insurance business while they advised us on Angolan culture, laws, buying habits and the economic climate.”
The company obtained its license at the end of 2005 with an initial capital of $6 million.
In 2008, the world economy started playing into GA Angola’s hands.
“Once the European and US markets started turning down after 2008, we suddenly had a big influx of qualified Angolans returning from the UK and US. We were incredibly lucky to employ some very qualified insurance managers. They have formed the backbone of the company.”
At this time, Lewis made his second educational mistake.
“In those early days in Angola, we had the mad, grand vision that we were going to be all over Africa. It was almost as if we were feeding our ego. We opened up in Ghana, tried to buy an insurance company in Namibia, started opening an office in Sâo Tomé and looked at DRC.”
“Then Ghana caught us off guard. On the surface it looked brilliant. But there was little transparency with the regulator, and the market was rife with nepotism and favoritism. We made a huge mistake getting into Ghana.”
The brothers realized that the money the company made in Angola and Mozambique was being poured into new African operations that would never yield profit.
“In 2006/ 2007, the world was on fire. We could not find the staff to run these companies and lost total control of our business.”
They sold their Ghana operation in 2009 to Cameroon-based Activa Group.
Lewis calls Ghana the exact opposite of Angola.
“Ghana was easy to get into, but once we were in, the hurdles were raised. Angola, jealously guards entry to the market but once a commitment is shown the doors all open.”
GA Angola’s success came just in time. Eleven insurance companies currently operate in Angola, at least seven of them are Angolan and four Portuguese. Angolan State insurance companies AAA and ENSA, which control more than 60% of the market, are by far the largest. The Angolan insurance pie according to Lewis is worth around $1 billion.
“The market can’t afford more insurers at this point. AAA has probably got at least 50 to 60 percent, ENSA does about $250 million turnover and GA has circa $150 million, which leaves $150 million split among 9 insurers. That’s very, very tight.”
Insurance companies make money out of investments and in Angola, investment opportunities are limited.
“You’ve got banks, treasury bills and property. Banks are the only liquid investment you can make. There is no stock exchange, so it’s very difficult for insurance companies to make money away from insurance underwriting. There is only so much money that can be made.”
Through GA, Lewis has an impressive insight into trends in Angolan society.
“During the 2008 elections there was high demand for political instability and terrorism policies. For the 2012 elections, we literally didn’t sell a single policy. Despite what was printed in some media circles there was no concern from people on the ground.”
GA’s best-selling products among big multinationals are motor and liability insurances. Industrial assets insurance is their second-best selling product.
“Strange as it may sound, we are losing money in this class of insurance as a result of Angola’s overall progress towards a peace time economy. During the civil war [1975-2002] no one dared to commit a crime because everyone was so heavily armed. The country is slowly becoming more democratic with international NGOs watching over the government, stopping its clampdown on crime. Although this is good news for Angola as a whole, this has allowed crime and claims to escalate.”
“Another reason why we’re losing money on our assets insurances is the deterioration of internal risk management by multinational companies. During the war years their risk management was fantastic, which made it a very profitable business for us. In recent years, they have relaxed their focus on contingency planning and self sufficiency.”
Lewis and his brother have sold their shares in Global Alliance CGSM Seguros to Barclays. French insurance group Colina will buy the brothers’ shares in GA Angola Seguros, but Robert and Greg Lewis will retain a working interest in the company.
The next phase is already in motion; the Lewises are forming an Africa-focused re-insurer.
“It will be the very first re-insurer of its kind. We plan to knock the competition off its complacent perch.”

They’ve Got Angola Covered

Two years, eight months, four days and 78.2 kilometres separate Kevin Pietersen from Hashim Amla in lifespan and birthplace. In life and cricket they are worlds apart.
Two young men from the same part of South Africa, Kwa-Zulu Natal, have turned out as differently as the two places they are from: Pietermaritzburg and Durban. On the face of it, the similarities are obvious between the towns, as they are with the men. They are both professional sportsmen, cricketers, batsmen, who operate in crucial position at the top of the order, products of top South African schools and performers in a sport that is thriving.
Look deeper and you will realise that Pietermaritzburg has no sea and the gap between the two is as wide as the Indian Ocean. That calm, vast mass of blue represents of the oceans between Pietersen and Amla. The former has made as many enemies as the latter has made friends. Pietersen has played for four domestic teams and has had altercations at every one. Amla has played peacefully for one, the same team that Pietersen started at.
It was in the year 2000 that Pietersen decided to use politics to justify why he was not getting picked regularly for Kwa-Zulu Natal. Pietersen said the quota system was to blame for him being overlooked. In fact, it was that he was nothing more than a mediocre off spinner who, although dedicated to fitness and hard work, was hardly deserving of a regular place.
Pietersen packed up and flew to England where he played for Nottinghamshire. Three years later, he asked to be released from his contract blaming the pitch at Trent Bridge for his lack of runs. A move to Hampshire followed, where he stayed until he decided he could no longer live a small town life and wanted to live to London. In between, Pietersen qualified for England and blended self-assurance, with skill, to emerge as one of their best batsmen. When the explosive Pietersen takes to the crease, cricket fans around the world stop what they are doing and watch.
While Pietersen was battling the world, Amla was completing school at the alma mata of cricket legends Barry Richards and Lance Klusener, Durban Boys’ High. Apartheid South Africa caused Amla and his older brother, Ahmed, to be schooled apart. Ahmed is four years older and had to go to a school for pupils of Indian descent, as were the rules of the apartheid day. By the time Hashim reached high school, the doors of opportunity had opened and he was able to get specialised cricketing coaching, once the preserve of the privileged, on the playing fields of Durban Boys’ High.
Amla’s talent, despite a dodgy back lift, was obvious and he was selected for South Africa’s under-19 squad as soon as he was old enough. He went on to captain them as a reluctant leader.
As luck would have it, on the same day Amla made his Test debut for South Africa, Pietersen made his ODI debut for England. It was November 28, 2004. Amla was scratchy against India and his technique appeared flawed. He was dropped after three Tests and it took him almost two years to make his way back into the South African team.
Pietersen began batting for England in Zimbabwe, in a fairly low key fashion, but blossomed for his adopted country. He scored three centuries for England on the tour and showed that brash bullishness could breed success.
When Pietersen and Amla met eight years later, both their fortunes had changed. The former had suffered an unhappy stint as England captain, which ended almost as quickly as it began, but had established himself as a player who was the backbone of the English batting line-up. Aggressive, audacious and arrogant: Pietersen’s game is as dramatic as summer lightening. Multi-million dollar contracts, in the Indian Premier League, led Pietersen to a lucrative football-style club-over-country life. He lived the life and moved to fashionable Chelsea, where he hangs out with Frank Lampard and co.
By contrast, Amla took long to build to a crescendo. First, he mastered Test cricket, culminating in a double century in India. Then, he topped the rankings in ODIs and slowly made the transition to twenty-overs, something he is still working on. He was elevated to vice-captain of the limited-overs sides, under AB de Villiers, and skippered in De Villiers’ absence. His back lift became less pronounced, but only just, as he made what he had work for him.
Amla’s personal life was a world away from Chelsea and remained a secret. Amla married, his schoolteacher wife, Summaya, had their first child, a son, in January 2011, but to date, no-one in the media has seen either. The only hint that Amla had a life outside cricket was when promoted baby shoes and a brand of cold-drink for an online company.
Come England in July, the two men from KwaZulu Natal faced off in a battle to be the best team in the world. Amla struck the first blow by setting the South African record for the most runs in an innings with 311 at the Oval. Pietersen counter attacked 149 at Leeds to help England draw against the odds.
Then Pietersen, to use a cricketing metaphor, hit wicket. He sent text messages to members of the South African squad, deriding his team-mates. It was disapproved of by the England and Wales Cricket Board and they dropped him from the final, must-win match of the series. In that match, Amla scored his second century of the series and South Africa were crowned No.1 cricket team on the planet.
“I’m not even the second best batsman in my team,” Amla said modestly.
Amla dedicated the hundred to the team statistician, Prasanna Agoram, who had converted to Islam. It was Amla’s way of reiterating his commitment to his religion, something he holds so dear he refused to wear the sponsors’ logo because it was a beer brand.
Gestures a world away from the bling of Pietersen and Chelsea; gestures that were pure.

The Brash Battler  And The Quiet Man

All eyes are on new Bafana Bafana head coach, Gordon Igesund, to deliver for the national side as Afcon 2013’s kick-off date draws closer.
Igesund took over from Pitso Mosimane after a string of poor results from Bafana Bafana. He signed a two-year, performance-based contract with the South Africa Football Association (Safa) and has the task of, at the very least, getting Bafana Bafana to the semi-finals of the tournament.
Igesund has a solid track record in South Africa, having won league titles with four different teams—Manning Rangers, Orlando Pirates, Santos and Mamelodi Sundowns.
<div id="attachment_1496" style="width: 310px" class="wp-caption alignleft"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1496" class="size-medium wp-image-1496" src="/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/1578892-300x233.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="233" />3 Feb 1996: The captain of the winners of the African Cup of Nations Final Neil Tovey of South Africa holds the cup aloft after President Mandela presented it to him. South Africa won 2-0. Mandatory Credit: Mark Thompson/ALLSPORT</div>
However, so far results have been patchy. Igesund’s first game in charge was against former world champions Brazil. They lost 1-0 but Bafana Bafana’s overall performance was impressive. Igesund was content with the high work rate that players displayed on the field. His second test was against low-ranked Mozambique. Bafana Bafana won 2-0 convincingly against their neighbors. Bafana Bafana showed great character and strong determination against Poland but were unlucky to lose 1-0, away from home. Most recently, Bafana Bafana managed to bag a victory at the expense of Kenya with a 2-1 score in an interesting battle.
Igesund believes the results show that the team is on the right track as they gear up for Afcon 2013 that kicks off at the FNB Stadium in Johannesburg.
“I have confidence in our players, that they have what it takes to deliver. [During] my first game, when we played against Brazil, I did not spend a lot of time with the players but they displayed high standard performances and gave Brazil a tough game.
“The players were playing an exciting passing game and they complemented each other well. It was a pity Brazil scored and we ended up losing,” says the coach.
In their most recent game, Igesund says that Bafana was faced with tough conditions but prevailed.
“It was a bumpy pitch, but we did cope and got a win away from home. That was an important result for us,” he says.
Still the pressure is on for the coach. The glory days of the 1996 Bafana Bafana team, under coach Clive Barker, that lifted the trophy means the team has high expectations. Afcon is back on South African soil and the nation will remember the 2-0 victory over Tunisia with goals delivered off the boot of striker Mark Williams.
Igesund says support is crucial.
“The support that we have from the nation will motivate us.”
South Africa has a dream start to the tournament that kicks off on January 19, at Soccer City in Johannesburg. They are in group A and will kick-off with a match against debutantes Cape Verde. Also in the group are Morocco and Angola.
Igesund says they’ll be ready and won’t dismiss Cape Verde or any of the other teams in the group.
“We will be ready to make the country proud by the time the tournament starts. Cape Verde might be making their debut in the finals but they will be a tough team considering they eliminated giants like Cameroon. Morocco is one strong team and Angola cannot be underestimated,” says Igesund.
It’s all about starting on a good footing.
“We have to take all our opening games seriously, in order to do well in our group.”
Bafana Bafana has a number of challenges. Former captain Steven Pienaar, who played for Everton in the English Premiership, has retired from international football.
Igesund has recalled Benedict McCarthy. Though experienced, the Orlando Pirates forward has been out of action for a while due to injury. The other influential player who is also uncertain is Kaizer Chiefs defender Morgan Gould. Igesund has not been able to select him for recent games because Gould has been battling with a long-term injury.
And most tragically, the squad will also be without first assistant coach Thomas Madigage who was killed in a car crash in October. The loss of Madigage has hit the Bafana camp hard.
“Tommy was very close to me. It is unfortunate that he will not be around during the tournament. He was a very important member in the team,” says Igesund.

Gordon Is Ready for Anything

It is a hot and noisy afternoon in a house in Maputo, Mozambique, where around 50 people are celebrating a birthday. Most have one thing in common: they hail from the islands of Cape Verde—a nation with a mere 500,000 people, fewer than Soweto in Johannesburg. They drink Grogue and Ponche the tipple of their ancestors. On the table is Queijo de Cabra (goat cheese) and doce de côco (coconut candy with sweet jelly).
Mozambique is home to around 1,500 people from Cape Verde. Many were born here after their parents fled hard times decades ago. In 2012, they have had something to shout about as their team qualified, against the odds, for the African Cup of Nations in South Africa in January.
<div id="attachment_1491" style="width: 310px" class="wp-caption alignleft"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1491" class="size-medium wp-image-1491" src="/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/000026743-300x202.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="202" />The Royal Bafokeng Sports Palace. North West Province. South Africa.</div>
One of the party-goers, Maria da Conceição Silva, came to Mozambique with her parents in 1948 when a drought in Cape Verde forced thousands to flee the island. Today she is the vice-president of the Associação Cabo-verdianos em Moçambique.
“The plan is to fill two machibombos [buses] with Cape Verdeans and friends of Cape Verdeans, and drive to the financial capital of South Africa,” she says.
“I did believe this would come one day and that it could have happened before, had it not been for the fact that many of Cape Verdeans’ sons living in Portugal choose to play for the Portuguese national team,” says another ex-patriate from Cape Verde.
The archipelago, just off the coast of Ghana, is made up of 10 islands. Most people live in the capital city, Praia. Cape Verde was ranked second in the Mo Ibrahim Index of African Governance, an indication that the islands are well-run; it is backed by high literacy levels of 70% across the population.
The national team is called the Tubaroes Azul—Blue Sharks—and is coached by Lúcio Antunes, an air traffic controller who has taken leave to coach the team. The team is ranked 51 on the FIFA rankings—above South Africa, Senegal, Cameroon and Morocco.
Ninety percent of the players play in the lower leagues of Europe. The star players are 22-year-old Ryan Mendes who is in the books of Lille OSC in France and veteran striker Lito, who is based at Portimonense, a second division side in Portugal.
In Cape Verde, football plays second fiddle to basketball. A mere handful of fans waited until the wee hours to welcome the team at Nelson Mandela International Airport, in Praia, after their victory in Cameroon.
Cape Verde is not the only surprise qualifier. Known more for their long-distance runners, the sleeping giants, Ethiopia, have made it back to the tournament after 30 years. Ethiopian Ambassador to South Africa, Yeshimebrat Mersha, believes the nation is on its way to reclaim their rightful place.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-1489" src="/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/dreamstime_m_15698047-300x201.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="201" />
“Ethiopia was one of the strongest football nations previously. We are really happy that we are back on track. This is the result of the development plans by the government and good organization by the football federation,” Mersha says.
“We have high expectations for the cup and are ready for the matches. The fans are eager to watch the matches and some of them will travel from Ethiopia to support the team.”
Africa’s second most-populous nation, with 85 million people, had become conspicuous by its absence. Ethiopia was a founding member of the Nations Cup when they were part of the group of nations that formed the Confederation of African football (CAF) in 1957 in Khartoum, Sudan.
The Walya Antelopes are coached by Sewnet Bishaw and have two powerful strikers. Former Orlando Pirates player Fikru Tefera is a bustling striker any defender will struggle to handle. The man to watch is Saladin Seid, who scored the first goal in the final qualifier match against Sudan. He is currently in the books of Wadi Degla in the Egyptian Premier League who paid $200,000 for him.
Neither of the nations is expected to win the tournament ahead of the likes of Ghana, Nigeria, Morocco, Ivory Coast and defending champions Zambia. It will not be too much of a surprise if they cause an upset or two. After all, they did not make it to the continent’s premier football competition by sheer luck alone. Be afraid, be very afraid.
<div id="attachment_1492" style="width: 310px" class="wp-caption alignleft"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1492" class="size-medium wp-image-1492" src="/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/98632409-300x203.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="203" />Stadium</div>

Cape Where?

Every time a football fan goes through the gate, Daki Nkanyane will make money. Nkanyane is the owner, founder and managing director of eQtickets, a firm he co-owns with ConvergeNet, a JSE-listed ICT group. eQtickets won the rights to design and distribute the tickets for AFCON.
“Over and above that, for every ticket sold we earn a percentage in commission. That is our core business,” says Nkanyane.
The Confederation of African Football (CAF) expects ticket sales to surpass previous tournaments. According to Nkanyane, CAF wants eQtickets to sell between half a million to 980,000 tickets.
“They are going to pay us a minimum of R15 million ($1.7 million) inclusive of all costs for designing the tickets, for all the various specifications around the ticket.
“Our responsibility is to ensure that tickets are sold, AFCON does the marketing. AFCON is generating income out of ticket sales and we are that conduit to ensure that they generate their income and then out of that we earn a commission,” says Nkanyane.
Previous tournaments have been dogged by poor attendance and low ticket sales but organizers hope it will be different this time around. The tournament is tipped to be a success as far as crowds and TV are concerned.
According to CAF, the previous tournament, which was co-hosted by Gabon and Equatorial Guinea, recorded an estimated 6.6 billion TV viewers with 87,072 hours of TV exposure. The tournament in South Africa is set to better that.
“We are quite confident that we will break new records for the coming edition in South Africa next year,” says CAF’s marketing and TV director, Amr Shaheen.
eQtickets is also set to make additional income on top of its guaranteed earnings.
“If half a million tickets are sold, we are looking at a total revenue of about R60 million ($6.9 million)&#8230; we get about 8.5% per ticket sold; out of the R60 million ($6.9 million) we will make about R8 million ($1 million) income&#8230; That’s why we also play a role in making sure that we market, we drive sales and promote the sales in the various environments—it’s in our interest,” says Nkanyane.
Other entrepreneurs will also benefit. eQtickets sub-contracted a South African company to produce its 200 kiosks, which were put in strategic locations around the country to sell tickets.
eQtickets has also secured the rights for  another soccer event  to be hosted by South Africa in 2014.
“We are going to sell for African Nations Championship (CHAN). We have been appointed for both tournaments… It’s a two-year agreement that we have,” he says.
According to Nkanyane, the AFCON tournament has provided his company with the opportunity to build its brand while ensuring the firm empowers South Africans through job creation.
“We have about 30 odd people in the office; with other people in the field… We are employing a lot of people to ensure that it complements the growth that the business is going through. As and when our projects grow, we will build capacity,” says Nkanyane.
More entrepreneurs are grabbing the opportunity to benefit from the soccer extravaganza. The 2010 FIFA World Cup was a gold mine for many businesses. Hotels, retailers and manufacturers, transport and car rental companies situated close to the host centers will profit.
According to Sipho Sithole, AFCON’s director of communications, the organizers signed a Local Procurement Accord with Proudly South African—a campaign launched in 2001 to promote homegrown products and services—which will benefit businesses. Several companies which won tenders to provide goods and services include event production companies VWV Productions and Black Star Communications. These providers are working to ensure a seamless and successful event.
Support from the government has been equally strong, with the Treasury availing R461 million ($53 million) for the tournament. Treasury officials and the Local Organizing Committee (LOC) are optimistic that the tourney will be successful and profitable, owing to the experience gained and existing infrastructure built for the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
Industry experts are, however, rather cautious. David Sidenberg, partner at BMI Sport Info, an independent sport and sponsorship research company, says it’s difficult to estimate the potential revenue at this time.
“Until the data on tickets sales, foreign visitors, TV rights and sponsorship deals are available, we won’t have a good idea of the economic impact of the tournament,” he says.
Although it will take a while to ascertain how much revenue will be made, the excitement from football fans across Africa is certainly increasing as the tournament draws closer.
If the messages on social media platforms are anything to go by, the much anticipated event is going to draw huge crowds. Thousands of fans managed to buy tickets within the first few weeks of ticket sales and comments on the AFCON 2013 Facebook page encapsulate the anticipation.
“And we are at the finals! Gonna make up for the world cup disappointment,” writes Thami Thanjekwayo.
“Got my tickets for match day one&#8230; now for Moses Mabhida and the final&#8230; making it happen,” writes Tshidiso LeChuba.
Twitter messages similarly demonstrate the excitement the event will bring, as fans welcome the LOC’s decision to allow the controversial vuvuzela in the stadiums.
“#ViVaVuvuzela this is our culture in football, can’t attend a soccer match with [out] my vuvuzela. It’s gonna be the same with #AFCON2013,” writes @Less57.
The tournament kicks off on January 19, with the host taking on the tournament’s surprise package: Cape Verde, which qualified at the expense of the much fancied Indomitable Lions of Cameroon at Soccer City Stadium.
Pressure is definitely on South Africa, which will be hosting its second continental soccer showcase, after it staged and won the tournament in 1996, when it beat Tunisia 2-0 in the final. With the passing of assistant coach Thomas Madigage barely three months before the tourney starts, the nation will hope that Bafana Bafana will give them something to smile about.
The tournament comes hardly a year after 2012 champions Zambia beat Côte d’Ivoire in a dramatic penalty shootout. Zambia will only hold the coveted gold-plated cup for one year. As of 2013, the tournament will be held in odd-numbered years so that it doesn’t clash with the FIFA World Cup.
The stakes are high—the winner of the tournament will be crowned the continental champion; receive R13 million ($1.5 million) prize money; earn bragging rights for two years and will qualify for the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup in Brazil, as the representative from CAF.
South Africa will have to strengthen security, following the stoning of the Zambian team bus by two fans, aged 12 and 13, after a friendly match against Bafana Bafana at Soccer City, on November 14, in which South Africa lost 1-0. Goalkeeper Kennedy Mweene and midfielder Felix Katongo were injured. The South African Football Association (Safa) expressed deep regret over the incident.
Soccer fans will undoubtedly be treated to some mouthwatering action as they watch stars such as Mali’s Seydou Keita, Côte d’Ivoire’s Yaya Touré, Didier Drogba and Nigeria’s Victor Moses. With the record seven-time champions Egypt and four-time winners Cameroon missing out, the cup is up for grabs.
Four-time champions and four-time runners-up Ghana, who last won the cup in 1982, and two-time winners Nigeria, seek to make amends for previous disappointments. Teams such as Chipolopolo of Zambia and the Elephants of Côte d’Ivoire would want to continue to the further stages with their recent fine form. This tournament could be too close to call, as previous winners and unpredictable teams such as the Atlas Lions from Morocco, the Leopards of DRC and Tunisia’s Carthage Eagles could spring a surprise or two.
The continent is certainly poised for an unforgettable tournament and football fans are patiently waiting to “feel the beat at Africa’s feet”. As the tournament progresses, Nkanyane and various other entrepreneurs will be watching as the millions roll into the bank.

The Ticket to Profit

To qualify for the Africa Cup of Nations 2013, was no mean feat. Zambia had to work extremely hard for the right to defend its title. Football today is tougher than people know. It is interesting that Egypt—AFCON winners in 2006, 2008 and 2010—was absent in 2012 and will again miss out on next year’s tournament after being defeated by minnows Central African Republic.
There are no longer weak teams in Africa. African football has become unpredictable. On no other continent, do rankings mean so little. FIFA rankings can be misleading because friendly matches also count, which means that football associations with larger budgets can afford more significant high-profile friendlies, earning them false gradings. My opinion is that rankings should only be calculated through official qualifying international matches. If one were to use rankings as a true measure for the grading of teams, how do you explain the likes of Ethiopia, which is ranked 33rd and Niger ranked 42nd in Africa qualifying for the Africa Cup of Nations, over Egypt, Senegal and Cameroon? Each of these teams is brimming with international stars.
In order for Zambia to qualify for the AFCON 2013 we were drawn against Uganda—a team ranked 22nd in Africa and 90th in the world. As African champions, we went into this battle confidently, yet cautiously. Uganda had a track record of being unbeaten in Kampala. They are also reigning CECAFA, Eastern and Central African champions.
The AFCON qualifying format is home and away. Chipolopolo went into their home game to a capacity crowd at Levy Mwanawasa Stadium in Ndola, with only one thing on their minds: to score enough goals to win the game outright. Zambia won the game 1-0, yet were left with a dangerously narrow comfort margin.
In Kampala, we were confronted by a formidable Ugandan team. A team that never let up; a team that kept their shape and that fought until the bitter end, which ended in a 1-0 win to Uganda. Notwithstanding, with an aggregate score of 1-1, we went into penalties. Zambia’s composure and big match temperament paid off in the end, Zambia winning 9-8.
The Africa Cup of Nations was always a very exciting period throughout my career. I relished the opportunity to represent my country and did so with enthusiasm and ambition. All the effort, preparation and sacrifice is rewarded with incomparable satisfaction. National pride and honor are the greatest  incentives.
Becoming continental champions is the ultimate goal for any football association. As the Zambian Football Association president, Zambia winning this coveted title in 2012 filled me with immense pride and satisfaction.
The 2013 edition of this prestigious tournament will be held on South African soil. A host most worthy of this tournament after staging one of the most successful World Cups, in 2010. The world-class infrastructure that exists in South Africa is hard to beat.
The final 16 teams have qualified, the groups have been formed and the battle lines drawn. Next year’s tournament will see the return of powerhouses such as Algeria and the Super Eagles of Nigeria. Rookies Cape Verde, which qualified by overcoming the Indomitable Lions of Cameroon, proved that no country is to be underestimated.
In fact, there are probably eight or nine countries which could conceivably become the champions. Zambia proved, in 2012, that a happy camp and a good result first up, builds momentum that can see a less fancied side go all the way.
Certainly, Zambia believed it had a squad capable of winning the tournament, but not many outsiders gave us a chance before the event. Now we go into this tournament with a weight of expectation both at home and across the continent. Many have become new fans of Chipolopolo, after what was achieved in Equatorial Guinea and Gabon.
Group A hosts South Africa and Morocco, are probably the two favorites to advance, but Cape Verde has made great strides, in recent years, and even Angola has a squad, which can surprise.
Bafana Bafana has proved to be very difficult to beat at home. Over the last 20 years, they have lost just a handful of times to African opposition in South Africa. Morocco underachieved in 2012, of that there is no doubt, and their squad is better than recent results suggest.
Group B features perennial favorites Ghana and Mali, who finished third in 2012. They are two very good sides and it is hard to see past them when looking for candidates for a quarter final spot. But the Democratic Republic of Congo has been buoyed by the recent success of TP Mazembe in the CAF Champions League with coach Claude Le Roy, a seasoned tactician, who served as mentor to Zambia’s Hervé Renard. Niger is not the same force outside of Niamey as they are at home.
Zambia were the top seeds in Group C, as defending champions, and they have been drawn in a difficult pool. Nigeria is an obvious threat, though they are rebuilding under Stephen Keshi, while Burkina Faso can be a match for anyone on the day. Ethiopia has held South Africa and Nigeria in recent times and did very well to get past Sudan in the qualifiers. They will be no pushovers.
Group D could be the Group of Death. This could be the final chance for CÔte d’Ivoire’s golden generation to win the Africa Cup of Nations and it is something Didier Drogba is desperate for. He has had so much success at club level in his career, it seems incredible that he may end his glittering career without a Nations Cup win.
Algeria has proved to be one of the top teams on the continent since the last Nations Cup, while Tunisia may not have the strength of old, it still has some top individuals. Togo make a welcome return after the horror of the events preceding the tournament in Angola in 2010 when their bus was attacked by guerrillas. I think the whole of Africa is glad to see them back on this biggest of continental stages.
The open nature of the field, the wonderful stadia and surroundings, and the passion of the African people for football will, I believe, make this one of the best Africa Cup of Nations tournaments in history. African football is on the rise and this is our chance to prove this to the rest of the world.
May the best team win!

This Could Be The Best Ever

If you ever thought that Nigeria’s Nollywood film industry was only about directors with low budgets churning out films in a couple of weeks, which were shot in the streets of Lagos or in their lounges; think again. Nigerian producers and directors are stepping away from the generic Nollywood film mold; their films are emerging onto international cinema screens at film festivals.
The award-winning Michelle Bello is one such film director and producer. Bello studied visual media at Regent University in Virginia in the United States. In three decades since its establishment, the school has attracted distinguished faculty and guest lectures such as John Ashcroft, former United States attorney general; Vern Clark, former chief of naval operations and Steve Forbes, president and CEO of Forbes Inc. Over the years, the university has been the recipient of more than 267 national and international film awards.
During her time at the university, Bello had the opportunity to attend some of the biggest film festivals including the Sundance Film Festival, which—since its launch in 1985—has been the launchpad for many films. Some of these films gained critical recognition, received commercial distribution and reached audiences eager for fresh perspectives and new voices.
Bello is dedicated to the film industry and was even an intern at the prestigious Cannes film festival. According to the official websites, “Ever since [Festival de Cannes’] creation, [it] has remained faithful to its founding purpose: to draw attention to and raise the profile of films with the aim of contributing towards the development of cinema, boosting the film industry worldwide and celebrating cinema at an international level”.
With these experiences she came to appreciate that successful filmmakers are those who are patient and passionate about their craft.
She lives by the fact that filmmaking is not about rushing into things and making millions of films; it’s all about taking the time to make powerful films. Small Boy, which was inspired by Will Smith’s Oscar-nominated Pursuit of Happyness, was Bello’s debut film about 10-year-old Sonny who has to learn how to survive in the slums of Lagos. She felt that there was a need for such a film in Nigeria.
“For me, the reason why I made Small Boy is because I was tired of seeing the world just having a negative image of Nigeria. I wanted to do something that was an inspirational story. At that time, I felt that we needed such kind of movies to uplift Nigerians and there were very few films doing that. I was not thinking about how much money I will make, I was just passionate about the story,” she says.
The truth is that while Small Boy might not have been a moneymaking blockbuster, nor was it launched at Cannes or Sundance, or gained recognition on a global scale, it has however made headlines in the industry. The film scooped two awards at the 2009 African Film Academy Awards and was screened at the American Black Film Festival in the United States, where it received
two nominations.
She has also opened the eyes of International Creative Management (ICM), one of the top three recruitment agencies, which believed in the skills that this young Nigerian filmmaker had to offer.
“I got to see Hollywood from the inside…” says Bello about her experience at ICM.
She discovered that although there is talent in Africa, recruitment agencies are not queuing up at Africa’s international airports to whisk away this talent to the promised land
of Hollywood.
“They work in a complete business end of it. Someone like Genevieve [Nnaji], for example, is our superstar and from their perspective they don’t see her as [being] bankable. They need to pick the big stars, whether it is Will Smith or Denzel Washington, who are bankable, whom if they are put in the movie are going to make billions of dollars… Unfortunately, right now, they are not at that level where they can get someone like Genevieve and say she can bring 10 million…” says Bello.
Despite this, Bello is optimistic. She was quoted in NigeriaFilms.com as saying, “The growth in the [Nollywood] industry over the next few years will be exciting because there are young people [of my generation] that are now coming up wanting to tell Nigerian stories to an international audience.”
With new cameras and editing equipment, it is now possible for African filmmakers to make films the same way a painter draws or novelists write.
Filmmakers, however, cannot avoid costs. A novelist can write a novel with a pen and paper if they like, they don’t even need a computer. A sculpturer or a painter can use worthless materials such as plastic to create a sculpture or painting, which may be sold for $200. But for filmmakers, it is different. Films inadvertently require money because of the number of people and processes involved in front of and behind the camera: food has to be bought for the crew; filming permits need to be acquired; music needs to be recorded and then there is editing. All these come at a cost, which filmmakers have to budget for.
The Nigerian filmmaker is currently working on another romantic comedy, which started shooting in August and is scheduled for completion in January. The budget for the film is $300,000—two times larger than the first film. She admits, jokingly, that the largest portion of her film budget goes to food catering and the generator.
“I called my brother and told him that the generator is eating into my budget. He was shocked to hear that I had to pay for the generator to film.”
Bello is working closely with her California-based brother who is an award-winning screenplay writer. She wrote the original script during her screenwriting classes at
Regent University.
“I was about to come back here [to Nigeria] whilst completing my internship at Cannes and I was thinking about what project I am going to do next. I thought about the script and talked to my brother about it… and now the script is now where it is today, we are making a movie,”
she says.
She knows how tough the film industry can be and so her intention with this new film is to create a platform for young and upcoming actors to shine and showcase their talent. At first, she was unsure about having auditions, owing to the fact that she had been away from Nigeria for so long. To her surprise the turnout was impressive. It attracted many actors from the popular Nigerian soap opera, Tinsel, which is an M-Net production known for its quality in West Africa. The film will feature stars such as Damilola Adegbite and Ghanaian actor
Chris Attoh.
Piracy is a big problem in Nigeria. It is for this reason that Bello has been careful of whom to give the film to. With her new project she is not concerned because the film is made for theatrical release and has managed to secure various international cinema releases before being released on DVD which is where piracy is most prominent. With this she is hoping to get her money back and make profit, only to invest it further in her passion for filmmaking.

The Sprightly Spirit Of Nollywood

Looking out from the fiftieth floor of a skyscraper in the Dubai Marina, with the prismatic city lights bouncing off every reflective surface from the water to the mile high glass buildings, the view seems more like the backdrop of a George Lucas film than someone’s private balcony. The Western world’s perception of Dubai is one of excess and extravagance. Dubai is known around the globe for its soaring skyscrapers, long, sandy beaches, and colossal shopping malls. So when I arrived in Dubai, I expected nothing less than the biggest, the tallest, the most expensive, and the most luxurious. And that’s exactly what the experience has been. I visited the Burj Khalifa, Dubai Mall, Palm Jumeira, and a number of other man-made wonders that are screaming testaments to modern technology and innovation.
<div id="attachment_1476" style="width: 210px" class="wp-caption alignleft"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1476" class="size-medium wp-image-1476" src="/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/dreamstime_l_24381041-200x300.jpg" alt="" width="200" height="300" />Burj al Arab</div>
However, after every tour, every drive, and every elevator ride, the one question that I found myself constantly asking was: How? How is this kind of gargantuan development possible? And more importantly, how does this unprecedented infrastructure sustain itself, year after year? Without a doubt, the most eye-opening and noteworthy aspect of my Dubai experience was witnessing the amount of innovation and research that goes into trying to lessen the environmental impact of limitless luxury.
Naturally, as an eager tourist, one of my first sight-seeing stops during my stay was a trip to the top of the legendary Burj Khalifa. After weaving my way through the queues and metal detectors, I made my way towards the surprisingly ordinary looking chrome elevators. My fellow tourists and I were corralled and herded like cattle (as tourists often are) as we awaited the lift to take us up. As we entered the elevator, the attendant pushed the almost comically labeled ‘124’ button and sent us on our way. The moment the doors slid shut, the walls of what I had called an ordinary looking elevator lit up into a polychromatic symphony of moving colors, videos, and facts. Just as my eyes began to adjust and focus on the iridescent words that had unexpectedly appeared on the lift walls, the ride was over. The 10 meter per second elevator trip probably had lasted little over a minute, and we were at the top.
The view from the observation deck was surreal. Jutting out from the flat desert floor, the clusters of shiny skyscrapers combined with the dusty afternoon haze made the city look like something out of a video game. I lingered for a few minutes, taking the obligatory tourist pictures, marveling at the engineering feat that I was standing on.
What amazed me more than the view, the lights or the streamlined design, though, was something called the Burj Khalifa Condensate Collection System. According to the tower’s website, the Condensate Collection System stores the water that is collected from the surface of the Burj, day in and day out. Due to the intense desert heat and the high humidity, a significant amount of water collects on the cool glass surface of the constantly air conditioned goliath tower. Allegedly, about 15 million gallons of water are collected each year through this method and are used to help water the 11 hectares of meticulously manicured greenery at the base of the tower. To me, this is an extremely creative and innovative step towards more environmentally conscious developments. Massive amounts of waste and unregulated consumption are a natural result of building the world’s tallest tower and any attempt at conservation is a much needed step toward sustainability.
Of course, in one of the most visited cities in the world, my exploration and accidental discoveries did not end with the Burj Khalifa. The next stop on my Dubai must-see list was Ski Dubai, located at the Mall of the Emirates shopping center. Though I am no stranger to snow, coming from the northern United States, seeing the famed desert ice-box was too intriguing of an opportunity to pass upon.
The physical structure itself was fairly uninspiring and for someone who spends eight months out of the year buried in the white stuff, the snowy inside was not particularly astonishing either. What was truly amazing to me, however, was how a feat like this was even possible.
The idea of creating an isolated environment that is the polar opposite of Dubai’s natural climate would inevitably take massive amounts of water and energy, to be consumed simply for novel entertainment. To find out how the resort maintains its snowy climate throughout the blistering Arabian summers, I had to do a little research. What I found, however, was once again a testament to the innovative potential of the city. According to Ski Dubai, the walls of the structure are layered with different types of insulation that help maintain the cool inside temperatures. The roof and the ceiling are separated by an empty five meter space of air. The air in this space serves as a cheap and effective means of insulating the ice-box from the scorching sun outside. While it takes endless amounts of energy to keep the industrial coolers running each day, the insulation method helps maintain these cool temperatures at a low cost.
I came to Dubai knowing that I would see luxury and extravagance that I had never been exposed to before. I knew I would be awestruck and amazed by the lights and the sounds and the simple grandeur of every desert gem that makes up the Dubai skyline. What I was not expecting, however, was to be impressed by the engineering and technology that went into building these colossal tributes to wealth and excess. It is clear that Dubai is slowly making the move towards a greener economy. Steps are being taken in places one would least expect in order to make sure the city can indefinitely maintain its glitz and glamour at a realistic cost.
When it comes to building the biggest and the greatest, I learned there are two inevitable byproducts: expected wastefulness, and unexpected innovation. Many of Dubai’s most famous attractions pioneered new and unheard of technologies. Because of this, I have no doubt that Dubai will eventually make the shift from a city of inconceivable extravagance, to a city of sustainable superlatives.

The City Of Superlatives

Before that first cup of coffee and the morning newspaper; you’ve probably checked your smartphone, taken your tablet from the bedside table and logged on. More and more brands are using social media as an inexpensive marketing tool. So, which brands are leading the pack in Africa?
Our methodology considered African brands and international brands operating in Africa. They had to be present on: Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. Initial data from socialbakers.com—a social media and digital analytics company—was compared with howwemadeitinafrica.com and africantoptwitterusers.com. The list was compiled on November 8.
The following indicators were considered, according to a percentage ratio: Facebook likes; the number of people ‘talking about’ the brand, which was also considered as a percentage of Facebook likes; Twitter followers and tweets and the number of YouTube views and subscribers.
Facebook likes are accumulated on an ongoing basis, whereas ‘talking about’ illustrates user-engagement, over a month, without any long-term following. In short, the ‘talking about’ as a percentage of Facebook likes category resolved the temporal discrepancy.
In 2011, Portland Communications and Tweetminster analyzed more than 11.5 million geo-located tweets, unearthing that Africa’s wealthiest countries dominate social media. South Africa, Kenya, Nigeria, Egypt and Morocco make up the top five in order of Twitter activity.
FORBES AFRICA found that although South Africa dominates Twitter activity; Northern Africa is the continental leader, in terms of brands with the greatest social media footprint. Seven of the top 20 brands are located in Egypt; four are located in South Africa and Morocco; three in West Africa and one in both Algeria and Kenya.
Social media was used extensively during the Arab Spring uprising, which erupted in December 2010. The fact that social media usage remains high in Egypt and Morocco and could be the lasting legacy of this historic moment in world and online history.
The telecommunications sector—be they manufacturers or service providers—has latched onto the internet capabilities of most mobile devices; 57% of tweets from Africa, are sent from a mobile phone, according to Portland Communications.
“…Telecommunications are intricately connected to the daily life experience of today’s consumer. Almost everything we do is supplemented by our mobile phones in some way… For this reason, consumers are always looking to get the best value from their telecommunications providers and they’re interested in what these companies have to say,” says Catherine Scott, social media manager at Quirk.
Twelve of the brands on the list were from the telecommunications sector; two from media and finance; one from retail and the food and beverage sector. Surprisingly, the fourth leading brand is a non-governmental organization—One Campaign, which works towards eliminating poverty in Africa.
The question remains: is customer engagement with these brands based on compelling content; mass-media marketing or the opportunity to voice discontent?
The brand with the highest number of Facebook likes and user-engagement by means of the ‘talking about’ category was Vodafone Egypt with 2,071,890 and 153,115 respectively. It also has the highest ‘talking about as a percentage of Facebook likes’ ranking, at 49%. Al-masry Al-youm, an Egyptian media channel, has the highest number of Twitter followers—979,455; yet Safaricom of Kenya had the greatest number of tweets—148,208. Tahrir Channel, of Egypt, has the greatest number of YouTube subscribers (97,782) and views (25,527,629).
Many a dinner table may speculate if social media can kill the mainstream media advertising star; the list indicates such a possibility.
Is the success of social media due to the vision of early adopters; its capability to mobilize social causes or the work of smart agencies, be they advertising or strategic? Could social media mean the death of the billboard? Take a look at the numbers.

#IsTheBillboardDead?

As the founder, creative director and on-stage conductor of super gospel group Joyous Celebration, Lindelani Mkhize is as synonymous with the music industry as the microphone itself. The group is the biggest and longest surviving music entity in South Africa. Each year it creates a bidding war with giant corporate sponsors, sells out seven thousand-seater arenas in South Africa and it has a footprint across the continent.
“The idea to create Joyous Celebration came to me after the first South African democratic election in 1994. I felt like we needed a music entity that was going to celebrate all the good and positive things we were going through as a country. I also wanted to create a musical entity that would help train and nurture young gospel artists while making gospel music contemporary,” says Mkhize.
His passion for gospel music, and all things church-based, started early in life. Mkhize tells a story of accompanying his staunchly Christian mother to church choir practice and beating out the choir’s melodies on the pews.
“After a while of going with my mother to her choir practices, some members noticed me and decided I had a musicality in me and that the choir should give me a spot, so they did.”
Growing up in the choir, Mkhize knew that music was what he wanted to do with his life, but his family was not supportive of him pursuing it as a viable career option.
“I found myself at a Technikon in KwaZulu-Natal after matric, enrolled in a national diploma in Chemical Engineering. Needless to say, I was very unhappy. I came to a point where I decided to change the course I was studying, and decided to keep this fact from the family. The shock on my mother’s face when she found out at my graduation that I had changed courses was priceless to say the least!”
“Because I had always been really good at Mathematics as well, I got a job as a music and maths teacher at one of the local high schools in Umlazi. I got very involved in the local township music scene, and I ended up organizing music groups and putting musical acts together,” says Mkhize.
Enter famed music producer Chicco Twala.
“I got introduced to Chicco through my efforts within the township music scene. To date, I can safely declare that he is the one who taught me all the finer details of the music industry. The next step I took was to leave the school where I was teaching and work with Chicco to set up his own record label, where I was to spend the next three years,” he says.
It was not long before record company PolyGram spotted and poached him from under Twala’s wing.
“I did everything from marketing, talent scouting, producing to sales and promotions. This is when the Kwaito music genre started really emerging, and I discovered and worked with the biggest names in that genre. Acts such as Oskido, M’du Masilela and Joe Nina were all under my leadership, and together we created this youth music culture that literally swept the country off its feet,” says Mkhize.
Because Kwaito had raised PolyGram’s market share considerably, Sony International started engaging Mkhize in talks to start the entertainment giant’s domestic operations.
“It was in the mid-1990s that I joined Sony as a general manager, with the purpose of heading up a brand new South African division. I felt that I had set trends within the youth music culture and that it was now time to bite into a new challenge,” he says.
At that point, Jazz music had been written off as an extremely niche market with slim to no chance of ever selling record-worthy numbers. Mkhize came in to considerably change this.
“I immediately took it upon myself to start what I call the ‘Jazz Revival’. I signed Sibongile Khumalo and Hugh Masekela. And both these artists sold in excess of 300,000 copies each, with Masekela’s first album, after having returned from exile, going platinum six times—a feat that had never been heard of in these parts before.”
AfroPop was next on Mkhize’s sights. Here, he was to discover crack bands such as Mafikizolo, Bongo Maffin and Malaika—music groups that were to also surpass the 300,000 sales mark—to usher in another youth cultural movement. Soon Mkhize felt that he had achieved all he had hoped to, and the need to return to his gospel roots nagged him.
“Sony had grown from 0 to about 23% of the local music market share. I needed new challenges, so I focused my energy into growing Joyous Celebration, as well [as] starting my Lindelani Mkhize Entertainment (LME) company, which specializes in using music as a marketing tool for big brands and corporates.
“Through LME we have married big brands with musicians, brought big name international artists to the country—gospel singers such as CeCe and BeBe Winans and Yolanda Adams to name but a few. LME has also hosted large-scale events such as the Durban Jazz Festival, as well as the SABC’s South African Traditional Music Awards (SATMA) which President Jacob Zuma graces each year,” says Mkhize.
Once again, a top record company wanted to lure Mkhize into discussions. This time it was 2010 and PolyGram, now trading as Universal Music Group, wanted him to join their team as group executive director in charge of artists and repertoire (A&amp;R).
“In all honesty, one of the main reasons I agreed to come back from doing my own thing, was that I had noticed for a while that a lot of artists had lost faith in big record companies. Many musicians were signed to their own smaller entities, because of a fear that they would be nothing but a catalogue number at a big record label; I decided my next challenge would be to restore musicians’ faith in major music establishments. Right now, two years back at Universal Music, I can safely say that my team and I have managed to make Universal Music the record company of choice for any artist,” he says.
With three lifetime achievement award nods from every notable awards body in the South African music and entertainment industry, at the age of 46, Mkhize’s hunger for the next big win, and passion for music, has cemented him as a music pioneer.
Mkhize is currently in studio producing Grammy-award winning Soweto Gospel Choir’s upcoming album. His colleague, managing director of Universal Music, Randall Abrahams describes Mkhize’s way with music as “awe-inspiring”. The next thing Mkhize hopes to get right, is the juggling act between all the professional hats he wears and his family of a wife and four kids.

Gospel, Good As Gold

When Peter Bauer was nine years old his mother asked him a question that would change his life. That question was “Do you want to get a bicycle or do you want to get a computer?” He chose the computer and today he is the co-founder of Mimecast, an email management company worth $300 million with offices in South Africa, the United Kingdom and the States.
Garth Wittles runs the South African operation. Two months ago the company secured $62 million worth of funding which brings the tally to $95 million since they launched in 2003.
Bauer and Wittles, 11 years apart, met in Cape Town as techies. Their paths crossed throughout their careers and eventually they went into business.
“Peter stood out as a unique individual very quickly in many facets,” says Wittles.
Bauer had started working in the tech industry straight after high school.
“I knew, I guess, from about age 14 that I wanted to go into business.”
He got his first job at 19 running a procurement company out of his business partner’s garage. By 23, he had decided to team up with some friends, Simon Andrew and Craig Fullerton, to run a tech company in Cape Town.
Soon afterwards, a buyer from Johannesburg approached and almost charmed his way into a bargain buy. He wined and dined Bauer and Andrew in Camps Bay, but luckily Fullerton hadn’t made it to the dinner.
The following morning, a hungover Bauer and Andrew were ready to accept an offer of R30,000 ($3,390) for the company, but fortuitously a sober Fullerton said no.
“… It sounded impressive you know, three ways that’s 10 grand each,” laughs Bauer.
“Craig said, ‘No, hang on a second… The only number we will accept to do this deal is R40,000 ($4,520)…’ [The buyer] said, ‘I’m afraid not…’ 11 months later we sold the company to Idion for R20 million ($2,3 million). Ja, we felt rather stupid,” he laughs.
After making millions, Bauer tried his luck and moved to the UK with his family.
Here, he met Mimecast co-founder Neil Murray, a fellow South African techie in London. They saw a change in computing and didn’t want to be left behind.
“We noticed that inside corporate email systems is the holy grail of corporate information and hugely valuable stuff and I always thought, ‘If you take an email system and you steal it from a company and print everything out and you sift through these piles of paper and you read everything, you’d pretty much know about everything to do with that company, what it does and how it operates’. So, we were really interested in this change in computing model, addressing the complexity around corporate email and figuring out how to turn corporate email into a corporate asset,” says Bauer.
Mimecast manages corporate information by storing it in an internet-based cloud. It sorts through emails to eliminate viruses and spam before they reach the recipient.
It has won a number of industry accolades but has also suffered headaches.
“It took quite a few years to build this platform. I remember promising Neil, and some of the other techies we recruited that in about 12 months’ time we would be making good money. I probably believed it, but it took many years. Both Neil’s and my wife had married these young South African millionaires and we’d moved to the UK… And over the years downgraded literally to the point where we lived like refugees… It took some conviction but we believed very strongly in what we were doing, we just understood that it would really take time and persistence,” says Bauer.
In South Africa, Wittles saw the vision that Bauer and Murray had for Mimecast and he wanted in.
“I remember him talking to me on the phone and [he] said, ‘I like what you’re doing. Can I set this up in SA?’ And I said, ‘No’, and eventually in 2004 Garth said, ‘Look, I’ll do this thing. Give me the technology support and I’ll crack the SA market.’” says Bauer.
Wittles had the go-ahead, now was his chance to turn the vision into a business.
“In 2003 and 2002 the concept of cloud computing was only emerging internationally, so the business [here] was very very early into that space,”
says Wittles.
While Bauer and Murray were establishing Mimecast in the UK, a first world country, Wittles was facing tougher times.
“Bandwidth was one of the biggest challenges for establishing Mimecast as a business in SA. In 2003 there wasn’t much of it, and what there was extremely expensive and that in some way was a little bit of an inhibitor for organizations locally,” says Wittles.
Money would be the biggest inhibitor of all.
“Essentially what you’ve got is a piece of paper that outlines a plan or a vision. You don’t have any track record, you don’t have any customers, you don’t have any revenue. Raising money in South Africa was really difficult… The only way that you can really raise funds, I suppose, is to finance it through debt… Run it out of your garage and really put your house on the line. So, it created an environment in the early days… that failure cannot be an option because if you do fail, your life is down the tubes,” says Wittles.
Today, Wittles is the senior vice president of Mimecast. Some of his customers include Anglo American, Pick ’n Pay, Dimension Data, MTN, Aspen and the University of Cape Town.
Bauer is the CEO and is heading the US operation, while Murray, the chief technology officer (CTO) is running things in the UK. The close-knit company has 330 employees worldwide and around 10 of them are Bauer’s high school mates.
In 2010, they recruited American email pioneer Dr. Nathaniel Borenstein as their chief scientist.
Borenstein was the first man to send an email attachment, he is also known for co-founding MIME—the protocol formatting multimedia internet electronic mail 20 years ago.
Their next plan is to expand into what they call the information bank industry, putting value to information like banks do to money. Once again their heads are in the clouds, only time will tell if they are ahead of the pack once again or will end up living like refugees.

Wishing On A Cloud

P-Square, the Nigerian, R&amp;B music duo, knows that singing well is no longer enough to maintain the number one spot in the high stakes game of the music industry; but having Akon by your side makes things a lot easier.
When the twin brothers, Paul and Peter Okoye, left Jos they knew that the music industry was tough but they had the drive to make a name for themselves. After 20 years in the entertainment industry their determination has paid off. A few years ago their career could have taken a nosedive had it not been for this determination. In October 2011 the jet-setting artists told FORBES AFRICA that their worst business decision.
“We did a concert in which we invited an international artist. However, the artist did not show up. We wanted to carry on with the show but we were concerned about the negative impression this could create. At this point people were coming through the gates. We did not know how to explain this problem to our audience. We came on stage and performed three songs and immediately announced that everybody with the tag should go to the bank where they bought it and collect their money back.”
The artists admit that this incident was a good business lesson about how the entertainment industry sometimes works— it is a high stake game in which a good reputation is key to winning.
Five years after the failed concert, P-Square is a household name even beyond Africa. Since their interview with FORBES AFRICA they have released their fifth album, The Invasion, which has mesmerized fans at home and abroad. The successful album, which features the popular hit song “Chop My Money” and “Beautiful Onyinye”, did not go unnoticed in the international arena. It has also earned recognition from Senegalese-born superstar Akon. When the celebrity star met the duo during their tour in Africa, he immediately proposed a partnership agreement.
“Basically, this is what we have been praying for. We met Akon on one of our tours and he proposed that we work together. We went to the US to finalize the partnership and agreed that he will do work for us in the US while we do the same for him in Africa” says Paul Okoye.
The business partnership with Konvict Muzik, Akon’s record label, was announced with the release of the remix version of the up-tempo hit song “Chop My Money”, which featured Akon. Fans were pleasantly surprised with the release of a remix of “Beautiful Onyinye”, which featured hip-hop heavyweight Rick Ross. This was only to be the start of P-Square’s ‘invasion’ of the international music scene.
Despite all the success, the duo admit that they still encounter challenges in the industry. Piracy remains a major risk in their line of business, despite the progress in minimizing piracy risks in the digital platform.
“From last year to now, the only thing that must have changed is the digital aspect of our music since the establishment of IROKO, which, I think, is paying off now,” says Peter.
The London-based head of IROKO, Jason Njoku, is playing a critical part in changing how Nigerian entertainment is paid for and distributed. Recently, Tiger Global, a $9 billion private equity fund, injected $8 million into IROKO to support the distribution of Nigerian entertainment in the digital platform. Industry players such as Obi Asika believe that with such resources the Nigerian entertainment industry will dominate the entertainment scene.
P-Square’s music could also be buttressed by the recent developments in the distribution of Nigerian entertainment. The establishment of COSON—Copyright Society of Nigeria—is perhaps the first step government has taken to protect intellectual property rights. The brothers believe that the body alone will not succeed in moving the industry forward, for COSON to succeed, the government should put in place enforcement policies for infringements.
“Government should have penalties. People pirating our work should go to jail or pay damages and things will change” says Peter.
The twins believe that the success of the body also depends on the collaboration amongst artists. However, collaborative efforts in the past have failed because such efforts are often viewed with suspicion.
“If P-Square decides to call everyone to make things happen, people will think that we have a particular interest. We tried and people got the wrong impression. There was a time when we wanted to organize a body to engage government but the young guys decided not to be part of the body. They thought that there was money that government had put up and we are creating the body to collect it. We had to step out,” says Paul.
In the absence of collaboration within the industry, the duo is taking matters into their own hands; rather than relying on others to solve their intellectual property infringements they continue to up the ante in the high stakes game. Previously, they relied on the ready-made sales system in which distributors paid royalties upfront. This model won’t work as they continue to spread their wings outside Nigeria, where there is infrastructure to monitor royalties.
P-Square have signed a deal with Universal Music South Africa. According Jude Okoye, P-Square’s brother-cum-manager, the distribution deal with Universal Music covers previous, current and future albums both on the digital platform as well as hardcopies. Lindelani Mkhize of Universal Music and the mastermind behind Joyous Celebration, the successful gospel group in South Africa, was enthusiastic about the deal describing it as Universal Music’s first mark of its “…commitment to the African continent ”. Peter’s statement at the signing of the deal sums-up what this deal holds in store for the future: “P-Square have managed to sell millions of albums, especially in Africa, through their individual efforts. By teaming up with Universal Music, we are now ready to take our music and our brand to the next level”.
The deal is certainly the culmination of a musical journey that has taken the twin brothers from the dusty street of Jos to the world.

Twins Want To Tower Over The World Stage

I’ve driven a Lexus before, I know to expect the trademark luxury, refinement, comfort and the executive feel but the Lexus GS450h F-Sport is so much more&#8230; It’s a hybrid that’s super fast.
Lexus’ new baby is a hybrid car and the first of its kind I’d ever driven. It made for a good start. In one moment I could pose as a tough businessman who’s made it and has a howling V6 rear wheel drive executive sports saloon to prove it. In the next moment, and at the push of a button, I could be the world-peace advocate who hugs trees.
The car has four driving modes. EV mode is when only the battery is being used. The battery has to be sufficiently charged and this mode is ideal for driving at low speeds. It’s eerily silent but highly entertaining when you sneak up on people before honking. ECO mode is when the car is powered by a combination of the electric motor and the engine. It delivers decent performance with reduced fuel consumption and emissions. Sport and Sport+ modes transform the car’s throttle response and handling to give you a sharpened, engaging and, dare I say it, a fast car to drive.
The GS450h is driven by a V6 petrol engine that delivers 213kW of power but it also features an electric motor that is capable of delivering 147kW of power. However, don’t add these figures together to work out the combined power because it isn’t 360kW. These systems work seamlessly together to deliver a combined output of 252kW of power and that is all carried to the road through a CVT gearbox.
Hybrid cars are not new to the market and they are clearly becoming more popular as consumers look for a cleaner, greener drive. BMW has recently released its hybrid models and the 5 Series ActiveHybrid is in direct competition to the Lexus GS450h. BMW claims 6.7l/100km and Lexus claim 6.2l/100km, both of which are fantastic consumption figures for cars of this size. I managed to average an 8.8l/100km and that was on the combined cycle.
Let’s not forget that we are talking about a luxury sedan capable of seating five adults in a contemporary cabin with an oh-so-crisp Mark Levinson sound system. I particularly liked the simplified facia design that has been made possible by Lexus incorporating a huge multimedia unit into the dashboard. The 12.3-inch display is one of the best on the market and carries a lot of information, should you want it. Lexus has made use of a “mouse” type controller for the multimedia display and though it is placed in an easily reachable spot it isn’t user-friendly, especially when driving on uneven surfaces. The idea is good, but the system is way too sensitive and can be quite annoying.
Further experience of the interior of this car makes you realize the levels of craftsmanship and detail surrounding you. The electric-powered seats feature heating and cooling and has technology to only feed air to the seats that are actually occupied. (These guys take energy-saving seriously). I had no issues of space in the front and rear and the boot space has not been compromised even with the battery packs being packed in there.
It’s a car that will turn heads. Looking at it, you’ll appreciate the new wave of Lexus design. The angular “spindle” grille is apparent on all new Lexus models and not counting the LFA hypercar, the design suits this car best. It’s a good looking car with some aggression and some sophistication thrown in.
You’ll also notice the Lexus logo on the front and rear of the car is surrounded by a blue hue. The color indicates the hybrid version of the car. The F-sport version that I drove also wore 19” charcoal alloys that gave it a unique presence especially as the car I test drove was black.
Choosing a Lexus GS450h F-Sport would be an easy choice for me if I was in the market for this level of car. At $88,400 it’s competitively priced especially considering the fuel-saving and emissions saving this car offers. You do have the choice of diesel alternatives from other brands, but this car does everything you may need a diesel car for. Fuel-saving? check. Reduced emissions? Check. Entertaining drive? Check. It arguably has the last word in refinement, luxury and comfort too. It looks classy but has a flair of sportiness. The drive is whatever you want it to be—civilized should you choose, or tail-wagging fun. And isn’t that what technology should be about? Giving you power and freedom to choose when you’ll use that power. This car gives you everything; you just decide how and when let it really roar.
Recent research showed that South Africans are not in love with the Lexus brand as much as they are with the likes of VW; Audi; Mercedes Benz and BMW. A few months ago, I possibly would have been in that group of South Africans, but now, I am a big fan of the brand because I’ve had a taste of luxury as Lex

I Spell Love L-E-X-U-S

His name might be a bit of a tongue twister but it surely begins to roll off the tongue with a lot more ease as time goes. As West Africa’s Young Business Leader of the Year, bespectacled, unruffled and soft spoken—cupping his award trophy while smiling from ear to ear, it was an August evening like no other for Elikem Nutifafa Kuenyehia.
While West Africa applauded this laudable achievement at the inaugural regional All Africa Business Leaders Awards (AABLA) months ago, Kuenyehia can only reminisce on the traipse today.
When he started ‘Oxford &amp; Beaumont’, he was 32 years old and had been a qualified lawyer for more than seven years. He had worked for Linklaters LLP, one of the world’s most prestigious law firms and had set up and run the legal department of a local bank.
“Yet, when I met prospective local clients they could not look beyond my age and my youthful looks and questioned whether I was old enough to be starting a law firm,” he says.
Kuenyehia, who was born in Accra, Ghana, dropped his high school science class to pursue the arts instead. He graduated with an upper second class pass from the law faculty at Oxford Univeristy.
“I surprised myself that I went ahead to study law because, I had always rebelled against the notion as my parents were both lawyers. My heart was set in business and [I] had wanted to study business administration at the University of Ghana. However, when I widened my options to Oxford, it turned out that Oxford did not have an equivalent course so I settled for law,” he says.
While Kuenyehia’s career was firmly hinged on law, a great interest and flair for business and entrepreneurship was a huge driving factor for him. So, it was little wonder that he followed up with an MBA in entrepreneurship, finance and marketing at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management. Kuenyehia re-enforced his passion for entrepreneurship when he accepted a post as an adjunct lecturer in entrepreneurship at the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA).
“Perhaps the limitation that I am most concerned about is that of education. I think a good basic education equips people with the ability to ask the right questions and the ability to conduct at least the most basic analysis, which is always the starting point of any entrepreneurial venture,” he says.
“I think often there is a misunderstanding of what entrepreneurship is. It sometimes appears shrouded in mystery. It’s a very simple process that starts with an idea that someone can be passionate about and which taps into a customer need.”
On more of the stumbling blocks he encountered as a young entrepreneur, Kuenyehia maintains, “Age is more than a number in Ghana, especially in the area of sensitive corporate and commercial legal advice where I operate. Ghanaian clients believe that the more grey hairs you have, the better equipped you are to deal with their matters. Local clients also expect to pay significantly lower rates to younger lawyers than they would pay to older lawyers”.
To deal with this obstacle in attracting clients, Kuenyehia decided to focus on foreign direct investors into Ghana who were used to dealing with younger lawyers and judged a lawyer on the quality of his advice rather than the lawyer’s age.
“I decided to target investors from London, where I had already established my reputation for excellence and had developed significant contacts.”
Now a managing partner at one of Ghana’s leading law firms with offices in Accra and London, Kuenyehia has gone on to add a literary feather to his cap: he recently published his book Kuenyehia on Entrepreneurship.
“The key message in the book is that anybody, absolutely anybody can become a successful entrepreneur provided they are passionate about what it is they seek to do and follow a few well established steps. The book takes the readers through the steps from idea to profit including opportunity analysis, raising finance, managing finance, recruiting, building a brand and writing a business plan.
The book draws on many examples and case studies of successful Ghanaian entrepreneurs. By showcasing a wide range of successful entrepreneurs across a number of Ghanaian industries, he hopes to inspire others who may contemplate taking the entrepreneurial route.
On the whole, Kuenyehia attributes his success to the work of his great team at Oxford &amp; Beaumont who, by challenging and questioning most things, have helped shape him into a better leader, as he continues to take new, bold strides.

Tag: December 2012

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