Archbishop Desmond Tutu once said, “I am not interested in picking up crumbs of compassion thrown from the table of someone who considers himself my master. I want the full menu of rights.”
This sentiment might not be far off for 2010 Tutu Fellow, Zimbabwe-born Jacqueline Chimhanzi.
She did her PhD in Strategic Marketing at the Cardiff Business School in the United Kingdom, and now, added on her work portfolio, Chimhanzi has recently been appointed the Chief Executive Officer of the African Leadership Institute (AFLI), after being on the institute’s board of directors for six years.
“Every day feels like I am waking up to my calling,” says Chimhanzi, describing what it’s been like settling in her job.
Formerly the Senior Strategist at Industrial Development Corporation (IDC), Chimhanzi was recognized by FORBES as one of the 20 Youngest Power Women in Africa, who are shaping the narrative for the continent’s growth, in 2012.
It was when she was part of the Tutu Fellowship Program that her career started to focus more on Africa and she decided to play a role in making the continent a better place.
“The program helps you notice the difference you can make,” she says.
Making a difference became her mandate wherever she worked after the fellowship. The budding photographer worked as Lead: Africa Desk at Deloitte South Africa.
“I raised my hand with the Africa Desk venture and part of [any] career progression, especially for women, is to raise your hand in any given opportunity,” she says.
Part of her vision is to see the infrastructure gap on the continent closed and Africans investing in Africa, especially in women, who she says benefit the least when it comes to business and funding opportunities.
To see this materialize, Chimhanzi, with the support of Graça Machel, founded New Faces New Voices in 2010. It is a pan-African platform which focuses on expanding the role and influence of women in the financial sector.
Chimhanzi says some of the challenges unsettling investors are policies in various African countries and the slow pace of implementing concepts.
“We need an app that connects funders and projects because there is an information asymmetry in the market gap in our continent. Another challenge in the rest of the continent is that capital markets are very shallow, most banks lend in the short-term and interest rates are very high,” she says.
However, it is not all doom and gloom. Chimhanzi is optimistic about young Africans making their mark on the continent. She says leaders need to “draw on the talents and experiences from the youth in order to co-create solutions”.
Chimhanzi also wishes to see Africa transform into the self-sustainable continent she believes it can be.
With someone like Chimhanzi steering the wheel, Africa has a bright future.

Jack-023

A New Voice  For A New Africa

When American astronaut Neil Armstrong stepped on the moon in 1969 and called it “one giant leap for mankind”, who knew we would talk about inhabiting Mars half a century later?  South African Adriana Marais, a theoretical physicist and member of the Quantum Research Group at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, is one of 100 short-listed as part of the Mars One project, to set foot on Mars in 2025. She hopes to be a part of a permanent human settlement on the planet; man’s first step to becoming a multi-planetary species.
<ol>
<li>
<h4>What comes to mind when you hear the words ‘outer space’?</h4>
</li>
</ol>
I think of my ancestors, French Huguenots, who traveled for months by ship under perilous conditions to arrive as peasant farmers at the new Dutch settlement at the Cape of Good Hope. I think of the first Europeans who settled in northern America. I think of the first African explorers who ventured north on foot and discovered Europe. This is what we have always done as humans, we observe, we dream, and we realize those dreams through our innate urge to explore and our ability to shape our environment to our purpose. Settling on Mars and extending our transportation systems to outer space will be unique only in that the distance is further than ever before. Quite a bit further.
<ol start="2">
<li>
<h4>If you were reborn, what would you choose to be?</h4>
</li>
</ol>
As a child, I read a lot and dreamed of being an Egyptian queen, a Greek philosopher or a Viking warrior. However, I am now utterly convinced that we are witnessing a most unique era in the four billion years that life has been evolving on Earth. Unprecedented developments in science and technology have brought the expansion of our imaginations and our world further than ever before within reach… And I would not choose to be reborn as anyone or anything other than myself!
<ol start="3">
<li>
<h4>What is the most beautiful thing you have seen?</h4>
</li>
</ol>
I feel grateful that my volunteering to establish the first human settlement on Mars has made me appreciate the beauty in everything I see around me, even more than before. The ‘busy-ness’ of Earth is unique and beautiful, the only planet we know of teeming with life, full of all the people we love who mean so much to us, all the animals we share our habitat with, all the plants with which we have been living side-by-side with for so many eras… the smell of the air through the changing seasons, the feeling of the wind, sea and sun on skin, the feeling of the ground beneath bare feet.
<ol start="4">
<li>
<h4>If women were allowed to run half the companies and countries in the world, what change would there be?</h4>
</li>
</ol>
A range of studies show that team diversity is often correlated with better performance. The gravity and extent of the global challenges we face today will only be solved through the collaborative efforts of all human inhabitants of this planet.
<ol start="5">
<li>
<h4>What is your most valuable possession?</h4>
</li>
</ol>
I place extreme value in a good night’s sleep! There will be strict weight limitations for early settlers on Mars. I am prepared to leave all of my material possessions behind. All I will take is information: the electronically-stored pixels, musical notes and words that constitute all of my books, music, photos, movies, writing, emails and letters; my bits of memories of Earth.
<ol start="6">
<li>
<h4>If you had 10 minutes to change the world, what would you do?</h4>
</li>
</ol>
I think the days of our current economic model are numbered, but I don’t think hacking into and destroying all financial systems, even if it could be done in 10 minutes, would be the solution. I don’t believe any meaningful and productive change can be made in 10 minutes. You would be lucky to see some meaningful change in your lifetime.
<ol start="7">
<li>
<h4>Success is…?</h4>
</li>
</ol>
I want the ideas I had to outlive the memory of me. If I can encourage people to be proudly human, to question and to dream, then my job here on Earth or beyond will be done.

Adriana-page

To Mars On A One-Way Ticket

A mother’s love for dressing her two-year-old daughter, Atlegang, in unique African clothing, inspired her to start a business.
Shweshwe Baby Couture is a clothing label offering vibrant outfits for infant boys and girls.
Gugulethu Kgongoane, a former digital and marketing coordinator for various magazines in South Africa, launched the brand with an online collection 14 months after the birth of her first child.
The 27-year-old realized she didn’t fit into the 9AM to 5PM work routine, so was even more determined to launch her business.
“When I started, I had about $221 start-up capital in hand and made a conscious decision to re-invest the money I got back [from her previous job] into the business. Our vision is to create a global fashion brand that will inspire the confidence, creativity and self-belief of children growing up and living in diverse, global cultures,” says Kgongoane.
The budding entrepreneur admits success for her means being able to wake up and go to bed feeling fulfilled, challenged and inspired.
“I admire a businesswoman who has faith and understands that while life can be hard at the best of times, faith is the knowledge that things will get better.
“It’s about taking the next step when you can’t see the entire staircase,” says Kgongoane.
The Shweshwe collection includes the Atli Dress named after her daughter and the versatile peplum set that can be worn with other items.
Kgongoane will prioritize innovation, and Shweshwe Baby Couture will be known for playing a role in the progression of kids’ wear.
Innovation certainly came in handy for Kgongoane when she decided to turn the simple activity of dressing up a toddler into a full-time business.

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Africa On A Bib

As in a sibling relationship, Natascha Jacobsz is extremely protective of her continent and its people. She describes herself as a typical white South African child, who’ll deal with anyone who dares to chastize Africa.
The 32-year-old started her career at CNBC Africa in 2008 and says she was a wet-behind-the-ears business features producer, with no business news experience. She’d previously worked in current affairs and general news.
Even though Jacobsz studied law at the University of Pretoria, the journalism bug bit her when she joined the local campus radio station, Tuks FM, as a newsreader.
In 2005, Jacobsz joined CNBC Africa and worked as a business news producer for seven years.
In 2015, Jacobsz relocated to the Netherlands with her family and joined the Dutch media NGO, RNW Media as a project manager for This is Africa, a website dedicated to providing an alternative, non-Western narrative of Africa.
“I am innately curious with a passion for Africa, people and story-telling. In the words of [former South African President] Thabo Mbeki – I am an African. It’s who I am at my core and it plays a huge part in my sense of identity, especially since relocating to Europe,” she says.
Although she admits business news is a tough but extremely gratifying industry to work in, her career has given her first-hand experience of the untapped potential of people in Africa.
“We have some of the most innovative men, women and youngsters on the planet. However, when it comes to economics, I’m hesitant to blanket Africa as a whole. Unlike the European Union (EU), our sense of ‘oneness’, at least on an economic level, is a lot more complicated,” she says.
Living in Europe has made her aware that financial challenges, especially those at a macro- economic level, are the same everywhere.
“Economic growth has all but stalled across many developed nations and, according to reports such as the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) recent World Economic Outlook, which highlights projected GDP growth levels above 5% in more than 10 countries, one can’t help but get excited about Africa as a whole,” Jacobsz says.
It hasn’t been all work and no play for the travel enthusiast. One of her fondest memories includes a Mt. Kilimanjaro expedition with CNBC Africa Vice Chairman, Rakesh Wahi, who led it in 2013.
“It was an incredible bonding experience and a great lesson in humility,” she says.
Jacobsz foresees Africa’s full potential being unlocked, along with the hope that every African woman will be able to pursue any dream without restriction, be it personal or professional..
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– Thandi Xaba

Tasch

A Sibling Of Africa

As you drive past one of the most iconic roundabouts in Rwanda’s capital city Kigali, it’s hard to miss a giant billboard honoring one of the country’s most recent triumphs in sport: the national cricket’s team captain Eric Dusingizimana, who broke a Guinness world record batting non-stop for 51 hours in May 2016. He had trained months on end to accomplish the feat of the ‘longest net session’.
This has made Dusingizimana one of Rwanda’s most recognizable faces but has also brought awareness to a sport few talked about before. Remarkably, cricket is now being hailed as a new cohesive force for a country that has seen one of the world’s greatest human tragedies.
Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame is all praise for the country’s new hero and his sport.
“The record-breaking feat of endurance recently accomplished by Eric Dusingizimana is a fitting example of the perseverance and determination that characterize the Rwandan people. Sport is a unifying force that builds both individual character and national cohesion and cricket is no exception,” said Kagame.
The president is an ardent lover of sport and one sees him occasionally expressing his views on various sporting disciplines to his million-plus followers on Twitter.
Rwanda reveres football, and has well-entrenched interests in basketball and cycling – the country’s rolling hills are filled with cyclists in colorful gear on Sunday mornings.
And now cricket is also getting its share of the limelight. The sport also has big names supporting it in Rwanda.
Former British prime ministers David Cameron and Tony Blair were famously part of the fundraising drive for the Rwanda Cricket Stadium Foundation, which has now, over the past four years, managed to raise over a million pounds for phase one of a world-class facility for cricket in Rwanda. Blair was present when Dusingizimana broke the world record – he was in Kigali at the time to attend the World Economic Forum on Africa.
After bowling to Dusingizimana on his way to the world record, Blair noted the importance of the sport in a country like Rwanda.
“Cricket is known as a gentleman’s game and one cannot ignore the impact the sport has had in uniting the people of Rwanda,” he said.
The national team’s captain is mighty pleased about the mileage the sport has received since, which in turn helped raise additional funds for the stadium’s construction.
“That was easily the largest crowd I’ve seen at any cricket event in Rwanda and now more people know about the sport,” said the batsman.
<div id="attachment_32156" style="width: 650px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-32156" class="wp-image-32156 size-full" src="http://www.forbesafrica.com/app/uploads/2017/05/0091.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="640" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/0091.jpg 640w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/0091-300x300.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/0091-100x100.jpg 100w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/0091-600x600.jpg 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/0091-150x150.jpg 150w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px" />Mary Maina, captain of the women&#8217;s cricket team</div>
His accomplishment exemplified the many things the Rwandan people stand for, one of which is the country’s perseverance in rebuilding its economy after the genocide against the Tutsi in 1994.
But before Dusingizimana became an overnight celebrity, it was not all rosy for the sport. One would hardly hear cricket mentioned outside its small circle of players and foreign enthusiasts. Newspaper coverage was hard to come by and radio and television did little. This made the task of finding sponsors for the game difficult.
It is partly for this reason that Dusingizimana and Alby Shale, founder and project director of the Rwanda Cricket Stadium Foundation decided to try something different.
Dusingizimana’s record was previously held by an Indian batsman but it was Shale who set out to achieve the first record. As part of the first campaign to raise funds for the sport, Shale had set a new world record batting for 26 hours but this was eventually broken by another Englishman whose record was 48 hours.
“It was at this point that my friends asked if I could do 49 hours but then came an Indian guy who made it 50 hours. That’s when Eric came and started working for the Rwanda Cricket Stadium Foundation and when I suggested it to him, he didn’t think twice.”
Shale’s first interaction with Rwanda came as part of a group of British volunteers who would come to the country every year to work for the Rwandan people.
“My father [Christopher Shale] set up a social action project that would go to Rwanda every year to try and justify why the British government should spend some of its GDP on international aid. I immediately fell in love with the people and saw first-hand how Rwanda was trying to rebuild its community having gone through the horrors of 1994,” says Shale.
It is during this time that he noticed the love the few cricket enthusiasts in the country had for the game.
“After my return to the UK, I started having extensive conversations with some organizations and my father about how cricket is a resource-intensive game and Rwanda was really lacking in facilities, this was ultimately prohibiting their development, that’s when we agreed to set up the Rwanda Cricket Stadium Foundation to help the sport grow in the country.”
Unfortunately for Shale, a few months after setting up the foundation, his father passed away and that’s when it became more obvious he needed to focus on this as part of his legacy.
“I needed to channel my grief and keeping my father’s dream alive was the only thing I could think of. Cricket needed to be taken to the next level and ever since, we’ve been trying to raise funds to try and create the first international cricket stadium in Rwanda.”
The facility will include a cricket square, cricket nets, a maintenance facility and all the equipment needed to maintain the oval to international standards.
The foundation has to now raise a further £250,000 for the construction of a cricket pavilion. Its design will replicate a bouncing cricket ball in a bid to make it look authentic, and complementing Rwanda’s beautiful landscape. The local community will be involved in the construction of the facility.
Just like most development projects in the country, the Rwandan government has had a hand in seeing this dream come alive.
The government, through the Ministry of Sports and Culture, has not only given VAT exemption to the foundation but also provided the land on which the facility is to be built, free of charge.
“Such has been the government’s role in facilitating not only the growth of the sport of cricket but also across other sectors that has seen a whole-scale infrastructure transformation in the country,” Charles Haba, President of the Rwanda Cricket Association, had said in an earlier interview.
The story of Rwanda’s growth over the past 22 years is never complete without the mention of the role its women have played in seeing it come to fruition. Rwanda holds the record for the highest number of women in public office with a 64% representation in parliament.
This empowerment has been reflected across various sectors and the sport of cricket hasn’t been left behind. In its journey towards achieving the dream of a world-class cricket stadium, the national women’s team captain Mary Maina will attempt to set a new world record for the longest net session by a woman.
The feat has never been attempted before and Maina will have to bat for a minimum of 24 hours. A university student, she believes that the growing popularity of the sport among women is a reflection of women’s empowerment in the country. In fact, the growth of women’s cricket in Rwanda has seen it surpass that of international powerhouse India despite the latter having more people supporting it.
“Our leaders have made us believe that a woman’s place can be anywhere. In Rwanda, a woman is not only restricted to the kitchen stereotype, we have been made to believe that we can achieve anything and even be better at most things,” says the 24-year-old.
Clearly, the journey of cricket in Rwanda is not so different from the country’s own growth. They are both setting world records.

IMG_5966

Cricket: Rwanda’s New Unifying Force

Inside their MAMA Rocks food truck stationed in the upmarket Westlands area of Nairobi, Kenya, sisters Samantha and Natalie Mwedekeli are hard at work, rustling up burgers for what looks like an army of hungry people queuing up.
They dish out their signature eats with smiles and hellos sporting a crisp British accent. The two are founders of Nairobi’s latest epicurean street sensation.
It was only three years ago that Samantha, 36, and Natalie, 33, were in their home at Old Street, East London, in the United Kingdom (UK), mulling over their mundane nine-to-five jobs.
They made the bold decision to quit their jobs in the non-profit and human resources sectors respectively and start out in the food business.
The idea had been marinating in their heads for a couple of years, and the sisters, of Kenyan and Nigerian descent, figured it was now or never. They decided to start the business in Kenya, their father’s hometown.
Ten years ago, their parents, who had migrated to the UK, had relocated to Kenya, leaving their daughters in the care of their grandmother. Natalie and Samantha would visit their parents every year and these trips helped them see Nairobi transform.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-32150" src="http://www.forbesafrica.com/app/uploads/2017/05/MG_3410-300x200.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="200" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/MG_3410-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/MG_3410-600x400.jpg 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/MG_3410.jpg 720w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /> <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-32151" src="http://www.forbesafrica.com/app/uploads/2017/05/MG_3871-300x200.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="200" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/MG_3871-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/MG_3871-600x400.jpg 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/MG_3871-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/MG_3871-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/MG_3871.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /> <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-32152" src="http://www.forbesafrica.com/app/uploads/2017/05/MG_8562-300x200.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="200" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/MG_8562-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/MG_8562-600x400.jpg 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/MG_8562.jpg 720w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />
The restaurant scene in East Africa’s corporate hub has grown exponentially in the past decade, especially due to the increase in the number of retail establishments, such as the recently-reopened Westgate Mall, The Hub and urban hotels such as Villa Rosa Kempinski Nairobi and Radisson Blu.
“We’ve always had a drive to start our own business, partly because we grew up with very entrepreneurial parents so they infected us with that bug. They always emphasized to us that if you want to make a difference, you need to make your own mark and they always said that there’s a lot of potential in Africa. So we thought ‘why can’t we come up with a brand that’s born and bred in Africa and also has international appeal’?” say the sisters.
Starting a restaurant is by no means easy, especially for two young women from overseas with no culinary background. Samantha studied law at Kingston University London and Natalie has a business management degree from Royal Holloway. They owe it to their grandmother who is the best cook they know.
To gain some knowledge about the restaurant industry, the two worked as waitresses at various restaurants in London’s West End such as international sandwich chain Pret a Manger, and Patty &amp; Bun, a diner serving some of London’s finest burgers according to TimeOut.
Waitressing for about six months gave them insight into what makes people tick and how good food makes people feel. Using this experience and noting the establishments’ strict attention to detail, they decided on gourmet burgers infused with some African-inspired flavors.
Their parents were not in agreement with this change of career but on seeing the business plan, they soon got on board.
“Our father helped us gather the capital we needed and our mother is now our biggest fan, bragging to all her friends about our food.”
Fast forward six months to late 2014 and the Londoners had officially moved to Nairobi to start the groundwork, finding a location, suppliers and equipment. A chat with Kevin Ashley, owner of Java House in Kenya, made them take a step back in terms of finances.
They had not realized how expensive it would be to open a restaurant – a minimum of Ksh 14 million ($135,000) was needed for one that fit their requirements. Plan B was the food truck, which cut their investment by half.
“It’s relatively inexpensive, risks are limited and you can move around and test the market and see how people respond to you and if anything, that’s your investment because no one can take the truck away from you. It was really exciting because we were bringing something new to Nairobi,” says Natalie.
It took nine months to get the truck assembled; while that was being taken care of, the sisters decided to start testing the market by doing pop-ups in various locations to gauge people’s interest.
Their first attempt at selling their product was at a friend’s Thai restaurant. They did not advertise but ended up having a full house. This was a clear indication of Kenyans’ desire to try new things. Since then, MAMA Rocks serves over 200 customers every weekend including Fridays.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone wp-image-32153 size-large" src="http://www.forbesafrica.com/app/uploads/2017/05/FRM_6899-684x1024.jpg" alt="" width="684" height="1024" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/FRM_6899.jpg 684w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/FRM_6899-300x449.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/FRM_6899-600x898.jpg 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/FRM_6899-200x300.jpg 200w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 684px) 100vw, 684px" />
It’s just one of the numerous restaurants and cafes that have opened shop in Nairobi over the past year. Others include Pizza Hut, Ocean Basket, Adega, Dominos, KFC, News Café, Brioche, Nyama Mama and Roast by Carnivore.
Mikul Shah, founder of EatOut Kenya, East Africa’s largest online restaurant guide, says of the industry’s fast progression: “To some extent, the growth in supply might be faster than the demand. With so much competition and options, restaurants have had to focus on providing good value for money. We are seeing lots of deals and promotions to attract patrons. Overall, I feel that Nairobi has seen a boom in the dining culture, however it is a little worrying for smaller businesses as it will be a few years until the demand catches up.”
The MAMA Rocks sisters officially opened shop on New Year’s Eve 2015, their truck parked in the newly-opened creative events space, the Yard, in Westlands.
As word spread of their Africanized burgers, like their popular Mango Maasai Mama and Nollywood Suya Saga, sales soared. Within six months, they were able to pay off the cost of the truck and hired a few more people to help them with preparation and serving customers.
Ingredients for their dishes are sourced locally and they make the sauces from scratch every morning. As for the name MAMA Rocks, they say it came so naturally to them.
“We thought about African culture, the similar aspects to the different cultures across the entire continent. One of those aspects is that the mother is the backbone of the household. We wanted the brand to have a strong feminine energy and to celebrate the mother, hence MAMA.”
Coming from the first world to settle in fast-developing Kenya had its challenges, the biggest being the high level of corruption that hindered ease of doing business.
Transparency International ranked Kenya 139 out of 168 countries in their corruption index.
But when asked why Nairobi and not London or Lagos, Samantha promptly says: “Kenya is rich in opportunity and skills. It feels like a large canvas. There’s so much that can be done here that may have already been done in London. There’s not much left to explore or experiment in London. As for Lagos, it just wasn’t as developed as Nairobi is and food costs there tend to be much higher. But we plan to open there next when we are able to expand.”
The sisters are breaking even after a year in operation and plan on opening a restaurant soon to bring in more profits while still running the food truck. Samantha and Natalie are young, vibrant and eager to change the African gastronomic narrative.

MG_3406

Burgers On Wheels And Hungry For Success

The Collective Rwanda (RW) Week of Fashion wrapped up its inaugural edition with a successful press launch, several ‘business of fashion’ seminars and a sparkling evening of runway shows that saw the latest collections from local designers showcased to an array of esteemed guests, including Rwanda’s First Lady, Jeannette Kagame, and her daughter Ange Kagame.
In attendance too was an excited, style-savvy crowd.
In what was a highly-anticipated debut, the fashion event took place at the five-star Kigali Serena Hotel, hosted by Collective RW (a creative collaboration founded in 2015 by the city’s local designers Sonia Mugabo, Teta Isibo, Matthew Rugamba, Linda Mukangoga and Candy Basomingera) in partnership with Journal Rw and national airline RwandAir.
With the aim to promote ‘Made In Rwanda’ fashion and encourage collaboration within the African fashion industry, the week of fashion saw no shortage of contemporary, bold, and colorful collections from all the featured designers, against the backdrop of ‘teamwork makes the dream work’. FORBES WOMAN AFRICA was present too; here’s a report of the highlights:
<h2>Haute Baso</h2>
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-medium wp-image-32143 aligncenter" src="http://www.forbesafrica.com/app/uploads/2017/05/House-of-Tayo-DSC_3094-200x300.jpg" alt="" width="200" height="300" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/House-of-Tayo-DSC_3094-200x300.jpg 200w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/House-of-Tayo-DSC_3094-300x450.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/House-of-Tayo-DSC_3094-600x900.jpg 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/House-of-Tayo-DSC_3094.jpg 683w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 200px) 100vw, 200px" />
Having ventured into the world of fashion precisely because it offers the freedom to transform ideas into pieces that can be shared with an audience, the designers at Haute Baso presented a collection inspired by a book about Rwanda’s military history called Resilience of a Nation. Showcasing women’s wear with simple yet contemporary silhouettes, the resultant collection featured classic military print jackets and tees mixed with stylish, easy ready-to-wear pieces.
Haute Baso’s mission is to translate the passion for art and design into a vehicle for positive change, so highlighting local artisans while promoting job creation particularly for youth and women is important.
“We know that to empower a woman is to empower her community,” says designer Linda Mukangoga. Her belief in the potential of showcasing Rwanda in a global market through fashion and at the same time empowering artisans in the community is what drives this quiet, determined and passionate designer.
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<h2>Sonia Mugabo</h2>
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-medium wp-image-32146 aligncenter" src="http://www.forbesafrica.com/app/uploads/2017/05/Sonia-Mugabo-DSC_2732-200x300.jpg" alt="" width="200" height="300" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Sonia-Mugabo-DSC_2732-200x300.jpg 200w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Sonia-Mugabo-DSC_2732-300x450.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Sonia-Mugabo-DSC_2732-600x900.jpg 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Sonia-Mugabo-DSC_2732.jpg 683w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 200px) 100vw, 200px" />
“If ever there is a market where the fashion world still has potential, it is Africa. I believe it is the right time to change the African narrative and I feel as though it is our creative responsibility to do so,’’ says designer Sonia Mugabo. Following her heart despite being advised to do fashion ‘on the side’, she delivered a SS17 collection featuring bold colors mixed with delightful floral prints and layered ruffles in silhouettes inspired by a refined femininity.
Best known for playing with the perfect mix of vintage and modern design, the brand creates pieces that reflect a documentation of ever-evolving experiences and style.
It represents a collection of memories, of places, people and moments brought to life by #madeinrwanda.
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<h2>Inzuki Designs</h2>
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-medium wp-image-32142 aligncenter" src="http://www.forbesafrica.com/app/uploads/2017/05/Haute-Baso-DSC_3276-200x300.jpg" alt="" width="200" height="300" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Haute-Baso-DSC_3276-200x300.jpg 200w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Haute-Baso-DSC_3276-300x450.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Haute-Baso-DSC_3276-600x900.jpg 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Haute-Baso-DSC_3276.jpg 683w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 200px) 100vw, 200px" />
Inzuki Designs is best known for its specialized brand of accessories that are globally appealing, African-inspired and Rwandan-made. Presenting bold, mostly-beaded statement pieces on the runway most suitable to a modern-day contemporary style, every product sees authentic design translated into a vibrant and fashionable accessory.
“I team up with numerous local artisans to transcend traditional Rwandan design and seek to customize it into comtemporay design,” says founder and designer Teta Isibo.
In what was unprecedented for a Kigali show, she believes the fashion week went a long way in showing the potential of ‘Made in Rwanda’.
“We are hoping to grow this movement, get more Rwandan fashion designers on board and forge ahead together to take Rwanda fashion global,” she says.
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<h2>House of Tayo</h2>
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-medium wp-image-32144 aligncenter" src="http://www.forbesafrica.com/app/uploads/2017/05/Inzuki-Designs-designer-DSC_3066-200x300.jpg" alt="" width="200" height="300" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Inzuki-Designs-designer-DSC_3066-200x300.jpg 200w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Inzuki-Designs-designer-DSC_3066-300x450.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Inzuki-Designs-designer-DSC_3066-600x900.jpg 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Inzuki-Designs-designer-DSC_3066.jpg 683w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 200px) 100vw, 200px" />
Designer Matthew Rugamba took his turn showcasing his menswear collection combining touches of bold African patterns and textures on shirts and jackets.
Key items included a new mix of African-inspired print shirts, pocket squares and scarves, with slim fitting pants.
Feeling both relieved and happy after the show, the designer said he believes togetherness will create a difference in Rwanda’s fashion industry, and that being a part of this platform means there is a growing opportunity to share experiences and widen networks, whilst growing together.
The Collective RW Week of Fashion looks set to keep contributing to an already growing conversation about African fashion and talent in Africa and around the world.

Inzuki-Designs-DSC_2909

Clothes Encounters  In Kigali

You could be forgiven for not recognizing ‘Ms Isis’, the woman who “wants to be known as that female producer who made beats” – she changes her hairdo almost every week. But the roots that she doesn’t change, are the ones embedded in her sound.
Ms Isis, not to be confused with the terrorist organization, but rather with the Egyptian goddess of fertility and motherhood, grew up in the windy city of Port Elizabeth in South Africa.
She moved to the Gauteng province after school and it was while at university in Tshwane that she found her passion for composing hip-hop beats.
“I bumped into people who knew how to make beats and they taught me, so I’m basically self-taught,” she says.
Trying to etch out a place in the competitive and male-dominated industry is not easy for anybody, let alone a woman.
“It’s harder… there’s a lot of expectations for females,” says Ms Isis on the challenges she faces.
Another is staying relevant and standing out from the crowd. This is perhaps why her hair is transformed almost every other week. The music industry is hard for women and Ms Isis is acutely aware of this.
“I’m a girl but I’m not necessarily the girl that everybody wants to see,” she says, referring to the unrealistic expectations forced on women. She refuses to sexualize her music and is unwavering in her stance against surrendering her musical integrity.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone wp-image-32133 size-large" src="http://www.forbesafrica.com/app/uploads/2017/05/Miss-Isis-184-1024x681.jpg" alt="" width="1024" height="681" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Miss-Isis-184.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Miss-Isis-184-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Miss-Isis-184-600x399.jpg 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Miss-Isis-184-768x511.jpg 768w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" />
‘Ms Isis’, Terrorist, Organization, Egyptian, Goddess, December 2016
As a woman, Ms Isis has to juggle music, motherhood and marriage. Her husband is Lengolo Moletsane, also known as Madkind, a graphic designer by day, and multi-instrumentalist and producer in her band by night.
“He can tell you more about South African music, I can tell you more about Coolio,” says Ms Isis jokingly.
They are strong-willed and determined to find the right balance between music and parenting.
“It’s very difficult… I see why people are always discouraging, but it can be done. I want to do it and I’m going to do it.”
There is a distinct air of defiance in her voice, as if she’s out to prove the doubters wrong.
With two successful radio singles in 2016, she seems to be getting it right. Her single, Only, a house groove which she collaborated on with Sculptured Music, enjoyed regular airplay and received stellar reviews, most notably from house legend, DJ Christos. She recently wrapped up the video for her second single Mamatime, a jazzy hip-hop inspired melody. Ms Isis has picked up some traction with these singles and hopes that the coming year will bring with it more bookings and the release of her first studio album, which she is currently working on.
“I’ve been an artist that always performs with beats and now I have formed a band, I’m very excited about it,” says Ms Isis, who hopes to one day grace stages like the Standard Bank Joy of Jazz Festival, a venue she has great fondness for. Mamatime ends with Ms Isis singing the isiXhosa words Ixesha, Ixesha, lihamba naba hambayo, meaning “time only moves with those who move with it”. It looks like Ms Isis’ time has come, and it’s moving forward with her beats.

Miss-Isis-094

The Goddess Of Groove

It’s a Thursday afternoon in November, with the summer sun baking the pavements, and everything in sight. Being a weekday, South Africa’s famous Vilakazi Street, home to two Nobel Peace Prize laureates, in Orlando West, in the historic township of Soweto, is not too busy – there are fewer tourists compared to the usual.
I am looking down the linear street, no more than a kilometer, filled with history, craft and commerce, not to mention an assortment of tourists.
It’s a far cry from the street it was in the apartheid days, days before its most-famous resident, Nelson Mandela, was whisked off to prison for 27 years. His home here, number 8115 or Mandela House, which he said is marked with an ‘X’ in his mental geography, is a museum now, the street’s biggest draw. Mandela had returned to this house when he was released from prison in 1990.
Vilakazi’s other famous resident was Archbishop Desmond Tutu, the Nobel prize-winning social rights activist who also opposed apartheid.
I strap the camera around my neck, put on my sunglasses and become a tourist, walking from one end to the other exploring the street; it almost feels like I am not in Soweto, this is one of Africa’s world-renowned pieces of real estate.
It takes me less than a minute before I see an urban building to my left, The Box Shop, a shop created primarily for locals but with international tourists streaming in and out.
Launched as a fashion store in 2015 employing about 11 staff, it has extended its retail offerings to furniture and food – mouth-watering delicacies such as mogodu (lamb or beef tripe).
Sifiso Moyo, marketing director of The Box Shop, is one of the store’s four founders who decided to open the store on Vilakazi Street.
“It was a combination of things that made us pursue Vilakazi, we looked at the Gauteng government mandate in terms of revitalizing townships, so we looked at how we are going to align ourselves with that strategy and contribute positively to the dream of township revitalization,” says Moyo.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone wp-image-32129 size-large" src="http://www.forbesafrica.com/app/uploads/2017/05/Vilakazi-Str-065-1024x681.jpg" alt="" width="1024" height="681" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Vilakazi-Str-065.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Vilakazi-Str-065-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Vilakazi-Str-065-600x399.jpg 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Vilakazi-Str-065-768x511.jpg 768w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" />
I walk again for three minutes, and stop, as I see a gentleman with a snake around his neck. I step closer to make sure I am not imagining things.
It is a snake, a real one, a Red Tail Boa. After introducing myself to the gentleman, he directs me to the house to meet his mother, Lindiwe Mngomezulu.
Her business is offering tourists the Soweto Live Snakes Show. The inspiration for it came when she joined a snake club in Edenvale, east of Johannesburg, South Africa.
Her daughter, Lwandle, had forced her mother to part with R5 to see snakes at the Soweto Arts Festival. Curious, Mngomezulu asked how they could join the club. They were told to visit on Saturdays.
“Love. I wouldn’t have them [the snakes] without love. But the business started when my daughter was seven years old, when she first held a snake. As a mother, I gave her support; wherever she wanted to go where there was snakes, I took her, only to find that I have an interest too,” says Mngomezulu.
I am speaking to Mngomezulu in her living room, which is almost like a mini-zoo – to my right is a monkey, behind me, a parrot, and next to her, a hedgehog. I am a little uneasy knowing there are pythons in the next room, which was once one of the bedrooms in the small home.
The mother and daughter started volunteering at the snake club cleaning the enclosures of 300 reptiles including crocodiles; shortly after, by 2009, they were bringing snakes to the township for snake shows, so it could generate revenue for them. At first, business wasn’t good because they didn’t know how to charge, but worst of all, the community was not in agreement with the idea of snakes in their township as they thought the mother-daughter duo were practicing witchcraft.
“The entrance fee was R5, we didn’t know what we were doing, and people were scared,” says Mngomezulu.
Not long after, Mngomezulu bought her daughter her first pet, a Corn snake, and called it Pikinini because it was small. But the fact remained; they were not making money and had to return the borrowed snakes to the club.
That was when Mngomezulu decided to buy her own snakes to start her own mini snake park. After the Corn snake, it was twin pythons and a boa.
During the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, Mngomezulu went back to the club and borrowed snakes for a show in Soweto, the day of the final game, which drew visitors from all over the world. This time, she made wads of cash, enough to share with the club.
Sadly, in 2013, three of Mngomezulu’s snakes died because of pneumonia. Her four-roomed house in Vilakazi Street wasn’t warm enough for the snakes.
Today, thankfully, business is okay, and Mngomezulu can more than afford a loaf of bread. She is now extending her house to accommodate more snakes and tourists. The entrance fee is worth it. People come in to touch the snakes and pose with them for photos.
“Our show is not just a show, it’s an educational show, we educate you about the snakes we have, because I take care of them, we grow them, train them. They are used to cameras, noise and people,” says Mngomezulu.
Not only does she make money on Vilakazi Street, she also has her snakes starring in films and the small screen, namely a South African TV show shot in 2015 titled Ngempela.
Although her show also includes her other pets: a monkey, parrot, bearded dragon lizard, hedgehog and a yellow anaconda, Mngomezulu says the fear of snakes can drive people away.
“When one stands at the gate and fears going in, others get scared too,” she says. The tour guides are also an issue; they don’t spend time at the Soweto Live Snakes Show which affects her business.
I don’t get to watch the show, so I move on to the house next door, a space selling art.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone wp-image-32130 size-large" src="http://www.forbesafrica.com/app/uploads/2017/05/Vilakazi-045-1024x681.jpg" alt="" width="1024" height="681" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Vilakazi-045.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Vilakazi-045-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Vilakazi-045-600x399.jpg 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Vilakazi-045-768x511.jpg 768w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" />
Thamaga Montjane is CEO of JHTCE (Joining Hands To Create Employment). He says the challenges he faces are people going only to one end of Vilakazi Street and not going further up – to this spot where his shop is.
I can relate to it. As I was walking towards Mandela House, I could see more action – more cars, more color, more tourists thronging the stalls there – than here, by Montjane’s shop.
I speak to one of the vendors a few feet from Mandela House. Bongane Ngcobo sells t-shirts, caps and African art. An entrepreneur in his own right, he says he makes about R4,000 ($282) on a good day and about R200 ($14) when it’s not so good.
As I stroll further down, the street is getting busier. I am drawn to a group of idling youngsters outside an art gallery named Shova Lifestyle Origin.
Thabo Modise, the owner here, started off selling t-shirts in the streets of Soweto; now he owns the gallery and the boutique next to it.
“It is a lifestyle boutique, where we have local fashion designers showing their work and we have a gallery for locals to do the same,” says Modise. He is an entrepreneurial success on Vilakazi Street.
The ambience of the street gets more vibrant as the afternoon progresses. I go across the road from the gallery, to Sakhumzi; a popular restaurant in Soweto, right next door to Tutu’s house. I step in to speak to a few tourists gulping down drinks and South African food.
“It feels awesome being here, we went to the Mandela museum and it was great, proper energy, real place,” says Tavis Wright, a tourist from England.
Lorenzo Grifantini, a tourist from Italy, says there is life and movement in the street and the people look happy.
Not too far from where I am seated at the restaurant, I spot more tourists savoring the local food.
“I didn’t expect a vibrant and classy restaurant like this here, I’m really surprised and I’m loving the food. I had tripe, it was very delicious,” says Adrian Seigs, also a tourist from Europe.
At the end of Vilakazi Street is Kwa Lichaba, a busy car wash corner on the opposite side.
Eventually, what was meant to be a 10-minute walk for me with my camera, turned out to be an hour-long expedition.
On the journey, I learned that the street boasts more South African tourists than foreigners and that hawkers could possibly make more money on a daily basis than a business with a counter, cash register, tables and a door.
As I look at the street again, I think of Benedict Wallet Vilakazi, the South African Zulu poet, author and linguist who died in 1947, and after who the street is named.
Little did he know that school children would be fighting for education on that street, that Winnie, the former ANC Women’s League president and ex-wife of Mandela, would be arrested on that very street, that Nobel accolades would arrive all the way from Sweden to this street in Soweto, or that today Vilakazi Street is more about preserving history – and making money off it.

Vilakazi-Str-043

Pythons And  Peacemakers Down Vilakazi Street

You may accuse Nhlanhla Nciza of having it all – friends, family and fame. Now, also add a booming business to the list.
Nciza, one half of Mafikizolo, a duo that has kept the world dancing to an authentic African sound for over 10 years now, is taking the fashion industry by storm, with her brand, NN Vintage, inspired by fashion from the 1940s to 1980s.
When we meet her, at her showroom in Northriding, a 20-minute drive from Sandton, Africa’s richest square mile, she is on cloud nine. She had just showcased her latest collection at the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week in Johannesburg. She impressed Africa, and is now flooded by orders.
“We have had such overwhelming response and I am pleased we are where we are,” says Nciza.
It didn’t come easy. When interviewed for a FORBES WOMAN AFRICA cover for women’s month in August almost three years ago, Nciza had lost about R600,000 ($41,000) in the business. NN Vintage was struggling.
“When I first started, I wanted to impress people. I would do clothes that I wouldn’t wear, designs that weren’t practical and I forgot the reason I got into this business in the first place,” she says.
It didn’t work. It was time for change.
“I remembered people were in love with the way I dressed. In 2014, I re-launched the company and the first thing I did was to do clothes people can wear to the office, can wear to functions and weddings and most importantly, things I would wear,” she says.
Staying true to herself meant celebrating Africa. This resuscitated the business.
“Because of the internet, the world is becoming smaller. People are falling in love with Africa again and rediscovering who we truly are and embracing that. Some people have explored everything else, Chinese culture, Spanish, European cultures and now it’s time for Africa. It is time for us to shine and be proud of it.”
She traveled the continent looking for fabric, and rediscovering it.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone wp-image-32125 size-large" src="http://www.forbesafrica.com/app/uploads/2017/05/Nhlanhla-053-681x1024.jpg" alt="" width="681" height="1024" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Nhlanhla-053.jpg 681w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Nhlanhla-053-300x451.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Nhlanhla-053-600x902.jpg 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Nhlanhla-053-200x300.jpg 200w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 681px) 100vw, 681px" />
“If people embrace themselves, they become successful. The Jamaican music sound took over in America because they embraced their authenticity. Instead of them copying America, America came to them and that’s what we should all strive for,” says Nciza.
Celebrities like Thembi Seete, Jessica Nkosi and Uyanda Mbuli have rocked Nciza’s designs. This makes it possible for NN Vintage to employ eight people.
Despite the success, there is still a bit of struggle. She says there isn’t enough support from locals and it’s hard to source African print as most of it is made in China.
“People see something foreign as better than what we produce in Africa which is far from the truth. We need to change mind-sets so our people can support us as much as they support foreign brands. They shouldn’t ask why a Dolce&amp;Gabbana is the same price as an NN Vintage or David Tlale.”
Fashion is not the only place Nciza wants to dominate. She has also launched Home Based Records, a record label that has been her dream for years.
“Since I started music, I have always wanted to be one of the first women to own a record label. When I started my career, there were no women record label owners and I wanted it to be a message to young women that you can do anything you want, there is nothing meant for men alone.”
Worlds from her music genre, Nciza’s first artist signed to the label is M Thulz, a commercial hip hop up-and-coming star who recently released Emigodini, a single making the rounds on radio stations.
“Even though Mafikizolo was signed by a big record label, it took us four albums to break well into the market. I know everything takes time. I don’t think just because I am Nhlanhla from Mafikizolo everything will just come easy,” she says.
Hundreds of South Africans are already in-boxing her, asking to sign up with her label.
“It breaks my heart because I know what it feels like to be passionate about something and it doesn’t happen. I know what that does to a person. I don’t just turn them away but I advise them to keep going.”
Home Based Records employs four people and is looking to grow. But Nciza isn’t stopping there either. She is launching an accessories collection in 2017; Mafikizolo is releasing an album and recording its first live DVD.
It’s hard to balance it all. She has had to miss out on important things like her child’s first step while touring in Uganda.
With Mafikizolo Entertainment, which employs 13 people, they have made some tough decisions.
“We have decided not to say yes to everything so that we can be with our family. Mostly in January and February we don’t take bookings unless it’s something really important. I take strength in knowing I am not the first woman to go through this, many have worked and raised children and so can I,” says Nciza.
Nciza is determined to keep going. As we leave, she shows us framed FORBES WOMAN AFRICA covers hanging on her boardroom wall.
“I was the first in South Africa in the entertainment side to be on the cover of the magazine and that’s big. It’s one of the biggest highlights in my life next to meeting and performing for Nelson Mandela. Who would have thought that a girl like me from Kagiso and from the farms of North West can be on the cover of such a magazine?” she says, as we leave her preparing for yet another meeting.
Friends. Family. Fame. FORBES WOMAN AFRICA. It’s an enviable list indeed.

NN Vintage

Songs And Skirts For Africa

Amidst a flurry of designer gowns and sexy stilettoes, the Lagos Fashion &amp; Design Week (LFDW) is off to a ritzy start at the Federal Palace Hotel in Victoria Island, Nigeria. As is expected, it’s big on style and selfies.
Seated in the front row for the Ejiro Amos Tafiri show, high-profile personalities and celebrities sipping champagne from long-stemmed glasses soak up the glitz and glamor of an event that celebrates African fashion.
This year, 42 designers hit the runway to showcase their interpretation of what is new and chic in African fashion, and as the runway transforms itself in bright colors juxtaposed with velvet material and sheer fabric, personal shopper and fashion buyer, Mohammed Dohan, is right where he needs to be – in the front row.
“I have been coming to this event each year since it started in 2011 and the quality of designers and the types of African brands has improved dramatically. There is a great demand for authentic African pieces all over the world,” says Dohan.
Working for high-net-worth individuals and luxury boutiques in the United Arab Emirates, Dohan knows a thing or two about the latest fashion trends and LFDW is an inspirational hotspot for him.
Like Dohan, everybody is here for a piece of the growing garments industry in Africa, and no one knows this better than the founder of LFDW, Omoyemi Akerele.
“Currently, the value of garments, apparel and leather in sub-Saharan Africa has been tapped at $30 billion by Euromonitor, so the market is huge and if Nigeria is the single-largest market in Africa due to the sheer size of the population, then we are sitting on a gold mine,” says Akerele.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone wp-image-32119 size-full" src="http://www.forbesafrica.com/app/uploads/2016/12/IMG_6116.jpg" alt="" width="550" height="800" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/IMG_6116.jpg 550w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/IMG_6116-300x436.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/IMG_6116-206x300.jpg 206w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 550px) 100vw, 550px" />
“We realized that there was no fashion industry when we started and decided that there has got to be a semblance of an industry. Number two, we have talent in Nigeria, but there is no commerce backing that talent, so we had to get to a place where we asked ‘what do you want to do first? Do you want to focus on the commerce or do you want to focus on the creativity?’ Creativity seemed like a good place to start, hence fashion week.”
With a degree in Law from the University of Lagos and a master’s in International Economic Law from the University of Warwick in England, Akerele knew from an early age that she was going to follow her father’s footsteps in the legal profession.
“Law was firmly what I had my heart set on until the day I stopped. Initially I thought it was because I didn’t want to work in that particular law firm. I thought I was going to get married and go back to law with a different organization but it took being at home for me to realize I did not want that. I asked myself ‘why are you going back to something you don’t love’,” recalls Akerele.
She knew it was time to make a change.
“For you to have a career and thrive in it, it has to be something you love and that is what pushes you and makes you go beyond the extra mile to be able to give it your best. So that is what I realized was missing from my career as a lawyer.”
She began her new career as an image consultant and fashion stylist. Her first role was as contributing stylist for Truelove, however a partnership with a friend ignited her passion for the creative arts.
Her friend at the time, Bola Balogun, moved back to Nigeria, so they met and started a company together called Exclusive Styling, moving on to do styling jobs in Nigeria from Big Brother Africa to MTN Project Fame and Idols.
Soon, she was at a point where she needed to go back to the drawing board again.“I thought going back to school would do the trick, I thought doing a master’s in fashion would be the next phase so I went to three different schools which were the best in Europe and they asked for my portfolio and they asked me ‘why do you want to do a master’s, do you mean you want to teach’? They said your portfolio looks really good so half of the things we will be teaching you, you have already done in practice so this course is not for you,” says Akerele.
After some soul-searching, Akerele had her moment of clarity.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone wp-image-32118 size-full" src="http://www.forbesafrica.com/app/uploads/2016/12/IMG_5880.jpg" alt="" width="533" height="799" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/IMG_5880.jpg 533w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/IMG_5880-300x450.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/IMG_5880-200x300.jpg 200w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 533px) 100vw, 533px" />
“The problem was not to learn a bit more about creativity. The problem is about the environment we are in and how do I contribute to creating or being a part of things that can create change and sort of expand the industry a little bit. And that is how Style House came into it. I realized at the time that one of the problems we had as designers was getting access to clothes.”
With greater accessibility, a deeper understanding of how creativity can turn into commerce became a focus for Akerele and her new company, Style House.
Soon, her creative platform, LFDW was born. Conceived in 2008, Akerele also set up avenues for master classes, capacity building and skills development that could take young designers from where they were to a completely different level.
“Collaboration became our most powerful ally. How do we collaborate with people within Nigeria, how do we collaborate with people outside Nigeria and corporate organizations too to help bring this vision to life because it is very expensive,” says Akerele.
In just five years, the organization has grown to be the leading fashion event in Nigeria and for Akerele, the focus is not only about providing an access to market platforms for young and emerging entrepreneurs but more importantly driving the conversation and key issues that affect fashion in Nigeria and Africa as a whole.

Omoyemi2-Photo-Credit-Lakin-Ogunbanwo

Haute And Happening

They are new, blue and as powerful as eight Ferraris; these are the 232 train engines to be built by Rolls-Royce’s MTU South Africa (MTU SA) ready to roll out of Cape Town in South Africa and onto Africa’s railways.
“There are 7.2 billion people in the world, just in Africa, in 2010, we had estimates of 1 billion. By 2040, it will be double. By 2030, we will already need 50% more energy, 40% more water and 30% more food. How will you transport all that? We’re going to see mega cities especially in Asia and Africa. We need power and we need fuel efficiency and this is where rail comes in.”
So says Andrea Nono, CEO of MTU SA, at their refurbished offices in Montague Gardens, Cape Town. Here, MTU SA forked out R50 million ($3.53 million) to upgrade their factory to lay the foundation for expansion into Africa; their next big target.
“The message is simple and clear. We are changing Africa and hope to make a positive difference. It is a big moment for local manufacturing in South Africa. Let’s not forget the successes and the success stories. It is huge that an international company has been localized.”
It means MTU SA can now assemble, test and paint engines destined for anything from warships to mine trucks. The 232 engines are destined for Durban and run at a powerful 3,300kW and weigh 9.7 tonnes. This makes them lighter and cheaper than the Ferraris, jokes Nono.
<div id="attachment_32116" style="width: 1034px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-32116" class="wp-image-32116 size-large" src="http://www.forbesafrica.com/app/uploads/2017/05/MTU_JC-8-1024x683.jpg" alt="" width="1024" height="683" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/MTU_JC-8.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/MTU_JC-8-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/MTU_JC-8-600x400.jpg 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/MTU_JC-8-768x512.jpg 768w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" />Andrea Nono and a completed engine</div>
The engines come straight out of a £1.2billion investment into research and development made by Rolls-Royce in 2015, a business worth £76.4 billion.
One of those working on the engines is Pamela Tebogo Maphanga, a technician at MTU SA.
Maphanga, remarkably, grew up in Zebediela, a small rural area in Limpopo, without any electricity at all.
“I was very young. The fact that you could switch on a stove, it was something so amazing. There was no electricity, so we used to go into the field, get wood, make fire and then cook and cook. I had to fetch water because there were no taps,” she says.
“Everyone at my house, my mom, my aunties they are all nurses. I said no I wasn’t going to be a nurse. It has to stop somewhere.”
The 30-year-old Maphanga, started here as an apprentice and worked her way up. She is now an electrical technician as well as dyno tester, responsible for testing the fleet.
“It makes a huge noise when the engine is running. No one is allowed to go in.”
Maphanga also knows too well South Africa’s overburdened train system having had to take them while studying at college in Pretoria.
“The fun of running for a train, that excitement, always when you go home you run for the train going back after college you have to run for the train. I know them very well. The trucks [transporting goods that should be on trains] mess up our roads, they are too heavy for them.”
In 10 years’ time, Maphanga sees herself as a manager and wants to make a change.
“We need more women. I’ve proved that it can be done. April is going to be my fifth year being at MTU. There’s been a couple of challenges, that I’ve overcome. But I am here now and proud to be part of this male-dominated workplace. I am showing them how to do it. Especially since now I am a technician. I’ve grown, I used to be this shy little girl, now I’ve grown up and even have my own small project that I am working on,” says Maphanga.
These days, Maphanga doesn’t even notice the smell of diesel and grease on her overalls, even though the people she comes across when walking home from work do.
“It gets so normal it’s part of the daily bread. There are women and men stopping me on the side of the street asking where I work. They ask me how did I get here. They’ve got their own daughters who want to go to college and get here. To be like me.
“When I [started], everything was hard. Everything was too big for me, everything was too difficult for me, but I fought and fought. I asked questions when I didn’t understand and I learned.”
On this day, Maphanga’s story leaves as large an impression as the massive white engine, still to be painted in the fashion forward MTU blue, she stands behind. Like Maphanga, the boss Nono, also started working as an apprentice.
“I’ve been in this industry for almost 20 years. I grew up in it. For me personally, it’s great to actually have the impact as CEO having the liberty and pushing the diversity agenda even more in the business. The means also giving women the chance to shine in this industry even more,” says Nono.
MTU SA estimates there are 120,000 industrial engines in Africa alone, leaving plenty of work for the factory once the rail engines are complete.
Two women whose lives have changed thanks to engines that are more powerful than Ferraris and will certainly carry more goods than can fit into their boots.

MTU_JC-1

The Smell Of Diesel,  Grease And Success

You are an established Hollywood actress now – an Oscar winner for 12 Years a Slave, do you have any plans to start your own business, be it a production house or otherwise?
Well, I actually am producing a film, Americanah, by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and I am putting that hat on my head.
&nbsp;
<h3>And how is it going wearing two hats?</h3>
It is going well, it’s a learning curve for sure. But this is an industry I am very passionate about, I love storytelling. So I am just learning a new way to tell a story.
&nbsp;
The experience of being on the red carpet that night of the Oscars, what goes through your mind when they announce your name?
It was very confusing.
&nbsp;
<h3>In what sense does time stop?</h3>
It’s just I didn’t know if they had said my name or if I had said my name or my brother said my name, and you have no time to figure it out, you have to get up there and say something.
&nbsp;
And in terms of your process for a role, what do you do to embody the character, what is your method as it were?
Each role speaks for itself and you kind of design your preparation, depending on the kind of role. But it always starts with research about the world the character lives in.
&nbsp;
<h3>What kind of research did you do for Queen of Katwe?</h3>
Well, it was about learning as much as I can about these people. I was fortunately privileged enough to have the real Harriet – she is very much alive and kicking – and I sat with her and asked her to tell me about herself from her perspective and that was really cool, to ask her why she let Phiona go to Robert Katende’s chess academy and she was very practical, she said ‘he could give her a cup of porridge when I couldn’t’. So this is a woman who is very practical and principled as well and I felt very honoured to play because her dignity is one that doesn’t have a price tag on it.
&nbsp;
<h3>What is the experience of shooting in Uganda like?</h3>
It was incredible, to be on location shooting in the places where these things transpired, you are doing research as you walk and every day you are learning something new and deepening your understanding of your character and the world you live in. So for me, it was very fertile to be in Kampala, in Katwe, in its environments.
&nbsp;
<h3>As an African actress, you’ve now very much become an icon on this continent, do you feel it’s a big responsibility to shoulder and how do you feel to potentially mentor young girls to get where you’ve gotten to?</h3>
Well I don’t feel a responsibility at all, I feel like it’s my opportunity, it’s a conviction of my heart. I didn’t grow up seeing very many movies like Queen of Katwe, certainly not told by Disney so to have a chance to be that mirror this time feels very meaningful.
&nbsp;
<h3>Marvel’s Black Panther… what is your involvement there, are you are allowed to talk about it?</h3>
I am allowed to say who I am playing which is Nakia, and that’s about it.
&nbsp;
<h3>Is it a big studio film or…?</h3>
It’s Marvel… so it’s in the league of Captain America, Avengers and Iron Man… those kind of movies.
&nbsp;
<h3>Other than that, what are your future plans at this stage?</h3>
I am definitely looking forward to that, I have not shot that yet. So that is coming up shortly, and I think it’s going to be a lot of fun and totally new role for me and I will be producing Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s Americanah as well and I hope to do comedy sometime soon.
&nbsp;
<h3>In terms of influences, who are they, be it directors, actors or actresses?</h3>
Oh…I am very fortunate to work with people like J.J Abrams, Mira Nair, and Steve McQueen to name a few. I love Cate Blanchett, I love her work, I loved Elizabeth Taylor as well, Viola Davis is fierce, Sidney Poitier is incomparable, yeah, those are some of them…

Queen of Katwe Movie Premier in South Africa

‘I Hope To Do Comedy Sometime Soon’

Sprinting across the globe in her Chuck Taylor sneakers with her headphones on, 28-year-old Zim Ugochukwu is not what you would call travel-weary – she’s travel-wealthy.
As founder and CEO of Travel Noire, a digital publishing platform for travelers of color, her passport is a diary of her life, of her many immersions into cultures other than her own.
But before we dwell on what Ugochukwu actually does, it’s important to know what she has done before: she cloned a gene at the age of 19 as a biology major in college, helped open a civil rights museum, led an anti-tobacco drive in the United States (US), worked on the Barack Obama presidential campaign in 2008, and lived in a train in India for two weeks with 400 other young people traveling the length and breadth of the subcontinent.
Ugochukwu appeared on FORBES’ 30 Under 30 list in 2016 for “being at the forefront of what is being called the Black Travel Movement”; was named one of Glamour magazine’s Young Women Changing the World; and more recently, Travel Noire was named one of the Most Innovative Companies in the World by Fast Company.
Born in Mankato, Minnesota, to Nigerian immigrants, Ugochukwu is going the extra mile “using technology to empower people of color to lead more global lives”.
“Whenever I travel I kind of spend time getting lost and not necessarily having any plans, but letting serendipity kind of guide me,” says Ugochukwu.
She was in Cape Town, South Africa, in 2016, when she found she had made Oprah Winfrey’s SuperSoul 100 list and had 48 hours to get to Los Angeles to meet Winfrey and her team.
When FORBES WOMAN AFRICA e-meets her on FaceTime, for once, Ugochukwu is sitting still, at Filter Café, a coffee house near downtown Chicago; it’s just after 4PM on a Sunday in the Windy City where she is based.
<div id="attachment_32107" style="width: 610px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-32107" class="wp-image-32107 size-full" src="http://www.forbesafrica.com/app/uploads/2016/12/zim-oprah-in-L.A.jpg" alt="" width="600" height="439" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/zim-oprah-in-L.A.jpg 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/zim-oprah-in-L.A-300x220.jpg 300w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px" />Zim and Oprah Winfrey</div>
This mode of communication is quite fitting for Ugochukwu. Judging by the constant banter in the background, punctuated by the sounds of coffee dispensers and clinking cups, the café is packed.
Ugochukwu says she is still jet-lagged after a vacation in Thailand.
“I just wanted to kind of get away, I went with some friends, it was really fun,” says Ugochukwu, who was to return to Thailand to speak at a conference but couldn’t on account of a bout of food poisoning.
“The amount of stress that you can put on your body when you have to travel so much can be a lot, but this is the life that I asked for, if I wasn’t doing this, I don’t know what I would be doing.”
Her first international trip was at the age of 16, when her mother took her and her brother to visit Nigeria, their home country.
Her travels today have taken her to five continents, and she has paid rent in places like Greensboro, New Delhi, Dharamsala, Bengaluru and San Francisco. Chicago has been her home since mid-2016.
While in college, she was Vice President of national anti-tobacco organization, Forget Tobacco, which gave her the opportunity to travel across America. She also founded Ignite Greensboro, a campaign to raise awareness about the International Civil Rights Museum in Greensboro, North Carolina. She in turn galvanized thousands of students to help bring awareness of the museum. She deems this to be the cornerstone of her career.
Her love for science saw her majoring in biology at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. She cloned a gene “discovering a link between cells found in the digestive system of a tiny fruit fly and a rare genetic disorder whilst examining a region called the superior Cupric autonomic system or sCans”.
She further elaborates in a language few understand: “Within this region lies a cluster of neuron-like cells called lettuce head cells, they function as pacemaker cells controlling muscle contractions, in the gut. These cells express a number of genes found in nervous system tissue.” One of these genes, Cg16972, Ugochukwu claims, was founded by her.
Whilst she majored in biology, her minor subjects were political science and sociology and as part of her course requirements, she worked as an organizer for Obama’s campaign. While still in college, she says she was also the youngest appointed precinct judge for North Carolina’s Board of Elections.
“I was responsible for the conduct of the election in the precinct polling station, the backbone of the electoral process.”
Ugochukwu speaks Hindi, a language she picked up during her time living in India, an experience that changed her life. Right before finishing college in the US, she won the Henry Luce scholarship, and moved to India for a year.
During this time, she lived in the Jagriti Yatra train, an initiative promoting entrepreneurship, as she traveled across India with other youth and 50 international participants, stopping in a new Indian city every day to follow social entrepreneurs.
For the rest of that year, she worked helping connect young business owners with resources, doing work for various organizations, as well as helping farmers get grants. This experience allowed her to see at least 75% of India, and later led to her abiding love for Asia.
It was during her time in India she realized there weren’t many black tourists.
“If you picked up any magazine, you typically didn’t see people of color,” says Ugochukwu.
She wanted to change that, and create a space for black people to talk about their travel experiences and connect with others.
After returning to the US after her year in India, with limited funds and no career plans, yet, she moved to Southern California to live with her mother.
“Often parents have a different idea of what a fulfilling life should be. You are either a doctor, a lawyer, an engineer or a failure.”
Her mother, a nurse, wanted Ugochukwu to become a doctor, and when she decided not to, didn’t understand it.
Soon, she packed up and headed to San Francisco with $300 to live with her “fairy godmother”, who opened the doors of her home, free of charge.
Ugochukwu worked as producer for the Digital Health Summit, discovering ways technology can create change in developing countries. She launched Travel Noire while still working there in 2013 with only $50, enough to buy a domain. In June 2014, three days before her 26th birthday, Ugochukwu was fired from her job as her heart was not in it anymore; up until this time, she had run Travel Noire on a part-time basis.
With no job, Travel Noire became her main focus and she took her $17,000 in savings and began to put her business blueprint into action. She spent 18 months building up the community before selling any product. Many people volunteered their time to build the brand that Travel Noire is today.
The company offers group travel experiences to young people of color who hail from different walks of life, to explore various international destinations together. It has over 50 on-the-ground partners and offers travel experiences in different time zones.
“It could’ve been so easy for us to get a brown stone office in New York City, but I wanted people to have the flexibility, to work wherever they felt the most happy; we can live and work just about  anywhere in the world where there is a Wi-Fi connection,” says Ugochukwu.
Today, Travel Noire has a strong social media presence; with an audience of over 300,000 on Instagram alone. Her mother has since become a proud supporter of Travel Noire.
Her advice for budding entrepreneurs? She warns it’s not all as rosy as it may appear and that behind the glamor, are long 14-hour days, and times when there is not enough money, especially in the beginning.
“You need to be willing to put everything on the line and be comfortable with the possibility of not having enough money for rent at times,” says Ugochukwu.
“I didn’t ever think that [my business] would be this big, but people told me that I had to think bigger.”
Clearly, the world is not enough for this millennial.

unnamed-2

Obama,  Oprah And The World On Her CV

When Marguerite Barankitse heard that she had won a prestigious humanitarian award earlier this year, she thought it was a joke. Several months later, sharing the stage with other humanitarians and dignitaries at the Social Good Summit in New York, the 59-year-old Burundian still seems perplexed by all the attention.
“Of course I’m happy to have won a prize but there is nothing special about me,” she told FORBES WOMAN AFRICA on the sidelines of the summit.
“Our mission in life is to show love and compassion. It’s a duty; it’s an obligation,” she said.
For decades, Barankitse has worked to bridge ethnic divides, devoting her life to saving thousands of children caught up in Burundi’s brutal civil war. Her brave, tireless work was finally recognized in April 2016, when she won the Aurora Prize for Awakening Humanity. The Aurora Humanitarian Initiative, an organization inspired by the courage and resilience shown by many people during the genocide that led to the death of 1.5 million Armenians a century ago, bestowed the award.
Barankitse, a Tutsi, was a young woman when she adopted her first child, a Hutu.
“She was a Protestant, I was Catholic. She came from the south, I came from the east,” she said. Barankitse then adopted six more children – four Hutus and three Tutsis.
“I wanted to show people that it is possible for Tutsi and Hutu to be together.”
When war came to Burundi in 1993, Barankitse’s extended family was killed.
Barankitse, who trained as a teacher, wanted to flee with her children to Tanzania but was told that she could bring only her Hutu children as hiding the Tutsi children would be too difficult.
“I said you will never separate me from my children. My dream was to show that we could all live together. I would prefer to die than be separated from my children,” she said.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone wp-image-32102 size-large" src="http://www.forbesafrica.com/app/uploads/2017/05/DSC00473-1024x683.jpg" alt="" width="1024" height="683" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/DSC00473.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/DSC00473-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/DSC00473-600x400.jpg 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/DSC00473-768x512.jpg 768w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" />
Barankitse sought safety in the Catholic Diocese where she worked. She tried to save many who were being targeted in reprisal killings and sheltered 72 of them on the same premises.
When the soldiers came, Barankitse pleaded for their lives. “I told them, ‘There are no killers here. They are your brothers’.”
Barankitse ultimately managed to save the lives of many children, even rescuing an injured baby from the back of his dead mother. That baby is now a young adult with a promising future, like many of the others she has rescued and mentored.
In 1993, Barankitse formed a children’s shelter called Maison Shalom, meaning ‘House of Peace’, to give safety to all the Burundi children orphaned by war, regardless of their ethnicity. She also helped unite those who were separated from their families during the 12-year civil war that claimed close to 300,000 lives. Her organization expanded to include schools, hospitals and other resources for rescued children, many whose parents died of AIDS. More than 20,000 children have been given the chance of a new life thanks to her efforts.
Presenting her with the prize in Yerevan, Armenia, earlier this year, Aurora Prize Selection Committee Co-Chair George Clooney said Barankitse was a “reminder of the impact that one person can have when encountering seemingly insurmountable persecution and justice”.
Clooney said he hoped that she would inspire everyone to “stand up on behalf of those whose rights are abused and are in most need of our solidarity and support”.
A proud, elegant woman in brightly-colored traditional dress, Barankitse speaks her mind and laughs a lot. She seems unmoved by the sparkle of celebrity and status swirling around the Social Good Summit, where glamorous stars rub shoulders with humanitarians and VIPs.
In her view, all people are equal and all have a responsibility to help one another. Throughout her life, Barankitse says, she has sought to break down divisions between people and celebrate what unites them. Although she has an unwavering faith in humanity, she also has an equally strong sense of what is wrong with the world. Conflict, she believes, is fueled by poverty and ignorance.
Her outspoken views against war and ethnic division have earned her some enemies at home. When Burundi’s President Pierre Nkurunziza ran for a third term last year, tilting the country towards instability again, Barankitse was threatened with death.
She was forced to flee to neighboring Rwanda last year, where she now lives as a refugee herself, estranged from her home country. She devotes her energies to refugees in the Mahama camp near the border. A branch of Maison Shalom has also been opened in Rwanda to help Burundian refugees as well as local people in need.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone wp-image-32103 size-large" src="http://www.forbesafrica.com/app/uploads/2017/05/DSCF6390-1024x683.jpg" alt="" width="1024" height="683" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/DSCF6390.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/DSCF6390-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/DSCF6390-600x400.jpg 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/DSCF6390-768x512.jpg 768w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" />
Undeterred by exile, Barankitse continues to say what she thinks. She recently spoke out against Burundi’s intention, along with South Africa and Gambia, to leave the International Criminal Court.  She is cynical too about the corrupting influence of wealth.
“When I see African ministers sipping champagne in business class as they journey to attend conferences on poverty I say to them, ‘If you want to eradicate poverty, why not start off by traveling in economy’?”, she chuckles. Her prize money gives her $100,000 to spend as she wishes and $1 million to award to other initiatives. She has selected three organizations that help child refugees and orphans and that strive to combat poverty.
Although she herself is now a refugee, she has managed to create a home where all are welcome. She recounts how she recently served dinner to a visiting diplomat. Also seated around the same table were the mentally-ill former prostitute and the ex-child soldiers she has taken in.
It is this ability to see the humanity in everyone and her eschewing of wealth and status that has earned her the praise of Pope Francis. At an event in October in Sweden, the Pope applauded her for her work and for spreading the word of peace, even while she lives in exile. Thanks to her efforts, he said, “Thousands of children can study, grow and enjoy good health.”

Tag: December 2016

FORBES AFRICA SOCIAL MEDIA

A New Voice For A New Africa

To Mars On A One-Way Ticket

Africa On A Bib

A Sibling Of Africa

Cricket: Rwanda’s New Unifying Force

Burgers On Wheels And Hungry For Success

Clothes Encounters In Kigali

The Goddess Of Groove

Pythons And Peacemakers Down Vilakazi Street

Songs And Skirts For Africa

Haute And Happening

The Smell Of Diesel, Grease And Success

‘I Hope To Do Comedy Sometime Soon’

Obama, Oprah And The World On Her CV

‘Compassion Is A Duty’