Nigeria’s advertising and media market is on the cusp of growth. Newly-affluent consumers, new products and communication channels abound but navigating them with a clear marketing and media strategy remains a major challenge. Two things that are not lacking though are enthusiasm and innovation within the Nigerian creative industry and it’s this nascent market that is the core of Dentsu Aegis’s long-term growth strategy.
Dentsu Aegis is a media agency that builds a communication channel between brands and the people who consume their products and services.
And the woman who is driving the company’s foray into the Nigerian market is Dawn Rowlands.
Rowlands took control of the group in 2010 as Chief Executive Officer and increased revenue and staff at the company by 200% within two years. Her key focus now is expanding the group’s reach into Africa with a focus on West Africa’s largest economy.
“The kind of opportunities offered to young creative people by markets like Nigeria is phenomenal,” says Rowlands.
“The South African market is not moving fast enough and consumers here are completely desensitized to the conversations that brands want to have with them. In Nigeria, the market is completely fresh. When banks cold call consumers in Nigeria, they actually want to hear what they have to say. The level of innovation that allows is great!
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“There is still a lot of work to be done in getting the quality of communication and content and that is a result of a lack of global exposure and competition. We can get in there and make a big difference,” she adds.
Rowlands’ career was built on pioneering new markets and what she calls “a relentless pursuit” of what she believed is right.
Born in South Africa’s capital Pretoria, Rowlands considered pursuing journalism as a career but was dissuaded by the lack of press freedom in South Africa in the early to mid-1980s. She pursued advertising instead and attended the AAA school of advertising and entered the industry as a creative.
“The industry was a great deal more fun than it is now. People spent more time on building relationships and we had more fun,” she says.
Rowlands’ first job was as a media assistant at a small agency after which she spent two years at media agency Bates Wells before moving on to its larger competitor Ogilvy &amp; Mather in 1991. Her goal was to become a media director by age 26 – a position traditionally occupied by middle-aged men in the early 1990s. True to type, Rowlands became the youngest female media director at Ogilvy.
“I am one of those people that when someone tells you can’t do something, I stick to my guns,” she says, crediting Yvonne Johnston, former International Marketing Council of South Africa and Ogilvy &amp; Mather Group Media Director as her mentor at the company.
Rowlands went independent three years later by founding the first strategy-only agency in South Africa with partners Peter Vogel and Jim Taylor.
“When you pioneer something, it’s hard for people to see your vision. And that’s ok. Having the conviction to go on is the most important,” she says.
The business went on to flourish and was sold to the Tempus Group in 1999 with Rowlands staying on in the company until 2002. She went on to found an agency operating the outdoor advertising space, which at that stage was a largely disorganized market capturing just 3% of total media spend. The business was sold to Aegis, ultimately leading Rowlands to her current position. She says that the agency has allowed her to exercise her entrepreneurial ambitions.
“As an entrepreneur, you want to work with like-minded people and Aegis is very entrepreneurially wired.”
Rowlands was named Business Woman of the Year in 2012 by the Businesswomen’s Association of South Africa; she received a global STEVIE award for Women in Business in 2012 and has served as a judge at Cannes Lions and the Cristal Media Festival Awards.
She lives in Cape Town and is a mother to two teenagers and has been married 16 years.
“My life is my work and my family. I have no hobbies and no time for myself.  My family and my work are everything to me,” she says.

Dawn-Rowlands-standing

‘I Stick To My Guns’

On a warm Johannesburg afternoon, in stoops the millionaire African author who wears his eminence, as well as his shoes, lightly. The laces on his shoes are undone as he walks in with his fourth wife Mokhiniso Rakhimova, 39 years his junior, at his side.
This is Wilbur Smith, one of the world’s best known novelists, who writes about Africa’s elephants, poachers, soldiers, mercenaries and leaders. He says the most treasured advice he got from his publisher was “write only about those things that you know well” and since then he has been writing about Africa where he was born and bred.
Readers have devoured his 38 books in aeroplanes, hotel rooms and trains, from New York to London. He has sold more than 120 million copies; that is the equivalent of eight copies each for every man, woman and child in the country of his birth – Zambia. Half a century of prolific writing, but it could have been one of the shortest stories told.
<div id="attachment_4464" style="width: 222px" class="wp-caption alignleft"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-4464" class="size-medium wp-image-4464" src="/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/GettyImages-80747058-212x300.jpg" alt="" width="212" height="300" />Literature, Personalities, pic: February 1964, Rhodesian born author Wilbur Smith pictured with his first book &#8220;When The Lion Feeds&#8221; (Photo by Bentley Archive/Popperfoto/Getty Images)</div>
In his first few months of life in Zambia, where he was born to his metalworker father, in Kabwe in Zambia’s copper belt, the doctor told his parents that the small child would be better off dead. Smith was diagnosed with cerebral malaria. The doctor warned that if the child survived he would be brain damaged.
Smith made a miraculous recovery to be a prolific novelist. He married four times and divorced twice. The third wife died from brain cancer in 1999.
His stepson from a previous marriage dragged him to court for his assets and they’ve been foes ever since. Even worse, three of his own children have abandoned him after quarrels.
His novels are divided into three series: The Courtney; The Ballantyne and The Ancient Egypt.
The 84-year-old Smith returned to his Ancient Egypt series with his new novel, Pharaoh, transporting you to a time of threat, blood and glory.
Smith’s breakthrough was 54 years ago, after the success of his first book, When the Lion Feeds, which saw him receive a film contract. But it was banned in apartheid South Africa on the grounds of ‘obscenity’ for mixed-race relationships and blasphemy.
Smith was schooled in Michaelhouse, in the South African province of KwaZulu-Natal, where he started the school’s newspaper.
In 1954, he graduated with a Bachelor of Commerce from Rhodes University before working for his father’s cattle ranch as a chartered accountant. But his real love was reading and writing books.
He credits his mother for reading him bedtime stories every night.
“Before I could read she taught me to revere books and the written word. Through her influence I became a reader at a precociously young age. I started with ‘Biggles’ and ‘Just William’. Pretty soon I moved on to the novels of C.S. Forester, Rider Haggard and John Buchan. From then onwards I always had a well-thumbed book in my pocket,” he says in his biography.
His father, as well as the mosquitos, was against him being an author.
“He felt that my obsession with books was unnatural and unhealthy. I was forced to become a secret reader. I spent so much time in the outhouse long-drop latrine, where I kept a cache of my favorite books, that my father ordered my mother to administer regular and copious doses of castor oil.”
Pharaoh is part of a six-book deal, worth £15 million ($18.6 million), signed in 2012. Unusually, they will all be written with the help of co-authors.

The Multi-Million-Dollar Author Who Defied Death

In August, 10,500 athletes from 206 countries will be at the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. The Brazilian city will play host to 42 sporting events, including the recently added golf and rugby sevens. Over the past four years I have been preparing for my swimming events. This equates to about 4,500 hours for a one to two-minute race. The Olympics is the biggest sporting event on the planet and hopeful Olympians around the world are in their final leg of preparations.
At this stage, athletes should have their foundations built and be fine tuning their training. There would have been large inconsistencies in previous years because of the many adaptations being made to find the big improvements. These last months should see more consistency as smaller, more refined, changes are made as coaches try and squeeze out every possible improvement in their athletes. As the consistency develops, so too does a strong and stable mind – a strength every Olympian is going to need. Persistent repetition in training will help create this consistency as well as build trust in themselves, which the athlete will need to prevent ‘choking’ – the word used to describe an increase in nerves, self-doubt and negative thinking. To get to this Olympic level there should be zero negativity in the mind of the athlete, coach or any other people surrounding the athlete. This is the responsibility of the athlete and the biblical story of Nehemiah highlights how important this is.
Nehemiah was a cup-bearer to King Artaxerxes. At a time when there were constant fears of plotting and intrigue, serving drinks at the royal table was an esteemed position because of the trust the king places on that person. When Nehemiah learned that the walls of Jerusalem needed rebuilding he asked the king for permission to repair the wall. Nehemiah made it his responsibility. He knew he couldn’t do it alone so he recruited reliable people who shared in the same vision as him. When others found out that they were going to rebuild the walls, Nehemiah and his team were mocked and ridiculed. When their enemies saw that these walls were being built, they set out to attack and destroy their work. However, the people Nehemiah had surrounded himself with prevented these attacks, which meant the walls continued to be built with little interruption.
Nehemiah trusted the people he surrounded himself with and refused to spend time on any issues that deviated from his goal. As important as it was to finish the wall, and as successful as Nehemiah became in doing so, he never undermined his values or integrity. Athletes are constantly faced with pressure from media, coaches, parents, friends as well as their own expectations. I have always surrounded myself by reliable and honest people, but with the Olympics drawing closer many athletes may feel they need to do ‘whatever it takes’ to win, even if that means doping or cheating. As important as winning is, a true athlete’s fundamental principle is to see how far their body can be pushed without cheating – this is the essence of being an Olympian.
Qualifying for the Olympics is a major milestone and the athlete gets to perform at the highest level in their sport. Too many athletes think that when the closing ceremony is performed and the final curtain is drawn their work is complete. But, just as Nehemiah used his success and experience from rebuilding the wall to continue benefiting the people of Jerusalem, it is also our responsibility to share our success and experience with others so they will become stronger and continue the cycle of promoting a better future for others.

How To Keep Your Head Above Water  Without Being a dope

Failure is a word that apparently means different things to different people. Most entrepreneurs have experienced failure at some point in their lives; it is the successful ones that have the resilience required to bounce back.
There are two amazing stories of resilience that come to my mind. The first is a story of Tim Westergren, the founder of Pandora Radio in California. Pandora was started with an initial cash injection of $2 million in 2000, but it went bankrupt in 2001.
Incredibly, the 50 employees at Pandora stayed with the radio station, after Westergren asked them to continue without a salary. For two years, Westergren met 347 prospective investors who did not support him.
A ray of light eventually shone on Westergren as he presented his business to the 348th potential investor who gave him $4 million. It was not the business model that caught the interest of the funder, but resilience and ability to convince people to commit to an idea without financial rewards. Today, Pandora is prosperous and listed on the New York Stock Exchange with a hefty market capitalization.
The next resilient entrepreneur is someone most would be familiar with: Walt Disney. He was fired by the Kansas City Star newspaper editor because “he lacked imagination and had no good ideas”.
Disney formed his first animation company, Laugh-O-Gram Films, which did not succeed after an important distribution partner had to shut down.
He went bankrupt several times before he built Disneyland. Actually, the proposed park was rejected by the city of Anaheim on the grounds that it would only attract riffraff. The movies and the theme park in the United States are now hugely popular and profitable.
Failure can be either humiliating or a catalyst to set you on a path of improvement. It is well known that Silicon Valley embraces failure. In what is probably the most innovative part of the world, it is thought that in order to succeed quickly, you need to double your failure rate.
It couldn’t be further than the attitudes you can encounter in Africa. On our continent, when you fail, it is as if you are cursed and business associates desert you. This is the reason many African entrepreneurs go back to being employees instead of trying again. If failure is not embraced by those around you, simply change your outlook. Only your view of failure can determine your approach to it.
Africa needs to embrace those who tried and failed. They need to be given a second, third and fourth chance until they get it right. If they know they won’t be punished for trying, Africa’s pool of successful entrepreneurs will start to overflow.
Nelson Mandela once said, ‘It always seems impossible until it’s done’. We know that it can be done, because entrepreneurs have been bankrupt, only to return smarter and stronger.
There is one point, however, that is important to note. We need to be committed to building successful companies rather than being committed to an idea. Entrepreneurs can be blinded by their love of an idea, even if the market says otherwise.
If your goal is to succeed and change the world, you will move on to a business that works. It might mean that you have to change your business model, like American Express did when it switched from freight delivery to finance.
The failure of a company is not necessarily the failure of its founder, as they may succeed in something else. We need to stop confusing an experience with identity.
There is something about people who have repeatedly experienced failure. Once they get things right, their drive and vigilance make them remarkable. Steve Jobs, Arianna Huffington and Donald Trump are all examples of this.
An attitude of doing whatever it takes to be successful is crucial. Remember, barriers are only things you see when you take your eyes off your goal.

conquer the fear  of failure

It’s a typical Johannesburg day in the suburbs. People are walking their dogs and men sell feather dusters on the sides of the road. A big story here is when the garbage truck comes late. But knock on the door of number 26 Heathfield, Fairlands, and out comes a married couple fully clad in pink and bone armour and ready to battle dinosaurs or gigantic monsters should they threaten this fair land. On a scorching Johannesburg summer’s day, this was the meeting of Jeanine-Dee and Clint Hartog, a graphic designer and salesman, just two of the many devotees of cosplay.
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Cos What?
Cosplayers are the following who dress as their favorite characters from the ever-growing gaming, anime and comic book industry.
“If you think this is bad, try walking around the whole day at KinCon. Clint sweated so badly people were afraid to go near him by the end of the day,” says Jeanine-Dee.
Cosplay is an idea born in Japan, but took off in America at comic book conventions. The gaming characters rarely fail to turn heads.
“I think it’s becoming a character that you’re ideally a fan of. Mainly cosplayers go to conventions and it’s to connect with other fans that have the same love of games or an anime character. At the end of the day you are a cosplayer,” says the 27-year-old game fan Jeanine-Dee.
“It’s fun to be in the life of that character for that day,” says Clint.
The Hartogs are not your average married couple; their home is like entering a temple to the gods of gaming. Piles of DVDs ring the lounge. Boxes filled with colored materials reach the ceiling and a spare bed is littered with Pokémon plush toys. The crowning glory is the couple’s two TV sets, enshrined by PS3s and gaming gadgets.
“For me, it’s improved my confidence. I used to be very shy. It’s improved my creativity. It’s something that if you are interested in dressing up like Dr Who, then do it. You don’t know where it will end up,” says Jeanine-Dee.
Their custom outfits, made from 3mm to 10mm thick EVA foam, was painstakingly moulded into Helms, Plates, Gauntlets, Waists and Leggings as per the game. In Monster Hunter, ‘Kali’ and ‘Squall’, as they are known in the PSP game, are bounty hunters that take down the monsters to earn rewards.  The couple are such big fans of the game they even run their own guild, where they link with other fans on weekends for multiplayer game.
“You can make your outfit from scratch. Or you can buy your costume online or you can even get a seamstress to make your outfit for you. Creating this armor was like a puzzle. We dissected each armor piece and then worked from there. There are basic patterns like for a kimono or a jacket. But basically you have to go from there to make it suit your own character,” says Jeanine-Dee.
The armor took two solid months of breaking their backs on their lounge floor. It’s a common night for the pair to crawl into their bed with burnt fingers from their glue gun called Grimer, a goo-like Pokémon; covered in layers of paint; and their eyes square from playing games.
For the Hartogs, the blistered fingers and long nights sewing armor were all worth it. At the August KinCon convention, held in Edenvale, Johannesburg, Jeanine-Dee’s outfit won whilst Clint’s placed third in the gaming category.
“It’s nerve-wracking. Normally you have to do a two-minute skit. Basically you have to become the persona of your character; you have to show yourself as that character. When you enter you have to give a reference picture to the judges so that they can see where you are from and if you have the correct detail…Some rules only allow you to enter a cosplay outfit once. At another competition you would have to make a whole new one,” says Jeanine-Dee.
“A lot of guys struggle with their first time. We encourage people to just try it once, even if you just go as a casual cosplay. Just try it once and see if you like it. We look at our first cosplay pictures and we think to ourselves why did we wear that? It was so terrible. But we’ve grown our skills since then,” says Clint.
If nothing else, Jeanine-Dee and Clint are dedicated. They have been fans of cosplay for several years. The couple even went as far as taking a road trip to Port Elizabeth (PE), a 1,000 kilometer journey, for a convention. The drive down was an unusual affair as Jeanine spent most of the trip embroidering their outfits. When they emerged from the parking lot, their cosplays nearly blew away in the city’s notorious gusty wind, a hazard for any want-to-be cosplayer.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-medium wp-image-29878 alignleft" src="http://www.forbesafrica.com/app/uploads/2017/05/Hiccup-Toothless-how-to-train-your-dragon-9626221-1600-680-300x128.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="128" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Hiccup-Toothless-how-to-train-your-dragon-9626221-1600-680-300x128.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Hiccup-Toothless-how-to-train-your-dragon-9626221-1600-680-600x255.jpg 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Hiccup-Toothless-how-to-train-your-dragon-9626221-1600-680-768x326.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Hiccup-Toothless-how-to-train-your-dragon-9626221-1600-680-1024x435.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Hiccup-Toothless-how-to-train-your-dragon-9626221-1600-680.jpg 1023w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />
“We were the only ones from Jo’burg, so when people were asking us where we were from, we would start by saying ‘we’re from a game called…’and they would say ‘no no no, like where are you from in South Africa’ and we would say Jo’burg. They were really excited. We were the only guys who said we would go and we actually managed the distance,” says Clint.
“I suppose you could say we will go the distance for cosplay,” says Jeanine-Dee with a cheeky smile behind her Rathian Heart U armor.
In the meantime, the couple has lots of work to do. Plans for an outfit that will show in Cape Town in the first Saturday of May have already begun.
“Clint and I have done a lot of gaming characters this year. A lot of people say we are gaming cosplayers, so next year we are going to spice things up. It might mean a female Loki popping up,” says Jeanine-Dee.
Their neighbors will surely be on the lookout to catch a glimpse of the couple on their next adventure in the ever-safe suburb of Fairlands.
Growth of Gaming
rAge is a small drop in the ocean for the gaming industry that’s worth R2.4 billion in South Africa, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) South African entertainment and media outlook: 2014 – 2018. By 2018, it is expected to grow to R3.7 billion. Nerds worldwide are also making millions in eSports. Twenty million people tuned in through online streaming to watch The International  2014 finals of DotA 2, a strategy game where two five-man teams face off in a head to head to destroy the other’s base. The winners of the finals, Chinese team, “Newbee”, pocketed $5 million for first place, from a prize pool of roughly $10 million.
Expanding Audiences
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By far the largest cosplay event of the year is hosted by Legion Ink at the Really Awesome Gaming Expo (rAge) held in Johannesburg. There were 98 cosplay competitors at rAge in 2014, but well over 200 more were dressed up for the event according to Ray Whitcher, a Lecturer in Multimedia Design by day and Legion Ink Cosplay organizer by night.
“Cosplay is ever-expansive and constantly growing, with the hubs being Jo’burg and Cape Town. If you look at SA’s biggest Cosplay Group, Cosplay SA, they have 1, 485 members, but we’re quite sure there are more than that. Its growth over the past 10 years has skyrocketed. We used to see all of 10 people at most events, and the same people at that, but now there are hundreds in each city. I’d go so far as to say that a lot of conventions pull audiences because of cosplay. There’s something about the uniqueness, the expression and the exoticism within the hobby that has a constant pull on audiences.”
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-medium wp-image-29876 alignleft" src="http://www.forbesafrica.com/app/uploads/2017/05/221331-bleach___271___large_26-300x169.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="169" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/221331-bleach___271___large_26-300x169.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/221331-bleach___271___large_26-600x337.jpg 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/221331-bleach___271___large_26-768x432.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/221331-bleach___271___large_26-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/221331-bleach___271___large_26.jpg 1023w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />
“It’s also a way of celebrating a love of a character from pop culture, be it Star Lord from the recent Guardians of the Galaxy film, or Hatsune Miku from the Volcaloid music series instead of simply  consuming merchandise or YouTube videos. Then, of course, there’s the international proliferation of cosplay, with shows like Heroes of Cosplay bringing the hobby into mainstream entertainment.”
“Interestingly, not all of the demographic revolves around teens and those in their early 20’s – we’re seeing quite a large group of over 30 cosplayers joining in too, as well as pets, younger children and everyone in-between.”

jp01_1920a

’Cos We Play

Africa’s biggest economy boasts billion-dollar businesses, and thankfully, entrepreneurs who are doing everything in their power to ensure the money also goes to social impact, despite the gargantuan odds stacked against them.
Therefore, it is heartening and laudable to see entrepreneurs such as Ndidi Nwuneli. She is not just a restless trailblazer in Nigeria’s business world, but also a passionate advocate of sustainable development. A woman of diverse interests, she has a stellar track-record.
To promote entrepreneurship and leadership development, Nwuneli served as the Executive Director of the FATE Foundation, following a career as management consultant with McKinsey &amp; Company, working in their Chicago, New York and Johannesburg offices. She established LEAP Africa, a pioneering and leading non-profit leadership -focused organization in 2002, and NIA, a non-profit organization for female university students in 2003.
Nwuneli is the co-founder at Sahel Capital, a private equity and advisory firm focusing on the West African agribusiness sector. Nwuneli is also Co-Founder of AACE Food Processing &amp; Distribution, an indigenous, agro-processing company, and serves on numerous international and local boards. Through her work on the respective platforms, Nwuneli has driven cross-sectoral development in Nigeria.
“The vision for LEAP Africa was  based on the conviction that Africa desperately needed a new generation of visionary, ethical, creative and disciplined servant leaders and that a small group of people who shared the same vision could work together to change their communities, countries and indeed the continent,” says Nwuneli.
LEAP Africa has worked across 26 states in Nigeria, leadership training and entrepreneurship coaching at the core of its mission.
“The vision for LEAP Africa was based on the conviction that Africa desperately needed a new generation of visionary, ethical, creative and disciplined servant leaders and that a small group of people who shared the same vision could work together to change their communities, countries and indeed the Africa. Our youth beneficiaries have launched over 1,000 change projects to improve the lives of others in their communities”, says Nwuneli.
With a vision just as vivid for Nigeria’s agribusiness landscape, she co-founded AACE Foods, an agro-processing company and SME focused on sourcing from farmers, processing and producing for the local market.
Nwuneli holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and a BSc with Honours from The Wharton School, The University of Pennsylvania, in the United States.
Driven by a strong desire to impact societies, Nwuneli is writing a book on ‘scaling social innovation in Africa’ to be published by the end of the year. She is working on this project as a non-resident fellow at Harvard Kennedy School.
“I was propelled by the little initiatives that are just a drop in the ocean. The needs are much greater. How can we scale impact and reach millions, who else has scaled and how do we change our ecosystem to enable this?” she asks.
Nwuneli’s AACE Foods addresses high levels of malnutrition in Nigeria and the dearth of locally manufactured food products by processing and packaging nutritious food sourced from smallholder farmers within the country. The company also provides support to farmers, empowering them with training, access to microfinance and storage technology.
“My core passion is sustainable development and impact and this cuts across sectors. Agriculture currently, because not only does it create the vast majority of jobs on the African continent, it is also linked to nutrition. I am optimistic and impatient about progress. Technology allows us to leapfrog and we can do that in health, education, agriculture and energy. Those are the four sectors I’m focusing on because I think they are the most important. I believe agriculture is neglected, however. The average African still feels that imported food is better quality and we face that a lot with fast-moving consumer goods.”
Challenges in Nigeria’s agricultural sector include fragmented supply chains and a lack of capacity due to the poor education of farmers and lack of an extension system. In spite of the hurdles, Nwuneli finds her entrepreneurial journey rewarding.
“I feel extremely blessed to have been given the unique opportunity to birth companies that will outlive me and my greatest achievement has been training and grooming exceptional young people  through LEAP, Sahel or AACE. Watching them grow and blossom in their careers has been extremely rewarding.”
Nwuneli would like to see a West Africa where agribusiness is a viable and profitable industry, where farmers are respected and where all countries are net exporters of food and more importantly, where nutritious food is affordable and accessible for all, all year round.

Ndidi-etch

‘I Am Impatient About Progress’

A chartered accountant, by day, Paige Govender works as the group financial manager at WIPHOLD, a South African women’s investment company based in Johannesburg. By night, she changes hats as a yoga instructor. How does she do it?
“What I have here is the perfect work-life balance. Everyday I’m either at boot camp in the afternoons or doing yoga. WIPHOLD is a lovely environment to be in. When I come here, I am still me,” says Govender.
It is important to find time in the day to do things that make you happy, she adds.
“Even if it is for five minutes. I love doing the crossword puzzle, I make sure I do it every day,” she says.
Govender grew up in a small town in the South African province of KwaZulu-Natal. She surrounded herself with family, cousins, aunts and uncles. When she was 18, she moved to Cape Town to study. She didn’t know exactly what she wanted to pursue but knew what she didn’t want. Ruling out medicine and engineering, she was left with accounting.
“Like a good little Indian girl I took the CA route. I have always loved maths and problem-solving and being a CA has a lot to do with that. And now I have realized yoga is also all about balance just like accounting. It just ties together,” she says.
During her day job at WIPHOLD, Govender is responsible for investment evaluations, consolidations, financial audits and tax, tax, tax.
“I love numbers; it’s a language that I understand, I am a nerd and I am perfectly happy with that,” she says.
As a women’s investment holding company, WIPHOLD strongly believes in the employment and empowerment of black women and Govender shares the same values.
“I think every lady out there is brilliant and can offer something, and by contributing to something, you lift yourself up. I am very passionate about young girls coming out of their shell and into the workforce and not thinking that they can’t do it.
“I can see how happy I am in life in general, sometimes I meet friends and even family and they are so busy all the time. There’s good busy, that’s busy doing things you enjoy, and then there’s busy when you are just blank all the time. Finding something that you really love to do outside of work creates a good balance; too many people get caught up with work.”
Govender strongly believes that contentment comes from knowing you are not just defined by your job, and by allowing yourself to do something you love every day, you are creating the perfect harmony, which she deems her success mantra – in work, life and yoga.

IMG_6343

The  Balancing  Act

I am not one of those women who make assumptions about others based on what they’re wearing, but at a recent event, I caught myself staring at a young woman, probably well-bred, who decided it was appropriate to step out in a sheer skirt that revealed her knickers in their entirety.
Slightly dumbstruck, I looked to my male colleagues for a reaction. Nothing. Their gaze fell on her with the same analytical inspection that one applies to an inanimate object like a car, interesting enough to turn heads, but not worth any actual emotion.
That’s when it hit me – I had seen this before. This young lady was not the first of her kind, and she would certainly not be the last.
She was merely a ‘Fashion Lemming’ following an imaginary leader who graced TV shows, magazine covers and music videos.
If Miley Cyrus and Rihanna can prance about in next to nothing, we can too, right? Women’s Lib, Feminism, Sexual Equality&#8230;we’ve earned the right to flaunt our bodies so men can ogle at us like objects, right? Right?
Somewhere in my subconscious, I can hear my grandmother making judgment calls on women based on a tiny hole in their stockings. Imagine the fall-out if we were to time warp a selection of our fashion icons back to the 1950s, 1960s or even the 1990s. ‘Girl Power’ certainly seemed more assertive in platform sneakers than it does in a miniscule piece of nothing that covers up far less than it reveals.
But before we get on the bandwagon of blame, let us talk about where this all starts – the catwalk.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-medium wp-image-29870 alignleft" src="http://www.forbesafrica.com/app/uploads/2017/05/Preen-by-Thorton-Bregazzi-SS14-200x300.jpg" alt="" width="200" height="300" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Preen-by-Thorton-Bregazzi-SS14-200x300.jpg 200w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Preen-by-Thorton-Bregazzi-SS14-300x450.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Preen-by-Thorton-Bregazzi-SS14-600x900.jpg 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Preen-by-Thorton-Bregazzi-SS14-768x1152.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Preen-by-Thorton-Bregazzi-SS14-683x1024.jpg 683w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Preen-by-Thorton-Bregazzi-SS14.jpg 682w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 200px) 100vw, 200px" />
I think it’s safe to say that the general public has never really understood this realm of the fashion world where storytelling and trend collide. As in theatre, where actors wear more makeup and project their voices to be heard, fashion’s stage is the runway and all that ascends it a show. It is however how the mass industry adapts this ‘performance’ that really has the most significance, and sadly we do not have enough modest stylists on hand to curb the epidemic.
Let us look back to Spring 2013 when we were first introduced to the crop top. Paired with a trouser or skirt fitted high in the waist, it flirted on the fringes of sexy without giving it all away. Likewise, racy bra tops played peek-a-boo under a jacket, whispering just enough without having to shout for attention. While ‘Sports Luxe’ revealed that athletic was the new sexy, minimal was the new feminine.
Cue a set of ambitious stars who thought they knew better and voila! You have street style that borders on ‘street walker’ – no imagination needed. Eventually their quest to ‘out-flash’ each other either resulted in complete nudity or epic fails on the red carpet. But on the way there, it left millions of women ‘enlightened’ in a very dark place.
How is this for a shocker? Fashion never wanted you to wear a crop top and micro-shorts (outside of the gym), they never intended you to reveal your ‘Wednesday’ panties under a mesh dress, and no, that bra top is not appropriate for anyone over a size 32A.
You see, some looks seen on the runway should never be reality; and just because that Attention Addict on Instagram is selling her body for followers, you don’t need to leap aboard for the downhill ride.
How people react to one another in real life is greatly different to La-La Land. The six-foot model wearing lace with nothing underneath is not going to be bothered backstage. Kim Kardashian is okay wearing latex with 10 bodyguards surrounding her; but you, my dear, are not safe in your sheer dress at the petrol station. There will never be a good enough reason to attack a woman, so please do not think I’m even suggesting that we cover-up for change. But I do think a few values need to be upheld in order to keep womankind’s image on the up and up.
Why not stand out from the crowd? Rita Ora may wear a side slit up to her hip on the red carpet, but you can make your own choices. I always say: if you have to coordinate your underwear with your outfit – it’s showing way too much. Clothing should never make you feel uncomfortable; so if you’re pulling and tugging, struggling to sit, stand or walk, chances are it wasn’t made to ever really be worn. That’s the deluded designers’ fault, not yours. A woman doesn’t need to show skin to be beautiful – she just needs to be comfortable in her own skin.
Alarmingly in a society that is always connected, we have so few meaningful connections. Our race to gain more friends and followers online has disconnected us from our reality, our heritage and our culture. The selfies we post are more important than how we really look – it’s all an illusion. So we’ve cast ourselves in a fantasy production of day-to-day life; and let me tell you, the critics aren’t impressed.
Once upon a time women were feminine: we succeeded with grace, we failed with dignity. Men will never be less attracted to skin, but with so much of it on display, they will grow tired of the irreverent show. Little by little, we dull our own sparkle. In a world where less may get you more glances and advances – ask yourself what exactly you wanted in the first place.

Christopher Raeburn

Is Less Really More

Johannesburg media personality Bonang Matheba is determined to showcase Africa as “the next big phenomenon”.
“My success is not about myself but about making our continent a hub of global cultural integration, in business and popular culture,” says Matheba.
It helps that Matheba is well-known. She has over a million followers on social media.
“We live in an era of social media, and that is where I have been able to influence the market effectively, as Twitter and Instagram have become a global mouth piece and radio is definitely my second-most influential media platform – it has allowed me to reach a broader audience.”
Where did it all begin for her? She first appeared on South African television at the age of 15, but it was popular music show Live that gave her stardom.
“There are many memories I treasure deeply on Live, this show was one of the platforms that propelled my career to where it is today.”
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-medium wp-image-29866 alignleft" src="http://www.forbesafrica.com/app/uploads/2017/05/Bonang-Forbes-2-204x300.jpg" alt="" width="204" height="300" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Bonang-Forbes-2-204x300.jpg 204w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Bonang-Forbes-2-300x442.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Bonang-Forbes-2-600x884.jpg 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Bonang-Forbes-2-768x1132.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Bonang-Forbes-2-695x1024.jpg 695w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Bonang-Forbes-2.jpg 694w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 204px) 100vw, 204px" />
She is now presenter on South Africa’s premiere lifestyle and magazine show Top Billing. In July 2013, she won the YOU Spectacular Award as the Best TV Presenter in South Africa. Her success in television has gotten her big brand endorsements, such as with cosmetic group Revlon, and this has allowed her to break boundaries in many ways.
Since the 1980’s, Revlon has sought to associate itself with the ‘Unforgettable Woman’.
Halle Berry and Emma Stone are currently brand ambassadors for the make-up brand, making Matheba the company’s only ambassador outside of the United States.
Fashion being a big part of her personality, she has often been hailed a style icon, having graced the covers of various glamor magazines, and receiving her fair share of awards.
Her fashion philosophy?
“Glamor is a state of mind, it not just about looking great and having a good income. It boils down to how you feel about yourself, what you do with your time and the company you keep.”
Currently she has a lingerie line –Distraction, available at Woolworths SA, and is producing two new shows under Bonang Matheba Entertainment this year. “Let’s activate greatness!” she says.

Bonang-Forbes-2

Bonang Unplugged

With the bewildering bevy of skincare and anti-ageing products on the shelves, and new ones popping up weekly, plus celebrity endorsements to boot, how do you choose solutions that are tried, tested and true? We look at the six ingredients that should be a part of your skincare regime now:
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Retinol
Retinol is the undisputed gold standard and top of the list of anti-ageing heavyweights. It is a Vitamin A derivative and considered the best anti-ageing multitasker, as it addresses fine lines, wrinkles, enlarged pores, pigmentation and loss of firmness. It stimulates cellular repair and boosts collagen and elastin repair, sloughs off dead cells and increases blood circulation for a healthy, youthful glow.
Says cosmetics guru Paula Begoun, author of Don’t Go to the Beauty Counter Without Me: “It helps skin cells create better, healthier skin cells while increasing the amount of skin-support substances and has been shown to increase the skin’s collagen production and glycosaminoglycans content, resulting in firmer skin with an improved texture and enhanced barrier function.”
How to use it: Although several retinol products claim they can be used during the day, it’s best to use it at night, as it does make skin sensitive to sun and irritation. Always use a sunscreen if you use retinol.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-medium wp-image-29861 alignleft" src="http://www.forbesafrica.com/app/uploads/2017/05/Protection-50-Sport-SPF50-125x300.jpg" alt="" width="125" height="300" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Protection-50-Sport-SPF50-125x300.jpg 125w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Protection-50-Sport-SPF50-300x720.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Protection-50-Sport-SPF50.jpg 426w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 125px) 100vw, 125px" />
Find it in: SkinCeuticals Retinol 0.5 Refining Night Cream Pure Retinol; Optiphi Rejuvenating Revitalizer; Dermalogica Multivitamin Power Firm; DermaQuest Retinol Peptide Youth Serum; Theravine Ultravine Contouring Retinol Eye Pads; Neutrogena Ageless Intensives Serum. We are very excited about Neoretin Discrom Control GelCreamSPF50 Pigment Lightener, which uses RetinSphere technology in a Whitening Booster system, for the first time combining retinol and sunscreen. It has aesthetic doctors raving about its effects.
Hyaluronic Acid (HA)
Dry skin is ageing skin. Period. HA takes top position with retinol as an anti-ageing ingredient. It is a naturally-occurring polysaccharide in the human body and provides moisture, plumpness, firmness and suppleness to skin.
It is a moisture binding humectant and the molecule attracts and retains more than a thousand times its weight in water. It activates the skin’s own wrinkle-fighting mechanism to plump up wrinkles from the inside out. It is also the star ingredient of dermal fillers like Restylane, Juvederm and Emervel. With age, HA diminishes in skin.
How to use it: Apply as a topical serum or cream. Be aware though, warns Leslie Baumann in her book The Skin Type Solution, that “…in very dry climates, this waterbinding ingredient can’t draw moisture from the environment, so it may actually start to pull moisture out of the deeper layers of your skin”.
Find it in: Eucerin Anti-Age Hyaluron-Filler Eye Treatment SPF15; SkinCeuticals Hydrating B5 Gel; Rodial Dragon Blood Hyaluronic Mask; Kiehl&#8217;s Dermatologist Solutions Hydro-Plumping Re-Texturizing Serum Concentrate; Esse Serum; Comfort Zone Action Sublime Serum Visible Rejuvenating Serum.
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Antioxidants
Antioxidants fight strongly in the frontline against free radicals – harmful molecules which form due to sun exposure, UV rays and environmental and air polution that destroy collagen, elastin and DNA. Not only does it repair the damage done by free radicals and reduce inflammation, it also prevents future damage.
The best known antioxidants are Vit C, Vit E, CoffeeBerry, idebenone, green tea, pomegranate, CoQ10 and grapeseed oil extract, also known as resveratrol.
How to use it: Apply an antioxidant serum or cream daily after cleansing and toning.
Find it in: SkinCeuticals CE Ferulic Combination Anti-Oxidant Treatment; Estée Lauder Daywear Advanced Multi-Protection Anti-Oxidant Crème.
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Alpha hydroxy acids (AHA)
If you are after radiant, fresh skin, AHAs are your go-to products. The acids contained in them (like glycolic acid) break down the bonds between dead cells and reveal fresh, new glowing skin. You can use at-home AHA formulas or have regular salon peels to experience the rejuvenating benefits of these acids.
How to use it: Use at-home AHA products or peels not more than twice a week, depending on how sensitive your skin is.
Some cleansers like Dermaquest Skin Therapy C-Lipoic Cleanser contain glycolic acid.
Find it in: Uriage Hyséac K18 For Oily Skin With Blocked Pores unclogs pores with 18% AHAs and BHAs combined with liquorice extract. It makes pores tighter and fades blemishes.
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Peptides
Peptides are the amino-acid chains that make up protein. Palmitoyl peptapeptide-3, known commercially as Matrixyl, has been shown to stimulate collagen production in the skin – it signals cells to restart collagen production, which results in skin firming with regular use. Other potent peptides are Argireline, which works somewhat like Botox, relaxing wrinkles.
How to use it: Apply as a serum, day or night cream.
Find it in: Dr Gobac Cosmeceuticals Day Balance Cream; Olay Regenerist Micro-Sculpting Cream; Placecol Extreme Repair Night Cream.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-medium wp-image-29862 alignleft" src="http://www.forbesafrica.com/app/uploads/2017/05/COMFORT-ZONE-action-sublime-serum-200x300.jpg" alt="" width="200" height="300" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/COMFORT-ZONE-action-sublime-serum-200x300.jpg 200w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/COMFORT-ZONE-action-sublime-serum-300x451.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/COMFORT-ZONE-action-sublime-serum-600x901.jpg 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/COMFORT-ZONE-action-sublime-serum.jpg 681w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 200px) 100vw, 200px" />
Sunscreen
Harmful UV rays destroy collagen and elastin fibers and damage DNA. Sunscreen, which contains UV filters that absorb or scatter UV rays, keeps skin from wrinkling, sagging, hyperpigmentation and more serious problems such as skin cancer.
How to use it: Choose a broad-spectrum (UVA and UVB) sunscreen with an SPF of no less than 30. Use enough – a teaspoon is the right amount for your face. If you’re outdoors, reapply every two hours.
Try: Heliocare Advanced SPF50 Compact in Light; Dermalogica Protection 50 Sport SPF50; Juliette Armand Sun Film SPF30 and Cetaphil Daylong range.

ESSE-serum-1

BETWEEN  YOUTH AND ME

Of what value are dyed string, disparate coins and beads? But when brought together and fashioned into necklaces, bracelets and rings, they become priceless pieces of jewelry, as proven by PICHULIK, a brand started in 2012 by Cape Townian Katherine-Mary Pichulik.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-medium wp-image-29844 alignleft" src="http://www.forbesafrica.com/app/uploads/2017/05/PICSS04s-Beige-Ball-Earrings-300x300.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="300" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/PICSS04s-Beige-Ball-Earrings-300x300.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/PICSS04s-Beige-Ball-Earrings-100x100.jpg 100w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/PICSS04s-Beige-Ball-Earrings-600x600.jpg 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/PICSS04s-Beige-Ball-Earrings-150x150.jpg 150w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/PICSS04s-Beige-Ball-Earrings-768x768.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/PICSS04s-Beige-Ball-Earrings-1024x1024.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/PICSS04s-Beige-Ball-Earrings.jpg 1023w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />
The inspiration for it came to her when backpacking in India. The 27-year-old had started her professional career as a pastry chef. During a hiatus in India, she started playing around with different materials that caught her eye, and then one day on a beach in Goa, she looked at the treasures she had handcrafted and decided to turn her talent into a business.
“For a moment I thought to myself, what if I actually had a jewelry brand?” says Pichulik.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-medium wp-image-29845 alignleft" src="http://www.forbesafrica.com/app/uploads/2017/05/Katherine-Mary-Pichulik-200x300.jpg" alt="" width="200" height="300" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Katherine-Mary-Pichulik-200x300.jpg 200w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Katherine-Mary-Pichulik-300x450.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Katherine-Mary-Pichulik-600x900.jpg 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Katherine-Mary-Pichulik-683x1024.jpg 683w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Katherine-Mary-Pichulik.jpg 682w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 200px) 100vw, 200px" />
When she returned from her trip, with no money and no resources, she started crafting different pieces of jewelry on the floor of her apartment, and decided she was her brand’s best promoter. Wearing her designs everywhere she went, she lured people to literally buy them off her.
“I was walking down Kloof street wearing one of these things I’ve made, and someone said ‘oh my gosh, where did you get that from’? I told them I made it and they asked to buy it from me. I sold it to them on the spot,” says Pichulik.
It was after this that Pichulik took PICHULIK places. She got a photographer-friend to snap a few pictures of her pieces. The photos were picked up by Miss Moss, a well-known blogger in Cape Town, and soon, Pichulik was commissioned to accessorize designer collections at fashion weeks.
Today, she has a team of 10 operating out of a 106 square meter studio, has a shop in Cape Town’s waterfront, and an online store that delivers her goods across the world. She also supplies the brand to boutiques, luxury game reserves and American clothing retailers such as Urban Outfitters.
“I really embody what I do and it’s really in line with what my values are, what my interests are, what my passion is and what I really resonate with deeply. The language is bold jewelry for bold women,” says Pichulik.
In just two years, PICHULIK’s Golden Fold necklace was nominated one of the most beautiful objects in South Africa at the 2013 Design Indaba held in Cape Town. In 2014, Pichulik was named Emerging Entrepreneur of the Year by Businesswomen’s Association of South Africa, and accessory designer of the year by African Fashion International.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-medium wp-image-29843 alignleft" src="http://www.forbesafrica.com/app/uploads/2017/05/0003_PICSS03-Geisha-Curve-300x300.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="300" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/0003_PICSS03-Geisha-Curve-300x300.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/0003_PICSS03-Geisha-Curve-100x100.jpg 100w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/0003_PICSS03-Geisha-Curve-600x600.jpg 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/0003_PICSS03-Geisha-Curve-150x150.jpg 150w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/0003_PICSS03-Geisha-Curve-768x768.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/0003_PICSS03-Geisha-Curve-1024x1024.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/0003_PICSS03-Geisha-Curve.jpg 1023w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />
PICHULIK’s spring/summer 2015 collection is inspired by the architecture of North Africa and the Middle East. The colors and designs recall the religious talismans of the berbers of Morocco and the prayer satchels used in the region. Her dreams stretch beyond Africa to the rest of the world.

0002_PICSS03s-Curved-Ball-Earrings-Duplicates

Creating South  Africa’s  Most  Beautiful  Objects

Afua Osei and Yasmin Belo-Osagie were lucky they shared the same vision when over a year ago they launched She Leads Africa, a social enterprise supporting female entrepreneurs on the continent.
They had both previously worked for women’s causes, though in different capacities. Osei, a Ghanaian, had worked with women keen on running for Congress in the United States (US), while Belo-Osagie, whose parents hail from Nigeria and Ghana, had led the women’s mentorship initiative during her tenure at management consulting firm McKinsey in Lagos.
After a year of toying with the idea, they put in motion a She Leads Africa pitch competition in Lagos, inviting over 200 sound entrepreneurial ideas from African women and assessing them to provide crucial support and financing.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-medium wp-image-29837 alignleft" src="http://www.forbesafrica.com/app/uploads/2017/05/Yasmin-Color-Headshot-200x300.jpg" alt="" width="200" height="300" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Yasmin-Color-Headshot-200x300.jpg 200w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Yasmin-Color-Headshot-300x450.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Yasmin-Color-Headshot-600x900.jpg 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Yasmin-Color-Headshot-768x1152.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Yasmin-Color-Headshot.jpg 682w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 200px) 100vw, 200px" />
“Getting involved in the technology and start-up ecosystem in Accra and Lagos showed me that the need for advice and resources [among] young women wasn’t exclusive to the corporate track. Young women looking to build companies were faced with an environment that was neither friendly nor encouraging. When I connected with Yasmin, we knew this was the right time to pursue She Leads Africa,” admits Osei.
“I have always wanted to be an entrepreneur. However, each time I asked myself, ‘Who are the women I can look up to in this quest?’ I realized there were just not that many of them,” echoes Belo-Osagie.
The first hurdle they encountered was that the women they met had great business ideas but no business education to know how to execute them, especially when it came to sourcing funding.
Other areas of concern for the founders continue to be stereotyping and networking issues. They saw that in Africa, small and medium enterprises are headed by female entrepreneurs who believe they can only go so far.
“We want people to understand that greater female participation in the economy is a good thing and it’s not just a moral argument. It’s a developmental and economic one,” says Belo-Osagie.
In their own lives, the cofounders have donned many professional hats. But all roads finally led them to Lagos.
Belo-Osagie had varying interests (law, finance, journalism) and explored them at college. She graduated cum laude in history from Princeton University in the US.
“I also had interests in non-academic work and soon made my way to Le Cordon Bleu [famous culinary school] in London and Paris, and then went off to work in Hong Kong at the Mandarin Oriental,” she says.
After that, she joined McKinsey as a business analyst in Lagos, leaving it eventually to focus on She Leads Africa.
“I am not driven by money,” says Belo-Osagie. “I am driven by the opportunity to solve interesting problems related to Africa. I would also like to get into public policy one day.”
Osei on the other hand graduated cum laude from Allegheny College in the US, and served as a political consultant providing strategy and communications expertise to political campaigns across the US.
Mid-way through the political campaigning, she also served as a Fulbright Scholar in Malaysia and worked for the US’ First Lady Michelle Obama in her research and communications teams.
She took time off to pursue a Master’s in Public Policy and Master’s in Business Administration from the University of Chicago and thereafter moved to Lagos to work for a management consulting firm.
“I am passionate about business and social innovation, its ability to empower and unite people to create value for a bigger vision,” says Osei.
They focused the pitch competition on four key groups: young entrepreneurs, investors, impact-driven foundations and high net-worth individuals, offering 10 finalists a platform to grow their existing networks and gain industry-specific knowledge.
Cherae Robinson, CEO of Rare Customs &amp; Tastemakers Africa, who emerged competition-winner with $10,000 in support of her business, says She Leads Africa closes a critical gap for Africa-focused female entrepreneurs.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-medium wp-image-29838 alignleft" src="http://www.forbesafrica.com/app/uploads/2017/05/Afua-BW-200x300.jpg" alt="" width="200" height="300" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Afua-BW-200x300.jpg 200w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Afua-BW-300x450.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Afua-BW-600x900.jpg 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Afua-BW-683x1024.jpg 683w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Afua-BW.jpg 682w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 200px) 100vw, 200px" />
“The mentorship, the confidence, funding and continued support I have received after the competition has contributed to my fearlessness in building a multimillion dollar business,” says Robinson.
Taffi Woolward, CEO&amp; Co-founder of Thando’s, also a finalist, says through She Leads Africa, she was invited to present her company at the Diaspora Demo Day held at the World Bank in Washington DC.
She Leads Africa has aggressive pan-African plans and for the young founders fronting it, there is no better time for it than now.

‘Who Are The Women To look Up To?’

Thirty-year-old Stacey Brewer was challenged by her professors at the Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) in Johannesburg to change the education system in South Africa. In January 2013, Brewer and her business partner Ryan Harrison did just that, opening the doors of their first school, and bringing a new learning model to the continent.
“I decided to do my thesis on a sustainable financial model for low-fee private schools to understand what’s happening and I found the whole low-fee private school sector interesting…I didn’t find any innovation, I did find the obvious pay-your-teachers-less, increase-the-number-of-kids-in-class and most of them were heavily reliant on donations. I just didn’t believe it was a sustainable model. We wanted to create a higher model at a sustainable cost but obviously it sounded like an oxymoron, everyone said it’s impossible. And we thought it must be possible,” says Brewer.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-medium wp-image-29833 alignleft" src="http://www.forbesafrica.com/app/uploads/2017/05/KT_141124_SparksSchool_PR_5703-300x200.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="200" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/KT_141124_SparksSchool_PR_5703-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/KT_141124_SparksSchool_PR_5703-600x399.jpg 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/KT_141124_SparksSchool_PR_5703-768x511.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/KT_141124_SparksSchool_PR_5703-1024x682.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/KT_141124_SparksSchool_PR_5703.jpg 1023w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />
She started researching that possibility, traveling around Africa and India looking for a model that would work. Finally, it was on a trip to the United States that she discovered a concept called blended learning, which had never been used in South Africa’s school system before.
“Blended learning is a combination of what we know, like teacher-led instruction as well as the use of online learning. Online learning allows for extension, review and reinforcement of what’s been introduced, but it also gives the children real-time feedback. The most attractive thing about blended learning is data. Which is strange, schools don’t use data. We know down to micro-objections, how our children are achieving and where they need to be addressed. And this is what drives the high quality,” says Brewer.
Through this unique model and a handful of wealthy South African investors, SPARK was born. The school started with grade R, one and two, and has since added a third and fourth grade.
“SPARK comes from the William Yeats’ quote ‘education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire’, and the aim of SPARK is not just to create that spark or that light in a child but the whole country.”
SPARK achieved desirable results during its first year of operation under the blended learning model and grew in numbers. Today, Brewer and Harrison have opened four SPARK schools in Johannesburg and is targeting their fifth.
SPARK’s core focus is educating learners. While most private schools have top-notch sports facilities and overseas trips, this school has a top-of-the-range learning model, and operates in an unconventional way, with no school bells and no single teacher per class. Children move around from class to class to change subjects, and they stick around after school for an aftercare program.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-medium wp-image-29831 alignleft" src="http://www.forbesafrica.com/app/uploads/2017/05/KT_141124_SparksSchool_PR_5879-300x200.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="200" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/KT_141124_SparksSchool_PR_5879-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/KT_141124_SparksSchool_PR_5879-600x399.jpg 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/KT_141124_SparksSchool_PR_5879-768x511.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/KT_141124_SparksSchool_PR_5879-1024x682.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/KT_141124_SparksSchool_PR_5879.jpg 1023w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />
“I said to the teachers if you are expecting to finish at two and have lunch with your friends, then SPARK isn’t for you. A big thing at SPARK is our professional development. It’s about 250 hours a year that we develop our staff,” says Brewer.
This year, SPARK has over 1,000 children. The model will continue to evolve, and Brewer’s admission lists are filling up.

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Best In Class

It was a tough life on the petrol garage forecourt. First thing in the morning, Sibongile Mphilo would put on an attendant’s uniform working hard for tips filling cars and washing windows in the township of Tembisa, east of Johannesburg. It meant working extra shifts to scrape R1,200 ($106) a month.
Nine years on, Mphilo has founded a $6.2 million security company.
“I worked and I saved my tips. I eventually had enough to open a company. I had tried to get a job as a security person but I was told I could not do night shifts because I was a woman. I saw my chance and I wanted to open my own security company,” says Mphilo.
In 2002, after months of saving, Mphilo founded Sibongile Security Services in Polokwane, 700km and an eight-hour long drive by taxi from Tembisa where she worked. In the early days, she won a R12,000 ($1,060) six-month contract to secure the Sekhukhune Magistrate’s Court; within months, more encouragement came.
“I spent my off-days driving to Polokwane to look after my new business. I never stopped working. It was the most money I had ever seen in my bank account. But I didn’t leave the petrol station for another two years, I decided I was not leaving my job until I got another contract,” says Mphilo.
Mphilo’s small business moved from contract to contract raising just enough for the next project. It all went well until she took a gigantic gamble in 2011 that almost left her bankrupt.
“We were trying our luck, applying for any contract we could, big or small. We took a chance and went for a contract with Telkom [South Africa’s telecom provider] in 2011. I couldn’t imagine that we won it.”
Telkom’s R77 million ($6.7 million) tender to guard substations around the country was a dream come true.
The reality wasn’t easy; Mphilo had to go to the banks for a massive loan for a host of new uniforms, guns and vehicles. The loan ran into the millions and the banks were reluctant to pay out, she says.
“Eventually, the Telkom team helped us, and the banks were able to provide the loans. Today, we have 50 cars and 150 firearms,” says Mphilo.
In two years, the contract transformed the company from a micro-enterprise with a yearly turnover of less than R5 million ($444,006) into a large company turning over R35 million ($3.1 million).
These days, Mphilo’s company continues to grow. They are branching out to supply private forensic investigation and access control systems. Her business is run by women. She also hires female security guards by the dozen; she says it’s her way of giving them an opportunity.
Mphilo admits she doesn’t spend much time out in the streets fighting crime like her employees. In the evenings, you can find her kick-boxing at gym or at home, gardening.
“My focus was not to enrich myself, but to grow the business. Without being hard-working and patient, I would not be where I am today,” says Mphilo.
From petrol pumps to guns and cars, this Cinderella story has created jobs and work for Africans. The only person out of a job is the fairy godmother.

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The Petrol Attendant Who Made Her Own  Fortune

There’s no better place to take a photograph of Rosette Chantal Rugamba than on the terrace of the landmark Hotel des Mille Collines by Kempinski in Kigali. It’s easy getting permission for this from the hotel’s management. Rugamba is well-known here and a regular.
The hotel affords a 360-degree view of the city and its splendorous rolling hills. Rugamba, in an orange suit and necklace, views the twinkling lights of Kigali and takes a deep breath of the crisp night air. She has had much to do with this vision of the city.
Twelve years ago, she was appointed Rwanda’s tourism head by the country’s president Paul Kagame tasked with turning around the country’s tourism infrastructure.
She had never lived in Rwanda before that. Her parents had fled the country to Uganda in 1959 and she grew up as a refugee with her seven siblings. Her parents never let them forget they were Rwandan first. The children were encouraged to learn French and culturally attuned to their country’s traditions. Be it books, music or dance, their home reverberated with Rwandan nuances, as the family lived on hope they would one day return home.
Her father was a brewer and her mother a teacher, but their humble home was always open to fellow Rwandans.
“There was always plenty of food,” recalls Rugamba. “And if you had to roll out a hundred mattresses, so be it.”
As her parents’ first-born, there was pressure on her to perform – and excel. She studied political science at university in Uganda. She married Henry, an Ugandan, and thereafter moved to London. Her husband worked for the British telecom industry, while she started her career with Harrods as a customer services manager. Today, she lauds herself for having been among the team that launched the first Harrods store at Terminal 3 in Heathrow airport. Yet another milestone: she was “among the 100 people” who started Eurostar.
“I am the sort of person who always wants to start things,” says Rugamba. Although she was settling well in the United Kingdom, in her heart, she recalled the songs of Rwanda, the songs of its flowing rivers and rolling hills.
In 1984, she decided to “risk a trip” to Rwanda, which was still in the throes of the liberation struggle.
“I wanted to experience the country and so toured it for the first time. I was satisfied but not sure if I would ever see it again.”
In 1996, Rugamba joined British Airways as its sales and marketing manager for East Africa, and she subsequently moved to Uganda. Rwanda’s horrific 1994 genocide was still fresh on her mind.
“We used to do a lot of fund-raising for the people and the soldiers. My mom’s family was completely wiped out.”
In 2002, she received a call from Kagame, asking her to return to her homeland. At the time, things looked positive for Rwanda.
“I asked myself ‘what value can I add?’. I am eternally grateful to the President that he unleashed the potential I never knew I had.”
Kagame wanted her to raise Rwanda’s profile through tourism and turn it into an engine for economic change in the country.
“The brief I got from him was ‘make sure every tourism dollar is spent in the country’,” says Rugamba.
When she took over as the Director General of Tourism and National Parks in January 2003, she was six months pregnant and a newcomer in her own homeland.
“The tasks in front of me were huge. I was coming back to a country I had never lived in and tasked with tourism in a country that had never known it. I felt like a tourist in my own country,” she says.
Yet, she embarked on the job with passion.
“The country was embedded in me. I was so excited that for the first time I was given a Rwandan passport, the one given to government officials but one that came with responsibility. It actually meant I was now a part of the transformation of the country.”
It also came with personal sacrifice – for a while. She came to Rwanda leaving her family behind in Uganda.
“My husband said ‘you go, we will be fine, you are getting a chance to serve your country, we can manage’. Women can’t do it without the support of men,” says Rugamba.
The first thing she did on the job was getting on the radio every Sunday at 3PM, talking about the country’s tourism potential and the role Rwandans would play.
“Tourism is multi-faceted and for it to succeed, the masses needed to be involved. We had to get the coffee, tea and ICT sectors as well to support it.”
Her mandate was to grow the tourism numbers, build restaurants and hotels, and offer tourists local handicrafts and every reason to visit Rwanda.
“Rwandans are very patriotic and they linked [tourism] to the visionary leader they loved so much. Until then, everyone only knew Rwanda for the 2Gs: the genocide and gorillas. It was time to showcase whatever else Rwanda had to offer.”
Tasked with reinvigorating tourism in the ‘Land of the Thousand Hills’, for the next seven years, Rugamba reoriented the sector putting in place new policies and strategic master plans. She launched the country internationally with a new pitch: ‘Rwanda – the new dawn of Africa’.
“I was so determined to sell the vision. I went to the [East Africa] region, gathered the tour operators and brought them here. The target was high-end eco-tourism.”
Eugene Rutagarama, who as the Country Director of IGCP (International Gorilla Conservation Programme) worked closely with Rugamba for eight years, extols her ability to tackle problems and take a stand on tough issues.
“Rosette Rugamba is an energetic person, an inspiring leader to her peers and to any person who happens to know her well. I was always impressed by her innovative approach to complex situations and her strong desire to reach a high level of accomplishment,” he recalls.
In time, her efforts paid off.
By the time Rugamba stepped down in 2010, tourism had become Rwanda’s top foreign-exchange earner. The tourism master plan for Rwanda’s Vision 2020 had been laid out, and the country was a stand-alone destination in the East African bloc.
In 2003, when she took on the job, tourist numbers in Rwanda were a mere 13,000. When she left in 2010, that figure had risen to 790,000.
In 2013, Rwanda had 1,137,000 visitors and tourism generated $293.6 million. The number of hotel rooms in the country has risen to 8,417. It was 650 when Rugamba started in 2003. To accommodate the demand, the current airport has recently been expanded and a new airport is being built in Bugasera.
It was time for Rugamba to find a new challenge.
“I saw what tourism could do for Rwanda. I wanted to do the same for Africa. My vision is to go everywhere,” she says.
She chose to turn entrepreneur, starting Songa Africa, a luxury tour company focusing on sustainable tourism.
“There was room for an indigenous luxury tour company headed by a woman. I had the passion, local knowledge and appreciation of the luxury clientele. I started with an old laptop and a contact book, but with a vision.”
In March, her company completes five years. She admits to having international celebrities, presidents, film stars and media moguls as clients. She has been consistently recognized as one of East Africa’s leading tourism and conservation strategists.
“What happened to me is magical,” she says.
Rugamba’s company is launching its first custom-built luxury eco-lodge in March and will be rolling out three five-star lodges to the tune of $5.5 million. Her company is also getting into conference tourism in line with Rwanda’s strategy to position itself as a business destination.
All this has meant extensive travel for Rugamba.
“Oh my goodness! I have hardly been in the country these last three months,” she says. But wherever she goes, all roads lead her back home to Rwanda.

Tag: February 2015

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