Be Africa Discovered Magazine February 2018

BeAfrika

DISCOVERED

CREATIVE COLLABORATIONS

TABLE OF CONTENTS Contributor List 6 Be Trends 8 & 9 Quickie 10 Editor’s Note 10 Discovering Afrika 12 Cover Feature 14 Afro Art 21 Art of Fashion 25 Be Story 31 The Artist 33 The Mentor 37 Creative Government 40 Creative Entrepreneur 41 Discovered 45 The Creative 49 Afro Lens 51 Tech 55 Creative Cities 57

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If you would like to join this long list of fabulous creatives email us on hello@beafrika.online If you would like to be featured in our issues email us on hello@beafrika.online If you would like to work with us on a project please email us on operations@beafrika.online If you would like to advertise with us please email operations@beafrika.online

CONTRIBUTOR LIST EDITORIAL Marita Paulina Rina Maria STYLE Ojwa Styling BEAUTY Kanai Beauties ART & GRAPHICS Jesse Ondego PHOTOGRAPHY Ptech Photography Special Thanks to the Creative Contributors that participated in this issue.

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Be Trends

LET’S GET TRENDING This month we look at top Advertising trends. Looking for a way to market your brand? Pay attention. (Source http://smallbusiness.chron.com)

QR Codes A QR code, or a “quick response” code, is a two-dimensional symbol akin to the UPC (Universal Product Code, or “bar code”). A QR code elicits a digital action when scanned by a QR code reader. In advertising, it has gained traction as an interactive tool in which consumers can scan the code to retrieve additional information about the product or promotion.

When scanned by a smartphone, a QR code can initiate several actions, such as opening a website, making a phone call or sending an SMS message Co-Branding Co-branding is a joint venture that combines the advertising efforts of two or more brands to create a new consumer product.

Small businesses can take a cue from national brands by launching a co-branded ad campaign with another recognized, locally-owned company. This maximizes the use of advertising dollars while simultaneously creating a stronger promotion for the consumer.

Content Marketing As a form of advertising, content marketing is effective at creating awareness when it comes to brand storytelling.

Since the rise of social media, content marketing has strengthened connections between consumers and brands while creating a new advertising vehicle. Small businesses can capitalize on the power of content marketing by running advertorials or hosting a blog on their Web site.

Online Advertising Consumers use the web to find many things, including businesses and brands. When it comes to capitalizing on reaching consumers, advertisers are using tools such as Google AdWords to create online advertising campaigns. AdWords is a Google product that allows small businesses to create online advertisements with keyword and budget parameters to target their primary customers. Other trends in online advertising include marketing efforts such as search engine optimization social media; mobile devices such as iPads and other handhelds; display ads; and website banner ads.

Editors note

This year we lost a legend and pioneer in the East African music scene, and we can’t help but miss and wonder but what is to come. But here is a lesson that both Radio and Weasel taught us that we should never forget…two heads are better than one. Moses Radio provides smooth RnB vocals while Weasel’s contribution is a fusion of reggae, ragga and dancehall vibes. Because of their prominence, Moses Radio and Weasel have formed their own duo known as Radio and Weasel. In Be Afrika’s case we advocate for 2-5 heads in any project at a time. We emphasize on the collaboration part of our organization as bringing together different minds, from different backgrounds serves as a learning process. Collaborating with creatives who have a similar mindset but different skills or experience can directly benefit you. A team member with more indepth knowledge, previous experience with a specific task, another perspective on a situ-

ation requiring problem solving, or even just a new shortcut in your favorite software, can teach you new information in practice, while you and others are applying it together in real time. It’s organic learning by collaboration.

It’s free, immediate, and sticks better. Working with like-minded people is easy, but butting heads along the way could give birth to something uniquely great. Creative disruption, an ability to see into another intellect in which solutions work completely differently, yet they produce the desired results. These enables individuals to look at future challenges from many different angles, and choose the option that fits a particular situation best.

Join our Facebook creative community and find your next collaborator.

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Discovering Africa

Lagos – Maputo: The Eight Edition of Invisible Borders Trans-African Road Trip "History is not the past. It is the present. We carry our history with us. We are our history” In 2018, Invisible Borders Trans-African project will embark on the 8th edition of its artistic Road Trip Project.

The Road Trip this time, will be a Trans-African one encompassing countries, towns, villages, and TransAfrican highways between Lagos (Nigeria) and Maputo (Mozambique) within a period of 95 days, from August 20 to November 23, 2018.

CONCEPTUAL PREMISE: In considering this route from the Western region, through the Central and Eastern Africa to the South, the above words

by James Baldwin serve as a potent anchorage – a mind frame so to speak – for the participating artists consisting mainly of photographers, writers, historians, filmmakers from Africa and the Diaspora.

As has been the methodology throughout previous editions of the Invisible Borders TransAfrican Road Trips, the

artists will once again employ their body as active-thinking bodies, in the negotiation of borders as much as in the re-imagination of histories embodied by this trajectory.

Through everyday tangible encounters with stories, events, and happenstances indicative of lives both on the road and at border intersections, the artists absorb experiences that are further processed and articulated through

their respective medium of expression and shared on the go, both directly with those encountered and virtually, through a dedicated website blog.

From Nigeria to Mozambique, not only will the artists be tracing routes and rivers of great historical junctures – dating as far back as the premedieval migration/expansion of the Bantu peoples, and down to events of Eurocentric explorations and discoveries for which the continent was once derogatorily termed “the heart of darkness” – they will equally find themselves meandering the crevices of present-day fallout of arbitrary border demarcations as evidenced in inter-ethnic, inter-country conflicts. As such, the Lagos – Maputo Road Trip – framed by the Atlantic and Indian ocean – is a proposal to enter the interstices of a volatile negotiation between the past and present, and to intersect with lives and everyday stories

caught in between forces pushing and pulling to shift or reset imposed cartographies.

The core of this road trip project will be to reimagine what we know of a place from a distance (distance created both by historical and geographical remoteness) through what we encounter by being present.

Here, the artists hope to encounter and engage with actors of internal migration between countries of the region; agents of border transactions and control, players and victims of regional conflicts, as well as those whose activities serve as a catalyst for infrastructural and economic development for which Africa is considered “the future”.

The artists will travel across routes cutting through Nigeria, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Mozambique. While there is no compulsory theme to be explored beyond the road as

a metaphor, there are myriad themes of interests – mostly grounded in known history – which has guided our research in identifying stops in cities, towns and villages. For instance, we have placed emphasis on border towns in a bid to spend ample time in exploring stories of those whose everyday lives animate the borders. In the same vein, we have chosen our routes to follow three of the great rivers of Africa – Niger, Congo and Zambezi – for their historical importance in the exploitation/exploration and formation of borders between countries. As such we shall make tangible stops in towns and cities bordering these rivers.

The participating artists will be mainly photographers, writers, historians and filmmakers selected from different countries of the African continent and African Diaspora. There will be two stages of the road trip and therefore two batches of participants. The first batch of

participants will journey from Lagos to Kampala, while the second batch will conclude the trip from Kampala to Maputo.

In addition, there will be one guest participant-artist from each of the countries to be traversed. The guest artist will only travel and work with the rest of the participants within his or her own country.

With the guest participation, we expand the medium to incorporate architecture, graffiti art, performance art and dance.

Batch A: August 20 – October 9 Batch B: October 6 – November 23

CREATIVE LOOKOUT “a man and his muse.”

I think I look for a muse in women.

Someone I can just picture in my mind.

Someone who respects herself and others. It isn’t so much the things she says, it’s mainly what she does. That’s what make her all the more beautiful.

JC Chasez Photography by Khalifa Model Fabida

ALISHA POPAT

I am a singer/songwriter and YouTuber born and raised here in Kenya. I am an absolute travel and food enthusiast and an incredibly family orientated individual. I will try everything once and love a challenge. Anyone who knows me well will tell you that my big loves in this world are; family, friends (building relationships) music, dancing, travel, cheese and wine! I love the outdoors and especially enjoy pushing myself out of my comfort zone to see what I can achieve...in a nutshell People in your field that you admire?

Locally the musicians I admire are Tetu Shani, Yellow Light Machine and Sauti Sol. I love Tetu especially because to me he isn’t just a great singer and musician but a storyteller. It is incredibly hard to write good songs and take people on a journey through lyrics and performance, but he does this effortlessly.

What is your perspective on the creative industry?

The creative industry has grown leaps and bounds in the last few years. Away with the traditional and conservative ways of doing things and onto exploration and innovation.

Do you think the government supports the creative industry?

I don’t think the government supports creativity the way they should. If they could only realize the creative potential we have in this Country, creativity and especially the music industry would be a higher priority. Our youth are bursting with talent and ideas and unfortunately we

don’t have enough resources to nurture and give them enough air to breathe life into these opportunities. They need the knowledge and guidance, companies to organize platforms for learning and experimentation.

What is your creative process like when you are working?

My creative process when trying to write a song actually starts where most good music starts... in the shower. Somehow it is where most melodies or ideas of lyrics begin. I’ll come up with something, jump out to record it on my phone and then I’ll sit

down and try write something from those beginning ideas.

Once the lyrics are down then I try matching it up with a feel and a melody. Strangely though my mind works more visually than anything else. The idea sets in motion visuals and I’ll see an idea of a story and video and then write lyrics and a melody to match it.

It can be challenging for a young Kenyan to balance local identity with international influence. How do you think we can best keep and promote the Kenyan brand?

I feel we need an entire article

to go through this subject.

The challenges of being an artist are similar across the international board. Artists struggle financially because not a big enough importance is put on what we do. Unless you are one of the biggest performing artists in your Country, you don’t make enough from live performances and you definitely can’t make enough through downloads and now everybody streams so you need to keep up with the trends and keep up the marketing to make a decent living. Secondly we don’t have enough platforms here in Kenya to educate artists on copyright laws, distribution services and how to make your music a business. Thirdly I feel we don’t support each other enough and our media doesn’t support their artists enough.

We should be predominantly playing out local artists’ music as they do in Nigeria. As well as give younger upcoming artists a leg up at any opportunity. This is the only way we can build the industry and show the world what we have got.

I have battled with this myself.

Having an ‘international’ sound but trying to ‘bring it home’ and package it for the local market isn’t easy. It’s difficult to form our own identity when most of the music we have grown up with and listening to through our media airwaves has an international influence.

Mostly from the US or Nigeria.

I definitely feel that we have a distinct style here in Kenya and the best way to promote it is to keep churning it out, to merge our sounds with international influences and push hard to get exposure internationally.

We need to create a Kenyan identity through music.

What are the benefits of collaborating?

As you may know, I am BIG on collaborations and there are business and personal reasons why I choose to collaborate so much. Firstly, we are always progressing and can always learn more. With every new artist you work with you learn more about particular genres, industry trends and tricks of the trade in different countries.

A bounty of new knowledge awaits you.

Any advice to youth interested in the industry?

From a business perspective, lets parallel collaboration to the idea of ‘twitter’. With each new collaboration you are increasing your spider web of networks and fan base. You get in front of different audiences and you never know how far your collaborator will go in the industry. It is also incredibly humbling and challenging as you see how incredible other artist are and so you strive to be better in your field yourself.

AfroArt

Ed Wanaina

Name: Ed Wanaina Digital Artist Inspo Brief My passion for art began when I was 4 years old. Watching TV would make me draw almost all the interesting cartoons I saw.

My parents, fortunately, seeing my interest in art would fund in buying supplies as I grew up but didn’t have any interest when I showed them my work. That didn’t stop me. Hard work, passion and constant practice has made me the artist I am today.

Art of Fashion #AfroBubblegum

Africa Nouveau Festival will expand your imagination by introducing you to the most progressive musicians, visual and digital artists, DJ/Producers, fashion designers, foodies, film makers and fashionistas from all over Africa and its Diaspora! African creatives are interested in creating works free from prejudice and expectation, with a driving force being of personal expression and global connection.

Fashion is a one avenue of a shared connection and the biggest form of expression. We took a walk around the festival and found our favorite style looks. #BeStyle!

Art of Fashion House of Zola

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Be Story

Sauti Same Busara

Every

year in February, thousands of music fans from across the globe converge at Stone Town’s Old Fort to experience a unique taste of African music as hosted by Sauti za Busara. Here paths intertwine, business deals are struck, collaborations are sealed and careers are taken to greater heights, as talents are spotted by other festival promoters.

Considered as one of Africa’s most-respected festivals for 15 years, Sauti za Busara - with this year’s theme of United in Music - brings together more than 460 musicians to the Spice Islands.

Yusuf ’s ‘job titles’ since 2003 are CEO, Busara Promotions and Festival Director for Sauti za Busara, took the time to tell us a little more on the festival.

The first time you hosted Sauti za Busara, what was your take away from the festival?

Expectation versus Reality?

Do you have a different mindset now?

I’ll never forget the first edition, in 2004. After much struggling to raise funds, finally only raising half the required budget, one compromise was the event appeared more like a refugee camp than a festival. Thousands of local and international visitors showed up nevertheless. Excitement and anticipation were high.

Only a few hours before the first band was due to perform, the Executive Secretary of Zanzibar’s Board of Censors showed up on site. He said the festival was to be cancelled, as

we had no permit or authorisation, which could only be granted after their Board had reviewed and approved all the artists’ audio and video recordings. Ironically, one of said artists at our first edition was the Kenyan Eric Wainaina, whose big hit at the time was appropriately called ‘Nchi ya Kitu Kidogo’, lamenting government corruption!

To cut a long story short, fortunately we managed to resolve that crisis and several others; the festival went ahead, got rave reviews on BBC, in Songlines magazine and elsewhere, and we haven’t looked back since.

Sauti za Busara has evolved over the years, bringing in more ‘international’ acts, but retaining its essentially local flavour. It provides a platform for local people to experience music from other parts of Africa, whilst introducing East African music to the visitors. Our goal for the first edition in 2004 was to bring people together to celebrate music from the Swahili coastal region. Within a few years the festival horizons expanded to embrace East Africa, then later to represent the African Continent and diaspora.

Sauti za Busara has always focussed on showcasing uniquely African

music, with ‘cultural identity’. Young and emerging talents perform alongside established artists, where each is inspired by the other, helping to cross-pollinate local music styles and take these forwards in new directions.

After the first festival, did you ever think there would be a possibility of a second one? Did you ever expect to be hosting your fifteenth one? Which year was the first one and what challenges did you face to launch it?

I wish I could say with confidence there will be more than fifty editions.

Our major challenge is to make the festival sustainable, in the absence of government support. The creative industries are critical to delivering job creation, innovation, social and economic growth in Tanzania and across Africa. With the right vision, leadership and policies in place, the creative industries can help secure an economy and society that works for all.

Were there times you wanted to give up? What motivated you to push through?

There were many times I thought

“Music is a universal language, through which the world can see Africa is positive”

of giving up. Mostly due to the continual challenges in raising funds and sponsorships. What motivated me throughout was my firm belief in the power of music to make a better world. Music is a universal language, through which the world can see Africa is positive; Africa is vibrant, Africa is rich in its many cultures and expressions.

Sauti za Busara is here to build appreciation for African music and respect for cultural diversity.

The festival clearly illustrates there is value in our musical traditions, with employment and income to be gained in sustaining them.

Why Stone Town Zanzibar? Have you ever thought of changing the location?

The festival is centered in the Old Fort in Zanzibar’s Stone Town.

It’s a uniquely compelling venue that also happens to be a World Heritage Site. Local audience participation greatly helps Sauti za Busara keep its reputation as “the friendliest festival on the planet”.

We are not motivated to produce a festival only for tourists. A critical success factor is it’s a shared experience for visitors and locals. Keeping the event accessible for local people is our priority, so admission is subsidised for Tanzanians. 'All

Festival' (4-Day) Passes for Sauti za Busara 2018 cost US$120 for international visitors, $60 for African passport holders or EAC Residents, or just US$9 for Tanzanians.

What are the aim for this festival?

Together we strengthen civil society by bringing together artists and audiences from different backgrounds, whilst defending human rights, freedom of expression and respect for diversity.

The Artist

Cultured Ego

Sinitta is the brains behind Cultured Ego. A makeup artistry brand and a lifestyle blog based in Nairobi, Kenya. Cultured Ego makeup looks into beauty, high fashion, and conceptual makeup, and the website focuses on alternative fashion and music culture coming out of Africa.

WILD THINGS Team Model Joy Kendi Makeup Sinitta Akello Photography Sinitta Akello and Joy Kendi Joy Kendi and I, every once in a while get together to play makeup! The theme for this shoot was “Wild

things� makeup inspired byy wild life! This was my version of a peacock.

AN EXPLORATION OF BLACK Team Photographer Mutua Matheka Models Gabu Fords Thogi Makeup Sinitta Akello As part of Prokraft Mutua Matheka also created this concept for the exhibition, Gravity. The theme was black and his approach was exploring what it means to be black. What it means to be black in African society and in western society

SILVER Team photographer Thandiwe Muriu Model Anita Barbara Makeup Sinitta Akello Thandiwe created this concept for an exhibition for Prokraft called Gravity, the theme was black.

Thandiwe wanted to play with textures so we used black on black to really bring out the textures.

The Mentor Kamau Patrick

Please give us a brief of who you are and what you do?

I am Kamau Patrick, a commercial & Advertising Photographer at Pekat Photography, a still imagery production company based in and out of Nairobi. I would generally say I’m a visual storyteller and my art mostly revolves around telling some of my childhood stories and other aspects of life that I, personally relates with most.

What is the purpose of collaboration?

I believe collaboration brings together a set of common goals, skills and through an organic creative process, a lot of things are achieved which one would never have achieved alone.

Why collaboration essential in is today’s creative sector?

Well, it’s pretty easy to tell a project that was a one man show from

What rules do you have during a collaboration?

I don’t have specific rules, the process itself is pretty smooth and organic no one needs to be told what What are the learning advantages to do .We all know why we signed of working in a collaboration? up in the first place. Although I am Everyone brings their unique skills time specific (deadlines). to the making of a piece of art and its during that process that one gets Please give us 3 works that you a deeper understanding of one self, collaborated in and what you the people surrounding him/her learned from it? and how to work as a team.

I did a couple of projects with several creatives and turned out What are the benefits of working well, one of them was GVRC: in a collaborative set?

DOMESTIC VIOLENCE where Everyone takes up their roles we collaborated with Kate to while I concentrate with one thing, highlight the state of violence in whether its styling-the stylist is our homes today. Another one making sure everything is okay, was TRANSATLANTIC and our whether it’s the set designer, recent project THE REUNION. makeup, hair, lighting guy- Basically, collaborating opens you everyone takes up their roles and I up to different people, how they am spared the burden of doing that work and you learn a thing or two by myself. you didn’t know. one that has been carefully pieced together by a group of people with a common interest at heart. It’s very easy to tell.

CREATIVE GOVERNMENT Importance Of Collaboration

A growing trend in the creative world is collaboration, and it’s one which should be strongly encouraged and openly adopted.

Here is why: Concept Validation Having to justify a strategy for a brand creation to another creative firm encourages you to clearly demonstrate the value in your offering, emphasising your strengths and making you aware of your weaknesses. This way you are reminded of your skills and ways in which you can help others whilst also knowing when to seek help from other experts.

Growth Problems are solved and businesses flourish when talented resources combine forces. Collaboration opens doors to new opportunities and provides your existing clients with added value through complementary service offerings.

It represents growth and is a positive way of re-engaging with your clients and attracting new business.

Education Listening to the views and experiences of others allows you to grow your company’s knowledge base and expertise. Connecting with like-minded successful people in your field can only be beneficial to you. It can help increase employee satisfaction and retention by learning how others operate and the systems they have in place.

Collaborating with creatives who have a similar mindset but different

skills or experience can directly benefit you. A team member with more in-depth knowledge, previous experience with a specific task, another perspective on a situation requiring problem solving, can teach you new information in practice, while you and others are applying it together in real time.

On the other hand, working with people who think differently and might be even hard to collaborate with has its own benefits: forms of creative disruption. Similar minds with similar experiences often see the same solution to a challenge — but this might be only one of the possible solutions, and not necessarily the best. Seeing and solving the same problem with someone else’s mind requires someone else to be there, to be able to communicate his/her experience, and to be willing to share his/her approach. This is one of the biggest gifts a creative producer can receive: the ability to see into another intellect in which solutions work completely differently, yet they produce the desired results. These types of experiences can enable individuals to look at future challenges from many different angles, and choose the option that fits a particular situation best.

During creative team work, people get to know not only each other, but also themselves. They can analyse their own skills, efficiency and reactions to requests. They can reflect on their response to critiques, to the pressure of time and responsibility. They can reevaluate their critical thinking and decision-making skills.

The benefits of creativity – inspiration, spontaneity, expression – can sometimes seem at odds within a business environment that looks for understanding, deliverables and accountability.

But it’s essential we bring all of this together if we are to show a good return of investment and deliver exceptional results. The evolving needs of clients have also impacted this process and by exploring new ways of working we can ensure we deliver what we need to.

The productivity of a team versus those of an individual has obvious benefits for the creative project.

A team has a larger cumulative knowledge base across more minds with more ideas. Used effectively, this results in more condensed production processes. If the team is a well-organized one, this also ensures better productivity, often higher quality, more creative output, longer-lasting motivation, greater efficiency and faster delivery.

Reference: https://cogswell.edu, https://levycoles.com, http://www. fourthsource.com

CREATIVE ENTREPRENUER NEEMA KINOTI OHANA collection is a Kenyan company involved in trendy wear primarily focused on the youth. Our flagship product has been African print swimwear. It was founded by Neema Nkatha Kinoti, a twenty three year old finance student at United States International University- Africa (USIU).

Why the creative industry?

Inspiration came when I was traveling to Europe and I discovered that there was nothing outstanding that is African or trendy especially in the swimwear category. When I came back home it was the same situation. I saw the gap in our Kenyan market and that is how OHANA was founded and established myself in the creative industry.

Why the leap into entrepreneurship?

I have been raised in an entrepreneurship family. My father Luke Kinoti founded Fusion Capital and Versatile Insurance Agency and I worked under him. He has mentored me in both companies and now I had to curve my own niche.

How did you raise the capital to start your business?

For the first stock my parents gave me a grant to start my loan.

To scale up in the business I was assisted by my parents to secure a bank loan with which I have been able to order a large stock.

How has the brand grown since inception?

It has honestly surprised me.

I have managed to acquire many followers who are brand promoters.

How are you paying it forward?

Ohana lies on the essence of a larger family that is not necessarily connected by blood but by genuine compassion, culture, support, loyalty, and love for each other. We have used the young people on our page as well as during events as our models to break into the fashion industry

and we continue to tap into the talent of the youth in the industry as we empower each other to grow.

Do you think there is enough government support to the industry?

There isn’t enough support.

The government needs to do much more for the innovation sector through open forums, government scholarships, education and facilities that are

easily accessible for example the country’s known for hosting agricultural shows ASK, could we have one that taps the innovation sector.

Opoti (Owner of Design Africa Collective) and Tilo Ponder (CEO of Whats Good Studios). They encouraged me and gave me insight to begin. They generously opened opportunities for me.

Who is your mentor and is it important to have one?

Advice to other creatives?

In this industry, I have drawn My advice quoting from Gary my inspiration from Diana Vaynerchuk is self- awareness is

the magic. Knowing who you are is the magic. You have to know who you are, if you are doing it for the right reasons and you have to deploy empathy to why your personality may not work for somebody else.

The key to building a personal brand is humility

#paymodelske

#paymodelske

DISCOVERED Tetu Shani

Why the creative industry?

I’ve always dreamed of work that is the sum of my skills, gifts and experience. Basically so that I get paid to be me. Music is where this dream has become realized.

Do you keep up with the trends in the industry?

I stay informed about the trends.

I definitely feel this is important.

However I don’t let the trends drive the kind of art that I create. Trends change so quickly it would be too hard to keep up.

Journey from concept to reality I didn’t grow up wanting to be a musician. I studied Communication in university. When I came back from Los Angeles, California after completing my studies I was preparing for work possibly in an NGO but the idea didn’t energize me. I needed work to energize me if I was going to be spending most of my day doing it. I spent a lot of time evaluating my strengths and weaknesses and realized that what came most naturally was music. So I started my music career being a jazz percussionist.

Later in 2014 I began writing music on guitar and put my first song on SoundCloud almost as a joke but the response was so positive, people began requesting that I perform the song live. That’s how I got into performing my own material.

Why the leap entrepreneurship?

into

My leap into entrepreneurship was motivated by a lack of options and my desire to earn a living doing what I’m best equipped to do. Most

of the capital a musician gets is through live performances. Music isn’t looked upon as a legitimate career in our country and so getting capital is nearly impossible. I’ve raised the money for my various projects by being disciplined in the way I spend my money.

Who do you see as your competitor?

I don’t see myself as having competitors. I compete with myself and in this regard I’m rarely satisfied. I always feel like I can do more. My wife is always reminding me to celebrate my achievements every now and then.

How has the brand grown since inception?

Do you have a mentor?

I don’t have a mentor. This isn’t My brand has really grown in because I don’t want one but it’s leaps and bounds. I keep bumping because my industry is young and into people who listen to and love what I’m doing is so unique that I’m my music and even the ones who having to teach and inspire myself. haven’t listened to my music have It is what it is but doesn’t have to be heard my name before. this way. I’d love to mentor someone.

I’m very good at maintaining The way that I post it forward great social media presence and and support young people is by this is what has set me apart from making myself available. I’ve always other artists. I am very intentional told people that if they have any in engaging with my fans and questions about my journey and followers. the industry they can feel free to

ask me. Knowledge is something that older artist’s withhold from upcoming artists because of a fear that they’re giving away trade secrets. It’s nonsense.

Any advice to other creatives?

Entrepreneurship is not for the faint of heart. It is for the courageous. Surround yourself with other courageous people so that you don’t give up.

THE CREATIVE What made you take the leap into creative entrepreneurship?

I needed ato solve a problem I had with my shoes, where I found that I bought too many shoes that had very small differences between them. I wanted a way to wear the same shoes but make them look different each time.

What were the biggest initial hurdles to building your business and how did you overcome them?

Getting people to understand what the product is and how to use it. Most people did not understand the concept and they thought we were selling shoes. We have tried to show them pictures where it’s easier to see that the accessories are worn on the shoes. It is really difficult to sell the product without showing how it looks on a shoe. So we have to be

creative with our photographs. Did you have major competitors when you started, how did you Did you ever deal with plan to compete with them, contention from your and how did that plan play family concerning your out? entrepreneurial pursuits?

No, this product is very new How did you handle it? What to SA and other African would you do differently in countries. hindsight? No our family has been very supportive. Mom What do you look for in a even sells for us in the Eastern business partner?

Cape.

Someone we can trust, someone who will buy into What was your business’ the vision and the brand, and original mission? How has someone who is willing to give that mission evolved in the over 100% every time. time since?

No our mission has stayed the What is the biggest same. Glamming up ladies mistake you’ve made as an shoes all over SA and Africa. entrepreneur?

Not having our logo on our Do you prefer to pursue pictures, this hurt us a lot funding or build organically, because we found that other and why? people who also started selling Both. So far, we have built shoe accessories would re-use organically but because we our pictures from all over the would like to grow in a faster world. rate we also are working towards obtaining funding.

What has been your greatest moment of success?

SA Fashion Week. Being the very first people to showcase shoe accessories on SA Fashion Week was a big win for us.

How do you approach marketing your business?

We do digital marketing through social media and online platforms.

How do you believe evolving technology will impact the way we do business over the next 10 years?

It will help us a lot because we are an online business.

We are always looking out for new apps that will make our business to stand out and be competitive.

What do you know today that you wish you would have known when you first got started as an entrepreneur?

Things don’t always work out the way you want them to, there are ups and downs but the most important thing is to enjoy the journey and keep learning.

What's the most important thing you're working on right now, and how are you making it happen?

We want to supply our accessories to major fashion retailers in SA. We are aggressively putting all the building blocks in place to make it happen.

Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

We see ourselves being the major shoe accessories supplier in SA and Africa

where everyone knows who and what Raw Strawberry is.

What kind of person will succeed in this industry?

Someone who won’t take no for an answer!

What are some strategies that you would recommend for

making the best use of one’s time?

Research and learn about new trends and take advantage of the fact that we have internet and educate yourself on what other people are doing differently out there.

Afro Lense The Reunion

At a local pub in Kinshasa, two brothers -Bonte and Kamissoko find themselves staring into the eyes of a past they had worked so hard to forget. Having been separated for a long time after a horrific escape from the Congo war in which they had fought as child soldiers, Lefe - a mutual female childhood crush, finds herself at cross roads in an interesting turn of events as the two brothers clash with sins from their past. Inspired by true events, we are excited, in partnership with Pekat photography and Be Afrika Media, to announce the release of our project, "The Reunion" Production Credits: Photography: Pekat Photography Styling & Casting: Dress Creative Agency Hair Stylist- Kate Rajoro Be Afrika Media Makeup: Shalom Neema [1] Assistants: Nick Mitalo, Margaret Njeri [2] Talents: John Mutinda Mary Avisinwa [3] Ibrahim "Yellow"

TECH +BEAUTY

Taking Nail Art to a new level!

About O’2 Nails The O’2 Nails is a Digital Nail Printer that prints any design, image or photo on your nails in 35 seconds through your phone or tablet. It connects automatically with the O’2 Nails APP via WIGI or Hotspot from the machinery.

It reduces time and manicure skill requirements by manicurists.

Among its features, O’2Nails machine has more than 800 patterns to choose from, including animal patterns, flowers or a French manicure.

“Kenya is the leading market in East Africa and Kenyan women highly interested beauty”

In addition, with the O’2Nails App you can choose from a variety of options or customize your own style from the photo library on your phone. Even a selfie!

The machine connects directly to the App via WiFi hot spot from the device giving access to limitless nail art designs including individual patterns of choice. To get the perfect finish, the machine automatically detects the size of the nail and paints accordingly.

The Managing Director of DMM Kenya, Fuyuka Matsuzaki took the time to answer a few more questions about O’2Nails:

The Managing Director of DMM Kenya, Fuyuka Matsuzaki took the time to answer a few more questions about O’2Nails: What inspired you to combine beauty and tech?

Nowadays, there are about 80%of the nail information is about nail art designs advertisement, however, the present situation of nail art market is that: most of the manicurist lack the professional skill to paint these complicated designs, but an excellent manicurist needs to be trained for 5-8years.

So we learned that there is a huge demand but lack of skillful manicurists. For this reason, we launched the nail printer. Let nail art fashion become easier and let the ladies enjoy technology fashion nail.

When and where was it launched first? Results?

We launch this machine on September 2016 in Guangzhou China, now we already sell to a global market of more than 60 countries. It's really a popular manicure assistant.

Which other African countries can you be found? How is the reception?

You can also find this nail printer in Ghana, In the future, we hope you will see

this machine in many other African countries, and not only in the nail salon, but in the coffee house, restaurant, clothing store, shoes store, even the supermarket.

What influenced your decision to launch in Kenya?

Kenya is the leading market in East Africa and Kenyan women highly interested beauty.

We found that many ladies are tired of plain and simple nails and we wanted them to experience new styles of nail art.

About DMM Kenya DMM Kenya is an affiliate of DMM Group, a Japanese company providing a wide variety of web services to customers in the world since 1999.

DMM. Kenya was set up in September 2017. We are seeking a way of Technology x Beauty. We believe that beauty is a w ay of self-actualization and hope that our activity will share new ideas in the culture of African beauty.

Creative Cities Uganda

1 Art Gallery

Umoja Art Gallery is one of the major art hubs in Uganda. The main objective of this gallery is to enable national and international visitors to revive Uganda’s cultural heritage and to become enamored with multi-centralism, so as to stimulate potential in the artists living in Uganda, to encourage the exchange of artists work through exhibitions and finally to foster the development of art in Uganda.

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2 Music

Uganda has a vibrant music industry that plays a fundamental role in the social and economic lives of many. Uganda, is now ranked number three in Africa as far as music and entertainment is concerned.

Uganda is home to over 65 different ethnic groups and tribes, and they form the basis of all indigenous music. The Baganda, being the most prominent tribe in the country, have dominated the culture and music of

Uganda over the last two centuries. The first form of popular music to arise out of traditional music was the Kadongo Kamu style of music, which arose out of traditional Ganda music.

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3 Street Art Festival

The first ever AFRI-CANS Street Art & Graffiti Festival took place on the weekend of 25th Nov on the streets of Kampala in Uganda.

Afri-cans festival is focused on celebrating, spreading, uplifting the street art /graffiti culture and creating beautiful spaces. It was hosted

by Sparrow from Monk256 Crew, the event will showcase a number of local and international urban artists.

4 Cinema in Uganda

Uganda is often overlooked as a production hub but the country can offer a great deal to international producers. The emerging film industry in Uganda is known as Ugawood or sometimes Kinauganda by the locals.

The 2005 production Feelings Struggle directed by Ashraf Ssemwogerere is credited with being the first Ugawood film. Many have asserted that this steadily growing film industry is derived from Hollywood, in the same manner as Nollywood and Bollywood. The country has played hosts for films such as The Last King of Scotland in 2006, African Queen in 1951 & Queen of Katwe in 2016.