Afropolitan 54

ISSN 1993-9655 • RSA R30.00 incl VAT (Namibia R26.50 excl VAT)

18054

9 771993 965003 www.afropolitan.co.za | 2018 | Edition 54

Home of the Afropolitan

THE BUILDING BLOCKS OF LEADING BRANDS | STREET SMART | THE STORY OF ONE MAN

CONTENTS

CONTENTS LIFE 8

DO YOU NEED A COACH?

HEALTH

12 CARB PLANS THAT WON'T MAKE YOU CRY

72 FASHION

36 AFRICAN LEGACY 40 BRIGHT LIGHTS

PROPERTY

13 WHAT'S TRENDING?

43 IN THE ZONE 46 SMART IS AS SMART DOES

BEAUTY

BUSINESS

FITNESS

15 CUP OF BEAUTY 17 AFRO-OILS

GROOMING

18 WHAT LIES BENEATH

PROFILE

22 THE STORY OF ONE MAN

DESIGN

26 THE POWER OF (DESIGN) THINKING

52 TWO SIDES OF A COIN 56 LOCAL IS STILL 'LEKKER' 60 THE BUILDING BLOCK OF LEADING BRANDS

TRAVEL

64 FINDING CULTURE IN TRAVEL

MOTORING

68 THE EVOLUTION OF A CLASSIC

TREND

TECHNOLOGY

30 HOW TO SHATTER ADVERTISING'S GLASS CEILING

70 PHONE VS PHONE

STYLE

34 STREET SMART

LAST WORD

72 LIZ OGUMBO

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EDITOR Kojo Baffoe CONTRIBUTORS Bogosi Motshegwa Brendah Nyakudya-Dandala Dominique Wolf Estate Living Janine Jellars Jennifer Stern Sandile Xaso Tshepo Matseba Vus Ngxande PUBLISHING HOUSE Contact Media & Communications 388 Main Avenue, Randburg Block A Tel: +27(0) 11 789 6339 Fax: +27(0) 11 789 7097 email: pressman@contactmedia.co.za web: www.contactmedia.co.za CEO & DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR Sean Press MANAGING DIRECTOR & PUBLISHER Donna Verrydt FINANCE & OPERATIONS DIRECTOR Lesley Fox HEAD OF SALES Didi Okoro SALES MANAGER Quincy Matonhodze SALES Kate Bowden Charlene Heyburgh Melanie Scheepers Emma Strydom Paul Styles DESIGN & LAYOUT Quinten Tolken SUB-EDITOR Margot Bertelsmann PROOFREADER Angie Snyman PRODUCTION COORDINATOR Gwen Sebogodi IT AND WEB MANAGER Carmen Petre REPRO & PRINTING Kadimah Print

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FOR ANY DISTRIBUTION QUERIES CONTACT: 011 401 5870 Copyright © 2018 Contact Media & Communications.

The Afropolitan is published by Contact Media & Communications. All material is strictly copyright with all rights reserved. No material may be reproduced in part or whole without the express written permission of the publisher. No responsibility will be accepted for unsolicited material. The publisher accepts no liability of whatsoever nature arising out of or in connection with the contents of this publication. Whilst every care has been taken in compiling this publication, the publisher does not give any warranty as to the completeness or accuracy of its contents. The views and opinions expressed in The Afropolitan are not necessarily those of the Publisher, Kaya FM or contributors.

IMAGE Judd van Rensburg GROOMING Nthato Mashishi

FROM THE EDITOR

THE SEARCH FOR SELF I

dentity. There is so much bundled up in that word. The search for the answer to the question Who am I? is one that starts early in life, rages through adolescence and, just when you think you have figured it out in adulthood, something throws you off. We are each a work in progress and, therefore, while there should be a thread, how we self-identify also often evolves.

When I was in high school, my English teacher taught us the expression "Many a mickle makes a muckle" which is said to come from old English or Scottish and means, paraphrased, Many small things add up to one big thing. How we define ourselves is, in reality, the sum of our culture, our experiences, where we were raised, our interests, and so on. In this highly connected world, it becomes even harder to find the thread that helps us define our I Am. Some years back, I attended a panel discussion which included an imam, a rabbi and a priest, among others; the topic of discussion was the South African Identity. With the country’s brutal and divisive history, I truly believe that is at the core of a lot of the challenges we still face – how to find the thread that runs through a nation.

Obviously, the whole Rainbow Nation thing was not it and we need to go back to the drawing board. But we should not be afraid to jump into the mire and peel back the layers.

It is only by going deep and acknowledging the different aspects of ourselves that we can start to make sense of who we are, individually and collectively. And we need to acknowledge and recognise that, while it has a significant impact, it does go beyond race and culture. There was a time when people who defied convention were considered anomalies, but these days everyone seems to defy convention when you get to know them a little bit. Also, I believe, we are a bit more comfortable with sharing aspects of who we are with a broader audience, born out of the advent of social media.

In this issue of Afropolitan, we seek to explore this idea of identity, in all its possible forms, some overt, some a lot more subtle. The hope is that it will spark reflection, both of self and the world around you. It is about getting to the heart of all aspects of our lives as Afropolitans.

And, on that note, this is my last issue as editor of Afropolitan. I am grateful to the team at Contact Media as well as to all of you for allowing me this opportunity to share some of the stories I think are important. I wish you all the best in finding You and realising all that you desire.

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LIFE

DO YOU NEED A COACH? FOR SOME, LIFE OR BUSINESS COACHES ARE IN THE SAME WHATSAPP GROUP AS MOTIVATIONAL SPEAKERS. HERE'S THE LOW-DOWN ON WHAT THEY ACTUALLY DO, AND WHETHER IT'S FOR YOU. BY KOJO BAFFOE pinions vary widely on the subject of coaches. Do an online search for life coaching and dotted between the multiple sites of coaches promising you the world are a multitude of articles on how life coaches are frauds.

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Mothepa Ndumo-Masina, owner of Higher Self Career and Executive Coaching, defines herself as a career and executive coach who integrates life coaching principles into her methodology, particularly in the initial stages of the coaching process. She acknowledges the

challenges that come with the perception of life coaches and says, “I sometimes encounter people who seek to diminish what we do and that comes from a place of not knowing. It is a profession with professional codes of conduct and ethics, governing global and local bodies which

LIFE

set very high standards and credentialing processes. There are plans to regulate the industry in South Africa and we can only celebrate that. I am sorry that some have met fly-by-night charlatans posing as coaches.”

BECOMING A COACH

Ndumo-Masina sees a life coach as a certified professional helper whose purpose is to partner and co-create with a client to perform at peak levels in all the domains of life, whether it be their career, relationships, health, finances and personal branding, among many others.

A life coach will empower them to shed whatever is holding them back mentally and emotionally from achieving the kind of life that they are capable of living.

Innovation and business coach Graeme Butchart adds, “When coaching arrived as a possibility for everyone it could begin to address all aspects of an individual’s development life. Our careers, family, partners, businesses and everything else, are inseparable. If you influence one part, it impacts on another. Because of the breadth of the coaching offering, life coaching became the terminology.

Over time coaching has become more professionalised and, as a consequence, niched in its offerings.”

The key differentiator is in the structure and processes used as well as the return on investment. It is the fundamental difference between a coach and a mentor. As business coach Brent Spilkin explains, “mentoring is unstructured, unaccountable and subjective. Mentoring is often just someone you know and respect that has ‘done it before’, who is offering you advice and guidance without being paid for his/her time. There are no

I AM SORRY THAT SOME HAVE MET FLY-BYNIGHT CHARLATANS POSING AS COACHES. timelines and goals set when you’re being mentored, while coaching is a structured approach, over a set period of time, with clearly defined goals being adhered to. The coach is paid for his time, must remain 100% objective to your needs and goals, and is non-advisory.”

As a result, there is an added level of responsibility in coaching. This is most evident in how, for example, NdumoMasina arrived at the space. After a stint as an academic lawyer specialising in labour law, she went on to do a Master's degree in the human resource development field, followed by various certifications as a coach, with a focus on positive psychology, neuro-linguistic programming, transformation life coaching and appreciative inquiry.

Butchart’s path was different. “I spent thirty years in advertising, as a creative director. My daily task was solving business communication challenges, using a combination of words and pictures. Each challenge was uniquely different, requiring an innovative and creative solution, usually in very short and compacted durations – 30/60 seconds.

On leaving advertising, I ventured into education and began giving back the knowledge and experiences I had gained.”

PURPOSE OF A COACH

Business coach Brent Spilkin sits in the space between coaching and consulting and, like Butchart, brings a wealth of knowledge garnered from running his

YOU HAVE TO BE CURIOUS ABOUT WHAT’S GOING ON WITHIN THE WORLD OF THOSE YOU ENGAGE WITH.

own businesses to his clients. This has put him in the perfect position to “offer advice where the client is needing solutions to improve the pace to achieving their own growth targets in their business. I focus primarily on the media, advertising, communications and technology sectors, giving me a great oversight of larger industry trends, opportunities and threats in the space that business owners may not see while working in their business.”

He sees his role as helping business owners define their business growth objectives and then assisting them in the strategic thinking and planning to achieve their desires. In his eyes, a good coach should become your theoretical silent partner who is always a call and mail away.

They are the propellant to your business growth and should assist you in making the right decisions that will impact your business positively while inspiring and motivating you and your team.

TOOLS OF THE TRADE

Both Butchart and Spilkin say the drive to constantly build your knowledge is of utmost importance. According to Spilkin, “If you're not constantly reading about the space in which you play and not improving your own skills you are dead in the water. It’s essential that you remain relevant to your client base by knowing more than they do, at every stage of their business. This relates to the operations of the business and not necessarily their product or service. Having experience in multiple industries and having seen many ways in which businesses have succeeded, failed and been mediocre gives a coach perspective that is invaluable to his/ her clients. It’s valuable to have a formal business education as well as exposure to psychology as business coaches will deal with the academics of running a business as well as the softer aspects like motivation, depression and anxiety.”

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LIFE

THERE ARE NO TIMELINES AND GOALS SET WHEN BEING MENTORED WHILE COACHING IS A STRUCTURED APPROACH...

To this Butchart adds that curiosity is the number one requirement. “You have to be curious about what’s going on within the world of those you engage with. To do that with meaning requires that you know how to ask provocative and open-ended questions. You must listen deeply and attentively to the client’s answers, without judgement or attachment. There has to be a certain ‘chemistry’ between a client and their coach. There has to be impeccable confidentiality in all that you do. There are many other attributes as well.”

SO WHY SEE A COACH?

All the coaches obviously feel that there are immense benefits. Ndumo-Masina says you should engage a life coach “if you want more for your life and don’t have the tools to unearth and live out your fullest potential; if you feel defeated by life and don’t quite know where to start with reclaiming your power; if you want to embark on a career transition; if you have health goals that you are not quite attaining; if you are tired of sleepwalking through life and want to raise your consciousness.”

For Butchart, objectivity, honesty and clarity should be key drivers because a good coach holds a mirror up to you and, in so doing, presents you with views that you had been unable to see previously.

“There is an awful lot of stuff going on in our heads all the time. In our faster and faster worlds, where uncertainty and ambiguity are the norm, that pace and constant focus can be overwhelming.

It becomes increasingly harder to see the wood for the trees. We become so invested in our view of the world, we can inadvertently neglect to see the many other perspectives that surround us. And many of those perspectives could well

Mothepa Ndumo-Masina

IN OUR FASTER AND FASTER WORLDS, WHERE UNCERTAINTY AND AMBIGUITY ARE THE NORM, THAT PACE AND CONSTANT FOCUS CAN BE OVERWHELMING. provide the exact insight that is required to help you navigate through a particularly challenging point in life.”

In other words, as Spilkin says, “Being a business owner and entrepreneur is almost always hard. Having someone that can guide you, help with decisionmaking and call you out on your bullsh*t is invaluable to quickly navigating an uncertain growth trajectory. A great business coach can help you make more money, save money, define and grow your

business to where you want and ultimately help the business serve your needs.”

The reality is that we do need people to assist us as we navigate this life and, for some, a coach of some sort, can be the difference between wallowing and thriving. You decide.

TO CONTACT THE COACHES, CHECK OUT www.spillly.com www.graemebutchart.com www.higherselfcoaching.org

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HEALTH

LO W- CA R B P L A N S

T H AT W O N ' T M A K E YO U C R Y THE DAY DR. TIM NOAKES CAME OUT IN FAVOUR OF MEAT EATERS, SOUTH AFRICA AT LARGE LET OUT A COLLECTIVE SQUEAL. “I CAN LOSE WEIGHT WHILE EATING BACON? SOLD!" BUT NOW, WHAT TO DO ABOUT CARBS AND SUGARS? BY BRENDAH NYAKUDYA-DANDALA

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oakes' big red book for South African dieters, based on the precepts of the Banting diet, has changed our lives.

Why? The popularity of the eating lifestyle is not so much because people understood what ketosis* meant.

No. They did not. Banting became popular because for once, fatty and tasty fare formed part of the eating plan.

For many people looking to lose weight, the biggest challenge is not the discipline to stay the course (though that does play a major part). The problem lies in the simple fact that healthy food is a fail when it comes to the palate. Any food that is labelled gluten-free tastes like soggy cardboard meshed with glue and regret. Low-carb meals are what you order with sides of dashed hopes and broken dreams.

But if you are committed to the cause, there are ways to ensure you eat healthy as well as delicious meals.

GETTING TO GRIPS WITH GLUTEN

Most people had no idea what a role gluten played in any baked goods until the highly documented gluten resistance of the last couple of years. Gluten is the ingredient that provides elasticity to dough and helps our beloved baking rise and keep its shape… and taste! Having said that, there are flour alternatives that give gluten-based flours a run for their money.

Coconut flour and almond flour are available on supermarket shelves now and though quite pricey, they make a great substitute when baking. Note that they have different properties to normal flour so when baking make sure to read the instructions carefully.

SWOP YOUR CARBS

Nobody could ever in good conscience recommend you try zoodles (this horror is noodles made from zucchini). However, we can urge you to try butternut squash noodles as an alternative to pasta. Made the same way as zoodles, butter-squash noodles add that vital colour to your seven-colours Sunday lunch, are quick to prepare and can be used the same way as you would regular spaghetti or macaroni, just with fewer kilojoules.

SWEETEN UP YOUR LIFE

We can all agree that artificial sweeteners have yet to lose the “artificial” part of their name when it comes to taste. Raw honey is not only yummier but also better for you. Found in any reputable health shop, raw honey is unpasteurised and unprocessed, meaning all the natural goodness is still packed in there, scooped up in a gooey, albeit cloudy spoonful. Trade this in for your sugar and you will “bee” one step closer to a healthy lifestyle.

Ketosis: a metabolic state characterised by raised levels of ketone bodies in the body tissues, which is typically the consequence of a diet that is very low in carbohydrates.

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IMAGES Shutterstock

Potatoes and pasta may be a staple in your household. But if you're looking to lower your carb count you can cheat your way around this and find alternatives that are just as tasty, if not – dare I say it – even tastier. Sweet potatoes are inexpensive, can be found in abundance all over the country and are yummy to boot. Roasted, mashed, or used as a topping for cottage pie… get creative and use them exactly as you would the trusty spud. You won’t be disappointed.

FITNESS

WHAT'S TRENDING? Fitness trends you might just love

WITH EVERY YEAR AND NEW LEVELS OF #WOKE COME NEW TRENDS. CROSSFIT IS NOW, THANKFULLY, A THING OF THE PAST, SO WE LOOK AT WHAT WE HOPE ARE THE NEXT TOP FITNESS TRENDS TO LOOK OUT FOR...

BY BRENDAH NYAKUDYA-DANDALA

WATER EXTREME (WTRX)

There is no disputing the benefits your body derives from water-based activities.

Add weights to the mix and you have Water Extreme (WTRX)! These sessions will have you exercising in and out of the water in rotation. The “land” drills include standard exercises but the waterbased workouts include more resistancebased training. Some of the gear used includes a ViPR bar you plunge into the water, creating vicious resistance, and then lifting it high like a weight bar. The push plate works like a kettlebell that you can push, pull and swing side to side or up and down against the resistance of the water. It’s one hell of a workout!

IMAGES Shutterstock

YOGA SCULPT

Everybody loves yoga, chai lattes and yoga pants! But while yoga is amazing for meditation, stretching and aligning chakras, for some it lacks the muscle and cardio workout they get from a HIIT (high-intensity interval training) session session or functional training routine.

Enter Yoga Sculpt – the love child of yoga, cardio and lightweight strength training – a spiritual kilojoule-burning exercise. In Yoga Sculpt the music is jamming and the energy's high yet you still walk out feeling like you have been on a (running) Zen journey.

BARRE

Using the ballet bar (barre) as a prop, Barre is a fitness trend that incorporates ballet moves, yoga, Pilates and light weights while using the barre to steady your body as you focus on strength training. Sessions are short, so you can easily fit one in if you are pressed for time. Because of the way the workouts are designed, your core is engaged the entire time, which means better abs! Barre is brilliant for toning, weight loss and it’s safe for pregnant women too.

POUND IT OUT

This exercise takes the saying “dance to the beat of your own drum” literally.

Pound sessions give you a full-body workout using lightweight drumsticks called Ripsticks® to make the music you train to. The class is a combination of cardio, conditioning and strength

training with yoga and Pilates-inspired movements. You’re making drumming movements the whole time to incorporate your entire body in the workout, which makes for a fun kilojoule-burning jam session.

SPARTAN STRONG

The popularity of the Jeep Warrior Race in South Africa is a sure sign that people love a challenge, are into health and team sport and love being in the outdoors getting down and dirty while navigating obstacle courses. Spartan Strong has taken this concept and brought it into a gym or studio setting. In the fitness class, you move from one obstacle to another in a series of workouts that require mental and physical agility. Not only does Spartan Strong test your limits, it also teaches you to pace yourself, as the next challenge is usually even more challenging than the last.

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BEAUTY

A CUP OF B E AU T Y TAKE A CAPPUCCINO AND SEPARATE IT INTO ITS INGREDIENTS: YOU GET COFFEE, SUGAR AND MILK, RIGHT? YES, BUT THEY ARE SO MUCH MORE THAN THAT! IT'S ACTUALLY THREE COMPLETELY NATURAL, TOTALLY FABULOUS BEAUTY ESSENTIALS. BY DOMINIQUE WOLF MILK

Cleopatra, the ancient Egyptian queen renowned for her striking beauty, regularly soaked in a bath of milk to keep her skin soft and glowing. Legend has it that she had 700 donkeys to provide milk for her daily skincare regime. Modern science proves she was onto a good thing. The lactic acid in milk is an alpha hydroxy acid (AHA), which dissolves the glue that holds the skin together and enables a deeper cleansing of skin. Luckily you don’t need a whole herd of asses on hand! Pour between two and four cups of cow’s milk into your bath, soak for up to 20 minutes and then gently rub the skin with a washcloth or loofah to get rid of dead skin.

TRY THIS MILK, HONEY AND OATMEAL FACE MASK FOR THE MOST GLORIOUS GLOWING SKIN: • Take one tablespoon each of milk and oats and add one teaspoon of honey.

• Using your fingertips apply this mixture onto your clean face and leave on for 10 minutes.

• Rinse off with warm water.

COFFEE

Sure, we know that too much caffeine is not good for you… in a beverage. But here is why it is essential in your beauty routine.

Coffee grounds are the perfect consistency to make a good exfoliator, and their caffeic acid boosts collagen production. Make some coffee ice cubes a staple in your freezer for those days when you need to de-puff your eyes. Just gently trace your eye area with the cube and voila, bright-eyed in an instant.

DO YOU HAVE WEARY FEET AT THE END OF A LONG DAY? HERE IS A RECIPE FOR THE MOST DELICIOUS COFFEE AND COCONUT FOOT SCRUB: • Blend together one cup of coconut oil, half a cup of ground coffee, and two teaspoons of vanilla extract.

• Prepare a bowl of warm soapy water and soak your feet for 10 minutes.

• While soaking, apply scrub to feet to exfoliate the dead skin.

• Rinse and dry.

SUGAR

THIS SIMPLE RECIPE CAN BE MADE IN A MATTER OF MINUTES AND IS NOT ONLY A SKIN SCRUB, IT’S SUPER MOISTURISING TOO!

• Take one tablespoon of brown sugar, half a tablespoon of white sugar, half a tablespoon of olive or coconut oil and mix together well.

• Massage onto face and body in gentle circular motions until your skin feels smooth, then rinse off with warm water.

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IMAGES Shutterstock

Exfoliating with a sugar scrub is beneficial to your face and body no matter what type of skin you have. Getting rid of dead skin cells is the number one benefit but it also makes your skin smoother, helps prevent acne and blackheads and evens your skin tone.

BEAUTY

AFRO-OILS

LONGER, HEALTHIER HAIR IS A GOAL FOR MOST OF US, AND AFRICAN WOMEN ARE INVESTING HEAPS OF TIME AND MONEY ON OUR NATURAL HAIR TO ACHIEVE THAT GOAL. WE'VE FOUND THESE TRIEDAND-TESTED NATURAL OILS THAT ARE EVERYTHING RIGHT NOW. BY DOMINIQUE WOLF

W

e all know there is no miracle product you can apply to your scalp to make your hair grow. How fast your hair grows is determined largely by genetics. These oils, however, have been proven to keep your hair moisturised and your scalp healthy, and as a bonus, they’re not genetically modified and don’t contain parabens and other harmful chemicals either.

COCONUT OIL

The powerhouse du jour of oils, coconut oil is 100% natural, which means it is free of drying alcohol, silicone and other chemicals that usually do more harm than good, and it is far better than highly formulated treatments. Unlike hair oils that just coat the strands and sit on the hair, coconut penetrates the hair shaft past the cuticle to truly repair and restore damage from the source. In its pure form it adds shine to your hair, moisturises it, prevents dandruff and promotes growth.

AVOCADO OIL

Avocado oil is renowned for its benefits in hair care. Avocado oil can be used in hair conditioners, DIY hair masks and styling products due to its nourishing effect on your hair and scalp. Avocado oil smoothens, softens, hydrates and supplies the nutrients needed to make your hair healthier. To maximise its effects, massage it onto your scalp and hair.

IMAGES Shutterstock

OLIVE OIL

There are so many ways to use this plain old kitchen oil in natural hair treatment! Use it as a pre-shampoo hot-oil treatment to coat, condition and soften dry, tangled curls or add it to conditioners and deep treatments.

Dab a few drops on your ‘fro for an instant glistening sheen. There’s hardly a wrong way to use olive oil. It easily penetrates the hair shaft, which means your strands can really benefit from its vitamin E and antioxidants. Extra virgin olive oil is your best bet for hair care.

JOJOBA OIL

Jojoba (pronounced ho-ho-ba) oil is actually a kind of wax derived from the bean seed of the jojoba plant. This oil has huge benefits for natural African hair. When the scalp produces too much sebum (natural oil), the excess can harden and turn into wax, which can clog the follicles and hinder hair growth.

To avoid this, just apply small amounts of jojoba oil onto your scalp to loosen and remove the hardened oil/wax. This will help to keep the scalp clean and healthy and at the same time fight scalp infection.

ARGAN OIL

Argan oil is one of the best natural oils for hair. It helps fight frizz and leaves a great shine on your hair.

It also promotes better health for damaged scalps. If you use 100% argan or Moroccan argan oil, you can incorporate a small amount of it into your shampoo and conditioner. Your hair will become softer with these combinations. Look for labels saying organic, natural, unrefined, coldpressed and pure argan oil.

All these oils in their 100% pure forms are available at Dis-Chem and health stores.

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GROOMING

WHAT LIES BENEATH

Essential grooming tips for the modern African man

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one are the days when a shower, shave and spritz of your signature smelly were all you needed. Just like women have their beauty routines, there are a few basic necessities that men need to do regularly to keep up to speed with their urban, metrosexual counterparts who are getting their grooming on.

The four key areas will always be the same: hair, nails, skin and teeth. So let’s unpack what every well-groomed African man needs to consider and theoptions that are out there.

HAIR

This includes head and facial hair. Manscaping has become an art in itself. Each man’s hair routine will differ depending on their hair texture, length and style. The challenge with men of colour is to maintain the moisture in the hair, so using ladies’ hair products might not be ideal.

Hair products that have natural ingredients are generally your best bet. If you have dreads or a thick head of hair, you should also consider using a sheen spray every morning.

Store-bought products such as Jabu Stone Hair Moulder, Invisi Wax and Hair Nourisher or Dabur Amla For Men hair products are great options and conveniently available from Clicks stores. Another brand which is amazing for maintaining strong and healthy hair is the MPL product range available from www.takealot.com or Clicks.

BEING STYLISH AND FASHIONABLE, AMAZINGLY TAILORED CLOTHES AND EXPENSIVE SHOES ARE ALL GREAT WEAPONS IN THE QUEST FOR STATUS. BUT IF WHAT LIES BENEATH IS CRUSTY AND UNKEMPT, YOUR COVER WILL SOON BE BLOWN!

BY DOMINIQUE WOLF

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Your beard is an extension of your hair-grooming routine and to keep it looking slick, invest in a good beard balm or oil and a beard brush. Try products from www.beardworx. co.za or www.thebeardedman.co.za. Thanks to technology you can now see exactly what beard style will suit you with apps such as Beardify, Beard Booth or Barber Shop Booth, which add beards to photographs of your face to give you an idea of what you would look like.

IMAGES Shutterstock

How often you cut your hair depends on the rate at which it grows and your hairstyle. Ideally you should be visiting the barber every two weeks to maintain a slick look. While you are at it, don’t forget those nose and ear hairs. Wax or clip them at the same time!

GROOMING

SKIN We get it, no man wants to go through the rigmarole of using a whole bunch of products just to get ready for bed. Again, the type of products you use depends on your skin type and what it needs. Here are some great, easily accessible options, available at Dis-Chem, Clicks and even some Pick n Pay stores.

NORMAL SKIN

SENSITIVE SKIN

CLINIQUE FOR MEN FACE SCRUB R380

NIVEA FOR MEN SENSITIVE MOISTURISER R99

CLINIQUE FOR MEN MAXIMUM HYDRATOR R515

NIVEA FOR MEN SENSITIVE FACE WASH R66

TEETH

Keeping your gnashers in good nick is a no-brainer! Brush twice a day, floss at least once a day and use mouthwash every day.

If your teeth are dull, stained or just outright yellow, use a teeth whitening kit such as the Brilliant White Advanced Teeth Whitening Kit from www.takealot.com for R799. And it should go without saying – visit a dentist at least once a year.

OILY SKIN

DERMALOGICA OILY SKIN KIT R859

NAILS

DRY SKIN

AGEING SKIN

LAB SERIES INSTANT MOISTURE GEL R475

L’ORÉAL MEN EXPERT VITA LIFT LIFTING MOISTURISER R135

LAB SERIES PRO LS ALL-IN-ONE CLEANSING GEL R865

L’ORÉAL MEN EXPERT CHARCOAL FACE WASH R95

Dry, cracked skin around dirty, overgrown or bitten nails is pretty revolting.

If you hate the idea of sitting in a salon having your nails buffed and polished, at least get into the routine of cutting your nails every week. There are plenty of men’s grooming salons around these days that offer relaxing treatments in an environment designed especially for men.

WHERE TO GO AND GET GROOMED IN YOUR TOWN The Sorbet Man franchise is popping up everywhere. Find the store closest to you at www.sorbetman.co.za.

If you like the idea of enjoying a drink and a cigar while someone does the dirty work for you, try Hines and Harley in Joburg.

Call 079 417 1424 or visit www.hinesandharley.co.za.

IMAGES Shutterstock

For a one-stop grooming shop in Cape Town visit Glasshouse Rejuvenation. Go to www.glasshouserejuvenation.com, email info@glasshouserejuvenation.com or call 021 419 9599.

For a head-to-toe manscape in Durban, your best bet is Men’s Grooming and Spa. For more info or to book an appointment go to www.mgsandspa.co.za.

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ADVERTORIAL

BUS A M ED

RA IS ING T H E BAR I N HE ALTHCA R E

BUSAMED IS A RELATIVELY YOUNG, PROUDLY SOUTH AFRICAN AND AWARD-WINNING HOSPITAL GROUP WITH A VISION TO BECOME THE LEADER IN HEALTHCARE EXCELLENCE IN SOUTH AFRICA.

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usamed’s aim is to provide quality, cost-effective healthcare services to its patients in partnership with its specialist health professionals using a combination of high clinical standards and innovative technology. The facilities are managed and operated with the backing of the Busamed management company.

Since its introduction with the opening of Busamed Paardevlei Private Hospital in the Western Cape in May 2015, Busamed

has grown into one of the fastest growing hospital groups in sub-Saharan Africa, opening four new facilities across the country and acquiring three established hospitals in just three years.

It all started with a dream of providing exceptional quality healthcare at affordable prices. Development in the years since then have culminated in the opening of Busamed Paardevlei Private Hospital, Busamed Bram Fischer International Airport Hospital in Bloemfontein, Busamed Modderfontein Private Hospital Orthopaedic & Oncology Centre in Johannesburg, and Busamed Harrismith Private Hospital in the Free State.

The acquisitions of the Gateway and Hillcrest hospitals in KwaZulu-Natal were concluded in 2016, and with the addition of Busamed Lowveld Private Hospital in Nelspruit earlier this year, Busamed increased its hospital count to seven in total.

The Busamed group of hospitals regularly receives compliments directly from patients*, and industry stakeholders are also impressed going on the recently

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published results of the Discovery membership satisfaction survey (Mesh scores), where five of the seven Busamed hospitals are in the Top 10 in the country.

ADVERTORIAL Further to this, Busamed believes it’s the “ground-level” implementation of its core values of Accountability, Friendliness, Respect, Integrity and Quality Care that saw the announcement of “Top 5 hospitals in South Africa” being bestowed on the Busamed group.

Four of the hospitals in the Busamed group were recognised and acknowledged at the recent 2018 Discovery Quality Summit, including Busamed Hillcrest Private Hospital: Top 5 – 2014, 2015, 2016; Busamed Gateway Private Hospital: Top 5 – 2015, Highest Score 2016; Busamed Paardevlei Private Hospital: No.1 in the Western Cape

A few words from Busamed’s happy patients…

*

“As a result of contracting pleurisy, pericarditis and atypical mycoplasma pneumonia, I’ve had three stints in your hospital since November and on each occasion I was in Ward A. Throughout my hospitalisation the staff of Ward A was without exception, immensely kind, helpful, cheerful and friendly and this made a huge difference, especially during the period when I was most ill and struggling to breathe or talk.

They always came immediately when I rang the bell and on the few occasions that I needed assistance going to the bathroom, they were always supportive. The catering staff were also very helpful and friendly.

Your hospital is rapidly gaining a reputation for excellent service and I am recommending it to friends and associates.”

Email – 14 December 2016 “You have displayed the utmost patience, consideration, tolerance and devotion to our dad. You were kind and caring during the difficult days and you made our dad feel cared for.

We want to thank you from the bottom of our hearts. It was an experience we will never forget for the rest of our lives. We hope that all the good you do comes back to you a thousand fold.”

Letter – 16 January 2016 “This is to let you know that Mr Mashele sends his sincere gratitude and appreciation for the best care he received over the two days of his admission.

He cannot stop bragging to all his family and friends (and on Facebook J) about the way he was received. His friends who came to visit him yesterday could not believe how beautiful our hospital is, and they themselves said that next time they are sick they will definitely come to us or refer their families.”

26 August 2017

– 2015; and the recently acquired Busamed Lowveld Private Hospital: Top 5 – 2014, 2015, Highest Score 2016.

“This achievement is very gratifying and validates our daily commitment to providing the best healthcare possible to our communities, while maintaining efficient and effective facilities,” said Dr. Diliza Mji, Chief Executive Officer of Busamed. “To have achieved these ratings three years in a row is a reflection of the excellent, high-quality patient care provided day-in and day-out by our talented, dedicated and compassionate staff and medical practitioners.”

WEB www.busamed.co.za FACEBOOK /busamed TWITTER @busamed LINKEDIN /company/busamed

TRENDS: PROFILE

Sello Hatang

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TRENDS: PROFILE

T H E S TO R Y OF ONE MAN DETACHMENT FROM OUR OWN HISTORY COMES AT A COST, WHICH IS WHY THE WORLD NEEDS PEOPLE LIKE SELLO HATANG, CEO OF THE NELSON MANDELA FOUNDATION – AND HIS BOOTS. BY VUS NGXANDE

S

ello Hatang owns a pair of black leather hiking boots enclosed in a glass case. The boots are covered in a layer of dust and look more beaten down than they are. They are from his first hike up the Drakensberg mountains. The dirt on the boots holds more value than the retail value of the boots themselves because it is that which tells the story, his story; a story which would have otherwise been washed away by a fading memory’s proclivity towards simplistic neatness.

Sello Hatang is currently CEO of the Nelson Mandela Foundation.

The North West native succeeded the then-NMF head Achmat Dangor in 2013. Previously he had worked as the head of information communications and spokesperson for the South African Human Rights Commission and was director of the SA History Archive (SAHA) at Wits University. Hatang serves on the boards of SAHA and the Open Democracy Advice Centre and is a founding member and member of the advisory council of the Council for the Advancement of the South African Constitution (CASAC). He is a man of understated stature and firm presence, able to break down the complex nuances of history with a jovial disposition. The dirty boots in a glass case are a testament to his roots in studying archival science, a course he pursued at the prompting of a high school history teacher. He studied the processes of building and preserving archives to ensure that history is not distorted by acts of nature or acts of man. His first foray into the job market, however, was as a teacher in the mid-90s. It was a career, he mentions with wry amusement, that lasted all of three months. He then applied for a position at the National Archives.

In 1999 Sello Hatang was seconded to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. One of the archival collections that he worked on while there was the IDASA collection. The Institute for Democratic Alternatives in South Africa (IDASA) was a think-tank established in 1986 that was created due to the fact that democratic change in the country had, by then, become inevitable. The work of the organisation was to engage with citizens from all walks of life in order to envision a way forward.

“It was about how democracy was imagined,” he says. “What kind of democracy did we want?”

The reconciliatory nature of his TRC work did not blind him into believing that the nature of memory, and archiving, was benevolent. We spoke of the tendency of many families to not see value in the keeping of records as a family tradition. Some

ARCHIVES CAN BRING PAIN, THEY CAN OPEN WOUNDS AND THEY CAN TAKE YOU BACK TO PLACES YOU DON’T WANT TO BE. families even go as far as destroying artefacts from the past, such as letters. “Archives can bring pain, they can open wounds and they can take you back to places you don’t want to be,” he says.

This is especially true with many black families in South Africa.

Our past is filled with pain, wounds and places that many people would like to forget. Yet helping people forget is not the work of an archivist.

As the head of the Nelson Mandela Foundation, Hatang’s work revolves around the legacy of one man and its intrinsic interconnectedness with the histories of many other men and women. How then, I ask him, does the story of one man evolve into the national identity of a country? The answer lies in how we interact with our history. If a person accesses a set of core memories from their predecessor, and if those memories resonate with the person, that person then augments their own lived experiences into those memories, imbuing them with the person’s own aspirations. Those memories then become a new act; no longer bound by the past. That is how a legacy is created.

It just so happened that Nelson Mandela’s legacy resonated with millions of people.

But Hatang points out that Nelson Mandela himself was acutely aware of how his legacy could be misconstrued in the eyes of those searching for an untainted icon. He pointedly refers to an entry in one of Madiba’s journals in which the former statesman jotted, “One issue that deeply worried me in prison was the false image I unwittingly projected to the outside world; of being regarded as a saint. I never was one, even on the basis of an earthly definition of a saint as a sinner who keeps on trying.”

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TRENDS: PROFILE

IT IS DIFFICULT TO FULLY GRASP THE CONSEQUENCES OF A PEOPLE’S DETACHMENT FROM THEIR OWN HISTORY.

“Archives are not just about the preservation of old records.

They are about the memory of the nation. They are about how the nation sees itself, how it imagines its future,” Hatang says.

The recently released documentary about the life of Winnie Madikizela-Mandela caused waves around the country, especially in its tragic synchronicity with her passing. Many people, especially black women, found themselves questioning the memory of their nation, or at the very least, how that memory had been presented.

“What pains me is the pitting of the two legacies (that of Nelson and Winnie Mandela) against each other,” he says. Yet he is not dismissive of those who hold opposing views. He says that people look for icons we can resonate with.

“We are always looking for heroes,” he explains, “heroes that can affirm us and our disaffection, heroes that can affirm how we have been wronged.”

Nelson Mandela became an icon because, at the time, his incarceration affirmed the plight of a people incarcerated by an unjust system that imprisoned them in poverty and brutality. His freedom represented the freedom of the people.

Our relationship with history changes when our own relationship with ourselves, internally and externally, changes. When Mam Winnie’s book, 491 Days: Prisoner Number 1323/69, was released in 2013, not much was said of it. Yet when the documentary came out, it came out in a world where black women’s demand for acknowledgement of the wrongs they had endured had reached its peak. On that fertile soil, our national identity, from the point of view of women, simply had to change. It had to become more inclusive, less patriarchal and far more cognisant of women’s agency.

Sello Hatang

It's difficult to fully grasp the consequences of a people’s detachment from their own history. Perhaps it's easier to understand how it can affect an individual. Alzheimer’s is a disease that robs the mind of its memories. It eats away at a person’s shortterm memory, then it makes a person forget who they are; their own identity fades.

Eventually, in its last stages, the lungs of a person with Alzheimer’s simply forget to breathe, and their heart forgets to beat. That is the world that awaits us when people like Sello Hatang do not exist. His job isn't to simply keep Madiba’s memory alive. It's to remind us that our own memories are not only keeping us alive but also serve as the fuel that moves us. His job is to help us form a healthy relationship with our history; one where we're empowered by the legacies we inherit rather than being crippled by the pain of the past.

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DESIGN

THE POWER OF ( D E S I G N )

THINKING DISRUPTION IS THE BUZZWORD OF THE MODERN-DAY LEXICON. LET'S HEAR WHY DESIGN THINKING IS ALL THE RAGE.

BY KOJO BAFFOE 26

DESIGN

E

verywhere we look, disruption permeates business processes, systems and the manner in which we develop our products and services. Disruption is defined (by dictionary.com) as “forcible separation or division into parts” or, from a business perspective, as “a radical change in an industry, business or strategy, etc, especially involving the introduction of a new product or service that creates a new mark”. Design thinking can be said to have also evolved out of a disruption of sorts.

WHAT IS DESIGN THINKING?

Dr. Lethabo Motsoaledi, CEO and cofounder of innovation studio Mostoaledi & West Disruptive Intelligence in Cape Town, explains, “I also use the term user-centric design when explaining design thinking.

It’s a methodology of problem-solving where you keep the user at the centre of the process of coming up with solutions.

There are four orders of design, namely symbols design (graphic design, logos), industrial design (products), systems design (interactions with products and services) and, the most complex, design of models (business models and holistic systems, such as education). Design thinking is in the third and fourth orders where there are increasingly complex systems interacting.”

Dr Puleng Makhoalibe, head of the School of Innovation, Creativity & Entrepreneurship (ICE) and author of The Alchemy of Design Thinking, agrees and expands on this. “There are many views on what design thinking is. Some refer to it as a process or methodology, some as a mindset, some as a set of tools, some as principles, some as strategy. I believe all of these are correct but can represent a limited view of a very versatile concept.

Literally translated, design thinking is a study of how designers think and perhaps do their work. This phenomenon was then brought from the design stream into the business stream as it is believed to embody the secrets of how businesses can harness wicked problems facing them in today’s world.”

Her first encounter with design thinking was in 2007 while studying towards an MBA at the University of Cape Town (UCT).

“I was a software engineer and was much more acquainted with traditional project management approaches. The design thinking approach was challenging to me.

I was very analytical, logical and scientific and the idea of flexing my creative muscle and engaging it in problem-solving was quite nerve-wracking. My mission became how I could bring design thinking and creativity to my world of software development.”

While much has been written about the differences between traditional approaches and design thinking, Makhoalibe believes that the design thinking approach integrates the analytical with the intuitive, imaginative side. It involves the exploration with the exploitation, while the divergence and convergence lead to fresh insights.

fast, in what usually is an imperfect state.

While the stakes are low, the market gets to experience the product and reacts to it. It is this wisdom of getting quick feedback, responding and improving the product, that brings innovation and makes design thinking different from traditional approaches.”

But how this is done, practically?

Motsoaledi believes that if one sticks to this five-step process, it will yield great solutions, every time. She describes it as follows:

SHIFTING CULTURE

EMPATHISE

This is where you seek to truly understand what the problem is. The traditional challenge with experts is that they view problems from a prejudiced perspective. In this phase, you observe and interview the people facing the problem. You keep asking questions to understand why they do what they do. Out of this, you get to the root of the problem.

DEFINE

You define a persona of the person who faces the challenge, their pain points, their experience and, based on your observations, what you think they want to achieve. You come out of this with a defined problem and a defined person who faces that problem.

The primary difficulty that both Motsoaledi and Makhoalibe face is the slow rate at which design thinking to facilitate innovation is being adopted, particularly in corporate entities. This is because, in Makhoalibe’s view, some organisations deploy design thinking as if it is some magical process that will suddenly shift the organisational culture

THERE ARE MANY VIEWS ON WHAT DESIGN THINKING IS. SOME REFER TO IT AS A PROCESS OR METHODOLOGY...

IDEATE

This is the divergence phase where you think of every possible solution, even if it seems impossible. You do not limit yourself to what is or is not possible. It is about thinking of and sharing all ideas.

PROTOTYPE

This is when you narrow down your ideas to a fast and simple solution which you would then go a present to the user. The value of the prototyping is you don’t spend a ridiculous amount of money.

TESTING

In a way, you go back to the empathy/ observation phase when you test. You determine what works and what doesn’t, ideate, prototype and test, looping until you have a workable solution.

For Makhoalibe, a favourite element of the design thinking process is what she calls “the ability to hold two opposing truths and allowing a new creative truth to emerge. While traditionally, it used to be ‘either/ or’, the design thinking approach encourages ‘yes and’, which leads to multiple options before a choice is made.

Another characteristic that intrigues me is seeking to get a product to the market

Lethabo Motsoaledi

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KAYA FM AD

DESIGN

THIS IS THE DIVERGENCE PHASE WHERE YOU THINK OF EVERY POSSIBLE SOLUTION, EVEN IF IT SEEMS IMPOSSIBLE.

and lead to innovation. Buying Post-it notes and printing fancy-looking colourful processes will not suddenly shift the culture of an organisation or build brilliant products. She adds, “We have recently seen scholars proposing a shift from design thinking to design-being, or to designdoing, or to design culture. I think the ultimate quest is to bring practicality that makes a difference rather than making it another well-theorised, fashionable fad in business journals.”

Motsoaledi believes that, whether they define it as such or not, small businesses tend to practise design thinking because they find their customer base, bend over backwards to ensure their needs are met and constantly tweak their services to ensure they remain relevant. For corporates, she has identified four primary hinderances, namely:

COLLABORATION

This is a key principle yet departments within larger organisations often operate in silos and are adverse to collaboration, which means they can’t create holistic solutions.

HIERARCHY

Customer insights often get drowned out before they reach the decision maker. Noone wants to tell the boss that the customer hates the product and so, as it goes up the chain from those on the ground, it goes from bad news to good news.

RISK

Being willing to try something new, even if it may fail, is also at the heart of design thinking. People within the corporate world are rewarded on the basis of performance and success. A mistake may result in a person losing their bonus or affecting their career advancement so they do everything to mitigate risk.

CULTURE

A popular role within many companies is the head of innovation but you can’t leave creating a culture of innovation to one individual, especially when they don’t get enough funding, time or support. It needs to be company-wide.

THE PRESENT AND FUTURE

The landscape is gradually changing, albeit slowly. Tasked with setting Henley Business School’s ICE, Makhoalibe has found herself in the enviable position of developing programmes for corporates while, for Motsoaledi, the projects her company is involved in give her hope.

For example, they recently completed a design thinking project on behalf of the FirstRand Foundation, that was looking to replicate the success (100% placement) of the Johannesburg vocational training college Sparrow Schools in Mpumalanga.

Motsoaledi & West insisted on following the design thinking process and, having recently finished this part of the project, a school will be built, in partnership with a local vocational college, in the province.

Education is important to both Makhoalibe and Motsoaledi. Makhoalibe believes that design thinking can “provide us with tools and academic grounding to rethink and shape a curriculum that is relevant to the continent and focused on equipping learners with the thinking tools, skills and confidence to solve problems.”

Dr. Puleng Makhoalibe

Diversity, a willingness to follow a process that deals with human beings as human beings instead of just numbers, the ability to take judgement, ego and “expertise” out of the equation all form the soul of design thinking and, as long as we have people like Lethabo Motsoaledi and Puleng Makhoalibe to guide us along, we should all be fine.

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TREND

HO W TO SHAT T E R

A DV ERTI S ING 'S GLAS S C EILIN G I WISH I COULD SAY THE GLASS CEILING BLACK CREATIVES FACE IN SOUTH AFRICA'S ADVERTISING INDUSTRY WAS NOT REAL. INSTEAD, IT'S A GLARING REFLECTION OF THE TRUE SOUTH AFRICA WE OFTEN SHY AWAY FROM TALKING ABOUT. LET’S CLEAR THE RAINBOW AND SPEAK ABOUT THE REAL SOUTH AFRICA FOR A MOMENT. BY BOGOSI MOTSHEGWA

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TREND

W

hile strides have been made post-1994, South Africa is still not shifting the equality and inclusiveness needle.

Massmart chief executive Mark Lamberti was recently found guilty of racially discriminating against Adila Chowen, a qualified and experienced chartered accountant. Someone less qualified and less experienced was prioritised and given the position Chowen deserved. Most astonishing, but not surprising, was the revelation that Lamberti referred to Chowen as a female employment equity appointee. These words were uttered not in private, but in the presence of her colleagues.

they have been summoned not as the brain that could potentially add value, but rather as the face of the company’s BEE scorecard.

The advertising industry is no different to other industries, in that being referred to as mere “employment equity” is not foreign to black advertising professionals.

Many black professionals in advertising face the challenges of not being seen as both qualified and capable. Even with the papers and experience to back our credentials, we remain doubted and less entrusted with the responsibility of delivering work on big brands.

This issue is so prevalent for us that we talk about it daily. Whenever black creatives are gathered, you can bet your worst creative idea that the topic is about this struggle and the challenges we face.

We talk about them so much because the mistreatment and discrimination is relentless. Relentless but subtle, and yet its effect is vivid. Talking about it is our tangible and immediate recourse or outlet.

I’ve heard and have definitely uttered some of the following: “This industry is not for us”; “I hate advertising”; “I’m leaving advertising”; “My man, we are just BEE points, nothing else, nothing more”; or “We will never be good enough for the industry”.

Black economic empowerment (BEE) has been a catch-22. When a black creative is employed, there’s a cloud of doubt about whether they’ve been employed for their skill or for the scorecard. The doubt about their capability lingers. Even though we know that race has nothing to do with talent or skill, BEE has created the perception that black creatives are hired for equity and white creatives for talent. It is almost as if BEE has given black creatives an undeserved advantage to enter the industry. Perhaps this is the reason that even with laws and guidelines in place, the industry fails fully and truly to transform.

The industry still fails to be truly inclusive.

In numbers, there are more black creatives or professionals inside agency buildings, but we see far fewer in boardrooms so there aren’t as many black creative professionals who partake in decisionmaking processes.

The glass ceiling may be transparent, but if you inspect it closely, you will realise how complex and multi-layered a concept it is. It is not just about how many black faces are or should be in a boardroom. Most black creatives will either know or suspect this: whenever one is called to be in a meeting that they wouldn’t ordinarily be called into,

Being black myself, not only do I bump my head against this glass ceiling, but I hear and see other creatives bump against it too. Not only do I have to deal with my personal challenges, I also have to be a therapeutic ear to their cries. We share the same struggle. We share the same pain. We see the horror in each other’s eyes. There’s not a single day that goes by that we are not reminded of the ceiling. This ceiling is a euphemism for, “You are not and will never be good enough, regardless of what you do.”

If I were to relay the stories shared by black creatives highlighting the challenges we face, this feature would fill the entire magazine. But perhaps three challenges stand out: exclusion from power, not being paid enough and not being given opportunities to handle responsibilities or to work on exciting brands.

FAKE INCLUSION: EXCLUSION FROM POWER

I have become weary of believing that laws will bring about change. We all know the saying that rules are meant to be broken, which is exactly what happens with laws put in place to help the industry accelerate transformation. They may not necessarily be broken, but they are easy to manipulate and manoeuvre around, thereby allowing for a pretence of adherence. Agency leaders and owners find ways of looking compliant, without really being so. BEE status is a commodity, meaning that it can be bought and sold as quickly as fat cakes.

WHENEVER BLACK CREATIVES ARE GATHERED, YOU CAN BET YOUR WORST CREATIVE IDEA THAT THE TOPIC IS ABOUT THE STRUGGLE AND THE CHALLENGES WE FACE. Some advertising agencies buy their BEE status. They get or buy board members employees hardly or never see. These board members know nothing about the industry, have never worked in it, and are not invested in the real transformation that we seek.

Some agencies look black from the outside, but aren’t. I am weary of agencies that look majority black because I wonder about the power or leverage they truly have. There are black creative professionals who seem to occupy positions of power or authority, but the reality is that they are about as powerful as presidents in movies or series.

It is the camouflage of power. We see it, but it’s not real.

NOT BEING PAID ENOUGH: EXPLOITATION

Black creatives are the most exploited, overworked and underpaid group of people in advertising. We are not, and we will never be, paid what we deserve. We are always negotiated down. Our background leaves us on the back foot and forever at a disadvantage. We come to the negotiation table wearing fear on our faces and no power in our pockets. We come emptyhanded, meaning that whatever we are given inadvertently becomes enough or more than enough, because when you come from a base of zero, a “plus” is still a positive.

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TREND

BLACK CREATIVES ARE THE MOST EXPLOITED, OVERWORKED AND UNDERPAID GROUP OF PEOPLE IN ADVERTISING. We start at a low base. Like most, we start as interns, but for some reason, black creatives tend to occupy the position for far longer than their white counterparts.

Black creatives end up being interns who earn less than R5 000 for longer than the norm, often for two to three years, which is ludicrous, with an increase of R800 to R1 000 if you are lucky when you finally make it to junior level. The thing that keeps people in such situations for longer than necessary is the fear of being unemployed, and employers know this. They know that our realities do not afford us the power or confidence to make demands. Increases are achieved by way of changing companies, and promotions are almost non-existent for black creatives. In one instance in my career, in my new job, there was no point in the conversation that my salary was ever a topic. I was merely given a number, and I accepted it, no questions asked. That will always haunt me as I feel that had I stood up for myself, my current salary would be different, and so I guess I will always feel short-changed, and that is the reality for most.

A black and white creative can start off their careers in an ad agency, but they will never start off nor end with the same salary at the end of a twelve-month cycle.

The white creative is likely to have received two promotions and the opportunity to experiment by dabbling in different departments, while the black creative remains an intern in the same department in which they started. In two years’ time, the black creative will report to his or her schoolmate. The disheartening thing about this is that this is not a made-up story. I’m not a creative writer so I’m not creative enough to come up with such stories.

I know someone who graduated with his former schoolmate, but the disparity

in their salaries is gobsmacking. It is embarrassing and, to be frank, an infringement on human rights. There is no reason that two people with the same or similar level of experience could have a 500% difference in income – it’s just insane.

WORKING ON BRANDS THAT MATTER

There is an unspoken rule in the industry that people are divided into what is perceived to be relevant to them. Black creatives are only relevant when it comes to mass market products, when “black insights” are needed or required.

I’ve reviewed big agencies that have created the perception that they are transformed, these are agencies that have hogged all the black creatives. Reviewing the best work from those agencies and looking at the credits list, there are no black names.

When agencies produce work that gets PR traction and talkability, all of a sudden, there are no black creatives mentioned, at most one or two.

Black creatives get the short end of the stick, where they work on leftover briefs and briefs that add no value to their portfolio. Black creatives are less likely to get credit for work produced, and this is the norm and golden thread across all agencies. Ask any black creative about their personal experience where they have produced compelling and sometimes pitchwinning work, but were not acknowledged.

I cannot fathom that these things still happen in 2018.

What will it take to shatter the glass ceiling?

I’m not sure if written laws are the best way to go. It’s going to take more than legislation to get this right.

How to shatter the glass ceiling for black creatives EMPATHY I believe that true transformation is predicated on empathy. Until such time that agency leaders and owners get to understand a black person’s woes and feelings, and until such time that we do not think of BEE as a quantifiable score, but rather an opportunity to do the right thing, we will never reach true transformation. Agency owners and leaders are completely oblivious to factors that shape black people’s lives.

They think that post-apartheid, everything just became fine. People are still struggling.

The industry will not solve South Africa’s socio-economic issues, but for those in it, it should try harder and do better. Unfortunately, empathy cannot be forced upon anyone.

EQUITABLE REMUNERATION True transformation is not just about having black people in the building running around and being bombarded with work that requires two to three people. Black creatives need to be paid fairly. It’s about paying us fairly, giving equal opportunities, and being entrusted with real work.

REAL WORK There are a few back creatives who get the opportunity to work on work that actually matters. The MAC Charter is great but the reality is that it and its authors are not living the everyday experiences, in meetings and boardrooms. We should be entrusted with all sorts of briefs and brands. I think that by excluding black creatives, there is a lost opportunity for the industry not just to add

value to the creative world, but to people’s lives as well. When you exclude those who represent eighty percent of the market, you lose out on hearing from South Africa. Those in power should listen to the black creatives. One of the challenges faced by the industry is that there isn’t an empathetic ear to hear out black creatives.

I don’t think that the industry has really tapped into the mass market in a way that is memorable and impactful. Black people are still being stereotyped as dancers and human hailers. I was looking at some old classics, adverts that were produced in the eighties, and the irony is that those ads were more representative and were carved out of real insights than today’s ads.

SPEAKING UP I think that the onus is on us as black creatives to also speak up. We should take our complaints and grievances outside of our intimate circles and address them to those in power. The challenge with this is that when you speak up alone, you stick out like a sore thumb and get labelled as the fearless one. You inadvertently become a target. This is why we should speak as a collective, and not as individuals.

Empathy from those in power, being involved in real work, being paid fairly and speaking up are solid ingredients to ensuring that the glass ceiling is shattered. It’s hard and difficult work but it will be worth it in the end.

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STYLE

SMART

IMAGES Blunt Moya and Neo Sefatsa

STREET

’STREETWEAR‘ IS DEFINED AS A STYLE OF CASUAL CLOTHING WORN BY URBAN YOUTH SUBCULTURES. CHEPA STREETWEAR, A NEW SOUTH AFRICAN E-COMMERCE BUSINESS, HAS TAKEN TRADITIONAL AFRICAN PRINT AND ADDED IT TO ITS FUNKY DESIGNS FOR A POSTMODERN, AFROCENTRIC CULTURE.

BY DOMINIQUE WOLF 34

IMAGES Blunt Moya and Neo Sefatsa

STYLE

C

hepa is Pretoria township slang for stylish or well-dressed. The founders of the streetwear company by the same name, Dumisani and Candice Mahlangu, believe in supporting local businesses and promoting creative synergies with brands and artists that result in mutually beneficial relationships. They both have an intense love for African print and feel that there's a gap in the market for streetwear that shows appreciation for African culture and is definitive of our African roots.

Africans have a long history with fabrics that are symbolic of our cultures.

The kente cloth is Ghana’s national fabric, raffia is used by the Kuba people of the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Kanembu clothing tradition dates as far back as the 800s. As Ndebele people themselves, Chepa’s founders can attest to the beauty of the colourful, handmade quilts and blankets of their land. They are fiercely proud of the fabrics used for their distinctive bomber jackets which are carefully selected with the intention of bringing a sense of belonging and experience of Africa to streetwear. The names of their jackets all come from either a famous African street, political stalwart or a relevant cultural reference.

PHONE 061 457 9998 FACEBOOK www.facebook.com/chepastreetwear INSTAGRAM www.instagram.com/chepa_streetwear

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AFRICAN LEGACY

DESIGNS FOR A FAMILY AND AN ENTIRE GENERATION

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FASHION

"BEING FASHIONABLE IS ONE THING, BEING STYLISH IS ANOTHER, BUT BEING YOURSELF IS THE MOST IMPORTANT." TANZANIAN-BORN SHERIA NGOWI TALKS ABOUT HIS COLLECTION AT AFI CAPE TOWN FASHION WEEK 2018. BY DOMINIQUE WOLF

A

s an African fashion designer, Sheria Ngowi (who was born Walter Thomas Ngowi) has learnt that resilience and unshakable faith are the keys to being the best he can be. He believes that what he is fighting for and building today will enable him to leave a legacy of hope, endurance and courage for other young Africans.

Raised by a lawyer father and bank accountant mother in Tanzania, Sheria had the intention of following in his father’s footsteps. In fact, he did study law but ended up following his father’s love of fashion and style instead. His career in fashion design began in 2008 when he debuted his designs for both men and women under the brand name Sheria Na Mavazi (which stands for dressing principles or regulations) in India. In 2009, he launched his own professional label, dedicated to his late father, under his own name: Sheria Ngowi. The accolades and achievements he’s received since then are countless.

Sheria Ngowi’s latest collection, Legacy, is luxurious and designed for sophisticated men who appreciate the looks and shapes from bygone eras. The suits are classic and masterfully put together,

showing daring, youthful silhouettes. The use of slim-fit check shirts, slim ties and bowties are details that make the collection simple and unique. This collection shows how blending modern trends with classic vintage looks creates a unique timeless style.

Sheria’s designs are made from linen, velvet, cotton, silk and satin, which he sources from Italy, the UK, Japan, India and Thailand.

“The most important thing a man carries is the right kind of attitude,” he says. “My biggest wish is to have my name in an international fashion platform, so that my grandkids and their friends could see that it is okay to follow a belief and for my country to be proud of me as a Tanzanian.”

For more information or to book an appointment, go to www.sheriangowibrand.com

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ADVERTORIAL

KAYA FM S H I N E S AT THE LIBERTY RADIO AWARDS THE NIGHT WAS A BUZZ AT THIS YEAR’S LIBERTY RADIO AWARDS HELD RECENTLY IN JOZI AT THE SANDTON CONVENTION CENTRE. THE AWARDS ARE AN ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF EXCELLENCE IN RADIO AND BRING THE ENTIRE INDUSTRY TOGETHER FOR A NIGHT OF CELEBRATION.

Michael Motsoeneng Bill

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ADVERTORIAL Gauteng’s biggest independent commercial radio station, Kaya FM, was also nominated in the following categories: Best Breakfast Show David O’Sullivan Best Business and Finance Show My Money and Me with Thuli Magunane Best Documentary Marikana: Five Years Best Field Reporter Tunicia Jegels Best Field Reporter Nompumelelo Ngubeni Multi-channel Promotion Jazzuary Master Class Best Music Show World Show with Nicky B Best News and Actuality Show Today with John Perlman Best News Bulletin Reader Nompumelelo Ngubeni Best Night Time Show The Law Report with Michael Motsoeneng Bill Best Traffic Presenter Mvangeli Nzuza Kaya FM was also nominated for the coverted Station of the Year, an award the station won in both 2013 and 2017.

Gugu Mfuphi

K

aya FM presenters, David O’Sullivan, Gugu Mfuphi and Michael Motsoeneng Bill walked away with three wins in the following categories:

Best Breakfast Presenter Best Business and Finance Show Best News and Actuality Show “Well done to the winners for their well-deserved accolades which is indeed a great acknowledgement for us from the industry,” says Greg Moloka, Managing Director at Kaya FM. DJ Keys, who currently works at Kaya FM, won the Best Afternoon Presenter award for his previous role at university radio station, Voice of Wits.

KAYA HOUSE 195 Jan Smuts Avenue, Parktown North, 2193 TEL 011 634 9500 WEB www.kayafm.co.za

David O’Sullivan

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FASHION

B R I G H T

LIGHTS

LUMIERE COUTURE SHOWED AN EXPLOSIVE NEW COLLECTION AT AFI CAPE TOWN FASHION WEEK EARLIER THIS YEAR. WE TAKE A LOOK AT THE TALENT BEHIND THIS GHANAIAN BRAND.

BY DOMINIQUE WOLF

L

umiere, which means light, was started in 2014 by University of Ghana graduate Princess Bertha LoganOwusu. This fashion-forward woman with exceptionally elegant taste creates ultra-feminine, timeless pieces.

Being born into a large family of women who were constantly stitching and sewing added to her inherent talent as a designer.

Princess Bertha says that her personal identity translates into her designs in many ways. “It is said that beauty is in the eye of the beholder, which to me means that my designs should be something I would love to see myself wearing all the time,” she says. “Personally, I love designs that speak volumes from the outside. It should be classy, chic and comfortable to wear and that’s exactly how I translate this into my designs.”

When Princess Bertha creates her designs, she takes her own colour "mood" into consideration. She is always on top of changing colour trends from season to season but as a designer

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FASHION

from the western part of Africa, she loves to infuse trends with her environment or the space she finds herself in. For Princess Bertha, brighter and warm colours win every time.

Her latest collection, recently shown at AFI Cape Town Fashion Week, was inspired by everything the contemporary African woman stands for and is in memory of the late Ghanaian fashion designer Kofi Anza. The garments are made of traditional Ghanaian flowing fabrics such as kente cloth infused with shiye, leather, beading and plain cotton – all combined to make sensational pieces. Lumiere designs cost between US$100 and $200 (about R1 255-R2 510), depending on the details. This year Lumiere is looking at expanding in terms of global reach, adding international shows and increasing its listing.

With various prestigious awards under her belt, Princess Bertha has no fear of not fitting in as she embraces what makes her brand unique.

FOR MORE INFO CONTACT lumierecouture.gh@gmail.com INSTAGRAM @lumierewoman and @lumierewoman.holiday FACEBOOK @Lumiere Couture TWITTER @Lumiere_Couture

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PROPERTY

IN THE

ZONE

SWITCH THE TIME SPENT COMMUTING FOR DOING THINGS YOU LOVE BY SPENDING MORE TIME WORKING FROM HOME – INVEST IN A HOME OFFICE LIKE THIS. BY ESTATE LIVING

M

ost people who work in an office from, say, nine to five, spend between one and three hours every day commuting.

That's time that could be spent at the gym, strolling on the beach, shopping, doing chores, cooking delicious meals, walking the dog, or playing with the kids.

IMAGE Shutterstock

“

Commuting, along with the increasing cost of fuel, the undeniable effect of carbon emissions and the acknowledged dangers of extended periods of sitting has made working from home very desirable, and the decreasing cost of technology and the development of fibre to the home (FTTH) Internet access has made it feasible.

While some employers are reluctant to let their staff out of their sight, most recognise that people are much more productive when they can work within their comfort zones – and that’s not just spatial ones. Let’s face it, no-one who spends eight hours in an office actually does a full eight hours of productive work.

It’s just not possible. And the time that's not productive is wasted – daydreaming, dozing, taking smoke breaks, making tea, checking Facebook, or just staring blankly at a screen with nothing happening in your brain.

People who work from home, on the other hand, use those “unproductive” moments constructively because nothing improves

mental concentration more than a short burst of physical activity, and it doesn’t have to be intense. Many freelancers pop in a load of laundry, work until they feel their minds wandering, they hang the laundry up, and return to their desks mentally refreshed.

You can substitute any domestic chore for laundry – dead-heading a few roses, doing some weeding, washing the breakfast dishes, unpacking the dishwasher, prepping vegetables for supper, and so on. An on-site worker would have to deal with all this after spending the whole day in the office and upward of an hour in the car. Really, a home workspace is a no-brainer.

But how to incorporate that workspace into your home is a tad more complicated.

PROPERTY

The simplest – and least efficient – is to simply work on the dining room table, but that’s not really sustainable. You need a dedicated space for two reasons. Firstly, so that you can work while others use that space and you can leave files or reference material out if you need to. And, secondly, so that you are mentally “at work”. Novelist Patricia Schonstein dresses in a smart skirt and blouse and puts on make-up every morning before walking into her home office so that she knows she's “at work”. I confess I'm the opposite. Sometimes I leap out of bed with a brilliant idea and dash off to my desk to implement it before the inspiration fades. And then, later – much later – I’ll shower and dress. But, even though I am in my pyjamas, I know that I'm “at work” because I have a dedicated home office.

So how do you create that home office, and how exactly do you want it to work?

SPACE STATION

SITTING PRETTY You will obviously need a desk. This is the nerve centre of your office space so design it around your work style. It could be just a table, or even a board across two two-drawer filing cabinets, or chests of drawers – surprisingly convenient and cost-effective. It’s also a good option to integrate a workspace surface into a shelf unit. You will also need a comfortable desk chair, and perhaps a couple of nice visitors’ chairs for small meetings.

Depending on the look you’re going for, it may be nice to use old chairs that you can paint in a cheerful colour and reupholster in bright fabric.

TO HAVE AND TO HOLD You will need shelves and space for filing.

Resist the temptation to store all your

documents going back years. Do a good sort. Get rid of what you don’t need to keep, and archive what you need to keep but will probably never look at – like finished projects, client files, tax records, and so on – in neat, protective archive boxes or a filing cabinet. These can even be in the garage or some other little- used space.

LET THERE BE LIGHT Place your desk in the best position to take advantage of natural lighting, which is the very, very best and by far the cheapest. If you're right-handed, it’s best to have light coming over your left shoulder, or from the left in the case of windows, and vice versa. Install good-quality LED lighting, and also a bright, adjustable desk lamp that you can focus on your work rather than in your face.

IMAGE Shutterstock

There are basically three strategies when it comes to setting aside space for a home office. The first is a dedicated room that is somehow isolated – even if only by a door – and is off limits to the rest of the family during work hours. The second is a more open space where other family members may have a desk or table so, for example, you can work while your kids do their homework, and maybe help out with the odd question – or even brainstorm a tricky work issue with your 12 year old. Even if you’re going for the more open option, a dedicated room is always best, but you would be amazed at how many people choose the darkest, coldest, pokiest room in the house for a study. Rather choose the sunniest room, and the one with the best view, so that it’s a room you will want to spend time in, and you can work without eye strain during the day and don’t need to turn on the lights. The third option – if you're really pressed for space – is an “office in a cupboard”, which can be neatly built against one wall of the lounge or dining room, and which is surprisingly effective. This works really well if you only do occasional work at home, or you need only a laptop and not much in the way of paper. Having decided on which room you are going to use, you need to plan it all very carefully. Make sure you have a place for everything and everything in its place.

PROPERTY

NOW MAKE IT HAPPEN

If you're a keen DIYer, you can plan and execute an office space yourself. You just need to go online and take a look at Builders Warehouse, at www.builders. co.za. Builders now has an online shopping service.

“The concept of DIY used to be reserved for dedicated hobbyists with woodworking or welding experience,” explains Andre Steyn, Builders’ marketing and innovations director. “Through Builders DIY, we want to display exactly how accessible DIY is for anyone with an interest. It’s just about using the right tools, the right materials and getting some professional input to get going.”

And it's certainly accessible, you just need to sign up on the website and get a Builders account number. Then browse the products, decide what you want in your cart, and pay. Either you can collect – items are ready in 90 minutes on average – or you can arrange for delivery to your home.

Contact Media and Communications CEO Sean Press is quick to promote the DIY service: “I used it while renovating our office and the service and user-friendliness of the platform, as well as Builders staff, made the process so damn awesome! It really makes life so much easier as you can plan what to buy and they deliver.”

IMAGE Shutterstock

THERE’S NO SUCH THING AS WIRELESS

We have this fantasy of working under a palm tree with nothing but a laptop, but it's just that – a fantasy. We actually need to plug in so many things – modems, chargers for phones, power banks and possibly other things, desk lights, and, of course, your laptop. If the existing power points are inconveniently located, you have two basic choices: getting an electrician to wire in a new one, or using extension cords. Either way, you'll need a good, conveniently placed multi-plug with both two- and three-prong outlets. If you do use extension cords, keep them invisible and neat by fixing them to the skirting boards and/or running them behind shelves, or along the bottom surface of your desk. You don’t want to look like a kitten in a knitting basket.

In addition to ordering your goods, on the site you’ll see videos of how to use the White is always a safe choice, and it is products you’ve chosen, as well as videos reflective so it contributes to good lighting, for DIY projects that will direct you in but you can get so much more exciting than your room transformation. Inspirational that. Plascon offers a colour consultation ideas are also plentiful for the bathroom, so you can choose a colour scheme that bedroom, living area or garden, and there’s will enhance your space according to your even educational content, such as tips on needs. Colours are not just dead attributes how to save energy and water, for instance.

– they're living, vibrant entities of pulsating wave energy, so they affect our moods. But The site also has a store finder, so you’ll quickly establish where your nearest it’s not that simple. You also need to take store is. into consideration your personal feelings

COLOUR YOUR WORLD

about colour because different people have deep-seated, sometimes illogical, feelings about certain colours. A good colour therapist can work with that to create a space that's beautiful and in which you can feel comfortable and inspired - or soothed, or relaxed, or energised, or optimistic. Go to www.plascon.com.

CAVEAT If you’re going to knock down walls to make a bigger space, consult a reputable and knowledgeable builder and/or architect to make sure you don’t inadvertently (literally) bring down the house.

PROPERTY

SMART IS AS SMART DOES MELROSE ARCH IS LEADING THE WAY IN TERMS OF INTELIGENT MIXED-USE SPACE. IT'S NOT THE FIRST TO DO SO, AND IT CERTAINLY WON'T BE THE LAST.

BY JENNIFER STERN, ESTATE LIVING

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PROPERTY

IRONICALLY, THE VERY INVENTIONS THAT HAVE LIBERATED US TEND TO SLOWLY AND SUBTLY ENSNARE US.

M

y grandfather built a house with a few hand tools using raw materials that he literally found (not bought) within about a square kilometre including trees! Of course, we’re talking about a pretty basic house, but it is still standing.

A hundred years on, and specialisation enables us to create immensely complex structures, processes and widgets, but only through the co-operation of numerous experts. And not one of those experts can produce, or even reproduce, the whole. We have relinquished control of the creation and maintenance of our own environment, which leaves us disconnected, alienated and vulnerable.

Ironically, the very inventions that have liberated us tend to slowly and subtly ensnare us. Take the car – symbol of freedom and independence. Most modern cities are characterised by networks of motorways and snarled traffic, and until recently almost all “solutions” were aimed at increasing the efficiency of getting a few thousand cars from the suburbs into the city every day.

So, while we think we’re getting smarter, maybe we’ve actually been getting dumber.

But that’s changing. The fire-eating, smoke-belching private car is slowly being toppled from its pedestal, and all around the world people are demanding that technologies are modified to serve our needs rather than forcing us to

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PROPERTY

...DEVELOPERS ARE STARTING TO BUILD CITIES THAT WORK FOR PEOPLE. SMART CITIES FOR SMART PEOPLE. the Corlett Drive off-ramp. Here you have every amenity on site – offices, restaurants, shopping, hotels, banking, medical services, a gym, postal services and entertainment – so there’s no reason to leave the precinct.

So the pedestrian is number one. When you enter Melrose Arch, you can park your car for the duration of your stay and take a leisurely walk from one place to another. And you can do so day or night, as the precinct boasts state-of-the-art security systems and 24-hour CCTV surveillance.

Smart cities of the world are able to satisfy diverse diet and eating preferences, all within walking distance, and again Melrose Arch gets full marks, with 26 world-class restaurants and coffee shops, including the only Jamie’s Italian and PAUL restaurants in South Africa.

Another hallmark of a smart city is fast and efficient medical response. At Melrose Arch there’s Medi Response, an on-site

adapt to the requirements of the technologies. We need humanscale neighbourhoods and people-centred cities. And cities are responding – whether it’s through optimised communication infrastructure, improved public transport, non-motorised transport systems, green building codes, pedestrianisation, or mixed-use precincts, city administrators and developers are starting to build cities that work for people. Smart cities for smart people.

And we don’t have to revert to animal-drawn carts or burning mussel shells for cement. We love technology, and we’re not about to give it up. We just need to tame it – make it work for us, rather than against us. It’s early days still, and we have a lot to learn, but there are pockets of excellence and examples of genuinely creative thinking from all over the world.

One of these pockets of excellence in Johannesburg is Melrose Arch, the trendy “city within a city” next to the M1 highway at

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PROPERTY

...CREATE SPACES THAT FIT PEOPLE – PLACES WHERE THEY CAN WORK, LIVE, PLAY, EAT, LOVE AND PRAY... medical services team, which provides 24-hour emergency medical response services and an emergency care station.

A medical centre with GPs, dentists, physiotherapists, a psychologist, and even an aesthetic centre, fulfils many other medical needs.

Last but not least, travel in smart cities is relatively stress-free.

At Melrose Arch, travellers can get seamless transfers to the Rosebank Gautrain station, as there are three Gautrain bus stops in the precinct, or hop in an Uber to take it anywhere within the city. Melrose Arch is one of Uber’s busiest areas in South Africa.

Melrose Arch, then, is a prime example of the mixed-use development and/or neighbourhood, a trend that more and more developers are adopting as they realise the need to create spaces that fit people – places where they can work, live, play, eat, love and pray, where they can feel part of a community. Spaces that are truly integrated. But it's still the exception. We haven’t yet reached the critical mass, the tipping point after which it’s such a no-brainer we’ll all wonder why we hadn’t done it years ago. But we’ll get there.

Watch this space…

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BUSINESS

TWO SIDES

IMAGE Shutterstock

WHY PROFESSIONAL SUCCESS AND FINANCIAL ACUMEN GO HAND IN HAND. 52

IMAGES Shutterstock

OF A COIN

BUSINESS

THREE BUSINESS LEADERS SHARE THEIR INSIGHTS ON SUCCESS AND MONEY. BY TSHEPO MATSEBA

S

outh Africa’s savings rate remains very low. While most South Africans continue to face high indebtedness and a culture of consumption as opposed to saving, there seems to be a correlation between career success and personal financial acumen. Tshepo Matseba spoke to some of the country’s noteworthy professionals about their relationship with money. Their insights are significantly consistent...

I AM NOT AN ADVENTUROUS PERSON NATURALLY AND BELIEVE MOSTLY IN THINGS THAT I CAN SEE AND TOUCH. – KGANKI MATABANE ON BITCOIN

KGANKI MATABANE (KM) is the chief executive of the Black Business Council (BBC), a confederation that represents black professional business associations and chambers. Prior to this, he was the was the chief operating officer of Sentech Ltd. Matabane also serves on various private and public sector boards. He started his career as a secondary school teacher in the rural village of Mafefe in Limpopo and attributes his success to his formal and informal mentors, ranging from the late Lot Ndlovu to Mpho Makwana, among others.

ZANDILE KABINI (ZK) is a portfolio manager at Eskom Holdings and holds a number of roles, including non-executive director at Boxing South Africa and non-executive director at Broadband Infraco. She is a young female ICT professional with a unique combination of business experience and technical skills, able to combine business requirements with technical applications. She has 18 years’ working experience that encompass 14 years’ experience in ICT and the last 4 years in corporate planning.

LOLLY CHIBI (LC), a business and marketing professional with 22 years’ experience in the technical and marketing fields, has assumed leadership roles in companies within industries such as water management, mining, safety and security, energy and chemical industries. She is currently the global corporate marketing manager in a South African-born business, Dust-A-Side, which offers dust management solutions to the mining industry. Chibi is a non-executive director in a steel supplier and fabrication company, Duvha Liswa.

How do you relate to money?

KM: Having grown up in a very poor family, I learnt the reality of resource scarcity at a young age. As such, I have always been careful not to spend money carelessly and have been called a miser several times.

ZK: It’s never been easy to manage money. But having a budget is the first step from which money management will evolve as it allows you to live within your means. It also forces me to spend

less than I earn every month. Other aspects for consideration are allocating funds for short-term savings and investments on a monthly basis to cater for emergencies.

LC: One of the most important aspects of ensuring success is to make sure that your finances are in order. I constantly stick to a monthly budget and never exceed my limits. Money does not control my life, however, I appreciate its value and purpose.

Do you have a financial plan?

KM: I have had a financial plan for more than 15 years. It is important to plan for now and for the future. You need to ensure that you don't retire into poverty.

ZK: I have a financial plan to set and manage my short- and longterm financial requirements and decisions.

LC: Definitely! Financial planning is an extremely important process. A financial plan is imperative to achieve your goals and dreams while also negotiating the financial barriers that inevitably arise in every stage of life, especially when you least expect it.

Do you have a professional financial advisor?

KM: Yes, I have an experienced and well-qualified financial advisor. We meet at least once a year or as and when there is a significant development, such as changing jobs or concluding a business transaction. We don’t necessarily agree all the time but I take his advice, including persuading me to have a will.

ZK: I do use the services of a professional financial advisor for advisory services on long-term investment options considering the country’s economic climate. We meet as and when the need arises from my side.

LC: Absolutely yes! I am nothing without my financial advisor – to such an extent that I consider him to be my personal wealth manager. Over the past few years I have developed a unique bond

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with my financial advisor, I meet with him at least twice a year to review my portfolio and I am in constant contact with him – we frequently chat about general financial topics over WhatsApp.

Have you ever done a financial needs analysis?

KM: Yes. Its state was depressing at the beginning with a lot of catch-up to do but it has since improved marginally with time. It gets updated at least once a year.

ZK: I do a financial needs analysis on an annual basis. It is a blueprint for my financial decisions.

MONEY DOES NOT CONTROL MY LIFE, HOWEVER, I APPRECIATE ITS VALUE AND PURPOSE. – LOLLY CHIBI

LC: Yes, I do this with my financial advisor annually.

Which financial instruments or investment vehicles do you use?

KM: Mainly shares and unit trusts in listed companies as well as a retirement annuity. Most of my investments are in properties. I like the appreciation in value.

LC: A portion of my income goes to a charitable organisation.

Thereafter, I save a portion which I allocate for rainy days, and another portion is allocated towards my annual international vacation.

ZK: I invest in share schemes, properties, unit trusts, Bitcoin, online trading. I intend to further explore cash and stock market and commodities soon.

A lot of professionals are successful career-wise but battle with their financial affairs. There is overindebtedness, and other financial shortfalls. How do you stay put?

LC: My investment vehicles are retirement annuities, endowments, unit trusts. For risk cover, I have medical aid, life, severe illness and disability cover. The property market is my main investment tool and I have a keen eye for finding potential in unique avenues.

KM: I have long stopped trying to keep up with the Joneses. Most people try to impress the world and by that they get into financial challenges. Fortunately, I have long passed the stage of trying to impress anyone. I try and live within my means. I also change cars after 10 years and use the savings towards my home loan.

When you changed jobs or roles, what did you do with your pension/provident fund?

ZK: The principle is simple. I have learned and continue to strive to live within my means. There’s no point in trying to impress other people with money you don’t have.

KM: I used to cash it in when I was young but now I transfer it to an investment instrument, such as a living annuity.

ZK: I have never cashed in my retirement savings. I simply transferred my savings from one retirement vehicle to another.

Retirement savings should always be used for the right purpose.

LC: I added it to my new pension fund.

How do you save for a holiday or rainy days?

KM: Difficult as it is with my share of the “black tax”, I save some money every month.

ZK: I save for holidays through the extra income I make from the boards I serve on.

THERE’S NO POINT IN TRYING TO IMPRESS OTHER PEOPLE WITH MONEY YOU DON’T HAVE. – ZANDILE KABINI

LC: I live within my means and I do not have credit cards.

I use my property investments as a sound business base for my personal investments. Again, I feel the need to reiterate the importance of having a financial advisor guiding you.

What is your view on cryptocurrencies? Do you invest in Bitcoin?

KM: I am not an adventurous person naturally and believe mostly in things that I can see and touch. As such, I am still trying to understand what this animal is.

ZK: My view is that cryptocurrency is a digital asset with high cybersecurity protection. Like any other investment, cryptocurrency is also associated with risks; hence some investors lost money in the investments. As an ICT professional, I use Bitcoin as it remains at an over 50% profit-making score as compared to other cryptocurrency investments.

LC: I think it's an extremely risky and fluid investment base.

If you have excess funds to play with and are willing to lose it all then you can consider investing in cryptocurrency. I have looked at Bitcoin and have had numerous discussions with Bitcoin fanatics and staunch believers in cryptocurrenc. Those that invested when Bitcoin was initially introduced are probably the ones that are in a slightly better position. However the sustainability of its value is uncertain and I'm not convinced it will be around for long or yield the required return for its investors. An unregulated investment vehicle is always a risk.

Therefore, I prefer not to pursue the cryptocurrency route.

Call me sceptical all you like.

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LOCAL IS STILL 'LEKKER' FOR THE LOVE OF LOCAL BRANDS, FOOTBALL AND MUSIC PROUDLY SOUTH AFRICAN’S CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER EUSTACE MASHIMBYE SHARES HIS PERSONAL AND CAREER JOURNEY, HIS SUCCESSES AND HIS MASTER PLAN TO ENCOURAGE SOUTH AFRICANS TO BUY LOCAL. BY TSHEPO MATSEBA

S

outh Africa has been through tumultuous events during the past decade. Twenty-four years after the dawn of democratic South Africa, a lot has happened to unravel the tapestry of our so-called rainbow nation, which had won the admiration of the world. But with turmoil came opportunity. There are many among us who remain committed to creating sustainable solutions for the country. One of those who continues to drive transformational initiatives that position South Africa as one of the leading brands locally and abroad is Eustace Mashimbye, the chief executive officer of Proudly South African.

Mashimbye was born in Mamelodi, a township that was established when 16 houses were built on a farm called Vlakfontein during the dark days of apartheid.

It's no surprise that he's an avid fan of Mamelodi Sundowns, a leading team in South Africa’s Premier Soccer League. “As early as 1989, my brother took me to my very first football match which showcased Mamelodi Sundowns and Kaizer Chiefs. I was thrilled and the memory feels like yesterday – I can still remember the entire Sundowns team that played on that day,” he says.

Mashimbye is also passionate about music and is not shy to spend time on the decks. “In addition to my

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daily life as CEO of Proudly SA, I’m a parttime DJ,” he says, adding that “a few years ago, my twins christened me with the stage name DJ Daddy.”

A qualified financial accountant, Mashimbye was Proudly SA’s chief financial officer before being appointed acting CEO. In December 2016 he was permanently appointed to that position. He crafted his art as a business leader at the then Technikon Northern Gauteng (now Tshwane University of Technology) and the Technikon South Africa (now part of the University of South Africa), majoring in financial accounting and corporate law.

Mashimbye has served on the board of The Business Place and is a director on the board of the South African Savings Institute, where he previously also held the position of audit and risk committee chairperson.

With 17 years’ experience in accounting and financial management in the public and private sectors, (he served in senior management roles at Telkom, Edcon and the Department of Trade & Industry, among others), he brings a wealth of expertise to help Proudly SA achieve its mission. Its mission? To encourage the nation to make personal and organisational contributions towards economic growth and prosperity in South Africa by prioritising locally made items or services, increasing employment opportunities while reinforcing national pride and patriotism.

Mashimbye is well placed to inspire local manufacturers and service providers that are serious about quality and are committed to creating and sustaining employment. “It's extremely gratifying to feel like you’re part of a remarkable movement that aims to promote job creation in your country of birth,” he says.

“Proudly SA seeks to strongly influence procurement in the public and private sectors, to increase local production and stimulate job creation. This is in line with the government’s plans to revive South Africa’s economy, so that millions of jobs can be created and unemployment can be reduced to 15% as per the National Development Plan,” says Mashimbye.

“The country has been through trying times, and we now have an opportunity to remind businesses and citizens of the power they have to help grow our economy and create sustainable jobs locally, by simply buying and supporting local goods and services,” he says.

Launched in 2001, Proudly South African is the country’s “Buy Local” campaign, which seeks to promote South African business, organisations, products and services that demonstrate high quality, local content, fair labour practices and sound environmental standards.

“Buy Local” activism is at the heart of the campaign.

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“THE COUNTRY HAS BEEN THROUGH TRYING TIMES, AND WE NOW HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO REMIND BUSINESSES AND CITIZENS OF THE POWER THEY HAVE TO HELP GROW OUR ECONOMY...

“We provide a country-of-origin brand that identifies, differentiates and promotes local companies against specific, rigorous criteria. At least 50% of the cost of production must be incurred in South Africa and there must be substantial transformation of any imported materials,” he says, adding that the product or service must be of a proven high quality. “It must, for example, be ISO accredited or have a certificate of any other accreditation organisation.”

Proudly SA also requires the business or enterprise to comply with environmental legislation and adhere to production processes that are environmentally friendly. This includes recycling methods, waste management, carbon footprint reduction, and more.

“We continue to have a strong focus on educating consumers and businesses about

the impact of their purchase behaviour and to drive increased local procurement.

In the public sector there is legislation compelling government to procure certain designated items locally.”

The organisation has secured clothing giant Edcon as a member and wants to conclude agreements with other large retailers.

“Securing partnerships with these national chains is part of our objective to grow the clothing manufacturing base in SA, sustain existing jobs, and create new and sustainable jobs in this industry,” says Mashimbye.

A natural traveller, Mashimbye is an advocate of domestic travel and tourism.

“Going on a local holiday automatically helps create jobs for hotel staff, manufacturers of soap and linen, game rangers, entrepreneurs and other businesses.”

God’s Window, Mpumalanga

MASHIMBYE’S FAVOURITE LOCAL DESTINATIONS MPUMALANGA

FOREVER RESORT WARMBATHS

“I have fond memories of that awesome place near Brits. I vividly recall a trip to the reserve with my cousins – two of whom are late – my brother and my best childhood friend.”

“It is serene and has beautiful natural landscape. I’ve seen the amazing God’s Window and the Three Rondavels during my visit.”

“This was a family ritual. My mom, cousins, sister’s kids and I frequented this place, which was previously known as Aventura Wambarths. My brothers often thought they were too old to travel with my mother. I’ve now passed down this tradition to my twins who have just as much fun as I did and still do.”

IMAGE Shutterstock

DIKHOLOLO GAME RESERVE

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THE BUILDING BLOCKS OF

LEADING

BRANDS

HOW BUSINESS DNA WORKS

SANDILE XASO LOOKS AT HOW THRIVING BUSINESSES HAVE BEEN ABLE TO IMPRINT THEIR DNA TO GREAT EFFECT.

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business, like a person, has an identity. When a business is successful, its unique characteristics, traits and operations are expressed in all it does – from its core purpose, business strategy, products, service and brand, and even in its customers. It can be said that the business’ DNA is visible.

In biology, deoxyribonucleic acid or DNA is a complex organic molecule that contains all the information necessary to build and maintain an organism. This genetic information is the primary unit that will eventually determine height, eye colour and even some personality traits that an organism will have. Businesses similarly have a “DNA” that will determine how a company conducts its business, how it delivers its brand promise and even its chances of success. It's important for any business, then, not only to clearly define what this DNA will be, but also to spread it as far and deep as possible in its employees, products and organisational culture.

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This is achieved via positioning (which is internally driven) and perception (which is market-determined).

POSITIONING INCLUDES: • • • •

Purpose Leadership and culture Brand and strategy Employee advocacy

PERCEPTION ENCOMPASSES: • • • •

Market differentiation Business performance Brand conduct and consistency Customer experience

Through these two lenses, a business’ DNA is defined and understood by all – for better or worse.

BUSINESS

IT IS IMPORTANT FOR ANY BUSINESS, THEN, NOT ONLY TO CLEARLY DEFINE WHAT THIS DNA WILL BE, BUT ALSO TO SPREAD IT AS FAR AND DEEP AS POSSIBLE...

LEADERSHIP AND CULTURE Purpose and values are not a top-down process, with a CEO solely dictating the identity of a company, but strong, diverse leadership is a prerequisite. Brave leaders who can inspire employees and the market can result in a business that overcomes high barriers.

A great example of this is the burgeoning BBD Steel. Under the passionate leadership of Gwen Mahuma and Monika Pretorius, BBD Steel has grown from an upstart in a male-dominated steel industry to the largest empowered women-owned steel merchant in the country, winning awards and accolades. Its drive and determination has become the mantra for the company at all levels and a crucial part of its genetic make-up.

BUSINESS STRATEGY AND BRAND PROMISE With a clear purpose and strong leadership, a business can develop a unit for success. The next step is a strategy and brand promise that supports these pillars. A conservative strategy will not work for a business with an aggressive leader and ambitious purpose. Elon Musk sending a Tesla Roadster into space, as he recently did, doesn’t make sense for a company struggling to meet its production targets – until you consider that stunt matches Musk and his tech companies' (Tesla, SpaceX and Neuralink) high-risk, high-reward strategy and bold, innovative brands. Any client or employee has learned to identify these high-jinks with a long-term pay-off for electronic cars, possible interstellar travel and upgraded human-AI interactions in the future.

OVERARCHING CORE PURPOSE This is probably the most important characteristic a business should develop and promulgate inside and outside the business. Once a business can simply and succinctly describe its reason for existence, it's easier to develop its guiding values, behaviours and business process. The most dramatic example of this in the 21st century is Facebook’s previous mission, which its (currently) beleaguered CEO said in 2012 was “to make the world more open and connected”. Facebook’s purpose led to its philosophy of “move fast and break things” and to it becoming one of the fastest-growing companies in modern history. However, this mission had consequences such as fake news, growing divisions and data breaches.

Zuckerberg has since modified the mission to say Facebook now looks to “give people the power to build community and bring the world closer together”.

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ADVERTORIAL

GAUTRAIN’S

“CONNECTING THE DOTS” MORE THAN JUST AN OPPORTUNITY TO WIN BIG!

COMPETITION

RECENTLY, GAUTRAIN – SOUTH AFRICA’S MOST INNOVATIVE MODE OF TRANSPORT – “CONNECTED THE DOTS”

BY PROVIDING A PLATFORM FOR PASSENGERS TO SHARE THEIR EXPERIENCES OF THE GAUTRAIN WITH ONE ANOTHER IN THE FORM OF AN INTERACTIVE COMPETITION.

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he introduction and development of the Gautrain has marked a huge milestone for South African commuters offering not only another form of transport but more importantly, a drastic lifestyle change for many of Gauteng’s business and leisure commuters alike.

Last year, Gautrain embarked on an exciting journey with OnRoute magazine and our readers. The competition, “Connecting the Dots” aimed to connect Gautrain passengers by encouraging them to share their experiences and along with that, their personal stories of how the train has changed their lives.

The OnRoute Facebook page drew a huge number of entries in the categories of creative writing, videography and photography.

By way of thanking loyal Gautrain users for their time and creativity, Gautrain gave away a cheque to the value of R10 000 to the best entry in each of the three categories.

Frank Montgomery’s entry made us smile. He wrote: “If you want to get back your groove and stay on the move,Jump on the train and discover less pain, in traffic you won’t be stuck and you will even save a buck, it is the most fun one can have under the sun!”

Frank won the creative writing category. Katleho Meshack painted a picture of his experience shared with a loved one in what looked like a weekend getaway for two! Well done to Katleho who won the photographic category.

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We could have mistaken Jeremy Khumalo for a TV star or seasoned vlogger with his video entry portraying a day in the life of a Gautrain passenger! Edited to fit the I Feel Good soundtrack, the video made riding the Gautrain look like so much fun it had us ready for a trip on the train ourselves. Jeremy walked – or should that be grooved – away with the cheque in the videography category!

You can find his entry on the OnRoute Facebook page, @OnRouteMagazine The awards ceremony for Connecting the Dots was held in March, hosted by Contact Media and Communications together with Gautrain and OnRoute. Twentyfour finalists joined us for a red-carpet cocktail party at the Gautrain Radisson Blu Hotel in Sandton. Set against a spectacular stormy Joburg evening skyline, we celebrated the stories that brought Connecting the Dots to life.

Gautrain’s marketing manager, Ingrid Jensen reflected on the competition saying, “It was heart-warming to see how passengers experience Gautrain – from it simply being a public transport mode to experience and work in Gauteng, to it being a service which improves our passengers’ lifestyles.”

BUSINESS

EMPLOYEE ADVOCACY AND BUY-IN Lastly, a business should have buy-in from its employees so they can live the brand and the culture and become its most ardent supporters. Discovery, since 1992, has operated on an entrepreneurial energy of innovation and shared value model.

This innovative spirit is found throughout the company with employees constantly striving to develop the latest big idea.

This has led to some of its best ideas being pitched by its own employees. In 2007 a young auditor, Themba Baloyi, had the idea of adapting Discovery’s successful Vitality programme – which incentivises Discovery Health members to live healthier lives – to cars. Baloyi pitched this concept to Discovery co-founder Barry Swartzberg and in 2011, Discovery Insure was officially launched.

Baloyi now serves as the founder and executive director for this game-changing short-term insurer.

ONCE A BUSINESS HAS THE BUILDING BLOCKS OF ITS DNA, IT SHOULD LET THE MARKET DECIDE IF IT'S VIABLE OR NOT.

Outside of these internally driven aspects, business DNA can also be found in the market.

MARKET DIFFERENTIATION AND BUSINESS PERFORMANCE “The deciding factor of why some entrepreneurs are successful and others fail is not limited to your DNA or your education; it's about the actions you take.” So said American author and business coach Michael Gerber.

Once a business has the building blocks of its DNA, it should let the market decide if it's viable or not. What is the area of differentiation that the business owns that is built on the chassis of its purpose? Discovery’s shared value model and innovation was expressed through its Vitalitydrive programme, which uses smartphone-enabled technology called DQ-Track. This differentiator has seen Discovery Insure report impressive results and be recognised at the 2018 Celent Model Awards Program in Boston, Massachusetts in the Model Insurer in the Innovation and Emerging Technologies category.

CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE Finally, all these factors should create a positive, impactful experience for the customer. Shifting customers from consumers to ambassadors is the ultimate goal. DNA is expressed over generations and businesses should strive to become a part of people’s lives, so they can be understood and supported by all members of the family. Nestlé has been extraordinarily successful in doing this, vertically and horizontally integrating to produce a range of products that touch their customers from birth till old age, as it proudly states in one of its recent advertising campaigns. With more than a billion units produced a day and a global presence in 197 countries, Nestlé has managed to ingrain its DNA in every part of its operations to create sustainable profitability.

The customer experience is the ultimate arbiter of a business’ DNA and the best companies know how to use it to leverage success.

BRAND CONDUCT AND CONSISTENCY A business’ brand and reputation rely on it being able to consistently deliver on its promises and live up to its customer’s clients. “Once I, as a customer, know what to expect from a business, no matter which branch or office, then the brand promise has been kept. That business will have prime real estate in a customer’s mind and heart if it can do this consistently.” This is the opinion of Zambianbased branding expert Yamba Mbizule. Having studied in South Africa, worked in both countries, and been awarded the 2016 Emerging Marketer of Year by the Zambian Institute of Marketing (ZIM), Mbizule sees this as a key marker of developing a brand’s DNA.

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TRAVEL

IN TRAVEL

IMAGE Stephane Hermellin

FINDING CULTURE

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TRAVEL

YOU CAN COMBINE TOURISTY TRIPS WITH TRAVEL THAT INTRODUCES YOU TO PEOPLE AND CULTURES WITHOUT GAWKING OR EXPLOITATION. HERE'S HOW BY KOJO BAFFOE. very city and country in the world has its list of culturally relevant must-visit places. It’s the Top 10 Things To Do here, the Top 25 Places To Visit there, and so on. In Beijing, you can’t miss the Great Wall of China and the Forbidden City. In Cologne, there’s the Gothic Catholic Cathedral. In London, Big Ben, Westminster Abbey and the Tower of London. In Paris, you have to see the Louvre and the Eiffel Tower. In New York, don’t miss the Empire State Building and the Statue of Liberty. When in Rome, you’ll obviously go to the Colosseum and the Pantheon, at the Vatican, you’ll see the Sistine Chapel. These are but a few; the list is endless.

In Dakar, Senegal, for instance, the island of Gorée is a must-visit. A short ferry ride runs every 30 minutes from the main harbour. It is the location of the infamous House of Slaves in which slaves – men, women and children – were kept during the Atlantic slave trade period. The house now serves as a museum and a reminder of the evil humans inflict on one another.

The island is also a Dakar district, has its own mayor and is home to one of Senegal’s top schools, the Mariama Bâ Boarding School for girls. It's named after Senegalese author and feminist Mariama Bâ, and was established by Leopold Sedar Senghor, Senegal’s first president, in 1977.

the traveller navigate these seemingly disparate realities.

And then there's modern life within those cities, countries and cultures. In countries with a well-developed tourism industry, great variety is born out of the freedom to craft experiences and realities that honour and respect the past, while presenting the present and future in ways that contextualise the evolution of a culture. In Africa, this is a journey that we're on, to varying degrees of success.

When I took the ferry to and from the island, there were more people travelling to and from work than there were tourists. There's an interesting juxtaposition between the past and the present on the island, which can be confusing to make sense of when you are visiting. This is where the importance of guides with that understanding comes in; to help

With this complex relationship between past and present from a tourism perspective, there's a drive across the world to create travel experiences that are both culturally relevant and responsible in terms of how tourists interact with the spaces they visit. It's with this in mind that a number of organisations have evolved an ethos surrounding how and why they run tours.

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On the other end of the spectrum is the Basotho Cultural Village at the Golden Gate Highlands National Park in South Africa, which is firmly rooted in giving insight into the past, pre and post the arrival of Europeans. The tour involves interactions with the people one would have come across in a village during those times as well as clothing, herbs, architecture, food and lifestyle. It's an important journey to take in terms of changing the narrative around Africans prior to colonisation, but the responsibility lies with the visitor to bring that context into the present.

RESPONSIBLE TRAVEL www.responsibletravel.com

IMAGE Nathaniel Tetteh

Justin Francis started Responsible Travel in 2001 to bring about change in the tourism industry, following a nine-month trip across the continent which included visits to Namibia, South Africa, Tanzania, Rwanda, Malawi and Uganda, among others. The organisation positions itself as “an activist travel company. Our mission is to make the tourism industry a more caring place.

Travellers are craving real and authentic experiences. How do you get this? In our view treating local people very well, so they see real benefits from tourism, means they are more likely to offer you this – access to their lives, culture and heritage.

Responsible tourism is a more enjoyable way to travel – our 10 000+ customer reviews evidence this too. It will grow fast for this reason – we are growing at +30% or more a year.”

It works with 450 specialist tour companies across the world. The tour companies are vetted by Responsible Travel and it takes feedback from travellers into consideration when listing tours, to ensure that the tours reflect its ethos. When screening tour operators, it takes into

consideration factors such as including a company-wide responsible tourism policy, a commitment to transparency, being open to feedback from customers as well as the range of NGOs the operators work with and a detailed description of how each trip adheres to the responsible tourism mandate. If Responsible Travel feels the trip or operator does not meet its criteria, it will not work with the operator. It also works with local tourism entrepreneurs for real insight into the experiences.

It provides more than 5 000 tours globally.

On the continent, trips include: an Ivory Coast small group tour, where you visit villages of the Baule people, experience traditional iron melting and watch a dance performance by initiated young men; a tailor-made Ethiopian tour to Dorze villages, Mursi and Hamer tribes and the Yabelo Wildlife Sanctuary; and a Ghana, Togo and Benin tour where you experience voodoo ceremonies and other rituals practiced in the three countries.

For Responsible Travel, “cultural tourism means respecting the culture and the way of life of the people who live in the

Fishermen in Tema, Ghana

place that you are visiting. Through responsible tourism we believe we can benefit communities and help conserve environments. Done well, tourism can provide livelihoods and show local people why their culture and environment are well worth protecting and celebrating. For us as travellers, the benefits are endless – more authentic and enjoyable experiences and the ability to understand other ways of life.”

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TRAVEL

UTHANDO SOUTH AFRICA www.uthandosa.org

Uthando SA is unique in that it is a nonprofit organisation born out of founder James Fernie’s activism and life philosophy based on the desire to make sense of the world and to do his bit to make the world a better place. Its focus is on assisting community development projects, so it has a range of fundraising initiatives including publishing books and holding benefit concerts. but the organisation also offers tours.

Fernie says, “The idea behind the tours was really to make the business model sustainable in that we are generating our own income. We’re not relying on donations to cover the overheads of the business. We are working as guides, taking people to go and visit a very broad spectrum of community projects thereby showcasing these remarkable people doing remarkable things. We are not a township tour. It’s more about showcasing interesting people.”

Uthando recognises the natural link between tourism and community development projects by taking people to experience projects in a productive and respectful way, while making a financial contribution too. Uthando’s tours are as diverse as the community projects it assists. For example, it could be visiting the amazing vegetable gardens of Abalimi Bezekhaya; visiting the Early Childhood Learning centres they have helped fundraise to build; planting trees with Greenpop; visiting and spending time with

seniors; visiting Up For All, a programme run by ex-prisoners to upskill unemployed youth in computer programming and coding; or playing soccer with the Greater Commissions United Academy, a soccer academy started 17 years ago by ex-gangster Mario van Niekerk, an ex-member of the Americans Gang.

Fernie adds, “Many people comment on how European Cape Town is. Many tourists will only see black people who are cleaning their rooms or serving them at a restaurant. When they come on a tour with us, they can sit down with an elderly black person and learn from them. Learn about their essence, their spirit of Ubuntu, and how kind they are. People are often worried about visiting the township being voyeuristic or poverty tourism. When they finish, they realise that it was really an opportunity to meet local people in a way that levels the playing fields and also is beneficial because we are supporting all of these community projects.”

While South Africans themselves can benefit from Uthando's tours, the majority of those who experience them are wealthy Americans, Brits and Europeans who want to visit the townships in a manner that is sensitive to the people living there.

Uthando works with tour operators, hotels and other stakeholders in the industry.

It has a code of conduct for its guests to ensure that there is no invasion of privacy.

It's also a member of Fair Trade.

One of the seniors at NOAH (Neighbourhood Old Age Homes) meeting a young client on tour

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TRAVEL

SOUL TRAVELLER www.soultraveller.co.za

Established by Siphesihle Penny Ndlela in 2013 initially as a faith-based travel operator, Soul Traveller tours comprise of routes with different themes named after the six colours the South African flag and are themed separately. Tours typically last five days and four nights, inclusive of meals, with the content of each themed tour changing regularly to make allowance for the diverse interests of the local traveller. The company also specialises in half-day and full-day immersive experiences, which are curated with a specific theme or interest group in mind.

For example, its Red Urban Culture and Local Cuisine tour incorporates a “neighbourhood food tour” that explores the diverse influences in South African cuisine as well as delving into contemporary urban spaces. The White Heritage tour takes you through the country’s history covering both the places and the people who have contributed to shaping the South Africa we live in today.

With a focus on the local traveller, Ndlela says, “We create immersive experiences that allow the traveller to identify with that particular culture as something that has shaped our lives and has had a significant

impact at some stage. South Africans cannot be defined by any one culture, which makes travelling in this country so unique. Each South African identity has been touched and shaped by a number of the local cultures and, by immersing the traveller in that particular culture, you soon identify with it and realise you are more South African and local than you ever thought possible.”

What sets Soul Traveller apart is the uniqueness of the bespoke group tours and how these are curated to ensure that the wants, needs and desires of the travellers are met. One size does not fit all. Ndlela says the tours are rooted in “cultural tourism” which she defines as “the consumption of South Africa’s diverse cultures through all five senses. It’s not good enough to view a culture from behind the window on a bus; you need to taste it, touch it, hear its sound and inhale it and let it find its way into your soul, where it will leave a lasting memory, and that insatiable desire to go back for more.”

Soul Traveller is developing additional tours aimed at youth, pink travel and city escapes, and is currently offering a tour to the Essence Festival in New Orleans.

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MOTORING

THE

E V O L U T I O N OF A CLASSIC

THE FORD MUSTANG IS AN ICON THAT LOST ITS WAY FOR A BIT. BUT IT IS BACK WITH A SNARL. BY KOJO BAFFOE

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Gone In 60 Seconds was not the Ford Mustang’s first foray into the entertainment world. Mustangs were in two James Bond films, Goldfinger and Diamonds Are Forever. A Mustang stars in the title of the classic Wilson Pickett song Mustang Sally, and the 2008 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500KR was KITT in the TV series Knight Rider. In Gone In 60 Seconds, a group of car thieves must “acquire” 50 cars in 72 hours. They give each car a name, and the 1967 Ford Shelby Mustang GT500 becomes Eleanor, giving a new generation of car enthusiasts, who grew up far from the origins of the Mustang, a new dream car. I know it did for me.

Special mention has to be made of Carroll Shelby, the American racing driver and car designer who, through his company Shelby American, took the foundation that Ford had created from a

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performance perspective and amplified it. The Shelby Mustang was built between 1965 and 1968 while, from 1969 and 1970, Ford modified the cars under the Shelby nameplate. It was later revived in 2005 by Ford. When you close your eyes and picture the Ford Mustang, the ultimate muscle car, chances are the image in your mind will be of the first generation, which was on the market between 1964 and 1973.

When you create something that resonates and becomes part of folklore at the first try, it can be difficult to evolve it. When you hit the bull’s eye first time round, it becomes impossible to better that. It took until the fifth generation, 2005 to 2014, for Ford to finally reconnect with the DNA of the original Mustang, finally bringing it into a new era while staying true to the spirit of the first.

And with the sixth generation, launched in 2015, Ford finally officially brought it to the world outside of the United States, including South Africa in early 2016. For the third year running, the Ford Mustang has been named the world’s best-selling sports coupé, having sold 125 809 coupés and convertibles in 146 countries in 2017. South Africans have bought 1929 Mustangs in South Africa since it was introduced here.

IMAGE Rishab Lamichhane

t the heart of the 2000 film Gone In 60 Seconds starring Nicolas Cage (a loose remake of a 1974 film of the same name) is the 1967 Ford Shelby GT500 Mustang. Henry Ford II unveiled the first Mustang in New York on 17 April 1964 and over the years it has come to epitomise the American muscle car. Some iterations were more iconic than others, but it was always consistently at the forefront of American motoring. It is estimated that, by the end of that year, more than half a million Mustangs were sold in America.

MOTORING

...OVER THE YEARS IT HAS COME TO EPITOMISE THE AMERICAN MUSCLE CAR. touchscreen, and works with apps such as Applink, Apple CarPlay and AndroidAuto, a rear-view camera to help with reversing, and keyless entry and push-button start. There’s also the electric power assisted steering (EPAS), electronic stability control (ESC) and traction control system (TCS), electronic brake force distribution (EBD) and anti-lock braking system (ABS).

The 2018 upgrade of the Ford Mustang continues to pay homage to the original with changes both from a design perspective as well as under the hood. If you're looking to do even more, Shelby has an in country presence with Shelby South Africa, based in the Western Cape, owning rights to certain classic customisations.

Now for the question you're probably asking: Would I buy a Ford Mustang? To be honest, I probably wouldn't have it as my day-to-day car. It’s just too much fun and it gets tiring holding my foot up off the accelerator, plus I would probably get into trouble with JMPD. But, as a second car, bought for the pure pleasure of driving? Yes. Although, I still have dreams of owning Eleanor...

The original 1968 Ford Mustang GT Fastback from the film Bullitt

1963 Ford Mustang prototype

The Ford Mustang was launched in six models, the 2.3 EcoBoost Manual Fastback, 2.3 EcoBoost Automatic Convertible, 2.3 EcoBoost Automatic Fastback, 5.0 V8 GT Manual Fastback, 5.0 V8 GT Automatic Convertible and 5.0 V8 GT Automatic Fastback. But when it comes to iconic vehicles such as the Mustang, let’s be honest – does it feel like a muscle car? Does it have the appropriate grunt and brawn to transport us to other places and times? Yes and no.

The new generation Ford Mustang GT Convertible

Get behind the wheel, fire up the engine, and the grunt sends a rush through your body even before you pull out of your driveway. It is the kind of car that will have you taking the long route everywhere or simply leaving the house with no real destination. So, yes, it does connect in a beautiful way to the Mustangs of old. And no, because what we expect from our cars in these technologically advanced times is much more that what was expected in the 1960s. The cockpit is a combination of the old (in terms of feel) and the new, with, among others: Ford’s Sync 3 Connectivity System, which is voice-activated, has an 8” colour LCD

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TECHNOLOGY

IN THE HIGHLY CONTESTED WORLD OF SMARTPHONE TECHNOLOGY, IT HAS TO BE ABOUT THE CONSUMERS. KOJO BAFFOE CONTRASTS HUAWEI AND SAMSUNG'S FLAGSHIP SMARTPHONES AND THEIR RESPECTIVE STRATEGIES. BY KOJO BAFFOE

PHONE VS PHONE HUAWEI P20 AND P20 PRO AKHRAM MOHAMED MARKETING DIRECTOR AT HUAWEI CONSUMER BUSINESS GROUP SOUTH AFRICA

FEATURES There is a need for continuous innovation and so we invest more than 10% of our revenue each year into research and development. Every manufacturer can claim great cameras, screens, chipsets, etc. Consumers today are well versed when it comes to technology. It’s not as simple as selecting a few stand-out features that will sway consumer opinion. It’s about how we use technology to improve the lifestyles of our consumers and the entire experience the product provides.

In the P20 and P20 Pro specifically, the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) into the triple lens Leica camera system allows every consumer to experience professional-grade photography.

DIFFERENTIATORS Our core value of consumer centricity and innovation are what drives our differentiation. It forces us to continuously innovate and re-invent ourselves. Over the last few years as innovation in the industry stagnated, Huawei introduced many world-first technologies that others have since adopted, including the first wearable to work on Android and iOS platforms (Huawei Watch 1), the world’s first dual Leica camera (Huawei P9), the world’s first mobile phone with LTE 1.2 GBPS download speeds (Mate 10 Series) and the world’s first triple lens Leica camera (P20 Pro).

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CONSUMER DRIVERS Finding the balance between great technology, quality, brand and price: this is exactly our value proposition. Also, photography certainly ranks at the top of consumer wishlists, with more than 1.7 trillion images captured on mobile phones in 2017.

THE FUTURE Smartphones have already become a major part of our lifestyles, to some they are a companion that you cannot do without.

With the advancements in AI, the future smartphone would be more of an assistant, a device that can learn through interaction and understand your requirements without the need for specific commands, perhaps through sensors, voice, proximity, etc. With AI and, specifically, more powerful processors such as the Kirin 970, we are moving away from the age of smartphones into intelligent phones.

TECHNOLOGY

SAMSUNG S9 AND S9+ CRAIGE FLEISCHER

VICE-PRESIDENT OF INTEGRATED MOBILITY, SAMSUNG SOUTH AFRICA

CONSUMER DRIVERS Consumers are consuming quite a bit of multimedia, which you can see with the demand for voice-on-demand (VOD) services, which is why we improved the aspect ratio on the screen. We have also included dual amplified speakers with 5.1 Dolby digital surround sound. Each of those speakers is actually powered and amplified giving the consumer a really immersive experience.

In addition, protection of personal information is becoming more critical so, out of the box, we have included Knox, our enterprisegrade security platform integrated from the boot kernel.

FUTURE

FEATURES From a technology perspective, as it evolves, a smartphone has to be meaningful and add value to individuals’ lives. Harping on about feature sets like the processor, battery size, screen pixels, etc, is not meaningful.

Consumers are not interested in that. They just want to know they’re getting the best camera possible and, in our research, they said they want a camera with better low-light capabilities. So we brought out the first camera with dual aperture. We also brought optical image stabilisation with the Note 8 already so, when you zoom in, video and photographs are stabilised and less grainy. The design is also really important: the way the device feels and looks.

Everything is going to be integrated and AI is going to become smarter and more intuitive. It does blur the line between personal protection and convenience but, looking at the younger generation, they’ve always been in a connected world.

They intuitively do multiple things at the same time – watch TV, listen to music, chat and watch videos on their device at the same time. As we move into a more connected and integrated world, immediacy will be even more critical.

It is difficult to say what the actual device will look like, but there will be less physical input into devices as they become more intelligent and intuitive, with voice-generated and voiceoperated features becoming core.

What we are all doing is taking bets. We don’t know really where the future is going; consumers are ultimately going to decide. What we have to do is to be mindful and responsible in how we bring technology to consumers.

DIFFERENTIATORS Our multi-device experience (MDE) strategy is about a singular Samsung, with TVs, fridges, air-cons, washing machines, tumble dryers, laptops, tablets and the mobile device all being inter-operable. This is the Internet of Things for consumers.

There will literally be millions of devices that are connected by 2020. We’re moving towards a multifaceted, multiconnected environment and we feel we are perfectly poised to be the centre of that in your home; to have the device that you interact with and integrate with various things.

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LAST WORD

LIZ OGUMBO

E M B R A C I N G T H E B R E A DT H O F H E R TA L E N T A TRUE AFROPOLITAN SPIRIT, THE KENYAN INDIE ARTIST AND FASHION DESIGNER EMBRACES ALL THAT LIFE HAS TO OFFER AND EXPRESSES HERSELF CREATIVELY IN MULTIPLE WAYS. BY KOJO BAFFOE What was your upbringing like?

What is KenSoul?

I grew up in a family full of life, laughter, music, food and love. My dad is the coolest. He has a great sense of humour and is a lover of life. My mum is more laid-back and is the strongest woman I know. I am the second of four children; I also have an older stepbrother. I'm named after my great-great-grandmother, who became wealthy through her music from the 1860s to the 1940s. Although we were born and raised in Nairobi, my parents ensured that we visited our home village, Kisumu, during every school holiday so we could learn our roots and culture. I come from the Luo tribe which is one of the 42 tribes of Kenya.

I dub my sound KenSoul. I realised very early that it would be difficult to categorise my sound because of my diverse influences however, at the core, it is of my Kenyan soul, my KenSoul.

Why eight years between your debut album, KenSoul, and the 2018 KenSoul: The Lotus Chapter?

Life happens and, when it does, I don't mess with the process. Plus, I was caught up in the fashion side of my business and it can be hard maintaining both music and fashion at a high level because of the intensity of both. That said, I try not to measure time by the clock but rather by the moments created.

What drives your creativity?

Everything about life drives my creative flow – the weather, food, fine wine, colours, energy, fashion, music, all forms of art, culture, my mood... the list is endless.

What do you still want to do?

I would like to become a global creative force, inspire millions of people, change lives through transforming and elevating minds and the way people think. The mind is the most powerful tool we all have that will either allow us to create the change we want to see or that will cripple us as humankind.

Are there differences in your creative process – your songwriting versus your fashion design?

It is similar but different. I am a selftaught creative. With music, I write the story and then lay down vocals immediately. If I don't lay vocals, I forget the flow and have to start again because I don't read or write music but I can sing it. With the fashion design process, since I don't have enough technical knowledge in fashion, I create in my mind and then translate that for my tailors to implement.

Quality, style, silhouette and commercial viability are important to me.

What do you identify as creativity?

I am a multifaceted creative entrepreneur and in everything I do I seek to fulfil my soul and provide value to the soul next door. This is through music, fashion, my

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Fashion Lab Africa platform, which helps develop fashion businesses across Africa, and my Lipstick Skirts Heels and Wine, which is about facilitating the experience of wine.

How do you maintain balance and harmony?

I live my life to the fullest. I love, I laugh, I pray, I hang upside down, breathe when I feel overwhelmed, drink good wine and eat good food. I stay away from mediocrity and I am comfortable in my own skin – definitely exempt from #FOMO.

What is your mission in life?

My mission is to be the change I want to see through integrity, positive thinking, responsibility, humility, transparency, fearlessness, empowering Africa, ubuntu, community development, and originality and authenticity.

CONNECT WITH LIZ ON HER MULTIPLE PLATFORMS: www.lizogumbo.com www.fashionlabafrica.com www.lipstickskirtsheelswine.com