Fast Company SA - February 2017 issue 23

INSIDE THE

22

ND

ANNUAL

DESIGN INDABA

How fashion icon SELLY RABY KANE contributes to an integrated, creative Africa “Design, art and culture are strategic assets for the continent”.

SELLY RABY KANE

Creative director, Design Indaba 2017

R35.00

FEBRUARY 2017 FASTCOMPANY.CO.ZA

16014 7

9 772313 330006

IN THE BUSINESS OF RESCUE The IRC aid organisation uses tech to help refugees THE YOUNG AT ‘ART Meet this year’s Emerging Creatives with world-class design talent CALLING THE SHOTS Why Coco Safar is stirring up the coffee industry

February 2017

Contents

S P EC IAL F EATURE

INSIDE ND THE 22 ANNUAL DESIGN INDABA

18 CONTINENTAL DRIFT

Selly Raby Kane is an urban artist who’s bringing a new energy to Senegalese—and, indeed, African—culture. Described as “surreal” and “otherworldly”, she weaves her experiences in Dakar and other countries into her clothing designs. How the 2017 Design Indaba creative director is reshaping African fashion with her distinctive and disruptive style.

INTERVIEW BY EVANS MANYONGA

24 YOUNG AT ‘ART

Meet some of the Emerging Creatives Class of 2017: South Africa’s up-and-coming design talent

48 ALL THINGS CREATIVE

From the main conference to the film exhibition and the Nightscape live performances, here’s what you can expect at this year’s Design Indaba Festival

A tale of two cities “I’m creating a big story for the festival this year,” says Dakar’s Selly Raby Kane about her involvement in the 2017 Design Indaba. (page 18)

2 FASTCOMPANY.CO.Z A FEBRUARY 2017

FEAT URE S

40 SMALL CHANGE, BIG IMPACT

How your enterprise company can work toward sustainable, achievable innovation

BY ANDREW PRICE

The big picture 2017 Emerging Creative Sibusiso Nkosi is a selftaught illustrator who embellishes ceramics with detailed images. (page 24)

52 THE BUSINESS OF RESCUE

How the IRC aid organisation is harnessing technology to tackle a complex issue in ways that really matter

BY MATTHEW SHAER

64 FULL OF BEANS

Wake up and smell Coco Safar’s innovatively brewed third-wave quality coffee that’s destined to revolutionise the industry both locally and abroad

BY SIMON CAPSTICK-DALE

FEBRUARY 2017 FASTCOMPANY.CO.Z A 3

Contents

REG U LARS

07 FROM THE EDITOR 08 THE RECOMMENDER 11 FASHION FORWARD

Rich Mnisi’s designs are inspired by both the traditional and the modern

32 GIRL TORQUE N E XT

12 THE DOUBLE BIND

As the price of DNA sequencing drops, a new wave of consumer genomics companies are taking the science mainstream.

Are you ready?

BY CHRISTINA FARR

36 THE FUTURE OF NEIGHBOURHOODS In this special report, we highlight five sustainable design predictions that offer a glimpse into how we’ll live tomorrow

How Maserati SA’s only female technician Monica Luscay Kyzer is changing the motor industry model INTERVIEW BY KAYLA JACOBS

44 TWO ARE BETTER THAN ONE

With their new app, entrepremoms Venessa Lees and Nicole O’Neill are helping co-parents maintain a happy home—for the sake of the children

BY JAMES ORME

69 THE GREAT INNOVATION FRONTIER

If we want to create impact in Africa, we need to attend to the task of creating successful businesses

BY MILLS SOKO

72 FAST BYTES & EVENTS 76 SECURING THE FUTURE Why there’s no need to sacrifice security for usability when developing authentication software

BY GERHARD OOSTHUIZEN

Perfect balance Rich Mnisi’s clothing designs—like the Drievoet Skirt—are extremist yet minimalist. (page 11)

4 FASTCOMPANY.CO.Z A FEBRUARY 2017

MetropolitanRepublic/19804

MTN BUSINESS SECURITY.

A

t MTN Business, we understand the importance of protecting what helps your business grow. That’s why we pride ourselves on being an ICT provider that gives peace of mind with our end-to-end security solutions.

With our collective experience and industry leading technology, we can prepare your business for cyber threats. Our end-to-end solutions include: Vulnerability Assessments, IT Networks Security, Email Security, Firewalls as well as Mobile Device Security.

To protect your business go to mtnbusiness.com/za

A different world needs a different approach to security with MTN Business Security.

THE COURAGE TO GROW IS BUSINESS.

PUBLISHER AND EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Robbie Stammers

robbie@fastcompany.co.za

ART DIRECTOR

By Digital Publishing

CHIEF SUB-EDITOR

FINANCIAL MANAGER

Charles Burman, Catherine Crook

Tania Griffin

Sarah Buluma

ADVERTISING SALES DIRECTOR

PRINTER

Keith Hill

keith@insightspublishing.co.za

ADVERTISING MANAGER Kyle Villet

OFFICE MANAGER Susan Ball

susan@insightspublishing.co.za

evans@fastcompany.co.za

DIGITAL PLATFORMS

Stacey Storbeck-Nel

stacey@insightspublishing.co.za

EDITOR Evans Manyonga

RSA Litho

DISTRIBUTION On The Dot

SUBSCRIPTIONS

susan@insightspublishing.co.za

FAST COMPANY INTERNATIONAL TEAM CHAIRMAN

Joe Mansueto, Mansueto Ventures

EDITOR

Robert Safian

DEPUTY EDITOR David Lidsky

EXECUTIVE EDITOR Noah Robischon

EDITORS-AT-LARGE

Jon Gertner, Rick Tetzeli

PUBLISHED BY

SOUTH AFRICAN EDITORIAL BOARD

SENIOR ASSOCIATE EDITOR JJ McCorvey

EDITORIAL DIRECTOR Jill Bernstein

Louise Marsland, Anneleigh Jacobsen, Prof. Walter Baets, Pepe Marais, Alistair King, Koo Govender, Abey Mokgwatsane, Kheepe Moremi, Herman Manson, Ellis Mnyandu, Thabang Skwambane

DIRECTOR, EDITORIAL STRATEGY Lori Hoffman

DIRECTOR, EDITORIAL & NEW BUSINESS ENTERPRISES

EDITORIAL CONTRIBUTORS

Christina Farr, Steven Melendez, Kayla Jacobs, Adele Peters, Jennifer V. Cole, Andrew Price, James Orme, Matthew Shaer, Nikita Richardson, Simon Capstick-Dale, Mills Soko, Gerhard Oosthuizen, Evans Manyonga

Bill Shapiro

ARTISTS

Sarah Filippi

Cover: Richard Hughes Adobe Stock, Orka Collective, Noel Spirandelli, Neil Webb, Richard Hughes, Amrita Marino, Limor Garfinkle, The New Home Company, Jessica DimmockCiccolella, Stephen Chan, Nicolas Dehghani, Kayan Kwok, Emiliano Granado, Chloe Aftel, Wren McDonald, ioulex, Indio Design, Jessica Dimmock

CREATIVE DIRECTOR Florian Bachleda

DESIGN DIRECTOR Ted Keller

PHOTOGRAPHY DIRECTOR Publisher and Editor-in-Chief:

Robbie Stammers

Physical address: 176 Main Road, Claremont, 7700, Cape Town Postal address: PO Box 23692, Claremont, 7735 Telephone: +27 (0) 21 683 0005 Websites: www.fastcompany.com www.fastcompany.co.za www.insightspublishing.co.za

ART DIRECTOR Alice Alves

PRODUCTION DIRECTOR April Mokwa

CHIEF DEVELOPMENT OFFICER Christina Cranley

CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER Mark Rosenberg

No article or any part of any article in Fast Company South Africa may be reproduced without the prior written consent of the publisher. The information provided and opinions expressed in this publication are provided in good faith, but do not necessarily represent the opinions of Mansueto Ventures in the USA, Insights Publishing or the editor. Neither this magazine, the publisher or Mansueto Ventures in the USA can be held legally liable in any way for damages of any kind whatsoever arising directly or indirectly from any facts or information provided or omitted in these pages, or from any statements made or withheld by this publication. Fast Company is a registered title under Mansueto Ventures and is licensed to Insights Publishing for use in southern Africa only.

6 FASTCOMPANY.CO.Z A FEBRUARY 2017

From the Editor

“It’s not just what it looks and feels like.

Design is how it works.”

—Steve Jobs

DESIGN IS ALL AROUND US Our first edition to kick off the new year is dedicated to design and creativity—inseparable bedfellows. And there’s no better place to observe great design and creativity in action than at the annual Design Indaba Festival.

“Design is the creation of a plan or convention for the construction of an object, system or measurable human interaction . . . [T]he direct construction of an object (as in pottery, engineering, management, coding and graphic design) is also considered to be design,” according to the Cambridge Dictionary. Dr Sjaak Brinkkemper from Utrecht University offers a deeper definition: “Designing often necessitates considering the aesthetic, functional, economic and sociopolitical dimensions of both the design object and design process. It may involve considerable research, thought, modelling, interactive adjustment and redesign.”

In order to come up with fresh, out-of-the-box, responsive concepts, it’s necessary to take the approach of design-led thinking: a human-centred approach toward innovation from a holistic point of view. It draws from the designer’s expertise and tries to integrate the needs of people, possibilities of technology, and the requirements for functionality. Design-led thinking ultimately drives innovation, as it’s all about constant rebooting and searching for new ways to make our lives easier. Recognising the need is the primary condition for design, said Charles Eames (who, with his wife Ray, created the Eames lounge chair—an icon of modern style design).

Fast Company SA is the proud media partner of the world-class Design Indaba Festival and Conference.

It’s one of our favourite events of the year, as it brings together the best creative minds from all walks of life in one setting—three days of new perspectives, new solutions and endless inspiration.

Gracing our cover in an explosion of colour is Senegalese fashion designer Selly Raby Kane, the first external creative director of the Design Indaba in its 22-year history. Known for her distinctively eye-catching designs, Kane sheds more light on her disruptive style and what to expect at this year’s event from a visual perspective.

In this edition, you will also find a preview of the Design Indaba programme, and a sneak peek at the 2017 class of Emerging Creatives—some of South Africa’s most exciting up-and-coming design talent who will be showcasing their creations at the event.

We hope you will attend the 2017 Design Indaba. It’s an invaluable platform for all things creative and, above all, it will give you a glimpse into the future of design.

Evans Manyonga evans@fastcompany.co.za @Nyasha1e

Congratulations to the winners of our last subscription competition: Lex Ridley, Estelle Naudé and Luke Engel.

We hope you enjoy your surprise gifts!

FEBRUARY 2017 FASTCOMPANY.CO.Z A 7

The Recommender What are you loving this month?

Favourite socks Nic Harry: Your choice of socks is important, and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. My favourites are by far the colourful range of locally made bamboo socks from Nic Harry. Forget what anyone told you about men having to choose between black or brown socks—colour and style are critical.

I probably own about 20 different styles of Nic Harry and still haven’t worn through a single pair.

Life’s too short for cheap socks.

Craig Rodney Business coach

Favourite book Originals by Adam Grant: We live in a world where entrepreneurship, out-of-the-box thinking and originality are highly encouraged, but far too daunting for most to attempt or turn into something meaningful.

This book explores, through real-life examples, how anyone can identify business opportunities. It’ll not only give you the knowledge to cultivate your ideas but, most importantly, give you the courage to take action and turn your ideas into something meaningful and wonderful.

Léan Boezaart Co-founder, Freedom of Movement

Favourite place The Pilanesberg: I’ve been living in South Africa for almost a year now, and there’s so much about the country I’ve fallen in love with.

Top of my list at the moment is the Pilanesberg.

An easy two-hour drive from Joburg, the area has so much to offer. Whether you’re into hiking or outdoor sports, safaris, cultural experiences, hot-air ballooning, or are just in need of a break from the city, this is the perfect place to spend quality time (alone, or with your family) in a beautiful location.

Olivier Hannaert MD, Club Med Southern Africa

8 FASTCOMPANY.CO.Z A FEBRUARY 2017

The Recommender

Favourite gin Bloedlemoen: I first discovered this gin when one of its creators asked me to paint a blood orange for the label, and was delighted to find it’s downright delicious.

This beautifully handcrafted gin is the (relatively) new kid on the fast-growing South African gin block. Infused with 10 delicate botanicals including juniper, angelica root, cassia, nutmeg, cardamom, grains of paradise and, of course, blood orange, it creates an alchemy of flavours that’s so different and memorable.

Lorraine Loots Miniaturist, Paintings for Ants

Design Indaba attendees’ favourites Sapiens by Dr Yuval Noah Harari: This very provocative and thoughtprovoking book tells the story of the history of humankind and how Homo sapiens battled for dominance—and the price we’ve paid. It would be impossible to sum up this book in a paragraph, as it challenges everything we thought we knew about being human.

Jenny Ehlers Creative director, partner, King James Design Indabas attended: 14

Tools of Titans

by Tim Ferriss: I’m completely addicted to The Tim Ferriss Show, but after years of listening, it’s hard to remember who said what. This book is all the best advice and life hacks from the podcast, jammed into one handy compendium: a veritable how-to manual for being good at life.

Janet Kinghorn Brand consultant and former executive creative director, Brand Union Africa Design Indabas attended: 12

It’s impossible to recommend just one item, so in my usual style I’m going big with three of my current favourites. Food: Sundoo, Sea Point—the best tasting Indian tapas, with the most fragrant spices; Book: The Fall of the Human Intellect by A. Parthasarathy—a work that finally gave me the meaning of life; Perfume house: Le Labo, New York—with its niche fragrances that are freshly hand-blended.

Nathan Reddy Owner, Grid Worldwide Design Indabas attended: 9

FEBRUARY 2017 FASTCOMPANY.CO.Z A 9

Screen time

This month’s pick of the most download-worthy apps currently on the market

ColdSense

www.zicam.com Hypochondriacs will welcome this new medical app that notifies you if it thinks you’re at risk of coming down with the common cold. It uses your device’s microphone to sense coughs and sneezes, and evaluates GPS, health, calendar and sleep data. The more permissions you give the app, the higher the accuracy of its profile.

Studyhub

studyhub.io This new app allows students to connect instantly with digital tutors to help solve tricky homework questions. Simply pick a category, take a picture of the problem, and a “world-class” tutor will take you through it step by step via voice chat and a digital blackboard. Subjects covered are maths, physics and chemistry, with more to follow soon.

Netflix Infinite Runner

flixarcade.netflix.io Ever bemoaned the fact that Netflix wasn’t in the mobile-gaming industry? This endless-runner game will end your pain as it takes you on a 2D adventure based on some of Netflix’s most popular original series. Players can pick characters from Narcos, Marco Polo, Orange is the New Black and Stranger Things, each with its own settings and background music.

roOomy Reality

rooomy.com Virtual-reality home design setup roOomy—together with Climb Real Estate and Google’s Tango—brings VR tech into your home with roOomy Reality. The app enables you to virtually decorate your house, from the colour of the walls to the size of the television (selecting from over 100 000 3D products from 35 leading retailers) and flips between augmented-reality and VR views.

10 FASTCOMPANY.CO.Z A FEBRUARY 2017

Next

Wanted

FASHION FORWARD Rich Mnisi’s designs are inspired by both the traditional and the modern

Over the past three years, Rich Mnisi has carved out a niche for his eponymous brand. “I use imagination and visual stimulation as the beginning and end of the creative process,” he says. The 2014 Africa Fashion International Young Designer of the Year explores the treasures of Africa, merging them with modern culture and heritage to tell unique stories through the clothing that’s extremist yet minimalist. For instance, the concept behind Mnisi’s Autumn/Winter 2016 menswear collection was the Zulu warrior and his adornments, the details of his garments, weapons and habitat.

“His work isn’t typically ‘African’, because it doesn’t feature the loud prints and traditional materials that are so recognisable from the continent”, says Katie de Klee, editorin-chief at DesignIndaba.com. “At the same time, however, his garments are very inspired by his childhood and upbringing, and so his style is also as African as can be.”

The RICH MNISI brand is inspired by sources outside the realm of fashion, including film, music, art and nature.

“What I absorb today plays an even bigger role in the final product of my work,” says the young designer.

Mnisi creates exceptional lookbooks with the help of local photographers, using themes of gender and androgyny—which is interesting, as “there are many countries in Africa where gender stereotypes are still difficult to shift,” adds De Klee.

Go to www.richmnisi.com to view Mnisi’s lookbooks.

Fashion favours the bold Mnisi’s pieces are both extremist yet minimalist, like the Drievoet Skirt from his Summer 2017 collection.

FEBRUARY 2017 FASTCOMPANY.CO.Z A 11

World-changing Idea

THE DOUBLE BIND Genetics company Helix wants to create a world of products just for you. All it needs is your DNA.

By Christina Farr

Illustration by Neil Webb

Before his death from pancreatic cancer in 2011, Steve Jobs paid $100 000 (R1.3 million) to have his DNA sequenced. It was a rare and expensive move that, according to biographer Walter Isaacson, provided insight into potential treatments and allowed doctors to customise his drug regimen. Six years after Jobs’s death, that same kind of sequencing is widely available and costs just a few thousand dollars—or less.

The company most responsible for revolutionising access to DNA isn’t a household name.

Illumina is a R270 billion–plus

T HE GE NE T E A M Five promising players in consumer genomics Machine learning Helix’s access to Illumina sequencers, shown here, allows it to process DNA affordably.

1

23andMe The DNA testing company has rebounded from its 2013 FDA slapdown by concentrating on genealogy and slowly reintroducing health reports. It’s also working with researchers to help in medicine discovery and development.

2

Ancestry.com

genomics powerhouse whose supercomputers have sequenced some 90% of all the DNA data ever processed. Its machines have helped make genomics a compelling tool, used to treat diseases, predict drug responses, and identify which genetic mutations increase our risk of serious illness. They’ve also made it affordable for companies such as Ancestry.com and 23andMe to offer genealogy tests to millions of people. Now there’s a next wave of genomics on the rise, one that promises to take the science far beyond its initial uses. And the best way to understand the coming transformation is by looking at an Illumina spin-off called Helix.

Launched in October last year with $100 million (R1.3 billion) in funding, Helix is on a mission to democratise genomics. There are three levels of technology available today for decoding human DNA. At the top end is whole genome sequencing (what Jobs had done), an exhaustive process that provides a massive volume of

Photograph by Noel Spirandelli

information, sometimes more than scientists know what to do with. Cheapest and most widely used is genotyping, which involves examining a predetermined set of sites in the genome from which one can infer ancestry, genetic relationships and some disease risks. In the middle is exome sequencing, which usually costs less than $1 000 and provides a robust portrait of a person’s genetics by mapping the entire protein-coding region of the human genome.

The amount of info gleaned from genotyping versus exome sequencing “is like night and day,” says Eric Topol, a cardiologist and geneticist at Scripps Research Institute. Exome sequencing can identify genes and variants associated with complex diseases.

It could also, according to Helix, be used to unlock insights into an individual’s lifestyle and personality traits. It’s this type of sequencing—faster and cheaper (thanks, in part, to Illumina)— that Helix plans to exploit.

This genealogy giant, which focuses on connecting customers with lost relatives, claims some 1.5 million genomes in its database—thanks to its AncestryDNA testing kit.

3

Genos Like Helix, this new service promises to bring down the cost of sequencing. Users will be able to peruse genetic insights online via a data-visualisation tool.

4

Color Genomics Founded by veterans of Google and Twitter, Color looks for common genes associated with a higher risk of hereditary cancers for a flat rate of $224 (about R3 000).

5

Veritas For $999 (R13 500), it puts your whole genome on a smartphone and offers information on health- and lifestylerelated genes.

The company has begun to partner with labs, clinics and consumer brands to identify and create novel products based on genetic information. Imagine a nutrition company offering bespoke supplements, or a fitness label creating shoes tailored to a person’s genetic profile. This direct-to-consumer market could be worth anywhere from $2 billion (R27 billion) to $7 billion (R95 billion) in the coming years, according to a recent report from UBS. Eventually, Helix wants to build an app store–like platform where consumers can access their data, and discover a marketplace of applications that interpret and build on it. Get someone to sequence their DNA just once, and you can offer them a lifetime of insights as new ways to interpret genomics emerge.

“We want to deliver bite-size information about your genome, at just the right time of your life,” says CEO Robin Thurston, who joined Helix from Under Armour, where he oversaw the company’s connected fitness platform as chief digital officer after selling the workout-tracking app MapMyFitness to it in 2013. With a team of more than 30 PhDs at its lab in San Diego and access to Illumina’s supercomputers, Helix subsidises the cost of sequencing in exchange for a share of its partners’ revenue. It takes care of interpreting genetic data when needed and vetting products for scientific integrity.

The first Helix-powered product to hit the market is National Geographic’s Geno 2.0 test, which provides information on users’ family trees. While National Geographic has marketed a similar test for nearly a decade, the partnership with Helix allowed it to drop the price from $200 (R2 700) to $149 (R2 020). Customers won’t need to be resequenced if they sign up for a different application from National Geographic, or any other Helix partner, in the future. “This will be the first deep-sequencing

FEBRUARY 2017 FASTCOMPANY.CO.Z A 13

Next

World-changing Idea

test broadly available on the consumer market,” says Thurston.

The partnership puts Helix in direct competition with Illumina clients 23andMe and Ancestry.com, which both rely on genotyping. That may be by design. “We have a special economic relationship [with Helix],” says Jay Flatley, Illumina’s executive chair and former CEO. “It’s what allows Helix to do the sequencing at a subsidised cost and build out the business model.” Flatley is hoping Helix’s ability to offer affordable exome sequencing will convince these other consumer genomics companies to join the platform: “It’s a model that no other company can do,” he says.

Helix’s other early partners include prominent medical providers such as LabCorp, the

Mayo Clinic, Duke University and Mount Sinai. The latter is developing an application that will inform prospective parents about their risks of passing on genetic disorders to children and provide access to genetic counselling.

But Helix is also actively courting major consumer brands—the kinds of partners that can make its app-store model mainstream.

(It is rumoured to be in talks with Weight Watchers and a major fitness brand, though the company declined to disclose names.)

More playful products are in the works. Exploragen has launched a wine-recommendation engine, Vinome, based on recent research into how DNA informs people’s perception of taste.

“With incredible precision, we can identify a taste profile that you’re most likely to enjoy,” claims

The most basic challenge facing Helix is getting the science to catch up to its ambitions.

Vinome’s Ronnie Andrews.

“And then we ship you wines.”

There are still significant challenges, of course, before a DNA-based app store goes viral.

Privacy and security concerns around genetic data remain deeply ingrained. (DNA doesn’t just reveal people’s own secrets, but those of their relatives, too.) Already, while consumers are currently protected from being denied medical aid or employment based on their genetic information, they can be denied life insurance, long-term

S T RING T HE OR Y Consumer genomics could change the way we approach everything from exercise to skincare.

Here are some of the applications that researchers are exploring:

SPORTS

FAMILY/ANCESTRY

HEALTH AND MEDICINE

LIFESTYLE

Certain genes are associated with endurance and strength, which could signal what sports you’re likely to excel at.

DNA may also reveal if a person is at a higher risk for debilitating sportsrelated injuries such as stress fractures and ACL ruptures—information that can be used to create training and physical therapy regimens. Linkages between nutrition and genomics could also inform an athlete’s diet.

For more than a decade, relatives have been brought together through DNA testing, which reveals forgotten branches of family trees, along with ancestry dating back millennia. The next step may be anticipating romantic connections. “Gene-matching” dating sites are already starting to proliferate, promising to use DNA to find the perfect date.

But be warned: The science is iffy at best.

Genomics is already vital in pre-pregnancy and oncology screenings. Doctors use DNA to track how tumours respond to treatments, and are starting to discover how it may inform a person’s response to medicines. Companies are also working to determine if genetics could reveal someone’s susceptibility to addiction, but critics say they may be getting ahead of the science.

Researchers believe that genetics may explain why people taste certain foods, like coriander, so differently. (To some, it tastes like soap.) They are also exploring how to use genomics to help with weight management by providing customised dietary advice.

Meanwhile, beauty giant L’Oréal has invested in research to develop anti-ageing products based on the molecular signature of young skin.

14 FASTCOMPANY.CO.Z A FEBRUARY 2017

care or disability coverage.

At the other end of the spectrum, bioethicists are concerned that businesses like Helix may have a financial incentive to keep aggregate DNA data private, when it may otherwise be used for the common good. The White House recently put $215 million (R2.9 billion) behind the Precision Medicine Initiative, an effort to sequence 1 million people’s DNA for research purposes over the next three or four years. 23andMe selectively works with pharma companies and researchers, sometimes free of charge. Would new consumerfacing vendors choose to hoard such information?

Helix has no immediate plans to provide such access, but hasn’t ruled it out. In terms of privacy, it employs data encryption and authentication requirements for access to its storage platform. It will also give customers control, allowing them to choose how their information will be used and whether they want to opt in for new product offerings.

But perhaps the most basic challenge facing Helix is getting the science to catch up to its ambitions. Even in medicine, where most of the research has been focused, genomics is in its infancy. Harvard geneticist Robert Green, who is an adviser to Helix, says that only 1% to 2% of sequencing tests yield a clinically “actionable result” that will help users prevent the onset of a disease. Finding useful links between, say, genetics and your skincare routine may be even more difficult.

Geneticist Eric Topol was among the first wave of people to have their whole genome sequenced.

He didn’t find the experience very informative in isolation, but sees immense potential. “The genome, with its 3 billion letters, has more rare variants than we can possibly imagine,” he says. “A lot of the unknowns will get filled in.” Until then, at least we can get a tip on which pinot to drink.

Illustrations by Orka Collective

MortimerHarvey 61192/R

You see a Chartered Accountant

WE SEE

Bespoke ENTREPRENEURIAL LEADERSHIP

George Diab CA(SA) Co-founder and Managing Director of Tailor Me

The journey to becoming a CA(SA) is one that requires many hours of hard work and perseverance. The same can be said of making a success of a start-up. So, when one door closed for George Diab, he redirected his energy, skill and business acumen into his small, bespoke tailoring business that’s turning over R3,4 million in sales. Now George has his eye on providing tailor-made property development. That’s why, when you partner with a CA(SA), you partner with a leader with an eye for business opportunities.

Partner with a CS(SA) today, please visit www.findacasa.co.za

responsible leadership.

James Steere, Social Entrepreneur Winner of Chivas The Venture South Africa 2017

ENJOY RESPONSIBLY. NOT FOR SALE TO PERSONS UNDER THE AGE OF 18.

MEET SA’S THE VENTURE WINNER COMPETING IN LA FOR $1 MILLION Chivas Regal set out to find South Africa’s top social entrepreneurs - who do good through business - for the title of SA’s The Venture Winner 2017. James Steere is the co-founder of I-Drop Water, which addresses a growing global need for safe drinking water, through a scaleable and affordable solution.

The Venture SA’s judges chose I-Drop Water as South Africa’s best social venture and James has been awarded the opportunity to represent South Africa in LA for a share of $1 million in funding. Find out more about I-Drop Water and follow James’ journey on social media.

CHIVASREGALSA #TheVentureSA #ChivasVenture

ENJOY RESPONSIBLY. NOT FOR SALE TO PERSONS UNDER THE AGE OF 18.

“I LOVE EXPRESSING MY INNER TRUTH” HOW DESIGN INDABA CREATIVE DIRECTOR SELLY RABY KANE IS RESHAPING AFRICAN FASHION WITH HER DISRUPTIVE STYLE Interview by Evans Manyonga

18 FASTCOMPANY.CO.Z A FEBRUARY 2017

Photograph by Richard Hughes

FEBRUARY 2017 FASTCOMPANY.CO.Z A 19

AN ECCENTRICLOOKING YOUNG WOMAN WITH OVERSIZE S P E C TAC L E S — D R E S S E D IN A BRIGHT PINK KIMONO-STYLE JACKET W I T H CO LO U R FU L WA X PRINTS—SURVEYS T H E AU D I E N C E AT T H E 2015 DESIGN INDABA CONFERENCE. “IN 2007 . . . I DECIDED TO D R AW AGA I N, BECAUSE I USED TO D R AW A LOT W H E N I WA S YO U N G E R. I D R E W THINGS, AND [THEY] BECAME CLOTHES—AND THE CLOTHES BECAME A CO L L EC T I O N. I T WA S M Y FIRST EXPERIENCE IN T H E F A S H I O N W O R L D .”

It was also Selly Raby Kane’s first experience with the Design Indaba, sharing her experience of being a fashion designer in her hometown of Dakar, Senegal. Now, in 2017, she is the event’s first external creative director in its 21-year history—bringing her distinctive style that has been described as “surreal” and “otherworldly”.

Kane furthered her studies at the Paris fashion business school MOD’SPÉ (L’Institut Supérieur Spécialisé de la Mode), after which time she lived in the US before travelling all over Africa. Along the way she developed her uninhibited style that owes as much to anonymous British street artist Banksy as it does to her love of traditional West African textiles.

Through her eponymous label SRK (formerly called Seraka), she expresses her strong and rebellious personality, frequently using 3D moulded shapes, bold patterns and unusual materials such as PVC and fake hair in her collections. Kane is also a member of Les Petites Pierres (The Small Stones): a creative collective that tries, ‘pebble by pebble’, to bring change into Dakar “through social responsibility and helping young underground artists to rise and express their own voice,” she explains.

You belong to a new generation of curious, open-to-theworld, urban artists and designers who are bringing a new energy to Senegalese—and, indeed, African— culture. Would you say life in your home country is reflected in your design elements?

Dakar is a huge source of inspiration. It’s like a character in every story I decide to tell. I’m always led by the urban Dakar and the solutions that people find for themselves to live a better life within the city when the state doesn’t provide. I’m very inspired by the organic life within cities, and I think when you look at my garments you can see references to Dakar, of the collaborations that I’ve engaged in for various fashion shows through the collections and presentations. It’s my intention to share with the world what my city looks and feels like.

Would you say you were born with your talent, or is it something you’ve had to work at or learn?

I think I was definitely born with something, and then my point of view got increasingly narrower until it helped me discover what my own design interest was. That was all forged by my own experiences, by Dakar, by meeting all the alternative people of the scene; going to fashion school was another. All of that impacted the way I see fashion and the way I see the garments. Starting to explore the future two years ago was also a big step forward for me, just to question what my city will become, what the country will become, and to try and translate that into garments. So yes, it was both something I was born with and something that was sort of defined by the people and environment.

20 FASTCOMPANY.CO.Z A FEBRUARY 2017

How have your experiences in other countries impacted the way you express your creativity?

I’m definitely very inspired by the Ivory Coast and the artists I’ve met there. Almost two years ago, I participated in an initiative driven by former US president Barack Obama: I was part of [a group of] 500 young Africans, and through that I got to know more people from the African continent. As a creative, it permitted me to just be able to say I know at least three people in each country of the continent, and that’s a source of inspiration to me as well, because it helped me to infuse elements of different African locations—a bit of wherever I’ve been so far, a bit of Abidjan and a bit of Harare and Botswana. Studying in France also had an influence, so basically every place you go just feeds you something, and I try to express this in the garments and collections I make.

Tell us more about your label, SRK. At the beginning, it was something very spontaneous. I made a collection in France during the summer before I came back to Senegal. I started drawing and made the garments when I got back home. I think from that point I realised that making was just something beautiful, and it came naturally to me to take the entrepreneurial route. It was quite natural, and the positive response from people encouraged it. We are now represented by an agency in New York, which has given us the opportunity to be represented in different parts of the world at the same time—which is great. My next goal is to open in Dakar and then spread out to other cities and countries.

Ultimately, the African continent is where everything is happening right now, and it’s where I want the brand to have a footprint so that it can represent like-minded people around Africa.

I found it interesting when you mentioned you think Africa has more potential despite being exposed to Europe. Can you tell me why you feel that Africa is the place to be?

I went to Brazil two weeks ago and I could feel there was a lot of space to expand more, a lot

Animal instinct In Kane’s 2015 Birds of Dakar collection, “birds and sea creatures, wool and basin [textile] melt to create an androgynous, playful, colourful and worldinspired wardrobe,” she says.

of opportunity. That’s what I feel with Africa.

There’s opportunity; everything is not as hard or as formalised or blocked as it can be in certain continents and within the countries in these continents. So to me, it’s a huge opportunity. A place like Dakar operates differently from other places. The way you can express yourself there is not the same,

because the guidelines are absent somewhere and too present elsewhere. From a creative point of view, that’s something I really enjoy about the continent: the fact there’s still freedom to tell stories that are yet to be told, and still freedom to express the reality of what our cities actually are. If I had to make a movie about Dakar, it would be very far from

FEBRUARY 2017 FASTCOMPANY.CO.Z A 21

whatever has already been said. There are also a lot of talented people on the continent, which makes working here even more productive.

Your thoughts on the current state of design-led thinking?

I think it’s interesting that the world is coming back to more fundamental issues: not spending too much, not consuming too much, and striving to live in environments that represent progress. The globe is starting to shift its thinking toward what we are used to in Africa. And the design world is no different.

What is your personal take on the annual Design Indaba Festival?

I spoke at the Design Indaba Conference in 2015 and it was one of the most amazing experiences. I’ve spoken before, but it wasn’t in front of 4 000 people! I always talk about my city, so it was great for me to talk about Dakar, to see people reacting to it and to see some people wanting to visit and then actually visiting. As many people have said after the festival, the most interesting thing is just to sit in the conference room and discover people: their work, their processes; discover people you weren’t even aware of, doing wonders somewhere in the world.

That’s the power of the Design Indaba: It’s eye-opening and holistic.

So it opens a different world because it brings together creatives from different walks of life?

The future of fashion In May 2014, SRK merged fashion show with art performance to introduce her Alien Cartoon collection in Dakar’s old train station.

22 FASTCOMPANY.CO.Z A FEBRUARY 2017

Definitely. It gives you a lot of perspective, because people who attend the festival are so different from one another. In 2015, there were a lot of young people sharing one common love for creativity, and each of those individuals explained creativity from a different perspective—not just

3 0 SECO ND S WITH ... presenting results but presenting the journey of where they come from and how they are today. I like the fact that creativity is showcased at a high level, and that high level gives you an open door on a human level. You get to understand more about people as human beings.

This year, you’re essentially ‘designing the Design Indaba’.

What does that entail?

I’m the creative director. I’m creating a big story for the festival this year, and this story is going to be visible at each step of the way. So my job entails creating a look and feel for the festival, and involves a lot of constructions and cultures.

We’re actually physically building and creating this experience. I think attendees will be able to immerse themselves in a totally different world. I think this is the first year that so much effort has been put into art and into the visual element, and the experience that people will feel and take home from the conference. This year we expect them to be wowed, to feel like they are in a different world once they enter the Artscape Theatre.

Any challenges thus far on the Design Indaba project?

Well, I think it’s adapting. I come from Dakar, I work there; we have our ways and you have your ways. So the first week was about settling down, adapting, and understanding the way things work in South Africa. Now we’ve found our rhythm.

What are you trying to express through your designs for this year’s event?

I think my work is always infused with a bit of Urban Africa, with a bit of fantasy and surrealism. All those things will be present. For me, it’s important to be here, because I see it as another invisible link between two cities on the continent. And I’m really fascinated by that: making sure the cities know each other better, that the creatives of each city of the continent know each other better and collaborate.

How will they know it’s definitely Selly Raby Kane?

I think they’ll know because they’ll see the humour in it, the very naive references; they’ll

Selly Ra by Ka ne FAVOURITE DESTINATIONS?

Abidjan, Ivory Coast and São Paulo, Brazil FAVOURITE TECH GADGETS?

Google Chromecast; VR headset YOUR IDEAL DAY?

“I wake up at 5 or 6 a.m., pray, and I feel very light.

I draw until 2 p.m. and after that I meet creative people in Dakar. To me, that’s a good day: A day that starts early, peacefully and focused, and then creative.”

HOW DO YOU UNWIND AND RELAX?

“A few years ago, it was reading. Now it’s more the people: enjoying my friends, the people I love, going to the spaces I love.”

BIGGEST INSPIRATION?

“My father. He’s been pushing me to be ambitious, to do more; to not think about the limits and just appreciate what I have and the work I do.”

BEST MOMENTS OF YOUR LIFE?

“The last minutes of my talk at Design Indaba 2015—I realised I love sharing with people the things I do. And the Alien Cartoon fashion show in Dakar [in 2014]; it combined many of the elements I believe in: sharing, collaborating with artists, creating together and building stuff.”

ON BEING PART OF THE 2017 DESIGN INDABA:

“I see this collaboration as a unique opportunity to contribute to a more integrated, creative Africa.”

notice the strangeness in it as well—those are codes that are very present in my work.

Do you have preferences with regard to the materials you work with?

I like to play with contrasts and shocks, and using braids. I really love that, because to me it’s humorous, it’s playful. I like to explore how those materials, which are not generally mixed, react to one another. Usually there’s good communication between things that we don’t expect. When you put two things together, you feel something; you can feel what’s right or wrong.

Any plans in the pipeline?

I’m working on a virtual-reality film with a local company Big World Cinema, and creatives from Ghana, Ivory Coast, Kenya and South Africa.

Each of us has a very unique point of view, and we’re all creating this VR piece. It’s the second in terms of things I’m going to be really focused on.

A message to this year’s Design Indaba attendees?

I would love for you not to know anything—just arrive and discover everything. You guys are very lucky.

FEBRUARY 2017 FASTCOMPANY.CO.Z A 23

YO U N G AT ‘A R T

24 FASTCOMPANY.CO.Z A FEBRUARY 2017

MEET SOME OF THE EMERGING CREATIVES CLASS OF 2017: SOUTH AFRICA’S UP-ANDCOMING DESIGN TALENT

FEBRUARY 2017 FASTCOMPANY.CO.Z A 25

E M E R G I N G C R E AT I V E S

T H E E M E R G I N G C R E AT I V E S I S A N I N I T I AT I V E B Y DESIGN INDABA AND THE DEPARTMENT OF ART S AND C U LT U R E F O R D E V E L O P I N G Y O U N G C R E AT I V E S W H O H A V E R E L A T I V E LY L I T T L E INDUSTRY EXPOSURE. DESIGN INDABA E S TA B L I S H E D T H E PROGRAMME IN 2005 WITH A STRONG BELIEF IN NURTURING THIS NEW C R E AT I V E TA L E N T A N D KNOCKING DOWN THE B A R R I E R S T O E N T R Y. Participants are selected based on the quality and originality of their work, and the ability to stand alongside world-class designs. A year-long programme of support, mentorship and guidance in how to manage and grow a small business runs alongside Design Indaba to further propel their creative careers.

The Emerging Creatives get the opportunity to be inspired by the best designers on both the local and international design stage, and to showcase their work to retail buyers and media from around the globe at the Design Indaba Festival.

The programme has seen many noteworthy contemporary South African creatives launching their careers, such as Laduma Ngxokolo, Katherine-Mary Pichulik, Andile Dyalvane and Rich Mnisi among others. Architecture, fashion design, illustration, furniture and jewellery . . . all sectors are welcome.

Here is a sneak peak of the exciting works by some of this year’s Emerging Creatives.

26 FASTCOMPANY.CO.Z A FEBRUARY 2017

Nicole Smith

BRINGS SIMPLICITY AND HAPPINESS TO WOMEN’S FASHION A fashion design graduate from the Cape Town University of Technology, Smith is a new entrepreneur looking to find her way into the fashion industry with her women’s clothing brand, Peyton Cole. While working in the commercial clothing industry, she found that originality and authenticity were lacking in the big clothing retailers—so she decided to bring these to the table herself. Smith’s designs are all about simplicity and happiness, with minimalistic prints and inserts. Her graduation collection titled “Walking in Memphis” was inspired by the colourful and fun aesthetics of the MemphisMilano design culture of the 1980s.

Sporty spice Smith describes her clothing designs as “clean, simple, fun”.

Art worker Nkosi founded his own contemporary design label, Boy Sebenza.

Sibusiso Nkosi

EMBELLISHES CERAMICS AND M I N I AT U R E SCULPTURES W I T H D E TA I L E D I L L U S T R AT I O N S Nkosi is a visual artist and self-taught illustrator with the goal of becoming a professional art and design teacher. As the founder of Boy Sebenza, he has an entrepreneurial interest in taking his creativity to a formal corporate level in order to create job opportunities in his hometown of Kwaggafontein, Mpumalanga. With a view to revive the art scene of his village, Nkosi plans to start a visual art initiative that would encourage kids and adults to nurture their own creativity.

FEBRUARY 2017 FASTCOMPANY.CO.Z A 27

Gillian Lawrence

C R E AT E S U N I Q U E Y E T U N I F O R M P I E C E S O F J E W E L L E R Y, B E L I E V I N G IN BOTH ORIGINALITY AND E X P E R I M E N TAT I O N Lawrence is a young jewellery designer with a view to reject common trends, wanting instead to embrace odd characteristics in her designs. She is a firm believer in organic development, and each piece of her jewellery is handmade. Operating under the LORNE label, each design is at once unique yet still visibly part of the greater collection’s identity.

Lawrence is an avid networker and enjoys collaborating with likeminded designers. She doesn’t produce multiple versions of the same piece of jewellery, and she gold-plates all non-silver metals to ensure their durability.

28 FASTCOMPANY.CO.Z A FEBRUARY 2017

Shining example Lawrence uses metals such as sterling silver, rose gold, brass and copper.

E M E R G I N G C R E AT I V E S

After Skool’s cool Last year, Letwaba released a range that focuses on sportsclub wear, called Mamelodi Olympiana.

Kate Rees

C R E AT E S H E R OWN FONTS AND USES THESE ON TOTE BAGS, MUGS, PILLOWCASES AND BOOK COVERS Rees believes typography is one of the staples of design. In displaying her work as a type designer, she’s challenging this gap in South African design.

She began developing fonts during her honours year, and feels she has finally found a space to push her creativity and design with as much freedom as possible. Rees has already designed three fonts including “Kim-Ye”—based on the extreme gender stereotypes embodied by Kim Kardashian and Kanye West—and “Lady Luck”, a postmodern font based on classic serif fonts Bodoni, Didot, Garamond, Baskerville and Mrs Eaves. Rees applies these fonts to tote bags, mugs, pillowcases and book covers, selling them along with the actual font on CD.

Kgotso Letwaba

DESIGNS STYLISH SPORTSWEAR INSPIRED

BY STREET ART As a self-professed athlete at heart and fashion designer in training, Letwaba creates activewear through his own label, The After Skool Life. He’s interested in creating sporty garments that are not only aesthetically pleasing and optimally comfortable but also informed by his fascination with pop culture and street art. Letwaba is involved in the entire production process of his sportswear designs: from illustration to sewing to pattern construction.

FEBRUARY 2017 FASTCOMPANY.CO.Z A 29

E M E R G I N G C R E AT I V E S

Dévan Swanepoel

U SE S HI S BACKGROUND IN PERFORMING ARTS AND BUSINESS TO REACH N E W C R E AT I V E H E I G H T S W I T H H I S L E AT H E R PRODUCTION COM PANY Swanepoel is a small business owner with a storied history. Having travelled to different parts of the world and completed training in performing arts and marketing, he decided to focus his efforts on starting a leather production company. Called WEEF (from the Afrikaans word for “weave”), his startup manufactures handmade neckties using sustainably sourced leather.

Swanepoel is an example of perseverance in the pursuit of passion, using unorthodox education to one’s benefit. Following the ethos behind its name, WEEF weaves together the spirit of South African entrepreneurship and the craft of detailed leatherwork.

Ashleigh Lloyd Wedlake

E M U L AT E S C A P E T O W N ’ S N AT U R A L AND DEMOGRAPHIC DIVERSITY IN HER WORK

Wedlake is a student of industrial design with a passion for pluralistic inspiration. Having absorbed various cultural and creative principles through her travels, she aims to infuse her furniture designs with different schools of creativity including photography, graphic design, videography and food styling.

Lloyd Wedlake blends artisanal craft and industrial design by merging intricately woven textiles with woodcraft. She has designed unique pieces of furniture and homeware including ceramics, a coffee table and lighting fixtures—inspiring conversations between people through her work.

In the spotlight Lloyd Wedlake’s ropeand-twine light fixture is part of Southern Guild’s “A New Wave” exhibition of collectible design.

30 FASTCOMPANY.CO.Z A FEBRUARY 2017

Lungile Mbokane

TELLS THE STORY OF HIS LIFE AS A YOUNG BL ACK SOUTH AFRICAN TH RO U G H C A N VA S Recognising that emotional reflection and determination are key in creating authentic art, Mbokane tells the story of his own life through his illustrations—producing limited-edition canvas prints of his unique artworks. His style is informed by his position as a young black artist living in South Africa.

Despite the fact that he’s an emerging painter, Mbokane aims to inspire other young creatives whenever he has the opportunity.

Best of both worlds Mbokane uses graphic design and fine art processes in his artwork, such as Masai Attitude.

Jeanne-Louise Lamont

BRINGS LIFE BACK TO ABANDONED SITES WITH HER POP-UP CINEMA With a passion for cinema and the city of Pretoria, along with her creative zeal, Lamont aims to bring together lovers of film and amateur filmmakers through her Molo Mollo Nomadic Cinema Club project. She brings life back to abandoned or neglected sites in and around Pretoria with her pop-up cinema event, while inciting a new community at the same time. Her goal is to grow Molo Mollo into a permanent cinematic fixture in South African cities. Lamont holds an honours degree in information design from the University of Pretoria and is currently working toward a teaching diploma through Unisa to help develop young individuals into sustainable entrepreneurs.

FEBRUARY 2017 FASTCOMPANY.CO.Z A 31

Next

My Way

GIRL TORQUE How Maserati SA’s only female technician Monica Luscay Kyzer is changing the motor industry model Interview by Kayla Jacobs

32 FASTCOMPANY.CO.Z A FEBRUARY 2017

Highly driven Kyzer’s job at Maserati SA allows her to be completely immersed in her passion for luxury performance cars.

“Know the car that you’re driving, so that one day if you ever break down while on your own, you’ll know what to do.” This invaluable advice from her mother played a fundamental role in Monica Luscay Kyzer’s decision to pursue a career in the motor industry. And this grease monkey is proud she’s not just ‘one of the guys’.

Kyzer says she did everything her brother did: When he talked cars, she listened; when her father taught her brother how to repair his bicycle, she wanted to know how, as well. “Being a tomboy played a role, I guess.”

She studied mechanical engineering at a technical school in Bloemfontein, and during her fourth year was offered an internship at DaimlerChrysler (now Mercedes-Benz South Africa). The 29-yearold currently holds the post of service adviser at Maserati South Africa at its dealership in Cape Town, a position that allows her to be completely immersed in her passion for luxury performance cars.

The most rewarding aspect of her job is being part of the renowned Maserati “There are still one or two family, and as a female [customers] who prefer technician she is “The conversing with a male, Absolute Opposite of which I don’t mind, as it Ordinary”—mirroring the affords me the opportunity ethos of the global brand. to switch to technical mode— Kyzer’s advice for young and end up either shocking women pursuing a career in or impressing them!” the motoring industry? Be

determined and motivated. “Don’t be afraid to go for something that’s your passion in life. The motoring industry can be a great opportunity to achieve your dream career. Even when you feel like giving up, make sure you get up and continue. It’s like running a race: either you do it alone, or someone turns around, picks you up and runs with you to the finish line.”

Mechanical engineering is a competitive industry, especially among men. What was your reason for choosing this particular career, knowing it’s so male-dominated?

I grew up in a liberal family environment that didn’t restrict me from exploring my talent.

I didn’t encounter any gender barriers within my family, and this gave me the confidence to boldly enter the mechanical industry so that I could fulfil my ambition.

FEBRUARY 2017 FASTCOMPANY.CO.Z A 33

Next

My Way

In the engine room The young service adviser enjoys being a part of an ever evolving international brand, learning about new technologies all the time.

sometimes guys actually forget you’re a lady.

How did you get the opportunity to work at such a prestigious motor company?

It goes back to my employment with Aston Martin [as technical assistant], where I was given the opportunity to work on supercars.

This was my entry into the supercar environment, and I guess I made some impression in that community. I can also attribute the rise in my career to my previous employment with DaimlerChrysler SA, where I completed my training of three years.

What does it mean to be the only female technician in a service advisory capacity at Maserati SA? I don’t think about it in that way. It’s a wonderful opportunity for me and I’m living my dream working for Maserati SA.

30-SECOND BIO Mon ica Lu scay Kyzer TITLE

Service adviser, Maserati SA HOMETOWN

Kimberley FAVOURITE QUOTE?

“It’s from a song by Jon Secada: ‘Just another day’.”

What are customers’ reactions and opinions when they see you’re the service adviser on the work floor?

Most are satisfied and love the idea; they feel their vehicle will be given special care when handled by a female. There are still one or two who prefer conversing with a male, which I don’t mind, as it affords me the opportunity to switch to technical mode—and end up either shocking or impressing them!

What was the first car you fell in love with?

Our family car, some old Mazda.

I thought it was the coolest car ever! We could start it and then remove the key from the ignition (it was the old-fashioned keyless technology). So I thought I was bragging to all my school friends.

It never broke down, and this reliability impressed me.

FAVOURITE BOOK?

What has been your motivation in life?

I always think of my mother, who herself was an entrepreneur in the vehicle industry; she owned a driving school. I strive to uphold her legacy.

Do you have any other aspirations in motoring?

I’m working toward going to Italy. I’d also like to do an advanced driving course and go on the racetrack.

What do you get up to when you’re not being a grease monkey?

I rest my mind, and spend time with my family. I love modelling or doing test shoots for fun. I love nature and driving long distances.

You seem like you’ve got it together. Have there been any challenges, especially for a young woman in the motoring industry?

There are always challenges. It’s tough being a woman in this field, especially if you’re gentle; you have to keep your chin up, because

34 FASTCOMPANY.CO.Z A FEBRUARY 2017

The Jungle Book

by Rudyard Kipling YOUR IDEAL DAY?

“Chilling on my couch, watching sci-fi movies or listening to oldschool music.”

FAVOURITE TECH GADGET?

“My smartphone.”

FAVOURITE PART OF THE JOB?

“I love interacting with our clients and fellow colleagues— basically, working with people. And learning new technologies and being a part of an international, evolving brand.”

What do you love most about what you do?

Customer satisfaction in itself provides me with a sense of accomplishment. Learning new things about the brand also makes me happy.

You’re clearly an exceptional figure for female empowerment in South Africa. What is your message to the young women and girls out there?

Everybody has a dream; work toward your dream, no matter how long it takes or what your circumstances, no matter the odds. Don’t give up.

When technology transforms a nation and unlocks the dreams of its people.

That’s Ingenuity for life.

There’s an economic renaissance taking place in South Africa. When technology is engineered with purpose it drives the economy and enables prosperity. Siemens’ industrial, transportation and energy solutions are transforming South Africa’s economy and global competitiveness so that South Africans can live better, more rewarding lives. That’s Ingenuity for life.

cgcb-a10180-00-7600

siemens.co.za/ingenuityforlife

Next

Fast Cities

THE FUTURE OF NEIGHBOURHOODS Five predictions for how residential life could soon be changing

Clear thinking A partial rendering of ReGen Village, including glass greenhouses where food will grow all-year round.

01

WE’LL GENERATE OUR OWN RESOURCES An ambitious experiment in the Netherlands could be a model for life of f the grid

36 FASTCOMPANY.CO.Z A FEBRUARY 2017

A new housing development called ReGen Village is in its pilot phase on the outskirts of Amsterdam. Residents don’t have to rely on external sources to provide most of their energy, waste management or even food. The village is designed to operate as a closed-loop system, meaning it meets most of its needs from within. “We are redefining residential real estate development by creating regenerative neighbourhoods,” says project mastermind James

Ehrlich, a California-based developer and senior technologist at Stanford. “It’s very much attuned to the cycles of nature.”

Though self-sufficiency is not a new idea—communities survived for centuries before there even was a grid from which to disconnect— Ehrlich hopes ReGen will serve as a testing ground for a concept that could help reduce global dependence on unsustainable resources. The village’s 200 homes and apartments will house about 600 residents.

ReGen has partnered with Danish architecture firm Effekt to design the futuristic houses, which Ehrlich sees as a modern take on traditional Scandinavian aesthetics, featuring clean lines, lots of glass, and tall, steep roofs.

Though the Amsterdam ReGen community is aimed at luxury buyers, the idea is to eventually expand the closed-loop concept to the developing world, where self-sufficiency could have an even more profound impact by providing reliable sources of food and water. Ehrlich plans to use the proceeds from the first village to build similar towns for low-

ReGen’s radical self-reliance will require a big assist from modern technology.

income residents in sub-Saharan Africa and rural India.

ReGen’s radical self-reliance will require a big assist from modern technology. High-yield organic growing methods—that include aeroponics, aquaponics and food forests—will produce fruit, vegetables, legumes and herbs all-year round while using a fraction of the water and space that traditional farming practices

require. Animal waste will be converted into electricity through a biomass generator, and a storage system will collect and process rainwater and greywater. If Ehrlich can make all these efforts work together (along with more familiar eco techniques such as composting and solar energy), he believes his regenerative communities won’t just be selfsustaining—they will produce enough excess food and power that residents can sell the bounty to nearby neighbourhoods, which will help offset operating costs. In developing countries, that could prove significant both inside and outside the village’s borders. “A single ecovillage that’s producing more organic food and nutrientdense soil than it needs [can help provide for] the surrounding community,” Ehrlich says. “If you build enough of these, we can slowly prepare ourselves for the next 2 to 3 billion people coming to the planet.”

Ehrlich acknowledges that the high-end clientele he’s targeting with the Amsterdam development probably won’t be able to live completely off the grid.

In addition to amenities such as Internet access and cable TV that can’t be produced on site, residents will have to look outside for luxuries like coffee, spices and other food items.

Homeowners will also likely produce some kinds of waste that the community can’t reuse, which will need to be carted away. But in poor areas, where needs are simpler but far more urgent, Ehrlich believes each village will be able to subsist entirely on its own. “It’s ambitious,” says the developer, “but building regenerative-system thinking into neighbourhoods is the only way for humanity to survive and thrive.” —Adele Peters

02

WE’LL RAISE THE STANDARD OF ULTRA-AFFORDABLE HOUSING New shelters are designed to help refugees and others with limited means Hex House

In My Backyard

Want to lower the barrier to homeownership?

Reduce the cost of design and construction, which can account for roughly half the purchase price.

That’s what Amro Sallam, executive director of the non-profit design firm, Architects for Society, aimed to do by creating the Hex House: a twobedroom, 40m 2 home kit that owners can assemble themselves on site with simple tools, Ikea style.

The approximately $15 000 (R202 000) structures, which he plans to begin selling this year, will be built out of structural insulated panels that are light, strong, low-cost and energy-efficient. Sallam also plans to erect Hex House neighbourhoods near cities that need more affordable housing.

Residents would buy the house and a small parcel of land, and kits would be pre-assembled and shipped to the site.

Last June, a team of Spanish and French architects from sustainable-housing firms Design of Architectural Territories Pangea (DAT Pangea) and Quatorze built the first two prototypes of In My Backyard in Paris. The tinyhome concept is intended to provide refugees with stable, energy-efficient housing on the properties of residents who volunteer to share their land.

The refugees get more than just a place to live: Ricardo Mayor Luque, CEO of DAT Pangea, is developing partnerships with universities that will turn the building process into a training programme.

Refugees work with In My Backyard to construct their own abodes, learning skills that could help them find construction work in their adopted city. When training is done and the house is complete, they’ll even get a diploma.

Box populi Hex Houses are assembled on site, like Ikea furniture.

FEBRUARY 2017 FASTCOMPANY.CO.Z A 37

Next

Fast Cities

Growth industry The Cannery is built around a working farm—just two miles outside the bustling city of Davis, California.

FA RM L IF E City meets country at these agrihoods

WE’LL GET BACK TO THE LAND The demand for hyperlocal food is reshaping some suburban communities

When residents of the Cannery walk out of their front doors, they are surrounded by 7.5 acres of farmland that’s flush with tomatoes, melons and other produce, as well as a healthy brood of free-range chickens. In the distance, there’s a barn and a stand where passers-by can purchase fresh baskets of crops. It sounds like life in the country, but the Cannery is located just three kilometres outside the city of Davis, California. The community is one of a growing number of “agrihoods”: urban and suburban housing developments that are constructed around working farms. “I’m a homebuilder, but the real joy is in building neighbourhoods,” says Kevin Carson, who oversees Northern California projects for Cannery developer, the New Home

38 FASTCOMPANY.CO.Z A FEBRUARY 2017

Company. “A lot of communities get a golf course. We set out to create a master-plan community [around] food growing.”

The Cannery—which opened in 2015 and currently has 77 occupied homes—is popular with both young families and retirees, who enjoy easy access to hyperlocal produce. (The agricultural operation is managed by the non-profit Center for LandBased Learning, which leases to private farmers.) “Agrihoods are part of the bigger movement of buy local, shop local, eat local,” says Ed McMahon, a senior fellow at the Urban Land Institute, a non-profit that advocates for responsible land use. “In our industrial economy, the growth of food was separated from where people live. People are reconnecting with where food comes from.”

But the appeal goes beyond weekly boxes of squash and peppers. The concept of this and similar enclaves is that a farm can serve not just as a food source but as the centre of daily life.

In addition to the crop fields, residents have access to a shared

outdoor kitchen, enjoy fruit and nut trees in every yard, and meet up in an amphitheatre that will hold community events such as concerts and festivals. Cannery resident Diane Parro says living there has changed not only how she eats—with family meals dictated by what’s in season—but also how she interacts with her neighbours. “We used to live in a large house with a sprawling yard that had a lot of upkeep, and we were really separated from the

The Cannery Davis, California STARTING PRICE: R6 million SAMPLE AMENITY: Every

house is built within 90m of a park or access to the neighbourhood’s extensive network of biking trails.

Prairie Crossing Grayslake, Illinois STARTING PRICE: R2.4 million SAMPLE AMENITY: The

property boasts an “edible landscape” featuring 80 varieties of trees and bushes that produce blackberries, currants, grapes and elderberries.

Willowsford Near Ashburn, Virginia STARTING PRICE: R7.8 SAMPLE AMENITY:

community,” she says. “Now, we share a green lawn. We have potlucks at giant tables set up near people’s front doors, with local wine and devilled eggs from resident chickens. Food just tastes better when it comes right off a farm.”

—Jennifer V. Cole

million

Homeowners looking for greener lawn care can rent the resident goats.

Upcountry Farm Kauai, Hawaii STARTING PRICE: R39.8 million SAMPLE AMENITY: Owners

can hand-pick pineapples, bananas, kale and other produce, or gather eggs for breakfast.

The New Home Company

03

04

WE’LL BUILD IN UNEXPECTED SPACES With cities growing ever more crowded, creative solutions will be key

05

WE’LL TURN DOWN THE HEAT Madrid has a low-tech plan to cope with the impending ef fects of climate change

Limor Garfinkle

Going deep A prototype installation shows off technology behind New York’s Lowline.

Copenhagen’s floating dorms

Bangkok’s asymmetrical soccer fields

When Copenhagen entrepreneur Kim Loudrup couldn’t find affordable student housing for his son, he decided to create it himself. Along with renowned Danish architect Bjarke Ingels, he constructed Urban Rigger, an apartment complex made of modular shipping containers. The building sits on a floating base that the company pays to dock in Copenhagen’s harbour. Urban Rigger’s 15 studio apartments, which rent for $600 (R8 000), each have a private bedroom, bathroom and kitchen, along with shared social space. “Most major postindustrial cities are experiencing some sort of a transformation and decline of their port industries,” says Ingels. “Cities have increasingly available port areas that can be transformed. They could be the home for alternate forms of urbanisation.”

In urban areas, room for athletic fields can be scarce. To provide a place for play, Bangkok-based real estate developer AP Thailand turned four odd-shaped lots into public fields. “We want to use our expertise in space management to create a space of happiness,” says AP Thailand’s Pattaraphurit Rungjaturapat. Though FIFA fans may scoff at the irregular areas, players have started integrating the anomalies into their games, bouncing balls off walls and using bends to manoeuvre around their opponents.

New York’s Lowline The Highline—built on an abandoned elevated train track— is one of NYC’s most popular parks.

Could the next step be to move in the opposite direction?

Co-founders James Ramsey

and Dan Barasch are spearheading a project that would tap technology to build a 5 500m2, plant-packed public park 6m below New York’s clogged streets. The idea—being tested in a former supermarket—is to use aluminium-and-glass solar collectors to harness sunlight and redirect it to a distribution point via fibre-optic cables. A “solar canopy” of aluminum panels then distributes the plant-nurturing rays. Last year, the city signed off on initial plans for the Lowline, though the team still needs to raise $10 million (R134 million) by July this year and secure another round of approval before work can begin (it attracted nearly $225 000/R3.03 billion on Kickstarter to build the test lab). “By fusing an ancient, forgotten space with our collective future,” says Ramsey, “we’re shaping a city I want my kids to live in.”

Facing rising temperatures and frequent heavy downpours, the Madrid City Council will spend more than $4 million (R54 million) over the next year to cover many open spaces with plants. Here’s how it could help.

More comfortable air When foliage was installed on rooftops and additional trees were planted along pavements near the Madrid airport, peak summertime air temperature fell by up to 8 degrees due to increased shade and moisture in the air, which has a natural cooling effect.

Flood protection The city plans to replace cement-covered city squares with small parks, which will be outfitted with planters that can absorb sudden rainfall and store it to use later for watering the foliage.

Energy efficiency Many bare rooftops will be turned into gardens, and building façades will be coated with creeper plants.

The greenery will act as insulation, reducing the amount of energy needed to cool homes.

FEBRUARY 2017 FASTCOMPANY.CO.Z A 39

Small change, big

To tweak or not to tweak The difference between competitors trailing behind or getting ahead can be made in the tiniest adjustments in strategy, says WeAreMonsters MD, Andrew Price.

impact HOW YOUR ENTERPRISE COMPANY CAN WORK TOWARD SUSTAINABLE, ACHIEVABLE INNOVATION

BY ANDREW PRICE

Innovation can come in hundreds of forms: product improvement, systemic optimisation, more creative utilisation of dark data . . . anything you can think of, really. Each innovation opportunity is as valuable as the next—although, admittedly, some are cooler than others.

40 FASTCOMPANY.CO.Z A FEBRUARY 2017

When picturing innovation, one can easily be attracted by images of Apple’s drag-and-drop feature, championing the tiresome right-click-and-delete methodology laboured over by Windows users.

Don’t let the bright lights deceive you.

Finding a revolutionary process or technology with which to manage your stock and warehousing functions could be even more rewarding—and detrimental— to your business successes or client experience.

The unilateral nature of innovation necessity therefore brings about a new hurdle. If innovation is so broad a function, how can I apply it to my business? How can I narrow down the list of whom to hire in order to achieve innovation? What do I even tell them to do? These are good questions, but we will revisit them shortly. First, we need to take a look at how it’s currently being done.

I know there are some enterprise companies out there that have nailed their innovation functions, but for the most part, this is not the case. The typical story goes as follows: Let’s get with the times, let’s grab the future by the horns! We’ll build a crack team of young go-getters with new-age skill sets, throw in a couple of oldies who understand our business and market, stir, add salt for flavour, and voilà—innovation in a can! Now what?

Enterprise is a space in which small changes can cause enormous impact. A tweak here or there can result in spiked product interest, the unearthing of an entirely new market, or even cause such a drastic decrease in systemic waste that you could find yourself, through operational efficiency alone, leaving your competitors in the dust. Enterprise is also a space in which the difference between your competitors trailing behind or taking the rug from under you can be made in the tiniest adjustments in strategy.

So, could there be a more necessary arena for the continual cultivation of innovation? A great notion for sure, but getting your existing staff or management to think ‘out-the-box’ or outside of their core functions is more than a little difficult. Especially when they have become accustomed to the way things are now. I like to call this difficulty to see things outside of the current paradigm “corporate snow-blindness”. If you’re like most enterprise companies, you’ll realise that merely

It’s all in the details Co-founder Pieter van Reenen tried and failed at a couple of versions before coming up with a winning formula for WAM.

repurposing existing staff members to branch out or imbibing additional roles won’t quite cut it. When you hired your staff, it was due to their excellence in their current role. Most people are confident—and energised— by being good at something they understand. It’s rare to find people happy to move away from the warm lapping shores of their safe job description and into the tumultuous open waters of untested innovation. “With no guidelines or metrics to know if I’m doing a good job, how do I have job security?”

FEBRUARY 2017 FASTCOMPANY.CO.Z A 41

Besides, I doubt your marketing manager understands how to build a quick customer-testing feedback loop into a prototyping portal, nor is he or she likely to know how Don’t lose focus long an AI conversational bot would take to replace your WAM co-founder Stephan Steynfaardt project managers. So, if we’re being honest, usually the says he and Van next step is to bring in new blood, or to outsource the role Reenen suffered of ‘innovation’ to experts. from “perfect product syndrome”, Innovation is a tricky and misleading mistress, getting lost in the though. On-boarding a team of youngsters with their big picture. ‘fingers on the pulse’ is revealed as next to impossible when you realise there’s no yardstick with which to judge their success, no benchmarks to let you know if they’re heading in the right direction, and no area of your business that would be the logical place for them to start innovating. If you knew enough about the realm of innovation so as to hand these young-blood millennials your ‘how-to’ handbook, you wouldn’t be employing them in the first place. Being a manager myself, the thought of relinquishing the reins so completely makes me a tad sick to my stomach.

Let’s just say that you’ve managed to start at the right place, you believe you’ve found the right analytics to watch out for, and you’ve allocated a budget toward the department’s progression. Will you be able to bend the house rules to let the new team do what’s necessary to succeed? Will you be able to hold back the red tape and bureaucracy long enough not to stifle them? Are your offices equipped to handle the brainstorming, crossfiring and customer testing? Can the crack team even work together toward a cohesive, sensible end result, and package it in such a way that the stakeholders understand the steps to success?

The main issues we’ve found are: understanding which metrics are important and how to measure them; knowing which technologies are available and whether it would make sense to use them; having the know-how and procedures to test whether your customers will adopt your innovative adjustments; what everything will cost, and I N N OVATI O N HA S TH E P OWE R TO how long it will take to TAKE YO U R B U S I N E S S TO N E W build or implement. As H E I G HT S , D R AI N YO U O F PREC I O U S the saying goes, “You don’t know what you RE SO U RC E S — O R , I N SO M E don’t know,” and if you’re C I RCU M STAN C E S , LE AVE YO U FAR burning budget to find WO R S E O F F THAN E VE R B E FO RE out, you may just find yourself broke and frustrated—very quickly.

Like your father’s firearm hidden away behind lock and key, revered for its ability to both protect or harm, innovation has the power to take your business to new heights, drain you of precious resources—or, in some circumstances, leave you far worse off than ever before. No wonder this enigmatic necessity is often avoided, or

42 FASTCOMPANY.CO.Z A FEBRUARY 2017

approached with a healthy dose of trepidation. What you need is an innovation accelerator that takes the foreign functions of the innovation process out of your company’s hands. Product, industry and customer knowledge will come from your organisation, while process, infrastructure and tech/creative knowledge experience will be brought in from outside. This will allow you to steer the ship without having to worry about the oars, which is a necessary step toward sustainable, achievable innovation.

Andrew Price is MD at WeAreMonsters, a Cape Town–based innovation specialist that assists enterprises by actualising innovation objectives through rapid idea validation, prototyping and user testing.

MEET SIPHISO ENTREPENEUR KAROAKE GOD SHAREHOLDER

Now you can also own shares in the companies you love #1 Online Broker

Financial Mail / Intellidex / Investors Monthly

#1 Most Innovative Concept Accenture Innovation Index

EasyEquities is a product of First World Trader (Pty) Ltd trading as GT247.com which is an authorised Financial Services Provider. GT247.com is a subsidiary of Purple Group Limited (PPE), a company listed on the JSE. Any material shared or displayed does not constitute financial advice. Should you require financial advice, please consult your financial planner.

Next

My Way

TWO ARE BETTER THAN ONE These entrepremoms have developed an app to help co-parents maintain a happy home

By James Orme

“It’s all about the children: their wellbeing and raising them to be welladjusted adults, with the love and guidance of both parents. Children should not have to suffer because the adults are unable to communicate in a positive and constructive manner.”

Venessa Lees and her business partner Nicole O’Neill are mothers united by a noble cause: to improve the lives of South Africa’s tens of thousands of broken families affected by divorce or separation.

Already business and marketing experts in their own right, this year they hope to

44 FASTCOMPANY.CO.Z A FEBRUARY 2017

Now we’re talking With theKidz app, Venessa Lees (left) and Nicole O’Neill want to create a “harmonious communication environment” for co-parents.

replicate that success in the app market with their co-parenting assistant, theKidz.

The cross-platform application (iOS, Android and desktop versions are currently in the works) will provide co-parents with real-time capturing and updates of any child-related expenses such as maintenance payments or medical aid claims, as well as a secure scheduling and ‘arms-length’ communication platform to create a stressfree environment for co-parents to connect— irrespective of location and relationship status.

By creating a “harmonious communication environment”, O’Neill hopes that parents will be able to use theKidz to effectively prioritise the needs of their children. “With the emotion removed from the relationship dynamic between parents, the children will be able to have both parents attend events, functions and the like as the relationship between the parents improve. The bottom line is that the children love both parents equally and feel torn when they feel they need to choose. With the improved dynamic through the use of the app, this compromise on the side of the children will be negated. Ultimately, we are aiming for emotional stability for all within the family circle.”

Lees and O’Neill are well aware of the strenuous realities of co-parenting (Lees has split from her children’s father). Seeing the app become a reality would be a rich emotional reward for them both.

“I’m currently experiencing a challenging relationship with my children’s father,” Lees shares, “and seeing the devastating effect it has on the children has inspired me to seek a better solution for all parents who find themselves in a similar situation. Our engagements would be emotionally taxing on me, and my children would pick up on this and cause them unnecessary worry. The app is intended to do away with this emotional aspect of the communication and ensure the children feel safe and secure at all times.”

Lees first had the idea for theKidz three years ago after she saw the impact that her own separation was having on her children. “I started searching the web to find a tool that I could use that would facilitate less contentious communication between us.” After discovering that no service of the sort existed, she contacted long-time friend and associate O’Neill about the possibility of creating their own.

The pair met in 2004 while working on the Old Mutual Trophy Wine Show. After a successful marketing campaign, O’Neill left Old Mutual, but the two remained in touch—and, compelled by mutual respect, have continued working together for the past 11 years. O’Neill has enjoyed 16 years of successful business and marketing development, while Lees founded and co-directs specialist trade marketing agency Expose.

Their combined personal experiences, marketing

FEBRUARY 2017 FASTCOMPANY.CO.Z A 45

Next

30 SECONDS WITH...

My Way

All systems go!

The two moms aim to have theKidz app available in the first quarter of 2017.

30 SECONDS WITH...

Vene ssa Lee s

Nicole O’ Neill

FAVOURITE QUOTE?

FAVOURITE QUOTE?

“A mind that is stretched by a new experience can never go back to its old dimensions.” —Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr

“The only way to do great work is to love what you do.” —Steve Jobs FAVOURITE BOOK?

“It’s a book that I read a long time ago, but it has always stuck with me: The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho.”

FAVOURITE BOOK?

Conversations with God by Neale Donald Walsch

FAVOURITE DESTINATION?

FAVOURITE CITY?

Goa, India FAVOURITE TECH GADGET?

Marshall portable speaker. “I can take my music with me wherever I go, as it’s linked to SoundCloud.”

YOUR IDEAL DAY?

“Kisses and cuddles from my two gorgeous blue-eyed boys before getting out of bed, going on a hike, and ending the day surrounded by family and special friends.”

HOW DO YOU UNWIND AND RELAX?

“I do bikram yoga at YogaSpirit in Cape Town.”

BEST MOMENT OF YOUR LIFE?

“Without a doubt, the birth of my two sons Ethan and Aidan.

Every mum knows the unconditional love and devotion in that first moment you lay eyes on the most precious gift one can ever receive.”

“Anywhere there are mountains!”

acumen and motivation to improve the family unit have seen them forge an instinctive and strong collaboration.

“Over our years in the business world, we have developed a multitude of great contacts that we have managed to leverage in order to get the best minds involved to ensure all elements are considered and managed,” adds O’Neill.

“We are determined to bring this app to fruition, and our tenacity will no doubt ensure the same. We are driven in achieving our goals, and support each other unconditionally. Neither of us is driven by ego, and therefore we are always open to ideas and best practice offered by our app developers.”

It took a few potential teams before they settled on software development company Full Stack—and if the resulting app’s functionality is half as good as its stunning design, it will prove to have been a shrewd decision.

O’Neill highlights the importance of a shared understanding between everyone involved. “We have found common ground and mutual passion for the project. They [Full Stack] were the first developers to see the benefits it would offer the children as we saw it, and this was the defining element that we were lacking before.” They also acknowledge the role that Herculaas van Heerden, director at Full Stack, has played in the app’s development over the past year. “He has been pivotal in translating our ideas into tangible and practical solutions that

46 FASTCOMPANY.CO.Z A FEBRUARY 2017

meet the requirements and findings of our research.”

The two entrepremoms aim to have theKidz app available to the public in the first quarter of 2017. They are realistic about the challenges that lie ahead, particularly when it comes to securing investment. “The biggest hurdle we have come across thus far has been the extremely high costs of getting an app into the App Store,” says O’Neill.

“The app is in its final stages of development, and once investment is secured we will be in a position to launch to the broader public within weeks.” This level-headed attitude is evident throughout our interview; when asked about the prospects of theKidz reaching the global market, O’Neill offers a typically judicious reply: “In the long term, we will be looking to launch this app internationally, and we are very aware that this will bring its own struggles. Determining best practice within the international market is going to be our next learning curve.”

Rather than stress over this crucial period in the life of theKidz, Lees and O’Neill remain optimistic about the year ahead and look forward to watching the application grow into something tangible—something that will actually help co-parents and children around the country. These excellent parental values make it extremely likely that their brainchild will mature successfully into adulthood.

FAVOURITE TECH GADGET?

“Love all my [Apple] i-gadgets.”

YOUR IDEAL DAY?

“An early wake-up to catch the sun rise; quality time with my family and friends.

Throw in a trail run or hike and it would be pure perfection.”

HOW DO YOU UNWIND AND RELAX?

“I find exercise a great way to unwind. I try to participate regularly in trail runs, open-water swims and sprint triathlons.”

BIGGEST INSPIRATION?

“Without sounding clichéd, I’d have to say that my kids are my biggest inspiration: They are the reason I get up in the morning and they are the reason I find new challenges. They are also the reason I’m so passionate about theKidz.”

INSIDE THE

22

ND

IN THE BUSINESS OF RESCUE The IRC aid organisation uses tech to help refugees

ANNUAL

DESIGN INDABA

THE YOUNG AT ‘ART Meet this year’s Emerging Creatives with world-class design talent

How fashion icon SELLY RABY KANE contributes to an integrated, creative Africa

CALLING THE SHOTS Why Coco Safar is stirring up the coffee industry

“Design, art and culture are strategic assets for the continent”.

SELLY RABY KANE

Creative director, Design Indaba 2017

R35.00

FEBRUARY 2017 FASTCOMPANY.CO.ZA

16017 4

The Digital version of Fast Company South Africa is now available on Apple iPad and Android tablets

9 772313 330006

“I LOVE EXPRESSING MY INNER TRUTH” HOW DESIGN INDABA CREATIVE DIRECTOR SELLY RABY KANE IS RESHAPING AFRICAN FASHION WITH HER DISRUPTIVE STYLE Interview by Evans Manyonga

18

FA STCOMPANY.CO.Z A FEBRUARY 2017

I T IS MORE THAN A M AG A ZINE, I T'S A MOV EMEN T

Photograph by Richard Hughes

FEBRUARY 2017 FA STCOMPANY.CO.Z A

19

ALL THINGS

CREATIVE INSIDE THE 2017 EDITION OF THE DESIGN INDABA FESTIVAL

48 FASTCOMPANY.CO.Z A FEBRUARY 2017

At its inception in 1995, Design Indaba founder Ravi Naidoo was driven by a desire to help build the new South Africa and to show the world that Africa was a place of inspiration.

Its purpose has always been to create an ideas economy and celebrate design that serves society rather than the corporates. Even the company’s mantra is, “A better world through creativity.” Since that first conference, Design Indaba has grown into a full festival of design and creative thinking in all fields.

For 2017, the audience can look forward to a stellar selection of speakers with compelling multimedia presentations that combine performance, storytelling, career-changing insights and the most cutting-edge creative work on the global circuit.

Top: Dutch ad man Erik Kessels ended his presentation by showering the audience, all dressed in yellow ponchos, with confetti.

Bottom: Designer Miriam van der Lubbe and partner Niels van Eijk from the Netherlands, on designing for the bigger picture

Design Indaba Conference 2017 Design Indaba’s annual Conference of Creativity takes place from 1 to 3 March at the Artscape Theatre Centre in Cape Town, and will be broadcast live to multiple African cities via simulcast.

The yearly three-day showcase of the world’s best creative minds provides endless inspiration, new perspectives and universal solutions.

The conference has been the highlight of South Africa’s creative calendar since its commencement, and has not only contributed vastly to uplifting the South African design sector but has also been named the best design conference in the world.

Under the art direction of Senegalese fashion designer Selly Raby Kane, the conference is being elevated to the next creative level this year, and will function as the creative mothership around which all the other arenas of the festival will oscillate.

Expect activations, live performances, music, exhibitions, a feast of food and drink, and even more immersive experiences than ever before.

Simulcast The Simulcast provides a live screening of the main conference to various venues in order to distribute the shared knowledge to a younger audience, or those unable to attend the Design Indaba in Cape Town. This year, the Simulcast will be broadcast across South

FEBRUARY 2017 FASTCOMPANY.CO.Z A 49

The annual FilmFest showcases the African premieres of the world’s best indie and creative films

Africa and to multiple African locations including Windhoek, Namibia and Lagos, among others.

Emerging Creatives Curious to see what happens inside the studios of South Africa’s up-andcoming and undiscovered young designers? Design Indaba presents a select group of 40 daring and innovative Emerging Creatives, who are set to exhibit their work as part of the festival. The exhibition will be open to festivalgoers for the duration of the event, from early morning until the afterparties die down late at night.

Most Beautiful Object in South Africa Beauty is always subjective. That’s why the Design Indaba team asks the public each year to decide on South Africa’s Most Beautiful Object. Ten celebrity influencers nominate the design creation that embodies their perception of beauty—whatever form that takes—and then the public can vote for their favourite. The competition will culminate in an exhibition during the Design Indaba Festival.

FilmFest Cape Town is a city of romantics: strolling through exhibitions, attending evening gigs from the immense supply of talented music artists—and sitting down to enjoy a good old-fashioned movie. The annual Design Indaba

50 FASTCOMPANY.CO.Z A FEBRUARY 2017

FilmFest will allow festivalgoers to feast their mind (and eyes) on a different African premiere each night. Never-before-seen feature films and short films will come to life at the Artscape, where you can catch a drink, see incredible exhibitions, and have a listen to the country’s (and the world’s) best musicians before heading in to see a film that no one on the African continent has viewed yet. In addition, during the FilmFest the Cape Town International Animation Festival will premier a very special project in collaboration with the Design Indaba.

Nightscape Whatever your creative fancy, you’ll find something to satiate it at the Design Indaba Festival. But don’t head home after the day; find a creative space at the Design Indaba Nightscape and stay a while longer. The Artscape Piazza will open up to the public from 17h30 each evening of the festival with an explosion of live music and other exclusive performances by artists such as Felix Laband, Paul Waxon and Native Young. Head over to the Chivas “Design IndaBar” for an icy drink and to discuss the day’s inspiration offered by the Design Indaba speakers. IndaBar is where creative conversations continue, networking happens, connections are made, collaborations are formed and deals are struck. The partbar-part-art-installation will be a hub of musical and theatrical performances and will set the mood.

For further information, visit www.designindaba.com/festival.

The business of rescue

52 FASTCOMPANY.CO.Z A FEBRUARY 2017

HOW ONE OF THE WORLD’S LARGEST HUMANITARIAN AID ORGANISATIONS IS HARNESSING TECHNOLOGY TO TACKLE A COMPLEX ISSUE IN WAYS THAT REALLY MATTER

By Matthew Shaer Photographs

by Jessica Dimmock

Below: A young Syrian family finds relief in a large, breezy tent at the Diavata camp in Thessaloniki, Greece, where temperatures often exceed 38°C.

FEBRUARY 2017 FASTCOMPANY.CO.Z A 53

The business of rescue

FORMER BRITISH FOREIGN S E C R E TA RY DAV I D M I L I B A N D FLEW FROM HIS HOME IN NEW YORK TO THE GREEK CITY OF MYTILENE, ON THE ROCKY EAST COAST OF LESBOS, AN ISLAND IN THE AEGEAN SEA. IT WAS SEPTEMBER 2015, AND LESBOS HAD FOR MONTHS BEEN THE PRIMARY LANDING POINT FOR REFUGEES FLEEING WARS IN SYRIA AND IRAQ.

Now the steady flow was becoming a deluge—as many as 3 000 refugees a day. Local officials were overwhelmed.

Driving north from the Lesbos airport, Miliband, president and CEO of the International Rescue Committee (IRC), one of the world’s largest humanitarian aid organisations, passed long lines of dazed men and women, many sunburnt and barefoot. These were the newest arrivals, an IRC staffer explained. After making it to shore, they would walk, often for days, to transit sites or government camps where they could apply for political asylum in the European Union.

Miliband stopped to examine a towering heap of life jackets that had been discarded on a beach at the north of the island. In a video he took of himself, which he later uploaded to Twitter, he read aloud from the label on one of the jackets: will not protect against drowning. not for boating.

Miliband, whose Jewish ancestors fled Nazi-occupied Poland in the 1940s, was reminded of the shoes found in concentration camps at the end of World War 2—objects that came to serve as stand-ins for a different man-made tragedy.

The sight “hit me hard, right in the solar plexus,” Miliband recalls today. “Just the scale of it. The agony, the fear, the pain.

And so the next step was: How are we going to help these people as quickly and effectively as possible?”

International Rescue Committee CEO David Miliband visits a New York City farm run by refugees fleeing crises all over the world.

54 FASTCOMPANY.CO.Z A FEBRUARY 2017

Over the next week, the IRC, which had been working in the region for only a few weeks at that point, implemented a slew of on-the-ground improvements such as building additional sanitation and shower facilities at the two government-run camps on the island and helping move tonnes of gravel to a crowded transit site called Kara Tepe, which stood on the side of a rapidly eroding, muddy slope. Staffers rented a fleet of battered minibuses to carry refugees from the beaches where they arrived, to the camps where they’d wait—and then from the camps to the ferry terminals where they’d depart for the mainland.

At the same time, working out of a makeshift war room at his hotel on Lesbos, Miliband and his team gave interviews to media outlets in Europe and the United States, where the IRC is based, in an attempt to apply pressure on governments. He appeared on PBS’s NewsHour, live from the port in Mytilene, to chastise the EU for failing to address the refugee influx adequately; he told a reporter for The Guardian UK that “Greece and Italy have been screaming about this problem for over a year. Europe’s eye has been on different things. There has been appalling neglect.” Privately, he lobbied old government contacts directly, urging them to take action at an upcoming emergency meeting of EU regulators in Brussels.

Slowly, the tide began to turn. The Greek government agreed to increase the number of ferries leaving for the mainland, easing the logjam on Lesbos. A few months later, the EU earmarked $325 million (R4.3 billion) for humanitarian relief in Greece and other regions affected by the crisis. (The EU has pledged a total of $770 million/R10.2 billion through 2018.)

Miliband’s was hardly the only voice pressing for change, but his stature and the IRC’s reach make him perhaps the world’s most formidable advocate for disenfranchised refugees. He says that he is “encouraged” by the progress on Lesbos, but stresses that much remains to be done. Too many refugees are still on the island, trapped in limbo while awaiting asylum. “In the 21st century, to have thousands of people living in warehouses and tents—that’s unacceptable,” he says. He recites the statistics from memory: 65 million around the world forcibly displaced from their homes—a number that’s growing, according to the United Nations, by 33 000 every day. There are 21 million refugees from war-torn Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria.

To Miliband, the refugee crisis is the defining issue of our era: a metastasising geopolitical disaster that spills across datelines and borders and threatens the very foundations of international order. Mitigating it, he argues, will take more than a few small successes. It will require an entirely new approach, one in which social media outreach and data mining matter as much as bags of flour and mosquito netting. At the IRC, Miliband explains, this means melding “the mentality of a startup and the maturity of an 80-year-old organisation”.

Since taking over as CEO in 2013, Miliband has been pushing his team to adopt new, targeted solutions for speeding up emergency response times, increasing the rigor of field studies, and implementing a culture where ideas generated by the most junior staff member in the field have as much impact as those of the CEO. “You have to think and move nimbly,” he says, “but the changes you make can’t be superficial. They have to be considered, and lasting, and backed up with real, longterm strategic vision. Otherwise, quite simply, we’ll fail.”

In Silicon Valley, failure is worn as a CEO’s badge of honour—proof that he or she has simply dreamt too big. In the arena of humanitarian aid, that notion is a luxury. Failure for an organisation like the IRC means starvation, sickness, lives lost. But if the IRC can succeed in finding innovative solutions during this time of unprecedented crisis, it will demonstrate how important it is to take risks, even when—or especially when—so much hangs in the balance.

“You may not know a lot about us,” reads a 2016 IRC brochure. “But neither did many of the 23 million people we helped last year.”

The IRC, created in 1942 by the merger of two smaller refugee-assistance organisations—one co-founded by Albert Einstein—may be the most underrecognised yet influential non-governmental aid group in the world. The

A TIMELINE OF NEED

The International Rescue Committee stays with refugees from catastrophe to selfsufficiency. Here’s how.

BEFORE THE CRISIS

If a disaster such as civil war or famine appears imminent, the IRC reaches out to its network of donors— including governments of the United States, Sweden and Switzerland—who are able to write cheques quickly. Security experts at the IRC monitor the region and decide when and how to send in an emergency response team.

FIRST 72 HOURS

After creating immediate shelters, IRC ground crews move quickly to provide water, sanitation, medical treatment and non-food items (like weather-related gear) to prevent the outbreak of disease.

FIRST TWO WEEKS

At this stage, cash is king.

The IRC provides refugees with enough money, either as donations or payment for work done, to help them purchase what they require most: food, clothing and household supplies.

“[Money] gives those affected by the crisis the decision-making power and dignity to choose what their family really needs and to shop as normal people,” says director of emergency response, Bob Kitchen.

FIRST TWO TO SIX MONTHS

The IRC begins working with refugees to establish a home away from home, building schools to provide children with a sense of routine, aiding women with family planning, and meeting regularly with community leaders to figure out the refugees’ needs. “You need to build trust,” says Kitchen.

Which takes time. “We spend hours explaining who we are as an organisation and what we’re there to do.”

FIRST YEAR AND BEYOND

On average, people remain refugees for 17 years. Some stay and build lives as near as possible to their home countries. Others head to Europe or one of the IRC’s 29 resettlement cities in the US, where they get jobs, learn the local language, and apply for social services.

In October 2015, the IRC launched a new website, RefugeeInfo.eu, that educates refugees about their rights and explains how to apply for asylum in the European Union.

—Nikita Richardson

A Belgrade resident passes the IRC–supported Information Park, which offers the mostly Afghani refugee community in the city food and guidance.

FEBRUARY 2017 FASTCOMPANY.CO.Z A 55

The business of rescue

Kurdish refugees Jamil Mohammad and Fatma Aziz Ahmed pass the time at the Eleonas camp in Athens. Their housing unit has air conditioning—a rarity.

56 FASTCOMPANY.CO.Z A FEBRUARY 2017

11 000-person organisation, with offices in more than 40 countries on four continents, runs hundreds of relief programmes in areas ranging from education to legal assistance, water distribution to civilian protection. It has its own emergency response unit, which functions as a kind of humanitarian expeditionary force, arriving at disaster zones early, addressing immediate needs and staying until the situation has stabilised. It has a health technical team comprised of 50 public-health experts.

The IRC is present across what Miliband often calls “the full arc of crisis”, caring for people trapped in conflict and resettling those who manage to escape. In 2015 alone, according to the IRC’s internal count, the organisation trained nearly 15 000 farmers, vaccinated 440 000 babies against measles, provided job training for more than 27 000 people and, through a network of American offices, resettled 10 000 refugees in the US. It supported clinics in Ebola-ravaged Liberia, managed well-digging projects in drought-stricken Ethiopia, and provided healthcare and counselling for people caught up in the civil war in the Central African Republic.

The IRC does this all on an annual operating budget of almost $700 million (R9.2 billion), and yet for decades the organisation has struggled to gain as much recognition— and bring in as much cash—as other humanitarian heavyweights. Oxfam International, for example, raises $1.5 billion (almost R20 billion) annually; the Red Cross has a donor list millions of names long; and Doctors Without Borders and Human Rights Watch often steer the conversation in the media. Yet, there are few organisations with as much programming breadth as the IRC, and none

A N I N C R E A S E I N P R I VAT E D O N AT I O N S H A S E N A B L E D THE IRC TO EXPERIMENT WITH NOVEL APPROACHE S. “ I T I S O U R V E N T U R E F U N D, ” M I LI B A N D S AYS. that can rival its ability to help refugees and displaced people at every stage, from emergency response to resettlement in a new home in Europe or the US. Miliband isn’t the type of leader who is content to fly under the radar. Born in London to an activist mother and politics professor father, he became head of policy for then–Prime Minister Tony Blair at age 29 and foreign secretary—under Blair’s successor, Gordon Brown—at 41.

He was widely viewed in political circles as being destined for 10 Downing Street himself. But in a 2010 familial drama that played out on front pages around the country,

FEBRUARY 2017 FASTCOMPANY.CO.Z A 57

The business of rescue

Local Greek workers construct a shower station at the Diavata camp.

he lost the Labour Party leadership election to his younger brother, Ed, and retreated to the parliamentary backbench to re-evaluate his options.

When the IRC’s board reached out to him in 2013, Miliband saw an opportunity for mid-career reinvention. He was familiar with the IRC and admired its pedigree. And yet it was obvious to him that stasis had set in at the non-profit.

As one current IRC executive put it to me, “People felt stuck. They felt like the need was getting greater, but at the same time that a lot of what we were doing wasn’t working as well as it should.”

Miliband remembers asking the members of the board, “Do you want someone to steward the organisation as it is, or do you want someone to take it to the next level?” Miliband was given free rein and, fittingly, one of his first acts as CEO in October 2013 was implementing internal chat software and asking employees to tell him what was functioning well at the IRC and what wasn’t.

“I wanted suggestions and criticism. I wanted people to be open with me,” Miliband says. He encouraged his staff to email him on his private account, no matter what time of day.

The feedback flowed in, prompting Miliband and his aides to devise an internal manifesto that would come to be known as IRC 2020. The plan amounts to a series of pledges to be completed within the next several years: reduce its emergency response time to 72 hours or less; increase its partnerships with other non-profits to widen its reach; and expand both the type and amount of datadriven research it conducts and acts on. In another document, he stressed the importance of refugee empowerment to the organisation’s overall resettlement and reabsorption efforts.

Miliband also green-lighted the creation of an independent research and development lab, and handed control of the unit to innovation head Ravi Gurumurthy, his former speech-writer. “From the start, David was asking, ‘How do we have the biggest impact with every dollar?’ ” Gurumurthy says. “ ‘Who are we serving? What defines success? And how are we going to differentiate ourselves from other NGOs?’ ” The R&D lab, unheard of at humanitarian aid organisations, was code-named Airbel, after a safe house maintained by resistance fighters in World War 2–era France. Its 10 full-time staffers are developing technologies ranging from malnutrition-measuring devices for nurses in Africa to computer-based education software for schools in refugee camps.

58 FASTCOMPANY.CO.Z A FEBRUARY 2017

The IRC has historically been funded primarily by government grants, like most humanitarian non-profits.

But because of how that money is often restricted, Miliband has pushed his staff to pull in more private funds. “The private money,” Miliband says, “has greater leverage.

It is our venture fund.”

The IRC forged a fundraising partnership in 2015 with Whole Foods (raising $77 000/R1.01 million in Manhattan stores in a single day) and turned to Airbnb to get free housing for IRC staff and volunteers. Last May, it launched Mother’s Day and Father’s Day campaigns on Facebook that allowed people to choose preselected gifts ($58/R770 for a year of school for a refugee child, for example) to donate in a family member’s name. George and Amal Clooney, Mandy Patinkin and Rashida Jones have filmed fundraising appeals; Sir Patrick Stewart has headlined IRC events. A video of three cast members from HBO’s Game of Thrones visiting an IRC refugee camp in Greece has been viewed more than a million times.

Not everyone at the IRC has embraced Miliband’s aggressive, high-profile approach, nor his emphasis on business-driven best practices (the newly installed head of procurement comes from Starbucks and the chief information officer from Johnson & Johnson). Since 2013, there have been several prominent departures. Historically, the IRC “didn’t really talk much about its work,” says one staffer, who suggested that Miliband’s focus on public outreach was perceived “to be a little déclassé.” Overall, the staffer went on, “it was a ton of change . . . for an organisation that had been same-same for many years.”

Yet, the impact has been clear. The IRC’s R9.2-billion budget is 75% higher now than when Miliband was hired, and $106 million (R1.4 billion) of that has come from private sources: small-scale contributors, individual donors including Hamdi Ulukaya (the Turkish founder of yogurt giant Chobani), and corporate backers such as Citibank’s Citi Foundation. “IRC’s emphasis on evidence-based programming and scaling new breakthrough approaches through their newly launched R&D lab aligns with [our] focus on enabling organisations to think bigger and bolder about global challenges,” says Citi Foundation head Brandee McHale.

Says Amanda Seller, the IRC’s revenue chief: “You spend too much time in the sector, and you can get accustomed to the furniture, if you know what I mean. David was able to look at things objectively and ask the hard questions that needed to be asked.”

If the Miliband-era IRC has an unofficial mantra, it is “Results matter”—words I hear uttered, in various permutations, by almost every staffer I speak with. “You have to remember that this is a sector built on good intentions. We go out into the world and try to do good,” says Jeannie Annan, IRC’s director of research. “But historically, the work has been a matter of measuring output: How much food or clothing did we give out? How many people did we train on month X? Our hope now is to pivot to measuring—qualitatively and rigorously—the actual change we affect in people’s lives.”

When I sat down with Annan at her office in Manhattan, she showed me a beta of new software, currently called the

Costing Tool, which is being developed by the New York tech firm Tigerspike for use by IRC project managers. The interface resembles Turbo Tax: Users answer simple questions about costs and expenditures; the program runs the figures through an algorithmic engine and spits out suggestions on how to better allocate resources or cut down on inefficiencies.

The Costing Tool has been tested so far by IRC project managers in Pakistan and Liberia, and an organisation-wide rollout will begin this year. (Eventually, Annan says, the IRC will share the software with other non-profits and aid groups.) “What we want is for people to be able to look at a given project and quickly figure out what’s helping, and what’s not, without having to consult an economist,” Annan says. “It’s an evidence-based approach, and you see something similar across IRC—from the amount of data we’re collecting down to the number of academic partnerships we’re doing. It’s now at the centre of our strategy.”

Annan, who has a doctorate in counselling psychology from Indiana University Bloomington, mentioned a recent study her 27-person team had conducted in conjunction with academics at Yale and the University of Brasilia. The subject was emergency cash distribution—a relatively new practice, based on the theory that while food and water are important in the immediate aftermath of a disaster, survivors themselves will always be best positioned to know what their families need in the long term. In most of these cashdistribution programmes, recipients access the funds through preloaded swipe cards—similar to the Electronic Benefit Transfer cards that the US government uses to distribute welfare benefits. In this case, the money arrives monthly, in amounts tailored to the size of the family.

“ W E ’ R E I N A G R O W T H I N D U S T R Y, FOR ALL THE WRONG R E A S O N S,” M I L I B A N D S A Y S .

“B U T YO U C A N’ T LET PEOPLE GIVE IN TO C O M PA S S I O N FAT I G U E. YO U H A V E T O R E P R E S E N T H O P E .”

Critics of cash distribution have worried that recipients could be targeted by thieves, or that funds could find their way into the hands of terrorist groups. But this new study, which focused on a group of Syrian refugees in Lebanon, found little support for those concerns. Moreover, families that received cash assistance (and thus a measure of monetary freedom) tended to be significantly happier than the families that were given predetermined quantities of food and supplies. Tension in the household was reduced. And the programme boosted the local economy: Most of the money was spent at Lebanese stores.

Encouraged, the IRC has expanded its cash-distribution programme to refugees across the region, and late in 2015 opened one of the first of its kind in Europe, at the Eleonas refugee camp in Athens. In June last year, I travelled to the camp to attend an informational session for about 45 recipients, who sat quietly sweating in an airless white tent as a tinny recording of a muezzin calling the faithful to prayer filtered in from an adjacent shelter.

Danny Dibb, a Lebanon-based IRC staffer helping to manage the cash programme in Eleonas, had brought along some early statistics on card use, and he opened the meeting by reading them aloud, in Arabic. (Keeping residents involved keeps them invested, he tells me later.) So far, each of the roughly 300 families living at Eleonas had been issued a card in the amount of 290 euros (about R4 000), which would be replenished on a monthly basis. Statements indicated that the bulk of spending was done at Athens supermarkets, although a number of families had invested at least part of the funds to re-up the airtime and data minutes on their smartphones. The presentation lasted a quarter of an hour.

“Questions?” Dibb asked when it was finished.

Someone asked if families could get money sooner if they needed it. (They could not.) Was there any chance they might receive actual cash, as opposed to a swipe card? (Not for the time being.)

A stoop-shouldered man in a purple shirt raised his hand. “I’d like to be able to use my card on the Metro,” he said. Other participants nodded vigorously.

Dibb promised to look into it.

That same day, I followed an Eleonas resident named Malak Mohammed Jito on her weekly grocery run. Jito, who is Kurdish, had fled Syria with her husband eight months earlier in the hopes of joining their three sons in Germany. Upon arriving in Greece, she’d been informed that Germany wasn’t letting in more Syrians.

Now penniless—her house had been destroyed by a bomb, and all the family’s money had gone to smugglers who got her out of Syria—she hoped to get to France or England, within visiting distance of her grandkids. But in the meantime, she was determined to make a home for herself and her husband wherever she was.

Slight and elegant, clad in a brightly patterned shirt and navy head scarf, Jito wove up and down the aisles of the nearby grocery store, picking up a bag of oranges and yogurt that she would eat that afternoon—her temporary housing was not equipped with a refrigerator. She used her card to pay for the items.

“Our lives here, there isn’t a lot of choice,” she said through a translator on the way back to the camp. “Where we live, what our days are like. You can’t work. But being able to do the little things, to choose ingredients and prepare your own meal, there’s a dignity in that.”

In recession-rattled Greece, which has sheltered more Middle Eastern refugees than any other country in the EU—some 1 million registered since 2014—the IRC’s primary role has been to provide the types of services the government regularly can’t, from education to counselling to food distribution. “The pressure is incredible,” says Ioannis Keramidakis, a senior IRC engineer, while giving me a tour of the Diavata camp, near the northern Greek city of Thessaloniki.

Diavata is the newest of 23 government-run camps in the country. The IRC and several other major non-profits had been invited in February to assess the area, then an abandoned military barracks owned by the Greek army. A so-called cluster meeting was convened, with officials from various non-profits—including Save the Children and Doctors Without Borders—divvying up the portfolio of pressing needs. (General camp administration and security falls to the Greek state and police forces.) The IRC volunteered to handle what is known, in non-profit shorthand, as WASH duties—water, sanitation and hygiene.

The task, Keramidakis says, was daunting. A single pipe led into the camp, and for nearly 3 000 refugees, there was only one line of chemical toilets and three showers. Residents had nowhere to dispose of trash. On a budget of roughly $300 000 from EU humanitarian grants, Keramidakis and his team set to work extending the water pipeline and erecting 100 squat toilets, along with three

FEBRUARY 2017 FASTCOMPANY.CO.Z A 59

The business of rescue

At the Diavata camp in Thessaloniki, Greece, an Iraqi woman prepares a late-morning meal for her husband and a family friend in their temporary shelter.

60 FASTCOMPANY.CO.Z A FEBRUARY 2017

shower facilities that would be powered by diesel engines.

They erected a kiosk for soap and shampoo distribution, and put a call out for bids from local sanitation contractors.

“We’re working on adding some more washing units and more taps, so that people can launder their clothes,” says the lean and grey-haired Keramidakis as I follow him up the dirt road that bisects the camp. The day is overcast but still broiling, and soon Keramidakis’s high forehead is covered by a sheen of sweat and dust. We watch a dirt truck roll up, and contractors in IRC bibs begin filling it with trash.

A few yards away, a handful of shirtless boys play soccer on a dirt patch that once served as the barracks’ rifle range. Behind them, an IRC construction team nails together the frame of a two-room building that will house a counselling and activity centre for young male refugees. i miss you, syria someone has written with neon-blue spray paint on one of the boards.

“So you can see, we’re getting there,” Keramidakis says.

NOW HIRING

Finding a job is crucial to resettlement. These companies are opening their doors.

hire them within the lifesciences and materials company.

Figure 8 Investment Strategies PLEDGE:

Non-profits—and governments—can’t solve the refugee crisis alone. In June 2016, the White House asked businesses to help. A new programme called the Partnership for Refugees, created with support from Accenture, among others, called for US–based companies to pledge to assist with education, humanitarian-aid financing and, most crucially, job placement. By September last year, 51 companies had signed on. Some have vowed to hire refugees directly—joining a handful of companies such as Chipotle and Starwood that have already been working with resettlement agencies to do so. —Adele Peters

Chobani

Assist refugees in obtaining financial certifications and jobs at its firm.

Resettled refugees make up half the Idaho-based startup’s current workforce.

Lynke PLEDGE:

Open a new tech centre in Jordan, doubling the number of refugees the app-building agency employs. (Based in the US, Lynke hires refugees in conflict regions to work on projects for tech companies, and separately helps connect refugees with tech jobs.)

Oliver Wyman PLEDGE:

PLEDGE:

Continue its current hiring practices: Nearly 30% of yogurt-factory employees are resettled refugees.

Recruit qualified refugees to work in its consulting-firm outposts in the UK, Germany, France and Italy.

DSM

UBER

PLEDGE:

PLEDGE:

Help refugees in the US build language and cultural skills, and look for opportunities to

Help resettled refugees in the US find jobs as drivers.

FEBRUARY 2017 FASTCOMPANY.CO.Z A 61

The business of rescue

As the crisis has evolved, so too has the type of relief the IRC offers to refugees, most of whom have few options for onward travel. A closure at the Macedonian border has effectively strangled the main overland route into northern Europe. Meanwhile, the EU has been overwhelmed with asylum requests. It is not unusual for refugees to wait more than a year while their statuses are sorted out. During that time, they cannot work. Their days are idle, often spent smoking cigarettes or playing on their phones. Hopelessness frequently sets in.

Mohamed Alheady, an Iraqi living with his wife in the Diavata camp, tells me that at home, he’d had lofty aspirations: “A big job, a big future. Now, in the camp, I dream only of cold water.” Was it possible he regretted leaving Iraq? To my surprise, he nodded.

“At least there, ISIS would kill us quickly,” he said, and mimed decapitation.

A day later, I meet a young couple, Samir and her husband Mukhtar, who have come to Greece from a rural area north of Algiers. (Fearful for the safety of their family, they requested that I use only their first names.) They are both tall and attractive, Samir’s lips painted an optimistic shade of pink. But they wear the unmistakable glaze of trauma, equal parts fatigue and resignation. Days earlier, they explain, they had attempted to cross the Aegean from Turkey with 11 other refugees including three Syrian children. Halfway into their journey, at around two in the morning, the boat capsized, spilling the passengers into the water.

People began screaming. The three Syrian children were floating ominously on their bellies. “The littlest boy, you could see he was gone,” Mukhtar recalled. “I tried to tell the mother to leave him, but she just held on tighter.”

In all, Mukhtar and Samir spent eight hours in the water. At 10 a.m., they were spotted by a merchant vessel, transferred to a Greek police ship, and carried to the camp. A young volunteer there delivered the bad news: Of the 13 people on board the dinghy, seven had drowned.

Samir peels down the front of her shirt to show me the jellyfish bites that tattoo her chest. The scars will likely never fully fade. But she could cope with scars, she said.

The nightmares were another matter. “I will never forget what she said,” Samir says of the grieving mother, her eyes bright with tears. “She said, ‘Please, God, forgive me.

Forgive me: For Europe, I killed my children.’ ” Like many refugees, Samir and Mukhtar are receiving counselling from psychologists employed by IRC, which has stepped up its funding for psychiatric aid to those in the camps. The organisation has built and staffed socalled safe spaces where refugees can find release from the pressures of camp life; employees are working on software that would allow psychologists to track patients across borders, preventing at-risk refugees from dropping off the radar entirely.

An IRC psychologist named Kiki Michailidou says she attends regularly to patients who show signs of severe post-traumatic stress disorder. Suicide attempts are not

62 FASTCOMPANY.CO.Z A FEBRUARY 2017

uncommon. Michailidou distributes medicine when possible; she can also recommend hospitalisation. “I do feel as if we can provide people a lifeline, and support—even if it’s temporary,” she says.

“You have to say to people, ‘Look, it’s insanely bad. I know it’s insanely bad,’ ” says another IRC psychologist, Roose Bollen. “ ‘But it won’t be like this forever.’

And then you have to look them in the eye and get them to believe you.”

Since 1994, the International Rescue Committee has been headquartered in the Chanin Building, an art deco tower in midtown Manhattan, across the street from Grand Central Station. Traditionally, the CEO has worked out of a 14th-floor eyrie, but when Miliband came aboard, he moved himself to a glass-walled cube on the 11th floor, closer to the rest of his staff. “I felt too removed up there,” he explains when I meet him at his office in July last year.

At 51, Miliband still has the body mass of an unfolded paper clip—he does not so much sit in a chair as extend off it. He rubs his eyes tiredly. The previous night, he’d appeared with former US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, a friend and mentor, at the 92nd Street Y, for a conversation billed as “A Decade of Disorder”. Toward the end of the event, Miliband had mused aloud about the “chasm”, as he put it, between the need of refugees and displaced people, and the ability of the international community to provide it. One could assume that the issue was apathy, he’d told the audience. But in his opinion, the likelier explanation was another kind of disconnect: “People don’t know how to help, and they worry that their help won’t make a difference.”

Now, in his office, he picked up where he’d left off. “We’re in a growth industry, for all the wrong reasons,” he says. “But you can’t let people give in to compassion fatigue. You have to say, ‘No, listen, I promise, you can make a difference.’ You have to represent hope. And then you have to put aside the temporary, easy solutions and go after lasting, sustainable, impactful change.”

In the current political climate, it hasn’t always been easy for him to maintain his enthusiasm. Naked anti-refugee and immigrant furore has been stoked by politicians in the US and overseas. High-profile attacks by an Afghan refugee in Germany and a Syrian refugee in France have led to a fresh round of hand-wringing over border policies.

I ask Miliband if he ever feels daunted by the task his organisation faces.

“If you only look at the statistics, yes, it’s depressing,” he says. “But then you talk to the people, and you remember why you’re doing what you do.”

Last year, he visited an IRC–funded community farm in the Bronx, where resettled refugees teach agricultural classes to elementary school students and grow produce to sell to local restaurants. Among the people he met was a young woman named Rose, who had fled war in the Central African Republic.

Now she was planning to start her own line of artisanal honey. “She’d been through hell,” Miliband recalls, but she was determined to move on. He finds himself profoundly moved by her resilience, along with that of the thousands of other refugees the IRC resettles in the US each year.

In September, Miliband attended the United Nations’ annual summit on refugees. He listened as then–Secretary General Ban Ki-moon outlined the expanding dimensions of the crisis, and as US president at the time, Barack Obama, pledged that America would take in 110 000 refugees from around the world in 2017—up significantly from 2016. That same week, Miliband published a long article in the New York Review of Books, in which he remembered a conversation he’d once had with his friend, the late author Elie Wiesel. “The word refugee is not popular,” Wiesel, a former refugee himself, had told him. “But everyone likes the idea of refuge. Fight for refuge. We all need refuge.” editors@fastcompany.com

SUBSCRIBE INSIDE THE

22

ND

ANNUAL

DESIGN INDABA

How fashion icon SELLY RABY KANE contributes to an integrated, creative Africa “Design, art and culture are strategic assets for the continent”.

SELLY RABY KANE

Creative director, Design Indaba 2017

R35.00

Be part of the movement!

If you’re still not following Fast Company SA, you’ve already missed great content, inspiring stories and the latest tech developments! So find us, follow us, tweet us and tag us to keep up to date with our news and events on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest. We want to hear from you, see pictures of you with the magazine, and find out what your favourite articles are. Visit our website at www. fastcompany.co.za, or go ahead and download the digital version of Fast Company SA for Android and Apple. So keep in contact and watch this space— there may be secrets, surprises and prizes!

FOLLOW US IN THE BUSINESS OF RESCUE The IRC aid organisation uses tech to help refugees THE YOUNG AT ‘ART Meet this year’s Emerging Creatives with world-class design talent

Fast Company South Africa www.facebook.com/fastcompanySA @FastCompanySA @fastcompanysa www.pinterest.com/fastcompanysa @fastcompanysa

TWEETS

CALLING THE SHOTS Why Coco Safar is stirring up the coffee industry

FEBRUARY 2017 FASTCOMPANY.CO.ZA

16014 7

9 772313 330006

Subscribe to Fast Company SA and you could win one of two stylish handmade wooden Bettél timepieces, worth R2 300 each!

Fast Company South Africa is available in selected Pick n Pay and Exclusive Books stores. An annual subscription is for 10 print issues of Fast Company SA magazine (March/April and December/January double up as one issue each), at a cost of R240 (including 14% VAT and postage). Full payment must be made before the subscription is valid. This offer is for South Africa ONLY. If you would like to subscribe, email Susan Ball for more details: susan@insightspublishing.co.za.

WATCH OUT!

Bettél timepieces are not only environmentally responsible but have the added bonus of style. Capetonians Stuart and Makeeda Swan have developed a durable product with handcrafted technology—combining high-quality stainless steel, carbon fibre and natural wood into an accessory that’s suitable for any occasion. Each watch is completed with one of Bettél’s genuine-leather straps—also crafted in-house—that are interchangeable.

Two lucky subscribers will win either The Favourite Classic in Imbuia or The Acorn Classic in Walnut. Each watch boasts Miyota quartz movement and a two-year battery life, and comes with a one-year warranty on workmanship. Bettél timepieces are not waterresistant.

Visit www.bettelsa.com for further information.

FEBRUARY 2017 FASTCOMPANY.CO.Z A 63

FULL OF BEANS

64 FASTCOMPANY.CO.Z A FEBRUARY 2017

WAKE UP AND SMELL COCO SAFAR’S INNOVATIVELY BREWED THIRD-WAVE QUALITY COFFEE THAT’S DESTINED TO REVOLUTIONISE THE INDUSTRY BOTH LOCALLY AND ABROAD

By Simon Capstick-Dale

FEBRUARY 2017 FASTCOMPANY.CO.Z A 65

ATRO N S A N D PASSERS-BY ALIKE BEAR WITNESS TO THE DRAMA U N FO LD I N G AT TH E BAR. SHOT UPON FLAWLESS SHOT OF STEAMING ESPRESSO I S E X P E R T LY H A N D PULLED BY THE B A R I STA S . A N INGENIOUS PIECE OF MACHINERY IS D E LI V E R I N G W H AT I S V E N E R ATE D I N ESPRESSO CIRCLES: T H E “ G O D S H O T ”.

66 FASTCOMPANY.CO.Z A FEBRUARY 2017

Coffee’s ‘first wave’ can be traced back to the 1800s when entrepreneurs first went to market with affordable and ‘ready for the pot’ brews. It wasn’t until the 1970s, however, that consumers truly became concerned about the origin of their favourite cuppa joe. This interest marked coffee’s ‘second wave, giving rise to the term “specialty coffee”—which was awarded to beans scoring 80 points or more on a 100-point scale for quality. Newfound appreciation for coffee advanced the industry exponentially.

Enter the ‘third wave’, when the beverage earned recognition as an artisanal foodstuff rather than a commodity. Consumption in the third wave is now affected to a greater extent by origin, production methods and character of the coffee itself. This movement is evident in the crop of nextgeneration espresso bars popping up in cities worldwide, where the dedication to overall coffee quality and the pursuit of perfection has never been more relevant.

In US cities like Seattle and Portland, for example, coffee appreciation has reached cult-like status, and the rank of third-wave coffee capital of the world is hotly contested.

Two coffee lovers eager to quench the world’s growing thirst for this top-quality coffee are Wilhelm Liebenberg and Caroline Sirois who, before opening Coco Safar, spent the better part of 20 years globetrotting in

search of the finest coffee and culinary experiences. Having fallen in love with manual lever–controlled Mirage Idrocompresso machines in their classic 1950s design, the two became determined to create an out-of-the-ordinary café experience combining premium quality hand-pulled coffee and equally first-rate food.

They opened and ran a string of cafés in Montreal, Toronto and New York as part of an insightful street-level process that helped shape and refine the business model and brand identity of Coco Safar (from the Arabic safar, meaning “journey”). Their plan was bold yet simple enough: create the finest couture coffee experience in the world— starting in Cape Town—by bringing thirdwave quality and auction-lot coffee to customers in hot and cold brews; then add to this unique mix, superior-grade specialty Rooibos Ltd tea as well as decadent Frenchstyle patisserie, viennoiserie baked goods and café-style food.

Liebenberg and Sirois’s relationships with some of the world’s most highly regarded coffee curators and traders allow them access to Cup of Excellence® beans from both established and emerging regions.

Progressive, ethical production processes guarantee superior green beans, which are then roasted to perfection to give customers an exciting range of taste profiles to enjoy.

The spirited Coco Safar duo’s aspirations go beyond simply satisfying discerning coffee palates. They also endeavour to create a sanctuary of indulgence where their thirdwave coffee and café could be enjoyed in a timeless, luxurious yet laid-back setting. As Liebenberg explains, their aim is to take customers on an indulgent, multisensory and nostalgic journey: whether visiting for a quick espresso, purchasing their weekly supply of capsules, or sitting down to enjoy a leisurely brunch or dessert. From the ubercomfortable seating and cinematic-style lighting, to the bespoke presentation of its beverages, patisserie and food, the trendy new café ticks all the boxes for a coffee date of the highest order.

Since opening their doors in August 2016, the owners have been overwhelmed by the public’s response to their flagship Coco Safar store in Cape Town’s Cavendish Square. A hot talking point for both coffee lovers and curious passers-by is the Spirit Idrocompresso, the world’s first lever-operated Spirit espresso machine that was made exclusively for Coco Safar by Kees van der

Westen. Liebenberg and Sirois saw the coffee icon’s obsessive commitment to quality and craftsmanship as an ideal fit for their premium couture coffee brand. And since the arrival of the Spirit Idrocompresso, coffee aficionados have been visiting Coco Safar to pay homage to this exemplar of industrial design that was laboriously shipped to Cape Town from Van der Westen’s workshop in Eindhoven, Holland.

With the coffee industry moving toward more automated systems to cope with volume, the idea of incorporating hand levers into machines—especially those considered to be at the forefront of the third wave—may seem rather absurd, as lever technology is typically viewed as an outdated way of making coffee. But Liebenberg and Sirois envisioned combining the dynamic technology of the classic Spirit with the artistry and theatre of the retro-futuristic handlevered Mirage Idrocompresso that Van der Westen developed in the mid-2000s.

Having initially advised the two owners that he had discontinued production of the Mirage Idrocompresso in 2015, after much deliberation Van der Westen agreed to manufacture his first hybrid exclusively for Coco Safar. He took one of the most technologically advanced espresso machines and redesigned a lever system that gives Coco Safar’s baristas precise control over numerous extraction parameters—all the while flaunting the dramatic aesthetics of a manual lever system. Fundamental to the engineering of this new machine was not to compromise speed of delivery, so that Coco Safar can handle a 3 000-cups-per-day environment with ease.

Van der Westen has managed—through some deft problem-solving—to reinvent a machine that is perfectly suited for today’s demanding coffee culture.

But that’s not where the magic ends. The finest coffees have made their way into the ever popular capsule, and Coco Safar is the pioneer behind this world-first innovation.

Consumers can now enjoy, in a Nespresso machine–compatible capsule, the highest grade small-batch micro-roasted coffees sourced from the world’s most reputable producers—each one expertly sealed to

“No matter the precision and consistency of the [coffee] machine, a barista can make or break an espresso,” says Kees van der Westen. Coco Safar’s baristas skilfully hand-pull shots with Van der Westen’s innovative Spirit Idrocompresso.

ensure the coffee tastes as fresh as the day it was roasted.

Standing at the handcrafted wooden counter of the Capsule Emporium inside Coco Safar, customers can browse a comprehensive menu of coffee and rooibos varietals, many of which wouldn’t otherwise have found their way into their homes. While the Cup of Excellence® stamp of approval is celebrated in coffee circles, it remains largely unknown to the average consumer—a state of affairs the owners have endeavoured to change. Until now, these extraordinary coffees were never available to the public in an emporium-style retail environment like that of Coco Safar, where customers can sample and hear the stories behind the various coffees and rooibos teas from knowledgeable staff.

From the entry-level City Roast Collection (which includes red and green rooibos espresso) to its crop-to-cup Luxury Collections, Coco Safar has elevated the status of capsule brews, making an already

FEBRUARY 2017 FASTCOMPANY.CO.Z A 67

convenient experience uncompromised in terms of premium quality and maximum variety. With the emporium, Coco Safar caters to the highest end of the capsule market while making the world’s finest third-wave coffees easily accessible to the everyday consumer.

Coco Safar’s sought-after supply chain— right through to the Capsule Emporium, luxurious retail environment and highly skilled staff—advantages them over competitors in the long term. As Liebenberg explains, “We are the luxury yacht able to navigate uncharted waters, where [conventional coffee brands are] the large cruise ship with predictable itineraries and far less flexibility of movement.” That said, for now those brands remains synonymous with the coffee-capsule industry they pioneered and continue to introduce consumers worldwide to the beverage—which can only be beneficial to the industry as a whole.

Liebenberg and Sirois hope, with Coco Safar, to create a renewed sense of excitement about the coffee industry as they improve the quality and consumer choice at a time when global players like Starbucks have entered the South African market. And the future for Coco Safar certainly looks bright.

While delivering quality without compromise, and building a respected legacy of innovation over the next 10 years, they aim to expand their brand’s presence to all seven continents—opening stores wherever there’s an audience ready to embrace the coffee revolution.

COFFEE BREAK WITH KEES VAN DER WESTEN You are renowned for building some of the finest espresso machines in the world. How did your love of engineering, industrial design and coffee first come together?

Discovering industrial design as a youngster was a great relief for me, as I had found a path of study where craftsmanship and academic intellect were of equal importance. In my fifth year—by accident, really—I chose to build an espresso machine for my graduation project. The Italian machines in the mid-1980s were box-like and boring in their design, so as a pig-headed student I showed them a more attractive alternative.

You developed the world’s first Spirit Idrocompresso lever espresso machine for Coco Safar. As an engineer, what philosophies do you share with the owners and their premier coffee brand?

Mostly an irresistible urge to strive for quality and seductive looks. Aesthetics are, of course, important, but the proof is always in the pudding—or the drinking, in this case.

What can customers expect when they sample a hand-pulled espresso shot made by the Spirit Idrocompresso machine at Coco Safar?

We resolved the temperature-regulation issues of the old lever machines to dramatically improve consistency. We also incorporated new features to make the life of the barista much easier, such as a manual flush system and a means to instantly halt extraction at any given moment. Most evident in the taste of the final product is the pre-infusion that occurs before the shot is poured.

Your espresso machines combine 1950s nostalgia with 21st century engineering. How exactly does classic meet contemporary in your design?

Our machines have the look of classical elegance that was appreciated in the 1950s, which is still fashionable today, and which will still be in demand 30 years from now.

Coffee is a growing industry worldwide, with consumption increasing. Where is the biggest market for your espresso machines currently?

Asia, especially South Korea and China are the biggest emerging markets.

Australia heavily influenced this region, both in coffee quality and quantity of consumption.

How much importance do you place on the human element of coffee making, or the barista?

The human element is the trickiest part in the whole process to control. No matter the precision and consistency of the machine, a barista can make or break an espresso.

I therefore value the craftsmanship of knowledgeable and creative baristas.

And how do you have your coffee?

I start my mornings with a double espresso and later in the day switch to macchiatos and cappuccinos. Just like my espresso machine design, my tastes are quite contrary to Italian habits!

68 FASTCOMPANY.CO.Z A FEBRUARY 2017

Next

The Great Innovation Frontier

M i l l s Soko

NO SHORTCUTS TO DEVELOPMENT If we want to create impact in Africa, we need to attend to the task of creating successful businesses

Things are looking tougher for Africa in 2017. After a decade of exuberant growth, recent GDP data shows that key economies in sub-Saharan Africa continue to slow, dragging growth in the region down to a disappointing average 1.1% per annum—its lowest in six years. Add to that global threats, including uncertainty surrounding a Trump administration in the US, and you could start to get quite gloomy about prospects on the continent.

But such pessimism, I believe, would be misplaced.

As businessman and philanthropist Tony Elumelu— champion of the concept of Africans investing in Africa— has pointed out, the commercial rewards for investing on the continent are still significant. And done right, they can bring significant economic and much-needed social benefits.

In fact, despite volatile global conditions, there’s significant investment interest in the continent both at home and abroad, particularly in the impact investment space, which looks for businesses that deliver social value along with financial returns.

According to Rachel Keeler, recently writing in the Stanford Social Innovation Review, Africa has already been the top geographic focus for impact investment over the past few years. The only problem is that the number of interested investors far outstrips the number of investable enterprises. There are simply not enough ‘safe bet’ highimpact companies on the continent at the moment.

So how can African entrepreneurs and innovators position themselves to take advantage of this interest and create robust businesses that also deliver social and economic value?

The website Rise Africa Rise says that first and foremost, entrepreneurs need to think like investors.

This starts with having a clear and articulable vision of what they are trying to achieve, and a strong business model for how they plan to do this, along with distinct measures in place to track and demonstrate impact.

In short, they need to embody good business principles first and innovative potential second.

Let’s face it, innovation is frequently touted as the cure-all for creating new markets, jobs and solutions to

When it comes to Africa’s development challenges, we don’t need bright flares or dazzling innovations; we need slowburning and sustainable fires that bring about systemic changes.

age-old development problems, but despite its seductive lure as a quick fix for Africa’s challenges, innovation in and of itself is never going to be a substitute for sound business. It is not—as Christian Seelos and Johanna Mair put it rather elegantly in their article in the SSIR—a shortcut to development.

Innovation, they argue, does not magically solve big problems faster. More dangerously, the belief that it does can mean that the value created by incremental improvements of the core, routine activities of organisations (which are altogether less glamorous) can be sidelined—creating more harm than good.

A recent analysis of KPMG’s International Development Advisory Services investment portfolio across Africa confirmed, perhaps unsurprisingly, that successful businesses also have the most impact. If we want to create impact in Africa, we need to attend therefore to the task of creating successful business; that includes paying more attention to the businesses that fail and understanding why this is, in addition to celebrating the ones that succeed. This will require a co-ordinated effort from business, government, civil society, media and academia working together to support and build business on the continent.

If we don’t do this, we risk the tragedy of exciting new ideas (no matter how good they are) burning brightly and briefly before crashing to the ground, never to be seen again because they don’t have the right business infrastructure in place to support them.

When it comes to the development challenges facing this continent, we don’t need bright flares or dazzling innovations; we need slow-burning and sustainable fires that bring about systemic changes.

The scale of our challenges continues to grow.

The UN estimates that, by 2050, Africa’s population will reach 2.48 billion—the majority being youth.

And despite progress toward millennial goals, there are more poor Africans today than there were in 1990, two in five adults are still illiterate, and violence is on the rise. Clearly, new approaches are needed.

So, if Africa’s innovators and entrepreneurs want to do one thing differently this 2017, it should be to reorientate themselves toward sound business principles to ensure their enterprises are robust and able to stand the test of time. And if the rest of us want to help, we need to work together to make sure we are giving them the support they really need.

Mills Soko is the director of the UCT Graduate School of Business and an associate professor specialising in international trade and doing business in Africa. With a career that has spanned business, government, civil society and academia, he is uniquely positioned to understand the role these sectors have to play—collaboratively and individually—in addressing the critical issues of Africa’s development and competitiveness.

FEBRUARY 2017 FASTCOMPANY.CO.Z A 69

Next

Motoring

MORE THAN JUST A FACELIFT With its exterior and interior revisions, the 2017 Lexus IS range is going places

Modern life means constant movement: from the office to the gym, from the school to the grocery store—and from golf days to soccer matches. The 2017 Lexus IS takes it all in its stride, with a sporty look that takes nothing away from its classiness.

The new line is a step up from traditional Lexus models. The redesigned front—with a bolder rendition of the Lexus spindle grille, new bumper with large air intakes, more sculptural hood and all-new rectangular-styled chrome exhaust tips—ensure this will be an eye catcher on the roads. It also has a revised rear bumper, combination lamps and bold exhaust pipes, plus a new wheel design for E and EX grades thrown in for good measure. The upgraded multimedia systems with 10.3-inch LCD screen complement the improved interior panel finish. And to top it all off, there are a range of new exterior and interior colours, and revised design for switches on the steering wheel.

Locally, the Lexus IS line-up is available as an IS 200t with the recently launched 2-litre turbo motor; and the IS 350 F Sport utilising the revered 3.5-litre quad cam V6. (There’s an option of an E or EX grade for the 200t.)

The launch of the revised 2017 Lexus IS range follows a celebration of one million global sales. This worldwide success is

not surprising: The IS model line-up starts out with features that everyone can appreciate every day, including comfortable, quiet cabins and confidence-inspiring driving manners. These are all packaged in a body that’s just the right size: big enough for occupants and their luggage, yet compact enough to make life simple in standard parking spaces and tight city driving.

BOLD EXTERIOR The entire front fascia of the IS has undergone a transformation, highlighted by new headlamps, larger air intakes in the front bumper, and a daring evolution of the spindle grille. The air intake elements seem to flow off the

70 FASTCOMPANY.CO.Z A FEBRUARY 2017

fenders, and frame a new grille that folds back at a higher point, changing its proportions and emphasising a more road-hugging stance.

The reshaped hood appears more sculptured, with the raised centre portion flowing rearward from the top of the spindle grille and standard LED headlamps.

Beneath these, the L-theme LED daytime running lights give a dramatic daytime glow. On the IS F Sport, the grille features an exclusive three-dimensional F-mesh pattern, with jet-black metallic coating that’s also used on the functional brake ducts.

New exterior colours include Graphite Black on all models, and Deep Blue on the F Sport.

MODERN INTERIOR Many carefully considered improvements have been made to the new IS cabin. For example, the multimedia display screen has been increased in size from seven to 10.3 inches (EX and F Sport grades), and a new highresolution monitor provides a larger and clearer image of the multimedia system’s various functions.

Lexus has also improved the user-friendliness of the interior.

A ‘Customise’ mode has been added to the Drive Mode Select for the F Sport that’s activated by pressing the dial switch; while the Active Cruise Control switch has been simplified to one-step activation with a prolonged

A car for all The revised IS model has features that everyone can appreciate every day: comfortable, quiet cabins and confidence-inspiring driving manners.

(at least one-second) press of the main cruise control switch.

An ‘Enter’ button has been added to the side of the Remote Touch Interface (EX and F Sport) on the centre console, making it easier to use. On the centre of the dashboard, the audio and ventilation control panel has been revised so that it fits neatly between the knee bolsters; a new hairline finish to its surface provides both a high-quality feel and improved appearance.

New stitching on the top of the instrument binnacle hood adds to the sporty feel of the cockpit, as do refinements made to the speedometer and tachometer of the E and EX grades. There are also new cup holders; a larger, leatherwrapped and stitched palm rest

that delivers a 49% increase in rigidity compared to the steel member it replaces, and a new No1 bush. Together, these elements offer a marked improvement in steering response at cruising speeds. The front system also has a new upper support bush, a revised coil spring rate, new shock absorber components and a revised damper setting for improved ride comfort. for the Remote Touch Interface; and new dial markings for the analogue clock on the dashboard.

Both E and EX grades get a new interior colour called Chateau.

The IS instrument panel and meter cluster have been redesigned to increase cockpit refinement, sportiness and a sense of luxury. Black metallic paint has been adopted for the ornamentation at the back of the displays on top of the instrument panel. The bezel area of the clock has been changed to two-tone silver and black, and a premium panel with stitching has been adopted on top of the meter cluster.

The content layout of the Multi-Information Display (MID) has also been improved: The tab display area at the top of the MID now shows ambient temperature as the default display, with the other displays accessible using the switch on the steering wheel.

UNDER THE HOOD The 2017 IS model line-up continues with three grades including the IS 200t E and EX, and IS 350 F Sport—all available in RWD. The IS 200t models feature a 2.0-litre twin-scroll turbocharged in-line 4-cylinder engine with intercooler. This super-smooth powerplant produces 180kW and quickly builds up a wide torque plateau

of 350Nm @ 4 400 rpm.

VVTi-W (Variable Valve Timing intelligent—Wide) allows the engine to switch between the Otto and Atkinson combustion cycles to maximise efficiency. The D-4ST combines a high-pressure direct fuel-injection system with a lowpressure port-injection system.

The IS 200t comes equipped exclusively with the 8-speed Sport Direct Shift automatic transmission that integrates advanced G-force Artificial Intelligence system to choose gears intuitively. Steering-wheel paddle shifters are also available for those who prefer to do the gear changes themselves.

The IS 350 F Sport delivers dazzling performance from a 3.5-litre V6 that produces 233kW and 378Nm of peak torque, using the 8-speed SPDS automatic transmission. A Drive Mode Select system features up to four driving modes to tailor the vehicle’s combination of economy, comfort, performance and handling characteristics. All IS sedans feature Eco, Normal and Sport modes. But the F Sport also adds Sport S+, Variable Gear Ratio Steering, and Adaptive Variable Suspension for optimal handling and superior ride quality.

The front double-wishbone suspension has a new forged aluminium lower arm assembly

FUTUREDRIVE With the help of Lexus Financial Services, you can be assured of the future value of your vehicle.

FutureDrive is an innovative finance model where the future value of your Lexus is guaranteed in the form of a fixed balloon payment at the end of your finance term. This amount will not change, provided your Lexus remains in a good condition and you adhere to the preset conditions of finance.

With FutureDrive, you truly get a low-risk and hassle-free ownership experience.

The ideal finance period of 36 months is complemented by 24 and 48 months options, allowing you to get behind the wheel of a new Lexus more often.

You can choose what you do with your Lexus at the end of the term. Options range from handing your Lexus back, trading in your Lexus for a brand-new model, refinancing the outstanding balloon amount with Lexus Financial Services and keeping your vehicle, or paying the outstanding amount outright.

FutureDrive is available on all new Lexus passenger and SUV models, and comes with flexible repayment terms and deposit options.

See further specs and prices on www.lexus.co.za.

FEBRUARY 2017 FASTCOMPANY.CO.Z A 71

Fast Bytes Fast Company SA takes a look at the innovative new ideas, services, research and news currently making waves in South Africa and abroad

Join the AI revolution South African finance companies looking to capitalise on the latest tech developments in 2017 may consider investing in artificial intelligence. 2016 was a big year for AI, with tech heavyweights like Google, Facebook and Microsoft investing heavily in the emerging sector. South Africa’s Madga Wierzycka, whose company Sygnia Asset Management launched its RoboAdvisor last year, says this is the first step toward an AI revolution in the finance sector. Sygnia’s system offers personal investment advice without the need for commissions usually paid to human advisers.

Digital transformation of Africa

Facebook pilots its ‘bogus button’ Facebook has introduced a trial run of its fake news tool in Germany in an effort to combat the wave of phony articles shared by users on its service. Discussions about ‘fake news’ dominated international media last year, after bogus articles received a disturbing amount of traffic in the buildup to the US presidential election. An investigation

by BuzzFeed News revealed that top-performing fake election articles on Facebook were shared and discussed more than top stories from major news outlets like The New York Times, Washington Post, NBC News and others.

72 FASTCOMPANY.CO.Z A FEBRUARY 2017

How Facebook’s new tool works:  Alert – User flags story that appears false.  Analysis – Third-party fact checker analyses the article.  Reclassification – If shown to be unreliable, Facebook will mark the article as “disputed” on users’ feeds.

Internet of Things innovator Nico Steyn will be addressing the global IoT Tech Expo in London at the end of January.

Alongside Steyn will be Deloitte Digital Africa’s Gareth Rees, who is leading the company’s Digital Transformation of Africa project.

The South Africans will offer their input on how businesses can use IoT to deliver new strategies and improve on investments, in their shared presentation for the “Connected Industry” series. They will show how “harnessing the power of system and device interoperability aids in conserving an organisation’s existing technology investment, but also forms the underpin for future-proofing an organisation’s digital transformation,” Steyn says.

Fast Bytes

Falcon 9 spreads its wings SpaceX’s goal to take humans to Mars by 2024 appears one step closer after its Falcon 9 rocket launched in January, landing on a drone ship in the Atlantic. Elon Musk’s private spaceflight company has suffered several costly setbacks since it was founded in 2002, most notably last year when one of its rockets destroyed a R2.6-billion satellite. The successful landing is a promising comeback for SpaceX which, according to the Wall Street Journal, made a $260-million (R3.4-billion) loss after an explosion in 2015.

New SA YouTube series is ‘colouredful’ South African filmmakers Kelly Koopman and Sarah Summers have caused a stir online with the premiere of a new web series that explores coloured identity in the country. In the first episode, “Coloured Mentality: What is a Coloured?”, the pair share a confronting and honest perspective of coloured life in Cape Town, before embarking on a 1 000km Khoi liberation walk to reconnect with their indigenous heritage. Koopman and Summers are enthusiastic about the response so far. “It is really inspiring to see the conversations happening on and around the [Facebook] page. We hope that this can become a space people can find what they need.”

Follow the conversation with #colouredmentality.

More women for entrepreneurship programme

Flip phone 2.0 Korean news outlet The Korean Herald claims that LG and Samsung are planning to release modernised versions of the humble flip phone later this year. The handset model was immensely popular among mobile users in the early parts of the last decade, before it was eclipsed by forward-facing touchscreen offerings. Samsung’s updated version is code-named “Foldable Valley”, and will reportedly flip open into a 7-inch touchscreen tablet that can be “folded or unfolded semi automatically”.

By the time Junior Achievement’s Youth Enterprise Development Programme celebrates its fourth birthday this year, almost 1 700 South Africans will have benefited. For 2017, payments company MasterCard has called for more female applicants. A total of 260 places are up for grabs for the 20-week programme, where successful applicants will receive foundational training in finance, management, marketing, business theory and computing. “Women are increasingly playing an active role in the SME segment, and we are proud to support their growth through this programme, which aims to teach them the fundamental skills required to develop their ideas and grow their businesses,” says Mark Elliott, division president of MasterCard South Africa.

FEBRUARY 2017 FASTCOMPANY.CO.Z A 73

Fast Events Local conferences, talks and meetups we think are worth attending

Littlegig Date: 28 & 29 January Location: Wiesenhof Farm, Stellenbosch Cost: R1 950 day ticket; R2 500–R4 500 for camping options littlegig.co.za

WorldSkills South Africa Showcase Date: 13 to 17 February Location: Durban International Conference Centre Cost: TBC www.worldskillssa.dhet.gov.za

If you’re interested in seeing a collection of the most influential DJs, musicians, chefs, designers, artists and winemakers of the past year, and think you can last for 24 hours, get yourself down to Wiesenhof Farm for the world’s first all-inclusive 24-hour festival (yes, that includes drinks), located just 40 minutes outside Cape Town. A beautiful forest will host an intimate congregation of open-minded fun and excitement. Acts include The Rudimentals, Ann Jangle, Black Soda and Culoe de Song; attendees will not be bored with six stages, a gin bar and basketball court on site.

Youngsters from around South Africa who have been accepted into the national WorldSkills competition will show off their talents at this special event. WorldSkills is an international organisation that gives skilled young people under the age of 22 much-needed exposure—promoting vocational, technological and service-oriented education and training. The Durban ICC will host the five-day showcase celebrating the next generation of South African artisans. The final winners will be invited to the WorldSkills International event in Abu Dhabi later this year.

Investing in African Mining Indaba

Next-Generation Optical Networking Africa

Date: 6 to 9 February Time: 07h30–18h00 (Mon & Tues); 08h30–18h00 (Wed); 08h45–13h05 (Thurs) Location: Cape Town International Convention Centre Cost: various www.miningindaba.com

Date: 14 & 15 February Time: 07h00–19h00 (Tues); 08h00–17h30 (Wed) Location: Cape Town International Convention Centre Cost: around R25 000 for a full-access pass; group discounts available tmt.knect365.com/next-generation-opticalnetworking-africa

Join global industry leaders and stakeholders as they meet for the world’s largest African mining event.

Spread out over four days, governments, companies, investors and service providers will discuss how to sustain relationships and investments on the continent.

Speakers this year include Dambisa Moyo, global economist and author; and Dr Mukhisa Kituyi, Secretary-General of the UN Conference on Trade and Development. A highlight is the Sustainable Development Day, where a series of interactive discussions will shed light on the environmental challenges affecting the industry.

74 FASTCOMPANY.CO.Z A FEBRUARY 2017

NGONA is an annual telecoms event that discusses how to promote growth in the African optical industry. Topics include the need for business connectivity and rapid deployment, and how terrestrial backhaul networks could bring subsea capacity inside the African continent. The event will host more than 40 speakers and 15 exhibits, with attendees such as BT, Cell C and Telkom. This is a great opportunity for African businesses looking to take advantage of powerful optical connectivity.

Fast Events

Argus Africa LPG 2017

Design Indaba Festival

Date: 14 & 15 February Time: 09h00–16h30 Location: DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Cape Town—Upper Eastside, Woodstock Cost: around R25 000 (conference only) www.argusmedia.com/events

Date: 1 to 4 March Location: Artscape Theatre Centre, Cape Town; other venues TBA Cost: various www.designindaba.com/festival

This annual meeting for the pan-African liquefied petroleum gas market is an opportunity to meet with delegates including suppliers, traders, marketing and distribution companies as well as government officials and regulators to discuss common challenges, offer practical strategies to improve access to LPG across the continent, and forge strong business relations. Don’t miss informative talks from conference chairperson Nick Black, and Benoit Araman, MD of Oryx Oil South Africa, among other experts.

eCommerce Confex Date: 22 & 23 February Time: 09h00–18h30 (Wed); 09h00–17h00 (Thurs) Location: Cape Town International Convention Centre Cost: R6 500 (full conference pass); R87.72 (exhibition only) www.ecommerce-africa.com The third annual eCommerce Confex returns with the main focus of MoneyAfrica: how industry in Africa is developing through innovations in fintech products, whether through payments or customer services. This will provide an opportunity for businesses to learn how this area is challenging the way transactions are done in Africa, and to discuss ways to respond and capitalise. e-Commerce conference sessions will host an extended speaker panel that will discuss various developments in the industry.

The iconic event of creativity returns for its 22nd year. Innovative creative speakers will inspire audiences with cutting-edge perspectives, and provide creative solutions to real-world problems.

Under the art direction of fashion designer Selly Raby Kane, Design Indaba will provide a wideranging showcase of multimedia presentations, live performances, music, exhibitions and food. Events this year include talks by Airbnb co-founder Joe Gebbia, Icelandic-Danish artist Olafur Eliasson, and American musician Kaki King; the Design Indaba film festival; and exhibitions such as Most Beautiful Object in South Africa and the Emerging Creatives.

Open Education Global Conference Date: 8 to 10 March Time: 09h00–17h00 Location: Cape Town International Convention Centre Cost: various conference.oeconsortium.org/2017 Join the leading educative innovators for an informative conference describing the impact of open education and how its practice can be promoted. Faculty, teachers, administrators, policymakers, companies and educational professionals from around the globe will discuss the theme “Open for Participation”. Speakers will address pressing needs in education at all levels, and investigate how open approaches in education can increase access, equality and opportunities. The Open Education Awards for Excellence will also be presented.

FEBRUARY 2017 FASTCOMPANY.CO.Z A 75

Next

Securing the Future

G e rh a rd O o st hu i z e n

KEEP IT SIMPLE Why there’s no need to sacrifice security for usability when developing authentication software

It was more than three centuries ago when Sir Isaac Newton advocated for simplicity, saying: “Truth is ever to be found in simplicity, and not in the multiplicity and confusion of things.” He hasn’t been the only great mind to point this out.

The benefits of always aiming for the simplest solution lie at the heart of software development, where programmers are constantly trying to achieve their objectives in the fewest lines of code possible.

However, when it comes to authentication, some financial institutions cling to the outmoded idea that complexity equals security. To be fair, security professionals in the financial industry are often in favour of simplicity, understanding that simple solutions are safer solutions. But far too often, business decision makers accede to the views of their customers, many of whom still firmly believe their dongles and one-time passwords are all that stand between them and a malicious hacker waiting to pounce.

There’s a large-scale move under way toward a frictionless user experience. All the major consulting firms are writing copiously about the customer experience and how important usability is. But each region is different when it comes to expectations of usability in online banking and mobile app security.

The Asian markets have very strict security requirements and, in some countries, an authentication certificate is required for each individual transaction.

These are often preloaded onto dongles, which themselves require installation on a user’s machine.

The perception is that if users have something in their hand, then they are in control of the process and are safer; it’s a physical manifestation of a secure transactional environment.

Europe, meanwhile, operates under complex and uniform security standards. Although this is useful,

76 FASTCOMPANY.CO.Z A FEBRUARY 2017

Two banks in South Africa have turned their simpler security process into a brand-building opportunity . . .

This mobilebased, one-touch transactional approval is the perfect example of simplicity, with usability at its core.

it has bred a sense of complacency at many financial institutions—which know that customers will face the same inelegant security experience no matter where they go.

A more customer-centric view is held in the US market. In fact, organisations there are obsessed with making the transactional experience as frictionless as possible. Fierce competition has business leaders focused almost entirely on minimising transaction abandonment and maximising customer loyalty.

Two banks in South Africa have turned their simpler security process into a brand-building opportunity. Customers look out for the branded two-factor out-of-band authentication service in the same way one may look for a watermark on a banknote. This mobile-based, one-touch transactional approval is the perfect example of simplicity, with usability at its core.

Customers know that it doesn’t matter what else happens on the big, bad Internet, it doesn’t matter what someone may tell them over the phone; if they see that specific, branded security feature, they can trust the transaction is legitimate. This drives customer loyalty, and increases e-commerce transactions and revenue.

The idea that the simplest solution, in any given environment, is likely the best is a principle referred to as Occam’s razor, and is held dear by the best engineers and developers around the world. It’s also a principle that should guide security and business professionals. At no point do you have to sacrifice security for usability.

In fact, building trust through simplicity is just good business.

Gerhard Oosthuizen is CIO at Entersekt, a provider of advanced consumer-authentication and mobile app security systems.

WHAT IF YOU COULD CREATE AN ENTIRE BANKING SYSTEM WITHOUT A SINGLE A BANK? Most people would consider the above thought simply impossible, if not downright ridiculous. But M-Pesa was not created by most people. It was invented by individuals who believe in the power of ideas. M-Pesa is an African innovation, born out of necessity. Today it’s become the most successful mobile money transfer service in the world, and enables millions of people with a mobile phone, but not a bank account, to send and receive money.

Do you have the potential to revolutionise an industry? There’s only one way find out. Enrol today.

Because a new world needs new ideas.