DAWN

Holidays

Business

7 Enterprise Expands into South Africa 8 Private Wealth in Africa set for $798 Billion Jump to $3 Trillion 10 Want to be an Effective Leader? Follow These 12 Steps 13

The AfCFTA Guided Trade Initiative. 14 16-Year-Old Fashion Designer Wants To Encourage Black Girls And Boys To ‘Shine Bright’ With Her Children’s Book 17 The Great Resentment: Why Beyoncé Holds the Key to Office Culture 20 Venus Williams' Approach to Success Goes Against Everything You've Been Told: 'You Don't Have to Go All-In.' 22 Memphis Mayor Teams Up With SBA and Operation Hope to Drive Black Economic Development 24 Black Woman Entrepreneur Says She Now Owns a $3.5M Intermodal Container Operation After Leaving Her Teaching Job 26 Gander Founder Kimiloluwa Fafowora on Building an E-commerce Brand 30 ‘I’m not Going to Change the World by Myself, but I can Start.’ 32 Microsoft Partners with Meta to Bring Teams, Office, Windows, and Xbox to VR 34 Middle East and African Airlines to Post Profit in 2022 as Demand Recovers Development 36 Clean Energy Has a Tipping Point, and 87 Countries Have Reached It 40 How an Accidental Discovery Could Change the World 42 Wasp-inspired Drone can 3D-print Structures on the Fly 46 Honeywell Unveils New SAF Production Technology 48 Akon Says the First Phase of Akon City Will Open in 2026, Reveals City Will House Africa’s Largest Hospital 50 In an Industry First, Upside Foods’ Lab-Grown

Chicken Gets FDA Approval 52 Michelle Obama Launches Female Empowerment Campaign with Amal Clooney, Melinda Gates 54 Cool Mud Beats Concrete for Building Homes in a Hotter Africa 57 Zambia and DRC Sign Cooperating Agreements to Start Manufacturing Electric Batteries Agriculture 58 Kenya's new Stance on GMOs is Pitting Politicians Against Scientists 61 Cameroon, Nigeria Request to Join IvoryGhana Cocoa Initiative 62 Barry Callebaut Raises the Bar in Bid to Redefine Chocolate Making Pandemic-Health 64 The WHO is Done Playing Nice About Vaccine Equity 65 Rich Countries are Destroying Covid Vaccines they Hoarded While Much of the World Still Waits for Their First Shot Governance 66 From Shining Shoes in Africa to a Seat in Italy's Parliament 67 East African Community (EAC) Bloc Setting up Diaspora Desk in Bid to Boost Remittances, FDI and Trade 68 King Charles Welcomes South Africa's Ramaphosa for First State Visit 70 Ethiopia's Tigray Conflict: Truce Agreed 71 Eight Nigerian-Americans Win US Legislative Seats in Georgia, Pennsylvania, Minnesota 72 Tanzania Scraps Independence Celebration, Diverts Funds to Kids

Investment 74 African Stock Exchange/Bourse

75

‘Ownership is the New Drip’: Fintech Founder Raises $4.4 Million in Seed Funding

76 The Nigerian-born Entrepreneur Behind ‘Shopify of Banking’ that Just Received $100k from Google 78 Sport Leaders Eye Africa as Talent Source, Investment Target 80 Soccer Can Transform the African Cultural and Creative Ecosystem

83 East African Community (EAC) Bloc Setting up Diaspora Desk in Bid to Boost Remittances, FDI and Trade

100 Uganda to Start 3D Bioprinting of Human Organ-like Tissues in Space Following Successful Satellite Launch 102 Orange Launches First African 5G Network in Botswana 103 Interview: Uzoma Orchingwa 104 Group Black's Travis Montaque Debuts a New Network to Shape a More Equitable Creator Economy

Lifestyle/Culture

106 Rwanda’s Salima Mukansanga Makes History as First Black Woman Referee for FIFA World Cup 2022 108 Celebrating Chef Love 110 'We Are Not Owners': Smithsonian Gives Back 29 Benin Bronzes to Nigeria 114 Can the NFL Push Virtual Reality into the Mainstream?

84

Kiva Labs Launched its Largest Ever Loan to Fund Affordable Solar Energy in one of the World’s Least Electrified Countries

84 110

86 California Poised to Overtake Germany as World’s No. 4 Economy 88 Marriott International Continues Growth Across Africa with more than 30 Anticipated Hotel Openings by the end of 2024 90 African Development Bank Secures $31 Billion at Investment Forum

93 Gates Foundation Pledges $7 Billion for Africa as Ukraine War Diverts Donor Cash

94 The Company that Pioneered Electric Taxis in Kenya is Closing Shop

Technology/Science

96 Starlink Adds a Daytime Data Cap of 1 TB for Residential Users 97 YouTube Makes it Easy to Set up an AMA* 98 First-ever 3D-printed School Building in the World Unveiled in Malawi

116 Michelle Obama Announces New Obama Foundation Girls Opportunity Alliance Campaign to Inspire Everyone to Get Involved in Girls’ Education and Empowerment 118 Diane Spivey Shows Black Chefs’ Undeniable Foundation for American Cuisine 120 UK Tells Schools They Can’t Ban Afro Hairstyles 122 Natasha Bowen is Bringing Black Mermaids and West African Lore to the Bestsellers’ List 124 Army National Guard Names First Black Woman Battalion Commander in Tennessee 125 Angella Okutoyi to Join Auburn Women’s Tennis Program in the Spring 126 Malawi's John Chilembwe gets Statue in London's Trafalgar Square

History 128

National Museum of African American History and Culture Debuts Freedmen’s Bureau Search Portal 130 What Interactive Maps and 3D Digital Models Reveal about Mau Mau Detention Camps in Kenya

Agriculture - Business - Commentary - Development - Education - Governance History - Investment - Lifestyle/Culture - Technology/Science

About the Africa Business Association

The Africa Business Association is an independent international business development organization. We offer access to the latest resources, information, and best practices in advocacy and communications for the African Diaspora and the African entrepreneurs in Africa. We work to help you have access to news and events as starting points for constructive conversations and calls to action. We seek to cut through the froth of the political spin cycle to underlying truths and values. We want to be so focused on progress that together we can provide a credible and constructive generation of Africans that take seriously our previous generations and act upon all their wishes, our hopes and aspirations to make lasting change for all future generations.

Africa Business Association "DAWN"

PUBLISHER/PRESIDENT

Ricky Katsuya

ADVISORY BOARD

Earl 'Skip' Cooper, II, CEO, Black Business Association H.E. Sheila Siwela, Ambassador H.E. Kone L. Tanou, Ambassador

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS

Ricky Katsuya

LAYOUT/TYPESETTING Lion Communications

AFRICA BUSINESS ASSOCIATION NEWS 6564 LOISDALE COURT, SUITE 600 Springfield, VA 22150 USA 1-240-467-6811 aba@africabisinessassociation.org dawn@africabusinessassociation.org www.africabusinessassociation.org

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The posting of stories, commentaries, reports, documents and links (embedded or otherwise) on this site does not in any way, shape or form, implied or otherwise, necessarily express or suggest endorsement or support of any of such posted material or parts therein.

Image credits: Cover-pinterest, The Standard Digital, https://electrek.co/2022/08/23/roam-first-electricmass-transit-bus-africa/

Enterprise Expands into South Africa

ENTERPRISE HOLDINGS , announced in a statement the addition of new franchise locations featuring car rental options from Enterprise RentA-Car, National Car Rental, and Alamo Rent A Car through the Woodford Group in South Africa. This marks the first time Enterprise Holdings brands will be available in South Africa.

The Woodford Group offers logistic solutions, an online vehicle auction platform, and Woodford Car Hire, an independent car rental company in South Africa.

“At Enterprise, we aim to partner with local providers that have a strong reputation for customer service excellence,”

said Enterprise Holdings assistant vice president of Global Franchising — EMEA, Jon Flansburg in the statement. “Our new partner in South Africa has always put an emphasis on bringing a personal touch to its service, and its investment in technology and wide selection of vehicles will ensure the best possible experience for our customers.”

Woodford Group will serve the Enterprise Holdings brands at key locations in South Africa including Cape Town International Airport, OR Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg, King Shaka International

across the country.

“The Woodford Group has been considered a trailblazer in the local car rental business, so we’re proud to align ourselves with a global pioneer like Enterprise, who we know share common goals and values that will take us into a new era,” added Group CEO, Mohamed Owais Suleman.

Enterprise expanded to Africa for the first time in 2019 with operations in Egypt and announced plans for expansion into Morocco earlier this year.

https://www.autorentalnews. com/10183180/enterpriseexpands-into-south-africa

From News/Media Release

Airport in Durban, and four inner-city branches

Woodford Group, a family-owned company, began in 1991 with a mission of providing dependable and affordable car rental to everyday South Africans. The company will serve the Enterprise Holdings brands at key locations across the country. Photo: Enterprise Holdings

AFRICA’S STOCK of private wealth is forecast to jump 38% to nearly $3 trillion over the next decade, with Mauritius and Rwanda witnessing the strongest growth.

Smaller, better-organised economies in Africa are fast turning into wealth hubs, home to more and more of the continent’s dollar millionaires.

According to the latest Africa Wealth Report 2022 by Henley Global, the tide is swinging in the direction of smaller emerging economies thanks to their growing exchequer hygiene.

“Key drivers of this trend are the recognition by these economies that they can attract substantial capital if they have the right regulatory framework,” notes Vusi Thembekwayo, venture capitalist and MyGrowthFund Venture partner.

“This regulatory regime includes preferential terms for capital gains tax and inheritance tax and an environment that allows for ease of doing business.”

In the period under review, Africa’s total private wealth -- currently worth $2.1 trillion -- will swell 38% by 2031, representing a $798 billion jump.

“Our growth projections for Mauritius are strong –we expect the country to experience wealth growth of 80% over the next decade (to 2031),” the wealth report forecasts.

“This will make it one of the fastest growing highincome markets in the world over this period (in percentage growth terms), together with Australia, New Zealand, Switzerland and Malta.”

By 2031, the number of High Net Worth Individuals

Private Wealth in Africa se $798 Billion Jump to $3 Tri

By Ezreen Benissan

(HNWI) in Mauritius is expected to reach over 8,000, almost Kenya’s current total despite their size difference.

Rwanda (60%), Ethiopia (52%), Uganda (50%), Kenya (43%), Ghana (36%), Tanzania (34%), Ivory Coast (25%), Mozambique (20%) and Morocco (18%) are the other states expected to record significant jumps in private wealth.

Africa’s ‘Big 5’ wealth markets are South Africa, Egypt, Nigeria, Morocco and Kenya which together account for over 50% of Africa’s total wealth.

But South Africa dominates the continent in wealth, being home to over twice as many dollar millionaires as any other African state.

Tellingly, Africa’s two wealthiest cities are in South Africa.

Johannesburg is the wealthiest, with a total private wealth of $239 billion, while Cape Town in second place has a total private wealth of $131 billion.

South Africa is home to the largest luxury market in Africa by revenue, followed by Kenya and then Morocco.

Major components of this include luxury hotels and lodges, cars, clothing and accessories, watches, private jets and yachts.

Meanwhile, African investors are showing a preference for real estate-linked investment migration programs as a hedge against the

et for illion

unrelenting currency, market and political volatility on the continent.

Ms Amanda Smit, who is the Managing Partner Henley & Partners South Africa notes that Southern African countries predominated the grow th markets on the continent in 2021.

“We saw the highest level of growth in Zimbabwe, with a remarkable increase of 48% in enquiries in 2021 compared to 2020,” she said in the Africa Wealth Report.

“Neighbouring South Africa reported the second-highest level of growth, with an increase of 40% in enquiries, and had a record-breaking year in terms of the total number of enquiries ever received by Henley & Partners from South African citizens."

https://www.thecitizen.co.tz/tanzania/ magazines/private-wealth-in-africaset-for-798-billion-jump-to-3-trillion-3957808?view=htmlamp

Image credit: Bird

c n ca e h n e o t e edit: Bird

Want to be an Effective Leader? Follow These 12

By Jerry Kurt, Capgemini Americas

AFTER MORE THAN 30 years in business, there is one thing I can guarantee: rapid change. The business world is like an ocean current: in constant motion as industries innovate and technology changes at an ever-increasing rate. The most effective leaders embrace change and don’t hesitate to adapt.

Change is constant, but I also believe there are foundational building blocks of leadership that stand the test of time. Regardless of the industry, company, or moment in time, the characteristics that most successful leaders embody remain the same.

I share my point of view on this topic of leadership in hopes that readers can learn from it. That being said, I also welcome different perspectives as I continually evolve as a leader myself. Whether it’s younger, aspiring leaders full of passion and curiosity or experienced leaders eager to sharpen their skills and approaches, I hope you will find this article useful and relevant.

MAKE YOUR OWN LUCK

Aspiring leaders find ways to be persistent without being obnoxious. It’s perfectly fine to stay in your lane and do your existing job well while also pushing the envelope to tackle new opportunities in areas that interest you. If you want something, ask for it . . . go get it. Don’t always wait for your career to happen. Make it happen.

FOLLOW YOUR PASSION

It’s hard enough to be an effective leader, but if you’re not passionate about the area you’re leading, how can you empower and motivate teams around you? Focus on following your passion(s), with the first being to discover exactly what that is. If you aren’t sure, take steps to identify it by gaining

new experiences in different areas. Perhaps it’s a certain industry, a specific area of technology, or a desire to see the world. And remember: Your passion(s) can change over time.

IMPROVE YOUR PUBLIC SPEAKING

Without the confidence to speak in front of groups, it’s tough to effectively lead large teams. There are opportunities to enhance your public speaking experience—if you know where to look. Whether it’s a presentation during an “all-hands call” or one to a client or project team, it’s important to create and seize opportunities to speak and share experiences in front of large groups.

BE A POSITIVE INFLUENCE

Here are 12 keys to becoming an effective leader:

My grandmother and father both taught me something very important, which is to make the effort to always be positive with a glass-half-full mentality. In the business world, habitual negativity is a slippery slope. Effective leaders shift their mindset to invoke positivity in those around them. Something that may have been an “issue” or “problem” can instead be an opportunity to improve. A positive influence is infectious—and makes the work more enjoyable for you and your employees.

BE HUMBLE

Building on the previous point about being a positive influence, the most effective leaders understand the importance of humility. You may

be the smartest person in the room, but others should come to that conclusion on their own by letting the work, results, and performance speak for themselves, rather than hearing you talk about how great you are. Leaders with big egos and selfcentered behavior eventually hit a wall.

BE WELL-ROUNDED

While it’s important to become an expert in something, effective leaders are also well-rounded and avoid demonstrating that they have a “tragic flaw” that will slow down their career progression. Effective leaders tend to be “good or better” in most or all categories of leadership, such as people management, the ability to sell and deliver or produce results, interpersonal skills, relationshipbuilding skills, and more. You don’t necessarily need to be the best at something to succeed as a leader. However, in my experience, you do need to be well-rounded.

PRIORITIZE INTERPERSONAL SKILLS

Relationships are everything. For the countless projects I have worked on during my career, I have always strived to get along well with every person on the team. That starts with being genuine, investing time in these relationships, respecting all opinions, and being mindful of how you treat people. In many cases, it’s not what you say but how you say it that makes a lasting impression. Regardless of your role or experience level, effective leaders have the interpersonal skills to communicate effectively with anyone at any time.

COMMIT TO DEADLINES

I’m a huge believer in work-life balance. However, there are times in one’s career when deadlines are more important than having an “8 to 5” mentality. Effective leaders find a way to achieve balance while also finding ways to meet important deadlines. Being committed to deadlines in addition to effort builds credibility and shows stakeholders that you are reliable and trustworthy, which often leads to additional responsibilities.

TAKE CARE OF YOU

While extra effort is needed in certain circumstances, nothing is more important than taking care of your own mental, physical, and

Photo: Courtesy Capgemini Americas

Business - Leadership

spiritual health and well-being. Each person will have their own unique approach, but finding this balance across mind, body, and spirit will keep effective leaders sharp, focused, and able to sustain their positive impact in the long term.

KEEP RESKILLING

Whether it’s training, reading, or side projects, even the most senior leaders never stop learning. The journey for growth and development is ongoing, and effective leaders will always continue reskilling and finding ways to improve. Particularly now, in 2022, when technology is changing faster than most humans are capable of adapting, if you aren’t a continuous learner, you will eventually be left behind.

BE SELF-SUFFICIENT

In the early years of a career journey, employees often require supervision while completing their day-to-day tasks, and that’s totally fine for a reasonable period of time. However, one of your early career goals should be to demonstrate that you can handle a role with minimal supervision. Those who have managers that are confident in their abilities as an “independent, value-added worker” will be early targets for promotions. If you’re independently capable, a next obvious step will be to lead and guide others.

BECOME AN EXPERT IN SOMETHING

Rotational assignments are great to help those who are trying to figure out their career passion and direction. However, at some point, it helps to become a subject matter expert. For example, if you are working in the data, analytics, and AI space, you may have exposure to data transformation, business intelligence, data science, machine learning, or advanced AI technologies. But, eventually specializing in one or more of these areas will become increasingly important as you work towards becoming a manager and leader.

https://www.fastcompany.com/90776514/want-tobe-an-effective-leader-follow-these-12-steps

Looking for that New Job or to Make a Career Change - Here Is an Approach

What’s the biggest challenge you’ve had in your career?

Graduating from a “non-target” school with an imperfect GPA while pursuing a career in finance. I graduated from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and had a goal of starting my career in investment banking. The majority of banks did not recruit on campus, so I spent a lot of my time doing cold outreach to banks only to get overlooked for Ivy Leaguers. I started to voice how I would outwork anybody because of how I noticed how I was being viewed from this recruiting process, and the message ended up resonating.

My tip for others is to ignore conventional wisdom of what you’re supposed to look like and instead prove why you deserve to be where you want to be.

https://www.protocol.com/newsletters/ pipeline/climate-vc-convective

Happy Holidays

The AfCFTA Guided Trade Initiative.

Press Release

THE AFRICAN CONTINENTAL FREE TRADE AREA (AFCFTA) SECRETARIAT on Friday, 7 October 2022, held a ceremony to launch the AfCFTA Guided Trade Initiative to mark the commencement of trade under the Agreement. The event took place at the margins of the 10th Meeting of the Council of Ministers, the latter held from 7-8 October 2022.

This Ministerial Directive of The 7th Meeting of the AfCFTA Council of Ministers responsible for Trade, on 10th October 2021, provided a legal basis for the countries that had submitted their tariff schedules in accordance with the agreed modalities to trade preferentially amongst themselves. However, as commercially meaningful trade had not commenced under the AfCFTA, the AfCFTA Secretariat embarked on a solution-based approach in the form of an AfCFTA Initiative on Guided Trade.

The Guided Trade Initiative intends to achieve its goal through matchmaking businesses and products for export and import between these interested State Parties in coordination with their national AfCFTA implementation committees. The initiative has attracted participation of EIGHT (8) State Parties – Cameroon, Egypt, Ghana, Kenya, Mauritius, Rwanda, Tanzania and Tunisia.

The specific objectives of the AfCFTA Guided Trade Initiative are to:

1. allow commercially meaningful trading under the AfCFTA;

2. test the operational, institutional, legal and trade policy environment under the AfCFTA; and

3. send an important positive message to the African economic operators.

The Secretary-General of the AfCFTA Secretariat, His Excellency Wamkele Mene, speaking on the

launch of the Guided Trade Initiative said: “The Guided Trade Initiative materialises the ambition of African Heads of State and Government to create a single market under the AfCFTA Agreement. We look forward to showcasing Made in Africa products benefiting from tariff preferences under the AfCFTA and beyond that, the impact in African markets.”

The products earmarked to trade under the AfCFTA Guided Trade Initiative include: ceramic tiles, tea, coffee, processed meat products, corn starch, sugar, pasta, glucose syrup, dried fruits, and sisal fibre, amongst others, in line with the AfCFTA focus on value chain development.

The interested State Parties represents 5 African regions. The AfCFTA Guided Trade Initiative will serve as a gateway to encourage continued trade under the AfCFTA, resulting in a multiplier effect and increased opportunities for SMEs, Youth and Women in trade and ultimately establishing sustainable and inclusive economic development.

About the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) is one of the flagship projects of Agenda 2063: The Africa We Want and entered into force on 30 May 2019.

hhttps://au-afcfta.org/2022/10/press-release-theafcfta-guided-trade-initiative/

16-Year-Old Fashion Designer Kheris Rogers Wants To Encourage Black Girls And

Boys To ‘Shine Bright’ With Her Children’s Book

By Samantha Dorisca AfroTech

KHERIS ROGERS MADE her presence known across the globe when she made history as New York Fashion Week’s youngest designer to showcase a fashion line.

She was just 10 years old.

Inspiration for the brand: Flexin’ In My Complexion was created during her historymaking year. Rogers’ inspiration for the line stemmed from her experiences with colorism and hair discrimination while attending school.

“Growing up I was always teased about my dark skin complexion, so I had no confidence in myself,” Rogers told AfroTech exclusively. “I didn’t love myself whatsoever. I hated the way I looked and I just thought l looked so different than everyone because when I was younger I went to a predominantly white school. That’s where I experienced racism with a lot of the kids. Then, my mom switched me to a more diverse school where I experienced colorism. So, growing up I went through a lot. I never had any self-esteem in myself.”

The young star’s confidence took a turn for the better when she performed in a fashion show through a program at Amazing Grace Conservatory, thanks to a nudge from her mother. While Rogers strutted down the runway, her sister, Taylor Pollard, took a snapshot and shared it proudly on Twitter.

The praise heard from around the world: The photo went viral and Rogers soon realized the very features that people in school bullied her for were being affirmed and adored by many users across social media.

As the momentum was building, Rogers saw a window of opportunity to turn her passion for fashion into a platform that could help instill confidence in other dark-skinned girls.

“The picture just went viral on Twitter in minutes,” Rogers explained.

“It was going crazy. Then after that, I constantly started going viral. Everyone was telling me how they loved my dark skin complexion and they loved everything that I was being teased about growing up. And I feel like that gave me a boost of confidence in myself. Then, I started my clothing line, Flexin’ In My Complexion, and it blew up literally.”

▲ Kheris Rogers

Rogers officially became a kid entrepreneur thanks to her apparel. The line features shirts, hoodies, and accessories sporting messages like “Black Women Matter,” Flexin’ In My Complexion,” and “Representation Matters,” among others.

Challenges as a kid entrepreneur: Getting her business off the ground did present its challenges, as she felt the need to prove herself to those who doubted her due to her age. However, she had the support of her sister, who helped co-create different designs, and her mother to help her bring the brand to light.

“I had no idea what I was doing, but luckily I had the help of my mom and sister,” Rogers said. “I feel like we figured it out and we’re still figuring out stuff to this day, but especially being a kid entrepreneur, a lot of people doubted me and I feel like they wouldn’t take me seriously. I feel like that was one of the main struggles I had to go through being a kid entrepreneur and being in rooms with people who are in their like thirties or forties looking at me like ‘Why is this kid here,’ but I’m doing just as well as them. We figured stuff out along the way.

► Lupita Nyong'o

I’m super grateful that I had them with me along the journey.”

Since launching in 2017, Flexin’ In My Complexion has raked in half a million dollars in sales. It has also caught the attention of some notable names including Alicia Keys and Lupita Nyong’o.

Making a difference: For Rogers, catching the attention of those she looks up to is a dream come true and she resonates with their efforts to have a positive impact in their community.

“I always tell my mom and sister that I just want to pave the way for other Black and brown kids to believe in themselves and to take on and come behind me to do the same thing,” the 16-yearold expressed. “People like Storm Reid, Marsai [Martin], Lupita [Nyong’o], and Zendaya, they’ve all paved a way for young Black boys and girls, or anyone, to come right behind them and do the same thing. I feel like every day we’re putting in work trying to be the best that we can and trying to empower other people. But this is still a long ride and I hope that when the next person comes in behind me, I hope that they can do it even bigger.”

Children’s book: Outside of her clothing line, Rogers is finding new avenues to uplift others, whether it’s through the Kheris Rogers Foundation or more recently, her first children’s book “Shine Bright.”

A post shared by Kheris Rogers (@

Shine Bright

kherispoppin)

The title of the book was inspired by a childhood friend, who told her despite everything she was facing at the time to shine bright. The message didn’t register with Rogers until the passing of her friend.

Set to empower Black children: Now, Rogers wants other young Black girls and boys to reach that epiphany for themselves and she believes her children’s book will plant that seed.

“The book is really about myself. A little girl that’s trying to overcome bullying and love herself, going through all these obstacles. Her sister is trying to empower her, letting her know she’s beautiful no matter what. That you are magic and you can shine bright no matter what other people are saying about you. This book shows other young kids that you can be anything that you want to be and to stop letting what other people say about you get into your head because you are enough,” Rogers declared.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/lifestyle/lifestylebuzz/16-year-old-fashion-designer-kherisrogers-wants-to-encourage-black-girls-andboys-to-shine-bright-with-her-children-s-book/ ar-AA133W4W

Image credit: lilianpacce.com.br

The Gr Why Bey

By Julia Ho

THE PHRASE HAS REVERBERATED around boardrooms for decades, even though it’s a misquote of the late great management guru Peter Drucker, who in fact said “culture, no matter how defined, is singularly persistent.”

Indeed, it is.

This is a problem because the culture of dissatisfaction around work is all too evident.

One manifestation is the dip in well-being. Data from Deloitte shows that about one-third of employees and executives struggle with fatigue and mental health issues. Citing Gallup’s latest workplace data, the World Economic Forum noted that “workplace well-being and satisfaction have plateaued after almost a decade of improvements.”

But this can’t all be blamed on the pandemic. In May of 2019, before Covid-19 was sweeping throughout the world, the World Health Organization declared burnout “an occupational phenomenon.” In fact, concern about work and well-being goes

back centuries and was always linked to culture: it was Aristotle, after all, who worried about what it would take to create a sense of flourishing or eudaemonia.

Now that CEOs around the globe are trying to maintain or reinvent both corporate culture and future strategy in the wake of a pandemic that rewrote the rules of work, it’s popular culture that leaders should consider to win the hearts and minds of their workers—specifically pop music.

Take this year’s zeitgeist tune Break My Soul by Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter, known to her fans simply as “Queen Bey.” It’s a dance-based rallying cry for workers rejecting old constraints in new times from an album entitled Renaissance. And it’s rich in cultural data.

The song is an anthem not so much for The Great Resignation as The Great Resentment. The chorus energetically exhorts listeners to release “ya anger,” “ya mind,” “ya job,” “the time”—in that

Beyoncé's “Break My Soul” has become a rally cry for workers. Photographer: Mason Poole/ AMPAS/Getty Images

reat Resentment: yoncé Holds the Key to Office Culture bsbawm

order. A word that crops up defiantly throughout is “motivation.” The implication being that it’s a bit thin on the ground.

Break My Soul isn’t the voice of an innocent generation from yesteryear during which work culture was infantilized and power lay strictly above the heads of the rank and file. A good example there is the innocently jolly Heigh-Ho from Walt Disney Co.’s Snow White in 1937.

Nor is it quite the pay and conditions anger of Generation X, those born between the 1960s and 1980s who grew up with 1970s hit songs like the distinctly unsubtle Take This Job and Shove It by Johnny Paycheck or indeed Dolly Parton’s feminist rallying cry in the song and film 9 to 5 from 1980, now reprised for the new times in a successful touring musical.

Beyoncé is speaking instead to the millennial generation and their younger Gen Z co-workers who are the future of the workplace, and whose emotional literacy expresses their resentment and disappointment that the world of work, even if well paid, still doesn’t deliver for them.

They feel betrayed by broken promises of prosperity, security, status and well-being. Beyoncé told Harper’s Bazaar magazine last year that “I worked to heal generational trauma and turned my broken heart into art that would help move culture forward and hopefully live far beyond me.”

Exactly 100 years before Queen Bey’s 2022 anthem to existential generational malaise was streamed to millions, T.S. Eliot’s modernist poem The Waste Land was published to thousands, with notable similarities. Both are in their very different ways landmark commentaries which simultaneously address working life—Eliot writes movingly of the “violet hour, the evening hour that strives Homeward”—and yet move well beyond it to a bigger picture: our inner selves. Written in the

aftermath of World War I, The Waste Land is the cultural equivalent of a pop song, with its long lyric to broken-ness.

Today’s global workforce feels similarly broken, fragmented and discombobulated as if by war. Covid-19 universally left its losses and scars, which have opened up longing for a new fresh start.

Leaders need to do two fundamental things to get on the right track.

The first is to acknowledge the sense of loss and pain.

Every workplace has to rebuild and redesign itself. There is no business as usual. Aim for a corporate culture which prioritizes comfort, security and certainty in an uncertain world. That does not mean providing a rigid set of rules but a flexible approach where possible to respond to the complexity of their lives.

Be like Beyoncé: Release your mind to think afresh.

There is no playbook ready to help you that isn’t out of date. So co-create new rules, new norms and ditch the top-down approach.

In order to do that you have to do something else: Listen. Don’t tell, ask. Spend as much on employee evaluation as you do on getting under the skin of what customers think. Go beyond online evaluation forms and begin constant face-to-face and teleconferenced feedback sessions. They will be worth every dollar spent.

Culture doesn’t compete with strategy—it complements it. But it has to be authentic. Let’s stop trying to make the workplace naively upbeat (Disney) and instead match the knowing beat (Beyoncé).

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/ articles/2022-10-14/beyonce-s-break-my-soul-isthe-new-anthem-for-gen-z-millennial-burnout

DAVID DESANTO, VP of product at GitLab, knows a thing or two about operating a successful remote-first model.

DevOps platform GitLab has been operating as a fully remote company since 2011. Today, the company has an 1800-strong team spread all over the world that has managed to amass some 100,000 customers, without ever having required their employees to work behind a desk.

In May, GitLab published its 2022 Remote Playbook, which serves as a best practice guide for sustaining and scaling a remote workforce

DeSanto believes almost any company can be all-remote provided they fully commit to doing so, which includes investing in the key pillars of asynchronous working, communication, culture, and management, and focusing on inclusion above all else. "You need to be purposeful about what you're doing," he tells ZDNet.

"Inclusion sounds like such a simple word, but it's really that decision that you're going to do your work transparently, collaboratively, asynchronously, and not rely on Zoom as the only way you talk to someone."

The unmoored workplace

According to data from Owl Labs, 16% of companies globally are now fully remote. This means that, on average, more than one in 10 companies operate without any physical presence whatsoever, be that an office, headquarters or any other form of workspace.

There are wanttounmoor

Ditching the Office How to Build a Suc Remote Workplace

By Owen Hughes, Senior Editor

D H R B

There are many reasons why a business might want to unmoor itself from a physical location, with cost incentives being the most obvious: an organization can cut significant overheads by not having to pay rent, upkeep, energy and staffing costs that come with owning an office.

But as the pandemic taught us, effective remote working isn't just closing the office and sending everyone home with a laptop. To make a success of a fully-remote model, employers need to treat it with all the deliberation and planning of any other strategic investment designed to reap rewards over the long term.

This begins with redesigning the virtual workspace to be more collaborative, says DeSanto, who stresses the importance of moving to "asynchronous communication" so that employees working in different time zones aren't excluded from important meetings, decisions or updates.

"If you're going to be all-remote, the assumption that someone can go into the office and read something that someone posted on the billboard in the kitchen doesn't really work," DeSanto adds. "You need to be able to make everyone feel included regardless of if they can make it on the call."

Asynchronous communications needn't be complex: it can include recording a Zoom meeting and making it available for employees afterwards, or sending out important company updates via email. The main thing is that employees are kept in the loop with everything going on at the company.

"Finding ways to communicate asynchronously where possible and limit synch meetings was

for Good: ccessful

something that we learned early on," says DeSanto.

"We did that because it allows employees to be better connected to the company and feel more included."

Document everything

Remote companies must be equally proactive when it comes to documentation. This doesn't just mean taking notes in meetings and providing transcripts of Zoom calls (which DeSanto encourages), but also being diligent in documenting organizational process, culture and solutions.

DeSanto encourages creating company handbooks that enable employees, regardless of location or time zone, to have access to the most critical company information when they need it. Ad hoc chats and 'watercooler' conversations should also be recorded to increase transparency within the company.

Social interactions tend to be harder to come by in a remote environment, meaning companies that are all-remote need to be more purposeful and deliberate in creating opportunities for connection GitLab navigates this by coordinating virtual coffee chats, whereby anyone can invite a colleague or peer for an informal, 25-minute conversation. "That's allowed us to have a much more inclusive environment, and it's allowed everyone to feel more engaged," says DeSanto.

In-person connections are also important. DeSanto – who recognizes the pitfalls of work relationships built entirely through computer screens – recommends all-remote companies organize local company events so that employees can still meet, interact and socialize in person. Where possible, some employees may wish to work together from co-working spaces a few days each week, he adds.

Time for a Head of Remote?

But what does it take to effectively lead a fullyremote workforce? Management means different things to different leaders, and those accustomed to having direct oversight of their reports might struggle to grasp the nuances of managing a team from afar.

If this is the case, DeSanto suggests hiring a Head of Remote to act as a steward for the company's remote working strategy, operations and employee experience. "What we've found was, heaving the Head of Remote, [meant] there is someone there who is constantly looking out for those pitfalls [of remote working] as we grew," he explains.

"Having a head of remote enables the company to essentially have that [person] who's looking out for the company as a whole, and more importantly the employees of the company - making sure that they are getting what they need."

A Head of Remote should be someone with a strong "people-first background", says DeSanto. Whether that person has a tech background is less important than having a people-first mentality and the ability to think outside the box, making them empathetic and innovative leaders

This brings DeSanto to his final recommendation for fully-remote employers – putting employee needs first, and leading by example. "Look at the organization and ask yourself, can you be more transparent with your team members?" he says.

"What I've seen in some companies is they'll say they're going to do hybrid or remote, and then the leadership still goes into the office. This sets the expectation that they probably need to be in the office too.

"As a leader here, I'm more transparent here than I ever was in my career. Because I want everyone, regardless of where they are, to be aware of what I'm doing, that requires me to be aware of what I'm doing."

https://www.zdnet.com/article/ditching-the-officefor-good-how-to-build-a-successful-remoteworkplace

Image credit: linkedin.com

Venus Williams' Approach to Success Goes Against Everything You've Been Told: 'You Don't Have to Go All-In.'

By Emily Rella

VENUS WILLIAMS made her triumphant return to the tennis court this year after nearly a year off due to injuries. All eyes were on her during last month's U.S. Open, where things didn't go the way she planned — but she's not dwelling on it.

"I was definitely very rusty, just kind of hitting my stride," Williams tells me of her U.S. Open performance after taking a year off from competing in the tournament. "I'll be playing next year. I'm looking forward to it. [I'm] putting my work in early, being prepared."

Thinking 10 steps ahead is something that's propelled Williams to victory in seven Grand Slam singles and five Wimbledon championships, just to name a few of her accomplishments on the court. It's also how she's built two wildly successful companies — activewear brand EleVen and interior design firm V Starr.

"It's all the same," Williams explains of the similarities between playing tennis and her approach to running her businesses. "You have to plan ahead, you have to prepare, you have to set goals, you have to reevaluate when it doesn't work out. You have to build the right team ... To see the work that our team can produce and for us

to succeed together, it's such a great feeling."

Teamwork has long been an important facet of Williams' tennis and business careers, and prioritizing it is part of why she's chosen certain partners to sell her products through.

One of the biggest of these partners is Amazon. Aside from selling EleVen products through the retailer, Williams has also partnered with the company on Amazon Launchpad, a platform that was created to launch and elevate small businesses.

"I want my product to be accessible; I want people to have the opportunity to find them easily," she says of her decision to work with the company, pointing out how it furthers her commitment to accessibility and building the right team. "Amazon gives you such great tools to be able to reach those customers and build your business. Once you launch, you're not there by yourself. You are fully supported to be able to succeed."

Williams took her commitment one step further when she spoke last month at the Amazon Accelerate conference, an inperson and virtual event based in Seattle that is dedicated to promoting the long-term

success of Amazon selling partners.

Yet Williams' grand slam piece of advice for getting a company off the ground is counterintuitive to everything budding entrepreneurs have been told: You don't have to make your business your entire life

Multitasking is an art, sure, but for Williams, it goes much deeper than that.

Perhaps it's not about juggling as many things as you can but understanding that you can pursue multiple passions at the same time while carefully assessing when to make moves in either direction. It's like anticipating your next swing by watching the motion of the ball.

"Being an entrepreneur doesn't mean you have to go all-in," Williams says. "People think it means I have to quit my job and now live off my credit card and here we go — it may or may not work. You can always start your business and your new dream while you work your current job to mitigate the risk. You don't have

to take all the risks that people often envision — they think that entrepreneurs are the riskiest people on the planet, and a lot of times they aren't."

Williams practices what she preaches, and she does it seemingly effortlessly. When she founded V Starr in 2002, she was simultaneously ranked No. 1 in the world by the World Tennis Association.

Despite being entirely different challenges, the roadblocks to success in both business and tennis have been strikingly similar, the largest being inequality and the expectation that women have to work harder and make more noise to succeed.

Williams says she's experienced it firsthand in the sports world, from being paid

unequally to being offered fewer opportunities than her male counterparts.

She points to the U.S. women's soccer team's equal pay deal, saying that the decision was long overdue but isn't enough.

"There's a lot of work to be done," she says bluntly. "And it's so important for women and men to step up and put their hands up and say, 'I see this. I want to do something about it.'"

It's part of what's inspired her to start EleVen's Privilege Tax Campaign, which highlights the gender wage gap in the United States. According to the most recent data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, women in the U.S. still earned an average of 17% less than men at the end of 2021.

"When you leave the United States that gap gets wider," Williams says. "If we keep up this pace, maybe in the next 100 years we'll be able to bridge that

gap, but we need to bridge it sooner."

It's that look-ahead approach coming into play again as she explains that part of being successful in any endeavor is doing your research in a way that allows you to "know the bumps and the pitfalls along the way that can happen."

After all, success for Williams has always come by balancing her different passions.

"I've been really blessed to do something that I love, which is tennis, for my entire life," she says. "And I thought, [In] my next chapter, which I want to start before the first chapter is over, I'm gonna do something I love."

Although love might translate to zero in tennis terms, when it comes to Williams and her drive to take her businesses and career to next level, it means everything.

https://www.entrepreneur.com/ living/venus-williams-approachto-success-goes-againsteverything/437493

Image credit: usanewscourt. com, affi.io, tophoteldesign.com

Venus Williams

Memphis Mayor Teams Up With SBA and Operation Hope to Drive Black Economic Development

By Stacy Jackson

ALL HANDS ARE ON DECK to drive Black economic development.

Members of the U.S. Small Business Administration and John Hope Bryant, CEO of Operation HOPE, gathered Thursday with Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland to discuss the goal to provide resources to help small Black-owned businesses grow into successful companies.

According to Action News 5, Mayor Strickland revealed his efforts toward supporting Black businesses, including the increase in contract opportunities he has provided to Black entrepreneurs.

“We had to do better contracting for services from the city government. When I took office it was about 12% of contracts. We have basically doubled that amount,” Strickland said.

Operation HOPE and the City of Memphis collaborated with the One Million Black Business and Entrepreneur Initiative back in February 2021 to expand on its mission to drive Black economic development across the United States.

“We aim to start, grow, and scale 1 million Black businesses by 2030 to provide a successful path to wealth creation for the black community,” the website states.

Operation HOPE was founded by entrepreneur and philanthropist John Hope Bryant with a vision to create an innovative approach to uplifting the community and addressing critical issues facing

corporations and financial institutions. The American non-profit organization partners with “like-minded players” to provide resources that target systemic issues like economic inequality, financial illiteracy, social injustice, inequitable access to capital, and lack of financial dignity.

“My business has encountered and taken full advantage of the City of Memphis’ certification process, Operation HOPE’s 1MBB program and the SBA’s programs/trainings, and COVID recovery,” said Nicole Gates, owner of She-EO Unlimited. “Thanks to Operation HOPE, I completed their in-depth entrepreneur training program and even became Shopify certified.”

Action News 5 reported that together Operation HOPE and the City of Memphis aim to support 500 Black-owned small businesses through the initiative by the end of Strickland’s term..

https://www.blackenterprise.com/memphismayor-discusses-resources-for-small-blackowned-businesses-with-the-u-s-small-businessadministration-and-operation-hope/ Image credit: PR Newswire, allevents.in, PR Newswire

John Hope Bryant (Photo courtesy of Bryant) Photography by Greg Kahn

At

1MBB - Drive Black Economic Development Across the United States

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ARE YOU STARTING A BUSINESS?

• A 1MBB Navigator will help you sign up for a Small Business Course

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Black Woman Entrepreneur Says She Now Owns a $3.5M Intermodal Container Operation After Leaving Her Teaching Job

By Samantha Dorisca

HOUSTONIAN ASHLEY WILLIAMS-BOOKER

honed multiple jobs before she switched career paths and hit the jackpot.

Booker is the founder of Complete Logistics Service, a multi-million dollar asset-based company that supplies intermodal drayage services in Texas. She is responsible for transporting over 2,500 containers per year, and according to information provided to AfroTech, Booker leads one of the top 25 small business drayage companies in Houston, TX.

Before reaching her stature in the business world, Booker had received a degree in accounting from Texas Southern University. She went on to become a geometry teacher and financial advisor simultaneously in different districts.

Her pivot toward trucking happened after her friend introduced her, then taught her to dispatch.

Within her first week, Booker successfully organized a group of carriers and helped them grow their fleet. She also says earned $8,000 that week alone (ten times her income as a teacher).

Once the check cleared, Booker knew there was no going back.

She later applied her new-found knowledge and immersed herself fully into the venture launching her own company in 2014. Four years later, she shifted to a specific niche.

“I am in the intermodal industry, meaning that I assist with the drayage, which is the truck we pick up from the port. We deliver to the receiver or the shipper and we bring it back to the port or I pick it up from rail and sea. I deal with the part of intermodal that basically is needed for every human to survive from tissue paper to what you order on Amazon, all that comes through sea and through rail. So, my niche is mastering the port and the railroads and making sure that everyone receives their product in bulk,” Booker told AfroTech.

The pivot allowed her to make what she says is

around three times her earnings. Yet, it wasn’t necessarily the money that was the draw for Booker. Instead, she grew frustrated with the restrictions of the partial loads from box trucks.

“The box truck industry is very hard to survive because you’re limited on the amount of space and weight that you can put on your truck. So, for a load that will go for $1,500 in an 18-wheeler with a full 53-foot trailer, I would only be able to get $300 or $400 of that because I had a smaller truck that could only limit a certain amount of freight on it. So, it wasn’t really the money, it was just the frustration of getting partial loads. I didn’t like it. So, I failed,” Booker explained.

Launching her business was a personal milestone for Booker, but her venture did hit some potholes, causing her to halt her authority for a year.

When Booker returned, she secured two semitrucks and then dispatched for a few months. Booker reveals that she profited $50,000 and invested it to purchase two trucks that would support full loads. It was the revenue from this investment that helped her find security in the industry in 2018.

“I launched my business actually in 2014, but I had to put it on pause because it wasn’t going right. So, I switched up my business plan. I did more research and made sure the next time I came back — which was 2018 — I was in a better mind frame and I knew the direction that I wanted to go in,” Booker said.

Booker is now uniquely positioned and does not rely on her hard cash to purchase trucks. Now, she finances her trucks, some valued at $60,000.

Within 90 days, the truck pays itself off at little cost to her capital, which is made possible through an early payoff program.

“What I would do is — they were only charging me probably about $2,700 down. So, that’s the only capital that I would have to come in, with and I would run the truck approximately a week or two after I got it from the auction, and once the truck has made the money to pay itself off, I would pay it off within 120 days. I never used my capital or my business funds or my personal funds to purchase a truck. I would buy the truck and it will pay itself off,” Booker told AfroTech.

Now, Booker tells us that Complete Logistics Service is worth $3.5 million.

Yet, that may not be what she considers her biggest accomplishment.

“That was a big accomplishment for me because I’ve always been in paid parking where I had to pay $200 per parking spot for my trucks to be safe in house. But when my business began to grow, I was literally triple parking in one parking spot because I had so many containers that didn’t kick me out.

So, I was able to purchase a 10-acre lot in what we call the mecca of trucking in Houston in the prime real estate area for trucking. That’s when I knew, I made it,” Booker said.

Alongside running her business, Booker is working to ensure she creates a pathway for others to follow through her Surviving Intermodal course.

“

My personal mission is to just spread awareness and let people know that anybody can do this. It doesn’t matter your color,” Booker said. “If you’re a woman, if you’re a man, anyone can do it.”

She continued: “I am not different from my nextdoor neighbor or from anybody that I’m approached by. I’m just some regular person. I just took time out to invest in myself and invest in my family and you shouldn’t be afraid to do that either.”!

https://www.msn.com/en-us/lifestyle/lifestylebuzz/black-woman-entrepreneur-says-she-nowowns-a-3-5m-intermodal-container-operationafter-leaving-her-teaching-job/ar-AA13n7oh

Image credit: https://survivingintermodal.thinkific. com/

GROWING UP, Kimiloluwa Fafowora had an image in her mind, shaped by media, of what success looked like. Spoiler alert: as a young Black immigrant to the United States that image did not look like her. Not only did this influence some of the early choices she made-including changing her look to better fit in--but it impacted how others saw her too, creating perceptual limits to her academic pursuits. Over time, she used this experience as fuel to create change. In 2021, Fafowora launched Gander-a tech-enabled solution for integrating user generated videos on e-commerce sites. In an industry that prioritizes seeing people as data, Gander offers a different experience: technology that sees people as people. By giving a more diverse group of people a powerful tool to speak, everyone wins: people feel seen and heard, and brands learn and sell more. Here, the founder

Gander Founder Kimiloluwa Fafowora on Building an E-commerce Brand

By Mark Miller

Kimiloluwa Kafowora

Photo By Elena Zhukova

of Gander talks about breaking down barriers to change, creating new role models for women

in technology, and finding and keeping your entrepreneurial fire.

You founded Gander as an e-commerce tool, and marketing solution, around principles like diversity and inclusion. What first motivated the business idea and what continues to drive you onward?

One of my earliest memories dates back to when I was in first grade. I remember wanting to straighten my hair and change my eye color. I wanted green eyes. When I went shopping with my mom, I literally begged her to buy specific products because I genuinely believed if I used the right combination, I would be able to transform myself into a completely different person. Looking back, that was the first moment where I realized the impact that marketing, advertising and media had on my self-perception. And then, things escalated. In the ninth grade, in my first meeting with my college counselor, I shared that I would love to go to an Ivy League school. I was a good student. I was at the top of my class. She laughed. When she caught her breath she said, “Sweetie, Ivy League schools don’t accept people who look like you.”

That moment stayed with me. There was something about her perception of who did and didn’t deserve success that drove her to almost keep me from getting to where I wanted to go. The impact of images in the media didn’t just affect my selfperception, it also influenced how others looked at me. A fire was lit. I was moved to act. I was accepted at Harvard University where I completed

an undergraduate degree in economics with high honors. Next, I completed my MBA at the Stanford University Graduate School of Business. Knowing firsthand the negative impact of media stereotypes, I tapped into my life experience as well as academic skillset to more positively influence the landscape-to innovate a more inclusive marketing and media idea.

In late 2021, I launched Gander as a solution for letting real people, especially diverse people, have control over telling their story. My aim was for marketers to start better serving people and not the other way around. Gander uses technology to collect and embed user generated videos on e-commerce sites. For some, we only provide the backend software that enables brands to share the user-generated content they have and put it on display--so real people are talking to real people about their brand experience. For others, we’ll also source diverse shoppers, ship trial products, help capture video, then upload their actual experience directly to our software. There are many reasons marketers avoid letting real people speak for them-including technological barriers to change. Gander has taken the complexity out of the process and, in so doing, has removed some of the barriers. Now, more types of people can share their actual brand experience, not just the stereotypes we’re accustomed to seeing from brands. Recently, Gander was in the news for raising capital. The brand is also earning a reputation for some notable new collaborations. What have you learned from the early brand success?

Gander is still a young and small company, but we’re growing quickly. We’ve raised $4.2 million of seed funding above our pre-seed capital. Our solution is being integrated by a diverse group of brands--from apparel to food and beverage and beauty brands--across a range of e-commerce sites. I am particularly proud of our recent collaboration with MUDWTR, a unique brand encouraging individuals to find balance on a daily basis. That said, Gander’s success is not overnight. It’s the result of hard work and ongoing learning.

Culture glamorizes entrepreneurship and building something, but not enough time is spent talking about how difficult it is. I started my first e-commerce brand, apparel for young women, when I was in college. I launched it with my four older sisters. It was a good experience, but also a tough one. I knew nothing and the business didn’t do well. It failed miserably. For context, we launched when e-commerce brands were starting to scale advertising on social media sites such as Facebook, Google and Instagram--which were all relatively affordable at the time. Having access to social media wasn’t the issue. Communicating what made our brand different, and relevant, was the problem.

Despite the early failure, my appetite for learning how great brands worked grew. After completing my undergraduate degree, I initially did a stint in finance. Next, I went to work for a business that scaled 25 brands. While there, I learned a lot more about e-commerce--including how to better connect; how to lead with humanity, especially in a space that was driven by technology. Gander started to emerge not only as an aspiration, but something that I could really succeed at as a result.

There are many tough days at Gander, even now, but I am driven by ambition to create a more diverse and inclusive space in the media landscape, proud of the leaders and brands that are our collaborators, confident in what I have learned, and more confident that I still have a lifetime of learning left to go.

At the start, you shared that a lack of representation helped to motivate the launch of Gander. Today, who are the role models you look to, if any, for inspiration?

For female minorities, there are a growing number of role models--albeit still too few--we tend to turn to for inspiration. In sports, we have someone like Serena Williams. She is a strong black female who has done amazing things. In politics, people like Michelle Obama and Stacey Abrams are both trailblazers. In business, there are two people who really inspire me. The first, Carla Harris, is a Senior Client Advisor at Morgan Stanley, as well as a published author. She likes to write about how to show up in spaces where there haven’t been many before you. The second, Emma Grede, is cofounder at Good American. Emma is not only celebrating inclusivity in her work but, in so doing, she is also raising others behind her.

That said, in tech, there remains an overall lack of role models. I am not saying I want to be the first. In fact, I would prefer to be one of the many. Through Gander, I’m working to serve as one representative of what people can achieve--lifting others in tech like leaders in other spaces have lifted me.

Typically, brands in the e-commerce universe have a short-term orientation. In contrast, Gander takes the long view. What is the value in thinking long-term in a short-term world?

When social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram got started, they had focus: they were places where people with common interests would gather and share. As the number of users grew, marketers realized they could also use their platforms to influence purchase decisions. Their focus quickly shifted. They invested aggressively in evolving the sales part of their model. Initially, this was not well received by users who reminded brands why they were congregating in the first place--which wasn’t to be told what to buy. In being so short-term focused, prioritizing commerce before people, the platforms were missing the bigger picture: the dynamics of how online communities like to interact, including the desire to be entertained.

For marketers building an e-commerce solution for the first time, it can get easy to get myopic-looking only at the next moment and not the larger context. Having learned that lesson, Gander takes a holistic view--considering consumers and culture; knowing that when you get those two things right commerce often follows. This is why sites that integrate our video solutions often see sales increases between 15-40%--by integrating strong aspects of diversity and inclusion, we’re keeping

people engaged and entertained. Thinking in a larger context, and looking further ahead, helps us make better decisions for today and tomorrow. Given your experience, what advice do you have for entrepreneurs working to make an ongoing difference with their business ideas?

First, find your fire. Second, recognize that things that look like setbacks can often become your fire. You know, at the start of this discussion, I shared my story about wanting to look a certain way to fit in. Then I shared my story about the college counselor who tried to limit my academic pursuits because I didn’t fit a certain stereotype. Those were both moments where, at the time, I felt sad. I felt defeated. I didn’t like the way the world worked. At the same time, I used those moments as fuel to change things. Now, I am building this amazing company, Gander, as my response.

Being an entrepreneur is hard work. You’ll experience long days and nights and stressful situations. There’ll be many times when you’ll feel like you’re getting things all wrong. Especially during these periods my encouragement is to not be deterred, don’t back down, and to keep the fire burning.

https://www.inc.com/mark-miller-2/ganderfounder-kimiloluwa-fafowora-on-building-an-ecommerce-brand.html

Image credit: apps.shopify.com, gogander.io

‘I’m not Going to Change the World by Myself, but I can Start.’: How UOMA Beauty’s Founder Merges Activism and Makeup to Fight for Change

From Entrepreneur Magazine

SHARON CHUTER WAS RUNNING away from something — fast — when she decided to launch her own inclusive, Black-owned cosmetics company, UOMA Beauty, in 2019.

She was running from the beauty industry‘s open secret: It caters primarily to women, but the conglomerates that dominate the market have historically been helmed by white men, a structure she calls traumatic to women and people of color — and one she’s working hard to dismantle, disrupt and transform.

The ramifications of this structure are farreaching. It wasn’t unheard of for beauty brands to offer just three shades of foundation and concealer. Lipstick shades are made to complement light skin tones. And the decision-makers for many brands ignore diversity except as a talking point, excluding marginalized communities in more ways than one.

“There’s such a thing as culpability by being complacent, and that’s what I was doing by sitting there getting a check while working for brands [where this was normal],” Chuter says.

“I mean, a concealer in three shades is insulting to everyone. Even white people come in more than three shades.”

Chuter wasn’t always going to be an activist and beauty guru, though. The Nigerian-born entrepreneur was barely 16 years old when she started university, and she was on the path to earning a Ph.D. by 21 to become an aeronautical engineer. But she struggled with the balance between her creative side and her academic side, ultimately dropping out of university to pursue music.

But music doesn’t pay the bills “unless you’re Beyoncé,” Chuter says. While she was looking for a second job to help with finances, she realized she’d always loved makeup, but there weren’t many major beauty brands selling their products

in her home country.

So with her teenage naivete and a computer, she decided to email all the biggest beauty brands she could think of and brought Revlon to Nigeria at just 19 years old, all by a complete accident, she says.

“That’s the amazing thing about youth that we lose as we grow up, and it’s that spirit of naivete, which makes you try things with optimism, with no fear because you don’t even know yet that you can fail,” Chuter says.

“For the first time in my life, I found something where I could be creative, academic and entrepreneurial all at the same time.”

She worked her way up from the sales floor to the C-suite but left the corporate world to launch UOMA Beauty three years ago. Pronounced OMA (uh-mah), which means “beautiful” in Chuter’s native language, her brand‘s tenets are inclusivity, diversity, innovation, being anti-racist and namely, being your authentic self.

Chuter’s company’s mission comes from a place of personal understanding. As a Black woman growing up in Australia, she said she faced discrimination all her life, from whitewashing her appearance to fit in, to having ambassadors pull out of working with her brand because of its stance against racism.

“Take a person that looks like me,” Chuter says.

“From the day you were born, you understand very quickly that you’re different. Everything about you is wrong. Your lips are too big, your nose is too fat, your hair is too nappy.

“Beauty should be a democratic place to come to escape, and you’re not even welcome in here,” she continues.

“You have no escape. You’re living a life where you’re facing discrimination at every point, and all the things that other people get to escape to, you don’t. This is what most of us carry all of our lives,

and we don’t even have a safe space to talk about it because it makes other people uncomfortable.”

That’s where her brand comes in. Offering 51 shades of foundations and concealers, dozens of lipstick shades for all skin tones, eyeshadow palettes, bronzers, highlighters and a new face powder that’s going viral on social media, her goal is to create a place where anyone can feel seen, represented and heard.

“I understand the impact of non-inclusivity is not just functional. It’s not just about lipstick,” Chuter says.

“On some level, many people understand what it feels like to be left out, whether it’s because of your size, who you love, because you’re male and people think you can’t wear makeup. It was really important to create a community of weirdos, a community of misfits, a community of all the people who’ve been left behind.”

Chuter lives her mission beyond UOMA Beauty, too. After the murder of George Floyd in June 2020, she launched a grassroots social media campaign called Pull Up for Change, which called on beauty brands to display how many Black employees were on their payroll and the positions they held.

The social media campaign mobilized 130,000 people in four days, took over brand Instagram pages worldwide and pushed more than 300 brands — including big players such as Snapchat and L’Oréal — to publish diversity reports. It was so successful that the campaign turned into a nonprofit focused on advancing the economic well-being of Black communities around the world.

“One of the root causes of some of this is economic marginalization … We had big corporations — the guys who are the custodians of economic equality and equity — coming out to make donations to the NAACP and release statements preaching to people. You can’t be preaching to people when

you’re not ready to look at your own house,” Chuter says.

“We all have to look at ourselves — it’s the only way we’re going to solve this moving forward.”

In 2021, Black Americans in the workforce earned 30% less than their white counterparts, according to a McKinsey study — and 43% of Black workers earned less than $30,000 annually, compared to the median annual wage for all U.S. workers of $42,000. Black workers are also disproportionately represented in low-wage occupations, the study found.

Through her nonprofit, Chuter aims to close this racial disparity in business. She created a Small Business Impact Fund specifically designed to provide grants to early-stage Black entrepreneurs and founders who haven’t secured investment. Last year, it was able to funnel $400,000 to eight Black-owned businesses, and Chuter hopes to support even more this year and hit $1 million in funding.

As we approach the annual celebration of Women’s Equality Day, Chuter says we’ve come a long way, but we have an even longer way to go. Through all the obstacles, she says it’s important to remember where you came from, where you want to go and that pressure makes diamonds.

“With all the challenges people of color and women face, you have to be extraordinary to make it. But by the end of the day, it makes you extraordinary. Because of the way life shaped you and put you through fire and brimstone, you know you can do anything and survive anything,” Chuter says. “I’m not going to change the world by myself, but I can start.”

https://www.blackenterprise.com/im-not-going-tochange-the-world-by-myself-but-i-can-start-howuoma-beautys-founder-merges-activism-and-makeupto-fight-for-change//

Microsoft Partners with Meta to Bring Teams, Office, Windows, and Xbox to VR

By Tom Warren

 Xbox Cloud Gaming inside the Quest. Image: Meta

◄ Microsoft Teams on Meta’s Quest VR headsets. Image: Meta

MICROSOFT AND META looked like they were on a collision course last year, poised to compete heavily for the future of work in the metaverse. But today, both companies announced they are partnering to collaborate on how people will work and even game in virtual reality. That starts with Microsoft bringing its biggest services — Teams, Office, Windows, and even Xbox Cloud Gaming — to Meta’s Quest VR headsets.

It’s a surprise partnership that will see Microsoft and Meta combine their strengths. Microsoft sees an opportunity to bring Teams and its other productivity experiences to a capable VR headset, and Meta gets a key partner in its grand metaverse plan.

“We are bringing a Microsoft Teams immersive meeting experience to Meta Quest in order to give people new ways to connect with each other,” Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said during Meta Connect today. “You can connect, share,

collaborate as though you were together in person.”

The Teams experience the new Quest Pro and Quest 2 headsets will even include Microsoft adapting Meta’s avatar system for Teams and Teams getting support within Meta’s own Horizon Workrooms. “People will be able to join a Teams meeting directly from Workrooms,” Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said during the event. “We think that this cross-device, cross-screen experience will be the foundation of the virtual office of the future.”

This virtual office of the future won’t just be about meetings. Microsoft is bringing Windows 365 to Quest, the company’s platform for streaming full versions of Windows to devices.

“With Windows 365 coming to Quest, you’ll have a new way to securely stream the entire Windows experience, including all the personalized apps, content, and settings to your VR device with the full power of Windows and Windows applications,” Nadella said.

Microsoft is also bringing 2D versions of its Office apps to Quest through its Progressive Web Apps (PWA) technology. These won’t be full-blown 3D versions of O ffice designed for VR, but if there’s an appetite for VR in the enterprise, then it’s easy to imagine Microsoft adapting them in the future.

Xbox Cloud Gaming will even make its way to Meta’s Quest VR headsets, allowing Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscribers to stream games. It’s not going to be as immersive as a native VR experience for Xbox games, but you’ll be able to pick up an Xbox controller and play them on a giant screen projected inside a Quest headset.

The key here is this close and unusual partnership between Meta and Microsoft. While the pair have collaborated on Teams for Meta’s Portal devices and on some integrations for SharePoint and Outlook, this is the first big partnership since the deep Facebook integration in Windows Phone more than a decade ago.

Microsoft appears to be hedging its own bets on the future of work in VR and AR headsets, or as Microsoft likes to call them, mixed reality. Microsoft has previously experimented with Windows Mixed Reality VR headsets, but it never manufactured its own device, and the software work was lackluster compared to more established players like Oculus (now Meta Quest) or Valve and HTC. Microsoft had invested more heavily in HoloLens, its AR headset that it has pitched to businesses as the future of collaboration.

Alex Kipman, who led Microsoft teams that

developed the company’s HoloLens headset and the Kinect motion controller, resigned after allegations of verbal abuse and sexual harassment earlier this year. That’s left the future of HoloLens in doubt, particularly as rumors suggest Microsoft has scrapped plans for HoloLens 3.

That makes the timing of Microsoft’s Meta partnership particularly intriguing, as Nadella seeks to align Microsoft as the software and productivity tool company for VR devices instead of the manufacturer. “We’re taking an approach to ensure that our software can benefit users on all their favorite devices, and that’s why I’m so thrilled about what we’re announcing today and how we’re bringing together the power of many of our most popular productivity tools with the new VR devices you’re announcing,” Nadella said.

Meta now has a key ally in its bid to make the metaverse a reality, just as there are clear signs it’s going to be a challenging environment to get right. Meta has tried for years to make inroads with enterprise customers through its Workplace platform, but by partnering more closely with Microsoft Teams in VR, it’s a clear admission of defeat when it comes to the future of workplace productivity and collaboration apps. Microsoft’s Mesh work for Teams was particularly impressive in virtual meetings last year, so it will be interesting to see how the company brings that to life in Meta’s Quest headsets.

It’s still early days for this partnership, with more details on exactly when these experiences will land in the coming months. You can expect to hear more about Teams and perhaps Microsoft’s 3D metaverse avatars soon, as the company is holding its Ignite conference in Seattle, where it will discuss the future of work, security, and more.

https://www.theverge.com/2022/10/11/23397251/ meta-microsoft-partnership-quest-teams-officewindows-features-vr

Middle East and African Airlines to Post Profit in 2022 as

By Deena Kamel

Airlines based in the Middle East and Africa will end the year in the black, despite macroeconomic headwinds, as air travel demand outstrips available seat capacity, the International Air Transport Association's regional chief said.

Passenger traffic has reached 80% of 2019 levels before Covid-19, lifting revenue and pushing operators into profitability, Kamil AlAwadhi, regional vice president for Africa and the Middle East at Iata, told The National on the sidelines of the Bahrain International Airshow.

“To be quite frank, I'm quite proud of them. Having run an airline myself, I know how complicated it is on a normal day, without all these variables and uncertainty and lack of visibility,” Mr Al-Awadhi, the former chief executive of Kuwait Airways, said.

“Where they're at right now is evidence that they've done a good job in surviving on their own predominantly.”

“When it comes to revenue, it will be positive for the airlines because as the demand outstrips the supply, they're reaping some of the cash that compensates some of the losses.

“It doesn't compensate their losses from 2020 and 2021, but at least it keeps them afloat, adds some cash for them to recover some issues like routes that they shut down, aircraft they parked and maintenance they suspended.

“They will return to the black for this fiscal year, not overall, that will take a few years to recover the losses they've had in 2020-2021.

“In 2022, they will probably make a better profit than 2019, but that doesn't cover the losses made in 2020 and 2021.”

This is because demand in 2019 was lower than the available seat capacity, whereas in 2022, there is higher travel demand and fewer seats, which drives up the air fare and the airlines make more profit per flight, Mr Al-Awadhi said.

This latest update on the regional airline's profitability is an improvement on Iata's last industry report in the summer.

In June, Iata upgraded its outlook for the global airline industry’s 2022 financial performance as the pace of recovery from the Covid-19 crisis quickened.

Middle East-based carriers' net losses were expected to narrow to $1.9 billion this year, from a $4.7bn loss last year, while travel demand is expected to reach 79.1%, Iata said at the time.

In the Middle East, the reopening of international routes and long-haul flights in particular will provide a “welcome boost” for many airlines, it said in June.

For Africa-based airlines, net losses are forecast to be $700 million this year, with demand expected to reach 72% of 2019 levels, Iata said.

Major airlines in the region have reported record profits so far this year.

Emirates, the world's largest

s Demand Recovers

AIRLINE

NATION INFO

Air Algérie Algeria Top 10 Africa

Tassili Airlines Algeria Air Botswana Botswana

Air Cairo Egypt EgyptAir Egypt Top 10 Africa Nile Air Egypt Ethiopian Airlines Ethiopia Top 10 Africa Africa World Airlines Ghana

Air Côte d’Ivoire Ivory Coast

long-haul airline, reported a record profit in the first half of the current financial year on strong travel demand during the peak summer season as international borders reopened and coronavirus restrictions eased.

The airline posted a Dh4bn profit in the April to September period, compared with a loss of Dh5.8bn in the same period last year, Emirates said on Thursday. It cited its ability to increase capacity in response to the surge in travel demand.

Budget carrier Air Arabia, the UAE's only publicly listed airline, posted a record third-quarter profit amid strong air travel demand across its six hubs.

Net profit for the three-month period that ended on September 30 nearly doubled to Dh416m, from Dh209m in the same quarter last year.

https://www.thenationalnews.com/ business/aviation/2022/11/11/middleeast-and-african-airlines-to-postprofit-in-2022-as-demand-recovers Image credit: masonstravelblog.com

Fly540 Kenya Jambojet Kenya Kenya Airways Kenya Top 10 Africa Air Mauritius Mauritius Top 10 Africa Royal Air Maroc Morocco Top 10 Africa FlyNamibia Namibia NEW

Arik Air Nigeria Top 10 Africa Dana Air Nigeria RwandAir Rwanda

Airlink South Africa Top 10 Africa

FlySafair South Africa kulula South Africa Owned by Comair Limited Mango South Africa Owned by South African Airways

South African Airways South Africa Top 10 Africa

Badr Airlines Sudan Sudan Airways Sudan Tunisair Tunisia Top 10 Africa Tunisair Express Tunisia Nouvelair Tunisia

Proflight Zambia Zambia Air Zimbabwe Zimbabwe Source: https://airmundo.com/en/blog/list-of-airlines-in-africa/

Clean Energy Has a Tipping Point, and 87 Countries Have Reached It

Solar power, electric cars, grid-scale batteries, heat pumps—the world is crossing into a mass-adoption moment for green technologies.

By Tom Randall

ON NEW YEAR'S EVE, 1879, Thomas Edison flipped the switch on the first building strung up with electric light bulbs. Night turned into day, and the revelers rang in a new age of electricity.

Edison was thinking way beyond bulbs: He planned an entire grid to carry power from coal generators directly into homes. It took another quarter century for electricity to reach the first 5% of US households—but that proved to be a tipping point. By 1950, the entire country was connected. A similar pattern of adoption—gradually, then suddenly—echoed around the world.

Today there’s a new Edison-level transformation under way. It affects how we generate the power that flows to our electrical outlets—and what gets plugged into those zero-emission electrons. Bloomberg Green has identified tipping points for 10 clean-energy technologies, from electric motorcycles to heat pumps and rooftop solar panels. New analysis shows which countries have crossed the threshold and how quickly those markets then expanded.

It all starts with the transition to clean energy, now approaching full speed with 87 countries drawing at least 5% of their electricity from wind and solar. The US hit 5% in 2011 and surged past 20% renewable electricity last year. If the country follows the trend set by others at the leading edge, wind and solar will account for half of US powergenerating capacity just 10 years from now. That would be years—or even decades—earlier than major forecasts.

With all good technologies, there comes a time when buying the old tech no longer makes sense. Think smartphones in the 21st century, color TVs in the 1970s, or even gasoline-powered cars in Henry Ford’s day.

Successful technologies follow an S-shaped adoption curve. Sales move at a crawl in the earlyadopter phase, then surprisingly quickly once things go mainstream. The top of the curve represents the last people to make the transition. Even in 2022, a tenth of humanity still doesn’t have electricity.

Five percent isn’t a universal tipping point. Some technologies flip sooner, others later, but the basic idea is the same: Once the tough investments in manufacturing have been made and consumer preferences start to shift, the first wave of adoption sets the conditions to go much bigger. By examining the countries that reach each tipping point first, we begin to get a sense of what to expect from those that follow.

Intermittent renewables tend to work better in combination—so when the sun sets in Spain, wind from Denmark might make up some of the gap. But even on their own, specific types of renewable energy show distinct adoption curves. Deploying enormous wind turbines can be difficult, so adoption is more gradual. Solar cells, on the other hand, can pop up just about anywhere once they’re affordable, so growth after the tipping point can be more explosive.

One phenomenon underpinning the tipping points is known as the experience curve. Wind

Battery housing during a tour of System in Moss Landing, Califo Bloomberg

and solar are technologies, not fuels, so the more panels and turbines are deployed, the better we get at making them. Every time the global supply of solar doubles, the cost of adding more installations declines by almost 30%, according to decades of data from BloombergNEF.

As more countries tipped into mass adoption, wind and solar became the cheapest sources of new electricity capacity worldwide, according to BloombergNEF data. Cost declined so much that it's no longer the biggest obstacle to expansion. “Now it’s about permitting, interconnecting,

BloombergNEF. “These processes aren’t always able to keep up with the economics.”

The need for giant batteries

The most difficult challenge in cleaning up the grid is providing flexible sources of power that can ramp up or down as needed. Most flexible generation today is provided by natural gas and coal. Only in the past few years did battery prices fall enough to compete. From West Texas to South Australia, grid operators have been snatching them up.

During California’s record heat wave in September, batteries helped prevent a blackout by storing up excess power in the morning and then deploying it during the early-evening hours when everyone got home from work and cranked up the air conditioners. During critical peak hours, batteries supplied more power to Californians than nuclear reactors.

The pairing of batteries with renewables is only likely to accelerate, notes Nat Bullard, an early stage climate technology investor at Voyager Ventures and senior contributor to BloombergNEF. “There will be more batteries next year, whereas the nuclear fleet is not going to grow any time soon.”

Plugging everything in

More than 70 countries have set targets to cut their greenhouse gas pollution to zero,including China, the US, and Europe. Those three biggest polluters and the others aimed at net zero together account for more than 75% of global emissions.

Reaching net-zero goals requires both cleaning up the power grid while expanding what gets plugged into it. One of the biggest challenges is replacing fossil fuel boilers for heating. Producing heat—for keeping warm, manufacturing, or farming in greenhouses— is responsible for roughly half the world’s final energy consumption, and the demand is greatest during winter months when solar power is weakest.

central planning around grids,” says Logan Goldie-Scot, head of clean power research at

The solution is the electric heat pump. These devices aren’t new, but they’ve become cheaper and even more efficient in recent years. They can reduce energy consumption

the Elkhorn Battery Energy Storage rnia. Photographer: Nic Coury/ Heat pump Photographer: Nic Coury/Bloomberg

Clean Energy from page 37

from heating and cooling by as much as 70%. Heat pumps are also being used for more efficient water heaters, washing machines, and even electric cars. The only thing holding them back is their higher upfront cost, which many governments are now subsidizing.

Heat pumps have already replaced about 20% of boilers in Europe, saving consumers more than $100 billion a year, according to data from the European Heat Pump Association. The energy crisis brought on by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has made them all the more attractive, and installers can’t keep up with demand, according to Thomas Nowak, the industry group’s secretary general.

"If you want to plan for winter, you have to plan for winter 2023." Nowak says. “No one in Europe wants gas in their homes now. Growth is limited only by installation capacity and the availability of heat pumps.”

Next stop: transportation

Transportation is responsible for a quarter of the world’s energy consumption. As with heat pumps, the fuel savings for EVs often makes the total cost of ownership less than their fossil-fuel alternatives, even when the upfront sticker prices are higher.

The US is the latest country to pass what’s become a critical EV tipping point: 5% of new car sales powered only by batteries. If the US follows the trend established by 18 countries that preceded it, a quarter of new car sales could be electric by the end of 2025.

It’s reasonable to expect a similar EV tipping point around the world, since most impediments are universal: not enough chargers, expensive sticker prices, and a lack of consumer awareness. The 5% threshold is where these obstacles give way.

South Korea’s adoption curve starting in 2021 ends up looking a lot like China’s in 2018. Both resemble Norway after it first touched 5% in 2013. Up next to cross that threshold: Canada, Australia and Spain.

Solar panels are reflected in the windows of

a Volkswagen EV at the company's plant in Zwickau, Germany. Photographer: Krisztian Bocsi/ Bloomberg

Widening the category of EVs

Expand the category from battery-only cars to include plug-in hybrids—popular in Europe— and the world has surpassed 20 million electric vehicles on the road—or roughly 2% of the total fleet. BloombergNEF projects that figure will double again by the end of next year. In the US, more than half of new cars will come with a plug by the end of the decade, according to a BloombergNEF forecast updated to reflect consumer incentives enacted this summer.

Interestingly, plug-in hybrids didn’t conform as well to the tipping-point dynamic until reaching 10% of new vehicle sales. The reason might have to do with the lower barriers to entry, which meant that initial sales could easily be swayed by changes to local incentives or vehicle availability. The US and China mostly skipped plug-in hybrids, and even today the US hasn’t crossed the 10% threshold.

The data shows tipping-point dynamics for the adoptions of EVs and hybrids combined as well as two wheelers, including motorcycles and mopeds. It turns out that automakers have tipping points, too, a threshold beyond which their EV output accelerates. This makes sense when considering the time and cost—factories must be retooled and supply chains reconfigured. In Europe, for instance, once 10% of an automaker’s quarterly sales go electric, the share of EVs triples in less than two years.

The way we produce and use electricity is undergoing a series of simultaneous transformations that will ultimately determine the scale of climate change. These various technologies collectively make up their own sort of early-stage tipping point for building a climate-safe energy system. The date by which the world will successfully cross that threshold is the biggest question that remains.

https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2022-cleanenergy-electric-cars-tipping-points/

Using donkeys to haul their equipment, groups of women in Kenya are going door to door, hoping villagers will see the light–and benefits–of adding renewable solar energy in their homes.. https://www. goodnewsnetwork. org/maasai-womenand-donkeysbring-solar-powerto-those-who-needit-most/

HowanAccidentalDiscovery CouldChangetheWorld

By William Lockett

EVERY NOW AND THEN, revolutionary technology seems to spontaneously appear out of thin air and change our world. Dynamite, penicillin, X-ray machines, and even microwaves are all examples of such revolutionary accidental discoveries.

Well, this year we may have had yet another. However, this time it is set not only to revolutionize the way we live, but potentially save our planet from looming climate change by unlocking an elusive technology: lithium-sulfur batteries.

For decades, we have been searching for the best technology to power our modern lifestyle and enable clean technology, like electric cars. Since the early ‘90s, the battery technology of choice has been lithium-ion

It powers everything from phones and Teslas to energy grid backup facilities and even satellites. But despite the fact they have brought us into the 21st century, they have some severe downsides.

First, the materials that are needed to build them, like cobalt, are typically very environmentally damaging to mine. They destroy vast ecosystems and even leach out toxic chemicals. (In practice, there is also a humanitarian question, as some of these mines’ working conditions are deadly and use child labor.)

Then there is the lifecycle problem. We demand quicker charge times from our devices. This goes for everything from phones to cars. But, as anyone with a smartphone will tell you, lithium-ion batteries can quickly lose capacity if you repeatedly charge them quickly.

Battery degradation is a serious worry, particularly for the EV world. Secondhand EVs can sometimes be useless if the battery is spent, which will cost a small fortune to replace. Overall, this is slowing down EV adoption and also means that electronic waste, which is already a considerable problem, will only worsen.

Sulfur is key to the Drexel discovery. (Credit: Ivar Leidus / Wikimedia Commons)

There is also a density problem. Lithium-ion packs are relatively energy-dense, but they are still quite heavy, large, and bulky. This limits electric cars’ range because the batteries are so heavy, and it makes the batteries unfeasible for some applications, like commercial electric planes and ships.

There is even a fire problem with lithium-ion batteries, as a damaged cell can spontaneously catch on fire and burn intensely. Just look at what happened with some of Samsung’s old phones (Note 7) and the Rimac EV that Richard Hammond crashed

This is why scientists at Drexel were looking into a brand new type of battery, known as lithium-sulfur.

On the surface, lithium-sulfur seems to solve all of lithium-ion’s problems. It uses far less ecologically harmful materials, can be cheaper to produce, can be up to three times more energy-dense (meaning a lighter battery) and is far less likely to catch fire. All without compromising charge speeds.

So, what’s the catch? Why don’t we already have them?

Well, they have one huge problem. While a lithium-ion battery can be useable for around 2000 charge cycles, lithium-sulfur is typically limited to around only half that. So, after a year or two of proper use, a lithium-sulfur battery is basically dead.

To solve this, the Drexel team was trying new approaches to lithium-sulfur, by changing compounds in the battery’s cathode.

Their goal was to slow down the chemical

reaction that creates polysulfides when the battery charges and discharges. These crystals effectively take sulfur out of the electrode and ultimately cause a massive loss of capacity. Slowing them down could make these very energy-dense batteries last longer.

But what they found instead was something incredible: a chemical phase of sulfur that basically stops battery degradation! They were so shocked by this discovery that they had to check 100 times to ensure they weren’t misreading it.

This chemical phase is known as monoclinic gamma-phase sulfur but had only ever been observed in the lab at high temperatures — upwards of 95°C (203°F). This is the first time it has been seen at room temperature.

In the battery, this phase completely stops the reaction that creates polysulfides. This was so effective that the scientists sent the battery through 4,000 charge cycles without a drop in capacity, meaning it lasts at least twice as long as lithiumion.

It is also worth noting that their battery was three times as energy-dense as lithium-ion and could charge just as fast!

To say this is a remarkable discovery is a massive understatement. But this new phase of sulfur also has other benefits, like reducing battery expansion and increased safety margins. In other words, this battery has all of the hallmarks of the ultimate mass-market battery, and these scientists found it purely by accident.

As with most accidental discoveries, the

scientists haven’t yet figured out what is actually happening. They still don’t know why this phase of sulfur is created or how to ensure it stays that way. So further research is needed to answer these questions in order to develop a reliable battery that can be used in billions of computers, electric cars, and the like.

But it will be worth the wait as these batteries will weigh a third of the equivalent lithium-ion batteries and have twice their lifespan!

That means much faster, more efficient EVs with ranges of thousands miles will be commercially viable at a similar cost to today’s EVs. What’s more, they would actually still be useful in 10 years time, dramatically reducing waste and increasing the rate of EV adoption.

Furthermore, short-haul flights, cargo vessels, and passenger ferries will have a technology that will allow them to go fully electric. The weightsaving, long life, and competitive price will mean these sectors can finally achieve their low-carbon goals.

In short, lithium-sulfur batteries could allow a huge range of activities to go electric, making netzero emissions far more feasible.

Incredibly, it gets even better.

Lithium, sulfur, and other materials that make this new battery are abundant all over the Earth. This means we can drastically minimize mining’s ecological impact, as well as ensure a stronger supply chain.

But that isn’t the end of this discovery. The team at Drexel are already looking into using this breakthrough to make sodium-sulfur batteries. By removing the need for lithium, they can make batteries even more eco-friendly and eliminate a massive supply chain bottleneck, ensuring EV adoption can continue at the breakneck speeds carmakers are planning for.

This accidental discovery at Drexel is set to revolutionize the world’s power usage and help humanity transition toward a cleaner, carbonneutral society. Let’s just hope the team at Drexel can get this technology out of the lab and into our hands soon.

https://bigthink.com/the-future/lithium-sulfurbatteries/

Sulfur deposits stain Yellowstone’s Morning Glory Pool hot spring yellow. (Credit: Lukas Kloeppel / Pexel)

Wasp-inspiredDronecan3D-printStructuresontheFly

By Shelly Fan

I ADMIT: IF I SEE A BEEHIVE, I back away— fresh honey be damned. But part of me is also fascinated. Beehives are a remarkable feat of engineering. Made of materials from tree buds to chewed-up wax, swarms of bees deposit these raw ingredients into densely-packed honeycombs— each a geometric masterpiece—while flying in the air.

In stark contrast, human construction is far more land-bound. Bulldozers, compactors, and concrete mixers are highly effective, and they’ve been the backbone for establishing our infrastructure. But they’re also bulky, unwieldy, and require roads or other means of transportation. This kneecaps their ability to rapidly respond to natural disasters on islands and other remote locations that need quick help, especially after emergencies. Unfortunately, we’ve had increasingly frequent climate examples. Drastic road erosions due

to raging wildfires. Highways and bridges that crumble after being soaked in water from floods and hurricanes. Even as parts of Puerto Rico are still recovering from Hurricane Maria, many homes were once again flooded by Hurricane Fiona

Is there a way to rapidly build shelters—or even houses—in difficult-to-access areas and better tackle these emergencies?

Recently, a team from Imperial College London took inspiration from bees and engineered a cohort of autonomous drones that 3D prints any designed structure. Similar to a bee hive, each drone acts independently, but they work as a team. The entire fleet is dubbed aerial additive manufacturing (Aerial-AM).

Acting like bees, the drones each have different roles. Some are the builders—dubbed BuilDrones—which deposit material as they fly.

Others are ScanDrones, which act as managers that continuously scan the current build and provide feedback.

In several tests, the fleet printed multiple structures—using materials from foam to a cement-like goo—to millimeter accuracy with minimal human supervision. It’s still a far cry from a finessed 3D printed house, and more like a kid’s first attempt at pottery. Some structures resemble a rudimentary tower; others, a woven wicker basket.

We may be a ways from 3D printing bridges on the fly to evacuate people from an impending tropical storm. But the study shows a step towards that possibility. “Aerial-AM allows manufacturing in-flight and offers future possibilities for building in unbounded, at-height or hard-toaccess locations,” the authors said.

Robot Construction

Using robots to help with construction is nothing new. But thanks to increasingly sophisticated algorithms, they’ve become handy tools in the infrastructure business. One idea is to help with tasks like finishing drywall, dramatically reducing the time required. Another is to battle the housing shortage plaguing us all. In the past few years, 3D printed houses skyrocketed from fantasy to reality—from gorgeous tiny homes to affordable multi-room homes.

But what’s been lacking is the technology’s access to rural areas. Imagine pothole-filled dirt roads, bumpy on a sunny day and ankle-deep muddy nightmare after a torrent of rain. Picture wheels stuck in inches of mud, with no way to dig yourself out other than a shovel. Now think about transporting massive 3D printers or other construction robots to that emergency site.

Not ideal, eh? Rather than battling earth and gravity, why not fly?

Weathering the Storm

Inspired by bees, the team, led by Dr. Mirko Kovac at Imperial College London, took to the sky. Their idea weaves together 3D printing with self-organizing drones, which seamlessly build a “beehive” of a pre-programmed blueprint.

The main idea relies on our ability to shape certain materials at will—like squeezing Play-Doh or stacking Legos. This process lets us flexibly

mold materials into different geometric designs and is dubbed “free-from continuous additive manufacturing” (a mouthful, I know, so just “AM”).

It starts with an appreciation of free-flying builders in the wild. Take wasps. While not the friendliest of creatures (speaking from multiple painful stings), they’re rather remarkable in that they’re highly efficient in navigating their paths for dispensing building material. It’s like a flying carpenter building a cabinet seamlessly with a cohort—an incredible feat that scientists are still trying to understand.

Here, the team asked if it’s possible to achieve the same engineering prowess with a swarm of smaller robots. It’s a tough problem—most previous approaches are only at an “early exploratory stage,” the team said, with “limited operational height.”

Their solution was a software, Aerial-AM framework that taps into previous engineering ideas and natural precedents so each drone could work in parallel as a swarm. Drones also had to act as faithful 3D printers while in flight, broadcasting their location and activity to their neighbors (so there’d be no extra “icing” on a structure). Each was then equipped to navigate the airspace— without bumping into each other—with limited human interference. Finally, depending on the given structure, they carefully squeezed out a lightweight, foam-like material or a printable cement mix, based on instructions.

The brain behind the operation is Aerial-AM, which combines physics with AI to program two different types of aerial robot platforms. One is the BuilDrone, which autonomously deposits any material based on its programming. The other is ScanDrone, the quality control bot that scans ongoing construction with computer vision. Like a manager on a construction site, this gives feedback to the construction drone with every deposited layer.

The process isn’t completely run by robots. Human supervisors can tap into both the manufacturing strategy phase—that is, the best way to print a material—and the manufacturing phase. Before printing, the team ran a simulation to generate a “virtual print” using three or more drones.

3D Print Drones from

page 43

As a proof of concept, the team challenged their 3D printing platform, Aerial-AM, with several shapes and materials. One was a cylinder over 6.5 feet tall, printed with over 72 layers of material made from polyurethane foam. Another type of BuilDrone was optimized for a cement-like mix, which built a thin cylinder nearly four feet tall.

For a final test, six drones helped construct a parabolic surface (picture a thimble). Based on those data, the study then ran several simulations, asking how the scale of the structure and the number of robots changed the eventual build.

Overall, the construction swarm came off as highly adaptable, not just to scale and structure but also to robot population size. Even as the number of potential robots increased, they optimized their paths to avoid collision, like cooks at a bustling restaurant during the dinner rush.

The drone squad isn’t yet ready for prime time. For now, they’ve only been shown to construct small-scale structures. But the team is hopeful. The Aerial-AM framework can print different types of structures in a multi-robot dance without congestion. It demonstrates “adaptation and

individual robot redundancy,” the team said.

Although just the first steps, it’s work that cements the feasibility of drones as aerial construction workers—those that could one day save lives by flying into dangerous territories. “We believe our fleet of drones could help reduce the costs and risks of construction in the future, compared to traditional manual methods,” said Kovac.

https://singularityhub.com/2022/09/27/like-aswarm-of-bees-these-drones-can-3d-printstructures-while-in-flight/ https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-02204988-4

Watch video: https://www.reuters.com/video/ watch/idOV860628092022RP1

Watch video: https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=pDKNEO0gDuE

Coming event: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/computerscience/events/2022/oct/black-history-monthcelebrating-black-computer-scientists

Image credit: University College London, Department of Computer Science/Dr. Vijay M. Pawar & Robert Stuart-Smith, Autonomous Manufacturing Lab (Watch video:)

Looking further into the future, the Aerial-AM system could conceivably be used to print buildings on Mars Yusuf Furkan KAYA, Aerial Robotics Laboratory, Imperial College London / Empa

U.S.- Africa Leaders Summit and Business Forum

President Biden is hosting leaders from across the African continent in Washington, DC on December 13-15, 2022, for the U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit.

The Summit will demonstrate the United States’ enduring commitment to Africa, and will underscore the importance of U.S.-Africa relations and increased cooperation on shared global priorities.

The 2022 U.S.-Africa Business Forum will take place on the Summit’s second day (December 14). Hosted by the U.S. Department of Commerce, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and the Corporate Council on Africa, in partnership with the Prosper Africa initiative, USABF will focus on advancing two-way trade and investment partnerships that bolster Africa’s role in the global economy, scale innovation and entrepreneurship, and drive advancements in key sectors.

Quote of the Day

"No planet, no business - that is what we need the IMFs of this world to understand"

Esteban Brenes, WWF's U.S. Director of Conservation Finance

Honeywell Unveils New SAF Production Technology

By Curt Epstein

Honeywell's modular design for its new ethanol-to-jet sustainable aviation fuel technology will allow production facilities to be built and/or converted more rapidly than other technologies, according to the company. (Photo: Honeywell)

HONEYWELL, one of the pioneers in sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) refining technology, has developed a market-ready ethanol-to-jet (ETJ) processing pathway that will allow the production of SAF from corn-based, cellulosic, or sugarbased ethanol. As the demand for SAF continues to grow, much of it today is derived from animal fats, waste oils, and other non-food crop oils, which could present supply limitations. Honeywell noted that ethanol represents a widely available and economically viable option that was approved as a SAF feedstock by ASTM International in 2018. Depending on the composition of the ethanol feedstock, the company said the ETJ fuel can reduce total lifecycle greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 80% compared to fossil-derived jet-A. A recent study by the U.S. Department of Energy determined that the ETJ process when combined with technologies such as carbon capture and sequestration and smart farming practices could result in negative GHG emissions compared to conventional jet-A.

Using the Honeywell ETJ technology, SAF plants can be constructed in a modular design, allowing production to start more rapidly than is possible with traditional construction approaches.

That design also permits the quick conversion of existing or idle refinery plants.

Last year, the Biden Administration issued the Sustainable Aviation Fuel Grand Challenge, calling for the U.S. aviation fuel supply sector to produce at least three billion gallons of SAF by 2030 on a path to meeting 100% of U.S. aviation fuel demand by 2050. Meanwhile, the European Council released its "Fit for 55" plan, which aims to increase the percentage of SAF at EU airports from 2% in 2025 to 63% by 2050. With those aspirational goals, the production and supply of SAF will require a vast increase.

“Honeywell pioneered SAF production with its Ecofining technology, and our new ethanol-tojet fuel process builds on that original innovation to support the global aviation sector ’s efforts to reduce GHG emissions and meet SAF production targets with an abundant feedstock like ethanol,” said Barry Glickman, v-p general manager of Honeywell's sustainable technology solutions division.

https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/ aerospace/2022-10-12/honeywell-unveils-newsaf-production-technology

Juanita Busy Bee Britton | bzboffthebeatenpathtours@gmail.com | (202) 550-7060

AKON CITY will be here before we know it, according to Akon.

During a recent interview, Akon confirmed that the city he is building in Senegal will be open for living by 2026. In addition to that, he says it will house the largest hospital on the continent of Africa.

“We’re still on track,” said the “Lonely” crooner, noting that despite the ongoing effects of COVID-19, his futuristic city is still set to open in the initial year that they set out for.

He added during the interview: “It kind of stalled a bit because a lot of partners and solution providers obviously had to lock down, but it didn’t affect the paper pusher side of it.”

Trusting the process: He further explained what the paperwork and negotiation stages were like during the pandemic. At this point, they have graduated to the feasibility and environmental sectors of the building process.

“Now, we’re back on track. Now, construction will start in 2023,” Akon shared. “We still have the three-year window for the first phase to be done and our goal is for the first phase to be done by 2026 to make the junior Olympics in Senegal.”

What we know: As previously reported by AfroTech, Akon City is a reported $6 billion project

Akon Says the First Phase of Akon City Will Open in 2026, Reveals City Will House Africa’s Largest Hospital

By Shanique Yates

inspired by the hit film “Black Panther.” When he first shared the news in 2018, the “Smack That” singer said it will be like a “real-life Wakanda,” in reference to the film’s technologically advanced fictional place.

Although Akon was born in the United States to Senegalese parents, he has always made it a point to give back to the place where his family’s roots lie.

What the city will have to offer: Along with a hotel and the corporate tower, which the singer referred to as the Akon Tower, Akon says the city will have:

• boating docks

• a food and beverage store

• a 10,000-bed hospital

• plus more

A note: The first phase will be directed to tourists, with only hotels and activities for people to come and get a feel for the city.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/travel/article/akonsays-the-first-phase-of-akon-city-will-open-in2026-reveals-city-will-house-africa-s-largesthospital/ar-AA13a6CH?ocid=msedgntp&pc=W06 9&cvid=090307a5e201477dae0f3b00ea29c1fb

Image credit: https://www.sickchirpse.com/akoncity/

In an Industry First, Upside Foods’ Lab-Grown Chicken Gets FDA Approval

By Vanessa Bates Ramirez

IN

2020, CULTURED MEAT

startup Memphis Meats raised $161 million in Series B funding, making it the most-funded startup in the industry. The investment validated cultured meat’s technological soundness and indicated that consumer interest in these products was likely to grow.

After changing its name to Upside Foods in 2021, the company received an additional $400 million in Series C funding this past April. Now they’ve reached another milestone: this week the FDA granted the company the first approval needed to bring its meat to consumers.

The approval is called a No Questions Letter and means that after conducting a thorough evaluation the FDA concluded that Upside’s poultry is safe to eat. The letter doesn’t apply to all of the company’s products, only to its cultured chicken for now; additional offerings will have to undergo the same FDA evaluation process.

“This milestone marks a major step towards a new era in meat production, and I’m thrilled that US consumers will soon have the chance to eat delicious meat that’s grown directly from animal

cells,” said Dr. Uma Valeti, Upside’s CEO and founder.

The No Questions Letter isn’t an easy approval to lock down, and now that Upside has it, the remaining steps to start selling its chicken should move relatively quickly. The company’s production facilities and the chicken itself will both need to pass USDA inspections and receive seals of approval.

A year ago Upside opened its EPIC facility, a 53,000-squarefoot center for engineering, production, and innovation in Emeryville, California. Not all

of the space is operational yet, but the facility will eventually be able to produce multiple types of meat, poultry, and seafood; Upside plans to initially make more than 50,000 pounds of meat per year there, scaling up to more than 400,000 pounds per year

Once the company receives the remaining two approvals it needs, its cultured chicken won’t be available in grocery stores right away; curious consumers will first be able to try it in select restaurants. “We would want to bring this to people through chefs

in the initial stage,” Valeti said. “We want to work with the best partners who know how to cook well, and also give us feedback on what we could do better.”

The first to sign on is Dominique Crenn, a Michelin-starred chef who runs Atelier Crenn restaurant in San Francisco.

Cultured meat is made by harvesting muscle cells from an animal then feeding those cells a mixture of nutrients and growth factors so that they multiply, differentiate, then grow to form muscle tissue; it’s not terribly different from the way muscle

grows in vivo. But the bioreactors where growth happens don’t produce ready-to-eat cuts of meat. The harvested cells need to be refined and shaped into a final product, which could involve extrusion cooking, molding, and even 3D printing.

This process isn’t cheap, especially because it’s still in its very early years and hasn’t yet been scaled to any significant level. Upside doesn’t share details of its production costs, but it seems the per-unit cost of cultured meat is generally trending downward: last year

the cost of lab-grown chicken reached $7.70 per pound, as compared to an average at the time of $3.62 per pound for conventional chicken.

Valeti plans to focus on scaling production over the next few years. He’s not alone; competitor Good Meat is planning to build a large cultured meat production facility in the US, aiming for domestic production to start by late 2024.

Besides lowering costs, raising consumer awareness about the benefits of cultured meat products will also be key; namely, that they’re better for animals and for the environment but offer an identical nutritional profile to farmed meat.

Valeti seems optimistic. “Our goal is to introduce consumers to cultivated meat to dispel any confusion with meat alternatives,” he said. “This is going to open up the entire cultivated meat space, and as the pioneer, we are writing the playbook and sharing it with people…The consumer has to fall in love with this..

https://singularityhub. com/2022/11/17/in-an-industryfirst-upside-foods-lab-grownchicken-gets-fda-approval/ Image credit: nosh.com

Michelle Obama Launches Female Empowerment Campaign with Amal Clooney, Melinda Gates

By TheGrio Staff (see companion article on page 116

FORMER FIRST LADY MICHELLE OBAMA has launched the “Get Her There” campaign with t wo prominent stakeholders to empower and educate adolescent girls, PEOPLE reports.

The campaign is a collaboration of Obama’s Girls Opportunity Alliance, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the Clooney Foundation for Justice. On Tuesday, Obama joined Melinda French Gates and Amal Clooney in New York City to launch the campaign.

The goal of “Get Her There,” according to Obama. org, is to help adolescent girls around the world “achieve their full potential and transform their families, communities, and countries.”

According to PEOPLE, the trio spoke during a panel about the goal of the project and noted that millions of girls worldwide are forced to marry before the age of 18, which typically prompts them to drop out of school.

Clooney, wife of actor George Clooney, unpacked how girls who are “pushed into child marriage” fail to reach their full potential. She also noted how many of them “could’ve gone on to cure cancer or lead a country.”

“When we launched the Girls Opportunity Alliance four years ago today, we knew the key to advancing our work was an alliance of stakeholders coming together to support girls completing their

“Get Her There” campaign launch panel discussion with (l-r) Amal Clooney, Michelle Obama and Melinda French Gates.

Forme camp

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education,” said Obama in a statement via Obama. org.

“We created the ‘Get Her There’ campaign to inspire everyone to get involved in our work — because we know that our entire world benefits when girls are educated and empowered,” Obama said in announcing the collaboration, PEOPLE reported. “That’s why I am so grateful that Melinda and Amal — two of the world’s most compelling and influential leaders for gender equity — are teaming up with the Girls Opportunity Alliance to help remove the barriers that stand in the way of every girl getting the opportunities she deserves.”

Continued Obama, “The barriers these girls face

are very real, but I couldn’t be more hopeful about what’s ahead in our work together to support them.”

During Tuesday’s panel discussion, girls from around the world shared stories about how their lives were changed after having the opportunity to access quality education. “These girls are showing us where ‘there’ is,” Obama said, noting the “there” in “Get Her There” simply means “anywhere a girl can dream.”

“Education made the difference in my life,” Obama added. “It has given me the tools to envision where ‘there’ [is for me].”

Through their respective organizations, Obama, Gates and Clooney will also challenge discriminatory laws through the courts, PEOPLE reported.

“The barriers our girls face today are steep and are leaving millions of girls out of school. Our goal is to help clear away all that’s standing in the way of girls achieving their dreams. While that’s too big of a challenge for any one of us to tackle alone, it’s something I know can be accomplished if we all work together,” said Obama on Obama.org.

Through the Girls Opportunity Alliance — an Obama Foundation program — more than 4,000 leaders and community-based organizations are working to support adolescent girls worldwide, according to Obama.org.

https://thegrio.com/2022/10/26/michelle-obamalaunches-new-campaign/?utm_medium=email

Image credit: Pinterest, https://cfj.org/ news_posts/michelle-obama-melindafrench-gates-and-amal-clooney-announcecollaboration-to-support-adolescent-girlseducation-and-help-end-child-marriage/

er first lady Michelle Obama has launched the “Get Her There” aign to empower and educate adolescent girls. (Tom Williams/CQall, Inc via Getty Images)

Cool Mud Beats Concrete for Building Homes in a Hotter Africa

By Katarina Hoije

IT’S A SWELTERING 90F in Kaya, the midday sun beating down on the low-slung city in central Burkina Faso. But inside the Morija Medical Clinic on the outskirts, vaulted ceilings made of pressed adobe keep the temperature several degrees cooler.

“Burkinabé builders have used mud for generations to build smaller dwellings, but also multistory buildings and impressive mosques,” says Clara Sawadogo, the 35-year-old Burkinabé architect who worked on the clinic with Switzerlandbased firm Nomos Architects, placing her hand on a massive earthen wall. “Can you feel it’s cooler? That’s because the walls are breathing, literally. The mud lets the air circulate. Unfortunately, much of the technique has been forgotten.”

Sawadogo is at the vanguard of a young group of architects in West Africa’s arid Sahel who employ traditional building techniques, using mud, wood and stone to construct buildings adapted to the changing climate in a place that’s experiencing increasing drought, fluctuating rainfall, and extreme temperatures. Among her cohort are Mariam Kamara from Niger and the world-renowned Burkina-born and Berlin-based architect Diébédo Francis Kéré, who won the Pritzker Architecture Prize, often referred to as the Nobel in the field, in March.

The Morija clinic is a prime example of the style, with its earthen textures and rounded shapes inspired by Nubian vaults, and of the methods these designers employ. Thick outer walls are made using sedimentary rocks from a nearby pit. The whole building is angled toward the prevailing winds and surrounded by vegetation that provides shade. The clay roof and vaulted inner ceiling use natural convection to create a breeze, and used together they remove the need for air conditioning.

Architect Clara Sawadogo outside the Morija Medical Clinic she co-designed with Nomos Architects in Kaya, Burkina Faso. Source: Bloomberg QuickTake

Adobe and compressed-earth blocks have greater thermal inertia than concrete, which means they’re more resistant to the heat outside. Source: Bloomberg QuickTake

Adobe, rammed earth (compacted soil that includes sand, gravel and clay), and the compressed-earth blocks that Sawadogo often uses in her buildings have greater thermal inertia than concrete, which means they’re more resistant to the heat outside. Used in combination with careful orientation of the building, they help lower energy consumption during the hot season, when demand peaks.

Kéré’s success shows how the use of raw earth-based materials is gaining stature internationally. But Sawadogo says that at home, she’s often met with disbelief. The

“Mud can be just as resistant as cement,” Sawadogo says. “It’s a question of quality, the materials you use and the construction.” Source: Bloomberg QuickTake

capital Ouagadougou is mostly made up of chunky concrete constructions with flat roofs where residents hang laundry or keep chickens and goats.

“‘Mud doesn’t last,’ they’ll say,” Sawadogo says. “They’ll then go on recounting horror stories of mud constructions collapsing during the rainy season, trapping their owners inside. Mud can be just as resistant as cement. It’s a question of quality, the materials you use and the construction. Without a strong foundation and a sturdy roof, any house will collapse.”

Sawadogo was born in Ouagadougou, but it was during her architecture studies at the University of Lyon in France that she became interested in the tradition of her country’s Gurunsi people of building their houses entirely using local materials such as mud, wood, and straw.

Across West Africa, the tradition of building houses in mud dates back centuries. Cities such as Agadez in Niger and Bobo-Dioulasso in Burkina Faso are dominated by grand central mosques — towering triangular structures of red pressed-earth bricks. During France’s colonization in the first half of the 20th century, builders started mixing cement with traditional materials. Over the years, concrete became the dominant material, because it’s seen

Cool Mud from page 55

as more stable and is easily available from the country’s half-dozen factories. Globally, the highly energy-intensive production of cement (a key ingredient in concrete) accounts for some 8% of carbon emissions.

“People seem to think that concrete is a safer investment,” Sawadogo says. “They prefer cement even if it’s so hot at night that they can’t sleep.”

Like many African countries, Burkina Faso has done very little to cause climate change. It will, however, suffer a disproportionate brunt of its impact, even as it doesn’t have enough resources to adapt. The landlocked nation contributes just 0.08% of global emissions but ranks 159th out of 181 countries in the Notre Dame Global Adaptation Initiative Country Index, which indicates a nation’s vulnerability to climate change in combination

with its readiness to improve resilience. Burkina Faso could see a temperature increase of up to 1.6C by 2050 and up to 4C by 2099, according to the United Nations Development Program, or 2.5 times the global average.

“In Burkina Faso we’re already living the reality of climate change. We need to start preparing, and we have all the tools to do so right here,” says Sawadogo. “If we could just train builders, we’ll be able to make mud houses more affordable. In the end it’s about building homes that are comfortable to live in even as the climate gets hotter.”

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/ features/2022-11-02/how-traditional-west-africanarchitecture-keeps-homes-cool

Video: The Architects Building Future Cities With Mud (view from the source article, link shown above)

The mud-brick Agadez Mosque in Niger was built in the 16th century. Photographer: Christopher Pillitz/ Getty Images

Zambia and DRC Sign Cooperating Agreements to Start Manufacturing Electric Batteries

ZAMBIA AND THE Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) have signed cooperating agreements to start manufacturing electric batteries.

The agreement which includes the clean energy sector will explore minerals rich in both countries which are key raw materials in the manufacturing of electric car batteries.

President Hakainde Hichilema said that the signing of cooperation agreements between Zambia and the DRC to start manufacturing electric car batteries is key to poverty alleviation on the continent.

President Hichilema said that the agreement has removed shame from Africa which has been known as an exporter of raw materials.

He said that yesterday’s agreements prove that his attendance at a DRC economic forum was the right decision as it gave birth to yesterday’s event.

The President however said the signing is one thing and emphasized the need to actualize the agreement.

Mr. Hichilema says Africa has for long been viewed as a source of raw materials but the narrative is now being changed.

The President thanked the DRC government for staying the course and providing leadership over the initiative.

And DRC President Felix Tshisekedi said the two countries are home to at least 80% of minerals required for the production of electric car batteries.

Mr. Tshisekedi said Zambia and the DRC have decided to be masters of their own destiny. He said the agreement will create a value chain for the production of batteries for electric cars which will be key to the economies of Zambia and the DRC.

The DRC President said yesterday’s event was a good example for all African countries to unite and promote economic unity.

Mr. Tshisekedi said Africa’s economic power will be advanced with such initiatives which will create jobs for many youths.

https://www.bloomberg.com/ news/features/2022-11-02/ how-traditional-west-africanarchitecture-keeps-homes-cool Image credit: usakatimes.com

Kenya's new Stance on GMOs is Pitting Politicians Against Scientists

By Faustine Ngila

THE LIFTING OF A BAN on Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) by Kenya’s new government barely a month after President William Ruto was sworn in is causing jitters, with politicians, and pressure groups clashing with biotech scientists over safety.

Opposition leader Raila Odinga is opposing the move by cabinet, which opens the doors for GMO maize, cassava, and potatoes, claiming GMO food products pose a health risk to Kenyans. He called it “rubbish.”

“You can’t chest thump that you’re bringing GMO in the country when other developed countries have banned it. We can’t allow you to play with the lives of Kenyans,” Odinga criticized Ruto on Oct. 11 while urging county governments to prohibit the sale of GMOs in rural Kenya.

GMOs are igniting a heated debate in Kenya

On Oct. 13, Odinga’s lawyer Paul Mwangi filed a petition against the removal of the 10-year ban on GMOs, saying it was unconstitutional, a threat to food security in the country, and “goes against the right to food of acceptable quality, consumer rights guaranteed by Article 43.”

Kalonzo Musyoka, another opposition leader, claimed the government’s endorsement of GMOs means the fate of the country’s food security will be in the hands of multinationals which own GMO technologies.

“Our unique biodiversity will be facing extinction owing to the poor regulatory framework on GMOs in Kenya. Kenya fails to provide mechanisms for liability and redress in the event of possible harmful

effects arising from the consumption and use of GMOs or compensation for our farmers in case of contamination of indigenous crops,” Musyoka said. He faulted Ruto’s administration for failing to engage the public before lifting the ban.

But professor of biotechnology at Kenyatta University and chair of Kenya Universities Biotech Consortium Richard Oduor tells Quartz that the GMO topic is being trivialized and “those linking it to cancer are jokers because genetic modification does not entail chemical modification.”

Calling it a technology that allows citizens living in Kenya’s 23 arid and semi arid counties to build resilience against hunger and climate change, Oduor explains that what is usually modified in GMO is the DNA of an organism and not its chemical components.

“Why are they not talking about GMO insulin which is used to control diabetes? We are even moving into genome editing to remove bad genes in crops. For instance, we are developing GMO cassava to erase cyanide [which naturally occurs in raw cassava],” Oduor says. Kenya has four labs for researching on GMO crops.

However, national coordinator of the Biodiversity and Biosafety Association of Kenya Ann Maina tells Quartz that the ban should be reinstated because food consumers are unaware of the toxicity of the types of herbicides used in the cultivation of GMO maize.

“Some conditions under which GMO crops are grown require the use of particular herbicides and pesticides which can be carcinogenic,” she says.

“We urge the government to invest in research not funded by multinationals aiming to promote their products.”

Over 10 civil society organizations want the government to restore the ban and look for alternative solutions to the challenges of food security in the country.

The genesis of Kenya’s GMO conundrum

A controversial 2012 study published in the Food and Chemical Toxicology in France found out that female rats fed with GMO maize resistant to the Roundup herbicide developed fatal mammary tumors and pituitary disorders while males suffered liver damage, developed kidney and skin tumors and had problems with their digestive system. Kenya’s 2012 GMO ban was based on these findings.

The survey, led by Gilles-Eric Séralini, a biotech researcher at the University of Caen claimed the herbicide contained glyphosate which the the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), concluded is “probably carcinogenic to humans” in 2015. But in 2016, a panel of United Nations and WHO experts

Raila Odinga has sued the government for reintroducing GMOs in Kenya. Photo: ED RAM (Getty Images)

clarified that glyphosate “is unlikely” to cause cancer at realistic exposure levels.

Six French scientific academies issued a statement questioning the credibility of Seralini’s research saying it “could not reverse previous conclusions that this and other GM crops are safe, because of problems with the experimental design, statistical analysis and animals used, and inadequate data.” The European Food Safety Authority declared the study “of insufficient scientific quality to be considered as valid for risk assessment”.

Kenya’s lifting of the ban is based on this plus the fact that 10 other African countries have commercialized the farming of GMO crops. They are South Africa, Eswatini, Malawi, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Ghana, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Mozambique, and Uganda. But GMOs remain banned in Tanzania, Algeria, and Madagascar.

In 2018, hundreds of protestors marched in the streets of Buenos Aires, Hamburg, and Paris to demonstrate against GMO seeds and the manufacture of toxic pesticides by corporate agrochemical giants Monsanto, Bayer, and Syngenta

Over half of Kenyans don’t want to eat GMOs

A study by the Nature Food journal found that GM maize improved yields by 8% on average while among GMO cotton-producing households, it reduced food insecurity by 15–20%.

GMOs in Kenya

from page 59

A survey conducted last December by Route to Food, a Nairobi-based food security pressure group, found that 57% of Kenyans are not willing to consume genetically modified food. But 14.5 million Kenyans face food insecurity and poor nutrition each year.

In a recent Twitter Spaces discourse, the question of how secondary food consumers can identify if pigs, cows, or chickens have been fed GMO feed sparked a heated debate with many

consumers worried that the reintroduction of GMO food products takes away their right to choose the food they ingest.

“It is not possible to label something that cannot be proved to be there. Our regulations have not gone that far to say that if a pig has been fed GM maize, the pork is to be labelled,” biosafety officer at the National Biosafety Authority Anne Muia said.

https://qz.com/kenyas-gmo-question-is-apolarizing-one-1849678096

Image credit: inesad.edu.bo

Cameroon, Nigeria Request to Join Ivory-Ghana Cocoa Initiative

Workers

CAMEROON AND Nigeria requested to join the Cote d’Ivoire-Ghana Cocoa Initiative (CIGCI), a joint body spearheading the interests of the two countries in the cocoa trade, the head of the initiative Alex Assanvo said on Wednesday, October 12th.

The initiative was set up after a 2018 declaration by Ivory Coast and Ghana, the world’s first and second-largest cocoa producers, on willingness to define a common sustainable cocoa strategy that would raise prices paid to farmers.

It was created with the view of including other African countries.

Representatives from Cameroon and Nigeria

were invited to a CIGCI meeting in Abidjan to begin the process of joining the initiative, Assanvo told reporters after the meeting.

“With Cameroon and Nigeria we are going to represent around two-thirds of global cocoa production,” Yves Brahima Kone, chief executive of the Ivory Coast Cocoa and Coffee Council, said at the meeting.

“This will allow us to have more leeway in discussions with the industry on imposing a decent price for our cocoa farmers.”

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/ cameroon-nigeria-request-to-join-ivory-ghanacocoa-initiative/ar-AA12SHoQ

dry cocoa beans in the village of Goin Debe, Blolequin department, western Ivory Coast in this August 17, 2015 file photo. [Luc Gnago/Reuters]

Barry Callebaut Raises the Bar in Bid to Redefine Chocolate Making

By Maytaal Angel

IN A MOVE IT HOPES will redefine the way chocolate is made, Swiss-based Barry Callebaut (BARN.S) launched a new bar on Thursday, the fruit of more than 20 years of research into cocoa beans.

The world's biggest chocolatier said its "second generation" chocolate will use around 50% less sugar than traditional chocolate thanks to a new way of cultivating, fermenting and roasting cocoa beans that reduces their bitter taste.

The product, which will also use about 60-80% more cocoa, is likely to appeal to more healthconscious consumers and get ahead of laws expected to limit sugar consumption in the future, analysts said.

"Anything cutting sugar or using simpler, cleaner, recipes is going to be a positive given consumer and thus corporate demand for those products," said Kepler Cheuvreux analyst Jon Cox.

The chocolate giant, which supplies the world's biggest consumer brands including Nestle (NESN.S), said its new chocolate has been tested by independent global research agency MMR in the United States, Britain and China, and found to have high consumer appeal.

"By applying the (new chocolate-making) principle, Barry Callebaut could redefine chocolate completely: 'putting cocoa first, sugar last'," the company said in a statement on the product launch.

Barry Callebaut Chief Executive Peter Boone told Reuters second generation chocolate uses only cocoa and sugar to make dark chocolate, and only milk, cocoa and sugar to make milk chocolate.

"The trend out there is for cleaner labels. Consumers don't like overprocessed foods. This chocolate only has two ingredients for dark and

three for milk," he said.

The innovation could eventually help increase global cocoa consumption and prices should it be widely adopted, while it might leave sugar consumption largely unscathed as sugar cane is increasingly used to make ethanol, industry experts said.

"For cocoa, (it's) really positive for consumption and therefore the price outlook. However, I think we are talking about years not months," said a London-based consultant.

World cocoa prices are more than four times that of sugar .

The new chocolate is more expensive to produce

◄

and might be priced slightly higher than regular chocolate, a Barry Callebaut spokesperson said. It could, however, also be sold in smaller bar sizes and is ultimately not aimed at upmarket consumers.

One in four chocolate and cocoa products consumed worldwide are made with Barry Callebaut ingredients and the group processes almost one million tonnes of cocoa a year, about a fifth of the global volume.

Barry Callebaut has since 2017 launched healthier alternatives such as "ruby chocolate", "wholefruit chocolate" and a cocoa-based drink "Elix", with varying degrees of success.

It generally takes between a year or two for a new product to go from launch to supermarket shelves.

"(The) approach by Barry Callebaut fits the way the food market is going," said Tedd George, commodities expert and founder of Kleos Advisory. "Sugar is definitely the new tobacco. The way chocolate is made will gradually move in this direction as legislation against sugar in food hardens."

https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/ barry-callebaut-raises-bar-bid-redefine-chocolatemaking-2022-10-27/

▲ Empoyees of chocolate and cocoa product maker Barry Callebaut prepare chocolates after the company's annual news conference in Zurich, Switzerland November 7, 2018. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann/File Photo

Barry Callebaut has since 2017 launched healthier alternatives such as "ruby chocolate." Candy Industry

The WHO is Done Playing Nice About Vaccine Equity

By Annalisa Merelli

THE GLOBAL HEALTH ESTABLISHMENT

got

a bit of a scolding by one of its most prominent leaders, the World Health Organization (WHO) director for health emergencies Mike Ryan.

Speaking at a panel at the World Health Summit, a high-level conference held in Berlin to discuss progress in global health, Ryan described this kind of gathering as “speed dating for global consultants.” He called on to international health organizations to pay more attention to the expertise and knowledge of those working in the field rather than trusting top-down programs developed by the leaders of prominent organizations.

“We’re all sitting here in this room, we are all privileged to be here. Do we understand that privilege, the responsibility that comes with it, the trust that people have put in us, to be here on their behalf?” he asked the audience, reminding them that the work of global health is done by people such as the female health workers treating Ebola patients in Uganda.

“We failed because of the greed of the north”

Ryan, who has been working on covid response since the beginning of the pandemic, was outspoken about the dangers of power imbalance in public health, and didn’t shy away from discussing criticism of Covax, the WHO-led program to deliver covid vaccines to low-income countries.

Since it was set up, Covax has come under attack for being unable to deliver on its promise

to procure vaccines for countries that didn’t have production capabilities or budgets. Although 80% of the vaccines administered in low-income countries were delivered through Covax, most still have extremely low levels of immunization against covid. In sub-Saharan African countries, in particular, less than 20% of the population is vaccinated.

“It’s very easy to look at international institutions and multilateral institutions and say the fault was all there. There’s plenty of blame to go around in this pandemic, I can assure you,” said Ryan. But he singled out rich countries and pharma companies as bearing most of the responsibility.

“Every failure that happened in Covax happened because countries did not want to share, not because Covax was badly designed,” he said. The comment was all the more damning as Germany, the country that hosted the summit, was among the ones that sided with pharmaceutical companies in opposing patent wavers for covidrelated therapeutics.

“We failed. Ask why we failed,” Ryan said. “We failed because of the greed of the north, we failed because of the greed of the pharmaceutical industry, we failed because of self-interest of certain member states that were not prepared to share.”

https://qz.com/opinion-some-ceos-demand-areturn-to-office-why-wome-1849681015

Rich Countries are Destroying Covid Vaccines they Hoarded While Much of the World Still Waits for Their First Shot

By Annalisa Merelli

SWITZERLAND IS A COUNTRY of 8.6 million people. As of Oct. 16, according to data compiled by Our World in Data, it had delivered a total of 16.1 million doses of the covid vaccine—or 1.85 doses per person (though only 70% of the Swiss population actually decided to receive at least one shot).

Like many other wealthy nations, the country bought many more vaccines than it needed—a total of nearly 32 million—to account for potential quality issues, or supply delays. As a result, it has large amounts of excess doses it did not use—and now won’t.

This week, the nation announced it would destroy 9 million doses of Moderna vaccines that have already expired, and more than 5 million more will likely follow, as they are due to expire in February.

By February, Switzerland likely will have destroyed more than14 million doses—or more than four times the 3.2 million doses it donated to low-income countries.

Yet with such short shelf life remaining, there is little hope that even the doses set to expire in February can be repurposed. Low-income nations have already had to reject last-minute donations of doses from wealthy countries, or destroy donated doses that arrived too close to their expiration dates, making it logistically impossible to administer them in time.

Greed led to millions of wasted covid vaccine doses

Switzerland isn’t the first country to destroy doses that could have put to better use. Earlier this year, Canada destroyed nearly 14 million AstraZeneca

vaccine doses because its population preferred one of the mRNA vaccines. (The AstraZeneca vaccine, like the Johnson and Johnson one, is still commonly administered in low- and middle-income countries, as it’s easier to store, only requires one dose, and is cheaper to manufacture.)

This kind of waste is emblematic of wealthy nations hoarding doses during the pandemic, which is one of the main causes of vaccine inequality. Despite pledging a more equitable distribution and committing to sharing vaccine doses with lowincome nations, rich countries have resorted to vaccine nationalism, securing all the vaccines they could get their hands on, even as large parts of the world struggled to get any doses at all.

The inequality was stark from the beginning. Early in the vaccination campaign, and before any doses had reached low-income nations, rich countries entered into agreements with vaccine makers to secure about 350% of the doses they needed, according to Unicef.

Now in the second year of vaccination, the discrepancy continues. While countries like the US and many European nations have made up to three boosters available to their citizens, only about 23% of people in low-income countries have been fully vaccinated against covid. Overall, the African continent, home to most of the nations with the lowest vaccination rates, has received only about half the doses it would need to give its population the first full round of immunization.

https://qz.com/rich-countries-are-destroyingcovid-vaccines-they-hoard-1849683154

Italian-Ivorian activist, trade unionist and newly elected member of Parliament Aboubakar Soumahoro, walks after an in interview with Reuters, days before the possible swearing-in of the government headed by leader of Brother of Italy Giorgia Meloni, in Rome, October 5, 2022.

REUTERS/Yara Nardi

WHEN ABOUBAKAR SOUMAHORO was a teenager in his native Ivory Coast, he used to clean shoes and dream of going to Italy, filling a scrapbook with pictures of Italian fashion designs that he cut out of magazines.

He made it to Rome in 1999, aged 19, but was shocked by the harsh reality of migrant life in a country he had idolised.

"Sleeping rough in the streets was traumatic, especially when I realised that this was the result of a political decision that targeted the migrants," Soumahoro told Reuters.

Now an Italian citizen, the 42-year-old has a unique opportunity to re-shape such decisionmaking -- from within parliament.

From Shining Shoes in Africa to a Seat in Italy's Parliament

By Crispian Balmer

He won a seat in the lower house for the Green and Left party in the Sept. 25 national election and hopes to make his mark from opposition ranks, facing a victorious conservative coalition that has promised to crackdown on asylum seekers.

"One thing I will try to do is make sure that no one ends up living in the streets like me. People need to be treated as human beings regardless of what passport they have," he said, speaking ahead of the Oct. 13 opening of parliament.

He will stand out as the only Black lawmaker in the lower chamber of 400 deputies -- one of only a handful ever to have been elected in the 160-year history of Italy.

Soumahoro says with a smile that he will have the "best suntan" in parliament, but is adamant that he intends to speak for the poor and disfranchised, regardless of their colour.

"I do not want to represent just one part of society. I want to make sure that everyone, both the dispossessed and those who struggle to make ends meet, can recognise themselves in what we do," he said.

https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/shiningshoes-africa-seat-italys-parliament-2022-10-12/

East African Community (EAC) Bloc

Setting up Diaspora Desk in Bid to Boost Remittances, FDI and Trade

By IntelliNews

THE EAST AFRICAN COMMUNITY (EAC) is establishing a Diaspora Desk aimed at facilitating citizens of the seven-member bloc living abroad to invest and trade in the region.

EAC Secretary General Peter Mathuki said the Secretariat is also developing a Diaspora Engagement Strategy, providing a framework for interacting with that community.

He revealed the plans while in the US earlier in October, at an annual trade and investment conference, organized by the East Africa Chamber of Commerce in Irving, Texas.

The EAC is an intergovernmental organisation composed of seven countries in the Great Lakes region of East Africa: the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Tanzania, Kenya, Burundi, Rwanda, South Sudan, and Uganda.

The Texas meeting saw hundreds of EAC citizens living in the US, and investors focused on the region, converge to explore potential opportunities to expand trade and overcome obstacles to trade.

Map showing the six countries of the East African Community and its cities with a population over one million. Source: Telesphore Kabera.

Mathuki's announcement comes after diaspora remittances have been on an upward trajectory in recent years. For instance, diaspora remittances last year in Kenya reached $3.718bn, in Uganda $599.3mn in Tanzania $569.5mn and Rwanda $246mn.

Together, remittances equal 35% of EAC’s Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), which stood at $8.2bn and helped the region withstand the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and fallout from the Russia-Ukraine war, he explained.

“The EAC recognizes the role of diaspora remittance, which continue to outpace Foreign

Direct Investment (FDIs) to become the largest source of external financing,” Mathuki said.

Members of the EAC diaspora, meanwhile, noted that lack of trust in local financial institutions is among the main obstacles to investment. The EAC is confident the new Diaspora Desk could help address and resolve such concerns.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/eastafrican-community-eac-bloc-setting-up-diasporadesk-in-bid-to-boost-remittances-fdi-and-trade/ ar-AA13bksZ

Image credit: researchgate.net

King Charles Welcomes South Africa's Ramaphosa for First State Visit

By Michael Holden and Alistair Smout

President of South Africa Cyril Ramaphosa shakes hands with Britain’s King Charles III and Camilla, the Queen Consort during for a welcome ceremony at Horse Guards, in London, Tuesday, Nov. 22, 2022. This is the first state visit hosted by the UK with King Charles III as monarch, and the first state visit here by a South African leader since 2010. (Leon Neal/Pool Photo via AP)

KING CHARLES hosted his first state visit since becoming British monarch on Tuesday, November 22nd welcoming South African President Cyril Ramaphosa to Buckingham Palace.

Charles, 74, rolled out the traditional pomp and ceremony for the first time as head of state, as Britain seeks to bolster its relations with its biggest trading partner in Africa.

Ramaphosa and his wife were officially greeted by Charles's eldest son and heir Prince William and his wife Kate at a central London hotel to mark the start of his two-day trip, the first state visit to the UK by a world leader since that of former U.S. President Donald Trump and his wife Melania in 2019.

Gun salutes and a ceremonial welcome from the king and his wife Camilla, the queen consort,

Members of the Royal Air Force (RAF) welcome South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, as he arrives at Stansted airport, in Stansted, Britain, November 21, 2022. REUTERS/Henry Nicholls

followed before a grand carriage procession along The Mall to Buckingham Palace, where a banquet will be held later in the president's honour. Ramaphosa is scheduled to visit Westminster

King Charles will welcome South African President Cyril Ramaphosa to Buckingham Palace on Tuesday. File picture. REUTERS/Henry Nicholls

Sister Cities Internation Summit

Cape Town, South Africa February 20-24, 2023 For More Information and Registration: https://sci-africa.com/

Abbey to lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Warrior and see the memorial stone for former South African President Nelson Mandela. He will also address lawmakers in parliament and meet Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.

Britain hopes the visit, which had been planned before the death of Queen Elizabeth in September, will strengthen trade and investment ties between the two nations, and show the importance of links with the Commonwealth of Nations, the international organisation which Charles now heads.

"This is a reinforcement of the strong bilateral

relationship that we have with South Africa, a real opportunity to build on that close working relationship and discuss some of the issues that affect us all," British foreign minister James Cleverly told Reuters.

The last state visit to Britain by a South African leader was that of President Jacob Zuma in 2010, when he was met by Charles and Camilla at the start of the trip.

https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/kingcharles-hosts-first-state-visit-safricasramaphosa-2022-11-21

Ethiopia's Tigray Conflict: Truce Agreed

By Getachew Reda

A DEAL HAS BEEN REACHED in the Ethiopian civil war with both sides agreeing to halt their two-year conflict which led to thousands of deaths and warnings of a famine.

The African Union (AU) has called it a new "dawn", AFP news agency says.

The agreement between the Ethiopian government and Tigrayan forces should allow aid deliveries to resume.

Almost 90% of people in the northern Tigray region need food aid, the World Health Organization says.

About a third of the region's children are suffering from malnutrition.

Both sides agreed to a disarmament plan as well as unhindered access to humanitarian supplies, said former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo, who mediated the talks.

He said the deal was just the beginning of the peace process in Ethiopia.

The war has caused massive suffering in Tigray

Speaking after the announcement, Tigray representatives said they hoped the two sides would honour the deal, the Reuters news agency reports.

They also said the fact an agreement was made showed both sides were ready to find a peaceful way forward, Reuters says.

The foreign minister of the country where the talks are being held - South Africa - also appealed to both sides to stick to the agreement. Nalendi Pandor warned that there are "no winners in war".

The UN said it supported the path to peace: "This is an opportunity to chart a new course. The young

men and women who have been mobilised to fight will now have the chance to return to their homes and their families," said Hanna Serwaa Tetteh, the body's special envoy for the Horn of Africa.

https://news.yahoo.com/ethiopias-tigray-conflicttruce-agreed-163628193.html

Redwan Hussien Rameto (L) from the Ethiopian government, and Getachew Reda (R), who represents Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF), shook hands on the deal. Member of the negotiation team, former president of Kenya Hon. Uhuru Kenyatta, is in the center. Photograph: Phill Magakoe/AFP/ Getty Images

The war has caused massive suffering in Tigray

Eight Nigerian-Americans Win US Legislative Seats in Georgia, Pennsylvania, Minnesota

By @Sahara Reporters New York

NO FEWER THAN EIGHT politicians of Nigerian descent won their legislative seats on Tuesday night during Georgia, Pennsylvania and Minnesota State elections, in the United State of America.

This was also confirmed by the chairman of the Nigerian Diaspora Commission, Abike Dabiri-Erewa on Twitter. "These Nigerian Americans won their elections in Georgia last night. A hearty congrats to them all #ProudlyNigerian. Congratulations to Segun Adeyina, Gabe Okoye, Solomon Adesanya, Tish Naghise, Phil Olaleye, Carol Kazeem, Oye Owolewa and Esther Agbaje," she tweeted.

The US state of Georgia general election was held on Tuesday, November 8, 2022, with runoffs to be held at a later date for those races which are not yet decided by majority vote.

All of Georgia's executive officers and legislative seats, as well as one seat on the Georgia Public Service Commission, were conducted as well as one of Georgia's seats in the United States Senate and all of Georgia's seats in the United States House of Representatives.

Segun Adeyina, Gabe Okoye, Solomon Adesanya, Tish Naghise, and Phil Olaleye were all candidates for Georgia State Representatives under the platform of Democratic Party.

While Carol Kazeem, also a member of Democratic party, was a candidate for Pennsylvania State Representative and Esther Agbaje was a candidate for Minnesota State Representative.

Adeoye "Oye" Owolewa is a Nigerian-American politician, pharmacist, and a member of the Democratic Party.

In November 2020, he was elected as the shadow representative of the United States House of Representatives from the District of Columbia. As a shadow congressperson, Owolewa is tasked with lobbying for D.C. statehood; the unpaid position is authorized by D.C. voters in 1982, but never approved by Congress.

Although mistakenly described in Nigerian media as the first Nigerian-American to be elected to the U.S. Congress, Owolewa is not a member of Congress.

https://edit.saharareporters.com/2022/11/09/ eight-nigerian-americans-win-us-legislative-seatsgeorgia-pennsylvania-minnesota

Image credit: Abike Dabiri-Erewa @abikedabiri

TANZANIA’S PRESIDENT Samia Suluhu

Hassan has cancelled Independence Day celebrations scheduled for Friday, December 1st and directed that the budget instead be used to build dormitories for children with special needs.

The 61st Independence Day event was to cost $445,000, money that will be used to build eight dormitories in primary schools around the country.

Tanzania’s Minister of State, George Simbachawene, on Monday said the money had been disbursed.

He said that instead of having parades and other national celebrations, the East African country will commemorate Independence Day by having public dialogues on development

“The debates and conferences will be preceded by various schedules for regional and district leaders to carry out social activities in different areas including cleaning hospitals, schools, elderly homes and groups with special needs,” he said.

Usually, Independence Day celebrations are marked with pomp and state banquets.

This is not, however, the first time Tanzania has cancelled the celebrations.

Tanzania Scraps Independence Celebration, Diverts Funds to Kids

I D K

From Al Jazeera

TTanzania's President

Samia Suluhu Hassan

[File: AP Photo] © Provided by Al Jazeera

In 2015, then-President John Magufuli cancelled celebrations and diverted funds towards the building of a road in the commercial capital, Dar es Salaam.

In 2020, he did the same and directed that the budget be used to buy medical facilities.

The current president, Hassan, is Tanzania’s first female head of state.

She previously drew attention by ordering big-bellied policemen to lose weight to be more effective at work.

Decades before she rose to higher office, she worked as a development officer in the Zanzibar government. She was also a project manager for the UN’s World Food Programme and later the executive director of an umbrella body governing non-governmental organisations in Zanzibar.

She also previously served as a minister for youth employment, women and children, and has spoken publicly to encourage Tanzanian women and girls to pursue their dreams.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/tanzania-scrapsindependence-celebration-diverts-funds-to-kids/ar-AA14XS qZ?ocid=msedgntp&pc=W069&cvid=1999b1df37424d7a89

African Stock Exchange/Bourse

• Algeria Algiers Stock Market

• Angola Angola Stock Exchange and Derivatives

• Botswana Botswana Stock Exchange

• Cameroon Douala Stock Exchange

• Cape Verde Islands Bolsa de Valores of Cape Verde (in Portuguese)

• Cote de Ivoire Bourse Regionale des Valeurs Mobilieres - UEMOA (Abidjan)

• Egypt The Egyptian Exchange

• Ethiopia Ethiopia Commodity Exchange

• Ghana Ghana Stock Exchange

• Kenya Nairobi Stock Exchange

• Libya Libyan Stock Market

• Malawi Malawi Stock Exchange

• Mauritius Stock Exchange of Mauritius

• Morocco Casablanca Stock Exchange

• Mozambique Bolsa Valores de Mocambique

• Namibia Namibian Stock Exchange

• Nigeria Nigerian Stock Exchange Nigerian Stock Exchange

• Rwanda Rwanda Stock Exchange

• Seychelles Seychelles Securities Exchange

• Somalia Somali Stock Exchange

• South Africa Bond Exchange of South Africa Johannesburg Stock Exchange Johannesburg Stock Exchange

• South Sudan Khartoum Stock Exchange

• Swaziland Swaziland Stock Exchange

• Tanzania Dar es Salaam Stock Exchange

• Tunisia Tunisia Stock Exchange

• Uganda Uganda Securities Exchange

• Zambia Lusaka Stock Exchange

• Zimbabwe Victoria Falls Stock Exchange

• Zimbabwe Zimbabwe Stock Exchange

‘Ownership is the New Drip’: Fintech Founder Raises $4.4 Million in Seed Funding

By Stacy Jackson

COMPANIES ARE CREATING new avenues in pop culture that’ll give upcoming generations creative opportunities to achieve financial stability.

Luke Bailey, Neon Money Club (NMC) founder and CEO, launched a fintech company alongside Jacki Liao to present the digital generation a new approach to investing and financial growth. The company pushes the philosophy that “ownership is the new drip” by teaching the modern-day generation the value of owning the things they love to buy.

“…We coined the phrase ‘ownership is the new drip’ because our whole thing is what if you could show off your financial health profile? What if you could show off your investments? What if you could show off your financial wellness the same way you would show off a sneaker or show off a new piece of clothing,” Bailey told AfroTech in an exclusive interview.

According to the outlet, Bailey was exposed to banking in his late teenage years. After working in the industry for 18 years, he recognized the lack of representation in his environment and decided to

take a step back from his job to pursue Neon Money Club.

The fintech company is a digital, invite-only club that embraces familiar concepts where users can explore investment arenas like streetwear, sneakers, and more. The club invites users into a safe space that offers resources and guidance for investing. AfroTech reported that investors are provided certainty for “an area that often has an intimidation factor within the community.”

“What if we could give our 20-year-old selves a safe space to go and not just learn the keys to the game and investing, but to actually do it right and to actually know the value of the things that they already know the value of,” Bailey explained.

“You could look in my closet right now and you can check out all my sneakers. You can check out all my drip. I got electronics around here. I’m sitting here looking at an iPhone, I’m talking to you on an Apple computer. I own those things, but I don’t own the company. So, how can I own a piece of that company that I already know is valuable and is already a part of my everyday life.”

Bailey and Liao are both sneakerheads and streetwear enthusiasts. Their bond over their shared passions was a major factor in creating Neon Money Club.

The platform emphasizes users being empowered to confidently invest their money without a hassle. Information is curated in the form of investment playlists, and each playlist has several stocks based on a particular theme. Bailey and Liao talked with over 100 venture capitalists, and after being recognized by investors, the company successfully raised $4 million in funding.

Bailey believes he is “the only Black tech founder in NYC to have raised that much in a seed round pre-product and prelaunch.”

https://www.blackenterprise. com/neon-money-club-founderluke-bailey-raises-4-4-millionfor-his-pre-product-and-prelaunch/

The Nigerian-born Entrepreneur Behind

‘Shopify of Banking’ that Just Received $100k from Google

By Abu Mubarik

MEET JOSEPH AKINTOLAYO, he is the founder of Deposits, a fintech startup that helps financial organizations provide more digital tools to their community. The startup offers plug-andplay banking features for community banks, credit unions, and other financial brands.

Akintolayo refers to his startup as “the Shopify of banking.” The company works with 13 financial customers and according to the 32-year-old, the company will be profitable in 13 months all things being equal. Dellas News notes that Deposits made about $1 million in revenue last year and it is expected to double that this year.

“I can’t get through my emails with a whole team of people,” he said. “We’re selling water in the desert for community banks and credit unions that are at risk of closing their doors.”

Deposits was among the few black-owned startups that were recently selected for Google’s 2022 Black Founders Fund program that awards entrepreneurs $100,000 as well as a stamp of approval. The company’s selection came on the heels of successfully raising $5 million in a preseed funding round led by ATX Venture Partners.

Akintolayo grew up between Nigeria and Arlington but settled permanently in Arlington with his family when he was 10. He went to Holy Rosary Catholic School (now St. Joseph Catholic School) with enough credits to make him a sophomore in college.

He graduated from the University of Texas at Arlington with a bachelor’s degree in biomedical engineering. It appears Akintolayo studied

biomedical engineering to prove a point that he could study something difficult in university.

“It was more of a miscalculation,” Akintolayo said about studying biomedical engineering. However, when it came for him to start his first company, it was in the field of biomedical engineering. He started BioSculpt, in 2013 to 3D print medical devices and prosthetics.

“It crashed and burned. It was an 18-month flash in the pan. I really should’ve made it a software startup, but it was hardware-focused,” he noted.

Akintolayo said he was always going to be an entrepreneur because of his health condition. He has sickle cell amenia. According to him, his sister died from the disease.

“I used to live in the hospital,” he said. “In any given year, I’d be in a hospital bed for two months out of the year.”

According to Dallas News, every five weeks, Akintolayo receives treatments at UT Southwestern in the form of blood infusion. According to the platform, he goes in to get about 12 bags of new blood, which takes four to five hours.

The nature of his health condition practically makes it impossible for him to work for a company other than his own. “It’s been a game-changer,” he said about being his own boss. “Because of that, I’ve been able to build a life so I don’t live at the hospital anymore.”

Akintolayo said he would like to see high school stadiums co-branded with his company in the future, Dallas Business Journal reported.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/smallbusiness/thenigerian-born-entrepreneur-behind-shopify-of-banking-thatjust-received-100k-from-google/ar-AA12yoXo

Image credit: www.ondeposits.com, face2faceafrica.com

African Union Procurement and Trade Apps

The African Union (AU) is a steward of public funds and therefore both AU and its suppliers must adhere to the highest ethical standards, both during the bidding process and throughout the execution of a contract.

The AU Procurement Division under the Administration and Human Resource Management(AHRM) is responsible for the for the acquisition of a wide variety of goods, works and services for the AU Headquarters, AU Organ,Peace Support Mission, Regional Representative Office, Specialised and Technical Agency and Liaison Office etc.

Visit the Bids/Procurement pages of the AU website to review open bids - https:// au.int/en/bids.

Visit Google PlayStore or iPhone xxxx to install the AU Procurement app on your devices.

The AfCFTA Hub brings together the AfCFTA Secretariat, national governments and major private sector innovators in a unified digital framework known as the “AfCFTA Hub Network” (https://www.afcfta. app). Sign up for an account to gain access to a growing range of features, modules and platforms bundled seamlessly into one Super-App. Explore this AfCFTA Digital Ecosystem - use what you need to get what you want. Wherever you are in Africa, we have got your back. Register your business to take advantage of access to the 41 countries that have ratified the AfCFTA Treaty.

Image credit: blackstationery.com

Sport Leaders Eye Africa as Talent Source, Investment Target

By AFP

AFRICA OFFERS A VAST underdeveloped market for global sports, with thousands of athletes ready to join international ranks if only there were major investment, industry leaders and stars say.

But more government and private-sector partnerships are needed to turbo-charge African sports and bring young players into top-tier leagues of football, basketball and even American football, participants at a business forum said Monday.

In the event on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York in September 2022, NBA commissioner Adam Silver hailed Africa as bursting with sporting potential, noting that more than 10% of players in the world's premier basketball league were born in African countries or have African parents.

"Invariably more NBA, WNBA players will be discovered, will be nurtured, will be developed and then be able to play at the highest level," he said of the region's younger generations and the benefits of expanding youth training programs there.

Silver also stressed that in order to attract the "literally billions in investments that are needed," sport in Africa must be seen as economically viable.

"In order to persuade... great businesspeople to invest in the infrastructure, we have to demonstrate that it's a real business -- that there is real return over time," he said.

The forum featured former NBA stars like Congolese-American Dikembe Mutombo, WNBA sensation Chiney Ogwumike who is of Nigerian origin, and current Toronto Raptors power forward Pascal Siakam, a Cameroonian who caught the attention of scouts at a Basketball Without Borders camp in South Africa.

American football too has beefed up its presence.

More than 100 current NFL players are African, according to Osi Umenyiora, a Super Bowl champion who leads an NFL initiative to expand the pipeline of new talent from places such as Ghana and Nigeria.

"From a business standpoint it would actually make sense to me to start making business in Africa now," Umenyiora told the audience, adding the NFL has recently opened new player camps in Africa.

- 'Grounded' -

The discussion comes along the launch of the new African Super League, which is dangling major prize money for the 24 football clubs that qualify for the first edition next year

Nigeria's Tobi Amusan celebrates after victory in the w on September 8, 202

© Fabrice COFFRINI

Confederation of African Football president Patrice Motsepe said that while Africa's link to European and American leagues is "important," the Super League "will attract billions of dollars in football in Africa to pay the smartest and most talented young Africans and keep them on the continent."

Recent 100-meter hurdles gold medalist Tobi Amusan, who in July became Nigeria's first world champion in a track and field event, warned that Africa's lack of infrastructure including training facilities could fuel a migration of athletes.

"I'm not saying don't go to other places," Amusan, who herself is based in Texas, told AFP.

"But if the government and private sector have stuff like this implemented in Africa, we keep our

own grounded in our countries and not just have them wander away to other countries."

The head of the region's new top-flight basketball league also spoke of the delicate balance between international player recruitment and sports development on the ground.

"Africa needs to cease being just an exporter all the time," said Amadou Fall, president of the Basketball Africa League, which launched last year.

https://www.coindesk.com/business/2022/02/21/ african-web-3-super-app-jambo-raises-75m-inseed-round/

Image credit: Wallpaper Cave, highposthoops. com, Eurohoops.net

omen's 100m hurdles final in Zurich 22

Pascal Siakam of the Toronto Raptors in the fourth quarter against the Philadelphia 76ers during Game Five of the Eastern Conference First Round at the Wells Fargo Center on April 25, 2022 in Philadelphia © Tim Nwachukwu

Soccer Can Transform the African Cultural and Creative Ecosystem

By Meron Demisse, Lincoln Ajoku

SOCCER IS NOT ONLY the preeminent sport on the African continent but is the single greatest cultural unifier. Nothing else unites people from Ras ben Sakka in Tunisia to the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa like the round ball.

Casual players, professional athletes, online gamblers, fanatical supporters, tavern owners, sidewalk vendors, broadcasters, and journalists; an entire cultural ecosystem is built around the pursuit of goals.

For example, the Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) 2021 was broadcast in over 157 countries, with a viewership of 65 million in Nigeria alone. The matches also gained high levels of engagement on various social media platforms such as TikTok, which garnered a whopping 2.5 billion views under the afcon2021 hashtag.

On days when soccer matches are played, towns and cities buzz with anticipation. Even when Africa is only tangentially connected, such as World Cup matches or Premier League competitions, the game leaves an indelible impression on the continent.

Soccer’s potential in Africa is huge

And yet there are still opportunities to make even more significant inroads, spurring economic activity through bolder linkages with local communities. Increased connections between soccer and the cultural and creative economy, which includes entertainment, the culinary world, fashion, the visual and performing arts, and tourism, will make the already dominant sport even more dynamic.

An example of this played out during the 2010 World Cup in South Africa—for the first time, this global celebration was staged on African soil— where the vuvuzela became a symbol of the event. Its popularity created a boom for manufacturers and became associated with the sport’s culture globally. The long plastic horn said to have once

been used to galvanize members for communal meetings is now used globally, not only at soccer matches but at boisterous political rallies.

The possibilities are limitless and do not necessarily have a short shelf life. Nigeria’s triumph at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, US, is still celebrated in the country and beyond its borders. That win helped galvanize a fragmented nation. Though the overall contribution of sports (including soccer) and entertainment to Nigeria’s GDP was just 0.33% in 2021, new initiatives and investments are starting to change this trend— even attracting African startup founders. Demand for tickets to attend qualifying matches for Afcon has surged as interest in the sport grows in the country and across the region.

This broad appeal offers numerous opportunities for cultural and economic expansion. For instance, several African countries are currently participating in the launch of Africa’s Beach Soccer League. In May 2022, the Festival of African Culture (FESTAC) event in Zanzibar also included a beach soccer event as part of efforts to promote “African culture, values, and civilization.”

Additionally, in February, FIFA, the international soccer federation, organized the inaugural Africa School Champions Cup in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo, which involved teams from six African countries and brought together 12,000 youth to watch the matches.

Initiatives linking soccer to culture in Africa

But with soccer’s success in Africa, more investment can still be made to build a more robust soccer culture on the continent, and the

Confederation of African Football (CAF), the continent’s governing body, has a critical role to play.

CAF’s influence can boost both women’s and men’s soccer through Africa-based leadership. This includes efforts to engage further with industries such as fashion, tourism, architecture, construction, agriculture, and entertainment. With the recent announcement of the Africa Super League, CAF president Patrice Motsepe says that the League aims to “change the face of African football” by improving the quality of the game but also emphasizing its cultural impact.

Taking the fashion industry as an example, the widespread popularity of Nigerian fashion at the 2018 World Cup included the country’s soccer kit, which sold out in retailers around the world. Soccer shirts are now an integral fashion consideration, and clubs and national teams are adjusting their designs and logos to shift with modern tastes. This in turn generates interest among consumers who might not have otherwise cultivated a love for the game.

Deliberate efforts should be made to improve supply chains by sourcing material locally, ensuring designers contribute to the design of the kits, and that manufacturing is done in countries on the African continent. Additionally, efforts should be stepped up to remove counterfeit kits from the market, given their negative impact on local designers and manufacturers.

Soccer infrastructure in Africa

Another area where soccer and local African cultures are intertwined is around the design and

construction of stadiums. Much has been said about dilapidated arenas that are no longer suitable for hosting matches. Following the conclusion of this year’s women’s Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco, CAF announced a ban on 23 stadia across the continent from being used for international matches, including in Liberia, Mali, Namibia, and Uganda.

But this creates further opportunities for collaboration. Local artists can be brought in to help with the design of the refurbishment. These artists can draw on inspiration from indigenous and local influences and incorporate climate-resilient structures. This is a shot at a goal that must not be missed. For instance, the Soccer City Stadium in Soweto, South Africa, resembles a calabash and is a perfect example of what can happen when art, culture, and soccer are successfully interwoven.

The positive wins will make African countries an attractive tourist destination for fellow tourists from within the continent, which would spur regional integration and economic growth.

Deepening the synergy between soccer and the creative economy

There are also implications for boosting entertainment through a strategy of engagement with soccer. African Player of the Year Award winners Sadio Mané (Senegal) and Asisat Oshoala (Nigeria) are just the latest iterations of generations of male and female players who have brought irresistible and compelling stories that demonstrate the value of soccer to Africans.

The famed rapper, songwriter, and actress Sho Madjozi garnered favorable headlines in 2021 for participating in a well-received soccer match that pitted hip-hop artists against Maskandi (a type of

Soccer Effect from page 81

traditional Zulu folk music from South Africa). The coder, Victory Daniyam, from Nigeria, has garnered similar praise for designing what may be the first

competitive, which will create more jobs and business opportunities. In this matter, Africa’s preeminent sport can become even more impactful in the region.

African soccer video game, complete with digital avatars of African soccer players.

These examples demonstrate that now is the opportune time to deepen the imprint of African soccer both at home and abroad.

If these investments are coupled with a stronger partnership rooted in the local ecosystem, soccer will have no rivals in terms of its cultural penetration.

This will not only attract new people to play and support the sport but will also strengthen the quality of the product, on and off the field. African teams will grow more

https://qz.com/soccer-can-transform-the-africancultural-and-creative-1849675934

Image credit: iStock, Abdelhak Balhaki/Reuters, Zohra Bensemra / Reuters, grupoalrfo.blogspot.com

Senegal’s Sadio Mané and Nigeria’s Asisat Oshoala were crowned African Footballers of the Year – both scoring consecutive wins at the awards, which were held in Rabat, Morocco

Senegal Wins

East African Community (EAC) Bloc

Setting up Diaspora Desk in Bid to Boost Remittances, FDI and Trade

By IntelliNews

THE EAST AFRICAN COMMUNITY (EAC) is establishing a Diaspora Desk aimed at facilitating citizens of the seven-member bloc living abroad to invest and trade in the region.

EAC Secretary General Peter Mathuki said the Secretariat is also developing a Diaspora Engagement Strategy, providing a framework for interacting with that community.

He revealed the plans while in the US earlier in October, at an annual trade and investment conference, organized by the East Africa Chamber of Commerce in Irving, Texas.

The EAC is an intergovernmental organisation composed of seven countries in the Great Lakes region of East Africa: the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Tanzania, Kenya, Burundi, Rwanda, South Sudan, and Uganda

The Texas meeting saw hundreds of EAC citizens living in the US, and investors focused on the region, converge to explore potential opportunities to expand trade and overcome obstacles to trade.

Map showing the six countries of the East African Community and its cities with a population over one million. Source: Telesphore Kabera.

Mathuki's announcement comes after diaspora remittances have been on an upward trajectory in recent years. For instance, diaspora remittances last year in Kenya reached $3.718bn, in Uganda $599.3mn in Tanzania $569.5mn and Rwanda $246mn.

Together, remittances equal 35% of EAC’s Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), which stood at $8.2bn and helped the region withstand the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and fallout from the Russia-Ukraine war, he explained.

“The EAC recognizes the role of diaspora remittance, which continue to outpace Foreign

Direct Investment (FDIs) to become the largest source of external financing,” Mathuki said.

Members of the EAC diaspora, meanwhile, noted that lack of trust in local financial institutions is among the main obstacles to investment. The EAC is confident the new Diaspora Desk could help address and resolve such concerns.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/eastafrican-community-eac-bloc-setting-up-diasporadesk-in-bid-to-boost-remittances-fdi-and-trade/ ar-AA13bksZ

Image credit: researchgate.net

Kiva Labs Launched its Largest Ever Loan to Fund Afford Energy in one of the World’s Least Electrified Countries

By Jessica Leigh Lebos, Kiva Storyteller

WITH THE GOAL of bringing affordable, clean energy to rural communities, Kiva Labs announced this month that it will make its biggest loan ever of US $500,000 to Alternative Energy Technologies Group (Altech), the market leader of home solar and clean cookstove distribution in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

The DRC is one of the least-electrified countries in the world, with over 90% of its population living without access to electricity. The majority of these 70 million people reside in rural areas, relying on harmful and expensive energy options to cook food and light their homes.

The loan will allow Altech to scale distribution and provide electricity to 125,000 households, with payment plans that make the company’s products affordable to the DRC’s marginalized communities. By replacing dangerous, costly fuels with solar power and clean cookstoves, the investment helps counter the effects of climate change and enables Congolese people to improve their respiratory health, education hours, and quality of life.

A refugee-founded social enterprise

Political upheaval and widespread poverty have displaced an estimated 5 million people in recent years. Many who remain lack basic resources, living on an average income of USD $700 per year. To cook and power their homes, Congolese people collectively spend upwards of US $1 billion a year on kerosene, an expensive and dangerous indoor pollutant that contributes to respiratory disease and millions of deaths each year worldwide.

Altech co-founders Washikala Malango and Iongwa Mashangao escaped their home village of Baraka during the Congolese civil war as children and grew up together in a refugee camp in Tanzania. After graduating from college, the young entrepreneurs returned to their home country to

The Altech staff sits on the steps of their DRC office. Altech is DRC's leading home solar and cookstove social enterprise.

address the country’s energy needs by launching Altech in 2013. Their solar-powered lighting solutions replace the need for kerosene while thermal efficient clean cookstoves reduce charcoal use, saving households millions and mitigating the pollution that causes climate change

Since 2013, Altech has sold over 200,000 units and plans to scale by another 800,000 by 2025, with a vision to eliminate energy poverty completely in the DRC by 2030. In addition to helping replace dangerous and expensive fuels with clean energy, Altech has created more than 2900 jobs, saved its consumers over US $40 million in fuel costs, and reduced CO2 emissions by 375,000 tons.

“These funds are going to bring clean, renewable energy to communities off the grid and provide opportunities Iongwa and I were denied as kids,” says Malango.

dable Solar

the

Alignment with the mission

This is Altech’s second loan funded by Kiva’s Labs program.

The first, fully repaid loan of $100,000 helped the Congolese social enterprise bring solar systems to hundreds off-thegrid households, and its success made it a viable fit for the program’s first $500,000 loan.

Kiva Labs began by offering $50,000 loans for social enterprises. Unlike traditional capital, Kiva Labs provides risk tolerant and impactfirst financing with flexible repayment terms so entrepreneurs can worry less about cash flow and seize opportunities to invest in their businesses.

To date, the program has provided more than USD $12 million in loans to over 100 social enterprises in 36 countries. It continues to deepen its support of efforts to adapt to and build resilience towards the impacts of climate change, serving populations at risk like those in the DRC.

“Kiva Labs has been increasing its impact investments since 2011 as part of its efforts to make a world where every community has access to the resources they need,” says Chad Sterbenz, Chief Investment Officer at Kiva.

“It is a privilege to be able to provide $500,000 flexible, risk tolerant, working capital to the Altech Group as they spread sustainable electricity throughout their home country. The world is rife with challenges, but in every corner of the globe there are entrepreneurs with solutions.”

When it comes to borrowing capital to implement those solutions, many social enterprises fall into the “missing middle,” where they are too small for traditional banks and too large for microfinance institutions. By providing flexible, risk-tolerant, impact-first capital, Kiva Labs helps scale social enterprises like Altech and promote innovation in underserved communities, expanding Kiva’s mission of financial inclusion for all.

This historic loan will make a momentous impact on the lives of people in the DRC, and it’s made possible by Kiva lenders.

https://www.kiva.org/blog/kiva-labs-launched-itslargest-ever-loan-to-fund-affordable-solar-energyin-one-of-the-worlds-least-electrified-countries

Image credit: benjaminmcevoy.com

.

Help bring clean energy to the DRC. Contribute to Altech’s loan TODAY

“We should all share in the joy of spreading light in the DRC.”

An employee installs solar panels on a customer's roof. Altech has created over 2900 jobs in the DRC.

California Poised to Overtake Germany as World’s No. 4 Economy

By Matthew A. Winkler

GAVIN NEWSOM is as familiar as anyone with the media narrative of earthquakes, persistent wildfires, droughts, homelessness and companies fleeing California to Texas for a tax- and regulationfree lifestyle. This is nothing new. California’s governor recalls a 1994 Time Magazine cover story citing “a string of disasters rocks the state to the core, forcing Californians to ponder their fate and the fading luster of its golden dream.”

And yet, “the California dream is still alive and well,” the state’s 40th governor said in a Zoom interview a month before his probable reelection.

He’s not wrong. California’s economy has proven relatively resilient, first through the pandemic and now through the current period of elevated inflation. So much so, that the Golden State’s gross domestic product is poised to overtake Germany’s as the fourth largest in the world after the US, China and Japan. It had already leapfrogged Brazil (No. 7) and France (No. 6) in 2015 and supplanted the UK (No. 5) in 2017. Although many of California's current figures won't be published until 2023, estimates suggest the state may have already caught Germany, with at least one forecast implying California is ahead by $72 billion when considering the state's recent growth rate.

A New No. 4?

California's trajectory is most transparent in the growing divergence between its 379 companies with a market value of at least $1 billion and the 155 publicly-traded firms based in Germany meeting a similar benchmark. Whereas corporate California revenues and market capitalization rose 147% and 117% during the past three years, Germany mustered inferior gains of 41% and 34%, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

The margin of Germany's nominal GDP of $4.22 trillion over California's $3.357 trillion last year was the smallest on record and is about to disappear, with Europe's largest economy barely growing in 2022 and forecast to shrink in 2023.

California

Rising Companies based in the Golden State have outperformed their German counterparts in the stock market

“All this data continues to belie the dominant narrative and illusion” of California's “best days being behind us,” Newsom said. “As somebody who's grown up in California, I feel pride in California's resilience, leadership, its entrepreneurs, its formula for success that goes back over half a century,” he said, highlighting the state’s “conveyor belt for talent.”

The truth is that California outperforms the US and the rest of world across many industries. That's especially relevant with renewable energy, the fastest-growing business in California and Germany. The market capitalization of California companies in this business increased 731% the past three years, or 1.74 times more than their German counterparts, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Notable examples include Fremontbased Enphase Energy Inc., a solar and storage solutions provider, up 916%, or more than twice the 410% returned by wind-farm maker PNE AG in Cuxhaven along Germany's North Sea coast.

The dichotomy between corporate California and corporate Germany is most pronounced in their top three industries. California technology hardware, media and software saw sales increase 63%, 95% and 115% the past three years, boosting market valuations by 184%, 54% and 58%, data

compiled by Bloomberg show. In Germany, health care, consumer discretionary and industrial products were erratic with a 43% increase and declines of 2% and 7% during the same periods. Market values rose a paltry 40%, 8% and 10%.

California's three-to-one growth advantage is similarly reflected in a comparison of the top 10 companies. Firms led by Google parent Alphabet Inc., Apple Inc. and Visa Inc. will see revenues rise 8% following last year's 34% increase as they turn $100 of sales into $$49 of profit. They increased their employment by 10%. Germany, led by SAP SE, Deutsche Telekom AG and Siemens AG, will sell 4% more of their products in 2023, down from a 10% increase in 2021, while generating $44 of profit from every $100 of sales. The German workforce declined 2% on average, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Germany, of course, has been severely impacted by the war in Ukraine.

Still, with just 40 million people, the California economy is punching above its weight on the world stage. Job creation is a particularly strong area, with unemployment falling to 3.9% in July, the lowest since data was compiled in 1976, before rising to 4.1% in August. The gap separating the state from the US national rate of 3.5% is the narrowest since August 2021 and for the first time since 2006, California's joblessness dipped below Texas (the largest two states for non-farm payrolls). The state’s jobless rate similarly outperformed Germany by almost a percentage point, the most since February 2020, data compiled by Bloomberg show.

Contrary to the prevailing perception of business dysfunction and exodus of people since the start of Covid-19 pandemic, the San Francisco Bay area accounts for 78% of the market capitalization of all publicly-traded companies in California, up from 70% five years ago. San Francisco's 42 listed

companies, which forecasts suggest will see sales growth of 14% in 2023 and 2024, are 62% more numerous today than at the end of 2018 when London Breed became the first black woman and 45th mayor of the city. Oakland, home to the third-largest port in the state and eighth-largest in the US, has grown at a faster monthly rate (9.9%) than No. 1 Los Angeles (0.3%) and No. 2 Long Beach (8.7%) since 2015 when Libby Schaaf became the city's 50th mayor.

“There's a reason why people continue to do business here,” Breed said in a City Hall interview with Bloomberg News earlier this month. “It's because of the talent.” Breed also said that she’s hearing of people who are moving back to the Bay area. “A lot of the same people” who decided “to leave don't want to stay in areas where they don't feel there's a community, culture -- that's what San Francisco brings to the table.”

Schaaf, who grew up in Oakland and completes her second term in January, agrees. “We value innovation but we also value diversity and equity,” she told Bloomberg News in an interview in her City Hall office earlier this month. “It's nice to see those values are economically rewarded because California was very much lambasted” during the Trump administration.

https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/ articles/2022-10-24/california-poised-to-overtakegermany-as-world-s-no-4-economy

Image credit: Business Journals

London Breed

Marriott International Continues Growth Across Africa with more than 30 Anticipated Hotel Openings by the end of 2024

By Tatiana Rokou

FROM the Africa Hospitality Investment Forum in Taghazout Bay, Morocco, Marriott International, Inc., announced plans to expand its operations in Africa with the anticipated addition of over 30 hotels and more than 5,000 rooms by the end of 2024. The company’s growth across Africa is largely driven by its select-service brands which represent half of the company’s current development pipeline in the continent. The company is also expected to introduce its Delta Hotels by Marriott brand in the region.

“Marriott International’s expansion plans reinforce its commitment to Africa and highlight the growth of the travel and tourism sector across the continent,” said Karim Cheltout, Regional Vice President – Development, Africa, Marriott International. “We continue to see opportunities to expand in major gateway cities, commercial centers, and resort destinations across Africa, while catering to the region’s ever-changing and evolving markets through our diverse range of extraordinary brands.”

Select-Service Accommodations Fuel Growth

Marriott International’s select-service brands in the region, led by Protea Hotels by Marriott and Four Points by Sheraton, make up more than 50 percent of the company’s property additions in Africa through 2024. Protea Hotels by Marriott remains the most recognizable hospitality brand in Africa, with over 60 hotels across nine countries. Offering a taste of the local flavor in an authentic way, Protea Hotels by Marriott expects to further expand its footprint across the continent with 10 anticipated additions by the end of 2024. Plans include the brand’s first properties in Kenya, Malawi, and Angola, and further expansion in South Africa where it is expected to open five new hotels.

With its authentic and timeless design, paired with stylish comfort, Four Points by Sheraton continues to build on its momentum in Africa with five anticipated additions by the end of 2024. These expansion plans for Four Points

laila Seychelles

by Sheraton include the brand’s entry into Uganda, Senegal, Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Cape Verde. The brand also expects to open its second property in Nigeria, Four Points by Sheraton Ikot Ekpene.

Demand for Premium and Luxury Brands Remains Strong

Marriott International also continues to see growth opportunities across Africa for its unparalleled premium and luxury brands. The company’s expansion plans for its premium brands across the continent include the anticipated launch of Delta Hotels in 2023. Delta Hotels, which provides guests with exactly what they need for a seamless travel experience, is expected to make its entry into Africa with the opening of Delta Hotels by Marriott Dar es Salaam Oyster Bay in Tanzania

Plans for Tribute Portfolio, a growing global family of characterful, independent hotels drawn together by their passion for captivating design and vibrant social scenes, include the expected opening of laïla, Seychelles, a Tribute Portfolio Resort. The company is also slated to introduce the Westin Hotels & Resorts brand in Ethiopia with the anticipated opening of The Westin Addis

Ababa. Additionally, Marriott International plans to grow its iconic collection of independent properties under the Autograph Collection Hotels brand with new properties in expected Tanzania and Algeria.

Marriott International also plans to expand its portfolio of luxury brands with five anticipated openings in Africa by the end of 2024. The company is expected to introduce The RitzCarlton and St. Regis brands in Morocco with the anticipated openings of The Ritz-Carlton, Rabat Dar Es Salam and The St. Regis La Bahia Blanca Resort, Tamuda. JW Marriott is expected to enter Kenya with the openings of JW Marriott Hotel Nairobi and JW Marriott Masai Mara Lodge, which will mark the company’s first property in the luxury safari space.

Marriott International's current portfolio in Africa encompasses nearly 130 properties and more than 23,000 rooms across 20 countries.

https://www.traveldailynews.com/post/marriottinternational-continues-growth-across-africa-withmore-than-30-anticipated-hotel-openings-by-theend-of-2024

Image credit: SEEK

JW Marriott Hotel Nairobi

Dar es Salaam Oyester Bay

African Development Bank Secures $31 Billion at Investment Forum

By Annie Njanja

THE AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT BANK raised $31 billion in investment commitments for projects during the Africa Investment Forum, said the bank's president Akinwumi Adesina at the end of the three-day meeting on Friday, November 4th. It brings the total investment for the year to about

$64 billion, said Adesina. The bank secured $32.8 billion at another meeting with investors in March. Adesina gave few details about the projects but said one focus would be agricultural processing zones.

Projects announced earlier in the year were from sectors including agriculture and agro-processing, education, energy and climate, healthcare, minerals and mining, and information and communications technology.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/companies/ african-development-bank-secures-31-billion-atinvestment-forum/ar-AA13LzKQ

Akinwumi Ayodeji Adesina, President of the African Development Bank Group, attends a meeting of the 2020 African Economic Outlook report in Abidjan © Thomson Reuters

Another Major Purchase for Loop Capital

By MG Media

Reynolds, Jr. CFA

THE ACQUISITION of New York-based bond fund manager Smith Graham brings Loop Capital's assets under management to over $10 billion. The buyout of Smith Graham & Co. Investment Advisors, which has $3.4 billion under management, is Loop Capital's second asset management deal of 2022. Before this year, Loop Capital was a bit player in the money management business and had made its name over many years managing debt offerings for municipalities.

James Reynolds is Chairman & CEO of Loop Capital, a Black-owned investment bank headquartered in Chicago, which he founded in 1997. A 30-year veteran of the financial services industry, Reynolds held senior-level positions at several global Wall Street firms and holds a Master of Management in Finance from Northwestern University’s Kellogg Graduate School of Management and a BA in Political Science from the University of Wisconsin.

Loop Capital, well known for its commitment to diversity, is a great place to begin an investment banking career. The firm’s formidable internship program offers students hands-on experience and a lot of exposure to senior bankers. Full-time junior bankers work closely with top executives on many different types of deals. The firm is heavily involved in the communities it serves and strongly focused on diversity. Employees take a lot of pride in working for such an inclusive firm.

Early this year, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC Bank) purchased a minority stake in Loop Capital to expand its presence in U.S. capital markets. Loop has offices in 20 U.S. cities and more than 175 employees globally. Financial terms and the size of the stake aren’t being disclosed.

https://www.facebook.com/tbtnewsservice

James

Gate Afric

By Ayen

THE BILL & MELINDA GATES FOUNDATION said on Thursday, November 17th it was committing $7 billion to Africa over the next four years, as Bill Gates warned that the Ukraine crisis was reducing the amount of aid flowing to the continent.

The Foundation's pledge, which is up 40% on the amount spent during the previous four years, will target projects tackling hunger, disease, poverty and gender inequality. Nigeria, Africa's most populous country, will take the biggest share.

Humanitarian groups in Africa are grappling with the diversion of funding away towards Ukraine, and as Russia's invasion increases goods prices globally, impacting aid operations.

"The European budgets are deeply affected by the Ukraine war and so right now the trend for aid is not to go up," the billionaire co-founder of Microsoft Corp told journalists at the University of Nairobi during a visit to Kenya.

"If you take all aid (into Africa) including all climate aid - we'll have a few years where it’ll probably go down."

Kenya and much of East Africa is suffering its worst drought in four decades.

Drought, compounded by conflict and the COVID-19 pandemic, has pushed more than 10 million people in the region "to the very brink of a hunger crisis", the U.S.-based Christian relief group

FILE PHOTO: Members of the Turkana pastoralist community affected by the worsening drought due to failed rain seasons, collect water from an open well dug on a dry riverbed in Kakimat village in Turkana © Thomson Reuters

es Foundation Pledges $7 Billion for ca as Ukraine War Diverts Donor Cash at Mersie

FILE PHOTO:

© Thomson Reuters

World Vision said this week. The United Nations says it expects famine to be declared in parts of Somalia this year.

Following a meeting with Kenyan President William Ruto, Gates said on Wednesday that the Foundation would establish a regional office in Nairobi.

"Our foundation will continue to support solutions in health, agriculture, and other critical areas— and the systems to get them out of the labs and to the people who need them," Gates, who runs the foundation with his ex-wife Melinda French Gates, said in a statement.

The Foundation in 2021 gave charitable support

of $6.7 billion and last week pledged $1.4 billion to help the world's smallholder farmers cope with climate change.

Make Note:

• Drought has killed 205 Kenyan elephants in 10 months, minister says

• Drought is killing Kenya's endangered wildlife

• Donors must act now to save East Africa from famine, IRC says

https://senegalbgc.org/blog/2022/02/28/nigeriais-documenting-its-citizens-who-fled-ukraine-to-

bring-them-home

Drought in Kenya forces Maasai herders to sell emaciated cattle in Kajiado

The Company that Pioneered Electric Taxis in Kenya is Closing Shop

By Faustine Ngila

EKORENT AFRICA, the Finnish owner of the startup that pioneered an electric taxi-hailing service called NopeaRide, is winding up its operations in Kenya after four years.

In a press statement, NopeaRide, which means ‘fast ride’ in Finnish, said that it will be closing down for good. The company expressed its “deepest sympathies to our dedicated team of staff and drivers,” after covid ravaged its operations and funding shortfalls hijacked its expansion plans.

In 2021, NopeaRide announced that it would increase the number of cars in its fleet from 30 to 100 as part of a growth strategy. But by the time it closed shop on Nov. 28, it had only 70 electric cars. A funding round that NopeaRide hoped would help it bounce back to pre-covid profitability levels failed to materialize.

“Many of the additional vehicles arrived in Nairobi just about the same time when the strict covid-19 curfew rules were put in place in March 2020,” the company’s statement said. “Those rules led to daily kilometers driven by Nopea vehicles dropping approximately 60% overnight.”

Why NopeaRide failed in Kenya

Starting off in August 2018 with three EVs and two charging stations in Nairobi, NopeaRide created a network of charging stations, imported dozens of electric cars, and by June this year, had driven more than 4 million kilometers, helping Nairobi cut over 650 tons of carbon emissions, according to company data.

Over the years, NopeaRide has receiving several rounds of funding, but the money has not proven sufficient to run a sustainable business. PIDG Technical Assistance provided $80,000 in 2020 to

support the startup’s first solar-powered charging hub in Nairobi, and an additional $80,000 grant to support long-term growth. One investment came from a €200,000 ($206,000) financing round led by EEP Africa for piloting solar EV charging stations in Kenya, which would allow EkoRent Africa to determine how to scale across the rest of east Africa. NopeaRide was also one of the beneficiaries of the UK’s clean energy investment plan through its partner InfraCo Africa, which signed an agreement with EkoRent Africa to offer $1.2 million in financing for NopeaRide.

But with covid lockdowns confining taxi customers at home, NopeaRide’s revenues dwindled as the Kenyan economy struggled to recover from the pandemic in 2020 and 2021.

NopeaRide said it used that period of low business activity to refine its algorithms. And as the electric motorbike business started gaining traction in Nairobi earlier this year, NopeaRide jumped onto the bandwagon, building e-motorbike battery swapping stations in the city. Still, it struggled to break even, so it discontinued the project.

But other electric mobility startups continue to thrive in Nairobi. These include BasiGo, Roam, EVM Africa, and Caetano. The government, through public power companies Kenya Power and KenGen, is also investing in the sector.

Nairobi’s startups are going through a rough tide

NopeaRide only becomes the latest startup to affirm the results of a 2015 Fortune survey, which shows that 90% of startups collapse within their first five years. NopeaRide now joins a growing list of startups that have run into stormy weather in Nairobi.

“Businesses failing happens daily,” said Sheila Birgen, a startup coach and mentor at Pan-African Innovation Community. “The death rate is even higher for startups, in any country. The Kenyan startup ecosystem isn’t exempted. What we need to discuss is local founders getting pre-seed funding to also experiment. That is the issue.”

In June, Kune Foods, which attempted to offer Nairobians affordable meals through online delivery,

folded after just one year. Its CEO Robin Reecht, just like EkoRent Africa’s CEO Juha Soujanen, cited the inability to raise more funds as the main reason for shutting shop.

In July, the agritech startup WeFarm closed down. Its failure was followed by that of Notify Logistics in September. The previous month, Wasoko, an e-commerce startup, relocated its head office from Nairobi to Zanzibar, while Sendy, a startup trying to provide logistics services to Africa, cut its workforce for the second time by 20%. Sky Garden, an e-commerce platform modelled on the Nigerian Jumia, has also found it rough navigating the startup world in Kenya, due to financing hurdles.

https://news.yahoo.com/ company-pioneered-electric-taxiskenya-145600345.html

Source: https://qz.com/the-companythat-pioneered-electric-taxis-in-kenyais-c-1849829984

Image credit: electricbee.co, anitasoina. com

Starlink Adds a Daytime Data Cap of 1 TB for Residential Users

By Isaiah Mayersen

 

IN A NUTSHELL: Starlink told its customers via email recently that their internet access might be throttled after they use more than 1 TB within a month. Starlink has updated its "Fair Use" and "Specifications" documents to reflect the changes, which include slower average speeds and countermeasures to reduce congestion during peak periods.

After the new policies come into effect in December, standard residential users will start each month with 1 TB of "Priority Access" included in their $110 monthly fee for use during "peak hours," 7 am to 11 pm. Data used outside of those hours won't count toward the cap. If a subscriber uses more than 1 TB they'll be transitioned to "Basic Access," which is unlimited but potentially much slower than Priority Access when there's congestion.

Users can opt-in to keep paying for Priority Access after reaching the cap at a rate of $0.25 per GB, or $250 per TB. Yes, as one Reddit user points out on the Starlink subreddit, buying two Starlink subscriptions will be $140 cheaper than buying 2 TB of data with the one subscription.

Starlink says that about 10% of its customers use more than 1 TB some months, and it notified

them by email that they will be affected by the change. A portion of them will be able to duck under the limit by waiting until after 11 pm to start downloading the next game they want to play or OS update. But some users are rightly upset that Starlink is changing its offerings now that they've already paid the $599 upfront fee for the requisite hardware.

Starlink also changed the expected speeds of its regular service without notifying its customers, albeit with a caveat: its customer support team is saying that no individuals will experience a sudden drop in speed, but rather, the new speeds reflect the future average speeds that it expects to achieve as it expands its user base. Current users say that they have been getting far lower speeds than Starlink advertises for months anyway.

For regular users in most of the world, the expected speed used to be 50-200 Mbps down, and now it's 20-100 Mbps with Priority Access. Best Effort, RV, and Basic Access speeds are expected to be 5-50 Mbps. Businesses can purchase faster speeds and up to 3 TB of monthly Priority Access for static locations or 5 TB if they're on the move or ocean-based.

It comes across as strange for SpaceX to choose

Y E A

YouTube Makes it Easy to Set up an AMA*

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By Jay Peters / @jaypeters

YOUTUBE HAS A NEW Live Q&A feature to help you host dedicated question and answer sessions during livestreams.

Here’s how it works: when you start a Q&A as a creator, your prompt shows up as a pinned message at the top of your stream’s chat, and then viewers can submit their questions. When you find a question you want to discuss, you can pin it so that it’s featured and everyone knows what you’re responding to. To move on, you can pin another question, and it will replace what’s at the top of the list. When you’re done with the Q&A session, you can go back to a standard chatroom.

This dedicated Q&A tool could be a useful way for creators to have conversations directly with their audiences. Before now, they’d just have to field questions as they flood in the chat, but viewers who wander in mid-way through a Q&A might not know what’s going on or what question the streamer is responding to. Giving streamers the ability to pin prompts and questions might make those Q&As run more smoothly.

As YouTube continues to improve its livestreaming platform to compete with Twitch, the company has added a number of features

to make its chats more enticing for streamers. Those additions include Super Chats, which let viewers pay to have a pinned comment, and Super Thanks, which is basically a tip. Live Q&A doesn’t directly help a streamer earn money, but if a viewer feels heard in a Q&A, they might toss the streamer some money down the line.

https://www.theverge. com/2022/11/10/23452321/ youtube-live-qa-amalivestreams-question-answer Image credit: Alex Castro / The Verge

*AMA - Ask Me Anything

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now to introduce data caps to Starlink after the service already took a hit to its reputation last month when Elon Musk said that the company didn't want to keep paying for the service's use by the Ukrainian military before eventually backtracking.

CNN says that SpaceX is still in talks to have the Pentagon foot the bill after 1,300 terminals being used on the frontlines when offline last week.

https://www.techspot.com/news/96569-starlinkadds-daytime-data-cap-1-tb-residential.html

First-ever 3D-printed School Building in the World Unvei

By Adenike Adebowale

2 KILOMETRES from the Salima Hospital in Malawi sat a newly built school that was not there a few months earlier. The building had just been 3D-printed by a joint venture comprising three organisations; 14Trees, the Holcim Group and CDC Group

14Trees is an innovative green building solution provider with the goal of developing sustainable buildings and eliminating harmful impacts of construction on climate conditions. Holcim is a French-Swiss multinational construction company while the CDC Group is the UK’s development finance institution wholly owned by the government.

The 3D printing of the school took place in the Salima district, with the walls taking 18 hours to be completed. This is relatively faster than it takes to

build a regular school building using the traditional methodologies.

Since the school was needed in another village, it was transported from its place of printing to the village of Kalonga in the Yambe zone of Salima District. Students have now started learning in the new building since June 21.

The mode of constructing the school is a global landmark. Speaking on the development, Miljan Gutovic, Region Head of Europe, Middle East, and Africa at Holcim Group said, “I am very proud of how our colleagues at 14Trees have deployed cutting-edge 3D printing technology to solve such an essential infrastructure need. Now that we’ve proven the concept in Malawi, we look forward to scaling up this technology across the broader

A 3D-printed school in Malaw

iled in Malawi

Inside the first 3d-printed school in the world

region, with projects already in the pipeline in Kenya and Zimbabwe.”

The addition of the world’s first 3D-printed school building brings the total number of schools in the Yambe zone to 13, according to Juliana Kuphanga Chikandila, Primary Education Advisor in Malawi.

The technology makes it possible for the rapid construction of schools, a solution that the African country presently needs. Chikandila explained that the zone needed 4 more primary schools to serve its populace. As a district, Salima needs about 50 more schools.

In the whole of Malawi, approximately 36,000 classrooms are needed before education can be considered to be in excellent supply to the country’s young citizens. While 14Trees says the

classrooms can all be built in 10 years if 3D printing is employed, the Holcim Group estimates that it will take about 70 years to construct them all if regular construction methods are used.

Starting with the communities that are most in need, the green building venture is working with non-governmental organizations to print more schools so that the shortage will reduce. The printing process was carried out using proprietary LafargeHolcim ink. This reduced the environmental footprint by more than 50% compared to traditional building methods.

https://technext.ng/2021/06/24/first-ever-3dprinted-school-building-in-the-world-unveiled-inmalawi/

Uganda to Start 3D Bioprinting of Human Organ-like Tissues in Space Following Successful Satellite Launch

By Eberechukwu Etike

FOLLOWING THE SUCCESSFUL launch of the PearlAfricaSat-1 satellite, the Ugandan government plans to use the microgravit for advanced 3D biological printing…

Despite technical difficulties, Eastern African country, Uganda’s first satellite, PearlAfricaSat-1, has been successfully launched. And, with the successful deployment of this satellite came a slew of new ideas.

Typically, when a satellite is launched, it benefits the country by providing more accurate data on weather forecasts, for example, and for Uganda, this will also help with mineral mapping, agrimonitoring, border security, and, of course, conducting life-saving health-tech experiments.

Following the successful launch of the PearlAfricaSat-1 satellite, the Ugandan government plans to use the microgravity (weightlessness) provided by the satellite to perform some advanced 3D biological printing of human tissues in space and to conduct a research process on how microgravity impacts ovary function.

They also plan to conduct an investigative study on how the use of microgravity will help better understand catastrophic mudflows that can occur after wildfires.

What is 3D Bioprinting?

3D bioprinting works in a rather unique way. With the use of bioinks and 3d printers, living cells are

generated in layers to create structures that mimic the behaviour and composition of actual tissues. Natural or artificial biomaterials that can be combined with living cells are utilised to make the biomaterial that constitutes the base for bioprinting.

As a practical application of the novel perspective notion of formative biofabrication, the 3D bioprinting can manage tissue spheroids in microgravity.

This technique is transformed by microgravity biofabrication based on magnetic forces, which also creates a viable potential for programmable self-assembly of tissue and organ structures from tissue spheroids in 3D space without solid scaffolds.

There are several benefits to bioprinting in space. For instance, researchers have found that the absence of gravity in space allows for the 3D bioprinting of more complicated tissue and

Uganda to start 3D bioprinting of human o its first successful s 3D bioprinter

On Nov. 7, the Northrup Grumman NG-18 resupply mission for NASA launched from Wallops Island with the BioFabrication Facility (BFF), an enhanced 3D bioprinter, as one of its cargo. The BFF is a platform allowing scientists to print tissues that resemble organs and begin testing the possibility of fabricating human organs in space.

In order to help the thousands of people who pass away from organ failure every year in Uganda, the country is using this knowledge and technology to create 3D human organs.

organ structures with gaps, cavities, and tunnels. and most importantly, gravity-free 3D bioprinting eliminates the possibility of collapse, allowing organs to develop without the aid of scaffolds.

The 3D bioprinting plan for Uganda

Since Russia dispatched its bioprinter to the International Space Station in 2018 to conduct tests for manufacturing living human tissue in space, the concept of 3D bioprinting has gained popularity across the globe. High-quality bioprinted bodily organs can now be produced in microgravity, a feat that was previously impossible.

Many people have contracted the fatal Ebola virus since the outbreak, which has now struck the country four times, each time harder than the last.

The virus damages their blood vessels and the

immune system, and occasionally even causes multiple organ failure, which results in death. With the help of this innovative technology, hospitals in Uganda may start to manage sick people better.

In September 2022, the Parliament of the Republic of Uganda passed the Uganda Human Organ Donation and Transplant Bill 2022 stiffening the penalties for dealing in human organs for profit.

The new measure, according to the lawmakers, aims to provide a legal framework for organ, cell, and tissue transplant in Uganda as well as to control how donation and transplant procedures are carried out there.

https://technext.ng/2022/11/10/uganda-start-3dbioprinting-of-organ-tissue/

organ-like tissues in space following satellite launch in space

Orange Launches First African 5G Network in Botswana

By Matt Kates

FRENCH TELECOMS group Orange launched a new 5G network in Botswana on Friday, November 11th in a first step towards rolling out the high-speed data offering to other markets in the Middle East and Africa, company executives said.

Following the initial Botswana launch, Orange's 5G coverage will extend to 30% of the southern African nation's population, including those living in Gaborone and Francistown, the two largest cities.

Coverage will be extended to other cities early next year, the company said.

While prices for 5G-enabled mobile handsets are dropping, they remain out of the reach of most Africans.

Instead, Orange is mainly focusing on 5G as a way of providing fast internet in Africa, where low population density makes rolling out fibre-optic infrastructure uneconomical.

"For us the main use case is fixed wireless access, meaning internet at home," Nene Maiga, CEO of Orange Botswana, told journalists ahead of the launch.

Africa and the Middle East, where Orange operates in 18 countries, account for over 60% of the company's total mobile customers and 6.4 billion euros ($6.6 billion) in revenue.

The region currently counts more than 44 million 4G customers.

Orange's Middle East and Africa CEO Jerome Henrique said the company was targeting 5G rollouts in around half a dozen countries in 2023, most likely starting with Jordan.

"There's already an agreement with the government on the conditions for launching 5G in Jordan. And most probably Ivory Coast and Senegal shall follow, but we're still discussing about regulatory conditions," he said.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/ money/other/orange-launchesfirst-african-5g-network-inbotswana/ar-AA140B3f

Image credit: innovation-village. com

Technology/Science

Interview: Uzoma Orchingwa

Connecting Incarcerated People with Their Loved Ones

Orchingwa co-founded Ameelio, a communication and education platform for incarcerated people. The company’s first product makes it easier and cheaper to mail letters, card games and other content to friends or family in prison.

https://www.ameelio.org

What led you to become involved with issues in the U.S. criminal justice system?

I’ve always had it in the back of my mind, obviously, being African American. But it crystallized my senior year in high school when one of my really close friends was incarcerated. That was really my first time losing a very close friend, trying to stay in touch with him through letters. What was it like to launch Ameelio during the pandemic?

My co-founder and I were starting off with the first product, a letters app that allowed users to send letters, card games and other content. We were making it completely free for families at the start. Once Covid hit, prisons shut down all in-person visitation, and that really kind of scuttled our plan because we weren’t able to do in-person user testing. So we started connecting with different Facebook groups, with different forums, media, trying to get the word out. Once we were able to build this community to get the word out, things just kind of caught fire.

You’ve also had to get buy-in from corrections officials for a new real-time communication system you’re building. What was the lesson?

The standard narrative is that, you know, they’re trying to keep incarcerated people down. But really what you learn from working with these people is that the significant majority of them are wellmeaning. These are very low-paying jobs. They often come from the same community as incarcerated folks. These are public servants who are trying to do the best they can with limited resources.

One of the key ways we’ve been very successful is really listening to on-the-ground staff, because they’re the people who interact with the technologies. So we get a lot of positive reviews from those guys, and then it really helps us. And that’s how we got our first contract. We spent over four months interviewing Colorado’s correctional officers.

https://www.nytimes.com/section/business/dealbook

Image credit: colorlines.com

Uzoma "Zo" Orchingwa

Group Black's Travis Montaque Debuts a New Network to Shape a More Equitable

By Shannon Miller

IN 2021, Travis Montaque launched Group Black to address inequity in media. Now, with a new venture called Crater, the entrepreneur and Adweek’s Media Executive of the Year aims to make a similarly indelible mark on the fast-growing creator economy

Recently, Montaque introduced a new network geared towards providing key support to creators who are positioned to take the next step in their creative careers. Through Crater, the founder says they will have opportunities to build professional relationships with fellow creators, launch their “next wave” ideas and secure the kind of funding that will help them maintain sustainable careers.

Additionally, the network will partner with Group Black to amplify the works of its members.

“Crater is a first-of-its-kind creator network where the next wave of culture is made and monetized,” Montaque explained to Adweek. “We’re really trying to change the economic situation of these creators and drive opportunity for them.”

Montaque is joined Sarah Aitken, who will serve as CEO. According to Aitken, the network is mainly galvanized to provide access “past the wall” that largely keeps creators from securing success beyond a project-to-project basis—especially when it comes to marginalized creatives, who routinely experience substantial gaps in pay and opportunities.

“There’s culture to be unlocked beyond that wall and there’s value in that culture for brands, media, consumers and everybody else around the

Travis Montaque

Richelieu Dennis

Creator Economy

edges,” said Aitken. “And obviously, we want to create a massive amount of value for the creators in that moment.”

Creator, meet village

Upon its launch, Crater boasts of an inaugural group of popular creators who have signed on as official members, including Dale Moss, Yung BBQ, Swan Sit, Grace Africa, and JRich ENT. Moss is currently working with Crater to produce a documentary about the impact of the Special Olympics through his company, Moss Martin Media.

“Everyone wants to know that they have a voice that matters, and being a part of a network whose efforts are reshaping the face of the creator

landscape is a humbling thing,” said Moss in a statement. “I understand the responsibility that comes with this opportunity, and I look forward to using Crater to continue to advance opportunities for those that come after me through my work.”

https://www.adweek.com/creativity/group-blackstravis-montaque-debuts-a-new-network-to-shapea-more-equitable-creator-economy

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Rwanda’s Salima Mukansanga Makes History as First Black Woman Referee for FIFA World Cup 2022

By Stacy Jackson

THIS BLACK REFEREE is celebrating a lot of firsts in her officiating career.

Salima Mukansanga, a 34-year-old international football referee from Rwanda, made history in Qatar by becoming the first African woman to officiate a Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) World Cup match.

According to Republic World, among the 36 FIFA officials, Mukansanga was the fourth official during

the France vs. Australia match. Mukansanga officiated the Zimbabwe vs Guinea match in AFCON prior to refereeing the FIFA World Cup 2022. In the AFCON Cup Nation’s 65-year history, Mukansanga became the first female referee to officiate a match.

BBC Sport Africa reported that this year was the first time women were selected to referee at the men’s World Cup in 92 years of the competition.

Salima Mukansanga of Rwanda in action as she becomes the first woman to referee a match at the finals of the Africa Cup of Nations during the Group B Africa Cup of Nations (CAN) 2021 match between Zimbabwe and Guinea at Stade Ahmadou Ahidjo in Yaounde on January 18, 2022. (Photo by Visionhaus/ Getty Images)

Happy Holidays

In a recent interview with the outlet, Mukansanga shared her journey as a referee and how honored she was to be selected, despite facing much rejection during the early days.

“It’s an honor and a privilege because it's never happened before ," Mukansanga told BBC.

“It means you’re going to be the first one and going to open the door for other women, especially in Africa,” she added.

“I didn't know there is a lot to do - laws to follow, a mentality to follow, professionalism inside - but I started to learn step-by-step," Mukansanga said.

“It was very difficult. When you are reading the laws of the game, it’s easy to understand but inside the field of play, it needs some time to have a smell for the job.”

Mukansanga is one of the first six pioneering women to officiate in a men’s global tournament,

alongside Stephanie Frappart, Yoshimi Yamashita, and three other assistant referees.

“We are going to work together for the success of women. If a woman is supporting another woman, of course, you are going to see fruits. There are barriers, obstacles, and challenges. There is nothing to do about them than for us to fight with a strong mentality, commitment and full engagement – then we will overcome,” Mukansanga said.

Mukansanga also officiated the Olympic games in Tokyo.

https://www.blackenterprise.com/rwandassalima-mukansanga-makes-history-as-first-blackwoman-referee-for-fifa-world-cup-2022 Twitter feed: https://twitter.com/ESPNFC/ status/1595726420449562625?ref_ src=twsrc%5Etfw

Image credit: Twitter

From Your Friends at the DAWN

Celebrating Chef Love

By Jyl Benson

Chase over lunch. It was just the three of us in a private dining room at Dooky Chase and Serigne charmed her with gifts of a jar of fonio, a grain commonly used in West African cooking, and a dashiki. She saw his magic and quickly joined me in the ranks of Serigne’s rapidly expanding body of cheerleaders.

Next week Serigne’s dream comes true with the opening of Dakar NOLA (November 23), the restaurant he is opening with business partner Effie Richardson. After years of pop-ups this full-fledged restaurant will explore the foods of Senegal and their foundational relationship to those of the American South. Over the years Serigne and I have shared many conversations about his mission to draw attention to the unacknowledged culinary contributions the enslaved West African people made to our culinary traditions. Put a bowl of Serigne’s mother’s West African Soupou Kandia

I FIRST MET CHEF SERIGNE “LOVE” MBAYE in 2017 when we were both peeling carrots for a pop-up dinner Chef Pierre Thiam was hosting at the Southern Food & Beverage Museum. He was only 24 at the time but with his extraordinary culinary skills, fierce intelligence, fearlessness, and unrivaled work ethic it was obvious he was destined for greatness. Everyone who meets Serigne feels this way about him. We went on to become good friends and I had the great pleasure of introducing him to the late, legendary Chef

Leah

Chef Serigne Mbaye

next to a bowl of New Orleans’ seafood gumbo and there will be no doubt as to the root of New Orleans’ most iconic dish.

Born in New York and raised in his family’s native Senegal, he spent much of his childhood in a religious boarding school in West Africa, separated from his family. He returned to the United States at age 14. Following his studies at the New England Culinary Institute he was inspired to reconnect with his West African background by Thiam, an internationally celebrated chef who was the first to write a Senegalese cookbook in English. While on a return visit to Senegal during an airport layover Serigne made a chance connection with Cliff Hall, co-owner of New Orleans Fish House, who became a mentor and brought the young chef to New Orleans. He was soon employed by Commander’s Palace, where he rose to the position of senior line cook in six months. He then served as sous chef at the erstwhile Cafe Adelaide before moving on to the Michelin-starred restaurants Atelier Crenn in San Francisco and L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon in Paris. He later cooked with Chef Melissa Martin at Mosquito Supper Club

This spring Serigne was a finalist for the James Beard Foundation’s emerging chef award.

Beginning next Wednesday, Dakar will offer one seating per evening, Wednesday through Saturday, at 7 p.m. with a series of dishes, some served family style, to groups of no more than 30. Seven or more courses will be served over two hours. During that time diners will learn about the

traditions and the history behind the foods they will share.

The opening menu starts with Ataya, a welcome course of Senegalese tea made with gunpowder tea leaves and palm oil bread also called “Mburu” in the Wololf language. The first appetizer course, Crevette, features Gulf shrimp and tamarind. The second appetizer course, Last Meal, comes with a harrowing story, and is Serigne’s take on a traditional Senegalese dish consisting of blackeyed peas, crab meat, and palm oil. The next course is a salad made with fonio, citrus, finger limes, tomatoes, and a satsuma vinaigrette. The next course is Jollof, West Africa’s iconic rice dish. Next up is Yassa, a spicy Senegalese dish Serigne makes with caramelized onions, mustard greens, butternut squash, and redfish. For dessert Jerejef (“thank you” in Wolof) is Thiakry pie made of sweetened millet couscous and served with Ataya ice cream and mint.

Serigne once said to me “I am moved by the reality that, as a chef, I have the luxury to choose what people eat. To me that’s very powerful, an awesome responsibility.”

Here’s to you, my brother. So happy for you, so proud.

https://www.myneworleans.com/celebrating-cheflove/

Dakar NOLA

'We Are Not Owners': Smithsonian Gives

Back 29 Benin Bronzes to Nigeria

By Kelsey Ables | The Washington Post

SEVERAL BENIN BRONZES that have been in Washington museums for decades are finally headed home to Nigeria - 125 years after British troops plundered them from present-day Nigeria, 62 years after Nigerian independence brought calls for their return, and two years after a nationwide reckoning with institutional racism gave renewed attention to those calls.

At a ceremony Tuesday at the Smithsonian's National Museum of African Art , officials of the museum, which has held 29 bronzes, and the National Gallery of Art, which has had one, handed the artifacts over to representatives of Nigeria's National Commission for Museums and Monuments. Nine will remain in Washington on long-term loan.

"The Smithsonian is humbled and quite honored to play a small part by transferring ownership

to helping to bring long-delayed justice, longdelayed visibility, long-delayed objects brought back to Nigeria," Smithsonian Secretary Lonnie G. Bunch III said at the ceremony. "We realize as an institution that we are shared stewards of these collections. We are not owners."

Bunch highlighted the Smithsonian's new collection policy, which authorizes repatriation of objects for ethical reasons - the first significant update to the 176-year-old institution's collections management since 2001. "We hope that today's ceremony sets an example for all cultural institutions," he said.

Ngaire Blankenberg, director of the National Museum of African Art, which removed the Benin bronzes from view last fall, said the moment reflects a shift in the museum's practices. "This return sparks the beginning of a new era in our

One of the Benin bronzes at the National Museum of African Art in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, Oct. 11, 2022. Amanda Andrade-Rhoades/ For The Washington Post

relationship with the royal court, with Nigeria and with Africa and Africans writ large," she said, calling it "one of many steps" toward creating "more equal power dynamics concerning who owns and who interprets."

Lai Mohammed, Nigeria's Minister of Information and Culture, praised the move. "By returning the artifacts," he said, "these institutions are together writing new pages in history. Their brave decision to return the timeless artworks is worth emulating."

The Benin bronzes have become an international symbol of the fraught, colonialist histories of Western cultural institutions - from Boston to Berlin. They are at the center of a worldwide movement calling for the return of

looted and dubiously acquired artifacts - the Elgin marbles, the Gilgamesh tablet, the Easter Island Moai statute and others - to their places of origin. Tuesday's ceremony echoed similar ones in Europe in 2021, when Cambridge University and the Quai Branly museum gave up their bronzes. With this latest move, the high-profile Smithsonian - the largest museum system of its kind in the world - hopes to inspire other museums to follow suit.

Tuesday's ceremony was just one step on a long, complicated journey - the Smithsonian's Museum of Natural History still has 20 Benin bronzes, which have been placed under review, and the institution has many other objects with controversial origins, including thousands of human remains. Bunch says there are no plans

for a comprehensive review of the full collection of 155 million objects. Blankenberg said that her museum is working through a list of objects but

Bronzes from page 111

declined to give specifics.

Bunch said in an interview after the ceremony that he envisions the return encouraging international accountability.

"It allows us to be more global, and it allows us to make sure that people in Nigeria understand that the Smithsonian is doing work that helps them," he said. "And as we're now much more tied through technology, I think that's going to be a really important part. People around the world are going to say, 'These are the institutions that have treated us fairly, and these are the ones that have not.' "

National Gallery Director Kaywin Feldman also emphasized how the repatriation will create trust.

"Audiences are really interested in how objects come to museums. That's a question we get asked all the time," she said after the ceremony. "Being more transparent about provenance and the history of an object, I think, really appeals to our audiences and makes the institution more accessible."

"Benin bronzes" is a catchall term for a wide body

of artifacts that date to at least the 16th century.

It includes thousands of items made of different materials and depicting various subject matter - for example, commemorative busts of kings and animals from folklore. It is estimated that between 3,000 and 10,000 such objects were stolen by the British, many ransacked from the Kingdom of Benin (presentday Nigeria) in 1897 during a retaliatory, deadly British invasion now known as the "Punitive Expedition." The largest group of stolen works - about 900remain in the British Museum.

A recent Washington Post review of 70 museums found that of the 56 that have Benin pieces, 16 are engaged in a repatriation process. Critics of the repatriation movement have questioned how far museums will go and raised concerns about the care of objects once returned. Speaking

Benin

Lonnie G. Bunch III, Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution www.si.edu

africa-gallery.nl africa-galle

ery.nl

at Tuesday's ceremony on behalf of the oba (ruler) of the Kingdom of Benin, Prince Aghatise Erediauwa called such criticisms "archaic."

"The truth is that no argument can change looted works into unlooted works or stolen works into unstolen works. There is simply no moral or legal basis for persistently retaining cultural property which was looted during military expeditions or in unequal negotiations, for that matter. This demand by a few art historians and curators serves no purpose other than their

own self-interest," he said. "We are grateful to you and others who are on the side of truth and acknowledge where these works truly belong."

Blankenberg echoed this sentiment after the ceremony.

"We're not the guardians of the world. Western museums are not the custodians of all things of the world," she said. "There's so many false premises around the debate. People are like, 'Oh, no, if you give everything back, there'll be nothing in this museum.' Honestly, we have 12,000 [objects in our] collections. And if our whole museum is based on stolen objects, then frankly we shouldn't exist."

Blankenberg declined to comment on other museums' progress in ethical collecting but said the process to return the artifacts was smooth. "You don't deaccession anything in a museum easily, nor should you. And the process is a pain. But there was no resistance or debate," she said. "It's the entire institution that is really committed to figuring out what the right thing is."

Vanguard

The bronzes will head back to Africa in the coming weeks. Their final destination is expected to be the new Edo Museum of West African Art in Benin City, Nigeria, which is set to open in 2025. And here in Washington, Blankenberg is dreaming up an exhibition to familiarize visitors with the history of the bronzes.

"I don't want to dwell too much that the whole story of these amazing artworks is this one moment of colonial violence," she said. "We have to be able to understand that these artworks were created within an incredible context and artistry that exists today."

https://www.postguam.com/entertainment/ lifestyle/we-are-not-owners-smithsonian-givesback-29-benin-bronzes-to-nigeria/article_ ae5304b4-49df-11ed-a1dc-b71d7ab8a9b2.html

Can the NFL Push Virtual Reality into the Mainstream?

By Matthew Townsend and Vanessa Perdomo

ONE OF THE HURDLES to virtual reality going mainstream has been a lack of hit content to lure the masses. The National Football League and two former football players are trying to change that.

A few years ago, Troy Jones, who played quarterback in college, and Andrew Hawkins, a former NFL wide receiver, pitched the league and the NFL Players Association on a virtual reality video game. The duo, co-founders of StatusPro, won the licenses earlier this year and in September NFL Pro Era debuted for download on Meta Platforms Inc.’s Meta Quest 2 and Sony’s PlayStation VR.

“We know what it's like to be on the field,” Hawkins, the company’s president, said in an interview for the latest episode of Business of Sports, a series from Bloomberg Quicktake. Their goal is to “make sure every fan of the game also gets to experience that, and this technology is what made that possible.”

Adoption of virtual reality

by consumers is picking up steam with retail prices for headsets declining, according to Bloomberg Intelligence.

Hardware sales may triple to more than $7 billion by 2024,

the researcher said. A game featuring NFL players, teams and stadiums could expand the audience.

One of the most successful franchises in the history of gaming is Electronic Arts Inc.’s Madden NFL, which has the exclusive video game licenses for the NFL and NFLPA. And just like Madden, NFL Pro Era has a star player — in Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson — to be the face of the game.

“Content goes hand in hand with any hardware and sports

is probably what brings the most diverse group of people together,” said Jones, chief executive officer of StatusPro. “I think a lot of people will try VR for the first time” after the launch of the game, he said.

Jones and Hawkins initially created a VR experience as a training tool. They won over coaching staffs by pitching the product as a way for players to get virtual reps in the offseason

Lamar Jackson

when rules don’t allow in-person practices. Defensive coaches first utilized the technology as a way to get players more experience identifying offensive formations and lining up before the snap of the ball.

“We sat in the lab, and we were like: ‘position-by-position, coach-by-coach — how do we make their job easier?” said Hawkins, who played for the NFL’s Cincinnati Bengals and

Photographer:

first

The creators of NFL Pro Era, the first NFL-licensed virtual reality game, say it will help lure more people to VR headsets. To the left is a screenshot from the game. Source: StatusPro

Cleveland Browns.

After seeing the positive response from players, the company saw an opportunity to bring the experience to fans. The gameplay puts the player in the shoes of an NFL quarterback who breaks the huddle, takes a snap and looks for receivers downfield, while trying to avoid getting sacked by the defense.

“You'll gain an appreciation of when you see a quarterback

have to break out of the pocket, extend a play and find a receiver downfield with 280-pound guys running and chasing them down,” Jones said.

While time will tell if this game speeds up adoption of VR headsets, StatusPro is already contemplating expansion.

“We want to create these experiences across sports, not just football,” Hawkins said. To make games “that make people say: ‘I wanna try VR. I wanna put myself in this scenario.’”

https://www.bloomberg.com/ news/articles/2022-09-20/cannfl-pro-era-take-vr-mainstreamfor-oculus-playstation

Image credit: godtv.com, wbsnsports.com

Former football players Troy Jones and Andrew Hawkins co-founded StatusPro, which recently debuted the

NFLlicensed virtual reality video game.

Tom Connors /Bloomberg

Michelle Obama Announces New Obama Foundation Girls Opportunity Alliance Campaign to Inspire Everyone to Get Involved in Girls’ Education and Empowerment

By BLACK ENTERPRISE Editors (see companion article on page 53)

RECENTLY, IN CELEBRATION of International Day of the Girl, former First Lady Michelle Obama announced that the Girls Opportunity Alliance, a program of the Obama Foundation, is launching a new campaign.

Get Her There is a global call to action to help educate and empower adolescent girls around the world to reach their full potential. Over the next five years, the Alliance aims to bring together a diverse group of everyday people, corporations, industry leaders, nonprofits, and valuable stakeholders to support hundreds of community-based organizations worldwide, reaching thousands of adolescent girls, according to a press release.

Watch the inspiring Get Her There launch video titled “Dear 25-Year-Old Me,” produced by Blackish actress Marsai Martin, featuring students from the Girls Opportunity Alliance community.

“When we launched the Girls Opportunity Alliance four years ago today, we knew the key to advancing our work was an alliance of stakeholders coming together to support girls completing their education,” said Michelle Obama.

“AND THAT IS EXACTLY WHAT THE GET HER THERE CAMPAIGN WAS CREATED TO DO. THE BARRIERS OUR GIRLS FACE TODAY ARE STEEP AND ARE LEAVING MILLIONS OF GIRLS OUT OF SCHOOL.”

“Our goal is to help clear away all that’s standing in the way of girls achieving their dreams. While that’s too big of a challenge for any one of us to tackle alone, it’s something I know can be accomplished if we all work together. We all have a role to play in ensuring girls get the opportunities they deserve,

so I hope everyone will join us on our mission to get every girl to the place she wants to be.”

Get Her There represents an expansion of the Girls Opportunity Alliance’s reach and impact. Since 2018, the Girls Opportunity Alliance has worked to inspire, empower, and connect more than 4,000 leaders and community-based organizations who are working to support adolescent girls around the world; drive specific commitments through the Girls Opportunity Alliance Fund; and galvanize young people everywhere to take action in support of their peers.

To date, the Girls Opportunity Alliance has funded 54 projects from community-based organizations in 20 countries, including India, Malawi, Cambodia, and Peru, and has provided these organizations with access to resources to help inform and

adding 12 new community-based organizations from countries like Kenya, India, and Colombia to its fund as part of this effort.

The Girls Opportunity Alliance is grateful to all of the donors and partners that are making Get Her There possible and is proud to announce its diverse coalition of growing sponsors, collaborators, and supporters who are united in ensuring all girls are empowered with the resources they need to fulfill their potential: Sponsors/Collaborators Founding

strengthen their work. Over the next five years, the Girls Opportunity Alliance’s Get Her There campaign will fund more than 100 organizations and grow its network of leaders around the world who are helping to educate and empower our girls. Today, the Girls Opportunity Alliance is

For more information about Get Her There and the Obama Foundation’s Girls Opportunity Alliance, visit GetHerThere.org.

hhttps://www.blackenterprise.com/michelleobama-announces-new-obama-foundation-girlsopportunity-alliance-campaign-to-inspire-everyoneto-get-involved-in-girls-education-and-empowerment/

Image credit: Photo by NAACP via Getty Images, Pinterest, Obama Foundation

Diane Spivey Shows Black Chefs’ Und Foundation for American Cuisine

By Kalin Thomas

watermelon

DIANE M. SPIVEY ’s book, “At the Table of Power: Food and Cuisine in the African American Struggle for Freedom, Justice, and Equality” (available on Amazon), is a detailed history of how African and African American cooking informed the foundation of American cuisine. “This book answers the question of how and why the American culinary narrative has trivialized the African and African American contributions to American cuisine and what the implications are for correcting the narrative for the future,” says Spivey. This is the second book from the culinary historian, who has devoted more than 40 years to studying and recording African American food traditions and cooking. From Africa to the Americas “Africa is the cradle of civilization and therefore the cradle of cooking and cuisine,” shares Spivey. She continues, “Africans spread out to all corners of the globe, and wherever they went, they took their culinary practices with them. Just some of the crops brought to the Americas from Africa include beans, okra (gumbo), peanuts (goobers), watermelon, yams, coffee, bananas, palm oil and rice. And those crops were brought to the Americas, along with enslaved Africans, to plant and harvest them.”

After harvesting those crops, enslaved Africans were also expected to cook them. Historically, Africans were never given credit for their agricultural or culinary expertise because they were still looked upon as enslaved, and consequently, what belonged to

James Hemings: America's First Chef, gave us Macaroni & Cheese. www.thespruceeats.com/ american-culinary-founding-father-5113634

This image is often used to represent Hercules Posey and James Hemmings but is not the image of either man. https://www.whsv.com/content/news/Expertssay-portrait-isnt-of-George-Washingtonschef-506560921.html

the enslaved person ultimately belonged to the enslaver. “France reinvented itself by turning its poverty of culinary resources into a virtue,” notes Spivey. “Then France claimed to be the king of cuisine as if nobody could cook but the French,” she continues. So America began to adopt “French flair and technique” to define how cuisine should be prepared.

Cooks, Caterers and Creators

Just after the end of the Civil War, newly freed Africans and African Americans were trying to find jobs to make a living and one of those jobs was cooking. In fact, during and after slavery, Black women were the ones who did all of the cooking for White families. Whenever White elites wanted to show off for their local and international guests, they made sure a Black person cooked their food. But because of sexism during that era, the catering jobs went to more Black men than women. In fact, some of the Pullman Porters, during the heyday of train travel, turned their cooking, serving and customer service skills into catering jobs. Even then, many of those men were called “waiters” instead of being given the more prestigious title of caterer. Still, the book notes, “from the rural country kitchen and steamboat floating palaces to marketplace street vendors and restaurants in urban hubs, Africans in America cooked their way to positions of distinct superiority, and thereby became indispensable.”

Two of those indispensable chefs were enslaved. Hercules Posey (called Uncle Harkless) and James Hemings were responsible for building the culinary reputations of presidents George Washington and Thomas Jefferson, respectively. According to the book, “they not only contributed tremendously to the evolution of American cuisine, they were also instrumental in sowing the seeds for the developments of what America refers to as ‘fine

dining.’”

But cooking became a money maker for White America in the 20th and 21st centuries, particularly after 1976, when chefs were reclassified and cooking became an arm of the entertainment industry. And, little by little, Black chefs were pushed out.

Beyond Soul Food

The book even includes some of the recipes from these caterers. But Spivey warns, “A lot of the recipes have to be interpreted where you add your own instructions to them because they are not fully instructed the way we do recipes today.” The book notes that many White women published cookbooks that were actually recipes from their Black cooks, who were conveniently left out of the books. Spivey calls this “culinary apartheid” — the theft and re-assigning of Black culinary achievements to Whites. Spivey says that pushes what African American chefs are credited for to the very narrow box of “soul food.”

This brings us to the book’s epilogue, where Spivey honors the late chef Edna Lewis of New York. “There’s a lot that I love about her, and one of them is that she doesn’t like the term soul food, and I don’t either,” declares Spivey. “Yes, we made delicacies out of the scraps that were given to us when we were enslaved. But our cooking can’t be put in a box because Blacks were the primary cooks and chefs for the rich and elite in every culinary setting,” she exclaims. “That’s why we have to be in control of telling our own culinary history.”

https://www.cuisinenoirmag.com/diane-spiveyshows-black-chefs-undeniable-foundation-foramerican-cuisine/

Image credit: blackpast.org, kobo.com, https:// en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hercules_Posey, GMVozd / Getty Images

UK Tells Schools They Can’t Ban Afro Hairstyles

Source: NYT

RUBY WILLIAMS was 14 when a teacher stopped her as she walked down a corridor of her school in London and told her that her Afro hair was too big. A few days later, her mother, Kate Williams, said, the teacher summoned Ruby out of her class and sent her home, recommending some chemicals to straighten her hair. He did not allow her back until she braided her hair so it stuck to her head.

Her mother said Ruby had loved school, but after her experience had refused to get out of bed, and her attendance dropped. “They destroyed her,” she said.

Ruby’s case and that of other Black or mixed-race children who were disciplined for their hairstyles at school prompted Britain’s national equality body to instruct schools on Thursday that students should not be stopped from wearing their hair in natural Afro styles at school.

“You shouldn’t have to change your hair to get an education,” Ms. Williams said.

In 2010, Britain passed an Equality Act that stated that people must not face discrimination because of their race or ethnicity. The act did not specifically refer to hair and hairstyles, but anti-discrimination groups and Britain’s equality regulator, the Equality and Human Rights Commission, said that it was clear the law would apply when hair was associated with race or ethnicity.

Still, groups working on the issue said, many children with Afro hair experienced discrimination on a daily basis through attitudes and uniform policies that targeted the look of their natural hair. According to the commission, hair-based discrimination disproportionately affects girls and boys with Afro-textured hair or hairstyles.

Ruby’s school uniform policy at the time, according to a screenshot shared with The New

York Times by her mother, Ms. Williams, stated that “Afro style hair, including buns, should be of reasonable size and length.”

Ruby’s school, the Urswick School in Hackney, did not respond to a request for comment. In a statement to British news outlets in 2020, the school’s governing body said it was “hugely distressed if any child or family feels we have discriminated against them,” adding: “We do not accept that the school has discriminated, even unintentionally, against any individual or group.”

It said its policy was informed by safety concerns, did not ban any specific color, length or style of hair, and was less prescriptive than those of many other British schools.

The Equality and Human Rights Commission said on Thursday that the aim of its new guidelines was to ensure that school leaders understood the law in this area by making clear that uniform policies that banned certain hairstyles without the possibility for exceptions based on racial grounds were likely to be unlawful.

They specified that the ban on discrimination includes natural Afro hairstyles, braids, cornrows, plaits and head coverings.

“I can’t believe some schools still think it is reasonable to police Afro hair — a huge part of our racial identity,” Ruby said in a message, adding that she was relieved that there was now detailed guidance on this. “I hope that this will prevent other children from experiencing what I did.”

Stephanie Cohen, the co-founder of the Halo Collective, a network fighting hair discrimination in Britain, said that hair had long been used as a racialized barrier. In the United States in the 19th century, for example, some churches hung combs next to their doors, and people could go in only if

the comb could run through their hair.

“This translates into these policies,” she said, referring to modern day school uniform rules. “It’s a barrier to education.”

The equality commission said that in 2017 it had also assisted another British child, Chikayzea Flanders, who was told that his dreadlocks did not comply with the school’s uniform code and was isolated from his classmates. His dreadlocks, the commission said, were a tenet of his Rastafarian beliefs.

Starting in 2019, several American states banned hair discrimination, preventing employers and schools from targeting hairstyles in ways that penalize Black employees and students, and codifying the link between racism and hairstyle.

According to Ms. Williams and the Equality and Human Rights Commission, Ruby’s family sued the school with the financial support of the commission for a breach of the 2010 Equality

Act, arguing that their rule unfairly impacted Black children. In 2019, three years after Ruby was sent home for the first time, she received an out-ofcourt settlement of 8,500 pounds, currently about $9,800, from the school. The school, which is state-funded but run by the Church of England, did not accept liability, but it removed references to Afro hair from its uniform guidelines.

After her experience at school, Ruby started having panic attacks and suffering from anxiety and depression. Now, at 20, she is a university student and a makeup artist.

“She is in the process of rebuilding herself,” Ms. Williams said.

https://silk-news.com/2022/10/27/world/uk-tellsschools-they-cant-ban-afro-hairstyles/

Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/27/ world/europe/uk-schools-afro-hair.html

Image credit: ourarcticocean.org

Natasha Bowen is Bringing Black

Mermaids and West African Lore to the Best-sellers’ List

By Kayla Grant

WHILE MANY ARE still buzzing about the much-discussed diversification of Disney’s reboot of “The Little Mermaid,” the magical world under the sea has already experienced another melanin boost, thanks to fantasy author Natasha Bowen

As a child, Bowen constantly was reading a book. The Nigerian-Welsh writer grew up without a television set, so books allowed her to be transported to another world. When she was around six years old, she read Hans Christian Andersen’s “The Little Mermaid” for the first time and fell in love with all of the wonders possible in the oceanic world. There was only one thing missing from the mermaid tales that she read: Black characters.

“As there were more books coming on the scene, there tended to be less about Black people as magical beings or creatures in fantasy, and I definitely wanted to see more of that,” she told theGrio. “I love that type of genre and those stories, [so] I’m like, ‘I’m gonna write … what I want to read.’”

On September 27, Bowen released her second young adult fantasy novel, “Soul of the Deep,” the highly anticipated

sequel to her best-selling debut, “Skin of the Sea.” The story follows the series’ main character Simi as she navigates the mystical world under the sea, discovers the power and strength within herself, and undergoes a journey of finding self-love while battling to save the world.

Bowen also chooses to heavily weave West African lore into her stories, which presented the author with the fun challenge of researching and learning as much about the origins of African mythology, spirituality and folktales as she could before embarking on writing her first novel. It was imperative for Bowen get the stories correct—and specifically, to show the duality in the personalities of various gods and goddesses. For example, in contrast to common western misconceptions, the deity Èṣù is not portrayed as a devil in her stories, directly combatting general characterizations of “the

trickster god.”

“When you’re dealing with spiritual belief systems that people still believe in and hold dear to them, you have to make sure that you’re representing them correctly, and I didn’t want to offend in any way,” said Bowen.

When it comes to storytelling, the version told always depends on the person telling the story. The care with which Bowen approaches West African lore underscores the importance of Black people not only telling their own stories but also seeing themselves as main characters.

With Halle Bailey playing lead character Ariel in Disney’s live-action interpretation of Andersen’s classic and the increasing inclusion of Black characters in under-thesea fantasy tales, there is much-needed conversation surrounding on- and off-screen representation that is further

Book covers: Penguin Random House;

pushing forward the fight for diversification of the fantasy genre. As noted by Bowen, who is also a mother, this push is making it possible for young Black girls to recognize themselves in a space previously dominated by the Eurocentric lens.

“When you see someone that looks like you, you believe that you could be that or you could do that,” Bowen said. “It’s good to think you can be a doctor, but when you’re six, you might just want to be a mermaid.”

Bowen’s messages through her novels are multi-layered. She wants every reader to take away the value of self-love, a strong sense of who they are, where they came from, and a knowledge of their own courage and power. She also wants them to have fun.

“An important message that I wanted to impart in the book is that you might face adversity, but if you’re doing what you

believe is best, then there’s a strength in that,” Bowen said. “With both books, and definitely with ‘Soul of the Deep,’ I wanted to make sure that we’re aware of the Black excellence in West Africa and have that sense of putting ourselves first and doing what’s right for us—as well as adding

some other creatures and crazy stuff in that.”

https://thegrio.com/2022/10/02/ bestselling-fantasy-authornatasha-bowen-talks-westafrican-lore-and-blackmermaids/?utm_medium=email https://www.amazon.com/ Skin-Sea-Natasha-Bowen/ dp/0593120949/ref=asc_ df_0593120949 https://www.amazon.com/SoulMermaids-Orisa-Natasha-Bowen/ dp/0593120981

Photo of Natasha Bowen: Mark J. Elias

Army National Guard Names First Black Woman Battalion Commander in Tennessee

By BOTWC Staff

THE ARMY NATIONAL GUARD recently named its first Black woman battalion commander in Tennessee, DVIDS reports.

Lt. Col. Sam-Kpakra was born in Sierra Leone, she and her family relocating to America due to civil unrest when she was just 15 years old. Shortly after their arrival, her father suddenly passed away. In 1992, Sam-Kpakra joined the National Guard, crediting her father as being her inspiration for joining.

“Through his service, he found great meaning in life which brought him profound joy. He often told my siblings and I to be strong instruments for good in our communities whenever we could and bring meaningful change to the lives of those who need it. These valuable lifelong lessons remained with me and inspired me to join the greatest military in the world - the United States Army,” she told reporters.

Dedicated to her mission, she continued to work herself up through the ranks over the years, earning an officer commission in 1998 and working with the Tennessee National Guard since 2012. During that time, she has served in a number of capacities including, as a member of Operation Enduring Freedom at Camp Arifjan, Kuwait, and as commander of Headquarters, Headquarters company, (-) 29th Divisional support Command and the 529th Quartermaster Detachment. Now the Lt. Col. has made history, being named by the Army National Guard as the first Black woman

battalion commander in Tennessee.

Sam-Kpakra took to social media to share her good news, also speaking on the Army’s commitment to diversity.

“On 7 August 2022, I assumed command of the 230th Special Troops Battalion, making me the first African American woman to ever command a Battalion size element in the Tennessee Army National Guard. I am both humbled and honored to be a part of this historic moment and excited to serve the men and women of an amazing unit. This moment signifies the progress the Army has made on truly being diverse, equitable and inclusive to all, “ she wrote on Linkedin.

She will take over for previous commander Lt. Col. Andy Stafford. Sam-Kpakra was given the role during Smyrna’s Volunteer Training Site, speaking on her mission of bringing meaningful change to the world. She is also a proud member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Incorporated, spending her time outside of work and philanthropy with her family and children. She said her new appointment is like a dream come true.

“It is the pinnacle of a Lieutenant Colonel’s career that offers an opportunity to interact with Soldiers directly once again and effect change at the ground level - this is why I serve,” Sam-Kpakra explained.

She hopes to inspire others to fall in her footsteps, advocating for those who look like her to pursue more leadership roles. Her advice to the young

Lifestyle/Culture Angella Okutoyi to Join Auburn Women’s Tennis Program in the Spring

By Auburn University Athletics

Slam title.

"Angie [Okutoyi] is a trailblazer, someone who serves as an incredible inspiration and role model for future generations of aspiring tennis players," said Auburn head coach Caroline Lilley. "With a plethora of international experience on the biggest stages in junior tennis, she has remained grounded in her commitment to prioritizing her development as a person above all else. In all our conversations with Angie and with those who know her well, the one thing always on display was her character. She does things the right way, holding herself to a high standard while allowing her moral compass to guide her. Her competitiveness will serve her well, but her compassion and kindness make her someone people want to follow."

"I chose Auburn because I was raised the Tiger way," Okutoyi said.

Okutoyi also became the first Kenyan to win a match at a junior girls' Grand Slam at the 2022 Australian Open. She is a two time African junior champion in singles and ranked as the best junior player in the continent of Africa.

ANGELLA OKUTOYI has officially signed to join the Auburn women's tennis team this spring, head coach Caroline Lilley announced on Monday.

Okutoyi, who is a native of Nairobi, Kenya, will enter the Spring 2022 season as a true freshman. Okutoyi held an ITF junior ranking of 49th and claims six ITF junior singles titles and 13 ITF junior doubles titles. She also won the Junior Wimbeldon Doubles Championship in 2022, which made her the first Kenyan to win a Grand

"We would like to thank her coach, Francis Rogoi, as well as both Rosemary Owino and Wanjii Karani, for allowing us to be a part of this journey," Coach Lilley said. "Angie has a terrific team back home, and we are excited to collaborate with them as she navigates the next chapter of her life. We welcome Angie, her loved ones and those most instrumental in her upbringing to the Auburn family!"

https://auburntigers.com/news/2022/10/10/ womens-tennis-angella-okutoyi-to-join-auburnwomens-tennis-program-in-the-spring.aspx

leaders who may be looking at her as an example is simple, take advantage of all of your resources and stay prepared.

“Success is when opportunity meets preparation, therefore it’s important to always be prepared. To this end, I would tell junior officers of the importance to have a 5-year plan at a minimum and manage that plan closely. I would further advise them to complete the Professional Military Education and seek broadening assignments to

complement Key Developmental positions. These assignments would further prepare officers for greater responsibility and provide even greater insight into the role and those around them,” said Sam-Kpakra.

Congratulations Odessa! Because of you, we can.

https://www.becauseofthemwecan.com/blogs/botwcfirsts/army-national-guard-names-first-black-womanbattalion-commander-in-tennessee

Lifestyle/Culture

Malawi's John Chilembwe gets Statue in London's Trafalgar Square

By Priya Sippy

A NEW STATUE has been unveiled in central London's historic Trafalgar Square.

But this time, it is not a monument to one of the UK's war heroes or kings. Instead it will be a largerthan-life statue of Malawian Baptist preacher and pan-Africanist John Chilembwe, who fought against British colonial rule.

The sculpture, named Antelope, will be the square's newest Fourth Plinth - which is regarded as one of the world's most famous public art commissions.

Since 2003, the Fourth Plinth has been showcasing different pieces of artwork every two years. While it was originally intended to display a statue of King William IV, it remained empty due to insufficient funds and now exhibits temporary art, selected through public consultation and the commissioning group.

Chilembwe's five-metre statue will mark the first of an African in Trafalgar Square.

Cast in bronze, Antelope restages a famous photograph taken in 1914 of Chilembwe standing next to British missionary John Chorley, outside his church in Mbombwe village in southern Malawi.

In the picture, Chilembwe is wearing a widebrimmed hat, despite an unwritten rule that Africans should not wear hats in front of white people.

While the two stand together in the photo, when it comes to the statue the sculptor has added a twist that means that the image of the Malawian catches people's eye.

Malawian-born artist Samson Kambalu designed the piece to make Chilembwe much larger than Chorley. His statue stands at five metres towering over that of Chorley's.

"By increasing his scale, the artist elevates Chilembwe and his story, revealing the hidden narratives of underrepresented peoples in the history of the British Empire in Africa, and beyond," says the Mayor of London's website.

Although the monument takes centre stage in London, Chilembwe remains an unknown figure to many.

"Many people may not know who John Chilembwe is. And that is the whole point,'' says Kambalu, an associate professor of fine art at the University of Oxford in England.

Chilembwe is widely acknowledged as one of the first Africans to fight against colonial injustices in the 20th Century, staging an uprising against the British in Malawi (formerly Nyasaland) in 1915.

Although the uprising was short-lived, his actions reverberated across the continent and beyond.

Chilembwe is considered to have influenced several figures of black liberation, including Jamaican political activist Marcus Garvey, and John Langalibalele Dube, the founding president of what went on to become the African National Congress (ANC) in South Africa.

Chilembwe was born in the early 1870s, and grew up in southern Malawi's Chiradzulu District. He was one of four children, with his father

originating from the Yao people and his mother from the Mang'anja community.

Growing up in Chiradzulu, Chilembwe was heavily influenced by Scottish missionaries who went to Malawi following in the footsteps of explorer David Livingstone.

It was here that Chilembwe first met a radical missionary, Joseph Booth, whose famous dictum was "Africa for Africans".

Chilembwe became one of Booth's early protégés, and the two eventually travelled to the US, where he studied theology in Virginia.

During his time in the US, Chilembwe witnessed the struggles of African Americans during the reconstruction period after the abolition of slavery.

Several years later, he left the US emboldened to tackle the colonial injustices he saw in his own country.

Once back in Malawi, an ordained Chilembwe worked to establish a mission in Chiradzulu.

He built a brick church, several schools, and planted crops of cotton, tea and coffee, with financial backing from the US.

Anti-colonial resistance

He returned to find fast-growing resistance against the British regime, derived from new laws which pushed Malawians off their land, while many were also forced to work on white-owned plantations under poor conditions.

Chilembwe had further grievances with the colonialists after the outbreak of World War One, where Malawian soldiers were taken to fight against the German army in what is now Tanzania.

Publicising his discontent, he wrote a letter to the only newspaper in circulation at the time. It is thought that shortly after his letter he began planning his rebellion, which began in January 1915.

However, Chilembwe's attempt to attack white settlers was quickly foiled and British forces raised the alarm early on.

His uprising claimed only a few casualties, and the British army put out a reward for Chilembwe and his supporters.

A few days later, he was shot dead by African soldiers while trying to cross into what is now Mozambique.

Although his rebellion was unsuccessful, historians say that Chilembwe's attempt created the groundwork for Africa's independence movements. Malawi became independent in 1964.

Today, Chilembwe's legacy can be seen across Malawi. Several roads have been named after him, while his photo appears on the country's currency, the kwacha, as well as stamps.

John Chilembwe Day is also celebrated every year on 15 January.

However, historians say there is an ongoing debate about his relevance.

"Every year on Chilembwe Day, the newspapers and online publications will write essays to debate his legacy," says Malawian historian Muti Michael Phoya.

"While most agree that he is very important in Malawi's history, some say he staged his uprising too early," continued Mr Phoya. "But Kambalu's sculpture may rekindle this dialogue and we may see renewed interest in his story."

Kambalu agrees saying he hopes the statue "will start a conversation in Britain that is still coming to reckoning with their colonial past.

"The sculpture brings to light the forgotten histories of the empire, and society is looking for that recognition."

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-62824881

Image credit: www.lilianelijn.com

Fourth Plinth

History National Museum of African American History and Cu Freedmen’s Bureau Search Portal

Resource to Help Families and Researchers Explore Reconstruction and Post-Emancipation African American Life

THE SMITHSONIAN’S National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) announces the launch of the Freedmen’s Bureau Search Portal. The new comprehensive search platform is designed to help family historians and genealogists search for their ancestors and for scholars and students to research various topics found in over 1.7 million pages of Freedmen’s Bureau records.

The portal allows users to search records from the United States Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, commonly known as the Freedmen’s Bureau. Congress created the Freedmen’s Bureau after the Civil War to assist in the political and social reconstruction of post-war Southern states and to help formerly enslaved African Americans transition from slavery to freedom and citizenship. From 1865 to 1872, the Freedmen’s Bureau created and collected over 1.7 million handwritten records containing the names and information of hundreds of thousands of formerly enslaved individuals and Southern white refugees.

The search portal combines data created by two different NMAAHC initiatives into a

single searchable platform. In 2015, NMAAHC, FamilySearch International, the California African American Museum and the AfroAmerican Historical and Genealogical Society collaborated on a crowdsourcing project to index the names, dates and locations found in the records. Data created from the project—nearly 2 million indexed names—was transferred to the NMAAHC in December 2016.

Shortly after the indexing project was complete, NMAAHC and the Smithsonian Transcription Center began a crowdsourcing effort to fully transcribe all of the more than 1.7 million pages, including labor contracts, land leases, marriage certificates, hospital registers, ration orders, teachers’ reports and personal testimony. To date, over 400,000 pages of records have been transcribed and are fully searchable.

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The portal allows users to search indexed data for specific names, places and dates and transcribed data for topics, subjects, institutions and any other keywords and phrases. By bringing these two data sets together, the Freedmen’s Bureau Search Portal creates unprecedented research possibilities and access to this invaluable set of records.

The portal and the ongoing Freedmen’s Bureau Transcription Project provide a better understanding of Reconstruction and postemancipation African American life and allow African Americans to connect with their ancestors in a way that was previously thought impossible.

Volunteers Can Join the Freedmen’s Bureau Transcription Project

The museum is leading a volunteer effort to transcribe the digitized records of the Freedmen’s

Bureau so they can be more useful for scholars and genealogists researching the Reconstruction era. To learn more about the Freedmen’s Bureau Project, the public can visit the Robert Frederick Smith Explore Your Family History Center on the museum’s second floor or the Smithsonian Transcription Center webpage to volunteer.

About the National Museum of African American History and Culture

Since opening Sept. 24, 2016, the National Museum of African American History and Culture has welcomed more than 8.5 million in-person visitors and millions more through its digital presence. Occupying a prominent location next to the Washington Monument on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., the nearly 400,000-squarefoot museum is the nation’s largest and most comprehensive cultural destination devoted exclusively to exploring, documenting, and showcasing the African American story and its impact on American and world history. For more information about the museum, visit nmaahc. si.edu follow @NMAAHC on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram or call Smithsonian information at (202) 633-1000.

https://www.becauseofthemwecan.com/blogs/ botwc-firsts/army-national-guard-names-firstblack-woman-battalion-commander-in-tennessee

What Interactive Maps and 3D Digital Models Reveal about Mau Mau Detention Camps in Kenya

By Maxine Betteridge-Moes

IN A NEW documentary released recently in the UK, Kenyan and British historians describe how Britain secretly used torture against prisoners in Mau Mau detention camps during the anti-colonial uprising movement in the 1950s. One of the Kenyans featured is historian and digital heritage scholar Chao Tayiana, the founder of the African Digital Heritage Project (ADHP), an organization focusing on the use of technology in preserving and sharing African heritage.

“It really flipped the script as to who is uncivilized,” Tayiana says in the film, which reveals details from a secret archive known as the “Hanslope Disclosure” that remained hidden from public view for over 50 years. The archive contained damning evidence on Britain’s use of torture including murder, rape, and forced castrations against Mau Mau prisoners. Surviving veterans of this period are also featured in the film, and describe the appalling conditions they endured in detention.

“Oral history is treated as second rate compared to written knowledge, and so it hasn’t mattered in many years that veterans and people who lived through this period have been saying that this happened,” Tayiana tells Quartz. “It was only until the disclosure of the archives proving that there was torture that people really started listening.”

History of the Mau Mau uprising

The Mau Mau was an armed rebellion launched

by the Kikuyu people demanding the return of stolen land from white British settlers as well as money for independence. The British declared a State of Emergency in 1952 to counter the uprising, with the executive order to put in detention camps anyone who opposed colonial rule. Unofficial figures estimate that tens of thousands of Kenyans were executed, tortured, or maimed during the crackdown, which lasted until 1960.

Historians estimate that more than 100 camps were set up during this period, yet remarkably little is known about their history in both Kenyan and British public spaces today.

The Mau Mau were eventually defeated, but the uprising is regarded as one of the most significant steps towards Kenyan independence in 1963.

Digitizing Britain’s detention camps

Since 2019, Tayiana has been working in collaboration with volunteers and colleagues in Kenya and the UK to document, digitally reconstruct, and curate an exhibition that sheds light on the Mau Mau detention camps that were built by the British in the early 1950s.

“Visual language and imagery is very powerful

in informing our understanding of the past but also helping us get a sense of where things are located in time and physically,” says Tayiana. “So [the ADHP] asks how this data can be communicated in multiple ways, through multiple mediums to audiences across the board.”

The ADHP works with museums, archives, and communities to document African histories through innovative technology that centers human experiences and oral histories. The project has so far created a number of open source digital assets including 3D digital models and interactive maps that show the detention camps were spread out all over the country, and included exile camps, detention camps, work camps and women and juvenile camps.

These digital reconstructions rely

these assets more accessible to more people, regardless of their literacy levels or knowledge of English.

“The biggest knowledge gap regarding that period is really around the human experience,” says Tayiana. “We are aware of the camps, we’re aware they existed, but we don’t really know much about what took place. The human experience is very abstracted from the nationalist story of how the Mau Mau fought and they got independence.”

A ‘lifecycle’ between digital and physical work

Despite the opportunities in using technology to reproduce cultural value and meaning, Tayiana says the ADHP faces limitations with resources and infrastructure to carry out its digitization efforts. Digital reach is also a factor, she says, as many target audiences in Kenya still do not have easy access to digital technologies.

“We ended up reaching a very specific demographic, which is 18 to 34 year olds who are on Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, and Facebook,” she said. “One of the things we think of is how can this primary audience then reach another secondary audience, so maybe their grandparents or their parents. We try to create a lifecycle between digital work and physical work, because I don’t believe they should be separate.”

on extensive research and sources including oral and written testimonials, existing plans and 3D scans, as well as some physical remains from the campsites. The goal is to create a better representation of shared history and to make

Tayiana acknowledges that digital reconstructions will never be completely accurate, and she says remaining open to feedback and input is crucial. Next year, the team will begin incorporating more assets and cultural context to the map, beyond the epicenter of the violence in central Kenya. They are also currently working on a physical exhibition in Kenya about the approximately 800 concentrated villages

Mau Mau History

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that were set aside for around 1 million women and children during the Mau Mau uprising.

These villages were managed by British officials and ‘home guards’—armed non-Mau Mau Africans that were falsely branded ‘loyalists’ by colonial rulers. Tayiana says women and children were subject to cruel treatment including forced curfews, and they were not allowed to grow their own food or manage their own land resources.

“The exhibition really centers on what that did to the societal fabric of these villages … and how the officials treated women.”

Tayiana says the exhibition will include the physical remains of a trench that was dug around the village, as well as the archives and oral histories collected from survivors.

Documenting history before it’s too late

Tayiana’s work with the ADHP is mirrored by her other initiatives that center human experience and value oral histories. In 2018, she founded the Museum of British Colonialism—a digital platform which facilitates global conversations on Britain’s colonial legacies. She is also the founder of the Open Restitution Africa project which gathers data on current restitution processes across the African continent.

There is a sense of urgency in much of her work to document these histories before it is too late.

This is particularly true for the Mau Mau detention camps, as there are fewer veterans alive today to tell their stories.

“This history is not being taught to the extent to which it should be taught in Kenya,” she said. “There are still a lot of wounds and silences here in the country regarding this period. But what’s interesting about this history, I think, is that there are so many factors that are working against it. And so the very fact that it did make its way to light…is something we really need to pay attention to.”

https://news.yahoo.com/interactive-maps-3ddigital-models-082500084.html

Source: https://qz.com/what-interactive-mapsand-3d-digital-models-reveal-abou-1849579839

▲ A solitary confinement cell, approximately 11x10 ft. These structures had no windows or natural light, and had barbed wire along the roof lining. https://www.

museumofbritishcolonialism.org/ emergencyexhibition

◄ Documenting and visualizing detention camps in Kenya https://www. museumofbritishcolonialism.org/ emergencyexhibition

African Diaspora Independence Days

J

R CAMEROON - J . 1, 1960 R HAITI - J . 1, 1804 D R SUDAN - J . 1, 1956 F G GRENADA - F 07, 1974 R T GAMBIA - F . 18, 1965 SAINT LUCIA - F 22, 1979 DOMINICAN REPUBLIC - F . 27, 1844 A R EGYPT - F . 28, 1922 WESTERN SAHARA - F . 28, 1976 M K MOROCCO - M 2, 1956 R GHANA - M 6, 1957 S MAURITIUS - M 12, 1968 R TUNISIA - M 20, 1956 R NAMIBIA - M 21, 1990 A R SENEGAL - A 4, 1960 S N Z MOROCCO (M ) - A 7, 1956 R ZIMBABWE - A 18, 1980 MOROCCO (S S Z , M ) - A 27, 1958 R SIERRA LEONE - A . 27, 1961 R TOGO - A 27, 1960 M P ' D R ETHIOPIAM 5, 1941 R CUBA - M 20 ,1902 S ERITREA - M 24, 1993 C - R GUYANA - M 26, 1966 R SOUTH AFRICA - M 31, 1910 J NIGERIA (B C N ) - J 1, 1961 A A ' R V (J ) - J 19, 1865 R MOZAMBIQUE - J 25. 1975 D R MADAGASCAR -

J 26, 1960 R DJIBOUTI - J 27, 1977 R SEYCHELLES - J 29, 1976 D R CONGO (KINSHASA) - J 30, 1960 MOROCCO (I ) - J 30, 1969 J R BURUNDI - J 1, 1962 R RWANDA - J 1, 1962 D R SOMALIA - J 1, 1960 D P R ALGERIA - J 3, 1962 R CAPE VERDE - J 5, 1975 F I R COMOROS - J 6, 1975 R MALAWI - J 6, 1964 C THE BAHAMAS - J 10, 1973 D R SÃO TOMÉ AND PRINCIPE - J 12, 1975 R LI BERIA - J 26, 1847 A R BENIN - A . 1, 1960 R NIGER - A . 3, 1960 P D R BURKINA FASO - A . 5, 1960 G JAMAICA - A 06, 1962 R CÔTE D'IVOIRE (I C )A . 7, 1960 R CHAD - A . 11, 1960 CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC - A . 13, 1960 R CONGO (BRAZZAVILLE)A . 15, 1960 R GABON - A . 16, 1960 R TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO - A 31, 1962 S K

SWAZILAND - S . 6, 1968 F S C ST. KITTS

AND NEVIS - S 19 1983

G BELIZE - S 21, 1981

R MALI - S . 22, 1960

R GUINEA-BISSAU - S . 24, 1973

R BOTSWANA - S . 30, 1966

O

CAMEROON (B C S )O . 1, 1961

F R NIGERIA - O . 1, 1960 R GUINEA - O . 2, 1958

K LESOTHO - O . 4, 1966

R UGANDA - O . 9, 1962

R EQUATORIAL GUINEA - O . 12, 1968

R ZAMBIA - O . 24, 1964

G ST. VINCENT AND THE GRENADINES - O 27, 1979 MOROCCO (I Z , T )O . 29, 1956

N G ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA01 N 01, 1981

C DOMINICA - N 03, 1978 P ' R ANGOLA - N . 11, 1975

R SURINAME - N 25, 1975

I R MAURITANIA - N . 28, 1960 BARBADOS - N 30, 1966

D

U R

TANZANIA - D . 9, 1961

R KENYA - D . 12, 1963 LIBYA (S P ' L A J ) - D . 24, 1951

www.thoughtco.com/chronological-list-of-africanindependence-4070467

www.caribbeanelections.com/education/ independence/default.asp

Image credit: etsy.com