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Investment in Africa Growing
Ricky Muloweni
1 Timothy 6:12 NIV
THE ONGOING PANDEMIC HAS
continued to decapitate the small business community in Africa. Our culture and ability to adapt to this challenge should not be embraced but be taken as a call to action.
The combination of the pandemic with the employment challenges already posed by Africa’s rapid demographic growth, and its lack of social safety nets, is a recipe for economic disaster in many parts of Africa especially the rural towns.
African Village Market, United Republic of Tanzania Pinterest
It is much clearer now to say an economy for the top did not help the bottom whatsoever. Going forward we will all need to explore better avenues to build an economy for small businesses; one that builds and will always sustain them in times of pandemics.
The African people are very talented and have the resource base to be anything they want to be. During this period, great minds have to come together to mobilize required capital to drive this generation of Africans to the economic transformation that is needed.
Ricky Muloweni Publisher/President dawn@africabusinessassociation.org aba@africabisinessassociation.org www.africabusinessassociation.org
From Homeless in America to Owning One of Kenya's Largest Organic Farms
By Parker Diakite
KUNGA KIHOHIA WENT TO one of the best schools in Florida, USA. He graduated, was making money, and then one day lost everything. He ended up homeless in Miami, sleeping in his car. Then a trip to Kenya would change his life.
His parents are from Kenya, but he was born and raised and spent most of his life in Florida.
He traveled to Kenya for the fi rst time at the age of 10 and stayed there for about fi ve years, where he learned his parents’ native tongue. He traveled back to the US for high school and college, where he graduated from Florida International University in Miami.
Kihohia didn’t travel to Kenya for more than 15 years once he was back in the states. After spending some time working in corporate America, he told Travel Noire in an interview that he realized he was “psychologically unemployable.”
“I was in the business-world chasing money, making a lot of money, but I was really unhappy because I had moved away from my purpose,” he said, adding that he found himself overweight and overall, unhappy.
So, Kihohia went on a journey to Kenya to fi nd himself and, ultimately, save his life.
“I started this journey of coming back to nature and coming back to my own peace, which involved coming back to Africa. The lifestyle I had gotten involved with was putting me on a path of selfdestruction.”
The trip was only supposed to last for three weeks. It took him some time to adjust, as it was his fi rst time back to Kenya in more than a decade. As he began to settle, he realized that people in Kenya were far more content despite some challenges, than people in America.
Back To Nature Organic Farm
Kihohia said he’s always been a serial entrepreneur, but Back To Nature Organic Farm grew out of his interests and passion.
“The farm is only part of a larger vision, and a larger movement called the “Back to Nature Movement.” It’s part of our philosophy and ideology that states, “the closer we are to nature, the more whole, happy, at peace and at ease we are.”
Through the organic farm and the movement, Kihohia said that his mission is to inspire, motivate and encourage Kenyans, East Africans, Africans, including those from the diaspora, to adopt a more natural holistic lifestyle approach towards maintaining or regaining health and wellness.
With a few other like-minded individuals, Kihohia decided that they wanted to control the food system as they saw a rise in diseases in Kenya, such as cancer, hypertension, and more.
“When there’s a will, there’s a way. We started learning all the components about the soil water systems, harvesting and post-harvest losses, markets, dealing with human resources, human capital […] there are so many components, but we belly-fl opped into it.” 2021 will mark the fi fth anniversary of his journey back home and back to nature. During this time, Kihohia went from obese, stressed, and homeless
to the founder of one of the largest organic farms in Kenya, where he’s happy and living life with no regrets.
“My advice to anyone looking to make a move abroad, especially to Africa, is to follow your heart. At the end of the day, this life is temporary. No one gets out alive. We all sign a contract unwittingly that no one leaves alive. It’s vital that while you have your time on this earth, to make it as signifi cant as possible, give it meaning,” said Kihohia.
To learn more about Back to Nature, visit the IG page: @backtonatureafrika and the Facebook page at www.facebook.com/ BackToNatureAfrica. https://travelnoire.com/homeless-to-owning-oneof-kenyas-largest-organic-farms
Image credit: Courtesy of Kunga Kihohia, Back To Nature Organic Farm
Ethiopia-based Tibeb Leather Works uses leather that would otherwise be discarded. © Tibeb Leather Works
Made In Africa from page 19
that the leather sold in Mushin market, where most accessory designers in Lagos are based, is imported from Europe. This didn’t make sense to me considering the tanneries we have in Africa and our cattle farming.”
A problem for African designers is that tanneries tailor their business policies to fit the demands of their largest buyers, which are often Western businesses. This leads to high minimum order quantities, shutting out African designers with their much smaller orders. Tamirat explains that in its first few years of business, Tibeb relied on scraps from the tanneries because the company couldn’t afford to buy in bulk in the way that Ethiopian tanners preferred. Promoting African Leather
African designers have the potential to play a central role in developing a new image of quality for Made in Africa. Tibeb Leather Works is partnering with businesses in Ethiopia to create educational materials that help young designers understand Ethiopia’s design history and lean into designing using materials sourced in Africa and sourced sustainably. Designers like Nigeria’s Femi Olayebi of Femi Handbags are also creating initiatives, such as Lagos Leather Fair, to connect tanners to designers and buying groups where small designers can band together and buy in bulk from tanneries with high minimum order quantities.
Meanwhile, Nigeria’s Winston Leather has already responded to the needs of smaller designers by evolving a business model enabling
Tibeb Leather Works co-founder Nardos Tamirat says keeping the skin as natural as possible refl ects its Ethiopian origins. © Tibeb Leather Works
designers to buy as little as 10 square feet of leather hide rather than the minimum quantity of 20,000 square feet previously required.
The potential is there, but plenty of work remains to be done. “To grow Africa’s leather industry, tanners and manufacturers cannot focus solely on getting Western designers and luxury houses to use their leather,” says Stephenson of Sandstorm Kenya, who has sat on Kenya’s Leather Development Council. “They must also make themselves accessible to African designers and brands who can tell and celebrate an authentic story of African artisanship from cattle, sheep and goat origins to the finished leather goods.” www.voguebusiness.com/fashion/can-made-inafrica-transform-the-continents-leather-industry Image credit: YouTube
Is the Gig Economy Improving the Lives of African Women?
By Tolu Olasoji
THE GIG ECONOMY IN AFRICA has grown significantly as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, serving as a stopgap for consumers when businesses shut down during lockdowns, and offering employment for those shut out from formal and even informal opportunities.
But women are being prevented from taking full advantage of these opportunities, because of the ways in which long-standing gender disparities are manifesting themselves in digital platforms.
A new project by Caribou Digital bears this out. Through interviews and participatory videos, the digital economy research and advisory firm collected the experiences of people who earn their living on digital platforms to understand how the Covid-19 pandemic has shaped their experience. The project forms part of their ongoing research, supported by the Mastercard Foundation, into
“platform livelihood.”
Women are benefitting from the gig economy’s low barrier of entry, and the flexibility and autonomy it offers, says Grace Natabaalo, a research lead at Caribou who spearheaded the project. But interviews revealed several barriers for women at an “individual, societal and institutional level,” Natabaalo told Quartz Africa, “including access to capital, access to ICT and skills, harmful societal norms, and knowledge of online opportunities” she said.
The challenges facing women when they work for online platforms are complex, even as the platforms present themselves as a better, simpler alternative to traditional jobs.
Seeking gig economy opportunities
Dathive Mukeshimana, 31, joined ride-hailing and delivery company SafeBoda in Kampala two years ago in search of more stable income, and after exploring opportunities in both the formal and
informal sectors.
“I tried difficult jobs: mobile money, restaurant. I tried [a] salon, but [it] was not profitable,” Mukeshimana shared with Caribou. “So that is why I decided to join motorcycle riding because I can get more money to feed my family.”
As in many countries, gender imbalance in employment is a significant issue for Uganda, a 2019 report by its Bureau of Statistics showed. While Uganda’s unemployment rate for men had declined in the years studied in the report (20162017), there was a 4.3% increase in joblessness for women. The report attributed the decline to the “skills gap, low education attainment, or limited opportunities in the job market for women for the kind of work they can do.”
Around 85% of working women in Uganda work in the informal sector, which accounts for 75% of the country’s total employment. A 2011 report found the predominant forms of informal activities, such as carpentry and transportation services (mainly using motor cycles, otherwise known as boda boda) are considered unsuitable and too demanding for women. As a result they often have to settle for less physically demanding, relatively low-return jobs, such as food preparation or selling in markets.
Gig economy work has become an increasingly popular and important alternative route into work for many Africans. And it has provided women with an opportunity to escape some restrictions, as Mukeshimana’s example shows. As one of only a few female riders for SafeBoda, she has done several media interviews in an effort to encourage more women to take advantage of opportunities offered by digital marketplaces.
Barriers to equal access
According to a recent International Labour Organisation report on the expanded role of digital labor during the pandemic, working for online platforms has become the primary source of income for almost half of workers in some developing countries and in some cases, more than half of women. The pandemic has only accelerated this shift, which the ILO reported having some positive effects.
“The development of digital labour platforms has the potential to provide workers, including women, people with disabilities, young people and migrant workers, with income-generating opportunities,” the report states. “In developing countries, in particular, such platforms are regarded as a promising source of work opportunities, leading many governments to invest in digital infrastructure and skills. Businesses are also benefiting, as they can use these platforms to access a global and local workforce to improve efficiency and enhance productivity and enjoy wider market reach.”
Yet despite the large numbers of women leaning into the gig economy in developing countries, only two out of ten workers on online, web-based platforms are women, according to the ILO’s report, and even fewer work for location-based apps like ride-hailing services. “These figures underline the fact that, in a similar way to the offline labour market, the online labour market poses challenges for women in accessing work.”
Men have more opportunities to learn the kind of digital skills required by these jobs, and are also more likely to own the devices needed to participate in the gig economy. Once onboard, women are also prevented from exploiting the opportunities provided by gig work due to gendered and societal issues. For example, Mukeshimana, one of two female riders on SafeBoda app, can’t work as late as her male counterparts because of concerns for her safety.
“Women’s safety is an issue in almost all platform work,” Natabaalo notes.
And while the flexibility of online platforms has great appeal for women, they are still being held back by the fact that they are primarily responsible for childcare and housework—a situation that has been exacerbated by the pandemic. Indeed, about 23% of women surveyed by ILO who perform online work said they have children under the age of six years. On microtask freelancing platforms, men are able to work an average of 8.4 hours, compared to 7.8 hours clocked by women.
The gender disparities playing out on platforms have plagued economies for decades. Developing economies in particular miss out on significant economic gains when women don’t have secure incomes. A 2019 World Bank report said that including more women in the workplace and
Tanzania Swears in Samia Suluhu Hassan as First Female President
By Ebby Shaban, Bethlehem Feleke and Reuters (edited by Dawn staff )
TANZANIAN VICE PRESIDENT SAMIA
SULUHU HASSAN was sworn in on March 19th as the country's fi rst female president, two days after the death of President John Magufuli was announced.
Hassan took the oath at the statehouse in the city of Dar es Salaam in a televised ceremony on state TV.
In an address shortly after she was sworn in, Hassan said Magufuli's body would be moved to several locations around the country over the next few days for private and public farewell events.
He will then be laid to rest in his hometown, Chato, on March 25, she said.
Hassan announced the death of Magufuli, age 61, in a televised address Wednesday in which she said he "died of a heart ailment that he has battled for over 10 years."
Described as a soft-spoken consensus-builder, Hassan will also be the country's fi rst president born in Zanzibar, the archipelago that forms part of the union of the Republic of Tanzania, Reuters reports.
Her leadership style is seen as a potential contrast from Magufuli, a brash populist who earned the nickname "Bulldozer" for muscling through policies.
She will be faced with the task of healing a country that was polarized during the Magufuli years, analysts told Reuters, and building her own political base to govern eff ectively. www.cnn.com/2021/03/19/africa/tanzania-samiasuluhu-hassan-president-intl/index.htm
• He reduced the cabinet's size from 30 to 19. • He banned Government offi cials from foreign trips & abolished their tax exemptions. • He reduced the salaries of top Government offi cials. • He accused UK company, Acacia Mining of illegal mining and ordered them to pay $193 billion for undervaluing Tanzania's gold exports.
Over 250 containers of theirs were seized at
Dar es Salaam port. They paid $300 million and gave Tanzania 16% ownership in 3 of their mines in the country. • Magufuli introduced free education in government schools in 2016. He acquired 6 Air
Tanzania planes, expanded Terminal III of Julius
Nyerere International Airport. • He built Tanzania Standard Gauge Railway,
Mfugale Flyover, Julius Nyerere Hydropower
Station, Ubungo Interchange, Dr. Magufuli built Selander Bridge, Kigongo-Busisi Bridge,
Huduma Bora Za afya, Vituo Bora Za Afya, expanded Port of Dar es Salaam, Dodoma Bus
Terminal, an LNG plant, a water project, a wind farm project, Uhuru Hospital project, a gold refi nery plant, and Magufuli Bus Terminal. • He excelled in infrastructure and fi nancial aff airs. He faced numerous accusations of human rights abuses and was accused of repressing the opposition. He also banned explicit images or videos online.
Saraye Coffee: The Black Woman-Owned Brand Giving
By Ayah A.
SARA GEBREMEDHIN
MEET SARA GEBREMEDHIN, OWNER and founder of Saraye Coff ee. A fi rst generation Ethiopian American raised in Seattle, Sara grew up in the Tigray community. From a young age, she has been educated on Ethiopian history and immersed in the culture.
“My parents did a great job of teaching me about my roots and family history,” she told Travel Noire. “I have always felt like I belonged to something bigger than America, something unique and rare. Saraye Coff ee embodies what I have been taught my whole life. It’s not of me or a copy, it’s in me.”
Saraye Coff ee offi cially launched in January, however, the idea and planning began in 2018.
“My partner is an entrepreneur and at the time, was opening a restaurant in Uganda. I was in Los Angeles pursuing my passion of acting and modeling and I was tired of working jobs just to pass time and pay bills. I knew I had more to off er, so I challenged myself.”
“I put all my ideas to the test, and coff ee felt like home. It felt like my mother and my grandmother back in Seattle catching up and laughing over coff ee. I am a coff ee lover at heart and I was making trips to Starbucks at least two to three times a day.”
“No shade to Starbucks, but I remember being there after I decided to start my own company, and as I was waiting in line I noticed they sell Ethiopian coff ee and have plenty of wall art representing the farms and culture of Ethiopia.”
“Before I used to think ‘wow, isn’t that cool, my people are getting the recognition they deserve. Then it switched to, I can represent my people and support my land from the heart. I can tell our story.'”
Sara’s love of coff ee developed at a young age. In Ethiopian culture, there are traditional coff ee
g Back to Africa
ceremonies where one person makes and serves the coff ee for guests. According to Sara, it is a whole production and has many elements— the coff ee table, the clay Jebena, the cup and plate sets. You even light incense and pop some popcorn.
As a child, Sara helped her mother set up for the coff ee ceremony and serve the coff ee. She recalls watching her mother host the ceremony daily, for friends, for family, or even just for herself.
“Watching her with her friends and my aunties are some of my favorite memories–their story sharing and laughter. I wanted those same experiences for myself when I got older.”
Saraye Coff e is single origin 100% arabica coff ee beans imported directly from Ethiopia. The brand currently off ers three fl avors: Yirgacheff e, Sidamo, and Limu.
Saraye was founded on four principles: family (tradition/culture), communication (conversations), giving back, and coff ee. The company takes its commitment to giving back and building community seriously. “Growing up in the Tigray community, we always came together to support each other in any way. Although Saraye Coff ee just launched, we have already been able to have an impact. We have donated money to the Tigrayian refugees in Sudan, helping around 400 families.” “We have also partnered with Desalu Naturals (http://desalunaturals.com) and, so far this quarter, we have been able to provide reusable sanitary pads to young women and children in Uganda.” This year, Saraye aims to send all aid to Africa. Next year, the company plans to build partnerships within the U.S. to help children in the foster care system and underprivileged communities. Saraye is currently preparing for a virtual event with YelpLA where they will go over the Ethiopian coff ee ceremony step by step. In the future, Sara plans on opening coff ee shops and bistros that incorporate the principles of Saraye Coff ee and provide a meeting place for customers.
“We plan to expand our wholesale partnerships and enter department stores. We want to host annual cultural events and provide scholarships for the youth. We also plan to grow in Africa and continue to share the culture of our country with more fl avors of coff ee and tea.”
“There is so much more in store for Saraye Coff ee! It embodies my family and my culture, and did I mention the coff ee is delicious?”
For more information, visit https://sarayecoff ee. com and follow @sarayecoff e. https://travelnoire.com/saraye-coff ee-black-woman-ownedgiving-back-to-africa Image credit: Saraye Coff ee.
ZCCM-IH Shareholders Endorse 90% Acquisition in Zambia's Mopani
By Reuters Staff
SHAREHOLDERS IN ZAMBIA’S ZCCMIH (Zambia Consolidated Copper Mines) have overwhelmingly supported its acquisition of a 90% stake in Mopani Copper Mines (MCM), the stateowned mining investment fi rm said on Wednesday.
Glencore agreed the sale of its majority stake in Mopani to ZCCM-IH in a $1.5 billion deal, the miner and trader said in January.
The extraordinary general meeting vote on the resolution was the last condition towards the completion of the transaction and ZCCM-IH now holds 100% ownership of Mopani, ZCCM-IH said in a statement.
The deal is funded by borrowings from Carlisa Investments Corp - a British Virgin Islands-based company through which Glencore holds its stake - and other members of the Glencore group.
With increased ownership, ZCCM-IH would now be an active participant in the global industry as copper becomes a critical metal, ZCCM-IH Chief Executive Mabvuto Chipata said.
“Mopani will repay the remaining debt of $1.5 billion from its own cashfl ows and the repayment is expected to happen well within the remaining life of the mine,” Chipata said.
Glencore said in a separate statement it would continue to retain off take rights in respect of Mopani’s production. ZCCM-IH has said it expects to fi nd a new investor for Mopani by the end of the year as it looks to boost copper output from a little more than 34,000 tonnes to 150,000 tonnes.
www.reuters.com/ article/uk-mopanicopper-m-a-zccm-ih/ zccm-ih-shareholdersendorse-90-acquisitionin-zambias-mopaniidUSKBN2BN1UZ
15-YearOld Faith Odunsi Wins Global Open Mathmatics Competition
By Cedric 'BIG CED' Thornton
A YOUNG NIGERIAN TEENAGER HAS
recently beat out contestants from around the globe in a mathematics competition.
According to AfroTech, Nigerian student, Faith Odunsi, 15, took part in the Global Open Mathematics competition and emerged victorious as she beat competitors from China, the UK, the US, Africa, Europe, Asia, and Australia in a global math competition. As the winner of this competition, Odunsi not only walked away with the title, but she has also secured the top prize of $1,000.
The 15-year-old Odunsi is currently in her fi nal year as a high school student as she is attending the Ambassadors School, Ota Ogun State. Her father is a doctor and her mother is a businesswoman and she attributes her math skills to her father, which she thanks him for.
In an exclusive interview with Punch magazine, Odunsi mentions that she has taken part in numerous competitions that have, in part, prepared her for this latest one. She also spoke of the medals she has won in previous competitions.
“Yes. I have been taking part in the national Olympiad since I was in JSS2. I have also taken part in Kangourou Sans Frontieres, South African mathematics Olympiad, American Mathematics Competition, and Pan-African mathematics Olympiad. For the national Olympiad, I was made the Queen of Mathematics from JSS3 to SS2. For the South African Mathematics Olympiad, I got medals. I got a silver medal in the Pan-African mathematics Olympiad in 2019. I was also made an ambassador of my school.”
She also stated she wants to study abroad.
“I would like to study outside Nigeria because the facilities are better abroad and the experience is better. I don’t think I will be limited in Nigeria; I just think the opportunities will be better abroad.”
www.blackenterprise.com/15-year-old-nigeriangirl-wins-global-open-mathematics-competition Image credit: Instagram
NBA's Basketball Africa League to Debut May 16 in Rwanda
By Marc J. Spears
THE NBA'S NEW BASKETBALL AFRICA
LEAGUE plans to make its long-awaited debut on May 16 in Kigali, Rwanda. The new league will include 12 teams from across Africa playing its inaugural season in 26 games at Kigali Arena in Rwanda rather than the initial plan of playing in diff erent countries in Africa. The BAL was initially expected to debut on March 13, 2020, beginning in Dakar, Senegal, but it was postponed 10 days before that because of the coronavirus pandemic. The BAL, which is a partnership between the NBA and the International Basketball Federation, includes club teams from Africa and is the NBA's fi rst collaboration to operate a league outside of North America. "We are thrilled that the inaugural Basketball Africa League season will take place at the worldclass Kigali Arena," said BAL president Amadou Gallo Fall. "Through the BAL, we will provide a platform for elite players from across the continent to showcase their talent and inspire fans of all ages, use basketball as an economic growth engine across Africa, and shine a light on Africa's vibrant sporting culture."
The BAL says it has created "robust health and safety protocols" for the 12 teams and their personnel traveling to Rwanda due primarily to the COVID-19 virus. The BAL says its health and safety protocols are from the guidance of public health offi cials and medical experts from the World Health Organization and the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention.
The BAL adds that the competition will tip off with an 18-game group phase with the 12 teams divided into three groups of four. During the group phase, each team will face the three other teams in its group once. The top eight teams from the group phase will qualify for the playoff s, which will be single elimination in all three rounds. The fi rst BAL Finals will be held on May 30.
medafricatimes.com
The 12 teams include: • Algeria's GSP (Groupement Sportif des
Pétroliers), • Angola's Petro de Luanda (Clube Atlético
Petroleos de Luanda), • Cameroon's FAP (Forces Armées et Police
Basketball), • Egypt's Zamalek, • Madagascar's GNBC (Gendarmerie Nationale
Basketball Club), • Mali's AS Police (Association Sportive de la
Police Nationale), • Morocco's AS Salé (Association Sportive de
Salé), • Mozambique's Ferroviàrio de Maputo, • Nigeria's Rivers Hoopers BC, • Rwanda's Patriots BC, • Senegal's AS Douanes (Association Sportive des Douanes) and • Tunisia's US Monastir (Union Sportive
Monastirienne).
Champions from the national leagues in Angola, Egypt, Morocco, Nigeria, Senegal and Tunisia earned their participation in the inaugural season. The remaining six teams, from Algeria, Cameroon, Madagascar, Mali, Mozambique and Rwanda, secured their participation through BAL qualifying tournaments conducted by FIBA's African regional offi ce across the continent in late 2019. "We are extremely happy to fi nally launch the highly anticipated fi rst season of the BAL," said FIBA Africa and BAL board president Anibal Manave. "FIBA and the NBA have been working closely together to develop protocols to address the health and safety of all players, coaches and offi cials. The experience of hosting the FIBA AfroBasket 2021 Qualifi ers in Rwanda late last year will contribute to a safe and successful inaugural BAL season." www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/31158325/nbabasketball-africa-league-do-debut-16-rwanda
Image credit: medafricatimes.com, Engineering News-Record Video Interview: www.youtube.com/ watch?v=ZCRjMT4ycuc
