u|Chief October 2017 | Africa edition

Page 1

What happens when the whole world votes?

TRAVEL DEBRIEF: THE DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO

u|chief africa EDITION

u |chief Issue 1 | October 2017


edito

The exciting thing about doing something different (innovating, blazing a trail, or taking an unexpected turn and carving out a new path) is that you don’t quite know where it will lead to‌ no matter how well you plan.

Breaking ne coding.

disruption.

Coding's call to arms With Africa Code Week a month away, we dug deep into the world of coding with CLAIRE GILLISSEN-DUVAL, the Co-Founder and Global Lead of Africa Code Week. Claire Gillissen-Duval

CONTENTS

Illustration: Ruby Loftus Screwing a Breech Ring, a 1943 painting by the British painter Laura Knight (Wikimedia)

So long, traditional employment JON FOSTER-PEDLEY, dean and director of Henley Business School Africa, ponders our working future in the light of business sustainability, education and digital disruption


orial.

africa EDITION u|chief

This new path you find yourself on could turn out to be boom or bust… or a continual stream of small failures and successes upon which you build a foundation capable of supporting a far bigger vision. This is how it feels for us with u|Chief. We’re doing something different that we believe is fresh and exciting, yet in many ways it will feel reassuringly familiar to magazine readers. Our new path is using the digital world to help spread the incredible knowledge and insight that great business minds and leaders have been willing to share with us. The digital medium adds so much power to our world, as it enables incredible stories and great insight to be shared i n s t a n t l y r i g h t a c r o s s t h e g l o b e – a n d i t ’s t h r i l l i n g t o p l a y a part in developing this new world of communication.

ew ground travel debrief. education.

Sculpting Africa’s Future Leaders

democratic republic of the congo

Photos: xxxxx

JONATHAN ROBINSON, founder of the Bean There Coffee Company, debriefs u|Chief on his recent trip to the DRC.

T h e S i f i s o Le a r n i n g G ro u p s e e ks to b e t h e l e a d i n g n e w - a g e l e a r n i n g g ro u p i n Af r i c a , w i t h g l o b a l re a c h t h ro u g h t h e p o r t fo l i o o f b ra n d s t h a t i t o p e ra te s .

Sizwe Nxasana


social media.

When not sharing is caring S O F U T U R E L EA D E R G N A LS WAR N I N G T C O U R T V E R D I CT S I

With social media all around us, the founder and CEO of leading executive search firm Jack Hammer, DEBBIE GOODMAN-BHYAT sounds a warning on social media sharing

Our mission is to provide a canvas on which leaders and

N

pioneers around the world can s h a r e t h e i r s t o r i e s , d i s c o v e ries and insights with the rest o f t h e g l o b a l c o m m u n i t y. S o m e of our content might be mainstream, while other content will be editorial that the print media

manufacturing.

Sew it goes

would never have the luxury of publishing. We believe this fresh content can make a major difference to readers

ZAID PHILANDER is on a mission

and leaders alike.

to change the world one stitch at a t i m e , w r i t e s E U G E N E Y IG A .

As an independent publication, our role is to serve as a mouthpiece for the broader business

intellectual property.

c o m m u n i t y, a s w e l l a s n i c h e

Securing revenue for your mental innovations

m a r k e t s . To a c h i e v e t h i s , w e w i l l share stories and insight that busy leaders really want to read when they put aside their valuable time for reading‌ not what

Sumaiya De’Mar (Director of SA Fashion Law), shares her insights on the importance and opportunities in the world of patenting.

marketers want you to read or Photo: EBEN Photography

the global vote.

What happens when the whole world votes?

k n o w. women leaders.

Pushing boundaries as a woman in leadership

The recent Rwanda election was a massive landslide victory for incumbent Paul Kagama, while the Malta election offered their incumbent, Joseph Muscat, a comfortable win. However, according to the votes cast by The Global Vote website, the rest of the world would have voted neither into power, nor Donald Trump. Photos: Rusumo Falls, Rwanda (SteveRwanda/Wikipedia)

LISA ANTONOPOULOS, the new COO at Mediterranean Delicacies, shares her insight into the challenges facing women in leadership positions.

Illustration: Thinkstock

H in m


mentors.

travel debrief.

Mentor & mentee

New york city

Phumeza Mgxashe, the new Business Developer for Partners for Possibility, shares her experience of the mentor / mentee relationship.

ENVER DUMINY, CEO, Cape Town Tourism, debriefs u|Chief on his recent trip to NYC.

finance & retail.

How I got into their minds ANDY HADFIELD, CEO of www.forgood.co.za, tells u|Chief how to build something that customers want, need and use.

C l i v e B u t k o w, C E O o f K a l o n Ve n t u r e P a r t n e r s

REACHING PEOPLE.

Kalon Venture Partners and the Smollan Group have invested R14m in tech startup SnapnSave

Cash in on coupons

Leaders today need to be informed and knowledgeable about s o m u c h m o r e b e c a u s e w e a r e p a r t o f a n e v e r- e x p a n d i n g g l o b a l c o m m u n i t y. T h e y n e e d t o h a v e m o r e i n f o r m a t i o n a n d i n s i g h t a b o u t t h e r e s t o f t h e w o r l d a n d t h e p e o p l e a n d o p p o rt u n i t i e s o u t t h e r e . T h a t ’s w h y w e w a n t t o t h r o w u p d i f f e r e n t opinions to challenge you, and diverse insights to help you lear n more about people on the other side of the fence. W i t h t h e c o n s t a n t s t re a m o f f a k e n e w s s w a m p i n g u s , i t ’s a l s o vital to have a clear view on local and international matters, markets and consumers. Fake news of some sort has been with u s t h ro u g h o u t h i s t o r y, b u t t h e d i g i t a l w o r l d i s s p e e d i n g u p t h e

We want to share with you the conversations with knowledge leaders you don't have time for.


Photo: Thinkstock

sa wine industry.

s p re a d o f t h i s v i r a l p l a g u e , a n d i t i s c re a t i n g c o n f u s i o n a s w e l l a s c h a n g i n g t h e c o u r s e o f h i s t o r y.

South Africans pride themselves on the superb wines that are produced locally. u|Chief wanted a more balanced view of the industry, so we spoke to Murray Giggins, a former South African wine industry CEO now working Down Under.

Land of fine wines?

u|Chief hopes to play a small role in speeding up our ability to identify what is and isn’t fake in

disruption.

order that we can see the big picture clearly (for ourselves) rather

Disrupting the SME Finance Space Retail Capital, a firm that provides working capital to entrepreneurs, is disrupting the SME finance space. It is introducing game-changing technology enabling many small businesses to access funding for the first time.

Karl Westvig

How the king claimed

Sheep stay close together to protect themselves from the wolves waiting in the darkness… but the opposite is true for humans. The human “wolves” like us to stay close together and not break from

insurance.

the herd, and they use party lines and fake news to keep us in line. I believe that the power of digi-

|

the throne In the Game of Insurance, a young prince is challenging the staus quo… and building a new empire. u|Chief held court with Gideon Galloway, CEO and Founder of King Price.

tal disruption and innovation will help to continually break down barriers and monopolies to create a world of incredible freedom, prosperity and social evolution…

make yourself heard.

Overcoming the fear of public speaking

than blindly toeing the party line.

Many talented people with expert skills or knowledge would rather die than stand up and speak in public. However, a simple four-step programme might be all that stands in their way of speaking out and being heard, writes EUGENE YIGA.

but what remains unanswered is how the wolves themselves will use disruption and innovation for their own ambitions. Artificial intelligence could be a key player in t h i s s t r u g g l e , a n d i t ’s g o i n g t o b e fascinating to witness this battle unfold.

Photo: Thinkstock

F


retail.

How technology is driving retail

in Africa

Lord Herman a question of leadership.

ARSHAD ABBA, the South African MD responsible for Africa and joint Vice-President of Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) Canback, reports on how the digital era is changing the ways and means of retail across Africa.

Photos: René Carayol

Lord Herman Ouseley

Photos: xxxxx

The Economist Intelligence Unit report, how technology is driving retail in Africa, describes how e-commerce is changing retail in Africa. The rapid change in the retail landscape is creating a greater availability of products that were not easily accessible in the past and will affect companies’ ability to win in Africa.

RENÉ CARAYOL, u|Chief’s highly prized leadership guru, goes head-to-head with an African leader every month.

Ouseley funding.

for the youth.

INSEAD is the number one school in the Financial Times

G l o b a l M B A r a n k i n g s , a n d i t ’s b e e n a t o p - r a n k e d s c h o o l f o r

l o n g e r t h a n t h a t . I t a t t r a c t s s o m e o f t h e w o r l d ’s m o s t t a l e n t e d business minds and accepts the best of the best. So, when he was accepted to the programme, Cameron Stevens couldn’t figure out why it was so difficult to secure an educational loan to attend.

Builder of.. hope

It was a struggle. Banks in South Africa weren’t prepared to

lend him more than the amount a local MBA would cost – and

t h a t ’s i f t h e y w e r e c o m f o r t a b l e w i t h i t a l l . T h r o u g h y e a r s o f e x perience, banks aren’t prepared to extend financing to people w h o w i l l i m m e d i a t e l y l e a v e t h e c o u n t r y w i t h t h e m o n e y.

To p b u s i n e s s s c h o o l o r n o t , i n t e r n a t i o n a l g r a d s t u d e n t s

struggle to secure the financial investment into their future.

Lamenting this situation, Cameron founded Prodigy Finance w i t h I N S E A D c o l l e a g u e s . N o w i n i t s t e n t h y e a r, t h i s c o m p a -

ny crowd sources funding; its student loans are collectively Cameron Stevens

Funding the next leg Prodigy Finance helps post-grads fund international degrees. But it’s more than a loan provider – it’s a community, says founder and CEO Cameron Stevens.

funded by a community of alumni, institutional investors and qualified private investors who receive both a financial and social retur n.

Students gain access to higher education that they might not otherwise be able to finance. This model enables alumni of top schools to help fund students from their alma mater or home country while ear ning a financial retur n.

And, for 84 percent of Prodigy Finance-funded students, it

was the only way to continue their education as they had no alter native sources of educational financing.

human resources.

Ta r i r o G o r o n g a i s o n e s u c h s t u d e n t . Z i m b a b w e a n - b o r n , h e

How smart workers

can

The need to develop an entrepreneurial culture It is no secret that the world of work is at school level is crucial to future economic growth s h i f t i n g , a nwrites d t h a t iNELLY n d i v i d u a MOFOKENG, ls need to and social upliftment, Managing p r e p Director a r e f o r t h i of s cJA h a nSouth g i n g l aAfrica ndscape if they want their skills to remain in demand. And the way to do so, is to b e c o m e a S M A R T w o r k e r, s a y s employment expert Georgina Barrick.

Georgin

future-proof

k a Barric “W ithin the next decade – and we are already seeing this happening to some degree – the traditional employer/employee relationship will be largely a thing of the past,” says Georgina Barrick, MD of Cassel&Co, Insource ICT and IT Edge – the specialised recruitment agencies of ADvTECH Resourcing f o c u s i n g o n F i n a n c e , A c c o u n t i n g a n d I T. She says that by 2030, historical workplace structures will overwhelmingly have been replaced by the concept of workers as consultants and their own bosses, who sell their services to client companies. “As we move away from the idea of the employee working for


healthcare.

advertising.

Age of the ‘agency of return’ is here

Creating an ecosystem for improved medical decisionmaking

The advertising industry has shifted from

a focus on beautiful campaigns to driving for

Yaseen Khan, Chief Executive Officer at EMGuidance, highlights the urgent need for rapid changes in local healthcare.

h i g h R O I s , s a y s N X T C E O Wa y n e L e v i n e

S o u t h A f r i c a ’s c u r r e n t e c o n o m i c s l u m p m e a n s c o m p a n i e s a r e t i g h t e n i n g t h e i r b e l t s , l o o k i n g f o r w a y s t o o p t i m i s e t h e i r o p e rations and make sure all their strategic efforts reflect positively on the bottom line. W ithin this milieu, the traditional Agency of Record model has begun to make way for the Agency of Return, or strateg i c b r a n d p a r t n e r, w h o u n d e r s t a n d s t h a t w h i l e b r a n d s w o r k with many stakeholders, what they really need is a single view that gives them a no-nonsense understanding of which efforts yield the best retur n on investment (ROI). N X T C E O , Wa y n e L e v i n e , s a y s w h i l e t r a d i t i o n a l a g e n c i e s m i g h t create beautiful campaigns, brands are often left in the dark when it comes to ROI. “More than ever before, they need to know whether their campaigns worked and how many sales can accurately be attributed to their efforts.” NXT is a digital innovation business that has worked on renowned brands for the past 10 years. The vision for the business is to harness lessons learnt over the last decade to inform the future and the next level of digital innovation in enhancing its understanding of consumer behaviour and digital customer engagement. H a v i n g s p e n t s e v e r a l y e a r s w o r k i n g w i t h S o u t h A f r i c a ’s l e a d ing agencies, they have married what they have learnt in the advertising and agency world with their technical expertise. Levine says a marketing budget is an investment in a brand. ‘ S e n s i b l e i n t e l l i g e n c e a r o u n d K n o w i n g Yo u r C u s t o m e r s h o u l d dictate how it is most effectively spent. And this is where e n r i c h m e n t v e r s u s a t t r i b u t i o n c o m e s i n t o p l a y.

Why u|Chief? We hate the word “boss”, and even “leader” can carry negative conn o t a t i o n s . C h i e f i s a t i t l e t h a t s o u n d s m o r e i n c l u s i v e , a n d t h a t ’s t h e o n e d r u m w e a r e h a p p y t o b e a t : a s a g l o b a l c o m m u n i t y, w e s h o u l d strive to include others and to profit from the power of diversity as w e l l a s t h e b e n e f i t s t h a t a r i s e f r o m h a v i n g a d i v e r s e e c o n o m y, s o c i ety and even diverse teams. Why the “u” before Chief? u|Chief has been designed as a magazine for “you” as a leader ( a k a a c h i e f ) . W h e t h e r y o u ’ re a F o r t u n e 5 0 0 C E O , a m i d d l e - m a n a g e r, the owner of an SMME, a wannabe business owner or business t y c o o n , o r e v e n a s t a y - a t - h o m e p a re n t , w e ’ v e c re a t e d a m i x o f content we hope you will find insightful as well as valuable in your life and your work.

justice.

The mix of content in u|Chief is quite wide and diverse b u t , a s a l e a d e r, i t ’s v i t a l to have a wide and diverse Mwangi Githahu spoke to South Africa’s Chief Justice, Mogoeng Mogoeng, about the importance of South Africa’s judiciary and laws for Africa and the rest of the world Photo: SA

range of insight and knowledge. Go chief! Government Communications

An example of South African exceptionalism to be proud of

«

Simon Lewis | Editor


the happy workplace.

words of wisdom.

Nurturing a culture of enabled employees

Cutting through the

For any organisation to succeed, it is key that the people who breathe life into its daily operations are truly enabled employees as this helps to create a culture that leads to happy employees and, as a result, business success has a greater chance of growing. When it comes to helping her clients with rebuilding, rebranding or rebirthing their products, services or business as a whole, CHANTEL OPPELT doesn’t take prisoners and she definitely doesn’t suffer fools. And the graduates from her academy love her for it.

The concept is so simple and it can be applied equaly to a multi-Billion dollar company as well as a small start up… yet, astoundingly, so many organisations fail to implement such a culture. Trevor Raman, President and CEO of Saab Grintek Defence, shares his insight into creating just such an environment.

travel debrief.

travel debrief.

chicago,, USA

ghana PETER KOWALSKI, MD of Formfunc Studio, debriefs u|Chief on his recent trip to Chicago.

Photos: Pixabay

travel debrief.

travel debrief.

bali Jane Stevenson, Strategic Director of Magnetic Storm, debriefs u|Chief on an inspiring 10 days in Bali.

Photo: Pixabay

Blind inspirational speaker, workshop facilitator and author LOIS STRACHAN debriefs u|Chief on her recent trip to Ghana.

Photo: Hillary Lane

united states of america

travel debrief.

KAREL VERMEULEN, serial entrepreneur and founder of Lubrimaxxx (one of the world’s best personal lubricants), debriefs u|Chief on his recent trip to the USA.

travel debrief.

san francisco

turkey Photos: Marion Kate

Travel blogger (and The Girl in Blue Jeans) MARION KATE, debriefs u|Chief on her recent trip to Turkey.

Photos: Julia Ahlfeldt

JULIA AHLFELDT, a Certified Customer Experience Professional (CCXP, debriefs u|Chief on her recent trip to San Francisco.


u |chief Editor

Simon Lewis Writers

René Carayol Eugene Yiga Mwangi Githahu Unathi Nkanjeni Gill Lewis Design Simon Lewis Images Thinkstock Pixabay Pexels Editorial submissions? Send your ideas to editor@uchief.co.za Advertising enquiries sales@uchief.co.za 021 712 4317 082 065 8569

w w w. u c h i e f . c o . z a This u|Chief Softmag© is published by The Free Range w w w. f r e e r a n g e . c o . z a Wa n t y o u r o w n S o f t m a g © ? Email simon@freerange.co.za



Illustration: Ruby Loftus Screwing a Breech Ring, a 1943 painting by the British painter Laura Knight (Wikimedia)


disruption.

So long, traditional employment JON FOSTER-PEDLEY, Dean and Director of Henley Business School Africa, ponders our working future in the light of business sustainability, education and digital disruption


T h e d i g i t a l d i s r u p t i o n w o r l d i s u p o n u s a n d i t ’s g o i n g t o t a k e away a lot of traditional employment. It is going to force us to think about the kind of future that we want to create for our children and ourselves, providing us with unique opportunities to change our lives in fundamental ways. It is difficult to try to hold the tide of digital disruption and globalisation because countries will slide into un-competitiven e s s . Yo u c a n ’ t h o l d t h e w a t e r s b a c k j u s t b y s a y i n g I d o n ’ t l i k e the inconvenience of digital structures changing. Before long, other countries will be better connected, have better access to information and create better business growth processes. And countries that are not using that, face the risk of sliding into oblivion and irrelevance.

We have to create a society or country that is going to make information a priority. Countries need to be building their skills to be competitive, which if not done, will result in a population of people who are u n d e r- e d u c a t e d a n d n o t g e a r e d f o r t h e g l o b a l a n d c h a n g i n g j o b market. What also happens is that you will find other people, especially young people, who are embracing change, will be using digital media in a creatively and disruptive way in business and changing how things are being done. In the future, more work will be available for those who know how to create, operate and maintain digital technologies while other job roles will become redundant. W ith the potential to c r e a t e c o n s i d e r a b l e u n e m p l o y m e n t g l o b a l l y, w e n e e d t o f i n d


alternative ways for people to put food on the table and enjoy a quality life. W ithout this we are going to face new forms of global crises.

Learning Digital connectedness is also changing the educational landscape and challenging business schools and other learning institutions to relook at their value proposition. W ith information so widely available on the Inter net and thousands of free online courses, learning institutions can no longer be places where people just sit in a classroom and listen to an expert. Learning institutions need to transform themselves into spaces o f e n g a g e m e n t a n d d e b a t e , p l a c e s w h e re t h e re a re n o c l e a r a n swers, but rather multiple perspectives. They must be in places w h e re p e o p l e c o m e t o l e a r n t o i n t e r p re t i n f o r m a t i o n a n d u s e knowledge to make sense of conflicting opinions. Having these s k i l l s a re e s s e n t i a l f o r b u s i n e s s i n t h e d i g i t a l a g e . To c o n t i n u e , y o u m u s t e d u c a t e p e o p l e . S o m e t h i n g m u s t b e d o n e a b o u t i m p r o v i n g p e o p l e ’s s k i l l s a r o u n d t h e s u b j e c t o f digital disruption. There are more than just basic skills such a s b a s i c l a b o u r, b a s i c m i n i n g , a n d b a s i c a g r i c u l t u r e . W e n e e d to understand the effects of new communication methods, and how digital media can be used. One of the biggest challenges is that people have generalised information. Anyone can have general information, but companies need to understand that this can be destroyed by the disruptive revolution. How eve r, w e s h ou ld n o t f e a r t h i s b e c a u se , a s soon a s pe ople are fea r fu l t h e y b eco m e c o n s e r v a t i v e . T h e s o l u t ion is t o e duc a t e peo p le on h ow to u s e d i g i t a l a s se t s t o b u i l d a de v e loping c ountry. We h ave t o fin d wa y s t o o r g a n i se o u r s e l v e s, use funding


more eff ect iv e ly, w as t e m o n e y l e s s, b u i l d a s se t s, a nd sa v e mone y by n ot i m p or t in g t h in g s t h a t c a n b e s u b s t i t u t e d l oc a lly. If leaders are to think long term, they need to buy into and commit to education. This starts early in schools by giving children access to decent information and simple computers to do information projects. This is because the value of technology in disruptive education (ie education that is up to ten times m o r e c o s t e f f e c t i v e ) f a c i l i t a t e s g l o b a l i n t e r a c t i o n . Yo u c a n n o w c o n n e c t c o u n t r i e s l i k e I t a l y, U S A , W e s t A f r i c a , o r E u r o p e i n t o a single classroom.

Digital disruption can be used for good or bad. What you can’t do is to stop this from happening. Yo u c a n a c c e s s i n f o r m a t i o n a n d d a t a t h a t i s a l s o c h e a p . T h i s m e a n s t h a t c h i l d re n n e e d t o h a v e e a s i e r a c c e s s t o t h i s i n f o r m a t i o n . I t w i l l a l l o w c h i l d re n t o m o re e a s i l y u n d e r s t a n d m a r k e t i n g , accessing information on international markets, communicate with people, attracting investment, and develop new ideas. This will help young people learn and invent things. What digital t e c h n o l o g y a l l o w s y o u t o d o i s t o b e a c c o u n t a b l e a n d t a k e re sponsibility at an early age to develop your own ideas. D i g i t a l d i s r u p t i o n w i l l re s u l t i n a m o re s o p h i s t i c a t e d a n d g l o b a l o r i e n t a t i o n t o w a rd s p o l i t i c s a n d b u s i n e s s m a n a g e m e n t . F o r Africa, we have to find means of connecting with other people, w h e t h e r i t ’s i n C h i n a , t h e U S o r E u ro p e , a n d l e a r n l e s s o n s f ro m t h e m . D i g i t a l e d u c a t i o n c re a t e s m o re d e m o c r a t i s a t i o n i n a c o u n t r y a n d t h a t i s re a l l y g o o d n e w s b e c a u s e i t a l l o w s y o u r c h i l d re n


a n d y o u r c h i l d re n ’s c h i l d re n t o h a v e b e t t e r o p p o r t u n i t i e s . There are massive education opportunities available by going to the many online resources now available resulting in more ideas flowing in. The downside is that it can be more challenging to establish because of regimes in some countries, which still want to have a monopolistic control over digital resources. Economies that have embraced digital disruption such as Rwanda, are driving a number of initiatives that have increased the amount of available lear ning information, buildi n g e m p l o y m e n t , a n d e m p o w e r i n g p e o p l e e c o n o m i c a l l y, i f n o t y e t p o l i t i c a l l y. T h e r e a r e m o d e l s t h a t w e n e e d t o l o o k a t . I f w e l o o k a t Ta i wan and South Korea, these are strong political countries that have managed their economies effectively and more or less d e m o c r a t i c a l l y. F o r y o u t o e d u c a t e p e o p l e q u i c k e r, y o u t h e leader needs to be educated or at a minimum to fully understand the power of education. What is needed is a good education system and critical thinking. On balance, digital disruption, like any tool, can be used for good or bad. What you can’t do is to stop this from happening.

connect with jon Jon Foster-Pedley is a Dean, strategist, educator, education designer, speaker, entrepreneur, international business executive, academic and consultant. Director of MBAs and numerous leadership and executive programmes, he is a specialist in strategy, creativity, innovation and executive education. www.fosterpedley.com www.henleysa.ac.za

ÂŤ


customer experience.

Mitigate market disruption

by

maximizing customer experience


As industries across the board find themselves having to transform to keep up with a digital e c o n o m y, c u s t o m e r e x p e r i e n c e ( C X ) i s p l a y i n g a significant role in providing businesses with opportunities for innovation and s u s t a i n a b i l i t y, w r i t e s c e r t i f i e d c u s t o m e r experience professional (CCXP) Julia Ahlfeldt.

Over the past 18 months, CEOs have been waking up to the fact that they need to more actively listen to their customers and manage their experiences, in no small part due to the aggressive emergence of disruptors to their traditional markets. For those willing to listen, there is no shortage of data to work with. Social media for instance has given every customer a megaphone and brought to light experience issues that may have previously gone unheard. Big data and analytics tools h a v e a l s o e v o l v e d , e n a b l i n g b u s i n e s s e s t o g a t h e r, c o n s o l i d a t e and more meaningfully understand their customers’ experience of their product or service. W h i l e s t i l l i n i t s i n f a n c y, A r t i f i c i a l i n t e l l i g e n c e ( A I ) i s a l s o i n c re a s i n g l y p l a y i n g a ro l e i n g a t h e r i n g i n s i g h t a s w e l l a s e n a b l i n g c u s t o m e r s t o re s o l v e t h e i r o w n p ro b l e m s , o f t e n v i a c h a t b o t s . Dealing with data: Boon or bust While the influx of data can be a boon, it can just as easily be a bane, overwhelming customer support teams and causing an array of reactions.

Julia Ahlfeldt


While some companies stick their heads in the sand, others provide half-hearted responses to their customers on social media. Neither is advised. Rather assess incoming feedback, understand it, and use the insights to affect improvements to both business processes and customer experiences. This also needs to come from the t o p , w h e r e a n o r g a n i s a t i o n ’s l e a d e r s h i p r e c o g n i s e s t h e v a l u e and power of becoming customer centric, and acknowledges the danger of failing to do so. Nobody knows where the next disruptor will come from, and by the time a new threat starts accruing market share, it may be too late to respond. This is a particularly worrisome risk for larger businesses that are often less agile than their small and medium counterparts. T h o s e t h a t c a n s u c c e s s f u l l y l e v e r a g e t h e i r d a t a t o u n d e rstand their customers’ experiences will find themselves better equipped to react to, and even mitigate, the impact of a disr u p t o r t o t h e i r m a r k e t a l t o g e t h e r. Companies often have a great deal of rich information at their fingertips that just needs to be consolidated and evaluated w i t h i n t h e c o n t e x t o f t h e c u s t o m e r j o u r n e y. G a t h e r i n g d a t a a n d making sense of it is thus an essential first step. Insights then need to be translated into real world actions. Tw o m i s t a k e s m a n y b u s i n e s s e s m a k e a r e t h a t t h e y e i t h e r a ) chase symptoms rather than address underlying causes, or b) approach improving the customer experience as a once-off project vs. an ongoing activity that must be integrated into their business.


Landscape shift Customers themselves are also impacting change. Businesses are now dealing with considerably more tech-savvy consumers, ranging from millennials – notorious for being intolerant of inefficiency – to baby boomers who have become more c o m f o r t a b l e w i t h o n l i n e s h o p p i n g a n d t e c h n o l o g y. B o t h g r o u p s need to be catered to in a way that is consistent and true to a b r a n d ’s p r o m i s e , r e g a r d l e s s o f c h a n n e l . Across all segments, customers are increasingly willing to resolve simple problems themselves too. This means that, when customers do contact a call centre, the query is likely to be complex, and the person on the other end must be suitably proficient in terms of skills, knowledge and ability to address the concern. Even as AI takes over some of the simpler customer queries, it will likely be used to handle second and third tier customer resolutions in due course too. Know thy customer So how can businesses stay ahead of this inevitable disruption? Mapping the customer jour ney to create a picture of t h e c o m p a n y ’s l o n g t e r m r e l a t i o n s h i p w i t h t h e c u s t o m e r i s a vital start. With this added customer context, turning to big data to glean insights then also becomes more viable; a move t h a t c a n e n h a n c e a b u s i n e s s ’s a g i l i t y t o i n n o v a t e a n d r e m a i n competitive in an increasingly untraditional and unpredictable environment.

«

connect with julia Julia Ahlfeldt is a Certified Customer Experience Professional (CCXP) who consults to bluechip and multi-national CEOs. www.julia-ahlfeldt.com


C l i v e B u t k o w, C E O o f K a l o n Ve n t u r e P a r t n e r s

finance

Kalon Venture Partners and the Smollan Group have invested R14m in tech startup SnapnSave


& retail.

Cash in on coupons


Bright future for discount vouchers K a l o n Ve n t u re P a r t n e r s ( f o r m e r l y G ro t e c h ) a n d S m o l l a n G ro u p S A b o t h a c q u i re d a m i n o r i t y s t a k e i n S o u t h A f r i c a ’s f a s t e s t g ro w i n g s h o p p i n g c o m m u n i t y, S n a p n S a v e . K a l o n ( a v e n t u re c a p i t a l f u n d ) a n d S m o l l a n G ro u p ( a l e a d i n g i n t e r n a t i o n a l re t a i l s o l u tions business) invested R7 million each. SnapnSave, founded b y M a r k B r a d s h a w, i s S o u t h A f r i c a ’s l e a d i n g c a s h b a c k c o u p o n a p p t h a t g i v e s s h o p p e r s c a s h b a c k o n t h e i r f a v o u r i t e p ro d u c t s , w h e re v e r t h e y s h o p , b y s n a p p i n g a p h o t o o f t h e i r t i l l s l i p . The launch of SnapnSave comes in the wake of a surging global trend that will see over one billion people globally expected to use digital coupons by 2019. “Mobile-based coupons are part of the daily shopping habits of Europeans and Americans. Now we’re seeing this trend emerge in South Africa with over 15% of SA smartphone owners already having used a digital coupon. Consumers love saving money and with the state of the economy they are looking at ways to put real cash back i n t o t h e i r o w n p o c k e t s , ” s a y s S n a p n S a v e C E O M a r k B r a d s h a w. In just over 18 months, SnapnSave has already given SA shoppers over R3.5m cash back into their bank accounts and is about to reach 200 000 app installs. The funding will help grow the app downloads to 500 000 in South Africa within a year and will support entry into Asian and African regional markets: Singapore, Malaysia and Vietnam, as well as Nigeria, Kenya a n d a N o r t h A f r i c a n c o u n t r y. S n a p n S a v e w i l l e n t e r t h e s e m a rk e t s v i a S m o l l a n ’s n e t w o r k w h i c h i s p r e s e n t i n m o r e t h a n 5 0 countries and provide services to over 500 000 retailers. “Our till slip technology means shoppers can get cashback wherever they shop simply by taking a till slip selfie. The tech is all enabled without any till point integration that as a result


means the product can easily scale into markets without any b a r r i e r s , ” a d d s B r a d s h a w. “ W e a r e e x c i t e d a b o u t t h e i n v e s t m e n t a n d i t s g r o w t h o p p o rt u n i t i e s l o c a l l y, i n t o A f r i c a a n d g l o b a l l y, ” s a y s K a l o n C E O C l i v e B u t k o w. T h e i n v e s t m e n t f o r m s p a r t o f K a l o n s ’ s t r a t e g y t o position itself as the preeminent venture capital company in Africa, investing in disruptive digital technologies solving A f r i c a n p r o b l e m s . T h i s a c q u i s i t i o n s t r e n g t h e n s K a l o n ’s c o m mitment to investing in South African entrepreneurs who are disrupting various industries. The fund has raised R90m to date and aims to raise a further R160m by March 2018. T h r o u g h S e c t i o n 1 2 J Ve n t u r e C a p i t a l C o m p a n i e s s u c h a s Kalon, the SA government aims to stimulate the economy and promote investment in SMEs while providing tax benefits to investors. The tax relief is potentially 45% for individuals and trusts and 28% for companies, which mitigates the investment risk and significantly enhances the potential retur n. Kalon is targeting retur ns of more than 30% per annum and a minimum of five times the money invested over five to seven-years.

«

Kalon Venture Partners is a venture capital fund set up under the Section 12J venture capital tax incentive where investors receive a 100% deduction of their investment from their taxable income. Kalon’s board and investment committee consists of tech leaders and entrepreneurs such as, Gil Oved, a dragon in the launch series of Dragons Den, a shark on the South African version of Shark Tank and co-founder of The Creative Counsel, South Africa’s largest advertising agency and Romeo Khumalo, the former COO of Vodacom who now runs his own investment company. Romeo was also a shark on Shark Tank. www.kalonvp.com


ret

How technology is driving retail

in Africa

ARSHAD ABBA, the South African MD responsible for Africa and joint Vice-President of Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) Canback, reports on how the digital era is changing the ways and means of retail across Africa.


tail.

A report by The Economist Intelligence Unit – H o w Te c h n o l o g y i s D r i v i n g R e t a i l i n A f r i c a – describes how e-commerce is changing retail in Africa. The rapid change in the retail landscape is creating a greater availability of products that were not easily accessible in the past and will affect companies’ ability to win in Africa.


Many African cities are characterised by many well-organised informal traders, who compete directly with formal retail. E-commerce, although not accessible and affordable to large parts of the population, has increased access for many consumers and has started to bridge the gap to formal retail. H o w e v e r, t r u s t f o r o n l i n e t r a n s a c t i o n s r e m a i n s a n i m p o r t a n t constraint that needs to be overcome if e-commerce is to flourish across Africa. Although South Africa is more advanced, and formal retail more developed, challenges are prevalent here as well.

Nigeria’s e-commerce growth has been helped by its lack of shopping malls and formal retail. South Africa, mobile and internet subscriptions far outpace the rest of Africa, remains well placed to take advantage of e-commerce. Retail is more formalised and mature in RSA, and consumers want to find more accessible ways to purchase goods. Key factors that will drive future growth in e-commerce include price competitiveness, improved and more efficient del i v e r y s y s t e m s . A l s o , i m p r o v e d c o n n e c t i v i t y a c r o s s t h e c o u n t r y, increased security and certainty related to online payments. Another key consideration for companies is how e-commerce might work across borders, as cross-border trade becomes increasingly the norm. South Africa is primed for rapid expansion given its growing middle class, higher disposable income levels compared to most other countries in Africa, and high internet use. With a more mature market than most emerging countries, South Africa remains competitive. Middle and lower income consum-


ers will continue to make decisions that are influenced by p r i c e a n d v a l u e - f o r- m o n e y. For South African companies, this paper provides an initial understanding of the changes in retail that are being driven by e-commerce. W ith online retail growing by more than 20% per year since 2000 (Source: World W ide Worx), capitalising on growth will be a key imperative for companies over the next 5-10 years. The current and expected trends in South Africa will also be important for companies looking to expand operations into other African markets, as South Africa could be the precursor for them. South Africa, along with Nigeria, Ghana and Kenya remains the largest stable opportunities across Sub-Saharan A f r i c a . N i g e r i a ’s e - c o m m e r c e g r o w t h h a s a l s o b e e n h e l p e d b y its lack of shopping malls and formal retail as compared to South Africa. As retail formalises and shopping malls continue to spread, the market will become more competitive and will influence the growth of e-commerce in Africa. Some of the key shopping categories in South Africa that are primed for this growth are digital goods, clothing, travel, and consumer electronics. While these categories are most ready for growth, supermarkets and other small industries may also see rapid expansion in South Africa.

connect with Arshad Arshad Abba is the Managing Director of EIU Canback SA. www.canback.com

ÂŤ


SMARTPHONES DRIVING AFRICA’S E-C OMMERCE A new EIU report says that smartphones could h e l p e x p a n d A f r i c a ’s e - c o m m e r c e m a r k e t t o U S $ 75 b n w i t h i n t h e n e x t d e c a d e . R e ta i l i n A f r i c a h a s l a rg e l y b e e n s h a p e d o v e r t h e ye a rs b y a m o re i n fo r m a l s h o p p i n g ex p e r i e n c e t h a n t h a t of t h e We s t . To t h i s d a y, A f r i c a n s p refe r to u s e a n e t w o r k of p h ys i c a l s to re s , s t re e t t ra d e rs a n d i n fo r m a l m a r ke t s o u rc e s fo r t h e i r p u rc h a s e s , w h i c h a re p re d o m i n a n t l y c a r r i e d o u t i n c a s h . T h e re l a t i v e l a c k of s o p h i s t i c a t i o n i n t h e n a t u re of m a n y t ra n s a c t i o n s i n A f r i c a ref l e c ts a p a u c i t y of i n f ra s t r u c t u re , a s w e l l a s i n s u f f i c i e n t fa m i l i a r i t y a n d t r u s t w i t h a l te r n a t i v e s o u rc e s . T h a t i s c h a n g i n g , h o w e v e r. I n c re a s i n g a c c e s s to te c h n o l o g y, v i a a v e n u e s s u c h a s s m a r t p h o n e s , i s h e l p i n g c o n s u m e rs i n p re v i o u s l y h a rd to re a c h a re a s to a c c e s s a l l m a n n e r of e - c o m m e rc e o p p o r t u n i t i e s , i n c l u d i n g e m e rg i n g A f r i c a n fa s h i o n . A l a rg e n u m b e r of m a l l s h a v e b e e n b u i l t i n A f r i c a , a n d c o n s u m e rs f l o c k to t h e s e i n o rd e r to p a r ta ke i n a m o re e n g ro s s i n g s h o p p i n g ex p e r i e n c e , w h i c h c o n s t i t u te s a d a y o u t fo r m a n y fa m i l i e s . T h i s i s l e a d i n g to a “ l e a pf ro g g i n g ” ef fe c t w h e re a n i n c re a s i n g n u m b e r of A f r i c a n s a re e m b ra c i n g t h e p o te n t i a l of e - c o m m e rc e b y u s i n g m o b i l e s , ra t h e r t h a n p e rs o n a l c o m p u te rs ( P C s ) , fo r t h e i r o n l i n e p u rc h a s e s . Es t i m a te s a s to t h e p o te n t i a l va l u e of A f r i c a ’s e - c o m m e rc e va r y, b u t i t c o u l d b e w o r t h a s m u c h a s U S $ 75 b n p e r ye a r w i t h i n t h e n ex t d e c a d e . H oweve r, s eve ra l o b s ta c l e s to e - c o m m e rc e g row t h re m a i n , i n c l u d i n g fe a r of f ra u d a m o n g A f r i c a n c o n s u m e rs , a l o g i s t i c s n e t wo r k b e s e t by p ro b l e m s , t h e f ra g m e n te d n a t u re of A f r i c a n re ta i l m a r ke ts , a p re s s i n g n e e d to i m p rove te l e c o m s n e t wo r k i n f ra s t r u c t u re a n d t h e e n t re n c h e d p ro b l e m of i l l i te ra cy a m o n g a s i g n i f i c a n t p ro p o r t i o n of t h e A f r i c a n p o p u l a t i o n .


A re c e n t Ec o n o m i s t I n te l l i g e n c e U n i t re p o r t u s e s b e s p o ke E I U C a n b a c k d a ta to h i g h l i g h t t h e c o u n t r i e s a n d m e t ro re g i o n s i n t h e A f r i c a n c o n t i n e n t w i t h t h e b i g g e s t p o te n t i a l fo r e - c o m m e rc e g row t h , w h i l e h i g h l i g h t i n g t h e t re n d s a n d d eve l o p m e n ts i n t h e m a r ke t . T h e s c o re s m a r r y t h e s i ze of a n a d d re s s a b l e m a r ke t ( i n te r m s of i n c o m e l eve l by h o u s e h o l d o r i n d i v i d u a l ) to a ra n g e of ex te r n a l - e nv i ro n m e n t i n d i c a to rs re l a t i n g to t h e ove ra l l b u s i n e s s e nv i ro n m e n t s u c h a s m a r ke t o p p o r t u n i t i e s , m o b i l e s u b s c r i b e r p e n e t ra t i o n ra te s ( p e r 1 0 0 p e o p l e ) a n d P C ow n e rs h i p ( p e r 1 0 0 p e o p l e ) . Among the key takeaways from the analysis are (South Africa):

• S o u t h A f r i c a i s t h e m o s t p r i m e d to ta ke a d v a n ta g e of t h e p o te n t i a l of e - c o m m e rc e i s S o u t h A f r i c a , w h e re m o b i l e p e n e t ra t i o n ra te s a re h i g h e r, i n f ra s t r u c t u re i s m o re s o p h i s t i c a te d a n d t h e m i d d l e c l a s s m o re ex p a n s i v e a n d w i l l i n g to e n g a g e i n o n l i n e p u rc h a s i n g . • T h e c o u n t r y l a g s b e h i n d t h e U S a n d E u ro p e i n te r m s of e - c o m m e rc e , a l t h o u g h t h e l o c a l b u s i n e s s - to - c o n s u m e r m a r ke t a l s o of fe rs a n u m b e r of s e r v i c e s s i m i l a r to t h o s e fo u n d i n i ts ove rs e a s c o u n te r p a r ts . Wo r l d W i d e Wo r x , a l o c a l te c h n o l o g y re s e a rc h f i r m , e s t i m a te s t h a t o n l i n e s p e n d i n g s u r p a s s e d R 9 b n ( U S $ 61 0 m ) i n 2 0 1 6 , re a c h i n g t h e i m p o r ta n t m i l e s to n e of 1 % of t h e R 9 0 0 b n ove ra l l re ta i l m a r ke t . • O n l i n e re ta i l h a s b e e n g ro w i n g b y m o re t h a n 2 0 % p e r ye a r s i n c e 2 0 0 0 , a c c o rd i n g to t h e f i r m . A 2 0 1 5 s t u d y b y a m a r ke t re s e a rc h f i r m , I p s o s , re v e a l e d t h a t 2 2 % of S o u t h A f r i c a n i n te r n e t u s e rs s a i d t h a t t h e y h a d m a d e p u rc h a s e s o n l i n e a n d 4 8 % ex p e c te d to d o s o i n f u t u re . • I n a d d i t i o n , m a n y S o u t h A f r i c a n s e n g a g e i n c ro s s b o rd e r s h o p p i n g , f u r t h e r b ro a d e n i n g t h e o p p o r t u n i t i e s fo r re v e n u e g a i n s fo r e - ta i l e rs . A c c o rd i n g to a c ro s s b o rd e r c o m m e rc e re p o r t b y a g l o b a l p a y m e n ts f i r m , P a y P a l , a n d I p s o s , i n 2 0 1 6 a ro u n d 4 3 % of S o u t h A f r i c a n s s h o p p e d a c ro s s b o rd e rs . • B o t h m o b i l e p e n e t ra t i o n a n d m o b i l e i n f ra s t r u c t u re a re n o ta b l y m o re a d v a n c e d i n S o u t h A f r i c a c o m p a re d w i t h t h e re s t of t h e c o n t i n e n t . T h e m a r ke t h a s re a c h e d m a t u r i t y, w i t h a p e n e t ra t i o n ra te of 1 7 1 % i n 2 0 1 6 , w h i c h w e fo re c a s t to r i s e to j u s t u n d e r 1 97 % b y 2 0 2 1 . • T h i s r i s e i s l i ke l y to b e f u e l l e d , i n n o s m a l l p a r t , b y t h e d e m o g ra p h i c s h i f t of g re a te r s w a t h e s of t h e b l a c k p o p u l a t i o n j o i n i n g t h e ra n ks of t h e m o re a f f l u e n t , w i t h g re a te r d i s p o s a b l e i n c o m e s . O n t h e i n f ra s t r u c t u re s i d e , a l a c k of s p e c t r u m a v a i l a b i l i t y h a s h i n d e re d m a n y o p e ra to rs ’ a t te m p ts to i m p ro v e b o t h n e t w o r k c o v e ra g e a n d s p e e d . T h i s h a s t h e refo re h a d a n i m p a c t o n p ro v i d e rs ’ a b i l i t y to e n c o u ra g e ta ke - u p of 4 G c o n n e c t i v i t y, w h i c h i s e s t i m a te d to h a v e a c c o u n te d fo r j u s t 4 % of a l l mobile subscriptions in 2016. A F U L L C O P Y O F T H E R E P O RT I S AVA I L A B L E FO R D O W N L O A D H E R E :


healthca

Creating an ecosystem for improved medical decisionmaking Yaseen Khan, Chief Executive Officer at EMGuidance, highlights the urgent need for rapid changes in local healthcare.


are.


Poor point-of-care medical decision-making costs t h e h e a l t h c a r e s e c t o r b i l l i o n s o f r a n d e v e r y y e a r, w h i l e t h o u s a n d s o f p a t i e n t s s u f f e r u n n e c e s s a r i l y. The Gauteng Health Department alone has paid out R1.017-billion to settle 185 medical negligence claims since January 2015. Considering the significant additional legal costs that were incurred as each claim was contested, the actual c o s t t o t h e d e p a r t m e n t i s l i k e l y f a r g r e a t e r. T h e consequences experienced by the patients behind these claims are untold. T h i s , s a y s Ya s e e n K h a n , C h i e f E x e c u t i v e O f f i c e r at EMGuidance, a digital clinical support platform connecting medical professionals with locally relevant medicines information, clinical guidelines, and clinical tools, is only the tip of the iceberg. “ S o u t h A f r i c a n m e d i c a l p ro f e s s i o n a l s a re u n d e r immense pressure to improve patient outcomes despite oft e n b e i n g u n d e r re s o u rc e d . D e l i v e r i n g t h e b e s t p a t i e n t c a r e i n a c o m p l e x a n d o v e r b u rd e n e d h e a l t h s y s t e m i s a c o n s i s t e n t c h a l l e n g e f a c e d b y m e d i c a l p ro f e s s i o n a l s , a n d i s c e n t r a l t o i m p ro v i n g t h e e n t i r e h e a l t h s y s t e m . T h e e x p e n d i t u r e o n m e d i c a l negligence claims is but one indicator that we are not rising

"The potential claims against the Gauteng Health Department are close to R13.5 Billion, or nearly 40% of the entire provincial health budget." – Yaseen Khan.


up to this challenge. Recent figures state the potential claims a g a i n s t t h e G a u t e n g H e a l t h D e p a r t m e n t a re c l o s e t o R 1 3 . 5 B i l l i o n , o r n e a r l y 4 0 % o f t h e e n t i re p ro v i n c i a l h e a l t h b u d g e t . T h e b u d g e t a r y s h o r t f a l l c r e a t e d t h ro u g h t h i s a g a i n u n d e r m i n e s h e a l t h c a r e p r o v i d e r s ’ a b i l i t y t o i m p ro v e p a t i e n t o u t c o m e s , c re a t i n g a p e r p e t u a l l o s e - l o s e s i t u a t i o n . T h e o n l y w a y t o b r e a k t h i s c y c l e i s t o d i s r u p t i t w i t h a p o i n t o f c a re p l a t f o r m t h a t e m p o w e r s t h e h e a l t h - f o rc e a n d i m m e d i a t e l y i m p r o v e s t h e a c c u r a c y o f d i a g n o s i s , t r e a t m e n t , a n d p re s c r i b i n g , � e x p l a i n s K h a n . A key part of the issue is the overworking of doctors and other point-of-care medical professionals as a result of the o n - g o i n g s k i l l s s h o r t a g e i n t h e h e a l t h c a r e s e c t o r. T h i s c r e a t e s highly pressured decision-making circumstances. Doctors and medical professionals therefore have a pressing need to efficiently access the most appropriate, locally relevant


treatment and prescription recommendations, instead of having to rely on ‘Googling’ and finding inter nationally authored content, which doesn’t speak to local patient, disease, and health-system factors.

Staying awake for extended hours led to a 300% increase in preventable mistakes that caused patient deaths. “The issue of overworked doctors received headlines in 2016, with some doctors working shifts of up to 36 hours at a time. These long hours severely impact doctors’ ability to make accurate medical decisions at the point of care, which often undermine doctors’ ability to improve patient outcomes. A study conducted in 2006 found that staying awake for extended hours led to a 300% increase in preventable mistakes that caused patient deaths.”

Reengineering point of care decision-making in healthcare Khan and co-founder Mohammed Dalwai decided to create a platform for point-of-care medical professionals such as doctors, nurses, clinicians, and pharmacists, providing free, instant access to locally relevant and up-to-date treatment guidelines, protocols and consistently updated medicines information. “By providing a centralised digital access point for locally relevant clinical guidelines on behalf of a wide range of medical institutions, doctors are equipped with up to date, locally


relevant information that can eliminate inaccurate or inapprop r i a t e d e c i s i o n s a t t h e p o i n t o f c a r e . T h r o u g h o u r p r o p r i e t a r y, interactive, and consistently updated, and fully-referenced medicines section, created in partnership with a national network of pharmacologists, specialists and medical institutions, EMGuidance also guides medical professionals to provide the correct prescriptions, playing a huge role in improving the accuracy and efficacy of treatments.” As an example, Khan cites a recent partnership with the South African Antibiotic Stewardship Programme: “When anti-microbial resistance patter ns change, we would be able to send a push notification to doctors’ phones to alert them, presenting them with the relevant anti-microbial therapy guidelines for their region. By creating a direct link to primary healthcare providers, we can facilitate an improved flow of contextual information that can reduce errors and enable improved patient outcomes.”

In 1990, tuberculosis infected 7.1 million people a year and killed 2.5 million of them, but since these victims were adults it went unnoticed. Murrary pointed out that, with early intervention, a brief course of chemotherapy would cure 90 percent of tuberculosis patients for less than $250 per person.

Epic Measures: One Doctor. Seven Billion Patients. Jeremy N. Smith

GET BLINKIST

BLINKIST EXTRACT FROM


L eve r agi ng data f o r i m p ro v e d p a tien t c a re Growth on the platform has so far been largely organic, with word-of-mouth driving downloads of the mobile app. “We have more than 5 500 registered medical professionals accessing the platform, as well as a critical threshold of core partners from the public and private sectors. We’re now starting to see certain usage patter ns and trends emerging, which will guide t h e d e v e l o p m e n t o f a d d i t i o n a l f u n c t i o n a l i t y. F o r e x a m p l e , s i n c e w e t r a c k u s a g e , a n o n y m o u s l y, b y l o c a t i o n , w e a r e a b l e t o d e tect increased volumes of searches relating to certain conditions, which may help inform how healthcare authorities react to an outbreak of specific diseases in a certain region.” Khan stresses the importance of providing accurate and practical clinical guidelines and medicines information to point-ofcare healthcare professionals. “Many of the current healthcare resources take months, or years, to update with new information, and often exclude medicines providers who are unwilling to pay a fee to be included. Our platform is updated consistently to ensure users always access the most up-to-date and relevant treatment and referral guidelines and medicines information. Another important thing we are also seeing is how junior doctors are using the platform as a bridge between highly-theoretical classroom knowledge and their practical day-to-day field work.”


The future of (tech-assisted) healthcare EMGuidance is available in South Africa via the Apple App Store and Google Play Store. A lite version is available in s e v e r a l o t h e r A f r i c a n c o u n t r i e s i n c l u d i n g Ta n z a n i a , B o t s w a n a , Ghana, Cameroon, Rwanda, Ethiopia, Sudan, Egypt, Zambia, Namibia, Botswana, Uganda, and Kenya. “We’ve developed the platform and connected a broad range of primary healthcare role players in an independent, trusted and controlled environment. We expect future development to be guided by the needs of the doctors, clinicians, nurses, pharmacists, medicines providers and healthcare regulators using the platform, who all provide important input via formal feedback channels as well as through their day-to-day usage patter ns. “Based on initial interactions, we are considering incorporati n g t h i n g s l i k e i n - a p p d o c t o r- t o - d o c t o r c o m m u n i c a t i o n s , d i g i tal prescriptions, and the integration of point-of-care medical devices. The benefit of taking a platform approach is that we can build a far richer suite of resources that are tailored to the specific needs of our users.” w w w. e m g u i d a n c e . c o m

connect with yaseen Yaseen Khan is the founder and CEO of EMGuidance (the Essential Medical Guidance App, available on Google Play or the App Store). www.emguidance.com

«


my way.

Long showers and going barefoot

"When I'm feeling stuck, my secret move is to take a long shower. I combination of the solitude, the humidity, the grey noise of falling the fact that my laptop isn't waterproof. I can only imagine the disc Archimedes would have made, if showers were invented back then

"I love being barefoot. I've visited malls, attended university, and h caught a flight barefoot. Somehow, I feel less social pressure with I haven't figured out why, but I think it's partially because of how st know I look, so any hope of upholding a lofty pretence is futile. Als like I can walk much further barefoot. It's probably time to see a po

"I can also play the pan flute, beatbox, and moonwalk. Probably ev though I can't say I've tried." ÂŤ

I love being barefoot. Somehow, I feel less social pressure with no sho


It's some water, and coveries n...

have even no shoes. tupid I so I feel odiatrist...

ven at once,

, oes.

ARJUN KHOOSAL is the CEO and CoFounder of Kandua


travel d

democratic republic of the congo

Photos: xxxxx


debrief.

JONATHAN ROBINSON, founder of the Bean There Coffee Company, debriefs u|Chief on his recent trip to the DRC.


Te l l u s a b o u t y o u r r e c e n t b u s i n e s s t r i p ?

The DRC is a challeng

Most recently I visited the small holder

particularly because i

farmers we work with in the DRC through

by international busin

the Virunga Coffee Company in Butembo,

travellers, which make

which is in North Kivu (approximately

authorities to take ad

350km north of Goma).

maximise their revenu

What was memorable about the trip?

The roads and genera

Tr a v e l i s a n i n c r e d i b l e e x p e r i e n c e . I s e e

make doing business

first-hand the effects of direct and fair

ing. At times, the road

trade with small scale farmers. I always

and Butembo, which i

retur n enriched and more committed to

take up to 10 days. T

o u r D i r e c t F a i r Tr a d e b u s i n e s s m o d e l – n o t

ever do not detract fr

o n l y d o w e p a y F a i r Tr a d e p r i c e s f o r o u r

credible energy and p

coffee, but we actively seek to establish

by the joy and commi

direct and long-term relationships with our

and their real desire t

producers.

rewarded for an excep


DRC FACT FILE National motto “Justice – Peace – Work” Official language French Recognised national languages Lingala, Kikongo, Swahili, Tshiluba Land area 2 345 409 km2 (905,567 sq mi) Population 82 243 000 (2017 estimate) Density 34.83/km2 (90.2/sq mi) Total GDP (PPP) $68.331 billion (2017 estimate) Per capita GDP $788 Currency Congolese franc (CDF) Time zone WAT and CAT (UTC+1 to +2) Vehicles Cars drive on the right Calling code +243 Largest city Kinshasa (population 11 116 000) (SOURCE WIKIPEDIA)

Virunga

ging environment, t is not frequented

ness people or leisure

es it easy for local vantage and try to

ue.

al infrastructure also extremely challeng-

d trip between Goma

is a mere 350km, can he challenges, howom the farmers’ in-

passion. I was struck tment of the farmers

to produce and be

ptional coffee.


What was memorable about the trip?

ing, hydroelectric pow

These trips are primarily about relation-

are endless.

ship building. We work very closely with the producers of our coffee. Our annual

What surprised you a

visits are vital for keeping business re-

Goma in the DRC is a

l a t i o n s h i p s s t r o n g a n d t r a n s p a r e n t . D u r-

The city in many parts

ing my most recent trip, we were able to

with black volcanic ro

secure a new lot of sundried coffee, which

eruption of the Nyirag

we can’t wait to introduce to the South

g i v e s t h e c i t y a r a w, r

African market.

disconcerting feel, bu

heightening the sense

alive! I was also surpr challenges of doing b

aged that, despite the

Congolese people are

How did you grow pe travel experience?

Whenever I drink a cu

humbled by the hard w

hands that make my e

cup possible. Each co

hand-picked, and I wi What opportunities did you identify

e f f o r t f o r g r a n t e d . Tr a

during the trip?

farmers who produce

W ith its abundance in natural resourc-

minds me of this fact.

es, the DRC has so much potential. The growth I witnessed in the coffee sector

Did you take away an

was so encouraging. I believe that if the

sons or experiences

DRC can sustain levels of peace and sta-

lear n from?

b i l i t y, t h e o p p o r t u n i t i e s , f o r b o t h c o f f e e

Be grateful. In my fam

and many other industries (such as min-

something goes wrong


wer and agriculture)

about the country?

always surprising.

s is still covered

ock from the 2002

gongo volcano. This

rough and sometimes

ut at the same time

e s . Yo u r e a l l y d o f e e l

rised by the extreme u s i n e s s , b u t e n c o u r-

ese difficulties, many

e making things work.

ersonally from this

up of coffee, I am

work and the many

enjoyment of that

offee bean is

ill never take that

avelling to meet the our coffee re-

.

ny valuable lesthat others can

m i l y, w h e n e v e r

g that is not really


a big deal, we often use the phrase “first

e n v i r o n m e n t – i t ’s n o t

w o r l d p r o b l e m s ” . Tr a v e l l i n g t o E a s t A f r i c a

pockets and big budg

(the DRC in particular) gives perspective on life and reminds me of the many privi-

Any fun memories?

leges and conveniences that I often take

A real highlight was th

for granted.

N y i r a g o n g o Vo l c a n o i n

tional Park in the DRC What did you learn about the way the

covers some spectacu

people of the DRC work and live?

the top of the active v

One of the coffee washing stations we

night around the crate

visited outside Butembo was just beau-

the hot molten lava –

tiful. The staff running the station take such pride in their work environment,

Where would you like

with painted murals and planted gardens

time you visit the DR

depicting the Virunga Company logo. I

ing region for busine

was impressed with what can be created,

We try to visit differen

without a huge investment towards transforming a working environment. Dedication, positive attitudes and support of the whole team, create a healthy work


t always about deep

gets.

he trek up to the

n the Virunga Na-

C. The two-day trek

u l a r s c e n e r y. O n c e a t

volcano, we slept the

e r, l o o k i n g d o w n i n t o amazing!

e to go the next

trip. At Bean There we source coffee from Ta n z a n i a , R w a n d a , D R C , E t h i o p i a , K e n -

RC or the surround-

y a , a n d B u r u n d i . B u r u n d i a n d Ta n z a n i a

ess or pleasure?

are next on the list. Due to some political

nt producers each

challenges in Burundi, we haven’t been able to visit in the last two years – we are looking forward to connecting with the M u s e m a C o - o p l a t e r i n t h e y e a r. What did you learn about the people and the country itself that tourists could lear n from? A l w a y s t r e a d l i g h t l y a n d h u m b l y. Constantly look for opportunities to learn. I t ’s g o o d t o s i n g w h i l e y o u w o r k … e v e n i f you’re out of tune!

«

connect with Jonathan Jonathan Robinson is the founder of the Bean There Coffee Company. www.beanthere.co.za


coding.

Coding's ca With Africa Code Week coming up in October, we dug deep into the world of coding with CLAIRE GILLISSEN-DUVAL, the Co-Founder and Global Lead of Africa Code Week. Claire Gillissen-Duval


.

Offering an introduction to Web echnologies (HTML, CSS, Javascript, PHP, QL), this workshop gives students a good nderstanding of a typical website rchitecture and teaches them to create a ully operational, mobile-friendly website.

all to arms

18-25 Web Development october workshop at MuvaTech. Mozambique, Oct 2016 2017 Confidential

25


What is coding and why is it so relevant today… and for tomorrow? When I grew up, coding used to be for the tech-savvy kids, the next logical step after they managed to dismantle the first PC they got their h a n d s o n . 4 0 y e a r s l a t e r, w e l i v e i n a s u p e r- c o n n e c t e d w o r l d w h e r e ICT equals more than the sum of its parts: beyond a set of commands to

Contact us if you need help finding partners to orchestrat your event!

activate a device, coding has grown into an actual language – as in “system of communication used by a particular country or community” to share, explore and g r o w t o g e t h e r. S o m e e v e n s a y, ( w i t h g o o d r e a s o n , t h a t c o d i n g is about the closest thing to a superpower that can be taught in the digital era. To d a y, m o r e t h a n 9 0 % o f p r o f e s s i o n a l o c c u p a t i o n s r e q u i r e d i g i t a l s k i l l s a n d l a s t y e a r, T h e A f r i c a n E c o n o m i c O u t l o o k r e p o r t e d that in the youth labour markets of 36 African countries, there was a 54 percent mismatch between the job seekers’ skills and actual employers’ requirements. Why do we need to act now? Because the skills gap is only going to widen if we don’t: by

For a coder, there is no such thing as a problem without a solution, and a challenge is just another opportunity to create something new.


p te

2020, the world will need no less than 400 million digitally educated boys and girls who are groomed and ready to thrive i n t h e g l o b a l k n o w l e d g e e c o n o m y. * ( * S O U R C E : C É S A R A L I E R TA , P R E S I D E N T A N D C H A I R M A N O F F O U N D AT I O N T E L E F Ó N I C A )

Steve Jobs said: “I think everybody in this country should lear n how to program a computer because it teaches you how to think.” How can you add to his words? S t e v e J o b s , t o g e t h e r w i t h m o s t o f t h e w o r l d ’s l e a d e r s a c c o r d ing to Code.org (Sheryl Sandberg, Bill Gates, Chris Bosh, former President Obama and Stephen Hawking) all agree t h a t c o d i n g i s t h e l a n g u a g e o f t h e 2 1 s t c e n t u r y, a n d s o m u c h more at the same time. Coding definitely teaches one to think, and to think outside of the box – tapping into your c r e a t i v i t y, c r i t i c a l t h i n k i n g a n d p r o b l e m - s o l v i n g s k i l l s – a l l the while teaching you to collaborate beyond physical and geographical boundaries. F o r a c o d e r, t h e r e i s n o s u c h t h i n g a s a p r o b l e m w i t h o u t a solution, and a challenge is just another opportunity to create something new and culturally relevant. Not to mention that


c o d i n g i s t h e m o s t t r a n s v e rsal subject in education: it can be leveraged to solve a v a r i e t y o f p r o b l e m s f r o m v i rtually any other subject. What is the current situation in terms of school education and coding? In 2017 and despite great gains in secondary education participation over the past decade, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa, young Africans are either excluded from or propelled into the workforce rather than being prepared for it. The

Š 2017 SAP SE or an SAP affiliate company. All rights reserved.

outcome in both cases is a waste of talent and potent i a l , w i t h y o u t h b e i n g p r e v e n t e d f r o m c o n t r i b u t i n g t o A f r i c a ’s development. With 103 million youth, Africa is the youngest population in the world and has the opportunity to be the fastest growing digital consumer market on the planet, provided young people a r e e m p o w e r e d t h r o u g h I C T. W e l l a w a r e o f t h e s t a k e s a t h a n d , gover nments are more and more committed to helping youth become technology savvy and strive to make coding a daily reality in the classroom. But in a world that is more and more interconnected, there are some things gover nments can’t do in isolation anymore:


Let’s face it: Too many young women are standing clear of ICT careers because they feel unsupported. Our role is not just to encourage African girls and women to see technology and entrepreneurship as a viable career option. We also need to gather a critical mass of key stakeholders and role models to nurture them and support their hunger for learning, creative ventures and dreams for change.

Director of EMEA Corporate Social Responsibility at SAP

Co-founder & Global Lead, Africa Code Week

Confidential

corporations, non-profits and social/tech entrepreneurs have the opportunity to step up and help fill this gap in ways that gover nments cannot. Renewed, cross-border collaboration is the name of the new socio-economic game, and this is exactly what initiatives like Africa Code Week are bringing to the table: a shared-value platform where gover nments, nonprofits and private sector partners can join forces to bring coherence and scale to digital literacy programs and drive change in an u n p r e c e d e n t e d w a y. Ta k e M o r o c c o , C a m e r o o n a n d G h a n a f o r i n s t a n c e , w h e r e 165,000, 62,000 and 51,000 kids respectively lear nt coding a s p a r t o f A f r i c a C o d e W e e k l a s t y e a r. T h e s e n u m b e r s a r e l i v ing proof that when gover nments endorse such initiatives, the

9


sky is the limit when it comes to youth empowerment through ICT on a nationwide scale. The fact that we now have UNESCO ( t h r o u g h t h e i r Yo u t h M o b i l e i n i t i a t i v e ) a n d 1 5 g o v e r n m e n t s o n board, only 3 years after the initiative was launched, speaks volume on the importance and impact of private-public partnership in this digital day and age. What are the challenges in terms of poor facilities for most of our kids – and how can learning to code perhaps change the future of our majority of potentially unemployed kids? T h i s i s a c o r e p i l l a r o f A f r i c a C o d e W e e k ’s m i s s i o n : t o m a k e coding education accessible to all children, from connected cities all the way to remote, rural areas. It is also the vision of H . E P r e s i d e n t G u r i b - F a k i m i n M a u r i t i u s o r O n d o S t a t e G o v e rn o r i n N i g e r i a , t o n a m e a f e w. B e y o n d e n d o r s i n g A f r i c a C o d e Week, they commit to spreading coding education across every t o w n , v i l l a g e a n d c o m m u n i t y, e n s u r i n g t h a t n o c h i l d i s l e f t b e h i n d . H o w ? B y e n c o u r a g i n g t e a c h e r s t o t a k e p a r t i n t h e Tr a i n t h e - Tr a i n e r s e s s i o n s o r g a n i z e d i n t h e r u n u p t o O c t o b e r e v e n t s in every participating cMake o u n the t r y.event beginner friendly...

Don't focus on the technicalities, try to show th fun and practical aspect of whatever technolog Tbeing h e sused. ustainability of

initiatives life Africa

CEvent o d e format W e e kis up r e to l i eyou s on

time for students t t hBut e allow m e aenough n i n g fhands-on ul colla b-

18-25 october 2017

create something on their own.

oration of like-minde dwhatever p a r t n etools r s e&atechnologies ger to Use you're s u p pmost o r t familiar A f r i c awith Code

Although we do recommend freely available o Week at the grasssource tools and frameworks. Learning someth rcompletely o o t s l e vnew e l .can G obeointimidating gle is .

one of them, and they wAasmile n t aand l l sat friendly u d e n t satmosphere to

Can help break the ice and make those, who d consider themselves "technical" at ease.


2017: Bigger, bolder, better 5 new countries onboard:

18-25 october 2017

1 week 35 countries 500,000 children/youth Š 2016 SAP SE or an SAP affiliate company. All rights reserved.

7

have the opportunity to learn and get excited about compute r s c i e n c e ( C S ) . To s p r e a d t h e e x c i t e m e n t a b o u t A f r i c a C o d e Week in 2015, 2016, and 2017, Google has funded the Cape To w n S c i e n c e C e n t r e t o o f f e r s m a l l g r a n t s ( $ 1 , 0 0 0 U S D ) t o organizations and grassroots groups who want to give more kids aged 5 to 18, especially those who may not have access to many CS learning opportunities, a chance to engage with computer science. While access to computer labs is an indisputable challenge, the only way to overcome it is through existing and new partnerships over the years to come. This is why we always welcome new business partners eager to sponsor or support the initiative in the communities that most need it.

Through Africa Code Week over 10,000 teachers have been trained, with each teacher training 76 youth on average.


Last but n ot leas t: w hi l e a c c e ss a n d

skilled volunteers into coding instructors

co n n ect iv ity is k ey for n a t i o n s t o e mp o wer you th, w e s h all a ls o re me m b e r t h a t th e first ge n e rcoding at ionworkshops of c o dfore rchildren s h o n&eyouth d t hwith eir

skills w ith ou t local a sscience in gle centres, I n t e rschools, n e t c NGOs, o n n eetc. ction – simply b ecau s e th e re wa s n o su c h t h i n g as th e I nte r n et b ack i n t h e d a y s. To d a y,

to empower the next generation of African

th ere are m anleaders y w a&y sentrepreneurs t o l e a r nacross c o d35i ncountries. g both o ffline an d on lin e , s t a r t i n g wi t h S c r a t c h and the Afr ica C od e We e k c o u r s e s st a r t as skilled volunteers to teach code to

i ng Septe m b erhundreds 26 on o p e n&Steens A P.cduring o m .Africa of children Code Week events.

© 2017 SAP SE or an SAP affiliate company. All rights reserved.

I s c o d e a g e - n e u t r a l ? C o u l d a 5 5 - y e a rold nearing the end of their career dip into coding and discover a new career… or is it only really relevant to millennials or the young? If coding is a language, then it is as age neutral as learning English. Not to mention that the world doesn’t have enough people who can code, or as Richard Branson once said: “I learned how to fly a hot air balloon when I was 30,000 feet up

© 2017 SAP SE or an SAP affiliate company. All rights reserved.

Internal

44


Confidential

33

and my life was in the balance: you can learn skills at any age but why wait when we can teach everyone to code now?” More good news is that lear ning code is fun and exciting for all ages: just look at the smiles on teachers’ face as they n a v i g a t e t h e i r w a y t h r o u g h S c r a t c h d u r i n g A f r i c a C o d e W e e k ’s Tr a i n - t h e - Tr a i n e r s e s s i o n s a n d y o u w i l l g e t a s e n s e o f h o w f u n c o d i n g c a n b e f o r a d u l t s . E m p o w e r a t e a c h e r, e m p o w e r a c l a s s r o o m , t h e y s a y : s i m i l a r l y, i f t e a c h e r s a r e f a l l i n g i n l o v e with the lear ning materials they are experiencing first hand, chances are their pupils will too. SAP skilled volunteers have trained over 10,000 teachers on S c r a t c h a c r o s s 3 0 c o u n t r i e s s o f a r, a n d w i t h a n a v e r a g e r a t i o of 76 students introduced to coding in 2016, Africa Code Week is offering an “opportunity to marvel at what the future holds for young Africans.” These are the words of SAP CEO Bill McDermott, for whom “leading companies have a moral o b l i g a t i o n t o i n i t i a t e p e o p l e i n t o t h e m o d e r n e c o n o m y, r e g a r d less of where they come from.”


What are the different options out there for people to lear n code? Should they look at just learning some basics that can either add to their life or help a bit in their career or business through coding… or could they get value by having an eye on becoming an expert? O d d l y e n o u g h , c o m p u t e r p ro g r a m m i n g s t i l l i s o n e o f t h e m o s t u n d e r r a t e d p ro f e s s i o n s a l t h o u g h i t s p ro j e c t e d g ro w t h r a t e o f 17% between 2010 and 2020 is twice as fast as any other job o u t t h e re . W h y i s t h a t s o ? B e c a u s e t h e a n s w e r t o s o c i e t y ’s m o s t p re s s i n g , i n c re a s i n g l y c o m p l e x c h a l l e n g e s a re i n t h e c o d e . W h e t h e r y o u ’ re l o o k i n g t o s t a r t a c a re e r i n t h e i n d u s t r y, a n e w h o b b y o r j u s t t o u n d e r s t a n d t e c h n o l o g y, l e a r n i n g c o d i n g h a s n u m e ro u s b e n e f i t s i n s t o re f o r y o u . B e y o n d c o d i n g a s t h e n e w l a n g u a g e o f t h e 2 1 s t c e n t u r y, y o u w i l l l e a r n t o ‘ t h i n k l i k e a c o d e r ’ . T h i s i s e x a c t l y w h a t w e a re i m p a r t i n g w i t h A f r i c a C o d e We e k : a c u l t u re o f i n n o v a t i o n a n d c re a t i v i t y t h a t i s k e y t o u n l o c k a n e w

JSomething Micasa teac coding to Ro there pupils in Ma

w o r l d o f o p p o r t u n i t i e s , n e w j o b s , n e w c a re e r s , n e w m a r k e t s a n d n e w c o n n e c t i o n s f o r p re s e n t a n d f u t u re g e n e r a t i o n s .

7: Bigger, bolder, better

A5l tnew h o u gcountries h t h e r e a ronboard: e many tools and MOOCs available out

to lear n coding, Scratch is a wonderful, free resource for people of all ages to get started. But don’t let its building-block, playful approach fool you into thinking it is only for beginners:

eek Computer programming is one of the most underrated professions ountries although its projected growth rate 17% between 2010 and 2020 is 000 ofchildren/youth twice as fast as any other job.


Scratch is a powerful leverage for anyone eager to take their coding skills to the next level, from building games all the way to mastering robotics and flying drones. How does SAP offer and what are your competitive advantages in terms of teaching coding? A f r i c a C o d e W e e k ’s s t r e n g t h l i e s i n i t s g r o w i n g n e t w o r k o f over 100 engaged partners: bold visionaries, committed doers, passionate teachers – all utterly convinced that the young generation is holding unprecedented keys, not just to their f u t u r e , b u t a l s o t o t h e w o r l d ’s f u t u r e . T h i s i s w h a t e n a b l e s t h e i n i t i a t i v e t o r e a c h h i g h e r g o a l s y e a r o v e r y e a r. To g e t h e r, w e a r e n o w g e a r i n g u p t o e m p o w e r h a l f a m i l l i o n young Africans with coding skills from October 18 to 25 across 35 countries. This is twice the scope and 25 times

g from 18-25 ching Rwandan october ay 2016

2017


more beneficiaries than our initial goal of 20,000 across 17 countries back in 2015. SAP Africa Code Week provides many ways to get involved, from becoming a Coding Instructor and hosting coding workshops for young people all the way spons o r i n g t h e i n i t i a t i v e a s a p a r t n e r. Women can also start mentoring girls in their community by joining the eskills4girls.org initiative launched by our strategic p a r t n e r B M Z ( G e r m a n y ’s F e d e r a l M i n i s t r y f o r E c o n o m i c C o o p eration and Development). Joined by UNESCO and Africa Code Week and endorsed by G20 Leaders in a statement annexed to their Leaders’ Declaration at the Hamburg Summit in July 2017, #eskills4girls is on a mission to increase the access of women and girls in the digital world and to boost relevant education and employment opportunities on a global scale. What interesting anecdotes can you share about people who have learned to code? Although I am not a coder myself, I was fortunate enough to

Enroll t offline


be surrounded by them all my life and throughout my career at S A P. T h e s e s o f t w a r e d e v e l o p e r s a n d t e c h l e a d e r s a r e l i t e r a l l y changing the world with the sheer beauty of their code. They a r e t h e v e r y s o f t w a r e a r c h i t e c t s a n d b r i l l i a n t m i n d s w h o l i t e ra l l y w r o t e t h e s t o r y o f E R P t e c h n o l o g y, a n a l y t i c s a n d b u s i n e s s i n t e l l i g e n c e a s w e k n o w i t t o d a y.

Women can also start mentoring girls in their community by joining the eskills4girls.org initiative. I love the way they think, and our conversations often turn into a spirit-lifting exchange that renews the very way I see the world. And when asked why they became who they are, they all point to a specific point in time. It could be the day t h e y d i s m a n t l e d t h e i r f i r s t h a r d d r i v e w i t h a m e r e s c r e w d r i v e r,

today! All materials are also accessible for those with limited Internet access.

or the first time they played Space Invaders on an Atari c o m p u t e r. M o s t o f t h e m s a y i t happened in a split second. There was a before and an a f t e r, a n d e v e n t u a l l y t h e y became a tech evangelist or s o f t w a r e e n g i n e e r. I b e l i e v e this is at the heart of Africa Code Week: we want to secure the chance for that s p a r k t o h a p p e n ‌ a n d n u rture it afterwards so that the


beauty of young Africans’ code ends up impacting individuals, families, communities and society at large. What can leaders (and parents) do in terms of guiding and helping their people (and kids) to learn coding? AS our High Patron H.E. President Gurib-Fakim reminded us on June 18 at the launch of Africa Code Week 2017 in Mauritius: “family is the first innovation lab.” As a matter of fact, research shows that when communities, parents and schools work together to support learning, students perform better academi c a l l y a n d s t a y i n s c h o o l l o n g e r. T h e s i n g l e m o s t i m p o r t a n t p r e d i c t o r o f s t u d e n t s u c c e s s i s t h e f a m i l y ’s a t t i t u d e t h a t l e a r n i n g is a positive, joyful and valuable experience. More and more

18-25 october 2017

r, bolder, better

w countries onboard:

countries

17

30

35

2015

2016

2017

© 2016 SAP SE or an SAP affiliate company. All rights reserved.

africa code week 2017

ries hildren/youth

Africa Code Week’s mission is to empower future generations with the coding tools and skills they need to thrive in the 21st century workforce and become key actors of Africa’s economic development. www.africacodeweek.org

2025 6


The single most important predictor of student success is the family’s attitude that learning is a positive, joyful and valuable experience. p a r e n t s a r e a t t e n d i n g o u r Tr a i n - t h e - Tr a i n e r s e s s i o n s b e c a u s e they too want to be an active vector of change for the young generation: teaching code to their kids and encouraging them every step of the way is now a top priority for them. Why should a high-profile business leader lear n to code? As the Fourth Industrial Revolution gathers speed and disrupts every facet of work and business, leaders from the public and private sectors need new thinking to ensure they equip themselves, as well as their workforce, with the digital skills needed to survive and thrive. Advances in computing are accelerating the pace of innovation and enabling companies to develop, test, launch and a d a p t n e w p r o d u c t s a n d s e r v i c e s i n r e c o r d t i m e . H o w e v e r, without the requisite talent, companies and gover nments will have an impaired ability to keep up with the pace of change, and will soon find themselves outperformed by more agile competitors.

ÂŤ

connect with Claire Claire Gillissen-Duval is the Director, EMEA Corporate Social Responsibility at SAP and the Co-Founder and Global Lead of Africa Code Week.


Lord H

a questi

Photos: RenĂŠ Carayol


Herman

ion of leadership.

Lord Herman Ouseley RENÉ CARAYOL, u|Chief’s leadership guru, goes head-to-head with an African leader every month.


Lord ouseley was born in guyana in 1945 and came to england when he was 11. He became chief executive of the london borough of lambeth and the former inner london education authority (the first black person to hold such an office). In 1993, he became the executive chairman of the commission for racial equality, a position he held until 2000. In 2001, he was raised to the peerage of baron ouseley of peckham rye in southwark. Herman ouseley is also the chair of chandran foundation, kick-it-out plc (let’s kick racism out of football campaign), policy research institute on ageing & ethnicity (university of central england). Which contemporary leaders do you admire? To n y O t t e y, a J a m a i c a n n a t i o n a l , a n i n s p i r a t i o n a l l e a d e r amongst young people. He inspired them to become educated. H e s a i d p r o v o c a t i v e t h i n g s w h e r e m o s t o t h e r s h e s i t a t e d . To mixed audiences of different races he would challenge all, “we are definitely in the same boat, but on different decks”. We worked together in Brixton, London (which had a large ethnic p o p u l a t i o n ) i n t h e 1 9 7 0 ’s . H e w o u l d e v e n t u a l l y r e t u r n t o J a m a i ca to continue his wonderful work. Have you ever had a mentor? And if so, how did they help you develop and grow? I never had a formal mentor as such, but I soon looked to learn from everyone I met. Rudy Narayan was a barrister who came t o L o n d o n i n t h e 1 9 5 0 ’s . H e s o o n c o m m e n c e d a l i f e l o n g s t r u g gle against racism. He was bold and fearless. He was dropped from the Bar four times and each time eventually reinstated. He was an exceptional mentor for me, without him ever knowing


just how much he was to shape my determination to change t h e w o r l d a r o u n d u s . N o t e v e r y t h i n g h e s a i d o r d i d w a s p e rfect. I soon learned to be discerning about what to take on board. I now have the privilege of mentoring many people, and I love doing it as I lear n much from my mentees, maybe more than they ever lear n from me. What do you believe is the most important driver for success: talent or ambition? Ambition is a must. Looking at myself, I’ve never considered myself talented but I do have a work ethic which I believe I g a i n e d f r o m m y m o t h e r, w h o I o b s e r v e d d o s o m e t i m e s h a v i n g to do three to four jobs at the same time. My work ethic led m e t o t a k e o n m o r e a n d m o r e r e s p o n s i b i l i t y. Ta l e n t c a n b e a n o v e r u s e d d e s c r i p t o r. I n a s e n t e n c e , w h a t ’s y o u r d e f i n i t i o n o f L e a d e r s h i p ? Being able to inspire others to your ideas and enable their confidence in joining you in pursuit of your purpose. Which historical leaders stand out for you, and why?


Nelson Mandela… and having met him four times, every time I met him he taught me something different and instructive. Every audience with him was a special and memorable occasion to be in the presence of an extraordinary and unique ‘greatness’. Has Leadership become more difficult or complex in recent times? And if so, why? Lead ers h ip h as b ecom e mu l t i d i me n s i o n a l . I t ’s n o longe r just abo u t th e top of th e o r g a n i sa t i o n . I s e e l e a d e r s e v e r y w he re , especia lly am on gs t t h e y o u n g . I ’m c a l l e d a ‘l e a d e r ’, but I se e my role as h elp in g a n d s u p p o r t i n g p e o p l e . I h a v e n ow re a lise d t ha t th is is tr u e le a d e r s h ip . We h a v e t o t a k e t h e ‘re sponsibilit y ’ for chan ge an d h ow y ou e x e rc i s e t h a t re sp o n s i b i l i t y w ill de fine y ou. What advice would you give to those embarking on their leadership journey today? They must prove themselves worthy of the trust and confidence of others. This will enable people to see you as a ‘leader’. Blair and Cameron were made by their respective appointments to high office, they grew enormously by inspiring others to have trust and confidence in them. The opportunity to lead will enable some to grow whilst others will fall apart. W h a t ’s y o u r r e a c t i o n t o D o n a l d Tr u m p ’s r e c e n t v i c t o r y i n the US elections? One of surprise, then starting to see it all unravel rather quickl y. U n f o r t u n a t e l y, y o u c a n n o w ‘ b u y ’ y o u r w a y i n t o e v e n t h e o f fice of the President of the USA! We should remember that he followed a black man and was competing against a woman. He was able to tap into an undercurrent of racism and resentment, a n d Tr u m p ’s p e r s o n a c a p i t a l i s e d u p o n t h i s .


T h e r e i s a g l o b a l i s s u e a r o u n d e m p l o y m e n t a n d o p p o rtunities for the younger generation. Do you see any signs of any economic breakthroughs for them? We must better target roles and careers for young people and equip the future generation with the essential skills needed for the type of jobs which will be available in a rapidly changing world. As we all live for far longer and work far longer n o w, w e n e e d t o p l a n a n d c a r e f o r t h e g r o w i n g n u m b e r s o f elderly as well. These are complex problems and now must become all of our problems – we can solve them so much b e t t e r t o g e t h e r.

«

R e n é C a r a y o l | r e n e @ c a r a y o l . c o m | w w w. c a r a y o l . c o m

order spike online here

“spike is a book that will change your life.” – u|chief



# social media.

When not sharing is caring

T U R E L EA D E R S U F O T G N I N R A W G N A LS C O U R T V E R D I CT S I

With social media all around us, the founder and CEO of leading executive search firm Jack Hammer, DEBBIE GOODMAN-BHYAT sounds a warning on social media sharing


Social media aggregators are rapidly gaining traction in the executive search and recruitment industries, and anyone planning on rising through the ranks in their careers should be on the alert with this trend, a leadership expert war ns. “Most people will be aware that they should be careful on social media if they are on the hunt for a new position, as it has for a while now been standard practice for hiring manage r s t o r e v i e w a c a n d i d a t e ’s o n l i n e p r o f i l e b e f o r e c o n s i d e r i n g a n i n t e r v i e w, ” s a y s D e b b i e G o o d m a n - B h y a t , C E O o f J a c k H a m m e r, rated one of the top 3 executive search firms in South Africa. “However that approach seems almost quaint now in the face o f t h e r a p i d e v o l u t i o n o f t h e p e o p l e a g g r e g a t i o n i n d u s t r y, ” she says. There are numerous aggregators out there, from companies s u c h a s E n t e l o , Ta l e n t B i n , P i p l a n d m a n y o t h e r s . A l t h o u g h t h e offering differs from product to product, essentially social media aggregators scrape and pull in everything they can harvest online and offline about a particular candidate, sometimes even from the deep web, which then gives a company a comprehensive view of a candidate. As Pipl states on its website, it is a “one-stop shop for people data”. These tools are used not only for the identification of suitable candidates, but also for screening purposes. “Although these aggregators are not yet ubiquitous in the local i n d u s t r y, a n y o n e w h o i s s e r i o u s a b o u t t h e i r c a r e e r a n d e x p e c t s to progress through the ranks should know that the inter net never forgets, and that what they write, do or say online now may well become part of the social media profile presented to


"Now, more than ever, it is important not to be naïve or thoughtless with your personal or professional information." h i r i n g m a n a g e r s 2 , 5 o r 1 0 y e a r s f r o m n o w. ” Goodman-Bhyat says the information is already being collated by companies that need to make a decision about whether a candidate will be a good culture fit – based on their social and other habits – but that aggregators and scraping is becoming an integral part of the process, rather than an additional box to check during the profiling stage. “In a recent client meeting, I was again reminded of the importance of cultivating a professional online persona. While presenting a shortlist of candidates for a leadership role in East Africa, the client instantly checked each and every candidate on Facebook and LinkedIn, and immediately made a call on whether to interview or not, supported by what he saw online,” she says. The growing role of social media analysis in the workplace f u r t h e r c a m e i n t o s h a r p f o c u s r e c e n t l y, w i t h a U S c o u r t r u l i n g in favour of hiQ Labs in San Francisco. Reuters.com explains that the company had used LinkedIn data to build algorithms capable of predicting employee behaviors, such as when they might quit. While LinkedIn tried to put a stop to this, a federal judge ruled that they could not


"The lesson is that the personal has become the professional. You can’t expect your personal social media profiles – or any information posted under your name – to be considered out of bounds."

prevent the company from accessing public profile data, and ordered LinkedIn to remove technology preventing hiQ from accessing public profiles within 24 hours. “The case is considered to have implications beyond LinkedIn and hiQ Labs and could dictate just how much control companies have over publicly available data that is hosted on their services,” Reuters noted.


“The lesson here is that the personal has become the professional, and that you can’t expect your personal social media profiles, or any information posted under your name – whether it be a comment on a newspaper article or pics of you letting your hair way down at AfrikaBur n, to be considered out o f b o u n d s . A d d i t i o n a l l y, t h r o w a w a y c o m m e n t s a n d p o s t s a r e easily forgotten, but they will not be erased from the web as r e a d i l y a s t h e y a r e f r o m t h e m e m o r y, ” s a y s G o o d m a n - B h y a t . “Consider the Facebook reminders that pop up daily – of things you said, did and posted a decade ago – would you be happy for that information to be published under your name again today?” Goodman-Bhyat says future leaders should seriously consider t h e i r a p p r o a c h t o t h e i r o n l i n e p r e s e n c e i n g e n e r a l a n d m a y, like many are starting to do, consider a much more conservative style going forward, and actively cultivate their professional persona online. “ N o w, m o r e t h a n e v e r, i t i s i m p o r t a n t n o t t o b e n a ï v e o r

Photo: ssssss

thoughtless with your personal or professional information.

The unintended consequences can be massive, and massively c a r e e r- l i m i t i n g . ”

«

Debbie Goodman-Bhyat

connect with debbie Jack Hammer finds leaders who grow great companies and is rated in the top 3 executive search firms in SA and globally (through their IRC partnership). www.jhammer.co.za


manufact


turing.

Sew it goes ZAID PHILANDER is on a mission to change the world one stitch at a t i m e , w r i t e s E U G E N E Y IG A .


As a boy growing up Woodstock, Cape To w n , Z a i d P h i l a n d e r w a s f a s c i n a t e d w i t h little inventions, and sewing. So much so that he often got a spanking for taking things apart and losing interest when he needed to put them back together again. “I had a lot of interests,” he recalls. “For a long time I wanted to be a veterinarian, then a food technologist, and also an i n t e r i o r d e s i g n e r. A n d i n m y y o u n g e r y e a r s , I wanted to be a space monkey that tests plumbing with Batman!” Both his parents worked full-time and were determined to support their five children, which resulted in his mother tur ning to craft to earn extra income. With his folks busy at work, Zaid develo p e d a c l o s e r e l a t i o n s h i p w i t h h i s e l d e r s i s t e r, w h o l e a r n e d h o w t o c u t , s e w, a n d d e s i g n f r o m b o o k s b e f o r e s h e m o v e d o n to an Italian dressmaking school.

"In my younger years, I wanted to be a space monkey that tests plumbing with Batman." W h i l e o t h e r c h i l d r e n p l a y e d ‘ b l i n d m a n ’s b l u f f ’ , Z a i d c h o s e t o be ‘blinded’ by sewing hems by hand, cutting brown paper p a t t e r n s a n d s t i t c h i n g o n b u t t o n s . T h i s w a s h i s s i s t e r ’s a t t e m p t


at keeping Zaid busy by teaching him how to unpick hemlines and doing cuttings: the work every seamstress dislikes! “The first time my family bought an industrial machine, I was s e v e n a n d t o o s h o r t t o re a c h t h e p e d a l s , ” h e s a y s . “ S o i n s t e a d o f f e e l i n g d e s p o n d e n t a n d g i v i n g u p , m y s i s t e r a n d I c re a t e d a contraption made with a crutch and a hosepipe. The crutch would tie to my elbow and hit the pedal while my feet would d a n g l e i n t h e a i r. “I would sew with one hand pressing onto the crutch and the other guiding the fabric into the machine. I decided that day that I wouldn’t want anyone else to feel that they are limited due to a physical characteristic.”


Making products with 100% love After a few hours, Zaid was sewing his first set of hand pupp e t s w i t h t h e m a n m a d e c o n t r a p t i o n u s i n g h i s e l b o w. H e t h e n advanced to making simple garments and projects for neighb o u r s , f a m i l y, a n d f r i e n d s . B u t e v e n t h o u g h h e s a y s s e w i n g was second nature to him, there were challenges. “In my earlier years I was discouraged as during that time everyone lost their jobs in the CMT (cut, make, and trim) industry as South Africa opened our labour gates to China and we lost several clients who chased cheaper labour solutions to their wares,” he recalls. “I was also teased by peers f o r w a n t i n g t o s e w a s i t w a s s e e n a s a w o m a n ’s c a r e e r. S o I d i d i t f o r m y s e l f a l o n e , a s i t b r o u g h t m e j o y. ” At age 20, Zaid studied environmental awareness with great results. He was even nominated and selected as a Climate Change Champion through the British Council Project, ‘Low Carbon Futures’.


Inspired by the project and due to his nature-loving days as a boy scout, he chose to mix his two passions together and d e c i d e d t o s t a r t h i s o w n c o m p a n y, c r e a t i n g b a g s i n t h e m o s t planet-friendly way he could think of and developing an envir o n m e n t a l l y - c o n s c i o u s m o v e m e n t w i t h i n t h e f a s h i o n i n d u s t r y. To d a y t h e c o m p a n y, c a l l e d I S c r e a m & R e d , n o t o n l y p r o d u c e s bags, but also teaches people with disabilities how to make t h e m a n d p l a n s t o g r o w t h e i n i t i a t i v e e v e n f u r t h e r. “We teach people with disabilities how to design bags made f r o m r e c y c l e d s e a t b e l t s , r e u s e d u p h o l s t e r y, a n d r e j e c t e d sample fabric books,” Zaid says. “All our makers are taught within their homes, eliminating travel time and allowing them to work in a pressure-free environment on a flexi-time basis.They create a product that is made 100% with love and with the skills to sustain employment to significantly improve their lives.”


Creating a planet-friendly movement within the fashion industry I Scream & Red sources all materials within the vicinity of production to minimise carbon emissions on each product. It also engages in activations around people with disabilities, teaching them how to design and start businesses of their own. The company offers sewing classes, any CMT services to the public, and even screen printing with non-toxic pastes, using selections of organic cottons for the stitching and lining. “We pride ourselves in being a planet-friendly company whilst doing it in a socially r e s p o n s i b l e w a y, ” Z a i d s a y s . “ I s t r i v e t o i n s p i r e , s e w, a n d c r e a t e a p l a n e t - f r i e n d l y m o v e m e n t w i t h i n t h e f a s h i o n i n d u s t r y, o n e stitch at a time.” E v e r s i n c e a h e w a s a l i t t l e b o y, Z a i d h a s believed that sewing was neither a talent nor a gift that was given to him by a ‘higher power’. Instead, he thinks of it as a responsibility that he decided to undertake; a responsibility that he would use his talents and knowledge for the betterment o f t h e e n v i r o n m e n t , s o c i e t y, a n d t h e f a s h i o n i n d u s t r y.

“I strive to create a planet-friendly movement within the fashion industry, one stitch at a time.”


“As a young boy I was told that sewing is for the opposite s e x a n d t h a t I d i d n o t f i t t h e p r o f i l e , ” h e s a y s . “ Ye t a g a i n s t a l l odds – my length, my strength, and apparently my gender – I a c c o m p l i s h e d w h a t I w a n t e d : t o s e w. To d a y I t r a i n p e o p l e w i t h disabilities to sew these planet-friendly items as I can relate to how society puts limitations on you. Now my task is not only to prove them wrong, but to inspire others to do whatever they believe they want to achieve. For me, the choice began with a needle and thread.” w w w. i s c r e a m a n d r e d . c o . z a

«

— Eugene Yiga


human resources.

How smart workers

can

Geo

future-proof their career prospects


It is no secret that the world of work is shifting, and that individuals need to prepare for this changing landscape if they want their skills to remain in demand. And the way to do so, is to b e c o m e a S M A R T w o r k e r, s a y s employment expert Georgina Barrick.

arrick orgina B

“W ithin the next decade – and we are already seeing this happening to some degree – the traditional employer/employee relationship will be largely a thing of the past,” says Georgina Barrick, MD of Cassel&Co, Insource ICT and IT Edge – the specialised recruitment agencies of ADvTECH Resourcing f o c u s i n g o n F i n a n c e , A c c o u n t i n g a n d I T. She says that by 2030, historical workplace structures will overwhelmingly have been replaced by the concept of workers as consultants and their own bosses, who sell their services to client companies. “As we move away from the idea of the employee working for o n e c o m p a n y, d e p e n d i n g o n t h a t c o m p a n y f o r e v e r y t h i n g f r o m their salary to the promise that they will in all likelihood be able to rely on that company for a safe and ongoing income, individuals need to understand how they can navigate the workplace market in the not-so-distant future,” says Barrick. And this is where being SMART comes in.


“SMART is an acronym for the profile of future-fit workers: S p e c i a l i s t , M o b i l e , A d a p t a b l e , R e s i l i e n t a n d Ta l e n t e d . B e i n g SMART will be the key to surviving and thriving in the new world of work,” she says. Barrick says the driving forces behind the changing work environment include rapid and ongoing technological innovation, which is responsible for the disruption of historic industries and old economic systems. This gives rise to new industries and jobs, but also means that an estimated 50% of all jobs currently in existence – including white collar roles – will become automated.

While these are certainly scary times, they are also exciting, as we enter an age where the goal of a bigger return for less work may be achieved. “ A l r e a d y, w e a r e s e e i n g e v i d e n c e o f s o - c a l l e d c r e a t i v e d e s t r u c tion in rising global unemployment, declining average length of service, increasing mid-career transitions and disruption across all industries,” says Barrick. “Over the next five years, the World Economic Forum estimates that we’ll see the decline of job families like Office, Administrat i o n , M a n u f a c t u r i n g a n d P r o d u c t i o n . C o n v e r s e l y, t h e r e s h o u l d be a rise in the importance of Business and Financial Operat i o n s , I n f o r m a t i o n Te c h n o l o g y, M a t h e m a t i c a l , A r c h i t e c t u r a l a n d Engineering roles.


“While these are certainly scary times, they are also exciting, as we enter an age where the goal of a bigger retur n for less work may be achieved, but only if you have the right skills and are able to adapt to a rapidly changing work environment.” Barrick says global research has identified four major trends that will impact the world of work over the next 15 years: 1. FLEXIBILITY “ G l o b a l l y, w e a r e s e e i n g a c o n t i n u a t i o n o f t h e g r o w i n g t r e n d towards short term work. According to the Inter national L a b o u r O r g a n i s a t i o n ’s ‘ T h e C h a n g i n g N a t u r e o f J o b s ’ , 7 5 % of the global workforce is currently employed on temporary or short-term contracts. “It is believed that by 2030, workers will work ‘with’, not ‘for’, c o m p a n i e s a n d w i l l w o r k w i t h m u l t i p l e ‘ c l i e n t s ’ s i m u l t a n e o u s l y, joining skills guilds, rather than becoming employees. “The focus will be on knowledge workers, who can do their jobs anywhere and at any time. “This idea of workers as entrepreneurs will promote flexibility and autonomy – and will benefit high-skill workers.” 2. LIFELONG LEARNING A l r e a d y, t h e i d e a t h a t y o u s t u d y a n d t h e n u s e w h a t y o u ’ v e lear ned to follow a career at one company throughout your life has become obsolete, notes Barrick. “Lifelong lear ning, where workers constantly reskill or renew skills every 5 years, is becoming the norm,” she says.


3. QUALITY VS QUANTITY “The emphasis is shifting away from chasing money at all costs to a focus on critical values, like work/life balance, happiness and fulfilment,” says Barrick. “In future, there will increasingly be a shift away from the culture of ‘overwork’ towards a system where work is enmeshed in life – and reward is based on expertise and results, and not on job title or length of service.” 4 . T E C H N O L O G I C A L I N N O VAT I O N Te c h n o l o g y a l r e a d y e n a b l e s r e m o t e w o r k a n d , a s f i b r e b e c o m e s the norm in South Africa, internet speed is no longer the inhibitor it was 10 years ago. “ O v e r t h e n e x t 1 5 y e a r s , i t ’s p r e d i c t e d t h a t r a p i d t e c h n o l o g i c a l innovation will promote 24/7 work performed by employees in different geographic locations and time zones. The traditional notion of a ‘cor ner office’ as we know it today will become o b s o l e t e a s w o r k e r s w o r k r e m o t e l y, h o t d e s k a n d c o l l a b o r a t e in ways we can’t yet imagine.” “Ultimately what all of this means, is that individuals need to become more adaptable, and be able to manage their careers w i t h g r e a t e r r e s i l i e n c e a n d f l e x i b i l i t y, ” s a y s B a r r i c k . “They also need to become adept at building their personal brands and selling themselves on a fluid job market. Reputation management, customer relations and negotiation will be k e y t o t h e w o r k e r o f t h e f u t u r e . A d d i t i o n a l l y, t h e y n e e d t o t a k e responsibility for lifelong lear ning and regular upskilling, with a good dash of entrepreneurship thrown in.”


Employers of the future also need to adapt, she war ns. “They will need to be able to manage complexity and ambigui t y e f f e c t i v e l y, a n d q u i c k l y a n d e f f i c i e n t l y i d e n t i f y s k i l l s g a p s a n d t a p i n t o t h e f r e e l a n c e m a r k e t . A d d i t i o n a l l y, e m p l o y e r s should already start investigating how they can develop collaborative, global, and virtual working environments in order to attract the best talent.

ÂŤ

connect with Georgina Georgina Barrick is the MD of Cassel&Co and Insource.ICT/ IT Edge, all divisions of ADvTECH Resourcing. www.cassel.co.za www.advtech.co.za


the glo

What hap when the w world vot The recent Rwanda election was a massive landslide victory for incumbent Paul Kagama, while the Malta election offered their own incumbent, Joseph Muscat, a comfortable win. However, according to the votes cast by The Global Vote website, the rest of the world would have voted neither into power, nor Donald Trump.


obal vote.

ppens whole tes?

Photos: Rusumo Falls, Rwanda (SteveRwanda/Wikipedia)


T h e G l o b a l Vo t e “What are those leaders going to do for the rest of us?” asks t h e f o u n d e r o f T h e G l o b a l Vo t e , S i m o n A n h o l t , a n i n d e p e n d e n t policy advisor who has worked to help develop and implement strategies for enhanced economic, political and cultural engagement with other countries. He also created a fascinating w e b s i t e a n d w e b - b a s e d a c t i v i t y, w h i c h i s t h e o p p o r t u n i t y f o r people in other countries to “vote” in the elections of other countries. Anholt is quick to dispel the notion that taking part in The G l o b a l Vo t e c a n i n f l u e n c e a n y l o c a l e l e c t i o n s ( h e o n l y r e l e a s e s t h e r e s u l t s o f h i s w e b s i t e ’s e l e c t i o n s a f t e r e a c h c o u n t r y ’s r e a l e l e c t i o n s h a v e b e e n c o n c l u d e d ) , r a t h e r, h e h i g h l i g h t s t h e f a c t that we now lived in a globalised, hyperconnected , massively interdependent world. “The political decisions of people in other countries can and will have an impact on our lives no matter who we are and where we live, like the winds of a butterfly beating on one side of the Pacific that can apparently cause a hurricane on the other side, so it is with the world we live in t o d a y. ” Anholt highlights that around 140 million Americans voted in t h e 2 0 1 6 U S E l e c t i o n s i n w h i c h D o n a l d Tr u m p w a s e l e c t e d a s

It is a way for people to participate symbolically in the elections of other countries, and to learn interactively about the politics of those countries.


the 45th president of the United States… and yet that decision is going to directly impact most people throughout the w o r l d , a s A m e r i c a i s o n e o f t h e w o r l d ’s g r e a t s u p e r p o w e r s . H e h i g h l i g h t s t h a t t h e G l o b a l Vo t e i s n o t r e s e a r c h , r a t h e r i t i s a way for people to participate symbolically in the elections of other countries, and to learn interactively about the politics of those countries. “They do this because they understand that people and places are connected in many ways these days, and because they care about what goes on around the world,” says Anholt. His take on the current world situation is that everyone in a position of power and responsibility today has got a dual m a n d a t e . “ Yo u ’ r e r e s p o n s i b l e f o r y o u r o w n p e o p l e a n d e v e r y m a n , w o m a n , c h i l d a n d a n i m a l o n t h e p l a n e t . Yo u ’ r e r e s p o n sible for your own slice of

territory and every single square

m i l e o f t h e e a r t h ’s s u r f a c e a n d t h e a i r a b o v e i t , a n d i f y o u d o n ’ t l i k e t h a t r e s p o n s i b i l i t y t h e n y o u s h o u l d n o t b e i n p o w e r. That for me is the rule of the modern age.” Aside from being a strong message for politicians, it also serves as a wake-up for all leaders, from the public to the p r i v a t e s e c t o r, b e c a u s e o u r w o r l d i s r e a c h i n g a s t a t e o f d i s ruption and critical mass that we can no longer operate as an independent island – we have to work together with the rest o f t h e w o r l d . W e d o n ’ t h a v e t o o p e r a t e l i k e a c h a r i t y, a n d w e can and should play to win for ourselves and our stakeholde r s , b u t i t ’s v i t a l t o a v o i d j u s t l o o k i n g i n w a r d s a n d b a c k w a r d s . “ H i s t o r y s h o w s u s t h a t i t ’s a d e a d e n d , ” s a y s A n h o l t . “ W h e n people tur n inwards and backwards, human progress becomes reversed and things get worse for everybody very quickly


indeed. I believe that the best thing about humanity is its diversity and the best thing about globalisation is the way that i t s t i r s u p t h a t d i v e r s i t y, t h a t c u l t u r a l m i x t u r e t o m a k e s o m e thing more creative, more exciting and more productive than t h e r e h a s e v e r b e e n b e f o r e i n h u m a n h i s t o r y. ” I r o n i c a l l y t h e G l o b a l Vo t e i s n e v e r t h e s a m e s e l e c t i o n o f t h e c i t i z e n s i n e a c h c o u n t r y, n o d o u b t b e c a u s e c i t i z e n s a r e m o r e c o n c e r n e d w i t h d o m e s t i c i s s u e s , w h e r e a s T h e G l o b a l Vo t e i s focussed on what the candidates would do in terms of the rest o f t h e w o r l d a n d t h e i r c o u n t r y ’s l e a d e r s h i p . A n h o l t ’s i n i t i a t i v e i s s t i l l r e l a t i v e l y s m a l l , w i t h “ i n t h e r e g i o n of tens of thousands of global votes being case for the highe r- p r o f i l e c o u n t r i e s ; m o r e t h a n 1 0 0 , 0 0 0 f o r t h e U S e l e c t i o n a n d getting on for twice that in the UK election a few months later; and just thousands for the smaller countries. On the other hand, the spread is truly impressive - we almost always get votes from 100 countries or more”, says Anholt. Small in terms of real life voting statistics, but impressive in t e r m s o f a h u m b l e w e b s i t e . F o r l e a d e r s , T h e G l o b a l Vo t e r e p r e s e n t s a n o p p o r t u n i t y t o l o o k f u r t h e r, i n v e s t i g a t e o t h e r c a n d i d a t e s , g r a s p t h e i m p o r t a n c e o f h a v i n g a g l o b a l v i e w, a n d t o lear n about people who otherwise might slip off the radar or conventional mass media. T h a t ’s p r e c i s e l y w h a t h a p p e n e d i n t h e c a s e o f t h e r e c e n t R w a n d a a n d M a l t a e l e c t i o n s , w h i c h T h e G l o b a l Vo t e b o t h s c o r e d t o t h e e v e n t u a l t h i r d - p l a c e d c a n d i d a t e i n e a c h c o u n t r y ’s actual elections


H o w T h e G l o b a l Vo t e p o l l e d t h e 2 0 1 6 U S P r e s i d e n t i a l E l e c t i o n s

T h e R w a n d a Vo t e Presidential elections were held in Rwanda on 4 August 2017. The incumbent President, Paul Kagame, was re-elected with an estimated 98% of the vote. K a g a m e w a s t h e l a s t c h o i c e o f G l o b a l Vo t e r s , h o w e v e r, w i t h just 10% of the international vote. The surprise winner was Green candidate Frank Habineza, who received 71% of the G l o b a l Vo t e , c o m p a r e d t o j u s t 0 . 4 5 % i n t h e o f f i c i a l e l e c t i o n . Only 3% abstained, suggesting a high level of certainty a m o n g s t G l o b a l Vo t e r s o n t h i s o c c a s i o n .


R w a n d a ’s G l o b a l Vo t e w i n n e r – F r a n k H a b i n e z a Frank Habineza is the founder and president of the Democratic Green Party of Rwanda, the only legally registered party in Rwanda. Habineza has served as special assistant to a minister under President Kagame and has worked for Rwanda Newsline and the Rwanda Herald. In 2010, Habineza was forced to flee Rwanda and sought refuge in Sweden, where he lived until 2012. After retur ning home he eventually succeeded in getting the Democratic Green Party of Rwanda officially registered in August 2013. He was awarded a democracy prize in the Swedish Parliament in 2011, and has also received a honorary doctorate of humanities from Bethel College, Indiana, USA in 2013. The National Commission only confirmed his candidacy on 7th J u l y, l e a v i n g h i m l i t t l e t i m e t o c a m p a i g n . H e h a s p r o m i s e d t o fight unemployment and to end the monoculture imposed by


the authorities. Although he has not criticized Paul Kagame himself, Habineza has condemned alleged human rights violations committed by the government against political opponents and has pledged to retry political prisoners accused of dissidence. He has also criticized the government of canceling o n e o f h i s p o l i t i c a l m e e t i n g s . T h e G r e e n P a r t y ’s v i c e - p r e s i d e n t was murdered in 2010. “ W e w a n t t o b r i n g d e m o c r a c y t o t h i s c o u n t r y. D e m o c r a c y d o e s not fall from heaven, it will not come from America or Europe, we are the ones who must fight for it,” Mr Habineza has said.

Democracy does not fall from heaven… we are the ones who must fight for it.


R w a n d a ’s 2 0 1 7 E l e c t i o n Vo t e w i n n e r – P a u l K a g a m e Paul Kagame has been President of Rwanda since 2000 and i s t h e l e a d e r o f t h e R w a n d a n P a t r i o t i c F r o n t ( R P F ) . P r e v i o u s l y, it would not have been possible for him to run for a third term but a reform of the Rwandan Constitution, approved in a 2015 r e f e r e n d u m b y a 9 8 % m a j o r i t y, m e a n s t h a t h e c o u l d n o w s t a n d until 2034. Kagame won the 2003 elections with a 93% share of the vote, and the 2010 elections with the same share. He is w i d e l y e x p e c t e d t o w i n t h i s y e a r ’s e l e c t i o n t o o . P a u l K a g a m e ’s p o p u l a r i t y a m o n g R w a n d a n s a n d f o r e i g n g o v ernments is largely due to the fact that he is seen by many as a hero who united Rwandans following the 1994 genocide t h a t k i l l e d 8 0 0 , 0 0 0 Tu t s i s a n d m o d e r a t e H u t u s . N o t o n l y i s h e regarded as the saviour who he led rebel forces into Kigali in 1994 to end the genocide, but also as the leader who brought R w a n d a n s t o g e t h e r t o r e b u i l d t h e c o u n t r y. R w a n d a ’s g r o w i n g G D P h a s a l s o c o n t r i b u t e d t o K a g a m e ’s r e p utation, both at home and among donors and foreign gover nments. The genocide destroyed the economy but the country is hailed by many as a post-conflict economic miracle. According t o o f f i c i a l g o v e r n m e n t n u m b e r s , R w a n d a ’s e c o n o m y h a s g r o w n by an average of 8% between 2001 and 2014, while the poverty rate decreased by 6% between 2010/11 and 2013/14.


R w a n d a i s a l s o i n v e s t i n g i n t h e t e c h s e c t o r, g e n d e r e q u a l i t y, the environment, education and public health. H o w e v e r, P a u l K a g a m e i s f a c i n g i n c r e a s i n g c r i t i c i s m , a l t h o u g h it is hard to assess the public perception that Rwandans have o f t h e p r e s i d e n t . I n t e r n a t i o n a l l y, t h e i m a g e o f R w a n d a a s a post-conflict “economic miracle� is disputed by some because the information is based purely on gover nment statistics. K a g a m e ’s l e a d e r s h i p s t y l e , v i e w e d b y s o m e a s i n c r e a s i n g l y a u t h o r i t a r i a n , i s a l s o u n d e r g o i n g m o r e s c r u t i n y. There have been allegations of human rights violations against political opponents, civil society leaders and the media, some of whom have been killed, imprisoned or found refuge abroad. These problems could affect the legitimacy of the gover nment and the fragile relationship between Rwandans.


At the beginning of the electoral campaign, President Kagame had several opponents, notably Diane Rwigara, his strongest o p p o n e n t . H o w e v e r, s h e w a s d i s q u a l i f i e d b y t h e n a t i o n a l e l e c toral commission, along with two independent candidates, for n o t m e e t i n g t h e r e q u i r e m e n t s f o r c a n d i d a c y. T h e r e m a i n i n g o p ponents are Frank Habineza and Philippe Mpayimana, who are not well known among the electorate and have limited funds to run their campaigns. K a g a m e h a s s p o k e n o f t h e n e e d f o r i n c r e a s e d i n t e r- A f r i c a n trade: “We still have … more work to do, to strengthen continental integration and raise the share of intra-African trade, w h i c h a t 1 5 % , i s u n a c c e p t a b l y l o w. A f r i c a n e e d s t o b e m o r e resilient in the face of consistent global shocks and increasing p r o t e c t i o n i s m . To o o f t e n , w e f i n d o u r s e l v e s a t a d i s a d v a n t a g e when negotiating trade with other parts of the world. And within all this, there is the ever increasing need for Africa to indust r i a l i s e . T h e s e f a c t o r s s h o u l d n o t j u s t r e m a i n o b j e c t s o f r e f e rence. Instead, they should drive us to urgently increase trade w i t h e a c h o t h e r, i n v e s t m o r e w i t h i n o u r c o u n t r i e s a n d r e g i o n s , and build joint infrastructure, in order to better facilitate the movement of people and goods within Africa.” Kagame has also spoken of the need for Africa to play a more dynamic and proactive role in the inter national community: “We in Africa need to shift from expectation of largesse from every


incoming [U.S.] administration, to a mind-set of what Africa a n d t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s c a n d o t o g e t h e r, t h a t i s o f m u t u a l b e n e f i t . I t ’s r e a l l y a n o p p o r t u n i t y t o s h a p e a p p r o p r i a t e r e l a t i o n ships with the United States, and other global partners, based o n A f r i c a ’s p r i o r i t i e s a n d a m b i t i o n s . ” R WA N D A’ S 2 0 1 7 E L E C T I O N R E S U LT S Candidate

Vo t e s %

– P a u l K a g a m e

6,675,472

98.79

49,031

0.73

32,701

0.48

(Rwandan Patriotic Front) – P h i l i p p e M p a y i m a n a (Independent) – F r a n k H a b i n e z a

(Democratic Green Party of Rwanda) – Invalid/blank votes

12,310

T O TA L

6,769,514 100

Registered voters/tur nout

6,897,076

98.15

Source: NEC Rwanda F o l l o w i n g h i s v i c t o r y, K a g a m e w a s s w o r n i n f o r a n o t h e r t e r m on 18 August 2017.

T h e M a l t a Vo t e T h e M a l t a G l o b a l Vo t e W i n n e r – D r. A r n o l d C a s s o l a D r. A r n o l d C a s s o l a l e a d s Alternattiva Democratica, M a l t a ’s G r e e n P a r t y a f f i l i a t e d to the European Green Party and Global Greens. The party has never won parliamentary representation, with its best result being 1.8% of the national vote in 2013.


D r. C a s s o l a e s p o u s e s c e n t re - l e f t g re e n p o l i t i c s . H e i s a p ro - E U p o l i t i c i a n c a m p a i g n i n g f o r s o c i a l e q u a l i t y, s u s t a i n a b l e d e v e l o p m e n t , a n d t h e p ro t e c t i o n o f t h e e n v i ro n m e n t a n d a n i m a l w e l f a re . “ T h e f o r e i g n p o l i c y o f M a l t a i s t h e E U f o r e i g n p o l i c y, t h e s a m e f o r e i g n p o l i c y a s G e r m a n y, I t a l y o r F r a n c e , s o t h i s i s n o t h i n g n e w f o r m e b e c a u s e i t i s p a r t o f m y i d e a l s , t h a t ’s w h y I l i k e a lot the European thinking in politics and this I think is also going to be one of the ways forward for the future.” He also believes that in a world characterised by globalisation, democracy can only be safeguarded through more integration a n d t h e s t r e n g t h e n i n g o f t h e E U ’s d e m o c r a t i c a n d r e p r e s e n t a tive structures. The Malta 2017 Election Winner – Joseph Muscat Joseph Muscat is the current Prime Minister of Malta and l e a d e r o f t h e L a b o u r P a r t y, a s l i g h t l y c e n t r e - l e f t p o l i t i c a l p a r t y. Along with the Nationalist Party (PN), the Labour Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in Malta. It is a member of the Party of European Socialists. He is a pro-EU politician under whom Malta has posted its first budget surplus in 32 years: his party is committed to enhancing the role of the private sector and is firmly pro-business. H i s g o v e r n m e n t ’s p r i o r i t i e s h a v e i n c l u d e d b o o s t i n g t h e e c o n o -


m y ’s c o m p e t i t i v e n e s s , r e f o r m s i n h e a l t h , e d u c a t i o n a n d p u b l i c f i n a n c e s , a l o n g w i t h c o n t i n u e d d i v e r s i f i c a t i o n o f t h e e c o n o m y. Muscat was a Member of the European Parliament from 2004 to 2008. During this period his report proposing new regulat i o n s f o r t h e E U ’s f i n a n cial services sector was adopted by the European Parliament. H e s e e s M a l t a ’s i n t e r n a tional position as a valid member of the EU, negotiating a net-beneficiary status for Malta in the EU, c o n t i n u i n g M a l t a ’s g o o d relations with the UK post

Joseph Muscat


M A LTA’ S 2 0 1 7 E L E C T I O N R E S U LT S Party

Vo t e s

%

Seats +/–

– Labour Party

170,976

55.04

37

–2

– Forza Nazzjonali

135,696

43.68

30

0

– Democratic Alternative

2,564

0.80

0

0

– Moviment Patrijotti Maltin 1,117

0.36

0

New

– Alleanza Bidla

221

0.07

0

New

– Independents

91

0.03

0

0

– Invalid/blank votes

4,031

T O TA L

314,696 100

67

–2

Registered voters/tur nout

341,856

92.06

Source: Electoral Commission

B r e x i t , p a r t i c i p a t i n g a s a C o m m o n w e a l t h m e m b e r, a n d t a k i n g a leading role in Mediterranean affairs. “Our geography means that we are never isolated from the global changes around us. Now as in the past. And we know that no-one owes us a living and that we are too small not to be part of a global system. So we have long lived with that phenomenon. It is not new to us. “We have always needed to get to grips with all the tensions. I think that a time of increased globalisation is when you need better governments.”


Europe is diversity, not singularity or hegemony. When asked in an interview whether he felt that Malta was t re a t e d i n t h e s a m e w a y a s l a r g e r c o u n t r i e s , M u s c a t re p l i e d : “I have never felt otherwise. In this world of ours, and especiall y i n E u ro p e , w h a t re a l l y c o u n t s a re i d e a s a n d n o t g e o g r a p h i c a l size, and we have good ideas.” Asked about the future role of Europe, Muscat says: “Europe s h o u l d n o t t r y t o g o d o w n t h e p a t h o f b e c o m i n g o n e c o u n t r y, b e c a u s e i t i s n o t o n e c o u n t r y a n d c a n n e v e r b e o n e c o u n t r y. I think Europe should go down the path of living in diversity and trying to coordinate as much as possible. Having one c o u n t r y w o u l d b e t h e a n t i t h e s i s o f E u r o p e . E u r o p e i s d i v e r s i t y, n o t s i n g u l a r i t y o r h e g e m o n y. ” Muscat has also commented, “Europe signifies something different for everyone. For some, Europe is a converging union, f o r o t h e r s , a n e x c e s s i v e i n t e r f e r e n c e . . . H o w e v e r, w i t h a l l i t s ups and down, the 60 year old European project has undoubte d l y b e e n t h e b e s t p e r i o d i n E u r o p e ’s l o n g a n d c o n v o l u t e d history and certainly the most progressive and prosperous. Hence our theme: rEUnion, as Europe should be focusing on moving forward, not contemplating disintegration.”

connect with simon Simon Anholt has worked with Heads of State / Government of more than 50 countries over the last 20 years, helping them to engage with the rest of the world. www.goodcountry.org

«


u

Alone time in the car helps energise and focus one of SA’s top businessmen

It’s been a bumper year for the diverse AEEI investment group, with the listing of its food division, impressive results, and several industry awards including recognition for its financial performance and its empowered management team who steer the various companies within the group. In addition to the numerous company acknowledgements, Abdulla himself has been honoured with an Oliver Empowerment Award as the Top Empowered Business Leader of the Year 2017 and the country’s first Vision 2030 Future Maker: Driver for Change. South Africa’s top business leader is also a passionate family man, a keen sportsman and someone who appreciates that the finer things in life do not just fall out of the sky, but come as a result of hard work and

dedication to one

One of his key e to continue oper all the companie family and his ch music while drivi

“Everyone needs happens to be th get to switch off or listen to an int ideas. Doing so


my way.

e’s craft.

enjoyments (that also helps balance the energy needed rating at the level he does – sitting on the boards of es the Group has interests in, travelling and attending hildren’s school events and functions) is listening to ing in the sanctuary of his newly acquired Jaguar XF.

s some alone time,” says Abdulla “and mine just he journey to and from the office or meetings, where I the phone, immerse myself in the music I want to hear, teresting podcast while reflecting and thinking up new in comfort, is an added benefit.” «

Group Chief Executive Officer KHALID ABDULLA is the driving force behind JSE-listed African Equity Empowerment Investments (AEEI).


inspirin

Pushing bound as a woman leadershi

LISA ANTONOPOULOS, the new COO at Mediterranean Delicacie her insight into the challenges facing women in leadership posit


ng leaders.

daries n in ip

es, shares tions.

Illustration: Thinkstock


Mediterranean Delicacies, the lifestyle food company has a new addition on board in the form of Chief Operations Officer (COO), Lisa Antonopoulos. With a career that has spanned different cor ners of the earth, Lisa is used to pushing the boundaries, both in terms of continents and i n h e r r o l e a s a w o m a n i n t h e f o o d i n d u s t r y. Her first parameter expansion occurred after starting her career in the airline industry with Singapore Airlines, from where she accepted a job offer in London with a leading independent provider of airline catering and provisioning services, Gate Gourmet.

Beyond the comfort zone “This job meant pushing the boundaries of my comfort zone, requiring me to leave the town in which I’d grown up,” says the Mediterranean Delicacies COO, about joining an organisat i o n w h e r e s h e k n e w v e r y f e w p e o p l e . “ Tr u t h b e t o l d , I w a s n ’ t entirely sure I could succeed in the job, but I did not want to spend the rest of my career wondering ‘What if ’,” she says about taking the leap which reshaped her view of the world and her definition of leadership. This resulted in becoming part of the inner workings of the exciting industry of the diverse and dynamic environment of airline catering while being exposed to several Management conferences in Frankfurt and Zurich, gaining insight to Inter national standards, LEAN/ best practice and process optimisation within operational areas. While there were many exciting opportunities and experiences, it was the challenging moments which impacted on her both p e r s o n a l l y a n d i n h e r c a r e e r. “One of the biggest challenges was that of stereotyping. At the


b e g i n n i n g o f m y c a r e e r, I w a s o n e o f v e r y f e w f e m a l e l e a d e r s within the In-flight Catering industry specifically within an operational environment,” comments Lisa. “I was trivialized because I was young and so-called pretty and treated as though that was all there was to me,” she remembers. While this left her feeling invisible, often being excluded from informal power networks such as the golf club, pubs, clubs and do on, it served as a catalyst to further her studies of Management Development through the School of business leadership (Unisa) and GIBS.

I wasn’t entirely sure I could succeed in the job, but I did not want to spend the rest of my career wondering ‘What if'? “At first this added another dimension of pressure to my daily workload as I had to study on top of meeting my deadlines. But the qualifications certainly helped me grow into more s e n i o r r o l e s w i t h i n m y c a r e e r, ” s h e r e m a r k s . Lisa brings her vast experience to the Mediterranean Delicacies brand, using lessons learned along the way to facilitate finding the best solutions for both brand and the people worki n g f o r t h e c o m p a n y. “While my vision is strongly aligned to our mission statement at Mediterranean Delicacies to innovate, manufacture and sell food products of outstanding quality produced in a controlled hygienic environment using only the finest wholesome


fresh ingredients, my focus is also on creating a workplace that respects and values people from diverse backgrounds, enabling all employees to reach their maximum potential,” says the Management Development graduate whose ideals have also been informed by two role models who have impacted on her choices and direction taken both in terms of her personal life a n d c a r e e r.

The impact of role models “ R o l e m o d e l s l i k e F a c e b o o k ’s S h e r y l S a n d b e r g h a v e i n s p i r e d me to make a difference and break through glass ceilings, both my own and those in the workplace. Sheryl Sandberg has defin i t e l y i n f l u e n c e d m e a s a l e a d e r a n d a s a w o m a n i n a l e a d e rship position,” remarks Lisa, who was particularly influenced by her role model after attending a workshop in Zurich as part o f t h e l a u n c h o f S h e r y l S a n d b e r g ’s b o o k , L e a n I n . “Both the book and the workshop shine a light on gender differences, offering practical advice to help women achieve their goals,” says Lisa about the book which challenges women to change the conversation from what women can’t do to what we can do, and serves as a rallying cry for us to work together to create a more equal world. “I lear ned to be more confidant after this workshop and refer to Lean In often when I need to be reminded that I can achieve anything I put my mind to,” says the Mediterranean Delicacies COO, whose career was also influenced by a second role mode l , h e r m o t h e r. “Some of my fondest memories are of the times spent cooking with my mom in the kitchen,” she says about the influence on her passion for food which was formed at a young age, togeth-


er with her choice of the kitchen as the favourite room in her home. “When I’m home, I spend most of my time there,” she s a y s . “ I t ’s o p e n p l a n , ” L i s a s a y s o f t h e k i t c h e n w h i c h o v e rlooks her herb garden. “ T h e s u n s h i n e s t h r o u g h t h e w i n d o w s f o r m o s t p a r t o f t h e d a y, giving me the perfect excuse to indulge in my love for cooking and trying out new recipes,” says the woman who believes in c o n t i n u o u s l y p u s h i n g b o u n d a r i e s , b e i t i n h e r c a r e e r, h e r o w n kitchen or innovating in the rather larger kitchen of Mediterranean Delicacies. “ Yo u w i l l o n l y k n o w y o u r l i m i t s i f y o u c o n t i n u a l l y t e s t t h e m , ” Lisa explains. “Life is not a dress rehearsal. There are times when we hit the invisible barrier of the glass ceiling which can p o t e n t i a l l y t h w a r t s u c c e s s . H o w e v e r, e x p e r i e n c e h a s t a u g h t me that this doesn’t have to be our sealed fate. “Every generation, every business, every human being faces challenges. The point is what we do with them and how you a d a p t a n d g ro w t h ro u g h t h e m . M y e x p e r i e n c e s b e a r t e s t a m e n t t o H e n r y F o rd ’s w i s e w o rd s : W h e t h e r y o u t h i n k y o u c a n o r y o u t h i n k y o u c a n ’t – y o u a re r i g h t . T h i s h a s b e c o m e a d r i v i n g f o rc e i n m y l i f e – t o g o b e y o n d w h a t I t h i n k I c a n d o a n d t o b e a ro l e model to others to help them push the boundaries and discover t h e w o r l d o f p o s s i b i l i t y w h e n w e g o b e y o n d o u r p e rc e i v e d l i m i tations,” concludes the Mediterranean Delicacies COO.

connect with lisa Lisa Antonopoulos is the COO at Mediterranean Delicacies, a division of BM Food Manufacturers (Pty) Ltd. www.mediterraneandelicacies.co.za

«


REACHING PEOPLE.

How into t


I got their ANDY HADFIELD, CEO of www.forgood.co.za, tells u|Chief how to build something that customers want, need and use.


The only way to figure out what customers want as opposed to what they need, is to ask and test. Customers pay for what they need, but not always what they want - understanding the difference is vital and timing is everything.

AN HADF 5 TIP

BUILDING

I’ve had a really interesting set of experiences, where I’ve been able to use technology to tackle specific challenges across quite a variety of industries. While I’ve had some successes that I’m proud of, I’ve also worked on many projects that have been tried, tested and failed… Never b e s c a r e d t o f a i l – t h a t ’s w h e r e t h e b e s t l e a r n ing comes from.

The only way to figure out what customers want as opposed to what they need, is to ask and test. Here are a few examples of interesting projects – where getting into the “mind” and figuring out the timing was almost more important than the p r o j e c t i t s e l f . A t F N B w e c r e a t e d t h e b a n k ’s f i r s t official Facebook presence. Back in 2008/09 Facebook was very new (scary) to business. D e v e l o p i n g t h i s t h r o u g h F N B ’s P r e m i e r / P l a t i num segment, a segment very much focused on relationships, gave us the opening we needed to experiment. After some early successes (and

1L

2 L I ST

3 ITE EVE

4 CH T

5G H AN


NDY FIELD’S PS FOR

G P R O D U CT S

L I ST E N

T E N AG A I N RAT I O N I S E R YT H I N G

E C K YO U R TIMING G E T YO U R N DS D I R T Y

confidence building), the rest of the bank followed suit – they now dominate the social media landscape in t h e b a n k i n g s e c t o r. T h e we b 2 .0 c r a z e b a c k in 2009/2010 h e l p e d c re a t e a n a p p e t it e w it hin c o mp a n i e s f o r a n e w, more mode r n u s e r-c e n t r i c d e si g n a nd se t of digit a l se r v i c e s . P e o p l e s t a r t e d t o re a lise t ha t d i g i t a l c o u l d d o sa l e s – a nd w it h t he se s t a r s a l i g n e d , we g o t t o build SA’s fir st t r u e “sh o p ” f o r b a n k i ng produc t s. Imagine getting a cheque account from the comfort of your couch? Sounds normal today… but back then, it wasn’t. With Real Time Wine, we saw an interesting gap in the market – there were no resources for your rookie wine drinker in SA, only for wine snobs (who understood the crazy language used to figure out which wine was good and which wasn’t). This app was a good example of a product that people wanted, but didn’t need – and therefore w e r e n ’ t w i l l i n g t o p a y f o r. T h e numbers were good, the community was unique – but the start-up didn’t generate enough revenue.


Fast forward to the present, with forgood.co.za. We’re playing in the social impact space, testing another two interesting customer “needs”. Corporates in South Africa want to build bigger employee volunteering programmes – but they’re doing it on Excel instead of using an automated platform. Citizens in South Africa are becoming more socially active – but many don’t know where to start. We connect people (and companies) to causes. Time will tell!

Andy’s 5 tips for building products 1. Listen. 2. Listen again. 3 . I t e r a t i o n i s e v e r y t h i n g . D o n ’ t t r y t o b e p e r f e c t . S o u t h A f ricans always try to build something perfectly before they launch it – if you wait that long, you’ll either run out of money or the market would have moved on. 4. C heck your timing. If you’re ahead of the curve, how easy will it be to educate your market? Do they care enough to buy something they don’t know they need yet? 5. G e t y o u r h a n d s d i r t y, e n g a g e a s m u c h a s p o s s i b l e w i t h your customers. Everyone talks about scale; not enough people talk about caring for individual experiences. Find y o u r S u p e r FA N S . L o v e t h e m .

«

connect with andy Andy Hadfield is a South African entrepreneur in the technology sector and co-founder of forgood, a social impact startup that connects people to Causes. www.forgood.co.za


The purpose of a start-up is to find a sustainable business model. Many founders spend too much time working on a product in isolation, without knowing whether there are actually any real customers for the product. Every start-up should first find out whether there’s an actual demand for their product before they start building it.

The Lean Startup by Eric Ries

GET BLINKIST

BLINKIST EXTRACT FROM


intellectual property.

Securing revenue for your mental innovations Sumaiya De’Mar (Director of SA Fashion Law), shares her insights on the importance and opportunities in the world of patenting.


Photo: EBEN Photography


I D E A S C O M E T O A L L O F U S I N VA R I O U S F O R M S . T h e a b i l i t y to generate new ideas is part of our inherent nature. The produ c t o f a p e r s o n ’s m e n t a l a c t i v i t y i s r e f e r r e d t o a s i n t e l l e c t u a l p r o p e r t y, t h e v a l u e o f w h i c h s h o u l d n o t b e u n d e r e s t i m a t e d i n our digital age. Not everybody has the inclination to start a business and there is no need to start a business to harness your ideas and monet i s e t h e m . Yo u r i n t a n g i b l e a s s e t s c a n s t i l l b e u s e d f o r c o m mercial advantage through licensing, which means selling your ideas to companies and ear ning a royalty income from that. How often do we hear of people coming up with brilliant ideas, only to let them disappear and then see someone else implem e n t i n g o r p r o f i t i n g f r o m t h e m . I t ’s n o t e n o u g h t o h a v e t h e i d e a w i t h o u t i m p l e m e n t i n g i t . To q u o t e R o b i n S h a r m a , “ I d e a t i o n without execution is delusion”. Which means the next time you come up with an excellent idea, execute it!

The next time you come up with an excellent idea, execute it! To s e e i f y o u h a v e a n i d e a t h a t i s m a r k e t a b l e , t h e f i r s t s t e p i s t o d o t h o r o u g h r e s e a r c h . Yo u c a n n o t p a t e n t a n i n v e n t i o n t h a t has already been created anywhere in the world. Start by doing an inter net search on Google Patents. This should give you a pretty clear idea of what has already been patented and forms part of the ‘state of the art’. If your idea has not been patented and is completely unique, it would suit you to draw up a strategy document to market


y o u r i d e a t o t h e r i g h t c o m p a n y. T h e n c o m p i l e a l i s t o f c o m panies that could benefit from your idea. All you need to do is demonstrate a problem and how your idea could provide a s o l u t i o n . To d e v e l o p a p r o t o t y p e o f t h e i d e a , y o u c o u l d g e t a graphic designer to do a visual representation for you. A proper strategy should outline the benefits of the idea and contain a detailed description of it, pictures relating to it, as well as your contact information. O n c e y o u ’ v e c o m p l e t e d t h i s p ro c e s s , y o u c a n f i l e a P ro v i s i o n a l P a t e n t A p p l i c a t i o n a n y w h e re i n t h e w o r l d . A c c o rd i n g t o t h e C o m p a n i e s a n d I n t e l l e c t u a l P ro p e r t y C o m m i s s i o n ( C I P C ) , “ F i l i n g a p ro v i s i o n a l a p p l i c a t i o n i s q u i t e i n e x p e n s i v e a n d g i v e s y o u 1 2 m o n t h s t o c o n s i d e r t h e c o m m e rc i a l w o r t h o f y o u r i n v e n t i o n a n d t o re s o l v e i s s u e s s u c h a s f i n a n c e a n d l i c e n s i n g . T h e n y o u c a n d e c i d e w h e t h e r t o c o n t i n u e w i t h p a t e n t p ro t e c t i o n . ” P a t e n t s p r o t e c t n e w t e c h n o l o g y, i n v e n t i o n s a n d o t h e r f o r m s of innovation. Once all the requirements of a patent application are satisfied and the patent is issued, no other entity can manufacture or market the invention. The final patent lasts two decades and then enters public domain. If there is competition in other countries, an inter national patent can also be registered. The search for South African patents can be conducted at the CIPC offices or online. Filing a provisional patent application allows you to put the words ‘patent pending’ on it. When establishing contact with companies, approach their marketing department, which can even be done via LinkedIn. Inform them that you’ve developed a product which you would like to submit to their company for review and what their


process is. They would most likely ask you to email your strategy to them. Most companies would love to pay royalties for a w i n n i n g i d e a , s o i t ’s i m p o r t a n t t o i d e n t i f y a n d c o m m u n i c a t e with the most suitable companies. When a company sees your idea and they want to license your c o n c e p t , i t ’s t i m e t o n e g o t i a t e a d e a l . I t c o m e s d o w n t o w h a t you are granting and what they are licensing. In their mind, they need something tangible. This is where a Licensing Agreement comes in, whereby the terms are agreed upon in writing. E s s e n t i a l l y y o u l i c e n c e t h e u s e o f y o u r i d e a t o t h e c o m p a n y, who then produces and markets the idea. In exchange you get payment in the form of royalties.

Most companies would love to pay royalties for a winning idea. An interesting example of a successfully patented idea is the story of Spanx. Spanx is the most popular shapewear worn by

references 1 . C o m p a n i e s a n d I n te l l e c t u a l P ro p e r t y C o m m i s s i o n ( C I P C ) w w w. c i p c . c o . za / i n d ex . p h p / t ra d e - m a r ks - p a te n ts - d e s i g n s - c o p y r i g h t / p a te n ts / 2 . S te p h e n Ke y : O n e S i m p l e I d e a : Tu r n yo u r d re a m s i n to a l i c e n s i n g g o l d m i n e w h i l e l e t t i n g o t h e rs do the work 3 . B i o g ra p h y w w w. b i o g ra p h y. c o m / p e o p l e / s a ra - b l a ke l y - 0 3 1 41 6 4 . F o r b e s w w w. fo r b e s . c o m / s i te s / c l a re o c o n n o r / 2 0 1 2 / 0 3 / 1 2 / h o w - s p a n x- b e c a m e - a - b i l lion-dollar-business-without-advertising/#5f2a7b44d646


women throughout the world, made famous by celebrities who claim to wear them under their red carpet dresses.

It is not about being an expert. It starts with one simple idea. Spanx founder Sarah Blakely was working in sales when she came up with a new business idea. She wanted to wear a pair of white trousers, but couldn’t find any undergarment she liked to wear under it, so she created her own solution by cutting the feet off a pair of panty hose. After realising the brilliance of her innovation, she worked on her new business venture, finalised the design and registered her patent. In 2012 Blakely was featured on the cover o f F o r b e s M a g a z i n e a s t h e w o r l d ’s y o u n g e s t f e m a l e s e l f - m a d e billionaire. As evidenced, it is not about being an expert. It starts with one simple idea that can potentially generate revenue and the execution of that idea in tangible form. Licensing can be used to multiply the effect of the idea, allowing you to benefit lucratively from your mental assets. – Sumaiya De’Mar

connect with Sumaiya Sumaiya De’Mar is the Founder and Director of SA Fashion Law www.safashionlaw.co.za sumaiya@safashionlaw.co.za

«


travel d

New york city


debrief.

ENVER DUMINY, CEO, Cape Town Tourism, debriefs u|Chief on his recent trip to NYC.


Te l l u s a b o u t y o u r r e c e n t t r a v e l s ?

networking opportunit

M o s t re c e n t l y, t h e L o v e C a p e To w n t e a m a n d

case of business trave

I t r a v e l l e d t o N e w Yo r k C i t y, U S , t o s i g n

and I made it to a few

a t r a d e a n d m e d i a p a r t n e r s h i p a g re e m e n t

attractions, including

w i t h N Y C & C o m p a n y, o u r c o u n t e r p a r t s

Park, The Highline, an

t h e re . I t ’s i m p o s s i b l e n o t t o b e s t r u c k b y

the global Broadway s

t h e s h e e r s i z e a n d e n e r g y o f N e w Yo r k , a c i t y f a m i l i a r t o u s f ro m m a n y T V s h o w s

We’ve been developin

a n d m o v i e s . We ’ re p ro u d t o b e a s s o c i a t e d

relationship for some

with them, to be placed in the category of

to meet up with our fr

world-class destination should make Ca-

carry on as if no time

petonians and South Africans thrilled.

The people you meet

travel experience, and What was memorable in terms of the

our stories.

travel and business experience? As far as this travel experience went, a

What results did you

lot of it was consumed with meetings and

this trip?


ties, as is always the

As mentioned, the trip was to sign a part-

e l , h o w e v e r, t h e t e a m

nership deal, the first of its kind between

w of the landmark

N e w Yo r k a n d a n y c i t y o n t h e A f r i c a n

L a d y L i b e r t y, C e n t r a l

continent – a landmark deal. This will see

nd also getting to see

C a p e To w n To u r i s m a n d N e w Yo r k & C o m -

sensation Hamilton.

pany sharing our marketing platforms to encourage visitors to go to each city re-

ng this international

s p e c t i v e l y, a n d a l s o s h a r i n g b e s t p r a c t i c e .

y e a r s , s o i t ’s g o o d

riends there and

What opportunities did you identify?

has passed at all.

As a developing nation, we must always

are central to any

be on the lookout for opportunities; we’re

d we enjoy sharing

looking to increase awareness around all

u achieve through

t h a t S o u t h A f r i c a h a s t o o f f e r, a s w e l l a s seeking opportunities to develop more direct flights, for example, to provide ease of access. Getting there and back is


part of the challenge, so increased flights

has been facing, and

between both cities would encourage

ny doesn’t get distrac

business development across a number

trip there worthwhile,

of industries. We are also working via our

experiences are alway

N a t i o n a l D e p a r t m e n t o f To u r i s m t o e n g a g e

stood out most for me

with the Department of Home Affairs, in

liness of locals and a

d e v e l o p i n g a V I S A Wa i v e r P r o g r a m f o r

focus on customer se

South Africans travelling to the US.

m a n y o f u s i n C a p e To

in order to ensure tha What surprised you about the country –

the centre of everythi

positively and negatively?

s a y t h a t ’s a p o s i t i v e a

W h a t ’s g r e a t a b o u t N e w Yo r k i s t h a t t h e

tive situation.

c i t y h a s i t s o w n i n d e p e n d e n t c h a r a c t e r, so no matter what may going on outside

How did you grow pe

– p o l i t i c a l l y, s o c i a l l y – N Y C & C o m p a n y

travel experience?

continues to seek ways to attract visitors.

I was inspired by the

We’re aware of the challenges the US

across there, as well


yet NYC & Compa-

cted from making a ensuring that visitor

individuals I met. They have impressive resources, but they’re also looking for ways to maximise potential with what they have.

ys top of mind. What

T h a t ’s w h a t w e h a v e t o d o l o c a l l y – r a t h e r

e was the friend-

than being limited by what we have, we

very high level or

ervice, something that

own need to work on,

need to ask ourselves, how can we make it work for us, how can we make what we have grow?

at the customer is at n g w e d o . Yo u c o u l d

approach to a nega-

What lesson did you learn or pick up during this trip that you would like to share with others? Possibility thinking is great, but it can

ersonally from this

take many months or years to see the f r u i t o f a d r e a m c o m i n g t o l i f e . P e r s e v e r-

creativity I came

ance and hard work go hand-in-hand with

as the energy of the

seeing a dream realised. And its amazing


to hear how many people love our South

eyes, watching how th

African accent – so don’t be ashamed to

T h a t ’s w h y t r a v e l s t i r s

speak up and laugh out.

want to see the world

live in it. No matter w Wa s t h e r e s o m e t h i n g a b o u t h o w t h e y d o

find people you can re

business or live their lives that readers

sonal, human level, an

could benefit from experiencing?

plenty to offer our vis

I believe that international travel opens

s o i t ’s a p l e a s u r e t o e

you up to fresh perspectives. There are no

in other countries to g

rights or wrongs about different lifestyles,

t h e m s e l v e s . T h e r e ’s X

but you can gain inspiration through

was printed on a coffe

s e e i n g t h e w o r l d t h r o u g h s o m e o n e e l s e ’s

back from NYC, which


h e y w o r k a n d p l a y.

d e r f u l l y “ U k u h a m b a K u k u b o n a – Tr a v e l l i n g

s so many of us – we

opens a window to the world”

d and the people who

where you go, you’ll

Any fun memories?

e l a t e t o o n a p e r-

Every memory is a fun one, as it is filled

nd South Africa has

with so many possibilities, and one is

sitors in that regard,

reminded of how beautiful the world is,

encourage people

but also how amazing our City is that we

get here to see for

sometimes take for granted.

Xhosa saying, which

ee mug on my flight

Where would you go to next time if you

h sums this up won-

visited for business or pleasure?


I’m privileged to travel to many places

w h a t ’s f u n t o d o a n d s

p r o f e s s i o n a l l y, t o s h a r e t h e g o o d n e w s o f S o u t h A f r i c a . I d e a l l y, I ’ d l i k e t o s e e m o r e

What did you learn a

of the Middle East and UAE countries –

L o c a l l y, w e ’ r e s t a r t i n g

t h e r e ’s m u c h a b o u t C a p e To w n , i n p a r-

in increased cultural s

t i c u l a r, t h a t w o u l d a p p e a l t o t h e M u s l i m

comes to our visitors,

t r a v e l l e r, s o I ’ d l i k e t o m a k e s u r e t h a t t h a t

ism operators are tran

message gets out there.

into more languages,

options for visitors fro Having travelled around SA in 2010 with

grounds – and that ex

t h e F I FA S o c c e r W o r l d C u p , I ’ v e f o u n d

options to providing p

many welcoming places. Business trav-

rections to places of

el doesn’t always provide opportunities

a c c o m m o d a t i o n . I t ’s a

to explore, but I do love to get into local

ing your business offe

neighbourhoods to meet people and find

have a home away fro

out what makes them tick – they’re the ones who can tell you their local secrets –

What were the langu


Photos: Pixabay

see.

W e l l , N e w Yo r k , a l t h o u g h a f i r s t - l a n g u a g e E n g l i s h - s p e a k i n g c i t y i s l i k e C a p e To w n , a

a b o u t N e w Yo r k e r s ?

c u l t u r a l m e l t i n g p o t . Yo u c o u l d b e s p e a k -

g to realise the value

ing to someone in Spanish one minute and

sensitivity when it

then in French the next. Wherever you go,

, s o l a r g e r t o u r-

t a k e p h r a s e b o o k s ( o r G o o g l e Tr a n s l a t e ! )

nslating literature

and pick up languages as you go. If not,

or providing more

just say I am South African and Madiba

om different back-

is our father – the recognition and assis-

xtends from menu

tance you will receive will astound you…

prayer facilities or di-

enjoy your travels.

«

worship near holiday

all about personalis-

ering so that visitors

om home.

uage challenges?

connect with enver Enver Duminy is the Chief Executive Officer at Cape Town Tourism. www.capetown.travel




words o


of wisdom.

Cutting through the

When it comes to enabling her clients with rebuilding, rebranding or rebirthing their products, services or business as a whole, CHANTEL OPPELT doesn’t take prisoners and she definitely doesn’t suffer fools. And the graduates from her Institute love her for it.


In my tre n d an alys is o f c l i e n t s , I h a v e n o t i c e d t h a t ma ny c lie nt s have ex c e lle n t id eas a n d s k i l l s t h a t c o u l d b e o ff e re d t o t he business com m u n it y, b u t t h e y a re c h a l l e n g e d wi t h t he a r t ic ula t ion and acti on in g of th e s k i l l s . T h e c h a l l e n g e s a re n o t house d in t he ir i ntellect u a l facu lt ie s b u t , i n f a c t , o r i g i n a t e f ro m a la c k of unde rstan d in g of w h at s its i n t h e i r wo u n d s. To b e c l e a r, t h i s p ro c e s s i s n o t a t a l l a b o u t w o u n d a d o r a t i o n , i n s t e a d , i t a l l o w s t h e i n d i v i d u a l t o n a v i g a t e t h e a re a s o f t h e wound that would keep them ‘stuck’ as opposed to catapult them to new levels of integration.

My working philosophy is that there is no such feeling as ‘stuck’, as stuck is not a feeling, it is an outcome. My working philosophy is that there is no such feeling as ‘stuck’, as stuck is not a feeling, it is an outcome. The biggest part of my work is enabling the client to cleanly identify the decisions they are not prepared to re-alter to create an alternate outcome to ‘stuck’. For the most part, what underpins the choice to hold fast to a decision is the need to ensure that certain guarantees remain in place. For instance, some people say, “I’d like to leave my marriage BUT I’ve already ‘invested’ so much time and effort into it”. The result is that they hold onto the illusion that they DESERVE to reap the return on investment, and this overpowers any other factors they are prepared to take into consideration to create an alternate reality.


Based on this, clients are therefore, unable to translate some of these concepts and ideas into tangible business products, s e r v i c e s o r s y s t e m s . To y i e l d s p e c i f i c re s u l t s , I h a v e d e v e l o p e d a program based on reflexive principles – in other words, understanding cause and effect and how the individual contributes to that system of working. The Innovation Management and New Product Development Program© is for anyone who wants to transition into their own excellence with a view to craft a unique and viable career for themselves – knowing full well that excavation of the wound is paramount. The outcome of this process is that they are viewed as market and thought leaders in their field, as their journey itself is unique. This is an individual process that has a specific structure, tone, timing and project management component to it. I am clear that the translation of the concept to product is time-consuming.

“Effective communication sees both partners actively and comfortably exchanging ideas in a dialogiue that could strengthen the entire organisation.” The Personal MBA: Master the Art of Business by Josh Kaufmanon

GET BLINKIST

BLINKIST EXTRACT FROM


To f a c i l i t a t e t h e s u p p o r t o f t h a t , I e n s u r e t h a t e x e c u t i v e assistance is available to all participants. This alleviates the data management, receiving, tracking and filing of all necessary documentation. T h e p ro g r a m c u l m i n a t e s i n a n e x h i b i t i o n o f t h e i n d i v i d u a l ’s p ro d uct or services at a business forum. The forum includes industry l e ad ers from t h e for m a l , i n f o r ma l , l o c a l a n d i n t e r na t iona l se c t or s. This is a unique opportunity to showcase concepts as well as to p re s e n t a n e x i s t i n g m a r k e t i n w h i c h t o n e t w o r k . The intention is to bring the customer to the client and to create a space that can hold and contain business at a different frequency. The essence of the work speaks to intrinsic values of ownership and collective acknowledgement of the power we hold within to c re a t e s u b s t a n t i a l c h a n g e t h a t i s s h a re d b y a l l . E m p o w e r m e n t as an outcome cannot be achieved unless an individual is able to ascertain value and voice to their lived experience. My intention with my work is to impact the Gini co-efficient in SA, by ensuring that each citizen understands their individual wound and has sufficient inter nal scaffolding to extricate the gold that lies within.

ÂŤ

connect with Chantel Chantel Oppelt is a medical intuitive, life strategist and founder of the Chantel Oppelt Institute for Applied Alchemy. The Institute’s flagship offering is the Innovation Management and New Product Development Program.


Chantel Oppelt A brief insight into the Woman who believes that Hope Inspires Action Chantel Oppelt is an Industrial Psychologist by trade, and a Medical Intuitive by calling. She is the Director of The Chantel Oppelt Institute for Applied Alchemy, whose core focus is on acknowledging what lies within and, through alchemical processing, allow our frequency to impact the world’s we move in. The unique combination of her qualifications and gifts have unlocked many people’s life intricacies beyond the boundaries of the professional world. Her ability to bring the unseen aspects of ourselves into workable, tangible parts bring healing at a fundamental level. She has the ability to facilitate and extrapolate the power that is housed in these unseen parts. An international facilitator that works in highly charged, conflict environments to bring conflict resoluteness has had phenomenal, multi-dimensional impact in terms of what is possible. Chantel is a professional who stands firm in what she believes and calls out the best in everyone and every atmosphere. Her approach is direct and her style is engaging.

"My intention with my work is to impact the Gini coefficient in South Africa by ensuring that each citizen understands their individual wound and has sufficient internal scaffolding to extricate the gold that lies within."


just

of Sou and laws re

An example of exceptionalism


tice.

Mwangi Githahu spoke to South Africa’s Chief Justice, Mogoeng Mogoeng, about the importance uth Africa’s judiciary for Africa and the est of the world Photo: SA

Government Communications

f South African to be proud of


While it is right and fitting to beware tales of exceptionalism wherever they come from, when such stories are bor ne out in facts then there is little harm in a little chest thumping. Now in its 21st year of existence, the South African constitution is an exceptional document and continues to be hailed as one of the most liberal and progressive charters in the world. If the judicial branch of government is the final interpreter of the constitution, then surely it follows that that the judiciary and the supreme court are the guardians of the constitution. I n A p r i l t h i s y e a r I h a d t h e p r i v i l e g e t o i n t e rview the Chief Justice of South Africa, Mogoeng Mogoeng, on the sidelines of the Conference of C o n s t i t u t i o n a l J u r i s d i c t i o n s o f A f r i c a ( C C J A ) i n C a p e To w n . T h e CCJA is an independent institution established by constitutional judiciaries in Africa, to ensure that the judiciary in each member state supports and deepens democracy by upholding c o n s t i t u t i o n a l i s m a n d t h e r u l e o f l a w.

"We are energised to make sure that our constitutional democracy is not a democracy in name only, but it’s a real democracy." D u r i n g t h e A p r i l C o n g r e s s i n C a p e To w n , C h i e f J u s t i c e M o g o eng was elected chairman of the CCJA. Chief Justice Mogoeng put in words and gave examples of just how important South


A f r i c a ’s j u d i c i a r y a n d l a w s a r e t o A f r i c a a n d indeed the rest of the world in terms of legal input and governance. During the discussion the Chief Justice spoke of the constitution and its relevance beyond S o u t h A f r i c a ’s b o r d e r s s a y i n g h e t h o u g h t t h e painful experience the country went through b e f o r e b e c o m i n g a c o n s t i t u t i o n a l d e m o c r a c y, “informs not only the highly progressive constitution that we have, but also the institutions that we have in place to strengthen and prom o t e o u r c o n s t i t u t i o n a l d e m o c r a c y. ” H e a d d e d , “ N o w, b e c a u s e o u r e x p e r i e n c e w a s v e r y p a i n f u l a n d i s s t i l l re l a t i v e l y f re s h , w e a re e n e r g i s e d t o m a k e s u re t h a t o u r c o n s t i t u t i o n a l d e m o c r a c y i s n o t a d e m o c r a c y i n n a m e o n l y, b u t i t ’s a re a l d e m o c r a c y. T h e ro l e t h a t w e c a n p l a y, a n d h a v e i n a v e r y s m a l l w a y b e g u n t o p l a y a l re a d y, i s t o s h a re o u r e x p e r i e n c e s i n t e r m s o f t h e p ro g re s s m a d e i n t e r m s o f s t re n g t h e n i n g o u r d e m o c r a c y with sister countries in Africa, to say: This is what we’ve been able to achieve. If you think it can work for you, please by all m e a n s w e a re w i l l i n g t o s h a re o u r e x p e r i e n c e s w i t h y o u . ” Without going into too much detail, the Chief Justice said t h e r e w e r e c o u n t r i e s f r o m a r o u n d t h e c o n t i n e n t t h a t h a d b o rr o w e d h e a v i l y f r o m S o u t h A f r i c a ’s j u r i s p r u d e n c e . “We know of some countries that came to South africa and said: Look, the way you appoint judges is commendable. How do you go about it, because we would want to bring about s i m i l a r c h a n g e s i n o u r o w n c o u n t r y. A n d w e k n o w – I d o n ’ t


want to name names – but we know of a country that has adopted a judicial appointments mechanism that is virtually identical to that of South Africa.” Again w it h ou t n am in g n a m e s, t h e Ch i e f J u st i c e told of a not he r co u n try w h ic h in rece n t y e a r s c a l l e d o n t h e S o u t h Afr ic a n judic iary fo r ad vic e on h ow t o se t u p a c o n s t i t u t i o n a l c our t a nd t he n w ent ba ck to es ta b lis h a c o u r t a s a d v i se d b y t h e Sout h Afr ic a ns.

“And [there have been] others who want certain improvements on the operations of their courts have approached us and said l e t ’s h a v e a d i s c u s s i o n o n h o w t o g o a b o u t d o i n g t h i s . [ T h e r e are] others who are looking at taking the institutional independence of their judiciary several steps forward have come to look at the office of the chief justice [which is] our administrative arm and said: Look, we’d like to lear n more from you about your structure. How does it operate? “ S o i n t h a t w a y, w e ’ v e b e e n a b l e t o p l a y a m e a n i n g f u l r o l e a t a regional level, at a continental level, and even some jurisdictions outside of Africa have approached us for intervention. Yo u ’ l l b e a m a z e d t o l e a r n t h a t w h e n e v e r t h e E u r o p e a n c o n f e r-


ence [or] the Asian conference have got their meetings of their associations of chief justices, they have almost without fail invited South Africa as the only African country to come and make an intervention, to come and exchange views with them in relation to how best their systems could be improved. “This year in January we had a meeting with the European Court of Human Rights and at least two jurisdictions asked us: What suggestions do you have as South Africa, because we know that in your own country courts enjoy independence. And we’ve had the opportunity to share some views with them “We were also humbled to lear n from the jurisdictions represented at the European Court of Human Rights that our jurisp r u d e n c e , o u r c a s e l a w, i s o f t e n r e f e r r e d t o a t t h a t l e v e l , a t a continental level there.” Part of the reason for the existence of the CCJA, is the exchange of best practices. Members share experiences and strengthen each other and this is what has enabled a significant contribution to the development of the jurisprudence of member countries. The Chief Justice feels that there is hope that Africa could one day be a stronghold for the rule of law around the world. “If only we can be united in the vision that has long been waited for: the vision of demonstrating to all that African people have what it takes to take their continent to the greatest h e i g h t s t h a t i t w a s o n c e k n o w n f o r, ” h e s a i d .

«

Mwangi Githahu is a freelance jour nalist based in Cape To w n a n d i s o n Tw i t t e r @ M w a n g i G i t h a h u .



analysis. A continent of coups no more

The Kenyan Supreme Court’s decision to annul the results of the presidential election over “irregularities and illegalities” underscored the significant strides Africa has made on democracy and accountability, argues David Pilling for the Financial Times. “The world still regards Africa as a continent of coups. That view is hopelessly out of date. In 1990, 12 African leaders owed their position to a military putsch, with only six in charge as a result of multi-party elections, according to the Brookings Institution. By 2016, 45 leaders had gone through a multi-party process – many, admittedly, far from perfect – with none in subSaharan Africa having gained power directly through a coup d’état.”

SOURCE: CNN's Fareed Zakaria and the Global Public Square team newsletter (6 September 2017) compiled by Global Briefing editor Jason Miks. Sign up HERE for the daily Fareed's Daily Briefing newsletter.


sa wine i

Land of fine w


industry.

wines?

South Africans pride themselves on the superb wines that are produced locally. u|Chief wanted a more balanced view of the industry, so we spoke to Murray Giggins, a former South African wine industry CEO now working Down Under.


Te l l u s a b o u t y o u r b a c k g r o u n d i n t h e w i n e i n d u s t r y ? I h a v e s p e n t 2 0 y e a r s i n t h e S o u t h A f r i c a n w i n e i n d u s t r y, w h i c h have seen me operate in various sectors, from retail and distrib u t i o n , t o p r o d u c t i o n a n d s e r v i c e s t o i n d u s t r y. M y i n s i g h t m i g h t n o t b e u n i q u e a n d i t m a y t h e r e f o r e j u s t c o n f i r m t h e r e a l i t y. A s I have recently moved to Australia, now running a business in a similar sector to the one I ran in South Africa, I don’t think I am yet qualified to offer an opinion on this industry or market, s u f f i c e t o s a y i t i s v e r y d i f f e r e n t . B i g g e r, b e t t e r r e s o u r c e d a n d quality brand driven. It has challenges and it has problems, but the Oz market is on a huge resurgence, with 30% growth in exports in the last year based on demand from China. So new e x c i t e m e n t a n d i n v e s t m e n t s e e m s t h e o r d e r o f t h e d a y. What is the state of the wine industry in South Africa? The SA wine industry is made up of three categories of prod u c e r s . T h o s e t h a t m a k e m o n e y, t h o s e t h a t d o n ’ t a n d t h o s e that don’t care or rather don’t depend on the making of wine to survive. The first category has around 15% of SA wine producers, the last two is made up of in the region of 85%. The bulk of SA wines sells around R25/litre and only 5% sells for the equivalent of R65 or more. 60% of SA wine is bulk and the prices are dictated by bigger marketing corporates who ultimately supply the multiple supermarkets, most offshore. Those producers that have invested in their business, built brands and diversified their markets tend to not only survive but also p r o s p e r. To o m a n y c a r r y d e b t a n d l i m p f r o m o n e v i n t a g e t o t h e n e x t w i t h v a r y i n g d e g r e e s o f q u a l i t y, q u a n t i t y a n d a b i l i t y t o

Partner with local brand builders who understand the overseas markets.


m a i n t a i n f i n a n c i a l s t a b i l i t y. I t ’s a h i g h l y c o m p e t i t i v e e n v i r o n ment, over 750 wine producers and thousands of actual wine b r a n d a l l c o m p e t i n g f o r m a r k e t s p a c e w i t h b e e r, s p i r i t s a n d r t d ’s . T h e l e a d i n g w o r l d w i n e c o n s u m p t i o n p e r c a p i t a c o u n tries consume around 40 litre per annum, while South Africa in comparison drinks 7 litres. We are the in the top ten – probably number 9 – of wine producers in the world, making us the lowest per capita wine drinkers in the world of all wine producing countries! Australia is at about 25 litres with half the population! We do not have a wine culture in SA, it is seen as an elitist drink by s o m e a n d , q u i t e f r a n k l y, m o s t a l c o h o l s o l d i n S A i s u s e d f o r e f f e c t r a t h e r t h a n p l e a s u r e . S e e m s g l o o m y, b u t t h e r e a r e s t i l l producers that make world class wines. Our wineries are great destinations and the winelands amongst the most desirable places to live and work. We just can’t all survive in a Bacchanalian vocation. What are the challenges facing the industry? Building volume quality and quantity brands that are owned by the producers. We are a production-oriented industry and few have built brands that deliver on this challenge, exceptions b e i n g C h a r l e s B a c k , D G B , Va n L o v e r e n a n d L e o p a r d s L e a p . But the bulk of our exports, 70%, ends up in bulk going to the U.K. or EU for bottling/bagging in brands few South Africans would recognise. What are the opportunities for stakeholders? Take ad v a n ta ge of th e p o o r Ra n d a n d p a r t n e r w it h loc a l br a nd build er s w h o u n d e r s t a n d t h e o v e r se a s ma r k e t s. Tr y ge t more o w n ers h ip of t h e rou t e t o ma r k e t a n d a c c e ss t o br a nd e quit y, th u s secu r in g d em a n d , p r i c e a n d r a n d h e d g e f or off shore sa le s.


What are the successes you have seen across the industry? Those producers that built their own brands and invested in marketing. Keeping a strong presence in the local market. S e e h o w D u To i t s k l o o f , R o b e r t s o n a n d P e r d e b e r g w i n e s a r e achieving this strategy and growing their market share. Past masters are DGB, Fairview as mentioned. Also see players in t h e s m a l l e r f a m i l y o w n e d s p a c e s u c h a s ; S i m o n s i g , Wa r w i c k , Wa t e r f o r d a n d D e G r e n d e l . T h e l a t t e r s t a r t e d a s r e c e n t l y a s 2006. Granted that the last two come from extensively capital resourced families. But Mike Ratcliffe has built his brand by shear determination and marketing savvy to a very recognised and followed SA wine brand, he has burnt a lot leather and air miles to achieve his success.

Opportunities lie in finding a story that resonates with the local market. What are the opportunities across the industry for new entrants into the market or for improving the supply chain? Opportunities lie in finding a story that resonates with the local m a r k e t , s e e h o w w e l l Va n L o v e r e n h a v e d o n e w i t h F o u r C o u s ins. Then being able to own the route to market, i.e. Brand owner that knows and controls access to market, from sales to distribution. Distribution is a key area and remains an opportunity as there are few that can provide a dedicated and quality route to market. There are too few off consumption outlets and on consumption for the number of wines available in SA. Buildi n g b r a n d i s h a r d . K e e p i n g i t t o p o f m i n d i s h a r d e r. S o a s i g n i f icant investment in marketing and strategy is as important as buying a press or cellar full of barrels.


I s t h e r e a n y t h i n g a b o u t t h e w i n e i n d u s t r y t h a t m i g h t s u rprise the public or business people in other industries? They are very passionate about what they do. They love their jobs and they get a kick out of doing it. It is a vocation that whilst not highly paid, provides for high level of job satisfaction. W inemakers are popular! They travel, eat out and live in wonderful environments, this makes up for their middle class e a r n i n g s … b u t t h a t ’s a g e n e r a l i s a t i o n . How do people in other countries view South African wine? I think South Africa has unique wine-growing areas, some close to the sea, some in high altitudes and lots of different types of “terroir”, which provides for wonderful stylistic wines t h a t p r o v i d e i n t e r e s t a n d U S P. W e h a v e a m i x o f o l d a n d n e w world style and our wines are fantastically priced! I would say we provide some of the best value for money in the world. In what ways is our industry better than other countries... and where do we need to raise the bar? D i f f i c u l t t o s a y, w h i l s t t h e r e a r e p o c k e t s o f e x c e l l e n c e , p e o p l e who passionately produce wines that rival the worlds best, Mullineux Wines, Eben Sadie and the boys of Kanonkop all of whom have been recognised as world class winemakers by their peers. One should take a leaf from their book. Stay focussed on what they are good at and only accept wine excellence as their quality measure.

«

connect with murray Murray Giggins is the General Manager at Grapeworks Consumables & Tanium Machinery & Equipment in Australia. He was previously the CEO of Enartis South Africa. www.grapeworks.com.au


make yo

Overcoming the fear of public speaking


ourself heard. Many talented people with expert skills or knowledge would rather die than stand up and speak in public. However, a simple four-step programme might be all that stands in their way of speaking out and being heard, writes EUGENE YIGA.

Photo: Thinkstock


I t ’s b e e n s a i d t h a t p e o p l e f e a r p u b l i c s p e a k i n g m o re t h a n d e a t h . Not so for Monique Rissen-Harrisberg, founder and CEO of The Vo i c e C l i n i c . O v e r t h e l a s t t h re e d e c a d e s , t h e c o m p a n y h a s c h a n g e d t h e l i v e s o f h u n d re d s o f t h o u s a n d s o f i n d i v i d u a l s , f ro m p o l i t i c i a n s a n d C E O s t o t e l e v i s i o n p re s e n t e r s a n d s p o r t s s t a r s . “The key is to find a balance between projecting confidence and enthusiasm whilst retaining integrity and sincerity in all f o r m s o f c o m m u n i c a t i o n , ” s h e s a y s . “ I t ’s a b o u t d e v e l o p i n g a voice that inspires others while projecting a professional, confident, and commanding presence.” Here are four key tips that can change your life too. 1 . D o y o u m u m b l e , s p e a k t o o q u i c k l y, s l o w l y, o r s o f t l y ? If you mumble, people assume you are lazy and inconsiderate. I f y o u s p e a k t o o s o f t l y, y o u ’ l l a p p e a r h e s i t a n t a n d u n s u r e o f y o u r s e l f . W h a t ’s t h e s o l u t i o n ? “The quality of our voice accounts for 38% of our communication message,” says Rissen-Harrisberg. “We are assessed according to the tone, pace, pitch, and clarity of our speech. One needs to speak with a deep, resonant, and clear voice t h a t p r o j e c t s s t r e n g t h , w a r m t h , c l a r i t y, a n d a u t h e n t i c i t y. ”

The key is to find a balance between projecting confidence and enthusiasm whilst retaining integrity and sincerity in all forms of communication.


2. Do you need to improve your accent? We tend to speak the way our friends and family speak, as those are the people who have the most influence over us w h e n w e a r e y o u n g . B u t i n t o d a y ’s w o r l d , i t i s e s s e n t i a l t h a t we are understood, and that whatever language we are using s h o u l d b e t r u e t o i t s r h y t h m s a n d f l o w. “When one is speaking English, one needs to be familiar with the formation of both consonants and vowel sounds in order to understand how the language should be articulated,” Rissen-Harrisberg says. “The flow of speech and neutral vowel is also essential to effective English pronunciation.” 3. Do you need to upgrade your presentation skills? W h e t h e r i t ’s t h e s t r u c t u r e a n d c o n t e n t o r t h e d e l i v e r y a n d style, most people could improve their presentation skills. W h a t ’s t h e b e s t w a y t o a v o i d d e a t h b y P o w e r P o i n t ? “One needs to pay particular attention to the introduction a n d c o n c l u s i o n o f t h e p r e s e n t a t i o n , a n d a l s o o n e ’s d r e s s a n d


i m a g e , ” R i s s e n - H a r r i s b e r g s a y s . “ O n e a l s o n e e d s t o l e a r n v a rious tools of the trade, such as ‘hooks’, opening statements, participation strategies, and many more tricks to keep an audie n c e i n t e r e s t e d i n w h a t y o u h a v e t o s a y. ”

4. Are you terrified of public speaking? When one stands up to address an audience, this is often accompanied by ‘butterflies in the stomach’, an increased heart rate, breathlessness, perspiration, and a feeling of being out of control. How does one deal with these unpleasant feelings? “ A n a d re n a l re s p o n s e o f t e n p ro d u c e s a f i g h t o r f l i g h t re s p o n s e , ” says Rissen-Harrisberg. “One needs to turn the ‘flight’ (wanting to remove oneself from the situation) into a ‘fight’ (seizing and making the most of the opportunity). One needs to turn fear into enthusiasm and energy by focusing on skills and techn i q u e s i n s t e a d o f b o w i n g d o w n t o n e r v o u s n e s s a n d a n x i e t y. ” – Eugene Yiga

«


The poverty trap has some more specific aspects. For instance, a major problem for poor countries is often their geographical positions. That’s because many of these developing nations lack the conditions necessary for economic growth. That might mean their climate is too hot for consistent agricultural success or that the country is riddled with deserts and mountain chains, making for poor farming conditions and high transportation costs.

The End of Poverty: Economic Possibilities for Our Time by Jeffrey Sachs

GET BLINKIST

BLINKIST EXTRACT FROM


travel d

ghana Photo: Hillary Lane


debrief.

Blind inspirational speaker, workshop facilitator and author LOIS STRACHAN debriefs u|Chief on her recent trip to Ghana.


assist, and solution-fo entrepreneurial spirit vade Ghana and is ev

ing sidewalk business busy streets. While I’ve since learn with disabilities often

Ghana, I found people

whether it was in offe Tr a v e l i n g a s a p e r s o n w h o i s v i s u a l l y impaired, whether on business or leisure, may sound like a challenge. Having had the opportunity to travel extensively since losing my sight at the age of 21 I feel I’m q u a l i f i e d t o s a y t h a t i t ’s p o s s i b l e t o g a i n a good sense of a place and culture using your other senses. This was true of my recent trip to Ghana, where I was presenting a keynote at a conference on disability in Africa. Sadly my schedule didn’t allow me to experience much of Accra or Kumasi so I d i d n ’ t g e t a r e a l s e n s e o f w h a t i t ’s l i k e l i v i n g a n d w o r k i n g t h e r e . H o w e v e r, I f i n d I’m left with strong impressions from my time in Ghana that will stay with me for some time. I found the Ghanaian people warm and w e l c o m i n g . T h e y a r e f r i e n d l y, w i l l i n g t o

as I climbed out of a

me to navigate my wa


ocused. I enjoyed the

ence venue. It also made my life signif-

t h a t s e e m s t o p e r-

icantly easier that English is the official

ident from the thriv-

language of Ghana.

ses that line most I was startled at the high percentage of imported groceries we saw in Ghana – ed that people face challenges in

e willing to assist me,

from South African milk to Spanish fruit juices. I was also very aware of how much business is cash-based – neither of the

ering a helping hand

guest houses at which I stayed accept-

bus, or in assisting

ed credit cards. I was also unprepared

a y r o u n d t h e c o n f e r-

for the number of unexpected costs that

Photos: Pixabay


mounted up, in the form of gratuities for those who assisted us as we travelled. I wasn’t so much surprised by the fact of the payments as the amounts. On one occasion we were charged almost R800 to load 25 bags onto a bus. I don’t know if this is normal practice in Ghana or whether it was because we were visitors to the c o u n t r y. As a speaker and workshop facilitator in the field of disability and inclusion, my visit to Ghana helped me to internalize the real challenges faced by gover nments and organisations developing policies and strategies to increase the inclusion, education and employability of persons with a d i s a b i l i t y. T h i s w a s a m e s s a g e t h a t w a s strongly brought home at the conference I attended and will inform the work I do. The insight made me realize once again how fortunate I am that I have the education, knowledge, and resources to live a productive and independent life despite my blindness and to travel as extensively as I do to broaden my experiences. One of the memories that will remain most vividly in my mind was when our bus had a tyre blowout on the 5-hour trip from Kumasi to Accra.


I was impressed, not only by how efficiently our bus driver and his co-driver changed the tyre, but by the number of other buses that stopped to check if there was anything they could do to help and I’m not meaning trying to gain extra passengers from amongst those of us who were stranded on the side of the road! Instead, they stopped to offer the use of a hydraulic jack or other tools. To m e , t h a t e p i t o m i z e s t h e s p i r i t o f t h e Ghanaian people. If asked whether I’d go back to Ghana should the opportunity present itself I would answer positively yes. The only change I’d make is to ensure I had more time to experience the places I visited, and to buy a lot more of the delicious Ghanaian chocolate I discovered while I was there.

«

connect with lois Lois Strachan is a blind inspirational speaker, workshop facilitator, author, blogger and world-traveler who demystifies disability to increase the inclusion of persons with disabilities into society and the workplace. She is the author of “A Different Way of Seeing: A Blind Woman’s Journey of Living an ‘Ordinary’ Life in an Extraordinary Way” and the illustrated children’s books, “The Adventures of Missy Mouse”, available through her website or Amazon. www.loisstrachan.com


How the kin claime

the th


insurance.

ng ed

hrone In the Game of Insurance, a young prince is challenging the staus quo‌ and building a new empire. u|Chief held court with Gideon Galloway, CEO and Founder of King Price.


W h a t g o t K i n g P r i c e o f f t h e g r o u n d ? Wa s i t t h e p r e m i s e o f premiums that decrease, was it how you set up working with insurers… or was it all about a cool logo and website? Insuran c e is a gr u d ge p u rc h a s e , u n d e r s t a n d a b l y, a nd I a lw a y s l ooked f or a w a y t o m a k e i t l e ss so . Ou r d e c re a s ing pre mium mod el a lle v ia te s th e ‘ e i n a ’ f o r o u r c l i e n t s . I t g o t us off t he ground and kee p s u s ah ead . Cu s t o m e r se r v i c e i s a n o t h e r a re a w e ’re kn ow n for b u t eve n t h i s i sn ’t e n o u g h o f a d i ff e re nt ia t or. O ur d ecre a s in g p rem i u m m o d e l i s o u r U S P (n o o t he r insure r in th e w orld d oes t h is , a s f a r a s we k n o w). Bu t , I w a nt e d more , w hich le d t o ‘ c u s t om e r i s k i n g ’, a c l o s e l y -h e l d v a lue . This in t ur n l e d to ou r u n iq u e in t e r n a l c u l t u re , wh i c h l e a v e s no room for a ny th in g st iff an d s t iflin g i n t h e wa y d o b u si n e s s. We re c ognise innovatio n a n d im p le m en t b e t t e r wa y s o f d o i n g t h i n g s, a ll t he t ime .

I decided to take the greed out of the equation and rather offer insurance that’s fair and logical. How did the initial idea spark and what was the process of taking the idea to market? I’ve been in the insurance industry for many years and I rem e m b e r w o n d e r i n g w h y p r e m i u m s n e v e r d e c r e a s e . I n i t i a l l y, I raised the issue at the insurer I was working at but, because their business model is structured as it is, they were in no position to amend it. I now understand that their model is based on greed. So, I decided to take the greed out of the equation and rather offer i n s u r a n c e t h a t ’s f a i r a n d l o g i c a l .


What kept you going when people tried to dissuade you from continuing your ‘crazy idea’? Well, when I had spent all my savings and my wife and I didn’t own a house, I started to wonder whether my idea would ever come to fruition. I remember going for a run and asking God for guidance. I was three years into pitching and seeking investors, with nothing to show for it. All my savings were gone and I had two kids and a wife to take care of. I never heard God telling me stop, so I didn’t. A year and 40 pitches later I found an investor who was willing to bring my idea to life. What challenges did you go through with your website to make the user experience optimal? One of our challenges was registering the domain name King Price. When we started the registration process, we realised that the name was registered (and unused) by someone in Queenstown. It took a road trip and a little convincing, but eventually he gave us the rights to the name. How do you ensure you keep pushing the envelope? We have a fantastic team of people who are well-equipped to keep up with the latest advances that our business needs to make. I’m proud to say that they’re consistently on the ball and ensure that King Price is way ahead of its game on all the f i e l d s t h a t m a t t e r. What gave you ‘the right’ to become the founder of such a visionary company? I b e l i e v e i t ’s m o r e a c a l l i n g t h a n a r i g h t . I ’ m p a s s i o n a t e a b o u t w h a t I d o a n d I ’ v e a l w a y s b e e n a n e n t r e p r e n e u r. I l o v e creating, starting and building innovative businesses.


Are you computer savvy and app savvy… or do you just hire the right people? I’m computer savvy but I also firmly believe in hiring people who are more capable and knowledgeable than I a m . T h i s a l l o w s t h e b u s i n e s s t o f l o u rish. Entrusting skilled people to use their abilities to enhance a business can only work in the best interest and d e v e l o p m e n t o f t h e c o m p a n y. I a d v o cate strongly for all entrepreneurs to hire the right people to fill the right positions. Based on what you’ve envisioned, believed in, and made happen, how do you see the potential for disruption in other industries to create a better local and inter national economy? Just as the industrial revolution changed the world, so artificial intelligence is going to affect every industry and force companies to evolve whether they’re willing or not. And the ramifications for local, national and inter national economies are going to be massive. We’re at the beginning phase of a time of massive development. The question for companies is whether they’re at the forefront, and using the potential to gain a disruptive lead, or lagging behind.

Entrepreneurs tend to want to ho instead to being open to g


Yo u r a d v i c e f o r o t h e r d i s r u p t o r s ? I s a y i t a l o t b u t I ’ l l s a y i t a g a i n : I t ’s better to have a small slice of a pie t h a t ’s w o r t h s o m e t h i n g t h a n t o h a v e a large slice of a pie that has no value. If it means having to sell a stake in your business to investors who can b r i n g i n re v e n u e a n d o p e n p a t h s t h a t y o u c o u l d n ’t h a v e d o n e o n y o u r o w n , t h e n d o i t . E n t re p re n e u r s t e n d t o w a n t to hold on to ownership of their ideas i n s t e a d t o b e i n g o p e n t o g ro w i n g t h e i r businesses. What do you see as the challenges and opportunities in insurance? T h e w o r l d ’s c h a n g i n g w e a t h e r p a t ter ns and increasingly devastating natural disasters have the potential to be a big challenge. Also, we’ll soon have self-driving cars hitting the market hard, which will see insurers having to evaluate and cover this totally new risk. Risks inherent to technology will also challenge t h e i n d u s t r y. I n s u r i n g c y b e r r i s k s i s g o i n g t o b e c h a l l e n g i n g . Is King Price moving international? We’ve already established a strong business in Namibia, and we’ll soon venture into Botswana and Mauritius as well. Then, watch out world!

old on to ownership of their ideas growing their businesses.


Te l l m e a b o u t h o w y o u l e a d y o u r t e a m ? Yo u ’ r e a p p a r e n t l y s o m e w h a t q u i r k y a n d d o n ’ t t a k e y o u r s e l f s e r i o u s l y. I lead a team of highly motivated and self-driven individuals that I don’t have to micro-manage. This leaves me more time t o f o c u s o n g r o w i n g t h e b u s i n e s s . I t ’s b e e n s a i d t h a t I h a v e n ’ t done much growing up as far as my wild heart is concer ned. I come to work to have fun and I truly believe that if you aren’t having fun then you’re doing something wrong. We always tell our clients that we take what we do very serio u s l y, b u t o u r s e l v e s … n o t s o m u c h ! M y d r e s s c o d e i s a r e f l e c tion of who I am. I love my shorts and flip-flops and, in our kingdom, they’re completely appropriate attire for the CEO and everyone else. How do you see the office and the employee of the future? I t ’s d e f i n i t e l y a p l a n f o r u s t o o w n o u r o w n c a m p u s , w i t h f a c i l ities that’ll truly empower us to ‘live with purpose’, which is another value. We’ve just opened an on-site training academy to host our new employee induction sessions, up-skill current employees, and enable further education for all our employees


to help them be the best version of themselves. In the future, we’ll probably have even more toys at the office, to encourage our employees to have fun at work. We’d also love to offer our employees more benefits. Our employees are just as important to us as our clients, and staff happiness is a key focus for us. W e d o w h a t w e c a n t o c r e a t e a n e n v i r o n m e n t t h a t ’s c o n d u c i v e for them as individuals.

We take what we do very seriously, but ourselves… not so much. Yo u l a u n c h e d w i t h a b a n g a n d m a d e a b i g i m p a c t . H o w have you continued that success, and what challenges h a v e y o u , a s a d i s r u p t o r, c r e a t e d f o r t h e i n d u s t r y ? We remain agile. This means we make decisions and execute actions faster than our competitors, which enables us to stay ahead of trends and challenges. Key to this is our analytics system, which allows each manager to see their KPIs and measure their performance against their targets at any time, i n r e a l - t i m e . N o t o n l y d o e s t h i s c r e a t e a c c o u n t a b i l i t y, i t a l l o w us to be proactive and make the correct decisions for the business at the right time. We don’t wait for month-end reports to assess our performance and then try to rectify probl e m s r e t r o s p e c t i v e l y.

«

connect with gideon Gideon Galloway is the founder and CEO of King Price Insurance, an innovative disruptor in the insurance industry. www.kingprice.co.za


Cameron Stevens

Funding the next leg Prodigy Finance helps post-grads fund international degrees. But it’s more than a loan provider – it’s a community, says founder and CEO Cameron Stevens.


funding. INSEAD is the number one school in the Financial Times G l o b a l M B A r a n k i n g s , a n d i t ’s b e e n a t o p - r a n k e d s c h o o l f o r l o n g e r t h a n t h a t . I t a t t r a c t s s o m e o f t h e w o r l d ’s m o s t t a l e n t e d business minds and accepts the best of the best. So, when he was accepted to the programme, Cameron Stevens couldn’t figure out why it was so difficult to secure an educational loan to attend. It was a struggle. Banks in South Africa weren’t prepared to lend him more than the amount a local MBA would cost – and t h a t ’s i f t h e y w e r e c o m f o r t a b l e w i t h i t a l l . T h r o u g h y e a r s o f e x perience, banks aren’t prepared to extend financing to people w h o w i l l i m m e d i a t e l y l e a v e t h e c o u n t r y w i t h t h e m o n e y. To p b u s i n e s s s c h o o l o r n o t , i n t e r n a t i o n a l g r a d s t u d e n t s struggle to secure the financial investment into their future. Lamenting this situation, Cameron founded Prodigy Finance w i t h I N S E A D c o l l e a g u e s . N o w i n i t s t e n t h y e a r, t h i s c o m p a ny crowd sources funding; its student loans are collectively funded by a community of alumni, institutional investors and qualified private investors who receive both a financial and social retur n. Students gain access to higher education that they might not otherwise be able to finance. This model enables alumni of top schools to help fund students from their alma mater or home country while ear ning a financial retur n. And, for 84 percent of Prodigy Finance-funded students, it was the only way to continue their education as they had no alter native sources of educational financing. Ta r i r o G o r o n g a i s o n e s u c h s t u d e n t . Z i m b a b w e a n - b o r n , h e


w a s r a i s e d o n a f a r m i n S o u t h A f r i c a a n d r e c e i v e d h i s u n d e rgraduate degree in electrical engineering from the University of KwaZulu-Natal. Having spent his formative years without a c c e s s t o e l e c t r i c i t y, h e w a s d e t e r m i n e d t o a t t e n d a t o p i n t e rnational business school to develop the network and business acumen to work towards ensuring every African child has access to this resource. His admittance to Harvard Business School was just the first step in that process. He considered loans from South African banks, but they weren’t right for him. Indeed, the high rates of interest might have made accepting one prohibitively expensive. And he was one of the lucky ones.

Banks aren’t equipped to consider a possible future scenario; they only look to past earnings. After an American undergraduate degree, Farai Mwamuka worked in South Africa for five years before an MBA became t h e n e x t o b v i o u s s t e p i n h i s c a r e e r. H e a p p l i e d f o r a n d r e ceived a Prodigy Finance loan after his admission to London B u s i n e s s S c h o o l . A n d , h e ’s n o t s u r e h e w o u l d h a v e m a d e i t t o campus otherwise. Though he would have reached out to every person he knows, he believes it would be nearly impossible. “I don’t think I’d have been here without Prodigy Finance. I mean I may have been here, but it would have been extremely tough.” W h i l e d e v e l o p i n g t h e f o u n d a t i o n s o f t h e c o m p a n y, C a m e r o n


considered the obstacles that stood in the way of his own education. An MBA from a prestigious institution almost alwaysconfers a higher income, but banks aren’t equipped to consider a possible future scenario; they only look to past ear nings. Prodigy Finance developed a predictive model that considers the bump up graduates receive when they re-enter the job market, allowing them to extend higher amounts than students would otherwise obtain. Another aspect of the Prodigy Finance business model is the c o m m u n i t y d y n a m i c t h a t u n d e r l i n e s e v e r y t h i n g i t d o e s . I t ’s n o t just a loan provider; the company continues to enhance the student experience by hosting live talks, webinars, and networking events across the globe. The community team assists arriving students with airport-to-campus transfers and local SIM cards for their mobile phones. The personal engagement is evident from the moment applicants interact with Prodigy Finance. And, for Farai, that connection is inspiring. “It makes me feel good that the reas o n I ’ m h e r e i s a c t u a l l y b e c a u s e o f L B S a l u m n i . I t ’s g o t t h a t p e r s o n a l c o n n e c t i o n t o i t , a n d I t h i n k t h a t ’s g r e a t . I t h i n k a l s o i t e n c o u r a g e s m e t o w a n t t o g i v e b a c k i n t h e s a m e w a y. ” Ta r i r o , t o o , f e l t t h e c o n n e c t i o n . “ I f e e l l i k e I ’ m b o r r o w i n g f r o m s o m e o n e t h a t I k n o w. T h a t s e n s e o f c o m m u n i t y m e a n s I w o u l d do anything to pay back the loan - to make sure that other students get the same opportunity that I got.” E n g a g e m e n t , t r a n s p a r e n c y, a n d c o n n e c t i o n r u n t h r o u g h t h e company which has grown from a team of three to a company that currently employs 130 staff, representing 25 different n a t i o n a l i t i e s t h r o u g h o u t t h e i r o f f i c e s i n C a p e To w n , L o n d o n ,


a n d N e w Yo r k . A n d , P r o d i g y F i n a n c e w i l l c o n t i n u e t o g r o w ; they’ve just secured R3.19 billion in additional funds that will be directed to new student loans, as well as options for refinancing existing, unfavourable loans. According to Cameron, “the investment will allow us to double the size of our student portfolio. We believe in financial inclusion and talent mobility and look forward to continuing to help inter national students break the funding barrier and further their education at top schools”. To d a t e , P r o d i g y F i n a n c e h a s p r o v i d e d o v e r $ 3 2 5 m i l l i o n i n educational loans to over 7,100 students – and 78 percent of them come from developing markets where access to financing is often limited. The company offers loans to inter national students from 118 c o u n t r i e s t o a t t e n d t o p b u s i n e s s , e n g i n e e r i n g , p u b l i c p o l i c y, and law programmes. And, although the first few loans were disbursed in 2007, five students have already repaid their loans in full and have begun investing in the next generation of Prodigy-Finance funded students. After all, getting into grad school should be the hard part; geography and wealth shouldn’t hinder those opportunities.

«

connect with cameron Cameron Stevens is the founder and CEO of Prodigy Finance Limited. Cameron is a serial entrepreneur with a special focus on social entrepreneurship and early stage technology investing. www.prodigyfinance.com


PRODIGY FINANCE Prodigy Finance was founded in 2007 by South African Cameron Stevens. The company provides loans to international students from 118 countries to pursue their post-grad degrees. Loans are available students pursuing masters-level degrees in business, engineering, public policy, and law. The company has grown from a staff of 3 to 126 in 10 years. It employs talent from 25 countries. To date, over 7100 students have received over R4.32-billion in loans. Loans are collectively funded by a community of alumni, institutional investors and qualified private investors. They receive both financial and social returns. Prodigy Finance uses a predictive scorecard in addition to historical data to determine loan amounts. No cosigner or collateral is required to secure a Prodigy Finance loan. And, there are no penalties for early repayment. In August, the company raised R3,19-billion to double the size of its portfolio. Learn more about loans and the Prodigy Finance community at prodigyfinance.com.


travel d

san francisco

Photos: Julia Ahlfeldt


debrief.

JULIA AHLFELDT, a Certified Customer Experience Professional (CCXP, debriefs u|Chief on her recent trip to San Francisco.


Te l l u s a b o u t y o u r r e c e n t t r a v e l s ?

tour of their offices, a

I recently spent three weeks in the US.

the staff canteen (whi

I’ve lived in South Africa for several years,

best staff canteen foo

but I’m originally from the US. I try to

Airbnb is one of my fa

visit at least once or twice per year to see

a brand that has care

f a m i l y, s p e a k w i t h c o l l e a g u e s a n d c l i e n t s , a n d k e e p a p u l s e o n w h a t ’s h a p p e n i n g i n the American market. At first, I’d refer to these annual trips as “going home”, but now I truly feel like I have two “homes”. I t ’s r e j u v e n a t i n g t o r e t u r n a n d r e c o n n e c t with my Americanness, but after a few weeks, I find myself longing to retur n to South Africa. Where did you go, and what was memorable in terms of the travel and business experience? I spent time in San Francisco, Los Angeles and Portland. It was a tour de West Coast! The motivation for the trip was both personal and professional. In addit i o n t o c a t c h i n g u p w i t h f r i e n d s a n d f a m i l y, I also conducted some interviews for my recently launched podcast, Decoding the

customer experience,

C u s t o m e r. O n e o f m y i n t e r v i e w s w a s w i t h

to look under the bon

Desirree Madison-Biggs, who is the head

hand about some of t

of customer experience at Airbnb. I had

have aided their succ

the opportunity to spend part of a day at

release any spoilers b

A i r b n b ’s H Q i n S a n F r a n c i s c o D e s i r r e e a n d

episode is published,

I had a great conversation, she gave me a

from my day at Airbnb


and we had lunch in

standing that their team culture is a key

ich was definitely the

d i f f e r e n t i a t o r. T h e o r g a n i z a t i o n l i v e s a n d

od I’ve ever eaten).

breathes its values, and looks after its

avorite examples of

people. These strategies have paid off.

fully curated a great W h a t o p p o r t u n i t i e s d i d y o u i d e n t i f y d u ring the trip for yourself and your organization, as well as for other industries? The use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) is g r o w i n g b y l e a p s a n d b o u n d s . I t ’s c l e a r that this will be an important part of customer experiences in the future. One of the evenings that I was in San Francisco, I went over to some friends’ house f o r d i n n e r. T h e h u s b a n d n o w w o r k s f o r a company that has developed a fairly sophisticated AI robot toy for children. The robot knew everyone in the house by name, could recognize facial expressions and had learned how to beat the humans at particular games. It was fascinating to w a t c h m y f r i e n d ’s s o n p l a y w i t h t h e r o b o t . We are on the precipice of a whole new world of human/AI interactions, and comso it was fascinating

nnet and learn first-

panies need to understand how they will leverage this.

he strategies that ess. I don’t want to

before the podcast but I walked away

b w i t h a c l e a r u n d e r-

What surprised you about the country – positively and negatively? American customer service is excellent. Being service-minded is something that is


ingrained in our culture, and while negative customer service experiences do also happen in the US, on a v e r a g e t h e b a r i s s e t m u c h h i g h e r. When I’ve been away for a while and jump back into the American consumer world, great customer service sometimes takes me by surprise. The tech sector has flourished in recent years. This comes with benefits and drawbacks. In San Francisco, an influx of highly paid tech workers has driven up the host of housing, forcing many long-term residents to move elsewhere. These underlying tensions were palpable

to learn rather than a

at times.

embarrassment. This think outside of the b

Wa s t h e r e s o m e t h i n g a b o u t h o w t h e y d o

risks and champion c

business or live their lives that you feel that people living in other countries

The world around us i

could benefit from knowing or experi-

q u i c k l y, s o o r g a n i z a t i o

encing?

ure out ways to encou

Americans are optimists. They are more

vation, but this will on

likely to view a mistake as an opportunity

ronments that are sup


Any fun memories? Ye s ! O n m y l a s t d a y i n S a n F r a n cisco, my husband and I decided to be tourists in our former home town. We walked through our old neighborhood, recounted memories, and visited the place where we first met. San Francisco is an i n c r e d i b l y p i c t u r e s q u e c i t y, a n d i t will always hold a special place in my heart. Where would you go to next time if you visited for business or pleasure? The East Coast is definitely on n e x t y e a r ’s i t i n e r a r y. source of shame or enables people to

Te l l u s a f e w u s e f u l p h r a s e s o r w o r d s .

ox, take calculated

South Africans are probably aware of this

hange.

through US-produced media, but Americans use slightly different vocabulary and

is changing very

may not be familiar with the words that

ons will need to fig-

are commonplace in South Africa. For ex-

urage internal inno-

ample, if you are asking for directions and

nly happen in envi-

reference the “zebra” or the “robot”, you

pportive.

will get a few quizzical looks!

connect with julia Julia Ahlfeldt is a Certified Customer Experience Professional (CCXP) who consults to bluechip and multi-national CEOs.

«


advertising.

Age of the ‘agency of return’ is here The advertising industry has shifted from

a focus on beautiful campaigns to driving for h i g h R O I s , s a y s N X T C E O Wa y n e L e v i n e


S o u t h A f r i c a ’s c u r r e n t e c o n o m i c s l u m p m e a n s c o m p a n i e s a r e t i g h t e n i n g t h e i r b e l t s , l o o k i n g f o r w a y s t o o p t i m i s e t h e i r o p e rations and make sure all their strategic efforts reflect positively on the bottom line. W ithin this milieu, the traditional Agency of Record model has begun to make way for the Agency of Return, or strateg i c b r a n d p a r t n e r, w h o u n d e r s t a n d s t h a t w h i l e b r a n d s w o r k with many stakeholders, what they really need is a single view that gives them a no-nonsense understanding of which efforts yield the best retur n on investment (ROI). N X T C E O , Wa y n e L e v i n e , s a y s w h i l e t r a d i t i o n a l a g e n c i e s m i g h t create beautiful campaigns, brands are often left in the dark when it comes to ROI. “More than ever before, they need to know whether their campaigns worked and how many sales can accurately be attributed to their efforts.” NXT is a digital innovation business that has worked on renowned brands for the past 10 years. The vision for the business is to harness lessons learnt over the last decade to inform the future and the next level of digital innovation in enhancing its understanding of consumer behaviour and digital customer engagement. H a v i n g s p e n t s e v e r a l y e a r s w o r k i n g w i t h S o u t h A f r i c a ’s l e a d ing agencies, they have married what they have learnt in the advertising and agency world with their technical expertise. Levine says a marketing budget is an investment in a brand. ‘ S e n s i b l e i n t e l l i g e n c e a r o u n d K n o w i n g Yo u r C u s t o m e r s h o u l d dictate how it is most effectively spent. And this is where e n r i c h m e n t v e r s u s a t t r i b u t i o n c o m e s i n t o p l a y.


The ‘Agency of Retur n’, is a shift from the typical approach of big campaigns that push brand loyalty which is often built from misinformed data which results in loss of revenue for the brand. The model of ‘Agency of Retur n’ removes fake customer profiles, misinformed data, etc, which regularly limits the b r a n d ’s u n d e r s t a n d i n g o f i t s d i v e r s e c u s t o m e r s . NXT wants the brands it partners with to resonate with their customers on an emotional level. “This depends on knowing the customer intimately and marketing from the inside out,” says Levine. H e s a y s t h e c o m p a n y ’s u n i q u e C I C L O P S ( C o m m o n I n t e r e s t Community) methodology aims to do just that. “CICLOPS helps us build an accurate picture of brands’ customers by looking at micro-incentivised engagement. “By rolling out a series of micro-campaigns, we’re able to accurately analyse what customers are responding to, and then attribute their customer profiles based on their engagements (real data). “These micro-campaigns invite customers to be a part of the jour ney and enjoy it as we are truly aiming to understand and meet their needs – hitting the mark with accuracy and predictable results.” “These micro-communities have common interest – so instead of one big campaign, we target specific campaigns at specific c o n s u m e r g r o u p s . T h i s i s c a l l e d a t t r i b u t i o n – i t ’s a b o u t p u t t i n g the customer at the centre and building the data around the individual. We have seen this approach impacting the bottom l i n e d i r e c t l y, ” s a y s L e v i n e


He adds that traditional ROI funnels depend on a journey in which the goal is set, but those customers who are lost along the way are ignored. “We believe in Retur n on Investment funnels. We examine where and how customers dropped off or ‘leaked out’ of the funnel, and look at what we can we do to a d d r e s s t h i s . I n t h i s w a y, w e g e t t h e m b a c k o n t h e P e r p e t u a l Path to Purchase.” Levine says NXT is leaps and bounds ahead of its competitors as a result of one important fact – the space is only 20 years old. “People were first introduced to the Inter net in 1996. I started my first with a web-based company in 1997. There are probably only a handful of us in the country who were there f r o m t h e b e g i n n i n g u n t i l n o w. “ O u r s t re n g t h i s t h a t w e ’ re v e r y f l e e t - f o o t e d . We h a v e re a d j u s t ed our business model eight times since inception. Being in t h e i n n o v a t i o n s p a c e , w e o f t e n f i n d o u r s e l v e s a t a c ro s s ro a d s a n d h a v e t o c h o o s e w h i c h p a t h t o f o l l o w. We k n o w w e a re n o t g o i n g t o b e d o i n g t h e s a m e t h i n g i n t w o y e a r s ’ t i m e . I t ’s i n t e re s t i n g , h a rd t o f o re c a s t a n d w e ’ re t a k i n g r i s k s a l l t h e t i m e . “Our customers choose us because we deliver on time, every time and on budget. They know they can trust our execution. We have built a strong reputation and when we promise something, it happens.”

«

connect with Wayne Wayne Levine is the CEO at NXT\ Digital Innovation, an award-winning integrated agency. www.nxt.co.za


for the

Builder of.. hope The need to develop an entrepreneurial culture at school level is crucial to future economic growth and social upliftment, writes NELLY MOFOKENG, Managing Director of JA South Africa


e youth.


In the 2017 budget speech, concerning statistics about South A f r i c a ’s c u r r e n t e c o n o m i c s t a t e w e r e n o t e d : o v e r h a l f o f a l l grade five lear ners in South Africa are unable to read adequately in any language, and 75% of school leavers are left unemployed five years after entering the labour market. Looking at these figures in the context of the current 26.5% u n e m p l o y m e n t r a t e , i t ’s c r u c i a l t h a t o u r c o u n t r y ’s l e a d e r s a n d partners find alternative ways to empower the youth to help t h e m b e c o m e s e l f - s u f f i c i e n t a d u l t s . H o w e v e r, y o u n g p e o p l e a r e groomed to join the workforce as employees, instead of being exposed to skills that enable them to independently pursue their own entrepreneurial ventures once they leave school.

75% of South African school leavers are left unemployed five years after entering the labour market. Focusing on entrepreneurial development at an early age has a positive ripple effect – equipping young people with the tools to uplift themselves means that many of them will not have to rely on an employer to ear n a living once they leave school. They will be better empowered and prepared to pursue their own entrepreneurial efforts, which will help to lower the unemp l o y m e n t r a t e a n d b o o s t t h e c o u n t r y ’s e c o n o m y t h r o u g h t h e development of more small businesses.


S m a l l b u s i n e s s e s b o o s t S A’ s e c o n o m y Research by Global Entrepreneurship Monitor shows that s m a l l b u s i n e s s e s a r e r e s p o n s i b l e f o r o v e r 5 0 % o f j o b o p p o rtunities in South Africa, while the National Development Plan envisions 11 million new jobs created by 2030. Most of these j o b s a r e e x p e c t e d t o s t e m f r o m t h e s m a l l b u s i n e s s s e c t o r. T h i s p r o v e s t h a t S M M E s a r e t h e b a c k b o n e o f o u r e c o n o m y. H o w e v e r, y o u n g p e o p l e a r e s t i l l l a c k i n g t h e s k i l l s r e q u i r e d t o establish and run their own businesses. Research shows that 8 0 % o f s t a r t - u p s f a i l w i t h i n t h e f i r s t y e a r, d u e t o a l a c k o f resources as well as experience and understanding of what it takes to run a business. While there are numerous inter nships, apprenticeships, and lear ning programmes already in place for young adults, availing adequate opportunities – particularly in rural areas of g r e a t n e e d – r e m a i n s e l u s i v e . I n a d d i t i o n , m o r e e n t r e p r e n e u rial development programmes need to be introduced at school level, but the success of these initiatives rely heavily on private sector funding. Working with the Department of Education, the private sector has the potential to implement more accessible lear ning programmes to support the development of all lear ners across the country and make a positive impact on employment levels. This can be achieved through integrated school curriculums and even after school initiatives, for example. T h e s u c c e s s r a t e o f p r o g r a m m e s l i k e J A S o u t h A f r i c a ’s ‘Environmental Entrepreneurs’ Programme for primary school lear ners, as well as the ‘Mini Enterprise’ platform offered at high school level reflects the importance of such initiatives.


These serve as proof of the positive impact that entrepreneurial development programmes introduced at school level have on the youth and within their societies.

Young people must, from an early age, be encouraged to innovate and be problem-solvers. L e t ’s s u p p o r t t h e y o u t h t o b e c o m e s u c c e s s f u l , a c t i v e a n d c o n t r i b u t i n g m e m b e r s o f s o c i e t y t h r o u g h t h e s e e n t r e p r e n e u rship-focused initiatives and, by extension, make a positive i m p a c t o n t h e S o u t h A f r i c a n e c o n o m y a t l a r g e . L e t ’s i n v e s t i n t h e d e v e l o p m e n t o f t o m o r r o w ’s l e a d e r s . As acknowledged by the Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa at the Global Entrepreneurship Congress 2017, “Entrepreneurship m u s t b e p a r t o f t h e s c h o o l c u r r i c u l u m . Yo u n g p e o p l e m u s t , from an early age, be encouraged to innovate and be problem-solvers. They must be given the skills to turn ideas into viable businesses. “ M o s t i m p o r t a n t l y, t h e y m u s t l e a v e s c h o o l a p p r e c i a t i n g t h a t entrepreneurship can be a viable career option.”

connect with nelly Nelly Mofokeng is the Managing Director of Junior Achievement South Africa, offer a platform of opportunity for all young people in South Africa. www.jasa.org.za

«


A lot of people think that doing tons of things at once is the most productive use of their time, but this logic is dead wrong.

That’s because multi-tasking does not equal productivity.

When switching from Task A to Task B, our attention stays attached to the first activity, which means we can only half-focus on the second, which hurts our performance.

Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World by Cal Newport

GET BLINKIST

BLINKIST EXTRACT FROM


YO U N G E N T R E P R E N E U R S C L E A N U P AT JA AWA R D S

Inspiring youth entrepreneurship has been celebrated at the annual JA South Africa Company o f t h e Ye a r c o m p e t i t i o n , h o s t e d by C i t i , w i t h E p i t o m e o f E l i t e I n d u s t r y, a b u s i n e s s f r o m t h e Sedibelo Secondary School in Rustenburg winn i n g t h e o v e r a l l t i t l e fo r i t s m u l t i - p u r p o s e , e n v i r o n m e n t - f r i e n d ly c l e a n e r m a d e f r o m n a t u r a l ingredients. La s t K i n g s & Q u e e n s f ro m G re s s w o l d S e n i o r S e c o n d a r y S c h o o l f ro m J o h a n n e s b u rg c a m e s e c o n d w i t h i ts i n n o v a t i v e m u l t i p u r p o s e d e s k c o n ta i n e rs , a n d P h o l a 9 1 1 f ro m Fe r r u m H i g h S c h o o l i n N e w c a s t l e to o k t h i rd p l a c e fo r i ts f i rs t a i d k i ts . S h i n i n g S ta rs f ro m D o u g l a s M b o p a S e c o n d a r y S c h o o l i n M o t h e r w e l l w a s a w a rd e d t h e S p i r i t of E n t re p re n e u rs h i p f l o a t i n g t ro p h y fo r i ts e n t re p re n e u r i a l s p i r i t t h ro u g h o u t t h e competition. “ T h e w i n n i n g te a m s a n d f i n a l i s ts i n t h i s ye a r ’s c o m p e t i t i o n a l l d e m o n s t ra te d t h e g re a t o u tc o m e s w e h o p e to a c h i e v e f ro m o u r w i d e ra n g e of ex p e r i e n t i a l e n t re p re -

n e u rs h i p p ro g ra m m e s , ” s a ys N e l l y M ofo ke n g , M a n a g i n g D i re c to r of J A S o u t h A f r i c a . “ T h i s ye a r ’s g ro u p of f i n a l i s ts i m p re s s e d u s i m m e n s e l y w i t h t h e i r i d e a s a n d p re s e n ta t i o n s , a n d h a v e c e r ta i n l y s e t a b e n c h m a r k fo r n ex t ye a r ’s l e a r n e rs . ” N i n e te a m s of l e a r n e rs i n G ra d e 1 0 a n d 1 1 f ro m a c ro s s S o u t h A f r i c a p re s e n te d t h e i r u n i q u e b u s i n e s s i d e a s c re a te d a n d exe c u te d a s p a r t of J A S o u t h A f r i c a M i n i E n te r p r i s e a n d E n t re p re n e u rs h i p p ro g ra m m e s to a j u d g i n g p a n e l of b u s i n e s s p e o p l e a n d o t h e r i n d u s t r y p rofe s s i o n a l s . J u d g e s p ro v i d e d c o n s t r u c t i v e fe e d b a c k to t h e te a m s to s u p p o r t t h e i r d e v e l o p m e n t a n d u n d e rs ta n d i n g . J u d g e s ’ a s s e s s m e n ts w e re b a s e d o n s e v e ra l c r i te r i a , i n c l u d i n g b u s i n e s s i d e a c l a r i t y, t h e te a m ’s a b i l i t y to t h i n k c r i t i c a l l y, u n d e rs ta n d i n g b a s i c b u s i n e s s p r i n c i p l e s a n d t h e s u s ta i n a b i l i t y a n d re l e v a n c e of t h e p ro d u c t o r s e r v i c e to s o c i a l re s p o n s i b i l i t y. A l l l e a r n e rs h a d a t te n d e d a s e r i e s of w o r ks h o p s w h e re m e n to rs h e l p e d t h e m f i n e t u n e t h e i r b u s i n e s s i d e a s a s w e l l a s t h e i r p ro b l e m - s o l v i n g , l e a d e rs h i p a n d p re s e n ta t i o n s k i l l s to p re p a re t h e m fo r t h e c o m p e t i t i o n .


E p i to m e of E l i te I n d u s t r y w a s a w a rd e d a c a s h e q u i v a l e n t p r i ze fo r t h e i r s c h o o l to t ra n s p o r t t h e te a m a n d a c h a p e ro n e to J o h a n n e s b u rg to a t te n d t h e J A A f r i c a R e g i o n a l C o m p a n y of t h e Ye a r C o m p e t i t i o n ta k i n g p l a c e f ro m 5 - 9 D e c e m b e r 2 0 1 7 , to b e h o s te d b y J A S o u t h A f r i c a i n J o h a n n e s b u rg . T h e y w i l l c o m p e te w i t h w i n n e rs f ro m o t h e r c o u n t r i e s i n t h e S A D C re g i o n . “J A S o u t h A f r i c a ’s p a r t n e rs h i p w i t h C i t i s p a n s o v e r 3 0 ye a rs , w i t h C i t i f u n d i n g a n u m b e r of p ro g ra m m e s a i m e d a t e m p o w e r i n g s c h o o l l e a r n e rs a n d o u t - of - s c h o o l yo u t h , ” s a ys M ofo ke n g . “ T h i s i s t h e t h i rd ye a r t h a t C i t i h a s s p o n s o re d t h e J A S o u t h A f r i c a C o m p a n y of t h e Ye a r e v e n t , a n d w e a re l o o k i n g fo r w a rd to a l o n g a n d p ro s p e ro u s p a r t n e rs h i p i n ye a rs to c o m e . ” P e te r C ra w l e y, C C O S A / T TS S S A H e a d a t C i t i a t te s ts to t h e c o m m o n g o a l of c re a t i n g m o re o p p o r t u n i t i e s fo r t h e d e v e l o p m e n t of yo u t h e n t re p re n e u rs h i p i n S o u t h A f r i c a s h a re d b y J A S o u t h A f r i c a a n d C i t i . “ T h e C i t i Fo u n d a t i o n h a s c o m m i t te d U S $ 1 0 0 m i l l i o n o v e r t h e n ex t t h re e ye a rs to p re p a re 5 0 0 , 0 0 0 yo u n g p e o p l e a l l o v e r t h e w o r l d fo r to d a y ’s c o m p e t i t i v e j o b m a r ke t , ” s a ys C ra w l e y. “ W i t h r i s i n g yo u t h u n e m p l o y m e n t ra te s g l o b a l l y, i t i s i m p e ra t i v e to h e l p yo u t h b u i l d t h e i r c o n f i d e n c e a n d c u l t i v a te t h e i r l e a d e rs h i p s k i l l s a n d competitiveness.” S c h o o l s s e l e c te d to p a r t i c i p a te i n t h e C o m p a n y of t h e Ye a r C o m p e t i t i o n : S e d i b e l o S e c o n d a r y S c h o o l ( M o r u l e n g V i l l a g e , R u s te n b u rg , N o r t h We s t ) G re s s w o l d S e n i o r S e c o n d a r y S c h o o l ( J o h a n n e s b u rg , G a u te n g ) Fe r r u m H i g h S c h o o l ( N e w c a s t l e , Kw a Z u l u - N a ta l D o u g l a s M b o p a S e c o n d a r y S c h o o l ( M o t h e r w e l l , Ea s te r n C a p e ) Kg a ko a S e c o n d a r y ( R a m o n g w a n a , L i m p o p o ) Mhlume Secondary School (Mbombela, Mpumalanga) C l u b v i e w H i g h S c h o o l ( W i ts i e h o e k , Fre e S ta te ) Le n te g e u r S e c o n d a r y S c h o o l ( Le n te g e u r, We s te r n C a p e ) E m a n g M m o g o C o m p re h e n s i v e ( K i m b e r l y, N o r t h e r n C a p e ) J u nior A chievement S outh Af r i c a (JA S o u t h Af r i c a ) i s a no n- prof i t o rgan i s ati o n af f i l iate d to JA Worldwide (www.j a wo r ld wi de .o rg ), o ne of t he la rg e s t b us i n e s s e d uc ati o n o rganisa tions in the world, o pe ra t i ng i n ove r 120 c o u nt r i e s . Fo r th e p as t 3 8 ye ars , JA So u t h Africa ha s been prov i di ng e sse nt i a l e nt re pre ne u r i a l a n d f i n an c i al l i te racy p rogram mes to young people of a ll a g e s, a c ro ss t he c o u nt r y, i n b o th r ural an d ur b an e nvironments. JA’s unique, expe r i e nt i a l pro g ra mme s i g ni te t he s p ark i n yo un g p e o p l e to re al ise the opportunities a nd fa c e t he re a li t i e s of 21st c e nt ury wo r k an d l i fe .

«


travel d

turkey P h o t o s : M a r i o n K a t e , w w w. g i r l i n b l u e j e a n s . c o m


debrief.

Travel blogger (and The Girl in Blue Jeans) MARION KATE, debriefs u|Chief on her recent trip to Turkey.


Te l l u s a b o u t y o u r r e c e n t t r a v e l s ?

Heading back to Ista

I r e c e n t l y w e n t t o Tu r k e y, a c o u n t r y I h a v e

time in Afayon, where

n o w v i s i t e d 1 6 t i m e s . F l y i n g Tu r k i s h A i r-

hotels have thermal p

lines is a direct flight from Johannesburg to Istanbul overnight, so my trips always

What was memorable

start in Istanbul where I spend a few days

From the business pe

and then I map out a different route each

t h e Tu r k i s h A i r l i n e s h e

time so that I can explore different towns

w a s a n e y e - o p e n e r. I

a n d c i t i e s i n t h e c o u n t r y.

up the stairs and half

on the wall and a sign This past trip took me to Kas, a beautiful

“First impressions cou

town on the Aegan coast that looks out

smartly dressed, rega

onto the Greek Island of Meis. I hired a

tion within in the com

car and drove down the coast to see

around with speed an

Demre (better known as The Father

almost silence in the

C h r i s t m a s To w n ) . A l o n g t h e w a y i s t h e

unnecessary chit-chat

S u n k e n C i t y, a n o t h e r b e a u t i f u l s p o t .

loud laughing, no che


TURKEY FACT FILE Anthem “The Independence March” Official language Turkish Capital Ankara Largest city Istanbul Currency Turkish lira Time zone FET (UTC+3) Land area 783,356 km2 (302,455 sq mi) Population 79,814,871 (2017 estimate) Density 102/km2 (264.2/sq mi) Total GDP (PPP) $2.082 trillion (2017 estimate) Per capita GDP $25,776 BLACK SEA BULGARIA Cars Drive on the right

GREECE

Istanbul

Calling code +90 s

D

e lle an WIKIPEDIA) Bursa d(SOURCE ar

BULGARIA

e the majority of

AEGEAN SEA

nbul, I spent some

D

n da ar

ead office in Istanbul

AEGEAN SEA

rspective, going to

TURKEY

Izmir Bodrum Olympos

MEDITERRANEAN SEA

150 km 150 miles

remember walking

Bodrum

m p a n y. P e o p l e m o v e

nd there is an air of building. There is no

t in the corridors, no

ewing of gum and,

Lake Van

SEA

TigGEORGIA ri

Diyarbakir Gaziantep Adana Trabzon Samsun

ANKARA

IRAQ

SYRIAE

Nevsehir Kayseri

ra uph

tes

Karakose

©Lake The Van Free Range

Ti gri

Adana

Gaziantep

Diyarbakir

IRAQ SYRIA

© The Free Range

AEGEAN SEA

unt”. The staff are all

ardless of their posi-

Karakose

TURQUOISE COAST

way up is a mirror

n above it that reads:

Antalya

rates

s

e about your trip?

Bursa

MEDITERRANEAN SEA

150 km 150 miles

pools.

Antalya

s elle Olympos

Nevsehir Kayseri

ph Eu

s

Istanbul GREECE Bodrum

Trabzon

Samsun

ANKARA

TURKEY BLACK

Izmir

GEORGIA

KOS (GREECE)

AEGEAN SEA

Bodrum

80 km 80 miles

KOS

Iclemer Marmaris Turunc Dalaman Dalyan Hisaronu Fethiye

TURQUOISE COAST Oludeniz

Patara

MEDITERRANEAN SEA

Kalkan Kas Iclemer Marmaris Turunc Dalaman© The Free Range Dalyan Hisaronu Fethiye Oludeniz

Patara


MARION KATE’S Useful Turkish Phrase Guide

• MERHABA | HELLO OD • C O K G U Z E L | V E RY G O • EKMEK | BREAD • C AY | T E A • S U | WAT E R

when walking through office, I did not see a

ing on their cellphone

on discipline, which is ioural trait and somet

I also had the opportu

the flight simulators in

are able to “keep up t

world-class machine a


Turkish Airline s wa s named the 2018 Five -Star Global Airline by the Airline pa ssenger Experience Association (APE X) of f icial airline s rating.

h a large, open-plan

to know that we are in good hands when

single person play-

aboard their aircraft. After that I explored

e. The company runs

the kitchens of the company that produc-

s a cultural behav-

es the food for the airline and I was highly

hing I find refreshing.

impressed by the levels of hygiene and the variety of meals they prepare. What

unity to sit in one of

I found interesting was that many of the

n which the pilots

long-haul flights for the larger carriers

their hours�: it is a

actually have an on-board chef to prepare

a n d i t ’s c o m f o r t i n g

meals for passengers.


Food is always something that makes or

what the difference is

breaks an experience for passengers, and

cost airline and an air

to fully illustrate how the flight attendants

a Skytrax winner six y

and ground crew work together to deliver such a high service, Do & Co had us sit in

What opportunities d

a make-shift plane, with the proper seats

during the trip?

and narrow walkways. They then delivered

The re is a lot more roo

the food and drinks to us while explaining

c ount r y a s w e ll a s t he

h o w d i f f e r e n t m e a l s a r e s e r v e d o n d i f f e r-

Afr ic a ns, a nd t he re a re

ent flights and how the food and drinks

on bot h pla t for ms. Fro

are sourced.

t he re ha s be e n signific Sub- Sa ha r a re gion, w i

This entire experience opened my eyes to

Dur ba n a nd Ca pe Tow n

the world of flying and made me realise

bour ing c ount r ie s. The

Joha nne sbur g t o I st a n A traditional drink of the Ottomans,

t r ue . I t flie s a t a c onv e

“serbet” take s it name from the Ara bic

e a r ly in t he mor ning in

word “sariba”, which means “to drink“.


s between a low-

y o u t o g e t o n wi t h y o u r d a y. The Tur kish

rline that has been

A i r l i n e s a r r i v a l l o u n g e – a s w e ll a s t he de -

y e a r s i n a r o w.

p a r t u re l o u n g e a t A t a t u r k A ir por t – is she e r l u x u r y. W i t h a t t e n t i o n h a v i ng be e n pa id t o

did you identify

t h e f i n e st d e t a i l , t h e re i s n ot hing a t r a v e lle r c a n wa n t f o r. T h e l o y a l t y c a rd progr a m is

o m to market t h e

another added benefit.

a i rl i ne to So u th

e s o many benefit s

From the country perspective, South

o m the airlin e’s s id e ,

Africans don’t need a visa for visits of up

c an t g row th in th e

to 30 days – the eVisa is obtained online

th fl i g hts fro m J H B ,

within minutes and is free. Once inside the

n , as w ell as n eigh-

c o u n t r y, y o u r m o v e m e n t i s n o t r e s t r i c t e d

e d i re ct flig h t f rom

and you can go wherever you want. This is

n b u l i s a dream c om e

one of my big loves, as I will decide at the

e n ien t t ime and lan d s

last minute to climb onto a bus and travel

n I s tan bul, allow in g

a c r o s s t h e c o u n t y.


I t ’s e x t r e m e l y c o s t - e f f e c t i v e , a n d y o u

The well-known South

would be surprised at how far the Rand

Defy appliances has r

c a n g o i n Tu r k e y. T h e r e a r e a l s o v a r i o u s

b y Tu r k i s h - o w n e d A r ç

travel options within the country which are

their strategy of expa

all perfectly safe, ranging from single trav-

markets in Africa.

ellers to women and family groups.

Tu r k e y i s e v e r y t r a v e l l e Besides having plenty of options within

the size of the country

the travel industry (which includes winter

landscape, varying cu

s k i i n g ) , t h e r e ’s a l s o t h e i m p o r t o f p r o d u c t s

re g i o n s , a n d t h e f a c t t

like textiles. The manufacture of clothing,

country situated in Eu

linen, shoes and so on is of the highest q u a l i t y, a n d v e r y w e l l - p r i c e d .

What surprised you a

The friendliness of the Edirne wa s the capital of the Ottoman

disciplined country an

Empire for 88 years. It boa sts more

still able to enjoy life.

than 600 monuments and of fers

proud and hard-worki

the be st Ottoman cuisine.


h African brand of

never too much effort to go the extra mile.

recently been bought

They also have a beautiful countryside: in

çelik Group as part of

m y o p i n i o n , t h e d r i v e a l o n g t h e Tu r q u o i s e

nding into emerging

Coast could outdo Chapmans Peak any d a y, a n d i t ’s f r e e . T h e r e ’s a l s o n o l i t t e r anywhere, from Istanbul to the quaint sea-

e r ’s p o t o f g o l d , f ro m

side towns and inland villages.

y and the contrasting i s i n e i n d i ff e re n t

On the negative side, English is not spo-

t h a t i t ’s t h e o n l y

k e n e v e r y w h e r e s o , a s a t r a v e l l e r, i t c a n

u ro p e a n d A s i a !

be difficult to communicate outside the big tourist spots, although the locals don’t

about the country?

give up trying. With hand signals and lots

e people. It is a very

of smiling, the problem is always resolved.

nd yet the people are

T h a n k g o o d n e s s f o r G o o g l e Tr a n s l a t e –

. They are a nation of

and there is W iFi just about everywhere,

n g p e o p l e , a n d i t ’s

a n d i t ’s e a s i l y a c c e s s i b l e .


How did you grow personally from this

never been made to fe

travel experience?

unwanted in the coun

I have become very independent as a r e s u l t o f m y f r e q u e n t v i s i t s t o Tu r k e y, I

What lesson did you

have also lear nt a lot more about doing

during this trip that

business with men. Most decision-making

share with others?

positions are held by men, so I have had

Speak to people arou

to learn how to think like a man. I have

the time to pronounce

also learnt not to be swayed by comments

correctly when you ar

in the media that are often out there to

always carry a busine

just cause damage, but rather to make

pocket. As South Afri

decisions based on my own experiences.

and obnoxious at time

to pay attention to a c I have learnt a lot about being open-mind-

dress, and to speak a

ed and tolerant of other cultures and religions. I am a total opposite of the

Wa s t h e r e s o m e t h i n g

s t e r e o t y p i c a l Tu r k i s h c i t i z e n , b u t I h a v e

locals do business o


eel uncomfortable or

that people living in other countries

t r y.

could benefit from knowing? T h e Tu r k i s h p e o p l e a r e a v e r y h a r d - w o r k -

learn or pick up you would like to

i n g a n d u n i t e d s o c i e t y. T h e y a r e a l s o v e r y family-orientated. When they work they w o r k h a r d … b u t , w h e n i t ’s f a m i l y t i m e , i t ’s

nd you and take

family time. There is no going off on

e t h e p e r s o n ’s n a m e

a Sunday as a split family so that the

re introduced… and

husband can play golf and the wife can

ess card in your

have coffee with her friends.

cans, we can be loud

es, so it is important

First run in 1979, this year the Vodafone

c o u n t r y ’s c u l t u r e a n d

Istanbul Marathon will be sta ged on

a c c o r d i n g l y.

g about how the

or live their lives

12 November and will be run over two continents (Europe and Asia). The race starts on the Asian side just before the Bosphorus bridge, with a prize of approximately US35,000 for the winner.


They also don’t waste money on frivolous

bread out of the lugga

t h i n g s – t h e y s a v e t h e i r m o n e y, a s m a k i n g

His wife had made it a

big purchases like a house or a car using

ed to taste it!

cash is the preferred option to creating debt and having to pay interest.

Then there was the ve Istanbul in December

Any favourite memories?

seen such large snow

T h e r e w e r e s o m a n y. I s t a y e d i n a r u r a l

docihia I once watche

village once where the people where so

sitting in a carved-ou

friendly and all the food was home-made.

been a church. It was

I took a ferry at midnight to Cyprus on the Tu r k i s h s i d e , h a d s o m u c h f u n a n d t h e n

In Bursa, I went up th

retur ned, travelling to the far Easter n Side

in the world – it stops

o f Tu r k e y t o a s i t e c a l l e d A n i . I t t a k e s o v e r

change over into anot

16 hours to tavel there by bus from Is-

was beautiful at the to

tanbul, and every time I have been to this

had African interior de

town of Kars it has been an adventure. There was once a man on the bus who

Where would you go

insisted the bus stop 10 minutes after we

visited for business

left a rest stop so that he could get his

This is a difficult choi


Got a taste for

Turkey?

age compartment.

and he said he need-

ery heavy snowfall in 2015: I have never

wflakes. In Cappa-

ed the sunset while t rock that had once

s a breathtaking site. e longest cable car

s halfway up and you h e r c a r. T h e s n o w

op and the main hotel

e c o r a t i n g i n t h e f o y e r. to next time if you or pleasure? ce. I love Istanbul

For more information on the 5th Turkish Film Fe stival and bookin g details, visit w w w.cinemanouveau.co.za, follow on Twitter @sterkinekor or Facebook (Cinema Nouveau). Download the Ster-Kinekor App on your smart phone for update s, news and to book tickets from your mobile. For more info, call Ticketline on 0861 MOV IES (668 437).


and the vibe, but I als

C o a s t . H o w e v e r, i f I w

the mountains are alw

My son also wants me

of Batman, so that I c

Facebook – he finds t


What cultural tips for you have for v i s i t o r s t o Tu r k e y ? Te a i s a l w a y s o f f e r e d – b u t d o n ’ t r e f u s e a c u p o f Tu r k i s h t e a , a s i t i s s e e n a s r u d e . Women should not wear revealing clothes, especially not in a business environment. Also, women should not cross their legs when seated.

so love the Aegan

Hugging is not a form of greeting, but the

want some quiet time

shaking of hands is acceptable.

ways a firm favourite. Once you get to know a person you should

e to go to the town

greet them with three kisses on the cheek:

can check in there on

left, right, left. The same applies when

that entertaining.

you are saying goodbye.

connect with marion

«

www.girlinbluejeans.com


mentors

M m


s.

Mentor & mentee Phumeza Mgxashe, the new Business Developer for Partners for Possibility, shares her experience of the mentor / mentee relationship.


I signed up as Mentee for a structured mentorship programme l a u n c h e d b y t h e B u s i n e s s w o m e n ’s A s s o c i a t i o n ( B W A ) o v e r a decade ago. I was a new manager and had a diverse portfolio. My two mentees were two business owners, who were running successful and growing enterprises. They advised me on delegation and upward communication. One was particularly b i g o n r e a d i n g t o e m p o w e r o n e s e l f . Ye a r s , l a t e r, a g a i n t h r o u g h the BWA, I was mentored by an entrepreneur who helped me access and optimise EQ development tools, for my personal growth. In my early 30s, I signed up as a Mentor under the banner of Big Brothers Big Sisters, an inter national NGO that matches youth at risk with mentors. I mentored a young girl who lived in an orphanage. She had seen the ugliness of the world and I wanted to help her see and experience its beauty too. Every s e c o n d S a t u r d a y, I s p e n t a f e w h o u r s w i t h h e r. W e h a d t r i p s t o the beach and museums; we went hiking and sometimes, shopping. I wanted her to know that children are meant to be loved and affirmed. Our relationship ended when she was reunited w i t h h e r f a m i l y t w o y e a r s l a t e r.

Partners for Possibility is a leadership and principal support process through which business leaders and school principals are partnered in a reciprocal co-learning and co-action partnership where they work together to facilitate positive change at the school (while at the same time developing their leadership skills). The programme is typically funded by companies who want to invest their CSI and skills development funds in a meaningful initiative.


I mentored a young girl who had seen the ugliness of the world and I wanted to help her see and experience its beauty too. A few years ago, two colleagues, who were inter ns in the dept I was running, asked me to mentor them. The organisation did not have a structured mentorship programme but I was able to draw on my own experience having been on the other side. This was an interesting jour ney of mutual lear ning. They were young, eager and very bright. I encouraged them to study f u r t h e r, i f c o n d i t i o n s a l l o w. They have graduated with post-graduate qualifications; one is busy with a PhD and one is with a corporate in Johannesburg. Although I would now not call them my mentees, I continue to pop an email every once in a while to check up on them, and v i c e v e r s a . T h e y a r e p e o p l e I g e n u i n e l y c a r e f o r. C u r r e n t l y, I h a v e v e r y w i s e w o m e n i n m y l i f e , w h o a r e m y sounding boards. I consult them and seek their input, e s p e c i a l l y w h e n m a k i n g i m p o r t a n t l i f e d e c i s i o n s . P e r s o n a l l y, mentorship has been invaluable to my life.

connect with phumeza Phumeza Mgxashe is the Business Developer for Partners for Possibility. www.pfp4sa.org/

ÂŤ


Karl Westvig


disruption.

Disrupting the SME Finance Space R eta i l C a p i ta l , a f i r m t h a t p ro v i d e s w o r k i n g c a p i ta l to e nt re p re n e u rs , i s d i s r u pt i n g t h e S M E f i n a n c e s p a c e . I t i s i nt ro d u c i n g g a m e - c h a n g i n g te c h nology enabling many small businesses to a c c e s s f u n d i n g fo r t h e f i rst t i m e .


R e t a i l C a p i t a l ’s C E O K a r l W e s t v i g b e l i e v e s t h a t d i s ruption is changing the lives of both entrepreneurs and small businesses – providing a solution to access finance, a big issue in South Africa. “Smaller businesses find it difficult to raise funding which many need desperately for working capital, stock or to fund expansion and acquisitions,” Westvig says.

"Smaller businesses find it difficult to raise funding which many need for working capital, stock or to fund expansion and acquisitions." “Banks don’t want to do small deals, and these size companies are operating day-to-day or week-to-week, have low levels of gover nance, no assets to leverage, no strong administrative structures nor up to date books.” T h i s d o e s n o t m e a n , h o w e v e r, t h a t t h e y a r e n o t e l i g i b l e f o r f u n d i n g o r t h a t t h e y a r e n o t i n a g o o d p o s i t i o n t o r e p a y. Retail Capital has found ways to work around these problems, creating a model which has not only disrupted the SME finance i n d u s t r y, b u t c r e a t e d a c o m p l e t e l y n e w f u n d i n g a v e n u e f o r s m a l l b u s i n e s s . A n d i t ’s t h e o n l y f u n d e r i n S o u t h A f r i c a t h a t can provide a one minute tur naround on the viability of a loan. The company uses credit card sale information to determine how much finance it will extend to businesses, and analyses


trading patter ns from this data to come up with a flexible repayment schedule. “ T h e w a y w e g e t a r o u n d t h e s e c h a l l e n g e s i s t o l o o k a t h i s t o rical trading patterns, specifically sales made via debit and credit card,” explains Westvig. “Businesses just require a mobile point of sale (mPOS) – a smartphone, tablet or wirel e s s d e v i c e t h a t f u n c t i o n s a s a c a s h r e g i s t e r. ” The model was originally developed with another disruptive device (iKhokha terminals), but the platform is also availab l e t o o t h e r m P O S ’s t h a t h a v e t h e n e c e s s a r y d a t a a n d R e t a i l Capital services them through a mobile app or portal. Using card information, “we review the value, volume and recency of transactions and built a model that assesses them for credit,” he says.


“The beauty of this is that it is all automated behind the scenes, so we can give a prequalified offer to businesses that banks and other lenders are reluctant to finance – from food trucks to informal market traders, hair salons and other micro and small enterprises,” he shares. “The only requirement is that they accept credit cards.” Once they log on, they can see immediately if they are prequalified for an amount (average loan is R25 000), and they c a n s i m p l y a c c e p t t h e o f f e r, t e r m , a n d v a l u e o f l o a n , l a s t l y s i g n electronically and Retail Capital makes the funding available on t h e s a m e d a y. Retail Capital can make real time offers because it has access to real time data, so the offer will change as tur nover goes up and down. Any non-qualifiers at that point can come back at any other point and check if there are offers.

Top performers aren’t content with performing tasks they have already mastered, but instead strive to constantly improve and develop skills beyond their current level. Such attempts to perform tasks that are out of their reach force them to focus intently, and also sends strong signals to their brains and bodies that they need to adapt.

Bounce: The Myth of Talent and the Power of Practice by Matthew Syed

GET BLINKIST

BLINKIST EXTRACT FROM


“There is no face-to-face, paperwork nor declines, so it takes around 60 seconds to get access to funding,” Westvig says. “We do all the behind the scenes work – manage the relationship and risk as well as fund the transaction.”

"The beauty of this is that it is all automated behind the scenes." The take-up has been exceptional, with one in four who are offered the facility making use of it,” says Westvig. “There is good repayment performance and around 70% of customers repeat,” About 50% of the businesses Retail Capital is funding are woman-owned, and more than 40% are black owned. And because it is mobile and online, this funding is also not limited to urban areas. A l t h o u g h t h e r e a r e s i m i l a r m o d e l s i n t e r n a t i o n a l l y, l i k e I w o c a i n t h e U K , R e t a i l C a p i t a l ’s m o d e l i s s p e c i f i c a l l y d e s i g n e d f o r t h e type of businesses operating in South Africa. But these are based on e-commerce transactions rather than on physical debit and credit card transactions.

«

connect with Karl Karl Westvig is the Chief Executive Officer of Retail Capital, the market leader in South Africa which provides businesses with alternative funding solutions to traditional small business loans. www.retailcapital.co.za


travel d

chicago,, USA Photos: Pixabay


debrief.

PETER KOWALSKI, MD of Formfunc Studio, debriefs u|Chief on his recent trip to Chicago.


Peter Kowalski, MD of Formfunc Studio,

inspiring to hear what

travels internationally as the exclu-

achieving in their resp

sive distributor in South Africa of the

although there are so

brand Humanscale. Humanscale is the

d i s c u s s i o n s . I t ’s r e a l l y

premier designer and manufacturer of

opportunity to bond w

ergonomic products for a more comfort-

people.

able workplace. Their award-winning ergonomic office solutions are designed

What results did you

t o i m p r o v e t h e h e a l t h , e f f i c i e n c y, a n d

this trip?

quality of work life.

The trip to Chicago w terms of building a re

Te l l u s a b o u t y o u r r e c e n t t r a v e l s ?

executive in the US. W

In the last year I have travelled to Hong

cept for a new factory

Kong, Amsterdam, Cologne, London and

be nett positive to the

Chicago for sales meetings with my Humanscale country Manager counterparts.

What other opportun

Sounds really boring but truthfully quite

identify for yourself


t our colleagues are

We received approval in principle from

pective markets –

our partners, which means that we have

me serious strategy

the green light to develop a facility very

y festive and a great

u n i q u e t o o u r i n d u s t r y, a n d o n e t h a t w i l l

with like-minded

be an African first. These are exciting times as we have an opportunity to become pioneers for genuinely earth-friendly

u achieve through

production in Africa!

was meaningful in

What surprised you about the country

lationship with the

during your visit?

We presented a con-

It was not my first time in the US, but it

y facility that aims to

still knocks me to see how the US lives in

e environment.

excess – everything is supersize!

nities did you

What do the locals do that you feel

during the trip?

people in other countries could benefit


from knowing?

globally is about doin

Our Partners, Humanscale, announced

u l t i m a t e l y, m e a n s t h a t

their intention to become a nett positive

bad things to the env

( t o t h e e n v i r o n m e n t ) g l o b a l b u s i n e s s . I t ’s

not genuinely sustaina

a n i n d u s t r y f i r s t a n d i t ’s f a s c i n a t i n g l i s t e n ing to the team promoting the idea that

Any fun memories?

“sustainability” as we all understand it,

Sitting next to a 65-ye

i s a b a d w o r d . I t ’s r e a l l y f o r w a r d t h i n k i n g

Amtrak train from Chi

stuff as what we are currently preaching

He had no idea where


g less bad which,

Where do you plan to travel to next?

t we’re still doing

Nairobi – we are opening a new branch

i r o n m e n t a n d t h a t ’s

office in East Africa to strengthen our

able in the long run.

e x p o r t o p p o r t u n i t i e s f r o m t h e C a p e To w n b a s e d f a c t o r y.

e a r- o l d r e t i r e e o n a n c a g o t o Wa s h i n g t o n .

e South Africa was!

«

connect with peter Peter Kowalski is the MD of Formfunc Studios. www.formfunc.co.za




travel d

bali Photo: Pixabay


debrief.

Jane Stevenson, Strategic Director of Magnetic Storm, debriefs u|Chief on an inspiring 10 days in Bali.


Finding flow

B e hind t he sc e ne s, I h

Te n d a y s i n B a l i f o c u s i n g o n t o o l s t o b u i l d

t o be c ome a n a c c re dit

high performing teams that will accelerate

ma nc e Consult a nt t hro

Magnetic Storm on its business develop-

st it ut e .c om, a nd t he m

m e n t p a t h w a y ? Yo u ’ d b e t t e r b e l i e v e i t .

na t e d in a progr a mme

t he E nt re pre ne ur I nst it Many have wondered what I was doing in

R oge r Ha milt on’s V isio

Bali, and few questioned if it really works. Now that I have come down from cloud

Let me explain. Put si

nine, I can begin sharing snippets of the

path of least resistanc

experience.

time when something


everything seemed to work. Those days where you feel you achieved more than y o u t h o u g h t p o s s i b l e . T h a t ’s f l o w. W h e n y o u a r e p a r t o f a t e a m i n f l o w, p r o ductivity increases, results improve dram a t i c a l l y, y o u h a v e m o r e f u n a n d f e e l m o r e connected to the organisation as you are d o i n g w h a t c o m e s n a t u r a l l y. Understanding that everyone has talent a n d v a l u e t o a t e a m , i t ’s a b o u t f o c u s ing on natural abilities of individuals and assessing where they are best suited to s e r v e t h e b u s i n e s s n e e d s . Yo u n e e d t o have the right people in the right role, in the right team. Once you have this, you then have an easi e r o p p o r t u n i t y t o b u i l d a h a p p y h i g h - p e r-

h a ve b een stud y in g

forming team, a product of clear entrepre-

te d Fl ow and P e r for-

neurial vision and strong leadership.

o u g h entrep reneu r s in-

m i c ro - deg ree c u lm ihe ld f o r d elega te s a t

As a qualified Flow and performance consultant I can now implement what I have

tu t e co urse fou n d er,

lear nt here at Magnetic Storm and within

o n V i l l a Reso rt , in B a li.

o t h e r o r g a n i s a t i o n s , t o b u i l d h i g h p e r f o rm a n c e . I t ’s a p r o c e s s , n o t a q u i c k f i x b u t

imply; flow is the

the results are phenomenal, and I cannot

ce. Think of a

wait to get started. In addition to the time

felt ‘easy’, and

spent concluding my studies, I had a free


weekend to explore the island. Bali is a magical island, and I left feeling enriched. The Balinese culture is one of sincere g r a t i t u d e a n d h u m i l i t y. S h o p o w n e r s t h a n k y o u f o r v i s i t i n g t h e i r s t o r e , a s y o u e n t e r, whether you purchase an item or not. They believe in serving others. Their devotion to faith is felt in every interaction, in e v e r y t h i n g t h e y d o a n d s a y. I t ’s t h e l i t t l e t h i n g s t h a t m a t t e r, l i k e y o u r c h o i c e t o v i s i t their business or the care and pride they put into meal preparation. Each ingredient serves a purpose to heal and care for the b o d y a n d m i n d , a n d i t ’s p r e s e n t e d i n a way that would give professional Wester n c h e f s a r u n f o r t h e i r m o n e y. Every person I met in my two weeks in Bali appeared to live in the moment; from sweeping steps to providing a tourist dir e c t i o n s . A n d i t ’s n o t b e c a u s e t h e r e m i g h t

be something in it for

I t ’s s i m p l y t h e w a y t h e

ingrained in them that natural way of being.

To b e s o g i v i n g , h a p p y their norm, despite th

of possessions. It mad

get so caught up in th

what people think of u

deal, what we own/dri

But imagine the happi

i f y o u w e re i n t h e m o m a l l i t o ff e r s i n e v e r y t h i i t ’s t i m e t o c h a n g e o u

connect with ja

Jane Stevenson is Stra Magnetic Storm. www


t h e m f i n a n c i a l l y.

ey live, and it is so

re a l i s i n g t h e p o t e n t i a l b e n e f i t s t h a t w o u l d c o m e o u r w a y.

t i t ’s a n u n f o r c e d , Eat Pray Love indeed! Thank you, Bali, for feeding my mind and my soul.

y and full of love is e poverty and ‘lack’

d e m e re a l i s e h o w w e

h e p a s t , t h e f u t u re ,

us, chasing the next

i v e , w h e re w e l i v e .

iness you would feel

ment, enjoying life for ng you do? Perhaps r way of being and

ane

ategic Director of w.magnetic.co.za

«


travel d

united states of america


debrief.

KAREL VERMEULEN, serial entrepreneur and founder of Lubrimaxxx (one of the world’s best personal lubricants), debriefs u|Chief on his recent trip to the USA.


Te l l u s a b o u t y o u r r e c e n t t r a v e l s ?

is a good lesson for o

I recently had the wonderful opportunity

I had a three-hour lay

to travel to the USA for the first time.

ton airport, I decided

I have had to transit through USA airports

thing and walked arou

in the past on most of my travels, but

shops. Then I decided

had never set foot on USA soil before.

real American hambur

Where did you go and what was memo-

W o w, i t w a s s o g o o d

rable from the trip?

with oily chips and all

I f l e w w i t h E m i r a t e s f r o m C a p e To w n t o

baseball magazine. I f

D u b a i . E n r o u t e t o Wa s h i n g t o n I m i s s e d

is the American way”.

my connecting flight to Atlanta and took

shucks! I still had a S

a three-hour Uber drive to my final desti-

nection plug for my la

nation – the beautiful town of Hiawassee

s e a r c h o f a n a d a p t e r. ”

o n t h e H i w a s s e e R i v e r. I w a s a s e x c i t e d as a child in a candy store! The reason I

When I eventually fou

missed my connecting flight to Atlanta

at the electronic boot


other travellers. As

Afrikaans, so we just kept on talking.

y o v e r i n Wa s h i n g -

Eventually I had to cut him short as I real-

to do the touristy

ised I was running late. I dashed to my

und, visiting the little

departing gate, only to discover I had

d to have my first

missed my connecting flight by five min-

r g e r.

utes! I was furious with myself. The ladies at the flight desk were very understanding

– a fatty burger patty

and friendly and they booked me on the

l! Then I picked up a

next flight out – free of charge. That flight

felt like “oh yes, this

was two hours later but, having learnt my

. Then I realized: “Oh

lesson, I made sure that I sat waiting at

South African con-

that gate and did not move.

aptop,” so I went in

I took this trip after attending a five-day intense workshop that offered training

nd one, the guy

th spoke a bit of

o n M e g a S a l e s a t D a m i e n E l s t o n ’s l a k e house. He is the CEO of the JT Foxx


F o u n d a t i o n . J T F o x x i s t h e w o r l d ’s # 1

O ur Ube r dr iv e r pic ke d

w e a l t h c o a c h a n d p l a t f o r m s p e a k e r. T h e r e

Dodge t r uc k. He w a s e

w e r e 1 0 s t u d e n t s i n a t t e n d a n c e a n d , w o w,

w e ha d a gre a t t ime dr

what a life-changing experience it was!

t old us a lot a bout Am

luc ky t o ge t him, a s Ub I was the only South African and I met

ma lly t r a v e l so fa r out ,

such wonderful people from different

t ur ne d from holida y a n

countries and nationalities. We all bonded i n a r e a l l y m e a n i n g f u l w a y.

There are no Uber dri Hiawassee, so luckily

T h e E mir a te s c a b in cre w o n t h e f l i g h t f ro m

other team members r

Cap e To w n to Du b ai we re e xc e l l e n t . T h e y

got a lift back to the a

w ere in good s p ir its , f u l l o f e n e r g y a n d mad e su re w e w e re a l wa y s c o m f o r t a b l e a n d

What did you achiev

had en ou gh to eat and d r i n k . T h e y t o o k

At the five-day event

g reat ca re of u s , b u t I c a n ’t sa y t h e s a m e

strong networking con

abo u t th e fligh t from D u b a i t o Wa s h i n g t o n .

up with two financial


d u s up in a h u ge, re d

and authors – Michael and Robby

e x t remely friend ly an d

Mathews. They wrote a chapter for me in

riv i n g w ith h im a s h e

m y u p - c o m i n g f i r s t b o o k , Ye s Yo u C a n !

m e ri ca. We w ere v e r y

I t I s N e v e r To o L a t e To A c h i e v e Yo u r

b e r dri vers d on ’t n or-

First Million Rand. I am very grateful and

, b ut h e h ad ju s t re-

blessed. I also teamed up with some of

n d needed th e m on e y.

the other members, and we are going to d o s o m e f u t u r e e v e n t s t o g e t h e r. W e a r e a l l

vers in the county of

s t i l l i n c o n t a c t w i t h e a c h o t h e r.

for us most of the

rented cars and we

I was grouped with Dan Woodruff from

airport with them.

London. We shared accommodation, which proved to be a great saving, as

e on this trip?

accommodation is very expensive in the

I managed to build

USA. We bonded very well and we keep

nnections. I teamed

on motivating and coaching each other

literacy teachers

in business.


What future opportunities did you

This was very time-co

identify during the trip?

plus side, the security

I teamed u p w it h ot h e r h i g h l y s u c c e s sf u l

f r i e n d l y, a s w e r e m o s t

entrep re n e u r s w h o are c o n t r i b u t i n g t o my

they hear you are from

up coming b ook , w h ic h i s sc h e d u l e d f o r release in O c tob e r 20 1 7 . I a l so sh a re d a l o t

It also took some time

o f my Lu b r im ax x x p er s o n a l l u b r i c a n t s a m -

ing bagels, pancakes

ples w ith m y grou p m e m b e r s . We a re n o w

breakfast. Where is th

strateg is in g h ow to g e t L u b r i m a xxx i n t o t h e USA and N or w a y m a r k e t s .

What surprised me ab

Hiawassee is that it is What surprised you about the country?

are no fences and the

It was quite an experience going through s e c u r i t y. N o l a p t o p s w e r e a l l o w e d f l y i n g

I loved driving on the

in from Dubai and they even unpacked

are so much wider tha

all our hand luggage in front of everyone,

traffic lights are suspe

a n d j u s t a b o u t s t r i p - s e a r c h e d e v e r y b o d y.

cable. That was some


onsuming but, on the

How did you grow personally from this

y staff were all very

travel experience?

t of the locals when

I feel so honored and blessed that I could

m a n o t h e r c o u n t r y.

v i s i t t h e U S A a n d m e e t a l l t h e s e w o n d e rful people. They have a friendly culture

e to get used to havand doughnuts for

he healthy stuff?

and display great open-heartedness. I will go back soon! I feel richer as a person, bolder and with new-found courage to speak to strangers and just to be myself.

bout the county of

s so green – there

Any fun memories?

e yards are all huge.

Lots of fun memories. My hamburger experience and missing my connecting

roads because they

flight. Searching for my friend at Atlanta

an our roads. The

airport: I was at Domestic while he was

ended from an aerial

at International arrivals. I eventually take

ething to get used to.

a shuttle to get to him after walking for


almost an hour in this huge and busy

What did you learn a

airport searching for him. Then there

They teach us in busi

were the boat rides, jet skis and other

know your audience w

fun activities at the lake house – after

Know the culture and

a full day of intensive training we were

try you are going to v

free to just breakout and enjoy these

travel book on the US

watersports. Oh, did I mention the food?

about the culture and

To p - q u a l i t y a n d v e r y t a s t y !

Always have your pas

tion with you when yo What is your next business trip?

and want to order a d

We are going to Los Angeles in November

ter your age, they will

to attend the Mega Success event, where

identification.

I will be interviewing the actor Al Pacino. I am beyond excited. We will then rent a

Any words of motiva

campervan to travel up North for about

| W h a t e v e r y o u t h i n k i

three weeks. This is going to be for busi-

| M y t h o u g h t s , m y w o

ness and pleasure.

are powerful forces


about Americans? ness that you should

when you do a talk. people of the counisit. I bought a little

SA to educate myself t h e d o ’s a n d d o n ’ t s .

| Practice daily gratitude. | P r a c t i c e m i n d f u l n e s s e v e r y d a y. | S t o p a l l n e g a t i v e s e l f - t a l k . S t o p s a y i n g “I Can’t”. | Tu r n y o u r i m p o s s i b l e i n t o “ I ’ m P o s s i b l e ” . | S u r r o u n d y o u r s e l f w i t h p e o p l e t h a t believe in you.

ssport or identifica-

| Yo u r n e t w o r k = y o u r n e t w o r t h .

ou go to a restaurant

| I a m w o r t h y t o h a v e a l l m y d r e a m s

drink: it doesn’t mat-

l always ask you for

come true. | Believe in yourself and love yourself.

«

connect with karel

ation to share?

is true to you, it is! rds and my actions of attraction.

Karel Vermeulen is a serial entrepreneur, inspirational speaker, business transformation coach, author and the founder of Lubrimaxxx personal lubricants. www.lubrimaxxx.com



the happy workplace.

Nurturing a culture of enabled employees For any organisation to succeed, it is key that the people who breathe life into its daily operations are truly enabled employees as this helps to create a culture that leads to happy employees and, as a result, business success has a greater chance of growing. The concept is so simple and it can be applied equaly to a multi-Billion dollar company as well as a small start up‌ yet, astoundingly, so many organisations fail to implement such a culture. Trevor Raman, President and CEO of Saab Grintek Defence, shares his insight into creating just such an environment.


Many companies are acknowledging the importance of creating robust company cultures that encourage a people-first environment, and are conducive to lear ning and growth. Enabled employees are positive, motivated, productive, accountable and energetic, and this, in most instances, leads to satisfied clients and positive business outcomes. It is sometimes easier said than done, but the impact of enab l e d e m p l o y e e s o n a c o m p a n y ’s b o t t o m l i n e c a n b e t h e d i f f e rence between succeeding and failing. So how do you nurture a culture of enabled employees?

Ta r g e t t h e r i g h t i n d i v i d u a l s W h e n m a r k e t i n g a v a c a n c y, f o c u s o n a t t r a c t i n g a n d h i r i n g p e o ple who identify with the same value system, which should be communicated in the interview process. Hiring employees who d o n ’ t i d e n t i f y w i t h t h e c o m p a n y ’s c u l t u r e o r v a l u e s c a n p r o v e challenging and potentially cause more harm than good.

Organise solid induction sessions Never underestimate the time or resources invested in a solid i n d u c t i o n p r o c e s s . T h i s i s t h e f i r s t s t e p i n a n e w e m p l o y e e ’s jour ney and thorough induction sessions will help them identify w i t h a c o m p a n y ’s v a l u e s y s t e m . O n c e i n d u c t i o n i s c o m p l e t e , i t ’s i m p o r t a n t t o s c h e d u l e r e g u l a r discussions around skills development, so that employees are a w a r e o f t h e c o m p a n y ’s i n v e s t m e n t i n t h e m , a n d d o n ’ t f e e l t h a t there is no room for growth.

Fo s t e r a n e f f e c t i v e m a n a g e m e n t t e a m A culture of enabled employees is driven by an effective management team who lead by example, and have created an


environment where employees can thrive. At each level of a c o m p a n y, r e s p o n s i b i l i t y a n d d e c i s i o n - m a k i n g p a r a m e t e r s should be outlined, and open, transparent discussions should be used to encourage greater employee confidence. An effective management team is one that empowers and encourages employees to make well researched decisions, w h i l e a l s o g u i d i n g t h e m a l o n g t h e i r j o u r n e y. T h i s t r u s t - b a s e d relationship will often result in consistent growth and lear ning, and help change mindsets to see opportunities as opposed to c h a l l e n g e s . E f f e c t i v e l e a d e r s c e l e b r a t e d i v e r s i t y, e n c o u r a g e entrepreneurship and self-worth, and allow for collaboration and empowerment.

Nurture trust and empowerment Enabled employees, who are not afraid to fail and who have earned the trust of their management teams, become empowe r e d a m b a s s a d o r s f o r a c o m p a n y. B y t r u s t i n g e m p l o y e e s t o practice well-thought-out decision making and allowing them to identify risk and rewards ensures that the urgency for business is never lost. Tr u s t a n d e m p o w e r m e n t i s r e i n f o r c e d b y r e c o g n i t i o n . H o n e s t recognition leads to better relationships between employees and their managers, and the more enabled an employee feels the more likely they are to continue performing positively and i n t h e b e s t i n t e r e s t s o f t h e c o m p a n y.

connect with trevor Trevor Raman is the President and CEO of Saab Grintek Defence, a local defence and security company with over 730 employees. www.saabgrintek.com

ÂŤ


T h e S i f i s o Le a r n i n g G ro u p s e e ks to b e t h e l e a d i n g n e w - a g e l e a r n i n g g ro u p i n Af r i c a , w i t h g l o b a l re a c h t h ro u g h t h e p o r t fo l i o o f b ra n d s t h a t i t o p e ra te s .


education.

Sculpting Africa’s Future Leaders

Sizwe Nxasana


Sifiso Lear ning Group (SLG) is an integrated lear ning group introducing a new teaching and lear ning model which spans from early childhood development age all the way to tertiary education level. In addition, the group also has publishing, edtech and properties entities. I t ’s i m p o r t a n t f o r t h i s c o u n t r y t o h a v e a n o t h e r m o d e l o f e d u c a t i o n f r o m 1 8 m o n t h s o l d r i g h t u p t o t e r t i a r y, offering alter natives in terms of how lear ning and teaching take place. This includes how teaching and learning spaces look, what content is available for consumption in learning and what platforms exist to leverage technology for student-centred lear ning. I n t h e c o n t e x t o f o u r c o u n t r y, i t ’s i m p o r t a n t t o a d d r e s s some of the issues that we face and elevate them, such as African leadership and developing African literature. The group seeks to be the leading new-age lear ning group in Africa with global reach through the portfolio of brands that it operates. The vision of the group is to produce and develop current and future leaders from the African continent at global s t a n d a r d s a n d r e l e v a n t t o t h e 2 1 s t c e n t u r y. S L G , t h r o u g h its Sifiso and Future Nation entities, works to provide education, content, tools and environments for the fulfillment of the potential of future and current African leaders. u|Chief spoke to Sizwe Nxasana (CA, SA), the Head of Sifiso Lear ning Group and the Founder of Future Nation Schools.


Why is education so important to you and your wife, Dr Judy Dlamini? Education is close to our hearts and is something that we have always been involved in because we believe a new way of teaching is required if we are to produce leaders that are fit f o r a n e v e r- c h a n g i n g a n d d e m a n d i n g f u t u r e . E d u c a t i o n i s a l s o a key ingredient in developing young people for the future and moulding them into innovators and change makers. We want to be part of education to help bring about the change required in the global environment. Future Nation Schools is part of the SLG portfolio. What is the aim of these schools? Future Nation Schools aim to create the best lear ning environment, develop the best teachers and content, and create an entire academic and socio-emotional support structure to give every child who comes through our doors the optimal lear ning experience, specifically crafted to their individual needs and strengths.


What education model are the Future Nation Schools based on? Future Nation Schools are characterised by student-centred lear ning, high academic standards, problem-solving skills, applied research and development, innovation, leadership and entrepreneurship, and African studies. We do this by delivering a world-class academic programme within the context of an African framework and through a project-based lear ning p e d a g o g y. What sets Future Nation Schools apart from the traditional school structure? The world is changing. We now have access to knowledge about almost everything at the click of a button. Across the globe, education is rapidly evolving to produce students who are not only skilled enough to deal with these changes, but also more innovative and creative in coming up with solutions to our current challenges. Our model thus aims to give children the best start in life by: • E m p l o y i n g t o p a c a d e m i c t a l e n t We plan to ensure that they keep their skills fresh, relevant and up-to-date. • P r o m o t i n g d i v e r s i t y We want teachers who have worked in banks and have built houses; teachers who are writers and artists, because we know that nothing can replace life experience. We believe in diversity in every aspect – from cultures to skill sets to teachers’ unique journeys to becoming educators.


• P r o m o t i n g c o n t i n u o u s l e a r n i n g a n d a c c e s s t o t o p content We a re on a le a r n i n g j o u r n e y t h ro u g h o u t o u r liv e s a nd w e w a nt to en cou r a ge s tu d e n t s t o a l wa y s b e a wa re o f t he ir c a pa c it y t o g ro w a n d d eve lop b e y o n d e v e n wh a t we c a n giv e t he m. • P r o v i d i n g a s a f e a n d b e a u t i f u l l e a r n i n g e n v i r o n m e n t Sch ools n o lon ger n e e d t o b e a p l a c e o f e n d l e ss c or r idor s a nd desk s in s tr aigh t ro ws. A s o u r wa y o f t e a c h i n g c ha nge s, w e w ant t o cre a te s p a c e s t h a t e xc i t e c h i l d re n a n d e ne r gise t he m. Exterior of the Future Nation School in F l e u r h o f , S o u t h We s t J o h a n n e s b u r g

What core values is Future Nation Schools built on? Its aim is to spearhead the African education revolution by providing a model that is both futuristic, technology enabled


and epitomises excellence in Africa! It is built on the values of d i v e r s i t y, f u n , p a s s i o n , e x c e l l e n c e , i n t e g r i t y a n d r e s p e c t . How have parents responded to the Future Nation Schools concept so far? Parents have accepted and embraced the Future Nation S c h o o l s c o n c e p t e n t h u s i a s t i c a l l y. T h e y t h i n k t h a t i t i s r e freshing, helps their children develop faster and is exposing them to new ways of learning and understanding the society around them. Parents feel that their children can make a real difference in their lives and society at large, and Future Nation Schools offers exactly what they have been looking for to achieve this. How does it plan to change or disrupt the current publishing system in South Africa? Sifiso Publishers also plans to create platforms where content creators can showcase their talent and make it more accessible to larger target markets. More people need to have access and more talent needs to be exposed.

ÂŤ

w w w. f u t u r e n a t i o n s c h o o l s . c o m

EDUCATION THROUGH PUBLISHING Another arm of SLG is Sifiso Publishers. Sifiso Publishers develops and publishes modern educational and entertainment content based on the principles of Project Based Learning, catering to indigenous languages and speaking for the African continent context. Sifiso Publishers aims to instill and inspire excellence in Africa and ensure access to information in print and digital mediums for academic and non-academic purposes.


Freaks often have great ideas but strugg1e with making a living, as they don’t understand how business works. You can’t sell your ideas if you don’t have a basic understanding of finance, marketing or even sales! Mark Ecko, the designer of Ecko Unltd, promoted his ideas cleverly when he was first starting out. He airbrushed clothing with graffiti, and painted people’s nails. He stayed devoted to his art and often tailored his work to the interests of his customers’ communities, which helped him build a loyal customer base. The Freaks Shall Inherit the Earth: Entrepreneurship For Weirdos, Misfits and World Dominators by Chris Brogan

GET BLINKIST

BLINKIST EXTRACT FROM


words of wisdom.

"No-one is born hating anoth because of the color of his sk background or his religion. Peo learn to hate, and if they can hate, they can be taught to love comes more naturally to the heart than its opposite. – NELSON MANDELA QUOTE


.

er person kin or his ople must n learn to e, for love e human ." BARACK ROCKS TWITTER Former US President Barack Obama set the record for the most-liked tweet in history when he posted a Nelson Mandela quote (in three tweets) as his message to the Twittersphere in response to the tragic violence in Charlottesville, Va., in August. The first of Obama's tweets passed the 2.7 million likes mark that singer Ariana Grande’s heartfelt tweet after the Manchester terrorist attack in May. The third most-liked tweet of all-time at time of writing was Ellen DeGeneres’ Oscars selfie tweet from the 2014 Academy Awards (2.4 million likes). * Obama has one of the most-followed Twitter accounts (@BarackObama), with 93.3 million followers.


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.