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Fadi Ghandour : The Visionary Behind Wamda

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Fadi Ghandour has made a lasting mark on the world of logistics and technology in the Middle East. Born on March 2nd, 1959, his journey is a testament to the incredible potential of perseverance and innovation.

Fadi is arguably most well-known for co-founding Aramex back in 1982. If you aren’t familiar with it already, it’s a company that started as a humble local courier service and grew into a global logistics powerhouse.

Under the guidance of Fadi Ghandour, Aramex expanded its reach far beyond borders, establishing a formidable presence throughout the Middle East, North Africa, and beyond. Their remarkable journey culminated in the company going public on the NASDAQ stock exchange in 1997. However, Fadi Ghandour’s impact doesn’t end there.

The Driving Force Behind MENA’s Thriving Tech Startup Ecosystem

As a co-founder of Wamda Capital, Fadi Ghandour has been instrumental in fueling the dreams of countless budding entrepreneurs across the Middle East and North Africa, injecting vitality into the world of innovation. Beyond business, Ghandour’s philanthropic efforts and social initiatives shine just as brightly. 

His dedication to propelling economic development and fostering innovation in the Middle East has not only earned him acclaim but has transformed the landscape of the region.

Fadi Ghandour’s journey is nothing short of inspirational. His entrepreneurial spirit, combined with his commitment to driving innovation in the Middle East, makes him a standout figure in the business world.

Wamda, An Accelerant Of Innovative Entrepreneurship Systems

Wamda is a multifaceted platform and ecosystem dedicated to nurturing entrepreneurship and driving innovation in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. It plays a pivotal role in supporting startups and equipping them with the resources needed to thrive in this dynamic and ever-changing landscape.

Wamda Capital sits at the core of Wamda. It’s an integral part of the organization and serves as a venture capital fund that injects essential financial support into both early-stage and growth-stage startups across MENA.

By providing capital, they empower these startups to transform innovative concepts into successful and (long-term) sustainable businesses. However, Wamda’s impact extends far beyond financial backing.

The organization is deeply committed to fostering a robust entrepreneurial ecosystem through mentorship and networking initiatives. It connects emerging startups with seasoned mentors, industry experts, and potential investors. This will naturally enable them to gain access to invaluable guidance, forge strategic partnerships, and secure additional funding to fuel their growth.

The organization also hosts a range of gatherings, conferences, and educational programs that bring together a diverse community of entrepreneurs and industry experts. These events serve as dynamic platforms for knowledge sharing, collaboration, and the showcasing of innovative ideas.

Generating Knowledge And Insights About The MENA Startup Landscape

Through extensive research efforts and the publication of informative reports, Wamda equips policymakers, investors, and entrepreneurs with a comprehensive understanding of the unique challenges and opportunities in the region. Additionally, Wamda operates a media platform that disseminates news, stories, and analyses related to entrepreneurship, startups, and technology in MENA.

This content not only informs and educates, but also celebrates the accomplishments and breakthroughs of startups in the region.

Fadi Ghandour’s remarkable journey from co-founding Aramex to his pivotal role in nurturing the MENA region’s startup ecosystem through Wamda and Wamda Capital is truly inspirational. His commitment to innovation and entrepreneurship continues to shape the future of the Middle East and Africa, fostering a vibrant landscape of innovation and economic growth.

Photos : menabytes.com /

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The Green Girl hurdling barriers in the race for sustainability

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Many observers see that out of the many challenges facing modern Africa, two in particular stand out. The first of these is the continent’s massive untapped renewable energy resources. The African Development Bank estimates that there is an annual potential of 350 GW in hydroelectric power, 110 GW from wind, 15 GW from geothermal and a huge 1000 GW from solar. In addition, the International Renewable Energy Agency estimates that surplus forest wood could provide 520 GW/year in bioenergy.

The second and perhaps more daunting challenge is breaking down the gender disparity barriers that have been entrenched since colonial days. The World Economic Forum’s 2018 Global Gender Gap index estimated that it would take 135 years (at current rates of progress) for the gap to finally close in sub-Saharan Africa, with North Africa taking even longer at 153 years.

Anything that attempts to meet these challenges should be applauded and promoted, and when a person or project attempts to tackle both of them at the same time, then there should be even higher levels of recognition and encouragement.

Monique Ntumngia Determined To Give Something to Those Who Lacked Opportunities

Enter Monique Ntumngia, founder of Cameroon’s ‘Green Girls’ and a renewable energy entrepreneur. The 29-year-old Cameroonian had a hard childhood as an orphan. And as she entered adulthood, she was determined to give something to those who lacked opportunities.

The idea for Green Girls was born in September of 2014 when Ntumngia was working in Nigeria for the NGO, Human Rights and Education. While taking part in the traditional distribution of school supplies at the start of the school year, children kept asking her: “Madam, how are we going to use these notebooks and books without light?”

It was at that point that Ntumngia decided that her path forward lay in marrying sustainable development with the promotion and spread of renewable energies. She began organising fundraising events and contacting organisations such as UNICEF and the EU. After raising US$10,000 in just two months, she bought 2,500 solar lamps from Norway that she distributed across Nigeria.

Only 10% of The Population Have Regular Access to Electricity.

After Nigeria, she wanted to do the same in Cameroon. Her home country – and Africa as a whole – suffers from a real problem as far as electricity production and distribution are concerned. Most rural areas have no supplies all. Across Africa as a whole, only 10% of the population have regular access to electricity.

Monique Ntumngia: Leading the way in promoting renewable energy and sustainability in Africa

But this young social entrepreneur quickly realised that solar lamps were not a long-term answer. She carried out an in-depth survey looking at the sustainability of local economies across Cameroon. She also realised that many of these local communities had an acute waste management problem. Biogas seemed to be an obvious answer to work alongside solar energy. Biogas is a renewable energy source made from the anaerobic fermentation of organic waste. She set up a company – Monafrik Energy – to develop solar and biogas solutions, to provide affordable energy, and to help support sustainable communities. Since December of 2015, the company has built eight solar installations and twenty bio-digesters for biogas production.

But Monique’s vision extended far beyond simple provision of electricity. She wanted to tackle gender disparity and the poverty that both causes and accompanies it. In August of 2016, she founded the charity, Green Girls. Its mission? To promote sustainable development in every African rural community through the infiltration of renewable energy; and getting African governments to develop gender policies that provide access to finance in order for these women to run clean energy businesses.

To Plant Trees To Replace the Forests Used As Sources of Firewood

The charity also plants trees to replace the forests used as sources of firewood before the communities had bio digesters constructed. Within just a few months of starting the charity, 623 girls between the ages of 14 and 18 had received training in three areas of Cameroon.

The charity now operates programmes on several levels. They train girls in how to construct and maintain solar panels and bio digesting equipment. They also teach them about the relevant Sustainable Development Goals so they understand better the sustainable community models. In order to encourage financial independence, they train the women in how to set up SMEs, with businesses aimed at the packaging and selling of organic fertilizer, growing organic crops, and making solar lanterns.

In order to expand the ideas and the training, one aspect of the Green Girl programmes is identifying future leaders and training them to be trainers. This offers the potential of rapid multiplication of women and girls taking part in the various programmes as well as an expansion of ideas and practical solutions.

To Expand the Green Girls Operations across All of Africa

Her hard work and innovative ideas have led to global recognition. To date, she has been awarded the following prizes: WWF Africa Youth Champion award (twice), US$100,000 Visa Everywhere Initiative Award 2019, the Africa Youth Connekt prize for Best Project and best Pitch, and the Cameroon special tourism award for promoting sustainable development

Ntumngia’s vision is to expand the Green Girls operations across all of Africa but she knows that there are many hurdles to cross and that both governments and African society need to be part of the battle to break down gender barriers as well as working towards a more sustainable Africa.

Photos: afrohustler.com/ Facebook.com / visamiddleeast.com

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Sheikha Al-Mayassa grows Qatar’s place on the artistic stage

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Sheikha Al-Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, the sister of Qatar’s absolute monarch Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, is well known for her love of art. The daughter of the country’s father, Emir Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, – himself a notable art enthusiast – she has been declared the most influential person in art on Art+Auction’s top-10 list and ArtReview’s Power 100, and she has even appeared in the Forbes’ list of World’s 100 Most Powerful Women in 2014. Her plans to expand Qatar’s already impressive art and museum collection show no plans of slowing, with three new museums set to open soon, showing off Qatar’s culture to the world.

A prominent family name in the art collecting sphere

The 31 year-old is often called the Queen of the Art World, and as the chair of Qatar Museums and a prominent art collector, the title is well-deserved. She has overseen recent purchases of works by Damien Hirst, Andy Warhol, and Mark Rothko, as well as the record-setting purchase of Cezanne’s “The Card Players” for $250 million. In fact, it is said that Sheikha Al-Mayassa has nearly a billion euros to spend per year and has paid enormous sums for more than one major masterpiece.

Despite this, Sheikha Al-Mayassa did not actually study art, and instead she holds a double major in literature and political science from Duke University. Her prominence in the art world is not a surprise, however, as the Al-Thanii family, the absolute monarchy that rules the country, has several notable art collectors in its ranks. This includes her father, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, former Emir of Qatar from 1995 to 2013 and current President of the Museum’s of Qatar, the most important institution for the culture and art in the country.

Qatar’s art is open to world

Sheikha Al-Mayassa is a firm believer that creative and cultural work is a driver of economic growth, and points to both the M7, Qatar’s epicenter for innovation and entrepreneurship in design, fashion and tech, and an exhibition with Al Jazeera for its 25th anniversary, which ‘put Qatar on the map 25 years ago’ as evidence of this.

Especially in the wake of the World Cup, which has seen the international community take more and more notice of the small gulf country, she has been keen to promote the artistic and cultural attractions of Qatar. She has said that, “We’re trying to show the diversity of the Arab world, but also we want people to experience Qatar as it really is,” and that, “there are interesting exhibitions about the Arab world that [were showcased for the very first time at the world cup].”

Among the various offerings are 18 public artwork installations, the Museum of Islamic Art, Mathaf: the Arab Museum of Modern Art, the Al-Riwaq gallery, Qatar National Museum, and more.

This list is only set to grow with the opening of three new major museums:

  • The Art Mill, which will consist of a center with galleries exhibiting modern and contemporary art and that will run a program for resident artists, and whose construction will be under the control of Chilean architect Alejandro Aravena, a winner of the 2016 Pritzker Prize.
  • The Lusail Museum, designed by the Herzog & Meuron architecture studio and which will house the world’s most extensive collection of oriental drawings, paintings, photographs, sculptures and texts.
  • The Qatar Automobile Museum, an enormous 40,000m2 building that will showcase the history of the car from its invention to the present day. It will be the work of OMA, the architecture firm founded by Rem Koolhaas.

Sheikha Al-Mayassa has said that their goal is to develop a cultural ecosystem in Qatar that encompasses museums, exhibition galleries, an ambitious public art program, schools, film, photography and performing arts festivals, events, spaces for emerging creatives and fashion professionals and of design. She said, “We know that culture and the creative industries are key drivers of economic growth, both in Qatar and globally. And another of our priorities, closely related to the development of a cultural ecosystem, is to help introduce Qatar to other nations and cultures and to welcome people from those countries. We encourage creativity and intercultural understanding.”

 

Photos : graziamagazine.com – ft.com – tdg.ch

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Winners of the African Youth Adaptation Solutions Challenge

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The YouthADAPT competition, an annual competition and awards program for youth-led enterprises jointly organized by the Global Center on Adaptation, the African Development Bank, and Climate Investment Funds (CIF) has announced the 2022 winners list.

The YouthADAPT Competition expands in its second year

The goal of the YouthADAPT competition is to boost sustainable job creation through entrepreneurship and innovation in climate change adaptation and resilience across Africa. The competition invites young African entrepreneurs between the ages of 18 and 35 from micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises to submit ideas that can deliver innovative solutions to adapt to and build resilience against climate change. The twenty winning entries, half of which are women-led, won grant funding of up to $100,000 each, as well as a 12-month accelerator program to help them grow their businesses, deepen their impact, and create jobs on the continent.

Launched in 2021, this year’s competition received over 3,000 applicants. Despite its short history it is already delivering results. One of last year’s winners, Juveline Ngum Ngwa from Bamenda in Cameroon has been able to scale up her business, Bleglee Waste Management, as a result of the grant. This has meant a second waste sorting center and the development of software for drones which identify garbage blocking drainage systems.

Competition winners from all across Africa

Winners of the 2022 African Youth Adaptation Solutions Challenge come from across the continent:

Namibia

  • Kaveto Tjatjara, of Flushh, produces waterless toilets for schools in underserved communities. 

Malawi

  •  Joyce Sikwese, of Green Impact Technologies, accelerates the productive use of climate-smart agriculture technologies and organic fertilizers among smallholder farmers.
  • Ulaya Mwale Mpatsa, of Engineering Company Limited, offers a solution for the recovery and treatment of rainwater, desalination of seawater, and groundwater extraction. 

Kenya

  • Maryanne Gichanga, of AgriTech Analytics, uses satellite data analytics and Internet of Things (IoT) sensors to halt and reverse soil degradation, crop pests, and diseases. 
  • Esther Kimani, of Farmer Lifeline Technologies, reduces greenhouse gas emissions from synthetic fertilizers and farm chemicals and creates more environmentally friendly versions.
  • Robin Ndungu Kisumeo, from Organics Limited, empowers smallholder farmers to create sustainable and climate-resilient aquatic food systems by leveraging artificial intelligence.

Egypt

  • Reham Yehia, of Baramoda, reduces CO2 emissions by decreasing the use of chemical fertilizers in agriculture, helping soil that has been affected by climate change to recover. 
  • Moataz Yousry Voltx, from Engineering & Industries, produces a smart irrigation system that saves up to 40% of the water used to irrigate agricultural crops. 

Cameroon

  • Pelkins Ajanoh, from Cassavita, provides improved cassava seedlings that are resistant to climate change effects. 
  • Anna Ngwenyi Mafor, of Multi-Tech Sustainable Solutions (MTTS), uses smart technology for the early detection of crop diseases caused by climate change.

Nigeria

  • Rita Idehai, at Ecobarter, improves adaptive capacity to flash flooding by keeping drainage and streets free of waste. 
  • Rebecca Andeshi, from Grocircular Agro Services, produces organic fertilizer generated from poultry waste, food waste, rice husks, and wood chips. 
  • Olowoseunre Oluwadamilola, of Pazelgreen Technologies, provides sustainable and cost-effective industrial cooling processes to address the problem of post-harvest loss of fruits and vegetables caused by climate change. 

Rwanda

  • Yvette Ishimwe, of IRIBA Water Group Ltd, offers an adaptation solution for floods by collecting rainwater from the roofs of houses, purifying it, and then distributing it to young women. 

Botswana

  • Mmakwena Moesi, from Viva Organica, improves soil moisture and health of plants affected by climate change.

Ghana

  • Rose Noah, of West African Feeds, leverages tropical insect farming techniques to convert food waste into climate-resistant food alternatives for Africa’s livestock feed industry. 

Senegal

  • Moussa Diouf, from Agroexpert farming, tackles the effects of drought on agriculture, especially at small scale through the use of drip-drop irrigation. 

Algeria

  • Nassim Ilmane Eurl Algerienne, of Des Industries Technologiques, created a mobile app that helps small and mid-sized farmers receive recommendations and disease alerts to optimize fertilizers and pesticide usage while improving their yield.

Côte d’Ivoire

  • Noël N’guessan, from Lono, improved fertilizers to address climate change effects on soils, especially those suffering from severe degradation. 

Uganda

  • Frank Mugisha, Akatale On Cloud, created an original technology using flies to decompose organic waste into livestock feed, addressing the fodder deficit that can be caused by climate change. 

The list has doubled since 2021, where only ten winners were selected, with awards totaling $1 million. For 2022, this was increased to twenty winners with the awards pool doubling to $2 million. Next year, it is hoped that the total of the awards will reach $4 million.

The awards ceremony was held at the African Pavilion of the COP27 Climate Change Conference. African Development Bank Group president Dr. Akinwumi Adesina said, “Africa’s needs cannot be ignored…Our young people must be part of the solution. They are creative, dynamic, and engaging. They are futuristic and must be part of the solution for climate adaptation in Africa.”

Photos : un.org – LinkedIn

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Mohammed Dewji, Africa’s youngest billionaire, takes on multinational brands

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Mohammed Dewji, the youngest member of Forbe’s Africa’s 50 Richest list, has studied abroad, served in Parliament, and invested in everything from real estate to agriculture to distribution. But he wants to take it further.

Home-grown billionaire with home-grown alternatives

Mohammed Dewji has an impressive list of accomplishments. The CEO of the family trading conglomerate and the youngest member of Forbes’s Africa’s 50 Richest list, he has studied abroad, served in Parliament, and invested in everything from real estate to agriculture to distribution. Dewji’s strategy – buying an underperforming business and investing in new equipment and management to turn the company around – has been incredibly successful, but Dewji wants to take it further. His latest plan is to challenge the might of Coca Cola and Unilever in Eastern Africa, replacing their products on African store shelves with home-grown brands.

A head start from overseas schooling

As his father’s company, Mohammed Enterprises Tanzania Ltd (MeTL), grew and expanded, the family split up to manage the various company hubs. Dewji was able to attend a British school in Arusha, Northern Tanzania, before enrolling at the Arnold Palmer Golf Academy near Tampa, Florida. While he was a promising golfer, he ultimately did not pursue this as a career and instead went to Saddle Brook High School in New Jersey. He would follow this up with a graduate degree in International Business and Finance at Georgetown University in Washington D.C. 

Dewji briefly considered a career on Wall Street before returning to Tanzania to take over the family business. While his high level of education definitely helped him in his life, something that Dewji is clearly aware of, he most often credits his father with his success. He has stated that, “My father had been training me since I was 11 years old,” and that “he used to teach me how to do business.”

Turning the family business into a production hub

The MeTL group traces its origins back to the 1800s, when Dewji’s paternal grandmother arrived into Tanzania from Gujarat, India. Dewji’s father, Gulam Dewji, now Chairman, grew the business into a nationally known import-export house, primarily by focusing on importing products for resale in Tanzania. When Dewji rejoined the business after graduating in D.C., he began managing an MeTL commodities trading business. He was promoted to Chief Financial Officer within two years.

Dewji has big plans for the family company. Rather than just importing products for resale, he wants to produce and then export both finished products and material, primarily in oils, grains, and textiles. With that in mind, his goal is to cement MeTL’s position as an African multinational with investment into surrounding countries – the company already has a presence in Kenya, Rwanda, Burundi, The Congo, South Sudan, and many more.

A short stint in Parliament

In 2005, Mohammed Dewji became one of the youngest Parliamentarians in Tanzania’s history at the age of 29. Dewji saw political service as a means of giving back. Rather than looking at business policies, he avoided conflicts of interest by focusing on water, education, and health that directly affected the community where he grew up. He is extremely proud of increasing the availability of potable water across his district from 23 percent to over 80 percent. Nonetheless, managing his business and politics eventually proved too much, and he instead channeled his ideas for the country’s improvement through MeTL.

A continent ripe for investment

Dewji has championed the ability to raise capital as a vital tool in MeTLs success, and plans to invest back heavily over the next five years. At least $1 billion, financed through equity and debt, will be invested in Tanzania and the surrounding countries. Along with trying to topple Coca Cola and Pepsi, investments will be made into sugar manufacturing, edible oils and detergents, as well as in Financial Technology and banking. MeTL has even acquired an island off the Tanzanian coast with which to develop tourism services in advance of an anticipated surge in visitors to the continent.

Photos : okayafrica.com

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Ory Okolloh’s Fascinating Career from Activist Blogger to Manager at Google

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Ory Okolloh Mwangi might be one of the most well-known women on the internet, at least across Africa, gaining recognition for her creation of online platforms to monitor Kenyan politicians and map violence.

Activist, Lawyer, Blogger, Manager

Ory Okolloh Mwangi might be one of the most well-known women on the internet, at least across Africa. Born in Kenya in 1977, she studied Political Science as an undergraduate at the University of Pittsburgh, and also gained a degree from Harvard Law School. She rose to fame for her role in creating a public website to monitor Kenya’s parliament. Two years later she created another monitoring utility aimed at reporting violence during the tumultuous elections, and she later worked as Policy Manager for Africa at Google. Okolloh has earned a spot on Forbes’ top 20 Power Women in Africa, as well as TIME’s 100 most influential women.

Keeping politicians accountable in the public eye

Okolloh first came to prominence with the launch of Mzalendo, a non-Governmental, non-partisan Parliamentary monitoring website in Kenya. With many details of MPs missing from the official parliament websites, and finding constituencies and boundaries difficult or impossible, Mzalendo was launched as a way of systematically recording speeches, bills, attendance of MPs and their voting record. The name comes from the Swahili word for patriot, and the goal was to increase public participation in politics and to hold MPs to account. In 2010 the site received funding from Omidyar Network which allowed for a relaunch. Users of Mzalendo can now see ‘scorecards’ for each Member of Parliament that assesses their attendance, contactability and spending performance.

Testimony to violence 

Okolloh, who was living in Johannesburg at the time, returned to Kenya to vote in the now-infamous 2007 elections. After a contentious election where the results were called into question, riots and looting swept the country. During a period of limited news and few official statements, Okolloh used her blog to give updates from political parties, journalists and sources within parliament. She reached out for help, and soon like-minded people had set up a new site with a link to Google Earth, allowing Okolloh to add the information to the map – where violence was taking place and what and where peace efforts were active.

This was the tumultuous birth of Ushahidi, a phrase that means ‘testimony’ in Swahili. It has since evolved into a platform that can be used by anyone around the world to gather and map reports to create a crowdsourced archive of events with geographic and time-date information.

From crowd-sourced activism to google to beer?

In 2010 Okolloh caused a shock by joining Google as Policy and Strategy Manager for Africa. When asked why she left her position at Ushahidi she stated, “It is a huge opportunity to bring Google’s resources to bear as far as the growth and development of the internet in Africa (and hopefully a reminder of why I went to law school in the first place!).” Google’s operation in Africa at the time already included Gmail and Chrome in Amharic and Swahili, YouTube South Africa, University Access Programs, Google SMS and Google Trader.

In 2013 she moved to Omidyar Network as a director of investments, staying with the company until January 2020. While Okolloh maintains her blog and is prevalent on Twitter, her latest job is something of a departure from her previous roles and she is currently Independent Non-Executive Director of East Africa Breweries.

Photos sources : ifex.org – alchetron.com –

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David Adjaye unveils his latest work, the Princeton University Museum of Art

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In late 2020 David Adjaye unveiled the face of the future Museum of Art at Princeton University in New Jersey.

David Adjaye unveils his latest work, the Princeton University Museum of Art

In late 2020 David Adjaye unveiled the face of the future Museum of Art at Princeton University in New Jersey. This is just the latest in a series of high profile buildings that the award-winning dual Ghanaian-British architect has been involved with. Sir David Adjaye, OBE is known for his community-driven projects, his ethos and his imaginative use of materials. The bespoke designs he has shown the world have marked him apart as one of the leading architects of the generation. From private houses to exhibitions and temporary pavilions all the way to major arts centers, is there anything he can’t do?

Early Years of Impermanence on the Continent

Adjaye’s early life was one of frequent moves. Born in Tanzania to a Ghanaian diplomat, he lived in Egypt, Yemen and Lebanon all before the age of nine when he moved to Britain. He was able to see much of the continent, visiting places such as Kampala, Nairobi, Accra and Jeddah by joining his father’s travels. This history of travel would later be showcased in Adjaye’s project, ‘African Architecture: A Photographic Survey of Metropolitan Architecture’ that documented the urban history of fifty four major African cities.

Adjaye states that a formative moment in his childhood was when he realized the difficulties his partially paralyzed brother had to face when going to school. Adjaye noted that the run-down and degrading facility was very inefficient and during his university education he began to think about design solutions that would provide better care for those with less mobility. He describes this as the moment he understood how architecture melds with egalitarianism.

From Houses to Exhibitions, Adjaye’s Career is certainly not boring

Adjaye graduated in 1993 from the Royal College of Art in London, and in the same year won his first bronze medal award from the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA). His early works included residential projects, such as the house of his future-best man, Chris Ofili. He also designed Lorna Simpson’s studio-home, and the Dirty House studio. Adjaye’s architecture firm would have its first solo exhibition in 2006 at the Whitechapel Gallery called ‘David Adjaye: Making Public Buildings.’

Things picked up quickly for Adjaye when he was selected to design the Museum of Contemporary Art in Denver that opened in 2007. It was his first museum commission, and was designed in such a way as to minimize the boundaries between the exterior spaces of the city and the interior galleries of the museum. Adjaye was later selected as lead architect for the design of the $540 million National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington DC. When the museum opened in 2016 it was named the cultural event of the year by the New York Times, and Adjaye’s signature touches included a crown motif from the West African Yoruba Kingdom.

His grandest work yet, the upcoming Princeton Museum of Art

In 2018 David Adjaye won the competition to create the new art museum in the heart of the Princeton University campus and he has just revealed new images of how the building will look. As a former guest professor at the university, Adjaye knows the institution well and his proposal is nothing if not ambitious.

The museum will be open to all and inclusive. Materials such as stone, bronze and glass will intertwine and the project will double the area offered by the original museum. The upcoming space has been described as a campus within the campus. It will have three levels with seven interlocking pavilions connected with intimate spaces. Spread across this impressive area will be nearly 110,000 works of art, with pieces dating back to antiquity standing alongside more recent works. Estimated to be completed in 2024, the building will be one of David Adjaye’s most important personal achievements, along with being one of the most important university museums in the world.

Sources: africatopsuccess.com – stirworld.com

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Who are the three African champions highlighted in the BCG Tech Challengers report?

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Only three African technology companies have been identified in the Boston Consulting Group’s Tech Challengers report: the e-commerce giant Jumia, Kenyan mobile money star M-Pesa and South African e-commerce platform Takealot.

Who are the three African champions highlighted in the BCG Tech Challengers report?

Only three African technology companies have been identified in the Boston Consulting Group’s Tech Challengers report: the e-commerce giant Jumia, Kenyan mobile money star M-Pesa and South African e-commerce platform Takealot. This may not look flattering for the African continent, given the large market share taken by China and other Southeast Asian companies, but it should be noted that African challengers are growing at 11 times faster than S&P 500 companies. Most companies identified in the BCG report are growing at only 6 times faster. Technological companies are also being created in Africa at a rate of 2.5 times more than in the United States. The landscape is changing, and these three champions may only be the first of many African Tech Challengers.

Jumia – The ‘Amazon’ of Africa?

Launched in Lagos, Nigeria in 2012, Jumia has expanded from simply offering e-commerce, and has built Jumia Travel for hotel bookings, and Jumia Food for door to door food delivery. It is estimated that over 78% of online purchases in Africa have been placed through Jumia, making the company a truly successful enterprise. On top of e-commerce, Jumia acts as a logistics service, enabling shipments from seller to consumer. By partnering with over 300 couriers and using proprietary technology to track delivery routes they appear to have overcome the continent’s infrastructure issues, and have since opened the logistics to non-Jumia orders. To help facilitate the take-up of e-commerce in Africa, Jumia Pay was launched to process payments and this integrated approach has given the e-commerce giant a way of accessing markets outside of the major cities.

M-Pesa – Mobile Money from the East Coast

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Launched in 2007 by the multinational mobile company Vodafone in collaboration with local provider Safaricom, M-Pesa is an app-based mobile phone fintech service from Kenya. M-Pesa allows users to transfer money and pay for goods and services using just a mobile phone. A network of agents across the continent include airtime resellers and retail outlets acting as banking agents for cash withdrawals and deposits. M-Pesa currently has around 41.5 million users across the continent, with nearly 99% market share in Kenya. Offering microfinance and short-term loans, M-Pesa has offered easily accessible banking services to many in a continent with remarkably low access to traditional banking providers. Much has been written about how apps like M-Pesa can help lift people out of poverty while also making a profit.

Takealot.com – Black Friday sales come to Africa

As an e-commerce platform competing against Jumia and Amazon, Takealot offers a service that is not likely to be called unique. Nonetheless, with over 2,500 third-party businesses using the Takealot marketplace to sell to over 1.8 million shoppers in South Africa, their success is very real. While the core of the business is an e-commerce platform connecting shoppers and vendors, they have since expanded, acquiring multi-restaurant delivery service Mr. D Food and opening distribution centers across the Western Cape, Kwa-Zulu Natal and Gauteng. Notably, they were the first African e-commerce platform to take part in the ‘Black Friday Sales’ that are notorious in other parts of the world. 

While tech companies from Africa have yet to reach the global scale that Amazon or Alibaba have managed, tech challengers on the continent prove that success in emerging markets is not due to the ability to copy existing technology, but to develop new products specifically designed to solve the unique problems found in the emerging African markets – from a lack of infrastructure to low access to banking services, to simply connecting buyers and vendors. These three companies are just the first African tech challengers we can expect to see get global recognition.

Photos : Teknolojia-news.com – bcg.com

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Mashal Waqar: Beyond the Glass Ceiling

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Mashal Aqar is another female leader breaking the glass ceiling and showing the way for the next generation of female leaders. 

In the last two decades, we have seen a dramatic and heartening increase in the number of women breaking through the corporate glass ceiling to take up top executive positions within many of the world’s leading companies as well as female entrepreneurs building their own companies. 

Two sectors where we are seeing lots of strong women executives are the fields of technology and digital media. Within digital media, many of the sites and companies are not only women-led, but also women-focused, and one such company is The Tempest, an American company aimed at millennial and Gen Z women. And sitting close to the top of The Tempest’s corporate tree is Mashal Waqar, co-founder (with Laila Alawa) and COO. 

Background

Waqar was born in Saudi Arabia on 18th January, 1995. Her parents are Pakistani and she is the oldest of three children. She majored in computer security and international business at Rochester Institute of Technology and was awarded a BS (Bachelor of Science) degree.

While at Rochester, she founded the WRITERS magazine and acted as editor-in-chief for the duration of her time at the university. She was also the president of the student government and acted as a tutor and mentor to younger students. Waqar co-authored a research paper examining the challenges faced by female entrepreneurs. 

Her primary residential base is Washington D.C., but she also spends time in Dubai and Toronto. 

Career

Along with Laila Alawa, Waqar co-founded The Tempest in August 2016. They state that their purpose is to be: “…the destination for diverse women to share, inspire, and celebrate life through storytelling, experiences, and a global community.”

Their target audience is the female leaders, entrepreneurs, and creators of tomorrow. The team comprises more than 30 full time staff based around the world as well as a contributory team of more than 1,500 writers. The company has a presence in several major cities, including New York, Dubai, London, and Toronto. Waqar has served as COO since the company was founded. 

Since January 2018, she has served as a mentor for the Techstars Startup Weekend events, a 54-hour event held in many cities where everyone from developers to designers to marketers come together to network, discuss innovative ideas and products, and even form startups during the event. 

Since March 2018, she has also worked as a mentor for Sheraa, a civic organisation in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates, aimed at creating the city’s next wave of entrepreneurs. 

Achievements

Waqar was named as ‘Young Leader of the Year’ at the 19th Global WIL (Women in Leadership) forum in 2017. In 2019, she was named in Forbes’ Middle East ’30 under 30’ list. She regularly gives talks on the cyberbullying and trolling women experience online and is also an active disability rights advocate. 

With women like Mashal Waqar not only breaking through the glass ceiling but guiding and mentoring the next generation of female leaders and entrepreneurs, the future’s looking bright. 

Photos : moose-jaguar-7xk3.squarespace.com and Facebook

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African women making strides in technology

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In recent years, there has been a notable resurgence in the matriarchal influence of African women. This resurgence is not only breaking down the former barriers of gender disparity but also helping to influence a new generation of African girls. While this new wave of strong African women crosses several business sectors, it is perhaps nowhere more evident than in the field of technology. These ‘TechWomen’ are not only making their mark in their chosen field, but are helping ensure there are training and work opportunities for other women and girls. There is also now a junior version – TechGirls – aimed at introducing African girls aged 15-17 to STEM. 

African Women’s Day.

Many of these women will be recognized this coming July 31st as part of African Women’s Day. This date was chosen at the first congress of PAWO (the Pan African Women’s Organisation) on 31st July, 1974. It was chosen in recognition of the first ever Pan-African meeting of women (Conference of African Women – CFA) held on that same date in Tanzania in 1962. 

TechWomen

TechWomen is not just a name given to these African women succeeding in the technology sector. It comes from the organisation of the same name, set up by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs in 2011. It targets women from Africa, the Middle East and Central Asia who show potential in the fields of science and technology or who need support with innovative ideas. Each year, 100 women are chosen and flown to California and then Washington. In those cities, they are welcomed by more than 50 of the world’s leading companies including Microsoft, Google, Twitter, etc. 

Objectives 

The primary objective of the TechWomen scheme is to support the next generation of female innovators and leaders in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) subjects and to offer them access to the leading global companies for mentoring and employment opportunities. Over 200 volunteer mentors and ‘teachers’ from some of the world’s leading corporations give their time to help each year’s winners. There are training courses, lectures, workshops, as well as one on one session to assist the women with any current solo or group projects. 

Moroccan Laureate

One of 2019’s Moroccan laureates was Lamia Fikrat, the winner of her local ‘edition’. She holds an initial degree in engineering from Paris’s Ecole Centrale as well as a Masters in Management from London’s ESCP graduate school. Her fields of interest include the circular economy and also sustainable development (the latter being a huge focus across Africa). As part of their time in the U.S., participants spend a short period in a mentorship placement. For Fikrat, that was with San Francisco’s Environment Department, SF Environment. Fikrat was enthusiast about her experience and the opportunities it affords her fellow countrywomen: “Participating in the program has been an incredible networking opportunity in Silicon Valley. I strongly encourage Moroccan women to apply for it.”

From Tunisia

Tunisia has been involved with TechWomen since 2012. One of their 2016 laureates was Raouhda Lagha, an engineer who works for Sofrecom Tunisia. Sofrecom promote diversity, multiculturalism, and gender equality, so the inclusion of Lagha was a source of immense pride for the company. 

Lagha is also a team leader at Sofrecom, part of their policy of encouraging women to not only pursue scientific and technical careers, but also to seek leadership positions and to move up the management ladder. 

Lagha said of her Techwomen experience: “”Cultural mentorship is particularly useful for people like me working in an international company. It’s important to fully understand the cultural codes and behaviors of contacts and avoid offending people who might have different viewpoints.”

To the Future

As the battle to break down the barriers of gender disparity in Africa continues, programs such as TechWomen and other schemes that offer mentorship and investment are crucial. Equality in the workplace, and in education, are crucial components in the progress of the continent as a whole. Hopefully, TechWomen will continue for many years to come and will recognize the many outstanding women in STEM fields. 

Photos : europeansting.com – sofrecom.com – htxt.co.za – leconomiste.com

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