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Romain Girbal: Doing Mining Differently in Africa

28 June 2016 Comments (0) Africa, Featured, Leaders

Mining has often been a “dirty” industry, with a history of exploitative social practices and environmental degradation, particularly in Africa. Various treaties and organizations have made efforts to clean up mining practices over the years, but French entrepreneur Romain Girbal has decided to start at the source. He is the president and cofounder of the Responsible Mining Alliance (AMR), a new company that is working to develop responsible mining projects in Africa that respect both the community and the environment. The company has already started its first bauxite mine in Guinea and its passionate leader is looking to expand.

Romain Girbal: From the City to the mines of Africa

Romain Girbal looked set to pursue a career climbing the corporate ladder. He studied business law at the University of Paris X Nanterre and international trade in Madrid. After graduating from the prestigious HEC business school in Paris in 2007, he moved to London and worked in the City as a junior consultant in structured financing for mining behemoth Glencore, where he focused on West Africa and Latin America. Glencore is the world’s largest commodities trading company, with over $170 billion in revenue in 2015. Looking back on his experience there, Girbal notes that “working there allowed me to familiarize myself with the sector and to quickly learn its norms, challenges and growth opportunities.” These lessons helped him to later launch the Responsible Mining Alliance.

In 2008, however, Romain Girbal left Glencore to become the director of the legal department of Harvest Energy Limited (owned by State Oil), a British company working in fuel distribution in several European countries. In his new role, he managed the daily negotiation and drafting of contracts. Girbal soon felt the need for a change, stating, “I then realized that I had more of an entrepreneurial spirit, and I wanted to try out an African adventure.” He joined up with Thibault Launay, a friend he made in London, and the two decided to try to make it on their own.

In 2012, they created Adventure Capital Corporation, a venture capital and consulting firm specializing in mining, oil and gas investments, mostly in Africa. These first steps foreshadowed the creation of the Responsible Mining Alliance in July 2015. This time, Romain Girbal and Thibault Launay set out to develop mining projects in Africa that were responsible both socially and environmentally, an innovative and ambitious vision that would begin to take shape in Guinea.

The Responsible Mining Alliance (AMR) rethinks mining

logo-alliance-mimiere-responsable“With the Responsible Mining Alliance, we wanted to show that you can do mining differently,” declared Romain Girbal in February 2016 when asked about the philosophy of AMR on French business channel BFM. With this credo in mind, the two young French entrepreneurs set up shop in Guinea, persuaded of the enormous potential of mining in this emerging country. The Responsible Mining Alliance now holds a bauxite mining permit in Boké, in the northwest of the country.

Although Romain Girbal and Thibault Launay were eager to jump into the mining sector in Africa, they wanted to do so in a new and ambitious way. This is why the Responsible Mining Alliance goes further, with the goal of doing “socially responsible mining” as they told BFM Business. What does that mean?

“We’re trying to set new standards in the mining industry, first in Guinea where we are starting our operations. We’ve signed partnership agreements with the Boké School of Mining and the Boké Center for Professional Education so that our mining engineers and geologists can give free classes there,” explained Romain Girbal, sincerely motivated by the idea of changing things in an economic sector that has been stained by negative clichés. While the government of Guinea has standards for socially and responsible practices, his group is “working hard to set ever higher standards. Mining is about more than extracting raw materials. It can also be a way to get local communities involved in mining by starting win-win partnerships for everybody.”

The Responsible Mining Alliance’s vision could be summed up in a few key points: following high social standards, respecting the environment, favoring local employment as much as possible and training engineers and workers through partnerships. These aren’t just pretty words; as Romain Girbal likes to point out, “For us, we consider it a requirement. In terms of employment, for example, right now we are only a small team in Guinea, but 18 of our 21 employees are Guineans.”

romain-girbal-photo-conseil-administration-alliance-miniere-tesponsableThe high standards Girbal has set for his project have attracted outside attention as well: in January 2016, Xavier Niel, the famous French billionaire and boss of telecom operator Free, decided to invest in the Responsible Mining Alliance via his personal holding company NJJ Capital. This was a big publicity win for the young mining company, and other well-known investors and partners have since joined the adventure. These include Anne Lauvergeon, ex-CEO of Areva; Edouard Louis-Dreyfus, head of Louis Dreyfus Shipowners; Alain Mallart, head of Energipole; and Daniel Lebard, head of ISPG. Not to mention Arnaud Montebourg, the former French Minister of the Economy, who worked his network to support the young French entrepreneurs’ project. In addition, the well-known French business journal Les Echos recently wrote an effusive article on AMR about how this mining startup is taking the Paris elite by storm. It’s just the latest media success for a project that seems to be going quite well.

Bauxite, the mineral at the heart of the AMR

Beyond the historical ambitions of this project, the AMR represents a strategic business choice to invest in bauxite, a mineral necessary for the production of aluminum. Bauxite is sold to aluminium oxide refineries, who then sell it to aluminum smelters to make the final product. According to Girbal, “You need about 4 tons of bauxite to produce 1 ton of aluminum.” In the context of globalization, where emerging economies like China have profoundly shaken up the market, bauxite is one of the most important raw materials for several strategic economic activities, such as aviation, transportation and construction.

In 2010, worldwide production of bauxite reached 211 million tons. Australia is the largest producer, with a third of the market, followed by China, Brazil, India and Guinea, which holds an 8% share.

According to the French Geological and Mining Research Bureau (BRGM), Guinea alone holds 52% of the world’s bauxite reserves. Romain Girbal readily shares this number to show the potential of the Responsible Mining Alliance in this West African country undergoing rapid growth. “For the moment we’re only operating in the Boké prefecture, which is the real global center of bauxite and where the future of this strategic mineral lies because it’s where you find the world’s best bauxite,” Girbal notes. “Big mining companies are setting up here more and more.”

In Boke prefecture, in the northwest of the country, the Responsible Mining Alliance has obtained an exploration permit for 295 square kilometers (114 square miles). Prospecting has already begun and extraction should start soon. This deposit contains an estimated 650 million tons of very high quality bauxite.

“I think we came at the right time to Guinea, getting started with a very promising bauxite permit,” Girbal says. “That’s how we have been able to develop the Responsible Mining Alliance and get to where we are today.”

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In Madagascar, a small family company mushrooms

28 June 2016 Comments (0) Africa, Featured, Leaders

Ylias Akbaraly

Ylias Akbaraly heads Sipromad Group with 2,000 employees and revenue of $100 million a year.

Madagascar is among the world’s poorest countries, but that hasn’t stopped businessman Ylias Akbaraly from amassing a fortune estimated at $710 million.

Akbaraly, a Franco-Malagasy of Indian origin, has helped build a family business into a conglomerate with holdings in industry, tourism, real estate, aviation, banking, agribusiness, pharmaceuticals and security as well as technology and telecommunications.

Forbes ranked him as the fifth wealthiest person in francophone Africa and his company reported $100 million in revenue last year.

He has master’s degrees in management and marketing from the University of California, Berkeley, and from the School of Management Company of Paris. He also sits on the international council of the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at Harvard University.

Company employs 2,000

As chairman and CEO of the Sipromad Group for 20 years, he has helped transform his family’s business from a company of 20 employees to one with 2,000 people on staff and offices in Mauritius, Paris and Dubai in addition to Madagascar.

sipromad.com

sipromad.com

He received the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Divas Award in 2009, the highest recognition from the Indian Government to a non-resident Indian, and Britain’s Non Resident Indian Businessman of the Year in 2006.

In 2008, he also co-founded with his Italian-born wife, Cinzia Catalfamo Akbaraly, the Akbaraly Foundation, a charitable organization that aims to reduce poverty through the development of projects in education, nutrition, health, child development and housing. The foundation currently is focused on the “4Awoman Project” to fight against women’s cancer in Madagascar and in Africa.

Akbaraly is also a director of Man and Wife, a family and social magazine published in India, Real Estate Observer, a magazine specializing in real estate and real estate development in India, and the Madagascar Foundation in United States.

Building tallest structure in region

The company is building the Orange Telecommunication Tower, a 33-story headquarter building in Atananarivo, Madagascar, that is expected be the tallest structure on the Indian Ocean.

The family and the business grew from humble origins.

His family came from India to Madagascar in 1918 when his great-grandfather sought better opportunities. He became a trader in the coastal town of Belo Sur Tsiribihina. The business passed through generations, and Akbaraly’s father moved the company to Antananarivo in 1972. Initially, Sipromad manufactured and sold wax in Madagascar, then diversified into soaps and candles.

After he returned from studies in the United States, Ylias Akbaraly began working in real estate and rose within the company.

Company sales total $100 million

With the expansion of capitalism in the country starting in the 1980s, more investment was possible and the company expanded its holdings significantly.

Today, the family group includes some twenty companies in different sectors as well as interests in other firms and has combined sales of $100 million.

Akbaraly, who aspires to make his home country a major trading hub on the Indian Ocean, said his hero in India is Mahatma Gandhi because he was able to elevate an entire nation and help it grow.

He said he also admires U.S. President Barack Obama as a symbol of global change.

He sees a bright future for his home country as a hub for trade between the Indian Ocean and Africa and a great place to invest, especially in tourism, agriculture, renewable energy and mining. As its political unrest comes to an end, the country, he said, is primed for growth.

“I dream that this beautiful island will become the dragon of the Indian Ocean and a hub for all Africa.’’

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Who is Hisham el Khazindar?

17 June 2016 Comments (0) Featured, Leaders, Middle East

Hisham el Khazindar

Hisham el Khazindar, Co-founder and Managing Director at Qalaa holdings shows what he, and Egypt, are made of.

Hisham el Khazindar has gone from being a graduate in Cairo to running one of the Middle East’s leading investment firms, picking up an MBA from Harvard and work experience at places like Goldman Sachs. But how did this graduate from the American University in Cairo end up running a billion-dollar organization? First, look to exactly what he achieved along the way.

The man with the M&A plan

After graduating from the American University in Cairo in 1996 with a BA in Economics, Khazindar aptly started his career with EFG Hermes, a leading investment bank in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. He spent his first three years there advising on key cross-border Mergers & Acquisitions (M&As), as well as carrying out high-profile equity offerings. Much like someone not accustomed to letting a good opportunity go to waste, Khazindar seized the chance to take a temporary transfer at Goldman Sachs in London in 1999 that lasted two years, continuing his work on M&As.

Khazindar returned to EFG Hermes as an Executive Director, advising on M&As and Initial Public Offerings (IPOs) – however, he was yearning for more. In 2001, Khazindar decided that the best way for him to progress would be to complete an MBA at Harvard Business School and, after graduating, Khazindar did not spend much time doing nothing. In 2004 he co-founded Citadel Capital (now known as Qalaa Holdings) and is now Managing Director of a $9bn private equity firm that controls investments in industries as varied as mining, oil and gas, cement, agri-food, transportation and logistics.

Perhaps due to his phenomenal progress, Khazindar sits on several boards in the region, from electrical and wind energy companies to eyewear providers. The list goes on: in total, Khazindar serves as director to six other companies and sits on the board of eight more. As if this wasn’t enough, he’s also earnt accolades including Young Global Leader in 2013 and being listed in the top 100 Young African Leaders.

Not an Inexperienced Public Orator

Khazindar is not unaccustomed to speaking in front of large audiences, having spoken at an Egypt: The Future conference and even given a TEDx talk, a local version of TED talks, about Egypt’s next 20 years. When he spoke at the TEDx in his native Egyptian Arabic, he occasionally brought in his perfect command of English to explain his ideas and largely did so with the eloquent ability of any other TED talk. He spoke of the importance of maintaining a reputation in business and of having to explain away any negative stereotypes that people can have of businessmen or entrepreneurs. This is something, he joked, that doctors and engineers have no problem with (jobs considered very prestigious in parts of the Arab world). Continuing to talk of the importance of the changes in Egypt and the necessity of grasping opportunities, Khazindar is certainly thinking of the impacts of his choices today in 10 or 20 years’ time.

In an interview with the Oxford Business Group, Khazindar kept away from delving into politics as much as possible, but he was unambiguous when it came to economic policies that the government would need to implement in order for economic recovery and growth to occur. These were, in no particular order, signs of lasting stability, appointment of ministers with proven economic ability, a workable constitution and articulation of clear economic objectives. As the interview moved onto financing tools and energy subsidies, Khazindar goes on to talk about the importance of SMEs and direct cash programs.

The future’s bright, the future’s…

Evidently, Khazindar knows what he’s talking about, he isn’t afraid to say what he thinks and he won’t let one success distract him from the next. His thinking is long term, for the progress of not just the Egyptian nation, its people and government, but of the entire region too. Something that Khazindar is quick to highlight is Egypt’s economically advantageous geographical location in Africa, in the middle of the Arab world and across the Mediterranean Sea from Europe; markets, he adds, with 1bn, 400m and 700m people, respectively. With such a large workforce to drive the economic growth (almost one in four Arabs in the Arab world is an Egyptian), it’s hard to see a future that isn’t better for Egypt.

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Herman Heunis: the tech entrepreneur who stepped away from the limelight

7 June 2016 Comments (0) Africa, Featured, Leaders

Herman Heunis

What’s next for Herman Heunis, the man who created “Africa’s Facebook”?

Herman Heunis is the man who created MXit, which was at one point Africa’s most subscribed to social media platform. Born in Namibia, Heunis grew up in a rural community where his parents ran a sheep farm, but Heunis was drawn to technology as a young man. Having moved to South Africa, Heunis attended Stellenbosch University in 1977 and 3 years later began his career in computer programming.

It was not until 1990 that Heunis launched the first of his own businesses, when he created an ICT consultancy firm. This was followed in 1998 by the launch of Swist Group Technologies, an information and communication technology company which specialized in software development. This entrepreneurial spirit would eventually lead to the formation of MXit.

The MXit explosion

MXit was launched in 2005 as an instant messaging service in Stellenbosch, and it took a rapid hold within the youth of South Africa. By 2013, MXit had a larger user base in South Africa than Facebook, with 45 million registered users in the country. This user base was growing by 60,000 new registered members per day, and 750 million daily messages were being sent across the MXit network.

MXit had originally been created as a mobile game, but it struggled to find sponsors, and the gaming angle was eventually removed. Heunis explained the evolution of the MXit service saying, “An integral part of the game was communication between players. After several metamorphoses we dropped the game idea and focused only on the communication part – that worked extremely well.”

The MXit application on iPhone

The MXit application on iPhone

When MXit was launched the entire team consisted of Heunis and 7 employees, but the rapid growth of the service attracted attention and further investment. Only 2 years into its existence, MXit received major investment from the Internet giant Naspers. What had been an 8 person company grew to employing 150 people as MXit looked to expand its reach far beyond the confines of South Africa.

Through innovative viral marketing, Heunis secured 500,000 users in Indonesia, and while the core of MXit’s users was still in South Africa, the platform was being used in more than 120 countries by 2011. The speed of MXit’s success and growth was impressive, but Heunis does not like to take all the credit, saying, “Timing was perfect and I had a fantastic team. The word ‘failure’ was never an option.”

Selling up and moving on

At the height of MXit’s popularity, Heunis made a shock decision, and decided to sell the company. Stepping down from his CEO position at the end of 2011, Heunis completed the sale of his company in 2012 to Alan Knott-Craig Jr. The decision was evidently a difficult one to make as Heunis said, “Selling a company that you have started is traumatic. Fact of the matter was, I was extremely tired and burned out, and staying on as CEO was not in the interest of the company.”

Knott-Craig Jr’s company, World of Avatar, did not grow MXit as Heunis might have hoped to see. In fact, in 2015 MXit was closed down, and Heunis expressed his disappointment on Twitter. Heunis tweeted that he regretted being too burnt out to continue at the helm in 2011, but that he truly believes that MXit had “all the ingredients to become a major success story.”

Heunis has said that his motto is “You are the captain of your ship,” and it appears that without its captain, MXit experienced a rapid decline after its sale to World of Avatar. As numbers dwindled the reversal of the company’s fortunes could not be stopped, and what had been Africa’s largest social media network ceased to exist.

Since departing from MXit, Heunis has stayed away from the limelight, and thrown himself into various hobbies including endurance bike races such as the Absa Cape Epic.

While MXit’s sale has ensured that Heunis need never work again, it was never money that motivated him anyway. Heunis has said, “For a true entrepreneur, the satisfaction of creating outweighs the money rewards.”

With that in mind, it would be too soon to say that we have seen the last of Heunis as an entrepreneur, but he says he has no immediate plans to return to the world of technology.

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Alamine Ousmane Mey: Cameroon’s economic mastermind

5 June 2016 Comments (1) Africa, Featured, Leaders

Alamine Ousmane Mey

Cameroon’s Finance Minister has energized the country’s economy through reform, infrastructure developments and his own determination.

Cameroon’s Finance Minister, Alamine Ousmane Mey, has been lauded as a brilliant fiscal tactician, a shrewd manager and a facilitator of new business enterprises. Earlier this month, Mey was recognized as Finance Minister of the Year at the prestigious African Banker Awards 2016. The honor is well deserved. While not everyone will have heard of Mey, he is the mastermind driving Cameroon’s fast developing economy, and his recent award gives credit to an exceptional career.

Education and banking success

Born in Kousseri in 1966, Mey grew up in an upper-middle class family. He later gained a solid financial education by studying abroad in Germany, Belgium and Turkey. Mey studied electro-technical engineering alongside banking, which bestowed him with a keen understanding of modern economics.

Upon his return to Cameroon in 1993, Mey obtained a job with the CCEI Bank, which later evolved into Afriland First Bank. He rose swiftly through the ranks, and in 2003 he was appointed General Manager of Afriland First Bank, which was the only non-foreign owned private financial institution at the time. Mey quickly ushered in a new era of success at the company. Afriland had a key role in financing the Cameroonian economy and driving consumer spending. In 2010 the bank issued the equivalent to US$ 567m in credit, an astronomical amount by regional standards. Under his leadership the bank saw rapid growth, and quickly became one of the major banks in the region that still enjoys a strong international reputation to this day.

Government career

Mey’s successes at Afriland bank did not go unnoticed. In 2011 he was offered the role of Minister of Finance, despite no previous government experience. He quickly undertook a range of financial reforms which increased real term government revenues and cracked down on misspending. He also refocused government investment towards sustainable projects that have driven growth in the economy.

Mey has carefully borrowed money to finance key infrastructure developments outside the capacity of the government budget; this has been a particularly astute move, as the loans have been used to target under-developed sectors of the economy with high potential gains, both in monetary terms, and for the people of Cameroon. He highlighted his strategy saying, “Yes, we will borrow, but we will focus on life-changing projects.” In doing so, Cameroon has grown its economy, while comfortably servicing the loans which kick-started the process.

Lom Pangar Pipeline modification

Lom Pangar Pipeline modification

Mey has since has earned a reputation as an expert in putting together and overseeing ambitious projects incorporating multiple parties. One such example was the recent completion of the $86m Lom Pangar Pipeline modification. This complex infrastructure scheme was cost-shared between the Cameroonian government, the World Bank, and the contractor COTCO who undertook the project. The scheme has been heralded as a great success as it was finished safely, on time and under budget, while indirectly benefiting thousands of local Cameroonians. Christian Lenoble the general manager of COTCO, praised the efficiency of the working relationship: “The collaboration between the project and government was superb. To me, it was a key factor in our success in completing our work on time and within budget.”

Now versus then

Before Mey took the helm, Cameroon’s growth stood at a middling 3.3% in 2010. Since Mey took over, the economy has grown year on year and is estimated to hit 5.5% for the financial year 2015. This performance is particularly impressive when considered against both international and regional trends. Many of the world’s nations have struggled to achieve any meaningful growth since the financial crisis. Similarly, many of Cameroon’s neighbors have posted disappointing growth figures in the years 2014 and 2015, largely due to falling global commodity prices or political instability. Cameroon has bucked both of these trends, thanks in part to its economic diversification. Initially, strong commodities exports allowed Cameroon to shrug off the worst of the global financial crisis, but Mey realized the economy was still vulnerable. Under his counsel, the government implemented diversification schemes to develop the construction, agriculture, transport and energy sectors. The fruition of these strategies has allowed Cameroon to largely sidestep the commodities crash, marking another success for the Minister of Finance.

No one would disagree that Cameroon still faces big challenges ahead, but Mey is not one to rest on his laurels. He is committed to meet a range of development targets set by the IMF, and given his past achievements, there is a very good chance of him doing so. Ultimately, the future of Cameroon’s economy appears to be in the strongest of hands.

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Kori-Odan: Making Africa’s mark on the video game industry

3 June 2016 Comments (0) Africa, Featured, Leaders

Olivier Madiba

A Cameroon developer is one of the first to focus a game on the mythology of the continent.

With the release of one of the first African-themed computer video games produced on the continent, Cameroon’s Olivier Madiba, 30, hopes to shake up a global industry dominated by white game developers who create white heroes.

Madiba’s company, Kiro’o Games, launched the PC-based “Aurion: Legacy of Kori-Odan,” in April on the United States platform Steam to positive reviews.

To Madiba, it represents more than a video game, Madiba said.

“Our dream is bigger than that. We want to build a bridge between the gaming industry and Africa,” Madiba, the co-founder chief executive officer of Kiro’o Games said.

Game based on African myth

Based on African mythology, the game features Enzo Kori-Odan and his wife, Erine Evou, as they try to take back his throne in a land called Zama after his brother-in-law stages a coup and ousts them.

The game was a long time in the making. He first started talking to friends about making a game about Kori-Odan in 2003 while he was studying software development at the University of Yaoundé.

His father worked at a sugar factory and ran a video store in Douala when Madiba was growing up and video games became his obsession. However, since Cameroon has no video game industry, he could not find a career path in his own country.

After graduating from the university with a degree in computer science in 2009, Madiba taught himself how to create games on the internet and decided to start his own company, based on the Cameroon capital, Yaoundé.

Screenshot from Aurion

Screenshot from Aurion

Investors, Kickstarter campaign fund effort

Madiba launched the studio Kiro’o Games, in 2011, and his team began working on the game in earnest.

The studio, which has a staff of 20 artists and developers, raised $270,000 from investors and more than $55,000 in a successful Kickstarter campaign, which enabled them to complete the project.

When he was young, he had noticed few games had African heroes and the continent was often shown through the lens of war and crisis. Most games feature white heroes because most game developers are white, he said.

Game takes place in the future

Madiba wanted to change that with the story of “Aurion: Legacy of Kori-Odan,” an epic 2D adventure in which the usurped king and queen fight to regain their thrones from the evil brother-in-law.

While the story comes from African myth and tradition, the name adds an element of science fiction: The game takes place in a world that exists 10,000 years in the future on another planet far away from Earth.

Using African characters rather than the typical warriors and magicians of role-playing games, Madiba said he wanted to create a world where “Africa was on top.”

Other Africa studios are developing video games. In Nigeria, Maliyo develops smart phone games with African stories. In Kenya, Leti Arts creates puzzle games with local narratives.

Game captures international attention

But Aurion has captured much wider attention, enough that the U.S. State Department invited Madiba to participate in the 2016 Mandela Washington Fellowship Program, which is part of the Young African Leaders Initiative launched by President Obama.

In addition to being a Kickstarter Staff Pick and being featured in The Wall Street Journal, the game is receiving very good reviews, complimenting both the design and the storytelling.

It is available only for PC but Madiba hopes to develop it and other games with animation for mobile platforms as well. With low labor costs in Cameroon, he believes he can create a profitable business creating games that also tell the African story.

He hopes the game will help foster more diversity in games and create a better understanding of Africa. “Being African isn’t based on your color … It’s how you see the world and what you want to share.”

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Christo Wiese, 74 year old billionaire, as driven as ever

30 May 2016 Comments (0) Africa, Featured, Leaders

Christo Wiese

The South African billionaire, Christo Wiese, continues to grow his business, with a commitment to long held principles.

Christo Wiese is one of the richest men in Africa, with a fortune valued at $6.5 billion, but despite being 74 years old, he is working as hard as ever.

In the summer of 2015, Wiese bought the British gym chain, Virgin Active, for $1 billion from Richard Branson’s Virgin group. Not finished with his British spending spree, Wiese also snapped up the high street fashion giant New Look Clothes for $1.23 billion. While evidently eager to expand, what is the business ethos of Mr. Wiese, and how did he become such a prosperous figure?

A family of entrepreneurs

Christo Wiese was born in a small town called Upington to parents who had nothing like the resources he enjoys today, but who did have the entrepreneurial spirit which has governed his life. Wiese’s parents were a huge influence on his attitude to business, and he is on record as saying, “I’ve had mentors in business, people from whom I have learnt a lot, but at the end of the day, my greatest inspiration came from my parents.”

These parents bought a share in a small retail outlet called Pep Stores in 1965, and although Christo had trained as a lawyer, he decided to join the family business. As the business grew, Wiese had brief forays into politics and the diamond industry, but returned to the original Pep Stores Company as its executive chairman in 1981. The following year, he changed the name to Pepkor, and the company began its rapid, extensive growth.

Ethics and necessity

Two of the key areas that have helped Wiese grow his brands (while finding widespread support in his home country) are the ethics behind his companies, and his focus on providing affordable products. In a nation where the ugly memory of Apartheid casts its shadow over much of recent history, Wiese’s business ethics are quite telling.

During the height of the Apartheid regime, Wiese broke the law by refusing to have racially segregated bathrooms at his offices and factories. His policies of inclusion rather than segregation have continued to be a hallmark of his employment record.

In 2013, he spoke to South African media saying, “We employ over 150,000 people who are very representative of the demographics of South Africa. We have people from different backgrounds, religious affiliations, race groups and countries, and they all work together to make the business work.”

Perhaps the key to his success has come from investing in products that people need, such as affordable clothing. This tied in with his ethical stance on Apartheid, as in the early days of Pepkor, low priced clothing was sold in poor rural areas, where most black people were able to buy new clothes for their families for the first time.

Continuing to expand

Alongside his recent British acquisitions, Wiese is the major shareholder in African retail giant Shoprite, has a 20% holding of the huge furniture company Steinhoff, and is the majority shareholder in private equity firm Brait. However, Wiese is focused on developing his trade across Africa, as he continues to promote trade and opportunities in his home continent.

As well as providing extensive training programs for potential entrepreneurs, Wiese is determined to open up more markets for African producers, and to make his homeland a greater part of his company’s trade. Wiese said, “Today, 80% of the fresh produce we sell in Zambia comes from Zambian farmers, because we created a market for them…Our African business is still only 15% of our overall business. In the next 10 or 20 years we believe that it will be more than 50% of our businesses.”

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Tidjane Dème : the face of Google in Francophone Africa

29 May 2016 Comments (0) Africa, Featured, Leaders

Tidjane Dème

Meet the face of Google in French-speaking Africa

Senegalese Tidjane Dème, 41, is working with Google to unlock affordable broadband access for Africa. Dème has worked for the giant global internet search and advertising giant since 2009.

Google recruited him to be its lead for Francophone Africa in Dakar well before most Africans had regular access to the internet, he noted, and Google understood that.

“Their approach was: ‘In a few years, Africa will be ready. It will be a big business opportunity for us,’” Dème recalled.

He said Google had also decided it didn’t want to recruit an expatriate for the job. Instead they were looking for someone with tech skills, with knowledge of the region and experience working in it.

“For them, that combination was necessary to develop their activities in the region.”

Tech education, experience

With European studies in technology, a stint working in Silicon Valley in the United States, and a record of entrepreneurship in Senegal, Dème fit the bill.

After high school in Dakar, a scholarship enabled him to continue his studies in France. He studied science at the prestigious Ecole polytechnique in Paris, where he discovered programming and computer studies. He went on to do specialized studies in telecommunications and information technology at the National College of Advanced Techniques, also in Paris.

From there, Dème worked as a consultant to Cap Gemini, one of the first information technology firms in France.

At Cap Gemini, “I was often the youngest, most inexperienced in a position where I could learn a lot from my colleagues,” he said.

Witness to the dot.com boom, bust

Then he joined a U.S. telecom start up with an office in Paris, which led to a job in Silicon Valley and a close-up view of the internet boom of the early 2000s.

“There was still a lot of energy and innovation in the Valley, but the bubble was about to burst,’’ he recalled.

After a few years, he returned to Senegal to start his own company. Actually, he attempted to start several companies but none took off.

Learning from failure

The lesson of failure? “It was necessary for someone like me who wanted to do entrepreneurship, innovation. You come out of a certain academic background and an early career that makes you believe you belong to a certain elite. It is a very good thing to discover your limits and learn to work with people who complement you.”

He also worked as a tech consultant in Dakar. In this role, in 2008, he met Google officials who wanted to launch a push in Africa from an office in Dakar.

Skeptical of Google

“At first I was very skeptical because I figured they would immediately try to market their products,” he said. “But they just asked what can be done to develop a dynamic, open internet for Africa.”

That convinced him to take the job.

Since joining Google, Dème has focused on fostering a technological community that can develop local content and supporting development of startups that ultimately will drive internet access and adoption. He also directs a Google team working on encouraging infrastructure investment in Africa.

Expense is a barrier to access

According to Internet World Stats, less than 30 percent of the population of Africa had access to the internet in 2015.

A May report by the World Economic Forum said affordability of broadband and equipment was a major hurdle to greater internet adoption in Africa.

Other obstacles are lack of skills and lack of understanding of the economic value of internet access, the report said. Finally, many African countries would require massive investment in infrastructure to assure affordable access to citizens.

But Dème is helping to change that. He sees a bright technological future on the continent – Africa will surprise the rest of the world.

“People underestimate the capacity of Africans … to use tools solve problems in their lives. It is the same for the internet and for every new technology that comes along.”

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Eric Kinoti: Young Kenyan serial entrepreneur

26 May 2016 Comments (0) Africa, Featured, Leaders

Eric Kinoti

At age 32, Kinoti operates four businesses, including a tent manufacturing company with $1 million in annual sales.

Kenyan businessman Eric Kinoti says entrepreneurship is a journey. At age 32, he has already come a long way.

From a humble start selling eggs by day and working the night shift at a hotel, Kinoti has gone on to launch four companies, including the successful flagship Shades System East Africa, which manufactures canopies, military and party tents, gazebos, and car park shades.

The company, which Kinoti started when he was just 24 years old, has customers in several African countries including non-governmental and humanitarian organizations and reports annuals sales of $1 million.

Kinoti also founded and runs Alma Tents, a tent rental company; Bag Base Kenya Ltd., which manufactures bags from canvas remnants from the tent business; and Safi Sana Home Services, a cleaning company.

Forbes 30 Under 30

One of a growing number of Kenyan entrepreneurs, Kinoti has been recognized twice by Forbes as a top African entrepreneur and in 2014 was named to Forbes list of 30 Under 30 Most Promising African Entrepreneurs.

Born in Mombasa and raised in Mombasa and Meru, Kinoti went on to earn a degree in business management at Tsavo Park Institute. He became interested in business as a child. At 10, he worked as cashier in his father’s shop and sold snacks to his classmates at school.

After he finished college, he got a job as night cashier at a hotel in Malindi and spent his days buying and reselling eggs.

After a move to Nairobi, he tried to start business selling milk to hotels. But a breakthrough came when a customer asked him to supply a tent. Kinoti found that non-Kenyan companies dominated the tent business in his country, and the idea for Shades System was born.

Company expands in region

A shades system tent

Shades System, based in Nairobi, has expanded rapidly and now exports products to Somalia, Congo, Rwanda, Southern Sudan and Uganda. Customers include USAID, Toyota Kenya, Bata Company, and East African Breweries.

He said raising capital has been his biggest challenge.

At one point, he borrowed from a money-lender to start his first and saw his belongings sold off when he couldn’t pay. He ended up paying back the full amount, $20,000, plus $10,000 in interest.

But he persisted. Kinoti stressed that entrepreneurship is a journey, not an overnight get-rich success.

He said young entrepreneurs often jump from one idea to another in hopes of making fast money but that rarely pays off. “You cannot be rich in a day. You have to accept that entrepreneurship is a process,” he said.

Difficult lessons in entrepreneurship

He said he has also learned to be careful whom he trusts and not to rush decisions.

Early on, he trusted people with money and some ran off with it.

He also discussed his business ideas freely, only to find others used his ideas. The lesson? “As an entrepreneur, listen more than you speak,” he said.

Kinoti said he also made mistakes jumping in too quickly when a deal sounded good.

For example, he said opening Safi Sana Home Services was premature and the returns so far have not been very good so he is restructuring that business as a web portal offering home improvement solutions.

He said he might better have focused more attention on the tent business and waited to start a new company.

“It’s important to create a strong foundation,” he said. “Then you can proceed to another business.”

Entrepreneurship booms in Kenya

According to USAID, Kenya has become a center for entrepreneurship and innovation. The agency’s Development Credit Authority has sought to increase access to capital for small businesses and promising entrepreneurs.

In 2014, USAID mobilized $340 million in credit and enabled nearly 600,000 loans to small and medium-sized businesses.

The agency’s Yes Youth Can program has helped expand economic opportunities for young people through training and access to loans.

The hope is that young Kenyan entrepreneurs will be able to avoid the expensive moneylender trap that Eric Kinoti had to climb out of on his journey to creating a thriving business.

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Takunda Chingonzo: Zimbabwe’s Youngest Entrepreneur

22 May 2016 Comments (0) Africa, Featured, Leaders

Takunda Chingonzo

Takunda Chingonzo is one of Africa’s youngest entrepreneurs. Can his technology company and his growing international exposure help to pull Zimbabwe out of the shadow of its government and penalizing trade sanctions?

Takunda Chingonzo is a remarkable person, achieving more in his 22 years than many in their entire lives. He is best known as a start-up entrepreneur, creating three innovative businesses since graduating from high school, but his talents have social enterprise at their core, working to better the future of Zimbabwe through the freedom of technology and information.

After completing his degree in quantity surveying in 2014, he went on to obtain a CISCO certification in network security. Although he does not have a traditional background in business or technical design, it is his entrepreneurial spirit that has been the driving force in his companies and in instigating social change. He has been recognized for his efforts with the Swell Award for Innovation at DEMO Africa, and was one of 100 young people selected to take part in an 8-week internship in the USA following the Mandela-Washington Fellowship program in 2014.

Trouble in Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe suffers from a series of trade sanctions and embargoes, designed to restrict governmental trade after a long history of violations of democratic processes and human rights abuses. Everything within the financial trade industry is restricted, from imports and exports to export insurance and credit. Because much of the equipment, services and finances necessary for young African entrepreneurs come from outside the continent, this only works to restrict growth in this sector.

In 2015, Chingonzo was selected to hold an exclusive on-stage Q&A with President Obama at the US-Africa leaders’ summit, which aims to increase the US’s engagement with Africa. He spoke candidly about how trade sanctions are detrimentally affecting businesses and entrepreneurs in Zimbabwe, as well as the political leaders they were supposed to be targeting. He discussed the interest that he received for his projects for importing goods and investment from American companies, which were withdrawn after they found out he was from Zimbabwe. This effectively means the people of Zimbabwe are oppressed twice, once from their government, and again from the punishment designed to penalize the leadership of the country.

Tech Start-ups

Despite this opposition, he has successfully set up Neolab Technology, a multi award-winning startup. Its biggest achievement to date is Saisai, a public Wi-Fi network, designed to bring free internet access to all by installing wireless mesh networks in public spaces and public transportation in Zimbabwe. Chingonzo has described this task as “liberating the internet.” He understands that the internet is the key to progression in Zimbabwe, with free access to information and communication being central factors for people to free themselves from oppression. From a business perspective, he believes that “the internet is the one tool that lowers the cost of doing any form of business,” also showing his commitment to business progress within the country. He went on to say “It provides access to information that people and communities can use to improve and magnify the work that they are already doing. An informed community engages more, innovates more, and, from a business perspective, makes more and spends more.”

Alongside Neolab, he is also the co-founder of NeoEffect, a social start-up working towards empowering underprivileged youths through IT literacy, and is involved with both the MX project and BOOT Africa which promote student start-ups in tertiary institutions.

The Future

Chingonzo’s business acumen and commitment to social change seem to be a winning combination. He was featured in the Huffington Post as one of four African innovators you should know about. Last year, he graced the cover of Forbes Africa after making it on to the Forbes “30 under 30” list as part of the continent’s “next generation of billionaires.” The exposure he has received from his interview with President Obama has generated a buzz around his projects, and the burgeoning tech industry in Zimbabwe, while exposing the inequalities in the international relationship with Zimbabwe and its people. Chingonzo doesn’t just represent technology and innovation, but the will of the people of Zimbabwe and their indomitable spirit.

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