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Video: Outsourcing for change

One of the best conversations I had at SXSW was on the topic of outsourcing. While Asia – and India specifically – is known for having a strong history in outsourcing, Africa is quickly ramping up it’s ability to compete with and often times supplement Asian outsourcing. While there have been talk of Africa becoming the next Asia in terms of global business/investor focus, the continent still has some heavy issues to resolve before it can truly realize it’s potential. But, of course that will never stop entrepreneurs from doing their part. Watch this creative video below from a new Sillicon Valley-based venture called Market for Change.

Market for Change aims to catalyze economic development by creating a market for responsible outsourcing to small and medium-sized firms in developing countries.

via Timbuktu Chronicles

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Global hip-hop music and films in NYC

If you’re planning on being in the New York City area this weekend please join us for the Global Hip-Hop Music and Film fest. The mini festival will feature films (African Underground: Democracy in Dakar, Peduo Hablar, Diamonds in The Rough, Chocolate City, Benign Eleven, Estilo Hip-Hop, African Underground: Democracy in Paris) and live music and performances by artists from countries including Senegal, Mexico,
Brazil, Sierra Leone and more. For more details check the flyer below or visit Fusicology.

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1st India-Africa Summit held

india-africa summitWhile everyone was following the Olympic torch global tour and the protests at the various legs of the tour, a very important summit was held in New Delhi India. April 8-9 saw the debut of the 1st India-Africa Summit, where heads of state from 14 African countries including South Africa, Algeria, Uganda, Kenya, Egypt, Ghana and Tanzania met with the Indian government to discuss future relationships. While some people have said that India’s decision to hold the conference was inspired by the 2006 China-Africa Summit, none can deny the power of such summits in powering Africa’s development. While many people are using the Olympic games to draw attention to China’s human rights history – China is Sudan’s largest trading partner and is seen as a supporter of the turmoil in Darfur – , the issue of Asia’s influence in Africa will increasingly make mainstream news. With the India-Africa summit and China and South Africa celebrating a 10 year anniversary of diplomatic ties, we are sure to see a rapid impact of Asia in Africa.

(India’s Prime Minister Manmohan Singh) said India would more than double its lines of credit to African countries and regional economic groups to $5.4 billion, up from $2.15 billion in the last five years. Two-way trade between India and the African continent totals about $30 billion a year, having grown sixfold in the last five years, according to Indian Junior Minister for External Affairs Anand Sharma. In comparison, trade between China and Africa surged from $55 billion in 2006 to $73.3 billion last year, according to China’s official Xinhua News Agency. Premier Wen Jiabao said in 2006 that China should strive to bring the trade volume to $100 billion by 2010. ….In the last few years China and India have both bolstered their presence in oil-rich African nations. Last year companies from both countries won in a round of bids for exploration licenses in Nigeria, Africa’s leading oil exporter.
– Time

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Africa 2.0, 2 yr anniversary, growth

Africa 2.0It seems it’s been about a month since my last post. Wow! How timees fly when you’re running around. I guess I’ve been neglecting my duties here on Annansi Chronicles, but hey there’s much more to life than posting to blogs. Some readers might not have missed me since we communicate regularly online, but I’m sure many of you were beginning to think I’d abandoned Annansi Chronicles. Not true! Here’s some updates of what’s been going on:

The Africa 2.0 panel at South by Southwest Interactive went pleasantly well. Besides getting to finally meet a few of my fellow African bloggers/entrepreneurs/innovators, SXSW was one of my best conference experiences to date. The energy, people, and information was well worth the effort of organizing the panel. For a roundup of what went on read my review at the newassignment.net website. Also read Erik, and Uduak’s perspective. The panel was well attended and we got to talk to some really great people. Thanks to the SXSW crew especially Hugh and Christine for allowing us a great opportunity. Below is some video of an interview I did with Sunny Gault of Veoh TV’s Viral channel right before the panel. In the video I talk about the topic of Africa and technology as well as the work I’ve been doing as a board member of the African Film Commission.

Online Videos by Veoh.com

In some other news, Annansi Chronicles passed it’s 2 years anniversary this month! Thanks to all the readers and the brilliant Africa-focused minds who have helped me keep the blog inspiring. It’s been great connecting with people all over the world and building business and personal relationships through Annansi Chronicles. I had no idea what I was doing when I started 2 years ago and to see the response has been very motivating. As a result of the good people I’ve met through this blog, I have been able expand on ideas which I never would have had. I am currently working on a bigger project which, building on some ideas I’ve explored on Annansi Chronicles, will hopefully add to the efforts of innovation in African business and community development. Hopefully I will be soon announcing this new project, but in the meantime, I am looking for writing contributers for this and other projects. Please contact me if you or someone you know might be interested in working with me and my company Annansi LLC.

Finally, for those reading Annansi Chronicles using rss make sure to visit the site itself to see the new re-design. Going forward Annansi Chronicles will have featured posts of in-depth analysis of news items. For those familiar with the content of the blog, the features will be the longer in-depth posts I’ve been doing periodically here. I’m looking forward to providing more inspiration for you all.Thanks again for reading Annansi Chronicles.

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Puma’s love affair with African football deepens

Puma Ghana Peace OneBeing the No. 4 sporting-goods brand is tough. But Puma is betting that backing African football (soccer to Americans) will differentiate the brand and win it a significant increase in market share. Continuing with the company’s commitment to African football made during the 2006 World Cup Games, Puma put some serious resources together for product and marketing efforts behind the 2008 African Cup of Nations held recently in Ghana. As a sponsor for 9 out of the 16 African teams, including tournament hosts Ghana and champions Egypt, Puma worked hard to make the brand synonymous with African football, even going so far as buying the Ghana team a top-of-the-line Mercedes-Benz bus for transport between matches. The company began it’s Cup of Nations efforts with a sponsorship deal for Eurosport’s live coverage of the games and then a press conference at the brand new Puma store in Ghana’s Accra Mall. The press conference was held to announce several activities on the ground during the tournament, including a youth exhibition game co-hosted by the Peace One Day charity and edun Live and featuring African football legends Roger Milla and Anthony Yeboah. Continue reading “Puma’s love affair with African football deepens”

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A retirement plan for African leaders, Mo Ibrahim

Mo IbrahimAfrican leaders, Ibrahim (says), look to retirement as they would to the edge of a cliff, beyond which lies a dizzying fall towards retribution and relative poverty.

“We don’t have financial institutions for ex-presidents to go and run, or boards of great companies. There is life after office in other parts of the world. I just read that Tony Blair was paid half a million pounds to make a speech in China. People like Blair always have a place in society, they have secure financial futures,” – Lunch with the FT: Mo Ibrahim

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Sotheby’s, Bansky bring Bono green for Valentine’s

Takashi Murakami RED auctionDespite increasing criticism Bono’s marketing behemoth Product (RED) keeps on course, this time with a Sotheby’s run valentine’s day auction titled (AUCTION) RED. The art auction, held February 14th at the Gagosian Gallery, included limited edition art by the contemporary art world’s heavy hitters such as Takashi Murakami, Bansky, Damien Hirst, and Jasper Johns. The auction closed at a total of $42.58 million, an amount which even eclipsed Sotheby’s pre-sale estimate of $21 million – $29 million. A fan of contemporary art myself, some of the pieces sold are truly beautiful and I’m envious of the winning bidders.

In kicking off the Valentine’s Day sale, to which over 60 top contemporary artists donated museum-quality work, Bono led the crowd in a sing-along of the Beatles’ “All You Need Is Love.” – Forbes.com

I continue to be amazed at the RED campaign’s ability to continuously be “successful” at tapping into the guilt of celebrities and normal citizens alike. It’s too bad that such a brilliant marketing vehicle doesn’t think it could be effective without consistently playing the victim/savior game. Check out some of the artwork and related video below.

Bansky RED auction Bansky Damien Hirst RED auction Yinka Shonibare RED auction

Gallery footage

Damien Hirst speaking to Charlie Rose about the auction

Bono fanfare at the Valentine’s auction

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BET’s Bob Johnson adds to the African luxury hotel surge

Bob Johnson Liberia SirleafIn the past few years there’s been a bit of news coming out of new hotel projects taking place on the African continent. From the Hilton Hotels Group to the Rezidor Hotel Group it seems there’s a lot of interest in Africa as a luxury travel destination. Some will say that the shift is part of the overall change in the world’s political climate, where stories of terrorist attacks come out of former tourist “safe havens”. Whether that is the case or if it’s a result of the increased marketing and advertising efforts by African countries such as Tanzania, the fact is that developers are looking to Africa as a premiere destination for luxury travel. But it’s not just the large developers who are jumping onto the trend. Recently Charlotte Bobcats owner and BET founder Robert L. (Bob) Johnson along with a delegation of African American businesspeople announced an agreement with the government of Liberia to build a villa-style, four-star hotel in Monrovia. The project falls under Bob Johnson’s Maryland-based firm RLJ Companies, which with some 135 hotels valued at more than $3 billion, is the largest Black-owned hotel investment company in the United States. The Liberian hotel project is the result of a “commitment” made by Bob Johnson, Debra Lee, Chairman and CEO of BET, and actors Chris Tucker, Cicely Tyson, and actor Jeffrey Wright among others to Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf at the 2006 Clinton Global Initiative Annual meeting. In addition to the hotel, which is scheduled to break ground in March 2008 and open in February 2009, Bob Johnson also donated $3 million to open a new fund which will “provide Liberian entrepreneurs and businesses with the financial and technical resources they need to rejuvenate the country’s economy and foster long-term stability in the wake of two decades of civil strife”.

What makes this story interesting, besides the kind of project the group chose to launch, is also the fact that – as I’ve reported numerous times on this site – African Americans are increasingly putting their money where their mouth is when it comes to Africa’s business development. And with Liberia being a country which was established as a place to send freed African-American slaves, what better place for a serious businessman like Bob Johnson to invest in. Black Enterprise Magazine quotes Andy Ingraham, President and CEO of the National Association of Black Hotel Owners, Operators & Developers saying, “It’s important to note that this is part of an overall philanthropic effort by Robert Johnson, and you will see more African Americans not only doing increased business with the Caribbean and Africa, but also entering into philanthropic ventures….African American investors have been in talks with developing countries in Africa such as South Africa and Ghana, to build hotels.”. This is certainly a story to watch.
(photo: RLJ Cos.)