Annansi Chronicles

After Gladwell’s Blink, Kenna’s new dilemma

Recently, MTVU, the university station of MTV, organized a visit by best selling author Malcolm Gladwell (The Tipping Point, Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking) and Ethiopian-born American musician Kenna to a University of Pennsylvania sociology class. The class was in the process of studying the chapter “Kenna’s Dilemma” from Gladwell’s book Blink and the two men made an appearance to discuss the dilemma Kenna faces as an artist who, though heralded by many in the music industry as the next big thing, has yet to connect with a large enough fan base.

If you haven’t heard Kenna’s music yet, I encourage you to get familiar. Kenna, born Kenna Zemedkun, makes some of the most inspiring left of center music today. As a member of the Neptunes production duo’s (Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo) extended StarTrak family, Kenna’s sound is not what you’d expect pop music to be. Though his previous album New Sacred Cow, the subject of Gladwell’s chapter, had a creative video for the single “Freetime” and gained a 3 star review from Rolling Stone Magazine, it has not made Kenna the superstar he needs to be. Not one to be deterred, Kenna returns this time around with a new marketing strategy for his new cd Make Sure They See My Face. As with similar African-born western-raised artists such as K’Naan, Akon, Somi, and Chosan, Kenna’s comfort with balancing his African and western identities make his music uncategorizable for many. This time around though the combination of re-newed interest in ’80s-style music and fashion, the growth of the popular black nerd trend (Pharrell, Lupe Fiasco, Kanye West) as an alternative to the blinged out hip-hop stereotype, and Kenna’s own growth as an artist and business man, position’s Kenna and his music for better commercial success. Kenna’s image and music adds another dynamic to the growing Afropolitan demographic. As Kenna and the Afropolitan demographic grows more confident in his/her own identity they are exerting incresing influence on popular culture through their art. Hopefully the only dilemma Kenna will face this time around will be how to live with his celebrity. I’ll be watching his rise, and so should you.
NPR on Kenna’s career

Upcoming in-store appearances
CLEVELAND, OH
Tuesday Oct. 16th @ 4 PM-
Instore performance and signing
Borders Books & Music
3466 Mayfield Rd.
Cleveland Heights
216.291.8605

ANN ARBOR, MI
Thursday Oct. 18th @ 4 PM
Instore performance and signing
Borders Books & Music
612 E. Liberty Ann Arbor
734.668.7652

NEW YORK, NY
Monday Oct. 22nd @ 12 PM
Instore performance and signing
Borders Books & Music (Wall Street)
100 Broadway
212.964.1988

BOSTON, MA
Tuesday Oct. 23rd @ 4 PM
Instore performance and signing
Borders Books & Music (Downtown Crossing)
10-24 School Street
617.557.7188

PHILADELPHIA, PA
Thursday Oct. 25th @ 1 PM
Instore performance and signing
FYE
100 S. Broad Street
215.496.8338

ATLANTA, GA
Monday Oct. 29th @ Time TBC
Instore performance and signing
Criminal Records
466 Mooreland Avenue, NE
404.215.9511

ORLANDO, FL
Tuesday Oct. 30th @ 3 PM
Instore performance and signing
Park Ave CDs
2916 Corrine Drive
407.447.PARK

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Annansi Notes: Fall Out Boy, Mandela, Clint Eastwood, African babies, Facebook in Kenya

• Fall Out Boy head to Africa….Uganda really (What’s a rock band’s image without an African charity connection. Shout out to director extraordinaire Alan Ferguson) )
  
• Clint Eastwood will direct Morgan Freeman and Matt Damon in a new Nelson Mandela movie “The Human Factor” (The Hollywood/Africa trend grows. They should expect a call from some concerned Africans real soon.)
• Facebook is the new office fashion in Kenya (Rupert Murdoch needs to get the Myspace/Wall Street Journal thing sorted out fast)
• Actress Mary-Louise Parker adopts a child from Africa (Can all these African childrens’ biological families get visitation visas now?)

Africa Enterprising articles part 4

The 4th edition of the The Carnival of African Enterprising has launched at Nii Simmonds’ Nubian Cheetah blog. As with the previous 3 installments of ideas, this edition highlights some of the best posts from the African business/entrepreneurship blogosphere. I’m happy to see that as the carnival continues, there are new names and perspectives being added. This edition covers Blogging Trade & Investment Forums, Business in Africa, Entrepreneurship in Africa with posts on:

• TED Global 2007: Afterglow (David McQueen)
• Idea Exchange: sponsors & links (Bankelele)
• TED Global, Africa: The Next Chapter (Jen Brea)
• Vote to add Africa 2.0 panel to SXSW festival schedule (G. Kofi Annan)
• IBM Thinks Africa (Benin Mwangi)
• Hear IBM Vice President’s view on Africa’s present market opportunities (African Path)
• Kenyans in the Diaspora Conference Final Thoughts (Joshua Wanyama)
• Planting Seeds: TED Global (Emeka)
• The Power of a TED Talk (Erik Hersman)
• Tanzania diminishes chances of regional integration (Ken Teyie)
• In the media: Khartoum, the Dubai of Africa (Africaincorp)
• Want Financial Freedom? Start your Own Fashion Business (Uduak Oduok)
• Ideas to grow the informal sector in Africa (Nii Simmonds)
• Meso Finance: the next area of financing for SME’s in Africa (Nii Simmonds)
• From China to Virtual Africa: How Can Participatory Media Benefit the World? (Alanagh Recreant)

Head over to the Nubian Cheetah blog for the post description and links.

Hilton Hotels brings brand to Ghana

Inc. Magazine alerts us to an announcement by Hilton Hotels that it will open its first property in Ghana in early 2010. Named The Hilton Accra Airport City, the 186-room property will be located in Airport City, a new mixed-use development in the heart of ‘upscale’ Accra. This makes Hilton Hotels one of the first upscale international brands to operate in the capital city of Accra. Owned by Grand Real Estates and Company Limited and managed by Hilton Hotels Corporation, the new property will become Hilton’s ninth property in Africa joining hotels in Morocco, Algeria, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Kenya, Cameroon and South Africa. Additional Hilton properties are under development in Africa in Equatorial Guinea (Malabo) and Uganda (Kampala).

Inc. Magazine’s Mike Hofman adds “Our latest survey of Inc. 500 companies, to be published in September, shows that America’s fastest-growing firms are currently doing business in at least 12 African countries, led by cosmopolitan South Africa but including such once-hard-luck cases as Uganda, Nigeria, Cameroon, Ethiopia, and Djibouti.”

This gives us a tremendous opportunity to establish our brand in an African country that is experiencing strong growth. Accra itself is a key commercial and tourism hub for the country, with a real and growing requirement for upscale hotels. Expansion in Africa is key to our development strategy, – Jean-Paul Herzog, President, Hilton Hotels, Middle East & Africa.

UNICEF: Mudfaced African children need your help!

If there was any doubt about how ineffective and out of touch old-world charity organizations have become when it comes to Africa(ns), here is an example. UNICEF Germany put time, effort and valuable resources into producing this recent ad campaign which “shows four German kids who appeal for solidarity with their contemporaries in Afrika”. In an attempt at drawing a familiarity between German and African children on the topic of education Jung von Matt/Alster – UNICEF’s ad agency – came up with the brilliant idea of showing typical German children with mud spread across their faces. Taglines for the ads include: “In Africa, many kids would be glad to worry about school”, “Some teachers suck. No teachers sucks even more”, “In Africa, kids don’t come to school late, but not at all”, and my personal favorite “I’m waiting for my last day in school, the children in Africa are still waiting for their first one”.

Needless to say, the ads have caused a lot of controversy. When “help” efforts like UNICEF’s and the eerily similar Giorgio Armani’s Kate Moss cover are so off mark, you know there is a serious need for African intervention at the planning stages. Someone tell these guys to give me a call before they embarrass themselves further and continue to lose money.

More coverage:

• Sokari and other Africans give comments
• Jennifer Brea breaks it down on The Guardian’s blog
• RADAR Magazine mocks the campaign
• Media Bistro asks WTF??!!
• alena Amusa tries to educate UNICEF
• UNICEF apologizes??? (not really).

Is there an African culture code?

Africaincorp relates lessons from the book The Culture Code: An Ingenious Way to Understand Why People Around the World Live and Buy as They Do to the African diaspora.

What makes a Kenyan “Kenyan”, what makes an Ivorian “Ivorian” and what makes an Moroccan “Moroccan” are answers the savvy professional,entrepreneur,investors and executives are actively seeking as we speak.
Businesses and other mediums that are able to provide the answer or at least a lead will make a lot of money along the way. These answers would then be at the core of any product and service development so that customers throughout the vibrant African economies would be offered products that are in line with the codes.

African countries on 2007 list of 50 most desirable outsourcing destinations

BusinessWeek’s recent article on rising outsourcing destinations highlights what many African entrepreneurs have proposed for years. Outsourcing to parts of Africa can be a win-win situation. The BusineesWeek article refers to consultancy A.T. Kearney’s 2007 list of the 50 most desirable outsourcing destinations worldwide. For the list countries were ranked by a) financial attractiveness, based on such measures as compensation and infrastructure costs; b) a so-called people score, measuring a nation’s people skills, availability of language and educational skills, and the size and quality of the IT industry; and c) their economic/political environment, infrastructure quality, cultural exposure, and IP security. While India remains the top outsourcing destination many African countries are learning from their example. (Note: Scores are in parentheses.)

Rank – Country (overall – financial – people – environment)
#13 – Egypt (5.6 – 3.2 – 1.1 – 1.3)
#25 – Mauritius (5.4 – 2.8 – 1.0 – 1.6)
#26 – Tunisia (5.4 – 3.0 – 0.9 – 1.5)
#27 – Ghana (5.5 – 3.3 – 0.9 – 1.3)
#31 – South Africa (5.3 – 2.5 – 1.2 – 1.6)
#36 – Morocco (5.1 – 2.9 – 0.9 – 1.3)
#39 – Senegal (5.1 – 3.2 – 0.8 – 1.1)

Other factors which add to a countries’ attractiveness are language and education skills and the reliability of a nation’s telecommunications infrastructure. But the the key underlying factor for many African countries’ successful bid for new business is the lack of infrastructure. While the African digerati are continuously ramping up their skills and making themselves available for business they continuously run into infrastructural limitations. But who is to blame? Is it the governments who are overrun with bureaucracy? or the people themselves, who often do not hold their leaders accountable?

Offshoring upstarts are making so many inroads, in fact, that by 2012, they’ll significantly dilute India’s dominance, says consultancy Gartner (IT). The consulting firm says that by 2010 about 30% of Fortune 500 enterprises will outsource to three or more countries, from less than 10% today. “So many governments have realized what an opportunity this is and there’s a lot of effort being spent in promoting their countries to the market,” says Johan Gott, manager of A.T. Kearney’s Global Services Location Index.

…Kenya, for instance, is trying to become a destination for business process and IT outsourcing. The Kenyan government has worked in recent years to liberalize its telecom sector, which has lured more operators and helped drive telecom services prices down by 70% in a short time, according to the World Bank. Yet the country relies on satellite connections to link to the rest of the world. That makes it costly for outsourcers to do business.

(photo source)

Liya Kebede #11 on Forbes’ list of world’s richest models

Forbes Magazine has put together a list of the “Top Earning Models in the World” according to estimated earnings over the past 12 months. Ranking at #11 is 29-year-old Ethiopian beauty, Liya Kebede, with $2.5 million earned. A ground-breaker best known as the first black model in Estée Lauder’s history, Ms. Kebede, though not as high-profile as her counterparts, has maintained a successful career appearing in campaigns for brands as diverse as H&M, the Gap, Anne Taylor and Givenchy.

Top models like those on our list still bank millions, but only once a multiyear contract is secured. The days of $10,000 runway fees are over. Top models don’t even do runway. It’s considered an internship process for the hundreds of anonymous 15- and 16-year-old foreign girls who swarm the runways of New York, Paris and Milan each season. They do 70 shows in six weeks and are paid about $250 an hour their first season.

A good hardworking model can make $200,000 a season. But chances are that model, once the season is over, will never be seen or heard from again. – Forbes

To compile it’s list, Forbes also took into account the “relevancy” of the model–determined by recent campaigns, editorials, fashion magazine covers and the opinion of those in the industry. Gisele Bundchen tops the list at $33 million, with Kate Moss ($9 million), Heidi Klum ($8 million), Adriana Lima ($6 million) and Alessandra Ambrosio ($6 million) rounding out the top five slots.

The age of conversation is here!

Trained as a visual communicator, I have always held communication in the highest regard. Communication, to me, is at the center of everything we do, especially in today’s world. Whether you are an individual or an organization, it is most important to be able to communicate your ideas and be a part of conversations which, through the growth of technology are already shaping the world we live in. No-one is immune from the power of the conversations today. Through the advances in technology the playing field is being leveled in all industries, and it is most important for Africa to understand and take advantage of the change. For years we’ve struggled to be heard both at home and abroad and participate in the conversations which determine the development of our communities. But today, we are faced with the opportunities to broadcast our own conversations and chime in on others. Never before have we been given the opportunity to directly affect others a world away. And never before have the major players been so focused on the every-day person’s opinion for direction. As individuals we wield a great power, and how we communicate and build on conversations is more important than it ever was. The new book “The Age of Conversation” taps some of the most brilliant thinkers in today’s conversation-driven world. I have authored a chapter titled From Aid to Opportunity: Afri-Activism transitions into a new consumer market. You can read more about the book “The Age of Conversation” in the new Books & Products area of this site or at AgeOfConversation.com. Buy the book as an e-book, a paperback, or a hardcover at Lulu.com/ageofconversation. 100% of the profits from the book will go to a children’s charity.

The Paris Hilton effect on Africa’s development

We live in a celebrity-powered society. I don’t like it, but it’s the truth. Whoever said everyone will get their 15 minutes of fame, was way off. It seems like the expiration date on fame is being extended longer and longer. Fame in itself is not a bad thing, however, the individualism, it comes with in today’s society is another story. With all the reality show mania and with reputable organizations paying talentless people like Paris Hilton ridiculous amounts of money for an appearance, the American culture of celebrity and individualism is playing an even bigger role in how and where money is spent in business. But if this the nature of the world we live in, where do Africans, and our culture of community and modesty, fit in?

Certainly all African’s are not so modest. However, our definition of celebrity and entitlement is definitely different from the West. Many would argue that the American definition of celebrity is based on fantasy while the African definition is based on reality. Where western celebrities are celebrated apart from the community, African celebrities are celebrated for their effect within the community. Is either definition right or wrong? Who knows, but when one dominates the other in global influence, a problem arises.

What does this have to do with business, money and Africa’s opportunities? Everything, I would say. One of the biggest problems Africans have with getting their stories told particularly in the media is that we still do not really understand how western media works. Take the picture of Paris Hilton to the left. Paris Hilton who represents, the epitome of America’s celebrity culture – and hence influence – holds a Vanity Fair Africa issue with Oprah – another more talented and influential American celebrity – on the cover. While the whole scene was definitely staged by Paris’ pr reps, it’s a classic example of the role celebrity plays in American culture. Follow me for a moment. Bono campaigns for more money to go to African aid. He recruits Oprah Winfrey, among others, to draw attention to the cause. Bono then sells the the idea to the Vanity Fair editors who stand to have multiple celebrities in one issue (celebrity faces sell glossies, especially fashion ones) and the issue is produced. Paris Hilton, then picks up the issue in her attempt to clean up her post-jail image, and in turn further sells Bono’s Africa campaign to insecure suburban teen-aged girls everywhere. Suburban American families, (with disposable income) then put money into Bono’s Africa campaign. This is the power of celebrity in American economics. While we Africans argue merit and talent, Bono continues to play the celebrity game to influence the flow of money. Many of us argue there should have been more Africans on Vanity Fair’s covers, but while Wole Soyinka is a talented man with accolades to boot, he has no influence over the people spending the money, and so he is regulated to a group feature towards the end of the magazine.

Further evidence of the power of celebrity, can be seen in the media coverage of the recent TEDGlobal conference in Tanzania. In her excellent piece about the event, Jennifer Brea, writes about the circumstances surrounding Bono’s heckling of Andrew Mwenda. The fact that Bono can have so much power as to bump George Ayittey’s presentation of his perspective, heckle another presenter AND practically be the only one of 50 or so presenters over the 4 day African conference covered widely in the press illustrates the power of celebrity. The same issue about the difference between western and African celebrity was raised on the Africa media blog, with a reader asking

“Given the advances in technology that now allow citizens of any country to directly access the popular culture of another country (e.g. music, films, art), why do people living in the global north continue to receive more information about situations in Africa from the few Western celebrities “caring about Africa” than from the many African ones trying to push the same message? (Why do people seem to be more influenced by their similiarity with the source than the source’s actual level of expertise/connection with the cause?)”.

To this Melissa Wall of the Africa Media blog answered, “The West or North dominates global media structures and flow (much research has documented this). More specifically, reporters often have to go with the easiest-to-access sources. A Western celebrity with an entourage of handlers and PR flaks is a lot of easier to get a juicy quote from. Enlarging the Rolex is difficult.”. It all boils down to familiarity, which translates to celebrity which in-turn motivates spending. So if we Africans want access to the money which brings the opportunities we need, we have to do a better job of understanding the power of celebrity from the western perspective. As important as talent is – and it IS important – celebrity trumps talent. Sad but true.