I’m an avid reader of publications both online and offline, so when I came across this new African women’s magazine called Kitu Kizuri at Barnes and Noble, I was intrigued. Having already been in contact with the editor for a feature on myself and Annansi Clothing Co. in the “American Dreams” section, I kind of had an idea what the magazine was about anyway. But, when I finally found a copy hidden in the women’s interest section, I was impressed. While I’m sure there are other African women’s magazines available, I felt that Kitu Kizuri was on point with it’s focus and content. Being an African man, I might not be in the target market, but the articles gave me a good glimpse of what is on African women’s minds. Just the kind of insight I need for when I’m designing my upcoming women’s collection. Make sure you check out the magazine and SUBSCRIBE!! It’s only $20 per year and I’m sure you’ll agree that we need more magazines like this one to help shape a new African image. Congrats on the launch guys.
From aid to opportunity in the conversation age
Sometimes, I wonder why I do it to myself. Over the past couple of years, I’ve developed a pension for trying to do more with little. Maybe it’s because I feel guilty for partying my college years away or maybe because I really believe that I’d rather do it all while I’m still young(ish) so I can bask in the African sun sooner than later. But at times like this when my days are filled with family and work-related deadlines, I feel the most energized. And as I meet each deadline, I feel a sense of accomplishment.
In my 1 week absence from posting here, I finally finished my chapter for the Conversation Age e-book. I planned to write about “the Age of African conversations” but as I put pen to paper, the focus of the chapter began to shift. I never realized how little 400 words were and how difficult it is to put all your thoughts into one paragraph (I DO tend to be long-winded). I’ve gotten used to writing here on Annansi Chronicles, and writing for my own business materials (mission statements, press releases, business plan etc.), but writing for a book is a lot harder. And to think I was looking to get into authoring soon. So after the 10th edit, late nights collecting my thoughts, and numerous discussions with members of the debate team AKA the Annan family, I’ve settled on penning a piece tentatively titled “From aid to opportunity: Afri-activism transitions into a new consumer market”. If you can’t tell from the title, the chapter is about how, if approached through conversation with Africans, the Africa aid movement can and does help develop the African consumer market. The chapter has been signed, sealed, and delivered to the two publishers, however I would like to hear your opinion on the topic anyway. Can Afri-activism – strategies where a person, group, or company engages Africa through aid and charity – be used to grow the African market? Is it too weighted in negative presumptions to allow market growth?
This week in African Style 4/14 – 4/20/07
- Fighting Nigeria’s other drug war.
- Africa: Continent’s leading social entrepreneurs honored by Ashoka.
- Pope accuses rich of plundering Africa.
- Deola Sagoe for Caribbean Fashion Week June 6-10.
- Engineers want Europe-Africa train.
- Opposition protests erupt after flawed Nigeria poll.
- Ghanaian music is more than Highlife.
- Madonna filming her African trip.
- UN helicopter gunships get go-ahead to patrol Darfur.
- Nigerian Elections 2007: What’s hot and what’s not in the media coverage.
- Nigeria: Blogging the historic election (Part 1).
- Ghanaian musician Rocky Dawuni joins (RED).
- Telenovelas catch on in Africa.
- Africa on Mexico’s cultural radar
- Africa: Black Africans must tread carefully over the USAfrica Project.
- Nigerians voters hope for president who really is “of the people”.
Poll: Does everyone know more about Africa?
Over 20 years ago, 1985 to be exact, an all-star list of artists – Quincy Jones, Michael Jackson, Cyndi Lauper, Al Jarreau, The Pointer Sisters, Paul Simon, Stevie Wonder, Ray Charles, and Lionel Richie among others – got together to “raise funds to help famine relief efforts in Ethiopia”. Named USA for Africa, the group recorded the colossal hit “We Are the World” and performed the song as part of Bob Geldof‘s televised Live Aid concert. That was the beginning of the Africactivism movement. Some would say one of the biggest problems with the movement at that time was it fed into the image of Africans as helpless people in a country (Africa) which was overrun with famine and starvation. It’s been quite a few years now and with all the talk about Product RED (Bono), Darfur (George Clooney), young girls’ education (Oprah Winfrey), adoption (Angelina Jolie, Madonna), blood diamonds (Leonardo DiCaprio, Djimon Hounsou), and water shortage (Jay-Z’s Water for Life), I thought it would be a good time to take a survey on how Africa is viewed compared to 20 years ago. Please take a moment to cast your vote in the poll located in the sidebar to the right.
This week in African Style 4/7 – 4/13/07
- Untapped: the scramble for Africa’s oil.
- Africa in pictures.
- Danny Glover joins Bob Marley tribute ‘Africa Unite’.
- African governments not doing enough.
- Gallery opening: NY thru the eyes of African immigrants.
- Plugging Africa’s kids in to $100 laptop.
- The silent takeover of the continent (Africa) by South African businesses.
- Gay travel in Africa.
- Luxury hotels emerge in post-peace Sudan.
- Africa’s internet infrastructure: an interview with Eric Osiakwan and Ethan Zuckerman.
- Madonna returning to Africa, but not to adopt.
- Africa is a continent, not a crisis.
- Is South Africa living up to its responsibility as Africa’s leader?
- Afrigator goes mobile.
- Climate change and Africa.
- Madonna to do charity work in Malawi.
- Africa and the information age.
Bill Clinton talks Rwandan healthcare at TED 2007
The good folks at TED have released this video of former US President Bill Clinton’s acceptance speech as a winner of the 2007 TED prize. In his speech Clinton speaks about his Clinton Foundation‘s pilot health care system in Rwanda which is based on the work of Dr. Paul Farmer in Haiti. In 18 months the Clinton Foundation’s efforts, in partnership with the Rwandan Government, has shown potential as a model for the entire developing world. Clinton’s TED wish was to help him “build this system in Rwanda, to bring world-class health care to a people who have overcome deadly hatred to rebuild their nation”. In a previous interview by the BBC when asked about the one incident that he wishes he could have rewritten or handled differently during his time in office, Clinton responded, “I wish I had moved in Rwanda quickly. I wish I had gone in there quicker, not just waited ’til the camps were set up. We, we might have been able to save, probably not even half those who were lost but still a large number of people. I really regret that. I care a lot about Africa and I don’t think that these … wars are inevitable and these kinds of murders are inevitable. And I’ve spent a good deal of time in the last ten years trying to make it up to Africa in general and the Rwandans in particular – so I regret that deeply.” I guess his current efforts are part of his do over. Watch the video below.
Fast Company on Product RED’s business of charity
John N. Pasmore, one of FastCompany.com’s expert bloggers, has an interesting piece on the building controversy around Project RED. He makes a good point about RED’s approach to corporate giving saying,
“And yes, we as individuals should give to those less fortunate and not rely exclusively on corporate-sponsored giving to substitute for our personal efforts. Granted, that’s an important point. But, I would not expect retailers like GAP to simply give money away. I’m sure their shareholders believe that getting a financial return on their investment is most important. Corporations are entities that people create for the purpose of making money.”
Read the rest of the “Get RED” article and look out for a quote from yours truly.
Chosan performs Blood Diamond from Bling is Dead
A few months ago some New York-based artists and arts organizations organized a concert to benefit Nah We Yone, a grassroots nonprofit organization that helps rebuild the shattered lives of refugees, asylees and asylum seekers from the African diaspora who have fled to the New York Metropolitan area due to ongoing political instability throughout the African continent. The title of the concert, “Bling & Blood”, set the tone for various African artists to voice their opinions about the effects of the blood diamond trade on the African continent. Here’s a video of Sierra Leonean hip-hop artist Chosan performing his song “Blood Diamond”, a song he penned as part of the Bling is Dead project. Thanks to director Dante Kaba for the footage.
Wharton Business School on entrepreneurship in Nigeria
While I’m on the subject of entrepreneurship in Africa, here’s a podcast from the Wharton Business School’s Knowledge website where Peter Bamkole, General Manager, Enterprise Development Services at Lagos Business School, talks with Olayinka David-West, a lecturer in information systems at Lagos Business School. The two men discuss Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo’s ambitious goal to have Nigeria become one of the world’s top 20 economies during the next two decades. Listen here and let me know what you think.
Inc. Magazine’s ease of global business map
As a follow up to my previous post on my concerns about going home to do business, here is a link to Inc. magazine’s interactive map which plots the ease of doing business around the globe. The map shows the rate of growth for a country’s gross domestic product – according to World Bank data – and helps entrepreneurs evaluate the risk/ease of doing business in countries around the globe. To construct the map for it’s new Going Global issue the Inc. magazine staff says,
“We consulted a variety of sources including the most current research from the World Bank, the World Economic Forum in Davos, the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor consortium, and the Heritage Foundation’s Index of Economic Freedom. We also interviewed academics, government officials, business consultants, and business owners based around the world.”
The map allows you to zoom in on specific countries and, combined with the Treasure Map pdf, is certainly a good referenence tool for African investors.
