Tag: Politics

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FELA! musical hits Broadway with rave reviews

FELA! musical

If you haven’t already heard FELA! The Musical has opened on the Broadway in New York City. For many people, myself included, this marks a milestone in African culture’s rise to global recognition. Nigerian musician and activist Fela Anikulapo Kuti has been an major inspiration for many young Africans looking to re-define what it means to be African in the West. Ever the African icon, Fela’s music and ideas have been at the cornerstone of the growing Afropolitan culture in New York and other metropolitan areas around the world. He has inspired many creative expressions of African culture including my own early foray into Africa-influenced business. After many years as an Afropolitan lifestyle inspiration, now the essence of what Fela has defined for modern Africans has brilliantly been captured in this new musical.

In it’s glowing review of the new musical The New York Times writes:

There should be dancing in the streets. When you leave the Eugene O’Neill Theater after a performance of “Fela!,” it comes as a shock that the people on the sidewalks are merely walking. Why aren’t they gyrating, swaying, vibrating, in thrall to the force field that you have been living in so ecstatically for the past couple of hours?

The hot (and seriously cool) energy that comes from the musical gospel preached by the title character of “Fela!,” which opened on Monday night, feels as if it could stretch easily to the borders of Manhattan and then across a river or two. Anyone who worried that Bill T. Jones’s singular, sensational show might lose its mojo in transferring to Broadway can relax.

FELA! The Musical features the Afrobeat music of Fela Anikulapo–Kuti, a book by Jim Lewis and the direction and choreography of Tony® Award winner Bill T. Jones. The musical is co-produced by Jay-Z, and Will and Jada Pinkett Smith among others.

Watch the opening night and behind the scenes videos below.

If you can’t see the videos above, click here

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Europe’s $774 billion African desert solar power project launches

desertec-africa-sahara-solar-map

Investors and industrialists from 14 companies met in Munich, Germany recently to formally launch Desertec Industrial Initiative, a €400 billion ($774 billion) collaborative project to provide 15% of Europe’s energy via solar power from Africa’s Sahara desert by the year 2050. Since it was formally announced earlier this year, the project has gotten mixed responses from development and renewable energy groups.

Speaking about the benefits of the project MEED Magazine writes:

Desertec’s backers say the scheme will create jobs and boost local economies. Some go so far as to claim it could even reduce the number of economic migrants to Europe. Governments on both continents will need to collaborate to define a regulatory and legislative framework for the scheme. If Desertec can overcome these hurdles, it will set a precedent for international energy co-operation.

But critics of the project also give some strong points. New Scientist Magazine writes:

Critics are lining up to point out the project’s shortcomings. They say it could make Europe’s energy supply a hostage to politically unstable countries; that Europe should not be exploiting Africa in this way; that it is a poor investment compared to covering Europe’s roofs with photovoltaic (PV) solar panels; and that, while deserts have plenty of sun, they lack another less obvious but equally indispensable resource for a solar thermal power plant – water.

Despite the debate, the project seems to be moving ahead with North African countries like Tunisia and Algeria showing support and making plans.

What do you think? Is the Desertec project good or bad for Africa and/or Europe?

More about the project and it’s launch in the videos below.

If you can’t see the videos click here

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Annansi notes: Brangelina buys Ethiopia, Africom, MTV Africa awards begins, (RED)washing at Gap

  • Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie bought Ethiopia. (Not the African country itself, but the island which represents Ethiopia in Dubai’s island phenomenon The World)
  • American general seeks to play down fears over new Africa command. (Uhhh… sure. No worries.)
  • Africa’s nuclear hopes. (Could this be the solution to the electricity shortages?)
  • MTV begins Africa Music Awards (Viacom knows where the money is)
  • More (RED)washing at The Gap (African charity still gets consumers in the retail door)
  • Gucci’s African charity Indy bag drops (holidays + African charity = $$$$)
  • India eyes Africa to meet rising energy needs (African’s need to refine and accelerate our business models)
  • First black (Nigerian) mayor elected in Ireland (A Nigerian Irish mayor. Wow!)
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Reggae star Lucky Dube killed in Johannesburg

Lucky DubeThe BBC reports , one of Africa’s most loved musicians, South African reggae star Lucky Dube, has died from gun shot wounds in Johannesburg. It’s a VERY sad day for world music.

He had been dropping his teenage son and daughter off in the suburb of Rosettenville on Thursday evening. Police say they were already out of the car when three shots were fired through a car window killing their father. Alongside Bob Marley, he was thought of as one of the great reggae artists – singing about social problems. He was also one of the apartheid regime’s most outspoken critics.

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Egypt, Ghana, Kenya among top 10 reformed business economies says World Bank report

World Bank top reformers

The World Bank has released its annual ranking of the ease of doing business in 178 economies. The newly released Doing Business 2008 Project “provides objective measures of business regulations and their enforcement across 178 countries. The team works closely with thousands of professionals around the world”. While the report gives a worldwide view on where to do business within various categories including starting a business, registering property, and enforcing contracts, of particular interest are the economies which continue to rise by offering new incentives and steamlining business processes. Of the top 10 reformed economies for 2006/07, three African countries – Egypt, Ghana, and Kenya – show some serious potential. This is particularly good news for Ghana as it will attempt to raise $750m on the international market this Thursday by having the “first ever listing of Ghana’s sovereign bonds on the international capital market”. With a one week listing on the London Stock Exchange beginning Thursday, September 27th, Ghana will be only the second sub-Saharan African nation, after South Africa, to be allowed to issue bonds on the international market as a means of raising funds to finance national projects.

The Doing Business 2008 Report is a great starting point for individuals and companies looking to spread their wings and enter one of the many attractive emerging African markets. The Doing Business website offers in depth explanations as well as an interactive chart where users can specify their region of interest and sort data by business concerns.

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Africa Enterprising articles part 4

African Enterprising logoThe 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.

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UNICEF: Mudfaced African children need your help!

UNICEF Germany mud Africa adsIf 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:

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Forget aid and money, Africa needs IDEAS!

If ideas are capital, why is Africa investing more on things than on information, and more on the military than on education? Suddenly, I realized what this idea could mean for Africa. If the pen is mightier than the sword, why does a general earn more than the work of a hundred writers combined? If ideas are indeed capital, then Africa should stem its brain drain and promote the African Renaissance, which will lead to the rebirth of the continent. After all, a renaissance is a rebirth of ideas. And knowledge and ideas are the engines that drive economic growth.

From Philip Emeagwali’s speech delivered at the University of Alberta, Canada, September 23, 2006 (read more)