I know, I know I haven’t posted anything since Friday and surely there are new developments in the world of African fashion, entertainment, business, politics. But I’ve been running around trying to organize things for the re-launch of my clothing line, Annansi Clothing. Even-though I haven’t gotten the chance to express my views on Oprah’s problems with her new school and Anglina Jolie’s tears for Africa here as yet, I’ve been keeping up with the developments as best I can. I’m feeling organizational these days and the 65-degree weather in NY is getting me focused on getting my business ready. In the last few days I attended an apparel convention in Atlantic City, consulted with my friend, mentor, and fellow designer Arlinda (Sofistafunk Skirt Co.), and tried to track down my company’s features in The Source Magazine, T-World Journal, and my interview on WorldSpace’s Flava hip-hop show. I tell you, running your own clothing company is not as easy as it seems, and doing it all myself is definitely not the best way to proceed, that’s why I’ve resolved to get a team of interns. Over the years I’ve seen many designers get eaten up by the grind of running a clothing label by themselves, and I certainly don’t want to be a statistic. I think more than creating designs, and connecting with the many people who “get” the direction I’m trying to go in, many creative people neglect the business aspect. We are usually drawn to the fashion industry because of the “lights, camera, action” image of it, but the industry is highly complex and it takes a lot more than talent to grow in it. So while I love reading and writing about the goings on in the progressive African community, I think it is equally important to play an active role, and to do so my business must be intact. I never want to be that person who complains and criticizes others’ decisions without going through the process myself. And nothing shapes your perception more than walking in someone’s shoe’s to understand the reason they make certain decisions. Of course this speaks directly to outsiders’ criticism of Africans and African business as well. On that note take a look my new website and check out the March 2007 issue of The Source Magazine on newsstands for some information about my clothing line. Your comments, good or bad, will be greatly appreciated.
African billionaires on Forbes’ 2006 list
Forbes Magazine has released their annual ranking of the world’s richest people. The listings include rank, name, home country or state, age where known, wealth in billions of dollars and source of the money. The research that went into compiling the rankings began in early 2006 and ended on Feb. 9, 2007. The list shows how the U.S. is slipping, the Russians are rising, and keeping business within the family is great way to maintain wealth. I’ve listed the rank, name, country of citizenship, age, net worth ($bil), and industry of the Africans who made the list below. If anyone has anyone of these people in their Rolodex hook me up. I hope to see some of you on the list in the future.
African’s who made the list:
#62, Naguib Sawiris, Egypt, 52, $10.0, Egypt, Communications (Telecom)
#158 Onsi Sawiris, Egypt, 77, $5.0, Construction
#158 Nicky Oppenheimer & family, South Africa, 61, $5.0, Mining/Lumber (DeBeers)
#194 Johann Rupert & family, South Africa, 56, $4.3, Retailing (Luxury goods)
#226 Nassef Sawiris, Egypt, NA, $3.9, Engineering/Construction
#432 Donald Gordon, South Africa, 76, $2.2, Insurance
#664 Samih Sawiris, Egypt, 50 , $1.5, Service (Hotels)
Top 100 list
1. William Gates III, Washington, 51, $56, Microsoft
2. Warren Buffett, Nebraska, 76, $52, Berkshire Hathaway
3. Carlos Slim Helu, Mexico, 67, $49, telecom
4. Ingvar Kamprad and family, Sweden, 80, $33, Ikea
5. Lakshmi Mittal, India, 56, $32, steel
6. Sheldon Adelson, Nevada, 73, $26.5, casinos, hotels
7. Bernard Arnault, France, 58, $26, LVMH
8. Amancio Ortega, Spain, 71, $24, Zara
9. Li Ka-shing, Hong Kong, 78, $23, diversified
10. David Thomson and family, Canada, 49, $22, inheritance
11. Lawrence Ellison, California, 62, $21.5, Oracle
12. Liliane Bettencourt, France, 84, $20.7, L’Oreal
13. Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Alsaud, Saudi Arabia, 50, $20.3, investments
14. Mukesh Ambani, India, 49, $20.1, petrochemicals
15. Karl Albrecht, Germany, 87, $20, Aldi
16. Roman Abramovich, Russia, 40, $18.7, oil
17. Stefan Persson, Sweden, 59, $18.4, Hennes & Mauritz
18. Anil Ambani, India, 47, $18.2, diversified
19. Paul Allen, Washington, 54, $18, Microsoft, investments
20. Theo Albrecht, Germany, 84, $17.5, Aldi, Trader Joe’s
21. Azim Premji, India, 61, $17.1, software
22. Lee Shau Kee, Hong Kong, 79, $17, real estate
23. Jim Walton, Arkansas, 59, $16.8, Wal-Mart
24. Christy Walton and family, Wyoming, 52, $16.7, Wal-Mart inheritance
24. S. Robson Walton, Arkansas, 63, $16.7, Wal-Mart
26. Sergey Brin, California, 33, $16.6, Google
26. Larry Page, California, 34, $16.6, Google
26. Alice Walton, Texas, 57, $16.6, Wal-Mart
29. Helen Walton, Arkansas, 87, $16.4, Wal-Mart
30. Michael Dell, Texas, 42, $15.8, Dell
31. Steven Ballmer, Washington, 51, $15, Microsoft
31. Kirk Kerkorian, California, 89, $15, investments, casinos
31. Raymond, Thomas and Walter Kwok, Hong Kong, ages unknown, $15, real estate
34. Francois Pinault, France, 70, $14.5, retail
35. Suleiman Kerimov, Russia, 41, $14.4, stocks
36. Vladimir Lisin, Russia, 50, $14.3, steel
37. Jack Taylor and family, Missouri, 84, $13.9, Enterprise Rent-A-Car
38. Vladimir Potanin, Russia, 46, $13.5, metals
38. Mikhail Prokhorov, Russia, 41, $13.5, metals
40. Oleg Deripaska, Russia, 39, $13.3, aluminum
40. Michael Otto and family, Germany, 63, $13.3, retail
42. Carl Icahn, New York, 71, $13, leveraged buyouts
42. Abigail Johnson, Massachusetts, 45, $13, Fidelity
44. Adolf Merckle, Germany, 72, $12.8, drugs
45. Barbara Cox Anthony, Hawaii, 83, $12.6, Cox Enterprises
45. Anne Cox Chambers, Georgia, 87, $12.6, Cox Enterprises
45. Mikhail Fridman, Russia, 42, $12.6, oil, banking
48. Vagit Alekperov, Russia, 56, $12.4, oil
49. Charles Koch, Kansas, 71, $12, oil, commodities
49. David Koch, New York, 66, $12, oil, commodities
51. Silvio Berlusconi and family, Italy, 70, $11.8, media
52. Nasser Al-Kharafi and family, Kuwait, 63, $11.5, construction
52. Leonardo Del Vecchio, Italy, 71, $11.5, eyewear
54. Alexei Mordashov, Russia, 41, $11.2, steel
55. Gerald Cavendish Grosvenor and family, Britain, 55, $11, real estate
55. Spiro Latsis and family, Greece, 60, $11, banking
55. Birgit Rausing and family, Sweden, 83, $11, packaging
58. Forrest Mars Jr., Virginia, 75, $10.5, candy
58. Jacqueline Mars, New Jersey, 67, $10.5, candy
58. John Mars, Virginia, 70, $10.5, candy
61. Viktor Vekselberg, Russia, 49, $10.4, oil, metals
62. Serge Dassault and family, France, 81, $10, aviation
62. Charles Ergen, Colorado, 54, $10, EchoStar
62. Michele Ferrero and family, Italy, 80, $10, chocolates
62. Naguib Sawiris, Egypt, 52, $10, telecom
62. Kushal Pal Singh, India, 75, $10, real estate
62. Alain and Gerard Wertheimer, France, ages unknown, $10, Chanel
68. Susanne Klatten, Germany, 44, $9.6, BMW, drugs
69. Philip Knight, Oregon, 69, $9.5, Nike
69. Sunil Mittal and family, India, 49, $9.5, telecom
71. John Kluge, Florida, 92, $9.1, Metromedia
71. Vladimir Yevtushenkov, Russia, 58, $9.1, telecom
73. Rupert Murdoch, New York, 76, $9, News Corp.
73. Hans Rausing, Sweden, 81, $9, packaging
73. Reinhold Wurth, Germany, 71, $9, manufacturing
76. Ernesto Bertarelli, Switzerland, 41, $8.8, biotech
76. Pierre Omidyar, Nevada, 39, $8.8, Ebay
78. Maria-Elisabeth and Georg Schaeffler, Germany, ages unknown, $8.7, ball bearings
79. Rafael del Pino and family, Spain, 86, $8.6, construction
80. Donald Bren, California, 74, $8.5, real estate
80. George Kaiser, Oklahoma, 64, $8.5, oil and gas, banking
80. George Soros, New York, 76, $8.5, hedge funds
83. Nikolai Tsvetkov, Russia, 46, $8.4, oil, banking
83. August von Finck, Germany, 77, $8.4, investments
85. Dan Duncan, Texas, 74, $8.2, energy
86. Mohammed Al Amoudi, Saudi Arabia, 61, $8, oil
86. Abdul Aziz Al Ghurair and family, United Arab Emirates, 53, $8, banking
86. Kumar Birla, India, 39, $8, commodities
86. German Khan, Russia, 45, $8, oil, banking
86. Iskander Makhmudov, Russia, 43, $8, mining, metals
86. Sumner Redstone, California, 83, $8, Viacom
86. Shashi and Ravi Ruia, India, ages unknown, $8, diversified
93. Philip Anschutz, Colorado, 67, $7.9, investments
93. Galen Weston and family, Canada, 66, $7.9, retail
95. Enrique Banuelos, Spain, 41, $7.7, real estate
96. Stefan Quandt, Germany, 41, $7.6, BMW
97. Maan Al-Sanea, Saudi Arabia, 52, $7.5, construction, finance
97. Edward Johnson III, Massachusetts, 76, $7.5, Fidelity
99. Sulaiman Al Rajhi, Saudi Arabia, 87, $7.4, banking
100. Donald Newhouse, New Jersey, 77, $7.3, publishing
100. Samuel Newhouse Jr., New York, 79, $7.3, publishing
Bono: the busiest man in Africactivism
Bono is probably the busiest Africa lobbyist of the decade. Every time I look up, he’s involved in some Africa-related initiative. What separates him from the rest of the celebrity Africa-enthusiasts is his ability to develop initiatives which explore new avenues to address Africa’s issues. In the past few days alone, he’s been awarded an NAACP Image Award, proposed to take American Idol to Africa, and taken up post as editor of Vanity Fair’s July issue. In his words “Africa is sexy and people need to know that” Here, here.
Here’s video of his acceptance speech at the NAACP Image Awards.
Soccer moms talk Africa and Oprah’s school
Not too long ago Oprah was not on my radar. I didn’t watch her show so I didn’t pay attention to anything she did. I usually associated Oprah with feel-good daytime talk shows. It wasn’t until recently that I realized the wand she wields over American culture in general. It’s still a mystery to me how she does this but who can deny the influence she has. The recent Mommycast podcast focusing on Africa is a clear example of Oprah’s influence over what I call the Twinset clan (next time you watch Oprah count the number of twinsets worn in the audience). The Twinset clan is that group of soccer mom types whose purse strings are coveted among marketers. Many are stay-at-home wives of American businessmen who manage the household and have access to endless disposable income. And when Oprah says Africa needs money, they say how much. After the airing of Monday’s “Building a Dream” special about Oprah’s South African girl’s school experience, the tremendously popular Mommycast show has dedicated a whole show, advertisers and all, to the topic of Children in Africa. What makes the particular show interesting is the focus on how African issues are understood in those suburban households. Listen to the show and tell me what you think.
Hip-hop and democracy in Senegal’s elections
I’ve often asked if hip-hop can save Africa, and now we’re getting to see for ourselves. Senegal, one of Africa’s most stable democracies, is currently going through elections and as in the past hip-hop is playing a serious role. It’s interesting being an African living in the States and experiencing both African and African-American cultures simultaneously. My position has given me a unique vantage point to which to compare hip-hop’s beginnings and where it has reached both in the States and on the continent. African hip-hop still maintains the revolutionary nature of hip-hop’s beginnings while American hip-hop has grown into a beast of another nature. As American hip-hop has grown to be accepted in the mainstream it has become a music of materialism and shortsighted goals. The music and culture that brought many black Americans out of struggle and strife is threatening to take them right back to those hard times. Maybe this is a lesson for both African and American rappers. Maybe taking American rappers to see the role hip-hop plays in Africa’s youth’s lives, as VH1 did last Thursday, will allow them to see how powerful hip-hop is/was and get them looking at whether they’re using it to it’s full potential. Ben at Nomadic Wax has been documenting the Senegalese elections from a hip-hop perspective with amazing results. The question is though, how closely will African hip-hop youth follow the path of their American counterparts?
Madonna promotes children’s book in Malawi
So it seems that Madonna’s children’s book “The English Roses: Too Good To Be True” was translated into Chichewa, the national language of Malawi. Madonna’s proceeds from the sale of the book will be donated to Raising Malawi, an orphan-care initiative. Here’s some video of Madonna presenting the book to her adopted son’s countrymen. I especially like the part where she encourages them to read it because there will be a book report later. (via Ecorazzi)
Africa’s Inconvenient Truth
When I heard Al Gore’s announcement that he will be producing Live Earth, a 24-hour concert held simultaneously across all 7 continents, I got to thinking about what part if any Africa(ns) play in the enormous eco-conscious global trend. With “An Inconvenient Truh” nominated for an Oscar, eco-trend features in both business and fashion magazines, and eco news and blog sites popping up everywhere, surely the trend seems to be here to stay. But as we Africans go about trying to deal with our societal issues, I can’t help but think that maybe we need to think about this issue as well.
I spent a good deal of my senior year in high-school in the Environmental Society (yeah, yeah, I’ve had many lives and some a bit nerdy), where myself and a group of students learned and taught about the necessity of caring for your environment. I remember some programs we ran seeming boring and redundant to me but I couldn’t pin-point why. While others became passionate about the whole “save mother earth” movement I started to wonder why I wasn’t so gung-ho about it. I certainly agreed with the efforts but i just didn’t understand why some people seem to take it soooo seriously. Later in life I came to understand that growing up in an African household we never saw the earth as something or someone separate from ourselves. It was part of our culture to respect your surroundings and live within the parameters of the environment you were in. You somewhat understood the need and uses of certain natural resources and you respected their place in your life. But I think we’ve gotten comfortable as time has gone by, and are now part of Africa’s environmental problem.
When my father visited Ghana recently after many years, he was shocked about how rampant littering was. He described how easily people threw plastic products on the ground, even when there was a trash receptacle available. In discussions we often chalked it up to lawlessness, but there might be a deeper concern. As Africans we’ve begun to assume that we innately subscribe to old cultural norms when our actions prove otherwise. Try to talk to an African about environmentalism and many times you’ll get a blank stare or a “whatever” response. But one thing that Silas Siakor proved is that our actions are causing our situation to get worse. Yes, we have big problems like corruption, famine, and drought, but those problems are also tied to how we treat our environment. It’s true we’re not any worse than any other communities, but the effects on our “problems” are worse. When we allow large corporations to drill for oil without any concern about environmental hazards we make things worse for ourselves, What’s the revenue from exports worth when it leaves us with more problems to spend the money on.
The Africa portion of the Live Earth concert will be held in…..wait for it……South Africa. Surprised? Anyway, here’s more information about the event:
LIVE EARTH
Live Earth – The Concert for a Climate in Crisis
July 7, 2007
“The global audience gathered for Live Earth, its ongoing actions, and the proceeds from the concerts, will form the foundation for a new, multi-year international initiative to combat the climate crisis led by The Alliance for Climate Protection and its Chair, Al Gore.
Concerts on all 7 continents:
• Shanghai
• Sydney
• Johannesburg
• London
• Brazil – TBD
• Japan – TBD
• United States – TBD
• Antarctica – TBD
100+ artists: Current and legendary artists across all genres performing multiple hits.
Confirmed performers:
• Pharrell
• Red Hot Chili Peppers
• Foo Fighters
• Snoop Dogg
• Lenny Kravitz
• Bon Jovi
• Paolo Nutini
• Sheryl Crow
• AFI
• Melissa Etheridge
• John Mayer
• Damien Rice
• Corinne Bailey Rae
• Duran Duran
• Snow Patrol
• John Legend
• Black Eyed Peas
• Akon
• Enrique Iglesias
• Fall Out Boy
• Maná
• Keane
• Kelly Clarkson
• Korn
• Faith Hill w/ Tim McGraw
• Bloc Party
Refugee entrepreneurs
Fortune Magazine has a great feature on African refugees who have fled their homeland and have started businesses in America. This feature highlights one of the undeniable strengths of the USA. While the country has enough problems to put it on many people’s hate lists, I doubt anyone can deny that this country is at the top of the list for business opportunity. While there is no level playing field for people of color, there are more than enough opportunities to make a living and chase your dreams. America is one of the few places that determination is rewarded, however strange the reward may be (queue “Star Spangled Banner”). Especially in todays world adopting a long tail mentality is the way to go.
African designers gamble at Magic Las Vegas
Last August while in Las Vegas for a mini vacation with the family, being the workaholic I am, I squeezed in a visit to to Magic and it’s satellite tradeshows, Project and Pool. For those who have never attended the Magic event, basically it’s a few days of high octane buying and selling of apparel of all levels. The tradeshow is possibly the biggest and most known in the world and attracts everyone involved in the apparel industry. Though Magic is primarily organized as a meeting place for apparel companies and buyers, it has become a place for everyone to flex their brand muscle and get attention by outdoing each other. Magic is the main show held at the Las Vegas Convention center while the two smaller more specialized shows, Project and Pool take place at different venues in the surrounding area. I can’t describe the hustling that takes place at Magic. Because Magic attracts EVERYONE from celebrities, who are usually endorsing a clothing line, to magazine publishers and editors, for that week Las Vegas becomes a hustler’s heaven. And African companies are getting hip to the opportunities at Magic. In the short time I had to see all the exhibitors, I made sure to go over to the DESIGN South Africa area, a first-time collection of 10 South African fashion houses who, sponsored by the South African government, had been chosen to make the trip to exhibit their offerings to the international buyers. I got into a good conversation with Themba Mngomezulu of the Darkie label about design, African identity and breaking into the US market. Darkie is a popular label in South Africa and Themba has been doing his thing on the fashion scene for a while. I was happy to talk to him and see that African designers are making an organized effort to compete outside of their borders.
The Fall 2007 season of Magic started yesterday in Las Vegas and this season there’s an African Pavilion organized by Eastern and Central Africa Trade Hub and West Africa Trade Hubs. The area will be featuring various African companies “with the relevant strategies and insights” who have been chosen to get assistance in penetrating the American market. Unfortunately I will not be on the scene to report about their efforts for two reasons. The first reason is Las Vegas will be overrun with posers and groupies this week with Magic and NBA All Star Week taking place at the same time; I can’t take it! The second reason is, while the few days can gain a clothing line like mine unparalleled exposure, Magic is a budget buster which doesn’t fit my current business strategy. With costs ranging from $2500+ just to rent a booth space, it can be a costly lesson to learn if your company is not structured to capitalize on the exposure. Magic brings buyers from all over the world who are always eager to stock new brands. The reason for going to Magic from a designers perspective is to get orders and you are almost guaranteed to get some good ones. But I learned from attending a smaller tradeshow in Miami last year that getting sizable orders can actually kill your business. As a good friend of mine said “if you are building a house and you want it to last, you need to start with a solid foundation and use the right materials” (translation: longevity is based on patience and strategy). The apparel industry is an especially difficult one to succeed in. People go out of business everyday, and one of the main reasons is they grow too fast. Many people get into business for the fame and notoriety and fail to pay attention to the business part. Yes, the fashion business has some nice perks, but if you get caught up in the hype it’ll die just as fast as it lived. Lack of proper financing, partner disagreements, and absence of adequate apparel business knowledge constantly cause apparel companies to go out of business; and many times it can be avoided. When a company like Cloak has to close down, then you know there’s more to fashion than champagne and models. With that being said, I hope the African companies taking part in this season’s Magic tradeshow have the structure in place to deal with the possible instant success. While we must start competing at some point we should also try to set our own pace for growth. The American market has eluded numerous foreign brands. I’m lucky to have started here, but I think I’ll take my time and grow.
More about the African Pavilion and African Sourcing at Magic:
Discover the Magic of Africa
Following from a Hub sponsored workshop to provide Kenyan apparel firms with the relevant strategies and insights for exhibiting their wares at the Sourcing at MAGIC apparel trade show and that will assist them in penetrating the lucrative $180 Billion U.S apparel market, it was highlighted that for maximum impact at MAGIC, it would be important for participants from the region work together. In view of this, the ECA and West Africa Trade Hubs are working together to set up an ‘African Pavilion’ at the show. The Pavilion will showcase over 30 companies from 10 countries in Africa. The ECA Hub is sponsoring 9 companies from Kenya, Uganda, Madagascar and Ethiopia to the show which will be held in Las Vegas, Nevada in February 2007.
SEMINAR
Africa Sourcing Opportunities and Challenges
Date: Thursday February 15, 2007
Start Time: 4:00 PM
End Time: 5:00 PM
Location: South Hall, First Level, Room MS116
Panelist
Julie Hughes , Sr. Vice-President of International Trade, USA-ITA
Steve Jesseph , President/CEO, Worldwide Responsible Apparel Production
Belinda Edmonds , Cool Ideas, EDUN
Florie Liser , Assistant US Trade Representative for Africa
Info: Africa represents new opportunities for sourcing directors in light of the various free trade agreements currently in place and allowing for duty and quota free access. The continent also represents challenges to those who source in the region. Join our panel of experts and discover the possibilities.
Darfur at NY Fashion Week
So I finalized my Fashion Week schedule the other day and, while I won’t be showing my clothing line this season, I am excited about the shows I’ll be attending. The week will definitely be an exciting one, as I am scheduled to work with some wonderful mens and womens designers. One show that I’m looking forward to attending though is the Designers for Darfur show taking place on Friday February 9th. Designers For Darfur, was founded in 2007 by designer Malcolm Harris of Mal Sirrah and model Lydia Hearst-Shaw (One Model Management) in association with Fashion Television and Steve Madden, Inc. The event is aimed to raise funds and awareness on behalf of the Save Darfur Coalition. The organizers have gotten a exciting list of designers to create one complete ensemble in Red, Yellow, Green or Black (or any combination of these symbolic colors of Africa) to be featured in the fashion show at Roseland Ballroom. Confirmed participating designers are Chado Ralph Rucci , Steve Madden , Donna Karan , Catherine Malandrino , Rachel Roy, J. Mendel, Michael Kors, Naeem Kahn, Alice & Olivia, Carlos Miele, Joseph Abboud, Marc Bouwer, Nanette Lepore, Carmen Marc Valvo, and Mal Sirrah among others. And those are just the designers. Oprah Winfrey, Joss Stone, Roberto Cavalli, Kanye West, Mia Farrow, Maria Bello, Don Cheadle, and Russell Simmons, are scheduled to attend; but the big question is will George Clooney, a serious advocate for US intervention in Darfur, make an appearance? I’ll let you know. Kudos to the organizers for closing out the week on a good note.