Forbes Africa - June 2015

mozambique after 40 years: gas, oil and rubies the investment case
1 june 2015 eDITIOn
AFRICA
EyEwitnEss
footagE of
thE nEpal
EarthquakE
under 30
tomorroWs billionaires
06041
an
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FORBES
CONTENTS JUNE 2015
14
UNDER 30
FORBES AFRICA makes history with its first ever

homegrown 30 under 30 list. That is the young and
gifted, burning stars on the horizon; the billionaires of
tomorrow who will create the jobs and wealth that this
continent needs.
6 | FORBES STREET // Chris Bishop

10 | BRIEF 360
12 | TALKING POINTS
FORBES FOCUS
14 | 30 UNDER 30
FORBES AFRICA makes history with its first ever homegrown

30 under 30 list. That is the young and gifted, burning stars on
the horizon; the billionaires of tomorrow who will create the
jobs and wealth that this continent needs.
EDITED BY TSHEPO TSHABALALA
26 | WHAT DO YOU DO WHEN YOUR COMPANY

LOSES ITS MOJO?
He is not your average CEO. When he laughs, its infectious.
When we arrived late for the interview, he bantered and
laughed louder even though he was to talk about his worst
day.
BY THOBILE HANS
30 | REMORSE AND RUBBLE IN NEPAL
FORBES AFRICA Publisher and Vice-Chairman of the

ABN Group, Rakesh Wahi, was caught in the tremors and
aftershocks of the earthquake in Kathmandu. Wahi went to
Nepal to climb Everest and ended up making a harrowing
journey through the rubble.
BY RAKESH WAHI
30
COVER PHOTOGRAPHS BY OSBORNE MACHARIA; GEORGE OKWONG; MAKE-UP BY TOBI BAMIDELE; ERNEST &
BROS DIGITAL PHOTOS SYSTEM; VUMELWANO MLALAZI (VOOTOGRAPHY)
4 | FORBES AFRICA
JUNE 2015
34 | GENOCIDE LOOMS OVER THE

STREETS OF FLAMES
Burundi is divided between those loyal to the president and

those against him. With elections coming up, there are fears
that civil war, and possibly genocide, will return.
BY ELAYNE WANGALWA
VOLUME 5 NUMBER 5
FOCUS
37 | FREEDOM, STRUGGLE AND GAS:
40 YEARS OF MOZAMBIQUE
Mozambique has sloughed through four decades of pain

brought on by civil war and unrest. Now it is a hotspot for
African investment.
BY JAY CABOZ
48 | AFRICA WELCOMES A FAMOUS SON
37
Barack Obama will visit Kenya his fathers home for the
first time as president. His arrival in East Africa will come
with hope and promise.
FREEDOM, STRUGGLE
AND GAS: 40 YEARS OF
MOZAMBIQUE
BY JOSEPH BONYO
FORBES LIFE
58 | SPARKING ZIPPO
Americans dont smoke much anymore, but that hasnt

stopped the iconic cigarette lighter maker from having its
best year ever.
BY ABRAM BROWN
60 | 4C THE FUTURE
Alfa Romeo is in need of a revival and the

4C is leading the way.
50
MANDLA MASEKO
BY SUNITA MENON
BY DEREK WATTS
INVESTMENT GUIDE
64 | THE GENERAL MUST
STOP THE BLEEDING //
Muyiwa Moyela
66 | WILL PRIVATIZATION
SAVE US MONEY? //
Dumile Sibindana
68 | FORGET MONEY
CREATE VALUE //
Paul Mashegoane
FORBES SPORT
ANSELM TABANSI
BY ABISOLA OWOLAWI
54
70 | THE GOOD AND BAD OF BEING AN AD

// Kirsty Coventry
74 | THE GIANT WHO LAUGHED IN
THE FACE OF RACISM
Jack Johnson was the first black heavyweight champion

of the world. He pummelled most of his challengers to the
vile abuse of racists.
BY CHRIS BISHOP
74
76 | THE BABY-FACED ASSASSIN
Moruti Mthalane, Africas world champion flyweight boxer,

has never stopped throwing punches to get to the top. His
achievements have inspired many, just as former greats,
like Baby JakeMatlala, influenced him.
BY REGINALD NKHOLISE
70
THE GIANT WHO LAUGHED IN

THE FACE OF RACISM
BY CHRIS BISHOP
JUNE 2015
FORBES AFRICA | 5
FORBES
FORBES STREET CHRIS BISHOP

Carpe Diem
The Night An Egg

Made Me Laugh
BY CHRIS BISHOP, MANAGING EDITOR
dont think I had ever been as

tired. It had been a dozen hours
on a never-ending road up the
coast of Mozambique. We had
driven south from Harare to
Polokwane, in South Africa, then north
through Ressano Garcia to Maputo to
cover a couple of stories in the capital;
this trip to Beira, was on the way to Tet,
for a mission to Lake Malawi, then back
to Zimbabwe. It was more than two
weeks of driving, punctuated by intense
reporting, laden with illness and fatigue.
A tough assignment for any TV crew; we
were feeling the strain.
Late at night in Vilanculos, a port
halfway between Maputo and Beira,
we drove in search of shelter; bumbling
through the dark empty streets in vain.
Someone, on the side of the dingy road,
pointed through the darkness to a hotel
called the Dona Ana. We couldnt see at
first, but it soon became clear that it had
been left to rot for decades.
When we piled wearily and gratefully
through the dimly-lit door to be fair,
we would have slept on the street we
found a number of people drinking by
candlelight. It was a difficult to work out
which of the drinkers was running the
place until a man stood up and asked us if
we wanted dinner. Great, we said.
Twenty dollars US each, says the man.
What is it? I replied, even though
I had not eaten for 24 hours and would
have devoured a tablecloth if you had
put salt on it.
Eggs, replied the man.
Great, we thought, until an hour later
one boiled egg and a slice of bread came
6 | FORBES AFRICA
JUNE 2015
on a massive plate. We sat in a large,

empty dining room crammed with tables;
the only other occupant only was a lone
man, oblivious to us, who was listening
to world news in Portuguese blasting out
from an ancient radio almost as big as
his table. In between the two bites that
saw off the egg, I could have eaten the
shell too, the crew and I looked at each
other and laughed. A few years on the
highways and byways of Africa does that
to you.
An hour later, we didnt care. We
stood joking, holding cold beers, in
the arms of a warm breeze, next to the
sea wall at the back of the hotel, to the
mighty roar of the Indian Ocean beyond.
We can all tut-tut, about drinking beer in
the evenings, as I often do. Believe me,
after a long day on the road in the distant
corners of Africa; you cant go to the gym
or yoga classes in the evenings, nor surf
the net if there was broadband in those
days, we didnt know about it nor could
we tweet anyone, because we didnt have
cell phones.
Instead we laughed and looked back
to the gloomy hotel; wondering how they
kept the beer cold in summer with no
electricity. At bedtime, we were given
a bucket of water and a candle; in the
darkness, the room smelled bad and
the sheets were sticky. Nostalgia often
polishes the memory, but lacks power to
burnish the memory of the Dona Ana.
Anyway, the reason I am telling you
all of this is that, in many ways, the
Dona Ana is a metaphor for the new
Mozambique. I checked it out online
the other day, and found, to my surprise,
that a foreign investor has restored the Dona Ana to its former
glory: a blue pool; pristine rooms and electricity. It is hard to
believe it is the same hotel that served an egg in the dark.
A remarkable turnaround, mirrored by the economy of
Mozambique, that I found in ruins when I first reported
from Beira, on the northern coast of Mozambique, ahead
of its inaugural elections in 1994. In those bleak post-civil
war days, there were broken down Russian T34 tanks on
the streets and columns of infantry patrolling in armored
cars. There were no shops; the nearest was planks of wood
propped at the side of potholed roads. If you could find a
restaurant it was expensive and full of UN troops.
What a contrast two decades later. Mozambiques annual
Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth averaged 7.4% over
the past two decades, according to the World Bank. This
figure is well above the regional average of 5% and achieved in
years that the rest of the world has been bleeding. The cynics
may say Mozambique is growing from a very low base, but
nevertheless, it is an achievement for a tiny country that has
seen war and upheaval shatter the little infrastructure it had.

Now that gas, oil and rubies are the in the picture, it is a
different story. Many foreign investors, who had written off
Mozambique, are now its new best friend. For those who
havent yet picked it out on the map, maybe 2015 is the time.
This is one reason FORBES AFRICA chose to feature 40
years of the Republic of Mozambique in this issue a story
from a night of fervour when millions saluted the birth of a
nation; through the struggles of a state-controlled economy,
to the free market revival of the 21st century. Sure, the money
is taking time to filter down to people living leanly, outside
Maputo, but it is time to take stock to see what private
money can do.
Exactly four years ago, I sat looking at a blank computer
screen, charged with the daunting job of launching a
compelling FORBES AFRICA from scratch. Our thoughtprovoking spread on Mozambique, told from the streets and
docks to the boardrooms by those in the know, was exactly
what I had in mind.
Views expressed by commentators in this publication are not necessarily those held by FORBES AFRICA or its members of staff. All facts
printed in FORBES AFRICA were confirmed as being correct at the time the magazine went to print.
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JUNE 2015
FORBES AFRICA | 7
JUNE 2015 VOLUME 5 NUMBER 5

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8 | FORBES AFRICA
JUNE 2015
FORBES
AFRICA IN BRIEF
BRIEF
Nepal was hit by two earthquakes in

less than three weeks. Thousands were
killed, tens of thousands were injured and
millions had to rebuild their lives.
The first earthquake, with a magnitude
of 7.8, hit on April 25. The second, with a
magnitude of 7.3, struck on May 12.
In some areas, there has been up to
90% destruction, said Dan Sermand,
Mdecins Sans Frontires County Director
in Nepal. In some areas, whole villages
have been brought down, compounding an
already dire situation as many had already
lost their homes in the first earthquake.
The UN estimated that more than $400
million is needed in humanitarian aid.
FORBES AFRICAs publisher and ViceChairman of the ABN Group, Rakesh Wahi,
was in Nepal during the first earthquake.
PHOTO BY WILBERT O. SAYSON
EaRthquakEs RavagE NEpal
Read his story on page 30.

10 | FORBES AFRICA
june 2015
EyEwitnEss
footagE of
thE nEpal
EarthquakE
360
CONGO FIGHTS POACHING
WITH FLAMES
The president of the Republic of Congo, Denis
Sassou Nguesso, set fire to almost five tons
of seized elephant ivory during a summit to
devise an African strategy to fight wildlife
poaching.
The plan will be presented to the African Union
Summit to be held in Johannesburg in June.
The trade in poached animals and plants is
estimated to be worth $23 billion a year.
Congo follows Kenya
and Ethiopia which
incinerated stockpiles
of ivory earlier this
year to show their
opposition to the trade.
Denis Sassou Nguesso
GREG SOLOMON PHOTO BY GALLO IMAGES / AFP / STEPHANE DE SAKUTIN;

DENIS SASSOU NGUESSO PHOTO BY THIERRY CHARLIER / AFP / GETTY IMAGES
THE AFRICAN WALKING DEAD

Last Ones Out is considered the first African
zombie movie. Four characters journey
through an abandoned and empty African
region, staying together to make it out alive
with the constant threat of zombies. The
film, shot over two weeks in the Western
Cape province of South Africa, features a
zombie chase sequence in a township in
Cape Town. The film will be released at
the 2015 Cannes Film Festival. Directed by
Howard James Fyvie, it offers a fresh take
on the zombie genre while wrestling with
questions of life, survival and love.
Write to us at
letters@forbesafrica.com
Greg Solomon
IT COULD BE ALL
MINES
MCDONALDS BUCKING THE TREND

IN AFRICA
Judging by the poor performance of McDonalds sales
globally it is surprising that Africa is still largely an
unchartered territory for the fast food behemoth. Millions
of Africans are yet to experience the taste of the Big Mac.
Currently, the fast-food giant can only be found in South
Africa, Egypt and Morocco.
McDonalds South Africa is bucking the trend of what
the chains are doing in the United States, its largest
market. With 218 stores around the country, McDonalds
South Africa plans to double the restaurants it has in the
next five years.
Greg Solomon, Managing Director of McDonalds South
Africa, believes that its biggest competitive advantage is
its people and responsible growth. We focus on making
each unit profitable and sustainable within three to five
years, he says.
Innovation is also key to its success. Solomon says that
McDonalds plans to implement a tap and go facility at
certain of its stores within the next three to six months.
It has also developed a world class supply chain that
has been recognized as a global supplier. It is currently
considering exporting to other McDonalds stores around
the world and has launched a pilot in the Middle East.
In the second week of June,

bitter wage negotiations
spiced with union rivalry
are expected to begin in
Johannesburg, South Africa,
one of Africas biggest
mining nations. The Chamber
of Mines will negotiate on
behalf of: AngloGold Ashanti;
Harmony; Sibanye; Evander
Gold and Village Main Reef.
Rival unions, the National
Union of Mineworkers
(NUM) and the Association
of Mineworkers and
Construction Union (AMCU),
representing the lions share
of 94,000 gold miners,
have both put in huge wage
demands for the bi-annual
pay talks. NUM wants an
80% increase in entry level
pay for miners and AMCU
wants to more than double
entry level to R12,500 ($877)
a month.
AMCU has been gaining
membership, at the expense
of the NUM, over the last
two years. Whichever union
secures the best deal is likely
to attract more members
and with them supremacy in
the mines.
AFRICAN INNOVATORS REWARDED

A Moroccan scientist won the top prize at the
Innovation Prize for Africa (IPA) awards. Adnane
Remmal bagged the $100,000 prize for developing
an alternative to livestock antibiotics with antibacterial, anti-parasitic and anti-fungal properties.
His formula reduces the transmission of germs
and carcinogens from animal products to humans.
Two $25,000 prizes were also awarded.
Kenyas Alex Mwaura Muriu won the prize for having

the best business potential with his agri-business
model, Farm Capital Africa. It allows farmers to find
investors and share the risk of growing crops.
South Africas Lesley Erica Scott won the prize for
the highest social impact with Smartspot TBCheck.
It is a machine that increases the accuracy of TB
diagnosis.
Write to us at letters@forbesafrica.com
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JUNE 2015
FORBES AFRICA | 11
FORBES
FORBES
TALKING
TALKING POINTS
POINTS
TALKING
Business leaders are increasingly seeking
global opportunities for growth, but they
arent looking in Africa.
According to the 2015 FDI Confidence Index
from strategy and management consulting
firm A.T. Kearney, there are no African or
Middle Eastern countries ranked in the top
25. South Africa, ranked 13th last year, fell
out of the index. The other African countries
included in the survey are Algeria, Angola,
Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Sudan
and Tanzania.
While market volatility and economic
uncertainties may create periodic speed
bumps in our interconnected world, these
findings point to reinvigorated cross-border
investment, says Paul Laudicina, founder of
the FDI Confidence Index and chairman of A.T.
Kearneys Global Business Policy Council.
Unfortunately, those investments arent
reaching African shores. Nearly 75% of the
countries ranked in the top 25 are from
developed economies, as investors see new
opportunities as safe ground.
Bob Diamond
Atlas Mara, the African bank co-founded by
Bob Diamond, is in talks to invest over $22
million in Banque Populaire du Rwanda, which
would create Rwandas second largest bank by
assets.
Atlas Mara has already invested in BancABC in
Botswana and Zimbabwe, as well as amassing
stakes in the Development Bank of Rwanda
and the Union Bank of Nigeria. In 2014, Atlas
Mara acquired Rwandan bank BRD Commercial
Bank Ltd and is reportedly planning to merge
the two.
When Atlas filed its prospectus about 18
months ago, the management team said the
fund would target Africas booming financial
services sector and this trend is likely to gather
pace, says Mayank Gupta, a partner in the
Banking and Finance practice of Mayer and
Brown.
Rwanda is a key growth market for many
investors. Rwanda has been ranked 46th in the
World Banks ease of doing business and the
country has worked tirelessly to curb corruption, with several former government ministers
serving time for this, says Gupta.
There are, of course, risks to the investment.
Like many African nations, Rwanda still suffers
from poor domestic infrastructure, but several
years ago the government announced ambitious plans to increase power capacity tenfold
by 2017, he says.
12 | FORBES AFRICA
JUNE 2015
Emerging markets look more difficult. African

growth was substantially driven by resource
investments. With lower commodity prices,
investments in oil, gas and mining in emerging
markets look less attractive. Resource
companies have diverted their investments
away from new-build and into acquiring
existing operations.
For the third year in a row, the US and
China are ranked first and second as target
countries for investment, while Britain is third.
A ROOF AT LAST THE

CENTURY-LONG WAIT
It was an emotional moment that Ngaungau
Martha Olifant had waited a lifetime for and
feared she may never see.
When Olifant was born in South Africa, in
1925, the African National Congress was a
mere 12 years old, the worlds first motel was
opened and a man called John Logie Baird
sent the first TV pictures.
It was also the year when Olifant began
living in a rented house; as she grew, she
longed for a roof of her own.
I was really afraid that I was going to die
with nothing in my name after working so
hard and that was a very painful thought for
me. I used to earn R3 a week working in a
factory and I managed to extend this house,
furnish it but that bothered me because I
knew at any time I could be told to leave,
I have been renting all these years, says
Olifant in her mother tongue, Sotho.
This gift of a title deed to one of South
Africas poorest citizens came from one of
Africas richest. South African retail tycoon,
Christo Wiese, Africas fifth richest person
worth $5.4 billion according to FORBES,
paid $200 a head to register the title deeds
for 200 new home owners in Ngwathe
Municipality in the Free State province.
Wiese is the first to admit that this is a drop
in the ocean in a country where seven million
need homes.
I will certainly do everything I can to
persuade, not only the businesses that
Im involved in, other businesses, other
institutions, organizations and individuals to
step up and help, says Wiese.
As Olifant gazed at the ceiling she thought
of her late husband, who worked all his life to
raise their three children, but never owned a
home.
He died 15 years ago
and didnt get to see
this day, she says.
Ngaungau Martha
Olifant
BOB DIAMOND PHOTO BY L.E.MORMILE SHUTTERSTOCK.COM; NGAUNGAU PHOTO COURTESY CNBC AFRICA; MMUSI MAIMANE PHOTO BY GALLO IMAGES /
PHOTO
BY XXX GUERCIA; MOELETSI MBEKI PHOTO BY FOTO24 / GALLO IMAGES / GETTY IMAGES; ARUNMA OTEH PHOTO BY MOTLABANA MONNAKGOTLA
AFP
/ GIANLUIGI
ATLAS MARA INVESTS $22

AFRICA LESS ATTRACTIVE
MILLION IN RWANDAS BANKS FOR INVESTORS
POINTS
STEP FORWARD THE OBAMA
OF SOWETO
Mmusi Maimane
The Democratic Alliance, the official

opposition party of South Africa, has a black
leader for the first time. The 35-year-old
Mmusi Maimane, called the Obama of Soweto,
won a landslide victory against Wilmot James,
a senior member, to succeed Helen Zille.
Shortly after joining the party, Maimane
was appointed the mayoral candidate for
Johannesburg in the 2011 local government
elections. He later became the spokesperson
and in the 2014 national elections he was the
Gauteng provincial candidate but lost to the
ANCs David Makhura. After the elections he
became the party leader in parliament.
Maimane talked to 1,400 delegates at his
election in Port Elizabeth, in the Eastern Cape
province.
It is our values that unite us. It is our values
that will take us to victory. Non-racialism
does not mean being color blind If you dont
see black, then you dont see me at all, says
Maimane.
Thapelo Tselapedi, a political analyst at the
University of Johannesburg, says it is not a
given the Democratic Alliance will win over
black voters. He says Maimane has perfected
political rhetoric which could help him win
votes.
The DA will have to slog through the
electoral support of the ANC to take over
state power. The party has to appeal to
the electorate, but ensure that its policies
connect with the broader struggle for
transformation, albeit through a liberal lens
which is the partys political philosophy. The
DA can exemplify liberalism as opposed to
the illiberalism of its predecessors, says
Tselapedi.
In 2000, the Democratic Party merged with
the New National Party, both predominantly
white, to form the Democratic Alliance.
MORE JOBS CAN SNUFF THE

FLAMES OF HATE
The poor performance of South Africas
economy is causing social unrest, resulting
in attacks on foreigners, says politicaleconomist, Moeletsi Mbeki.
Mbeki, the younger brother of former
President Thabo Mbeki, told CNBC Africa
that South Africa was a bomb waiting to
explode.
He says the government needs to do more
to create jobs in the agriculture sector. This
will bridge the growing unemployment gap.
We have a 40 percent unemployment
rate among Africans and 30 percent
unemployment rate among colored [people]
which are the two largest populations in this
country.
Mbeki warns that with those levels, the
country is bound to have political and social
instability.
The country needs to have an economy
that creates employment because we dont
have the cushion of peasantry agriculture
like other regional economies, he says.
Mbeki adds that about 50% of people
between the ages of 15 and 24 are
unemployed compared to 11% in the rest of
Africa. This leads to them getting involved in
criminal activity.
The problem of xenophobia will remain
until South Africa solves the problems of
poverty, unemployment and inequality.
Moeletsi Mbeki
THE IRON LADY SEES A

GOLDEN FUTURE
Arunma Oteh
Arunma Oteh, former Director-General of

Nigerias Securities & Exchange Commission
(SEC), was in Johannesburg recently, when she
spoke to FORBES AFRICA about her continuing
commitment to Africa.
Reform-minded and articulate, she has
consistently earned the respect of capital market
stakeholders. Her five-year term with the SEC
ended in January this year, the same month she
turned 50 (50 is the new 16, she laughs) and
she is very excited about the future.
I am looking at a number of incredible and
exciting opportunities. I am taking my time to
weigh them and decide the one that gives me the
chance to impact society and make a difference.
Her biggest achievement, she says in the
five years with SEC, was restoring investor
confidence.
Now, we have a stock market that has more
diversity in its offerings, she says.
What does she think of the future of capital
markets in Africa?
Capital markets transform the world; they
allow businesses to grow I want to see Nigeria
become one of the most industrious countries in
the world. I want to see Africa be the place where
no one writes those articles about wars, disease
and famine, and people are writing about being
inspired by all the entrepreneurial opportunities
But the future is much brighter, because we have
so much to do as a continent. We are not going
to be able to if we dont have capital markets
that can mobilize resources If you have the
leadership of countries understand why capital
markets are very important, then we will make
significant progress.
Oteh says she is at the moment also angelinvesting in companies [such as Paga] owned by
young people who are making a difference.
Read the full interview with Arunma Oteh in
the June/July 2015 issue of FORBES WOMAN
AFRICA.
JUNE 2015
FORBES AFRICA | 13
UNDER 30
TOMORROWS BILLIONAIRES
FORBES AFRICA makes history with its first ever homegrown 30 under
30 list. That is the young and gifted, burning stars on the horizon; the
billionaires of tomorrow who will create the jobs and wealth that
this continent needs.
e have selected 30 for

the future in
a number of
key fields that
drive economic growth. You may
not know many of their names now,
but in 20 years they could be on
the cover of FORBES AFRICA with
their story of multi-million-dollar
success. We hope so. For now, look,
14 | FORBES AFRICA
JUNE 2015
EDITED BY TSHEPO TSHABALALA
debate and work out who is most

likely.
Nominees came from readers
and the FORBES AFRICA team;
they were decided upon by a selected panel of judges from across
Africa. In charge of it all, fittingly,
an under 30 himself, one of our
journalists Tshepo Tshabalala.
Months of research yielded a list
of 150 young hopefuls. We worked
for weeks, verifying and investigating, to whittle it down. We favored

entrepreneurs with fresh ideas and
took into account their business
size, location, struggles and determination.
Senior editors then debated and
argued over the final 30.
We find this list exciting,
thought provoking and forward
looking. We hope you will too.
PHOTO BY OSBORNE MACHARIA
Mubarak Muyika
20, Kenya
Founder, Zagace Limited
Muyika was orphaned at the
age of 10, thrived at school
and turned down a scholarship to Harvard to become
an entrepreneur.
When he was 16, he founded
Hypecentury Technologies,
a web hosting company. He
sold the company two years
later to Wemps Telecoms in a
six-figure deal. Muyikas new
venture, Zagace, which has
raised funding from local investors, is a cloud enterprise
software that helps companies manage inventory such
as accounting, payroll, stock
management, marketing
and many more all bundled
in a simple and easy to use
format called Zag apps.
JUNE 2015 FORBES AFRICA | 15
Bheki Kunene
PHOTO BY JAY CABOZ
27, South Africa

Founder, Mind Trix Media
Few young entrepreneurs in Africa have
survived being accused of murder and
a collision with two cars that cracked
his skull. Kunene has and he survived to
create eight jobs and a profit with his
website-building company, in Cape Town
where he was born-and-bred, Mind Trix
Media. The company does business with
the big names in South Africa and as far
afield as Italy, Vietnam, Zimbabwe and
Angola.
On a Sunday morning, in December
2009, not long after Kunene launched
the business, came a knock on the door
of his mothers house in Kayelitsha that
could have spelt the end.
I opened to two men in suits. I
thought they were from a church, but
they were detectives who said someone had seen me committing a murder
the night before. I took them into my
mothers garage and showed them a
load of T-shirts I had printed the night
before and said this is what I was doing.
But they arrested me and locked me up
in police cells, says Kunene.
The budding entrepreneur spent a
week in the cells in Gugulethu before
police found the real murderer and let
him go.
All they said was sorry you can go
now, he says.
Four years later, disaster struck again
in Gugulethu, this time on the main road.
A car hit Kunene knocking him into the
path of another heading the other way.
It cracked his skull and smashed one of
his legs. He spent three months in hospital and is on medication.
Kunene survived to prosper, a lesson
to entrepreneurs that if it doesnt kill
you, or imprison you, it makes you
stronger.
16 | FORBES AFRICA
JUNE 2015
FORBES
FOCUS 30 UNDER 30
Rupert Bryant
Arthur Zang
29, South Africa

Co-founder, ISP Web Africa
A school drop-out, Rupert grew up in Cape
Town has been running his own web development company since the age of 14. At
the age of 16, his friend asked him to jump
in on a joint venture. This is how he became
the co-founder and chief operating officer
of Web Africa, one of the biggest internet
service providers in South Africa. Web
Africa was started with no money and built
it into a $11 million a year business. In 2014,
Bryant relaunched Accommodation Direct;
an online tourism business that specializes
in short-term accommodation rentals. His
dream is to sail around the world.
27, Cameroon
Founder, CardiopadZang
The Cameroonian Engineer is the inventor
of the Cardiopad, a touch screen medical
tablet that enables heart examinations
such as the electrocardiogram (ECG) to
be performed at rural locations while the
results of the test are transferred wirelessly to specialists who can interpret them.
The device spares African patients, living
in remote areas, the trouble of having to
travel to urban centers to seek medical examinations. Zang is the founder of Himore
Medical Equipments, the company that
owns the rights to the Cardiopad.
Ali-shah Jivraj
26, Rwanda
Founder and CEO, HeHe Labs
Iribagiza runs a Kigali-based mobile
technology company, HeHe Labs, which
builds mobile technology solutions for the
government and private companies looking
to improve their operational efficiency.
HeHe means where in Kinyarwanda, says
Iribagiza, who founded the research and
innovation lab in 2010 while still in college
studying computer engineering.
27, Uganda
Chief Executive, Royal Electronics
Jivraz began life as an entrepreneur in
Kampala at the age of 17 with a chance
meeting with an electronics technician.
The two struck on the idea of repairing
and manufacturing television sets, radios
and DVD players. Out of this, in 2005,
came the Royal Electronics firm in Kampala. Less than a decade later, this company
is one of six in East Africa that earns $15
million a year in revenue.
In the next 10 years, Jivraz plans to
venture into foreign currency earning cash
crops like maize and green chillies and
property. He also hopes to build homes for
low income earners in Uganda.
These are the people who are driving
the economies of Africa and all too often
they feel pushed out of the community,
he says.
Jivraz comes from an influential family,
his grandfather Merali Jivraj, once one of the
richest men in Uganda, lost almost everything when Ugandan-Asians were expelled
in 1972 by Idi Amin. He says luck has played
more of a part, than family ties, in his success that sees him drive through Kampala in
a white Porsche 911 Carrera S.
There was even luck in that. I was lucky
to find the car in Dubai for three quarters of
its price and couldnt let it go, he says.
The cover of FORBES AFRICA, the domain of African multi-millionaires?
Maybe when Im 50, he chuckles
down the line from Kampala.
Clarisse Iribagiza
I always loved physics and maths and it

was an attractive space for me to be in. My
mother is an entrepreneur and my father a
teacher. I am a mash-up of what they do,
says Irigabiza, who went to high school in
Uganda.
HeHe runs six labs across Rwanda. It is
also working with more than 100 Rwandan
students in high schools and colleges. The
companys GirlHub has empowered more
than 13,000 teenage girls.
We are now refining our vision. Its a
company for Africa by Africans and we are
looking at the next vision for Africa, says
Iribagiza.
HeHe has over $200,000 in revenues
annually.
For a young company, that is great and
we are investing in more ideas, she says.
In 2012, HeHe won a $50,000 grant from
Inspire Africa, a Rwandan TV entrepreneurial contest.
Clinton Mutambo
25, Zimbabwe
Founder, Esaja.Com
Mutambo describes himself as an entrepreneur, marketing whizz and all round
blogger. He is also the brains behind the
recently launched esaja.com a business
network that is dedicated to intra African
trade. Esaja stands for empowering solutions and joint action.
Kwame Nkrumah once said I wasn't born
in Africa, Africa was born in me. This quote
defines me as an entrepreneur, he says.
We have a massive African youth bulge
and need to get this lion roaring or else it'll
devour it's own future. Trade is key.
Making the cover of FORBES AFRICA
one day would be epic, it's not something
one plans for. It's an honor one earns.
Raindolf Owusu
Clarisse Iribagiza
24, Ghana
Founder, Oasis Websoft
Owusu is a software engineer based in
Accra, Ghana, and was dubbed the Mark
Zuckerberg of Accra by FORBES AFRICA
in November 2012. He runs Oasis Websoft
which developed the Anansi Web Browser
hailed as Africas first web browser.
I believe software can solve many
problems in Africa. Our problems on the
continent are different and existing software
FORBES
FOCUS 30 UNDER 30
from abroad are not built to suit the African
setting. Propriety operating systems are
being entrenched into our society and we
spend so much money paying for licenses on this software. I decided to build a
company that will address this problem and
develop homegrown software, says Owusu.
His most recent projects include Anansipedia, an education platform that allows
less privileged students to share educational resources; and Bisa, a mobile application
that supplies information to the public and
gives them access to doctors.
Some of his other notable projects
include Dr Diabetes, a web application that
educates Africans about diabetes.
We hope in a few years we can expand
our operations in other parts of Africa and to
build a digital hub where Africans can learn
more about emerging disruptive technologies
like 3D printers, drones and how they can be
used to improve our lives, says Owusu.
Julie Alexander Fourie
Verone Mankou
28, Republic of Congo
Tech Entrepreneur, Founder & CEO, VMK
Mankou is the founder of VMK and the creator of the first African-made mobile phone,
Elikia. He is also the inventor of Way-C
tablet, Africas version of the iPad.
Mankou, the son of a school mistress and
an oil engineer, provides affordable smart
devices in Africa and increases internet
access in the Republic of Congo.
Before receiving $700,000 from the
Congolese government, Mankou had to
finance his project himself. Banks refused to
help him because he was too young and a
little bit crazy, he says.
18 | FORBES AFRICA
JUNE 2015
Affiong Williams,
29, Nigeria
Founder, Reelfruit
ReelFruit, founded, in March,
2012 is an emerging fruit
processing company focused
on packaging and branding
and processing of locally, and
quality fruit products.
The first product is a range
of dried fruit snacks and nuts.
The products are currently
stocked in over 80 stores in
Nigeria.
ReelFruit is an award-winning brand, winning both
an international Women In
Business Competition in the
Netherlands, as well as an
SME exhibition (Creative Focus Africa) in Lagos, Nigeria.
Williams is trying to
expand her nut business into
the lucrative airline market.
She is raising capital to build
a factory on the outskirts of
Lagos next year.
I hope to be on the cover
of FORBES AFRICA in five
years time, she says.
PHOTO BY GEORGE OKWONG; MAKE-UP BY TOBI BAMIDELE
28, South Africa

Founder, iFix
Fourie is the founder of iFix, which repairs
and services all Apple products and Samsung smartphones. The company employs
40 people and services more than 4,000
clients a month. iFix has branches in Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban.
Fourie started the company in 2006
from his dorm room at the University
of Stellenbosch, helping colleagues and
friends repair broken and faulty iPods and
computers. Satisfied customers recommended Fouries business and it took off.
Ludwick Marishane
25, South Africa
Founder, Headboy Industries
Marishane was in high school when he
came up with DryBath, a gel that does all
the work of a bath without water. Within a
year, he launched Drybath with his company
Headboy Industries.
He had previously tried his hand at
business with his own brand of biodiesel,
healthy cigarettes and a security magazine.
The idea for DryBath was inspired by a
friend of Marishanes who was too lazy to
bath. "Why doesn't someone invent something that you can put on your skin and then
you don't have to bathe?" asked the friend.
Marishane, born in Limpopo, was voted
the best student entrepreneur in the world
by the Entrepreneurs Organisation.
Google named him as one of the most
intelligent young brains in the universe.
Ludwick Marishane
spices. Wolderufael founded the company

in 2012, exporting spices and dry food to the
United States and Europe and, as demand
increased, to new markets within Africa.
His latest export is Ethiopian coffee and
Wolderufael hopes to be one of the biggest food companies in Africa in 10 years.
The company largely employs single
mothers, young men and women from
poor backgrounds.
Ronak Shah
27, Kenya
Founder, Kronex Chemicals Ltd
This Asian-Kenyan is the founder and
CEO of Kronex Chemicals, a manufacturer of affordable dishwashing liquids
and multi-purpose detergent for Kenyas
lower class.
He started the company to improve the deteriorated levels of hygiene in the country.
Kronex set up a manufacturing plant along
Mombasa Road in January 2013 and operations started in June that year. He is taking
on larger firms in Kenya by producing liquid
soap and changing the perception that it a
luxury product.
PHOTO BY FRANS SMIT
Joel Mwale
Senai Wolderufael
28, Ethiopia
Founder of Feed Green Ethiopia Exports
Company
Wolderufael is the founder of Feed Green
Ethiopia Exports Company, an Addis Ababa-based outfit that produces and exports
popular Ethiopian spice blends such as
Shiro, Mitmita, Korarima and Berbere.
He worked for Ethiopian Airlines for
almost four years and noticed many Ethiopians travelling with bags full of Ethiopian
22, Kenya
Founder, Skydrop Enterprises
Mwale founded SkyDrop Enterprises, a rainwater filtration and bottling company which
produces low-cost purified drinking water,
milk and other dairy products in Kenya.
In 2012, Mwale sold a 60% stake in Skydrop to an Israeli firm for $500,000. Next
stop: education. Last year, Mwale founded
Gigavia, an educational social networking
website. Five years after dropping out of
high school, Mwale travelled the world and
rubbed shoulders with several presidents.
The idea for his first business was inspired by two events from his childhood. At
14 he suffered dysentery (infection of the
intestines) from drinking dirty water in his
village outside the western Kenyan town of
Kitale. As a student, his school had visited a
Coca-Cola bottling plant where he saw how
the company made its bottled water.
I knew if there was any business I could
easily go into, it was in water, recalls Mwale.
So, at 16, he started SkyDrop Enterprises, a producer and bottler of low-cost
purified drinking water. He boiled water,
packed it in polythene bags and sold it to

truck drivers in Kitale.
Issam Chleuh
28, Mali
Founder and Chief executive,
Africa Impact Group
Chleuh is the founder an international organization focused on directing investment to
socially and environmentally beneficial ventures, an asset class called Impact Investing.
The companys services include data
and research, news, advisory services, and
start-up incubation.
Africa Impact Groups clients include
impact investors, private equity firms,
family offices, leading African corporations,
governments and non-profits.
Ellen Chilemba
21, Malawi
Founder, Tiwale
Chilemba is easing the difficult circumstances that women in Malawi face with
Tiwale, her for-profit social enterprise she
started when she was 17. Tiwale trains
women as entrepreneurs or finds them
jobs that suit their skills. It also has a
microfinance loan program.
Tiwales Design Project trains women to
do traditional fabric dye-printing. Some
of the revenue from this is used to fund
other programs offered by the organization that give women opportunities to
support themselves.
These include a school grant program
that covers fees, transportation costs,
school supplies and offers a small stipend.
Kennedy Kitheka
25, Kenya
Founder, Funda
In 2008, Kitheka and his friends established an online education platform,
Blu-Uni (later Funda), providing university students with a cheaper way to get
course material.
Kitheka started his business along with
his partners after returning to the Miambani village where his father grew up in. After
being away for 10 years, the 21-year-old
Kitheka was heartbroken to see the lack of
progress in the community.
Funda was created to provide resources young Africans who have the potential
FORBES
FOCUS 30 UNDER 30
Stephen Sembuya
28, Uganda
Co-founder, Pink Food Industries.
Sembuya is living proof that a phoenix can rise
from the ashes of a family fortune. The Sembuyas
were the Rockerfellers of Kampala with their
business empire based around Sembule Steel Mills.
In the late 1990s, a power struggle at the company,
followed by court cases and debt, led to its decline.
Young Sembuya dabbled in publishing for a while,
but discovering that the family still owned a cocoa
plantation he took it over and make it the heart of a
chocolate making company set up a year ago.
Stephen Sembuya
I have always come up with crazy ideas, he says.

The 700-acre farm, which employs 100 workers,
is the largest single owned cocoa plantation in
Africa. It supplies a factory that makes everything
from chocolate bars and drinks to biscuits. New
machinery has increased output from 80 kilograms
a day to 60 kilograms an hour.
The chocolate is making inroads with exports
across east Africa; the region gets most of its chocolate from Egypt, South Africa and Europe.
It would be an honor to be on the cover of
FORBES AFRICA and I hope to make it by 2025,
he says.
A chocolate business out of Uganda could certainly prove a game changer that could help propel
Sembuya there.
20 | FORBES AFRICA
JUNE 2015
Takunda Chingonzoh
22, Zimbabwe
Co-founder, Neolab Technology
Chingonzohs Twitter profile reads: I am out, taking over the world. Apt maybe, Neolab Technology, the award-winning start-up he founded with partners
Jabulani Mpofu and Blessing Mukome, works on pioneering technology for
emerging economies. They also work with Saisai Wireless, a wireless network for
free access to WiFi hotspots in public areas.
Neolab, which Chingonzoh calls the start-up factory, works in close conjunction with the National University of Science and Technology in Bulawayo,
and the students, training and getting them to work in teams and turn concepts
into sustainable start-ups.
Chingonzoh was only 19 when he started the venture, after acquiring a Bachelors degree in quantity surveying.
I have always had the inclination and passion for technology and how it
can revolutionize communities We have created a model that works in the
African context based on one key principle: that an entrepreneur must be able
to create and transfer value to the end user, using the least amount of resources. Capital must only be availed to scale a product that has already proven its
potential. This way, we more or less guarantee the success of a product and do
away with over-hyped products whose seeming success is as a result of money
and resources. When that money burns out, the product/start-up will then fail.
Our model does away with this unsustainability. We believe in frugal innovation: doing more with less!
Chingonzoh is now seeking partnerships and investment to scale this model
and expand to other markets in and around Africa.
I want to help create and launch 100 sustainable companies in and around
Africa by 2020; that means launching at least 20 disruptive start-ups every year.
We are already working with 22 start-ups for this year.
Chingonzoh is also a YALI Washington Fellow, the youngest in 2014,
he says.
EMEKA AND ABIOLA PHOTOS BY GEORGE OKWONG; MAKE-UP BY TOBI BAMIDELE;

ALAIN PHOTO BY ERNEST & BROS DIGITAL PHOTOS SYSTEM; TAKUNDA PHOTO BY
VUMELWANO MLALAZI (VOOTOGRAPHY)
to become the next presidents, CEOs and entrepreneurs. Kitheka says these are the people who
will create change in Africa.
Emeka Akano
28, Nigeria
Co-Founder, Founder2Be
Finding your perfect match is never easy
but Akano and his co-partner, Chinedu
Onyeaso, have made it easier through
Founder2Be.
The cupids of commerce introduced
a match-making service for business
owners in Africa. Like online dating, a
deal is just a click away.
The Nigerians are not strangers to
entrepreneurship; they also started
Entarado, a web development company
empowering small businesses with web
and mobile solutions.
Alain Nteff
22, Cameroon
Founder, Gifted Mom
Nteff was alarmed by the high death
rate of new born babies and pregnant
women in his community. He developed
a mobile app, when he was 20, to help
solve this problem.
The app helps teenage mothers and
health workers calculate due dates. It
also collects and sends information to
women in the community.
His app has more than 500 downloads and is integrated with locally
made phones. It has 1,200 pregnant
women and mothers as beneficiaries
and has led to a 20% increase in antenatal attendance rate for pregnant women
in 15 rural communities.
Nteff is also working with 200 medical students to reduce brain drain in
Cameroon.
He plans to reach 50,000 pregnant
women and mothers by end of 2015 and
5 million across the continent by 2017.
Abiola Olaniran
26, Nigeria
Founder, Gamsole
Olaniran, 26, is the founder
and CEO of Nigerian gaming
company, Gamsole. Olaniran
founded the company in 2012,
and it has venture backing
from 88mph, a Kenyan seed
fund. The companys games
now have more than 9 million
downloads.
FORBES
FOCUS 30 UNDER 30
Rethinks platforms give learners access
to high school mathematics and science
content in a chat-styled interface via
both mobile phones and the web. To
date, Rethink Education has distributed
maths and science content to more than
500,000 South Africans and is launching in Nigeria, Ghana and Zimbabwe.
Doug Hoernle
Ola Orekunrin
29, Nigeria
Medical Doctor & Founder,
The Flying Doctors
Orekunrin is founder and Managing Director of Flying Doctors Nigeria Ltd., an air
ambulance service based in Lagos, Nigeria.
Orekunrins company is the first air ambulance service in West Africa to provide
urgent helicopter, airplane ambulance and
evacuation services.
Tragedy led me to entrepreneurship,

she says. I believe that perhaps my
sister, who died when she was just 12
years old, may have lived if this sort of
service was available in Nigeria at the
time, she says.
Born in London and raised in a
working-class foster home in Lowestoft, a
little fishing town in the East of England,
Orekunrin enrolled for a medical degree
at the University of York and qualified at
21 one of the youngest ever to take the
doctors Hippocratic Oath in Britain.
She is a 2013 New Voices Fellow at
the Aspen Institute and was named a
Young Global Leader in 2013 by the World
Economic Forum.
Best Ayiorworth
Doug Hoernle
25, South Africa
Founder, Rethink Education
This young entrepreneur turned his first
cents selling wrist bands, in school colors,
to his friends in the playground, at the
age of 12, at the elite Johannesburg
school of St Stithians.
The next venture came at the University
of Cape Town. Hoernle liked a glass of wine
and, while finding supply, hit on the idea of
22 | FORBES AFRICA
JUNE 2015
driving across the Western Cape to buy in

bulk to retail to his college friends. When
he left college, Hoernle founded Rethink
Education with the aim of focusing directly
on the high school market, in an effort to
make current technology more useful in the
schooling system.
We saw the gap in the market where
you find people paying R100,000 a year
in school fees and yet they still struggle
with fractions, he says.
23, Uganda
Founder, Gipmo
Often in Uganda when families struggle to
put their children through school, the girl is
forced to stay at home while the boy completes school. Ayiorworth couldnt afford
to go to school following the death of her
father. She started a microlending business
so other girls can.
Girl Power Microlending Organisation
(Gipomo) is a business tied to loans where
mothers take out loans to start their own
small businesses and in return they must
make sure their daughters attend school.
This project gained Ayiorworth the
Anzisha Price in 2013 for young African
entrepreneurs. She ploughed her winnings

back into her microlending business.
Sangu Delle
28, Ghanaia
Founder, Golden Palm Investments
Delle is a co-founder of Golden Palm Investments, a holding company that invests
in startups across Africa. Some of the
entrepreneurs on this list have benefited
from his investments. Golden Palm Investments focuses on real estate, healthcare,
agriculture and technology.
Delle showed entrepreneurial promise
while in school. He sold his homework to
classmates to earn money to travel to the
United States, where he had accepted a
scholarship.
He is also the co-founder of cleanacwa,
a non-profit that provides clean water in
Catherine Mahugu
Ghanas underdeveloped regions. Sangu,

who previously worked at Goldman Sachs,
Morgan Stanley and Valiant Capital Partners,
is currently an MBA candidate at Harvard.
Max Hussman
29, South Africa
Founder, Elegance Group
A 2016 swimming Olympic hopeful, Hussmann also runs an aviation business through
Elegance Group, which includes Elegance
Air, sport consulting and aviation consulting.
He was born in Accra, raised in Germany,
but made a home in South Africa where
Elegance is thriving and making its mark
in the aviation industry. It offers the hour
package flying principle with chartered
airlines, where companies are able to buy
bulk hours of 25 to 50 hours and utilize them
when it suits.
Bankole Cardoso
26, Nigeria
Co-founder, Easy Taxi Nigeria
Cardoso was the founding chief executive
of online taxi hailing app, Easy Taxi Nigeria,
a Rocket Internet-backed startup. While still
affiliated with Easy Taxi, he is moving on to
new projects. Easy Taxi, under Cardosos
watch, grew to be one of the most used taxi
hailing apps in Lagos and Abuja.
It has been a tough year for Cardoso.
His mother, Stella Ameyo Adadevoh, died
of Ebola this year. Adadevoh was one of
the doctors in Nigeria who helped treat
the disease.
Catherine Mahugu
27, Kenya
Co-founder, Soko
Mahugu is one of the founders of Soko, an
online platform where global shoppers can
buy handcrafted accessories direct from
artisans in Kenya.
Born and raised in Nairobi, Mahugu
studied computer science for her graduate degree.
I used to fix things and gadgets as a
child From a young age, I was fascinated
by science, technology, engineering and
mathematics. Family support motivated my
sister to study civil engineering and me to
study computer science. Although these are
male-dominated fields, my parents positive
attitude provided an empowering environment, and we were encouraged to pursue
our own interests.
If you want to be an innovative tech
company anywhere in the world right now,
mobile must be a significant component of
what you do. Pervasive mobile phone ownership and services such as M-Pesa have
made Kenya a global hub of innovative
business models that leverage mobile in
order to leapfrog many of the infrastructural barriers the industrialized world faces for
challenges as diverse as payment solutions
and opportunities for poverty alleviation,
says Mahugu.
Mahugu took the Design Liberation
Technology course at Stanford University
in 2010 and has been involved in various
development projects including Stanfords Nokia Africa Research Center which
builds mobile applications for informal
communities.
FORBES
FOCUS 30 UNDER 30
WATCH THIS SPACE

Afua Osei
28, Ghana
Co-founder, She Leads Africa
AFUA BY GEORGE OKWONG
Kgomotso Mautloa
29, South Africa
Founder, Green Robot Design
24 | FORBES AFRICA
JUNE 2015
Mautloa is the owner and co-founder of Green Robot Design.

The son of well-known South African artists, Pat and Bongi
Mautloa, Kgomotso quit his job in 2007 to start his own
business and create his own legacy. Kgomotso is a designer,
creative director and brand consultant and his clients include
popular musicians such as Kuli Chana and Mo Flava. Besides
a matric certificate, he has no formal degree. That hasnt
stopped him from reaching the creative heights others can
only dream about.
KGOMOTSO AND SIYABONGA BY MOTLABANA MONNAKGOTLA
Osei co-founded She Leads Africa with Yasmin

Belo-Osagie. She Leads Africa is a social enterprise
that provides women with the support they need
to build their businesses. The plan is to turn female
entrepreneurs into pan-African business leaders.
She Leads Africa has almost 1,000 start-ups in its
network and plans to empower more than 10,000
women this year. Osei, who has a fulltime job at
global management consulting firm, McKinsey &
Company, has worked on Michelle Obamas research and communications team as well as helping
women running for Congress in the United States.
Siyabonga Beyile
21, South Africa
Founder, The Threaded Man
The Threaded Man is an online fashion platform for African men. Launched in February
2013 by Siyabonga Beyile, it has established itself as the leading site for the latest trends
in menswear. Beyile dropped out of fashion school because his parents couldnt afford the
fees. He then realized he didnt want to be a designer and became an analyst instead. He
now advises and promotes designers. Beyile is considered one of the most influential bloggers in South African mens fashion and has covered local and international fashion shows.
Trushar Khetia
28, Kenya
Founder,
Tria Group
Michael Muthiga
27, Kenya
Founder, Fatboy Animation
Muthiga is the founder of Fatboy Animation, a Nairobi-based company that produces animation for both film
and adverts. FatBoy Animations has produced several viral
3-D animated commercials for leading Kenyan brands.
After finishing school, Muthiga couldnt afford to attend
animation courses and had to teach himself with free online tutorials. He then honed his skills at Tinga Tinga Tales,
a cartoon series based on African folk tales that was aired
on BBC and the Disney Channel. After creating work that
has gone viral, Fatboy Animation now attracts clients from
East Africa, the United States, Canada and India. In the
future, Muthiga hopes to produce animated movies.
TRUSHAR AND MICHAEL BY OSBORNE MACHARIA
Khetia is the founder

of Tria Group, a Kenyan
company that places
advertising on buses
in Nairobi. Tria, which
was founded in 2013,
already has annual
revenues exceeding
$1.3 million. Khetia
also entered the
retail market when
he founded Society
Stores, a four-storey
supermarket. He plans
to open two more retail
outlets before the end
of the year.
MY WORST DAY
WHAT DO
YOU DO
WHEN
YOUR
COMPANY
LOSES ITS
MOJO?
He is not your average CEO. When
he laughs, its infectious. When we
arrived late for the interview, he
bantered and laughed louder even
though he was to talk about his
worst day.
BY THOBILE HANS
izwe Ntsaluba Gobodo is a rare accounting

firm built on small township businesses with
sweat and hard work under apartheid. This
year, it celebrates 30 years, and is the fifth
largest firm in Southern Africa. It also works
in West Africa. Eighteen years ago, it was rocked by
uncertainty and despair. This was Victor Sekeses
worst day.
26 | FORBES AFRICA
JUNE 2015
Having a high profile personality at the

helm of the organization is useful for
the standing of the organization and its
reputation. The advantage results in better
deal flow for the business.
It is, however, important for the
organization to build its own profile, such
that it is not overshadowed by the leaders
one. Most importantly, stakeholder
relations are important in making sure
that they understand the strength and
depth of the organization, that its success
is not dependent on one individual.
I have also learned that you should not
take succession planning and contingency
plans for granted. These should be
proactively addressed even when things
are going well. I have heard of too many
start-ups where the founders leave them
during early stages of operations.
PHOTO BY MOTLABANA MONNAKGOTLA
What did I learn?
I BELIEVE IN NOT REINVENTING THE WHEEL.

FORBES
MY WORST DAY VICTOR SEKESE

Sekese is living proof you dont have to be
eccentric to run this business, but it helps.
Am I properly dressed for this
interview? By the way, thank you for
being late, while you were getting lost
on your way here I had to catch up on
something, says Sekese, as he strides
into the boardroom neatly dressed in a
black suit and tie, before breaking into
raucous laughter.
If it takes one man to change the
world, Sekese could be that man. He
has been the chief with the company
since 1994, and chief executive for 18
years. You could say he is a rock of a
company worth $60 million.
The foundation of this rock was laid
in the turbulent townships of 1980s as
South Africa burned.
We were operating at grassroots
level. We were literarily getting our
hands dirty helping all sorts of township entrepreneurs, largely focusing on
professional people running law firms,
medical practitioners and non-governmental organization work. We helped
them with books and tax matters.
Thats the type of portfolio I was working on, recalls Sekese.
In 1995, international funding for
NGOs was dried up and the company
had to help to close down many organizations. This was lost revenue. So, they
started to knock on the doors of government parastatals and private companies.
In 1998, they got nice contracts from
telecommunications and services companies. Right at this zenith, the company
was shaken to its core. Sizwe Nxasana,
the founder of Sizwe Ntsaluba Gobodo
(then Nkonki Sizwe Ntsaluba) left his
younger colleagues for a government job.
Nxasana was appointed CEO for
Telkom, a lifetime opportunity for him.
Now the founder, the pillar, the icon
of the firm is leaving. We were very
young, we had enthusiasm, we had
energy, we had vision, but we were still
building ourselves in the marketplace.
One thing I have learned in life, theres
no substitute for experience. When we
leave these Ivy League institutions, we
leave with confidence only. That is not
enough, says Sekese.
28 | FORBES AFRICA
JUNE 2015
Nxasana left Sizwe Ntsaluba Gobodo bereft. There was uncertainty and clients
cast doubt on the young team. Sekese,
who was a manager at the time, says services firms, in their early days, are linked
to founders and personalities.
Our key clients were getting jittery
about Nxasana leaving. Now we needed
to be quick on public relations, we
stepped up quickly without the luxury
of time. We tried to emphasize the
success of the firm was not premised in
an individual, he says.
It was also felt that Sizwe Ntsaluba,
another founder and second in command to Nxasana, was in his shadow.
In this crisis, the company took a deep
breath and put its confidence in Sekese,
in his early 30s, appointing him chief
executive.
This never occurred in my mind
but we needed to do things and do
them quickly. One is being asked to
take the lead in a situation where
theres a lack of confidence in the
market. I saw myself as a person to
leverage the team and the philosophy
was that this firm was not about personalities.
The team rallied behind Sekese
and he was sent to Harvard for a short
course in leadership. This gave him
confidence.
Sekese says the experience forced
the company to rebrand as Sizwe Ntsaluba VSP and appoint a marketing team
to change its image.
In 2011, Sizwe Ntsaluba merged with
Gobodo Incorporated and renamed
itself Sizwe Ntsaluba Gobodo. The new
partner, Nonkululeko Gobodo, was the
first black female chartered accountant
in South Africa. She sold out and left
in 2014.
In the past three years, Sizwe Ntsaluba Gobodo received a 5-year multi-
million-rand contract from Transnet

and announced plans to expand into
the continent. Transnet and MTN are
major clients.
Sekese says they are not comfortable
as the fifth behind Deloitte, Ernst &
Young, KPMG and PwC.
We are working on our Africa strategy, extending our footprint across the
continent and acquiring other firms to
increase our capacity, he says.
Sekese, a chartered accountant and
University of the Witwatersrand University alumnus, was an entrepreneur
in his own right but believes in the
power of partnership. A few years after
completing articles in 1991, he started
Sekese Associates in Pretoria.
I wanted to create something big
on my own but I realized that if I am
alone it was going to take longer and
be even more difficult. I believe in not
reinventing the wheel. Sango Nxasana,
my old colleague at ABASA, an association for the advancement of black accountants, approached me to join him.
It was a no-brainer for me. I collapsed
my little firm and got into a system that
was already moving, says Sekese.
Behind the spontaneous laughter
and carefree demeanour of the father
of two, lies an activist. Sekese, raised
in Mamelodi township, east of Pretoria, cut his teeth in social activism at
KwaZulu Natal University in his first
year of a BCom degree. The university closed down because of the black
students political activism. Sekese
continued with his activism at Wits
and later ABASA, where he met with
Sango (meaning door in Xhosa) Ntsaluba, who became his mentor.
He really lived up to his name. He
opened doors for many, he says.
You could argue Sekese is also a dab
hand at battening down the hatches.
In the cut-and-thrust world of business weve all experienced

a worst day. How did you turn it around?
What can we learn from your experience?
letters@forbesafrica.com
AFRICAN NOTEBOOK
BY JEAN-JACQUES CORNISH
President Omar al-Bashir
XENOPHOBIA SPARKS DIPLOMATIC SPAT

Top politicians furiously fought back in a diplomatic row between Nigeria and South Africa
over xenophobic attacks in Durban and Johannesburg. Abujas senior envoy, Martin Cobham,
left Pretoria in a hurry, telling South African officials hed been recalled in protest against
attacks on foreigners. The top public servant in Nigerias Foreign Ministry, Danjuma Sheni,
was suspended for echoing Cobham. A South African foreign affairs spokesman who
deplored Abuja exploiting South Africas pain was repudiated by Minister in the Presidency
Jeff Radebe who insisted this did not reflect the official view because relations between
Nigeria and South Africa were very cordial. President Jacob Zuma reportedly dismissed the
Nigerian action as that of an outgoing regime. He was resigned to leaving fence-mending
until he attended the inauguration of President Muhammadu Buhari at the end of May.
Nevertheless he spoke to outgoing President Goodluck Jonathan to underline Radabes
remarks about the state of bilateral relations.
AU CONDEMNS BURUNDI
VIOLENCE
PHOTO OF OMAR AL-BASHIR BY GALLO IMAGES / AFP / ASHRAF SHAZLY;

PHOTO OF ELLEN SIRLEAF BY GALLO IMAGES / AFP / ZOOM DOSSO
BASHIR WINS BOYCOTTED

ELECTIONS
Efforts by beleaguered Sudanese President
Omar al-Bashir to hold free and fair elections
were frustrated by his opposition who
boycotted the ballot. They demanded the
government disband before a national dialogue.
Bashir refused and said the dialogue, following
deadly riots in late 2013, would take place
after the election. Support from the electorate
was disappointingly low, even though voting
took no fewer than four days. This, in turn,
led the international community to discount
the credibility of the election. The African
Union observer team, led by former Nigerian
president, Olusegun Obasanjo, said the vote
reflected the true will of the Sudanese people.
It added that Sudans human rights record does
not pass muster. The mediation troika of Britain,
the United States and Norway said the elections
lack credibility. This is a setback for Bashir who
was hoping the process might help Sudan
follow Myanmar, Iran and Cuba in from the cold.
African Union chief, Nkosazana DlaminiZuma, says Burundi is not ready to

hold elections on June 26. She says the
continental body cannot send election
observers to the overcrowded Great
Lakes country when tens of thousands
are fleeing into neighboring countries to
escape the violence. At least 20 people
have died in protests against President
Pierre Nkurunziza who standing for an
unconstitutional third term. He maintains
his first mandate in 2005 came from
parliament and not the electorate, so
the 2010 election was his first win in
terms of the constitution. The countrys
Constitutional Court has ruled in his favor.
However the vice president of that court,
Sylvere Nimpagaritse, has skipped the
country saying his life and those of other
judges have been threatened. Nkurunziza
dismisses protests as terrorism and has
set the youth wing of his ruling CNDD
FDD, known as the Imbonerakure, against
demonstrators.
BOKO HARAM ON THE

BACK FOOT?
Nigerian security forces say they have Islamist
militant group Boko Haram on run. Military
assistance from neighboring Niger, Chad and
Cameroon has made the difference. Boko
Haram extended its insurgency into these
countries in its effort to create a caliphate in
the north east of Nigeria. Operations against
the militants focused on the Sambisa forest
which is their last stronghold. At least 1,000
women and girls held have been freed and
moved to safety by Nigerian forces. The
whereabouts of the schoolgirls captured from
the town of Chibok has not been established.
The freed women say they have to deal with
the stigma of being Boko Haram brides
after the militants boasted theyd provided
captives to their fighters for marriage.
President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf
LIBERIA FREE OF EBOLA

After 42 days without any reported new
cases of the deadly haemorrhagic disease,
Liberia was declared Ebola free on May 9.
President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf declared:
Liberia is a happy country. We have
crossed the Rubicon. Her compatriots
went to churches the following day for
thanksgiving ceremonies. Liberia took
the heaviest toll of the three West African
countries affected by the worst Ebola
outbreak to date that killed more than
11,000 people. Ebola cases are dwindling in

Sierra Leone and Guinea but the disease is
stubbornly refusing to disappear. Medical
specialists making progress on developing
a vaccine have moved to these countries.
They need new cases to test the immunity
properties of their work. As foreign doctors
and nurses leave the region, medical
services exhausted by the unprecedented
fight against the disease are left in a
parlous state.
FORBES/FOCUS
NEPAL EARTHQUAKE
CLICK TO PLAY VIDEO
Remorse And
Rubble In
Nepal
FORBES AFRICA Publisher and Vice-Chairman of the

ABN Group, Rakesh Wahi, was caught in the tremors
and aftershocks of the earthquake in Kathmandu.
Wahi went to Nepal to climb Everest and ended up
making a harrowing journey through the rubble.
BY RAKESH WAHI
30 | FORBES AFRICA
JUNE 2015
ithin minutes of
driving out the
parking lot at the
Kathmandu airport,
the first earthquake
struck. Our vehicles rocked from side
to side, like boats on a choppy ocean. At
first, we didnt realize what was going on.
When the shaking continued and we saw
people screaming and running from the
airport we realized we were amid the
worst earthquake Nepal had ever seen.
In 2013, I took fifteen middle management executives from the ABN Group
to the top of Kilimanjaro. Soon after our
return, we started planning the next adventure Everest Base Camp (EBC). The
earthquake changed everything.
When the tremors stopped, we had
a chance to assess the situation. From
the airport in Kathmandu, we could see
black dust billowing from the city. The
magnitude of the tremors was more than
I had ever experienced in my life. We
were told that the airport was closed and
the runway had cracked. The intensity of

the earthquake and the damage was not
clear. It became so as we made our way to
our hotel.
By this time, all the residents of the
city had moved into the streets. Dharahara Tower, the tallest building in the city,
had collapsed. Icons, like the Dharahara Tower, are pillars of pride. When
they fall, it makes people desolate and
uncertain, particularly when most of the
buildings are old and poorly maintained.
The tremors continued at frequent
intervals and in the frenzy our vehicles
were separated. Our driver was young
and seemed to have lost his nerve. He
took us into a built-up area in the city,
parked the car in an enclosed parking lot
and without saying a word deserted us.
We never saw him again. I was with Gary
Fernandes and Biju Vetil who are both
senior members of the Transnational Education (TNE) management. By this time,
the network was clogged and we were
unable to contact Chris Pilgrim and other
members of our team in Kathmandu. We

were, however, able to connect intermittently with our HR Manager, Bidisha Sen,
in Dubai. The most important thing was
to let everyones families know we were
safe.
By 1PM, my son Sidharth, who is
based in Johannesburg, started providing
me with information based on what he
was able to pick up from news reports.
We were told that there was another
severe quake expected at 3PM. Since we
were stranded, the three of us decided to
go towards a canal in an open area until
the next wave of tremors. By 4PM, we
asked a person in the garage to drive us
to our hotel; he reluctantly agreed. The
journey was eventful as most roads were
blocked by fallen buildings and debris.
Kathmandu is an old city and the streets
are extremely narrow. Another death trap
was the low hanging power cables that
are part of a dilapidated grid. While most
of the city had lost power, there were
still some main cables that burst at the
FORBES
nodes as we were passing by. By this time,

everyone had evacuated their homes
and moved into the streets. By 5PM, we
regrouped with the team at our hotel.
The hotel was in disarray. All the
guests had moved into the lobby and the
small courtyard outside. It was getting
a cold and people went to their rooms
hesitantly to collect sleeping bags and
blankets for the night ahead. I assembled
the team and my first goal was to make
sure that everyone was calm. I stressed
that we had to stay together and the safety of our team was paramount. We agreed
that we had to abandon the trek and plan
an exit strategy.
The airport was closed. Our next option
was to get transport to the Indian border
and cross to Delhi to fly to Dubai. This
needed visas from the Indian embassy as
we had four other nationalities: Canadian,
Chinese, Filipino and Egyptian.
We were told that the Indian Air
Force had deployed C-130 aircraft to
evacuate Indian nationals. The team
agreed that we were not going to evacuate piecemeal until there was a proper
plan for each member. It was clear to me
that I would be the last to leave. I also realized, rather than listening to rumours,
a physical recce of the airport was needed so that I could decide whether it was
going to be an air evacuation or by road.
The news from social media and family came in. The extent of the damage was
not clear but by this time we knew about
the avalanche at EBC, the devastation at
the epicentre and the rising casualties.
We could hear the sirens of ambulances
and rescue workers moving around trying to help people trapped in the rubble.
My team was tired and emotionally
drained but never showed a moment of
weakness nor despair. I wanted to make
sure that we found a place to eat. The city
had shut down; nothing was open other
than small grocery stores selling water
and basic food. People had left their place
of work and returned home to care for
their families. We found a small restaurant and were told the only dish they
could serve was chow mein. The half
cooked and barely warm dish was perhaps the tastiest chow we had ever eaten.
32 | FORBES AFRICA
JUNE 2015
After dinner, Chris and Biju went on a

mission to find a taxi to go on a recce.
They found a broken down vintage taxi
that Gary and I rode to the airport. It
had started drizzling and it was heartrending to see families, particularly
children, sleeping on the streets. Some
people were keeping a vigil to make
sure that their groups were safe. To our
delight, we found lines of tourists and
expatriates lined up to fly out. The only
operational flights were by the Indian
Air Force which gave me the comfort
that commercial airlines would soon
start flying in. This is the information
that I needed to have a proper plan for
the next day.
My wife Saloni had been in touch
with all the airlines flying out from the
UAE and had made tentative bookings
for us on Air Arabia. By 3AM, our seats
were secured on the 10.55PM flight
from Kathmandu to Sharjah on Sunday.
We had a sleepless night which saw
several tremors, including a severe one
at 5AM. It rained and was freezing cold.
We had to move into the dining area
where the guests were crammed like
sardines. People were edgy, every time
a chair moved they darted to the open
courtyard.
At 7AM, we received a princely
breakfast of tea, slices of bread and jam.
It was a blessing. At 9AM, the hotel
owner came to meet us and offered us a
lift in his van. The only problem was it
was the team or the luggage; not both.
Since we had over 12 hours until our
flight, I asked him to take the baggage.
Our travel agent assured us it would get
to the airport.
We decided not to walk through the
built up areas as a lot of the buildings
were unstable. We found a map and
planned our more than 20 kilometer
route along the canal and then finally
on to the wide main road to the airport.
The extent of the damage and the displacement of people we saw while walking was an eye opener. The open areas
were packed and temporary shelters, of
tarpaulin and plastic, were everywhere.
Rescuers pulled dead bodies from the
wreckage. We were full of remorse and
knew it could have been us.

After a six-hour march, that included
the second-most severe earthquake at
1PM, we finally made it to the airport.
We joined long lines of people waiting
to board commercial planes. The airport
had been shut down once again and we
had no idea if we would fly out. My wife
stayed in close contact with the airline
and at 6.30PM told us that the flight
had taken off from Sharjah. Hope was
revived. We checked in at 9PM and the
way the baggage was piled up in the
airport, and the lack of any tracking and
staff, made it evident that the luggage
was not going anywhere. We boarded
at 1AM and took off an hour later to
the cheers of relieved and exhausted
passengers. The ordeal, for us, was over.
Our families and the hot coffee and muffins at the airport more than compensated for our lost baggage that we have
no hope of getting back. I only hope the
contents make it to the needy people of
Nepal and not into the hands of thieves.
This experience was a reality check.
We often believe we are infallible; the
truth is we are far from it. I was just
happy that I could bring all members of
my team back safely. I would not have
been able to live with myself if anything
untoward had happened. Our team
members in Dubai and families stepped
up and played a crucial role in lifting
our morale. We went there for a team
building exercise. Nothing prepared
the team for a real life catastrophe that
brought out the best in each of them
and brought them together as a family
and inspired them to contribute to the
suffering people of Nepal.
We often
believe we are
infallible; the
truth is we are
far from it.
PHOTOS BY WILBERT O. SAYSON
FOCUS NEPAL EARTHQUAKE
FOCUS
FORBES/FOCUS
BURUNDI
PHOTOS BY GALLO IMAGES/AFP / JENNIFER HUXTA
People burn mattresses looted from the local police post on

May 13 in Masuga neighborhood in Bujumbura during a
protest against president Pierre Nkurunzizas bid for a third term
Genocide Looms Over

The Streets Of Flames
Burundi is divided between those loyal to the president
and those against him. With elections coming up, there
are fears that civil war, and possibly genocide, will return.
BY ELAYNE WANGALWA
urundi has been rocked

by gunfire, protests and an
attempted coup. At least 20
people are feared dead and
hundreds of thousands are
on the run since the skirmishes began
in April.
Protests in East Africas smallest
country began in the capital Bujumbura on April 25 after President Pierre
Nkurunziza announced he was seeking
a third term in office, despite a two-term
limit in the constitution.
34 | FORBES AFRICA
JUNE 2015
Protestors immediately barricaded roads

and set tyres alight. Since then, there
have been daily riots in the capital.
The air is full of tension as army and
police officials patrol the streets.
A group, led by Godefroid Niyombare, even attempted to overthrow the
government while Nkurunziza was in
Tanzania for talks with regional leaders
on the crisis in his country. Despite initially claiming success, the coup failed,
and many of its leaders were arrested.
Niyombare remains on the run.
On May 5, the Constitutional Court said

that Nkurunziza is eligible for a third
term in office after four judges fled the
country fearing for their safety. The
court stated Nkurunzizas first term does
not count because he was appointed by
parliament, not the citizens of Burundi.
Nkurunziza took office 10 years ago
after the end of a 12-year civil war. Following a peace agreement in 2005 in
Arusha, Tanzania, it was decided that
no president will run for more than
two terms.
serious challenge to neighboring countries capacities to accommodate refugees. It is a serious concern in an already
fragile region, EU Commissioner for
Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management, Christos Stylianides, said.
Burundis economy has grown by
more than 4% annually since 2012 despite several constraints.
Last year, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) warned that the countrys medium term economic outlook
remains bleak with risks arising from
political uncertainties ahead of the
general elections and vulnerability to
external shocks given Burundis narrow
export base.
According to Venuste Karambazi, an
independent analyst based in Rwanda,
Nkurunzizas decision to run for office
will put a damper on the struggling
economy.
Burundi is a poor country, so when
there are riots, like the case now, these
contribute to weakening the economy
more and more. The capital is paralyzed,
trade is paralyzed and other social activities come to a stop. This is a danger to
the economy which is already weak. If
the situation continues, we risk having a
Burundian economy that is destroyed,
Karambazi said.
President Pierre Nkurunziza
Burundian police officer holding a baton and army forces run after protestors throwing stones
during a demonstration against president Pierre Nkurunzizas bid for a third term
WE RISK HAVING A BURUNDIAN ECONOMY

THAT IS DESTROYED.
PHOTO BY GALLO IMAGES / AFP / CARL DE SOUZA
International governments have

expressed concern over the courts
decision.
The eyes of the world are on Burundi. The steps necessary for a peaceful
and prosperous democratic future for
Burundi should be taken now, Britain
said in a statement.
Reports of intimidation against
members of the Constitutional Court do
not give the impression of an independent court that was able to come to an
impartial decision.
We are deeply concerned about
President Nkurunzizas decision,
which flies directly in the face of the
constitution of his country, US Secretary of State, John Kerry, said during a
visit to Kenya.
Many fear that civil war will return.
The country has been plagued with
tension since it gained independence
from Belgium in 1962. The civil war,
fought between the countrys Hutu
majority and Tutsi minority, began in
1993 and resulted in the death of around
300,000 people.
With the presidential elections slated
for June 26, Nkurunziza continues to
defy international pressure to withdraw
from the elections. Furthermore, the
president has rejected calls to delay the
elections, saying that it would worsen
the current situation.
So far, Belgium has suspended the
$2.2 million it had pledged for Burundis elections and the Netherlands says
it is reviewing its commitment to the
country.
The current government remains
hopeful that peaceful and fair elections
will still be held.
Since the protests began, more than
100,000 Burundians have fled to neighboring countries Rwanda, Tanzania
and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Many fear the ruling partys youth wing
militia Imbonerakure, according to the
UN refugee agency.
The European Commission has
disbursed $1.7 million to support and
protect Burundian refugees in neighboring countries.
Such sudden and massive displacement is a humanitarian tragedy and a
FORBES
FOCUS MOZAMBIQUE: 40 YEARS OF INDEPENDENCE
FREEDOM, STRUGGLE
AND GAS
40 Years Of Mozambique
Mozambique has sloughed through four decades of pain brought on by civil war and
unrest. Now it is a hotspot for African investment.
PHOTO BY GALLO IMAGES / GETTY IMAGES / KEYSTONE-FRANCE
BY JAY CABOZ
38 | FORBES AFRICA
JUNE 2015
PHOTO BY JAY CABOZ
t was a night like no other in

Mozambique. Tens of thousands
of people crammed into the
noisy Machava Stadium in Maputo. A drum roll echoed across
the capital as the Portuguese flag was
lowered for the last time. It was barely
visible in the darkness and lit merely by
hundreds of camera flashes. As the new
flag of Mozambique, with its yellow,
black and red, AK-47 and hoe crossed,
was raised Samora Machel, the charismatic leader of Frelimo who fought for
independence, stood tall in uniform.
Viva Frelimo. Viva Repblica Popular
de Moambique. A Luta Continua
[the struggle continues], booms Machel.
This was June 25, 1975, the day Mozambique ended 470 years of colonial
rule. On this day, the city, known for
centuries as Lourenco Marques, after
the 16th century Portuguese explorer
who surveyed its rich natural harbour,
became Maputo.
The times were changing around the
world. VHS and Betamax were vying for
video tape supremacy; Jaws topped the
box office; and the Apollo missions that
saw Neil Armstrong take the first steps on
the moon six years before came to an end.
In politics, the old world was on the
run. A few weeks before, the Vietnam
War ended when the North Vietnam
forces chased the United States out of
Saigon. You could argue that the world
balance of power was tipping in favor of
communist China and Russia, who had
backed Mozambique to the hilt.
The outside world was forgotten as
the people in the stadium were swept
up in a night of fervour 40 years ago.
I was sitting in the stadium screaming. We were singing. I was young at
the time. Machel was a crazy guy, but
passionate. He was jumping and singing
and breaking protocols. The Portuguese
were there to hand over the flag. They
brought the flag down. It was unbelievable the noise in that stadium, recalls
Ricardo Roberts, now 60 and the Commercial Manager of the Port of Maputo.
Mozambique didnt stand still either.
As soon as the rubbish was cleaned from
the stadium, there was change. Mozam-
bique moved toward a controlled Marxist

state and hard times ensued.
I didnt understand much about [Independence Day] but I was very excited
and very happy about it. All of us; we
had to get it in our heads that we were
being freed. Being free didnt mean that
later, when we were told what we could
eat and buy, says Roberts.
You couldnt go to a shop and
buy food. We had a card like they
used in Russia. For every member of
a family you were given a quota per
month with 2 kilograms of sugar and
rice. You couldnt buy clothes in the
shop, you had to queue. It happened
to me several times. The first 10 guys
in that queue, you didnt know what
they queuing about. You just found a
line and queued. Because it might be
something you need. I ended up buying
a pair of trousers which had dark blue
on one leg and on the other it was light
blue. All the rest was dark blue.
This was a big change for a city
known as the Monte Carlo of southern
Africa, a playground for the rich, many
of them South Africans who flooded
across the border in the holidays with
cash to burn. If you had the money, you
could buy anything amid the streets
that moved to the aroma of ground
coffee and the sweet taste of pastel de
nata, the Portuguese egg tart pastry.
In the new Mozambique, the sweet
life was no more.
For 10 years it was bad after independence. All the Portuguese left the country, says Roberts.
The Mozambique dream of a worker paradise struggled as the country
descended in a 17-year civil war. To make
matters worse, the powerful armies of
its neighbors, South Africa and Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) both clinging to
minority rule, opposed Mozambique and
encouraged its rebels.
In the early nineties, the Berlin Wall
came down and communism waned.
Mozambique emerged blinking into a
different world. Machel, who died in a
plane crash in 1986, was succeeded by
the pragmatic Joaquim Chissano who
made peace and reformed policy towards
capitalism. It was also a time when most
of southern Africa was changing. In 1994,
Nelson Mandela, who spent 27 years in
prison, became the President of South
Africa and opted for a free market.
Twenty years later, Mozambique is
reaping the rewards of that change with
its vast untapped resources.
Experts say Mozambique is home to
the worlds third largest liquefied natural
gas (LNG) discovery. Made by United
States energy giant Anadarko, 75 trillion
cubic feet (tcf ) was found in 2010 in the
Rovuma Basin, 48 kilometers off the
countrys north coast on the border with
Tanzania.
Mozambique has probably made
the biggest gas discovery in the world
FORBES
FOCUS MOZAMBIQUE: 40 YEARS OF INDEPENDENCE
PHOTOS BY JAY CABOZ
Coastal town of Inhambane
40 | FORBES AFRICA
JUNE 2015
Maputo
in the past 10 years. Mozambique will

probably be the next Qatar, says Simon
Ashby-Rudd, Standard Banks Head of
Oil, Gas and Renewables.
A macro-economic study by Standard
Bank says Mozambiques LNG could
create 15,000 direct jobs and 685,000
indirect jobs, add $39 billion per annum
to Mozambiques Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by 2035; a shot in the arm to
Mozambique, which had a GDP of $15.6
billion in 2013.
Mozambiques economy, according
to the World Bank, has had an average
7.4% growth over the past two decades.
Mozambique remains one of the
fastest growing economies in Africa
driven by investment into megaprojects,
specifically surrounding the coal, oil
and gas sectors. Foreign Direct Investment will remain forthcoming to exploit
the vast natural resources Mozambique
possesses. But we have seen a shift in
investment priorities, where agriculture
and agro-industry attracted the most
investment in 2014, followed by tourism
and hospitality, services, construction
and public works, transport and communications, industry, and aquaculture
and commercial fisheries, says Roy
Daniels, Head of Africa Trading at Rand
Merchant Bank.
[A] major impediment to growth in
Mozambique is the large infrastructure
YOU CAN SEE

BUILDINGS COMING
UP LIKE MUSHROOMS
EVERY DAY IN MAPUTO;
IN BEIRA; NACALA;
ITS THE SAME.
deficit, which has already caused large
companies exiting or delaying investment
due to the difficulty in getting production to the main areas of export. Another
major challenge is its business climate.
However, the government has implemented a number of reforms over the
last few months to improve its operating
environment including the adoption of
a single form for company registrations
and a soon to be approved credit risk center as well as simplified commercial and
industrial licencing, says Daniels.
Poverty is Mozambiques greatest bugbear. Many megaprojects in
coal, mineral-sands and natural-gas
extraction and processing have done
little for poverty reduction. Research
by Standard Bank says 90% of Mozambiques 25 million people exist on
less than $2 a day, most (81%) are poor
farmers; agriculture makes up 29% of
the total GDP. The World Bank esti-
mates that 300,000 new workers enter

the job market every year.
Assuming a stable political environment, prospects are positive for 2014
and 2015, with growth forecast to remain above 8%, supported by increased
coal production, continued public
investment and the forecast start of
the preparatory work for the multi-billion-dollar liquefied natural gas (LNG)
plant, states the African Development
Bank Group on their website.
There is more to Mozambique than
meets the investor eye; rubies could
be Mozambiques new best friend.
The unlikely find of the worlds largest
deposit of rubies, in the small town of
Montepuez, 2,400 kilometers from Maputo and a world away from the nearest
jeweller, has turned this remote village
into a boom town.
In June, a monster 40.23 carat ruby,
dubbed the Rhino Ruby, proved to
be a rough cut stone above the rest for
auctioneers in Singapore. Gemfields,
which has a 75% stake in the mine, sold
an average realized price per carat of
$689 and came away with sales of $43.3
million the highest ever for one of the
companys auctions.
Money may take time to trickle down
to the streets of Mozambique. But even
the crowded boulevards of Maputo are
a sign of the changes. Twenty years ago,
cars, aside from military RVs, were rare
to find.
Overhead scores of cranes swing
over Maputo building a new inner city
that in many ways appears frozen in the
1970s.
If you compare the last 10 years, its
day and night. You cant compare it. You
still have a lot of buildings which have
been nationalized by people who cant
afford to fix them and they are ugly.
But you can see buildings coming up
like mushrooms every day in Maputo;
in Beira; in Nacala; its the same, says
Roberts.
Mozambique 40 years past was all
about freedom and raising the Marxist flag. Now its all about creating
jobs, pumping out gas and digging for
rubies.
FORBES
FOCUS MOZAMBIQUE: GAS
The Land Of Prawns Is

Now Cooking With Gas
Recent oil and gas discoveries could transform Mozambique
once one of the poorest countries in the world.
BY JAY CABOZ
42 | FORBES AFRICA
JUNE 2015
Texas-born Peffer, who has over 30

years of experience in oil and gas, has
seen the gas revolution turn the Rovuma Basin, 48 kilometers off the countrys north coast near the border with
Tanzania, into an offshore energy trove.
The large scale and scope of our
natural gas discoveries, as well as their
proximity to shore, make them ideally suited for development through a
multi-train onshore liquefaction park,
says Peffer.
All this could mean 15,000 direct
jobs, 685,000 indirect jobs and add $39
billion per annum to Mozambiques
Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by
2035; a shot in the arm for a country
with a GDP of $15.6 billion in 2013,
according to a macro-economic study
by Standard Bank.
Research by Standard Bank says 90%
of Mozambiques 25 million people
exist on less than $2 a day, most (81%)
are poor farmers; agriculture makes up
29% of the total GDP. The World Bank
estimates that 300,000 new workers
enter the job market every year.
Digging a well is not as easy as it
looks, says Peffer. First you have to buy
the land; prove you have reserves; build
off shore wells and onshore units; assess the environmental impact; recruit
and train; maybe resettle the people; as
well as secure investors.
Our top priority is achieving first
cargos as safely and quickly as possible, says Peffer.
Gas could do for Mozambique what
oil did for Angola. Beyond the Rovuma
MOZAMBIQUE
WILL PROBABLY
BE THE NEXT
QATAR.
PHOTO SUPPLIED BY ANADARKO
n the days of civil war, the joke

went: in Angola the MPLA had the
oil and Unita the diamonds; in Mozambique, Frelimo had the prawns
and Renamo the cashew nuts.
Twenty years on, Mozambique is no
longer the butt of this joke. The once
impoverished nation is set to reap the
rich rewards of nature from under its
soil and the seabed off its palm-fringed
coast. The oil and gas boom is just
around the corner.
Mozambique will probably be the
next Qatar, says Simon Ashby-Rudd,
Standard Banks Head of Oil, Gas and
Renewables.
In the vanguard is Anadarko Mozambique, a small, but important, part of
the $44.3-billion energy giant from the
United States. The oil and gas exploration company was the first to find the
countrys offshore gas.
We have drilled more than 40 wells
in the Offshore Area 1 since 2010 and
made discoveries totalling more than
75 trillion cubic feet of recoverable natural gas resource. This success makes
Mozambiques Offshore Area 1 one of
the most important natural gas accumulations discovered in the last 20 years
The sheer scale of the discoveries made
in the Offshore Area 1 alone is sufficient to support more than 50 MMTPA
[Million Metric Tonnes Per Annum] of
future LNG production in future years,
which would elevate Mozambique to
among the worlds largest LNG exporters, says John Peffer, Country Manager
of Anadarko Mozambique.
Basin, there is plenty more. A vote of

confidence is Sasol, the $21.9-billion
South African petrochemicals company.
It has also been on the hunt beyond the
Rovuma Basin.
Sasol found gas in the Pande and
Temane fields in the Inhambane province, south of the Rovuma Basin. The
$1.2-billion natural gas project supplies
South Africans via a massive 865-kilometer pipeline. A second parallel line,
Loop Line 1, runs for 128 kilometers
and was completed in March, costing
$200 million to keep up with demand.
An increasing amount of the Pande/
Temane gas is also being monetized
in Mozambique. One such example is
the Central Trmica de Ressano Garcia
(CTRG) power plant, a joint venture
between Sasol (49%) and Electricidade
de Moambique (EDM) (51%), the

state power utility. CTRG is located in
Ressano Garcia, which is on the border
between Mozambique and South Africa, says Alex Anderson, Head of Sasol
Group Media Relations
The $238-million, 175-megawatt
plant was the first permanent, gas-fired
power plant in Mozambique and can
supply energy for two million Mozambicans.
Given the fact that nine of the 17
largest gas discoveries in the last five
years were in sub-Saharan Africa, we
see significant hydrocarbon potential in
the region. Accordingly, we continue to
explore for hydrocarbons to expand our
upstream base and help grow the region
into the future, says Anderson.
Oil is also on the cards. In Febru-
ary, Sasol applied for oil rights in the

Inhambane province.
Following an ongoing exploration
and appraisal campaign, we conducted
extended well tests in the license area.
Both these wells flowed light, sweet oil
at rates of up to 1,200 barrels per day
(190 standard cubic meters per day)
the first oil discovery in Mozambique,
says Anderson.
There are risks Mozambiques boom
will face, says Roy Daniels, Head of Africa Trading at Rand Merchant Bank.
The dependence on commodities
is a major risk for Mozambique. Large
focus is now on the coal, oil and gas
sectors, and therefore their prices. The
current commodity price performance
is having negative effects on revenue
earnings for the government and also
for future exploration and investment,
says Daniels.
Mozambique, once famous as one
of the poorest countries in the world,
may have the last laugh thanks to the
worlds hunger for energy.
TOP 10 OIL AND GAS

DISCOVERIES
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10
Agulha/Coral gas discoveries offshore

Mozambique by Eni 700 million BOE
each
Lontra discovery in Angola by Cobalt
International Energy CIE 900 million BOE
B14/B17 gas discoveries in Malaysia
by Newfield Exploration NFX 850
million BOE
Ogo discovery in Nigeria by Afren /
Lekoil 775 million BOE
Nene Marine discovery in Congo
Brazzaville by Eni 700 million BOE
Tangawizi gas discovery offshore
Tanzania by Statoil STO
575 million BOE
Coronado oil discovery in U.S. Gulf of
Mexico by Chevron CVX 550 million
BOE
Salamat gas discovery in Egypts East
Nile Delta by BP 500 million BOE
Maximino oil discovery in Gulf of
Mexico by Pemex 500 million BOE
Bay du Nord discovery offshore
eastern Canada by Statoil and Husky
450 million BOE
(Source: FORBES, 2013)

FORBES
The Dead Port That

Rose Again
For centuries, the Port of Maputo was a rich gateway between
Africa and the trade winds of the open seas. In years of civil war
and crumbling decline, the port was left dead on its feet. Twelve
years ago, it woke up to stage one of Africas great comebacks.
BY JAY CABOZ
ts a hot sweaty day on the docks

of Maputo; container ships line
up, facing east, in the blazing
afternoon sun. In the distance,
the sea breeze billows the sails
of dhows slipping home from a long day
out fishing on the Indian Ocean.
The wind is as refreshing as a
mountain stream. On the other side of
44 | FORBES AFRICA
JUNE 2015
steel vessels the size of titans, the air is

flavored like no other; fish, diesel and
the sweet and sour smell of molasses.
Above churn the grinding innards of
cranes that are a lot busier these days.
Hundreds of workers sweat like frenzied dancers.
Seamen aboard the Maritime Lijiang,
the 40,000-ton bulk container flagged
from Panama bound for China, swing

the cranes with the grace of a fandango
dancer. Below, men in red safety hats
and orange overalls move along the
ships 224-meter length, catching cases
of coal. They are heavy enough to crush
a man but they are guided gently onto
trucks lined up along the docks in military formation.
PHOTOS BY JAY CABOZ
FOCUS MOZAMBIQUE: PORTS
1977
1
MILLION TONS
Ricardo Roberts
South Africa was exporting coal at Matola. So when they came to our side of
the port in Maputo, they used to bring
all kinds of non-perishable things. That
helped a lot. You couldnt go to a shop
and buy food. We had a card like they
used in Russia, says Roberts.
At the Polana Hotel, which was
always a five-star hotel, customers had
to bring their own sugar because all the
Polana would offer you was a cup of
tea and a piece of bread. There was no
sugar in Maputo.
Independence for Roberts meant he
could move into a nationalized house,
which he bought years later for $100.
The three bedroom house also had a
backyard, where he could park one of
the few Volkswagen Passats in the country. It was red.
I chose one house and it was empty
so I went in and stayed there. All the
neighbors had Russian Lada Nivas, but
because I was working at the port I
managed to buy the Passat, he says.
The war ended in 1992 and the rusted Passat of Roberts survived into the
2003 PRIVATIZED $1.8 BILLION INJECTION
1972
17
MILLION TONS
1975 INDEPENDENCE
Ten years ago, a container ship docking,

let alone offloading, would have been
a sight as rare as a flying rhino. It is all
part of a great African resurrection story like a maritime Lazarus the port
that died and rose again.
The present port was built in 1903.
It was a pioneering trade gateway, fist
surveyed by the Portuguese explorer
Vasco da Gama in 1498. By 1972, nearly
17 million tons left these docks a year;
the busiest of times. It was not to last.
Mozambique gained independence
in 1975 and the port was nationalized
by the Portos e Caminhos de Ferro de
Mocambique (CFM). It became a ghost
port. In 1977, with the onset of civil war,
imports shrank to a million tons a year.
After independence we had internal
fights with Renamo, South Africa was
on the side of Renamo, versus the government. So they were fighting which
meant business went to almost zero
with South Africa, our major exporter.
At that time, when we took over it was
bad. There was nothing at all. During
the war, the port was never maintained
and not only that we were losing a lot
of cargo basically because you didnt
have distribution to the interior. You
didnt have the security on the route to
South Africa. The trains were bad, says
Ricardo Roberts, Commercial Manager
at the port, who has worked there for
40 years.
At the age of 20, Roberts started work
on the docks; just weeks after he stood
cheering at the Machava Stadium on the
night of Mozambican Independence.
era of free markets, only just. The port

did the same and the renaissance began
in 2003.
When the port was privatized in
2003, things started to improve slowly.
Then four years ago, the improvement
was crazy fast. Three years ago, we
reached the volume that this port did
before the Richards Bay [a competing
port built in South Africa in 1976] which
was 15 million tons, says Roberts.
The concession, under the Maputo
Port Development Company (MPDC),
brought a consortium of international
and Mozambique partners, 51% under
the name Portus Indico, with the CFM,
holding 49%.
The port is currently undergoing a
$1.8 billion facelift.
The scale of these achievements
should not be underestimated. Annual
cargo volumes have more than doubled
in recent years and look set to continue
to grow, says Dave Rennie, Chairman
of MPDC.
It was different because it was a
private company. The methodology
was totally different. The guys were
used to working in a relaxed way, like
being paid without much to do. It was
a big fight to change this and to change
the mentality and say now you have to
GOAL
2020
40
2012
15
MILLION TONS
2013
17
MILLION TONS
MILLION
TONS
FORBES
FOCUS MOZAMBIQUE: RUBIES
work together. You had to report to the

shareholders. It took time but now we
have got it, says Roberts.
Roberts says that the Ports goal is to
reach 40 million tons by 2020.
In March, the port began a $70
million dredging project that will lower
the ports channel to a 13.7 meter depth,
allowing bigger ships, of up to 80,000
dead weight tons, to reach the port. It is
the second dredging of the ports channel in the last five years.
The railways are next. Up to 1,000
trucks call at the port every day, 80% of
them due for South Africa.
Changing the Port of Maputo to
become a rail based gateway is absolutely essential. We move high volumes
of bulk commodities and it is much
easier and cheaper to use trains and not
trucks, says Osrio Lucas, CEO
of MPDC.
Back in the pale green walled offices
that overlook the gates leading to Maputo, Roberts recalls fond memories of
the ports revival.
I love working here. There are little
things that have not changed between
that time and now. You still have people
trying to steal cargo. The difference in
operations now, is that guys are bringing in cargo and the guys want to bring
a piece of equipment which weighs 210
tons. That time, we never had something like now. The ships now are able
to bring in 3,000 cars. To go in and see
that ship with all the robots and the
guy who controls the traffic out of the
ship; its crazy. Obviously I have seen
bigger ships, but they cant come here
yet. I love my port; I think its the best
in the world. Weve got problems but
I love the competition with the South
African ports. We have less equipment
and were doing it better than them.
That is something that needs to be to be
stressed, says Roberts.
On Saturdays, you will be able to find
the lively 60-year-old Roberts, with
three or four of his friends, in a small
coffee shop along the Avenida 24 de Julho with an espresso in hand and a pastel
de nata on the table; a sweet reward for
a man who has lived through the sour
times on the tough docks of Maputo.
46 | FORBES AFRICA
JUNE 2015
THE RED
GLOW OF
RICHES
Deep in the heart of
the African bush are
buried riches. It is
a treasure bringing
money to Mozambique.
BY JAY CABOZ
ou would struggle to
find this dot on the map;
nevertheless it glows
with African wealth.
Not even Google Maps
can pick up this 33,600-hectare mine
near the remote town of Montepuez,
2,400 kilometers north of Maputo.
The way to get there is with a gang
with machetes hacking through
the bush. Many thought there was
nothing here but orange sand and
Acacia trees. Instead, this remote
African spot is a fresh source of rich
red rubies.
Fine Mozambican rubies are a
very attractive bright pinkish red
with good clarity and are comparable
with the legendary pigeon blood
rubies of Myanmar, formerly Burma,

which frequently command the highest
price per carat of any colored gemstone, says Jessica Patrick, Head of PR
and Communications at Gemfields.
Gemfields, the British supplier of
colored gemstones, has a 75% stake in
the Montepuez ruby mine. It has extracted 16.1 million carats of ruby and
corundum since August 2012.
Mozambiques new ruby riches
caught the worlds attention when the
mother and father of all rubies went on
auction in Singapore. It was a monster
40.23 carat ruby, from the depths of
the Montepuez mine. It is called the
Rhino Ruby, and sold for a mammoth,
yet undisclosed, amount on the auction
hosted by Gemfields in December.
Its a story that goes back to the
16th century, when corundum, the
rock name for ruby (red corundum),
sapphire (blue corundum) and fancy
sapphires (all other colors), was discovered. Remarkably, they lay undisturbed until 2005, when geologists
heard rumors on the thriving Asian
ruby markets of rich pickings under the
soil of Mozambique.
dig through tons of orange sand every

minute and drop it in cleaning stations.
Their workers in gloves sort ruby from
rock, behind special glass doors.
Mozambique may have a new mineral asset to go with oil and gas. But ruby
market buyers beware: the price of
precious stones rises and falls sharply.
The Wall Street Journal reports that, in
2012, a carat of high quality cut Classic
Ruby from Myanmar fetches $43,923.
But for 20 years, from 1980 to 2000, the
price started at around $19,000 a carat.
In 1975, the price was a quarter of this
at $2,500 a carat.
Few among the thousands of illegal
miners and tens of legal miners have
time to pause for thought as they sift
through the dirt on the hunt for the
next monster-sized ruby. It is just
another day in Mozambique in a place
you cant find on the map.
Ruby can be graded

according to their color
tone, carat size and cut.
The most expensive to
least expensive ruby
hue ranges:
PIGEON WHAT?
1. Vivid pigeon blood red
2. Vivid red
Quality check
3. Red
4. Pinkish red
5. Purplish red
6. Orangish red
PHOTOS SUPPLIED BY GEMFIELDS
Montepuez ruby mine
Source: buygemston.info
It took another three years for hunters

near Msawize village, inside the Niassa
National Reserve, to stumble upon
rubies on the ground. The discovery
sparked a Wild West style ruby rush.
Illegal miners, known as garimpeiros in
Portuguese, flocked through the bush
to try their luck. Hundreds risked their
lives down dangerous pits, in the slim
hope of making a fortune.
The garimpeiros are like a pack of
hyenas on the hunt. Dozens hide in the
bush with pickaxes and spades on the
fringes of the mine. When mine security
officers turn their backs, the garimpeiros
rush in, while others stand guard. If
they arent caught, they lug loads of dirt
to the river to rinse out the rubies. The
ruby is then sold on the black market to
shopkeepers in Montepuez.
On the legal side of the mine, the
operation runs like clockwork. Graders
FORBES/FOCUS
BARACK OBAMA
Africa Welcomes A
Famous Son
Barack Obama will visit Kenya his fathers home for
the first time as president. His arrival in East Africa will
come with hope and promise.
he excitement has been

building for months. On
July 23, Air Force One
the official United States
(US) presidential aircraft
will land at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi.
Across Kenya, the visit of US President Barack Obama is the talk of the
town. In Nairobi, enterprising vendors
are already producing t-shirts with the
words Karibu Nyumbani printed on
them. It means welcome home.
48 | FORBES AFRICA
JUNE 2015
Obamas vist to Kenya is iconic. He will not

only be visiting a friendly nation, he is visiting his fathers homeland. Barack Hussein
Obama Sr was a Kenyan who moved to the
US in the 1950s to study. The current US
president was born in Hawaii in 1961.
His last visit to Nairobi was in 2006
as a senator. Government officials then
described him as a junior senator when
he called for action against rampant
graft in Kenya.
During his upcoming visit, Obama
will attend the Global Entrepreneur-
ship Summit (GES), which he will

co-host. It will be his first trip to Kenya
as president. He has previously visited
Ghana, Egypt, Senegal, Tanzania and
South Africa.
Launched by Obama in 2009, GES
will see more than 1,000 entrepreneurs
and investors showcase innovative
projects, exchange ideas and create
economic opportunities.
While in the country, Obama will
meet with Kenyas President Uhuru
Kenyatta. Setting the stage for this
LIMOUSINE PHOTO BY 1000 WORDS / SHUTTERSTOCK.COM; BARACK

OBAMA PHOTO BY EVERETT COLLECTION / SHUTTERSTOCK.COM
BY JOSEPH BONYO
meeting was the two-day visit to Nairobi by US Secretary of State, John Kerry.
The Uhuru-Kerry talks revolved
around trade between the two nations
and terrorism. The US has pledged to
support Kenyas fight against terrorism,
which is a thorn in east Africas side and
promised $100 million to aid the cause.
There can be no question that our
meetings here today were timely. Events
in Kenya and the broader region present
us with a broad array of tests. The threat
posed by violent extremism is regrettably
foremost among them, said Kerry after
meeting with Kenyatta.
Whether Obama, who is in his final
term as US President, would visit his fathers homeland had been hotly debated.
Since being elected in 2008, Obama has
been non-committal on the matter.
This was further complicated by the
2013 elections in Kenya that saw President Kenyatta and Deputy President William Ruto take office. At the time, the two
faced charges of crimes against humanity
at the International Criminal Court (ICC)
at The Hague in the Netherlands.
It was only at the funeral service of
Nelson Mandela in South Africa that
Obama first met Kenyatta face to face.
A photo of the two shaking hands at the
FNB Stadium spread rapidly on social
media. The case against Kenyatta has
since been dropped at the ICC. Ruto is,
however, still on trial.
Most link this decision by the ICC to
Obama finally coming home. Interestingly, Kerry met Kenyatta in the absence
of his deputy. Kenyatta and Ruto have in
the past met dignitaries as a team.
Unlike his previous visits to Kenya,
Obamas next trip will be marked with
fanfare and splendour. Obama visited Kenya in 1988, then 1991, when he
brought home his then fianc and now
wife Michelle, and 2006.
There is still uncertainty over Obama
taking time off to visit his extended family in the western parts of Kenya. Nevertheless, his late fathers homestead is a
hive of activity. The national government
and devolved government are working

round the clock. Among other things,
Barrack Hussein Obama Srs grave is being spruced up, just in case the president
makes the all-important pilgrimage.
We are trying to speak to the US Embassy in Nairobi as well as the national
government to have President Obama
visit Kisumu and hold a public lecture
in this region, says Governor of Kisumu
County, Jack Ranguma.
Analysts hope that Obamas visit
will revive Kenyas tourism industry. A
number of western nations which are

key source of tourists have labelled the
country unsafe.
This is a strong message to other nations that Kenya is not as insecure as we
have been labelled. This visit by Obama
is crucial to us in the tourism sector,
says Agatha Juma, the CEO Kenya Tourism Federation.
On the streets however, Kenyans are
just happy that one of their sons, who is
also the president of the most powerful
nation in the world, is returning home.
Barack Obama
THIS IS A STRONG MESSAGE TO OTHER

NATIONS THAT KENYA IS NOT AS
INSECURE AS WE HAVE BEEN LABELLED.
FORBES/FOCUS
AFRICAN ASTRONAUT
Mandla Maseko is about to become the first

black African to rocket into space.
So, why is the highlight of his life
Beyoncs website?
BY SUNITA MENON
50 | FORBES AFRICA
JUNE 2015
PHOTOS BY JAY CABOZ
FROM
AFRICA
TO
THE STARS
andla Maseko struts

with the cool of
Michael Jacksons
moonwalk. It is appropriate as the DJ is
the first black African heading into space.
He describes himself as a township boy
reaching for the stars. Soon he will be
walking in the footsteps of Mark Shuttleworth, the South African millionaire who
became the first African in space in 2002.
For years, Maseko dreamed of the skies
but thought it was merely that.
I ND
U
S
TR
Y
A
N
D
D
J
I
T.
UI
ES
AC
SP
TO THE
EW
O
W
T
I
B
ULD
ING SOMETHING
R
B
N
E TO
C
I
N
FORBES
FOCUS AFRICAN ASTRONAUT

The former civil engineering student
dropped out of university because he
was broke.
We grew up in the township, we were
not taught to dream big. We just wanted
to be the norm.You never wanted to be
a president or an astronaut, it was a farfetched dream, he says.
In 2013, the Global Axe Apollo Space
Academy competition created a new
trajectory for Masekos dreams. No one
in Masekos family has set foot outside
Mandla Maseko
52 | FORBES AFRICA
JUNE 2015
of South Africa but the 25-year-old is

preparing to rocket into space.
Maseko is one of 23 civilians to win a
seat on the space mission for an hourlong sub-orbital trip of 100 kilometers on
the Lynx Mark II spaceship.
We might orbit the Earth or we might
just go to the International Space Station,
you never know, he says.
Whether its space or the skies, Maseko is taking wing. Maseko acquired his
private pilot license last year and began
training with the South African Air

Force this year.
I want to acquire my commercial
pilots license and fly all over the world,
he says.
The initial plan is to show ordinary people that they can go into space. Thats my
mission. Im a typical township boy from
Soshanguve and Mabopane who is going
to space, he says.
Maseko has found the balance between space, the skies and his passion
for music.
Music is my passion and its a family
business. My dad and I do it together. It
would be nice to bring something new to
the industry and DJ in a spacesuit.
Training for the space journey was
challenging but Maseko floated through
it. A zero gravity flight was his favorite.
Seeing your body pick up off the
ground and just float like it has no weight
stood out the most, he says.
Maseko spends his free time imagining what space is like.
You see pictures but actually getting
to that point where I look outside my
window and see this big white and blue
marble called Earth, he says.
His life has taken a complete turn. For
the DJ on his way to space, Masekos most
memorable moment may surprise you.
I think what stood out the most was
making it on to Beyoncs website. It was
Black History Month and I was part of
the people making black history, he says.
Maseko hopes his humble beginnings
and lofty ambition will inspire.
The kids in the township have lost
sight of what life has to offer. Its killing
their dreams, he says. He started a CSI
company called Skies Arent the Limit so
he could tell his story to schools.
I think one of the key things around
South Africa is to inspire and motivate
kids and tell them that they can reach
their dreams, he says. He is living proof.
Probably next year, the date has yet to
be fixed, Masekos dreams will come true.
The flight is an hour long. Six minutes
to get to space. 20 minutes to get to zero
gravity. Maseko will go through a gruelling training programme of six to eight
weeks. From Mabopane to the Milky
Way, you couldnt have made it up.
FOCUS
ROBBEN ISLAND
CYBERSPACE CREEPS UP
ON THE ISLAND OF TEARS
It was the rocky island that meant a strange and tough life for black political
prisoners. They broke stones for hours, dogs attacked them, they were crammed
into mean, single cells and not allowed to read newspapers for 20 years. For
centuries, Robben Island, off Cape Town, was cut off from the world. Now
technology and history have caught up.
BY THOBILE HANS
hmed Kathrada looked

frail, but fit and always on
the move, as he trod the
concrete of his former
prison. In the so-called
Rivonia Trial, Kathrada was accused
number five alongside Nelson Mandela
and eight others. They were charged
with sabotage and faced death. Instead
a young Kathrada and his co-accused
were shipped to Robben Island to serve
life imprisonment in 1964.
We found out only later that life was
to be life, he says.
Kathrada spent 18 years of hardship
and humiliation on Robben Island, followed by spells in other prisons, before
he was released in 1990. Now 85, he is
one of three survivors of the trial.
As South Africa celebrated 21 years
of freedom, in April, KathraAs South
Africa celebrated 21 years of freedom,
in April, Kathrada was back on the island wearing a black baseball cap with
the words Long Walk To Freedom.
A sign that this was a trip laden with
symbolism. Upon disembarking on the
ferry, he rejected a shuttle and walked
for about 200 meters to the jail that
robbed him of his youth.
As he spoke, standing on concrete patch
prisoners used as a tennis court, he held his
old cell key in his left hand; to his right was
Christo Brand, the jailer who kept his eye
on Mandela. Brand was 18 years old when
he joined the prison as a warder, hes now a
manager at the islands museum.
We have our jailer among us, smiled
Kathrada.
Being a prisoner was no laughing matter.

Alongside Kathrada was Vusumzi Mcongo, a former prisoner and now a tour guide
on the island.
Mcongo told FORBES AFRICA the
guard dogs would attack prisoners when
they worked in the quarry. If the prisoners fought back they were punished.
Officers thought more of the dogs than
the humans they guarded.
Black prisoners wore shorts because
were regarded as boys and the Indians
had long trousers, says Mcongo.
Kathrada was back on Robben Island,
now a World Heritage Site, because
Google had launched a virtual tour application. It means anyone in the world
can tour Robben Island for free.
This is a world away from the years
that Kathrada and fellow prisoners
spent on the island before they were
released in the 1990s; they were still
living in the 1960s.
The technology revolution passed us
by. The warden came to us and said we
received a fax from Pretoria, you are getting released, after slight jubilation we
asked what is a fax? says Kathrada.
When Kathrada came out of prison
he had never seen a motorway, nor a
computer, not even an ATM.
Not being able to see or interact
with children for 20 years was possibly the most difficult thing to endure
during my time on the island. Theres a
poetic justice that children in classrooms all over world will now be able
to visit Robben Island using this technology, says Kathrada.
Christo Brand and Ahmed Kathrada
Kathrada, his friends called him Kathy,

was a librarian in prison and earned
an honours degree in history; he also
became a father figure.
There was a 15-year-old boy here,
he was sentenced to 10 years. He did
his matric here, his BA here, he started his B Juris here but completed it
outside. Today, hes the Deputy Chief
Judge of the Constitutional Court
Justice Dikgang Moseneke that was
the boy, says Kathrada proudly.
Long before Kathrada and his comrades were arrested, Xhosa Chief, Makana Nxele, was in chains on Robben Island. Nxele led a Xhosa regiment against
the British in the Eastern Cape and was
captured in 1819. In 1820, in an attempt
to escape, Nxele swam from the island;
guards caught him when he reached the
beach at Blouberg, near Cape Town. The
armed guards forced him to swim back.
On the way back he drowned. You can
google the rest.
ENTREPRENEURS
ANSELM TABANSI
The Iron Will That Propelled An

Entrepreneur To The Top Table
Anselm Tabansi dropped a thriving career in law to lead
the way in design and hospitality in Nigeria.
nselm Tabansi left a

cushy job as an associate
lawyer at a prestigious
Nigerian firm to follow
another path. He was
heeding a call and is now a staple in Nigerias design and hospitality industry.
I am a lawyer by profession, so this
is not a familiar academic terrain for
me. I worked for a law firm specializing
in industrial and intellectual property and did that for about four years. I
woke up one morning and decided it
was not the path for me, says Tabansi.
An Anselm Tabansi designed space
leave a lasting impression on design
aficionados. His is a story of passion
and intent.
His creativity reaches back to his
academic years in England where an
interest for architecture blossomed.
While it wasnt pursued, Tabansi
subsequently found himself trading in
interior accessories, supplying interior
designers and shops at the start of his
design career. Wrought iron was the
aesthetic trend in England at the time.
Tabansi, believing this trend would
thrive in Nigeria, made a decision to
test the market at home. Following
some research, he took the plunge,
opening a small-scale production
workshop in Lagos. He started with one
welder and soon added a painter.
It was a bumpy start, with the new
company, Svengali Designs, struggling
to gain any prominence. He needed to
create some buzz and began producing
samples for friends and furniture shops
to gauge their interest. Tabansis new
venture soon proved to be a great deci-
54 | FORBES AFRICA
JUNE 2015
Anselm Tabansi
EVERY FINAL PIECE IS

A REFLECTION OF MY
STYLE AND TASTE.
sion. Within a year, there was a surge in
demand for wrought iron furniture in
Nigeria, catapulting Tabansis business.
I started producing wrought iron
furniture, wrought iron for balconies,
railings, stairs, and gates. It was in
high demand at that time but a couple of years later, the trend began to
shift away from wrought iron. It had
become a fad. I knew we would start
to lose a significant amount of clients.
The trend was shifting to wood-based
furniture. Aluminum and stainless steel

for railings, followed closely. We made
the necessary shift and we have never
looked back, says Tabansi.
This shift would transform Tabansis
company from one that produced a single product to a multi-faceted one.
Nigerias creative industry has
enjoyed rapid growth as homegrown
designers were given a more enabling
environment. A few challenges still
exist however, power and policy being
at the forefront.
The need to generate our own power is mandatory. This makes production
very expensive as we were constantly
burning diesel. The raw materials we
use for our production are also heavily taxed on duty. This poses a huge
challenge and we hope the incoming
government addresses this.
From conference tables to living
room furniture, Svengali Designs has
carved out a large slice in the market
with production for hospitality projects
taking off in 1996 and a growing customer base that cuts across key sectors.
Interior design is a key service the
company offers. With a mix of locally
produced and imported merchandise,
clients come from far and wide. The
factory has 160 employees.
A joint venture with Turkish company, Poliform, led to Svengali-Poliform, a production arm for stainless
steel and aluminum railings. This has a
43-man workforce.
Looking to grow even further,
Tabansi ventured into the hospitality
business. Nigerias hospitality industry
is saturated with international brands.
PHOTO BY MATTSON PHOTOGRAPHERS
BY ABISOLA OWOLAWI
PHOTOS BY KELECHI AMADI-OBI
Identifying a gap in the homegrown

hospitality management industry saw
the birth of Fahrenheit Hospitality.
I am focusing on the boutique
segment of the hospitality industry.
Through my various past operations, I
have assumed full control of over every
aspect of delivering on this kind of
project. Design, construction, outfitting, supplies and management is all
handled within the group. We have not
just reduced our costs but also ensured
the quality of our design is adhered to.
Every final piece is a reflection of
my style and taste.
As he also plays the role of Creative
Director, Tabansi supervises all steps
of the production process. He says that
the quality assurance at Svengali Designs gives his company an edge.
Over the years, people have come
to associate us with quality. It is my joy
to hear that pieces that were purchased
from us over 15 years ago are still in top
form.
Under the Fahrenheit Hospitality
brand, there are plans to roll out a series of boutique hotels.
As opposed to starting the furniture business years ago, where organic
growth was needed, the hospitality
brand is a capital intensive project.
We are currently trying to attract
investment with vested interest in our
projects, says Tabansi.
Despite the infrastructural bottlenecks, Tabansis decision to remain a Nigeria-based producer is a conscious one.
Likening his personal style to a simple sophistication, Tabansi urges budding designers to follow their passion.
I discovered my passion in design.
Defining a space, deconstructing it
and redefining it. From this, I get so
much joy and constantly strive to outdo
myself.
Tabansi tries to cater for a wide
spectrum of clients. He, however, says
that quality comes with cost.
Our pieces are affordable and we keep
our products within the reach of many.
Tabansi has exciting plans for the
future of Africas design and hospitality
scene. He aims to be on the frontlines,
pushing the envelope.
ENTREPRENEURS
LOCOMUTE
DRIVING ALL THE WAY
TO THE BANK
Its a new car rental craze around the world.
Now black business is bringing it to Africa.
PHOTO BY MOTLABANA MONNAKGOTLA
BY THOBILE HANS
56 | FORBES AFRICA
JUNE 2015
ts a mixed bag of black investors; a former civil servant, an engineer, an IT specialist and a car
leaser. They are united in taking the risk of bringing
the craze of pay-as-you-drive car rentals to Africa.
Their company, Locomute Shared Mobility, has
sunk $3.4 million into it.
In June, Locomute will have 50 vehicles running on the
road in Johannesburg; in three months, Cape Town and
Durban will follow.
Sibusiso Xaba, the chairman, is guiding a group of young, black entrepreneurs in their thirties. For more than a decade, Xaba was a civil
servant and director general in the Department of Arts and Culture.
In January, in his forties, he took the leap as an entrepreneur.
For every car that is shared, 15 people wont necessarily have
to buy a car. The convenience our service gives to the customers
makes it outstanding compared to our competitors. It gets rid of
debt capital, no e-tolls, no maintenance costs, you pay as you drive,
says Xaba.
OUR TARGET MARKET IS THE EXECUTIVE PERSON WHO FLIES INTO OR

TAMBO INTERNATIONAL FROM DURBAN AND USES THE CAR WHILE IN
JOHANNESBURG FOR THE MEETING AND COMES BACK TO AIRPORT.
In the competitive world of car rental,
Kuthula Mkhize, the general manager,
says its mainly for business types and
visitors.
Our target market is the executive
person who flies into OR Tambo International from Durban and uses the car
while in Johannesburg for the meeting
and comes back to airport, says Mkhize,
who worked in the car rental business for
eight years.
Technology is key. Before you can use
Locomute cars you register on the internet or using a cellphone application for a
few dollars.
Subscribed members will reserve
a car online or via the Locomute application. Its a 24/7 access to a pool of
vehicles located within designated zones
called Locoparks. You only pay for the
time you used the vehicle. We are responsible for the fuel, insurance and you leave
the car where you desire, says Xaba.
This is an in-city service. You are not
allowed to take the car in Johannesburg
to Bloemfontein. We have technology to
monitor our cars and we will immediately
know what happens to each and every car
in our fleet. If a car is stolen, we will be
able to track it in no time, says Mkhize.
Before Gautrain was introduced,
people drove cars to the airport, not
because they wanted to but because they
had no choice. Gautrain brought the ser-
vice that was needed and today it is fully

subscribed. So, if you give that person an
option to drive our car from an office and
leave it in a parking, he doesnt have to
worry about anything else, says Xaba.
Martin Lydall, chief commercial officer
for Imperial Car Rental, one of the biggest
car rental companies in South Africa,
says competition is good. In South Africa
alone there are 60,000 rental vehicles in
a business worth around $380 million, he
says.
This is probably the most competitive
business in the world and South Africa
is among the leading countries. We are
business people and competition makes
business effective. We are not concerned
about the new companies. We have been
competing with the small and big companies. It helps to evaluate your competitors
and see where you need to improve in
your own business, says Lydall.
Derek Watts, FORBES AFRICAs motoring correspondent, says theres space
for new players.
We get used to the way of operations
but if they establish a good name people
will use their service. The transport system in South Africa changes by the day. It
would be interesting to see, as long as you
free people from insurance which this
company is promising, then people will
use the service, says Watts.
Xaba hopes so.
Locomute Shared Mobility partners (from left): Tsepo Moleko, Mamphela Hlatshwayo,
Jacquin Botha (seated), Sibusiso Xaba, Kuthula Mkhize and Tumisang Marope
FORBES/LIFE
ZIPPO
Sparking Zippo
Americans dont smoke much anymore,
but that hasnt stopped the iconic cigarette
lighter maker from having its best year ever.
BY ABRAM BROWN
s the third-generation
owner of Zippo Manufacturing Co., one question
always dogs George
Blaisdell Duke: You guys
are still in business? Its not that people
want to be nasty, he says. Its just that
America doesnt light up as much as it
used to, so its a reasonable question
for the most famous maker of cigarette
lighters in the world. And he has a wellworn answer handy. Well, of course we
are, he says, reaching across his office
desk for Marlboros and his own personal
Zippo, a silver one with waves engraved
on it. Business is doing very, very well.
Never better, actually. Despite the
50% downturn in the number of U.S.
smokers since the heyday of cigarettes in
the 1950s, Zippo booked more than $200
million in sales last year a record and
had the best May and June sales in its
history in 2014. FORBES estimates revenue has increased by a compounded 14%

in the past three years, thanks to a new,
non-smoking CEO, Greg Booth, who
pushed the 82-year-old manufacturers
legendary lighters at a younger audience
and expanded business in China. New
products a (legitimately appealing)
clothing line and camping gear and its
first retail stores added fuel to the fire.
Zippo has maintained its iconicness,
says Timothy Donahue, an industry
observer and editor at Tobacco Reporter,
and it has diversified quite well. Its a
long way from the first Zippo, created by
George Blaisdell after watching a friend
struggle to light a cigarette on a windy
day in 1932 in Bradford, Pa., a small
town in the Allegheny Mountains where
Zippo is still based.
He came up with a windproof chimney and the distinctive hinged lid and
Keepers of the fame:
Zippos owner, George
Duke, and its CEO
Greg Booth
58 | FORBES AFRICA
JUNE 2015
guaranteed the lighter for life, meaning

Zippo would continue to fix the lighter
as long as its owner sent it to the factory.
After soldiers received the lighters in
WWII, Zippo successfully marketed itself with a utilitarian, made-in-America
image for the following half-century.
Nonfamily CEOs ran it after the 1978
death of Blaisdell, who left Zippo to his
family. By the 1990s his daughter Sarah
Dorn and her son, Duke, had bought out
the rest of the clan. The more family members that are owners, the more
directions that they think the company
should go. Sometimes the privately
owned companies dont make it, says
Duke, who has since acquired his
mothers stake, too. Sometimes people
get impatient with the lack of temporary
success, shall we say.
Zippo hit just that kind of a rough
patch in the 2000s. Duke wont comment on how far sales plummeted, but
his displeasure with Zippos performance can be felt in his decision to
make Booth CEO in 2001. (Booth had
been running Zippos knife making
subsidiary.) With only himself to please,
Duke could wait for Booth to find the
solution. The average age of Zippos
customers then still hovered between
30 and 50 years old. It needed to think
younger. Or else, Booth thought at the
time, all the buyers will have Zippos in
their caskets, like Frank Sinatra. (The
crooner was buried with his trusty silver Zippo in 1998; replicas were handed
out at his wake.)
It needed to reach the generation
ages 18 to 24 who were children when
Sinatra died.
To do it the company shifted ad dollars from print to Google AdWords and

sponsored music concert series. They
churned out lighters with Jack Daniels
imagery and others inspired by the TV
show Sons of Anarchy. (Skull images have
proved especially popular.) All told Zippo
produced 30,800 unique designs last year
up from 8,900 a decade ago, a 246%
increase partly owing to a new Zippo.com
feature where you can design your own
lighter from scratch.
Zippo has positioned itself as a maker
of talismans, lucky charms or something akin to customized belt buckles.
The Zippo lighter is a thing of taste,
Booth says. Sometimes its used by folks
just as a fashion statement.
Thats also the guiding light Zippo is
following in China. When Booth took
over, the Chinese business didnt exhibit so much as a pulse. Now its 13% of
Zippos revenue (60% of sales come from
overseas). Zippo first put boots on the
Zippo trades on iconic American images like
that of Frank Sinatra
ground there in 2012, and today it has a

15-person team in Beijing. It has opened
14 retail stores in China Zippos first
plunge into creating its own stores with
another 35 to come by 2015, all riding the
idea of Zippo as an all-American lifestyle
brand. The stores carry a Zippo-designed
clothing line (logos on the interior tags
only), with gear resembling J. Crews
preppy woodsman style. The stores
worked well enough for Zippo to open
two Las Vegas stores in the Luxor hotel
and Planet Hollywood casino earlier
this year. Zippo has its eye on several
more Vegas locations.
Another brand extension: camping
products (grills, stoves, LED lanterns). It
launched in 2012, and sales were around
$3 million last year; Zippo hopes to hit
$20 million by 2016. For now those products are partly made in China. Greater
sales would make it economically feasible
to move those overseas jobs to Bradford
(pop. 8,600), where Zippo remains the
greatest source of blue-collar
jobs, employing around
950 workers. The Blaisdell family remains the
towns greatest patron,
even making up the
difference at the perennially lossmaking country club.
Not everything Zippo tried
caught fire. Booth
originally created an
ambitious plan to hit
$300 million in sales by
2010: We had the economic
downturn. That set us back dramatically in terms of sales. Zippo
also planned to acquire more companies. It largely hasnt.
Success enough, though, for Duke
to dread Booths retirement at the end
of 2015. A replacement will likely come
from within the company. Duke has no
plans to step down himself, but he is actively cajoling both his twentysomething
sons to take his place. One has already
worked at developing new lighter designs
while on his college breaks. This is just a
metal box, Duke says, twirling his Zippo
in his hands and drawing deep on a cigarette. But, he says, theres a lot you can
do with a metal box.
FORBES/FOCUS
4C
The Future
Alfa Romeo is in need of a revival and the 4C is leading the way.
t takes only seconds to change your life. You can push

the boundaries of classic style with a modern edge. Your
style can become modern, casual and you can become
the consummate gentleman.
All in the time it takes to spray on a fragrance of iced
mango, Spanish sage, tonka bean and black patchouli.
Thats what the advert promises in the duty free magazine
on the 10 hour flight from OR Tambo in Johannesburg to Singapore. After a brain numbing lack of sleep I am prepared to
believe it. In fact, Im even starting to believe in the concept of
duty free prices! Surely one of mankinds biggest myths.
But here is a true story my life did change in 4.5 seconds.
Not with a whiff of fragrance, but with a glorious gaggle of
exhaust notes as I was whiplashed to the proverbial ton while
ensconced in a tiny carbon-fiber tub.
In those few seconds I became an anemic and radically
lengthened version of Lewis Hamilton. I instantly shed three
decades as the dynamite 1.7 turbo seemed to anticipate the
whims and wishes of my right foot.
Now supercar owners are a touchy lot and it only takes three
letters to get them into a tailspin. GT-R. The Nissan is faster
than the latest California T and just shades the Ferrari F12 Berlinetta... at about a quarter of the price.
And now they have a new low cost rival... possibly not in
terms of performance figures but certainly in relation to ABS.
Otherwise known as Adrenalin Boost per Second.
Welcome to the blurry world of the Alfa Romeo 4C.
At the very core of this brave new world is the much vaunted
tub which really embodies the racing ethic of the first model to
light the fires of the Alfisti in decades.
It weighs less than Floyd Mayweather, is just as tough and
probably took his bank balance to develop.
Everything, including the seats, is bolted to that painstakingly crafted 65 kilograms of carbon fiber. Apparently you could
take off the panels and drive the tub!
In fact the whole beautiful bang shoot weighs in at a mere
925 kilograms. And Alfa claim that the 4C has a power-toweight ratio of 10 pounds per horse power. Even if you excuse
the mixed measurement systems, it doesnt mean a lot to me
except that I no doubt upset the equation with my personal
displacement.
60 | FORBES AFRICA
JUNE 2015
Propelling this featherweight frame (Im referring to the car)

is the over zealous all-aluminum, direct-injection four-cylinder 1750cc turbo engine which had also shed 22 kilograms.
Apologies if this review is starting to sound like a catalogue of
Weight Watchers success stories.
And just to complete the obsession, the heavy boot lid is
propped up with a thin aluminum rod. A blast from yesteryear.
From the days when engines were smelly, oil leaking affairs,
this terrific turbo is part of the passenger list, nestled just
behind you with its own sun roof and even open to the odd
shower through the open grille.
I read recently that the average height of an NBA star is
around 67 or two meters in metric terms. Whichever way
you measure it, the first mass-produced Alfa to enter the
United States market is not going to score points with their
basketball players.
Although Im a tad shorter than the NBA average, I had to
perform a limbo dance to get behind the wheel (that dates me
for a start) and I defy anybody, especially Britney Spears, to
clamber aboard with any degree of elegance.
This is not a complaint by the way. I dont expect supercars
to be tailored for my lanky limbs any more than they are tailored for my bank balance! And although I have been talking
about the 4C as a supercar, it probably lives on the edge of that
elitist description, coming in at around $100,000.
Motoring writers can sometimes wax lyrical about car
interiors and a Mercedes S Class Coupe can actually test your
descriptive talents. But the 4C is as basic as the name. I never
managed to find a nook for my cellphone and got excited about
PHOTO BY LEV RADIN / SHUTTERSTOCK.COM0; FINGERHUT / SHUTTERSTOCK.COM
BY DEREK WATTS
what looked like a glove compartment but turned out to be the

passenger air bag cover. My big find was a string net underneath the dash for my understocked wallet.
Alfa make no apologies for the stark cabin. Product planner
Michael Berube echoes the famous words of controversial
South African singer, Steve Hofmeyr. It is what it is, he says.
We have kept ornamentation down for the power-to-weight
ratio. You just dont get that in this price range.
And you dont need Newtons second law of motion to know
that the applied force of that energetic turbo and minimal
mass is going to produce some butt-kicking acceleration.
But, over undulating surfaces (that is most roads in Africa)
the lightness of being and the stiff suspension can leave you
wondering who is in charge.
The gearbox can be irrational in auto and clunky using
paddle shift and this car does not do poodling to the shops for
a pint of milk. It is born to be wild and snarl at onlookers with
an array of roars, whistles and crackles.
And you can rest assured that they are gasping in awe of the
stupendous styling of this pocket rocket.
The man firmly in charge of Alfa, in fact the whole Fiat
S.p.A group, is the man with the magical motoring touch, Italian-Canadian Sergio Marchionne.
Hes got some iconic brands in that stable, like Ferrari and
Maserati, along with Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep.
Marchionne gained loads of executive cred for turning
around the Fiat group in less than two years at the helm
and then marched on to form a strategic alliance with Chrysler which
pulled the Americans out of a
deep financial crisis.
But the Alfa part of the
family have been the renegades failing to produce
a profit during his decorous decade and global
sales falling to levels not
seen since the sixties.
Marchionne has hatched
many a plan for Alfa and is
certainly not throwing in the
green, white and red towel. The idea now is for Alfa to go it
alone with a declared balance sheet supported by a host of
upscaled new models.
The 4C is a key element of the Alfa revival.
You may argue that it is a cramped, minimalist weekend
street racer. But there is no doubt that it has sparked a new
strain of Alfa fever around the world.
To the extent that the South African media liaison folks
laughed when I asked about a waiting list. It is seemingly all
about strict allocations and only the chosen few shall drive
4Cs in the near future.
With it being built at the Maserati factory in Modena, there
is a limit of around 3,500 units a year depending on the output
from the Adler Plastic company who make those special tubs.
The 4C alone is not going to bring Alfa back into the black.
The real question is whether it will herald the resurgence of
the Alfa brand, the passion for performance.
With a touch more attention to refinement there is no
doubt it could. And the good Sergio can retire with a happy
heart knowing that he has been one of the most successful
auto executives of this era.
Advertorial
BY CNBC AFRICA
PHOTOS BY NEO NTSOMA
Eight Years Of Celebrating Continental

Excellence In Business News Broadcasting
Pan-African financial and business news channel CNBC Africa will celebrate
its eighth anniversary on June 1 and eight years of giving business in Africa
an authoritative voice.
aunched on June 1, 2007,

CNBC Africa celebrates
its eighth anniversary
asAfricas first and only
real-time pan-African
financial and business news network.
Part of the global CNBC family, which
reports around the clock from world
financial centres, CNBCAfricacovers
business and market news from across
the continent; telling the story of Africa
on the move.
Since the channels launch,
CNBC Africa has been breaking
ground across the African continent

and amongst many successes and
achievements, is the only pan-African
televisionnetwork to report liveeach
dayacrossAfrica.The combined
reach of CNBC Africa and its affiliated
networks is 390 million viewers around
the world. Its reach on the African
continent has been growing, by the day,
through its distribution partnership
with MultiChoice.
CNBC Africahasgrown beyond
all expectations since it was
launchedeightyears ago, and everyone
on theCNBC Africateam is proud of

the respected media brand they have
helped to create. Through accurate and
incisive reporting and analysis, and an
attractive and dynamic programme
schedule,CNBC Africahas clearly
positioned itselfas the premier African
news and information resource
for CEOs and senior corporate
executives, financial houses, investors
and aspirational viewers across the
continent.
On May 15, CNBC Africa celebrated
its first anniversary on reporting
Tweet about it:

Follow the conversation and celebrate with @cnbcafrica and tweet us your wishes using #CNBCAfricaTurns8
62 | FORBES AFRICA
JUNE 2015
The ABN Group staff celebrating CNBC Africas studio launch at the
JSE studios
(From left to right) Rakesh Wahi, Founder and Chairman of the ABN
Group, Nicky Newton-King, CEO of the JSE, Edward Kieswtter, CEO
of Alexander Forbes, and Roberta Naicker, Managing Director of the
ABN Group
Participants at the World Economic Forum on Africa 2014,

in Abuja, Nigeria
live from Africas biggest bourse,

the Johannesburg Securities
Exchange.Over theyears, and as
other exchangesgrow;we hope
to replicate this model across the
continent.
CNBC Africa is today the channel
of choice for all major events
relating to the African continent,
including the World Economic
Forum on Africa, theIMF World
Meetings on Africa, the Mining
Indaba and many more.
CNBC Africa has come a long
way over the last eight years,
serving the needs of our African
and global viewers with quality
reporting from the continent. We
would not have got to where we are
without the commitment and hard

work of each and every one of our
staff members across the continent.
It is a day to celebrate their success
and also extend our gratitude to our
board, shareholders and partners,
says Roberta Naicker, Managing
Director of the ABN Group.
CNBC Africawill mark its
anniversary on-air with testimonials
from the networks reporters and
anchors of the most memorable
events over the pasteightyears
and feature the channels major
highlights from across Africa.
CNBC Africa brings you another
first. Dont miss a chance to
celebrate with CNBC Africa all day
on June 1, on DStv channel 410!
COPYRIGHT BY WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM / BENEDIKT VON LOEBELL
Rakesh Wahi, Founder and Vice Chairman of the ABN Group,

blowing the horn at the CNBC Africa studio launch at the JSE studios
CNBC AFRICA HAS

COME A LONG WAY
OVER THE LAST EIGHT
YEARS, SERVING
THE NEEDS OF
OUR AFRICAN AND
GLOBAL VIEWERS
WITH QUALITY
REPORTING FROM
THE CONTINENT.
JUNE 2015
FORBES AFRICA | 63
INVESTMENT GUIDE NIGERIA

MUYIWA MOYELA
THE GENERAL MUST STOP

THE BLEEDING
inning the 2015

presidential and
parliamentary
elections will
turn out to be the
easiest task for Nigerias new leaders.
Governing Africas most populous
country will prove more arduous.
Now that the polls have come
and gone, Nigerians and the newly
inaugurated government of President
Muhammadu Buhari must now turn
their sights on the hard, serious work
ahead: fixing their economy, and the
ethical fibers of their multi-cultural
society.
This will be no easy task, considering
that all eyes (local and global) will be on
the retired army general as he seeks to
resolve the countrys innumerable social,
economic and cultural dilemmas.
This country has to be fixed...
with the engine running, Buharis
Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo, told a
gathering of media and business folks in
Lagos last April.
No doubt the Nigerian nation
continues to be a disappointing case
despite its crowning as Africas leading
economy, and despite its abundant
resources.
Now, when I say disappointing
case I do not mean to belittle this
GDP badge of honor. I merely want to
remind you that (most) Nigerians lack
access to potable water, electricity,
internet access, affordable housing,
quality healthcare, quality education
and efficient public transportation,
just to list a few things on the
development agenda.
We are actually bleeding on
many fronts, a friend working in the
64 | FORBES AFRICA
JUNE 2015
Office of the Chief Economic Adviser

to President Jonathan admitted to
FORBES AFRICA. Yet we keep
behaving as if we are a Saudi Arabia,
which has a bigger economy several
times the size of Nigerias.
Nigeria is a classic case of the Dutch
Disease syndrome, a term coined in
1977 by The Economist to describe the
decline of the manufacturing sector in
the Netherlands after the discovery of
the large Groningen natural gas field in
1959. This was around the same time
Nigeria also began to export oil from its
Oloibiri oil fields, in the creeks of the
Niger Delta. Sadly, instead of growing
in significance and wealth, Nigerias
Niger Delta communities have become
desolate and impoverished.
In recent times, declining oil prices
have had a debilitating effect on the
countrys earnings. Nigeria however
continues to behave like a wealthy
czar, overspending, undersaving and
underinvesting.
Revamping the ethos of business
and governance should be top
priority for Nigerias new economic
and political managers. Under the
previous administration of President
Goodluck Jonathan, the countrys
petroleum sector became synonymous
with corruption and murky corporate
governance.
Crude oil prices ($115 per barrel
in June 2014) now stand around $60.
National revenues have declined by 29%
over the last nine months. Decades of
not saving enough and not investing
enough in the economy have now caught
up with the nation.
The IMF has called for a further
devaluation of the naira, the national
currency, which had already

depreciated by 23% between November
and March. Citizens at the bottom
of the pyramid and small business
owners across the country disagreed
with this advice. Nigerians would
prefer a peaceful nation; productive
refineries and infrastructure; reforms
that restore the professional dignity of
the civil service, the police and other
public service providers; pragmatic
housing programs; deeper financial
and economic inclusion and a drastic
reduction in the size of government.
In a nutshell, this is the broad
agenda for Nigerias new government.
Nigerians can however be impatient.
It will certainly take more than one
election cycle (four years) to fix all of
the nations economic and social woes.
A few months is all we need to gauge if
the change Nigerians desire will begin to
happen under the old general.
Known as a frugal man with little
penchant for frivolities and material
acquisitions, it will be interesting to see
how he attenuates Nigerias widespread
culture of nepotism. Which brings me
to another matter: state sponsorship
of religious activities, events and
pilgrimages.
Saudi Arabia made $18.6 billion and
$213 billion from pilgrimages and oil
exports, respectively, in 2014. Israel
recorded 3.54 million tourist arrivals
in 2013. The statistics for Nigerias
tourism sector are nowhere near these
levels. Which begs the question: who
benefits more from religious tourism
is it the citizen, the state or religious
institutions?
The agenda for Buharis team is
certainly not a boring one.
INVESTMENT GUIDE KENYA

RUFUS MWANYASI
REVOLUTIONARY
AND REWARDING
xchange-traded funds
(ETFs) are one of
the greatest financial
innovations in recent
years. ETFs, which are
essentially investment funds traded
like other securities on securities
exchange, much like stocks, have
enjoyed remarkable success since being
introduced in the 1980s. The global
ETF industry, and its related products,
is now estimated to have assets worth
$2.6 trillion listed on 61 exchanges.
Not to be left behind, Africa has
steadily been growing its share in this
burgeoning industry. Currently, there
are six nations offering ETFs: South
Africa, Botswana, Ghana, Nigeria, Egypt
and Namibia. South Africa, a long-time
leader in this area, has 34 ETFs ranging
from those based on indexes to those
based on commodities.
Kenya, through the Nairobi
Securities Exchange (NSE), is seeking
to become the latest entrant. In a
bid to raise its profile, the Capital
Markets Authority (CMA) of Kenya
has been planning to launch the new
product since July 2013. Partly aimed
at attracting foreign investors, the
expected launch comes at a time when
the local equity market is increasingly
attracting international investor
interest. As the global markets become
increasingly correlated, forcing
portfolio managers around the world
to become more familiar with frontier
markets such as Kenyas, it appears
the new product is set to meet ready
demand.
NSEs Head of Market and Product
Development, Donald Ouma, says
that ETFs will be an affordable form
of investment for retail investors as

they give broad exposure to equities
without having to spend a huge amount
of cash. The new product promises
to give investors the ability to track
indices of various stocks spread out in
various countries that would otherwise
have been expensive or tricky to come
by before.
In the initial years,

I see Kenyas
ETF industry
dominated by
very large funds
and issuers such
as the FTSE Group.
Furthermore, ETFs are expected to
improve liquidity of the overall market
which currently spots turnover rates
lower than 10%. The low fee structure
also means benefits from the relatively
lower expense ratios are passed to the
investor. Locally, the average mutual
fund charges an advertised management
fee of 2%. The new product is also set
to give easy access to alternative assets
such as oil, gold and currencies. The
latter could have come handy this year
as the local currency lost nearly 5% of
its value against the US dollar.
However, limited available
exposure could leave potential growth
opportunities out of reach of ETF
investors. Since the NSEs main index is
still limited to a small number of stocks,
ETF promoters may find it challenging

to achieve a respectable scale. Another
potential roadblock could be slow retail
acceptance. According to the Ernst &
Young, EY Global ETF Survey: 2015
and beyond, outside the US, the ETF
industrys biggest long-term challenge
is low retail adoption. With no way
around this, acceptance by retail
investors will certainly take time to
realize despite huge potential for retail
growth. Nevertheless, the benefits
outweigh the challenges.
In the initial years, I see Kenyas
ETF industry dominated by very large
funds and issuers such as the FTSE
Group. The latter, which already has
two off-shore NSE-based tradable
indexes; FTSE NSE Kenya 15 Index
and FTSE NSE 25 Index, plans to list
its FTSE-based indexes. South African
group, Absa Capital, is said to be in
talks with CMA and NSE to list its
gold-backed ETF, the New Gold ETF.
More large-scale issuers are likely to
enter the market. Ultimately, this will
strengthen the industrys outlook by
giving investors a broader choice of
ETF promoters and product range.
Moving forward, as the growing
wave of international interest continues
to focus on markets like Kenya, certain
key factors will be crucial to ensure
the success of the new industry; price
transparency, education, investor
engagement, patience, liquidity and
technology. If ETFs are to fulfil their
undoubted potential for long-term
growth, all the stakeholders need to
ensure that these building blocks are in
place. If this happens, then NSE-listed
ETFs could easily revolutionize the
securities markets in the region.
JUNE 2015
FORBES AFRICA | 65
INVESTMENT GUIDE SOUTH AFRICA

DUMILE SIBINDANA
WILL PRIVATIZATION
SAVE US MONEY?
outh Africa has a history

of underperforming
state-owned enterprises,
including the big four:
Denel, Transnet, Telkom
and Eskom. According to the National
Planning Committee on the National
Development Plan, these companies
account for approximately 77% of
employees in state-owned enterprises
and make up about 91% of the asset base
of the top 30 state-owned entities.
These entities have evoked
discontent from the public, Eskom in
particular. They have accumulated large
losses, always ready to ask for a helping
hand from the government. Like an
absentee father who spoils his son to
make up for the time he does not spend
with him, our national treasury is only
too pleased to support these enterprises
in the form of bailout packages.
This has led to a call from certain
factions for these state-owned
enterprises to be privatized. A paper
titled Privatisation and Nationalisation
Cycles by Roberto Chang and others
looks at a model built around a
basic trade-off between equality
and efficiency. It argues that greater
equality is attained under public
ownership of a natural resource or
state assets, while more efficiency is
achieved when the ownership and
administration of the resource or
company are in private hands.
The connection between ownership
and the equality-efficiency trade-off is
given by the set of incentives for the
efforts that each regime provides to
economic agents. However, it should
be noted that greater equality does
not necessarily translate into greater
66 | FORBES AFRICA
JUNE 2015
welfare. Imagine a situation where

national income would be distributed
equally among all South Africans.
Equality would leave many worse off.
Greater efficiency is required. The
reality is that there are greater sets of
incentives at play which drive efficiency
when operating a privately-owned
company, among them maximizing the
profits and equity of the shareholders.
The sets of incentives are not as strong
in state-owned enterprises.
The connection
between ownership
and the equalityefficiency trade-off
is given by the set
of incentives for the
efforts that each
regime provides to
economic agents.
One source, who asked to be unnamed,
says that during her time as HR
Manager at the state parastatal, South
African Airways (SAA), she had to deal
with numerous high-level government
officials dumping their family and
friends rsums on her desk and
instructing her to find positions for
them within the organization. She says
that most did not have the required
skills and qualifications. It comes as no
surprise that SAA is one of the most
inefficient state-owned enterprises.
Unfortunately for South Africans who
pay taxes on their hard earned incomes,
the government continues to bail out
the airline with no regard for its dismal

performance. These are some of the
pressing issues that make privatization
of state-owned enterprises attractive.
On the other hand, the breaking up of
the Soviet Union led to the emergence
of Russian oligarchs in the late 1980s
and early 1990s, when state firms were
privatized particularly in the oil, gas
and mining sectors. These oligarchs
emerged under Mikhail Gorbachevs
political movement for the reformation
of communism, which is widely
thought to be the proponent that led
to the dissolution of the Soviet Union.
Today, post-Soviet oligarchs usually
include relatives and close associates
of government officials and are among
some of the wealthiest people in the
world. David Satter, author of Darkness
at Dawn, asserts that what drove the
process was not the determination
to create a system based on universal
values but rather the will to introduce
a system of private ownership, which,
in the absence of law, opened the way
for the criminal pursuit of money and
power.
Privatization has challenges and
opportunities, which if implemented
properly would go a long way to
correcting the inefficient operation of
state-owned enterprises.
There needs to be a conversation
surrounding the viability of privatizing
state-owned enterprises and possible
partnerships with privately-owned
companies. If privatization is proven
to be viable, it will go a long way to
optimizing productivity and reducing
costs, but perhaps more importantly it
could reduce government bailouts and
save taxpayers money.
Sponsored By FBN Capital Asset Management
INVESTMENT GUIDE FBN COLUMN

NIMI AKINKUGBE
FIVE MISTAKES TO AVOID
or many people, the fear

of addressing your own
mortality and talking about
death can be overwhelming
and is sometimes seen as
tempting fate. Estate planning is an area
of financial planning that many shy away
from, yet, your estate plan is one of the
most important parts of your financial
plan. Here are some estate-planning
mistakes to avoid.
Not having a plan
Procrastination is the biggest mistake you

can make regarding your estate planning
as you ignore or avoid the subject
altogether. There are several ways to plan
for your estate so there is really no excuse
for doing nothing. A will is the most
basic of all estate planning tools and is
simply a letter appointing someone to be
in charge of your estate and instructing
exactly how you would wish for your
assets to be divided or distributed among
beneficiaries.
If you were to die intestate, that is,
without leaving a will, your property
wont simply pass to your spouse as is
often assumed; it will be distributed
according to laws of intestacy, which
vary from state to state and may not be
in line with your express wishes. Trusts
can be a more effective way to bequeath
assets to young beneficiaries; they would
be administered by a trustee who makes
distributions in accordance with your
express instructions.
Failure to review beneficiary

designations
Failing to review and update an estate

plan periodically or make changes to
beneficiaries on insurance policies,
retirement savings accounts and wills
after a birth, marriage, re-marriage,
divorce, death or other life changes can
cause significant challenges, including
errors that could disinherit heirs. The
laws and regulations governing wills
and trusts may change from time to
time and it is important to ensure that
the structure of the estate plan still
meets its objectives.
Leaving mystery, uncertainty and

drama in your wake
Clearly these are difficult

conversations, as people may not want
to communicate what property goes
to whom, as it can cause deep family
rifts if one child appears to be favored
at the expense of others. Even if you
would rather not discuss your estate
plans with your immediate family,
communicating with a professional will
save beneficiaries from having to piece
together a puzzle at a difficult time.
Not seeking professional advice
Not seeking professional advice is a

common error. Professional support is
readily available and should be sought.
Depending on the complexity of the
estate, a lawyer and a financial advisor
might collaborate in order to cover all
the issues involved. There are many

issues that you might not have thought
about, including the tax implications
of holding property in various vehicles,
gifting and the transfer of property.
Disorganized financial records
Ploughing through disorganized

records is cumbersome and difficult
at the best of times but having to go
through this during a time of grief
and stress to try to unearth a will or
other evidence of estate planning
is something that we can all avoid.
Organising your documents and
information is vital for your estate
planning; this should include your
insurance policies, title documents,
shareholding in companies,
stockbroking records, bank documents,
including where they are held, and
relevant account numbers.
If you do not already have an estate
plan, then it is time to put one in place.
If you already have one, be sure that
it is updated and meets your estate
planning goals and current realities.
You owe it to your loved ones to make
provision for them otherwise you are
only compounding their grief should
something happen to you.
For more personal finance tips,
follow Money Matters With Nimi on
Twitter: @MMWITHNIMI and
Facebook: MoneyMattersWithNimi
INVESTMENT GUIDE AFRICAN ENTREPRENEUR

PAUL MASHEGOANE
FORGET MONEY
CREATE VALUE
efore money was

invented, before the
word entrepreneurship
was formulated, people
in ancient times traded
by offering value. As far back as the
Stone Age, people had to transact by
exchanging goods that were of equivalent
value to what was to be received.
Today, this concept can be described
by two words: value proposition. This
has gained currency over time, but some
entrepreneurs still miss the mark.
Business is based on the following
basic principles; you are either saving
your clients time and money, or making
them more money. In supply and
demand, distribution comes as a valueadded product.
Geographic proximity to a product
does not mean others have the same
advantage. Cocoa is a good example.
The product is largely found in West
Africa. Any entrepreneur setting up a
distribution channel to Singapore will be
adding value on two fronts; firstly that
68 | FORBES AFRICA
JUNE 2015
area of Asia doesnt have in the same

abundance of cocoa as West Africa, and
secondly from the logistics front.
In the knowledge economy, access to
rare information elevates the value of
those who have it. This is why companies
call in consultants and advisors at an
inflated cost. It is also why we keep going
to conferences, paying international
speakers large amounts of money to
speak for 30 minutes. Its all about the
value one can bring to the table, and that
comes from experience or study.
Scarce skills, like firewall experts, are
rewarded handsomely, as cyber security
threats rise. A shortage of something
increases its value; art collectors can
attest to that.
Marketers use this strategy to create
a craving for a product and service. You
are unlikely to see a Bugatti advertised
on billboards and in newspapers. People
who can afford the supercar know where
to find it.
Entrepreneurs need to reprogram
themselves to create value, rather than
looking for money. Money chases value.

No one holds a monopoly on cash; if you
offer customers value, they will gladly
give you their money.
Even Albert Einstein, a man of science
rather than business, said, Try not to
become a man of success. Rather become
a man of value.
There are survivalist entrepreneurs
who keep complaining as if money
repels them. We need to be innovative
in how we sell our products and
services. The market will pay for the
value you provide.
Jannie Mouton is well known for
creating value. He did something
unique through Capitec Bank. They
entered a market which had gigantic
financial institutions; they added value
through two things in particular. They
lowered bank charges and demystified
the banking system. This related to the
general population, most of whom were
clients of other banks. Today, Capitec
is one of the largest retail banks with
four million clients, and they claim to be
registering around 100,000 new clients
every month.
Adding value is reliant on the
industry that the entrepreneurs find
themselves in. You need to make
promises to clients that differentiate
yourself from your competitors. You
have to appeal to what they want. The
successful execution of this can convert
prospects into new customers.
While you are trying to make millions,
never forget that at some point almost
everyone in Zimbabwe was once a
billionaire. Its not really about the
money, its about the value that you add
through your company. Align yourself
with a sense of value, then all these
others things will fall in place.
SPORTS NOTEBOOK
BY GARETH COTTERELL
AFRICA TO HOST FIRST

NBA GAME
The Miami Heats Luol Deng will captain Team
Africa against Team World in the NBAs first
game in Africa. I am truly honored to be
part of this historic event, said Deng, who
was born in South Sudan and represented
Britain at the Olympics in 2012. The match will
take place on 1 August at Ellis Park Arena in
Johannesburg. Team Africa will include players
from Africa and second generation African
players, while Team World will be represented
by players from the rest of the world.
ZIMBABWE OFF TO
PAKISTAN DESPITE FEARS
Luol Deng
Haile Gebrselassie
ARSENE WENGER PHOTO BY CJMAC / SHUTTERSTOCK.COM; LUOL DENG PHOTO BY OLEKSIY

NAUMOV / SHUTTERSTOCK.COM; HAILE GEBRSELASSIE BY METHIL RENUKA
AFRICAN GREAT CALLS

IT QUITS
One of the greatest long distance runners,
Haile Gebrselassie, has announced his
retirement. The 42-year-old Ethiopian
won two Olympic gold medals, eight
World Championship victories and set 27
world records in a 25-year career. Im
retiring from competitive running, not
from running. You cannot stop running,
this is my life, he says. There are doubts
about Gebrselassie sticking to his word.
He tearfully retired five years ago after
experiencing knee problems but returned
to racing a few months later.
Zimbabwe have agreed to become the

first full member of the International
Cricket Council to play in Pakistan
since a deadly gun attack targeted the
visiting Sri Lanka team in 2009. Six
police officials and a driver were killed
in that assault on the Sri Lankan team
bus. The Federation of International
Cricketers Associations says there is
still an unacceptable risk for foreign
teams touring Pakistan and advises
that Zimbabwes visit not go ahead.
Zimbabwe have no other tours planned
and are in desperate need of cash. The
southern African country agreed to the
tour on two conditions: there will be a
return tour to Zimbabwe and theyll get
50% of the revenues from the series in
Pakistan.
Arsene Wenger
DANGOTE TO BUY GUNNERS?

Africa's richest man Aliko Dangote claims he has hopes of buying English Premier League
club Arsenal. I might buy it, not at a ridiculous price but a price that the owners won't
want to resist. I know my strategy, says Dangote. He also has advice for coach Arsene
Wenger and thinks the side should be achieving more. (Wenger) needs to change his style
a bit. They need new direction. Some in Nigeria, however, believe he should be investing
his money in the local game. What we have lacked in Nigeria is a proper business
structure for our clubs, a proper business plan for our clubs. And if a man of Aliko's calibre
is interested in setting a structure in place for Nigerian football, that could just be the
turnaround that we've been waiting for," says sports commentator, Toyin Ibitoye.
JUNE 2015
FORBES AFRICA | 69
FORBES SPORT
Wise words on winning
by Kirsty Coventry
The Good And Bad Of
Being An Ad
ric Lawson portrayed the

Marlboro Man the iconic
strong rugged man, with
cowboy hat, piercing eyes
and chiseled jaw, who was
always holding a cigarette. This year,
Lawson became the third Marlboro
actor to die of a smoking-related disease.
The world has changed since smoking
was advertised as the cool thing to do.
Today, there is an increase in healthy
options, even in fast food restaurants.
Coffee shops are filled with the athletic
mum and her workout friends; healthy
living is now a booming multibilliondollar industry.
Companies realize the importance
and profitability in marketing a healthy
lifestyle. This lifestyle has become
synonymous with strength, responsibility,
sacrifice, and success. Companies
sponsor athletes who embody these
values to attract consumers to their
products.
As with any partnership, sponsorship
should be mutually beneficial. The
athlete must be able to focus on training
and competition, and sponsorship
can provide the security they need.
This ensures that their living costs
are covered, including buying training
equipment or travelling to competitions.
In return, the sponsor receives brand
enhancement and product awareness
that could develop new or niche
markets. It differentiates themselves
from their competitors, increases overall
sales and even contributes to goodwill in
the community.
These are all valuable, but there are
also pitfalls to sponsorships from both
perspectives.
70 | FORBES AFRICA
JUNE 2015
Sponsors Perspective
1. Athlete integrity: With increased

social media, athletes are under the
microscope more off the field than
on it. Without integrity, the potential
for a negative image created by an
athletes behavior is increased.
2. Athlete effort: An athlete has to put
work into marketing their sponsor.
An idle athlete (or athletes manager/
agent) can create high costs for the
company with little return.
3. Lack of control: With injury, illness,
or a sudden lack of performance or
drop in rankings, a once high profile
athlete may no longer be an effective
marketing tool. However, a good role
model can continue representing a
company even after they have retired
from playing sport.
4. Brand diffusion: Do other companies
or individuals sponsor your athlete?
Are they reputable? Are there too
many sponsors involved that limit
the effectiveness of your athletes
brand? Are you the main sponsor that
receives the most benefits?
Athletes Perspective
1. Sponsors integrity: Just as important

as an athletes integrity and as with
many of these points, it works both
ways. As an example, if an athlete is
endorsing a company that is found to
be using child labor, the athlete will
be seen as promoting it.
2. Sponsors demands: These must be
realistic and allow the athlete to focus on
what they are supposed to do train and
compete. The athlete must also learn to
manage their time to accommodate their
obligations to the sponsor.
3. Sponsors technology: I was under

contract to swim for a swimsuit
company because they had the best
product at the time. My contract
stated that should my rankings drop,
so would my income. The sponsor
failed to keep up with technology and
its competitors came out with a better
suit. Despite that, I remained loyal and
went on to break the world record.
4. Other athletes: The sponsor may
have five other athletes and choose
to market them more than you. Due
to your exclusive relationship with
the sponsor your branding could take
a back seat. It is important that the
athlete does not solely rely on the
sponsor for marketing, but builds
marketing campaigns and branding
efforts to increase their own visibility
and value.
Great sponsorships are the result of
strong relationships backed by good
communications. A clear contract should
be developed with the above considerations
taken into account, including exit strategies
for what if scenarios.
The increasing trend for active
and healthy lifestyles places greater
importance for athletes to endorse
products. Companies need to find an
athlete that fits with their philosophy and
shares their values. Companies can find
these athletes by looking for those with
a winning record or great potential, but
companies should choose these athletes
based on personality, uniqueness, being
a good role model, and their relationship
with fans.
This will avoid any potential pitfalls
and allow the magic of sport to keep us
entertained.
PHOTO BY GALLO IMAGES / GETTY IMAGES / JOHN BERRY
Kirsty Coventry
FORBES/SPORT
MAYWEATHER VS. PACQUIAO
The $400-Million
Flop Of The Century
It was supposed to be the biggest fight since The Rumble
in the Jungle between Muhammad Ali and George Foreman
in 1974. Instead, the bout between Floyd Mayweather and
Manny Pacquiao left many underwhelmed.
BY PETER LEOPENG
o, The Fight of the Century

has come and gone. Normally
after a fight of this magnitude,
the loser is left wondering what
might have been. He has to pick
himself up, dust himself off and go back
to the drawing board. But, in this case, it
was the poor fans that wondered what
could have been. Some, especially the
non-boxing fans who were caught up in
the hype, asked, Is that it?
Was that really the fight of the century?
What is a fight of the century anyway?
To the hardcore boxing fan, such a fight
is one where there are knockouts and
knock downs; where theres blood and
tears, where there is drama. Fights that
deserve that label are: Muhammad Ali
vs George Foreman in 1974; Ali vs Joe
Frazier in 1975; Sugar Ray Leonard vs Roberto Duran in 1980; Leonard vs Thomas
Hearns in 1981; and Marvin Hagler vs
Hearns in 1985.
With the much-awaited Floyd Mayweather vs Manny Pacquiao fight, it was
always going to depend on what the
Filipino was going to bring to the table.
In other words, it was up to Pacquiao to
make or break the fight. As the famous
ring announcer, Michael Buffer, said before the fight, Pacman is going to have
to come out like a Tasmanian devil if he
hopes to upset Mayweather. After Pacquiaos trainer Freddie Roach said that
his fighter was ready to go 25 rounds,
expectation was high, despite many believing the fight happened five years too
72 | FORBES AFRICA
JUNE 2015
RICH BUT DISAPPOINTING
BY THOBILE HANS
says Alan Toweel, a boxing trainer in

South Africa.
Toweel says what happened in Las
Vegas was not good for boxing. He
believes the knockout Pacquiaa suffered
at the hands of Juan Manuel Marquez in
2012 finished him.
Ron Jackson, a boxing historian and
journalist, agrees the fight was not a classic.
I thought Pacquiao won the fight. It
was very disappointing to see Mayweather running around. At least it could have
been a draw, he says.
PHOTO BY GALLO IMAGES / AFP / JOHN GURZINSKI
he so-called Fight of the Century between Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao was
indeed the most expensive, but
fell short of the high expectations.
Mayweather did what he usually
does running away from his opponent.
I expected a lot from them but they
didnt live up to my expectations. It was
not a fight of the century; it could be one
of the popular fights in the last 15 years.
Mayweather should have knocked out
Pacquiao but he fought like a coward,
A few days after Mayweather won

his 48th fight and kept his unbeaten
record, the American announced that
his next fight will be in September and
will be his last. Amir Khan, from Britain, is being touted as his next opponent. But this is yet to be confirmed.
Hopefully it does happen. If it
does, it will be an interesting fight
because Khan is very good boxer. I
dont look forward to another Mayweathers fight. He past his time,
says Toweel.
late. When the fight started, fans were
on the edge of their seats. Not because of
what was happening in the ring, because
of what they hoped could happen.
What was happening was that Pacquiao, a slugger, was trying to outbox
a boxer in Mayweather. After 12 not so
exciting rounds, Mayweather ran away
with a unanimous decision. The result
seemed to surprise Pacquiao who said
after the fight that he thought he did
enough to be awarded a decision. Mayweather will march into his reported
49th and final bout in September still
undefeated. When the dust settles, this
fight will only be remembered for its
financial records. It became the highest
selling pay-per-view sporting event of
all time with a staggering 5.65 million
buys. The previous record in terms of
pure sales was the 2007 fight between
Mayweather and Oscar De La Hoya at
2.48 million.
The fight generated well in excess
of $400 million, much more than the
Super Bowl.
The big question on everybodys lips is
whether there will be a rematch? Given
that Pacquiao revealed he fought with
an injured shoulder, chances are that a
rematch could be on the cards. But it is
doubtful that a second fight will generate
even half as much interest.
Fans will remember the principle of
once bitten twice shy. Simply put, most
in the boxing fraternity were left underwhelmed.
FORBES/SPORT
JACK JOHNSON
THE GIANT
WHO LAUGHED
IN THE FACE OF RACISM
Jack Johnson was the first black heavyweight champion
of the world. He pummelled most of his challengers to
the vile abuse of racists.
few weeks before Floyd

Mayweather swaggered
into the ring in Las Vegas,
a forgotten centenary
slipped by that lends context to the struggle of the black man.
On April 5, 1915, the first ever black
heavyweight champion of the world lost
his title after 26 brutal rounds at a racetrack in Havana, Cuba. It was the end of a
remarkable story of pride, skill and refusal
to back down in the face of cruel and repulsive racism. Each of his stirring fights
was punctuated by a torrent of vile abuse
mostly in the United States, the self-proclaimed land of the free that would have
made a neo-Nazi blush.
They called Jack Johnson, the son of a
slave from Texas, the Galveston Giant, for
he was every inch so. He was over six foot,
with a broad chest that looked chiselled
out of mahogany; he bowed for no man and
boxed into his 60s. Out of the ring, Johnson
was a flamboyant man about town who
smoked huge cigars, drank champagne,
dressed in the finest suits and drove expensive cars at a time when most of the world
was walking.
In the ring, Johnson was a supreme
mover and technical genius that few could
lay a glove on. He started each fight with
beguiling ease, as if he was kidding his
opponent to death, in the words of his
biographer Geoffrey C. Ward in his book
Unforgivable Blackness. As the rounds went
by the punching power would grow steadily, with lurking devastating uppercuts that
threatened to rip off a boxers head.
74 | FORBES AFRICA
JUNE 2015
This was how Johnson won his world

title in Sydney, Australia, the day after
Christmas in 1908. The fact there was an
unofficial color bar in boxing makes the
title win ever more remarkable. For two
years, Johnson haunted the corner of the
heavyweight title holder Canadian Tommy Burns. As corner men towelled Burns
down, after another victory, Johnson
shouted from ringside that Burns was no
champion until he had fought him. Yes,
these things happened before Don King
was even thought of.
Money twisted the arm of Burns,
who said many times he would never
fight a black man. Greed and money
had always ruled boxing.
Round after round, in Sydney, Burns,
who had power but little sense, insulted
Johnsons race and called him a coward
as he charged. Johnson smiled and
taunted back.
Poor little Tommy, who told you you
were a fighter? joked Johnson.
This is what is known as a left hook,
Tommy, before stepping and letting fly
with a bone-shuddering left.
In the 14th round, as Johnson hammered Burns to the floor, there came
press censorship. Legend has it that
the police ordered the camera to stop
filming during the knockout. Certainly,
the edited footage cuts out the moment when Burns hit the canvas; it was
deemed unseemly to show a black man
victorious over a white.
Despite this, Johnson landed a
resounding blow for the black man
in Sydney. Sadly, in the United States

(US), angry lynch mobs murdered
more than 20 innocent black men, in
racial retribution.
Johnson defended his title eight times
in six and a half years. The tirade against
him grew as the newspapers made a meal
of his lavish lifestyle and relationships
with white women. The man himself, one
of the greatest boxers ever to lace up a
pair of gloves, didnt give a damn.
The great mans reign also gave rise to
the phrase: the great white hope for any
boxer attempting to wrest the title back
from black hands. One of them, former
heavyweight champion James J Jeffries,
came out of retirement on US Independence Day, July 4, 1910. Trains carried
thousands to the fight, in Reno, Nevada,
that could have doubled as a Nuremburg
rally. Guns werent allowed because the
organizers thought someone was going to
shoot Johnson. The crowd satisfied itself
by firing racist insults throughout.
Johnson had the last laugh, pummelling Jeffries to the floor, earning $121,000,
in modern money a sum near the amount
for the Mayweather fight. He drove to
pick up the money, in cash, from a nearby
diner on the way home.
The end came in Havana just over
100 years ago. A hard right hand from
Jess Willard, the Pottawatomie Giant,
in the 26th round knocked Johnson to
the canvas. Age, heat and exhaustion
had caught up; there were whispers
Johnson had thrown the fight for money. Maybe, maybe not?
PHOTO BY GALLO IMAGES / GETTY IMAGES / HULTON ARCHIVE
BY CHRIS BISHOP
Either way, Johnson never wore the

crown again and his life ended on a sad
note of bathos; the Galveston Giant died,
aged 67, when his car hit a telegraph pole.
He had driven away angrily from a North
Carolina diner after yet more discrimination against the color of his skin.
The centenary is maybe time to pause
and think. One hundred years on, from
Johnson to Mayweather, the world of
boxing may have cleaned up its act, but
has the world?
THIS IS WHAT IS KNOWN

AS A LEFT HOOK, TOMMY.
Jack Johnson in 1913
FORBES/SPORT
MORUTI MTHALANE
The Baby-Faced
Moruti Mthalane
Moruti Mthalane,
Africas world champion
flyweight boxer, has
never stopped throwing
punches to get to the
top. His achievements
have inspired many,
just as former greats,
like Baby JakeMatlala,
influenced him.
BY REGINALD NKHOLISE
hen Moruti
Mthalane started boxing as an
amateur at the age
of 13, he always
showed commitment and was destined
for bigger things.
Baby Face, as he is affectionately
known, is from a family of seven that is
heavily involved in boxing. His father,
Michael, used to train him and his
older brother, Innocent, was a national
champion. He grew up in Durban, in
the KwaZulu Natal province, and just
like most kids in his neighborhood he
was an avid football fan and supported
Orlando Pirates. However, his passion
for boxing took over and he is now the
current IBO flyweight champion and
former IBF flyweight champion.
Sport has always been part of my
life. I remember back in the days as a
youngster I used to play soccer with
other kids in Durban. I preferred to be
around the brilliant players who were
76 | FORBES AFRICA
JUNE 2015
capable of dribbling and scoring goals.

Pirates were my favorite team and I
used to admire Steve Lekoelea because
he was such an exciting player, a good
passer of the ball and he used to create
scoring opportunities. However my
passion for boxing took control and I
concentrated on spending more of my
time in the ring, he says.
I have always been focused as a
boxer and I had ambition to make it
to the top level. I was confident that
I would make it because whenever I
went to the gym I gave my best.
When Mthalane turned professional at the age of 19, he realized he
had to take his boxing more seriously.
Throughout his career, he has had
many tough bouts and fought all over
the world. Now, at the age of 32, he
feels there is still a lot he can offer in
the ring. One of Mthalanes biggest
highlights was when he won the IBF
world flyweight title against Julio Miranda of Mexico in 2009.
I always make sure that I prepare
well for my fights. I respect my job as a
professional boxer and I arrive on time
at the gym. It is
very important
to work hard
in the gym and
give all the
necessary effort
in whatever I
do. I have the
winning mentality and I am
always determined to give
everything that
I can against
whoever I face.
Baby Jakes Matlala
I like to attack,
even when it is tough in the ring. I just

need to remain optimistic that I can
do it. My victory against Julio Miranda
was fantastic, I was very happy with
my achievement when I won, you could
just see the way how I celebrated that it
really meant a lot to me.
He has not looked back since that
fight and feels that under his manager
and trainer, Nick Durandt, his reign as a
world champion will continue.
It is good that I am working with
Durandt as my trainer because he is
the best. He has always guided me well
when we are preparing for the fight. I
have been working with Nick for a very
long time and we have had a very good
relationship, he says.
Dingaan Thobela
MORUTI PHOTO BY GALLO IMAGES / REUTERS/LAS VEGAS SUN / STEVE MARCUS; BABY JAKE PHOTO BY GALLO
IMAGES / FRENNIE SHIVAMBU; DINGAAN PHOTO BY GALLO IMAGES / DRUM / FANI MAHUNTSI
Assassin
coming boxers look up to him and he is always prepared to

give them advice.
I am so thankful that I got an opportunity to be a professional boxer and through what I earn I am able to look after
myself well.
I believe I will still have a good life after I retire from
boxing because I am not just thinking about now. I have
invested a lot for my future. I live a clean lifestyle and I
always make sure that I hang around the good people. It is
very important for youngsters to follow their dreams and do
the right things in life. Discipline is very important in boxing.
One has to be focused inside and outside the ring. I encourage the young boxers to be very committed and work very
hard in the gym. In order to be ready for the fight, one has to
take the right steps during the preparations, he says.
Mthalane is a religious man and a huge R&B fan. In his
downtime he listens to R. Kelly and Brandy.
He has proven his worth in the ring and is determined
that there is a lot more he can offer. It is now up to boxing
administrators and promoters to ensure that boxing
is followed by millions in Africa and the boxers
get rewarded for their hard work.
Moruti Mthalane
I WILL STILL HAVE A

GOOD LIFE AFTER I RETIRE
FROM BOXING BECAUSE I
AM NOT JUST THINKING
ABOUT NOW.
PHOTO BY GALLO IMAGES / REUTERS /R. MARSH STARKS
Mthalane was stripped of his IBF belt when he pulled out of

his mandatory defence against Thailands Amnat Ruenroeng
last year. That fight was set to earn him R120,000. He was
instead offered R1 million to fight Filipino Jether Oliva for
the vacant IBO title he won the fight and has since defended the title.
Mthalane is inspired by the likes of Floyd Mayweather and
Manny Pacquiao, who recently fought in the highest-paid
boxing match the sport has ever seen. What does the South
African think of the huge sums these superstars were paid?
It is very encouraging when some top boxers in the world
get paid well. It is very good for the sport.
I have always been interested in watching other top boxers around the world. I used to enjoy watching the heavyweights, the likes of Riddick Bowe, Mike Tyson, Lennox
Lewis and Evander Holyfield. Whenever there was a big
heavyweight fight, I woke up early in the morning to watch
the fight. I really enjoyed watching Bowe, his style really
impressed me.
Though he is disappointed that boxing does
not get the television coverage it deserves
in South Africa, Mthalane is determined to
emulate past South African heroes such as
Baby Jake Matlala and Dingaan Thobela.
Here in South Africa we have also
produced many top professional boxers.
I admired the late Baby Jakes fighting
style. He was very short but he used to give
the taller fighters a tough time. It was really
exciting watching him fight, his movements
in the ring and the way he used to throw
punches impressed me. There is a lot
that I gained and learned from
watching how him fight. I
am the type of fighter
that likes to attack. Even
when it is really tough
in the ring, I am always
determined to give my
best.
Many boxers around
the world have fallen
victim to bankruptcy
when their careers come
to an end. Most did not
make wise decisions with
the money they earned.
However, it seems to
be a different story with
Mthalane.
He is aware that boxing
careers are short and has
invested his money while
he is earning it. Many up and
FORBES
SOMETIME IN AFRICA
Ice Cream, Gas And Thugs In Uniform
Day after day, the future lawyers,

politicians and financial managers threw
stones and held never ending open
air meetings to berate the universitys
chancellor, the late and avuncular
Gordon Chavunduka. Everyone knew he
was a sangoma or traditional healer
known for their spiritual powers.
Surely he, of all people, should have
seen this coming! says one orator, to the
laughter of hundreds.
In those sunlit days this was truly
an ice cream war. The lads on their
tricycles, with ice boxes fixed to the
front, used to gather a safe distance from
the fighting. It meant you could dodge a
police baton, run across to the ice cream
sellers for a cooling cone, then charge
back into the tear gas and mayhem.
It got worse as the winter of 1995
wore on. The police were reluctant to
ill-treat the students, a number of whom
were the sons and daughters of powerful
people, when the TV
cameras were about.
So, one evening,
they waited until
our crew had left to
feed their pictures to
Johannesburg, before
attacking the students
with a vengeance.
Riot police clattered
through doors, broke
bones and cut heads,
flailing their way
through campus.
I cant forget the
image of one of the
student leaders, Brian
Kagoro, who is now
a lawyer working
for the UNDP, with
several meters of
bandage wrapped
around his broken
head.
This upping of
the stakes provoked
Zimbabwean troops patrol a street in Harare in 1998
revenge. When the
t was chaos in the sun. Hundreds

of students ran taunting and
hurling stones at lines of police
armed to the teeth, with tear
gas and batons. All of this at
a seat of learning, the University of
Zimbabwe, in the quiet, green suburbs of
Harare, which we filmed for the evening
bulletins of South African network
television.
How many O-levels do you have?
shouts one cheeky student, to a distant
line of police, before ducking and
running.
The reply from the police: a broadside
of tear gas that sends us scattering and
choking; the cheeky student waits a
few seconds before running back with a
quip.
I didnt think so!
The issue, in May 1995, was student
grants, or the paucity of them, as the
government of Zimbabwe tightened its belt.
78 | FORBES AFRICA
JUNE 2015
police sent a patrol car to the campus

the students chased off the drivers and
battered the vehicle onto its side. Worse
still, one of the students opened the fuel
tank, screwed up a newspaper, stuck it
inside and set fire to one end a large
petrol bomb was about to go off.
The seconds ticked by as everyone
watched the flames lick their way
towards the fuel tank. Then an unwitting
saviour strode in from nowhere. An
English lecturer, who looked the part
with a scruffy brown jacket, thick beard
and a pipe, strolled through the scene of
trepidation without noticing the chaos
around him. As he drew level with the
burning newspaper, he stopped, did a
double take, before pulling the burning
paper out of what was about to blow.
The rest of us looked through our
fingers and laughed in knowing relief.
The lecturer walked off, puffing on his
pipe, as if nothing had happened.
Fast forward to three years later and
the riot police of Zimbabwe were finding
their feet. On this sticky November day
in 1997, I saw two helmeted riot police
standing in the tree-lined Africa Unity
square in the heart of Harare.
An old man approached the two
riot police and must have asked them
a question politely because I saw him
clapping his hands as he spoke, a sign of
respect in Zimbabwe. One smacked the
old man to the ground with his baton
while his fellow policeman kicked him
in the guts. I ran over to help the old
man up.
Leave him alone, I screamed
knowing they could take me next.
One of the policemen looked
me in the eye and threw a spitting,
Israeli-made gas grenade, sending me
coughing and wheezing out onto the
street where thousands were running
in anger. I kicked the gas grenade 30
meters across the road; to throw it back
was to risk arrest. I never saw the old
man again. Troops were on the streets
weeks later.
PHOOTO BY GALLO IMAGES / AFP/ALEXANDER JOE
BY CHRIS BISHOP

Forbes Africa - June 2015

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mozambique after 40 years: gas, oil and rubies the investment case

1 june 2015 eDITIOn

Minus The Paperwork

CONTENTS JUNE 2015

FORBES AFRICA makes history with its first ever

6 | FORBES STREET // Chris Bishop

FORBES AFRICA makes history with its first ever homegrown

26 | WHAT DO YOU DO WHEN YOUR COMPANY

30 | REMORSE AND RUBBLE IN NEPAL

FORBES AFRICA Publisher and Vice-Chairman of the

34 | GENOCIDE LOOMS OVER THE

Burundi is divided between those loyal to the president and

Mozambique has sloughed through four decades of pain

48 | AFRICA WELCOMES A FAMOUS SON

Americans dont smoke much anymore, but that hasnt

Alfa Romeo is in need of a revival and the

70 | THE GOOD AND BAD OF BEING AN AD

Jack Johnson was the first black heavyweight champion

76 | THE BABY-FACED ASSASSIN

Moruti Mthalane, Africas world champion flyweight boxer,

THE GIANT WHO LAUGHED IN

FORBES STREET CHRIS BISHOP

The Night An Egg

BY CHRIS BISHOP, MANAGING EDITOR

dont think I had ever been as

on a massive plate. We sat in a large,

seen war and upheaval shatter the little infrastructure it had.

Now you can enjoy reading Forbes Africa at:

JUNE 2015 VOLUME 5 NUMBER 5

ART & DESIGN DIRECTOR

PRODUCTION AND DISTRIBUTION

JOURNALIST, WEST AFRICA

BDM - EAST AFRICA

JOURNALISTS, SOUTH AFRICA

BDM - WEST AFRICA

ABN MANAGEMENT TEAM

FORBES MEDIA LLC

Nepal was hit by two earthquakes in

PHOTO BY WILBERT O. SAYSON

EaRthquakEs RavagE NEpal

Read his story on page 30.

GREG SOLOMON PHOTO BY GALLO IMAGES / AFP / STEPHANE DE SAKUTIN;

THE AFRICAN WALKING DEAD

MCDONALDS BUCKING THE TREND

In the second week of June,

AFRICAN INNOVATORS REWARDED

Kenyas Alex Mwaura Muriu won the prize for having

Emerging markets look more difficult. African

A ROOF AT LAST THE

ATLAS MARA INVESTS $22

The Democratic Alliance, the official

MORE JOBS CAN SNUFF THE

THE IRON LADY SEES A

Arunma Oteh, former Director-General of

e have selected 30 for

EDITED BY TSHEPO TSHABALALA

debate and work out who is most

for weeks, verifying and investigating, to whittle it down. We favored

PHOTO BY OSBORNE MACHARIA

PHOTO BY JAY CABOZ

27, South Africa

29, South Africa

I always loved physics and maths and it

Julie Alexander Fourie