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< Back to all guests #6 Erica de Greef - on Vogue Business’ accolade as one of 100 global fashion ‘agitators’, using African fashion as a decolonial tool, re-imagining Western 1960s dresses and Africa’s ‘folded’ fashion 04 March 2024 FIND BELOW 1 Guest Bio 2 Episode Description 3 Show Notes 4 Time Stamps 5 Transcript 1 Guest Bio Erica de Greef is a prominent figure in the realm of fashion curation and research. Having dedicated years to the exploration and preservation of Africa's rich sartorial legacy, Erica is celebrated for her groundbreaking work in uncovering untold stories and shedding light on often overlooked aspects of the fashion history. Her research transcends mere garments, delving into the societal, economic and political dimensions that shape Africa's fashion landscape. As a curator, Erica de Greef orchestrates exhibitions that not only showcase the aesthetic brilliance of African fashion but also challenge perceptions and provoke thought on issues of identity, representation and globalization. Through exhibitions, digital media and scholarly publications, she strives to foster a deeper understanding of and appreciation for the diverse tapestry of African fashion, both past and present. Erica lectured for 14 years at LISOF School of Fashion (now Stadio School of Fashion), with two years as Head of Department. There she interrogated and overhauled the fashion curricula and promoted critical fashion knowledge with a strong local content, enabling the development of projects of research and display that engaged with notions of fashion, history, society and identity. Many of her students moved on to become celebrated South African designers, including Wanda Lephoto, Thebe Magugu, Rich Mnisi and Ella Buter (Superella). In 2019 Erica co-founded the African Fashion Research Institute (AFRI) with partner Lesiba Mabitsela. The institute ‘shares the work of local and global African fashion pioneers, academics, makers, thinkers, students, critics and leaders through fashion-driven decolonial research projects and digital platforms’. Their focus is on 'rewriting fashion histories that speak to afro-centric ways of wearing, knowing, making, and styling, often absent in fashion books, exhibitions, and imaginations’. One of their notable current projects is the creation of a glossary of terms for African fashion, under the umbrella concept of ‘The Fold’ - inspired by the fact that a lot of African fashion involves the folding of textiles in unique ways in different countries across the continent, and the notion that a folded material has an intrinsic characteristic of potentially hiding something in its folds. After successfully completing a Masters in Fine Arts at the University of Witwatersrand (2011), Erica completed a Post-Graduate Diploma in Higher Education at the University of Cape Town (2013), both with distinction. She holds a PhD from the Centre for African Studies from the University of Cape Town which posits how absences in local museum fashion/dress collections could be redressed through a digital (both film and the internet) reimagining in contemporary curation. 2 Episode Description In 2023, Vogue Business named Erica de Greef and African Fashion Research Institute (AFRI) co-founder Lesiba Mabitsela as part of a group of 100 ‘next-gen entrepreneurs and agitators’ in the global fashion world, ready to overhaul the current system and show us a different future. In this episode, we unpack why Vogue gave them that accolade, how Erica sees fashion as a decolonising tool, what different stories need to be told (and how a different approach to fashion can tell those), what to do with white colonial clothes collections buried inside South African and other museums, and how a single archived dress can be re-imagined to fill the gaps in African fashion history. Erica discusses the evolution of African fashion, from being marginalized to gaining global recognition and challenging the traditional narratives within the fashion industry. The conversation covers various topics including the redefinition of African fashion, the importance of acknowledging fashion as a cultural expression beyond Western influences, the journey and role of AFRI in shaping new fashion narratives, and the personal experiences that have influenced Erica’s approach to fashion research and education. Erica explains why the words ‘Africa’ and ‘Fashion’ were never placed together as a phrase in the past and also explains why the term ‘slow fashion’ might not be the most suitable, or chosen, term for fashion in Africa. It is only in the last twenty years or so that South Africa started to develop its own local fashion brands, and in this episode Erica reveals the part she played in that development. For those wishing to understand the past erasure of African fashion and its relegation to ethnographic museums - and the work being done to change that - this episode is for you. 3 Show Notes 00:46 ‘The Devil wears Prada’ - lumpy blue sweater scene 01:27 The African Fashion Research Institute (AFRI) 01:33 The Vogue Business 100 Innovators: Next-gen entrepreneurs and agitators 02:52 Lesiba Mabitsela 12:53 The identity politics of wax print. - a fascinating insight into Dutch wax print’s political history. And what looks like a fantastic film, here's the trailer for the Wax Print film 13:53 LISOF is now known as Stadio Higher Education 17:23 Malick Sidibé (1936-2016) wa s a Malian photographer who was noted for his black-and-white studies of popular culture in the 1960s in Bamako , Mali. The Archive of Malian Photography hosts 14,309 scanned negatives and corresponding metadata from the archives of Malick Sidibé. This figure represents about 10% of his complete archive. 17:24 James Barnor is a Ghanain photog rapher. His quote on his foundation's website is probably more relevant now than it ever was: ‘I came across a magazine with an inscription that said, “A civilization flourishes when men plant trees under which they themselves never sit.” But it’s not only plants – putting something in somebody’s life, a young person’s life, is the same as planting a tree that you will not cut and sell. That has helped me a lot in my work. Sometimes the more you give, the more you get. That’s why I’m still going at 90!’ 18:40 Technically Model C schools don't exist as a separate category but the term was used to denote a former whites only school that is government-funded, however they are administered and largely funded by the parent body. 19:00 SA Fashion Week first began in 1997 by Lucilla Booyzen. Download its 21 years of SA Fashion Week booklet. From the intro: 'In August 1997, in a purpose-designed white marquee in what is now Mandela Square, the heart of Johannesburg’s high-powered new commercial hub, South African Fashion Week rolled out the black carpet and announced itself open for business.' 20:03 Wanda Lephoto ' explores a notion of luxury dress merging African cultures, traditions, identities and approaches with global nuances to form new propositions for representation'. 2 0:06 Rich Mnisi is 'a contemporary, multi-disciplinary brand based in Johannesburg, South Africa, founded by Mnisi in 2015'. 20:08 Thebe Magugu is 'a luxury South African brand'. Worth a watch at the bottom of his home page: a short doccie, 'Discard Theory' ' which he filmed of Dunusa , the street in downtown Joburg where dumped clothes from the U.S. and Europe are sold for a song. 20:10 Superella is run by self-defined 'clothes maker' (not fashion designer) Ella Buter and sells ' easy, free and comfortable layers. Quality clothes that last for years and years. Small production runs. Using the very best natural fabrics' 20:14 Roman Handt is 'a fashion designer / textile scientist' 22:56 Drum magazine was establ ished in the 1950s and ' became an important platform for a new generation of writers and photographers who changed the way Black people were represented in society'. 22:57 Stoned Cherrie began in 2000 and became one of South Africa's most award-winning designer brands, through the use of bespoke textiles and t-shirts emblazoned with political and cultural South African icons 23:06 Black Coffee is the label of South African designer Jacques van der Watt and was founded in 1998 23:51 loxion kulca (a hybrid slang term for location (township) + culture) is a South African streetwear brand co-founded by Wandi Nzimande (who died of COVID in 2021 ) and Sechaba Mogale 24:32 The Space is a retail and online store that sells garments by well-known and lesser known South African designers. They are 'all about local fashion and accessories created by African designers, locally made and distributed'. 24:39 YDE is the Young Designers Emporium, a retailer providing emerging South African designers with an established platform to sell 25:06 Fashion Cities Africa was an exhibition held in Brighton Museum, England, from 30 April 2016 to January 2017. It was 'the first major UK exhibition dedicated to contemporary African fashion'. 25:42 Erica de Greef's PhD thesis 'Sartorial Disruptions' 27:05 Edward Enninful stepped down as British Vogue's editor-in-chief in February 2024 but will stay on at Condé Nast to become Vogue’s global creative and cultural adviser. 28:30 Iziko Museums of South Africa was formed in 1999 and now operates 11 national museums , a planetarium, the social history centre, 3 subject specific libraries and the SAS Somerset, a boom defence ship. It is the oldest museum in southern Africa, and together, all affiliated museums contain about 2.26 million artefacts. 30:27 An ibheshu ( an apron covering the buttocks ) is made of calf skin and is knee length for young men and calf length for older men 31:36 Mode Museum , MoMu, is Antwerps's fashion museum founded in 2002. + ‘ Beyond Desire’ was an exhibition that ran from February to August 2005 and examined the way in which African and Western cultures influenced each other 32:42 History of Museum Africa 34:00 The Bernberg Museum of costume was situated on Jan Smuts Avenu near the Johannesburg Zoo. It was demolished to make way for the Johannesburg Holocaust and Genocide Centre 35:22 The Sartists are a ' multidisciplinary collective made up of Andile Buka , Kabelo Kungwane , Wanda Lephoto and Xzavier Zulu who are seeking to challenge insular notions about blackness with a documentary approach to style and identity'. 35:34 Santu Mofokeng (1956 - 2020) was a prolific and well-known news and documentary photographer. The Black Photo Album was a collection of private photographs commissioned by urban black working- and middle-class families between 1890 and 195 0. In this work, Mofokeng analyses the sensibilities, aspirations and self-image of the black population and its desire for representation and social recognition in times of colonial rule and suppression. 38:21 Rhodes Must Fall . Rhodes Must Fall is a protest movement that began on 9 March 2015, originally directed against a statue of British Imperialist Cecil Rhodes at the University of Cape Town in South Africa. The campaign for the statue's removal received global attention and led to a wider movement to decolonise education, by inspiring the emergence of allied student movements at other universities across the world. 39:46 Nelson Mandela's sartorial choices , including a photo of him in the beaded collar (and what few people know: a bedspread draped across his torso - he was in hiding, with nothing else at hand) 40:02 Winnie Mandela - photo of Winnie during the Rivonia Trial, in a black dress with the same beaded collar worn by Nelson Mandela as described in the photo above. 40:13 Iconic photo of a young Miriam Makeba on front cover of Drum magazine, by Jürgen Schadeberg 41:35 Zeitz Mocaa : 21 years: Making Histories with South African Fashion Week 42:02 Curating fashion as decolonial practice: MBlaselo and a Politics of Remembering , Erica de Greef 48:01 The International Fashion Showcase 2019 48:52 Ami Doshi Shah , Kenya 48:56 Cedric Mizero , Rwanda 53:01 The Fold Glossary 53:42 Bark cloth 54:51 Isidwaba 55:54 History of the Iqhiya 01:01:01 The Global Fashioning Assembly 01:02:56 Rolando Vasquez 4 Time Stamps 00:00 Introduction to African Fashion 00:45 The Influence of Western Fashion 01:22 Interview with Erica de Greef 02:05 Erica's Journey into Fashion 05:46 The Role of Fashion in Apartheid South Africa 06:53 The Binary of Fashion and Dress 08:52 Erica's Early Life and Fashion Journey 10:14 The Evolution of African Fashion 12:02 The Impact of Fashion on Society 14:39 The Role of Museums in Fashion History 15:44 The Challenges of African Fashion in Museums 17:54 The Future of African Fashion 38:39 The Power of Clothing in Telling Stories and Fostering Inclusivity 38:57 Exploring How to Re-imagine Nelson Mandela's Lost Wardrobe 39:51 The Lost Fashion of Winnie Mandela and Miriam Makeba 41:30 The Future of Fashion Exhibitions 42:48 The Role of Museums in the Digital Age 46:21 The Journey of the African Fashion Research Institute 48:27 The Power of Digital Exhibitions 50:05 The Fold: A New Perspective on African Fashion 56:47 Slow Fashion 01:01:36 The Future of the Global Fashioning Assembly 01:06:38 Conclusion: The Need for Healing through Fashion 5 Transcript FIN AfricanOptimist Ep6 Erica de Greef_Transcript .pdf Download PDF • 136KB Back to top ^ More on Erica de Greef Articles by Erica de Greef Confronting the Absence of Histories, Presence of Traumas and Beauty in Museum Africa, Johannesburg, Alison Maloney, Wanda Lephoto and Erica de Greef, 2022 Three pairs of Khaki trousers, or how to decolonialise a museum , Erica de Greef Long Read: Fashion, Sustainability and Decoloniality, Twyg Magazine, Erica de Greef, 2019 A collection of academic articles by Erica de Greef Video Masterclass 4: Can we connect slow fashion with our indigenous knowledge? Practicing Decoloniality, the Global Fashioning Assembly @State of Fashion 2022

< Back to all guests #10 Gus Le Breton - on influencing EU law, the challenges of processing wild-harvested fruit, the future power of baobab harvesters and the need for ‘courage, my son’ 18 June 2024 FIND BELOW 1 Guest Bio 2 Episode Description 3 Show Notes 4 Time Stamps 5 Transcript 1 Guest Bio Gus Le Breton, widely known as the African Plant Hunter , is a distinguished botanist, entrepreneur and conservationist specializing in the diverse flora of Africa. With a deep passion for indigenous plants, Gus has spent decades exploring and documenting Africa's rich botanical heritage, focusing particularly on the medicinal and nutritional properties of native species. As the Board Chair of the African Baobab Alliance, Gus Le Breton leads initiatives to promote and protect the iconic baobab tree, known for its extraordinary health benefits and ecological importance. Under his leadership, the Alliance fosters sustainable harvesting practices, supports local communities, and drives international awareness and market development for baobab products. He is also on the board of Trustees of the FairWild Foundation , responsible for the the FairWild Standard . The standard ‘has 7 Principles and 24 Criteria addressing three themes: the ecological, socio-cultural and business requirements for sustainable wild collection’. Gus' extensive knowledge and commitment to sustainable development have earned him recognition as a leading voice in the conservation of African plant life. Through his work, he continues to champion the economic potential of indigenous plants, aiming to create sustainable livelihoods while preserving Africa's natural biodiversity. 2 Episode Description It is hard not to think of the Greek myth of Sisyphus when you listen to Gus Le Breton tell the unfolding story of the production and sale of the African indigenous baobab fruit. Much like the Greek king Sisyphus who was condemned by the Greek god Zeus to keep rolling a stone up a hill only to see it roll back down again when he reaches the top, Gus seems to face a new challenge just as he deals with an old one in this telling of his baobab tale. At face value, this episode seems like an entrepreneur’s story of how to create and export an indigenous food. But it is so much more than that. It is the open account of the struggles and successes of an almost 30-year journey to make the unique African baobabs (a keystone species of the planet) economically viable, in the hope that this can reduce poverty for its wild harvesters and lead to the long-term preservation of this ancient resource. It is also a masterclass in the details of what it takes to get to market, influence legislation and create demand for what nature has to offer, but many take for granted. And unlike Sisyphus, Gus did manage to successfully push some big boulders over the hill, and also loves his work and does not see it as punishment, but his cautionary tale still holds. Perseverance is key. A note on Sisyphus In 1942 French writer Albert Camus used the myth of Sisyphus in his book with the same name ‘Le Mythe de Sisyphe’ to illustrate how absurd and meaningless life is. In it he marvels how futile the human need is to find meaning in one’s life, given the ‘unreasonable silence’ of the universe in response. In a surprising twist however, Camus ends on an optimistic note, as satisfaction can be found in the task itself, and not in a short-term outcome. ‘The struggle itself towards the heights is enough to fill a man's heart.’ Camus writes. ‘One must imagine Sisyphus happy.’ 3 Show Notes 00:00:53 Giants of Africa - The Little Big Baobab Book by Dr Sarah Venter 00:01:07 ‘The Panke Baobab in Zimbabwe , which had a circumference of 25.5 m (83 ft 7.9 in) and had nearly 400 m3 (14,126 cu ft) of wood and bark, was at least 2,450 (±40) years old when it collapsed and died in 2011. This not only makes it the oldest hardwood tree to be accurately measured but also the oldest known angiosperm (flowering plant).’ 00:01:16 A guide to South Africa's biggest baobabs: The quest for quiet giants . 00:01:27 The Legend of the Upside-down Tree 00:01:35 A Savannah is a grassy plain in tropical and subtropical regions, with few trees 00:01:46 The three-minute guide to the Boabab fruit 00:02:07 About Gus Le Breton 00:02:30 The African Plant Hunter Youtube channel 00:04:38 Traditional uses and local perspectives on baobab (Adansonia digitata) population structure by selected ethnic groups in northern Namibia and some modern uses 00:13:06 Beauty in Baobab: a pilot study of the safety and efficacy of Adansonia digitata seed oil 00:14:44 Safire is the Southern Alliance for Indigenous Resources 00:15:46 'On behalf of this network, the French NGO CRIAA (later Phytotrade) commissioned specialist research into the properties of the oil. Through this process, MDA was alerted to the potentially high commercial value of marula oil as a cosmetic oil, giving scientific weight to the marketing claims regarding marula’s magical properties, also highlighting commercial potential in the pharmaceutical and food industries. This included the fact that the marula fruit contains up to four times the Vitamin C of oranges, and the oil has a range of properties that make it attractive to the cosmetics industry: Marula oil is naturally processed. This high-stability lipid is under research and development for the natural products and cosmetic sector.' in 'Bridging the Gap: A Strategy for the Commercialisation of Marula Products from the Wild: Creating Incomes for the Rural Poor’ , 2001 00:16:23 Southern African Marula Oil Producers Network - no online presence found for the network, but they features in this interesting presentation: 1st Regional Workshop on Marula Sector Development , November 2019, by Cyril Lombard. Also worth a read; there's lots to learn in this pdf: ’ Catalysing Market Development ’ chapter 9 00:16:35 Marula Natural Products 00:16:53 Body Shop make-up made with marula oil 00:17:41 The Gods Must Be Crazy is a film by South African director Jamie Uys (1921-1996) that came under fire for its stereotypical portrayal of ‘Bushmen’, now referred to as San. In the film, a pilot carelessly throws a Coke glass bottle out the window, and it lands in the middle of a community of San in the Kalahari desert of Botswana. What unfolds is the effect that the one and only Coke bottle, symbolic for throwaway consumption culture, has on this nomadic community, depicted in the film as a group without any violence, crime, punishment or ownership. Read interviews with the director about the 1984 here and here to make up your own mind about some of the criticisms of the movie at the time. 00:21:35 EU Novel Foods Regulatory Framework . Also quite interesting, a short comparison of food regulations around the world . And, some European companies planning to launch in the US or Singapore before EU , because the approval process is quicker and more efficient. 00:21:55 A GMO , or genetically modified organism , is a living plant, animal or microorganism that has been subjected to biotechnology. GMO developers use biotechnology to alter that living organism's fundamental characteristics. Biotechnology includes techniques such as using synthetic genetic sequences to change the organism's genetic material (i.e. DNA or RNA), or forcing the combination of very unrelated organisms that would not normally reproduce in nature. 00:26:06 Phytotrade Africa 's aim is to create social and economic value through the sustainable use and conservation of southern African plant biodiversity. 00:26:45 The European Food Safety Authority is an agency of the European Union set up in 2002 to serve as an impartial source of scientific advice to risk managers and to communicate on risks associated with the food chain. We cooperate with interested parties to promote the coherence of EU scientific advice. We provide the scientific basis for laws and regulations to protect European consumers from food-related risks – from farm to fork.’ 00:28:52 The European Food Safety Authority introduced a separate category of Novel Foods based on a traditional food 00:31:36 Wild harvested means the gathering of plants that have grown without human intervention. These ingredients are found in the wild, often in their native origin. Without resources like temperature control, fertilizers and pesticides, wild grown plants must use their own defences for survival. Read: WILD CHECK - assessing the risks and opportunities of trade in wild plant ingredients, 2022 FAO report . ‘Thousands of consumer products around the world contain ingredients obtained from wild plants. Wild harvest accounts for some or all of the harvest of the majority of plant species in trade (between 60-90 percent). Wild-harvested plants often come from the most biodiverse ecosystems on Earth and many have been used traditionally or by local communities for generations. While these products have global markets and provide critical sources of income, they can also have deep ties to particular cultures and places.’ (Opening of Executive Summary) 00:32:42 The Fair Wild Foundation’s mission is 'to enable transformation of natural resource management and business practices to be ecologically, socially and economically sustainable throughout the value chains of wild-collected products. Our vision is a fair and wild world where biodiversity is conserved through sustainable harvesting; collectors, workers, and their communities are respected and treated fairly; and resilient businesses participate in responsible value chains'. Excerpt from the 2023 report on Fair Wild Standard.' Read the 2023 updated Fair Wild Standard . 00:34:12 ‘So you want to be a baobab processor?’ Part 1: Understanding Your Market ; Part 2: Powder Processing ; Part 3: Oil Processing 00:40:44 African Baobab Alliance 00:41:17 Emerging research on the benefits of baobab 00:45:14 Amarula is a cream liqueur made from the marula fruit, and is sold in over 100 countries in the world. 00:48:26 Whitley Neill Whitley Neill Gin is a premium gin brand crafted in small batches using a combination of traditional and exotic botanicals, including juniper, coriander seed, angelica root, cassia bark, orris root, and citrus peel, along with less common botanicals such as cape gooseberries and baobab fruit. One of the distinctive features of Whitley Neill Gin is its African-inspired botanicals. 00:51:48 The Acai palm is a species of palm tree cultivated for its fruit (acai berries), hearts of plam (a vegetable), leaves and trunk wood. 00:52:36 Check out ‘Revitalise’ , which uses baobab puree in this smoothie 00:53:02 Look out fo this baobab Twinings superblend tea 00:53:38 'Baobab (Adansonia digitata L., Malvaceae) is a multi-purpose tree species native to Africa. Its fruit pulp of the African baobab has very high vitamin C content, fifteen times that of orange, and can be used in seasoning, as an appetizer and to make juices. Seeds contain appreciable quantities of crude protein, digestible carbohydrates and oil, whereas they have high levels of lysine, thiamine, Ca and Fe. They can be eaten fresh or dried, ground into flour and thus added to soups and stews. Processing eliminates a number of anti-nutritional factors present in the seed. Also, watch: Baobab’s superfruit, Africa’s gift to you 00:54:38 The science of superfoods: Really beneficial, or just marketing? 01:04:12 Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit-Sharing (ABS) The Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources and the Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits Arising from their Utilization to the Convention on Biological Diversity is an international agreement which aims at sharing the benefits arising from the utilization of genetic resources in a fair and equitable way. It entered into force on 12 October 2014. Access and benefit-sharing (ABS) refers to the way in which genetic resources may be accessed, and how the benefits that result from their use are shared between the people or countries using the resources (users) and the people or countries that provide them (providers). 01:09:38 The African Baobab Alliance 4 Time Stamps 00:00 Introduction to Baobab and Initial Reactions 00:38 Welcome to the African Optimist Podcast 00:51 The Baobab Tree: A Natural Marvel 02:06 Gus le Breton: The African Plant Hunter 03:52 Challenges in Commercializing Baobab 05:23 Early Efforts and Setbacks 07:11 The Struggle with Industrial Agriculture 10:31 The Journey to Market Baobab 20:16 Navigating Regulatory Hurdles 31:46 The Importance of Wild Harvesting 34:04 Processing Baobab: Challenges and Solutions 38:36 Challenges of Traditional Baobab Processing 39:43 Ensuring Quality and Standardization 40:35 Formation of the African Baobab Alliance 42:11 Collaboration vs. Competition 44:11 Creating Demand for Baobab 48:14 Marketing Challenges and Success Stories 54:37 The Superfood Debate 57:13 Importance of Research and Consumer Awareness 59:25 Fair Trade and Value Distribution 01:07:29 Future Prospects and Investor Insights 01:08:38 Final Thoughts and Encouragement 5 Transcript AfricanOptimist ep10 Gus le Breton .pdf Download PDF • 141KB Back to top ^ More on Gus Le Breton Website The African Plant Hunter Business Gus is the Founding Partner of B'Ayoba , the only baobab producer in Africa to be Fair Wild -certified. He is also the Founding Partner of Katavi Botanicals , KAZA Natural Oils , Hutano Foods , River Brewing Co , Victoria Falls Distilling Co . Videos The African Plant Hunter Youtube channel ‘So you want to be a baobab processor?’: Part 1: Understanding Your Market Part 2: Powder Processing Part 3: Oil Processing Other Articles Director's Report on the Wild Plants Dialogue , African Wildlife Economy Institute, 2022 Bridging the Gap: Phytotrade Africa's experience of the Certification of Natural Products , by Welford and Le Breton, Forests, Trees and Livelihood s, 2012 Africa’s “forgotten” food crops key to support climate-resilient, healthy and profitable food systems , Food Ingredients Food, 2023 Baobab trees all come from Madagascar – new study reveals that their seeds and seedlings floated to mainland Africa and all the way to Australia , The Conversation , June 2024 How We Made it In Africa This episode is featured on the online business publication How We Made it In Africa . Read all about it here .

< Back to all guests #5 Hamza Chaham - on how SOWIT is bringing digital technology to African farmers and what it takes to get AI powered tools into the hands of smallholder farmers, the real hope for food security on the continent 18 February 2024 FIND BELOW 1 Guest Bio 2 Episode Description 3 Show Notes 4 Time Stamps 5 Transcript 1 Guest Bio Moroccan Hamza Chaham is the young co-founder of SOWIT , an agritech company offering real-life data to farmers and key decision-makers along the agri value chain. The SOWIT tech platforms power mobile apps that provide farmers with actionable insights regarding their land, to help them efficiently manage their farms and optimize their productions. The company also provides data to help mitigate risk, manage investments, and influence performance. Chaham is pushing ‘precision agriculture’, farming based on actionable data that can reduce waste on inputs and increase yields through improved data-driven decision-making. The data is drawn from an array of AI powered 'tools' and offers data via subscriptions to mobile apps with a fee based on the amount of hectares under review. SOWIT also provides a bundle of services that go beyond the AI info delivered daily to farmer's phones via WhatsApp and voice messages, to include the credit orchestration and real-life support from agents trained in Agritech but living in the communities that are part of SOWIT's areas of operation. SOWIT’s overall mission relies on modelling tailored decision support tools to achieve the highest value in order to fit African farmers' needs and local conditions. SOWIT is currently incorporated in Morocco, France and Senegal. Notably, Hamza is co-author of the landmark report published by the African Union entitled “ Drones on the horizon: Transforming Africa’s Agriculture ”. The report forms the basis upon which the AU Executive Council issued the Decision EX. CL/Dec. 986-1007 (XXXII), recom mending all Member States harness the opportunities offered by drones for precision agriculture. In 2018, he was recognised as the Marshall German Fund and Policy Centre for the New South Emerging Leader. Chaham was also the former head of international development at AIRINOV. In 2006,Chaham enrolled at Lycée Lyautey au Maroc, where he pursued a Baccalauréat degree in scientific specialization in mathematics, which he completed in 2009. H amza completed this program in 2009. In 2012 Hamza enrolled at HEC Paris and pursued a degree in Grande Ecole, where he completed his studies in Management in 2016. During his time at HEC Paris, in 2013, Hamza participated in an exchange programme at the University of Texas in Austin, where he studied Business Administration. In 2015 he also took part in another exchange programme at the University of the Witwatersrand in South Africa where he focused on his Master of Business Administration (MBA). 2 Episode Description In this episode, we could have focused on the tech side of agriculture with agripreneur Hamza Chaham, because it is digital technology that is really turning agriculture into an exciting scientifically based business. And his company, SOWIT, is using AI powered tools like sensors and probes, trackers and drones, in their work with farmers, government and food producers to successfully help optimize yields. For Hamza, however, this is not where the hope for food security lies. Agritech involves powerful tools, but it is the farmer who ultimately needs to use them. And given that the majority of smallholder farmers grow their crops on a mere 12% of the worlds farmland, yet feed 80% of people in Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, it is with these smallholder farmers, where tech can have the biggest impact in the future. But how to get this tech into the hands of farmers, who often are not digitally savvy and rely on traditional methods to grow their food? That is the focus of today’s insightful conversation with Hamza as he shares his journey to understanding that the farmer, is at the centre of the push for innovation and food security, not technology. 3 Show Notes [00:01:24] SOWIT - bridging the information gap across the agri value chain [00:01:50] ‘Frontier technologies for smallholder farmers', United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, November 2021 [00:05:29] ‘Parrot pulls plug on airinov’ , Future Farming, July 2019 [00:23:42] Social Media: 84% of Moroccans Use WhatsApp in 2021 (Survey) [00:24:34] The general adult literacy rate in Morocco was 77% in 2022 , compared to the estimated 40% literacy rate among Moroccan farmers. [00:31:40] World Bank - some interesting reading [00:31:42] IFC 4 Time Stamps [00:00:47] Podcast intro [00:02:24] Interview begins - About SOWIT [00:03:16] SOWIT’s intangible offer: information, not inputs and equipment [00:05:18] Increase in demand for data-driven agri info in the last 10 years [00:09:58] Daily problems that farmers face [00:11:58] How Hamza made the transition from being a drone tech man to farming [00:14:11] At which point Hamza realised he was going to focus on smaller farmers [00:16:02] What SOWIT does when it arrives on a farm [00:20:05] Reactions to the tech by farmers [00:21:46] How farmers interact with technology [00:25:01] SOWIT’s business model [00:28:59] SOWIT’s subscriptions and bundles [00:29:31] How does the subscription model work [00:31:29] Who is funding the whole bundle? [00:32:57] Long-term funding solution - de-risking farmers to bankers [00:34:59] How Hamza sees risk [00:38:04] Farmers within the value chain - how others in the value chain must share the burden of farmers if they want to benefit from their labour [00:42:33] Give an example of where SOWIT has had an impact [00:46:59] What difference has SOWIT made on the ground [00:50:10] What does the increase in knowledge do for the farmer [00:52:28] Where SOWIT operates in Africa [00:53:46] The challenge with scaling up and plans to head south [00:56:13] The low moments in Hamza’s entrepreneurial journey [00:57:40] Why people should be excited about what SOWIT is doing [00:58:37] What Hamza would tell people who say 'nobody wants to go into farming anymore’ [00:59:40] What are stereotypes or prejudices that people have about Morocco that Hamza wants to put to rest [01:01:48] Interview ends 5 Transcript FIN AfricanOptimist EP5 Hamza Chaham Transcript .pdf Download PDF • 189KB Back to top ^ More on Hamza Chaham and SOWIT: Publication (contributing research by Hamza Chaham) Drones on the hor izon, transforming Africa's Agriculture , AU & Nepad Videos by SOWIT SOWIT's YouTube channel Press coverage of SOWIT and Hamza Chaham Articles and videos

< Back to all guests #9 Joséphine Katumba - The rise (and importance) of the Intrapreneur, jumping on rocket ships without a reserved seat and ‘weighing and paying’ as a retail model of the future 2 May 2024 FIND BELOW 1 Guest Bio 2 Episode Description 3 Show Notes 4 Time Stamps 5 Transcript 1 Guest Bio Joséphine Katumba is a powerhouse in the realm of Food Systems Transformation, addressing the critical issues of food security and sustainability. As the Chief of Staff at Wakanda Food Accelerator, she's the strategic mind behind innovative initiatives driving real change in how we distribute and consume food. One of Joséphine's standout projects is Gcwalisa, a groundbreaking initiative focused on democratizing access to nutritious food while confronting the systemic challenges faced by low-income communities. Her dedication to this cause has earned her widespread recognition and acclaim within the industry. In 2022, Joséphine was honored as Africa's Brightest Young Mind by the World Food Programme, a testament to her leadership and impact in shaping the future of food systems. Building on this success, in 2023, she was also named a Mercedes Benz BEVISIONEER, solidifying her status as a driver of positive change in the food sector. 2 Episode Description In this episode, you will learn a couple of things. Firstly, you will get a behind the scenes look at how you take an idea (let’s face it, haven’t we all had them - ‘One day I will open…’ ‘Some day I will sell…’) and turn it into reality. And secondly, how you can do this not only as an entrepreneur, but as an intrapreneur within an organisation. Just as exciting, at much less personal risk. Our guest Joséphine Katumba shares how, while growing her own small business, she was recruited by celebrity entrepreneur himself, Miles Kubheka (from ‘Vuyo’ fame and founder of the Wakanda Food Accelerator ) to help create Gcwalisa , an exciting ‘weigh and pay’ mini retail model first piloted in Johannesburg’s Alexandra township (developed in 1912 as the only place where Africans could buy freehold land, and now adjacent to Sandton (one of the richest suburbs of Johannesburg). Joséphine takes us on the two-year journey of growing Gcwalisa into a model pilot mini retailer that is now on the brink of scaling up and expanding its horizons. With her signature calm voice and in matter-of-fact detail, we get a glimpse of the iteration and patience required to birth a brand new 'firstborn', that lets you buy food for the money you have in your pocket or in exactly the quantities you need. Joséphine is the picture of Zen, and could grow anything she puts her mind to. Join me in finding out how she does it. And why. 3 Show Notes 00:01 Sheryl Sandberg is one of Silicon Valley’s most successful and influential women, known for executive positions at Apple, Google and Yahoo, and for becoming the first female member of Facebook’s Board of Directors. Currently she is COO of Meta and Founder of LeanIn.Org 01:11 Miles Kubheka is the founder of Wakanda Food Accelerator , and a celebrated South African entrepreneur. 06:54 Gcwalisa is a mini retailer that aims to democratise nutritious food and basic household products in low-income communities by selling these items through a weight and pay model. 08:16 The SAB Foundation was established in 2010 in South Africa. Since then it has been dedicated to supporting and empowering small, medium, and micro-sized enterprises in the country. The SAB Foundation has deployed almost half a billion Rand in grant funding, business development support, and interest-free loans to over 5,000 entities. 08:38 Spaza shops are small convenience stores found in South African townships, often run from the owners’ homes 08:57 London Road was renamed Vincent Tshabalala almost twenty years ago, but can’t shake its original name. 13:24 Gcwalisa’s offices are in the Wakanda Food Accelerator offices in the 27 Boxes Precinct in Melville in Johannesburg. 24:46 Gcwalisa’s promotional video 26:20 Piece jobs, also known as piecework or casual labor, refer to employment arrangements where workers are paid based on the number of pieces or tasks they complete rather than receiving a fixed salary or hourly wage. These types of jobs are common in various industries, including manufacturing, agriculture, and services. 27:52 The phrase 'poverty tax' is often attributed to, and was popularised by, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., an iconic civil rights leader and activist in the United States. He used this term to describe the additional costs and burdens that low-income individuals and communities face simply because they are poor. These costs can include higher prices for basic goods and services, limited access to affordable transportation and housing options, and difficulties in accessing financial services without incurring high fees. One of the best explanation of the poverty tax is given by sir Terry Pratchett through Captain Vimes, as he contemplates the buying of boots. From Men at Arms : 'The reason that the rich were so rich, Vimes reasoned, was because they managed to spend less money. Take boots, for example. He earned thirty-eight dollars a month plus allowances. A really good pair of leather boots cost fifty dollars. But an affordable pair of boots, which were sort of OK for a season or two and then leaked like hell when the cardboard gave out, cost about ten dollars. Those were the kind of boots Vimes always bought, and wore until the soles were so thin that he could tell where he was in Ankh-Morpork on a foggy night by the feel of the cobbles. But the thing was that good boots lasted for years and years. A man who could afford fifty dollars had a pair of boots that'd still be keeping his feet dry in ten years' time, while a poor man who could only afford cheap boots would have spent a hundred dollars on boots in the same time and would still have wet feet.' - This is the Captain Samuel Vimes Boots theory of socioeconomic unfairness. 29:44 Consol Glass is a glass, ceramic and concrete manufacturing company, and is the largest glass container manufacturer in Africa, with factories in South Africa, Nigeria and Kenya. While Consol was officially incorporated as Consolidated Glass Works Limited in 1946 , it has effectively been in business since 1944 when financiers Anglovaal acquired glass manufacturer Pretoria Glass. In 2022 it was acquired by the Ardagh group. 30:05 In 2009, Uganda implemented a ban on the importation, sale, and use of lightweight plastic bags (less than 30 microns thick). This measure aimed to reduce plastic bag usage and mitigate environmental damage caused by single-use plastics. While Uganda has taken steps towards reducing plastic waste, achieving a "plastic-free" status requires ongoing efforts at the national, community, and individual levels. In 2020, Greenpeace said 34 out of Africa’s 54 countries have either passed a law banning plastics and implemented it or have passed a law with the intention of implementation. Of those, 16 have totally banned plastic bags or have done so partially without yet introducing regulations to enforce the bans. 30:00 A ‘Checkers’, also ‘chekas’ is a plastic bag, preferably with handles. Such a bag may have OK writ large (other large South African retailer), but is still a 'checkers'... Word commonly used by non-whites throughout South Africa. 32:02 SAASA grants in South Africa refer to the South African Social Security Agency (SAASA) grants, which are government assistance programs aimed at providing financial support to eligible individuals and households. These grants are designed to help improve the well-being and livelihoods of vulnerable and low-income individuals in South Africa. 37:28 ‘Best Before’ are ‘one-stop grocery clearance stores’ that was founded by two Johannesburg businessmen in 2017, after noting the success In Europe and Australia of concept stores selling short and past-dated quality food and personal care products at highly discounted price. 40:21 Woolworths is South Africa’s upmarket grocery and clothes and lifestyle goods retailer, and is part of Woolworths Holdings Limited (WHL), which has grown into a leading retail group with a strong presence in sub-Saharan Africa, Australia and New Zealand. WHL consists of two major operating divisions: Woolworths South Africa and Country Road Group. 4 Time Stamps 00:00 Embracing the Unknown: Cheryl Sandberg's Google Analogy 00:41 Introducing the African Optimist Podcast 00:54 The Journey of an Intrapreneur: Meeting Joséphine Katumba 01:07 Josephine's Entrepreneurial Spirit Meets Miles Kubheka 12:56 Designing and Implementing the Gcwalisa Model 18:03 Community Feedback and Adjusting the Offering 21:31 Understanding Gcwalisa's Impact and Philosophy 28:24 Exploring the Poverty Tax and Packaging Solutions 28:47 Customer Journey and Packaging Innovations at Gcwalisa 29:48 Shifting Consumer Behaviour and Environmental Impact 31:19 Understanding Gcwalisa's Customer Demographics 33:57 Real-life Customer Stories: Impact and Gratitude 40:50 The Business Model and Scaling Up 41:21 The Importance of Patience in Business Growth 43:57 Facing Competition and Maintaining Originality 46:51 Challenges and Learnings 49:55 From Entrepreneur to Intrapreneur: A Personal Journey 55:37 Closing Remarks and Resources 5 Transcript AfricanOptimist ep9 Josephine Katumba Transcript .pdf Download PDF • 119KB Back to top ^ More on Joséphine Katumba Video The Balancing Act of Making Good Food More Affordable TEDxJohannesburg Salon talk, February 2024

< Back to all guests #11 Sarah Dusek - on becoming an entrepreneur who thinks BIG, and a venture capitalist who helps African women think BIGGER - an insider’s guide to scaling and pitching your business. 3 September 2024 FIND BELOW 1 Guest Bio 2 Episode Description 3 Show Notes 4 Time Stamps 5 Transcript 1 Guest Bio Sarah Dusek is an entrepreneur and venture capitalist who is using gains from her business endeavours to help fund female entrepreneurs across sub-Saharan Africa. Sarah began her career in her early twenties in a non-profit organisation in Zimbabwe, southern Africa, but left eight years later. She had become disillusioned by the sector’s short-term project-driven approach and its failure to deliver sustainable development. She soon began exploring the potential of business to effect systemic, and long-term, change and in 2012 co-founded the leading outdoor hospitality company Under Canvas with her husband, on his family farm in Montana. Dubbed the founder ‘who put glamping on the map in the United States’ , the couple went on to sell their outdoor lifestyle brand for $100 million ten years later. Following the sale, the Duseks co-founded a new eco-travel company, Few and Far, that ‘creates extraordinary eco-hospitality experiences that endeavour to protect and preserve wild places around the world’. In all its management plans, the company's focus is on conservation (environment) and social impact (job creation in surrounding communities), as well as regeneration through its carbon sequestration projects. They also co-founded Enygma Ventures, a venture capital fund with an explicit mandate to close the gender and funding gap for female entrepreneurs across sub-Saharan Africa. Sarah and her husband moved to Cape Town, South Africa, with their two sons in 2019. She currently splits her time between South Africa and the United States. On 2 September 2024, Sarah released her first book Thinking Bigger, a business book aimed at demystifying the entrepreneurial journey and the over-complicated and inaccessible world of funding for female entrepreneurs. Structured in 10 chapters to mirror a traditional 10-page pitch deck, Sarah unpacks what venture capitalists look for in a potential business and what aspiring entrepreneurs need to include in a winning pitch deck. Sarah weaves her own entrepreneurial journey through the entire book, showing in each chapter every step and the long and rewarding journey of growing her small four-tent business into the $100 million sale it became a decade later. 2 Episode Description I have read many entrepreneur biographies, but none so captured the grit, persistence and flexibility it takes to create a truly successful business like Sarah Dusek does in her book Thinking Bigger - and in her generous share in this week’s conversation. Sarah describes in vivid detail her journey from being flat broke and living in a camper van to growing and selling her business Under Canvas (co-founded in 2012 with her husband) for $100 million almost ten years later. ‘Iterate’ and ‘fail fast, fail often’ are two start-up mantras on constant repeat in innovator circles, but both sound more like they belong in a factory than in the day-to-day running of a typical business. Sarah shows us what these clichés look like, without graphs, spreadsheets or bullet points, and speaks candidly about the identity shift needed to change from being her husband’s ‘helper’ to becoming the CEO of their company. Her story of turning four tents into a $100 million outdoor lifestyle brand is not so much about a series of dramatic events, but about an openness to change direction, be flexible, grab opportunities and respond to people’s needs. And a willingness to tweak one’s dream a little, when that dream in its current form hits a ceiling. Sarah gives us all a glimpse into how successful businesses position themselves in such a way that they can scale. She shares how she moved away from being solely focused on growing a successful small business, to shaping the business into something of much greater value with a much bigger return on her initial investment. Sarah also gives us glimpses into the venture capital world, first through her own experiences trying to raise ‘big money’ and then as a venture capital investor herself, who has for the past five years been helping female entrepreneurs across sub-Saharan Africa successfully pitch and scale their businesses. The heart of Sarah’s own story and that of her approach to investing in female entrepreneurs, lies in her book’s title, as she encourages, cajoles, pushes, and entreats women to Think Bigger , so that ultimately women can help shape the world around them, create big businesses that can effect big change and ultimately, influence the trajectory of economic growth on the continent. The book, and this episode, are ultimately a clarion call for women to get 'unstuck', think big and execute even bigger. 3 Show Notes 00:00:34 The Rocky Mountains is a formidable mountain range stretching from Canada to New Mexico in the United States. They are a testament to the Earth's geological processes, formed over millions of years through tectonic plate movement and volcanic activity, and represent a unique and dramatic landscape that include mountain ranges, alpine lakes (formed by glacial erosion and deposition), glaciers and volcanoes. 00:00:41 The word 'safari' originates from the Swahili language, which in turn comes from the Arabic word 'safar' meaning 'journey'. The Swahili word 'safari' can be used to describe any type of journey, not just those involving wildlife. The term was popularized in the West by the British explorer Richard Francis Burton, who traveled extensively in East Africa in the 19th century. Burton was fascinated by the Swahili language and culture, and he used the word 'safari' to describe his journeys throughout the region. 00:00:44 Zimbabwe is a landlocked country in southern Africa. It shares borders with South Africa, Botswana, Zambia and Namibia. It boasts some of the most iconic tourist destinations in the region, including the World Heritage Site 'Victoria Falls', 'the greatest sheet of falling water' , flowing from the Zambezi river. 'You have the jewel of Africa in your hands,' said President Samora Machel of Mozambique and President Julius Nyerere of Tanzania to Robert Mugabe, at the moment of independence, in 1980 about the falls. 'Now look after it.' 00:01:27 Sarah Dusek's first book is called Thinking Bigger . Excerpt from the Amazon blurb: 'Sarah Dusek shares personal anecdotes highlighting obstacles that women face in business and how to overcome them. She reveals the metrics that really matter to venture capitalists and how to pitch them successfully. Her book delves into the art and science of creating a winning "pitch deck"―the standard formula for pitching to investors, from crafting a compelling story to using data and design to make a lasting impact.' 00:01:32 Under Canvas was founded in 2012 and has since ' grown to include 11 safari-inspired Under Canvas locations, as well as a new luxury outdoor resort brand called ULUM. The leader in upscale, outdoor hospitality, Under Canvas camps have received awards from the likes of Condé Nast Traveler and Travel + Leisure as some of the best resorts in the U.S. and the world.' 00:06:40 Montana, Spanish name for mountain, is a landlocked state in the Mountain West subregion of the western United States. It has the largest grizzly bear population in the US and has more cattle than people. 00:20:50 This is a modified reference (which Sarah also makes in her book) to the 1989 movie Field of Dreams , in which a whispered voice tells Kevin Costner's character Ray Kinsella that 'If you build it, they will come', referring to a baseball field that he should build in the middle of his cornfields. 00:35:14 Yellowstone, America's first national park, is located in southern Montana. This is one of the first Tripadvisor reviews on Under Canvas when it first opened in Yellowstone West in 2012. 00:49:48 For those who want to go down a rabbit hole on the 'tool of persuasion' - the 10-page pitch deck 00:54:51 For a little taste, here is a glossary of 90 Essential Venture Capital terms and how Venture Capitalists make decisions according to the Harvard Business Review. 00:01:12 Sign up to Sarah's newsletter on sarahhdusek.com or apply during the next round of funding through Enygma Ventures . 4 Time Stamps 00:00 Introduction to the AfricanOptimist Podcast 01:18 Sarah Dusek's Journey: From Zimbabwe to Montana 06:00 The Birth of Under Canvas 09:57 Challenges and Pivots in Entrepreneurship 20:16 Overcoming Doubts and Embracing Risks 29:24 The Tent Rental Business 33:10 Creating a Tented Hotel Experience 36:57 Overcoming Initial Challenges 37:48 Living Conditions and Staff Living Conditions 38:37 Realizing the Business Potential that Can Scale 41:14 Understanding Venture Capital 42:47 Shifting Mindsets and Building Value 49:56 The Importance of a Pitch Deck 54:44 Facing the VC World 01:02:02 Embracing Thoughtful Capitalism 01:05:41 Empowering Female Entrepreneurs 01:11:58 Conclusion 5 Transcript africanoptimist ep11 Sarah Dusek Transcript .pdf Download PDF • 140KB Back to top ^ More on Sarah Contact Sarah Dusek Enygma Ventures Few and Far Article The Power of Knowing What You Want Book

< Back to all guests #1 Efosa Ojomo - About the 'Prosperity Paradox', disruptive & market-creating innovations and why capital has to be patient in Africa 14 January 2024 FIND BELOW 1 Guest Bio 2 Episode Description 3 Show Notes 4 Time Stamps 5 Transcript 1 Guest Bio Efosa Ojomo ( @efosaojomo ) is a renowned Nigerian author, researcher and speaker . He is a leading expert on disruptive innovation, which he defines as innovations that create new markets and make existing products and services more accessible and affordable in low and middle-income countries. He is the director of the Global Prosperity research group at the Clayton Christensen Institute for Disruptive Innovation , a think tank based in Boston and Silicon Valley, and is a senior research fellow at the Harvard Business School. He is also a member of the World Economic Forum's Global Future Council on Innovation . In January 2019, Ojomo and late Harvard Business School professor Clayton Christensen published The Prosperity Paradox: How Innovation Can Lift Nations Out of Poverty . The book outlines a powerful framework for creating prosperity, and concludes that the key to economic development is not to focus on copying the developed world, but rather to identify and invest in disruptive innovations that can create new markets and opportunities for the poor. In a review, the Wall Street Journal wrote that the book provides ‘a better way to fight poverty’ as it returns ‘the entrepreneur and innovation to the centre stage of economic development and prosperity’. His work has been published and covered by the Wall Street Journal, Harvard Business Review, The Guardian, Quartz, Forbes, Fortune, The World Bank, NPR, and several other media outlets. He has presented his work at TED ( a 2019 TedTalk on corruption and innovation which has garnered over 2 million views), the Aspen Ideas Festival, the World Bank, Harvard, Yale, Oxford, and at several other conferences and institutions. Ojomo is a recipient of the 2020 Thinkers50 Radar award , the world’s most reliable resource for identifying, ranking, and sharing the leading management ideas of our age. The award is given to emerging management thinkers who have the potential to shape the future of business at an event that is described by the Financial Times as ‘the Oscars of management thinking’. Efosa graduated from Vanderbilt University with a degree in computer engineering and received his MBA from Harvard Business School. His influence extends beyond the business and academic realms, as his work continues to inspire individuals and organisations to embrace the principles of disruptive innovation as the key driver of global prosperity. 2 Episode Description Did you ever come across that popular optical illusion, which invited you to look at a black and white picture, and then prompted you to describe what you saw? Did you first see the old woman or the young woman? (read this for a little background on this phenomenon) This is what this week’s episode reminded me of. Efosa Ojomo invites us to look at emerging markets, and concedes we can see them one way (let's call it, ‘the old woman way’) but then challenges us to look at the same picture in a different way (the ‘young woman way’), to understand what market-creating innovations can do to create a different outcome for countries and their people, in short, to enable them to prosper. In the episode he discusses the principles of The Prosperity Paradox and explains why ‘sustaining’ and ‘efficiency’ innovations don’t lead to inclusive prosperity, but ‘market-creating’ innovations do. He uses clear examples to illustrate what is possible if policy-makers, investors, companies and individuals (entrepreneurs) change their approach to struggling economies and invest long-term in solving a problem. He highlights the limitations of common economic development models, which tend to be top-down, and offers a new framework for economic growth. 3 Show Notes 03:32 The White Man’s Burden by William Easterly 05:34 Awarded the Nr 1 Management Thinker in the World Professor Clay Christensen 13:33 Author Karen Dillon 18:17 Apple Worldwide Developers Conference WWD23 20:24 Richard Leftley and MicroEnsure 20:28 The Story of Tolaram’s Indomie Noodles (video) 23:19 About Tolaram 27:13 Efosa Ojomo’s TED talk: Reducing corruption takes a specific kind of investment June 2019 and TEDxBYU A Counterintuitive Solution to Poverty: Stop Trying to Eradicate It , March 2019 34:12 Research by Lant Pritchett 38:12 Richard Leftley and MicroEnsure in Africa 43:24 MasterCard Foundation Africa Growth Fund 4 Time Stamps 02:49 Efosa Ojomo tells the background story to his book The Prosperity Paradox 06:35 Why Efosa moved to the United States 08:18 Why the story of a young girl carrying water at 3am changed Efosa's trajectory 11:01 The genesis of The Prosperity Paradox 16:24 The importance of understanding the key categories of consumption and non-consumption 17:54 Explanation of three different types of innovations: ‘sustaining’ innovations, ‘efficiency’ innovations and ‘market-creating’ innovations 22:14 The inspiring story of Indomie Noodles and how they created a new market in Nigeria 24:52 The need for countries to take ‘internal risks’ and invest in key infrastructure themselves 29:23 Barriers to consumption and how they represent opportunities to companies and entrepreneurs, not obstacles 32:42 Push vs pull investments and how pull investments create a whole new ecosystem around a newly created market 34:59 How to approach the reality of the existence of a small middle-class in a country 38:00 What it looks like when a country commits and invests long-term 42:18 Why capital coming into Africa needs to be patient 44:25 What young African leaders and individuals can do, to contribute to creating market-creating innovations 46:05 Efosa’s next book 47:03 How optimistic is Efosa? 5 Episode Transcript AfricanOptimist#1 Efosa Ojomo Transcription .pdf Download PDF • 125KB Back to top ^ More on Efosa Ojomo: Ted Talks by Efosa Ojomo (videos) TED talk: Reducing corruption takes a specific kind of investment, June 2019 TEDxBYU talk: A Counterintuitive Solution to Poverty: Stop Trying to Eradicate It , March 2019 Articles by Efosa Ojomo The process of market creation demystified , by Efosa Ojomo Our latest research - Accelerating the adoption of solar energy in Nigeria: A market-creating strategy , by Efosa Ojomo & Sandy Sanchez What is disruptive innovation? by the Clayton Christensen Institute Books by Efosa Ojomo

< Back to Home MEET THE HOST MOST LIKELY TO SAY: There is always a solution. Sanja Göhre is a multi-skilled audio-visual and content producer whose career spans over 25 years . She has travelled widely to cover stories from a range of different countries , including Albania, Angola, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Greece, Kenya, Mozambique, Pakistan, Romania, Senegal, Sri Lanka, Swaziland, Thailand, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Some of her most formative professional years were spent in Geneva, Switzerland, where she worked within the United Nations system for four years, including the World Health Organisation (WHO), the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and the newly founded The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria . Back home in South Africa, she led a small research team working on the National Heritage Monument’s Long March to Freedom (a collection of 100 life-size bronzes of some of Africa’s most iconic liberation heroes) and then managed 10 southern African countries as Senior Communications Manager for the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC). Sanja has a Bachelor of Arts in Economics, Journalism and Politics and a Joint Honours in Economics and Journalism from Rhodes University, South Africa, and a Masters in Social Sciences from the Open University, United Kingdom. She is an avid advocate of human-centred design and has added to her skills by studying UX Design through the Interaction Design Foundation, as she believes the discipline of UX thinking can be usefully applied to some of Africa’s most pressing problems.

< Back to all guests #4 GG Alcock - how the informal economy can disrupt the formal economy, how humans are not dots and slashes and how we are incentivised to be successful not brave 04 February 2024 FIND BELOW 1 Guest Bio 2 Episode Description 3 Show Notes 4 Time Stamps 5 Transcript 1 Guest Bio GG Alcock provides advisory services on the inner workings of 'Kasinomics', a hybrid slang term for township economies ( kasi meaning township, short for lokasie ( Afrikaans for location ) and informal economies. He was the former CEO of the specialist marketing company Minanawe for over 20 years, which led mass marketing and mass activations in this informal space. He and his team used their combined street smarts and intimacy with township life and culture to create numerous campaigns that rolled out in these areas post-1994 - South Africa’s first year of democracy - before the company was sold to French multinational Publicis. GG’s services have been used by local and multi-national companies to help them gain a foothold in the untapped markets of townships, especially as these urban areas emerged from the economic constraints placed on black business owners during apartheid. His extensive experiences across various townships have been captured in his two books, Kasinomics and Kasinomic Revolution (both published by Johannesburg-based TraceyMcDonald Publishers ) and paint a picture of a vibrant, strategic and hard-working space that is often misunderstood by mainstream media and corporates trying to capture a broader market. He has been an activist, a shebeen owner and an entrepreneur a couple of times over, but it is his unique upbringing in a rural Zulu village that sets him apart from others in his field. By his own admission in his first book, Born White Zulu Bred , it is not so much the fact that he speaks Zulu fluently that allows him to access places closed to most white South Africans but that he grew up immersed in Zulu rural life and culture, providing him with a unique perspective afforded to few white South Africans at the time (and even now). ‘I grew up in deep poverty on the banks of the Tugela River. My home was a mud hut with no running water beyond the river that ran below the rocky terrace on which our hut was built. The river was our bath and our laundry. My brother and I were as barefoot and brown as the local Zulu kids and we grew up as Zulus.’ -GG Alcock in Kasinomics 2 Episode Description GG Alcock is not a new voice commenting on the South African economy, but is a voice that bears repeat hearing, as there are still many people, myself included, who do not know what is happening in these informal economies or if we do, understand how and why they tick as they do. As somebody who has a foot each in the informal and the formal economy, and because of his unique upbringing and ‘first-person’ understanding of Zulu culture, he is in a unique position to be a messenger on both, to both sides. The conversation covers a wide range of topics, and includes his thoughts on the misunderstood stigma of South Africa being the most unequal country in the world, what the biggest import - hair extensions! - tells us about our economy, why families from other countries seem to dominate the spaza sector, and how rich township business owners would rather go cashless and pay tax, than bear the risk of storing and carrying millions of rands, in cash. He focuses on why South Africans have reason to be optimistic about their country, how the many economic activities in the townships should be celebrated rather than misrepresented, and why he thinks the formal sector needs to watch out for the ‘revolution that is being unleashed’ by their informal counterparts. He ultimately invites you to remove the prejudices and stereotypes that keep being perpetuated about these informal spaces, to see a space that has the potential and power to liberate the South African economy as a whole - and across the continent, where similar informal spaces hold the same key. Although the term ‘Rainbow Nation’ has been mocked and cast aside as a fake construct, I still quote GG down below because I believe that this quote captures best where his heart lies. ‘This book is about the revolution taking place in this sector, about the unquantified scale and the power of this as an economic engine for countries - and most importantly, as a means of life and success for the majority of our low income populations.’ GG Alcock in Kasinomic Revolution . Elsewhere, in Kasinomics , he writes that: 'There is no glamour in poverty and the drive to escape the poverty I grew up in was a powerful incentive.' It is this upbringing that incentivises GG's interest in seeing the informal sector thrive. 3 Show Notes 00:07 The Matrix is a 1999 science fiction movie and depicts a dystopian future in which humanity is unknowingly trapped inside the Matrix, a simulated reality that intelligent machines have created to distract humans while using their bodies as an energy source. 01:04 Msinga lies about 3 hours inland from Durban in the KwaZulu-Natal Province of South Africa 01:11 Born White, Zulu Bred 01:15 Kasinomics & Kasinomic Revolution 04:00 Daily Maverick is a South African daily online publisher serving up a blend of news, investigations, expert political analysis, and opinion. Not usually associated with ignorant headlines. 04:09 Shoprite is the largest supermarket retailer in Africa, with over 150,000 employees operating in 3,326 stores across the continent. Read their timeline , watch an interview with 'Shoprite King' Whitey Basson or watch an interview with the author of the book 'The Rise and Rule of the Shoprite King' 04:15 Watch 'Good Business' , a documentary about Pick ’n Pay and its founder, Raymond Ackerman. Imdb movie description: 'A man's fight to build an ethical company in an unethical country. The true story of Raymond Ackerman's commitment to grow Pick 'n Pay retail chain, birthed during South Africa's apartheid regime and coming of age in the countries freedom.' Quite a description. 04:46 The Story behind Time's cover in Inequality in South Africa . 04:58 Page 29, Figure 8.1, in the 2021 SA General Household Survey shows that slightly more than eight-tenths (83,6%) of South African households lived in formal dwellings in 2021, followed by 11,7% in informal dwellings, and 4,2% in traditional dwellings. 05:22 Khayelitsha means 'New Home' in isiXhosa (one of South Africa's 12 official languages - it added sign language in 2023) and lies about 30 km outside of Cape Town. 05:32 Read Factfulness - Ten Reasons we are wrong about the world and why things are better than you think. " Factfulness: The stress-reducing habit of only carrying opinions for which you have strong supporting facts." 08:39 A Stokvel is a type of credit union in which a group of people enter into an agreement to contribute a fixed amount of money to a common pool weekly, fortnightly or monthly. This financial system is not unique to South Africa, and exists worldwide. They are also known as Chama in Swahili-speaking East Africa, Tandas in South America, Kameti in Pakistan, Partnerhand in the West Indies, Cundinas in Mexico, Ayuuto in Somalia, Hui in China, Gam’eya in the Middle East, Kye in South Korea, Tanomoshiko in Japan and Pandeiros in Brazil – to name but a few examples. 08:53 ‘Dis kak!’ Afrikaans (one of South Africa's 12 official languages) for ‘That’s bull@#$%^! You are talking rubbish.’ 09:13 StatsSA . 2021 General Household Survey - p.29 Figure 8.1 shows that slightly more than eight-tenths (83,6%) of South African households lived in formal dwellings in 2021, followed by 11,7% in informal dwellings, and 4,2% in traditional dwellings. 09:32 The Gift of the Givers Foundation is the largest disaster response non-governmental organisation of African origin on the African continent. 10:09 Had never heard of this before, am adding it to the reading list: Heineken in Africa 13:01 Spazas. Small convenience stores, often selling staples like bread, milk, cold drinks and cigarettes (staple?:) ), mostly run from homes. I looked for a good definition. Loved this one, from Bogosi Mothshegwa : Spaza Shop Lessons, Lesson #1 : 'Always squeeze the bread 🍞 at the bottom. And check the date if you must' , whose family ran one of these shops, which he likens to 'a mini Pick-n Pay, Checkers or Woolies'. ' It is as convenient as convenient can get. We sold everything, at the same time, there wasn’t everything to buy. It’s the craziest thing, if you desperately needed something, sometimes you wouldn’t find it, but again, you’d find anything and everything you needed.' The term spaza is from the isiZulu language, meaning hidden or camouflaged. Spaza shops are now legalized on the condition that they obtain a trading license in accordance with Business Act 71 of 1991 ) . South African spaza shop market bigger than Shoprite 13:23 The Nielsen Company is an information, data, and market measurement firm. New York based, it a ttempts to provide its clients with valuable insights into global consumer behavior and marketing information. 14:27 Kota - slang word derived from the 'quarter' loaf of white bread that serves as a delicious, carb-loaded, dense 'bowl' containing any number of various artery-clogging and fat-drenched fillings that make it the most satisfying cheap shareable fast food to come out of South Africa. 14:28 Shisanyamas - Follow Bloomberg's Shisa Nyama index for a real picture of the impact of South Africa's inflation. For those who dream of opening a shisanyama business, a first step: A guide to launching a shisanyama business in South Africa . 15:15 Mogodu Mondays 15:21 Tripe is made from the stomach lining of animals and is widely used as a source of low-cost protein. Look at the picture in the link and then understand why GG laughs at my face of, well, horror. I used to look all neutral about tripe, cos it's very uncool to say you don't like it, just like it's uncool to say you don't like oysters. But that phase has passed. 17:03 Fruit & Veg City (established in 1993 in Cape Town and now known as Food Lover's Market ) is a large retail supplier of fresh produce. 'At the heart of the business is a keen desire to be the best green grocers, butchers, cheesemonger and fishmongers'. From their website. 17:09 City Deep Fresh Produce market - now known as the Joburg Market - is the largest fresh produce market in Africa, measuring a total of 65 000m2. Trade takes place in three warehouse-like food hubs (the Fruit Hub, the Potato & Onion Hub and the Vegetable Hub) and four of the halls are populated by wholesalers who sell smaller quantities of the commodities traded at the market. 19:04 Vetkoek , also known as amagwinya, is deepfried bread that is crispy on the outside and warm and fluffy on the inside. They were introduced to South Africa by the Dutch, though I really struggled to find any great info on its history. If you have any, please share! 19:05 Dombolo is steamed bread which can either be made as a loaf or as dumplings. Find the recipe in Dorah Sitole's 40 years of iconic foods . 21:25 ‘Carrying a Checkers’ - in the Dictionary of South African English : ' any plastic supermarket packet with handles', evolved over time because of the ubiquitous packets from Checkers, one of South Africa's largest retail stores. Talk about marketing for free! 21:33 Chappies - South Africa's iconic bubble gum made to outsell America's pink Wicks gum. 25:13 ‘Sissies’ - a derogatory slur for someone who is regarded as cowardly. Of British origin, in the mid-1800s. 25:23 Hearing Grasshoppers Jump - the Story of Raymond Ackerman . Raymond Ackerman is a South African retail icon because he turned Pick 'n Pay into one of South Africa's largest supermarket retailers after buying four stores from the founder in the 1960s. He came from a retailing family; his father Gus founded Ackermans clothing group after World War 1. The Ackermans retail group was later sold to competitor Greatermans, which started the supermarket group Checkers, now part of bigger rival Shoprite. It is at Greatermans where Ackerman started his career in retail, when he was also put in charge of launching the Checkers supermarkets. 28:06 Hawkers are informal traders, often of fruit and vegetables, but also of baked or cooked goods as well as snack foods. 'Don't treat hawkers as a nuisance, they feed the city's poor communities, cheaply and efficiently.' I couldn't believe when I saw that: Hawkers need a licence to operate in Johannesburg . 28:21 Baragwanath taxi rank is a busy taxi rank opposite the Baragwanath hospital in Soweto, Johannesburg. It is 1.4 km long and 50 m wide and has been accurately described as a 'mall without walls' due to the many hawkers that line the rank's road. 30:19 South Africa's 1998 Competition Act and the Competition Commission Rules 34:11 ZCC Church is one of the largest African initiated churches in Southern Africa and the second in Africa. It was founded by Bishop Engenas Barnabas Lekganyanein in 1910 and is known for its distinctive blend of Christian and traditional African religious practices. Lekganyane wanted to establish a Christian church that would accept the lifestyle, culture, political development, and history of Africa. Listen to some beautiful hymns on the official ZCC Youtube channel. 34:14 The Nazareth Baptist Church (Church of Shembe) religion is a combination of Zulu culture and Christianity that has been based on the old testament of the Bible. It is the second largest African initiated church in South Africa and was founded by Isaiah Shembe in 1911. Shortly after the church's founding, Shembe acquired the farm in KwaZulu-Natal that became his holy city of Ekuphakameni. He also established an annual pilgrimage to the sacred mountain of Nhlangakazi, 85km north of Durban. He was noted for his 'dramatic healings, vivid parables and uncanny insights into people's thoughts' . He composed music, wrote many moving hymns , and provided his followers with a rich liturgical tradition based on modified forms of traditional Zulu dancing. 39:13 Model C schools - former white schools in South Africa, that admitted students of all races under the guidance of their governing bodies. This category no longer exists. 40:44 Listen to Efosa Ojomo in AfricanOptimist Episode 1 . 42:05 Tolaram Group and their journey 42:24 Sandton Square, first built as a brutalist high rise building in 1973 and now known as Nelson Mandela Square, is a high-end shopping centre situated in the rich Johannesburg suburb of Sandton. It is marketed as the richest square mile in Africa due to the highest number of millionaires living in this area , as well as being the base for the Johannesburg Stock Exchange and most of South Africa's leading banks and law firms. The 2023 Wealthiest cities report revealed that Johannesburg, home to 6.2 million people, hosts 14,600 high net-worth individuals, thirty of them being dollar centi-millionaires and two are dollar-billionaires. 43:11 Kantar is a London-based and 'the world's leading marketing data and analytics business and an indispensable brand partner to the world’s top companies, including 96 of the world’s 100 biggest advertisers the world's.' 44:33 Snail soup or 'Ofe ejula,' is 'a highly revered delicacy among the Igbo people of Nigeria. Ofe Ejula is quite pricey in African restaurants because snails are hard to find.' 44:56 The history of instant noddles (there is even a museum about it! 46:00 Maggi is an international brand of seasonings, instant soups, and noodles that originated in Switzerland in the late 19th century through Swiss entrepreneur Julius Maggi. The Maggi company was acquired by Nestlé in 1947. 50:43 Unilever is a British multinational fast-moving consumer goods company founded in 1929 following the merger of British soap maker Lever Brothers and Dutch margarine producer Margarine Unie. It is headquartered in London, and employs 127,000 people across the world and represents over 400 brand names in 190 countries. As far back as 1883, the UK founder launched Sunlight Soap, a South African kitchen cleaning staple. Omo is Unilever's largest detergent brand and used extensively across Africa. 53:37 Harvard Business School interview with Nando's co-founder Rob Brozin about Nando's. 54:21 Michael House is a private senior school for boys founded in 1896 by the Anglican Church in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. 57:18 Tiger Brands is a South African packaged goods company and one of South Africa's oldest ongoing businesses, having started in Newtown, Johannesburg, in 1921. It has produced some of South Africa's most consumed brands, including Jungle Oats, Mrs Ball's Chutney, All Gold Tomato Sauce and Black Cat Peanut Butter. In addition to the company's South African operations, Tiger Brands has direct and indirect interests in international food businesses in Chile, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Nigeria, Kenya, Lesotho and Cameroon. Corporates move into township economy . 59:45 Value-added tax (VAT) is collected on a product at every stage of the supply chain where value is added to it, from production to point of sale. Currently stands at 15% in South Africa. 01:00:48 Shop2Shop is a South African company founded in 2017 ' Providing informal business owners with better working capital solutions that create opportunities to run a safer and more profitable business. 01:00:49 The Flash Group is 'a South African fintech that strives to make people's lives easier by using technology'. 01:00:50 Kazang 'makes it safe and easy for spaza shops and informal traders to sell prepaid airtime, data, electricity and other services from their devices or the Kazan mobile app. 01:01:31 Selpal - a South African FinTech company that operates specifically in the township and informal economy, or the “Unseen Economy”. 01:02:47 Capitec - Harvard Business Review on ' How Capitec Became South Africa's biggest Bank '. 01:02:48 Standard Bank was established in Port Elizabeth, South Africa, in 1862, then known as The Standard Bank of British South Africa. It started doing business in a tent in Johannesburg, then known as Ferreira's Camp, in 1886, when it became the first bank to open a branch on the Witwatersrand gold fields. 01:02:50 Yoko is a South African fintech start-up offering solutions designed specifically for small business. ' In South Africa, 70% of the adult population use bank cards as their primary form of financial transaction, yet at the same time, fewer than 20% of small businesses are set up with the hardware and technology to accept cards as a form of payment.' 01:04:11 The Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) in South Africa gives short-term relief to workers when they become unemployed or are unable to work because of maternity, adoption and parental leave, or illness. It also provides relief to the dependants of a deceased contributor. Pay as you earn (PAYE) or Employees’ Tax refers to the tax required to be deducted by an employer from an employee’s remuneration paid or payable. 01:04:21 ' Business registration in Rwanda typically takes a maximum of 3 days if all the required documentation and information are provided accurately and in a timely manner.' Ease of setting up business in South Africa . 01:04:31 The Companies and Intellectual Properties Commission (CIPC) does registration of companies, co-operatives and intellectual property rights (trademarks, patents, designs and copyright) and maintenance thereof. 4 Time Stamps 01:47 Challenging pessimism: A different perspective on South Africa's economy 02:33 Misconceptions of inequality and unemployment in South Africa 05:39 About perspective: understanding media bias and historical bias 07:29 Examples from township economies 09:56 The Informal Economy: A closer Look at the success stories 12:41 Understanding the consumer: The key to success in the informal economy 12:57 The evolution and success of the spaza sector 28:01 Cooperative competition and an intimate understanding of your customer key in the informal sector 33:09 ‘Counter-Revolutionaries’: the cost of ignoring the township market 34:18 The power of township youth 34:52 Palesa - success of a young township entrepreneur 35:33 ‘Bluetooth’ in township schools - good business 36:23 Misconceptions about township youth 37:45 The success story of a township hair salon owner 38:15 Difficulties in changing stereotypes 40:43 The success of Indomie noodles in Nigeria 41:08 Successful campaign of launching Parmalat cheese slices into townships 49:31 How black business owners struggle to get loans for their business, but not cars 58:08 The importance of recognising the informal economy; ignore at your own peril 01:04:43 The future of the informal economy 01:08:09 The revolution in the informal economy 01:10:06 The importance of financial and legislative support to the informal economy 01:10:11 Conclusion: the power of opening your eyes 5 Episode Transcript AfricanOptimist EP4 GG Alcock .pdf Download PDF • 163KB Back to top ^ Article Lucrative informal economies in our midst , Heather Dugmore GG Alcock, Author & Businessman , the Legacy Project Video The Township Economy. 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About AfricanOptimist Collapsible text is great for longer section titles and descriptions. It gives people access to all the info they need, while keeping your layout clean. Link your text to anything, or set your text box to expand on click. Write your text here... Go to all episodes A Case fo r Optimism Kevin Kelly It is extremely difficult to create a desirable future without first envisioning it. To imagine is really the first step in creating anything. History is filled with accounts of people who held an optimistic belief others thought unlikely, or even impossible. This optimistic pre-visualization is a necessary component of change. Since we cannot be certain of the future, optimism is only a belief -- a stance that could be incorrect. On the surface, an optimistic belief might seem no more valid than the stance of pessimism. But the deep history of new ideas makes it very clear that the optimistic stance of believing something is possible is a requirement to make anything new real, and is thus more powerful than pessimism. In the long run, optimists shape the future. About the host Collapsible text is great for longer section titles and descriptions. It gives people access to all the info they need, while keeping your layout clean. Link your text to anything, or set your text box to expand on click. Write your text here...

< Back to all guests #7 Sithuli Mbeje - on mobile abattoirs, bringing processing closer to home and doing what needs to be done 15 March 2024 FIND BELOW 1 Guest Bio 2 Episode Description 3 Show Notes 4 Time Stamps 5 Transcript 1 Guest Bio Sithuli Mbeje is a South African food technologist with over a decade of experience in the food and retail industry. He has a background working with major local and international food companies, specializing in research and development, and particularly in new product innovation. He is the founder of AfriFood Technologies, a company focused on developing solutions for a more sustainable food future. His innovative approach to food waste and supply chain efficiency aims to transform market access opportunities for emerging farmers and food entrepreneurs. According to Mbeje, creating shorter supply chains by bringing processing closer to the source, results in the creation of local food systems, reduced food waste, and better value for small scale farmers and consumers, as well as the entire food value chain. AfriFood Technologies’ signature product is a mobile abattoir designed to support the implementation of circular food economies in rural communities. This innovation addresses challenges in remote areas by providing a more accessible and efficient meat processing solution. Sithuli was a winner in the 2021 Mail & Guardian's Greening The Future Awards and was a participant in the SAB Foundation's Tholoana Enterprise Programme, an intensive 18-month mentorship and development programme for entrepreneurs. 2 Episode Description In Episode 1, disruptive thinker and author Efosa Ojomo highlighted that the potential for prosperity in Africa lay in finding solutions to persistent problems and in doing so, creating new markets. In this episode, we shine a light on Sithuli Mbeje’s journey to developing a mobile abattoir - his response to the problems faced by livestock farmers across Africa when they want to convert their cows to meat. In graphic details he outlines the different steps involved in this process, both in the large industrial abattoirs, as well as his much smaller and compact roving mobile unit. In our conversation he speaks about what gave him the idea for a mobile abattoir, how it fits into his philosophy on food waste and food security and how it is still possible to create value even if you do not follow a linear growth model. He highlights how mobile abattoirs can also serve an important role during outbreaks of foot and mouth disease, a recurring problem across many countries in Africa, as well as in conservation projects that rely on collaborative efforts between farmers and conservation agencies. He speaks of his drive to combine knowledge gained from years in the food processing and retail space with his understanding of food practices back home in rural KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, to create new food processes and systems to ensure a more sustainable meat supply chain across Africa. 3 Show Notes [00:03:35] Checkers is a large supermarket chain that is part of the bigger Shoprite Group . Shoprite Group is Africa’s largest fast-moving consumer goods retailer. Its core business is in food retailing, complemented by furniture, pharmaceuticals, hospitality, ticketing, digital commerce, and financial and cellular services. Checkers 'boasts three store formats - supermarkets, smaller-format convience stores, large-format hyper stores - and an award-winning grocery delivery service.' [00:03:35] Foot and mouth disease is a severe, highly contagious viral disease of livestock that has a significant economic impact. The disease affects cattle, swine, sheep, goats and other cloven-hoofed ruminants. It is a transboundary animal disease (TAD) that deeply affect the production of livestock and disrupting regional and international trade in animals and animal products. The disease is estimated to circulate in 77% of the global livestock population, in Africa, the Middle East and Asia, as well as in a limited area of South America [00:08:20] KwaZulu Natal's carcass grading system [00:15:22] Meat Naturally ' brings together livestock farmers, NGOs, meat buyers, and stakeholders in the meat value chain. By providing education, farming resources, grazing expertise, and market opportunities, Africa’s rangelands and wetlands are being restored every day'. [00:17:28] Offal , also referred to as variety meats is the name for internal organs and entrails of a butchered animal. Worth a read: The Offal-Eater’s Handbook: Untangling the Myths of Organ Meats [00:18:06] KwaZulu-Natal is one of 9 provinces in South Africa. It covers an area of 94 361km ² , the third-smallest in the country, and has a population of 11 065 240, making it the second most populous province in South Africa, with just over half its population living in rural areas. [00:03:35] Haggis is a dish made from the liver, stomach or heart of sheep or cows. Whatever meat is used is usually mixed with onion, oatmeal and suet before being boiled in the animal’s stomach. Haggis recipe . [00:20:37] Woolworths SA is South Africa’s largest retailer with more than 700 store locations throughout South Africa and 10 other African countries. Known by locals as 'Woolies', it is known for its high quality and equally high prices. The retailer also has a multichannel focus, with an online presence across its major brands. It is part of Woolworths Holdings Limited, the South African-based retail group. The company also owns a clothing and homeware retailer and has stores in selected African countries and the Middle East. [00:43:48] Karan beef ' is one of South Africa’s leading suppliers of beef products and continuously sets the benchmark for excellence in the local beef industry'. 4 Time Stamps [00:00:00] Pull quote and welcome to the AfricanOptimist podcast [00:02:39] What is a mobile abattoir? [00:03:41] Exploring the traditional meat processing journey [00:08:20] The different grades of meat in commercial meat processing [00:10:43] The downside of commercial abattoirs [00:14:41] How mobile abattoirs benefit local livestock farmers and the environment [00:17:46] Reducing waste by using mobile abattoirs [00:21:30] The founding moment of the mobile abattoir concept [00:24:21] Linear vs circular economies [00:25:49] The workings of a mobile abattoir [00:30:42] The challenges while creating the mobile abattoir [00:33:09] Early Memories of ceremonies and slaughter [00:37:10] Future of AfriFood Technologies [00:39:22] The need to upskill communities in agro-processing [00:42:10] Resistance from commercial farmers [00:44:28] Reflections and Advice 5 Transcript africanoptimist ep7 Sithuli Mbeje Transcript .pages Download PAGES • 348KB Back to top ^