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23:16
From: The Benin Epilogue Part I: Africa-Ready for Business
Read This Entry & More At The Benin Epilogue Part I: Africa-Ready for Business
This sort of my attempt to keep this blog going and to see if we can give Africa Ready for Business an independent identity. Almost every week as a result of my work with beninmwangi.com there are numerous conversations that spring forth ( they normally pertain to business, entrepreneurship, and or Africa. The conversations may usually be found in the comments section of beninmwangi.com). This is a way of keeping the conversations going and showing my gratitude... And these are this weeks participants: Rich McIverHow To: Bootstrap It (27 Tips)Hey You Entrepreneurs It Starts like this: "...There are many different ways that you can start a business without burying
yourself under a mountain of debt, paying sky high interest rates on business
loans or handing over stake and ownership to venture capitalists or other
investors.You have to have money to make money.
Whether you are able to use money that you have saved in the past or you
need to rack up a temporary balance on your credit cards, there are plenty of
places to find money. You just need to figure out which method best suits the
needs of your business.
1. Personal Savings: This is the place to start when it comes to
bootstrapping a business. Dip into your personal account and fund your business
from money that you have saved. There may not be enough for this to be the sole
form of financing but, if there is enough, you won’t have to worry about any
debt or interest rates on loans.
2. Friends and Family: Ask your family and friends if they have any extra
money that they would like to invest. Agree on a payment plan, with interest,
and offer them future stake in the business if it turns out to be a
success..."
Africa Liz: MOZAMBIQUE AFRICA'S RISING STARYou've got to the pictures on Liz's site... "...Mozambique is the world's 36th-largest country.
Mozambique's first inhabitants were San hunter and gatherers, ancestors of
the Khoi san peoples. Bantu-speaking peoples, who were predominantly iron
workers and farmers, began migrating into the area now known as Mozambique from the distant Niger Delta. Soon, scattered kingdoms began to arise, including
those of the Shona, which extended from present-day Zimbabwe into Mozambique,
and the legendary kingdom of Monomotapa, southwest of present-day Tete.
Meanwhile, from around the 8th century AD, sailors from Arabia began to arrive
along the coast.
Economic reform has been extensive. More than 1,200 state-owned enterprises (mostly small) have been privatized. Preparations for privatization and sector
liberalization are underway for the remaining parastatals, including
telecommunications, electricity, ports, and railroads. The government frequently
selects a strategic foreign investor when privatizing a parastatal.
Additionally, customs duties have been reduced, and customs management has been
streamlined and reformed. In 2006 Mozambique exported U.S. $2.43 billion worth
of goods and imported U.S. $2.82 billion worth of goods. Support programs
provided by foreign donors and private financing of foreign direct investment
mega-projects and their associated raw materials have largely compensated for
balance-of-payment shortfalls.
The nation's latest big investment project is a hi-tech $1.2bn ($660m) gas
plant, situated in the middle of bushland in the south of the country. The
project is owned and run by the South African energy company Sasol.The
government has privatised the port and boasts of its ability to attract big
foreign investors, such as Sosol and BHP Billington, which has built a $2bn
aluminium plant just across the bay. Mozambique has been classified as one of
the major destinations for investment in Africa.
The twin pillars of Mozambique's foreign policy are maintenance of good
relations with its neighbors and maintenance and expansion of ties to
development partners..."
Nico LiebenbergExecutive coaching enhances quality of lifeFrom an executive coach: "...Executive coaching is a common leadership development practice among
business leaders all over the world.
Coaching can be defined as “an ongoing relationship that helps clients
produce fulfilling results in their personal and professional lives. Through the
process of coaching, clients deepen their learning, improve their performance
and enhance overall quality of life..."
So this concludes this edition. Hope to hear from you again! Of course, I love your comments. But, if you can't comment at this particular time- but would like to let us know that you were here; please sign and View my guestbook
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22:42
From: bankelele
Read This Entry & More At bankelele
Mentioned earlier about being blessed/fortunate in life to see people like Michael Jordan (destroy Washington in their last game as the Bullets, though Scottie Pippen provided the winning dunk), Michael Schumacher (win the first US grand prix) and Tiger Woods (not enjoying his first US open). That all compares with being at TED Global in Arusha at which Kenya is well represented. I will use this weeek to relax & learn from such esteemed speakers, participants, delegates, fellows and our Tanzanian hosts. (Read on who else is here, and what happened on Day 1 here, here, here) Where's Safaricom? Not met anyone here from the company whose M-PESA is touted by so many people (from around the world) here as a revolutionary enabler and an example of a means to empower millions by giving them financial accessibility & income earning potential
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21:24
From: The Benin Epilogue Part I: Africa-Ready for Business
Read This Entry & More At The Benin Epilogue Part I: Africa-Ready for Business
By way of David S. Fick* ### PRESS RELEASE ONE MONTH LEFT TO ENTER FOR THE PRESTIGIOUS AFRICA SMME AWARDS  SMMES IN SOUTH AFRICA, WEST AFRICA, EAST AFRICA, CENTRAL AFRICA AND NORTH AFRICA MAY ENTER… ENTER NOW…. In line with the NEPAD’s drive to support and profile the role that SMMEs play in promoting economic growth and job creation, the Africagrowth Academy in partnership with NORSAD AGENCY, MOMENTUM FUNDSATWORK, SEDA, and Xstrata SA and other enterprise support agencies will be organising the 2007 Africa SMME Annual Conference and Awards Ceremony on the 25th of October 2007, at the Crown Reef Convention Centre, Gold Reef City Hotel, Ormonde, Johannesburg, South Africa. The Conference and Awards ceremony will be aimed at presenting latest trends in SMME development in the continent and recognising and presenting awards to successful SMMEs by sector. The main aim is to support and showcase Africa’s finest entrepreneurial achievements in the SMMEs sector were the winners of each category will be announced at a gala dinner the evening of the 25th of October 2007. IS YOUR BUSINESS THE BEST IN AFRICA? Your small, medium or micro enterprise (SMME) may be recognised as the Africa SMME of the Year. If your business has grown in a responsible and sustainable manner over the last few years and is furthermore contributing to the African and local economy, we feel you need recognition. Businesses from all sectors, with a turnover ranging between R40 000 and R10 million, may compete for this awards and the ultimate honour will be to achieve the overall award for the SMME of the Year. There will be extensive media coverage and business exposure as well as prize money of R15 000, R20 000 & R25 000 for 3rd, 2nd & 1st place and R30 000 for the overall winner. Winners will take the spotlight at a gala awards evening in Johannesburg on the 25th of October 2007. Enter now for this very exciting competition and your company might be the 2007 AFRICA SMME of the year. Closing date for entries: 30 June 2007 Contact Dina Potgieter Africagrowth Research PO Box 3628, Tygervalley, South Africa, 7536 Tel: (021) 946 1791 Fax: (021) 946 1652 Email: dina@africagrowth.comWebsite: www.africagrowth.com### *This communication is from David S. Fick, author of books concerning successful entrepreneurs creating jobs in all 53 countries of Africa and improving the quality of life in their African communities. The majority of 2003, 2004, and 2005 Africa SMME Awards winners and finalists are featured in the book Africa: Continent of Economic Opportunity Africa: Continent of Economic OpportunitySTE Publishers, Johannesburg, South Africa, November 2006, Please visit Website: [www.ste.co.za] for description and availablitity in Africa and Europe. For immediate availablity in the United States, please contact the author David Fick. EMail: WhlgEagle@aol.com and Fick will immediately ship at $50 per book, shipping included within the United States. Proceeds from sales from author's 246 book inventory are allocated 100% to support Doctors without Borders' medical relief projects in Africa. African Entrepreneurs in the 21st CenturyBeing researched for 2008 publication. Please suggest to the author David Fick, EMail: WhlgEagle@aol.com successful entrepreneurs to feature in this book. The majority of 2006 and 2007 Africa SMME Awards winners and finalists will be featured in this book. As with my first and second books, in recognition of everyone's support author's royalties (percentage of print runs) due to me from sales of the third book will also go to Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders (MSF) to support their medical relief projects in Africa. Entrepreneurship in Africa, A Study of SuccessesQuorum Books, March 2002 Please visit [www.greenwood.com]Of course, I love your comments. But, if you can't comment at this particular time- but would like to let us know that you were here; please sign and View my guestbookTags: Africa SMME Awards, NEPAD, NORSAD, Africagrowth Research, David S. Fick, Johannesburg
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21:12
From: My Africa Today
Read This Entry & More At My Africa Today
In Africa, the paradigm of a united Africa is spreading like a veld fire. People are being made aware of uniting forces that they believe can benefit us all here in Africa. The principle of synergy teaches us that 1 and 1 doesn’t necessarily make 2. I heard a story told to me by a farmer that one of his workhorses could haul a wagon with a load of three and a half thousand pounds (one and a half thousand kg), but when he uses two horses the weight doesn’t double - it triples. With two horses he couldn’t only haul double what one horse could do, he could haul triple - a wagon with a load of ten thousand pounds (four and a half thousand kg). This is synergy; one labouring with another brings about a result higher than the sum of the two working separately. Many circumstances should be in place to accommodate any paradigm shift successfully. One of the circumstances that would contribute to assisting the paradigm of the African renaissance to succeed is economical sustainability. Economical sustainability is a very scarce idea in Africa. In Africa, we either live for the here or now or we are simply ignorant of the way we should think economically.  A paradigm most definitely worth our earnest consideration for successful transition to African renaissance is the paradigm of entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurial thinking frees people to embrace their autonomy and take charge of the future they want to create. Entrepreneurial thinking elicits in us the willingness to embrace responsibility that motivates us to participate in creating economical sustainability. One wonders which one came first – poverty or a scarcity mentality? I know for certain a scarcity mentality can lead to (physical) poverty. I also believe poverty created by natural or external circumstances, like drought or dictatorial leadership, can eventually cause a scarcity mentality in people. In Africa we had our fair share of these external and natural circumstances that inhibited us to live in abundance. Now if it’s true that we have to change our thinking, even our thinking that was formed by external and natural circumstances, how are we going to do it? How can we embrace a paradigm of abundance, like entrepreneurial thinking, to lift us up from the scarcity mentality that has made ingrained roads on the creases of our brains? A quick answer added to this article will simply not suffice to give a clear picture of what we should do to embrace the entrepreneurial paradigm of abundance. I suggest you frequent this blog over the next couple of weeks in order to follow a line of thinking that will empower you to take hold of yourself. A line of thinking that will empower you to embrace the entrepreneurial paradigm of abundance. I will show you, thought by thought, how we can get up from the dust, shake it from us and start to live the way we were meant to live! Customize your mobile with your Complimentary Ringtone!
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17:41
From: Mentalacrobatics
Read This Entry & More At Mentalacrobatics
In a CNN interview last year Emeka Okator, the programme director of TedGlobal 2007, was asked, “How do you shed light on the brighter side of Africa?”
He answered, “It’s coming from the bottom or primarily from the citizen media type, the bloggers, who are covering Africa to an extent it has never been covered before. There’s strong belief that the rest of the world will catch up as this process accelerates.”
Emeka understands the vital role that authentic, uncompromising, voices from Africa that are expressed through blogs play. Probably because he is a energetic blogger himself. It is wonderful that there is a healthy mix of bloggers amongst the TED Fellows. I’ll highlight the KBW members who are here apart from myself; Afromusing, Bankelele, Kenyan Pundit and White African. Ndesanjo is here as well running things on his home ground. Outside KBW Jea Brea and Andrew Heavens are here too.
There are couple of other Kenyan bloggers who have promised to send me their URLs and I will share them as soon as I get them. We also have a number of bloggers from other countries and I will do the same with the links.
KBW members let me assure that your blogs have a wider readership then you may imagine. I have met some people here that have never been to Africa before but read the KenyaUnlimited aggregator regularly. Many of the other Africans here talk about the power of the Kenyan blogs on the internet and are inspired to go out and start their own blogs and aggregator. Perhaps we should look out for NigeriaUnlimited, MaliUnlimited, etc soon!
At some point in the next few days we will sit down and brainstorm about the African Bloggers’ Conference. Please feel free to share any thoughts you have on this with us.
 TEDGlobal2007 |  TEDGlobal
© Mentalacrobatics for Mentalacrobatics, 2007. |
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17:20
From: Mentalacrobatics
Read This Entry & More At Mentalacrobatics
TEDGlobal is in full swing here in Arusha and it is quickly turning out to be unlike any other conference I have been too, and believe me I’ve been to a few. First of all there is the calibre and variety of people here that is just amazing. Everybody here is doing something revolutionary in their ordinary lives and we are all here to share.
I won’t do a session by session blow of what is happening on stage. For that I suggest you read Ethan’s blog. Ethan must be running a dual core processor brain. The man sits in the hall and blogs in real time like an episode of 24 taking in the talk, digesting it and laying out coherent blog posts all at the same time. Go there for a blow by blow account of what is happening. White African also has good posts on the sessions, with photos. If only all my roommates in life were this helpful eh, doing all the work while I sit there engrossed on what is happening on the stage.
Instead I will attempt to share a variety of titbits from around the conference.
Rokia Traore kicked things off with a song of welcome from Mali. Rokia has a fantastic, powerful and moving voice and set the tone for a wonderful conference. African, confident, powerful, human.
Euvin Naidoo quotes the philosopher who said, “The only dark thing about Africa is our perception of Africa.” This is a theme that is to remain central throughout the day.
Carol Pineau of Africa Open for Business fame, continues this theme as she shares with the stories of entrepreneurs across the continent. One of those featured in Carol’s talk is Mohammed Olan the CEO of Somali airline Diallo Airlines. This guy is happy that Somali doesn’t have a government because he doesn’t have to deal with government corruption. What I found most interesting about Carol’s talk was two tag clouds she shared with us. One showed what people in the west thought Africans wanted, and the second one showed what people in Africa want for themselves. I’ll try to find them and post them later.
Zeray Alemseged a palaeontologist from Ethiopia responsible for finding Selam a 3.3 million year old 3 year old girl. (Yes that sentence makes sense). He shared that the key thing as far as he was concern was to, “promote a positive African attitude towards Africa”. It is just like your parents used to tell you, you have to love yourself before anyone else will love you.
I am not much of cinema and movie person but Newton Aduaka blew me away with the short clips he showed of his films. Maybe I am a movie person and I’ve just been watching the wrong films. He has film coming out called Ezra about child soldiers in Sierra Leone that looks brilliant. Andrew Dosunmu shared some interesting clips as well.
But a conference isn’t a conference without some controversy and on Day One of TEDGlobal it was Andrew Mwenda – v – Bono. Andrew is a Uganda journalist and free speech activist that has seen jail time in Uganda for his beliefs. Andrew is against foreign aid in a big way. He feels makes Africa governments lazy as they do not have to invest in their entrepreneurs. If there was no aid and governments had to pay their way they would show a lot more interest in the people in their countries trying to generate wealth. As a Kenya trying to set up a business I can relate to that oh to well.
Bono on the other hand spends a lot of time campaign for aid to Africa to be increased. He also campaigns for debt cancellation and fair trade. Bono likes to stress the links between Africa and Ireland. Well.
It made for a lively session to say the least.
Youssou N’dour didn’t make it unfortunately but we did not have a chance to miss him as Rokia came back with her band and blew us away. My goodness, that woman’s voice, style and substance is unbelievable.
TEDGlobal2007 | TEDGlobal
© Mentalacrobatics for Mentalacrobatics, 2007. |
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15:50
From: White African
Read This Entry & More At White African
Everyone knows that TED conferences are stuffed full of influential attendees, remarkable speakers and great ideas. None of which I want to talk about here. Instead, I want to focus on the repercussions of this type of meeting to the greater world. After all, TED’s motto is “Ideas Worth Spreading”.
Our little conference overlaps with the G8 meeting in Germany, where there will be some substantial discussions on Africa. So, we sit here - business giants, philosophists and thought leaders - making the case for changing Africa. Changing the way the world sees Africa, changing the way Africa sees itself, and most of all, changing the way money flows and operates in Africa.
That’s pretty heavy stuff actually. We’re talking about the differences between development aid and capital investment throughout the second largest continent in the world. Bono and Mwenda have already squared off over it, and it’s a discussion worth having.
The two questions I have:
- Will the policy makers of the developed and developing nations hear and act upon the idea that businesses should be leading the charge for change in Africa?
- Will the TEDGlobal conference be dominated by this one theme of aid vs. trade, or will there be room for more thoughts and discussion on other ideas?
 
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15:07
From: Me, Life & Everything
Read This Entry & More At Me, Life & Everything
time: 2307hrs
length: growing…
mood: ahem!
stars: mob!
at: home
level: eight
track: umbrella - rihanna feat. Jay Zed, good girl gone bad.
Kuna ile vitu zenye saa zingine zinakubamba na kukuwacha umepigwa na butwaa. Mbona na dai ivi? Kwanza hebu cheki ii kanda apa down, apologies kwa wale mabeste wametegea ngoma za genge ama flava kaa iio lakini normal programming [...]
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11:27
From: Couch Potato
Read This Entry & More At Couch Potato
 Arguably one of the funniest cartoons of our times. There is so much debate about Family Guy VS The Simpsons. Of course the Simpsons is funny...and is the longest running cartoon of our time...but Family Guy is a GEM! And i hearby state its better than Simpsons! Word of advice:Borrow this and watch it and love it! Besides really funny characters the most endearing quality of this show is its involvement with the real world. It spoofs reality...from George Bush...to Passion of the Christ...to Zinadine Zidane...to Osama...name it they have made fun of it. In fact this is the reason why most people don't warm up to the show because they miss majority of the jokes. Each portion is a running gag..a joke within a joke. When they make fun of Michael Douglas' enormous chin as they act out romancing the stone...only a true Tato would get that joke. And their jokes are way below the belt...totally uncalled for...nasty...and the cursing is phenomenal! Meg their only daughter is not openly hated and disregarded by the whole family...can you imagine the dad mistaking a monkey for his daughter? Or robbers refusing to rape her even when she presses them to. then the hayve this styles of telling jokes: 1. They always do imaginary flashbacks taking a joke to another level 2.They at times can prolong a joke way way way longer than it should be told..making it funnier My favorite characters are: Peter Stewie   Peter the fat tub of lard...dumb tub of lard...he is just a breath of fresh air Stewie the evil master mind genius that wants to kill his own mother...and his banters with the Dog are harsh and brutal! 
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10:10
From: assidous
Read This Entry & More At assidous
On the 2nd of June, Virgin Atlantic touched down at JKIA at 0605Hrs from London Heathrow. Aboard it were the Kenyan team accompanied by its CEO, Sir Richard. It brings real competition to one of the most competitive and lucrative rotes out of JKIA. Among Its competitors here will be BA and our very own KQ! From me, its KARIBU VIRGIN! Safaricom CEO doesn't miss a chance to get into the mix, he has already patnered with Virgin to fund the Mt. Kenya Elephant Corridor project to the tune of Ksh66M for a period 10YRS!
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8:50
From: White African
Read This Entry & More At White African
There’s nothing like a little controversy to get the party started. TEDGlobal hasn’t disappointed thus far.
(NOTE: More great coverage of Bono vs Mwenda at Ethan Zuckerman’s blog)
(NOTE 2: I’ve started uploading pictures to Flickr)
In the first session we’ve had Euvin Naidoo ask us to start thinking about Africa differently - reminding us that it has had the best ROI in the world right now as far as capital markets are concerned. One of my favorite quotes was when he stated that “the problems of Africa should be seen as opportunities”.
Andrew Dosunmu, a film maker tells us that we need to change the world’s perception of Africa by changing the visual images that they see. It’s not all about war, famine and corruption. An absolutely fabulous photographer and videographer, the quality is stunning.
Africa Ready for Business is a film by Carol Pineau. She showcased some of the short stories from that film, reiterating that there are entrepreneurs all over Africa. In fact, “the entreprenuerial spirit is alive everywhere in Africa”, bringing up the example of Daallo Airlines in governmentless Somalia. Carol will soon be releasing her new documentary on business opportunities in Africa, called “Africa Investment Horizons”.
Finally, Andrew Mwenda ended the session with a resounding 18 minute talk on getting Aid out of Africa, but only investment.
Bono has just gotten on stage and coined the term “the Mwenda Plan” as opposed to the Marshall Plan. He’s talking about how/why aid is still important, that though corruption in African governments is the reason, we still need to be a part of the fix. He also cautioned against living in a fairy tale.
Some images…
 
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