₦airaland Forum

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One of only two female billionaires on the continent, Folorunso Alakija is galvanizing African millennials with a new empowerment platform.
Folorunso Alakija needs no introduction. As one of only two female billionaires in Africa, she has become an icon of enterprise. Alakija, through her philanthropic work with the Rose of Sharon Foundation, a movement she pioneered to help the plight of women and orphans in Nigeria, has been an advocate of women’s rights and the vital role women play in socioeconomic development. She recently launched her women’s empowerment platform, Flourish Africa, to galvanize women in Nigeria and across Africa to gain access to life-changing tools and advice. In an exclusive interview with FORBES WOMAN AFRICA, she sat down after the launch of the Flourish Africa conference to tell us how she plans to impact millennial African women:

What do you hope to accomplish with Flourish Africa?

I am sure we all remember the interview of Indra K. Nooyi, CEO of Pepsico, at the Aspen Ideas festival in 2014, where she gave her very honest take on the growing debate on women and work-life balance. She described the need to have sacrifices and that having it all was just an illusion. Over the years, I have had a great deal of engagement with a lot of young women both in Africa and all over the world and the one thing they ask me is ‘Can a woman have it all’? I realized that a lot of young women are desperate to understand the keys they need to achieve their fullest potential and become what I believe God has ordained for them to become. So I thought to myself, how can we develop a platform that not only helps young women with practical steps and guidance to help them in their career, relationships and all aspects of their lives, but also provide mentorship from women who have achieved the levels of success they aspire to achieve also. Flourish Africa was created to serve that purpose. We have an online platform, an app and we hold biannual conferences that bring female thought leaders from all over the world together under one roof with young millennials in a day of idea-sharing and life-changing messages that will help them grow.

What do you think is the most important management skill necessary for women to become leaders?

I believe that leadership happens when you are able to empower and inspire others to achieve a set of goals. I think the responsibility lies with the individual to be able to employ all their skills and abilities to help bring others up in order to ensure they contribute to the overall growth of the organization. I believe women have the ability to show great leadership skills and those at the top need to tap into their sense of purpose and effectively communicate that purpose so everybody within the organization clearly understands what is needed from them in order to achieve their common goal.

How can women break free from the cultural stereotypes that have led to greater gender disparity in Nigeria?

A lot of work needs to be done on that front. For years, women have been told what type of roles they are supposed to play in society, the types of jobs they are supposed to do and so on. I was and still am one of the only prominent women in the Nigerian oil sector and I know the stigma and the challenges I had to overcome in order to succeed in that sector. I believe the problem requires a change in mindset for women in Africa. I believe that change will require support from all women in order to come together and set our own standards. Gender stereotypes have been one of the main barriers to women achieving leadership positions in Africa. These stereotypes are usually predicated on what many believe are the capabilities of women and that needs to be addressed before women can break free. At Flourish Africa, we showcase in our inspirational section, women who have been able to change that narrative and the impact they have been able to make through that change to hopefully inspire more women to break free and achieve their fullest potential.

How will you address the issue of financial literacy for African women?

I think women in Africa are amongst one of the most enterprising and entrepreneurial in the world. We are hard-working and our ability to multi-task makes us natural born entrepreneurs. For years, women could not receive bank loans and other facilities readily available to men and until we get the same level of financial freedom, women will continue to remain marginalized. I am a firm believer that women need to be
financially empowered to possess the right knowledge and understanding of financial matters. That is an aspect we take very seriously and with the help of our partners, many of whom are leaders in some of the largest financial institutions in Africa, we help shape policies that will enable our young female entrepreneurs to gain access to sound financial principles in areas like investment advice, compound interest and the advantages of savings as well as real estate and tax. The Flourish Africa woman is a well-grounded woman who thrives in all aspects of her life and that includes having access to the right financial tools as well.

Do you think there is anything African women can teach other women in the world?

I think no matter where we are all from, we can all learn from each other. I think there is a great sense of community in Africa. We are natural homemakers as well as entrepreneurial but that’s not to say women from other parts of the world aren’t. I think our sense of culture and our rich African heritage is something we need to be proud of and share with the rest of the world. It is time for people to see how wonderful our continent is and I believe it’s up to all of us to be the ambassadors of that message to the rest of the world.


Source: https://www.forbesafrica.com/woman/2018/03/08/folorunso-alakija-lets-learn/

Cc Lalasticlala, seun

The incessant pace of technology has birthed powerful tools for self-education and enrichment. At the same time, the perilous pace of progress renders some skillsets outmoded. In a recent Oxford study entitled The Future of Employment, researchers found that 47% of jobs are at risk of becoming computerized, including formerly secure careers in transportation, administration, and law.

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Securing employment will become an exceedingly arduous task as we move into the future. As automation looms before us, so does economic uncertainty. In order to weather both, a wide array of skills must be attained. Luckily, there are some skills you can acquire to steel yourself against the ups and downs of a changing society. There are evergreen skills that once learned, may shield you from robot and recession alike.

Here are four skills that may help you brace yourself for the next wave of automation:

1. Social intelligence

Over the past few decades, automation has claimed millions of jobs. Advancements in artificial intelligence could claim many more, as machines gain the ability to perform a broader range of complex tasks. While we have endowed machines with the ability to perform a variety of tasks, we have been unsuccessful in passing down human perceptiveness. What composes human perception and social intuition is somewhat uncertain to us, and therefore, impossible for us to mimic in software.

Smart software is far from being able to replicate human emotion or interact with genuine warmth, caring, or consideration. In other words, robots can’t relate. Therefore, to stay relevant in one’s profession in the coming decade, hone your persuasive speaking skills, speaking candidly with civility, empathy, and grace.

2. Creative thinking

Creativity is at the core of innovation, and innovation is always in demand. Creative thinking is the process by which we connect seemingly disparate information and synthesize solutions. This sounds simple enough, but it remains a distinctly human activity. Machines are able to produce reports and predictions; these predictions aren’t of much use without humans creating plans and strategies based on them. Collaboration and creativity are intricate tasks that humans will still perform better than robots in the near future.

3. Software development

Instead of fighting automation, help usher it in. Machine and deep learning software applications are booming and, at the moment, the complex software that powers advanced machines needs to be created, tweaked, and maintained by humans. Assist in building the next application for creating smart machines, utilizing open courseware and learning everything you can about the latest in data analysis and artificial intelligence.

4. Adaptability

Recessions, depressions, and waves of automations can all be survived if you are devoted to maximizing your adaptability. There’s no clear trajectory of the global economy or artificial intelligence, therefore the most useful skill to acquire is the ability to use the environment to your advantage, whatever that environment may be.

In order to adapt, you must be willing to be open to any and all things, pivoting when necessary. When a recession hits, you must search for the options available to you and pursue them as vigorously as you possibly can. The same can be said for automation. If your job is in danger of being absorbed by automation, you will do well to respond quickly to the threat.


Source: Forbes Africa.

CC: Seun, Lalasticlala

For much of 2017, two of Africa’s biggest economies, Nigeria and South Africa, have struggled. Nigeria is only just stuttering out of a recession, while South Africa’s economy has just returned to stability following several quarters of turbulence. Against this background, there is a need to ponder the implications of such periods of economic turbulence for entrepreneurs in these countries.

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I have always said that Africa is the business frontier of the future, the market that holds out the most promise for investors. However, in Nigeria, where the bulk of my business takes place, I have watched entrepreneurs struggle since our economy took a dip. I have seen promising businesses closed down. Some of these could have survived if there were avenues for entrepreneurs from different African states to exchange ideas and collaborate.

As an entrepreneur that operates a real estate business in Nigeria and South Africa, I have never found a more important moment to reflect on my own experience, and to highlight how a transnational collaborative platform can offer entrepreneurs from these two African economic powerhouses an opportunity for substantive engagement.

I have come to appreciate the peculiarities of the Nigerian and South African business environments, with each presenting their own challenges and opportunities.

In Nigeria, I have to rely on wealthy individuals to pay the full sum on any of my buildings. Yet, in South Africa, anyone with a good credit rating can acquire a payment plan and get backing from a financial institution.

In Nigeria, the challenge of not having a reliable and standardized database system and inability of banks to offer a payment plan for clients makes it harder to trade a property. It also means that more Nigerians were willing to pay a full once-off sum.

The downside, however, is that when there is slow growth in the economy, fewer people buy properties. With a payment plan, there could be adjustments that allow them to continue the financing, or in the worst-case scenario where they cannot make payments, the bank repossesses. Either way, the entrepreneur’s business is never in serious jeopardy.

I feel that many businesses in Nigeria would’ve survived the country’s economic stutters if opportunities for a payment plan existed. Invictus Real Estate, for example, has like many other Nigerian businesses suffered the pinch of the time. The company had to rely on its energy offering, Invictus Energy, to weather the storm.

Meanwhile, uncertainties about the South African economy have led to a lack of confidence from entrepreneurs to start new ventures. But there is no entrepreneurship if one isn’t prepared to take some risks. What these periods of economic volatility emphasize is the need for a platform for entrepreneurs to cross-pollinate ideas and enrich each other’s perspective.

The transnational entrepreneurship collaboration would set the agenda for a promising Rwandan entrepreneur to learn about the resilience of their Nigerian counterpart; the Nigerian entrepreneur would be able to tap into the experience of their South African colleagues in attracting venture capitalists, and so on. Each would bring their knowledge, experiences and expertise to bear. With this, there is an opportunity for important ideas to be shared and joint ventures to happen. The Forbes Under 30 Summit in Israel in April introduced me to forward thinking young entrepreneurs. One in particular was interested in doing business in Nigeria, and we discussed establishing a joint venture. Unfortunately, we discovered that the Nigerian Central Bank had imposed restrictions on outbound dollar transactions, making it difficult for foreign firms to repatriate their profits.

This could have proven an end to our project until I suggested that there might be a way to establish the venture with my company in South Africa. But, if I had no registered company in South Africa, wouldn’t it have been an opportunity to pitch the venture with a South African who would also take into account my own interest? This would be some of the opportunities a transnational entrepreneurial collaboration would create.

The time to create a transnational collaborative platform for African entrepreneurs, one that provides a guided approach for sustained collaboration, is now.

This transnational collaboration would guarantee a broadening and enriching of the imagination of the African entrepreneur. It would free the African entrepreneur from the shackles of borders, time and space. It would redefine business for the African entrepreneur. – Written by Obinwanne Okeke


Source: Forbes Africa.

CC: seun, lalasticlala

Two new billionaires join the ranks of Africa’s richest, with 23 tycoons now hailing from eight African countries.

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Buoyed by rising stock markets and commodity prices, Africa’s billionaires are collectively wealthier than a year ago. The 23 billionaires that Forbes found in Africa – up from 21 billionaires last year – are worth a combined $75.4 billion, compared to $70 billion in January 2017.

The richest African, for the seventh year in a row, is Nigerian cement and commodities tycoon Aliko Dangote, with a net worth that Forbes pegs at $12.2 billion. That’s up $100 million from a year ago. Dangote is looking beyond cement – his most valuable asset – and has been investing in a fertilizer production company and a large oil refinery. Dangote Fertilizer is expected to start operations in the second quarter this year.

Number two on the list is diamond mining heir Nicky Oppenheimer of South Africa, with a net worth of $7.7 billion, up $700 million from last year. Oppenheimer is one of eight South Africans on the list, making it the African country with the most billionaires.

Last year, South Africa and Egypt tied with six billionaires each. Boosting the South African ranks this year: newcomer Michiel le Roux, the founder and former chairman of Johannesburg-listed Capitec Bank Holdings, whose stock has climbed more than 50% in the past year, making Le Roux a new billionaire worth $1.2 billion. South African mining tycoon Desmond Sacco, chairman of listed Assore Group, returns to the list following a stock price surge of some 60% in the past 12 months. Sacco last appeared as a billionaire on the Africa’s Richest list in 2012 with a $1.4 billion fortune. (He also appeared on the 2014 Forbes list of the World’s Billionaires, worth $1.3 billion.)

One South African list member wouldn’t have made the cut a month ago. In December 2017, the share price of retailer Steinhoff International plunged after the company divulged accounting irregularities. That pushed the net worth of Steinhoff’s then-chairman Christoffel Wiese below $1 billion on December 7. (Wiese resigned as chairman in December.) In early January the company said it would restate its financial results as far back as 2015 and the share price rebounded enough to put Wiese back in billionaire territory, at least for the moment. Forbes calculated his net worth on January 5 (the day we measured all the billionaires fortunes) at $1.1 billion, down substantially from $5.5 billion a year ago. (As of Jan. 10, Steinhoff stock dropped again, knocking Wiese’s net worth below $1 billion.)

Zimbabwe gets its first billionaire this year: telecom magnate Strive Masiyiwa, who chairs the Econet Group. Shares of Zimbabwe-listed mobile phone network Econet Wireless Zimbabwe have surged in value over the past year; Masiyiwa owns more than half of that company. He also has a majority stake in fiber optic firm Liquid Telecom, which raised $700 million in a bond offering in July 2017. Forbes estimates Masiyiwa’s net worth at $1.7 billion.

Just two of the 23 list members are women, unchanged from last year. Isabel dos Santos, the daughter of Angola’s longtime former president, Jose Eduardo dos Santos, is worth an estimated $2.7 billion this year, down from $3.2 billion a year ago. Her net worth dropped in part due to a lower value for Banco BCI, an Angolan bank; its book value plunged in 2016 amid a tough year for the oil producing country. The other woman is Nigeria’s Folorunsho Alakija, whose estimated $1.6 billion fortune lies in oil exploration firm Famfa Oil, which is partnered with Chevron and Petrobras on a lucrative offshore oil field.

Mohammed Dewji of Tanzania is the youngest on the list, at age 42. He inherited a textile and edible oils group from his father and has expanded its operations. Forbes puts his net worth at $1.5 billion. The oldest list member is Onsi Sawiris of Egypt, age 88; he started Orascom Construction in 1950. It was nationalized by the government of Abdel Nasser and Sawiris created another construction firm from scratch. Two of his three sons are also billionaires, including Nassef Sawiris, who at $6.8 billion is Egypt’s richest man. That’s an increase from $5.3 billion a year ago thanks to upticks in the share price of several of his holdings: shoemaker Adidas, cement giant LaFargeHolcim, and fertilizer maker OCI.

One person dropped off since last year’s list: Anas Sefrioui of Morocco. The share price of his homebuilder, Douja Promotion Groupe Addoha, fell about 30% in the past year, pushing his net worth down to $950 million.

Fortunes rose since last year for 13 of the 23 list members, fell for four people and stayed the same for three people. The list members hail from a total of eight countries: eight from South Africa, six from Egypt, three from Nigeria, two from Morocco and one list member each from Algeria, Angola, Tanzania and Zimbabwe.


Source:Forbes Africa.

Ok

Nice one