Forbes Africa

Forbes Africa is the drama critic to business in Africa. The magazine helps readers connect the dots, form patterns and see beyond the obvious, giving them a completely different perspective. In doing this, it delivers sharp, in-depth and engaging stories by looking at global and domestic issues from an African prism.

Forbes Africa

ARE WE SEEING THE GREAT UNLOCK YET?

Thoughts, Lessons And The Mindset Change For The Future

More Screen Time This Xmas

WHAT WAS TRENDING IN AFRICA IN 2021? • Covid-19 still dominated the conversation board this year, but a number of events, protests and coups that rocked Africa also got the world talking and social media aflutter.

Financing Mental Health: NEW TECH TOOL TO TREAT DEPRESSION

Another Life-Saver • A vaccine that has taken almost three decades to produce is finally ready to give hope to thousands affected by malaria.

FIVE MINUTES WITH… • AIMEE KELLEN, REGIONAL MARKETING MANAGER AFRICA & MIDDLE EAST FOR MOËT HENNESSY

The Economy That Never Sleeps • WHERE THERE IS A TOWNSHIP, THERE ARE HOPES, DREAMS AND FORTUNES TO BE MADE. WHERE THERE IS A TOWNSHIP, COME RAIN OR SHINE, COVID OR CIVIL UNREST, AN ENTIRE COMMUNITY OF SMALL AND MEDIUM BUSINESSES WILL BAND TOGETHER AND EMERGE FROM THE ASHES, RESOLUTELY, RESILIENTLY. WHERE THERE IS A TOWNSHIP, HARD WORK WILL INEVITABLY PREVAIL OVER HARDSHIP. PRESENTING THE SOUTH AFRICAN ECONOMY’S BEATING, PULSATING HEART THAT NEVER STOPS.

FINANCIAL INCLUSION IS KEY

BANKING ON THE STOKVEL COMMUNITY

African Of The Year • NANA AKUFO-ADDO, GHANA’S PRESIDENT, HAS REPOSITIONED THE COUNTRY IN THE GLOBAL MARKETPLACE AS ONE RELIANT ON ITS OWN RESOURCES AND STRENGTHS. HE IS REDEFINING ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND IT’S RESONATING ACROSS AFRICA. IN AN EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH FORBES AFRICA, HE DWELLS ON THE NEW FOCUS OF THE WEST AFRICAN NATION THAT HAS IN RECENT YEARS CONSISTENTLY BEEN ONE OF THE WORLD’S FASTEST-GROWING ECONOMIES.

SOLE SURVIVORS • Tapping into Rwanda’s waste-to-wealth economy, Ysolde Shimwe and Kevine Kagirimpundu have come a long way in their eco-friendly shoes. They repurpose used tyres to make soles and have survived the pandemic with their sustainable offerings opening yet another new store this year.

The Anti-Amazon • Josh Silverman is using cutting-edge technology and an army of 5 million artisan-entrepreneurs to transform ETSY from a hippie flea market into a Wall Street hero—without losing its soul.

Appetite For Business • Starting with just $45, Ghanaian entrepreneur Violet Amoabeng’s startup has progressed with skincare products you can eat and the unpalatable realization that the only way to make it in business is to crash, break, stretch and succeed.

The $30 Billion Kitty • The standard playbook in private equity is to borrow, buy and cut costs ruthlessly. But a massive windfall from investments in PetSmart and Chewy has taught BC Partners’ Raymond Svider that sometimes, doubling down on risks is a better option.

SOUTH AFRICA STEWARDS OF HEALTH 2021 II • “The only positive thing of the pandemic is that it has brought together different actors in society, ones that wouldn’t normally work together, figuring out it is possible to work together and is something I am hugely proud of.” Jonathan Broomberg, CEO of Vitality Health International

COME TOGETHER, RIGHT NOW—OVERSEAS • One recent sign toward global coordination is Merck granting a royalty-free license for its groundbreaking COVID-19 pill to the United Nations-backed nonprofit Medicines Patent Pool.

THINK GLOBAL, ACT LOCAL • “We donated approximately 13 million rand to various organizations in the country,” says Shelley Horner, CEO of Novartis South Africa.

STRONGER TOGETHER

QUICK TIPS: ALL TOGETHER NOW • Executives share their wisdom on...