In an address to the nation, Cyril Ramaphosa announced that in celebration of an electrifying win by the country’s national rugby team at the Rugby World Cup, there would be an extra public holiday in December.



Following Saturday’s exhilarating Rugby World Cup final match between the Springboks and New Zealand’s All Blacks in France, South Africa waited with baited breath as to how the country would be celebrating the 12-11 win.



“South Africans watched with pride and joy as our national rugby team, the Springboks, became the world champions for the fourth time since the advent of democracy in our country,” President Cyril Ramaphosa said on Monday.



“I know that many of us want us to have a holiday now to celebrate.”



He also commended the Proteas who are currently “performing well” at the Cricket World Cup in India, with the president noting that he intends to travel to Mumbai to watch the team in the finals.



Furthermore, Ramaphosa celebrated the performance of Banyana Banyana, the South African women&#8217;s national soccer team, in the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations and their progress to the knockout stages of the FIFA Women’s World Cup.



In celebration of the Springboks’ momentous achievement and the achievements of the country’s sports men and women – and as a tribute to the resolve of the nation – Ramaphosa announced in his address, “I am declaring Friday the 15th of December 2023 as a public holiday. We declare this to be a day of hope, a day of celebration and unity.”



“As a people, we have shown before what is possible when we are united, when we are determined, when we try hard and when we refuse to give up,” Ramaphosa said.



“Together, we overcame apartheid, ended centuries of conflict and gave birth to a thriving democracy. Together, we confronted and overcame the deadliest global pandemic in over a century. We are indeed stronger together. Our sports men and women have shown us what is possible. We will succeed and we will ensure that we leave no-one behind.”



After leading his team to victory, captain Siya Kolisi said in a press conference: “I don’t think that people who aren’t from South Africa understand what this means for our country. It’s not just about the game on the field. Our country goes through so much and we are the hope that they have.”



Prior to the news by Ramaphosa, a lot of assumptions were made that the holiday would be on Monday, October 30, but it was made clear with the announcement only scheduled for that evening, that it would be business as usual.



Social Media has somewhat mixed feelings about the announcement. 



<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true"><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/FamilyMeeting?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#FamilyMeeting</a> Cyril: I declare the 15th of December a Public Holiday… South Africa: <a href="https://t.co/qt60Bi3i5m">pic.twitter.com/qt60Bi3i5m</a>&mdash; Roboto x3 (@Robot_Boii) <a href="https://twitter.com/Robot_Boii/status/1719061108361679154?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 30, 2023</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">Okay khe we need to have this public holiday on the 15th of December for the next 4 years.<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/FamilyMeeting?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#FamilyMeeting</a> <a href="https://t.co/WsPUd4cJxf">pic.twitter.com/WsPUd4cJxf</a>&mdash; Like-Car not Laeeqah 🇵🇸 🇿🇦 (@LaaiqahEbrahim_) <a href="https://twitter.com/LaaiqahEbrahim_/status/1719060559780356129?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 30, 2023</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">Can&#39;t we have two holidays? One for us adults this week and for everybody on the 15th of December? This Boks victory must be celebrated while it&#39;s still fresh. <a href="https://t.co/qrjMw1uMv3">pic.twitter.com/qrjMw1uMv3</a>&mdash; Lord of 4IR 🌍 (@Qali___) <a href="https://twitter.com/Qali___/status/1719063543683649922?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 30, 2023</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">15th of December ? we have been schucks&#39;d <a href="https://t.co/ycjMSw2xHE">pic.twitter.com/ycjMSw2xHE</a>&mdash; A&#8230; (@AndileMqoqi) <a href="https://twitter.com/AndileMqoqi/status/1719063015239147631?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 30, 2023</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
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CHOGM London 2018 – Day 2

Social Media Reacts To Public Holiday Announcement By South Africa’s President Following Springbok World Cup Win

<h3 class="wp-block-heading has-text-align-center" id="h-south-africa-flutist-producer-and-composer">South Africa | Flutist, producer, and composer</h3>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading has-text-align-center" id="h-spotify-monthly-listeners-16-8k-youtube-total-average-views-13-million">Spotify Monthly Listeners: 16.8K YouTube Total Average Views: 13 Million</h3>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading has-text-align-center">SOCIAL MEDIA NET WORTH Instagram: 13.1K Twitter: 14.7K Facebook: 99K</h3>



Words and Curation:&nbsp;Chanel Retief|Art Director: Lucy Nkosi |&nbsp;Photography: Katlego Mokubyane&nbsp;Photography Assistant:&nbsp;Sbusiso Sigidi Studio: NewKatz Studio, Johannesburg|&nbsp;Videographer: @astro.vn |&nbsp;CNBC Africa Videographer:&nbsp;Thabo Mathebula|&nbsp;Video Editor:&nbsp;Chanel Retief|&nbsp;Styling: Bontlefeela Mogoye and Wanda Baloyi |&nbsp;Outfits supplied by: Kworks Design; Imprint South Africa; House of Suitability; LSJ Designs|&nbsp;Hair &amp; Makeup:&nbsp;Makole Made



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&#8220;&#8230;Maths and music often go together, they say. Well, in my case, that was very much the situation.&#8221; 
</blockquote>



Kellerman’s myriad stellar accolades apart, what draws you (besides the melodic notes of his flute) to his story is the long journey he had to embark on to get to where he is. 



In this story, Kellerman had to always “wait” before doing what he loved most. Growing up, Kellerman’s parents encouraged his love for music. 



After attending a symphony concert at the age of 10 with them, he was handed the option of playing an instrument. He, of course, chose the flute. 



“I was very excited to start but then my teacher was sick for the first lesson,” Kellerman smiles as he recalls the memory. 



“And my mom was scared we were going to break the flute if we assembled it. So every day, I would just open the flute case, look at the flute, and wonder what it would sound like, and how it would feel to play it. I would close the case, and then an hour later, open the case again.”



Although a young Kellerman got to play the flute every day after that, the wait started all over again when he left school. Wanting to study music, Kellerman knew that there was no money for university so he had to obtain a bursary.



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“My other talent is maths,” Kellerman says, surprising the entire studio where he has arrived for the photoshoot in Johannesburg. “Yes, maths and music often go together, they say. Well, in my case, that was very much the situation. So I was offered a bursary to study engineering by Anglo American at the University of Johannesburg.”



The wait continued as Kellerman had to work off his bursary after his studies. To afford him the time and freedom to play the flute, Kellerman then started his own engineering software company.



“After a while, I decided, no, I want to be a full-time musician. But I ran out of money within six months,” Kellerman laughs. “So I had to go back to engineering.”



Kellerman got married and had children which meant that playing the flute professionally would just have to wait. He jokes that “every time I tried to swap over to being a full-time musician, it didn&#8217;t work”.



“The money just wasn&#8217;t enough to do music. And so, I tried that every few years and basically had to wait 20 years before I could do this full time. In the meantime, every year, I&#8217;d allow myself to go overseas for three weeks and study new masterclasses with the best flute teachers.”



Kellerman remembers fondly the moments his children would ask him what his ultimate dream was.



“I would say to them ‘Oh, to one day, get a Grammy nomination; that would be fantastic’.”



From waiting to wanting to winning – Kellerman’s story may not be over, but for the accomplished two-time Grammy award-winning artist (in 2015 and early this year for Bayethe), it feels as though life has come full circle.



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“WOUTER MAKES BEAUTIFUL MUSIC, BUILDING BRIDGES ACROSS CULTURES AND SHARING HIS POSITIVE ENERGY WITH THE WORLD.” —South African singer Lerato Moipone Molapo, known professionally as Lira.
</blockquote>
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Despite all the accolades in his career, Kellerman’s true mission, he says, has always been sharing South African music with the world, which he continues to.



&#8220;Wouter makes beautiful music, building bridges across cultures and sharing his positive energy with the world,” South African singer Lerato Moipone Molapo, known professionally as Lira, says. “He is a generous soul, who is always willing to help, and his invaluable contributions have left an indelible mark on the South African music industry.” Antos Stella, CEO of The Music Arena, adds that “Wouter Kellerman’s exceptional musical talent has paved the way for extraordinary collaborations with artists from various genres and cultures, resulting in a well-deserved array of awards”.



When he is not playing music, Kellerman enjoys a good session of acro-yoga at sunrise on the beach. The next few months are action-packed for Kellerman, who most recently performed for the Presidents at the BRICS Summit in South Africa. Next up is a slew of high-profile overseas performances. Kellerman continues to believe in the power of collaboration as he recently partnered with award-winning Tanzanian artist Naseeb Abdul Juma Issack, popularly known as Diamond Platnumz, for their Afropop hit Pounds &amp; Dollars.



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Green Modern Split Screen Tutorial YouTube Thumbnail (6)

Meet Cover Star: Wouter Kellerman “I HAD TO WAIT 20 YEARS BEFORE I COULD PLAY THE FLUTE”

<h2 class="wp-block-heading alignwide has-text-align-center" id="h-south-africa-music-conductor">South Africa | Music conductor </h2>



<h4 class="wp-block-heading has-text-align-center" id="h-social-media-net-worth-instagram-5-8k-twitter-5-3k-facebook-824-tiktok-688">SOCIAL MEDIA NET WORTH Instagram: 5.8K Twitter: 5.3K Facebook: 824 TikTok: 688</h4>



Words and Curation:&nbsp;Chanel Retief|Art Director: Lucy Nkosi |&nbsp;Photography: Katlego Mokubyane&nbsp;Photography Assistant:&nbsp;Sbusiso Sigidi Studio: NewKatz Studio, Johannesburg|&nbsp;Videographer: @astro.vn |&nbsp;CNBC Africa Videographer:&nbsp;Thabo Mathebula|&nbsp;Video Editor:&nbsp;Chanel Retief|&nbsp;Styling: Bontlefeela Mogoye and Wanda Baloyi |&nbsp;Outfits supplied by: Kworks Design; Imprint South Africa; House of Suitability; LSJ Designs|&nbsp;Hair &amp; Makeup:&nbsp;Makole Made



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“She [Alicia Keys] is the one who actually picked me. She had five options. So it wasn&#8217;t because I was a pretty look or whatever. She was like, ‘Listen, there is just something about you&#8221;
</blockquote>



POWER. THAT IS THE WORD that comes to mind, as Pitse walks on to the set with her conducting baton for the photoshoot for this feature. Hailed the youngest African woman orchestra owner, conductor, classical music arranger, producer, musician, and curator of intimate musically inspired/influenced spaces and experiences, it’s not difficult to see why. 



However, this has not come easy. 



“You&#8217;ve seen me, I&#8217;m quite tiny,” Pitse laughs. “You get into this industry where you see all these groot manne (big men) and they&#8217;ve been in the industry and the business for so long. So the question you always get is ‘What are you doing here?’ There&#8217;s always that thing where I have to prove myself more than I should, and I always have to walk on stage or into spaces, or even at just rehearsals, being over-prepared.”



Serenade Magazine noted in a 2022 article that the average proportion of women in orchestras is still less than 50% while the number of female conductors is barely 10% of the total.



“Historically, in the orchestra space, you would find that not a lot of women have even the first seat. You won&#8217;t really have a female concertmaster, or even a female conductor,” Pitse adds. “It&#8217;s a very tough industry, because like I&#8217;m saying, you have to know more than what you are actually required to. So, there&#8217;s always someone who&#8217;s checking you and often it’s a guy who&#8217;s checking to see if [you] are who you say you are.”



Born and raised in the rich and colorful City of Tshwane, it was in the vibrant streets of South Africa’s capital city that Pitse first discovered and developed her deep love for music. With a family active in the Salvation Army, she soon found her way to its famous brass band, where she learned to play the English horn, trumpet, flugelhorn, and cornet.



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“My grandparents were always at church and subsequently so was my mother. I had to learn something to just make sure that whenever she&#8217;s having a meeting, I&#8217;m doing something at the same time,” Pitse adds. “The trumpet became my first love in my introduction to music.”



From the Salvation Army straight to one of Netflix’s biggest shows, Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story.



Grammy award-winning artist Alicia Keys wanted to celebrate the 20th anniversary of her song If I Ain&#8217;t Got You, so Netflix created a 74-piece global orchestra made up entirely of women of color to perform a rendition for the show. At the orchestra’s helm was Pitse.



“She [Keys] is the one who actually picked me. She had five options. So it wasn&#8217;t because I was a pretty look or whatever. She was like, ‘Listen, there is just something about you, and from what I&#8217;ve seen and what I&#8217;ve heard, you are so dynamic’.” Although it felt exciting to have Keys co-sign her, Pitse felt a lot of pressure to perfect this as it was a song the world had marveled over for 20 years



“We were recording the music video and in between a take, the camera guys were switching cameras. I was standing on a step in front and [Keys] was at the grand piano on my left. She then started playing the diary and when I looked to my left, she was intentionally looking at me as she was playing.



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote has-text-align-center">
“OFENTSE KNOWS WHERE SHE HAS COME FROM, AND SHE CERTAINLY KNOWS WHERE SHE IS HEADING – ALL THE WAY TO THE STARS.”
<cite>—Adam Howard, South African music composer</cite></blockquote>



“And now she&#8217;s playing the diary and I&#8217;m looking at her and we are jamming to that diary. And it was such a special moment because I think at that moment, it meant so much to us that we were finally doing this. We were finally here [as an all-female orchestra]. When she stepped away from the piano and we were having our whispering chat, she said to me ‘Listen, we did this’… and that was amazing.”



Adam Howard, award-winning South African music composer and supervisor, describes Pitse as a visionary.



“I think Ofentse’s view of what an orchestra is and can be is just what is needed in a sometimes stagnant and closed classical world. Her passion is palpable and her work ethic second to none. There is a powerful African saying, umuntu ngumuntu ngabantu, which means a person is a person through our relationships with other people. Ofentse knows this. She knows where she has come from, and she certainly knows where she is heading – all the way to the stars,” says Howard.



When Pitse entered the industry, her main goal was always “to break barriers” so that classical music could be propelled into popular culture, something that became evident when she did the Netflix special.



“I&#8217;ve always tried to fuse the world of the very mainstream and sacred world of classical music with the mainstream world of pop,” Pitse adds. “That is also something I continuously want to do and create more access [to] so if people can see that orchestra is actually not so boring, they will want to be a part of this world.”



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Green Modern Split Screen Tutorial YouTube Thumbnail (4)

Meet Cover Star: Ofentse Pitse “MY DREAM WAS ALWAYS TO BREAK BARRIERS”

The last time Thuso Mbedu sat down with FORBES AFRICA for an interview, it was when the South African actor had made it on to the FORBES AFRICA 30 Under 30 list, class of 2018.



“A lot has happened since,” she says now, as we meet her at the offices of L’Oréal, situated north of Johannesburg in South Africa. “Because right after that, in 2019, I got the opportunity to go to the United States, I got my first show there. And then I’ve been there since 2019; working, learning, growing, wanting to experience everything and adjusting and figuring out life outside of South Africa. But also building towards that, which I’ve always wanted to achieve.”



Since her big move to the global stage, Mbedu has worked with award-winning Hollywood A-lister Viola Davis (The Woman King) and joined the cast of the animated series, Castlevania: Nocturne. Recently, the internationally-acclaimed actor was also appointed the first sub- Saharan Africa ambassador for beauty brand, L’Oréal Paris.



Looking back on her role as Winnie in the Is’thunzi TV series in 2016, which catapulted her to stardom and earned her two International Emmy Award nominations, Mbedu speaks about the beauty standards in the film and television industry.



“Growing up, one never saw oneself as beautiful – I could never have imagined that one day I would have the honor,” Mbedu says. “L’Oréal is a brand that stands for women’s empowerment, with a strong sense of diversity, sisterhood, and feminism… To find a brand that actively has gone out of their way to try forming relationships with people who look like me, and go so far as to pick an ambassador of my particular shade, means things are changing, and they’re changing for the better.”



Across the world, conversations regarding beauty standards and representation have become more prevalent in recent years. For Mbedu, part of being an ambassador for the global brand is unpacking these standards and looking forward to “being more educated” about them and as she concludes, “reminding people that regardless of who you are, regardless of where you come from; you are deserving of what the world has to offer”.

THUSO_2_LC_066-V1 11

The South African Game-Changer In Beauty

<h2 class="wp-block-heading has-text-align-center" id="h-eswatini-and-south-africa-dj-and-record-producer">eSwatini and South Africa | DJ and record producer</h2>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading has-text-align-center" id="h-spotify-monthly-listeners-1-8-million-youtube-total-average-views-33-million-views">Spotify Monthly Listeners:1.8 Million YouTube Total Average Views: 33 Million views</h3>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading has-text-align-center" id="h-social-media-net-worth-instagram-2-million-twitter-390-k-facebook-236k-tiktok-1-7-million">SOCIAL MEDIA NET WORTH Instagram: 2 Million Twitter: 390.K Facebook: 236K TikTok: 1.7 Million</h3>



Words and Curation: Chanel Retief|Art Director: Lucy Nkosi | Photography: Katlego Mokubyane Photography Assistant: Sbusiso Sigidi Studio: NewKatz Studio, Johannesburg| Videographer: @astro.vn | CNBC Africa Videographer: Thabo Mathebula| Video Editor: Chanel Retief| Styling: Bontlefeela Mogoye and Wanda Baloyi | Outfits supplied by: Kworks Design; Imprint South Africa; House of Suitability; LSJ Designs| Hair &amp; Makeup: Makole Made



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“What do I do to make sure I stay relevant? I’ve been granted this beautiful blessing. How do I make it the rest of my life?”
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ZWANE, ALSO known as Uncle Waffles, is a true depiction of Generation Z, the demographic cohort shaped by the digital age and shifting financial landscape. Speaking to FORBES AFRICA about her trending accomplishments, Zwane says becoming an artist was not her initial plan. Destiny ordained it. And how.



“During the Covid-19 lockdown, I was working for a broadcasting company. I was doing small interviews with creatives here and there,” Zwane says. “And then one day I interviewed a DJ.” Zwane asked the DJ if she too could learn the art.



“It went from just a conversation to a couple of sessions, to eight hours a day for nine months, to falling in love with something I didn&#8217;t think I could love. I took a risk; I put out a small post I edited on Picsart, [and here I am].”



Through the star power of social media, the eSwatini- born DJ was able to reach millions of viewers and that kick-started her career. Raised by a single mother who believed she could be whatever she wanted to be, gave her the added confidence.



Indeed, it is risky business becoming an artist.



“She encouraged me to just go for it,” Zwane says. “As much as she was always like ‘do it but have a backup plan’, she always believed that because I am creatively inclined, I should just go for it. So when I was packing my bags and going to find gigs, she always believed in me.&#8221;



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Following the release of her debut single Tanzania, which reportedly took three months to perfect, Zwane’s creation was ranked by Rolling Stone magazine as the eighth best Afropop song of 2022, with critics describing her as “a global ambassador for Amapiano”. From across the world, she has received praise from award-winning A-list artists such as Beyoncé, Ciara and Drake, who have described her as a “top DJ [with] top sound”, giving further impetus to her fame.



“There is this really cool DJ out right now, her name is Uncle Waffles,” American singer, actor, and television personality Kelly Rowland reportedly said in May.



. “&#8230;She is so cool. She just played at Coachella, but I have known about this girl for at least about a year now.”



However, as successful as she has been, it has not been without roadblocks.



Still young and entering the industry the way she did, staying relevant is crucial to Zwane.



“Being thrown into the industry, I had to learn while running. Because the typical stories [are] that you blow up, and then it falls away, you kind of disappear into the mix. So for me, I&#8217;ve blown up, [but] what do I do to make sure I stay relevant? I&#8217;ve been granted this beautiful blessing. How do I make it the rest of my life?”



For artists, it is not only about the music anymore. The stance taken by many entering the sector is that it&#8217;s also about positioning yourself as a brand. Beyoncé had athleisure brand Ivy Park, which was in collaboration with Adidas on several collections.



American rapper and singer-songwriter Travis Scott launched not only a burger with McDonald’s but also a sneaker with Nike.



Luckily for Zwane, it’s no different as she has gained several endorsement deals in this short span with some of the biggest brands in the business, including South African multinational mobile telecommunications company MTN, and supplements brand, Slow- Mag. Recently, the talk of the town in South Africa has been her collaboration with one of the world’s most popular fast-food brands, KFC.



In September, Zwane launched a new campaign for the brand featuring a food item in her name, the Uncle Waffles Burger. Despite mixed reviews, the significance of this “one-of-a-kind” burger was highlighted by KFC as showcasing “her journey in music and life at a time when her international success is gaining momentum”.



“This is why we chose to create a campaign that shared real-life locations that have contributed to Uncle Waffle&#8217;s success,” Hloni Mohope, Marketing Director at KFC Africa tells FORBES AFRICA. “Social posts dropped clues daily so fans could physically discover and unlock the beautifully-designed custom QR code artworks at each location. This allowed them to tangibly experience and follow Uncle Waffles&#8217; meteoric rise. This story-telling aspect has really resonated with fans and helped us spread the beauty of Amapiano and celebrate Uncle Waffles. We are so proud to have partnered with such a force. This campaign has seen two giants with great taste create magic and bring it [to] the people!”



&#8220;I want to become a holistic brand who dabbles in everything,” Zwane attests.



Part of this challenge – and something she has enjoyed doing – is the art of storytelling. Although there are those who downplay her DJing, especially as she is dancing, Zwane’s belief has always been to change the narrative.



“What you realize is that internationally, they don&#8217;t understand the music,” says the ‘Princess of Amapiano’ (as dubbed by Billboard). “But they can only understand it through you. You&#8217;re the one that tells the story. So they watch you, they understand that you&#8217;ve told the story, and you&#8217;ve gained a huge audience of people by doing so.”



Jocelyne Muhutu-Remy, Spotify’s sub-Saharan Africa Managing Director, wrote in August that in her opinion, young African artists are taking over the global stage and contributing to the growth of the African market, which could even rival markets like Korean pop (k-pop) in the international arena.



“This young population continues to grow rapidly while African talent across both spheres of music and sports is booming in abundance. This is demonstrated by the rise in popularity



and proliferation of African genres like Amapiano and Afrobeats internationally,” Muhutu-Remy wrote.



It’s Zwane’s time, from performances at the prestigious Coachella and the Met Gala (“fashion’s biggest night out”) after- party in May, attended by some of the world&#8217;s biggest names in the entertainment and music business, to having a BBC RADIO 1 Residency, Zwane wants to see more young women take center stage but hopes that they don’t feel the imminent pressure to always be viral or trending.



Her advice: “Your success can come at a rate that&#8217;s perfectly fine to you. The idea that you blow up and your life changes tomorrow is not as easy. You can literally be me with just a little more time.



But maybe you could even do better than me because you had more time. You have got to figure out who exactly you want to be.”



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Meet Cover Star: Lungelihle Zwane (Uncle Waffles)-“I WANT TO BECOME A HOLISTIC BRAND”

The new domestic soccer season gets underway in August and the Mamelodi Sundowns dynasty lives on. Can anyone break their stranglehold on the South African domestic league title? We speak to some of the top coaches.



Mamelodi Sundowns won an unprecedented sixth South African DStv Premiership title in a row in the 2022/23 season as their dominance of the domestic league continues in relentless fashion.



It is not just the fact they have lifted the trophy, but the manner of the victories has been so emphatic that the last three seasons in particular have been a one-horse race from the off.



They finished 13 points clear in 2020/21, and 16 points in front of second place in each of the last two seasons. The remainder of the league simply could not keep up with them.



Looking to the new campaign that starts in August, the question 



now is whether anyone can rise from the chasing pace and dethrone The Brazilians.



The most likely pretenders to the throne are Orlando Pirates, a giant of the local game who last lifted the league trophy in 2011/12 but went toe-to-toe with Sundowns in the second half of last season after a sticky start.



Pirates picked up 35 points in their final 15 games and Sundowns 33, as The Buccaneers’ Spanish coach José Riveiro got to grips with the DStv Premiership and the players at his disposal in his first year in charge.



If they can keep up that level through the 30 games of this coming season, they will have an excellent chance of being crowned champions.



“We have a fantastic group [of players] and resources,” Riveiro tells FORBES AFRICA.



“Emotionally, it’s been a tough fi rst season. It is not easy to do what you love in a different country. For me to be here, the learning process was dificult and things were not easy from the start.



“If we do the same things [next season], we are going to get less [success], so we have to do different things to improve.”



One factor that may hold the Pirates back in the coming campaign is that they will have the considerable distraction of the CAF Champions League.



The same is true for Sundowns, but at this stage the latter perhaps have a squad with more depth that makes them better equipped to juggle domestic and continental matters. Riveiro is confident his side can make an impact in both though.



“We are going into Africa to dream that we have the potential to go all the way. I’m a very optimistic person, so I have the intention to win it.



“We know we will fi nd dificult trips, difficult opponents and dificulties from the referees, but Mamelodi Sundowns did a fantastic job in the competition [last season] and showed that it’s possible for South African teams to compete.”



It will mean bolstering his squad, and just who they manage to sign will be key.



“There’s going to be players coming and going like every season. I hope not too many because it is important to have continuity to build on the things we have done already.”



As for who else could rival Sundowns, the pickings are slim. Kaizer Chiefs continue to falter and went backward in the last campaign, while SuperSport United overachieved but are in a constant cycle of having to sell their best players to balance the books. This transfer window looks no different.



“They’ve set the bar so high, I don’t think anybody is going to catch them in the next few years,” SuperSport United coach Gavin Hunt says, adding other teams simply cannot match Sundowns in the transfer market. 



“Give us the fi ve to six players from Sundowns and we will show you where we can go,” he says ruefully. “We have a salary cap here, that is how we operate. That’s unfortunate, but we will have to find new players, try to build a team that is competitive and try to close the gap.”



Former Chiefs head coach Arthur Zwane, who has since been replaced in the hotseat by Molefi Ntseki but remains an assistant with the team, also doesn’t see Sundowns dropping their level anytime soon, so it is up to the rest of the league to find a way to close that gap. 



“I think it is a challenge for everyone to take our game to another level. For us, we are a work in progress and we are getting better and better,” Zwane said. “It boils down to a lot of things: chemistry, preparation and having a long-term plan. We still have a long way to go. I wouldn’t talk about other teams because I don’t know what their plan is.



But as for us, we are on that journey of trying to revive the glory days.”



For anyone else hoping to win the DStv Premiership this coming season, the only thing that will get them over the line is consistency in performance, because relying on Sundowns to falter looks a pipe dream.

sundowns

Mamelodi Sundowns’ Dominance Of The South African Domestic League Title

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From Madiba To The Pan-Africanist: Playing His Part For The Continent

Entrepreneurship is a risky game. Ask these women who have had to create their own rules and lead with hustle and heart. They entered the game at different times but have one thing in common – their focus on the finish line. They are in it to win it, come what may. A Women’s Month special.



It has been 67 years since the trailblazing Women’s March in South Africa. The country will never forget the fire and fortitude of the 20,000 women of all races, classes and creed who on August 9, 1956, marched up the steps of the Union Buildings, the seat of the apartheid government in capital city Pretoria, to deliver a petition to then Prime Minister J.G Strijdom against the introduction of pass laws. The march was led by struggle stalwarts Lilian Ngoyi, Helen Joseph, Albertina Sisulu, Sophia Williams-De Bruyn and Rahima Moosa.



In the annals of history, iconic events have always further defined the women’s liberation movement, and Covid-19 was no less a landmark in reaffirming the resilience of the female workforce, in both Africa Inc. and across the entrepreneurial ecosystem. 



The pandemic saw resourceful survivalist entrepreneurs emerge in Africa and champion their cause with talent and tenacity. According to the 2022 Mastercard Index of Women Entrepreneurs, female entrepreneurs in South Africa are making progress, with a strong will and determination to make sure their businesses survive. In South Africa, women account for just 19.4% of business owners but there have been important gains in recent years in terms of entrepreneurial traction.



But even as business booms, we must contend with the dismal numbers on the ground. According to the World Bank, women represent a majority of the poor in most regions of Africa and the gap may widen further. According to recent analysis by the United Nations, an estimated 121 women per 100 men will be living in extreme poverty by 2030 (living on $1.90 a day or less).



Lizz Welch, the CEO of International Development Enterprises (iDE), says investing heavily in female entrepreneurs is the key to alleviating poverty. “From my point of view, women entrepreneurs invest more heavily in hiring women… helping with gender parity, and also, often, they have a much more successful business model, they’re more profitable, and [put] more investments back into the community. 



So when women lead and women-owned businesses really take off, you see a much bigger multiplier effect that occurs within the community.” The iDE has spent $137 million in the past five years powering entrepreneurs to end poverty across the developing world. In an article written by Stephanie McKinney, CEO and Founder of River VC (a venture capital firm dedicated to investing in women entrepreneurs), she says female-led businesses or startups tend to struggle to find funding. 



Studies show that male and female entrepreneurs are often evaluated differently by investors, the latter more likely to be perceived as “risky” investments. This bias can derail female- led businesses to secure the funding they need to grow and scale. But they continue to be undaunted, as this small cross-section of female change- makers on these pages illustrate.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading has-text-align-center" id="h-luyanda-lwandle-duma-founder-alchemy-lab-dumisa-kamvenya-and-shop-she-who-dreams">Luyanda Lwandle Duma Founder, Alchemy Lab, Dumisa KaMvenya and Shop She Who Dreams</h3>


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Duma runs not one but three businesses –Alchemy Lab Talent Management, which is focused on identifying and crafting authentic brands; Dumisa KaMvenya, which provides human capital solutions to small and medium enterprises; and Shop She Who Dreams, which retails personal organizational stationery and productivity resources. We ask:



What inspired your businesses?



My father has always been an entrepreneur and growing up in a family of entrepreneurs, I was introduced to it, especially as a sustainable profession.



What were some of the challenges you experienced?



The beauty of entrepreneurship is that no one day is the same. Not all deals pull through but with every step of the journey, there is also a hidden lesson that makes you better and teaches what you need for the next level. Finding a business model that works has been the most challenging for me, but also cash flow for certain projects, and then, finding capital.



South Africa is one of only 12 economies where women’s entrepreneurial activity rates increased, with 11.1% of working-age women engaged in early-stage entrepreneurial activities. What would you want female entrepreneurship to look like in South Africa? 



As South Africa strives to foster economic growth and equality, it is essential to envision a future where female entrepreneurship flourishes. Building on the progress made thus far, the future of female entrepreneurship in South Africa should be characterized by inclusivity, equal opportunities, and supportive ecosystems. This vision not only benefits women but also contributes to the overall economic advancement and social wellbeing of the nation. We envision a South Africa where female entrepreneurs have equal access to capital. Financial institutions, government agencies, and private investors must actively support female-led ventures by providing tailored financial solutions, grants, and low-interest loans. Additionally, initiatives to bridge the gender financing gap and educate women about funding options should be prioritized, empowering them to scale their businesses.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading has-text-align-center" id="h-olwethu-mhlana-founder-afristem">Olwethu Mhlana Founder, AfriSTEM</h3>


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As the technology industry continues to rapidly grow, there are still billions of people around the world, particularly women, without access to that technology.



This is what motivated Mhlana to start her business.



“As the daughter of activist parents who spent their lives fighting for freedom and equality, I have always been driven by the need to create spaces where inclusion and democratization were the mission and not a by-product,” she says.



Having been part of startups that have built and taught coding and robotics, the disparity that Mhlana saw in the types of communities that benefited from that education drove her vision.



“This is how AfriSTEM began as a way to provide STEM education to underserved communities.”



Mhlana hopes the tech space can be reimagined by providing opportunities for more people, and also encourage them to pioneer innovative solutions that would advance their communities and South Africa at large.



According to a report by Mordor Intelligence, the South African ICT Market is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 9.3% for the forecast period. “South Africa is one of Africa&#8217;s biggest marketplaces for information and communications technology (ICT). It demonstrates technological leadership in the areas of mobile software, security software, and online banking services,” the report reads.



Mhlana wants to see more inclusion, especially for women in the tech space.



“We need to transform and completely reimagine the foundation of what inclusion looks like. We need to take into account that marginalized groups have even less access to business opportunities, and then we can start to discuss how to break down the exclusionary nature of entrepreneurship.”



For her, this could also be the solution to getting more investments into female businesses but the change needs to start from the top.



“I want to see more women in policy-maker roles, more women handling funding portfolios, more women teaching business skills, and more women creating their own tables. Men are often at the helm of all these roles, and the more women are at the helm, the more women will be encouraged to leap into entrepreneurship.”



<h3 class="wp-block-heading has-text-align-center">Tania Theron Co-founder and Head of Wealth, GraySwan</h3>


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According to a report by Investment Week, asset management and investment teams are still dominated by men. Overall, the study found the average investment team&#8217;s gender split is 78% male and 22% female. Part of that small percentage is Theron, who, with her husband, started a boutique wealth management firm in 2010. As Head of Wealth, her role is to oversee client portfolios and build a lasting relationship with them, at the same time ensuring all transactions are executed effortlessly.



How did you start your business?



Before starting our business, my husband and I had worked in the investment industry. Our 12 years of constructing purpose-led long-term investment solutions stem from the story of a family that, being passionate about investments, decided to not only live well, but also help others implement and manage long-term investment strategies.



What were some of the highlights and challenges you experienced as a female entrepreneur?



The finance and investments industry is male-dominated and it has taken a while to build my reputation but I was fortunate enough to have been surrounded by supportive family and friends. I recall when I matriculated, I [enrolled for] a physiotherapy degree. Two weeks in, I realized I had made the wrong decision. Perhaps it was that a part of me had doubted whether I could succeed in this industry as a female. I later attended RAU (now the University of Johannesburg), where I met a professor who took me through a few career [options]. Having always enjoyed maths and accounting, I was intrigued when he told me I should become a chartered accountant. Since choosing this path, I have never once looked back.



What would you want female entrepreneurship to look like in South Africa?



The future really holds great promise for women entrepreneurs in our country. As a society, we have become more aware of the untapped potential and value that women bring to the business landscape, so I anticipate a significant shift towards a more inclusive and supportive environment. In the coming years, I hope to see more representation of women in entrepreneurship across various sectors. There should be greater access to funding opportunities specifically targeted towards women-owned businesses, enabling them to scale and thrive. 



What do you think needs to happen to get more investors interested in female businesses and startups?



To achieve this, one would have to change the current perspectives of female-led businesses and startups. The reality is there are already quite a few female businesses that have secured investments; these are the women who should be providing mentorship, training and networking opportunities specifically for women entrepreneurs, which can help enhance their skills and confidence. We need to stand together and support each other as much as we can. Because if we don’t believe in each other, we can’t expect others to believe in us and change the way they think.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading has-text-align-center" id="h-sinovuyo-mondliwa-founder-lovekinks">Sinovuyo Mondliwa Founder, LoveKinks</h3>


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This story started with five sisters who bonded doing each other’s hair.



“This made me appreciate how much a woman&#8217;s hair is tied to her innate identity,” Mondliwa says of her childhood. “My haircare business was inspired by wanting to help my audience care for their hair in the most simple, practical, and accessible way possible.”



She started her business on Instagram showing her audience it is possible for “natural hair to look fashionable, professional, and socially acceptable”.



Studies have shown how using platforms like Instagram can help business. According to EmbedSocial, there are over 200,000 million businesses that use the app for this purpose.



“This allowed my audience to add natural hair to their hairstyle options,” Mondliwa explains. She also turned to YouTube. “My YouTube was more helpful via tutorials. Then, my audience had another challenge; YouTube tutorials could only take them so far – most people do not have the time or desire to go through the whole upskilling process. So that was how LoveKinks was born.”



It’s a haircare business that offers accessories and products focused on improving the relationship women have with their tresses and ultimately themselves.



“A highlight [for me] has been seeing something that was a thought come to life and grow [from a turnover of] R1 million to R5 million ($55,000-$275,000).”



[Pullquote]: What would you want female entrepreneurship to look like in South Africa? “I would like females in business to speak to each other more and not compete so that information can be shared. Through collaborations, we can find possible economies of scale… There is so much room for information-sharing that would help grow our businesses.”

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Women’s Month Special: Survivors And Thrivers In South Africa

A week before the 2023 French Open, South African tennis ace and paralympian Kgothatso Montjane said on radio that she wanted to top her achievements with a Grand Slam win “to validate everything”.



“And then I went out to win the Grand Slam, it was just unbelievable!” she says now, back in South Africa at the end of June as a Roland Garros women&#8217;s wheelchair doubles champion with Yui Kamiji from Japan as the two clinched an impressive 6-2, 6-3 victory over Diede de Groot and Maria Moreno.



Speaking to FORBES AFRICA soon after her win, she reminisces that this was not the career she had originally envisioned for herself.



“I picked up a racket at the age of 19 for the first time,” says the 37-year-old. “At school, I was playing quite a lot of sport. So I think that&#8217;s the reason why [with] tennis, they came directly to me. They were like ‘you’ve got to go try this’. So I was somehow forced into it.”



The Limpopo-born tennis player remembers going to university not sure about wanting to continue the sport.



“At school, I felt like I was good at table tennis. So for me, that&#8217;s what I was looking forward to playing when I got to university, but it wasn&#8217;t there. Even wheelchair basketball, I think I would have settled for, but tennis, it was foreign to me. I have never seen it anywhere. And I just never understood this whole thing of them wanting me to play the sport.”



A few years later, she was approached to play professionally, which came with the opportunity to travel the world. At first, it seemed an attractive proposition but it was not without its challenges, especially when she had to start securing her own sponsorships.



“It was glamorous at the beginning, because there was someone taking care of everything,” Montjane explains. “We didn&#8217;t have to worry, we just had to pack our bags and go to the airport. I didn&#8217;t know the financial implications that were involved, the admin and the entering of tournaments.”



This meant that she had to learn to be business-savvy. So the young sportswoman set off to learn to draft proposals and approach sponsors across the board.



All of this is what led to Montjane’s illustrious career including being named ‘South Africa&#8217;s disabled sportswoman of the year’ three times (2005, 2011 and 2015), holding 29 singles titles and winning wheelchair tennis tournaments such as the Belgian Open and Swiss Open.



Montjane also made history as the first South African woman to win at Roland Garros since Tanya Harford’s and Rosalyn Fairbank&#8217;s victory in 1981.



“I still can&#8217;t believe it happened. When someone says ‘Grand Slam champion’, I am like ‘Nah, you are not talking to me’. It&#8217;s still to sink in,” she says. “I just want people to know that disability doesn&#8217;t mean inability. It&#8217;s just a condition that limits you in a certain way… At the end of the day, we people with disabilities – we are human, we are capable, we are talented.”

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‘Disability Does Not Mean Inability’: South Africa’s Wheelchair Tennis Champ

After a long and stressful but successful debut at Paris Fashion Week and becoming one of the few designers from Africa to do so, Aryea Kolubah is holidaying in Jamaica when she sits down for this Zoom interview with FORBES AFRICA.



Her eccentric and bold designs wowed the fashion stage in March, and you can tell that her “vibe” is inspired by her West African roots, which translates to bright ethnic prints and vibrant colors to create sartorial statements for the fearless and confident woman.



This is all done with very some specific messaging.



“I’m such a connoisseur of art but also I am such a connoisseur of the continent, and I take that show with me everywhere,” Kolubah says. “…Being from Africa, [there’s so much art that’s being stolen]… but yet still, we are fighting to find our place in the art and entertainment space. And I’m just so fortunate that I am at a pivotal time in my life where I can contribute to society’s demands.”



Although this was her debut on the Paris stage, this is not her first time taking the fashion industry by storm. Kolubah’s designs have already graced international platforms, including New York Fashion Week, Miami Swim week, San Francisco Fashion Week, Louisville Fashion Nite-Out, and Runway Liberia International.



Born in Liberia, but raised in the United States from 2005, Kolubah was influenced by her father, who instilled in her a thirst for knowledge, creative expression, a strong work ethic, and a determination to pursue her dreams.



“When I told my father that I wanted to be a designer, he was like ‘but you could be a doctor, you could be a lawyer, all of these things’. But when I told him I love art he got me my very first sewing machine.”



Unfortunately, Kolubah’s father was not able to see her first foray in global fashion as not long after she received her sewing machine, her father died in a tragic fire accident she says could have also taken her life. But she survived.



“My father passed away [because of] the fire in my apartment, [where we both were, but] by the grace of God, I’m here today… Fashion has to be in the therapeutic part of my life.



“The craft does come with ups and downs but I’ve always dreamed that this particular gift of mine would take me places,” Kolubah says. “Being African, and just being invited to that type of prestigious event like Paris to showcase my art…And just beyond that, the way in which the audience accepted it and everything else that has followed since… it’s a dream come true.”



She is grateful indeed.



“I represent a million Africans because there’s so much created from the continent and [people] who haven’t had the chance. But now that I do have the chance, if I were to give somebody advice, I would say just ‘go for it’!”

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From Liberia To The World: ‘A Connoisseur Of The Continent’

There are 600 million smallholder farmers around the world working on less than two hectares of land. These farmers are estimated to produce 28%-31% of total crop production and 30%-34% of food supply on 24% of gross agricultural area.



The most-funded sector on the continent, according to TechCrunch, is fintech. Unfortunately, reports, experts and our profiles tell us a story of how difficult it is to source venture capital funding on the continent for agriculture.



“The answer to that is quite straightforward,” says Dr Mandla Mpofu, the Managing Director of Omnia’s Agriculture Division. “It’s the risk of the business.” 



The pressure on Africa’s food supply will require substantial investment to guarantee food security, as Africa remains the only region yet to experience a Green Revolution. Most of this will come from private investment.



Venture capital firm AgFunder attested that African farming stands out for drawing in a low volume of venture capital investment.



At the moment, the continent is experiencing the fastest rate of population growth in the world.



Consequently, food demand is growing rapidly as well.



However, as the continent with the youngest population in the world, the 2022 Africa AgriFoodTech Investment Report says it attracted less than 1% of all venture capital spending onagriculture—just $482 million compared to the nearly $52 billion raised globally.



The figure for the entire continent is about the same as the public sector agricultural research budget of Nigeria or South Africa. Far too many potential food and agriculture investors still overlook opportunities in Africa.



“There are more and more funding opportunities coming up,” says Bosire, who bootstrapped his business. “But what I really think we need to focus on at the moment is look into Africa as a place of opportunity for investment.



Because agritech in other developed markets is really receiving a lot of funding but it&#8217;s not the case in Africa. So, I believe that with more sensitization of global investors to see Africa as an opportunity to also invest in agritech is really going to help us.”



Investment volumes were negligible just a decade ago, according to reports, but thankfully have grown as investments more than doubled from 2020 to 2021.



They seem set to nearly double again.



“Investing in 2022 got off to a roaring start, with startups raising roughly $400 million in the first half of the year—more than 80% of what was raised in all of 2021,” the AgriFoodTech Investment Report reads.



While 40% of the agricultural workforce (some 440 million workers) is in waged employment; the other 60% are self-employed as farmers, mainly as small scale farmers (Fyfe 2002). 



But why is the uptake slow?



“You have heard the jokes such as if you&#8217;re going to get broke very fast, you either start a farm or buy an airline,” Mpofu laughs. “And everything&#8217;s going to go south. But that&#8217;s exactly why you need more predictive tools in the business, which is why you would need agtech so that you&#8217;re bankable in the industry.”



But there are also reports that interest in funding African farming by venture capital groups spiked last year and is on track to continue expanding aggressively this year.



“I almost feel like this agtech space was made for agriculture,” Dr Agnes Kalibata says. “I was looking at how much money has been invested in this space. About two to three years ago, this was about a $17 billion industry, you know, and growing very fast. Now, actually it is projected that by 2025 to be a trillion dollar industry… There is no reason why most of it should not becoming to Africa.”

Shot of an unrecognisable woman using a digital tablet while working on a farm

Money Does Not Grow On Trees: African Farming Draws Low Volume Of Venture Capital Investments

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AFRICA’S GREEN ECONOMY: Africa’s Agripreneurs Leading Smart Sustainable Farming

<h4 class="wp-block-heading has-text-align-center" id="h-desmond-koneyco-founder-and-ceo-complete-farmerghana">Desmond Koney Co-Founder and CEO, Complete Farmer Ghana</h4>



There is no manual or playbook to tell you how to run a farm or even scale a business, as this agripreneur will tell you.



“I think a lot of times, especially for solving problems in Africa, you always underestimate then infrastructure gap that your solution needs to get to market,” Desmond Koney says to us from his home in busy, bustling Lagos.



Complete Farmer was built connecting three integral parts of agriculture; buyer, grower and vendor, connecting farmers to global food buyers and growing with them to provide a competitive edge across the supply chain. 



“I asked myself ‘how can we start looking at farming differently’?”



Koney went to the drawing board not as a farmer but as a qualified engineer who wanted to bring more success to the sector on the continent.



“I started thinking of the problem from an engineering perspective. Like, how would I have done this, if I were designing a factory or if I were using my production engineering skills to approach the problem of farming in Africa?”



According to Koney, the reasons why African farmers struggle to scale and sometimes ultimately fail are because the continent has supply chain as well as capital issues.



The AfCFTA: A New Era for Global Business and Investment in Africa report by the African Continental Free Trade Area reiterates that already the pressure on Africa’s food supply will require substantial investment in order to guarantee food security, as the continent remains the only region yet to experience a Green Revolution.



“So Complete Farmer really started with the question of how do we improve and digitize the African agriculture value chain,” Koney says.



“We did not have a clear path…I wanted to build but first we really had to figure out what the solution really is. And we spent close to five years refining the model to where we are today.”



Complete Farmer is an end-to-end digital agriculture platform that provides industries with an easy way to cheaply source quality farm produce and it offers individuals anywhere in the world a convenient way to own a farm by eliminating the middlemen and farm produce aggregators. The marketplace platform allows global industries to build the supply chain and solve their agricultural needs directly, these are then exclusively brought by African farmers.



“We&#8217;ve seen that data about what the potential for agriculture is in Africa,” Koney adds. “And then we&#8217;ve also seen that data for how food insecurity is increasing, especially with what&#8217;s going on in Europe. And given that we are talking about food, which is really something basic for human survival, this is what makes this industry full of opportunity.”

CF Des

Africa’s Green Economy: This CEO’s Advice On Digitizing The African Agriculture Value Chain

<h3 class="wp-block-heading has-text-align-center" id="h-spencer-hornefounder-and-ceo-cloudlinesouth-africa">Spencer Horne Founder and CEO, Cloudline South Africa</h3>



Savoring the mild nippy weather in New York City, a far cry from South Africa’s autumn sun, Spencer Horne seems to have come full circle.



The Spencer Horne who was born in the small community of Kales River, Cape Town.



The Spencer Horne who, from an early age, developed “an obsession” for engineering fueled by his love for trains.



The Spencer Horne who grew up as a dreamer and has always been keenly aware of this rhetoric of structure versus agency; what determines outcomes for individuals or communities?



The Spencer Horne who is in New York, a long way from home, ready to answer this question with regard to his business, Cloudline.



This should be a full circle moment for him, but it is not.



“It doesn&#8217;t seem like it because I feel like the work is only just beginning,” Horne chuckles in a Zoom interview with FORBES AFRICA.



Using battery- and solar-powered propulsion to deliver carbon emission-free flight operations, Cloudline is an aerospace company building a network of autonomous airships that delivers goods and services across the globe. According to Horne, air is an “underutilized resource”. Getting anything into the air in general is difficult as also expensive. “[For conventional aircraft], putting those aircraft in the air comes at a high capital cost and keeping them there comes at a very high energy cost,” Horne elaborates. &#8220;That&#8217;s expensive in monetary terms; it&#8217;s expensive in carbon terms. And we are at the heart of the technology that we&#8217;ve developed to address those two major barriers to more widespread use of the air for getting things done.”



When Cloudline started out, they identified the infrastructural gaps that exist within African regions and saw a massive opportunity.



This is the key role that Horne plays in the agricultural space. Although he does not constitute Cloudline exclusively as an agritech, their business contributes significantly to farmers.



“I think in the agricultural sector, in particular, we&#8217;ve seen the role data has played in transforming the way in which precision agriculture is being done.”


<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="aligncenter size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="665" src="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/DSC02238-1-1024x665.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-58472" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/DSC02238-1-1024x665.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/DSC02238-1-300x195.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/DSC02238-1-768x499.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/DSC02238-1-1536x998.jpg 1536w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/DSC02238-1-2048x1330.jpg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">&nbsp;Horne with Mbali Gushu, chief operating officer, and Anton Erasmus, chief engineer.&nbsp;</figcaption></figure></div>


Precision agriculture is a part of the larger conversation around the green revolution. According to experts, this way of farming uses data from multiple sources to improve cultivation for farmers, whether it is used for crop yields and/or to increase the cost-effectiveness of crop management strategies including fertilizer inputs, irrigation management, and pesticide application.



Afgri, a South African agricultural services company, thinks of this type of farming as “site-specific and information-specific”. 



“If you think about Cloudline in the context of the way in which data is gathered today, that&#8217;s against the backdrop of satellites…so this is one of the big places where Cloudline plays a role in that agricultural revolution. And to tie it in with more mainstream applicability, and lowering costs, we can think about the ways in which that grows these markets. From just the top-tier largest commercial farms, it makes it more accessible to more people. That is the kind of thing that makes both business sense and development sense.”



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Improving yield, efficiency and profitability in agriculture comes down to the harvesting of technology. At its forefront are the agritech innovators bringing transformative change to the continent’s green economy. FORBES AFRICA profiles some of Africa’s biggest agripreneurs, inventors, and agribusiness leaders changing the way we think about farming, food security and climate resilience. They have cultivated a passion for smart agriculture and are leading the charge for social change not only for the sector but for the continent – and for humanity’s sustainable future.



<a href="https://shop.forbesafrica.com/shop/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read about all the innovators in our June/July issue by getting your digital copy </a>


<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="aligncenter size-large is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/twitter-banner-agri-1024x341.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-58451" width="592" height="196" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/twitter-banner-agri-1024x341.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/twitter-banner-agri-300x100.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/twitter-banner-agri-768x256.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/twitter-banner-agri-1536x512.jpg 1536w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/twitter-banner-agri-2048x683.jpg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 592px) 100vw, 592px" /></figure></div>

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Africa’s Green Economy: ‘AIR IS AN UNDERUTILIZED RESOURCE’

<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-top-line">Top Line</h2>



Buckingham Palace in the United Kingdom (UK) has yet again reportedly declined a request to return the remains of an Ethiopian prince, Prince Dejatch Alemayehu, who came to be buried at Windsor Castle in the 19th Century. The re-emergence of this subject has caused a furore on social media with users calling the refusal “revolting”.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Key Facts</h2>



The descendants of Prince Alemayehu have made it abundantly clear that “it was not right” for him to be buried in another country other than his own.



&#8220;We want his remains back as a family and as Ethiopians because that is not the country he was born in,&#8221; one of the royal descendants, Fasil Minas, told the BBC.



However, a Buckingham Palace spokesperson has stated that removing his remains could affect others buried in the catacombs of St George’s Chapel in Windsor Castle.



“It is very unlikely that it would be possible to exhume the remains without disturbing the resting place of a substantial number of others in the vicinity,” the palace said, according to the BBC.



Social media users are up in arms by this decision with many calling for Buckingham Palace to not only return the remains of Alemayehu but other priceless artifacts that “do not belong to them”.



“It’s revolting how the monarchy won’t return the remains of Prince Alemayehu who they kidnapped from Ethiopia. So many of the world’s priceless artifacts were stolen by them and The British Museum, and should be returned.” 



<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">It’s revolting how the monarchy won’t return the remains of Prince Alemayehu who they kidnapped from Ethiopia. So many of the world’s priceless artifacts were stolen by them and The British Museum, and should be returned. <a href="https://t.co/SAJLJTlzMz">pic.twitter.com/SAJLJTlzMz</a>&mdash; Merone (@Merone) <a href="https://twitter.com/Merone/status/1661077095793999872?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 23, 2023</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
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“The idea that the British royals are somehow entitled to the body of Prince Alemayehu, even in death, is nothing short of grotesque. But it’s not unrelated to the fact that the young man was taken to England with a huge hoard of artifacts.” 



<figure class="wp-block-embed aligncenter is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">The idea that the British royals are somehow entitled to the body of Prince Alemayehu, even in death, is nothing short of grotesque. But it’s not unrelated to the fact that the young man was taken to England with a huge hoard of artifacts. <a href="https://t.co/b5od93LE9C">pic.twitter.com/b5od93LE9C</a>&mdash; Aparna Nair (@DisabilityStor1) <a href="https://twitter.com/DisabilityStor1/status/1660982626612641792?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 23, 2023</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
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<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">Return Prince Alemayehu to his home, he was captured in war&#8230;.British Royal family truly is savage and barbaric to deny this child peace in his death&#8230;.Shame on you King Charles and Buckingham Palace, treating a human being as looted treasure and denying him dignity in death <a href="https://t.co/vlrK3M5Ujb">pic.twitter.com/vlrK3M5Ujb</a>&mdash; Renee (@Aditiya_renee) <a href="https://twitter.com/Aditiya_renee/status/1660702214816448525?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 22, 2023</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
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<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">How colonizers colonize&#8230;.If the price of righting this wrong is to &quot;disturb&quot; Windsor burial sites, that&#39;s what consequences mean for a stealing a life, and a body. &quot;British royals refuse to return the remains of &#39;stolen&#39; teenage prince&quot; <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/PrinceAlemayehu?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#PrinceAlemayehu</a> <a href="https://t.co/5hp9dt6jci">https://t.co/5hp9dt6jci</a>&mdash; karla fc holloway (@ProfHolloway) <a href="https://twitter.com/ProfHolloway/status/1661021336087715845?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 23, 2023</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
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The history of the prince’s story is well documented in both Ethiopia as well as in British society. At just seven years old, Prince Alemayehu was taken to the UK by British army officer Captain Tristram Speedy. As the son of one of the most prominent rulers in Ethiopian history, Emperor Tewodros II; Tewodros committed suicide as the British troops stormed the citadel of Magdala.



In 1868, British soldiers “looted” Tewodros’ imperial fortress after the battle, plundering thousands of cultural and religious artifacts such gold crowns, manuscripts, necklaces and dresses.



According to reports, once in the UK, Speedy presented the Prince to Queen Victoria who allegedly sympathized with the prince and agreed to support him financially. Multiple tales in history, including a diary entry by Queen Victoria, note how despite receiving a British Education, the rest of his upbringing he was miserable. Historians say that he was “deeply unhappy” during his time at



prestigious boarding schools like Rugby and Sandhurst military college as he frequently encountered racism, and that his requests to return home were ignored.



He died of pneumonia at age 18 and, at the reported request of Queen Victoria, was entombed in the catacombs in a corner of St George&#8217;s Chapel at Windsor Castle, the royal residence west of London.



This is not the first time that a request has been made to the Royal Family to return the remains of Alemayehu. According to The Guardian, the campaign to return the Prince to his home country began as early as 2006 with the late Queen Elizabeth II “rebuffing” the request. According to the Ethiopian embassy, the Lord Chamberlain replied on behalf of the Queen, saying “while Her Majesty was in favour of repatriation […] identifying the remains of young Prince Alemayehu would not be possible”. The prince’s remains had been added to a grave at St George’s Chapel with nine others.



This is a developing story: FORBES AFRICA reached out to the British Museum and Embassy of Ethiopia in London, but did not receive comment from either at the time of publication.

Author: Chanel Retief

FORBES AFRICA SOCIAL MEDIA