Celebrating Africa Day - 2021

AFRICA DAY 2021

CELEBRATING

AFRICA

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5 travel influencers worth a follow

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Ramaphosa calls for greater investment in Africa ahead of Africa Day

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3 things you should know about African cuisine

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Apple Music celebrates all things African this Africa Month

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Innovation will drive the next decade of real estate investment in Africa

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Top 10 wealthiest African countries

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What Africa needs to do to lure tourists to the continent post Covid-19

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AFI to host an exclusive fashion show on Africa Day

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Ghanaian Art Gallery Seeks To Promote Women Artists

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By Africans, For Africans: Female entrepreneur pioneers facial recognition tech

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Nigerian teen climate activists create fashion from waste to fight pollution

ANA SALES: CHARL REINEKE | CHARL.REINEKE@INL.CO.ZA

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AFRICAN TRAVEL INFLUENCERS WORTH A FOLLOW

Vuyolwethu Fundam

As we stoke the wanderlust with travel restrictions easing and the tourism sector slowly coming alive, don’t fret about your next destination or sho’t left break.

There are plenty of Instagram accounts to follow, especially if you want to explore African during Africa Month or later. A little inspiration goes a long way. As such, we have selected five of the best African travel influencers worth following on Instagram to help get you started.

The Bush-bound Family/ @thebushboundfamily Soaking in bush sounds, safari adventures, wild animals…

If that’s your thing, look no further than this KwaZulu-Natal family who enjoy going on adventures in the African jungle.

Some of the places they’ve explored: Khwai Private Reserve: A Botswana reserve covering 200 000 hectares. It provides a thrilling wildlife encounter.

Elephants, impalas, kudu, and other wild cats are among the animals you can expect to see.

Hwange National Park: This is Zimbabwe’s largest national park, with more than 100 mammal species and nearly 400 bird species, as well as a 40 000-strong population of tusker elephants.

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Tokito/ @tokitonegrito This account is one of our favourites since it introduces us to parts of Africa that rarely see much foot traffic from tourist; from beautiful beaches to springs, to the people and various cultural experiences, there is plenty to explore here.

What to see?

Wli Waterfalls: This is Ghana’s largest waterfall, as well as the tallest in West Africa. Locals call the falls Agumatsa, which means “Let Me Flow”. This is a lovely place to immerse yourself while taking a stroll.

Wikki Warm Springs: This is a beautiful natural spring with crystal blue water.

It is in Yankari National Park, one of the most popular eco destinations in West Africa. It has more than 50 species of mammals including African bush elephants, olive baboons and patas monkeys.

Muthuri Kinyamu/ @muthurikinyamu Adventures galore is what you can expect from this Kenyan adventure traveller. And he shows us a Kenya as we’ve never seen before.

Do you want that adrenalin kick?

Mt Kenya: Hike up Mt Kenya, Africa’s second-highest peak, after Kilimanjaro. Aside from its stunning glaciers, world-class flora and fauna, and spectacular views, it was listed as a Unesco World Heritage Site Stage Park (Malindi, Kenya): A fantastic adventure park with suspended bridges and zip lines in Kakuyuni. Malindi offers plenty of adventure beyond its sandy beaches. .

Uyapo Ketogetswe/ @nde_uyapo @nde_uyapo takes us throughout Africa in style. We love this aesthetically pleasing, wellcurated feed, which features mouth-watering tuck-ins and breathtaking views.

Sneak peek: Nambiti Private Game Reserve: Found in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, it has a variety of picturesque lodges to choose from, Nambiti offers amazing diversity, a private Big Five and an authentic African experience.

The Namib Desert: For complete moments of stillness, this is the ideal location. The desert has perfectly formed dunes, stunning views, and a variety of spectacular lodges to choose from for your vacation.

Wendy Watta/ @wattaonthego @wattaonthego shares beautiful shots that take us through a plethora of exquisite locations in Zanzibar, Uganda, Kenya and elsewhere.

Sneak peek: Lewa Wilderness: It is one of Kenya’s private safari experiences and has beautiful cottages. Guests can enjoy cultural excursions, daily safaris, and guided walks.

Meru National Parks/ Porini Camp pools: The Big Five are at Meru and the Porini pools are situated right in the heart of the forest. Travellers get the best of two worlds: wildlife and nature.

FUTURE DESIGN & TECH MAGAZINE

Ramaphosa calls for greater investment in Africa

Africa Day 2021

Today is Africa Day. The day that the 1 billion citizens of the continent unite and celebrate their ‘African-ness’.

Africa Day commemorates the day on which the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), the forerunner of the African Union (AU), was formed by 32 independent African countries in Ethiopia’s capital, Addis Ababa, in 1963.

Zintle Mahlati

As the continent celebrates Africa Day, it is important to highlight the economic support the continent needs to recover from the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, President Cyril Ramaphosa says.

In his weekly newsletter, Ramaphosa said the continent needed greater access to financing mechanisms like those offered by the International Monetary Fund.

He said efforts were needed to increase the drawing rights of African states, which fell far shorter than those offered to Western countries.

Ramaphosa referenced a summit held in France last week which saw African leaders attend a financing summit to find solutions for the continent.

“This would include an allocation by the IMF of what are known as Special Drawing Rights, where on the basis of membership quotas, around $33 billion (about R463bn) will be 6

released to increase the reserves of African countries.

“African leaders have, however, argued that an amount of $33 billion, while welcome, is not sufficient to meet the challenges that the continent faces. As the more developed economies are set to receive much of the $650 billion of Special Drawing Rights to be issued, we believe that 25% (which equates to $162.5 billion) should be made available to African countries.

“Other measures would include increased concessional financing by international institutions and development agencies, and additional measures led by the G20 countries to provide African countries with debt relief.”

Ramaphosa said African countries would like to help themselves and that investment in the continent’s economies was key to changing the economic and social outcomes.

He said the African Free Trade Area agreement would play a key role in boosting aid on the continent and ensure the broadening of economic activity.

“While countries have immediate financing needs, a sustainable economic recovery can only be assured if we increase levels of investment on the continent. Investing in African economies will contribute to making Africa the next champion of global growth.

“As we observe Africa Day, let us deepen our efforts to achieve a sustainable and lasting social and economic recovery for the citizens of Africa.

Ours must become a continent that is thriving and prosperous, not one from which its people are dying in an attempt to leave,” he said.

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things you should know about African cuisine

Lutho Pasiya

One thing is for certain: African food is just as diverse as its people.

From the West to the East to the North and South, some foods are so delectable that they’re worth taking a trip for.

What is African cuisine?

African cuisine is a mix of ingredients such as cereal grains, vegetables, meat products, and locally available fruits.

The traditional preparation features mostly milk, curd, and whey products in some parts of the continent. If you are looking for a food adventure, then let us try to explore more about this cuisine and find out why more people are interested to try it.

African cuisine will likely entice your palates because of its colourful presentation with mixed flavours brought about by local ingredients added to each dish.

In a study that was conducted over 20 years in 187 countries across the world, home to 89% of the world’s population, it was observed that diets from SubSaharan Africa are healthier compared to diets from other parts of the world because such cuisine contains mostly dietary fibre, with low sugar, fat, and salt.

Here are some of the things you should know about African cuisine.

It’s all about what’s grown locally In his television series Africa on a Plate, celebrity chef, Lentswe Bhengu said: “The different African cuisines are directly related to the produce grown specifically in those regions. If you go to central, East, and West Africa, they use lots of cassava, they have certain types of ingredients that only grow in that area.”

Food and travel blogger Maria Kennedy also highlights the below: Great for veggies In a lot of African cuisines, you will notice that there is significantly less meat used in dishes than is common in the Western world. This means that food is cheaper and of course healthier too. If you are a vegetarian, you won’t struggle to find something tasty wherever you go. Popular vegetables include okra, yams, black-eyed peas, and sweet potatoes as these grow in the high heat of Africa.

Starch is the base A lot of traditional African meals are centred around various starches with other ingredients added to create the dishes. Starches are usually something like porridge, grits, cornmeal, or fried bread. The tastes and flavours are then changed depending on whatever ingredients are added.

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Apple Music celebrates all thi

Mpiletso Motumi

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Exclusive guest playlists and cross-continental collaborations are the order of the month as Apple Music celebrates all things African.

The streaming platform is shining a spotlight on the new generation of African artists who are changing the narrative in the music industry, both locally and abroad.

The campaign is themed around Umoja and a message of unity and togetherness.

The campaign features an exclusive Africa Month Umoja playlist which includes some of the best cross-continental collaborations in recent memory, with music from Focalistic and Davido, Naira Marley and Busiswa, Gyakie featuring Omah Lay as well as AKA featuring Burna Boy. Africa Month will also be supported across Apple Music Radio.

Africa Now Radio with Cuppy will be hosting a special Africa Month ‘Umoja’ special on Sunday, May 30, to celebrate the first anniversary of the show and pay tribute to some of the best collaborations on the continent.

Each week on The Ebro Show, Ebro will interview a guest artist from a different region to talk about their exclusive Africa Month playlist, as well as featuring a weekly Motivation Mix from prominent DJs across the continent playing the best in Amapiano, Afrobeats and more.

Nadeska will also be featuring her Africa Rising artist of the week slot on The Nadeska Show each week during the month.

Celebrated singer Sha Sha, who embodies African collaborations, said she loved the Afrocentric nuance of the songs she has picked exclusively for the guest playlist.

“There’s a rhythm and energy about Africa that’s probably best expressed through our music. I’d like everyone else to tap into these sounds that reflect our strength and beauty as Africans.

“Africa Month symbolises what I stand for and listen to every day while relaxing, vibing or hanging out. I definitely love sharing my playlist with everyone, and Africa Month is the best time to do so because African music speaks to me. I hope this speaks to you too,” she said.

Nigerian singer Omah Lay picked his selection because they easily represent the growth of Afrobeats over the years.

“They show how diverse the genre’s sound is. I curated this playlist to display that diversity in sound and each song has its own impact story on Afrobeats.”

Tems, another Nigerian singer, said the songs on her playlist transported her to different times in her life and reminded her of how music was able to take people back to a particular place and feeling.

ings African this Africa Month

SHA SHA

South African trending star Focalistic said his playlist made him proud to be African.

“The pure and exciting creative genius from these African artists makes me proud and sure that Africa to the world is an important mission.

I can’t wait for the African Sghubu to take over the world and for the culture to influence many more generations,” he said.

Ghanaian singer Amaarae said it was the songs of yesteryear that birthed who we are today.

“This collection of songs explores the politically charged and psychedelic grooves and lyrics of the 1970s, the slick sexual innuendos and western R&B/hip hop adjacent production of mid to late 1990s high life and hip life and finally the Afrobeats explosion of the 2010s that charted a new path for African music altogether.”

She said it was these songs that made people who they are today.

“We’ve lived with them all our lives through our parents, friends and lovers. Today we celebrate the artists that made these moments possible,” she said.

These artists form part of the group of 12 artists who have made exclusive guest playlists. Other artists include Manu Worldstar (DR Congo/ SA), Nenny (Cape Verde), Calema (São Tomé and Príncipe), Zuchu (Tanzania) and Nviiri The Storyteller (Kenya), among others.

TEMS

FOCALISTIC

Reimagining Africa, together For us it’s about being a responsible citizen, supporting and growing our firm, our people, our clients and our communities.

At PwC, our purpose is to build trust in society and solve important problems.

Yes, we’re a business, but we’re also in the business of contributing to society by helping others thrive, particularly in these challenging times in which we find ourselves, on the African continent and indeed across the globe.

To find out more, visit pwc.co.za

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Innovation will drive the next decade of real estate investment in Africa

Cape Town and Johannesburg have ranked in the top five African cities for innovation. Nairobi, meanwhile, has come out at number one and has also ranked among the top 100 globally, according to Knight Frank’s Africa Horizons Report 2021/22.

The report placed Cape Town as second, Kampala third and Cairo and Johannesburg at fourth and fifth place respectively.

It also notes that the ability of African cities to emerge resilient from the pandemic will depend on their ability to: * Innovate, * Provide long-term social solutions to their residents, * Attract funding; and * Generate new demand for space.

The report also noted the rise of green buildings throughout Africa because of the pandemic and extra funding toward green. It also highlights how climate change – a major risk to real estate in Africa – will change the future of African cities.

On innovative cities, the research interrogated over 100 data points applied to 29 capital cities from a long list of over 500 cities in Africa to arrive at a unique innovation score. The three components looked at were innovation activity such as the total number of start-ups; level of innovation funding and innovation infrastructure such as the number of research institutions leading to Nairobi being the stand out performer.

The top 10 Innovative Cities in Africa were ranked as: 1. Nairobi 2. Cape Town 3. Kampala 4. Cairo 5. Johannesburg

6. Dar es Salaam 7. Lagos 8. Dakar 9. Accra 10. Addis Ababa

Tilda Mwai, Knight Frank researcher for Africa

says: “Innovation coupled with economic growth will drive the next decade of investment in Africa.

“Lower risk investors will likely favour cities with above-average innovation scores and a robust economy. These include Cairo, Egypt – the stand-out performer – and Johannesburg, South Africa. These cities have the greatest potential to remain economically resilient in the long-term despite undergoing short-term shocks.

“Cities that score higher for innovation but have less robust economies will attract those willing to take more risk, such as private equity investors.

These cities include Nairobi, Kenya, Cape Town in South Africa and Kampala, Uganda.”

The Africa Horizons Report 2021/2022 also states that the move towards innovation has been amplified in the resultant opportunities in asset classes.

Data centres in particular are anticipated to grow with the main drivers towards the growth of this asset class is the move towards localisation of data, rising demographics and the influx in capital focused on data centres.

In terms of data centres capacity, leading markets such as Johannesburg and Nairobi have a total live IT power of 54.9MW and 19.04MW respectively compared to data centre hubs such as Dublin and London whose live IT power stands at 795.8MW and 728.25MW respectively.

The report notes that Africa’s Data Centre markets can be categorised into three distinct tiers. Tier one markets include Johannesburg, Cape Town and Nairobi and already becoming Africa’s leading data centres markets. Tier two markets such as Addis Ababa, Dar es Salaam and Kampala are essentially cities in the most populous of countries or those with strategic positioning while tier-three markets are categorised as low population centres with relatively low ease of doing business.

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Top 10 Wealthiest African countries

Africa boasts a wealth of resources and when it comes to innovation, it holds its own against most other developed countries in the world.

The top ten wealthiest African countries by GDP, according to worldpopulationreview.com, are: Nigeria $514.05 billion Egypt $394.28 billion South Africa $329.53 billion Algeria $151.46 billion Morocco $124 billion Kenya $106.04 billion Ethiopia $93.97 billion Ghana $74.26 billion Ivory Coast $70.99 billion Angola $66.49 billion

What Africa needs to do to lure tourists to the continent post-Covid-19 Africa has been a top destination for travellers pre-Covid-19, especially for its safari, cuisine, culture and landscapes.

However, luring travellers to Africa may not be as easy post-Covid-19. With many countries, including South Africa, slow with their vaccine roll-outs, people may skip some destinations in the continent for safety reasons and opt for places ahead with their roll-out process.

Jiten Vyas, Regional Group Chief Operating Officer – Australasia, Africa, China, and CIS & Europe at VFS Global, said Africa has what it takes to become a top post-Covid-19 destination with some effort.

He told IOL Travel that the aftermath of Covid-19 lockdowns will probably cause a significant shift in perception of holiday destinations, caution around air travel, increase in preference for “safe and trusted” destinations and hygiene concerns.

He said the industry will continue to operate a digital “contactless” approach.

“Travellers are now expected to be warier of where they stay, travel, and eat, and will prefer planning their vacations down to the last detail.

They won’t settle for any accommodation or transport that they haven’t had the time to carefully vet.

“Businesses, therefore, need to make their offerings an exclusive experience. We expect to see an increase in solo/small group trips, wellresearched and exclusive accommodation that

allows you to check the health and sanitation standards beforehand, private transport (cabs, cycles, walking) or anything that helps one avoid sharing space with too many people and strangers.

“To keep a safe distance from crowds, travellers are anticipated to give such popular destinations a miss in the post-Covid travel season and rather indulge in “second-city travel” exploring a lesser-known destination in the same destination.

“This kind of travel not only helps reduce overtourism and environmental impact but will also mean travellers can explore without coming into contact with too many people,” he said.

With Africa home to some stunning towns within popular tourist attractions, the tourism industry can play towards its strengths.

Vyas said digitalise travel planning is also vital to lure travellers. He said the industry needed to be at the “cusp of evolution towards end-toend digital solutions.”

He offered a few suggestions: “Online travel planners, ‘doorstep’ visa services, eVisa services, courier for passport return, self-check-in kiosks at airports will now become a common sight.

“Technology is set to become the biggest enabler for companies in the post-Covid world to ensure an enhanced customer experience.

Companies should explore solutions that allow travellers to maintain social distancing norms as much as possible and at the same time, get a high level of service and customer experience.”

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AFI to

host an

exclusive fashion

show on

Africa Day

Thobile Mazibuko

In commemoration of Africa Day on May 25, African Fashion International (AFI) will host an intimate fine-dining, fashion and music experience for guests and creatives who are steering the African renaissance.

A line-up of runway collections from each region of the continent has been curated.

The designers who are to showcase on Africa Day include David Tlale, who will be representing the southern part of the continent.

Said Mahrouf will be representing the north.

Meanwhile, Ituen Basi will represent the west and Masa Mara East Africa.

There will also be dance and music performances led by renowned producers and artists such as Ayo Solanke, Vuyani Dance Co and Ndlovu Youth Choir.

Dr Precious Moloi-Motsepe, AFI’s founder and chief executive, said: “The AU’s Agenda 2063 aspires for, amongst others, cultural identity and heritage that contributes to Africa’s transformation.

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The notion of a renaissance, which refers to the European period of transformation that was driven by philosophy, literature and art, calls on us to rediscover and elevate the arts to form Africa into a hub of creativity and innovation.”

In other news, AFI Fashion Week bagged its first South African Film and Television Awards (Saftas) nomination for best online content.

The production, curatorship and storytelling of the first pan-African fashion film, which showcased at last year’s virtual fashion week, were filmed by Cardova Productions.

“Nominated under the new Safta category of online content, this acknowledgement serves as a testament to AFI’s inventive spirit.

“AFI has been a pioneering producer of panAfrican platforms that showcase and support emerging and established African creatives, bringing together international and continental fashion designers, critics and industry leaders since 2008,” said AFI.

Image: Facebook: ADA \ contemporary art gallery

Ghanaian Art Gallery Seeks To Promote Women Artists Accra-based Gallery 1957 has launched the first-ever dedicated award for women African artists living and working in Africa in a bid to increase their profile on the international art scene.

According to a report by the Art Newspaper, the Yaa Asantewaa Art prize was named after the Ghanaian queen mother of Ejisu in the Ashanti Empire.

According to the gallery, the launch of the prize coincides with the gallery’s fifth anniversary celebrations and seeks to strengthen their commitment to supporting and promoting emerging and established artists across Ghana and the diaspora.

“In creating The Yaa Asantewaa Art Prize, we hope to offer a way in which to address the lack of existing support for women and women-identifying artists in the country and

its diaspora,” said Marwan Zakhem, founder of Gallery 1957.

Zakhem added that they have listened closely to the local community and identified a need to support women artists in Ghana.

According to the statement, the winner will be chosen by a jury of international experts, including artists, curators and arts writers.

The art scene in West Africa seems to be on an upward trajectory, receiving not only local recognition but also attracting a global audience that is taking a keen interest.

Recently, Nigerian art gallery Rele opened its doors in Los Angeles.

The gallery, which already has two locations in Lagos, celebrated its sixth year in Lagos, having opened its doors in 2015.

Winners of the Yaa Asantewaa Art Prize 2021 will be announced in August.

‘By Africans, for Africans’

Female entrepreneur pioneers facial recognition tech

Charlette N’Guessan Desiree loved maths and science as a student in Ivory Coast, but never imagined she would one day use her problemsolving savvy to develop facial recognition technology more adept at identifying and verifying African faces.

Her company, BACE Group, hopes its artificial intelligence(AI) software will be used across the continent - helping universities to verify students for financial services, banks to sign up new clients and security firms to fight crime.

N’Guessan Desiree, 27, said there would be less suspicion of tech created “by Africans, for Africans”, especially given concerns that Western-designed systems are more prone to errors when identifying non-White faces.

“It gives us trust and credibility,” said N’Guessan Desiree,a software engineer.

“It’s time for us as young African engineers to start working on solutions to solve our local challenges,” she told the Thomson Reuters Foundation in a video call.

BACE Group uses an API - application programme interface -software that can be used in existing apps or systems, together with facial recognition technology powered by artificial intelligence (AI).

This tech helps online businesses or financial institutions to verify their customers’ identities remotely, allowing users to prove in real time that they are who they say they are without travelling long distances. BACE recently launched a consulting arm to advise African businesses on how the

technology can make it easier for them to verify new customers, such as people living in rural areas.

But despite the technology’s huge potential for businesses, N’Guessan Desiree acknowledged the possible pitfalls.

“It’s very important to be responsible and ethical with AI,”she said.

“That’s why we have defined policies between businesses and end users and we make sure the client is aware of how the data will be used by the company.”

TRANSPARENCY In January this year, 100 businesses, governments and non-profits launched the Global AI Action Alliance, an initiative to make artificial intelligence more ethical and transparent, at a virtual meeting of the World Economic Forum.

The alliance identifies tools and best practices to safely and ethically use AI, which is projected to contribute more than $14 trillion to the global economy by 2035.

“This is something we want to be involved in,” said N’Guessan Desiree, who added that the lack of robust digital rights laws across Africa means strong company policies are necessary to prevent data abuse.

But she said technology can be “beautiful and have significant impact” when it is used for good.

N’Guessan Desiree won the 2020 Royal Academy of Engineering’s Africa Prize for Engineering Innovation in September last year, the first woman ever to win the award.

Nigerian teen climate activists create fashion from waste to fight pollution In a district of Lagos, Nigeria’s megacity, a group of teenagers wade through a mass of plastic bottles, food containers and bags that have blocked a waterway. Wearing gloves and masks, they pick up the discarded plastic and drop them into refuse bags.

Their aim is to enable water to flow around the waterway that was constructed to prevent flooding in the city’s Sangotedo district, while raising awareness of the problems caused by single-use plastic.

“We need to start now because in a few years it’s going to be too late to do anything,” said Esohe Ozigbo, the 15-year-old climate change activist who leads the group of youngsters, on the need to address environmental issues.

Plastic waste is ubiquitous in Lagos, the commercial capital of Africa’s most populous country with a population of more than 20 million people, where dropping litter is commonplace.

To reinforce their message about the extent of the waste in Lagos, Ozigbo and her fellow

activists attach plastic to fabric to create garments they wear in their annual “Trashion Show”.

Greenfingers Wildlife Initiative, a non-profit conservation group funded by donations, works with young people to stage the shows in shopping malls. The goal is to “mix creativity with advocacy”, said the organisation’s founder, Chinedu Mogbo.

“Rather than just taking everything maybe to a dumping site... we decided to spruce things up and start the Trashion Show,” he said.

In the car park of a Lagos shopping mall in early April, shoppers watched teenagers clad in multicoloured shopping bags, rubbish sacks and plastic bottles.

Ozigbo, who cites Swedish teenage climate activist Greta Thunberg as her inspiration, said she hoped the shows made shoppers think about their actions.

“We are just teenagers but we are trying to ... make a change in the world,” she said.