The Diaspora - African Magazine - 5th Issue

THEDIASPORA

AFRICAN MAGAZINE

SheTheQueen OCTOBER 2021 ISSUE 05

SUPER STA R A RTIST

ZI MBABWE Sout h Af r ican Region

Special Edit ion

M o st Af r i c a D i asp o r an Si d e B u si n eses D o n ' t Gr o w Ag r i cu l t u r e I n Af r i c a N eg at i vel y I m p ac t ed B y T h e A c c el er at ed Gl o b al War m i n g

64

CA F Year s W i t h o u t A West Af r i c an Pr esi d en t o f T h e Fo o t b al l B ody

D i asp o r an s A r e Exc el l i n g I n T h e West er n Wo r l d

Po w er Of I n si g h t s A n d Pr ed i c t i ve A n al ysi s

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CONTENTS

T ABLE OF CONT ENT S ACHIEVEM ENT/ M ILESTONE 59

Five African Stunning Outfits On Trend This 2021

63

Millenium Excellence Foundation (Mef)

71

Executive Chairwoman NAPAC, California

EDUCATIONAL 24

Agriculture In Africa Negatively Impacted By The Accelerated Global Warming

30

Easy Moment - Preserving African Nature

32

Creativity As The 'new Super Power ' Without Borders

48

5 Biggest Challenges Of Small Businesses

59

Incentive Based Vaccination Targeting Immigrants In South King County, Washington State, U.S.A

60

Could The Fall Of Kabul In Afghanistan A Strategic Failure

62

The Absent Of West African As Caf President Since The Creation In 1957 - 64 Years In Existence

64

The Anglo-American South Africa Education Programme Is Investing In Ict To Upskill The Youth In Host Communities

68

Nigerian By Choice - A Case For The Engagement Of Nigeria?s Foreign-born Diaspora

BUSINESS / ENTREPRENEUR 8

9 16

Apple Getting Into Credit Payment System In Partnership With Goldman Sachs To Offer Buy Now, Pay Later Service Amazon?s Wickr Acquisition Is A Push To Win Military Contracts How Much Do International Calls Cost - All You Need To Know

19

Young Nigerian Craft Woman Nkoro Sakyenu

22

Diasporans Are Excelling In The Western World

27

A Young Black African To Own A Franchise Business In The Food Industry

40

Most Africa Diasporan Side Busineses Don't Grow

44

High Quality + Affordable

45

Perfect Solutions - Sybest LLC

BEAUTY 26

Happy Birthday To You! - Mrs. Nnenna Alo Ekejiuba

52

Health Benefits Of The African Shea Butter

74

The Natural Beauty Of African Woman With Little Or No Artificial Makeup Or Plastic Surgery

CULTURE 58

The Heroro People Of Namibia

TOURISM 36

Countries In Africa Doing Great In The Tourist Industry And Their Model Of Operation

50

African Renaissance Monument In Senegal

54

Ocean Meets Desert Swakopmund Namibia

FEAT URED

6

76

40 The Demise Of The African Nationalist Kenneth Kaunda At 97 Years Old

42 67

Exporting Talented African Soccer Players To European Leagues And Western National Teams

10

Pow er Of In sigh t s An d Pr edict ive An alysis

10

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6 The Diaspora - African Magazine | October 2021

It is always an exciting journey to promote African achievements through our platform, the Diaspora African Magazine.

TheDiaspora AfricanMagazine

Over the years, Africans have been misrepresented despite their important contributions to their host nations both in the economic development and the general well-being of their host.

We Are The Posit ive Voice of Africa

It is our primary responsibility to showcase African achievements and continue to spread the milestones accomplishment by diasporans.

T he D iaspora magazine focuses most of it s cont ent on t he A frican achievement s, educat ion, beaut y, ent ert ainment and cult ure from t he A frican perspect ive wit h t he aim of shaping and influencing t he A frican agenda.

On this note, we are pleased to announce the 5th issue of the Diaspora African Magazine which we ensured provides unique insights and trending information to all readers and our website visitors. You can follow us on our social media platforms, or advertise with us.

We cover events, exclusive interviews and promote your product or services to our global audience.

The Diaspora African Magazine launched to make a clarion call for Africans to embrace their heritage, even in a foreign land. The Diaspora African Magazine offers unique insights about the Diasporan lifestyle, education, business, careers and accomplishment from the African perspective to shape and influence the African agenda. At the Diaspora Magazine, we are the "Positive Voice of Africa."

We encourage African writers or contributors to send their content for vetting by our editorial team. We also accept standard photos from beautiful African people as we strive to change the negative narrative about the African image in Western media.

If you want to support this noble cause, you can contact us via email at diasporamagazine1@gmail.com.

OUR SERVICES -

EXCLUSIV E In t er v i ew S Ev en t Co v er a g e Bu s i n ess a dS Pr o m o t i o n a l i t em s Bea u t y Pa g ea n t et c .

We appreciate your support!

Stanley Njoku

CONTRIBUTORS

Mr. Taiwo Akerele

CONTACT www. di aspor amagz . c om di aspor amagaz i ne1@gmai l . c om

Grace Amos

Mr. Taiwo Akerele is a director of Policy House International. The author, Sage of Growth and Stranger in Power , also Chairman Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA), Abuja Chapter. Mr. Akerele participated on the Green Energy meetings held in Manhattan, New York, United States.

Grace Amos is a creative with a BSc in mechanical engineering from MIT. She has had an enriching work experience in design, education, strategy, and operations in various entities, including the New York Times, MIT's International Design Center, MIT Media Lab, Facebook, and Western Technology Investments.

7 The Diaspora - African Magazine | October 2021

APPLE CREDIT PAYMENT SYSTEM

At t ribut ion: Noah_Loverbear https://web.archive.org/web/20161101124752/http://www.panoramio.com/photo/110015711

APPLE GETTING INTO CREDIT PAYM ENT SYSTEM IN PARTNERSHIP WITH GOLDM AN SACHS TO OFFER BUY NOW, PAY LATER SERVICE With technology lowering the barrier to entry in the financial industry, Apple has decided to penetrate the consumer financial space with a credit card service that may likely be a must-have in this growing digital world.

Shares of Affirm, a company that offers lending services for retailers, dropped over 10% on Tuesday after Bloomberg reported that Apple plans to offer a competing "buy now pay later " product in partnership with Goldman Sachs.

The report is the latest sign that Apple wants to offer additional financial services through its Wallet app and partnerships with financial services firms. "Buy Now Pay Later " products allow consumers to buy a pricey product and pay for it over a number of months.

The partnership between Apple and Goldman Sachs signifies a huge shift in the financial industry. According to Joe Sullivan, CEO at Market Insights, ?perhaps the most damaging part of this partnership is how consumers?view of banking is changed.? Sullivan goes on to say, ?every time something like this happens, it continues to change the

perception that consumers have about what a bank is? [the partnership is] redefining what it means to be a bank. And that has long-term implications for the industry.?

The credit card is ultimately aimed to expand Apple?s sources of revenue while also supporting Goldman?s push into different retail offerings. Even though there are a number of popular apps that already help people categorize their spending and manage their budgets, Apple could get a lift by providing a friendlier user experience.

According to The Financial Brand, the partnership between Apple and Goldman Sachs ushers a new threat for banks and credit unions. The credit card service is only the beginning. In fact, it is the first step of what is reported to be a broader agreement to offer additional financial products down the road.

The financial industry is going through a fundamental shift and the Apple and Goldman Sachs partnership is only one example.

8 The Diaspora - African Magazine | October 2021

AMAZON?S WICKR ACQUISITION IS A PUSH TO WIN MILITARY CONTRACTS

Wickr, an encrypted messaging platform used by government agencies and enterprises, was acquired by Amazon?s cloud computing business on the 25th of June, 2021 for an undisclosed amount.

Wickr was founded in 2012 by Robert Static, Kara Coppa, Christopher Howell, Nico Sell, and York Sell. It is primarily designed for government agencies, military enterprises and individuals. The app enables end users to communicate securely with end-to-end encryption and content-expiring messages, including photos, videos and file attachments. It has several apps including Wickr Pro, Wickr Me, Wickr Enterprise and Wickr Ram. Wickr Me allows file sharing but you can only share files up to 10MB within the app, Wickr Pro allows file sharing up to 1GB on the free plan, and up to 5GB for a paid plan, Wickr Enterprise was created for companies with a larger workforce, while Wickr Ram was specifically designed keeping the military in mind because the app stays secure, even in the harshest environment.

Jeff Bezos - Founder Amazon

Some business analysts might conclude that the acquisition of Wickr by Amazon was a strategic move for a competitive advantage over Microsoft. The Pentagon's chief information officer, John Sherman, told reporters that during the lengthy legal fight between Amazon and Microsoft, Sherman indicated that JEDI will be replaced by a new program called Joint Warfighter Cloud Capability, and that both Amazon and Microsoft are likely to be awarded parts of the business, although neither is guaranteed, he said.

With this strategic purchase, Wickr RAM is designed for the military and law enforcement agencies. The new contract is expected to be awarded in spring 2022. Meanwhile the Wickr acquisition aligns with Amazon?s longer-term strategic position in its cloud computing arm, AWS and heavyweight government contractors. Amazon chief information security officer, Stephen Schmidt said Wickr would give security-conscious enterprise and government agencies the ability to implement security controls, helping them meet their compliance requirements.

Amazon is currently planning to open a second headquarters in Arlington, Virginia a short distance from the Pentagon as it pursues a 10-year, 10 billion dollar contract to build the US military's cloud inputting infrastructure.

In 2020, Wickr RAM won a two-year $35 million contract to provide encrypted messaging for the Army, Navy and Air Force, and received at least $700,000 as part of a contract with US Customs and Border Patrol. Wickr ?s website also lists military contractors like ARMA Global and General Dynamics Information Technology among its partners and customers.

9 The Diaspora - African Magazine | October 2021

M odel J ane Nwokolo

President Cyril Ramaphosa attending the funeral service of the late 1st President of Zambia Dr Kenneth Kaunda in Lusaka. [Photo: GCIS]

10 The Diaspora - African Magazine | October 2021

THE DEM ISE OF THE AFRICAN NATIONALIST KENNETH KAUNDA AT 97 YEARS OLD Image: Council.gov.ru, CC BY 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

Kenneth David Kaunda, Zambia?s founding president and an icon of African liberation died on the 17th of June 2021 at the age of 97.

The former president affectionately called ?K.K? or ?K.K of Africa? was born on the 28th of April 1924 in Lubwa near Chinsali, Northern Rhodesia, now Zambia. He ruled for a period of 27 years from 1964 to 1991 and was also the last of the African leaders that ushered in independence and fought for the fall of apartheid in South Africa. He headed the main nationalist group, the Left-of-the-Center United National Independent Party, and hosted many of the movements fighting for independence or Black equality in other countries around the continent ? sometimes at a heavy cost. In his later life, Kaunda turned his attention to the fight against HIV after one of his sons, Masuzyo died from an AIDS-related disease.

Dr. Kaunda also vividly demonstrated his sense of pragmatism during the Nigerian civil war, since he was one of the few African leaders that accorded diplomatic recognition to the defunct Republic of

Biafra. This proved that his influence stretched beyond the frontiers of his own country.

On the 14th of June 2021, the African Hero was said to have been admitted to Maina Soko Military hospital in Lusaka to be treated for an undisclosed medical condition. The next day being the 15th of June it was revealed that he was being treated for pneumonia, which according to the doctor, had been a recurring health problem. Then on the 17th of June, it was confirmed that he died at the age of 97 after a brief illness at the same hospital.

Following his demise, the incumbent president Ednar Lungu declared three weeks of national mourning with all forms of entertainment suspended. He also went ahead and declared his birthday 28th April a national holiday.

Joining the President in paying their respect included South African president Cyril Ramaphosa, Zimbabwe?s Emmerson Mnangagwa, Kenya?s Uhuru Kenyatta, and Ghana?s Nana Akufo-Addo, as well as Britain?s African minister James Dudridge representing Zambia?s former colonial ruler. At the expiration of the 21

days of national mourning, the patriarch?s remains were taken on a funeral procession around the country?s provinces with churches in each provincial capital, prior to a state funeral at National Heroes Stadium Lusaka on the 2nd of July and internment at the presidential burial site on the 7th of July which was however not acceptable by his family following his death wish to be buried close to his late wife Betty Kaunda who died on the 18th of September 2012 and was followed up with a burial site petition. The petition was however dismissed by the High Court Judge Wilfred Kopa Muma in Lusaka, in his words ?The late Dr. Kenneth Kaunda was not an ordinary person?

Kenneth Kaunda will be remembered as a giant of 20th century African nationalism. He was a leader who, at all cost, gave refuge to revolutionary movements, a relatively benign autocrat who reluctantly introduced democracy to his country, and as an international diplomat who punched well above his weight in world affairs.

11 The Diaspora - African Magazine | October 2021

I N T H E ST A GE I'M S heT heQ ueen A Si n ger an d Son gwr i t er

12 The Diaspora - African Magazine | October 2021

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13 The Diaspora - African Magazine | October 2021

Pow er of I nsi gh ts and Predi cti v e A nal ysi s I'm very fascinated with technology

more optimal performance one can get

and have spent a great amount of

from machine learning algorithms.

time studying and practicing the machine learning concept.

However, it's equally important to put some of that self-taught knowledge into a real-life problem to determine how well this model can perform in production.

There are various types of machine learning models, depending on the problem one would like to solve -

Founder, The Diaspora African Magazne, The Diaspora LLC

Predictive analysis is the process of making predictions based on past and present data and analyzing hidden trends or patterns in the data. In other words, it's a method of discovering future events or predicting future sales before it happens.

fascinated with Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence (AI) can develop a predictive model.

A practical example is a meteorologist who predicts weather by forecasting expected weather outcomes based on past and present data by analyzing trends using a predictive model.

However, this might not be 100%

models developed using Python, Sklearn, Mathplotlib, Pandas, Numpy, Seaborn, and other libraries.

Overfitting and underfitting are also very important to avoid bias in trained model.

To develop a machine learning model,

the health sector to predict the

activities or transactions data. Those

likelihood of someone having a

data will be used to training/test and fit

heart attack, by selecting appropriate

the model to predict future results, if the

features to achieve a high performance.

model is given new data that it has not

Irrelevant or partially relevant features

seen before. When new data is present

can negatively impact model

to the model to predict on those new

performance. For binary outcome

data, the trained model will perform

(Yes/No output), a Logistic Regression

prediction based on the previously train,

model will be appropriate using given

test, and fit method.

A Pr act ical Exam ple of How M ach in e Lear n in g Algor it h m s

In the banking sector, predictive models

Wer e Test ed Again st Fu t u r e Dat a

can be used to predict someone that would most likely default on credit card

I developed a machine learning model in

payment. Predictive models are used in

April 2020 to predict the monthly U.S

the bank sector to protect banks from

retail sales published monthly by the

issuing a credit card to someone that

U.S Census Bureau.

their model deemed most likely to

The overall performance of this model

default on repayment.

has been an average of 95.4% accuracy,

The business sector uses predictive

which is pretty good in predicting the

models to determine future sales and

real-life U.S monthly sales. I compared

other future events, such as the number

the actual figures from the US monthly

of returning customers or revenue

retail sales to my trained model and the

forecast.

results were very impressive. I have been testing this model every month and

In the process of developing a prediction where I have tested some predicted

process of the model.

there must be data from the previous

accurate, but with a high accuracy rate.

Let's look into some practical areas

and ready for the training and testing

Predictive models can be used in

likely have a heart attack or not.

Matplotlib, Numpy and others, anyone

cleaning before that data can be useful

M odel Wor k s?

help and popularity of Python, a

libraries, such as Sklearn, Pandas,

of their time in data wrangling or data

machine learning model to solve

This is not a new concept, but with the

language, and its rich host of numerous

machine learning engineers spend most

How does M ach in e Lear n in g

factors to determine if a patient will

high-level interpreted general-purpose

impossible, as most data scientists and

this will determine the type of that specific problem.

M r . St an ley Njok u , M ASc.

However, in real life, perfect data is

model, there are critical steps necessary to get optimal performance. Machine Learning algorithms and Artificial intelligence lifeline is data, the more accurate and refined data available the

overall performance seems astonishing, see the graph in the next page.

M on t h

Act u al

Pr edict ion

Dif f

% Accu r acy

April 2020

403,946

398,821

-5,125

98.73%

May 2020

485,545

382,152

-103,393

78.71%

June 2020

524,306

456,695

-67,611

87.10%

July 2020

535,982

528,345

-7,637

98.58%

August 2020

537,526

525,885

-11,641

97.83%

September 2020

549,256

535,695

-13,561

97.53%

October 2020

553,329

481,220

-72,109

86.97%

November 2020

546,504

585,088

38,584

107.06%

December 2020

540,916

563,475

22,559

104.17%

January 2021

568,215

529,616

-38,599

93.21%

February 2021

561,685

568,891.00

7,206

101.28%

March 2021

619,105

563,898.32

-55,207

91.08%

April 2021

619,923

619,556.46

-367

99.94%

May 2021

620,214

620,088.11

-126

99.98%

June 2021

621,340

606,525.44

-14,815

97.62%

July 2021

617,719

624,296.71

6,578

101.06%

August 2021

618,676

619,310

634

100.10%

Th e Im por t an ce of US m on t h ly

non-government. In the US, the monthly

From experience, sometimes the most

Sales Repor t

retail sales data are used to calculate

optimal model can be a very simple

GDP by the Bureau of Economic Analysis,

model like the Linear Regression model.

Retail sales are a strong indicator of the health of an economy and whether it is contracting or expanding. The

and the Bureau of Labor Statistics to

I am not an expert in the machine

calculate Consumer Price Indices and

learning space. However, if your model is

productivity measurements.

very good at predicting over 90%

importance comes from the fact that retail sales make up nearly one-half of

More importantly, perhaps, the Federal

accuracy rate on average, you might be

personal consumption, which in turn

Reserve uses this data to determine

reluctant to compare your model, with

accounts for nearly 70% of GDP. Retail

trends in consumer purchases and,

other models like K-Nearest Neighbor or

sales in terms of direct economic activity

therefore, possible inflationary pressure.

Neural Network model.

account for almost one-third of GDP.

It is also used by market participants to get a picture of the general activity and

This data set is used by various

the direction of the economy.

organizations, government and

PAGE6

15 The Diaspora - African Magazine | October 2021

How Much Do International Calls Cost All You Need To Know INTERNATIONALCALLINGAPP&CARDS

The topi c w as sel ected based on popul ari ty from Googl e Trends and answ erthepubl i c.com.

internationally between certain countries.

revolutionary calling app that lets you stay connected wherever you are in the world. The app was created, designed and technologically engineered with callers to and from emerging markets in Africa, Latin America, Asia and the Middle East in mind.

Several nations, particularly smaller ones, still have nationalized or government-owned PTT (postal, telephone, and

ESDIAC uses innovative technology to deliver

telegraph) companies. Those countries often see setting call-termination tariffs at high rates as a significant revenue generation opportunity.

International phone calls are made between different countries and processed by specialized international gateway exchanges.

Charges for these calls remain higher than local call rates. This has inceased the feeling of curiosity with many callers.

Different countries have different regulated rates for each minute: FTR and MTR = fixed and mobile termination rates. This is the minimum amount that has to be charged by the operator owning the phone number you are calling to.

To add to this, there are huge margins added by your phone company. Hence, international destinations with rates starting as low as 1 cent per minute.

With so many digital and technological advancements, especially in the telecommunication space, the question on the lips of many is why international calls are still expensive. International calls make use of trans-Atlantic/Pacific cables which are more expensive to install and maintain, and therefore, cost more to use.

These trans-Atlantic/Pacific cables connect one side of the Atlantic/Pacific Ocean to the other. The reason for such high use of submarine cables other than satellites is that these submarine cables can carry much more information per second and are much more reliable.

crystal clear non-dropped calls to all these

The ESDIAC Calling App allows you to make local and international calls and video calls to friends and family in over 200 countries and territories with ease. You can pay for your call minutes, recharge and top off with any major Lor em ipsu dol or sit amiTunes, et, credit card,mPaypal or Google, FlutterWave, or wallet. g el itr ,sed con setetu r sadipscin

MAGNAQUIS T- BONE

diamOne n on u m y eir m od major advantage of the ESDIAC Mobile

PAGE8

Calling App is that you can use the app anywhere in the world, as long as there is an internet access (Wi-Fi) in the location. calling is regarded as a premium feature, as it requires international pricing agreements and physical interconnections.

The first submarine cables were simple metal wires carrying telegraph signals. Later on, metal cables were laid that could carry telephone and data signals. Currently, optical fiber cables carrying light signals are more in use because these optical fiber signals are faster and can carry more information than metal-based signals.

While international calls are expensive and regarded as a complicated endeavor, the good news today is that with the advancement in ICT space, VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) apps, like ESDIAC?s can cheaply and effectively connect you with the rest of the world.

other reasons that make it expensive to call

The ESDIAC Mobile Calling app is a

LEBERKAS STRIPSTEAKSHANKLE

These VoIP services drastically limit the fees Lor em ipsu m dol orlaying sit am et, con setetu r sadipscin you pay and simplifygthe laborious processes While it is established that undersea usually el itrcables ,sed isdiam n onthere u m are y eir m odoftem por ininvolved vidu n twith u t calling internationally. fiber expensive, a couple

PAGE6

All you need to do is to make sure you activate/register the app with your Sim card on the same phone you downloaded the app.

After that, you are good to go on calling anywhere or any number that you have purchased your Esdiac calling credit.

With the ESDIAC call app, you don?t need to worry about expensive international call rates.

Visit esdiacapp.com today to buy your call credits and download the app from your PlayStore or IOS store.

16 The Diaspora - African Magazine | October 2021

BEAUTIFUL

Queen and Talanted Artist

Sh eTh eQu een

17 The Diaspora - African Magazine | October 2021

Sh eTh eQu een SUPER STAR ARTIST

ZIM BABWE AFRICANS ARE BEAUTIFUL

18 The Diaspora - African Magazine | October 2021

YOUNG NI GERI AN CRA FT WOM A N NK ORO SA K YENU Who's Nkoro Sakyenu?

building, I'll be there!

Nkoro Sakyenu is a Nigerian, who was born on January 30, 1987.

For one who believes that the quality of life, living, and that of a nation can be traced strongly to its roots, the foundation is therefore a good place to start building!

She's a young entrepreneur and the CEO or founder of Nkoro Creations. (A creative hub that impacts, trains, hones skills and talents in Youths and women). The company is also into textile designs manufacturing (Batik and tie-dye aka Kampala, bespoke ceramic products.

My love for nature made me grow into a creative, an ardent lover of natural scenery, arts and crafts.

I derive great pleasure and satisfaction in soft tunes, compassionate, selfless and romantic movies, sports (volleyball, badminton, swimming), travelling while I ravishing the sweet contents of a strong imagination being penned down into a novel.

One interesting twist of fate happened. I always loved the idea of saving souls and being there for helpless people or those unable to get treatments because of unpaid hospital bills.

Therefore, my teenage dreams was to become a doctor. However, as I grew into an adult, my preference changed! Instead of studying medicine I studied Industrial design and majored in pottery (ceramics making) and earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from the Prestigious Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Kaduna, Nigeria.

MY STRENGTHS? Mention community development, humanitarian services, entrepreneurship, empowerment and nation 19 The Diaspora - African Magazine | October 2021

Likes...

Taking a per-time job as an art instructor to the young minds (students) is my present source of adrenaline rush because it is an intresting and unique environment to learn and unlearn some tricks to improve the quality of life and to survival. Nevertheless, at every given opportunity, my hands are kept busy in the "messy muddy clay" to create beautiful, bespoke aesthetic pieces.

Being a great advocate for uplifting and empowering youth and women, I wish to let you into my little secret!

Well, not anymore, lol, "You've got it in You! You've got it in your hands, make use of it".

As a Nigerian living in Nigeria, I've come to realize that one stream of income is never going to be enough, and that's the more reason why entrepreneurship comes to the mind of an average Nigerian, a slang is given to the hustle or hustlers.

So on a lighter note, aside being a trained teacher, a textile designer and a professional potter, I also purchase and sell organic unadulterated honey for both retail and wholesale purposes/purchases. I revamp clothings to give them a new and better look.

NKORO CREATIONS

POTTERY | TYE & DYE | HONEY

20 The Diaspora - African Magazine | October 2021

P R O D UC T IN M A K ING

NKORO - " I nspir ing Young Femela Enter pr enuer es Acr oss the World"

DIASPORANS ARE EXCELLING IN THE WESTERN WORLD BUT ALLOWINGFUTURE ECONOMICRECOLONIZATIONBY THE WESTERNERS INTHE AFRICANSTARTUP SPACE Africans are making waves and excelling in various economic sectors in the western world, but fall short in investing and funding African-based startups.

The lack of massive diasporans investment in African-based startups is creating a gap in attracting foreign dominance in the Africa startup space that has the potential to subject African entrepreneurs to humiliation, discrimination, stereotyping, and sometimes racism from their most prominent western investors.

Africa has made a major difference in terms of growth and investment opportunities. Many talented Africans are getting inspired to launch their own startups. However, most of these investors tend to sway towards being Westerners whereas we have capable Africans in the diaspora that could play pivotal roles ensuring that the interest of African startups is protected. Allowing dominance of non-African investors in the African startup space might lead to economic recolonization as the non-Africans might not have the African entrepreneurs?best interest at heart.

There are essential aspects of business that are pivotal for a successful growth trajectory.

Categorizing these aspects, such as analyzing problems and growth patterns in a systematic is useful to entrepreneurs' comprehension at first glance. At this stage, it is extremely important to understand the vision of the founder(s) to develop an independent actionable item with closer scrutiny that increases the

22 The Diaspora - African Magazine | October 2021

These startups, besides creating jobs, contribute to securing the various sectors of activity, by their capacity to innovate and to adapt

understanding of the business environment.

There are various ways African Diasporans can get involved in protecting the interest of African entrepreneurs from exploitation.

For example, an Africa founder that may receive a prospective Venture Capital investment proposal of $200,000 USD for his/her startup might be ignorant about shares and equity. In the initial stages, this founder might have a high tendency to make an irrational decision that could affect his stake in his startup moving forward.

Diasporans could establish a profit or non-profit firm that is tailed to providing insight expertise advice to African startups before they sign contracts with their prospective investors ensuring. This ensures that African startup's interests are protected. They

should also use a similar legal set-up, shpuld they observe any maneuvering during the business learning phase.

in 2020. This is understandable because people and businesses were in a

African diasporans can also play supporting roles in evaluating, consultanting and matching solutions to smaller African enterprises.

The best option for Africans is to increase their investment efforts by occupying a great portion of their portfolio in African startups. This is something African countries desperately need in their bid to develop their economies.

The advantage of Diasporan involvement is to create employment opportunities in the continent and also help solve some of the challenges facing Africa. It is quite obvious that these startups are solving problems through their invention and innovation. When some startups hit a critical mass, they solve problems, improveing lives and create employment.

According to information from Sub-Saharan Africa, remittance volumes from the African Diaspora had declined

defensive mode during the Coronavirus pandemic. But now that the worst of the virus outbreak is over, African diasporans have to become stronger in a sustainable capacity in Africa through supporting startups.

These startups, besides creating jobs, contribute to securing the various sectors of activity, by their capacity to innovate and to adapt. African startups need funding and this is what able Diasporans can handle. What is left now is to earn the African Diaspora?s trust, in order to mobilize and manage these funds with full transparency.

23 The Diaspora - African Magazine | October 2021

AGRICULTURE IN AFRICA NEGATIVELY IM PACTED BY THE ACCELERATED GLOBAL W ARM ING Rotten Yam

Dr y W h eat

"

FROMANIN- DEPTH PERSPECTIVE, 96%OF EGYPTIS DESERTAND97% OF THEPOPULATIONIS CONCENTRATEDONLYON4% OF THEIRRIGATEDLAND.

"

Dr y Soil

Th e issu es of cl im ate ch an ge an d its im pact on food secu r ity ar e in cr easin gl y r ecogn ized in differ en t par ts of th e wor l d, in cl u din g Afr ica. Afr ica is epitom ized as th e m ost vu l n er abl e con tin en t to cl im ate ch an ge tr igger ed by gl obal war m in g.

Con cer n over th e n egative im pact of cl im ate ch an ge h as str en gth en ed fear s th at en vir on m en tal degr adation an d dem ogr aph ic pr essu r es wil l displ ace m il l ion s of peopl e in Afr ica an d cr eate ser iou s social u ph eaval .

Accor din g to th e IPCC (2007), agr icu l tu r al pr odu ctivity wil l decl in e fr om 21% to 9% by 2080 du e to cl im ate ch an ge in su b-Sah ar an Afr ica. Th e r epor t in dicates th at r isin g tem per atu r es an d r edu ced pr ecipitation ar e l ik el y to r edu ce th e pr odu ction of stabl e food by u p to 50% an d abou t two-th ir ds of Afr ica?s ar abl e l an d is expected to be l ost by 2025 becau se of th e l ack of r ain fal l an d dr ou gh t.

Agr icu l tu r e is cr itical to Afr ica?s gr owth an d devel opm en t, bu t cl im ate ch an ge cou l d destabil ize l ocal m ar k ets, cu r b gr owth , an d h eigh ten r isk s for agr icu l tu r al in vestor s. Th is is pr ovabl e sin ce cl im ate ch an ge wil l disr u pt an d in ter fer e with th e n atu r al ecosystem 's stabil ity an d adaptation su ch th at gr assl an ds an d deser t ecosystem s wil l expan d in ar ea, wh il e th e r ich for est

Agr icul t ur e is cr t ical t o Af r icaN gr owt h ecosystem s wil l r edu ce in ar ea.

Oth er m ajor effects of cl im ate ch an ge in th e con tin en t m ay in cl u de: r edu ced agr icu l tu r al l an d u se du e to su bm er gen ce of coastal r egion s an d in cr eased ar idity in th e tr opical h igh agr icu l tu r al poten tial r egion s, in cr eased in ciden ces of far m pests an d diseases, over cu l tivation , food in secu r ity an d pover ty especial l y in Tr opical r egion s. Afr ica wil l face ser iou s ch al l en ges in h er en deavor to adapt to n ew m ech an ism s of food pr odu ction for su stain abl e devel opm en t.

Fr om an in -depth per spective, 96% of Egypt is deser t an d 97% of th e popu l ation is con cen tr ated on l y on 4% of th e ir r igated l an d.

If th e Nil e water u sed for ir r igation dr ies u p, th en th er e wil l be n o food an d th e peopl e of Egypt wil l m igr ate to oth er h abitabl e r egion s in th e tem per ate l an ds. Th er e wil l be ser iou s food in secu r ity pr obl em s r esu l tin g fr om disr u ption of n atu r al ecosystem s with gr assl an d an d deser ts expan din g in ar ea an d th e coastal r egion bein g su bm er ged. M ost per en n ial r iver s, su ch as th e Nil e, fl owin g th r ou gh th e deser ts wil l pr obabl y dr y u p, in h ibitin g ir r igation . Fam in e an d star vation cases wil l in cr ease.

Th e H or n of Afr ica?s pastor al ist ar eas (Eth iopia-Ken ya-Som al ia

bor der ) al so h ave been sever el y im pacted by r ecu r r en t dr ou gh ts.

Agr icu l tu r e, wh ich pr ovides a l ivel ih ood for abou t th r ee-qu ar ter s of Afr ica?s popu l ation , is m ain l y r ain -fed.

Sever e an d pr ol on ged dr ou gh ts, fl oodin g, an d l oss of ar abl e l an d du e to deser tification an d soil er osion ar e r edu cin g agr icu l tu r al yiel ds an d cau sin g cr op fail u r e an d l oss of l ivestock , wh ich en dan ger r u r al an d pastor al ist popu l ation s.

en ter ed in to for ce in Novem ber 2016.

W ith al l th ese factor s in pl ay, food pr ices h ave sk yr ock eted, cau sin g sever e h ar dsh ip for poor an d vu l n er abl e peopl e th r ou gh ou t th e wor l d, an d in par ticu l ar in Afr ica.

Between 2005 an d 2008 wor l d pr ices of r ice, wh eat an d m aize dou bl ed, pu sh in g m or e th an 100 m il l ion peopl e in to pover ty,in cl u din g n ear l y 30 m il l ion peopl e in Afr ica Recogn izin g th e in cr easin g th r eat of cl im ate ch an ge, m an y cou n tr ies cam e togeth er in 2015 to adopt th e h istor ic Par is Agr eem en t, com m ittin g th em sel ves to l im itin g cl im ate ch an ge to wel l bel ow 2° C. Som e 184 cou n tr ies h ave for m al l y join ed th e agr eem en t, in cl u din g al m ost ever y Afr ican n ation , with on l y An gol a, Er itr ea an d Sou th Su dan yet to join . Th e agr eem en t

As par t of th e Par is Agr eem en t, cou n tr ies m ade n ation al com m itm en ts to tak e steps to r edu ce em ission s an d bu il d r esil ien ce. Th e tr eaty al so cal l ed for in cr eased fin an cial su ppor t fr om devel oped cou n tr ies to assist th e cl im ate action effor ts of devel opin g cou n tr ies.

For Afr ica to m itigate th ese r isk s, th er e sh ou l d be an in tegr ated pol icy appr oach to pr otect th e ar abl e l an d again st gl obal war m in g.

Th e wor l d?s gover n m en ts n ot on l y h ave a r espon sibil ity to wor k con str u ctivel y for a gl obal agr eem en t to m an age cl im ate ch an ge, bu t sh ou l d al so pr ovide an en abl in g pol icy fr am ewor k th at facil itates an d su ppor ts l ocal in stitu tion s an d oth er effor ts. Th ey sh ou l d al so in vest in tech n ol ogies to en su r e th at devol ved adm in istr ative r espon sibil ities ar e m atch ed by r esou r ces an d tech n ical capacity.

25 The Diaspora - African Magazine | October 2021

SEPTEMBER 3RD Zodi ac Si gn : Vi r go

HA PPY B IR T H D A Y T O YO U !

MRS. NNENNAALOEKEJIUBA A Los Angeles Based Lawyer, Registered Nurse, W ife & Mother M r s. Ekej iuba enj oy s t ak ing pict ur es, ex er cising, cook ing and com munit y out r each.

Th e Diaspor a Af r ican M agazin e Is Wish in g You A Gr eat Happy Bir t h day & A M em or able Year !

26 The Diaspora - African Magazine | October 2021

A YOUNG BLACK AFRICAN TO OWN A FRANCHISE BUSINESS IN THE FOOD INDUSTRY Letl h ogonol o Donal d M otseeng Tl oks Lepar a, Moj a Chicken - Fr anchise

Th e jou r n ey to su ccess r equ ir es a gr eat am ou n t of deter m in ation , an im m en se sacr ifice, an d over com in g u n k n own fear factor s th at n atu r al l y stan d as an obstacl e th at der ail s m an y fr om gettin g to th eir fu l l poten tial or destin y. Despite al l odds, a you n g m an fr om th e sl u m s of Sou th Afr ica becam e su ccessfu l in th e fast-food fr an ch ise space in h is cou n tr y, oper atin g in m an y l ocation s in cl u din g Soweto, M pu m al an ga, Kwazu l u -Natal , Gau ten g an d Lim popo.

Letl h ogon ol o Don al d M otseen g, k n own as Tl ok s Lepar a, is th e br ain beh in d M oja Ch ick en , a fr an ch ise bu sin ess in th e food in du str y.

Th e jou r n ey to su ccess wasn 't an easy on e for M otseen g. Th e you n g Afr ican m oved to Joh an n esbu r g wh en h e was 18, an d wor k ed as an in su r an ce agen t, sal es agen t an d secu r ity gu ar d. H e even tu al l y en ded u p wor k in g at a l eadin g tobacco com pan y for eigh t year s, wh er e h e l ear n ed abou t m ar k etin g, br an d pl acem en t, br an din g, an d br an din g visibil ity. H e th en star ted M oja Ch ick en , wh ich h e said th at despite m an y sacr ifices an d h ar dsh ips, h e m an aged to star t fr an ch isin g with in th e fir st year du e to h is exper ien ce in sal es an d m ar k etin g.

M otseen g bel ieves in m ak in g a differ en ce in society an d h e str ives to m ak e it big despite th e odds, h e al so con tr ibu tes to th e com m u n ity in m an y ways especial l y sin ce h e u n der stan ds th e pain of h avin g n oth in g to eat. H en ce, h e h as em pl oyed m or e th an five h istor ical l y disadvan taged in dividu al s an d m ade th em per m an en t em pl oyees, an d aim s to gr ow th is n u m ber in th e n ear fu tu r e.

Th e you n g Afr ican con tin u es to in spir e m an y you n g en tr epr en eu r s ou t th er e with h is deter m in ation an d u n iqu e door -br eak er attitu de, givin g h ope to th e bl ack ch il d th at in deed an yth in g is possibl e. H e con tin u es to pen etr ate in du str ies th at ar e con gested bu t h avin g con fiden ce in h im sel f an d h is in fl u en ce, h e al ways cr eates th at n ich e in th e m ar k et.

M otseen g advices you n g Afr ican s to face ch al l en ges h ead-on an d n ot be deceptive to en abl e th em com e u p with viabl e sol u tion s for th eir bu sin esses. H e says ?Do n ot fak e it u n til you m ak e it, bu t fak e it u n til you m ak e it?.

27 The Diaspora - African Magazine | October 2021

I T I S WHA T I T I S Leav i ng th e moment at th e f ul l est!

I k eep my body and mi nd i n const ant f ocus !

Zen a You n g an d Br igh t

Tan zan i an M odel

M iz_J ane | M odel | E nugu, N iger ia 29 The Diaspora - African Magazine | October 2021

EA SY M O M EN T

Preserving

richly

endowed vast t ropical forest s t hat host a wide spect rum of biodiversit y, wit h many species endemic t o t he cont inent . T he per capit a forest cover in A frica is 0 .8 ha per person, compared wit h t he global 0 .6 ha per person.

30 The Diaspora - African Magazine | October 2021

" "

PRESERVI NG AFRI CAN NATURE

OP INION

Hon. Taiwo Akerel e Director, Policy House International | Author, Sage of Growth and Stranger in Power | Chairman Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA), Abuja Chapter

Cr e a t iv it y As Th e 'Ne w Su p e r Po w e r ' Wit h o u t Bo r d e r s Transiting through North Africa, on my way to the United States in the early summer of 2021, gave me an opportunity to digest a non-fiction book, I bought a year ago at the San Francisco International Airport. It was titled the Silk Road: New History of the World written by John Koparkan, a renowned historian at the Worcester College Oxford, published in 2015.

The size of the book, about 636 pages, will discourage even a professor from starting it. However, on this trip, I took the time to read through the book and digest the contents for the two nights I spent enroute to New York, while attending to my mission. The summary of the book is that for thousands of years, the world has been ruled and dominated by very powerful individuals who built empires and conquered kingdoms. Territories and treaties were either peacefully signed or cities were violently taken over. Millions of people were forced to pay taxes and royalties to those who have more power and exert influence, rather than those who should legitimately do.

The book also tried to explain that outside of Europe, there was a significant trading and buoyant economic system that existed in the Persian Empire, which in turn spurred the economic and industrial growth in Europe centuries later.

It depicted the very powerful Persia present day Iraq, the Roman Empire, the Portuguese conquest of the East Atlantic, the exploits of the Mongolian war lords, under Ghenghis Khan and his very powerful successors, such as Ogedei that ruled between 1221 and 1241, the role of Christopher Columbus in the discovery of the new world and the very innovative Spanish Kingdoms that established forts and military bases in Southern America.

The conquest of China, and the rise and fall of Constantinople, which

is present day Istanbul.

I was proud as an African, reading about the Songhai Empire and the rich golds of Mali and the generosity of King Mansa Musa, who ?literally dashed?gold to everybody on his trip to Mecca and Medina. This book also painfully detailed how slavery started and in the process Africa were the major victims as millions of Africans were forcefully sold into slavery in far flung places, such as Spain, North and South America.

The inspiration, one got from this very inspiring and well researched book, is that for centuries, the world has been shaped to be ruled and governed by those who have the instrument of force and power, of cohesion, this has later been reduced to a few persons coming together to draft a document on behalf of others and call it the constitution. This document further details codes and modes of conduct expected of residents in that location prescribing what institutions that could be established, such as the Supreme Court for instance, and other arms and tiers of government.

Such is the new world order, that has replaced the use of force and physical conquest, which has seemingly brought relative peace to the world as against the old order of wars and warlords and the medieval era that was described by the English philosopher Thomas Hobbes, as short, nasty and brutish etc.

While it is instructive enough to note that, yes, the world may have moved from the era of physical warfare rulership, to colonialism and now to constitutionalism, self rule, sovereignty and independence, territorial integrity and institutional order.

A vast majority of governments and people across the world are yet to wake up from their slumber that a new world order has emerged albeit without territory or physical government. and a capital devoid of the different arms of government as evidenced in the era that is gradually going obsolete.

The era of government of creativity and innovation has gradually crept in without the shot of a bullet, chaos and wars, as often witnessed during violent change in the society, yet, it has conquered the world. The influence and power of the innovation government didn?t dawn on the world and its people until December of 2020,when Facebook and Twitter deleted the posts of the President of the United States Mr. Donald Trump on the so-called allegation of fraud in the U.S elections that resulted in Joe Biden being named President elect. Till date. The ex President is still on suspension by Facebook.

As recently as June 2021, the all powerful Twitter had also deleted the tweet by the Nigerian President Mohammadu Buhari which was considered as offensive and violating the policies and ethics of the organization. What? How can you delete the tweet of the Nigerian president? For what? Of course, I trust my country, we quickly suspended the operations of Twitter in Nigeria a amidst huge outcry from some segments of the Civil Society and youths across Nigeria.

Twenty years ago, whoever thought that the Nigerian President will depend on Twitter to address his citizens?

Not only that, whoever thought that there will be an organization that will dare suspend the President of the United States from using its platform to share his views?

Are we still debating that power has indeed changed hands in the 21st century and the world affairs are no longer being influenced by the United Nations or the G7 or China alone.

Instead it is being done by young boys and girls sitting down behind their laptops in San Jose and San Francisco and in the Silicon Valley deploying useful applications and re-writing the whole concept of human rights, governance, technology, determining trade volumes and financial systems, balance of trade, maritime and services worth billions of dollars on a daily basis across the globe.

Are we still in denial that there is a new government and power in our hands other than the conventional government? This is the government of technology, innovation and creativity. The issues for consideration are as follows; when will Africa key into the evolving new world order and invest in its own future influenced by technology and creativity? How much of our annual budget goes into research and development?

Are our youths still regarded as lazy? Do we still rely on oil to fund our whole existence? Are we going to continue with poverty alleviation programs as against wealth creation programs? Are we still going to continue with the culture of ?empowerment?where billions are wasted purchasing Keke NAPEP, sewing machines and grinding machines for a group of people that could be deployed into commercial agriculture and its value chain? What is happening to the small and medium scale sector of the economy?

It was widely reported in October 2020 that Paystack, a startup built by Nigerians was purchased for $200m (approximately N85b) by an American technology firm, Stripe. You would think that the Nigerian government should be interested in this business that has made a foreign firm commit such a huge amount of resources into purchasing it. However, I guess we are not there yet. You would think that the Nigerian government will conduct a follow up mechanism with those talented young men and others scattered across Lagos and

other cities to ensure their knowledge is further tapped for the development of the nation.

In context, how many Nigerian government owned agencies or parastatals can boast of generating N85bn in a year? Rather 70% of these agencies including the almighty Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) run at a loss and they are subsidised by the government at huge cost to the already overburdened tax payers.

The records are there.

How many potential Twitter and Facebook developers do we have in our country that will BE so powerful and influential to the extent of deleting our President?s post without showing some form of respect for ?Baba?? The world has evolved, what is confronting us today is innovation and creativity arrogance. They are knowledgeable, they are dynamic, the world depends on them for business and communication. Even NTA was reported to have tweeted to announce that Twitter has been banned, their annual profits run into billions of dollars more than the size of most African countries combined.

For me, they are the new Roman Emperors of the 21st century. They represent present day Buddha as millions of young people across the world will rather literarily worship Facebook and Twitter and WhatsApp rather than go to church or any place of worship. After all, the Bible is on Google and religious leaders tweet sermons on a daily basis. They remind one of the biblical Pharaoh who may never allow ?our people?to go unless we develop and invest in our own platforms that could compete with others globally.

The new sheriffs of Twitter and Facebook are more than the antiballistic missiles that we heard was deployed during the Operation Desert Storm in the 1990s, their decisions or indecisions could send capital markets crashing, the price of gold and crude oil and cocoa could be determined by what is allowed to be posted or tweeted, fake or real news.

In the same vein, wars could be ignited and indeed many crises have erupted across some countries in the past, due to what was posted on social media. And peace and one accord have also been reached via these platforms in the recent past. What else can we say? Do we still have a choice other than the choice of confronting the obvious, avoid social collapse, embrace the new King, embrace technology, embrace research and data mainstreaming, invest in young persons, embrace an open university system that prioritises academic freedom, open learning, scholarship and global competitiveness.

In a recent report by the Nigerian Debt Management (DMO) office, the Nigerian government is exposed to both local and foreign lenders to the tune of USD$84bn. In the detailed analysis, of the sectoral distribution of the credit/loans, zero dollars was committed to funding Research and Development in any of the Nigerian university, zero naira was committed towards the funding of start-ups scattered across the country. The same is true with funding of exchange programs for young persons and for biotechnology and allied activities. These trends can be reversed within the next five years and the country will be on its path of growth and development so that those 'small small' boys sitting down in Silicon Valley will not delete the President's post at their whim. 'who dem be?is a question we can only ask ?if we get ourselves right' Taiwo Akerele, is Country Director, Policy House International, an author of "Sage of Growth and Stranger in Power ". He also the Chairman Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA), Abuja Chapter. Taiwo Akerele participated on the Green Energy meetings held in Manhattan, New York, United States.

33 The Diaspora - African Magazine | October 2021

COMPOSI TI ON IS ALL ABOUT YOU L Ch a r is ma mu s ic ia n

9 35 The Diaspora - African Magazine | October 2021

ninara, CC BY 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

Kruger National Park - South Africa

Samburu National Reserve - Kenya | Photo: Ninara

COUNTRIES IN AFRICA DOING GREAT IN THE TOURIST INDUSTRY AND THEIR MODEL OF OPERATION

The Great Pyramid of Giza - Egypt

Rjruiziii, CC BY-SA 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

Tourism is the fastest-growing enterprises in Africa and is currently one of the continent?s major investment opportunities, source of jobs, and revenue for the local people. Some of the countries that benefit heavily from tourism are Morocco, Egypt, South Africa, Tunisia, Kenya, and Ghana.

The Great Pyramid of Giza - Ghana

Photo: Rjruiziii It is worthy of note that the touristic peculiarity of Africa lies in the wide variety of points of interest, diversity, and multitudes of landscape, as well as the rich cultural heritage.

According to the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC), the benefits of Travel & Tourism spread far beyond its direct impacts in terms of GDP and employment, in 2019, Travel & Tourism was one of the world?s largest sectors, accounting for 10.4% of global GDP (USD 9.2 trillion), 10.6% of all jobs (334 million), and was responsible for creating 1 in 4 of all new jobs

Sfax Medina - Southern Tunisa

Photo: Dennis Jarvis

36

The Diaspora - African Magazine | October 2021

Ait Ben Haddou - Morroco across the world.

Morocco, a North African country that is one of the most visited tourist countries in Africa and falls under the category of countries with a developed tourism industry.

Morocco?s relatively high number of tourists has been aided by its location, tourist attractions, and relatively low price. Some of the tourist sites in Morocco are Marrakesh Medina, Fes el Bali, Dades valley, Essaouira, Erg Chebbi, to mention but a few.

The Ministry of Tourism in Morocco develops and implements the tourism policy for the government through the Department of Tourism consisting of seven regional offices and 18 provincial units. Their main tasks are to supervise the quality of tourist activities and monitor the development of tourist products at regional and local levels. They work closely with a range of local authorities and tourism stakeholders to ensure that the sector grows evenly and consistently at all levels.

South Africa also tops the list as one of the most visited tourist countries in Africa. The country offers both domestic and international tourists a wide variety of options, among others the picturesque natural landscape and game reserves, diverse cultural heritage and highly regarded wines. Some of the most popular destinations include several national parks, such as the expansive Kruger National Park in the north of the country, the coastlines and beaches of the KwaZulu-Natal and Western Cape provinces, and the major cities like Cape Town, Johannesburg, and Durban. The South African Tourism industry generates 716,000 jobs, which are about 4.6% of the country's total employment, according to the World

Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC), and also about 1.5 million jobs. However, the indsutry hopes to do more. The sector attracts foreign direct investment as well as promoting local businesses.

The Great Pyramid of Giza, is one of the seven wonders of the ancient world and is situated in Egypt, a transcontinental country linking two continents, Asia and Africa, through the Sinai Peninsula. Egypt makes a boast in this iconic landmark among others is the Great Sphinx of Giza, the Luxor temple, Egyptian Museum, Sharm-el-sheikh a world-famous beach resort, known for its coral reefs, Khan-el-Khalili bazaar of Cairo, among others. The tourism sector is one of the largest employers in Egypt, providing 3.1 million jobs or 9.5% of the total workforce. The Ministry of Tourism is responsible for tourism policy and for establishing a coherent legal and regulatory framework for tourism development.

The tourist industries in Africa suffered a major setback and have been on a decline as a result of the Covid 19 pandemic restrictions. However, the resilient industry is gradually bouncing back on their feet.

With immense opportunities, economic and social development in the tourist sector, African countries could expand their horizons in the tourist industry in an effort to create employment and improve quality life among the locals.

37

The Diaspora - African Magazine | October 2021

TUNESTIC i'm c o v er ed Elizabeth Makiwa Zimbabwe

5 38

The Diaspora - African Magazine | October 2021

I N N OCEN T Y OU CA N GET

AmandaandSharon

39 The Diaspora - African Magazine | October 2021

byauthor MOST AFRICA DIASPORAN SIDE BUSINESES DON'T GROW Af r i can s ar e n ot r eal l y good cu st om er s t o bu si n ess gr owt h The absence of in-depth business analysis,

proven concepts will continue to be the leading

population intending fully to

unclear understanding of overall business

factors that are affecting African Diasporan

capture a large African

structure and the of necessary fundamentals -

businesses until there is a change in the

so many businesses fail in a few years of

mindset of African business owners or

operation.

individuals planning to start a new business.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

Interestingly, most African Diaspora businesses

(BLS), this isn't necessarily true. Data from the

fail in a few years of operation. Many readers

BLS shows that approximately 20% of new

may disagree that a small percentage of African

businesses fail during the first two years of

businesses are properly setup to excel. Most

being open, 45% during the first five years, and

African diaspora businesses that succeed

65% during the first 10 years. Only 25% of new

focused the operations and strategies to

businesses make it to 15 years or more.

provide goods and services to anyone

Every new business owner has one thing in common, they want to succeed in their business. However, the reality is that any business that fails to plan, is planining to fail.

We have observed key factors that are affecting the African Diaspora business structure. These

regardless of their heritage or race. There are five main factors that are negatively affecting African business in the United States of America.

1.

Most African entrepreneurs first targeted audience are African

customer base 2.

Divided attention between traditional 9-5 employment and operation of the newly established business

3.

Lack of adequate funding for business and operational and marketing costs.

4.

Reluctance in technological initial investment and marketing campaign.

5.

Completely not interested in attending workshops and seminars for self development

running successful businesses that were established by an African diaspora in most cases are not actually structured to

operate by missing some critical aspect

career within the academic qualification as

understanding the product or services lifecycle,

of the business with a few exemptions.

fulfilling and operating a small business.

understanding your clients expectation and

as well-defined business in the first

Th e Fu n dam en t al Elem en t of Bu sin ess:

place, rather it is set up as a side hobby, while maintaining full-time employment in their career field. It is quickly obvious that the structural setup never allows an African business to operate or spring out to the methods that are very popular within an African entrepreneur.

A new business is like a newborn baby. The essential responsible, growth and development process is also applicable to new business.

Before a newborn runs, it must learn to crow with his/her little belly, the parents responsible is to foster the environment and provide the necessary support including feeding and

In the article, we are shielding light on

breastfeeding the baby. Business cannot start

the issues that are affecting African

overnight without going through the crowing

Diaspora businesses in the United States

process and through the natural process,

of America. The majority of the

sometimes with a well-defined strategy, the

Diasporas would prefer a more secure

own can accelerate the development process of

and sustainable income stream, in order

the business.

to sustain their family members. This is a cultural phenomenon among the African people. For the fact that many are highly academically educated in the various fields, they find obtaining a professional

retain process.

However, some processes must go through a

Lit t le or no mark et ing funds, operat ional st rat egy and t ot al commit ment are t he leading fact ors t he k ills A frican D iaspora business.

natural procedure for the owner to understand some of the issues better.

The natural process is referring to 41 The Diaspora - African Magazine | October 2021

SU PER FA SH I O N UNIQUE COM BINATION IN DISPLAY

CHIEF IKE & CHIEF OGECHI ORJI AT Rev. GIBSON'S RECEPTION Royal BANQUeT & EVENT HALL, ANTIOCH CALIFORNIA, USA

42 The Diaspora - African Magazine | October 2021

Rev. Unaji a member of the Ow er r i Cultur al Association (OCA) Nor ther n Califor nia,

U.S.A

REV. GIBSON UNAJI ORDINATION Divine Calling To Server God's Purpose -

Writen by Mr. Stanley Njoku, OCA Financial Secretary

he call to ministry is both an honor and a great responsibility as depicted in the life of Rev. Gibson Unaji. He had to be rooted out from what many perceive as an attractive Job and lifestyle to answer the divine call of God.

T

?From 2005 and 2010 I got messages and prophecies from various unknown servants of God asking me to dedicate my life to fulfill God's purpose. I resisted because I was making good money in the banking sector paid equivalent to top oil workers in Nigeria - life was good.

The Almighty God gets what he wants and knows how to get the attention of people he destined to fulfill God's purpose on earth.

In 2010 when I went to the United States on a vacation visit, I got a termination email while vacationing in the USA without any reasonable justifications. I traveled back to Nigeria to deal with the issue and did everything within my power and attended a few churches for prayers. Pretty much all the pastors indicated that it was my disobedience to serve God - that was the reason I am in this predicament.

" Now t h e Lor d pr epar ed a gr eat f ish t o sw allow Jon ah . An d Jon ah w as in t h e belly of t h e f ish t h r ee days an d t h r ee n igh t s (Jon ah 1:17)."

Rev. Gibson testified that working as a Relationship Manager in the bank, managing a portfolio of over 600m naire (six hundred million naire) or equivalent to $2.5m (two million, five hundred thousand dollars) as of 2010 when a dollar was about N122 per $1, he was financially buoyant until he got the calling to serve God.

However, defying God's calling crumbled the main source of my income and other unforeseen hardship from grace to grass before I relocated to the United States of America?, Rev. Gibson stated.

Despite migrating to the States, Rev.

Gibson could not hide from God. Like Jonah, the best decision was to surrender to avoid the wrath of God. Rev. Gibson and Victoria are active and committed members of the Owerri Cultural Association (OCA), Northern California, U.S.A. OCA as a reputable organization was in attendance at Rev. Gibson Unaji's thanksgiving/reception that was held on Saturday, August 14, 2021, at Royal Banquet & Event Hall at Antioch, California.

OCA members in attendance were the President, Mr. George Eke, Vice President, Chief Aldoph Obilor, Financial Secretary, Mr. Stanley Njoku, BOT member and the event Chairman/woman, Chief Ike and Chief Ogechi Orji. In addition, Chief Damian Eke, Mr. Paul Oha, and other OCA members were present at the event.

OCA supports its members both in good and bad times. This is embedded into their core philosophy.

The Owerri Cultural Association Members N orthern Cal if ornia, U nited States of A merica

From Right, Mr. Gorge Eke, Chief Aldoph Obilor, Mr. Paul Oha, Chief Damian Eke, Mr. Stanley Njoku, and Mr. Justine

From Right, Chief Damian Eke and Mr. Stanley Njoku

C USTO M H A N D-M A DE " Q UA LIT Y A FRIC A N BEA DS

"

44 The Diaspora - African Magazine | October 2021

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5 BIGGEST CHAL L ENGES OF SMAL L BUSINESSES Regardless of the industry, starting a business is a huge achievement for many entrepreneurs, but maintaining one is the bigger challenge.

According to data derived from the U.S Bureau of Labor Statistics, about 20% of small businesses falter by the end of their first year, 50% by the fifth year, then the number rises to 80% in the tenth year. Analyzing these survival rates, we can better comprehend why the first few years of running a business are usually faced with trepidation. However, it is reassuring to believe that typical business challenges are redeemable and sometimes, avoidable.

There are many standard challenges every business faces, whether they are large or small. These include hiring the right people, building a brand, developing a customer base, etc. However, there are some that are strictly small business problems, ones most large companies grew out of long ago.

Below are the biggest challenges that may be faced by small businesses, along with some tips that may help business owners and managers fix them.

F i n d i n g Cu s t o m e r s This challenge is actually a general challenge faced by both small-scale and large-scale businesses. However, the challenge is more significant for small businesses. It arouses some questions in one?s mind- how can customers be found when the business is barely known? And how to know what to prioritize.

In c r e a s i n g B r a n d Aw a r e n e s s Statistics prove that in terms of success, 70% of brand managers conclude that building an audience is more valuable than direct sales and for this reason the new age marketers channel effort in building brand awareness.

You can spread brand awareness through public relations, co-marketing, and blogging. Blogging might be a neglected niche for some businesses, but it does help drive traffic to your website, it also enables you to establish authority in your industry and trust among your prospects.

B u i l d i n g a n Em a i l

List

Email marketing is rated as one of the most effective marketing channels. To move prospects along the buyer ?s journey to eventually become your customer, you need to build trust through consistent nurturing, staying top of mind, and continuously providing value. This can be achieved by getting prospects on your email list. Consider opt-in lists, instead of buying or renting lists. This will give you access to customers that are more likely to make purchases.

L e a d Ge n e r a t i o n

To add to this, acquiring customers can be expensive and not all small businesses have the spending power.

This accounts for 58% of challenges that business leaders face and this is a priority, since generating enough leads boost sales. A successful lead-generating engine converts website visitors into prospective customers and provides customers and provides a steady stream of sales prospects.

As a business owner, start finding customers by first figuring who your ideal customer is, then start creating content that caters specifically to their needs. This content can be shared in the channels you know they are based on.

For an effective lead generation process, you need to optimize your existing website for conversions. You can also take advantage of free lead management software and apps for startups.

D e l i g h t i n g Cu s t o m e r s 48 The Diaspora - African Magazine | October 2021

It is important not to mistake customer satisfaction for customer delight. They are both connected in the sense that customer satisfaction leads to customer delight, but not the other way around.

Unfortunately, it can be difficult sometimes for small businesses to delight customers as you may be lacking a sufficient service team that will solve customer ?s issues. Lacking sufficient capital can make it challenging to create programs customers will enjoy.

Some steps that can help combat this challenge include, setting concrete expectations at the start of the customer engagement, delivering on those expectations, and innovating ways you can provide unexpected extras that go above and beyond, To conclude, the problems faced by small businesses are considerable, and one of the worst things a would-be owner can do is to go into business without considering the challenges ahead. On the other hand, a competitive drive is often one of the reasons people start their own business, and every challenge represents another opportunity to compete.

49 The Diaspora - African Magazine | October 2021

Phot o by J eff Attaw ay

A FRI CA N RENA I SSA NCE M ONUM ENT I N SENEGA L The Tallest Stat ure in Afr ica, Dakar, Seneg al!

49 Meters (160.76 feets) | 15 Floors inside Monument

The Afr ican Renaissance Monum ent is a ver y b eaut iful t our ist attract ion located in Dakar, t he capital of Seneg al. It is t he tallest stat ure in Afr ica, ab out 49 m eter str uct ure on t op of a 10 0 m eter hill. The Afr ican Renaissance stat ure is taller t han t he stat ure of Lib er t y in New Yor k, United States of Am er ica.

This tall b ronze str uct ure depict s a b eer chested m an hold ing a child on his left hand and g uard ing a w om an wit h t he r ig ht hand . This b eaut iful str uct ure can b e seen from d istance - m aking it a center of attract ion.

The Renaissance Monum ent stat ute rep rent s fam ily b ond , love and strong willed ab ilit y t o resist and overcom e hard t im es. There are 15 floor s inside t he m onum ent , m ost of it are used as m useum s and a

d isplay of hist or ical ar t ifact s and fig ur ines.

Ab d oulaye Wade, t he for m er p resident of Seneg al, unveiled t his g ig ant ic m onum ent a d ay b efore Seneg al?s 50 t h independence d ay celeb rat ion on Ap r il 3, 20 10 and over 20 Afr ican leader s w ho were in attend ance for t he occasion.

The Renaissance Monum ent is a sym b ol of Afr ican lib erat ion and p ower.

W hen ever you visit Dakar Seneg al b e sure t o b uy a t icked t o enter t he m onum ent and b ehold it ?s b eaut y inside out .

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The Diaspora - African Magazine | October 2021

HEA LTH BENEFI TS OF THE A FRI CA N SHEA BUTTER

Shea butter or Butyrospermum parkii has been an average African woman?s beauty regime for ages. Shea butter is gotten from shea tree in some part of west Africa and central Africa where it is considered to be sacred because it has the highest amount of healing components amongst all other natural oil in existence. It has so many vitamins which are added benefits to the skin and hair.

It?s benefits includes:

-

It has anti inflammatory benefits Used as moisturizer for hair and skin Hair conditioning and growth Used to cure rashes and skin disease eg boils Acne and stretch marks treatment Used for dry and cracked skin Has anti aging components Used together with mint for bone treatment

BLACK IS BEAUTY Model AshleyBlantinaKagande

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The Diaspora - African Magazine | October 2021

Creator: MaxPixel's contributors|Credit: https:// www.maxpixel.net/ photo-6181352

OCEA N M EETS DESERT SWA K OPM UND NA M I BI A B y A maka N joku

ONLY IN AFRICA - DESERT AND OCEAN MEET The Ocean meets desert in Africa is one of the must beautiful places to visit.

Located along the Atlantic coast of south-west Namibia lies a massive desert, home to the tallest and most spectacular star shaped dunes and mountains of the world. The dunes spread?s out to the Atlantic ocean.

The ocean and desert stretches out to about 81000sq kilometers across three nations.

One of the best places to see this dunes is at Swakopmumd also known as Swapkop in Namibia. There, the dunes changes color from pink to vibrant orange color and white when it gets closer to the Atlantic ocean.

The ocean water is a combination of both salty and fresh water. The ocean is a home to different kinds of sea animals and birds from all

destination. The untapped beauty of this Atlantic ocean that meets the desert Is something to behold. The desert is believed to be about 55 million years old. Making it the oldest and driest desert in the world.

At summer time during the day, temperature at the desert can rise up to 45 degrees Celsius. At night, temperature drops and it can really be freezing due to the cool wind from the Atlantic ocean.

There are fun activities you can engage in at the desert [eg ] sky diving, Jeep safari, squared biking, taking memorable picture and many more fun things to do with friends and loveones. Atlantic coast of south-west Namibian desert is surely a tourist destination site that you would not regret visiting.

55 The Diaspora - African Magazine | October 2021

A D V E R T I SE WITH U S Qu a r t ely Cir c u la t io n s

GET A M AXIM IUM EXPOSURE T he D iaspora magazine focuses most of it s cont ent on t he A frican achievement s, educat ion, beaut y, ent ert ainment and cult ure from t he A frican perspect ive wit h t he aim of shaping and influencing t he A frican agenda.

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Changing the narrative!

The Diaspora - African Magazine | October 2021

OUR COVERS...

THE HERORO PEOPLE OF NAMIBIA Traditional Attire Of A Painful Histor y Heroro people are Bantu speaking ethnic group residing in southern part of Namibia.

They speak Otjiheroro as their local language (Bantu language).

They also live in Angola and Botswana. A 2013 census showed that the Heroro people who settled in Namibia were estimated to be about 250,000 people.

Their main source of income comes from domestic animals.

Most of them are herdsmen because cattle rearing is the most profitable domestic activity. The Heroro men focus more on rearing of domestic animals and trading of cattle and other livestock.

The main responsibilities of the women include: cattle milking, crop harvesting and taking care of their families.

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Herero_ladies.jpg © Hans Hillewaert

They also known for their unique traditional attire, which they wear with great pride and great confidence.

However, in the late 19th century, the Germans tried to colonize them and gain control over them by seizing their land and animals (their main source of income).

The Germans were unsuccesful because of the strong bonds possessed by the Heroro people.

They were determined to keep their lands and heritage. The Germans decided to use another tactics which was genocide.

This painful experience was the main reason for the inspiration behind the Heroro cultural attire popularly known as ?Ohorokova?. Their traditional 58

attire stands as a reminder of their painful history and a continued protest against the Germans who slauhtered their people in cold blood.

The Ohorokova attire inlcludes a well-lined colorful dress with a vibrant pattern?s that creates a wide structural skirt with several petticoats. This attire is not complete without the unique cow horn shaped hat, which is the symbol of their cattle and herdsmen origin. The attire is worn every day by older or married women.

Young maidens wears theirs only during special occasions.

The Heroro people managed to showcase their identity and at the same time pay homage to a part of their history through their traditional attire. Their general belief is that the attire tells their story.

The Diaspora - African Magazine | October 2021

INCENTIVE-BASED VACCINATION TARGETING IMMIGRANTS IN SOUTH KING COUNTY, WASHINGTON STATE, U.S.A Some Americans are still hesitant to get vaccinated against Covid-19 despite the availability of the vaccines.

Information obtained from various sources indicates that the vaccination rates are lagging for members of the Black and Hispanic communities. For this reason, several community groups and African leaders in the United States have been employing a combination of strategies to get reluctant people vaccinated.

In the past, racist, and at times dangerous, health policies and clinical experiments have targeted particularly vulnerable Black and brown communities. This is evident in the 1932 Tuskegee Study in which its goal was to observe the natural history of untreated syphilis in the black community. 600 African American men from Macon County, Alabama were enlisted but the subjects were

unaware of the intention and were simply told they were receiving treatment for bad blood. This and other histories of clinical racism has created uncertainty among these targeted groups as the Covid-19 Vaccinations have rolled out.

include fans, cooking utensils and cash money.

An Uber driver, Peter Kuel recruited two friends to come Saturday and has been consistently working to convince others to get vaccinated.

The African Leaders Health Board in the South King County in Washington state put together an event to help get more Africans vaccinated, taking into account other health issues that likely went ignored in immigrant communities during the pandemic.

Some experts believe that the low-income communities are most at risk from Coronavirus outbreaks.

Organizers said they came up with some unique incentives to draw people to the event, hopefully making them more comfortable with getting the shot.

?When people come they feel happy and welcome and it's not just, get in and get the shot and move out. It's more of a community engagement,?

Oware said.

According to the group at the event, which was held on the 10th of July, 2021, about 60 people were vaccinated, and they are planning to do a similar event in Renton in Washington State in the future.

Some of the incentive giveaways 59

The Diaspora - African Magazine | October 2021

Coul d t he Fal l of Kabul in Af ghanist an BE a St r at egic Fail ur e?

Credit: CPL Sam Shepherd Copyright: Crown Copyright 2011, NZ Defence Force ? Some Rights Reserved.

That t he issue of the Taliban overran the sitting president within 72 hours of the US. pulling out of Afghanistan is astonishing.

What could have gone wrong?

Speculation and various opinions are circulating on the mainstream media and social networks. The horrific images of desperate Afghanistan people clenching to a moving U.S. Air Force jet in a desperate bid to flee their country shows the height of desperation.

Furthermore, those who managed to hold onto the jet fell from the sky to their death.

According to the U.S president, Joe Biden "The U.S. cannot continue to pour resources into an intractable war and expect different results, '' Biden said in an article published by AAMER MAKHANI and Mathew Lee on April 14, 2021.

The Sunday, August 8, 2021 event was a clear indication that the absence of the U.S military forces created a serious vacuum. Joe Biden has clearly stated that ?They have got to fight for themselves.? referring to the Afghan government and its people.

Did the United States intelligence know that the Taliban would overrun their

government? Absolutely, but the speed with which the Taliban did that surprised the U.S and its allies.

The Afghanistan war has spread across four U.S presidents from George W. Bush to Barack Obama, to Donald Trump, and now Joe Biden.

The U.S launched the war following the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

The Afghan conflict has lasted for two decades when the Taliban was believed to be the mastermind of the September 11 attack that killed 2,763 people after the two planes slammed into the twin towers.

According to the report posted on the History Channel website, ?Overall, the conflict resulted in tens of thousands of deaths and a $2 trillion price tag.?

The U.S. former president Donald Trump saw the two decades of war in a very remote and disaster country as a complete waste of resources and lives of the US men/women in uniform, including innocent Afghanistan young women and children.

To withdraw the US troops, Trump promised to end the war on his "America First" campaign. However, his efforts were frustrated in an Afghan political system rooted in high-level 60

corruption that truncated the U.S. withdrawal mission. It was learned that Trump strategically bypassed the Afghan government to negotiate directly with the Taliban and on February 29, 2020 he signed a promise to pull all U.S. troops out by May 1, 2021.

Biden, whose record has been ending the endless war in Afghanistan, did not reverse Trump?s agreement with the Taliban when he took office. However, he allowed a few more months by the 20- years anniversary of September to pull out US troops and evacuate US civilians as well as Afghan interpreters and others who helped the US war effort.

However, the overrun was quite suprising and the Taliban tenacity was miscalculated. This resulted to the current sutuation in Kabul which was taken over by the Taliban which is currently running the government of Afghanistan.

With the latest event in Afghanistan, it is quite clear that putting a problem on a life support system does not systematically solve the problem, but automatically weakens the critical organism that could fight against external forces.

The Diaspora - African Magazine | October 2021

TAKING THE AFRICAN FUTURE BACK FROM EXPLOITERS

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The Diaspora - African Magazine | October 2021

The absence of a West Af rican as CAF president since t he creat ion in 1957 64 Years IN EXISTENCE Africa Cup of Nations and African Nations Championship, CAF is also involved in national competitions at Under-20 and Under-17 levels, including women's national teams, Africa Women Cup of Nations for senior national players, and the African U-20 Women's World Cup qualification at under-20 level and under-17 Cup of Nations for Women for under-17 years old.

Abdel Halim Muhammad a Sudanese East African served as CAFpresident from 1968 to 1972 and from 1987 to 1988

The Confédération Africaine de Football (CAF) was founded in 1957 with the combined efforts of the founding countries like Egypt, Sudan, Ethiopia, and South Africa.

CAF has a membership of 54 countries, while the secretariat is situated in Egypt. As a governing body of soccer games in Africa, CAF main competition is the men's national team's Africa Cup of Nations, which started in 1957. In 2019, the organization started another competition for men's national teams, the African Nations Championship which is composed exclusively of national players. In addition to the highly competitive

As articulated above, the leadership structure, especially the president role of CAF has been without any West African representation, despite the popularity of Western African players in the global scale. Someone from the West African region or Middle African should be given the opportunity to be merged as CAF present in order to balance the equation. It is notwithstanding that it will be appropriate to produce a President from West and Middle Africa to have a full coverage.

Abdel Halim Muhammad (10 April 1910 ?

16 April 2009) was a Sudanese politician and doctor. He served as the third president of the Confederation of African Football from 1968 to 1972 and again from 1987 to 1988.

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The Diaspora - African Magazine | October 2021

CAF PRESIDENTS Name

Country and Region

Date

Year

Abdel Aziz Abdallah Salem

Egypt - North

1957 ? 1958

1 Year

Abdel Aziz Mostafa

Egypt - North

1958 ? 1968

10 Years

Abdel Halim Mohamed

Sudan - East

1968 ? 1972

4 Years

Ydnekatchew Tessema

Ethiopia - East

1972 ? 1987

15 Years

Abdel Halim Mohamed

Sudan - North

1987 ? 1988

1 Year

Issa Hayatou

Cameroon - East

1988 ? 2017

29 Years

Ahmad Ahmad

Madagascar - East

2017 ? 2021

4 Years

Patrice Motsepe

South Africa - South

2021 ?

Present

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The Diaspora - African Magazine | October 2021

THEANGLO-AMERICANSOUTHAFRICAEDUCATIONPROGRAMMEISINVESTING INICTTOUPSKILLTHEYOUTHINHOSTCOMMUNITIES The socio-economic development and prosperity of host communities have been a priority for the Anglo-American South African Programme. This is evident as they invest in ICT to equip the youths in host communities with skills that will help them survive and thrive in the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

communities as part of the ambitions set out in the Sustainable Mining Plan, a holistic approach to education, from early childhood learning through to matric. According to the organizers, the programme is refocusing investments in education towards enhancing the provision of inclusive, quality education to children in local communities.

According to UNESCO, if all adults completed secondary education, the number of poor people in the world could be

Part of the Programme?s focus has been partnering with teachers to empower them to advance their own technology skills.

During 2020, it provided over 600 devices and training to teachers in its host community schools. Earlier this year, the programme launched the ICT Education Project, where it worked with a range of partners ? including infrastructure providers, content creators, device providers, civil society and the Department of Education - to build a model for Image from AngloAmerican website effective ICT in lower-quintile schools that can be scaled across the country.

reduced by more than half. In South Africa, education has always been a vital lever in the fight against the country?s triple challenges of poverty, inequality and unemployment.

For this reason, Anglo American aims to provide a meaningful future for our youth that goes beyond employability.

A significant number of schools in South Africa have limited to no internet connectivity, which is essential for modern education and school administration. There are several reasons for this, including the associated costs and the poor return on investment for internet service providers, but it?s a challenge we must overcome.

Anglo American?s Education Programme came to their rescue with their commitment to building thriving

This broader approach, where there is both a focus on empowering teachers and students, is deemed to help facilitate an environment where students can both self-learn, and incorporate technology into actual teaching methods and approaches as they progress. This way, there is hope to build a growing cohort of technology-savvy young people who will be able to grab the opportunities that the Digital Age offers them.

The Anglo American Programme is encouraging organizations across South Africa that are interested in achieving the same goals to partner with them and free their country from poverty.

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The Diaspora - African Magazine | October 2021

MILLENIUMEXCELLENCEFOUNDATION(MEF)

PROM OTIN G AFRICA

Th e In def at igable Boar d of Gover n or s Im age f r om M EF Facebook Page

The African continent has been overshadowed by poor representation for centuries by some organizations using horrific images as nuanced portraits of the continent. Many would agree that such a portrait is obscuring the progress being made in Africa, as the continent continues to strive to compete on the global scale. However, to combat the constant negative outlook and poor governance stories coming out of Africa, Millennium Excellence Foundation aims to tell the success stories of enterprises and individuals who selflessly bring about change in Ghana and Africa at large.

MEF is a non-profit organization that recognizes and rewards African businesses. Its award ceremony is held every five years and has honored

over 100 individuals and institutions since its maiden ceremony in the year 2000. The award ceremonies were funded by corporations and individuals who believed in the same vision.

The Africa prestigious program was founded by Ashim Morton, an architect, and Entrepreneur who returned to Ghana after several years in the United States, to give his quota to the development of his continent.

After a remarkable ten-year run of research and nominations, the founder decided with the Life Patron?s blessing, to expand the vision to the entire continent.

Every two years, the Lifetime Africa Achievement Prize is held in a

65

different African country with the same goal of recognizing excellence in leadership, governance and entrepreneurship. For the award, a research team recommends potential nominees to the Board of Governors, who handle the final nomination process of a prize laureate.

The Millennium Excellence Foundation?s Board of Directors has agreed to focus on three sectors in Ghana and across the African continent going forward. The Executive Team of the Foundations will provide services and implementation of Research and Development, Advisory, Consultancy, Training, Local and Regional Forums, and B2B in the sectors of interest.

The Diaspora - African Magazine | October 2021

EXPORTING TALENTED AFRICAN SOCCER PLAYERS TO EUROPEAN LEAGUES AND WESTERN NATIONAL TEAMS

The migration of African footballers to Europe in search of better professional opportunities has been a longstanding tradition in European football.

semi-finalist teams, only Croatia was 100% white, while France (63% white), Belgium (31% white), and England (37% white) had a high number of children of immigrants.

It is clear that African football players have incredible talent. Africa Feeding the European labor market has led some people to label this massive one-way movement of raw talents the ?muscle drain? and ongoing post-colonial exploitation.

This increasing prominence of African players can pose both positive and negative consequences for Africa.

A 2018 World Cup analysis in Russia revealed a high presence of African (black and Arabic) players in top European teams. Of the four

In the negative perspective for the African players, they feel used and are racially abused when the team performs poorly.

According to Inter Milan star, born to Congolese parents, Romelu Lukaku:

?When things were going well ? they were calling me Romelu Lukaku, the Belgian striker.

When things weren?t going well, they were calling me Romelu Lukaku, the Belgian striker of Congolese descent?

On the flip side, the issue borders on the state of the economy and that of the local league. Africa is being robbed of its most valuable assets by European countries. But we should be

realistic as to the fact that some of these players come out of poverty and are looking at the opportunity as the only means to look after and care for their families.

It is fair to observe that in Africa, popular enthusiasm for football has not been matched by its development. This is attributable to rampant corruption, nepotism, and gross mismanagement of resources, which have ensured that many professional football clubs in Africa cannot retain good and talented players who are naturally attracted to Europe, where earnings are significantly high and attractive.

The meager earnings of African footballers based on the continent are strikingly inferior, when compared to what their counterparts in Europe earn. In this light, wealthy European clubs offer better economic opportunities to skilled players from Africa. For instance, it has been shown that the average weekly SA footballer in the fourth-tier league in England (League Two) is £747, which is significantly higher than the average weekly salary of £40 paid to footballers in Ghana's best-paying team, Kumasi Asante Kotoko.

Coach Franklin Chinedu Iheagwam inspiring the next-generation of talented African soccer super stars at Lagos, Nigeria!

Some African football experts believe African Nations should export their talents where they can be most appreciated. This helps the individual player not only to conquer his poverty but also have a chance to repatriate some foreign exchange back to his home country.

Africa generally rates well below the European standards in terms of infrastructure, funding, and management. There is a structural lack of pitches, goalposts, nets, balls, jerseys, and other essentials. Indeed, to any discerning observer, the situation is more critical at the grassroots level as many African football clubs suffer from poor funding, with little or no access to these requisite facilities.

The siphoning of funds by African corrupt officials and administrators translates into a lack of requisite facilities for training and, ultimately, poor remuneration of players. This, in turn, renders players vulnerable to European offers.

African players can move to Europe to bridge the gap of football standards. Until strong leagues are created in Africa, there might be no way of raising the standard, other than playing abroad. As long as the players report to their duties for their country and clubs release them in time, then there is still hope for Africa.

Steffen Prößdorf, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

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The Diaspora - African Magazine | October 2021

OP INION actively considering in the process of creating strategies to expand intentional engagement. Without the pull of family ties, how can Nigeria incentivize the foreign-born to consider themselves as part of this diasporan force? And even if the far-flung foreign-born diaspora were to mobilize at scale, would those at home be willing to include diasporan voices at the table? The answers to these questions are critical, particularly as the foreign-born diaspora are facing the choice whether to claim and intentionally engage with their Nigerian heritage, or turn away.

Grace Amos BSc. Mechanical Engineer ing MIT

NIGERI A N BY CHOICE - A CA SE FOR THE ENGA GEM ENT OF NIGERI A ?S FOREIGN-BORN DI A SPORA Engagement with the Nigerian diaspora has long been identified as a key nation building strategy. With nearly 6% of the GDP made up of international remittances from the diaspora, both public and private Nigerian initiatives have made several efforts to engage the diaspora in more civic and economic development. Research has shown that most of these remittances are due to familial and social equity, so this income source is most likely limited to those in the diaspora who were originally born in Nigeria, known as the nation-born diaspora.

As emigrated generations progress, nation-of-origin ties inevitably erode. While there isn?t any prediction to determine whether such remittances would decrease over time (the effects of COVID versus the recent CBN initiative aside), there is certainly a growing separation between Nigeria and its diaspora. The foreign-born diaspora, those born abroad to Nigerian parents, will shortly, if they haven't already, outnumber and perhaps out-perform the nation-born diaspora. This is a resource pool that Nigeria should

It was due to the pivotal experience of participating in a Nigerian education startup that I made my choice. Born and raised in the States, I was 18 years old when I first arrived in Nigeria. I was both mute and dumb to my ethnic tongue Yoruba, a fact for which I was often mocked by both family and strangers during my employment as an instructor in Lagos. And yet, despite my Americanized way of life, my accent, and the comforts that I had left behind, I felt an unexpected yet wonderful sense of homecoming.

This feeling only deepened as I interacted with the students who came from at least 15 different states across the federation, young people who were so bright and curious and excited for life. Their willingness to learn and their excellent performance in spite of their lack of exposure to the subject matter made me incredibly proud.

They helped me see life differently; they helped me see myself differently. For the first time in my life, I was not just born to Nigerian parents, I was Nigerian, and that connection to the land and people of my heritage has lasted long after the program?s completion. Ten years later, I am again involved in an exciting opportunity to return to Nigeria, this time to start an innovative school in Abuja.

Those who are part of Nigeria?s foreign-born diaspora get to choose what it means for them to be Nigerian. Given the challenges associated with Nigeria, it is not hard to imagine that my choice might very well be the minority across the foreign-born diaspora. With little to no immediate family or opportunity back in Nigeria, all we have is what we hear, and what we hear (for those of us who care to listen) is too often discouraging. From the effects of COVID-19 on Nigeria?s social fabric; the rapidly depreciating value of the Naira; the increasing terrorist activity, ethnic and religious violence; and to federal dissatisfaction that includes the response to last year ?s #EndSARS movement, Nigeria does not look like a land of opportunity. For those of us in the West with its increasingly toxic racial divides, being Black is hard enough without adding the social association of being Nigerian in reference to the infamous internet scams.

To tie everything together, many foreign-born diasporans experience difficulty in being accepted as truly Nigerian.

Some nation-born diasporans find it hard or outright refuse to acknowledge us who are foreign-born as Nigerian because we more often than not have never been to Nigeria; forget learning our ethnic tongues. With the 68

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cultural barriers between those who have grown up in the diaspora and those who have grown up at home, there grows a divide that is often too wide to cross. Thus isolated from our heritage, there is little incentive to invest in the home of our parents (or grandparents), particularly when compared with the opportunity and expectation of gain to be had from the lands of our birth. After all, many of our parents fled to these lands for the specific purpose of leaving behind the strife and limited resources in Nigeria.

Returning or even engaging with ?home? is often seen as foolish, short-sighted, or worse: a slap in the face of those who fought to pave the way for our success in the West.

But some of us foreign-born do choose not only to be Nigerian for reasons that call to us as individuals, but also to invest in Nigeria. There is a growing trend some are calling a ?reverse brain-drain? or ?brain gain,? where those of Nigerian heritage are creating for themselves opportunities by returning to or simply investing in Nigeria, foreign-born and nation-born alike.

The program that I worked with was called Exposure Robotics Academy, and it was started by two MIT students who were both part of the Nigerian diaspora. Even while completing their undergraduate studies, they worked together to communicate their informed vision to industry partners and other stakeholders, creating a driven team that turned the program into a reality. It is those of the diaspora, nation- and foreign-born, with this same visionary impetus who should have access to the necessary resources, beyond convenient familial connections, to bring their innovative and entrepreneurial drive back to Nigeria.

My first engagement with Nigeria nearly ten years ago was an influential introduction to my heritage because I was invited as a valuable part of the team, and I was able to serve on the ground and make my mark as an instructor in the program. I was not home as a visitor, but as a contributor.

I was involved in the effort to build something with and in the lives of other Nigerians whom I could call my people.

And in turn, I benefited from the experience and was able to leverage the lessons I learned over the course over my subsequent career, and especially now in my current endeavor. Similar opportunities could over time increase the connection that foreign-born diasporans have with Nigeria by giving them the opportunity to be involved in initiatives at home for the good of Nigeria -- and themselves. Such initiatives could be supported eventually by government funding, but pilot efforts would have to begin with the private sector. In particular, companies or programs which have the bandwidth could immediately benefit from promoting internships for foreign-born diasporan youth, or perhaps short-term engagements or residencies for academics and professionals. Cultivating such an ecosystem has promising outcomes for the future diversification of Nigeria?s economy and engagement with the diaspora at large, as participants would build not only the confidence to be on the ground, but also the connections and resources to create something new in Nigeria for their own long-term personal and professional

gains.

This idea is not just speculation. There are efforts by organizations such as Nigerians in Diaspora Organization (NiDCOM) to engage with and recognize the diaspora. Beyond that, a few private initiatives such as MoveMeBack and Youth In Diaspora have worked hard to get a diasporan-involvement ecosystem going for the very reason that they are aware how important it is to create a connection with the foreign-born diaspora in particular. Not just for Nigeria, but also for the foreign-born diaspora who are actively looking for practical ways to find that connection with Nigeria. The initiative I?m working on is an educational organization called Odiso Leadership Academy, which dedicates 5% of our staff positions to help expose foreign-born diasporans to Nigeria. By building on the example of those who have come before us, my hope is that many other companies at home would do the same, creating a vital network and constant flow of energy, ideas, and talent between Nigeria and its diaspora.

It bears repeating that the foreign-born diasporans are very different from the nation-born diasporans, and even more so from Nigerians at home. To this point we are rather sensitive, not only because of the challenges of engagement within the diaspora alone, but also because differences are what mark much of the strife within Nigeria?s borders. But perhaps if Nigeria?s people are more open to accepting the differences across the diaspora, there would be a greater acceptance of the differences within our borders. Such unification across the federation could only influence a brighter future for Nigeria, and a sense of pride that will give those at home and those across the diaspora more reasons to choose to be Nigerian. This would be a fulfillment of the cause we sing together as Nigerians around the world: AA rise, O OCompatriots rise, Compatriots NN igeria's Call beybey igeria's CallO O T serve o serve f atherland To ourourf atherland W ith love and strength and f aith W ith love and strength and f aith T he labour of our heroes past, T he labour of our heroes past, shall never be in vain shall in vain T onever servebe with heart and might, Oserve ne N ation boundand in fmight, reedom, peace and unity.

To with heart O N ation bound in f reedom, peace and unity.

Grace Amos is a creative with a BSc in mechanical engineering from MIT. She has had an enriching work experience in design, education, strategy, and operations in various entities, including the New York Times, MIT's International Design Center, MIT Media Lab, Facebook, and Western Technology Investments. Her transformative career path has deepened her competence, confidence and courage for problem solving, outreach and engagement. She is currently working on fostering leadership development for talented underprivileged girls in Nigeria through a program architecture that bridges the gap between rigorous academic achievement and entrepreneurial education, called Odiso Leadership Academy (OLA). The mission of OLA is to invest in the development of a dynamic and globally competitive next generation dedicated to harnessing the defining challenges of our time for strategic impact. In her down time she enjoys swimming, dancing, calligraphy, and studying and playing go.

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THE

BEAUTIFUL M OM EN T

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gerian-American Public Affairs Committee 011 by a group of visionary and erian-American leaders in the USA who o ?enhanced socio-economic impact and of Nigerian origin in the United States and y influential next generation?.

SUPER CONFIDENT T ryness D zapasi

Harare, Zimbabwe Tryness D zapasi

Photographer | Creativemindart Con cept u al & Beau t y Ph ot ogr aph er Colou r ist / Ph ot ogr aph y Dir ect or Im age Con su lt an t

Dr. Ufoegbune's passion and commitment towards the socio-economic of Africans in the United States has made her a powerful voice in the Diaspora. The Diaspora African Magazine is a privilege to feature Dr. Ufoegbune for her tireless contributions in spreading positive awareness of all Africans regardless of nationality in California. .

, Dr. Veronica Ufoegbune is a devoted t strives to promoting African ctivities and sharing vital information gerians and Africans at large through edia platforms.

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NA P AC, CA LIFORNIA , USA AN OUSTANDING VOICE OF AFRICANS IN CALIFORNIA DR. EDUCATIONAL LEADERSHIP, ADMINISTRATION AND POLICIES, USA.

Dr. Veronica Ufoegbune Executive Chairwoman, N igerian American Public Affairs Committee (N APAC) in California, U nited States of America!

NAPAC foundation is a Nigerian-American Public Affairs Committee established in 2011 by a group of visionary and high-profile Nigerian-American leaders in the USA who are committed to ?enhance socio-economic impact and voice of people of Nigerian origin in the United States and their increasingly influential next generation?.

Without a doubt, Dr. Veronica Ufoegbune is a devoted professional that strives to promote African achievements, activities and sharing vital information pertaining to Nigerians and Africans at large through various social media platforms.

Through NAPAC, Dr. Ufoegbune has engaged, informed and empowered over a thousand Africans in the United States through education, health and wellness, effective advocacy and economic empowerment.

Dr. Ufoegbune's passion and commitment towards the socio-economic growth of Africans in the United States has made her a powerful voice in the Diaspora.

The Diaspora African Magazine is privileged to feature Dr. Ufoegbune for her tireless contributions in spreading positive awareness to all Africans in California regardless of their nationality.

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THE NATURAL BEAUTY OF AFRICAN WOMAN WITH LITTLE OR NOARTIFICIAL MAKEUP OR PLASTICSURGERY

Amanda Zimbabwe

Over the years, African women have created, perfected and mastered natural beauty secrets for healthy body and skin.

Its interesting to note that most of the secrets are usually traditional recipes, made from organic materials and passed down from one generation to another. This shows how much black people love to identify themselves with mother nature?s resources after having to contend with a colonial legacy of beauty standards and an idealisation of Eurocentric features.

Natural beauty may seem controversial, since it is two sides of a coin. One buttresses on one?s physical true beauty without makeup or artificial aids to enhance appearance., then the other buttresses on the reflection of who one really is. Hence the proverbial quote ?beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder ?.

Being natural is incredibly empowering. Typical African woman whose beauty radiates from her alluring dark skin, enticing feminine curves, eyes like the eagle?s, a smile as bright as the stars, and a douche of purity and confidence to crown it all.

Black women, especially African women of antiquity were legendary for their natural beauty. A time when African physiognomy was believed to be the standard of beauty in that part of the ancient world.

Many Africans believe that this has not changed much today as most African women are naturally beautiful with their well-groomed hair and usually go with little or no makeup or undergoing cosmetic/plastic surgery to enhance their beauty. However, this is not the case for most Western women that have undergone plastic surgeries like hips and butts enlargement, liposuction, breast enlargement, and

many more.

South Africa's Zozibini Tunzi was one of the African women that stood out in her natural beauty against all odds as one of the contestants during the 2019 Miss Universe beauty pageant which she ended up being the winner.

Former Miss Universe, Tunzi entered the pageantry with her natural haircut and blatantly refused to put on a wig even when she was asked to. That made her very unique. In her words, ?I came into this competition with my natural hair as a symbol of my firm belief in being yourself " she told DRUM after winning the Miss SA title in August 2019. Indeed while her sheer confidence, breathtaking looks, and graceful walks might have won her the Miss Universe title, there is no doubt that her uniqueness and pearls of wisdom earned her the world's respect Even though being naturally beautiful is a natural endowment, it is worthy to note that some individuals that engage in some healthy practices and lifestyle to maintain and enhance their beauty cannot be over-emphasized. These practices are, however not cumbersome as they involve little or no effort to achieve since they are almost just like the normal daily routine. These practices include eating healthy which includes good food, vegetables, and fruits, having enough rest, drinking enough water to keep your body hydrated, avoiding foods that irritate your skin, using suitable toiletries, exercising, reducing stress and above all being happy.

Although some African women are demonstrating the concept of enhancing beauty, however, the majority of African women maintain their natural beauty with little or plastic surgeries.

Sh eTh eQu een B a za m i l e f t Ta m y M o y o Af r ica?s en t er t ain m en t in du st r y h as gr ow n in leaps an d bou n ds over t h e last t w o decades, as ar t ist s k eep r isin g f r om r elat ive in t er n at ion al obscu r it y t o global r ecogn it ion .

It is also clear t h at t h e u n iqu en ess of em beddin g Af r ican cu lt u r e in ou r m u sic h as cr eat ed au t h en t icit y an d w ill con t in u e t o at t r act people ar ou n d t h e w or ld, especially Af r ican Am er ican s (ou r br ot h er s an d sist er s) t o iden t if y w it h t h e Af r ican w ays of m u sical en t er t ain m en t .

Wit h or w it h ou t u n der st an din g Zim babw e's n at ive lan gu ages, on e m u st be m oved w it h t h e per f or m an ce of Sh eTh eQu een?s Bazam ile f eat u r in g Tam y M oyo - a w ell-ar t icu lat ed per f or m an ce. Wit h exper t ly cu r at ed or igin al son gs, Sh eTh eQu een is an ar t ist w h o is a t r u st ed sou r ce f or m u sic an d cu lt u r e. Per h aps, a clean sw eep at t h e Gr am m y ?s is in t h e n ot -so-dist an t f u t u r e.

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THE RARE BEAN FORGOTTEN FOR HALF A CENTURY THAT COULD SAVE SIERRA LEONE?S COFFEE INDUSTRY gricultural researcher Daniel Sarmu made the discovery of a lifetime about 200 miles southeast of Sierra Leone?s capital, in the steep and humid Kambui Hills.

A

In 2018, Sarmu and two researchers from Kew Royal Botanic Gardens in the UK were on a mission to find the long-lost stenophylla coffee of Sierra Leone. The rare West African coffee plant hadn't been seen in the wild there since 1954, although it had been spotted sporadically in Guinea and the Ivory Coast over the years.

The stenophylla plant can comfortably grow at temperatures higher than the Arabica coffee bean, as low as 6.8 degrees Celsius, which Hagar says could provide the industry a potential lifeline in a warming world.

After discovering the wild garden with about 15 stenophylla plants that grow in the hills, the research team collected samples for testing.

And in their new study, published in April 2021, it was confirmed that Stenophylla coffee is of high quality and excellent flavor, comparable to the best Arabica coffee beans.

The rediscovery of Sierra Leone's highland coffee has renewed hopes that the uncommon crop could be cultivated and produced commercially -and help to revive the country's floundering coffee industry, which was decimated by 11 years of civil war.

Although this is good news for Sierra Leone, which is at the fore in the revival of Stenophylla, there is still a long way to go before this rare bean makes its way into our coffee cups.

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Sh eTh eQu een ZIMBABW EAN ART IST

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