Over the past couple of weeks, there has been expressions of outrage and condemnation in the media and social media over an American hunter’s killing of a well lion called Cecil in Zimbabwe.  Reactions over the killing have ranged from revulsion toward the trophy hunting and the obvious need to protect human life. I have been asking myself, what is it about this story that has caused such a reaction? 

As one Zimbabwean New York Times reader commented, “A stray lion in human settlements is an obvious danger. It deserves to be shot on sight,” Afro wrote from Zimbabwe. “But a lion in an animal sanctuary or a government owned game park is another story. For it to be baited and hunted down illegally is what the world is crying foul about.”   So, it’s the circumstances surrounding the killing of the lion that has created such an uproar. Wouldn't you agree?

Whilst the world reacted, last week international airlines such as Delta, United, American Airline, Air Canada, Air France and Qantas announced that they will no longer allow the shipment of hunting trophies on their flights. While there has been general support for this decision, some African governments, namely South Africa and Namibia are saying that this action might be single-handedly responsible for eliminating any remaining conservation efforts for these animals.

From the AP:

The environment ministry for South Africa expressed its disappointed at the decision and said:

“The decision by Delta Air Lines to enforce a blanket ban fails to distinguish between the trade in and transportation of legally acquired wildlife specimens, and the illegal exploitation and trade in wildlife specimens,” the ministry said in a statement.”

Neighbouring Namibia also warned that:

This will be the end of conservation in Namibia,” the Namibia Press Agency quoted Pohamba Shifeta, the environment and tourism minister, as saying.

Many hunters of the “Big Five” – lion, leopard, elephant, rhino and buffalo – believe that what they do is a legitimate sport, conserves wildlife by funnelling funds back into game reserves and can be the ultimate personal challenge in a natural setting.

So clearly, hunting in Africa is big business. Trophy hunting is permitted in over 20 African nations and in many places, permits are sold for the hunting of specific animals. The African countries depend on the fact that hunters are willing to pay extravagant tag fees to the government and spend many thousands of dollars in the local economy, to fund their conservation efforts that preserve and protect these beautiful animals from poachers and extinction. In South Africa, home to the biggest hunting industry on the continent, it is legal to hunt most big game animals inside private ranches, including the Big Five: lions, white rhinoceroses, elephants, leopards and buffaloes.

Although quotas are set to maintain the populations of certain species, problems and illegal hunting still exists.  If I were able to have an audience with African government ministers, my question to them would be: “How do other nations manage to preserve their environment without resorting to hunting? Surely the environment could be funded from sources other than hunting, for example, revenue from tourism. After all, it is the responsibility of all of us to protect our environment.

It goes without saying that the African nations that are home to the “Big Five” animals have a tourism industry that is in demand.  Both South Africa and Namibia are popular tourist destinations with some 14 million arrivals registered in South Africa in 2013. According to Wikipedia, tourism in Namibia contributes to N$7.2 billion of the country’s GDP.  Therefore, one would have thought that these countries should be able to support their environment through sustainable tourism. For this to happen, marketing / branding strategies must be planned and implemented.

Our entire ecosystem is driven by brands and Africa is no different.  “Brand Africa” is a complex amalgamation of the qualities of the continent, which includes with the beautiful flora and fauna and these are part and parcel of the brands for those countries. 

Africa is a diverse continent with beautiful natural resources so, for the love of Africa, let us protect our environment and natural resources do some internal branding to promote a positive image of Africa.

Photo credit: Blue Square Thing / Foter / CC BY-NC-SA 

As memories of summer fun fade and life starts to get very busy, I have noticed that most of us are no longer just working 9 to 5pm. Rather, we are juggling various roles (full-time or part-time) and so essentially, we’re running our own business – the business of building our very own personal brand. I have come to understand I am my own biggest advocate and that the key to creating a powerful personal brand is not the job or career, but the goal that I pursue.

I have always been a person to set myself goals but recently, I have realised that whilst that’s good, the time has come for me to have a focus in order to achieve a work-life balance.

The following words written in a letter by George Bernard Shaw have been lingering in my thoughts:

“This is the true joy in life, the being used for a purpose recognised by yourself as a mighty one; the being thoroughly worn out before you are thrown on the scrap heap; the being a force of Nature instead of a feverish selfish little clod of ailments and grievances complaining that the world will not devote itself to making you happy.”

Shaw’s words have helped me to articulate my own “mighty” purpose which is to change the perception of Africa by amplifying brand Africa though positive and complete stories that informs, educates and inspires readers. The following is my interpretation of the four points that he makes regard with regards t finding the true joy of life:

 Be “used for a purpose recognised by yourself as a mighty one” – There is a purpose to our lives. We should recognise our purpose and live our lives with this “mighty” purpose in mind.

1. Be “thoroughly worn out before you are thrown on the scrap heap” – We should live our life productively! However, that does not mean that we must be busy, busy, busy all day and collapse with exhaustion at night time as this will be detrimental to your well-being and lead to burnout. Whilst burnout is often the result of exhaustion, a clash of one’s purpose and the demands of our daily work and life can be equally burdensome. So let there be no misunderstanding, our main goal should be to live a purposeful life.
2. Be “a force of Nature” – We should strive to be a force of change by being a balanced and centred person with a higher perspective on life rather than carrying out one’s plans or wishes with disregard for others.
3. Not be “a feverish selfish little clod of ailments and grievances complaining that the world will not devote itself to making you happy” – This is a continuation of point 3 and it emphasises the point that we shouldn’t lose sight of our “mighty” purpose when life’s inevitable hurdles trip us up.

 All being said and done, it is very easy to lead our lives without a purpose, meaning or goal, chasing something that is ultimately meaningless or reaching the top of the ladder of success only to find that we are leaning against the wrong wall. Our purpose in life is far more important than property, possessions power or money. Having more to live for is no substitute for having more to live for.

The purpose and goal of our lives must never revolve around material things. Rather, when we pursue the right relationship with ourselves and others we find life, purpose and prosperity.

It has been said that “the two greatest days of your life are the day you were born and the day you find out why.” I for one will be using this period at the start of September to make it a fruitful one and go “back to school” with purpose. 

Photo credit: ransomtech / Foter / CC BY-NC-SA

Juliana Rotich, Kenyan

Anne Amuzu, Ghanaian

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Bio

Joyce Sarpong MBA, FRSAJoyce Sarpong is the founder and MD of AfricaOracle, an organisation focused on re-branding Africa and the people of Africa in a positive and holistic way.  She is the editor of Africa 2020, a digital magazine focused on Sub-Sahara Africa, which features individuals and institutions, curates stories and strives to ensure that the narrative maintains a balance between reporting on news and promoting a successful brand image of Africa. AfricaOracle promotes stories that presents complete stories about Africa and those written about Africa by Africans. Joyce regularly attends events regularly and is available to speak, interview and write blog posts to highlight and showcase a positive image of brand Africa.  

 AfricaOracle   

 @africaoracle  

 Joyce Sarpong  

 AfricaOracle   

Barack Obama's visit to Kenya was a momentous occasion that put Africa in the spotlight.  The President's visit to attend the Entrepreneurial Summit and address the African Union was a significant trip.

Africa is less dependent less on aid now than it did in the past. Whilst aid is diminishing in it's role, investment is having an increasing role.  This will require many African countries to become global partners working in partnership with donor / investment partners, not merely minority shareholders, but rather by generating wealth and creating jobs. Such a partnership will also require that African  nations to play a different role on the global stage and in international affairs (e.g.significance fighting terrorism and climate change) and demand recognition, dignity and respect. 

Africa is not a country but a continent of 54 nations, which in spite of many similarities, differ from one another in many respects.  Despite these vast differences, Africa is often depicted as being homogeneous.

There’s something seemingly simplistic, yet surprisingly informative, about trying to sum up a country, a complex collective of thousands or millions of people, in just a few words.  So what would it be like if each of the 54 states walked into one big bar - with Obama watching?

#IfAfricaWasABar began with a simple question tweeted by writer Siyanda Mohutsiwa from Botswana: “If Africa was a bar, what would you’re country be drinking/doing? “I thought it would be a fun way for Africans to laugh at themselves and each other by putting geopolitics in comedic light,” she says.

She then went on to poke fun at her own country

And that's how the Twitter hashtag #IfAfricaWasABar was born.  Below are some more example tweets across the continent:

In her YouTube video, Mohutsiwa commented that Hashtags like #IfAfricaWasABar, can highlight perceptions that Africans have about each other. She also remarked that given that the African media tends to be focused on individual nations rather than having a Pan African outlook, the hashtag has given Africans the opportunity to learn about and from each other and teach others about Africa. These are important lessons for intra-regional collaboration and unity, that will lead to self-sufficiency, prosperity and growth for Africa.

It's been quite a summer of influential African hashtags, with examples of other hashtags being, #TheAfricaTheMediaNeverShowsYou and #SomeoneTellCNN.  My personal reflections on these hashtags are that they serve to to showcase brand Africa and the diversity of the African narrative - which has predominantly been presented by mainstream media. The consequences of this has been that the news reported covers such news stories, from ISIS and Boko Haram, to climate change, Ebola, unemployment and growing divisions between income inequalities the “haves” and “have nots”. Whilst these stories are factually correct, they need to be more complete to show how people are responding, reaching out to their neighbours and rising to the occasion to present more human stories.  The African hashtags have demonstrated that Africans want the narratives to reflect how they see themselves. The rise in the use of social media by Africans is gaining momentum and should be leveraged to re-shape and diversify the African narrative.

In his historic trip to East Africa, President Obama said: " I want to be here because Africa is on the move." Whilst Africa is on the move, ultimately, changing and transforming the perception of Africa requires that the continent is seen as part of a “whole” from a worldview (as opposed to than being defined in isolation it’s by events) and this requires a narrative that is reflective of Africans, the continent and one that reports on more complete stories. Only then can the image of Africa, the African brand emerge. 

As a media and communications organisation, AfricaOracle is passionate about providing balanced stories on Sub-Sahara Africa and promoting successful African brands to provide a positive image of brand Africa to re-shape and diversify the African narrative. We are doing this with our digital magazines on the Flipboard platform and currently, we have over 2,400 followers.  You can support our mission by following our magazines.  Check out AfricaOracle’s portfolio of magazines on Flipboard and Our main magazine is Africa 2020.

The first couple of weeks of July is typically busy with lots of business events before the start of the holiday season and this month has certainly been no different.

Last week Monday, 13^th July, I had the privileged of participating in the BBC's Africa Debate.  The debate took place at the magnificent British Museum on a warm mid-summer’s night in London (the financial capital of the world) as the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa (a city full of symbolic importance for all of Africa) hosted world leaders for the Third International Conference on Financing for Development. This summit was presented as being crucial for the UN's efforts to end global poverty and manage climate change  with its 2015-2030 Sustainable Development Goals - due to be formally adopted in New York in October. 

The central question raised during the debate was: "Has Africa Outgrown Development Aid."  Let’s face it, it’s easier to settle for the status quo than to face the ‘what ifs’ that accompany progress wouldn't you agree?

In this article, I will give you the backdrop to the debate, summarise its key points and conclude with my thoughts and insights.

Ten years ago, a UK-government commission for Africa launched at the British Museum that coincided with the global movement to Make Poverty History in Africa. The commission encouraged partnership between Africa and the developed world rather than a relationship of dependency.

Monday’s debate was chaired by BBC presenter, Zainab Badawi and the panel consisted of:

Andrew Mitchell - Secretary of State for International Development, 2010-12;

Tutu Agyare - Managing Partner of Nubuke Investments;

Giles Bolton - author of "Aid and other dirty business"

At the start of the debate, we were reminded that a couple of months ago, President Kenyatta said Africa must start looking internally for solutions to its various challenges rather than continued dependency on other world economies including economic dependency.

"The future of our continent cannot be left to the good graces of outside interests. Dependency on giving that only appears to be charitable must end. Foreign aid, which so often carries terms and conditions that preclude progress is not an acceptable basis for prosperity and freedom. It is time to give it up," said the President.

The debate kicked off with the question: Is this rhetoric or has Africa outgrown development aid?

Below is my summary of the debate that ensued:

• No, Africa hasn’t outgrown development aid per se. Aid has a role and we can see the difference it can make as is demonstrated by the aid money for HIV aids and education However, it has outgrown how aid is delivered.  Currently, the way in which it’s delivered with its focus on the control by the donor organisations takes away from African countries a way to use aid for their own benefit and is more about accountability back to the people giving the money.
• Ghana was cited as a nation which has achieved middle income status and therefore reduced its eligibility for aid.
• Cultural dependency on development aid is killing our people. The Nairobi start-up scene is awash with development money and this is not sustainable.
• Focus should be on helping Africa to build the institutions required so that it isn’t reliant on development aid. Essentially, there should be a timeframe on aid with an exit strategy of the development community built in.
• As long as aid is the only source of financing, there will be an imbalance of power.
• The elephant in the room is tax evasion by multinational corporations which amounts to huge losses of revenue for the governments of African nations.
• In terms of alternatives for funding Africa’s development, the following were suggested: Africa has all the skills and resources it needs to develop the continent. What’s required to is for Africa to organise its resources and skills along with a strategic plan and implementation of the plan. Development aid used to be the main source of finance, now others sources such as remittances and investments form a significant portion and also domestic savings being organised as pension funds in countries like Kenya and Nigeria which can be put to use to build institutions and infrastructure.  So the debate has shifted away from development aid to what the aid / funds is used for is defined by Africans themselves to develop their institutions and infrastructure. There is also the innovative way in which the aid is being used for development in private-public partnership.  For example, M-Pesa, mobile-phone based money transfer and microfinancing service, launched in 2007 in a partnership between Vodafone for Safaricom and Vodacom, the largest mobile network operators in Kenya and Tanzania. M-Pesa was designed by Kenyans, funded by DFID and commercialised by Vodafone.  Therefore development aid should be moving from one of donors and recipients to one of collaboration and partnership.

The debate concluded by saying that:

• Development aid should help African nations get a better deal from international finance by building better systems – such as ones for collect tax; curbing illicit financial flows between governments, international companies and the international audit profession and mispricing of exports - costing the continent about one trillion dollars over the last 50 years,according to a high-level panel chaired by former South African president Thabo Mbeki. More money, it turns out, flows out of Africa than into it.
• Development aid will be less important but more effective with a diminishing role and investment will have an increasing role. The western nations community should continue to give aid and pay taxes and African nations shouldn’t accept just anybody’s aid but make the conditions clear on how aid will be accepted and communicate this plan.
• Need to have a partnership whereby the donor partner (developed nations) work in partnership with the recipient partner.  
• Africans in the diaspora should use their skills, talent and experience for the development of Africa.

So, how then: Who is responsible for Africa’s development?  The saying goes that “charity begins at home” should be applicable to the context of Africa’s development meaning that ultimately Africa is responsibility for its own development.

This then begs the question: How should Africans approach the development of their own continent? In his pioneering book “Emerging Africa”, Kinsley Chiedu Moghalu suggests that the answer lies in 4 things: A worldview – a reflection / interpretation of the world by an individual / group and one’s place in it – and within that framework, values, strategy and organisation.

These four principals will need to be applied to the areas of fundamental importance to Africa, such as: governance, infrastructure, private sector development, education, science and technology. The development of Asian countries such as Malaysia & Singapore, provide good examples of countries with a clear vision with a worldview.

Therefore, I believe that Africa requires a set of enabling infrastructures to help it to sense, see its relevance globally and unlock deeper blockages that prevent profound institutional change. After which, Africa can play a different game in global affairs and take control of its own destiny by paying attention to the eco-system (rather than its “ego-system”) reviewing the place of development aid, foreign direct investment and remittances in its development and putting in place strong institutions to create an enabling environment for private sector-led growth. Only then can we see transformational change in Africa.

Joyce Sarpong

Founder and CEO of AfricaOracle