Forbes Africa - November 2016

100 Pages·2012·21 MB·English

THE DODGY DEALINGS OF DONALD: US ELECTION INSIGHT
NOVEMBER2016EDITION
AFRICA
CAN’T PAY, WON’T
PAY: THE FLAMES
AND BULLETS
OF THE STUDENT
STANDOFF
THE
FINANCE MINISTER
UNDER FIRE
BE A SOCIAL MEDIA
MILLIONAIRE
“SOME CALL IT
ARROGANCE
,
I CALL IT
CONFIDENCE”
AIGBOJE AIG-IMOUKHUEDE
THE YOUNG BLOOD WHO
RISKED IT ALL TO BUY
A BANK
AN COMPANY
South AfricaZAR46.50 (incl VAT) | Kenya KES 510 | Nigeria NGN 1,000 | Ghana GHC 10 | Angola AOA 830 | Ethiopia ETB 110
Tanzania TZS 11,100 | Tunisia TND 10 | Uganda UGX 16,800 | Zimbabwe USD 5 | Mauritius MUR 180 | Botswana BWP 55
Namibia NAD 75 | Liberia USD 5 | Mozambique 270 Mts | Rwanda RWF 4,000
(cid:119) (cid:119) (cid:119) (cid:46) (cid:122) (cid:101) (cid:110) (cid:105) (cid:116) (cid:104) (cid:98) (cid:97) (cid:110) (cid:107) (cid:46) (cid:99) (cid:111) (cid:109)
FORBESAFRICA
CONTENTS – NOVEMBER 2016 VOLUME 6 NUMBER 10
6|FORBESSTREET // ChrisBishop
10|AFRICAINBRIEF
12|TALKINGPOINTS
FOCUS
14|‘WHENWESTARTED,ALLHELL
BROKELOOSE’
Asachild,AigbojeAig-Imoukhuedemissedhislight
homeandwasleftstrandedontherunway.Itwas
thelasttimehewaseverleftbehind.Notonlydid
hebuildabankwhenothersdoubtedhim,heisalso
leadingthewaytotransformcapitalmarketsinAfrica.
BYPEACEHYDE
24|‘WEWORKEDSOHARDANDIT
WASJUSTTAKENFROMUS’
Thisisthetaleofentrepreneurswhofoundoutthe
importanceofcontrolintheharshestofways.They
builtacompanyfromthegroundup,onlytolose it
untilhardworkbroughtsweetvictory.
BYANCILLARMANGENA
30|PROTECTYOURSELVESATALL
TIMESANDCOMEOUTFIGHTING
ItwasabodyblowtotheSouthAfricaneconomy
attheworstoftimes.TheNationalProsecuting
Authoritydidwhatmostaroundtheworldfearto
14
do–layafraudchargeagainstthecountry’sinance
ministerandmorecouldfollow;poppycockor
proofthatnooneisabovethelaw?Thepolitical
boxingmatchismerelyintheirstround,withthe
ratingsagenciesringside.
BYCHRISBISHOP
34|FRUSTRATIONFANSTHEFLAMES
October10willgodownasoneofthegrimmest
daysinSouthAfrica’shistory.Acrossthecountry,
studentsbroughtuniversitiestotheirkneesamid
bloodandstingingteargas.Astheteargascleared,
thefearofuniversitiesclosingdownandacrippling
$400-milliongraduatebraindrainloomedlarge.
BYJAYCABOZ
44|WHAT’SMINEISYOURS,
FORAFEE
Itcouldbethethrivingeconomyofthefuture.In
thesetougheconomictimes,peopleseemhappier
torentandrentout–avirtualmarketthatcould
makemillionsformillions.
BYANCILLARMANGENA
46|BANKINGATYOURFINGERTIPS
Peoplearestoringmoneyontheirphonesand
usingthemasiftheywerecards.Itmaybethe
futureofbankinginAfricaandwecouldallbe
usingmobilemoneysoon.
BYANCILLARMANGENA
48|FROMWALLETTOWWW
Rwandaisdrivinginancialinclusionandaiming to
movefromacashtocashlesseconomywithsome
keypartnershipsandinnovativestart-ups.
34 BYMETHILRENUKA
Cover photo by Kelechi Amadi-Obi
NOVEMBER 2016 FORBES AFRICA | 1
FORBES AFRICA
CONTENTS – NOVEMBER 2016 VOLUME 6 NUMBER 10
ENTREPRENEURS
66|‘THEPOLICEMADESUREIWAS
ABSENT BY ARRESTING ME’
This is the tale of an entrepreneur who has seen it
all — court battles, Interpol red notices and grief.
BY ANCILLAR MANGENA
58 | ALL THE (POTENTIAL)
PRESIDENT’S MEN
68 | YOUTUBE-PRENEURS
Donald Trump talks about “extreme Making money on YouTube takes hard work and
vetting” for those who come to our a lot of time in front of the camera; but it can pay
country. But that due diligence appar- off. Learn how some of Africa’s go-getters earn big
ently doesn’t apply to his real estate money online.
partners. From a Russian-born felon
BY ANCILLAR MANGENA
with past mob connections to a trio of
Kazakh oligarchs who offered funding,
meet the group that drove some recent LIFE
Trump deals.
BY RICHARD BEHAR
72 | THE ENTREPRENEUR’S
ENTREPRENEUR
Rakesh Wahi, founder of FORBES AFRICA, who has
built successful companies in 22 countries, opens up
in a new book about daring to dream and
living fearlessly.
BY METHIL RENUKA
INVESTMENTGUIDE
76 | CROWDFUND THE MINES
BY RICHIE SEUN JOHNSON
78 | FIRING UP THE FUTURE
BY RUFUS MWANYASI
80 | BURYING THE HATCHET
FOR A BRIGHTER FUTURE
BY MIKE UPTON
66
FORBESSPORT
86 | FAST AND CURIOUS
Kagiso Rabada is the rising star of South African
cricket. He could soon be on top of the world.
BY MARK GLEESON
88 | THE ROLE MODEL WAITING
FOR A ROLE
While Kagiso Rabada is the new star of South
African cricket, it might have been more diicult for
him without Makhaya Ntini, the irst black African to
play for South Africa, forging a path.
BY NICK SAID
90 | THE WAR CHILD WHO LOST
THE BATTLE
This is the tale of a young African boxer’s attempt
to claw his way from the streets to the top. Victory
could mean a new life, defeat could be the end. This
is the tale of Rohiwa ‘War Child’ Maemu who fought
for a world title against Tello ‘King Razor’ Dithebe. It
90 proved to be a night of blood, tears and cheers.
BY MANDILAKHE KWABAMBANA
2 | FORBES AFRICA NOVEMBER 2016

FORBES AFRICA
FORBES STREET – CHRIS BISHOP
“Carpe Diem”
For What?
I
started life as a newspaperman smaller and more dysfunctional a coun-
right down to my boots. For the try, the more charges and suspensions
first six years of my career, I and case numbers would fly around.
slogged my way up through weekly In fact you could fly out of one
newspapers, followed by evening news- country with a minister investigating
papers and completed my education on a a suspended civil servant one year and
weighty morning newspaper. I used to the fly back the next to find the same civil
love the gutsy rumble of the presses and servant investigating the suspended
the whip of the web as thousands of news- minister. If you spoke to many people on
papers were churned out into the grasp of the ground they would say this was all
eager hands. I can shut my eyes now and merely the misuse of state apparatus – at
conjure up that smell of ink and the rustle, the taxpayer’s expense – to settle scores.
full of promise, of a pristine newspaper. It was often as pointless as it was damag-
I would watch, with satisfaction, people ing – like breaching a dam to wash the
queueing up to buy a copy of my week’s dishes.
work so that they could devour it, read it So it was with dismay this month that
on the train, argue over it, criticize it and I saw Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan
occasionally learn something from the in South Africa– a country with one
columns we sweated over. of the most liberal constitutions in the
All this is as far of and remote as the world that promotes the unleashing of
Roman Empire. I can now read newspa- people’s potential to uplift all – sum-
pers from Bangkok to Birmingham on monsed to court on November 2. This
my cellphone and many youngsters have is surely the first country in the top
never bought a paper in their lives. 40 economies in the world to drag its
Chris Bishop, Managing Editor
When I began reporting across Africa, finance minister through the courts?
more than 20 years ago, this kind of con- tolooktogaugethemoodof the people: The charge in question is one of fraud,
nectivity was unheard of. Newspapers the letters page; the leader columns; the which sounds a lot more serious than its
were one of the few ways people could opinion pieces. For the price of a cold content. It revolves around Gordhan’s
keep in touch. Every time I checked into drink you could very quickly take in the alleged breach of public finance rules
a capital from Kigali to Harare, I would faces and issues of the day. to grant a colleague early retirement. It
be true to my roots and head out to the In the early days, I used to take is merely one of thousands of cases of
streets, where a myriad of titles were laid careful note of the front page stories of its kind that crop up in public service
out on the pavement, seeking the most investigations, suspensions, criminal every year and are dealt with quickly and
credible newspaper I could find. I bought charges and disciplinary procedures. judiciously by human resources oicers
them all in my time: the Mmegi Monitor, Every country seemed to have a plethora instead of a High Court judge. Also, these
z
the Botswana Guardian, the Times of of them. A story maybe? charges date back years and should have bo
a
Zambia, the Nyasa Times in Malawi and These were investigations and claims been dealt with years ago – surely if the y C
a
the Namibian. It was a great way to ab- and counter claims that eventually breach was that bad, should it not have y J
b
sorb what was happening on the ground criss-crossed the landscape so much that precluded Gordhan from holding one of o
ot
and as a newspaperman I knew where they all blurred into one. It appeared the the most senior posts in government… h
P
6 | FORBES AFRICA NOVEMBER 2016
twice? The man himself has dismissed it Ministers in four days. First Nhlanhla rest of the economies of sub-Saharan
all as political mischief – he may not be Nene was out, then rookie Finance Min- Africa with it. Interest rates and inflation
wrong. ister Des van Rooyen stepped in for the are likely to rocket. It spells hard miser-
The sad fact is that the confirmation weekend before President Jacob Zuma, able times for people in Africa, who do
of the charge sounded serious enough, after persuasion, reshuled Gordhan an honest day’s work, as they attempt to
in London, Paris and New York, to send back into the job. haul themselves up the economic ladder.
the rand diving, by 3.4% in one day, as What is clear is that the furore is like- The only certainty is that the poor – not
well as the markets tumbling. They fell ly to hasten South Africa’s hurtle down- the politicians with their pampered life-
as hard as they did during the debacle in hill to junk status. In this, one of Africa’s style – are likely to get even poorer.
December that saw three South African strongest economies is likely to drag the One question: For what?
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NOVEMBER 2016 FORBES AFRICA | 7
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NOVEMBER 2016 – VOLUME 6 NUMBER 10
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8 | FORBES AFRICA NOVEMBER 2016