DAME Africa Magazine Q2 2016

BUSINESS FASHION FINANCE LIFESTYLE
AFRICA’S
INSURANCE
INDUSTRY
WE TAKE A
LOOK AT THE
DEVELOPMENTS
ACROSS THE
CONTINENT
KENYA’S TAKE
ON RENEWABLE
ENERGY
EXCLUSIVE
INTERVIEW
WITH
FOUNDER OF
EASY TAXI NIGERIA
BANKOLE CARDOSO
1

2

CONTENTS
05.
Editor’s Letter
10.
Kenya’s Push Towards Cleaner Modern
Energy
16.
14.
Insurance is the Amour
Jumia
24.
7 Hacks to Launch a Business for Less
30.
Exclusive Interview with Bankole Cardoso
3

EDITOR ADAORA UZOR
(Writer of: Editor’s Letter to your scary boss); Kenya’s push towards cleaner modern energy; Jumia – 4
years and still going; Insurance is the amour; The Value of Transparency and Accountability; Investment
Diversification; Home is where the heart is- an exclusive interview with Bankole Cardoso; Fruit – the right
way; Home Comforts; 5 Musts for beautiful skin; The power of the pout; Primers – a girl’s best friend; 3
years natural.)
EXECUTIVE EDITOR NANA KWESI TAYLOR
(Writer of: World within the Words; Cash In; Rwanda; Curves; Tourism – The hidden gems; Let’s take a
trip; Style is a vocation (His); I love my job – an exclusive interview with Fred Apaloo.)
WRITER OLABISI ESAN
(Writer of: 10 Steps to live younger for longer; Style is a vocation (Hers))
WRITER OLADIMEJI RUFAI
(Writer of: Dear Commentators)
CONTRIBUTOR DARYL AMANKWAH
(Writer of: Young Entrepreneurs)
CONTRIBUTOR PETER YOBO
(Writer of: 7 Hacks to Launch a Business for Less)
CONTRIBUTOR FRED APALOO
(Writer of: Fred’s Restaurant Review)
FASHION EDITOR STYLE CHECK BY DEE (DEE OSEI-MENSAH)
HEAD PHOTOGRAPHER KOJO ANTWI
PHOTOGRAPHER DERRICK-PRINCE WILLIAM-QUARTEY
ILLUSTRATOR TRISAN TETTEY
MAKE-UP ARTIST NICOLE UMUTONI
DESIGNED BY DIGITAL MASTERY
…………………………………………………………………………………………
CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER & FOUNDER DARYL AMANKWAH
MANAGING PARTNER ADAORA UZOR
BUSINESS MANAGER (GHANA) DERRICK ANNAN
REPRESENTATIVE MIKE ALMOW
4

EDITOR’S LETTER
to your SCARY BOSS (with respect)
Since the release of the maiden edition of
DAME Africa, I secured a new job with
one of the largest insurance groups in
the UK as a Compliance Advisor. In just
one month of advising the company’s
operations directors and the like, there is
a wealth of information I have absorbed.
The challenges that arise from the extreme separation
of powers, with many managers effectively doing the
same job under different titles. The presence of effective
governance where information is disseminated to all
staff levels from one responsible source simultaneously,
rather than delegated delivery of information by multiple
agents. The value added in spending time on information
gathering in respect of a particular concern as opposed
to taking action prematurely. Not to say that I know it all,
but hey – it’s my job to advise on such issues. Perfect for
an opinionated, loud-mouth like myself.
All these serious aspects of my role aside, what I have
found most interesting are the people. In a company
as large as this, there is an abundance of characters at
every level of the organisation. Being in a position that
requires interaction with
most people in the business,
allows one to observe
many interesting exchanges
between individuals. This
in turn reveals many things
– including what different
people think it means to
be a boss. “I’m a boss so I
have to appear intimidating”.
“Well I’m a boss so I have
to appear stern”. “I’m a
boss so not just anyone
can approach me”. Or how
about – “I’m a boss but also
just myself and a person like
everyone else”. We hear it
all too often that you have
5

to fake it to make it. But why? Does being a boss mean intentionally adopting
a false persona or does it mean that you have worked hard and exhibit
leadership qualities that have been recognised and evidenced by the upward
mobility you have been blessed with. I warned you I’m opinionated.
Personally I cannot think of anything more tiresome than pretending to be
a certain type of ‘boss’ and confining myself to that one box. I would like
to be respected yes, but I would also like to be considered approachable,
knowledgeable, patient and a little funny (sometimes). I would love to be
considered all the above equally by my colleagues, friends and family. One
multifaceted person with a huge personality that can’t be defined in any simple
terms. In that sense, I’m a little like this edition of DAME Africa – you just can’t
put us in a box. DAME Africa is and always will be a diverse magazine covering
business, finance, fashion and lifestyle. In this edition, we have stretched our
content to allow our creativity to burst out of any box you may have thought to
place us in following our first edition. This time around we delve a little deeper
into the delights of African tourism. We look at Africa’s National Parks of which
I was surprised to note how many there are. [Page 6]
We also invite your taste buds to the party with a number of pieces for the
food lovers among you. On page 18 we have a special restaurant review by
guest contributor, Fred Apaloo.
We like to balance our treats here at DAME and so after the delights of African
dishes, we invite you to turn to page 17 for some fruity advice.
The excitement doesn’t end there! On this side of the magazine we have added
a spark to the world of business and finance. Rwanda has caught our attention.
Turn to page 12 to find out why.
I have personally taken a further interest into the business model of Jumia,
Africa’s largest online retailer. I look at our internet-ready continent and discuss
the adaptations made by this innovative company to make e-commerce work
despite its challenges in Africa [Page 14].
I was also lucky enough to catch up with Easy Taxi founder, Bankole Cardoso.
Turn to page 30 to read our exclusive interview with one of Africa’s most
notable young entrepreneurs.
Lastly, we have brought some creative synergy to the two halves of the
magazine by linking them together with an five page centre-fold spread on
the beauty in turning passions into business – an exclusive interview with our
guest, Fred Apaloo.
So I hope I have enticed you to sit back and enjoy DAME Africa Q2!
6
A. Uzor

World within the Words
Gradually the epidemic perfunctorily pokes
its way into your bubble. It annexes your
space and you become somewhat of a
vassal. You submit to its distinctiveness.
And where the outcome is income, there you find a
reason to bring out the ‘prosecco’. Okay, you can calm
your nerves now. It’s just the business world that’s under
scrutiny here. Business is the focal point of so many
things today – well, it has been that way for eons. It
is a face with two starkly contrasting cheeks and it’s
relatively easy to end up with either cheek on any given
day because the grind of business hurls many curves
your way, some wicked some welcome. But anyway,
show me someone who isn’t in it to win it and I’ll tell
you the exact date the world will end.
How adept are you in the world of business?
What are the chances of me getting the best value out of
an IPO once my company goes public? I heard through
the grapevine that the impression a potential investor
makes by way of spotting advertisement should be
weighed with importance. But internally, should I be as
fixated on equaling my revenue and expenditure tallies
so as to break even at the end of the calendar year?
Hmm…How about I merge my business with someone
else’s in the same field so as to form a solid partnership?
Of course, either way I’ll have to show a great deal of
sagacity. Maybe run a PEST analysis to explore more
potential product and marketing concepts? Yeah, that
should give me a real boost. Oh, and my target market
too. I definitely have to pick out a section of the market
who my product will readily satisfy. Hey, it’s still about
the green, isn’t it?
When all is said and done, it will be in my best interest
to label my assets. Everyone needs a contingency plan
right? If push comes to shove, I need to have properties
that possess value in the event of an exchange, in order
to salvage my business. My profit margin remains key
however. It is the prime motive after all. The parting
gift on my income statement should go a long way to
putting a smile on my face; the beginnings of a reward
for a job well done.
It is much like a game of chess but only with numbers.
So what’s your move? Well, just make sure it’s always a
shrewd one.
7

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8

2015
“When we look at the history of energy – in Europe, the
US, China – economic development was realised by a
substantial amount of coal. But in Africa, we may well see,
for the first time, a region realising its economic growth
using renewable energy.” Fatih Birol, Executive Director of
the International Energy Agency.
2016…
9

Kenya’s push towards cleaner modern energy
As the developed and
developing world continue
to invest in greener energy,
Kenya shows that it isn’t prepared to
be left behind.
It’s a mix of good and bad news for
Kenya. On the one hand, the nation’s
oil finds in 2012 proved less valuable
in this age as the energy market shifts
towards renewable energy. In other
words, the demand for the oil just is
not there, minimising the benefit to
be derived. On the other hand, the
current situation has given Kenya an
added urge in the direction of greener
energy.
Whilst the global market is receiving
a steady supply of oil, which
continues to keep the commodity
prices down, Kenya appears to be
thriving with its focus on alternative
energy. Kenya Power, the Electricity
Utility Firm has announced that its
increased production of geothermal
energy in Kenya’s national grid has
led to a dramatic rise in its electricity
exports to Tanzania and Uganda,
which almost doubled between 2014
and 2015.
Geothermal energy is derived from
the Earth’s internal heat and has been
used for many years. Below Earth’s
crust, there is a layer of hot and
molten rock where heat is continually
produced. The amount of heat within
10,000 meters (about 33,000 feet)
of Earth’s surface contains 50,000
times more energy than all the oil and
natural gas resources in the world.
This form of energy is really within the
bounds of cleaner energy as geothermal
fields produce only about one-sixth
of the carbon emissions produced by
a relatively clean natural gas fuelled
power plant. With its generation being
relatively inexpensive, those investing
in the production of geothermal energy
stand to save as much as 80% in
comparison to fossil fuel derived energy.
Kenya has definitely set out to capitalise
on these favourable figures. The
development of a direct transmission
line between Kenya and Uganda makes
Uganda its largest market, accounting
for 93% of Kenya’s total market. The
good news keeps on coming as the
nature of geothermal energy sources
means there is plenty to go round,
translating into huge growth potential
within Kenya and beyond. According
to the global consulting firm McKinsey,
Kenya possesses 40% of Africa’s 15,000
MW of proven geothermal potential.
The country has tapped into less than
2%, indicating the extent of energy
available to be unearthed.
Kenya has made a big impression on the
renewable energy market, as the biggest
investor in this form of energy on the
continent so far. With the resistance
of OPEC and other player towards the
idea of reducing petroleum production
to help boost prices in a bid to maintain
their market share (no matter how
unprofitable the market remains), we
may very well see other markets within
Africa and around the world step
up their push on greener energy as a
modern money-maker.
10

CASH IN
WE ARE
GOING
PUBLIC! These
words, the
euphoria, the
smiles; half and
full, the hugs,
the champagne,
the confetti
and finally,
THE GREEN
BUTTON. This is
an all-time high. A great reward after
months or years of work. It’s almost
like a franchise player getting a new
bumper deal. Yes, you give and you
get. Most likely huge returns.
In the world of finance and figures,
there are several routes to the
Cayman Islands. I happen to know
one. An Initial Public Offering.
IPOs are as interactive as business
and finance gets. Stocks, shares and
investors are colloquial business
terminologies, hence it is no surprise
that they are at the heart of every
IPO.
Many business behemoths of today
tore through the ranks by virtue of
going public. ‘Facebook’, Deutsche
Telekom AG, The Agricultural
Bank of China and a host of other
powerhouses have managed to step it
up a notch by doing you know what.
With Africa gathering pace on the
economic front, we as a continent are
also doing our bid to also get in the
IPO groove. The chatter about stock
markets on the continent has become
more distinct since 2013. Numbers
have been doubled and tripled with
each passing year and 2016 looks
like it has a lot under its sleeve with
regards to the stock exchange.
Numbers certainly don’t lie. 2015
saw a grand total of $12.7bn raised as
capital on the African Stock Market
in spite of the precariousness of the
global market. Like many other
African firms, Afinitas Limited’s
activities on the Botswana Stock
AFINITAS LIMITED
Field of Operation: Financial services
Category: Private
Initiation: 2014
Goal: To seed diverse Africa-focused companies with
the necessary capital to make a difference
Headquarters: Gaborone, Botswana
Founder: Rupert McCammon (MD)
Market in 2015 contributed to
the numbers that were put up.
The budding holding company
incorporated in Botswana in 2014,
has the sole aim of launching and
developing businesses across Africa.
With the business climate of Africa
ever-improving, Afinitas Limited
has made major strides in their field
of operations. Their
cause has surely been
backed by a relatively
stable political terrain
and the flooding
of foreign investors
on the shores of
Africa. Despite the
availability of official
figures from stock
market activities by
the company, its
heads have publicly
declared a positive
outcome from the
company’s debut on
the Botswana Stock
Exchange.
Sliding over into 2016, the chatter
about IPOs is even more thunderous.
Analysts have drawn up figures which
promise to eclipse what has already
been achieved in preceding years.
Interswitch Limited, Nigeria’s leading
digital payment and commerce
company, has been on everyone’s
radar with regards to Africa’s stock
exchange activities for 2016. The
company burst onto the scene in
2002, at the time technology was still
maturing and tapped into a business
venture that wasn’t so popular at
the time. Fast forward to today and
Interswitch Limited can boast of
over 11,000 ATMs on its network in
Nigeria. They can also confidently lay
claim to producing just under threefourth
of the 25 million payment
cards used in Nigeria. Interswitch
has since spread its wings to Uganda,
Gambia, Tanzania and Kenya, and
is planning to set up shop in more
African countries.
The plan to expand across the
frontiers of Africa will be brought
to life by Interswitch going public.
Interswitch will be listed on both
London and Lagos Stock Exchanges
and is expected to be valued at
anything north of a billion dollars;
INTERSWITCH LIMITED
Field of operation: Digital payment and commerce
Category: Private
Initiation: 2002
Goal: To ease the electronic circulation of money between
individuals and companies on a consistent basis.
Headquarters: Lagos, Nigeria
Branches: Nigeria, Kenya, The Gambia, Uganda and
Tanzania
Founder: Mitchell Elegbe (GMD & CEO)
the first of any kind from Africa.
Bright times ahead for Africa indeed.
So my business savvy comrades, look
out for that Interswitch IPO date
because WHEN THAT GREEN
BUTTON GOES DOWN…
11

RWANDA
An upsurge on the cards? Definitely!
12
As China’s economy continues to make the headlines for
uncharacteristic reasons, it’s time we turn our attention to
our own and celebrate our feats. ‘The Land of a Thousand
Hills’. With an economy plodding its way to heights of a hill
(possibly), Rwanda seems to be making all the right moves to
give itself a facelift. After the genocide of 20 years ago lanced
through its flesh, Rwanda’s soul has been the starting point
for the rebuilding process. Differences have been put aside
and all factions have coalesced to rebuild Rwanda. The prime
beneficiary of this unison; Rwanda’s economy.
With all hands on deck in the agricultural sector, Rwanda
has made remarkable progress on the economic front over
the years. Coupled with favorable weather conditions and
upgrades in technology and investments, it has been projected
that Rwanda’s economic rise will be more praiseworthy than
it presently is, in a few years to come. As a testament to this
assertion, statistics show that Rwanda’s GDP has been steadily
increasing since 1994, making its largest leap from 4.7% to
7.0% between 2013 and 2014.
Undeterred by the genocide’s footprints, Rwanda receives a
plethora of visitors all through the year. The tourism sector
has benefited immensely from these visitors, which in turn,
gives the economy a much needed boost. Statistics show that,
tourism rakes in a lot of foreign exchange for Rwanda, with the
numbers increasing each year. Success in the field of tourism
is largely billed to the mountain gorilla trekking activities that
are rife in Rwanda. It is one of only two countries in Africa
that can boast of having mountain gorillas. This sees thousands
of people troop into the country to get in on the act. The
mountain gorillas claim the headlines. But the myriad
greens, highlands, and wildlife in Rwanda also make a case
for themselves.
Arguably, the brightest spot in Rwanda’s gradual but
remarkable rise has to be the declaration that its shores
are the most business-friendly in Africa, according to
the recently released World Bank’s annual report ‘Doing
Business 2016’. The rather flexible provisions put in place
to allow the tertiary sector to thrive have indeed brought
in some commendable rewards. Banks, hotels, restaurants
and the likes, owned by nationals and non-nationals alike,
have contributed as much as 43% to the country’s GDP in
recent years.
Rwanda’s definitely in with a huge chance to etch its
name in the bright lights since their economy is gathering
pace. With the ‘business-friendly’ tag already established,
it isn’t rocket science understanding why reputable firms
such as KPMG and PriceWaterCoopers have set up shop
in Rwanda. It’s a win-win situation. Locals have their
skills honed by the best of the best, societal development
is realized, Rwanda is put on the map and the economy
continues to rise through the ranks. There’s a lot more
mirth among Rwandans these days. Who can blame them?
They’ve come a long way and the light at the end of the
tunnel gets brighter with each passing day.
Rwanda epitomizes an ideal fighting spirit. Rwanda
exemplifies the adage ‘little drops of water make a mighty
ocean’. My money’s on Rwanda to one day reach the status
of the ‘big boys’. Who wants to counter that?

*
RWANDA GDP
increased from
4.7% - 7.0%
between 2013 & 2014
13

4 Years and still going
The online retailer continues to grab E-commerce challenges by the horns.
Over the last two decades the internet
has grown as a tool of many functions.
Social media has changed the way
we socialise and interact with each
other; search engines and online
databases have changed the way we do our research
and e-commerce has all but replaced the way business
is conducted throughout the world. The use of the
internet for business and trade is possibly its most valued
function, making it a profit generating and economy
boosting tool. Arguable, no other company serves as
proof of the strength of e-commerce in breaking barriers
and overcoming commercial challenges as Jumia, Africa’s
largest E-commerce business.
Putting the benefits aside for a brief second, e-commerce
is not without its challenges which are perceived to
be further exacerbated by the spread of e-commerce
and its increased utilisation in emerging markets. Two
of the major perceived threats to e-commerce and its
global development is security and trust. The issues
have been recurring in studies and statistic. Security and
trust in e-commerce concern, in broad terms, threats
to consumers from misrepresentation and fraudulent
retailers and threats to legitimate transactions from third
party attacks. In fact the threat is perceived to be so high
that we see forms of institutional exclusion stemming
from merchants from countries like the UK. For B2C
e-commerce to grow throughout the world, consumers
need to be able to trust the authenticity of the online
retailers they are transacting with. Measures and
remedies are needed to promote consumer confidence.
A 2006 study looked at nine factors that affect the
growth of e-commerce in Nigeria and sought to identify
the factors that are considered most influential on
the adoption of e-commerce in Nigeria. One of the
factors considered was ‘government e-readiness’ which
is defined as “the preparation of national state and its
contributions to promote, support, facilitate and regulate
e-commerce and its various requirements”. Whilst it is
proposed that a lack of strong support for e-commerce
activity from the government would negatively impact
the adoption of e-commerce; surprisingly government
e-readiness was found to be the least impactful factor
affecting the adoption of e-commerce. Of the nine
factors considered, the perceived complexity and
perceived benefit were found to be the most influential
on the adoption of e-commerce, demonstrating that the
understanding of e-commerce is not yet at a universal
standard around the world. Such comparisons between
the understanding in emerging markets and that in
developed countries unfortunately do not offer much
in terms of understanding how to promote and develop
e-commerce in countries like Nigeria. The level of
development of e-commerce in different parts of the
world, and the overall measure of consumer confidence
and willingness to engage appear to be related. However,
it cannot be ascertained whether a greater understanding
of e-commerce, consumer confidence and usage is
the result of a more developed e-commerce market
supported by features such as good networks and secure
payment gateways or whether the development of
e-commerce in any given country is the result of the
better understanding by consumers, leading to more
confident and high use of the electronic mode of trade.
Six years on from this study, Jumia was established in
Nigeria in 2012 and set its aim of being the biggest
online retailer in Nigeria. Since then the company has
expanded to 11 other countries.
Its inception in Nigeria served as a strong message
to Africa and the rest of the world – we are ready for
the e-world too and we don’t need to wait for it to be
brought to us. Companies like Jumia and Konga made
the development of e-commerce in Africa a matter for
the business world and not the government. Jumia also
14

Countries in which Jumia operate:
Nigeria
Egypt
Morocco
Kenya
Cote d’Ivoire
Uganda
Ghana
Cameroon
Tanzania
Angola
Senegal
Algeria
showed an appreciation for the need to create a business
model that puts its consumers and their environment first.
The beauty of Jumia lies within the awareness that has been
demonstrated simply in the way it was created and how it
continues to function. Clearly, the founding minds of Jumia
embraced the traditional transacting culture among Africans.
We have a firm dependency on the market culture of “see
before you buy”. To thrive in Africa, distance-selling must be
altered to tackle any resistance to the new way of shopping
online. As such, Jumia took charge to address this challenge
by enabling customers to pay on delivering. Whilst in places
like the UK and USA where customer have to pay for the
goods they are purchasing via electronic means first before
their orders are even confirmed, Jumia will
confirm your order, package and deliver
it to you before you pay anything at all!
That’s right – the online retailer willingly
transacts in a way that it can absorb the risks
commonly associated with online shopping.
This shows its corporate aim of delivering a
great customer experience, literally.
Jumia is a representation of what Africa’s
business enthusiasts need to be all about.
Proactively and not reactively pushing for the
modernisation of commerce throughout the
continent.
15

Insurance is the Amour.
The African insurance industry – How are we
looking?
Keeping up to pace with economies across Africa, the insurance industry is striving to meet the continent’s
investment protection needs and cementing itself as a growing and valued industry. Insurance
facilitates investment by reducing the amount of up front accessible capital that businesses and individuals
need to protect themselves from uncertain events. The appreciation of its importance for economic
development is being reflected in the increased attention of businesses, independent bodies and individuals
on the insurance industry as a whole.
South Africa
South Africa has a relatively well-developed insurance market
– both in the life and non-life insurance segments.
Apart from its sophisticated financial sector, reasons for
the country’s high insurance penetration rate include the
following:
• A high level of competition within the insurance market;
• People trust the local financial providers enough to allow
them to manage their long-term savings;
• A high level of risk awareness.
Despite its high penetration rate, South Africa’s insurance
industry still has scope for further growth. Its
premiums per capita or density ratio in
2013 was approximately 27% of that of
222%
Life Insurance Density
Ratio
advanced economies. While South Africa’s
life insurance density ratio is more than
twice (222%) the world average, its non-life
insurance density is only 64% of the world
average.
Kenya
Although not as advanced as South Africa, the Kenyan
insurance market is another rather sophisticated one on the
continent. As of 2013, total premiums reached just over
US$1.5bn, having maintained an annual average growth rate
of 15.5% from 2005 to 2013.
In 2013, the penetration rate reached 2.75% which
represents an increase from 2.46% in 2011. According to the
Insurance Regulatory Authority (IRA), there were 49 licensed
insurance companies in the country in 2014.
As is the case across most of the Africa, the Kenyan insurance
market is dominated by non-life insurance. Almost 41% of
the non-life insurance market is for car insurance (almost
24% of the total is commercial car insurance and 17%
is private car insurance). Medical insurance accounts
for a further 22% while fire insurance accounts for just
over 10% of the market.
According to the IRA, the strong performance of
the Kenyan insurance sector is owed to “improved
governance and stability, favourable demographics,
US$1.5bn
2013 Total Premiums
improving business environments, rising
middle class and urbanisation and growing
ties to emerging economies” Business
Monitor International (BMI) is also
upbeat about the sector’s prospects, stating:
“We see a bright future for Kenya’s insurance
industry, with domestic economic growth
driving expansion of both the life and non-life sectors.
The market place is competitive and highly fragmented,
and as such there are opportunities for larger regional and
global firms to expand their reach via local acquisitions.
Meanwhile local firms continue to expand via the use of
innovative distribution channels and the introduction of
new, market targeted, products.”
Mauritius
Mauritius has one of the most developed insurance
industries in Africa thanks to a relatively high
level of income, macroeconomic stability, and
48.2%
Top 5 Companies’ Market
Share
good economic policy making.
According to the Bank of Mauritius’s 2013
Financial Stability Assessment, the insurance
industry is solvent and well-capitalised. The
central bank also noted that “insurance companies
that operate with weak solvency margins are being closely
monitored”. This demonstrates an awareness of the need to have
systems and independent agencies in place to assess and grade the
financial solvency of insurers.
According to the Mauritian Financial Services Commission
(FSC) there were 12 licensed non-life insurance companies and
7 licensed life insurance companies at the end of 2013. However,
the market is fairly concentrated. In the non-life segment, the
top two companies – Swan Insurance and Mauritius Union
Assurance (MUA) – account for 52.7% of total premiums.
The top five companies have a market share of nearly 80%.
Meanwhile, in the life insurance segment, the biggest company,
British American Investment (BAI), has a market share of
48.2%. In April 2015, BAI was forced into administration due
to regulatory issues.
Over the 2006-13 period, the non-life market expanded by
16

11.7% p.a. from US$105.8m to US$229m. According to
data from the FSC, car insurance is the largest component
in the non-life insurance segment, accounting for 39.2%
of premiums in 2013. This segment is supported by the
fact that car insurance is mandatory. The market is highly
competitive and, according to a report by Capital Market
Brokers, claims are paid out quickly.
Nigeria
The Nigerian insurance market is rather fragmented. There are
32 non-life insurers, 17 life insurers, and 10 mixed companies,
all catering for a total market of US$1.6bn as of 2013. That
gives an average of US$28m premiums per insurance company.
The country’s insurers are therefore relatively small in the
context of their ability to manage large risks leading large
companies to opt for cover from foreign insurers. In a bid to
encourage consumer confidence, consolidate the sector and
increase the capacity of domestic insurers to manage risk, the
government has set capital requirements for insurers.
According to the CEO of AIICO Insurance, Babatunde
Fajemirokun, some other aspects that were holding back the
development of the sector are a lack of customer
awareness “as people hardly see advertisements”
as well as a lack of trust in insurance companies
which may be driven by a lack of understanding
of how insurers are regulated, if at all. According
to Swiss Re, leading global reinsurer, total
premiums amounted to just over US$1.6bn in
2013, which implies that the country had a penetration
rate of merely 0.3% and a density ratio of US$9.7 per capita.
As such Nigeria’s insurance sector still has significant room for
expansion in the medium to long term. The government is
very optimistic in this regard, having set a target for insurance
premiums of N1trn by 2017. This would represent a more
than three-fold increase from current levels and an annual
increase of around 50% p.a. in local-currency terms. The
finance minister, meanwhile, hopes to see the penetration rate
rising to 1.6% by 2017. One way in which the government is
looking to increase penetration is through compulsory cover of:
third-party car insurance; builders’ liability; occupiers’ liability;
employers’ liability (to protect workers and their families
against injury, sickness, or fatality at the workplace); and,
health care professional indemnity insurance.
US$1.6bn
2013 Insurance Market
Ghana
Ghana’s insurance industry has grown rapidly in recent
years and is generally considered to be among the countries
with the strongest medium term growth prospects in the
23%
2013 Total Premiums
Increase
insurance sector. At present, the sector is still rather
underdeveloped which, in one sense, translates into
enormous growth potential. The latest available
data from the National Insurance Commission
(NIC) shows that total premiums equalled only
GH¢649m ($351m) in 2012, which gives a
penetration rate of only 0.9%. However, things are
changing: average growth in Ghana’s insurance sector was
over 30% p.a. during 2007-11 in cedi terms (and 16.7%
p.a. in US dollar terms). The life segment was responsible
for most of this expansion, increasing by 25.4% p.a.
compared to 11.7% p.a. growth in non-life premiums.
According to the Oxford Business Group (OBG), in 2013
total premiums increased by 23%. As a result of this strong
growth, insurers from countries like South Africa, Morocco
and the United Kingdom have shown a growing interest in
entering the market.
Ghana’s insurance industry is supported by a robust
regulatory framework, ready to manage the expected
growth. The first large-scale reforms were made in 2006,
when foreign insurers were allowed to enter the market,
and fire and commercial building insurance were made
compulsory. Since then, Ghana has made further reforms
to comply with the guidelines of the International
Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS). More recently,
in 2014 the NIC started implementing the so-called ‘no
premium, no cover’ policy, which will prohibit insurers
from providing cover before customers have physically paid
their premiums. This in turn helps to promote the financial
foundation needed to make sure insurers are able to pay
out and satisfy claims adequately, which in turn promotes
market integrity.
Morocco
Morocco has the second-largest insurance market in
Africa, with total premiums of US$3.4bn in 2014 and
a penetration ratio of 3.1%. There are 17 insurance
companies in Morocco, although the four largest private
companies account for two-thirds of the market.
The introduction of bancassurance in 2005, which is
the sale of insurance products by banks, has significantly
increased access to insurance in the country. Between 2006
and 2014, the volume of premiums grew by an average
of 9% p.a. This has mainly been driven by the
property and casualty segments. Car insurance,
however, remains the largest component of the
3.1%
2014 Penetration Rate
non-life segment, accounting for 47% of nonlife
insurance premiums. Meanwhile, the life
insurance segment remains underdeveloped
with a penetration of only 1%.
17

Dear commentators…
It is all over the social sphere, the whole
blogosphere is seeing it but no one is
talking about it. Well, they are talking
about it, only that it is in“the comment
section”. That is as far as our voices go
(metaphorically speaking, our hands do
all the talking) “the comment section”.
They stay put behind their screen,
commenting away on pseudo mood. It is
the new protest stage. “whooo”, “haaa”,
“that’s so brutal”, “that’s so unfair”,
“something should be done”, “the
appropriate authorities should take note
cc….”. Who exactly are the appropriate
authorities? The government? Or
its delegated soldiers? I have always
thought that the main reason why we
elect people in government is so that
we can have someone to blame. It is so
convenient, we don’t have to assume
who did what after all there is someone
who is supposed to be in charge, right?
We just sit and argue the government
should do this and do that.
In a democratic society, there is freedom
of opinion but there is also an absurd
use of that freedom. It is used for every
other thing but what it is meant for. We
should be able to voice our issues and
press against ourselves need for change.
It is like our problems only exist on the
screen of our phones - we complain
about it as we tap away on the same
screen and it ends there. We do not
confront our fears, we use our comfort
to confront our fears. I know while
reading this most people will think,
“here we go again, another angry mob
against the greater good called social
media”. Like the excited debater says,
”you are wrong and I will prove it
with the following points”.
Social media is what it is, a tool for
communication and media exposure,
but we can use it for much more
than that. We can tap into its power
and use it to champion courses that
are close to our heart, to discuss
issues that hang over our society like
dead bodies waiting to feast on our
souls. We can talk about many things
that we wish to confront, out of our
comfort zone. It is not enough for
you to comment on a post, nobody
is asking for your plus one traffic to
comment on a post about the fall of
naira and say something like, “May
God save us in Nigeria”. Who is
deceiving who? You have just wasted
online storage and added upon it your
2 kobo. God would not come down
and raise the strength of naira, your
will is going to do that. What you
should be asking God for is the will
to do it.
Our blogosphere has bloggers
with intent and content comport
themselves to conjure up articles
that inspire change. The friends they
invited to their blog will come on it
and put down a comment such as,
“hmmmmm, nice write up”, “words
of wisdom”, “well said”. What do
you do with them after? You just let
those words go as easily as they came
to you? I know you are doing them
a favour by commenting - we know
some of you just comment just to let
the friend know you visited the blog.
Let the article start a discussion,
a positive chain of thoughts.
When I mentioned bloggers, I do
not mean the class of Linda Ikeji
and Bella Naija – perhaps for the
entertainment bloggers a passive
audience waiting to just receive is
completely acceptable.
Social media is a space that
entertains our nonchalance or our
strong, misdirected one liners but
we can also put in our heartfelt
thoughts as well as passions. Be
a stick that strikes and lights
others not the stick that strikes
just to light up itself and burn
out – if it has served no one, it
has not led a purposeful life. I
know of friends who will punch
at my bbm status like its bread
dough and we will go back and forth in
intellectual argument to set an agreeable
balance - I live for those moments. I
know others as well who have exploited
social media beyond your wildest
imagination. They have spent very little
and set up businesses that you would
envy. You have the same opportunities, a
smart phone or laptop and mobile data
but they choose differently what to do
with theirs in addition to chatting and
texting.
This is not some crusade - I too enjoy
the flattering comments online. S/O to
all the twitter birds, you give us those 59
seconds of laughter daily, just the right
dose to help us forget that the world
around us is at war. Let us not forget
social media is also the planet that the
more socially awkward of us run to and
are the ones setting trends on twitter and
raking in traffic on blogosphere. Being
smart with the online world in their own
way.
The reality that must dawn on us is
the fact that we underutilize social
media as a tool for social and political
reconstruction. It is the modern
platform giving hope for political
revolution and democratic evolution,
for equity at all levels, setting awareness
for social and world peace and bringing
before us the known and unknown right
when we want it.
Regards,
Oladimigi Rufai
18

Just A Thought
Unrated Insurers, a term that can be used to describe Insurers who have not had their
financial solvency independently investigated and graded by credit rating agencies
to determine their feasibility to provide cover. With the importance of such financial
service providers in all economies and even more so in the case of emerging markets,
can we really afford to just have anyone call themselves an insurer or even a financial
service provider?
Just a thought that led to another…
The Value of transparency and
accountability
Checks and balances. It applies to most
things in life when you think about it. When
you know that you may have to answer
to someone for your actions and there are
mechanisms in place to make it is hard for
you to hide wrongs, you think twice don’t
you. It’s the same with business. Businesses
in heavily regulated sectors are accountable
to more than just their customers, but
also independent bodies that can bring
consequences for non-compliance their way.
Independence – we’ll come back to this word.
Financial service providers have a large
impact on the economy. We need consumer
confidence to be high and we need to protect
domestic personal and corporate funds. We
also need the global market to see integrity
in the way we do things at home. To achieve
such aims we must have standards of
practice, domestically created and strongly
engrained into the way we do business.
Industry by industry, unifying expectations
of the measures that must be in place in any
business that chooses to operate within the
industry will go a long way in increasing
standards across the board. If we can build
regulatory frameworks that work within
our individual economies, only then can we
consider taking it to the next level and work
with our neighbouring countries to develop
transnational standards, strengthening Africa’s
global presence. All this starts with investing
in the establishment of strong regulatory
bodies that will help develop codes of
practice (not legislation) which will focus on
achieving such key objectives.
Back to independence. Whilst sometimes
it’s great to all work together, there are cases
where a separation of powers is needed to
avoid conflicts of interest. Where we define
the roles in operation and make sure that
the legislator creates the rules, which the
businesses have to implement, while the
regulators provides additional guidelines
and enforce the adherence to regulatory
standards. It may sound like a bit of a messy
situation. However the separation of powers,
particularly with the use of independent
bodies, ensures clarity in what each major
player’s focus is whilst retaining the checks
and balances created by the inclusion of a
number of players.
As I said, just a thought.
19

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20

Curves
I just took the code that I live by and basically made
the ink do the work; ‘No form of quitting is justified’.
here are a plethora of road
T
blocks present in life.
Why is the route to
success such an intricate
one? Why can’t we just
live with all the highs
and no lows? Is it worth
giving in to the easy way out? When
do we hang up our boots and cross our
legs in a tattered yet comfy couch, with
residue of the good ol’ Johnnie Walker
Red Label whisky swimming in our
glasses while we wait for the Red Sea to
part again and find success curled up in
there? Do you have the answers?
Take a close look at the greats; well, those
you consider greats. All these acclaimed
personalities fed off a curve: The Jay Zs,
The Bill Gates, The Kwame Nkrumahs,
The Steve Jobs, The Martin Scorseses.
These guys have sold records out of the
trunks of their cars when every record
label decided to sleep on them, spent cold
and lonely nights behind bars as the cost
of championing their political causes,
had their names drugged through the
mud in the circles of the franchise they
created, but still came out standing tall.
So what then is the validation you seek
from backing down when you encounter an
impediment on your way to your very own
utopia? If these celebrated persons decided
to stop short at a shortcoming, it sure won’t
be possible for us to mention their names
today with acclamations following in suit.
I look at life as being bipolar: a protagonist
and an antagonist in one piece. Backing
down after a curve the antagonist hurls
at you ultimately suggests you conceding
defeat. The fact of the matter is, you possess
the key to your success, and similarly, you
can be your own doing. The darkest nights
come before the brightest morning. Good
things come to those who hang in there a
little longer and never give up. That’s when
the protagonist in life reveals itself. I’m just
gunning to reach the stage where I could be
sipping on the last bit of my Johnnie Walker
Red Label knowing that I have more of it in
my liquor cabinet. To pour myself a drink
not with the intention of drowning my
sorrows and failures but rather, celebrate the
closing of multi-million deals. Regardless
of the curves I meet in life, I will find my
way to the top. Besides, I still can’t find the
fat lady, so I guess it won’t be over anytime
soon.
21

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INVESTMENT DIVERSIFICATION
Whilst many of us would love the opportunity
to sit down with the tycoon that is Mr Aliko
Dangote to simply ask him a few questions
and learn the keys to success – unfortunately
for us, he is a very busy man in case you
didn’t know. However, distant learning doesn’t have to be
limited to the modern style of teaching offered by many
universities around the world and to be quite frank, I’m happy
to study my role models in any way possible.
Thinking about, on the one hand, the current state of the
Nigerian economy and the downward spiral of the naira against
, on the other hand, the continued rise of Mr Dangote on
the Forbes list of global billionaire has made one thing very
apparent to me. Diversifying investments keeps you safe and
wealthy. Makes perfect sense doesn’t it.
Business is always vulnerable to their environment and you
never know when a rainy day will come along. At least it will
never rain everywhere at the same time (touch wood).
With that, the short and sweet message here is to diversify
investments. It may take a long long time to get to the position
where this can come into play but it is definitely something to
think about when planning your approach to business.
Mr Dangote remains un-phased by the economic state of
his homeland as he has solidified his wealth by expanding
his business portfolio into different developing markets such
as Ethiopia. He also adds range to his investing activities by
spreading them across a number of industries like food produce
and infrastructure, including an international partnership project
on the construction of an oil refinery which is planned to be in
operation in 2018.
We can hardly keep up but we are definitely receiving the
message of diversification loud and clear. If we do by any
chance get the opportunity to get some golden wisdom from
the man himself, we’ll be sure to bring you along for the ride.
23

Peter Yobo
Stop Dreaming and
Start Doing
7 Hacks to Launch a
Business for Less
In today’s business environment there are
thousands of tools to help with every aspect of
scaling a business, but with all of these options the
question is: how does one start?
When taking a business from concept to market,
the focus should not be on spending 100’s or
1,000’s of dollars building the systems and
structure to scale. Instead, focus time on building
a minimum viable solution (MVS). With a MVS,
prove that there is room in the market for your
business. And do this by spending as little money
as possible.
With this concept we, the founders of Next Gen
Guru, have learned how to iterate fast and launch
successful businesses. And we are excited to give
inspired entrepreneurs the tools and knowhow to
do it too.
Step 1: Own the Brand
Before spending time and effort building a brand
and making it recognizable, an entrepreneur
needs to go out and own it. By own it, I don’t
mean embody the brand, what I’m saying is
one needs to own the rights to the brand. First,
go to GoDaddy.com and purchase the domain
name (website url). Second, make sure to secure
all social media profiles like Facebook, Twitter,
Google+, and Linkedin.
Now that these sites and profiles are locked down,
the final step is to forget about them... for now.
One shouldn’t waste time building out these sites
until the idea is tested and product market fit is all
but certain.
Step 2: Manage Your Time
For most inspired entrepreneurs, time is the most
precious resource. Whether it’s splitting hours
between school or a primary job, one needs to
focus on actions that will drive results.
A great way to manage one’s time is by using
agile project management. Think of launching
a business as one big project, convert the ‘things
to do’ into tasks, gauge how important the task
is (on a 1-5 scale) and note the expected time to
completion. Once summarized, add each task into
one of the following lists:
• Backlog: The birthplace of all of your tasks
• In Progress: Tasks that are currently being
worked
• Completed: Finished tasks
• Validated: Tasks that are stress tested and
proven to work
The task life cycle begins in Backlog and moves
through each list until its final resting place,
Validated. To implement, one can use a large
whiteboard and sticky notes or a free project
management software like Trello (trello.com).
Step 3: Build an Online Workplace
Isolating business email, calendar, and documents
from other work will help in stay organized
and stealth (if need be). For this, I recommend
creating a Google Account. There are two options.
If the aim is to be lean go ahead and create a
free account with the following email naming
convention: company@gmail.com. Alternatively
one can buy a subscription to Google Premium
and for $5 a month have an official business email
like: james@freshjams.com.
Google Accounts allows one to do much more
than manage an inbox. In my opinion, the best
part of Google Account is Google Apps. Google
Apps is great for creating documents, spreadsheets,
and slide decks in a beautiful, easy to use, way that
is intended to live in the cloud. Once created,
24

a file is stored online where you can work on it from any
device, anywhere. In addition to flexibility, Google Apps
allows multiple people to work on the same file at the same
time creating a world where the user doesn’t have to be tied
down to a computer and need not worry about version
control or emailing files back and forth.
Step 4: Validated Learning and Customer
Discovery
Unfortunately there is no hack here. To launch any
successful business, an entrepreneur must invest the time in
discovering who the customer is and how they want to be
served.
Customer discovery comes in many flavors but the best
place to start is simply hitting the pavement, finding target
customers and meeting with them face to face. Interview
them, get an understanding of who they are, how they see
the problem and what they think of the solution. Take
copious notes and look out for common themes.
Customer discovery goes hand in hand with validated
learning, a term coined by Eric Ries in his book “The Lean
Startup”. Ries argues that the practice of validated learning
minimizes risk and maximizes the effectiveness of one’s time.
Before building a full fledged website, product, or service,
try creating a single page website with a call to action (CTA)
to download or learn more about the offering. Promote this
page and see how many people click the CTA button. If a
good number of people visit the site without clicking the
CTA then that’s great! It means there was no time wasted
building a product or service that people won’t buy. If this is
the case, don’t be frustrated, simply go back to the drawing
board, iterate on the idea, and try again.
Step 5: Create a Landing Page and A/B Test
Creating a landing page can be tricky. Many of us are
not great with technology and have no idea how to code a
website. Luckily, there are sites that make building a website
easy through a drag and drop interface. Companies like Wix
(http://www.wix.com/), make creating a stunning websites
fun, easy, and free. No need to pay thousands for a website
designer!
Now comes the fun part, A/B testing. Simply put,
A/B testing is the process of making small changes and
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comparing them against the current version to see which
gets better results. A great example of A/B testing is testing
the color of a CTA button, does an orange button perform
better than a blue one - spoiler alert: it almost always does.
Have fun with A/B testing and take big changes, the impact
will be surprising! But remember, always isolate your tests
and never test two things at once.
Step 6: Add Teeth with a CRM
A CRM or client relationship management tool is used
for creating pipelines (Sales, Customer Support, Email
Marketing) and managing people through them.
Let’s use an email marketing campaign as an example. For
this campaign, we will create a campaign pipeline with 4
stages: email sent, email responded, demo, closed won. We
send out an email to 50 people and are able to manage and
track each person through the pipeline. The clarity a CRM
provides is amazing and critical when building a business.
A free CRM product that comes highly recommended is
Streak (https://www.streak.com/). Streak’s CRM lives in
your Gmail inbox, is free, and super easy to use.
day a week to write all post for the week and use a tool to
schedule those posts, set it and forget it. A great tool for
scheduling your social media posts is Hootsuite (https://
hootsuite.com/). Simply load content in the form of posts
and let Hootsuite manage when it is published on your
profiles. Hootsuite works with Facebook, Twitter, and
Linkedin.
Once people start talking about the new business, it is
important to get a solution to track all of the mentions.
A business owner should know what people are saying.
Free services like Google Alerts and Mention (https://
en.mention.com/) make it easy to track terms, companies
and news.
For an entrepreneur, the road to success is riddled with
challenge, but through hard work and a smart strategy,
success is possible.
The 7 steps are just the beginning, to learn more about
how to launch a business for less, send us a note at peter@
thepoweredlife.com
Best of luck and happy building!
Peter Yobo & Kyle Pursell
Entrepreneurs and Creators of the The Next Gen Guru
www.TheNextGenGuru.com
Step 7: Create Your Social Media Marketing
Strategy
For early stage businesses, social media is a very powerful
tool. A strong social media marketing (SMM) strategy
will drive free traffic and bolster brand awareness. But be
careful, it will become a time drain with minimal return
if not managed well. I strongly recommend taking one
27

YOUNG ENTREPRENEURS
Abiola Olanira is Nigeria’s highest paid Windows game developer
and is a software developer who runs the Games Sole company. The
company’s games now have more than 10 million downloads on the
Windows app store.
He started out as a Microsoft student partner, learning from the
evangelist, Shina Oyetosho, who discovered him at a time when
window phones were coming to Nigeria, believed in his potentials and
chose to groom him. One of his first games Road Blazer had about
40,000 downloads in its first few weeks.
In 2010, Abiola and his team represented Nigeria at the Imagine Cup
Final for an outstanding innovation which he said was borne out of
the poor education which he had in school. The app was a solution for
students to have access to a virtual classroom.
This 22-year-old is quickly becoming one of Kenya’s rising
entrepreneurs. Agnes Ng’anga is the chief executive officer
of International Brand Solutions (IBS). The firm worth over
Sh6 million, is a fast growing research marketing company.
Having achieved good results so quickly, IBS is now targeting
top local companies such as Safaricom and Airtel with an aim of
increasing their clients with research market findings.
Despite these achievements, Mulewa, now a fourth year student
at Strathmore University doing a Bachelor’s degree in Business
and Information Technology, says one of the hurdles they face is
the unwillingness of a company to face up to the fact that they
need to rebrand.
Mark Essien, is the founder of Hotels.ng, Nigeria’s largest hotel
booking website. The online portal allows users from all over the world
to book rooms from a selection of over 6000 hotels. The company has
so far raised more than $250,000 in funding from Spark Fund among
other investors.
Nigeria’s leading hotel booking website, Hotels.ng, has also raised $1.2
million from the Omidyar Network, the investment vehicle of eBay
founder Pierre Omidyar, and EchoVC Pan-Africa Fund, a seed-stage
technology fund.
Named by Forbes Magazine as one of “Africa’s Best Young
Entrepreneurs” under the age of 30, Isaac Babu-Boateng is
an ambitious entrepreneur and one of the leading voices of the
pan-African millennial generation. He is the founder and CEO
of BABU Group, a pan-African conglomerate with interests
and investments in media, technology, real estate, music and
healthcare. Babu-Boateng’s strong leadership and vision enabled
him to establish Face2face Africa as one of the pan-African
community’s leading voices, perpetrating the stories of success,
hope, and promise that is untold about Africa in western media.
Today, Face2face Africa is a multi-niche media company that has
created several platforms to engage the pan-African community,
including the annual Pan-African Weekend held in NYC.
28

Some of Africa’s bright talents making a positive impact on the
continent.
At 29, Julie Alexander Fourie runs a company that employs 40
people and services more than 4,000 clients a month. Fourie is the
founder of iFix, which repairs and services all Apple products and
Samsung Smartphones. iFix has branches in Johannesburg, Cape
Town and Durban. Fourie started the company in 2006 from his
dorm room at the University of Stellenbosch, helping colleagues and
friends repair broken and faulty iPods and computers. Satisfied friends
subsequently referred other Apple product owners in search of repairs,
and Fourie’s business took off.
Catherine Mahugu is the founder of Soko, an e-commerce
platform based in Kenya and San Francisco in the USA, which allows
local artisans to sell handcrafted jewellery directly to the consumer.
Her idea is to promote direct trade between African designers and
customers worldwide.
Catherine is an International Telecom Union (ITU)Young Innovators
fellow, the United Nations specialised agency for information and
communication technologies, as well as infoDev’s mobile startup
camp fellow. Catherine has been recognized as One of Forbes’ Most
Promising Young Entrepreneurs in Africa 2015 and one of Kenya’s top
5 Female Entrepreneurs under 40.
Uche Pedro is a Nigerian blogger, writer, social media expert
and entrepreneur. She is the C.E.O of Bainstone Limited and
also the founder of BellaNaija, a popular online magazine about
entertainment, fashion and lifestyle.
BellaNaija.com is Nigeria’s premier lifestyle, entertainment and
fashion website, and garners an average of 10 million page views
every month.
In 2014, she was named in Forbes list of “30 Most Promising
Young Entrepreneurs in Africa”. She was also a 2010 Future
Awards nominee for “Best Use of Technology” and featured on the
Oprah Winfrey show in 2010. She was also given the Outstanding
Contribution to Fashion Communication Award at the 2010 Africa
Fashion Week held in Johannesburg, South Africa.
Sangu Delle is Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Golden
Palm Investments (GPI); an investment holding and advisory
company focused on building world class companies in Africa. GPI
operates companies in high growth industries and funds promising
start-ups that can have social impact and generate jobs. GPI has
backed startups such as SOLO Mobile in Nigeria, mPharma in Ghana
and Stawi Foods in Kenya. Also as the co-founder of cleanacwa, a
non-profit organisation, Sangu deploys efforts in underdeveloped
communities in Ghana to make sure that water and sanitation, basic
human rights, are provided.
In 2014 and 2015, Delle was named one of Forbes magazine’s “30
Most Promising Young Entrepreneurs in Africa.”
29

HOME IS WHERE THE
HEART IS
The young man who began an exciting
career in New York but gave it all up to
come back home.
30

From telling us about
his early school days in
Lagos, to giving us his
thoughts on the state
of the Nigerian job
marketda, what the country needs
and his advice for young budding
entrepreneurs. DAME Africa meets
up with Bankole Cardoso, founder
of Easy Taxi Nigeria for an exclusive
interview.
Adaora: Thank you again for taking
the time out of your hectic schedule
to speak to me today. Can you just
introduce yourself to DAME Africa
as you would to anyone else?
Bankole: Yeah sure. My name is
Bankole Cardozo. I’m from Nigeria.
I consider myself to be a Nigerian
entrepreneur. I only returned to
Nigeria in a professional capacity
about 3 years ago. Before that, I
was working in New York at the
Carlyle Group which is a private
equity firm and also before that, I’d
completed my CPA, which is the
equivalent of the ACCA in the UK,
with PricewaterhouseCoopers in
New York. So I basically changed
my career from
something that
was quite steady
in the US to move
back to Nigeria
because I just felt
that there was a lot
of potential and I
could contribute
by being on the
ground. It was
early days in my
career, it still is a
young career, but
I just felt that it
was the right thing
to move back and
try something new
back in Africa.
Adaora: Let’s talk about that
decision to move back. We see a lot
of young people finishing university
and deciding that “hey I’ve been in
the UK or the states for let’s say ten
years but I want go back home.”
How difficult or easy was that
decision for you?
‘So I basically
changed my career
from something that
was quite steady in
the US to move back
to Nigeria because I
just felt that there was
a lot of potential and
I could contribute by
being on the ground.
Bankole: I always warn people that
they should not take that decision
hastily. They should definitely
take their time and make sure the
conditions are right. So for me, I
started thinking about this probably
when I graduated in 2010 but I
took my time and didn’t make the
move until mid-2013. I had been
working and exploring opportunities
in Nigeria. I would come home
during Christmas and summers or
Easters - whenever I had time off
work - I would come home and I
was just starting to build up my
network of people. I listened to what
was going on here and explored
for myself and the opportunities.
Even though opportunities came up
before I moved back they just didn’t
seem right, condition wise. So it’s
definitely something that you have
to take your time to do. I had the
opportunity to move back earlier
but I didn’t take that because it just
wasn’t right. So it’s definitely a very
hard decision to make. Even when I
did finally make it, it was something
that I wasn’t completely sold on but
I was willing to take the risk
Adaora: Interesting – I
completely agree. So
you’re one of Africa’s
most recognised young
entrepreneurs, I don’t
know if you cringe when
people say that, but I
have to say it, so...
Bankole: I do, I do…
Adaora: [laughs] I can
imagine. I’m quite a
timid person myself. You
wouldn’t be able to tell,
but yeah I understand.
Bankole: Same with me.
Adaora: But before we
get to that, I’m just interested in
knowing about your younger years,
so say your school days, secondary
school up to graduation, why don’t
you tell us a little bit about that?
Bankole: I went to school in Lagos,
primary and secondary school.
During my first 2 years of secondary
school, I was here at Grange in
Lagos. My cousins, triplets who
are exactly the same age as me,
were always in my company. So we
were some sort of a quartet that
always had activities to do with our
multitude of friends. Anything we
did had a huge buzz about it. Then
I left for boarding school in the UK
at 13. I went to Rugby School and
I was there for 5 years. That’s where
I spent my formative years or my
teen years really. I grew up there and
all of my best friends are still from
there. Then I moved to the US – I
went to Boston College. Moving was
not that easy when I think about it.
Sometimes, I felt I was on a holiday
so adapting was pretty challenging
during the first semester. But after
the first semester things settled and
I was really happy in the US. I just
loved the drive of the people there.
Just being there and having that
drive has helped me `with my career
so far as well.
Adaora: Travelling around during
your academic years means you’ve
been based in a few different
countries. I’m someone that loves
change so I’m just wondering if it’s
just in your nature to explore and
fit in into different environments
or is that something you just found
yourself doing?
Bankole: It has definitely been in
my nature. Throughout my life, I’ve
embraced change. I had an American
girlfriend at a point. I was becoming
very used to life there, seeing her
with her family and seeing my other
friends with their families. I just felt
like i was missing out on my own;
where i grew up, people who know
who I am, my culture etc. So I made
the decision that I no longer wanted
to be changing. I don’t know what
it is but i felt i wanted to be more
settled here, so right now I’d say I
definitely embrace change a little bit
less than before. All my life I’ve had
change and now it’s reached a point
where I feel a bit more consistency
would be more my speed. So I
think the younger I was, the more I
embraced change. I love to travel but
31

I like to have a base where I can call
home.
Adaora: So do you feel you made
the right decision to move back
home?
Bankole: Um I definitely think I
made the right decision to move
back home. It’s not easy at all times.
There are a lot of challenges but I
definitely believe in Nigeria and
Africa’s potential. I think I made
the right decision and I love seeing
my other friends who’ve come back
as well say they’ve made the right
decision. The Lagos that I grew up
in is completely different from the
Lagos that I live in now. It’s a lot
more cosmopolitan, there are a lot
more diverse things you can do. So
many different types of people live
here and it’s a lot of fun.
Adaora: So it wasn’t too much of a
drastic adjustment?
Bankole: It was actually. But not too
much of one, because the comforts
you can get there, the lifestyle and all
- it’s not that different here.
Adaora: Yes - I’ve been to Lagos
a few times in recent years. In
comparison to when I was younger,
between the ages of 5 to 13, there
a notable difference. There are so
many things that you can just look
out of your car window see the
development is great. We just need
to get it even further.
Bankole: Exactly, it’s the
development. And you know
when I was in New York, what I
was passionate about was Africa’s
development. Actually I’m still
passionate about it. So anytime I
came home and saw the changes in
Lagos, I got excited and felt like I
needed to be a part of it so that was
one of my main motivations. So like
you said, the development is just on
another scale. It’s amazing.
Adaora: So, talking about that, if
you had to say one thing Lagos or
Nigeria needs right now, what would
that be? That’s hard I know [laughs]
Bankole: I honestly think that the
one thing that we need…No, there
are two things that I really think we
need. I think we need a little more
‘Rule of Law’. Things seem a lot
more orderly than they used to be,
there has been a lot of stories that
have come out of Nigeria about
the previous administration and
wastage but now you can see that a
lot more people are pulling together
and thinking ‘look, this is the time
we need a sort of mini-revolution in
terms of fighting this lawless race’.
So now a lot of people are respecting
this country a lot more and oh yes,
I think a whole lot of people have
disrespected this country. Now, it is
time that people respect the country.
So more of the Rule of Law and
respect for our country. That’s what
Nigerians need and I think that’s
happening.
Adaora: I’ve always wanted to
see a bit more accountability in
Nigeria, especially in government,
in commerce - in everything. So I’m
with you on that one. I think we’re
getting there, but we’re not quite
there yet. OK so now, to the big one.
So you’re best known for founding
Easy Taxi. Please just tell us a little
bit about how that came about ¬—
from the initial idea – what made
you think about that and what made
you pursue it till it came to pass?
Bankole: Yes so, Easy Taxi. I was
living in New York, there were
similar technologies that just really
fascinated me and I just thought
that the ease with which you can
connect someone (a passenger with
a driver) was just so transformative.
I felt that in Nigeria where people,
in Lagos especially, were kind of
mindful about using transport in
that way, everybody had their own
taxi guy. Beyond that, they weren’t
into the idea of using different taxi
transportation. So it was an idea
that I thought would really work
here and decided to bite the bullet
and try it. One week I’m in New
York and I work in this skyscraper
and the next week, I’m under a
tree speaking to 30 taxi drivers. It
was the rainy season too and I’m
out there explaining to them this
technology and they just do not
understand. It seemed like I was
talking about something completely
foreign -“how could they make
money from a phone?” So it was
definitely a big challenge to get them
to adopt that technology and to
even train them on it, and explain to
them how it works and get them to
buy into it. I’m Nigerian of course,
but they saw me as a westernised-
Nigerian. So there was some kind of
reverse mini-culture shock in your
own country. So all those things
were very interesting for me and
I really embraced it. We’ve built a
community with these guys. I’ll be
around town — even if I’m with a
friend — and just random drivers
will say hi to me so that was just
very rewarding. From where we
started, under that tree, to hundreds
of drivers on the street, just being
proud of what we’ve been able to
build together. So that was quite
interesting and in some way, an
achievement.
Adaora: Even now, I think about
Easy Taxi and I think about Nigeria
and I’m like how? How does this
work? What do you think made it
work? What made it come together?
Bankole: I think that there were a
few things. I can’t say it was the right
time because smart phones and data
were still so expensive but I think
our perseverance in training these
drivers, following up, making sure
that they felt comfortable with it and
all that. Because these are guys - just
to put it in perspective - that were
using very old Nokia phones and
had been used to a certain way of
running their business for about 20
or 30 years. They were middle aged
men and change wasn’t something
normal to them. So I could call on
all my experiences with change and I
think that helped me in encouraging
them and helping them to embrace
the change; into adopting this
technology. So I think I was able to
draw upon my own life experiences
and my own understanding of the
culture even though I had to learn
a lot in working with a different
group of society that i hadn’t really
worked with before to just pull
together in one direction. I think
the big thing was trust. Once I won
over their trust, we were able to just
start building that community very
quickly. A lot of those taxi drivers
are used to cut-throat business,
working against each other everyday,
every man for himself –that sort of
culture. And the fact that we came
up with something so different, so
new and made them all feel together
as one, I think that really helped
32

‘
One week I’m in New York and I work in this
skyscraper and the next week, I'm under a tree
speaking to 30 taxi drivers.
to pull us in the right direction
together. So I think that’s why on
the drivers’ side they were able to
accept this eventually. And then of
course with customers it took some
time as well. You know it’s just
about embracing change and I think
Nigerians, Africans, like new things.
We like exciting things, so really it
was a matter of time. Of course it
was going be a battle but eventually
I think people embraced it. So trust
and perseverance I’d say are the two
things.
Adaora: OK, so where would you
say your entrepreneurial spirit comes
from?
Bankole: Yeah it’s strange because
my mom was a doctor and my dad
was a banker. Everybody in my
family is a professional, more or less
- they’re lawyers, doctors, bankers,
not many people are businessminded.
It’s strange, it’s something
that I’ve always wanted to do, from
my academic days - whenever there
was an entrepreneurial competition
or something that was out of the
ordinary I was always interested.
I was fascinated by Silicon Valley
in the US and all the technology
coming out from there. The stories
of business-minded people just
making a big difference and then in
Nigeria we started getting our own
impressive entrepreneurial stories
which served as my own inspiration.
So it didn’t come from anyone that
I knew directly - actually I have one
uncle that I’m very close to and he
started his own business and it’s
been very successful in Nigeria and
Africa. Being close to him served
as another inspiration. His words
were also encouraging so that was
another motivation for me. But yeah
it’s unusual in my family to have
an entrepreneurial focus so I was
stepping out of the norm in a way.
Adaora: Yes, it paid off didn’t it?
Bankole: umm yeah, it’s still very
early, but I’m convinced that the
SME realm is going be my focus for
my career in Africa.
Adaora: OK, OK, so I just want
get your thoughts. There’s sort of
this rise in youth entrepreneurship
in Africa at the moment but there’s
still a lot of talk surrounding youth
unemployment in Nigeria. So I just
want to get your thoughts on that
and where you think the Nigerian
economy stands at the moment.
Bankole: Yes so I have a very
strong opinion on this as well.
Entrepreneurship is a necessity in
Nigeria and Africa because if you
look at the stats something like 60%
of the population are under 30 years
old and of those who are eligible
for employment - let’s say over 21,
60% of them are unemployed. Our
manufacturing sector is not strong
enough in Africa. Certain things
in the economy are not there to
show that there’s going to be serious
job growth so I really believe in
entrepreneurship and that people
have to start creating businesses and
it’s really the small and medium
enterprises that are going to help
with the growth and to continue
a sustained growth so that’s why I
say I want to focus my career on
33

that. I also believe that we need more investment
in that space to encourage entrepreneurs and we
need mentorship to give them access to successful
entrepreneurs or role models that they can leverage
off and help them. Again, I think that’s why I want
to focus on this space- because I believe in it and I
think that’s where the opportunities are in Africa.
Adaora: Interesting – I think this will resonate
with many like-minded people of our generation
and even younger. The big question now and I’m
sure that you’ve been asked this a hundred times
over – why did you decide to step down as CEO of
the company you established?
Bankole: It was a mix of reasons, mainly personal.
I’d had a difficult year and I just felt that at that
point the company was – I won’t say established
because it was still definitely a start-up, but it was
on the right growth path. There were departments
in the company, people had their job functions and
they knew what they were doing with the company.
Almost every single employee had been there for
close to 2 years when I left and I felt that they
understood the company very well and it was time
for me to just step away and figure other things
out. So it was a mix of the 2 things - for personal
reasons and I felt that the team was capable of
steering the ship well without me. The vision was
there and I didn’t need to be there at the driving
seat, basically.
Adaora: So what’s next for Bankole?
Bankole: Without revealing too much, [laughs]
I’d like to definitely work at the SME base, nurture
start-ups and work with founders of start-ups, help
them with investments, capital, mentorships and
give them the things that I feel are missing. I would
like to work in that space and try and grow the
space. So we will see.
Adaora: OK, nice and short. I respect that. So
three important pieces of advice you could offer to
budding young entrepreneurs in Africa...it’s hard to
narrow it down to 3 but what will they be?
doing; believe in it. Third thing is try and leverage
on people that have experience. People that have
done what you’re doing, because they’ve made the
mistakes. The best form of learning, of course, is
through your own mistakes but I think that you
can learn off from a lot of people in the space.
Have mentors basically, grow your network. So
to recap the three things- focus on your business
because challenges are going to come. Also just stay
positive, whether the news is good or bad about
different themes for Africa, just maintain focus and
keep your belief in Africa. Three is to leverage off
more experienced people if you can, because they
are always the best teachers. Oh and be humble
Adaora: -yeah that’s a good one-
Bankole: It’s a very Nigerian thing as well - yeah
he makes a bit of money then he wants to go and
splash the cash! Be humble and chill.
Adaora: I think that’s another good one so I’ll
pretend I didn’t ask for just three. Are there any
closing thoughts you’ll like to share with our
readers?
Bankole: Well, I just feel like 2016 didn’t start
off on the best note for Africa. It’s going to be a
tough year but we need a lot of people to believe
in Africa so I love what DAME is doing; trying to
tell the African story, connecting the people on the
continent because I believe the future starts from
here. Trade needs to pick up here in Africa, travel
and tourism need to pick up, just about everything
can be better. There’s so much history and culture
that needs to be appreciated here and personally
I’m on a quest to do that, which is fascinating to
me. So let’s all believe in Africa.
Adaora: Thank you Bankole. It’s been a pleasure.
Bankole: Thanks. Have a good one.
Bankole: Yes, it’s a lot of stuff. I think that in
Africa- and this is unique to Africa- the challenges
you will face here are going to be unique, they are
going to come in so many different ways. So you
need to be focused on your main business, your
operations and don’t be distracted by things on the
outside, which is very important, because they are
going to come. So maintaining that focus is one
thing. Second thing is always having the long term
view of things because in Africa situations change
very quickly. The mood can be positive one year,
the next year it’s doom and gloom. So don’t be
swayed by all the macro, external news. Just focus,
have your vision and be focused on what you’re
34

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35

36

BUSINESS FASHION FINANCE LIFESTYLE
Bisi Esan Tells Us
HOW TO LIVE
YOUNGER
FOR LONGER
FOR THE
FOOD LOVERS
WE REVIEW 3 TOP
RESTAURANTS IN ACCRA
Escape to Africa
TOURISM
THE HIDDEN
GEMS OF
AFRICA
1

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2

CONTENTS
06.
Tourism - The Hidden Gems
12.
5 Musts for Beautiful Skin
15.
24.
Top 3 Primers
Style is a Vocation
18.
Fred’s Restaurant Review
32.
Exclusive Interview with Creative Director
of Villa Grace
3

FROM
THE CEO
CONTRIBUTORS
I
would like to personally
welcome you to DAME
Africa Magazine. The
vision of DAME Africa
is to create a platform to
showcase the greatness of
Africa. Using this platform
we aim to connect Africa as
we feel there is a substantial
disconnect between
Africans and their respective
countries. With the current
portrayal of Africa on the
global stage, DAME Africa
Magazine aims to help
elevate the image of the
continent as a whole thereby
delivering a more balanced
and positive representation
of Africa. At DAME Africa
we do not want to just add
to the numerous list of
publications in Africa but
we want to make a lasting
difference.
NANA KWESI
TAYLOR
Enthusiastic young writer
with a particular pasion for
creative and free expression
writing. He offers character
and flare in each of his
pieces, turning any topic
into a thought-provoking
and enjoyable read. He
is freedom of expression
personified and we are so
excited to unleash him to
you. You’re definitely in for
a unique experience here.
DEE OSEI-MENSAH
We give you a small taster
of the explosive relationship
and collaboration in the
making between DAME
Africa and the amazing
Style Check by Dee.
Stylist and journalist Dee
Osei-Mensah is here to give
us her take on modern,
classic and multi-cultural
fashion. You can’t put this
lady in a box, with western
and African accents in her
fashion palate and trust me
you’ll love it all.
PETER YOBO
We promised you a
special feature from
this amazing author,
business developer and
motivational speaker. Peter
is a beast when it comes to
empowering individuals
and corporations to strive
for the best they can,
overcome challenges and
take their dreams and
passions to the next level.
The beauty of the pieces
you’ll get from him here is
his ability to offer relatable
advice that is clear, concise
and impactful.
With this second
publication we aimed to
raise our standard and take
a massive step in delivering
our key values in an exciting
and dynamic magazine. I
hope you have an awesome
reading experience and I
look forward to having you
as a part of a committed
readership.
BISI ESAN
Bisi is a great friend of the
DAME Africa team and a
valued contributor to both
existing editions. Her bold
style of writing lends a
great touch to her lifestyle
and advice pieces. They are
short, sweet and intensely
thought provoking. Pay
close attention to this one,
she’s got a lot to share.
KOJO ANTWI
Kojo is an extremely
talented photographer and
visual expert. He has an
impressive array of work
and is definitely tipped to
be a success in photography.
DAME Africa is excited to
have his talent and expertise
as Head of Photography.
Regards,
D. Amankwah
4

ESCAPE
5

TOURISM
THE HIDDEN GEMS
heads up guys, this is the land of the bountiful. If you’re talking about hidden gems, we have
it all. Africa has it all. The African economy racks in a chunk of its proceeds from tourist
activities, although the reportage on tourism could be a lot better. Numbers don’t lie.
Tourism in Africa has been delivering phenomenal numbers year after year, with the figures
rising to an all-time high of US$43.6 billion in proceeds from 63 million visitors in 2014. Statistics
show an upswing in tourist activities each year so it wouldn’t come as a surprise if 2015’s numbers
politely knock 2014’s out of the spotlight.
6
‘Count your blessings and name them
one by one’. Africa is blessed beyond
measure. Hence, some of our blessings
don’t get a shout when naming process
is in session. To a large extent, Africa
has been dubbed the place to find
wildlife, see the unimaginable and
confirm those unending myths. But
like its shape on the map, there’s still
a question mark over where exactly to
find what you’ve heard about. So the
gems are there. It’s only a matter of
unearthing them.
On the coast of Kenya, the Mombasa
Marine National Park and Reserve
comfortably sits with its arms wide
open, inviting people from far
and near to come for a soothing
experience. Its sapphire ocean,
coupled with the white sandy beaches,
has the perfect calming effect on any
individual. The park has a charm
of natural beauty, with a display of
iridescence at every turn. Its waters
are known to be ideal for snorkeling,
water skiing and diving. They also
offer a home to a cornucopia of
marine species such as cucumber
sea urchins, starfish and the everintriguing
marine bird; crab plovers.
The wealth of attractions at the park
will surely leave you with a gaping
mouth.
Another extremely enthralling event
that awaits any tourist visiting the
eastern frontier of Africa is mountain
gorilla trekking. Rwanda, Uganda and
The Democratic Republic of Congo
are homes to nearly half of the entire
population of mountain gorillas
that exist in the world. The wellestablished
Volcanoes National Park
in Musanze, home to the mountain
gorillas of Rwanda, always promises
a riveting adventure upon visiting.
Gorilla trekking safaris manage to

quell earlier predispositions about gorillas when you
finally meet the whole gorilla clan. The gorillas manage
to also display the eerie seductiveness all wildlife seem
to have. The Volcanoes National Park also boasts of
golden monkeys, elephants, spotted hyenas, buffaloes,
bushbucks and a vast array of birds. It is a hamper filled
with most of the best things nature can offer. Who can
say no to this? The park sees an influx of people visit
each year to appreciate the different gifts nature has to
offer. It isn’t rocket science why Rwanda’s economy is
gradually seeing the light of day.
Namibia offers a completely different proposition
in the Namib-Naukluft National Park. The desertic
park represents an avenue of tourism that is generally
unexploited. It is a sight to behold, given that, with
it, Africa lays claim to one of the largest conservation
areas. The Naukluft Mountains are renowned for its
suitability for hiking. The park’s scenery is one to die
for. It provides the perfect backdrop to be used for
any form of decoration. Anyone with a camera and a
keen eye for artistry will know what I’m talking about.
Sossusvlei, which represents the southern part of the
desert, is characterized by large red dunes which bring
the desert to life. These dunes are some of the highest
in the entire world and have the ability to make the
day of a photography fanatic, with superb shots both
in the sharp light of dawn or dusk. The availability
of attractions in the park seem to defy all logic given
the unfavorable weather conditions. One can spot a
diverse range of plants as well as springboks, ostriches,
mountain zebras and oryxs, though the wildlife are
pretty elusive. The various divisions of the park offer
camping sites, crystal clear springs and pools as a
result of the valleys, and a spectacular base for one to
beef up his geologic knowledge. Talk about a varied
ecosystem in one place.
Some of the gems have been exhumed and there are
more waiting to be graced by you. In any case, who is
packed and ready to go now?
7

LET’S TAKE A TRIP
I feel like letting out some
‘public secrets’ in exchange for…
nothing. Yes, I’m that generous!
The mental rewards of relaxation
cannot be stressed enough in this
age. Nature and its therapeutic
benefits keep on serving humans
willingly. It’s about time you go
and grab your dose of benefits
too.
Take a trip to the Kwale County
of Kenya. To one of the top
twenty-five beaches in the
world. To Africa’s leading beach
destination according to the
World Travel Awards of 2014.
On the shores of the Indian
Ocean, there you will find heaven
on earth. I’m talking about
Diani Beach. We all need that
unobtrusive space where you can
put your mind to rest and take a
trip to a neighboring planet just
to say hello to some other species.
Diani paves the way for you to
have a quiet day, reclined on the
beach under an umbrella or lanky
palm trees with a cold refreshing
drink for company while the
azure waters do all the talking.
It is also imperative that you
take a ride on a camel across the
shores of the beach. The elevated
view you may get of the beach
could leave you in awe. Kite
surfers can let loose over at Diani
Beach. The beach has a cluster
of elegant hotels, supermarkets
and restaurants surrounding it, so
leaving the shores then becomes a
dilemma; a delightful dilemma to
be plagued with. ‘Beach is better,’
isn’t it?
If you’re looking to up your
human spirit and gain some
invaluable knowledge while you’re
at it, look no further. Robben
Island over in Cape Town, South
Africa is the place to go. The site
encapsulates a great amount of
South African history. From the
building of a sacred site for
Muslim pilgrimages to the
construction of an airstrip,
the island had witnessed
it all. Make sure you take
deep breaths to inhale the
greatness that once strode
the paths of the island.
It is most notable for its
prison establishment where
the great Nelson Mandela
was kept for being the political
animal that he was. Arguably,
what is most extraordinary about
the prison establishment on the
island is the fact that, ex-prisoners
get give you an extensive tour
of the entire island as they give
you a first-hand account of their
experiences. How cool is that?
The island is also considered a
haven for some rare seabirds,
sacred ibis, African black
oystercatchers and cattle egrets.
It is also an access for individuals
to see the remainder of the
penguins that the island was once
renowned for sheltering. It is
always charming to witness the
penguins clad in tuxedoes, ready
to put on a show for visitors.
8

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9

10 Steps To Live Younger For Longer:
Secrets of Healthy Ageing
The search for the fountain of youth is a never-ending quest. I should tell you right now, no beauty
product or intervention at the spa can revert you back to the glow of your childhood years. Ageing
is inevitable but- and herein lies the biggest secret yet- growing old doesn’t have to be. Here are 10
well kept secrets to living younger for longer...
10

ONE - Make a good night’s rest your priority
Certain hormones, such as melatonin, require you to fall into deep sleep for their job to be done. So invest in the right mattress,
linen, pillows, turn off the music and switch off the lights.
You deserve to be well rested.
TWO - Know the contents of your meals
Are you one for takeaways and dining out most nights in the week? Like most of us living the fast city life, from time to time
we fall victim to this. Eating out multiple times in the week, however, will not only burn a hole through your pockets but leave
you malnourished. Nourishment does not come from one’s daily calorie intake but the minerals and nutrients each meal provides.
Cooking your own meals allows you to be vigilant when it comes to appropriating portion - note that 70% of your plate
should go to vegetables. It will help keep tabs on your daily salt and sugar intake and condition your mind towards healthier
eating. Now ask yourself, what exciting new recipes will I be cooking this week?
THREE - Supplement your meals
Earlier we admitted to living the fast city life, so now it’s time to make up for our shortcomings during mealtimes. The answer
to this is supplements. Taking vitamin and mineral supplements is a necessity. Iron deficiency, Anaemia, is a particularly challenging
problem amongst Africans, therefore it is imperative that we remind ourselves to supplement our meals.
FOUR - Of course you have to exercise!
Surely you didn’t think you could escape it or did you? Studies have shown that as little as 30 minutes a day spent working out
can do wonders for you internally. Aside from releasing feel good hormones, bone and muscle strength is maintained over
time, decreasing the incidence of age-related ailments such as osteoporosis
FIVE - Marry Right
The fastest way to an early grave is to make a commitment of forever to the wrong person. This is no secret.
SIX - Nurture meaningful relationships
Want to live younger for longer? Surround yourself with youthful and intelligent minds. They are a breath of fresh air in an
otherwise decaying world. Challenging yourself daily to redefine and upgrade your ideals on life is the way to live multiple
lifetimes in one lifespan.
SEVEN - Find your purpose
Because wherever there is passion, there is youthful agility. Passion defiles any set rules on age, it pushes you beyond physical
limitations and has you reaching for the skies just like you did in your prime.
EIGHT - Forgive
An unforgiving heart wears itself on our face. It tells its stories through wrinkles and sucks the zest out of you. To live younger,
you must live light, and to live light you must do away with the heftiness of an unforgiving heart.
NINE - Laughter is essential
Laughter is not to be joked with - not its physiological contributions to mental health nor its ability to bind us socially. There is
a reason why we find others most attractive when they are happy.
TEN - Surrender to a higher power
Give all your worries to God and watch your youth extend with each birthday you celebrate.
11

12
5 musts for Beautiful Skin

THE FIVES
1Exfoliate weekly
Whether it’s bikini season and you’re all for the all over sun-kissed glow or you just want
that radiantly clear, plump all year round baby face, exfoliating regularly can work wonders.
Beautiful skin is at its most radiant when it’s new. By gently exfoliating once or twice a week,
you renew your skin by removing the oldest dead skin cells that cling to the skin’s outermost
top layer, the epidermis. So say goodbye to dull, uneven skin and exfoliate your way to kissable
soft, bright, youthful skin.
2
Moisturise
Oily, combination, sensitive or dry. When it comes to the decision to moisturise, you may
want to stop and consider the skin type you have been blessed with. Yes- blessed with!
However, the deliberation should never be one of “should I moisturise or not”! Everyone should
moisturise, even if your skin produces enough oil to compete with all the NOCs in Africa!
Considering your skin type is the starting point to choosing the right moisturiser for you. The
trick is in the keywords. For acne-prone or oily skin look out for the terms “oil-free” “oil-control”
and “oil-balancing”. Such moisturisers will help combat excess oil whilst giving your skin the
nourishment it needs. Choosing not to moisturise can lead to the skin over compensating
for the dehydration by producing even MORE oil! Dry skin craves moisture and failing to
adequately hydrate dry skin can lead to faking at best and pre-mature ageing at worst. So if
your skin falls into this category your trigger words are simple - anything that screams “intense
moisture/hydration” is you! For that extra bit of skin loving goodness incorporate an SPF
moisturiser and beautifying vitamin rich oils into your skin staples.
3
Hands Off!
No doubt you have heard this countless times before but just to put it into perspective,
here's the why behind this one. Put simply, your hands are the dirtiest part of your body.
Think about it - consider your average day and all the things and people you touch each waking
hours. Lost count yet? Right, so with all these opportunities to pick up dirt and bacteria and the
impossibility of being able to wash your hands after every touch, surely the last place you want
your hands is on that precious face. Touching our faces is such a mindless habit that we don't
even think about but each time we do, we transfer whatever lurks on the surface of our hands,
under our nail and between our fingers onto our faces. And let's not even mention squeezing
and picking at spots!
4Take it all off girl!
Ladies, we know how this one goes. It's Friday night and after a long week you get all
dolled up and hit the town. You get home, the room is spinning and it's just the two of
you- you and your bed. Or how about this next one? You just started dating this hot new guy
and you're just getting to that slumber party for two stage and you decide that you just have to
wake up perfect (and trust me you won't with mascara blurred around your face!)
Pump those break and hold that thought! Whatever the reason, whatever the excuse - please
don't do it. Please. By going to bed with your make up on, you're also going to bed with all
the sweat, dirt and bacteria you can't see. Even the make up alone will sink into your pores and
cause blemishes that no one wants to deal with. So take the time to grab a couple of face wipes
or even better still wash the day away completely and wake up you!
5
Hydrate and sleep!
Last but by no means least drink plenty of water and get plenty of sleep!
13

The Power of the Pout
What’s that one make-up item that just changes the game for you? Well we thought about it too
and decided to see how the same make-up look can be drastically changed with the adorning of
a different lip colour. So we took two beautiful models, gave their faces an all-over make-over and
tried two different lippies on each of them. Now we really know the power of the pout.
14

PRIMERS
A girl’s best friend.
In a last edition, we gave you our bronze goddess with our take on strobing
– and you loved it! With that bronze glow being so hot on trend, we’re all
trying to get in on the action, snapping up the latest highlighter we saw on
the gram or that go-to bronzer your favourite Youtuber is forever raving
about.
Glowing skin is always a desired look but for us girls with oily skin, a nice dewy
glow can quickly have us looking like fried plantain.
In our climate, the importance of a good primer goes a long way to perfecting
the overall finish of any make-up look. Here are our top three primers that get
the job done for a demi-matte, airbrushed finish.
This primer is everything! Great oil control without drying the skin. It will
keep your make-up in place and have your skin looking perfectly hydrated
with a natural finish. It gives a lot of the high end primers a good run
for their money.
If matte is what you want, this one is definitely for you. Although
cosmetic use is not its primary use, milk of magnesia works great for
keeping oil at bay and giving you a matte finish that lasts.
This primer is great for normal to oily skin. It offers a little extra security
and helps to control your skin’s natural oils.
15

listed as the first ingredient, then you
are on your way to finding a decent
moisturiser.
Which probably means
a long time ago you
drastically cut your hair
in a bid to grow long, natural locks.
After 3 years of hair growth, that is
nothing to write home about, the
penny finally drops. You’ve done it!
You’ve finally listened to the number
1 piece of advice which you thought
was one of those things you didn’t
have to take seriously. Ironically, that
piece of advice had the same effect
on you as the advice to drink plenty
of water for a healthy body. Yes –
that advice you finally paid attention
to is none other than MOISTURE.
Keeping you kinky locks well
moisturised counters the nature
of our hair which often leads to
breakage and the struggle of length
retention. Unlike straight hair, the
kinks and coils of our hair makes it
difficult for our hairs natural oils to
travel down the shaft of our hair. The
result – dry, brittle ends that break
3easily.
Although there are many things
to give attention to in order to
maintain strong healthy hair, the
only thing we’re interested in today
is getting the moisture box ticked.
It’s so important, we’ve dedicated a
whole page to this message.
years natural...
In order to compensate for the
inability of oil to travel all the way
down to our ends, we must add
moisture through the selection of
great products. Now when we say
moisture, we don’t just mean oil. Oil
is oil and has its own purpose which
is to lock and seal in moisture. So try
not to deceive yourself into thinking
your hair is well moisturised by the
oily feel of your strands. Moisture
has one dominant source and that
is water! Look for water based
moisturising products. You can spot
them quite easily by checking the
list of ingredients on the packaging
of products. If “water” (or “aqua”) is
Moisture is a must, no matter
what you do with your hair. The
importance of a good moisturiser
is even higher when you are
incorporating protective styling
into your natural hair journey. The
best protective styles keep your hair
tucked away for a long period of
time in low manipulation styles.
This also means that the ability
to frequently add that essential
moisture to you hair is reduced
significantly. Therefore, before
you tuck you locks away from the
elements be sure to moisturise
well. We recommend a “high-slip”
product like S curl “no drip” curl
activator to get the job done.
All in all, well moisturised hair
means less breakage, more length
and all round happier hair.
16

FRUIT
THE RIGHT WAY!
So you get to that oh so familiar time again when you realise that your
jeans are a little tighter, your dresses are a bit more of a squeeze and
that gorgeous face is looking beautifully “plump”. Yes, all those days
of eating whatever, whenever have caught up on you and you decide
to embark on your reformation. A slimmer, sexier you is the goal
but what’s the plan. Whatever it is, I’m sure it involves eating a lot
more fruit, right? We all know that fruits are good for you and we are
blessed with some much loved exotic and juicy fruits, making it easy
to dive straight in. Hold that thought…
I’m not here to burst any fruity bubbles but I know why I love fruit
– because they are sweet and tasty. Yes, I’m going to say it – fruits are
sweet because they are very high in sugar. Yes natural sugar but sugars
nonetheless. The high sugar content of fruit can often be the silent
set back in our weight loss pursuits. An over consumption of fruits is
definitely getting a lot of vitamins and nutrients into your body but
also a lot of calories that get stored in your body as fat if you aren’t
able to burn them off quickly enough. I know what you’re thinking –
you just can’t win!
I try to avoid highlighting problems without coming equipped with
their solutions, so whilst I seem to be the bearer of bad news here, let
me redeem myself with three important tips on how to consume fruits
to ensure they work for you rather than against you and your body
goals.
1
Fruit first!
2
Use fruit as your pre-workout.
3
We often include fruits within our dessert
choices and eat them after meals. In
actual fact this is considered the worst
time to eat your fruits. Try to intake fruits
at two specific times – the first being in
the morning with a glass of water before
consuming anything else. When you eat
fruit first, you activate your fat burning
metabolism and prep your body to use
the sugars consumed as fuel. In the
morning, after fasting for about 8 hours
while you slept, your body is prime and
ready to absorb all the nutrients found in
fruit. At this time, the digestive process
works quickly, using different enzymes to
digest the fruit. This benefit is lost when
you eat a starchy or meaty breakfast which
takes much longer to digest. When you
eat fruit with or after a meal, the other
food, which take longer to digest, slows
down the passage of the fruit which will
be held for much longer in the stomach.
This means that the sugars broken down
The other time I like to eat my fruits
is just before I hit the gym. Whilst
the fitness industry makes millions of
dollar with the sale of pre-workout
supplements which give you that
extra energy to get through intense
workouts, these supplements generally
have very high caffeine and sugar
contents. As we have now accepted
that fruits are full of natural sugars,
why don’t we use that to our advantage
and ditch the artificially created preworkouts.
Sugar is used in the body
as energy and is stored as fat when we
do not use that energy. Therefore, just
before you exercise is an ideal time
to eat fruit and get that extra boost
of energy to kick some butt in the
gym. I don’t know about you but I
love the idea of eating my juicy fruits
and burning off the calories doing
workouts I love. Win-win situation if
you ask me.
at a much slower pace. Some even say
that whilst being held there, the fruits can
then rot and ferment in your gut. Doesn’t
sound pretty to me.
Drink Responsibly!
Finally, the last tip goes against one of the
biggest diet trends of recent years – juicing.
Yes, makes you feel like a fitness freak as you
carry it around in your cute shaker bottle.
Effectively what we are doing here is packing
an excess amount of fruit into a blender,
turning it into liquid that won’t make us feel
full quickly and over-eating (drinking) fruits.
We all know that too much of anything is
never great and fruit is no exception. The
fact that we are able to stomach more fruit
when it is made into a juice or smoothie
translates into a consumption of more sugar.
Yes, there’s that sweet word again. So try to
eat your fruits rather that drink them but if
you are a fan of smoothies try combining an
equal amount of fruit and green vegetables
for a healthier smoothie.
By all means, the aim here has not been to
discourage the inclusion of fruit in your
diet but rather to offer you effective ways
of making sure the fruits you eat work
optimally for you rather than against you.
Happy eating x
17

The culinary scene in Ghana over the past few years has been fast growing and
changing and it’s been incredibly exciting to watch this growth, especially being
so passionate about food and beverage. There are currently so many trending
restaurants that cater different types of cuisines for different customers. The
production team at Dame Africa narrowed down their search to three restaurants
which they believe is a fair representation of trending “spots” for Brunch, Lunch
and Dinner.
Fred’s Restaurant Review
Bread & Wine
BRUNCH
Bread and Wine, located in Osu, right off Oxford
street was the first stop I made for brunch. Pale
and chic, it was evident every design element of
this French inspired restaurant has been carefully
sourced, especially upstairs in the private
dining room where I was seated. The interior
is a rhapsody in nudes and navy, zhuzhed up
with artistic pieces and paintings that represent
every style of design. This made it extremely
comfortable and relatable but still chic. For a
more casual vibe, head downstairs to the outdoor
seating or poolside seating where you can dine
with a view of their lovely garden, or pool area.
Service is polished and professional; the music
was especially chill which I absolutely enjoyed.
But you don’t come to a restaurant for these
things do you? You come for the cooking:
an impeccably composed brunch menu with
something for every type of diner I’d say. I
was welcomed with a “baked basket” which
consisted of an assortment of French pastries; a
plain Croissant, Pain au Raisins and a Chocolate
Croissant, with the Pain au Raisins being my
favorite of the three. It was freshly baked and
fluffy with just the right amount of raisins so
not to overwhelm the pastry. This was all while
I waited for the Chef’s choices of their most
popular brunch menu items.
First came the frittata paired with a fresh corn
salad. It tasted absolutely divine and the salad
was a terrific match for the type of bread the
frittata sat on. I was intrigued by the similarity
of the frittata to the Ghanaian street food
“kyibom”, fried egg and bread. It was certainly
an interesting way of incorporating Ghanaian
culture into their continental menu. It was still
very tasty and nicely presented. Well… The
second dish completely blew my mind. Certainly
a must try, the salmon Benedict was very much
what I expected it to be and more. I love a
runny yolk and the egg was perfectly poached
with the perfect consistency allowing the yolk
to fully express itself. The hollandaise sauce was
warm and rich in flavor, sealing all the other
flavors and making the dish one big popping
party in my mouth. Then came the French
toast, golden slices of brioche French adorned
with powder sugar. But the best part was on
the inside, wait for it… each bite was filled with
warm rich and melted Nutella, creating a medley
of celestial flavors in your mouth. Then came
the pancakes which I was actually very excited
about. The pancake looked like all American
butter pancakes, thick and fluffy, so I was really
excited to dig in. The pancakes were a little dry,
and I suggest the chef incorporates a moisturizing
factor to the pancake to maintain moisture.
My overall experience at Bread and Wine
was pretty darn dazzling, the plating was well
executed and I highly appreciate that because
I am one of those people that eats with my
eyes first. I highly recommend this restaurant
especially for brunch.
18

LUNCH
Bistro 22
My next stop was lunch at Bistro 22,
located in Labone. The design of the
restaurant, distinctly understated from
the outside made me wonder what the
restaurant was all about, especially since
restaurants in Accra consistently surprise
me. Inside, the ultra gracious setting and
promising menu, if not what you’d call
revolutionary, made me rather excited and
eager to sample some of their top items as
chosen by the restaurant manager.
I started with the Bistro Flat Bread,
beautifully presented with cherry
tomatoes, raisins and warm goat cheese
with a drizzle of balsamic glaze. It was
an outburst of delightful flavor, the
perfect amount of crunch from the bread,
married with the warmth and moisture of
the goat cheese, and then the sweetness of
the raisins and balsamic glaze. I enjoyed
it thoroughly. Then came the calamari,
golden and crunchy and cooked to
perfection. With that was the standard
tartar sauce which was a bit too tangy for
the pairing. Perhaps a sweet chilli sauce
might have been a better accompaniment
to the dish. Now I’m not a salad type
of guy, but the Mango and Steak salad
which followed the calamari was flawless.
The beef was beautifully cooked, not
overwhelming in flavor and accompanied
the mango and lettuce very well.
the mango sauce poured over it didn’t
quite marry with the gentle flavors of
fish and rice it subsumed. The fish was
overshadowed by the distinct taste and
flavor of mango which made it difficult
to really taste the flavors in the fish. Next
was grilled prawns, this was a perfectly
expressed modern classic dish with the
plating and vegetables that it was paired
with. The vegetables were cooked to
perfection with just the right amount of
crunch. The colors of the vegetables were
also nice and vibrant which tells me that
they had been carefully blanched and I
appreciated that. I often pay attention
to and appreciate the little details on my
plate that accompany a dish.
In no time the hour of desserts had
arrived, and I was especially excited about
this segment. The Banana chocolate
crepe came first and boy was it superb!
The crepe would have to be the best one
I’ve had in Ghana so far. The passion
fruit cheesecake was next and that I
think it’s built for a particular type of
palate. Cheesecake takes a lot of time and
nurturing to prepare, and I think mine
needed some more time to “Set” and
properly bind.
Then came the main courses, the first was
pan seared grouper with a mango and
avocado based sauce with coconut rice.
While the fish was cooked to perfection,
19

DINNER
Rockefellas
My final stop for
the day was
Rockerfellas, a pub
style restaurant
and sushi bar also
located in Osu on the premises of what
every young Ghanaian knows as Tantra.
By this time I was extremely stuffed
and tired and wondered if I could even
eat anymore food. Well… Rockerfellas
space is small and cozy, with enough
dope lighting and a chill outdoor
seating area. This restaurant definitely
looks hip enough for your Friday night
plans, but also casual enough for you to
roll in after work with your buddies. I
was greeted by a very pleasant manager
who was awfully excited and interested
in what I was there to do (that never
happens). The manager brought a
selection of the house favorites, which
then all became my favorites. Never
mind the fact that I was so full and
tired and didn’t think I could eat or
taste anymore food.
I started off with the lobster Mac and
cheese. You might be pressured into
ordering this if you go there for the first
time; I suggest you do as you are told.
I was hit with a burst of impeccable
flavors from the first bite to the last lick
of that bowl. The lobster was cooked
to perfection and so was the pasta.
The breaded chicken that followed
epitomized southern comfort. It was
well seasoned and deep fried in a tasty
batter which gave it not only a lovely
golden finish, but an amazing crunch to
seal the flavor. The chicken was paired
with fried rice (very common to every
Ghanaians palate) and a spicy sauce.
All three items married perfectly well,
creating a whimsical medley of crackle,
moisture and left a kick in my mouth.
I then indulged in the Roc Burger,
which was also mind blowing. The beef
patty was well seasoned and cooked to
perfection, just a little over medium
well so it still held some moisture.
I always say the bread is what really
makes a burger, and the bread was
terrific. It wasn’t too dense, not too
light and it held its own and held
the burger together while still tasting
good and fresh. I finished with a Tuna
California roll which was well done.
The tuna was fresh which makes a big
difference. It was clear that their sushi
chef knew what he was doing, and it
definitely showed on that plate, from
presentation to taste. I thoroughly
enjoyed every single dish I ate at
Rockerfellas and highly recommend
it for lunch or dinner. Just be warnedit
might become a habit because
everything is so ridiculously yummy!
20

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AND ENJOY DAME ON THE GO
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2016 Q2 ISSUE ON SALE NOW
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21

Home C
INSTRUCTIONS
Remove the skin of both the yam and the plantains and cut roughly into
medium cubes.
Allow the size of the cubes of yam to vary to achieve chunks of yam in the
finished dish.
Asaro
Blend together the tomatoes, bell peppers, 1 onion, 1 scotch bonnet pepper
and 2 garlic cloves. Add ¼ cup of water to help the ingredients blend together.
In a large pot, add 2 tablespoons of palm oil and set on medium heat.
Two medium
tomatoes
2 red bell peppers
2 tablespoons of
ground crayfish
2 tablespoons of palm
oil
2 ripe plantains
250 grams of shredded
smoked mackerel
fillets
1 Medium sized
Yam
plus
2 large onions
3 garlic cloves
1 scotch bonnet
pepper
2 tablespoons of
tomato puree
Add 1 chopped onion and 1 chopped clove of garlic to the palm oil and stir.
Add 2 tablespoons of tomato puree to the pot and stir in. Allow to sauté for 2
minutes.
Add the blended ingredients to the pot, stir and allow to cook for 15-20
minutes. (Stir occasionally).
Add in stock cubes and salt to taste.
Add the smoked mackerel, crayfish, plantain, yam and 500 ml of water.
Combine the ingredients, cover and allow to cook for 25 minutes. (Stir
occasionally).
Taste, adjust for seasoning and stir thoroughly. Allow to cook for a further 5
minutes and serve.
22

omforts
INSTRUCTIONS
Add six table spoons of peanut
butter to a small pan and add
two cups (500ml) of water.
Place over low heat and stir until the
mixture is smooth. Allow to cook for
30 minutes.
Wash the chicken thoroughly and place in a
large pot.
Add a sufficient amount of water to the pot (about 700
ml) and on place medium to high heat.
Chop one whole onion and add to the chicken.
Add salt, three stock cubes and a pinch of rosemary and
bring to a boil.
Having allowed the chicken to boil for approximately ten minutes, add the
unchopped ginger, two medium onions (whole), two medium tomatoes (whole),
one small scotch bonnet pepper (whole).
Simple Ghanaian Peanut Soup
Two medium
tomatoes
1 large piece of
ginger
3 large onions
2 cloves of garlic
1 scotch bonnet
pepper
Allow this all to boil on medium heat for a further 20 minutes.
In a blender, place two cloves of garlic, the ginger, onions, tomatoes, a ¼ cup of
water, and blend till smooth.
Sugar-free peanut
butter/paste
1 ½ tablespoons
of tomato puree
Add to the pot of chicken, 1 ½ tablespoons of tomato puree and the blended
ingredients. Stir this in until evenly mixed with the chicken stock.
Add the pre-cooked peanut paste to the same pot and stir in till the soup is evenly
mixed.
Allow the soup to cook on medium heat for a further one hour.
Check and stir the soup frequently within the hour.
Once the soup is cooked you will notice the oil from the peanut separate and rise
to the top – its way of telling you “I’m ready!”
1.5 kilos of
chicken
plus
Rosemary
Stock cubes
Salt
23

STYLE IS A
The style gods are multi-lingual. I happen to be a
proficient speaker of a couple of their languages.
Yes, I’m confident like that. Well, the point is, the
buoyancy that accompanies getting a particular
look down pat is unparalleled. The extra bounce in your step,
the additional swank in your gait, the pronounced shoulder-dip
are all a given when you look your best. Surely now you can’t
downplay the significance of being in the fashion police’s good
books.
Walk into the borders of the corporate world and you will
definitely want to leave with your peers looking star-struck. Mind
and matter is tantamount in the key roles they play here. When
you don threads that don’t expire, the swagger with which you
go about your business only reverberates the confidence you have
in yourself. The key is to accouter one’s self in outfits that are
extremely comfortable and compliment the body flawlessly.
Pick out a suit; double-breasted or single-breasted, pocket square
maybe, pronounced buttons, bowtie or necktie, two-piece
or three-piece? Complement that with a neatly-polished pair of leather
brogues, balanced with a pair of aesthetically crafted socks. You’ll be
owning your space with either choice. With all eyes fixated on you in the
conference room, you will have the perfect window to woo associates with
your intellectual prowess. Mind and matter, right? And what did they say
about the suit color having to be in sync? I love me a mismatch on certain
occasions. Is anyone with me?
How about you switch up the tempo? Throw on a warm colored bubu or
kaftan and seal it off with a pair of patent leather boat shoes. You don’t
have to conform all the time. Set your own rules and run with them. It’s a
quintessential tactic for the corporate mindset.
Whichever route you decide to use, the corporate world has to realize how
indomitable you are. When you walk the halls, the air of confidence that
backs you will help carve a niche that all others will be privy to. Don’t
forget to flash a grin on whichever corner you turn, the gossip fodder will
be all about you.
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VOCATION
I
know what you're thinking: A vocation is a mission statement,
a calling, a selfless act, it is succumbing wholly to a good deed,
it is not vain and it most certainly is not style.
I constantly challenge myself to find new ways to give back and
one unique way in which I do that is by taking pride in the image
I present to the world. Your style is the first contribution you make
to your environment when you step out to begin the day. I bet
you've had one of those days where the alarm clock didn't go off
and you scrambled your way through the morning feeling like a
nylon bag caught underneath a stranger's shoe. That was till a lady
in a vibrant and colourful floral number skirts past and you find
yourself, if but for that moment, caught within a happy place.
Or have you been that labourer pounding the pavement day in day
out, toiling the soil of your dreams, when the brief image of an
impeccably dressed gentlemen transported you to a future plan you
never knew you had and you. And while suddenly overwhelmed by
the prospect of hope, you vowed to work harder.
Equally, have you ever, on your way to a fancy restaurant, caught a
glimpse of a pauper sprawled across the floor, encompassed by the
filth of his shredded cloths, and you, suddenly on pause at a mental
crossroad debating your outstanding debts whilst contemplating
skipping out on your date? In whatever way we try to get around
it, style is image and images shape everything. So the next time
you choose an outfit for the day, dress for the hopeful, the broken,
that prospective stranger that needs inspiration. Be the vision of
beauty the world needs to see. And when the compliments roll in,
stay humble, after all style is your vocation - a mission statement, a
calling, a selfless act, it is succumbing wholly to a good deed. And
that, I say with all certainty, is not vanity.
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Victorian Everything
Runway shows by Emilia Wickstead, J.W. Anderson, and Erdem.
Displayed Ruffles, puffy sleeves, high-collar necklines, and loads
of flowers—A nice white high-collar neckline crop top can be
paired with ripped boyfriend jeans for a casual look for lunch
with the girls. Are you looking forward to spring& summer 2016
like I am. ? Well apart from the beautiful weather I love to see
ladies wear white and floral.
26

Style Check by Dee
The Mule (High-heeled
mules& Flat Mules)
Comfortable shoes are still trending and I think
they are very chic. Ladies please add one to your
wardrobe essentials.
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28
DIFFERENT SHADES OF

Style Check by Dee
CITY CHIC
29

30
STARDO KARLE

STARDO KARLE
31

‘What’s your life about, enlighten me. Is you gon live on your knees or
die on your feet?’ Ab-Soul couldn’t have said it any better. I’ve alluded to
this line so many times but it never seems to get old. I’m on a journey,
which unfortunately is terminable. When does it end? Fortunately or
unfortunately, I do not have the slightest idea.
I LOVE MY JOB
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On this journey, I brought along an easel and
a canvas. With every exhilarating moment, I
splatter some paint on my canvas enthusiastically.
I’m looking to up the ante every step of the way.
I want to see intensity rise like a crescendo when I make my
next move. I want to savor every moment. I want to make this
journey worthwhile. I have to be that geriatric that sits back and
reminisces, bringing to the table stories that are greeted with
oohs and aahs. I want to live. I need to be happy.
I caught up with a chap who is offering a rendition of this
journey. The twist here is, he has managed to fuse it with
the most important aspect of every human’s life: work. Fred
Apaloo Jr is a sucker for food. He’s the true
embodiment of ‘Work and Happiness’. Fred
is a gastronomist who is looking to channel
the exuberance he feels when he indulges
in the artistry of creating mouth-watering
delicacies to anyone who is keen to unearth
the hidden treasures in good food.
The strong-willed, Ghanaian bred and
affable Fred met up with me in the comfort
of food. Rockefellas Pub and Grill in the
heart of Osu, Accra got to host a mogul in
the making. Who said passion cannot be
intertwined with business?
Nana: Shall We? Namaste
Fred: *The Fred Giggle* Namaste
Nana: Who is Fred to the entire population?
Fred: I’m just an ordinary Ghanaian guy
who has found passion in the artistry of food; the way food is
prepared, the way food is presented, the science of food - which
is why I call myself a gastronomist. I’m also absorbed in the
understanding of flavors, the understanding of palates and how
all of that ties into creating an experience with dining. I’m very
talkative but also very shy. It’s quite contradictory, I know. *The
Fred Giggle*. When I exhibit my shyness it comes off as me
being standoffish in certain instances. I’m also a very private
person, although I’m talkative. What else is there to say about
me… I’m also very fun. I always appreciate a good time. I enjoy
cooking obviously. I love some good music, like old-school
music. I love the beaches, I love the water. Stuff like that. I
consider myself a family man. A die hard family man. Family is
my everything. And good friends as well.
Nana: I wouldn’t have considered you a shy person. You have a
pretty strong personality so it’s hard to pin you to shyness.
Fred: *The Fred Giggle* Yes. True. I have a very strong
personality but I’m quite shy on the inside.
‘I wake up every
morning happy
to get into the
kitchen and let my
imagination run
wild with my tools.
Nana: That’s one thing learnt. Would you say food had always
been the dream?
Fred: Actually no. I always cooked as a child though. I
remember when I was in the 5th or 4th grade I had my first
interaction with cooking. I remember we always had pizza on
special occasions, like on Friday nights and what not. I kept
thinking I could make this. So I got a slice of toast. In my mind
I was just thinking of how a slice of pizza is structured. So my
little 10 year old self got the slice of toast, put some ham on
it, cheese, ketchup, and tossed it into the microwave. Minutes
later, it melted and I was like oh pizza, you know. But at that
young age, that was the ideal way I thought I could mimic what
I just had. So I’ve always been interested in cuisine and food
evidently. As I got older, I took it more seriously, but for myself.
I cooked for my roommates in college and my family but it was
never on a gourmet level - it took shape in the comfort food
form the majority of the time.
Fast-forward to Ghana. Actually, Villa Grace wasn’t even the
plan initially. It pretty much happened by accident. I was
getting my room refurbished to look more
matured. While I was at it, I happened to
have a lot of time on my hands. Anytime
the cooks asked me what I wanted to eat, I’d
opt to handle it myself. So I found myself
making my food all the time and plating it
attractively for myself. Then occasionally, I’d
put it up on my Instagram page. So it drew
my friends to the realization that Africa is a
pretty cool spot too. We have dope stuff and
good food so it isn’t all malaria and what
CNN decide to show the world. I started
getting followers in numbers. Comments
trickled in from my friends saying this is
cool, you should invite us, you should try
this out and do that instead. So decided to
read a lot more about gastronomy and the
science involved in it. I made my way to
spice markets. I got to taste an assortment of
spices, mix them, understand what they do
to the palate, understand how they make sense and how flavor
is emerged from combining different spices and then I kept
practicing more and more. Every day I teach myself something
new, I challenge myself, I read a lot about food, cooking,
blogging, photography and artistry. I think it’s an art. It’s like
painting something, a creation. You know, making food and
plating for me is like an art class. There are grand questions like
where is it going to go? How is it going to turn out? Thoughts
along those lines, you know. It has to all make sense.
Nana: If you didn’t make the decision to become a
gastronomist, what would the plan have been for you?
Fred: My undergraduate studies in college featured hospitality
management. For my MBA studies, I specialized in marketing.
So merging the two, I would have been good for Public
Relations, Marketing and Events. I also had a stint with the
Marriott Group when I was in Miami when I was younger. It’s
evident that I enjoy planning events given my experience in a
hotel service which is why I strive for all my brunches to have
that wholesome experience. I sit down with my event planner
and I tell her exactly what I visualize. We break it all down;
from concept to construction to design, so I’m involved in every
single minute detail when it comes to my pop-up brunches.
You’d find me pondering on what kind of chairs we’re using,
what colors we will need to emblazon the setting, what kind of
flowers and more. I’m OCD about every little thing because
it needs to make sense to me. I need to be wowed by it in
33

order for everyone else to be wowed
by it as well. So it all boils down
to the artistry for me. Hospitality
management was cool but cooking
and event organization, coupled with
the liberty that tags along, are more
engaging so I ran with that.
Nana: So have there been any
impediments along the way?
Fred: Well, for every business, there
are always things that hinder you from
doing the best that you can on certain
occasions. I’m still in the process of
relocating back to Ghana full-time
so everything isn’t as fluid as I’d want
it to be yet. Giving people exactly
what they want is the challenge right
now because everyone is like, ‘When
are we coming again? When is the
restaurant opening up?’ and I don’t
have that at the moment so that sort
of impedes my flow. Also, sourcing
ingredients is pretty cumbersome.
In America, you can get whatever
you need however you need it on the
spot. Here, I have to import my meat
because meat here is quite tough, not
as tender as my dishes would require.
Seafood availability is quite better but
even with that there are specific dates
on which I can get them. So sourcing
ingredients has been a barricade in
terms of allowing myself to be creative
with what I love to do here in Ghana
Nana: In a stereotypical Ghanaian
society, and an African one at large,
parents are quite insistent and
selective with the professions they
want their wards to pick. Gastronomy
wouldn’t be a lot of parents’ first
choice. Looking back, would you
say life has been kind to you in the
sense that you grew up in the ideal
setting for you to spread your wings
and express yourself as you are doing
currently?
Fred: Uhm … God has been kind
to me. My parents have been very
understanding and supportive. My
mum, who is my biggest cheerleader
and best friend, has always been that
mother who would say to you, if
you want to be a drummer go ahead
and do that but make sure you’re the
best at what you do. My dad is like
the conventional African dad so he
expected more. He eventually realized
that I have a gift so now he’s into me
nurturing that gift and crafting it to
bring the best out of it. Honestly,
it’s fulfilling to have my parents are
on this Villa Grace bandwagon with
me. We’ve realized that the project is
gathering pace and attention so we are
constantly brainstorming on how to
get it hot and popping for a very long
time. My siblings always chip in with
a word of support when I need it the
most and my friends as well. So I feel
comfortable knowing that I have the
backing of people who reciprocate the
care I have for them.
Nana: You speak passionately about
your family. May I conjecture your
biggest inspiration for gastronomy? It
has to be a family member right?
Fred: My biggest inspiration in terms
of gastronomy will have to be my
grandmother, Grace,
which is why I
named Villa
Grace after
her. She was
a family
woman.
She
cooked,
she baked
and she was
also a great
homemaker.
Growing up, I spent
a lot of time with her.
My parents used to
work majority of the
time so my siblings
and I would always
crash at grandma’s.
She would bake,
she would roast,
she would grill and
she used to cook
herself. So helping
her and being in that
environment was
common for us. I
enjoyed it a lot. She is a big influence
on how I view lifestyle and food
in terms of creating. I remember
her parsley chickens, leg of lambs,
roast chicken, banana fritters and
a whole lot more. Grandma was
really a connoisseur of food. So she’s
definitely the leading inspiration
behind all this.
Nana: Let’s move to the food itself
now. What’s your most bizarre food
review from a customer?
Fred: My most bizarre review. Well
I’ve only had three brunches with
customers. I think I get a lot of ‘oh
there’s too much time in between the
courses.’ But then it could also mean
they can’t get enough of the food
*The Fred Giggle*, although I haven’t
thought of it that way. I guess the
aversion for waiting is suppressed by
the ability to drink some champagne
and mingle and what not. But then
people too go like ‘we just want to
eat back to back’. But I believe when
you’re organizing a multicourse meal,
it is best to have a reasonable amount
of time in between the courses so
people can feel liberated, mingle,
walk around and soak in the entire
vibe that has been created for them.
It’s pretty subtle for a bizarre review
because I don’t think I’ve gotten one
from a customer that made me go like
‘OK that’s weird’. Well at least not
yet. *Laughs*.
Nana: What will you consider
the proudest moment in your
young career?
Fred: Proudest moment has
to be the Genesis Brunch. It
took a lot for me to go public
and unveil the Villa Grace page
to the entire world because it
was so personal to me initially. I
must admit, I was a little concerned
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with how the world was going to take it. An African man
cooking!? I had gone against the norms in so many ways
by doing that because I come from an African family and
I grew up in Ghana so I’m very much an African; a proud
one in fact. So I was nervous about how Ghanaians were
going to respond to it because it’s not
exactly what my people are used to.
Nevertheless, it’s also my artistry and
I wanted to protect that. The Genesis
Brunch was very enjoyable. I laid my
marker down and also learnt a whole
lot of invaluable lessons that I’m
using today. So far, it has panned out
fine and we’re still on course to do
greater things.
Nana: How would you rate the
influence of social media on your
business?
Fred: LISTEN! I tell everyone that
brands are built off social media. The
Villa Grace brand owes its popularity
to Instagram. It was built off
Instagram from scratch. And I refuse
to do an official website until the
restaurant is about to open because
I feel like that’s just misleading. So
Instagram has been tremendously
assistive. Digital marketing right now
is like the dopest, sickest, free-est,
most informative, popping - I don’t
even know what other word to use -
way to get your message out there. I
have a background in marketing so
it’s exciting seeing the pragmatism
of the theories that I know of.
Pictures, quotes, sayings, you name
it, everyone is about it. Even my
parents have acclimatized with the
ways of Facebook, WhatsApp and
the likes, so I’ve run with it. Villa
Grace is a social media baby and
it’s growing incredibly. I take all
my pictures for the brand with my
iPhone, I edit them myself and that’s
what you see on Instagram. So the
perks of technology are working in
my favor and it can be overwhelming
sometimes. It’s really awesome how
the pieces are falling in place with the
help of technology.
Nana: You know I’m big on work
and happiness. So how huge is
making your passion your profession?
What edge does it give you?
Fred: It’s extremely important. I
think a chunk of the youth are
confused. The primary focus seems to be money, fame
and a lavish life. They find themselves unhappy and they
wonder why they’re circled with such gloom. I think it’s
important to find something you really love because I
wake up every morning happy to get into the kitchen and
let my imagination run wild with my tools. I go to bed at
night and I’m constantly riddled with ideas for what to
do next in the kitchen. I sketch my plating before I start
doing anything. I like to be in control of all that because
I love what I’m doing and I’m filled with so much passion
for it. If anyone asks me to whip
up something, I’m always willing
to do it; be it for friends or family
or whoever. So to me it’s not just
work. It’s like I’m an artist who
keeps painting a collection. That’s
what it’s about. We never stop.
Nana: I love the fact that you
infuse art or artistry in every answer
you give me. Personally, I feel like
art is life. We breathe art, we feel
art and it’s supposed to be pleasant.
So I’m actually big on art and any
form of art. Not just painting but
anything that connotes a special
meaning which one can relate to
in diverse ways. If everyone could
approach work in that light of
viewing tasks and completing them
with creativity and guile, it will do
the world some good.
So in turning your passion into
a business venture, has the goal
skewed in any way?
Fred: No, not all. My goal has
always been to share my artistry
with people and to let them
understand it. I’ve always said from
the beginning that Villa Grace
cannot be for everybody. There
are people who’ll get me, there are
people who won’t. If you get me,
that’s great. Come along on the
ride. If you don’t, find the next
stop, you’ll definitely find someone
else there. My following is a distinct
type and I’m aware of that. I’m
trying to reach out to people who
understand the artistry as well as
those willing to try and understand
it. Currently I’m having fun with it
so we are going to keep at it. Have
fun, be creative and assertive, the
rest will follow in suit
Nana: Where do you see yourself
setting up permanently? Ghana or
America?
Fred: Ghana for sure. I mean I’ll
never say never to any opportunity
anywhere else but it’ll mean a lot
to do what I love here considering
the fact that most of my family is
stationed in Ghana. So I guess I want to do something
on Ghanaian soil first then transcend to the rest of Africa
thereafter. I would love to be a household name here and
then, who knows - spread my wings on an international
level maybe.
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36

Nana: You have admitted that your appreciation
of meals and outlook on how food is supposed to
be prepared isn’t exactly aligned with that of the
traditional Ghanaian man. So then who will you be
targeting in the Ghanaian population?
Fred: Well, yes that’s a fact I’ve embraced. But the
trend is changing for the better in this age. These
days, many Ghanaians are well-traveled. In effect, they
are embracing diverse and multi-cultural perspectives
so it’s making it easier for people to understand and
appreciate what I’m doing. But the reality is, I will not
be relatable to everyone and I’m fine with that.
Nana: You’re a gastronomist. The term on its own
is glittery. What differentiates you from a regular
consumer of food?
Fred: Regular consumers eat because they have to
live and survive. I eat because I need to…Well, it’s
like a love making session. It’s like sex. *laughs*
I’m just kidding. But there’s so much desire for me
when it comes to food. With every bite, with every
crunch, every dip, every crackle, I have that ‘Oh my
God’ thought in my head. I savor everything; every
minute detail and flavor. If there’s a hint of garlic,
oregano or rosemary, I want to be able to pick it out.
So all this means more to me than, ‘oh let’s go eat
simply because it’s lunch time’. I’m always searching
for something beyond the ordinary. It is way more
profound than just putting food in my mouth.
Nana: So then what do you think the pinnacle will be
for you in the world of gastronomy?
Fred: I think having a boutique restaurant. Something
that’s small, creative, different, young and sexy. That’s
definitely what I’m about. I’d rather have fifteen
restaurants that seats twenty people each than have
one that seats hundreds of people. That’s my ideal
situation right there. Boutique dinning, intimate
settings and situations.
Nana: Being a native of Ghana and an African,
looking at the culinary terrain, where do you think we
are going with it?
Fred: I believe we are steadily moving in the right
direction. Our general palate is largely mainstream.
The average Ghanaian is exposed to a closed category
of meals; waakye, banku, kenkey. For our palates to
open up and appreciate a variety of meals, we need
to be well-traveled. If this requirement is persistently
satisfied, people like me can serve an even wider group
of Ghanaians than I presently project.
Nana: Brilliant! So your final words, hit me…
Fred: I’m excited about all my plans. I’m excited
about what DAME Africa is doing and glad to be
a part of it. I’m also grateful for this feature. So to
DAME Africa! .... Oh, where’s my glass?
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