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38bf30f8ab183494fad4125d691d4bbf | https://www.forbes.com/sites/merrillbarr/2015/07/24/wayward-pines-finale/ | 'Wayward Pines' Finale Earns Fox Massive Audience Trust For Future Event Series | 'Wayward Pines' Finale Earns Fox Massive Audience Trust For Future Event Series
In the last few years, every broadcast network under the sun has tried to capitalize on the idea of “event series,” or as they’re actually known as in every other part of the world, the mini-series. Of course, the concept of a mini-series is nothing new, for it’s one that can be dated as far back as ABC’s Roots that aired in 1977. However, what’s changed in the modern era is a constant and intentional deception of the audience concerning what’s actually going to happen at the end of a given season… and that’s why what Fox did last night with the finale of Wayward Pines feels as shocking as it does.
Despite being marketed as “limited-series events” that would conclude their runs with the finale of their supposed only season, series including Under the Dome, Aquarius and Persons Unknown were either renewed for future seasons or concluded with finales meant to be extended but ultimately were not. Regardless of how the networks choose to spin things, all this amounts to is a simple case of falsifying the truth… and it’s not doing anyone any favors. The promise of a mini-series is being used as a way to rope viewers in that may not normally watch because they don’t want to commit to a full-length, 7-year long television series. However, utilizing this as a marketing tool instead of a story-telling one is hurting shows that do attempt to tell a closed off story not meant to extend further.
Without a doubt, the last episode of Wayward Pines is one that delivers a clear sense of finality with its closing moments. Will there be more? Who knows? Does there need to be more? Not at all, and that’s the best thing about it. Wayward Pines is a story with a clear beginning, middle and end, and had the state of the mini-series been better than it currently is, perhaps it would have become more of a zeitgeist series for Fox than it ended up being – it had everything going for it on that front. Ultimately Wayward Pines found itself being hurt by the lies that have been sold to the audience in recent years.
Now, instead of tuning in for a 10-week story that promises to conclude, television audiences are more wary than ever of the “event series” label. Today, they’ll even wait for a series like Wayward Pines to hit streaming before giving it a chance just to make sure they aren’t wasting their time watching something week-to-week that has no intention of ending. Ultimately, the only entity that can be blamed for this is the broadcast television industry itself.
When HBO airs a new mini-series, the pay cable network does so with an established brand loyalty with the audience that knows what they’re watching is, in fact, a mini-series in the truest sense of the phrase. They know the story is going to have an ending that satisfies completely by the time credits roll on the final episode. There was a time this was true for broadcast networks as well, but not any longer. However, if more networks can begin doing what Fox did this week with Wayward Pines, then maybe, just maybe there will be reason to start trusting the marketing campaigns of the big four once again.
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6a5320c8909da28e8238cca8b648a311 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/merrillbarr/2015/08/10/too-much-tv-tca-john-landgraf/ | There Isn't "Too Much Television," And It's A Stupid Thing To Say | There Isn't "Too Much Television," And It's A Stupid Thing To Say
“There is simply too much television.”
While there were many choice lines to come out of FX President John Landgraf’s executive session at last week’s TCA conference, nothing seems to have hit home more than this one. No other line that caused an internet crowd of thousands across various social media platforms to stand up and agree, proclaiming that we do indeed lack the amount of hours in a day necessary to consume all the great small screen entertainment that exists including Mr. Robot, UnREAL, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Game of Thrones and even FX’s own Louie. But there’s just one problem with this quote: It’s dead wrong. In fact, if it wasn’t for the amount of TV we currently have, many networks would never get around to making some of the “great” programming of the medium’s present and future.
In many ways, Langraf’s statements last week don’t stray that far from former Fox President Kevin Reilly’s statements concerning the traditional broadcast television pilot season. For a quick refresher: It was Reilly’s belief that the “old” way of making television shows was holding networks back from creating “great” TV that really touched a nerve, and that lack of time is what’s led, most of all, to the continuous loss of the quality battle to cable - an entity that isn’t necessarily tied down by the traditional development process. Of course, as could have been concluded a year and a half ago, there are a variety of benefits to the existence of pilot season.
Network television needs pilot season because without it the necessary content that fuels the idiot box we all love would never get made. Instead of getting a show produced because it needs something to present at the May upfronts, many stations would just, instead, sit on their hands waiting for the “most ideal option.” Instead of asking “which actor is available now,” they’d be asking, “when is actor X available?” Rather than going around to every writer under a deal asking if they have an idea for a fresh take on Voyagers!, many executives would instead hang out in the corner saying, “Sorkin is available in September. We’ll re-visit it then.” Without pilot season, things don’t get made because the fantastical perfect option overtakes the realistic only option, and the same argument can be applied to the FX chief's claims as well.
Landgraf says it’s the abundance of “good” TV that makes it hard to discover “great” TV (a statement which is surely fueled by the continued lack of ratings success for the critically acclaimed The Americans). However, most “great” TV happens by accident. There's no formula for why something becomes a success and why something else doesn’t… and the rules by which we judge a success are constantly evolving. Mr. Robot and UnREAL were both renewed for second seasons this summer, but neither managed to score anything that could be recognized as a traditionally decent score in the ratings. If television were to start producing less content in order to make every project “great,” all that would happen is the people making said projects would become even more risk-averse than they already are.
How do we know what happens when executives are given too much time to consider all the angles of a project? Because we’ve already seen what it’s done to the state of the film industry. Part of what’s led to the risk-averse nature of the medium comes from studios opting to make fewer films with massive budgets that can pop big instead of making many films with lower budgets that can pop decently, but multiple times per year. Unfortunately, when you’re investing that kind of cash, the only option is to make sure the project in question is an easy sell, and that means established IP and name recognition must be at the forefront of the pitch every. single. time.
So many look back on the film industry of the 70s and 80s with fond memories because it was a time when studios were more willing to experiment with their releases. However, the only reason that's true is because they were also more interested in getting something out more than they were getting the right thing out. While we may have ended up with the likes of The Last Picture Show, Taxi Driver and Apocalypse Now, it only happened because they were part of a script pile that also included The Apple Dumpling Gang, Frogs and Every Which Way but Loose. The desire to get content out is what made great content happen, and it’s one of the main reasons why we lack so much of it today on the big screen.
There’s nothing “easy” about Mr. Robot or UnREAL or The Americans or Hannibal. They're all complex shows that require a commitment from the audience in order to be enjoyed, and the more or fewer viewing options that audience has to deal with isn’t going to change anything one way or the other. These shows, and many others like them, happen because a network needs something in a specific time-slot or season to compete with another show, and it really doesn’t matter what that show is as long as there’s commercial space to fill or subscribers to be gotten. Put simply, without the glut of “good” TV creating a necessary space for competition among the networks, we would never get to the “great” TV that spawned such ludicrous statements in the first place like the one we saw made last week.
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3340f27cb138f28d08908a9824a7b154 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/merrillbarr/2016/09/21/falling-water-review-mr-robot/ | 'Falling Water' Review: A Cool World That's Definitely Not The Next 'Mr. Robot' | 'Falling Water' Review: A Cool World That's Definitely Not The Next 'Mr. Robot'
Photo credit: Giovanni Rufino/USA Network
Ratings:
Tonight, USA aired a “special preview” (see: secret series premiere debut) of Falling Water’s pilot episode. Given the success Mr. Robot saw in its non-linear debut last year, it makes sense the network opted to try making lightning strike twice with Falling Water. However, what this is more comparable to is a strategy sister broadcaster, Syfy, attempted with The Magicians.
In December 2015, Syfy aired the first episode of The Magicians to zero announcement. The result was a live airing of 920,000 viewers. Interestingly enough, this score would go on to be the second highest rated episode of the series, as the second episode would be the only one after this to cross one million viewers. The strategy has a singular track record of success as far as launching a series goes, but keeping viewers tuning in is another matter entirely.
Also On FORBES:
Review:
Since the first trailer was released, USA has been trying to sell Falling Water as its next Mr. Robot: a complex psychological thriller with a singular story to tell. However, while the tone fits right in line with USA 2.0, the show’s reality does not. Falling Water is not the next Mr. Robot, it’s its own beast. Based on the first four episodes, what can be said is the series starts strong - though not as strong as Robot - and has the potential to build into another cult hit for NBCUniversal.
Created by Gale Anne Hurd, Blake Masters and Henry Bromell, Falling Water is set in a world where dreams are more than just the scrambled, unconscious thoughts of a racing mind. In this world, a select few have the ability to enter and exit the dreams of others at will. However, this also leaves those incapable of such ability vulnerable to those who want to use the gift for personal gain… or something far more sinister.
There are things to like about Falling Water. It’s a beautiful looking show that features a cast that’s really trying to make the premise feel as real as possible. The characters are interesting enough to grow with, and the concept is cool. However, there’s an element of “trying too hard” running through the first two episodes. It isn’t bad, but nothing feels as fresh as the series perhaps thinks it is.
Unlike Mr. Robot, which came out of the gate swinging as something effortlessly flawless and bold, Falling Water very much feels like a show created to serve as an answer to the question, “how can we do Mr. Robot again without doing Mr. Robot?” AMC’s Halt & Catch Fire has been plagued with a similar issue from day one. The premise and world may be different, but the tone and stylings are what we expect from “adult focused” basic cable.
What Falling Water has going for it outside this flaw is a premise that can build and evolve. The show has shades of what it can become sprinkled throughout the first two episodes. There are plenty of opportunities for levity and humor to shine through. This is a world built upon the concept of exploring dreams, and dreams can be hysterically insane just as much as they can be creepy
Falling Water is a good start to a show that can and should grow to better heights. It’s clearly set up to be the Mr. Robot successor, but it will be better served by being allowed to be its own thing going forward. Its intriguing premise and strong performances need to flourish beyond the trappings of the cable formula. Then USA could be on the verge of its next great fan favorite drama.
Falling Water premieres Thursday, Oct. 13 at 10/9c on USA.
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e8ac7a6b76e6a9829bb4a902c49aba28 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/merrillbarr/2017/08/14/the-last-ship-season-4-review/ | 'The Last Ship' Season 4 Review: Everything Fans Could Want | 'The Last Ship' Season 4 Review: Everything Fans Could Want
The Last Ship TNT
Ratings:
Last year, TNT renewed The Last Ship for two seasons that were scheduled to film back-to-back, and the question is, what can be deduced by this?
The most widely held belief is TNT was ordering a final 20 episodes it’s splitting into two season to get the most bang for its buck. But, usually announcements like that come with a definitive “this show is ending” statement. That didn’t happen here.
Here’s the likely reality: TNT is a network that very recently went through a leadership change, so its trying to find itself again. The question right now is, does The Last Ship fit in with the new world order?
If the show continues to strike well in the ratings (particularly this year against Game of Thrones), who knows what’s possible?
But, if the show dips below its healthy 2 million live viewers, then plans have already been put in place to end the series without much fuss come next summer.
Review:
After last season, it was hard to imagine how The Last Ship was going to continue it’s story. Humanity has developed immunity to the virus, and international politics have been restored. What else is there left to do?.
As it trust out, the virus known for its constant mutation has done so once again, this time attacking the world’s food supply.
But, there’s still hope as one form of seed genealogy has proven itself capable of natural immunity… and the Nathan James is on a hunt to find its last remaining samples before it’s too late.
Now later in its life, The Last Ship is actually far closer to reality than it used to be. Global pandemics are always an apocalyptic fear for many, much like global nuclear war, but food shortages are something we’re facing in the present day thanks to the effects of climate change.
Of course, some of you didn’t come here to learn about what’s up with the James. You came here to know what’s up with former Navy captain Tom Chandler.
Without getting too deep into spoilers, its safe to say it’s going to be a few clicks before Tom meets back up with his shipmates. He’s currently on his own path.
Ultimately, The Last Ship is entering its fourth season and by now, you either go in knowing what you’re getting or you’re not going in at all. The show, from a tone; style and structure perspective, remains the same.
It does remain unclear, though, if we’re dealing with an arms (see: seeds) race or a conspiracy. Everyone around the globe wants the immune seeds to grow food, but is someone pulling the strings beyond that? That’s something that will most likely come into focus in the weeks ahead.
The Last Ship airs Sundays at 9/8c on TNT
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c2f8048182c84242fb0298a429c53097 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/merrillbarr/2018/07/10/dallas-and-robo-kat-dennings-john-cena-cobra-kai-impulse-youtube-premium-red/ | 'Dallas & Robo' Completes The YouTube Premium Summer Hat Trick Featuring 'Cobra Kai' and 'Impulse' | 'Dallas & Robo' Completes The YouTube Premium Summer Hat Trick Featuring 'Cobra Kai' and 'Impulse'
Dallas & Robo YouTube Premium
While sitting in a dark movie theater this weekend waiting for a screening of Ant-Man and The Wasp to start, the AMC pre-show ad buys rolled along as they do. But, this time wasn’t like all the others that usually never see headphones leave the comfort of eardrums. This time, something worked. One particular trailer for an unheard of YouTube Premium series rolled through. An animated sitcom about futuristic space truckers called Dallas & Robo.
When the trailer ended, the phone went on and the show found itself a cushy spot on the watch later list… 24-hours later one can only wonder how this brilliant series got lost in the shuffle of peak TV for over a month while coming to a singular realization: YouTube Premium is officially a player.
Dallas & Robo is something special and different while still feeling familiar and safe. It’s the Fast & Furious to Futurama’s Point Break. A heavily Groening inspired series that completely surprises in its competency, complexity and charm. It is absolutely must-see television and one of the top three series on YouTube Premium along with Cobra Kai and Impulse - which brings us to the next topic of discussion.
While Netflix and Amazon continue to duke it out over who can spend the most money on streaming series (Netflix’s $13 billion originals bill vs Amazon’s $1 billion Lords of the Rings series), YouTube Premium (formally YouTube Red) has quietly been building a stable of shows that have quickly turned it into a must-have service that plays to all demographics, not just millennials and generation Z.
Cobra Kai hits all the right nostalgia buttons while maturing the long thought dead Karate Kid franchise. The William Zabka starring series ends of being a wonderful display of teen drama and martial arts that people can’t stop talking about it.
Impulse, the streamer’s “real show” (see: big-5 studio produced), proves YouTube Premium has what it takes to play with the big boys when it wants to. The YA series could have easily found a home on Syfy or USA, but finding itself on YouTube Premium gives the company a calling card show that’s also a damn fine piece of modern culture exploration.
Dallas & Robo is the missing piece. Cobra Kai brings the adults. Impulse brings the target demo. Dallas & Robo brings everyone else. This is the epitome of a cult hit. It’s the kind of show that’s going to build over-time via word of mouth until suddenly it finds itself being on center stage, much like Futurama - which built a ground-swell of support so massive it’s been brought back to life three times (assuming one counts the Simpsons crossover episode). It’s the kind of show that gets people too cynical to sign up for YouTube Premium to sign up for YouTube Premium just to see what all the fuss is about.
These three shows make up a slate with major growth potential at a fraction of the budget Netflix and Amazon are paying. YouTube has cracked the code of great television and no one is paying attention. These three series, Dallas & Robo, Impulse and Cobra Kai, make-up an unstoppable force and losing any one of them too soon means losing a ton of potential audience that just needs to be taught how to finds the shows and watch them.
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c204edd4e2ea425c05eb94eb9d74ead6 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/merrillbarr/2019/06/02/dsa/ | 'The Chef Show' Review: Netflix's Best Food Show To Date | 'The Chef Show' Review: Netflix's Best Food Show To Date
The Chef Show Courtesy of Netflix
Since its inception, Netflix has often sought expansion in all corners of the television landscape. From scripted dramas to competition series, there is nothing the streamer won’t try. And, it’s in the spirit of this expansion where we find one of the company’s most successful genres: food porn. And, it’s in this subset where we find the latest and possibly best addition to the catalog: Jon Favreau's The Chef Show.
Starring the acclaimed filmmaker and celebrity chef Roy Choi, The Chef Show follows the dynamic duo on their adventures seeking to find the joy in cooking they once shared while working together on the film Chef.
Maybe it’s because of the upbeat nature of its hosts, maybe it’s because the show was completely independently produced (it’s clear a buyer had not been obtained at the time of filming), but whatever the reason, The Chef Show is the most insanely watchable and enjoyable food series Netflix has offered since the beginning of their push into the genre.
Chef Show is part cooking show, but also part Favreau/Choi hobby project with cameras all around. But, thanks to a very clear love and respect based relationship between the two, what could have gone the route of vanity project ends up being a great look at what food can bring to a strong human foundation.
The series, much like the attitude of Choi himself, doesn’t romanticize the idea of food. It merely uses the food as a springboard for fun things Jon and Roy can do together as the best buds they clearly are. If one could turn a buddy cop movie into a cooking show, the result would be The Chef Show.
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In the end, what audiences will find in The Chef Show is something wholly enjoyable, watchable and bingable. In a landscape filled with dread, there’s something refreshing about a show steeped in as much positivity as this one is.
One can only hope the first season sees enough success to garner a second because for there not to be one would be one of the biggest crimes in the history of unscripted reality television. It is the show we need and deserve right now. It is a show that reminds us of what it means to be open and welcoming to the world and all it has to offer in a time of uncertainty.
Put simply, The Chef Show is perfect food television.
The Chef Show premieres Friday, June 7th on Netflix
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d4a84bf33234406fd6419b4b1834f615 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/merrillbarr/2019/06/07/jessica-jones-season-3-review/ | 'Jessica Jones' Season 3 Review: Out With A Whimper | 'Jessica Jones' Season 3 Review: Out With A Whimper
Jessica Jones on Netflix David Giesbrecht/Netflix
When Jessica Jones premiered in 2015, it quickly shot to the top of everyone’s lists of best Marvel television series - and for some, best live-action Marvel IP period. But, then it soon became apparent the first season wasn’t going to be the regular occurrence we had been lead to believe. The character’s stint in The Defenders was as forgettable as everyone else’s, and the second season of the series simply paled in comparison to the first. Now, with the final, third season upon us, it can be said that Jessica Jones, as with the entire Netflix corner of the Marvel universe, is going out with a whimper… not a bang.
Following the events of season two, Jessica Jones takes its titular character in a new direction while her best friend puts her newly-mastered crime-fighting skills to the test.
For what it's worth, the final season of Jessica Jones is trying the best it can to take the show in an interesting direction that, at its core, pits Jessica and Trish against each-other. Perhaps, if this wasn’t the final season of the series we would be having a different conversation about where the new arc falls within the series’ overall story. But, as a final season arc, it simply doesn’t hold the kind of water it needs to, to take the show to the kind of satisfying conclusion fans are going to want.
But, the truth is, in the end, this isn’t the fault of any of the direct creative talent involved in the series as much as it is the fault of corporate dealings that never really let the Netflix Marvel shows get off the ground after their initial seasons. The truth of the matter is all but one of the shows had stellar starts and weak endings. And those weak endings happened because the shows were hamstrung following a disappointing attempt to make a TV-level Avengers happen.
The creative forces behind every Netflix based Marvel series were fighting a losing battle once The Defenders fizzled out. And that losing battle revealed itself once the cancelations started coming. One, after the next, after the next, after the next. There was no stopping it. So, when time came for Jessica Jones, everyone saw the writing on the wall. The question is, how soon did its creative team?
Season three of Jessica Jones doesn’t feel like the final season of a show. It feels like the third, kind of good, kind of not season of one.
In the end, what Jessica Jones tried to with its main character arc, and masterfully executed in season one, is commendable. The same can be said for most of the Marvel series. But, as it stands, we will all remember the Netflix MCU as nothing more than a blip that was never given the rightful chance it deserved to succeed
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Marvel's Jessica Jones premieres Friday, June 14th on Netflix
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803c12dc6bd8c0362100238f715b4e9e | https://www.forbes.com/sites/merrillbarr/2019/09/03/undone-review-indescribably-great/ | 'Undone' Review: Indescribably Great | 'Undone' Review: Indescribably Great
Undone Amazon
When the term “peak TV” was first coined by FX president John Landgraf at a fateful TCA conference all those years ago, he did so in the context of saying that, for the first time in the medium’s history, television was filled with predominately “good” shows. So many, in fact, that it was becoming increasingly harder for “great” shows to standout amongst the pack. But, that didn't ultimately stop some of the great cream from rising to the top (though certainly not all). From Mr. Robot to UnReal and This is Us, many great shows have found their footing through unique displays of perseverance. Now, Amazon brings the latest of these contenders to the forefront with Undone.
Created by Raphael Bob-Waksberg and Kate Purdy, Undone follows the life of Alma, a young woman living in Texas who finds her life turned on its head following a violent car accident that leaves her brain… altered.
Undone is great television. But, more interestingly, it’s indescribably great television. It’s a show almost impossible to explain to someone without them having seen it for themselves. Not unlike the dilemma the main character faces about halfway through the first season, the more one tries to describe the series to a newcomer, the more ridiculous it all seems, thus making it very challenging to bring new people to.
The show is about so many things. It’s about psychosis, self-identity, the burden of relationships, perception of reality and so much more that to try to break it down as anything more than great art would be doing it a disservice. And yes, while something that is perhaps best avoided in terms of forcing a result, this is a show best defined as “art” more than anything else because that is what it is. It’s everything old and new rolled into one beautiful package that would make the indies of indie film lovers envious.
Somehow, this borderline magical series manages to walk a tightrope comprised of all the things great and terrible about the new age of television all at once. The twenty-two episode minute runtimes never drag, but it is one of those undefinable half-hour dramas, but it works. And, it does play as a singular film told over chapters in the form of episodes, but those episodes have clearly defined serialized structure that plays perfectly for the medium of television.
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It’s so rare to get a show this well-formed right now that it does seem fair to say it could be stepping into the mantle Mr. Robot did back in 2015, though this series doesn’t carry nearly the amount of pretension the famed USA drama does (granted, that pretension was a big plus for the series in its first year).
Undone is something fresh. Something that pushes every boundary television has to offer while still playing like a true entrant to the medium it's playing in. This show doesn’t think it’s better than television. Rather, it opts to try and push the idea of where the medium can go in a way that won’t alienate audiences just out for a decent character drama.
It’s a great show. The best one Amazon has ever produced and one that should be admired and praised. But, at the same time, that greatness is also going to make it a hard sell to many. Then again, when has Amazon ever really cared about hard-sell television series before?
Undone premiers Friday, September 13th on Amazon Prime
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df0078e53a09feb92e9b8fc08959830c | https://www.forbes.com/sites/merrilllynch/2015/11/10/healing-vets-rescuing-dogs/ | Healing Vets, Rescuing Dogs | Healing Vets, Rescuing Dogs
By Timothy Gower
Adam Renteria's experiences leading a heavy machine-gun team during the invasion of Iraq in 2003 left him feeling that he was under constant threat, a sensation that lasted long after he returned home. He picked fights, drank too much and slept badly. Therapy helped, but in 2012 Renteria felt his symptoms returning. That was also the year he met his 40-pound gleaming white Korean Jindo. The dog was introduced to him by Pets for Vets, an organization that finds military veterans who are suffering from emotional wounds and pairs them with dogs and other pets from animal shelters.
Pets for Vets founder Clarissa Black, with Iraq War veteran Adam Renteria and his dog, Rakkasan.
Having requested a large, intimidating dog, Renteria was surprised when Clarissa Black, 31, the organization's founder and executive director, arrived with the mid-sized pooch. "He's cute, but this is nothing like what I asked for," he thought at first. "How is this dog going to help me?" Yet Clarissa's instincts were right, and soon the two were inseparable. Renteria named the dog Rakkasan, the nickname for his 187th Infantry regiment. Within months, Renteria felt his aggression and hyper-vigilance subsiding. He also slept better, and felt more open to connecting with others.
Black got the idea for Pets for Vets several years ago, while volunteering at a Veterans Affairs hospital in Long Beach, California. When she brought her Malamute mix, Bear, with her to spend time with veterans experiencing PTSD and other conditions, she noticed the calming effect the dog had on them. "I saw their faces and I had a lightbulb moment," Black says. She knew that up to 4 million unwanted dogs and cats end up in animal shelters each year, and many are eventually euthanized. Why not place these animals in the homes of veterans who could find comfort in their company?
Black—who has a degree in animal science from Cornell University—realized that the right preparation would be essential, for both the animal and its new owner. "Getting a dog can reduce stress," she says. "But it has to be the right dog. I asked myself, how can I help these vets find their best companion?"
In 2009, she set up Pets for Vets as a nonprofit organization with a $3,000 loan from her parents, Steve and Ann Black, who quickly became two of the organization's most active supporters. As the organization started to pick up publicity, donations for Pets for Vets—along with offers to start chapters around the country—began flooding in, from individuals and corporations alike.
Renteria, returning home from Iraq, was greeted by his son, Aj.
In no time, it seemed, a grassroots effort had sprouted a real organization. "We decided we needed a more formal approach to managing Pets for Vets' money, so that it could grow while being readily available to help support the work of chapters around the country," Steve Black says. He contacted his longtime Merrill Lynch Financial Advisor, Matt Dupuis, of The Dupuis Group, for help. Dupuis helped them think through everything it would take to run the nonprofit, including how they could set up a working capital account to manage their day-to-day cash flow needs. For large purchases, he suggested they consider a Bank of America line of credit. He also offered them guidance on how they could invest their assets for potential future growth. "It's having a huge impact on people's lives," says Dupuis. "As an advisor, I don't think you can be involved in anything more fulfilling than that."
To date, Pets for Vets (www.pets-for-vets.com) has made 85 matches, a figure that Clarissa expects to rise dramatically. There are now 25 chapters nationwide, and her goal is to serve all 50 states and to help as many veterans as she can. Like many people her age, she has found that aligning her passion and her professional expertise with her desire to make a difference can be very satisfying. This is now her full-time job, but it doesn't feel like working. "I'm doing something I love, and I'm helping others," she says.
Renteria says Rakkasan has played a big role in managing his PTSD symptoms. He's now working on a master's degree in military social work, and he plans to become an advocate for returning veterans. "Without Rakkasan, I don't know where I'd be," he says. "But with him, I can tell you that I'm in a much better place."
3 Questions to Ask Your Advisor
How can I find a charitable organization that reflects my values and will use my donation wisely? What steps should I consider taking to move my idea for a non-profit forward? How can I fit an ongoing financial commitment to a charitable cause into my other personal goals?
Timothy Gower is an award-winning freelance writer covering health and medicine.
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a9020404845158304e153dda0dfbd12b | https://www.forbes.com/sites/merrillmatthews/2010/11/08/trumped-up-policies-ready-for-the-trump-tax/ | Trumped-Up Policies: Ready for the 'Trump Tax'? | Trumped-Up Policies: Ready for the 'Trump Tax'?
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Fox News’s Greta Van Susteren has just done a two-part interview with Donald Trump to get his thoughts on jumpstarting the economy. She also asked him about a presidential run, and he indicated that he’s at least thinking about it. Though given his comments on the show, it isn’t clear whether he’d run as a Democrat or a Pat Buchanan Republican.
His primary solution to rebooting the economy and creating jobs is … to slap a 25% tax on everything we import from China.
Trump argues correctly that his tax, also called a tariff when it’s on imports, will make Chinese goods more expensive in the U.S. More questionable is whether that tax—let’s call it the “Trump Tax”—would spur U.S. manufacturers to open up new factories to make all those products that are now being made in China and other countries for much lower prices.
There are multiple problems with Trump’s proposal. To begin with, the U.S. is a longtime member of the World Trade Organization (WTO), a 140-member group that tries to promote international trade, reduces trade barriers, and handles trade disputes between member countries. Imposing an across-the-board tariff for the direct purpose of stifling trade would lead to a WTO-sanctioned retaliation where other countries start slapping tariffs on our exports.
It may possible for a “President Trump” to tell all of our international allies that we are reneging on our agreement and dropping out of the WTO—in essence, saying to the WTO, “You’re fired.” Or maybe that’s what those other countries would tell us.
Second, Trump would need to impose a Trump Tax high enough to allow U.S. manufacturers to make the products—paying our higher wages and benefits—and sell them at a competitive price compared to China.
The problem is no one knows at what level that tax should be. Why did he propose 25%? Why not 50% or 100%? The question is important. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that China’s average hourly manufacturing wage—about $150 to $200 a month—is about 3% of what U.S. workers make.
The Donald might impose a 25% Trump Tax on Chinese imports, only to find out later that U.S. manufacturers could only make the same product for, say, twice the Chinese price. In that case, U.S. consumers would be paying more for the Chinese imports and likely get no U.S. products as alternatives.
Of course, if he were to impose a 25% Trump Tax on Chinese imports, manufacturers might just move their plants from China to India or other parts of Asia—which is already going on in the never-ending quest to keep costs low—where there is no Trump Tax, at least until he expanded it to other developing countries.
Ironically, Trump conceded in the interview that he buys lots of his hotel building materials from China. I’ve also noticed he has a Trump line of men’s clothes; and those suites are almost certainly made in China or another low-income country.
So if buying from China is wrecking our economy, why doesn’t Trump pay the extra money and buy the needed products and materials here? Of course, he might not have that choice since some of the products may not be made here anymore. But there is no guarantee that by adding his Trump Tax that manufacturers would see those products as profitable and invest in the production facilities—especially considering how fickle our recent presidents have been on trade.
President Obama, for example, has been disastrous on trade policy in his first two years, ignoring pending free trade agreements, snubbing a current trade agreement with Mexico, and slapping tariffs on some specific Chinese products. He’s now over in India talking up the benefits of trade in the hope of expanding U.S. exports. But if the president—or Donald Trump—wants other countries to be open to U.S. products, they will demand that the U.S. must be open to their products.
And it’s not like we don’t already know what happens when a country sets across-the-board tariffs: the 1930 Smoot-Hawley Act imposed record-high tariffs on a wide range of products in an effort to protect U.S. farmers and other industries from lower-cost foreign products. It is widely recognized by economists as one of the worst pieces of legislation ever passed by Congress, dramatically exacerbating the Great Depression. And now Donald Trump wants to follow the Great Recession with Smoot-Hawley II.
Trade policy isn’t a place for “trumped-up,” shoot-from-the-hip proposals. If Donald Trump is really thinking about running for president, he will first need to be an economic and trade policy apprentice.
Merrill Matthews is a resident scholar with the Institute for Policy Innovation in Dallas, Texas.
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9ad082ac71cca1428c323b1aa950727a | https://www.forbes.com/sites/merrillmatthews/2010/12/14/double-trouble-for-obamacare/?boxes=opinionschannellatest | Double Trouble for ObamaCare | Double Trouble for ObamaCare
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In less than two years President Barack Obama has: (1) rammed through health care legislation that has alienated more than half the country; (2) sacrificed a huge majority in the House of Representatives, and came close in the Senate; (3) created a flurry of state initiatives to push back against a big-spending, heavy-handed federal government; and (4) now, instigated the first serious Tenth Amendment constitutional challenge in who knows how long.
Quite a set of accomplishments (if that’s the right word) for the president, and one can only wonder what he’ll do for an encore during his final two years.
The latest slap at our “constitutional scholar’s” overreach came from federal district Judge Henry Hudson of Virginia on Monday. The crux of the Virginia lawsuit, filed by Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, is a challenge to the constitutionality of the health care law’s individual mandate, which requires individuals to have health insurance or pay a fine.
Judge Hudson writes, “On careful review, the Court must conclude that Section 1501 of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act [aka, ObamaCare]—specifically the Minimum Essential Coverage Provision—exceeds the constitutional boundaries of congressional power.” Can anyone say Amen?
And there will be little time for the Obama Justice Department to lick its wounds over Monday’s loss. A second federal judge in Florida, Roger Vinson, will hear arguments on the merits of a similar challenge this week. Only in Florida it isn’t one state attorney general challenging the constitutionality the law, 20 are lined up to knock it down.
It’s too early to know how Judge Vinson will decide—there are some differences in the challenges—but ObamaCare defenders are clearly worried that he will issue a similar ruling, meaning double trouble for ObamaCare.
It’ a good sign that the U.S. health care system may survive President Obama’s determined effort to remake it; but it’s an even better sign that the U.S. Constitution will survive the Democrats’ determined effort to ignore it.
The Rasmussen polling firm has chronicled the public’s long-standing opposition to the legislation. On the day of Hudson’s ruling Rasmussen reported, “Most voters have favored repeal of the law every week since it was passed and support for repeal has now inched up to its highest level since mid-September.”
That kind of widespread, sustained public opposition is almost unheard of. It was a large part of the reason for the “shellacking” voters gave Democrats in November; and that irritation isn’t going away as long as the irritant continues to fester.
But while Judge Hudson’s decision is important for preserving the private sector and freedom of choice in health care, it’s even more important for the message it sends Washington lawmakers: The Constitution sets limits on the federal government.
For nearly a century—and especially since President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s “reign” (a word I use intentionally)—the political elites in Washington, many of whom sport degrees from “only the best law schools,” have looked down their collective noses at those who dared to hint that the federal government might have limited powers.
The elitists will concede that many (most?) of the early political fights in the fledgling republic were over the limits of federal power. With Thomas Jefferson leading the charge for the Democratic-Republicans (which later became the Democrats), they challenged numerous Federalist laws on the grounds that they were unconstitutional and violated the Tenth Amendment’s assertion that, “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.”
But the Democratic Party is now controlled by liberals who believe that battles over the limits of federal power are over and that big-government won. Hence, when soon-to-be-ousted Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi was asked about the constitutionality of the individual mandate, her only response was “Are you serious?” The idea that the Constitution might keep her from legislating anything she wanted to legislate was ridiculous—until now.
The fact is that neither Democrats nor the Obama Justice Department ever gave a thought to the idea that they would need to defend the constitutionality of ObamaCare—that’s just not something elitist liberals worry about. And so they never scrubbed the legislation and their defense of it to make a consistent case—a fact highlighted by Judge Vinson of Florida in a statement last October.
As PBS reported at the time: “Vinson chastised Democrats for what he called ‘Alice-in-Wonderland’ tactics [ouch!]: saying during the debate over reform that the penalty leveled on people who do not buy health insurance was not a tax, but then calling it a tax in their legal defense of the mandate.”
While we don’t know where this will all end up, here’s a pretty good bet: Most or all of ObamaCare will be neutered, (1) by judges or the Supreme Court, or (2) by states that refuse to accept the law or try to bypass it, or (3) by members of Congress who are listening to the public.
The president would do himself and the country a great favor if he took a lesson from his new-found willingness to work with Republicans on the Bush tax cuts: Negotiate a bipartisan solution to our health insurance challenges and end the ObamaCare madness.
Merrill Matthews is a resident scholar with the Institute for Policy Innovation in Dallas, Texas.
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c68eaa2a15828ee05729638fdc2ffa28 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/merrillmatthews/2010/12/28/obamas-new-unreasonable-standard/?boxes=opinionschannellatest | Obama's New 'Unreasonable' Standard | Obama's New 'Unreasonable' Standard
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Last week we saw a troubling new pattern: The Obama administration is embracing an “unreasonable” standard — pun not necessarily intended, but it fits — for deciding if it likes what private sector companies are doing.
The unreasonable standard is being applied to both private sector health insurers and companies that provide Internet service. But expect the White House to impose the standard on a lot more industries as the Obama blob continues to absorb every aspect of the economy.
What it means is that we are abandoning the rule of law for the rule by bureaucrats. Unelected officials have been given the power to fundamentally remake industries based on their political and value judgments.
Take the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (aka, ObamaCare). The law empowers the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to monitor health insurance premium increases. If HHS bureaucrats identify increases they think are “unreasonable” — which they define, at least for now, as a 10 percent increase or higher in one year — they can begin to harass the company.
The New York Times explains, “A rate increase will be considered unreasonable if it is excessive, unjustified or ‘unfairly discriminatory.’” Translation: HHS bureaucrats, not an objective standard, get to decide who is playing fair and who isn’t.
And the punishment? “Under the new federal law, insurers that show ‘a pattern or practice of excessive or unjustified premium increases’ can be excluded from the centralized insurance market, or exchange, to be set up in each state by 2014."
What do ya bet that big Obama donors who make nice with the administration will be more likely to get a pass on high premium increases?
We had a taste of how the administration responds to what it considers to be unreasonable increases last fall when health insurers started raising their premiums to reflect the new benefits and “consumer protections” being forced on them under ObamaCare.
HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius pounced, sending a letter to America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP), a health insurance trade association, asserting: “There will be zero tolerance for this type of misinformation and unjustified rate increases. …. Simply stated, we will not stand idly by as insurers blame their premium hikes and increased profits on the requirement that they provide consumers with basic protections.” Translation: We’re going to make your life miserable until you recognize there's a new sheriff in town.
Here, folks, we see the usual pattern of liberal, big-government demagogues. They proclaim that they — as the protectors of the people — will ensure the public gets many more benefits for much lower costs. When it becomes evident they can’t deliver on their promises, the demagogues turn to price controls, along with more threats and regulations, as the only way to “stem the greed.” As a result, companies that had been participating in the market begin to drop out, reducing competition and choice. The whole market becomes even more dysfunctional, and the government feels justified in stepping in for a full-scale takeover.
Ditto the government’s new effort, through the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), with respect to the Internet.
Talk about a solution is search or a problem, if there is anything that has been working well it’s the Internet. And it is largely because government — whether ours or others, or the United Nations — has had little to no control over it. And the public likes it that way. A new Rasmussen poll shows only 21 percent of the public wants government to regulate the Internet.
But the Obama administration can’t let something remain unregulated, lest everyone would want fewer regulations. So FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski has rammed through “net neutrality” regulations to give the government more control.
At the Dec. 21 FCC meeting, the chairman said: “As we stand here now, the freedom and openness of the Internet are unprotected. No rules on the books to protect basic Internet values. No process for monitoring Internet openness as technology and business models evolve. No recourse for innovators, consumers, or speakers harmed by improper practices. And no predictability for Internet service providers, so that they can effectively manage and invest in broadband networks. That will change once we vote to approve this strong and balanced order.”
It’s a wonder the Internet has done so well all these years without all of Genachowski’s rules, regulations and recourses. Or maybe it has done so well precisely because it lacked those rules, regulations and recourses.
We’re told that the new rules, which haven’t actually been released, give private Internet service providers the right to engage in “reasonable network management” while banning “unreasonable discrimination.”
Here again we have to ask if anyone knows exactly what “unreasonable” means. When the government sets up such wide, undefinable standards, it gives the Obama administration lots of wiggle room to do pretty much whatever it wants.
And we’re not done. I suspect we will see the unreasonable standard being applied to the Dodd-Frank financial reform bill, new Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rules and many more.
Vague language like the unreasonable standard allows the president and his minions to substitute subjective opinions for objective laws, and accuse any uncooperative company of being greedy or self-serving. And it sends a message: it’s time to do it our way if you want to play in the Obama economy.
Merrill Matthews is a resident scholar with the Institute for Policy Innovation in Dallas, Texas.
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e08566fde31367d819891b8be6523faf | https://www.forbes.com/sites/merrillmatthews/2011/02/23/dont-fight-crime-with-more-health-care-mandates/ | Don't Fight Crime with More Health Care Mandates | Don't Fight Crime with More Health Care Mandates
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One of the little-recognized and often-overlooked facts about the high cost of health insurance is that states play a significant role in driving up those costs. States also play a role in determining patients’ access to health coverage, doctors and even medicines—with cold and allergy products containing pseudoephedrine being the most recent example.
For more than 40 years states have increasingly mandated health insurers cover specific providers, products and services. The Council for Affordable Health Insurance estimates that there are 2,156 such state mandates nationwide—and that number grows every year, as states seek to impose even more mandates.
While mandates make health insurance more comprehensive, they also make it more expensive, just as a new car loaded with options is going to be more expensive than the basic model.
To be fair, the vast majority of state legislators are acting honorably and trying to serve their constituents when they propose such mandates. But they also make health care more complicated, while pricing millions of Americans out of the health insurance market.
However, a new type of mandate is emerging that may initially appear different, but it can have a similar impact: the effort in Kentucky, Indiana and Kansas to have some over-the-counter drugs reclassified as prescription only.
The problem some legislators are facing is the abuse of the drug pseudoephedrine, the active ingredient in a number of cold medicines. If criminals are able to get the drug in sufficient quantities, they can illegally process it into methamphetamines, or “meth,” a particularly devastating drug used by low-income populations.
In an effort to control access to the drug, Congress passed the Combat Methamphetamine Epidemic Act in 2005, which (1) requires over-the-counter products containing pseudoephedrine, ephedrine and phenylpropanolamine to be kept locked up behind the pharmacist’s counter, (2) limits how much one can purchase, and (3) requires the purchaser’s identification and signature—all common-sense steps intended to preserve consumer access while reducing crime.
Criminals try to get around the current restrictions by paying people to buy the product and by other means. As a result, 12 states have moved to an electronic-tracking system that alerts pharmacists so they can stop people from buying more than the legal limit of pseudoephedrine.
But two states, Mississippi and Oregon, decided to go a step further and mandate that products with pseudoephedrine be sold by prescription only. Those states are now touting their actions, and other states are considering joining them.
Kentucky’s interest is surprising. It joined seven other states in the mid-1990s imposing numerous mandates on the state’s health insurance system, driving up premiums and driving health insurers out of the state. Kentucky legislators learned their lesson and eventually repealed several of those laws, and the health insurance system revived.
Ditto Indiana. Under Governor Mitch Daniels the state has moved to the forefront of embracing what’s known as consumer-driven health care, which seeks to empower consumers, rather than insurers, to make value-conscious health care decisions.
Yet now both states are considering making it harder for consumers to get the products and services they need, and driving up the cost of health insurance to boot.
Parents know the problem well. A child who is prone to getting earaches has to be taken to a doctor in order to get a prescription antibiotic. The generic drug may only cost $4.00, but the doctor’s visit may cost 20 times that much. While requiring a prescription may be a good policy with regard to antibiotics, does it make sense to force a person with a cold—which in most cases the doctor can do nothing about—to also incur a doctor’s fee just to get a standard cold medication?
And once legislators make pseudoephedrine products prescription only, there will be an expectation—and probably lobbying efforts—to make health insurance pay for it. Will state legislators then feel compelled to mandate that health insurance cover those drugs? Will patients have to wait until Monday to get a prescription if the cold hits on a Friday evening? Or bypass the family doctor, who is off for the weekend, and head to the more-expensive acute care clinic?
That effort is going in exactly the opposite direction of the trend toward more consumer empowerment, giving patients more information and more control over their health care dollars—through Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) and Health Reimbursement Arrangements (HRAs)—and letting them make informed choices.
Yes, there is a problem with meth, but the answer isn’t to make it more difficult and expensive for law-abiding patients to get the products they need. The answer is to make it harder for criminals to commit crimes. Crime-fighting technology, not new mandates on the health care system, is the best way to address the problem.
Merrill Matthews is a resident scholar with the Institute for Policy Innovation in Dallas, Texas.
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0409012c010ee324516f7f662130ca8c | https://www.forbes.com/sites/merrillmatthews/2011/05/25/is-gov-rick-perry-running-for-president/ | Is Gov. Rick Perry Running for President? | Is Gov. Rick Perry Running for President?
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Gov. Perry insists that he isn’t. But some folks are convinced, and others desperately hope, that he is. That hope is largely the result of frustration with the current crop of GOP candidates and Perry’s strong 10-year record as governor of Texas.
At a Donald Rumsfeld speech in Dallas on Monday, the Texas conservatives at my table were lamenting the current presidential candidate plight—or should I say blight. How could it have come down to this, they wondered? It’s a lament I hear a lot lately, as have reporters who have been writing extensively about the growing dissatisfaction.
I felt myself feeling a little sorry for the current GOP contenders. By all measures Tim Pawlenty, Mitt Romney, Ron Paul, Newt Gingrich, Herman Cain and Jon Huntsman have remarkable achievements. Yet none of them seems to excite conservatives and tea partiers, nor for that matter moderate Republicans or independents. It may not be fair, but it is the case—at least for now.
And so there is this pervasive hope that someone who conservatives can rally around will jump into the presidential race. That’s where Rick Perry comes in.
One of the country’s most astute Republican observers tells me that he’s sure that Perry is running for president and will announce it after the end of the current legislative session. When I ask why, he claims Perry is doing all the things you would expect him to do if he were running. He has a point.
When I cite Perry’s oft-repeated response that he has the “best job in the world” and doesn’t want to leave Texas, the analyst tells me that’s part of his handlers’ marketing plan. On the other hand, I replied, what else would you say if you really did think you had the best job in the best state in the country? Sometimes “no” doesn’t really mean “yes.”
That said, if Perry does decide—or has decided—to get into the presidential race, he would have one heckuva record to run on.
The governor has repeatedly refused to raise taxes, demanding spending cuts instead to balance the state’s budget. Regulations and taxes remain low, making Texas one of if not the most business-friendly state in the country.
In its “Competitive States 2010” study by the Texas Public Policy Foundation, it found that Texas had a state tax burden of 8.4 percent, compared to a U.S. average of 9.7 percent. And the Texas gross state product grew 94.5 percent over 10 years, vs. 66.3 percent for the rest of the country.
More importantly, Texas far outpaces other states in job creation. Michael Cox and Richard Alm, director and writer-in-residence, respectively, at Southern Methodist University’s William J. O’Neil Center for Global Markets and Freedom write, “From January 2000 to June 2010, Texas had a net increase of nearly 1.1 million jobs—more than any other state by far. In fact, Texas’ outsized gains eclipsed the total of the next five job-creating states: Florida, Arizona, Virginia, Utah, and Washington.”
And the Bureau of Labor Statistics claimed Texas created 129,000 new jobs in 2009 alone—a recession year. That was more than half of all the jobs created in the country.
The Brookings Institution published a study earlier this year looking at job growth in major cities. Texas had five of the top 10 cities, with Austin leading the country as number one in job growth. In an election year when jobs will likely be one of the most important issues, Perry has an outstanding track record—President Obama doesn’t.
Of course, Texas has faced its share of state revenue decline during the economic downturn. But the governor never put a tax hike on the agenda and even discouraged dipping into the state’s rainy day fund. Teachers unions are furious with him for that, so you know he’s doing something right.
The result of the governor’s policies, plus other factors like no state income tax, has led to a significant in-migration. Cox and Alm of SMU’s O’Neil Center found in a recent study that “Texas led all other states with a net in-migration of 500,000 people from 2004 to 2008.”
People are voting with their feet and moving to Texas. And if given the chance to make Texas’ policies the country’s policies, lots of Americans would vote for that change.
Oh, and there is one more area where Perry has been a vocal leader: the Tenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which asserts that those powers not enumerated in the Constitution are reserved for the states or the people. After four years of Obama officials forcing Americans to do things they have no constitutional authority to impose, such as requiring people to buy health insurance, the public might embrace a Tenth Amendment advocate.
Gov. Perry is not without a downside. He proposed a requirement that school-age girls be vaccinated against the human papillomavirus (HPV), but the public immediately pushed back and the governor dropped it. He also proposed the Trans-Texas Corridor, which raised concerns about the state imposing eminent domain on lots of Texans’ property. Whatever the merits and demerits of the Corridor, that project never went anywhere and has finally died.
Like lots of people, I would like to see former Florida Governor Jeb Bush, newly elected Florida Senator Marco Rubio and New Jersey Governor Chris Christie get in the presidential race. All have declined. That certainly makes sense for Rubio; a newly elected senator just hasn’t accumulated the wisdom and experience to be a good president. Need I say more?
But if Perry does run, American voters will have a real choice: A principled conservative who has kept his state fiscally sound, lightly regulated, a magnet for business and a place where Americans increasingly want to live. Can anyone claim any of those achievements from the policies of Barack H. Obama?
Merrill Matthews is a resident scholar with the Institute for Policy Innovation in Dallas, Texas. http://twitter.com/MerrillMatthews
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e2405902a6d3ba6502088d85c248a14c | https://www.forbes.com/sites/merrillmatthews/2011/08/11/three-pitfalls-facing-the-deficit-reduction-supercommittee/ | Three Pitfalls Facing the Deficit-Reduction Supercommittee | Three Pitfalls Facing the Deficit-Reduction Supercommittee
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The 12 members of the bipartisan congressional “supercommittee” have been appointed, and given the Republican members it is safe to say that taxpayers can rest a little easier.
But the makeup of the committee—conservative Republicans who refuse to raise taxes and liberal Democrats who refuse not to—will make it difficult to reach a consensus. And that doesn’t factor in three looming pitfalls that could undermine their effort—and the economy.
The deficit is a moving target. The purpose of the supercommittee is to find $1.5 trillion in additional deficit reduction by November 23. However, economic growth assumptions built into the already-signed budget-ceiling deal could make it almost impossible to actually achieve that goal.
As the Wall Street Journal reports, when the Congressional Budget Office scored (i.e., calculated the financial impact) the debt-ceiling agreement, it assumed the economy (GDP) would grow 3.1 percent this year and 2.8 percent in 2012. That’s about as likely as Warren Buffett naming me his heir.
If the economy continues at the current pace, GDP could grow less than 1 percent this year—and we may actually slip into a recession. That means that the government’s assumptions about tax revenue are too optimistic.
Lower-than-projected revenues mean higher-than-expected deficits, eating into the debt ceiling much faster than anticipated—and reducing the impact of any proposed deficit reduction plan. To put it in family-budget terms, if a family works out a debt-repayment schedule and then realizes the primary earner will be working half-time rather than full-time—or in my case, that I won’t become Buffett’s heir—the whole plan is shot.
Ironically, if economic growth remains low we could find ourselves bumping up against the debt ceiling just before the 2012 election—undermining the one benefit President Obama thought he’d gotten from the debt-ceiling agreement.
Tax increases ≠ tax revenues. The annual budget deficit is a result of the gap between federal spending and federal revenues—a $1 trillion-plus gap this year, for the third year in a row. That gap can be reduced by cutting spending or increasing revenues, or both. Look for the Democrats to push heavily for the increased-revenues option.
However, they, along with nearly every mainstream-media pundit, repeatedly confuse raising taxes with increased revenues. President Obama also regularly makes this mistake. New taxes and higher tax rates can result in increased revenues, but they can also lead to lower revenues. Conversely, lower tax rates can result in lower revenues, but can also lead to increased revenues.
The classic example of this error was the new luxury tax that was part of the 1990 budget deal that helped end President George H.W. Bush’s ambitions for a second term. Congress imposed a 10 percent tax on high-end cars, boats, jewelry and private planes during a recession, when sales of those items were already down. Anticipating the Obama-mantra by two decades, Democrats assured the American people that the rich could afford it and ought to be forced to pay their “fair share.”
But a funny thing happened on the way to “shared responsibility,” whether the rich could afford the new tax or not was irrelevant; they decided not to buy those items—at least not in the U.S. And so sales of luxury products plummeted, along with the tax revenues.
Of course, some of the rich may have pulled a John Kerry, one of the supercommittee members, and bought their yachts overseas, as the senior senator from Massachusetts did not long ago in order to avoid paying state taxes.
The luxury tax wiped out jobs and nearly killed the domestic yacht industry and hurt the others, so Congress quickly repealed it.
The point is that increasing tax rates will not necessarily increase revenues, and may actually reduce them. Yes, tax revenues are currently low as a percent of GDP, but that’s because of a slow economy, not because people are undertaxed. Get the economy growing and the tax revenue will follow.
The allure of thinking small. In Washington, grand visions are usually beaten down until they become “bland visions”—accomplishing little besides tweaking the status quo. That’s exactly what the supercommittee will do unless members commit to thinking big.
One way to do that is to propose a Simpson-Bowles-type income tax reform. Lower the tax rates significantly on individuals and corporations and eliminate most or all of the current tax breaks. While this may seem like “a bridge too far,” people both on the left and right are increasingly embracing it as the best solution.
Done right it would simplify the tax code, eliminate many or all of the special tax breaks that reduce revenues, return stability to the economy, and spur economic growth, which would increase federal revenues.
Depending on the details, I think the Republicans could be convinced to take this approach and would only need one Democrat to agree—though several would be better. Do that and the committee of 12 will earn that modifier “super.”
Merrill Matthews is a resident scholar with the Institute for Policy Innovation in Dallas, Texas. http://twitter.com/MerrillMatthews
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a80e53e852b3b5e64c53c6e9793a08fa | https://www.forbes.com/sites/merrillmatthews/2011/11/11/the-under-30s-should-demand-an-opt-out-of-social-security/ | The Under-30s Should Demand an Opt Out of Social Security | The Under-30s Should Demand an Opt Out of Social Security
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I don’t know anyone under the age of 30 who thinks Social Security will be there when they retire. (For that matter, I don’t know many middle-agers who expect to draw from it either.) And yet the under-30s dutifully pay their 12.4 percent payroll tax every paycheck with little complaining. It’s high time they stand up, push back and demand they be allowed to opt out.
While millions of Americans have been snookered into thinking Social Security is solvent, and will be for years to come—see the comments from my recent piece on the Social Security Trust Fund—young adults haven’t been fooled.
Washington Post reporter Lori Montgomery—one of Washington’s best—recently published an excellent exposé in the Post on Social Security’s financial struggles, and they are legion.
Montgomery points out that in 2010, when a sagging economy significantly reduced tax revenues, the government paid out more in Social Security benefits than it collected in payroll taxes, for the first time since 1980.
Since President Obama’s multiple stimulus packages and deficit spending have had little or no positive impact on the economy, Social Security will again spend more than it takes in this year—about $46 billion. And the payroll tax holiday—a 2-percentage point reduction in workers’ share of the payroll tax, from 6.2 percent to 4.2 percent, passed last December—means an extra $105 billion was never paid in to the system.
Montgomery concludes, “Social Security is sucking money out of the Treasury.” But wait, that can’t be because there is $2.6 trillion in the Social Security Trust Fund. Why doesn’t the government just draw down on that account?
Again, Montgomery gets it absolutely right: “The government has borrowed every cent and now must raise taxes, cut spending or borrow more heavily from outside investors to keep benefit checks flowing.”
Our under-30s perceptively understand that all of the financial game playing bodes ill for their chances of getting Social Security when they retire. And the truth is it’s already a bad deal for my generation, the baby boomers. Just look at the numbers.
Urban Institute economists Eugene Steuerle and Stephanie Rennane calculate that a single man earning the average wage in his working life and retiring in 2010 at age 65 will have paid $294,000 in lifetime Social Security taxes and can expect to receive $265,000 in lifetime Social Security benefits.* Not what you’d call a heckova deal.
Of course, Social Security is social insurance rather than a personal retirement account, and so it uses a formula to cross-subsidize certain beneficiaries. That same male in a one-earner family would contribute the same but could expect $447,000 in lifetime benefits because of the non-working spouse. But I don’t begrudge them that extra money. A worker who had invested his payroll taxes in a broad-based mutual fund could expect to have significantly more money at retirement than he paid in.
The crime isn’t that some people get more in benefits than they contribute; the crime is that so many people—including those who die early—don’t get back nearly what they paid. And the under-30s know they are at the forefront of that swindle.
It’s time they stand up and demand a better deal. Let the candidates know that if they want the “youth vote” in 2012, they have to support an under-30 opt out of Social Security—while fulfilling the government’s promise to current retirees.
Of course, allowing the under-30s to opt out would put a serious strain on the government’s ability to pay current retirees, since, as Lori Montgomery explained above, that $2.6 trillion surplus in the trust fund, created by current retirees and baby boomers, has all been borrowed.
However, the opt-out could take several forms to reduce the immediate fiscal impact on the government’s ability to pay current retirees. The government could, for example, let the under-30s keep the 6.2 percent they contribute to Social Security while the government continues to take the 6.2 percent employer contribution. That would still be a much better deal than the under-30s expect to get from Social Security, which is nothing. And probably a better deal than what the government promises they will get.
If that split approach isn’t feasible, the under-30s could demand a separate, personal, voluntary, tax-free retirement account where they can deposit part of their income in exchange for giving up their claim on most or all of their Social Security benefits—which they don’t think they'll get anyway.
While it’s too late for my generation, and probably too late for those just entering middle age, it isn’t too late for the under-30s, especially if they make it a 2012 election issue. It is economically and morally wrong for them to pay payroll taxes their entire working lives with the expectation of getting … squat.
They should stand up and demand the politicians let them opt out of Social Security.
Merrill Matthews is a resident scholar at the Institute for Policy Innovation in Dallas, Texas. Follow at http://twitter.com/MerrillMatthews
* Steuerle and Rennane explain: “The ‘lifetime value of taxes’ is based upon the value of accumulated taxes, as if those taxes were put into an account that earned a 2 percent real rate of return (that is, 2 percent plus inflation). The ‘lifetime value of benefits’ represents the amount needed in an account (also earning a 2 percent real interest rate) to pay for those benefits.”
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df68c36860f7c3e876f482c7848b03f8 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/merrillmatthews/2013/01/10/irs-to-employers-pay-obamacare-shared-responsibility-or-else/ | IRS To Employers: Pay ObamaCare 'Shared Responsibility' Or Else | IRS To Employers: Pay ObamaCare 'Shared Responsibility' Or Else
Anti-Internal Revenue Service symbol commonly used by tax protesters and tax reform advocates.... [+] (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
As if concerns about the fiscal cliff, debt ceiling, higher taxes and a potential recession weren’t enough to scare employers, the Obama administration has just handed them one more headache: an IRS warning that any efforts to avoid the ObamaCare mandate to provide coverage or pay a penalty (or is it a tax?) will not go unpunished.
Yes, the Infernal Revenue Service has just released its “proposed regulations providing guidance under section 4980H of the Internal Revenue Code (Code) with respect to the shared responsibility for employers regarding employee health coverage.”
Don’t you love that “shared responsibility” reference? It’s as if President Obama’s campaign speeches have morphed into IRS regs.
Of course, there has been a lot of confusion among employers about implementing the coverage mandate and their responsibilities, just as there has been a lot of confusion among states about the rules and regulations associated with the health insurance exchanges.
Just so everyone is clear, what the IRS says is:
Section 4980H generally provides that an applicable large employer is subject to an assessable payment if either (1) the employer fails to offer to its full-time employees (and their dependents) the opportunity to enroll in minimum essential coverage (MEC) under an eligible employer-sponsored plan and any full-time employee is certified to the employer as having received an applicable premium tax credit or cost-sharing reduction (section 4980H(a) liability), or (2) the employer offers its full-time employees (and their dependents) the opportunity to enroll in MEC under an eligible employer-sponsored plan and one or more full-time employees is certified to the employer as having received an applicable premium tax credit or cost-sharing reduction (section 4980H(b) liability). Generally, section 4980H(b) liability may arise because, with respect to a full-time employee who has been certified to the employer as having received an applicable premium tax credit or cost.
Everybody got that?
You will notice that “assessable payment” is what Chief Justice John Roberts considers a tax.
Essentially, employers with 50 or more employees must provide health coverage to their employees. If they don’t they will have to pay an “assessable payment” of up to $2,000 per employee. At least that's what the law is supposed to require. Who knows if that's what the proposed regulations say.
The problem is that not all employer-worker relationships are that simple.
Some employees work part time, and some part-timers can put in full-time hours during peak times for the company. Other companies often fill gaps with temporary employees. And some companies have so many part-time workers that they equal 50 full-time workers.
Not to worry, the IRS has rules for all of them; and they are every bit as clear as the passage cited earlier.
Basically, the IRS is skeptical that all employers will be as excited about these mandates as the Democrats implied they would be early on. So the IRS is issuing these proposed regulations as a way to keep employers from avoiding their shared responsibility.
As the IRS warned on December 28, “The Treasury Department and the IRS are aware of various structures being considered under which employers might use temporary staffing agencies (or other staffing agencies)… to evade application of section 4980H [the employer insurance mandate].”
So Obama rams through a costly, onerous, time-consuming and job-killing health insurance bill, and employers will look for ways to limit or minimize its impact—just as rich liberals do with taxes. And the IRS expects it, which is why it’s putting employers on notice.
And staffing up. Centralized governments can’t work without lots of bureaucrats to make sure everyone is buckling under the rules.
So you will be glad to know that the Treasury’s inspector general for tax administration has released a report on September 30 claiming the IRS will need more than 2,000 employees to monitor compliance with Obama’s health care law. And that’s just for 2013.
Well, Nancy Pelosi claimed when ObamaCare passed that it would create 400,000 new jobs almost immediately. The public probably didn’t understand she was talking about IRS agents looking to make sure you accept your shared responsibility.
Merrill Matthews is a resident scholar at the Institute for Policy Innovation in Dallas, Texas. Follow him on twitter: @MerrillMatthews
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5d0cfaad5a4fbf6cb5cd63d659ef55dd | https://www.forbes.com/sites/merrillmatthews/2014/01/13/government-programs-have-become-one-big-scammer-fraud-fest/ | Government Programs Have Become One Big Scammer Fraud Fest | Government Programs Have Become One Big Scammer Fraud Fest
The scam truck (Photo credit: jepoirrier)
Amongst all the polls about how various groups view their prospects going into 2014, I’d like to see one polling people who habitually defraud the government. I bet it would be off-the-charts positive, as they look
for a banner scammer year.
We are being inundated by news stories of fraud perpetrated against numerous government programs. The feds themselves put Medicare and Medicaid fraud at approaching 10 percent of the programs’ budgets, or about $100 billion a year for the two programs. And I’m betting that’s on the low side.
And yet instead of solving this problem, President Obama harangues the country, and especially Republicans, for being unwilling to throw even more money at the federal government’s Fraud Fest.
Let’s review some of recent stories.
Medicaid — There’s so many Medicaid fraud stories it’s hard to choose the “best.” Perhaps the most egregious, though far from being the most expensive, is a December Wall Street Journal story explaining that “the Manhattan U.S. attorney accused 49 current and former Russian diplomats of participating in an alleged scheme that garnered nearly $1.5 million in fraudulent Medicaid benefits.”
The diplomats are charged with underreporting their incomes so they could qualify for Medicaid. The story says that over the last decade 92 percent of New York-based Russian diplomats’ childbirths were paid for by Medicaid, a program created to cover poor U.S. citizens. So highly paid foreign diplomats are allegedly having babies at U.S. taxpayer expense.
Several years ago the New York Times ran a series on Medicaid fraud wherein one New York City official estimated that about 40 percent of the city’s Medicaid expenses were fraudulent. And yet the problem still isn’t under control.
Long Term Care — While we’re on Medicaid fraud, let’s include Medicaid’s program to cover poor seniors in nursing homes—at least, they’re supposed to be poor. American Enterprise Institute adjunct scholar Mark Warshawsky recently wrote in the WSJ that Medicaid pays for about two-thirds of the elderly’s long-term care costs. That money is meant for poor seniors, but many seniors in nursing homes have significant assets in homes—up to $802,000 worth in some states—cars and savings. Indeed, there is a legal specialty known as “elder care attorneys” who help families hide grandma’s assets so she can qualify for Medicaid.
Medicare — Last week the Miami Herald ran a story about a South Florida woman found guilty of Medicare scams costing taxpayers $20 million. In December a Houston doctor was charged with defrauding Medicare of $158 million, involving false claims for mental health treatments.
Earlier stories explain that Italian, Russian and Nigerian mobsters have moved in to Medicare fraud because it’s so easy, lucrative and, if you get caught, lighter jail time. That’s why when CBS ’s 60 Minutes covered Medicare fraud a few years ago—and recently updated that story here—one of the criminals who had been caught boasted he had been making $20,000, $30,000, $40,000 a day!
Unemployment — Obama and the Democrats are pushing hard for an extension of long-term unemployment benefits, making one wonder if they just like to throw away taxpayers’ dollars.
The U.S. Department of Labor recently released a report claiming that there was some $7.7 billion in “improper” unemployment benefit payments in 2013. Among the most fraud-ridden states, Nebraska wins with an 18 percent improper payment rate, followed by North Carolina (17.5%), New Jersey and Louisiana (16%), Maine and Ohio (14%).
Why are Republicans and conservatives heartless for not wanting to expand these fraud-ridden programs, while Democrats are compassionate for letting your hard-earned tax dollars be stolen by the fraudsters?
Food Stamps — And speaking of Democrats pushing more spending in fraud-filled programs, how about those food stamps? The push is on to keep funding the food stamp program, which has doubled to 47.3 million people since 2006. According to a December story in the New York Times, the government estimates the food-stamp fraud rate to be about 4 percent, or $3 billion.
Disability — Last fall a Senate subcommittee report found massive evidence of fraud in the Social Security Administration’s Disability Program. According to one news account, “The fraud is so rampant, and disability cases have so proliferated in recent years, that the Social Security's Disability Trust Fund may run out of money in only 18 months, says Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla.”
And as if to give Coburn a resounding amen, last week New York City workers were charged with swindling the disability program out of an estimated $400 million since 1988. These “disabled” claimants go on to have productive second careers doing many of the activities they claimed they couldn’t do.
Social Security — Monthly Social Security checks allow millions of seniors to live with dignity, even dead ones. A June report by the agency’s office of inspector general found that in 2012, the agency paid out about $31 million to 2,475 dead people, which was much better than the 2.1 million deceased people who received benefits in 2011.
Obamacare — There have already been multiple news stories of Obamacare scams, and the program is just getting started. Seeing how well the government polices all of those other programs, which have been around much longer and aren’t nearly as complex, Obamacare is likely to be a scammers’ paradise.
To be fair, the government has cranked up its fraud-fighting efforts over the past several years, and has caught some criminals—like its own employees. Just last month the Environmental Protection Agency’s highest-paid employee—a “climate change expert,” no less—was sentenced to 32 months in prison for bilking the government out of $1 million in salary and benefits. He was taking off weeks and months at a time, claiming he was secretly working for FBI.
If a blatant liar and thief was working next to senior government officials for years and no one noticed, how successful do we really think these same people will be rooting out fraud?
The problem is that the government has created so many programs with so many regulations covering so many people that it is virtually impossible to effectively police them all. Plus, government officials don’t seem to have much motive. Private sector executives would be fired for letting so much money—10 percent and more—slip through their hands, or the company would go broke. Not in the Obama administration. He uses it as an opportunity to demand that taxpayers fork over even more. And that may be the biggest scam of all.
Merrill Matthews is a resident scholar with the Institute for Policy Innovation in Dallas, Texas. http://twitter.com/MerrillMatthews
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a081ce9065778262b50576c5a8961855 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/metabrown/2016/05/29/big-data-analytics-and-the-next-president-how-microtargeting-drives-todays-campaigns/ | Big Data Analytics And The Next President: How Microtargeting Drives Today's Campaigns | Big Data Analytics And The Next President: How Microtargeting Drives Today's Campaigns
Hillary Clinton's 2016 campaign is heiress to the Big Data lessons of Obama for America's campaign... [+] and fundraising successes. Photographer: Victor J. Blue/Bloomberg
Political campaigns of both Republican and Democratic candidates are taking Big Data lessons from retailers , gathering information about individuals, and using it to serve up personalized messages to prospective voters. It’s called “microtargeting,” and it was was a key element of the successful Obama for America campaign and its unprecedented fundraising.
Direct marketers have long used tests to determine what works in advertising. The ads you get in the mail are often the result of many careful tests of elements ranging from the color of the envelope to the sales copy to the price of the product. Online advertisers have even greater ability to personalize than direct mailers. You’ve probably noticed that items you view on one web site follow you around as ads on other sites. Online retailer product recommendations are also personalized based on your buying and viewing history. Political candidates are now emulating those processes to effectively advertise themselves.
Here’s how microtargeting works.
It begins with a voter database. While your votes are private, your voter registration and voting records (whether and when you actually voted) are public. Those records form the starting point of voter databases. The Republican and Democratic parties each provide candidates with portals to access public voter information, as well as supplemental information gleaned from commercial and other sources. The supplemental information may include things such as:
Demographics Occupation Political and charitable contribution history Memberships Home, auto, and boat ownership status Permits and licenses Magazine subscriptions Political volunteer history and other indicators of political views
Now begins the work of the individual campaigns. Each campaign can add additional information to the database. It’s a lot of work to gather this information, and individual candidates within the same party may still need to keep information to themselves, as in a primary election where candidates of the same party are in competition, so each campaign has private data as well as shared party data. (When you heard last year about the Democratic data breach, you were hearing about a failure in the systems that are supposed to keep each candidate’s private data private.)
Most of that campaign-specific data comes from surveys. Professional pollsters or volunteers approach voters with questions. In the beginning, these may very general questions aimed at broad voter groups. Early in the campaign, you might be simply be asked who you intend to vote for, or which candidate would have the best chance of defeating an incumbent. Later the question might be aimed at more targeted group, just mothers, perhaps, and more issue oriented. As the process continues, the voter groups get narrower, and the questions more detailed and specific.
Benefits of microtargeting
Over time, the campaign learns what messages work best with whom. Perhaps a candidate will learn that Californian Latinas with older children respond most strongly to messages about work opportunities for young people, while those with very young children are more concerned about public schools, or that while gun owners in general might react negatively to the candidates gun control stance, they react positively to the same candidate’s economic plan.
This information tells candidates and their campaign staff what messages appeal most to voter groups and even individual voters. Depth of information means that every message issued, whether it appears on the website, in a speech, an email or through canvassing, can be something better than one-size-fits-all. Volunteers can head out to the neighborhoods knowing what sorts of people they will meet and what to say in response to questions they are likely to be asked. Phone banks can reach out to voters with scripts designed to appeal to individuals, based on the information in the database.
Another benefit of having the right data and using it well is greater impact from the paid advertising budget. If you know can tie survey data to narrow demographics, then you can optimize advertising buys to reach desired audiences at the lowest possible cost. The 2012 Obama for America campaign did not just raise more money than the Romney campaign. It also used and augmented TV viewership data available from firms such as TV ratings leader Nielsen to reach desired audiences at lower than normal cost. The right analytics enabled the campaign to raise more money, and stretch each dollar further, than the competition.
Data will not sell voters on a candidate whose messages they don’t like. But the right data collection and analytics can enable campaigns to match the specific issues and positions from the candidates portfolio that are most appealing to specific voter groups and even individual voters.
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35c42abe226702ec4f665b7c188db5b8 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/metabrown/2016/09/30/7-terrible-habits-of-data-analytics-professionals/ | 7 Terrible Habits of Data Analytics Professionals | 7 Terrible Habits of Data Analytics Professionals
Kick these habits to look like a valuable resource instead of a geek. (Image: Shutterstock)
Although analytics is a valuable specialty that every large organization needs, it’s not always full appreciated. We analysts hate that, but sometimes, it’s our own fault. Our own bad habits can hold us back.
Be honest about these seven terrible habits and take corrective action to have greater impact and get more appreciation in the workplace.
Ignoring management priorities
Analysts don’t get to run the operation. We’re staff, and our purpose is to provide information that supports management decision making. That means the highest priority obligation for any data analyst is determining what’s important to management, and why. If you don’t have a clear understanding of your management’s reward structure (in other words, what has to happen for the boss to get maximum pay), business goals and the scope and limitation of responsibilities (what the manager can and cannot control), you won’t be able to assure that the information you provide is a good match.
Corrective action: Spend a few minutes each day learning about the general state of your organization. Actually read some of those emails from management, see what’s in the newspapers, ask questions when you meet with managers. As you work, consider how the project and your approach to it fits in with broader goals, and look for ways to make the information you provide more relevant, clearer and easier to use.
Disregarding complementary business functions
It’s no fun to discover, after you’ve sunk a lot of time and energy into developing a predictive model, that operations has no way to incorporate it into everyday business practice. It’s pointless to recommend a course of action that requires resources that will be unavailable when you need them. It’s embarrassing to announce remarkable findings from your latest analysis, only to hear someone explain that the data doesn’t mean what you thought it meant, or worse, that you’re using data in a way that violates the law or contractual requirements.
Corrective action: Get out of your cube. Reach out to your peers in IT, operations, sales and other roles, even if they do not seem closely related to what you do. Look for opportunities to meet and get to know your colleagues in low-stress situations, perhaps over lunch. Ask about their jobs, what they do and how it helps the business. Take the time to learn why things are done the way they’re done and not done the ways they’re not done). You’ll know more going into every project, and establish a network of partners to help you develop more effective multidisciplinary approaches to analytics.
Neglecting process
What’s your analytics process model? Do you use CRISP-DM or SEMMA? Do you have a process of your own, and if so, is there a written guide that explains it? Does this all sound strange and unfamiliar?
Corrective action: A good analytics process model guides you through the many tasks that you should perform and the details you should cover in each of them, so you avoid leaving things out, repeating work or misunderstanding what has and has not been done. If your organization already has a standard analytics process, learn it well and follow it. If not, get familiar with CRISP-DM, the most popular analytics process model. It’s an open standard that’s available to everyone, free to use and flexible, so you can use it in any industry, with any tools you prefer.
Failing to document
Remember that project you completed last year? No? Sure you do. It was the thing, the thing you did right after that one thing, and before the other thing. We need you to get right back to that and pick up where from where you were when you went on the other thing. You documented all of that, everything you did, right? It’s important, because we’ve got to move fast on this, there’s no time to waste.
Corrective action: Using a good analytics process model helps, because the process model describes the tasks you must perform and the required documentation for each of them. (The trouble is, many analysts ignore most the parts where you write down the details of what you did. You know, write down what you did, and the results, what worked and what didn’t. In words, sentences, paragraphs and so forth.) Be fastidious about documentation, to make the most of your time, provide hard evidence of what you’ve done, and make it easier for others to carry on as necessary.
Speaking “Geek”
Upper management is very interested in numbers, as long as those numbers represent dollars, Euros, yen or some other form of money. Otherwise, math is not of much interest to them. Technical terminology, details of your models and other mechanics of your daily work do not interest them. They are busy people who don’t answer to you, so if your presentation doesn’t interest the Big Boss, you’ll quickly find that Big Boss doesn’t listen, or even remain in the room.
Corrective action: Review the discussion of management priorities above. Focus on what’s important to your executive management, use plain language and get to the point quickly. It will not hurt to take classes, or read some books, on technical communication.
Underpreparing for scrutiny
Executives are allowed to ask questions. Some use that power for good, others for evil, but either way, if you can’t provide a simple, direct and useful answer, you’re going to look like a fool. This is no secret, yet it’s awfully common to witness presentations where analysts can’t answer questions that are reasonable, and which should have been expected.
Corrective action: Review all the discussions above. Review every bit of material you intend to present and yourself what supports your conclusions and what may be missing. Run it by your new friends in other business areas. Prepare supplemental slides, bring along your notes, and learn you own material well. Don’t do a big information dump, yet be ready with resources you may need to respond to probing questions.
Suffering from delusions of grandeur
Statisticians are sexy. Data scientists have skills as rare as a unicorn. Full-stack programmers can leap tall buildings in a single bound.
Corrective action: Please get over it.
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8d716be65f6379704398dce7bc064070 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/metabrown/2016/12/31/improve-your-analytics-skills-with-these-9-tips/ | Improve Your Analytics Skills With These 9 Tips | Improve Your Analytics Skills With These 9 Tips
Resolve to become a better data analyst in 2017 with these 9 tips for improving your skills. (Photo:... [+] Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
Looking for a worthwhile New Year’s resolution? A resolution that will help your career? A resolution you can keep? Resolve to become a better analyst in 2017.
How can you become better at your work? You know the old standbys like attending a class, taking on a challenging project, and networking with new people who you can learn from. Just don’t stop there.
Go a little further than your competition by trying diverse ways of learning and reinforcing what you know. Try these nine ways to help you keep your resolution to become a better data analyst:
Communication
Find the human experience in your data. Choose a sample dataset or report from your own work. Ask yourself how the data relates to actions and results for an individual person. For example, does the data represent purchases, store or website visits, medical examinations? What happened to the people represented by the data? Retell what you see in the data, from the viewpoint of one person it represents, in no more than 3 or 4 plain English sentences – no jargon, no statistics. Do your friends, relatives and neighbors understand what you do? No? Focus on the benefits – the people who are better off because of your work and the reasons why. Refine your story until you can explain, in no more than 30 seconds, what’s valuable about your work, to anyone. Put it on paper. Write a brief summary, using complete sentences and paragraphs, of your latest project. Review it, and ask yourself whether a person who is educated, but not familiar with analytics, would understand the results and their implications. Revise. Get an outsider to review and provide feedback. Repeat.
Fundamentals
Return to the beginning. Read an introductory book on statistics. Choose one that you have not read before. The best analysts know the basics inside out. Calculate by hand. Using a small sample of data, fit a simple model (such as a linear regression) or do a hypothesis test – by hand. Concentrate on assumptions. Know the assumptions behind each technique. Look them up, one by one. Even working professionals are often misinformed about what is and is not assumed in individual testing and modeling methods.
Refresh
Try the unfamiliar. Playing with new toys makes you more adaptable (and adds keywords to your resume.) Stretch yourself to use something you don’t like. If you usually prefer a commercial tool, try something open source, or vice-versa. Spend some time working with bigger, or smaller, data than usual. Learn a new analytic method. If you really know it you can explain it. Find out if you know your stuff well enough to teach someone else to do what you do. Emphasize process. The right process ensures maximum value to your organization and minimizes rework. Consider using a detailed analytics process model like CRISP-DM.
Have you tried something new that helped make you a better data analyst? Please leave a comment and share your story.
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045dd34e05fa7b3edb7ba956561cf7ff | https://www.forbes.com/sites/metabrown/2017/03/30/heres-how-to-overcome-objections-to-diversity-in-tech/ | Here's How To Overcome Objections To Diversity In Tech | Here's How To Overcome Objections To Diversity In Tech
We should be hearing more diverse voices at tech conferences. (Image: Shutterstock)
Data analytics is one STEM field that has no shortage of women. Despite that, many professional channels are somehow managing to avoid involving women in analytics conferences and other professional venues.
Let me revise that. They don’t mind women paying to attend their conferences or buy their products. Just don’t expect to see women on the speaking agenda or the management team.
Over the past couple of years, I’ve pushed to get more women speakers at analytics conferences, primarily by writing and sharing profiles of hundreds of very accomplished in women in analytics. I figure, the more outstanding women they see, the less excuse conference organizers will have for excluding them.
The good news is that over the past couple of years I’ve seen some conferences diversify their speakers, and I’ve seen some businesses put women into desirable management roles for the first time.
The bad news is that I still get a lot of resistance.
Ladies and gentlemen, if we want to see more women and minorities throughout tech industries, we have to push for that, in ways big and small, every day. I suggested 8 ways to help get more women and minorities speaking at tech conferences in a recent post.
Now, let’s talk about what to do when people push back.
Always be ready to share names and information about accomplished women and minorities in your field. Give thought to how you came to know those people so that you can share the how-to with others. Even though all of this may seem obvious to you, it’s not obvious to a lot of people.
Your own network will never be enough. The goal is to get people in power to think differently, open their minds to more diverse people and ideas. But that doesn’t come naturally to everyone, so anticipate resistance and expect to hear objections.
No matter how foolish an objection may seem, you must respond constructively, and as patiently as you can.
Here again, preparation matters. Think through objections that you have encountered in the past, or anticipate in future discussions, and figure out how you can respond with reasoning and facts.
Here are a selection of objections I’ve encountered, and possible responses. While I’ve focused on women speakers at tech conferences here, the same approaches can work for other situations and any excluded group.
The out and out insult: “Women are bad at [insert technical skill here].”
This kind of talk most often comes out when people are hiding behind screen names, or sheltered by a group of people thought to share the same point of view.
Bring talks about diversity into the open, in situation where real people use real names and put their reputations on the line. This won’t eliminate the problem, but will reduce it.
Make it clear you don’t agree, and offer concrete examples to prove them wrong.
The meritocracy illusion: “We select the best people.”
Really? The handful of men on your speaking agenda or management team are superior to all of womankind? Would you like to say that in front of a roomful of your female clients (or prospective clients) and see how they react?
Ask about specific selection criteria. What makes a person one of the best?
Often, there are no defined selection criteria. Perhaps sharing well defined standards would make it easier to find women who meet them.
If there are stated criteria, you may find that some are irrelevant, unreasonable, or pointlessly exclusionary. Say so, and explain why. Make suggestions for rethinking and revise selection criteria to fit the situation.
The responsibility abdication: “This is a business.”
So, diversity has no business value?
If you only hear from the same old people, you may miss out on ideas that are new to you and valuable to your business.
But there’s another angle on this that’s particularly relevant to professional conferences. Their business model is nearly always 100% dependent on experts who are willing to speak for no pay.
In fact, most speakers incur significant costs for airfare, hotel and other travel expenses. At some events, they even pay for conference admission.
So, tell me again about your business model that’s totally dependent on highly skilled people working for free? Maybe we should target those speakers and their employers and have a conversation.
The semantic block: “We won’t accept [shudder] quotas.”
This is one that’s come up for me in recent conversation. The latest way to refuse to commit to including a respectable number of women speakers, or defend all-male panels, is to invoke the horror of the quota.
Again, my field is data analytics. Metrics matter in business, and no self-respecting analytics professional would say different, unless the metrics apply to promoting diversity in the profession.
If you hear somebody shriek about “quotas,” turn it around. Talk metrics.
The defensive barrier: “I really care about diversity. I’m doing everything I can.”
Oh please. Stuff like this is just a cry for help.
1 in 4 tech professionals is female. Half of analytics pros are female. A typical conference needs maybe 10 or 20 speakers total. If you care, you’ll find them.
Ask specifically what the person has done. Offer concrete suggestions for additional ways to recruit women. Then brace yourself for the excuses.
That would take time. (Yes, it would. So what?) I never use the phone. (It’s hard for me to respond to this in polite language.) Hardly any women meet all my requirements. (Really? How do you know – where’s your data? Do each of the men you selected meet all of your requirements? What’s the reasoning behind your requirements?)
It’s hard to believe we still have to do this in 2017, but we do, so be prepared.
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556e8489a277265b307b8aeb238ea07a | https://www.forbes.com/sites/metabrown/2017/03/30/she-asked-for-thoughts-on-women-in-analytics-heres-what-i-said/ | She Asked For Thoughts On Women In Analytics. Here's What I Said. | She Asked For Thoughts On Women In Analytics. Here's What I Said.
Here's what one seasoned old dame wants you to know about supporting women in analytics. (Image:... [+] Shutterstock)
Women have a better footing in analytics than any other STEM field.
Nearly half of all analytics professionals are women. I’ve got plenty of numbers to back that up claim, you can find many of them in my article, The STEM Profession that Women Dominate.
Yet many people are under the impression that women in analytics are a rarity. What’s up?
I believe that two things are causing lower visibility for women in the field than men today. The first is the complex mix of cultural norms that holds women back throughout society. The second is the rise of the “data science” culture, which is dominated by men from the computer sciences.
Computing is the only STEM field that has experienced a long-term decline in women’s participation; it would be a tragedy to allow those attitudes to overtake our profession. I believe we should act now to prevent that computing culture from redefining analytics, not only because of sexism in the computing culture, but also because analytics practices in the computing community are poor.
On a personal level, I have made it a personal mission to promote women in analytics.
It seems ridiculous that an industry that’s half women would need any special effort to promote them. But I have been seeing conferences with few women speakers, false claims of shortages of women in analytics, and employers making stupid excuses for failing to hire women. I have focused on profiling accomplished women in analytics, as a resource for meeting planners and others.
You can find my first 425 profiles of accomplished women in analytics on LinkedIn, which includes a list of 262 women authors of analytics books. Profiles of 50 more outstanding women in analytics appear in articles I’ve written for Forbes:
Meet 9 Women Leading The Pack In Data Analytics Meet 5 Fabulous Women Leading The Way In Social Media Analytics 8 Female Analytics Experts From The Fortune 500 Get To Know 25 Women Leading Data And Analytics In The US Government Follow These 3 Women To Get The Lowdown On Data Analytics
A handful of women have become well known and popular in the “data science” community. More power to them, but concerns me that thousands of other equally accomplished women all but invisible in those circles.
I’d love to see more of my colleagues join me to spread the word about the more of the huge pool of capable women in the analytics industry.
As for high level points for a “women in analytics” conference, here are some things I’d suggest:
Getting the word out that a woman in analytics is as common as a man in analytics Examining the places where women should be visible, such as publishing, conferences for academia and industry, and media. Exploring ways to promote women’s opportunities in these and other channels Providing career development guidance and help to women Identifying and addressing discriminatory and sexist behavior against women in analytics. Helping employers and others to take positive corrective action Public relations: the public image of analytics should be dominated by expert data analysts, not mere programmers with big databases
I could go on all day.
Dear readers, if you care about women in analytics, or better yet, diversity of all kinds in the profession, please take a few minutes of your time today and post about an analytics professional who deserves more recognition. Do it here in the comments, on twitter, in your blog, anywhere that feels right to you. Just do it today.
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821c37f5f8d4393d6b2aa5f667383081 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/metabrown/2017/06/28/you-can-get-a-data-analytics-job-without-a-masters-in-data-science/ | You Can Get A Data Analytics Job Without A Masters In Data Science | You Can Get A Data Analytics Job Without A Masters In Data Science
Graduate school isn't the only path to an analytics career. (Image: Shutterstock)
A lot of people reach out to me. They needs jobs. But they’re asking about school.
Education is a pathway to employment, understanding and enjoyment. Still, there’s a time to leave school behind and live your life.
When people come asking for career advice, I always encourage them to define goals and look for the easiest and least costly ways to reach those goals. Since graduate school is neither easy nor cheap, I don’t encourage anyone to attend unless there’s a special and compelling reason (such as a desire to become a college professor, one of the few jobs that absolutely requires a graduate degree).
If you want a career in analytics, and you have a college degree, then I encourage you to get out there and look for a job in analytics.
I’ve spent a lot of time recently combing through job ads that use the term “data science” or “data scientist.” And I have a lot of good news to report:
Job listings are plentiful A diverse range of employers are hiring A generous majority of the job descriptions do not require a graduate degree
All of this hints that a person with a Bachelor’s degree, some worthwhile industry experience, and skills in statistics or programming gained through work experience, formal or self-study has a chance to get into the data science game right now while it’s hot.
Most current data science job descriptions don't require a graduate degree. (Image: Shutterstock)
The funny thing is, people are starting to get mad that I won’t encourage them to go back to school.
Ten years ago, there was no such thing as a Masters in Data Science. Now, there are dozens of programs in the United States, and many more around the world. Marketing for data science graduate programs is so aggressive that at least one has been running ads on the sides of public transit buses in my neighborhood.
Yet, I’ve searched through scads of job descriptions, including many from big name tech companies reputed to pay astronomical salaries. Some call for graduate degrees, but not one specifically required a Masters in Data Science. Few even mention it.
And here’s something to ponder. The higher level positions at those glamorous companies, the ones that pay the most, frequently demand a Ph. D. and significant experience, not just in analytics, but also in management.
No doubt you can learn a lot in many of these new Masters programs, and I am all for learning. I could personally vouch for the knowledge and good intentions of professionals involved in the development and teaching of at least four analytics graduate programs in my hometown of Chicago alone.
But that learning comes at a cost of both time and money, and the cost isn’t worth it for everybody. The question is, are the costs justified, not for just anybody, but for you specifically?
So, you have to ask:
What job can I expect to land upon graduation? What are the pay and other benefits of that job? What will I sacrifice to earn this degree? Might I reach the same level of career success through other paths?
Forbes’ Bernard Marr recently published a list of the six best Masters in Data Science degrees. They’re best, in his professional opinion, and he knows a lot about the trade, so I will take it at face value that each one offers great opportunities to learn and earn, some of the best in the industry.
Tuition is just the beginning. Graduate school costs also include living expenses, often in... [+] expensive communities. (Image: Shutterstock)
I did some reading about each of Marr’s recommended degrees. If you hope to get one of those, prepare to pay. Tuition and fees to earn the Masters ranged from about $55,000 to $78,000. That’s not including the cost of books, transportation, and 1-2 years of living expenses in expensive communities such as New York, Boston or San Francisco.
Now, I went to graduate school, and that’s led some people to question my motives for discouraging others from doing the same. So let me tell you some of what I observed as a graduate student.
People drop out. People get sidetracked with work or family concerns, driving up the cost of their education. Unbelievably talented hardworking people sometimes study for years yet never finish graduate school. It makes me sick to think of my classmates who never completed a graduate degree, because every one of them was my equal in intellect and effort if not better.
And even those who graduate and get good jobs with attractive starting salaries don’t always do so well in the long run.
But, Marr says that average starting salaries for those in the best programs are over $100,000 and I believe him. That’s a great motivator. You might feel that it’s worth spending a lot for a degree that will bring you such a salary, and I could not argue with that.
But I could point out that not everyone with a data scientist job title makes that kind of money. Glassdoor employee surveys report a salary range from $76-146,000 nationally, and that includes professionals with a wide range of education and experience. Here in Chicago, the pay is lower: $64-113,000. Payscale surveys show a similarly wide range of earnings, $62-146,000 nationally.
Your education and experience prior to graduate school will still matter when hiring time comes.
One student at a well-respected program explained her dilemma. Late in her final term, she had not yet received a single offer. She was a good student, and had completed the same coursework as all of her classmates. But her previous career in the nonprofit world was not a selling point. In the end, she did secure a job, but employers weren’t fighting to get her.
If a job (or a better job) is what you need, pick yourself up and make every effort to get a job. If you want to get into analytics, brainstorm all the ways you might get a start and find the path that gets you in as quickly and cheaply as possible. Graduate school has its merits, but it’s not going to magically change your life.
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4588859ef1f006b4f8218100674c5a24 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/metabrown/2017/09/30/one-inspiring-software-developer-and-why-accessibility-matters/ | One Inspiring Software Developer, And Why Accessibility Matters | One Inspiring Software Developer, And Why Accessibility Matters
Software accessibility opens computing even to those who are blind or visually impaired. (Image:... [+] Shutterstock)
Software developer Tuukka Ojala recently posted about how he works without the benefit of sight. Ojala, who is almost totally blind, explains how he does his work with the help of a braille keyboard and display, and synthetic speech.
His situation is not unique. A Stack Overflow thread asking how blind people program includes responses from people all over the world, complete with thoughts on which tools are best suited to blind programmers, as well as technology under development.
That particular thread is a few years old and surely outdated now, but much more has been published in the meanwhile, like Parham Doustdar's Tools of a Blind Programmer, and Saqib Shaikh’s YouTube video demonstrating how he programs.
Software developers don’t always show a lot of interest in accessibility. It’s something you might not appreciate until you encounter a blind user deftly navigating your program or website.
When I shared Tuukka Ojala’s post on LinkedIn, it drew more attention than just about anything else I’ve shared. It’s an uplifting story of living a productive everyday life in spite of an extraordinary challenge.
It’s also a nice success story for software accessibility and how it opens the door to computing for many people. This is no edge case: worldwide, 39 million people are blind, and 246 million have low vision.
For me, though, these stories are also a reminder of an inspiring tech industry success story from my college days.
One man who worked in the Rutgers University computer lab drew my attention again and again. I didn’t know him. At first, I could not even have said why I noticed him.
He often walked down the corridor that led to the room where students worked at computer terminals, then paused at the entrance looking around. Was he looking for a particular student, or another staff member?
Why did this one man stand out from others walking down the same corridor, and standing in the same doorway?
After a while, I came to understand.
As he walked, and as he stood, he whistled. That alone was unusual, but the whistling was not what made him remarkable.
He was blind.
He walked gracefully without the help of another person, a dog, or a cane. He navigated by the sound of his own voice, the sound of his whistle indicating to him the location of doorways and large spaces.
When he seemed to look around a room, he was really listening around the room.
It was his job to help us learn computer programming.
Students would come to him with printouts from computing homework gone wrong. They pointed at the problem spots on the printouts. “Read it to me,” he’d say, as they waved the paper in a panic. They did read, and the man did help.
He worked with such grace that many of the students he helped never realized that he was blind.
He did this without any of the resources that today’s visually impaired programmers use. There were no screen readers, no special languages. Software accessibility was unheard of.
He taught classes, too.
I took one of his classes, on the hairy topic of IBM Job Control Language (if you’ve never heard of it, you’re lucky). He wrote code on a blackboard. As he taught, he erased bits of what he’d written earlier, and made changes. For changes, he sometimes asked for a bit of guidance from the class to get the spot just right.
I’d like to tell you his name, but I don’t remember it. What I remember is his poise, his professionalism, and the example he set of working through programming challenges in a calm and methodical way. I have a feeling he’d be happy with that.
Still, I believe he’d be even happier to know of progress in technology that has made it possible for so many others to become programmers, too.
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be93139ee4419d1b2f2661115e3bb829 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/metabrown/2018/03/31/get-to-know-relational-and-nosql-databases-that-power-big-data-analytics/ | Get To Know Relational And NoSQL Databases That Power Big Data Analytics | Get To Know Relational And NoSQL Databases That Power Big Data Analytics
Graph databases help retailers make fast and relevant product suggestions.(Image: Shutterstock)
The evolving landscape of NoSQL databases and NoSQL database management systems (NoSQL DBMS) has everything to do with Big Data analytics.
If you want to know what’s what in Big Data analytics today, you’ve got to know the basics of NoSQL databases , and how appropriate NoSQL databases facilitate Big Data analytics.
What are the most common databases?
You may encounter a lot of buzz about NoSQL databases such as HBase, MongoDB or Cassandra. Yet despite the buzz and genuine value of NOSQL databases for appropriate applications, the most popular database products are still conventional relational databases.
The most popular database products today, as reported by DB Engines rankings, are the relational databases Oracle, MySQL and Microsoft SQL Server. Six of the top ten databases today are relational databases.
Relational databases have many good qualities for data analytics:
Relational databases use “metadata,” information that describes the data, providing information about the data source, data collection methods and meaning Tabular structure keeps data well organized, accessible, and relatively easy for people to view and understand In relational databases, the exact kind and quantity of data is always known
Relational databases are well-suited to conventional data analysis such as reporting and classical statistical analysis (what you learned in the college Statistics 101 class, for example).
In fact, relational databases are the only reasonable choice to support most everyday reporting and conventional statistical analysis applications. Yet many rising analytics applications don’t fit those categories.
What is a NoSQL database?
NoSQL databases don’t use the normalized data model found in relational databases. In other words, they don’t organize data in tables, rows and columns.
As the name suggests, NoSQL databases usually do not use the SQL query language for data access. They use alternative languages which are suited to their data models.
Why are NoSQL Databases important for Big Data analytics?
Databases that work best for classical statistical analysis may be utterly dysfunctional for Big Data analytics applications. Big Data, that is data which pushes the limits of conventional data management technology, is difficult or impossible to manage with relational databases.
In fact, that’s pretty much the definition of Big Data. It’s data that, due to quantity and other characteristics, can’t be managed effectively with conventional relational databases.
NoSQL databases (also called “Not Only SQL databases”) may be a better fit than relational databases if you face one or more of these concerns:
The data has little, or inconsistent, structure The data must be distributed across more than one machine Speed is more important than accuracy The application requires data types or analysis methods that common databases handle poorly
Think of NoSQL databases when you need to deal with web or other internet data volume and real-time analytics applications.
What types of NoSQL databases are available?
NoSQL Databases are available in many and diverse varieties tailored for differing data collection and Big Data analytics applications:
Content Store (content repository): large, complex data formats like video, audio
[Here’s more information about Content Store databases.]
Document Store: semi-structured data like registration forms, business correspondence, journal articles
[Here’s more information about Document Store databases.]
Event Store: tracking events in real time
[Here’s more information about Event Store databases.]
Graph: finding connections among people and things
[Here’s more information about Graph databases.]
Key Value (associative array, data structure, dictionary, hash): simple structure, flexibility, scalability
[Here’s more information about Key Value databases.]
Multivalue (NF2, non-first normal form systems): complex data structures with schemas similar to relational database model
[Here’s more information about Multivalue databases.]
Navigational: hierarchical (one to many) or network (many to many) data structure
[Here’s more information about Navigational databases.]
Object Oriented: model data as objects, similar to object-oriented programming
[Here’s more information about Object Oriented databases.]
RDF Store (Resource Description Framework, Semantic Graph Databases, or Triple Stores): information processing in applications that connect multiple data sources
[Here’s more information about RDF Store databases.]
Search Engine: finding information in documents
[Here’s more information about Search Engine databases.]
Time Series: time series data
[Here’s more information about Time Series databases.]
Wide Column Store (column families, columnar databases, column-oriented DBMS): scalability, distributed systems
[Here’s more information about Wide Column Store databases.]
XML (Native XML Database or Native XML DBMS): data in XML format or varied complex formats like audio or video
[Here’s more information about XML databases.]
Finally, multi-model databases include more than one of these styles.
Are NoSQL databases the way of the future?
Don’t expect NOSQL databases to eclipse relational databases. A NoSQL database that perfectly suits a real-time app may not even function for traditional statistics. So both relational and NoSQL databases have valuable roles in data analytics.
The right choice of NoSQL database enables your Big Data analytics application to deliver Big Data analytics results rapidly and effectively. The wrong database, or poor implementation, can utterly undermine your work.
So get to know what’s what with NoSQL databases to suit your own Big Data analytics needs.
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4715c8241dd990fb8281ee853eb62e37 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/mfonobongnsehe/2011/08/02/the-best-african-mobile-apps-icow/ | The Best African Mobile Apps: iCow | The Best African Mobile Apps: iCow
iCow
More than ever before, technology is transforming Africa and unlocking its potential. As the rest of the world leapfrogs in technological innovation, African software developers are doing the same. They’re creating ground-breaking, cutting-edge mobile technologies to solve African problems in communities closest to them. The Best African Mobile Apps will be a regular feature in which I will profile the best mobile apps from Africa - just like iCow.
In 2010 the U.S Department of State sponsored Apps 4 Africa, an East African regional competition designed to highlight the talent of local developers and to leverage the power of mobile technology to help solve some of Africa’s most nagging problems. The region has a lot of savvy developers and tech geeks, so as expected, several hundred applications flowed in.
The winning App was iCow- the world's first mobile phone cow calendar!
So, what is iCow?
iCow is an SMS (text message) and voice-based mobile phone application for small-scale dairy farmers in Kenya. It’s something of a virtual veterinary midwife, helping farmers track the estrus stages of their cows, while giving them valuable tips on cow breeding, animal nutrition, milk production efficiency and gestation. Each text message costs about 10 Kenyan shillings, or 10 U.S. cents.
According to iCow’s website, the app "Prompts farmers on vital days of cows gestation period; helps farmers find the nearest vet and AI providers; collects and stores farmer milk and breeding records and sends farmers best dairy practices." The text messages and voice prompts are sent to customers within the 365-day cow cycle, and the app is designed to run on both low-end and high-end mobile phones.
It’s pretty easy to get on to iCow. Farmers first register for the app on their phones by sending a message to a phone number. See here. Afterwards, the farmers key in important information about their cows, such as expected calving date and the weight of the cow. The farmers then start receiving timely and tailored messages, advice and information.
iCow aims to reduce cow mortality rates, produce healthier and more robust calves, and ultimately provide improved financial returns for the farmers.
iCow officially launched operations in June this year. In the past two months, thousands of farmers across Kenya have already downloaded the App.
“The wonderful thing with iCow is that by the time you have used the app and adhered to all the instructions, your cows end up healthier, bigger and stronger. They can easily fetch you more money in the marketplace. Every smart farmer will use iCow,” said Kariuki Githinji, a small-scale farmer based in Nyeri , a mid-sized town in the central highlands of Kenya.
iCow intends to spread it wings to neighboring East African countries, and maybe someday, iCow might go global. Maybe.
What are your favorite African Mobile Apps? Send me your thoughts on mnsehe (at) forbes.com.
Follow me on Twitter @EmperorDIV
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616e39e84a16cde62f9f7ff50a7ad20b | https://www.forbes.com/sites/mfonobongnsehe/2011/08/18/the-20-youngest-power-women-in-africa/ | The 20 Youngest Power Women In Africa | The 20 Youngest Power Women In Africa
As a response to one of Forbes' more popular pieces, The 20 Youngest Power Women, I decided to compile my own list of The 20 Youngest Power Women In Africa.
Gallery: The 20 Youngest Power African Women 18 images View gallery
Of course, this is by no means an official or an exhaustive list. But these are 20 women, all under age 45, who wield enormous influence in African business, technology, policy and media. They are change makers, trendsetters, visionaries and thinkers, builders, and young global leaders. They are at the vanguard of Africa’s imminent socio-economic revolution and its contemporary renaissance.
Ory Okolloh Kenyan. Founder, Ushahidi
A Harvard-trained lawyer, activist and blogger, Kenyan-born Ory Okolloh spearheaded the founding of Ushahidi, a revolutionary crowd sourcing utility that enables citizen journalists and eyewitnesses all over the world to report incidences of violence through the web, mobile E-mail, SMS, and Twitter. Earlier this year, Okolloh assumed a new position as Google’s policy manager for Africa, and she is widely acknowledged as one of the most influential women in global technology.
Chimamanda Adichie Nigerian. Writer
One of Africa’s leading contemporary literary voices, the Award-winning Nigerian writer has been heralded as a rebirth of the African literary greats - the likes of Chinua Achebe, Camara Laye and Cyprian Ekwensi. In 2006 her second novel, Half of a Yellow Sun, won the coveted Orange Prize, and Chinua Achebe (widely regarded as the father of African literature) said of Adichie: She’s “endowed with the gift of ancient storytellers…”
Yolanda Cuba South African. Corporate Executive
When Yolanda Cuba was only 29, she was appointed CEO of Mvelaphanda Group, a conglomerate listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange. She stepped down last year, but still remains one of South Africa’s most respected and sought-after business leaders. She serves on the boards of South African blue-chips like ABSA, Steinhoff and Life Healthcare.
Ndidi Nwuneli Nigerian. Social Entrepreneur
Ndidi founded LEAP Africa - a leading nonprofit that provides social entrepreneurs, youth and small scale business owners with leadership training and executive coaching services. She is also a co-founder of AACE Foods, a Nigerian food processor. Ndidi is a leading authority on social entrepreneurship and in 2004 was bestowed with the national honor, Member of the Federal Republic (MFR) by the Nigerian President at the time, Olusegun Obasanjo.
Dambisa Moyo Zambian. Economist
The Zambian-born economist and New York Times international best-selling author. Her most recent book is Dead Aid: Why Aid Is Not Working. She is one of Africa’s most vocal advocates for the abolition of foreign aid. In March 2011, during the annual Observance ceremony in commemoration of the Commonwealth Day in Westminster Abbey, Moyo addressed an audience of some 2,000 guests including Queen Elizabeth II and British Prime Minister David Cameron. She sits on the board of Barclays Bank, SABMiller and Lundin Petroleum.
Khanyi Ndhlomo South African. Media Mogul
One of South Africa’s most respected media moguls. She owns Ndalo Media, which publishes Destiny Magazine and Destiny Man, two thriving high-end magazines that combine business and lifestyle content to cater to successful, professional, stylish and intellectually curious men and women.
Phuti Malabie South African. CEO, Shanduka Group
In 2008, the Wall Street Journal named Phuti as one of 50 women in the world to watch. In 2007, she was selected by the World Economic Forum as a Global Young Leader. Malabie currently serves as CEO of the Shanduka Group; one of South Africa’s largest African black owned and managed investment holding companies.
Funmi Iyanda Nigerian. Journalist & Broadcaster
Iyanda is a multi-award-winning journalist, broadcaster and blogger. She is the host of Talk With Funmi, a popular TV show that journeys through Nigeria, from state to state, capturing people and conversations around the country. She is an African Leadership Institute Tutu Fellow and a fellow of the ASPEN Institute’s African Leadership Initiative.
Isis Nyongo Kenyan. Managing Director, InMobi Africa
Isis Nyongo is the Vice President and Managing Director of InMobi, the world’s largest independent mobile advertising network. Prior to her appointment earlier this year, Isis served as the Business Development Manager for Google’s operation in Africa. She spearheaded mobile partnerships and played a pivotal role in the development of Google’s content strategy in Africa.
Bethlehem Tilahun Alemu Ethiopian. Entrepreneur
Ethiopian-born entrepreneur was recently named the ‘African Businesswoman of the Year’ by African Business Magazine, a leading pan African business magazine. She is the founder of Sole Rebels, a brand of eco-friendly shoes and sandals made in Ethiopia. She was also named a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum earlier this year.
Elsie Kanza Tanzania. Economic Advisor To Tanzania’s President
Kanza is currently an assistant and an economic advisor to Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete. She’s been selected by the World Economic Forum as a Young Global Leader.
Julie Gichuru Kenyan. Journalist & Broadcaster
One of Kenya’s most popular veteran journalists, with 11 years experience in broadcast, print and online media. She is currently an executive of Citizen TV, Kenya, and is a recipient of the Martin Luther King Salute to Greatness Award.
Lisa Kropman, South African, Entrepreneur
Lisa Kropman is founder of The Business Place, a group of business centers that support up-and-coming African entrepreneurs in Southern Africa.
Stella Kilonzo Kenyan. Chief Executive, Capital Markets Authority, Kenya
Since 2008 Kilonzo, a trained accountant and administrator, has served as the Chief Executive of Kenya’s Capital Markets Authority.
Magatte Wade Senegal. Entrepreneur
The Senegalese entrepreneur founded Adina World Beat Beverages, a manufacturer of tea, coffee and juice beverages. The company is based in California, and boasted revenues of close to $2.5 million in 2010. Wade is a TED Global Africa Fellow.
Jonitha Gugu Msibi South Africa. Senior Partner, Ernst & Young
Gugu Msibi is a Senior Partner at Ernst & Young where she serves as the Public Sector and Government leader in Africa. She is a key adviser to several government leaders in Africa. Was named a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum in 2011.
June Arunga Kenyan. Entrepreneur
In 2010, Fast Company named June Arunga as one of the 100 most creative people in business. Arunga is the founder and Chief Executive of Open Quest Media, a successful multimedia production company based in New York.
Juliet Ehimuan Nigerian. Google country manager, Nigeria
In April Nigerian-born Ehimuan was appointed as Google’s country manager for Nigeria. Tough job: As head of Google’s operations in Africa’s largest internet-user community, she is charged with the responsibility of representing the company in all its business development projects and partnership opportunities in the region.
Olga Kimani-Arara Kenyan. Google Country Manager, Kenya
Olga serves as Google’s local spokesperson in Kenya and develops strategic partnerships for the company in the region.
Saran Kaba Jones Liberian. Founder, Face Africa
A Liberian national, Saran Kaba Jones is the founder of Face Africa, a non-profit organization that provides access to clean and safe drinking water for rural communities in Liberia, using an innovative social enterprise model to fund water projects. Face Africa was launched in 2009, and has provided clean water to thousands of rural Liberians.
Who are your African heroes? Email me at mnsehe@forbes.com. Follow me on Twitter @EmperorDIV
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436684aebb8663d270071a31d6e5f51a | https://www.forbes.com/sites/mfonobongnsehe/2012/06/04/plane-crash-in-nigeria-kills-152-passengers/ | Plane Crash In Nigeria Kills 152 Passengers | Plane Crash In Nigeria Kills 152 Passengers
Dana Air Crash (AP Photo, Sunday Alamba)
It was a black Sunday for Nigeria as a plane belonging to Dana Air, a privately-owned commercial airline, crashed into three residential properties in Iju-Agege, a densely populated residential area in Lagos, the country’s economic hub, killing all 152 passengers on board as well as several other residents on the ground.
The aircraft, an MD-83 twinjet, was inbound from the capital of Abuja to Lagos, when it crashed at around 15:43 Nigeria time. The flight is believed to have lost an engine mid-air, and the pilot of the plane is reported to have called for emergency landing while making futile, frantic efforts to sustain the aircraft with the remaining functional engine.
The chief executive of Dana Air, Jacky Hathiramani, said in a press statement available on Dana Air’s website that the airline is "deeply saddened" by the crash and promised the airline would do everything to assist the relatives of the victims of the crash. The airline has suspended all commercial flights and closed its offices in Abuja to allow Nigerian officials and international experts from the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigate the cause of the crash. Among the victims of the fatal incident are an American pilot, an Indian pilot, a flight engineer from Indonesia and six Chinese citizens.
Speculations are rife that the 21 year-old aircraft was not fit for travel. The twinjet apparently had a history of mechanical faults long before its original owners, America’s Alaska Airlines, sold it to Dana Airlines in February 2009. According to news reports, the MD-83 was involved in a minor safety incident in August 2006 among others when Alaska Airlines operated the plane. The plane also had very recent mechanical hiccups which were allegedly treated with laxity by management of Dana air. Just two weeks ago, the plane had a landing gear problem in Uyo, in the south of Nigeria. The plane also developed a hydraulic problem midair and had to make emergency landing three weeks ago in Lagos.
The plane in question had been under repair for several weeks, and according to newspaper reports, the airline’s station manager had vehemently protested its use, but the Indian management of the company insisted that the plane fly its passengers nevertheless- an ill-advised decision that appears to have resulted in Sunday’s tragedy. Dana Air is a subsidiary of the Dana Group of companies, a $2 billion (annual sales) Nigerian conglomerate with interests in manufacturing, construction, transportation, chemicals and motoring. The group is owned by a prominent Indian family led by its chairman, Ramesh Hathiramani.
Meanwhile, Nigeria’s President Goodluck Jonathan, who visited the crash site Monday, has declared three days of mourning. In the light of the crash, Nigerian digital activists on Twitter and Facebook have also called on the government to closely monitor Dana Group’s business operations in Nigeria.
As at press time, over 90 unrecognizable corpses had been recovered from the crash site and deposited at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital.
When I contacted Dana Air for a response, an official of the airline asked me to check on their website for an official statement.
Follow me on Twitter @EmperorDIV
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c3655b7d76f202f808700bb290059165 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/mfonobongnsehe/2012/06/19/twitter-activated-vending-machine-launched-in-south-africa/ | Twitter-Activated Vending Machine Launched In South Africa | Twitter-Activated Vending Machine Launched In South Africa
(Photo credit: Wikipedia)
South African beverage company BOS Ice Tea has launched what may well be the world’s first Twitter-activated vending machine, according to website Memeburn.
The BOS ice tea vending machine is called ‘BEV’ and is currently standing at Wembley Square in Cape Town. Anyone who sends a tweet to the machine while standing in front of it will receive a free sample of BOS Ice Tea, a popular organic beverage made in South Africa from Rooibos, an indigenous plant which locals have used to make traditional tea for hundreds of years. Its manufacturers boast that BOS Iced Tea is a 'deliciously refreshing organic ice tea made entirely in South Africa with enormous integrity and care.’
South Africans are more active on Twitter than people from any other country in Africa, according to a study issued in January by Portland Communications and Tweetminster.
Nur Bremmen, a tech writer at Memeburn, gives a brilliant and vivid description of how the vending machine works:
The BOS ice tea robot, called BEV, connects to the Twitter Streaming API and registers the configured hashtag as a filter. All tweets containing the hashtag on the entire Twitter network are then streamed to the BOS sampling machine. It then checks every Tweet’s location settings, and compares it with its own location boundaries (also configurable). When a Tweet is found to be within the boundaries, a drink is dispensed, and the machine deactivates itself for set period. During this time, the screen name field of the tweet is displayed on the LED display, alternated every five seconds by the number of seconds left before the machine becomes active again.
BEV is a marketing campaign devised by Cow Africa, a leading South African marketing company.
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0468a4710493bad5bc845d27435beb47 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/mfonobongnsehe/2012/08/20/africas-savannah-fund-and-googles-eric-schmidt-invest-in-binu-mobile-via-2-million-round/ | Africa's Savannah Fund And Google's Eric Schmidt Invest In Binu Mobile Via $2 Million Round | Africa's Savannah Fund And Google's Eric Schmidt Invest In Binu Mobile Via $2 Million Round
Savannah Fund, a new African venture capital outfit founded by Erik Hersman, Paul Bragiel and Mbwana Alliy, has contributed to a $2 million fundraising round for biNu mobile, a mobile app platform that brings iPhone-like experiences to low-end smartphones and feature phones.
Savannah Fund invested in biNu alongside TomorrowVentures, an investment firm founded by Google’s billionaire Executive Chairman, Eric Schmidt, and a few other investors.
biNu was founded 18 months ago in Australia by Dave Turner and Gour Lentell- Australian entrepreneurs with several years of experience in the technology, wireless and Internet industries. Since then, biNu has amassed over 4 million active monthly users around the world, of which 1 million are in Africa.
More than half of the world’s population owns a mobile phone, but less than half of that number have regular access to a computer and the Internet. In Africa, over 100 million people access the Internet through their mobile phones, even with all its inconveniences- small screens, tiny keyboards, limited hardware capacity and slower, yet expensive wireless networks. It’s usually individuals with sophisticated smartphones who easily gain access to the Internet. People with low-end mobiles aren’t as privileged.
BiNu’s model is as simple as it is exciting. The company developed a patented software platform that delivers Internet apps and services such as Facebook, Twitter, Wikipedia, live sports scores and news to low-end phones on 2G (GPRS / EDGE) with quick response times and efficient use of network bandwidth.
BiNu is built for speed. According to information available on its website, biNu "processes all application logic on 'back-end' servers, transmits end-user data efficiently over wireless networks, minimises processing on a user’s mobile device and responds instantly through extensive pre-caching and caching of data."
Savannah Fund, an African-focused accelerator fund, was officially launched in June this year and aims to find and invest in early stage, high growth web and mobile startups addressing the Sub-Saharan Africa market. The fund typically makes investments in the $25,000 to $500,000 region.
While Savannah Fund’s mandate is to invest in African tech startups and companies, it comes as a surprise that its first investment is in an Australian company. On why Savannah opted to look outside Africa for its first inaugural investment, Mbwana Alliy, a founding partner of the fund, said that Savannah Fund will invest in any company around the world that serves an African user base.
“Yes, biNu is an Australian company, but the company has over 1 million of its users in Africa. Africa is one of the high growth areas they will focus on. There are a lot of synergies for us to add value together and also serve entrepreneurs in Africa who need to distribute content to Africans. Ideally Africans are best positioned to create companies serving Africans but that's not always the case. BiNu is able to get 1M users in Africa being in Australia- that's fantastic and we will help them grow more in Africa which benefits Africans,” Alliy said via email correspondence. Alliy did not disclose what portio of the $2 million Savannah Fund invested.
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44fa7a178d058e8a1a3ced4328e4eddb | https://www.forbes.com/sites/mfonobongnsehe/2012/09/07/the-ten-most-innovative-companies-in-africa/?sh=7dfe88353486 | The Ten Most Innovative Companies In Africa | The Ten Most Innovative Companies In Africa
FORBES recently published its annual list of the World’s Most Innovative Companies. For some reason, Africa was not represented on the list. So when FORBES writer Samantha Sharf did a story on the Ten Most Innovative Companies In America, I decided to make a list of Africa’s most innovative companies.
Admittedly, this is a subjective list, but I believe it to be quite accurate. Here are ten truly African companies, all leading in industries ranging from media and telecommunications to retail and restaurants and food & beverages. These ten companies continually reinvent themselves, setting industry standards and radically changing their sectors. These companies create, then recreate, then innovate. They exploit new ideas, products and services to produce dynamic and lucrative new businesses.
Without further ado, I present to you my personal Top 10 Most Innovative Companies in Africa:
Safaricom, Kenya
Industry: Telecommunications
East Africa’s largest mobile telecommunications provider easily ranks as the most innovative company in sub-Saharan Africa. Reason: M-Pesa, Africa’s first SMS-based money transfer service. In 2007, Safaricom launched M-Pesa (M for mobile and Pesa- a Swahili word for money) which lets users deposit, transfer and withdraw funds via text message. A subscriber who wants to send money across simply visits a registered M-Pesa agent with the money and the phone number of the recipient. For a fee of a little over $1, the agent sets up a virtual account for the subscriber, credits the account with the money, and then sends the amount to the recipient’s account. A subscriber can send money even to a recipient on a different mobile network, who can cash it at any M-Pesa agent simply by presenting an ID and entering a secret code. Safaricom also pioneered a service which offers subscribers airtime on credit, introduced the payment of utility bills through the M-Pesa platform and also runs a robust customer loyalty award programe.
Nando’s, South Africa
Industry: Food & Beverages
Since opening its first restaurant in 1987, Nandos has expanded to over a thousand locations in 30 countries on five continents. Its success secrets may well lie in its marketing: Nando’s’ numerous provocative yet witty commercials, such as an ad featuring a dimwitted busty blonde and another which depicted Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe reflecting on happy moments he enjoyed with fallen dictators such as Colonel Gaddafi and Saddam Hussein have made Nando’s’ flagship flame-grilled Peri-Peri chicken a hit among Africa’s young and hip. Nando’s meals are premised on traditional Mozambiquan-Portuguese dietary patterns and spices such as the ‘Pili Pili’. The company also manufactures a range of sauces which are sold in Nando's restaurants and in supermarkets.
In 2010, Advertising Age magazine named Nando's as one of the world's top 30 hottest marketing brands. Nando's also promises to allow anyone to eat free for life if they can prove they have been to all the Nando's restaurants.
Nation Media Group, Kenya
Industry: Media & Entertainment
East Africa’s largest media group is subtly transforming itself into an internet and financial services powerhouse. Between 2009 and now, the Nation Media group has launched N-Soko, a classifieds site which competes with Craigslist in Kenya, Twende Twende- Kenya’s first online travel site and Nation Hela, an international money transfer service which allows Kenyans in the Diaspora remit money to their families at home online.
The group’s flagship publication, Daily Nation is the highest-circulating newspaper in the East and Central African region. Daily circulation: 210,000. Its Business Daily newspaper is East Africa’s most popular business journal and its Television and radio stations consistently rank among the most popular among African viewers and listeners.
MTN, South Africa
Industry: Telecommunications
In 2011, Africa’s largest mobile telecoms operator introduced its MobileMoney Insurance solution, Mi-Life insurance which provides money in the event of death of the subscriber or the next of kin. The Premium payment for insurance is deducted from the subscriber’s MTN Mobile Money wallet once per month. The service is available to the network’s subscribers in Ghana. MTN also wins innovation points for its MTN InternetOnTV, a device that allows users to browse the web from their TV at 3G speeds and MTN Traveller, a mobile App that allows mobile users to browse for, and book accommodation and car rental services using their phones.
Econet, Zimbabwe
Industry: Telecommunications
Zimbabwe’s dominant mobile telecommunications company boasts lucrative operations in Zimbabwe, Botswana, Lesotho, Burundi and Rwanda and even owns a 3G license in New Zealand. Now, Econet is looking to build Africa’s largest solar power company. Last November Econet launched the Econet Power Station- a revolutionary solar power device which will allow individuals and families across Africa to light up their homes, charge their mobile phones and generally utilize energy at a relatively inexpensive cost compared to current solar energy devices currently available in Africa. Also, Econet Wireless in South Africa recently introduced Carry Me Home- a death and repatriation insurance policy exclusively for Econet Call Home customers.
Iroko TV, Nigeria
Industry: Media & Entertainment
Iroko TV did not invent Nollywood- Nigeria’s immensely popular movie industry, but the Nigerian-based company helped revolutionize and glamorize it. Iroko TV, which has been dubbed the ‘Netflix of Africa’, is the world’s largest digital distributor of African movies. Leveraging on an on-demand TV platform, Nollywood Lovers around the world can watch the latest Nigerian movies by paying a fee of only $5 a month. IrokoTV typically buys the digital rights to the movies from Producers and currently has a catalogue of over 5,000 films and over 500,000 registered users.
Woolworths, South Africa
Industry: Retail
One of South Africa’s largest retailers, Woolworths sells everything from food and clothing to homeware and electronics. The retail giant is also an emerging player in South Africa’s financial services scene. Through a joint venture with Absa Bank, Woolworths offers financial services such as loans, debit cards and home insurance solutions to its customers. Woolworths also manufactures its own brand of everything from sliced bread to grape juices and ice cream.
Pick n Pay, South Africa
Industry: Retail
South Africa’s pre-eminent fast moving consumer goods retailer has a portfolio of 450 stores in South Africa, Zambia, Mauritius and Mozambique and a staff strength of 45,000 people.
Pick n Pay was among the earliest retail outlets in sub-Saharan Africa to include financial services in its service offerings. Among other things, select Pick n Pay outlets offer credit facilities on large purchases (like appliances), free of deposit. Pick n Pay also has a thriving ticket resale service, a travel comparison site and lets customers play the lottery online. Also, in 2010, the South African retail giant became the first to offer customers wine bottled in the eco-friendly PET (Polyethylene Terephthalate).
East African Breweries, Kenya
Industry: Food & Beverages
East African Breweries is Kenya’s largest brewer. The Company produces, markets, distributes and sells an extensive portfolio of alcoholic beverages including its flagship beer brand, Tusker Beer and spirits such as Baileys, Smirnoff and Black Label. The Company also produces and distributes soft drinks such as Alvaro and Malta Guinness in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania.
Famous Brands, South Africa
Industry: Food & Beverages
Famous Brands is Africa’s leading quick service and casual restaurant company. Famous Brands develops, operates and franchises restaurants which prepare, package and sell a menu of priced food items. Some of the restaurants under Famous Brands’ wings include Debonairs Pizza, Wimpy, Steers and FishAways. As of the 2010, the company's global footprint stood at 1,764 franchised restaurants spread across South Africa, 17 African countries and the United Kingdom.
Do you agree with my list? Talk to me on mnsehe (at) forbes.com. Follow me on Twitter @EmperorDIV
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90f5098663b2b0ef58af2707d5a55283 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/mfonobongnsehe/2012/10/01/meet-the-man-behind-triggerfish-africas-answer-to-dreamworks-disney-and-pixar/ | Meet The Man Behind Triggerfish, Africa's Answer To DreamWorks, Disney And Pixar | Meet The Man Behind Triggerfish, Africa's Answer To DreamWorks, Disney And Pixar
Stuart Forrest, CEO, Triggerfish
Earlier this year, Triggerfish Studios, a Cape Town-based animation studio released Zambezia, South Africa’s first full-length animated feature film. Zambezia tells the story of a young, naïve yet exuberant falcon who leaves the desolate desert where he lives with his father in pursuit of action and adventure in the famed bird city of Zambezia.
So far, the movie has been a modest success and has enjoyed significant critical acclaim. Zambezia has been screened in cinemas in over 50 countries, from Israel to Switzerland and France, and Triggerfish recently signed a distribution deal with Sony for rights in English-speaking territories.
Triggerfish is already concluding work on its second full-length animated feature, and plans are in the pipeline for a third. Triggerfish is already Africa’s largest animation studio, but Stuart Forrest, the owner and CEO of the company, is keen on growing his 3D animation studio into a behemoth entertainment enterprise - up there with Pixar, DreamWorks, Disney and the rest of the big boys. He told me about his dreams…
Take me back to the earliest beginning of Triggerfish Animation Studios. How did the idea come about, and how did you start out?
Triggerfish started out in 1996 and I joined them in 2003. As an aspiring stop-frame animator, Triggerfish was my dream place to work as they had secured some huge Sesame Street and Takalani Sesame commissions from international clients. I got a job there as a junior animator and worked my way up. We went through a difficult time when new technology was moving in on the traditional clay animation that Triggerfish was famous for. When the company became available for sale, I raised some money and bought it with my first business partner, James Middleton. Eventually we restructured the company as a computer generated animation studio and turned the business around.
I’m guessing it costs a tidy fortune to set up a world-class animation studio. How do you raise money to fund your operations?
We had a private investor who seeded the development of our first film, Zambezia, which enabled us to create a pilot. Once the pilot was created, we found a sales agent in Los Angeles (Cinema Management Group) who was willing to take it to market. Distributors reacted favorably, and we did quite a large amount of presales. We got a gap financier from LA (120dB Film Finances) to cashflow the presales. We also got some money from the National Film and Video Foundation of South Africa (NFVF). With that in place, we were able to get the remainder of the funding from the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC). As soon as we closed that deal, we started on our second film with the same process, although the second time we didn't need the LA money – the IDC cash flowed the presales.
Going forward we are speaking to potential investors in our efforts to move from a project-by-project funding model to securing slate financing for several films. Alongside this, we will build our gaming division, which will create digital content deeply integrated with our films’ intellectual property.
Last year, Triggerfish released Zambezia, its first feature movie, to critical acclaim. Tell me a little more about the movie (including the deal with Sony Pictures). How much did it cost to produce the movie?
The film is really a remarkable achievement from a remarkable team. We were able to hand pick the very best talent available in South Africa and I think everyone was surprised by just how good they were. Zambezia was made at a fraction of the budget of a normal studio film and it has performed very well in comparison to its much more resourced competition. We showed it publicly for the first time at the American Film Market in LA, and within a few days we were asked to deliver it to the Sony acquisitions people. It took a while to close the deal (with over 2,000 pages of legal documents!), but we are very happy with getting the support of such a prestigious distributor. Unfortunately, I’m not in a position to divulge production costs.
How much did Zambezia do at the box office?
To date, we've released in just a handful of markets. Notably, we did very well in Israel to become the Number 1 independent film of the summer, and at the time of writing, we have been in the Russian Top Ten for 5 weeks, reaching the Number 2 position in our second week, having released on 738 screens – which we believe is the widest release ever for an African film in that territory. Hundreds of thousands of people have been to see Zambezia and we are still in the early stages of its release. [Editor's note: Box Office Mojo shows Zambezia pulling in $4.8 million at the box office in Russia through Sept. 23]
Triggerfish is almost set to release its second animated feature, Khumba. Tell me about that.
Khumba is the heartwarming story of a zebra who is born with half his stripes in a herd where stripes are everything. It's full of great characters and is a great second film from a mature team who didn't sit back and rest on their achievements. They took advantage of everything they learned on the first film and built an exquisite world on screen.
How has the reception been to Triggerfish releases? Do Africans and the rest of the world get excited about indigenous animation productions?
We were very proud when Zambezia was selected for screening at the prestigious Annecy International Animation Film Festival – it was a huge accolade for us. We showed it at the Durban International Film Festival to local audiences for the first time and I was overwhelmed by the praise we received in the media - the film won the Best South African Feature Film category. I was concerned that locally we'd get a reserved response as South Africans are generally quite critical of local films, but we've had huge support. I think it is going to be a film phenomenon when it releases in South Africa this December. We hope that the continent gets behind us as we bring Africa’s unique creative voice to Hollywood and the world.
How many employees does Triggerfish have? How big is the company?
At its peak, we had 103 people working on site at our premises in Cape Town. I think it's the largest animation studio in Africa.
Give me an overview of the animation industry in Southern Africa today.
Compared to many filmmaking countries, we're still in our infancy. The majority of studios are small and vie for work from the commercials industry. There are a few players who have ventured into original storytelling, but commercials provide the bread-and-butter for nearly all of the studios. However, the industry has grown in leaps and bounds over the last 5 years. Throughout the country we probably have around 100 animation school graduates per year, and we're steadily building an industry.
What’s the future of the industry?
The global media and entertainment industry is a huge market. We believe the internet and digital distribution present massive opportunities for independent studios to get closer to their audiences. We’re also excited by what we see in the casual and online gaming space as the internet brings multiple opportunities to build and monetize an audience with high-quality entertainment experiences. We can already see this disruption happening in Hollywood with mobile and tablet technology transforming the way we consume media.
There is pressure on film budgets to come down, and Triggerfish is a world-leader in developing original content at sensible price points. We are less reliant on generating box office “hits” as the other major studios are. We think the convergence of digital media will see popular original content properties being developed and monetized across multiple platforms.
Are there any challenges in running a world-class animation studio from South Africa?
It would certainly be easier to get meetings with influential partners if we were based in California, but if we were based in California we wouldn't be who we are. I think there is a clear and consistent vision at a very high level in South Africa that the country can really benefit by putting out high quality, family-friendly films into the international marketplace. We think audiences around the world are becoming very receptive to creative content originating from outside the traditional domain of Hollywood.
Where does Triggerfish see itself 5 years from now?
Triggerfish is determined to establish itself as a world-class media and entertainment company bringing a fresh and unique creative voice to audiences around the world.
It’s an ambitious vision and we are talking to potential strategic partners in our efforts to find an investor aligned with our goals. We want to partner with an investor who can help us expand our networks and ensure that we get our intellectual property properly monetized. We'd like to develop a 5-film slate where we can really get fantastic production efficiencies.
We're also opening a training school next year to help develop the amazing talent we have in Africa. In addition, we have just launched a digital content and games department, which is focused on creating games and other digital content from our original IP. We are also going to be publishing eBooks and interactive apps based on our own stories and those from other writers.
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8f8bedd9098753b76c8baec081525a75 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/mfonobongnsehe/2012/12/06/the-20-youngest-power-women-in-africa-2012/ | The 20 Youngest Power Women In Africa 2012 | The 20 Youngest Power Women In Africa 2012
Farai Gundan, CEO Farai Media
This is a guest post by Zimbabwean TV Personality / Producer and Entreprenuer Farai Gundan
As Africa continues to rise, so do African women. With the upward economic, social and political trajectory of the continent, a new breed of African women continues to emerge. So much so, that the African Union christened the years 2010 to 2020 as the "African Women's Decade".
For the first time in history, the African Union voted an African woman to its helm. Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, South Africa's Minister of Home Affairs and a medical doctor, will lead and usher the 54-nation organization into a new era of possibilities for the continent. In her keynote address honoring her as the first female chair of the African Union, Dlamini-Zuma said: “African women make up over fifty percent of the continent, and let’s not forget that they produce the other fifty percent–men.”
Additionally, this year Africa welcomed its second female head of State and Malawi's first female president, Her Excellency President Joyce Banda. In August, Forbes published its 2012 annual list of the World’s 100 Most Powerful Women and of the 100 women selected, 11 were Black, of whom 3 were Africans: Presidents Joyce Banda and Ellen Johnson Sirleaf of Liberia and Nigerian Minister of Finance, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala. To solidify the African Union's "African Women's Decade" theme, Nigerian oil tycoon, fashion designer and philanthropist Folorunsho Alakija became the first woman on Forbes' annual ranking of the 40 richest Africans, with a net worth estimated at $600 million.
African women are unconflicted about themselves, who they are and the role they play, not only within their families but in their countries and the world at large. These are African women changing the face of the continent, hopping on planes from one to another of its major cities - Lagos, Dakar, Nairobi, Accra - cutting big deals and preferring to see Africa's much storied deficits as HUGE investment opportunities.
Divine Ndhlukula did it with her Harare-based Securico firm, one of Zimbabwe’s largest security companies. The winner of the prestigious Legatum Africa Awards for Entrepreneurship, Securico is an industry leader in providing custom guard services and cutting-edge electronic security solutions. Or Chairperson of Africa Fashion International, Dr Precious Moloi-Motsepe, whose mission is to create global demand for African designers and brands. To that end, her company, in partnership with Mercedes-Benz, hosts fashion weeks throughout South Africa as the premier gateway to African fashion.
These African women are comfortable in any setting, corporate or traditional. They are able to hold their own in chic Parisian, Dubai or Wall Street circles but totally at home in some of Africa's great cities: Yaounde, Cameroon; Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; Cape Town, South Africa; Harare, Zimbabwe. It is the way they embrace this duality of outlook and perspective that defines this new breed of African women.
Last year Forbes readers were introduced to a remarkable group of the 20 Youngest Power Women In Africa, heralding a new wave of African women taking control of their economic, social and political destinies. Here are the 20 Youngest Power Women in Africa for 2012, all under age 45, shaping the narrative of the continent's rising.
Leymah Gbowee, Liberia, Peace and Women's Rights Activist
The peace activist was one of three female recipients who were awarded the 2011 Nobel Peace Prize "for non-violent struggle for the safety of women and for women's rights to full participation in peace-building work." Gbowee helped organize and lead the Liberian Mass Action for Peace, an alliance of Christian and Muslim women, in public protest during Liberia's tumultuous times. Now, through her organization Women Peace and Security Network Africa, Gbowee trains and empowers women in Africa to bring peace to their own countries. Gbowee is a recipient of multiple awards including the Blue Ribbon Peace Award from Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School, Gruber Prize for Women's Rights, the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award, the Medal for Justice from New York's John Jay College of Criminal Justice and the Women's eNews Leaders For the 21st Century Award.
Cina Lawson, Togo, Minister of Post and Telecommunications, Togo
Lawson is currently the Minister of Post and Telecommunications of Togo. Prior to her appointment, Lawson was a Manager of Corporate Strategy and Business Development at the France Telecom/Orange Group in New York City and Alcatel-Lucent in Paris. Lawson began her career in telecommunications at the World Bank in Washington DC where she focused on regulatory reforms for developing nations. She is a graduate of Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government and the Institut d'Etudes Politiques de Paris and was named a 2012 Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum.
Juliana Rotich, Kenya, Co-Founder Ushahidi
Rotich is Co-Founder and Executive Director of Ushahidi, a Nairobi-based tech company that specializes in developing free and open source software that aggregates and curates crisis data on a real-time basis and collates the data into live, interactive maps. She was named one of the "Top 100 Women" by the Guardian newspaper, "Top 2 Women" in Technology and "Social Entrepreneur of the Year" in 2011 by The World Economic Forum. Rotich is a technologist and a TED Senior Fellow.
Patience Mthunzi, PhD. South Africa, Senior Scientist, CSIR
Born in Orlando West, Soweto, Dr. Mthunzi is currently South Africa's only Senior Scientist for the Biophotonics Research Group within the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) National Laser Center in biophotonics - a field of study that enables microscopic study of biological molecules, cells and tissue using laser. Unable to study biophotonics in South Africa, she became the first South African PhD student at the School of Physics and Astronomy of the University of St Andrews in Scotland. Dr. Mthunzi was recently awarded one of the country’s highest orders, the Order of Mapungubwe, for her contribution in the field of biophotonics.
Maud Chifamba, Zimbabwe, 14-year old University Accounting Student
At 14-years old, Chifamba made history this year when she became the youngest student (male or female) in Zimbabwe and possibly the whole of Southern Africa to enroll at university. The young genius was admitted to the University of Zimbabwe where she will study towards a Bachelor of Accountancy Honors Degree. An orphan, Chifamba's mother passed away last December, days after she sat for her final exams, and her father nine years ago when she was five years old. Despite this and abject poverty (her two brothers were unable to pay her fees for regular school), Chifamba home schooled herself and broke academic records earning a four-year scholarship of nearly USD$10,000.
Florence Iwegbue, Nigeria, Attorney & Co-Founder, LiveWello
A life-changing event, the diagnosis of her son with Autism gave birth to LiveWello™, social network targeted at health. A U.K-trained attorney, Iwegbue and her physician husband, a self-taught software developer, built LiveWello to support their Autistic son's health while harnessing the best elements of their African culture: village life. By building a health app that was social in nature, they were able to collaborate with their son's health providers, their health coaches and the rest of their family back home in Africa, to collectively manage his health. Now Iwegbue is helping other people manage their own health with the social network app she built.
Lisa Opoku, Ghana, Chief Operating Officer, Goldman Sachs
US-based Black Enterprise magazine named the Wall Street executive one of its 2012 "40 Rising Stars Under 40" and one of "75 Most Powerful Women in Business" for 2010. She is the Chief Operating Officer for Goldman Sachs' securities division for the Asia Pacific region. Opoku Busumbru earned a Bachelor of Arts degree with high honors in Sociology from the University of Minnesota in 1993 and a Juris Doctorate from Harvard Law School in 1996.
Leila Lopes, Angola, 2012 Miss Universe
On September 12, 2011, Lopes was crowned Miss Universe, becoming the first Angolan woman to win the position, the fourth African to win the title (Miss South Africa took the title in 1978, Miss Namibia won in 1992, Miss Botswana won in 1999) and the second Black African woman to win following Mpule Kwelagobe from Botswana in 1999. As the reigning Miss Universe, Lopes used the platform for advocacy for HIV and AIDS patients worldwide.
Isha Sesay, Sierra Leone, News Anchor & Journalist, CNN
Sesay reports for "African Voices" and "Inside Africa", CNN International’s award-winning, weekly program that covers political, economic, cultural and social trends in Africa. Sesay is also an anchor on CNN International and a contributor to CNN’s Anderson Cooper 360 and HLN’s nightly news show "Evening Express."
Rainatou Sow, Guinea, Women's Right Activist, Founder & Executive Director, Make Every Woman Count
Originally from the West African country of Guinea, Rai is a human rights and social justice advocate and women's rights activist. Founded in December 2010, two months after the declaration of the "African Women's Decade" by the African Union, "Make Every Woman Count" is a U.K-based non-profit organization that monitors women's rights in every African country. The organization publishes an annual report as an audit of the status and conditions of women in each African country. Rai was awarded the "Most Inspirational Woman of the Year 2012" by Women4Africa.
Biola Alabi, Nigeria, Managing Director, MNET Africa
As Managing Director for multi-national cable and satellite content company, MNET Africa, Alabi is one of the most powerful women in African media. Named a 2012 Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum, she has been at the forefront of the expansion of the AfricaMagic channels brand across the continent. In 2010 she served as a member of the World Economic Forum’s Global Agenda Council on the Future of Entertainment.
Lorna Rutto, Kenya, Sustainable Living and Green Technology Entrepreneur, Ecopost
Rutto is the founder of Ecopost whose vision is “To Transform Africa’s Waste into Wealth.” Her Nairobi-based company, Ecopost, converts consumer plastic into durable, easy to use and environmentally friendly plastic lumber, an eco-friendly alternative to timber. Rutto is the 2011 Sub-Saharan Africa Cartier Laureate. She also won the 2010 Bid Network Nature Challenge Award, 2010 SEED Award and the 2009 Enablis Business Award.
Yolanda Sangweni, South Africa, Senior Editor/Producer, ESSENCE.com
Born to a South African freedom fighter mother, who fled from the apartheid regime to the United States when Sangweni was a small child and lived in Harlem during her formative years, she is Senior Editor at ESSENCE.com, one of the leading publications for Black women in the United States. Sangweni is also co-founder of AfriPOP!, an online magazine focusing on contemporary African youth culture, music, fashion and film from an Afropolitan perspective. Sangweni worked as a Features editor at TRACE Magazine and contributing writer for "O: The Oprah Magazine" (South Africa), Glamour, Harper’s Bazaar, Arise Magazine, and Time Out New York covering music, fashion and culture.
Danai Gurira, Zimbabwe, Actress & Writer
One of the lead characters on the popular HBO show, "The Walking Dead," based on the popular American comic book of the same name, now currently in its third season, Gurira plays Michonne, a fearless woman warrior. A graduate of New York University’s prestigious Tisch School of the Arts, Gurira has guest starred on “Law & Order: Criminal Intent”, “Life on Mars”, “Lie to Me” and had a recurring role on “Treme” on HBO. Her movie roles include The "Visitor," "Restless City" and "MaGeorge." A recipient of the Obie Award, Outer Critics Circle Award, and Helen Hayes Award for Best Lead Actress for an off-Broadway play, Gurira recently won the 2012 Whiting Award for USD$50,000, bestowed annually to 10 rising stars.
Eunice Cofie, Ghana, Founder & Chief Cosmetic Chemist, Nuekie
A former Miss Black Florida USA, Cofie is the President and Chief Cosmetic Chemist of Nuekie - an ethnic dermatology company. She was also featured in Scientific American as "What a Scientist Looks Like." Cofie was recognized by the Governor of Florida and the Florida Commission on the Status of Women with the prestigious Florida Achievement Award for her commitment to improving the lives of women and families in her community. Cofie was named by the Tallahassee Democrat newspaper as one of the “25 Women You Need to Know in Tallahassee” and a 2012 Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum
Marieme Jamme, Senegal, Social Entrepreneur, Technologist & CEO, SpotOne Global Solutions
Senegalese-born Marieme Jamme is London-based CEO of SpotOne Global Solutions, a UK-based company that helps IT organizations establish a global footprint in Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia. CNN named Jamme one of Top Ten African Tech Voices to follow on Twitter. Jamme is also a co-founder of Africa Gathering, the first global platform where entrepreneurs and experts meet and share ideas about development in Africa. A prolific speaker, particularly on Africa, Jamme is also the organizer of TEDx Accra and Dakar.
Jepchumba, Kenya, Digital Content Creator, Cultural Curator, African Digital Art
Jepchumba is the Founder and Creative Director of African Digital Art, a platform for innovation and inspiration which is dedicated to African digital media. Originally from Kenya, but based in Cape Town, South Africa, Jepchumba travels the world to share her views on African art and technology at popular conferences including South by Southwest (SXSW) in Austin, Texas and most recently at TedxEuston in England.
Redi Tlhabi, South Africa, Journalist, Broadcaster & Author
She hosts the "Redi Tlhabi Show" on Talk Radio 702 and 567 Cape Talk. She has interviewed prominent newsmakers including Nelson Mandela, South African President Jacob Zuma, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Archbishop Desmond Tutu. Tlhabi is also the producer of a much-talked about documentary on the former South African President Thabo Mbeki. She is also a columnist for the Sunday Times newspaper and author of Endings and Beginnings: A Story of Healing, a book based on her childhood experiences. The popular host has a new talkshow on Al Jazeera English television channel that will focus on politics, culture, music, health and science.
Swaady Martin-Leke, Ivory Coast, Entrepreneur & Founder, Yswara
The former high-ranking General Electric executive left her job in 2011 to launch Yswara, a luxury brand committed to offering the best African teas and cultural experiences. The Yswara collection of teas include "African Queen Health Teas", "Seven Wonders of Africa" and "Kingdoms of Africa". Yswara opened its flagship store in Johannesburg and two more are planned for Cape Town and Nigeria. Swaady is a member of the invite-only African Leadership Network which one of the leading organizations of young, dynamic and influential leaders in Africa.
Jacqueline Chimhanzi, PhD. Zimbabwe, Corporate Executive
Dr Jacqueline Chimhanzi is Senior Strategist with the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC), a leading development finance institute on the African continent. Prior to that, she was Lead: Africa Desk with Deloitte South Africa. She is a Fellow of the highly competitive pan-African Arch-Bishop Desmond Tutu Leadership Program run by the African Leadership Institute (AfLI) at Oxford University and is also a founding member of New Faces New Voices, under the patronage of Mrs Graca Machel committed to widening financial access for African women entrepreneurs. In 2010, she appeared on South Africa Destiny Magazine’s list: “The Power of 40” and in 2012 was part of a group of “esteemed Africa watchers” invited to submit their views on Africa to the leading journal Development for a special Africa-focused edition, Africa Strategies for Transformation.
Farai Gundan is a Media Personality, Producer and Contributor on South African television channel, eTV's flagship morning show, Sunrise and on SABC radio station, MetroFM. She is co-founder of AfricaTripDeals, a travel reservation platform and FaraiMedia, an online and mobile advertising plaform. She speaks on women in media and technology, with a focus on Africa. (Twitter @FaraiToday)
Follow Mfonobong Nsehe on Twitter @EmperorDIV
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3d6235ef5d489a222e68a8c1bb1e3228 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/mfonobongnsehe/2012/12/30/thirteen-african-celebrities-to-watch-in-2013/ | Thirteen African Celebrities To Watch In 2013 | Thirteen African Celebrities To Watch In 2013
Farai Gundan
This is a guest post by Zimbabwean TV personality / producer and entrepreneur Farai Gundan
These are powerhouses in the making. Inking unprecedented deals, performing in sold-out venues, chartering new commercial territories and making in-roads globally, they are Africa’s new generation of celebrities. They are exporting the African “brand of celebrity” across the continent and globally.
Last year Forbes readers were asked to name the most influential icons in contemporary African pop culture. And the response from that exercise was overwhelming, with musicians dominating the list of the “40 Most Powerful Celebrities In Africa”. Included on the inaugural list were some of the continent's blockbuster actors, supermodels, athletes, movie producers, TV personalities and authors.
According to the 2012 Forbes Celebrity 100 list that came out earlier this year, it used to be sufficient for a celebrity to be really, really good at what they do - acting or singing. However today, celebs need to be businesses. And we are seeing that trend emerge with African celebrities. They are becoming so savvy in converting their celebrity into lucrative deals that the African “brand of celebrity” is becoming as bankable as that of Western superstars.
It makes perfect sense. Africa is a market unto itself. The African middle class alone is reported to be approximately the same size as the middle class populations of China and India. This middle class is a highly influential and rapidly growing consumer segment with a buying power that is demanding more products and services closely aligned with its own culture and lifestyle. This is evident in the success of content platforms such as iRokoTV (online distributor of Nigerian movies) and music, with D’Danj, Atumpan, Don Jazzy, Wizkid -- big names behind Afro-beats, the West African sound that is going global, fast.
With a projected population of 1.2 billion people, and of that 313 million moving into the middle class, Africa's exploding consumer base is a compelling enough force for its own celebrities to become BIG businesses. Not only are they entertainers and performers, but African celebrities are now negotiating and cutting big deals in the boardrooms of corporate Africa and around the world.
With their influence growing in Africa and globally, check their social media power, African celebs are commanding major magazine covers, negotiating big endorsement deals and touring across the globe. Nigerian recording artist, Tiwa Savage secured a lucrative endorsement deal with Pepsi; South African media personality, Boity Thulo inked a deal as the brand ambassador for Iman Cosmetics Africa and mega duo from Nigeria, PSquare reportedly charged USD$300,000 for their concert in Ghana earlier this year.
Their media visibility has been dramatic. South African media personality Bonang Matheba snagged the June 2011 cover of FHM Magazine, becoming the first Black South African celebrity to grace the cover of that men's entertainment magazine. Nollywood actress Omotola Jalade Ekeinde is latest African celebrity with a reality show on African multi-national cable company, Dstv Mnet; so is South African singer and actress Kelly Khumalo with her reality show “Rolling with Kelly Khumalo” on free-to-air commercial television station, eTV. Plus African recording artists are now regulars on the popular BBC Radio 1Xtra.
More African celebrities are now Twitter verified, boasting six-figure followers, including Trevor Noah, D'Banj, Ajak Deng, 2Face, Don Jazzy, Genevieve Nnaji, Bonang Matheba, Omotola Jalade Ekeinde, WizKid, M.I. and BankyW. This speaks to their star power. Their Facebook fan pages, combined, run in the millions, indicating heightened engagement with their fans.
To form our list, we looked at African celebrities’ media visibility in print, television and radio, as well as online references on Google plus social media power, measured by looking at each celebrity’s presence on Facebook and Twitter. We combined that with information from record deals and releases, box office sales, touring, endorsements, new ventures and their general clout across the continent and the diaspora.
Here are the Top 13 African Celebrities To Watch in 2013:
Ahmen Soultan, Recording Artist, Morocco
Winner of the 2012 MTV Europe Music Awards for "Best Middle East Act" and "Best Middle East, Africa, India" and nominee for the "Best WorldWide Act", Ahmed is a Moroccan singer artist who is considered as one of the leading artists of "Nayda," the new Moroccan scene. In 2011, his song "Jokko" was nominated as best North African song and best African reggae song of the year. Ahmed has collaborated with American R&B recording artist, Ne-Yo on a song called "Amazing You". He's now working on his third album (planned for Spring 2013), for which he promises amazing collaborations.
David Oyelowo, Actor, Nigeria
David Oyelowo is a British-born Nigerian actor based in the U.S. This year has been a very busy year for David. He was in the George Lucas produced bio-pic “Red Tails”; Oscar-nominated film director, Lee Daniels' “The Paperboy” opposite Nicole Kidman and Matthew McConaughey; Steven Spielberg's "Lincoln" starring Daniel Day-Lewis and Tommy Lee Jones and most recently “Jack Reacher” starring Tom Cruise. David also starred in the indie film, “Middle of Nowhere” for which he was nominated for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Male Actor.
Trevor Noah, Comedian, South Africa
Trevor is South African stand-up comedian, who made his U.S. television debut on NBC’s “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno” in January of this year. A megastar in South Africa, Trevor has also been a radio DJ, actor and TV host. He toured the U.S with stand-up star comedian Gabriel Iglesia and presented his one man show "The Racist" at the Edinburgh Fringe in the U.K. Fresh off a very successful three month national tour in South Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa, Trevor is currently appearing in a six week sold out run at London's Soho Theater.
Serge Ibaka, NBA basketball player, Republic of Congo
Born in Brazzaville, Republic of Congo, Serge Jonas Ibaka Ngobila is one of the most improved professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Commonly referred to as Serge Ibaka, Serge is a power forward with the Oklahoma City Thunder basketball team. He won a silver medal with the Spanish national basketball team at the 2012 Summer Olympics and is reported to be dating American R&B artist Keri Hilson.
Julius Onah, Film-maker, Nigeria
Emmy-Award winning, film and television director and producer, J.J. Abrams announced that he has selected Nigerian-born filmmaker Julius Onah, to direct his top secret sci-fi project, “God Particle”. The film will be developed through InSurge Pictures, Paramount Pictures’ micro-budget division. The 29-year-old Nigerian born film-maker made a name for himself with his short films "Little Girl Blue" and "Big Man". His short film, “The Boundary”, designated by Amnesty International as one of its “Movies That Matter“, was acquired by American premium cable television network, Home Box Office (HBO). He most recently completed his debut feature length movie “The Girl Is In Trouble”, which was executive produced by Spike Lee. Julius has an MFA in film from the prestigious Tisch School of the Arts at New York University where he was a Dean’s Fellow.
Kudzanai Chiurai, Artist, Painter, Zimbabwe
The first Black student to graduate with a Bachelor's degree in Fine Art from the University of Pretoria in South Africa, Kudzanai is regarded as one of the fastest rising talents in contemporary African art. So impressive was his work that the university faculty named him “Most Promising Art Student”. His art-work has been exhibited at the prestigious Museum of Modern Art in New York City, the Victoria and Albert Museum in London and dOCUMENTA13, the mega- exhibition of contemporary art that takes place every 5 years in Kassel, Germany. Kudzanai’s film “Iyeza” has been selected to be screened as part of the short films program at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival. “Iyeza” was one of only three African based short films to be selected.
Mataano, Fashion Designers, Ethiopia
Born in the United States, but raised in Somalia until they were nine years old and had to flee their country’s violent civil war, the Brooklyn-based Mohallim sisters launched their fashion line, Mataano, which means “twins” in Somali, in 2008. Oprah Winfrey hailed the identical twin sisters, Ayaan and Idyl Mohallim as future millionaire moguls on her popular talk-show the same year their fashion label was launched. Four years later, the Mohallim sisters have presented their collections at fashion weeks from New York City to Lagos, Nigeria to Johannesburg, South Africa. CNN Inside Africa profiled the design duo for a feature on African fashion. This year the Mataano twins announced their partnership with supermodel Iman’s IMAN Cosmetics for which they are also the brand ambassadors.
DJ Sbu, DJ, Recording Artist, Social Entrepreneur, South Africa
Sbusiso Leope, popularly known as DJ Sbu, is an entertainer, media personality, philanthropist, and a businessman. A role model to South African youth, DJ Sbu goes to at least three high schools weekly to share his inspirational story about how he overcame poverty and became successful in life. Voted “Sunday Times Coolest Brand of 2012," DJ Sbu released his 6th studio album, “Sound Revival Volume 2” earlier this year. It has since been certified platinum.
Ajak Deng, Supermodel, Sudan
The Sudanese supermodel burst into the scene in 2009 when she debuted at the spring Michael Angel show at Mercedes Benz New York Fashion Week. She has closed the Valentino couture show and also walked at fashion weeks in New York City, London and Paris for Gucci, Givenchy, Jean Paul Gaultier, Armani, Lanvin, Chloé, Marc by Marc Jacobs and Arise African Collective. One of the faces of Benetton, Ajak has been featured in various magazines, most notably Vogue, “Interview” with Mikael Jansson and “V” with Amy Troost.
Camp Mulla, Hip Hop Group, Kenya
The five-member, award-winning group is considered one of the most exciting hip hop groups in Kenya. After winning several awards locally, Camp Mulla became the first Kenyan and East African artists to be nominated at the 2012 BET Awards for the “Best International Act – Africa” category”.
Sarkodie / R2Bees, Recording Artists, Ghana
The two-time Ghana Music Awards Artiste of the Year became the first Ghanaian artist to win a BET Award, walking away with the “Best International Act – Africa” category” earlier this year. For the second time, Sarkodie made a second appearance at the 2012 BET Hiphop Awards in Atlanta, Georgia, alongside hip hop artist Talib Kweli. Sarkodie’s third studio album, titled “Sarkology”, will be released in 2013.
Ghanaian mega-group R2Bees, made up of Faisal Hakeem (Paedae da Pralem) and Rashid Mugeez, is behind some of the biggest hits coming out of West Africa. The hip-hop/hiplife group’s highly anticipated single featuring London-born, Ghanaian artist, Tinchy Stryder is due out in 2013.
Mark Tonderai Hodges, Film-maker, Zimbabwe
Mark Tonderai began his career in the media working as a writer, producer and presenter on the Mark Tonderai Show on BBC Radio 1 and weekending for BBC Radio 4. In 2002 he formed Shona Productions with partner and wife, Zoe Stewart, and wrote and starred in his debut feature, Dog Eat Dog. His latest film, ‘House at the End of the Street’, which he directed, brought in US$36 million at the box office.
Bonang Matheba, Media Personality, South Africa
Bonang is undoubtedly South Africa’s leading female television presenter, reality TV Host, and radio DJ. A favorite with South African youth, Bonang won the 2012 Glamour Magazine Woman Of The Year Award. Bonang most recently joined South African Broadcasting Corporation, SABC3’s flagship lifestyle and entertainment show, “Top Billing” as one of the hosts.
Farai Gundan is a media personality, producer and contributor on South African television channel eTV‘s flagship morning show, Sunrise, and on SABC radio station MetroFM. She is co-founder of AfricaTripDeals, a travel reservation platform and FaraiMedia, an online and mobile advertising plaform. She speaks on women in media and technology, with a focus on Africa. (Twitter @FaraiToday)
Follow Mfonobong Nsehe on Twitter @EmperorDIV
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764bc6ff9706694d9fc4c88a819bec8b | https://www.forbes.com/sites/mfonobongnsehe/2013/06/04/the-worlds-most-powerful-black-women-2013/ | The World's Most Powerful Black Women 2013 | The World's Most Powerful Black Women 2013
Michelle Obama
A couple of weeks ago, FORBES published its 2013 annual list of the World’s 100 Most Powerful Women. Of the 100 women featured, 11 are black, of whom 3 are Africans. They include political leaders, corporate executives, heads of non-governmental organizations, top government functionaries and a first lady. These are the 11 black women who matter the most.
Michelle Obama First Lady, U.S.A
President Barack Obama’s wife continues to leverage her platform as America’s first lady to fight childhood obesity and promote healthier eating and lifestyles. She is more popular than her husband by far, with 67% of American citizens viewing her in positive light as opposed to her husband’s 47%. But it’s easier to be loved by a lot of people when you spend more time smiling on TV than running the country. This year she has appeared on Jimmy Fallon and Katie Couric’s shows. She even announced the Best Picture for the Academy Awards. Michelle Obama is a Harvard grad and former corporate attorney.
Oprah Winfrey Media Mogul, U.S.A
In 2011, Oprah ended The Oprah Show, her highly successful syndicated talk show, after a 25 year-stint. The richest African-American and queen of talk still remains one of the world’s most respected media moguls. Her cable channel, the Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN), wobbled at first but has improved its performance thanks in part to a lucrative deal OWN secured with Comcast last year to earn subscriber fees and increase the number of households that carry it to 83 million. Also, a string of immensely popular exclusive TV interviews such as disgraced cyclist Lance Armstrong and gay NBA player Jason Collins gave Oprah’s network a boost. Oprah is one of the world’s most philanthropic women. She has given away over $400 million over the course of her career, including spending an estimated $100 million on the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls in South Africa.
Ursula Burns CEO of Xerox, U.S.A
Under Burns' leadership, Xerox has transformed its image as a manufacturer of printers to a full-fledged services business. In 2010, Xerox acquired business process outsourcing firm Affiliated Computer Services (ACS). Xerox now gets half of its revenue from service businesses like managing electronic ticket transactions, road tolls and parking meters. Ursula Burns started at the bottom as a summer intern at Xerox in 1980. She joined the company fulltime one year later after obtaining her Masters’ Degree in Mechanical Engineering from Columbia University. She became Vice-President in 2000 and was named CEO in 2009.
Beyonce Musician, U.S.A
Jay-Z’s wife keeps making money, raking in millions from old hits as well as from business ventures such as her clothing line, House of Dereon, and numerous endorsement deals. Her $50 million contract with Pepsi gives her creative control of a massive ad and concert collaboration. Her 15-minute Super Bowl performance in February drew an estimated 104 million sets of eyeballs around the world. One of the best-selling musicians of all time, Beyonce has earned 17 Grammy awards to date.
Rosalind Brewer President and CEO, Sam’s Club, Wal-Mart Stores
Brewer is CEO of Sam’s club, a discount membership club and the 8th largest retailer in the United States. The $56.4 billion (revenues) division of Wal-Mart has 6,200 locations in the U.S, Brazil and China and boasts over 47 million members. Brewer, 50, was appointed in January last year to head Sam’s Club. A former executive at Kimberly-Clark, she joined Wal-Mart in 2006 and previously served as president of the retail giant’s Eastern U.S. business division.
Joyce Banda President, Malawi
Banda spent her initial year in as Malawi’s first female president pushing for rapprochement with the international donor community while grappling with spiralling inflation. Malawi, one of Africa’s poorest nations, depends on foreign aid for roughly 40% of its revenue and Banda has been travelling the world over, persuading global financial institutions to restore the dollars and Euros frozen during the regime of her predecessor, Bingu Wa Mutharika. But her decision to devalue Malawi's currency by 50% -- to meet IMF conditions -- has resulted in soaring costs for food and fuel and widespread protests.
Ertharin Cousin Executive Director, World Food Programme, United Nations, U.S.A
In April 2012 Cousin was appointed executive director of the world's largest humanitarian organization. Her job entails overseeing a staff of more than 15,000 people in about 78 different countries in raising awareness and providing solutions for international struggles with hunger, food insecurity, and malnutrition. In her first year on the job Cousin and her staff focused on fighting hunger brought on by drought in West Africa and civil war in Syria. Her agenda for the rest for the year is to transition from food aid to food assistance in an attempt to shift from handouts to self-sustenance.
Helene Gayle President & CEO, CARE, USA
In 2006, Gayle was appointed President and Chief Executive Officer of CARE USA, a leading humanitarian organization which actively fights poverty in 87 countries. Last year, during a food crisis in West Africa’s Sahel region which left millions of people in need of emergency relief, Gayle led CARE on the ground in Chad, Niger and even Mali, helping more than 750,000 people with emergency assistance, providing access to food as well improving access to water, sanitation and hygiene. Last year alone, CARE reached more than 83 million people in 84 countries with a budget of $586 million, responding to natural disasters, climate change and other causes of global poverty.
Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Minister of Finance, Nigeria
Nigeria’s revered Minister of Finance and Coordinating minister of the economy oversaw a 6.5% increase in GDP from 2011 to 2012. Nigeria is the third largest economy in Africa with nearly $50 billion in foreign reserves. In 2011, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, a seasoned economist and administrator, left her position as a managing director at the World Bank to take the job as finance minister of Nigeria at the urging of Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan. It was her second coming. Between 2003 and 2006 she had served in the same capacity under Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo where she helped secure a debt write-off of $18 billion from Nigeria’s creditors.
Risa Lavizzo-Mourey President, CEO, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
Lavizzo-Mourey heads the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the largest healthcare foundation in the U.S. She became the CEO in 2003, a position which has her overseeing an estimated 800 grants, a $10 billion endowment and annual disbursements of $350 million towards improving health and health care. Lavizzo-Mourey is the first woman and the first African-American to head the foundation.
Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf President, Liberia
Africa’s first female head of state won the 2011 Nobel Peace Prize for her work in promoting Liberian reconciliation and in atoning for Liberia’s history of civil war. She was re-elected for a second term the same year, reneging on an earlier promise to run for only one term in office. But the Harvard-trained economist has done well. She successfully negotiated for debt relief from international creditors, including a $4.9 billion debt waiver from the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.
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e43be918233a9245120b9257935b367f | https://www.forbes.com/sites/mfonobongnsehe/2013/06/26/nigerian-millionaire-donates-1-million-to-rotary-international/ | Nigerian Millionaire Donates $1 Million To Rotary International | Nigerian Millionaire Donates $1 Million To Rotary International
Sir Emeka Offor
Sir Emeka Offor, a wealthy Nigerian oil baron, has donated $1 million to PolioPlus, an international polio eradication programme promoted by Rotary International, Nigeria's Vanguard newspaper has reported.
Offor, who is the founder and Executive Vice Chairman of Chrome Group, a Nigerian conglomerate with interests in oil trading, biofuels, dredging and logistics, made the donation on Sunday during the ongoing 2013 Rotary International Convention taking place in Lisbon, Portugal.
“Polio should have no place in our world. Therefore, today I am giving an additional $1 million to PolioPlus,” he said, during the convention in a video available here.
This is not the first time the Nigerian tycoon is donating to Rotary’s PolioPlus initiative, which provides funding for the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI). Last year, he gave $250,000 to the program.
Nigeria, Pakistan and Afghanistan are the few remaining areas in the world that are still affected by Polio.
“Considerable effort is being made to eradicate polio in Nigeria, but at times progress is slow. In 2011, we had 62 documented cases of polio. In 2012, that number increased to 122. This year 26 cases have been documented so far,” Offor explained while announcing the donation.
According to Offor, ignorance, difficulty in accessing affected rural areas and various myths surrounding polio vaccines, particularly in Africa were major obstacles hampering the success of immunization campaigns and efforts by international aid agencies.
“Many parents simply refuse immunizations for their children because they fear that some evil motives are at play or even fear perceived bad side effects,” he complained. “An additional problem is reaching the nomadic and remote populations that are often strongholds for the disease. Even in the best of times, Government capacity to reach these “hidden populations” is severely limited.”
According to report, since the inception of PolioPlus, members of Rotary International have contributed more than $160 million to polio eradication in Nigeria.
Sir Emeka Offor is one of Nigeria’s emerging philanthropists and one of the West African country’s successful men. His Chrome Group which is a Nigerian leader in oil trading, biofuels, dredging and logistics has an annual turnover of over $1 billion according to sources at the company. His Sir Emeka Offor Foundation which he solely funds supports causes in education and health. In May, he donated $600,000 to Books For Africa, a non-profit organization in St. Paul, Minnesota, USA which provides educational books to children in Africa. The foundation also gives aways millions annually in scholarships to underprivileged Nigerian students.
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e5280cce74d97b6799343c051b369591 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/mfonobongnsehe/2013/08/30/5-innovative-african-companies-you-should-know/ | 5 Innovative African Companies You Should Know | 5 Innovative African Companies You Should Know
TaxTim Founders Marc Sevitz and Evan Robinson
For the past few weeks, FORBES has been celebrating the World’s Most Innovative Companies. There are no African companies featured on the list.
But here are five African companies who share a few things in common with the most innovative outfits: They have immense ability to create new businesses and profitable growth. They continually reinvent themselves, setting industry standards and radically changing their sectors. These companies create, then recreate, then innovate. They exploit new ideas, products and services to produce dynamic and lucrative new businesses.
In no particular order, here are 5 innovative African companies you should know about:
Ecopost
Ecopost, founded in 2010, is a Kenyan company that aims to transform Africa’s waste into wealth. Ecopost collects consumer plastic waste such as polypropylene and polyethylene and converts them into durable, easy to use and environmentally friendly plastic lumber, an eco-friendly alternative to timber which is used to manufacture fencing posts. So far, EcoPost is profitable. The company has collected over 1 million kilograms of plastic and saved an estimated 250 acres of forest (based on calculations by the Canadian Forestry Association). Ecopost was founded by Lorna Rutto, a Kenyan national.
TaxTim
TaxTim is a South African online virtual tax assistant and tax preparation service that allows you to complete tax returns quickly and easily without having to consult with a physical tax practitioner. Tim, the virtual tax assistant, asks users simple, plain language questions, and based on the answers, Tim fills out your return correctly, for a maximum tax refund. Filing tax returns in South Africa can be a long and tiring process. TaxTim, with its automated assistance provides a convenient solution to tax payers for an annual fee of $20. Marc Sevitz, a qualified Chartered Accountant and tax specialist, and Evan Robinson, an inventor and software developer in 2011, founded TaxTim.
Triggerfish
Triggerfish is Africa’s largest Computer Generated (CG) animation company. It was founded in 1996 as a boutique stop-frame animation studio and started by developing television commercials for South African companies. In 2001, the company produced animation for the first season of Takalani Sesame Street, the South African version of children's TV show Sesame Street. Triggerfish has also produced animation for the U.S Sesame Street. Last year, the Cape Town-based animation studio produced its first feature film, Adventures of Zambezia, a movie that tells the story of a young, naïve yet exuberant falcon who leaves the desolate desert where he lives with his father in pursuit of action and adventure in the famed bird city of Zambezia. The movie was screened in at least 25 different countries and pulled in over $22.1 million, according to box office mojo. Triggerfish earns innovative points for leveraging technology to enable creativity in building the most successful animation studio in Africa.
Wild Fusion
Wild Fusion is credited with kickstarting Nigeria’s digital marketing revolution. Founded by Abasiama Idaresit, a Nigerian digital marketing entrepreneur and evangelist, Wild Fusion was one of the earliest fully integrated digital marketing agencies in sub-Saharan Africa. Wild Fusion, which was founded with no external investment, famously helped a Nigerian small business grow its revenues from $1,000 to $100,000 in a couple of months with innovative Internet marketing. The company services clients like Visa , Samsung, Vodafone , Pepsi and Unilever in Nigeria, Kenya and Ghana. Wild Fusion earns innovative points for introducing and popularizing digital marketing in Africa and for disrupting traditional marketing across the continent. Many Nigerian and African companies now dedicate more of their budget to digital marketing.
Rasello
Rasello, founded by Tanzanian software entrepreneur Natalino Mwenda, is a cloud-based Customer Relationship Management (CRM) tool that lets business owners interact and manage customer records, automate customer retention and communication.
You add your clients; Rasello automatically identifies customers who need birthday reminders, loyalty programs, service cycle renewals, etc.
The software can be used via devices such as PCs, tablets, and smartphones.
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4e4fb97a58b072f72b5bdac18c3ba1c0 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/mfonobongnsehe/2013/10/02/the-millionaires-wife-who-feeds-40000-children/ | The Millionaire's Wife Who Feeds 40,000 Children | The Millionaire's Wife Who Feeds 40,000 Children
Tsitsi Masiyiwa, Chairperson, Higher Life Foundation
It’s 3pm on a crisp August afternoon in Johannesburg. Tsitsi Masiyiwa is seated on a comfy couch in a makeshift living room at her elegant office in the leafy suburbs of Dainfern, north of the city. I meet her when she is in a deep conversation with a South African journalist and one of her office employees. I sit down to join the conversation and Masiyiwa recounts a fascinating story.
The year was 1996 and Masiyiwa and her husband, Strive Masiyiwa, were almost penniless. The couple was going through a rough patch, and they were struggling to feed themselves and their children.
“We were so broke. We couldn’t even afford to give our visitors tea,” Tsitsi Masiyiwa says in retrospect. “We were practically living from hand to mouth.”
But things hadn’t always been this way. Just a couple of years before, Strive Masiyiwa owned a thriving business. He had founded Retrofit Engineering, an electrical contracting firm that handled lucrative construction contracts for the government and had built a considerable fortune. But his fortunes reversed in 1993 when he decided to establish Zimbabwe’s first independent mobile telecoms network to rival the government-owned telecommunications company.
At the time, the Zimbabwean Post & Telecommunications Corporation (PTC) was the sole provider of telecommunication services in Zimbabwe. When Masiyiwa expressed his interest in acquiring a mobile operating license and launching a substitute mobile telecoms network, the government threatened to prosecute him if he dared to pursue his plans. The Zimbabwean authorities denied him a license. Refusing to bow to intimidation, he took the government to court, challenging the government’s monopoly on telecommunications and seeking the rights to operate a mobile phone company in Zimbabwe. It was a landmark case that lingered for close to five years, eventually finding its way to the Supreme Court.
“Our problems began when we sued the government,” Masiyiwa recollects. “You cannot sue the government and think things will always be right.”
During that period, the government, which was Retrofit’s biggest client, immediately called off its existing contracts with the firm. It had disastrous consequences for Strive Masiyiwa. Within months, he could hardly afford to pay salaries and he finally had to sell off the company’s assets to finance Econet’s legal battles against the government. Before long, the Masiyiwas’ funds had dried up, and they were on their wits end.
“So we were broke. In trying to understand what was going on around me, I began to do an intensive soul searching. Then I prayed to God and made a deal with him. I told God that if he granted us the license to operate the mobile phone company in Zimbabwe- and he made us successful, then I will help support as many poor people as possible for as long as I lived,” Tsitsi Masiyiwa recalls.
Tsitsi Masiyiwa, a deeply religious woman, took a step of faith along with her husband. “We went ahead and registered Capernaum Trust, a charity that we decided would give scholarships to needy children. It was an unpractical thing to do at the time, especially considering the fact that we had nothing. But as a Christian, you do unreasonable things,” she enthuses.
God probably answered her prayer because in December 1997 the Zimbabwean Supreme Court awarded Econet Wireless a license to set up a mobile telecoms company in Zimbabwe. The Supreme Court ruled that the government’s monopoly on telecommunications was in violation of a provision in country’s constitution that allowed for freedom of communication.
Econet launched its services in Zimbabwe in 1998. Growth was rapid. Within a few months of setting up in Zimbabwe, Econet became the leading mobile telecoms company in the country. It has maintained that trajectory in the last 15 years and has grown to amass about 10 million subscribers spread across Zimbabwe, Botswana, Burundi and Lesotho. Strive Masiyiwa is now Zimbabwe's richest man.
As Econet began spitting out handsome dividends for her family holding company (which owns the chunk of Econet shares), Tsitsi kept her promise to God.
“I gathered as many orphans as I could find from all over Zimbabwe and I threw a party for them,” Tsitsi says.
Tsitsi regularly held party-like events in her home for orphans in which the children always ate to their fill. Many times, she visited the children in their orphanages, offering them food and personal mentorship. It was an exhilarating experience for her, but she felt it was not enough.
“I spent time with these children and I came to love them. I wanted to keep doing more for them, but I realized that it was not just enough to keep giving them fish. I had to teach them how to fish. I wanted them to grow up and fend for themselves and become successful people. I wanted them educated,” she says.
It was at that point that Capernaum Trust began in earnest, supporting orphaned and vulnerable children by paying their school fees, and providing funds for school uniforms and stationery. Strive and Tsisti Masiyiwa dug into their personal resources to fund these scholarships.
Today, the Capernaum Trust pays the school fees of over 40,000 students, whom Tsitsi calls “History Makers,” across the Primary, High school and Tertiary levels. Of that number, close to 3,000 of them are University students with some of them studying in the United States, South Africa and Australia, where the fees are usually much more expensive that in Africa. In February, Tsitsi and her husband established the Ambassador Andrew Young Scholarship, a $6.4 million dollar scholarship fund that sends African students to attend the Morehouse College in the United States. The fund is named after Ambassador Andrew Young, a former United States Ambassador to the United Nations, who is renowned for his vanguard role in the international Civil Rights Movement.
Tsitsi is quick to emphasize that beneficiaries of their scholarships are not mere students, but “History makers.” And the connotation has a spiritual dimension to it. “Once an orphan comes on the program, he or she ceases to be an orphan because s/he now has a Father in heaven who empowers him/her to make history,” she says.
The Trust now has ‘History Makers’ in Zimbabwe, Burundi, South Africa, Lesotho and Swaziland, and Tsitsi says they are planning to take on more countries in their programme.
“We are most certainly planning to expand to other African countries. While setting up the Trust was in line with fulfilling my promise to God, it was also majorly driven by a desire to see major development and social upliftment in Africa. The Econet Group does business in many African countries and we are making money from these places. We have to give back. It’s only reasonable thinking that businesses give back to the communities in which they do business.”
While the Capernaum Trust traditionally provided only scholarships, uniforms, food packs and stipends, Tsitsi says they now also provide career guidance and medical assistance to its beneficiaries. It is a holistic intervention.
The Masiyiwas spend several millions of dollars every year from their personal resources in addition to financial support from Econet Wireless to support these philanthropic endeavors. Tsitsi politely declined to disclose how much it spends annually on these scholarships. The Capernaum Trust is also generously endowed and it invests its resources in an assortment of sophisticated financial instruments and property.
While the Foundation’s philanthropic work has had several successes, there have been a few disappointments.
“It’s not all roses. We’ve had cases where some of our girls got carried away and became pregnant out of wedlock, and then they had to drop out of school. We’ve had boys who left our programmes to head cattle and some girls have eloped to get married early,” she says.
But Capernaum’s success stories far outnumber its not-so-successful stories- a feat for which Tsitsi is thankful.
While the Capernaum Trust is Tsitsi Masiyiwa’s most popular philanthropic endeavor, it is far from her only one. Along with her husband, she is a co-founder of three other charities- the Christian Community Partnership Trust (CCPF), a charity that provides financial support for church and church organizations working in the least evangelized areas of rural Zimbabwe; the National Healthcare Trust Of Zimbabwe which provides financial support for medical drugs, human resources, transport in the event of a health crisis and the Joshua Nkomo Scholarship Fund – named after the late Zimbabwean nationalist which also awards scholarships to exceptionally intelligent Zimbabwean children. These four foundations are part of the Higher Life Foundation, an umbrella organization for all the charity efforts of the Masiyiwas. Tsitsi Masiyiwa serves as Executive Chair.
Why is Tsitsi Masiyiwa and her husband doing all this?
“We’ve been successful, and I feel that people who are successful have a responsibility to support initiatives that will fuel Africa’s growth and development,” she says matter-of-factly.
“Look around Africa, you’ll see that new millionaires are springing up everyday. It is good to create wealth, but along with wealth-creation must come a deep sense of responsibility. Africa’s rich need to collectively deploy their resources for the good of the people around them.”
Tsitsi Masiyiwa is now at the vanguard in urging rich Africans everywhere to give back.
In April this year she joined forces with some of Africa’s most prominent philanthropists such as Nigerian investor Tony Elumelu, Kenyan banker James Mwangi and Nigerian philanthropist Toyin Saraki to form the African Philanthropy Forum (APF), a regional affiliate of the San Francisco-based Global Philanthropy Forum. The group aims to build a community of African donors and social investors devoted to fueling Africa’s growth and development.
“Collectively, we will find the best, effective and most strategic way to pursue philanthropy in Africa,” she says.
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e46face2fc539a9e5980ca1db135aaee | https://www.forbes.com/sites/mfonobongnsehe/2013/11/20/king-mohammed-vi-of-morocco-to-meet-president-obama-on-friday/ | King Mohammed VI Of Morocco To Meet President Obama On Friday | King Mohammed VI Of Morocco To Meet President Obama On Friday
King Mohammed VI Of Morocco
King Mohammed VI of Morocco will meet with U.S President Barack Obama on Friday at the White House to facilitate discussions aimed at deepening cordial relations and strengthening bilateral economic ties between Morocco and the United States.
Friday’s meeting will mark the first time the North African monarch will be meeting the American President, who extended the invitation. According to a press release by the Moroccan American Center for Policy (MACP), the two leaders are expected to explore new ways through which Morocco and the U.S. can work together to meet key economic and security challenges confronting the Maghreb region. They will also discuss political transitions in the region, for which Morocco's democratic and economic reforms offer a peaceful model for change and renew a series of bilateral commitments.
According to a statement issued by the White House, King Mohammed VI’s visit will highlight the long-standing friendship between the United States and Morocco and help strengthen an already existing strategic partnership between the two countries.
"The President looks forward to discussing a range of issues of mutual interest with King Mohammed VI, including support for Morocco's democratic and economic reforms. This visit is also an opportunity to increase our cooperation on addressing regional challenges, including countering violent extremism, supporting democratic transitions, and promoting economic development in the Middle East and Africa," the White House said in the statement.
Morocco and the U.S enjoy a cordial relationship that dates back to 1777 when the Kingdom was the first to give a naval salute to the United States, heralding the new nation as a sovereign, independent one. In 1787, the U.S Congress ratified a Treaty of Peace and Friendship between the two nations which is still in force today and is the longest unbroken treaty relationship in U.S. history. In September 2012, the U.S. and Morocco launched a Strategic Dialogue—the first such U.S. dialogue with a Maghreb nation—to advance common interests on political, economic, security, and educational and cultural affairs. Morocco and the United States are also bound by a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) that guarantees free flow of business between the two nations and Tangier, a mid-sized coastal city in Northern Morocco is home to the oldest U.S. diplomatic property in the world.
The King is expected to travel with senior members of Morocco’s new government, including diplomats, advisers and ministers who are expected to hold a series of discussions with their American counterparts and develop new strategic partnerships along socio-economic lines. One of the Ministers who will be travelling with the King is Moulay Hafid Elalamy, one of the richest men in Africa and founder of the Saham Group, a leading insurance group in Morocco and the country's newly appointed Minister of Industry, Trade, Investment and the Digital Economy, who will market Morocco as an investment destination to American business leaders.
His Majesty Mohammed VI, King of Morocco ascended to the throne in 1999. Since then, he has met with former U.S. Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush in Washington, as well as former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, whom he once met in Morocco.
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e782f4e07560e42a74d738c7c1a4a050 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/mfonobongnsehe/2014/03/04/the-african-billionaires-2014/ | The African Billionaires 2014 | The African Billionaires 2014
This year, a record 1,645 billionaires made it to FORBES’ annual ranking of the world’s richest people.
There are 29 African billionaires this year, up from 20 just a year ago. These are the 29 Africans who are worth $1 billion or more:
Aliko Dangote, $25 billion
Nigerian, Cement, Flour, Sugar
Aliko Dangote is the richest man in Africa for the fourth year in a row. His Dangote Group is West Africa’s largest industrial conglomerate and has interests in cement production, flour milling, sugar refining and food and beverages. He is $9 billion richer than he was last year on account of the soaring value of the stock price of his publicly-listed Dangote Cement which is up 65% since last year. Dangote is aggressively expanding his Cement company across new markets in Africa, recently announcing plans to build new plants in Kenya and Niger. The company is now present in 15 African countries. Dangote also recently announced plans to construct a private oil refinery and is building a tomato paste factory in Nigeria.
Johann Rupert & Family, $7.6 billion
South African, Luxury Goods
South Africa’s richest man sits atop publicly-listed Swiss-based luxury goods outfit Compagnie Financiere Richemont, which owns brands including Cartier, Van Cleef & Arpels, Jaeger-LeCoultre and Montblanc. He also owns stakes in investment holding companies Remgro and Reinet. Other holdings include two of South Africa’s best-known vineyards, Rupert & Rothschild and L’Ormarins as well as the Franschhoek Motor Museum which houses his personal collection of over 200 antique vehicles.
Nicky Oppenheimer & Family, $6.7 billion
South African, Diamonds
In July 2012, Oppenheimer sold his family’s 40% stake in his family’s diamond business, De Beers to Anglo American for $5.1 billion in an all-cash deal that marked the end of the Oppenheimer family’s multi-decade control of the diamond company. The Oppenheimer family invests through Tana Africa Capital, a $300 million private equity joint venture with Singapore state investor Temasek. Nicky also owns an estimated 1.8% stake in Anglo American.
Nassef Sawiris, $6.7 billion
Egyptian, Construction
Nassef Sawiris is the CEO of Orascom Construction Industries (OCI), Egypt’s most valuable publicly-traded company. In January last year, he announced that OCI was exchanging all global depositary receipts of the company for newly issued shares of OCI NV on the NYSE Euronext in Amsterdam. Bill Gates was part of a consortium of U.S investors who provided $2 billion to help cover payments to shareholders who prefer to tender their OCI shares for cash.
Mike Adenuga, $4.6 billion
Nigerian, Telecoms and Oil
The reclusive Nigerian billionaire is the founder of Globacom, Nigeria’s second largest mobile phone network which has about 24 million subscribers. He also owns Conoil Producing, an indigenous oil exploration company which holds the rights to some of Nigeria’s most lucrative oil fields. Notoriously private, Adenuga hardly grants Press interviews and travels around in with a retinue of bodyguards.
Isabel Dos Santos, $3.7 billion
Angolan, Investments
Africa’s richest woman owns substantial stakes in a number of blue-chip Angolan and Portuguese companies such as Angolan mobile phone company Unitel , Angolan bank Banco BIC SA, Portuguese media giant ZON Optimus and Banco BPI. Isabel is the eldest daughter of Angola’s President Jose Eduardo dos Santos and is believed to hold many of these assets in trust for her father.
Issad Rebrab, $3.2 billion
Algerian, Diversified
Issab Rebrab is Algeria’s richest man, thanks largely to his stake in Algeria's biggest family-owned conglomerate, Cevital, which has interests in sugar refining, port terminals, auto distribution, mining and agriculture. His five children all work at Cevital and the group employs over 12,000 people.
Christoffel Wiese, $3.2 billion
South African, Retail
Wiese, a South African retail mogul is the chairman and the largest shareholder of Shoprite Holdings, a chain of low-price supermarkets with a presence across multiple African countries. He also owns a large stake in Pepkor, a private company that owns seven different discount fashion brands. His other assets include Lanzerac Manor & Winery, a five-star hotel and a significant shareholding in Brait, a private equity firm.
Nathan Kirsh, $3.1 billion
Swaziland. Real Estate
Nathan Kirsh, a Swazi national is the founder of Jetro Holdings, a cash and carry wholesaler of perishable and non-perishable food products, household goods, equipment, supplies and related goods for grocery retailers. Kirsch made his first fortune in Swaziland several decades ago when he founded a corn milling business in 1958. He subsequently expanded into wholesale food distribution in apartheid South Africa and commercial property development.
Mohamed Mansour, $3.1 billion
Egyptian, Diversified
Along with his two brothers, Yasseen and Youssef (also on FORBES’ billionaires list), Mohamed runs the Mansour Group which owns the world’s largest GM dealership. The Mansour Group also owns the largest supermarket chain in Egypt, the country’s second largest real estate developer, Palm Hills, and the Philip Morris franchise in Egypt.
Othman Benjelloun, $2.8 billion
Moroccan, Banking
Othman Benjelloun is the CEO of BMCE Bank, one of the largest commercial banks in Morocco, with operations in at least 15 African countries. He is also the chairman of holding company FinanceCom which has interests in banking, insurance, and telecom in Morocco.
Naguib Sawiris, $2.8 billion
Egyptian, Telecoms
Naguib Sawiris, scion of the Sawiris business family made his fortune in telecom. His Orascom Telecom Media and Technology owns a 75% stake in Koryolink, North Korea’s only cell network. He is still actively looking for opportunities in the industry through his listed telecom firm Orascom TMT (formerly Weather Investments) and investment fund Accelero Capital.
Patrice Motsepe, $2.7 billion
South African, Mining
South Africa's first and only black billionaire is the founder and chairman of publicly traded mining conglomerate, African Rainbow Minerals (ARM) which has interests in platinum, nickel, chrome, iron, manganese, coal, copper and gold. He also holds a stake in Sanlam, a publicly traded financial services company.
Folorunsho Alakija, $2.5 billion
Nigerian, Oil
Nigeria’s first female billionaire built her fortune on oil. Nigeria’s former President Ibrahim Babangida awarded her company, Famfa Oil a lucrative oil prospecting license in 1996 - now OML 127, which is one of Nigeria's most prolific oil blocks and produces as much as 200,000 barrels of oil per day on good days. Famfa Oil, which Alakija controls fully, owns a 60% stake in OML 127.
Onsi Sawiris, $2.4 billion
Egyptian, Diversified
Onsi Sawiris is the patriarch of Egypt's wealthiest family, and founder of the eponymous Orascom conglomerate, which is involved in construction, telecoms and hotels. The companies are all run by his three sons- Naguib, Samih and Nassef, all billionaires.
Youssef Mansour, $2.3 billion
Egyptian, Diversified
Youssef Mansour is a part owner of Mansour Group which owns Caterpillar dealerships in 8 African countries and General Motors dealerships in Egypt and Iraq, as well as supermarkets, McDonald's and Philip Morris distribution. He maintains a lower profile than his billionaire brothers Mohamed and Yasseen.
Mohamed Al Fayed, $1.9 billion
Egyptian, Property
In 2010 Mohammed Al-Fayed sold his Harrod’s department store in London to Qatar Holding for a reported $2.4 billion and last July, he sold Fulham Football Club, which he acquired in 1997 to American billionaire Shahid Khan for a reported $300 million. He now owns the famed Hotel Ritz in Paris which he closed in August 2012 to start construction on what will be the hotel’s biggest redo since it was built in 1898 and also owns Cocosa, a U.K.-based discount fashion website.
Miloud Chaabi, $1.9 billion
Moroccan, Diversified
Miloud Chaabi got his start in 1948 developing housing, then expanded through his privately owned Ynna Holding into hotels, supermarkets and renewable energy. Chaabi has committed to building a university in Casablanca in partnership with Indiana State University.
Yasseen Mansour, $1.8 billion
Egyptian, Diversified
Yasseen Mansour and his brothers Youssef and Mohammed run Mansour Group, a large Egyptian conglomerate which owns Caterpillar and General Motor dealerships, supermarkets, restaurant franchises, and Philip Morris distribution in Egypt.
Aziz Akhannouch, $1.4 billion
Moroccan, Diversified
Aziz Akhannouch is the largest shareholder in Akwa Group, a multi-billion dollar Moroccan conglomerate with interests in petroleum, gas and chemicals through publicly-traded Afriquia Gas and Maghreb Oxygene, as well as media, real estate development and hotels. His wife, Salwa Idrissi, runs a successful real estate development company in Morocco, and holds the Moroccan franchise for Gap, Zara, and Galeries Lafayette, among other fashion brands.
Stephen Saad, $1.3 billion
South African, Pharmaceuticals
Along with business partner Gus Attridge, Stephen Saad founded Aspen Pharmacare in 1997. It is now the largest publicly-traded drug manufacturer on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange. Aspen is a supplier of branded and generic pharmaceuticals in more than 150 countries and of consumer and nutritional products in selected territories. The company has a market capitalization of $11 billion. Saad is the company’s largest shareholder.
Desmond Sacco, $1.3 billion
South African, Mining
Desmond Sacco is the chairman and largest individual shareholder of South African mining company, Assore Group which he inherited from his father, Guido Sacco. The company was listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange over 60 years ago. Desmond, a trained geologist, joined the company in 1968 and was appointed to the group’s board in 1974. In his younger years, Sacco played cricket and hockey at the University of South Africa.
Koos Bekker, $1.3 billion
South African, Media
Koos Bekker who has run Cape Town-based media conglomerate Naspers since 1997 will be stepping down as CEO in April this year, and will be taking a year off to travel the world and explore new business opportunities for the company. He is expected to take over as chairman of the company from next year. Over a 17 year period, Bekker transformed the storied publisher into a new media powerhouse, with investments in China (Tencent), Russia (Mail.ru), Brazil (Abril) and other countries in Eastern Europe, Latin America and Africa. Refusing to take a salary, Bekker has traditionally been compensated via stock option grants that vest over time.
Allan Gray, $1.3 billion
South African, Investments
Moneyman Allan Gray founded Cape Town-based investment management firm, Allan Gray Limited in 1973, after earning his MBA from Harvard and spending eight years at Fidelity in the US. The company manages $34 billion, making it the largest privately owned asset manager in South Africa. He also owns Orbis Investment Management in Bermuda which manages $30 billion. Venerable philanthropist funds the Allan Gray Orbis Foundation which awards higher education grants to students in Southern Africa.
Samih Sawiris, $1.3 billion
Egyptian, Property Development
Samih Sawiris is the youngest son of Egyptian construction magnate Onsi Sawiris. His company, Orascom Development develops integrated towns and operates resorts in Egypt. He also owns a minority stake in construction company, OCI N.V., which was founded by his father Onsi and is now run by his brother Nassef.
Anas Sefrioui, $1.25 billion
Moroccan, Property Development
Anas Sefrioui made his first fortune by building low-cost housing units in Morocco. He now heads publicly-traded Groupe Addoha which develops housing in several French-speaking African countries including Ivory Coast, the Republic of Guinea and Cameroon. His daughter Kenza works with him at the company.
Abdulsamad Rabiu, $1.2 billion
Nigerian, Diversified
Nigeria’s newest billionaire is 54 year-old Abdulsamad Rabiu, the founder of BUA Group, a Nigerian conglomerate with interests in sugar refining, cement production, real estate, steel, port concessions, manufacturing, oil gas and shipping. BUA Group’s annual revenues are estimated at over $2 billion. Abdulsamad got his start in business working for his father, Isyaku Rabiu, a successful businessman from Nigeria’s Northern region. He struck out on his own in 1988, importing rice, sugar, edible oils as well as steel and iron rods.
Sudhir Ruparelia, $1.1 billion
Ugandan, Property, Banking
East Africa’s richest man is the founder of the Ruparelia Group, Uganda’s largest conglomerate with interests in property, banking, education, insurance and agriculture. It owns a chain of hotels, hundreds of commercial and residential property in Kampala, a country club, a chain of forex bureaus, two Highbrow secondary schools and Crane Bank, one of the Uganda’s top 3 commercial banks.
Rostam Azizi, $1 billion
Tanzanian, Telecoms
Tanzania’s first and only billionaire owes the bulk of his fortune to his 35% stake in Vodacom Tanzania, the country’s largest mobile phone company with more than 10 million subscribers. He also owns Caspian Mining, a contract mining company that provides mining services to giants like BHP Billiton and Barrick Gold. Caspian Mining also owns several mining concessions for gold, copper and Iron ore in Tanzania. Other assets include a stake in Dar es Salaam Port in which he is a partner with Hutchison Whampoa and extensive real estate in Tanzania, Dubai, Oman and Lebanon.
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3de7b095876eac9539f523936b861fe0 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/mfonobongnsehe/2014/08/02/15-years-on-the-throne-the-accomplishments-of-king-mohammed-vi-of-morocco/ | 15 Years On The Throne: The Accomplishments of King Mohammed VI Of Morocco | 15 Years On The Throne: The Accomplishments of King Mohammed VI Of Morocco
On Wednesday, the 30th of July, Morocco celebrated the 15th year anniversary of the reign of its ruler, King Mohammed VI.
King Mohammed VI, who is Africa’s wealthiest monarch with a fortune estimated at $2 billion, derived from his stake in investment company Société Nationale d’Investissement (SNI), ascended the throne on the 23rd of July, 1999 at the age of 35 after the death of his father, King Hassan II. Since ascending the throne, King Mohammed has instituted, accelerated and consolidated a range of social, democratic and economic reforms to improve the lives of Moroccans and strengthen the Kingdom’s institutions. The King’s reign has seen him tackling issues of poverty, improving foreign relations and enacting a number of political reforms that have reduced his own powers and strengthened the Moroccan parliament.
I recently had a conversation with Jordana Merran, Director of Media of the Moroccan American Center for Policy, an organization that works to promote relations and mutual understanding between the United States and Morocco. She highlighted a few key achievements of King Mohammed VI's 15-year rule:
The 2004 Moroccan Truth & Reconciliation Commission – King Hassan II’s 38-year rule from 1961 to 1999 was characterized by a poor human rights record, including decades of imprisonment without trial and the mysterious disappearances of his political opponents – both real and perceived. To correct this, King Mohammed established the 2004 Moroccan Truth & Reconciliation Commission (IER), an independent reconciliation commission that investigated human right violations during King Hassan’s rule. King Mohammed accepted the commission’s recommendations and compensated more than 25,000 aggrieved Moroccans to the tune of close to $200 million.
Reform Of Morocco’s Family Code: In 2004, King Mohammed championed the cause for the reform of Morocco’s family code, the Moudawana, which is easily one of the most progressive laws on women and family rights in the Arab world today. Among other things, the Moudawana grants women joint responsibility of the family with their husbands, as well as equal rights in marriage and access to property upon divorce. The code also promotes women’s participation in politics and society, and as at today, 17% of Morocco’s parliamentary seats are occupied by women, up from just 1% 15 years ago.
National Initiative for Human Development: In 2005, King Mohammed established the National Initiative for Human Development (INDH) to alleviate poverty, vulnerability and social exclusion in the country. The programme employs a top-down approach to provide health care, social reintegration, job training and other services to Moroccans in urban and rural communities living in extreme poverty.
Diplomacy: King Mohammed has deepened Morocco’s ties in Africa and the Middle East and has strengthened Morocco's longstanding alliance with the US. Today, Morocco has cooperation agreements with countries across Africa advancing economic development, security, and religious moderation. The King also funds and promotes a programme that trains Imams from Mali, Libya, Tunisia, Côte d'Ivoire, Gabon, Guinea, the Maldives and Nigeria on combating religious extremism.
The 2011 reform of the Constitution: In 2011, King Mohammed proposed constitutional changes which included amendments to whittle down his political powers, devolve power to the regions, strengthen of the authority of the country's parliament, and ultimately consolidate democracy in Morocco. The Constitution was adopted by a national referendum.
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8c57effef17dbc300ac8868f4a1054a3 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/mfonobongnsehe/2014/12/04/the-20-youngest-power-women-in-africa-2014/ | The 20 Youngest Power Women In Africa 2014 | The 20 Youngest Power Women In Africa 2014
Every year since 2011, I have enlisted readers' help to identify 20 young, extraordinary and inspiring African women, aged 45 and under, who are making the most dramatic impact in individual African countries in the world of politics, business, technology, policy, diplomacy and media for the annual tally of the 20 Youngest Power Women In Africa. Now in its 4th year, the list celebrates 20 influential female leaders, groundbreakers and ceiling crashers who are transforming the continent from their communities.
Following my November request for nominations, I received more than 700 nominations – many familiar names, others not so familiar. But each one of them has one thing in common: they are doers. They are resolute in their resolve to change, to build, inspire and transform. And they are out there making it happen. They are change makers, trendsetters, visionaries and thinkers, builders, and young global leaders. They are at the vanguard of Africa’s imminent socio-economic revolution and its contemporary renaissance.
Meet the 2014 class of the 20 Youngest Power Women in Africa: the continent’s emerging power brokers, the Amazons to watch, and the custodians of tomorrow.
Fatima-Zahra Mansouri, Moroccan, Mayor of Marrakech
Mansouri, 38, is the Mayor of Marrakech, the third largest city in Morocco with a population of more than 1 million. After studying commercial law in France, she returned to Morocco where she established and ran a successful commercial law firm. She was elected Mayor of Marrakech in 2009 at age 33 after she won a seat at the City Council on the platform of the Authenticity and Modernity Party (PAM). In the last 5 years, Mansouri has significantly cut down on graft, and is widely credited with introducing transparency, accountability and efficiency within Marrakech’s 96-member city council. Her father, Abderrahman Mansouri, previously served as deputy governor of Marrakech and Ambassador of Morocco to the United Arab Emirates.
Ada Osakwe, Nigerian, Advisor to the Honorable Minister Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Nigeria
Nigeria’s agricultural sector has attracted more than $4 billion in private sector investment commitments over the last year, and Ada Osakwe is an integral reason why. Osakwe, 34, currently serves as the Senior Investment Adviser to Nigerian Minister of Agriculture Akinwunmi Adesina – arguably the best-performing member of President Goodluck Jonathan’s kitchen cabinet. She works directly with the minister, advising him on his policies regarding private sector investments into the food and agriculture sector. Osakwe also interacts with current and prospective agribusiness investors and champions innovative approaches to channel sustainable private sector engagements in the sector. Previously, she served as Vice President of Kuramo Capital, a New York-based investment management firm. She also worked in various capacities at the African Development Bank.
Amy Jadesimi, Nigerian, Managing Director, LADOL
The 39-year-old Nigerian businesswoman is the Managing Director of the Lagos Deep Offshore Logistics Base (LADOL), Nigeria’s only indigenous-owned deep offshore logistics base. Jadesimi earned a BA in physiological sciences at Oxford University, and then went on to work for the investment banking division of Goldman Sachs in London. She subsequently attended Stanford Business School, where she earned her MBA, and returned to Nigeria to set up a financial consultancy outfit before joining LADOL (a company founded by her father) as Managing Director. Since it was founded in 2001, LADOL has turned a former industrial wasteland into a $500 million industrial village and specialized port facility, providing an environment in which high value operations, such as oil and gas drilling and production support, ship building and repairs, specialized manufacturing and engineering can take place 24/7 in a secure Free Zone. The second phase of the LADOL development is currently ongoing and it includes Nigeria’s single largest local content development - a $300 million investment in West Africa’s largest vessel fabrication and integration yards. LADOL Free Zone was created to make Nigeria the hub for West African maritime and oil and gas activities through long-term investment in world class facilities and services. Jadesimi is spearheading this vision.
Naisula Lesuuda, Senator, Kenya
At 30, Lesuuda, a journalist, Peace Ambassador and Girl Child champion, is the youngest female member of the Senate, the upper house of the Parliament of Kenya. In 2010, Lesuuda, who previously worked as a journalist and anchor at the Kenya Broadcasting Corporation, became the youngest person to be awarded the presidential Order of the Grand Warrior for her work in leveraging journalism to highlight social issues in Kenya and promoting peace among warring pastoralist communities in northern Kenya. She is also a recipient of the International Labour Organization (ILO) Wedge Award 2011 for Outstanding Professional Woman. A vocal defender of the human rights of girls and children, she runs the Naisula Lesuuda Peace Foundation which advocates and supports the education of girls, while creating awareness of the dangers of female genital mutilation and child marriage.
Amira Elmissiry, Zimbabwean, Special Assistant to the President of the African Development Bank
Elmissiry, 31, is the Special Assistant to the President of the African Development Bank (ADB), a multilateral development finance institution established to promote the economic development and social progress of African countries. Elmissiry advises ADB President Donald Kaberuka on issues regarding policy, operations and strategy. A British-trained lawyer, she joined the bank in 2009 and rose through the ranks. Prior to her current role, she served as the ADB’s Senior Legal Counsel in Private Sector and Microfinance Operations.
Rimini Makama, Nigeria, Director, Africa Practice
Rimini Makama, 34, is the Communications Director at Africa Practice, Africa’s foremost strategy and communications consultancy. Over the last half a decade, Makama has successfully introduced some of the largest international institutions on the continent and beyond into the Nigerian market, simultaneously helping to strategically positioning them as key players in their industry and encouraging foreign investment in the country. Some of her clients include BlackBerry, Union Bank, Renaissance Capital, Bloomberg , Western Union, World Economic Forum Africa, The Africa Union and Paypal. Rimini has a background in law and after obtaining a BL from the Nigerian Law School and an LLM in International Law and World Order. Prior to a career in communications, she joined the Office of Legal Affairs at the International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL) in Lyon, France where she worked as a lawyer primarily reviewing notices and individual requests safeguarding international security and safety across borders. She also drafted cooperation agreements between the 190 member countries.
Afua Osei (Ghanaian) and Yasmin Belo-Osagie (Nigerian-Ghanaian), Co-Founders, She Leads Africa
Yasmin Belo-Osagie, 25, and Afua Osei, 27, are co-founders of She Leads Africa, a platform that provides the most talented female entrepreneurs across the continent with access to the knowledge, networks and financing needed to build and scale strong businesses. Their goal is to jumpstart female entrepreneurs from SMEs to pan-African industry leaders, and they are certainly on the way. Within less than a year, and while juggling full-time positions at McKinsey & Company, Yasmin and Afua successfully launched an entrepreneurship showcase competition which drew close to 400 applications from 27 countries and multiple industries. To date, the two have recruited nearly 1,000 women-led start-ups into their network; their goal is to engage at least 10,000 female entrepreneurs in 2015. She Leads Africa is set to become a staple of the African investment community with VC funds already seeking access to its database of female entrepreneurs. It has the potential to become the 500 Startups of Africa. Its leaders are two young women who are positioned to significantly increase the volume and impact of female entrepreneurs.
Phumzile Van Damme, South African, Member Of Parliament
At 31, Phumzile Van Damme is one of the youngest members of South Africa’s Parliament. Prior to May 2014 when she joined the Parliament, Damme was the Democratic Alliance’s Head of Parliamentary Research and Communication. The Democratic Alliance has been the official opposition in South Africa since 1999, and between 2013 and May 2014, Damme was charged with the responsibility of communicating the party’s role as the official opposition in Parliament. She is also a National Spokesperson for the party.
Tebogo Mashego, South African, Entrepreneur
The 32 year-old South African entrepreneur is one of the very few women operating in South Africa’s metal and aluminum manufacturing industry. Mashego is the co-founder and CEO of Diep K Steel & Aluminum, a company that manufactures balustrades and stainless steel staircases, designer steel gates and aluminum roofing, among other products. She started the business in 2004 with her husband and managed it on a part-time basis, while maintaining her job as a human resources officer for a municipality. When her husband divested from the business in 2008, she resigned from her job to run the manufacturing company full-time.
Naadiya Moosajee, South African, Co-founder, Women In Engineering
Moosaje, 30, is a co-founder of the WomEng (Women in Engineering - formally SAWomEng) - a global non-profit organization aimed at attracting, developing and nurturing the next generation of women engineering leaders through various streams, including workshops for high school students, an annual innovation challenge for university students and networking events for women in the engineering industry. WomEng presents an invaluable platform for the advocacy, advancement and education of females entering the engineering industry. Moosajee is a Fellow of the African Leadership Network.
Irene Koki Mutungi, Kenyan, Pilot
In April, Kenya Airways appointed Mutungi, 39, as a Captain on the Boeing B787 Dreamliner, making her the first African female Dreamliner Captain in the world. Mutungi joined Kenya Airways in 1993 and became the airline’s first female pilot and the first woman to earn the captain title in Africa.
Toyosi Akerele-Ogunsiji, Nigerian, Social entrepreneur
Ogunsiji, 31, is the Founder of RISE NETWORKS, a Nigeria-based private and public sector funded Youth Interest social enterprise with a primary focus on wholesome youth and education development. The organization focuses on creating intellectual development and capacity building programs for young Nigerians between 16 and 30 and receives generous support from several state governments and blue-chip companies. Ogunsiji is an alumnus of the United States Government’s International Visitor Leadership Program.
Yvonne Khamati, Kenyan, Deputy Head of Mission at Kenya Embassy, Somalia
In 2007, former Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki appointed Yvonne Khamati as Kenya’s head of Chancery and deputy permanent representative to the Kenya Mission to the United Nations Office in Nairobi. She was only 25 at the time, and thus became the youngest envoy in Kenya’s history. Now 32, Khamati is still one of the youngest diplomats in Kenya and serves as the Deputy Head of Mission at the Kenya Embassy in Somalia.
Kamayirese Germaine, Rwandese, State Minister for Energy and Water, Rwanda
Germaine, 33, a trained engineer, is the Minister of State in Charge of Energy, Water and Sanitation in the Ministry of Infrastructure (MININFRA), Rwanda. She carries the responsibility of executing and implementing Rwanda’s National Policy and Strategy for Water Supply and Sanitation services as well as governing the activities of power production, transmission, distribution and trading within and outside Rwanda’s territory.
Adiat Disu, Nigerian, Founder, African Fashion Week
Adiat Disu, 27, is an international publicist and founder of Adirée, a New York-based communications and brand strategy company. In 2009, Adirée launched the annual Africa Fashion Week in New York, one of the most popular international African-focused fashion events, in an effort to place structure around Africa's fashion industry and promote international economic partnerships while promoting brands from Africa on a global scale. It has been a resounding success. Disu and Adirée are also working on hosting other international African Fashion Weeks in other fashion capitals of the world including Paris, Milan, London and Tokyo.
Jamila Abass, Linda Kwamboka, and Susan Oguya, Kenyan, Co-founders, MFarm
Abass, Kwamboka and Oguya are the founders of MFarm, a revolutionary Kenyan mobile software company that could potentially transform the fortunes of millions of African farmers if replicated across several African countries. MFarm, founded in 2010, provides agricultural producers and buyers with the most recent retail price information about products. It also operates a virtual marketplace where consumers can buy their farm products directly from manufacturers while farmers can find buyers for their produce.
Tabetha Kanengoni Malinga, Zimbabwean, Deputy Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture
Last year, Malinga was appointed Zimbabwe’s Deputy Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture. At 32, she is the youngest member of President Robert Mugabe’s cabinet and also serves as a Member of Parliament, representing Mazowe Central Constituency. Her father, the late Elias Kanengoni, was the deputy director (internal) of the Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO).
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b5840541aebbf31ca5ea30b07edc865e | https://www.forbes.com/sites/mfonobongnsehe/2015/04/14/the-31-year-old-entrepreneur-who-is-challenging-paypal-in-kenya/ | The 31 Year-Old Entrepreneur Who Is Challenging PayPal In Kenya | The 31 Year-Old Entrepreneur Who Is Challenging PayPal In Kenya
Danson Muchemi, 31, is the founder of JamboPay, Kenya’s leading Online Payment Gateway. JamboPay, which was founded in 2009, now has more than 1,500 institutional clients and processes more than $50 million in payments every year. The company has a presence in Kenya, Tanzania and Senegal and is expanding to 4 additional countries before the end of 2015.
I caught up with him recently in Nairobi and we chatted briefly about JamboPay's model, service offering and future plans.
What’s your personal and professional background?
I am the CEO of JamboPay and a firm believer in deploying technology for the good of humanity. I was born and raised in Nyandarua County in central Kenya. I attended Gikeno Primary School and then proceeded to Nguviu Boys High School before joining Strathmore University for a diploma in Management Information Systems. Subsequently, I successfully pursued a Bsc degree in Telecommunications and Information Technology at Kenyatta University. While at Primary School, the enterprise bug bit me after my parents bought me rabbits, which breed fast and had to sell. At the University the enterprise malady got severe and I found myself starting and running a enterprise at the University. I founded JamboPay at age 25.
What are the origins of JamboPay?
I founded JamboPay in 2009. I attempted to set up an e-commerce shop but could not find a reliable local payment gateway to process payments for the web shop. I joined hands with a friend to set up JamboPay to address the payments gap then. We did not have funds to hire a proper office among other things and so we settled for a Cyber Cafe. At the Cyber Cafe, we leased a single computer for Ksh 4,500 ($50) per month. It was at the Cyber Cafe that we wrote our Company Mission, Vision and our initial business plan. We kept our costs low and as such managed to utilize little financial resources to start. In retrospect, our startup cost was less than $1,000. For 6 months, we operated from the Cyber Cafe. We were just two of us. Today JamboPay employs 105 employees- 68 of them being permanent with the rest on part time contract. JamboPay today serves over 1500 clients.
Explain JamboPay’s service offering.
JamboPay is an innovative Payments service provider. We help businesses and Government organizations to collect and disburse money electronically. The popular terms in the market - “Cashless” and “Cashlite” simply means JamboPay. JamboPay processes payments for Kenyan e-commerce sites, billers, ticketing companies, retailers and governments. We customize our services to suit clients’ needs. We present our service across various delivery platforms such as mobile, web and physical agency networks. We bridge Telcos and Banks for Merchants and Consumers.
Tell us about JamboPay’s current portfolio, customers and expansion plans.
JamboPay serves over 1500 clients drawn from Retail, Financial Services, Media, Governments, Billers, education and the Hospitality Industry. We have a unique portfolio of clientele – from Farmers, to Pay TV companies, to Governments. Some of our notable clients include Uchumi Supermarkets, ICEA Insurance, Standard Media Group, Nairobi City Water and Sewarage Company (NCWSC), Sameer Africa, Car & General, Nairobi County Government. We have a partnership with the Nairobi City government whereby we have automated payment of various taxes and services for the County Government through our e-wallet service. The service is known as eJijiPAY. The Nairobi City project is the largest and most successful e-payments project in Eastern and Central Africa- today. Over $40 million has been transacted through the City Service over the last 4 months. From our first day, we set out on a mission to make JamboPay the best payments service provider for Africa out of Africa.
What sort of individual and institutional customers use JamboPay?
Individuals who would like to securely make payments from the comfort of their homes, offices or when traveling use JamboPay. Also, institutions that are keen on providing the convenience of e and m-commerce to their customers are our primary customer. Where there are risks associated with handling of cash, JamboPay comes in handy. Where governments and businesses want to increase revenue collection, and at the same time improve on efficiency and transparency, our services are appropriate.
Is JamboPay going to become more than an online payment gateway?
Yes. Today we provide our services beyond the web domain. We have extended the service to mobile technologies such as USSD, mobile applications and to physical points. A number of our customers use our service to accept payments over the counter.
How does JamboPay make money?
JamboPay makes money from transactions. We charge a small fee for every transaction we process. Sometimes we also charge set up fees where there is need for customizations to client’s specifications. We achieved modest revenues last year. This year we expect further growth driven by increased adoption of electronic payments by government organizations.
JamboPay is fairly established in Kenya. Might you be looking elsewhere for growth, say the rest of Africa?
Indeed we are. At present we have presence in Kenya, Tanzania and Senegal.We plan to be in 7 African countries by the end of 2015 and in 14 countries by 2016. Our Uganda office is expected to be up by end of April this year. Africa is in our focus.
Of all your services, which one has been the most successful, and which one has potential for exponential growth in the medium to long-term?
Our most successful service has been the Bills payments service. A good number of our subscribers use our e-bill payment service to pay for various utility bills such as the Water Bills.
We have recently launched a service for payment of parking fees and government taxes in Nairobi City. This has potential for growth in the medium to long-term. We have services for health insurance payments that will continue to grow in the coming years.
What has been your biggest challenge in running a successful business in Kenya?
From my experiences, there has not been proper startup support mechanisms /frameworks in Kenya. I commend the Government of Kenya for the various measures taken recently to nature and groom young enterprises.
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43bd4339ad096febddbe11e2a592f801 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/mfonobongnsehe/2015/07/21/the-nigerian-building-a-300-million-smart-mall-in-aba-city/ | Nigeria Is Building A $300 Million Smart Mall In Aba City | Nigeria Is Building A $300 Million Smart Mall In Aba City
Paul Obanua, a 43 year-old Nigerian businessman, is on a quest to change the landscape of mall developments in Nigeria and, arguably, in Africa. Obanua’s current project, through his firm Greenfield Assets Nigeria Limited, is turning a 28–acre in Aba, the capital city of Abia State in Nigeria, known as a strategic trading hub in the southern part of the country, into what will be a purpose-built smart mall community with 100,000 square meters of retail space for shopping, a multiplex movie theater, bank, its own transportation system, a dry dock for wholesale distribution and more.
With a projected development cost of $300 million, Aba Mega Mall is expected to be the biggest shopping in Africa.
I recently caught up with Paul Obanua, CEO of Greenfield Asset Management, to get his take on Aba mega mall development, and how it can impact and encourage privately funded infrastructural development in Nigeria and Africa in the years to come.
Photo Credit: Paul Obanua
How did the idea of building the biggest mall in Africa come about?
The mission of Greenfield Assets Limited is to renew sub-Saharan African cities, regenerate our communities and empower lives. In our quest to achieve this, one of the opportunities we identified is in the area of infrastructure development, especially retail infrastructure. This has encouraged us to pioneer the leapfrogging of Africa's Historical Open Market Retail System to Smart Mall Infrastructure. Our goal is to transform the way in which Africans trade.
Rapid urbanization and Nigeria's youth demography of about 70% of her population, have amplified the demand for a new shopping experience. Lagos with a population of over 20 million has just four standard Malls compared to 23 malls in Nairobi with a population of 3 million.
Aba has a long history as a major center of commerce and industry in Nigeria and its influence extends to such neighboring countries as Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Central Africa Republic, Ghana, etc. The major shopping center in Aba is the Ariaria market built in the 1970s with the capacity for 20,000 shops; today it has become a sprawl of 120,000 shops. This and many other commercial centers are all busting at the seams as they have all exceeded their carrying capacity.
The amount of retail space required to meet present demand is in excess of 500,000 square meters and we envisage that Aba Mega Mall will go a long way to fill this gap.
What are the biggest challenges in embarking on such a large project?
The difficulty in raising local financing for capital intensive projects like this is one of the biggest challenges.
How many developers have you partnered with in developing the mall?
Greenfield Assets Limited is the sole developer of Aba Mega Mall though we have some equity and technical partners.
As things stand, how far long is the Aba Mega Mall development at present?
The first phase of 1,000 units of retail space has been completed. It was commissioned on the 26th of May 2015 and commercial activities commenced right after the commissioning.
The first phase has dovetailed into the second phase which includes a luxury mall, 100-room boutique hotel, 6-Screen Cinema, 10-megawatt Independent Power Supply, the first Dry Port in the South-East of Nigeria with a fully automated 30,000 sqm warehouse. By the time we are done, we would have invested over $300 million and achieved about 10,000 units of lettable space for commercial activities.
This is a rather large undertaking from a financial position, is Aba Mega Mall the largest investment Greenfield Assets ever made or is it one of many to come?
You are right; it is one of the many to come. We are going to have the Special Economic Zone, which will be an integrated city of business parks that will consist of manufacturing concerns, like automotive manufacturing, steel fabrication, leather works, petrochemical industries, Agri-business and ICT Park.
It will be a complete city that will be self-sustaining, because it will have an economic life of its own. That is coming with 300 megawatts power supply and excess will be transmitted to the national grid.
What are the immediate economic impact for the region and continent as a whole?
The development of Aba Mega Mall will have a multiplier effect on economic development and growth of the city and region, having positive impact on the economic advancement of the nation and indeed the entire continent.
Aba has the latent potential of competing with the biggest commercial hubs in the world in terms of volume of trade and industry. What it has lacked is the supporting infrastructure. Aba Mega Mall provides the right infrastructure which will act as a stimulant for the realization of this potential.
The development of the mall will help to nurture industries, for instance, the leather industry in Aba has suffered because of the lack of a conducive environment. Aba Mega Mall has provided a world-class trade environment with adequate facilities to help support the leather works industry and others.
Aba Mega Mall will ultimately create employment opportunities in excess of over 10,000 direct and indirect jobs.
What are your expectations on completion of this development?
We expect that we would have pioneered the leapfrogging of Africa's Historical Open Market Retail System to Smart Mall Infrastructure and to stimulate the urban renewal of Aba city.
We also look forward to replicating this model in all the major commercial cities in Nigeria and other sub-Saharan African countries.
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5e340b97387017476a6919cba680351c | https://www.forbes.com/sites/mfonobongnsehe/2015/08/24/the-lion-awakes-ugandan-millionaire-ashish-j-thakkar-tells-story-of-renaissance-africa-in-new-book/ | The Lion Awakes: Ugandan Millionaire Ashish Thakkar Tells Story Of African Renaissance In New Book | The Lion Awakes: Ugandan Millionaire Ashish Thakkar Tells Story Of African Renaissance In New Book
Ashish J. Thakkar is the 34-year-old Executive Chairman and Founder of Mara Sokoni, a visionary entrepreneur, genocide survivor, and a World Economic Forum Young Global Leader. In his book The Lion Awakes: Adventures in Africa’s Economic Miracle (Palgrave; August 25, 2015), Ashish gives readers an intimate, on the ground view of Africa’s astonishing and unprecedented economic awakening.
The Lion Awakes strikes purposefully in an effort to educate the reader and shift the Western perception of Africa. In a conversation with the reader, Ashish talks through personal success stories of self-starters in the context of the economic and political climate of their respective markets. We follow the stories of businesses and entrepreneurs who are changing the face of the African economic landscape. We meet a new generation of ambitious, innovative, tech savvy young Africans who are developing everything from bamboo bicycles to iPhone Apps; we meet pioneering minds creating electricity from wind mills made of scrap metal and rubber; we meet artists, film makers and architects thriving with newfound freedom and opportunity; we are introduced to hyper-educated members of the diaspora who have returned to Africa after years, even generations, in Europe and the US to open companies and take up positions in government. Those who left once corrupted and war-plagued lands, have returned to invest in their now thriving homeland. They all tell the same story: 21st Century Africa offers them more opportunity than the First World.
Ashish Thakkar, founder of Mara Group, speaks during US-Africa Business Forum on the sideline of the... [+] US-Africa Leaders Summit in Washington, DC, on August 5, 2014. US companies are planning $14 billion worth of investments in Africa, a White House official said Tuesday as Washington seeks to strengthen commercial ties during the historic US-Africa Leaders Summit. With the United States seeking to counter the Chinese and European trade dominance in Africa, a White House official said the investments will span a range of industries, including construction, clean energy, banking, information technology, and others. AFP PHOTO/Jewel Samad (Photo credit should read JEWEL SAMAD/AFP/Getty Images)
But what does Ashish know about opportunity? A bit to say the least. From starting his first company at the age of 15 to founding the Mara Group, a globally recognized multi-sector group employing over 11,000 people in 25 different African countries through its investments and operations, Ashish has dedicated his life to seizing opportunity. Through his passion for enabling, empowering, and inspiring young entrepreneurs, he founded the Mara Foundation, an organization devoted to fostering and supporting African entrepreneurs through mentorship and venture philanthropy. Ashish has also been appointed as the new Chair of the United Nations Foundation’s Global Entrepreneurship Council (GEC), making him the first African entrepreneur to lead the Council. The GEC brings together leading entrepreneurs to work with the UN in finding innovative solutions to global issues.
One of the many significant innovations to come from Africa includes M-PESA, a mobile banking app that enables anyone the ability to transfer and deposit money through their mobile phones. The platform currently has 18 million regular users, including the president of Kenya. M-PESA sends a daily average of $50.6 million via 1.6 million transactions per day accounting for 30% of all financial transactions in Kenya. School fees, salaries, utility bills, retail purchase and bank transfers can all be accomplished using M-PESA, moving Kenya in the direction of becoming a cashless society.
Advancement has also come in other forms. In an effort to combat the horrific ethnic violence occurring across Kenya following a controversial election in January 2008, a group of entrepreneurs put together an emergency crowd-sourcing utility known as Ushahidi. The platform allowed anyone to instantly report incidents or threats of violence via e-mail, text, Twitter or the internet. These reports appeared on an interactive mapping system, allowing people to see potential danger zones. This encouraged people to avoid these violent hot spots, potentially saving hundreds of lives.
And while tragedy often dominates the headlines, Africa is now the world’s fastest growing continent, with an average GDP of 5.5% during the past 10 years and six of the ten world’s fastest-growing economies within its borders. The middle class has tripled in 30 years to 350 million, accounting for one third of the population. By 2040, Africa will have a larger workforce than China. The revelations continue. Such facts and figures conflict with deep-seated Western impressions of Africa. Ashish works to expel this investor ignorance and make a very clear point: Governments are changing, markets are expanding and opportunities are abundant in Africa.
As he travels from his ancestral home in Uganda, East Africa, to the booming democracies of West Africa, and down to the “Silicon Savannahs” of Kenya and Rwanda, Ashish shows us an Africa that few Westerners are aware exists. Far from being a place of war, poverty and oppression in need of our pity and aid, The Lion Awakes shows a continent undergoing a remarkable transformation, a place bursting with motivated entrepreneurs, a resource-rich economy and a rising middle class. Drawing from his business experience, and his own family’s history in Africa, which include his parents’ expulsion from Uganda by Idi Amin in the 70s and his own survival of the Rwandan genocide in 1994, Ashish shows us how much difference a decade can make. These stories of growth, innovation, and opportunity bring life to what we might later come to know as the early chapters of Africa’s success.
The Lion Awakes examines the current state of the African economy, providing insight on what lies behind, but more importantly, ahead. By illustrating the successes of dedicated young African entrepreneurs and the foundational changes in the establishments which govern them, the book works towards a better understanding and re-framing the Western characterization of Africa. Ashish demonstrates his talent as an extraordinarily observant and driven individual, presenting a book that we can all learn a thing or two from. One of Ashish’s core values both in his personal life and business is the notion of doing good whilst doing well. He believes that if you genuinely do good through your business and have a positive social impact, your business will do well. Looking at his portfolio, it seems to be working.
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3bb234418284d58cec926c22bbdbf04e | https://www.forbes.com/sites/mfonobongnsehe/2015/08/28/africas-richest-man-signs-deal-with-china-inaugurates-250-million-cement-plant-in-cameroon/ | Africa's Richest Man Signs Deal With China, Inaugurates $250 Million Cement Plant In Cameroon | Africa's Richest Man Signs Deal With China, Inaugurates $250 Million Cement Plant In Cameroon
Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, has signed a $4.3 billion deal with Sinoma International Engineering Co, a Chinese engineering company, to build factories for his cement company across Africa and Asia.
According to a report by Reuters, Sinoma, a state-owned company, will build 7 cement plants for Dangote Cement across Cameroon, Ethiopia, Kenya, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Zambia and Nepal. The new factories will be completed within 30 months and will add about 25 million tonnes to Dangote Cement’s current production capacity of 45 million tonnes.
While Nigeria remains the largest revenue earner for Dangote Cement, accounting for 86% of the company’s total revenue, sales outside Nigeria now account for 14% of the company’s sales, up from 3% the previous year, according to the company’s half year results published in July 2015.
Photo credit PIUS UTOMI EKPEI/AFP/Getty Images)
Dangote Cement is the largest publicly traded company on the Nigerian Stock Exchange with a Market capitalization of $15 billion. Aliko Dangote, who is Africa’s richest man, is the controlling shareholder. Dangote has said in the past that he wants to produce 100 million tonnes of cement a year by 2020.
On a related note, Dangote Cement PLC inaugurated its $250 million cement grinding plant in Douala, Cameroon, on Thursday. The company also laid a foundation stone for a 200-meter jetty in Douala.
Speaking at the launch ceremony, Aliko Dangote, President of the Dangote Group, said that the plant, which has a capacity of 1.5 million metric tonnes per annum (mmtpa), was a significant feat in the operations of the cement company.
“The plant is our largest greenfield project in a neighboring country with which we not only share a boundary but also a long history of brotherly relationship dating from our colonial days,” Dangote said.
Aliko Dangote, 58, has a net worth of $16.9 billion according to FORBES’ Realtime billionaire scoreboard on Friday.
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e62a1df7eafb11a01e9acc9c7cf3ae7e | https://www.forbes.com/sites/mfonobongnsehe/2015/12/03/tanzanias-richest-man-mohammed-dewji-is-forbes-africas-man-of-the-year/ | Tanzania's Richest Man Mohammed Dewji Is Forbes Africa's Man Of The Year | Tanzania's Richest Man Mohammed Dewji Is Forbes Africa's Man Of The Year
Mohammed Dewji, the richest man in Tanzania, has been named the ‘Person Of The Year’ by Forbes Africa, a licensed franchise of Forbes.
The annual Forbes Africa Person of the Year Awards was inaugurated in 2012 and seeks to honor the individual who, for better or worse, has had the most influence on business on the continent. Since its inception, some of the individuals who have won the award include James Mwangi, the CEO of Kenya’s Equity Bank; Akinwumi Adesina, the President of the African Development Bank; and Africa’s richest man, Nigerian cement tycoon Aliko Dangote.
Dewji, 40, is the fourth man to be named Person of the Year. He clinched the honor after beating other nominees, who included Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, the wife of South Africa's President; Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari; Nigerian author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and Arumna Oteh, a Nigerian technocrat and Vice President of the World Bank.
Mohammed Dewji, popularly known as Mo, is the CEO of Mohammed Enterprises Tanzania (MeTL), one of the largest industrial conglomerates in East Africa, with interests in manufacturing, distribution, trading, haulage, storage and real estate. The company was founded by his father, Gulam Dewji, in the 1970s as a commodities trading house, but when the younger Dewji returned to Tanzania after pursuing a business degree in the United States, he joined the business. He bought government-owned manufacturing facilities in the textiles and edible oils industries and built METL into a $1.2 billion (revenues) company. The company is now active in East, Southern and Central Africa.
While accepting his award at a ceremony which was held last Wednesday in Johannesburg, South Africa, Dewji dedicated the Person Of The Year Award to his employees and to Tanzania's youth.
“This is not my award; it is neither for my wife, father, mother or any member of my family, but for Tanzanians who have been employed in my company or are working in my farms,” he said.
Dewji was formerly a member of parliament in Tanzania but retired from active politics in early 2015 after serving for two terms. He is the founder and financier of the Mo Dewji Foundation, a philanthropy that provides scholarships for poor Tanzanian children.
Dewji is worth $1.1bn according to FORBES’ recent list of Africa’s 50 Richest People.
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83ddb677f6708b07b868c57ce014f354 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/mfonobongnsehe/2016/10/23/a-conversation-with-vicki-escarra-global-ceo-of-opportunity-international/ | A Conversation With Vicki Escarra, Global CEO of Opportunity International | A Conversation With Vicki Escarra, Global CEO of Opportunity International
Vicki Escarra is the CEO of Opportunity International, a nonprofit organization that provides small business loans, savings, insurance and training to more than five million people working their way out of poverty in the developing world.
Opportunity International promotes job creation through access to financial services and transformational training for those who have limited opportunity. There are few jobs in the developing world. Entrepreneurism enables their clients—those living on less than US$1.90 a day—to earn a living. By creating and supporting jobs for small-scale entrepreneurs, Opportunity International sees a multiplier effect where more children are educated, more food is produced and communities thrive. Their diverse programmes include providing access to loans, savings programs, insurance, and business training along with other sustainable interventions to empower community entrepreneurs to launch and expand businesses.
For people living in poverty, this organization believes sustainable work is a powerful link to a renewed sense of dignity and purpose, and a pathway out of poverty.
Escarra recently spoke to me briefly about Opportunity International’s work across Africa and some of the challenges and opportunities in microfinance and its deployment across the continent.
Vicki Escarra
Tell me about your professional background – What motivated you towards stewarding such a unique enterprise as Opportunity International?
I worked my way through college. My first job out of college with Delta Air Lines turned out to be much more than just a way to make a living. Shortly after I started, I was fortunate to meet the CEO, who encouraged me to think big and gave me an opportunity to explore my potential. That opportunity led to me working my way up through 16 different jobs and finally to chief marketing officer of Delta. As I climbed the corporate ladder, I learned one universal truth: if you give someone an opportunity and commit yourself to partnering with them, they can achieve almost anything through hard work. This mentor/mentee relationship and support is similar to what Opportunity provides clients to break the cycle of poverty, transform their lives and strengthen their families and communities. I’m grateful for all of the experiences that have shaped my career and world-view, ranging from my tenure at Delta to serving as CEO at Feeding America, the largest domestic hunger relief organization in the United States at the time. I’ve also shared experiences with mentors, such as Doris Christopher, founder of Pampered Chef, who first introduced me to Opportunity International. There have been many people who have guided me throughout my journey, including my colleagues today and clients we serve in Africa and around the world, most of whom are budding entrepreneurs creating their own destinies in the emerging markets where Opportunity International operates.
I’ve been privileged to have the experiences that led me to Opportunity International. Together with our extraordinary global team, I’m helping develop a multifaceted, practical and highly effective social impact initiatives across the developing world.
Opportunity International emphasizes education in the emerging markets in which it operates - How important is education to empowering African communities?
Let’s look at the startling facts – There are presently 263 million children out of school around the world, according to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Roughly 60 percent are in Sub-Saharan Africa and most of those boys and girls will never set foot in a classroom. 758 million adults in the world are illiterate and two-thirds of them, for a multitude of reasons that vary from country to country, are women.
The consequences of this severe deficit are frankly, dire and tragically, cyclical. A lack of education begets a lack of opportunity, a lack of lasting employment and the inability to educate your children, which ensures such a vicious cycle continues. It creates a knowledge vacuum that can be filled with a detrimental curriculum and in some cases, radical indoctrination. It begets poverty in the extreme, including starvation, leaving crime as the only way to provide for one’s family.
Now, let’s look at the impact of an education. Statistically, you are less likely to be poor with a quality education; families with an educated head of household are 18-22 percent less likely to be poor than those with an illiterate head of household. One extra year in primary school boosts wages by 10 to 20 percent. And regarding women and education, our data indicates that when 10 percent more girls go to school in a given emerging economy, that country’s GDP grows by at least 3 percent.
That’s why Opportunity International is focusing a high level of resources and attention on education.
Through our work, we know there are 5 major reasons why kids aren’t in school: 1) they can’t afford it; 2) it’s too far away; 3) low quality; 4) family crisis like disease, disability or the death of parent or caregiver; and 5) lack of relevance (education not matched to local employment needs).
Our Education program is addressing those barriers by providing loans to help parents pay tuition, buy books and pay other school expenses, and school improvement loans to help school proprietors build and expand schools. We also provide child savings accounts and youth financial education in schools to teach children how to manage their finances. In addition, we offer insurance products so children have the resources to stay in school even in the event of a family crisis. And we provide training to school proprietors to help them improve the quality of education through new teaching methods, better teaching aids and training, and mentoring.
As a result, we’ve helped 1.5 million children in 10 African countries stay in school. Our goal is to help another 5 million children over the next 5 years.
What are some of the challenges and opportunities in microfinance and its deployment across Africa?
There is no ‘One Size Fits All’ model to operating on the African continent. There are always challenges when you implement groundbreaking programmes that are unprecedented in the environments where you look to affect change. However, these are speed bumps that Opportunity International has been able to overcome with efficiency, in part accomplished through our commitment as a social enterprise for good and likewise with the backing of our global partners. For example, our collaboration with MyBucks, a leading African FinTech enterprise, coupled with the generosity and creative ingenuity of a recent $1 million USD grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, will allow us build a sustainable solution to achieving inclusive and equitable quality education for all to better serve the communities in Uganda, a program which we aim to replicate across the continent.
Where many see challenge, we perpetually see opportunity.
Lastly, where do you envision Opportunity International and its offering in Africa five years from now?
Where I could talk about our expanding beyond the markets in which we now operate and our receptiveness to new and long-lasting partnerships in the future, all of which are fundamental to our growth, I’d like to look at Opportunity International through the prism of client growth. That is to say, five years from now, we would like to have educated 5 million children; we’d like to enhance our portfolio of agribusiness educational programmes and entrepreneurs in that vibrant industry, especially pertinent today, given periodic commodity crises in certain countries.
Many people think eliminating extreme poverty is impossible but I’m here to tell you that we can actually make poverty history in our lifetime—if we work together.
The World Bank agrees, citing research that shows the percentage of people living on less than U.S. $1.90 a day can be reduced to 3 percent by 2030. Working with others also committed to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Opportunity International will continue to invest philanthropic and social impact capital to spark and scale innovative solutions to one of the most pressing issues of our time—ending extreme poverty. That is Opportunity International’s mission. We work hard every day to make that a reality.
It’s in our hands to create such lasting change.
Follow me on Twitter @MfonobongNsehe. Email: mfon.nsehe (at) gmail .com
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b308c42e4c039e3f3754274c7805ac04 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/mfonobongnsehe/2016/12/02/africas-richest-king-visits-nigeria-on-official-trip/ | Africa's Richest King Visits Nigeria On Official Trip | Africa's Richest King Visits Nigeria On Official Trip
King Mohammed VI of Morocco arrived in Abuja on Thursday for an official visit to Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country.
The billionaire Moroccan monarch was accompanied during his visit by his cousin, Prince Moulay Ismail, as well as a large entourage including Morocco’s Agriculture and Fisheries minister, billionaire Aziz Akhannouch. The trip is the third stage of a tour that has seen the King visit Ethiopia and Madagascar, as well various countries in East and Southern Africa.
Morocco's King Mohammed VI attends the signing ceremony of bilateral agreements between Ethiopia and... [+] Morocco in Addis Ababa on November 19, 2016. (Photo credit: SOLAN GEMECHU/AFP/Getty Images)
Over the last few weeks, the King has been visiting various African countries in a bid to diversify its partnerships in Africa and to strengthen the model of South-South cooperation that Morocco has developed with its traditional partners in the continent.
King Mohammed VI’s visit to Nigeria aims to strengthen bilateral cooperation between the two countries, particularly in the sectors of agriculture and solar energy.
King Mohammed is Africa’s wealthiest monarch with a fortune Forbes estimates at $5.7 billion. He owns a 35% stake in Societe Nationale d'Investissement (SNI), a holding company that owns lucrative stakes in several publicly traded companies, including the country's largest bank, Attijariwafa; mining company Managem Group; and sugar producer Cosumar.
Follow me on Twitter @MfonobongNsehe
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f95ecd4584018c81fe5aba85812017bd | https://www.forbes.com/sites/mfonobongnsehe/2016/12/03/toyota-invests-3-million-in-kenyan-tech-firm/ | Toyota Invests $3 Million In Kenyan Tech Firm | Toyota Invests $3 Million In Kenyan Tech Firm
Toyota Tsusho has reportedly acquired a 9.5% stake in Seven Seas Technology, a Kenyan information technology firm, for $3 million, in a deal that values the company at a little over $30 million.
Toyota Tsusho made the investment through its subsidiary, CSV Africa - a social contribution-oriented venture development fund for Africa. Seven Seas’ founder and CEO Mike Macharia, 41, confirmed the value of the transaction to Reuters.
Macharia owns a 35% stake in the company which is now valued at roughly $11 million.
Nairobi, KENYA: Photo taken 23 April 2007 shows a man sending money through a pioneering mobile... [+] phone service called M-Pesa. TONY KARUMBA/AFP/Getty Images
When he was 25, Macharia, a Kenyan national, founded Seven Seas Technology. The company is now one of East Africa’s most reputable IT services firms. The $28 million (annual sales) company is a leading provider of integrated business and technology solutions across Africa in the telecom, financial, Real Estate, service industry and government. Seven Seas plans to list on the Nairobi Stock Exchange in 2020. Macharia said the investment by Toyota Tsusho will enable it expand its operations in preparation for its initial public offering.
Toyota Tsusho has been doing business in Africa for more than 90 years. Apart from the automotive sector, it also has operations in the energy sector and agricultural industrialization.
Follow me on Twitter @MfonobongNsehe. Email: mfon.nsehe(at) gmail dot com
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4e8e8a3c34050856536e6c54e9e47ef5 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/mfonobongnsehe/2017/05/22/7-multi-millionaires-from-cameroon-you-should-know/ | 7 Multi-Millionaires From Cameroon You Should Know | 7 Multi-Millionaires From Cameroon You Should Know
A few Cameroonians have built multi-million and billion dollar empires in industries as diverse as agriculture, food, construction, energy and distribution and earned multi-million dollar fortunes to boot. Their names don’t ring with the African public, and you’ve probably never heard about them before, but they are very successful — and very wealthy. Meet 7 Cameroonian businessmen, who founded businesses with annual revenues of $50 million or more.
Baba Ahmadou Danpullo
Source: Tea Estates
Baba Ahmadou Danpullo started out in business as a truck driver and as owner of a few stalls. He subsequently obtained highly coveted licensed for the import of rice and flour and built his fortune from there. Today, he sits atop the Baba Ahmadou Group, a Cameroonian conglomerate that owns the Ndawara Tea Estate, the largest privately owned tea estate in West Africa. He also owns 49% of Nexttel and the Marble Towers in Johannesburg, one of the tallest buildings in Africa.
Italy's Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni (R) greets Cameroon's President Paul Biya (C) before their... [+] meeting on March 20, 2017 at the Palazzo Chigi in Rome. / AFP PHOTO / ANDREAS SOLARO (Photo credit should read ANDREAS SOLARO/AFP/Getty Images)
Paul Fokam Kammogne
Source: Banking
Paul Fokam Kammogne is the founder of Afriland First Bank, one of the largest commercial banks in Francophone Africa. Afriland has branches in 8 African countries and revenues of $1.1 billion in 2016. He is also the founder of Vox Africa, an African television station based in London.
Samuel Foyou
Source: Beer
Samuel Foyou is the founder of Société brasserie Samuel Foyou (BRASAF), one of the largest breweries in Cameroon. His business empire also includes Unalor, a manufacturer of safety matches, plastic recycler Plasticam, salt manufacturer Sotrasel and Biscuiterie Samuel Foyou (BSF), a manufacturer of biscuits and confectioneries. He also owns the Krystal Beach Hotel in Cape Town.
Nana Bouba
Source: Food
Nana Bouba, 68, is the founder of the Nana Bouba Group, a company that is involved in beef processing, beverages, manufacturing of tomato concentrate and construction. The company had a turnover of $350 million in 2016. Nana Bouba’s sons run the group today.
Sylvestre Ngouchinghe
Source: Seafood
Sylvestre Ngouchinghe made his fortune trading seafood. His Congelcam SA is involved in the importation, distribution and sale of seafood products. The company has more than 2,000 employees and annual revenues of more than $120 million according to information available from the company.
Joseph Kadji Defosso
Source: Beer
Joseph Kadji Defosso, one of Africa’s greatest industrialists, is the founder of the Cameroonian Union of Breweries (UCB), the leading brewery in Cameroon. The company controls a little over 15% of the country’s beer market. Kadji group extends to insurance, hotels, flour milling, transit, maritime transport, sport and distribution.
Mohamadou Bayero Fadil
Source: Diversified
Mohamadou Bayero Fadil is the CEO of Fadil Group, an agro-industrial conglomerate which his father founded in 1944. The company is involved in soap manufacturing, edible oils, livestock farming and hotels. Fadil also owns Equatorial Media Group (EMG), a media company that publishes the Dikalo news journal and operates television station Camnews24.
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3bd67e7325f2a4acfa9346bab9281ebb | https://www.forbes.com/sites/mfonobongnsehe/2017/06/13/5-ethiopian-multi-millionaires-you-should-know/ | 5 Ethiopian Multi-Millionaires You Should Know | 5 Ethiopian Multi-Millionaires You Should Know
A few Ethiopians have built multi-million and billion dollar empires in industries as diverse as agriculture, food, construction, energy and distribution and earned multi-million dollar fortunes to boot. Their names don’t ring with the African public, and you’ve probably never heard about them before, but they are very successful — and very wealthy. Meet 5 Ethiopian entrepreneurs, who own businesses with annual revenues of $50 million or more.
Mulatu Teshome speaks after being sworn in as Ethiopia's new president in Addis Ababa on October 7,... [+] 2013. Ethiopia's parliament elected Mulatu Teshome to be the country's new president today, for a six-year term in a largely symbolic and ceremonial post. Photo credit: ASMARE/AFP/Getty Images
Belayneh Kindie
Source: Agricultural Commodities
Belayneh Kindie Import And Export (BKIEA), the eponymous company Belayneh founded and runs, is the largest agricultural commodities trading company in Ethiopia. He founded the company in 2005 to primarily export oil seeds and subsequently expanded into other commodities such as sesame seeds and nuts. Its commodities trading business has revenues of a little over $60 million in 2016. The company also has a thriving transportation business that boasts a fleet of more than 100 dry & fuel cargo trucks. BKIEA also owns hotels in Ethiopia and a port handling service company.
Tewodros Ashenafi
Source: Oil
Ashenafi is the chairman and co-owner of Ambo Mineral Water, Ethiopia’s bestselling naturally-carbonated bottled mineral water, along with beverage giant SABMiller. He is also the founder and CEO of oil exploration firm SouthWest Energy, one the largest oil and gas acreage holders in East Africa. SouthWest has a leading acreage position in the Jijiga Basin, Ethiopia’s largest proven hydrocarbon-bearing sedimentary basin, covering an area of approximately 350,000 km2 and in the eastern region of Ethiopia bordering Somaliland.
Buzuayehu T. Bizenu
Source: Diversified
Bizenu is the chairman and controlling shareholder of East African Holding, a leading industrial conglomerate in Ethiopia that operates in a variety of sectors such as manufacturing of Fast Moving Consumer Goods, tea processing, printing and packaging, transport, real estate, cement production and coal mining.
Ato Ketema Kebede
Source: Diversified
Kebede is the founder of KK PLC, an Ethiopian company that manufactures blankets primarily to export across Africa and North America. The company also owns an acrylic yarn dyeing plant, and is also engaged in the import and distribution of heavy-duty machineries and equipment for mining, construction, road making and quarrying. The company is also one of the largest exporters of Ethiopian coffee, cereals and spices.
Akiko Seyoum Ambaye
Source: Construction
Akiko Ambaye, one of Ethiopia’s most prominent female business leaders, is the founder of Orchid Business Group (OBG), an Ethiopian construction company engaged in road construction, the supply of construction materials, rental services of construction machinery and haulage.
Email me: mfon.nsehe@gmail. com
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755f68ac552c041b7a2c89e40c8bf35a | https://www.forbes.com/sites/mfonobongnsehe/2017/08/01/this-former-russian-model-is-expanding-her-healthy-snacks-business-into-africa/ | Acclaimed Russian Female Entrepreneur Is Expanding Her Healthy Snacks Business Into Africa | Acclaimed Russian Female Entrepreneur Is Expanding Her Healthy Snacks Business Into Africa
Elena Shifrina, a former Russian model and oil executive at TNK-BP, is the face of the healthy snacks sector in Russia. She is the founder of biofoodlab.com a company that produces all-natural Bite bars in 11 flavors, and an assortment of other product lines for adults, athletes and children. With a 13% market share in Russia and operations in 14 other countries, including the United Kingdom, UAE, China, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Japan, her company is launching her products across multiple countries in Africa.
I recently sat down with Elena to discuss her life, company and plans for expanding her business into Africa.
Elena Shifrina Elena Shifrina
Tell me a bit about yourself and your company, BioFoodLab?
I founded BioFoodLab in 2013, and we are now a leading healthy snacks company in Russia and the former Soviet Union. We produce our Bite bars, which are made of fruit, berries, nuts and spices, without sugar, preservatives or additives, in 11 flavors. Our ingredients are natural, and the bars range from lime with hazelnuts, and figs with cinnamon, to banana with peanuts, apple with carrots, and cranberries with almond. We also have a separate children’s line, Bitey, and a line designed specifically for athletes that consists of dried fruits, oatmeal, and barley.
We have over 8,000 distribution points in Russia alone, and the figure is growing. We started international expansion in 2014, and our products are currently available in 14 other countries, including the UK, UAE and Japan. Our expected 2017 income is 1 billion rubles, or $17 million.
We also launched an online store with global delivery in 2016, featuring all of our products.
I was born in Krasnodar, Russia, in 1983, and grew up in Novorossiysk. As children, we were fortunate because our mother always stressed the importance of getting exercise and eating right. As a young adult, I moved to Paris and London, where I worked as a model. I was quite successful and my career was going well, but I realized that I wanted to do more with my life.
Thanks to a bit of luck and auspicious timing, I landed my first job at TNK-BP, where I worked my way up until I entered the petroleum trade. After putting aside some savings, I enrolled in the MBA program at Moscow’s Skolkovo Graduate Business School and, as part of my studies, did a three-month student exchange program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
That’s where I had the initial idea for BioFoodLab. At MIT, my classmates and I were swamped and had zero time to prepare any food. So it became a ritual of sorts to buy healthy snack bars in the student dining area. When I returned to Skolkovo, my entrepreneurship professor asked our class to design a product or service for a startup. I decided on healthy snack bars, because the Russian products available at the time all contained sugar, syrups, and preservatives. They were expensive and, with the market expanding at 7 percent annually, it seemed like a winner.
I launched BioFoodLab in February 2012 with an initial capital of 7 million rubles – or about $120,000 – of my own money. We turned a profit in eight months.
Biofoods Biofoods
Your story is particularly interesting because many people would be astonished to learn that the healthy foods sector and healthy lifestyle movement not only exists in Russia, but is flourishing. Why does this discrepancy exist between perception and reality in your opinion?
Twenty years ago, few people thought healthy living would take root in Russia, especially as fast as it has. Even fewer thought the healthy foods industry would arrive and blossom so swiftly. As late as 2013, about 70 percent of the adult male and 26 percent of the adult female population still smoked. But in the past two decades, things have changed rapidly due to broader trends in globalization – the import of foreign healthy food products, more people learning about healthy living on the Internet, and the world community becoming more health conscious – and state policies banning alcohol sales afterhours and smoking in public places, and promoting sport.
BioFoodLab has recently expressed an interest in Sub-Saharan Africa. You’ve recently been expanding your business very aggressively here. Tell me about your interest in this region and your plans going forward?
We see Sub-Saharan Africa as a commercially, strategically significant region of the world. The opportunities there are numerous. Right now, Angola, South Africa and Nigeria are the most appealing markets from a distribution standpoint, and we are in talks with distributors in all three locations. We have also received sample requests from Botswana, Ghana and Namibia.
We were selected as Russia’s Exporter of the Year in 2017, and Sub-Saharan Africa is a chance to continue that trend by expanding into a region, in which I have a deep personal interest.
But the larger picture for us is even more compelling. Sub-Saharan Africa has the opportunity to one day be among the world’s leading nut and dried fruit suppliers, if not the biggest. Suffice it to look at the cashew industry, which supplies an estimated 40 percent of the global yield and income to about 10 million people. The economies of the region are modernizing with immense speed and, as their farming and planting techniques improve, these figures are only bound to grow. In the future, we plan to look at nut and dried fruit exports to Russia, and the possibility of launching own or joint production facilities there to supply operations in Africa and globally.
With the exception of South Africa, Russian companies are not heavily engaged in Sub-Saharan Africa outside of the oil and gas and mining sectors. Why do you think that this is the case?
Russia’s economic relationship with the region is improving steadily, most notably with South Africa, a fellow member-country of BRICS. Many countries in Sub-Saharan Africa – and this is typical of natural-resource-rich emerging markets worldwide – perhaps over-relied on those sectors and failed to fully develop the alternative economy. This means that, although their potential in those sectors is huge, processes still need to be streamlined. But most of these countries realized the need for diversification and the process is under way, at varying stages of success. The oil price drop of 2014 was a stern reminder to many countries around the world that oil cannot sustain an economy alone. It was a wakeup call to expedite this diversification.
But, as I said, their efforts continue. In Sub-Saharan Africa, for instance, petroleum-rich Angola exported fruit to Europe for the first time in over 40 years in 2016, and it proceeds to do so.
There are other issues at play as well, such as the need for more incentives to stimulate trade.
More energy also needs to be invested in dispelling stereotypes in Russia about Sub-Saharan Africa, and in the region about Russia. Providing more accurate information to the people on both sides will help raise awareness about the really spectacular potential of this partnership.
As most people know, though, Russia and Sub-Saharan Africa share a legacy of friendly relations as a result of the Soviet Union’s support of anticolonial independence movements in the region, including its provision of free education during the Cold War to many African students at Soviet higher educational institutions, such as the Peoples’ Friendship University in Moscow, which at one point in time was actually named after Congolese independence leader Patrice Lumumba.
Quite a few former and sitting members of government in Sub-Saharan Africa also studied in the Soviet Union actually, including Angolan President Jose Eduardo dos Santos, who went to the Oil Academy in Baku, Azerbaijan, and former Namibian President Hifikepunye Pohamba.
You represent a new generation of young highly successful Russian entrepreneurs in the non-oil-sector, who seem to have a more international outlook than their predecessors. Are we going to see more entrepreneurs like you taking their companies global, including to Sub-Saharan Africa?
Without a doubt. Many of my peers in the alternative economy have already expanded their businesses to world markets, or plan to do so in the future. In the globalized economy, that is the only way to compete and to thrive. Anything less would be mere survival. For most young entrepreneurs who I know who have taken their business to the 8- to 10-figure-income range, Sub-Saharan Africa is not some mirage, but a definitive point on the map. And a place where the value is not under the ground, but above it. In about 40 African countries, over 50 percent of the population is under 20. Now how’s that for a powerhouse workforce in the 21st century?
Email me at mfon.nsehe@ gmail.com. Follow me on Twitter @MfonobongNsehe
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d1d26749c861cacca00c0476eca01dc2 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/mfonobongnsehe/2017/08/18/meet-the-arab-female-entrepreneur-who-builds-camps-in-africas-extreme-locations/ | Meet The Female Entrepreneur Who Builds Camps In Africa's Extreme Locations | Meet The Female Entrepreneur Who Builds Camps In Africa's Extreme Locations
Soraya Narfeldt, 48, is the founder and CEO of RA International, a leading African facilities management service provider. Narfeldt is a businesswoman who thrives in Africa’s most challenging and remote areas. From running a remote mining camp, to delivering expensive communications equipment to war-torn areas, she has built an extremely successful business working in Africa’s extreme locations.
She recently chatted with me about RA International’s journey so far and its expansion plans in Africa.
Break it down for me; what does RA International do?
At our core we provide construction, logistics, life support and maintenance services for those operating in remote and demanding environments. We focus on serving those involved in humanitarian operations, and the oil & gas and mining industries. NGOs, Governments, and private enterprises are among our customers These include the United Nations, World Bank, The African Union, several European and North American Governments, and a number of publicly listed companies.
Soraya Narfeldt Soraya Narfeldt
What are the most challenging projects you have worked on in Africa?
In South Sudan, we had a major responsibility to build administrative buildings on behalf of the UN. Our role was to travel to the northern border, with over 50 people and a huge amount of extremely heavy equipment. The location was dangerous because it sat right in between two warring factions.
After being ambushed and after two of our employees fled for their safety, we had to spend two weeks negotiating to get our employees back. These outcomes are far from ideal but in a difficult conflict zone, which is why it is so important for us to build clear lines of communication with local communities and community leaders – gaining trust and confidence from all parties is crucial.
Our project in Chad was geographically challenging because we had to deal with extreme heat and a very real risk if being caught in flash floods. The Chad project required huge amounts of equipment in remote and unpredictable conditions – challenges exacerbated by the fact that help was many hours away if we ran in to difficulties. Being well-equipped and prepared for such extreme conditions meant that he project was successful.
Projects like these always push the team to rise above challenges and think creatively about how to get where we need to be – but no matter how challenging the circumstances or how remote the location, we have always delivered, regardless.
Talk us through RA International’s expansion into new markets in Africa and beyond.
RA International has regional offices across Africa. We have grown into a multifaceted firm, employing over 1600 people from 33 different countries. This experience across multiple cultures has led to a deep understanding of people from all sorts of backgrounds and we believe that this is what has allowed our organization to flourish.
We have a presence in more than 10 African countries and are proactively expanding our customer base by pursuing opportunities outside of the conflict and humanitarian environments. These include the mining sector in Africa. This by default also takes us into countries such as Mozambique, Malawi, Ghana and others.
In addition, we have branched out within the humanitarian sector and added customers such as the US State Department, European governments and large blue-chip companies to our customer base. This has broadened our geographical footprint in to countries such as Ethiopia. We are also exploring opportunities in the mining industry in Mongolia and are working with existing clients and customers on new projects in Vietnam and Latin America.
Your company also provides services to humanitarian operations. Talk us through some of your initiatives.
We operate in accordance with the UN Global Compact – so everything we do is in line with those objectives. All of our employees and all our business partners respect the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
We also make sure that our suppliers adhere to our own social and environmental standards. We use a variety of tools to assess suppliers, including background checks, self-assessment surveys, site visits and audits. We do not work with suppliers who do not meet the standards we have set for ourselves.
When the international community intervenes to stabilize a nation, politically and economically through reconstruction efforts, we’re there to help. We have over a decade of experience working with Governments, NGOs, and supranational organizations in conflict and post-conflict regions. We are specialists in completing projects in demanding environments with humanitarian challenges - and we are driven by the need to help others. Very often, we invest locally to provide the local community with the tools that they need to build upon our work so that they are left with a sustainable business for the future. For example, if we need stones to be broken for a job, instead of expecting someone to break them manually, we might buy a jackhammer, give it to him to own, and request a reduced rate on the stones that we buy. The modern equipment that we leave behind then helps that supplier to grow his business.
How do you attract investors and capital when operating in a very risky markets in Africa?
Transparency, good governance and anti-corruption policies are useful in gaining trust from investors. Well-managed P&L accounts and records of contracts with clients and suppliers also contribute to gaining confidence.
At RA International, we support the UN Global Compact 10th Principle, which requires us and our suppliers to not only avoid corruption, but also to develop policies and concrete programs to address it. This is an important commitment and one that investors obviously look for when looking at Africa.
Investors should of course carry out their own exhaustive due diligence: on the organization, they are looking to invest in, the political climate in the country, taxation, repatriation of capital and the economic performance of the country itself: interest and inflation rates, foreign currencies held, GDP performance, bi-lateral and multi-lateral trade deals, WTO forecasts and bank capitalisation for banks in the country.
Our business relationships are built on honesty, fairness and trust and we operate a zero-tolerance policy for corruption, bribery and extortion, which is clearly laid out in our Code of Conduct and Company Policies.
Our books and accounts are externally audited, annually, by E&Y. This is a crucial way of identifying any payments which could be related to bribery or corrupt behavior. We are proud that RA International has never had such an incident reported.
Tips for SMEs to meet their financial goals?
Cash is king. So, protecting cash flow at all times is without doubt the single most important financial responsibility. SME’s must ensure that when they sign contracts with new clients and customers, terms of business include very clear payment terms: mode of payment (online bank transfer is always preferable), specific dates when the payment should be received as cleared funds, and if possible, a clause that stipulates that the supply of goods and / or services may be interrupted if payment is not cleared within the agreed timeframe. Your terms of business and payment terms should also clearly specify who pays for bank transfer fees.
It is of course a zero-sum game for you to pay your own suppliers late – so always pay them on time: this is as much about respect for those you partner with as it is about sound management. But, you must ensure that you get paid on time so that you have the cashflow required to pay your suppliers.
If you have a client or customer that always pays late, crack down on them and make it clear that it is simply unacceptable. You deliver your product on time and to the highest standards – they simply have to commit to paying you on time.
Technology can help you manage cashflow – easy to use web applications can help you by reminding you with email alerts and calendar reminders when payments are due. Make sure that the person who is responsible for chasing payments is on the ball and is able and willing to use software to get the job done. Most programs offer e-invoicing too, which makes accounting much easier.
Focus on the money going out more than the money coming in. Start-ups often get excited about monies coming in rather than cash that is leaving. So, ensure that ingoing’s and outgoings are very clearly laid out on a spreadsheet, with precise dates.
Finally – never pay late and never pay early. Pay on time. Cash is always King.
Lastly, what is your advice for companies looking to expand into Africa
Our success is built upon honesty, respect, accountability and sustainability. Any company that wants to operate in an African country has to begin with respect – respect for cultures, traditions, languages and business norms. Foreign templates rarely work, so it’s a great idea to partner with a local business, associate or partner.
Foreign firms also need to take seriously the issue of legacy – we all have a duty to leave a positive legacy when we finally depart: that means helping to train local employees so that they have the skills needed to run things after we leave. It also means making sure that we take care of the natural environment and the communities where we work.
Companies also need to be whiter than white when it comes to how they run their businesses. Anti-corruption policies are really important, and that includes anti-bribery. It is also really important to have a backup plan. Plan A has never worked for any project that we’ve undertaken or invested in. I always look at plan M, N, O, P or Q.
The second lesson is to invest in people that work for you. You might have 10 bad staff members, but the one good guy will make up for the 10 bad ones. By investing in people, you ensure that they hold you close to their heart and that they want to deliver good work for you. And it makes them want to stay with us. They are our security and protection, because it is their country we are working in, not ours.
We also invest in our local suppliers and teach them the standards that we need. We don’t shout and yell at a person because something is not packed properly, for instance. He doesn’t know how we need it packed. So, we must give him the box, the tape and the measuring tools, and show him the way we want it packed. If we need stones to be broken for a job, instead of expecting someone to break them manually, I would rather buy a jackhammer, give it to him to own, and request a reduced rate on the stones that I buy. The modern equipment then helps that supplier to grow his business.
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249e8f23d6fd5622f6461cdec490b5ca | https://www.forbes.com/sites/mfonobongnsehe/2017/08/23/5-multi-millionaires-from-botswana-you-should-know/ | 5 Multi-Millionaires From Botswana You Should Know | 5 Multi-Millionaires From Botswana You Should Know
While Botswana’s impressive economic record has been driven primarily by diamond mining, a very significant number of Ultra High Net Worth Individuals in the small, landlocked southern African country, built their multi-million dollar empires in industries as diverse as retail, car dealerships, retail and distribution.
Their names don’t ring with the African public, and you’ve probably never heard about them before, but they are extremely successful. Meet 5 ultra-wealthy Batswana businessmen who have built eight and nine-figure fortunes in Botswana.
Abdul Satar Dada
Source: Diversified
Satar Dada, 77, is probably Botswana’s most popular businessman. He is the founder of Associated Investment Development Corporation (AIDC), a conglomerate with interests in motor vehicle dealerships, printing and publishing, steel manufacturing, property, agribusiness and telecommunications. Among other things, AIDC is the controlling shareholder of Tswana Pride, Botswana’s dominant poultry company. Tswana Pride slaughters, ships and sells chicken under its own brands and through private label products and has revenues of more than $50 million a year. He also owns Motor Center Botswana, one of the biggest Toyota dealerships in Botswana. Dada has served as a member of Botswana’s Parliament and is the treasurer of the ruling Botswana Democratic Party.
President Ian Khama of the Republic of Botswana is pictured at the 37th Southern African Development... [+] Community (SADC) Summit of Heads of State and Government at the OR Tambo Building in Pretoria on August 19, 2017. The theme of the two-day Summit attended by heads of state from the 15 member nations is: partnering with the private sector in developing industry and regional value chains. / AFP PHOTO / GULSHAN KHAN/Getty Images
Gulaam Husain Abdoola
Source: Property
In 2002 Gulaam Hussain Abdoola founded Turnstar Holdings, a $160 million (market cap) diversified regional sub-Saharan African property loan stock company listed on the Botswana Stock Exchange. The company has a property portfolio comprising more than 13 commercial and residential properties including shopping malls in Gaborone, Mogoditshane, Francistown, and in Dar-es-Salaam. His 15.7% stake in the company is valued at more than $25 million.
Chandrakanth D. Chauhan
Source: Retail
Chandrakanth Chauhan is the CEO and largest individual shareholder of Sefalana Group, the first company to get listed on the Botswana Stock Exchange. Sefalana, a $300 million (market cap) retail chain, is engaged primarily in the wholesale and retail distribution of fast moving consumer goods through more than 50 properties spread across Botswana, Zambia, and Namibia. Chauhan owns a 4.5% stake in the company which is valued at more than $12 million.
Ramachandran Ottapathu
Source: Retail
Ottapathu, 52, is the CEO of Choppies, Botswana’s largest retailer. Choppies, which was founded in 1986 as a single supermarket in Lobatse, a small town in South-Eastern Botswana, has grown to become a retail powerhouse with more than 170 stores in Botswana, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Kenya, and Tanzania. Choppies has been expanding aggressively in the last two years. In March last year, it acquired 21 retail stores in South Africa from Jwayelani Retail and subsequently in November acquired 3 outlets in Kenya from struggling retail chain Ukwala Supermarkets. Ottapathu owns a 19.5% stake in Choppies which is valued at more than $60 million.
Farouk Essop Ismail
Source: Retail
Ismail is a co-founder and Deputy Chairman of Choppies, Botswana’s largest retailer. He owns a 14.6% stake in the listed retailer which is valued at more than $45 million. Ismail also owns a 39.5% stake in Far Property Company Limited, a public traded real estate development and Asset Management company located in Botswana. His shareholding in Far Property alone is worth more than $35 million.
Follow me on Twitter @MfonobongNsehe. Email: mfon.nsehe@gmail. com
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e7f2ee81351fd8eb46b524ad834deb36 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/mfonobongnsehe/2017/12/19/nigerian-agritech-startup-farmcrowdy-raises-1m-seed-investment/ | Nigerian Agritech Startup Farmcrowdy Raises $1m Seed Investment | Nigerian Agritech Startup Farmcrowdy Raises $1m Seed Investment
Agriculture, at scale, has relied on technology, in some form or other, for hundreds of years. However, digital technology is fast becoming increasingly essential in facilitating productivity through various innovations, in one of the world’s oldest industries.
Enter Farmcrowdy - a Nigerian digital agritech startup that is revolutionizing the local agriculture sector by connecting small-scale farmers with Nigerian sponsors from locally, from the US and UK who invest in farm cycles. Launched just over 12 months ago, they connect small scale farmers with sponsors, who invest in farm cycles which can be anything from poultry [3-5 months] to cassava [9mths]. The farmers receive on-the-ground advice and training from agriculture experts in better agricultural practices, different type of crops and production methods. Farmers and sponsors all receive a percentage of the profits on harvest.
By connecting more than 2,000 small-scale farmers with over 1,000 unique sponsors through the startup’s website and newly launched mobile app in Google Playstore, and Apple Appstore, Farmcrowdy has built a community model that allows Nigerians to venture into farming and agriculture at the touch of a button, while empowering local farmers, and boosting production and security of food for Nigeria. The startup is not only positively impacting the lives of local farmers and their families, but making a profit for farm sponsors and investors.
Graduates of Techstars Atlanta’s 2017 cohort, Farmcrowdy this week closed on a $1 Million seed investment round from Cox Enterprises, Techstars Ventures, Social Capital, Hallett Capital and Right-Side Capital; as well as angel investors Tyler Scriven, Michael Cohn, Josephine Group, FC Agro Allied SPV and Dr. Christof Walter.
I recently spoke to serial entrepreneur, Onyeka Akumah, CEO and Co-Founder of Farmcrowdy on their plans for this investment round and what this means for the agritech sector not only in Nigeria but potentially West Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa as a whole.
Farmcrowdy has only been operating for a year, yet you have made quite an impact, both with users and investors. Tell us more about the vision behind Farmcrowdy and what you do?
Farmcrowdy was established in November 2016 after mulling over challenges within the agriculture sector that I had witnessed a couple of years ago. At around the same the Government of Nigeria was looking into ways in which resources could be channeled to boost the agriculture sector. The Nigerian Government was also looking at ways in which individuals could contribute to the agriculture sector as a means of improving food security and food production.
With an early interest in agriculture (and small-scale farming in particular), and having started my first business venture as a 12 year old running a 200 chick poultry farm in Sokoto, Nigeria, I noticed that as much as the middle-class Nigerian is excited about getting involved in agriculture, unfortunately they do not have the time, or experience and skill to invest successfully in the sector. They do however, possess the resources. It was a question of understanding how these resources could be channeled in a way that both positively impacts the lives of the over 38 million small-scale farmers in Nigeria who have extra farmlands, but do not have the finances to expand their farm operations. We set out to bridge this gap and build this marketplace by setting up Farmcrowdy.
Farmcrowdy is an online platform that connects small-scale farmers with farm sponsors who will fund their farms to increase their production capacity, with guidance and input from our technical field experts who also provide training on using smart farming techniques and accessing the right market for our harvest to be sold and make a decent profit margin.
Farm sponsors have the opportunity to invest in farms which can be anything from poultry to maize, soya beans, rice and cassava, with a 3 to 9 month farm cycle, dependent on the crop. The sponsor then gets their original sponsorship and 40% of the profit from the harvest. The farmer also receives 40% of the profit from the additional land they wouldn’t have been able to work on but for our intervention and then Farmcrowdy receives the remaining 20% for it’s work. Farm sponsors can get between 6-25% returns on their initial sponsorship after harvest depending on the type of farm they sponsor.
Prior to harvest taking place, we work with pre-arranged buyers who purchase the farm produce so that all stakeholders involved get a fair margin.
You were the only African startup chosen for the 2017 cohort of Techstars Atlanta - how did the process inform Farmcrowdy’s business strategy and model?
The experience at Techstars Atlanta was remarkable in the growth of Farmcrowdy. The biggest impact was the experience gained from the network of mentors, the introductions to potential investors who later participated in our funding rounds, connecting with successful entrepreneurs and learning from their experience. Beyond this, I feel we gave a good account of how hardworking African entrepreneurs are at building technology driven solutions to solve problems faced by our people on the continent. This in itself was exemplified by comments from the Managing Director of Techstars Atlanta who mentioned in an interview that they will be very pleased to return to Nigeria and Africa as a whole to look for more talented founders and start-ups to fund next year.
Onyeka Akumah - CEO and Co-Founder of Farmcrowdy Onyeka Akumah - CEO and Co-Founder of Farmcrowdy
How significant a role do you think agritech is going to have in emerging markets in the next 5 years and how are more people getting involved?
Startups around the world (in all sectors, including agriculture), are working on creative ways to solve complex problems, and the introduction of agritech has, and is playing a pivotal role in moving the sector forward not only in Nigeria but on the continent.
Emerging markets are going through a significant phase of population growth, characterized by urbanization and a steady increase in incomes. As a result, there will be an increased demand for food. Agritech is however a key component in the development and shift towards creating smart-farming and intelligent systems of funding and operating farms even in rural communities, which in turn will enable us to make strides towards solving the challenges of food security and food production in Nigeria and across Africa.
Additionally, it is paramount that agricultural activities in emerging markets are taken seriously, as much of the growth in supply and demand of food production is going to arise from there. This is why at Farmcrowdy, we are passionate about equipping the farmers that we work with by giving them on-the-ground advice from our Technical Field Specialists. These specialists also give them (farmers) training on better agricultural practices and provide them with quality input through our strategic partnership with known input providers for the betterment of their farms. All of these add up to creating holistically better-managed farms and retention of agricultural production, which paves the way for better profits for all parties involved. It also facilitates the interest and involvement in agribusiness as a sector worth investing in by big and small-scale investors alike.
What challenges do you think are associated with transforming traditional agriculture in Nigeria and West Africa and infusing agritech into the sector?
At the moment, much of the infusion of agritech into the agriculture sector, are undertaken by startups like Farmcrowdy. Much of the solutions and transformation being brought about are therefore unfortunately restricted to individual regions and communities in which these startups operate - therefore only being beneficial to those who can access them.
There is also a place for Government policies to enable a successful environment for not just investing in agriculture businesses, but also enabling a conducive climate for the entire value chain. Tax rebates for innovative agriculture businesses like Farmcrowdy will continue to pave the way for brilliant ideas to solving problems across the sector. We commend efforts by the Central Bank in Nigeria to set up an arm focused on providing extra security for production cost in Agriculture which is NIRSAL, but we need more of initiatives like these to continue to grow the impact across the value chain.
Finally, some high-level investments need to be made to continue to push for in-season and out-of-season farming. Irrigation facilities are still expensive to implement, the creation of dams, building better agro-logistics channels and continued effort to improve the export quality of our farm produce, the implementation of technology to improve these process matters.
Closing an initial seed fund round of $1M for an African start-up that has been in operation for just over a year is impressive. How do you intend on using this round of investment?
We are really pleased with this round of investment and are thankful to our investors who have understood and shared in the vision of Farmcrowdy. We plan to use this funds to forge ahead with plans to expand our operations across more states in Nigeria to empower more farmers.
Our immediate plan is to expand beyond our current 8 states with 2000 farmers on our platform to empowering 4,000 small scale farmers across 18 states in Nigeria. We’re also excited about the launch of our mobile apps for Android and IOS users and will be using these funds to not only engage a combined 20,000 new farm followers and farm sponsors, but also expose them to learning about the opportunities available in agriculture with real farm updates from farmers including pictures and videos. Suffice to say, we’re excited about the next leg of our journey.
The concept behind Farmcrowdy is a simple one. What do you think the growth potential across West Africa and possibly the rest of the continent looks like for Farmcrowdy?
We understand that there are thousands of rural farmers across West Africa and the rest of the continent and since our goal is to empower rural farmers, we’d say the potential for growth is massive.
The demand for agriculture and agricultural products will continue to grow as a response to the ever-growing population and this presents a massive potential for growth for Farmcrowdy across West Africa and the rest of the continent.
Also, the Farmcrowdy team is growing and we are poised to manage more sponsors, farmers and farm followers. We take advantage of digital tools and our work is well-structured and systemized such that it can be replicated if, and when we decide to expand to other countries in the sub-region. Farmcrowdy is a community model built for Nigerians to sponsor Nigerian farmers to grow Nigerian food and improve food security in the country. We want to replicate this community model in Ghana, Togo, Benin and every African country where we know we can solve similar problems that Nigerian small-scale farmers face. But we are starting at home first, and growing and learning in Nigeria before considering these options.
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58ed799bd6a717a51c9968d7f09e1a6b | https://www.forbes.com/sites/mfonobongnsehe/2018/01/05/the-global-business-of-college-admission-an-interview-with-vitaly-borishan/?sh=5ea83f7d2a48 | The Global Business of College Admission: An Interview With Vitaly Borishan | The Global Business of College Admission: An Interview With Vitaly Borishan
Many countries in Africa, despite newfound advances in their respective education sectors, suffer from a rather paradoxical growing 'brain drain', losing their brightest and best to Western academic institutions.
While the continent checks these internal imbalances, what must be addressed is how best emerging market pupils and the future leaders of tomorrow would go about seeking admission in to these very colleges and universities, given the ever-competitive climate of application selection, worsened, if you will, by social media-made transparency.
I recently had the opportunity to speak with Vitaly Borishan of Solomon Admissions Consulting on the dynamics at play in the global business of education in 2018.
How did you transition in your career from corporate law to admissions consulting?
I’m a graduate of the University of California, Berkeley, and Georgetown University Law Center, so I have quite a bit of personal experience preparing admissions applications to top-tier universities. Before co-founding Solomon Admissions, I worked as a corporate attorney at two large international law firms. These experiences with selective institutions exposed me to the necessity of personal branding and marketing in order to differentiate oneself in order to ultimately land the acceptance or the job offer.
As a result of my experience, I became acutely aware of what made the difference between a successful candidate and an unsuccessful one, from all walks of life and regional backgrounds however with similar academic credentials, and how this could be applied to university admissions. I remembered what a confusing and gruelling process it was for me to apply to elite universities and then wait while my hopes and dreams were in the hands of others. I realized that my struggle was universal for all applicants, whether applying from Nairobi or New York, Senegal or Shanghai.
After my time in corporate law, I started Solomon Admissions Consulting, with the mission to coach students in finding not only the best fit school academically, but to craft applications that would get them noticed among a huge sea of applicants and ultimately help create a platform for their success.
Vitaly Borishan Solomon Admissions
Your firm is one of the best-known admissions consulting firms in Africa today, and admissions consulting has lately become very popular for students in Africa, Asia, in America and all over the world. How did your firm achieve this and why do you think there is such a boom in admissions consulting in general?
Well, we’re probably one of the largest if not the largest admissions consulting firm in the States at present, providing college counseling to well over 300 students a year. The recognizability you speak of can be attributed to two things: the fact that we only employ former admissions officers from elite universities as consultants and our use of strategic positioning in creative ways to make applicants stand out, something that most other consulting firms simply don’t do. Working with a former admissions officer is key as they have worked as gatekeepers at elite universities and know exactly what those universities are looking for in applicants. Many parents understand the importance of this component and that is why many turn to us every year.
There’s a boom in admissions consulting as a field globally, because the admissions landscape has changed drastically in even the last few years, and admission rates at top universities have collapsed by over 50% over the last ten years. This means that perfect grades and test scores are definitely necessary but not nearly sufficient to get into the top schools – these schools are looking for far more than that, they want a compelling narrative and to build an interesting incoming class.
American universities remain incredibly popular across Africa and tens of thousands of international students from African countries come to these universities to study every year. Do you see that trend changing in the near future?
No, I do not. I think this trend of increasing numbers of international students will continue into at least the next 15-20 years. The fact of the matter is that American universities continue to dominate the world’s rankings of top universities – if you look at just the number of Nobel Prize winners they’ve produced, they’re far ahead of universities from any other country. If you look at academic research in general, American universities produce by far the largest number of research papers, patents and discoveries. American universities really are the envy of the world.
And let’s not forget that American universities can hold on to this advantage, because they also have the largest endowments in the world. Just look at Harvard University – its endowment is over 37 billion dollars! That’s larger than the national budgets of a huge number of countries in Africa. And all these financial resources of course provide American universities with an opportunity to finance a tremendous amount of cutting-edge, expensive research and to attract the best experts from around the globe.
Finally, American college degrees remain the most coveted across the world, because they like no other can help one advance onto a good job at an international company or at a top local company in whichever country one resides. They remain the standard for college education and as long as employers continue to perceive them as such, students will want to receive a college degree in the United States.
Can you tell us what advice you would give to individuals looking to enter the post-secondary world and how to succeed in their applications?
Every single step of the process is important and starting early is key - give yourself the time to prepare and work towards building an application that is authentic to yourself and that conveys what makes you unique and different from the thousands of other great applicants.
Follow me on Twitter @MfonobongNsehe. E-mail: mfon.nsehe(at)gmail.com
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cd87e681d2a96faa45b6b0f360b7d539 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/mfonobongnsehe/2018/06/26/tanzanian-tycoon-said-bakhresa-to-start-telecom-company/ | Tanzanian Tycoon Said Bakhresa To Launch Telecom Company | Tanzanian Tycoon Said Bakhresa To Launch Telecom Company
Tanzanian President John Pombe Magufuli (R) waves as he attends a ceremony marking the country's... [+] 56th independence anniversary in Dodoma on December 9, 2017. / AFP PHOTO / STR (Photo credit should read STR/AFP/Getty Images)
Tanzanian multi-millionaire tycoon Said Bakhresa is on the verge of launching a mobile network throughout the country within the next few months.
According to a report by Tanzania's Citizen newspaper, Azam Telecom (T) Limited, a company that is owned by the Tanzanian businessman, recently won spectrum in the 700 MHz band during a recent auction by the Tanzania Communications Regulatory Authority (TCRA).
Azam Telecom will be launching its 4G network in Tanzania, though a date has not been announced. Azam’s entry into the telecoms space will stir more competition with existing operators Zantel, Airtel, Tigo, TTCL and Vodacom Tanzania, whose leading individual shareholder Rostam Azizi was once Tanzania’s richest man.
Azam Telecom is Bakhresa’s latest venture since launching a pay TV service in 2013. The $800 million (revenues) Bakhresa Group, which Said Bakhresa founded and chairs, is one of Tanzania’s largest industrial conglomerates and has its tentacles in agribusiness, beverages, logistics, media, oil trading, recycling and packaging.
Follow me on Twitter @MfonobongNsehe. E-mail: mfon.nsehe @ gmail.com
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d55077bce39ab1c07b66b4cba1ace053 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/mfonobongnsehe/2018/09/07/moroccan-multi-millionaire-said-alj-becomes-president-of-saham-finances/ | Moroccan Multi-Millionaire Said ALJ Becomes President Of Saham Finances | Moroccan Multi-Millionaire Said ALJ Becomes President Of Saham Finances
King Mohammed VI of Morocco, center, arrives at the One Planet Summit in Paris, France, on Tuesday,... [+] Dec. 12, 2017. French President Emmanuel Macron hosts at least four world leaders, three mayors and the governor of California at an event in Paris on Tuesday aimed at breathing life into the global fight against climate change. Photographer: Christophe Morin/Bloomberg
Moroccan business mogul Said ALJ has reportedly been named as the new president of Saham Assurance, the country’s largest insurance company, following the resignation of its former president, Nadia Fettah, and Moulay Mhamed Elalamy, a former director of the company.
In June this year, Sanlam of South Africa acquired a controlling stake in Saham Finances, the African insurance and health group founded by Moulay Elalamy. Saham Finances has operations in 19 African countries. Alj, who is the president of investment company Sanam Holding, owns 21.5 percent of Saham Assurance, the local Moroccan subsidiary.
64-year-old Said ALJ is the president and owner of Sanam Holding, a large Moroccan investment company with interests in food manufacturing, finance, hotels and distribution. Sanam, which Alj founded in 1986, acquires controlling positions in large Moroccan enterprises and assumes control. Sanam’s largest asset is an 80% stake (held via various investment vehicles) in Unimer VCR Groupe, one of the largest food companies in Morocco. Unimer, an $800 million (annual sales) company manufactures and distributes canned foods and vegetables including the immensely popular ‘Titus’ brand of sardines which is sold in more than 30 African countries. Sanam also owns a large shareholding in distribution giant, Stokvis, as well as stakes in insurance giant CNIA Saada and hotels like Villa Blanca and Dawliz, both in Casablanca. The Sanam group counts more than sixty subsidiaries in Morocco and in ten countries abroad, and a workforce of more than 7,000 employees.
Contact me via email at mfon.nsehe @ gmail .com or on Twitter @MfonobongNsehe
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e3d7d61d416b9db4bf61eb2cee901d22 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/mfonobongnsehe/2018/12/17/meet-zubin-karkaria-the-man-who-built-the-worlds-largest-visa-and-consular-services-company/ | Meet Zubin Karkaria, The Man Who Built The World's Largest Visa And Consular Services Company | Meet Zubin Karkaria, The Man Who Built The World's Largest Visa And Consular Services Company
Zubin Karkaria, chief executive officer of VFS Group, poses for a photograph following the company's... [+] extraordinary general meeting in Zurich, Switzerland, on Monday, May 2, 2016. Photographer: Matthew Lloyd/Bloomberg © 2016 Bloomberg Finance LP © 2016 Bloomberg Finance LP
Indian entrepreneur Zubin Karkaria is the CEO of VFS Global, the world’s largest outsourcing and technology services specialist for governments and diplomatic missions worldwide.
Karkaria set up VFS in 2001 when he convinced the US government to pilot a scheme for Indian visa applicants to the US at its Mumbai embassy. That was VFS’s first visa application center – now, with over 2,800 application centers, operations in 141 countries across five continents and over 187 million applications processed to date, VFS Global has 62 client governments worldwide, including the UK, US, Japan, Germany, Russia, France, India and the UAE. Karkaria says it is the world's largest outsourcing and technology services specialist for governments and diplomatic missions.
VFS Global, headquartered in Dubai, UAE, has a Swiss parentage and is a portfolio company of EQT, a leading global private equity firm headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden. EQT funds have invested in portfolio companies in Europe, Asia and North America. The current portfolio companies generating total sales of approximately EUR 19 billion and employing approximately 110,000 people. The Swiss-based Kuoni and Hugentobler Foundation has a stake in VFS Global.
Karkaria recently spoke to me about VFS Global’s journey in Africa and his views on the future of the global travel market.
You’ve built VFS Global into one of the most successful outsourcing and technology services specialist for governments and diplomatic missions worldwide. Tell us about VFS Global and theseries of events that led you to establishing the company
Early in my career, while working in India for one of the world’s leading travel companies – the Switzerland-based Kuoni Group – we had first-hand knowledge of the challenges travelers faced while applying for visas, especially in the Nineties when travel was booming the world over. Not just the long wait times for visa applicants, but even embassies were dealing with growing piles of administrative work. So in 2001, we conceptualized a simple but absolutely unique solution of managing the visa process for governments. Setting up the service was relatively easy, but convincing the first government to allow us to run the purely administrative part of a visa application process for them had a long gestation period, around 18 months.
I persuaded the US government to pilot a scheme for Indian visa applicants to the US at its Mumbai embassy. That was VFS Global’s first Visa Application Centre. Today, with over 2,800 application centres, operations in 141 countries across five continents and over 187 million applications processed to date, we serve 62 client governments worldwide. VFS Global is now a portfolio company of EQT, a leading global private equity firm headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden.
I’m a passionate believer in improving customer experience in the visa services ecosystem. For applicants the world over, there is a sea change in how they view these services in the relatively short 17 years since we first pioneered them. Outsourcing visa processing means embassies can focus fully on the most important part of the decision-making in a visa application process, besides reducing the security risk of crowded consulates and the cost to run a visa section in the embassy or consulate.
For those applying for a visa, it means better and more personalised customer service, with better physical and technological infrastructure. For example, over the years we’ve introduced a wide range of services – such as doorstep visa services, a choice of when people can schedule their visa appointments, and personal assistance with completing their visa application.
VFS Global has been in Nigeria for more than a decade now, and has grown over the years to expand into multiple African countries. How many countries are you present in at the moment, and what has been your experience of doing business in Africa?
VFS Global began its foray into African operations by establishing a presence in South Africa in 2005, and later extended operations to Nigeria in 2007. We currently operate in 10 cities across the country including Abuja and Lagos, and employ 150+ Nigerians in terms of direct employment. Additional indirect employment opportunities have also been created along the supply chain driven by VFS Global operations. Nigeria is the second largest market for us in Africa and also the headquarters of our West Africa operations.
We currently serve 46 governments from all over the world in the African continent, processing over 2 million applications annually here, through a network of 416 Application Centers across several countries, including Nigeria, South Africa, and Ghana.
By ensuring the highest services standards in line with global best practices, our operations in Africa have been commended several times by eminent personalities and organizations across locations who have visited our Visa Application Centers. In fact, in October 2017, we were delighted to be recognized for our excellence in customer service at the prestigious Nigeria Customer Service Awards (NCSA) annual event, which celebrates service excellence across 22 major industries in Nigeria.
How has technology changed the face of visa services across Africa, and in a world that is increasingly digital, what is the future of brick and mortar travel agencies?
In the last decade or so, technology has made the quantum leap from being an enabler, to a key business driver for us. Overall, it has transformed the entire gamut of visa processing services, speeding up the whole process and making it much more convenient for applicants. For example, foreigners in South Africa who need to extend their temporary residence visas for study or work are now able to apply online and set up an appointment before they visit the nearest facilitation centre to submit their personal biometrics (fingerprints and photographs).
By leveraging on our visa services experience and advanced technology-enabled processes, we even offer Identity and Citizen Services solutions for public-facing government services, biometric enrollment through secure enrollment processes, and data transfer systems which can handle large volumes of applications in locations like South Africa.
Besides offering basic SMS update and courier services, applicants can also avail VIP lounge services, where they get personalized assistance in completing forms and getting fast-track appointments. Those who need their passport back urgently, have the option to pick up their passport earlier than the standard collection timeframe. All these services are optional for applicants and it is every one’s own decision to choose them, and get an even more convenient visa process.
It is worth mentioning here that one of our immensely popular services is the doorstep visa processing services, where VFS Global staff visit a customer’s home or office to accept applications and enroll biometrics. This is the ultimate in personalized service, and is used by large groups of travellers, corporates, students, and high net-worth individuals. It essentially reimagines the visa process, and brings the visa centre to the applicant, rather than the other way around.
Irrespective of geography, one trend we are seeing globally, even among price-sensitive regions, is the preference for more tailored and flexible services, even if it comes at a higher cost. Disruptive models of business have done the same, very successfully in many sectors. We too have always believed in the importance of making substantial investments in technology to constantly upgrade customer experience, and introduce flexibility and mobility even in the hitherto fairly traditional visa and citizen services space.
Let’s talk about security. In a world constantly at risk of data theft, how does VFS Global keep the sensitive data that it captures, safe and secure?
Being owned by highly respected European company and understanding the highly sensitive nature of our business, information security and protecting personal information has always been at the core of our business processes – and we’re constantly looking at ways to refine, and limit, our exposure to potential security breaches.
A key part of this work is limiting the amount of time we hold on to applicant data, and applying an internal set of rules to its processing and retention.
Typically, this means that, unless specified by a client government, we process data, such as biometrics, within 24 hours of receipt, and ensure that basic contact details are held for no longer than 30 days from submission.
We do not copy or retain any of the data we receive; it is securely disposed of, after processing, in line with our internal rules or those specified by our client.
How is General Data Protection Regulations affecting VFS Global’s work and what advice would you give companies that are affected by GDPR?
The GDPR is a game changer for all businesses, large and small, that operate or are that exposed to the European Union – and for some businesses, refining, and creating, procedures to demonstrate compliance have been tough and costly to implement.
In our case, the path to compliance was relatively straightforward due to our already existing policies and frameworks for data handling, that were in place virtually since inception. For example, we were already above the baselines set out by the 1992 Data Protection Directive, which preceded the GDPR, and had a compliance-driven culture throughout our organization.
We did, however, revise some of our steps, internally, towards managing data and demonstrating compliance – and this work was effected through the introduction of a 13-point privacy framework across our organization. This framework has over 130 measurable metrics that enables us to monitor data protection across the organization.
Today, as a company that handles large volumes of applicant information (for visas and citizen services), VFS Global is one of just 35 percent of global companies that are GDPR-compliant (as per a Talend report published in September 2018). In fact, around the time GDPR was introduced in May 2018, we were among only 15% of companies globally which were already compliant with the regulation (as per a Capgemini report published in May 2018).
The significance of the GDPR cannot be understated; it is something that every business owner or leader should understand and lead on. It affects all enterprises that operate in, and with, the EU, and will require changes in operations and culture in almost all cases.
If I could give one piece of advice, it would be to treat the legislation seriously, even outside the EU, as more and more countries around the world are looking to introduce data protection legislation. Spot-check audits by supervisory authorities, are not uncommon, and if you’re a business owner, and you’ve not yet taken steps to achieve compliance, or examine your responsibilities with regard to the new baselines, now is the time to do so.
What’s your view on the future of the global travel market? Which are the national markets likely to show strong growth in Africa?
More governments, including in Africa, are recognizing the value of tourism for their economic agendas. For instance, Zimbabwe is now tapping into its tourism potential, and is seeing a strong rise of 63% in arrivals from two of its key markets-India and GCC regions in the year 2017, after it recently opened its doors for business through initiatives like boosting air connectivity.
I think a big growth area in the next few years will be ‘experiential travel’. Africa is well placed to capitalise on that trend, of course, with safari holidays becoming more affordable. Emerging African economies like Kenya, which experienced the highest growth in luxury travel in 2018, are also poised for a boost. With countries such as South Africa, Nigeria, Mozambique, Cameroon, Mauritius, and Tanzania accounting for 70% of international trips to the sub-Saharan African region in 2017 (Data from Euromonitor International), we expect these countries can expect to continue attracting large numbers of visitors.
What’s the next 5 years looking like for VFS Global?
Going forward, our focus continues to be on consolidation of visa service operations globally. We see a strong growth trend in Africa, China, India, and Russia & CIS. These are our largest source markets in terms of applications processed and operations network, so we will continue to build on our operations here.
As changes in consumer behavior have led to a significant evolution in services and conveniences, we will continue to make investments in technology so that our services push the boundaries to improve speed, mobility, security, and credibility of these services for both governments and citizens. The use of Artificial intelligence can create much more efficient process to the benefit of governments and end-consumers. Blockchain technology can contribute significantly to create an even more secure environment for people’s data and identity.
We have also leveraged on our domain expertise in the visa space to expand on our business of identity and citizen services, which we extensively offer to national and state governments in many regions. In several African countries, we undertake migration and border management services, such as processing of long-stay resident and work permits, foreigner registration, driving licenses, and e-passports, using tech-enabled models for biometric enrolment. In South Africa, for instance, we have supported the government on a number of migrant registration programs (such as the Zimbabwe Special Permit and Lesotho Special Permit programmes). These programs have been short-term projects which require highly specialised outreach programs and tech-enabled mobile solutions which we have successfully managed, and will continue to extend this experience to similar projects going forward.
As more governments around the world use technology for the secure handling of citizen credentials, we are committed to enhancing customer experience in the government services space, and be a leading integrator between the two in this emerging ecosystem.
Contact me via email at mfon.nsehe @ gmail.com or on Twitter @MfonobongNsehe
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29fa20497733fdd0baeacd8eafddf872 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/mfonobongnsehe/2019/01/05/mauritanian-tycoon-mohamed-ould-boumatou-banned-from-entering-morocco/ | Mauritanian Tycoon Mohamed Ould Boumatou Banned From Entering Morocco | Mauritanian Tycoon Mohamed Ould Boumatou Banned From Entering Morocco
King Mohammed VI of Morocco, center, arrives at the One Planet Summit in Paris, France, on Tuesday,... [+] Dec. 12, 2017. French President Emmanuel Macron hosts at least four world leaders, three mayors and the governor of California at an event in Paris on Tuesday aimed at breathing life into the global fight against climate change. Photographer: Christophe Morin/Bloomberg © 2017 Bloomberg Finance LP
Mohamed Ould Boumatou, a Mauritanian multi-millionaire tycoon and fierce critic of President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz, has reportedly been banned from entering Morocco where he has been living in exile over the last few years.
In December, Boumatou, 65, circulated images of Moroccan passports supposedly belonging to Mauritanian President, H.E. Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz, and a member of his family, on social media, sparking speculation the Mauritanian leader possessed dual citizenship. Mauritanian citizens are not allowed to own dual citizenship.
Moroccan authorities quickly responded to Bouamatou's broadcast, describing the action as "gross aberration". In a statement issued the by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (DFAIT), Moroccan officials insisted that the passports were fake and non-existent at the level of the database of competent Moroccan services.
"In accordance with its legalistic approach, the Kingdom of Morocco will carry through the judicial investigation of this insidious act, adds the DFAIT, ensuring that Mr. Ould Bouamatou, involved in this case, will be banned from accessing the Moroccan territory, without prejudice to any criminal proceedings that may be brought against him,” the statement said.
Mohamed Ould Boumatou, who is a cousin to Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz, the president of Mauritania, is one of the country’s most successful entrepreneurs. In 1995, he founded the Générale de Banque de Mauritanie (GBM), the country’s first private bank, as well as several insurance companies. He also founded Mauritania’s first mobile phone company and the country’s largest cement plant. He is the chairman of the BSA Group, a West African conglomerate that that has interests in banking, insurance, automobile distribution, food, mining, and technology.
Boumatou was one of the major financiers of the election campaign of President Abdel Aziz, but a few years into Boumatou’s presidency, relations between the two men deteriorated and the president accused the businessman of tax fraud and other economic offences, and placed sanctions on some of Boumatou’s companies. The tycoon subsequently went on exile to Marrakech, Morocco, where he has been based over the last few years. Even in exile in Morocco, Boumatou has been a major influencer of Mauritanian opposition politics. In 2017, Mauritanian authorities accused the tycoon of influencing the decision of senators to reject a contentious constitutional amendment, which had been advocated by President Aziz. Mauritanian authorities have also accused him of financing journalists, trade unionists and senators who are opposed to the Aziz government.
Contact me via email at mfon.nsehe @ gmail.com or on Twitter @MfonobongNsehe
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5f2fd4c082df9fc8ad26b2d41795cde1 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/mfonobongnsehe/2019/03/05/the-black-billionaires-2019/ | The Black Billionaires 2019 | The Black Billionaires 2019
Charlotte Hornets owner Michael Jordan speaks to the media about hosting the NBA All-Star basketball... [+] game during a news conference in Charlotte, N.C., Tuesday, Feb. 12, 2019. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton) ASSOCIATED PRESS
Of the 2,153 people who made it to the 2019 FORBES list of the World’s Billionaires, 13 of them are black, up from 11 a year ago.
Cement tycoon Aliko Dangote is still the richest black person in the world with a fortune estimated at $10.9 billion. He’s closely followed by Nigerian oil and telecoms mogul Mike Adenuga.
American businessman David Stewart, who is majority owner of World Wide Technology, an $11.2 billion (sales) IT provider, whose customers include Citi, Verizon and the federal government, joins the Black Billionaires Club with a fortune FORBES estimates at $3 billion. Nigerian businessman Abdulsamad Rabiu, who made his fortune in cement, flour, edible oils and real estate, returns to the 3-Comma club after a multi-year hiatus. He last featured on the FORBES list of the World’s Billionaires in 2014. In December 2018, Rabiu merged his privately owned Kalambaina Cement Company with listed firm Cement Co. of Northern Nigeria, which he controlled. The new, larger company has a market capitalization of more than $800 million, with Rabiu owning more than 90% of the company’s stock. The value of his shares in the new Cement Co. of Northern Nigeria provided a shot in the arm to his fortune, which FORBES estimates at $1.6 billion.
Nigeria’s Folorunsho Alakija, American TV mogul Oprah Winfrey and Angolan investor Isabel dos Santos still remain the only black female billionaires in the world.
These are the 13 richest black people on earth:
Aliko Dangote, $10.9 billion
Nigerian, Sugar, Cement, Flour
The Cement and commodities tycoon retains his title as the world’s richest black man this year. After building his fortune in sugar, flour and cement, the Nigerian tycoon is embarking on his most ambitious project to date- a private oil refinery in Nigeria which will have a refining capacity of 6500,000 barrels a day and is expected to reduce Nigeria’s dependence on oil imports. Dangote started out in business more than 3 decades ago by trading in commodities like cement, flour and sugar with a loan he received from his maternal uncle and went on to build the Dangote Group, the largest industrial conglomerate in West Africa.
Mike Adenuga, $9.1 billion
Nigerian, Oil, Telecoms
Nigerian-born Mike Adenuga, the world’s second richest black person, built his fortune in oil and mobile telecoms. His Conoil Producing Company was one of the first indigenous Nigerian companies to be granted an oil exploration license in the early 90s. The company is the operator of six blocks in the Niger Delta and also owns a25% stake in the Joint Development Zone (JDZ) Block 4. He is also the founder and sole owner of Globacom, a Nigerian mobile phone network that has more than 40 million subscribers in Nigeria and neighboring African countries. His property company, Cobblestone Properties, owns hundreds of prime residential and commercial property all over Nigeria.
Robert F. Smith, $5 billion
American, Private Equity
Robert F. Smith, a former Goldman Sachs executive, is the founder of private equity firm Vista Equity Partners that focuses exclusively on investing in software companies. The firm has more than $46 billion in assets and is one of the best-performing private equity firms, posting annualized returns of 22% since inception.
David Steward, $ 3 billion
American, Tech
David Steward is the cofounder and chairman of IT provider World Wide Technology, World Wide Technology, an $11.2 billion (sales) IT provider, whose customers include Citi, Verizon and the federal government.
Oprah Winfrey, $2.5 billion
American, Television
Oprah is still the richest African-American woman in the world thanks largely to the 25 years of her profitable daytime TV show and earnings from her Harpo production company. Her cable channel, OWN (Oprah Winfrey Network) is also cash flow positive for the first time and is enjoying favorable ratings as a result of securing exclusive TV interviews with headline-grabbers like disgraced cyclist Lance Armstrong, Beyonce and gay NBA player Jason Collins. One of America’s most generous philanthropists, Oprah continues to give to education causes and has spent about $100 million on the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls in South Africa.
Strive Masiyiwa, $2.4 billion
Zimbabwean, Telecoms
Masiyiwa, who is worth $2.4 billion, is the founder of Econet, one of the leading mobile telecoms companies in Africa. It has more than 10 million subscribers spread across Zimbabwe, Botswana, Burundi and Lesotho. In February, he pledged the sum of $100 million to establish a fund to invest in rural entrepreneurs in Zimbabwe.
Isabel Dos Santos, $2.3 billion
Angolan, Investments
The oldest daughter of Angola’s former president, Isabel dos Santos has built an impressive investment portfolio what includes a 25% stake in Angolan mobile phone company Unitel and a 25% stake in Angolan bank Banco BIC SA. Other holdings include a substantial stake in Nos SGPS, a Portuguese cable TV company and just under 20% of Banco BPI, one of Portugal's largest publicly traded banks.
Patrice Motsepe, $2.3 billion
South African, Mining
South Africa’s first and only black billionaire is the founder of African Rainbow Minerals (ARM), a Johannesburg Stock Exchange-listed mining company that has in platinum, nickel, chrome, iron, manganese, coal, copper and gold. He also owns a large stake in African Rainbow Capital, a private equity firm focusing on investments in the financial services sector.
Michael Jordan, $1.9 billion
American, Basketball
Basketball's greatest player is the majority shareholder of Charlotte Bobcats and enjoys lucrative deals with the likes of Gatorade, Hanes and Upper Deck. His biggest pile comes from Brand Jordan, a $1 billion (sales) sportswear partnership with Nike.
Michael Lee-Chin, $1.9 billion
Canadian, Investments
Lee-Chin, a Canadian of Jamaican origin, made a fortune investing in financial companies. He owns a 65% stake in National Commercial Bank Jamaica, which makes up the bulk of his fortune.
Abdulsamad Rabiu, $1.6 billion
Nigerian, Cement, Sugar
Abdulsamad Rabiu is the founder of BUA Group, a Nigerian conglomerate with interests in sugar refining, cement production, real estate, steel, port concessions, manufacturing, oil gas and shipping. BUA Group’s annual revenues are estimated at over $2 billion. Abdulsamad got his start in business working for his father, Isyaku Rabiu, a successful businessman from Nigeria’s Northern region. He struck out on his own in 1988, importing rice, sugar, edible oils as well as steel and iron rods.
Folorunsho Alakija, $1.1 billion
Nigerian, Oil
Nigeria’s first female billionaire is the founder of Famfa Oil, a Nigerian company that owns a substantial participating interest in OML 127, a lucrative oil block on the Agbami deep-water oilfield in Nigeria. Alakija started off as a secretary in a Nigerian merchant bank in the 1970s, then quit her job to study fashion design in England. Upon her return, she founded a Nigerian fashion label that catered to upscale clientele, including Maryam Babangida, wife to Nigeria's former military president Ibrahim Babangida.
Mohammed Ibrahim, $1.1 billion
British, Mobile Telecoms, Investments
Sudanese-born Mohammed "Mo" Ibrahim founded Celtel International in 1998, one of the first mobile phone companies serving Africa and the Middle East. He sold it to Kuwait's Mobile Telecommunications Company for $3.4 billion in 2005 and pocketed $1.4 billion. In 2006 he founded the Mo Ibrahim Foundation which promotes good governance in Africa.
Contact me via email at mfon.nsehe @ gmail.com or via Twitter @MfonobongNsehe
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4c7e16854c5c15ceab421cdcd6588ed7 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/mfonobongnsehe/2019/03/11/from-self-funded-to-series-a-how-teamapt-is-transforming-africas-payment-sector/ | From Self-Funded To Series A - How TeamApt Is Transforming Africa's Payment Sector | From Self-Funded To Series A - How TeamApt Is Transforming Africa's Payment Sector
Tosin Eniolorunda Tosin Eniolorunda
For up and coming entrepreneurs in Nigeria’s fintech scene, the success of companies such as Paystack, Flutterwave and Paga offer eye-watering opportunities and ambitions of becoming the hottest new startup on the block. It is a market filling up with new entrants but with serious funding opportunities on the line. 2018 saw $334.5m invested in the African tech startup space; with fintech grabbing the lion’s share of total funds raised at 39.7%. So, how do you catch the eyes of investors?
Introducing TeamApt, the payments platform who recently raised $5.5m in a Series A investment round. A respectable feat but perhaps made even more impressive considering the company has been entirely bootstrapped from its inception in 2015; until this - their first ever external raise.
What is even more compelling are some of the financials and scope underpinning the company. TeamApt has achieved staggering revenue growth of over 4,500% over the last three years, they are already profitable and have partnered with all of Nigeria’s commercial banks.
CEO Tosin Eniolorunda, left a 6-year journey with Interswitch, where his experiences in designing, architecting and building payment solutions for the transportation and retail industries, placed him in good stead to head TeamApt.
I discussed the company’s plans with him following their investment news.
TeamApt has been in operation since 2015. During a relatively short period of time, you have dominated the Nigerian banking space as leaders in payment infrastructure and digital banking. Tell us more about what TeamApt does and the vision behind the company?
Our mission at TeamApt is to create financial happiness for Africans through a smother payment infrastructure. In other words, we’re focused on making it more efficient and cheaper for banks, businesses and individuals to manage their money. We started the company in 2015 and launched our flagship product Moneytor, an end-to-end digital banking solution for financial institutions. We’re now working with 26 African banks, and 100% of all commercial banks in Nigeria, including Zenith, ALAT, UBA and Diamond Bank.
How has your former role as a product manager and software engineer at Interswitch informed TeamApt’s business strategy and business model?
The vision for TeamApt actually stems from when I worked at Interswitch and I began to notice the impact money transfer inefficiencies had on all consumers (businesses and individuals). I’d already made some good progress in this area - for example, I created a virtual machine that cut down POS application by nearly 90% - but I wanted to take things to another level. It’s definitely been a good foundation to build from and funnily enough, TeamApt was actually named in reference to the expertise my team and I have built in this sector. Our goal is to blend these skills to provide stronger payments systems in Africa.
$5.5M is a significant achievement for a Series A raise, especially considering this is your first external investment. How will you deploy these funds?
We’ll be using the funds to expand into new markets and enhance product development, talent acquisition and widen our internal operations. We’ve also been working on a new product (our first non-white labeled product which is also consumer-facing) called Aptpay, a payment infrastructure product that will centralize all services currently used on banking mobile apps.
What’s important about this product is that unlike current transfer gateways which require reconciliation, Aptpay allows for self-reconciliation for customers and will be aimed towards protecting against financial fraud. This provides a one-stop system from which all banking transactions [bill payments, transfers, direct debits and more] are powered through a single platform.
Seeing as you are not originally a consumer-focused brand and you are known for white-labelling products, how do your partners find out about you?
Most of them find out through references from the work we have done for similar companies. They either reach out to us or we reach out to them towards qualifying the needs. In both cases existing references are strong social proofs. Trade fairs, exhibitions and conferences are also prime places to meet them.
What challenges do you think the African banking sector and economy need to overcome in order to evolve over the next 10 years?
Addressing the logistics of moving money around. This is the lifeblood of our economy and we need to ensure we can provide an easier, frictionless approach to money movement so that people can focus on other value-generating aspects of their businesses. You shouldn’t have to worry about your cash flow regardless of the size of your enterprise, because of delayed payments from your bank. You should be financially free to focus all of your efforts on the core parts of your business. The banking system needs to be in a place where customers are assured of seamless transactions, in a bid to help rather than hinder our African economies.
African fintechs also need to take on global markets. I believe talents are evenly distributed but we need to have the courage to learn about opportunities in global markets so we can take advantage of them.
Contact me via email at mfon.nsehe @ gmail.com or via Twitter @MfonobongNsehe
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51081bd38c4cb1d92828900fb1655430 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/mfonobongnsehe/2019/03/24/african-edutainment-company-ubongo-wins-next-billion-edtech-prize/ | African Edutainment Company Ubongo Wins Next Billion EdTech Prize | African Edutainment Company Ubongo Wins Next Billion EdTech Prize
Ubongo winner 2019 Global Education and Skills Forum
Ubongo, a Tanzanian-based company which creates fun, localized and multi-platform educational media that reaches millions of African families through television and the webs, has won the Next Billion Edtech Prize, an award launched by The Varkey Foundation to recognize innovative technology that can have an impact on education in low income and emerging world countries.
Ubongo was voted for by delegates at the 2019 edition of the Global Education & Skills Forum from three startup finalists, which include PraxiLabs, and Dost. All three winners will be awarded $25,000.
Ubongo was founded in 2013 by Nisha Ligon in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, and looks to bring kids a fun, engaging way to learn, on the technology that they already have. Ubongo accomplishes this by leveraging the power of entertainment, the reach of mass media, and the interactivity of mobile devices, to deliver effective, localized learning to African families at low cost and massive scale. The company’s multi-platform edutainment reaches over 5 million families weekly on TV, radio, mobile and web. Ubongo’s flagship animated TV show helps primary school children across Africa gain foundational skills in STEM subjects, while a sister show, Akili and Me, helps 3-6 year olds develop numeracy, pre-literacy, language and socio-emotional skills. Ubongo Kids broadcasts in Kiswahili and English on free-to-air TV across East Africa, and on pay-TV in French across Francophone Africa. Tanzanian animators and voice actors produce the show, so that viewers can relate to the characters and scenes.
Read an interview with Ubongo’s COO Doreen Kessy with Forbes contributors Thomas Ehrlich and Ernestine Fu here
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ec8d3a071713fd4339914fcfa3fb6e92 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/mfonobongnsehe/2019/06/12/zambia-is-confident-in-its-mining-future-an-interview-with-minister-richard-musukwa/ | Zambia Is Confident In Its Mining Future: An Interview With Minister Richard Musukwa | Zambia Is Confident In Its Mining Future: An Interview With Minister Richard Musukwa
Richard Musukwa Richard Musukwa
The extractive industry in Africa has a long and complex history. For better and for worse, the business of exporting of the continent’s minerals, fuels, and other natural resources is an inextricable component of many African economies – and continues to be a major driver of political events in the region.
Lately, it seems the news hasn’t been 100% positive. South Africa, a bellwether of African mining, is navigating major economic challenges, with GDP shrinking by -3.2% in the first quarter, representing the biggest drop since the global economic crisis ten years ago. For the past two years, Tanzania has been involved in a protracted and bitter dispute with Acacia Mining, with $300 million in back taxes in the balance. Nigeria, the continent’s largest economy, is again facing anemic growth forecasts and recently got hit with a staggering $9 billion arbitration claim in London by an oil and gas firm.
And now, there is Zambia, the continent’s second largest copper producer, which recently introduced a controversial new tax regime. In an extraordinary dispute with Konkola Copper Mines (KCM), a company controlled by Indian billionaire Anil Agarwal, the Zambian government named a provisional liquidator to run Vedanta Resources’ KCM business after accusing KCM of breaching its operating license, lying about planned expansions and cheating on tax payments. Agarwal subsequently criticized the Zambian government's actions, and warned that mining investors were being scared out of Zambia.
To get a clearer sense of what the government is attempting to achieve with the sanctions against KCM and what to expect next, I recently chatted with the Honorable Richard Musukwa, Zambia’s Minister of Mines and Mineral Development. He tried to make sense of the KCM situation and explained to me why he is confidently optimistic about the future of Zambia’s copper mining industry in spite of the bad publicity.
Many seem quite worried about these recent developments in Zambia’s mining sector. Are you concerned that these events are being seen by some as a warning sign of further state interventions?
Zambia remains one of the top destinations across Africa for mining investment thanks to our country’s strong incentives, stability, peace and security, and rule of law. We have a clear and transparent mining code, and are committed to successful partnerships with foreign investors, where investors get a fair return on their investment. We’re heavily endowed with rich natural resources, while the explosive growth of electric cars has made Zambia a growing destination for investment in cobalt mining. The potential for expansion in this area is significant.
There are, however, a lot of misinformed opinions flying around out there, and we need to do a better job at communicating the facts and correcting the numerous misleading claims.
Firstly, in the matter of the liquidation of Konkola Copper Mines, people need to understand that this is a unique, isolated case. Unlike any other mining operator in our country’s history, the majority shareholder Vedanta Resources has repeatedly failed to abide by the provisions of Mines and Minerals Act, violated a series of agreements on investment, production, and employment, and, for the past five years, has been headlines over a number of management and environmental failures. This is not a government problem we are looking at, but a mining company problem, and we are taking the appropriate actions to address it.
Secondly, the Government of Zambia has no intention whatsoever of expanding its presence in the mining sector. The fact of the current situation is that we have a solvent liquidation, allowing mining operations to continue while the government seeks a credible investor to take over. We are currently seeking a new credible and law-abiding investor to take over and continue to successfully operate KCM in an open and transparent manner. Zambia’s mining industry will continue to be driven by the private sector, and foreign investors who abide by the law will find that they are protected and supported by a government that maintains a simple, flexible, and predictable fiscal regime with clear guarantees of security of tenure.
Can you be more specific? What exactly had gone wrong at KCM requiring the state to intervene?
To be clear, the government has at several instances attempted to engage with Vedanta including at the level of chairman, offering numerous opportunities for the company to redeem themselves from their violation of the Mines and Minerals Act. We must always remember that KCM was sold with conditions, and among those conditions was the requirement to operationalize the Konkola Deep Mining Project (KDMP). To date the project is behind by seven years, and clearly Vedanta has failed to mobilize the resources to recapitalize the operations. Another problem is that the Nchanga underground ore body remains unexploited, as well as the fact that Vedanta has failed to pay suppliers and contractors significant sums totaling millions of dollars.
At the time of the government’s intervention, KCM was found to be completely broke. The mineral audit commissioned by the government in 2013 revealed that Vedanta failed to raise the required $357 million external capital injection which had been promised in the development agreement. Instead, the company was applying internally generated profits toward other operational costs. So we are dealing with a company that has broken the law in Zambia, and we should hope to have support from the international community in our effort to enforce the law.
For these reasons and others, the intervention to liquidate Vendanta’s shareholding in KCM has been broadly supported by Zambian people across the political spectrum.
Some observers argue that the new tax regime in Zambia makes mining unprofitable and economically unfeasible. If this is true, how can the Government expect to collect more tax revenue when mining firms are losing money?
This claim is flatly false and an unfortunate example of the sort of misleading information which appears aimed at pressuring the government. We are also now very accustomed to being threatened as a response to taxes – it seems like the first page of the mining company playbook is to issue press releases promising layoffs, production cuts, and ultimately the bluff to walk away.
Here are the facts of what’s happening. Last year, the government passed new mining tax legislation that raised the sliding scale royalties rate for copper products by 1.5%, with a windfall tax of 10% when copper prices reach above US$7,500 per metric tonne. These adjusted rates, which went into effect earlier this year, are simply a continuation of what’s been a methodical, years-long effort to balance the concurrent needs for increased public revenue and foreign investment. The tax regime is designed to create attractive conditions for the expansion of production by the mining houses while at the same time achieving a fair share of the national mineral wealth for the Zambian people – revenue that is much needed to improve our schools, provide quality healthcare, build roads and fund basic infrastructure.
You may recall that only a few years ago in 2014, Zambia experimented with a 20% royalty rate, but it failed to increase revenue. Now, royalties are half that amount, and still lower than the royalties charged by many of the world’s other leading copper producers such as Chile, while other countries such as Democratic Republic of Congo have made decisions to triple their royalty rates (for cobalt). The criticism of Zambia’s tax regime as somehow “unfair” to operators is not an accurate nor honest appraisal given industry trends.
A lot of mining companies are quite vocal about their corporate social responsibility programmes. Do you believe these are real and effective solutions to potential community problems, or just PR window dressing?
We very much welcome operators who are willing to work with communities, but delivery of promises – as we saw with KCM – can be uneven. Corporate social responsibility can’t be the only thing – there also has to be good regulation.
Our government has long been committed to designing regulation that accounts for stakeholders’ concerns, real or imagined. In fact we’ve recently improved our ability to uphold our commitment to cooperative engagement by enhancing our financial modeling capabilities, as well as affording any affected firms the opportunity to share their proprietary data regarding the impacts of any forthcoming regulations. Moreover, government has demonstrated before its willingness to grant certain mining firms the preferential utility tariffs, certain tax exonerations, and favorable compliance conditions they need to remain profitable.
Regardless, I think it must be said that the first priority of the Zambian government is, and always will be, the people. Our copper and other mineral resources are non-renewable, and ensuring that Zambians share in the wealth their resources generate is a time-sensitive matter. It’s with this in mind that the government has adjusted its mineral tax and royalty rates, as well as instituted measures meant to keep multinational corporations accountable, and profitable.
Zambia was recently in the headlines for a court case brought by a large group of villagers against a mining firm that had allegedly polluted a river with waste from one of its sites. What is your ministry doing to ensure that mining operators have sustainable policies and practices?
This is a private legal matter that the state is not involved in, so I cannot comment with any authority beyond what is already known the media. The allegations are that under Vedanta’s management, the Nchanga Copper Mine allegedly significantly polluted the Kafue River, and all but destroyed the livelihoods of nearly two thousand Zambian villagers who depend on the waterway to irrigate their crops, cook their food and wash their belongings. This case is now going through the London courts and has cast a light on the alleged irresponsible operational record of Vedanta.
If the claims in that lawsuit are upheld in court, then it is clear that more needs to be done to protect Zambia’s environment from pollution caused by mining. To ensure that this such gross negligence does not happen again, the Ministry of Mines, in cooperation with the Ministry of Finance, is designing a series of new audits for all mines operating in Zambia. These will be randomly administered, holistic and comprehensive inspections of all mine operations. These will not only verify compliance with tax and royalty payments through evaluation of financial documents, but these will also determine whether mines are satisfying environmental regulations. The Ministry is prepared to conduct surveys and interviews, anonymously and at random, with “at-risk” stakeholders, similar to those who are currently seeking damages from Vedanta in the United Kingdom. Similar measures will be undertaken to improve labor conditions at mines, and decrease the number of workplace accidents and fatalities.
Other than seeking a replacement for Vedanta at KCM, what else is your ministry doing to incentivize greater foreign investment in the mining industry?
We are well aware that mining is a capital intensive, long-term activity which requires close cooperation with a reliable host government. Added all together, the costs of exploration, capital equipment, labor, legal compliance and other expenditures make risk very difficult to measure, especially when commodity prices sharply rise and fall in cycles.
However, it’s for precisely this reason that the Ministry of Mines and Mineral Development, in collaboration with the Ministry of Finance and other government bodies, is doing its best to be as transparent and responsive as possible with private sector operators in our mining sector. We feel that this will lessen the burden of compliance, as well as remove any perceptions of political risk to investment.
We also are regularly engaging in partnerships with international institutions to better equip our workforce with skills training and safety protocols, which provides additional added value for all mining firms operating in our country. We feel strongly that our most valuable resource is the Zambian people, and what our country can offer the world goes far beyond what is found beneath our feet.
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5126724a4121622044cec79fbf70ba78 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/mfonobongnsehe/2019/07/26/after-raising-4-5-million-54gene-seeks-to-lead-genetic-mapping-of-african-dna-launches-biobank/ | After Raising $4.5 Million, 54gene Seeks To Lead Genetic Mapping Of African DNA | After Raising $4.5 Million, 54gene Seeks To Lead Genetic Mapping Of African DNA
Abasi Ene-Obong Abasi Ene-Obong
The African genome is the most genetically diverse in the world. However, until now, the global scientific community has largely ignored the rich diversity and ancestry of the continent’s DNA, which currently makes up only 2% of the global genetic database. What does this mean in reality? Global pharmaceutical companies are more frequently using genomic and phenotypic DNA research to build personalized drugs. Yet without any clear understanding or sequencing of African DNA, this will essentially leave an entire continent [and its Diaspora] without access to revolutionary new drugs.
This is the challenge which 54gene, an African genomics company that launched in January 2019, sought to tackle when its founder, Dr. Abasi Ene-Obong, left his role as a management consultant in the pharmaceutical sector, to move back to Nigeria to build Africa’s first biobank.
No mean feat, when you consider that Ene-Obong and his team are starting from the very beginning; there are no blueprints for this market on the continent. However, having completed stints at the prestigious US-based technology accelerator, Y Combinator, and having also graduated from the recently concluded Google Launchpad Africa accelerator program, 54gene have captured the imaginations of some highly influential international investors.
Looking to radically disrupt the $100bn global pharmaceutical industry, at the beginning of July 2019, they announced a $4.5mn seed round from Y Combinator, Fifty Years, Better Ventures and KdT Ventures, which marks the biggest seed round for a Nigerian healthtech startup.
We spoke to this enigmatic doctor-turned-entrepreneur to get an insight into 54gene and the dynamics of the African health tech sector:
Tell us about your journey before 54gene. What led to you creating the company?
I spent some time in the US after my Masters in Business and Management (Biosciences Management), but a lot of the inspiration came when I went back to Nigeria. It not only struck me that we didn’t have the facilities to analyse genetic tests, but there was a real need to equilibrate the imbalance of genetic research into African data. This had to change and with African data being the most genetically diverse on the globe, incorporating it into global research offers groundbreaking diagnostic and therapeutic insights which will be critical for all populations.
You raised the largest amount of funding for a healthtech startup when you were a six-month old start-up, was your business an easy sell to investors?
For our seed round, the majority of our investors were international - we weren’t able to collaborate with African investors until way made traction with the international investors, I think because this space hasn’t, to-date, been on their radar; The African VCs we spoke to didn’t have the global context of genetics + pharmaceuticals. Whilst the genomics sector in Africa is fairly new, it’s a multi-billion dollar global market. I think the sticking point for some investors on the continent is that they didn’t understand that lack of research and drug provision for people of African descent affects people across the world and subsequently, the business opportunities that follow.
What this means is the market potential is truly global and when you consider how our insights could advance the quality of global healthcare by helping all ethnic populations, there’s even more scope to disrupt a $100+bn industry.
The gap in research for African genetics has been present for decades. Given you’re in a space with multinationals who may have more resources to solve this, what makes you different?
Healthcare in Africa can be disjointed, but it’s also an incredibly difficult system for a big, foreign company to operate in. It takes a team that understands the nuances of the system, as well as the more sophisticated healthcare market of the US and Europe. My team and I have experience on both sides and we know how to move through the systems in Africa, but also, we understand how to unlock the value outside of Africa. It’s about being able to bridge the gap between two worlds, which I think is where our real niche lies.
Whilst we’re continuing to see rising investment into African tech, only a small proportion of this has been in health tech. Why do you think this is?
Africa’s healthcare sector - both traditional and tech-focused, is still in its nascent stages, which means the actual business of healthcare still needs to mature. For example, there’s more variations of HMOs, pharmacies, hospitals etc. on other continents, which offers a more attractive proposition for investors. There’s undoubtedly long-term value in our industry, but unfortunately some investors are risk-averse at this stage. But these things are cyclical; a few years back, everyone was investing in e-commerce, then last year it was fintech, this year it has been transport, and we hope that very soon, you will hear about even more healthtech investments.
And then there’s the type of issues our startups are addressing. For a period, health startups mainly focused on electronic medical records (EMR), which is important, but it’s only now that we’re seeing more pressing problems being solved, such as delivering blood and oxygen or drug procurement. As we move up the value chain, I think we’ll see a greater flow of funds and gradually the funding gap with the other sectors will fall.
What’s your vision for the company as it grows?
We’re on a mission to build the world’s largest pan-African biobank, which means we’re planning to collect 40,000 data samples by the end of 2019, with a view to this being 100,000 over the next 12 months. On top of this, we’ll be expanding into a number of African countries and looking to start piloting clinical trials with pharmaceutical partners.
In the long-term, the goal is for us to become a global force within the healthcare market so we’ll also be investing heavily in building data science capabilities to find our own targets and provide the pharmaceutical industry with access to African genetic data. The idea is that the more companies that have access to our data, the more value it will hold for consumers in the long-term so we’re aiming to co-develop with them.
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0751279c5b36de67adce835e2f4b3404 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/micahhendler/2021/01/01/meet-the-grammy-nominated-croatian-american-jazz-vocalist-singing-the-stories-of-women-everywhere/?utm_medium=40digest.7days3.20210102.carousel&utm_source=email&utm_content=&utm_campaign=campaign&sh=16ed2f2c6a30 | Meet The Grammy-Nominated Croatian-American Jazz Vocalist Singing The Stories Of Women Everywhere | Meet The Grammy-Nominated Croatian-American Jazz Vocalist Singing The Stories Of Women Everywhere
Thana Alexa's 2020 album ONA, pictured here, garnered two GRAMMY nominations this year. Thana Alexa
This year’s GRAMMY nominations came with a few surprises. Some of the most exciting, in my book, are Thana Alexa’s two nods for her album ONA: Best Jazz Vocal Album, and Best Improvised Jazz Solo (Regina Carter).
The album draws on a synthesis of Croatian and American musical and linguistic traditions, and has garnered major award nominations in both countries. According to Alexa, ONA (“She” in Croatian) is an attempt to “express a woman’s mind, her soul, her sexuality, the struggle to redefine gender-ascribed roles in society, and expose the beauty of a woman’s inner strength and what that looks like.”
The opening lines of the title track, taken from her Croatian grandmother’s sayings, mean “she fights, she’ll never give in.” Today, Alexa premieres a powerful new video, directed by Darine Hotait, to bring this song to life on screen, led by a virtually all-female creative team.
Highlighting Women’s Stories
Alexa was inspired to begin working on ONA after attending the Women’s March in Washington in 2017, where she began to think about the stories of the women in her own family. “I’ve been able to live in the space of freedom because of the sacrifices of the women before me—so I began to have conversations with my mother and grandmother about the matrilineal lineage of our family,” she recalled. The spirit of the album that was ignited at the Women’s March traveled through family stories and came alive, expanding naturally to capture the essential elements of living as a woman. “ONA really showed herself to me,” Alexa shared of her muse. “ONA has her personality—it was the will of ONA.”
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For the music video, Alexa “wanted to highlight the underrepresented women that are also in the film industry who don’t often get to work in an all-female team.” Darine Hotait (Director), Soomi Kim (Choreographer), Victoria Sendra (Director of Photography), Liz Charky (Editor), and Dasha Khritankova (Producer) led every stage of video production, female Mexican designer Marika Vera’s dresses are featured, and women of all ages, races, and sizes appear proudly in the clip, representing what Alexa called “the all-encompassing female energy.”
This energy carries through beyond the title track to the entire album. Each track brings a new lens to the female experience: from prophecies disbelieved, to resistance, to sexuality, to awareness of mother earth herself. “For my grandmother, ‘the original Ona,’” Alexa reflected, “it’s such a revelation that I can express these things in music and in my lyrics and be so candid about the way I feel and think....it is amazing to see her reaction to the world’s reaction to this work.”
A Win for Croatia
Thana Alexa has been widely celebrated by Croatian media for her GRAMMY nominations. Thana Alexa
“I am really the essence of a third-culture kid,” Alexa told me. Born in the US, she moved with her family as a teen before returning for college, and feels strongly connected to both her Balkan roots and to American music. Alexa combines Croatian influences like microtonal vocals and odd-meter forms (the title track is in 11 and the final track on the album, a brilliant take on “Everybody Wants to Rule the World,” is in a mixed-meter 9) with jazz harmonies and more standard American instrumentation. “It’s just how it came out,” Alexa laughed. “Croatia is really home.”
For Croatia, Thana Alexa has become a hometown hero.
“Since the GRAMMY nomination, it’s like the country came alive,” Alexa observed. “Not only because I’m their Croatian daughter—but because the first thing people hear on the first track of the album is Croatian traditional singing, in Croatian, emulating a rallying cry from women villagers. They feel it. When they see that the title of the album is written in their language, the title track begins in their language, it brings them so much pride.”
It hasn’t been an easy year for Croatia. Between the COVID-19 pandemic, economic crisis, and a number of destructive earthquakes, including a 6.4 magnitude quake earlier this week, Alexa’s GRAMMY nominations have come as a rare piece of good news in 2020, which Croatian media outlets have been celebrating as a victory for the whole country.
“Croatia is on the map, Croatian women are on the map,” Alexa explained. “Even before anyone knew about this album, I wanted to give back to Croatian women.” In fact, Alexa has been collaborating with Croatian nonprofit Solidarna, donating $1 of every album sold to help support women who suffer domestic violence. “The album is coming full circle: from the stories of Croatian women, through me, and going to help women who are in need now.”
The Journey to ONA
“Having that celebration and acceptance from the Croatian people has been incredible,” Alexa beamed, yet “in the States, I feel like I’ve been working my ass off as a freelance musician sticking to my integrity and doing what I feel presents me in the most truthful way possible”—and the road has not been easy.
Every step of the process of creating ONA was more difficult than expected. First, Alexa raised tens of thousands of dollars for the album on the PledgeMusic platform—but the platform unexpectedly shut down, leaving her without a majority of the money raised. She still owed her fans the rewards she promised them, and decided to deliver them out of pocket. She was ultimately able to complete the project thanks to a generous grant from the Cafe Royal Cultural Foundation.
Then, because of the delay in fundraising, the record’s post-production timeline ran right into her husband’s (GRAMMY-winning jazz drummer Antonio Sanchez) own album production schedule, leaving him only a small fraction of the time he originally allocated to help with editing. “We sat down, he taught me a few tricks, told me he believed in me and then I did it,” Alexa recalled. “It takes a very special kind of man to not only respect and support you as a musician, composer and producer in your own right, but also as a free thinking, independent woman writing music about women’s empowerment.” The couple bounced ideas back and forth about both of their albums as they collaborated on the post-production of ONA.
Finally, Alexa continued, “I had this finished product that I was so proud of, that I built from the ground up, and then...nobody wanted it. But I just believed in these stories, pushed forward, and decided to self-release.” ONA finally came out on March 27, 2020—two weeks after New York City went on lockdown.
In the context of the pandemic, though, Alexa’s music seemed to fill a void. Strangers began reaching out to Alexa to thank her for her music and expressing how much it meant to them. “I don’t know that I would have gotten that personal communication in any other year,” she recognized. “There was a moment where people stood still and were welcoming new music, new art, new everything.”
Alexa’s entrepreneurial spirit served her well in pandemic times, leading her to co-found the “Live from our Living Rooms” initiative, which Rolling Stone called “the first jazz festival of the quarantine era.” Designed to raise money for out-of-work musicians, the virtual series snowballed into multiple events and even a twelve-day creative summit—raising a total of over $140,000 for musicians and contracting more than 120 artists in the process.
This was a different hat for Alexa to wear, but one that she feels is rooted in the message of her album: “All of that stems from ONA—the cyclical nature of stories; how everything has a cycle, and runs its course—you have to know where you came from to know where you’re going and say something meaningful.”
Looking back on the three year-saga, Alexa credited the success she has found to listening to her inner voice, one that told her to highlight female strength and sisterhood. “The essence of the feminine spirit [is] the free woman that society tries to mute,” Alexa emphasized, “but she lives in all of us, and we have to allow her to come out.”
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c8d63edd68ab286b11d02df26ae40ab1 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/micahsolomon/2013/09/03/can-one-employee-change-everything-meet-fairmonts-expert-on-customer-service-culture-hes-also-their-doorman/ | How Fairmont Builds Its Corporate Culture: Meet Customer Service Expert (And Hotel Doorman) Nick DeRosa | How Fairmont Builds Its Corporate Culture: Meet Customer Service Expert (And Hotel Doorman) Nick DeRosa
Want to transform your company culture? As a customer service consultant, I'll work alongside your internal experts to make this happen for you.
But here's a free, if hard-to-execute, secret of cultural transformation: Hire some winners. And place them strategically in your organization. This is one of the quickest and savviest ways to start your turnaround maneuver.
Hiring the right people and letting attitudes and behaviors radiate outward can be enough to set a cultural shift in motion. For the sake of your customers, and of your company.
The nice thing is: You won't have to start over from scratch. A few key hires can make a lot of difference.
The Ballad of Nick the Doorman
The Fairmont Southampton is a lovely hotel in Bermuda. Caring people, nicely sited (that's the Bermuda part), the food is good, and the landscaping lovely.
It also has Nick the doorman. He's your first impression at the Fairmont and your last. And a few times in between.
Nick, whose last name is DeRosa, finds you the moment you arrive at the resort, tattooed all the way up and down his neck (Nick, that is; I don’t know about you), and as energetic and kindly as can be.
“This is the Fairmont Southampton,” he begins, in his lilting voice. “I have been awaiting your arrival. I will be your resource throughout your stay. This hotel is owned by Fairmont but the front is managed by me. If you need anything, even if you don't think it is in my area of service, I am from the island and can tell you all about it." (If my quote isn’t exact, forgive me--my notes have salt spray and popsicle stains on them.)
As you can imagine, this is a nice spiel to hear as an arriving guest, especially after a less-than-direct flight, a cliff-defying bus ride, and the rest of it.
Turning around a company (or a department's) culture
The other people working the front door at the Fairmont are solid professionals as well. And they’re especially solid when Nick is watching.
Which is what I want to discuss next. Because this isn't really a story about Nick. This is a story about company culture, and how you turn it around -- in part, by hiring people like Nick.
I drew out Shelley Meszoly, Bermuda's Regional Director of Sales and Marketing for Fairmont, on the Nick DeRosa phenomenon, and here's what she told me.
"We had, at one time, a lot of challenges at our front door,” says Shelley. “We had, in the past, some real complaints. Then we hired Nick. Slowly but surely those at the front door who didn’t want to work hard left. The others took note and try to be more like Nick every day. He raised the bar."
So in a nutshell, since Nick arrived:
1 The other front-door employees have upped their game (they don't want to be shown up by Nick)
2 Or they’ve simply left, not wanting to work as hard, smile as hard, engage as hard.
This is just a little story, but it’s an important one. It gets at the reality of culture building: You don't really start from scratch, usually. You don't throw out all your existing employees (Ron Johnson tried something like that at JCP and look where it got him). But by hook or by crook you can create a new norm, even without the dubious benefit of a clean slate.
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cc63dccf1077960c801b7831d5d0feba | https://www.forbes.com/sites/micahsolomon/2013/09/18/empowered-employees-vs-brand-standards-the-customer-experience-needs-both/ | A Ritz-Carlton Caliber Customer Experience Requires Employee Empowerment And Customer Service Standards | A Ritz-Carlton Caliber Customer Experience Requires Employee Empowerment And Customer Service Standards
I speak a lot about employee autonomy (or, if you prefer, "empowerment") in customer service and the customer experience. It's important stuff.
I also spend a lot of time speaking about the need to set and maintain service and brand standards. It's important stuff as well.
Autonomy (empowerment) is a lot sexier than setting standards, so let's talk about autonomy first. A favorite example from my book on the Ritz-Carlton customer service and hospitality methodology, Exceptional Service, Exceptional Profit: The Secrets of Building a Five-Star Customer Service Organization: The Ritz-Carlton has for many years given staff $2,000 of discretion (yes, this is per employee per guest) to be used to solve any customer complaint in the manner the employee feels is appropriate.
Freaky, huh: How could so much creative and monetary freedom succeed? And succeed without bankrupting the business?
It works because it changes how employees view customers--and how customers view employees. If an employee starts off defensive, rigid, or withholding, a customer tends to respond by escalating their demands. It’s a classic vicious cycle. But when employees are able to start the interaction from an accepting, flexible, and generous position, customers naturally feel inclined to be reasonable in return. The cycle turns virtuous.
Indeed, Horst Schulze, who during his tenure as founding president of the Ritz-Carlton initiated this policy (in the 1980s, no less, when that $2,000 would buy a ten night stay on the club level of a Ritz), and his team verify that an employee has never had to resort to using all of that discretion. Still, knowing it is there has been a great builder of strength and responsibility for employees.
Think about its value as an ongoing training tool: It serves as a reminder of management’s belief in honoring a guest’s potential lifetime value—and is proof that management is willing to put money behind that belief. (And, indeed, these are supremely well-trained employees who are entrusted with this discretionary, autonomous power at the Ritz.)
Your Customer Is The Star: An eBook From Forbes How to make millennials, Boomers and everyone in between fall in love your business. By Micah Solomon.
In order to keep customers happy, it helps if your people are able to respond in a powerful and immediate way to service failures—without waiting for a manager’s okay. This carte blanche approach has grown even more important in these days of customer rebellions Twittering out of control: Only with immediate and broad discretionary powers is there a chance your front-line employees will be able to defuse complaints before they get posted online.
Standards Is As Standards Does
But autonomy isn't the whole story. All-autonomy-all-the-time is like throwing your employees in the lake and hoping they can swim. They may survive, but they're not gonna turn in the Diana Nyad-level performances that your customers want.
Business works best when you provide your employees with well-defined standards, accompanied by the reasoning behind them and autonomy in how they’re carried out.
Here's how to do it.
Define your standards using a three-part summary statement format:
1. Why the service is of value (why we’re doing this in the first place)
2. The emotional response we’re aiming to have the customer feel
3. The expected way to accomplish the service
Point three should be formulated in a manner that allows judgment and discretion to be used in all but mission-critical situations.
Formulated this way, standards help ensure that every part of your service reflects the best way your company knows to perform it—a prescription that your autonomously performing employees can then feel free to adapt to suit the needs and wishes, expressed or unexpressed, of the customers they’re actually facing at the moment.
Here's what it should look like.
What follows is a practical example of how a company might summarize a single standard:
• We answer all web-form queries in a speedy, personable, non-automated fashion that assists and reassures, binding the customer or prospective customer to our company on the first response.
• The response time will be within thirty-five minutes.
• The initial answer provided will either be complete or, if that’s not possible, will couple a partial, brief answer with a promise of a comprehensive future answer within a specified time frame. In that case, expert assistance will be requested internally, but the initial respondent will own the follow-up until completed to the customer’s satisfaction.
Then, take the time necessary to more fully explain your reasoning to employees:
‘‘We need to answer customer inquiries faster than anyone else, because our studies, last undertaken fourteen months ago, demonstrate this as one of the top five controllable factors in making a sale. The response needs to be friendly and professional for that reason as well.’’
And define any unclear terminology:
• ‘‘Faster than anyone else’’ means within two hours for an initial query, and within fifteen minutes for a follow-up query related to the initial query.
• ‘‘Friendly and professional’’ means to ‘‘use your best judgment’’ but also to ‘‘avoid the following list of phrases and consider the substitutes listed below instead.’’
Finally, you need to measure and, as needed, reinforce the standards.
Standards and autonomy: Why the hybrid path is the best path.
“All autonomy, all the time!” is by and large a bust. It doesn’t work so well (using the example of answering incoming Web queries) to tell an employee to ‘‘answer customer queries any time you want, ’’ because answering customer queries promptly is a crucial part of giving great customer service; it can’t be left to this level of potential variability.
And mindless, unexplained bossiness about standards is equally unworkable. It doesn’t work to say to an employee, ‘‘You have to hurry and check this function off your list, or you’re in trouble.’’ You’ll end up with cursory replies, as the employee misapprehends the reason he’s responding, which now becomes not to take care of the customer, but because he’s checking something off a list to avoid angering his boss.
The hybrid path, straddling the line between employee autonomy and definition of standards, is the only path to business success, consistent, sustainable business success.
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6f2339558908c91ddb48f696abb5c1b3 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/micahsolomon/2014/02/28/the-1-principle-you-need-to-know-to-achieve-a-millennial-friendly-customer-experience/ | The One Thing You Need To Know To Succeed With Millennial Customers | The One Thing You Need To Know To Succeed With Millennial Customers
Today I'm going to walk you through the concept of digital parity, which is a key to a millennial-friendly customer experience. But first, who are these millennial consumers, and why are we talking about them?
The biggest generation of customers in history
A millennial customer is a young customer, born 1980-2000 or thereabouts. There are a lot of these young people; there are more members of the millennial generation (also called Gen-Y), in fact, than there are baby boomers. Furthermore, due to immigration, the U.S. millennial population is still growing while the boomer cohort is, inevitably, shrinking.
The millennial generation is the largest generation in history, in the U.S. and worldwide. And within just a few years Millennials will be dominant in what those of us in business care most about — wallet power— as well. Millennials already, for example, represent a significant portion of heavy business travelers--an important proxy for many segments of the economy, and within five years or less they will be dominant in many purchasing segments.
Unprecedented lifetime network value
Millennials are important in another way as well: They are unprecedented in what I call “Lifetime Network Value.” Why? Because this generation is very social and sharing-inclined, and because it has an unprecedented set of tools to do that sharing broadly and in real time.
The key to their parents' wallets as well
Millennials get along uniquely well with their parents -- who are boomers, by and large — and they influences their parents’ choice of products, services, television viewing, and so much more. So the changes you make in your business now to serve millennials will ultimately benefit how you are perceived by older customers as well.
Creating a millennial-friendly customer experience isn’t easy. There’s a lot involved creating a customer experience that will be embraced by millennials and those who share a millennial mindset. It’s not easy, but it’s important.
Here’s where to start.
Principle #1 for achieving a millennial-friendly customer experience: Strive for "digital parity"
Millennials are the generation that has never known a telephone that can't send a text message, that can't snap a photo to share with their friends, that can’t connect them to Google. They’ve never known a world without personal computers, and internet connections.
All of which means that if your business operates in the physical world, or straddles the physical and online worlds, don’t expect much millennial patience for the limitations of what you may refer to as “reality.” They want your brick and mortar business to be as convenient, streamlined, and well thought out as the best of what they’ve encountered online.
In a sentence:
Your customers expect you to be as good as the best of what they’ve encountered online and in self-service solutions.
This is what I call achieving digital parity. It's one of the central principles of serving millennials successfully.
Your customer or prospective customer, whether offline or on, now feels that:
Interactions should be intuitive, efficient, and fast, and shouldn’t require extraneous human intervention by either the customer herself or by your employees Your processes should allow your customer to have control over her own account and modification of her preferences for service She should be able to access, review, and purchase from your entire catalog (just as, for example, they can on iTunes) The limitations of a particular location should be of no concern to them (just as, for example, on amazon.com, where you can listen or read immediately via ebook or MP3, or have delivery of a universal selection of items directly to your choice of home, work, or conveniently located “amazon locker” for pickup) You, the service provider, should have (discreet) access to her entire guest or customer history, without her having to restate anything and should be able to access, and intelligently help them make use of, that information with zero notice and no lag time.
This is a long list, and not every bullet applies to every business situation. These expectations, however, without question inhabit the recesses (or the foreground, really) of your customers’ mind.
The digital world has redefined customer expectations for just about everything. The ease, convenient selection, and immediacy with which customers are able to transact business from our homes and our smartphones has already caused industry-leading businesses to fall by the wayside as a result of their inability to compete or adapt to the changing expectations defined by advances in the digital world.
The online experience of shopping, buying, trading, selling and accessing information is changing, almost daily, the standards customers hold for service interactions with our businesses.
A company that achieves digital parity has a chance at succeeding in this new economy, assuming the other parts of its offering are sound. Those that can’t will fall by the wayside, even if they get most everything else right: Borders. Tower Records, Blockbuster, Kodak. Your friendly local video rental store. Many retailers and B2B operations in many different niches.
You need to ensure that you’re not added to this discard pile.
Keeping a goal of digital parity front and center in your organization is an important place to start.
This is not an insurmountable task. Airlines, about as nuts and boltsy as a business comes, have actually have been leaders in achieving digital parity: letting customers print out boarding passes themselves, change seat assignments, etc., before settling in for a good night’s sleep. If the airline industry — not widely known for service or innovation — can pull this off, I’ll bet you can too.
Micah Solomon is a customer experience consultant, keynote speaker, and author. Reach Micah at 484-343-5881 or micah@micahsolomon.com
Gallery: 20 Job Rules For Millennials 29 images View gallery
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a4c95eb059c6a31e45bb66bbe266fc9e | https://www.forbes.com/sites/micahsolomon/2014/03/31/customer-service-experience-standards-lessons-from-four-seasons-hotels-and-elsewhere/ | Secrets Of Consistent Customer Service: How To Be Great Again And Again | Secrets Of Consistent Customer Service: How To Be Great Again And Again
Want to build a customer experience so powerful that it knocks your competition out of the running? To pull this off, you'll need to be able to deliver customer service precisely as you wish it to be delivered--over and over and over. This requires knowing how to design, introduce, and reinforce customer service standards.
Sounds good, right? However, you may ask yourself: "Well, how do I get there? How do I convey standards to my employees and successfully diffuse them throughout my organization in a way that sticks?"
Here’s how.
First, you need to be clear about the what, and the why, of your customer service standards: what they are and why you've created them.
There is, in fact, a specific way that every standard in your organization needs to be designed and explained, a three-part method for communicating a standard in a way that guides but allows your employees the autonomy to adapt the execution of the standards to suit the needs of the customers they’re actually facing at the moment.
As follows:
The summary statement for a standard should include the following:
1. Why the service is of value (why we’re doing this in the first place)
2. The emotional response we’re aiming to have the customer feel
3. The expected way to accomplish the service. (Point three should be formulated in a manner that allows judgment and discretion to be used in all but mission-critical situations.)
Now, correctly articulating your customer service standards is one thing.
Then, you need to set your people up to succeed, with the patience and good steering that keeps everyone working toward the same goal.
Here's a story from Isadore Sharp, founder and chairman of Four Seasons Hotels And Resorts, that illustrates the adaptability and steady hand that can be required to convey standards successfully.
This takes place on an under-resourced island where Four Seasons had recently opened a resort after a series of weather catastrophes and training challenges. It shows how the training of employees in service standards can be accomplished even when the staff themselves, drawn from the local population and chosen for traits rather than for prior experience, have never experienced such service. Sharp himself only realized how much patience and understanding this can require after he visited for the opening.
I ordered room service. A young lady came in with my order and set it up on the terrace. ‘‘Where did you learn to do this?’’ I asked her. ‘‘What job did you have before?’’ ‘‘Oh, I never worked before,’’ she told me. ‘‘This was my first job, sir.’’ ‘‘Then how did you learn to do this? There are a lot of items, and everything’s here, placed exactly as it should be.’’ ‘‘Well, sir, they taught me everything.’’ ‘‘That’s interesting,’’ I said. ‘‘How did they do that?’’ ‘‘They let me take everything home for me to practice with my family,’’ she explained. I began to realize what [the manager in charge of training at this resort] had meant by patience and understanding. He had put in place a training program for people with absolutely no conception of international hotel service; let alone how to achieve it. He had done this through judging, by attitude, whom we should or shouldn’t hire, then patiently helping them understand how and why we did things, and doing this in a way that wouldn’t make them reluctant to go on asking questions until they got it right.
While allowing employees to take work home with them may not be what’s called for in your situation, creating an environment where asking questions and making mistakes is absolutely encouraged and support is provided by peers, may be exactly what you are looking for.
But if this example doesn't resonate for you--and certainly this is a situation-specific approach (which is, in many ways the point--your adaptability in getting to where you know you want to go), here's a formula I offer that works well for my clients as a customer experience consultant.
The PEPI method: Upholding and energizing customer service standards
If you want to keep your service standards alive--energized--you need to do a bit more than communicating them initially and training on them. Consider using my acronym PEPI as your framework. (I pronounce it "peppy," but you're on the honor system here.)
Purpose: Inspire employees with a clear sense of the purpose of their organization, and their purpose in the organization—and help them grow their understanding of how your service standards support these.
Enforce intelligently: Keep things simple, keep them visual, and reinforce, reinforce, reinforce.
Peer pressure: Positive peer pressure is a must.
Input: Employees are able to have a say in the refinements,
changes, and even possible future abolition of the standard.
These four fundamentals can do a lot to help you find companywide support for new standards you introduce. And to keep those standards alive after the introduction.
Micah Solomon is a customer experience consultant, keynote speaker and author.
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89abf3430d28219fa444b45ffdb51273 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/micahsolomon/2014/04/15/is-it-time-to-do-away-with-employee-name-badges-a-customer-service-initiative-to-consider/ | Ditch Those Employee Nametags Now, These Customer Service Experts Say | Ditch Those Employee Nametags Now, These Customer Service Experts Say
Let me ask a question so inappropriate it may land me on the Customer Service Speaker Credibility Watchlist due to sheer sacrilege.
“Do employee name badges actually improve customer service?”
“Of course they do,” my hypothetical reader snaps back.
I would counter with (and here's the sacrilege): “Actually, it depends.”
For the majority of businesses that serve customers face to face, name badges probably do help. The reasons in favor of employee name badges are pretty obvious.
• Ease of starting a conversation. As Mark Harmon, CEO of Auberge Resorts and truly a "hotelier's hotelier" told me, "We want to develop a relationship between our staff and guests. It's awkward for the guest to have to ask for your name or the staff member to introduce himself. I find that guests love it when they can easily remember the name of our people."
• Clarity when reporting issues/problem solving/troubleshooting for both customers and managers. Last week, a hotel in Sweden couldn't find a package I'd left with them. The manager was able to resolve the issue largely because I had seen the name badge of the employee in question.)
• Symmetry: Employees now often know the names of even first-time customers: from their loyalty cards, credit cards, boarding passes. Why shouldn’t customers, in this environment, know employee names as well?
• Credit where credit’s due: It’s easier to tweet about good service if you can say “Dave put a great swirl on my latte” than “The balding guy with the hipster facial hair put a great swirl on my latte”
• Deterrence and Accountability: As an employee who's had a long day, wouldn’t you be less likely to flip off (proverbially or literally) a customer if you had a name badge on? Name badges are the service equivalent of that fabulous “Did Not Wash Hands” light and buzzer above the restroom exit in the Far Side cartoon. They provide deterrence and instant accountability.
For all these reasons, a healthy swath of service providers (including, a recent, very prominent convert, Starbucks) have made the decision to put name badges or other identifiers on their employees.
On the other hand, these extremely smart people say you're wrong
In spite of all these obvious reasons to favor name badges, it might surprise you that some of the very finest, attuned-to-nuance customer service providers are going in the other direction, doing away with name badges altogether.
For example, you’ll find 100% name badge-free zones in the following fabulous customer-friendly environments
Andaz, the unusual five star boutique lodging venture that is a very big deal for Hyatt
Edition Hotels, the new five star venture that’s a partnership between Marriott and hotelier Ian Schrager
Capella and Solis, the new ultra-luxury creations of Horst Schulze (previously best known as the genius behind Ritz-Carlton)
This, then, is quite a division of opinion and practice. So what gives?
Here’s what Sara Kearney, Hyatt’s Senior Vice President for Brands, says about their choice to not use name badges at their new Andaz five-star hotels. “We’re trying to make you—the customer and also the employee— feel like you’re in more of a peer-to-peer relationship,” having less of a barrier between employee and guest.
For Andaz, in other words, removing the name badge is a visual cue, a barrier removal effort akin to the removal of the high wall-like counters that used to dominate a hotel’s lobby decor.
Tim Miller, a hotelier who was intimately involved in the creation of the new Marriott—Ian Schrager Edition brand, echoes this sentiment.
“[Edition employees] don’t wear name tags because we want it to be similar to when you’re at home and a friend stops by and stays with you for a couple of nights. We want to provide service in a less artificial way than would be implied by the dividing line of name badged employees and civilian-dressed guests."
Miller does, however, sound a cautionary note. “We do couple this with advice to our teams that we don’t want them to be too familiar. There’s a difference between being friendly and being familiar. We are there to delight our guests. It’s not about crossing the familiar line.”
“I’m Jayden R., and I’ll be taking care of you”
When delivering a speedy, approximate style service (think the expected level of service at your corner gas station, or an Applebee’s/Bennigan’s/TGIF ultra high-volume-but-smiley establishment: “I’m Jayden R., and I’ll be taking care of you”) name badges are on the whole a positive, for the reasons I’ve bulleted above. They promote easy, superficial conversations between customers and employees, and they certainly promote accountability for the employees.
But they’re really not the sign of the ultimate in service, any more than scripted encounters are. While name badges make trivial interactions easy, they kind of put a cap on the level of intimacy that a customer is likely to achieve with an employee or the brand that employee represents. If you’re handed the employee’s first name with no effort on your part as a customer, you can converse with them with zero effort, but you probably won’t get any further than that zero-effort conversation.
And there’s no question that an environment adorned with name badge employees looks more stilted, artificial, less genuine than without it. Hotelier Tim Miller again: “We didn’t want the stilted awkwardness of ‘look, I work here, I’m taking care of you because that’s what it says on my badge I do.’”
Employees (especially millennials) hate name badges
And then there's the elephant in the room, so obvious I wasn't sure I'd even mention it. : Employees hate name badges. And the more creative, quirky the employee, the more likely they are to hate them. As the newest generation of employees are millennials, a very, very creative and quirky generation, and it’s best not to start an adversarial relationship with your employee at the word “go,” this is another factor to consider.
Case by case by case
Here’s where I come down on this: I am of two minds on the name tag issue. Or, more accurately, I take it on a case by case basis with my customer service consulting clients. It's worth looking at it both ways, and taking it beyond the knee-jerk reaction you may have, because it is one quite visible way you can alter perceptions of your service to seem more genuine.
And "genuine" matters a lot to today’s customers.
Micah Solomon is a customer experience consultant, customer service speaker and author.
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e847fd063aa3ac2bd80d16dd167b36d3 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/micahsolomon/2014/05/29/spilled-ice-cream-and-six-flags-a-great-customer-service-adventure/ | Spilled Ice Cream And Six Flags: A Great Customer Service Adventure | Spilled Ice Cream And Six Flags: A Great Customer Service Adventure
Picture this, it won’t be hard. You’re at a theme park and it’s hot. You want ice cream. So, you wait in line some twenty (feels like eighty) minutes, wrangle family members, choose your flavors, figure out payment, and step away, triumphant, from the ice cream counter.
Then you drop your cone: you do a total cone-plant on the midway. It’s such a simple, prosaic accident, but it can tarnish your whole day, or at least your memories of the day. And memories are all-important to a theme park operator like Six Flags. The mental snapshot stored in memory during the winter months needs to be a positive one, so that when the weather turns summery their customers will hurry back to the parks, bringing new generation after new generation with them.
Which is why, when I dropped an ice cream cone at one of the Six Flags theme parks, smack in the middle of the midway, what happened next provided a window into this organization and a customer service lesson for all of us.
Six Flags Great Adventure © Micah Solomon micah@micahsolomon.com
The crew sprang into action, replacing it for me immediately, without me needing to ask, and at no charge. What a way to salvage the day for a guest, and improve their park’s competitive position vs. all other entertainment options their guest has in the future.
This is the highest level of customer service: it’s what I call “anticipatory customer service”—serving the unexpressed wishes of your customers before they even need to express them (to use the Ritz-Carlton’s great phrase). Anticipatory customer service is a key to binding customers to you and creating true customer loyalty.
No crying over spilled ice cream at Six Flags
Six Flags trains its employees to watch for potential stress points in a customer’s day and to turn those experiences into something positive.
So, in their response to ice cream spillage incident, they weren't just being merciful on an ad hoc basis. This was procedural for them: a preplanned service recovery. Ditto in the following scenario: When a guest or group of guests is reading a map, or has that unmistakable “where am I?” glaze over their eyes, Six Flags employees are trained “to approach [those] guests and energetically offer assistance in finding food locations, rides, or restrooms,” says Jim Reid-Anderson, Chairman, President & CEO of Six Flags Entertainment. And, Reid-Anderson continues, “if a family or group is taking a group picture, we want our team members to offer to snap the photo.”
A hospitality experience
Theme parks, as I see them, are essentially hospitality experiences, requiring a full day of customer service per guest. A full day of giving directions, smiling and returning lost items. Not to mention cleaning up ice scream spills caused by klutzy guests such as me.
Of course, this isn’t the only way people think of theme parks. Which is why Six Flags Entertainment— the largest operator of regional theme parks in the world— spends, according to Reid-Anderson, who has helmed Six Flags since 2010, “in excess of $100 million every year in capital primarily focused on new attractions.”
Mr. Reid-Anderson, however, agrees with my assessment of the parks as primarily a monster-sized customer service undertaking. In spite of the capital improvement requirements for ensuring they have the latest, biggest, scariest, lunch-losing potential-est rides, the goal of Six Flags isn’t only to have the fastest coaster, the tallest ride, the scariest attraction, the wettest water park.
All of those are important advertisements for the parks; there’s no doubt about that. But, as Mr. Reid-Anderson puts it, the Six Flags goal is something different: it’s “to make our guests happy”—the happiest in, as Reid-Anderson puts it, “an industry that is in the business of making people happy.”
It starts with employee selection and training
Now, making guests happy involves keeping the rides functioning smoothly, reliably, and above all safely. But in terms other than engineering, here’s what’s most central to the Six Flags approach to creating a great customer experience: the selection and development of employees.
Reid-Anderson: “We actively recruit and develop colleagues who share our number one goal: to make our guests happy, and who can provide friendly, clean, fast and safe service in order to delight our guests and ensure they experience a unique, fun and memorable day."
Stressing their customer-service purpose
Now, this seems pretty straightforward. And, actually, that’s partly why this approach is successful: it keeps the operation simple and focused on what matters. The more complex side of park employment—the technical/checklist/job description side of the job, is something an employee becomes better and better and better at, to the extent that there can be an inclination to stop working on (or even thinking about) the human, emotional side of your job, your guest’s desire to have, as Reid-Anderson puts it, a “unique, fun and memorable day.” This goal, therefore, has to be actively placed front and center, over and over, in recruitment and development efforts.
A key customer experience principle: Becoming a conduit for relationships
Reid-Anderson is focused on what I consider a key component of a successful customer experience: ensuring that your business is a conduit for relationships. In other words, turning your business into a setting for customers to form stronger bonds with the people your customer cares about.
Reid-Anderson: “We hire friendly and energetic people who have the ability to turn a frown into a smile. Guests come to our parks to laugh, spend time with their friends and family, celebrate a birthday, get engaged, recall a childhood memory, and many other celebrations.”
Guests, he continues, “want—and need to have—exciting experiences with friends and family that can become those memories that last a lifetime. Six Flags tries to be the place that provides those memories, to provide families with unique experiences they can enjoy together, things that can’t be done in a living room or in front of a screen.”
Whose head would you bite off at 105 degrees Fahrenheit?
The temperature at a theme park (and Six Flags’ roots and headquarters are in Texas) can easily exceed 100 degrees. (Could you maintain an even temperament and enthusiastic guest-serving attitude at 100 degrees? Me, I’d be looking for heads — customer heads — to bite off at that point.)
The employees are, for the most part, seasonal. This isn’t their main gig. How many seasonal employees is Six Flags wrangling? 38,000. Thirty-eight thousand! And, according to Reid-Anderson, every single employee, whether full or part time “has my mobile phone number and email address and many of them call or email me, or respond to my weekly emails” to give him direct feedback on customer and employee issues and room for improvement.
I asked Reid-Anderson, with nearly 40,000 employees and millions of visitors a year, what kind of employee or visitor moments stood out in his mind.
He said the moments that mean the most to him are when he hears how much the park means to guests, guests who prioritize a trip to Six Flags over almost anything else, including ailing guests who make sure to get to Six Flags in spite of every obstacle. Including the story of a young girl who visited the park as her last outing before undergoing chemo, receiving special attention from the employees due to the circumstances of her visit. (She’s now cancer-free, and the park is looking forward to welcoming her back this summer.)
Anecdotes like this, I’ve got to say, go well beyond ice-cream pickup for power and poignancy. And mean a lot to the company culturally as the team moves forward with their day-to-day duties.
Micah Solomon is a customer service and customer experience consultant, customer service keynote speaker, and author.Disclosure: In January 2014, Micah Solomon keynoted an event sponsored by Six Flags.
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ffe649e74408bdf3ac905297c38a9169 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/micahsolomon/2014/05/31/is-your-customer-service-style-sabotaging-your-customer-service-quality/ | Does Your Customer Service Style Sabotage Your Customer Experience? | Does Your Customer Service Style Sabotage Your Customer Experience?
In business, we tend to think that good customer service is good customer service, and bad service is bad service, period. (And we know the difference, of course, when we see it.)
The thing about this is that it's true, sort of. Maybe even mostly.
The Duke Ellington Theorem of Customer Service
There's a lot of truth to this "good is good, bad is bad" in customer service. It's the customer experience equivalent of Duke Ellington's formulation that there are only "two kinds of music: good music, and the other kind."
I do believe this about customer service. Reaching your arm across a guest to clear a plate on the other side of her is true customer service evil, regardless of how hip and cutting-edge your restaurant aspires to be.
Rude is rude, thoughtful is thoughtful.
Wall Drug's distinctive customer service style and branding. © Micah Solomon micah@micahsolomon.com
More or less.
"More or less" is where this gets tricky. Because there's actually a variety of customer service styles in the world. Your company, for that matter, already has one. On purpose or, as likely, by default: a service style that has evolved without your active guidance, that has sprung up from the experiences and inclinations of the people who work for you. And it may not suit you (and your customers) as well as it could.
For this reason, there's a niche of customer service and customer experience consultants who work with companies to develop their own distinctive styles of customer service, their own distinctive way of building a customer experience for their customers. Of course I think this work is worthwhile, or I'd be in a different line of business. But if you're doing it in your own, if you want to be your own customer experience consultant, so to speak, here's how to get it right.
Consider your branding issues. What style of language, uniforms, name badges or not (see below), scripted tag lines or not, and so forth are appropriate for the brand you are building Consider industry expectations: the expectations set by your competition. An airline deciding it's a hassle to offer drinks in first class before takeoff is going to appear chintzy and inhospitable (to the 1%, at any rate) as long as competing airlines' first classes continue to offer drink service right away. Regardless of the overall sense or nonsense of doing so and blocking entry for the people trying to get back to steerage. Consider trends in service styles and trends in service desires.
Let's pause here for a more in-depth look, because there are several customer service trends to consider:
• Authenticity: Obvious scripting is starting to rub customers the wrong way, especially younger customers. But don't use lack of scripting as an excuse to not have, and uphold standards. Working without a script requires extensive training and intense discipline.
• Informality: As your customers become less and less formal in dress and language (and as the available pool of potential employees follows suit), customer service styles (grooming, visible tattoos, acceptable use of language) are being relaxed--to some extent. Nobody wants to see a pilot in sweatpants or hear her talk about the "bitchin' view out your window on the left"; nobody wants the maître d' to say "no worries" when you thank him for a great evening. But there is a middle ground of informality that is infecting (or liberating) the world of service in many establishments.
• Increased acceptability of self service: it is not necessarily an insult, a sign of slacking, to invite a customer to try your self service options. As long as it isn't forced on them.
• Transparency: Customers are becoming more comfortable seeing behind the the curtain, and understanding that you're not the all-powerful monolithic Oz. Even, maybe, helping out in the kitchen (and paying sometimes to do so).
But don't take this stuff too, too seriously.
To give just one example of the passionate service style debates raging (among people who get passionate about this stuff), is the question of name badges, and whether employees should or shouldn't wear them. There are strong opinions on both sides of this one, and major corporations have invested a fortune in research and man hours to figure out the answer to the question of whether employees should wear name badges or not.
(On the one hand-to make the argument brief- name badges facilitate easy if superficial conversations, and allow for easier accountability. On the other hand, they seem a bit inauthentic; name badges put perhaps put an artificial limit on how close a relationship guest and service employee will have, since you would never expect a friend, or a host having you over to her house, to wear a name badge.)
The thing is: this is an interesting debate. And there probably is an answer that is more right than the other, for your particular business. (If you want to suss that out, I have, believe it or not, a whole article on the name badge question.) But name badge or no name badge will never be the most important style question. Nor will tattoos or no tattoos, ties or no ties, "no worries" or no no worries.
The most important style question
What matters most is the style of service that suits the specific customer in front of you, the specific human being you’re serving, at the specific moment of their life at which the service is being offered. Figuring out how to adjust to the mood, mindset, pacing, sensibilities of the rushed banker or the relaxed yoga mom (or, the relaxed banker/rushed yoga mom, for that matter). Figuring out that you long-time, usually chipper customer is different today, that perhaps her pet died or her job is in jeopardy, and toning down your own chipperness to match.
Creating a great customer experience is never as simple or as straightforward as it looks at first blush. As long as those you are serving are human beings. Hardly a simple or straightforward bunch.
Micah Solomon is a customer service and customer experience consultant, customer service keynote speaker, and author.
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b11f210c87e39a022ce9b8d50152aea2 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/micahsolomon/2014/06/16/habit-how-to-provide-extraordinary-customer-service-almost-every-time/ | The Customer Service Habit: Why Your Company Culture Needs To Catch It | The Customer Service Habit: Why Your Company Culture Needs To Catch It
Want to deliver customer service so good it knocks your competition out of the running? If so, you can't leave it to happenstance. Extraordinary customer service comes from building an organizational, cultural habit: making sure great customer service feels like the norm, the expectation in your company culture, rather than an exception, a fluke.
Habit is the customer service secret that many otherwise successful organizations are missing. It's necessary if you want to get beyond offering a pretty good level of customer service, some of the time, to offering a reliably high level of customer service almost all the time. And that's what this article is about.
But first I have a true confession. (Don't get too excited; it has to do with seat belts.)
Today, I didn't use my safety belt. For about 11 seconds. I was turning my Volvo (yes) around in my driveway and consciously thought to myself, as I put the key in the ignition, "I'm going to live on the edge. I'm just in my own driveway, and it's just for a moment."
Let me tell you. Those 11 seconds were uncomfortable. Panicky. A poison ivy level of personal discomfort. Halfway into the maneuver, I had to break down and belt myself in after all, in order to feel all right.
Why? Because when we were kids my parents, bless them, never ever allowed a key to turn in an ignition until everyone in the car was strapped in. Didn't matter if it was our car, a rental, a taxi, or one of those little shuttle buses. So doing the right thing in the area of safety isn't something I get to be proud of. It's something I can't help doing.
(Classic Volvo print ad)
Onward to customer service. Any employee, and I mean any, can rise to giving good service once in a while: Perhaps when it's really slow, when the employee really clicks with a particular customer, when the employee is especially well rested and especially un-hungover.
But great customer service, the kind that over time makes your competition entirely irrelevant to your customers, has to happen day in and day out, and with customers who have funky attitudes, who don't treat you like you'd prefer to be treated, who interrupt you when you are trying to make sense of conflicting priorities on very little sleep.
This is where my seatbelt theorem comes into play. Your organization needs to ooze habitual (habitually ooze?) customer service excellence. Not "some of the time, it's OK if we do, OK if we don't" customer service, but true customer service excellence.
While this depends first, of course, on hiring people who are appropriate to customer service, to customer facing positions (See my WETCO hiring criteria that will help you greatly in this area), and then depends on you to train and inspire employees to give extraordinary service, it depends, in the long run, on developing habit. On employees building up the habit of great customer service, by observing their leaders in the act, and by working side by side with great peers who consistently deliver great service, day in and day out. Doing it to the point that, for example, being abrupt with a guest or not helping a customer in obvious need (she's looking at a map, for example, but you don't offer to help her get where they're going), feels awkward, itchy, squirm-inducing.
If you're lucky, these habits start long before the employee was even hired: they learned them, as I learned the seatbelt habit, from their parents. But you can't count on that. So, as a leader, generate and reinforce the right habits by:
• Always--always--insisting employees provide the very best service: not "minimum daily requirement" service, not inoffensive service, but the best service.
• Modeling the highest level of customer service yourself as a manager.
• Surrounding your employees with only great employees, for positive peer pressure that makes it even more impossible to do things wrong. (This is why it's sometimes better to leave a position temporarily unfilled rather than to hire someone for it who isn't up to your organization's level of commitment to customer service standards.)
This is the way to give extraordinary service, consistently, day in and day out, in good times and bad, easy circumstances and hard.
But here's the problem: Sadly, habit also works in reverse. Even if you hire as carefully as possible, and train as hard as the dickens, if your employees see, at work, that an attitude of "we're doing the customer a favor," or "we'll do as little as seems reasonable to avoid going out of our way," is tolerated, that will become the habit. And it's a hard, hard one to dig out once its roots get dug in.
Micah Solomon is a customer service consultant, company culture speaker, and author.
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72595e113a29dad3269bfc6c0fcea94f | https://www.forbes.com/sites/micahsolomon/2014/07/05/is-a-four-time-complainer-just-a-whiner-or-one-of-your-best-customer-service-consultants/ | Customer Service Tip: That Whiny Complaining Customer? She's Actually A Gift From The Gods | Customer Service Tip: That Whiny Complaining Customer? She's Actually A Gift From The Gods
A customer who brings up two, three, even four complaints in a row is just a whiner, right? The problem has to be the customer, not your customer service experience, it would seem.
But the weird thing is, complaints about your customer service or your product sometimes come in threes. Or fours. All from the same customer.
You address the first error, and there's another one, or two, or three complaints right behind it, from the same customer.
What gives? Is this customer someone with unreasonable expectations? Someone who was never an appropriate customer for your business in the first place?
Maybe. Customer mismatches certainly happen: the guest at your steakhouse, for example, who throws a tantrum because she doesn't understand why you only have four vegan options on the menu.
But often something else is going on when a customer finds not just one error, but three. Before your customer discovered that first problem, your company walked on water. But with that first mistake, your company's halo fell off. You went from "they can do no harm" to "they've already done me harm; what else do I have to watch out for? And flaws that were previously obscured come into focus.
Service Disconnect/Service Connect © Micah Solomon
The information (couched as complaints) that your customer will give you in this sensitized state is extremely valuable. This is a magical, if painful, moment. The sensitized customer will be attuned to pointing out things that none of your employees are likely to notice in the course of their routine day. That few of your regular customers consciously notice, even if it is grinding down, over time, their subconscious opinion of the customer experience you provide.
In their sensitized state, in other words, these disgruntled customers become your supertasters of service.
The problem is these people seem like whiners. Even like kvetch factories. So they are easy to dismiss by thinking, "hey, almost nobody has a problem with our service, why did he just find four? Must be his problem, not ours."
But try to be all ears in a situation like this, because you have very, very few customers who will bring this stuff up in such detail. Most of your customers are trying to be polite. To not cause trouble or be a bother. Or, most tragically, don't care enough to speak up because they've already written you off.
By contrast, the two-time, three-time, four-time complainer is a gift. An unpleasant, awkward gift. But a gift you can take to the bank. If you'll open your ears, and attitude, and listen.
Micah Solomon is a customer service consultant, keynote speaker, and bestselling author.
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5226b6f711fa04c54dac13662a276ecc | https://www.forbes.com/sites/micahsolomon/2014/09/22/learning-from-southwest-airlines-triple-bottom-line-approach-to-company-culture/ | When Customer's Service Dog Is Run Over By Taxi, Southwest Airlines' Culture Saves The Day | When Customer's Service Dog Is Run Over By Taxi, Southwest Airlines' Culture Saves The Day
Consider this: Only 13% of your customers want to do business with a company that focuses solely on a financial bottom line. And, of course, the percentage of employees who want to work with a similarly mis-focused company must be even lower. [Statistic from an Edelman study of U.S. consumers.]
This means it’s smart business when companies build into their culture what can be referred to as a ‘‘triple bottom line.’’ Depending on the company, the specific manifestation of this could include the alliterative ‘People, Planet, and Profit,’’ coined by the triple bottom line’s originator, John Elkington, founder of the British consultancy Sustain-Ability, or any variation on that theme, generally including labor practices, community impact, etc. in the first column (‘‘People’’ or a similar name); carbon footprint, air and water quality impact, etc. in the second (‘‘Planet’’); and sales, return on investment (ROI), and the like in a third (‘‘Profit’’).
Southwest Airlines is a company that takes pride in how the three columns of its operation interact to form what it considers an inextricable link within the broader world in which it operates.
Every year Southwest issues what it calls its ‘‘OneReport: Performance-People-Planet.’’ Southwest is the envy of its industry in the performance column, having an unparalleled thirty-eight-year streak to date of annual profits in one of the most volatile industries in the world. In the ‘‘People’’ column, it has a culture that values good treatment and support of employees and their families, including highly amicable labor relations in an industry where this is the exception, not the rule. (‘‘Highly amicable’’ barely does the situation justice, actually: The day that long-time Southwest President Herb Kelleher retired, the pilots’ union took out a full-page ad in USA Today to thank him for his thirty-seven years of service. That same day, by contrast, American Airlines pilots were picketing that airline’s annual meeting.)
And in the ‘‘Planet’’ column, Southwest’s activities range from the somewhat expected (increasing the use of recycling) to the highly creative (implementing and advocating legislatively for the use of Required Navigation Performance, a type of performance-based navigation that reduces fuel use).
(Where ‘‘Profit’’ and ‘‘Planet’’ conflict can, of course, be a touchy issue and not as tidy as anyone would like it to be. While Southwest gets top marks in my book for the way it manages the ‘‘Profit’’and ‘‘People’’ columns, ‘‘Planet’’ may have to be left open to debate. Ask anyone who watched Southwest’s aggressive use of lawsuits and lobbying to stop high-speed rail in Texas, regardless of the implications for the planet of blocking that project.)
How this played out in a pinch: Southwest’s culture saves a service dog
It’s one thing to know in the abstract that Southwest is a company famous for its strong and service-oriented company culture. But let's look at one of my favorite stories bringing this concept to life: How two Southwest employees a couple years back worked together to save the life of professional speaker Larry Colbert’s guide dog, Banner , even though those employees had no way to know that Larry was traveling on their airline.
As Larry and his dog Banner arrived at the airport, a taxi ran right over Banner’s leg. Although bleeding profusely, the dog never stopped working to get his master to the plane on time. Colbert was unaware of his dog’s condition until two Southwest employees alerted him that Banner was standing in a pool of blood, a five-inch gash in his leg. One of these Southwest employees, Troy Anderson, got a grip on Banner’s bleeding leg to stop the blood flow, carried the dog to the car, and rode with him to the veterinarian, gripping the wound all the way. (Ultimately, Banner healed entirely. The great Larry Colbert has since passed away. Here is a lovely Roadtrip Nation page on Larry which includes with clips of him speaking as well.)
Think about that: Troy was immersed in a culture that supports behavior like his, and Troy could predict that his management and peers would appreciate, and assist with, what he needed to do. He knew there’d be no negative repercussions if he assisted the dog—even though this meant taking work time for a taxi ride to the vet.
That’s a strong customer-centered, employee-backing culture. And ultimately, it worked out in spades for Southwest, although there was no way directly to predict this. Larry Colbert was, indeed, a Southwest patron—in fact, a very frequent Southwest passenger. More than that, his dog Banner was at the time pretty much a mascot for the entire NSA (National Speakers Association), many of whose 2,500 members fly more than they drive. They’re not likely to forget this incident any time soon.
Culture may sound like a fluffy, expensive frill. But it brings hardnosed, impossible-to-knock-off results. In times of smooth sailing, a focus on culture may not seem necessary, but as Ray Davis from the culture-obsessed Umpqua Bank puts it, when the seas get choppy, ‘‘a strong culture . . . is a matter of survival,’’ and there’s no doubt that right now rapid technological change is churning up the seas for almost every organization.
Micah Solomon is a corporate culture consultant, customer experience consultant, customer service speaker and the bestselling author most recently of High-Tech, High-Touch Customer Service
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dd60a5d3ac2ad4bb356ae4060ccc8514 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/micahsolomon/2014/10/13/meet-siris-sister-the-humanoid-future-of-customer-service/ | Meet Siri's Sister, Nina: The Humanoid Future Of Customer Service? | Meet Siri's Sister, Nina: The Humanoid Future Of Customer Service?
You’ve already met Siri, the earnest, cheeky and sometimes hamfisted personal assistant built into your Apple iPhone, and, belatedly, into your iPad as well.
Siri is revolutionary. She’s also a bit of a toy. Which is where her sister, Nina, comes in. Nina is like Siri, but with an actual customer experience purpose. And some nifty tricks up her sleeve.
Just like Siri, Nina is the work of Nuance Communications [although Nuance has long been able to “neither confirm nor deny” they’re the muscle behind Siri, this vagueness being a requirement of partnering with hyper-secretive Apple].
Anyway, Nuance does accept paternity for Nina, who Greg Pal, VP of Marketing, Strategy, and Business Development for Nuance Enterprise Division, describes as the “multi-channel virtual assistant for customer service that provides intelligent and natural interactions across a variety of customer self-service applications, including text messaging, voice, mobile apps and the web.”
Uh huh. Let me parse that for you.
In other words, Nina provides voice-based assistance a la Siri, and does it for commercial, non-iOS uses. Her identity–including her name, tone of voice, and vocabulary–changes with each commercial application in order to fit the branding of the company in question, which so far include Coca-Cola , ING Netherlands, Windstream Communications, and others.
For example: Nina recently bent her gender for the sake of Domino’s Pizza, where as “Dom,” she offers voice ordering within the Domino’s app.
The Dom version of Nina is all about pizza. He’s both a virtual assistant and a kind of wiseguy Domino’s brand ambassador. Shtick like “My motherboard and fatherboard raised me well” is part of what you’ll encounter when interacting with him
Voice ordering via Nina (rebranded and gender-bent into "Dom"): Courtesy Domino's Pizza LLC
A tough cookie behind the scenes
Nina/Dom may seem all fun and games, but behind the scenes, s/he’s kind of a tough cookie. Or, as Greg Pal from Nuance would prefer to put it, Nina not only “provides human-like customer service conversations via text or speech interactions” (using natural language understanding), she “provides connectivity to CRM, ERP and database systems.” When necessary, Nina “intelligently routes conversations to live agents and connects with other backend systems.”
And check this out, paranoids and sci fi writers: Nina can be combined with voice biometrics technology to “securely and conveniently authenticate a customer by the sounds of their voice.”
Nina's the tip of the iceberg
Nina is the tip of the iceberg of simulated human activities going on in streamlining customer service and customer experience. Some of these industry innovations, including the combination of inbound technology and outbound abilities provide good examples of how to serve customers better in innovative ways.
Technology-driven anticipatory customer service
One of my principles of the customer experience is that good customer service only becomes great customer service–service at such a high level that it starts to bind a customer to a brand, when it becomes anticipatory customer service, service that seems nearly (although not creepily) mind-reading, service that makes a customer feel “at home,” recognized, acknowledged.
Generally such extraordinary service depends on empathetic, highly trained human beings. However, sometimes it can benefit from empathetic, anticipatory systems and technology. Nina falls into this category, as do conversational IVRs (interactive voice response systems) such as you can now encounter using technology from Nuance and other firms; such systems, as Greg Pal would put it, “gain contextual understanding from an ongoing dialog with callers and quickly route calls based on that understanding.” In addition, “by proactively providing information based on the context of upcoming activities (i.e., flights, payments, appointments) as part of the IVR greeting, companies can further speed up the interactions and enhance the experience.”
De-stressing Delta passengers
For example, when Delta Airlines can automatically be prompted to ask the [undoubtedly stressed] passenger not “Tell us how we can help you today” but “Are you calling about your delayed flight?” or “Are you calling about your flight tomorrow?” [whichever, based on the calendar or other information about the caller, is appropriate] it removes the caller’s burden of repeat explanation and speeds the time to resolution,
Technology will never be a complete customer service solution
Technology is obviously not a complete solution to the goal of providing a great customer experience and superior customer service. But intelligent technology designed intelligently by humans in a way that actually respects the humans with whom it interacts, is a real improvement over clunky, haphazard technology, endless hold times, and the frustration of having to repeat yourself over and over again because someone didn’t take the time to design a system that listens, remembers, and makes use of the information that’s been input into it by you, the long-suffering customers.
[Disclosure: I was an early investor in MacSpeech, which was purchased by Nuance in 2010. I have no ownership position in Nuance Communications.]
Micah Solomon is a customer service consultant, customer experience consultant, keynote speaker and the bestselling author most recently of High-Tech, High-Touch Customer Service
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7c1e218ea05890139d412ae1f1503f11 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/micahsolomon/2014/11/01/speed-up-your-customer-service-like-starbucks-and-apple-but-never-ever-rush-it/ | Slow Down Like Starbucks: Great Customer Service Is Fast, But Never Rushed | Slow Down Like Starbucks: Great Customer Service Is Fast, But Never Rushed
Customer expectations for speed of service have become frenzied thanks to mobile and amazon.com and Starbucks, and are even more intense among the millennial generation of customers. (Born 1980-2000, Millennials are the biggest generation in history. And they've never known a world without a smartphone.)
Which is how I end up finding myself repeatedly speaking about the need to speed up the customer service and customer experience to match accelerated customer expectations.
Watch out: speed trap
But there's a speed trap here, so to speak, and I want to encourage you to be aware of it: In most business contexts you should be equally leery of sacrificing the customer's experience due to some enforced speed march. What you will find–and what you should emulate– is how the companies most cognizant of time are also the ones who allow time for lingering, for connection. Which is the approach you should take as well.
Starbucks world headquarters, Seattle (Kevin Schafer/Getty Images)
Take Starbucks since they are a paragon of consistent timeliness. Even though Starbucks spends a lot of time measuring and improving how well they match their customers’ speed expectations—delivering a custom (truly from scratch) beverage in a matter of minutes—they don’t let the need for speed suck the life out of the Starbucks experience.
Slow down like Starbucks
In fact, they go in the other direction: They want the world to linger with them over coffee. Everything is designed to facilitate this lingering, which puts them right on track to please the millennial generation (as well as the rest of us). In spite of their penchant for mobile and online socializing, customers today also yearn for face-to-face interaction and collaboration—from their peers and, often, from your more empathetic employees. All of which takes time and the allowance of time.
Getting the transactional out of the way–like Apple...without losing what matters
Customers today want the stupid, transactional stuff to take less time, less of their time. They want to wave their phones and have their purchase paid for, but they want the meaningful parts of the customer experience to take more time, or at least better time. Consider Apple, specifically the Apple Stores: When you're face to face with the genius, you want the breathing room to state your problem, to understand the solution. No rush, thank you very much, now that I've driven across town to meet with you. But you do want to be able to preschedule that meeting, and you do want to be able to pay and leave without a lick of paperwork or delay. Getting this dance just right is the sign of a master approach to respecting the customers' time, and it can be a real competitive advantage.
Micah Solomon is a customer service consultant, customer experience consultant, keynote speaker and the bestselling author most recently of High-Tech, High-Touch Customer Service
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56fa496b9ef623560a2196eb71520cb2 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/micahsolomon/2014/11/07/to-build-a-powerful-company-culture-create-a-powerful-orientation-process/ | To Build A Powerful Company Culture, Create a Powerful Orientation Process | To Build A Powerful Company Culture, Create a Powerful Orientation Process
Do you know—for certain—what the first day of work is like for your employees? Is there a chance you're frittering away orientation–a key part of building your corporate culture–on inconsequential details? (‘‘This is the break room. We clean the employee fridge out each Friday.’’)
Each day, all around the world, careless orientations like this one are creating lasting negative expectations among employees. And executives and managers typically have no idea it’s happening. Be sure your precious first moments with an employee aren’t squandered (or worse). Institute a careful, effective orientation process.
Use Orientation to Instill New Values, Attitudes, and Beliefs
Employees are especially impressionable during their first days—and especially their very first day—on the job. This is because beginning any new job is disorienting, and psychologists have shown that during periods of disorientation, people are particularly susceptible to adopting new roles, goals, and values. Those new values and beliefs might turn out to be destructive ones, or constructive ones like you want to seed. It depends largely on your orientation program.
With this in mind, I recommend that you focus your orientation process not on instilling practical know-how, but rather on instilling the most useful attitudes, beliefs, and goals possible. Keep the focus on what is most crucial for your business: core customer service principles, your company values, and why and how your employee is an essential part of the company’s overall mission.
Involve the highest leadership level possible, ideally the CEO, to personally provide the orientation on values, beliefs, and purpose. Sound impractical, even impossible? Consider this: The CEO of The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company conducts, personally, every single Day One event at every hotel and resort Ritz-Carlton opens, no matter where it is in the world.
So, figure out a way. You only get one Day One.
Employee fridge warning © Micah Solomon
Your Customer Is The Star: An eBook From Forbes How to make millennials, Boomers and everyone in between fall in love your business. By Micah Solomon.
Defining an Employee’s Underlying Purpose
A particularly crucial aspect of orientation is ensuring that a new employee understands her particular underlying purpose in your organization and appreciates its importance. An object can only have a function. A human being has both a function—his day-to-day job responsibilities—and a purpose—the reason why the job exists. (For example, ‘‘To create a memorable experience for our guests.")
If an employee understands that she has an underlying essential purpose in your company, she’ll tend to respond to customers differently.
Among other things, she’ll try harder to comprehend what they need and to come up with creative ways to meet their needs. This can be a huge asset when confusing or stressful service situations arise, including situations that have never been planned for.
Even in a mundane situation, this simple understanding, starting from day one, can make all the difference. Have you ever been to a shopping mall and stared, obviously bewildered, at the map—while a security guard idly stands there ‘‘protecting’’ you, all of two feet away? Did the security guard proactively help you out with an ‘‘Anything I can help you find?’’ If he had been properly onboarded, he would have. At orientation, he would have been started off on understanding his higher purpose: to create a great shopping experience for guests.
Sure, that could include deterring and apprehending bad guys, but it also includes attending to shoppers who have that unmistakable lost look on their faces. Helping them figure out where they're going is a help to those shoppers, to the mall, and to the shopkeepers alike.
Micah Solomon is a company culture consultant, customer service consultant, keynote speaker and bestselling author, most recently of High-Tech, High-Touch Customer Service
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b0e5de84c382bac1c53ab1b80cfb7ff6 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/micahsolomon/2015/02/18/verizon-yes-verizons-massive-customer-service-initiative-the-inside-scoop/ | Verizon's Massive Customer Service Initiative: The Inside Scoop | Verizon's Massive Customer Service Initiative: The Inside Scoop
With the endless string of Comcast customer service stories (very few of them charitable), I’ve been taking a closer look at what's involved in attempting to overhaul the customer service and customer experience of a sprawling operation such as a national cable company or an ISP. Although most entrepreneurs don't face this scale of customer service challenge, there are lessons to learn from what's involved. One customer service initiative that is underway is at Verizon (yes Verizon), specifically Verizon FiOS.
Two thing I find encouraging about their approach–or at least their aspirations:
1. They realize that benchmarking the [questionable] norms of their own industry isn’t going to get them anywhere; they have to look outside their industry for better customer service models (as their customers do) to use as benchmarks
2. They've committed to consulting their customers and actual frontline reps in the redesign and implementation of their processes.
Let's dig in and look closely at their customer service initiative: how it's being carried out and what additional lessons we can find that are applicable regardless of your specific industry. This interview is with Tami Erwin, President of National Operations. I have edited [and once or twice paraphrased] our discussion for clarity and brevity.
Micah Solomon: Share with me the history/background and why you are undertaking what you call your “Simple.Smart.Connected” customer experience initiative.
Tami Erwin, Verizon President of National Operations: A couple of years ago we began asking ourselves: Is the service we’re delivering as good as our [fully fiber optic] networks? The answer we came up with is that while our service is within or even exceeds our industry’s norms, our customers deserve better than what this industry has historically offered: [we need to] break out of the [cable and ISP] category in terms of service experience, [in order to] redefine our company and even the industry. Customers view companies outside of our industry as the standard for great customer experience and that realization has led us to the customer experience journey we are on today.
Solomon: What are the central elements of your customer service initiative?
Erwin: First off, training: We started by asking our employees – all our employees -- to go through what we call the Service Elite training sessions. By the end of 2014, more than 70% of our frontline employees had gone through the program. [also]: The work we’ve been doing – and the approach we’ve taken – related to frontline design. We have an entire team led by Ken Lain and Miguel Quiroga dedicated to this initiative and they come to work every day sharing the same vision to deliver a best-in-class experience for our customers across all channels. Our Customer Experience (CX) team and IT team have been developing and designing our latest customer experience tools alongside the perfect developers-the people who use the tools every single day. Through rapid development and real-time feedback loops with supervisors and reps, the CX and IT teams have been able to develop our Customer Experience frontline tools like a startup [would]: iterate, test, iterate, test.
Also important is our new "Rep Guidance" tool. Over 100 Verizon customer representatives worked together with our CX and Technology teams built a tool we call Rep Guidance, a new representative desktop solution in our call centers that helps foster more intelligent, better-connected conversations with customers – all on one single screen. Here’s a customer example: Customers call in to talk about their account, inquire about upgrading their TV package or inquire about available speed upgrades. We can rightsize to their TV viewing and broadband needs, because we have meaningful insight into their needs. This cuts down on those moments where one family member would call to switch their video package, only to find out later that their family member or loved one will lose some of their favorite channels. Or a customer calls to save money on their bill, our reps now have true insight into their preferences to provide guidance.
Your Customer Is The Star: An eBook From Forbes How to make millennials, Boomers and everyone in between fall in love with your business. By Micah Solomon.
Solomon: Social media response is obviously a large part of customer service today. Is this part of your initiative?
Erwin: We have dedicated a team of qualified Verizon service reps and technicians to guide customer inquiries across a number of social media channels. The challenge for these reps is not merely trouble-shooting, but to provide superior customer care in a very public forum every single day. This team serves our customers 24 x 7 via Twitter , Facebook, Google + and other social media platforms. The team’s mission is to address customer-support concerns and identify any issues as quickly as possible – allowing our customers to engage with us on their own terms. In 2014, Verizon support managed over 400K interactions.
Solomon: How does this initiative fit into the changing desires of customers/trends, including the enormous and influential “millennial” generation of customers? [Born 1980-2000, millennials are the largest generation in U.S. and world history.]
Erwin: We’re facing a new generation with different expectations. Their expectations are set by the best-in-class experience in other industries. It’s about creating an authentic and ruthlessly simple experience for our customers. We’re intensely focused on creating high-quality, personalized touch whenever a customer connects with us. We’re doing tons of work to better stitch the data we do have (talking to one another) across .com, mobile, chat and call centers to deliver a personalized experience. We need to be able understand where a customer is coming from and accurately predict where they want to go next. Approximately 50% of our customer interactions take place online, via our TVs, or via our apps. Our customers are choosing to engage via these channels, but when they want to pick up the phone and talk to us we want to make it as easy and intuitive for them as possible. For example, on average, we serve over 17,000 customers per month via Twitter and Facebook alone. If that’s where our customers want to engage with us we want to be there. We also recognize if a customer wants to start the journey with us online but finish by talking with customer representative, they should do so, without having to start over.
We understand the need for authentic human interaction, but we also understand that if it doesn’t bring value it’s gumming up our customers’ experience.
Solomon: That last sentence, as you know, is one of my key principles of working with today's customers. It's good to hear you adopting it; best of luck with your initiative.
Micah Solomon is a customer service consultant, customer experience speaker and bestselling business author, most recently of High-Tech, High-Touch Customer Service
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af46e214a571824262c452aa4a902b78 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/micahsolomon/2015/02/26/has-your-customer-service-gotten-worse-as-your-business-has-grown-heres-why-and-how-to-fix-it/ | Has Customer Service Declined As Your Business Has Grown? (Here's Why, And How To Fix It) | Has Customer Service Declined As Your Business Has Grown? (Here's Why, And How To Fix It)
Frequently I'm brought in as a customer service consultant when things seem to be going inexplicably south at a previously-thriving company. Often I’m brought in by a company founder who has built his or her empire starting with a very small number of customers–zero customers, to be precise. Then one customer, then five.
When I start consulting for them later in the growth of their companies, we’ll look together through the notes they have from those early days for clues to what's gone wrong. Invariably we find that in those early, desperate but exciting days, the level of detail they kept on each customer and prospective customer, the number of times they followed up and the care with which they did it, was over the top impressive. These were big-ticket customers to them when they were just starting out; they were each crucial to the business; they were their business.
Unfortunately, the kind of focus and attentiveness that’s common when you have only a few customers almost invariably starts to slide when those five initial customers became 50, and a thousand, and ten thousand; the commitment to keeping close to the customers, with a similar level of detailed interaction and care and knowledge of the customers as in the early days falls by the wayside.
You stop signing your notes by hand. You stop writing “thank you” on the invoices. You get rid of Jackie and Joanne, your quirkily charismatic receptionists, and switch to an auto-attendant to answer incoming calls.
This loss of focus doesn’t happen on its own, or overnight. At every step of this downward journey, there are defining moments, the moments when you answer, one way or the other, questions like: Do we really want to stop including a postpaid return envelope with our invoices? Should we just let it slide when a new employee is sneaking texts in on the job, in sight of customers, where in the past we would have been sure to gently and quickly correct such behavior?
Your Customer Is The Star: An eBook From Forbes How to make millennials, Boomers and everyone in between fall in love with your business. By Micah Solomon.
These moments represent your chance to prevent, or slow, the blurring of your initial customer focus, but only if, in every single case, you answer the relaxing of standards with the following retort: “If we would do it for our first customer, we’ll do it for our 10,000th.
Never stop believing in the importance of the single customer
The secret, in other words, is to never stop believing in the importance of every single customer. Never start believing – as cell phone providers and so many companies in so many other industries have – that there is an infinite cohort of customers out there for the taking, if only our marketing and sales get the promotions and discounts out there far and wide.
Tell yourselves instead that there's just one customer, the one you're facing. The one you need to follow up with, to make sure her problem was successfully resolved.
There's only customer Jim. One Margo. One Alecia. Which means that even after you have thousands of customers, you need to do everything you can to maintain the mindset that every one of them is a core customer—and to treat the loss of a single customer as a tragedy.
Here's why: Because every single customer is irreplaceable.
Regardless of the size of your market segment, once you start writing off customers, I can predict the day in the future (and it's probably not far into the future) when you’ll be out of business.
And this is a calamity to be avoided.
Let your competitors keep thinking of customers as an abstraction, as an infinite plurality. You need to think of them, and serve them, in the specificity of their individuality, their Jim-ishness, Margo-ishness, and Alecia-ishness.
Jim, who likes his service languid with plenty of time to consider his options. Margo who is always in a hurry, and doesn't care how your day was. And poor Alecia, whose cat is at the vet, and isn't in the mood for your Pollyanna ponderings.
Now, every customer's different from the next one -- Jim from Margo, Margo from Alecia, and Alecia from Jim. Some will be easier to serve, and some harder. And some are easier to serve sometimes and less so at others. But each of them is precious.
Recapture this attitude. Stop thinking "good enough" is o.k. Stop thinking your early reputation (built on those moments when you were treating every customer as precious) can pull you through your current slackness. It won't. Only your redoubled attention to superior service can do that.
Micah Solomon is a customer service consultant, customer experience speaker and bestselling business author, most recently of High-Tech, High-Touch Customer Service
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6b3cc7532f58de1377b4940073719db6 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/micahsolomon/2015/04/06/starbucks-commits-250-million-to-give-free-4-year-college-to-every-employee/ | Starbucks To Shell Out $250 Million On Free 4-Year College For Every Employee: Here's Why | Starbucks To Shell Out $250 Million On Free 4-Year College For Every Employee: Here's Why
Starbucks Coffee just announced a commitment of up to $250 million to ensure that each of its U.S. employees–whether full or part-time–can go to four years of college and graduate without any tuition debt. (Let me start with the specifics–the "what"–of Starbucks' new initiative and then get to why Starbucks is doing it and why, as a corporate culture and customer service consultant, I see business positives in this Starbucks initiative)
Starbucks' announcement today represents an expansion of the coffee giant's previously-announced educational commitment; the Seattle-based company has already (since June) been offering tuition coverage but until now has limited it to juniors and seniors. Starbucks is now expanding the program so that all eligible part-time or full-time can apply for and complete all four years of a bachelor’s degree through Arizona State University's generally well-regarded online degree program.
Starbucks spokesperson Laurel Harper says that some 2,000 Starbucks partners are already enrolled in the program, and that the expansion announced today means the company is going to invest up to $250 million or possibly more to help at least 25,000 partners graduate by 2025. As I covered here recently, has also committed to hiring 10,000 “Opportunity Youth" over the next three years (defined as a U.S. population of nearly six million disconnected youth between the ages of 16 and 24 who are not working or in school.)
Now, if you're a business leader yourself, the questions that have you furrowing your brow might sound like these: "Why is Starbucks doing this, how is it good for their business, and would a similar expansion in what I offer my own employees be a good idea for my own company?" So here's my take on the business sense of Starbucks' decision, a decision that I see as potentially positive for both corporate culture and customer service.
Starbucks world headquarters, Seattle (Kevin Schafer/Getty Images)
Your Customer Is The Star: An eBook From Forbes How to make Millennials, Boomers and everyone in between fall in love with your business. By Micah Solomon.
Part of this grows organically from Starbucks' long-visible corporate culture and ethos. Starbucks as we know it today was created by Howard Schultz, a leader who comes from a working-class background, son of a factory work who was ill-treated in his career. Schultz has written that he promised himself early in his career that if he ever was in a position to make a difference in the lives of the people who worked for him, he would do so. Once he was in such a position, rather than backtracking on his personal commitment, he immediately made it visible, by providing health insurance to both part-time and full-time workers, a rare move by such a large and geographically diverse employer. Part of this works the way it worked for Henry Ford when he doubled his employees' wages: creating and maintaining economic wellbeing among one's employees can ultimately lead to a larger and more enthusiastic customer base. Starbucks' customers are generally well-to-do, generally well educated; what could be better for the company than to increase this base? What could possibly be better for employee retention and engagement? You're not going to leave your job during the years you are planning to (but can't yet get around to) going to college; you're not going to leave your job while you're in college, and the company will bless you and wish you well if you get a new job upon your graduation, as you'll be leaving the ranks of employee and joining the ranks of "brand ambassador." Employees these days care greatly about the corporate social responsibility and ethics of a company that they consider as a potential employer. It's just about the first question out of their mouths, according to every head of HR I've worked with lately. So it makes Starbucks an employer of choice even for prospective employees who themselves have no interest in pursuing a first or second degree. It's about genuine care for customers. I know that sounds odd, so let's look at it. A customer-facing organization like Starbucks has to be on its feet and nice to customers all day long. Not just kind of nice, really nice. And that kind of nice comes off as a lot more genuine if the employees providing it aren't just "on stage." If the company is being nice to them, if they're being nice to each other, and if being nice to customers is simply an extension of what's going on, not just an act. The "opportunity youth" part of the project represents a way to not only do some good for a particularly desperate set of our society, but broadens Starbucks' pool of potentially great employees. One of--probably the most important– challenge of building and sustaining a great customer service-focused organization is selecting fantastic employees: the employees with the innate qualities required to provide superior service. (Here's my WETCO list of the innate traits required in a great customer-facing employee). Such employees don't come from any particular socioeconomic background; they can be found literally anywhere. In actively working to broaden its recruiting scope, Starbucks is increasing the chance it will find such employees in place where they would previously have been overlooked.
Or, to give Starbucks the last word (it's their money, after all), here's spokesperson Harper again: "With the right skills and training, Starbucks believes Opportunity Youth represent a huge, untapped talent pool for American businesses, and through employment and access to higher education, hopes to help create a sustainable future for these young Americans."
Gallery: 13 American Companies With Remarkable Perks 13 images View gallery
Micah Solomon is a customer service consultant, corporate culture consultant, keynote speaker and bestselling business author, most recently of High-Tech, High-Touch Customer Service
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029bce3599628c3e1f1e22f271358a04 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/micahsolomon/2015/04/21/ritz-carlton-president-herve-humlers-leadership-culture-and-customer-service-secrets/ | Ritz-Carlton President Herve Humler's Leadership, Culture And Customer Service Secrets | Ritz-Carlton President Herve Humler's Leadership, Culture And Customer Service Secrets
It’s been a back-to-our-roots scenario lately at The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, where Herve Humler, part of the original executive team that more than 30 years ago created the hotel brand as we know it, has settled in at the helm, replacing an “imported” CEO, Simon Cooper, who stepped down in 2010.
The approach Humler has been taking to his new position is intriguing on a cultural and leadership level: Humler has been on nonstop, round-the-globe mission of exhorting his managers and frontline employees to fully realize the vision of the heady early days when that original group of hospitality executives joined forces to create what they envisioned as a worldwide luxury chain focused on serving “even the unexpressed wishes” of its guests, and doing so through fully-empowered “Ladies and Gentlemen” (as the employees of Ritz-Carlton proudly refer to themselves).
Humler’s cultural initiative comes at a time when the hotel company has been expanding rapidly. Ritz-Carlton now operates 88 hotels worldwide that include such innovations as the “world’s highest hotel” in Hong Kong and the new, ultra-private, ultra-luxury Ritz-Carlton Reserve concept.
It also coincides with a visible reworking of the brand’s vibe: hotels worldwide have been undergoing design overhauls to better reflect their local surroundings, Ritz-Carlton has been relaxing its famously “proper” employee language and grooming standards, and at many locations there has been a revamp of its foodservice and guest programming to better reflect the authenticity and adventure that customers are looking for today.
I spoke with Mr. Humler about leadership, company culture, employee empowerment and the changing expectations of customers today.
Micah Solomon: The easiest way I know to terrify an audience of business leaders is to describe to them how the Ritz-Carlton allows any employee in your organization to fix any guest problem, without asking for permission–even if it costs up to $2000 to do so. Yet at The Ritz-Carlton you continue to offer this responsibility and autonomy to your employees every day of the week and it works out very well. Can you talk with me about this?
Your Customer Is The Star: An eBook From Forbes How to make Millennials, Boomers and everyone in between fall in love with your business. By Micah Solomon.
Herve Humler, President and Chief Operating Officer, The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company: This is what we’ve always called here at The Ritz-Carlton, for decades before it became a popular buzzword in business, “empowerment.“ Empowerment is often manifested as the power of our employees to break away from the routine. This requires attention to seek out the moments where a break from the routine brings value to the guest: If you are server, you listen to the customer, and if he expresses a desire for something different from what you are currently doing now, you cater to it. If you are an [maintenance] engineer and you are painting the wall or changing a light bulb and a customer says "Hey, how are you? I need to get to the airplane,” you can stop what you’re doing and say "Sir, I am going to take you to the airplane.”
The attitude I strive to get across to my employees is this: “You are not servants, because unlike a servant, I want you to be engaged with the customer—you have a brain, you have a heart and I want you to use them.” This is why we say, and have always said, that we are ladies and gentlemen serving ladies and gentlemen. We mean this. I believe in the power of recognition and empowerment leading to great employee engagement. And employee engagement is critical to guest engagement. Employee empowerment and recognition is the core of our culture and how we achieve outstanding service.
Solomon: The focus on core values and other essential service standards at The Ritz-Carlton is clearly much more than lip service: My impression is that every employee in your organization–and I mean housekeepers as well as executives–knows every one of your brand's philosophical principles by heart. Yet there are by contrast so many other companies that also have mission statements, but theirs become nothing more than paper on the wall. Can you talk about this?
Humler: I encounter executives sometimes from other companies who tell me, “Oh, yes. We have a mission statement–it’s about four or five pages long. It’s somewhere in the CEO’s office, and accumulates a thicker layer of dust every year.” The problem in these cases is that the vision or the mission of the company isn’t shared with the employees! The executive attitude they’re showing here is that employees don’t work to create excellence, they only work for a paycheck.
I disagree with this wholeheartedly–in fact it makes me feel, in cases like this, that it’s the CEOs who should be reformed today, not the employees. It’s what you make of your employees. My feeling is that, by and large, there are no bad soldiers, only bad officers.
Here at The Ritz-Carlton, everything is well-defined and thoroughly communicated. Our concept of service is not only well-defined, but through our Gold Standards, daily lineup [see my article here for an in-depth look at daily lineup], and continuous training, we re-energize our ladies and gentlemen to serve our guests consistently.
They’re the absolute opposite here of just being words on a piece of paper. They are brought to life by the employees. At The Ritz-Carlton, we have 16 service values and three steps of service, and each one of our 40,000 ladies and gentlemen know them. They learn during orientation, and the values are then reinforced every day of the year at Lineup. We even provide them on a laminated card that each Lady and Gentleman has on their person for reference.
It is my job, and the job of every leader in this organization, to remind ourselves and those who work for us daily that we are not in the business of selling hotel rooms or F&B [food and beverage]. We are in the business of providing exceptional service. The privilege of serving our guests is the highest priority of The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company. If we do that well, the rest of our job is easy and we will by default sell rooms.
Energizing a global workforce has to be a daily commitment, and is the reason that we conduct lineup three times per day, every day, all over the world. We remind our ladies and gentlemen what is important to our customers and reinforce this regularly through onboarding, training and regular communications like daily line-ups, repetition is important. This keeps it alive throughout the company: The same service value we're reinforcing in New York will be focused on in Los Angeles and Beijing as well, that very same day. It's important to our success that we commit ourselves every day, day in and day out. Not whenever we want, just always. We pledge to commit ourselves to deliver excellence to our guests every day.
Solomon: How are customers changing? And how is Ritz-Carlton changing with them?
Humler: Luxury travelers have long welcomed personalized services that make logistics that little bit more manageable, or make unfamiliar experiences more relatable. At the same time, technology has made travelers increasingly expectant of a certain level of personalization, from hotel recommendations to endlessly customizable leisure packages.
Informality/approachable luxury is the standard today. Certainly the time of the jacket and the tie is over, it's finished. We're not going to dictate to the customer what they should or should not wear. We want them to feel comfortable.
Another area where we’ve become less formal is in authentic, unscripted conversation and interactions with the customer. In the early days when putting together this hotel company and growing it globally, we scripted almost everything. You’d hear ’my pleasure’ repeated everywhere you went in the hotel because that was part of the script. We have evolved from that today and now encourage our employees to be themselves. To conduct interactions with utmost respect and courtesy, but in a way that it natural to their personality and the warmth of their caring natures.
Customers today have an expectation of seamless service, in part because of the online experience and other technological factors. It’s important that we provide them with this seamless service– all of the element of the luxury hotel experience must integrate and flow together, from the planning process when they make the reservation, to when they depart the hotel.
Being a part of the consumer conversation and responsive to their comments, suggestions and requests can bring great benefits. It is the intrinsic value and deeper relationships with a brand that customers are looking for today. The luxury affluent chooses the brands they want to interact with and support, seeking out companies and brands that can simplify and improve their lives and make their experiences richer.
Clearly, the needs and expectations of luxury travelers grow as rapidly as the development of technology. We created a Ritz-Carlton mobile app [more about the Ritz-Carlton's new mobile app in my article here] and are soon introducing Phase Two of the app which will have a whole wave of new features for seamless service that include use of a GPS function to deliver your drink to you anywhere in a resort.
The goals of our guests are changing as well. It was only eight or ten years ago that luxury customers traveled around the globe to accumulate possession: furs in Asia, porcelain in Europe, the carpet in the Middle East or in India. Today they travel to collect experiences. They want to be the first to reach a new place and engage with something new.
Solomon: Many of my readers are entrepreneurs and business leaders themselves. Is there anything else you want to share with them about your leadership style, organizational culture, or anything else that would be helpful to them in their own organizations?
Humler: Superior, seamless service doesn’t take a rocket scientist to work out – and yet it is the force behind some of the most successful brands in the world. As a business leader and knowing that time is the most precious commodity, opportunities to create excellence in the most basic form are in their abundance.
My biggest joy in life is helping others succeed. I have everything I want in life but through this great organization I am able to help our Ladies and Gentlemen succeed in so many ways for themselves and for our organization. It is a gift I value and appreciate and an attribute I acknowledge as a sign of good leaders within our and other organizations.
Micah Solomon is a customer service speaker, hospitality keynote speaker and bestselling business author, most recently of High-Tech, High-Touch Customer Service
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0307a22aae364db6c78b02f7a45b63b7 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/micahsolomon/2015/05/02/a-customer-experience-expert-practice-know-your-storyline-then-set-the-scene/ | A Customer Experience Expert Practice: Know Your Brand's Storyline, Then Set The Scene | A Customer Experience Expert Practice: Know Your Brand's Storyline, Then Set The Scene
Customer experience experts and consultants tend to turn any discussion quickly to the very specific, individual details that make up what's often called the customer’s journey. Now, it is true that these details and this attention to detail are of utmost importance, and that you'll never succeed in creating or sustaining a great customer experience without them. Yet I also want to caution you, if you're setting out to craft your own customer experience at your company, brand, or division, to consider what those details are working in service of, which should be the feeling that they, together, are intended to create. The work you do here is what I call "setting a scene," a scene that supports the storyline, the plotline, of your business.
Scene by scene
Every significant touchpoint of the customer experience can be conceived of as a scene.
For example: What scene do you want to set at the register in your clothing store: “Fast?” Undoubtedly, but that’s not enough. Yet “fast” is about all you’re going to measure with your KPI’s: fast, and maybe accurate. But there’s so much more. The register (or, at more forward looking merchants, the non-register) is one of the last moments in the customer’s retail journey. Think about how much more than just “fast” it can be. Nordstrom thinks it should also be “warm,” reassuring, and streamlined, so they ensure that the counter is uncluttered, they make a point of coming around from behind the register to hand you the bag, making it more of a collegial, collaborative process than handing the bag over the barrier of the counter, and they accompany you to your car if you need or want an extra hand with your new loot.
All of which fits into the overall Nordstrom storyline, which is, I would say, “You can trust us beyond a doubt.”
Even a car repair shop can transform impressions through scene-setting. Jiffy Lube, not a name that probably springs immediately to mind when it comes to exceptional service with a human touch, has improved its service model by setting a different scene from what they did in the past. By offloading transactional details that had previously preoccupied its employees and customers, rolling out an intricate nationwide database to store each customer’s vehicle history and manufacturer-prescribed service requirements. This information is now a couple of clicks away for every customer-facing Jiffy Lube employee, freeing them from onerous paperwork and allowing them to assist customers more easily and knowledgeably.
This fits as part of the overall storyline of Jiffy Lube, which I would describe, in a rhyming couplet of my own making, as “with a minimum of fuss, you can count on us.”
Apple Store, Suburban Philadelphia © Micah Solomon micah@micahsolomon.com
Your Customer Is The Star: An eBook From Forbes How to make Millennials, Boomers and everyone in between fall in love with your business. By Micah Solomon.
Or think about the experience of walking into an Apple Store. Here, right smack dab in the center of the technology industry, we have a brand that has relentlessly worked to downplay all of the transactional items and processes that would bring you down to earth as a customer, that would make you feel that you’re doing something other than embarking on a great adventure into the future. In an Apple Store, there are no cash registers or checkout lines, and no receipts or owner’s manuals in sight; the stores are uncluttered and the employees are empowered to provide a peerless retail experience. Apple has invested in training a large team of salespeople and customer service representatives to help customers on the floor and at the Genius Bar, where the diagnostic specialists are famously called “Geniuses.”
The storyline here? I’d say it’s along the lines of “We are about your experience, not about technology, processes, specs and minutae.” (Sorry, I couldn’t make that one rhyme; if you succeed in doing so, email me and I’ll update this article.)
What’s your business’s storyline? And do the scenes that customers encounter at your business support it? Think it through and get it right. It’s worth it. Because customers don’t think of the little details they encounter at your business in isolation. In their heads, they wrap their whole experience up with a bow and decide if they liked it or not, if they want to return or not. Make sure they get the right impression, so they’ll make a business-friendly decision.
Micah Solomon is a customer experience expert consultant, customer service speaker and bestselling business author, most recently of High-Tech, High-Touch Customer Service
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ee668bf6d19154406c24e04f0c0f8780 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/micahsolomon/2015/05/26/whats-a-keynote-speaker-whats-a-keynote-speech-what-do-they-cost-why-do-they-sometimes-stink/ | Keynote Speaker Fees And Definitions, Plus The Two Most Common Reasons Keynote Speakers Bomb | Keynote Speaker Fees And Definitions, Plus The Two Most Common Reasons Keynote Speakers Bomb
As a keynote speaker, I realized recently that the language and specifics of our industry can be mysterious and confusing to people outside the speaking business. You'll see what I mean from this recent conversation with my airplane seatmate:
Seatmate: "Why are you flying to City X tonight?"
Micah: “I'm giving a keynote speech there on customer service.”
Seatmate: “What does that mean?”
Micah: “Uh, what does ‘Customer Service’ mean?”
Seatmate: “No—got that one. But what is the actual definition of keynote speaker--I never heard that term until then-Senator Obama gave his speech at the Democratic convention back in the day, but now everybody says it all the time."
I answered this question as best I can, and a few followup questions he had about fees and formats and venues. Here's a summary, uninterrupted by the flight attendant's attentive attentions.
1. Definition of "keynote speaker":
The definition of "keynote speaker," and where the term originates, are as follows. The keynote speaker should "set the key" for an event. (The analogy is to an oboe providing the note to which the rest of the orchestra tunes.) However, like so many other words, the term is now stretched to include "closing keynote speakers" and the like as well. Communications expert Dr. Nick Morgan says that it was first used in the 'keynote speaker' sense in the US in 1905.
Your Customer Is The Star: An eBook From Forbes How to make Millennials, Boomers and everyone in between fall in love with your business. By Micah Solomon.
Live Content: Micah Solomon Speaks on Customer Service, Company Culture, and Innovation Live Video–Micah Solomon Speaks on Customer Service
2. Who do keynote speakers tend to be, and how do they fit into the context of an even?
Keynote speakers are the more general, thought-leader speakers at a particular event. For example, I speak about customer service, the customer experience, and company culture, not about, say, regulatory issues in retail banking. Yet (to continue the example) I might be the keynote speaker at a retail banking industry summit, where I would give the keynote speech about the importance of customer service, the customer experience, or company culture to retail banking. After I get offstage, the more highly technical or "insider" speakers (industry experts, on, say, the regulatory climate in retail banking) would contribute their expertise, either on the same stage or at breakout sessions later in the day.
3. How to become a keynote speaker:
If you want to become a keynote speaker, according to Dr. Nick Morgan, whose advice matches up well to my own experience,
You need to get good at three things. First, you need to develop a great speech. So find opportunities to speak, even if they’re free at first. Toastmasters is a great place to begin to develop your speaking chops. Second, you need a book – so get writing! The book establishes your expertise, which is why it still is important. And third, you need a ‘community’ – an online fan base, content home, thought leadership destination, branding materials, social media presence, and so on."
4. Keynote speaker fees:
This is such a popular question, and a hard one to answer. People (if their last name is "Clinton") can make up to $250,000 a speech. Author Malcolm Gladwell is reputed to make up to $80,000. The rest of us, of course, make less. The most detailed example I can offer is my own fee schedule: I ask $15,000 plus travel for most situations, within the U.S. (I will, however, charge less if you're not for profit or a very small group or have another compelling reason to ask for a discount.) I do speak all over the world as well; my fees for keynote speeches abroad depend a lot on the situation.
And, yes, some speakers end up speaking for free. Which, in my professional opinion, is a great way to set yourself up for a "career" of continuing to speak for free, the classic "dying of exposure."
5. How long is a keynote speech:
About an hour, including Q&A. The trend is toward shorter keynotes, but this is about right.
6. What makes a good, and a bad, keynote speaker?
A good keynote speaker, to quote communications expert Nick Morgan, "tells the audience something it doesn't know or hasn't thought about in precisely that way. A good keynote speaker changes the world by changing the audience in front of him or her." The three most common issues that can trip a speaker up: They "try to dump too much information on the audience, they focus too narrowly on an area of specialty, or they fail to get a discussion going amongst the participants."
Micah Solomon is a keynote speaker, customer service consultant, customer experience speaker and bestselling business author, most recently of High-Tech, High-Touch Customer Service
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6556e57cf482464cf6f7404b9a1d800e | https://www.forbes.com/sites/micahsolomon/2015/06/15/at-four-seasons-theres-an-app-and-a-human-for-that/ | Four Seasons Has An App (And A Human) For That: Balancing High-Tech, High-Touch Customer Service | Four Seasons Has An App (And A Human) For That: Balancing High-Tech, High-Touch Customer Service
So here's the problem. I guess I've become the high-tech/high-touch customer service guy. But that doesn't mean I want every company in the world to be split right down the middle of technology and touchy-feeliness in their approach to customer service. (Or, probably worse, to head entirely over to the high-tech side of the equation without a customer-driven rationale for doing so.)
The way I see it, customer service technology needs to work in support of humans: the humans who are customers, and the humans serving those customers. So if you let the tech cart drive the human horse (to wildly mangle a metaphor), you'll have a problem. But if you get this equation right, if you successfully balance high tech and high touch, you're gonna be golden.
Take Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, which has long committed itself to a high-touch customer experience. Four Seasons was set up by its Founder and Chairman, Isadore Sharp, to, above all other priorities, offer superior service. This service has always been delivered by humans to humans: well-trained (and superbly well-hired) employees, employees who possess an uncanny sixth sense for what guests want, even before those guests voice their wishes.
So when Four Seasons asked me to take a look at their—wait for it—Four Seasons app, I was a mix of trepidation and trepidation. “Please,” I thought to myself, “don't let them start down the road of using technology to ruin the human-driven good thing they have.”
Your Customer Is The Star: An eBook From Forbes How to make Millennials, Boomers and everyone in between fall in love with your business. By Micah Solomon.
(I don't think my fears were unfounded. A few years ago a major and formerly high-touch hotel chain aggressively introduced electronic check-in; if you didn’t want to use their digital system—this was in the “kiosks are kool” era–you were upbraided by the tone-deaf, teenage-ish staff who clearly didn’t understand why any guest could possibly prefer the high-touch experience of interacting with a human rather than punching characters on a kiosk screen.)
But I’m here to report back that Four Seasons’ appwise move has worked out well. It’s helpful and lovely to look at, and, most important, it’s unassuming. It's there for you as a guest when you want it and it fades out of the experience when you don't. The to-be-expected features of the app work just fine (Check-in, Check-out), and some of these expected features are super-handy, like the “local recommendations” feature. (I was certainly skeptical about this particular feature. My thinking was “what could this possibly have over my default tendency to head to the nearest TripAdYelpTableVisor to get recommendations that are free of corporate interference-cum-curation, but actually, having a miniature, portable version of a concierge’s assistance is quite handy.)
And some of the app’s features are truly spiffy: The entire theme graphically changes based on the property at which you are staying, and as soon as you check out, changes to the next Four Seasons adventure on your itinerary (should you be so fortunate as to have one). Pre-ordering breakfast at night for delivery the next morning (room service breakfast not only is one of the most important meals of the day but, for me, functions as an impossible-to-ignore wakeup call) works great, and so forth.
But my favorite features are where the app moves over the line to functions that human employees can't do for guests or can't do as well. For example: The GPS-enabled driving–or more likely, cabbing–directions. Say you are in a foreign country and the cabbie and you don't speak the same language. So, just select your destination from the app menu either by yourself or with the assistance of the well-trained concierge and hand your phone to the cabbie! You’re off and running and very likely to get to where you actually hope to go. Or the ability to request a cleanup from housekeeping even though you left your privacy light on and are 30 miles off-campus. Your room will be ready, and clean, and you’ll be smiling when you walk in. Guaranteed.
Want your business to be as customer-centric as Four Seasons? It takes humans, not just an app
The thing is, with the exception of that nifty GPS cabbie feature, the Four Seasons app is essentially a front end for a massively human- and systems-driven organization. It essentially gives today's guest a new option for how to make requests. But what goes on beyond the app is what makes Four Seasons a Four Seasons: a place where obsessive customer-centricity is the order of the day, day in and day out.
When one of those requests comes in from the app, like my example above of “please clean my room even though I left my privacy sign on before leaving the hotel,” it will feel like app-driven magic only if the request is acted on and the guest comes back to a clean room they really had no right to expect. But it's going to be bummerville incarnate if they return to a room that remains in its slovenly original state—a much worse performance, really, than if there hadn’t been app functionality available and the guest could only blame themselves for leaving their privacy light on. So the moment the app receives a request it is not just transmitted to the correct department, but two different double-check systems ensure that it is not overlooked.
Mary Bowens, Assistant Director of Rooms, Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts (Credit: Four Seasons)
Your Customer Is The Star: An eBook From Forbes How to make Millennials, Boomers and everyone in between fall in love with your business. By Micah Solomon.
One of the people tasked with responding to these doublecheck procedures is named Mary Bowens. She’s Assistant Director of Rooms (Toronto), and as you can see in the picture, she has a spreadsheet to doublecheck these requests and where they lie in terms of fulfillment. (No, her desk isn't usually that tidy; she cleaned it up just for you, gentle reader.) Mary hails from Ireland, as you'll eventually figure out from the understated lilt in her voice, and she brings a serious detail obsession to the job, now here in Toronto but previously at the Four Seasons Seattle for which she was on the opening team. Mary, rather than the app, is the power you have to reckon with if you want to emulate this level of detail-oriented care.
What I am trying to say here is that Four Seasons' app is nifty. Useful. And, for what it’s worth, elegant and lovely to look at. But if you think that the place to start in emulating an extraordinarily customer-centric organization like Four Seasons is by building or buying a similar app, you need to look a bit deeper. To the humans and systems that are powering the world behind the app.
There's a human for that
Because the actual power behind a legendary level of customer-centricity resides in Mary, whom we met above. And in the almost-quaint sounding dedication that Four Seasons Founder and Chairman Sharp brings to applying the golden rule not only to customers but to vendors, business associates and, most importantly and remarkably, employees, who power the service. That is where to start, if you want to become, like Four Seasons, a master of customer-centric service. And, yeah, as icing, go ahead and design an app. But remember that what makes an organization customer-centric in our digitally-obsessed era isn’t just that there’s “an app for that.” It’s that there’s also “a human for that.” A dedicated human.
Micah Solomon is a customer service consultant, customer experience speaker and bestselling business author, most recently of High-Tech, High-Touch Customer Service.
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84b0481a8bf98aaae6de57f5e4501792 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/micahsolomon/2015/07/04/how-a-car-dealership-crafted-a-millennial-friendly-customer-experience-by-consulting-5-key-trends/ | This Auto Dealership Built A Pro-Millennial Customer Experience By Consulting 5 Key Service Trends | This Auto Dealership Built A Pro-Millennial Customer Experience By Consulting 5 Key Service Trends
Businesses today in nearly every industry are dealing with the changing expectations of millennials and other on-trend customers who are looking for a new style of customer experience and customer service.
For today, let’s see what lessons we can draw from an industry, automotive retail (car dealerships), that may not come to mind when you think of businesses with a model that appeals to a millennial mindset. In fact, the default at some old-school car dealerships can be exactly what millennials hate: slow, afraid of digital, nontransparent, and often patriarchal/condescending in how the dealership interacts with customers.
But it doesn’t have to be that way.
Let’s look closely at what millennials and other customers sharing their mindset are looking for in the customer experience and customer service, and how a car dealership can scratch these itches. And if a car dealership can do that, so can your business, in whatever industry you operate.
Millennial customers (born 1980ish-2000ish) are the largest generation in U.S. and world history. They, and others who are quickly adapting a millennial mindset (including, more frequently than you’d think, their parents, who are the second-largest generation, the Baby Boomers), share some clearly identifiable expectations that I consult closely in my work as a customer experience consultant and customer service designer.
Five Millennial preference/customer experience trends:
Customer experience trend #1–Peer to peer customer service style: A preference for being served in a way that makes the customer feel that those serving and those being served are equals, rather than an older style of service that was sometimes servile and sometimes condescending.
Customer experience trend #2–Digital parity: Customers expect an experience that is as streamlined and hassle-free/friction-free. Regardless of the arena in which your business operates, they want you to be as easy to use as what they’ve experienced online. Channel shouldn't matter: the info available online should be available in the store, and vice versa, and all channels with which you interact with the customer should be streamlined and integrated.
Customer experience trend #3–Authenticity: Today’s customers are on a quest for what is genuine, authentic, what feels like “the genuine article.” They’re put off by all that seems false, plastic, scripted and so forth.
Customer experience trend #4–Transparency: A preference for businesses to be open and forthright in explanations, pricing, quality standards, vendor relations, and so forth.
Customer experience trend #5–Adventure and Experience: A feeling that most commercial interactions are improved if there is an element of adventure, excitement, a true “experience” within the customer experience.
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Let’s look at how these five millennial preferences are served by the dealership model of two western car dealerships, Avondale Toyota near Phoenix, AZ and One Toyota of Oakland, CA, both owned by Brian McCafferty). [Note: I don’t have an affiliation with either of these dealerships, nor with Mr. McCafferty. While I am a consultant to the automotive industry on the customer experience and customer service, these are not among my clients.]
iPad-based software used on auto dealership showroom floor jointly by sales advisor and customer... [+] (Credit: McCafferty)
iPad-based, seamless go-everywhere data system: The sales advisors at the dealerships carry iPads with them, loaded with the proprietary “DealerTag” cloudware (developed by McCafferty and team themselves) that allows the advisor to do nearly everything while side by side with the customer, seamlessly and quickly: No running back to the desk to photocopy your driver’s license for a test drive: the salesperson scans it right into the iPad (and presumably, though I didn’t check this, deletes it right after the test drive for privacy reasons).
No scrounging around the lobby for brochures: detailed photos and spec “sheets” are right there on the iPad. No running back to the desk “have a seat, would you like some incredibly stale coffee and powdered corn syrup-cum-creamer while I attempt to type in your hard to spell last name into my CRM system” routine; the customer and salesperson can together fill out any needed customer information, with neither of them having to read upside down. No bulky folders of paperwork; very little duplicate filling out of forms.
Trends addressed: This goes a very long way to answering three millennial expectations that I listed above: a peer to peer customer service style [Millennial preference/customer experience trend #1] (employees don't sit behind a desk, literally separated from you, the customer; rather, you’re side by side, shoulder to shoulder); digital parity [trend #2] (although the dealership is a bricks and mortar experience, it is as streamlined as what customers have experienced with online businesses); and transparency [trend #4]: the customer can see what the salesperson can see; when the sales professional doesn’t leave the customer's side to get the latest inventory, incentives, or trade info, it gives the feeling that everything is out in the open. A feeling that customers today by and large appreciate.
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“One price” approach: The dealerships offer a single price, their best price, with no need to haggle (and, presumably, nothing to gain by haggling). There’s no “I’ll have to check with a manager” routine. No fake dealer invoice not showing incentives received. No employees paid different commission for different models; no incentive to upsell or to recommend a particular model based on anything other than the interests of the customer.
Trends addressed: This one price approach continues the transparency [trend #4] theme: complete pricing transparency rather than the usual mix of confusion and subterfuge.
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“One person”: A single point of contact approach: One person works with the customer throughout the sales process. There’s no handoff from a receptionist to a salesperson to a finance person to the traditionally gum-chewing cashier. Instead, the advisors are trained in everything, even finance; there’s no traditional finance department.
Trends addressed: The ability for a single person to assist with financing as well as sales and catalog-type questions helps with the them of authenticity [trend #3]; you as a customer are working with “your” advisor throughout the process. But most of all it provides digital parity [trend #2]: Customers expect an experience that is as streamlined and hassle-free/friction-free. Regardless of the arena in which your business operates, they want you to be as easy to use as what they’ve experienced online. And that's what's being offered here, through clever use of technology: an experience that is both as streamlined as what they could get online and that is enhanced, rather than gummed up, by the involvement of a human employee.
(Note: this approach is not new; it’s just often overlooked. In fact in my first book, we describe how the creators of the Ritz-Carlton developed this approach for Lexus. However, it’s rare now–even at Lexus. Which is in many cases too bad.)
Adventure vignettes on auto dealership showroom floor (credit: McCafferty)
Redesigned showroom: Models are no longer blockily placed to cover much of the floor; they’re organized asymmetrically and quirkily into “scenes,” little vignettes that look cool and are evocative of the adventures, small or large, that the cars can, literally, transport you to.)
Trends addressed: This clearly is intended to scratch customers’ adventure/experience itch [trend #5] , to make the customer eager to get out of the showroom and on to the open road. Which makes sense. A showroom–even a nice one–isn’t much of a place for a car, or a customer, to spend its life.
Micah Solomon is a customer experience consultant, customer service speaker and bestselling business author, most recently of High-Tech, High-Touch Customer Service. He also directly addresses millennial customer experience/customer service trends (including the preferences discussed in this article) in depth in his latest book for Forbes, obtainable via the banner link below.
Your Customer Is The Star: An eBook From Forbes How to make Millennials, Boomers and everyone in between fall in love with your business. By Micah Solomon.
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4a8bb0c66b243e31a5d6dccc5d388230 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/micahsolomon/2016/02/07/customer-service-experts-vote-whats-the-most-offensive-thing-you-can-say-to-a-customer/ | The Most Offensive Customer Service Phrases, Chosen By Five Customer Service Experts | The Most Offensive Customer Service Phrases, Chosen By Five Customer Service Experts
Few factors can affect the customer service experience more than the language employees use when they interact with customers.
That’s why I devote such time to choosing and implementing appropriate service terminology as part of my customer service consulting. This isn’t about scripting; it’s not about being robotic. It’s about ensuring a consistent level of superior customer service. And it won't just happen by accident.
Here's what's tricky: It’s easy for employees to overlook the importance of language, because it’s not in their job description and it's not something that they have on their checklist of what to get done at work on any particular day. So even if employees use the wrong kind of language, they can still get through everything they were hired for—the task-driven side of their job.
Meanwhile, they may be doing it in a way that utterly turns off every single customer they come in contact with.
Service (Dis)Connect © Micah Solomon micah@micahsolomon.com
Your Customer Is The Star: An eBook From Forbes How to make Millennials, Boomers and everyone in between fall in love with your business. By Micah Solomon.
Certain phrases, in particular, are absolutely unacceptable when working with customers. I’d like to offer a couple here, and also offer the top choices from four other customer service experts: Jeff Hargett from the Ritz-Carlton Leadership Center (the branch of the Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company that advises other organizations), customer experience blogger Bill Quiseng, contact center consultant Colin Taylor, and hospitality guru Danny Meyer, the New York restaurateur and Shake Shack mogul [his responses taken from my recent interview and his writings].
Here's my list first.
Micah Solomon’s candidates for the worst customer service phrases:
1. “Young Lady” (to an obviously not-young lady). What could be crueler than when, say, a TSA agent tells a woman of obviously advancing age “young lady, step right through the scanner”? She already knows she’s old; why are you taking this chance to reminder her?
2. “There are two wheelchairs on this plane” (meaning: two passengers with disabilities). Passengers with disabilities are humans. They are not pieces of equipment. Yet nearly every flight I hear flight attendants say “we have two wheelchairs on this plane” or “We’re clear—we don’t have any wheelchairs on this plane.”
3. “Are we ready to order?” If you mean “you,” say “you.” Don’t talk to me like a toddler. (And, by the way, don’t talk baby talk to toddlers either.)
*****
Danny Meyer (President and CEO, Union Square Hospitality Group, and Founder, Shake Shake):
1. ‘‘How was everything?’’ Meyer: “’How was everything?’ is an inauthentic question. When was the last time everything was either good or everything was bad. It’s begging for a dishonest answer.”
2.‘‘Are we still working on [the lamb]?" Meyer: “If the guest has been working on the lamb, it probably wasn’t very tender or very good in the first place.. [and] I can’t stand the use of we to mean you.” (Micah Solomon: So that makes two of us; see my list above.
3.‘‘No problem.’’ (Here’s an entire article on the problem with “No problem.”)
*****
Bill Quiseng, customer experience expert and blogger:
1.“Honey ... Dear ... Sweetheart ..." Quiseng: “Men might like the term of endearment, but most women do not.”
2.“You'll have to ..." “I'm the customer. I shouldn't have to do anything.”
3.“To be honest with you..." “because I lie to you the rest of the time?”
*****
Jeff Hargett, Senior Corporate Director, Culture Transformation, The Ritz-Carlton Leadership Center:
1. “It’s not my job.” – even if you can’t fix the problem, you should help find the person who can fix the problem
2. “Calm down, Ma’am.” – better to validate a customer’s emotions than to dismiss them as insignificant
3. “Here’s what happened…”—customers don’t need an autopsy of a mistake, they need a solution. Focus on the solution.
*****
Colin Taylor, contact center consultant and Principal, The Taylor Reach Company
1. “No.”
2. “You’re wrong.”
3. Any synonym for the above.
Taylor explains: "The worst thing you could say to a customer is the word ‘no’ or to tell the customer they are wrong. There is no faster way to make a customer's blood boil than to tell them they can’t do or get something. In reality the customer may not be able to get what they want, but being confrontational will just amp up the emotions and invoke the fight or flight mechanism (usually with negative social shares as well).
There are more diplomatic ways of addressing these issues, they will often take longer, but will also allow you to retain the customers and actually build goodwill.
Micah Solomon is a Seattle-based customer service expert, customer experience consultant, keynote speaker, trainer, and bestselling author.
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2bb7a27fa2271bdf76b432a9b88d3c52 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/micahsolomon/2016/03/03/chik-fil-a-rewards-families-for-ditching-cellphones-the-genius-customer-experience-move-of-2016/ | Chick-Fil-A Becomes A Customer Experience Thought Leader By Asking Families To Ditch Cell Phones | Chick-Fil-A Becomes A Customer Experience Thought Leader By Asking Families To Ditch Cell Phones
More than 150 Chick-fil-A restaurants are now offering what they call a “family challenge": If you'll lock your phone up in a “Cell Phone Coop” for your entire meal, you win a free ice cream cone.
This is looking like the moment that will turn Chick-Fil-A into 2016's customer experience thought leader, just as REI’s decision to close for Black Friday so its employees and customers could get outdoors and play was the customer experience thought leadership coup of 2015. And, similar to how REI’s move was both counterintuitive (Hey, how can a company make money by being closed on Black Friday?) and consonant with the ethos of its brand (At REI, we’re a bunch of outdoors enthusiasts who aren’t really all that into this capitalism thing), Chick-fil-A’s move sounds impractical in our connected era (“What if the hockey coach calls?”) but will prove to be spot on for a brand committed to bringing together families, most famously by being closed on Sundays.
Chick-fil-A Family Challenge with Cell Phone Coop • Photos Courtesy of Chick-fil-A
Your Customer Is The Star: An eBook From Forbes How to make Millennials, Boomers and everyone in between fall in love with your business. By Micah Solomon.
Chick-fil-A’s move goes beyond clever marketing. It shows an understanding of a powerful customer experience principle: Your company, and its customer experience, should serve as a conduit for customer relationships.
Those of us in business tend to think of the relationships we want to build as being between our customers and our employees: You hire nice employees, they build a bond with your customers, your customers want to come back. But I'm talking about something different here. I'm talking about about turning your business into a stage on which the relationships between customers can play out.
Of course, we’ve seen a lot of this in companies that strive to be more social [media]-sharing friendly: Chili’s’ move (which I highlight here) to have their food look better for instagramming with your friends, and Ritz-Carlton's powerful #RCMemories campaign. But there's also a lot of power in helping your customers build relationships in the real world, in real time. And by challenging guests to enjoy their families, rather than their phones, during the course of the meal, Chick-fil-A is fostering just such relationships.
Which many customers will find–I'm going to bet–even sweeter than the free ice cream.
The power of a customer-centric culture
Where do such customer experience ideas come from at a company like Chick-fil-A? I recently spoke with Dee Ann Turner, who has worked for Chick-fil-A for more than 30 years, currently serving as its Vice President, Corporate Talent. (You should definitely take some time to check out Dee Ann's brand new book.) The picture Dee Ann gave me is that these initiatives arise organically from a culture that’s focused on the customer. The culture at Chick-fil-A is such that there’s actually positive peer pressure to outdo each other in doing great things for the customer.
In such an environment, creative approaches like the Family Challenge will bubble up and spread; in fact the Family Challenge was created by Brad Williams, a Chick-fil-A Operator in Suwanee, Georgia, before it started spreading, to more than 150 other locations so far.
Micah Solomon is a customer experience thought leader, keynote speaker, customer service consultant, and bestselling author. Click here for two free chapters from Micah's latest book.
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f18d5cae377853f9be662e20698b219a | https://www.forbes.com/sites/micahsolomon/2016/05/29/restaurant-customer-service-and-technology-how-chilis-does-it-tableside-pos-and-via-mobile/ | Restaurant Customer Service And Technology: Chili's' Tableside (POS) And Mobile Approach | Restaurant Customer Service And Technology: Chili's' Tableside (POS) And Mobile Approach
It's a mistake to think that a waiter's job is primarily to deliver food. This is one of the primary lessons I get across in my customer service training sessions for restaurant waitstaff: that waiting tables is a multifaceted art form that includes providing guests with feelings of recognition, comfort, and anticipation, providing a bit of theater, and, sometimes, serving as couples counselor and family mediator. Getting food to the table is really the least of what’s involved.
And there lies perhaps the biggest danger when you’re considering a move toward installing tableside technology in a restaurant: losing these less obvious, but emotionally crucial, parts of the waiter role.
Another danger is that the implementation will be off-brand and off-putting. There is a 4-ish star steakhouse with locations in several U.S. cities (think: "Morton’s but regional") whose black-clad, iPad-based menu opens on Page One with cheesy Comic Sans electronic discount coupons and two-for-one offers. Maybe this doesn’t put you off your feed, but it did me, and I doubt that I’m alone. Which means that all the effort the restaurant had put into properly costuming the waiters, gussying up the dining room, sending its sommelier on vineyard junkets, teaching the waiters how crumb down the white tablecloths (and buying all those silver table crumbers) went down the drain with that one, ridiculously off-brand, choice. Folks: Just because you can do it, doesn’t mean you should do it; before you deploy any tableside technology, make sure that every single part of the deployment fits your brand, or at least fits your brand as you want it to be perceived in the future.
Chili's Ziosk Tabletop Screen Dashboard • Image Courtesy Chili's Grill And Bar
Your Customer Is The Star: An eBook From Forbes How to make Millennials, Boomers and everyone in between fall in love with your business. By Micah Solomon.
Which brings me to Chili’s Grill and Bar, the ubiquitous casual dining chain. Chili’s, which pretty much defines the mainstream of chain restaurants (and is not a place that self-service couponing – free chips with your loyalty points! – will be off-brand), is quickly becoming a definitive mainstream example as well of tabletop point of sale (POS) technology and mobile self-service restaurant technology.
Chili's Mobile Screen • Image Courtesy Chili's Grill And Bar
The Chili’s technology offers a lot of Chili’s-appropriate functionality: loyalty points earning and redemption, mobile carryout ordering, easy check-splitting (including easily moving items to the appropriate side of the split, even in large parties), re-ordering drinks, even “getting in line” while the customer is still at home, so they can be seated not 15 minutes from arrival but 15 minutes from when they set out to drive to the restaurant, which may mean zero to three minutes from arrival. Let’s hear more from Chili’s vice president of digital innovation and customer engagement, Wade Allen.
Food menu screen, Chili's Ziosk • Image Courtesy Chili's Grill And Bar
Micah Solomon: Can you bring me up to speed on how the Chili’s digital service came to be deployed, and how it’s going so far?
Wade Allen, vice president of digital innovation and customer engagement, Chili’s Grill & Bar: We started our digital guest experience journey in Sept. 2013 as the first mover in the casual dining industry to bring tabletop technology to our restaurant tables. The goal was to remove common guest pain points around paying the bill and re-ordering drinks. We’ve seen rapid adoption with 75 percent of guests using the tablets to quickly pay their bill. Furthermore, we’ve been able to gather valuable insights through real-time feedback where 25 percent of guests use the tablets to complete the Chili’s survey at the end of their dining experience. This feedback allows us to make improvements on an individual restaurant level, as well as, provide proof points for national-scale decisions around our Fresh Tex and Fresh Mex menu favorites.
Once we had the tablets in place, we took a different approach and launched a fully digital loyalty program, “My Chili’s Rewards,” in May 2015. The goal was easy access/participation for all guests. We also included unique elements around gamification to keep guests engaged. In six months, we went from no loyalty program to 4.2 million members. Furthermore, approximately 18 percent of transactions in restaurant are tied to loyalty members. We’re building on this for what we call “loyalty 2.0” with our latest partnership with the Plenti rewards program, as the newest partner to join representing the casual dining industry. This will allow guests to earn points at partner locations and redeem for their Chili’s favorites.
Solomon: How are customers receiving this?
Allen: The innovations we’re chasing at Chili’s are guest centric and focused on how we can give guests their most valuable commodity – time – to do the things that are important to them. As a result, they have loved it! Guests are able to take control of their dining experience, whether it is quickly paying the bill through the tabletop technology at lunch, or ordering dinner for the family while sitting at their kid’s soccer game.
Solomon: Is the human element getting lost?
Allen: Absolutely not! A key differentiator of casual dining is the personalized service model. Our technology innovation is not only a win for our guests, but also a win for our team members. With technology, we’re able to remove some of the mundane tasks of the server and allow them to make our guests feel special with a memorable dining experience. Furthermore, technology is completely optional and guests can choose to opt out if they wish.
These tablets do not eliminate the personal service our guests receive from servers. In fact, these tablets have served as a good tool for our team members to help eliminate some transactional pain points, such as paying the bill or ordering dessert, and have helped our team members do their job more efficiently. This allows our team members to focus on the duties that make a personal impact on the dining experience, such as getting to know the table, taking entrée orders and delivering meals, among other duties.
Solomon: What are the backup plans for when guests want human rather than kiosk service?
Allen: Our model is based on personalized service to make guests feel special when dining with us. So, the personalized aspect will always be a part of what guests experience at Chili’s. The technology innovation is completely optional and guests can choose to opt out if they wish.
Solomon: What about guests with disabilities--visually impaired, for example?
Allen: The technology innovation is completely optional so guests with disabilities will enjoy the same Chili’s service they have always had.
[Micah Solomon: I have to interject here. The reality is that technology has significant implications – not always bad, but always worth considering – for those with disabilities, whether they are visual, auditory, or physical. It is possible that the Ziosk and other technology being deployed by Chili’s actually makes it easier for some diners with disabilities (certainly, the screens are easier to read than the typical paper menu designed by a 21 year old in 6 point type), but they are also going to be potentially more difficult to use by other diners, for example those with more serious visual impairments or those with mobility issues. And if the staff isn’t trained to watch out for these cues, they’re not going to know that a particular table, or a particular guest at a table, is going to need more human intervention than they may assume from their fully-abled, generally youthful view of the world of technology and dining.]
Solomon: Can you share some tips for smaller players (startups, entrepreneurs) for how to implement or whether to implement such tech?
Allen: The key is building the infrastructure. Technology will continue to quickly change, but once there’s a solid infrastructure in place where technology can easily communicate to each other, then building on top of that framework becomes easy. This allows you to try new technology and quickly adapt.
Micah Solomon is a customer experience consultant, customer service consultant, thought leader, keynote speaker, customer service trainer, and bestselling author. Click here for two free chapters from Micah's latest book .
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b75916273e6590b41231ff09fee73279 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/micahsolomon/2016/10/06/a-customer-service-week-question-is-internal-customer-service-actually-customer-service/ | A Customer Service Week Question: Should You Think Of Your Co-Workers As 'Internal Customers'? | A Customer Service Week Question: Should You Think Of Your Co-Workers As 'Internal Customers'?
Shutterstock
The articles and discussions for Customer Service Week 2016 that I’ve seen focus on “external customers”--you know, the people we used to simply call “customers.”
The people who fill the company coffers and make it possible for it to grow and pay its bills The people who, as the saying goes, ultimately pay our paychecks The people your boss says she really, really wants you to please (though maybe not as much as she professes, actually. You can tell your boss isn’t as customer-focused as she claims if she’s monitoring your average handle time on the phone to trying to get it lower and lower, if she’s refusing to upgrade your CRM, if she’ failing to empower you to make pro-customer decisions on your own. But wait, I’ll stop my rant about hypocritical leadership right here. Though you may already know me well enough to know I'll just pick it up again at my next opportunity.)
So we all agree that these people who fill the company coffers are indisputably customers.
But what about the people who work inside your company, those who, in a proximate way of speaking, you do your work for? Are they actually customers? Is there such a thing as an "internal customer"?
Yes. And no.
In an important sense the answer is “yes": company employees are customers. The concept here is simple, but powerful. Instead of thinking of internal requests as coming from “that other department,” or “those pains in the [neck] from Accounting,” or even “Jill with the hangover,” think of them as “my internal customers.”
This construct, “internal customers,” helps. A lot. Your work will improve. You’ll be more timely, and you will improve your communication when you’re unable to be timely; if the deadline they request is impossible, you’ll let them know that right away instead of blowing their hopes at the last minute. You’ll be more polite. And so forth. After all, they’re your customer.
Your Customer Is The Star: An eBook From Forbes How to make Millennials, Boomers and everyone in between fall in love with your business. By Micah Solomon.
Less importantly, but also true, the answer is “no.” Internal company entities are not customers, not exactly. Calling them “customers” makes one term stand for two entities, which makes the use of the term less precise. The people who work with you internally are colleagues. Colleagues who are joined together for a cause that is spelled out in your job descriptions or employment contracts. By contrast, external customers' interests are in some ways unaligned with and even opposed to the interests of those of you who work for your company. (Remember the scene in The Godfather when Sonny gets hauled over the coals for speaking against the family in the presence of an outsider? That’s a particularly vivid example of how those inside the company and those who are external, paycheck-paying customers have intrinsically different alignments.)
Another way external and internal service (if that's what we're going to call it) is level of formality. Go to a great hotel and you'll see a difference between "offstage" and "onstage." Not that the difference should be extreme; it shouldn't be trashy and dangerous backstage, but it is behind the scenes, it is a workplace not a showplace. Even the way you answer the phone is different with external and internal customers; an external greeting should have three parts: a welcome, an identification, and an offer to help ("Welcome to Bank X, this is Julie; how may I help you today?") while an internal line only needs the latter two elements ("Julie here, how can I help?")
****
I think what's important to remember her is that using the term “customer” to describe someone who could more accurately be classified as a “colleague” is in essence an analogy. And an analogy is by nature imprecise. But in this case, like someone handing you an umbrella when you asked for a raincoat, it's still going to get the job done. As long as you understand it for what it is.
Micah Solomon, recently named the "new guru of customer service excellence" by the Financial Post, is a customer service consultant, customer experience consultant, keynote speaker, trainer, and bestselling author. Click for a free chapter from Micah's latest book or watch Micah's new customer service keynote speaker video.
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da0877008e7f9eafa8c7bccf96f57fac | https://www.forbes.com/sites/micahsolomon/2016/12/11/everyones-learning-the-wrong-customer-experience-lesson-from-amazon-gos-cashierless-retail-model/ | What Retailers Must Remember About Customer Experience Amid The Amazon Go Hype | What Retailers Must Remember About Customer Experience Amid The Amazon Go Hype
You should never bet against Amazon unless you enjoy a drubbing. So I predict that the new 'Amazon Go' cashierless convenience stores will be an immediate success, and will affect customer experience trends in retail and other industries. (At this point, Amazon has only announced a single store in Seattle, set to open in early 2017, but rumors are that there may be up to 2,000 Amazon Go stores and/or similar Amazon retail stores ultimately, coast-to-coast.)
Amazon's promotional/conceptual video for the Seattle Amazon Go cashierless convenience store.... [+] (Click to watch.)
We don’t know many details yet of the Amazon Go model, except that it’s designed so customers will be able to enter the store, purchase items, and exit entirely without employee intervention. Once you're registered automatically via your smartphone as you enter, you can take items off the shelf, put them in your shopping basket, change your mind and re-shelf them, grab more items, and ultimately walk out the door, at which point your purchase will be calculated accurately and charged to your phone/card account.
Your Customer Is The Star: An eBook From Forbes How to make Millennials, Boomers and everyone in between fall in love with your business. By Micah Solomon.
That’s where this article comes in. I’m already hearing from clients (I’m a customer experience and customer service consultant) who are asking me to help them emulate Amazon Go’s cashierless model for fear of being left behind. And I want to make sure that they, and anyone reading this article, don’t misunderstand and misapply the lessons of the Amazon Go announcement. In spite of the talk from TV pundits about how the Amazon Go cashierless model is a job-eliminating, cost-saving move that other merchants need to be prepared to emulate, I see more than that going on here–and feel that if only that is going on here, it’s going to lead any company that improperly follows suit in a wrong and dangerous direction.
First, let’s examine the benefits of this model. By going cashierless, Amazon Go looks to meet two consumer desires: ease and speed. A conventional setup can be aggravating and time-consuming: wait in line, unload your shopping basket, having everything manually scanned, deal with coupons, and bagging your items up. Even if it goes smoothly, it can be a pain in the neck, and if it doesn’t, if the cashier needs to look up a price or if the customer in front of you is a disorganized mess, for example, it’s even worse. So there are undoubtedly benefits to eliminating this whole scenario and replacing it with a streamlined cashierless setup.
It’s important, however that the new cashierless customer experience not turn into a people-less customer experience, because that would be a misunderstanding of one of "Micah’s four retail reasons" that people shop. (Note: Not all four reasons apply on every shopping trip or in every shopping context.)
Why we shop: Micah’s Four Retail Reasons
To get what we’re looking for. To have a break from the rest of our day. To have an experience. To interact with other human beings.
That’s about it.
When your customer experience model fails to take into account this fourth reason–the opportunity for a customer to interact with other human beings–a merchant misses out on its best hope of making an emotional connection with customers. By removing human interaction, you risk becoming a commodity very quickly. (You can still have distinguishing advantages based on factors like selection and price, but those can be quickly imitated.)
The thing is, waiting in line and talking with a maybe surly cashier isn’t necessarily the best human interaction possible when you’re out on your little break from the desk. Which means that Amazon Go and its imitators can be as successful as any other retailer at providing human interaction, but only if they find other, non-cashier, ways to build it in.
First, consider ways you can get employees into the mix to interact with customers. Here are three.
1. Concierges (aka an “info station” or “help desk,” except I wouldn’t recommend isolating them behind a desk; better to have them roaming through the store). The Apple Stores borrowed this idea, in fact, from a luxury hotel – The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company – and turned it into their Genius program. In almost any setting, customers will appreciate a knowledgeable and personable employee who can get them the information they need and offer a little human interaction in the process, just like a hotel concierge.
2. Greeters–this one you can borrow from the other end of the price spectrum: Walmart. The human contact provided by a greeter can be particularly valuable because this contact happens at the beginning and the end of the customer experience; beginnings and endings tend to be disproportionately prominent in how customers remember their time in a business establishment.
3. Guest appearances by back-of-house and other behind-the-scenes employees (sandwich, flatbread, and pizza chefs, produce buyers, etc.), or take a page out of Publix and Costco’s playbooks by having employees and vendors prepare and hand out free samples. (On Saturdays, some Publix stores even have a magician.)
***
Also consider this: The human interactions that add emotional value to a commercial setting can happen between customers, rather than only between employees and customers. There’s an upside to facilitating ways for customers to interact with each other, including what I call “alone together,” time: acknowledging that even when customers aren’t directly interacting with other people, they like to be in proximity to them. A merchant can install open desks where shoppers can work, you can host impromptu and planned events, and so forth.
Maybe this sounds like a lot of work, and obviously it won’t come for free. But if you’re looking to emulate a cashierless model, you should be thinking along these lines. Otherwise, your redesigned cashierless store will resemble nothing so much as a lonely, spiffy-looking vending machine.
Micah Solomon is a Seattle-based customer experience consultant, consumer trends expert, keynote speaker, and bestselling customer service author. Click for two free chapters from Micah's latest book, The Heart of Hospitality or watch Micah's new keynote speaker video.
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fb37f671fd6d90102dcc6bfe8762c27d | https://www.forbes.com/sites/micahsolomon/2016/12/21/theyre-not-making-customers-like-they-used-to-how-customer-service-expectations-have-changed/ | They're Not Making Customers Like They Used To: Changing Customer Service Trends And Expectations | They're Not Making Customers Like They Used To: Changing Customer Service Trends And Expectations
Your customers–every single one of them–have been changed by their exposure to web-based commerce. Regardless of the type of business you’re in, the customer service and customer experience expectations of your customers have been changed forever. It doesn’t matter if you’re a retail bank or a hair stylist or a clothing store; there’s no going back to a pre-Web mentality if you want to survive and prosper with the customers of today and tomorrow.
Customers today expect every business in every industry to achieve “digital parity.” In other words, your business needs to be able to offer all the advantages, and be as easy to do business with, as the best of what your customer has encountered online and in self-service solutions.
These changes in expectations are most completely realized in the newest generation of customers, the digitally native millennial generation. But change has also come to their elders, customers who aren’t millennials but have been influenced by a millennial outlook.
Here are some specifics of what it means to achieve digital parity in your brick and mortar business:
Drybar, a bricks and mortar business that is thriving in the digital era, by providing a streamlined... [+] and engaging customer experience. • Image courtesy of Drybar
Your Customer Is The Star: An eBook From Forbes How to make Millennials, Boomers and everyone in between fall in love with your business. By Micah Solomon.
1. Strive to make time fluid and malleable, like it is online. Online shoppers never have to wait in line to check out, so why, in a physical environment, should there only be a limited number of registers? Every retail employee, armed with a tablet, can be a cashier—and probably should be, at least during rush periods. And the online world is open around the clock. If your business exists in the physical, human-assisted world, see what you can do to come closer to offering 24/7 service: can you at least answer emergency calls and emails after hours, for starters?
2. Interactions should be intuitive, efficient, and fast, and shouldn’t require unwanted, extraneous intervention by either the customer or your employees. Don’t make the mistake of thinking that because customers today are familiar with using technology it’s okay to throw clunky, complex technology at them and expect customers to patiently struggle to find a workaround. Much of the technology that your customers use every day is exceptionally well-designed, streamlined, and easy to manage–and they expect a similar technological experience from you.
(But when you do deploy human assistance, those humans, and the assistance they provide, should be warm, intelligent, and empathetic.)
3. Even if your business is conducted primarily in person, when your customers do try to interact with your business online, there should be a “my account” type option available gives customers control over their own account details, including the ability to modify their service preferences. You, the service provider, should have cross-channel access to this information as well. In other words, if a customer updates information via a “my account” functionality on your site, it needs to be available to your salespeople in the physical store as well.
4. The "experience" part of the customer experience is everything–now more than ever. Your advantage over digital-only businesses comes down to that single word: experience. “Experience” doesn’t need to mean a party atmosphere or a themed atmosphere like a Rainforest Café for grownups, necessarily. It means whatever draws customers to you, and keeps them coming back. I don’t know the details of your business, but in general the experience that brings customers in and keeps them coming back includes recognition: that you the owner or the employees recognize customers, greet them, bid them farewell when they leave, in a personal way. It includes the ability to feel good about yourself as a customer when you’re in the business environment. It includes whatever is special about what your business sells and how you sell it, which can often be enhanced by streamlining everything that isn’t special about the sales process: think of how the Apple Stores and Warby Parker retail locations keep all of the transactional stuff–cash registers, receipts, and the like–out of the way.
Whatever it is that’s special about your business, about the experience of doing business with you, it’s time to enhance that, not to dumb it down through cost-cutting and entropy. Because the experience is a large part of what you have left to sell, in the face of ever-increasing digital competition.
Micah Solomon is a customer service consultant, customer experience consultant, keynote speaker, trainer, and bestselling author. Click for two free chapters from Micah's latest book, watch Micah's new customer service keynote speaker video, or click here to email him directly, for an immediate response.
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9d186b5bc0f2ce381564b757eefe2e0d | https://www.forbes.com/sites/micahsolomon/2016/12/27/millennial-customers-will-dominate-2017-is-your-customer-service-experience-ready/ | Millennial Customers Will Dominate In 2017. Is Your Customer Service Experience Ready For Them? | Millennial Customers Will Dominate In 2017. Is Your Customer Service Experience Ready For Them?
As we head into 2017, the millennial generation is now the largest domestically and worldwide, outnumbering even the Baby Boom generation from whose loins they sprung, according to Pew, which tracks such things.
So it's more important than ever to be sure that your customer service practices and customer experience design are ready to serve these young customers the way they want to be served. The time to get this right is short; the millennial generation, also known as Gen Y, has a purchase power as well that will soon equal and then eclipse that of the Baby Boomers. To compound the effect, it’s not just consumer (B2C) dollars they’ll have under their control. These young customers are also becoming decision makers at major corporations, thus controlling purse strings that affect the success and failure of those of you with B2B companies as well.
With the impending new year, let me offer a year-end recap on how to provide the best customer experience and customer service for millennials, adapted from my Forbes Media ebook on the subject, Your Customer is the Star: How to Make Millennials, Boomers and Everyone In Between Fall in Love With Your Business.
Millennial Shopper-Image courtesy HauteAppetit and Salsify.com
1.Your customer-facing technology needs to be intuitive, and it needs to simply work. Millennials have grown up with digital devices that bundle communication, entertainment, shopping, mapping and education all in one. From an early age, smartphone use has been the norm. Millennials have always had Internet at home and in school. MP3 players have long offered them ubiquitous music options. Naturally, then, millennials embrace and align themselves with technology.
Because of this identification with technology, millennials tend to adopt new technology more quickly compared with the more skeptical approach of previous generations. Technology has become far more user friendly during millennials’ lifetimes, particularly when compared to what previous generations encountered. The relentless focus on simplifying the user interface at Apple, Amazon, Google and other less visible technology players has set a new standard of intuitiveness across the tech industry that millennials accept as the norm. Businesses should be careful not to throw clunky, alienating technology, systems, or processes at these customers and expect patience or understanding as customers struggle to find a workaround.
2. The customer experience—and the purchasing decision–is now a social experience. Millennials express their sociability online as well as in real life (“IRL”), particularly in the many arenas where online and offline activities and circles of friends overlap. Offline, millennials are more likely than other generations to shop, dine and travel with groups, whether these are organized interest groups, less formal groupings of peers or excursions with extended family, according to Boston Consulting Group data. Online, their sharing habits on Facebook, Snapchat and other social sites, and the opinions they offer on Yelp, TripAdvisor and Amazon reflect their eagerness for connection, as do their electronic alerts to friends and followers (via Foursquare et al.) that show off where they are, where they’re coming from and where they’re headed—online alerts that reflect and affect behavior in the physical world.
Your Customer Is The Star: An eBook From Forbes How to make Millennials, Boomers and everyone in between fall in love with your business. By Micah Solomon.
This social behavior has big implications for those of us who serve customers. Millennials tend to make buying decisions collaboratively, and they don’t consume food, beverages, services, products or media in silence. They eat noisily (so to speak) and very visually. They review, blog and Tumblr, update Wikipedia entries and post Youtube, Vine and Instagram videos. Often these posts concern their consumption activities, interests and aspirations. All told, as Boston Consulting Group reports, “the vast majority of millennials report taking action on behalf of brands and sharing brand preferences in their social groups.”
3. Your brand needs to be open to customer collaboration and co-creation. Millennials enjoy the possibility of collaborating with businesses and brands, as long as they believe that their say matters to the company in question. They don’t necessarily see a clear boundary between the customer and the brand, the customer and marketer, and the customer and service provider. Alex Castellarnau at Dropbox, the popular file transfer service, put it to me this way: With millennials, “a new brand, service or product is only started by the company; it’s finished by the customers. Millennials are a generation that wants to co-create the product, the brand, with you. Companies that understand this and figure out ways to engage in this co-creation relationship with millennials will have an edge.”
4. You need offer self-service and crowdsourced customer service options. Building the right experience for this new generation of customers requires you to think hard about an uncomfortable subject: where human employees are helpful to customers, and where they just get in the way. Today’s customers often do want you out of the way. Millennials, and those who share a millennial outlook, hold different ideas about where human-powered service fits into the customer experience. Younger customers, through years of experience with online and self-service solutions, have grown used to the way technology can reduce the need for human gatekeepers to ensure accuracy and manage data. So the last thing they want is for your employees to gum up the works without adding value.
5. Paradoxically, millennial customers also crave a true, authentic, personalized experience as customers. Millennial customers crave the joys of adventure and discovery, whether epic or everyday. Millennials often view commerce and even obligatory business travel as opportunities rather than burdens, due to the adventures that can be had along the way. I’m reluctant to chalk up this phenomenon to youthful wanderlust alone, because the breadth of experiences this generation craves suggests there’s something more at work. For example:
• When shopping, millennials they prefer an “experiential” retail environment, where shopping is more than a transaction and the pleasure of being in the store isn’t limited to the goods that customers take home.
• When millennials dine out, for example, they’re often in search of something exotic, adventuresome, memorable or new to explore during their dining experience. This has helped transform cuisine searches (“tastespotting”) into an adventure—and food truck-following (a concept sure to evoke fears of stomachache in some of their elders) into its own culture.
6. They care about your values as a company. Millennials integrate their beliefs and causes into their choice of companies to support, their purchases and their day-to-day interactions. More than 50% of millennials make an effort to buy products from companies that support the causes they care about, according to research from Barkley, an independent advertising agency. And they’re twice as likely to care about whether or not their food is organic than are their nonmillennial counterparts, according to Boston Consulting Group. When you consider how money-strapped many millennials remain, their willingness to put a premium on such issues is striking. And millennials are concerned with more than political and ethical issues. They also care about what’s genuine and authentic. This interest falls somewhere between a purely aesthetic preference and a search for honesty, for truth. And it’s a powerful force for motivating millennial customers.
Micah Solomon is a customer service thought leader and consultant, customer experience consultant, keynote speaker, trainer, and bestselling author on millennials, customer service, and the customer experience. Click for two free chapters from Micah's latest book, The Heart of Hospitality, or click here to email him directly, for an immediate response.
Video Content: Micah Solomon Speaking on Customer Service, Company Culture, and Innovation
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f849ed0c3d49cc6b568ce2042b8d2fea | https://www.forbes.com/sites/micahsolomon/2017/08/01/three-wow-customer-service-stories-from-zappos-southwest-airlines-and-nordstrom/ | Three Wow Customer Service Stories From Zappos, Southwest Airlines And Nordstrom | Three Wow Customer Service Stories From Zappos, Southwest Airlines And Nordstrom
Photographer: Ben Nelms/Bloomberg
I’m going to warm readers’ hearts today (perhaps a risky move, in the midst of a rare heatwave here in Seattle) by recapping three of my favorite wow customer service stories. These examples of extraordinary, over the top customer service take place at three well-known brands: Zappos, Nordstrom, and Southwest Airlines. But any company of any size, in almost any industry, can benefit from delivering extraordinary and memorable feats of service to customers.
That's because this kind of customer service can make an emotional connection with the customers it directly affects (as Diana Oreck explains in my previous, related article), and the stories that are told and re-told about such acts of wow customer service can connect a brand with future customers as well, for years and years to come, as well as inspiring company employees and making them proud.
Your Customer Is The Star: An eBook From Forbes How to make Millennials, Boomers and everyone in between fall in love with your business. By Micah Solomon.
1. The Zappos Purse Rescue
The first wow customer service story comes, appropriately, from Zappos, where “Deliver WOW Through Service” is the eCommerce company’s Core Value #1. Rob Siefker, senior director of Zappos’ customer loyalty team, shared it with me:
Recently, a newly-married couple were packing up their belongings in preparation for moving. The husband packed his wife’s jewelry inside one of her purses, and packed the purse inside what he thought was a spare Zappos box. The wife, it turns out, was intending to return that purse to Zappos using that very box. Which she then does, having no idea that inside the purse now were several thousand dollars of her jewelry! When the couple arrive at their new home and start to unpack, bedlam breaks out as the wife figures out what has happened and why her jewelry is missing. The rep she reaches at Zappos decides to reroute the box directly to his desk, but once it arrives, the rep fears for the safety of the valuables if he were to ship them, and purchases a plane ticket to hand-deliver the package himself. When he arrives, the incredibly grateful couple invite him in for dinner. Now they’re customers for life, as you can imagine.
2. Nordstrom Salvages my Wet-Shoe Situation
Do you know who's legally responsible if a common carrier (UPS, FedEx, et. al.) leaves your Nordstrom delivery in the rain and your $200 shoes are ruined? Well, the responsible party might be you or it might be the trucking company, but it's absolutely not Nordstrom. Yet, when this happened to me, not for an instant did my salesperson (Joanne Hassis at the King of Prussia, PA Nordstrom, by the way) consider saying "You need to file a claim with the trucking company." She instead told me, without hesitation, the following:
I'm so incredibly sorry that happened, and I'm bringing over a brand new pair of shoes--will you be home in forty-five minutes?
3. Southwest Airlines Saves the Day (and the Dog) When a Blind Passenger’s Guide Dog is Run Over by a Taxi
I love this story from a few years back, of how two Southwest employees worked together to save the life of professional speaker Larry Colbert’s guide dog, Banner, even though those employees had no way to know that Larry was traveling on their airline.
As Larry and his dog Banner arrived at the airport, a taxi ran right over Banner’s leg. Although bleeding profusely, the dog never stopped working to get his master to the plane on time. Colbert was unaware of his dog’s condition until two Southwest employees alerted him that Banner was standing in a pool of blood, a five-inch gash in his leg. One of these Southwest employees, Troy Anderson, got a grip on Banner’s bleeding leg to stop the blood flow, carried the dog to the car, and rode with him to the veterinarian, gripping the wound all the way.
(Ultimately, Banner healed entirely. The great Larry Colbert has since passed away. Here is a lovely Roadtrip Nation page on Larry which includes with clips of him speaking as well.)
Live Content: Micah Solomon Speaks on Customer Service, Company Culture, and Innovation Live Video–Micah Solomon Speaks on Customer Service
Think about that: Troy was immersed in a culture that supports behavior like his, and Troy could predict that his management and peers would appreciate, and assist with, what he needed to do. He knew there’d be no negative repercussions if he assisted the dog—even though this meant taking work time for a taxi ride to the vet.
That’s a strong customer-centered, employee-backing culture. And ultimately, it worked out in spades for Southwest, although there was no way directly to predict this. Larry Colbert was, indeed, a Southwest patron—in fact, a very frequent Southwest passenger. More than that, his dog Banner was at the time pretty much a mascot for the entire NSA (National Speakers Association), many of whose 2,500 members fly more than they drive. They’re not likely to forget this incident any time soon.
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aa7742b47bd63e382569909009ffa2bf | https://www.forbes.com/sites/micahsolomon/2017/08/19/client-service-for-high-net-worth-individuals-when-every-customer-in-your-business-is-a-vip/ | Client Service For High Net Worth Individuals: When Every Customer You Support Is A VIP | Client Service For High Net Worth Individuals: When Every Customer You Support Is A VIP
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The kind of customer service, or "client service," if you prefer, required for high net worth individuals (HNWIs) is broadly similar to what's required to provide customer service and support to the general consumer population, but (and, as Pee Wee Herman would say, “it’s a big but”) there are subtle differences and intensifiers. In my work as a customer service consultant and trainer, here are the three factors I stress as most likely to trip companies up when striving to serve this population:
• Higher service expectations, due to exceptional customer service benchmarks in their personal lives: The benchmarks against which high net worth individuals measure customer service are more extraordinary, thus making the challenge of providing great service both that much harder and that much more essential.
• Disconnection between employee and client frames of reference: The economic and lifestyle realities of high net worth customers may be light years removed from that of your employees, causing a likely empathy and practicality gap in service conversations and recommendations.
• Different valuation of (minor sums of) money: The value equation of HNWIs may be different than it is for other customers. The value equation (Value = Personal Benefit minus Cost and Inconvenience) for a high net worth customer may zero out with them less concerned with cost but more concerned with reducing inconvenience and increasing types of personal benefit that would not be of concern to, or perhaps even on the radar of, lower net worth consumers.
Your Customer Is The Star: An eBook From Forbes How to make Millennials, Boomers and everyone in between fall in love with your business. By Micah Solomon.
Today I’ll look at how one company specializing in serving high net worth individuals navigates this delicate terrain: PURE Group of Insurance Companies, a member-owned insurer established in 2006 by President and CEO Ross Buchmueller and two other insurance industry veterans. PURE has grown to insure over 65,000 HNWIs and families across the United States. [Author's disclosure: I have had a prior professional engagement with PURE Insurance.] In looking at the PURE approach, I’ll focus on three essential areas: workaday interactions, specialized training of client service representatives to serve HNWIs, and how the company responds when things go wrong for its HNWI members (clients).
Day-to-day interactions with HNWIs: Making sure that all goes well in the course of mundane, workaday client interactions is worthwhile both for its face value and because it hints to a client how the company potentially would respond in the face of larger challenge, such as a devastating loss that might be suffered in the future by a client. The secret here is to get the little stuff right--spectacularly right, if possible. For example, PURE Member Service Associates strive to answer the phone within 8 seconds—just a little more than one ring, in other words.
Why does quick phone response matter in particular when working with HNWIs? Because when you provide service to high net worth clients you’re sure to be benchmarked, subliminally or consciously, against the greats of customer service (e.g. five star hotels who are legendary for their quick response times). Beyond that, a HNWI experiences less hold time than the rest of us, living, as they do in a Diamond-Loyalty-Level-Hotline-type world, and as a result, even short waits can seem like a lifetime.
Training of client service representatives to serve an HNWI client population. Beyond ensuring that all customer-touching employees are generally well-trained for customer service (including via training that focuses on empathy and emotional intelligence), PURE’s employees are specifically trained for working with high net worth customers, Ross Buchmueller, the PURE President and CEO, tells me. This has its challenges and peculiarities, including the different realities of the agent’s life with that of the customer on the other end of the phone line. Buchmueller recalls overhearing an employee at a company—not PURE—telling a high net worth client “I’d never recommend anyone taking a $10,000 deductible, because I could never afford to pay that much myself,” which, while a candid comment, was not necessarily good advice for a client who could easily self-insure for that amount or more.
When things go wrong for HNWI clients: The final arena in which extraordinary customer service plays out is what happens when things go wrong. PURE’s approach is worth study from anyone in any industry or situation where emotions have the potential to be raw. “The normal calculation of what insurance owes a client could be stated as ‘we repay what is fair when called on to do so,’” says Buchmueller, who has held leadership roles in other high net worth insurers, including AIG Private Client Group and Chubb Personal Lines, Europe. “But what a loss means to anyone, and perhaps to a high net worth individual in particular, is more than a monetary loss that can be compensated for by receiving a check.” For example, one PURE family client had an extraordinary collection of Christmas tree ornaments that were destroyed in a home fire. The PURE staff, taking the attitude that “we want to help make them whole again,” went to work with independent vendors, auction houses and on eBay and managed to replace the entire collection for them in time for Christmas.
Live Content: Micah Solomon Speaks on Customer Service, Company Culture, and Innovation Live Video–Micah Solomon Speaks on Customer Service
Considering the non-monetary part of the loss calculation also leads PURE, when helping a client secure temporary replacement housing, to look at more than square footage, appliances, and finishes, but to consider calculations such as commuting distance and neighborhood, with an eye toward replicating the client’s pre-loss situation as closely as possible.
A loss suffered by a client is not “just stuff”
“Clients who suffer these kinds of losses have told me that they inevitably hear, usually from well-meaning friends, that, ‘at least, it’s just stuff,’” says Buchmueller; but this is a woeful misunderstanding of the situation. At least as much for high net worth individuals as for others, loss of tangible property—real estate, furnishings, jewelry—is more fraught than losing something entirely fungible like cash or stock. The idea of needing to “make them whole” has a specific legal meaning, but connotes something different psychologically. “It’s a beautiful term, but it’s misused in our industry—or, at least, it could be used in a much more meaningful way. This is what PURE strives to do.” This flows from Buchmueller’s philosophy on overcoming trauma, a theme at PURE that is taken seriously throughout the company. Buchmueller has brought in expertise and methodology from a psychologist known for leading the Sandy Hook and 9/11 responses, with an overriding focus on “getting you back to your normal routine” that guides much of PURE’s post-loss efforts.
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733989d705050efbd3d1201a0feb5493 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/micahsolomon/2017/08/28/how-digital-has-changed-what-consumers-want-from-customer-service-and-support-and-how-to-respond/ | How Digital Has Changed What Customers Want In Customer Service, Contact Centers And Support | How Digital Has Changed What Customers Want In Customer Service, Contact Centers And Support
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How has the digital transformation changed what customers are looking for in customer service, customer support, and from contact centers in particular? And how should companies respond?
“The way consumers communicate has changed dramatically over the past several years,” Bob Segert, Executive Chairman of Aspect Software, which provides solutions to support customer contact, inside and outside of contact centers, tells me. “It has been a massive transformation, with customers now thinking ‘digital-first’ and showing a preference for human-less engagement. As a result, it’s left companies with traditional models of interacting with customers solely through traditional contact center functionality struggling to keep up.”
Your Customer Is The Star: An eBook From Forbes How to make Millennials, Boomers and everyone in between fall in love with your business. By Micah Solomon.
I spoke with Segert to get more of his thoughts on how a business can succeed in being where their customers want them to be.
Micah Solomon: How are things changing in what customers are looking for–and demanding–from customer service?
Bob Segert, Executive Chairman, Aspect Software: In both their personal lives and the relationships they have with the brands they do business with, customers today operate with a digital-first mentality. Companies that recognize this are allowing their customers to engage with them on these digital channels. And in a growing number of cases, these digital channels—social, messaging apps, SMS, chatbots—are becoming the first entry point into the entire customer experience. The increase in touchpoints then puts pressure on the customer service organization to not only provide a consistent message and experience on those channels but also to provide the information and contextual responses necessary to create contiguous, not isolated, interactions.
Solomon: Not all companies are rushing to get in front of this new reality. What do you think is holding them back?
Segert: If a company has an outdated and loosely integrated set of engagement options for customers, they may rightly feel that adding another channel to the mix will just make a bad situation worse. Why risk creating greater alienation? The reason so many consumers continue to endure the frustration of being forced into a voice channel and repeating themselves is that the right hand of many customer service organizations doesn’t know what the left hand is doing. Though customers are demanding interaction on text and messaging apps, just opening up a texting channel does not equate to true engagement. Companies need to have the ability to create a seamless engagement where a customer can move from self-service or SMS to a live voice agent without having to start all over again.
Solomon: What about companies that are trying to move forward? What pitfalls or common mistakes are they encountering?
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Segert: Companies, as a whole, are still failing to understand the mind of the customer. As consumers, we have a growing desire for brands to meet us where we are. But unfortunately, those companies that are trying to enable digital-first engagement—text, messaging apps, chatbots—are repeating the mistakes of the past. These companies are adding channels without properly connecting them to the larger customer service ecosystem and, in their haste, are making the same mistakes companies have made deploying IVR systems—forcing customers to repeat themselves and start from scratch every time they move channels. The way customers see it, as you are a customer, there is no end to a brand conversation. It starts from the minute you make a purchase until you decide to buy a competitive product. So, every question, every query, about any interaction or transaction by every mean and method should be trackable and referenceable for every agent on every engagement, every time. That is what companies need to strive for.
Solomon: What about chatbots? Are they complementing humans or supplanting them--or both depending on the situation?
Anyone paying any attention to consumer behavior today knows that customer desire to actually talk live to companies has been significantly fading. Half of the consumers in our 2016 Aspect Consumer Experience Index research said that they would prefer to conduct all customer service interactions via text/chat/messaging. And 44 percent said that they would prefer to use a chatbot to do so. But if one thing is glaringly clear from the data, it’s that people using chatbots do not want the experience to be in isolation - 86 percent of consumers expect to have the ability to transfer to a live agent should the interaction become too complicated.
We also found some interesting perspectives from the agents we surveyed. As of today, chatbots are designed to handle the easily answered questions, leaving the more complex, less frequently-asked questions to live agents. Nearly 80% of the agents we talked to felt that handling more complex customer issues improves their skills.
So, in answer to your question, chatbots are doing both: complementing human interaction in the contact center by giving customers faster, more easily attained answers to simple questions, and supplanting those same interactions and removing a few of the hindrances that make it difficult for agents to consistently provide that personal touch.
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dcc1ce6160c69b0b9e7c663ee758a5e7 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/micahsolomon/2018/02/01/heres-what-effective-customer-service-training-isnt-and-heres-what-it-should-be/ | Here's What's Wrong With Most Customer Service Training (And Here's How To Do It Right) | Here's What's Wrong With Most Customer Service Training (And Here's How To Do It Right)
A costly and common mistake is to think of customer service training as essentially “trade school” or “tactical training.” The trade skill, technical, and transactional aspects of customer service—how to enter notes in the CRM, how to handle a credit card return, and so forth—are important, but they aren’t where customer service training should be focused if it’s at the detriment of the deeper, more philosophical part of service mastery.
For a customer service training program to have both immediate and lasting value, its training design needs to include foundational/framework items that will inspire employees to think beyond the day in and day out, nuts-and-boltsy side of carrying out customer service, as well as having room on the agenda for tactical topics and items that straddle both categories.
Building a Customer Service Framework
The foundational items that need to be included in customer service training and be part of your service design? I’m not going to list all of them here (in part because a good customer service training program needs to be designed differently for every company and situation–because every company and situation is different), but there are ones that almost always need to be included.
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Your Customer Is The Star: An eBook From Forbes How to make Millennials, Boomers and everyone in between fall in love with your business. By Micah Solomon.
One of the most essential is the customer service and organizational philosophy of purpose vs. function: the essential idea that while every employee has a variety of functions at work (the items on their job description and daily to-do list), employees have a purpose as well: the reason those functional items exist, and the reason they should step outside of their functional roles in service of their purpose. (For example, changing lightbulbs or filling out expense reports are functions. Providing a pleasant, safe, memorable experience for customers is a purpose.)
If an employee understands this concept well enough, they should know to stop changing lightbulbs or stop filling out an expense report if providing a pleasant, safe, memorable experience requires a different action at the moment. Just as important, managers should celebrate an employee’s purpose-driven exception rather than give them a hard time if they’re short a few changed lightbulbs at the end of the day or are delayed in turning in their expense report.
A second foundational essential is the importance of anticipatory customer service: service that addresses the needs and wishes of customers before they express them to you.
A third, closely related philosophical discipline is that great service requires serving the unexpressed wishes and needs of customers: the wishes and needs that a customer would never know to express because they aren’t aware of them, or because they aren’t as fully versed in the potentialities of your business, as you are, and have no idea that they could be fulfilled.
Tactical Training Items
As for the tactical items to cover in training, for most companies, these should include such items as the 10-5-3 approach to greeting and acknowledging customers, my BUBL method of interacting with a customer without disregarding the guest’s invisible privacy bubble, telephone etiquette (the importance of avoiding cold transfers, how to answer and conclude phone calls, how to screen calls without offending a caller, and the like), digital communication etiquette, and more.
Topics in the Middle
Finally, there are the topics that straddle philosophy and strategy. Many important subjects fit into this borderline category, and, again. I’m not going to list these all, but they include the importance of acknowledging guests in a personal manner, and the importance of using your entire arsenal of memory and technology to make customers feel like they’re at the center of your universe (what I call my Red Bench Principle). They also include the importance of beginnings and endings in customer service, and how to polish these until they shine, as well as the importance of and techniques for customer service recovery, including (if I’m leading the training) my AWARE method of service recovery, or whatever customer service approach to service recovery is de rigueur for the company being trained.
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