Forbes Africa December 2023 - January 2024

There’s a poignant moment in Disney’s mostbeloved classic, The Lion King, when Mufasa, the king of Pride Rock, tells his erring cub Simba: “You have forgotten who you are and so have forgotten me. Look inside yourself, Simba. You are more than what you have become. You must take your place in the Circle of Life.” For 25 years, on Broadway at the fabled Minskoff Theatre, this line has been told and retold in myriad ways to audiences arriving from around the world to watch this gasp-inducing on-stage production. The remarkable grit-to-glory, hope and adventure tale of a lion king that has been indelibly etched in pop culture as one of the greatest musicals of our time. I watched it in New York in October, a day after the world…

Over our lifetime, we all come to believe that evolution creates the need for adaptation. Our planet has been through a series of major documented evolutions over billions of years. Since this time-space journey sounds infinite, I will try and peg something relevant as a milestone, which was the extinction of dinosaurs about 66 million years ago; relevant to the extent that my children and now grandchildren seem to still remember the names of several of these species and many businesses have made significant profits thematically illustrating a primitive past that could one day return. Other than that, for most people, the history of the world throughout the Stone Age (2.6 million years ago), the Bronze Age (3100 BC) or the Iron Age (1200 BC) through to the start of…

“Much has been written about me…most of it is outright lies or half-truths. I have waited a long time to tell my story.” In her book, The Race to Be Myself, set to release in May 2024, one of the biggest names in athletics not just in Africa but across the world, will tell the full story of the discrimination she has faced in her career. The quote above is from South Africa’s celebrated 32-year-old Olympic runner, Caster Semenya’s book, and she tells FORBES AFRICA the most important part of telling her story was being able to grow. “Yes I have waited long to tell this story,” Semenya says. “For me, the most important thing was to grow to understand the principle of life, to understand myself and to know…

Africa’s tourism sector is expected to grow 6.5% per year over the next decade, contributing $350 billion to the regional economy, reports say. The 2023 Unlocking Opportunities for Travel & Tourism Growth in Africa focuses on policy-package changes that would work on improving Africa’s growth based on air infrastructure, visa facilitation and tourism marketing. Speaking at the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTCC) Global Summit in Kigali, Julia Simpson, WTTC President & CEO, said: “Africa's travel and tourism sector has witnessed an extraordinary transformation. In just two decades, it has more than doubled in value, significantly contributing to the continent's economy. The growth potential for travel and tourism in Africa is massive. It has already more than doubled since 2000, and with the right policies could unlock an additional $168…

African lawmakers gathered for the continent’s first-ever parliamentary meeting in November. The meeting focused on health security today and agreed to support actions for stronger health systems to enable countries to effectively prevent, prepare, and respond to public health threats. Joined by the World Health Organization (WHO), parties voiced their support for a common African position on the ongoing negotiations of the key global instruments to govern health security. The meeting also discussed the crucial role of parliamentarians in supporting measures for resilient health systems that provide adequate and quality services, while ensuring effective national response to health emergencies. “In these crucial times, our roles as parliamentarians are more important than ever in steering our countries towards health security and resilience,” said Alban Kingsford Sumana Bagbin, Speaker of the Parliament…

In February 2021, South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa launched a Gender-Based Violence and Femicide Response Fund; with an overview of the work the fund has been doing released in October 2023. “South Africa holds the shameful distinction of being one of the most unsafe places in the world for women and girls and other vulnerable individuals. As a multisectoral convenor, the fund is uniquely positioned to provide support and drive action. The extension of our two-year mandate to a further three years is a vote of confidence in the work we have done thus far and offers us a range of opportunities,” the fund’s CEO Sazini Mojapelo said in a statement. The fund was originally launched as a bridging mechanism to support the implementation of the National Strategic Plan (NSP),…