King Gina

With the rise of the middle class in Africa, it is important that the continent addresses its basic problems with modern solutions that are catered for its people. Africans are beginning to use technology to solve their everyday inconveniences and also to enrich themselves. Africans have always been innovative and pioneering, and with technology life has just become much easier. Below is a list of the techno-solutions that have put a smile on my face. These are apps launched by South Africans. They solve administrative problems, enrich lives (through investments) and offer convenience. 1. Livestock Wealth The app was founded by former Accenture Strategy Consultant Ntuthuko Shezi. The app was born after Ntuthuko experienced sheer frustration with the volatility of the Johannesburg Stock Exchange. After exploring different avenues of creating wealth, he went back to his roots and resolved on a method of creating and storing wealth through cattle. Livestock Wealth manage...

  I learnt how to write through reading books. I spent my childhood buried under books. I read everything and anything that I could get my hands on and sometimes even books that I was not suppose to read. Books saved me. I lived through them and because of them. I traveled the world through books. I fell in love with people I did not even know. I became a global citizen with a sharp tongue and the ability to effortlessly glide my pen through numerous essays at school. Below is a list of my top 10 writers, poets, authors and liberators and my favourite work/book/poem/essays by them. They have been my virtual mothers, grandmothers, sisters and chief advisers. Their words have moved me, shaken me and inspired me. I thank them from liberating me from small minded thinking and the tendency to over indulge in one's personal struggle.  1. Maya Angelou -I know why the caged bird sings (full autobiography collection) -Letter to my daughter (book of essays) -Phenomenal...

(image via https://allevents.in) We are living in an exciting era in Africa. Luxury brands are cropping up all over the continent and buyers with disposable income are ready to join the tribes created by the founders of these companies. African brands are rising and creating an impact all over the world. It is definitely about time that the once coined "Dark Continent" gives international brands a run for their money. Everyone, after all, is opening up businesses in Africa; therefore it is only right that Africans do so too. We have witnessed an increase in the marketing and brand communication efforts of large luxury conglomerates in Africa especially in South Africa where most brands such as Gucci, LVMH et al have opened up stores in all the prominent malls in the country. Africa is definitely open for business. Below is a list of my top four proudly African brands that I am excited about in the luxury market. These emerging brands might have been in t...

(image via https://www.spreadshirt.com) I am currently reading an awesome but difficult book that calls for one to challenge themselves and FOCUS. It explores Self Mastery and Self Knowledge as tools to help you meet your business, personal and financial targets. (image via http://www.getfrank.co.nz) The chapter I am on explores habits, the good ones and the bad ones and how they shape your future life. (image via blogger's own) My one bad habit that I have struggled with for years is procrastination. I have literally spent my early 20s postponing my plans , goals and dreams and getting distracted by things that offer superficial and instant gratification.  Procrastination has a tendency of having you enjoy a good session of lazying about with an air of indifference when actually all those things that you would like to pretend don't matter... matter.  For example, this blog is 5 years late. Lol. I have started and abandoned so man...

(https://robandmeandbabymakes3.com) We are told that it is not what we are called but rather what we answer to that matters. This rings true as we find that we are exposed to people who continuously "call us out of our names". We ignore such vulgar slurs and have taught ourselves not to take them to heart. As an African Motswana woman, I know that there is power in a name that was given to you at birth and one that you give to yourself. I will explore my first name, Keamogetswe. This name was given to me by my mother. I am her third child. I am her only daughter and she gave me a name that spoke volumes. Shortened versions of my name include: Kea and Keamo. Keamogetswe in Setswana means "I am welcome" or "I am accepted" . To me, this means that whatever situation or event I walk into, I will receive pleasant hospitality and favour. It means that before I have even said anything, my word has been accepted and validated. I am accepted and ...

(image: https://www.amazon.com/Brand-Gap-Distance-Business-Strategy/dp/0321348109) WHO ARE YOU? WHAT DO YOU DO? AND WHY DOES IT MATTER? - MARTY NEUMEIER (THE BRAND GAP) In The Brand Gap, Marty poses the above three questions to brands. All in the name of creating brands that have meaning. Once you have that, purpose converts into profit. Authenticity is a real thing and dis-ingenuity reeks. I believe that each and everyone of us should be able to answer these questions about ourselves and not only the brands and organisations that we represent. We are after all brands in our own right. I am starting my own journey that will help me answer these questions organically and authentically. We all have a story that we tell ourselves about ourselves. Lines that we repeat. Lines learnt from the things we consume everyday... television, social media and our networks . When asked who are we, most start of us start by saying that we are "hardworking", "ambitious...

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