Grow, Unite, Build, Africa (GUBA) will dedicate its 2021 Awards to the celebration of a century of the passage of Yaa Asantewaa, the influential warrior and Queen mother of Ejisu, who rose to lead an Asante army against the invading British. This event will be in Accra, a first in Ghana.

This year’s Awards, is a celebration of an important moment in African history, one that is unique to the relations between the Republic of Ghana and the Republic of Seychelles and also to celebrate the resilience of the African woman. The theme for GUBA Awards 2021 is “Celebrating a Symbol of Courage and Resilience.”

The Awards, which will be held on Monday, November 8, 2021, in Accra, is expected to host several high-profile personalities in Ghana and from the diaspora. The plethora of dignitaries and personalities expected to grace this year’s Awards, reflects the shift from an event celebrating the Ghanaian diaspora to a truly Pan-African occasion.

“More importantly, the event will also mark the centenary of the death of Yaa Asantewaa, an Asante Queen Mother and the last African woman to lead a major war against the then colonial powers. Yaa Asantewaa is honoured across Africa and the African diaspora for her resistance to then British imperialism and she is widely considered as a symbol of courage, strength, and resilience. She was a critical figure in recognizing and using the power of women to mobilize both men and women to resist colonial power.” GUBA Enterprise’s President and CEO, Dentaa Amoateng MBE, indicated.

Dentaa noted, “GUBA awardees are the modern day representation of Yaa Asantewaa; at the time the world was faced with an unprecedented pandemic, they took up the mantle of leadership, and with courage and resilience, helped to steer the world back onto the path of progress”.

While celebrating the contribution of Black women, the GUBA Awards 2021 will also raise awareness on maternal mortality and call for measures to ensure safe child delivery across the continent. GUBA Enterprise believes that every child, born and unborn, has great potential and must be given the opportunity to fulfill this potential.

GUBA Enterprise seeks to promote greater economic, social and cultural cooperation between Africa and the African diaspora through harnessing the power of the African youth to advance the socio-economic interests of the continent.

In between the daily deluge of late afternoon stress, shoppers, workers, and passersby at the Accra Mall were entertained to an energetic flash mob performance led by none other than Ghana’s dancing sensation, Incredible Zigi.

The flash mob which generated waves and trended on social media is an ode to Guinness Ghana’s Black Shines Brightest Campaign and a means to call on Ghanaians to join the new and exciting wave of up-and-coming cultural change makers within Ghana and Africa at large.

Onlookers could not hide their amazement and excitement as many who were present pulled out their phone cameras to record a moment that would never come back but only be etched in their minds as one of the most memorable.

‘Black Shines Brightest’ is a new Pan African campaign celebrating the iconic black liquid enjoyed all over the continent for over a century.

This new campaign is inspired by the bold and unique black beer of Guinness stout and brings together passionate and creative individuals to celebrate the spirit of Guinness and its home across African markets

Energetic and empowering the campaign celebrates individuals coming together, fizzing with optimism, creativity and potential and the flash mob performance fell nothing short of portraying the creativity of individuals coming together with so much energy and pizzazz to dance to a tune that tells the whole of Ghana and Africa that indeed Black Shines Brightest.

Throughout the campaign, Guinness is working with real culture makers from across the continent who demonstrate how Black Shines Brightest in a range of different ways.

These individuals will create moments, events, and content to be enjoyed by everyone and as the Ghanaian brand influencer, Incredible Zigi has proved that he is indeed a real culture maker through his recently gone viral dance challenge and storming Accra Mall with arguably the most energetic flash mob performance ever seen in Accra.

Ghanaian Highlife sensation Akwaboah has declared that his fans should not be surprised if he releases a video for every song on the Lighthouse album.

According to the Akwaboah, all the songs on the Lighthouse album are so good that each deserves to be appreciated as a standalone work of art.

A video for the first single Ensesa has already been released to extremely positive reviews on YouTube. Akwaboah is also scheduled to release the second singe ‘Ntro Naa’ exclusively to boomplay on 24^th September 2021.

‘I see lighthouse as a rebirth for me as a musician. I am therefore searching very deep within to bring out songs that will be timeless.’

Akwaboah who counts to his credit song writing and production of Sarkodie’s critically acclaimed ‘Mary’ album, is set to collaborate with Strongman, Sarkodie, Cina Soul, Efya and Adina on the Lighthouse Album.

It remains to be seen whether he will indeed carry out the promise of releasing a video for every song on the album.

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Becoming an entrepreneur in Africa is the obvious option for most young people. Africa is known to be blessed for various natural resources but I dare say they aren’t the biggest resources the continent possesses. This thinking has resulted in paying attention to mining and exporting our natural resources which aren’t limitless. That’s, diminish over time. Our key resources are our problems. Problems mean more economic development. Some of Africa’s biggest problems is youth unemployment.

Africa Will Be The Most Populated Continent By 2050.

According to the World Bank, Youth account for 60% the unemployed in Africa. This is a huge problem. But with other problems, this could be a good opportunity to raise economic giants in Africa. That’s, our primary problem is untapped human resources. If we master this, we will be able to deal with the other problems which the second largest continent in size and population. Africa is set to be the most populated continent in 2050 accounting or more than half of the world’s population.

How Can We Make Good Use Of Our Population?

These are quite interesting statistics but what have they got to do with our problems and how to solve them? More importantly what is the link to entrepreneurship?

That’s a great question. My short answer is a lot. But of course, I shall explain.

Unemployment is one of Africa’s biggest problems. And so is population. We have various problems in environment, banking and finance, some societies lack basic needs, how can we create a shared success that makes sure everyone enjoys a healthy and worthwhile life? Now that’s where entrepreneurship comes in.

The basic requirements for entrepreneurship are opportunities and problems. And Africa has lots of that. There is no point denying that.

Entrepreneurship Is The Way

Entrepreneurship means our vastly untapped human resources can brainstorm solutions to our numerous problems, in so doing create employment for other youth. Everyone benefits. Everyone gets to do something productive.

Tony O. Elumelu, CON, Founder of The Tony Elumelu Foundation says “It is a timely topic because the reality is that no advanced nation has achieved that status without prioritising and driving entrepreneurship and small business growth.”

Having made this point, how can we all become entrepreneurs knowing the problems that inhibit the development of entrepreneurship in Africa.

One of the best theories on how to become an entrepreneur based on a study conducted by Saras D. Saravathy is the Effectuation theory. In this article, I will delve into the five main principles behind effectuation and how you can use them to build a sustainable business which survives the storms of Africa.

Effectuation: How to Be an Entrepreneur as An African

1. The Bird in Hand Principle

The bird in hand principle basically means aspiring entrepreneurs must look at what they currently have in terms of knowledge, resources such as money, people you know, and everything that will be useful in making a successful venture. This principle helps avoid looking for funding and outside support such as loans which may become debts if the venture fails.

Using the bird in hand principle helps you to think in terms of what you have and how best you can utilise them to build your business. It forces you to be resourceful. The basic principle of being resourceful is not what you have but what you are able to do with what you have even if it is little.

2. The Affordable Loss Principle

You have identified your resources. The affordable loss principle asks you to consider which of your resources you are willing to sacrifice, to lose, to build your venture even if you aren’t assured of success.

In other words, you should only invest what you are willing to part with into your business.

What are the benefits of working with what you have instead of going to look for funding? A lot. One of them is a psychological. Using the affordable loss principle helps the entrepreneur reduce the tension on them to produce results as would be if the entrepreneur gets a bank loan. Businesses often take time to make ends meet. This cuts the perspective of the entrepreneur to making decisions for short term instead of long-term gains.

A good example (but probably unfair) is Snapchat which made no revenues prior to going public but had a valuation of $24 million putting a whooping $4 Million in their cash coffers alone.

Working with the principle of affordable loss helps you to minimize risk and potential loss. Taking off stress related to fears of losing what you don’t.

When you believe there’s not much to lose, you release your creative juices as you have the freedom to explore all that there is to. And that’s what has made some companies really successful. They played around with different industries, products and services before finding their ground.

3. Crazy Quilt Principle

Let’s face, you can’t do everything. When you are starting out, you have few resources to work with. In most cases, you can partner with other players who aren’t competitors but can complement your business in certain areas.

An example is suppliers if you source raw materials. You can negotiate to have materials delivered and payment made over a period or when goods have been produced and sold.

If you operate a shipping and transport business, you can negotiate a deal to pay for your fuel after certain periods and in bulk.

The crazy quilt principles force the entrepreneur to think about how to forge alliances which can help the business grow by handling key aspects of the business at a negotiated, favourable payment plans or low-cost models.

In identifying those key players, the entrepreneur must be willing to learn from the partnerships and be willing to change direction of their company based on what works and not their “business plan”. This is partly because when you are starting out, much of what you do is based on guestimates and best practices. You have little “for sure” knowledge. In such stages of the business, your business model is still being developed. Hence, the need for open mindedness and development as the business grows.

4. The Lemonade Principle

The key word here is iteration! The entrepreneurial journey is one ridden with mistakes, unproductive partnerships, and many avenues for learning. The lemonade principle says that detours and mistake are a part of the journey and the entrepreneur has to see them as learning opportunities for growth and development.

5. The Pilot in the Plane Principle

Pilots have a lot of responsibility. Imagine manning an aircraft carrying over 100 people. They all depend on you for their safe arrival.

So must the entrepreneur see themselves. It is true that life can be unpredictable but the entrepreneur must act in their capacity as pilot in the plane of their business. They must take responsibility for creating the desired results without making excuses.

Uncertainty must be accepted and even embraced. Such an attitude clears the way for more proactive measures in areas such as planning, forecasting, making strategic decisions, adapting to change and running effectively.

In sum, the pilot in the plane principle says the future cannot be predicted as life is inherently inconsistent. But the future can be created through a conscious evaluation of options and making choices.

Conclusion

Effectuation works with the basic principle that we can all build a business through an iterative process of logic. Also, you cannot predict the future but you can control certain things to create the future you desire.

As Africa is in need of innovative solutions to our unemployment problems, I charge you to use these principles to take that step. You do not need the best idea in the world to become successful but you do have to get started to be successful.

This article was written by Enoch Kabange

Enoch W. Kabange is a passionate fellow who sees the best in every situation. He is the Founder of Wordinspired Media, a personal development brand and Alien Media.  Alien Media helps businesses and brands create digital assets which can deliver them higher visibility and enable them to grow like never before.

Enoch is a Digital Marketer, Brand Strategist/Consultant, and a Content Writer. 

His mission is to inspire millions of people to become entrepreneurs and to pursue their passions by motivating them to the greatness that resides within them.

Written by: Enoch Weguri Kabange

Contact: 

E: enochkabange@gmail.com

Website: EnochKabange.com / bit.ly/EnochKabange