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by Oresti Patricios (@orestaki) Nedbank gets elbow-deep into real-world issues with its sponsorship of Design Indaba’s “Africa.Now.” project that seeks out revolutionary entrepreneurs, makers and designers in Africa.

Design Indaba is incredible. It started out as a conference in 1995, and has become a thinking movement that has not only helped put the city of Cape Town on the map but has showcased top talent to the world, and brought the world’s top design thinkers to the city.

Curating and telling incredible stories

Ravi Naidoo is a wonder, which is why the folks at Nedbank have been incredibly clever by teaming up with Naidoo and his team at Design Indaba in this sponsorship campaign which is all about curating and telling incredible stories. And finding and crafting stories is something that Design Indaba is very talented at.



Just in case you’ve been living on another planet for the past 22 years, Design Indaba showcases the work of design thinkers from a multiplicity of fields and applications — from clothing design to architecture, advertising, culture and beyond — featuring smart people using technology and innovation to make the world a better place to be in. That latter is a strong theme for Design Indaba, because that’s what design thinking is all about: making the world better.

If you’ve ever travelled the continent, like I do frequently, you’ll know that Africa has plenty of stories about innovators and inventors who are making their worlds a better place. Often these stories are found in far-flung places, or only known to people in the immediate environment, which makes sharing them a challenge.

Africa’s narrative

And sharing these stories is critical because Africa’s narrative has been so badly hijacked by the traditional global media with its penchant for reducing this continent to a single narrative, or a catch-all headline. This is why I love this smart content initiative.

Design Indaba, together with Nedbank, has embarked upon a quest to find creative gems hidden throughout Africa. In the first of the series, a cameraman and a journalist travelled to Uganda, Rwanda and Ethiopia to discover people who have been doing amazing things with design and technology.

The stories that are coming out of this narrative safari are fantastic. Such as Rwandans Peter Kariuki and Barrett Nash, whose startup, SafeMotos, has brought the ‘Uber’ concept to African motorcycle taxis. Known as motos in Rwanda, boda-bodas in Kenya and Uganda or okadas in Nigeria, these motorbike taxis are ubiquitous in major towns and cities, where congestion can get so bad that there is no option but to walk or jump onto one of these two-wheelers that can zip in and out of traffic. The problem, however, is that this industry has been largely unregulated and has a bad reputation for several reasons, such as poor safety and predatory charges.

Breakthrough

But okadas may be a life-saver, as I found out on my way to the Murtala Muhammed International Airport when traffic had come to a standstill and I was in a car, weighing up the consequences of missing my flight. The okadas kept zipping by, and eventually a big, burly driver told me to hop on. We haggled about price, I wondered about safety, and then jumped on the back of this smallish bike driven by a bodybuilder. Zip-zip — in less than half an hour I was booked onto my flight.

But back to the breakthrough, called SafeMotos, which is an app for users to find and rate registered drivers, who have been vetted, and are monitored using GPS. Clever, hey?

Another story you’ll find at www.designindaba.com is that of Lagos-born product designer, Nifemi Marcus-Bello, who saw a gap in the market when he was asked to create furnishings and fixtures for the Kofe Club, a coffee bar in Lagos. As furniture imports were banned, Marcus-Bello had to come up with something that was stylish, locally sourced and manufactured, and could be easily assembled. The ultra-cool minimalist design has now been extended for purchase by the general public. The Kofe Club Collection is available as a flatpack product that may be easily transported and assembled at home.

High fashion

In the world of fashion, there are numerous designers who are making a name for themselves by being true to their roots and their artistic vision, such as Teta Isibo, whose brand, Inzuki Designs, draws on the underused skills of Rwandan artisans to create unique and original accessories. These are no cheesy touristy trinkets — the beadwork and weaving that goes into these original pieces put them in the realm of high fashion.

The Design Indaba journalist has interviewed each of these designers and compiled short videos that are featured on the Design Indaba site. The videos are visually interesting and informative, and each designer is given a chance to shine. Showcasing these designers on a forum such as Design Indaba ensures that they are given wide exposure both locally and internationally — something that may have taken them years to achieve, if at all.

Nedbank and Design Indaba must be lauded for putting resources into this project, and giving a voice to passionate people who are doing great work. We know that Africa has a great many amazing creatives, but it is only through initiatives such as this that their stories will be well-told, and they will get the opportunity they deserve. Well done, wonderful people for promoting African design to the rest of the world!

Credits

Journalist: Katie de Klee
Cameraman: Colin Gwesu
Producer: Design Indaba
Editor: Design Indaba Video Team
Partner: Nedbank
Oresti PatriciosAd of the Week, published on MarkLives every Wednesday, is penned by Oresti Patricios (@orestaki), the CEO of Ornico, a Brand Intelligence® firm that focuses on media, reputation and brand research. If you are involved in making advertising that is smart, funny and/or engaging, please let Oresti know about it at info@ornicogroup.co.za.

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