Dynamic Africa
Formerly, "This is Africa/fyeahAfrica".
(Profile Photo by Mama Casset)
DISCLAIMER:
I do not endorse any of the products or opinions shared on this site, nor do I claim any of the work posted here to be my own - except where stated. All posts originally made by me are credited. If no credit is given then the work is either my own/written by me or reblogged from another source.
A LITTLE ABOUT ME:
Student, 24
Based in Cape Town, South Africa
From Lagos, Nigeria
Want to advertise through us? Send an email to dynamicafricablog@gmail.com
(As an unemployed media student, all donations go into ensuring my survival in this cruel world and future projects I hope to embark on).
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(since Oct. 21th 2012)
Nigeria’s commercial nerve center, Lagos is set to become the continent’s 13th biggest economy, similar to the size of West African nation, Ghana, investment research and advisory firm, Renaissance Capital has revealed. In its latest report titled, “Nigeria Unveiled: Thirty Six Shades of Nigeria,” the company stated that with a per capita income of about $2,900 which is currently double amount of the national average of $1,700, Lagos is at par with countries such as Morocco and Sri Lanka.
Lagos’ economy is significant to that of Ghana and is the heart of Nigeria’s $284 billion GDP economy.
“We base our analysis on states’ internally generated revenue, which make up 15 per cent of state government revenue, and consumption data, as proxies for state income.
“Lagos State produces about 12 per cent of Nigeria’s GDP, which is equivalent to $32 billion by 2013 ending. Post rebasing, which we now expect in early 2014, we estimate a 40 per cent upward revision in the country’s national income.
“By our estimates, the Lagos State economy will become Africa’s 13th biggest economy in 2014 at approximately $45 billion – equivalent to that of Ghana,” said RenCap.
You know it’s serious when they start comparing a city to countries. And we manage all this without stable electricity, easy access to basic resources, and the necessary infrastructure to accommodate life in a commercial urban landscape.
Just think about what Lagos would be if all the above-mentioned factors were appropriately set up and maintained.
Damn.
A market in Kano, 1960s
Vintage Nigeria
Tara Durotoye is convinced that consistency plus the grace of God have been the keys to her success. Durotoye is the founder and CEO of Nigeria’s House of Tara International, a makeup company she started in her early twenties by going from door to door doing Bridal makeup. Durotoye admits that when she started, she had no idea that House of Tara would grow to compete with International brands in Nigeria. In fact, she struggled to get financing in the beginning during the late 90s; ”a lot of banks were very reluctant to finance our business, because they did not understand the business model. It was a new business in Nigeria, so you see we were pioneering,” she says. Many banks did not want to take the risk with the concept, there were too many unanswered questions:
Why would she sell her own makeup brand when International ones existed?
Why would anyone want to buy her brand of makeup?
Why would people pay to have their makeup done when they could do it themselves?
Even without funding, Durotoye was not defeated. “Look within, you always have enough to start,” says Durotoye. That positive attitude helped her to think of creative ways to grow the business until they finally got funding. She recalls that the story was inspirational but more importantly, they had the facts and figures to back it up. All of the previous questions were slowly being answered as House of Tara went from strength to strength each year. It did not happen overnight but House of Tara has grown into a full-fledged beauty brand for African women with its own line of products, 11 branches across Nigeria and training schools for aspiring makeup artists. In addition, House of Tara allows young women to become distributors, over 15 years, they have recruited an estimated 3000 who have sold or are still selling the brand. This is Durotoye’s contribution to financially empowering young women.
Fashions of Nigerian women in 1971 by Donanne Hunter.
Currently listening to Femi Kuti and Mos Def’s collaboration, ‘Do Your Best’, off Femi’s album ‘Fight to Win’.
EVENT: TOYIN ODUTOLA, My Country Has No Name, May 16 – June 29, 2013.
Opening reception for the exhibition: Thursday, May 16th, from 6 – 8 PM at 513 West 20th Street.
Uzo Egonu, 1973
Born in 1931, Uzo Egonu was one of the outstanding artists of the second half of the 20th century in England, where he lived since 1945.
Influenced to the same degree by European modernism and traditional West African art, he painted pictures, to be seen in many public collections, in which abstract patterns and figurative forms in the style of pop-art combine in often poetic metaphors.
He died in 1996 in London.
The Lagosian attire for Yoruba men (the southern tribe), where I’m from, usually consists of the Buba which is a box shaped shirt made out of cotton that will either hit shy of his hips or hang long to his knees; Sokoto, which are trousers that are usually quiet loose; and Agbada (this is the master piece): It’s an oversized, flowing robe with wide arms and beautiful embroidery around the neck and chest area. This goes on top of the Buba shirt. All my collections are always inspired by the these simple silhouettes, textures and colors.
A mother and her child in front of an hair-dressing salon, Ibadan. 1973
Vintage Nigeria
(via wahaladey)
![ukpuru:
Groepsportret van inwoners van Bonny in Nigeria rond Chief Fred Pepple [Group portrait of people of Bonny in Nigeria around Chief Fred Pepple]
J.A. da Cunha Moraes, 1870
I wonder who ‘Fred Pepple’ is in this photo.](http://24.media.tumblr.com/b55a07c61fe5dc6af807fcc8fab7476c/tumblr_mmszqeBqYF1qjh37to1_500.jpg)
Groepsportret van inwoners van Bonny in Nigeria rond Chief Fred Pepple [Group portrait of people of Bonny in Nigeria around Chief Fred Pepple]
J.A. da Cunha Moraes, 1870
I wonder who ‘Fred Pepple’ is in this photo.
“I developed the pot-in-pot to help the rural poor in a cost-effective, participatory and sustainable way.”Northern Nigeria is an impoverished region where people in rural communities eke out a living from subsistence farming. With no electricity, and therefore no refrigeration, perishable foods spoil within days. Such spoilage causes disease and loss of income for needy farmers, who are forced to sell their produce daily. Nigerian teacher Mohammed Bah Abba was motivated by his concern for the rural poor and by his interest in indigenous African technology to seek a practical, local solution to these problems. His extremely simple and inexpensive earthenware “pot-in-pot” cooling device, based on a principle of physics already known in ancient Egypt, has revolutionized lives in this semi-desert area.
read more about his AMAZING project and HEY he’s Nigerian!! :) Aren’t we innovative? ;) Source!
(via zenjamaican)
Jay-Z will play five countries in African on his world tour.
These are the African cities where you can catch him performing:
Oct. 4: Dar es Salaam, Tanzania (Diamond Jubilee)
Oct. 6: Accra, Ghana (Accra Conference Center)
Oct. 7: Lagos, Nigeria (Ocean View)
Oct. 9: Luanda, Angola (Cine Karl Max)
Oct. 11: Cape Town, South Africa (Belleville Velodrome)
Oct. 13: Durban, South Africa (ABSA Stadium Outer Fields)
Oct. 14: Johannesburg (Coca Cola Dome)
