yinka ogunlami

<h2>Whether we like to admit it or not, the effects of bullying as far back as early childhood affects people in one way or another; and if not addressed properly, could be detrimental to a person’s self esteem or even lead to other negative behavioural activities such as substance abuse, depression or even violence.</h2>

Bullying is defined as unwanted aggressive behaviour that physically, verbally and emotionally inflicts pain and suffering on a person. It is a deliberate act and is repeated over a period of time by the same person at the same victim. Bullying comes in many forms and is prominent across generations.

Adult and workplace bullying are not foreign concepts in our social and professional environments.&nbsp;But like all things learned and acquired, it is best to recognise and address negative behaviours early, right from school age when children begin to form opinions of others and develop their characters.

Traditional <a data-link-role-code="open_new_tab" href="https://www.pulse.ng/news/metro/viral-video-of-student-being-bullied-in-abuja-private-school-sparks-outrage/tqpbz0v">forms of bullying</a> include verbal, social and physical bullying. People within the same environment as the bully and the bullied can witness these in person. Some, however, ignore them because it is “not their business.”

Some are even of the opinion that a certain person deserves to be bullied. Others may actually not even be aware of the signs or the detrimental effects these behaviours have on human beings and may either not detect them or bother to address them.&nbsp;

It is extremely important to take note of <a data-link-role-code="open_new_tab" href="https://www.pulse.ng/lifestyle/relationships-weddings/is-your-child-being-bullied-watch-out-for-these-five-signs/ttrm2p8">the forms through which bullying occurs</a>.

This comes in the form of neglect, a child/group of children singling another child out of activities with their peers, discouraging other children from being friends with a child, spreading false rumours about another child and embarrassing another child in public.

This is probably the most obvious and comes in the form of hitting, kicking, spitting, pushing, rude body language/hand gestures, tripping, taking or breaking another child’s belongings.

This is gaining more and more attention globally. Cyber-bullying takes place over the internet, largely via social media. As many children now have social media accounts, it is very possible to take bullying away from the physical environment to the digital environment. Children (and even adults) are very conscious of their social footprint and status these days. In fact, they are almost obsessed with it.

Therefore any form of harm carried out on this space is equally as dangerous as the traditional forms of bullying. Unfortunately, this is an area which is more difficult to control due to the absence of physical restrictions over what a bully may say or do over the internet or even through chatrooms, WhatsApp or text messages.

ALSO READ: <a data-link-role-code="open_new_tab" href="https://www.pulse.ng/lifestyle/how-to-deal-with-bullying/6gev44z">How to deal with bullies and protect yourself</a>

The truth is that it is very difficult for parents, teachers and other children to detect bullying, particularly, when it is well disguised (which is made easy through digital media).&nbsp;However, there are some warning signs, through which we can tell if a child is being bullied. These include:

<ol><li>Fear of going to school or attending a particular class.</li><li>Frequent loss of specific belongings.</li><li>Physical injuries or unexplained bruises.</li><li>Nervousness.</li><li>Loss of confidence.</li><li>Withdrawal or distress.</li><li>Poor academic performance.</li><li>Eating disorders.</li><li>Sleeping disorders.</li><li>Torn books or clothes.</li><li>Bullying others (including retaliation).</li><li>Suicidal thoughts and attempts.</li></ol>

Furthermore, in the school environment, anti-bullying behaviour should also be encouraged amongst the children. Examples include:

<ol><li>Having a friendly expression on their faces.</li><li>Complimenting others.</li><li>Smiling more.</li><li>Laughing at other people’s jokes.</li><li>Being kind.</li><li>Involving everyone in activities.</li><li>Modesty.</li><li>Giving children equal opportunities to participate in school activities.</li></ol>

Teachers, parents and even children should be sufficiently enlightened about all signs of bullying, so that they can be addressed early before such behaviour evolves into negative social behaviour&nbsp;(for the bullies) or lead to mental or psychological issues (for the bullied).

Also, in general, we should really make a more conscious effort to become more aware of such behaviours in our environments and also the effect of our own behaviour on others around us.

This article was originally published in 2017.

Bullying is defined as unwanted aggressive behaviour that physically, verbally and emotionally inflicts pain and suffering on a person.

How parents, teachers can recognise when a child is being bullied

<h1>Are you a movie lover? Are you eager to know about the brilliant minds in front and behind the camera involved in making amazing stories come alive?</h1>

Get access to all the juicy gist and more on AMC Movie Talk showing on AMC Series – Mondays and Fridays on Startimes (CH 072), Startsat (CH 134), Azam (CH 252), Kwese (CH 145), Zuku (CH 226), and Black (CH 206) by 20:30 GMT/21:30 WAT/22:30 CAT  and  AMC Movies – Tuesdays and Thursdays also on Startimes (CH 018); Startsat (CH 185), Azam (CH 301), Kwese (CH 160), Zuku (CH 230), and Black (CH 206) by 20:30 GMT/21:30 WAT/22:30 CAT

AMC Series is dedicated to offering you and your loved ones outstanding entertainment with unmissable comedy and drama Series from Monday to Friday.

In addition to our exclusive entertainment show, AMC Movie Talk, enjoy brand new series such as Two Dry Girls, So Wrong So Wright 2.0, This Thing Called Marriage, Lekki Wives, Stars &amp; Scars, Delilah, Life Is A Teacher and other exciting shows.

Catch all these and much more on AMC SERIES on Startimes (CH 072), Startsat (CH 134), Azam (CH 252), Kwese (CH 145), Zuku (CH 226), and Black (CH 206) every day from 18:00 GMT/19:00 WAT/20:00 CAT.

This is a featured post.

Are you eager to know about the brilliant minds in front and behind the camera involved in making amazing stories come alive?

Watch AMC series for non-stop entertainment

Get access to all the juicy gist and more on AMC Movie Talk showing: on AMC Series – Mondays and Fridays on Startimes (CH 072), Startsat (CH 134), Azam (CH 252), Kwese (CH 145), Zuku (CH 226), and Black (CH 206) by 20:30GMT/21:30WAT/22:30CAT  and  AMC Movies – Tuesdays and Thursdays also on Startimes (CH 018); Startsat (CH 185), Azam (CH 301), Kwese (CH 160), Zuku (CH 230), and Black (CH 206) by 20:30GMT/21:30WAT/22:30CAT

AMC Series is dedicated to offering you and your loved ones outstanding entertainment with unmissable comedy and drama Series from Monday to Friday, so begin your week with the crazy Wrights on Mondays with , have exciting Tuesdays with , enjoy intriguing Wednesdays with get some life lessons on Thursday with and end the week on a brilliant note with on Fridays.

Catch all these and much more on AMC SERIES on Startimes (CH 072), Startsat (CH 134), Azam (CH 252), Kwese (CH 145), Zuku (CH 226), and Black (CH 206) every day from 18:00GMT/19:00WAT/20:00CAT.

This is featured post.

Get access to all the juicy gist on AMC Movie Talk on AMC Series – Mondays and Fridays at 20:30GMT/21:30WAT/22:30CAT on Startimes (CH 072), Startsat (CH 134), Azam (CH 252), Kwese (CH 145), Zuku (CH 226), and AMC Movies – Tuesdays and Thursdays at 20:30GMT/22:30CAT on Startimes (CH 018), Startsat (CH 185), Azam (CH 301), Kwese (CH 160), Zuku (CH 230).

African Movie Channel (AMC) is committed to offering you and your family splendid entertainment with unmissable drama Series from Monday to Friday, so start your week on Mondays with Two Sides of a Coin, Casino and AMC Movie Talk, get intrigued on Tuesdays with Family Forever, have emotional Wednesdays with Tears of Love, chill At Home with Joselyn on Thursdays, and have awesome Fridays with the hilarious Teju BabyFace Show.

Catch all these and much more on AMC SERIES on Startimes (CH 072), Startsat (CH 134), Azam (CH 252), Kwese (CH 145), Zuku (CH 226), every day from 18:00GMT/20:00CAT.

Want to know about the intelligent minds in front and behind the camera involved in making amazing stories come alive?

New exclusive movies and series on AMC

Ghana businessinsider lifestyle

<h1>One would think that with the risen economic crisis in Africa should be enough to keep some of its leaders busy rather than their obsession with funfair and ostentatious lifestyle.</h1>

Nigeria it’s senators would be more less likely to splurge on multiple luxury cars.Or perhaps the increase in missing persons in South Africa would be first on a Minister for Police to-do list.

Politicians are primarily elected by the citizens to help lead and guide the country also in its functioning.

Recently however they seem to be instead providing amusement for the masses with their eye raising fashion sense rather than dealing with critical issues in their various constituencies.

The first time political office holder Mabior Garang De Mabior, is the current minister for Water Resources and Irrigation in the Republic of South Sudan. Dr Garang the former president of South Sudan is his father which we can all assume may or may not be a huge deciding factor in his political appointment.

Mbuvi Gidion Kioko Mike Sonko or more commonly known as Mike Sonko is a Kenyan politician who currently serves for the second time as Governor of Nairobi.

Dino Melaye is a senator currently representing Kogi West in Nigeria at the nation's eighth National Assembly.

Ibrahim Abriga is a member of the Ugandan parliament and has more often than not been involved in headlines for his amusing sense of fashion.

Last but not least is South Africa’s current Minister of Police who is known for going hard on Twitter in his bid to fight crime.

Recently African politicians came under scrutiny because of their eye raising dress sense.

These African political leaders are setting Twitter on fire with their ‘Swag’

Latest Movies News Updates & Newspaper Headlines | Pulse Ghana

Movies

What tickles your fancy?? Is it perfect sound, great editing skills, outstanding picture quality, an intelligent script, brilliant acting skills or an amazing set design?  If your answer is yes to all the above, then you are definitely a movie enthusiast.

Of course, most movie enthusiasts would love to know more about the great minds; behind and in front of the camera involved in making beautiful stories come alive.

To get access to all the juicy gist, catch AMC Movie Talk on AMC Series – Mondays and Fridays at 20:30GMT/21:30WAT/22:30CAT on Startimes (CH 072), Startsat (CH 134) Azam (CH 252) Kwese (CH 145) Zuku (CH 226) and AMC Movies – Tuesdays and Thursdays at 20:30GMT/22:30CAT on Startimes (CH 018); Startsat (CH 185) Azam (CH 301) Kwese (CH 160) Zuku (CH 230)

African Movie Channel (AMC) is dedicated to offering you and your family outstanding entertainment with unmissable drama Series from Monday to Friday, so usher in a new week on Mondays with , enjoy a smooth ride on Tuesdays with , step into Wednesdays stylishly with , have a peaceful Thursday with and a splendid Friday with the hilarious .

Catch all these and much more on AMC SERIES on Startimes (CH 072), Startsat (CH 134) Azam (CH 252) Kwese (CH 145) Zuku (CH 226)

African Movie Channel (AMC) is dedicated to offering you and your family outstanding entertainment with unmissable drama Series from Monday to Friday.

Tune in to AMC for 100% entertainment

Ogojiii will feature on Pulse sites in Nigeria, Ghana and Kenya as a new category.

The magazine which is also published in print form focuses on African innovation and culture. It was launched in June 2015 in Cape Town, South Africa.

Ogojiii derives it’s name from the Yoruba Language.

“Ogojiii (oh-go-gee). Ogoji with one “i” is the Yoruba word for “40”. We have added the Roman numerals ii to make 42, the Akan calendar cycle and our cycle of things”, say the founders of the publication on their website.

“We are excited to share these stories with our readers. We hope to inspire generations of Africans through our platforms", Pulse Nigeria’s Editor-In-Chief Osagie Alonge says.

This is not the first time Pulse has acquired this kind of license. The news media network has previously partnered with Men’s Health and Women’s health to create categories providing readers with information and advice on health, weightloss, and relationships.

Pulse also recently partnered with Business Insider to bring readers African business news and analysis on Pulse sites. Business Insider by Pulse is the first African version and the 15th version of the business site.

Pulse Nigeria has secured a partnership with Danish magazine Ogojiii to further showcase cutting edge, trend shifting, innovation in design, enterprises and current affairs in Africa.

Danish magazine partners with Pulse

<h1>Movie enthusiasts in Nigeria always love to have a glimpse of the lives of their favourite celebrities, their background, how they rose to fame, what they do when they are not in the spotlight, and a little bit about their personal lives.</h1>

One may ask how these fans embark on this journey. Well, it’s simple; A talk show! African Movie Channel, a global player in the ever-expanding African film industry which is now the second largest film industry in the world offers this opportunity on an insightful show called AMC Movie Talk.

To get access to all the juicy gist, catch AMC Movie Talk on AMC – Mondays and Fridays at 20:30GMT/22:30CAT on Startimes (CH 018); Startsat (CH 185) and AMC SERIES – Tuesdays and Thursdays at 20:30GMT/22:30CAT on Startimes (CH 072); Startsat (CH 134)

African Movie Channel (AMC) is dedicated to entertaining you and your family with unmissable drama Series from Monday to Friday, so usher in a new week on Mondays with , ride smooth on Tuesdays with , enjoy a classy Wednesday with , have a fun-filled Thursday with and a relaxed, stress free Friday with the hilarious .

Catch all these and much more on AMC SERIES on Startimes (CH 072); Startsat (CH 134) at 18:00GMT/20:00CAT.

Watch your favourite African dramas on AMC Series

African Movie Channel (AMC) is dedicated to entertaining you and your family with unmissable drama Series from Monday to Friday

I never wanted to be a pilot. I always thought it was something for boys, or something a dainty girl like me wasn’t meant to do….Ha-ha dainty. Yeah. Right. Who am I kidding? I was a tomboy through and through, and I have the scars to prove it.

Even so, flying planes was never in my realm of possibilities. While all the other kids knew what they wanted to be when they grew up, all I knew was I wanted to go out and play.

Don’t get me wrong, I wasn’t lazy! In fact, I was getting pretty good grades…though, in an African home you can’t bring home bad grades and expect to survive the beating you would expect to receive!

While everyone had an idea of what they wanted to be, all that ran through my mind was, “what is all this ‘When I grow up’ nonsense!?  Let’s go climb a tree or something. Looking back, I was avoiding the inevitable. So one day, to my absolute chagrin, I was cornered.

There we were, you know, counting stuff in a math class, when the teacher decided to ask the class that awful question I had successfully avoided up until that point. (I was 10 years old at the time). And so it began, thankfully, at the opposite end of the classroom. One by one, every mini-human answered with enthusiasm.

Engineer. Doctor. Pilot. Nurse. Closer. Closer still….Drat! What do I want to be!?!? What am I going to say? Accountant. Teacher. Mechanic. Panic…Mouth went dry. It was almost my turn to answer. And then….I had to say something.

Huh? They were dumbfounded. What the fudgy brownie is this girl-child saying!? (You know, because 10 year olds didn’t cuss)

“Actuary”’ I now said with confidence. I was standing there, smug, thinking, “These children know nothing!” (re: John Snow, Game of Thrones). Truth is, I didn’t know what it was either. My brother had mentioned the term earlier that week and it stuck with me.

All I needed to know was “an actuary is a math guy”, and that was enough. There were only 3 in Kenya at the time, and they were all men!  That guy was planting seeds in my mind. If he couldn’t be an actuary then I would. Broham was living vicariously through this poor toddler-sister-child I suspect.

Back to that classroom. I reveled in their shock and awe. How could she give such a great answer? That’s what I thought they were thinking. Until some bully-child (there is always one of those around) shouted, “She doesn’t know how to say the word ACTUALLY!”. That must have been the loudest roar of laughter I ever heard, from all 41 of my classmates. They really died (of laughter). I stood there, defiantly, and when the laughter died off? I said it again for good measure, “Actuary”. That was my final answer.

Thirteen years later, I was looking for a job to achieve this “actuarial dream”. I got sucked in to doing something I wasn’t 100% settled in. My heart was pulling in another direction but I had no idea where it was pulling me. That internal conflict led to a diabolical conflict on my plate. I took it out on food! I really ate my emotions. They went from my heart to my plate, from my mouth to my hips. And my hips really lied! Chei! Things had to change! First in line? Change professions.

So what DID I want to be when I grew up? Had I grown up? Oh no! Had I failed at this game of life already?? (Insert panic here) So I did the only thing I could as a millennial.

I asked Google. I sense the collective eye rolls from Generation X. Don’t judge me!

“What should I do with my life?”  I got too many vague answers. I needed to get specific.

“What is my personality type” As women sometimes we grow up conforming to other’s expectations, so I needed to answer this for my self  honestly

“Career types for “x” personality”. And the search engine suggested a list.

And on and on it went. I was sure I was going to punch myself in the face if another mathematically inclined career came up.

Cue the angels singing Handel’s Hallelujah Chorus from The Messiah and the light of God shining upon me.

That moment of clarity was short-lived as I grappled with my reality. I can’t afford it. What about the degree I just got? Will my family approve of this career choice? Can I actually do this? Can lady pilots have husbands or children?

I decided to get out of my comfort zone quick, fast, in a darn hurry and figure it out.

The risk was worth it. I was fortunate enough to be a beneficiary of a sponsorship program run by an airline in my country that:

Of course I had to apply for it and seek all the information, it didn’t just magically happen, although it kind of did. This was nothing short of a miracle/blessing/the universe letting me prosper/manifestation of vibrations or whatever you want to call it. I claimed it as my blessing.

I am a woman. I can do a “man’s job” and still be ladylike and beautiful. Your dreams ARE valid, no matter how late they come to you.

However, you must step outside your comfort zone, listen to your heart, believe in yourself and banish all doubt.

You can do it. You are ABLE. You are worth it.

I never wanted to be a pilot...

When I grow up

___6867783___https:______static.pulse.com.gh___webservice___escenic___binary___6867783___2017___6___20___13___Ogojiii+banner

<h1>Outrage and debate are important (if not essential) to the reception of art. They help to place a work on a historical timeline (or to eject it).</h1>

Silva’s own early history is revealing. Many of her formative experiences as a curator were shaped during her long stint abroad, particularly at the end of the 1980s, an intense period of argument about the misrepresentation of contemporary African art by western art institutions.

One particular exhibition played a decisive role in shaping Silva’s attitudes as an impressionable young art student far away from home.

In 1989, after completing her undergraduate studies in languages at the University of Dijon, Silva rushed from France to London.

She was eager to see painter Rasheed Araeen’s landmark exhibition The Other Story: Afro-Asian Artists in Post-War Britain at the Hayward Gallery.

In her haste, she totally overlooked Magiciens de la Terre, curator Jean Hubert-Martin’s ambitious survey of global contemporary art, which was also on, albeit in Paris.

In most orthodox histories of contemporary art, Magiciens is offered as a kind of year zero, the moment when Europe suddenly recognized its historical narcissism and tentatively embraced otherness, albeit on its own terms.

“I missed it!” exclaims Silva, chuckling at the oversight. Her absorption with The Other Story, which itself polarized opinion, is nonetheless revealing.

Silva’s key reference points have a particular vintage and geographical context. “People think I am far younger than I am,” she laughs again. “I was in London at the time of the Black Arts Movement.

Eddie Chambers, Keith Piper, Sonia Boyce, Yinka Shonibare, Chris Ofili, Mary Evans: those are my contemporaries.”

Like her contemporaries, Silva has cultivated a cosmopolitan attitude that riffs on cultural identity without being parochial. In a nutshell, Silva exceeds the essentialism of being African.

Of course, it does help that she has a success gene. Older sister Joke Silva is a veteran actor and bona fide Nollywood star. But, in truth, Silva’s success is the outcome of hard work, imagination and her refusal to be pigeonholed.

I first met Silva in 2007, in dusty Bamako, where she curated an exhibition of Finnish photography. Think snow landscapes in a desert setting. Brilliant.

More recently, in 2013, she curated a showcase of work by artists associated with five West African art spaces, including Espace doual’art in Douala and Dakar’s Raw Material Company, for Art Dubai.

Her focus on West Africa was important. The phrase “contemporary African art” is cant, a space-flattening conceit that Silva is wary of endorsing, neither in her curating nor her writing, which she is doing a lot more of these days.

“I refuse to write about art in such broad terms,” says Silva, who last year published a monograph on photographer J.D. 'Okhai Ojeikere, a key figure in post-independence Nigerian photography. It took her five years to research. “I just can’t,” she continues.

“Where do you begin? It is impossible. Every day I am asked to recommend two or three ‘African artists’. I can recommend two or three Nigerian artists. But how do I begin to recommend two or three artists out of 54 countries?”

After nearly a decade in the Lagos trenches, things are changing. Lagos has a dynamic annual photo festival, LagosPhoto. <a href="" id="f017398d-df3f-560d-bf49-e7d7b423cfc4">Omenka</a> magazine, launched in 2013, is contributing to developing a local critical tradition.

As for Silva, she is contemplating a change in tack.

CCA, which has always had to cast its net widely for funding, is scaling back on its exhibition programme.

“I am less interested in churning out exhibitions every two months like a factory,” says Silva, an active Facebooker who eschews self-promotion.

“I don’t see CCA in that role. I see it as a project, even though people think of it as an institution. It is a project that could last one year, five years, 10 years, or close tomorrow.”

People don’t want to hear this, she says. “But I am not in Lagos to build a MoMA or Whitney.”

For anyone interested in Silva, and there are many people who watch her with admiration, this is good news.

It simply means she is cooking up something new and exciting.

Many of her formative experiences as a curator were shaped during her long stint abroad, particularly at the end of the 1980s.

The art of the possible (Part 2)

<h1>Nigeria’s QSR industry now has more than 150 fast-food brand names, including local companies Sweet Sensation, Chicken Lovers, Chicken Licking, Mama Cass, Captain Cook and Chicken Palace, according to a research article published in</h1>

One of the larger chains, Tantalizers, started small in Lagos in 1997 and now employs 2 000 staff. Its stores offer fast-food including both African and “continental” dishes.

Tastee Fried Chicken, known as TFC in Nigeria, was started in 1996 by Olayinka Adebayo on Victoria Island, with the aim of offering Nigerians world-class fast food modelled on KFC. It now has 10 outlets across the country.

In 2013, South African firm Famous Brands launched itself into Nigeria’s burgeoning fast-food market by buying 49% of UAC Restaurants Limited (UACR), comprising 165 franchised restaurants across the country.

UACR has its roots in Nigeria’s colonial period, when a soap manufacturer, William Hesketh Lever, bought a fleet of ships in 1916 to supply his company with palm oil. The company evolved into the United African Company International, with a portfolio of businesses that include paint, timber, motor, electric and restaurant businesses.

Mr Biggs, which launched in 1986, developed from the coffee shops that were started by the UACR in Kingsway department stores in the 1960s.

UACR still houses the Mr Bigg's brand, the largest food franchise brand north of South Africa.

Mr Bigg's has around 100 000 customers daily, with a menu including pastries and burgers. The chain sells around 25,000 pieces of chicken a day, and has sold around 635 million meat pies since its inception, according to Famous Brands.

Chief executive Kevin Hedderwick believes the deal has catapulted the company to “a completely different level” that will allow it to expand its presence in “a burgeoning, currently low-consumption per capita organised food-service market”.

“Trading in Africa is inevitably about being first to market, and we believe that this transaction represents a significant step change through which we will further entrench our leadership position within the branded food-service industry in Africa,” Hedderwick says.

One of the larger chains, Tantalizers, started small in Lagos in 1997 and now employs 2 000 staff.

Nigeria's fast-food industry

<h1>Ethiopia, with Africa’s second-largest population (94million) and economic growth averaging 9.3% over the past four years, according to the IMF, has caught the attention of multinational chain Yum! Brands.</h1>

Fast food outlets are scarce in Addis Ababa - where vegetable and spicy meat dishes are served with injera, a sour flatbread made from fermented teff flour - the potential for profit is significant.

“Ethiopia is the one that stands out,” Bruce Layzell, Yum’s general manager for new African markets, told Bloomberg News.

“We don’t want to go to a country where we can only build four or five restaurants.

“We want to go in and build 50, 100. Our business is the scale game.”

In Uganda, where a main dish is usually centered on a sauce or stew of groundnuts, beans or meat, with a starch of ugali maize meal, people are increasingly moving towards burgers and fries.

A study published in the African Journal of Food, Agriculture, Nutrition and Developmentsays the consumption of fast-food in the country is becoming an important component of the food market, as more of the working class choose to dine out rather than prepare meals at home.

“The high demand for fast-food is seen as an easy solution to consumers’ busy schedules and limited meal-preparation time,” the study found.

Its results show that chips, deep fried chicken, sausages, deep fried meat and “chaps” are the main fast foods consumed in Kampala district.

Apart from time spent away from home, it found that education level, disposable monthly income, household size and age significantly affected respondents’ probability of fast-food consumption.

Fast food outlets are scarce in Addis Ababa - where vegetable and spicy meat dishes are served with injera.

Ethiopia catches the attention of multinational chain, Yum!

<h1>South Africa - which despite widespread poverty has the highest number of consumers with disposable income on the continent - has been the prime market for many fast-food chains.</h1>

Simone Falconer, a new-product development manager at food services group Foodcorp, says the increasing geographic availability of take-away food has fuelled sales by satisfying consumer needs for time saving and convenience.

“The eating dynamic in South Africa is similar to that in the United States. When money is tight, people trade down to less-expensive price points,” she says.

South Africa, Falconer says, has not been a high priority in the global expansion planning of the powerhouse QSR companies as it is seen as a “small” market.

Nevertheless, global and US chains are present in the country, including KFC, McDonald’s and Burger King.

McDonald’s operates more than 200 restaurants in the country and claims to have employed over 10,000 South African franchises, restaurant managers and crew since it launched in the country in 1995.

Burger King, which opened its first restaurant in Cape Town in 2013, says it has “aggressive” growth plans and expects to create “a significant number of jobs” in South Africa in the next five years.

Despite the popularity of QSRs, only around 50 chain brands are active in South Africa. The absence of diversity is remarkable, says Falconer.

Chicken, pizza, seafood and coffee represent almost half of the concepts.

The balance are primarily steak, sandwich or juice bars. Asian and Mediterranean-themed chains play only very small role, while Latin and Hispanic food is almost non-existent.

South Africa’s key markets – Johannesburg, Pretoria, Cape Town and Durban – are “reasonably saturated” with QSR stores.

Johannesburg-based BMI Research estimates that there may already be between 8 300 and 8 500 QSR outlets in South Africa.

Falconer believes that growth for the country's fast-food chains can come from greater penetration in secondary and even tertiary cities and towns, but this will be a balancing act between local consumers’ discretionary income and the availability of a supply chain to meet the stores’ needs.

With limited investment by global QSRs in South Africa, the market void has been filled by local companies like Famous Brands, which operates Steers, Wimpy, Debonair’s Pizza, Fishaways and Mugg &amp; Bean.

Few, though, can match Nando's, the spicy chicken franchise founded by Robbie Brozin and Fernando Duarte in Johannesburg in 1987.

The company has captured the world’s imagination with its spicy chicken and quirky marketing campaigns, and is used as a case study on how to build a successful global brand.

Nando’s has around 1100 stores in 22 countries, but it it was a long hard road. The company was for a time listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, but the demands of shareholders frustrated the founders’ creative spirit.

It was only after a cash injection from billionaire insurance entrepreneur Dick Enthoven that it took off.

Through its unique piri piri chicken, humorous marketing such as its recent “finger selfies” campaign, in which customers take Nando's-themed photographs of their fingers, its use of social media, and public-spirited acts such granting the armed forces, health service workers, police and fire-fighters a 20% discount, the brand has won a loyal worldwide following.

Online research company eDigitalResearch’s Food and Beverage Social Media Benchmarkreport, released last November, shows that Nando’s has more than 3 million Facebook followers, ahead of second-placed TGI Friday's with 1.6 million.

The franchise even counts British prime minister David Cameron and US president Barack Obama as fans.

Cameron told a youth radio station in January that he’d like to take world leaders to lunch at Nando’s; on another occasion he took a selfie with a customer in a UK Nando’s.

Speaking at the University of Cape Town in 2013, Obama raised laughter after he told students, “In America, we see the reach of your culture... we’ve got a Nando’s a couple of blocks from the White House.”

Like McDonalds and Burger King, Nando’s specialises in opening its outlets at prime, high-pedestrian-traffic locations. In the UK there is a hardly a suburb or a new building that does not have a Nando’s.

“They’ve become the anchor site for new developments,” Peter Backman, managing director of London-based food service consultancy Horizons, told Bloomberg.

“Nando’s is the must-have brand to be in there.”

The increasing geographic availability of take-away food has fuelled sales by satisfying consumer needs for time saving and convenience.

South Africa, the prime market for many fast-food chains

<h1>Yet, despite the optimism for QSRs in Africa, the industry still faces enormous challenges here.</h1>

Many African communities still live below the World Bank's poverty line of US$1.25 a day and are likely to continue to do so for years to come.

In Kenya, the most developed economy in East Africa, nearly 50% of the 41 million population live below the poverty line, according the US Embassy in Nairobi.

In Malawi, a KFC meal costs nearly US$10, while a chicken piece costs about US$1.30.

Africa's craving for fast food also comes as the World Health Organisation warns of a global obesity and diabetes crisis being fuelled by diets high in sugar, fat and sodium.

The Glycaemic Index Foundation says that 40% of deaths among westernised South Africans in the economically-active 25-64 age group is due to chronic diseases of lifestyle that include cancer, hypertension, diabetes, strokes and coronary heart disease.

McDonald’s, which is being hit by a wave of ad negative publicity over its menu, has been trying to counter perceptions about the poor quality of its ingredients in the US by launching wraps and sirloin burgers.

In March the company announced it would begin sourcing chicken raised with minimal antibiotics and would use milk from cows that have not been treated with artificial growth hormones.

In Africa healthier diets, which are often far more expensive, have yet to attract widespread interest.

Many are only now tasting true globalised junk-food for the first time.

Africans, says Euromonitor’s Ebrahim, continue to demand value offerings before healthy alternatives.

“On average, healthy food choices tend to reflect higher average prices, making it expensive to the mass market,” Ebrahim says.

The move towards lower carbohydrate, low-sugar foods is likely to intensify over the next five years, according to Euromonitor.

Global fast-food chains, even those in Africa, will need to be conscious of this trend as patrons become more informed about what they eat.

For Zwane, success is the only option. She wants the cuisine served at Imbizo Shisanyama to be recognised as the official cuisine of South Africa, as pasta is in Italy.

Her dreams are big. Her brand will be even bigger than Nando's one day, she predicts, with branches in New York, Tokyo and London. One thing is sure:

Imbizo Shisanyama must never forget what it is.

“We want to keep the culture that we have at Imbizo Shisanyama,” Zwane says.

“If someone buys a franchise, they have to carry the authenticity of the brand with them. People must always know that Imbizo Shisanyama is a township braai where family and friends share a special time together.”

yinka ogunlami

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