By Boipelo Manyowa

My name is Boipelo Manyowa, I am black, I am 28, I am an African, but I am ashamed to stand as a South African.

I think I am a pebble in the sea,  that is how small I am and probably how small my opinions matter in the ocean.

But I cannot as a human being, an African, a mother and a wife remain silent. In the last few days local criminals have run riot, attacking fellow black Africans in the name of fighting crime. Their method of dealing with crime has been to commit crime. (I will touch on this later)

The most unfortunate thing about all this is that, they have targeted the most vulnerable members of our community (yes, foreigners are a part of our community as long as they call our country home).

People who have travelled great lengths just to provide for their families are being targeted, beaten, stoned, burnt alive and their properties destroyed.

This is wrong on all levels.

A 100 years ago some of these borders did not even exist. European gangsters colonized our land and told us we are different. They divided us and shared our land among themselves as if it were slices of Pizza.

Years after defeating these racists, we now enforce their borders and their definitions of our forced differences louder than they do. Ironically, Chinese run several businesses with appalling working conditions for blacks. Eastern Europeans run criminal enterprises left right and center. These people are never called foreigners nor are they ever defined as different from us.

It hurts me because everywhere I have travelled first a young student, then as a budding businesswoman and later as a companion to my husband, I have been treated with so much love and respect.

From the warm streets of Lilongwe, to the clean ones in Rwanda and the mesmerizing ones in Nairobi, I have been loved and respected. I have lived in these places with an unshaking sense of peace and security, something I can only crave for my fellow Africans in South Africa right now.

My husband is 29-year-old Zimbabwean gentleman whom I have known since 2003 and loved for years. He is my pen pal who became my everything. He is a very complicated man of many talents and weaknesses in equal measure.

When he first came to South Africa, he was fleeing persecution by his government for his work. He is a journalist with an adrenaline addiction. He arrived in Pretoria with a dream, a dream that made me give up everything to be a part of.

Together we have seen all but one of the continents in this world. My family have grown to adore him, and he has made Zimbabwe a home for me, and a place I will be buried after my death.

More importantly my husband is responsible for over 20 children here in South Africa (and he will be upset I let this secret out). These children are South African and all but two are orphans. He does not make a lot of money (journalists are poor) but the little he makes he uses it to change lives.

Perhaps I should mention that my husband is no longer based in South Africa and only returns to perform critical business and rarely. The orphaned children in who look up to him have not been abandoned or left alone.

From the shores of the far east, he makes sure they are fed and clothed. He does not see these children as South African children but just children. He is not alone, and not an exception to the rule but much rather a norm.

I have had the absolute pleasure of living in Zimbabwe for a considerable amount of time too. I love the people there, their amazing culture and the serene beauty of the landscapes. My stay, as indeed my contact with many Zimbabweans has not always been pleasant.

I have been insulted, heckled, attacked, lied about, harassed, bullied among many other despicable things by strangers who do not know me but long made up their minds that I deserve to be hated. It’s not a lie that my nationality played some part in this too.

Comments asking for “that South African b*tch to be raped and killed together with Maynard Manyowa (my husband)” are something I deal with daily but have never gotten used to, though I refuse to let it affect me (I generally never allow other human beings to control my state of mind let alone emotions).

As you can see, I have had several unpleasant encounters with Zimbabweans, but I don’t recall being made to feel any less Zimbabwean (Yes, I am a Zimbabwean).

Despite all the abuse I have faced, I have never had Zimbabwean people attempt to set my business alight in Harare, or my car or my house.

To add to that, I have learnt over time, that the cruel and abusive hounds that dislike me and abuse me are just about a dime dozen. I can never allow a few rogue elements in a country of 18 million people (local and abroad) to define my relations with everyone else.

Zimbabweans, like Malawians, Zambians, Kenyans, Tanzanians, Sudanese, Congolese and Burkinabe people are among the warmest, hardworking and honest individuals I have ever met. As my experience has taught me with Zimbabweans (I interacted with them a lot) and Malawians (my husband works for and with Malawians), there are always bad apples out there.

I am saying this because am hoping my own brothers and sisters committing these acts know that crime has no nationality. I have been the victim of crime 4 times, and not once were my assailants foreign.

I grew up in the North West before moving to Pretoria. It’s simply not true that its only foreigners who commit crime. This evil scapegoating is wrong and really makes me hang my head in shame.

I also do not understand how people fight murder by killing people, stoning cars, or firing randomly at passing trucks. Is that not criminal itself?

I mean ever since all this began, the only people I have seen committing arson, robbery, malicious damage to property, attempted murder and assault are South Africans. The people they claim to be criminals, many of them poor, vulnerable women and children are only running for dear life. So, who is the real criminal there?

I am yet to see any drug lords busted in this crime spree. I am yet to see any real criminals arrested. All I see and have seen is desperate vendors, barbers, car guards, and cleaners being targeted.

A lot of what is happening right now makes me sick to the stomach. It also makes me hurt in deep places. Some of this just makes me angry too.

I am one of those people who just does not want to bear testimony to things I did not see so I won’t speak about the role other countries played in South Africa’s independence. I will speak as a human being with basic sense of compassion for others, as a black African who has called 9 African countries home.

Even as I write this, my heart is heavy, because, in places Hong Kong, far far away, where blacks are as rare as hen’s teeth, my husband and I have been allowed to settle, establish business, and exist on this planet without being made to feel like some kind of other.

What you are doing fellow South Africans is wrong. Whichever way you will want to justify it. You are the criminals and not the other way around, and I am ashamed that people look at me and think I too think like you – in such an evil, depraved and cruel manner.

Again, I think I am a pebble in the sea, that is how small I am and probably how small my opinions matter in the ocean. But you all need to reflect.

And as i look at this identity card, this document, that defines me as a South African, i am overwhelmed because my sense of patriotism is strong but i am ashamed of how my fellow citizens have tarnished what it means to be South African

Boipelo Manyowa is a Hong Kong based South African and the Executive Director of documentary journalism company MaynManFilms, investigative journalism website Khuluma Afrika among others. She writes in her own capacity

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By David van Dijk and Melissa Ruggles

‘Angel investing is on the rise across Africa.’ This is a commonly heard phrase for those of us active in the early stage investment space on the continent now. And this phrase is often quickly followed by another: ‘yet, there is still a need for more angel investors and investments…’.  Both phrases indeed capture the ever-developing angel investment context in Africa and it’s important to highlight the opportunities for everyone active in the ecosystem as we approach our – VC4A and ABAN’s – 6th edition of the Africa Early Stage Investor Summit (#AESIS2019) . In this brief thought piece, we aim to join in on the reflection.

Rewriting the African narrative

As ABAN President, Tomi Davies, points out in his article ‘Momentum for the African Angel ’, 2018 was a milestone year in terms of angel investments. Thanks to angel investors as well as early stage venture capital funds, African startups raised more than USD $725 million across more than 450 deals. And according to GSMA’s Maxime Bayen, 51 African startups have raised USD $1 million or more so far in 2019, amounting to a total of $453 million. As avid investors with personal interests in seeing the success of promising African startups that offer solutions to revolutionize peoples’ lives, we warmly celebrate these achievements. The so-called ‘African narrative’ is definitely being rewritten.

At the same time, we recognize and wish to raise attention to the incredible potential for even greater venture growth and investment. Mr. Davies enumerated the many transformative factors that shed light on the opportunities staring us down. The takeaway of his analysis is this: Never before has the pipeline of African innovation been so investible, thanks to increasing urbanization, digital penetration, a growing labor force, and much more.

Today, there are approximately 50 active Africa-focused angel investor groups – ABAN, LAN, Dazzle Angels, Jozi Angels, and Cairo Angels to name a few, with new ones arising in Benin, The Gambia, Ethiopia and Mali. Next to pre-seed, seed and series A funding, what can angels offer? Angels can help solve early stage African venture challenges by mentoring the rising entrepreneurs and by connecting them to our business networks, so they can continue to build up their ventures. Angel support that targets women-led ventures is especially vital considering the traditional stumbling blocks they must overcome to achieve success.

Another thing that existing angel investors can do is to spread the word and lend support to other aspiring angel investors who wish to invest in African businesses. Meghan McCormick in her aptly named article, ‘Africa Needs More Angel Investors, highlights the fact that high net-worth individuals (HNIs) do not invest in African startups is simply because they are not familiar with asset classes adjacent to tech, a space where many African startups fall (naturally, many also fall within tech). Angels therefore have a dual role to play – both entrepreneur-facing and towards fellow investors – if we want to see the continent take off even further.

Capitalizing on the (controversial) Jumia opportunity

2019 will go down as the year where the first African tech-focused company, Jumia, launched on the NYSE. It was, and remains, a controversial topic  to say the least. But what has happened since is something we can all appreciate. Investors’ eyes have turned increasingly more to the African continent. What is happening there? Who are the players? Which companies should we be paying attention to? How can we invest in, and be a part of, the next big success story?

Building on this attention and responding to these questions is what we, as pivotal players in the African startup ecosystem, need to do. These are some of the very key reasons we, at VC4A and ABAN hold the Investor Summit each year. It is an exclusive setting where eager African investors and ecosystem stakeholders come together to share tips and tricks, and to discover Africa’s most interesting Series A investment opportunities through the VC4A Venture Showcase.

Your chance to meet the top-10 of Africa’s Series A-ready ventures is just around the corner

For those of you investors looking for vetted Series A-ready companies to add to  your portfolio, VC4A’s Venture Showcase will have what you’re looking for. Founders from 10 innovative, high-growth scale-ups will present their ventures to Summit attendees on 14 November. They will each give a three-minute pitch and investors can further personally engage with the entrepreneurs in 30-minute deep dive sessions, that will be held in a private room at the Summit venue.

VC4A’s Venture Showcase is a great example of true industry collaboration. The vetting process is fully done by partnering external investors, where angel groups are referring their portfolio companies ready for the next round. Partner VCs then assess the opportunities and ultimately decide who will be on stage at the Summit.

“In 2019, the investor participation has been just outstanding, with 40 major VCs and multiple angel groups involved in the process,” says Alina Vinogradova, VC4A’s Head of Programs and Partnerships. “We believe initiatives like this help to build trust and foster collaboration between industry stakeholders, and importantly, create both co-investment opportunities and exit opportunities for our partners.”

Why not consider joining us in November at #AESIS2019 ? Only together can we fan the embers of angel investment opportunities and business development across the continent.

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