Zara Opens in South Africa

 The first major (and fashionable) global clothing retailer to hit the African Continent is none other than Spanish retailer, Zara. According to Africa Review, the clothing giant is targeting the growing middle class in South Africa.

This is following Wal-Mart's big purchase of South African retailer Massmart, which has (or had) stores in 14 African countries.

Now, is the world finally beginning to see the growing economies of Africa, especially since now many African nations have economies with growth outpacing those with "developed" economies?

This looks like people are finally beginning to notice, after nearly a decade of sustained growth in several African countries, that this "dark continent" is not really as dark as many mainstream media sources try to make it seem. There is REAL potential on the continent - and now numbers are showing and businesses that are not fairing as well in the developed nations due to several economic woes are looking to places that they may see now (or again) as untamed lands.

There's really no taming to do, but really products to sell with people who are ready (with thick enough wallets) to buy them. Today, I read a few stories about Ghana and it's steady economic growth (which has been for beyond a decade) and the amount of people that have moved out of poverty, even though most of the economic growth is centered southern part of the nation and around Accra, it's commercial, financial and official capital. However, there are talks and things in the works to help even out the growth through the country.

Now that Africa is again the New Frontier (maybe that's too early to say), maybe the diversity of the continent will actually be seen.

Another Accolade for Lagos, But Who Knows About This?

Lagos, Africa's second largest metropolis has been experiencing a lot of good press in the past decade. Reports show the city of 15 million is successfully facing African urban challenges (for example, traffic and cleanliness has dramatically improved over the past few years, due to rigorous improvements in public transportation and smart environmental schemes). The city, already popular for it's booming entertainment industry, is becoming better known for world-class urban feats, primarily Eko Atlantic, the reclamation project off the coast of the exclusive upscale neighborhood, Victoria Island. Most importantly, the Lagos State government has been successful in collecting taxes to fund statewide projects. Today, Lagos State Governor Babatunde Fashola's accomplishments were highly noted by Nigeria's federal government, according to the governor's website.

Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Bala Muhammed, is touring Lagos today along with Minister of Transport, Idris Umar, in hopes to make similar improvements on a national level and continued work in Abuja. The best part is when Muhammed congratulated Fashola on his improvements in Lagos and how it shows that "Nigeria is working."

Similar success stories have been going on in several other African nations, Rwanda being a great example. Lately, we've been hearing about the disaster in Somalia (which I have yet to address). My biggest problem at the moment is African success stories seemed to get little press and African problems, like the one in Somalia, seem to be at the top of the news. Not the the famine in Somalia shouldn't be addressed (it's a very serious and complex issue), but I wonder what happened to balance in our news coverage (some may argue it was never there)?

I have said this many times before, but the reason why many people have this negative and very one-sided stereotype of Africa (Africa is a poor and devestated NATION) is because there are usually ONLY reports of the continent's problems. Yes, the famine in Somalia is horrible, but look at Ghana and Rwanda and Nigeria and Botswana - these are just some countries that have been having positive change in the last decade. Tell me how often you've heard about any of these positive changes.

Push By Becca

I don't know what it is about this Ghanaian artist, but she's HOT. Check out her song "Push" featuring Trigmatic and King Ayisoba and some Ghanaian celebs.