Mamy Tall – The Young Architect putting Senegal on the Map through Art and Design
Mamy Tall is a 26-year-old Senegalese powerhouse, architect and art director. Over the past 3 years, her work has not only catapulted and heightened Senegal’s global artistic merit and tourism, but it has also created trends in Senegalese and African art direction outside of the white gaze— a sort of ode to “our art, for us and by us”. In 2014 Tall co-founded the social media platform, Dakar Lives, that has won third place at the Linguere Digital Challenge. It has been recognized by CNN, Konbini, OkayAfrica, Hypebeast etc. It has also been classed in the top ten best digital platforms promoting African destinations, by numerous websites like Trace, Le Petit Journal and Tech in Africa. In 2018, she worked as the artistic director on projects like; the launch campaign of Selly Raby Kane’s Pichkari collection; the Sidy collection by L’Artisane; the music video to Nix’s Highlander; and the photo-booth of the Afrodysee Festival in Geneva. As an architect, Tall has worked on awareness campaigns about the use of local materials in African cities and the necessity of the rehabilitation of Saint-Louis (the ancient Senegalese Island recognized by Unesco World Heritage). She has also worked with architectural teams designing public buildings in Dakar such as the Ministerial Spheres and the United Nations Headquarters, in Senegal’s newest city: Diamniadio. She is currently finishing her first solo project, The Slim Villa. Rather than a “Jack of all trades, and master of none”— Tall is a clear “Jane of all trades and mistress of all”. Mamy Tall is also a celebrated photographer whose work has been featured in Elle South Africa x Cote d’Ivoire, Elle Decoration, the Afrourban exhibition in Montreal and Toronto, OkayAfrica, and on the accounts of Africa’s top Instagram influencers. Mamy Tall’s aesthetic across her IG platforms @mamytall and @mamymaliste echoes the clean and futuristic feel of African millennials fusing innovative local designs and Global South inspired art for projects that represent the third culture kid who speaks their native language like they never left ‘le bled’. SLA contributor Mariama Wurie caught up with Mamy Tall, to find out what it takes to be so young, yet a leading figure and force for culture, architecture, and innovation in one’s hometown— making waves across Africa! What’s it like as a young Senegalese woman, fiercely pursuing a career in this field? Tell us about your journey to becoming an architect? It’s true that the field of architecture is perceived to be a male-dominated one in our society. What’s funny is that during my studies in Montreal, there were more women than men in my faculty. I knew I wanted to be an architect since I was 8 years old. I know that’s an early age, and I don’t even know if I can say where it came from… maybe because I love sketching, imagining, tinkering with stuff and above all— I have a lot of energy. My parents really pushed me in this direction, not to mention meeting Atepa Goudiably (a famous Senegalese architect) at the of 12, was a determining point in my life. Becoming an architect allowed me to discover who I was, what I wanted, what I don’t believe in, and what I support— it’s been a rediscovery of my sense of vision (through an architectural lens)! It’s this experience that today allows me to assert myself as a woman architect with convictions. As architects, our common mission is to constantly solve problems posed by the environment and society, we must never let misogynistic remarks hold us back. What was your favorite project you worked on in Dakar? What was your motivation for this project and how did you accomplish the project’s goal(s)? I have been back home in Dakar since May 2017 and I must say that I have had a lot of stimulating creative experiences. However, to date, my favorite experience has been working on the music video for Highlander (April 2018). The reasons that motivated me, the building featured in the video, the people I worked with— everything was in perfect symbiosis. I had already been contacted by the Nix team for the art direction/realization of the video, but it happened a month or two later— Nix called me one Tuesday saying “Mamy! We need to shoot this weekend, I’m going on tour next Monday”. We had to mobilize and manage all the logistics in 5 days— the equipment, the mirrors, the choir, etc. And on Saturday, everything went perfectly! I think one of the strengths of this project was the synergy that was on the set and the fact that almost all of us knew each other! The shooting was top, editing with Moshady (the director) even more top. The day of the release, we had so much encouragement that it was really validating… and a few months later, the clip won the Best Music Video of The Year at the Galsen Hip-hop Awards— even more rewarding for us. [bctt tweet=”Becoming an architect allowed me to discover who I was, what I wanted, what I don’t believe in, and what I support – Mamy Tall” username=”SheLeadsAfrica”] Your designs are strikingly original. How do you get inspiration? I’m inspired by everything! Everything inspires me here (in Dakar). From— the most insignificant scenes that I see on the street, to the daily inspiration of the African creative scene on social media— which I am quite fond of and close to. I’m also inspired by the daily struggles that our society faces. One of my challenges is to make these problems that may seem trivial, “visual” to the as many people as possible— today’s digital generation. I don’t limit myself in my creativity, I think that trying to go find inspiration is a very difficult/limiting thing. What advice would you give to African women in architecture and creative/design roles for finding inspiration? The most important thing is to develop your vision of things, your capacity to rediscover banal things. In general, we look at things on a shallow level— except
Cashless Banking in Africa: How we’re creating payment solutions with technology and innovation
African economies are well positioned to benefit from rapidly accelerating technological change if they can harness the current open landscape for innovation. East Africa is already a global leader in mobile payments, while mobile money accounts in sub-Saharan Africa are on an upward charge. Apart from being able to leapfrog the limitations and costs of physical infrastructure, the continent stands to benefit from having the youngest, tech-savvy workforce in the world in the next decade. Africa’s working age population is expected to grow by 450 million people by 2035. According to the World Bank and the continent is projected to have the largest working population of 1.1 billion by 2034, notes the World Economic Forum on Africa. Recent GSMA data shows that mobile money accounts in sub-Saharan Africa are up 18.4% between 2016-17 to 33.8m registered accounts. [bctt tweet=”Banking in a cashless society will require African solutions for African problems – @nnamdi_oranye” username=”SheLeadsAfrica”] However, we cannot wait 12-15 years before adequate job creating initiatives and policies are unlocked. The answer lies in harnessing the power of the digital economy today to create African solutions for African problems. An important part of this will require promoting and partnering with African innovators to unlock sustainable growth. We are already witnessing the significant potential of digital innovation in the remittance and mobile wallet space. Penetration of smartphones is expected to hit at least the 50% mark in 2020 from only 2% in 2010, according to the World Economic Forum, offering the continent a clean canvas for tech-based innovation. It is an opportunity we must not miss. These are exciting times and are forcing us to think differently to come up with true Pan African innovation and development. MFS Africa is a good example of how carefully harnessed and supported technological innovation can have ripple effects through the continent. It now operates the largest digital payments network in Africa and connects over 170m mobile wallets through 100+ partners, including Airtel, Ecobank, MTN, Orange and Vodafone across 55 markets. It has about 15% of the African population connected to a platform. M-Pesa, launched in Kenya in 2007, is an often-touted example of African technology making waves even outside its own borders. After capturing the local market for cash transfers it has spread to three continents and 10 countries. MicroEnsure, meanwhile continues on the path of developing pioneering insurance solutions for low-income people like micro-health, crop, and mobile insurance. These are solutions directly aimed at emerging customers and it is little surprise the company continues new customers by cleverly partnering with telcos. Access.mobile is another major success story, testing and growing its health innovation offerings for seven years in East Africa. The company works with health systems to hone their communications with patients in lower-income but also in growing areas and it hopped the pond in the opposite direction from most smaller startups and landed one of its first American clients. [bctt tweet=”Standard Bank, as Africa’s largest bank by assets, hopes to support even more start-up and tech initiatives across the continent” username=”SheLeadsAfrica”] Adventist Health White Memorial Hospital, a Los Angeles facility that works largely with lower-income Hispanics, was looking for ways to use health data to achieve better outcomes within its population. These are examples of the role models that will inspire our next generation of innovators. We need more and tech-savvy banks to need to continue supporting them as they grasp future opportunities. Just consider that Findex data shows that sub-Saharan Africa is home to all eight economies where 20 percent or more of adults use only a mobile money account: Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Gabon, Kenya, Senegal, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zimbabwe. Opportunities, therefore, abound to increase account ownership up to 95 million unbanked adults in the region receive cash payments for agricultural products, and roughly 65 million save using semiformal methods. Standard Bank, as Africa’s largest bank by assets, hopes to support even more start-up and tech initiatives across the continent to ensure these opportunities are not lost. [bctt tweet=”We are setting a new standard in digital payments with the launch of Africa’s first prepaid virtual cards ecosystem, among many other digital innovations – @nnamdi_oranye” username=”SheLeadsAfrica”] We are therefore innovating ourselves at a rapid pace to harness the benefits of the digital age to drive financial services inclusion. Mobile payment solutions like Snapscan is now available at over 25,000 merchants and a vast user network across South Africa. We are setting a new standard in digital payments with the launch of Africa’s first prepaid virtual cards ecosystem, among many other digital innovations. The future will be about solving genuine customer problems rather than putting a band aid on them. One area in urgent need of change, for instance, is remittances, where Africa is still one of the costliest places in the world to remit payments – fees as high as 10% to 20% are still endured. We need to harness technology to genuinely solve this problem. Sometimes when we talk about banking in cashless society we look too far out – but we don’t have the luxury of time. Knowing your customer (KYC) is about understanding what they need today based on their culture and context and then unlocking the already available data to provide the solution. Technology, for instance, can solve the unbanked problem on the continent. However, this does not mean you can “plug and play” by taking something that works in one country and expecting it to work in another. Success will increasingly be centered on having a Pan African view of the problem, but local implementation. The future is certainly bright for Africa as exponential innovation continues to drive change across the continent we call home, disrupts industries and replace legacy technology. It is now time to grasp this opportunity with both hands before the innovation wave passes us by. Article By Nnamdi Oranye, Fintech Author and International Remittances Lead at Standard Bank Group. October 2018 Sponsored Post.
Diarra Bousso: It’s hard to be taken seriously in the beginning
Diarra Bousso is making significant waves in the global fashion industry with her bespoke luxury brand Dakar Boutique Group. The brand houses DIARRABLU and Diarra Bousso target swanky and contemporary consumers. Her work has been featured in The New York Times and The Huffington Post among others., and was showcased at New York Fashion Week. Diarra has gained recognition and acclaim from the global business community. She was a panelist at Harvard’s Africa Business Conference last year where she discussed the evolution of Africa’s consumer growth story. We caught up with her to talk about her journey. Tell us a bit about yourself I was born and raised in Dakar, Senegal and moved to Norway at 16 to finish high school. Upon graduation, I moved to the States where I attended Macalester in Minnesota for a B.A. in Maths, Economics, and Statistics., before moving to New York and starting a career on Wall Street. Two years later, I resigned and returned to Senegal to found Dakar Boutique Group, a luxury holding company that celebrates ‘Made in Africa’ through my various brands: Diarra Bousso and DIARRABLU. The Dakar Boutique Group – what does it do and why did you decide to start it? I always knew I was going to end up in fashion and for me. And it only made sense to do it in Africa, because I wanted to also focus on development and rebranding the continent. Dakar Boutique Group is a luxury holding company and basically owns other companies such as Diarra Bousso and DIARRABLU. Each subsidiary has a particular focus but they all share the ‘Made in Africa’ signature. Diarra Bousso focuses on premium leather goods whereas DIARRABLU focuses on womenswear in geometric cut. Coming up with an idea is the first step. What did you do next? My next step was to raise awareness. We launched at a big party on a private island and followed it up with a traveling fashion show in June 2013 titled African Voyage. This allowed us to get a lot of attention, both in Senegal and abroad. It also marked our first appearance in the media. Talk us through the first 6 months of starting up DB. What were your priorities and how did you determine them? My main priority was visibility. I was focused on the African Voyage event production and PR and put all our energy on it. I have no background in fashion but I definitely knew that I needed to set a high standard for the brand’s image. For me, the best way to achieve that was through a high profile original event. What were the key challenges you faced when you first started? How have they evolved over time? I think it’s always hard to be taken seriously in the beginning, especially when you are not trained in the industry. I was always confident about my vision and so I didn’t let anything discourage me. I focused a lot on communicating aggressively on social media and sharing the essence of my brands in a very transparent manner. I believe this makes you more credible and engages your audience. You’re a fashion designer but you also run a fashion business. How do these roles interact? Is there ever a conflict? The two roles compliment each other very well actually. My background is in finance so business comes naturally. That said, I spent all my free time growing up daydreaming, drawing, painting and designing. This job now allows me to align what I learned in school and what I am naturally good at, which creates the perfect balance. In the fashion business, making beautiful clothes is one thing, getting them to your customer is another. Tell us about your distribution strategy We are available online on the main website, www.dakarboutique.com, where customers all over the world can shop at their convenience. We are currently working on a few in store placements, especially in New York, and will be announcing that very soon. Our strategy focuses on distributing to areas we have customers. You created two lines DIARRABLU and DB . What was the business rationale of creating two separate labels? I wanted to reach two different demographics: DIARRABLU is a very trendy womenswear brand priced under $500. The brand focuses on daydreams which is something accessible to everyone and suits the bold, fun and modern shopper in major cities such as New York, Lagos, Paris, Rio etc. It is therefore only natural for us to aim for distribution in such places. Diarra Bousso is more exclusive and focuses solely on leather accessories. Everything is limited edition, so the customer has to find us, create a relationship, live the experience and then get their bags made to order. It’s a completely different business model as well as a different customer. How have you funded your business growth and what was the fundraising process like for you? Any specific tips and tricks for startups out there? We have been self-funded so far which has been challenging and rewarding at the same time. I think it is important for startups to first try on their own and show what they can deliver before approaching investors. It’s a good test of the viability of your business and definitely makes you more credible when it’s time to raise capital. Can you talk to us about some of the specific marketing strategies that you have used? We have a very strong marketing team that’s very focused on the digital space. Our customer is modern and online, thus it is important to focus on high quality images alongside strong social media fluency and transparency. Lifestyle marketing has also played an important role, and we achieve this with the African Voyage concept which we share on social media through photographs and videos. You’ve managed to get over 12,000 followers on Instagram. What role does social media play in your overall strategy? How have you grown your following? We have grown our following in a very organic manner. I think our audience likes to