Edwin's Corner

  Thomas Sankara - President Burkina Faso 1983 -1987 “No one can imagine the beauty of the view from anything witnessed in England. It had never been seen before by European eyes; but scenes so lovely must have been gazed upon by angels in their flight.” These are words David Livingstone spoke when he observed what was to later be named the Victoria Falls. Africa is massive and magnificent, from the lush Serengeti teaming with wildlife, to the dense forests of the Congo, from the deserts of Namib, to the Papyrus of the Okavango Delta. The wonders that one sees in Africa are innumerate, uncountable and strangely unknown. Three times more people visit the Eiffel tower in Paris annually than Victoria Falls on the border of Zimbabwe and Zambia. This is despite it being the largest waterfall in the world and it offering the largest sheet of falling water in the world. It is roughly twice the size of the Niagara Falls. I could go on and on about the Nile, Lake Tangany...

Tarquinius Superbus makes himself King The reign of Lucius Tarquinius Superbus, the seventh and last King of Rome, was marked by his pride, arrogance and greed.  His reign can only be measured by the level of tyranny he inflicted on his citizenry. He ruled through fear. Conducting arbitrary trials where he put to death, banished or fined those he suspected or disliked. He rose to power through the assassination of his father-in-law and siblings.  To gain wealth he attacked and plundered wealthier surrounding cities. This is not to discredit his political wizardry which allowed him to expand Rome’s sphere of influence upon which the greater Roman Empire used as a stepping stone to world dominance. His decline is all the more relevant because due to his excesses and his innate need to retain power he created enemies with the ruling aristocracy who deposed his family from Rome and created a republic. We live in a time where society acclaims self importance, arrog...

Terrorism has existed for many centuries and while it has morphed over time it fundamentally strives to achieve the same purpose; to instill fear and terror. Flavius Josephus the 1 st Century Romano-Jewish historian and scholar wrote about the Sicarii, an extremist splinter group of the Jewish Zealots who were agitating to expel the occupying Romans from Judea. Their weapon of choice was a small dagger, which was concealed in cloaks, and used effectively in public gatherings against Romans and their sympathizers. The perpetrator would then filter away in the crown to avoid detection. The execution of Marie Antoinette. Artist unknown. The French revolution is remembered for the democratic and liberal stance it introduced to the world. But during its prime, the “reign of terror” was extreme. A brand of justice that involved summary execution by guillotine was meted out indiscriminately and openly by the Jacobin Club; a political party that supported ha...

  A few weeks ago I took my wife and my newborn daughter to a private health center. As we patiently waited to be attended a nagging question began to froth in my mind. Why am I here? Unfortunately it was not one of those self-discovery questions that cause you to understand the meaning of life. But rather I started asking why heath care was so expensive and inaccessible in Kenya, and not just here but across Africa. I wanted to know what has been our undoing, what missteps did we take and is the situation solvable. This article seeks to ask and answer questions around this quagmire Van-Leeuwenhoek father of microbiology  Health care as we know it is not a recent invention, as far back as 437 BC the King of Sri Lanka had hospitals around his kingdom to care for the sick. Health care had a strong allegiance to religion and in most archeological findings it is common to unearth medical artifacts lying side by side with religious totems. What this symbolizes ...

  The elixir of eternal youth is a potent desire for many brands. Being able to say “we just turned 10 years as a brand despite being around the block for a century or two” is something most companies dream about.   Companies like Kongō Gumia a construction company in Japan that existed for 1400 years and Beretta the firearm multinational founded in 1526 have a sense of elegance. But to last this long, most of them had to be flexible and stay relevant. While Kongō Gumia had to sell coffins during World War II to stay operational, Beretta had to expand vigorously and research its clients’ needs consistently in this conflict-riddled world.              Does the longevity of your company attest to the fact that your brand is different and relevant? The answer is not necessarily favorable. To stay relevant a brand has to be interesting. Seth Gordin talks about the purple cow experience. If for exampl...