Canadian and African businesswomen unite to encourage international trade

By Khalid Magram

Africa and design have been two longtime passions of Kathleen Holland, president of KMH International, who is using her expertise as a market strategist and business consultant to assist small African business enterprises to enter the market and maintain successful relationships with distributors and retailers in Canada and globally.

For Holland, a 2009 nominee of the Organization of Women in International Trade’s Joanna Townsend Award for an Export Champion, it all started with a Canadian trade mission to Africa in 2002. She says the contacts and information she gathered during the mission proved to be pivotal in developing an international business plan. Another pivotal point came after the trip, when Holland was introduced to the non-profit Canadian and African Business Women’s Alliance (CAABWA), in which she found the mentorship she was seeking.

Canadian and African women created the CAABWA, which fosters business linkages between Canada and countries in Africa. Its mandate is to support African women who are entrepreneurs in their efforts to participate in international trade. One of the major opportunities that CAABWA offers is its internship program. Holland, who is now a board member with the organization, advises anyone who is interested in working in Africa to apply for the CAABWA internship, which is awarded though Canadian International Development Agency.

Holland also credits CAABWA for her own professional success: “CAABWA has played a very important role in my career working in Africa,” she says of becoming an integral part of the growth and success of small businesses on the continent. Holland’s contribution is in design, where she helps to transform African art into high-end home design and decor products, which sell internationally.

Holland also created Design Africa, a brand-led marketing vehicle that supports international market access for product designers and handicraft manufacturers from Africa.

The endeavours have taken the global businesswoman to several African countries, including South Africa, Ghana, Senegal, Swaziland, Zambia, Ethiopia, Mali, Uganda, Kenya and Burkina Faso, which hosts the continent’s largest craft festival every two years. Gone Rural, based in Swaziland, is one of the companies that has benefited from Holland’s expertise.

The non-profit organization, which creates unique home accessories, is the source of sustainable home-based incomes for 740 rural Swazi women, most of whom are caring for orphans with HIV/AIDS. Despite such a daunting task, the attitude of these women is what Holland holds dear: “My heart overflows when I have the opportunity to work with such inspiring women,” she says. “Theirs is the most amazing story.”

 

Michelle Muir’s debut collection of poetry, Nuff Said

Poetic Justice

Michelle Muir’s new book of poetry touches on everything from erotic desire to education

By Khalid Magram

Playing with words just comes naturally for spoken-word artist Michelle Muir, who is showcasing her one-of-a-kind style in her debut collection of poetry, Nuff Said. Her unique method involves Muir (who also goes by the moniker Nuff Said) alternating between several imaginary personalities, all of whom she now brings to the pages of her book.

Solid Sistah, as she also calls them, are featured every few pages and give the reader their two cents on varied topics. “They are my layers of mood and attitude,” she says. “All of them, word warriors.” So, who are these six mythical divas? There’s Dina Desiree, the conscious and liberated one, and Nikki, who is a friendly and forever-smiling diva. There’s also a forked-tongue militant named Mona, a modest Ms. Muir and Indigo, a performer and a dreamer. Lastly, there is Shugga, a bootylicious beauty.

Muir, who is also a teacher with the Peel Region District School Board, entertains her readers through the Solid Sistah and a multi-dimensional journey on topics including race, class and gender. Her poetry also touches on education, community pride, love, erotic desire and politics through drama, spoken-word and music.

“I wanted to write this book since I learned how to write,” says Muir, who was CBC Radio’s 2006 Poet Laureate and the 2006-2007 Poetry Face Off champion. It was these experiences that helped her rise to poetic prominence. But Muir’s poetry, which cleverly fuses the language of the modern-day urban setting with her personal take on African-Canadian rhythm, began much earlier than 2006.

She learned spoken word by hearing her parents recite West African stories. There was also her stutter, which she credits as a catalyst for mastering wordplay. “Because of the stutter, I wanted to say many things in as few words as possible,” she says. “I learned how to play with the words while learning to control the stutter.”

She’s come a long way since then, having performed spoken-word poetry for audiences across Canada and the United States, even being dubbed an ambassador for literacy. With the fifth track of Muir’s spoken-word CD, which comes with her book, it’s easy to see why. The track addresses “lapses in our synapses,” and is an inspirational poem about the lack of actions, disregard and discontent of Africans and Africa.

“I believe all of us are writers, the question is how and what you write and what tools you use,” Muir says. “Nuff Said poems speak of social issues, topics that make people think.” Her award-winning poems, My Fantastic Voyage to Planet Irresistible and I Hope They Ask the Things I Didn’t, are also included in the debut poetry ensemble. “After reading this book, there is nothing more to say in terms of who people might think I am,” she says. “This is it, enough said.”