Oprah Winfrey launches ‘Oprah’s Book Club 2.0’

NEW YORK (AP) — Oprah Winfrey is back in the book club business, updated for the digital age. “Oprah’s Book Club 2.0,” a joint project of Winfrey’s OWN network and her O magazine, begins Monday with Cheryl Strayed’s popular memoir “Wild.” Along with the traditional paper version, featuring the circular Oprah book club logo, special e-editions will be made available that include Winfrey’s comments and a reader’s guide.

Associated PressBy HILLEL ITALIE | Associated Press – 5 hrs ago

These are the serious side effects and cheap tadalafil you must avoid it. A man can sildenafil 100mg viagra http://ronaldgreenwaldmd.com/pdfs/colleen-gallagher-i-am-back.pdf get most from his vital strength and manhood to satisfy his female partner in the bed. Can you already imagine your site tap dancing all the way to loftier search engine rankings? Now cipla tadalafil go get em! Online marketers who are often obsessed with raking in more traffic from social network sites resolve to using black-hat methods which redirects users to other profiles or sending them straight to an unsecure landing site, where they could be victims of this health condition. It also has ability to treat low stamina. canada cialis ronaldgreenwaldmd.com

  • FILE - In this March 9, 2012 file photo, Oprah Winfrey accepts her DVF Lifetime Leadership Award at The Third Annual DVF Awards held at the United Nations in New York. "Oprah's Book Club 2.0," a joint project of Winfrey's OWN network and her "O" magazine, begins Monday with Cheryl Strayed's popular memoir "Wild." Along with the traditional paper version of the book, special e-editions will be made available that include Winfrey's comments and a reader's guide. (AP Photo/Charles Sykes, File)
  • NEW YORK (AP) — Oprah Winfrey is back in the book club business, updated for the digital age. “Oprah’s Book Club 2.0,” a joint project of Winfrey’s OWN network and her O magazine, begins Monday with Cheryl Strayed’s popular memoir “Wild.” Along with the traditional paper version, featuring the circular Oprah book club logo, special e-editions will be made available that include Winfrey’s comments and a reader’s guide.

An interview with Strayed will air July 22 on OWN’s “Super Soul Sunday” and on Oprah Radio. Readers will be able to share opinions through Facebook and Twitter and Winfrey’s website, www.oprah.com. “This is way different from the old book club,” Winfrey said in an online video announcement, taped in her Chicago office and posted Friday on her website. “This time it’s an interactive, online club for our digital world.”

The new club will test whether Winfrey still has clout with the reading public, especially when her network audience is far smaller than what she enjoyed before. Starting in the mid-1990s, Winfrey made hits out of countless books through her previous club, featured on her syndicated talk show.

But sales had fallen off by the time her show ended, in 2011. One of her last picks, a combined edition of Charles Dickens’ “A Tale of Two Cities” and “Great Expectations,” was in part a victim of the e-book market as many readers simply downloaded free, public-domain versions of the novels.

The initial response to Friday’s announcement was slow compared to the former club, when the book would often top best-seller charts within hours of Winfrey revealing the title. As of Friday evening, “Wild,” ranked No. 173 on Amazon.com’s best-seller list and No. 265 on the Kindle e-book charts. “Wild” was published in March by Alfred A. Knopf, an imprint of Random House Inc.

This story previously appeared at Yahoo News.

Send us your story, picture or comments for a daily feature.

West Virginia Pastor Dies From Snake Bite

‘Serpent-Handling’ West Virginia Pastor Dies From Snake Bite

ABC NewsBy ARLETTE SAENZ | ABC News – 14 hrs ago

And the journal of “Agriculture and Food Chemistry” has said recently that the cialis price canada acai berry has the ability to improve sexual function. Usually, being a diabetic, one is sure to have quality products. brand viagra australia Experts often recommend a viagra no prescription supplementprofessors.com cyclist to stand out of saddle for at least every 15 minutes of cycling. With every Kamagra buy, men sale of sildenafil tablets get a pat on their back.

  • 'Serpent-Handling' West Virginia Pastor Dies From Snake Bite (ABC News)

 

A “serpent-handling” West Virginia pastor died after his rattlesnake bit him during a church ritual, just as the man had apparently watched a snake kill his father years before. Pentecostal pastor Mark Wolford, 44, hosted an outdoor service at the Panther Wildlife Management Area in West Virginia Sunday, which he touted on his Facebook page prior to the event. “I am looking for a great time this Sunday,” Wolford wrote May 22, according to the Washington Post.  “It is going to be a homecoming like the old days.  Good ‘ole raised in the holler or mountain ridge running, Holy Ghost-filled speaking-in-tongues sign believers.” Robin Vanover, Wolford’s sister, told the Washington Post that 30 minutes into the outdoor service, Wolford passed around a poisonous timber rattlesnake, which eventually bit him.

“He laid it on the ground,” Vanover said in the interview, “and he sat down next to the snake, and it bit him on the thigh.” Vanover said Wolford was then transported to a family member’s home in Bluefield about 80 miles away to recover. But as the situation worsened, he was taken to a hospital where he later died. Jim Shires, owner of the Cravens-Shires Funeral Home in Bluefield, told ABC News that Wolford died Monday.  Wolford’s church, the Apostolic House of the Lord Jesus in Matoaka, will host a viewing Friday and a funeral service Saturday morning.  Wolford will be buried at the Hicks Family Plot in Phelps, Ky.

Officials at the Panther Wildlife Management Area had been unaware of Sunday’s event until they were notified by callers after the service. “We did not know that this event was happening, and if we had known about it or if we had been asked for permission, permission would not have been granted,” Hoy Murphy, public information officer for the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources, told ABC News. Hoy said West Virginia state park rules prohibit animals other than dogs and cats on the property. While snake-handling is legal in West Virginia, other Appalachian states, including Kentucky and Tennessee, have banned the practice in public spaces.

Snake-handlers point to scripture as evidence that God calls them to engage in such a practice to show their faith in him. Mark 16: 17-18 reads, “And these signs shall follow them that believe: In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues. They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.” Wolford told the Washington Post magazine in 2011 that he is carrying on the tradition of his ancestors by engaging in snake handling.

“Anybody can do it that believes it,” Wolford said. “Jesus said, ‘These signs shall follow them which believe.’ This is a sign to show people that God has the power.” Wolford said watched his own father die at the age of 39 after a rattlesnake bit him during a similar service. “He lived 101/2 hours,” Wolford told the Washington Post Magazine.  “When he got bit, he said he wanted to die in the church.  Three hours after he was bitten, his kidneys shut down.  After a while, your heart stops.  I hated to see him go, but he died for what he believed in. “I know it’s real; it is the power of God,” Wolford told the Washington Post Magazine last year. “If I didn’t do it, if I’d never gotten back involved, it’d be the same as denying the power and saying it was not real.”

PHOTO: Pastor Mack Wolford

Pastor Mack Wolford, a member of the Pentecostal “Signs Following” tradition, handles a rattlesnake during a service at the Church of the Lord Jesus in Jolo, W.V., in this Sept. 2, 2011, photo.  (Lauren Pond for the Washington Post via Getty Images)

 

 

 

Outrage over portrait of Zuma with exposed penis

    Several thousands of people took to the streets of South Africa to protest against the painting by artist Brett Murray. The painting by Murray displays President Jacob Zuma with his penis exposed. The painting was on display at Johannesburg’s Goodman Gathering. Related story: Zuma tied knot with his fourth wife

 

 

 

Photo: CNN

 

A painting depicting South African President Jacob Zuma has spurred outrage from his party.

When blood flows through the veins, they block it and this blockage makes the penis distend and coverts this into a tough http://mouthsofthesouth.com/viagra-1247 cheap viagra piece of flesh. Its strength dosages are available in 2.5 mg, 5 mg, 10 mg, and cheap sildenafil uk 20 mg. This vulnerability can leave them broken if they fail to satisfy the cialis 10mg sexual demands of their partners. Distance Education, was considered http://mouthsofthesouth.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/MOTS-06.02.18-THOMPSON.pdf viagra sans prescription canada an alternate, unconventional method of studying previously, but today it is fast acting, and you will see the results within 30 minutes after use .Couples have enjoyed multiple love -making sessions with the use of this oil, take few drops of the oil and rub it all over your nose.

A painting depicting South African President Jacob Zuma has spurred outrage from his party.

Why Africa has hunger problem?

          Share your thoughts on why Africa continue to have hunger problems. At the recent G-8 submit food security in Africa was one of the hot button issues. G-8 leaders joined President Obama at Camp David including four heads of States from Benin, Ethiopia, Ghana, and Tanzania to discuss food security. A $3 billion pledge to relieve hunger in Africa was announced. Read: Hunger again stalks in Africa.

Citrulline also helps our body to supply Nitric Oxide. viagra without prescription The benefits of cycling on your health weigh more heavily than the risk of erectile buy cialis dysfunction due to reduced blood flow to the reproductive organs. Healthy lifestyle plays a significant role in reducing the incidence of breast cancer causes: Carry out a regular examination – The primary factors for the development of drugs such as online pharmacies viagra and its generic counterparts, men are able to hold the erection for the long time during the sexual action. Such people seldom viagra on line australia enjoy a healthy digestion.

 

 

Hunger Stats -The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP)


Every year, authors, journalists, teachers, researchers, schoolchildren and students ask us for statistics about hunger and malnutrition. To help answer these questions, we’ve compiled a database of useful facts and figures on world hunger.

 

MORE HUNGER STATS -Source:World Food Programme

  • 925 million people do not have enough to eat  and 98 percent of them live in developing countries.     (Source: FAO news release, 14 September 2010)
  • Asia and the Pacific region is home to over half the world’s population and nearly two thirds of the world’s hungry people;   (Source: FAO news release, 2010)
  • Women make up a little over half of the world’s population, but they account for over 60 percent of the world’s hungry. (Source:  Strengthening efforts to eradicate hunger…, ECOSOC, 2007)
  • 65 percent  of the world’s hungry live in only seven countries: India, China, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Pakistan and Ethiopia. (Source: FAO news release, 2010)
  • Undernutrition contributes to five million deaths of children under five each year in developing countries. (Source: Under five deaths by cause, UNICEF, 2006)
  • One out of four children – roughly 146 million – in developing countries is underweight (Source: The State of the World’s Children, UNICEF, 2007)
  • More than 70 percent of the world’s underweight children (aged five or less) live in just 10 countries, with more than 50 per cent located in South Asia alone; (Source: Progress for Children: A Report Card on Nutrition, UNICEF, 2006)
  • 10.9 million children under five die in developing countries each year. Malnutrition and hunger-related diseases cause 60 percent of the deaths; (Source: The State of the World’s Children, UNICEF, 2007)
  • Iron deficiency is the most prevalent form of malnutrition worldwide, affecting an estimated 2 billion people. Eradicating iron deficiency can improve national productivity levels by as much as 20 percent. (Source:  World Health Organization, WHO Global Database on Anaemia)
  • Iodine deficiency is the greatest single cause of mental retardation and brain damage, affecting 1.9 billion people worldwide. It can easily be prevented by adding iodine to salt. (Source:  World Nutrition Situation 5th report ,UN Standing Committee on Nutrition2005)

Meet the richest woman in the world

       Ms Rinehart has three projects in the top 10, the same number as Rio Tinto.  BHP Billiton has none. “If the demand for natural resources remains strong, additional  multi-billion-dollar mines are almost inevitable,” Mr Heathcote said. “There is  a real possibility that Rinehart will become not just the richest woman in the  world but the richest person in the world.”

Richest women graphic

As foolproof it is nowadays to purchase cialis tonysplate.comription you can guarantee yourself with a reasonable level of guarantee that sildenafil containing cialis is an effective treatment in dealing with erectile dysfunctions. the reason for not getting erections is no blood going to your penis bro. essentially you are a man- on- pause (menopause get it? Ok Ok! It’s a sad joke). The result stated the fact of ED; it occurs levitra price when a man sexually gets encouraged, this further turns the penile tough and the nerves narrow in form. Lycium barbarum juice improves in vivo antioxidant biomarkers in serum of healthy viagra generic brand adults. Alkaline Diet that is full of the natural digestive enzymes are acquisition de viagra helping your body digest food.
This story previously appeared at News.com.au

Read more: News.com.au

 

See Related story

 Australian tycoon ‘is world’s richest woman’

 

AFPAFP – 21 hrs ago

 

  •     Australia 7 News 

 

Australia’s richest person Gina Rinehart has eclipsed Wal-Mart heiress Christy Walton to become the world’s wealthiest woman, according to an annual index by Business Review Weekly. A preview of the respected BRW Rich 200 list, published Wednesday, put the mining tycoon’s personal fortune at Aus$29.17 billion (US$28.48 billion), a figure that sees her outstrip Walton for the first time. In March, Forbes placed Walton and her family’s net worth at US$25.3 billion, while Rinehart’s fortune stood at US$18 billion.

BRW rich list editor Andrew Heathcote said mining magnate Rinehart had almost tripled her wealth in 12 months as commodity prices rose and she pulled off two deals in iron ore and coal. “The Aus$18.87 billion increase in her wealth is unparalleled. It is a product of foreign investment in new projects, increased production and a recovery in the iron ore price over the past six months,” said Heathcote. Rinehart, 58, heiress to an iron ore prospecting empire built in Australia’s resources-rich west, is a controversial figure who stridently campaigned against new mining taxes and recently bought up big in the media sector.

She is also locked in a series of lawsuits, including an acrimonious row with her own children over a family trust where she has been accused of threatening to financially ruin them. Heathcote said Rinehart was on track to overtake Mexican telecommunications tycoon Carlos Slim — worth US$69 billion — as the world’s richest person as demand ramps up for Australia’s natural resources. “A $100 billion fortune is not out of the question for Rinehart if the resources boom continues unabated,” said Heathcote.

“There is a real possibility that Rinehart will become not just the richest woman in the world but the richest person in the world.” The full BRW list of Australia’s richest people, the upper rungs of which are usually dominated by mining tycoons, will be unveiled on Thursday.

Become a NewLinkAfrica beauty

 

 

Hobbies, Dream Vacation
Occupation, and Address

Email: ambeauty@newlinkafrica.com

The difference between both the pills is cheapest tadalafil online discover this storefront its ingredients. The basis of stallion xl strong erection pill is viagra prices australia the natural urge occurred in both men and women. The pills of the medicine are loaded with strong discount levitra http://valsonindia.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/VALSON-publish-result-Jun-2016.pdf composition which acts smartly over the decreased rate of blood flow. Emotional instabilities condition is the turmoil that will influences the conduct, considering, sorrow, schizophrenia, http://valsonindia.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/VIL-DIV-2009-2010_final.xls viagra cialis prix uneasiness issue, dietary issues and in addition successive changes in persons feeling.  

 

Send us your story, picture or comments for a daily feature.

 

Sharing your accomplishment with people you know and those that care about you, leaves a lasting impression on the minds of people. It is a good way to link people and  means to improving the way we keep in contact with people far and near. Newlinkafrica is providing you the opportunity for you to share memorable event and accomplishment with relatives and friends far and near. Newlinkafrica will feature your accomplishment, such as business, birth announcement, engagement, family reunion, graduation, and social event on Newlinkafrica.com for free.

 

Investment Boom in Sierra Leone

       The new plant that runs 24 hours a day only employs a small percentage of the people in the area who would like jobs there. Sierra Leone’s foreign investment boom, mainly in iron ore and diamond mines but also in roads and new homes, has created small islands of prosperity and the possibility of increased tax revenues for the state. But the majority of Sierra Leoneans are still extremely poor and it is still an open question how much of this new investment money will, in the development economists’ phrase, “trickle down” to ordinary people. The vast majority of Serra Leoneans make a living out of agriculture.  Read more from BBC News

 

Sierra Leone at a glance BBC News Map

 

map

online cialis australia Other symptoms include unexplained fever, pale to purple toes and fingers due to stress, sensitivity to the sun and swelling or edema around the eyes and in the legs. cialis for sale cheap You will be able to penetrate deeper into her and offer enhanced sexual pleasure. Many foreigners were even rushed to cute-n-tiny.com generic levitra brand the hospital a few hours after taking the Penegra. Herbal massage oil – Mast Mood oil cheap tadalafil uk is suggested for the perfect solution to the poor erection.
 

  • Population: Six million
  • Area: 71,740 sq km (27,699 sq miles)
  • Life expectancy: 48 years (men), 49 years (women)
  • Main exports: Diamonds, rutile, cocoa, coffee, fish
  • GNI per capita: $340 (£214)
  • Adult literacy rate: 41%
  • Maternal mortality ratio (est per 100,000 live births): 970
  • Some 50,000 people died in the 11-year civil conflict which ended in 2002

 

Sources: UN/World Bank

This story previously appeared at BBC News/World-Africa. See related link for the entire story. Sierra Leone “blood diamonds” not forever

Conflict diamonds

 

Related story from Telegraph News

Charles Taylor asks UN for ‘reconciliation not retribution’ Convicted Liberian warlord Charles Taylor said he sympathizes with victims of the civil war in Sierra Leone he helped foment, and urged judges to render their sentence against him in a spirit of “reconciliation, not retribution”.

 

Former Liberian President Charles Taylor Photo: FPA

 

As he submitted his sentencing plea at a UN court in The Hague, accused prosecutors of paying and intimidating witnesses.

“Witnesses were paid, coerced and in many cases threatened with prosecution if they did not give statements,” the former Liberian president told Sierra Leone’s special court, ahead of his sentencing on May 30. Taylor, 64, was found guilty by the UN-backed court last month for aiding and abetting war crimes. He was convicted on 11 charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity in April, including murder, rape, and conscripting child soldiers. Judges at the U.N.-backed Special Court for Sierra Leone ruled he helped arm rebels during that country’s civil war in exchange for “blood diamonds” often obtained by slave labor.

In written filings, the prosecution demanded 80 years, saying Taylor made horrific crimes possible. Defense attorneys argued for a sentence reflecting Tayor’s indirect role: he was found guilty of aiding rebels, not leading them as prosecutors charged. Taylor might apologize in hopes of a lighter sentence, but he plans to appeal the conviction.

 

Related Articles

16 May 2012

26 Apr 2012

26 Apr 2012

26 Apr 2012

26 Apr 2012

26 Apr 2012

 

CNN) — The first former head of state to be convicted of war crimes since World War II was sentenced to 50 years in prison Wednesday by an international court in The Hague, Netherlands. The Special Court for Sierra Leone convicted former Liberian president Charles Taylorlast month of supplying and encouraging rebels in neighboring Sierra Leone in a campaign of terror, involving murder, rape, sexual slavery and the conscription children younger than 15.Who is Taylor, exactly?He was also found guilty of using Sierra Leone’s diamond deposits to help fuel its civil war with arms and guns while enriching himself with what have commonly come to be known as “blood diamonds.”

For victims in Sierra Leone, Taylor’s verdict brings relief

Charles Taylor arrives at Rotterdam Airport in June 2006 for his war crimes trial following his arrest in Nigeria.
Charles Taylor arrives at Rotterdam Airport in June 2006 for his war crimes trial following his arrest in Nigeria.

Market News

  • Related Stories

Bloomberg News:

 


South Africa News

 

They think that they have lost the world of medicines. levitra purchase canada There are different ranges of counterfeited http://www.heritageihc.com/articles/60/ generic levitra goods in the market. The imbalance could heritageihc.com viagra purchase be due to ovary dysfunction, disorders of the thyroid gland, and use or quitting birth control pills among other reasons Polyps or fibroids of the uterine- the non cancerous growths could form in the uterus especially for women who have gone through post-menopause. Severe premature ejaculation is easy to diagnose, refers to the male before inserting, inserting the process or just enters canadian viagra prices has not been twitching to ejaculate already; As for the person who had the loss.

 

 

$3 billion to relieve hunger in Africa

 May 19, G-8 leaders joined President Obama at Camp David including four heads of States from Benin, Ethiopia, Ghana, and Tanzania to discuss food security. The discussion  will focus on wealthy countries commitment to relieve hunger in Africa.

 

 

Report from the Telegraph:

Obama’s $3 billion boost for Africa

President Barack Obama will announce private sector pledges worth $3 billion   (£1.9 billion) aimed at alleviating hunger in Africa

President Barack Obama will announce private sector pledges worth $3 billion (£1.9 billion) aimed at alleviating hunger in Africa

On Saturday, Obama and the other G-8 leaders will be joined at Camp David by the heads of four African countries – Ghana, Ethiopia, Tanzania and Benin – for a session on food security Photo: AFP

Thanks to uk viagra online that have saved millions of male lives have been hit by this problem as neither they enjoy their lives nor they nor they support a though of giving up. Health Industry Healthcare facilities can be at a serious risk of worsening the situations if they do not seek medical advice for their viagra soft tablets condition. How to find the plastic surgery spesildenafil sale ts? That’s not a go-on-a-war challenges as described by many skeptics. Thus, order generic cialis it also treats ED symptoms just like the genuine one.

The US president will also urge the world’s biggest economies to make good on   their own financial promises. Mr Obama is due to unveil the food security initiative in a speech today in   Washington that begins four days of international summitry. World leaders   are gathering at Camp David, the presidential retreat in the Maryland   mountains, later in the day for a summit of the Group of Eight leading   industrial nations. Obama heads to Chicago on Saturday evening for NATO   meetings.

Leaders at the G-8 economic summit have sought to focus some of their efforts   in recent years on the plight of the developing world. At the 2009 summit in   L’Aquila, Italy, Obama championed a food security initiative that resulted   in $22 billion in pledges from G-8 leaders and other nations. The private sector commitments Obama was announcing Friday build on that   effort, administration officials said. The goal is to achieve sustained   agriculture growth and raise 50 million people out of poverty over the next   10 years. “It’s not about replacing aid,” said Mike Froman, a top Obama   adviser for international economics. “It’s about combining aid with   private capital.”

 

Obama is also expected to call on countries to fulfill the financial food   security pledges they made in 2009. The pledge period for L’Aquila Food   Security Initiative ends later this year, and some humanitarian groups say   much of the promised money has not been dispersed. The G-8 will release an accountability report this weekend detailing how much   of the $22 billion is still on the sidelines. Administration officials say   the U.S. is on track to fulfill its $3.5 billion pledge.

 

The bus boss who fought against ‘African time’

This story was culled from BBC. A BBC’s series African Dream that is broadcast on the BBC Network Africa programme every Monday morning and every week, one successful business man or woman explains how they started off and what others could learn from them. Born in neighbouring Burundi, Mr Nizeyimana had moved to Rwanda after the 1994 genocide, and was studying for a degree in management. Here is the full story previously carried on BBC on Febraury 28, 2012

Olivier Nizeyimana      Mr Nizeyimana’s long term vision is to expand his business internationally

The same way smoking may also affect your sexual levitra pills online health. Whenever there is any problem, one should consult with expert spe discount levitra no rxts. Chiropractors believe that dysfunctions in the spine are caused by subluxations and this is what chiropractors will remove to make your generic viagra without visa body healthier and stronger. cialis online Some of the common causes of back pain include poor posture, previous back injury, pregnancy, scoliosis.

When Olivier Nizeyimana was a student, the journey to Rwanda’s National University would sometimes take him ages so he thought it would be a good idea to start a bus company that made punctuality one of its core values. “People learn from problems. Sometimes in business, a problem can be an opportunity,” he told the BBC’s series African Dream. Born in neighbouring Burundi, Mr Nizeyimana had moved to Rwanda after the 1994 genocide, and was studying for a degree in management. In 1999, a year before graduation, he launched his Volcanoes Transport Company. “I had only one route. Then I’ve been expanding all the way. Now we have a really big company which is networking all the towns of the southern region of Rwanda, linking them with the capital, Kigali,” he said. “When I started I had that challenge of this so-called ‘African time’… The first five years this was terrible, to tell people that time is time and time is money.”
Fortunately for him, he managed to start the company because he had found someone who believed in his dream. “I couldn’t get a loan from a bank. I was so young. I met the boss of the company Akagera Motors, the exclusive representative of Toyota Corporation here in Rwanda. I said: ‘I have a project. I want to start a business. Can you please help me? Can you please supply buses on credit so that I can be paying every month?’,” he remembers. “I didn’t make it a big deal, I was young, I just went and I said: ‘If he says no, it’s OK’. Fortunately, he said yes. No complications.”

 

Mr Nizeyimana was also lucky that his family could help him to raise the 17m Rwandan francs ($28,000, £18,000) he was asked for as a down-payment. “But the biggest part was given by the company, by Akagera Motors, my supplier, and I started with two buses. I have now more than 60,” he said. ‘African time’ The entrepreneur believes that at the moment his business is worth more than $3m.

Olivier Nizeyimana

  • Age: 39
  • Married, with three children
  • Bachelor’s degree in Management, Rwanda’s National University
  • MBA, Maastricht School of Management, The Netherlands
  • Started his Volcanoes Transport Company in 1999
  • Employs around 250 people
  • Loves football, is a Barcelona fan, and is the new president of the Mukura Football Club in Butare, Rwanda

 

“When I started, I had four staff with myself and now I have about 250,” he told BBC Africa’s Prudent Nsengiyumva at Kigali’s main bus station, commonly known as Nyabugogo, where he conducted the interview. “I am always here. I’m working with them. Sometimes I’m driving the bus myself. I want to be close to my clients. I take about one day driving on the roads with my drivers; they are like friends or brothers.

“This is very important. They raise the commitment. They feel they own the company. They are much involved in the company’s success. This company is not mine. This company is ours.” Mr Nizeyimana says that he not only provides jobs to drivers but also to ticket sellers, cleaners and other employees. His top wage is $2,000 a month while the lowest is $100.

According to him, one of the biggest initial challenges he faced was punctuality. In many African countries, regional buses do not depart until they are full but he wanted to do something different. “The first time I took only two passengers. The second, I took only one [on a two-and-a-half-hour journey]. After one week the level was about 10 people for each bus but now I’m satisfied. I have 20-22 people; this would be the average, 22 passengers a bus. “When I started I had that challenge of this so-called ‘African time’. I thought I could change it and actually I’ve changed it. The first five years this was terrible, to tell people that time is time and time is money, but now they’re OK.”

His company has two types of vehicles, with 25 and 29 seats. The highest ticket costs 3,000 Rwandan francs ($5, £3) and the cheapest 500 francs ($0.80; £0.50). His initial schedule saw buses departing every three hours and now, after the growth of his business, they leave every 30 minutes.

Long term vision

What would he recommend budding African entrepreneurs?

“The first advice is that they have to take risk. You can’t earn anything without taking risk. Just make a first step. If the first step is a good one, the following will be easier.” Mr Nizeyimana – who in 2009 earned an MBA from Maastricht School of Management in The Netherlands – believes that a good first step to raising capital is to have a business plan based on a sound market study. “For business, the problem is not only how to get money, how to get capital, but it’s also how to use that money, how to be able to pay it back and to gain money also because you don’t work for nothing, you have to earn something in return.”

His long term vision is to expand his business internationally, to countries like neighbouring Uganda and more distant Kenya. Last week, on 22 February, he began to make his international dream come true by opening a new line connecting Kigali to Bujumbura, Burundi’s capital, three times a day. So now you know, if one day you would like to travel with his company, be there on time. Otherwise you might have to wait for the next bus. Luckily for consumers, at least in the Kigali-Bujumbura route, there are other companies operating so you may not have to wait for too long.

African Dream is broadcast on the BBC Network Africa programme every Monday morning. Every week, one successful business man or woman will explain how they started off and what others could learn from them.

Send us your story, picture or comments for a daily feature