Wish Africa x Ikoyi in London
The second edition of Wish Africa should be held in Lagos so don't hesitate to follow them and book your tickets if you can.
As part of my activities with the United Nations, I had the opportunity to go to Wish Africa for an exhibition on the African luxury industries.
Wish Africa is an annual event whose first edition was held on June 8 and 9, 2019 at the Olympia in London to bring together actors from the African cultural and luxury industries. I tried to vlog with my iPhone and you have some short video extracts.
However, I did not have the opportunity to film speakers who have particularly impressed me, such as Swaady Martin. Formerly an Executive at General Electric, of Ivorian, Guinean and American descent, she moved to South Africa to produce her Yswara tea brand, currently the only African tea brand marketed at Harrod's in London. Among the guests, I also saw Diane Audrey Ngako, founder of www.visiterlafrique.com and one of the few Francophones to have been invited.
Among the major issues that were raised during the event were :
- the question of investments and the cruel need for business angels on the continent.
- the inclusion of the poorest African populations in the production chain of luxury goods to enable them to have a valued job and a good salary.
- the question of infrastructure to promote domestic and intra-African tourism (it is generally sufficient to look at the prices of air tickets between African cities to discourage the average citizen)
- the African soft power
The day before, I also had the opportunity to eat at Ikoyi, the first African restaurant in the United Kingdom to win a Michelin star. I'll give you some pictures so that you can have an idea of their cuisine that corresponds more to a mix of flavours between China and Nigeria. If you are travelling through Saint James's in London, I strongly recommend Ikoyi for the unique gastronomic experience. I can't tell you exactly what I ate because the waiter lost me with his explanations, but I know it was an explosion of flavours. And the picture with the red-pink food is plantain and pepper (yes! I'm not lying!).
My Hibiscus coktail
Chicken
Plantain
The dessert. I can’t remember which kind of ice cream it was exactly.
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