It is always heart-warming to see South African businesses, entrepreneurs and entertainers continue dominating the world stage.
There’s a sense of patriotism and pride that reigns supreme in my heart when I see Nando’s in the streets of London or Trevor Noah continues to shine as one of the biggest stars in the world of entertainment.
In Genius, Bruce Whitfield shines the rightful spotlight on South African leading figures who continue to carry the country’s flag on the world stage through their skills, businesses, and entrepreneurial success.
Let me admit that I like Bruce’s positive mindset that filters through his writing. He just makes you as a reader forget about all the negative things that turn to define this country at times and forces you to only just appreciate the successes made in this country under difficult conditions..
Inside the pages of this book, I felt proud as a South African about the successes of my fellow South Africans. You’ll read about how our skills continue to be sought-after and our businesses continue to shine and dominate on the world stage.
What Bruce has done in this book is to remind us that we are people with great ideas that the world needs.
Genius perfectly illustrates that South Africans have a lot to offer to the world, if only our government and private sector can address problems that have seen the country lose the best talents to other countries and its global status as an investment destination during the state capture years.
Perusing through the pages of this book, however, made me realize that there are few local Black-owned brands and businesses that have taken their ideas to the world as compared to white-owned businesses.
I even asked myself whether the author had intentionally excluded the Black brands and businesses in the narration, but the truth is that there are fewer Black-owned businesses to write about insofar as international success is concerned.
I certainly hope Genius would inspire many businesses and brands, especially Black-owned brands such as Drip and Bathu among others that are doing fairly well locally to have the courage to also take their ideas to the world.
Genius is an important, well-researched, and inspiring book that all South Africans, particularly those who have dreams to make it big on the world stage, should take a leaf from. What an informative and inspiring read.