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SUNDAY 11 JANUARY 2015 • [email protected] • www.thepeninsulaqatar.com • 4455 7741 The Grand inside Budapest Hotel CAMPUS • QA Palestinian Night leads Bafta helps rebuild nominations schools in Gaza P | 4 P | 8-9 COMMUNITY • Indian Association of Bihar and Jharkhand celebrates New Year Men in suits order takeaway cappuccinos as a trendy young crowd occupies comfortable sofas, laptops ready for a P | 6 brain-storming session over cafe lattes, frappuccinos and soft jazz. New York, WHEELS London or Paris? No, this is Lagos and its new, 100 percent African cafe culture • Honda CR-V gives catering to the taste of “repats”. enduring comfort of fulfilled expectations P | 7 HEALTH • Fathers-to-be may have hormonal changes too P | 11 TECHNOLOGY • CES 2015: New products worth talking about P | 12 LEARN ARABIC CAFE CULTURE • Learn commonly used Arabic words TAKES ROOT IN AFRICA and their meanings P | 13 2 PLUS | SUNDAY 11 JANUARY 2015 COVER STORY Nigeria’s Cafe Neo: Hoping to become By Cecile de Comarmond en in suits order takeaway cappuccinos at the the African Starbucks counter. A trendy young Mcrowd occupies comfortable sofas, armed with laptops for a brain-storming session over cafe lattes, frappuccinos and soft jazz. The morning scene wouldn’t raise an eyebrow in New York, London or Paris but cafe culture is a new phenomenon in Nigeria’s biggest city, where until recently finding a decent espresso was a battle. The bright young things and senior managers were in Cafe Neo, on Victoria Island in Lagos, which has been specifi- cally designed to cater to the tastes of “repats”. Ngozi Dozie and his brother Chijoke created the chain with returning Nigerians in mind, in the full knowl- edge that years spent abroad alter views, tastes and expectations. Now the brothers hope to conquer Africa’s major cities with 100 percent African coffee before giants of the business such as Starbucks try to capture the market. “The demand (in Lagos) is very high. There’s a significant minority of people Stewards at Cafe Neo prepare who love coffee and want to drink cof- coffee for clients. fee but haven’t had access to coffee,” Ngozi said. PLUS | SUNDAY 11 JANUARY 2015 3 The “significant minority” have studied and worked abroad, coming back in their thousands from the United States or Europe as austerity measures kicked in after the global financial crisis. The brothers’ idea is to first While they were away, Nigeria — already Africa’s conquer the Nigerian market most populous nation with some 170 million people — became the continent’s leading economy — and a before Starbucks, which has country ripe with opportunity. With economic growth has come an emerging more than 20,000 cafes in 65 middle class, which has increased six fold to 4.1 mil- countries across the globe but lion households between 2000 and 2014, according to a recent study by Standard Bank. none in sub-Saharan Africa. Indian inspiration A number of US chains such as KFC and Domino’s Pizza are already in Nigeria and increasingly popu- lar, despite the astronomical costs of running a business in the country. Poor or non-existent infrastructure forces busi- nesses to rely on huge electricity generators to keep the lights on when the public supply goes off, sometimes for up to 12 hours a day. The brothers’ idea is to first conquer the Nigerian market before Starbucks, which has more than 20,000 cafes in 65 countries across the globe but none in sub-Saharan Africa. Ngozi Dozie is not yet 40 and is himself a “repat”. Before embarking on the business venture, he knew friends who would bring back bags of coffee from the United States. He said he was inspired by India, where Cafe Coffee Day has largely cornered the market, despite the increasing presence of international chains such as Britain’s Costa Coffee or Starbucks. “India is a fantastic example with Cafe Coffee Day,” he explained. “We aim at something similar. “We’re starting young right now and our aim is to grow as such that yes, Starbucks may come, but we want to be the choice of Nigerians, because there’s that affinity with something that comes from here, in Africa.” Produce and consume Neo has three cafes currently in Lagos and two others are scheduled to open early this year. There is another outlet in Kigali. All the cafes only serve 100 percent Rwandan arabica, which has become one of its main selling points. The chain is hoping to branch out across Africa and expects to have between 20 and 30 cafes in Lagos alone within the next four years. “Neo, in Tswana, the language in Botswana, means ‘gift’, and of course it also means ‘new’ in Latin,” said Dozie. “So, it’s a new way... a new approach to coffee, a new approach where we, as Africans, drink the coffee that we produce, that’s been a gift for us, as opposed to exporting it and importing sub-grade coffee.” Africa’s main coffee producers such as Ethiopia, Uganda and Rwanda currently export most of their products to the United States and Europe. Kayitana John Bosco was brought over to Nigeria from Rwanda to train locals on how to make a proper coffee at Cafe Neo — and said it was time for a change. “Our first coffee tree was planted in 1904,” he said of his homeland. “We’ve been producing coffee for more than a century. But brewing, the consump- tion... it’s really still down. “I visited a coffee farmer in 2007. That old man had been doing coffee farming for 20 years, but he didn’t know the taste of it. “So, his job was to do farming, harvest, send. He didn’t know where it was going or what it was used for.” AFP 4 PLUS | SUNDAY 11 JANUARY 2015 CAMPUS Brett Scott rendering a song. LEFT: A professional group performing Dabke. QA Palestinian Night helps rebuild schools in Gaza he third annual Palestinian Night at Qatar Palestinian who is not allowed into my own country, Dabke group. Traditional Palestinian fare was also Academy (QA) was as much a celebration of this is the least I can do so I am forever grateful to shared amongst the participants and performers. Tculture as it is a powerful reminder of the get such an opportunity,” organiser and Grade 10 Ultimately, the event was also a fundraising effort importance of education especially for the Palestinian student Rahaf Nassif said. which — through Qatar Charity — will help rebuild children and families displaced from their homes. The night consisted of a screening of the documen- schools that were demolished in Gaza. The proceeds Held in the school’s auditorium, the students of QA tary film Children of Gaza which shows the plight of will help the Palestinian people to get the education have run this event collaboratively with the Islamic children who continually suffer from such difficult they rightly deserve. “We have everything here and Studies department with the goal of raising aware- situations. There were also performances including it is sometimes easy to forget to be grateful for that,” ness of the Palestinian issue by celebrating its culture poetry reading, a song rendition by faculty member Nassif remarked. “The Palestinian people deserve and traditions. Brett Scott and the traditional Palestinian dance education just like us, they deserve to achieve and “Palestine would forever be in our hearts and as a called Dabke which was performed by a professional go after their dreams”. The Peninsula Green Vibes at DMIS oha Modern Indian School organised cardboard boxes etc and food stuff Dits annual exhibition titled ‘Green like milk, oil, baking soda etc was an Vibes’ on the theme ‘Environmental evidence of the scientific temperament Sustainability’ on Thursday. among the students. The exhibition was inaugurated The Social Science department pre- by Diewthy Chandran, the Academic sented models of rainforests, environ- Auditor of Taleb Schools. David ment friendly houses and rain water Thrope, Principal of Cambridge harvesting to spread awareness on School, and Jane Ballard, Principal of environmental sustainability. Models of Cambridge International School for ancient architecture provided informa- Girls, attended the event. tion on how the principle was applied The students of Grades 3 to 11, by the ancient civilizations. who put up the show, showcased their The robotic section enraptured the creativity and ingenuity by skillfully visitors through the live demonstra- A student demonstrating the functioning of a robot. BELOW: Displays by students. establishing the relevance of the envi- tions of robots that could plant seeds ronment in all spheres of life. and engage in waste collection and dis- Displays on green energy ranked posal . The cleaning robot working on first among the projects of the science the ‘Swach Bharat’ theme cleaned the department. In addition to the solar area and mopped it. panels and wind energy, there were live The English department showcased demonstrations of geo thermal energy, the relation between nature and lit- generation of energy from algae and erature. They conveyed the message bio gas fuel. The organic farm pains- of healthy living and caring for the takingly grown by grade 7 students environment through masquerades, over a fortnight made a difference. poetry recitations and a documen- The portrayal of ‘ Taj Mahal through tary made by Grade 10 students. The the years ‘ served as an eye opener second language departments reflected against pollution. The experiments the culture of the native land through carried out from ordinary objects like their displays of literature, paintings water bottles, disposable glasses, veg- and settings like the majlis.

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