News — Globalization

Calestous Juma was a Kenyan scientist and university scholar who primarily focused on sustainable development. He served as a Professor of the Practice of International Development and Director of the Science, Technology, and Globalization Project at the Harvard Kennedy School. Juma also served as the director for the Agricultural Innovation in Africa Project funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. He was born in Busia village on June 9, 1953 to John Kwada Juma and Clementina Nabwire and grew up in Port Victoria, Kenya. Juma attended Port Victoria Secondary School and later Egoji Teachers’ Training College in Kenya in 1974. After his certification, Juma taught science in Mombasa, Kenya, and wrote for the Daily Nation newspaper. In 1978, he became the first full-time environment and science correspondent for the newspaper.

In 1979, Juma became a researcher and editor for Environment Liaison Centre, an NGO based in Nairobi, Kenya. He then enrolled at the University of Sussex in England with a full scholarship 1982, receiving an MSc in Science, Technology and Industrialization in 1983 and a DPhil in Science and Technology Policy in 1987.

Juma is considered a revolutionary figure in scientific research; he advocated for the use of technology and innovation for development. Juma established Africa’s first science policy think tank African Centre for Technology Studies (ACTS) in 1989. ACTS released a study called “Innovation and Sovereignty,” which helped with the creation of the first industrial property legislation in Kenya. At ACTS, he led a study called Economic Reform and Environment in Africa, which researched the connections between economic innovation, conservation management, and technological transformation in developing nations to further understand how socio-economic environments impact the integration of new technologies.

This research was highlighted in some of his first works Long-Run Economics: An Evolutionary Approach to Economic Growth (London: Pinter, 1987) and The Gene Hunters: Biotechnology and the Scramble for Seeds (Princeton: Princeton University Press and Zed Books, 1989).

Juma moved to Montreal, Quebec Canada in 1995 to serve as the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity first executive director. However, he left shortly afterwards because he felt the UN agency placed too many limitations on Africa’s ability to crop genetically modified foods. In 1998, Juma moved to Harvard to continue his work. There he created a UN task force that developed ways in which the developing world can attain Millennium Development Goals through technology and science. In addition, Juma in 2005, served at the US National Academy of Sciences as the Global Challenges and Biotechnology chair, and in 2012 served as co-chair of the African Union High-Level Panel on Modern Biotechnology. One of Juma’s last works, before he passed, was Innovation and Its Enemies: Why People Resist New Technologies, published by Oxford University Press in 2016.

Calestous Juma died on December 15, 2017 in Boston, Massachusetts at the age of 54. He is survived by his wife Alison Field-Juma, and his son Eric Juma.

In the age of globalization, it appears every facet of the business community is being digitized. Usually, in the barbering industry, if one wanted a haircut, he or she simply walks to a barbering salon for grooming. However, entrepreneurs in this sector are changing their business methods to meet current market trends.

If by simply pressing a button one could have groceries delivered to their doorstep, it is also possible for one to either request for a barber or to schedule a date with one without necessarily going to the saloon to queue for their turn.

The men’s grooming industry, it must be stated for clarity, is not only about having a clean shave. It also involves lifestyle practices and goods on styling. It is a comprehensive sector but has traditionally been focused on haircuts.

Darius Davie, a barber from New York, is bringing something different to the industry. A barber-stylist since 2016, Davie is the founder of Groom Guy, which focuses on general men’s lifestyle practices and supply goods through content creation and onsite styling services, according to mogulmillennial. Groom Guy is an online marketplace where Davie Davie covers issues such as body care, hair business and professional tips.

Davie said he was inspired to start his marketplace after realizing the gap in the grooming industry regarding the limited knowledge of men’s styling products. According to mogulmillennial, the entrepreneur is also working with Facebook to create an online place to provide solutions for issues relating to men’s grooming.

On why he choose an online market place, Davie explained that “[it] is a suitable format because you’ll prioritize nurturing a good network of branded relationships. It also reduces any chance of large overhead costs compared to managing your own line of products, where you’ll also be in charge of manufacturing.”

Davie is aiming at having a fully functioning experience integrating barber culture and selling men’s lifestyle. Groom Guy is currently opened to brands who want to integrate into the Groom Guy network, said Davie, adding that his team is at the moment reviewing some 20 U.S. based brands that seek to be integrated.

Sharing his thoughts on some of the issues he has learned since creating his online marketplace, Davie said it is worth having skills in retail management, supply chain, and digital content creation. He also talked about having a detailed team who are proficient in numbers and bookkeeping as the business grows.

He also urged prospective entrepreneurs who want to follow in his footsteps to make sure that all their paper works are sorted out, including business registration, domain name and site management tools.

This January, it was reported that Davie had shifted his platform Groom Guy to a mobile barber service and begun cutting hair on the go.

“So, we started to take more of a concentration on the needs of people on the mobile end,” he told WJLA. “So, people were comfortable, just like they have door dash coming in, they can now have their own personal barber in their home or in their office or in their co-working space and provide what they need which is a fresh haircut.”