“The-ye” means Listening -

© all images by our most wonderful Co-Mentor, Oliver Beige, and enpact.org

When Julius sat down and started playing the Gymnopédies by Erik Satie it was noticeable that he had not played nor heard the piece ever before. He just played it, from the notes — and it was beautiful. Asking me to call, to whistle or hum the melody, for him to respond. Improvising. It was pure Jazz!

I am German, an “Orboni” as I learnt we are also called as Europeans in West-Africa, and we are used, yes we even worship, the monorhythmic sound of the machine.

What I experienced last week during the Startup-Mentoring-Camp, so masterfully arranged by enpact, was rather polyrhythmic, like Jazz.

We gathered in Bad Belzig when, coincidentally at the same time, Chancellor Merkel visited West-Africa. Just before China invited African leaders to Beijing. West-Africa is quite obviously on the political agendas. Part of the German delegation was the CEO of SIEMENS, Joe Kaeser, and with “him” the monorhythmic sound of the machine — the machine that our fellow Sören, a self-described survivor of the German corporate culture as he experienced it, ironically had just escaped from.

I do wonder how much we actually listen to Africa, how much of what we bring is pre-determined and how much spontaneity and fun we resonate. Often not quite like Jazz, I am afraid. We may sound more like Kraftwerk at times: sparse, repetitive and predictable.

What I am trying to get to here is: what we can learn from Africa. If we listen. So please bear with my when I share some reflections with you because I believe that “The-ye” may just be the formula to us all becoming fellows.

© enpact.org and Oliver Beige

I have the privilege to have been called as a mentor to the Startup-Mentoring by enpact and I never came to tell, yet I was very much humbled by who I was able to listen to: soulful, spiritual and very connected fellows who, each and everyone, embarked on very tedious journeys to share their thoughts, ideas and entrepreneurial dreams with us.

Fellows, who have to hustle every day to make ends meet. As I learnt.

I have the privilege to talk about “agile” and “lean” almost every day in the context of organisations when most of the fellows have no choice but being resilient, robust and dynamic — just to name another few more buzzwords which we use here in Europe.

Fellows, who did not use many buzzwords but who did share their daily struggles when interest rates are at 20% and corruption is as ubiquitous as are our buzzwords.

I have the privilege to be, as a German, branded likely positively when it comes to economic competence.

Fellows, as I learnt, who often do not get equally positive feedback about how they are being perceived as Africans; and, nurtured by a post-colonial educational system, especially what they are being told to think about themselves!

I, and some may share this with me, was raised in the most possible illusion that a piece of music, a tune, could be played twice the exact same way — if well composed. Much unlike Jazz which embraces context, emotions and a collective felt sense.

What I listened to and learned about during the Startup-Mentoring-Camp, to me, was pure Jazz — a celebration of individual freedom and a joint felt sense, the responsibility to the group. I felt, and listened to, music and, truly, rarely in my life I had so much music in my head, whistled so many tunes and hummed so many songs, when going from one workshop to the next or just to breakfast in the morning.

I would like to thank each and everyone for this experience. For that jazzy tune of WORK, PLAY and LOVE. It is just the beginning. We have our most wonderful fellow Sam from www.kreativworkshopberlin.com to help us write our own song and I am already curious what it will sound like in February when we shall all meet again, in Ghana.

Before then, if ever in doubt, please rest assured that, how ever poor in GDP ones country may be, one is rich in spirit, rich in complexity and ever so rich in soulful themes, just like Jazz.

© enpact.org and Oliver Beige

For more information regarding the Startup-Mentoring program by enpact, please visit http://www.startup-mentoring.org/.

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