Reflections: On Hibernation and Placing Bets

“There are years that ask questions, and years that answer them.” - Zora Neale Hurston

For me, 2022 was a year that answered (many) questions. 

After a year spent in personal, professional, and perhaps even academic (?) hibernation, I’m energised for 2023.

I walked into this new year open and hopeful, ready to act on and experience the results of pieces set in motion while I transitioned and settled into a new home (figuratively and literally, personally and professionally).

In hindsight, 2022 was an incredible year.

During my year in hibernation, I spent time re-assessing my motivations, my big WHYs and WHEREFOREs, honing my closet-philosopher skills and applying the same level of intention, design thinking and critical analysis I use at work.

Although a quiet year, in the public-facing sense, 2022 provided a great opportunity to sit quietly. To go slower and reflect on why I am on this planet, who I am and what can be done to evolve and create the positive dent I believe we are all trying to make at a micro or macro level.

Professionally, I left BongoHive, a place that had become home to me for over 3 years and a collective of humans with whom I ventured to build what’s next for Africa and its inhabitants. I’ll always be grateful for the time I spent on a team that showed me that a lot can be done with grit, hard work, curiosity and a sense of humour. 

These were, and continue to be, some of the most brilliant young people I have ever met - and dare I say, some of the most inspiring.

My experience designing, building and handing over an innovation unit deepened my unshakeable faith in my ability to build valuable solutions and challenged me as a leader and business manager.

This battle-testing, this adventure into the unknown, was priceless and certainly one I will not soon forget.

In 2022, I found a new home at WATER FOR WATER (WfW), aligned with my desire to develop sustainable, socially- and environmentally-considerate solutions to business challenges.

I spent hours, being the new kid, poring over research and reports on the state of water access and skills development in the water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) sector. Devising new approaches to understand the nuance and get to the heart of what is needed to see impact and innovation in this sector.

I met some incredibly talented and passionate people, whose drive is truly infectious and with whom I am excited to build the foundations of an offering that places collaboration, ingenuity, innovation and socio-ecological impact at its centre.

Once again, designing products and services, building teams, processes and partnerships, this time, with a keen focus on the fair and sustainable use of water and transitions to circular business practices.

In 2022, I learned what it meant to be - as I often self-confess - child-like in wonder, and romantic in revolt.

I spent time developing my business management capabilities (bagged a Mini-MBA), Impact Measurement and Management as well as Data Analytics skills. I allowed myself to be consumed by reports, attempt SQL entries, assess my own micro-impact on the environment and re-affirm, with child-like excitement, just how much there is to learn and unlearn. 

I watched our world continue to shift, from energy and political crises in the global north to advances on the African continent, which saw - despite economic headwinds - African (tech) startups create more strategic partnerships. With these observations, I identified the opportunities present for those of us working for and on the continent (this being a subject for another blog post).

On a more personal level, I relished the moments to spend time on my own - shifting from the perspective of “alone” as isolation to bliss in solitude. I savoured the opportunity to explore topics from neuroscience to (deeper dives into) Africa's colonial history and re-discovered, with great delight, a previously dormant interest in the basic fundamentals of Economics (my academic background).

I spent time with those closest to me, learning more about them and deepening our relationships. I gained a profound appreciation for what it means to have people in your corner, to be accepted, and loved unconditionally and how critical these elements are for building resilience.

I overcame my fear of large bodies of water (and my inaccurate belief that I'd never be able to swim), started new art projects, went on seemingly destination-less road trips and leaned into my longing to see more of the African continent.

I made (large and small) bets on myself and observed in awe, as they paid off - often after months of agonising about whether or not I had placed too large a bet. 

These bets continue to teach me to trust my intuition, my judgment, and the data, often in the face of discouragement and a lack of understanding by those closest to me or within my wider circle - and my own, rather natural, uncertainty (the old "do it scared" approach).

These bets have taught me kindness. They have taught me the power of solitude, knowledge, strategy and timing. They have taught me empathy, for myself, and others.

Although there will certainly be more questions and more answers to come, I am incredibly grateful for the past year and open to all the transitions and opportunities to "place bets" 2023 has to offer.

---

Are you placing bets in the Innovation, Sustainability and Fashion + Arts space? Let’s talk.