EVE 2016

Woman Leader Testimony

Swaady MARTIN

October 2016

PROPRIETARY & CONFIDENTIAL 1

Citizen of the world

• Mother: 50% France, 25% Cote d’Ivoire, 25% Guinea – family of French colonial administrators

• Father: American (with German & African descent) - family of leading African American social activists

• Grew up in Liberia, Senegal, Cote d’Ivoire & France

• Experienced 3 coups (Liberia, Cote d’Ivoire)

• Undergrad in Switzerland

• Grad school in UK, USA & France

• Worked & lived in France, USA, Kenya, Nigeria & South Africa

• Live on a protected reserve in the Cradle of Humankind, 1 hour outside of Johannesburg

PROPRIETARY & CONFIDENTIAL 2

Lived in 10 countries, settled in South Africa since 2013

Joining the GE Africa Dream Team

• Take initiative

• Go the extra mile

• Use what you have

• Know your worth

PROPRIETARY & CONFIDENTIAL 3

The Africa NX Eritrea

Comm’l Dev MgrCote d’Ivoire

Comm’l Dev MgrZimbabwe/South Africa

Finance &

ControllershipKenya

Stellar growth in a record time

PROPRIETARY & CONFIDENTIAL 4

2003

• Flat revenue growth

• $1.2B revenues

• ~200 employees

• 2 offices

• Active in 5 countries

• Mainly active in Oil&Gassector

2009

• ~30% p.a revenue growth

• $3.6B revenues

• ~2,000 employees

• 7 offices

• Active in 40+ countries

• All GE businesses active

• Local manufacturing & training centre

• Highest revenue/employee (6X of China!)

Dream Team:

2005 - 2008

…Earned me the execution job

• GE Transportation Sub-Saharan Africa Director & Acting-CEO GE South Africa Technologies – 18 months

o Led business & sales growth for SSA and BBBEE Joint Venture in South Africa

o Led ramping-up of GET MEA’s marketing capabilities (incl. first GE full-fledged segmentation of MEA market – Company’s Best Practice); drove customer-centered strategies resulting in 400% orders growth within a year

o Drove region to grow from a$20mio to $300mio within a year; won key deals incl. GET’s largest deal in MEA; positioning GE as the leading DE locomotives OEM in MEA

o Steered Public-Private Partnership to localize the assembly of GE locomotives in South Africa incl. technology transfer, skills & local suppliers’ development, etc.

PROPRIETARY & CONFIDENTIAL 5

10 years at GE: Exciting, Challenging, Rewarding, Fulfilling, Fun … but Exhausting

Planning a soft exit

To allow personal life

o Recharge my batteries

o Pursuing other passions

o Newly wed

o Spouse expatriation

… And not to burn bridges

o Reputation

o Relationships

PROPRIETARY & CONFIDENTIAL 6

Widening my horizons

Building the foundation of & connections for my entrepreneurial future

o Education … MBA: theorizing my

entrepreneurial future, networks

o Consulting … entrepreneur & large

family business

o Networks … Arch. D. Tutu Leadership

Fellowship, African Leadership Network,

Africa 2.0

The SWAADY Group’s mission:

Transform Africa’s commodities in Africa by Africans

PROPRIETARY & CONFIDENTIAL 7

From raw commodities toLocally processed high-value products

distributed globally

AGRO-BENEFICIATION

PROPRIETARY & CONFIDENTIAL 8

We source from African farms & artisans, create, transform & package locally and distribute globally.

Our brands

o Africa loose Leaf tea & teabags

o Wellness Teas

o Ready-to-drink iced tea

o Artisan-made teatime accessories

o Farm-made jams, honey, biscuits & cakes

o Chocolate

o Drinks: Mineral water, Kombucha, herbal teas

o Condiments, oils, spices & seasoning

A COLLECTION OF TEAS & FINE GROCERY, UNIQUE FLAVOURS FROM AFRICA,

PRODUCTS OF EXCEPTION ELEGANTLY PACKAGED

SPECIALTY TEA & TEATIME ACCESSORIES WELLNESS SPECIALTY FOOD

Launched December 2012 Launched February 2016

Some of our products

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OUR 1ST STORE & TEAROOM – OPENED SEPTEMBER, 7TH 2016

Our first store is located in Maboneng, "Place of light", Johannesburg.

This location is symbolic.

o In the Sankofa* spirit, we embrace our past & celebrate the rejuvenation of one of Africa’s leading cities. Built in 1899, THE COSMOPOLITAN, is an

historic and iconic building. It is as architecturally unique to Johannesburg as it is beautiful, and forms part of the continuing narrative of the city.

o Our Luxe Ubuntu philosophy champions inclusive luxury, accessible to all; where the extraordinary can be found in the heart of the vibrant inner city, where

people from all spheres of life interact and mingle, overcoming artificial social barriers to foster the oneness of Humankind.

*Sankofa = It is not wrong to go back for that which you have forgotten

Bringing spirituality into business

• Always had a devotion to spirituality alongside a dedication to my work

• South Africa is the crucible for 3 of the greatest principled leaders of modern times

• Nelson Mandela (Nobel Peace Prize 1993)

• Arch. Desmond Tutu (Nobel Peace Prize 1984)

• Gandhi

• Became an Archbishop D. Tutu Leadership fellow, dived into Tutu and Mandela’s lives and discovered the humanist concept of “Ubuntu”

PROPRIETARY & CONFIDENTIAL 12

Luxe Ubuntu* … Business from the Oneness perspective

1. Ethical sourcing

2. Keep the value-add in country

3. Ethical & sympathetic employment (expat wives, jobless, unskilled, wounded, women)

4. Work-life balance … offices close at 4:30pm

5. Acknowledging the value of beauty in everything incl. your everyday surroundings

6. Healing environment … always a meditative garden, colors, sounds, smell

7. Inclusive & welcoming company culture … suppliers, clients, staff

8. Work as a self-actualization opportunity

PROPRIETARY & CONFIDENTIAL 13

ONENESS

UBUNTU = I AM BECAUSE YOU ARE

Practical & non-denominational way to bring spirituality into my everyday business

*YSWARA presented its Luxe Ubuntu concept in “Luxury brands in emerging markets”, Palgrave McMillan

“Each of us has the experience of being an individual, separate part of existence, but at a deeper level we are, both figuratively and literally, simply different parts of

the same thing.” ~ L. Canon

PROPRIETARY & CONFIDENTIAL 14

Healing factory in the Cradle of Humankind, South Africa

Zen décor / Furniture from South Africa’s top design firm / Artwork / Vegetable garden / Music when overtime / Weekly household groceries for packagers / Micro-loans / Car sharing

What’s next?

• Take the business from its development stage to maturity & independence from my personal immersion

• Share the experience

• Continue my spiritual journey

…and live in the moment! (-:

PROPRIETARY & CONFIDENTIAL 15