The past week has not failed to bring an unfolding of interesting events across the continent and beyond. Keep reading to find our usual features like Track of the Week, but expect to uncover more stories that keep you up to date with What’s Trending!
Have you heard?
Olajumoke, TYBello and Tinie Temper:
Social media has been buzzing over the against all odds success of Olajumoke Orisaguna from Ire in Ogun State. Olajumoke, previously a hairdresser, began selling bread when she could not make enough profit from the hair sector. The remarkable story sees Olajumoke accidently captured in a picture with London rapper Tinie Tempah, taken by TYBello (recording artist and photographer) during a shoot in Lagos. Later on, whilst editing the photos, TYBello noticed Olajumoke’s ‘ X Factor’ and kept the photos that included the hard working bread seller in the final selection.
After releasing them TYBello wrote on her Instagram “everyone has been asking if this girl is a model, it was just a perfect coincidence”. Several Instagram posts later, we find that TYBello was able to track the mother of two down and help change her life forever by giving her the opportunity to develop her model potential. After tracking her down and finding that Olajumoke was a struggling mother of two Bello decided to create a short documentary about Olajumoke, pulling some strings to get her on the cover of Style magazine. TYBello says“She definitely SHOULD be a model… I’m happy to help her build a portfolio if she’s interested”.
After gathering a team for hair and make up, TYBello had a photo shoot with Olajumoke stating she was a natural; “she looked straight into my eyes as if she had done this her whole life” On Monday Olajumoke was signed to local modeling agency Few Models and had her first job the bext day. Meanwhile on twitter, people are making their thoughts known in terms of the lesson that can be learnt from this rags to riches story, many saying that hard work pays, glorifying the presence of a higher power in ladies life. However, some Olujumoke we congratulate you and wish you every success in the future!
Someone special our #olajumoke made it on the cover of this day style this morning . You all should buy one . This just made me cry . She really is a blessed woman with an amazing story . I almost cant believe it !@thisdaystyle thank you for being the most amazing publication and believing in this story A photo posted by TY Bello (@tybello) on
And for the Idris Fans:
Idris Elba with Naiyana
If you were alone this Valentines day, it may comfort you to know that Idris Elbahas reportedly split from his girlfriend Naiyana Garth. The Hollywood star, who has 22-month-old son Winston with the makeup artist, moved out of the home they shared in South West London recently, according to The Sun newspaper. Idris, who also has 13-year-old daughter Isan, from his marriage to first wife Kim, started dating Naiyana in the summer of 2013. She later fell pregnant. The break-up comes just days after the actor was seen partying at a club in New York with supermodel Naomi Campbell. Speculations about the connection between Naomi and Idris have been in strong circulation during the last few days and time will tell what becomes of the pair. Break ups are always difficult so we wish Idris all the best but we also know there are many Idris fans feeling exactly like this song title!
For the Entrepreneur experts: Afrocentric Emojis take over Apple: 
Lack of visual representation on digital devices has always been a constant topic of discussion, so much so that Apple revised it’s original emoji selection, which only featured characters of white complexion. Now all skin tones are available for its users. However there is an app taking the topic of diversification one-step forward. It’s called Afro Emoji.
“Express yourself realistically, people!” is the website caption. Launched in January, the app features brown-skinned men and women, wearing an array of African styles and headdresses. Although the emojis were created for Africans, they are bound to resonate with black people all over the world. Afro Emoji also provides a guide to the unique lexicon of expressions.
For example, “I don vex” meaning “I’m annoyed,” or “abeg no make me laugh” meaning “please don’t make me laugh.” “We, as Africans, definitely have an idiosyncratic way of communicating with one another, and Afro Emoji is really a fun, accessible graphic depiction of that. We are building a modern African hieroglyph that represents us,” Ayoola Daramola, the app’s team leader told Okay Africa. At first the emojis and expressions seemed more Nigerian, but Washington D.C.-based company updated the app in February, and now offers characters from different parts of Africa in an effort to “give it a pan-African feel.”
Afro Emoji is available on the Apple App Store and works on Android and Apple devices.
App of the week:
This week’s app of the week comes from WumDrop. Since we love hearing about innovations across the continent we had to cover the Uber – like app which launched in Johannesburg.
It aims to bring its transport service to South Africa and been growing from strength to strength in the last few months. According to the WumDrop site it is an online service and Android app are similar to popular ride-sharing service Uber when it comes to functionality. Users of the service type in their pick-up address, sender name, and contact details and then repeat for the drop off details.
Additional instructions can also be entered to ensure a proper delivery. After accepting the quote, the delivery is then dispatched to a WumDrop driver. WumDrop drivers – who apply via strict criteria such as undergoing criminal checks – then earn 70% of the delivery fee while WumDrop takes a 30% cut. WumDrop charges R7 per kilometre, with a minimum fare of R35 in Cape Town. And the service’s delivery people range from cyclists, scooter drivers and even just walkers for short distances. WumDrop co-founder Simon Hartley told Fin24. “With a normal courier service you have to sign up with an account, you have to pre-buy a lot packages, you have to fax things to them, you have to give them the name of your first-born child,” Hartley said as he highlighted WumDrop’s differentiating factor of being instant and simple.
WumDrop has 25 drivers in Cape Town with 15 on the road at anytime, according to Hartley. After launching in Joburg on Monday, the service has ten drivers in the city with five on the road at any time, Hartley told Fin24. WumDrop has also kick-started a programme with an investment arm called Ke Ya Rona to help drivers rent-to-own vehicles. The move is intended to help drivers eventually manage their own fleet.
Track of the week:
We love the vibes we get from this track. Poe’s “Adore Her” music video, directed by King Davies and shot entirely in Lagos is the second release from The Collectiv3 LP.
Let this summery feeling track carry you through week whatever the weather you’re in!