Wanderley Ribeiro

Francis Kéré grew up without electricity. He knows what African children actually need from a building. So when he designed Noomdo Orphanage 2km outside Koudougou, he asked the right question first, what happens here when we leave? Laterite stone pulled from a nearby quarry. Compressed clay brick vaults. Four residential clusters each wrapping its own courtyard. A central space slightly sunken so when 50 children between ages six and seventeen gather there, the ground pulls them together. 4,000 sqm. Every material local. Every wall repairable by the community. Every floor a child can sweep without instruction. Most rural buildings in Africa decay quietly. Wrong materials. No maintenance plan. A good photo, then slow collapse. Kéré built the opposite a home that belongs completely to the people living in it. That’s what 50 orphaned children in Burkina Faso deserve. Not charity architecture. A place that holds them. Diébédo Francis Kéré | Kéré Architecture | Koudougou, Burkina Faso 🇧🇫 | 2016

Engaging discussion with Angola's business leaders on my first visit as Managing Director. Economic diversification and a competitive private sector are key to sustainable growth. Grateful for their perspectives on improving the business environment to attract investment.