BOLD Veuve conversations: Dr Adriana Marais
Veuve Clicquot Bold Conversations
Dr Adriana Marais, founder of Proudly Human
Adriana has been envisaging humanity’s expansion beyond Earth since childhood. From humble beginnings, winning first prize at the local Science Expo for her project ‘Martian City’ at age 13, in 2015, Adriana was selected as one of 100 international astronaut candidates with the Mars One Project. When the startup declared bankruptcy in 2019, she founded Proudly Human.
The Project is a series of off-grid habitation experiments in the most extreme environments on the planet, in preparation for life on the Moon, Mars and beyond, as well as a sustainable future here on Earth.
Her PhD and research in quantum biology on photosynthesis and the origins of the building blocks of life in space won awards from L’Oreal-UNESCO and the Royal Society of South Africa among others. She is a 2016 alumna of the Lindau Nobel Laureate Physics Program for young scientists. She is currently developing a blockchain-based economic system for off-world environments towards a second PhD. Her popular science writing on topics from quantum biology to space exploration has been widely published including by Nature and HuffPost.
BOLD CONVERSATIONS BY VEUVE CLICQUOT AIMS TO EMBOLDEN SUCCESSIVE GENERATIONS OF AUDACIOUS FEMALE LEADERS IN SOUTH AFRICA
54% OF SOUTH AFRICAN WOMEN SURVEYED CONSIDER THEMSELVES ENTREPRENEURS - THE HIGHEST LEVEL OF WOMEN ENTREPRENEURSHIP AMONGST ALL 17 COUNTRIES MEASURED
90% OF SOUTH AFRICAN WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS BELIEVE THAT IN ORDER TO SUCCEED, THEY NEED THE SUPPORT OF A NETWORK OF WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS
SOUTH AFRICAN WOMEN REMAIN RESOLUTE AND BOLD IN BUSINESS: SOUTH AFRICA'S ASPIRING WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS ARE FACING THE COVID CRISIS WITH INCREASED DETERMINATION AND AN EYE TOWARD THE FUTURE. 59% OF WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS REPORT GROWING MORE CONFIDENT IN THEIR BUSINESS DEALINGS, AND 63% SAY THEY'RE MORE PROFESSIONALLY BOLD THAN BEFORE THE CRISIS
Madame Clicquot’s story is one of boldness, creativity and entrepreneurial spirit. In 1805, at just 27, she took the reins of Veuve Clicquot after the death of her husband, at a time when women could neither work nor hold a bank account. Revered as one of the first businesswomen of modern times, Madame Clicquot’s focus on new opportunities and willingness to take risks as she expanded her business to all four corners of the globe set the stage for the brand’s support of women entrepreneurship to this day.
With the Bold by Veuve Clicquot platform, Veuve Clicquot remains passionately committed to emboldening successive generations of audacious female leaders. The House relentlessly seeks to understand how the world is evolving and wants to be a driving force, making a real contribution – especially when it comes to female entrepreneurship. The Maison unveiled its first International Women’s Entrepreneurship Barometer study in June 2019, with the aim of delivering clear insights around the state of female entrepreneurship, identifying common prejudices, mental and structural barriers to be overcome and most importantly, driving public debate.
The Veuve Clicquot 2020 Barometer (second edition), conducted as the COVID crisis exerted pressure on global cultures and economies, updated the status of women entrepreneurs across the world and has provided the community with a rare tool: a true understanding of the state of female entrepreneurship. Led by dynamic chairperson Rapelang Rabana, the Bold Conversations by Veuve Clicquot experience – which took place in the presence of 50 live and over 600 digital guests – saw passionate conversation as two panels of business leaders including Amanda Dambuza, Nthabi Taukobong, Mzamo Masito and Dr Adriana Marais unpacked and debated the findings of this latest study.
The findings of the barometer shed a fascinating light on the state of entrepreneurship in South Africa – the country with the highest level of women entrepreneurship amongst all 17 countries measured. Indeed, entrepreneurship is more the rule than the exception with more than half of South African women (54%) considering themselves entrepreneurs. The majority of women (82%) and men (87%) who aren't currently entrepreneurs, are interested in becoming one … a trend that is rising. Interestingly, women entrepreneurship has increased since the 2018 study (+11%), yet mostly in lower revenue sectors. Additionally, more women (+12%) and men (+9%) aspire to entrepreneurship in a country with very high levels of entrepreneurship already.
We spoke to Dr Adriana Marais, one of the panelists of the Bold Conversations by Veuve Clicquot experience in Johannesburg, about her own endeavours as one of SA’s pioneering entrepreneurs.
Q: Adriana, you were most recently a panelist at the Bold Conversations by Veuve Clicquot experience in Johannesburg. Please tell us a bit about this experience?
A: “Adventurer” is a translation of entrepreneur from the French that resounds with me. Exploration drives innovation. This doesn’t necessarily mean leaving the planet, but it does involve getting out of your comfort zone and being exposed to new things, which in turn sparks new ideas. The adventurous spirit of Madame Clicquot led to her revolutionise the champagne industry in the 1800s, a tough time for women in business. With South Africans renowned for making a plan in difficult conditions, it is not so surprising that 54% of South African women consider themselves entrepreneurs - the highest level of women entrepreneurship amongst all 17 countries measured. It was a pleasure to hear stories of boldness and resilience from the panelists, particularly around their experiences of doing business in trying times during a pandemic.
Q: When do you think the African continent will succeed in sending its first mission to the moon as part of the Africa2Moon Project and which countries are leading this project?
A: It is time for Africa to expand its role in space exploration. Innovating in resource-constrained environments is what we do best. I am a director at the Foundation for Space Development Africa, and together with founding director Carla Sharpe, we are driving her brainchild the Africa2Moon mission. Africa2Moon aims to inspire Africa to “Reach for the Moon”, by reaching for the Moon! The project is a voluntary participation project that will place a low frequency radio telescope array on the far side of the moon. The elegant design of the telescope is inspired by the distributed array of dishes that will form the Square Kilometer Array radio telescope, currently under construction here in the Northern Cape. The radio astronomy data will be beamed back to Earth, where it will provide insights into new science and the potential of low frequency radio astronomy. Data sets will be relayed to classrooms across developing countries in particular in Africa, inspiring our youth to get excited about exploring and learning, and to believe that the sky is not the limit.
Q: And what about Mars. How far are we in our progress towards one day inhabiting the red planet?
As part of Proudly Human’s Off-World Project, what are some of the most extreme environments on Earth that have been explored?
A: According to South African-born Elon Musk, his company SpaceX will launch crews to Mars before 2030. As the first private company to launch humans into space this year, and with impressive achievements in developing the Starship, a reusable long duration spaceflight vehicle and the most powerful rocket ever built, they are on track for this goal. Musk being one of the richest people ever also helps. I have always strongly believed that curiosity-driven space exploration is something to be proud of, a celebration of our humanity and the reality in which we find ourselves. Yet the challenges we face on Earth including poverty and inequality, not to mention climate change and the associated increased risk of pandemics, mean that not everyone is able to participate. The challenge we face as a society is to balance ambitious goals that inspire us to dream, like the first human communities on the Moon and Mars, while simultaneously uplifting people living in harsh conditions here on Earth and encouraging a rapidly growing population of youth to get excited about exploring and learning.
In 2019, I left my position as Head of Innovation at SAP Africa to found Proudly Human, and to take up the challenge of developing solutions to live off-world, while applying this knowledge to improving standards of living for people on Earth. Since then, I have been on location scouts for the organisation’s Off-World Project to regions including the deserts in Africa and the Middle East, as well as all the way to Antarctica. The Off-World Project is a series of habitation experiments, building off-grid infrastructure and communities in the most extreme environments on the planet, from the desert, to under the ocean, to the Antarctic winter. Each experiment will last several months, generate exploration-driven innovation and research, and be filmed for a global audience through a documentary series.
We have decided that the time is now to launch the Off-World Project. In the midst of the turmoil, we aim to demonstrate human resilience, sustainable technology and community spirit in even the most extreme environments through grit, imagination, research and innovation, at a time when inspiration is needed most. We opened applications for the Off-World Project Community earlier this year, from where we will select team members for each experiment. We are looking for resilient, interesting people with diverse expertise, a passion for adventure, and a story to tell. Off-World Community members need to have the skills to contribute to life-support, which includes safety, shelter, power, water, food and communication systems, as well as community spirit, which is any activity that contributes to a sense of well-being within the team.
We are currently in the pitch phase to major global broadcasters including Netflix and National Geographic for the Off-World documentary series. In the next few months we will be announcing the location and the team for the launch of the Off-World Project, a 40 day experiment in the oldest and one of the driest deserts on Earth. Hint, somewhere in Africa.
Q: You were one of 100 individuals selected as part of the Mars One project with the aim of sending humans to settle on Mars. What does this mean for you?
A: In 2015, Mars One announced 100 astronaut candidate finalists selected from 200 000 applicants from around the world, I was one of them. Mars One declared bankruptcy in February 2019. Mars One has been facing fundraising challenges since the get go. Nothing changes for my plans, in fact this setback led me to found Proudly Human. The mission to Mars is bigger than any one of us. And we'll get there, one way or another.
INSTAGRAM: @ADRIANA_MARAIS
FACEBOOK: ADRIANA MARAIS
TWITTER: @ADRIANAMARAIS
LINKEDIN: ADRIANA MARAIS
