Legend Manqele raises the bar
Legend Manqele’s The Bar Group brings Destiny and Destiny Man magazines bi-monthly issues, showcasing a new look and feel as well as an integrated multimedia direction to the two publications.
Charged with its purpose of being a premium content house that makes the choice to change the world, one content production piece at a time, The Bar Group consists of a number of companies. The first of these companies is The BarLeaderTV which has produced some of South Africa’s most successful reality shows.
Recently, the group celebrated its one year anniversary in online magazine content production with its film and TV magazine, The Bar. As a growing content hub, The Bar Group is making strategically sound strides in South Africa with reach in various pockets across the continent and globally.
Since the liquidation of Ndalo Media at the beginning of 2019, The Bar Group is finalising its self-funded liquidation process which will lead to a 100% acquisition and ownership of both titles, Destiny and Destiny Man. Under the new ownership, The Bar Group will infuse their credible and creative approach to content supported by a team of past Ndalo Media staff and their existing staff to re-introduce the magazine back to the market.
“There’s an important place and need for both magazines and there is still no publication that successfully does what Destiny and Destiny Man did and that’s why it needed to return,”Manqele further elaborates, “we need platforms that celebrate businessmen and women within various fields to offer business insight and literacy whilst highlighting possible careers that not only grow our economy, but also decrease the unemployment rate.”
The end of the two magazines struck a cord in many South African lives both with previous employees as well as readers, with many calling out for the two publications to be saved. The need for publishers to constantly evolve in how they package content is fast becoming a pre-requisite accompanied by a long-term vision.
The International Federation of Periodical Publishers (FIPP) recently shared a report on the rising concerns over the future of print in the world by highlighting that print media is not entirely under threat but rather a shift has to happen for the industry to remain sustainable.
Print is not dying, the mis-management of it is causing it to die. Data and access is still a huge issue for most Africans, leaving an untapped audience that may be denied the opportunity to access information which print provides through its longevity and ability to travel for longer.
With this in mind, The Bar Group’s vision is to develop content that will drive change and make an impact which means consumers can look forward to a combination of local, continental and global content which addresses business success, trends and challenges.
“Learning and resilience will always serve one well even in business. We have the choice to not only make great turnovers but to bring impact to people and also change the world through our stories.” Manqele says.
The group of young content creators behind the return of the magazines are driven to tell African business stories their way.
