The entrepreneur and investor Keith Boyd, previously from Durbanville, who has broken a Guinness World Record for the fastest run from Cape Town to Cairo last year, launched a book with his memoirs at Durbanville Golf Club recently.
The book, Running Africa, tell his story of endurance, adventure and inspiring young Africans to take action. The book was published on 16 October this year by Rainbow Leaders, the youth pro-democracy foundation founded by Boyd, whose mission is to focus on reducing poverty by motivating Africa’s youth to vote and hold leaders accountable.
Raise awareness
Boyd ran 11 000km from Cape Town to Cairo in just 301 days — completing the journey on 22 May last year. He undertook this challenging run to raise awareness for Rainbow Leaders. His mission highlights the critical link between poor leadership, poverty and low youth voter participation.
Boyd, who now lives in Mouille Point, is an entrepreneur, chief executive officer and investor with extensive experience in the telecommunications, property, tourism and power industries across Africa.
He now focuses on social impact investment and youth empowerment through Rainbow Leaders. His aim is to reduce poverty by motivating young Africans to vote and hold leaders accountable.
“Poverty is overwhelmingly a country-specific problem,” says Boyd. “Its greatest contributor is poor leadership, which leads to a trust deficit, deterring investment and slowing economic growth. Educating and motivating young people to vote is key to changing that,” he says.
Challenges
In his memoir, Boyd shares his first-hand experiences running across nine African countries — blending adventure, endurance and purpose. Running Africa captures Africa’s diverse landscapes, cultures and challenges through the eyes of a determined runner on a mission to inspire civic responsibility and social change.
The non-fiction work intertwines a story of personal resilience and discovery with a call to action for Africa’s next generation, according to a media release.
Breaking a 25-year-old record
“Running Africa is however much more than a sports memoir; it’s a candid look at the challenges and complexities of Africa. The book provides full details on his verified record, documenting the 11 000km run, which was independently verified to secure the Guinness World Record for the fastest time — breaking a 25-year-old record,” according to the release.
“Beyond the athletic feat, the memoir details facing extreme adversity and resilience, including a firefight, a hostage situation, team members being imprisoned and managing a generic heart condition while running. This raw context sets the stage for the book’s core theme: civic responsibility and youth empowerment.”
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