Getting to know Nafisa Akabor

We’ve known each other online for two decades, back when Nafisa Akabor was writing about food and I was just another person on the internet. Today, she’s the founder and editor of Recharged, with a career spanning travel, technology, EVs, gadgets and, of course, that unmistakable green hair.

I caught up with her to talk about how she got here, what she’s driving, what she’s using and what she’s still hoping to see.

1. WE MET ONLINE TWO DECADES AGO WHEN YOU WERE A FOOD BLOGGER, NAFISA. BEFORE SWITCHING TO TECH, YOU WORKED IN TRAVEL. WHAT LED TO YOU CHANGING YOUR CAREER FOCUS?

It happened accidentally. I always had a love for technology since childhood, and doubled up as my family tech support during my teenage years, but for reasons I won’t get into, I did not pursue a career in IT.

I wrote about tech in my spare time back in 2006 (gosh, that was 20 years ago!) for a now defunct website called Reporter.co.za where I opted for the money made on articles written to go to charity since I was doing it as a hobby.

I was subsequently nominated for an award – the prestigious Telkom ICT Journalist of the Year Awards and was the runner up in the Community Journalist category. It was at this awards ceremony ITWeb spotted me and offered me a job – to write and manage a new consumer technology website they were launching called My Digital Life. I also moderated community blogs on the platform.

Basically, I was at the right place at the right time, which also makes it very difficult to give career advice.

2. WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE EV TESTED?

As a Mini driver, I know most people will think it’s a cop out if I choose the Mini Cooper SE, an EV I got to spend 6 months with, and loved. But I will not choose that.

My favourite one that received tons of attention, waves from strangers, pull overs from JMPD, and a traffic fine because at 0-100km/h 3.2 seconds it was bound to happen – the MG Cyberster!

Think flaming red, two-seater, convertible, scissor doors, arrow-shaped tail lights; there was nothing rational about it. Heck, you can’t even fit luggage into it! It was just so much fun to drive without me being my practical self and accounting for consumption.

3. DO YOU HAVE A RECOMMENDED WEARABLE?

I’ve never been so taken by a wearable as much as the Oura Ring. I finally got to experience why this item is the world’s number one wearable, and extremely popular among women and professional athletes. It’s non-intrusive with a big focus on sleep and recovery; and women’s health tracking. It is by far the best wellness and lifestyle accessory I’ve tested – I ended up getting my own one.

4. WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE RESTAURANT/DISH (MAINS AND DESSERT)?

Main: Give me all the shellfish from Tightline drenched in lemon butter – high praise for a new-to-Joburg restaurant but when a bunch of fisherman from Durban open a restaurant here and have been operating successfully for more than 35 years, you know they know what’s good. And bringing fresh fish from Durban daily to Joburg, and not selling us frozen seafood? Instantly sold!

Dessert: Give me a delicious burnt basque cheesecake and I’ll be happy. Carb-free, crustless and full of creamy, rich, custard-like goodness.

I love simple flavours.

5. WHAT’S YOUR TOP LIFESTYLE HACK?

If you’re already lead an active lifestyle and if you have healthy financial habits, you may as well get rewarded for your loyalty (in my case via my medical aid + bank). It’s basically free money for being smart about it and the travel discounts are a huge appeal.

Others worth noting: Buy a phone with eSIM capabilities to use abroad if you travel a lot (imagine handing over personal info in a country you land in that could end up dumped on the web because your data wasn’t secured properly); use a digital loyalty app instead of carrying a ton of cards around or a digital wallet (Apple Pay, Samsung Pay, Google Wallet etc).

6. HOW MANY COUNTRIES HAVE YOU TRAVELLED TO, BUSINESS AND PERSONAL COMBINED?

I think it’s sitting at 46 countries now. But I stopped obsessing about it after I reached my 40 by 40 goal a few years ago. But it would be exciting to hit 50!

7. DO YOU HAVE A FAVOURITE GADGET/APP/DEVICE?

As a tech journalist, we are spoilt for choice and right now, it’s the Samsung Z Fold 8. I love it when a piece of tech makes me change my habits and that’s exactly what the Fold 8 has done for me. I use it to manage my site, browse social media, read more books on the Kindle app, as entertainment on the treadmill or airplane, conduct work interviews, etc. It’s a companion device that I take everywhere and fits in my smallest handbag.

8. WHAT’S YOUR DREAM DESTINATION?

I still want to see the Northern Lights, whichever country that may be.

9. ANY CARS/GADGET YOU’RE LOOKING FORWARD TO REVIEWING?

I’m grateful to be currently testing the Nio Firefly, an EV and brand that has not yet launched in the South African market. To get these opportunities is something I will never take for granted.

10. HOW LONG HAVE YOU HAD GREEN HAIR?

Since May 2018! So more than 8 years now.

BONUS Q: HOW DID RECHARGED COME ABOUT?

It was the rebrand of my former website called Wired to the Web that used to sit on the URL nafisa.co.za, which ran from 2008 – 2023. I wanted to formalise it as a business and move away from a blog, which I treated as a hobby. In ways, it felt like my own name was holding me back as I was turning down a bunch of paid work. I’ve since held onto my name domain; it is now the home of my Tech Things newsletter.

I chose the name Recharged because I needed one word to link both technology and EVs, my two niches. Over the years, I organically evolved from covering tech, to tech inside cars, and then it became EVs.

A friend calls me the blueprint because of the way I naturally evolved from tech to include in-car tech and EVs; I didn’t set out to copy other individuals, but oh boy, there’s a lot of that happening now. I even recall the first opportunity I was given to write about infotainment systems; it was in 2012 with Ford Sync!

My other interests that I cover on here are smart home gadgets, staying safe online, mobile payment solutions, travel tech and any prepaid eSIM offering.