Connect with us

GRBusiness

GAIN Eyes Curbing Youth Unemployment Crisis In Africa, Sets To Host Virtual Summit

Published

on

As part of its developmental goals for the African continent, Grand Africa Initiative (GAIN) is set to host a Youth Summit slated to hold online, 30th and 31st October, 2020.

The 2020 GAIN Youth Summit will present a unique platform that primarily present an opportunity to build alliances, networks and promote multi-level collaboration for maximum impact.

With the theme “Curbing Youth Unemployment Crises in Africa: The Real Issues; speakers will focus on channeling the energy and enthusiasm of the youth to positive ends by empowering them and building their capacities to drive positive personal, community, national and continental level developmental goals.

The GAIN Youth Summit 2020 is a platform that would empower the youth and other key stakeholders with information, channels and tools to promote collaborative action for youth employment, development, education and entrepreneurship.

GAIN 2020 Youth Summit is free and will not only explore the real issues with unemployment in Africa but most importantly would expose the youth to opportunities that abound in various sectors and how they can tap into those opportunities,” organizers said in a statement.

“Rising unemployment rate is ravaging the economies of the continent and has a huge negative impact on the the youth and general standard of living in Africa. At Grand Africa Initiative (GAIN), we are focused on helping the youth to succeed in education, employment, innovation and entrepreneurship.

Chinwe Okoli, the Executive Director, Grand Africa Initiative -GAIN said experts and leaders from the private sector, government, academia, development institutions, global organisations, financial institutions and entrepreneurship ecosystem from 22 different countries will help the youth explore opportunities.

She said the summit will provide answers to questions on how to succeed in education; career professionals to excel in their professions; job seekers to position better and know how to secure new jobs and entrepreneurs to better understand the business environment, how to foster partnerships, expand their businesses and raise funds. 

“This is expected to help in curbing youth unemployment crises in Africa,” she said.

The summit sessions are categorised into Employment Stage, Education/Student Stage, Entrepreneurship/Innovation Stage, Action stage.

The Keynote Speaker for the GAIN Youth Summit is Professor Chukwuma Charles Soludo, Member, Presidential Economic Advisory Council, Federal Republic of Nigeria and the former Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria.The Lead Speakers include : Her Excellency, Mrs Teneng Mba Jaiteh, The Ambassador Plenipotentiary of The Gambia to Kingdom of Belgium and the European Union; His Excellency S. F Houmard, The President of in Global Office of the Global Union and Its Permanent Mission and a.i Chairman GU’s GHCF Foundation. HQ Switzerland; His Excellency, Mr Georges R. P. Chikoti, The Secretary General of the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS); Mr Tomi Davies ‘TD’, Collaborator-in-Chief, TVC Labs/President, African Business Angel Network (ABAN), Nigeria; Mr Afolabi Imoukhuede, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Job Creation, Federal Republic of Nigeria; MModise J.Motloba, The Group CEO, TysysCapital Group, South Africa; Mrs Fati N’zi-Hassane, Supervisor, Human Capital Division AUDA-NEPAD, African Union and over 30 more speakers from 22 countries are set to speak at the summit.

“In Africa, a social structure characterised by massive young population, it is important to find ways of gathering, mentoring and empowering them to take advantage of emerging opportunities. Our GAIN Youth Summit 2020 is a platform that has lineup speakers from around the word to engage to our youth and help us shape the future” Cynthia Asha Amani, GAIN Regional Coordinator, East Africa.

Some of the Partners for The GAIN Youth Summit 2020 are AUDA-NEPAD agency of the African Union; The Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS) and  Global Union and its Permanent Mission to the global Safety of Nations and their People; FCMB, Nigeria; Tysys Capital group, South Africa among others.

Grand Africa Initiative (GAIN) is a Pan-African Non-governmental organization on a mission to help African youth, develop and harness their potentials, unique ideas, talents and abilities to succeed in education, employment, entrepreneurship, and innovation.  GAIN is on a mission to Gather, Empower, Mentor and Monitor (GEMM) African youth to succeed in education, employment, innovation and entrepreneurship in order to reduce poverty, inequality, illegal migration crises and insecurity; to achieve a safer, more economically empowered and developed Africa through youth development. GAIN programs include training, advocacy, education, mentorship, empowerment, opportunities dissemination and partnership seeking to achieve sustainable development by igniting the positive energy of the greater segment of Africa’s population – the youth.

Register here.

Continue Reading

Finance

All You Need To Know About Dr. Adaora Umeoji, The New GMD/CEO of Zenith Bank Plc

Published

on

On June 1, 2024, Adaora Umeoji will become the new Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Zenith Bank Plc, replacing Ebenezer Onyeagwu, whose five-year term ends on May 31, 2024. Zenith Bank announced this on its website on March March 19th 2024.

The appointment is a historic moment as Adaora Umeoji becomes the first female GMD/CEO since the bank’s inception in May 1990.

According to the bank’s statement, “Her appointment is consistent with the bank’s executive transition tradition, succession plan, and strategy of grooming leaders from within.”

Adaora Umeoji has almost thirty years of experience in banking. She previously served as the deputy managing director of the bank, a role she assumed in October 2016. She has been with the bank for nearly twenty-six years.

Early Life and Education

•Dr. Adaora’s journey began in Jos Nigeria

• She holds a bachelor’s degree in sociology from the University of Jos, a bachelor’s degree in accounting, and a first-class honours degree in law from Baze University, Abuja.

•She holds a Master of Laws from the University of Salford, United Kingdom, a Master in Business Administration from the University of Calabar, and also has a doctorate in business administration from Apollos University, USA.

• She holds a Certificate in Economics for Business from the prestigious MIT Sloan School of Management, USA, and has attended various management programmes in renowned Universities around the world including the strategic thinking and Management programme at Wharton Business School, USA.

•Umeoji is an alumnus of Harvard Business School, where she attended the Advanced Management Programme, and an alumnus of Columbia Business School with a Certificate in the Global Banking Program.

Dr. Adaora’s Professional Ascension

•Umeoji has been the Deputy Managing Director of the bank since October 28, 2016 and has close to 30 years of banking experience of which 26 years has been with Zenith Bank.
Adaora Umeoji, founded the Catholic Bankers Association of Nigeria (CBAN), a platform she uses to promote ethical banking and service to humanity.

Chart Success In Leadership

• Umeoji being the first female to be appointed as GMD of the bank effective June 1, 2024
• Dame Adaora Umeoji stands as a shining example of empowerment and leadership and as a role model for aspiring individuals worldwide.

•Despite her accomplishments, Adaora Umeoji emphasizing the importance of humility and focus on one’s mission.

Continue Reading

Energy

AVEVA Appoints Joanna Mainguy as New Sustainability Accelerator Director

Published

on

Joanna AVEVA
Joanna Mainguy, Sustainability Accelerator Director at AVEVA
  • Joanna Mainguy will steer strategies for sustainability innovation across AVEVA’s portfolio and partner ecosystem, furthering ESG targets for 2025 and beyond

AVEVA, a global leader in industrial software, driving digital transformation and sustainability, today announced the appointment of Joanna Mainguy as Sustainability Accelerator Director.

Joanna’s appointment testifies to AVEVA’s dedication to strengthening the company’s sustainability impact in line with advancing global climate commitments. 

As Sustainability Accelerator Director, Joanna Mainguy will focus exclusively on sustainability solutions and strategies to accelerate innovation that will help AVEVA’s customers to achieve their net-zero targets.

She will look at how AVEVA leverages current market and customer analysis to inform its in-house development team, advise on new customer collaborations and on how AVEVA should grow its partnership network and M&A pipeline to reflect its sustainability priorities.

Joanna will lead the implementation of a sustainability solutions plan tailored to meet the most pressing needs of AVEVA’s industrial customers on low-carbon transition, circularity and resilience, via an integrated product, marketing and sales approach. She will work closely with AVEVA’s portfolio, business area and R&D leads to continue to develop new sustainability capabilities and drive collaboration on go-to-market initiatives that support industry with contributing to an accelerated energy transition and shift to a circular economy.

Joanna was formerly Industry Director, EMEA, for Energy & Sustainability at Microsoft, where she led strategic engagements with major energy providers and supported the energy transition with digital solutions. She has worked across the entire energy value chain and has more than 15 years of experience in process industries and the energy sector, including work for major system integrators, software and energy companies.

Lisa Wee, Global Head of Sustainability, AVEVA, said: “We are excited to welcome Joanna to AVEVA. She will bolster our mission to enable faster uptake of existing sustainability solutions across the industrial landscape, while in parallel we continue to invest in product capabilities and partnerships that will push out the frontiers of sustainability innovation for industry. At AVEVA we look to lead by example on sustainability and we achieved a 93% reduction in Scope 1 and 2 emissions last year. We aspire to help our customers better leverage digital solutions to realize their own ambitious sustainability targets early, and Joanna brings a wealth of experience to help support this.”

Commenting on her appointment, Joanna Mainguy, Sustainability Accelerator Director, AVEVA, said: “I am delighted to join AVEVA at such a pivotal time in its sustainability innovation and growth trajectory. I look forward to working with AVEVA teams and customers to continue to grow the sustainability benefits that can be achieved with AVEVA software. I am also keen to work closely with our partners to drive further positive change at scale, since we know addressing the climate crisis will continue to require expanded collaboration”.

AVEVA actively embeds sustainability into its core product strategy with specific capabilities in its software portfolio.

AVEVA’s software enables organizations to connect and contextualize key sustainability data with artificial intelligence and human insight, enhancing their agility, resilience and sustainability in order to help drive responsible use of the world’s resources.

AVEVA’s 2023 Sustainability Progress Report reveals significant progress across all three pillars of the company’s sustainability framework, encompassing product strategy, operations and culture. 

Continue Reading

Finance

Binance To Discontinue All Nigerian Naira Related Services

Published

on

Cryptocurrency exchange, Binance, has announced plans to discontinue all services related to the Nigerian naira.

Binance, a cryptocurrency exchange platform, was accused of exploiting the Nigerian currency, Naira, leading to its free fall in value.

The company is, in addition, facing allegations of terrorism financing, money laundering and tax invasion, among others.Nigeria is one of the largest peer-to-peer crypto markets in the world.

Between July 2022 and June 2023, crypto transactions in the country reached $56.7bn, according to Chainalysis.But the company, in a statement on Tuesday, advised users to withdraw NGN, trade their NGN assets or convert NGN into crypto.

The statement read, “Users are encouraged to withdraw NGN, trade their NGN assets or convert NGN into crypto prior to the discontinuation of these NGN services.

“From 2024-03-08 08:00 (UTC), any remaining NGN balances in users’ Binance accounts will be automatically converted to USDT based on the conversion rate below.

“Binance will not support deposits of NGN after 2024-03-05 14:00 (UTC). Withdrawals of NGN will not be supported after 2024-03-08 06:00 (UTC).

“After 2024-03-08 08:00 (UTC), Binance will convert any remaining NGN balances in users’ Spot and Funding wallets into USDT on behalf of users at a ratio of 1 USDT = 1,515.13 NGN.

“Please note that the conversion rate is calculated based on the average closing price of the USDT/NGN trading pair on Binance Spot in the last seven days.

“The conversion may take approximately up to 24 hours or longer. USDT tokens will be credited to users’ Spot wallets thereafter, and users can confirm receipt of the tokens via the Convert History page.

“If users hold less than 0.00000001 USDT worth of NGN in their Spot and Funding wallets, they will each receive 0.00000001 USDT in their Spot wallets after the conversion.”

Recently, the government through the Nigerian Communications Commission blocked the online platforms of Binance and other crypto firms to avert what it considers continuous manipulation of the forex market and illicit movement of funds.

Binance customers are asking if Binance is leaving Nigeria completely.

Continue Reading

Trending