Nigeria's Purple Capital Receives US$12.5 Million Funding from Vantage Capital

Vantage Capital provides $12.5 million of funding to Purple Capital, a leading Nigerian property development company

Purple Capital represents the 24th transaction executed by Vantage across three generations of mezzanine funds with aggregate capital deployed to date of $277 million (R4 billion)

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa, November 21, 2017/ -- Vantage Capital (www.VantageCapital.co.za), Africa’s largest mezzanine fund manager, announced today that it has provided $12.5 million of funding to Purple Capital (www.PurpleCapng.com), a prominent Nigerian real estate company and financial service provider. Purple Capital is the developer of the iconic 6,000m² Maryland Mall (www.MarylandMallng.com), a neighbourhood shopping centre in the Ikeja district of Lagos.

Access Power and FMO Launch Second Edition of Solar ‘Shark Tank’ Competition for Innovative Solar Projects

Access Power and FMO Launch Second Edition of Solar ‘Shark Tank’ Competition for Innovative Solar Projects

Submission window opens as Solar Projects Compete for US$ 100,000 Grant to Develop their Projects

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates, November 20, 2017/ -- FMO (www.FMO.nl), the Dutch development bank, and Access Power (www.Access-Power.com), a leading developer, owner and operator of power projects in emerging markets, today announced the launch of the 2018 FMO Access Power Solar 'Shark Tank' Competition following the competition’s successful first installment in 2016 at the ‘Making Solar Bankable’ conference. The initiative is aimed at helping local solar power developers that require development support to make their innovative solar projects more impactful.

'Unity, Solidarity and Collaboration' Can Turn Tide On Terrorism Says UN Chief

'Unity, Solidarity and Collaboration' Can Turn Tide On Terrorism, Bolster Human Rights, Says UN Chief 

NEW YORK, 16 November 2017 / PRN Africa / -- Noting that at least 11,000 terrorist attacks occurred in more than 100 countries last year, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres stressed on Thursday that “terrorism is fundamentally the denial and destruction of human rights.”

“Terrorism has been unfortunately with us in various forms across ages and continents,” Mr. Guterres said in a lecture on counter-terrorism and human rights at the School of Oriental and African Studies of the University of London.

Ecobank Group Research Reveals Three Key Emerging Trends for Africa

PRESS RELEASE
Ecobank Group Research Reveals Three Key Emerging Trends for Africa
Digital innovation in Sub-Saharan Africa is being driven by the explosion in mobile phone usage, enabling African consumers to leapfrog existing business models and technologies

LONDON, United Kingdom, November 16, 2017/ --

• Rebounding economy after a trying year
• Gas is West Africa’s new oil
• Africa’s evolving role in FinTech leadership

The 2017 version of Ecobank Research’s Fixed Income, Currency and Commodities (FICC) Guidebook, which provides expert knowledge and analysis on African markets for investors and businesses, was launched today at AfricaFICC. Indicating a positive outlook for the continent, three key trends are forecast to take hold during the next 12 months.

BBM Messenger Driving Instant Messenger Growth in Nigeria

PRESS RELEASE – 16 NOVEMBER 2017

BBM Messenger Driving Instant Messenger Growth in Nigeria
Youth market dominate growth statistics

The United Nations predicts that by 2050, Africa will have the largest population globally. With 15,5 million smartphone users in Nigeria, the market is burgeoning with growth opportunities, particularly in the youth segment.

Creative Media Works, operating as BBM Messenger, recently hosted its first Digital and Mobile Innovation information session in Nigeria. Well attended by mobile marketing players in the industry, delegates were eager to understand and learn more about BBM Messenger’s mobile ecosystem and the power of Instant Messaging (IM).

Adam Pattison, Vice President for the Americas and EMEA at BBM Messenger.

Feyl Olubodun, Managing Director/CEO of Insights Publicis.

Youth segment: innovators and trend drivers
Feyl Olubodun, Managing Director/CEO of Insights Publicis, shared powerful perspectives on the next stage in the digital and mobile space in Nigeria. Olubodun said that the trend is an exciting one given that Africa will soon have the largest youth demographic globally.

“The youth market is not only the larger sector, but they’re also innovators and trend drivers,” Olubodun said. The prominence of social media is a good example. “The majority of social media users globally are millennial, and it’s no different in Nigeria. In reality, by 2025, the youth segment will make up 75% of the African workforce and they will have considerable purchasing power.”

Nigerian Officials Join Global Big Shots in China Hi-Tech Forum Held at CHTF 2017

Nigerian Officials Join Global Big Shots in China Hi-Tech Forum Held at CHTF 2017

SHENZHEN, China, Nov. 15, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- The China Hi-Tech Forum hosted by the 19th CHTF will be held at Shenzhen Convention and Exhibition Center from Nov.16 to Nov.21, 2017. The forum is composed of the following five parts: China Hi-Tech Opening Forum, Innovation Upgrade for Supply Quality Forum, Innovation and Future Technology Forum, Technology Transforming Our Lives Forum, and Future Technology Summit. China Hi-Tech Forum will include topics on international cooperation in science and technology, the Belt and Road Initiatives, industry restructuring led by science and technology, science and technology's influence on lifestyles, and other hot topics.

As a vital part of CHTF, China Hi-Tech Forum is famous for its high profile and authoritative guest speakers. Focusing on the popular topics, well-known domestic and international guest speakers are invited this year, including senior officials from Nigeria, Argentina, Prof. Dr. Hans Uszkoreit, Chief AI Advisor of Lenovo, Andrew Chi-Chih Yao, 2010 Turing Award Winner. Prof. Konstantin Novozolov, 2010 Nobel Laureate in Physics will also present to share the secret stories behind graphene. Meanwhile, senior managers from famous enterprises, such as Google, Huawei, and representatives of Chinese Academy of Engineering and Renmin University of China will deliver speeches.

Visa Welcomes the Nigerian Women's Bobsled Team to Team Visa for the Olympic Winter Games PyeongChang 2018

Visa Welcomes the Nigerian Women's Bobsled Team to Team Visa for the Olympic Winter Games PyeongChang 2018 

 Inspired by their determination, Visa helps pave the way to PyeongChang for this group of Olympic hopefuls

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. and SINGAPORE, Nov. 15, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Visa (NYSE: V) today announced the addition of three athletes who make up the Nigerian Women's Bobsled Team to Team Visa, currently training to become the first ever African representatives, men or women, to qualify for the Olympic Winter Games in the sport of Bobsled. Together, Bobsled pilot Seun Adigun, and brakemen Ngozi Onwumere and Akuoma Omeoga, combine their elite track backgrounds to chase their bobsled dreams.

Without access to proper training equipment or valuable ice time to perfect their skills, the members of the Nigerian Women's Bobsled Team started their journey on the snow-less grounds of Houston, Texas, in a wooden sled they nicknamed 'The Maeflower.' Once the team set their sights on the Olympic Winter Games PyeongChang 2018, they established a crowdfunding website hoping to raise the much-needed funds to get to PyeongChang. Upon discovering the page, Visa was inspired by their story and determination to carve out a place in history and pledged to help solidify the team's trip to the Olympic Winter Games.

Nigeria, Senegal and Cape Verde dominate the West African Hotel Pipeline with 77% of the Total Planned Hotel Rooms

PRESS RELEASE

Nigeria, Senegal and Cape Verde dominate the West African Hotel Pipeline with 77% of the Total Planned Hotel Rooms
W Hospitality Group’s 2017 Hotel Chains Pipeline report shows that hotel groups need to tackle lengthy development periods in West Africa

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa, November 14, 2017/ -- West Africa has been at the heart of the continent’s growth and economic transformation in recent years. Notwithstanding the sharp slowdown experienced in 2016 and 2017, the region’s economy is expected to rebound in 2017 onwards. Commodity-based economies, like Nigeria, are slowly recovering from the fall in oil prices and oil production, while countries like Côte d’Ivoire, Mali, and Senegal have shown economic resilience and sustained growth. As many of the countries continue to stabilize - politically and economically - the region will be better integrated from a local and international context. This increased integration raises the need for quality travel and accommodation infrastructure.

Shared Value Movement Founder and Business Icon Mark Kramer To Headline 2018 Africa Shared Value Summit

PRESS RELEASE

Shared Value Movement Founder and Business Icon Mark Kramer To Headline 2018 Africa Shared Value Summit

The Summit will focus on the implementation and impact of Shared Value, as well as how the private sector, government and civil society across the continent can work together using Shared Value to tackle the Goals

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa, November 14, 2017/ -- The Shared Value business model enables business to contribute towards the achievement of the UN 2030 Sustainable Development Goals and the betterment of society to the long-term benefit of their bottom line. In 2018, the Africa Shared Value Summit (www.AfricaSharedValueSummit.com) – taking place on 24 and 25 May at The Maslow in Sandton, Johannesburg – will be showcasing how businesses from across Africa and around the world are “Meeting the Challenge” through creating Shared Value. The Summit will focus on the implementation and impact of Shared Value, as well as how the private sector, government and civil society across the continent can work together using Shared Value to tackle the Goals. Its aim is to highlight the importance of not only embracing Shared Value as a concept but also taking action to implement it as a business strategy.

Headlining the Summit in 2018 is Mark Kramer, co-author (with Prof. Michael Porter) of the seminal Harvard Business Review articles that catapulted the concept of Creating Shared Value to global renown. As co-founder and MD of FSG Social Impact Advisors, he has continued to educate businesses about the vital strategic shift that must be made to ensure a better future not only for business, but for society as well. He is also a Senior Fellow in the CSR Initiative at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government. “What people don’t often realise is, Shared Value is really about competitive strategy,” he has noted. “It’s about how you find new ways to position your company and to differentiate it from other companies because of the social impact that your company is having.”

Andela Raises $40M To Connect Africa's Engineering Talent With Global Technology Companies

Andela Raises $40M To Connect Africa's Engineering Talent With Global Technology Companies

NEW YORK, Oct. 10, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Andela, the company that builds high-performing engineering teams with Africa's most talented software developers, today announced that the company has secured $40M in Series C funding. The investment was led by pan-African venture firm CRE Venture Capital with participation from DBL Partners, Amplo, Salesforce Ventures, and Africa-focused TLcom Capital. Existing investors, including Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, GV, and Spark Capital, also participated. The round, which marks one of the largest investments ever led by an African venture firm into an Africa-based company, brings Andela's total venture funding to just over $80M.