PanAfrican Capital Holdings Sets Up The Catalyst Project To Promote African Entrepreneurship

The Catalyst

PRESS RELEASE

PanAfrican Capital Holdings Sets Up The Catalyst Project To Promote African Entrepreneurship

LAGOS, Nigeria, December 13, 2021/ -- In commitment to its vision to deliver exceptional services in chosen markets and create value for stakeholders, PanAfrican Capital Holdings ‘PAC Holdings’ has set up a venture capital project, to be known as The Catalyst (www.TheCatalystAfrica.com), to identify and invest in growth to product-expansion stage companies with convincing business models and market opportunities.

As a proprietary investment company with the focus to offer strategic investment solutions and unlock value across emerging and frontier markets across Africa, PAC Holdings acknowledges the vital role of technology in driving economic growth in Africa.

According to the Venture Capital in Africa Report, “90% of all reported VC deals between 2014 and 2020 were in technology-enabled companies operating across a variety of sectors. Financials accounted for the largest share of VC deals by both volume (22%) and value (26%) from 2014 - 2020, with Information Technology (18%) and Consumer Discretionary (16%) accounting for the second and third largest share of VC deals by volume within the same timeframe.” This trend is expected to continue with more opportunities for technology solutions arising in a post covid world.

Toluwalope Oni, the Global Coordinator of The Catalyst, said, “The Catalyst Project has been set up to facilitate and finance the delivery of technology enabled solutions, as well as promote African entrepreneurship. Our industries of primary focus are pivotal gears of a digital African economy, and these include finance, education, health, agriculture and logistic.”

Some of the objectives for the initiative include driving a culture of innovation and contributing to the delivery of forward-thinking market value across Africa.

“The project’s target is to inject an initial sum of $1,000,000 into ‘growth stage’ businesses that meet its criteria of; a clearly defined minimum viable product, solving a need/gap either on the demand or supply side in Africa, generating revenue enough to cover direct costs, seeking capital to boost expansion required to achieve exponential scale and little or no debt balances in the company’s balance sheet,” the Global coordinator added.

The identified sectors, given current macro-economic realities, represent the key underlying catalyst for Sustainable Economic Growth in emerging and frontier economies. Selected businesses that become successful would benefit from PAC Holdings access to an ecosystem of strategic investors & mentors, and enjoy product/service synergies.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of The Catalyst.

Media Contact:
On behalf of PanAfrican Capital Holdings Limited
Omolola Ojo
Email: omolola.ojo@panafricancapitalholdings.com

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About PanAfrican Capital Holdings:
PanAfrican Capital Holdings “PAC Holdings” is a Proprietary Investment Company with special focus on Key Sectors across Africa including Financial Services, Hospitality & Entertainment, Real Estate & Infrastructure, Agro-Allied & FMCG, Healthcare, Renewable Energy, and ICT & Media.

With specialist subsidiary companies across chosen sectors. PAC Holdings is geared towards offering strategic investment solutions and unlocking value across emerging and frontier markets. The company’s corporate Head Office is in Lagos, with presence in Accra, Nairobi and Mauritius.  With Over the years, we have created strong strategic alliances with multilateral financial institutions such as African Export-Import bank, Africa Development Bank, Africa Finance Corporation, Development Bank of South Africa, Bank of Industry, Nigerian Export-Import bank and other banks across the continent.

For more information, visit www.thecatalystafrica.com

SOURCE
The Catalyst

Akon, Nse Ikpe-Etim and Enyinna Nwigwe in "The American King"

Akon, Nse Ikpe-Etim and Enyinna Nwigwe in "The American King"

You can view the trailer of the new romantic comedy, "The  American King" starring famous African American singer, rapper, actor and businessman Akon, Hollywood stars, Andrew Howard, Nick Moran, Massi Furlan and top #Nollywood stars Nse Ikpe-Etim and Enyinna Nwigwe.

"The film mixes the spirit of Eddie Murphy and Arsenio Hall, the provocative ideas of The New York Times‘ 1619 Project, with the shadow of the Trump presidency colliding and conflating to create a unique oddball experience. "
- The Black Film Magazine

SYNOPSIS:

When a High Priestess arrives to fulfill a 400-year-old prophecy, she chooses a troublemaking American to become the King of Africa. He and his friends are jetted away to take the crown and bring their street smarts to a new international level of mischief before discovering that with great power comes great responsibility. Can the new king save his country and Make Africa Great Again?

View the trailer on
https://www.visionfilms.net/film-detail?id=d8d46041-4028-ec11-8288-0e415c66ce57

"Eagle Wings", The Best War Film in the History of Filmmaking in Nigeria

 

"Eagle Wings", The Best War Film in the History of Filmmaking in Nigeria

"Eagle Wings’, a Nollywood and the Nigerian Airforce film collaboration is the best war film in the history of filmmaking in Nigeria since "Palaver", the first film shot in NIgeria by the Academy Award winning English filmmaker, Geoffrey Barkas in 1926.

Other notable NIgerian war films include "Ija Ominira" (Fight For Freedom) of 1979 directed by Dr. Ola Balogun and produced by Adeyemi Afolayan, aka "Ade Love", classified as one of the classics of the Cinema; 

"Cry Freedom" (1981) by Dr. Ola Balogun, "Battle of Love" (2003),  "Across the Niger" (2004), "Laviva" (2007) and "76" (2016) by Izu Ojukwu.

"Eagle Wings" is one of the best NIgerian films in 2021 and the best in original screenplay, best cinematography, best casting, best visual effects and the best directing in combat choreography.

“The film explores the often tragic, yet thrilling business of fighting for life, peace, and the freedom to love in the face of great violence. An uplifting journey through a terror-filled landscape and the power of newly found love, faith, duty and sacrifice ," said the director Paul Apel Papel.

Eagle Wings’ follows the story of an Air Force Fighter pilot who must navigate his way to safety amid an insurgency. It highlights the sacrifices of the military in combating insecurity and keeping the peace of the nation. The movie also explores the often tragic, yet thrilling mission in battling for life, peace, and freedom to love, in the face of great danger.

Starring Nollywood stars Enyinna Nwigwe,Femi Jacobs, Yakubu Mohammed, Francis Duru, Sadiq Daba, Keppy Ekpeyong, Uzee Usman, Saeed Muhammed, Patience Ujah, Jamila Ibrahim and  Abdul Zada.

The film is a poignant action war drama about an Airforce Fighter Pilot who is caught in the harrowing world of insurgency.

The director and producer, Paul Apel Papel, is a Colorado Film School-trained filmmaker.

“Overall, it is an uplifting journey through a terror-filled landscape and the power of newly found love, faith, duty and sacrifice,” he noted.

With this project, Papel said he will be able to successfully tell not just any story, but an original African story from a place of power and grace.

Papel said he has pushed all boundaries and taken new risks, not just with the storyline, but also with the quality of production he seeks to put out.

This first of it's kind to be shot using the Atlaslensco Orion 2x Anamorphic lenses on the ARRI Alexa Mini cameras, shooting OpenGate-the first to be ever done in West Africa and Nollywood. 

Alexa Mini is the favourite of the best DPs in Hollywood. ALEXA Mini LF was used to shoot the British war film "1917" (2019) by Sir Roger Alexander Deakins CBE, winner of five BAFTA Awards for Best Cinematography, and has had fifteen nominations and two wins for the Academy Award for Best Cinematography.  Sir Samuel Alexander Mendes CBE, Academy Award winner for "American Beauty" (1999) directed "1917" and received ten nominations at the 92nd Academy Awards including Best Picture and Best Director, and three wins, for Best Cinematography, Best Visual Effects and Best Sound Mixing.

*Eagle Wings" can be converted to an IMAX film by DMR (digital re-mastering). IMAX's 3D conversion technology enables live-action movies that were originally shot in 2D to be converted into stunning IMAX 3D.

#Nigeria #nigerians #Nigerianarmy #specialforces #armedforces #military #airforce #soldiers #security #insecurity 

#film #africa #love #war #battle #insurgency #terrorists #bokoharam #terrorism #entertainment

Branwen Okpako, One of the Best NIgerian Filmmakers Outside Nollywood

Prof. Branwen Kiemute Okpako ,  Nigerian born Welsh German filmmaker and scholar, a Chancellor’s Fellow is one of the most accomplished NIgerian filmmakers profiled in the third edition of my NOLLYWOO MIRROR® Series, the first book series on Nollywood and the Nigerian film industry.

Branwen Okpako was born in Lagos/Nigeria. She received a BSC in political sciences from Bristol University, England in 1991, followed by MFA equivalent in film directing from the German Film & Television Academy, Berlin (dffb) in 1999. Her graduation film Dreckfresser (Dirt For Dinner 2000) won several international awards including First Steps: The German Newcomer Award for Documentary film 2000, IG Media Award (DOK-Leipzig) 2000, Distributions prize from sales 2000, The 24th Duisburg Film Week Award of the city of Duisburg for the best newcomer film Award, Bavarian State Government Documentary Award “The Young Lion” 2001, Best graduation film at the See Docs Dubrovnik festival 2001.

The fiction feature Valley of the Innocent (Tal der Ahnungslosen, 2004) had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film festival in 2003 and went on to compete in the feature film competition at FESPACO in 2005. For her documentary film The Education of Auma Obama, Okpako received the 2012 African Movie Academy Award for Best Diaspora Documentary, the Festival Founders Award for Best Documentary at the Pan African Film Festival in Los Angeles (both in 2012), and the Viewers Choice Award at the Africa International Film Festival (2011). Her documentary-drama, The Curse of Medea (Fluch der Medea 2014), about the life of the late German writer Christa Wolf, premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival in 2014.

Branwen Okpako is Associate Professor at UC Davis in the Department of Cinema and Digital Media and is currently completing her sixth feature film entitled "Chibok Girls" based on the 2016 book of the same title by Helon Habila.

Welcome To FOCUS 2021, The Meeting Place For International Production

You are welcome to join us at FOCUS 2021

THE MEETING PLACE FOR INTERNATIONAL PRODUCTION

Business Design Centre London, UK.

From 7-8 December for the live component, with the virtual venue operating from 7-10 December. 

Whether you participate in person or online, FOCUS will continue to offer a vibrant space to connect, reconnect and share global production expertise across film, TV, advertising, animation and games.

Here is the link to sign up for the free delegate badge..
https://bit.ly/FOCUS21_reg.

Chinonye Chukwu, One of the Most Daring NIgerian Born Filmmakers

Chinonye Chukwu is one of the most daring African American filmmakers and one of the three most accomplished NIgerian born female filmmakers with Ngozi Onwurah and Branwen Okpako. 

Chinonye will be on the cover of the third edition of the NOLLYWOOD MIRROR® Series, the first book series on Nollywood and the Nigerian film industry published since 2013. 

She directed "Igbo Kwenu!" (2009),"The Dance Lesson" (2010) about a young black girl who struggles to become a ballerina in an increasingly gentrified community and "Bottom" in 2012.

Her first feature film "Alaska-Land"
(2012), told the story of two estranged Nigerian-American brother and sister who eventually reunite in their hometown of Fairbanks, Alaska. In 2013 she directed "A Long Walk" (2013), a short film about a child who is publicly ridiculed by his father.
Her critically acclaimed "Clemency"
 (2019), a death row drama stars Alfre Woodard as a prison warden coming to terms with the demands of her profession and Aldis Hodge as one of her inmates bound for execution. Her inspiration for the film came from the case of Troy Davis, a prisoner executed in 2011. She moved to Los Angeles in 2017 to shoot the film. She received the U.S. Dramatic Grand Jury Prize at 2019 Sundance, the first black woman to do so.

Chinonye is slated to direct "A Taste Of Power", a film based on the memoir of Elaine Brown.
Chinonye's new feature, Orion Pictures' 
"Till" is about Emmett Louis Till.
"Till" tells the story of Mamie Till-Mobley whose pursuit of justice for her 14-year-old son Emmett Louis Till  became a galvanizing moment that helped lead to the creation of the civil rights movement. As Time Magazine reported, “…thanks to a mother’s determination to expose the barbarousness of the crime, the public could no longer pretend to ignore what they couldn’t see.” Mamie’s decision to have an open casket at Emmett’s funeral, and to have Jet magazine publish David Jackson’s funeral photos, was driven by her motivation to ensure people everywhere knew what had happened to her son. The famous multiple award winning iconic actress, Whoopi Goldberg is playing Emmett’s grandmother.

The Challenges of Ava DuVernay, Chinonye Chukwu and Mati Diop To Nigerian Female Filmmakers

 The Challenges of Ava DuVernay, Chinonye Chukwu and Mati Diop To Nigerian Female Filmmakers

The most accomplished black female filmmaker is without dispute, Ava Marie DuVernay, the outstanding award winning African American film director, producer and screenwriter. She won the directing award in the U.S. Dramatic Competition at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival for her second feature film "Middle of Nowhere", becoming the first black woman to win the award. For her work on "Selma" (2014), DuVernay became the first black woman to be nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Director and also the first black female director to have her film nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture. In 2017, she was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature for her film, "13th" (2016).

Following in her trail blazers' status are NIgerian born Chinonye Chukwu, the first black woman to win the Grand Jury Prize for U.S. Dramatic Competition, on January 27, 2019 at Sundance and the French Senegalese Filmmaker, Mati Diop who became the first black woman to make the Official Selection of the 2019 annual Cannes Film Festival in the competition for the Palme d'Or for her directorial debut feature "Atlantics" that won the Grand Prix.

DuVernay, Chukwu and Diop are highly intellectual and philosophical filmmakers who are psychologically nuanced.
They are as good as the best male directors in cinema and a big challenge to other black female filmmakers. But do we have Nigerian female filmmakers of the same intellectual calibre with them in Nigeria and the Diaspora?
Yes, we have. But they are few; including the most accomplished, Ngozi Onwurah, whose "Welcome II the Terrordome" in 1995 became the first film directed by a Black British woman to receive a UK theatrical release; Branwen Okpako; Chika Anadu; Michelle Bello; Mildred Okwo and Tope Oshin.

Ngozi Onwurah

Branwen Okpako

Mildred Okwo

Tope Oshin.

The challenges of those I mentioned who work in Nollywood are several, including the scarcity of good production designers and good actors who understand English grammar for enunciation and interpretation of characters. Majority of the actors in Nollywood and Kannywood cannot act. They just want to belong to the glitz and razzmatazz of the popularity of movie stars. These fundamental challenges have negatively impacted on the overall ratings of Nigerian movies. I have seen many examples of amateurish actors in Nigerian movies by very good filmmakers.

I look forward to seeing these ambitious Nigerian female filmmakers making groundbreaking films with cheers all the way to the top from Cannes to the Oscars.

~ By Ekenyerengozi Michael Chima
Publisher/Editor,
NOLLYWOOD MIRROR®Series
https://www.amazon.com/author/ekenyerengozimichaelchima.

Who is Qualified To Be the Next President of NIgeria?

Who is Qualified To Be the Next President of NIgeria?

I have more than 30 years experience in working for the presidential campaigns of top presidential aspirants in the political ruling class of NIgeria.
I was a special aide in the Publicity Department of the Presidential Campaign of Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, CON for the National Republican Convention (NRC) in 1990-1992. He later became the President of the Africa Business Roundtable in 2012 and was National Chairman of the People's Democratic Party (PDP) from March 2012 to January 2014.
I was one of the brains behind the social media campaign of the Transform NIgeria Network for former President Goodluck Jonathan, GCFR in 2014.

I have done a comprehensive political evaluation of all the potential presidential aspirants for the 2023 presidential election, and the only presidential aspirant who can tackle the widespread insecurity in NIgeria is former Vice President Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, GCON.

Only a fearless strong Commander-in- Chief can command the Nigerian Armed Forces to guarantee the national security of NIgerians.
Boko Haram and ISWAP are on rampage in the country, because President Muhammadu Buhari has failed to be a competent Commander-in-Chief and he is overwhelmed by the failures of the NIgerian military to defeat the bandits and terrorists who have killed over 300, 000 people with over 2, 000, 000 people left homeless and abandoned in the IDPs' camps in the worst humanitarian crisis since the first NIgerian civil war of 1967-1970.

The other presidential aspirants don't have the political pragmatism of visionary leadership and competence of Alhaji Atiku Abubakar who was the Vice President of former President Olusegun Obasanjo for eight years and they subdued every threat of terrorism and secured the lives and properties of NIgerians in every state of the federation.

I don't have to mention the shortcomings of the other presidential aspirants, because they are not capable of the political leadership of NIgeria in such a critical period of political crisis and national insecurity. They are too weak to be a powerful Commander-in-Chief.

Rigging gubernatorial elections to become state governors and turning the Treasury of the State to your ATM machine does not make you a competent presidential candidate when you should actually be in jail for corruption without any plea bargain.
What we need is a powerful Commander-in-Chief and not a wonderful thief of public funds from the revenues of your state.

Akokwa Hosts Nigeria as Eze Okoli Celebrates Odu Obi Festival

Akokwa Hosts Nigeria as Eze Okoli Celebrates Odu Obi Festival

The ancient kingdom of Akokwa in Ideato North local government area of Imo state will on December 28, 2021 host Nigerians from all walks of life as its monarch, His Royal Majesty Eze (Sir) Ikenna C Okoli (KSC) (MSI)  (Okoli V.) Agbakwuruibe III. The 11th. Obi of Akokwa will be celebrating the 2021 edition of the prestigious Odu Obi festival, his second since ascending the throne.
For the monarch, it will be a triple celebration as his second ODU Obi festival coincides with his 19th anniversary on the throne of his forefathers.
He also turned 50 on February 28th 2021..

The 2021 Odu Obi festival will be graced by prominent Nigerians including His Royal Highness, Aseme-Alabo Duma Jack-Brown, KONGO XVI, Royal  Head  of the Buoye -Omuso (Brown) Royal/Major House, the paramount ruler of Finima, in Bonny local government of Rivers State, His Royal Highness, Igwe (Amb.) Lawrence Agubuzo,
Chairman, Enugu State Traditional Rulers Council among other monarchs and personalities across the country.

Deserving Nigerians will be conferred with chieftaincy titles by the Akokwa monarch during the festival.
Ijele & Ikenga Akokwa and Chairman, Orange Group, Chief (Sir)Tony Ezenna,OFR is the chief host of the festival.
A detribalised Nigerian,  Eze Ikenna Okoli has friends across Nigeria's religious and ethnic divide having had his early education in the North, higher education at the Abia state university, Uturu, lived briefly in Lagos and ran his businesses in Abuja.
Born as Prince Ikenna C Okoli on 28th February,1971 to HRH Eze (Sir) Osita C Okoli IV (Late) and late Lady Bibian E Okoli (Ezenwanyi), Eze Okoli, as a young Prince, was embedded with the zeal for entrepreneurship hence immediately after his graduation decided to be an employer of labour hence the birthing of Equipment Alliance limited where he is still the MD/CEO till date.
Equipment Alliance Limited specializes in leasing of equipments such as earth and marine equipments with its head office at FCT,Abuja.The company played an important role in the construction of Abuja National Stadium prior to the hosting of the All African games(COJA) and committed to the construction of several other projects both in the public and private sectors.

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Mr. Ingram Adichie Osigwe,arpa
MD/CEO Fullpage International Communications Limited.

SNEAK PEEK: "The Outpost" - The Power Of One " on Vuulr

 

The Season Three premiere episode of the fantasy adventure TV series is available on Vuulr.

 "The Outpost" Season 3 is. titled "For the Sins of Your Ancestors", directed by Marc Roskin.

"...'Zed' (Reece Ritchie) forces humans to work a mining camp as 'Talon' (Jessica Green) struggles to keep peace. A sassy genius invades the lab of 'Janzo'. A dark 'Priestess' unites the 'Blackbloods'..." 

Cast also includes Jake Stormoen, Imogen Waterhouse, Aaron Fontaine, Adam Johnson, Izuka Hoyle and Jaye Griffiths.