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By Adedapo Adesanya
Africa’s Business Heroes (ABH) Prize Competition, a philanthropic initiative sponsored by the Jack Ma Foundation and Alibaba Philanthropy, has extended its deadline for entries to May 17, 2023.
In a statement on Thursday, the organisers said the extension had been made in response to the strong level of interest from entrepreneurs across the continent.
ABH aims to identify, support and inspire the next generation of African entrepreneurs who are making a difference in their local communities by working to solve the most pressing problems and building a more sustainable and inclusive economy for the future.
The new deadline gives potential applicants who are interested in challenging themselves but have yet to apply a chance to complete their applications. Successful applicants will have access to training, mentoring and learning opportunities as well as a community of like-minded African business leaders.
The top 10 finalists will share $1.5 million in grant funding, with the first-prize winner taking home $300,000.
This year, all successful applicants to the ABH Prize Competition will enjoy the bonus offer of complimentary access to the Alibaba Netpreneur E-learning Course provided by Alibaba Global Initiatives (AGI).
Designed as a self-learning program, the course will equip participants with fundamental knowledge in business management and digital transformation. In collaboration with AGI, ABH will also facilitate the top 10 finalists’ participation in a sponsored trip to Hangzhou, China to attend an offline immersion program on digitalization.
To date, ABH 2023 has already received more than 25,000 applications from entrepreneurs from all 54 countries in Africa.
ABH is putting out a special call to entrepreneurs whose countries are currently underrepresented – including Morocco, Egypt, Algeria, Tunisia and Libya, to apply for this year’s competition and inspire millions of others with their unique stories.
Every year, ABH spotlights outstanding participants through traditional media and social media channels, including providing significant exposure to the top 10 finalists via the ABH Show and other content.
This year’s edition, which follows the ABH journey of the 2022 top 10 finalists and delves into their entrepreneurial stories, will come in 4-5 8-minute episodes that are slated to be broadcast online and across the continent in more than 40 countries.
ABH said it also continues to call on venture capitalists, investors, corporations and NGOs from around the world to join the 2023 competition as judges, who are a core part of ABH’s success.
ABH is part of the Jack Ma Foundation’s long-term commitment to helping support and fosters an inclusive and strong entrepreneurial ecosystem in Africa.
Every year since 2019, ABH has conducted a continent-wide search with its partners for 10 outstanding, mission-driven entrepreneurs that are striving to make a difference in their local communities. Over a 10-year period, ABH will recognise a total of 100 African entrepreneurs.
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Geopolitics Influences Extension of the Black Sea Grain Initiative
Our Decarbonization Targets Anchored on Sound Investments—Eni
Adedapo Adesanya is a journalist, polymath, and connoisseur of everything art. When he is not writing, he has his nose buried in one of the many books or articles he has bookmarked or simply listening to good music with a bottle of beer or wine. He supports the greatest club in the world, Manchester United F.C.
World
Geopolitics Influences Extension of the Black Sea Grain Initiative 
Published
2 days ago
on
May 12, 2023
By
By Kestér Kenn Klomegâh
The Black Sea Grain Initiative, established primarily to allow grains and fertilizer exports to overseas countries, has attracted broadly high-level discussions over the past few weeks. The relevant grain deal agreements, which were extended in March for 60 days only at Moscow’s request, are set to expire on May 18.
The main bone of dissatisfaction and strong disagreement about its third-term extension arises from Russia, which claims its conditions be taken into account and strictly followed. Russia has engaged in its ‘special military operation’ with neighbouring Ukraine and stands against Western hegemony.
In Istanbul, participants in a new round of negotiations on an extension of the Black Sea grain initiative, including the UN, Russia, Ukraine and Turkey, discussed agricultural exports from southern Ukrainian ports in exchange for the lifting of restrictions on Russian agricultural exports to needy customers overseas.
Mainstream media sources also reported that Presidents of Turkey and Russia, Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Vladimir Putin, may discuss the results of grain deal talks in Istanbul in a phone conversation if necessary. “This is a possibility because, as you know, President Erdogan and President Putin frequently hold phone talks if such a necessity arises. The grain deal is very important so they may discuss its results,” the source said, replying to a question on the matter.
According to the source, extending the grain deal is a crucial issue for the Turkish leadership in the run-up to the elections, and they will do everything in their power to make it happen. “For President Tayyip Erdogan, extending the deal is a signal to the West that Turkey can be trusted. As a result, the government will do everything in its power to preserve the grain initiative,” the source said.
The negotiations between representatives from Russia, Ukraine, Turkey and the UN were devoted to the extension of the Black Sea grain deal and the implementation of the Russian part of the agreement. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Vershinin took part in the negotiations. The UN was represented by Martin Griffiths, UN under-secretary-general. The negotiations were held in various formats – trilateral, four-sided, and bilateral.
The main subject of the negotiations is the start of implementation of the Russian part of the agreement under the overall grain deal framework, which provides for exports of agricultural products and fertilizers from Russia. Previously, Moscow repeatedly noted that if this part remained unfulfilled, the grain deal would not be extended. Ankara earlier said that Moscow’s demands are absolutely legitimate and should be fulfilled unquestionably.
Another important issue is reconnecting the Russian Agricultural Bank to SWIFT and lifting restrictions on banking and insurance guarantees. As Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu pointed out earlier, the extension of the grain deal would depend on taking these demands by Russia into consideration.
The Turkish Foreign Ministry earlier said that UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres had suggested that Turkey’s state-owned Ziraat Bank process payments for Russian grain and fertilizer sales. Ankara insists that it could support this proposal if guarantees are given that no threats to the Turkish bank would emerge. As an informed source told TASS, the technicalities of this issue would be discussed at the four-party talks in Istanbul.
“The Black Sea Grain Initiative, which is set to expire soon, may be extended for another two months in the meeting between Turkish, Russian, Ukrainian and UN delegations in Istanbul,” Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said, according to media reports. According to the reports, Cavusoglu met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Moscow to discuss the grain deal and the Ukraine situation.
The Russian Foreign Ministry noted that a further extension of the deal would depend on the reconnection of the Russian Agricultural Bank to the SWIFT system and the lifting of a number of restrictions on supplies, insurance and the use of ports. The Turkish side earlier said that the Turkish state bank Ziraat might be ready to carry out operations to pay for Russian grain and fertilizers.
The UN, Russia, Turkey and Ukraine signed two documents to open a grain corridor from three Ukrainian ports (Chernomorsk, Odessa and Yuzhny) and to lift restrictions on Russian food and fertilizer exports. The Black Sea Grain Initiative was first signed in July 2022, a set of documents on supplies of food and fertilizers to the international markets. It was prolonged for another 60 days on March 18.
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World
Our Decarbonization Targets Anchored on Sound Investments—Eni
Published
2 days ago
on
May 11, 2023
By
By Kestér Kenn Klomegâh
An Italian multinational energy giant headquartered in Rome, Eni, has emphasised that its decarbonization targets would be anchored on sound investments, reaffirming its commitments towards net zero emissions by 2050.
The company said this in its latest 2022 report, which outlined the main outcomes and objectives in the energy transition pathways for a number of African countries.
Eni described its contribution to a just transition that ensures access to efficient and sustainable energy, sharing the social and economic benefits of the path towards net zero emissions by 2050 with employees, suppliers, communities, and customers with an inclusive and transparent approach.
The chief executive of Eni, Ms Claudio Descalzi, said in the report that, “In addressing the challenges in the energy sector that Eni faces, we keep our priorities firmly on track with an ongoing commitment to promote energy access, local development, and environmental protection.”
She explained that the success of Eni’s strategy could not be achieved without collaboration with key stakeholders, from private individuals to the public sector, international organizations, civil society associations, and research institutes.
“Today, more than ever, it is necessary to pool resources and human capital through a broad vision that allows us to align our common goals, to reduce geographical gaps and promote global human progress,” Ms Descalzi added.
It was disclosed that the company achieved a 17 per cent reduction in Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions, compared to 2018 levels, and continued implementing the necessary measures to achieve Scope 1 and 2 net zero emissions in the Upstream by 2030 by investing in emission-reduction technologies and developing low-carbon projects.
In this context, in 2023, Eni launched the FPSO that will be used for production from the Baleine field in Côte d’Ivoire, the most important discovery ever made in the country and the first net-zero development for Scope 1 and 2 emissions in Africa.
In Eni’s strategy, the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals are a fundamental reference for conducting activities in the countries of operations. Agri-business projects, for example, embodies the fundamental pillars of the Eni approach for the just transition, an energy transition with a strong innovative component combined with a concrete focus on the social dimension.
In this context, Eni is committed to ensuring that the decarbonization process offers opportunities to convert existing activities and develop new production chains with significant perspectives in the countries where it operates.
In 2022, the first cargo of vegetable oil produced in Kenya, not competing with the food production chain, from waste and raw materials produced on degraded land, was delivered to Eni’s biorefining plant in Gela, with substantial positive impacts on employment and local development. The model will be replicated in other countries.
To achieve a just transition, particular attention was paid to initiatives to promote access to energy and education in the countries of operation. These include projects in Côte d’Ivoire, Mozambique, and Ghana to facilitate access to clean cooking.
In Côte d’Ivoire, more than 20,000 cooking stoves were distributed in just six months, reaching more than 100,000 beneficiaries. Eni has promoted the right to education in Congo, Ghana, Iraq, Mexico, Mozambique, and Egypt, where it opened the Zohr Applied Technology School to significantly increase the number of youths with upgraded technical and professional skills in the energy and technology fields.
With revenues of around €92.2 billion, Eni ranked 111th on both the Fortune Global 500 and the Forbes Global 2000 in 2022, making it the third-largest Italian company on the Fortune list (after Assicurazioni Generali and Enel) and second largest on the Forbes list (after Enel). Per the Fortune Global 500, Eni is the largest petroleum company in Italy, the second largest based in the European Union (after TotalEnergies), and the 13th largest in the world.
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World
Central Region Sees Atlantic Lithium Powering Local Employment
Published
5 days ago
on
May 8, 2023
By
Ghana’s May Day is a public holiday honouring workers and their contribution to the country’s development. Central Region marked the occasion by holding a unique programme of celebratory events for the community at Saltpond Victoria Park in the Mfantseman Municipality.
Lithium exploration and development company Atlantic Lithium Ltd. was a proud headline sponsor of the event, demonstrating its strong commitment to local community development through employment. Atlantic Lithium is advancing the Ewoyaa Project, a significant lithium spodumene concentrate discovery on track to become Ghana’s first lithium-producing mine. Over 95% of the company’s employees are Ghanaian, many of which are from the Central Region.
The theme of Central Region’s 2023 May Day celebration was ‘Protecting Incomes and Pensions in an Era of Economic Crises: Our Responsibility’, which aimed to encourage an open discussion between local stakeholders and government on the growing contribution of the mining sector to the region’s development.
Atlantic Lithium is already one of the leading taxpayers and employers in the Central Region, however, the company expects to deliver many more long-standing benefits to the region as it advances the Ewoyaa Project towards production. It hopes to employ over 300 staff, mainly locals and has stated its intention to establish a community development fund to allocate a portion of profits generated from the project to regional development initiatives.
In attendance at the event was the Central Regional Minister, Hon. Justina Marigold Assan and leaders of the Mfantseman Municipal Assembly, including the Chief Executive, Hon. Ike Lord Innu, Minister of Parliament, Hon. Ophelia Mensah Hayford and Francis Odoom, Chairman of the occasion and Regional Chairman of the Trades Unions Congress, who praised Atlantic Lithium for playing its part in developing local skills and reducing unemployment in the region.
The Municipality sees a strong role for Atlantic Lithium to further contribute to local content and is looking forward to the governing bodies and the Minerals Commission granting the mining lease Atlantic Lithium requires to move the project forward. A large contingent of Atlantic Lithium staff attended the event along with other workers from the region.
Mr Abdul Razak, Atlantic Lithium’s In-Country Manager for Ghana, has made a firm commitment to focus on hiring locally and investing in regional development. In an interview with News Ghana, he explained, “Employing and developing our workforce in the Central Region is important to us for several reasons.
Firstly, salaries paid to workers are likely to be spent within the community, thereby benefitting not only their families but also local businesses. Secondly, it enables us to build a deeper understanding and respect for local customs, values and traditions throughout our company, an ethos that is of great importance to us.
Finally, as we move forward to develop Ghana’s first lithium mine, retaining our skilled workforce is key to the growth of the company. Maintaining a happy and productive workforce while assisting in the improvement of the local economy, therefore, aligns Atlantic Lithium with the goals of the leaders of the local community and Government bodies. Together, these put us in the best position to deliver a successful project and bring about positive change for the region.”
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