March 2013 Black Business News

Publisher’s Message

D

uring the month of March, we are proud to join the nation in celebrating Women’s History Month. The National Women’s History Foundation’s 2013 theme is “Women Inspiring Innovation through Imagination: Celebrating Women in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics.”

Women have made tremendous accomplishments in the traditionally male-dominated fields of science, technology, engineering, and Pubisher/Chief Executive Officer math—commonly referred to as the STEM (see page 24) fields.

But it wasn’t long ago that women – and particularly women of color -- were denied opportunities the STEM fields. In fact it was common to see job listings for positions like engineers or college science professors that read, “Women need not apply.”

To that end the Black Business News (BBN) is profiling five Black women in science and technology (see page 40), 20 African Women Leaders (page 74), women in the film industry (page 33), the richest Black woman in the world (page 36) and honoring Rosa Parks (page 10). Read tips to women on achieveing success in business and respond to the cry for assistance with refugee support.

The BBN continues to be committed to the growth and development of Black entrepreneurship domestically and throughout the world. As you will see in this issue, we offer information on government actions, marketing tools and international business ventures.

Our sponsor, the BBA, held their 39th Annual Awards Dinner on Febreuary 28, 2013. the event was an overwhelming success with over 500 guests in

Earl “Skip” Cooper, II

attendance. Look at the exciting images on page 16.

In addition, the BBA will celebrate their 10th Salute to Black Women Business Conference, Vendor Fair and Awards Luncheon on March 30th that is being co-chaired by Janice Bryant Howroyd, President/ CEO Act-1 Group and Dr. Wanda Austin, President/ CEO, The Aerospace Corporation. The honorees are: Ms. Robin Hughes, Judge Mablean Ephraim, Hon. Dot Harris, Sandra J. Evers-Manly, Gloria Zuurveen, Lindsey Collins, and Cynthia Guidry.

The Business Conference is designed to assist African American women of all ages in navigating the current economic environment by offering workshops focusing on business & personal financial security, improvement, and empowerment. A special workshop sponsored by Northrop Grumman entitled, “Roles Models for Success,” is an interactive workshop for young ladies 13-18 years old to learn about business ownership from successful women entrepreneurs and corporate leaders with a portion devoted to addressing concerns and interests related to S.T.E.M. industry careers and businesses.

Wome-focused products will be featured in the Vendor Fair.

The Conference begins at 8:30 am, Vendor Fair starts at 9 am and Awards Luncheon starts at noon. Register at www.bbala.org.

And, I thank Councilman Herb Wesson and the Los Angeles City Council for proclaiming February 28, 2013 “Earl ‘Skip’ Cooper, II Day.” 

About

About the Black Business News…

The mission of The Black Business News is to inspire and inform public and private sector industry representatives on the importance of smart small business growth. As a versatile source of socioeconomic development activity, the Black Business News imparts current local, national and international industry trends related to small businesses across the United States of America (USA), detailing greater access to financial capital, management efficiencies, business education, mentors and networks. The goals of the Black Business News include: •

•

PUBLISHER/EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Earl “Skip” Cooper, II

ASSOCIATE EDITOR Sarah Harris

ENTREPRENEUR EDITOR

increasing the use of business enterprises owned by USA-based blacks, by advocating for greater access to leading finance lenders and successful business managers.

ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR

working to merge resources, values, profits, technology throughout the public and private sectors.

PRODUCTION MANAGER

•

balancing major public and private sector contracting methods with positive outcomes of black-owned and operated enterprises.

•

providing an affirmative influence for emerging entrepreneurs sharing innovative design and creative cultural content that exposes them to the history of black enterprises and excite them to participate in the USA’s future.

•

Black Business News

P.O. Box 43159, Los Angeles, CA 90043 323-291-7819 Fax: 323-291-7820 www.blackbusinessnews.net

advocating and promoting on behalf of black-owned businesses by promoting the need for expanding an economic foundation that supports an unfettered and self-sustained urban society with USA job creation and economic opportunity, where blacks work, live and operate viable business enterprises.

www.blackbusinessnews.net

Kim Anthony Belinda Foster

Narishima Osei

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS

LaSandra Stratton • Dean Jones • Linda Ware

GRAPHIC DESIGN Sarah Harris • Phallu Morgan

STORY EDITORS Wanda Flagg ▪ Jennifer Marie Hamilton

PHOTOGRAPHY

Ian Foxx ▪ Sabir • Narishima Osei

CONTENT ADMINISTRATOR La Sandra Stratton

LAYOUT/TYPESETTING Lion Communications

Copyright © 2012 by Black Business News All Rights Reserved.

The posting of stories, commentaries, reports, documents and links (embedded or otherwise) on this site does not in any way, shape or form, implied or otherwise, necessarily express or suggest endorsement or support of any of such posted material or parts therein.

In recognition of Women's History Month, the Black Business Association (BBA), the oldest active ethnic business organization on the West Coast, will host its 2013 Salute To Black Women Business Conference, Vendor Faire and Awards Luncheon on Saturday, March 30, 2013 at the Sheraton Gateway Los Angeles Hotel located at 6101 W. Century Boulevard at LAX. This eventful day will consist of informative workshops, a robust vendor faire, a fabulous awards luncheon ending with a scrumptious dessert reception and more.

This year, the BBA is honored to have two phenomenal women to serve as co-chair of the tenth commemoration of the BBA's Salute To Black Women: Janice Bryant Howroyd, CEO of ACT-1 Group and Dr. Wanda M. Austin, President & CEO of The Aerospace Corporation.

In this millennium, ACT-1's CEO, Janice Bryant Howroyd, knows the business world must be more innovative and more exciting. At the same time, it is more crowded, more competitive and more perilous. She thrives on maintaining an edge, expanding into new markets and offering valued clients new services as part of a precision business plan. Janice Bryant Howroyd's personality, perseverance and drive, coupled with - as she points out - her "extraordinary team" is what ensures ACT-1's continuous growth in a global market.

As one of this year's co-chairs, Bryant Howroyd eagerly submits her support to empowering black women of all ages. Motivated by the supportive environments of her own youth, Janice Bryant Howroyd believes that people perform best when their personal strengths are developed and challenged. Her theory is proven true by the 25+ years she has driven a highly successful business. "It is a core value of how I do business today," says the CEO. "It has never been just about making a match to make some money." She says that, "Empowering people is a blessing and a responsibility.”

This year, in collaboration with the National Women's History Project's (NWHP) 2013 theme, “Women Inspiring Innovation through Imagination: Celebrating Women in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (S.T.E.M.)”, the BBA will salute women with significant achievements in S.T.E.M. among its honorees. In addition, the BBA is also honored to have as cochair Dr. Wanda M. Austin who is president and chief executive officer of The Aerospace Corporation, a leading architect for the nation's national security space programs. The Aerospace Corporation has nearly 4,000 employees and annual revenues of more than $850 million.

Dr. Austin is committed to inspiring the next generation to study the STEM disciplines and to make science and engineering preferred career choices. Under her guidance, the corporation has undertaken a number of initiatives in support of this goal, including participation in MathCounts, US FIRST Robotics, and Change the Equation. Austin was among the first CEOs to commit to Change the Equation.

Not one to shy away from a challenge, Dr. Austin says to "Figure out what it will take to get where you want to go and then work hard to make it happen." “There are always going to be stumbling blocks in life,” she says. “You are never really sure where they're going to come from, but it's important to take the attitude of turning those blocks into stepping stones, so that you can go ahead and achieve your goals. Sometimes people focus on the doors that close, and they miss the doors that are open. It is important to keep in mind the goals you set for yourself, the standards you set for who you are going to be and what kind of a person you're going to be, and then just go for it.”

For more information about the Salute To Black Women Business Conference, Vendor Faire and Awards Luncheon, call the BBA at 323.291.9334 or email to: mail@bbala.org or go online to: www.blackbusinessassociation.org .

THE WHITE HOUSE WOMEN’S History Month, 2013

BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA A PROCLAMATION For more than two centuries, our Nation has grown under the simple creed that each of us is created equal.

It is a notion that makes America unlike any other place on earth -- a country where no matter where you come from or what you look like, you can go as far as your talents will take you.

Women’s History Month is a time to remember those who fought to make that freedom as real for our daughters as for our sons. Written out of the promise of the franchise, they were women who reached up to close the gap between what America was and what it could be. They were driven by a faith that our Union could extend true equality to every citizen willing to claim it. Year after year, visionary women met and marched and mobilized to prove what should have been self-evident. They grew a meeting at Seneca Falls into a movement that touched every community and took on our highest institutions. And after decades of slow, steady, extraordinary progress, women have written equal opportunity into the law again and again, giving generations of girls a future worthy of their potential.

That legacy of change is all around us. Women are nearly half of our Nation’s workforce and more than half of our college graduates. But even now, too many women feel the weight of discrimination on their shoulders.

They face a pay gap at work, or higher premiums for health insurance, or inadequate options for family leave.

These issues affect all of us, and failing to address them holds our country back.

That is why my Administration has made the needs of women and girls a priority since day one -- from signing the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act to helping ensure women are represented among tomorrow’s top scientists and engineers. It is why we secured stronger protections and more preventive services for women under the Affordable Care Act. It is why we have fought for greater workplace flexibility, access to capital and training for women-owned businesses, and equal pay for equal work. And it is why we have taken action to reduce violence against women at home and abroad, and to empower women around the world with full political and economic opportunity.

Meeting those challenges will not be easy. But our history shows that when we couple grit and ingenuity with our basic beliefs, there is no barrier we cannot overcome. We can stay true to our founding creed that in America, all things should be possible for all people. That spirit is what called our mothers and grandmothers to fight for a world where no wall or ceiling could keep their daughters from their dreams. And today, as we take on the defining issues of our time, America looks to the next generation of movers and marchers to lead the way.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim March 2013 as Women’s History Month. I call upon all Americans to observe this month and to celebrate International Women’s Day on March 8, 2013, with appropriate programs, ceremonies, and activities. I also invite all Americans to visit www.WomensHistoryMonth.gov to learn more about the generations of women who have shaped our history.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-eighth day of February, in the year of our Lord two thousand thirteen, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-seventh

BARACK OBAMA

Creating What You Can Imagine, Changing the World

by Lauren Andersen

A

s we celebrate the historic accomplishments of women during Women’s History Month, there is no better time to engage and empower the next generation of girls to rise up as leaders of our democracy and economy.

In that spirit, lrecently, schools, companies, universities, and National Labs across the country engaged in a range of activities aimed at getting girls excited about classes and careers in the field of Engineering—all part of the 13th annual “Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day.” Women today earn only 18% of the America’s undergraduate degrees in engineering—a disparity that suggests the Nation is not taking full advantage of the spectrum of creative energy that could be applied to this important field. To help correct this imbalance, the Obama Administration and a wide range of collaborators in the private sector have been working to spark girls’ interest in the engineering disciplines, which have contributed

so much to our economy overall and to such important sectors as medicine, energy, environmental protection, and national security.

In fact, just a few weeks ago, after delivering this year’s State of the Union address, the President himself took a moment during a Google+ hangout, to stress just how important this effort is, noting: “One of the things that I really strongly believe in is that we need to have more girls interested in math science and engineering.

We’ve got half the population that is way underrepresented in those fields and that means that we’ve got a whole bunch of talent … not being encouraged the way they need to.”

That’s why classrooms, museums, labs, and businesses across the country - and even a few partners around the world – last week made special efforts to welcome girls to learn more about engineering careers, participate in hands-on-learning opportunities, and connect with role models who have committed themselves to changing the world through building

and making.

At one of these events, attended by nearly 100 people at Argonne National Laboratory, Dot Harris, Director of the Department of Energy’s Office of Economic Impact and Diversity, shared her own story of becoming a world-traveled engineer. The day also featured tours, an engineering expo, and a team car-building competition.

But inspiring students, particularly girls and underrepresented minorities, to excel in engineering, isn’t just a once-a-year endeavor.

There is much that can be done to excite the interest of girls and boys, both in the days to come and throughout the year.

As we begin this women’s history month, you too can learn more about the Administration’s activities to help students excel in science, technology, engineering, and math, and find out what’s being done to ensure that women and girls are among the groundbreaking scientists and engineers who will secure America’s future economic competitiveness and sustainable wellbeing.  www.whitehouse.gov/ blog/2013/03/01/creating-whatyou-can-imagine-changing-world

Government

President Barack Obama, accompanied by, from left, Senator Harry Reid, House Speaker John Boehner, and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, applaud at the unveiling of a statue of Rosa Parks on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

Rosa Parks Statue Unveiled at Capitol

By SUZANNE GAMBOA Associated Press

T

he nation’s most powerful politicians honored Rosa Parks on Wednesday by unveiling her statue in a permanent place in the U.S. Capitol. President Barack Obama praised Parks as an enduring reminder of what true leadership requires, “no matter how humble or lofty our positions.”

Parks became the first black woman to be depicted in a full-length statue in the Capitol’s Statuary Hall. A bust of another black woman, abolitionist Sojourner Truth, sits in the Capitol Visitors Center.

“We do well by placing a statue of her here,” Obama said. “But we can do no greater honor to her memory than to carry forward the power of her principle and a courage born of conviction.”

The unveiling brought Obama, House Speaker John Boehner and other congressional leaders together in the midst of a fierce standoff over automatic spending cuts set to go into effect on Friday.

Setting that conflict aside, Obama and Boehner stood on either side of a blue drape, tugging and pulling in opposite directions on a braided cord until the cover fell to reveal a 2,700-pound bronze statue of a seated Parks, her hair in a bun under a hat, her hands crossed over her lap and clasping her purse.

Obama gazed up at it, and touched its arm.

At the same time across the street, conservative Supreme Court justices voiced skepticism about the relevance of the Voting Rights Act, one of the major legislative

victories of the movement to which Parks devoted her life.

Parks’ civil rights movement colleague Rev. Jesse Jackson, Sr., whose son former Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. sponsored the bill to place Parks’ statue in the Capitol, said Parks “fought her way into history,” and on three occasions, took literacy tests required of blacks who wanted to vote. She passed all three, Jackson said.

Parks’ statue is positioned between those of suffragist Frances E. Willard and John Gorrie, considered the father of refrigeration and air conditioning.

Boehner, R-Ohio, pointed out that Parks’ gaze seems to fall directly onto a statue of Jefferson Davis, the president of the Confederacy. see Rosa Parks on page 11

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Government

Rosa Parks

from page 10

“Here in the hall, she casts an unlikely silhouette — unassuming in a lineup of proud stares, challenging all of us once more to look up and to draw strength from stillness,” Boehner said.

Parks died in 2005 at age 92. Dozens of her family members, many of them nieces and nephews, attended Wednesday’s ceremony and said they were pleased to see their ancestor honored.

“Racism is a continual struggle,” said Zakiya McCauley Watts, 28, of Detroit. “We have the laws, but we have to have the mindset to back that up. People see all types of injustice happening and no one is doing anything about it,” Watts said.

Watts’ cousin Faye Jenkins, 28, of Cincinnati, Ohio, said she volunteers with inner-city youth providing counseling, helping teenage moms and working with the homeless. She said the statue of Parks will tell the younger generation “to always just do the right thing.”

On Dec. 1, 1955, Parks refused to give up her seat on a city bus to a white man in segregated Montgomery, Ala. She was arrested, touching off a bus boycott that stretched over a year.

Her act of disobedience, and the masses of protesters who walked for months on end rather than break the boycott, are the reason “that I stand here today,” the president said.

“It is because of them that our children grow

up in a land more free and more fair, a land truer to its founding creed,” Obama said. “And that is why this statue belongs in this hall — to remind us, no matter how humble or lofty our positions, just what it is that leadership requires.”

Some at the event echoed Obama’s sentiment.

“The struggle goes on. The movement continues. The pursuit is not over. To honor Rosa Parks in the fullest manner each of us must do our part to protect that which has been gained,” said Rep. James Clyburn, D-S.C. Dorthula Green, 58, took an early train from New Haven, Conn., to join a line of ticketholders waiting in the Rotunda to see the statue on its debut.

“When I heard that this was happening, I said, ‘I gotta be here,’” Green said. “I grew up in South Carolina. I knew the history and the kinds of things she went through.”  http://abcnews.go.com/ Politics/wireStory/rosa-parksstatue-unveiled-capitol18604840?pt=BureoF2GVB

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Contents

March 2013

3 7 8 9

Publisher’s Message

10 21 24 25 27 30

Rosa Parks’ Statue now in Staturary Hall

Black Business Association Awards Dinner 2013 Women’s History Month Proclamation Changing the World - Women

Government…

33

Sequester Aversion Plan Supporting Future USA Innovators Presidential Innovation Fellowship P-TECH High School, Changing Education MBDA - Doing Business in Africa

Entertainment…

32 33

Chaka Khan, Entrepreneur

36 39 40

Richest Black Women in the World

44 50

Tech Tools that Support Collaboration

66 68

Voting Rights Act Still Needed

Top Black Women in Hollywood

Entrepreneurship…

SBA: Helping Women Run Their Own Businesses Profiles: Black Women in STEM

Business…

Columns 63 - Take A Look!

95 - Black History Month Shopping Guide 117 - Books to Consider...

118 - Calendar 120 - Resources Action Alerts 35 - AEG Supplier Portal Sponsors 15 - Black Business Association Cover image - Phallu Morgan

Producing Great Podcasts to Grow Your Business

Public Interest/Community…

Let’s Move! - Celebrates 3 Year Anniversary

International…

74 Africa’s Power Women 79 Africa on the Rise 87 ACTION - Africa’s 88

Refugees at Risk

Taliban of Timbuktu

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79

profits, technology and people;

Over 40 years of service Founded 1970

About the BBA…

Since 1970, the Black Business Association (BBA), a 501(c) (3) non-profit organization, headquartered in Los Angeles, has been instrumental in the incubation and development of more than 15,000 African-American businesses. Nationally, we have access and influence with more than 85,000 African-American-owned and women/minority-owned firms via strategic alliances with more than 100 women/minority trade associations in more than 42 states nationwide.

___ Our Mission ___

The Black Business Association’s mission is to advocate and promote the development of African-American owned businesses with the goal of creating a firm economic base that support the self-determination and survival of the African-American and urban community by: •

Identifying and creating financial opportunities for the growth and stability of African-American owned businesses;

•

Being a community voice that advocates for the success of small businesses;

•

Being a conduit for the merging of resources, values,

•

Promoting development and support of minority business enterprises within the domestic and international economies by encouraging and generating greater access to market opportunities and capital;

•

Providing training for entrepreneurial professional development;

•

Supporting and contributing to the economic base and progress of the African-American community; and

•

Developing coalitions that support our political endeavors to effectively achieve public recognition and political influence for African-American business owners.

___ Advocacy ___

The Black Business Association maintains very effective working relationships with elected and appointed officials for the support of African-American business development. Locally, statewide and in Washington, DC, we are constantly aware of pending legislation that might affect our member’s businesses, their growth and even their ability to conduct business. When legislation is being considered that affects our mission, the BBA quickly mobilizes to work with key policy makers to support, defeat or modify the bill and pursue the BBA position.

As an organization, we are constantly at the helm, securing innovative means and policies that protect our constituency and their business interests. 

Coming Events 2013

March 30th

Black Business Association Salute to Black Women

Black Business Association

P.O. Box 43159, Los Angeles, CA 90043 USA Tel: 323-291-9334 Fax: 323-857-4610

• Call 323-291-9334 for information on sponsorship and participation •

mail@bbala.org www.bbala.org www.facebook.com 15  March 2013  Black Business News  www.blackbbusinessnews.net  1-323-291-7819

Photos

Government

A Balanced Plan to Avert the Sequester and Reduce the Deficit

By Jennifer Palmieri

I

n eight days, harmful automatic cuts are slated to take effect, threatening hundreds of

that benefit wealthy Americans and well-connected corporations.

The President and Congressional

get something done?

Let’s take a moment to look what we’ve done so far: The President has already reduced the deficit by over $2.5 trillion, cutting spending by over $1.4 trillion, bringing domestic discretionary spending to its lowest level as a share of the economy since the Eisenhower era [see next page]. As a result of these savings, together with a strengthening economy, the deficit

President Barack Obama talks with Congressional leaders prior to the Rosa Parks statue unveiling ceremony at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC. Pictured, from left, are: Minority Leader Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.; Assistant Democratic Leader Rep. James Clyburn, D-S.C.; Majority Leader Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev.; House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio; and House Minority Leader Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza) thousands of jobs, and cutting vital services for children, seniors, people with mental illness and our men and women in uniform.

Only Congress can avoid this self-inflicted wound to our economy and middle class families, and the only thing standing in the way of a solution today is Congressional Republicans’ refusal to even consider closing tax loopholes

Democrats have put forward solutions to avoid these cuts and allow time for both sides to work on a long-term, balanced solution to our deficit challenges.

The President is serious about cutting spending, reforming entitlements and the tax code to reduce the deficit in a balanced way.

The question is, will Congressional Republicans come to the table to

is coming down at the fastest pace of anytime in American history other than the demobilization from World War II. And he’s laid out a specific plan to do more. His proposal resolves the sequester and reduces our deficit by over $4 trillion dollars in a balanced way- by cutting spending, see Avert Sequester on page 22

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Government

Avert Sequester from page 21

finding savings in entitlement programs and asking the wealthiest to pay their fair share. As a result the deficit would be cut below its historic average and the debt would fall as a share of the economy over the next decade. Just two months ago Speaker Boehner said there was $800 billion in deficit reduction that could be achieved by only closing loopholes and reducing tax

expenditures. So we know we can get this done. Let’s be clear: the President’s proposal to Speaker Boehner is still on the table. Here it is again.

We can’t just cut our way to prosperity. Even as we look for ways to reduce deficits over the long term, we must grow the economy in a way that strengthens the middle class and everyone willing to work hard to get into it.

So the choice in front of Congressional Republicans

today is simple: will they let these devastating cuts happen that will cost hundreds of thousands of jobs simply because they refuse to close one tax loophole for the wealthy?

Or will they compromise and work with us on a balanced solution to get this done? We hope they come to the table for the sake of middle class families, our national security and our future today.  www.whitehouse.gov/ blog/2013/02/21/balanced-planavert-sequester-and-reduce-deficit

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Government

Equipping the Nation’s Future Innovators

I

n his State of the Union address, President Obama issued a call to better equip American graduates for the demands of a high-tech economy. Specifically, he called on the nation’s high schools to forge new partnerships with colleges and employers, and create classes that focus on science, technology, engineering, and math—the “STEM” subjects – calling them “the skills today’s employers are looking for to fill the jobs that are there right now and will be there in the future.”

Indeed, students with STEM skills are a driving force that keeps America competitive, creative, and innovative. As just one example— the most common educational background of CEO’s in the S&P 500 companies is not finance or business… but engineering.

Whether it’s by unearthing new discoveries, inventing new technologies, or starting innovative companies—STEM-educated students are well-poised to make an enormous positive impact when they enter the workforce.

Earlier this month, at a White House ceremony where some of the nation’s top scientists and innovators were awarded the National Medal of Science and National Medal of Technology and Innovation, President Obama spoke about this tremendous potential of STEM-educated Americans to make a difference.

He marveled at the honorees’ great range of extraordinary accomplishments, including new discoveries about the depths of space and our oceans, the invention of batteries that today help power everything from cell phones to

cars, and the development of the LASIK eye surgery technique and other medical innovations that have improved countless lives.

With the right tools, skills, and opportunities, the next generation of coders, inventers, explorers, and engineers will help form the backbone of a strong American economy. In the President’s words: …today, it’s clearer than ever that our future as a nation depends on keeping that spirit of curiosity and innovation alive in our time… In a global economy where the best jobs follow talent -- whether in

Calcutta or Cleveland -- we need to do everything we can to encourage that same kind of passion, make it easier for more young people to blaze a new trail.

He went on to point out that today, only about a third of college students are graduating with STEM degrees. We can do better.

That’s why this administration is taking bold steps to make college more affordable, train 100,000 new math and science teachers in the next 10 years, and increase the number of students who receive undergraduate STEM degrees by 1 million over the next decade. It’s also why the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (www.whitehouse.gov/ administration/eop/ostp) is

collaborating closely with partners through initiatives like Change the Equation (www.whitehouse. gov/the-press-office/2010/09/16/ president-obama-announce-majorexpansion-educate-innovatecampaign-impro) and Digital Promise (www.digitalpromise. org) to improve STEM learning experiences and opportunities, and accelerate innovation in education with technology.

And, to ensure that the next generation of innovators is enriched by and reflects the full diversity of America, we are working to inspire all students—including women, girls, and minorities underrepresented in the sciences –to learn tech skills, pursue STEM careers, and give back in their own communities.

Share our enthusiasm? There are steps you can take right now to inspire and support the next generation of National Medal winners and help drive our Nation’s engine of exploration and discovery, including: • Find a STEM activity in your area (www.connectamillionminds.com/ connectory.php) • Help a student become a “maker” (www.whitehouse.gov/ blog/2012/05/17/respondingpresident-s-call-new-effort-helpmore-students-be-makers) • Download and share a STEM mentoring toolkit (www. serve.gov/toolkits/pdf/STEM_ mentoring_toolkit.pdf) • Invite a scientist or STEM official to visit your classroom • Apply to be a Presidential Innovation Fellow - see next page (www.whitehouse.gov/ innovationfellows) Together we can continue building America’s STEM momentum—one student, one class, one school at a time.  www.whitehouse.gov/ blog/2013/02/20/equippingnations-future-innovators

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Government

The Presidential Innovation Fellowship

T

he Presidential Innovation Fellows (PIF) program pairs top innovators from the private sector, non-profits, and academia with top innovators in government to collaborate during focused 6-12 month “tours of duty” to develop solutions that can save lives, save taxpayer money, and fuel job creation. Each team of innovators is supported by a broader community of interested citizens throughout the country. The 1st round of five projects was launched in August 2012 with 18 inaugural Fellows.

The 2nd round of the Presidential Innovation Fellows program will include nine projects, described below – four that are the second phases of Round 1 projects and five new projects. Presidential

Innovation Fellows have a unique opportunity to serve our Nation and make an impact on a truly massive scale. We will be accepting applications to be a Round 2 Fellow from February 5th through March 17th, and are looking to put together a dynamic, diverse, innovative class that will produce tremendous results for the American people. You can apply at https://innovationfellows.usa. gov/apply.

• Read the blog post by US Chief Technology Officer Todd Park and US Chief Information Officer Steve VanRoekel announcing the launch of the 2nd round of Presidential Innovation Fellows (www.whitehouse.gov/ blog/2013/02/05/throw-your-

hat-ring-round-2-presidentialinnovation-fellows-program) • Read the blog post by Senior Advisor to the President Valerie Jarrett and US Chief Technology Officer Todd Park on the Administration’s commitment to diversity in technology (www. women2.com/connectingeveryone-to-tech-skills-andopportunities) • Follow @WhiteHouseOSTP on Twitter

2nd Round Projects

Disaster Response & Recovery: Collaboratively building and “prepositioning” needed tech tools ahead of future emergencies or natural disasters in order to mitigate economic damage and save lives.

Learn More at www.whitehouse. gov/innovationfellows/disasterresponse-recovery.

MyUSA: Simplifying the process

of finding and accessing information and government services that are right for you. Helping American

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control, and data to help from page 25 analytics grow new highvalue American jobs businesses access the information and the economy. and services that will help them Learn More at www. grow, hire American workers, and w h i t e h o u s e . g o v / export to foreign markets. Learn innovationfellows/ More at www.whitehouse.gov/ c y b e r - p h y s i c a l innovationfellows/myusa. systems.

Innovation Fellowship

Open Data Initiatives:

RFP-EZ and Innovative Contracting Tools: Making it easier for the government to do business with small, high-growth tech companies, and enabling the government to buy better, lowercost tech solutions from the full range of American businesses.

Learn More at www.whitehouse. gov/innovationfellows/rfp-ez.

Cyber-Physical

Systems:

Working with government and industry to create standards for a new generation of interoperable, dynamic, and efficient “smart systems” – an “industrial Internet” – that combines distributed sensing,

Accelerating and expanding efforts to make government information resources more publicly accessible in “computer-readable” form and spurring the use of those data by entrepreneurs as fuel for the creation of new products, services, and jobs. Learn More at www. whitehouse.gov/innovationfellows/ open-data-initiatives.

MyData Initiatives: Empowering

the American people with secure access to their own personal health, energy, and education data.

Learn More at www.whitehouse. gov/innovationfellows/mydatainitiatives.

Innovation Toolkit: Developing an innovation toolkit that empowers our Federal workforce to respond to national priorities more quickly and more efficiently. Learn More at www. whitehouse.gov/innovationfellows/

innovation-toolkit.

21st Century Financial Systems: Moving financial

accounting systems of Federal agencies out of the era of unwieldy agency-specific implementations to one that favors more nimble, modular, scalable, and costeffective approaches.

Learn More at www.whitehouse.gov/ innovationfellows/21st-centuryfinancial-systems.

Development Innovation Ventures: Enabling the US

government to identify, test, and scale breakthrough solutions to the world’s toughest problems. Learn More at www.whitehouse.gov/ innovationfellows/developmentinnovation-ventures.  www.whitehouse.gov/ innovationfellows

College Affordability and Transparency Center www.whitehouse.gov/issues/education/higher-education/ college-score-card

College Scorecards in the U.S. Department of Education’s College Affordability and Transparency Center make it easier for you to search for a college that is a good fit for you. You can use the College Scorecard to find out more about a college’s affordability and value so you can make more informed decisions about which college to attend.

To start, enter the name of a college of interest to you or select factors that are important in your college search. You can find scorecards for colleges based on factors such as programs or majors offered, location, and enrollment size. 

Government

How Obama-endorsed P-TECH High School is Changing Education [Q&A]

By Ki Mae Heussner

I

n his State of the Union address, President Obama made several sweeping statements about how he’d like to improve education, but he saved a specific mention for Brooklyn, NY-based P-TECH, or Pathways in Technology Early College High School.

Talking about the importance of aligning education with employment opportunities, he said in countries like Germany, students finish high school armed with the skills they need for the jobs that are available.

“Now at schools like P-TECH in Brooklyn, a collaboration between New York public schools and City University of New York and IBM, students will graduate with a high school diploma and an associate’s degree in computers or engineering,” Obama said.

“We need to give every American student opportunities like this.”

Opened in September 2011, P-TECH is an IBM-backed, sixyear program for New York City public high school students. At the

end of the program, students get a high school degree, an associate’s degree and better chances for an entry-level position at IBM upon graduation. Even before the president’s endorsement,

educators in Chicago, Maine, Massachusetts and elsewhere had started to explore the model, but given last night’s Rashid Davis recognition you can be sure P-TECH will be getting even more that have taken an academic test or attention. have been academically screened In a chat with GigaOM, Rashid for this particular model.

Davis, P-TECH’s founding GigaOM: Why is it a model that principal, talked about what makes can succeed in different cities and P-TECH work, how it could be school districts across the country? replicated and what could make the Davis: Because you’re talking model even better. about the diversification that’s GigaOM: As we write about necessary – how do you get people frequently on GigaOM, the digital who are underrepresented and economy is creating the demand for you’re broadening the applicant new skills and new ways of learning pool for areas where jobs are not those skills. From your perspective, getting filled. … It can also be what’s driving the momentum replicated for other industries – not behind P-Tech and new schools just IT. It could be manufacturing, it like it? could be fashion, it could be sports.

Davis: I think, really, it’s industry It really depends on the industry and coming forward and saying these the skills that you want to address are the skills that are important and and the post-secondary institutions working with secondary and post- that could give you that credential. secondary institutions to say how GigaOM: The first wave of do we make sure those gaps and students will graduate in 2017, but skills are filled. what early indicators can you look G i g a O M : at to evaluate how the program is C o r p o r a t i o n s doing and measure success? have worked Davis: There are some students with educators that may complete this program in the past but in four years or five years. But so what really far, we have 103 students who d i s t i n g u i s h e s started with us in grade 9 last year P-Tech’s model? and, of those, 62 are enrolled in Davis: Every at least one college course. … It’s student has a important to understand that this an mentor from IBM and the expectation open-admissions population, with is for students to complete the post- many students who may be the first secondary credential, not just earn in their family to even graduate from a college credit. And it’s an open- high school. I don’t want people to admission school that starts in try to compare these students to grade 9. We’re not taking students traditional students who may have

27  March 2013  Black Business News  www.blackbbusinessnews.net  1-323-291-7819

Government

P-TECH

from page 27

a different economic background or different levels of support and then [give less value to] measures of success from not really

understanding [that difference].

GigaOM: What kinds of challenges have you encountered so far?

Davis: The challenge is to have 13- and 14-year-olds who may have thought of themselves as

students who have not done well, and now we’re telling them that they’re college students from day one. That becomes a challenge because students need to not only make a mental shift, but change their habits so they can… believe

in themselves and be consistent in their outcomes.

GigaOM: How do you support them in that shift?

Davis: In addition to every student having a professional IBM mentor, every teacher mentors students

and we’re having students adopt each other.

GigaOM: If you could do more to make this model a success, what would it be?

Davis: I would add a boarding component for six months in the summer and I’d try to find a way to house the students for the last two years… 85% of my students are on free or reduced lunch and they’re not coming from within walking distance of the community. And it’s important to remember that 76% of our population are boys, with 73% being young men of color. Every day they go into their communities and we’re at risk of losing them or having them sidetracked to other realities. With boarding, I think it’s essential to make sure we can continue the learning.

GigaOM: Aside from schools like yours, what else would you like to see in NYC schools?

Davis: I’d like to see every high school in NYC attached to one of the [City University of New York] schools to allow this same opportunity to exist for all NYC public school students. We know it’s hard for students to actually get meaningful employment – we need to start off by saying that it’s important for every NYC student who graduates from public school leaves with a post-secondary credential or associates degree.

GigaOM: And, as other schools around the country create P-Tech like schools, what would you advise them?

Davis: They should keep in mind: how do we move quicker?

How do we really think of the ways that postsecondary schools could be dual-credentialed for students to actually let them do more while they’re younger and before life gets in the way?  http://gigaom.com/2013/02/13/howobama-endorsed-p-tech-high-schoolis-changing-education-qa

28  March 2013  Black Business News  www.blackbbusinessnews.net  1-323-291-7819

Government

The White House Hackathon

By Peter Welsch

I

n February 2013, the White House welcomed twenty one programmers and tech experts and invited them to spend the day working alongside seven members of our own development team. Their goal was simple: to build tools using the new API for We the People (https://petitions.whitehouse.gov), the White House petitions system, and contribute example code to a software development kit (SDK).

For nine hours, these two groups clustered around each other’s laptops, solving problems, sharing ideas, sharing code, and asking questions.

This was the first White House Open Data Day Hackathon.

A week before the event, we gave the participants access to a private repository on GitHub so they could read documentation, introduce themselves, and begin thinking about their projects. (Here’s the official White House GitHub profile - https://github.com/whitehouse.)

As each API method became available, the hackers got to work, opening bug reports and chewing over questions with the White House team.

By the time the sun set over Washington on the 22nd, sixteen people got up to share their projects with a room packed with other hackers and guests from around the White House. Among them was Mick Thompson, who created Where the People (www.youtube. com/watch?v=gInWIAMpPtc), a time-lapse visualization of zip

codes where petitions are being signed, weighted for signatures by percentage of population.

Douglas Back built Widget the People (https://petition-promoter. herokuapp.com), a tool that lets you create an embeddable thermometer showing how many signatures your petition needs before it reaches the response threshold. Catherine D’Ignazio developed Brown Bag (http://kanarinka.brownbag.me/ petitionmap/index.php?pid=512 545c9eab72ad51c000007), an embeddable map that shows where signatures came from, right down to the zip code level. Yoni BenMeshulam’s R We the People (https://github.com/yoni/r_we_the_ people) is a package for the R statistics environment that allows users to generate word clouds and visualize the issues that petitions are created about over time. Other projects included a dashboard that predicts when petitions will cross the 100,000 signature threshold, documentation and step-by-step primers on using the API, email alert systems that inform you when a petition on an issue you care about has been created, and more.

During the hackathon Todd Park, United States Chief Technology Officer, spoke to the value of collaboration by invoking Joy’s Law. “No matter who you are,” he said,

“you have to remember that most of the smartest people in the world work for somebody else.” On the 22nd, we were lucky to have twenty one of the smartest folks with us for the day:

The Work Continues - Join In

By letting this group of smart people work with an early version of the API, by helping them come up with their own ideas and bring them to life, we found ways to make both We the People and its API better.

Some of the projects from the hackathon will be released as open source code, or incorporated into We the People itself, but all of them helped the team from the White House find ways to make the API more flexible, better documented, and easier to use when it’s officially released.

While the White House Open Data Day Hackathon is over, the conversation about We the People’s API continues because there’s now a community of developers working with it. If you’re interested in working with it, too, tell us about your ideas (www.whitehouse.gov/ developers/using-we-people-api).

We’re excited to hear them.  www.whitehouse.gov/ blog/2013/03/02/looking-backwhite-house-hackathon

29  March 2013  Black Business News  www.blackbbusinessnews.net  1-323-291-7819

Government

Doing Business in Africa Forum

R

ecently, we (David Hinson, National Director, Minority Business Development Agency and Francisco Sánchez, Under Secretary of Commerce for International Trade) attended the Doing Business in Africa Forum at the White House. This was the first forum of the Doing Business in Africa Campaign (http://export. gov/africa) that the Commerce Department launched three months ago in Johannesburg, South Africa (www.commerce. gov/news/acting-secretaryspeeches/2012/11/28/remarkslaunch-doing-business-africacampaign-johannesburg). Deputy Secretary of Commerce Rebecca Blank gave the opening remarks and focused on strengthening commercial ties between the United States and Sub-Saharan Africa. She emphasized that as the continent’s wealth increases, so does the demand for improved infrastructure, energy services, and high-quality consumer and agricultural products – all of which American companies are well positioned to provide.

In fact, Sub-Saharan Africa is home to six of the ten fastestgrowing countries in the world, which helps explain why over the past decade, U.S. trade to and from Africa has tripled, with U.S. exports now topping $21 billion. Michael Strautmanis, Deputy Assistant to

(l) Francisco Sánchez, Under Secretary of Commerce for International Trade and David Hinson, National Director, Minority Business Development Agency

the President and Counselor for Strategic Engagement, welcomed the group of federal government officials, African-born U.S. business and financial leaders, and AfricanAmerican entrepreneurs, corporate executives, fund managers and investment advisors. Mr. Strautmanis emphasized the need for a collective approach from federal agencies to provide expanded investment and trade financing support to help U.S businesses become more effective global competitors, particularly in the Sub-Saharan region.

Amplifying that message, both of us, along with representatives from government entities including the Overseas Private Investment Corporation, ExportImport Bank, Small Business Administration, Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, U.S.

Trade and Development Agency and Millennium Challenge Corporation, described for the assembled group how all of our services are structured under the Doing Business in Africa campaign to help them seize opportunities in the Sub-Saharan Africa region.

Among the Department of Commerce resources we discussed: • MBDA’s network of over 40 Business Centers across the country that assist minorityowned and Diaspora-owned businesses in gaining access to contracts, to capital, and to new markets in places such as Africa.

MBDA’s website at www.mbda. gov provides detailed information on that assistance.

• The International Trade Administration’s staff in more than 100 U.S. cities and 70

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Government

Africa Forum

from page 30

countries, including across Africa, who help to guide American businesses through every step of the export process — from helping solve financing issues to overcoming regulatory challenges (http://export.gov/eac/index.asp).

• Export.gov/Africa as a great source of information about the government resources available to companies who are looking to expand into this increasingly rich and diverse marketplace.

It’s important to note that U.S. Census data shows that minorityowned firms are twice as likely to export their products and services as nonminority-owned firms. That’s why we think it’s smart for us to reach out to minority-owned businesses that are eager to expand into emerging markets such as Sub-Saharan Africa but need assistance gaining access. We also want to support

www.exim.gov

the exporting efforts of Africanborn entrepreneurs operating businesses here in the U.S., who often have strong personal and commercial ties to Africa. Several African American and African-born U.S. business owners who are already selling their products and services in African markets shared best practices and success stories with the forum audience.

As Deputy Secretary Blank stressed and we reiterated to the business leaders at the forum, we want to be economic partners in their entry and expansion in the region. When U.S. products and services reach Sub-Saharan Africa, it will help fuel growth and enhance prosperity for Africans and create jobs here in America. These are goals we all share, and we look forward to working with U.S. businesses to achieve them.  www.mbda.gov/blogger/globalopportunities-and-new-markets/ doing-business-africa-forumpresents-opportunities-americanbusinesses-sub-saharan

Monday, April 29th - Wednesday, May 1st 2013 Washington, DC B2B National Procurement Matchmaking, Tuesday, April 30th

Information & Registration: http://thelatinocoalition.com 31  March 2013  Black Business News  www.blackbbusinessnews.net  1-323-291-7819

WOMEN’S HISTORY MONTH

Chaka Khan Debuts her “Chakalates” Chocolate, “Khana Sutra” Candle Line

2

013 marks my 40th anniversary in music and 60 years of living an exciting and blessed life and it all equals 100% Chaka!

In the coming months, I will be launching my Khana Sutra line of home fragrances and candles, releasing a multi-genre music project titled “iKhan,” and relaunching my exquisite line of gourmet chocolates, Chakalates. These and other items are available at my official store at www.starz.bz/chakakhan.

There are lots of great surprises in store this year that will allow you to connect with me and stay up-todate with all things Chaka Khan.  Thanks for all your love and support through the years! www.chakakhan.com

32  March 2013  Black Business News  www.blackbbusinessnews.net  1-323-291-7819

WOMEN’S HISTORY MONTH

Film Femme Fatales: Top Black Women in Hollywood

by Courtney Connley

I

t’s no secret that the film industry is male dominated, with very few females getting recognition for their contribution to the cut-throat business of filmmaking. With a unique story to tell and a creative

Angela Robinson spin on storytelling, below are four women whose careers are proving they are ready to have a lasting

Darnell Martin

say in the diversity of film.

Ava DuVernay: She was the first black woman to be awarded the Best Director award at last year’s Sundance Film Festival for her film “Middle of Nowhere” and now she’s picking up recognition and respect beyond the film world. Approached by the executives from Prada and Miu Miu, DuVernay has directed a recent short film called “The Door” that sheds a unique light on the intertwining of high fashion clothing and the bond of sisterhood among an all-star cast that includes Gabrielle Union, Alfre Woodard, Emayatazy Corinealdi, Goapele and Adepero Oduye.

Angela Robinson: She’s the highest grossing black female director in history, as her cartoon film with Lindsay Lohan “Herbie: Fully Loaded” grossed $144 million worldwide. While the success of this highly popular commercial film is one that should be duly noted, Robinson is best known for knocking down doors and bringing stories focused on the black lesbian experience to the big screen.

Gina Prince-Bythewood: Best known for directing and writing the 2008 film “The Secret Life of Bees,” which grossed $40 million worldwide, Bythewood is proving that she has the experience and knowledge to bring some of the best stories to light. But don’t mistake Bythewood for a newcomer, she was also behind the making of

Ava DuVernay the classic 2000 film “Love and Basketball” starring Sanaa Lathan and Omar Epps.

Darnell Martin: Her 1994 film “I

Gina Prince-Bythewood Like It Like That” with Columbia Pictures won a New York Critics Circle award for Best First Film and it made her the first African American woman to write and direct a film for a major Hollywood studio. Scoring again in 2008 with the film “Cadillac Records” that starred Beyoncé, Cedric the Entertainer, Columbus Short and Mos Def, Martin is showing that her career in film is one that deserves recognition.  www.blackenterprise.com/career/ top-black-women-hollywoodproducers-directors

33  March 2013  Black Business News  www.blackbbusinessnews.net  1-323-291-7819

One in three women will be a victim of violence – being raped, beaten or abused in her lifetime. In some parts of the world a girl is more likely to be raped than learn how to read. It’s time to put a stop to this worldwide injustice.

This March, the UN’s Commission on the Status of Women (www.un.org/womenwatch/ daw/csw/57sess.htm) will meet to discuss violence against women and girls. Britain’s Secretary of State for International Development, Justine Greening, is calling for action (www.dfid.gov. uk/News/Latest-news/2013/Girls-women-UK-call-to-end-all-violence-against-women): “This year, the international community has a vital opportunity to tackle this issue once and for all. We owe it to girls and women everywhere to send a clear signal that the world stands with them.”

Lynne Featherstone - the UK’s champion for tackling worldwide violence against women believes 2013 is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to make a real difference (www.huffingtonpost. co.uk/lynne-featherstone/un-day-for-eliminating-violence-against-women-girls_b_2177702. html): “We must do everything in our power to defend the hard-gained progress on women’s rights.

We must ensure that the international community agrees a set of global standards to help protect women and girls everywhere from violence.”

Help us to end violence against women and girls. Tell global leaders it’s time to take action.

Take the pledge, share it with your friends and let the world know that one in three is one too many.

adli

AEG Invites Current and Interested Supplier Partners to our

Supplier Portal,

an online communication tool designed to enhance the relationship between AEG and our partners. The portal is an online and paperless tool that will provide you with: Increased visibility for AEG business opportunities Extended Company Profile in online directory Direct email updates from AEG clients and buyers Easy accounts payable information sharing Increased exposure for MBEs, WBEs, and DBEs It is important that you register your business so that we have the ability to contact you for participation in future opportunities. Suppliers seeking to initiate business with AEG are encouraged to register as well.

Registration is simple and we invite you to visit our Supplier Portal at your earliest convenience:

https://supplier.aegworldwide.com

WOMEN’S HISTORY MONTH

The Richest Black Woman in the World, Folorunsho Alakija VENTURES AFRICA/Africa’s Secret Millionaires – Move over, Oprah – there is a new richest black woman in the world. And she’s Nigerian.

exclusively to upscale clientele.

The business thrived, and Alakija quickly made a tidy fortune selling high-end Nigerian clothing to fashionable wives of military bigwigs and society women.

Oil Prospecting License

Folorunsho Alakija

M

eet Folorunsho Alakija, a Nigerian billionaire oil tycoon, Fashion Designer and Philanthropist who is worth at least $3.3 billion Alakija, 61, was born into a wealthy, polygamous Nigerian family. She started out her professional career in the mid 70s as a secretary at the now defunct International Merchant Bank of Nigeria, one of the country’s earliest investment banks. In the early 80s, Alakija quit her job and went on to study Fashion design in England, returning to Nigeria shortly afterwards to start Supreme Stitches, a premium Nigerian fashion label which catered

In May 1993 Alakija applied for an allocation of an Oil Prospecting License (OPL). The license to explore for oil on a 617,000 acre block – (now referred to as OPL 216) was granted to Alakija’s company, Famfa Limited (http:// famfa.com). The block is located

approximately 220 miles South East of Lagos and 70 miles offshore Nigeria in the central Niger Delta.

This was in 1993. Many wealthy Nigerian businessmen and military bigwigs who had been allocated oil blocs by the military administration at the time had no clue as to the technicalities in operating an oil block, so many of them typically acquired OPLs, and then flipped them off to international oil companies for substantial profits.

But Alakija was intelligent. She had no expertise or experience in running an oil field, but she decided not to sell off her license. In September 1996, she entered into a joint venture agreement with Star Deep Water Petroleum Limited (a

wholly-owned subsidiary of Texaco) and appointed the company as a technical adviser for the exploration of the license, transferring 40% of her 100% stake to Star Deep.

Subsequently, Star Deep sold off 8% of its stake in OPL 216 to Petrobas, a Brazilian company.

Folorunsho Alakija and her family owned 60%.

Nigerian Government Forcefully Acquires Stake In The Block

Star Deep Petroleum carried on with exploitation of the oil field. In 2000, the first appraisal well was confirmed to have recoverable reserves in excess of 1 billion barrels of oil equivalent. When this was discovered, the Nigerian

government, led by Olusegun Obasanjo immediately ordered that a 40% interest in OPL 216 be allocated to the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) under the Back-in-Right Regulation of 2003 which gives the Nigerian government participatory rights in any OPL or OML. You can read more about this back-in-right regulation in detail here.

This would leave Famfa Oil with a 20% stake. This was in 2000, and the government did not pay Famfa a dime for the stake. In 2003, Famfa applied for a conversion from an OPL to an OML, and in 2004 the request was granted. OPL 216 became OML 127. see Richest Black Woman on page 37

36  March 2013  Black Business News  www.blackbbusinessnews.net  1-323-291-7819

Nigeria Supreme Court rules in favor of Famfa Ltd.

Richest Black Woman from page 36

But the Nigerian government was not content with its 40% stake in Famfa. In 2005, the government forcefully acquired a further 10% stake in OML 127.

Folorunsho Alakija immediately went to the courts to challenge the government’s forceful acquisition take a 50% in the license. It was a lengthy court battle which lasted for several years, but in May 2012, the Supreme Court voided the government’s acquisition of a 50% stake in OML 127 and subsequently transferred the 50% stake back to Famfa Oil. The Nigerian government tried to appeal the Supreme’s court decision, but the case has been dismissed-a victory for Famfa Oil which sees the little-known oil company owning a 60% in OML 127, which is one of Nigeria’s most prolific oil blocks.

Valuation Of OML 127

Daily production at OML 127 currently stands at 200,000

Agbami Oil Field barrels per day. So how much is a 60% stake in OML 127 worth?

Folorunsho Alakija’s 60% stake in a $10.74 billion oil well is worth $6.44 billion.

Other Holdings

Folorunsho Alakija also has a real estate portfolio worth over $100 million. Alakija owns a Bombardier Global Express 6000 private jet which she bought earlier this year for a reported $46 million.

Philantrhopy

Folorunsho Alakija is the founder

of the Rose of Sharon foundation, a Christian-based charity which gives out small grants to widows.

Personal Profile

Alakija is married to Modupe Alakija and they have four grownup sons together. She also has a grandchild from her first son.

Modupe Alakija, her husband is the Chairman of Famfa Oil. Her sons run the company.  www.ventures-africa.com/2012/11/ the-richest-black-woman-in-theworld-folorunsho-alakija/

37  March 2013  Black Business News  www.blackbbusinessnews.net  1-323-291-7819

WOMEN’S HISTORY MONTH

Tips for Female Leaders to Make It to the Top

By Lauren Ready

C

ompanies with more women in the top ranks outperform their industry peers, according to new research from the International Consortium for Executive Development Research (ICEDR). But less than 5% of CEOs are women.

What’s more, according to a study by McKinsey & Co., gender diversity is among the top three CEO agenda items at just 12% of companies.

Both findings suggest it is time for young female leaders to take charge of their careers. And, according to the ICEDR study, women can do this in t h r e e w a y s : explore, own and repay.

Explore Dr. Yvonne Greenstreet, Pfizer

M a n y of the top female

executives interviewed for the study mentioned that they had explored who they are, what they wanted and a variety of career paths.

For example, they had taken the time to reflect on their strengths, weaknesses, likes and dislikes, and their goals for their work and personal lives. Moreover, many had ventured into an explorative career journey full of twists and turns.

As Jane Leung, head of iShares Asia Pacific at investment company BlackRock, said in the study: “When I talk to young women

early in their careers, I tell them that life does not always happen the way you think it is going to.” The more flexible, the better, she said.

Diversity executives can serve as essential partners in the exploration process, encouraging women to develop a deep sense of their strengths, weaknesses, likes, dislikes and goals, and to have open conversations with their managers.

Own

Many of the women interviewed in the ICEDR study stated the importance of stepping up, being proactive and making things happen.

For example, Julie Coffman, a partner at consultancy Bain & Co., said: “I was always taught that if you have the right idea, you should raise your hand and volunteer to lead. Be a problem solver, not a problem identifier.”

Several women in the study mentioned that they think like entrepreneurs and feel accountable for the business as if they owned it.

For example, Ellen Walsh, a partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers, said: “What I enjoy is the ability to be an entrepreneur, but within a big firm.”

In essence, the interviewees shared a fundamental approach: own it.

Diversity executives play an important role in helping women to take ownership at work. For instance, in 2011 pharmaceutical company Pfizer created OWN IT! This program aimed to create a new culture model for the entire

organization based on the concept of owning a career path - you own your career, Pfizer is not in charge of you.

Repay

Many of the female executives interviewed in the study emphasized that they have climbed the ranks due to their own talent and hard work, but that there had always been someone who was essential in helping them succeed along the way — a parent, spouse or boss.

For example, Yvonne Greenstreet, senior vice president and head of medicines development for the specialty care business unit at Pfizer, said: “The most critical influence on my life has been my mother. She grew up in Ghana and moved to the U.K. in her teens.

When she returned to Ghana, she set up an adult education institute and built it into the institute that delivers the most education to the largest number of people in Ghana. … I really learned from her the notion of trying to impact your community and being a positive role model.”

Diversity executives play an essential role in creating a culture that encourages leaders to repay.

In particular, diversity executives can encourage senior-level women to act as stewards for rising female stars.

In the end, these lessons — explore, own, repay — show what worked for a group of female executives who have made it. By using this roadmap as a guide, the next generation of female leaders can chart their journeys to the top. And diversity executives, bosses, parents, and spouses have essential roles to play in this process.  www.diversity-executive.com/ articles/view/tips-for-femaleleaders-to-make-it-to-thetop/?interstitial=dvsy030413

38  March 2013  Black Business News  www.blackbbusinessnews.net  1-323-291-7819

WOMEN’S HISTORY MONTH

More Than 7.8 Million U.S. Women Run Their Own Small Businesses—Generating More Than $1.2 Trillion Each Year!

If you are one of these women, or are a woman looking to join this rising force in entrepreneurship, SBA is here to help.

From training resources to registering your business, we have information and programs to help you start and grow your business. Here’s how: • Check out our Resource Portal for Women Business Owners (www.sba.gov/content/womenowned-businesses) — It includes online guides, tools, and training that walk you through the steps of starting, growing, and financing your business. We can even connect you to a mentor and information about start-up accelerator programs tailored for women.

• SBA Programs that make a difference to women — From loan programs (www.sba.gov/ community/blogs/women-business-owners-%E2%80%93-how-expand-your-sources-capitaland-get-outside-financing) to financing your business growth to courses (http://web.sba.gov/ sbtn/registration/index.cfm?CourseId=68) and opportunities (www.sba.gov/community/blogs/ sba-announces-changes-contracting-program-help-women-owned-businesses-competefedera) that make it easier for women to compete in the government marketplace (www. sba.gov/community/blogs/community-blogs/business-law-advisor/women-business-owners%E2%80%93-how-win-your-share-gove), SBA can help prepare you for success.

• Visit a Women’s Business Center — This national network (www.sba.gov/about-officescontent/1/2895/resources/13729) of more than 100 educational centers assists women on all kinds of business issues.

• Access Online Training — Education (www.sba.gov/community/blogs/guest-blogs/industryword/education-key-women-business-owners-access-capital) is key for success, and it’s easier than ever with SBA’s Learning Center (www.sba.gov/sba-learning-center). Explore self-paced training courses, quick videos, web chats and more to help you understand the many aspects of business ownership.

• Join our Online Community — Discuss and explore your business challenges with experts and peers in our online community (www.sba.gov/community) of 30,000+ members.

• Blogs and Articles — Hundreds of articles (www.sba.gov/community/blogs) in the SBA Community offer tips for business success!

We’re here to help you take your business to the next level. Learn more today (www.sba.gov/ content/women-owned-businesses).

39  March 2013  Black Business News  www.blackbbusinessnews.net  1-323-291-7819

WOMEN’S HISTORY MONTH

Black Woman in Science & Technology (STEM)

Profiles:

The Aerospace Engineer: Aprille J. Ericsson, Ph.D.

Deputy Instrument Manager NASA Goddard Space Flight Center

A

s the deputy instrument manager for the ATLAS Instrument team at NASA, Aprille J. Ericsson leads development of an instrument to house satellitebased lasers used to measure the topography of ice sheets from space in order to measure global climate changes.

Ericsson, who holds a master’s of engineering and Ph.D. in mechanical engineering in aerospace from Howard University and who earned a bachelor’s of science in aeronautical/ astronautical engineering from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, was previously one of the lead engineers on the concept study report for GEMS, or the Gravity and Extreme Magnetism Small Explorer. The unmanned observatory, which is scheduled to launch no later than April 2014, will be the first to measure polarized X-rays to study supermassive black holes and magnetars. Ericsson’s work was influential in winning $105 million of funding for the project.

“High school students need to be encouraged to do summer programs. If they have an interest in engineering or science they need to apply at field centers at

NASA and NOAA so they get a feel for what they want to do,” says Ericsson, who did the same at a young age. “It’s really important to have [hands-on lab] exposure as early as freshman and sophomore year. They perform better with their course work because they learn in an applied atmosphere.”

The Chemist: Ashanti Johnson, Ph.D. Chemical Oceanographer/ Geochemist University of South Florida, College of Marine Science

S

tudying soil and sedimentation of rivers, estuaries, and beaches, Ashanti Johnson’s work as an aquatic radiogeochemist was instrumental in decoding the environmental effects of potentially hazardous incidents throughout Puerto Rico.

Johnson can be found scouring the beaches of Rincón, where a nuclear power plant operated until the 1970s, or collecting soil samples in Vieques, where depleted uranium residue remained for years following an artillery firing range run by the U.S. Navy. “These problems have been investigated very little,” says Johnson. “It takes a lot of dedication and is really labor intensive. You get muddy, you get wet, but at the end of the day, you’re happy to have processed your samples.”

Johnson earned a bachelor’s degree in marine science and a Ph.D. in chemical oceanography from Texas A&M University. Her Ph.D. work helped assess whether nuclear waste released in the Arctic by the former Soviet Union migrated toward the Alaskan coastline. She also taught at Georgia Tech and

Savannah S t a t e University.

Acclaimed for her mentorship, Johnson was awarded the Presidential A w a r d for Excellence in Science Mathematics and Engineering Mentoring by President Barack Obama in recognition of her work bridging professional development activities for underrepresented minorities. As the executive director of the Institute of Broadening Participation, Johnson has helped 159 students achieve a Ph.D. in earth system sciences.

The Mathematician: Tanya Moore, Ph.D.

Youth Services Coordinator, 2020 Vision Projects City of Berkley California’s Unified School District

T

anya Moore demonstrates that mathematicians can help divert social catastrophes.

As the leader of the city-wide 2020 Vision Projects, launched in June 2010, Moore’s job is to help close the achievement gap between white, black, and Latino students in Berkeley, California, by 2020.

She has a central role in designing the surveys, methodologies, and statistical indicators to be used for tracking student progress.

After analyzing the data, she will help design and evaluate youth interventions and services across community agencies and city departments.

Moore’s concern with increasing educational achievement for minorities doesn’t end in Berkeley, where she received her Ph.D. in biostatistics. She also spearheads Infinite Possibilities, a national

40  March 2013  Black Business News  www.blackbbusinessnews.net  1-323-291-7819

see Profiles on page 41

WOMEN’S HISTORY MONTH

Profiles from page 40

conference for women of color in all stages of mathematics—from high school students to post-docs and women in private industry. “I started it initially as a reunion because of the experiences I had at Spelman [College]. Now it has grown. It has created this wonderful community over the last few years.”

Participants regularly write Moore about how Infinite Possibilities helped them feel less isolated in grad school. She understands their frustration firsthand. While working on a master’s degree at Johns Hopkins she received her share of intolerant comments. “People told me I would only pass qualifying e x a m s because I was an African American woman and the school wanted to make their quota.

The Computer Animator: Lisette Titre

A

Senior Character & Special Effects Artist EA (Electronic Arts)

CG artist and computer animator Lisette Titre has contributed to some of EA’s highest profile games, including Tiger Woods Golf for Nintendo’s Wii, The Simpsons, and Dante’s Inferno.

As a character modeler, Titre

takes data from scanned images of characters or real-life individuals and reworks the information to build a 3-D digital sculpture. After the character’s digital skeleton is built, she takes the skeletons and applies computer modeling controls so the fingers will curl, the legs will bend, and the character moves with fluidity.

Titre, who is often the only animator working in-house on her projects, also manages a team of outsourced artists in China, Australia, and Canada. Each team can consist of five to 20 people who work on game titles.

After graduating magna cum laude from Miami International University of Art and Design with a degree in computer animation, Titre finds herself virtually alone in her field—something she hopes to change as a member of Blacks in Gaming, a nonprofit dedicated to creating networking and collaboration opportunities for blacks in the gaming industry.

“I’ve never worked with an African American woman in an artist’s capacity,” she says. Blacks in Gaming is starting a mentoring program and plans to reach out to middle schools in Oakland, California, and other underserved areas.

The Biomedical Engineer: Treena Livingston Arinzeh, Ph.D.

Associate Professor New Jersey Institute of Technology

A

rmed with a master’s in biomedical engineering from Johns Hopkins University and a Ph.D. in bioengineering from the University of Pennsylvania, Treena Livingston Arinzeh was the first to demonstrate, in 2003, that scientists can implant donor stem cells derived from the bone marrow of adults to form functional, viable bone tissue that is not rejected by

the body.

Replacing bone tissue using donor stem cells has far-reaching applications. For one, patients may not need to undergo immunosuppression therapy, which can cause infection, osteoporosis, and damage to the kidney, liver, or pancreas. In addition, her research has led to clinical methods to induce bone repair of diabetics and others who have bone injuries.

As a result of her findings, in 2004 President George W. Bush presented her with the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers, the nation’s highest scientific honor. Arinzeh, now an associate professor of biomedical engineering at the New Jersey Institute of Technology, says that women make up 50% of undergraduates in biomedical engineering but that there aren’t enough African Americans pursuing careers in her area. She says students must be engaged by mentors, and parents need to get them involved in extracurricular activities. “I think they don’t see enough of us that look like them so they can identify with that career as something they can actually do,” says Arinzeh, who invites 40 to 50 underrepresented high school students to her lab each summer, through the Project Seeds program, sponsored by the American Chemical Society.  www.blackenterprise.com/mag/ women-in-stem

41  March 2013  Black Business News  www.blackbbusinessnews.net  1-323-291-7819

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43  March 2013  Black Business News  www.blackbbusinessnews.net  1-323-291-7819

Business

Tech Tools That Make Collaboration Easier

by Joshua Erwin

A

t first glance, collaborating in today’s tech-centric business world can seem a bit daunting. How are you going to meet? How are you going to schedule it? How are you going to remember that you scheduled it?

And how are you going to meet

As always, we’re here to help.

Here are a few must-have tech tools to make collaboration easier than ever.

Easily Accessible and Sharable Notes

Truly collaborative sessions often move quickly and can spin in several different directions before your meeting ends, so being able to efficiently document your meeting and share it with attendees is crucial. There are several powerful cloud-based note taking apps available for a variety of operating systems, including Evernote (http:// evernote.com), Catch (https://catch.com), and Springpad (http://springpad. com). By choosing a cloudbased note taking app, you ensure that all of your notes are backed up, that you can access them from any of your computers or devices and that they’re easily distributed through email or the Apps themselves, keeping all Evernote of your team on the same (virtual) page. effectively to maximize the benefit of your collaboration, whether meeting A Good Headset I really can’t stress this one with your team in the office or with mobile workers scattered across enough. Whether you’re on calls the company or the globe? With at your desk all day or meeting on the future of business collaboration your iPad at the local coffee shop, looking bright for both revenue and a good headset is an essential productivity gains, collaborating piece to the collaboration puzzle. effectively is essential to attaining At your desk, it leaves your hands free to find that email that’s being your business objectives.

referenced or navigate around the document being shared. For mobile meetings, a plugged in headset or one paired over Bluetooth makes it more comfortable and easier to meet while on the go – and if you happen to be driving, it might even be required by law!

Reliable Calendars and Reminders

With the wealth of calendar, todo list, project management and reminder apps out there, it’s easy and important to find one that suits your particular needs. The best of these apps work for you without requiring a ton of extra effort on your part. For example, my work calendar syncs with my Google account, meaning my Google Calendars are always up-to-date with my meetings and available at a glance. And with Google’s new Google Now feature, my phone automatically reminds me not only of upcoming meetings but also their location and travel time if they happen to be offsite. Regardless of your OS of choice or your workstyle, there’s a to-do list or reminder app out there that will integrate seamlessly with your workflow and ensure you’ll never miss another meeting.

Mobile-Friendly, Cloud-Based Collaboration Apps

All of the preparation in the world to collaborate effectively won’t matter if your collaboration tool of choice isn’t mobile ready, cloudsee Collaboration Tools on page 45

44  March 2013  Black Business News  www.blackbbusinessnews.net  1-323-291-7819

Business

Collaboration Tools from page 44

enabled and secure. Don’t let the cloud scare you off; by choosing a cloud-based collaboration solution like iMeet or GlobalMeet, you

iMeet ensure that your virtual meetings are always-on and securely accessible from anywhere, on a desktop, laptop or mobile device.

Getting Started

To help you search out the apps that are right for how you want to work, review some of the Best Productivity Apps of 2012.

Evernote helps you keep track of all your notes while syncing them across all devices In 2012, Evernote (http://evernote. com) went through a massive overhaul. It’s mobile and desktop apps were redesigned making them easier to use and more functional.

Evernote makes it easy to jot down a quick thought or write in longer form.

Best of all, notes are synced to the cloud, meaning users never have to save and never have to think about whether you wrote a note on your PC or smartphone.

Price: Free - Available on:

Android, Blackberry, iOS, Windows Phone, Web OS, PC, Mac, Google Chrome, and the web.

Skitch annotates your photos, allowing you to draw arrows and shapes

Skitch started as a PC app for sharing screenshots and other images, but has now made the transition over to mobile devices.

With Skitch you can use shapes, arrows, sketches, and text annotation to get your point across fast.

Skitch is the perfect tool for highlighting s o m e t h i n g in a photo, collaborating with coworkers, or brainstorming ideas. It’s now owned

by Evernote, so your images can get stored with all your other notes.

Price: Free - Available For: Android and iPhone

Catch lets you take notes offline and online too

Catch (https://catch.com) helps you capture your most important ideas so you never miss anything.

You can create voice, photo, and text notes, online and offline. It’s incredibly easy to share checklists to collaborate with others too.

For those worried about security, users can protect notes with a fourdigit PIN. Price: Free - Available for: Android and iPhone

Robin, a Siri alternative for Android users

Robin is the first true Siri challenger. We love the expanded capabilities of the newer virtual assistant. You can ask Robin for directions, local places, real-time parking, traffic info, gas prices, weather, your Twitter news, and much more.

Robin is disrupting the personal assistant arena, and we only hope that her existence pushes developers to make personal assistant apps feel more like true personal assistants.

Price: Free - Available on:

P u s h o v e r supercharges your smartphone notifications

Pushover aims to make your mobile notifications much simpler. The app integrates with IFTTT (If This Then That), a service which schedules various online tasks and makes it easy for you to send and receive push Clear notifications.

Pushover is compatible with a ton of apps—check out the full list here.

Price: $3.99 - Available on: Android and iOS

Android

Checkmark, for setting tasks see Collaboration Tools on page 46

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Business

Collaboration Tools

from page 45

and reminders Checkmark

is

our

favorite

Paper

Clear

location-based reminder app.

The app takes advantage of the iPhone’s geofencing feature to alert you of tasks when you enter and exit a particular location. It’s not a new concept, but Checkmark does it a lot better than the iPhone’s builtin Reminders app.

Price: $2.99 - Available on: iOS

itself, giving users a new design and the ability to bump photos from your smartphone to your PC. Bump is known for letting you swap contacts and other content w i t h nearby mobile devices over a WiFi or data network.

All you have to do is select what you want to share and “bump” the two devices together.

Kiss your business c a r d s goodbye.

Price: Free - Available on: Android,iOS, and PC

simple as possible.

Price: Varies - Available on: iOS ($1.99) and Mac ($9.99)

Gmail, still the best way to check email The Gmail app was just recently revamped. The update brought a completely new interface, integrated calendar appointments, better search, and faster speeds.

Gmail is the web-based email king. With a Gmail account, you get plenty of storage for free, meaning you likely never have to delete an email again. (You can always purchase extra storage just in case).

You also get Google’s excellent search feature, so you can easily go back and find old messages.

Price: Free - Available on: Android and iOS. Gmail can also be accessed from any smartphone browser like Blackberry and Windows Phone by heading to m.google.com/mail

CloudOn, for running Microsoft office on your phone Clear, for a beautiful to-do or tablet list on your iPhone, arrived for the Mac C l e a r

Paper by Fifty Three, for debuted on doodling on your iPad the desktop Paper by Fifty Three is a drawing app that won Apple’s Design Award this year (2012).

Think of the app as your own digital sketchbook. It comes packed with a variety of brushes and pens for your doodles. We suggest buying a stylus if you really want to get the most out of the app.

Price: Free, but you have to pay extra for more brushes and tools.

Available on: iPad

Bump, for sharing between phones

stuff

Bump has been around for a while, but recently the app revamped

this year and its iPhone app was updated to sync via iCloud.

Clear is a very simple, yet elegant to-do list app that will help you stay productive and on task.

The app is beautifully designed and it feels satisfying to remove completed tasks with a simple swipe.

The app aims to keep things as

CloudOn provides users will a full PC version of Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, and Excel on your mobile device. Think of it as running a virtual Windows environment on see Collaboration Tools on page 47

46  March 2013  Black Business News  www.blackbbusinessnews.net  1-323-291-7819

Business

Collaboration Tools from page 46

your smartphone or tablet.

CloudOn also integrates with Box, Dropbox, and Google Drive so you can keep all your documents stored in the cloud.

Price: Free Available on: Android & iOS

SkyDrive is another cloud storage service, but this one gives you the most space for free.

SkyDrive is Microsoft’s cloud storage service. You can use it to access your documents, photos, and other important files.

The cool thing about SkyDrive is that Microsoft gives users 7GB of free storage which is more than any other service Price: Free - Available for: Android, iOS, PC, Mac OS X, and Windows Phone

Any.DO helps you collaborate with others and get things done.

Any.Do is a to-do list app that is extremely easy to use and it supports inputting reminders by

using your voice.

The iPhone app helps you to get tasks done by syncing across multiple d e v i c e s and even integrating into the Google C h r o m e browser.

Sharing to-do’s with others makes collaboration easy.

You don’t just have to type in tasks either, Any.Do also lets you speak to your phone and tell it what you want to do.

Price: Free

SwiftKey 3 for Android helps you to type better.

Skitch Android  http://blog.pgi.com/2013/01/techtools-that-make-collaborationeasier www.businessinsider.com/bestproductivity-apps-2012-201212?op=1

Swift Key will change how you type on your Android.

The app automatically detects how you’ve typed in the past — from text messaging, mail, chat, Twitter, and a few other services — and serves up suggestions on what you’re going to say.

Price: $3.99 - Available on:

www.usps.com/ship/express-mail.htm

47  March 2013  Black Business News  www.blackbbusinessnews.net  1-323-291-7819

Business

10 Steps To Creating Highly Successful Podcasts

By Denise Gosnell

O

ver the years, podcasting has grown into a mainstream way of communicating information. A podcast is basically audio (or video) content streamed over the Internet to listeners in a series of episodes. The beauty of podcasting is listeners can download the content and listen

the world thanks to podcasting technology.

Let’s walk through 10 steps to creating a podcast, in case you want to jump on the podcasting bandwagon and reap the rewards.

Step 1 - Do Some Podcast Research

podcasts, video podcasts, or a combination of both audio and video.

The Edison Research study found that 52% of podcast consumers used video and audio podcasts every month. Those that listen to audio podcasts only stand at 31% while video podcast consumers stand at 17%.

You will also have to decide where to publish your podcasts.

Apple iTunes is the most popular podcasting platform, so it’s an ideal place to start. According to iTunes specifications, supported file formats include .mp4, .m4a, .mov, .mp3, .epub, .pdf, and .m4v.

Just make sure you find out the file format requirements for publishing podcasts on whatever platforms you have chosen.

Step 3 - Obtain the Technology You Need

to it later. Benefits include brand exposure to a wider audience, credibility, and free advertising.

To appreciate the impact generated by podcasting, look at the following figures published

by Edison Research in 2012: At least 45% of Americans are quite familiar with the word “podcasting”, and 29% listen to podcasts or have done so at some point. Four in ten of these regular podcast listeners earn an average of $75,000 every year.

Podcasting has achieved global popularity and isn’t just limited to America either.

In fact, you can build loyal followers all over

Before creating a podcast, it is important to do some background research. For example, try to find out how successful podcasters deliver content, keep their audiences coming back for more, and handle feedback from listeners.

If you cannot connect with podcast consumers and provide informative content at the same time, it is unlikely you will survive as a podcaster for long.

Step 2 - Choose your Podcast Style

While podcasting is not an exact science, how you deliver content to listeners matters a lot. In general, you can deliver content as audio

In order to record your podcast, you will need some type of computer software and/or microphone.

For example, if you are doing an audio podcast, you can either use software on your computer to record the audio, or you can use a handheld recording device. If you need to make edits to your podcast, you will need recording and editing software. Audacity is free and works on both Windows based PCs as well as Macs.

If you are doing a video podcast, there are numerous ways to record the podcast. You can use software such as Screenflow for Mac or Camtasia for PC to record your voice talking over a presentation.

You can also record yourself talking on a video camera like a lot of people do for their podcasts.

Software programs such as Auphonic allow you to make advanced edits to the podcast audio to give it that added level of professionalism. For example, see Successful Podcasts on page 51

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Business

Successful Podcasts from page 50

Auphonic has an intelligent leveler that balances the audio levels and an audio restoration tool that can reduce noise that you may have picked up in the background of your recording.

After the intro, plunge into the main podcast content. Keep the narrative informative, friendly, and engaging. You can then end with some standard ending language.

Here’s an example of how I might end one of my podcasts: “If you liked this podcast, make sure to leave a comment on our blog or on iTunes. You can also get more free training like this on our web site at ThrivingBusiness.com”.

Step 6 - Convert the Podcast Episode Into The Proper Formats

Step 4 - Plan Your Podcast

With the right recording and editing equipment in place, you can start planning the podcast.

If you are planning to interview industry experts or guests for a particular podcast episode, plan in advance how the interview will flow, questions to ask, and the length of the interview. You should also inform your guests when the interview will take place. You can ask a friend to pretend to be the interviewee and make a practice run. This will give you a good idea of how the interview will proceed.

Step 5 - Create Your First Podcast Episode

Plunge into creating your first podcast. You can start with some bit of introductory language. Here’s an example of how I might start a podcast: “Welcome to this episode of the Thriving Business podcast where I am going to walk you through how to create your own podcast”.

After finishing the recording, it is time to polish up the podcast to add any professional sounding opening and closing music, which are often referred to as intros and outros.

You will also need to convert the podcast into the proper file formats.

The necessary file formats will depend on the publishing format you are targeting. For example, you may have to convert an audio recording into an mp3 file. This is one of the most popular formats for audio podcasts.

Step 7 - Upload Your First Podcast Episode

The next step after finishing your first podcast episode is to upload the podcast. Before you can publish your podcast episodes, you need to host your podcast files somewhere.

You can use Amazon S3, DriveHQ, or a host of other web based file storage services.

Once you have registered to use a web based file storage service, use a file uploader to upload the podcast files. Most services come with a file uploader that you can open from a web browser, and some also offer support for FTP-based uploads.

Step 8 - Submit Your Podcast Newsfeed

Before publishing a podcast, you need to create an XML podcast feed. You can do this by hand or

use online services to create the newsfeed.

For iTunes publishing, pay close attention to factors such as the keyword usage, title, keyword tags, author, and the graphics for your podcast. Follow these instructions to submit your podcast to iTunes www.apple.com/itunes/podcasts/ specs.html. Other platforms will have similar instruction guidelines.

Step 9 - Promote Your Podcast

After submitting the podcast, do not rest on your laurels. Start promoting the podcast on social networks and blog posts on your website. This will spread the message to your loyal followers to check out your new podcast.

Step 10 - Continue to Publish Your Podcasts

To improve the popularity of your podcast, keep publishing new episodes on a regular basis. Avoid the temptation of fading away after a few episodes. The more you podcast, the more word of your work will get out to new listeners.

If you are not on the podcasting bandwagon, it isn’t too late to get in on the act. Also, be sure when creating a podcast to follow the steps above so you can see a significant increase in your brand loyalty and sales leads.  www.thrivingbusiness.com Newsletter #167

51  March 2013  Black Business News  www.blackbbusinessnews.net  1-323-291-7819

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Business

Access 18 Asia/Pacific Markets in 2 Days

April 8-9, 2013 University of Southern California Davidson Conference Center Los Angeles, CA www.apboconference.com • What is the “Asia Pivot” and what does it mean for U.S. business in the region?

• Is Myanmar open for Business?

• What are the top markets for U.S. products and services?

• NEW THIS YEAR: Special Panel on accessing developing market finance mechanisms.

Get answers to these questions and receive the latest market intelligence in Asia from business leaders, senior U.S. government officials and trade experts from throughout the region!

This year’s featured speakers include: James C. Grunewald, Rear Admiral, U.S. Navy (Ret.) Managing Director, Red Bird Global Services Co., Ltd Bangkok Paul Wilson, Managing Director, Myanmar Capital Advisors Pte. Ltd. Yangon

Senior Commercial Officers from U.S. Embassies in 17 countries By popular demand, workshops and one-on-one counseling on doing business in Myanmar and protecting your IP have been added to this year’s APBO. Sign up now to reserve your seat!

Asia/Pacific Business Outlook features 60 sessions on the following countries/regions: Australia, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, Philippines, Singapore, Taipei, Thailand and Vietnam. Burma, Brazil, Mexico and Russia are special additions to this year’s program.

Get critical intelligence you need at APBO:

• Practical and timely knowledge aboutAsian economies in transition. Choose from 60 presentations led by business experts from within the Commercial Service, the private sector, and academia. Sessions include country commercial overviews and workshops on topics such as financing, logistics, green business, and culturally-specific negotiation strategies.

• Senior Commercial Officers will prepare customized one-on-one briefings in response to the information U.S. companies submit in advance of the APBO Conference and counsel these firms on the opportunities for them in their markets.

Space is limited so sign up today. Due to the high demand for the one-on-one meetings, please register early to ensure your priority.

Use special Commerce Code USCS2013 and register

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53  March 2013  Black Business News  www.blackbbusinessnews.net  1-323-291-7819

Business

NEW BUSINESS LAUNCHED JANUARY, 2013

Rosalind Pennington has been a successful business owner for the past 10 years. She recently launched a Management Consulting firm in January, 2013, as Managing Member of Business Strategy and Tactical Consulting Services, LLC (BST Consulting). BST Consulting is a business consulting firm that provides solutions and services for the success of business startup and operations. As a business‐owner and community activist, she has been involved with and mentors youth and small business owners. While operating her own business, Ms. Pennington has worked in technical management and IT engineering for a number of major corporations for over 30 years. She has worked with many organizations, believing that partnership, collaboration and sharing resources are the ‘keys’ to the success of small business and non‐profit organizations.

BST Consulting offers the expertise that a proactive‐oriented and market‐opportunity seeking company needs to develop and grow in existing and new markets. The company provides a number of necessary services to the business community and to the public. These can be summed up in two main divisions ‐ Business Startup Services and Business Growth Services. Business Startup Services includes business setup, company registration, company certification, marketing research, market research reports, project‐based consulting, business and marketing plans, general consulting and documentation. Business Growth Services include project‐ based consulting, management consulting, technical management, project and process management, workshops, presentations and seminars. BST Consulting services are positioned to address important needs of most businesses. The services are extremely high quality, relevant, timely and accurate, tailored to the clients' needs so as to enable them to make the right decisions and implement solutions, in turn leading towards growth of their companies, benefiting the overall economy.

The current trend towards an increase in the number of entrepreneurs and competition amongst existing companies presents an opportunity for an increased demand for solutions and services that will enable companies to stay ahead of the pack. One of the goals of BST Consulting is to build the business one client at a time, and to serve each client as if it were the last. Customer service is what BST Consulting will do best, and is a large part of the company's overall mission. Visit the website: www.bstconsulting.biz or email: info@bstconsulting.biz Ms. Pennington serves on the board of directors of the National Black Business Council (NBBC).

Since year 2000, she has served as the NBBC President, promoting and managing the operation of the various youth and small business programs to achieve the objectives and visions of the NBBC, promoting entrepreneurship and business development and growth. She is an active member of the Black Business Association‐LA.

Ms. Pennington earned a bachelor degree from the University of Missouri‐Columbia. She has had professional training and has earned numerous technical and management certifications over the past 30 years. She is a graduate from UCLA School of Management, receiving a Management of Development for Entrepreneurs certificate. Ms. Pennington is a Notary Public in the state of California, Los Angeles County since 2003. She is ITIL (technical operational processes) and ISO 900l (business processes and documentation) certified.

54  March 2013  Black Business News  www.blackbbusinessnews.net  1-323-291-7819

Ursala Burns.

Masters Degree in Engineering.

Chair/CEO of Xerox

Sharon Haynie.

Principal Investigator, DuPont. Ph.D. in Chemistry, MIT.

Sandra K. Deborah Johnson. IBM Jackson.

Academy of Progrom Technology Director, with 40 National patents. Ph.D. Science in Electrical Foundation.

Engineering, Ph.D. in Laser Rice Technology, University.

Stanford.

57  March 2013  Black Business News  www.blackbbusinessnews.net  1-323-291-7819

For

Easter, Mother’s Day OR ANY SPECIAL OCCASION

Diana Price and Associates is a consulting firm that works with companies to transform relationships with their customers by developing customized programs that deliver exceptional, sustainable and referable customer service experiences.

Who We Are

• We teach companies how to treat and serve others • We make customer service relevant at every level of the organization • We show companies and their employees how to learn to love the next customer interaction • We elevate service, making it mission critical to the functioning of the business

Our Focus

• Exceptional service experiences have the power to transform not only the relationship between you and your customers, but also the strategic relationship between customer service and the success of your business.

Our Approach

• We work with companies to bring a sustainable customer service promise to life by making it relevant at every level of their organizations.

• We make sure customer service is treated as a corporate mandate, a business imperative and, ultimately, a profit strategy that is a reference point in everything the company does.

• People at every customer touch point – direct and indirect - are empowered and trained to deliver on that customer promise.

The Result

• We teach companies how to make serving their customers central to their corporate cultures, and

in turn have that central focus also serve them as a successful and profitable business strategy.

Diana Price & Associates provides a refreshing approach to creating exceptional customer experiences, operational assessments, human resources training, communication strategy, team retreats, culture and vision planning and customized consulting. Explore how we can help you get your customer interactions and employee engagement right and keep you moving forward.

Converting Business Pressure Points into Sustainable Customer Solutions

• Service Leadership and Communication Strategy (coaching, training) • Customer Service Culture Sculpting and Vision Planning • Human Resources Training & Consulting • Career Development • Community Relations • Certifications • Keynote Speaking

www.dianapriceassociates.com 1507 7th Street Suite 686, Santa Monica CA 90401 T: 866.631.7500 • F: 888.920.2110

60  March 2013  Black Business News  www.blackbbusinessnews.net  1-323-291-7819

Dr. Marie Maynard.

First African American woman in the United States to earn a Ph.D. in Chemistry.

Dr. Elliza Ann Grier.

Born a slave, she became the first African American to practice medicine in Georgia.

Dr. Vivienne Malone Mayes. Fifth Joan African Higginbotham.

American NASA woman in Astronaut, the United Mission States Specialist. to earn a Master Ph.D. in in Space Mathmatics Systems. at Univ of Texas (Austin).

61  March 2013  Black Business News  www.blackbbusinessnews.net  1-323-291-7819

Business

ma - everything works like you always hoped it would.

Better. Features that you’d pay for elsewhere we give away for free.

Free. Fully featured like enterprise solutions, but free with no ads like other freemium solutions.

Technology:

Take a Look!

by LaSandra Stratton Check out what these firms and organizations have to offer for your personal interests, personal wealth building, and business expansion opportunities. www.routehappy.com Routehappy is on a mission to help you find the best flights every time you fly. We want to take the guesswork out of flight search and help you have better experiences when you fly.

Our one-of-a-kind Happiness Scores combine aircraft quality, amenities, and flyer ratings. We

assemble hard-to-find data about the flight experience, match it to scheduled flights, and intelligently score it all to create a fair and digestible overall happiness score by flight.

Routehappy is the place to share and discover tips & tricks for your specific trip. Real flyers share ratings, tips, details and photos about their flight experiences on our website and iPhone app. Find hidden security lines, the best food in airports and on flights, more comfortable seats, better entertainment systems and more! www.meetingburner.com MeetingBurner is a fast and simple online meeting platform that we’re giving away for free.

It takes about 10 seconds to sign up for an account, and you can be hosting a webinar and sharing your screen just a few clicks later.

It’s built in the cloud (with multiple redundancies) to let us compete with the big boys on features, speed, and reliability.

Online Meetings with MeetingBurner: • Host up to 10 meeting attendees for FREE with no ads - forever!

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• More than 50,000 people use MeetingBurner already.

Faster. Guests can expect meetings to load ~3x faster than other meeting solutions with no downloads.

Simpler. Powerful enough for enterprise, simple enough for grand-

www.amplify.com The Amplify Tablet is a mobile learning device that is organized around student’s in-school courses and out-of-school interests.

The tablet becomes their digital backpack, filled with all of the content, assignments and activities of their classes, as well as tools to individualize their learning and explore their interests.

Students engage in teacher-led or self-directed learning with the help of pre-loaded, educationspecific search tools, applications and content. The student tablets also include data-filtering software when connected to the Internet or using apps to ensure safe, secure access and age-appropriate learning in school or at home.

Classroom Tools help a teacher plan lessons, prepare quizzes, send assignments, share multimedia resources and easily manage all of her students’ tablets during class. They allow a teacher

to get real-time feedback on students’ learning and differentiate her instruction accordingly.  Submitted by LaSandra Stratton, Chief Content Administrator of the Black Business News.

63  March 2013  Black Business News  www.blackbbusinessnews.net  1-323-291-7819

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65  March 2013  Black Business News  www.blackbbusinessnews.net  1-323-291-7819

Voting Rights Act as Needed as Ever

O

n Wednesday, February 27, 2013, the Supreme Court heard a challenge to the Voting Rights Act in the case of Shelby v. Holder. On the same day, across the street in the congressional rotunda, a statue honoring Rosa Parks was unveiled.

And one week later, the nation celebrated the 48th Anniversary of Bloody Sunday, the March from Selma to Montgomery that helped spur President Johnson to champion the act.

The Voting Rights Act has helped fulfill the nation’s commitment to inclusion — to a big tent democracy that guarantees to all citizens the right to vote. Yet many fear that the right-wing “Gang of Five” on the Supreme Court will once more display their scorn for judicial restraint and strike down Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act, which requires pre-clearance of any voting rules that might impinge on minority participation in states and counties with histories of racial discrimination.

President Obama and his Justice Department have defended the act unequivocally.

In 2006, a Republican Congress reauthorized the act for 25 more years, after holding 21 hearings and amassing more than 15,000 pages of evidence on continuing voting discrimination in the covered districts. The margin was 98-0 in the Senate (including the senators from Alabama, Shelby County’s home state) and 390-33 in the House. The Justice Department reported that between 1982 and 2006, it had used Section 5 a total of 2,400 times to block discriminatory changes in voting rules. Republican President George W. Bush signed reauthorization into law. In the current case, Republican-appointed justices at the District Court and the Circuit Court levels voted to uphold the law. If the Gang of Five acts to overturn it, it will be an act of disgraceful judicial usurpation in a matter of extreme importance to our politics and our democracy.

The Voting Rights Act has been central to the transformation that is making America’s diversity a strength, rather than a liability.

Ironically, it is this very progress that is used to attack the act.

Shelby County claims that the areas covered by Section 5 should not be under special scrutiny because things have changed. The election of Barack Obama is used as evidence.

The sad reality, of course, is that since Obama’s election, our politics have become more, not less, racially polarized. Obama’s “rising American electorate” is grounded on the rising participation of

minorities (along with single women and the young). After 2008, a more-conservative, more-Southern and more-white Republican Party set out to constrict voting in ways that would discriminate against minorities.

For example, of the nine states covered in their entirety by Section 5, lawmakers in six have passed restrictive new voting laws since 2010. Texas had its harsh voter identification law overturned under Section 5. Florida’s effort to reduce voting hours in a way that would discriminate against minorities was blocked. South Carolina had to make changes in its new restrictive laws. Anyone paying attention knows that the Voting Rights Act is more, not less, vital as political parties and leaders struggle to adjust to the inclusion of growing Hispanic and AsianAmerican populations and the rising participation of African Americans.

When passed less than a half century ago, the Voting Rights Act marked the beginning of real democracy in the South. It has helped make America better, but its work is not done. That was the finding of the Republican Congress and the Republican president, the elected branches of government in 2006. It was the finding of the district and appellate courts in this case. If the rule of law means anything in this country, that will be the decision of the Supreme Court.  publicservices@rainbowpush.org

66  March 2013  Black Business News  www.blackbbusinessnews.net  1-323-291-7819

www.suntimes.com

Community/Public Interest

First Lady Michelle Obama announces the Best Picture Oscar to Argo live from the Diplomatic Room of the White House, Feb. 24, 2013. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

President Barack Obama, First Lady Michelle Obama, and daughters Sasha and Malia, center, join extended family for a group photo in the Blue Room of the White House on Inauguration Day, Sunday, Jan. 20, 2013.

Joining the First Family from left are: Craig Robinson, Leslie Robinson, Avery Robinson, Marian Robinson, Akinyi Manners, Auma Obama, Maya Soetoro-Ng, Konrad Ng, Savita Ng, and Suhaila Ng. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

Community/Public Interest

First Lady Michelle Obama invited Big Bird to the White House to learn how easy and delicious it is to eat fruits and vegetables. Check out the latest PSAs from Mrs. Obama and Sesame Workshop celebrating Let’s Move!’s third anniversary!

Let’s Move! Three Years of Working Towards a Healthier Generation of Children

F

irst Lady Michelle Obama launched Let’s Move! on February 9, 2010 to unite the country around our kids’ health and create real support for families to live healthier lives. Since then we’ve seen substantial commitments from parents, business leaders, educators, elected officials, military leaders, chefs, physicians, athletes, childcare providers, community and faith leaders, and kids themselves to improve the health of our nation’s children. Thanks to these efforts, families now have access to more of the information they need to make healthier decisions for their children.

Young people now have more opportunities for physical activity in

their communities. Food in schools has been dramatically improved.

And more Americans now have access to healthy, affordable food right in their communities.

Later this month we’ll be celebrating Let’s Move!’s third anniversary by showcasing progress and announcing new ways the country is coming together around the health of our children.

Until then, here’s a look back on what the nation has accomplished over the past 3 years.

This year’s Let’s Move! milestones and collaborations include: • Disney announced that it will

require all food and beverage products advertised, sponsored, or promoted on various Disneyowned media channels and online destinations and theme parks to meet nutritional guidelines that align with federal standards to promote fruit and vegetables and limit calories, sugar, sodium, and saturated fat by 2015.

• In support of Team USA at the 2012 Olympic Games, the US Olympic Committee and several of its national governing bodies – USA Cycling/USA BMX, US Paralympics, USA Soccer, USA Swimming, USA Track & Field, see Let’s Move! on page 69

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Community/Public Interest

Let’s Move from page 68

USA Tennis, USA Gymnastics, the US Olympians Associations, USA Field Hockey, and US Volleyball – provided beginner athletic programming for free or low cost to more than 1.7 million kids in 2012.

• The Department of Defense announced dramatic improvements to nutrition standards for the $4.65 billion worth of food purchased every year for our troops and their families. For the first time in 20 years, DOD is updating their nutritional standards to include more fresh fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean meats, and low-fat dairy products with every meal.

• The First Lady celebrated a series of new collaborations to support Let’s Move! Cities, Towns and Counties. Organizations including the National League of Cities, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, and KaBOOM committed new resources to help hundreds of local elected officials advance the goals of Let’s Move! in their communities. More than 150 local elected officials have committed to the goals of the initiative.

• Birds Eye committed to spending at least $2 million per year for three years to marketing and advertising efforts designed to encourage children to consume and enjoy vegetables. They will also work with kids on two new kid-developed products and will distribute 50 million coupons as

part of a marketing campaign to promote vegetables.

• Through the PHA “Play Streets,” the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association funded streetclosings to increase safe places for families to play. These areas are called “Play Streets”—city streets where kids and families can run, walk, bike, or play outside freely without traffic. In 2013, at least four Play Streets per city/town in 10 cities and towns across the country will be funded.

• In August 2012, the First Lady hosted the first-ever Kids’ State Dinner celebrating healthy lunchtime recipes created by kids. The First Lady, along with Epicurious, USDA, and the Department of Education, welcomed 54 young chefs from see Let’s Move! on page 70

First Lady Michelle Obama participates in a tug of war competition during a “Let’s Move! London” event at Winfield House in London, England, July 27, 2012. (Official White House Photo by Sonya N. Hebert) 69  March 2013  Black Business News  www.blackbbusinessnews.net  1-323-291-7819

Community/Public Interest

Let’s Move from page 69

all 50 states and U.S. territories to a luncheon at the White House serving some of those healthy creations.

hospitals to deliver more healthy options throughout their facilities.

These hospitals have committed to work over the next three years to improve the nutrition of patient meals as well as that of the food options in on-site cafeterias. This includes more fruits, vegetables,

A booklet of the winning lunch recipes is included as part of the place setting at the Kids’ State Dinner in the East Room of the White House, Aug. 20, 2012.

(Official White House Photo by Sonya N. Hebert)

• The President’s Council on Fitness, Sports and Nutrition updated the President’s Challenge Youth Fitness Test to reflect the latest science on kids’ health and promote active, healthy lifestyles rather than athletic performance and competition.

The new Presidential Youth Fitness Program is a voluntary, school-based program that assesses students’ fitness-based health and helps them progress over time. The new program will be implemented in 25% of US schools by the end of 2013, and 90% of US schools by 2018.

• The Partnership for a Healthier America teamed up with 157

whole grains, low calorie options, and healthy beverages.

• In September 2012, experts in the physical activity and public health communities (The Partnership for a Healthier America, Nike Inc., the American College of Sports Medicine, and the International Council of Sports Science and Physical Education) came together around a shared set of seven best practice “design filters” for youth physical activity programming.

Organizations across sectors are working to integrate these filters into school and community-based physical activity programs to provide positive, quality experiences for

young people across the country.

And over the past three years, people from every sector of society have come together to support the goals of Let’s Move!:

• In December 2010, President Obama signed into law the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act, groundbreaking legislation that is helping American public schools offer healthier school meals for tens of millions of American children. And in January 2012, the USDA released new school meal regulations to boost the quality and nutrition of our national school lunch and breakfast programs – including offering more fruits, vegetables, and whole grains and less sodium, saturated fat, and trans fats.

• Through the Healthier US School Challenge, more than 5,000 schools now meet high standards in nutrition and fitness – and the list continues to grow, surpassing goals set not just for 2012, but for 2013 as well.

• Walgreens, Supervalu, Walmart and several regional grocers announced a commitment to build or expand 1,500 stores in communities with limited or no access to healthy food. This initiative will create thousands of local jobs, and will provide access to fresh food to an estimated 9.5 million people who currently have limited access. In California alone, the Fresh Works Fund has committed 200 million dollars to this effort to increase access to healthy food.

• Darden, the world’s largest full service restaurant company, which owns Olive Garden, Red Lobster and other chains, made a commitment to improve kids’ menus by offering a fruit or vegetable and low-fat milk with see Let’s Move! on page 71

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Community/Public Interest

Let’s Move from page 71

every meal. Darden will also reduce total calories and sodium by 20% across their menus over the next 10 years.

• The First Lady launched MyPlate and MiPlato, an easy to understand icon to help parents make healthier choices for their families. More than 6,100 community groups and 100 national organizations and corporations have partnered with the USDA to give families across the country access to this important nutritional information.

• The First Lady worked with the US Tennis Association to build or refurbish more than 6,200 kid-sized tennis courts across the country, sign up more than 250,000 kids to complete their PALAs, and train 12,000 coaches to help kids learn the sport of tennis.

• The First Lady launched Let’s Move! Child Care to ensure that our youngest children are getting a healthy start. As of January of 2013, more than 10,000 child care professionals and organizations have registered to implement new criteria for nutrition, physical activity, and limited screen time.

• Walmart announced a new Nutrition Charter through which they lowered the cost of fruits, vegetables, and whole grain products by $1 billion in 2011.

Wal-Mart has also pledged to work with manufacturers to eliminate trans fats and remove 10% of the sugar and 25% of the sodium in the food they sell by 2015.

• Through Chefs Move to School, 2,400 chefs and nearly 4,000 schools have signed up to work together, teaching kids about healthy eating and helping

cafeteria staff prepare healthier meals.

• The country’s largest food manufacturers pledged to cut 1.5 trillion calories from the food they sell by 2015 through their Healthy Weight Commitment Foundation.

• The American Beverage Association fulfilled their commitment to put clear calorie labels on the front of their products to give consumers better information.

• Through Let’s Move! Museums and Gardens, 597 participating institutions in all 50 states and the District of Columbia have signed up to offer active exhibits and healthy food choices.

• In one year, 1.7 million Americans earned the President’s Active Lifestyle Award (PALA) for engaging in regular physical activity, far exceeding the First Lady’s goal of 1 million.

• While visiting London for the 2012 Olympic Games, the First Lady joined Nickelodeon’s Big Help and the U.S. Olympic Committee in hosting a Let’s Move! event at the Winfield House. Roughly 1,200 children ages 8 – 13 from British families and American military families stationed in the U.K. attended the event centered around inspiring children to lead active, healthy lives. The event also promoted the groundbreaking efforts of the U.S. Olympics Committee to provide 1.7 million children with athletic programming in their home communities.

• In September 2011, the First Lady joined children and their families for Nickelodeon’s Worldwide Day of Play. The event celebrated the success of the Million PALA Challenge, a joint initiative of Let’s Move! and the President’s Council on Fitness, Sports & Nutrition. In

the year since its launch, 1.7 million Americans earned the President’s Active Lifestyle Award for engaging in regular physical activity, far exceeding the First Lady’s goal of 1 million.

• Let’s Move! Salad Bars to Schools has delivered more than 1,600 salad bars to schools in the past year – helping provide access to fruits and vegetables for more than 800,000 children.

• Faith and community organizations have initiated a broad range of activities including walking more than 3.85 million miles, growing 1,500 gardens, helping start 7,000 farmers markets, and bringing fresh produce to 5,600 food pantries.

In partnership with Faith United to End Childhood Obesity and Save the Children, more than 1,000 faith and community leaders have started local wellness initiatives.

• All-Clad donated 1,000 cooking demonstration kits for chefs who are working to improve school nutrition.

• Hyatt Hotels committed to meeting certain nutritional standards on their children’s menus and to reducing calories, sodium, and added sugar by at least 10% across all their food menus by 2016.

• YMCA of the USA committed to meeting PHA’s child care standards as well as physical activity and nutrition standards for out-of-school-time programs.

Happy Birthday, Let’s Move! 

www.letsmove.gov

www.letsmove.gov/blog/2013/02/08/ lets-move-three-years-workingtowards-healthier-generation-children

71  March 2013  Black Business News  www.blackbbusinessnews.net  1-323-291-7819

International

2ND INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON AFRICAN WOMEN DEVELOPMENT, PARIS FRANCE 20 - 23 March 2013 We warmly invite you to Paris - the City of Light, as we welcome women leaders, key stakeholders, policy leaders, female professionals, business executives and community leaders form Africa and the rest of the world, for the 2013 International Conference on African Women Development holding from 20 - 23 March 2013. The theme of this conference, Women and SMEs Development in Africa: Key to Unlocking Africa’s Growth Potentials seeks to emphasize the business capabilities of women and the need to incorporate women as key economic actors in growing Africa’s small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

The Conference is an annual high-level meeting aimed at advancing and accelerating efforts towards the development of the African Woman. As part of the activities for the conference, a World Stage, leveraged from this platform will be set to shine the spotlight on the top 20 Government bodies, professionals, civil society, faith leaders, organizations whose exemplary and consistent efforts have substantially improved the lives of a group of the world’s poorest people- Women; through CELD’s Top 20 Champions of African Women Development Awards 2013. Past CELD Awards Recipients include: Her Excellency, President Joyce Banda Of Malawi; First Lady Patience Goodluck Jonathan Of Nigeria; Vice President Aja Isatou Njei Of The Gambia; Vice President Joice Mujuru Of Zimbabwe; Ecobank Transnational Inc.; Her Excellency Ida Odinga, Wife Of The Prime Minister Of Kenya; Rt. Hon. Rebbeca Kadaga, Speaker of the Parliament of Uganda; Female Business Leader Wendy Luhabe Of South Africa; and Nigerian States First ladies of Rivers, Benue, Cross River, Bauchi, and Adamawa.

To participate in this conference, please contact Mrs. Furo Giami. on +234 803 909 5696 or by email on info@celdng.org. Limited speaking opportunities are also available. Interested speakers should contact us. You can visit our website at www.celdng.org.

Key Facts It is estimated that Women in Africa represent 52% of the total population, contribute approximately 75% of the agricultural work, and are responsible for 6080% of the food production. Yet, they earn only 10% of African incomes and own just 1 per cent of the continent’s assets. 76.8 per cent of the adult females are unbanked, poor and vulnerable.These figures clearly identify the work that still needs to be done across Africa in terms of women and business but they also highlight the enormous potential of women as key participants in emerging economies. This gap must be closed if Africa is to tap into the economic capacities of women. For Africa to ultimately succeed in the next decade, be competitive in the global economy, and reach the growth rates required to achieve the Millennium Development Goals, it needs to develop the SME sector and women will play a key part in achieving that goal.

For Whom This conference is open to all lovers of African women development, critical stakeholders, African Heads of Government; Female Heads & Deputy Heads of Government; First Ladies of African Countries and regions/ states; Heads of Govt. from various Nations; female professionals and business leaders; Women in the Private & Public Sectors; Female legislators; Wives of Parliamentarians, Female Academics and Researchers in the field of Gender issues, Female Traditional Rulers; Civil Society; Female Ministers in Africa, etc.

We look forward to welcoming you to Paris, France - the City of Light!

The Team, Centre for Economic & Leadership Development (CELD) 73  March 2013  Black Business News  www.blackbbusinessnews.net  1-323-291-7819

WOMEN’S HISTORY MONTH

The 20 Youngest Power Women in Africa 2012

by Farai Gundan

A

s Africa continues to rise, so do African women. With the upward economic, social and political trajectory of the continent, a new breed of African women continues to emerge. So much so, that the African Union christened the years 2010 to 2020 as the “African Women’s Decade”.

a new era of possibilities for the continent. In her keynote address honoring her as the first female chair of the African Union, DlaminiZuma said: “African women make up over 50% of the continent, and let’s not forget that they produce the other 50%–men.”

Additionally, this year Africa

forbes.com/power-women) and of the 100 women selected, 11 were Black, of whom 3 were Africans: President Joyce Banda and President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf of Liberia and Nigerian Minister of Finance, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala. To solidify the African Union’s “African Women’s Decade” theme, Nigerian

welcomed its second female head of State and Malawi‘s first female president, Her Excellency President Joyce Banda. In August, Forbes published its 2012 annual list of the World’s 100 Most Powerful Women (www.

oil tycoon, fashion designer and philanthropist Folorunsho Alakija became the first woman on Forbes’ annual ranking of the 40 richest Africans (www.forbes.com/africabillionaires), with a net worth

Folorunsho Alakija For the first time in history, the African Union voted an African woman to its helm. Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, South Africa‘s Minister of Home Affairs and a medical doctor, will lead and usher the 54-nation organization into

see Power Women on page 75

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WOMEN’S HISTORY MONTH

Power Women

from page 74

estimated at $600 million (other sestimate of her valuation to be $3.3 billion).

African women are unconflicted about themselves, who they are and the role they play, not only within their families but in their countries and the world at large. These are African women changing the face of the continent, hopping on planes from one to another of its major cities – Lagos, Dakar, Nairobi, Accra – cutting big deals and preferring to see Africa’s much storied deficits as HUGE investment opportunities.

Divine Ndhlukula did it with her Harare-based Securico firm, one of Zimbabwe’s largest security companies. The winner of the

prestigious Legatum Africa Awards for Entrepreneurship, Securico is an industry leader in providing custom guard services and cutting-edge electronic security solutions.

Or Chairperson of Africa Fashion International (http:// afi.za.com), Dr. Precious MoloiMotsepe, whose mission is to create African Women’s global demand for Decade 2010-2020 African designers and brands. To that end, her company, in partnership weeks throughout South Africa with Mercedes-Benz, hosts fashion

see Power Women on page 76

African Stock Exchanges • Bolsa de Valores of Cape Verde - www.bvc.cv (in Portuguese) • Bond Exchange of South Africa - www.bondexchange. co.za • Botswana Stock Exchange www.bse.co.bw • Bourse Regionale des Valeurs Mobilieres - UEMOA (Abidjan, Ivory Coast) - www.brvm.org • Casablanca Stock Exchange (Morocco) - www.casablancabourse.com/bourseweb/index. aspx • Dar es Salaam Stock Exchange (Tanzania) - www. dse.co.tz • Douala Stock Exchange (Cameroon) - www.douala-stockexchange.com/index_us.php • The Egyptian Exchange - www. egx.com.eg/English/homepage. aspx • Ethiopia Commodity Exchange - www.ecx.com.et

• Ghana Stock Exchange - www.gse.com.gh • Johannesburg Stock Exchange (South Africa) - www.jse.co.za/Home. aspx • Khartoum Stock Exchange (Sudan, in Arabic) - www.kse.com. sd • Libyan Stock Market - www. lsm.ly/_layouts/membership/ login.aspx?ReturnUrl=%2fEnglis h%2fPages%2fdefault.aspx • Lusaka Stock Exchange (Zambia) - www.luse.co.zm • Nairobi Stock Exchange (Kenya) - www.luse.co.zm • Malawi Stock Exchange - www. mse.co.mw • Mozambique Stock Exchange (in Portuguese) - www. bolsadevalores.co.mz • Namibian Stock Exchange www.nsx.com.na • Nigerian Stock Exchange -

www.nse.com.ng/Pages/default. aspx • Stock Exchange of Mauritius www.stockexchangeofmauritius. com • Swaziland Stock Exchange www.ssx.org.sz • Tunisia Stock Exchange - www. bvmt.com.tn • Uganda Securities Exchange www.use.or.ug Read the last issue of The Exchange Magazine www.nse.co.ke/media-center/ecommunique/exchange-magazine/ category/50-free-version.html)

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WOMEN’S HISTORY MONTH

Power Women

from page 75

as the premier gateway to African fashion.

These African women are comfortable in any setting, corporate Dr. Precious Moloi-Motsepe, African Fashion International

or traditional. They are able to hold their own in chic Parisian, Dubai or Wall Street circles but totally at home in some of Africa’s great cities: Yaounde, Cameroon; Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; Cape Town, South Africa; Harare, Zimbabwe. It is the way they embrace this duality of outlook and perspective that defines this new breed of African women.

Last year Forbes readers were introduced to a remarkable group of the 20 Youngest Power Women In Africa, heralding a new wave of African women taking control of their economic, social and political destinies. Here are the 20 Youngest Power Women in Africa for 2012, all under age 45, shaping the narrative of the continent’s rising.

Leymah Gbowee, Liberia, Peace and Women’s Rights Activist The peace activist was one of three female recipients who were awarded the 2011 Nobel Peace Prize “for non-violent struggle for the

safety of women and for women’s rights to full participation in peacebuilding work.” Gbowee helped organize and lead the Liberian Mass Action for Peace, an alliance of Christian and Muslim women, in public protest during Liberia’s tumultuous times. Now, through her organization W o m e n Peace and Security Network A f r i c a ( w w w . wipsenafrica.org/ wipsen), Gbowee trains and empowers women in Africa to bring peace to their own countries. Gbowee is a recipient of multiple awards including the Blue Ribbon Peace Award from Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School, Gruber Prize for Women’s Rights, the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award, the Medal for Justice from New York’s John Jay College of Criminal Justice and the Women’s e N e w s Leaders For the 21st Century Award.

Cina Lawson, Togo, Minister of Post and Telecommunications, Togo Lawson is currently the Minister

of Post and Telecommunications of Togo. Prior to her appointment, Lawson was a Manager of Corporate Strategy and Business Development at the France Telecom/Orange Group in New York City and Alcatel-Lucent in Paris. Lawson began her career in telecommunications at the World Bank in Washington DC where she focused on regulatory reforms for developing nations. She is a graduate of Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government and the Institut d’Etudes Politiques de Paris and was named a 2012 Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum.

Juliana Rotich, Kenya, CoFounder Ushahidi Rotich is Co-Founder and Executive Director of Ushahidi (http://ushahidi.com), a Nairobibased tech company that specializes in developing free and open source software that aggregates and curates crisis data on a real-time basis and collates the data into live, interactive maps. She was named one of the “Top 100 Women” by the Guardian newspaper, “Top 2 Women” in Technology and

Cina Lawson, Togo “Social Entrepreneur of the Year” in 2011 by The World Economic Forum. Rotich is a technologist and see Power Women on page 77

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WOMEN’S HISTORY MONTH

Power Women

from page 76

a TED Senior Fellow.

Patience Mthunzi, Ph.D. South Africa, Senior Scientist, CSIR Born in Orlando West, Soweto, Dr. Mthunzi is currently South Africa’s only Senior Scientist for the Biophotonics Research Group within the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) National Laser Center in biophotonics – a field of study that enables microscopic study of biological molecules, cells and tissue using laser. Unable to study biophotonics in South Africa, she became the first South African Ph.D. student at the School of Physics and Astronomy of the University of St. Andrews in Scotland. Dr. Mthunzi was recently awarded one of the country’s highest orders, the Order of Mapungubwe, for her contribution in the field of biophotonics.

LiveWello A life-changing event, the diagnosis of her son with Autism gave birth to LiveWello™, social network targeted at health. A U.Ktrained attorney, Iwegbue and her physician husband, a self-taught software developer, built LiveWello (https://livewello.com) to support their Autistic son’s health while harnessing the best elements of their African culture: village life.

By building a health app that was social in nature, they were able to collaborate with their son’s health providers, their health coaches and the rest of their family back home in Africa, to collectively manage his health. Now Iwegbue is helping other people manage their own health with the social network app she built.

Lisa Opoku, Ghana, Chief Operating Officer, Goldman Sachs US-based Black Enterprise magazine named the Wall Street executive one of its 2012 “40 Rising Stars Under 40″ and one of “75 Most Powerful Women in Business” for 2010. She is the Chief Operating Officer for Goldman Sachs‘ securities division for the Asia Pacific region. Opoku Busumbru earned a Bachelor of Arts degree with high honors in Sociology from the University of Minnesota in 1993 and a Juris Doctorate from Harvard Law School in 1996.

Leila Lopes, Angola, 2012 Miss Universe see Power Women on page 78

Maud Chifamba, Zimbabwe, 14year old University Accounting Student At 14-years old, Chifamba made history this year when she became the youngest student (male or female) in Zimbabwe and possibly the whole of Southern Africa to enroll at university. The young genius was admitted to the University of Zimbabwe where she will study towards a Bachelor of Accountancy Honors Degree. An orphan, Chifamba’s mother passed away last December, days after she sat for her final exams, and her father nine years ago when she was five years old. Despite this and abject poverty (her two brothers were unable to pay her fees for regular school), Chifamba home schooled herself and broke academic records earning a four-year scholarship of nearly USD$10,000.

Florence Iwegbue, Nigeria, Attorney & Co-Founder,

Maud Chifamba, Zimbabwe

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WOMEN’S HISTORY MONTH

Power Women

that covers political, economic, from page 77 cultural and social trends in Africa.

Sesay is also an anchor on CNN On September 12, 2011, Lopes International and a contributor to was crowned Miss Universe, CNN’s Anderson Cooper 360 and

conditions of women in each African country. Rai was awarded the “Most Inspirational Woman of the Year 2012″ by Women4Africa.

Biola Alabi, Nigeria, Managing

Leila Lopes, Angola, 2012 Miss Universe becoming the first Angolan woman to win the position, the fourth African to win the title (Miss South Africa took the title in 1978, Miss Namibia won in 1992, Miss Botswana won in 1999) and the second Black African woman to win following Mpule Kwelagobe from Botswana in 1999. As the reigning Miss Universe, Lopes used the platform for advocacy for HIV and AIDS patients worldwide.

Isha Sesay, Sierra Leone, News Anchor & Journalist, CNN Sesay reports for “African Voices” (http://edition.cnn.com/ CNNI/Programs/africanvoices) and “Inside Africa” (http://edition.cnn. com/CNNI/Programs/insideafrica/ index.html), CNN International’s award-winning, weekly program

HLN’s nightly news show “Evening Express.”

Rainatou Sow, Guinea, Women’s Right Activist, Founder & Executive Director, Make Every Woman Count Originally from the West African country of Guinea, Rai is a human rights and social justice advocate and women’s rights activist.

Founded in December 2010, two months after the declaration of the “African Women’s Decade” by the African Union, “Make Every Woman Count” (www. makeeverywomancount.org) is a U.K-based non-profit organization that monitors women’s rights in every African country. The organization publishes an annual report as an audit of the status and

Director, MNET Africa As Managing Director for multinational cable and satellite content company, MNET Africa, Alabi is one of the most powerful women in African media. Named a 2012 Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum, she has been at the forefront of the expansion of the AfricaMagic (http://africamagic. dstv.com) channels brand across the continent. In 2010 she served as a member of the World Economic Forum’s Global Agenda Council on the Future of Entertainment.  www.forbes.com/sites/ mfonobongnsehe/2012/12/06/the-20youngest-power-women-in-africa-2012 www.blackenterprise.com/career/20young-women-leaders-africa-to-watch

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International

Africa On The Rise

By Oliver Bell

A

s the portfolio manager for the T. Rowe Price Africa and Middle East Fund, I look for investment opportunities across two large regions—more than 60 countries in all. Since there’s much less research than usual written about the companies and countries the fund covers, it’s critical for us to visit the countries and meet with management. On average, I’m traveling once every four weeks.

Africa represents what we like to call “frontier” markets. To provide some perspective, you can think about global markets in three distinct segments. “Developed” markets like the U.S. and Europe sit at the top—they have strong regulation, a lot of liquidity, and broad, diversified industries. “Emerging” markets like China and India are a level down from there in terms of development.

And “Frontier” markets, like most of Africa and the Middle East, are areas where people haven’t really invested before—they’re nascent markets that have been very illiquid.

Historically, you haven’t been able to get much exposure to them, but now they are becoming investable thanks to greater integrity in the general business environment, a number of infrastructural improvements, and greater stability overall thanks to social, economical and political reforms. And because these markets are starting from such a low base, they’re growing very quickly.

Right now frontier markets in Africa have between 5-7% GDP growth annually, as opposed to the

developed markets, which aren’t growing much at all. In the emerging markets there’s a mix of faster and slower growing economies, but in the aggregate they’re not growing as fast as the frontier markets.

What makes Africa so interesting in particular is that there is massive change taking place. This is a region with one billion people, and by 2040 the continent will have the largest population of working-age people on the planet. There is very little debt and a large amount of resources. Recent growth has been broad-based across all sectors, and investment in infrastructure is visibly picking up. Things have changed dramatically, and I believe structurally, which makes this an

exciting investment destination.

Opportunity on the Heels of Change

Africa is comprised of 54 countries.

If you go back to the 1970s, around two-thirds of the countries on the continent were considered to be at war—either with their neighbors or internally. Now, some 30-40 years later, there are probably only three countries in that state, which is quite a big change.

Politically, you see dictators being effectively overthrown, and elections taking place, sometimes for the first time. You’re seeing transitions of power, again sometimes for the first time. This year and last year, about half the see On The Rise on page 80

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countries in Africa will have had some form of a democratic election.

In the 1970s, that would have been unheard of.

There’s still a long way to go, of course. I recently read a paper by

Adam Przeworski and Fernando Limongi called “Modernization: Theories and Facts,” that suggested that once a country reaches $6,000 per capita, its politics become more stable. Also, very few free economies that get to $6,000 per capita revert to a state of political instability. A lot of African countries are currently only $1,000 per capita, but the momentum is positive.

An Emerging Consumer Class

The emergence of a “consumer

class” in Africa is similar to what we have seen in Asia, however, this is on a very different scale. In Asia, you’re talking about people being able to buy things like cars. In Africa, you’re talking about people moving from, basically, a handto-mouth existence to having $1 a day of discretionary spending power. According to a recent

their income on items other than food. That’s a big trend.

Consumer packaged goods companies like Unilever and Nestlé have already been in Africa a long time. The brewing companies, such as Heineken and Diageo, have major investments in Africa, and in local subsidiaries. These markets are now contributing a great deal of

African development bank report, approximately one-third of today’s Africans can now be classified as “middle class”—meaning they have $2 or more a day of discretionary spending power. While that doesn’t sound like much, if you think about a billion people, and add it up, it becomes quite a powerful movement. Furthermore, a recent McKinsey report said that by 2020, more than 50% of African households will earn at least $5,000 a year, and that’s the level at which they typically start spending half

growth overall to those companies.

Unilever, for instance, sells sachets of shampoo, and Colgate sells “penny packets” of toothpaste—what in a developed market would be given away as a sample. In Africa they sell them, because people have one dollar a day to spend. This shows how they’ve learned the market and are adapting to this new consumer. (For more about the emerging consumer class in Africa, see “The New African Consumer.” http://individual. see On The Rise on page 81

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troweprice.com/public/Retail/Planning&-Research/Connections/Africa/ Africas-Urbanization-and-ConsumerClass)

South Africa: Gaining Exposure to Growth

There’s another parallel with Asia from an investment perspective.

When you look at countries like China or South Korea, one of the best ways to gain exposure to those markets has been indirectly—through companies like German manufacturers and

some South African companies are focusing almost entirely on the African continent.

In South Africa you have a more mature market, with very well managed and liquid companies.

You see situations where, say, 10% of a South African company’s sales might currently be coming from the rest of Africa, but in two or three years they’re aiming for 30%.

A lot of them have just reached that inflection point where they’ve figured out how to make profits in Africa—because there are a lot of challenges and obstacles—and now they just need to increase volume or capacity.

economies of Brazil, Russia, India, China—in 5-10 years time.

Of all the African countries, Nigeria is actually the most similar to Brazil in the sense that it’s the big oil play on the continent, it has a lot of people, and it’s getting better and better in terms of who is running its companies. You have many Nigerians who had left for the West now coming back to the country, because they see opportunity; and that’s changing the leadership situation. If all this continues, then Nigeria becomes a very exciting story. (To learn more about Nigeria and other standout economies in Africa, see “Five Countries to

Abuja, Capital City of Nigeria Australian mining companies that are benefiting from growth in those economies.

In Africa, we’re looking especially at South Africa, which has woken up to the potential of this billion or so people on its doorstep. Instead of investing abroad in places like Australia, Europe, or the U.S.,

So South Africa has become a way to get indirect exposure to the whole African growth story.

Nigeria: A Rising Star?

Nigeria stands out because it’s so big: 160 million people. There’s a fairly strong government in place, it’s starting to make reforms, and so I think it has real potential to become like a BRIC—the growth

Watch.” http://individual.troweprice. com/public/Retail/Planning-&Research/Connections/Africa/AfricasUrbanization-and-Consumer-Class)

Making the Most of Resources

Africa is obviously rich in commodities: oil, iron ore, copper, platinum, gold. see On The Rise on page 82

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If you consider China’s investment, for instance, one-third of the country’s foreign investment in the last five years has gone into Africa and the Middle East. And if you look at a map of where China has invested, it mirrors almost exactly where the natural resources are. All of the country’s investment in Africa has effectively gone into African natural resources.

One interesting development in this area is that African governments are getting wiser. At first they were just grateful for the investment.

Now, we see African governments saying; you can have access to a particular commodity, but you also have to build us, say, five schools and a hundred kilometers of roads.

So the African governments are getting smarter about letting foreign investors in and getting more in return. (For more on natural resources in Africa, read “Riches in The Ground.” (http://individual.

troweprice.com/public/Retail/Planning&-Research/Connections/Africa/ Africas-Natural-Resources-andEconomic-Growth)

Telecom As a Driver of Growth

Right now in Africa there are more people with mobile phones than bank accounts. One of the things we see is that companies are now setting up ways of transferring money or making payments through mobile phones. This has particularly taken off in Kenya. Banking is being created in Africa on the back of the mobile phone.

The take-off of telecoms has come about as handset prices have collapsed, and increased competition has driven tariffs down to an affordable level.

Mobile banking is driving usage, and mobile companies stand

to make more money as data usage becomes more prevalent through the introduction of cheaper smartphones. We see tariffs for mobile phone usage coming down, and when that happens, we see the exponential usage of voice functions, with the next leg of that being data.

I’ve heard it said recently that Africans consider mobile phones to be the third most important thing in their lives, after their house and food. So it’s worth noting that while smartphones are not big yet in Africa, they will be as prices decrease. So mobile is a very important sector, and it’s driving quite a lot of economic activity.

Structural Challenges

Of course, a lot of African countries rank at the bottom of indices like “Ease of Doing Business.” And much of that has to do with simple infrastructure.

One example: it takes 20 days for a container to go from the port in Mombasa in Kenya to the capital of Uganda. That’s about 925 kilometers, or 475 miles. In Europe, you can drive 1,000 kilometers in 8 hours.

In Nigeria, to cite another example, every bank branch needs its own power generator, because there’s no electrical grid. That increases the cost of doing business.

If Africa can get over these infrastructural hurdles, then there will be an economic snowball effect.

In countries across the continent, they’re talking about pushing through reforms that will help ease doing business and bring costs down, and if they do, that will have a very significant impact. (See our infographic for a full overview of developmental change in Africa.

http://individual.troweprice.com/ public/Retail/Planning-&-Research/ Connections/Africa/Africas-Story-OfGrowth)

Investing For the Long Haul

One of the reasons Africa has been one of the best performing regions during the last five years is that it isn’t a crowded trade yet.

What I mean is that there is very little “hot money” invested by hedge funds in the African markets at the moment, or by funds investing off their strategic mandate. This means that when there is a reduction in risk appetite in global markets, many of the investors that remain invested in the African markets are not see On The Rise on page 83

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withdrawing their money—those markets are typically not falling as much as the wider emerging or developed markets are, so generally speaking, they are outperforming those markets. Many people and

institutions that are invested in Africa do so with the understanding that change is a long-term process on the continent, and much of the money they’ve invested there is invested for the long term. Of course, past performance cannot guarantee future results.

Economic management, democracy, and improving institutions and infrastructure will

be key in the next decade. We need to see governments controlling inflation and keeping their budgets balanced. We need to see rule of law and peaceful transitions of power. And we desperately need to see investment in power, roads, and railways to continue. There will be challenges and risks in Africa, and we should expect setbacks—

there will be winners and losers, but on the whole I’m optimistic that we will see many more winners than in the past.

Africa really wasn’t on many people’s radar two years go. But this year, the frontier African markets are up 30% to date. So people are going to start noticing. 

Oliver Bell is a vice president of T. Rowe Price Group, Inc., and lead portfolio manager and chairman of the Investment Advisory Committee for the Africa & Middle East Fund. Based in London, Bell holds the Investment Management Certificate (IMC) and a Bachelor of Science degree from Exeter University. http://individual.troweprice.com/public/Retail/Mutual-Funds/ hProspectuses&Reports/Prospectuses-&-Reports http://individual.troweprice.com/public/Retail/Planning-&-Research/ Connections/Africa/Africa-on-the-Rise?PlacementGUID=806AA86D1321-40B1-A4EB-E298D519F1F8

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ACCESS: Africa, Middle East & South Asia 2013 International Trade Conference

San Diego, CA | May 1 – 2, 2013 | San Diego Marriott La Jolla ACCESS 2013 is a unique opportunity to hear directly from U.S. Commercial Service Officers serving in some of the world’s fastest growing economies. ACCESS 2013 can help your company identify new export markets and opportunities in Africa, the Middle East and South Asia, obtain the resources necessary to succeed in these markets, and develop market entry strategies. U.S. State Department Foreign Service Officers stationed in these world regions have been invited to actively participate in ACCESS 2013.

Senior Commercial Officers from the following countries will attend ACCESS 2013: Algeria, Egypt, Ghana, India, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kenya, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Oman, Nigeria, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, United Arab Emirates and more.

Register and schedule your one-on-one meetings with the Commercial Service Officers and Specialists so that they may help you identify new export markets, and develop market entry strategies. .

REGISTRATION INFORMATION:

Early Bird Rate (through March 31): $495 Rate after April 1: $595 Government Rate: $295 On Site Fee: $700 Conference Hotel Venue: San Diego Marriott La Jolla, 4240 La Jolla Village Drive, La Jolla, California USA Registration Link: http://www.regonline.com/access2013internationaltradeforum

SPONSORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES: http://www.regonline.com/builder/site/tab3.aspx?EventID=1167401

About the U.S. Commercial Service

The U.S. Commercial Service is the trade arm of the U.S. Department of Commerce International Trade Administration. U.S. Commercial Service trade professionals in over 100 U.S. cities and in more than 75 countries help U.S. companies get started in exporting or increase sales to new global markets. With offices in 108 U.S. cities and U.S. Embassies and Consulates in more than 75 countries, the U.S. Commercial Service connects U.S. companies with international partners. For more information on the U.S. Commercial Service visit, www.export.gov

Bobby Hines (bobby.hines@trade.gov) 213-894-4231, FAX: 213-894-8789 444 S. Flower Street, 37th Floor, Los Angeles, CA 90071 www.export.gov

Other Trade Information:

Service: California StateTradeExport Promotion-STEP- facilitates exports using “offsets” http://californiastep.org Event: Collection Premiere Moscow (CPM) International Fashion Trade Show www.cpm.moscow.com February 26 - March 1, 2013, Expocentre Moscow, Russia Contact: kim-bang.nguyen@trade.gov Event: ACCESS 2013 International Trade Forum – Africa, Middle East, South Asia San Diego Marriott La Jolla - San Diego, CA May 1-2, 2013 http://export.gov/california/ca/events/access2013/sandiegoaccess2013055759.asp

International

Refugees at Risk!

Tell Congress to Support Increased Funding for the Office of Refugee Resettlement

The Issue

The Office of Refugee Resettlement in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is undergoing a budget crisis due to an unexpected increase in the arrival of unaccompanied immigrant children for the second consecutive year.

If ORR fails to secure additional funding it could mean the shrinking of funding for crucial services and programs for refugees as well as survivors of torture and human trafficking. Even worse, it could mean those programs could be discontinued indefinitely.

Why It Matters

ORR programs help safeguard the support, services, and health care that refugees and survivors of torture and human trafficking need in order to rebuild their lives. It connects them with education, housing and work.

Without these key services, newly arrived populations

will struggle to integrate into U.S. communities.

What you can do

The United African Organization urges you to contact Congress and ask them to include increased funding for the Office of Refugee Resettlement in the Continuing Resolution for the rest of fiscal year 2013.

Here is a sample message: “Hi, my name is ____ from ____. I am concerned about the impending budget crisis at the Office of

Refugee Resettlement. As your constituent, I want you to know that I care about programs and services for refugees and survivors of torture and human trafficking. I ask that you include additional funding for the Office of Refugee Resettlement in the Continuing Resolution for the rest of fiscal year 2013. This will help ensure that funding for critical services are adequate and the most vulnerable populations are not made to sacrifice.

Contact: Olubukola Adekoje, Research & Policy Associate, Olubukola.adekoje@uniteafricans. org, www.uniteafricans.org, 312.949.9980. 

Thank you for taking action ensuring the provision of funding for needed services to refugees and survivors of torture and human trafficking.

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RESOURCES FOR GOING GLOBAL Dear International Executive,

I

f you have any questions about these initiatives, please contact your local U.S. Commercial Service trade specialist. To find the trade specialist nearest you please visit http://export.gov/usoffices/ index.asp. And, remember to use these outreach tools to grow your international business: Sell Worldwide in the USA Product Showcase; Commercial News USA: Buy 2, Get 1 Free; and Read the Digital Edition of America’s Export Promotion Magazine.

Happy Exporting! *************************

Event: Asia Pacific Business Outlook 2013, Access 18 Asia Pacific Markets Including Brazil, Russia, and India in 2 days! New in 2013 - Myanmar!

Venue: Los Angeles, CA (University of Southern California) Date/Time: April 8-9, 2013 Cost: $699 - $849 Link to register: http://export.gov/ california/ca/events/apbo/index.asp The Asia / Pacific Business Outlook, hosted by the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, with the full support of the U.S. Commercial Service, is the longest running, most successful regional conference of its kind focusing specifically on Asian markets. This conference has made a difference for U.S. exporters, and has become the premier U.S. commercial trade event focusing on the Asia / Pacific region.

APBO 2013 brings the experts closer to you. It is a very rare opportunity for U.S. exporters to meet with Senior Commercial Officers (SCOs) from throughout the East Asia Pacific region and India, as well as Burma, Russia, Brazil, and Mexico at one venue. The

SCOs from American embassies, consulates and institutes in Australia, Brazil, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Philippines, Russia, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam will speak in small-group workshops.

Event: Access the Western Hemisphere Venue: Minneapolis, MN Radisson Plaza Hotel Date/Time: April 23-24, 2013 Cost: $299 Link to Register: http://www. exportassistance.com/wh-agenda This annual conference will bring 10 Senior Commercial Diplomats covering over 15 markets across the Western Hemisphere. Participants will discover how to identify new export opportunities, increase market share and competitive edge, and develop strategic relationships with those that are on the forefront of business and exporting in these key markets.

Event: ACCESS 2013 International Trade Forum – Africa, Middle East, South Asia Venue: San Diego Marriott La Jolla San Diego, CA Date: May 1-2, 2013 Time: 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM Learn more/register: http://www.regonline.com/ access2013internationaltradeforum Cost: $495 prior to March 31 ($595 after March 31) Discover export opportunities and expand your company’s global reach at the ACCESS 2013 International Trade Forum. U.S. Department of Commerce Senior Commercial Officers and Commercial Specialists from Africa, the Middle East, and South Asia regions including Algeria, Egypt, Ghana, India, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kenya, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya,

Morocco, Nigeria, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, and the United Arab Emirates will provide information, help you identify new export markets, and develop market entry strategies. To learn more about the ACCESS 2013 forum and the oneon-one meetings with the Commercial Service Officers and Commercial Specialists, contact Julia Rauner by phone 858-467-7038 or email Julia.

Rauner@trade.gov or Larry Tabash by phone 512-936-0039 or email Larry.

Tabash@trade.gov.

Event: Gateway to Europe Conference Venue: Minneapolis, MN Radisson Plaza Hotel Date: June 4-5, 2013 Cost: $299 Early bird rate, $349 regular rate Learn more at: http://www. exportassistance.com/eu-about-theconferences The MN District Export Council, in cooperation with the U.S. Commercial Service, is pleased to present the Gateway to Europe conference, the second of two regional International Trade Administration conferences to be held in Minneapolis in 2013!

This annual conference will bring more than 25 Senior Commercial Diplomats and U.S. international trade officials covering the European, Russian and Turkish markets. Participants will discover how to identify new export opportunities, increase market share and competitive edge, and develop strategic relationships with those that are on the forefront of business and exporting in these key markets Event: Think Asia, Think Hong Kong Date: June 14, 2013 Location: Los Angeles JW Marriott – see Going Global on page 87

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International

Going Global from page 86

LA Live More information: http://www. thinkasiathinkhk.com/usa/en/info_ programme.html Produced by the Hong Kong Trade Development Council, “Think Asia, Think Hong Kong”, USA brings together top companies, business leaders and experts for two days of high-level discussions, business matching and networking. Hong Kong’s special relationship with both mainland China and the US, as well as its status as Asia’s international trade and financial center, make it the gateway for US companies seeking new markets and business opportunities in Asia and China. Building on successful “Think Asia, Think Hong Kong” events in the UK and Japan, “Think Asia, Think Hong Kong”, USA creates this opportunity for the first time for the US market.

Participation is free of charge.

Registration is required and will be launched online in due course.

Sell Worldwide in the USA Product Showcase for Just $499 Commercial News USA, the official export promotion magazine of the U.S. Department of Commerce, offers exporters an affordable way to promote their products and services in 178 countries worldwide. Now, you can advertise in the USA Product Showcase section of the magazine for just $499.

Commercial News USA reaches more than a quarter-million buyers worldwide in print and 23,000 per month online.

Reserve your space in the next issue today. For more information, call 1-800-581-8533 x 822, go online to http://www.thinkglobal.us, or send e-mail to export@thinkglobal.us.

Follow Commercial News USA on LinkedIn and Twitter @comnewsusa Commercial News USA: Buy 2, Get 1 Free Commercial News USA, the official export promotion magazine of the U.S. Department of Commerce, offers exporters an affordable way to promote their products and services in 178

countries worldwide. Commercial News USA, the official export promotion magazine of the U.S. Department of Commerce, offers exporters an inexpensive way to promote their products and services in 178 countries worldwide. In addition to free Portuguese translation, you can take advantage of a special offer: Buy two ads and get the third ad for free (Based on one-time rates. Does not include Showcase section). Commercial News USA reaches more than a quarter million buyers worldwide. Reserve your space in the next issue today. For more information, call 1-800-581-8533 x 822, go online to http://www.thinkglobal. us, or send e-mail to advertise@ thinkglobal.us. Follow Commercial News USA on LinkedIn and Twitter @ comnewsusa.

Read the Digital Edition of Commercial News USA Commercial News USA, the official export promotion magazine of the U.S. Department of Commerce, has launched a new interactive PDF edition.

The new edition is available for free at http://cnusa. thinkglobal.us Commercial N e w s USA offers exporters an affordable way to promote their products and services in

178 countries worldwide. Now, you can take advantage of a special offer: Buy two ads and get the third ad for free (Based on one-time rates. Does not include Showcase section). Moreover, you will receive a free online listing in Portuguese. Commercial News USA reaches more than a quarter-million buyers worldwide. Reserve your space in the next issue today. For more information, contact your U.S. Commercial Service trade specialist, call 1-800-581-8533 x 822, go online to http://www.thinkglobal.us, or send e-mail to advertise@thinkglobal.us The U.S. Commercial Service - Your Global Business Partner. With offices across the United States and in more than 75 countries, the U.S. Commercial Service of the U.S. Department of Commerce’s International Trade Administration uses its global Network and international resources to connect U.S companies with international buyers worldwide.

If you have any questions about these initiatives, please contact your local U.S. Commercial Service trade specialist. To find the trade specialist nearest you please visit http:// export.gov/usoffices/index.asp.

Your privacy is important to us.

Please note that we do not share our lists with parties outside of the U.S. Department of Commerce. You may review our privacy policy at http://www. commerce.gov/Privacy/index.htm ****************************

Introducing the .....

www.zambiausachamber.org

87  March 2013  Black Business News  www.blackbbusinessnews.net  1-323-291-7819

In

International

B

The Taliban of Timbuktu

efore the recent French intervention in Mali began, 412,000 people had already left their homes in the country’s north, fleeing torture, summary executions, recruitment of child soldiers and sexual violence against women at the hands of fundamentalist militants. Late last year, in Algeria and southern Mali, I interviewed dozens of Malians from the north, including many who had recently fled. Their testimonies confirmed the horrors that radical Islamists, self-proclaimed warriors of God, have inflicted on their communities.

First, the fundamentalists banned music in a country with one of the richest musical traditions in the world. Last July, they stoned an unmarried couple for adultery. The woman, a mother of two, had been buried up to her waist in a hole before a group of men pelted her to death with rocks. And in October the Islamist occupiers began compiling lists of unmarried mothers.

Even holy places are not safe.

These self-styled “defenders of the faith” demolished the tombs of local Sufi saints in the fabled city of Timbuktu. The armed groups also reportedly destroyed many churches in the north, where

By Karima Bennoune

displaced members of the small Christian minority told me they had previously felt entirely accepted.

Such Qaeda-style tactics, and the religious extremism that demands them, are completely alien to the mainstream of Malian Islam, which is known for its tradition of tolerance.

That openness is exactly what the jihadists seek to crush. “The fact that we are building a new country on the base of Shariah is just something the people living here will have to accept,” the Islamist police commissioner in the town of Gao said last August. Until military action began last month, local citizens were on their own in resisting the imposition of Shariah -- and they fought back valiantly. A radio journalist was severely beaten

by Islamist gunmen after speaking on the radio against amputations.

Women marched through the streets of Timbuktu against Islamist diktats on veiling until gunfire ended their protest.

The acting principal of a coed high school in Gao told me his school had been occupied by militants from the Movement for Unity and Jihad in West Africa. They announced that they had come to protect the

premises. Instead, they quickly stole its computers, refrigerators and chairs. “We consider ourselves under occupation,” the principal told me. “We consider ourselves martyrs.” He has risked his life to keep his school open, to continue to educate boys and girls together, though he must put them on opposite sides of the classroom now. “My presence creates hope for my students. I cannot kill this hope,” he told me.

Since the jihadist takeover, Gao’s economy has come to a standstill. Every Thursday, there are theocratic show trials in Arabic, a language many residents do not speak. The fundamentalists focus on teaching the predominantly Muslim population of Gao “how to be Muslim.” Like Al Shabab in Somalia and the Taliban in Afghanistan, they have a morality brigade that patrols the city, checking who is not wearing a sufficient veil and whose telephone sins with a musical ringtone. Speaking to a woman in public is an offense.

The principal had been attending public punishments to document the atrocities. This meant repeatedly watching his fellow citizens get flogged. He has seen what it looks like when a “convict” has his foot sawed off. Close to tears, he said: “No one can stand it, but it is imposed on us. Those of us who attend, we cry.”

Some local and international opponents of military intervention have advocated negotiation with the rebel groups as an alternative.

But negotiating with groups who believe they are God’s agents and whose imposed mode of governance is utterly alien to the people of northern Mali is unlikely to succeed, especially while the north remains occupied. “The population is not for the Shariah” is the refrain I heard again and again -- from those displaced from Timbuktu

88  March 2013  Black Business News  www.blackbbusinessnews.net  1-323-291-7819

see Timbuktu on page 89

The Africa America International Business Forum 14 - 16 March 2013, Atlanta GA, USA

The Africa - America International Business Forum is holding between 14-16 March 2013 at the Hyatt Regency Hotel, Atlanta Georgia, USA. The forum with the theme Harnessing Africa - The New Economic Frontier, shall attract front line business and policy leaders from Africa and the Americas, and highlight the need for a fully diversified American investment strategy in African Economies. The event brings together investors, buyers, suppliers, policy makers and analysts within the African and American Investment community. The event which features an Awards/Gala Night to honour best practices, investments and outstanding achievements of businesses, core stakeholders and policy makers that have sustained economic cooperation between the Americas and Africa is expected to have HE President Joyce Banda of Malawi; Governor Nathan Deal of the State of Georgia USA; Governor Abdul’aziz Abubakar Yari of Zamfara State Nigeria; Dr. Joyce Aryee, Immediate past CEO of the Ghana Chamber of Mines; Intels Nigeria Limited, the First Bank Group and a lot of other African and American Business and Policy leaders in attendance. Already, there are participation confirmations and endorsements from the Pan African American Chamber of Commerce, South African American Chamber of Commerce; The Association of Kenyan Professionals in Georgia, The Ghanaian Business Community; among others.

For sponsorship and speaking opportunities, participation in the event, nominating an individual or organization for an award, or for general enquiries, please contact Kingsley Okeke on +234 703 682 7724, and kingsley@africanleadershipmagazine.com; or Titus Olowokere on +1 404 939 4030 and tolowok@ crystalorbit.com.

Timbuktu

from page 88

and Kidal; from women and men; from Muslims and Christians. The preservation of Mali’s tradition of secularism is essential for them all.

Policy decisions regarding this potential Afghanistan-in-theSahara must be informed by the fact that what is happening there is not simply a question of regional or global security, but of basic human rights. The current intervention in Mali could deal a decisive blow to the recent advance of fundamentalism across North Africa, but only if French and West African soldiers take care to distinguish between civilians and their jihadist oppressors, who hide among the innocent.

They must also avoid simply shifting the problem elsewhere in the region. After all, one of the causes of the Islamist occupation of northern Mali was the displacement of armed men from Libya after the overthrow of Col. Muammar elQaddafi in 2011. Algeria had lost hundreds of thousands of its own people to fundamentalist armed groups since the 1990s. Since then, many Algerian jihadists have crossed the border into northern Mali, reproducing the problem there.

Some Malians fear that foreign intervention may have grave consequences for their homes and livelihoods. But most of the displaced northerners I met last month, before France intervened, had already decided that “the risks of non-intervention are 10,000 times worse than the risks of intervention,” as a women’s rights activist told me in Bamako. Or, as a young refugee from Gao whom I met in Algeria put it: “We do not want war, but if these people don’t leave us alone, we have to fight them.” http://allafrica.com/ stories/201302081146.html

89  March 2013  Black Business News  www.blackbbusinessnews.net  1-323-291-7819

90  February 2013  Black Business News  www.blackbbusinessnews.net  1-323-291-7819

Returning to Africa?

African Repatriation is an invaluable online resource for any African national who is thinking about returning to Africa.

Our industry articles and specialist editorials provide the latest sector information. Why not find out for yourself and become a part of our growing community today? www.africanrepatriation. com

Career Opportunities in Africa Search and apply online for the latest vacancies in Africa with African Talent. We provide candidates and employers with the tools and resources needed in today’s competitive job market. For employers, we offer numerous options to feature your jobs in Africa and for candidates, reviewing the most recent job vacancies in Africa is a fast, easy process.

Uploading your CV is simple and takes just a few moments. www.africantalent.com

91  March 2013  Black Business News  www.blackbbusinessnews.net  1-323-291-7819

Leimert Park Village

An African American Cultural, Retail, Foods & Entertainment Center.

Degnan Boulevard between Crenshaw & Leimert Blvds.

43rd Street-43rd Place, Los Angeles

www.sazacc.com

Shop, Eat, Relax in

Little Ethiopia Experience Africa in America

Culture, Retail, Entertainment

Fairfax Boulevard between Pico & Olympic Boulevard Los Angeles

International

One Africa:

Tell the US Government that North Africa is Africa Too!

J

oin with and support the United Africa Organization’s campaign to petition the U.S. Department of State to include the whole African continent under its Bureau of African Affairs.

Why?

The State Department’s Bureau of African Affairs, led by Assistant Secretary Johnnie Carson, currently excludes Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, Tunisia and Western Sahara from its agenda.

Instead, the aforementioned countries are grouped with the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs, together with Iran, Iraq, Israel and others.

This artificial distinction between North Africa and the rest of Africa

negatively impacts US foreign policy relations throughout the entire continent of Africa.

We unequivocally reject the argument that North African countries are outside the scope of African affairs.

North Africa is geographically and historically part of the African continent, and all fifty-three (53) independent African states, including North African countries, are represented in the African Union (AU).

It would be far more productive for the State Department to engage with the entire continent of Africa, including North Africa, under its Bureau of African Affairs.

We are one Africa, from the Cape to Cairo, indivisible and bound together!

Therefore, no square inch of African

land should be excluded from African affairs.

Sign The Petition!!!

Go to www.change.org/petitions/ one-africa-tell-us-state-departmentthat-north-africa-is-part-of-africa and sign the online petition to support this important proposition. Next tell everyone you know to sign. 

www.uniteafricans.org

Gathers Strategies, Inc. is in the heart of Downtown LA at

Quote of Note... ““The good news is we are well on our way to meeting a very ambitious goal that we set several years ago to double U.S. exports.

The question now becomes how do we sustain this momentum?”

President Barack H. Obama

City National Plaza.

Gathers Strategies, Inc. 515 South Flower Street, 36th Floor Los Angeles, CA 90071 USA Phone: 213-236-3554 Fax: 213-236-3501 Please stay in touch!

www.gathersstrategies.com Follow us on Twitter @gathersstrat We appreciate your friendship and support and look forward to our continued association with you.

93  March 2013  Black Business News  www.blackbbusinessnews.net  1-323-291-7819

Black Business News Women’s History Month Shopping Section

Beaded Necklace from Kenya 95  March 2013  Black Business News  www.blackbbusinessnews.net  1-323-291-7819

Cultural Interiors West &

Cordially Invited Cultural Interiors West 5573 West Pico Blvd.

Los Angeles, CA 90019 Experience our exciting array of products from Cards to Cupcakes, African Masks, Asian Teacups, Healthy Herbal Teas, Gourd Purses, Candles, to Furniture Hope to see you soon!!!

In the meantime visit us on Facebook www.facebook.com/pages/CulturalInteriors-West/140688362658236

96  March 2013  Black Business News  www.blackbbusinessnews.net  1-323-291-7819

Custom Culturally Inspired Wedding Rings & Fine Jewelry For The Entire Family.

Unique One of a Kind Pieces Create your own designs. Transform old into new.

JendayiCollection.com 323.898.7468 877.898.7468

Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza, First Floor 97  March 2013  Black Business News  www.blackbbusinessnews.net  1-323-291-7819

Ask me to Cater Your Dinner

Easter

103  March 2013  Black Business News  www.blackbbusinessnews.net  1-323-291-7819

Thursday Blues at Uncle Darrow’s High Noon-2pm Every Thursday

Come by for lunch and relax to blues & jazz from our house band!

2560 S. Lincoln Blvd.

Marina del Rey

North East corner of Washington & Lincoln

“LA Times Magazine favorite cajun food”

310-306-4862

www.uncledarrows.com

Eso Won Books

African American Books 4327 Degnan Boulevard, Leimert Park, Los Angeles

Give the Gifts that Keep on Giving!

Come see our unsurpassed collection of books, music, videos, children’s books, and games!

323-294-0324

www.esowonbookstore.com //esowon.booksense.com for Calendar of Events

AMERICAN GROWN by First Lady Michelle Obama

Available in your local bookstores now

The Soul of a New Cuisine

What Would

Michelle

A Discovery of the Foods and Flavors of Africa

Do?

by Allison Samuels

by Chef Marcus Samuelsson Allison Samuels

105  March 2013  Black Business News  www.blackbbusinessnews.net  1-323-291-7819

Shop, Eat, Relax in

Little Ethiopia Experience Africa in America

Culture, Retail, Entertainment Fairfax Boulevard, Los Angeles between Pico & Olympic,

Bernahu Asfaw & Getahun Asfaw

1041 S. Fairfax Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90019 323-938-8827 or 323-938-8806 • Fax: 323-932-6047 messob@gmail.com • www.messob.com

Open 7 days a week • 11am - 11pm

Artwear Handpainted Handbags Skirts Tees Accessories Calendars Wall Hangings & More! http://gbabysworld.blogspot.com Gbabyartwear@hotmail.com or Gbabyart345@gmail.com Find Gbaby Products at the “Collective” http://www.atthecollective.com 280 Elizabeth Street, Atlanta, GA

107  March 2013  Black Business News  www.blackbbusinessnews.net  1-323-291-7819

“Images of America Leimert Park” Chronicles Los Angeles Past and Present

Event Producer and local historian Cynthia E. Exum has released a new book that chronicles the diverse history of one of Los Angeles’ most iconic areas. Exum co-authored Images of America Leimert Park with Maty Guiza-Leimert, wife of Walter H. Leimert III, whose grandfather Walter H. Leimert, Sr. purchased 231 acres in what was then the central part of Los Angeles for $2 million in 1927. Leimert Sr. commissioned the Olmstead Brothers, sons of Frederick Law Olmsted Sr., the master planner of New York City’s Central Park, to design and develop what would become one of the first comprehensively planned communities in Southern California.

Over 200 vintage and current images take readers on a unique journey into Los Angeles history. Many of the photographs in Images of America Leimert Park are part of the private collection of Walter H. Leimert and have never before been published. “Our hope in sharing our archival photographs and contributing to this book was to provide a historical perspective of Leimert Park’s origins for those that lived it and to document it for future generations,” commented co-author Maty Guiza-Liemert.

Exum views the publication of Images of America Leimert Park from a national and local perspective. “The story of Leimert Park is the story of communities all over America,” said Exum, who also produces an annual book fair in Leimert Park Village. “Leimert Park started out as a planned community for what was at the time the burgeoning middle-class. Over the span of eight decades lots of things happened, including the internment of many of Leimert Park’s Japanese residents following WWII, restrictive covenants that kept African Americans from purchasing homes, the civil unrests of 1965 and 1992 and the resurgence that Leimert Park is currently experiencing. It’s an American story, but it’s also the story of our community. I’m proud to have been able to work with Maty Guiza-Leimert to document and preserve such an important part of our history.”

Images of America Leimert Park was published by Arcadia Publishing, the leading publisher of local and regional history in the United States. The book is available through Arcadia Publishing (888) 313-2665 or visit http://www.arcadiapublishing.com. It is also available at Eso Won Books in Leimert Park and online booksellers.

108  March 2013  Black Business News  www.blackbbusinessnews.net  1-323-291-7819

The Economic Turn Around in the USA is in Our Hands

•Buy Products Made or Assembled in the USA •Hire One New Employee •Eat an Extra Meal Out Each Week •Start/Grow a Business to Generate Wealth & Jobs

Buy Black  Save Black  Invest Black

How to Do Business with Metro - Monthly Workshop

DECEMBER 11, 2012 9:30am – 12:00 pm APRIL 9, 2013 TOPICS:    

Highway Program Forecast Measure R Projects Southern California High‐Speed Rail Project Contract Opportunities Short Term Lending Program

PRESENTERS: Doug Failing:

Executive Director, Highway Programs, Metro

Brian Boudreau:

Executive Director, Programs Management Oversight, Metro

Michael Gillam:

Deputy Program Director Southern California, High‐Speed Rail

Michelle Boehm:

Regional Director Southern California, California High‐Speed Authority

Scott Leslie: Project Director, Small Business Transportation Resource Center SW Region

Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization US DOT

Metro Headquarters Building 3rd Floor Board Room One Gateway Plaza Los Angeles, California 90012 Parking is $6.00

Metro hosts a two‐hour orientation/business workshop on the second Tuesday of every month to provide firms with information on how to do business with Metro. The session includes information on Metro’s certification program, vendor registration, contract look‐ahead schedules and other relevant information.

Metro’s procurement staff conducts one‐on‐one interviews with firms during the workshop. Please note that the workshop starts promptly at 9:30 AM. For further questions, please contact Sherman Gay, Ph.D. (HC) at gays@metro.net or at (213)922-3502.

Attendance is by RSVP only. Please RSVP to Sonya Turner �tturners@metro.net w with your name, company nam contact information, your product and/or service.

110  March 2013  Black Business News  www.blackbbusinessnews.net  1-323-291-7819

Black Meetings & Tourism Digital Magazine

Caltrans Construction

Money for You Can

MEAN

El Camino College offers the training and advising you need to enhance your ability to bid for and WIN state highway construction contracts.

Now is the time to get bid ready with assistance in the areas of procurement, personnel, cash flow, marketing and more!

Appointments with a business advisor are available at the SBDC at no charge to you. For more information, call the SBDC at 310.973.3177.

Be sure to attend the free Economic Stimulus event on Thursday, November 19, 2009, in the City of Compton to learn more about stimulus opportunities available from Caltrans and other state and federal agencies. Visit californiasbdc.org for details.

Small Business Development Center Hosted by El Camino College 13430 Hawthorne Blvd.

Hawthorne, CA 90250 310.973.3177 southbaysbdc.org

T

he digital version of Black Meetings & Tourism magazine is available on-line. The current issues, as well as archived issues, can be viewed by visiting www.blackmeetingsandtourism. com and click on the image link located on the home page.The digital version is just a small part of BM&T’s expanded on-line presence, which includes a host of new departments, the twice-monthly e-newsletter, an increased focus on leisure travel, and many new marketing opportunities. The newly designed website offers a guest blog page, a video page and a variety of interactive and custom advertising products that will allow vendors direct access to the more than 45 billion dollar AfricanAmerican travel market. 

International Edition

Black Business News Watch & Support the Africa Channel!

Time Warner • Comcast

Don’t have the Africa Channel in your area? Call Time Warner at: 1-888-892-2253 and ask that the Africa Channel be broadcast to ALL regions of your state.

For information on the Africa Channel visit www.theafricachannel. com or send an e-mail inquiry to info@theafricachannel.com.

View the International Edition at www.bbala.org

111  March 2013  Black Business News  www.blackbbusinessnews.net  1-323-291-7819

How Can Organizations Participate? > Employers > Financial institutions > Non-profits and governments > Educators and Youth Organizations > Military > Media

How Can Individuals Participate? > Assess your savings progress > Join America Saves > Test your savings knowledge > Take action to save more effectively > View savings messages > Read saver stories

What is America Saves Week?

About America Saves Week Our Purpose Participating Organizations America Saves Week 2011 America Saves Week 2010 America Saves Week 2009

Contact Us | Privacy Policy | America Saves

www.americasavesweek.org

www.TheArtofBidding.com is dedicated to the art and science of moving goods and services to market. This web site is useful to business managers responsible for their companies’ supply chain activities. This information is sponsored by the Southland Partnership Corporation that serves a wide range of supply chain management issues for large and small enterprises.

Southland is in place to enhance supplier inclusion through the increased flow of goods and services by providing current information from initial sourcing all the way through to delivery to public and private sector endusers. Southland shares vital information of purchasing opportunities from production planning, order processing and fulfillment, inventory management, transportation, distribution, and professional service requirements.

For some, this information on proposal estimating will be a refresher on how to submit an effective pricing plan, however, for other companies this may be just the information to create that winning response. All buyers seek to make the best investment when selecting outside resources. The supplier selection results from demonstrating efficiencies and generating the highest level of customer satisfaction at the most responsible lowest cost. In general all major buying entities look at the strategic, tactical, and operational functions of prospective suppliers.

http://www.americasavesweek.org/

1/12/2012

Business Development

Building Your Business for Success: The Importance of Ownership

O

ne of the keys to economic independence for African American business owners is the acquisition and ownership of commercial real estate. By controlling the buildings and land that house the means of generating revenue, an entrepreneur can better attain the goal that underpins what being in business is all about: maximum self-determination.

With interest rates now at historically low levels and the economy growing at a slow pace, now is a prime time for many business owners to consider the purchase of commercial real estate. The benefits and drawbacks to commercial real estate ownership vary from business owner to business owner, but potential buyers should educate themselves about the obvious and sometimes hidden benefits to the ownership of a commercial property. Below are some of the major benefits to real estate ownership, versus leasing a commercial space.

Tax Deductions

For many Black business owners, a primary benefit of commercial real estate ownership is the tax deductibility of property that can be taken on the interest portion of the monthly commercial loan payment. These deductions can be substantial and each business owner should consult a qualified tax specialist about his or her unique situation.

Equity Appreciation

On average, commercial real estate properties will appreciate about two to three percent above inflation over the long term. Paying rent provides no appreciation or equity. Quite candidly, the BBA has members who have been paying rent for a decade or more, with no equity accrued and never having positioned themselves to benefit from any hope of equity appreciation. Using some of the most conservative estimates, potential equity appreciation can result in significant financial gains over a period of decades.

A Retirement Fund

Through various circumstances, many minority and small business owners will not receive a pension when they decide to retire. In such cases, the equity appreciation on commercial property can be significant. An owner can decide either to sell the property upon retirement to cash in on equity appreciation, or lease the property to another business for a continuous retirement income stream. In fact, in some situations, a business owner may be able to lease out an unused portion of the property, such as a spare office, before retirement for additional income.

Added Value To Business

Unlike some residential loans, many commercial loans are assumable. This makes the business and its real estate much easier for a buyer to acquire, and enhances the value of the business tremendously.

No Taxes To Pay On Your Rent

When a business leases its real estate, sales tax is paid on the rent paid to the landlord. When you own the real estate there is no tax to pay on the rent. The savings can be significant.

Easy Access To Financing

Historically-low, thirty-year fixed interest mortgage rates are now available for owner-occupied commercial properties.

Furthermore, there are flexible interest-only options from which entrepreneurs can benefit. In fact, in some instances, with strong financials a business owner may qualify for loan financing up to 100% of the purchase price for commercial real estate. A business owner should consult an experienced commercial mortgage adviser before making an offer on a commercial property, so that in addition to the tangible benefits outlined above, the business owner will have the satisfaction that only comes with property ownership. Truer words have never been spoken: “God bless the child that’s got his own�.

The Black Business Association will soon launch a program to assist African American business owners in acquiring commercial and industrial real estate.

JWFA

Jamaal Wilkes Financial Advisors, LLC M a n a g i n g We a l t h I n t e l l i g e n t l y

WHY OWN GOLD IN YOUR IRA/401k Changing jobs creates a great opportunity for you to switch, or rollover, your former employer’s retirement plan into an IRA. Plus, it usually provides you with more investment options than if you left the money in your former employer’s plan or rolled the money into your new employer's retirement plan.

The early 1980s presented a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to buy stocks. Today, economic and political conditions appear to offer a similar opportunity in tangible assets such as physical gold. With the global economic environment growing more uncertain, physical gold has become the #1 alternative for IRA, 401k, 403b, and Pension Plans, as well as for non-retirement funds.

Gold is produced primarily for accumulation while other commodities are produced primarily for consumption. Gold’s value does not arise from its usefulness in industrial or consumable applications. It arises from its use and historical worldwide acceptance as a store of value. Gold is money. A healthy measure of gold clearly belongs in every portfolio for the “Four Ps” – Personal Purchasing Power Protection.

There are six primary reasons why investors own gold: As a hedge against inflation.

As a hedge against a declining dollar.

As a safe haven in times of geopolitical and financial market instability.

As a commodity based on gold’s supply and demand fundamentals.

As a store of value.

As a portfolio diversifier.

According to Bloomberg.com, on October 15, 2009, Paul Tudor Jones of Tudor Investment Corp, who manages about $11.6 billion out of Greenwich, Connecticut, told its investors, “I have never been a gold bug… but Gold is just an asset that, like everything else in life, has its time and place. And now is that time…Gold appears to be cheap. In our view, gold’s value should increase as its scarcity relative to printed currencies increases.”

JAMAAL WILKES FINANCIAL ADVISORS makes 401(k) rollovers easy with just a few simple steps. Please call us at (310)209-8298 or email gold@jamaalwilkes.com for a web seminar presentation.

Jamaal Wilkes Financial Advisors is an independent Registered Investment Advisor www.jamaalwilkes.com Phone: (310)209-8330 6601 Center Drive West, Suite 500 Los Angeles, CA 90045

114  March 2013  Black Business News  www.blackbbusinessnews.net  1-323-291-7819

You are invited to the U.S. Export-Import Opportunities for African Consumable Products 2013 Trade Show, June 12-15, 2013 in Baltimore, Maryland, United States of America, for a four day international trade event designed to promote business between Africa and the Americas through AGOA and to attract Foreign Direct Investors through Bureau of African Affairs.

4-Day Buyers-Sellers Meeting U.S. Export-Import Opportunities for African Consumable Products 2013 Trade Show will provide you with up-to-day market intelligence and assist you to develop international trading practice strategies for exporting your products and services into new markets around the globe. You will also have the opportunity to meeting directly with buyers and sellers from Central America, Canada, South America, Europe and the Middle East. www. useximafricaevents.com/buyers-sellers-registration-form.

3-Day Conference & 4-Day Exhibition The event will feature international business leaders from the private sectors, African countries commercial service diplomats posted at their embassies in the United States and high ranking government officials from both continents.

Professional and well-experienced Trade Finance, Banks, African Union member countries, Trade Promotion organizations, buyers and sellers, equipment manufacturers, customs, agricultural and food products processors, distributors, wholesalers, retailers, agricultural and food products Quality Assurance organizations will keep you informed on latest and future developments that will impact where-and how-to develop new business opportunities and export strategies abroad. This event will also provide unlimited opportunities to network with industry experts in international business, government officials and other international buyers and sellers.

Exhibiting at the U.S. Export-Import Opportunities for African Consumable Products 2013 event will help your company earn Priority and profitable Investment that determine the order in which booth and hotel reservations are made for the U.S. Export-Import Opportunities for African Consumable Products expo marketplace. www.useximafricaevents.com/exhibitorregistration.

Exhibitor Registration Save time and money by registering in advance! Exhibit attendance is FREE for U.S residents through June12, 2013. Beginning June 13, 2013 the cost to attend the exhibits is $20 per day if you register online. On-site registration will be $50 per day.

3 WAYS TO REGISTER: 1.ONLINE: Select the appropriate link below to access your online registration form. 2.FAX: Download registration form and fax to: +1.410.383.9978. 3.MAIL: Download registration form and mail to: ATTENTION: NIKKI ROBAK, Navigroup, Inc., U.S. Export – Import Opportunities for African Consumable Products 2013, 1721 Pennsylvania Avenue, Baltimore, MD 21217 For all details or assistance please contact us through our Contact Us page or through the “Live Chat” window on start menu task on the bottom right corner of your screen while you are on our website - www.useximafricaevents.com.

116  March 2013  Black Business News  www.blackbbusinessnews.net  1-323-291-7819

Books to Consider...

Space Chronicles: Facing the Ultimate Frontier

by Neil deGrasse Tyson

A

merica’s space program is at a turning point. After decades of global primacy, NASA has ended the space-shuttle program, cutting off its access to space. No

astronauts will be launched in an American craft, from American soil, until the 2020s, and NASA may soon find itself eclipsed by other countries’ space programs.

With his signature wit and thought-

provoking insights, Neil deGrasse ultimately inspiring vision for the Tyson—one of our foremost future.  www.amazon.com thinkers on all things www.barnesandnobel.com space—illuminates the past, present, and future OTHER BOOKS of space exploration

by Neil deGrasse Tyson and brilliantly reminds • Death by Black Hole: And Other us why NASA matters Cosmic Quandaries now as much as ever. As • Origins: Fourteen Billion Years of Tyson reveals, exploring Cosmic Evolution the space frontier can • The Sky Is Not the Limit: profoundly enrich many Adventures of an Urban aspects of our daily lives, Astrophysicist from education systems • Merlin’s Tour of the Universe and the economy to • The Pluto Files: The Rise and national security and Fall of America’s Favorite Planet morale. For America to • One Universe: At Home in the maintain its status as Cosmos a global leader and a • Universe Down to Earth technological innovator, he explains, we must regain our enthusiasm and curiosity about what lies beyond our world.

Provocative, humorous, and wonderfully readable, Space Chronicles represents the best of Tyson’s recent commentary, including a must-read prologue on NASA and partisan politics. Reflecting on October 24-26, 2013 topics that range from Fallbrook Church scientific literacy to 12512 Walters Road space-travel missteps, Houston, TX 77014 Tyson gives us an www.nationalblackbookfestival.com urgent, clear-eyed, and

117  March 2013  Black Business News  www.blackbbusinessnews.net  1-323-291-7819

1-800-340-5454

Calendar March…

14th-16th

Africa America International Business Forum Atlanta 2013 You are invited by African Leadership Magazine to take advantage of this meeting of business and policy leaders from the US and Africa to create new opportunities and partnerships for growth. The forum will be held at the Hyatt Regency Hotel, Atlanta Georgia, USA, with the theme: Harnessing Africa - The New Economic Frontier.

For information on the conference, please contact Titus Olowokere on +1 404 227 3300 or Kingsley Okeke on +234 703 682 7724

14th-17th

30th Annual Ancient Kemetic Studies Conference This information packed conference will be held on the campus of Howard U n i v e r s i t y, Washington, DC. For more information: www.ascac.org

Register now for the international finance conference to learn about programs especially for minorityowned businesses: www.exim.gov.

8th-9th

2013 Asia Pacific Business Outlook Conference “Opening Doors” SAVE THE DATE: Asia Pacific Business Outlook Conference 2013 at USC Davidson Center, Los Angeles, CA. For more information: www.apboconference.com

20th

Africare’s Bishop Walker Memorial Dinner Gala Help to continue the great w o r k that is carried out by A f r i -

care by supporting the annual dinner. For more information go to // http:africare.org

May… 16th-17th

19th Annual National Conference - Ethiopian Community Development Council This unique event is dedicated solely to the topic of African refugees and immigrants in the United States. Register now at: http://ecdcus.org/Registration-1.asp or get information at: http://ecdcus.org/ Conference-home13.html.

24th-25th

Los Angeles Black Business Expo In business, reach out to us today at 323-810-4752! Thousands of your customers will be waiting to meet you! Visit http://bbxla.wordpress. com for more information. C

30th

Black Business Association 2013 Salute to Black Women Business Conference, Vendor Fair & Awards Luncheon The annual conference and awards event is held in celebration of the achievements of African American women and in celebration of National Women’s History Month. Details are available at www.bbala.org and 1-323-291-9334.

April…

4th-5th

Ex-Im Bank Annual Conference 2013 118  March 2013  Black Business News  www.blackbbusinessnews.net  1-323-291-7819

Resources Media Africa Interactive Multimedia Press/Content Agency in Africa www.africa-interactive.com Africa World Press Books www.africaworldpressbooks.com African American Film Festival Releasing Movement (AFFRM) www.affrm.com African American Performance Magazine www.africanamericanperformancemagazine.com African Vibes Magazine www.africanvibes.com The African World www.theafricanworld.tv Africast TV

http://calbcc.org CauseCast www.causecast.com www.causecastfornonprofits.com Continental African Chamber of Commerce www.continentalacc.org The German Marshall Fund of the United States (GMF) www.gmfus.org International Society of Black Latinos www.blacklatinos.org Pan African Film Festival www.paff.org United African Organization http://uniteafricans.org

Investment/Development

www.africast.tv

Investment in Zambia www.zambiausachamber.org

AllAfrica http://allafrica.com

Africa Reports www.africareports.com

American Urban Radio Networks www.aurn.com

The Exchange Magazine www.nse.co.ke

Black Wall Street Times http://bwstimes.com

Ventures www.ventures-africa.com

Black Business News Group www.blackbusinessnews.net BridesNoir www.bridesnoir.com CuisineNoir www.cuisinenoirmag.com DiasporaVoice www.blogtalkradio.com/diasporavoice Jewel www.jewelmagonline.com

Organizations The African Union www.au.int/en

U.S. Government Commerce Department www.doc.gov Minority Business Development Agency www.mbda.gov Small Business Administration www.sba.gov Recovery Act www.recovery.gov State Department www.dos.gov White House www.whitehouse.gov

Black Business Association www.bbala.org California Black Chamber of Commerce 120  March 2013  Black Business News  www.blackbbusinessnews.net  1-323-291-7819

U.S. Sm

Reach Thousands of the Nation’s Most Influential African Americans

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YOUR LINK TO AFRICAN AMERICAN BUSINESS ENTERPRISE The Black Business Association, SBA 2007 Journalist of the Year, is pleased to invite you to be an integral part of our publication. Black Business News - Your Link to African American Business Enterprise throughout the nation. The Black Business News is the ofcial voice through which public and private entities advertise contract opportunities available to black business enterprise. Gain access to a highly afuent target market via outreach and advertising opportunities.

• Outreach to Black Businesses • Advertorial/Feature Story Advertising • Profiles and Business Listings • Classified Ads and Bid Opportunities

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5 Co ver S tory: we g Wher o e do Barack from h er Obam USA. a, 44th e?

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50% Discount for Regular Financial BBA Members Advertising Opportunities Full Page Color w/Feature Story Full Page Color Half Page Color w/Feature Story Half Page Color Quarter Page Color Eighth Page Color Business Card Ad/Listing

1x $2,500 $2,000 $1,250 $1,000 $ 500 $ 350 $ 125

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Website Advertising Opportunity Webpage, Link & Marketing Message

1x $ 125

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For more information contact: Earl “Skip” Cooper, II at 323-291-9334 E-mail: mail@bbala.org

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