THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER • NOVEMBER 26, 2016
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FAIRGROUND
A Trip to Jamaica Shatters 30 Days in Atlanta Guinness World Record
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s if setting a precedent with a gross Box Office of over N150 million wasn’t enough, Ayo Makun, popularly known as “AY” has impressively decimated the feat of his debut movie, 30 Days in Atlanta. A Trip to Jamaica, the latest instalment in the adventures of Akpos,
which comedian, actor, and media mogul, AY both produced and starred in, has taken over N168 million at the box office and is showing no signs of slowing down. Produced by AY and distributed by FilmOne Distribution Limited, A Trip to Jamaica sets a new benchmark in Nollywood and is a clear indication that Nigeria’s entertainment industry is a cash cow waiting to be milked.
Funke Akindele and AY Makun
Fresh Direct NG, DeliveryBros, Medsaf Win 2016 She Leads Africa Demo Day
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container farming company, a motorbike delivery service and an online medical procurement platform went home as winners at the 2016 She Leads Africa Demo Day. The Demo Day was the closing ceremony to the 6 month She Leads Africa Accelerator entrepreneurship development program. Supported by the Work in Progress! Alliance and Guaranty Trust Bank, the SLA Accelerator worked with 10 promising companies looking to grow and scale their businesses. At the Demo Day five of the companies were able to pitch their businesses in front of esteemed business leaders to win cash and prizes. The judges included Dr. Ndidi Nnoli-Edozien, Founder and President of the Growing Business Foundation; Ben White, Founder of Venture Capital for Africa; Ololade Fadoju, Head of Guaranty Trust Bank’s SME MarketHub e-commerce platform; and Eloho Omame, CEO of Amari Ltd. Speaking about the event She Leads Africa’s co-founder Afua Osei said “Since July,
Fresh Direct NG First Place Winner (Angel Adelaja)
it has been absolutely amazing to see the growth and development of these entrepreneurs.” The finalists competed for over N3,500,000 in cash prizes.
The winning startup was Fresh Direct NG, an agricultural technology company which grows produce within shipping containers. An urban farm within
the heart of Abuja, within a 20ft shipping container, Fresh Direct NG can grow the same produce as a football pitch and a half. The judges were impressed by the significant potential of founder Angel Adelaja’s company to disrupt the African agriculture and import industry. Angel Adelaja received a N2,000,000 cash prize presented by Guaranty Trust Bank. The second place winner was DeliveryBros, a motorbike delivery service which aggregates individuals and SMEs who need pickups with riders from various delivery companies who are in the area. The DeliveryBros system aims to reduce the stress of moving packages around Lagos, Abuja and Accra and won N1,000,000 to invest in building the technology and mobile app to optimize the process. In third place was Vivian Nwakah, cofounder of Medsaf.com, an easy-to-use online platform built for medical service providers such as hospitals, pharmacies and clinics, to purchase and manage medication. BathKandy & Co. founder Blondie Okpuzor received a special mention from the judges as the company to most likely build a billion naira business.
Nigeria to Get Major Economic Boost from TABEF – Okpe
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usinesses in different sectors of the economy are about to enjoy a major boost as Turkey promised more investment in Africa. The promise was made at the just concluded Turkey – Africa Business Economic Forum, TABEF 2016 in Instabul. This is in line with the country’s resolve to create an enabling environment for future collaborations. Speaking at the event, the Turkish President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, said Turkey will in the coming days focus on helping many businesses in Africa with a view to promoting “closer cooperation with our regional allies, develop solutions to shared challenges and explore mutually beneficial opportunities…We share a common fate. We consider the priority of the African continent as our priority. There is a nice African proverb that says one day’s rain cannot get deep into the soil. We would like to remain friends forever.” The event which was attended by major stakeholders in the Nigerian economy ranging from construction, energy, food and healthcare promised a massive turn
around that will boost trade in Africa. Emphasising on the benefits of the forum to Nigeria’s economy, Dr. Nneka Ebru Okpe, Co-founder and Lead Consultant at IntraSolutions Consultancy; one the major facilitators of the Nigerian-Turkey business partnership, said that events like this and the last economic forum on business collaboration between Turkey and Abia state government in Abuja should be encouraged as to increase foreign direct investment in the country. According to her, “Turkey is ready to do business in Africa and we can already see this by the country’s willingness to expand the scope. Many opportunities are opened to both government and private sector businesses to thrive under this relationship” Erdogan promised to establish an embassy in every country of the African continent. The President also said that Turkey’s foreign direct investments in the continent have reached $3.9 billion while the trade volume between Turkey and the continent increased to $17.5 billion in 2015 from $7 billion in 2005.” Dr. Okpe said “ All these are pointers
Founders, IntraSolutions Consultancy, Lead Consultant -Dr. Nneka Ebru Okpe, Commercial attaché of Turkish Embassy to Nigeria -Dr Ahmet Zafer Gulsen, Pierre Edde Development Director of Eko Atlantic City, Mr Hakan Özel, President of Deik Nigeria at TABEF 2016
that in the next few years, recession or not, Nigeria will experience a tremendous investment partnership in the area of hospitality, agriculture, energy and manufacturing amongst others” By the involvement of IntraSolutions, Abia state has already started to enjoy the benefit of
the relationship in the area of shoe and garment making; even before TABEF held. One thing that they are sure about is that the relationship will spread across the country with many state governments and private sector investors benefiting a great deal.