Nigeria will continue to record a rise in food output as the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, yesterday disclosed that the country recorded a growth in the food production last year to the tune of eight million metric tonnes over 2012 figures. The figure, according to him, “represents over 70 per cent growth of the target set for 2015 by government”. He made the statement while declaring open the Third NIAS-ASAN joint annual meeting held at the International Conference Centre, University of Ibadan.
Updated 6 Years ago

FirstRand Limited, Africa’s biggest bank by market value has said it is setting aside 10 billion rand ($924 million) for expansion across the continent, as profit increases from regions outside its home market, South Africa. “We’ve got a provisional licence in Ghana and should be up and running there in early 2015,” Chief Executive Officer of the Johannesburg-based bank, Sizwe Nxasana told Bloomberg yesterday.
Updated 6 Years ago

Work is what we do -- it is not who we are. When teaching Vocal Awareness, I make no distinction whether we are in a personal or a professional conversation. As I tell all my students, "the same person shows up everywhere." Outside of work, we often seek to gain confidence and enhance self-esteem in multiple ways, from working with motivational teachers, programs designed to "help us put our best foot forward" to myriad spiritual practices. But nowhere do we learn to simply be who we are and sustain this ethical commitment in every conversation.
Updated 6 Years ago

Running an international business with operations in more than one country is not a small feat. It takes effort to communicate with employees thousands of miles away. However, it can be done successfully! Below are five tips to help you manage a company a world away. 1. Communicate clearly and often When working internationally, communication is key. It’s hard enough to manage employees within your building, but even more difficult when those employees are several time zones ahead of you. Their work day is winding down just as yours is getting started. In order to effectively manage their work, it’s imperative you have an ongoing, open dialogue and speak to them on the phone at least once a week.
Updated 6 Years ago

Even at the ripe young age of 83, my dad is still fixing vacuums and sewing machines as part of the repair business he started 30 years ago after retiring from a career at Western Union. He no longer runs the business from a shop, and he certainly is nowhere near as busy as he once was -- due mostly to the fact that you can replace the devices far easier then repairing them -- but he still manages to pick up a job from time to time to keep himself busy.
Updated 6 Years ago

Africa’s leading online retailer, Jumia, says it sees its market share surging beyond 36 percent in Egypt in the next few years. Jumia, which currently leads the North African country’s ecommerce space, says Egypt is one of its strongest markets in the African region. It credits this achievement to the attention it pays on consumer’s needs.
Updated 6 Years ago

South Africa’s biggest union federation, Cosatu, on Tuesday slated Transport Minister, Dipuo Peters, for saying there would be no review of Gauteng’s most hated e-toll government project. South Africa’s e-tolls are only situated in Gauteng, the country’s richest province where Johannesburg is situated.
Updated 6 Years ago

With e-commerce in Nigeria recording over $2 million worth of transactions per week and close to $1.3 billion monthly, online marketplaceKaymu has attributed the burgeoning online transactions to the rising purchasing power of the country’s growing middle class. According to a survey conducted by the business management and consulting firm Philip consulting, 38 percent of Nigerians prefer to buy products through the internet. Much of that section of the population is made up of the middle class, notes Kaymu which is owned by online investment company Africa Internet Holding (AIH).
Updated 6 Years ago

At the time of kick off of the African Nations Cup qualifying matches, it was expected that the big football nations would walk through the series with ease. With a total of seven groups and two best teams from each group expected to qualify, it was seemingly impossible that any Africa’s big teams would miss out of the tournament slated to kick off in Morocco by January 2015. However, at the end of match day one, the scripts were torn up as some minnows came close to creating upsets while others were successful in delivering surprise results.
Updated 6 Years ago

Dubai’s bourse pulled back in early trade on Wednesday as investors appeared to be accumulating cash for the upcoming initial public offer of Emaar Properties’ malls unit. The Dubai index slid 1.1 per cent as most stocks were down. Emaar itself lost 0.9 per cent. In one of the largest equity sales in the Middle East since 2008, the company plans to float its unit Emaar Malls Group (EMG) this month and subscriptions for the shares will open on Sept. 14.
Updated 6 Years ago