News
Nigerian Guild of Editors Holds Annual Conference Nov. 26
Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE), the umbrella body of all editors in Nigeria, will hold this year’s edition of its annual flagship conference, the All Nigeria Editors’ Conference (ANEC), on Thursday, November 26.
Mr. Mustapha Isah, president, NGE
ANEC is usually a three-day event but Mr. Mustapha Isah, president of the Guild, said this year’s edition will be VIRTUAL (Via Zoom) and it will be for one day.
Themed: Media, People and Covid-19: How to Create Sustainability in the Digital Era, Mr. Isah explained that the Guild had to adjust the conference in view of the Covid-19 pandemic and its attendant safety protocols of social distancing, virtual communication, among others.
“Every year, members of the Guild physically gather under one roof to brainstorm on national issues including state of the media, but this year, as thought-leaders and agenda-setters, we have decided to model our conference in tune with the exigencies of the moment hence the decision to make it a one-day event,” Mr. Isah said.
ANEC 2020 is the 16th in the series and will be chaired by Alhaji Kabiru Yusuf, a fellow of the Guild and chairman of Media Trust Limited, publishers of Daily Trust newspapers among other publications.
Yusuf, also a member of the Board of the International Press Institute, IPI, is a recipient of many awards including the Lifetime Award for Journalistic Excellence by the Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism (WSCIJ).
Mr Steve Nwosu, chairman of the Planning Committee, said this year’s edition is essentially a capacity building session to be keynoted by Mr. Taiwo Obe, a Fellow of the Guild and Founder/Director, The Journalism Clinic, a Lagos-based journalism training centre with international affiliations.
According to Mr. Nwosu, the choice of the theme was deliberate. “The Covid-19 pandemic has dealt a big blow to an already distressed media industry, shrinking revenues both from advertising and readership. There is, therefore, the need now more than ever to seek new ways to create the type of content, aesthetics and overall values that would help sustain media as a business.
“This informed the choice of the theme and the keynoter by the Planning Committee. We hope members of the Guild would maximize the opportunities that this year’s special edition of our ANEC presents to us,” Mr. Nwosu said.
EFCC
The African Development Bank Group last week approved an investment of €6.5 million in the Saviu II fund in order to support technology start-ups through their seed phase and first institutional fundraising, mainly in French-speaking Central and West Africa.
The Bank will invest €4.5 million as equity and €2 million as a first-loss hedging tranche on behalf of the European Commission, under the Boost Africa Programme.
This participation of the Bank Group will enable the Saviu II fund to give priority to companies with a strong technological or digital component.
Saviu II, the second investment vehicle of Saviu Partners, plans to invest between €500,000 and €3 million in about 20 technology or technology-oriented business-to-business start-ups in the seed phase or carrying out first institutional fundraising.
The Saviu II venture capital fund aims to make at least 60% of its commitments in the French-speaking countries of West and Central Africa: Côte d ‘Ivoire, Cameroon, Benin, Senegal, Togo, Burkina Faso and Mali.
The fund can also co-invest in promising technology companies in East Africa that have a strong team and business model, and whose strategy includes entering the market in French-speaking West African countries and establishing a strong presence there.
In addition, the fund will devote a dedicated envelope to pre-seed investments, focusing on minority equity investments, usually in co-investment with studios, incubators or other ecosystem partners.
Nigerian Government has signed a $1.3 billion Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) via the Solid Minerals Development Fund (SMDF) to fund an alumina refinery, national geoscience mapping, and a strategic investment vehicle for mining growth.
Special Assistant to the Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Segun Tomori, said the refinery will process one million tonnes of bauxite yearly using a modern Bayer process, powered by an on-site gas-fired cogeneration plant.
Minister Dele Alake called it a transformative milestone boosting GDP, aligning with reforms that improve investment climate, regulations, and licensing to attract private capital. He directed agencies to fast-track permits.
The 20-year project at 95% utilization eyes 19 million tonnes total output, $1.2 billion annual GDP addition, $25 billion economic impact, and $8 billion forex earnings, per feasibility studies.
SMDF Executive Secretary Fatima Shinkafi termed it the agency’s biggest funding deal, supporting value-addition policy.
The partnership extends to geoscience mapping for mineral data, de-risking exploration, and a joint vehicle for mining assets.
Permanent Secretary Engr. Farouk Yabo praised the reforms. Shinkafi signed for government; AFC’s Franklin Edochie for the corporation, witnessed by AFC CEO Samaila Zubairu.
Tomori positioned it as Nigeria’s largest private mining investment and FDI magnet.
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