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Yudala Partmers Linda Ikeji to Inspire Thousands at Self Made Woman Conference

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Yudala, leading composite e-commerce company, joined forces with Africa’s most popular blogger, Linda Ikeji to empower thousands of female participants at the inaugural edition of Linda Ikeji’s Self Made Woman Conference held on Saturday in Lagos.

For the many gathered in the Ball Room of the expansive hotel, it was an experience worth savouring.

From the professional anchoring of Forbes Africa Correspondent, Peace Hyde through a plethora of inspirational sessions delivered by notable female personalities including Kemi Adetiba, Omoni Oboli, Tara Durotoye, SP Dolapo Badmos, Folusho Badamosi, Dr. Ola Orekunrin and Linda Ikeji herself, it was an empowerment session par excellence’.

In addition to providing a unique opportunity for participants to network with and learn first-hand from the facilitators, the well-attended event also provided a chance for many to submit their business proposals for funding.

The entertainment fare was equally top-notch as singer, Seyi Shay and comediennes Lolo 1 and Mandy took turns to thrill the audience with electrifying performances.

The event, which saw Linda Ikeji recount her thorny path to success, kicked off on a fitting note with a mentally-stimulating talk from Dr. Ola Orekunrin; medical doctor, helicopter pilot, healthcare entrepreneur and founder of Flying Doctors Nigeria, West Africa’s first Air Ambulance.

Encouraging participants to strive for financial independence, she urged them to take bold steps with the phrase – ‘Take It’ –  and through which she doled out the sum of N200,000 to a participant, Nkechi Ejimkonye.

Ejimkonye was the first to get to Dr. Ola when she raised an envelope and asked for a willing beneficiary to come for it.

She was surprised to see almost all the participants still sitting and raising their hands while the beneficiary was among the few that stood to reach the speaker and eventually got the cash reward.

Dr. Ola also announced her Double Initiative Scheme to empower women in financial need.

Filmmaker and video director, Kemi Adetiba, on her part, shared 12 life principles that went a long way in helping her achieve success in her chosen field of endeavour. Among these 12 principles, participants were advised to always plan ahead, put dreams into action, excel in every given opportunity, avoid distractions, keep friends of like minds, be an inspiration and make their works speak to the world.

For another film maker and actress, Omoni Oboli for whom the event coincided with her birthday, her lucid recollection of her career experiences and struggles in life was her own way of motivating the audience.

Urging the participants to treat people with love and respect, she counselled on the need to learn the nitty-gritty of a business or trade instead of the tricks of the trade.

With a multimedia interlude from Yudala proving a useful side attraction, Head of Offline Retail, Oyeronke Atoyebi painted a glowing picture of the Yudala revolution, the company’s impressive business roadmap and wide-ranging product bouquet including its fashion category which caters to the taste and needs of many fashion-savvy females.

The occasion also presented a unique opportunity for many attendees to learn more and take advantage of the on-going Yudala Triple Jara promotion which offers a free gift on every purchase, free delivery and the chance to buy and pay later with zero interest.

After a powerful presentation by Mrs. Folusho Gbadamosi titled ‘The Power of You’, Linda Ikeji revealed plans for the airing of Linda Ikeji TV on DSTV in a couple of months as well as a reality TV show in Ajegunle. She charged participants to choose God over man and always seek to maintain their dignity.

Linda gave credit to her mother who was also present at the event for seeing her and six other siblings through life in Mushin, noting that: “Life is not just about luxury but impact in the society and this is one of the steps I have taken in choosing to give N10 million to 15 ladies to run their various businesses.”

Make-up entrepreneur and pioneer, Mrs. Tara Durotoye was also on ground to inspire young ladies. Harping on the need to see art of make-up as a lucrative business venture, the beauty entrepreneur gave a simple illustration on the ABCDE of the life of a successful woman. (A-ccept, B-elieve, C-ompare Not, D-evelop, E-mpower). She advised ladies to marry well but not to see marriage as priority.

Just like the Biblical wedding at Cana in Galilee where it seemed the best wine was reserved for the end of the event, Police Superintendent, Dolapo Badmos gave participants the complete dose of motivational tips in a superb presentation tagged “4 Ps to success”.

The PPRO of Zone A gave comprehensive and practical ways to achieve success through Purpose, Passion, Professionalism and Productivity. Her anecdote-filled presentation delivered with a huge dose of wit and hilarity had the participants roaring with laughter and surely left good memories in the minds of all gathered.

The event also had in attendance secondary school girls from Fountain Height School, Adelabu; Doregos Private Academy, Ipaja; Vivian Fowler Memorial School, Ikeja; Unique Heights, Magodo and Miketoy Schools, Alimosho.


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StarNews, Global Black Economic Forum Launch Business Competition In Partnership with MTN & USAID

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Africa’s leading video streaming platform, StarNews Mobile and the Global Black Economic Forum (GBEF), have announced a call for applications for the launch of their Business Competition in Lagos, Nigeria.

Held in partnership with MTN and United Nations Agency for International Development (USAID), the initiative will empower Nigeria’s most promising businesses that are classified as Small-Medium Enterprises (SMEs) with invaluable investment and partnership opportunities from the USA.

Held over 10 weeks between April 8th to June 14th, hosted exclusively on the StarNews Biz Channel on the StarNews platform, this competition offers a platform for emerging entrepreneurs to showcase their ventures and gain national visibility.

With subscribers voting for their favourite candidates, the top 20 contestants will seize the spotlight and make their mark on the business landscape.

The StarNews Business Competition in partnership with GBEF delivers a unique opportunity for thriving Nigerian SMEs to access mentoring, funding, partnerships and socio-economic development tools through the Global Black Economic Forum.

With the prospect of securing cash prizes through StarNews worth up to NGN5,000,000, getting access to StarNews’s network of investors and the opportunity to gain national visibility by having their business on the StarNews web platform.

The top three winners will also receive coaching from GBEF’s Academy for Advancing Excellence and become part of GBEF’s ecosystem of global leaders committed to social and economic justice across the Black Diaspora.

Previous speakers at GBEF convenings from the entertainment sector include Wyclef Jean (Haitian Musician & Activist), Debra Lee (Former CEO of Black Entertainment Television – BET) and Ceci Kurzman (Founder of Nexus Management Group). Applications will close on April 5th 2024.

Speaking on the competition’s launch, Guy Kamgaing, Founder and CEO at StarNews Mobile, says “The StarNews Business Competition is a passion project close to our hearts at StarNews Mobile.

It’s about discovering the most promising business entrepreneurs and creators in Nigeria, opening up global opportunities for them and providing them with the resources and tools to achieve their goals.

By partnering with MTN, USAID and GBEF, we want to be a platform of empowerment for these SMEs by helping them give back to the communities that are supporting them.”

According to the US Embassy and Consulate for Nigeria, over 80% of Nigerian startups are incorporated in the United States and more than 60% of venture capital funding in Nigerian startups accounted for by the US.

In 2023 alone, Nigerian startups raised a total of $398mn however, this signalled a 66% funding decline compared to 2022 due to the global economic downturn, reinforcing the massive need for a fresh injection of capital and business support for Nigeria’s emerging SMEs.

Alphonso David, President and CEO of the Global Black Economic Forum notes that, “Our partnership with StarNews Mobile is a critical resource as we continue to build the collective strength of entrepreneurship across the Diaspora.

“Building a sustainable ecosystem of Black entrepreneurs in the United States and across the African continent is essential to create a future that makes economic opportunity and economic freedom a reality for all.”

A sister company to ESSENCE, GBEF advances its work by convening global summits and conferences, bringing together world leaders, business leaders, entrepreneurs, celebrities and civic leaders to address the most challenging problems facing our communities.

GBEF’s Academy for Advancing Excellence facilitates workforce and leadership development strategy, addressing the talent pipeline & employee lifecycle, providing leadership development & coaching, and conducting institutional assessments & research.

GBEF also develops and implements economic and social justice policy recommendations with partners ranging from civil and human rights organisations to government entities and corporations that advocate for economic opportunity, social justice, and health equity through thought leadership, advocacy and litigation.

Launched in 2017, StarNews Mobile empowers African content creators with the unique opportunity to monetize their work through a subscription model, boasting over 4 million subscribers and a thriving community of more than 120 content creators.

With a strong presence across six countries including Cameroon, Nigeria, Côte D’Ivoire, Congo, Benin and Ghana, the platform has also established key partnerships with major telecom operators such as MTN and Orange.

To-date, StarNews Mobile has secured over $8mn in funding with its most recent raise – a $3mn pre-Series A funding round in October 2023 – led by Janngo Capital with participation from French football players Aurélien Tchouaméni, Jules Koundé and Mike Maignan.

 


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Companies Invest More than $100,000 Yearly to Upskill their Cybersecurity Teams – Study Reveals

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Over 70% of businesses pay more than USD $100,000 for additional training annually to keep skills of their cybersecurity employees up to date, a recent global Kaspersky study has revealed.

However, the surveyed companies also highlighted that there was a lack of relevant courses covering new challenging spheres in the educational market and stated that training does not always bring them the expected result.

In its recent study ‘The portrait of the modern Information Security professional’, Kaspersky examined the topic of the global cybersecurity staff shortage, analysing the exact reasons businesses lack cybersecurity experts, and identifying the ways they evaluate and upskill their cybersecurity workforce¹.

According to the research, companies are investing significant amounts in upskilling their cybersecurity teams: 43% of organisations globally say they usually spend between $100,000 and $200,000 per year on information security courses, while 31% even invest over $200,000 for training programs. The remaining 26% state they usually pay less than $100,000 for educational initiatives².

However, cybersecurity practitioners also note that the educational market is struggling to keep up with the rapidly changing industry and fail to deliver the necessary training programs on time.

Survey results for the Middle East, Turkiye, Africa (META) region shows that the scarcity of courses covering new challenging spheres (48%) was the main problem for those searching for cybersecurity training.

50% of respondents from the META region also stated that trainees tend to forget what they learned because they had no opportunity to apply newly acquired knowledge, therefore the courses were useless to them.

The need for special training pre-requisites such as coding and advanced mathematics, which were not specified at the pre-registration stage were also problematic for 37% of practitioners from the META region.

“With a constantly evolving threat landscape, businesses should continually improve the skills of their cybersecurity personnel in order to be well prepared for sophisticated cyberattacks.

“Developing high-profile specialists within the company and building internal expertise can be an effective strategy for organisations that aim to retain existing employees and allow them to grow professionally, instead of constantly hunting for new candidates and checking their professional backgrounds and practical skills.

“For organisations served by Managed Service Providers it is also important to maintain a pretty high level of expertise internally and use the same language when discussing the scope of services and Service Level Agreement with them,” comments Veniamin Levtsov, VP, Center of Corporate Business Expertise at Kaspersky.


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Heirs Insurance Launches User-friendly Website for Stakeholders

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Heirs Insurance Group, Nigeria’s fastest growing insurance group, has launched a new website that delivers the most user-friendly insurance experience in the industry.

Heirs Insurance Launches User-friendly Website for Stakeholders

In addition to its features that aid simple navigation, the website also personalizes the insurance experience taking customers through a short journey that enables them to make decisions quickly on the best insurance plan to support their personal and business success, or access competent insurance advisors to speak with.

According to Ifesinachi Okpagu, chief marketing officer, Heirs Insurance Group, the website, www.heirs insurance group.com, embodies the ethos of the brand: the delivery of simple, quick, and accessible insurance service that delights customers and brings the uninsured much closer to taking up insurance plans.

She said: “Today’s customers want simplicity and this new website delivers on that request, ensuring that people find the right insurance solutionsfor their needs in a few minutes. We are empowering customers to take control of their lives, their businesses, assets, and their most cherished people.” Heirs Insurance Group has been at the forefront of pioneering a new era of insurance solutions since its launch with the roll-out of various initiatives including a seamless mobile app, USSD; Prince, its intuitive chatbot; InConnect, its partnership portal Digital Experience Centre; and more. With the launch of this website, Heirs Insurance Group solidifies its position as the leading digital insurance company in Nigeria, democratising access to insurance for all.


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