Investment Times Newspaper 2023 Edition | Issue 25

is new Ecobank Group CEO

AngloGold Ashanti closes register for final dividend payment

the gross of 322 South African cents.

The Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE) said the “dividend will be converted on Tuesday, March 14, 2023. All shareholders registered in the books of AGA at the close of business on Friday, March 17, 2023, will qualify for the nal dividend.”

The GSE said the Register of shareholders will be closed from Monday, March 20, 2023, to Tuesday, March 21, 2023, both dates inclusive.

“In view of the foregoing, the ex-dividend date has been set as Wednesday, March 15,2023. Consequently, an investor purchasing AGA shares before this date will be entitled to the nal dividend,” it said.

It noted, however that, an investor buying AGA shares on or after Wednesday, March 15, 2023 will not be entitled to the nal dividend adding that: “The nal dividend will be paid on Friday March 31, 2023.”

Reconsider new minimum ¢20k quota– PrivateElectricity AssociationVendors to ECG

The National Private Electricity Vendors Association has passionately appealed to the Electricity Company of Ghana to reconsider the new minimum quota level of ¢20000. This follows an increase in the minimum quota purchase per meter type from ¢5000 to ¢20,000, e ective March 1, 2023.

tomers within their localities because they will then have to travel to other areas to purchase credits for their meters.

& !

A letter signed by the Managing Director of the ECG, Samuel Dubik Mahama, pointed out that this is to reduce the volume of daily transactions and also to quicken the processing of quota purchased by individual vendors.

But the National Private Electricity Vendors Association in a statement said vendors who have now dropped or may dropped e ective from March 1, 2023 will de nitely cause inconvenience to ECG cus-

“With due respect, may we request you to consider not to increase the minimum quota level to the ¢20,000. We fervently appeal that you maintain the current quota purchase of ¢5000 per meter , since the change will have tremendous impact on vendors as well as customers within the communication countrywide”.

Also, it said with even the current minimum level some vendors have dropped from operating from their locality simply because they are nding it di cult to raise enough capital for their operations, pay for shops rent, utilities and cashiers they have

African Union calls for transformative technology and digital education for African women

By Kestér Kenn Klomegâh

… eyes affordable housing across the nation

Reconsider new minimum ¢20k quota–Private Electricity Vendors Association to

“Some vendors are also operating more than one meter system because of their locations either on boundary with other meters installation or ECG Districts boarders”, it “Again not all vendors will have the capacity to obtain enough funds to cope and operate with the new minimum level of quota purchase especially when they are operating more than one meter systems. Sacri ces by vendors to stand in ECG during odd hours when the letter is not operating will have harsh consequences on customers countrywide because majority may not have the required amount being requested to operate more”, it added.

Continuing, it said the ECG should take a cue from the Bank of Ghana which has directed the telecom rms to limit their customer’s transactions to only ¢15,000, “so raising your requirement to ¢20,000 will be in contravention to Bank of Ghana’s directives and ob-

viously pose great challenge to ven dors loading their wallets”.

Furthermore, the National Private Electricity Vendors Association said the possibility of compounding un employment in the country will also be very great for as it is now that no vender employs less than two ca shiers for their operations.

“We should also very mindful of the fact that every negative issue hap pening in this our country is always attributed to the government. Incon veniencing customers in their locali ties may cause/call for the govern ment intervention in such a situa tion, especially when the country is drawing near to election”, it added.

“May we humbly suggest that in view of ECG Management intention to introduce the super vending con cept, some of these issues be as signed to the Super Vendors to be appointed to handle, so that Ven dors can thrash out most of these complications that may crop up in the process with their respective as signed Super Vendors”, it conclud ed.

By Kestér Kenn Klomegâh

African Union (AU), an organization uniting 55 African states, has consistently placed focus on African women's empowerment, supporting their status and ghting for their basic civil rights.

Noting that African women's related questions, in practical tems, remain overwhelmingly important on AU's agenda and within its activity these several years.

Chairperson of the African Union Commission, Mousa Faki Mahamat, on the occasion of Women's Day 2023, has stressed critical ways to bridge the gender digital divide and make women play important roles across Africa.

Mousa Faki Mahamat expressed strong delight that this year's celebration with all members of the African Union, having launched the implementation Roadmap of the African Women's Decade on Financial and Economic Inclusion 2020-2030 and its programmatic agship, the AU Women and Youth Financial and Economic Inclusion

2030 Initiative. The African Women's Decade calls for innovative and sustainable solutions towards the empowerment of African women while the Initiative recognizes digitization at the core of the nancial inclusion agenda.

In commemorating this year's March 8, under the theme 'DigitALL: Innovation and Technology for Gender Equality - 20 Years of Maputo Protocol’, the theme is aligned with several AUC priorities to maximize e-tech dividends for women as a means to contribute to women’s sustainable development, through increased women and girls' equal and e ective participation in the technology space.

The African Union is delighted to join the global community to celebrate the formidable contribution that women have made in Innovation and technological transformation.

In addition, women, especially

young women, should be at the core of this digital transformation. This Women's Day is particularly signi cant in that 2023 marks important milestones at the continental and global levels in pursuit towards Gender Equality and Women's Empowerment (GEWE). At the continental level, celebrating the 20th anniversary of the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and People's Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa, popularly known as the Maputo Protocol;

It is also 60 years since the establishment of the Organization of African Unity (OAU), which gave birth to the African Union. It marks the end of the 1st 10-year Implementation Plan of Agenda 2063, which recognizes Gender Equality and Women's Empowerment as a cross-cutting issue in all its aspirations. Globally, it is the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

But the road remains long and much remains to be done. The African Union concluded the AU

Gender Summit, ahead of the just concluded AU Ordinary Assembly of Heads and States and Government. This Gender Pre-Summit made important recommendations, that need to be reinforced though the collective and concrete action. The recommendation called for:

Establishing a network of regional and national champions to increase the reach and inclusion of women and youth; Leveraging the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement to strengthen intra-regional trade; Investing in access to digital nancial services for women and youth, especially MSMEs to drive nancial inclusion; Collecting disaggregated data by gender and youth to inform policy development and program execution.

It further called for leveraging the education sector by including nancial literacy in school curriculum; creating more opportunities for women and youth in governance and leadership positions to ensure representation and inclusive in decision-making; creating nancial prod-

ucts and services that speci cally meet the needs of women and youth, particularly in rural areas and the borderlands.

And nally called for strengthening accountability mechanisms and the need for the rati cation of the Maputo protocol; and cascading mechanisms to ensure grassroots movements, CSO and Women's rights organizations remain at the center of interventions in order to translate macro-level strategies into micro level impact.

AU believes that Innovation and Technology are key accelerators for development on the Continent, and more particularly through the pioneering contributions past and present, made by women in this eld. It is, therefore, necessary to look at critical ways to bridge the gender digital divide and make women, particularly young women and girls, as a priority constituency in this developmental sector of the future to achieve Gender Equality in Africa and beyond.

African Union calls for transformative technology and digital education for African women

Vodafone celebrates Ghana’s 66th Independence Day with Loyal Customers in

Vodafone Ghana marked Ghana’s 66th Independence Day by treating selected Vodafone customers in Ho to an evening of networking, entertainment, and merry making at the plush Volta Serene Hotel on March 6th, 2023.

Vodafone Ghana invited the selected customers who have stayed loyal to the network for 5, 10, and over 10 years to the event as a token of appreciation for their continued loyalty to the brand. Michael Korsi Avor and Janet Addo, who have been with Vodafone Ghana for 22 years, received brand new Samsung S22s each and branded souvenirs. One of the bene ciaries, Mr. Avor, expressed his gratitude to Vodafone Ghana and encouraged the Vodafone team to keep up the excellent work.

“Thank you so much for the surprise! I am incredibly grateful. I am going to remain with you.”

“We are proud to celebrate Ghana’s Independence Day with our loyal customers in Ho,” said David Umoh, Vodafone Ghana’s Consumer Busi-

ness Unit Director. “At Vodafone, we are passionate about delivering products and services that delight our customers. This engagement is our way of thanking them for choosing Vodafone and for their continued support of our brand. We remain committed to providing our customers with innovative and reliable telecommunications services that meet their evolving needs.”

Selected customers who were celebrating birthdays in March were also invited to the event and presented with branded souvenirs as giveaways.

This event follows a similar one in Accra in February where Vodafone Ghana customers were treated to an exquisite dinner at the Labadi Beach Hotel.

Vodafone Ghana continues to be a leading provider of telecommunications services in Ghana, o ering innovative products and services to its customers.

SuCasa Properties pays courtesy call on Works & Housing Minister … eyes affordable housing across the nation

SuCasa Properties, a Ghanaian real estate company, has paid a courtesy call on the Minister of Works and Housing, Honourable Francis Asenso-Boakye. The purpose of the visit was to secure governmental support and partnership for SuCasa's mission to provide a ordable housing infrastructures for the middle class.

During the visit, Mr. Asenso-Boakye urged SuCasa Prop-

erties to extend its a ordable housing projects beyond Accra and into other parts of the country. He emphasised, "I urge you to extend your project to the outskirt of Accra - to the other regions."

Furthermore, the Minister disclosed that his Ministry is exploring a partnership arrangement where the developer can produce two-bedroom houses in the Nsawam area at a cap of

US$30,000. The Ministry, he added, plans to absorb around 40 percent of the development cost through the provision of the government's unencumbered lands.

SuCasa Properties Limited recently inaugurated Phase-one or the No.1 O’Grantson Communities at East Legon Hills in a bid to providing a ordable housing units for Ghanaians. This project is a 2,000-housing unit development. The unveil-

ing also served as the sod-cutting ceremony for phases two and three of the project.

Michael O’Grantson-Agyapong, CEO of SuCasa, led the team from SuCasa Properties and noted that the company already has plans to venture into other parts of the country and welcomes the Minister's request.

"SuCasa is already positioned for other regions in our own business forecast and projections," he said.

SuCasa Real Estate Experience

Mr. O'Grantson-Agyapong also presented to the Minister, a new campaign by SuCasa dubbed: the “SuCasa Real Estate Experience”. He explained that the project would organize real estate conferences globally to expose real estate investment opportunities in Ghana for Foreign Direct Investment and Diaspora - Africa investment opportunity awareness creation. The maiden edition of the SuCasa Real Estate Experience will be held in Accra, Ghana, and it’s expected to be launched by the end of March.

"The global tour and expo would o er the diaspora community the opportunity to engage with and have at rst-hand, information from property developers and the various o ers they avail, without engaging with charlatans and all kinds of unscrupu-

lous entities back home in Africa in their quest for home ownership," he said.

“The SuCasa Real Estate Experience is poised to reposit and o er the clean slate and build the con dence and trust in our cherished diaspora community to look back home and invest judiciously and prudently with the right developers in a seamless manner,” he added.

Already, data from the World Bank reveals remittances to Sub-Saharan Africa grew by an estimated 5.2 percent to reach US$53 billion in 2022. Since this amount is around 10 percent of the region's annual income, it can be estimated that their total annual income is around US$530 billion, which is higher than the highest single GDP of any country in Africa. For context, Nigeria currently holds the record with a GDP of US$514 billion. This suggests that investing the cash ow from the African diaspora community could signi cantly improve the continent’s economic fortunes.

The visit was also to show appreciation to the Honorable Minister for honoring SuCasa Properties’ invitation to be the Keynote Speaker at the Sod Cutting Ceremony of the No.1 O'Grantson Communities.

Stanbic Bank's parent lender ready to writeoff $81m of its bond losses

mestic and onshore dollar-denominated bonds is about 2.6 billion rand.

The Chief Executive O cer (CEO) of Standard Bank, Sim Tshabalala said “We believe that the pain that we have taken in Ghana is exquisite. The numbers are very large, but we have a portfolio, and the portfolio is calculated to do that.

Notwithstanding the impact of Ghana, our Africa regions business performed very well.”

According to Mr. Tshabalala, the government of Ghana has been “textbook” in their approach to the restructuring, extracting the appropriate bargain from all stakeholders.

“They’ve been very tough in the negotiation process, as you can expect, because they have a public policy role to play.

burg. FirstRand said last week it impaired 496 million rand to cover potential losses. Nedbank Group Ltd., which has an indirect exposure to Ghana through its 20 per cent holding in Ecobank Transnational Inc., estimated its exposure to the country’s sovereign debt at 175 million rand.

Despite the challenges, Standard Bank said it remains committed to Ghana. It plans to leverage its “fortress balance-sheet” to drive market share and capitalise on growth opportunities when they arise, it said.

restructuring programme (DDEP).

Global newswire, Bloomberg reported that Africa’s biggest lender by assets was also ready to

Akufo-Addo’s government restructured ¢83 billion($6.8 billion) of local debt as part of a move to nalize a $3 billion bailout from the International Mone-

Standard Bank on Thursday joined FirstRand Ltd. in accounting for Standard Bank said it had set aside 1.5 billion rand ($81 million) to cover potential losses arising from the West African nation’s loan-restructuring program. The bank said its total holdings of both do-

The government has extracted what they consider to be the appropriate bargain, which while appropriate from a policymaker and a government point of view, it’s been painful for holders of that debt,” the CEO said.

Standard Bank’s shares, which have advanced 7.3 per cent this year, were up as much as 1.6 per cent before paring gains to 0.6 per cent by 3:47 p.m. in Johannes-

Record Performance Standard Bank’s headline earnings surged 37 per cent to a record 34.25 billion rand for the year ending in December 2022, beating forecasts. Green loans stood at 54 billion rand and the book is expected to grow to as much as 300 billion rand by 2026, Corporate & Investment Banking unit CEO Kenny Fihla said in a separate investor brie ng. Standard Bank declared a nal dividend of 6.91 rand per share, a payout ratio of 60 per cent. Bloomberg

USAID/MFA celebrates female-led agribusinesses

port over 29,000 smallholder farmers and rural enterprises to mitigate the negative impacts of the pandemic and become more resilient against possible future shocks,” he added.

The event was held to commemorate 2023 International Women’s Day celebration and it was under the theme “DigitALL: Innovation and technology for gender equality”. It sought to explore the impact of the digital gender gap on widening economic and social inequalities. MFA collaborated with Ghana Resilience in Northern Ghana (RING II) Activity, Policy LINK and Market Systems and Resilience (MSR) Activity to organize it.

About Feed the Future Ghana MFA Activity

The Feed the Future Ghana Mobilizing Finance in Agriculture (MFA) Activity is a USAID activity that will improve access to nance for farmers and agribusinesses in Ghana. The Activity enables transaction advisors to support agribusinesses to secure loans and investment. MFA also assists diverse nancial institutions to expand nancing of farmers and agribusinesses, so that enterprises can purchase agricultural inputs (such as seeds and fertilizers), invest in processing, expand production, and scale operations.

The USAID-supported Feed the Future Ghana Mobilizing Finance in Agriculture (MFA) Activity has organized a breakfast meeting and mini fair for female-led agribusinesses in Tamale.

The event showcased the important role and contribution of female-led/owned agribusiness in the Feed the Future target value chains of maize, soy, groundnut, cowpea, mango, cashew, and shea to food security, and inclusive economic growth in Ghana.

It was attended by over 150 stakeholders in the agricultural sector including representatives of USAID, government and non-governmental organizations, women’s groups, trade associations, transaction advisors and nancial institutions.

The highlight of the celebration was the recognition of a women’s agribusiness group and two MFA partner nancial institutions for supporting women to realize their potential and contribute towards

Ghana’s agriculture sector.

Kusanaba Women’s Group was recognized for empowering over 1,200 women in the Upper East Region to process shea butter to mitigate the negative e ects of the COVID-19 pandemic on their livelihoods; Bawku East Small Scale Farmers Association Rural Bank for nancing the highest number of female-led/owned agribusinesses in the Upper East Region; and Tumu Cooperative Credit Union for disbursing the highest value of nancing to female-led/owned agribusinesses in the Upper West Region.

The Chief of Party, Feed the Future Ghana Mobilizing Finance in Agriculture Activity, Dr. Victor Antwi, said, “Agriculture is paramount in driving Ghana’s sustainable economic growth and journey to self-reliance. The contribution of women who constitute more than half of Ghana’s population is critical.”

“USAID through the MFA Activity

is working with transaction advisors and partner nancial institutions to ensure agribusinesses including those led by females’ access to commercial nancing to increase their contribution to food security and improved livelihoods.

As of February 2023, MFA had facilitated $192.9 million to 25,408

agribusinesses including 54% female-led enterprises in the maize, soy, groundnut, cowpea, cashew, mango, and shea value chains.

“The US Government, also through the MFA, released $2.77 million under the COVID-19 Relief and Resilience Challenge Fund in 2022 to sup-

From 2020 to 2024, MFA is to help 81,493 enterprises access $261 million in nance, leading to $500 million in new sales. MFA is also supporting Ghana’s agricultural nancing system to mitigate the negative impacts of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic on farmers and agribusinesses.

Dr. Victor Antwi, Chief of Party, MFA (middle) and others at exhibition stand

Jeremy Awori is new Ecobank Group CEO

Ecobank Transnational Incorporated (ETI) has appointed Jeremy Awori as the new Chief Executive O cer of the Ecobank Group.

Mr Awori was appointed CEO of the Pan-African lender in September of last year, succeeding Ade Ayeyemi, who retired at the age of 60 in accordance with the bank’s policy.

Awori joins the Ecobank Group after a 25-year career in the banking industry, including nearly 10 years as Managing Director of Absa Bank Kenya Plc.

Experience

Prior to joining Absa, he held several senior positions at Standard Chartered Bank in the Middle East and Africa. He brings a wealth of banking experience, skills and expertise to the Ecobank Group He joins Ecobank at a time it is angling for a larger market share as multinational banks exit the continent.

Mr Awori said “It's a fantastic opportunity to take Ecobank to the next level of its growth strategy. Despite current global challenges, Africa o ers promising prospects. Ecobank is uniquely positioned to provide systematic change across the banking sector at a pan-African level, using the geographic footprint it has already established.” Gateway

“Through our single gateway platform, we are well-positioned to

provide the necessary nancial products and solutions for countries, corporates, and SMEs to capitalise on the continent's vast resource, trade and investment opportunities”. He said the will under his management provide relevant, accessible, and a ordable nancial services

that addresses the evolving needs of a vibrant, youthful, and entrepreneurial continent. “Ecobank’s brand and heritage continue to be a source of pride”, he added.

Qualities Chairman of the Ecobank Group Mr Alain Nkontchou said “Mr Jeremy Awori’s exceptional and

proven qualities as a result-orient ed e ective leader with an exten sive knowledge of the African banking landscape, make him the ideal choice to steer the growth of the Ecobank Group through the current era of rapid global and continental changes.”

The Group Chairman further noted

ing groups on the continent out side of South Africa, with an asset base of $27.5 billion and more than 32 million customers in 33 markets across the continent.

Ursula inspires and empowers females at FEMITECH Conference on International Women's Day

She echoed that, despite numerous technological advances, the tech industry continues to be dominated by men. Women make up only a small percentage of the workforce, showing the degree of gender disparity.

Speaking at the just-ended Females in Tech (FEMITECH) Conference organized by the Ghana-India Ko Annan Centre of Excellence in ICT (GI-KACE) on Wednesday, March 8, at the GI-KACE auditorium, Mrs Owusu-Ekuful stated, “Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) ve aims to achieve gender equality

Mrs Owusu-Ekuful commended the Director-General of GI-KACE, Dr Collins Yeboah –Afari and the organising committee for such an amazing program of knowledge sharing among females that will help raise a generation of young women who will pick up the mantle to become leaders and technology giants in the not-so-distant future.

“ It gladdens my heart that a male Director General promotes female activism in technology, which is a sign that men are ready to support and promote gender equality,” she added.

future where women will have equal representation and opportunities in the tech industry.

He added that women could make a positive impact and pave the way for future generations in technological development and innovation when women in tech from academia, industry and policymakers have conversations to promote equality and break the biases in the tech space.

At the FEMITECH Conference, the Minister for Communications and Digitalisation, Mrs Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, was

of the School of Engineering Sciences, University of Ghana and the quiz mistress for the National Science and Maths quiz; Ing. Dr Lucy Agyepong, Dean of Engineering, Academic City University College; Winnifred Kotin, Chief Operations O cer and Co-Founder of Super Fluid AI Lab. Notably, Nana Yaa Konadu, a renowned media practitioner at Peace FM, was awarded for her exceptional work in using ICT to promote women's empowerment.

FEMITECH

The FEMITECH conference is

achieve their goals. In atten dance was Fatoumata Doro (MD, Vilsco Ghana Group), Ing. Dr Lucy Agyepong (Associate Dean of Engineering, Academic City University College), Suzanne Diop (Head Of Nestle Business Services For Sub Saharan Africa), Prof. Elsie E ah Kaufmann (Dean of Engineering, University of Ghana), Mrs Eva Andoh-Poku, Deputy (CEO, GIFEC), members of Ghana Journalists Association, tertiary students, students from second cycle institutions, ICT groups, individuals from corporate Ghana.

Standard Chartered appoints Ebenezer Twum Asante as Chairman of Board of Directors

to thank Dr. Kumah for his dedication, commitment, and contribution to Standard Chartered over the last nine years. We wish him the very best in his future endeavours,” she Chief Executive of Standard Chartered Bank Ghana PLC, Mrs. Mansa Nettey also noted that, “Ebenezer is a proven and dynamic leader with extensive experience and deep knowledge of our market and the nancial landscape. His appointment comes at a signi cant time and I’m optimistic that we will work together to deliver on the Bank’s stra-

Ebenezer has signi cant General Management & Corporate Leadership experience across FMCG, Fintech and Mobile TelecommunicaHe is currently MTN Group’s Senior Vice President (SVP) for Markets, with overall executive responsibilities of the three regions of MTN Group i.e., West and Central Africa (WECA), Southern and East Africa (SEA) and Middle East and North Africa (MENA). Prior to assuming that role, he was Vice President re-

spectively for SEAGHA and WECA regions after serving as CEO of MTN Ghana and Rwanda. He joined MTN Ghana as a Sales & Distribution Executive after moving from Unilever where he worked for 13 years in various capacities from a Graduate trainee all the way to becoming Managing Director of Zambia, Customer Development Director, and member of the Unilever Ghana Board of Directors. Ebenezer serves as a Non-Executive Director on the boards of MTN Ghana, Cote D’Ivoire and Cameroon. Commenting on his appointment, Ebenezer said, “It is an honour to serve as Board Chair of Standard Chartered in Ghana – a great organisation with rich heritage and legacy. My focus will be to continue to work with the Board, Management and Sta to build on the Bank’s dynamic role in Ghana, whilst taking advantage of technology in pursuing the Bank’s objectives in sustainable and ethical nancing. That will be a rm way to deliver on our commitments to all our stakeholders”.

Audrey S-Darko: The Ashesi alumna tackling soil degradation and boosting crop yields in Ghana

In 2021, Audrey won additional grant funding from the Standard Chartered Women in Technology Incubator programme through Ashesi's Ghana Climate Innovation Centre. At the November 2022 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP27) in Egypt, Sabon Sake was announced winner of the US Department of State Climate Entrepreneurs Competition; where Audrey competed in the nals with three other startups from the US, Israel and Egypt.

Audrey rst visited the sugarcane farming community in the Volta Region of Ghana - where she now runs Sabon Sake - as part of a volunteer project while still a student at Ashesi. The project was focused on identifying solutions to Ghana's collapsing sugarcane industry and, with it, hundreds of farming livelihoods. However, she and her colleagues stumbled on another challenge during this visit. They discovered that farmers burned most sugarcane waste accumulated during harvesting. The burning and other traditional farming

practices in the area harmed soil health and led to broader declining crop yields.

It was a trigger for her. Audrey returned to campus with this unexpected challenge in mind and, with other colleagues on campus, developed a way to convert sugarcane waste to organic fertiliser that could eventually be manufactured and distributed at scale. It led to the creation of Sabon Sake, a name derived from the Hausa language which means "to make something new".

"Across sub-Saharan Africa, 65% of our soils are degraded," shares Audrey. "We are losing a lot of soil nutrients that provide food that feeds not just ourselves but also the world. Sabon Sake converts biomass waste which would usually be burnt or discarded, to produce an organic soil amendment that enables farmers to improve their soil health more sustainably. We are also able to train farmers to understand what it means to grow food in a climate-changing era."

"The farming communities we work

with are growing food not only for themselves but also to supply local markets," she adds. "People from the urban landscapes buy products at the local farmers' market to sell in Ghana's cities. The local farmers are, therefore, signi cant food producers across the country. Farmers within our network understand the impact of climate change. They have witnessed it, know the importance of transitioning from conventional to regenerative agriculture, and are excited to adapt well to thrive."

Lady Diversity Power' Book tops Amazon's best-selling list in record time

Decade: My Journey from Blogger to Entrepreneur', and 'Good Power: Leading Positive Change In Our Lives, Work and World'. About Lady Diversity Power*

The 12 other remarkable women from diverse backgrounds who co-authored 'Lady Diversity Power' are: H.E. Laila Rahhal El Atfani, Naila Qazi, Linda Fisk, Kelly Markey, Joanna James, Hilda Johani CMA, Dr. Khomotso Mashalane, Lisa L. Levy, Annie Gibbins, Cathy Dimarchos, Dr. Ingrid Vasiliu-Feltes, Sarah Blake, Shelli Brunswick, and Toni Lontis.

Among other things, 'Lady Diversity Power' which is available for order via: http://www.kmdbooks.com/ladydiversitypower, shares inspiring stories and practical advice on why diversity is the new way to do business globally.

Lady Diversity Power is a must-read for people looking to build more "inclusive and equitable workplaces."

the idea that diversity is a strength, not a weakness. It is about recognizing and celebrating the unique perspectives, experiences, and talents that women from diverse backgrounds bring to the table."

According to her, "in today's rapidly changing global marketplace, diversity is no longer just a moral imperative, it is a strategic one. Companies that fail to embrace diversity risk being left behind, while those that actively seek it out and cultivate it stand to thrive in the new global economy. By empowering women of diverse backgrounds to lead, we can create more innovative, inclusive, and equitable workplaces that bene t everyone."

She explained that "Lady Diversity Power is not just a catchphrase, it's a call to action for all leaders to embrace the richness of Diversity and harness its power for the bene t of all."

available on Amazon.

She is also a co-author of a number of books including: 'Mediation Beyond Covid', 'A Woman's Guide to Business Domination,' and 'Think Limitlessly.'

Karen Mc Dermott is the founder of Serenity Press, Making Magic Happen Academy and Everything Publishing Academy. An award-winning entrepreneur, multi-genre author of over 20 books, mentor and renowned speaker, Mc Dermott founded Serenity Press in 2012.

Linda Fisk is a multi-award-winning leader, speaker, best-selling author and university professor dedicated to amplifying and extending the success of other high-calibre business leaders.

The book which was recently published to highlight the importance of diversity in the workplace has become an Amazon bestseller in record time, taking the number one spot on the best-selling list within just few days of its publication.

Titled: 'Lady Diversity Power: Why Diversity Is The New Way To Do Business', the book was co-authored by two of Amazon's best-selling

The book was launched by Herrington Publications Worldwide and KMD Books on February 28, 2023.

Interestingly, 'Lady Diversity Power' now ranks number one on Amazon, having taken over other great books such as: 'Unscripted: The Epic Battle for a Hollywood Media Empire', 'Bad Mormon: A Memoir', 'The First

In the Foreword of 'Lady Diversity Power', H.E Laila Rahhal El Atfani says "The business world is changing. The days of the white, middle-aged man running the show are coming to an end. In their place, we are seeing a new kind of leaders: one who understands and values diversity."

Touching on why diversity is the new way to do business, Ms. Herrington stated that "Lady Diversity Power is a concept that encapsulates

About the authors

Ms. Herrington, a multiple award-winning Zimbabwean author, celebrity interviewer and CEO of Herrington Publications Worldwide, has authored several other books including: 'Personal Branding: Build Credibility and Elevate Your Brand - The Ultimate Guide:', 'How to Achieve Personal Growth - The Essential Guide,' and 'The Ultimate Speaker Branding Blueprint on How to Build a Strong Personal Brand', all of which are

Dr. Khomotso is a globally recognized humanitarian, philanthropist and women empowerment advocate.

H.E Laila Rahhal El Atfani, is a globally respected women empowerment advocate and successful businesswoman.

Meanwhile, Ms. Herrington and Mc Dermott, two renowned, internationally-acclaimed authors, are scheduled to soon launch another book titled: 'Lady Entrepreneur Power'.

Samsung introduces Galaxy A14 - A phone for all occasions and all your favorite moments

Samsung has announced the new Galaxy A14 with the latest innovation and technology that has become synonymous with Galaxy smartphones.

This latest Galaxy A series comes with a large screen, an awesome camera and all the essentials you need to stay connected. It looks and feels awesome as it delivers a truly special performance from its connectivity and design to give its users an overall amazing mobile experience at a great value.

The Galaxy A14 features the tried and tested Galaxy signature design identity with a re ned and polished camera deck.

The at, linear camera housing seamlessly blends into the uni-body frame to complete the visually appealing silhouette. With a laser pattern back cover, the phone comes in beautiful colours that include light green, black and silver1.

Awesome screen

The Galaxy A14 boasts an enhanced, wider and sharper display with a 6.6” FHD+ large display2, high resolution for immersive viewing. This is an improvement on the Galaxy A13 that it replaces, which had a 6.5” HD+ display.

Awesome camera

Each picture is captured with all its incredible details by the awesome triple-lens camera supported by the upgraded sel e camera.

The 50MP main camera ensures that every detail comes alive in high resolution and you can snap the best of yourself with the 13MP sel e camera. Get a wider perspective and amazing details using the 2MP Ultra Wide Camera or capture the tiniest details, up-close and crisp with the 2MP Macro Camera.

Large storage

Enjoy the room to store more of everything you love with 4GB of memory and 64GB or 128GB storage. You can run more apps and save more of your favourite things with the Galaxy A14’s large and expandable virtual memory and storage.

Save more photos, videos, music and documents, and get up to 1TB of extra storage by simply sliding in a microSD card4.

Longer-lasting battery life5

In life, once a moment has passed, it will never happen again - the Galaxy A14’s battery works tirelessly so you can savour all those priceless moments5. You can certainly get more out of life with its 5000mAh capacity longer-lasting battery5. Be it shooting high-quality videos of the fun times or taking clear detailed pictures of yourself, your friends or family, enjoying your music playlists, streaming your favourite movies or shows, the Galaxy A14 lets you focus on doing just that and worry less about running out of battery power5, which runs strong for two days on a single charge5.

Privacy & Security

Enjoy peace of mind in knowing that your device is safe and your privacy is protected with the updates to the operating system and security features. Samsung provides 2 OS updates and Security Maintenance Release to maximise your experience with the latest features and the highest level of security.

Availability and RRP

Starting on 13th March 2023, the Galaxy A14 will be widely available in carriers and retailer stores, in either 64GB or 128GB storage options.

female authors, Hazel Herrington and Karen Mc Dermott as well as 12 other women

How governments can reach those furthest behind first

vikoparjan Yojana (SJY) is a program focused on boosting “the human capital of the poorest and most excluded households through support of consumption and livelihoods, savings, and training.” The complex and time-consuming targeting method used during the pilot period was streamlined signi cantly to enable the program to be scaled up. The simpli ed approach – including transect walks and wealth-mapping based on input from village organizations – proved highly e ective. To date, SJY has reached more than 136,000 households living in extreme poverty across all 38 of Bihar’s districts.

We are at the halfway point for implementing the Sustainable Development Goals (from 2015 to 2030), but we are not halfway to achieving them. In fact, in many critical areas – from poverty to food security – progress has been reversed in recent years, owing to severe and compounding crises. In this di cult environment, governments worldwide must urgently recommit to the SDGs, including their underlying promise to leave no one behind.

The challenge is formidable. Consider SDG1, which aims to eliminate poverty in all its forms. According to the World Bank’s Partnership for Economic Inclusion, government-led poverty-alleviation programs surged in 2021. But to reach those furthest behind, such programs must recognize and account for the web of overlapping constraints that e ectively “trap” people in poverty.

As the global Multidimensional Poverty Index highlights, poverty encompasses deprivation and exclusion in multiple areas, such as nutrition, sanitation, health care,

and education. Factors like gender, disability, and displacement also play an important role in keeping people in poverty.

Recent research, based on experience in rural Bangladesh, shows that below a certain income/asset threshold, households’ ability to access resources that could increase their income is severely limited. It also shows that large transfers of resources and/or support that create better jobs for the poor are an e ective means of enabling people to escape the poverty trap over the long term. An understanding of the various constraints and barriers that people in extreme poverty face within each unique context is thus vital to enable governments to devise and target optimal interventions. This is easier said than done. People facing extreme poverty often live in isolation and thus may not be included in social registries or identi ed via other government mechanisms for determining eligibility for and ensuring enrollment in support programs.

They may lack adequate documentation or even the basic knowledge or ability to claim bene ts (owing to factors such as limited mobility or literacy).

As a result, the people who need the most help often end up either excluded from government programs altogether, or unable to access bene ts for which they qualify. A June 2020 report found that 79% of the poorest quintile of the population in low-income countries receive no social assistance.

But there are steps governments can take to improve program targeting and reach. For starters, they can make greater use of registries linked to existing poverty-focused programs.

Tunisia’s government is already doing this. Using registries from its national cash-transfer program, the authorities identify households at the intersection of climate and socioeconomic vulnerability. Factors like monthly income, productive labor capacity, access to water, and land degradation are considered, as is whether the

household is headed by a woman.

Combining information from other government registries or databases with existing social registries can also be e ective. Colombia’s government combined data in the Uni ed Registry of Victims with a social registry used for an existing cash-transfer program to identify victims of conict who were already receiving cash transfers. The government was then able to urge the recipients to invest the transfers in ways that boosted well-being and resilience. The information in social registries can also be veri ed, updated, and enhanced through household surveys or local “vulnerability assessments,” which can help to identify the specific set of risks and deprivations faced by particular groups of people living in extreme poverty. Governments can also expand social registries, using mechanisms such as participatory community consultations that identify households that are unregistered or misrepresented in o cial databases.

In the Indian state of Bihar, Satat Jee-

Kenya’s Social and Economic Inclusion Project – another multidimensional initiative – promotes the delivery of essential services to the poor and vulnerable. To facilitate this e ort, Kenya’s government worked to enhance the existing social registry by adding readily available data on marginalized people living in poverty. Kenya’s government also incorporated a participant-targeting tool, designed and maintained by partners, that collects information related to multidimensional poverty, including housing conditions, water and sanitation, energy access, productive assets, food security, and access to social programs. Targeting does not end with registration, selection, and enrollment; it is most e ective when viewed as an ongoing process, with regular assessments and feedback systems built into every program to support the continual updating, enhancement, and integration of registries, which in turn will facilitate better targeting. At the same time, governments and their partners can ensure that all participants in poverty-alleviation programs are also connected to other public services and systems. Reaching those who are the furthest behind will never be easy. But if governments make the most of existing data and systems, carry out multidimensional local assessments, and continuously strive to improve targeting methods, progress is possible. And if we are going to achieve the SDGs, it is essential.

Xi Jinping was unanimously elected president of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC) of the PRC on Friday at the ongoing session of the 14th National People’s Congress.

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Ukraine sympathizes with famine -stricken African countries

By Kestér Kenn Klomegâh

Despite facing its hardest situation due to an extensive special military operation since February 24, 2022, Ukraine has tremendously been contributing to ensure food security in a number of African countries.

Rising food prices, climate change and natural disasters have hit some parts of Africa, and Ukraine is steadfast expressing its sympaty by transporting fertilizers, wheat, grains and other agricultural products to the Horn and East Africa.

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy stressed the importance of deepening areas of trade and working to achieve representation in 30 countries across the continent, with ten states already identi ed where new Ukrainian embassies will open. Ukraine o ers many opportunities for cooperation with Africa, from agriculture to some food products, which could help facilitate a stronger socio-economic tie between both countries, says Daria Zarivna, Head of Communication and Public A airs at the Administration.

With Africa experiencing what some consider its worst drought

in 40 years, the Ukrainian government have come up with an ambitious plan to provide provide grain to ve million people in Africa by delivering up to 60 ships of wheat by mid-2023.

According to her, the Ukraine government is very ambitious – we aim to provide grain to ve million people in Africa by delivering up to 60 ships of wheat by mid-2023. The programme is in partnership with the UN World Food Programme (WFP) who are supporting us in nding out which countries need help and what kind of grain specication they need.

"We then assess the country's readiness to receive the grain and its ability to distribute fairly and responsibly on the ground. The ships undergo a speci c process of inspection, monitoring and surveillance from the beginning of the process (loading the grain) until the end of the trip (docking and distribution)," she underlined.

“Russia's war in Ukraine has disrupted Africa's development and recovery from the

pandemic by raising food and fuel prices, disrupting trade of goods, and reducing the ow of nance in the continent. The cooperation of African countries and the in uence they may have over the Russia's aggression in Ukraine will have long term positive consequences for all parties involve,” says Zarivna.

Ukraine is looking to strengthen its economic and diplomatic relations with Africa. Ukraine's potential partnerships with African countries is so important to help increase

international pressure on Russia and to allow Ukraine to continue to export its grain and support the continent's ongoing battle with food security.

The global food security crisis is a core part of the peaceful plan suggested by Ukraine. The Zelenskiy administration is working to create stronger diplomatic, economic, and social ties with Africa, all of which will help ensure long-term prosperity and stability for both Ukraine and Africa.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has discussed with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi the fostering of food security and interaction in Ukraine's opening of food hubs in Africa. Ukrainian media reported, citing a message from Zelenskiy posted on social media that the parties also noted the importance of extending the Black Sea Grain Initiative. The initiative speci cally allows for signi cant volumes of commercial food exports from three key Ukrainian ports in the Black Sea, and this initiative is supported by the United Nations.