Marina Diboma appointed as New 2SCALE Program

Marina Diboma Appointed as New 2SCALE Program Director

2SCALE today announced the appointment of Marina Diboma as its new Program Director, effective July 1st, 2021. Marina will take over from the current Program Director, Henk van Duijn, who will transition within the International Fertilizer Development Center (IFDC) as the Chief Operations Officer/Chief Finance Officer. Henk will handover to Marina after an intensive introduction program that will be finalized by October 13th, 2021. Marina joins 2SCALE from the Netherlands-African Business Council (NABC), where she is currently the Deputy

Managing Director. A Dutch national with Cameroonian origin, Marina has extensive experience in private sector and sustainable economic development in Sub–Saharan Africa and has a passion for building bridges between people and organizations. As an expert on Africa and development cooperation, Marina participates in various initiatives. It is in this context that she is a member of the INCLUDE platform, a platform that advises both the Dutch government and selected African states in their inclusive development policies. She is also the Vice Chairwoman of the African Studies Center foundation in The Netherlands and Chairwoman of Africa 2.0 NL. Over the past two years, Marina has been involved in 2SCALE as a member of the external Selection Committee (SC), the body charged with approving inclusive agribusiness ideas for our public-private partnerships. “With its available arable lands and ambitious young human capital, Africa has the potential to feed the world. Hence, agribusiness offers growth opportunities for sustainable economic development of the continent. Investing in inclusive agribusiness with a focus on private sector development, food and nutrition security, reduced prices for consumers and empowered farmers is therefore one of the most profitable investments for Africa. I am delighted and honored to join 2SCALE in a leadership role and contribute to this investment initiative that I hope to add valuable impact to. Marina Diboma Based in Ghana, Marina will oversee the implementation of partnerships initiated in the 2nd phase of 2SCALE (2018 -2023) and the subsequent expansion of the program into two new countries namely, South Sudan and Egypt. “I can say that we are very happy that Marina agreed to take on the position of Program Director. She has intimate knowledge of Agribusiness in Africa and in the Netherlands, has already been involved in the Program and has inroads into both the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Dutch Embassies. Her networking and communication skills will not only support the expansion of 2SCALE, but I also see her as the leader who can further shape 2SCALE as an African Agribusiness incubator for the future.“ Rob Groot, Director of Partnerships at IFDC and Chair of the 2SCALE Supervisory Board Marina’s extensive experience and linkages will contribute greatly towards the achievement of 2SCALE’s overarching goal of promoting inclusive agribusiness as a tool for sustainable social and economic progress in Africa.

________________________________________ About 2SCALE 2SCALE is an African incubator and accelerator program that manages a portfolio of public-private partnerships for inclusive business in agri-food sectors and industries. It offers a range of support services to its business champions (SMEs and farmer groups) and partners, enabling them to produce, transform and supply quality food products. These products go to local and regional markets, including base of the pyramid consumers. 2SCALE works together with companies (African, Dutch, and other small and medium-sized enterprises SMEs) and producer organizations (POs) to develop business models and partnership models that promote inclusiveness, develop competitive edge, and have potential for scaling. 2SCALE is implemented by a consortium comprising of IFDC, Bopinc, and SNV.

Germany has agreed to return Nigeria’s looted treasures. Will other countries follow?

The bronze plaques from his birthplace looked strange at the British Museum. Enotie Ogbebor, a visiting artist, knew they were cultural treasures. West African sculptors had crafted them over six centuries to tell the history of Benin, a kingdom that stood in what is now southern Nigeria until British troops invaded in 1897. But on display in London, he recalled, they carried the aura of

war trophies. Colonial soldiers had plundered his ancestors’ land, seizing what became collectively known as the Benin bronzes. Thousands of plaques, masks and figures wrought from largely metal, ivory and wood landed in museums across Europe and the United States. “They look so out of place, out of context,” said Ogbebor, 52. “To see them in isolation, far away from home, kept for onlookers to gawk at without any real understanding of what happened — it’s like being a witness to your family story told wrongly.” Some of the bronzes are now set to come home: Last week, Germany became the first country to announce plans to send hundreds of pieces back to Nigeria, starting next year. The German restitution pledge, the largest thus far, has injected momentum into the push for other governments to do the same as nations worldwide grapple with histories of racial injustice. Protest movements have placed a fresh spotlight on old atrocities, toppled statues and called for the recovery of items stolen — often violently — during colonial rule. “To hold onto the works is to add salt to an open wound,” said Ogbebor, a member of the Legacy Restoration Trust, which represents Nigeria’s government and regional leaders. Germany’s culture minister said the shift stemmed from “moral responsibility,” and a handful of museums elsewhere have launched their own efforts as curators reexamine the bloody origins of prized artifacts. Benin bronzes can be found at 161 museums around the world, according to research by Dan Hicks, a curator at the Pitt Rivers Museum at the University of Oxford and the author of “The Brutish Museums.” Thirty-eight are in the United States. Only nine of the institutions are in Nigeria. Many institutions remain hesitant to relinquish the work. The British Museum — owner of the world’s biggest collection, at roughly 900 pieces — is legally prohibited from releasing the Benin bronzes because Parliament regulates its inventory. The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, which has said it acquired Benin works from donors, has revealed no plans to return them. (The Met did not respond to requests for comment.) Pressure has swelled over the last year, however, as protesters flooded cities, reinvigorating dialogue around painful memories. Atop the African Union’s agenda this year: fighting the coronavirus — and recovering stolen heritage. Little remained after Benin fell. The kingdom, which dated back to the 11th century, had been one of West Africa’s great powers. Historians say its earthen walls rivaled the Great Wall of China. Then came the British, who by the mid-1800s were exerting control over the surrounding areas. Benin enjoyed trade

influence that irked colonial leaders, researchers say. The breaking point came when West African forces ambushed a

British expedition that had not received permission to enter the kingdom, killing dozens.

Britain responded with 1,200 troops, warships and 3 million bullets, according to Hicks’s research. Benin burned to the ground. Official documents offer no casualty number, but researchers estimate widespread death.

The British military called the destruction

“punitive.”

Soldiers went on to loot the kingdom’s riches, telling British authorities that the ivory alone would cover the cost of the mission. Some kept the bronzes for themselves, making them family heirlooms.

European art scholars lavished praise on the works, and they were quickly auctioned off.

The spoils of Benin sat on display in England just six months later. Nigeria has been calling for their return since it gained independence in 1960. The theft stripped away centuries of knowledge, said Victor Ehikhamenor, an artist from Benin City. Generations lost the opportunity to build on the work of their forebears. “I grew up with the leftovers,” he said. And the narrative of white dominance lives on in revered places. Schoolchildren see the “punitive” language next to popular exhibits. Google “Benin bronzes,” and the search engine delivers a harmful euphemism: “Discovered by: British forces.” “These works were not legally acquired,” said Ehikhamenor, a member of Nigeria’s restoration effort. “Museums are oversaturated with colonial conquests.” Today, he said, the people and institutions that benefited from Benin’s collapse have a chance to make amends. Museums can put the Benin bronzes in the mail or transfer ownership to Nigeria. Leaders in Benin City have embraced the idea of loaning them out to museums across the globe, just as Spain might let France borrow a Picasso painting — on fair terms, as equals.