PositiveNaija

PositiveNaija Monthly Newsletter January 2018

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Notably, we have sought out to deduce the geographic locations (within Nigeria or abroad), which the positive/success news/updates recorded are being achieved. In other words, our aim is to be able to tell objectively, how conducive/enduring the environments are to what Nigeria/Nigerians are achieving. To do this, we determined the locations on the basis of where exactly the achievement, progress, success, etc. was done or achieved as well as will be done or achieved and not based on where an award/recognition was or is presented.

It is important to mention that most achievements by Nigeria/Nigerians achieved abroad should not be relegated as being ‘superior’ or achieved out of a ‘privileged comfortable environment’ as most of these achievements are usually first in recognition of what has been done or attained within Nigeria and as such requiring an international/global export.

Recommendations:

Nigerians should be more observant towards the progress, development and excellence made in/by the country and fellow citizens.
The right conditions (hinged on truth) for the vivid manifestations of these achievements and subsequent potentials are needed.
Existing implementation frameworks should be critically reviewed with an indigenous approach.
Strategic planning and an effective monitoring system with a focus on sustainability.
Better coordination among Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs).

We hope that you find these assessments useful, inspiring and educative. We will also be glad to hear from you!

Yagazie Emezi Wins 2018 Getty Images Creative Bursary Award

Nigerian documentary photographer, Yagazie Emezi, has been awarded the Inaugural Creative Bursary Award by Getty Images.

The 26-year-old is among the six recipients selected by an industry-leading panel of the international photo curating platform to get amounts between $2,000 and $5,000.

Other recipients include Neema Githere from Kenya; Oriana Koren, Jeremy Dennis, Donavon Smallwood and Tara Sellios from the United States of America.

Yagazie Emezi came in joint second place with Neema Githere for a prize sum of $3,000.

In the words of Yagazie Emezi on receiving the Creative Bursary Award:

“Ready for the challenge and looking forward to seeing how we make use of this opportunity to tell more of our necessary stories.”

She began her journey as a self-taught photographer in early 2015 and has since been commissioned by Al-Jazeera, New York Times, Vogue, Refinery29, Everyday Projects, and UNFPA.

The Vlogger and a graduate of Cultural Anthropology and African Studies from the University of New Mexico came into limelight for her continuous project ‘Another Tale by Moonlight’.

She returned to Lagos from the United States of America (USA) in 2014, to ‘document life in Nigeria as it truly is’.

Emezi has worked on several projects including ‘Felaberation’ and the Lagos Fashion Week.

In 2017, Yagazie Emezi was a participant in the World Press Photo Masterclass West Africa and is a contributor to Everyday Africa.

Getty Images Inaugural Creative Bursary Awards was established in October 2017, to support emerging photographers, who must be under 30 or have been pursuing professional photography for less than three years.

The annual $40,000 Bursary will enable them to realise commercial photographic projects.

For the selection of the winners, participants were asked to submit a project proposal and visual brief in support of their creative idea. Awardees were selected from the pool of entries.

Odinaka Anudu & Temple Asaju Win 2017 MAN Reporters Of The Year Award

Odinaka Anudu and Temple Asaju have won the 2017 Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) Reporters of the Year award at the 2018 MAN annual media luncheon held in Ikeja, Lagos. Anudu retained the award which he also won in 2016.

Odinaka Anudu won the newspaper category, while Temple Asaju of Channels TV emerged winner in the television category.

Continue reading Odinaka Anudu & Temple Asaju Win 2017 MAN Reporters Of The Year Award

Winners Of 2017 International Finance Magazine (IFM) Awards

Winners have emerged in the 2017 International Finance Magazine (IFM) Awards, which recognizes and honours individuals and organisations in the international finance industry that make a significant difference and add value.

The International Finance Magazine (IFM) shines a spotlight on those who make a contribution to raising the bar in the financial industry through activities of note. These include path-breaking initiatives in corporate social responsibility or charitable activities, better corporate governance and other achievements that impact the global finance community.

Continue reading Winners Of 2017 International Finance Magazine (IFM) Awards

Placements.ng Wins 2018 Techpoint Build Pitch Storm Competition

Placements.ng also referred to as Placements has emerged as the overall winner of the 2018 Techpoint Build Pitch Storm competition.

Placements, a platform that allows job seekers find paid internship opportunities in Nigeria, receive an equity-free cash prize of ₦1 million and, along with other finalists, will gain the necessary exposure for their business and possibly investments too.

Acounteer, and Legitcar also emerged as the first and second runner-up respectively.

The maiden edition of Techpoint Build is an annual convergence of startups, innovators, makers, technical entrepreneurs and all industry stakeholders across Nigeria.

After a stringent screening process, nine of the over 200 applicants for the Techpoint Build Pitch Storm competition emerged finalists.

The nine finalists; Accounteer, Wemove, The Footwear Academy, SmartTeller, myPadi, Legitcar, Gerocare, Loystar and Placements had been part of an intense 3-day Bootcamp to help them prepare them for the finale.

The judges for the event include; Nick Dixon (Founder, Cloud Cover), Aima Nwafor-Ohiwerei (Fellow, Singularity Investments), Adetunji Eleso (Head, Growth Capital CChub), Deepankar Rustagi (CEO, Vconnect), Yele Bademosi (Founder, Microtraction), Olanike Jagun (MTN), Jason Njoku (Founder, Spark), Leonard Stiegeler (GM, Ringier Africa), Kola Aina (Founder, Emerging Platforms), Chika Nwobi (CEO, L5 Lab) and Martin Karanji (GSMA).

Techpoint Build aims to foster increased local investment in Nigeria’s local startup ecosystem.

Ezinne Uko Wins $100,000 Kwesé Inc #GoGettaz Entrepreneurship Competition

Ezinne Uko (Nigeria) and Peter Wachira (Kenya) have been selected as the two winners of the $200,000 Kwesé Inc #GoGettaz entrepreneurship competition held at Strathmore University in Nairobi, Kenya.

Both walk away with a $100,000 USD investment, a similar amount in credit facility from Equity Bank Kenya, and a two week mentorship at Kwesé’s headquarters in South Africa with Strive Masiyiwa, founder and Executive Chairman of Econet Global. The 10 runners up each receive $10,000 USD investment in their ventures.

Ezinne Uko and Peter Wachira have taken the grand prize from a group of 12 finalists from DRC, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa and Zimbabwe.

Judged on their business/non-profits’ sustainability, originality, social benefit, and scalability as well as votes garnered from the general public in a month-long social media voting phase, which closed on 30 November 2017, Contrail Stores and A Remote Youth Venture impressed the judges and receive a $100,000 injection into their business/venture from Mr. Masiyiwa.

As one of the largest entrepreneurship competitions on the African continent, 4,800 competition entries were received, 50 million social media shares and over 200,000 web page visits. The winners endured, and their businesses will not only benefit financially but, as first-ever Kwesé Fellows, they will also continue to receive best business/venture practices from Mr. Masiyiwa for the duration of their mentorship program.

In the words of Mr. Masiyiwa:

“At our eighth Africa Entrepreneurship Town Hall today, we had hundreds of people from different walks of life, all in the same room, all focused on solutions for the future: top business leaders, government officials, technology experts, academics, students… all thinking about how new technologies can help rather than harm society.

Today is how we build for Africa’s century and end poverty globally. Together we listen, we innovate and we take action — with data and vision, and without delay.”

To inspire upcoming entrepreneurs and pave the way for new generation innovators, the Kwesé Inc #GoGettaz Entrepreneurship Competition finals will be broadcast on Kwesé Inc, an exclusive channel for entrepreneurs on the pay TV platform Kwesé TV, now available in over 10 countries with more to launch soon.