Affiong Williams (founder, ReelFruit) 📸 AffiongWilliams On February 15, 2024 the resilience and innovation that thrives within Nigeria’s agricultural sector was on full display as ReelFruit commissioned its 800MT/ annum dried fruit processing facility in Abeokuta, Ogun State. It is Nigeria’s largest installed capacity. Says ReelFruit founder, Affiong Williams: “February 15th marked a momentous occasion in my company’s 12 year history. This has been my dream since the day I started this company, and I am so fortunate to see it to reality. “This factory isn’t just a structure of bricks and mortar; It embodies my long-term unwavering belief in…
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Listen to Tony O. Elumelu, C.F.R (founder of the Tony Elumelu Foundation – TEF), share what he calls the five core values needed for a successful life as an African entrepreneur or a working professional. 🎥 TEF Mr. Elumelu is also the Founder and Chairman of Heirs Holdings (his family owned investment company, committed to improving lives and transforming Africa, through long-term investments in strategic sectors of the African economy, including financial services, hospitality, power, energy, technology and healthcare). Tony is the Chairman of pan-African financial services group, the United Bank for Africa (UBA), which operates in 20 countries across…
Yetunde Adegbite (Founder, Jodriela Foods) Yetunde Adegbite is the adept entrepreneur who ceaselessly advocates for healthy living. She is the founder of Jodriela Foods, a food processing and packaging company created to provide consumers with natural, affordable, and convenient food products that support a healthy lifestyle and long-term wellness. Jodriela’s products include dehydrated fruits and vegetables, natural sweeteners, herbal teas, spices, and flours. Says Adegbite: “Our mission is to provide consumers with a wide range of superfoods that contain no preservatives at all. Our raw materials are also locally sourced, thereby empowering smallholder farmers. We produce with your health in…
Emmanuel Eyo (Co-Founder &CEO, Iko Africa) Five African startups are among the final 10 selected for the global Startup Boost project run by Sweden-based tech consulting firm tretton37 to provide pro bono support to startups whose objectives are to impact and change the world. From the approximately 50 companies that applied to Startup Boost, just 10 were selected. Five are from Africa: Digital product marketplace Ahiyoyo and farm produce platform Aliments (Benin Republic). Ugandan therapist-matching service Iguru Therapies Nigerian social literary and self-publishing platform Iko Africa, and Legal-tech platform originating from Ghana, Zupoto. The other five beneficiaries include companies from Sweden, Macedonia, the…
Benita Obasuyi (Founder, Benny’s Beading) Founder of Benny’s Beading, Benita Obasuyi, used to play with African beads in Nigeria when she was a teenager. As she got older, the 23-year-old noticed how her skin would negatively react to certain jewelry metals, convincing her that beads, with their uniqueness, durability, comfort and extraordinary colour range, were a better jewelry option. Two years after moving to Indianapolis to be closer to her family, Benita made a bracelet for a friend, whose friends in turn requested to purchase the same bracelet. That was all the motivation she needed, and in early 2022, Ms.…
(L-R) Arnelle Ansong and Erika Hairston (Co-Founders, EdLyft) In 2019, Arnelle Ansong and Erika Hairston created Edlyft to support Black university students and adults enrolled in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) courses. Edlyft provided students access to group tutoring and study groups in order to excel in computer science courses. On January 29, 2024, Edlyft announced that Edlyft AI Tutor, its generative AI platform, had been purchased by Google – a purchase that will help the startup scale the number of students it can reach. The news comes after Edlyft first partnered with the tech giant in 2022 for Google Tech…
Affiong Williams (Founder, ReelFruit) Founder & CEO of ReelFruit , Affiong Williams is delighted to have her company’s wide range of products – made from the best tropical fruits sourced from West Africa – listed on US discount e-Tailer, Martie. For Williams, the ReelFruit listing on Martie is not just another happenstance achievement for her company. She says: “It is a culmination of years of lessons and insights to find the right retail partner, right logistics/distribution, right marketing representation, and right payment terms. I’m proud that we’re learning how to win in the U.S market! “Now, if you love our products and are…
Roosevelt Ogbonna (Managing Director, Access Bank) Access Holdings has announced that its subsidiary, Access Bank, will be acquiring a majority stake in Uganda’s Finance Trust Bank, subject to approval from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Bank of Uganda. In the new deal, Access Bank will hold 80% of shares in the East African financial institution. The definite agreement was disclosed by Sunday Ekwochi, Access Holdings’ Secretary, in a statement submitted to the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) for the investment public and involves the institutional shareholders of Finance Trust Bank. This deal comes amidst struggles by Ugandan commercial…
Greek-Nigerian professional basketball player for the Milwaukee Bucks of the National Basketball Association (NBA), Giannis Sina Ugo Antetokounmpo, is proud to announce, along with his family, the launch of Improbable Media – their first feature length production. He says: “It’s the true story about me and my family’s journey and I can’t wait to share it with you. ‘Giannis: The Marvelous Journey’ premieres February 19th on Prime Video and Amazon Studios 🙏🏾🙌🏾 https://lnkd.in/gWi_c26v” Giannis’ country of origin Nigeria), in addition to his size, speed, and strength have earned him the nickname “Greek Freak”.
Adeoluwa – the Nigerian-born, Montreal (Quebec)-grown and Regina (Saskatchewan)-based Afropop singer – has surfaced with a cinematic new single “4,5,6.” Defined by a sleek guitar riff and heartfelt lyricism, “4,5,6” is an ultrasmooth ballad in the same irresistible love-struck vein of early 2000s R&B. Influenced by a wide variety of artists ranging from Tina Turner to Adekunle Gold to Stevie Wonder, ADEOLUWA refers to his unique, genre-bending sound as experimental Afro-fusion. The result is a musical style that transcends borders and a deeply personal, high energy stage presence that has earned him the nickname “The Greatest Showman” within the DIY…