DJ Black nominated for 2014 African Music Magazine Awards

One of Africa's finest DJ brands and household name in the Ghanaian music industry, Kwadwo Ampofo, also known as DJ Black, has been tipped to win the Best DJ Africa category in the maiden of The African Music Magazine Awards (AFRIMMA).

DJ Black, who has gradually established himself as the Africa's leading and most in demand name in dance music, has transcended musical genres to create a unique 'DJ Black' brand trusted for quality performance.

The award ceremony that caters for all musical genres including Afrobeats, Assiko, Bongo, Decale, Funana, Genge, Highlife, Hiplife, Kwaito, Lingala and Soukous would be held at the plush Charles W. Eisemann Centre for Performing Arts and Corporate Presentations in Richardson, Texas on July 26, 2014.

DJ Black is a professional DJ with over 16 years’ experience in the entertainment business, a voice-over artiste and co-founder of Blaqbone International and Toontoom recently in Austin, Texas where he presented a paper on Digital Media/Music in Africa during 2013 SXSW Music Festival.

Rothmans Best DJ in West Africa 2001, 2009 Red Carpet Awards, Independent Artiste and DJ Award Winner. Check him out every weekend on Joy 99.7 Fm in Accra or you could just find him hosting a show or voice booming in your ear or making it happen on of the many parties or clubs in Africa.

In 1997, DJ Black moved on to manage Dope Rhyme Studios in Nima, giving rise to his clench on hiphop in Ghana.

He became the DJ for the streets as he made mixtapes and spinned for hiplifers as VIP, Buk Bak, Obrafuor, among others and being in the forefront of people who strengthened the movement hiplife. DJ Black started radio in 1997 at Radio Univers host in Space Jam and gave birth to his controversial Hiphop Show which is still airing.

DJ Black on Joy Fm in Accra, Ghana is without doubt something unforgettable as he controls weekend radio in the city of Accra, the Weekend Warmer which has throwbacks and guest spots has a mature audience entertained whilst the Open House Party on Saturdays keeps the youth awake.

DJ Black founded Blaqbone International together with partners Schwarz Bless'on (Radio Cardiff) and Notse A.Amarteyfio in 2005 and manage artistes and DJs such as Dretonio, Philo, E-dBle, among others.

In 2010, DJ Black formed Toontoom the brand. With Toontoom Agency Studios at Kokomlemle; DJ Black has expanded the brand as a voiceover artiste and a mentor.

In 2011, DJ Black performed on Big Brother Africa Amplified and won the Best Radio DJ in Ghana, adding on to 2010′s Africa's Number 2 Top Radio DJ of The Year and the 2010 Red Carpet Award from Sniper Squad DJS.

DJ Black recently won the 2013 Best Ghanaian DJ, Best Radio DJ and has been nominated in three categories, Best African DJ, Best West African DJ and Best Radio DJ in the African Global DJ Awards.

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Galaxy S5 users to get free repairs on accidental damage

Samsung Electronics has urged all users of its new Galaxy S5 to register their phones on ADH Premium within 30 days of purchase to enable them enjoy the service.

The Accidental Damage from Handling warranty (ADH Premium), which forms part of Samsung's Smart Eco System, will ensure that users of the Galaxy S5 get their phones replaced or repaired for free once they get screen or liquid damage.

Mr. Jaspreet Singh, Director for Mobile at Samsung Electronics West Africa said the electronic giant would continually strive to provide a worryfree life to its customers by offering them smart solutions and innovative services. 'A year ago, Samsung's 24-month ADH warranty was introduced onto the Ghanaian market, the first of its kind in Africa and we are offering our valued Galaxy S5 customers the ADH Premium which we first introduced to our Galaxy Note 3 customers to guarantee their peace of mind,' he said.

He said in the event of broken screen or liquid damage, registered customers could take their device to any authorized Samsung Service Centre for repair or replacement. Mr. Singh however reiterated that the ADH Premium was exclusive to customers who purchase their phones from authorized Samsung dealers in the country and they must also register their devices on the ADH Premium App within the first 30 days of purchase in order to benefit from the service.

'Our Service Centre is also dedicated to offering our customers quality after sales service at their convenience,' he said.

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Airtel Ghana picks three Awards at 4th Ghana Telecom Awards

Airtel Ghana's effort at making a difference in the lives of customers and communities was recognized at the 4th Ghana Telecoms Awards (GTA), when it picked three awards including the enviable Best Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Company.

Airtel Money was also adjudged the Best Mobile Money Service of the year 2013, and its recently out-gone Managing Director, Philip Sowah won the Telecom CEO of the year, for the second time. Philip Sowah won the first ever CEO of the Year at the first GTA.

It would be recalled that last year, Airtel Ghana was also adjudged the Telecoms Company of the Year by the prestigious Chartered Institute of Marketing Ghana.

Commenting on the GTAs, the current Managing Director of Airtel Ghana, Lucy Quist said 'this is great news, not only for Airtel as a company but for each employee whose tireless contribution made this happen. Our customers are our stars, and everything we do is aimed at not only meeting their needs but also wowing them.'

She said CSR played a very important role in Airtel Ghana's strategy, because it was the means the company used to give back to its customers and community.

'It is amazing that industry watchers have consistently recognized the passion we have for and put into our CSR activities,' she added.

Touching on the Award for Best Mobile Money Service, which was conferred on Airtel for its Airtel Money product, Lucy Quist said, 'of course, Airtel prides itself for being the first to introduce its M-commerce product in Ghana. We haven't disappointed our customers since, as we have consistently introduced innovative and convenient products under our Airtel Money umbrella.' she stated.

She revealed that Airtel was poised to provide unbeatable service this year, and was focused on building a stronger, formidable brand.

'Airtel is a brand you can trust; we provide more than a service; we stand for something real and meaningful; an assurance that with us, you are always connected to the people you love. We aim to delight our customers more by providing exquisite quality and a truly pleasurable experience on our network,' she added.

The Director in charge of M-Commerce at Airtel Ghana, Luck Ochieng also stated that, 'we are very excited by this award and the recognition that we have received from the industry stakeholders. It encourages us and reinforces our commitment to continue with innovation and new products and services that improve and enrich the lives of our customers.'

According to him, Airtel Money offers Airtel customers innovative value addition, including the ability to link bank accounts to Airtel Money wallet and move money to and from bank accounts securely, as well as purchase data bundles conveniently, 'With a network of over 2,500 active agents, Airtel Money is your most reliable Mobile Commerce partner', he stated.

In its fourth year, the Ghana Telecom Awards continues to grow in participation and prestige, setting the highest industry standards for honouring organizations and individuals in Telecoms and its related industries in Ghana and beyond.

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FDIs into Africa projected to hit $80 billion this year

External financial inflows as well as tax revenues and regional integration are tipped to remain the key drivers of Africa’s development and growth prospects, according to Africa’s economic outlook 2014.

The report released by the African Development Bank at the ongoing 49th AfDB Annual Meetings in Kigali, indicates that Foreign Direct Investments (FDIs) have fully recovered from the effects of the economic crisis and are projected to reach $80b this year.

Over the past two years, FDIs to Africa were $50bn and $56 billion for 2012 and 2013 respectively.

The manufacturing and service sectors will continue attracting a big share of the FDIs into Africa and could fetch up to $67.1b this year, the report indicated.

According to the report, financial inflows have quadrupled since 2000 and are projected to reach over $200b this year. The report also indicates that Africa’s exports grew faster than in any other region in the world, driven by strong commodity prices and attractive trade policies and regional integration.

Intra-African trade with value-added manufacturing grew faster than exports to the rest of the world. However, Africa accounts for just 3.5 per cent of world exports, and this has remained low over the years.

Speaking after the launch of the report, Valentine Rugwabiza, the CEO of Rwanda Development Board, said Africa can further improve its trade by removing bottlenecks to trade and strengthening industrialisation.

“We are already seeing the impact regional integration is having in terms of doing business across the region. There is no doubt that the cost and time of conducting business has immensely reduced, especially along the Northern Corridor,” she said, referring to recent commitments by tripartite countries; Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda to ease movement of goods from Mombasa port to the hinterland.

Mario Pezzini, the director of the OECD Development Centre, said attracting FDIs in the value chain requires targeted trade reforms and policies, efficient trade infrastructure and incentives to support value-added technology.

“The more the economy is integrated in a global value chain, the higher the productivity. This, however, must be carried out at both regional and national levels,” Pezzin said. Today, 80 per cent of global trade is linked to multinational corporations, while 60 per cent of global trade in goods is in form of intermediate products and on average foreign value added makes up 25 per cent.

“Successful integration and upgrading in value chains call for openness and product-specific, sometimes firm-specific, strategies,” Pezzin noted.

However, African states have not participated fully in this import growth, according to Pascal Lamy, the former director general of the World Trade Organisation.

Lamy said there was need for an enabling trade environment to help African suppliers to scale-up involvement in services value chain.

“Regional bodies have launched important initiatives to boost industrialisation and investment in regional infrastructure, but these need to be strengthened by global value chains and Africa’s industrialisation agenda,” Lamy said.

According to the report, in 2013, Africa maintained an average growth rate of about 4 per cent, against the 3 per cent average growth of the economy globally.

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Powering Science and Technology for Africa’s economic transformation

Africa has achieved exceptional economic growth over the past decade, averaging 4.5 percent a year and underpinned by prudent macroeconomic management. Now we must achieve economic growth that is accompanied by significantly less poverty and greater prosperity for all the people of the continent.

With new discoveries of oil, gas, and minerals seemingly every month, we need to be able to extract, market, and invest the new-found earnings from these resources in higher quality education, health, and other vital development priorities.

As Africans move to cities in ever-growing strength, we must also address unprecedented rates of urbanization and new needs for housing, infrastructure, and agricultural productivity to feed urban residents as well as increase food security in rural areas.

At the same time, these challenges also bring opportunities for joint research that would benefit scientists across the world as well in Africa.

There is scope for similar research collaboration between African and foreign scientists in medicine and biodiversity, irrigation, engineering, mining and other fields.

Thanks to Africa’s recent progress in school enrolment, more and more students are completing primary and secondary school.

This new generation of young Africans must be equipped with the modern skills and knowledge they need to find African solutions to Africa’s challenges. Earlier this year, at a High-Level Forum on Higher Education for Science, Technology and Innovation hosted by the Government of Rwanda and the World Bank in Kigali, participating countries and partners called for a bold target to double the share of African university graduates in science and technology fields within a decade, by 2025. This is key to transform Africa into a knowledge-driven continent within a generation.

So how can we do it? There are proven steps that can be taken to realign higher education with the needs of the 21st century economy and to brighten the career prospects of young Africans today. Partnership is the operative word, between academic institutions both in Africa and abroad, between universities and the private sector, and with new investment partners in Asia and Latin America.

African universities have much to gain from joining forces with universities abroad, such as through the University of Michigans STEM-Africa initiative which has nurtured young scientists and advanced research networks with institutions in Africa, and also their work in training mathematicians and doctors on the continent. In fact, the African Diaspora can play a very critical role in advancing science and technology in their countries of origin by helping generate new interest in supporting the STEM fields in Africa. We must mobilize a wide alliance of supporters including policymakers, international financial institutions such as the World Bank Group, and academics, both in Africa and abroad. At the same time, universities in Africa now need to achieve the next level of home-grown excellence.

Students must also be able to apply what they learn once they graduate and look to cross the threshold of the jobs market. Following the example of countries like Kenya and Senegal, ministries responsible for higher education should aim to boost private representation on their university boards and engage with the private sector to strengthen links with employers, including on curriculum design.

The World Bank is working with eight African governments and the Association of African Universities on the Africa Centres of Excellence initiative, which will strengthen 19 centres of excellence in West and Central Africa. This initiative aims to build and sustain excellence in higher education in Africa, particularly in science and technology, by fostering regional specialization, concentrating limited top-level faculty and generating knowledge spillovers.

Africa’s new partners countries such as Brazil, China, India and Korea can play an important role in building human capital in Africa. These countries have rich experience in developing higher education programs that serve the needs of modernizing economies, and have much to offer by way of lessons learned and active partnerships. The World Bank is working towards building a Partnership for Skills in the Applied Sciences, Engineering and Technology (PASET) that brings together new partners and African policymakers, to catalyse this process especially in high-potential sectors.

Partnership among all of these networks will commit us all to a coordinated, faster approach to advancing science and technology in Africa and helping Africans young people achieve their aspirations. It will also help companies to find young Africans with advanced skills and knowledge locally, allowing them to compete and thrive in international markets.

As more than 11 million young Africans try to join enter the job market every year over the next decade, we need to make strategic investments in their education and other development prospects in order to drive and sustain Africa’s economic transformation.

Makhtar Diop, the World Banks Vice President for Africa, is in Rwanda attending the AfDB Annual Meetings.

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Indian donates Tata’s to Seychelles People’s Defence Forces further strengthening friendly relations

In a ceremony at the Seychelles People’s Defence Forces headquarters, outgoing Indian High Commissioner to Seychelles, Thangrula Darlong, presented the Chief of the Defence Forces, Brigadier Leopold Payet two military grade Tata suburban vehicles on behalf of the Republic of India.

High Commissioner Darlong described the relationship between Seychelles and India as one of friendship and this latest donation serves as a genuine example of that close collaboration in areas relating to defence and security.

Minister for Foreign Affairs, Jean- Paul Adam was given the honour of officially putting key to ignition and starting the vehicles.

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USD$10 Million investment to boost food production and security in Ghana

Magcor is investing $10 million USD to boost food production and security in Ghana after investing in Agricon Global last year. Magcor has announced further plans to grow more rice, maize and vegetables in Ghana. Mr. Michael Glynn said this joint venture is a pilot farming project of 33 hectares which currently specializes in growing vegetables, water melon, maize and rice.

The project is led by Mr. Alexander Stoica, a successful and experienced Romanian farmer with track records of achievements in big farming projects here in Ghana and overseas. The plan is to roll out this model project throughout the country. Mr. Glynn commended Mr. Stoica for all the hard work, research and testing carried out in the last 18 months.

Ghana's agriculture sector which is the mainstay of the economy continues to rely on the two major seasons to plant and harvest crops to feed Ghanaians and that has increased the nation's dependence on importation of foodstuffs such as rice, tomatoes and other vegetables from neighboring countries.

Magcor and Fast Fresh farms will use drip irrigation system and other modern farming technology to ensure all year round availability of fruit, vegetables and rice on the local market at affordable prices to feed the people of Ghana.

In a latest development Fast Fresh and Magcor have won a long term contract to supply fruits and vegetable to all Shop Rite Supermarkets in Ghana and Nigeria. The Managing Director of Shop Rite visited Fast Fresh farms last week to seal the Fruit and vegetable supply deal.

Mr. Michael J. Glynn said that his company is motivated to reach the production target of 2 million tons of rice, maize, fruits and vegetables in 5 years.

He said this is a challenging target set by his company and Investment Consortium to help improve food security in Ghana and neighbouring countries.

In his final words in this interview The CEO of Magcor, Mr. Michael J Glynn said Magcor and its consortium are fully committed to eradicating poverty and improving the quality of life in Ghana and will continue to target investment to achieve this objective.

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