Author: Reputation Poll

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) adopts E-commerce Strategy to support Member States in leveraging e-commerce to build resilient micro-small and medium sized enterprises, create new jobs and spur economic diversification. The 90th Session of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Council of Ministers endorsed the ECOWAS E-commerce Strategy at its last meeting held from the 6 – 7 July 2023. This step follows its adoption by ECOWAS Ministers of Trade and Industry (ECOMOTI) at the 3rd Ministerial meeting which held from the 27th – 28th April, in Abidjan Cote d’Ivoire. The ECOWAS Commission developed the…

The Global Africa Business Initiative (GABI), a platform for promoting business, trade, and investment across the continent, at a virtual news conference, unveiled the lineup for its flagship event ‘Unstoppable Africa’ scheduled for Sept. 21-22 in New York. The two-day event, co-convened by the African Union (AU) on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly, serves as a pivotal forum for leaders to discuss and strategise the way forward for Africa’s dynamic business landscape. Mrs Sanda Ojiambo, Assistant Secretary-General and CEO, UN Global Compact, said the event was a testament to the power of collaboration and innovation in amplifying…

The African Union (AU) has officially joined the G20 at its annual meeting in India in the latest sign of Africa’s growing clout in international forums. The AU was admitted to the organisation – which includes 19 of the world’s leading economies and the European Union – at its meeting in New Delhi on Saturday. “We welcome the African Union as a permanent member of the G20 and strongly believe that inclusion of the African Union into the G20 will significantly contribute to addressing the global challenges of our time,” said the summit’s final declaration. India’s prime minister, Narendra Modi…

Soon after Judy Kengo was sworn into office last year, the Kenyan legislator faced her first public test when a doctored photo of a lookalike kissing another woman surfaced online. The aim of the misleading photo, she says, was to force her to quit her position in the county assembly of Kwale, a staunchly conservative region along Kenya’s southern coast. “You see, here is your leader. What kind of role model is she to our girls?” Kengo, 35, remembers one online user saying after the image began making the rounds. Kengo’s case is far from isolated. There is growing evidence…

Nigerians who have an Antigua and Barbuda, Saint Kitts and Nevis, or St Lucia second passport now have visa-free air travel via an eTA to Canada.    However, Nigerians travelling to these countries must have held a Canadian visa within the past 10 years or possess a valid United States non-immigrant visa to qualify.    This enables application for an eTA instead of a traditional visa when visiting Canada by air. Canada also announced that Dominica and Grenada citizens are eligible for the Can+ Visa programme. This speeds up the process of applying for a visitor visa, and it is…

Over the past few years, alternative investment funds (AIFs) have evolved as a popular investment vehicle. AIFs have become investor-friendly due to recent regulatory developments and evolving norms. AIFs offer specialized opportunities and potential higher yields on investments. Yet, the ₹1 crore minimum investment requirement is an entry hurdle, attracting only sophisticated investors looking for a bespoke investment strategy. Over the previous seven years, the AIF category in India has increased tenfold, with assets under administration totalling ₹7 trillion, according to the Indian Association of Alternative Investment Funds (IAAIF). These investments often have a 10-year time horizon, necessitating financial advisors’…

Foreign investors sold a record $12bn worth of Chinese stocks in August as piecemeal support measures from Beijing failed to assuage concerns over slowing growth in the world’s second-largest economy and a worsening crisis in the country’s property sector. The unprecedented outflows come as figures on Thursday showed China’s manufacturing sector contracted for a fifth consecutive month, despite pledges from leaders in late July to deliver more substantial support measures for the vital property sector, which is typically responsible for about a quarter of annual economic activity. Simmering tensions with Washington have also dimmed western investors’ appetite for Chinese assets,…

Human Rights Experts have stressed that more than ever, the world urgently needs humanity to unite and collaborate in a spirit of equality and non-discrimination. They said in a statement that it demands political will to eliminate all forms of racial discrimination, inequality and stratification at both the domestic and international levels. Achieving this goal means that inequalities within and among countries will need to be drastically decreased, and the legacies of colonialism, apartheid, enslavement and genocide effectively resolved, they added. ‘A cause for humanity’  The General Assembly proclaimed 2015 to 2024 as the International Decade for People of African…

EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said on Thursday that the EU for now is not planning to evacuate its personnel from coup-hit Gabon as the “situation is calm.” Speaking to reporters ahead of an informal meeting of EU foreign affairs ministers in Toledo, Spain, Borrell said recent events in the Central African country “give ground for preoccupation but we are not doing evacuation like in Niger.” A group of high-ranking Gabonese military officers on Wednesday said they had seized power, and annulled results of the recently held general elections. Borrell stressed the “situation is calm at the moment, there…

A business owner in Kent has said that the expansion of the Ultra Low Emission Zone (Ulez) to the whole of outer London will have a “massive impact” on her livelihood. But a clean air campaigner labelled Ulez “the most effective solution” to pollution and poor respiratory health. London Mayor Sadiq Khan said it would bring “cleaner, healthier air”. Motorists will now have to pay £12.50 a day to drive their vehicle in the Ulez if it does not meet emission standards. Abbie Austen lives in Medway and runs a carpet cleaning business. She says 75% of her clients…