WISCAR is excited to present two amazing and successful women entrepreneurs at her July edition of the Meet-a-WISCAR series.

Come and hear first hand from Mrs. Clare Omatseye- CEO JNC International Ltd and Mrs Nmuta Mbamalu – CEO Jumbo Sports Mart.

WISCAR presents a rare opportunity to hear unique and inspiring stories on their career and entrepreneurship journey; how they built their businesses, overcame the obstacles and challenges to favourably compete in a man’s world, balanced work And family, scaled up their businesses, got funding and are making a difference in the society.

Date: Friday, 21st July 2017

Time: 6pm – 8pm prompt

Venue: The Moore House Hotel, 1 Bankole Oki Road, Ikoyi Lagos

REGISTRATION: N5,000 Only

ACCOUNT DETAILS

Account Name: WISCAR Ltd by Guarantee

Account Number: 2009347618

Bank: First Bank of Nigeria


For more information and registration, please call us on +2348066452894 or send an email to wiscarng@gmail.com

We look forward to welcoming you to a thrilling, engaging and inspiring discussion.

Don’t forget to spread the word out to your friends and colleagues

World Bank in partnership with the Nigerian Government to help support Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) operating in different high potential sectors throughout the country has selected Vision Production Limited, a manufacturer of concrete light pole as one of its beneficiaries amongst other MSME’s that have potential for growth and room for creating massive employment.

The Growth and Employment project (GEM) implemented under the Federal Ministry of Trade and Investment (FMITI) is established on the verge to diversify the economy, support sectors that have potential for growth and sustainably increase number of jobs.

Vision Production Limited (VPL) was selected as one of the beneficiaries of the World Bank ‘’Bigportal” program amongst others after a rigorous prequalification process. VPL will have access to a wide range of BIG Services including; Consulting, Training and Grants.


Speaking about the project, CEO Vision Production Limited Mr. Tunji Okanlanwon said , “I would like to appreciate the Federal Government and World Bank for this great initiative and seeing potentials in SME’s like ours and giving us a platform that will help us grow‘’

‘’At VPL, we manufacture concrete electricity poles for rural electrification and other electrification projects. Our concrete electric poles are certified by Standard Organization of Nigeria (SON) and they conform to government approved production standards. We believe in quality that is why we strive to offer to our customers the best in order to prove that quality is the central point of all business activities’’ he added.

The GEM project is an initiative of Federal Government of Nigeria in conjunction with the World Bank to provide direct support to the “Business Innovation and Growth (BIG) portal platform” the primary means of interaction between the project and its beneficiaries. The project became effective in July 2013, and will close in September 2018. The project focuses on manufacturing and service sectors, specifically supporting ICT, entertainment, tourism and hospitality, light manufacturing, agro-processing industries and construction.

10, okanlawon street, Agbede meeting, Agric Bustop Ikorodu.
For more information, Call Mr Tunji – 08023428751

A key trade facilitation agreement (TFA) signed by Nigeria and more than 100 other nations with the World Trade Organisation is expected to provide the country’s manufacturing industry with a major boost, Okechukwu E Enelamah, the minister of industry, trade and investment, told Oxford Business Group (OBG).

Commenting in a wide-ranging interview with the global research and consultancy firm, Enelamah said the “milestone” TFA should ease the overall cost of doing business in Nigeria, which he acknowledged was one of three main obstacles that manufacturers currently faced.

“The biggest challenge is definitely infrastructure, in one form or another. In addition, manufacturers need more access to sustainable, affordable and reliable power – that’s our first priority as a government and as a ministry,” he acknowledged. “Each of these areas represents an opportunity to take the country higher and to fulfil our potential.”



The full interview with Enelamah will appear in The Report: Nigeria 2017, OBG’s forthcoming publication on the country’s economy.

The Report: Nigeria 2017 will be a vital guide to the many facets of the country, including its macroeconomics, infrastructure, banking and other sectoral developments. The publication will contain a detailed, sector-by-sector guide for investors, alongside contributions from leading personalities. It will be available in print and online.

Enelamah said that creating an attractive environment for manufacturers through measures such as tax breaks, export incentives and finance, was high on the government’s agenda in line with its broader aim of increasing local production.

“Producers need assurance that if they produce locally, their products will enter the local value chain, and we have created the conditions for that,” he told OBG. “We are also working to avoid dumping, as entrepreneurs that are producing high-quality products cannot compete with imports that are cheaper and of lower quality.”

Nigeria’s plans for boosting foreign direct investment levels are also outlined in the interview. “We want to improve the supply of foreign currency through funding programmes that will bring billions of dollars into the economy,” Enelamah told OBG. “We are also reorganising and revamping the Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission. Ultimately, we are aiming to create the confidence that investors need to come to Nigeria.”

Cellulant has launched a report highlighting the impact of technology in transforming agriculture across Africa particularly with the “Growth Enhancement Support Scheme (GES) Dry Season, 2016.” The report highlights key progress on food security and financial inclusion for farmers across 30 states in Nigeria.

The program which set out to service 500,000 farmer-households in 4 value chains, accomplished 92% of the targeted subsidized service, but as a result on-boarded an additional 200,000 farmers into a financial support platform. 400 Agribusinesses and more than 1000 jobs werecreated as a result of the program.

The report highlighted the effects of technology on agriculture as well as projections for the industry.

Since 2011, by the use of technology, governments have been able to eliminate corruption, promote transparency and transform the Agricultural sector; In Nigeria where there is a clear disconnect between Broad Street (Financial sector) and Main Street (our inner cities and rural areas), interventions like GES become very important when it comes to the creation of real growth in the economy; With the dry season program impacting more than 350,000 farmers, enough food will be produced to feed roughly 120M Nigerians for two months; In 2017, private sectors and financial partners will begin to test pilot the injection of loans into the system; Messer Cellulant, has arranged the consortium of financial sector actors who have agreed to deploy a loan book portfolio of $100 million into smallholder farmers’ micro loans.
The goal is to achieve 1,736,445 farmers borrowing betweenJune 2017, to July, 2018.

This transformation was made possible by the Agrikore platformalso known as the “e-wallet” platform.Agrikore was developed by Cellulant for Nigeria in 2012. The Agrikore platform at its core, provides the tools for the creation of a structured agribusiness economy (agriconomy). The platform provides value for users which includesensuring a start to endmanagement of interventions (schemes), providing visibility of the cashflow movements within the schemes,enabling the management of accounts,executing payment and reconciliation processes, as well as enablingstart and end to end management of services, products catalogue and inventories.

Liberia is the first country outside of Nigeria to have adopted and implemented theAgrikore platform and all its elements fully. Other countries such as Togo and Malawi are in advanced stages of replicating this system. Governments from the Middle East have also indicated interest in the implementation of the platform.

Agharese Emokpae, popularly known as A’rese, the winner of the first edition of The Voice Nigeria singing competition, relished the hospitality of Etihad Airways, the national airline of the United Arab Emirates, during her all-expense paid visit to Abu Dhabi, courtesy of the airline.


A’rese had a first-hand experience of the unique and modern city which is fast becoming one of the world’s most exciting cultural and commercial tourism hubs, providing visitors with the opportunity to experience the best of traditional and modern Arabian hospitality.


Whilst in Abu Dhabi, A’rese visited some of the capital’s popular tourist attractions which included Ferrari World, and Yas Waterworld, where she had fun on the world’s fastest rollercoaster ride, the world’s first hydro-magnetic six-person waterslide, and the largest sheet-wave surf ride ever created. Other places she visited included the souk at Al Mina port, and other heritage sights.


Commenting on her Abu Dhabi visit, A’rese said: “Winning the competition was like a dream come true – and the hospitality onboard Etihad Airways and the welcoming ambience of the city provided a tremendous experience that I would recommend to everyone.”


Etihad Airways was proud sponsor of the first The Voice Nigeria national singing competition, which attracted strong talent from across the country, with around 32 contestants competing in a series of regional rounds - before the winner being selected in a grand finale which was held in Lagos last year.


Etihad Airways launched its service between Lagos and Abu Dhabi on 1 July 2012 and currently operates four-times-per-week using an Airbus A330-200 aircraft configured to carry 254 guests, with 18 in Business Class and 236 in Economy Class.

CORPORATE COMMUNICATIONS AWARDS (CCAs) 2017: CELEBRATING EXTRAORDINARY ACHIEVEMENTS IN CORPORATE COMMUNICATIONS

In a bid to recognize and celebrate unsung heroes behind outstanding reputation Management and Communications campaigns, the Corporate Communications Awards (CCAs), which is the first of its kind in Nigeria, is set to hold on the 1st of April, 2017, at Lagos Oriental Hotel.
The Corporate Communication Awards (CCAs) was created because Communications professionals are not adequately acknowledged in this part of the world.

Conspicuously, most awards for Nigerian practitioners today are mainly organized by foreign bodies/groups. It is safe to say that these awards do not fully reflect the African peculiarities; hence, the Corporate Communications Awards (CCAs) The awards which have ten carefully selected categories will be deliberated upon by seasoned Communications, Media professionals and Educationists in Nigeria and the Diaspora.

The award categories for this year will be grouped into two: The Professional Votes; which consists of the Corporate Communications professional of the year, PR campaign of the year, Best Rebranding Project. The General Votes; consisting of Good Use of Individual PR, Best Use of Video, Good use of PR in Entertainment. The professional votes will be cast by Corporate Communications professional while the General Votes will be open to the general public. More information on how to vote can be found on www.ccasng.org

According to one of the organizers, Tampiri Irimagha-Akemu; “Against all odds, the Nigerian Public Relations industry has grown tremendously over the last few years and it is imperative that we have awards made by us and for us.’’

“We are particularly elated about the CCAs because it will reward and motivate professionals that have worked diligently to add value to brands and organizations. The CCAs will not only highlight excellent professionals, it will also improve best practices in PR and Corporate Communications Industry.”

Speaking about the awards, a member of the Advisory Board; Prof "Speaking about the awards, a member of the Advisory Board, Dr. Ikechukwu Obiaya, Dean School of Media and Communication, Pan-Atlantic University, said.“I am excited to be a part of the CCAs, as an educationist with practical experience in the media; I understand the importance of recognizing hard work.

This award is a great avenue to reward profound and dedicated professionals in the Corporate Communications Industry so I commend the organizers of this initiative and I hope to be a part of the deliberations next year. I congratulate all winners in advance’’ He added.

CCA Advisory Board also includes other highly seasoned experts like; Mrs. Habiba Balogun – Lead Consultant, Habiba Balogun Consult, Omasan Ogisi - GM Corporate Affairs MTN NG, Mrs. Adesuwa Onyenokwe – Editor in Chief, TW Magazine, Emeka Oparah- Director, Communications and CSR Airtel NG, international partner: Jennifer Hardie – CEO, International School of Communication/ Pinnacle PR (UK&UAE) and organiser Mrs Tampiri Irimagha Akemu – Managing, Director, Sesema Public Relations.

Our International partnerships with two recognized institutions includes; The International School of Communication (ISOC), a private institution of higher learning that operates worldwide with headquarters in London and a training centre in Dubai. The School of Media and Communications (SMC), Pan Atlantic University is a foremost institution offering high quality education in communication and media; to be a reference point for research in Africa, and to be a leading centre of learning globally.

In line with its objective of fostering growth in the Nigerian Communications landscape, the CCAs will also feature the second edition of the Corporate Communications Pitch Competition (CCPC); which is targeted at identifying and providing enabling career frameworks for promising budding Communications professionals. Winners of the CCPC will be awarded a 6-month paid Internship and N260, 000 cash prize. The panel of Judges for the CCPC includes Japheth Omojuwa, and Dr, Mike Okolo of4 the School of Media and Communications, Pan Atlantic University. CCPC has a strategic partnership with School of Media and Communication.


For more information visit www.ccas.org.ng and our social media platforms Instagram and Twitter; @ccasng facebook; @CCANigeria
For Sponsorship and partnership enquiries send an e -mail info@ccas.org.ng or call +234(0) 908 680 6844

A new film to be produced by Maysquare studios and Adesuwa Onyenokwe – publisher of the popular Total Woman magazine and the producer of the show Seriously Speaking is set to cause a bubble in the film industry.

Themed around abuse against women, the producers held a significant unveiling event to kick start the process at the Silverbird Galleria in the presence of partners, film enthusiasts and the media.

The film, inspired by true life events will have prominent actors such as Damilola Adegbite Attoh, Kanayo O. Kanayo and comedian Akpororo. Also starring in the movie for the first time after a very long time will be international on-air personality and television host, IK Osakioduwa and popular radio show host, Yolanda George Adams fondly called Aunt Landa amongst others. The film will be shot in May in Lagos, Abuja and the United Kingdom.



Speaking at the launch, the wife of the former governor of Ekiti State, founder of the African Women’s Development Fund and women’s rights activist, Erelu Bisi Fayemi stressed that the message was timely and that there was no better time for the production of the movie giving her commitment to support the project.

Also speaking at the event, the founder of WFM, Toun Okewale shared a real life experience and passionately expressed her support for the project while calling on attendees to also support the film and what it stands for.

The producers of the movie, Peju Fadirepo and Adesuwa Onyenokwe noted that the project was not just a movie but a movement adding that the film will be extremely entertaining and hilarious without losing its salient and timely message.

Click link to vote http://theinsiderng.com/ccas-2017-voting-first-ever-corporate-communications-awards/