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Tag: Bill Gates

  • Five useful tips for introverted entrepreneurs

    Five useful tips for introverted entrepreneurs

    Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, Warren Buffett and many of the world’s most successful entrepreneurs either are or have admitted that they are,to a large extent, introverts. It is possible for introverts to become great entrepreneurs. Jumia Travel [1], the leading online travel agency,shares five  useful tips for introverted entrepreneurs.

    HAVE A RECHARGE TIME
    Introverts need time to themselves, time away from social interactions and activities, if not they will eventually run out of energy, lose their composure and stop being productive. Many introverts understand this aspect of their personality, and to become a successful entrepreneur it’s important they find time away from it all to be by themselves (or around those they are comfortable with) and just recharge. This can be as simple as taking a 10 to 15 minutes break to yourself during the day, or taking a long weekend to yourself in the long term.

    INTENTIONALLY BUILD RELATIONSHIPS
    Building relationships isn’t very easy for introverts. It’s easier for them to be the object of relationship building as opposed to them actually being the ones to initiate the process. Unfortunately, you cannot be a successful entrepreneur if you are unable to build good relationships. In this case, your passion for entrepreneurship will have to win and take precedence over your discomfort with building relationships. Being intentional with building relationships (that is, not being emotional about the whole thing) and making yourself reach out to those around you is an easier way to build necessary relationships.

    USE YOUR STRENGTHS WELL
    Social interactions might be the one major weakness of introverts, but they also have great strengths that are vital to entrepreneurial success. Introverts have great listening skills. In a world where most people speak before they think, introverts naturally do the opposite and listen first before they speak. It is thus easier for them to get needed information to make smart decisions and enhance everything about their business, from sales to marketing. The listening skill is a very valuable tool for successful entrepreneurs.

    LEARN TO LIVE OUTSIDE OF YOUR COMFORT ZONE
    To be a successful introverted entrepreneur, you’ll ultimately learn how to live outside of your comfort zone. This is because virtually every day you will encounter situations and scenarios that will take you out of your comfort zone. But if you’re really passionate about entrepreneurship, you’ll have to make that conscious decision daily to let passion win over comfort.

    DELEGATE OR OUTSOURCE TASKS YOU CAN’T HANDLE
    In the end, you’re an entrepreneur not a dare devil. You can’t keep living out of your comfort zone, which is why you need time to recharge in the first place. However, you have to be wise and be able to determine the tasks that are just not necessary for you to handle and outsource or delegate these tasks to an individual or group that can handle it better. Have some extroverts around that can handle certain  of your business easier than you would, while you can take on the more crucial aspects. You’re an entrepreneur, not a one-man army, and like Bill Gates admitted, a business can’t be managed and operate by an entire group of introverts, some extroverted influence is involved.

     

     

     

  • Trump slips 220 spots on Forbes list, Bill Gates remains top

    Trump slips 220 spots on Forbes list, Bill Gates remains top

    U.S. President Donald Trump slipped 220 spots on Forbes 2017 Billionaires List while Bill Gates topped the list for the forth straight year.

    According to the list Trump lost one billion dollars, with his worth dropping from 4.5 billion dollars to 3.5 billion dollars.

    That was enough to see the president fall from the 324th to 554th spot on the list.

    Forbes pinned his wealth shrinkage on the receding real estate market.

    Forty per cent of Trump’s wealth is tied up in Trump Tower and eight other buildings within a short distance of it.

    “Midtown Manhattan real estate is down; therefore, so is Donald Trump’s fortune,” Forbes said.

    Trump took issue with Forbes’ data in the past, saying it disregards his brand value.

    In his presidential campaign, Trump acclaimed that he was worth 8.7 billion dollars, then “in excess” of 10 billion dollars in a personal financial disclosure form.

    “We do not give any credit for ‘brand value’ to Trump or Oprah or any other person on our list,” Forbes editor Randall Lane told the Washington Post.

    “We feel a person’s brand value is already reflected in income and value of the deals they cut.”

    Bill Gates still ranked the richest person in the world with an estimated fortune of 86 billion dollars.

    He was followed by Warrant Buffet, the chief of Berkshire Hathaway, whose wealth is around 75.6 billion dollars.

    Amazon founder Jeff Bezos came third, followed by Amancio Ortega from Spanish clothing retailer Zara.

    Facebook creator Mark Zuckerberg came fifth.

    The global billionaire population climbed nearly 13 percent from 1810 to 2043 over the past year.

    This annual increase is at an all-time high in the 31-year history of the list, Forbes said.

    The U.S. had the most billionaires with a number of 565, and China came the second with 319 billionaires.

  • Bill Gates shuns Liverpool approach

    Bill Gates shuns Liverpool approach

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates was reportedly contacted by Liverpool regarding a potential takeover when the club were attempting to push American businessmen Tom Hicks and George Gillett out of the club.

    In legal documents relating to a court battle between Mill Financial, Gillett and the Royal Bank of Scotland, it has been revealed that Gates, who is worth an estimated £68.3 billion, was contacted but he opted not to respond.

    According to the Liverpool Echo, New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, who celebrated his team winning their fifth Super Bowl title last Sunday, was also contacted.

    The publication has revealed details of a deposition involving former Liverpool chairman Sir Martin Broughton, who was asked if “there was at least an attempt to contact Bill Gates and Bob Kraft in the US?”

     

    He responded, “Correct” before adding that the club were “making contacts with people around the world” in a bid to oust Hicks and Gillett, who eventually agreed to sell the club in April 2010.

    Fenway Sports Group, headed by John W Henry, eventually bought the Premier League club in October of that year.

  • Bill Gates: Nigeria can defeat polio

    Microsoft co-founder  Bill Gates has expressed optimism on the capability of Nigeria to defeat polio despite the challenges of accessing children in the most vulnerable areas for immunisation.

    Gates, who spoke to the Voice of America “Africa 54” programme,   described as disappointing the two new reported cases of polio in the Northeast after much success in the  eradication of the disease. But he expressed confidence that the situation would be controlled.

    He called for greater partnership with governments in the northeast to tackle the situation.

    “Our main challenge is that we have kids who the vaccinators have a tough time finding. Reaching the kids in an unsecure environment can be very complex, and so we’re going to need great partnerships with the governments in the region, particularly in Borno State,” Gates said.

    On the accessibility to endemic areas of the country, despite security challenges, Health Minister Prof Isaac Adewole said troops were accompanying health workers to affected areas and children were being vaccinated. He added that the government had declared a polio emergency in the area.

    Adewole said military medical teams had also joined in reaching the areas as well as collaborating on the ongoing vaccination at the Internally Displaced camps (IDPs).

    The World Health Organisation (WHO), at the Regional Committee meeting in Addis Ababa, pledged to support the country in eradicating polio.

  • Gates, Bezos fund new cancer test with $100m

    Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos have invested more than 100 million dollars in a new cancer test.

    Grail, the company developing the test, said on Tuesday in Beijing that the method was a universal blood test to identify early-stage cancers in people with no symptoms.

    Jay Flatley, Illumina Chief Executive, who would serve as chairman of Grail, said the technology was aimed at detecting newly-forming cancers, and treat them at an earlier stage to increase the chances of survival.

    He said the company started this new test 18 months ago, and that it was estimated to take at least an additional year of research and development to refine it.

    Flatley said the process was being carried out through a technique called a “liquid biopsy’’.

    “It scans patients’ blood streams for signs of cancer DNA, which can indicate that a tumor is forming, even if a doctor can’t see it on a scan and the patient hasn’t experienced any symptoms,” he said.

  • Forgive us if we offended you, Jonathan pleads

    Forgive us if we offended you, Jonathan pleads

    President Goodluck Jonathan on Sunday delivered his valedictory message to worshipers at the Aso Rock Chapel during a thanksgiving service.

    Excerpts from the message follows:

    “No system is perfect. Every human system must have an element of imperfection. For the period of eight years that we have been here. I will take the period as a block because my transition from VP to President was gradual and complicated. It was intertwined so you cannot actually draw the line.

    “Because when the President was challenged within major health issues, I was running the country for sometimes even before the doctrine of necessity made me as acting president. Then I took over at first and conducting the 2011 election I won and I had to run my full four years as an elected president.

    “So for the eight that one has been there, definitely one is not perfect. We have certainly done things that probably we wouldn’t have done that way, but we didn’t do things deliberately. So for those who we have offended it was not deliberate, it was circumstances of the office.

    “So we also plead that those people should forgive, we think we have done our best. You can do your best and your friends may misunderstand you. Today we are talking about leaving, it is only God that knows why things go the way they do.

    “We came in as Vice President and my wife, today we are leaving as the former president and former First Lady. We have achieved it through you. Let me specifically thank the chaplain, the clergymen, the pastors and their wives.

    “For the past eight years we have every reason to be thankful to God. Every individual has his/her own calling. I also believe that people who take over political leadership have their own callings to do specific things. No one, head of a government, be it at the national level or the sub- regional levels can do every thing.

    “But when you leave, you will want to do something to show that yes I was here. The chaplain has said that nothing is perfect, if you wait for perfection, you cannot achieve anything.

    “Ordinarily 24th of May would haven been the last Service here. But that 24th, we will all go to the National Christian Centre for the inauguration service. So for me and my wife, this is our last day of worship here.

    “Though we are leaving as president and First Lady, but we have not left you, because we are still in this country, we will continue to interact one way or the other, probably along the line we may even come closer. I believe some of you may even come closer, and even do more meaningful things together when we leave office.

    I don’t really believe that it is only in government that you can do thing, even outside government you do a lot of things. The richest people in the world don’t even serve in government.

    Dangote has never been in government, so you don’t need to be in government to be rich. Bill Gates has not been in government. So outside government a lot of things happen, it is for us to be committed and continue to be focus. Me and my wife really love all of you.”

  • Boko Haram stalls African aid projects – World Bank

    Boko Haram stalls African aid projects – World Bank

    Threats and killings by Boko Haram militants are jeopardizing World Bank-funded agriculture, health and water projects in parts of Nigeria, Cameroon and Chad, a bank official said Friday.

    A vice president for the financial institution, Makhtar Diop, said insurgency has set back projects to improve the livelihoods of people in famine-stricken northern Nigeria, Cameroon and southern Chad.

    The American billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates said separately that insurgency by Boko Haram is affecting a donor-backed target to record no cases of polio in Nigeria.

    In northern Cameroon, a high-poverty area that’s vulnerable to natural disasters, a $108 million grant is stagnating instead of rehabilitating embankments, dams and irrigation systems and improving disaster-preparedness.

    Diop met with Cameroon President Paul Biya to discuss how Boko Haram has created panic and slowed the execution of some World Bank-financed projects.

    Diop told the Voice of America (VOA) they talked about economic development and how to increase “the conditions of peace and stability and try also to see how we can strengthen all the social protection programs to alleviate poverty.”

    Investors and foreign workers also are leaving far northern Cameroon.  Chinese road construction engineers left Mora, on the border with Nigeria, after suspected Boko Haram members kidnapped 10 of their workers in May.

    Cameroon, Benin, Chad, Niger and Nigeria declared war on Boko Haram in May, weeks after the militant group kidnapped at least 276 girls from their school in Chibok, Borno Sstate.

    Bill Gates told reporters in Addis Ababa that effort to eradicate polio in Nigeria is being hampered by the Boko Haram insurgency in the north.

     

  • Nigeria may be free of polio in 2018 – Bill Gates

    Nigeria may be free of polio in 2018 – Bill Gates

    Nigeria could cut the number of polio cases to zero next year and be declared free of the disease in 2018 even though a national eradication campaign has had to contend with an insurgency in the north, Bill Gates told Reuters.

    The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation supports the global initiative to wipe out polio, which includes a campaign in Nigeria, one of three nations where the crippling virus is still endemic. The other two are Pakistan and Afghanistan.

    “We have got all the challenges up in northern Nigeria, the violence from Boko Haram, and the distraction of an upcoming election,” Gates said in a telephone interview, referring to an Islamist rebel group that has in the past targeted vaccination workers, and to Nigeria’s national vote next year.

    “Despite all that, we’ve got by far the lowest numbers of cases ever,” he said. “We hope by the end of next year we’d be at zero.” He added that if there were no more cases for three years after that, Nigeria could be certified clear in 2018.

    The technology billionaire-turned-global philanthropist was speaking last week before a speech on Thursday at Addis Ababa University on development in Africa, mainly in health and agriculture.

    “We’ve got a pretty optimistic view of what can happen in Africa in those two areas,” he said before his trip to Ethiopia, a nation stricken by famine 30 years ago but which has doubled farm output in the last eight years.

    In health work, one of his most high-profile programmes is the fight against malaria, the mosquito-borne disease that infects more than 200 million people a year and kills more than 600,000 people. Nine out of 10 deaths are in Africa.

  • Dangote joins Bill Gates, others in top world’s 25 businessmen

    Dangote joins Bill Gates, others in top world’s 25 businessmen

    Barely a week after he was ranked among the 100 most influential personalities in the world by the renowned Time magazine, a leading business broadcast organisation, CNBC has ranked the foremost entrepreneur and Africa’s richest man, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, as one of the 25 people who have had most profound impact on business and finance, worldwide.

    Forbes had earlier named him as the second most powerful  blackman, coming only after the United States President, Barack Obama and the 64th most powerful in the world in the ranking of the movers and shakers of the world.

    CNBC ranked Dangote as 23th among the first 25 people who have impacted the business world most since 1989, the year CNBC went live. In the list, Steve Jobs led the pack followed by world richest, Bill Gates.

    “They have disrupted industries, sparked change and exercised an influence far beyond their own companies,” the medium said.

    The South Africa based broadcast medium said: “As CNBC embarks on its second quarter-century, it faces a world completely altered from when it started. Then, the Dow was below 2,400, Wal-Mart didn’t make the list of America’s 500 largest companies and there was no World Wide Web.

    “Only four U.S. companies have annual revenue of more than $50 billion. Today there are more than 50, including upstarts such as Apple, Microsoft, Amazon and Google. No dictionary contained the words “e-commerce” or “app.” A blog was still archaic slang for a servant boy.”

    It described the 25 men and women from different parts of the world and across different industries as having had “for better or worse, been the rebels, icons and leaders in the vanguard of that change”.

    “Here is our ranked list of the 25 people we judge to have had the most profound impact on business and finance since 1989, the year CNBC went live. They have disrupted industries, sparked change and exercised an influence far beyond their own companies.”

    As CNBC embarks on its second quarter-century, it faces a world altered from when it started. Then, the Dow was below 2,400, Wal-Mart didn’t make the list of America’s 500 largest companies and there was no World Wide Web. Only four U.S. companies had annual revenue of more than $50 billion. Today, there are more than 50, including upstarts such as Apple, Microsoft, Amazon and Google. No dictionary contained the words “e-commerce” or “app.” A blog was still archaic slang for a servant boy.

  • Boko Haram: North’s governors meet U.S. officials in Washington

    Boko Haram: North’s governors meet U.S. officials in Washington

    •Sect kills two

    •Troops kill 8 in Yobe

    Governors of some states in the North are in Washington to meet with top United States officials to seek the solution to Boko Haram insurgency.

    It could not be ascertained how many of them were already in the United States but Borno State Governor Kashim Shettima and Bauchi State Governor Isa Yuguda who arrived on Sunday took the opportunity of their early arrival to meet with the world’s richest man, Bill Gates, to get support for their states on polio eradication.

    They were at the headquarters of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation yesterday for the meeting.

    They are expected to meet with White House officials, President Barack Obama, Congresssional leaders, the National Intelligence Council and the European Union (EU) developmental agencies, among others.

    In spite of the search for the solution to the Boko Haram insurgency, there is no let to the sect’s brutality. Suspected members of the sect invaded Pela Birni village in Hawul Local Government Area of Borno State, killing two residents before setting ablaze two churches and many residential houses.

    Pela Birni is one of the populated and remote village under Kwajjafa District in southern Borno with Christian domination, and about few kilometres drive to Garkida town in Adamawa State.

    Witnesses said the gunmen who came to the village on Sunday night bore sophisticated weapons.

    Mallam Musa Anjili Pela Birni said he narrowly escaped being killed by the attackers. The house in which he was sleeping was set ablaze.

    “The gunmen invaded our village at about 10 pm on Sunday, They started shouting Allahu Akbar (God is great). They ordered residents of houses to vacate then before setting the houses on fire.”

    Another resident, who did not want his name in print, told our correspondent that most of the houses near the Church of Brethern were set ablaze. Two people died. Many others were injured.

    The gunmen used AK47 rifles, petrol bombs and Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs).

    Troops operating in the Northeast ambushed a group of terrorists on a mission to penetrate and attack Goniri Community in Gujba Local Government Area of Yobe state.

    In a statement  yesterday in Abuja,  Maj.-Gen Chris Olukolade, Director of Defence Information, said: “Troops are still in pursuit of the fleeing terrorist elements after the encounter which resulted in some casualties on both parties.

    “Rockets and machine guns were freely used by the terrorists who eventually lost over eight of their fighters with several others wounded.

    “ Arms were also captured from the terrorists while others fled.

    “ The troops, however, lost a soldier while an officer was seriously wounded in the encounter, ‘’ he said.

    Goniri is not far from Buni-Yadi where the terrorists killed pupils.

    He said troops, operating around Gamboru Ngala and Dikwa Local Government Area towards the borders of Chad and Cameroun, were busy throughout the weekend.

    He said the weapons recovered in one of the locations include four anti-aircraft guns, five machine guns and over 500 rounds of ammunitions.