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Tag: Foundation

  • Foundation, LASIEC partner on capacity building

    Foundation, LASIEC partner on capacity building

    The International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES) will support Lagos State Independent Electoral Commission (LASIEC) to conduct free, fair and credible elections into the state’s 57 councils. The state has 20 local governments and 37 Local Council Development Areas (LCDAs).

    At a meeting with LASIEC, the foundation’s representatives, Mrs Uloma Osuala and Mr Obaje Ukeh, said IFES was ready to hold a capacity building seminar for electoral officers and others on voter education. It will also develop manuals for the commission, design voter education materials and establish an election support centre to enable the commission monitor progress and development on the field on election day.

    They hailed LASIEC for having a data base of ad-hoc staff it engaged in the last council election in the state.

    Stressing the need for more effective collaboration between Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and State Independent Electoral Commissions (SIECs), the foundation called for the establishment of a functional secretariat for the Forum of State Independent Electoral Commissions of Nigeria (FOSIECON), an umbrella body for the country’s 36 SIECs.

    LASIEC Chairman Justice Abdul-Fatai Adeyinka said the delineation of wards and creation of additional polling units embarked upon by the commission were intended to deepen democracy and make it more inclusive for those at the grassroots.

    IFES is a Washington–based international non-profit organisation founded to provide assistance and support for elections in new and emerging democracies.

  • New Foundation seeks to create new entrepreneurs

    New Foundation seeks to create new entrepreneurs

    Young graduates and goal-driven starters who wish to pursue self-employment and unearth their entrepreneurial potential will soon have access to global  training and mentorship and initial capital to start their own companies.

    This is the focus of the AnneGift Foundation, a skill-based empowerment organisation being promoted by Princess Aderonke Adelowo, the founder and Chief Executive Officer of MoreCare Services (UK) Limited.

    AnneGift will offer training and mentorship in agriculture, designs, clothing and beauty businesses among others. The Foundation has already raised its initial capital and setting up its multi-purpose farm settlement in Ilaro, Ogun State where it will train young entrepreneurs on state-of-the-art farming techniques.

    In an interview with The Nation, Adelowo said the Foundation plans to collaborate with some Nigerian banks and organisations to provide funding for the members of the Foundation with a view to boosting the development o Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in Nigeria.

    She  said the Foundation will work on the United Kingdom model of entrepreneurial empowerment under which funds are used to purchase required facilities and equipment for the entrepreneurs rather than direct disbursement of the funds to the beneficiaries.

    “My experience in UK is that, such money is not released directly to the beneficiaries. The approach there is that the equipment and assets needed to set up are purchased and made available to the beneficiaries. Money is never given to those starting up good businesses, but without financial strength. This is to avoid expending the money on something else. My determination is to replicate similar standard and approach in Nigeria, especially on supporting Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and offering vocational training,” Adelowo said.

    She said the Foundation would source funds and provide guarantee for members of the group under an arrangement that allows them to own their businesses while making agreed remittances to the group to recoup the initial investment over a period o time.

    “I have looked into banks and some private organizations with respect to approach and information on how to encourage and boost SMEs in Nigeria. The Foundation is very keen on this, because training alone is like opening a wound, without treating it, the wound will get deteriorated. The Foundation has also got information on availability of funds in certain banks where loans can be sourced for skill acquisition programme. My focus is to ensure that, when such money is available, it is used for the purpose it was collected,” Adelowo said.

    According to her, for those graduate trainees of the Foundation who chose to leave after their training, the organisation shall support them by introducing them to where they can access funds.

    She said her Foundation would assist Nigeria to repatriate its huge human capital that is wasting away in foreign countries by assisting and encouraging Nigerians without proper documentations and tangible means of livelihood abroad to return to Nigeria.

    She noted the increasingly difficult economic environment in Europe and America pointing out that now in UK, any company that employs illegal immigrants will earn a minimum fine of 10,000 pounds, therefore, making it difficult to get jobs now in England.

    “The Foundation will counsel Nigerians to return home and make themselves available for vocational training, which is being initiated by AnneGift back in Nigeria. We have got a land space that will accommodate 100 trainees at a time in Ilaro, Ogun State, South West Nigeria. The Foundation will accommodate them and ask about their area of interest – which trade they wish to learn. If it is farming, the Foundation will offer the training and support them,” Adelowo said.

    She said while the Foundation hopes to access funds from international and Nigerian organisations in future, it will run in the meantime on the initial capital she personally provided as part of her contributions to the development of the country.

    She decried the dehumanising conditions under which Nigerians work and live abroad in the quest for money, noting that such energy could be channeled to more dignifying productive ventures at home.

     

     

    “The Foundation intends to introduce and exposes its trainees to the modern technology of agricultural activities. We are working on getting additional lands in Ogun State to realize our objective of engaging as many as possible members after the training,” Adelowo said.

    She urged the government to support the Foundation by providing it with incentives adding that individual Nigerians at home and abroad should see the Foundation as a collective drive to develop the Nigerian economy.

    “The Foundation will continuously encourage and call for support of financial empowerment and SMEs. We shall encourage the youths to embrace entrepreneurship. There will also be sensitization on the urgent need for the young graduates to change focus, regarding insistence on getting white collar jobs; that there are jobs for youths and willing entrepreneurs to engage themselves. We shall continue to impress it on people that abroad is not a bed of roses; that there, people work diligently to get money. We shall discourage people selling off their properties or resigning their lucrative jobs in Nigeria, just to travel abroad and stay, but in the end, what is available are menial jobs.  We shall continue to encourage people to invest in their mental and physical assets in Nigeria for economic empowerment and wealth creation projects. Nigeria is blessed, so our people should moderate the passion to travel abroad,” Adelowo said.

     

    She said the Foundation would partner with willing vocational bodies and educational institutions to complement its on-site training and ensure that it deploys its expertise to enhancing quality of training in the educational institutions.

    She called on the Nigerian politicians to provide quality leadership and create enabling environment for the improvement of the living standards of Nigerians.

    “Nigerian leaders visit abroad regularly. They observe and witness how system works in the West. Nigerian leaders should replicate the good experience they encounter abroad. The leaders should not visit abroad just for the fun of it. They should introduce the productive system encounter in Nigeria as well,” Adelowo said.

     

  • Foundation offers medical services

    Dangote Foundation has offered free health care services to the vulnerable and the poor in Katsina State.

    The programme is in continuation of its effort to create wider access to health care for the less-privileged.

    Thousands of ailing people, including elders and children, were treated free at the General Hospital in Kankia Local Government.

    The free medical outreach includes consultation, medicines and minor operations; advocacy on health and nutrition to women; and training of interns and workers.

    The programme was carried out in collaboration with the Katsina State government; Give-Back Nigeria, a United Kingdom (UK)-based charity organisation and Gachi Development Foundation.

    Governor Aminu Bello Masari, who inaugurated the three-day medical services, thanked the foundation and its collaborators.

    He described it as “a service to humanity for which God will surely reward the sponsors.”

    Programme was being mapped out by his administration to tackle health care challenges, adding that the Dangote Foundation has “greatly assisted in quickening the health programme”.

    The governor urged other spirited organisations to support the government to ensure the poor accessed quality healthcare services.

    The foundation’s Chief Executive Officer, Mrs. Zouera Youssouffou, said they sponsored the free medical outreach because the health sector was a critical part of the group’s focus in contributing to the uplift of the society and the people.

    She said issues bordering on the people’s health were of concern to the Dangote Foundation and that was why it was involved in ensuring poor Nigerians benefited from sound health care services.

    “We were very active in the fight against the dreaded Ebola and jointly we defeated it. We also mounted a lot of campaigns to see that polio was eradicated. We are happy that today, one year down the line, no single case of polio has been recorded.

    “This shows that collectively, we can eradicate most of the diseases ravaging our people if we deploy the will. We in Dangote Foundation believe that health is wealth, and economic activity can succeed when the people are not ill,” Mrs. Youssouffou said.

    She added that the foundation would support the federal and state governments.

    The initiative came after the Dangote Foundation, in association with Bill and Melinda Bates Foundation, intervened in the fight against polio.

    The intervention helped in the eradication of the disease with news that no case has been recorded in the country in the last one year.

    Over the years, the foundation has injected huge amount of money to the development of the health sector.

    It is constructing N440 million state-of-the-art theatre and diagnostic centre at the Murtala Muhammed Specialist Hospital in Kano.

    The foundation has disbursed about N600 million in the last three years on routine immunisation and primary healthcare in Kano State, as well as the building of 11 units of primary health care centres in its 11 councils.

     

     

  • Foundation empowers 150 artisans

    Foundation empowers 150 artisans

    NO  fewer than 150 men and women have graduated from the vocational training by the Chris Okafor Foundation (COF).

    The graduands, who were trained in various vocations, also got N50, 000 each to start their businesses.

    COF’s founder, Dr. Chris Okafor, urged the graduates to make sure that the purpose of the training was not wasted, adding that they must all ensure that they build  successful businesses.

    Shedding light on the Foundation’s gesture, Okafor, who is the General Overseer of Liberation City Ministries International, said it was also borne out of the need to teach people how to fish and not to give them fish.

    After their training, he explained, the church felt it was important to be the first to sow into their businesses, because ‘’we know how difficult it is to raise capital for business, so we decided to kick start it for them, even as we continue to mentor and monitor their progress’’.

    “Let me advise you not to despise the days of small beginning. From here, you can all become big and internationally renowned entrepreneur,” Okafor urged.

    He explained that the initiative was one of his modest ways of contributing to the development of the country, calling on other body of Christ to emulate the gesture of the church as this will reduce the rate of unemployment in the country.

    Okafor further said the responsibility of the church is not only to delivered people or win their soul for Christ, but also to empower them with skills and cash so they can be independent.

    Some of the graduates thanked the  Foundation for putting smiles on their faces.

    For 21 days, the trainees, drawn from all works of life, converged on the Liberation City Headquarters for  the skills acquisition programme, where leading professionals in Fashion hoen their skills.

  • Lafarge, foundation kick off contest

    To promote quality education in Nigeria, Lafarge Africa Plc and Ovie Brume Foundation have commenced the Second edition of Lafarge-Ovie Brume Literacy Competition.

    It is organised yearly to promote literacy skills across public primary school pupils in the country and to engage them in activities that will showcase their ability to read, write and spell correctly.

    The Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Lafarge Africa, Peter Hoddinott said the company is committed to promoting academic excellence among pupils in primary schools across the country and creating opportunities for them to sharpen their literacy skill and build their self-confidence in line with its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).

    “Education is the bedrock of development of any country and the gateway to success in life. This is why Lafarge Africa is keen about creating opportunities and platforms where Nigerian children will be given the needed support to help them realise the potential in them and achieve excellence.

    “We recorded remarkable success from the first edition and testimonials abound. More importantly, its impact on pupils and on the development of education in Nigeria is gradually growing,” he noted.

    The Executive Director Ovie Brume Foundation, Mrs. Iwalola Akin-Jimoh reiterated the Vision of the Foundation, saying: it is aimed at “a society where everyone is educated and empowered” and that by so doing, it is creating an enabling environments for young people by mobilising and dedicating resources for the provision of formal and informal education, secured livelihood, social and policy brokerage thereby enabling them to set and achieve their goals, maximise their positive energies with sufficient sense of responsibility to give back to their local communities and the country.

    According to the organisers, this year’s edition of the competition had begun with the first regional phase in Port Harcourt. From there, the train moved to the Southeast and Northeast. It would be the turn of the Northcentral on August 12, Northwest August 15 and Southwest September 16. The grand finale would hold in Lagos on September 29.

    The contest features literacy tests, essay/summary writing and Spelling Bees to evaluate reading and writing abilities.

    It is one of the CSR initiatives powered by employees of Lafarge Africa in partnership with the Ovie Brume Foundation.

     

    a non-governmental organisation focused on youth education and empowerment.

    Last year, Akwa Ibom State emerged winners in the maiden edition of the literacy competition to win a Kindle e-learning tablet.

  • Tony Elumelu Foundation backs private sector economic growth

    The Tony Elumelu Foundation has reiterated its commitment to private sector economic growth and giving the operators a leading role in Africa’s development.

    Africapitalism, the economic philosophy first developed by Tony O. Elumelu, back in 2010, and has been heavily influenced by his long career as a banker, investor, entrepreneur and philanthropist.

    The Africapitalism Institute and Durham University Business School, co-hosted a day-long academic symposium on the economic philosophy called “Africapitalism” at the Foundation’s headquarters in Lagos.

    The primary goals of Mr. Elumelu’s Africapitalism mission are to promote public policies that facilitate private sector growth, to educate established businesses about how Africapitalist business practices can enhance both profits and prosperity, and to address the specific needs of Africa’s emerging entrepreneurs as the best source of new and inclusive local value creation.

    “The purpose of today’s discussion is to explore the key issues influencing Africapitalism as an economic philosophy from the perspective and scrutiny of academia,” said David Rice, Director of the Africapitalism Institute at the Tony Elumelu Foundation.

    “Years ago, Mr. Elumelu developed this philosophy from the perspective of a practitioner and his role as a banker, businessman, investor, and entrepreneur.  Now his Foundation is supporting the rigorous, independent analysis of Africapitalism’s merits.”

    Several distinguished faculty members from Durham University made presentations to a diverse audience that included scholars, students, business people and investors.

    Participating faculty members included Professor Geoff Moore, Chair of Business Ethics and Deputy Dean; Professor Mehmet Asutay, an expert in Islamic Finance; senior lecturer Dr. Emmanuel Adegbite, who spoke about Africapitalism and corporate governance; and Mark Learnmonth, Professor of Organizational Studies.  The day’s agenda was driven by Dr. Adegbite, who is a member of the Africapitalism Research Project team led by Professor Kenneth Amaeshi, who has appointments at Edinburgh University in Scotland and at Lagos Business School.

  • MTN Foundation turns out music talents with fanfare

    MTN Foundation turns out music talents with fanfare

    The Agip Recital Hall, MUSON centre, venue of this year’s 8th Graduation Ceremony of the MTN Foundation-MUSON Music Scholars Programme was filled to capacity with enthusiastic guests made up of music lovers, friends and relatives of the graduating students as the MTNF Awardees bow out of the two years Diploma programme.

    The ceremony started with the MTNF/MUSON Scholars appreciation concert where the graduating students exhibited their mastery of musical instruments and vocal renditions.  Guests at the event got excited as the graduands dished out some contemporary Nigerian tunes with their classical musical instruments.

    The 21 scholars, who graduated with Diplomas in Music, are the eighth set of beneficiaries of the MTN Foundation’s music scholarship programme.

    The highpoint of the musical concert was the special appearance of MTN’s Brand ambassadors, Cobhams and Sound Sultan, who displayed their dexterity in the art of singing and playing  instruments.

    Mr. Dennis Okoro, Director, MTN Foundation, in his speech, commended the graduating students for living up to the values of the MTN Foundation. He stated that such qualities as diligence and dedication coupled with their determination has made them successful on the programme.

    “So far, the MTN Foundation has invested over N200 million in the MTNF-MUSON Music Scholars Programme. In the past 9 years, the programme has produced 212 music scholars who have received exposure to the highest standards of composing and production of world class music. This includes the 21 Music Scholars that graduated in this 8th Graduation Ceremony” Okoro said.

    Speaking further on the impact of the programme, Okoro informed that “recently, some of our awardees got opportunities to compete with the rest of the world in Italy and Spain. Many of them are  sought locally and internationally and they are doing very well, making their marks across the world.”

    Presenting the best three graduating students who had lived up to the standards of the MTN Foundation values of leadership, excellence, creativity and integrity, Ms. Nonny Ugboma, Executive Secretary, MTNF counseled the winners to ensure they maintain those qualities that made them distinct. The winners were: OladimejiAdelaja; Olusegun Alphonso and OlusolaOlufa.  The graduands expressed their appreciation to MTN Foundation by rendering a special song titled “everywhere you go.”

    The Guest Speaker, Mr. Yemi Akinsanya, while commending the MTN Foundation for championing the Music Scholars programme, expressed his assurances that the graduands will be good ambassadors of MTNF as they go ahead in their pursuit of excellence.

    The MTNF/MUSON Music Scholarship Programme was instituted to provide less privileged, but  talented students, an opportunity to acquire qualitative music education. The scholarship covers tuition, books, and daily stipends.

  • Emmanuel lays foundation for automobile firm

    Emmanuel lays foundation for automobile firm

    Akwa Ibom State Governor Udom Emmanuel has said his administration is committed to the industrialisation of the state.

    The governor spoke yesterday when he laid the foundation of an automobile assembling plant in Itu Local Government Area.

    The assembling plant, which is one of the gains of the Foreign Direct Investments (FDIs), belongs to an Israeli company, MIMSHAC Merkavim Transportation Technologies Plant.

    Emmanuel said the ground-breaking ceremony was the answer to those who doubted the possibility of industrialising the state.

    He said: “If there is anybody out there who doubts our determination to change the economic fortunes of the state; who is wondering whether our bold vision of industrialising Akwa Ibom is possible, this event provides the answer to such doubt.”

    Emmanuel premised his partnership with the Israeli Automobile Industry on the need to open up vistas for the industrialisation programmes of his administration.

    The governor said industrialisation remained the cornerstone to the creation of sustainable development.

    He said Akwa Ibom is endowed with abundant resources, which would be harnessed for the state’s industrial development.

    According to him, his administration plans to establish a clay refining plant to boost the economy and create jobs for the people, to fulfil his campaign promises.

    The Chairman of Foreign Direct Investment Committee, Mr. Gabriel Ukpe; the member representing Itu Federal Constituency in the National Assembly, Dr. Henry Archibong and Senator Anietie Okon, were among dignitaries at the event.

    They noted that the event was the beginning of the industrial revolution Emmanuel promised the people during his electioneering campaigns.

    The eminent Akwa Ibom indigenes expressed optimism that better days awaited the people because the governor had taken the major steps to industrialise the state.

    The International Business Development Adviser to MIMSHAC Merkavim Transportation Technologies, Mr. Ronen Golan, said the company was among leading automobile assembling plants in the world, with specialty in luxury buses, utility vehicles, ambulances and fire trucks.

    He said the company would train 20 Akwa Ibom indigenes in automobile manufacturing, besides creating more jobs, building more schools and bringing international investors to the state.

    The paramount ruler of the area, Edidem Edet Akpan Inyang, assured the company of a safe operating environment.

    He thanked Emmanuel for beginning the industrial revolution policy of his administration in his domain.

     

     

     

  • Foundation pledges support for education

    Founder and chairman, GEMS Education and the Varkey Foundation, Mr Sunny Varkey, has to give more than half of his wealth to charity to support teachers across the world provide a quality education for all children.

    The Varkey Foundation has pioneered an ambitious programme to train 250,000 teachers across Africa that is winning plaudits from government and non-government leaders across the region. The aim is to impact 10 million children. Already, 12,000 teachers have been trained in Uganda in the last two years.

    The foundation also runs Ghana’s first interactive distance-learning project – Making Ghanaian Girls Great! (MGCubed). The project will impact more than 4000 marginalised girls (aged 9-14 years) in 72 schools within two regions in Ghana (Greater Accra and Volta) and offer them an enhanced quality of education to improve their lives and transform their future.

    He signed the Giving Pledge, the initiative founded by Warren Buffett and Bill and Melinda Gates to help address society’s most pressing problems by inviting the world’s wealthiest individuals and families to commit to giving more than half of their wealth to philanthropic or charitable causes.

    Varkey said: “Fifteen years on from the Millennium Development Goals, huge global education challenges remain unmet. Around 250 million children of primary school age cannot read and write and, at current rates of progress, it will take until 2072 to eradicate youth illiteracy.

    “New 2030 targets on education are being drawn up and I hope Governments around the world will sign up to them.  But the hard truth is, that without a rapid deployment of major resources, we won’t make a real difference to the lives of the millions of children that cannot access a good quality teacher and a good quality education.

    “This is the greatest challenge of our time by which we will be judged by future generations. Time is running out for so many that could contribute so much.

    “The giving pledge community is a group of exceptional individuals, and I hope to rally them and others to this vital cause”.

    Varkey will join 136 billionaire individuals and couples who have signed the pledge. These include Mark Zuckerberg, co founder, chairman and chief executive of Facebook, Richard Branson, chairman and founder of Virgin Group and Ted Turner, founder of CNN.

    The goal behind the pledge is to talk about giving in an open way and create an atmosphere that can draw more people into philanthropy. He will become a signatory of the giving pledge at an annual event where those who take the pledge will come together to share ideas and learn from one another and outside experts about how to give most effectively in order to solve the world’s most pressing challenges.   “I am delighted to sign the Giving Pledge. I was fortunate that I grew up in a family where charity was ingrained in us from a very early age. Even when my father earned a small amount, a large portion was shared with the community we lived in, sometimes at the cost of our own comfort.

    “To this day, our underlying philosophy remains that good giving ‘pinches’, meaning that the sacrifice you make has to be felt. Therein lies the appeal of the Giving Pledge to my family.

    “I have also always believed that education is key to fixing so many of the world’s greatest problems: violence, poverty and health. These two pillars of charity and education have always guided me, and out of them came the Varkey Foundation, which focuses on capacity building interventions for teachers and school leaders, and championing their work through initiatives such as the Global Teacher Prize. “Through the Giving Pledge we hope to shine a spotlight on the millions of children that do not have access to a quality teacher and quality education,” he added.

    Bill Gates, co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, said: “When we started the Giving Pledge five years ago, we had no idea we’d get this many people to come together. It has really grown, first in the U.S. but more recently all over the world.

    “We hope to intensify philanthropy and encourage people to get started younger. It’s exciting to see people becoming bolder and more thoughtful in their giving. This is about building on a wonderful tradition of philanthropy that will ultimately help the world become a much better place.”

    The Varkey Foundation’s projects include teacher training and pupil education programmes in Africa, which has trained 12,000 teachers to date, and aims to impact upon the lives of 10 million children. It also produces original research such as the Global Teacher Status Index.

    Last year, the Varkey Foundation launched the Global Teacher Prize. Widely referred to as the Nobel Prize for teaching, the US$1 millionaward is the largest prize of its kind. It was set up to recognise one exceptional teacher who has made an outstanding contribution to the profession as well as shine a spotlight on the important role teachers play in society. By unearthing thousands of stories of heroes that have transformed young people’s lives, the prize hopes to bring to life the exceptional work of millions of teachers all over the world.

  • Foundation sponsors Empretec training for youth corps members

    EMPRETEC Nigeria Foundation (ENF), a private sector initiative of United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) in collaboration with UBA Foundation Plc has concluded the training of the second phase of the UNCTAD/EMPRETEC Graduate Entrepreneurship Programme (GEP) for National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members nationwide.

    The training programme commenced on Monday  June 8 and ended Tuesday June  16 _2015.

    The training took the participants through the theoretical and practical aspects of entrepreneurship. They also developed detailed business plans and simulations on running actual small businesses during the six day training.

    In her remarks at the closing ceremony of the program the Country Director, Empretec Nigeria Foundation; Mrs Onari Duke,  charged the Corp members to keep practicing all the training and skills acquired.

    The MD/CEO of UBA Foundation, Ms Ijeoma Aso, also encouraged the trainees to keep improving their skills.

    The Corps Members thanked Empretec Nigeria Foundation and United Bank for Africa for the “once in a lifetime opportunity” provided to them by the training.