The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Yellow card

  • Yellow Card to boost women in tech

    Yellow Card to boost women in tech

    A financial technology company, Yellow Card, has decried the high level of barriers faced by women in the technology space.

    Speaking in Lagos at the weekend, its Chief Operating Officer, Jason Marshall, said through the company’s YC Social Good Initiative, it intends to close this gap, equipping and preparing young African talents with the necessary skills required to shape the future of the continent.

    The company, which is also a cryptocurrency exchange platform, therefore, said through a $3,000 grant, has partnered the Web3Ladies mentorship programme to empower over 500 women with tech and blockchain skills.

    He said the move is part of its YC Social Good, company’s flagship Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Initiative, aimed at promoting financial freedom and enabling access to tech resources for everyone across the continent.

    For Yellow Card, the decision to partner with Web3Ladies, a women-centric organization, was driven by the need to provide greater access to training and tech resources for the burgeoning young population of the continent, particularly females, who face significant barriers.

    Read Also: How African tech startups can compete globally, by experts

    He said an estimated 230 million jobs in sub-Saharan Africa will require digital skills by 2030, and UNESCO estimates that only 30 per cent of women receive science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) training, with even fewer girls possessing essential digital skills for the modern workforce in the region.

    “We are committed to helping people across the African continent improve their lives through various partnerships and programs that focus on financial inclusion, youth empowerment, education, and innovation,” he said.

    Jason said women and girls face significant barriers to technology and digital literacy education, making it an easy decision to grant Web3Ladies the $3,000 for the mentorship program.

    “This is just one of our several efforts under the YC Social Good, our CSR initiatives, which promote inclusion and financial freedom across the continent,” Jason added.

    The Web3Ladies mentorship program is a three-month intensive boot camp designed to train skilled designers, engineers, and managers for the blockchain industry while providing them with the necessary tools and tech resources needed for post-training success.

    Despite Nigeria’s strong entrepreneurial spirit, only 15per cent of tech startup co-founders in Nigeria are women.  A study published by LongHash in 2018 showed that among 100 blockchain startups surveyed, female employees accounted for only 14.5per cent of the workforce. So, while the digital ecosystem is dynamic and exciting, gender inclusivity remains a growth inhibitor. Yellow Card, through this partnership, has gone beyond mere words and reiterations of the problem to contribute to the empowerment of more women, an investment they believe will yield overall positive results for the African economy in the near future.

     Associate Program Manager for Web3Ladies, Nkechi Enebeli, said the $3,000 grant to power their mentorship program, is welcome.

    “Yellow Card’s commitment to corporate social responsibility is nothing short of remarkable. Their partnership reaffirms the belief that empowering women in tech is not just a matter of equality but an investment in the future. The partnership is more than just financial support; it’s a testament to the power of collaboration. We are immensely grateful to Yellow Card for recognizing our mission and offering their hand in our journey towards a more equitable tech ecosystem, “she said.

    According to her, the Web3Ladies mentorship program runs in four different phases for a duration of three months. During the program, mentees attend live classes and weekly workshops under the guidance of on-site mentors. The workshops are in-depth sessions on specific blockchain topics delivered by industry experts and experienced professionals. There are over 500 registered mentees and an intake of over 200 accepted applicants in the current cohort. “We are looking to provide work tools such as laptops, inverters, and MiFis to successfully graduated mentees after the cohort program,” she added.

    Since its launch in Nigeria in 2019, Yellow Card has contributed thousands of dollars to sponsor various projects and initiatives. This support extends beyond Nigeria and expands across the continent. Yellow Card has supported initiatives such as Generation Empower (GenEm) in support of their mission to educate and empower the youth in Tanzania, a $5,000 grant to the Purple Skills Klinic Foundation, which seeks to empower young people in Uganda, among other projects led by the company.

  • Yellow card

    •PenCom right in barring states not contributing to pension fund from bonds

    LAST week, the media reported the decision by the National Pension Commission (PenCom) to bar pension fund administrators from investing in the bonds of nine states that have yet to amend their state pension laws and join the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS). The nine states are in three categories: in the first is Yobe, still stuck with the old Defined Benefits Scheme (DBS); in the second category are Katsina, Bauchi, Borno, Benue, Kwara and Plateau states that have not moved past the drafting stage of the relevant bills while in the third are Akwa Ibom and Cross River states said to have theirs pending in the states’ houses of assembly.

    The restriction, according to PenCom, might extend to another 15 states which, although have passed the law, have it only on paper as evidenced in their failure to fund the Retirement Savings Accounts (RSA)of their workers. Of this, Ogun stands out, with the state chapter of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) disclosing that the outgoing administration of Governor Ibikunle Amosun had not remitted funds to workers RSAs for  about 108 months, followed by Delta with beneficiaries claiming that many of them spent over six years after retirement before being paid their entitlements.

    We understand the underlying frustrations which informed PenCom’s latest regulatory action. It has been some 14 years since Nigeria moved from the archaic DBS, which being poorly funded, offered no guarantees to the beneficiaries aside the tears and sorrow routinely witnessed in pension offices across the federation. With the crises that attenuated that DBS on the one hand and the innumerable benefits offered under the CPS being so self-evident on the other, we would have thought that the old would have long yielded the space to the new. The latest development is not only troubling, it is revealing of how far the country still has to go.

    Without question, PenCom has the prerogative to set out the guidelines for those wishing to borrow via its bonds programme. With neither the power nor authority for that matter to force the states to pass their own pension laws, the best it could do is keep those states away from accessing whatever benefits that came the way of those in compliance. Clearly, those states desirous of raising funds through pension bonds must know that the choice is theirs to make –either to follow through on their pension legislation and hence benefit from whatever benefits deriving therefrom, or explore other avenues to finance their development activities. That seems fair and reasonable.

    The measure, unfortunately, does little to address the problem of poor RSA remittances to the Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs).  That, unfortunately, is the elephant in the room. Presently, it is not just the states that are in default; some private sector players are not left out, with many in arrears of their pension obligations. While a part of the problem is directly traceable to what is clearly a culture of indiscipline and impunity of corporate and institutional players, the situation on the whole, is reflective of the general poor state of the national economy – the reason why a penal solution to a problem that is organic will in the end be somewhat simplistic.

    The nine states as indeed the other 15 have both a moral and legal duty to do good to their workers and this without further delay. The continuing agonies of their pensioners make it imperative. It smacks of grave abdication that governments whose primary responsibility is to ensure the welfare of citizens are derelict; more shameful is that some governors have been known to hound labour leaders who have the guts to protest this gross abdication. The measure by PenCom should only be the beginning; if only for the existential problem that non-compliance constitutes to the workers in the affected states, the Federal Government might consider additional measures to get them to comply.

  • Emenike deserved a yellow card

    Emenike deserved a yellow card

    Galatasaray have  argued that Emmanuel Emenike should have been shown a yellow card by referee Firat Aydinus for attempting to substitute himself when Fenerbahce met Besiktas in the last round of matches.

    Going by the rules, the Nigeria international ought to have been cautioned by the match official for attempting to walk away from the pitch and pulling off his jersey.

    In addition, Emmanuel Emenike returned to the pitch without taking permission from the referee , as it is the norm.

    Aside the 27 – year – old’s poor form in front of goal, the forward also has a poor disciplinary record in the Super lig, having been cautioned 6 times already.

    Emmanuel Emenike was booked five times last season, but he has already surpassed that unwelcome statistic with nine games yet to be decided.

  • Matic’s header earns Blues vital win

    Matic’s header earns Blues vital win

    A LOOPING header from Nemanja Matic was enough to earn Chelsea a crucial win in their Champions League Group Stage clash against Sporting Lisbon last night.

    The Serbia international rose to power home from a Cesc Fabregas corner in the 34th minute to claim all three points for the Blues and send them top of Group G after Schalke and Maribor could only muster a draw.

    Jose Mourinho’s side started brightly, and Diego Costa should have put his side in front after just two minutes, but his effort was denied by Sporting keeper Rui Patricio.

    Andre Schurrle looked lively in the opening stages and should have buried a sitter, but instead his run was stopped by Patricio.

    However it was Matic who gave his side the lead with his floating header 10 minutes before the interval, putting Chelsea in complete control of the game.

    Manchester United loanee Nani threatened Thibaut Courtois early in the second half before Oscar wasted another opportunity for the west London outfit.

    Diego Costa was brutally halted in his tracks by Mauricio, resulting in a yellow card for the Sporting man, before lashing a shot into the side netting.

    Filipe Luis dragged a late effort wide but Chelsea held on to claim all three points in Portugal.

  • FG introduces new Yellow card

    FG introduces new Yellow card

    The Federal Government has introduced a new International Certificate of Vaccination and Prophylaxis popularly called the “Yellow card” to replace the old card.

    Consequently, the old card ceases to be valid as from next month.

    The decision to introduce a new cardwas reached at the last the National Council on Health meeting in Abuja. It was one of the resolutions agreed for implementation at the meeting.

    The new card has an advanced security features that were lacking in the old ones.

    Besides, the new card will be produced centrally by the Federal Ministry of Health, while a transition period of six months would be allowed to withdraw the old cards after the introduction of the new one.

    The Minister of Health, Prof. Onyebuchi Chukwu, made the disclosure while speaking with journalists at the official flag-off of the new card in Abuja on Monday.

    Explaining the rationale behind the introduction of the new card, the minister said, “The new one follow the issue that arose sometimes last year about Nigerians travelling to South Africa and we looked into the issue. We actually found out that part of the confusion is that years ago, the National Council on Health felt as a way of making it easy for Nigerians to obtain it, we should decentralize it and they permitted state governments, even private sector to print their Yellow Card and issue as well as the Federal Government.”

    He said the card would be available in primary health centres across the country.