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(FLOWERBUDNEWS)Nigerian Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Mohammed Rimi, has advised Nigerians coming to Dubai for genuine businesses to consult with the Embassy or the Consulate before embarking on such ventures.

The ambassador gave the advice in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Dubai at the 5th Edition of the Global Business Forum (GBF) on Africa tagged `Scale-Up Africa’ which kicked off on Monday.

Rimi said that it was always better to let the embassy know in advance of any business venture.

“In fact, if they need assistance, we will try as much as we can to provide them with such. There are those who already have their contacts before coming.

“For us to keep track of genuine businesses, they need to let us know; even if they have a partner here when they come.

“They should let us know who their partners are when they come here and what they are doing. Fine, if they have done due diligence on their business partners on their own and are satisfied.

“If not, we can also do some due diligence for them,” he said.

According to him, If you tell me you are dealing with Company A and that you are coming to meet with that company, whether you ask us or not to do due diligence, I will try to find out what that company is all about.

“Because a lot of the businesses happen which are not documented by the Consulate.

“So, it very difficult sometime for us to say there is this number of visitors coming to do business here in Dubai. So we do not have the statistics of people coming to do business in Dubai,” Rimi said.

On the image of Nigerians in that country, the ambassador said that the UAE Government and its citizens had high regards for Nigerians and Nigeria.

He noted that 98 per cent of Nigerians living or visiting in Dubai were well behaved.

The ambassador, however, said that there were over 10,000 Nigerians living in Dubai,.

Rimi described the government of UAE as very liberal and tolerant to all.

According to him, the country’s government had seen the world and equally moved round the world to see what was happening around.

NAN reports that the first session of the Forum examined key trends and technologies driving business growth across the African continent.

Industry experts who spoke at the session noted that the new technologies and trends were reshaping Africa’s economic landscape and creating plenty of business opportunities and investment prospects which were not there before.

The Group Chief Executive Officer, Emerging Africa Capital Group, Nigeria, Mrs Toyin Sanni, during an interactive session entitled “Linking Back – the Entrepreneurial Support Chain’’, shared her views on a changing business landscape in Africa.

“A great deal has changed and there is now a lot more support. At the beginning of my career I was dependent on the goodwill of my superior – now we have in-house mentorship programmes.

“I’m happy to see entrepreneurs coming to the table,” Sanni said.

She noted that some of the problems confronting entrepreneurs in Africa had to do with government policy reforms which she described as important for businesses to thrive.

Also, Dr Divine Simbi-Ndhlukula, Founder and Managing Director, Securico, Zimbabwe, stressed the importance of investing in education and skills development.

In another session entitled “Finding the Sweet Spot – Momentum for Change’’, Dr Carlos Lopes, a Professor at Nelson Mandela School of Public Governance, University of Cape Town, South Africa, said that Africa could not be ignored for two reasons.

“Africa is positioning itself as the continent where you have the highest young consumer concentration. Secondly, it’s not just the size but because it’s easier for younger people to absorb the new technologies,” he explained.

Sharing his insights and perspective, Jonathan Berman, Author of “Success in Africa: CEO Insights from a Continent on the Rise’’, noted that continent’s growing appeal as an attractive investment destination was being driven by widespread digitisation.

“The visibility and scale of opportunities across borders is like never before. The range and size weren’t there seven years ago,” Berman said.

He, however, stressed the importance of initiatives like Dubai Chamber’s GBF Mentorship Programme, which had created new growth opportunities for African entrepreneurs who are looking to scale their businesses and expand beyond borders.

Heads of State, ministers, policymakers, prominent business leaders, investors and entrepreneurs from Africa are attending the event which kicked off on Nov.18 to Nov. 19.

The Forum is organised by Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Dubai Chamber) under the patronage of H.H. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai.

GBF Africa 2019 is the largest event of its kind in the region, focusing on Africa’s vast economic potential and exploring new avenues of cooperation between UAE businesses and their African counterparts. (NAN)

(FLOWERBUDNEWS) Dubai’s non-oil trade with Africa will exceed Dhs one trillion for the period extending from 2011 until the end of 2019, the Chairman of Dubai Chamber, Mr Majid Al Ghurair has said.

Al Ghurair made this known while declaring open the 5^th edition of the Global Business Forum on Africa (GBF Africa) which opened on Monday in Dubai.

News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the forum which  is organised by Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Dubai Chamber) under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of UAE and the Ruler of Dubai, end on Tuesday.

Al Ghurair highlighted the long-established UAE-African relations in all fields, and Dubai’s status as Africa’s gateway to new markets building on its strong presence on the global economy map and its role in advancing international trade.

He said that over the course of its five previous editions, GBF Africa had become a leading Platform for expanding UAE-Africa economic cooperation and forging partnerships across different markets.

”The African continent is a key partner in Dubai’s plans to diversify its economy.

”With the support of Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the forum has seen considerable growth in terms of significance and number of participants, bringing together heads of state, policymakers and business leaders to identify exciting business prospects emerging across the continent.

”The African market is a market of strategic importance to Dubai and a key focus of Dubai Chamber’s expansion strategy and we are closely monitoring developments and the business climate in Africa to identify growth opportunities available for our members,” Al Ghurair added.

He, however, underlined the huge potential to boost UAE-Africa trade and investment flows following the launch of the African Continental Free Trade Area earlier in the year.

Al Ghurair also asserted that Dubai was well-equipped to support Africa’s next phase of growth and development, especially as the emirate offers valuable expertise in several key sectors, including logistics services, infrastructure, retail, tourism and finance.

“Held under the theme ‘Scale-Up Africa’, GBF Africa 2019 is among the world’s largest events focusing on Africa’s economic potential, highlighting business and investment potential and opportunities on the continent.

“Africa’s changing economic landscape is creating new business opportunities,” he said.

Participants at the event included George Weah, President of Liberia; Danny Faure, President of Seychelles; Emmerson Mnangagwa, President of Zimbabwe and Carlos Agostinho do Rosario, Prime Minister of Mozambique.

Others are Ruhakana Ruganda, Prime Minister of Uganda; Reem Al Hashimy, Minister of State for International Cooperation and Director-General, Expo 2020 Dubai; Majid Saif Al Ghurair, Chairman of Dubai Chamber; Hamad Buamim, President & CEO of Dubai Chamber and Dr Raja Easa Al Gurg, President of Dubai Business Women Council, among other prominent speakers. (NAN)

(FLOWERBUDNEWS) Nigerian alternative music star, Simi Ogunleye has deemed audience’s ‘unrealistic’ expectations from artist as one of the main issues plaguing the music industry.

News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that in a series of Twitter posts @simplysimi, she noted that Nigerian musicians are forced to cater to the same audience and switch their sounds to feed them.

According to the ‘Soldier’ singer, artists are forced to be versatile even when they have their own original sounds, as musical legends are usually monotonous in their sounds.

“I think one of the most trying things Naija artistes deal with is that we are mostly catering to the same audience.

“We don’t want to have to, but the structure of the industry makes it inevitable. We expect the same people to like Rap, street music, soul, pop, indie. Its strange.

“Strange for the audience because they keep messing around with your preference. You expect everyone to please you.

“Zlatan and Johnny Drille. Strange for the artist cos they keep messing around with your creativity. You expect everybody to like your music. A waste of time.

“So when I see someone tell an artist “you’re monotonous’’, it amuses me. Most of the legends are monotonous.

“Unless they don’t have a sound. Imagine Fela doing hip-hop today and RnB tomorrow or Whitney Houston – Soul today, akpala tomorrow,’’ she said.

NAN reports that Simi, who is married to fellow alternative singer, Adekunle Gold recently released a new album, ‘Omo Charlie Champagne’.

The album swiftly follows her acclaimed 2017 eponymous album ‘Simisola’ which went on to win ‘Album of the Year’ at the Headies and contained a bunch of fantastic singles, including ‘Joromi’ and ‘Lovin.” (NAN)

Prof. Bolaji Owasanoye, the Chairman, Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has expressed dismay that the N100 billion annual allocation to constituency projects has yet to achieve Federal Government’s objective.
Owasanoye made the remark on Thursday in Abuja during a special town hall meeting on fight against corruption organized by the Federal Ministry of Information and Culture in conjunction with the National Orientation Agency (NOA).
He regretted that the federal government’s lofty initiative had not made any significant impact in the lives of communities in the country in terms of infrastructure development.
He said, “If we genuinely spend N2 trillion on infrastructure development over a period of 10 years, it will diminish the tension and the escalation of discontent.
Owasanoye said that the principal focus of the first phase of the tracking, started some months ago, was on health and education sectors.
He said that one or two locations were selected from each geopolitical zone, with emphasises on specific projects and working with an inter agency committee.
Owasanoye said that the committee was made up of representatives from Budget Office, Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation, Bureau of Public Procurement and Office of the Auditor-General.
He described the outcome of the first phase as revealing and interesting, adding that monies meant for constituency projects, not executed or completed, were recovered.
According to him, “at least 200 contractors returned to site even before we got to them with some sponsors of the projects going back to complete them.
“In some cases, when the empowerment items were locked up somewhere because somebody wanted to trade them off, we gave them one week to distribute such items to the beneficiaries.
“For me, it makes more sense rather than arresting a senator and locking him up without delivering the items or facilities to the intended beneficiaries.
“With this approach, we may not see the sponsors in jail but the idea is that the communities will be happy and we will be happy also,” the ICPC boss said.
He further said that the commission would soon begin the second phase “because the first phase exposed a lot of pointers and opener to the commission.” (NAN)