2011 AFRICA AWARDS FOR ENTREPRENUERSHIP

Legatum is the owner and founder of the Africa Awards for Entrepreneurship. Legatum is a private investment group, based in Dubai, with a twenty-five year heritage of global investing. We manage a multi-billion dollar fund of proprietary capital which is allocated to businesses and programmes that promote sustainable development. For more information, please visit Legatum’s website at www.legatum.com.

Legatum is pleased to be joined by Omidyar Network as a major sponsor of the 2011 Africa Awards. Omidyar Network is a philanthropic investment firm dedicated to harnessing the power of markets to create opportunity for people to improve their lives.To learn more, visit www.omidyar.com.

The objectives of the Africa Awards for Entrepreneurship are:

• To promote the value of entrepreneurship as a driving force of today’s Africa
• To celebrate the standards of business excellence within Africa
• To encourage small business owners and aspiring entrepreneurs to embrace the challenges and rewards of entrepreneurship
• To build strong networks of African entrepreneurs as a source of learning and sharing of best practice
• To attract more venture capital inflows towards good businesses across Africa

Enter Now

The Africa Awards for Entrepreneurship recognises and rewards business leaders who serve as role models to Africa’s aspiring entrepreneurs and who demonstrate business excellence, innovation and profitability.

Online entries may be submitted until 24 August 2011. Entry is open to all firms that have revenues between US$ 1 million to $15 million; have been profitable for at least two years; are independent, and not a subsidiary of a larger organisation; have more than 10 employees; are fully registered in their home country and free of legal actions.

One Grand Prize of US$ 100, 000 will be awarded along with five further prizes of US$ 50,00 each; two of these prizes will be reserved for businesses with less than US$ 2 million in revenue.

Read more here http://www.africaawards.com/ and here www.legatum.com.

WHAT IS WRONG WITH THIS PICTURE?

GDP per head grew fastest between 2001 and 2010 in Equatorial Guinea and lowest in Zimbabwe.

Read more here http://www.economist.com/blogs/dailychart/2011/06/gdp-growth

EVENTS: SOUTH SUDAN COUNT DOWN TO JULY 9TH 2011

YOUNG PROFESSIONALS IN FOREIGN POLICY & THE ETHIOPIAN LAWYERS’ ASSOCIATION OF NORTH AMERICA

COUNTDOWN TO JULY 9, 2011: PROSPECTS FOR A PEACEFUL AND THRIVING INDEPENDENT SOUTH SUDAN

Discussion with: Francis Deng and Gabriel Abraham Wednesday, June 8, 2011 06:30 PM-08:30 PM Panel Discussion and Q&A FOUNDATION FOR THE GLOBAL COMPACT 801 Second Avenue 2nd Floor New York RSVP Required: hello@elnaonline.org

The Comprehensive Peace Agreement signed between the Government of Sudan and the Southern People's Liberation Front ended decades of civil war and paved the way for a peace process culminating with last January's referendum and South Sudan's anticipated independence. What difficulties has South Sudan faced in its transition to independence and what challenges lie ahead upon formal grant of statehood? What is the outlook for stability and democratic governance? What will be the nature of South Sudan's relationship with its neighbors and what will be the implications of its independence on the wider Horn of Africa region?

Francis Deng Since August 1, 2007 Mr. Deng has served as Special Adviser for the Prevention of Genocide and Mass Atrocities, to the United Nations Secretary-General, with the rank of Under-Secretary General. From 1992 to 2004 he served as Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General on Internally Displaced Persons. Mr. Deng also served as Ambassador of Sudan to Canada, Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden and the United States and has served as Sudan's Minister of State for Foreign Affairs. He has also been a Wilhelm Fellow at the Center for International Studies of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and a Research Professor of International Politics, Law and Society at Johns Hopkins University Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies. Mr. Deng holds an LL.B from Khartoum University and an LL.M and a J.S.D. from Yale University and has authored and edited over 30 books in the fields of law, conflict resolution, internal displacement, human rights, anthropology, folklore, history and politics and has also written two novels on the theme of the crisis of national identity in the Sudan.

Gabriel Abraham Mr. Gabriel is Senior Project Manager at Deloitte Consulting with many years of experience in post-conflict environments. As an Advisor to South Sudan's Minister of Cabinet Affairs he is ensuring that key functions of government are in place. As principal advisor on the Referendum Taskforce established to address the needs of government during the transition to a nation state, he designed the vision and objectives for the Taskforce, coordinated with key ministers and donors to see the implementation of key government functions. Prior to his assignment in Southern Sudan, Mr. Abraham served as Chief of Party in Kosovo on the Local Government Initiative Project, and the Effective Municipalities Initiatives project. Prior to his assignment in Kosovo, Mr. Abraham served as acting Chief of Party on the Afghanistan National Development Strategy project. From 2003-05, Mr. Abraham provided advice to the governorate of Najaf, Iraq. Advisory services included training, household survey of all 155,000 households and the implementation of local council elections. Mr. Abraham has been an instructor at Tufts, Harvard and Columbia and earned a BSc from Haverford College and graduate degrees from Columbia.

Zimbabwe Diasporans Set to Launch U.S. $120 Million Initiative

A GROUP of Zimbabweans in the United States will tomorrow launch an initiative that may raise up to US$120 million a year for investment in their mother country, which they hope will not only recapitalise the economy but also provide possible funding for a more transparent indigenisation programme. This is to be launched at a conference organised by the Zimbabwe Business Network International (ZBNI), which begins tomorrow. This comes hot on the heels of the Victoria Falls Diaspora conference hosted by the Development Foundation in December last year.However, the ZBNI's thrust stresses on raising money from an estimated 500 000 Zimbabweans in the United States.

The group's strategy is to mobilise at least US$100 a month from just a fifth of the Zimbabweans in the United States. This would bring money mobilised to US$10 million a month. "The one month fund can buyout any of the 13 listed companies on the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange with a market capitalisation of below US$10 million. The funds can also be used to buy into privately held companies," according to ZBNI director, Simba Usore. A delegation of Zimbabwean businessmen led by Affirmative Action Group (AAG) founding member and businessman Supa Mandiwanzira is expected to attend the conference which will among other things discuss the current indigenisation policy and business opportunities for Zimbabweans. The funding method outlined is one of the matters to be discussed. ZBNI is also proposing another alternative method of raising finance called crowd funding, where entrepreneurs can receive pledges for business projects via online networks, instead of the traditional method of looking for loans.

ZBNI managing director Esau Mavindidze said the network intended to provide greater visibility and insight into opportunities and capabilities from Zimbabwe to the Diaspora and the business community in general. "We intend to mobilise entrepreneurial individuals and entities into a member affiliated organisation and provide a networking platform for our members through trade and investment seminars, and other forums that will provide exposure for collaborative projects and other partnering opportunities," said Mavindidze. He added that formation of this US based business network was largely driven by the need to have an organised platform with a pro-business agenda."The intent is to link the Zimbabwe Diaspora community and American businesses to the Zimbabwean environment so as to take advantage of the plentiful investment, trade and business opportunities in Zimbabwe and the United States," said Mavindidze.

ZBNI was established to network Zimbabweans and facilitate investments into the country and companies with interest in the market. Simba Usore the Investment director said industry needs to get back to full capacity after years in the doldrums. "Having gone through the 'lost years', industry needs to get back to work, at full capacity. This in turn creates much needed employment opportunities in the country. The key to the development of Zimbabwe is the availability of capital," said Usore.

Read More Here http://allafrica.com/stories/201106040028.html