Business News
World Bank appoints a new country director for Nigeria
Shubham Chaudhuri has been appointed as the country director for Nigeria of the World Bank Group. He joined the Nigeria Office on Tuesday
Shubham Chaudhuri has been appointed by the World Bank Group as the new country director for Nigeria. Chaudhuri who joined the Nigeria Office on Tuesday will be succeeding Rachid Benmessaoud who just completed his term as the country director.
According to the World Bank in a statement released, Chaudhuri top priorities would be to lead the strategic dialogue with government, development partners, and other key stakeholders.
He would also develop and implement the new country partnership framework, and provide customized solutions and policy advice to Nigeria.
While commenting on the appointment, Chaudhuri said it was an honour to be in Nigeria and have the opportunity to help government partners, at the Federal and state levels, realize Nigeria’s full and considerable potential.
This, he said, the bank was doing by transforming the economy, catalyzing private investment and job creation, investing in Nigeria’s children and creating opportunities for Nigeria’s youth and women.
“The World Bank Group has a long-standing partnership with Nigeria and I look forward to deepening our engagement with government partners, with Nigeria’s very vibrant civil society and private sector, and with international development partners to help lift millions of Nigerians out of poverty.” Chaudhuri said.
Chaudhuri’s profile: Chaudhuri joined the World Bank in 2004 and has held several leadership positions at the Bank, his most recent position being the Country Director for Afghanistan.
Chaudhuri had been Practice Manager in the Macroeconomics and Fiscal Management Global Practice for the South Asia Region. He also held the position of Manager of the World Bank’s Poverty Reduction and Economic Management Department for East Asia and the Pacific and Lead Economist for Indonesia.
As a lead economist for Indonesia, Chaudhuri was responsible for leading the overall economic policy dialogue, advisory and development policy lending work in Indonesia.
He also managed the Jakarta-based economic team, which works closely with partners in government and in the development community to further Indonesia’s development agenda.
[READ ALSO: Seyi Makinde’s assets to be verified by Code of Conduct Bureau]
Prior to Chaudhuri joining the Bank, he spent a decade as an Economics professor and Director of the Programme in Economic and Political Development at Columbia University in New York.
The new Country director has a bachelor’s degree in Economics from Harvard University and a Ph.D. also in Economics from Princeton University.
Business
Twitter to establish its first African presence in Ghana
Twitter has announced Ghana as headquarter of its operations in Africa.
Jack Dorsey, CEO of Twitter Inc has announced today in a tweet that the company is establishing a presence in Africa.
“Twitter is now present on the continent. Thank you, Ghana and Nana Akufo-Addo,” Dorsey tweeted.
As part of its mission to serve the public conversation, Twitter is making it easier for everyone to join in and provide more relevant experiences for people across the world.
Why Ghana as a choice…
Twitter stated that it chose to expand to Ghana first because the country is an advocate of free speech, online freedom, and the Open Internet.
In a blog post the company said, “In line with our growth strategy, we’re excited to announce that we are now actively building a team in Ghana. To truly serve the public conversation, we must be more immersed in the rich and vibrant communities that drive the conversations taking place every day across the African continent.”
“Furthermore, Ghana’s recent appointment to host The Secretariat of the African Continental Free Trade Area aligns with our overarching goal to establish a presence in the region that will support our efforts to improve and tailor our service across Africa.
“Whenever we enter new markets, we work hard to ensure that we are not just investing in the talent that we hire, but also investing in local communities and the social fabric that supports them. We have already laid foundations through partnerships with Amref Health Africa in Kenya, Afrochella in Ghana, Mentally Aware Nigeria Initiative (MANI) in Nigeria, and The HackLab Foundation in Ghana. As part of our long-term commitment to the region, we’ll continue to explore compelling ways we can use the positive power of Twitter to strengthen our communities through employee engagement, platform activation, and corporate giving,” Twitter stated.
The company is also looking to hire specialists to join several teams to operate in product, design, engineering, marketing and communications.
The choice of Ghana as HQ for Twitter’s Africa operations is EXCELLENT news. Gov’t and Ghanaians welcome very much this announcement and the confidence reposed in our country. 1/3 #TwitterInGhana #TwitterGhana https://t.co/HdCqFgXK0x
— Nana Akufo-Addo (@NAkufoAddo) April 12, 2021
Reacting to Dorsey’s announcement, Ghanaian President, Nana Akufo-Addo, in a tweet said that the government and people of Ghana welcome welcomed the micro-blogging site.
“The choice of Ghana as HQ for Twitter’s Africa operations is excellent news. Government and Ghanaians welcome very much this announcement and the confidence reposed in our country,” President Akufo-Addo tweeted.
Business
Youths need critical skills to strengthen Nigerian economy – Bankers Committee’s FITC
Nigerian youths need to embrace adequate skills and create a pool of well-engaged workforce to directly strengthen the nation’s economy.
Bankers Committee’s FITC has called on Nigerian youths to embrace adequate skills and create a pool of well-engaged workforce to directly strengthen the nation’s economy.
This was disclosed by the Managing Director, FITC, Chizor Malize, during the launch of its Future of Work Academy for Youths on Monday.
According to her, the initiative is to continuously bridge the knowledge gap in the country and Africa at large, as it is expected to equip the youths for the peculiar needs of the Future of Work.
It also seeks to solve the prevalent issue of producing university graduates with degrees and skills that have limited practical use in the current global job market, as well as the requirements for the Future of Work.
She said, “The world of work is changing rapidly, and competition for the right talent is fierce. Graduate talents have for decades been primarily identified and employed based on academic excellence, however, in the emerging world of work, creativity, innovation, and work-ready skills have become the non-negotiable indicators for competitive advantage, and to evaluate capabilities.
“It is therefore important for youths to build critical skills, that will equip them for the requirements of the Future of Work in the ever-evolving business landscape. The value FITC FOWA is bringing to corporations at this time cannot be overemphasized. By equipping youths and creating a pool of well-engaged workforce for organizations, FITC FOWA will be directly strengthening the economy and the society in general.”
Malize added that the initiative offers essential courses in Data Science, Data Analytics, Coding, Digital Marketing, Graphics Designs, MS Excel & Analytics, Digital Marketing, Use of PowerPoint, and other key areas that have been strategically packaged to educate, enlighten, and upskill undergraduates and graduates with the vital skills for the Future of Work.
What you should know
Owned by the Bankers Committee (CBN, NDIC and all Nigerian deposit money banks), FITC was established in 1981 as a non-profit organisation limited by guarantee to provide capacity building and serve as a knowledge hub for the Nigerian Financial Services Sector.
