Post-COVID-19 Economic Recovery Focus Of Prime Business
Other Events Information
Post-COVID-19 Economic Recovery Focus Of Prime Business Africa's SEEDS4
Webinar
Pat Utomi, Muda Yusuf, Timbo Drayson, Olafusi Lead Talks On Africa
LAGOS, Nigeria, 25 October, 2021,-/African Media Agency (AMA)/- All is
now set for the fourth edition of the Prime Business Africa's SEEDS
Webinar, which the organizers say will hold on Tuesday October 26, 2021
at 5pm (West Central Africa time).
Zoom and Facebook livestream access to the Tuesday virtual conference
are: https://tinyurl.com/PBASEEDS4 (Zoom) and
https://tinyurl.com/PBASEEEDS4-FBLIVE (facebook)
Political Economy and Management expert, Professor Pat Utomi, former
Director General of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI),
Muda Yusuf as well as the West Africa Regional Director of Ford
Foundation, Ms Catherine Chinedum Aniagolu-Okoye will lead the an
impressive stock of speakers expected to grace this October edition of
the monthly SEEDS Webinar.
The economic development solutions think tank holds virtually at 5pm
every last Tuesday and is hosted by the Chief Executive Officer of
Newstide Publications Limited, Dr Marcel Mbamalu, who also serves as the
Publisher/Editor-in-Chief of Prime Business Africa.
SEEDS is an acronym for “Socio-economic and Entrepreneurship
Development Series” and holds virtually every last Tuesday of the
month at 5pm. The theme of this month’s conference (SEEDS4) is:
“COVID-19: Business and Economic Recovery in Africa.”
Dr Yusuf, who, until recently, has been effectively leading the Lagos
Chamber in its progressive drive for a robust engagement in public
policy to boost trade and investments, has since confirmed his
participation as Keynote speaker; the same for Utomi, a social
economist, policy expert and anchor of the popular ‘Patito’s Gang’
the public enlightenment programme on national television. Prof. Utomi
will be guest speaker at the webinar.
Utomi who is the founder of Centre for Values in Leadership (CVL) is
also the Chairman of the Editorial Board of Prime Business Africa (PBA).
Joining Yusuf for the webinar are the trio of Timbo Drayson, Michael
Olafusi and Catherine Chinedum Aniagolu-Okoye of the Ford Foundation.
Ambassador Otobo. The moderator, is a Non-Resident Senior Fellow, Global
Governance Institite, Brussels. Otobo is also a director on the Board of
Newstide Publications Limited. He is the moderator for Tuesday’s SEEDS
4.
Arts and Culture Ambassador, Jahman Anikulapo, who was Editor of The
Guardian on Sunday for many years, will be co-moderator.
Otobo has participated in previous SEEDS, specifically the 2nd edition
held on August 31, 2021 which was on Funding Higher Education in
Nigeria: What Options? His contributions in SEEDS 2 followed the Keynote
speech of the former Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria
(CBN), Prof. Kingsley Moghalu. Other speakers at various SEEDS virtual
conferences were Co-founder of Flutterwave and now General Partner of
Future Africa, Iyinoluwa Aboyeji; Paris-based US veteran Journalist and
Author, Linda Hervieux and International Journalism Scholar; Head of the
Department of Mass Communication at the Baze University Abuja, Professor
Abiodun Adeniji and Founder of the African Media Agency (AMA), Ms Eloine
Barry, among many others.
The webinar has churned out quality themes with the last of them
bordering on the impact of Tech Disruptions which was held on 28
September 2021.
Speakers had discussed issues on impact of Cyber security on Fintech, 5G
and national development, achieving financial inclusion through fintech,
and general note on impact of fintech on African Economies
The Speakers For Tuesday 26 November 2021.
Dr. Muda Yusuf – Lead Speaker. He is immediate past Director-General
of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI). He is currently
the CEO Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise (CPPE).
Timbo Drayson: A former Product Manager at Google, he co-founded OkHi in
2014. The platform has a GPS-based technology that enables a business
outfit to gather data about addresses of customers or clients and verify
as accurate. Drayson ‘s motive of developing OkHi was to address
challenges faced by businesses as a result of poor data about customer
or client addresse and the overall impact on the national economy
especially in a developing country like Nigeria. He had previously
worked with Googgle corporation during which he oversaw the launch of
Google Maps in emerging markets and also distruptions and the Future of
African Economies.”
Michael Olafusi – Speaker: He is a Financial Modeler and business data
analyst
Catherine Lagos Abuogolu–Okoye – Speaker: The Ford Foundation’s
Regional Director for West Africa, she will be speaking on the role of
organisations like Ford in advancing post-COVID recovery process in West
Africa.
Speaking on the October Edition of SEEDS webinar, Dr Mbamalu, publisher
of Prime Business Africa, noted that although the initial dire
predictions of the impact of Covid-19 pandemic on Africa, in terms of
rate of infections and deaths, have not materialised, African
governments should not be be lulled into complacency, as a significant
rise in Covid-19 caseload could overwhelm the region’s fragile health
systems. He observed that many African countries are now experiencing
their third wave of Covid-19.
Dr Mbamalu noted that the weaknesses in Africa’s health sector had
been laid bare in the inadequate testing and tracing capacity,
insufficient hospital spaces for Covid-19 patients, and in the lack of
medical equipment, all of which reflect the continuing inadequate public
investment in the health sector.
This, he said, is contrary to the 2001 Abuja Declaration commitment to
allocate at least 15 percent of annual budgets to the improvement of the
health sector in African countries.
“COVID-19 will have both short and long-term economic impacts;
COVID-19 has led to Africa’s economic contraction in 2020 in order of
-3.4 percent, although a recovery of 3.5 percent is projected for
2021,” Mbamalu said.
According to the CEO of Newstide, COVID-19 has hit hard the sectors that
employ low-income people such as tourism, hospitality, and small and
medium enterprises. Many recent forecasts projected recession in most
African countries in 2020, and, according to the United Nations, nearly
30 million more people could fall into poverty.
Mbamalu noted that E-Commerce is a rapidly developing economic
phenomenon globally and that the Covid-19 pandemic has helped to
turbocharge its growth.
“This trade enhancer,” he said, “is yet to gain much traction in
most African countries, but its potential positive impact on Gross
Domestic Product (GDP) is not in doubt.
“With the growing adoption of technology by the youths, who constitute
the higher percentage of the population, e-commerce resources will be
well received and this is why we are bringing on board this October
SEEDS, Timbo Drayson, Founder of OkHi and former Product Manager at
Google, to contribute to this discussion,” said Dr Mbamalu.
Dr Mbamalu, therefore, surmised that “the purpose of this forthcoming
SEEDS is to examine the long-term business economic, and social impacts
of COVID-19 on Africa and propose the policy measures that African
countries should adopt in response.”
The distinguished media expert gave Zoom and Facebook live stream links
for the Tuesday virtual conference as: https://tinyurl.com/PBASEEDS4
(Zoom) and https://tinyurl.com/PBASEEEDS4-FBLIVE (facebook).
The Publisher of Prime Business Africa enjoined African business
leaders, policy makers, health and tech experts as well as students of
Business and Economy to log in, participate and contribute to the
all-important discourse.
Speaking on the October Edition of SEEDS webinar, Dr Mbamalu, publisher
of Prime Business Africa, noted that although the initial dire
predictions of the impact of Covid-19 pandemic on Africa, in terms of
rate of infections and deaths, have not materialised, African
governments should not be be lulled into complacency, as a significant
rise in Covid-19 caseload could overwhelm the region’s fragile health
systems. He observed that many African countries are now experiencing
their third wave of Covid-19.
Dr Mbamalu noted that the weaknesses in Africa’s health sector had
been laid bare in the inadequate testing and tracing capacity,
insufficient hospital spaces for Covid-19 patients, and in the lack of
medical equipment, all of which reflect the continuing inadequate public
investment in the health sector.
This, he said, is contrary to the 2001 Abuja Declaration commitment to
allocate at least 15 percent of annual budgets to the improvement of the
health sector in African countries.
“COVID-19 will have both short and long-term economic impacts;
COVID-19 has led to Africa’s economic contraction in 2020 in order of
-3.4 percent, although a recovery of 3.5 percent is projected for
2021,” Mbamalu said.
According to the CEO of Newstide, COVID-19 has hit hard the sectors that
employ low-income people such as tourism, hospitality, and small and
medium enterprises. Many recent forecasts projected recession in most
African countries in 2020, and, according to the United Nations, nearly
30 million more people could fall into poverty.
Mbamalu noted that E-Commerce is a rapidly developing economic
phenomenon globally and that the Covid-19 pandemic has helped to
turbocharge its growth.
“This trade enhancer,” he said, “is yet to gain much traction in
most African countries, but its potential positive impact on Gross
Domestic Product (GDP) is not in doubt.
“With the growing adoption of technology by the youths, who constitute
the higher percentage of the population, e-commerce resources will be
well received and this is why we are bringing on board this October
SEEDS, Timbo Drayson, Founder of OkHi and former Product Manager at
Google, to contribute to this discussion,” said Dr Mbamalu.
Dr Mbamalu, therefore, surmised that “the purpose of this forthcoming
SEEDS is to examine the long-term business economic, and social impacts
of COVID-19 on Africa and propose the policy measures that African
countries should adopt in response.”
The distinguished media expert gave Zoom and Facebook live stream links
for the Tuesday virtual conference as: https://tinyurl.com/PBASEEDS4
(Zoom) and https://tinyurl.com/PBASEEEDS4-FBLIVE (facebook).
The Publisher of Prime Business Africa enjoined African business
leaders, policy makers, health and tech experts as well as students of
Business and Economy to log in, participate and contribute to the
all-important discourse.