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Tag: Associate Director

  • Verdant Zeal Group Set to Host 12th Innovention Series

    Verdant Zeal Group Set to Host 12th Innovention Series

    Verdant Zeal Group Ltd, a leading Marketing Communications Group, is set to host the 2024 Innovention Series titled “Implementing AI for Marketing Excellence and Impact.” This virtual event, which marks the 12th edition of the highly anticipated Innovention Series, will be held on Thursday, October 24, 2024.

    This year’s edition which aims to inspire marketing professionals, business leaders, and stakeholders on how Artificial Intelligence (AI) can be integrated into marketing strategies to achieve excellence and impact, will have the keynote address delivered by Dr. Celestine Iwendi, Head, Center of Intelligence of Things at the University of Bolton, who will provide deep insights into the transformative potential of AI in marketing and discuss emerging trends in the field.

    Highlighting the importance of the event, Dr. Iwendi noted, “AI is not merely a tool for efficiency; it is an enabler of creativity and innovation that will reshape the future of marketing. The ability to harness AI’s potential will define the next generation of marketing leaders.” Dr. Iwendi noted.

    To be anchored by by Temiloluwa Awonbiogbon, President of Power Talk Services, the 12th Innovention Series will feature Ayo-Bankole Akintujoye, CEO, Caladium Consulting; Solape Akinpelu, CEO of Hervest and Adeola Adenuga, Community Marketing Manager at MANO as panelists.

    In the build-up to the main event, Verdant Zeal Group will also host the Innovention Campus event on Monday, October 21, 2024, at Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ogun State. Themed “Machine Learning and Hyper-Personalized Marketing,” this campus event aims to engage young professionals and academics in exploring cutting-edge AI strategies applicable to the marketing industry. The Campus event will have participants from the host institution, Olabisi Onabanjo University, Babcock University, Covenant University, Caleb University and Abraham Adesanya Polytechnic.

    Key speakers for the campus event include Tony Nwose, CEO, Niteon; Dr. Nzenwata Jeremiah, an expert in Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning, and Dr. Oludare Ogunyombo, Associate Director, Brooks and Blake. Their sessions will delve into the fundamentals of Machine Learning and Hyper-Personalized Marketing, while exploring the AI technologies currently being adopted by major industries in Nigeria.

    The Innovention Series has grown to become one of the nation’s premier thought-leadership platforms, bringing together experts from both the public and private sectors to discuss strategic issues that shape the nation’s economy and development.

    Speaking on the upcoming events, Dr. Tunji Olugbodi, Executive Vice Chairman of Verdant Zeal Group noted that, “The Innovention Series is committed to advancing thought leadership on the nation’s critical economic and business challenges. This year, our focus on AI comes at a crucial time when businesses are seeking more efficient and innovative ways to connect with customers. We believe this series will provide actionable insights for driving marketing excellence and positioning companies for long-term success in the digital era.”

    The activities planned-out for the 12th Innovention Series are expected to attract a diverse audience, including marketing experts, business leaders, entrepreneurs, and students, all eager to explore the vast possibilities that AI brings to the marketing sector.

    For more information on how to participate please visit innoventionseries.org or register at bit.ly/VZinnovention2024

  • LBS Sustainability Centre Leads Conversation for Business Executives on the Changing Reporting Landscape

    LBS Sustainability Centre Leads Conversation for Business Executives on the Changing Reporting Landscape

    …cross-section of Participants at the Executive Meeting

    Exciting investor and stakeholder engagement opportunities await organisations and professionals keen on leveraging the sustainability performance of businesses. As calls for increased transparency in performance and impact measurement heightened, Nigeria has adopted the IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards, IFRS S1 and S2. The Lagos Business School (LBS) Sustainability Centre on Thursday, February 1, 2024 hosted an Executive Meeting on Corporate Sustainability themed ‘Collaborating in the Changing Reporting Landscape’. An engagement for business executives and sustainability practitioners to understand the demands of this changing landscape, collaborate for more robust reporting, deploy responsible business practices and avoid greenwashing.

    Speaking at the meeting, Dr Iheanyi Anyahara, Director, Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria, walked attendees through the evolution of sustainability reporting in Nigeria and the globe, citing the needs that prompted it in the first instance. He said, “CSR reports put together by companies were never standardised, hence, the need for standardised ESG reporting. He further added that sustainability brings about innovation which in turn accelerates development. Little wonder, investors and stakeholders rely on accurate and transparent sustainability reporting to unlock capital, attract Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and implement FEC 2010 directives.

    Marilyn Obaisa-Osula, Associate Director, PwC Nigeria, gave sustainability insights for organisations and individuals who seek to get it right by ticking the right boxes for performance measurement of impact across critical materialities and metrics. She said, “the aim of sustainability is to drive value. Sustainability reporting offers a genuine competitive advantage, and businesses that take the time to learn about and implement sustainability reporting now, will be well-placed to succeed in the long term ahead of compliance and regulations. We must look at the opportunities sustainability provides through a local lens, and oftentimes, when we do, they become adopted as globally accepted frameworks. She added that Sustainability does not wipe out profit but tells you to look at your business growth beyond profit. Accountants now see sustainability and understand it because they see the opportunity in it and the funds that can be unlocked from it.”

    A Question and Answer session was facilitated by Eunice Sampson, Director, Climate Change & Sustainability, Ernst & Young, who made the session truly impactful. She harped on the need for practitioners to stay ahead of regulation by being up to date with new requirements and trends in the industry to keep their organisations afloat.  She said “ Businesses mostly fail not because of financial issues but because of ESG issues. They lose reputational capital, they lose customer base, and many other things, etc which ultimately lead to business failure. Financial failure is a symptom. Ethics, integrity, accountability and transparency are all governance issues in sustainability. She added that ‘You must have your business case for sustainability.

    Dr Godwin Ihetu, former Managing Director (MD), Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) also gave his remarks, highlighting the importance of sustainability in the oil and gas sector, and its intersection and interconnectedness with climate change and energy transitions. Jonathan Ikeolumba, Research Affiliate at the LBS Sustainability Centre compered the event and Theresa Akpoveso, Senior Associate, LBS Sustainability Centre gave the vote of thanks.

    Lagos Business School is Africa’s leading management education institution and the LBS Sustainability Centre is a leading knowledge centre that brings together the theory and practice on business and sustainability for the advancement of performance and development outcomes. For more information about the initiatives and upcoming events by the Lagos Business School Sustainability Centre, please contact sustainabilitycentre@lbs.edu.ng.  Together we can work towards a sustainable future for businesses on the continent. See our programmes at https://lbssustainabilitycentre.edu.ng/training 

  • AfDB Group President, Akinwumi Adesina, charges Oxford MBA graduating class to be change-makers

    AfDB Group President, Akinwumi Adesina, charges Oxford MBA graduating class to be change-makers

    …Adesina called on the graduates to use the skills and knowledge they had acquired to address some of today’s most pressing global challenges

    Graduating executive MBA students of Oxford University’s Saïd Business School received wise counsel from African Development Bank President Dr Akinwumi Adesina on Friday.

    Delivering the business school’s 2023 commencement address, Adesina called on the graduates to use the skills and knowledge they had acquired to address some of today’s most pressing global challenges, including climate change and the quest for a hunger-free world. “It is unacceptable for more than 2.3 billion people in the world to go hungry each day,” he said.

    The bank president said: “Class of 2023, I see in you, builders, and shapers of hope. You have been well prepared to go into this world to be change-makers. You have received a world-class education. You are ready, and the world awaits you.”

    Adesina urged to draw lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic to ensure future global pandemic preparedness and that no one is left behind in terms of access to affordable healthcare.

    Commending the graduates to use innovative ideas and solutions, he highlighted the need to help meet the needs of the 940 million people worldwide living without electricity, three billion people without clean cooking energy, two billion living without access to clean water, and 4.5 billion without sanitation.

    He also emphasised the 1.7 billion people that lacked access to basic finance, credit, savings, payments, or insurance, while also stressing the need to build a better world for the 244 million children who are out of school, including 129 million girls.

    “Their dream,” the African Development Bank president said, “is to be like all of you today as you graduate with a world class education. But they cannot achieve their dreams, and neither can our world achieve our collective dream of a more just and equitable world unless we prioritise financing for developing countries to accelerate development.”

    Soumitra Dutta, Peter Moores Dean and Professor of Management at Saïd Business School, encouraged the Class of 2023 to dream big and assume the mantles of leadership waiting for them. He said: “We want you to become great leaders who will shape tomorrow and have a positive impact on our world. To become a great leader, it is very important that you are inspired and that you dream big. With your dreams, you will raise the aspiration levels of others around you.”

    Professor Alex Connock, specialist in Media Business and Artificial Intelligence (AI), called on the Class of 2023 to set the terms and conditions of what they do in life, and devise the strategy. He said: “You must be confident about making choices that work to your vision of your own future.” He added: “So please—throw your own javelin confidently into the infinite space of the future, starting from today. Go out there, make a difference. Bring this splintering world back together. Don’t settle for a new Cold War. Don’t settle for global warming. Make good things happen.”

    Adesina told the new MBA graduates to be selfless and dedicated to justice, equity, and fairness. While encouraging them to promote transparency, inclusion, honesty, and integrity, he emphasised the determination they would need not to be sucked into what he called the “slimy allure of insatiable corporate greed that has wreaked havoc on the lives of millions through creative accounting, misrepresentation of the valuation of companies,” and other unethical behaviour.

    “As you go out into the business world, stay within the rules and regulations,” Adesina said. “You all look great in your suits today. Keep it that way. Do not trade your striped business suits for orange jump suits. Do honest business. Stay out of trouble. Set your goals and stick to them.”

    The African Development Bank president encouraged the graduates to build alliances and collective partnerships rather than individual success. He evoked the image of the African Baobab tree with its massive girth. He said the only way individuals could encircle it was by linking arms together around its enormous circumference. He encouraged them to employ the Baobab approach and work together.

    “Nothing works better than collective success,” Adesina said. “Never work alone… Ahead of you is a stretch of life. Live it fully. Live it supporting others. Live it doing the best you can to improve the lives and livelihoods of people around the world. Use the Baobab approach.”

    Amy Major, Associate Director of the Saïd Businees School’s MBA programme, told the new MBA holders: “Display kindness to yourself and others. You all hold yourselves to high standards, but as you move out into the real world, whether you are now gainfully employed or searching, facing financial pressure or not, moving back to your family or away, you will all experience a different set of challenges and opportunities. No matter where life takes you, you possess something that can never be taken away: your Oxford MBA and your rightful place as Oxonians.”

    Adesina spoke about the need for a reformed global financial architecture. “The global financial architecture is failing development in the world as it faces multiple global challenges,” he explained, adding: “The global financial architecture must be modified to tackle global challenges more effectively and to accelerate the achievement of the UN Sustainable Development Goals.” He told the graduates: “The global pension funds and institutional investors, which many of you will go on to work for, have over $145 trillion of assets under management. As you do, take leadership in ensuing that these vast resources are directed towards the collective good. Use the skills and tools you have acquired at Oxford, to help make our world a better place for all.”

    The African Development Bank president concluded his visit with a group and one-on-one chat with some of the new graduates from Africa to talk about leadership, and Africa’s future and development, and the role of the youth.

  • 7th ACT Foundation Breakfast Dialogue Set to Illuminate Path to Sustainable Development in Africa

    7th ACT Foundation Breakfast Dialogue Set to Illuminate Path to Sustainable Development in Africa

    The Aspire Coronation Trust (ACT) Foundation is gearing up to host the highly-anticipated 7th ACT Foundation Breakfast Dialogue (BFD) on October 5th, 2023, at the prestigious Lagos Oriental Hotel, Lekki Expressway, Victoria Island, Lagos.

    The ACT Foundation Breakfast Dialogue has become a marquee event, drawing luminaries from diverse sectors, to tackle pivotal issues surrounding sustainable development in Africa. This year, the event takes on even greater significance as it zooms in on the transformative potential of Economic, Social, and Governance (ESG) strategies in advancing sustainable development.

    Themed ‘Advancing Sustainable Development in Africa: Unleashing the Power of Environmental, Social, Governance Strategies for Impact, this year’s Breakfast Dialogue aspires to bring together an eclectic mix of leaders representing various sectors, all poised to engage in a deep dive into how ESG principles can be leveraged to propel the sustainable development of organisations and, consequently, Africa’s broader sustainable development agenda.

    Osayi Allie, CEO of ACT Foundation, underscored the significance of this event, remarking, “The 7th ACT Foundation Breakfast Dialogue promises to be a game-changer, offering a unique platform for leaders in the public, private, and social sectors to decode the immense potential that Economic, Social, and Governance principles hold for organisations of various scales. Effective implementation of ESG practices by African institutions can make a monumental contribution to achieving sustainable development across the continent.”

    The event’s keynote speaker, Oyeyimika Adeboye, Managing Director, West Africa, Mondelez International, will take centre stage to share her profound insights on this pivotal subject. She will be joined by an esteemed lineup of speakers, including Marilyn Obaisa-Osula, Associate Director, ESG and Sustainability Services, KPMG; Dr. Eugene Itua, CEO of Natural Eco Capital; Tendai Matika, Manager of the Global Reporting Initiative, Africa; and Mudrakat Alabi-Macfoy, Head of Sustainability and Circularity at Lagos State Waste Management Authority (LAWMA).

    One of the day’s highpoints will be the unveiling of the finalists and winners of the 2023 ACT Foundation Changemakers Innovation Challenge. These exceptional individuals and organisations will secure grant funding and technical support from ACT Foundation, empowering them to amplify their innovative solutions and projects within targeted communities.

    Interested participants can click here to register for the virtual session.

  • MTN Trains SME Owners on Best Cyber Security Practices

    MTN Trains SME Owners on Best Cyber Security Practices

    MTN Nigeria recently hosted SME owners to a cybersecurity awareness event. The event, which registered over 100 stakeholders, was held at the MTN Nigeria headquarters at Falomo, Lagos, recently

    As the world becomes more digital, cyber-attacks have become both frequent and severe. Figures from Kaspersky shows that cyberattacks on SMEs have increased by 89% in 2022. Perhaps more damning is the report by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC)  that Nigeria has lost $500 million due to cyberattacks

    Delivering his keynote address, Dr. Peter Adewale, co-founder of DigitalEncode and Chief Visionary Officer at DigitalEncode, gave insights on the importance of cybersecurity and best practices in cybersecurity. He said, “There is no better time to talk about cybersecurity than now because we live in a digital world, and the reality is that COVID-19 has accelerated the usage of technology for everyone. Events like these are necessary because we need to create situational awareness about the risks of cyberattacks. It is important to build capacity and train people because people are an essential part of cybersecurity, and you can’t go wrong when you train people.”

    Senior Manager, Information Security,  MTN Nigeria, Anietie Jude, said, “We are delighted to be hosting this event because we want to improve the safety of Nigerian lives and businesses, cyber security is everyone’s business  and we need to ensure everyone is cybersmart.”

    The reality is that small businesses in Nigeria need to be better informed about the dangers and threats they face because they are often the target of these attacks, as they often lack the resources to invest in a cybersecurity team.

    Speaking at the event, Nkiruka Joy Aimienoho, Associate Director, Cybersecurity, Privacy, and Resilience, PwC, stated, “It is important that SMEs start to take cybersecurity seriously; they must imbibe this culture because cyber-attacks can happen to anyone. Events like this are important because they raise awareness and remind people that they must be cyber-aware.”

    The event, themed “Building a Cybersecurity Intelligent Quotient” furthers MTN’s commitment to sensitizing SME owners and the general public on the dangers of cyber-attacks and how to mitigate such attacks.